Update on Shopping Ban

Last week I announced that I'm going on a shopping ban until the end of September. Well I'm more than half way now.

You might be wondering how I have done so far.

I haven't bought a single beauty product (yet)! Well I have, shampoo and conditioner, body wash and they are necessities because I don't already have these in where I live 

I have done a little bit of shopping here and there, but I haven't yet had the urge to purchase anything yet; until yesterday.....

I caved in when I went into a little boutique which sells all these loose fitting high-low, longer length plain colour Korean clothes. I was so stressed with all the moving and relocation stuff that I didn't care and snapped up 4 pieces of top! I can't wait to wear them. Some were a bit more tricky to style but with what I have for accessories, I'm sure I can crack it!

Shopping in Hong Kong really is rather amazing, any brands from anywhere in the world, you name it Hong Kong has it for you, and more. Borghese, Bioderma, Melvita, Apivita, fresh, and the list goes on and on.... That is probably why I have been a little more than overwhelmed. And, technically I'm not on holiday in here, I am now living here so there are plenty, absolutely plenty of time for me to try anything and everything that takes my fancy.

I'm thinking, after my shopping ban is over, there's one thing in my beauty stash that I will continue to ban myself from buying, that is; MASCARAS. 

I have way too many and all of them, as you know has a short (6-month) expiry date so I'm going to use them up until the end of this year before I'll buy any new one!

Meanwhile, there is one particular thing that has really caught my eyes when I browsed at a shop called Global Work. It's a pair of earrings:

I really love it, I like the simplicity of the design. It's only HK$89 (£7). However, what's the point of setting myself a challenge at the first place of not buying anything and then later breaking it? If by the time my shopping ban is up, and I still want it; I think that means I really want it and it's meant to be. For now, I can resist not buying this.

Are you on a shopping ban right now? Or have you been on one in the past? How was it like for you?

Some pots and a few tubes

I  went away for a family trip in Paris last month as you know (I'm such a long way away from Europe now!), you can click here and here to refresh memories on what I bought.

Without realising it myself, I found that I brought along with me products mostly in the shape of pots and tubes, for which fingers became my best makeup tools. I found this combination  incredibly convenience, liberating and organic when it comes to the application of makeup and the texture of these beauty products moisturising for my dry skin.

Products list:

• RMS Beauty 'Un'-Cover up concealer in #11
• RMS Beauty Living Luminizer
• RMS Beauty Mineral Cream Eye Shadow in Mahogany bronze
• Makeup Forever Aqua Cream in shade #16
• Catrice Kohl Kajal in #140 Chocwaves
• Max Factor Clump Defy Mascara Waterproof
• L'Oreal Telescopic False Lash Mascara Waterproof
• Sheisido Eye Brow Pencil (cannot find link)
• Bourjois Little Round Pot Cream Blush in Healthy Glow
• e.l.f. Plumping Lip Gloss in Ruby Kiss

A fresh and clean makeup look which gives me the coverage I needed but the glow that I like, no colours that are too outrageously obvious but enough to give some definitions for my eye areas especially. 

Are you a fan of pots and tubes form of beauty products? Have you got a favourite?

P.S. You can pick up RMS Beauty products from Cult Beauty (Online) or a very special shop in called Being Content in Marylebone where they stock RMS Beauty.  It is not easy to find RMS Beauty products in the UK, so when I visited Being Content recently, I was super excited to swap RMS Beauty products on my hands and decided to get a few!

What's worth to invest in #2: High End Makeup

Welcome back to the 2nd part of this 'What's worth to invest in series on High End Makeup'.  If you've missed part 1, you can click here to have a little read.

Last time I mainly focused on getting the complexion right, and this time I'll talk through products for the rest of the face that I think are worth your money.

Window of the soul: Eyeshadow palette

I was going through my eyeshadows collection and realised I am not such a fan of eye shadows although I do love them.  When it comes to high end eye shadows, needn't me to say it wasn't a difficult  task to pick out one to recommend.  Chantecaille is an exceptionally expensive brand you can find in my favourite beauty shop, Space NK.  Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser (£57) was something that I desperately wanted to try and later purchased.  I liked it but I wasn't wowed by it.  It's painful to say that because it's so expensive and I have to say I am a little disappointed because I was expecting amazing result.

I decided to give Chantecaille another go, this time I picked up The Coral Reefs Palette (It was reduced from £75 to £36.5 in the sale).

Oh My God!  It worths every single penny!  I created a look for my birthday using this palette, you can click here to have a little peek.  This palette serves multifunctionally which is very clever.  The lightest off-white, slightly peachy shade works as a highlighter as well as a shadow base.  It is a matte colour so it highlights the high points on your face (cheekbones, brow bones, etc.) by excenuate your features rather than making it all shimmery, a fantastic highlighter if you want a subtle finish.  The light brown shade is great as an eye shadow for the crease areas or all over eyelids to create a soft smokey eye looks.  The darker brownish burgundy shade can be used as an eyeliner but at the same time for creating a more dramatic look.  The rosy pink shade is actually a blusher, which is ever so subtle when you sweep it on your cheeks.  This is definitely a fantastically handy palette for travelling.

The colours in this palette is so soft, yet so pigmented and extremely easy to blend.  They give a healthy wash of colours on your face without making your face look all made up.  It's hard to explain how great this product is in words, you have to try swatching it in a shop to feel it for yourself.  I believe this product is not available anymore after the sale period in Space NK, but an alternative in the range is the Save The Sharks Palette.

Cheeky Blushers

When it comes to cheek products, I think Dior made it to the top for me.  I have two cheek products, one in powder form, the other in cream form that I want to recommend to you.

Diorblush Cheek Cream (£24)and Diorskin Rosy Glow (£30.5) win my vote.  I have done a fuller review on the Diorblush Cheek cream which you can remind yourself by clicking here.  All in all, I think this is the best cream blusher hands down (high street and high end).  The packaging, intensity of the colour, the stay put power and the ease of blending, ticked all the boxes!

Diorskin Rosy Glow is a cleverly designed powder blush.  I reach for that on days when I cannot decide what cheek colours to wear.  Diorskin Rosy Glow is clever because the powder reacts to the moisture level of your skin and adapt to individual's to give its colour - so let your mood swings a colour for you!  It's pigmented but easy to blend which is so important and what I'm looking for in beauty products.  The little brush that comes with it actually is a great tool, and the big mirror is fantastic, too if you decide to carry this compact with you.

Lippies and Nails

There is no doubt about the extremely high equality and competitively priced lip products and nail polish that the high street can offer.  There is, however something about owning a high end nail polish and taking out an extravagant lip sticks out from your handbag make every girl the happiest person in the world.

The classic Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine (£24) was my no.1 choice when it comes to high end lipsticks.  The combination of black and gold packaging, with the double C logo on the top of the cap is to absolutely die for.  There are over 10 colour shades to choose from.  The formula is so hydrating that I don't need to worry about carrying around with me an extra lip balm.  You can apply it on your lips straight from the bullet but if you want extra precision, of course you can use a lip brush.

YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick (£24.5) is also another strong contender after Chanel's.  The packaging is more of an extravagant gold  bullet, with YSL logo engraved around the lipstick itself.  This is just the ultimate lipstick experience.  The bullet leans towards the slightly heavier side if compared with Chanel's one.  YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick also tops the moisturising level of Chanel, and also comes in over 10 different shades of colour.  I simply cannot choose between the two because they are both winners to me and have different positions in my heart.

Finally moving onto nail polishes, is it worth investing into high end nail polishes when Barry M, Rimmel, Revlon, Essie offer much better value and possibly equally good if not better quality nail polishes.  The answer is still a Yes to me, although I definitely don't go excessively obsessed with high end nail polishes because they can be a little damaging to my bank accounts if I was to buy in large quantities and frequently.

Chanel's Le Vernis Nail Colour (£18) is one that I would go for because of its ease of application despite the brush isn't one of those flat one which is known to be the best amongst the best.  The consistency of the polishes itself is just about right which makes the colour gelled and sat on the nails much better.  They dry rather fast, too even without the help of other fast drying agent.  The colour lasts long, too.  I can go without having to do anything to it for a week.

Tempted by all these products?  I hope you say YES!  I do enjoy browsing and having a nose round what's new in the high end beauty world.  I don't necessarily buy things all the time from it as high street brands are definitely my better friends when it comes to having a beauty splurge.  But high end beauty products do have their very special places in my heart.

Hong Kong Drugstores

Moving to another country altogether, apart from having to adjust to lots of changes in lifestyle, another important area for me as a beauty addict is to familiarise myself with the local beauty scene.

When I was living in London, Boots and Superdrug were two of my favourite places to hang out. In Hong Kong, you can find the equivalent and they are called Watson's and Mannings. They work exactly the way Boots and Superdrug do, they are Hong Kong chained pharmacies, in there you can find things from panadol tablets, to drinks , and of course beauty products. 

Apart from some big European and American drugstore beauty brands; there are tons of Japanese beauty brands! I'm yet to explore but in times, I'm sure I'll try them one by one and share with you all here.

To start off with, I quickly applied for their storecards. Watson's one is a lime green plastic opaque card, which design could be a little better. However I'm not complaining at all, I felt so excited when I got my hands on the card! I joined the club, yay!

Apart from using this card in-store to collect points, this card can be used in other stores such as supermarkets, how great is that!

Of course, getting a Watson's store card without also getting one from Mannings is a crime, it's unfair. How could I possibly not? So I also got a Mannings' card. I think I might prefer this over Watson's. although I didn't quite like the orange colour, I like this transparent card better as its a little bit thinner so it felt a little more chic. I also like it the fact that apart from the main card, it also comes with 3 key ring sized cards. I'm showing 2 here as Mr Holiday has already taken one from me straightaway! But what a great idea to have this design, one household can collect points on one card which in turn can save up more for the family in the long term!

Another really good feature for these storecards apart from collecting points and hence using them to purchase stuff, every day you get some sorts of discounts. You get 10% off for purchasing own brand (Watson's and Mannings) stuff every day in the month. Then on 10th of every month, not only you get the 10% for own brand products, there are lots of other products, including beauty stuff; are included in this offer!

Wow I'm so shopping there on the 10th every month!

I will continue to do more investigative work on finding out the main differences between the two stores, including brands available, offer and services, then report back! By the way, I saw Boots own brand products, also No.7 stuff available in Mannings!

Do you have your own favourite to-go drugstore in where you live?

What's worth to invest in #1: High End Makeup

I have to say the majority of my makeup in my collection was purchased from the British High Street ，oh how I miss strutting down marylebone high street！(click here where I did my B or B guide to starter makeup kit).  Every now and then I would splurge on the likes of Dior or Chanel for a little beauty treat to myself.  If you compare high end makeup to their sisters or cousins of the equivalent, i.e. handbags or fashion items, high end make up becomes a lot more affordable to the masses.  They are not all necessarily better or result in greater results than their high street counterparts, but some of these products are worth your money invested in.  In today's post (part 1 of a 2 part series) I want to recommend a few high end makeup pieces that I have tried and tested, which in my opinion have been worth my money spent on them.

The Base Work

When it comes to foundation, it is the first layer of makeup products (that is, if you don't have the habit of wearing a primer) that is applied to your face; therefore I think it is worth investing into a good quality one to ensure that it gives a close to flawless (nothing is perfect) finish to your face.

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (£32) and Veil Fluid Makeup by Hourglass (£50) are my favourite high end foundations.  Why?  Both formulae are extremely light weight and give the most transparent and near flawless finish to the face.  Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua is a little more watery than the Veil Fluid Makeup by Hourglass in terms of consistency, so it's best to use fingers to apply and blend it into the skin.  I prefer using a Beauty Blender  (you can click here to read my review on beauty blender) to apply my Veil Fluid Makeup by Hourglass - a perfect combo.  You can get away with using fingers but the finish is not as seamless as it is if you use a beauty blender.  Both foundations give a light to medium coverage as you build it up in areas you want more cover up and stay put really well (I have dry skin).

Veil Fluid Makeup by Hourglass is right at the top end of a foundation not only because of its excellent formula but also the skincare benefits that it provides: anti-ageing.  One of the other things that worth mentioning is that once applied, Veil Fluid Makeup foundation seems to settle 'transparent' on your skin.  It gives coverage but without the whole 'made up' finish - it really is quite amazing in my opinion.  The pump dispenser is more favoured by me as I can often control how much product I want each time, whereas the Chanel one, you have to shake the bottle well before squeezing out the foundation out which is sometimes harder to control the amount you end up with.

I think both foundations are totally worth getting (otherwise I wouldn't feature in here), it depends on your budget really as the price points vary.  Definitely give it a proper try in shops and see which one you prefer.

Further perfection: concealers

Hourglass has once again made it to my recommended list, their Hidden Corrective Concealer (£23) is one of the best stick-form concealer I tried.  Its creamy but not cakey or heavy formula made concealing an easy job.  It comes in 5 shades which gets a vote for me because I often find drugstore concealers either a tad too light or too dark for me.

It conceals both under eye areas and blemishes.  Once applied on the face, because of its creamy texture, it blends with your skin so easily, effectively and efficiently.  It doesn't take much time to blend well, so if you are a lady who doesn't have much time, this concealer might be your choice!  One of the down side is that it doesn't brighten up the under eye areas but for me, I don't really need that on a daily basis so it works perfect.  It also claims to improve the appearance of dark spots, blemishes and fine lines, and the added Vitamin E acts as a protection to your skin from environmental elements.  The concealing ability is good but it doesn't stay put as well as other drugstore brand concealers, you might find yourself needing to top up during the day.  However the size of the stick is compact and small, so it definitely doesn't take up much space at all in your handbag.

Diorskin Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer  (£21) gets a vote for me, as much as the Hidden Corrective Concealer by hourglass.  Why?  Its slightly more 'liquidy' formula makes my skin feels hydrated whilst it does its job by concealing both the under eye areas and on blemishes.  This concealer  gives a slight better brightening effect under the eyes but it doesn't 'highlight' your spots if you use it that way.  The dover applicator means that you can dab it on the areas you want to conceal before you blend it away.  Similar to the hourglass concealer, it doesn't set on lines as the day goes by, nor does it drying either.  Diorskin concealer stays put a bit better than the one by hourglass.  Both are of a compact size in a small tube, so great for carrying around with you for top up during the day.

I hope that I have given you some detailed analysis of each product which makes navigating around beauty halls and choosing which product to get a little easier.  If you have other recommendations, please do let me know!

In 2nd part of this What's worth to invest in: High End Makeup series, I will focus on blushers, lipsticks, eyes and nails.  So, stay tuned!

Challenge Tag: 2-week Shopping ban

Oh my! I'm actually thinking of going on a shopping ban, and I think I will do a little trial to see how it goes and probably report back half way through the process and by the end of it.

For those of you who have read my previous post on 'Relocation, Relocation', you will know that I have moved from London to Hong Kong to reunite with my husband who is working here.  Huge impact on lifestyle and everything, anticipated but I am more curious to find out how this move will actually have an affect on my beauty blogging life.  As said, I will continue to publish posts (which have been sitting in my draft folder but I promise they are still current and fit for purpose).

Just for an example, yesterday I dropped by at City Super in Times Square in Causeway Bay, for those of you who are less familiar with what City Super is, it basically is similar to Whole Foods Market although City Super doesn't only sell organic produce; they do have a vast range of products from food, domestic stuff, to beauty products.

Of course I went into the beauty sections and found myself getting very lost and overwhelmed there!  I saw a few interesting things e.g. a makeup remover with a pump dispenser 

but I'm yet feeling the itch to buy and try.  I blame it on my 'unsettling mind' as I'm pretty pre-occupied by domestic refurbishment right now and I want to get that out of the way first before I establish a more normal beauty shopping routine.

Therefore, I thought what great time to implement my shopping ban for 2 weeks, which will end on 1 Oct 2013.  I want to monitor how I feel about not buying any beauty related products unless they are an absolute essentials such as cotton wools, shampoo and conditioner and body wash, etc.  Even though I was a little tempted to buy another mascara to try when I saw some interesting ones yesterday at City Super.

Anyway - I'll see how successful I will be or how much I will have failed by the end of this; and report back!

Wish me luck!

What's in my travel makeup bag? #2 Overnight brush-less makeup

Hope you like another edition of ＂whats in my beauty bag＂，this time for an overnight version. I was away in Guildford (where my husband and I went to university) for an overnight break with my husband last month.  Because it was just an overnight trip, I just couldn't be bothered to pack crazy so I kept my makeup bag to an absolute minimum and only brought with me the essentials.  I also didn't bring any brushes with me but relied only on my fingers.

Here's my 10-pieces overnight makeup bag:

As I said above I didn't want to bring any brushes, so when I thought about what makeup I brought, they had to be no-fuss, fingers friendly products.  Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation is a no brainer, I teamed this up with my hourglass hidden corrective concealer which can be used as both a highlighter as well as a concealer - there, my base is done and near perfect!

I love applying highlighter on my face and I'm grateful for benefit girl meets pearl liquid pearl for face (from the Priming with the Stars set).  It's a pearly pale pink liquid highlighter which is watery in texture, very easy to blend with fingers, in fact it is perfect.  It doesn't make you look like a disco ball but a healthy glow.  Love this as my travel must have highlighter especially if you don't want to carry any brushes with you.

My Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in shade 025 Peach Parfait is a lip balm/ lip stick 2-in-1 formula which gives both the moisture and pigment that your lips need.  You can build it up to intensify the colour or just layer it thinly to give a sheer finish.

Other products brought:

• Benefit They're Real Mascara
• Rimmel Eyes Precision Eyeliner Pencil in Dark Brown
• Shiseido eyebrow pencil in brown
• A'Pieu Floral Powder Blusher (the built-in sponge for applying powder blush is perfect for travelling!)
• Jill Stuart Liquid eyeshadow
• Shu Uemura x Karl Lagerfeld Eyelash Curler
• Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Perfume 

Does this look like something you would pack if you were going on an overnight trip?  Do you pack less or more products?