Singapore Haul

aka THE Birthday Haul. This is my first time I'm having my birthday as a beauty blogger, and the fact that I was spending it in Singapore did not help in keeping my wallet safe from the damage. Hello Sephora! Sasa! Watson's! ION Orchard and Takashimaya!

random fact: I used to gift myself with gadgets, then purses and now cosmetics. eeeep! As lurvey would say, "I wonder what's next?" should I say DIAMONDS and see if he would faint? hahaha! :P

first up, skincare from FANCL! Lovely Stellar swore by FANCL products for keeping her skin clear and healthy during one of her HK trips. I was curious, so I had to get me some FANCL to try!

2 bottles of Tense Up EX Collagen drinks as GWP, FANCL rest eye gel, light lotion, milky lotion, washing powder and the foaming ball. I also got a free lifetime membership card for spending a certain amount. I think it was for purchases amounting to S$100 and up.

Lovely, LE Lunasols

Let's start the week with some eye candy shall we?

Its no secret that I adore Japanese cosmetics, one of my favorite brands when it comes to eyeshadows is Lunasol, whenever they release interesting LE (limited edition) palettes I just feel like I NEED to get it. They're just so gorgeous and I like everything about them, from the sleek and chic bronze packaging, the simplicity of the rectangular shaped quads and the beautiful colors of the shadows. Plus the mirror and applicators included are of very good quality... oooh I'm in lalala-love. :)

Harper's Bazaar Singapore Beauty Look Book SS2010 Scans 1/3

For the ladies who like to follow trends, and the others who simply want inspiration, here's Harper's Bazaar Singapore's Beauty Look Book for Spring/Summer 2010. I divided it into 3 parts because I scanned the whole thing. I'm not going to bother you with my side comments to keep you focused on the beauty of the art of makeup. I like all the looks anyway. ;)

Part one: FACE and NAILS...

Harper's Bazaar Singapore Beauty Look Book SS2010 Scans 2/3

Part 2: BODY, LASHES, HAIR

Harper's Bazaar Singapore Beauty Look Book SS2010 Scans 3/3

Part 3: designer scents featuring Balenciaga, Vera Wang, Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein...

Nails Inspired by YSL's Fall 2010 Couture Manicure

Being a nail art FAN, emphasis on being a FAN because I don't think I have the hands for those exquisite nail art some bloggers do, but I appreciate so much. It was love at first sight (not minding the photoshopped fingers of the hand models - no hand lines and wrinkles, really?) when I came across the promo pics of YSL's Fall 2010 Couture Manicure "Rock & Baroque" which will be launched this August. I liked all the combinations, gold and plum, turquoise and purple, orange and fuschia except the pink and white which I think is boring.

YSL Fall 2010 Couture Manicure

photo from YSL

Last night I gave it a try. I took a quick scan of all the nail lacquers I have, and decided on OPI's Jade is the new black and Curry up don't be late. Base coat from The Face Shop, topcoat is Seche Vite.

photobooth snap of me and my french tips :)

here's a close up, I'm afraid to clean the sides because I'm a klutz and I might ruin the whole thing. hahaha! :P

I can't believe I pulled it off! I did my own french tip manicure. Patience is key. *dancing in glee* I'm definitely going to practice more to improve my nail art skills.

next time, I'm going for this style:

Belle du jour, turquoise and purple

Are you a fan of the french tip? :)

Singa-purr! Pt. 2

First of all, I would like to apologize in advance to my dear cfbeauty friend Karen for going to the zoo. Sorry babe! I know how you feel towards caged animals. It was for my cutie patootie niece, I know you'll understand. :D You still love me right? hehe *hugs*

Day 3 was spent roaming around the Singapore Zoo, it was raining lightly when we got there, thats why I don't have a lot of nice pics to share. It just so much hassle holding an umbrella, my bag and taking out my camera. Plus my niece always wants to be carried, I'm not complaining, just explaining ;) I love carrying her, even if she weighs like a sack of rice HAHAHA! Im such a doting aunt. :D

This is a cute pic (I think) me wearing a Panda pompom hat! :)

side note: I can't believe I spent S$50 on fluffy animal keychains that day. Oh, the price of cuteness! ;)

After the zoo we went to the Shoppes @ The Marina Bay Sands, it wasn't completely open yet, there are stores still in their construction phase. But it was nice to see. My parents and niece rode the local version of Grand Canal's gondolas - Singapore Sampan's :)

look at my parents waving, they're like celebrities! lol

The beauty blogger in me took notice of the OPI boutique, I went inside while my parents and niece were riding the sampans. They have a wide variety of products and nail polish shades, I tried some and got 3 bottles of nail polish which I think are waaaay overpriced. Yep, I only realized it now. Hey, I got excited ok? Don't judge. XD

they gave me a price list (read: EXPENSIVE!) for nail services, just tell me if you want to see it and I'll put it up for you.

Now, I know a lot of people who visit Singapore go to the Merlion as soon as they get settled in. Not us! We always get too tired to go see the mythical creature after our daily activities so we just did a quick family photo with the Merlion before going to the airport.

is it weird that I find the merlion adorable? I want a stuffed merlion pillow! I didn't go to the souvenir store so I'm not sure if they have one. Time for google search! ;)

I also got a souvenir pic with the Marina Bay Sands as back drop.

isnt it cool? It's like Noah's Ark ver. 2010 :)

Alright thats it for today, I'm working on the haul pics and also some scans to share with you next time. I hope you're all having a good week. It's Thursday once again, can you smell the weekend? I do! :)

♡ always,

G

Singa-purr! Pt. 1

Hello! Ni hao! Apa Khabar! I'm back from my birthday trip, Singapore was super fun! I had a great time bonding with my whole family, I wish we can do this more often, since family time brings me so much joy. It's the greatest gift ever! :)

I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of Miu Miu's in the main shopping district, Prada's younger sis must be very popular with Singaporeans.

We stayed at Royal Plaza on Scotts, which is connected to the DFS Galleria. An adjoining hotel-shopping mall is always a good combo. Its also a few skips and hops away from Isetan Scotts and an underground walk away to Ion Orchard. ;)

We started our Singapore adventure by shopping and having an authentic dinner, I had shrimp laksa, it was creamy, spicy and delicious!

and the softest fried bean curd i've tasted...

it was like munching on little hot clouds. :)

Day two was spent at Universal Studios, it was packed! Good thing we still managed to get some nice, stranger-free pictures. hahaha

my whole family :)

me and my niece posin' like egyptians ^_~

the battlestar gallactica rollercoasters:

which aren't working yet. boo! (>.<)

im hooked! :P

A-OK @ Friar's, Far far away

Can you see my short hair? hehe. I chose the Prettia Marshmallow brown color, my BIL said it was too light. But I still like it. stubborn gal hahaha! >:)

That's it for now, Pt. 2 will have our Singapore Zoo and Merlion snaps. I will also share my Singapore beauty haul soon, I just need to take some pics.

Thanks for reading!

♡,

G

BRB

Lovelies! Im off to my birthday trip and I'm so excited to spend time with my WHOLE family! It will only be a few days so I doubt that you'll miss me ;) I want to say thank you to some of my sweet blogger friends Karen, Yumeko and Candy for sending me their birthday greetings through facebook. You never fail to make me smile :)

I'm going to answer all your sweet comments and queries when I get back in a few days. Also, birthday giveaway is still open for those of you who haven't entered yet. :)

I hope we get blessed with good weather since we are flying. *SCAREDYPANTS* hahaha! OK I seriously have to pack my stuff now. See ya!!!

Thanking you for all the L♡VE,

G

Canmake Lip Essence 00 + Nudy Glow 01 Rose Macaron Swatches

Hi everyone! Today I want to show you swatches of the Canmake Nudy Glow in 01 Rose Macaron which is the the most wearable/flattering shade for my skin tone. I also have the Canmake Lip Essence in 00 which serves as a nice lip base before I use the Nudy Glow or any other lippie I'm in the mood for. :)

(description from Canmake) 01 Rose Macaroon: A pinkish beige that gives your lips a gentle rose-pink color. Creates a gorgeous countenance that will make your skin look one tone brighter. Contains silver pearl

Nudy Glow comes with a brush applicator. I think it would have been better if it came with a flat paddle fuzzy applicator like Maquillage lip glosses, that would definitely save ladies some time in applying the pigmented gloss. :)

Lip Essence comes with a doe foot applicator.

now on to the swatches:

top, Lip Essence in 00

bottom, Nudy GLow in 01 Rose Macaron

As you can see, the Lip Essence is translucent with tiny specks of gold shimmer which gives my lips an iridescent glow which is very nice. It gives moderate moisture to my lips and does not cause annoying white film build up which is gross. XD One application is good for 4-5 hours depending on your "lip activity". I meant eating and drinking from a cup you naughty minded folks! :P

The Nudy Glow in 01 Rose Macaron is a beautiful nude creamy pink, it definitely, instantly makes lips looks plump and juicy, plus it contains moisturizing essence to keep lips looking smooth. However, this gloss tends to emphasize lip lines so blotting is essential to ensure a polished look. It is more comfortable to wear than say MAC Lipglass which I find sticky.

A lot of ladies asked me where I got the Canmake stuff on my HK Haul, you can find Canmake (and DollyWink) at Citysuper. If you want a price list you can check their HK site: http://www.hkcanmake.com/ ^_^

Ahhh.. I think I'm halfway through with my HK Haul reviews. Im looking forward to finishing them real soon!

♡,

G

ps. It's storm season here in the Philippines now. Please bring your rain gear people! We must not get sick! ;)

Would You Rather

Tag post! Sweet sweet Trams of the beautifool asked me to answer some interesting questions, I thought it would be fun and interesting (for those of you who are interested. hahaha!)

Rules:

1. Copy this picture & put it into your own post

2. Answer all questions

3. Tag as many people as you like

4. Tell them that you've tagged them

5. See what they answered!

I want to pass this on to:

Karen of cfbeauty

Kristie of Naturalnchicmakeup

Lisa of shopnchomp

Rick of ricademus

and everyone who wants to do it as well :)

Be extremely beautiful or extremely intelligent?

Extremely intelligent, then i will be a mad scientist and make potions to make myself extremely beautiful. yes? hahaha! :p

Go without brushing your teeth for a year or go without washing your hair for a year?

Im definitely letting go of the hair. I cant stand having bad breath! lol

Be rich or famous?

Rich, I wont be able to stand the pressure that comes with fame anyway...

Have an amazing shoe collection or an amazing makeup collection?

UH-MAZING shoe collection, but i'm working on the amazing makeup collection as well. hahaha

Be able to sing or be able to dance?

It would be really cool if I woke up one day and discover that I can sing like Celine Dion!

Be stranded on a Desert Island or in the Desert?

desert island. the desert sounds dehydrating. hahaha

Have a computer or a TV?

computer FTW! :)

Wear spots or stripes for the rest of your life?

Stripes =

Drink out of a teacup or a mug?

A mug, it's more laid back.

Receive a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates?

Flowers ^_^

Have a hug or a kiss from someone you love?

a big bearhug!!! :) i feel secure, relaxed and loved when someone gives me a good hug :)

Wear Converse or Stilettos?

if i can wear it everyday without my feet getting blisters and all, i'd wear stilettos everyday! ;)

Meet Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson?

Johnny Depp

Be a fairy or a mermaid?

A fairy! lalalalala :D

Coffee or a cup of Tea?

Coffee :)

Pink nails or Blue nails?

it depends on my mood, i like both. but im wearing pink polish right now so PINK. :)

Live somewhere sunny or somewhere cold?

Sunny!

Have an amazing house or an amazing car?

An amazing house :)

Be kind or funny?

Kind and a bit funny ;)

Eat sweets or cakes?

Cakes. yummers

Hold a Tarantula or a Snake?

do i really have to? ok tarantula. hehe

Wear a necklace or a ring?

right now, RINGs.

Laugh or smile?

Smile :)

Be hated or be a hater?

I'd rather be hated and not know about it, too much anxiety to know someone hates you and it takes too much energy to hate someone.

Pearls or beads?

pearls.

If you had to choose, lose your sight or hearing?

hearing, I think I've lost a little bit of my sense of hearing already having been through my brother's noisy Sepultura ROOTS, BLOODY ROOTS phase hahahaha

Have lots of money or lots of friends?

I want lots of moolah then enjoy it with my family and a few friends :)

Love or be loved?

Love :)

OK done! Now it's your turn to answer the Q's! :)

♡,

G

Sunday Lunch Date @ La Nuova

Hola! While everyone is celebrating Spain's World Cup victory, I'm thinking about the tartufo linguine pasta I had for lunch yesterday. Sorry Spain, but when it comes to food, I'm going Viva Italia! Hahaha :P

The BEST...

creamy tartufo linguine with porcini mushrooms and prosciutto di parma on top. Yummers in the tummers! I wish I can eat this everyday. :D

sorry for the low quality pics, Lurvey forgot his camera at home! :{

Lurvey had an italian beef steak dish in medium with mushrooms on top (sorry i forgot the fancy italian name! lol), it was sooo delicious! Their Concorde cake is my favorite too! Too bad it was sold out by the time we arrived for lunch tastebuds= :( , calorie counter = :D lol. If you're within the vicinity of Makati City and you're looking for a good italian meal, try La Nuova at San Antonio Park, along McKinley Ave. You wont regret it. ;)

In other news, this is the last pic of me you'll see with my long hair, I had a hair cut and its the shortest one I've had in years! (it's still medium length though) will post a pic once I get a decent one. haha! I have to color my hair first 'cause the roots are already bugging me. Can you help me choose between the two hair dyes I have?

Prettia Bubble Hair Dye in Marshmallow Brown or Hoyu Beautylabo's Maple Chocolate? Lighter or Darker? I appreciate your opinion. :D

Happy Monday!

♡,

G