Silky Girl Funky Eyelights Pencil

The last time I tried a pencil eyeliner was almost a decade ago. The experience put me off pencil liners for good as it was messy with powder fallout. To seal it off, within a couple of hours, the smudge was so bad that I looked like a panda with punched eyes.

Only in recent months after seeing smudge-proof versions in candy colours, did I contemplate revisiting pencil eyeliners. So on a whim, I bought one from Silky Girl since it was on discount at Watson’s. It was so cheap that I thought I could just throw it away with no heartache if it disappoints again.

I had my first opportunity to use my new Silky Girl Funky Eyelights Pencil in Metallic Bronze last Saturday. It was on smoothly enough without tugging although I did not use an eye primer. The colour was too sheer with just one application so I went over twice till I liked what I saw. But I wager one application will be fine for daily light make-up. There was no smudge even after four hours but for all its staying power, it was easily removed with eye makeup remover at the end of the day.

I like that application is such a breeze and it being affordable adds to the overall positive experience. The other colour I was eyeing was the Olive Green one, so now I may just go get it.

Skin79 Prestige Diamond BB Cream

A slew of Blemish Base (or BB in short) creams has hit the market since a few years ago with many touting it as a wonder must-have beauty product. It was originally developed for post-laser/surgery skin and so it supposedly has inherent gentle healing properties while providing light-medium skin coverage. Most BB creams also contain a sunscreen (both UVA and UVB) and some other properties like whitening or anti-aging.

I have been slow in getting onto the bandwagon because I tend not to have a healthy image of most Korean beauty products. Nothing proven, just a personal biasness.

But just recently since I was on the look-out for a sheer liquid foundation, I decided to give BB cream a try. After trawling CozyCot for reviews on the heaps of BB creams, I bought a sample each of Skin79 Prestige Diamond BB Cream and Dr Jart+ Detox Healing Black Label BB Cream.

Over the weekend, I tried the Skin79 Prestige Diamond BB Cream and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. I dabbed 2 dots each on my forehead and each cheek, 1 dot each on my nose and chin. It glided on very smoothly with a texture that is neither too thick and sticky nor too watery and diluted. It was a very close match to my skin tone with no visible differentiation in tone at the jaw-line even with only minimal blending done. I lightly dusted over with compact powder, and immediately liked how I looked in the mirror.

While I would not use it solely for skincare, it is a convenient all-in-one product that shaves minutes off the makeup routine.

Outbreak on my face

I am in dire need of recommendations for a good value-for-money facial cleanser.

The current one that sits on my vanity top is Avene’s Gentle Gel Cleanser and I have not been satisfied with its performance on my skin. The bottle proclaims it suitable for normal to combination sensitive skin but it has been giving me acne breakouts. My skin is quite resilient to most products and I seldom get acne so if this cleanser has this effect on me, I cannot imagine what it will do for those with ultra-sensitive skin.

I was told that for maximum benefit, one should not stick loyally to one facial product for too long but switch after a season. So since my teenage years, I have been trying a succession of brands ranging from salon brands and the more expensive ones like Clinique and Clarins, to the cheaper over-the-counter pharmacy types like Biore and Neutrogena. Effectiveness and satisfaction varies from brand to brand and product to product.

Being impartial to established brands, I am just as game to try other cheaper brands/products as long as they prove to be effective. However, for the moment, I am sorely tempted to go back to Clarins for their Gentle Foaming Cleanser for All Skin Types.

New sheets next to the skin

I love shopping at Robinson’s for bed-linen because of their huge variety and excellent customer service. We recently retired an old set of bed-linen and with the newly-launched Shopper Relief Measures as an added incentive, it was time to shop!

Amidst the riot of prints, patterns and colours, I threaded my way past shelves and wagons filled to the brim with sheets. It helped that I already had an idea of my choice - white or light earthly neutral tones (but not browns, beiges since I already have those), something neither too masculine nor too feminine, absent of embroidery and with at least a 500 thread count. With that in mind, it was fairly easy to shortlist my options from the galore of offerings.

My special thanks go to the sale personnel who attended to me. She was extremely patient in catering to my requests to pick and match various options to create a combo that I was finally satisfied with and so finally, I settled on a cotton sateen set in white and grey from Oasis Living’s Signature series.

All ready for the Chinese New Year

How do you like my toe-sies all done up for the Chinese New Year in festive red and mini floral blooms? I had them done yesterday at a little shop at Orchard Plaza for a meager $30 for the whole works!

It was an enjoyable day out yesterday with lots of ME time. After the pedicure, I pampered myself with a heavenly 2-hour facial with eye, face and neck masks and an upper body massage. What bliss it was to be able to indulge one-self!

Next, I proceeded for some retail therapy at City Plaza. My impression of that place had always been shops selling auntie clothes, mobile phones, knick knacks that would mostly appeal to youngsters or domestic helpers (considering the crowds of Indonesian foreign workers milling around that place on weekends). The avid shopper that I am, I decided to give City Plaza a second chance after someone told me that it was clothes haven.

The majority of the shops still hawk clothing that can hardly be ranked on my scale of appeal. However, after 3 hours of patient scrimmaging and sifting through the various stores and racks of clothes, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to score some good buys. My booty for the day included two dresses, a skirt and a blouse, all for just $100.

That rounded up a wonderful day for me :)

Goodies from my online shopping

The eagerly-awaited loot from my online shopping at Benefit arrived today via vPost. Actually I ordered them to share the base shipping cost for my supplements spree and thought that this would be as good a time as any to order something that I have been wanting to try for some time. OK OK, this is the vanity in me speaking.....

Anyway, after looking through some reviews, I got these :

1) posietint - touted as the cheekiest flush you can get from a bottle. It was a toss-up between this and the benetint and I finally decided to get this instead as it has been recommended for those with fairer complexion.



2) that gal - a brightening face primer. I have been looking around for a primer and this seems easy enough to apply.



3) dr. feelgood - an invisible balm for matte skin. There had been some feedback that it can clog up pores but I decided to take a gamble as I shine like a Christmas lightbulb after 3 hours. I wanted to see if this will be effective for me.




Edited on 7 September 2008 to add :
I tried out dr. feelgood today and it did somewhat help keep the shine at bay. My makeup lasted almost 6 hours before any hint of an oily shine showed through.

I found some great blinkies

For some time, I have been wanting to add some blinkies to my blog to liven up the look. Finally I managed to find some time to surf around and I uncovered some interesting ones at Blinkies By Alexis, Blinkies by Sparky, Desha's Blinkies, Mel's Blinkie Swap and Tami's Blinkies.

These brought back warm memories of some 80's movies I had enjoyed :






I remember watching this with my brother after accompanying him to collect his PSLE results.


My father brought us to watch Empire Strikes Back at the now-defunct Rex Theatre.


And here are some musicals that Hubby and I love.








I remember the front few rows of audience were offered umbrellas to shield themselves from the water during the splashing rain acts.

Here are some other random ones that described my family's taste in life, or just because they are so witty and catty!

I love Pocoyo

I first met Pocoyo and his friends last month when we stumbled onto their program on Disney Playhouse. It had a very different concept for a children's program which to my surprise, worked! Big Buddy, and even Little Buddy, enjoy it very much.



The program revolves around the adventures of Pocoyo and his friends, Elly, Pato, Loula and Sleepy Bird as they explore the world around them. The characters are depicted in bold block colours with very little accessories. To further minimise distraction, the usage of props is kept to a minimal and when present, are always integral to the storyline. All these help young children focus on the main points. The storylines are simple, often exploring a single concept per show. Narrator Stephen Fry does a great job as he guides Pocoyo along, often engaging the viewer to participate too.

As for me, I love the artwork, humour and the antics.

Hey, I sound as if I am Zinkia Entertainment's spokesman, raving on and on about this precocious little boy! Anyway, I invite you to check it out and let me know what you think.

I stepped into the Gym!

I am embarrassed to say that thus far, I have NEVER stepped into a gym. Yes, I can imagine the incredulous looks I am drawing from all those I-visit-the-gym-thrice-a-week people out there. I am going to further horrify even you, the average reader, by confessing that I cannot even remember the last time I really exercised. Unless of course, you consider those half-hearted attempts to do some briskwalking up Bukit Timah hill once in a year.....or those few laps that I swim when I feel like it.....or the time I spent chasing my sons round the playground, as exercise.

My fittest form would have been during my junior college days. I was in the Outdoor Activities Club then and as part of endurance training, we were made to run up and down the hilly streets behind my school for hours on end. Training in a group was fun as we paced and encouraged one another. Sadly, exercise featured less prominently on my calendar once I entered university where other more fun activities existed. And when marriage and subsequently motherhood beckoned, exercise was relegated to the bottom of my To-Do list.

Well, I decided to change all that. One of my new year's goal is to take good care of myself - both internally and externally. I took a honest close look at myself in the mirror and decided that although I may not be fat nor ugly, I can do with improvements. I am not talking about going down the route of plastic surgery to improve one's looks. Instead, I am suddenly more aware that as a woman grows older, her health becomes that much more of a precious entity. I certainly can change my health habits.

For starters, I have decided to begin following a strict exercise routine in my estate's gym. For someone who had never been into a gym, much less use the equipment in there, the first visit to the gym was intimidating. The array of machines and their controls can be mindbloggling to a gym virgin like me. I started with the threadmill as it looks simple enough. After fiddling with the settings, I embarked on a 20 minute run/jog. It was not too bad, I lived. Next, I decided to be brave and attempt to use this.



Then I realised, it's not switched on. Now where is the power switch?.....Finally I decided to ask another lady and was told that it switches on automatically when I start pedalling. Apparently it runs on kinetic energy. I felt foolish but nevertheless tried to remain cool. Hmm...it gives an oomph to the workout, I like it. After 20 minutes, I stepped off and called it a day.

That was three days ago. I have since found out the above is called an elliptical. Over the past three days, I have been to the gym daily and averaged workouts of 40 minutes, burning off 230 calories. Peanuts to more seasoned gym-goers I believe, but at least a start for me.

Another beauty serum

I read numerous glowing reviews of the Cellnique Pro-series Pro Sebum Gel extoling its ability to clear blackheads and whiteheads. It has a dual function of clearing both clogged pores and reducing oiliness. In mose cases, satisfying results have been achieved within two weeks. The box also proclaims a money-back guarantee otherwise.

The mere mention of blackheads brings back unpleasant memories of painful extraction sessions at the hands of my facial lady. I vividly remember vain attempts to endure and not grimace nor tear reflexibly from the sheer agony that I can definitely do without.

A close scrutiny of my face reveals the presence of some tiny blackheads and enlarged pores at the nose region. Definitely not the most ideal complexion.

So with much anticipation, I bought a bottle of the Cellnique Pro Sebum Gel and tried it out last night.

Results and my verdict? Akan datang in two weeks' time. Watch this space for updates!

Edited on 11 June 2008 to add :
Oops! I forgot to come back to post my review on this product. I could see visible results in less than 2 weeks. My nose was clearer with less black heads. However after the initial 2 months, the Pro Sebum Gel seem not to be having any further effect on my skin.

New bags from Hubby

Hubby just came home from his business trip to USA with lots of pressies. He brought back heaps of clothing from Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren and Adidas for the family. I must say that Hubby has good enough sense when it comes to fashion. Most of the time, I trust him enough to steer clear from buying something that I will hesitate to wear or carry.

This time round...Yes, he bought the OPI polishes I had requested for in my earlier entry. In addition, he surprised me with not one, not two but THREE Coach bags!

New face cream

I bought a new face cream last month. According to my facial lady, the Floxia Rejuvenating Cream removes fine lines and wrinkles, giving the skin a botox-like effect. It was highly recommended so I decided to give it a try.


I used it immediately that night and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not greasy, unlike most night face creams that I had previously tried. It went on smoothly and was very mildly fragranced - another plus point as I steer clear of skincare products that make me smell like a perfume factory. It remains a mystery to me how people could withstand the same overpowering smell that gave me headaches and a light-headed feeling. The next morning, I could see a difference to my face. It felt softer and smoother, and more hydrated. I was excited and motivated enough by the almost instant results to continue using it nightly.

So, after about a month's use now, I am happy with my improved complexion. The Floxia Rejuvenating Cream is no miracle cream so I certainly do not expect to see a face with flawless porcelain-like complexion in the mirror. But I am more than pleased to note that there has been a noticeable improvement.


Edited on 22 March 2008 to add :
My aunt visited me today and remarked that my complexion is now fairer. She just saw me 2 weeks ago! In case you are wondering....Nope, I did not let on my secret. I chose to hug it to myself with a smile.

OPI Polishes

Yipee! Hubby will be making a trip to USA early next month and had asked for my shopping list. Top on my list are some OPI nail lacquers that I have been eyeing for some time. I bought my first few bottles of OPI polishes through an overseas spree and they were so much cheaper than getting them at a local nail salon. However, if Hubby were to help me buy from USA, I can save up on the freight cost.

I just have a thing for OPI nail polishes. After I tried my first bottle, I have been a loyal fan of this brand. I just so love how smoothly the lacquer goes over my nails. Gone were the days of fretting over streaky painted nails and the hassle of having to redo the nails due to blotched application jobs.

And did I mention what fun names they had for their colours? Check out Smok'n In Havana, Did Someone say PARTY? and Did Suzy Sells Sushi by the Seashore. I love the burgundy shade that Mrs O'Leary's BBQ and Malaga Wine give. Dulce de Leche is a neutral shade that is great for normal everyday wear.

I do already have two bottles of reds but I am looking for a fiery red one and I am deciding between An Affair In Red Square or OPI Red. I heard that the latter is the colour that SIA stewardesses are made to wear on their nails. I also want another creamy deep coral for days when I want to be less dramatic. So for this, I am contemplating Kreme de la Kremlin. And just the other day, I saw someone with a fantastic shade of lilac-grey on her toes. I did not think to ask her what shade was that but it seems close to Chicago Champagne Toast.

Browsing the OPI website is dangerous. Most of the colours are so nice and wearable that I am easily tempted to buy more than what I had planned to. So after a few days of mulling over the choices, I have finally settled on the above few colours and will probably make a decision on the red one in another day or so. And in the meantime, I shall not visit the website again lest I add more shades to the shopping list.

Control, control, control thy self.....