Chanel Beauty Shopping & I'm Back... I Think?

I'm sorry I've been neglecting this blog. Between work, exams and then starting my full time job, I've been way less excited about makeup and nail polish. Which is shocking, seeing how all I ever used to think about was makeup & nail polish!

That being said, there has been a product I've been wanting to try for a longggg time. And I finally got it, to celebrate the first month at my big girl job (I've been doing an awful lot of celebrating actually).

I got two things, can you guess what they are? 

Yep, I FINALLY got the CC cream I've been lusting over. That and the eyeshadow quad in Seduction.   I also wanted to pick up the Les Beige powder but the lady at the counter said they're sold out in most places :( Oh well, maybe next time. 

I love Chanel's sleek and simple packaging. Always a win. (The Les Beige powder comes in a beige compact, SO MUCH WANT.)

I've been meaning to pick up one of the Chanel quads just to try their eyeshadows but I haven't seen one that I want badly enough to fork out US$60 for so I held back. This purchase was completely spur of the moment, I hope I don't regret it! 

It seems like it'd be a good combination of colors for me. I have more neutral eyeshadow palettes than I can remember so I didn't want to get another one with just different shades of brown. 

Seduction is perfect because it has a deeper red-toned shade (top left) and a light champagne (top right) and a pretty peachy shade (bottom left). It's not too far out of my box but still slightly more colorful than most palettes I own. I can't say I'll get much use out of the darkest brown shade but I'll try to use it as eyeliner!

So excited to wear these out tomorrow, hopefully I won't be disappointed!

More Chevrons Please!

{China Glaze's Kinetic Candy, Liquid Leather & I'm Not Lion}

I loved & missed my previous chevron manicure so much (you can see it here), I asked my friend if she'd paint them for me again. Voila! I love how these turned out, and my left hand looks even better, but I can't seem to take pictures with my left hand.

{OPI's My Vampire Is Buff, Pirouette My Whistle & When Monkeys Fly!}

I know I said I was on a shopping ban, but unfortunately, that hasn't happened. I keep getting tempted by new collections & makeup I see :(

I bought these OPI nail polishes the other day, I couldn't resist, they're soooo pretty! I want to wear My Vampire Is Buff and When Monkeys Fly so much but I don't want to remove my chevrons :( #firstworldproblems

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Also placed an order with Teavana for the very first time and I LOVE the selection of tea they have, they all sound delicious and the ones I got taste amazing. I'm not really loving loose leaf teas though, they're much more inconvenient than tea bags.

Inglot!

I visited an Inglot store today! Look at the rows and rows and rows of nail polish, in every color & shade of the rainbow and MORE. I was drooling when I saw the display :O 

I also made my first Inglot Freedom palette (only 3 pans of eyeshadow but still...), I'll blog about it soon!

Ice Cream Nails!

Dark colors are all I've been wearing lately, I've been stuck in a dark red polish rut (I own 11 dark red colors, the last time I counted). 

Then I decided to force myself out of my comfort zone and go completely pastel. And... I loved it!

L to R: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's Lacey Lilac, OPI's Panda-monium Pink, China Glaze's Kinetic Candy, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's Mint Sorbet and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear's Lacey Lilac again.

All my favourite colors on my fingers. Just looking at this picture makes me happy (:

Then, I had some time on my hands and decided to add something fun to my manicure.

Yep, I painted ice cream on my nails!

Honestly, my nails are having a bit of an identity crisis. They can't decide if they're ice cream or cupcakes. Help them out?

New Nail Swatches!

I know I said that I'm on a no-buy, but I bought a couple bottles of Essie polish before that started. And I also have a bunch of stuff coming in the mail, just putting it out there so no one thinks I'm a loser who can't stick to a no-buy!

Anyway, I was on the search for the Essie topcoat (the one with the shiny metallic cap) but I couldn't find it anywhere so I ended up getting 2 polishes instead. 

I've seen Chinchilly all over Tumblr and I loved it. The formula isn't amazing though. It went on a little goopy and sheer in places. I had to paint my nails twice because I messed up the first time, I painted it on too thickly and it wouldn't dry and it started creasing. Using two or three thin coats worked better for me. It's wearing pretty well, 4 days and no chips yet!

I love love love dark reds but I don't think I own one that's so obviously a jelly polish. I adore this color and the formula is pretty great for a jelly polish, I used 3 coats.

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And, on a completely unrelated note, my friend came back from a semester abroad and she bought me...

A STARBUCKS EAR CAP!!!

I've been wanting one for a while but they have been pretty pricey (more than I want to pay for a ear cap anyway) where I've seen them. Isn't it adorable? I'm so in love with it and I'm going to try my best not to misplace it like I usually do.

Oh you know...

Just the things I want but can't buy because I'm supposed to be saving up for a big purchase. I'm going on a no-buy soon. & It so happens that just as I've decided to go on a no-buy, all my favourite companies come up the the most amazing things. 

I've been the biggest fan of Archie comics ever since I was a kid, I was obsessed with collecting & reading them. I'm definitely Team Betty though, are you? 

I knew I wanted to own pieces from this collection when I first saw it (hello blushes & eyeshadow quad & face powder!). The packaging is too cute ♥

MAC is releasing EIGHT new pro longwear paint pots! :O I think I've said it more than enough, but paint pots are my absolute favourite thing from MAC (the MSFs come a very close second). Look at the gorgeous shade on the top row, I need them all! 

I know I'm definitely going to get Vintage Selection & Let Me Pop (3rd & 4th ones in the top row). These were first seen in the Champale collection in 2010 and I didn't get them because I wasn't into wearing much eye makeup then.

And finaaaaally, the pastels from China Glaze's Avant Garden collection. I'm a sucker for pastels. I haven't looked up swatches yet, but I probably have something similar to the lilac & periwinkle colours in my collection. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the darker pink, mint & white colour though. 

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I just need a teeny bit of self control, I'll pick out a couple of things to buy from each collection and I won't go overboard :/

Essie's Turquoise & Caicos & China Glaze's Whirled Away!

I purchased a couple of the polishes from the China Glaze Cirque du Soleil collection a month ago (I posted it on Instagram), but I completely forgot about them until I chanced upon swatches recently. I loved Whirled Away the moment I saw it but I had no idea how to wear it. 

I looked through the swatches on Google and decided that I liked it best over a pastel/light colored base so I whipped out Essie's Turquoise & Caicos ♥

Turquoise & Caicos has to be one of my favourite mint green/turquoise nail polishes. It's SO gorgeous & the formula is pretty great. The first coat may look sheer and patchy, but the second coat evens everything out. I have no problems with the formula at all. 

I had a bit of trouble applying Whirled Away though. In all the swatches I've seen, all the "glitter" pieces seemed to be well distributed & even. However, when I tried to paint it on, it was pretty hard to get the pieces to go on evenly. I actually had to fish out the white hexagonal pieces and put them on using a dotting tool.

I really love how unique Whirled Away is and I love how these two polishes look together. Whirled Away is definitely worth the extra effort it takes. 

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y.

After whining & complaining for a year, I finally got the iMac :') My MacBook Air died a sudden death & it was going to cost me an absolute fortune to repair her, so I went ahead and bought a new computer instead. 

I had to wait two weeks for this baby because it was new & sold out on the Apple website, but it was TOTALLY worth the wait. I received it on Boxing Day and I was overjoyed :')

I got a MacBook Air in June 2011 (she only lived 1.5 years :( ) and I knew I'd never be a Window's user again. I love how sleek Apple products are and I prefer the Apple OS to the Windows' one. Aaaaand, the best part about the iMac is that the CPU is built into the monitor itself, so it takes up waaaaay less space. My room is tiny, and I need all the space I can get.

Isn't she a beauty?!

Please excuse my cluttered desk, I shall take this opportunity to do a 'Current Faves' post. 

You can see a bottle of Bioderma (favorite makeup remover EVER), Juicy Couture makeup bag (got it on sale and love it because it's hugeeee), Bath & Body Work's Mahogany Teakwood candle (I'm rationing it!) and my current go to nail polish (OPI's Quarter of a Cent-cherry).

New Year's Day Nails!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! May 2013 be the best year you'll have so far!

I wanted to go all out, glitter bomb for my New Year's Day nails. I love glitter, and what better occasion is there to wear glitter?! So I pulled out my most bimbo pink and brightest silver/gold polish and piled it on my nails :D

I used OPI's Teenage Dream & China Glaze's I'm Not Lion.

I layered a layer of OPI's Panda-monium Pink under 2 coats of Teenage Dream. I only had to use ONE coat of China Glaze's I'm Not Lion, I adore it!

I usually only use glitter polishes for accent nails or nail art but I went all out this time. And I really like how it turned out!

New Brushes!

I purchased a F80 Sigma brush a year ago or so because I needed something to apply my liquid foundation with. I didn't like the M.A.C. 187 as much as I thought I would because it took SO much time & work to stipple the foundation on and the coverage/effect wasn't even that great, TBH.

Don't get me wrong, I adore M.A.C.'s eye brushes and their powder brushes (the 182 kabuki brush is possibly my fave) but for liquid foundation, these synthetic kabukis are PERFECT.

I ended up using my F80 SO much, and it was such a hassle to wash & dry because the bristles are extremely thick & dense. So, I decided to get myself the synthetic kabuki set :D

There are 4 brushes in this set, namely the F80, F82, F84 and the F86. The 'F' stands for face, just in case I wasn't the last person on this planet to figure that out. Their eye brushes start with 'E'.

Here are the brushes in order from F80 to F86.

I'd have to say that the F80 is still my favourite! It really distributes foundation evenly & effortlessly. And it also does the job quick, pretty much a foolproof method of applying foundation!

The F82 differs from the F80 slightly because instead of being flat like the F80, the F82 has a rounded surface. I don't like it as much because the brush has less surface area and so it takes a tad longer to apply foundation with it.

I haven't found a use for the F84 because I feel like it's more for a product like cream bronzer (Soleil Tan de Chanel, when will you be mine?) because it's angled, which would be perfect for contouring.  I don't use cream bronzer . You definitely can use the F84 to apply your foundation too though.

I like the F86, it's great for patting concealer under your eyes or even for blending out foundation near your nose & those slightly harder to reach areas!

I love these Sigma brushes, they're amazing & definitely worth the money. I can't rave enough about them! If you don't really wear liquid foundation or if you don't see the need in getting 4 of them, you can buy them individually too!

You can purchase them here: Synthetic Kabuki Kit

Snowglobe Nails! ❄

My friends came over to my place for some coffee & cake, and we decided to do our nails too because, why not? :D

I used China Glaze's Kinetic Candy, Shooting Stars and White on White. You can tell how much I love China Glaze ♥

I sponged White on White over my Kinetic Candy base, then did a coat of Shooting Stars over. My friend also brought over Christmas nail stickers and I couldn't resist the Christmas tree & snowflake ❄ There's also a bow on the middle finger of my right hand but I can't take a decent picture with my left ☹

Deborah Lippmann's Cleopatra in New York

This is my newest bottle of Deborah Lippmann nail polish! I don't know why, but it's named Cleopatra in New York, which sounds strange to me! I was really excited about getting this polish after seeing a couple of people post it on Instagram but I'm not sure how I feel about it IRL :(

I think it's meant to be gold glitter pieces in a black jelly base but it can look a little grey to me under certain lights. I applied 2 coats in the picture you see, and the polish is pretty much opaque. The formula is good, considering how streaky & sheer black jelly polishes can be. 

One of the reasons I liked it so much on IG is because the glitter seemed pretty spaced out & more subtle. It might be the way I applied the polish, but 2 coats made the glitter become to densely packed for my liking. I may have to try it a couple more times before I really decide if I like it or not. 

New In: Makeup!

I went on a work retreat with my colleagues (to Bangkok, my second trip there this year!) and I picked up a couple of things at the airport! I rarely buy makeup from department stores/makeup counters because they are RIDICULOUSLY expensive where I live, so when I travel, I like to make use of the opportunity to pick up some makeup from the duty-free shop!

I'm pretty pleased with the stuff I got this time, even though I didn't manage to get my hands on the eyeshadow palette from Chanel's holiday collection :(

I've wanted to try this Revlon shadow stick ever since I watched Amarixe's tutorial (here). I love the colors & they go on so smoothly on the eyes. The only downside is that you have to blend them out fast because they dry/set very quickly! You definitely have to do one eye at a time.

This is my very first NARS eyeshadow duo :') I've been lusting over NARS eyeshadows for a while now, and I couldn't decide between Kuala Lumpur, Kalahari & Isolde. When I saw them in real life, I decided to go with Isolde because Kalahari looked really muddy on my skin. I'm glad I decided to wait til I saw them IRL instead of buying them online!

I got a YSL Rouge Volupte in no. 29, I think a YSL lippie is going to be my travel tradition from now on. I don't really wear lip products but YSL has the most gorgeous packaging ever, I have to collect it! Both the Chanel lipstick & lipgloss are for my BFF & her mom because they're super lovely & they always get me souvenirs when they travel ♥

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I really enjoyed my trip to Bangkok, my colleagues were a pleasure to shop with, the weather was good, the apartment we stayed in was amazing. Everything went perfectly and I'm very thankful for that.

I know I haven't done a nail post in a while. It'll be up in 2 or 3 days! It's a new Deborah Lippmann nail polish ♥

New In!

If you follow me on Instagram, you'd know that I got this stuff forever and two years ago. I can't believe that I forgot to blog about it, and that I haven't posted in so long! :(

Anyway, I went on a little shopping spree... slightly less than a month ago? I picked up a few clothing items from F21 and Urban Outfitters (didn't take pictures of them because I can't take a decent pic of clothes :( ) and I also got a year's supply of Victoria's Secret Pink underwear (which I didn't take a picture of, because putting pictures of your undergarments on the Internet is not classy).

I did, however, take pictures of my new candles from Bath & Body Works!♥

I usually tend to go for food scents, but I decided to move out of my comfort zone a little this time because I have a stash of frosted cupcakes and smores candles from B&BW. I couldn't say no the the hot buttered rum scent (which smells exactly like what it's called) so I got that anyway. 

I love HBR, Mahogany Teakwood (less musky, slightly sharper version of Abercrombie's Fierce) and Autumn. Lemon Mint Leaves, on the other hand, smells like... floor cleaner/toilet freshener? It doesn't exactly smell baaaaaad, but it smells chemical-y/artificial.

The mini candles are SO cute, and they were free because I had a coupon. It's perfect because I wanted to try the Autumn scent but I didn't want to get the giant 3-wick candle.

Also picked up a couple of drugstore things, I didn't get any makeup, save for that Wet n Wild e/s trio! So proud of myself hahaha ☺

I got a full sized bottle of the Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment because I really really liked the sample I had and the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle because I'm too impatient to wait more than 3 minutes for my conditioner to work!

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So many exciting things are happening soon, my BFF is getting married this weekend, I'm one of her bridesmaids (eek!!!) and I'm doing her nails. And, I'll be vacation-bound in 2 weeks. I can't wait for duty-free shopping at the airport... MAKEUPPPPPP.

OPI's Bubble Bath & The Living Daylights

The Living Daylights was the polish I was  most excited about from the Skyfall collection and I've been looking for ways to wear it ever since I got it! 

Then I saw the best way to wear TLD ever on Killer Colours (I adore her blog, she's such an AMAZING makeup artiste, I can't emphasize it enough) and on Chalkboard Nails. It was soooo pretty I had to try it out!

Bubble Bath is a perennial favourite and needs to introduction. TLD is a polish with gold, silver, orange & green glitter pieces in it, it's quite unique, I'd say. 

I used 2 coats of BB, 2 coats of TLD and then another coat of BB. I love how it turned out!

I'm Not Afraid Of Spiders

Happy Halloween! ☠ I hope you've had ( or are having) a great time!

Decided to have a bit of fun with my nails with OPI's Skulls & Glossbones and a nail art pen from The Face Shop.

I shall name my spider Harry (Hairy, get it hahaha), and his twin brother (on my other hand) shall be named Scary. They'll stay with me for a couple of days ☺

Questionnaire #1

I got a bunch of questions off Amarixe's (one of my fave beauty bloggers/Youtubers) website & I thought they'd be quite fun to do! She does these things on a weekly basis, but I don't think I will. I love reading about someone else's life but I highly doubt anyone would want to read about my life/feelings so frequently, and I'm not sure if I'll have anything interesting to say anyway!

[A bit of me time before I have to go for class.]

1.) Mood:

Mostly happy, but also a little annoyed over a few insignificant issues.

2.) On the topic of Hurricane Sandy, are any natural disasters common where you live?

No, not at all. I don't live near the edge of a tectonic plate so it's pretty safe here! (Applying Geography I learnt half a decade ago, whoop whoop!)

3.) What is your favorite song at the moment?

I spent all of last night listening to the acoustic version of Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People

4.) Current nail polish:

OPI's We'll Always Have Paris ❤

5.) If you could only use one makeup product, what would it be?

Definitely, without a doubt, my eyebrow pencil. I have really sparse brows and I look really weird when I don't fill them in.

6.) Current outfit:

A green, fitted v-neck tshirt from Forever 21 & dark wash denim shorts from American Eagle.

7.) Are you good at keeping in touch with friends and family?

It depends. I'll only initiate get togethers/dinners/shopping dates if my friends make the same effort too. If I have to be the one who keeps asking someone out, I won't do it. I'm pretty good about replying texts & emails though!

8.) Are you excited about any holiday makeup collections this year?

UGH. MAC has this rose gold + bows (two of my fave things) collection coming out, It's unbelievably pretty. And also so unbelievably expensive, I really doubt I'll be purchasing anything. I can still be excited about it though!

9.) The world's most wonderful chef is at your home ready to fix any meal you desire-- what do you order?

HMMM... Can I have duck confit, parma ham pizza, aglio olio, tiramisu and red velvet cupcakes, thank you!

 

10.) Weekly goals:

Finish that social psych assignment & NOT drink anything from Starbucks ( I love my little coffee machine & I need to cut down on overpriced drinks anyway).

Short Update!

[My mocha from lunch the other day, isn't it pretty?]

I took quite a few photos with my camera the other day but I misplaced the wires to hook it up to the computer. My pictures are all stuck in the camera now, I can't get them out unless I buy a new cable ☹. I don't think I will though, I might just wait til the post-Christmas sales and get a new one.

In the mean time, there may not be too many posts. I'll try to get my hands on my dad's Panasonic LX5 (which is heaps better than my old point-and-shoot) though!

New In: OPI Skyfall & More! ☁

I finaaaaally got my paws on the polishes I wanted from OPI's Skyfall Collection! I thought about getting the entire collection because I loved the swatches I saw online but I came to my senses and decided to just buy the ones I REALLY liked. After all, how many variations of red nail polish does 1 girl need?!

So, these are the ones I decided to get in the end.

L-R: Skyfall, The Spy Who Loved Me, Casino Royale

L-R: Live And Let Die, Goldeneye, The Living Daylights

I also decided to pick up a couple of darker Fall colors because I don't own too many of them. I tend to lean towards pastels so darker polishes rarely catch my eye.

L-R: Here Again... Aragon Tomorrow, We'll Always Have Paris

I've worn HAAT but I didn't really take a picture of it. I have a picture of it with nail art on top on my Instagram (ohheyclaudia) but it just looks like it's black. It's actually a very dark green! Opaque in 2 coats, but you can probably get away with wearing 1 thicker coat. I love polishes like that!

 This is most definitely my favourite polish from the Skyfall collection!♡ Skyfall is a deep, dark red creme polish. It looks so pretty on the nails & the formula is amazing too. It's opaque in 2 coats, and it's pretty glossy!

I probably won't be buying anymore nail polishes anytime soon. I've got to set myself on a strict nail polish ban. I'm running out of space to store my collection ☹

Pink & Glitter Nails ❤

I wanted to paint my nails the other day but I couldn't find any of the newer polishes that I wanted to use. So I pulled out a couple of oldies but goodies!

These are OPI's Rainbow Connection (from the Muppet's collection) and Strawberry Margarita (IDK which collection this is from, it seems to be one of the polishes that have been around for forever!). I adore both of these polishes, especially Strawberry Margarita, I use it sooo much & will definitely repurchase it when I use it up!

I've seen my friend wear a coat of Rainbow Connection on top of Strawberry Margarita and it was SO pretty. I wasn't prepared to have to wrestle glitter off 10 fingers so I decided to have an accent nail on each hand instead. I really like how it turned out!

That is 2 coats of Strawberry Margarita and 3 coats of Rainbow Connection! ❤