Tag Archives: make-up

Shu Uemura Dolly Red Lucid Rouge Unlimited Lipstick review

Posted on February 10, 2014 | Leave a comment

Since my review of Shu Uemura’s Baby Flame lipstick got such a lovely response – my #FOTD selfie had over 40 likes on Instagram… you guys like me more than cookies! (Well pictures of cookies… but I’ll take it) – I decided it was high time I showed you another beauty from Shu Uemura’s Sweet Red Collection.

Front: Dolly Red Lucid; Back, left to right: Mon Shu Red, Baby Flame, Lacquer Red

The Dolly Red Lucid Rouge Unlimited Lipstick is the lightest shade of the bunch; however, it’s actually not much of a red at all! Instead, it’s a sweet pink-leaning coral that’s much softer than the comparably orange-leaning colour pop of Baby Flame. If Baby Flame was the bright and bubbly geranium in the Sweet Red bouquet, then Dolly Red is the romantic carnation playing peekaboo and fluttering her eyelashes coyly at the back!

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The best hand creams ever: Physiogel A1 Cream, Cetaphil Intensive Moisturising Cream & Herbacin Wuta Kamille Glycerine Hand Cream

Posted on February 4, 2014 | 9 comments

Think you have dry hands?! Think again! I’ll show you some PROPER dry hands…

Actually, I won’t. My hands had reached such Sahara states of dryness that frankly, they were not fit for public viewing. Upon catching sight of my shedding digits, people would “ewww” entirely unprompted. There was talk of steroid cream. I genuinely had no fingerprints left.

[If you think I’m exaggerating for comic effect, Hong Kong ID Cards use fingerprint recognition machines at immigration; thanks to my fingers being a lovely combination of burn-victim raw red patches and papery dry cracks and ridges, my fingerprints no longer registered. So there!]

My beloved Sebamed Hand & Nail Repair Cream had halted further deterioration but didn’t seem able to actually rescue my skin. I had begun to make peace with the fact that I would be a reasonably preserved twentysomething with the hands of an ancient medieval peasant. But thankfully (!), I had to go to the doctor’s with yet another bout of gastroenteritis (welcome to Hong Kong!) and thought I’d get the good doc’s verdict on my hands whilst I was at it.

Lo and behold, he recommended me a couple of amazing hand creams that performed minor miracles. So I thought I’d spare you the $300 consultation fee and share my three handcare saviours: Physiogel A1 Cream, Cetaphil Intensive Moisturising Cream and Herbacin Wuta Kamille Glycerine Hand Cream.

These hand creams aren’t sexy. They don’t smell delicious, or feel luxurious, or look dressing table worthy. But they bloody hell do the job!

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Posted in Beauty

Tagged Beauty, best hand creams, best hand lotions, Cetaphil, Cetaphil Intensive Moisturising Cream, cosmetics, dry hands, favourites, hand cream, hand lotion, Herbacin, Herbacin Wuta Kamille Glycerin Hand Cream, make-up, make-up miracles, Physiogel, Physiogel A1 Cream, review, skincare, where to buy Cetaphil in Hong Kong, where to buy Herbacin in Hong Kong, where to buy Physiogel in Hong Kong

Innisfree Hand Cream Collection review – Green Tea Pure Gel Hand Cream, Tangerine Blossom Perfumed Hand Lotion & Canola Honey Hand Butter

Posted on November 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

This is one review I never thought I’d get round to writing.

I have long had to make peace with the fact I’ll never manage to blog about every single piece of make-up I want to; however, after trying the Innisfree Hand Cream Collection, I was so pleasantly surprised that I felt the need to share the good news with you all!

Innisfree is a Korean beauty brand that opened its first stores in Hong Kong (in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok) earlier this year. Unlike other Korean cosmetics brands like Etude House and Tony Moly that concentrate on the cutesier side of beauty, Innisfree has a much fresher, cleaner feel – they’re all about natural pure ingredients found on the Korean volcanic island of Jeju (a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, doncha’know). Forget hand creams shaped like penguins or make-up ranges themed around princesses – Innisfree’s packaging is simple, chic and eco-friendly; both the store and its products give me a Body Shop vibe but with an Asian twist.

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Interview with Charlotte Knight, founder of Ciate

Posted on October 28, 2013 | 3 comments

As part of my day job as Editor for a lifestyle website, I often get the opportunity to interview people – however, I’m not quite Ryan Seacrest yet so half the time, I don’t even know who half these people are! However, when the email came asking if I wanted to interview Charlotte Knight, the founder of Ciaté who was in town for Lane Crawford’s Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, I jumped at the chance!

I found Charlotte really likeable, fun and down-to-earth – and I loved how heavily involved in Ciaté she still is. I could really tell how passionate she is about nails, which as a customer, is something I really value in a brand. Since I put myself through the hell of listening to my voice over and over again to transcribe our 30-minute chat, I thought I might as well stick up the whole interview on here for all you fellow polishaholics! Enjoy!

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3 Comments

Posted in Beauty, Random

Tagged Beauty, Caviar Manicure, celebrity interview, Chalkboard Nail Kit, Charlotte Knight, Ciaté, Ciaté Hong Kong, Ciaté nail polish Hong Kong, Corrupted Neon Manicure, cosmetics, Feather Manicure, founder of Ciaté, interview, make-up, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, profile, where to buy Ciaté in Hong Kong, WOW kits

Shu Uemura Baby Flame Rouge Unlimited lipstick review

Posted on September 23, 2013 | 6 comments

I was once told by a commenter online that Asian girls shouldn’t wear red lips – and my reply, being the spiteful so-and-so I am, was that people telling me I shouldn’t wear it only made me wear it even more! So let me practice what I preach by showing you Shu Uemura’s Baby Flame Rouge Unlimited Lipstick, from their new Sweet Red Collection.

Left to right: Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks in Dolly Red, Laquer Red, Mon Shu Red, Baby Flame

The Sweet Red Collection comprises six varying shades of… yes, how did you guess… red lippie! Red lipstick should be a weapon in every woman’s make-up arsenal, but the nice thing about Shu’s shades here are that they’re good entry level reds – they all have a sweet translucent shine to them rather than a strong matte look, and amongst the six, there should be a shade for everyone.

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6 Comments

Posted in Beauty

Tagged Baby Flame, Baby Flame vs Mon Shu Red, best red lipsticks, coral, cosmetics, FOTD, lipstick, make-up, Mon Shu Red comparison, red lipstick, review, Rouge Unlimited, Rouge Unlimited Lipstick, Shu, Shu Uemura, swatch, Sweet Red Collection

Etude House Mint Choco Chip nail polish review

Posted on September 16, 2013 | 4 comments

It seems my love of desserts is starting to spill over into my love of nail polish… nearly every polish I wear these days reminds me of something deliciously edible! So after the blue strawberry slushie of pa AA162, the choc mint milkshake of Deborah Lippmann’s Rockin’ Robin and the cupcake-inspired Nail’s Inc Sprinkles Collection, it’s time for a set of polishes inspired by ice-creams – Etude House’s Sweet Recipe Collection.

Etude House is a Korean cosmetics brand famous for cutesy girlie designs and playful fun packaging – and their adorable ice-cream cone nail polish bottles have got to be some of their best work yet! The first one I have to show you is probably my favourite of the bunch, Mint Choco Chip… and yes, how did you guess, it involves yet another variant on all things turquoise!

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Posted in Beauty, Pretty Things

Tagged cosmetics, Etude House, Etude House ice cream nail polish, glitter, ice-cream nail polish, Korean cosmetics, Korean make-up, make-up, Mint Choco Chip, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, photo, Pretty Things, review, swatch, Sweet Recipe Collection, turquoise, where to buy Etude House in Hong Kong

Chanel Bel Argus nail polish review

Posted on July 12, 2013 | 6 comments

Nail polishes often make me feel like I have butterflies in my tummy (hint: they usually involve either turquoise or glitter!)… but here’s one that takes things to a more literal level!

Chanel’s Bel Argus nail polish is from their Summer 2013 L’Ete De Papillon De Chanel Collection – and like Le Vernis Azure before it, it’s named after a type of butterfly. Unlike Azure, Chanel has actually got the colour right this time though!

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6 Comments

Posted in Beauty

Tagged Beauty, Bel Argus, blue, Chanel, Chanel Bel Argus Le Vernis, cosmetics, duochrome, L'Ete Papillon de Chanel, make-up, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, photos, review, Summer 2013, swatches

Chanel Azure nail polish review

Posted on July 8, 2013 | 3 comments

I already wrote about Chanel’s Stylo Eyeshadows from their L’Ete Papillon de Chanel Summer 2013 Collection – but c’mon, do you really think the range could have passed me by without picking up a polish or two?!

First on my nail polish hit list – obviously, it’s turquoise – was Chanel Azure.

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3 Comments

Posted in Beauty

Tagged Azure, Beauty, Chanel, Chanel Azure Le Vernis, cosmetics, duochrome, L'Ete Papillon de Chanel, make-up, metallic, nail lacquer, nail polish, nail varnish, photos, review, Summer 2013, swatch, turquoise

Penhaligon’s Fragrance Profiling – a truly scent-sational experience!

Posted on June 10, 2013 | 3 comments

For me, scent is the most evocative of all our senses. It’s amazing how one smell can instantly make certain memories flood back, remind you of a certain something or someone, or make you feel a certain way with just one waft of a fragrance.

For that reason, perfume fascinates me. How do you bottle an emotion? How do you create that intoxicating mix of ingredients that somehow manages to speak to so many different people? And is there a perfect perfume match out there for everyone?

Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw it all in and become a perfumer just yet! But for those reasons, I was incredibly excited to be invited for a Fragrance Profiling Experience at Penhaligon’s Hong Kong.

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3 Comments

Posted in Beauty, Hong Kong, Pretty Things

Tagged artisanal perfume Hong Kong, Beauty, best perfumes Hong Kong, cosmetics, fragrance dos and don't, Fragrance Profiling, fragrances, Harbour City, IFC mall, luxury perfume Hong Kong, make-up, packaging, Penhaligon's, Penhaligon's Artemisia, Penhaligon's Eau Sans Pareil, Penhaligon's Fragrance Profiling, Penhaligon's Gardenia, Penhaligon's HK, Penhaligon's Hong Kong, Penhaligon's stores Hong Kong, perfume dos and don't, perfume explained, perfume tips, perfumes, pop-up shop, pop-up store, Pretty Things, review, scents, where to apply fragrance, where to apply perfume, where to buy Penhaligon's Hong Kong, where to buy perfume Hong Kong

Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows in Jade Shore & Blue Bay review

Posted on May 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

“Summer summer summer summertiiime…”

Come on, you’re singing along already aren’t you?!

Apart from ice cream, Wimbledon and Pimms o’ clock, summer marks the season where colour comes out to play – and even the most traditional make-up companies are happy to join in the fun! Forget boring beiges or sleep-inducing smoky eyes, it’s all about COLOUR, and Chanel’s L’Ete Papillon de Chanel is definitely one of my fave collections for Summer 2013.

As you may have gathered from my love of Clinique’s Chubby Sticks and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eye Pencils, I am all about make-up in stick form. It’s just so EASY. And I am really really lazy. So the items calling my name loudest from L’Ete Papillon de Chanel were their limited edition Stylo Eyeshadows, a brand new product for Chanel that features sticks of creamy eyeshadow conveniently located in a sleek black twist-up pen applicator.

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