Makeshift Vanity

Check out my new vanity! Over the Ramadhan period, I managed to clear out a good chunk of my stuff, and managed to free up 3 cubes in my shelves to create a mini-vanity area.

Key features:

• Acrylic drawers and PE drawers and containers from Muji. Muji is a true organiser's haven - when you enjoy paying $$$, that is. They were just about enough to contain my rapidly growing collection, so I told myself I'm not to buy any more makeup or skincare that won't fit into the allocated storage containers now. 
• BOSSE bar stool from Ikea, $59. I chose this because it was cheapest, with a wide seat area, and no backrest. I felt like a backrest would make my room feel even more cluttered than it already is. Overall, I'm happy with my decision, but I realise that the corners are a little pointy, so it kinda hurts when I sit down at the wrong angle. Ugh. I didn't think about that at all. If I'd known, I would have gotten the INGOLF bar stool (with backrest) at like $70-$80, but it's okay, it's not a giant issue or anything. 
• Philips desk lamp at the top right corner of the photo gives extra illumination if I need it? Haha. It was left behind by Hashim (my brother-in-law) when he moved out. The light is pretty bright, and looks very very cool white to me, but when I took a test shot the other night, I looked yellow, so I don't know what's what anymore. 
• Finally, the star of this vanity, my battery-operated mirror with LED lights from Japan Home (Toa Payoh), $9.90, batteries not included. This is a really happy find of mine, because I realised that the desk lamp doesn't illuminate the inside of the cube, so any mirror I put inside there becomes useless for detailed makeup work. Before I found this mirror, I ended up just holding up a mirror with one hand and tilting my face up to catch the lamp light. It was kinda annoying, because it meant I didn't have a spare hand to balance with, or grab things or whatever. It's also a giant plus that it's battery-operated, because there is no space for additional wires or whatever to be hanging out around my cube. I really lucked out when I wandered into Japan Home and found this mirror. 

Here's a close-up shot of the mirror:

Thoughts so far:

I've used my vanity a couple times since it's been up for a week, although that was without my magic mirror up there. I don't know if it's psychological or something, but I thought my makeup looked better, as in it was blended more cohesively, even though I thought my skin looked horrible and textured under the bright lights. 

However, having all my makeup and skincare stacked up on top of each other in those cubes makes it a fiddly business to keep reaching for stuff while sitting on the stool. You know, as opposed to a nice proper table where nothing's gonna knock into each other when you lift up one item? But it's fine, my workaround is to lay everything out on my bed and pick out the stuff I want before I start. Then I just reach over to my bed to grab it and put back the previous item. It's worked so far, and I had a successful 25-minute makeup session yesterday when getting ready for work, so yay. 

Also, a plus of this new location is that I can set the fan to blow directly and uninterruptedly at me - my face, specifically - for the whole session. When I was sitting in front of my cupboard, the fan was basically blowing at the back of my head, which was sad and not very effective. Also, I can see the clock from where I'm sitting now, instead of squinting at it from my previous position, which helps greatly in time-management. 

Overall, it's a definite improvement from my former situation. My vanity is now so welcoming that I feel like sitting in front of the mirror and testing out eye looks. But I haven't done that yet, heh. I'll keep you updated!

Personal dupe for J*:

So I'm not exactly a fan of J*, although his was the first bunch of liquid lipsticks I bought, which then reintroduced me to makeup as a hobby, so, I dunno if I'm supposed to feel any kind of loyalty for that. Anyway, I've seen been enlightened to his meanness in general (which includes the being racist part), so yeah I've been trying to reduce the amount of stuff I buy from J* Cosmetics. 

However, my favourite liquid lipsticks are J*C, namely Gemini, Leo and Unicorn Blood. At the moment, I'm still gonna keep buying Gemini and Leo, because I use them so frequently, and I haven't found matte dupes for them. I thought it would be the same sitch for Unicorn Blood, which I love love love for being so dark and blood-coloured. But then I realised that Dose of Colours in Brick is even darker than Unicorn Blood!

Top: Brick, Bottom: Unicorn Blood

It's not a perfect dupe by any means. You can see that Brick is more neutral, while Unicorn Blood is yellower. But the overall effect on my lips seems to be the same, so I dunno. My Unicorn Blood is drying up now, actually, so maybe I won't repurchase unless I have another US$55 worth of stuff to buy from Beautylish to make up the $75 for free shipping. As for Dose of Colours, I really do like the two liquid lipsticks I have, but I have to pay for shipping for those, and the package arrived a little banged up that time, so.. I dunno. If I finish Brick, I might just go back to J*C via Beautylish anyway, just because Beautylish is love when it comes to shipping. 

Okay, that's all I have for today! I've started writing down my post ideas, so I hope I come back soon with a new post! Bye!

FOTW: Friday off and Films at the Fort

I took the day off on Friday to head to Ikea with my mom and sister to get stuff for a makeshift vanity. As always, when I'm going out with my mom, I have to hustle because she always nags when I take too long to get ready. But somehow, I was degil and still wanted to put on a light full face.

So I used my L'oreal Infallible on the face, The Balm California DL on my eyes and on my lips, MUFE Aqua Lip Pencil in 14C with NYX Butter Gloss in Tiramisu on top. I skipped concealer and blusher, as always when I'm in a rush.

I can't say enough how easy the Infallible is to apply. It probably takes me all of 30 seconds to dot it on my face and buff out with my Zoeva brush. It feels so, so light, too! That's why I still keep reaching for, especially when I'm in a rush, or if it's a really hot and humid day. Yes, it is still too pink for me, but I don't care. For now, I'm still oversupplied with foundations, so once I finish something, I'll go look for a less pink and more green foundation.

Date of the weekend

Here I am on my newly-bought Ikea stool, with my freshly-placed desk light, and my God-given natural sunlight grudgingly creeping in through my open window. Same, too-pink foundation, because it was so hot and muggy, my face was starting to rash up. I put some Mizon Snail AIO around my nose and mouth, and it kinda-sorta helped. The rest of my face was basically the same as on Friday, except I added blusher in MAC Veronica (Prom Princess), to help make me look fresh and young and cute? Because I was trying to channel Marty Maraschino from Grease, for the movie we were catching at Films at the Fort.

We had a lovely day, with some mini-hissy fits because I was anxious we'd be late, and also he picked the wrong supper place. Heh. We were also overwhelmed by the giant Night Festival crowd. Travel light to festivals, people! I didn't have a choice because I was lugging two picnic mats, two inflatable cushions, and a baby blanket. But otherwise, a lovely afternoon and evening spent with my adorable, always-accomodating boyfriend.

FOTW: Civic District Outdoor Festival

We had a more relaxed, #noplan date on Saturday, to hang out around the Civic District Outdoor Festival. But I still wanted to put my full face on, for some reason. Lucky then, that it had rained for the entire four hours prior to me leaving the house. 

I mixed my too-pink L'oreal Infallible 24HR Matte in Amber with my too-yellow KVD Lock-It in 62. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I think I could have put in more Amber, because the overall result was still a tad too yellow. And I realised that after I got used to the runniness of the Infallible, I actually prefer that texture to the thickness of the KVD. I hate to admit it, but yes, there it is. So I may actually end up not repurchasing KVD but instead looking for a runny texture or whatever Infallible I can dig up in Singapore (or Perth at year-end). 

I also used my Nubian II palette on my eyes, pulling in a tan and peach shade from my Viseart Neutral Mattes for the lid and browbone highlight. I really adore my Nubian II, actually. I think it might be my favourite palette. If only my deep crease didn't crease up all my shimmers, I would be able to use the Nubian II as a standalone palette more. Maybe I will pick up a NYX Glitter Primer, or whatever it's called, to see if it improves the performance of shimmers on my lid. For primer I actually used UD Anti-Aging Primer Potion, with my LM setting powder and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk on the lid, but I really don't find that Milk helps with the popping or the longevity of the eyeshadows for me. I think I'm about ready to give up on it. 

And my lipstick is my favourite funky colour, the KVD ELL in L.U.V. I love everything about this shade - the brightness, the purpleness, and the name (one of my favourite Tory Lanez songs this year). I went to the doctor about two weeks ago and he gave me some cream for the supposed rash on the perimeter of my lips. It seems to have worked, because my lips have finally reverted to their normal self of not being cracked and chapped, syukur Alhamdulillah. As a result, I've been able to wear liquid lipsticks again, which is a great triumph and relief. I did have a mini-episode that day when I put Lanisoh Lanolin on my lips one night, and woke up the next morning with lips that were threatening to chap up again. So I've concluded that my lips are sensitive to lanolin, and I'm not gonna play around with that anymore. We'll just stick to paraffin and beeswax for these babies. Actually, the Bite Agave Lip Mask has lanolin too, I've heard, although in lower concentration, so it might be okay to continue to use that sparingly. Sparingly = my paraffin is too far away and the Bite Agave is just nearer to reach. Heh. 

I finally dug my ABH Dipbrow out of the mothballs but kinda overdid my brows a little. It's just so hard to control the placement, especially with these darker colours! I think I'm just gonna pick up a NYX brow pencil next. I've heard good things about it compared to the ABH Brow Wiz. And I skipped blush because I was thinking of reapplying my sunscreen throughout the day. Spoiler alert: I didn't reapply. 

I didn't love the overall eye look in the end, but it's okay. I've now come to the conclusion that I will try not to overthink my shadow placement. We'll see what simple look I can come up with next weekend. Also, I'm looking forward to mixing my foundations again. 

Heh, sorry, this last one is just for kicks. OOTD: Top by Curve Cult, shorts by Warehouse, denim jacket by Cutes, sneakers are the Reebok Zoku Knit or whatever they're called. 

It was a lovely date - we had lunch at Chilis, coffee and cake at Craftsmen, walked a lot around the area, caught a couple of fun exhibits at National Gallery, had drinks and the yummiest foie gras and duck sliders at the rooftop bar, danced a little, and took the bus to Changi Village where we had supper at Dynamic and chilled by the sea, trying and failing to watch for meteor showers, thanks to the cloud cover. 

This has been a hybrid Face/Date of the Weekend. See you next time!

July Empties and Favourites

Empties

So after like.. 3 (?) months of skincare, I finally got some empties!

Stephanie Nicole made me buy these. She started me on my multi-step skincare routine, and I bought these two to fill in the many gaps I had at that time. The Caudalie Grape Water is supposed to be for the hydrate step, but I feel like it didn't do anything for me. I mean, humid weather, me sweating all the time, this grape water is just adding to the surface water on my face, but no true hydration, I felt. I do love that this is literally grape water, grape juice, and nitrogen, but.. not repurchasing. I've replaced this with my Hada Labo HA and Belif Anti-Aging Shaking Water, and those feel so much better on my skin.

I actually bought two of the Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturiser, because Watsons was having a Buy 2 Get 1 50% Off at that time. I regret it, so so much. Remind me not to buy backups anymore, especially when I don't know if the product works for me or not. So this thing is supposed to be wrinkle-smoothening, among other claims, but because I don't have wrinkles yet (thank You, Allah), I can't attest to the truth of that particular claim. I also hated the heavy feel of this moisturiser on my skin, because I was combo-oily at that time. It also made my skin smart/tingle unpleasantly, for some reason. So I ditched it for a month or so, and just went with my Belif Aqua Bomb. I did continue using this Olay cream on other parts of my body, just to use it up as quickly as possible.

But when my skin turned to combo-dry about 3 weeks ago, the Belif Aqua Bomb just wasn't giving me enough of an occlusive layer, so I went back to the Olay. It was pretty okay, and I was about to forgive it and just use it both night and day. Unfortunately, last weekend my skin started acting up (itching, rashes) from the sun exposure, and the Olay started stinging my skin again. So I gave it up and bought Belif Moisture Bomb on Monday. Yes, I caved, I'm sorry. I already opened the second Olay I got, and I'm still using it on my body, so let's hope I can finish it in two months or so. Yes, weirdly, it doesn't annoy the skin on the rest of my body. My chest especially loves this cream, go figure. Anyway, not repurchasing! (Or maybe I am, for the good of my chest. We'll see!)

Favourites

I think I had five favourites in June, but I can't think of more than three favourites for July. Mainly because of my rashy skin and chapped lips, I guess? Like, I wasn't able to use the full range of lipsticks I have *sob*.

The NYX Intense Butter Glosses were a lifesaver for my lips. Well, not my lips exactly, but I don't like going out without colour on my lips, so these looked great on, and they didn't kill my lips! I'd like to thank r/MakeupAddiction, or was it r/BrownBeauty, for recommending these in a couple of threads. These are Toasted Marshmallow (on the left) and Chocolate Crepe (on the right). I got Toasted Marshmallow first, simply because it was the only darker shade at Sephora Ion, and not because I was madly in love with the colour or anything. But I was pleasantly surprised because it looked amazing on - not too crazy, but natural enough for me to wear to work daily. And it fades off into a really accurate MLBB colour. My outer lips are more darkly pigmented, and it's almost the same purply shade. But better, of course.

So I was dying to continue a NYX IBLG collection, so I picked up Chocolate Crepe a week or so later, at the NYX store in Bugis. I'm just gonna buy my NYX stuff there from now on, because they obviously have their full range there, and Sephora doesn't have enough room, so they keep switching out the displays. One week is the IBLG, the next week it's the less-impressive Butter Glosses. Anyway, I love this shade too, because it's the MLBB for my inner lips. It fades naturally too, so I just love love it. I really hope NYX somehow comes up with more colours, because the rest are too light or too neon for me, and I need my blood red, please.

And the third item is my California Driver License palette by The Balm. I remember buying this in a drugstore in New York because I loved the packaging. At that time, I wasn't into makeup at all, so I hadn't wandered around the Singapore Sephoras in months. If I had, I would've realised that we have The Balm here too. Anyhow. This poor palette has been overshadowed by my Viseart palettes for a few months, but I reached for it again last month to do single-shadow looks for when I have 5 minutes to put my face on before I miss my bus. I adore the blush and and brow shades. They're the perfect go-to combo for 5-minute days, and they look darn good on. The liner shade is great too. It doesn't actually look glittery on the eyes, just black, but it's fine with me. It's slightly more forgiving than the Viseart black. And I also pull in the blush shade for a lid colour when I don't like my other lid options, and the brow one if I don't like my other crease options. Love. This. Palette. I'm so glad I went for this one instead of the Hawaii one!

And that's all I have for tonight! See you next post!