Monday, 12 January 2015

Paul & Joe Cream Parlour Lipglosses: Something You Don't Need But *Should* Have


Look at these beauties! 

Just look at them and try to hold back the urge of trying to grab them through the screen. Yes I know how you feel.

Paul & Joe has always been in my list of beauty brands that need special attention and craving. Their cat-shaped lipsticks are a dream for any cat lady/gentleman out there. Cats and lipsticks, no dream has ever been wilder and more ambitious, yet Paul & Joe has done it to leave us in awe. However, I try to avoid them as much as my willing power permits, not only because of the hefty price tag but who on earth is cruel enough to destroy that cat lipstick?!

That being said, though, during a massive ASOS sale 2 months back I think, these were unbelievably reduced. Originally priced at £18.00 each, Caramel Ribbon was down to £5.50 and Orange Pineapple £6.00 which was too good to be true. On top of that I also had a 20% off coupon marking them down to only £4.40 and £4.80. Talk about bargain! I believe they are currently out of stock but you can always take a peak here to grab them up as soon as they come back.





As you can very well see, they come in a squeeze tube which contains an enormous amount 17ml of product inside. I love the design from the box down to the very cap, they all have the iconic Paul & Joe flower that I find fun and sophisticated at the same time. There must be a reason apart from the product's quality that high-end brands are brave enough to charge a good amount of cash on these. 
  • Caramel Ribbon is a semi sheer brown shimmery gloss that can be worn on its own; the shimmer particles are very fine so it's not at all uncomfortable to wear. 
  • Orange Pineapple on the other hand is a sheer yet very creamy pastel orange/coral.
The smell of these is divine exactly what the names indicate. Both of them have a caramel-coloured vein and that's actually the gloss, not only something printed on the tube. I adore this! It looks like an ice-cream but minus the calories, ha!

I have worn these for quite several times now and each time I did, I love the feel of them on my lips, even the shimmery one. They're a teeny weeny bit tacky, but in the sense of clinging onto your lips, not making your hair stick onto them (as if my hair is that long). Averagely they last for about 3 hours and were moderately moisturising when worn. Orange Pineapple, being a pastel colour, does settle onto lip lines a bit but not too noticeable.

I simply adore these and cannot recommend them enough. For such lovely packaging, divine scent and beautiful formula, I think they should be present in everyone's makeup collection. There's one other colour in this collection: Strawberry Syrup that I'm having my eyes on...

Bourjois Bronzer And Gold Bronzer - Faking The Summer Bronze With Bourjois Offerings


Gold Bronzing Powder on the left, Bronzing Powder on the right

This time of year, or in fact any moment if you're in need for some bronziness to enlighten your complexion, there are Bourjois answers to your craving: the now iconic Délice de Poudre Bronzing Powder that many people have called "Chocolate Bronzer" instead and Délice de Poudre Or - Gold Bronzing Powder. The latter is a new member of the chocolate family together with their Bronzing Duo. I haven't acquired such duo but my little eyes tell me that the bronzer half is just the same as the original bronzer and the highlighter half is too subtle and pink for my liking, so I opted for the Gold version.

They're exactly what they're described to be: bronzer and gold bronzer, nothing more nothing less. I've heard people using the Délice de Poudre as a contour shade but I can assure you that it contains a fair amount of orange tint to it, which is a good thing for warming up the face actually. Likewise, the Gold one can be used sparingly to introduce a bit of gold warmth on the cheek or in place of a blusher if you're after the over-the-top golden goddess look. Both have such a lovely packaging that has a rather strong magnetic closure (anyone enjoys the sound when the lid clicks in place?) and have a delicious chocolate scent. However, I noticed that the scent fades through time as the original bronzer which I bought some 10 months ago does not smell as strong as the Gold one, not as the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette which has such valuable "loyalty" when it comes to maintaining its deliciousness. That being said, though, I still wish I could eat all of them, gah!

I normally use a separate contour shade (Illamasqua Powder Foundation in 230 since it has a slight cool tone to it) to sculpt out my cheekbones then use either of the aforementioned products in places where I normally put bronzer on. Since the powder texture is so fine it blends effortlessly onto the skin, easy to pick up with a brush and looks seamless. I also discovered another use for the Gold Bronzing Powder: as an eye shadow. Normally face products are quite sheer but for this particular one it is extremely pigmented and somewhat creamy making it a breeze to use both on the lids and cheeks.

The Bourjois Délice de Poudre and Délice de Poudre Or are £7.99 each for a surprising huge amount of 16.5g. These beauties have the total ability to last you for ages I am confident to assure you.

Saturday, 10 January 2015

Recap: Best Things That Happened In 2014


As soon as I started writing this post, all my brain could generate was: "What?! 2014 left us already? Ungrateful b****!". However, 2014 brought so many lovely moments and discoveries that I cannot wait to do a full recap as a little reflection of what happened and what's in store for the new year.
  • In January I discovered Sherlock (the UK BBC series) that I watched all three seasons in only one week (!). Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman did a fantastic performance as Sherlock and Dr. Watson. I wish they didn't have Sherlock wear such tight button-down shirts, I got so uneasy seeing their struggle of not bursting at any unexpected moment. It may sound mean but I particularly enjoy seeing Sherlock being interpreted as having such a big ego and thinking that he's the best that's ever happened to this whole universe's popularity. It was tremendously entertaining to hear him "insulting" everyone else on their not making use all of their intelligence capability.
  • Vietnamese Lunar New Year! That, together with Christmas, are the two holidays that I most look forward to all year. Last year it was strangely cold from early November to the end of January, which is unheard of here in this country. The cold yet somewhat magical atmosphere contributed a great deal to the whole celebration spirit.
  • I acquired a lot of amazing makeup products which have already become my makeup bag staples. Let's take a moment to accept that these hyped-about products are totally worth it: theBalm Mary-lou Manizer, Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Lolita Lempicka perfume just to name a few. Many of them now I cannot part with, and I am even thinking about buying a back-up for my back-up, that quite explains how enormous my love for them is.
  • Predestination - best movie of the year! Even though there are coutless holes science wise, I highly appreciate the original idea and exceptional performance. Kudos for Sarah Snook as Jane/John Doe, I could almost feel her pain and destiny. Who could ever think about a human, fully physically and mentally stable, could just appear out of nowhere! [Spoiler alert] The idea of one having intercourse of oneself then giving birth to a child who is abducted and gets travelled back in time only to grow up to be the very person who will later give birth to oneself? I love this kind of "entertainment", so original and different from the mainstream media that brings you nothing but an hour or two of pure nonsense.
  • I had my first official (and succesful) makeup job ever: bridal makeup for my sister's wedding back in September. I fully enjoyed the process/hectic time, and also equally importantly - I had a chance to truly test some products and let them prove their true power.
  • Mr. NN and I have been together for officially over 3 years now. I never thought it would happen in the beginning but yes it did :)
Lots of misfortunes happened but 2014 was overall was enough a gentleman (if I may say so) to me and I am quite impatient to see what's going to happen this year. Will it be good? Will it be bad? Nobody can tell, but 2015 is a blank book so let's write a good story.