Mai Couture Review : Face Papier Collection

Mai Couture was created by Mai Tran, a makeup artist herself, who believes that formula and packaging are two vital elements that make a brand. With that in mind, the Face Papier Collection was born. This collection is for everyone but targeted especially for people who don't usually have much time to apply/re-apply their makeup and are always on-the-go. These could range from travelling makeup artists to event planners.

So what's in this Collection? Currently they have three main products which are the 2 in 1 Oil Blotting Bronzing Papier, Blush Papier and Rejuvenate Oil Blotting Papier. In simple terms, they are all paper material which comes in 3 different forms; a bronzer, blusher and the typical oil-blotting sheets. According to their website, "The collection has it all: you can remove excess oil, add color to cheeks, get a glowing complexion, or simply refresh and revitalize your skin."

Blush Papier

2-in-1 Oil-Blotting Bronzing Papier

First of all, I must say, the packaging is absolutely gorgeous! It screams out elegance and *money!! The gold chains in contrast with the simple but chic black wallet, oh My God, major loves.

Besides that, I don't really see much use to these products. You can say I'm pretty traditional. I'd rather much prefer using a brush to apply my blush or contour my face. The bronzing and blush papers have pigments in them that transfer to your skin once you dab it onto your cheeks or anywhere on your face. It applies exactly the same way you usually do with an oil-blotting paper and provides colour that is buildable. It claims to eliminate the shine or oil on your face at the same time but then again, you don't usually have much shine on your cheeks.

Hmm... Do I recommend them? Only if you're a very busy woman and need makeup on-the-go. They're not a necessity or an essential must-have item.

If you're hesitant to buy them because they're a new company, don't worry, they've made quite a good impression for themselves already, gracing People Magazine and lots more.

The 2-in-1 Oil Blotting Bronzing Papier retails at 100 sheets for 33USD and Blush Papier at 50 sheets for 28USD. Mai Couture does not ship internationally.

Wishlist: White Rubber Watches

Swayed by all the hype, I've wanted to get a white rubber wrist watch for a few months already now. I don't know much about watches and their terminologies although I've read a bit of Revolution and GMT a while back so I can't say much about the technical aspects of these watches. What attracted me was the rubber texture and its casual yet classic look. I simply adore the curved bumps on the wrist part of these watches.

*Toy Watch

*Swatch

I wish I could get myself a Michael Kors or a Chanel one day but impatience and temptations may just pull me in to buy a $5 or $10 watch that's similar looking at Bugis Street.

*Chanel

*Michael Kors

My birthday's in April. Early birthday gift for me, anyone? :P

Fashion Inspirations

On days that I feel so bland and just don't know what to wear, looking at people in beautiful clothes can easily perk up my day. They inspire me.

I think Singaporeans should be more adventurous in the way they dress, look etc. It's always either you're too boring and bland in your clothes/makeup or too adventurous that you don't realise you're caking up your face with too much foundation and walking in outrageous clothes.

Then again, it's all about confidence, confidence, confidence. Now who says you have to be a huge celebrity to look and feel good? (:

*credits to fashiontoast, chictopia, karla's closet

Balenciaga - Bags

Well-known for its beautifully structured bags, Balenciaga has never failed to make me fall in love with their bags over and over again. This has yet to include the majority of celebrities who have also became great fans of the established brand.

*forgot her name. not worth remembering. haha.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Vanessa Hudgens

On their site, there were a few which caught my eye and of course, if I had the money, I would go out and grab all of them!

Giant Part-time (the classic Balenciaga type of bag)

Lune Medium

Giant Pompon

*drools.

Do you have a Balenciaga bag? What are your views on the brand?

Mail Time: Ring Box

The mail came in today unexpectedly but yay! I finally have a bigger box for all my rings!

Everything was wrapped up nicely in bubble wraps and a brown box for additional protection. The ring box itself is very light, simple, black and has the typical box-like texture which is good for me as I purposely didn't want to get a heavier ring case which is more expensive and rather a waste just to store rings. I love bargain finds. (:

Most importantly, it has many slots for my rings! So now I can buy more rings without having to worry about storage! Thumbs up!

Facial Masks Review

I have never tried a facial mask in my entire life just because I don't see the need to buy one. I felt the 3-step regime will be good enough for my face. But I don't know why; these masks seem to be attracting me these days. I will see them at our local drugstores and feel so tempted to buy them. I eventually caved in when I saw these selling at 4 for $10 at a recent flea market. My sister instigated me to buy too. Haha. Clever girl.

I couldn't take much pictures because of my pathetic camera quality (I need a new camera!!) and I was very lazy so I used my IPhone instead. I captured just the two masks my Sis and I were trying out and totally forgot to take a picture of the ingredients at the back. I think the masks were from Taiwan/China/Hongkong etc. as they have chinese writings on them. (This is part of the reason why I want to learn Mandarin so much!! Gosh.)

Mine

Sis's

I had trouble putting on the mask (it looked huge on my small face!) and then it got quite uncomfortable the whole time the mask was on me. (Sis was like an expert; she placed the mask on her face so deftly!) I didn't even know that I had to cover my eyes as well. Yes, I was that dumb.

The mask did no justice to my face. The two main ingredients (they were written in english) for the particular Grape Seed Extract Mask were collagen and witch hazel. I remember breaking out from the WITCH Foaming Face Wash I used a long time ago that contained natural Witch Hazel.

My face did feel a bit tighter probably due to the collagen but it caused a tingling sensation to my fragile eyes which I thought was temporary. After a few days, the dry patches above my eyes, came back! Now, I have to double up on moisturizing my eyes yet again.

All the time I was having these problems, my sister was having a breeze. In fact, she said her face felt smoother and clean. Bleargh.

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2010 Ready-To-Wear Collection

I saw the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2010 Ready-To-Wear Collection online and I just had to blog about it. I personally don't follow the latest trends as it is time-consuming, bad for my pockets and I prefer to feel comfortable yet, chic enough, in my own clothes.

The collection was nice, simple, black, classic, understated yet elegant. Basically going back to the old classic D&G.

Melissa Tammerijn, Jac, and Hanna Rundlof.

Snejana Onopka

But, that is sooooooo not the reason why I am blogging about it. What attracted me was the simple romantic makeup that the models had on their faces. They looked gorgeous! The neutral, eye look with a tint of gorgeous red on their lips against their pale light skin. Oh my god. Spectacular.

Abbey Lee Kershaw

Sara Blomqvist

Ramona Chmura

Keke Lindgard and Malene Knudsen

*credits to STYLE.com

I am totally inspired to re-create that look and give it my own twist. For an upcoming wedding event, possibly? (:

Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-aging Moisturizer Review

I have always been on a look-out for good moisturizers as it does get pretty dry around the contours of my eyes and near my jawline. Also, at that point of time, my lightweight moisturizer wasn't doing much justice on my dry eyes which was getting worse by the days. And so, after doing much research, I decided to grab my hands on the "Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-aging Moisturizer".

7-in-1 sounds like a lot to offer and anti-aging is always a good thing right? I just assumed 23 is quite an appropriate age to join the anti-aging bandwagon. Haha. It also has a pump! I wish my Revlon Colorstay Foundation has a pump too.

According to their website :-

Total Effects fights 7 signs of aging (fine lines and wrinkles, rough texture, uneven skin tone, dullness, prominent pores, age spots and dryness) by:

• Minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles -----> I didn't see much improvement actually.

• Smoothing skin’s texture with gentle exfoliation -----> Not really sure about that.

• Balancing color and tone while reducing the appearance of age spots -----> I don't have age spots yet but it did actually brighten up my face abit.

• Fighting dullness for healthy-looking radiance ----> see above

• Refining to minimize pore appearance -----> My pores are still the same.

• Moisturizing to nourish dry skin and to help firm and subtly lift its appearance -----> It was quite moisturizing the first few times I used it but after that, it didn't do much to my face!! ):

• Protecting skin’s surface with antioxidants ----> Probably. But, it didn't moisturize my face enough!

Just in case you're wondering, I used this product for about a month and a half before doing this review. I must say, I am disappointed. I even experienced some tingling sensations after a while that I just stopped using it. Now I'm back to my Nivea Soft Intensive Moisturizing Cream. It's cheap and it did help reduce the dryness around my eyes. It also claims to have Jojoba Oil and Vitamin E which is a plus. (:

Ok, I lied. I bought the Nivea Creme first but it didn't work on me either.

It was just too greasy and it didn't solve my problem. Now I have 2 moisturizers lying in my cupboard left unused. Bleargh.

I'm still finding for the right moisturizer for my normal/dry skin. It would be good if it has SPF in it too. Hmm.. Have you found yours?

Obsession

Other than anything beauty or fashion related, shoes are an obsession for me. An intense one. You can just throw on any simple clothes with a hot shoe and bam! you're good to go. MAJOR LOVES!! (:

The revolution of clogs!

*credits to fashiontoast