Easy peasy with M.A.C Brush Cleanser!

We have earlier decided that there will not really be any form of getaway this school holidays.

I was adverse to the idea initially - I mean , what are holidays without getting out of Singapore? With the recent incident, all the more I felt I need fresh non-Sg air.

But he has been really nice and we have had good times lazying around at home or window-shopping trips (I think I lost my shopping touch - we were in Orchard for 5 hours and all I bought was a dust cap for my phone!) . I watched more DVDs than I have ever done in this short period of time and hey, my home is very neat most of the time now! :P

I went back to work this recent week. It felt a little funny because I had been away for almost a month and everyone I met was expressing their concern and sympathy. It was tough not to break down again.

But anyway , the day before I started work, I was alone at home for almost the whole day so I decided to wash my make-up brushes.

We are supposed to wash our make-up brushes every week or at least, fortnightly. But SERIOUSLY, does anyone do it weekly?

It is such a chore - wash , shampoo, condition , dry (just like for hair) - and if you have more than 10 brushes, it will feel forever. Or rather, that's what the lazy me will feel. But I found this method to shorten the whole ordeal by more than half!

It is the M.A.C Brush CLeanser !

I read about it online somewhere (cannot remember where) and think this is the solution to my lazy-to-wash-brushes days! :P Everything is easy-peasy and takes very little time... oh and if I may add, pretty fun as well.

These were the brushes that needed a quick bath. There were six more but I was too lazy to take them out. ..hahha....As you can see,  I am not particularly loyal to any brands when it comes to brushes.
From left to right:
1) Lip / Concealer Brush from E.L.F
2) Lip brush from The Face Shop
3) Blusher / Powder brush from O2Skin
4) Eyeshadow brush from Cyber Colours
5) Blusher (use this for shading as well) brush from KROBI @ Cosmoprof. I love this a lot!
6) Concealer brush and foundation brush from ECO , bought from Watsons. Super cheap but good!
7) Eyeshadow brush from MAC
8) The whole red range from MAC
9) Eyeshadow blending brush from Body Shop

This is the brush cleanser from MAC. I am not sure of the price in SGD but I bought it for RM 45 when I was in KL.

Oh, u need tissues as well! You may want to use a face towel but I feel that using tissue is more efficient in taking away the colours from the brushes. You also do not have to deal with the washing afterwards.

Easy peasy steps to cleaning your make up brushes.

Step 1: Press out some of the liquid cleanser onto a piece of tissue - the size of a 20-cent coin. I folded the tissue into half , then half again for better absorption.

Step 2: Dab the hair of your brush onto that same spot. Continue dabbing , you will see the colour coming off the brush and onto the tissue. Stop when no more colour comes off.

From all those pink and coral blushers

Step 3: Proceed with all your other brushes. It doesn't take a long time because the cleanser makes the colours come off pretty fast. It is pretty fun, too!

One of my eye-shadow brushes. I am a heavy user of pink , brown, beige and coral colours , as you can see.

Overly used lip brush but seldom washed. Hehehe....

 Step 4: Lay your brushes out on a face towel and let them dry. As compared to the conventional way of washing which may take almost the whole day to dry, this took only 30 mins MAX. 

This is definitely an efficient way of cleaning your make-up brushes if you are always chasing after time to do this menial but important task. Of course, if you have all the time in the world, the traditional shampoo-and-conditioner method works better as that would be a more thorough cleansing.

As for me, I am lazy like that (haha!) and I really cannot be bothered to take a long time to wash them and then wait an even longer time for them to dry.

I took a photo of my 'work' and I think it looks pretty artistic, no?  

Ironically, after all this, husby bought for me the new brush set from MAC (with pink hair! LOVE!) and I just remembered that bestie got me a set from Sephora as well.

So another way to get clean brushes is......... to just buy new ones! :P

Hansel and Gretel over the weekend!

So today we brought the parents to get our annual fix of Wild Rice pantomine - Hansel and Gretel!

I knew I would enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed the previous ones I have caught with the other half. It was the husby's idea to bring my parents along this time round. I wanted to bring the little nephew but husby was apprehensive if it would be too long for him to endure (but he would enjoy himself! I know he would!) so we didn't eventually.

We were late though! We reached the place only at 2:20 pm when the show was supposed to start at 2:30pm and husby still had to find a parking lot. Parents and I went down first... but what luck! We were still too late and had to wait outside the door while the show started without us. Thank god they let us in within minutes ... I wouldn't want to miss much!

Google-d

I am not going to be a spoiler here but it was really very enjoyable. My parents had a great time and it was so cute to see my parents' reactions towards some of their jokes or crass remarks, which are very typical of these pantomines by WR.

Husby noticed an ang moh in the row in front of us who had a straight face almost throughout the show. This is rather impossible, I feel -  one can really laugh a lot and being a pantomine, there was enough audience 'participation' as the show progresses. We concluded that maybe he just did not 'get it'. The show is very Singaporean with a few splashes of Malay, Mandarin, Singlish and the dialects. Everyone gets to be the brunt of their jokes  ... and issues such as the acclaimed $50 Malay wedding, bus strikes etc etc were aptly included as well. Like my dad said, if one doesn't get it, it means you are just not assimilated into the Singapore culture yet.

Well, perhaps.

I took a vote at the end, for the most favourite character. Both my parents voted for Siti Khalijah while husby went for Sebastian. Me? I was torn between Sebastian and Khalijah! Sebastian was a darn fantastic witch / chef of the candy house! Love him on that stage so so much!! But Khalijah was equally awesome. She had dual roles - a Filipino maid and the chef's assistant and my god, this woman can really do wonders to her characters, u have to watch to know why. And when she belted out a Tagalog song, I was sold! Ok ok.... she gets my vote! HeeHee.

No photos taken at all since we were late and there were too many people for me to pose with one oftheir life-size posters afterwards.

Well, except for one camwhored one.......

I love my polka dot shawl from Princess Arabia (FB)! Flowered brooch was from IORA boutique.

It was a good outing,definitely.... and this has definitely helped cheer me up :)

If u are going to watch the musical, I am very sure it is worth your money. If you are not, hey , why not???

Coping with the loss..

Today marks exactly a week since the dreaded incident - you would have guessed what had happened with my previous post.

I am feeling slightly better now although the emotional scar would always be there.

But just this one week makes me realise - ok , it should not be "realise", to remember again - how important it is to have a good support system.

My family was obviously there for me; something that is expected but never to be taken for granted. And I am so thankful for that. Some of my relatives who matter were equally concerned as well and took their time to text or call me a few times to check on my well-being.

But I was very surprised at how the support from friends actually made a whole of difference. I am not a very sociable person. I do get along well with almost everyone I know at the workplace and anywhere else however, I can be pretty private about my affairs. I rarely share things unless I am really close and comfortable with that person. To a certain extent, I have believed before that I could survive without friends. Just my family, husby and darling best friend should suffice.

So, to have so many people fussing and showing concern over me was a touching moment, indeed. I did not respond much to most of them because  I really needed that time to myself - either to cry, pray or just stare into space (this happened a lot of times!) . And yet, they continued to ask how I was, asking  me to rest , giving me positive encouragement etc with utmost sincerity. I am so touched, my dearest friends and/or colleagues.

Despite what happened, I am thankful to God for showing me that there is a lot of love around and I should never give up on life.

I am also grateful that I am blessed with my beloved husby. He took leave and had been with me the whole week, spending every waking moment with me - just so that I have someone to share my sad moments . I know that he himself is sad but yet, he has been so strong and supportive in helping me bounce back to life.

This tough period has taught me to really appreciate what we already have. As for what we do not have or yearn for, work for it but know that HE always knows what's best for us.

I pray for the greatest blessings for my family and friends, husby and myself :)

Farewell , My Angel ....

My Little Angel,

It seems like it was just yesterday that
your presence brought us joy and hope.

But fate deems otherwise.

It breaks my heart each time I think about
how we could have met,
could have held hands,
could have been best friends.

Never did I imagine that you would be
with us for only two months,
before He calls u back.

Cruel as it may seem, I'm sure He knows
what's best for you. For us.

I know you are in good hands.
I look forward to seeing you when the time
comes for me to join you in His paradise.

In shaa Allah.

You will always be in my prayers.

I love you and will always miss you, my little angel.....

Manage Your Hair!

I have always had a problem with my hair. I was never satisfied with its condition.

My mum used to make me cut my hair all the time when I was in primary school that I eventually lost my natural curls. When I stepped into secondary school, I decided to keep my hair long. Yes, my curls came back but they were frizzy and I even had split ends when I was in sec 4!

Weirdly, I actually enjoyed looking at my split ends... I thought it was really fascinating that my hair seemed to have a behaviour of its own. But of course, that was a sign of unhealthy hair.

As I grew older and better managed my hair, the split ends were gone but not the frizziness or dryness :(  Thank god I put on the tudung ...  I spend so much money whenever I go to the salon for some hair treatments. At least, since I do not have to show off my hair so much, I could also cut down on the salon visits. 

But that mindset changed when I got married. Husby loved the hair whenever it is fresh from the salon. I tried ways and means to ensure that the locks stay shiny and bouncy. After trying out many hair products, I settled on the range from Essential. That made the hair much tamer and manageable ... and there were even many occasions where I just loved to flip flip my hair and feel it bounce off the shoulder. Haha!



I chose the Orange range that basically focuses on taming and softening dry or frizzy hair. After the shampoo (1) and conditioner (2) , I'll use the treamement cream(3) that is supposed to combat all those dryness. Once a week, I 'll replace (3) with (4) - a hair mask that contains honey and shea butter for that extra softness and bounce. (5) is the leave-on conditioner that comes last.

So far , so good. I have been a loyal user for a couple of years now although sometimes, I wish , my hair is just a little bit more bouncy and smooth.

Until recently, I made an amazing discovery (oh well, at least to me, it was amazing!).

                                                          This is what I am talking about.....



Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse® Multi-Usage Dry Oil

The NUXE Amazing Dry Oil has a super-activated formula that combines 30% of precious plant oils and vitamin E to nourish, repair and soften face, body and hair in a single gesture.

What is so special about this cute little bottle of dry oil? Well, it contains a unique cocktail of 6 precious plant oils (borage, St Johnswort, sweet almond, camellia, hazelnut, macadamia) and infused with Vitamin E (for the best in reparative moisture) that even works with stretch marks! I do not have any at the moment (hopefully, never!) but at least , there is one here that I can turn to :P

I use this when the hair is partially dried (naturally , not with hairdryer). Just put a small amount on your palm and apply to your hair. It is apparently safe for the scalp as well but I was a little cautious and avoided the scalp. When I first tried it, I did not have much expectations as you know how it is with products that promise you beyond their means.

I was pleasantly surprised though! The hair remains soft and silky and even has a light fragrance to it. Nothing to strong to take - I even went to my husby and insisted that he smelled my hair. LOL. I wash my hair on alternate days and it is really good to know that the effects last throughout.

You can also use this for your face and body. It will leave your face and body soft and velvety and your hair will become supple, glossy and full of volume. I tried it on my knees because the skin there is slightly drier and it turned smooth within minutes. I like it!

This is definitely for keeps :) Do try it out if you have issue with dry , limp hair or simply dry skin!

Our flea market!

How long has it been since my last post?

I can hardly remember.

But I have a valid reason (or even, reasons) for being away for so long, you know. And almost all have to do with school work so I do not think I shall bother to list them down.

This week spells the last week of lessons with the Sec 3s , after which it is bye bye bye to markings until next year. I still cannot believe I am finally going to reach the stage of no marking. In fact, the most recent Saturday was one of the most luxurious one I have ever had in a long, long time.

No, we did not go for a getaway or a staycation. Basically, I just slept. I continued my sleep from 7am all the way to 10am. Woke up , bathed, brought mum and nephew out for breakfast, went home ... and guess what? I slept again for the next 3 hours. In addition, I had slept early the night before , knocking off very soon after we reached home from Aidiladha celebration at about 10pm.

I have been sleeping and eating a lot the past weeks, and I know I must have put on at least a kg or two. But I shall talk about that another time.

One of the interesting things I did recently was to take part in a flea market with some of my cousins and aunties. It was kinda like a spur of the moment thingy but I am glad I was part of it! The rain was a little of a dampener and we didn't sell much on the first day. However, things picked up on the second day and the crowd was pretty amazing!

It went a little crazy towards the evening when an aunt decided to bring down the prices to ridiculously low levels. Imagine my pretty, pretty shawls which were originally priced at $5 gping down to $2 at 5 pm, $1 at 7 pm and 50 Cents at 8pm!They were already selling well at $5 so I was a little sad when it went down to $1. That included all the tops and bags... hahaha.... but well, they have been taking up too much space in the house and I rarely used them anymore. So, good riddance! My shelves (for the shawls) look rather bare at the moment and I am having difficulty finding shawls to match my outfits. What a perfect excuse to shop now! :P

We called our stall "Kitty Flea". It sounded cute as first ....until my dad mentioned that it translated to 'Kutu Kucing' in Malay. Haha! That's my aunt who printed all the signages and labels.

The two buddies having their Avengers /s Power Rangers fight AGAIN.

Dearest cute Adam Iman who wow-ed the crowd with his Gangnan style dance on the second night. People literally stopped to just watch him dance!

 Yes, husbands and boyfriends were all down to help. Family bonding!

My dad with his beloved grandson, grandniece and grandnephew - having a ball of a time on a Spiderman mat under the MRT tracks. Yes, my family members sure know how to self-entertain!

It was a really great experience working with all of them. We also had a very efficient method to track the revenue and when the time came for me ( yes, the so-called Math expert...haha !) to do the calculations of income and expenses and distribute the money accordingly, it was all done in a jiffy! The labels really helped a lot .

They are gonna go for another flea in January. I am not sure if I would be able to participate this time round - we shall see how it goes. But hey, I truly had a wonderful time with my maternal family this first time round! :)

Chop chop chop!

I had this horrible, horrible migrane during the prelims marking period. It was not surprising though because I had very little sleep, very little rest and had tons of markings on top of the lesson preparations, remedials and CCA session.

This happens every year and I can say I was kinda expecting it.

But one morning, I really could not contain it much longer as I felt like the head was going to burst anytime and I had to have that much self-restraint , in order not to bang my head against the wall. I left school after my last lesson at 11 am to catch some sleep - thought that would help.

I went over to my sister's place for that nap and when I woke up, mum started nagging at me about the length of my hair. She said my butt-length hair was the main cause of my headache. I refused to listen because I did not want to cut my hair - I love the length and the curls lah! But you know , even at this age, I still listen to my mum  a lot so I had no choice but to let her drag me to the hair salon.

She brought me to her regular hairdresser in a neighbourhood area. I used to go there a lot while I was schooling - last visit was when I was 15 years old. It was a rather nostalgic moment when I stepped into the salon and realised that not much has changed. The sister who does the haircut is still as friendly and pretty as ever, despite the many years we have not met.

So anyway, my mum told her how much to cut (SOB!!!) while I just sat there , biting my teeth in an attempt to alleviate the pain. I was pretty sad looking at the how much of the hair is gone (it is now a few inches below my shoulders).

The hairdresser suggested doing the henna treatment as she claimed it will 'cool' the heaty head and get rid of the migrane.  Ooooh....I love the henna treatment! I  love the smell of henna . In addition,  the cooling effect was almost immediate.

She then applied this scalp lotion which gave a very 'airy' feeling and made my whole head feel super light - as if I had no hair. That was a very shiok moment for me ....hahahahaha.........

A permanent fixture in my bathroom now

 

All in all, my whole visit only cost me $75. If I had gone to my usual place at Janzten , that would easily cost at least $300.

Verdict: Headache was gone and my scalp actually felt really cool for the next few days. The smell of henna was pretty strong though and I really didn't mind it (in fact, I love it!) but husby could not wait for the smell to go off.

I have been advised to go for henna treatment once every two months to prevent such migranes in the future. I think I will do just that :)

Princess Themed Diapercake

I have always wanted to do a Princess theme for my diapercakes. The idea of fairy wings, wands, tiara, fluffy lace etc is really whimsical and dreamy - perfect for that princess in everyone of us.

So, even though I am up to my neck with work , I wholeheartedly said "yes" when someone asked for a Princess-themed diapercake for this weekend!

It was such fun doing this, I tell you . Honestly, I have been rather stressed up the past few weeks and have not had enough rest. But the minute I cleared the more important work, I set down to my favourite business.

Here you go - pictures of my time and effort! :)

The back of the cake - which in my opinion, looks like another complete different cake.

I love pink so this really made my day :)

I also did another one this weekend . Customer requested for different shades of purple.

You can see more photos of my diapercakes under D'Fine Yourstyle Facebook Page or under my labels on the side bar.

Drop me an email or FB message should you have any enquiry or to place an order (self-promotion here) .

Toodles! Gonna cook lunch now!

September Bellabox

Loving it because it has my favourite lip gloss! Gonna try the sheet mask tonite...

My first Bellabox :)

Have you heard of bellabox?

I only heard of it sometime last month although apparently, it has been around for quite a while.

What exactly is it?

Let's just say it is like buying a small present for yourself as a reward for all your hard work and as a perk-me-up :)

How bellabox works

Bellabox is specially for people who love / want to try new beauty products yet, at the same time, not sure if you want to splurge on something that you have never tried before. Bellabox sends you approximately five products each month and everything is hand-picked and definitely authentic.

Hmmm.... but how do they handpick the items when they don't know you at all? That is simply solved by the beauty profile page that you need to fill in upon signing up.

The good thing is that you can edit your profile along the way. We all know how sometimes the skin conditions can change drastically - pimple, eye bags , etc . So updating your info every now and then will actually help them in getting the right things for you.

I have read reviews online about bellabox and almost all have been positive ones. Most of the time they will send you travel size or sample-sized products (I would love to get miniature perfumes!), wrapped in pretty pink packaging, with the occasional regular-sized ones.They will also include vouchers that you can use to get your favourite items. If you decide that you like what they send you, you can purchase it at their site as well.

Here are some pictures of other people's Bellaboxes...

I was rather intrigued so I decided to pay bellabox.sg a visit.

How much does one need to pay?

There are different subscription plans that you can choose from. I chose the basic plan which costs me $19.95  per month, which I feel is reasonable. It is a plus point that I can cancel it anytime. That means that if  by any chance, I get sick of it or too broke to spare $20, I can just terminate my subscription - no commitment needed! On top of that , they will only deduct the amount from your card monthly , instead of the common prepaid plans which you cannot back out of :)

Of course if you are sure that you want / can commit, you may want to opt for the annual membership. Whatever payment made incurs rewards points which may be used to offset future purchases.

Anyway, I received my first Bellabox a while back. I was actually still at work when they sent the package. Because I was just impatient (and worried the next delivery will still clash with my working hours), I just told the courier guy to leave it at my door.  I needed to convince him that it was alright to do that.

So here's my Bellabox for the month of August!

Vouchers! Will definitely use that one by SaSa to get my BB cream.

A little disappointed that items didn't come in the usual pink packaging. Instead , they came in this (ugly) bag just because August is when the nation celebrates its birthday. Sigh,

L'oreal Youthcode, China Glaze nail polish, Dermalogica Cleanser, Enavose Priobotics Exfoliance Gommage & Elizabeth Arden Cleanser, toner and serum (samples)

I absolutely love this exfoliator from Enavose! Honestly, I have never heard of this brand before so it was a really pleasant surprise that it works so well! The texture is really smooth , unlike the typical exfoliator with mini beads, but when I rub it gently on the face, I can see all the dead skin coming off. My face felt really clean and smooth after that, and don't feel dry at all! I think I am going to purchase it!

I left a review on the official page because one can earn 5 rewards points for each review done. It gets better, doesn't it? 

The other one that I really like is the Dermalogica cleanser. The least favourite is the L'oreal Youth Code - don't think it works for me. 

I simply cannot wait for September's Bellabox. Come quick!

Online shoes shopping !

Ever since I got hold of my yellow MJ bag, I have been searching high and low for yellow shoes.

I wanted to get either a pair of flats or wedges for casual outings and another pair of heels for something more dressy/formal/suitable for work.

Since the trend on colour blocking is still going on, I had thought that I would have no problem finding such bright-coloured shoes.

I was SO WRONG! Nothing I saw was ever suitable. The yellow flats that I did find were more towards the dull shade of yellow - I wanted bright, bright, bright yellow! As for the heels, I did see a few but they were all mighty high , at least 4 inches to balance on.  That would be a piece of cake in my younger years... but sadly, I am getting older and can only tolerate a maximum of 3 inches of heels. The best definitely would be the fun-sized 2-inches kitten heels.

And thus, the online search began. I had no time to go to town and walk around to look for a yellow pair. Besides, my cousin recommended a few online websites that sell shoes AND are reliable. All the sites are based in the USA.

1) heels.com

    Limited variety but almost everything on the site is really, really pretty.

    Here are some of my favourites.

 

But as you can see, all the shoes come with almost impractical heels. How does one even walk in that? Maybe it is manageable if I wear it to a dinner function whereby I can just sit down and not walk. I was out of the site within minutes.

2) endless.com

Ooooohhh...... I like this site! Many different designs of all colours that you can possibly imagine.  

The only downside is that some of the shoes are not shipped outside of the USA so you need to read the fine prints on each photo. It was just my bad luck that the ones I picked out are only shipped within USA. Of course, I could use my Vpost US address for this transaction but again , as if it was fated, I could not find any yellow heels that were of manageable height there.

But I still have some favourites there that I will consider in future, in case I decide to go for sky-high heels again. Let me show you!

Ok, the list seems endless! But seriously, aren't they so pretty? I can almost drool at the thought of owning all of them :P

The seemingly-endless search for a pair of yellow heels finally paid off when I saw this pair of pumps on zappos.com . I have been looking for this Aldo pair in Singapore since I last saw it online but I did not manage to locate it at all! I was pretty sad and was ready to give up... but hey, luck was obviously on my side.

I found the pair.

My cousin was the one who did the ordering for me...thank u , my dear!

And yesterday, the mail man knocked on the door and presented me with the long-awaited (ok, not that long) pair! Yeah!

TADAH!!!!! I like!!!!!

Well, the colour is slightly brighter than I'd like. But no sweat, I am sure it will be gorgeous when being paired up with my sunshine bag!

And I thought that would spell the end of the shoes shopping. Alas, I stumbled upon a pair of pink suede pumps on asos.com... and ...well, you guessed it alright! I clicked to purchase! I am still waiting for it. I hope the shoes reach me in time for Raya.

I would say shopping for shoes online is rather interesting - all you have to do are to click, view and add to cart. But worry not! I will still contribute to the local shoes industry. Nothing beats trying out and prancing around in heels while checking own feet out in the mirrors :)