RAMBLINGS: My fellow interns.

In-between my hacking, blowing of nose and slightly raging fever, Sydney almost feels like it didn't happen at all.

This time, last week, I was lounging on the bed, watching MasterChef or The Voice with the guys. YW would make some really random and strange comment, to which KM would always reply to, though with slight 'annoyance'. And I would be sitting there laughing till my sides ache.

I imagine that that is what it is like to have two older brothers.



Thank you guys for making Sydney so awesome! :D

EVENT: Nip + Fab's Official Press Launch

Nip + Fab's official press launch was held in late June and I was only too thrilled to be included in an exclusive preview of this celeb-fave cult brand! Thanks Charmaine for the invitation! :D

Nip + Fab is the child of beauty guru Maria Hatzistefanis. She is also the mother of the premium cult beauty brand, Rodial (Nip + Fab is dubbed the sassy, younger sister!). Educated in New York and Europe, Maria pursued a career in beauty journalism. Somewhere in-between articles, she saw the potential of creating beauty ranges that would be alternatives to plastic surgery.



Bust Fix (100ml, $29.90) enhances the appearance of your cleavage with a formula containing CellActive-FORM. It is 'a plant-based complex of active ingredients that supports the natural process of lipid deposition, lending fullness to the bust, it will reshape the contours the of the cleavage area and optimally accentuate the feminine features. Other active ingredients like mangosteen and essential cell-boost factor reshape, sculpt and smooth for an all-round firmer bust!'

The fix takes the form of a light serum which plumps, smooths and firms the skin round the bust by improving the elasticity and firmness!



Tummy Fix (100ml, $29.90) is a daily ab toner that helps to lighten, tone and smooth the tummy area with AmaraShape. AmaraShape works magic with its fat burning actives to refine contours on the waist, thighs, buttocks and hips! Caffeine and synephrine are also present to 'activate the breaking down of lipids in fat cells'.

A flat tummy is like a dream that never comes true for me. So if the Tummy Fix can, well, fix that... You can be sure that my room will be chock-full of Nip + Fab's products in no time!



Dry Hand Fix (75ml, $15.90) brightens and moisturizes your hands at the same time! Formulated with Aquaxyl, the fix provides hydration round the clock! It also contains Amino Acids which help to brighten and revitalize your skin. Small, handy and jam-packed with a blend of natural oils, I'm sure this is going attain PR status in my bag. :D



Dry Leg Fix (100ml, $15.90) smooths your legs instantly. The intensive balm banishes dry and flaky skin with Aquaxyl, 'an innovative moisturizing and restructuring hydraconcept'. It 'improves the water reserves in the skin, limit water loss and visibly improve the surface of the skin'! It also contains ingredients like shea butter for hydration and the restoration of elasticity and glycerin to soften and hydrate!



And here's a sneak preview of Nip + Fab's products for the face, which may land on our shores at the end of the year! Fingers crossed! :D



Nip + Fab is exclusively available at our dear ol' Watsons. :D Do like the Facebook page here and follow the brand on Twitter here for the latest updates! More information on the products and promotions can be found on Nip + Fab's brand new website just for us. So click away and get body fabulous! :D

LOOKBOOK: Floral Your Way!

A title that is totally befitting for one of O.P.I's nail polishes. It would be a nail polish full of intricate flower glitters! Definitely a sellout.:D

Anyway, this skirt is from LilyPirates and it is my first maxi skirt! I thought it would be difficult to pull it off because I'm of average height but it doesn't look so bad... Does it?

The colours are a tad duller than I expected but nevertheless, still cheery. And I know I have got a good piece when Mum wants to wear it too. :D

REVIEW: Etude House's June Pink Box

Hey everyone! Many apologies for the lack of posts for the past weeks. I was down in Sydney for the final 2 weeks of my internship. And now that I'm done with it, I'm back to working almost full-time (I still have school, aye.) on the blog. (: Many hugs for sticking around! :D

Anyway, here's a way overdue post on Etude House's June Pink Box and some of the items I received!



The Skin Malgem Kit houses travel-sized bottles of Exfoliation Toner to smooth the skin, Deep Moisture Freshener for deep hydration, Moisturizing Emulsion and 3 pieces of Facial Cotton Pads. Malgem means cleanliness, clarity and purity in Korean and this kit wants to do all that to your skin!

Milk Talk in Strawberry Milk is a body wash that moisturizes as you shower! This is going to be so handy in the weeks to come as my skin's peeling from Sydney's winter! (:



And just recently, Etude House launched the Precious Mineral Sun BB Cream SPF50+/PA+++ and Precious Mineral Sun BB Pact SPF 50+/PA+++! This duo is formulated with Pearl Mineral Powder. It promises a flawless complexion under the insanely hot sun and protects you from the harmful rays at the same time!

I'll be talking more about this later. Read on! (:



My Darling Tint now comes in neon colours and I was given 01 Neon Orange and 02 Neon Pink. This tint can be used on both the cheeks and lips and I think it's the new generation of the Fresh Cherry Tint (I'm not too sure about this this though...).

Like most tints, I find them a little drying on the lips so a good coat of lip balm is recommended before application! This also helps to prevent the tint from settling into the fine lines of your lips.



Sweet Nail Art Sticker is the new generation of nail polishes. As most of you know, these are basically stick-ons for the nails. They are a little difficult to apply on your own. But just like nail polishes, practice makes perfect! And you don't need to deal with awful alcohol smells, smudges and waiting time that never seems to end!

The one on the left is Fashion Stripe and the right, Frill Flower. (:



And last but not least, I also received Sweet Hair Ties and a Sandal-Shaped Foot Buffer! Etude House sure knows how to tug at a girl's heart strings!



Now, a little more about the Precious Mineral Sun BB duo! For the cream, there are two ways of application. You can either just squeeze the tube and get the cream into the sponge or remove the cap and dispense the cream.



I find the first way a little difficult to work with as a lot of the cream pools at the bottom of the sponge. :\ So what I do is to rip off the cap, squeeze the cream onto my hands and then, use the sponge to apply it.

Using the sponge to apply the cream gives a smoother and more flawless coverage as compared with patting the cream into your skin. The only gripe I have is that the sponge doesn't clean itself! Haha! Dried up cream on sponge is a breeding ground for bacteria so don't be lazy (This is really directed to me! Heh.)!



My cream is in the shade Natural Beige W13 and it oxidizes a little on me. Do test it out first before deciding on your colour. I paired the look with Etude House'sLovely Cookie Blusher in #5 Apricot Pudding and My Darling Tint in 01 Neon Orange.

This is my first time rocking an orange look. I always thought orange would look awful on yellow undertones but aye, it's a pretty fun look! And that is what Etude House is all about; having fun with your makeup! :D



Alrighty, that's all from me! I'm going to chill the night with some shows as I recover from my fever and bad throat. Swear these are withdrawal symptoms from Sydney! Haha. Have a fab week ahead! :D

TRAVEL: Down Under!

Hey guys! Just thought I should throw it out there that I'm currently in winter land because not everyone follows my Twitter (It's good that you don't. I whine way too much.).

Sydney has been nothing but lovely! Christ. You haven't got the foggiest idea about the magnitude of my love for the weather! Even when my teeth are shattering, goosebumps dot my skin and my face is peeling, I. Friggin'. Love. The. Weather.

Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do in the beauty department. Most of the brands are available back on our sunny island. I did find different brands of paw paw ointment (Watsons just brought them in btw!), sea salt spray, Babyliss' Argan Oil... And oh! I saw a NARS counter for the very first time in my life!

I'm gonna hit the sack soon because winter makes me incredibly sleepy. Not sure if it's a universal thing but oh wells! Till the next time. xx

RAMBLINGS: Sydney love.

12am tonight marks the start of my 6th day in Sydney. I don't really quite know what to make out of it yet. Perhaps when I'm rocking my blue chair in Singapore, I'll come to a definite conclusion. Till then, I'll take everything as they come and swim around incomplete endings that meander up and down the spectrum of emotions.
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One thing which annoys me greatly is that I can't quite catch their accent. So I'm always going "Umm, huh?" which elicits a robotic response and I'm like "Christ. I work hard on my English!".
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And the other thing which annoys me even more is that I have barely bought any beauty products. It is really unbecoming of a beauty blogger but fact: Australia's makeup is A LOT more expensive than Singapore's. So from now on, I shall stop complaining about how marked up prices are. BUT I'll still stick to my online sprees.
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If there's one thing that Sydney taught me, it's how much I love my boyfriend. Every moment, I find myself wishing he was here so that we could share it together.

EVENT: An Evening with Hugo Boss

On June 21st, Fel and I made our way to Lucky 13 at TripleOne Somerset to spend an evening with Hugo Boss! I was really psyched about it and it wasn't just because it was my first 'male beauty' event. But one thing that you need to know about me is that I LOVE fragrances for males!

Dad practically bathes in his perfumes so for as long as I can remember, I have always woken up to a house of masculine muskiness and I. LOVE. IT. And I love it so much that when I was 14, I sprayed on Dad's perfume every single day. Thankfully, none of my friends were into perfumes then. They didn't bother. Or maybe they were too polite to comment. Heh.



The event kicked off with a presentation and an introduction to the brand. Hugo Boss started out as a clothing store in Metzingen, Germany in 1924 by Hugo Boss. Since then, the brand has grown into 364 retail stores with 1,000 stores and shops owned by franchisees in 110 countries to become the fashion powerhouse that it is today. He has also branched into fragrances, amongst others.



Hugo Boss has 3 lines of fragrances, one of which is BOSS BLACK, or otherwise known as BOSS BOTTLED. Described concisely with just 3 nouns; Superior, Premium and Contemporary, this is Hugo Boss's most sought-after!

The BOSS man is described as a man who 'is primed to succeed - competitive, driven and ambitious'. BOSS BOTTLED and BOSS BOTTLED. NIGHT. take him from the day to the night and now, he has BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. to help him focus on his ballgame and get the ball into the hoop.



As 'success is not attained by chance' for him, 'but through considered mental preparation', BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. is a composition of citrus notes over a masculine woody base. It is a bottle of high-tech energy for the perfect mental preparation to meet any sort of challenge.

And no one speaks this better than Formula One World Champion Jenson Button! The single-seater auto racing is more of a mental race than anything else and add on Jenson's long-term collaboration with the brand through the McLaren team... It was only natural that Jenson was made one of the BOSS man!



After the small presentation, we had some food and then, it was time to get CHEMICAL! We got a chance to concoct our very own fragrance!



Each table was given a rack of test tubes filled with various top, middle and base notes! Cautiously dispensing each drop and muttering its number sure brought back (fond?) memories of hours spent in the school's Chemistry laboratories!

I liked mine with lots of grapefruit in it! It was then followed by lavender and pink pepper!



The scents of Hugo Boss!

And here's a little on the notes of BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT.

TOP NOTES – SHARPENING THE SENSES
The immediate hit of the sharp citrus top notes of grapefruit, yuzu zest and pink peppercorn heightens the senses helping increase the mind and body reflexes.

HEART NOTES – THE POWER OF MIND
Lavender and cardamom, combined with aldehydic mist are the driving force behind the fragrance, empowering the mind with its motivating, high–tech metallic properties.

BASE NOTES – PHYSICAL ENDURANCE
The overt masculinity and staying power of vetyver, tonka bean and patchouli in the base note ensures an unwavering and persistent path to success.



After the event ended, we each had a turn at a console driving simulator! It was really fun and probably the only time that I got to drive. And I will never ever learn driving, for the sake of others. Heh.

Truly a fun night with the BOSS Fragrances team! Thank you Fidah, Romona and Hugo Boss for the invitation! :D



Here's the line-up for BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT.

BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. EAU DE TOILETTE (30ml) - $68.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. EAU DE TOILETTE (50ml) - $93.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. EAU DE TOILETTE (100ml) - $122.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. AFTER-SHAVE LOTION (100ml) - $100.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. SHOWER GEL (150ml) - $37.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. DEO SPRAY (150ml) - $ 37.00
BOSS BOTTLED. SPORT. DEO STICK (75ml) - $ 37.00

GIVEAWAY: Cure Natural Aqua Gel's 10th Anniversary! (Result)

Big hugs to all who joined this giveaway! I took entries from both Sunbathing Muffins and Love, Charlene Judith. And here are the results... *drum roll please*



Congrats, Wan Yu! I'll be contacting you soon for your details. :D

Once again, thanks everyone for joining! There are more giveaways to come so stay tuned!

REVIEW: Heroine Make's Long & Curl Mascara

At the Heroine Make's Princess Ball Event (Read about the event here!), I received her famous Long & Curl Mascara. This mascara took top spot as the No. 1 Mascara in @cosme's 2009 and 2010 Best Cosme Awards!

As mentioned before, this mascara is made up of an advances polymer coating. It contains Super Long Up Fibre, which is 1.5 times longer than the old version. Wrapping itself closely to every lash from the root to the tip, it gives a lengthening effect of up to 120% more. Without clumping!

The polymer is also able to hold the curl of your lashes and the mascara is repels tears, perspiration, water and sebum!



The wand sports a small curved brush and it was designed as so so that it fits the natural curves of our eyes. This ensures that the bristles get to every single lash.

Place the brush at the base of your lashes and swoop upwards! Apply multiple coats to up the density of your lashes. (:



Above are the photos of my lashes taken at the end of the day. I skip the eyelash curler as there is a natural lift to my lashes.

I was pleasantly surprised when I made the first swoop of the mascara on my lashes. My lashes were painted a deep, glossy black and were distinctly longer and separated. As the brush head is small, I could get the tiny lashes at the ends of my eyes easily.

Two more coats of the mascara saw slight clumping. And a forth one meant slightly more but it wasn't unsightly. It actually gave the illusion of denser, more luscious lashes! In other words, more volume and I really love the mascara quite a bit! Applying more coats did not weigh down my lashes too. (:

The mascara lasted the entire day (About 12 hours.) and did not smudge at all. There were no dark shadows below my eyes at the end of the day.

The only gripe I have is that, like most Japanese mascaras, this is really a pain in the neck to remove. It takes forever to clean it off and even then, there will still be some residue left. I'm really afraid that I'm causing too much stress to my lashes and this is the reason why I avoid Japanese mascaras in general. :\

Heroine Make has a Mascara Remover that is made of lash-conditioning ingredients like panax ginseng, root extract, royal jelly extract, camellia japonica, seed oil and rosa canina fruit oil. It is meant for the most stubborn mascaras. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but Eliza was telling me how awesome it was at the event. Perhaps, I would stop shying away from Japanese mascaras once I have tried it! (:

EVENT: Heroine Make's Princess Ball Event

On the last Saturday of May, I attended Heroine Make's Princess Ball Event at Mandom Corporation's office in Great World City.

I haven't really explored Asian brands where makeup is concerned and I have heard great things about Heroine Make so I was really eager for it! Thank you Sharm for the invitation! (:



We were told to attend the ball without any makeup on and when we got there, measurements of our eyes were taken! We were going to see just how much Heroine Make can do to our eyes.

I love it when there are these little projects organized for us during events! They make things a lot more interesting. (:




We were each given a princess-y bracelet and a lovely heart-shaped box of cakes!



For those who aren't acquainted with the brand, Heroine Make is one of Japan's leading drugstore brands. She is a child of Isehan Group, a cosmetic manufacturer which was founded in 1825! This makes the Isehan Group one of the very first cosmetic brands in Japan!

The Group first started out selling Beni, which is the very first version of lipsticks. Beni takes the form of a small pot and the red stain is applied with a lip brush. It can still be found in Japan today but it retails for a whopping price of 200 bucks! Eeps! :\ I would love to own one though... Because it's like one of the roots of makeup. And you know how I love history (Only where beauty is concerned!).



Anyway, back to Heroine Make. The brand believes that 'every woman is the leading lady in her own life story and should totally look the part'. This simply means that the brand wants to offer flawless eye makeup to the passionate, spontaneous and well-heeled women in us.



Heroine Make made it very quickly to the top of every lady's to-buy list when her mascara, the Long & Curl Mascara was voted the No. 1 Mascara in @cosme's 2009 and 2010 Best Cosme Awards!

And you know you can't go wrong with @cosme. Anything that's on @cosme... Just get it already! Haha.



The Long & Curl Mascara contains a curl-set polymer that is 'light, fine and tight'. The fibres are 1.5 times longer, creating a greater lengthening effect of 120%. It also helps keep the curl of your lashes after using a lash curler.

The mascara also gives you complete control of your look. If you want a natural look, go with one or two coats. For a more dramatic look, be brave and use multiple coats and you will realize that you get 'maximum drama with zero flaking'!



Besides the aforementioned mascara, Heroine Make also has one that creates volume (Of course!), the Volume & Curl Mascara. This offers 130% more volume with its polymer wax formula. It also contains a feather-weight volume fit powder that prevents lashes from clumping together.



And last but not least, the newest addition to the family is the Impact Frame & Curl Mascara! This mascara marries the best of the above 2 mascaras to give you stunning, gorgeous, drool-worthy lashes!

The mascara is a concoction of 3 waxes; the extension wax for more length, the hyper volume wax which volumizes by a 130% and the joint wax which marries the first 2!

Above is a chart that helps you determine which wand you should get! (:




After the presentation, we started dolling up our eyes, making them big, sparkly and Anime-like! I used the Volume & Curl Mascara since my lashes are all Asian and pretty sparse.



And here's my table! The ever-smiling Eliza who just got herself Kate Spade-d and Chanel-ed and dear Yvette!



Last but not least, here's a shot of me posing with Heroine Make's ambassadors!

Heroine Make can be found at major Watsons, Guardian, Sasa, Nishino and Meidi-ya outlets. Do like her Facebook page here to get the latest updates! (:

Thank you Sharm, Elfaine and Heroine Make for a wonderful noon spent! I have been trying out the Long & Curl Mascara and will be reviewing it this week. Stay tuned! (: