OPI Mermaid’s Tears nail polish review

Posted on August 8, 2011 | 2 comments

I’m usually a bit dubious about the current vogue for nail polish celebrity cash-ins tie-ins, yet OPI’s Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean collection struck gold… or should that be pieces of eight?!

Overall, it was an unusual collection for summer, filled with murky muddied pastels that didn’t exactly scream adventures on the seven seas. Yet for that reason, it was probably one of my favourite OPI collections to date and I snapped up the whole collection quicker than you can say ‘Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum’!

I was instantly drawn to Mermaid’s Tears, a dusty turquoise (and you know how much I love turquoise!). Firstly, what a gorgeous evocative name! OPI are known for their cute-but-cheesy names so I was expecting this to be pun city but they actually managed to keep it classy – classier, in fact, than the film itself!

Unfortunately, I found this polish quite difficult to work with. It was gloopier than most OPIs and the first few coats went on thickly and unevenly – partly my own fault as I spent too much time trying to correct it, forgetting that OPI lacquers are actually amazingly self-levelling on their own. Consequently, drying time was longer than usual and the finish was a bit lumpy up-close.

What I can’t complain about is the colour. Gorgeous! It’s an almost vintage take on turquoise; classy but murky, delicately dusty, but still straight-up beautiful (although a shade darker than the bottle colour). You could well imagine it being the tears of a siren, prettily magical yet refined. There aren’t many turquoises that suggest sophistication, but this is definitely one.

Compared to my other top turquoise creme, Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos (on the middle finger), Mermaid’s Tears is noticeably less bright, dustier and perhaps more obviously green-leaning – a pale green tea, or pretty slate green rather than the tropical island turquoise of the Essie. Both, however, are creamily lush and look great on.

Mermaid’s Tears – Lorelei loveliness in a bottle. No pirate puns needed.

Looks good with: other muted pastels, floral tea-dresses, grey
Drying time: 10 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: +7 days

OPI Mermaid’s Tears nail polish, Summer 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, $70, Cher2

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SK-II Facial Treatment Essence review

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 11 comments

I have a confession. I didn’t know much about SK-II.

About all I did know was that Cate Blanchett was one of their spokesmen and well… if there’s one current celeb female whose skin you wouldn’t mind having, porcelain princess Cate has to be pretty high on the list!

To clear up my ignorance, I was sent a few of SK-II’s bestsellers by the fabulous Bastian (see the full post here), including their most famous product – SK-II Facial Treatment Essence.

The essence has been dubbed ‘miracle water’ by some, with Asian celebs (and their milky white complexions) clamouring to call it their ‘best friend’ or even ‘lover’! Not much to live up to then! I’m not ready to dump the boyfriend just yet (especially after he bought me that Bobbi Brown palette, hehehe) but I have to admit, I was mightily impressed.

The story of SK-II started at a sake brewery in Japan, where scientists noticed that elderly workers, despite their wrinkled face, had beautiful soft hands as a result of being in constant contact with the sake fermentation process. Eventually, scientists isolated the miracle ingredient responsible for holding back the years – Pitera, a naturally-occurring liquid from the fermentation process. It contains a blend of vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids that help enable the skin’s natural rejuvenation process by regenerating its outer layer (who else is picturing a Doctor Who style regeneration round about now?!). All of SK-II’s skincare products contain Pitera but the Facial Treatment Essence contains the most, with a whopping 90% of the liquid made up of the stuff.

An interesting story and brilliant brand mythology yet who cares about some wrinkled crones with pretty hands unless the stuff actually works, right?! Had those scientists just knocked back a few too many sakes down the factory or was there something to this Pitera lark?!

The essence is a transparent, slightly hay-tinged liquid with a similar consistency and place in your routine as toner. However, whilst toners have tended to either break me out or uncomfortably tighten me up, the Facial Essence has none of these effects. It’s as gentle as a kiss from a butterfly, so gentle you can even use it over sensitive areas, like your eyes and lips. It absorbs quickly without a trace and leaves no residue.

But the most noteworthy thing about SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence is the smell. It’s a strong sour scent, somewhere between rice wine vinegar and (for me) Thai fish gravy! Not usually the sort of smell you’d associate with skincare for sure! It’s not exactly unpleasant, more surprising, but you quickly get used to it. I guess it’s all that Pitera… so whilst those elderly workers might have had lovely hands, I’m not sure they would have smelt so hot after all those years down the factory!

All the instructions for the Facial Treatment Essence were in Japanese but application is simple. Splash a few drops of the essence onto some cotton wool morning and evening, pat all over the face and you’re done! There is even a handy diagram to illustrate:

I was slightly dubious about seeing tangible effects from the essence, as despite all the ‘miracle water’ worshipping, mention of what it actually did seemed rather vague. But after a few weeks, the evidence was clear. There’s a reason the formula for this hasn’t changed in 30 years – it works. Wonders.

My skin is softer. My skin is brighter. My skin is clearer. I have fewer breakouts and when I do get the occasional blemish, it’s seems to clear up quicker and without as much aggravation. My complexion is more even and less prone to blotchiness and redness. Dry patches (by my nose, lips and one particularly troublesome area near my eye that richer eye creams made worse and normal moisturisers aren’t supposed to be applied there) are now nourished and non-flaky. Similarly, oilier areas seem more controlled too. My skin feels supple and hydrated, neither too greasy nor too dry, throughout the entire day and night. The Facial Treatment Essence claims to balance the skin’s pH and sebum secretion and my skin really does now feel perfectly-balanced.

How do I know all this? After about a month and a half of using the essence, I stopped. And basically, the opposite of all the above started happening!

I’m not a huge fan of having to use cotton wool so frequently in my beauty routine as I find it quite wasteful but having experimented with trying to splash it directly onto my hands and dab it on (which wasted a lot of product both in spillage and it absorbing into your fingers), this is the best way. It probably also contributes to the cleaning process, meaning my skin really does look crystal-clear and radiant. The only things I can think of that the essence doesn’t help with  are pore size, blackheads or providing really intense rich moisturising.

The downside – the cost (allegedly due to the difficulties and expenses of churning out all that Pitera, with only limited quantities produced). Used twice a day, even sparingly, I think you’d be lucky to get much more than six months out of the 215ml bottle.

I love that it’s suitable for all skin types, for all ages and can be used all over the face. The effects are subtle but noticeable, giving you a youthful natural glow. In short, it’s a wonderful addition to any beauty routine.

One bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence is sold every 28 seconds, with over 20 million bottles sold to date. Well, it’s now 20 million and one. Chalk me up with the statistics – I’m converted! Miracle water all the way!

SK-II Miracle Water… oops, I mean Facial Treatment Essence, $980 for 215ml; see all SK-II locations in Hong Kong here

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Go Hard or Go Haul!

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 19 comments

Believe it or not, I don’t actually like Mac make-up much. [Yeah, I can tell you don’t believe me.]

But the Semi-Precious Collection was SO pretty. Marbleised multi-coloured glittering domes of wondrousness; a cross between precious minerals, gemstones and cosmic galaxies. I just fell in love with the lot on first sight. Incidentally, swatches on the Internet just DO NOT compare. They make them look gritty and dull and sheer, but in real life, they are shimmery multi-dimensional wondrousness.

And I went accordingly overboard. Before I got in the store, I only wanted the Golden Gaze eye shadow (the outright gold star of the collection) and Pearl Skinfinish. Such is the power of a great shop assistant! And the allure of these babies in person!

I’m still in the ‘bring them out and stroke lovingly’ stage of ownership – they’re just too pretty to touch! I said to my boyfriend I should have bought two of each, one to use and one to look at; I was only half-joking. So these are photos to preserve the beauty!

Mineralize Skinfinishes in Pearl,  Rose Quartz and Crystal Pink. Glowy gorgeousness in a pan.

Mineralize Eye Shadows in Golden Gaze, Hint Of Sapphire, Jade’s Fortune and Clarity. I know others have complained about the lack of pigmentation, but for me, the lightness is what makes these so useable and great for my fair skin. They all shimmer different colours in different lights, like magic. Stunning!

My lovely boyfriend bought me this limited edition Bobbi Brown Bronze Eye Palette from the Tortoise Shell Collection.

Bobbi Brown aren’t exactly known for being exciting but they do great quality neutrals and this palette absolutely epitomises that. I LOVE the classy packaging – in the words of the awesome Alex Perry, it looks expensive (say with Aussie accent for full effect)! I love how compact is it, with the pull-out drawer, and the shades are all complimentary browns, golds and bronzes. Great for travelling and creating easy lovely natural looks.

I’ve recently got into The Balm, which is now sold at Sasa. It’s an American brand with retro packaging and witty names, kind of a B-List Benefit. After learning my beloved Benefit Georgia was discontinued, I have been on the lookout for a similar peachy blush. The Balm’s Hot Mama blush had quite a lot of good write-ups (including from blush queen herself Jenn)… and it all escalated from there!

I received the Shady Lady Eye Shadow (Mischievous Marissa, a lovely glittering beige) as a free gift for purchasing two The Balm products; I also got a Read My Lips lipstick in Letter To The Editor (a shimmering bronzed berry). Next, I got a free It Girl Lip Gloss for buying two of their Sexpot Mineral Overshadows. The latter are highly-pigmented loose powders in No Money, No Honey (a light bright gold) and Work Is Overrated (pink champagne), with gorgeous 50s pin-ups on the lids. I blame these on Vicki getting me hooked on L’Oreal’s intense Infallible eye shadows, which aren’t available in HK, although these are much less adventurous colours!

Meanwhile, the baked Pupa Luminys Eye Shadow on the left is a Semi-Precious hangover. There were no really nice purples in the Mac collection, so this is the result!

I also got these two Canmake Jewel Eye Shadows in a very glittery gold and a very glittery melon. I had been lusting after Benefit Creaseless Creams but these were about a third of the price, whilst make-up queen Jenn recommended them as cheap Jill Stuart eye jellies! Sold! Plus, a freebie Sasa Garden Fairy hand cream.

After my wonderful day at Elemis Day Spa, I wanted to buy some of their products and kept reading about this gift set in the UK magazines my mum sent me. This gorgeous leopard-print Elemis Safari Traveller is designed by Alice Temperley (only one of my favourite designers!) and I thought it would be brilliant for carrying all my toiletries for travelling. It didn’t disappoint in person – nice and hefty and again, a touch of the Alex Perry (i.e. expensive!)

It comes stuffed with seven Elemis miniatures that I can’t wait to get stuck into (including the Papaya Peel I enjoyed so much during my facial) and a percentage goes to charity, so what’s not to love? Sadly, it’s not being sold in Hong Kong so I purchased it from Lookfanastic.com, who offer free (and speedy!) international shipping.

I couldn’t just buy one thing from Lookfantastic though! So popped the Urban Decay Ammo Eye Shadow Palette in there too. I decided on buying this rather than several of their individual eye shadows (which I love), which would have ended up costing much more. Another typically fabulous and unusual array of colours from UD and in a very pretty box too!

I’ve been busy putting together a Hello Kitty birthday package for Aimee and sadly for my wallet, that means I’ve been swept along on the Sanrio steamroller of cuteness too! I bought a Cinnamoroll folder and two tins to hold all my eye pencils. They’re so lovely, they cheer me up just by seeing them!

And too cute not to show you some close-ups! I particularly love the Cinnamoroll pencil tin – the soft dusky colours are so haute! This is the sort of crazy-pretty-silly-cute-loveliness I missed so much when I lived in England; I used to have so much of it when I was young here so I’m just resuming my collection!

Whilst Aimee’s weakness is Hello Kitty, mine is Stitch. I just can’t get enough of that cute blue bug-eyed little alien! I’ll probably do a post documenting all my Stitch stuff, as there’s lots of it, but here are my three latest little buddies. Yes, that is a Soy Bean on his head. And no, I don’t know why either – but it sure as hell is cute!

More non make-up goodies thanks to my Kwai Fong shopping spree with BFF Mirander, including cheap and cute headbands, beautiful earrings and Miffy propelling pencils. I love that mini padlock on the headband and who could possibly resist watering cans on earrings?! Not me, that’s for sure!

Gwen Stefani is one of my style icons and I’ve loved the super-kawaii bottles she’s been putting out for her Harajuku Lovers perfume range but have so far resisted as, apart from my trusty Chanel No. 5, I don’t use scents. But resistance finally crumbled in the face of this limited edition G Of The Sea fragrance – IT’S A MERMAID. Amazing.

And finally… no haul of mine is complete without nail polish, right? Firstly, some pa nail polishes, a Japanese brand with tiny bottles but a rainbow of colours. I picked up some of the more unique colours  – a silver glitter with antique-rose-copper sequins and a purple with a gold shimmer, plus this charcoal holographic polish I found in CitySuper.

A reader, fellow HK polish and holo addict CaCa, tipped me off about some amazing undiscovered BK holographic nail varnishes. Well, she didn’t need to tell me twice – I was there in a flash to get my stash of rainbows in an (admittedly tiny) bottle!

I already showed you the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils I bought from the “Make-Up Fiesta” (read more about that hyperbole here!) so, since I have no idea when I’ll get round to trying them all, here are all the NYX nail polishes I bought too. Are those flakies i.e. amazing shreds of rainbow awesomeness, I see before me?! And some multi-coloured glitter and duochromes too!

So as you can ascertain, I went hard AND went haul! Now for a rest I think!

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Zoya Dannii nail polish review

Posted on July 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I actually forgot I had swatched Zoya’s Dannii, that’s how uninspiring it was.

Which, if you know me and my love for all things purple, is a massive surprise. After all, Zoya’s official description of a ‘metallic purple orchid with pink and champagne highlights and flecks of silver metallic shimmer’ sounds positively purple perfection. But for me, the best description of Dannii would have to include the word ‘anticlimax’.

What I thought would be a vibrant pink-toned orchid turned out to be a much darker murkier almost brown-toned purple that just didn’t stand out at all. The champagne shimmer that I’d thought would give a beautiful glimmering glow to the polish was barely evident and when it was, it didn’t even look nice combined with the muddy purple. I could see the silver shimmer more often, but it wasn’t an appealing effect at all; the combination of that purple plus those shimmers just did not work. Zoya’s glitters are usually stunning shining stars in the nail polish firmament, but this flat murky finish was a dim flickering light bulb at best.

The formula was also not at all what I expect from Zoya – thick and gloopy, making application difficult. Basically, me and Dannii didn’t get on at all – it didn’t look nice with my skin tone, it didn’t look nice with my clothes and it didn’t look nice with my high expectations.

I think this polish was named after former X-Factor judge Dannii Minogue, but frankly, it’s more of a Sharon Osbourne. And that just about says it all.

Looks good with: good question
Drying time: 8-10 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: +7 days

Zoya Dannii nail polish, Spring 2011 Intimate Collection, $80, Cher2

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Nicole By Opi Diva Into The Pool nail polish review

Posted on July 15, 2011 | 8 comments

Believe it or not, I have been wearing nail polishes other than coral this summer. My next pick has instantly become one of my favourite polishes full stop, summer or otherwise – Nicole By OPI’s Diva Into The Pool.

Nothing’s as bad as a pun that doesn’t quite work right?! Even Diva In The Pool would make more sense. But don’t let that put you off. Anyone with a weakness for turquoises – see my responses to Zoya’s Charla and Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos to see which camp I’m in – will definitely want to dive headlong into this colour. It’s a shimmering tropical aqua, as cool and refreshing as dip in the water.

It’s a little green-leaning but has an immaculate crystal-clear finish, with a finely-milled glitter that’s similar to Zoya’s trademark foil effect. I was initially worried at the extremely sheer first coat, but you get a gorgeous wash of colour after just two coats, although you could go for three for extra opacity if you wish. The polish was a nice consistency, extremely easy to work with, and I have to say I prefer Nicole By OPI’s flatter brush to OPI proper’s fat one – I’d say it’s most similar to China Glaze’s brush, though Nicole’s seemed to fan out even more nicely.

As my first Nicole By Opi, I do have to rant about the bottle shape though. Whoever designed this is clearly not a person with a make-up stash! One bottle of polish taking up the space of two – madness! As anyone with nail polish bulging out of their drawers will tell you!

I just love how clear, clean and crystalline Diva Into The Pool looks – as beautiful as the tropical oceans you always see on holiday programmes and heavily-photoshopped brochures. It’s a glowing aqua that got me tons of compliments; you can see how exquisite that fine-shimmer finish is even in close-up.

Sparkling without being a show-off and in such a stunning shade of turquoise too… is it any wonder I was won over by Diva Into The Pool? And after these pictures, I fully expect you to be too!

Looks good with: summer, swimming pools, sunglasses
Drying time: 7 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 3 days

Nicole by OPI Diva Into The Pool nail polish, $75, selected Sasas

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Chanel White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée review

Posted on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

My hunt for the perfect primer continues with Chanel’s White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée.

You may remember that I was very happy with the glowing effects of Benefit’s That Gal primer, so why change? Firstly, I seemed to be getting through my That Gals at a too-speedy-for-my-wallet pace, plus the bottle design meant that it was impossible to predict when its time was up – leaving me high and dry on a few occasions! Instead, I found myself drawn to the Chanel White Essentiel Base because, unlike That Gal, it contains a high SPF of 30, essential (or should that be essentiel!) for HK’s scorching summers. Secondly, it had been developed especially for Asian skin – I’m half-Asian, I have skin, a perfect fit, surely!

I was recommended the Rosée shade for my complexion, which has a cool-toned pale pink tint to the very white fluid. [The other shades are yellow Mimosa and blue Azur]. This would supposedly revive my pale and tired complexion and add a touch of radiance that I thought might not be dissimilar to That Gal’s pinky glow. How wrong I was.

But let’s not jump the gun. I like the chunky but compact packaging and was glad it’s plastic rather than glass; too many bottles fall out of my bathroom cabinet thanks to vigorous door slamming from my auntie for glass to be a viable option in this house! After shaking the bottle (it makes a clicking sound in the old-fashioned way I remember my Mum’s foundation doing), the fluid is dispensed via a dropper-type nozzle on the top of the bottle (see photo, apologies for rubbish description). There’s a definite knack to learning how to use it, and the first few times, far too much liquid splurged out.

The liquid itself is quite runny and can be used sparingly (so far, my bottle has lasted well over 6 months; it ended up lasting well over a year!). However, that’s just about where my positives end. It requires a lot of rubbing in to be absorbed and once it has, leaves my skin feeling chalky. Looking pretty chalky too. Whatever pink there is to the fluid is null and void and rather than brightening, it’s just whitening – in the ‘seen a ghost’ sense! Yes, it’s too pale even for my milky bean curd complexion! I know some Chinese women like their face looking several shades too white for the rest of their body (hi Fan Bing Bing) but I’m not one of them and thus, there’s no chance of being able to wear this product on its own, like the sales assistant said I could, or like you can with some other primers. Then again, I suppose the ‘Whitening’ in the name should have given it away!

It also has quite a strong scent, a very artificial sweet floral scent that I’m not a huge fan of. To White Essentiel Base’s credit, it does allow your make-up to glide on super-smoothly and keeps it set for your day. Thanks to that chalky, almost mattifying effect, it seems to minimise sweat and oily patches, although the downside is that it doesn’t give a luminous radiance like the light-reflecting particles of That Gal.

Overall, I wouldn’t re-purchase this product – it’s too pricey for something that obviously doesn’t work well with my skin tone. As a newer Chanel product exclusive to the Asian market, I feel it still needs a bit more tinkering to make it great. So whilst it’s effective enough as a base and the high SPF is a bonus, there are really no other benefits… unless I need to audition as a geisha anytime soon.

Chanel White Essentiel Whitening Modeling Effect Base in Rosée, $350; see all Chanel Beaute locations in Hong Kong here

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Kylie Minogue: Aphrodite Live @ HKCEC concert review

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

‘I’m fierce and I’m feeling mighty
I’m a golden girl, I’m an Aphrodite!’

And so with her show opener, Kylie (no surname required) set the agenda for her Aphrodite Live concert in HKCEC.

Fusing elements of Greek mythology with lavish Busby Berkley-style Broadway musical sequences, plus a dusting of trademark Kylie high campery on top (was there a male dancer who ever had a top on?!), Aphrodite Live delivered pure pop spectacle at the highest level. So that’s more costume changes than Kate Middleton on her American tour, high-flying acrobatics from dancers potentially responsible for a world shortage in baby oil, a 90-minute-plus crowd-pleasing set-list, an on-stage replica of the Parthenon and a few butt wiggles every now and then too. Who else could make singing on a golden chariot pulled along by a coterie of half-naked men seem the most normal thing in the world?

Believe it or not, even with fluffy wings on her ears (beat that, Hermes and your winged sandals), descending from a golden Pegasus or being embraced by a dancer whose angel wings put all future hen party efforts to shame, this was actually a scaled-down version of the Aphrodite: Les Folies tour that has been doing the rounds in the rest of the world. But thanks to Kylie’s effervescent stage presence, a rapturous crowd reception and razzle dazzle to spare, you barely noticed the missing much-vaunted ‘splash zone’ or that you couldn’t really see the dancers unless they were cavorting on high wires until the glittering festivities were all over anyway.

The all-star set-list, featuring new tracks from her latest album (the eponymous Aphrodite) plus old favourites and a few surprises too, was almost perfectly-judged. Once Kylie entered the fray wearing a Masters of Ceremony top hat complete with shiny gold basque, the evening truly rocketed up to Olympia – the hypnotic Cupid Boy was followed by a euphoric rendition of Spinning Around, an unabashed call to the dance floor in Get Outta My Way and a whizzingly joyous What Do I Have To Do. Elsewhere, the blissed-out dreamy beats of The One and In My Arms suited the Grecian goddess vibe here far better than they did the anonymous electronic mish-mash of parent album X, whilst there was no doubting the crowd favourite – chants of ‘La La La’ started practically before the opening chords of Can’t Get You Of My Head itself, almost raising the cockroach-roof of HKCEC in true rave-up style.

It’s nice of Kylie to provide an obvious toilet-break moment in the slow-jazz version of Slow (cue nightmares of the similarly-treated never-ending Locomotion from the Showgirl tour), meandering floaty number Everything Is Beautiful was another momentum-killer and Better Than Today probably isn’t a strong enough track for the closing section. However, I was downright smitten with her cover of Eurythmics’ classic There Must Be An Angel, a generously open-hearted version that added a enchanting gospel-feel to one of my favourite songs of all time – and for all those that criticise Kylie’s thin vocals, her trilling here was positively beatific.

An acapella version of If You Don’t Love Me served mainly as a vehicle for the audience to (loudly, continously) declare their undying love for her, and her near-inability to finish the song due to laughter just made it all the more charming. Meanwhile, the request section yielded a rollicking run through The Locomotion and I Should Be So Lucky (complete with reminiscences about bubble perms), whilst her costumes grew all the more insanely dazzling – one dress looked like shiny wrapping paper, another outfit featured a bejewelled swimming cap, another looked like it had claimed the life of an unsuspecting Muppet. Yes, it was a little bit corny, a little bit cheesy, a very big bit camp – but that just made it all so right. And if you can’t enjoy cheesy at a Kylie concert, then when can you?!

A true one-off in a sea of Gagas, Ke$has and Katy Perrys, Aphrodite Live proved exactly why Kylie deserves her place in the pop pantheon. Then again, she never had to prove it in the first place.

Kylie Minogue, Aphrodite: Live concert, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, 1 July 2011

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7-Eleven Hong Kong – use your noodle

Posted on June 23, 2011 | 15 comments

UPDATE: This is the post that got my Stitch pillowcase and my boyfriend’s hands forever immortalised on Buzzfeed – check it out here (#35!).

Oh 7-Eleven. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I love that you’re never more than 5 minutes away from any given location. I love that I can now buy crisps and ice-cream whenever the hell I want, preferably in my pyjamas. I love your cute collectible promotional toys that I will never spend enough to obtain all of (but I’ll lose my mind trying), and friends and colleagues will harass me for the tokens regardless.

I love that school kids frequent ‘Club 7’ to get their first illicit taste of alcohol, stand outside in the streets drinking it and that staff actually open their bottles for them. I love that we then do exactly the same thing in a loosely ironic fashion and it probably ends up being more fun than a night out in Dragon-I. I love that living it large outside Club 7 is practically a rites of passage in Hong Kong (see above photo for reference, taken in my second month in HK!).

But recently… I love your noodles. Not as much as my boyfriend does though.

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NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils review

Posted on June 22, 2011 | 6 comments

I recently paid a visit to Hong Kong’s annual Make-Up Fiesta (combined with one of their mill-annual Wedding Fairs) at Wan Chai’s Convention & Exhibition Centre, hoping for bargain beauty buys and the appearance of some elusive hitherto unfound-in-HK brands (yes, Nfu Oh, I’m looking at you). However, the term ‘Fiesta’ was generous. I’m thinking more ‘intimate gathering’, ‘impromptu shindig’ or even ‘quick drink down the pub with mates.’ Amidst the crowd of wedding gowns, photographers and men pestering my boyfriend as to when the big day was, there were all of about… three make-up stalls.

Luckily, there was one that just about made the $20 entry fee worthwhile. NYX Cosmetics is a brand that I’ve not seen sold so far in Hong Kong, and judging by the storm of make-up hungry girls by its stand, not many other people had either. There were also plenty of bargains to be had, if you dared run the gauntlet of being without testers; I picked up… you’ll never guess… nail polish (what else!) at four bottles for $100, plus three NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils for $200. Having got these colourful chunky babies back to the safety of my own home, my only regret is that I didn’t pick up more!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils are a very similar proposition to the recently-released Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils (see here for photos). They’re both chubby creamy crayons available in a rainbow of vivid hues, fat enough to use as eye-shadow but pointed enough to use as an eyeliner too. The crayon form makes it ultra-convenient, neater, quicker and simpler than getting your fingers and brushes dirty with powder or cream shadows, whilst the fatter-than-your-average pencil sweeps over the eyelid oh-so-easily in just one or two strokes. So for someone that (guiltily) uses her eyeliners as eye-shadows more often than she should, and for anyone who appreciates great make-up in general, they’re perfection.

In my opinion, these are actually softer and creamier than Urban Decay’s eye pencils – they glide onto the eyelid effortlessly, more effortlessly than the word effortlessly even implies, delivering a sweep of vibrant consistent colour that Urban Decay would be proud of. I don’t think they could be nicer about it unless they bowed and said ‘After you, ma’am’. Even after many hours wear, there was no sense of dryness at all, whilst the colour pay-off is so magnificent that it makes coating the eye-lid in a simple intense wash of colour easier than learning your ABCs.

Size comparison: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils vs Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils ends in a draw!

The only downside of the NYX Jumbo Pencils? They crease. A lot. It’s such a shame as the colour itself certainly isn’t going anyway but that’s one area that Urban Decay has them beat at. Obviously, this is less of a problem if you’re using them as a liner, and I’m yet to try them with Urban Decay’s Primer Potion underneath.

Many of the colours are named after foods, which sounds fun until you get to the reality of make-up named Black Bean, French Fries and Cottage Cheese (now sadly more famous for being name-checked in thousands of doctor’s leaflets about thrush), which just sound a little… well, icky. After all, I detest Horseradish in real-life, so why would I want to put it anywhere near my face!

Yoghurt is my favourite of the three. It’s a beautiful neutral, a shimmering glimmering pink-leaning champagne. A gorgeous versatile colour for everyday use, it also comes into its own glowing and glistening for special occasions, and should suit just about every skintone and colouring. It’s also pretty much an exact dupe for Urban Decay’s Shadow Pencil in Sin which, given that Sin has received far and away the most use out of my five Urban Decays, can only be a good thing! Looks nothing like any yoghurt I’ve ever tried, that’s for sure.

Then again, Lemon is my favourite too. This has sensibly been re-named Lime as it’s a vibrant vivid almost acidic olive-gold that leans way more towards green than the name Lemon implies. It’s zingy, zesty and a total stand-out, different to anything else in my (Urban Decay dominated) stash. I’ve compared it here to UD’s Shadow Pencil in Narc and their 24/7 Eye Pencil in Mildew, yet as you can see, they’re far darker and mossier than Lemon.

Lemon is the perfectly-pitched balance between green and gold, where green still comes out on top yet but where gold has made it a far superior colour along the way. This gilded green makes me think of Cleopatra for some reason, it just has something luxuriously glamorous yet flattering about it. Stunning and surprisingly versatile, it looks amazing paired with browns or adding a nuanced punch to neutrals.

My final pick was the imaginatively-named Purple. This is actually the exact colour of the outside of Urban Decay’s 24/7 eyeliner in Ransom, with a shimmering silvery blue iridescence to it. However, it’s absolutely nothing like the actual colour of Ransom itself, which does have that same blue-purple iridescence but is a lot more dark and a lot more purple with it. NYX’s Purple is the colour of dreams, the colour of butterfly wings and the colour of a precious stone I always hoped existed when I was little, a lavender moonstone. I do love Ransom too, and I think you now realise I just love purples full stop, so NYX’s Purple is an excellent addition to my collection, for swooning purposes if for nothing else.

I’d definitely buy NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencils again (let’s hope another make-up ‘casual get-together’ makes it to Hong Kong soon), as they’re such an obviously brilliant products. Far from competing against the Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils, they sit happily alongside them, creasing issue aside – NYX currently have a greater range of colours (since UD just launched theirs) and they boast all the same virtues that made me fall for the UD ones in the first place. I’ve got big… or should that be jumbo-sized love for them all!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Yoghurt, Lime (aka Lemon) and Purple, $200 for three at Hong Kong’s Make-Up Fiesta

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Lush Cupcake Ice-Cream Face Mask review

Posted on June 22, 2011 | 4 comments

Alas, chocolate not included

There can’t be a better smelling cosmetics store than Lush. Wandering past one of their shops, especially in the UK, is like getting a sniff of what nirvana must smell like. As a result, I’ve discovered that they’re terrible for impulse buys – catch you at a weak moment and the aromas practically suck you in and force you to cough up the pennies!

And so it was one evening on an innocent wander round Admiralty MTR, I found myself purchasing a Lush Fresh Ice-Cream Face Mask. These were laid out at the front of the store, in tubs with spoons just like ice-cream, and in hot humid HK, the idea of ice-cream just proved too irresistible – even in the shape of skincare!

I opted for Cupcake, the cocoa-rich option i.e. what I’d pick if it actually was ice-cream! The amazing chocolate scent wasn’t the only draw; Cupcake is the variety best-suited to oily and combination skin, and promises to deep-cleanse your face, preventing acne, purifying pores and removing blackheads (an on-going battle for me, as regular readers will know). Chief ingredients include Rhasoul mud which cleanses and soothes, cocoa and shea butters and linseed which soften and peppermint, spearmint and sandalwood oils to round off the relaxing experience.

Lush are famous for being an eco-friendly company; all their products are vegetarian (the Cupcake Mask is, in fact, totally vegan) and are never tested on animals. All their items are handmade and in a cute touch, most products even bear the name of their maker!

Although sold by weight, the smallest available quantity was 115g, which comes in Lush’s trademark 100% recycled black tub, and on current going looks set to be good for between five to eight uses. It’s kept chilled in the shop and due to the fresh ingredients (and lack of preservatives) found in the mask, you should do the same and keep it refrigerated at home too!

The consistency of Cupcake was extremely thick. I’d assumed it would be like other gooey but smooth mud or clay masks I have tried before, but the texture was sandy and grainy to the touch. This made it a little difficult to apply; I felt like I was trowelling cement on to my face!

But oh, the smell!!! I know from experience that Lush’s chocolate products smell divine – I once bought my friend one of their chocolate shower bars and he was so taken by the scent that even though he knew it was soap, he still tried to eat it! I could have marinated in that heady chocolate aroma forever (I guess this is how Willy Wonka must feel); the Cupcake mask is definitely one for all the chocoholics out there, and even non-chocaholics might find themselves converted by the deliciously rich yet far from sickly sweet scent (it’s undercut by a refreshingly cool tingle of mint).

As you can gather, leaving the mask on until it dries is consequently not much of a chore! Lush recommends five to ten minutes, though I probably went closer to twenty, putting off the rinsing part for as long as possible! Unfortunately, that part really is a chore… the mask is too thick to dilute and wash off easily; instead, you may find yourself actually pushing and scrubbing clumps off during rinsing. Your best bet is to get your head deep in that sink and really work it off, with a flannel on stand-by to get rid of the (inevitable) residue at the end – and be prepared to clean off any Cupcake clumps that are left in the sink afterwards, unless you want people to think you went on a chocolate binge in the bathroom! Nevertheless, although a bit arduous, it’s nowhere near the messy chocolate explosion other reviews make it out to be!

I was reasonably impressed with the immediate results. My pores looked cleaner and my blackheads were thinner on the ground, whilst the rest of my face was noticeably softer and smoother and my complexion looked clearer. However, unlike the make-up miracle that is Bliss’ Triple Oxygen Mask, the effects were relatively short-lived – the next day, my skin was no longer as bright and rested looking, whilst my pores seemed to have reverted back to their usual freakishly large and clogged state.

Whilst a professional facial or Bliss’ Triple Oxygen Energising Mask might have this beaten in the long-run, I’d recommend Lush’s Cupcake Mask for the overall experience, which is gorgeous, relaxing and delivers good immediate results – and I’m looking forward to deeply inhaling more of that intense chocolate hit for a while yet!

Check out my review of another great face mask (plus bonus hideous picture of me wearing it!) here

Lush Fresh Ice-Cream Mask in Cupcake, $183 for 115g, Lush Cosmetics

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