Tag Archives: limited edition

MAC Shimmerfish nail polish review, Alluring Aquatics Collection

mac shimmerfish nail polish

Couldn’t get enough of the a-ma-zing packaging for MAC’s Alluring Aquatics Collection? Yeah, me neither… so I thought I’d bring you another shamelessly covet-worthy post on the collection’s other nail lacquer, MAC Shimmerfish, for you to drool over! [Polish geek side-note: the third lacquer from MAC’s Alluring Aquatics Collection, Neptune, was not released in Hong Kong.]

mac shimmerfish

Shimmerfish is a super shimmery (surprise!) silver with teeny-tiny flecks of light copper also swimming in the mix. It has the same kind of mottled glittery foil finish (a la Chanel Graphite, OPI Warm & Fozzie and Butter London Wallis) that is absolutely my favourite kind of complex molten metallic; in fact, it reminds me of OPI’s Designer De-Better, which was from the same Muppets Collection as Warm & Fozzie – check out my friend Eugenia’s swatches of that here for comparison.

Just like the sun sparking on ocean waves, Shimmerfish totally dazzles when the light hits it – resulting in brightly glistening flashes of silver at your fingertips. But those coppery flecks keep things equally awesome in the shadows too, delivering a coolly complex shade that you just can’t quite put your finger on – is it a silvery bronze… a bronzy silver… a rusty rose-gold… a champagne-taupe… or some equally intriguing new shade that doesn’t even have a name invented for it yet?

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MAC Submerged nail polish review, Alluring Aquatic Collection

mac submerged alluring aquatic

As soon as I saw the amazing packaging for MAC’s Alluring Aquatic Collection – turquoise (squee), metallic (double squee), gorgeous pretend water droplets sprayed onto the casing (stop, seriously, can’t breathe) – I already knew I needed all of it in my life. In fact, I barely even bothered to look at the colours of the make-up itself before snapping each piece up, as every single synapse in me was squealing “BUY, BUY, BUY”.

Thankfully, the colours are all actually very nice, and my top nail polish pick – MAC Submerged – very much leads the flotilla of fabulous!

mac submerged

Submerged is absolutely the kind of stunning colour you would hope to find in a collection inspired by all things seductively sea-like. A deep metallic ocean-blue that flashes brilliant teal and dark indigo-violet in different lighting and angles, it’s what us nail polish folks call a duochrome (or more accurately here, a multichrome) – lacquer geek speak for a polish that shifts colour in a similar way to an oil slick. For Submerged, I’d say the colour shift is a bit brighter and more obvious in the bottle, but it’s still very pretty on the nail too.

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Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer Radiant Pigment highlighter in #13 review

Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer Radiant Pigment 13

Whilst I would love to pretend that every morning I wake up glowing with radiance in the style of a Disney princess, the reality is probably closer to being a member of the Munster family! So for those days where you need a little bit of help to let in the light, may I introduce Giorgio Armani Beauty’s Fluid Sheer Radiant Pigment in #13, from their Spring 2014 Effetto Nudo Collection.

This translucent liquid highlighter is a pretty pearly queen designed to ramp up the radiance – but in a surprisingly subtle and gloriously universal way. However, branding it as just your typical “highlighter” rather undersells it; in addition to streaking it onto your cheek and brow-bones to bring flattering highlights to your face, it’s subtle enough to be blended into your base to give an overall soft glow, or it can even be used as an ever-so-slightly shimmery eye primer too.

giorgio armani fluid sheer radiance pigment

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Hello Kitty mo liu – the cat’s meow!

I was introduced to the term ‘mo liu’ by a few friends on Twitter and rapidly found that it seemed to describe my life!

In English,  mo liu translates to items of frippery, flippant impulse buys that are super-cute but ultimately functionless. I have always been susceptible to pretty things (and indeed, a whole category on here is named thus!) yet in Hong Kong, such mo liu lurks round every street corner, in every market, on the shelves of every shop, supermarket and convenience store. You cannot escape!

Prime offenders are items emblazoned with the likeness of a certain cartoon cat (previously featured on my blog here). And yes, forgive me for I am weak… for I gave into the cute collecting craze again… not once, but two times!

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Lush Jilted Elf shower jelly review

Before the Christmas season is entirely done and dusted, I wanted to share with you one of my favourite festive products from this year – Lush Jilted Elf Shower Jelly!

Showers are usually pretty mundane affairs but, as ever with Lush goodies, shower jellies bring a splash of fun to the bathroom! These are exactly what you’d guess from the name – super-squishy, wonderfully wobbly, jiggle monsters! Whilst the different types of shower jellies come in a rainbow of colours and scents, all feature seaweed gel as one of their main ingredients, which is chock full of natural vitamins and minerals to make your skin and hair feel super-soft. Some people use it as a shampoo or to shave their legs with, and you can even freeze it for future use; however, I just use it a shower gel and it does the job just as brilliantly than a regular body wash… but with a tonne more fun!

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Chanel Coco Blue nail polish review

It’s been far too long without a nail polish review on here for my liking! So what better than some sneaky Chanel action to get back into the swing of things?! May I present to you Chanel’s Coco Blue.

Coco Blue was from the very limited-edition Les Jeans de Chanel Collection, a trio of denim-inspired blue nail polishes released for Vogue’s 2011 Fashion Night Out. After staking out my nearest Chanel cosmetics store for what seemed like weeks on end, I resigned myself to the fact they weren’t going to be released in Hong Kong… until the lovely Carmen told me they had in fact already been released, but only in certain stores! Argh! Of course, by then, they were long sold out… but luckily for me, I had the gorgeous Vicky on the case, who managed to snag me Coco Blue from duty-free on her trip here.

And it really was an extreme case of lucky (very rare where I’m concerned, as you all know by now!), because Coco Blue was the colour I had deemed the fairest of them all! So mega-thanks to Vicky for helping me lay claim to this blissful blue beauty!

Lots of photos have made Coco Blue look like an Easter-egg baby blue, but actually it’s a heavenly shade of super sky blue – and utterly gorgeous with it! It also has a subtle but noticeable pink shimmer running through it, giving it an enchantingly glossy finish whilst still maintaining its creamy dreamy lusciousness. This secret shimmer (and its not a dreaded case of ‘so secret you can’t see it’, as with many Essies!) also prevents it from looking too chalky and harsh, as I have often seen with paler blue nail polishes in the past. It’s the idyllic cloudless summer sky straight from a milkmaid’s dreams.

You may remember me waxing lyrical about Chanel’s Graphite and its magical self-applying formula; well, Coco Blue wasn’t quite as miraculous but it wasn’t far off. Again, my photos show my nails ‘no clean-up required’ so Chanel’s combination of formula and brush shape must be doing something right! The first coat was a little streaky but it evened out beautifully and easily by the second, to leave the divine blue-sky dream you see here!

This really is such a lovely, charming and uplifting colour. It’s a total fairytale blue – the colour of Cinderella’s gown (you shall go to the ball!) but with the pearly shimmer of her glass slippers and the magic touch that only a fairy godmother (Coco herself?!) could bring.

The only major issue? Well, I don’t know about you, but Coco Blue sure don’t look like any pair of jeans I ever owned! It’s waaaaaay too pretty for that!

Looks good with: glass slippers, pumpkin carriages, being home by midnight
Drying time: 5 mins
Coats required: 2
Chips: 5-7 days

Read my review of another Les Jeans de Chanel polish, Blue Boy, here

Chanel Le Vernis Coco Blue, Fall 2011 Fashion Night Out Les Jeans de Chanel Collection

Here Today, Haul Tomorrow

It’s that time again… another EPIC haul post. So here’s what I’ve been buying over the past few months. Non-shopaholics look away now!

I loved the look of the Chanel’s Fall 2011 Illusion D’Ombre Collection, which marks their first foray into cream eyeshadows in nearly ten years (and as we know, I’m currently loving my cream shadows), plus some of their highly-coveted limited-edition sell-out nail polishes. The eye shadows are all kinds of gorgeous – shimmery, lightweight and extremely easy to use – and I picked up Illusoire (a smoky mauve), Epatant (a silvery khaki) and Emerveille (a shimmering peach). I have, wonder of wonders, actually swatched these so you can expect a review soon! I also got the nail lacquer in Graphite and a free sample of eye make-up remover.

These Stila Beach Palettes are the result of ‘which one should I buy… oh, I’ll just buy them all syndrome.’ Which happens to me a lot! They contain four eye shadows and two blushes/highlighters each, they’re super-cute and they were only £10 quid each. What’s not to love?

They’re from Lookfantastic.com, who I’ve already sung the praises of in my previous haul, who have since gone one better – by crowning me the winner of a competition to win a £75 beauty hamper! The spoils of my victory are shown here and I’m most excited about the mini bottle of Moroccan Oil, which I have been dying to try for ages yet never dared take the plunge full-size – and full-price!

My latest beauty discovery is Nars, thanks to the bessie beauty blogger Jenn. I love bright non-neutral colours, and it seems Nars does too! I picked up eyeshadow duos in Noveau Monde, Eurydice and Sugarland, plus a single in Strada, this amazing gold-dusted lavender. My wonderful boyfriend then bought me some goodies from their limited-edition Night Series collection – the Night Series Palette and two nail polishes, Night Flight and Night Rider, which are based on the eyeshadow colours and are seriously STUNNING. As usual, reviews to come!

Illamasqua had a summer sale so I used this as an opportunity to try my first make-up from the brand, which launched in the UK after I left. Service was brilliant – the order was beautifully-packaged, came with a catalogue, arrived by registered delivery and came within a week of ordering! I got two nail polishes – Raindrops (which I’d been lusting after since this post) and Poke, the Liquid Metals Palette, a Loose Pigment in Involve and a Liquid Metal in Stoic, both of which were on sale. Can’t wait to try these as they look all kinds of intensely awesome.

Clinique also have a new range of cream eyeshadows out – the deliciously-named Lid Smoothies. Colours, as ever with Clinique, are un-exciting but the formula and quality is great – I got Bit O’ Honey (a glistening light gold), Cashew Later (a super-versatile neutral) and probably the star of the collection, Born Freesia (a light lilac). I also stocked up on their Anti-Blemish Foaming Cleanser, one of my make-up miracles, and their Derma-White City Block, a great anti-pollution base with a high SPF that I loved from a free sample. Mega-spend with Clinique equalled a pretty awesome bag of freebies too!

I also got my Mum to send me over some stuff from Boots – can you guess which item I might be stocking up on because it’s been discontinued?! Yes, my make-up miracle, the Benefit Get Bent Eyeliner Brush SOB. I also got two of Benefit’s Creaseless Cream Shadows in Skinny Jeans and Birthday Suit, a load of toothbrush heads (which I’ve spared you) and some super-moisturising Lanolips stuff, another brand I’ve been dying to try. I got the Intense Rose Balm For Very Dry Hands & Nails (remember how my hands are falling apart?), Lemonaid Lip Aid, 101 Ointment and their coloured Lip Ointments in Dark Honey, Apple and Rhubarb (my lips are now falling apart too). Lanolips will be launching in HK soon, but as usual for mega-bucks…

After Benefit also discontinued my holy-grail, one-and-only blusher/miracle, Georgia, I’ve been one the hunt for a suitable replacement. And ever since Mac’s Semi-Precious Collection, I’ve been obsessed with baked, marbleised make-up. Enter Laura Geller, a brand which comes with great word-of-mouth Stateside and again, posted over by my Mum via QVC. I got Blush N Brighten blushers in Golden Apricot and Pink Grapefruit (I love that these come with brushes too!) and the Backstage Beauty Kit, which includes a Blush N Brighten Highlighter Duo in Como/Portofino, a Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Rome/Milan and a Lip Lights Lip Gloss in Dewberry. Can’t wait to try these stunners either!

Another Mac haul from their latest Mac Me Over Collection. The Icelandic Cool section was, sadly for my wallet, totally my colours! Again, amazing boyfriend gifted me the Lady Grey Eyeshadow Palette and four Shadesticks, in Tundra, Cakeshop, Heirloom and Street Cool (Butternutty is still to come, thanks to the lovely Vicky!).

I also won a Lush competition to win their Limited Edition John Burgerman Bath Bomb Set – I absolutely love the colourful tin, which is definitely a keeper, and the bath bombs look like sweets! Is this a bad time to admit I don’t actually have a bath?!

What haul post of mine would this be without some nail polish! Zoya’s Smoke & Mirrors Collection is one of my favourite collections in ages – two halves, one with a dusty murky shades (Smoke), the other with glimmering glittering smoky shades (Mirrors), and a ridiculous amount of purples. I picked up Jana, Neeka, Yara and Jem – how could I resist a polish named after Jem & The Holograms, only my favourite cartoon of ALL-TIME! Spot the odd OPI out, Grape… Set… Match!

And finally, the piece de resistance, the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette. Ugh… how GORGEOUS is this?! Thanks to my lovely Mother I’ll leave you with a few pics revelling in its ultra-luxeness… try and keep your drool to yourselves!

McDonalds Hello Kitty Cosplay toys: Here kitty, kitty…

Is it me or were Happy Meal toys never this good in my day? Or just never this good in England?

Well, strictly speaking, these weren’t happy meal toys. In Hong Kong, collecting shit you don’t need has become a fine art and love of Hello Kitty certainly isn’t confined to kiddies. So all you needed to do was spend $18 at McDonalds, then add on $12 to claim a toy of your choice.

These cute kitties fell under the banner of Hello Kitty Cosplay. Just in case you aren’t sad Asian, cosplay is a fancy name for fully-grown adults dressing up at conventions, usually as comic-book or anime characters. I’m not quite sure why, when you could be Sailor Moon or Pikachu you’d want to dress up as such exotic things as “Graduate” or “Lawyer”, but Hello Kitty’s kinda ker-azy like that. The only ones I passed on were the ones dressed as McDonalds employees – I’m not even sure McDonalds employees want to dress as McDonalds employees so why Hello Kitty would want to is beyond me.

I started off only wanting “Showgirl” and “Bride”. Then I thought “London Guard” and “Air Stewardess” were cute as well. And maybe “Police Officer” too. Soon, somehow, without even realising it, I had become infected by the HK mania for collecting crap and ended up getting near enough the whole set. In HK, people collect for collecting’s sake. They’ll spend thousands at Wellcome just to save up enough stickers to claim a set of pots and pans identical to the set they claimed last year. They’ll try and survive on food bought purely from 7-11 for three months in order to amass a whole series of products slapped with the face of a Japanese cartoon character. They’ll beg, harass and attack McDonalds employees just to get the right colour Coca-Cola glass needed to complete their collection – which they won’t use but just keep in boxes and stare lovingly at on their mantelpiece. And they won’t care that for the amount of time, money and sanity wasted on doing this, they could have just got a cheaper pot and pan set/toy/glass from Ikea. But when you’re in Rome…

You gotta admire McDonalds’ marketing tack as well. These Hello Kitties were drip-fed to the hungry public like jelly babies waggled in front of toddlers’ noses for finishing off their greens. They appeared in weekly batches and you could only get two at a time, meaning you had to go twice a week for three weeks if you wanted to claim all 12. Another one was only available if you ordered a delivery and another three were only available between 9pm-4am with different ones each week. I missed out on one of these ‘after dark’ ones and my poor boyfriend never heard the end of it. You could bypass the whole collection mania by purchasing a box set (getting a special Hello Kitty and apparently “saving” $200 – except you weren’t saving, you just weren’t getting any food) – but where’s the fun in that?! I say ‘Where’s the fun?’; I mean, I was starting to have dreams about my desired Hello Kitty being sold out and knew I needed to get a life.

Luckily for me, my boyfriend is a McDonalds addict, with Coca-Cola flowing through his veins and French Fries propping up his organs – but even he was beginning to tire of a diet exclusively from the golden arches. I was worried he would explode, only for a shower of McNuggets to pop out. This was around the time of Shake Shake Fries and we joked that literally cross-eyed Hip Hop Hello Kitty had OD-ed on too much MSG-infused Hot n’ Spicy Shake Shake stuff. For a while, it looked like my boyfriend might follow suit.

My boyfriend at the end of the month

But anyway, it’s all over now, I got my Hello Kitties and don’t they look cute?! So now I keep them in their boxes and stare lovingly at them sitting on the mantelpiece. This is probably more proof of my burgeoning HK identity than the 3 stars on my ID card.

And if anyone has a “Pajamas” Hello Kitty going for a good price, do let me know 😉

Check out my post on some more (yes, more!!) McDonalds Hello Kitty toys here

I ♥ Benefit – We Are 5 gift set

A shopaholic and her money are never more quickly parted than when the words ‘limited edition’ and ‘exclusive’ appear in press releases. So kudos to Benefit for managing to score on both fronts with their latest gift set, celebrating their fifth birthday of being sold in the fragrant harbour.

Limited to 3000 sets, exclusive to Hong Kong only, the We Are Five gift set includes five Benefit favourites, specially-packaged to look like the HK skyline. Adorable, cute, classy – and a bit of a steal too, retailing for $990 (the retail value of the products bought individually is $1430).

The products are all tried-and-tested bestsellers, with only the inclusion of Woman Seeking Toner raising a few perfectly-arched eyebrows. I thought we’d long ago agreed toners were obsolete in our beauty routines… oh well, maybe it’s a Hong Kong thing. The other products are That Girl Primer, which I have been desperate to switch to after a long and not entirely happy experience with Make Up Forever’s HD seaweed green primer; PosieTint, the petal-pink version of cult cheek-and-lip stain Benetint; the ever-popular Dandelion Blusher and Dr. Feelgood, a sort-of magic balm that I’ve been looking for an excuse to afford ever since a Benefit beautician showed me its many virtues a few years back.

The fact that these cosmetics have been put in pretty limited-edition packaging in a pretty limited-edition box has given rise to a new dilemma that I usually only face with my Collector Edition Barbies – to de-box or not to de-box? Of course, I must de-box (no, I was never contemplating just putting it on a shelf and stroking it lovingly on occasion) but it is killing me a little on the inside. Expect full reviews at a later date!