Anne Fontaine Evasion

Favorite room fragrance at the moment. Got it after getting a whiff of the Anne Fontaine store at Scotts Square. I adore shops that strive to give their customers the whole experience of stimulating all the senses. Makes the shopping experience that bit more special. Extremely feminine and smells sooo darn good!! I'm going back for the candle after this!

Selling: Brand New Givenchy Noir Couture 4 in 1 Mascara

What it is:
A four-in-one mascara that creates intense volume, strong curl, infinite length, and complete lash care.

What it does:
This multitasking mascara is formulated with Givenchy’s exclusive Lash Booster Expert Complex that provides nutrition, revitalization, fortification, and protection.

What else you need to know:
A classic brush has been included for traditional mascara application.

Research results:
-Based on a self-evaluation on 32 women after 4 weeks of daily application, 91 % had visibly volumized, curled, and lengthened lashes.
-Based on clinical scoring on 32 women after 8 weeks of daily applications, 102 % recorded lash beauty and strength, surface shine, evenness, and suppleness. Sz: 0.28oz
Colour: Black Satin

 

RRP: S$50 (bought from Sephora ION)

Now Selling: S$42 (normal mail)

 

Finally joined the cult! After 3 yrs of pondering, I caved in. Will post a review soon :) Stay tuned!

My baby pink Mia 2 :)

The One with the Allergy

I have rather sensitive skin which reacts quickly to products that it disagrees with. The red blotches that appear often feel warm to touch, aggravated and just plain painful. But thankfully, I have not had such reactions in a while... till last week.

The culprit?

Belif Creamy Cleansing Foam Moist

This didn't come cheap. At $33 per tube and with the hype about natural plant and herb ingredients, I was really excited to try out this new facial foam. Formulated with Soapwort, Sweet Flag and Wormwood to remove toxins, this cleansing foam supposedly produces clean skin without dryness after washing.

Soapwort, rich with vitamin C and natural foaming agents, cleanses the skin gently. It has been used instead of soap for centuries.

Sweet Flag, has appealed to women for generations, is known to make hair and skin beautiful, silky and smooth.

Wormwood, possesses breakout-prevention properties and excels at removing toxins . 

For those who are wondering, Belif is a Korean herbal skincare and cosmetic brand.

What happened to me:

I tried this facial wash on a Sunday night before going to bed. I really liked the pleasant herb smell that I got from the facial wash. It smelt really good and made me feel happy knowing that I'm washing my face with natural ingredients and I washed my face with great zest thinking my skin is gonna be super appreciative about the natural goodness I'm foaming it up with.

Was my skin happy? Not.one.bit

Right after drying my face I experienced a tingling sensation which intensified over the next 2-3 mins. I didn't think much about it and went to change into nightwear and prepare for my nightly skincare routine. Boy, did I get a shock when I looked in the mirror. My face was red, and felt really hot, as though I've just slapped myself really hard. I thought perhaps because it was my first try with the facial wash, hence my skin needed some getting used to. I skipped my normal nightly skincare routine and slapped my face with pure aloe vera gel before going to bed. I woke up the next day sans redness, and because I refused to believe that my skin would protest against natural ingredients, I took the plunge and slattered my face with the foaming wash once more.

Good gawd. My face was burning hot and redness covered my entire face. My skin felt really painful to touch and I wanted to die from the burning and tightening sensation. But there was nothing to rub off, I couldn't remove anything to stop the pain from intensifying. I could only ride it out and curse my stupidity.

I picked up the phone and called Belif at Wisma to explain my situation. They were nice enough to allow me a replacement of other products to replace the foaming wash if I provided them with a picture of my allergic reaction. I snapped some pictures of myself while writhing in pain for 10 mins. It was a real shame, because I really wanted to like the cleanser. I asked for samples of all the products which I got from Belif to try to do a patch test since the rest were unopened. I wasn't gonna risk torturing my face again. Thankfully I wasn't allergic to the rest which led the manager to conclude that I was allergic to Soapwart, then only ingredient present in the cleanser that was absent from the rest of my stash.

My stash and what I think about them are as follows:

Belif True Cream Aqua Bomb - Love the gel texture, great for combination / oily skin and for Singapore's weather. Lightweight and non-oily. Suitable for day usage.

Belif Hungarian Water Essence - I tried this because I was wondering if I could replace the Laneige's water bank essence with it. Belif's water essence is more liquid and Laniege's water bank essence has a more creamy texture to it. Reminds me of the Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid. But based on the breakdown of ingredients and benefits, I'm leaning more towards the Belif's one because there's no addition of synthetic preservatives.

Belif Bergamot Extract Toner - I love the toner because I love the smell of it. I'm a huge fan of Bergamot because it perks me up and makes me a happy camper. I'm not a fan of Laneige's Power Essential Skin Refiner EX because it's far too sticky for my liking. This toner definitely replaces the Laneige's one for me.

Belif Deep Pore Care Mask - A green clay mask that deep cleanses your skin. I use this more frequently than my Omorovicza and Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask because it's cheaper and easier to get. My face looks cleaner and feels softer after I wash off the mask. I wouldn't say it DEEP cleanses but it serves as a good maintenance mask.

So, do give this brand a whirl if you enjoy treating your skin to herbal remedies that do not contain nasties which harm your skin in the long run. Belif is located at Wisma Atria, B1-6 and The Atrium@Orchard (Plaza Singapura). Do get some free samples from them and do a patch test to see if you are allergic to any ingredients within. I learnt it the hard way.

Mon Shu Uemura

Karl Lagerfeld x Shu Uemura Holiday 2012 Makeup Collection - The 'Mon Shu Uemura' .
This Holiday season, Karl Lagerfeld is teaming up with Shu Uemura to bring us a fabulous collection. The collection is set to be called The 'Mon Shu Uemura', and features the best of both worlds from the pair, Karl's creative artistic style, with  Shu Uemura's high quality beauty products.

Introducing Mon Shu (picture above), the manga-inspired make-up mascot created by fashion genius and Chanel legend Karl Lagerfeld to front his collaboration with Japanese cosmetics brand Shu Uemura.

The collaboration has been a long time coming, given that Lagerfeld and the late Shu Uemura-san (1928 - 2007) were friends and long-time admirers of each other’s work. Karl allegedly using the extensive and colourful range of Shu Uemura eyeshadows to sketch his fashion illustrations because pastel manufacturers’ range of colours simply didn’t suffice.

A whimsical fusion of fashion, pop culture and cosmetics, everything about Mon Shu has been carefully designed to imbue her with meaning. Based on Lagerfeld’s “personal vision of a Japanese manga”  her name is a charming play on the French term of endearment ‘chou’ as well as reflecting the name of the Japanese make-up brand and its founder. Her unusual red eyes represent the Japanese flag (a red disc in the centre of a white rectangle) whilst her white collared shirt and black tie are classic Lagerfeld.

Yess... I completely get why Mon Shu is being compared to the Dora the Explorer -_-"" and no, I do not believe that Karl ripped off the design to add red eyes and a suit to transform her into Mon Shu.

Despite some opinions of Mon Shu being a scary ass voodoo doll, I think she's the cutest thing I've ever set my eyes upon. Am I biased because it's a character thought out and drawn by Karl? Perhaps :) To me, Mon Shu is as cute as it gets, but she's a doll. A very very girly doll.

I particularly love this sketch of the adult Mon-Shu. All I wanna do is blow it up, have it framed and hang it somewhere in my room next to my makeup table.

Jumped the wagon I did... couldn't resist owning a few signature pieces from this uber rare collaboration between 2 icons. Comes with a free lipgloss, a monshu pin, a sample foundation and a very festive looking cylinder makeup bag. Very shimmery and glossy! Love at first sight. Particularly in love with the revamped eyelash curler with a dangly little monshu. Shu's eyelash curlers are legendary! Go grab this while you can!

Do go check out SUKL (Shu Uemura Karl Lagerfeld) 17 items collection out in stores now!

What do you guys think of this collaboration? Eeky or fantastic?