Lust Have It - September 2012

Just a quick post about the Lust Have It parcel I received this morning.

1. DAVROE Smooth Senses Straightening Balm 50g sample
2. SAY IT WITH SCENT Hand & Body Lotion (Green Tea Scent) 30ml sample
3. DERMALOGICA Multivitamin Power recovery masque 15ml sample
4. AVENE Cold Cream Body Lotion 10ml sample
5. MIRENESSE Icon Sealer 24hr Concealer 1.5ml sample

It also came along with some commercials from Mirenesse (including a code to join the giveaway) and Davroe (which said I could claim a free product, but the instruction is so unclear and I dont even know how to claim one :/)

As Lust Have It August box was outstanding and set the bar so high, to me, this month Lust Have It is not impressive at all. The disappointment is all the samples are either in tiny size or from unknown brands :/ I used the dermalogica masque and avene cold cream which both are soso and not exceptional.

Oops.

The latest M.A.C 'Office Hours' collection really caught my attention with its pink explosion commercial. I was excited and waiting for it being launched in Australia. Now the collection is eventually available here. 

But I forgot one thing: I forgot how much we need to pay for M.A.C makeup in Australia. Looking at the price, Im completely turned off and get back to my illamasqua, lancome and inglot -_-

Pro Longwear Lipglass: $19.50 in America, $43 in Australia :/

Pro Longwear Eyeshadow: $21 in America, $48 in Australia. Over 100% markup!

Im pretty sure I wont buy anything though I have my eye on some lipglasses  :(

As Jodik76 (my ultimate favorite youtuber!) suggested, we always pay more than American due to the difference of market/population/economic scale etc.

Though I know nothing I can do to change it, I still feel frustrated how much extra we actually pay, at least for makeup :/ The worst thing is that nowhere I can get guaranteed authentic M.A.C products online. Other brands like Lancome, YSL, Urban Decade I know where to look at online, but not M.A.C.

Baaaah >:(

(image courtesy: TheSundayGirl)

Hollyannaeree Inspired Look

Hollyannaeree is one of my favorite youtube gurus and her Peek of Peacock is the most beautiful look/tutorial she has done (in my opinion).
I thought I just gave it a try and I do love how it looked on me <3 As blue isnt really my thing, I toned down the color and my version is not as intense and sharp as the Holly's one.

Just realized the importance of tightlining! 

False lashes really bring life to this look!


What's on my nails - GlamNails Nail Enamel (Miss Independent)
A lovely metallic purple with silver shimmers. Im impressed by its quality and unquestionably 'made in france' is quite a bonus :P

Anyone is going to IMATS Sydney this year!?

I just realized IMATS Sydney is held on 29th and 30th this month :O
OMG it is happening sooo soon and I really want to go this year.
Just wondering if anyone is going as well?
Leave a comment and maybe we can hang out sometime :)

Magazine Freebie Alarm: Avon ExtraLasting Lipstick (SPF 15)

Just a quick update: this month Women's Weekly is bringing you a free Avon ExtraLasting Lipstick and three shades are available to choose from - Cappuccino,Vintage Pink, Eternal Flame. 

The September issue (with freebie) is exclusively sold in Coles. If you get the copy from other places, you probably wont get the free lipstick. For only $6.95, it's actually quite a good buy :)

I chose the shade Cappuccino which is a warm-tone, brown-y nude.

August Favourites - Cheap and Cheerful

I have been extremely busy with work & uni the last two weeks and now I cant wait for spring break coming! Here is a quick post showing products I was loving in August. My skin was extremely unstable and suffering from allergy  last month (dry patches, rush, sting!). Hence I used minimum products and majority of them were from drugstore. cheap and cheerful :)

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Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer gives nice coverage and the shade matches my skin quite well. However, it is not the best concealer for covering under-eye circles.

(Purchased from Sasa) K-palette 24h Tattoo eyeliner has been featured nearly by every well-known Asian bloggers. I completely understand the rave of it because IT IS AMAZING and possibly THE BEST I HAVE TRIED! Its fine tip allows you to create a dark and clearly defined eye line effortlessly. THE BEST!

Covergirl LashBlast Waterproof does not have the most amazing volumizing/lengthening power, yet the reason why I love it is because of its ability of keeping my lashes curly all day. To me, it is a miracle product as no mascaras before it could keep curl for my short and straight down lashes.

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Lush Celestial Moisturizer was the only product saved me in this winter. Its thick and heavy consistency helps to retain the moisture to my skin and smooths the sensitivity/allergy my skin experienced. Highly recommended to all with dry and sensitive skin. (good for winter at least!)

(Purchased from E-chemist.co.uk) La Roche- Posay Nutritic 5% I used it to substitute over normal eye cream. As my skin around eye area became exceptionally sensitive, normal eye creams I used did nothing and even irritated my eyes sometime. La roche rosay products are renowned for being gentle, this product undoubtedly did a good job for me :)

(Purchased from Sasa) Kose Softymo Super Point Makeup Remover is a very gentle makeup remover and doesnt irritate/stain my eyes even if it gets into my eyes by accident. Yet, it isnt strong enough to remover waterproof eye makeup so I do need to use my Loreal eye and lip makeup remover to remove MAC fluidline and Covergirl lashblast waterproof.

Dove Intensive (Hand) Cream is an inexpensive hand cream you can easily find it in priceline/pharmacy. I like to keep it in my purse as I do have a tendency to lose my stuffs lol (I keep my Crabtree n Loccitane at home)

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Nail Polish of the week -Revlon Tropical Temptation

It is a lovely nail polish with nice formulation and smooth application. An interesting thing is the color alters depends on the lighting. Under sunlight/yellow tone lighting, it looks as a pinky coral. But in other lighting (including artificial light) it is a warm bright pink.

(II) MAC @ Target - Real or Fake? with photos and comparison

I got a MAC lipstick in Creme Cup (Cremesheen) from Target last week. 

Frankly, I am still not 100% certain if the one I purchased is authentic. The packaging looks alrite but the quality of lipstick itself  is terrible and I ended up returning it to Target.

Identical caps

(L - R ) Viva Glam Gaga, A Rose Romance, Angel, CremeCup

Lipstick tubes

(L - R ) Viva Glam Gaga, A Rose Romance, CremeCup

Congruous inner structure

(L) Angel   (R) CremeCup

The only inconsistency I could tell from the packaging was the label.

As MAC has a 'back to mac' program allowing customers returning 6 empty product containers in exchange for a free lipstick, all eligible items will have a tiny recyclable logo on the labels (Viva glam products wont have it though since the collection was created for Aids Fund and cant be used for B2M).
The Creme Cup label looks unlike in term of
- not having the recyclable symbol
- different font size and font style applied
- label sticker used (the sticker appeals to be much shinier)

The lipstick itself is bizarre! I twisted it up and saw the bubbles and a scratch on the side :S
It doesnt have that lovely vanilla scent which most MAC lipsticks have, instead a plastic-y, artificial chemical scent you find from cheap lipsticks (if you dont know what I mean, go to a $2 store and try one lol)

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Target claimed its MAC products were genuine from local suppliers, yet I dont believe authenticity can be guaranteed considering nobody can confirm if the supplier is M.A.C or just some chinese importers (which Target got most of its products from).