Statement Necklaces Haul

This amazingly vibrant little accessorise stall called Oh Jem in the hustling and bustling of Wan Chai Market

What happened to makeup and beautyorbread? I seem to be hauling on my statement necklaces more often than makeup these days?

My current necklaces collection is definitely growing, oh yes!

Recently I visited two places, a local market in Wan Chai; and the Mong Kok area which is famous for its many thousands independent boutiques there, selling fashion items from Japan, Korea, and London or other European cities.   Visit Oh Jem in Wan Chai market to discover more yourself!

If you ever get a chance to visit Hong Kong, I strongly recommend you to go as you would definitely manage to find some hidden gems with a fraction of the price compare with major department stores. However a word of warning though, Mong Kok area is probably one of the most densely occupied areas when it comes to shopping destination, so... Be very prepared!

Here's a few pictures of how I've absolutely enjoyed wearing these statement necklaces!

On a causal Sunday Afternoon, about to head to have tea with a couple of girl friends

Wearing this sparkly new necklace on Chinese New Year Day!  Especially liked the orange and red clash of colours!

Going back to my comfort zone: black top with statement necklace, can never go wrong!

Finding the Hawaian vibe with this pastel colour floral necklace

Are you into statement necklaces like me?  What have you picked up recently?

Oh Jem Accessories Store can be found at the following address:

38 Tai Yuen Street (Wan Chai Market) Wan Chai Hong Kong 香港灣仔太源街38號 門前排檔

A Few Drugstore Must Haves

Who doesn't like to indulge in a full range of high end makeup?  However it can be a bit of an expensive habit to get into though!  I don't overlook what the high street/ drugstores have got to offer because you can often find gems hidden right in the middle of all the exciting drugstore brands, and they often have a long history behind them which just goes to show their positions in the beauty market!

I do own quite a bit of makeup from the drugstore, thanks to Boots/ Superdrug's regular promotion of 3 for 2 Offer, back in the days when I lived in London.  Now that I'm in Hong Kong, I can only admire across the Pacific Oceans of these delicious offer because in Hong Kong, the story doesn't quite go the same.... there doesn't seem to be such amazing offer available in our local drugstores here.

Nonetheless, I want to share with you my Top 6 Drugstore picks, and this by no means is the complete list, it was rather difficult to narrow it down to just six!

Bourjois Happy Light Foundation in shade No. 50 Porcelain (£11.99) - Bourjois has got to be my favourite drugstore brand of all times.  Their foundation range are the best quality in my very humble opinion, the only downside about this foundation which is shared by other drugstore brands' foundations is the lacking of shades available.  This foundation is light, hydrating and long lasting.  It has a light to medium coverage which you can wear dab it around the area you need or cover the whole face and build it up to the coverage you desire.  The good thing about this foundation for dry skin is that it doesn't cling onto dry patches.  I also like the pump dispenser which makes things very hygienic.  This would be great for a day out as well as an evening out, too and photographs very well, and no need to worry about any flashback as it doesn't contain any SPFs in.  Because of the light and slightly liquify formula, you can absolutely use your fingers to apply this but I also found that using a beauty sponge to apply which enhances a flawless finish.  If you are a drugstore foundation virgin, I would strongly recommend Bourjois base products to you.

Sleek Lace Blush by 3 (£9.99)  Sleek is such a best kept secret drugstore brand.  Beauty Insiders are absolutely in love with their products, and its blushers are probably one of the best well known products.  There are so many colours in the range, from cream to powder forms.  The blushers are highly pigmented which reminds me so much for Nars' but with only a fraction of the price.  This one I own is a trio of blusher, the one in the middle called Guipure has some finely milled shimmer runs through the golden bronzy corally shade which is absolutely beautiful - if you are also a fan of Nars it would certainly ring a bell with you of Nars' most famous blusher, Orgasm.  


Rimmel London Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in shade 03 (£5.49) - I miss Rimmel products as they are not found in Hong Kong - if you know where to get Rimmel products in Hong Kong, please let me know!  I feel that Rimmel Kate's lipstick doesn't get talked about as much as it should be.  They are absolutely fantastic lipsticks.  Sometimes I find lipstick a little too drying on my lips but this one isn't at all.  It is very hydrating on the lips and I can get away with applying this onto my lips straight from the bullets without having to prep my lips with lip balm.  I love this nude shade as it doesn't have that 'wash away' my complexion finish.  The shade suits both when I wear a heavy eye makeup look or on days when I want something just very subtle on my face.  The lipstick is slightly on the scented side of things but it's not a pungent scent and doesn't sting onto the lips once applied.  It's not the most long lasting lip colour of all compare to other lipsticks but it doesn't bother me as I like applying this any time during the day if I wear it.

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in shade 021 Sahara Treasure (£6.99) - I must have raved about this eyeshadow for a ton of the times, because it is THAT good.  What's more exciting is that it is well known in the bloggersphere that it is a dupe for the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow which costs a whooping £26.50; they are actually identical in the department of colour pay off, formulation, design and packaging!  I love how convenience the eyeshadow is - you can just use your index fingers to sweep this all over the eyelids, or use a fluffy blending brush; both methods are very easily achieved.  The colour finish makes people the impression as if you have taken ages to apply your eye makeup as it gives quite a few different dimension to the finish look; but in fact it's probably only taken you 2 mins to do!  Tempted?

Topshop Kohl Pencil in Sable (£4) - I know my favourite eyeliner pencil which I have said it for so many a times, is the Kiko Eye Pencil but let me address a different one to you, a one that is slightly easier to get hold of.  Topshop Kohl Pencil is such a god-send eyeliner pencil, especially for eyeliner beginners.  The creamy and soft formula makes drawing those precise eyeliners a dream and you would feel like a pro once you have this pencil on hands.  I love this dark brown colour as it's a little softer than your average black ones.  It costs only £4 and has never gone wrong on me, and in every way; this outperforms other more expensive kohl pencils.

Kate Lash Extension Mascara in BK-1 (HK$95/  £7.3) - One of the recent beauty discoveries since moving to Hong Kong.  Kate is part of a Japanese beauty brand called Kanebo, and are available in Watson's, Sasa; so they are fairly easy to get hold of if you live here.  I didn't quite know what to expect when first purchased.  It's quite a dainty wand compare to other European brands which seems to suit Asian eyes (that means, my lashes) a little better.  It's a slight curled wand which aims to lengthen those much needed short lashes, it also contains some flaky fibre bits which I believe is the key to extension of lashes, and more importantly it WORKS!  I'lll definitely try out more of Kate's products!

I hope you like my picks!  What would be your drugstore picks?  

My morning and evening facial cleansers

I am no expert in skincare but I expect to use a different form of facial cleanser day and morning.  Today I just want to focus on facial cleansers.

In the morning, I just need something that is refreshing and to wash off any possible oil (not often found) that has formed on my face overnight.  Since relocating to Hong Kong, the climate is clearly a lot more different to London, I found myself opting for a lighter form of facial cleanser for the morning.  I used to slap on cream form facial cleanser in the morning but now I've opted for something more of a lighter and foamy form.  This L'Oreal Hydra Fresh Hydrating Refreshing Creamy Foam.  As I have quite dehydrated skin, whilst a foamy form facial cleanser could be a little drying, I like this a hybrid between a cream and foam; it cleanses and at the same time doesn't leave my skin feeling stripped.

The other tricky part of my skin sensitive, despite I understand the importance of exfoliating (anti-ageing and hydrating!), I generally find any manual exfoliator too harsh, or those exfoliator in a toner form a little bit too erosive for my face.  I'm glad I found this one by dermalogica, it's a daily microexfoliant which I use every other morning. I'm not gonna lie but this good stuff is a little bit of a pricey number however it's lasted me for a good 10 months and I feel that the product inside is still going strong, and more importantly it suits my skin and gives a real brightening effect, especially when my skin feels a bit dull and distressed.  I was actually prescribed this powder during a skin mapping analysis session at the Dermalogica counter, you can check out here for the details.

You might find it surprised to hear that I actually avoid using an oil form of facial cleanser despite my dehydrated skin as I have fear of the oil blocking my pores..... However ever since I became hooked on using facial cleansing balm, I feel more adventurous so I found my way back to cleansing oil.  I remember using the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil in my early 20s but later on being advised it might be too heavy on my skin.  10 years passed, my skin has definitely evolved (meaning: aged!) to say the least; and that now I wear makeup almost everyday; I do need a good and thorough cleanse in the evening, also something a little more hydrating and soothing to my skin.   So instead of using a creamy foam cleanser, in the evening I have now switched from using a cleansing balm to the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil (which I've been wanting to try for absolutely ages!).  As I haven't used this long enough to give a more detailed review, all I can share is that even though it's an oil, it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or oily at all.  It doesn't sting my eyes so I feel comfortable rubbing it in circular motion especially around my eyes to get rid of any last bits of makeup which wasn't removed by my makeup remover.  After washing my face using clean water, I feel that my skin feels really refreshed and clean, and almost have a brightening effect which is quite lasting to the following morning.  So far, so good!

Do you use different forms of facial cleanser morning and evening?  What do you look for in a facial cleanser?

A few things I learnt from allure (March Edition)

It's not often I pick up an allure magazine on a regularly basis. Reason being it's not the easiest-to-reach magazine in shops. However there's no excuse from now on! As I know exactly where to get hold of one in Hong Kong, albeit I have to travel for 7 underground stops to buy one. I'm going to make a monthly trip to do this though! 

To mark my new beauty resolution, I wanted to make a debut blogpost on what I've learnt from allure, starting from the March 2014 edition. 

As I flicked through the pages in allure, one thing that really struck a chord with me is the rich colour on almost every page.  It's colourful, from pastel pink, yellow, green to some darker shades of purple and glittery grey.

How about trying to go out of your comfort zone by wearing brighter lips?

Orange, pink and purple, they might sound a little difference to your usual nude/ beige, 'my lips but better' shades; they would certainly help injecting some colours to your routine daily makeup look to give people a fresher spring look!

If you want to keep your lips neutral, perhaps you can do something different to your eyes?  The Beauty Reporter from allure recommends some pink shadows, how about that?  I know a lot of people shy away from pink because they think it's not the most flattering shade for your eyes but for a colourful spring season to come, it's time to switch it up?

Radiant Orchid (purple) has been selected as Pantone Colour of the Year 2014.  Purple is my favourite colour and I'm definitely going to try some of these out.  L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow is a great product, not only they are pretty and of good quality, they are completely affordable and the colour pay off is extremely good with a very easy to blend quality!

With this season, one of the the major trends is to rock some winged eyeliner, this daring look will be great for those not-very-girly girls!

I'm glad that the makeup world is once again embracing the quintessential Classic Smoky Eyes look. A few tips I picked up from allure is that you need some good concealer for a clean under eye area, a good eyeliner pencil for a sharp eyeliner to frame those eyelids, some great eye shadow brushes for blending those much needed darker shades of eyeshadow.  A good mascara to add some volume to those eyelashes to really open up those eyes.

If you think an intense smoky eye look isn't quite the thing for you, you might want to take tips from the variations on a class smoky eye from allure to still be rocking the trend!

Things on the fashion side of things isn't quiet either, floral, monochrome, stripey tops and bottoms, accessories and some big statement necklaces are also great ways to make your own personal fashion statements when you are strutting down the street.

If you like to be the quieter girl who is less keen to make that of a statement, perhaps a water colour, soft pastel shades are the ones for you!



Time to go shopping for Spring?

You can pick up March's edition of allure from great food hall, Hong Kong.

Drugstore (Watson's) Haul

Feeling particularly spendy and itchy to try some new bits to embrace the Spring season, I decided to make a trip to my local drugstore (Watson's) and ended up doing a little damage to my purse.  I think I'm pretty pleased about what I have bought and wanted to share with you all.

If you've read my February favourites you would know I'm rocking some simple and natural makeup recently.   The Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Light Weight Primer has got a lot of attention in the bloggersphere, however my eyeballs were drawn to this Maybelline Baby Skin Bright Pink Fair Skin with 24h Hydration Instant Pink Transfer with SPF 35/ PA+++  (HK$89/ £6.89 - please note the £ conversion should only be taken as a guide only as all these products were purchased in Hong Kong, RRP could be different elsewhere) , which was placed next to the primer.  I've never seen this or heard about this and I believe this is not yet available in the UK.  To be honest, I don't like the packaging of the Baby Skin line as I found it a little bit on the childish side.  However as I squeezed the product out of the tube in the shop, I found the texture pleasing and gave me the urge to give it a proper try.  The SPF35 element contained in this primer is also a bonus point which hopefully will work as a natural base for my face on days when I want to wear minimal makeup.

Whilst I was lurking in front of the Maybelline stand, I spotted this beautiful set of Eye Studio Hyper Diamonds Ready-To-Wear Eye Color Palette in the shade BR-1 (HK$99/ UK £7.6).  I wanted to explore more into eye shadow palette so for under a tenner, I don't think it can go wrong.  Also the colour combinations remind me of my Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow quad in Dolci Vita.  I'm very excited to give this a whirl!

I've got a few chubby sticks look alike makeup bits under my belt but I never felt too crazy about it like others.  However I was in an adventurous mode and decided to go out of my comfort zone a little bit more.  I swatches a few of the Revlon ColourBurst Lacquer Balm (HK$98/ sold at £7.99 in the UK).  I fell in love instantly with the colour #105 Demur, it's a glossy pale baby pink with some very fine glitter.  I think it would go with either a smokey eye look or a natural makeup look.

Whilst keeping the overall of my face makeup natural, I still wanted my eyes to look awake, nice and big.  Recently I've come up to an eyelash routine that I am happy about.  However I wanted to give new mascaras a try so I bought the following:

• Kate Lash Extension Mascara in BK-1 (HK$95/  £7.3)  Kate is part of a Japanese brand called Kanebo.  They offer a whole range of makeup and I've never tried anything from Kate until recently I bought its Kate Lash Maximiser (in a white tube) it works as an eyelash primer which kind of changed how my lashes look!  I decided to give Kate another try of her mascara.  Keeping my fingers crossed for some good results!
• Majolica Majorca Ultra Curl Mascara (HK$138/ £10.65).  Majolica Majorca is part of Shiseido brand.  It's very well known for their mascaras.  I must say I was not a fan of one of the mascaras I've tried.  The reason why I wanted to give it another try because of the comb lookalike brush.  I tried something similar in my Shiseido Makeup Workshop and was pretty impressed by it.  This one I picked up is half of the price of the Shiseido so I'm hoping that this will work equally well then it will save me some money in the long run.
• Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara (HK$88 'on offer but original price is HK$118/ sold at £7.99 in the UK; it's a bit cheaper in the UK).  I love makeup by Bourjois but have never tried mascaras from Bourjois.  Now that I get the hang of the shape of the brushes of mascaras that suit me, I picked this one to see if this really works for me!

So.... this is the end of my haul - I'm very excited to give all the products a whirl, and would definitely report back!

February Favourites: Strictly Beauty Products

February is a month when I have been at my calmest in terms of trying out different beauty bits, i.e. I have been rediscovering some old favourites and sticking them into my daily routines.

February is a month when I'm all about fresh face, no heavy make up.  I have even gone as far as reviewing a few of Lisa Eldridge's videos on Minimal Makeup, No Makeup Tutorial.  I've learnt that the key to a fresh face makeup is all about a good flawless luminous base, less is more on the eyes.

On days when I feel that my skin is at pretty good conditions, I even skipped applying foundations, tinted moisturisers CC/BB Creams; instead I have been applying a good dose of Kiko Instant Perfection Soothening and Destressing Fluid.  This stuff works wonder to the skin with its pearly white fluid, gives the skin a luminous sheer finish, but it isn't shimmery or shiny at all!

Following the luminous skin situation is achieved, I would opt for a simple concealer - Maybelline The Eraser Eye Protect & Cover Concealer (Light).  It's in quite a creamy texture which blends easily with fingers, it helps to brighten my under eye areas to give them a bit of a lift, whilst for not-so-severe spots, it covers well, too!  Love this duo-purpose sponge applicator concealer.

I've been wearing very minimal or no eyeliner at all this month which is rather out of my comfort zone.  But my eyes still need a bit of emphasis and I found that my Sephora Crayon Jumbo liner 12 HR wear (Waterproof) in #04 taupe gives just the perfect colour that I need for my eyes.  It's a taupey brown/ bronzy eyeshadow that I would apply onto my eyelids straight from the bullet.  You can choose to intensify the makeup look by sweeping on the eyelids a few more times but I chose a more natural finish most of the times.  It's so creamy that I can just rely on my fingers to smoothen out the product.  Instantly my eyes look lifted and sharpened.  

There isn't a day I would go without curling my lashes before putting on mascara.  My D&G PassionEye Mascara, wow this stuff is so good.  I bought this back in early January and there hadn't been a day I wouldn't wear this.  It's great for giving my lashes the curl and the length that it needs, definitely perfect for lifting the eyes.  It's also waterproof that it doesn't smudge on my eyes so I don't end up having panda eyes by the end of the day.

On the cheeks, I would either just sweep over the apple of my cheeks with the Soap & Glory Love At First Blush Multi-shade Blushing Powder.  I normally like to use a big fluffy brush to swirl on the pan then apply on my cheeks.  It's not shimmery but it gives my cheeks the glow that they need!  Sometimes when I feel that my face looks a bit like a pizza, I 'contoured' my face using the bronzer shade from this Physicians Forumla Organic Wear 2-in-1 Bronzer & Blusher (Light Bronzer/ Pink Rose),  I got this in a generous giveaway by Julie from Everyday Indulgences of.... Do you know why I love this bronzer?  Because it doesn't give me an orange face, the bronzing powder is great for pale skinned girl like myself.

Finally I like to frame my face by adding a finishing touch to my brows my filling them in using my Soap & Glory Brow Tint & Precision Shaping Pencil in Love is Blonde.

Have you made any changes to your makeup routines this month?  What beauty products have you loved?

My eyelashes routine

I absolutely admire people who have naturally full lashes, by full I mean - long, curly and bushy!  I, on the other hand; have a set of completely opposite eyelashes described above.  Mine is - short, straight and sparse.  

Recently I have been taking a lot more care to my eyelashes and am glad to report that, a 4-step approach seems to be working for me.

• A heated eyelash curler: it's a great tool to use before I curl my lashes using an eyelash curler.  The heat applied to the lashes make them a little stronger which then makes the curling process next, a lot easier and more effective.  If you want to skip this step, all you need to do is to warm up your eyelash curler using a hair drier, the result is almost as good as using a heated eyelash curler.  Cautious though - don't overheat your eyelash curler you don't want to hurt your own eyes!
• A good eyelash curler is a must.  Curling those much needed lashes are key to lashy lashes.  Recently I replaced my Shu Uemura to a Japanese brand called Koji.  I found that Japanese brand eyelash curlers really do work better for eyes like mine.  They understand the shape of our eyes a lot better and the shape of the curler seem to like the eyes a little bit more.  I must say it takes a few practise before I don't end up in so much tears changing to this one by Koji but I found that it actually works better than my Shu Uemura one.

After heating, squeezing, clipping and curling your eyelashes, if you are still alive; I applaud you!  Onto the application of some mascaras.

• I've recently started using a lash maximiser by a Japanese brand called Kate (owned by Kanebo).  On the brush itself it looks white but once applied onto the lashes, they become transparent.  It is the first coat of mascara that I wear, as a base.  It contains some fibre which meant to help lashes to appear more voluminous, longer and fuller.  For me, I found that my lashes are a bit more separate, more curled up and a little longer when applied this.  My lashes also feel a little bit more stronger so I guess it helps to hold the curl and the length better.

Then I always wear two types of mascaras - one for the length, one for the volume.

• For length and a curl, I have really been enjoying using my D&G PassionEyes Mascara.  The plastic wand which has a crescent shape really helps to curl and lengthen my lashes.  
• For a voluminous result, I like to use a tapered brush mascara and I recommend this one by Charlotte Tilbury, Full Fat Lashes mascara.

My key to lashy lashes are that preparations are keys, and of course it might take you a few products until you know what suits your lashes best.  Good luck!

What's your eyelashes routine?  What products do you use to result in voluminous and curly eyelashes?