Beauty Binge:Paw-stamped & approved! April faves.

I am full of ideas lately!!

Since I have such a huge make up collection, I thought it would be great, at every end of the month, to list down 5 things I enjoyed using in that month. I get new products at least once a month, so some are new, some are old stuff tucked away which I have re-discovered. Enjoy!

April faves!!
In no particular order:

1. ELF mechanical eye lash curler.
I put off getting this for the longest time, simply because I already have 2 curlers (and a pair of lashes!). I have one Shu Uemura and one Shiseido, so who needs another one, right? After all, they're only like the eye lash curlers to have! Well....when you're a beauty addict/junkie/whore, there's always a reason to get another one!! Don't get me wrong, those 2 coveted curlers are everything they are set out to be, but to pay $1 for a curler that doesn't pinch and curls effortlessly is so rewarding!! Once again it proves to me that it can be cheap but works like a million-bucks, and I *love* products that surprise me. I've been using this faithfully, putting my 2 expensive curlers to rest. And that whole spring-thingy which makes it "mechanical"... such a big hit with little 'ol moi!

2. Wet n' Wild MegaLiner liquid eyeliner in Turquoise

I love Wet n' Wild! So far, the stuff I have from them have not disappoint me. Here's one of 'em. I am into coloured liners. The brighter and more colourful, the better! Coloured liners are great to use with natural make up, when you want to kick it up a notch. I find natural make up/angelic look the Asian market loves so much, incredibly boring! But I have a lot of natural palettes in my collection, so I use coloured liners to spice things up. I've also discovered I like liquid liners better than gel liners (which I have in multiple colours too). The MegaLiner has been a favourite among many beauty addicts, which now includes me. I love this colour too. Bright turquoise which glides on your lids, and it is very easy to use. The brush gives you a thin line (I like thin lines very close to the lash line), doesn't take long to dry and is budge-proof.

3. Wet n' Wild MegaEyes Trio in Mojave Mauves

I've raved about this little gem in a previous post, but I'll do it again just because it's that awesome! The colours are so pigmented, they are shimmery enough to make your make up look interesting and the coordinating colours are so easy to use. This is great for traveling when you don't want to bring too many things. It has a mirror that slides out from the bottom which may come handy when you are on the road and need to check your make up. Very recession-friendly at $2.99 a pop! Comes in a variety of other colours worth getting!

4. Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation
This claims to be transfer-resistant and long wearing, much like my beloved Revlon ColorStay foundation. I was so happy to see this finally sitting on the Rimmel shelves in local drugstores as I have been lemming for this for the longest time. This foundation is so great to use in this hot, humid weather. It doesn't melt and doesn't oxidise much on my skin (which is notorious for that!), very buildable, goes on smoothly, and very easy to blend as it doesn't dry too quickly unlike the Revlon ColorStay foundie. I like that it gives medium coverage and I can work it to full coverage quite easily. With drugstore foundations, the challenge is finding the correct shade due to the limited colours. I found the purr-fect shade for me - 202 Nude. Boo-yah.

5. ELF Studio PowderBrush

The thing about make up is you can be as creative as you can. I've used paint/art brushes as make up brushes and they work just as good, with half the price tag! This brush says "powder brush" but I think I've only used it with powder like, twice! When I got this, I was going to use it with my mineral foundation, but just for fun, thought I'd play with it and try with my liquid foundie. This is my staple foundation brush. It's a flat top, it's synthetic, it's dense, and it out-performs my MAC 187 stippling brush any day! I don't need to spend so much time stippling, I just buff and go! And this gives me a flawless finish! Such an awesome brush, all for $3!!

My April loves, paw-stamped and approved!

April faves!

Which make up have received your stamp-of-approval this month ?

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Ole faithfuls

I find the idea of using the same brands over and over again a tad bit strange. I know there are people who swear by the same brand, but I just can't imagine doing that when there are so many brands and products in the market to try! I am usually loyal to my skincare, and hardly ever change brands. When it works for you, it works for you, But even then, I've only use my skincare brand for about 5 years.

When it comes to make up and hair products, I'm a bit more adventurous. Just like make up, I collect multiple brands, and change often. It's the curiosity that drives me to use multiple products. But sometimes, over the course of time, you tend to go back to the older brands you've tried simply because they worked better. At least I've tried others before deciding what really works for me.

I *love* trying different shampoo brands, and they are usually high end. Unlike make up, high end shampoos have better ingredients, and less soap, so they don't lather up too much, which is great, because it doesn't dry up my hair. It's less scented and had better moisturising properties. I don't colour my hair, but I do re-bond my hair once a year at least. I believe when yopu do any kind of chemical treatment on your hair, be it colour or perm, than you have to go the extra extra mile to take care of it. Just wash and go won't cut it, which I see with a lot of my friends and other women do. I wash using good shampoo, and hardly use a conditioner. Instead I use a mineral based treatment mask as my conditioner. When it's mineral based, it's not too heavy for your hair. I also avoid using cream treatment mask, because those things are 'heavy'. Where treatment masks are concerned, I just grab a locally made one in a big tub.

The one shampoo I used many times was Kadus' Kaprothin shampoo. It's made of awesomeness, I tell you!! My hair had been subjected to many straightening treatments, and this shampoo calms and relaxes my hair, whilst moisturising it without weighing it down. I used to buy it in a litre bottle, but unfortunately, this has been discontinued.

Kadus replaced it with an equally good line called Kadus Imunal. I normally buy the Repair shampoo which is said to have the same calming and moisturising properties as the original Kaprothin. I used that for years before deciding to branch out and use other brands.

Lately, I went back to Kadus, but this time, I've decided to try their Hydro line which is for normal to dry hair. By hair is anything but normal, but since it shorter, I figured I don't need such a heavy duty shampoo anymore.

Kadus Imunal shampoo

Another product that is a staple in my bathroom is the drugstore brand St. Ives. I've loved the Apricot Scrub since my teen days and used it through my college days into my working days. When I had a little bit more money to splurge, I'd try different brands, but kept coming back to this one. The grains are a little rough for some people but I love the feel of them working on my skin. I feel it really does slough off dead skin!! I also use this as a body scrub and it has never failed me in giving me smooth skin!

My love for St. Ives extends to their clay firming mask. I've tried many brands too, and have discovered I dislike peel-off masks. I prefer clay masks better and my face feels less congested. St. Ives firming clay mask has given me blemish-free, oil-free smooth skin since I was a teen. This is also irreplaceable!

The blue goo that gives me smooth clear skin!

After all the years of testing and trying other brands, I doubt I'll find a permanent replacement for these babies.

These are my ole faithfuls!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Make Up of the Week

I don't do FOTDs or EOTDs, but I thought I'd pick one look from the week that I liked and list down the products I used in Make Up of the Week.

I am trying to break away from natural make up and incorporate more colours now that my blending skills are a *little* better!(But picking out a natural palette seemed so much easier!) This week, I tried playing with colours more and got a nice look from a colourful NYX trio called Hippie Chic.

NYX Trio Hippie Chic

The colours in this trio are very bright and pigmented. L-R: White (highlight colour), teal green, purple. Gorgeous!



What I used:

Face Primer: Gempure Silky Face (sample from eBay)
Foundation: PAC All Day foundation in 04
Powder to set: Milani Loose Powder in Medium
Concealer: ELF Correcting Concealer in Light; ELF Studio Under eye concealer & Highlighter in Fair

Face

Brows: Loreal Brow Stylist pencil in Light Brown
Eyes: TFSI, Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Vavava Bloom; NYX Trio in Hippie Chic (purple on lids, teal green in crease as a wash); ULTA Galaxy (sparkly Black) outer V. HiP Truth Creme Color in Black to line upper lid, CS eyeliner gel in Envious (teal green) to line lower lid, SilkyGirl Brown pencil to line over CS gel on lower lid.
Mascara: HiP Drama Mascara in Blue Black

Eyes

Blusher(s): CoverGirl Cheekers in Golden Pink to contour; Milani Mineral Blush in MaiTai on apples.
Bronzer(s): Milani Sunset Duos in Sunset Beach (bronzer side) lightly all over; Wet n Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder in Starlite Bronze to highlight.

Cheeks

Lips: MAC Slimshine lipstick in Mousse

Lips

Have a great make up week!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:cheeky magic!

If it was one thing I've learned from my short stint in TV news and doing countless photo shoots whilst hemming the top slot on radio, is the art of shading to give you that contoured look. Contouring comes off really well on TV and print. How do you think Jennifer Lopez got her defined look on red carpet events? Contouring, baby! The make up artists whom I've worked with have suggested to use 2 tones of blushers for a more defined look: one regular coloured blush on the apples, and the other a darker coloured blush, for contouring. In real life, you can use this method to slim down your face and/or cheeks, or give your face a three-dimensional look. I have a round face, and although I embrace my imperfections, I do contour to slim down the "chubbiness" of my face, 'get rid' of my double chin (comes almost naturally with a rounded face - bah!), thus giving me a more polished, defined look.

The good news is, you don't need to use fancy contouring techniques to do so, or have 3 different shades of foundation. All you need is a brush and a blusher 2-3 shades darker than your natural skin tone. Then, blend! Blend! Blend! Blushers can do wonders to your face. I love using blushers with golden undertones to contour. The best kind I've discovered is using a matte blusher, or something with a pearly sheen to it. Shimmery blushers to contour can be a bit too much and can take away the attention from what you're trying to achieve. Shimmers reflect light, and can instead make you look "chubbier". Too much shimmer can also make you look greasy. Especially in this hot, humid weather.

Here are my top picks for contouring. Once again, they're all drugstore items! But of course!

1. NYX Blush in Taupe.

NYX Blush in Taupe

The texture is a little powdery but very pigmented. It's quite matte and this blush is said to be a close dupe of MAC's Blush in Emote (an LE, but a fave among professionals to contour). I like this colour as it does a pretty decent job in making my face look slimmer. It doesn't look dirty on my skin like some darker blushers can, and very easy to blend into the hollows of my cheeks. I've always liked NYX products, but not so much their blushers. I don't find myself reaching out for this one a lot, but the colour is quite perfect for contouring.

2. Milani Sunset Duos.

Milani Sunset Duos

*picture from milanicosmetics.com*

I have this in Sunset Beach. The bronzer side is matte and looks quite dark in the pan, but applies quite naturally on my skin. The colour can be too dark for lighter skin tones, although great for major contouring work, can look a little unnatural in real life. I prefer using this as an all-over bronzer to warm up my entire look. This duo is being discontinued by Milani, so you might have a hard time looking for this at drugstores. I found mine on ebay, cheaper than retail price.

3. CoverGirl Cheekers in Golden Pink.

CoverGirl Cheekers in GoldenPink

*picture from walgreens.com*

By far my favourite contour shade. It's a dark orangey-bronzey shade that I feel fits practically every skin tone. I love using this blush to contour. The colour payoff is great, no shimmers, and very easy to blend. This is by far the most natural looking contour blush on me. The colour warms up my face almost instantly, which I love!

4. The Body Shop Blush in Spice (discontinued).

The Body Shop Blush in Spice (old skool!)

I bought this a few years ago as a blusher after seeing it on a friend. She looked sun kissed and gorgeous using this colour, I had to go out and get one. I think this is called Spice, the name on the label has rubbed off, but it is slightly darker than CG's Golden Pink, and has more bronze in it. I loved it as a blush, an all over colour, and now I am re-discovering this as a contour blush. It does leave a streak though when I first put it on, so I'd have to blend for the steak to disappear. This blush is great with darker skin tones, as it may look 'dirty' on lighter ones.


*If these products are unavailable where you are (gentle reminder: online shopping, sprees), find a matte blush you like with gold, brown or bronze undertones. There are tonnes in the market. I've seen them, everywhere, all the time! It doesn't have to be expensive.*

Now anyone can have great cheekbones!!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:UDPP, an urban legend?

I'm like everyone else, I never knew you needed a primer for anything, until I read the reviews, watch YT videos before deciding to own one. All the rave was on Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP). The god father of all primers. The product that keeps your eye shadows more vibrant for a longer time. The must-have "magic" potion. Gone were the days when make-up artists and beauty gurus used concealer as the eye primer. Gone were the days when your eye shadow would crease and fade by mid-day. The genius that is UDPP!!

When I finally got my grubby paws on this curvy purple bottle, I was over the moon! Finally! Now I am eligible to do 'proper' make-up!

UDPP: Urban legend or true legend??

*picture from urbandecay.com*

Mehh.

I was less than impressed. The goo was skin-colour with a sponge tip applicator. And the 'magic potion' went on like clumpy glue on my lids. Maybe I'm doing this wrong? I tried again. And again. And again. After all, it is the god father of eye primers. Everyone loves this. Well, almost everyone. I did a bit more research and to my amusement, found a community of people who could not make this potion work for them too. What I also found out was that the UDPP is great for normal-oily lids. It's hard to work on dry lids. I had no idea what type of lids I have. I know my skin condition well enough, but my lids?? Hmmmm.

The UDPP refused to work on me. It was hard to blend, and when it did, it turned clumpy after it sets. Very frustrating!! And I now think it is the culprit for making my lids drier!!

The claim that is makes eye shadows more vibrant with longer staying power rings true. No crease. Awesome colour from start to end. And still looks fresh at the end of the day. It does help the shadows stick better too.

And what is with that bottle?? The packaging is unique, we can all agree. But I have to cut the sucker at some point to get a huge chunk of this goo out as it sticks to the sides of the bottle. A little impractical, eh? I'm still deciding whether I should bother doing that or throw the whole bottle out. It is at that point where it's tough getting the product out. I have to swirl the wand around to get anything to stick on the applicator!

Where eye primers are concerned, I've found love in L'oreal Decrease (drugstore brand!!). It does the same thing as the UDPP on me, without the clumps, the drying and that ridiculous bottle!! And Decrease is half the price!!

I've just only started trying Too Faced Shadow Insurance (TFSI), another famous high end eye primer, and this seemed gentler on my wrinkly, dry lids as well. But I've yet to take the TFSI on a real test drive! I live in humid weather. So it's a real test for a lot of products!

So in Puss' world, the Urban Decay Primer Potion is just an urban legend.

Mehh!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:An apple a day...

I've never really been a fan of body sprays. The scent doesn't last long enough for me to be excited over them. I'd much prefer EDTs and perfume oils. My best friend Liza gave me a couple of bottles from Victoria Secrets' Body Mists in Love Spell and Strawberries & Champagne some 8 years ago. I kept the former but eventually gave away the latter because I couldn't stand the scent! 8 years later, I still have the bottle of Love Spell, albeit with a little left. Like I said, I am not too fond of body mists/sprays.

Victoria Secrets (VS) and Bath & Body Works (BBW) are not available in Malaysia. However I am told you can get BBW products in Singapore. But in this day and age, "can't get" doesn't necessarily mean "unobtainable". You don't need to fly all the way to the US to buy the products. These days, there are people who will do that for you, or order them for you online. You just need to pay a small middle-man fee, and maybe, postage. I found a small booth set-up at The Curve (mall) selling VS body products. I bought a couple at an outrageous price of RM55/bottle! The bottles are on my vanity table, collecting dust. *sigh*

The collection

I enjoy flowery scents, but not so much fruity scents as sweet smelling anything makes me a little sick! So it was a surprise when I took to BBW Country Apple Body Spash like a bee to honey! I have read countless reviews and raves on this particular scent, and it didn't take much convincing to haunt for one. I found a (Malaysian) blog selling this and quickly inquired. To my delight, the seller has one last bottle of Country Apple left! Talk about great timing! And luck!
Taken from the BBW website, here's what they say about Country Apple:

This fresh combination of ripe, red apples and creamy blossoms is as delightful as an orchard in springtime.

• Light, refreshing mist leaves skin pleasantly fragranced
• Fragrance Top Notes: Living Green Apple
• Fragrance Mid Notes: Apple Blossom, Muguet
• Fragrance Base Note: Musk

(www.bathandbodyworks.com)

I still am not a huge fan of body mists and I haven't been spraying this on regularly, but I do *LIKE* it! The scent is not too sweet, and has a certain freshness to it. I just have a problem with the spray nozzle - it leaks when I spray it on me, so I get drops of Country Apple dripping down my hand. Ugh!

BBW Country Apple

Other than that, I think if I (ever!) finish this bottle up, I'll definitely re-purchase. BBW Body Splashes retails for $10.50 on the website, but you may get BOGO deals if you're lucky. And, there's this nasty rumour about this scent being discontinued... Can't confirm how far that's true.

So, let's see how long this bottle will last me...remember, VS' Love Spell is still 'going' after 8 years...

VS Love Spell...still going...

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Mascara mania

If it's one thing I enjoy spending on, it's mascara. So much so, I had to stop collecting after 20 tubes!! No kidding! Yes I know they generally last for 3 months. And yes, I know I only have a pair of lashes. I binge on mascaras. When I was a student in the US, my American friends taught me the one item you must have is mascara! And have at least 2 coats on. 2 coats?? I didn't exactly do that as I am blessed with curled lashes, but I loved primping my lashes until they stood up like tooth picks!! I had so many tubes promising different effects. Well, that habit never really changed after I got back. I'd go bare faced except for mascara and lipstick.

So yes, I now have 20 tubes of mascara, plus one still in its packaging, unopened. For most of them, I have surpassed the 3 month period. But I still use them and figured, if I haven't gotten any kind of allergies, I think I'll survive! I'd like to review all of them one by one, buuuuut I think I'll just do my favourites. By favourites I mean the ones I reach for the most and getting the effect I want from them.

The collection

FYI, I *love* big, fat lashes. Mine are curled and quite long, so I'm usually not bothered so much with lengthening. I look our for the volumising aspect of the mascara. If it makes me look like I'm wearing falsies, I'm sold. On top of that, sometimes I do put on falsies!! I'm weird like that, but yeah, I love full, fat lashes.

Fav 2: CG and SilkyGirl

I've always enjoyed CoverGirl mascaras, next to L'oreal. Even when it was still available in Malaysia, I used to have a tube or two. After more than 10 years being pulled out from Malaysia, I decided to purchase CoverGirl Volume Exact in Very Black when I went back to Sydney with Husband J last year. I was looking for the famous LashBlast but found this instead, and I am glad I did. Volume Exact gave me volume I so love. It dries fairly quick too. It has a rubber brush (me no like rubber brushes!), but it coats every strand of my lashes, even the tiniest ones without clumps, flakes or smudges. And it stays true black ( I look horrible in brown mascaras!!).

Awesome volume:CG Volume Exact

*picture from CoverGirl.com*

This next mascara buy reminded me never to turn my nose up from budget products. It proved, yet again, that the item can be dirt cheap, but works like a million-bucks. Silkygirl Lash Prism Waterproof Mascara is a pleasant surprise. I normally don't buy waterproof mascaras, but for this, I had no choice as it was the only kind. It came in 4 colours: black, brown, blue and plum. I wanted to try this and it was on sale for less than RM20. I grabbed one, used it and whoa mama! I looked like I had falsies on!! It's made out of pure awesomeness!! I love that way this mascara looks on me, and although it's waterproof, it's not a b!tch to take off (MajolicaMajorca, Shu Uemura and Miin from SaSa, I'm looking at you!!). It has the traditional brush with an hour glass shape which I don't know what it's for. The formula is good enough. Definitely a great buy!!

Big love in a tube: SilkyGirl Lash Prism Waterproof

*picture from silkycosmetics.com*

Hope you are lovin' your mascara today!!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Taking control of the remote control

My youngest brother sure has a wicked sense of humour. He went back to PD to see mom and was looking through the thousands of pictures in mom's albums and came across a picture of me at the height of my ermmm..."plumpness". I'd like to call me at that time as a 'full-figured' woman, but really! Who was I kidding! I was at least 8-10 kilos overweight. I wasn't fat, but I was certainly losing my curves and shape. I am small-framed, so any extra weight on is very visible. I had big boobs and a big butt, a tummy that looked I could be 5 months pregnant (and I was unmarried at that time), plus no waist. In short, I looked like an out of shape penguin! So little brother Jen decided to snap that picture and sent it to me.

When I got the picture, I was horrified!! It has been almost 5 years since I dropped the weight and maintained a healthy lifestyle. In fact, I am so paranoid now to be that size again, I am obsessed with my workouts. I showed that picture to Husband J, who has always heard about my "fat years" but never witnessed it. His eyes were wide-open and asked,"OMG! How on earth did you let yourself go like that??" I didn't know how to answer, because as I remember, I just was. People around me commented how "healthy" I looked, but I wasn't aware (or in denial), and kept on wearing the tight tops and tight skirts wherever I went. In my mind, I was still .....me!
I have always been skinny as a girl. I used to moan how size XS was like wearing a tent! I could eat a horse in one sitting, but never gained weight. I kept that love for food, but my metabolism stopped working one day, and boom! Suddenly I have ass! And boobs!! And a tummy, and was wearing size L, straight from size S. I hit a low point in my life. I was miserable. I was unhappy. I looked in the mirror and couldn't recognise the girl staring back. What have I become??

I decided to take charge of my life after giving myself enough excuses not to. I joined the gym. I hired a personal trainer. In 3 months, I dropped about 4 kilos. Doesn't seemed a lot, but on a small-framed girl like me, I looked like I shrunk. Slowly the shape came back, along with some muscle definition. All of a sudden, I looked toned! And I was liking this look better!


That picture is still in my phone, to serve me as painful reminder of what it took to get me where I am today. To remind me never again, at whatever cost, to lose control again. I know how difficult it is to lose weight. Looking at me now, you wouldn't guess that I too, struggled with weight issues. The difference was, I stopped making excuses. My body now is a testiment of my commitment, determination and pure hard work. Never, ever again will I lose control!
After all, I am holding the remote control of my life!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Like love & marriage

Husband J one day pointed at my many 'skunk' brushes and said they looked like a bunch of dead animals on my table. True, I have collected too many stippling brushes, as part of my endless quest to look for the perfect dupe of the coveted Mac 187 duo fibre stippling/skunk brush. I have one Mac 187, but it is an SE, and it is safely tucked away in its pouch whilst I hunt for a cheaper alternative. They were a few, found at Chamelon KLCC, on Lowyat.net(LYN), from Coastalscents.com and Crownbrush.com. They were great with the powders, but when it came to the liquids, I got skunk fibres stuck to my face! Sigh. I really wasn't going to spend RM180 on a brush! So I tolerated the poor dupes. After all, stippling/dual fibre/skunk brush is the brush for airbrushed foundation application. Or so I thought.

Mac 187 duo fibre brush. Image from maccosmetics.com

Introducing Sonia Kashuk's synthetic flat top blush brush. Not just for blush, but has also passed the test of applying liquid foundation. I was thrilled!! However, it's exclusive to Target, and we don't have Target here in Malaysia!! Sprees for Target.com are far in between, and this brush is about $14.99. Nope. Not going to spend that much on a drugstore brush...

Sonia Kashuk's flat top blush brush. Image from Target.com

Enter the ELF Studio Powder Brush....


When I got this, I was like, hmmmm...flat top, synthetic fibres which work great with liquid and cream products....why not try?? I worked it with my brand new Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation, stippled and gently buffed the foundation in, and voila!! I got the airbrushed look in no time!! OMG! It worked!! I was amazed!! It took shorter time then the stippling brush to stipple/buff in the foundation, and this brush only costs $3!!

They're like love & marriage!

Finally! I have found the perfect pair!!

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Goin' Wet n' Wild over MegaEyes!

I love a bargain! Especially with products that don't cost much, but deliver a punch.

Like most Malaysian (Asian, in general) women, I am a brand snob. Err...excuse me, lemme re-phrase that: I was a brand snob. I spent 12 years in the shallowest of all industries - entertainment - where you are judged by the cost of your shoes (or handbags, or watches etc)and the cosmetic brand you slap on your face. Like many others, I eyed only high end brands...because I chose to believe that brands with a 'name' has quality. As I go along, I realized that not all the products in high end brands, or any brand, are good. Some may work, some may not. And so, I turned to do the unthinkable in this shallow industry - buy and use drugstore products. I now choose to spend RM20 on an eyeshadow quad, as oppose to RM70 on one eyeshadow colour. I love the challenge of buying something with no brand and making it work. So far, I find more drugstore brands that deliver better than the high end brand products I've used.

I ditched the high end stuff, and my love affair with drugstore products began. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, the options of drugstore makeup is quite limited (and expensive! RM60 for a foundation? C'mon L'oreal!). But, hey! This is 2009 - there are tonnes of options these days: online shopping, sprees, swapping and the like. When there's a will, there's a way. Also, in my 12 years in entertainment, I've tried and collected (too) many cosmetic products.

I used to scoff when I see the Wet n Wild brand in someone's wishlist or shopping list. These days, I'm on a major Wet n Wild kick. There has been some positive reviews on some of the stuff, so I've decided to give it a chance. I remember Wet n Wild from my college days waaaaay back in the 90's. They were cheap! I used to buy their eyeliner pencils in multiple colours and they cost less that a dollar each.

Over the years, the quality of this brand improved, but the price remained the same. And in this time when the economy is down the dumps, I turn to super-affordable products to feed my makeup addiction.

So I looked into my stash and I decided to give their eyeshadow trio a go. It's called Mega Eyes, and the trios I have is Mojave Mauves. *picture from drugstore.com*

I love purples, mauves and plums so this palette is right up my alley. Lemme tell ya, I was impressed!! This baby delivers!! The colours are pigmented, and like any eye shadows, over a good base, the staying power is quite good. I love this pallete so much so that I am contemplating to getting a couple more colours. For $2.99 a pop, it's a recession-friendly product!


In this palette, you have a shimmery light pink with slight lavender-goldish undertones as your highlight. This colour I'm guessing in called 'Fine Wink' which is a dead ringer of Mac's 'Naked Lunch'. The crease colour is a deep burgundy/plum colour, and the mid-brown taupe colour at the bottom is for the lids. I like palettes, especially trios. All you need is in one palette and this here is great for traveling.


If you're building your eye makeup collection, or you're a novice and trying to make sense of eye shadow application, this is a great buy. It's not chalky, and the colour payoff is great. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't ;) But don't go throwing this in your handbag because they shatter easily. Nevertheless, a great buy. And did I mention the price is at $2.99?

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com

Beauty Binge:Hairy helpers!

PJ
1.40pm
Heavy rain!

I normally do not like gunk in my hair. Not even hairspray, let alone gels and mousse. I have one bottle of hairspray from L'oreal that I've only used like, twice. It's just the thought of having some kind of styling product in my hair is enough to keep me awake all night!

But I do *love* treatment products! So much so that sometimes I get overzealous with treatment stuff until my hair feels like a helmet on my head!! Here are my treatment stuff that I own:

L-R Joico thermal protectant; Schwarzkopf Gliss Kur leave-in conditioner; TiGi BedHead Ego Boost; Profess hair repair serum

I don't use them all at once though. The leave-in conditioning treatment I use in between washes, and I faithfully put serum or a thermal protection spray before I blow dry or iron my hair.

This leave-in pink spray conditioner from Schwarzkopf was initially bought as a substitute for a thermal protector. I had receive my straightening iron and I wanted some kind of heat protectant before I use heat on my hair. I couldn't find any at the drugstore and settled for this. It has 2 different liquid textures in the bottle, and you'd have to shake well before spraying it onto your hair. The first time I used this, I had spray on every section of the hair I wanted to iron. The result was sticky, helmet hair. Yech!My hair is thick and even with this spray it weighed down my hair. I even tried it sparingly, spraying it once over, and still my hair feels heavy after. This product, even for thick hair, is too rich. It smells nice and makes my hair shiny, but overall, I'm not a fan.

Profess Hair Repair Serum. My ol' faithful. I've used this leave-in water based serum for a long long time. This is a local product and has a pleasant scent to it. I've switched products recently and used Sebastian Potion No. 9 Wearable Treatment, but it didn't give my hair that added 'bounce' like this does. For RM30, this one here works like a dream! I love affordable products that work well! I use this before swimming and/or diving to protect the hair from pool and sea water that can be harsh. You need to work a dime size to your damp hair before blowing and if you want, work a little after styling for added shine and conditioning.

I was pleasantly surprised (and pleased!) when I saw this little bottle at one of the hair supply shops in Hartamas, KL. Joico Silk Result is a thermal protection spray specially designed for flat ironing, so I snatched one. It was on clearance at less than RM8.
But I don't know whether it does protect my hair when I iron, because it does make my hair a tad bit stiffer than usual. I still use this and work in a bit of serum after.

This product from TiGi Bedhead I love!! In fact, I've always enjoyed Bedhead products. Their packaging is fun and quirky! Ego Boost is a leave-in conditioner, and I've had this for years. This is the one I reach for in between shampoos, and it doesn't weigh the hair down. But at RM60 (or more) a pop, I'm not sure I'd re-purchase. With all the other treatment gunk I have, do I really need another bottle? But if you are seriously in the market for a leave-in conditioner, I would strongly recommend this baby. And how can you not love the bright colours!!

Now that my hair is shorter, I don't use as much product anymore. I don't have split-ends, and I'm not battling with dryness much anymore. Just the frizz and the cow-licks every now and then, but that can easily be fixed with a big round brush and a blast from the hair dryer.

Now that I am at home full-time, I should really get back into using pure coconut milk on the hair. It makes your hair healthier, shinier and unbelievably darker!

Nothing quite like natural products, eh?

xoxo,
puss.inheels@yahoo.com