HAUL: Makeup from the 'Queen'.

It's going to be a HAUL post today! I haven't had one in the longest time. I'm really trying to cut back from hauling since my MU collection's massive (to me.) and will probably last till my grandchildren have their own grandchildren. Ha! But anyway, a friend, Samantha (Singapore's answer to Legally Blonde. Ahem. You have met her here.), was coming back from the UK, so naturally (Yes, very naturally.), I HAD to ask her to pick up a few items for me.



First up, Accessorize's nail polishes *jumps around*! HOW GORGEOUS ARE THEY!!! I got Shade 35, Pink Spice and Shade 39, Mermaid. The former's a tad out-of-character for me. Okay, it isn't 'a tad'. It's 'VERY'. I have got only one other hot pink nail polish. I painted them on my nails once and removed it immediately. It was very Barbie-doll-ish. Completely not me. But we'll see about this. I have been rather adventurous as of late. Hmm... Some sort of a quarter life crisis, you think? *raises eyebrows*

Accessorize's makeup collection isn't available in Singapore (WHY?!? Accessorize, WHY?!?) and Sam mentioned that the makeup collection wasn't available in the Accessorize stores. She found them at Superdrug, UK's Watsons/ Guardian. Funny, isn't it?



Next up are Barry M's products! I LOVE BARRY M PRODUCTS (I pinky promise that the next paragraph will not have a sentence in caps, right after the first.) Unfortunately, Barry M hasn't landed on our island... Yet (Yes, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that Barry M will soon find its way here.). I would have got their blushers but well, ummm... I'm never going to finish what I have right now (I marvel at my self-control.). So anyway, I got the Nail Paint in 115, Red Black just because I'm into reds right now. Red nails make me feel powerful. Don't ask why. They just do. I feel like I'm some high-powered business woman when my nails are red and so, before any examination periods, you can bet your my life that my nails are red; cherry red, blood red, Christmas red... As long as the nail polish's name says 'red'.

The other item is the Lip Paint in 147, Peachy Pink. I have been lusting over this for the longest time! I do hope that my quest for the perfect peach lips will end with this. M.A.C's Jazzed lipstick didn't quite work for me, though swatches which I googled before I purchased it suggested otherwise (It was a big disappointment for me.).





Last but not least, I got some items from Topshop Makeup's Sandstorm collection! I have no idea if this collection is available in Singapore. My recent destinations have been home, school and secret study spots (Okay, not-so-secret if you stalk my Twitter.). What a sad life, but it's ending soon (I'm counting down. Actually, I have been counting down since the start of school. Ha.)! I got their crayon in Equinox (I really need to stop buying this sort of shade. But this shade stands by itself very prettily. I just colour my eyelids with it, line my lash line with a brown pencil eyeliner, dress my lashes with very black mascara and TADAH! My school look!), eyeshadow mousses in Glint and Tundra and gloss stick in Ablaze (Yes, another peachy colour.).

So yep, that's the end of my very sweet (and umm... Expensive. $95 in total. GLOOM.) UK haul. Thanks Sam for running all over London for me! :D I have to jet now (Like, NOW.) and go do up my report.

Till my next entry,
xoxo!

RAMBLINGS: Grown up much?

From talks to boys, celebrities and telly to jobs, salaries and the possibility of having your very own family... How much we all have grown. But of course, this must have been dead obvious to me, since the number of candles on my cake increases every year. But but aye, Charlene loves to live in her world of rainbows, unicorns and cotton candy.
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I try very hard not to think about the future. As much as I like to hurl expletives at education, the way I see my future... I'll be studying till both legs are in the coffin. But obviously that's not going to happen unless I find a sugar daddy or God decided to rain money on me. Probability of that happening? It's like towards the end of the Normal distribution.

Okay, nevermind if that didn't make any sense. I just had to say something Math-y. Heh. *in judging tones 'GEEK!'*
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But with friends graduating left and right, it's hard to ignore the fact that I am, indeed, entering the workforce soon. I'm blessed in the sense that my family isn't fraught with financial problems. We aren't rich, but we aren't poor either. There isn't any urgency for me to find a job immediately after graduation. I can float for... Well, not forever, definitely (I want to provide for my parents and siblings. Thank you very much.). But for a pretty long time. Thank God that my parents love me to bits (If only you knew what they have dealt with when it comes to me... *multiple eye rolls at myself*) and they will provide for me for as long as they can. But it's because of this that I have turned... Sedentary. Oh gawd. I shudder at that word.
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I came across the diary which I kept when I was in secondary school the other day. And gosh, Was I HEAVILY, and I do mean HEAVILY, influenced by chicklits (To Sam: Haha!)! I dreamed of earning a salary of 40k pounds (Yeah, pounds. I thought of money in pounds then. Get the 'HEAVILY' bit now?), of jetting all over the world and being stressed out, not by work issues, but by love issues. Like if I would ever fall in love with an American guy, who has dark eyes, a deep frown etched across his forehead and a five o'clock shadow (Gawd! If you haven't read Sophie Kinsella's 'Can You Keep A Secret?', please go get the book now! I still laugh at the 'f***ing ovaries' bit. Thank you Sam for introducing this book to me! And if you didn't get the 'HEAVILY' bit a sentence ago, I'm sure you get the picture now.) yada yada.

I probably lost my train of thoughts in that whole giddy chunk of words but the main thing is that I was so much MORE ambitious. And probably tons less frivolous (I used to friggin' read the dictionary.).

I blame 'love', okay? OKAY? Haha. I do really blame 'love' but I'm not saying it with hatred (Oh cool! Oxymoron there!). It was a lesson that I had to learn but I mean, so what? I may have 'lost' myself but I don't have to CONTINUE 'losing' myself. And university may have lost all its glamour for me (Cheating is so rampant and flagrant. I'm disgusted.) and the prospect of getting a first-class honours may have been very mercilessly flung out of the window because of a compulsory module which has absolutely no relation to Statistics (My major.)... But so what? I don't have to resign myself to anything.

Life's all about 'fighting', isn't it?
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But at the same time, I want to 'fight' for something that I want. And not just 'fight' for the sake of 'fighting'. I don't believe that I'm not going to get my chicklit story (Sam, you shouldn't believe it either.). I WILL get what I want in life. I WILL pull that darned rabbit out of the hat. I WILL marry Jack Harper.

Haha. Okay, maybe not the last line. It's REALLY hard to find a Jack Harper. Trust me (LOL.). But yeah, good riddance to Sedentary Charlene! Hello... Umm... Ambitious Charlene?

Okay, it's really not in my nature to be ambitious because I doubt my every move. So umm hello New Charlene? Haha. This is so kiddish. It's so teenager-ish. I'm never ever going to act like my age (Just like this lawyer friend of mine, who is so un-lawyer like. She's going to attend her convocation in pink if she gets first-class honours. Legally Blonde much? But yeah, the lawyer world, or whatever it is called, need more people like her. I have the impression that lawyers are really stressed out, serious people who are tired 24/7. John Grisham's books.) *rolls eyes*.
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I have been studying a little more than what I was doing at the start of the semester (Which was 0 studying actually.). Midterms came back with way better results than I could ever imagine (You should have seen me during the Recess week. I was all ready to burn my notes, throw the ashes in boiling water and gulp the whole thing down in a second.). Thank you God for that. I haven't been a good Christian... No, I haven't even been a Christian since the year started (Because the Church seems a little umm... Yeah. I shall just leave the sentence unfinished.) but yes, I'm going to make a huge effort to be as good a child as I can be.

And yes, once this week blows over (STUPID COMPULSORY COURSE WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH STATISTICS.), I shall morph into a mugger and marry all my books.

And divorce them, come May 19th *jumps around*.
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This entry probably left you with a big question mark (Yeah, a really big one is developing in my head now. My ramblings are really... Ramblings.) but oh man! It does feel good to blog personal stuff again. *grins*

It's in my blood, I guess. I have been blogging since I was 9 (Yes, I'm bragging. My first website was on Expage and Dad proudly brandished it to his friends, even though it just filled with lame, corny jokes *beams*. I know. Dad's cool. PEACE OUT, YO!).

Anyway, a haul post is coming right up! See you in like... 10 minutes! Haha! :D

EVENT: Vichy's Bi-WHITE REVEAL Workshop

During my Recess week, I took a break from the crazy mugging and attended Vichy's Bi-WHITE REVEAL Workshop held at Once Upon A Milkshake. I was especially interested in this workshop because just like many other Asian women, I'm an aspiring Snow White! (:



To kickoff the event, Dr. Jonathan Lee, from Aesthetics & Rejuvenative Medicine, was invited to give us a talk on pigmentation and melanin, the different types of whitening products in the market today and the treatments that are available in Singapore.



With age and excessive sun exposure, melanin, which is responsible for our skin colour, becomes over-produced. This results in uneven skin tone and pigmentation, dashing our dreams of having flawless skin *pulls a face*. The problem is further exacerbated by dead skin, making our complexion dark and dull.

In addition to physical factors, some of the habits that we have cultivated also play a part in sabotaging our skin. They are smoking, the lack of exercising, excessive alcohol consumption and the lack of sleep (Totally school's fault!). Stress, both psychological and physiological, is also a culprit. BIG SIGH.



There are various over-the-counter solutions, with ingredients becoming more superior. But Dr. Jonathan warned us that if we were to encounter any sort of irritation with the products, we should cease usage immediately because skin irritation can actually lead to a worsening of the discoloration. :\



Next, we had Wyman (I didn't manage to get a nice photo of him. He was the one who did the skin analysis for me the other time.) from Vichy to introduce the first derma spot corrector in the market, the Deep Cell Whitening Spot Intervention!

The Deep Cell Whitening Spot Intervention contains 5 times more of LHA and 2 times more of Ceramide White!

Say what?!?

Oops! Pardon me!

LHA is a salicylic derivative that speeds up cell renewal and prevents the accumulation of dead skin cells. Its gentle exfoliation actions removes pigmentation at the skin surface.

Ceramide White is a primary lipid found in the skin layers. It acts as a barrier and helps to retain water in our skin. It is also an effective depigmenter.

This product, 15ml ($59) is available at all Vichy counters. (:





Thereafter, one of the girls from Once Upon A Milkshake taught us how to make their, well, milkshakes! And we each got to make our own cup!



I have been using the Bi-WHITE Reveal skincare range since the event and gosh! Do I notice a difference! Review will be up soon but yes, I do think I'm on my way to becoming Snow White (Now, all I need to do is to look for my 7 dwarfs... And my prince, of course!). Heh.

Thank you Vichy, Pearlin, Eunice and Once Upon A Milkshake for the wonderful event! :DDD
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Here was my outfit for the event!



Topshop's crop top
F21's white lace tank top
Topshop's black jeans





Oh yes! This is my ugly haircut! I put it into a really high ponytail and ended up looking like a kid. Which is good, I suppose. To look young is a blessing, no?