It's finally Friday again, which means it's time for another edition of Yumeko's Friday Photo Meme. This week's theme is new stuff!
1. Something you bought recently
Picked up a Lancome Rouge In Love 340B Rose Boudoir with a 20% voucher at Sephora in France recently. It's a bright feminine pink, with creamy, opaque coverage.
2. Something you got in the mail this week
Kas sent me a surprise package recently that included this Lakme Eye Color Quartet in Peacock. The rich jewel hues offer lots of creative combinations.
3. Something you could not live without this week
It's been a long week of irritable moods and mundane tedium. What kept me sane was marathon Watsapp chats with dear Mag and unwinding at the end of the day by watching Mentalist and Castle (Simon Baker and Nathan Fillion never fail to make me laugh). In the mornings, Ayumi Hamasaki's new album, Party Queen, gets me ready for the day. Now that summer is almost here, I'm depending on Biotherm Lait Solare SPF50, which has a lovely soft citrus fragrance, and my arsenal of Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatments with SPF15 to protect and hydrate at the same time. I just finished the Rose version and am looking forward to purchasing the new Coral shade.
4. Something you are trying out this week
It came as a surprise to me that Fujifilm is behind the premium Astalift skincare line, which recently debuted in the UK and France. Fujifilm leveraged on its expertise and understanding of the process of oxidisation and nanotechnology to design this line, which I first read about on Yumeko's blog. When I chanced across a store offering a 30% discount, I quickly snapped up the Moisture Foam Cleanser, Priming Lotion and Jelly Aquarysta. The cleanser is average but I do like the lotion and Jelly Aquarysta very much. Both have a soft rose scent and help to hydrate and plump up the skin. The Jelly also melds back to a perfectly smooth surface after each use, so it always looks brand new.
5. Something you are wearing this week
My standard complement of accessories: Windy Bunny Beast Swatch, a Swarovski bangle that my husband gave me for our anniversary this year and my ring. I'm not familiar with the Windy Bunny Beast character but the fierce design just caught my eye.
Do join in if you have a blog by leaving a comment on Yumeko's post and here with a link to your blog post, and I'll be sure to check it out!
Earlier today, I chanced across a Douglas perfumerie in France which was having its annual tax-free event. Douglas carries many of the major beauty brands as Sephora like Dior, Chanel, Sisley, Lancome, Shiseido etc. Since it was a rare chance to save 16.4%, I picked up a few items that I've been lemming. It turned out to be my lucky day as the SA was also incredibly generous in throwing in gifts with my purchase.
The new Clarins Gloss Prodige comes in eight flattering, easy-to-wear shades. I've swatched these several times. Finally caved today and got 05 Grenadine, 06 Raspberry and 07 Blackberry for €14.40 each (about S$24). These are retailing at S$35 in Singapore. You can see swatches of Raspberry, Blackberry plus 08 Papaya on Makeup Stash.
Out of the numerous Clarins trial sets available, I settled on the Eau des Jardins fragrance (30ml) which came with an Instant Definition Mascaral 01 Intense Black (3ml) packaged in a gold pouch. Eau des Jardins is a grapefruit-based concoction that surprises with its relaxing warmth and subtle sweetness, quite a change from the usual sharp citrus scents. This was €13 after the discount.
Biotherm Skin.ergetic and Skin.ergetic Nuit creams (15ml) were just €4.40 each.
This Lancome set of Galatée Confort (400ml) and Tonique Confort (400 ml) is for my mother who has dry skin. At just €37, it was like getting the Tonique Confort for free.
This limited edition Nina Ricci Nina Fantasy EDT was just too adorable to pass up! The fragrance is as sweet as the bottle looks.
The SA threw in a Clarins bodycare set, a massager, plus a bunch of Dior samples, including Diorshow New Look mascara.
Mag of Makeupstash likes the New Look mascara, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.
Thanks for reading!
Indulged in a bit of shopping during the post-Christmas sales.
Elie Saab Le Parfum is a sweet floral fragrance composed of orange blossom, jasmine, patchouli, rose and cedarwood notes. This has been garnering positive reviews online, so when I spied the coffret going for 30% off at my local department store in Switzerland, I snapped it up. I like that it is not too heady or generic.
A Scent by Issey Miyake Neroli Sunshine has fresh crisp opening notes like the original but a spicier, more complex heart of neroli, jasmine and hyacinth that settles very nicely on my skin. I snagged this for 50% off the highly inflated original retail price of CHF99.90.
For my mother, I picked up this Lancome L'Absolue set of four mini lipsticks (1.6g each, versus the regular size of 4g) which was going at half the original price of CHF49.90. This set retails in the UK and France for only about CHF30 and CHF33 respectively, which gives you an idea of how inflated makeup prices are in Switzerland!
It contains two L'Absolue Rouge BX lipsticks in #06 Rose Nu and #132 Caprice, and two L'Absolue Nu lipsticks in #302 Voile de Rose and #201 Beige de Soie.
At a pharmacy in France, I picked up this Biotherm duo set of Lait Corporel, for 40€, down from the original price of 63€. The unique soft citrus scent is still one of my favourite scents ever.
The year-end holidays aren't quite complete without some delightful treats from Philosophy, so I was happy to find the Tinsel Town 3-in-1 shower gel and Holly Berry Bubbly bubble bath at a Sephora across the border in France. These were just 9.90€ for 480ml each.
Tinsel Town looks shimmery in the bottle but it does not leave any shimmer on the skin. It's a yummy berry scent with a fresh peppermint note.
From NARS, I got the Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base and G-Spot Multiple from the holiday collection. The prices in euros are significantly marked up compared to the US (e.g. US$39 for the Multiple versus 40.50€ in France), but probably still cheaper than Switzerland.
At a outlet mall, I found these boots by Geox, which has become my favourite brand for shoes. Not only are the boots comfortable, the soles have sufficient thickness and grip, perfect for the rainy and snowy weather over here.
Hope you're enjoying the holiday season too!
Managed to use up several full-size products this month.
1. Olea Essence Olive Soap Scrub: I picked up many months ago on a trip to Israel. I love the lemongrass scent but it is quite watery, so I usually have to use a huge dollop to get sufficient scrubbing action for the whole body.
2. Tsubaki Damage Care Conditioner: This works very well for my dry, dyed hair and I've re-purchased it countless times.
3. L'Oreal Color-Vive Conditioner: This is supposed to help maintain the colour of dyed hair and contains UVA and UVB filters for sun protection. However, the redness of my recent home dye job still lost much of its vibrancy in less than three weeks. In terms of moisturising my hair, it was barely average.
4. Biotherm Biopur Gentle Purifying Lotion: This purports to help refine skin texture and brighten the complexion with a combination of saponine water, witch hazel and oil-regulating copper and zinc. Although it refreshes the skin without stripping it, it did not help to reduce the oiliness of my skin.
5. REN Rosa Centifolia Facial Cleansing Gel: This is a very gentle, watery gel cleanser that I like to use in the mornings. It cleanses without stripping the skin and has a lovely soft rose scent. The only thing I don't like about it is the bulky plastic packaging. It is rather expensive at around S$53 at Escentials in Tangs but a bottle lasted me just over three months with daily use. I will probably re-purchase this. Vivawoman has reviewed this too.
6. Maybelline Make Up Remover Eye & Lip: This bi-phase remover worked well for taking off eyeshadow cleanly with one swipe of the cotton pad, although liquid eyeliner and waterproof mascaras require a few more passes. It didn't sting my eyes and it is very affordable at less than S$10 but the relatively puny amount of product (70ml) means that BiFesta Cleansing Express Eye Makeup Remover works out to be better value for money.
7. L'Occitane Plum Blossom Polishing Shower Gel: Enriched with almond shell granules and plum blossom extract, this shower gel/scrub provides an effective exfoliating action that leaves my skin soft and smooth. I also find the sweet plum blossom scent to be nicely relaxing and non-generic.
8. Coast To Coast Rainforest Clarifying Facial Cleanser: This has a strong scent of the essential oils. It rinses off easily and leaves my skin clean and supple without any dryness but I don't notice any significant effect in helping to prevent acne or oiliness. I usually use this at night with my Clarisonic Mia to thoroughly cleanse my skin after using a cleansing oil to remove makeup.
9. Daiso Sponge Detergent: I've recommended this several times on the blog as it's cheap and effective for cleaning both sponges and brushes. It works very well on getting powder foundation out of makeup sponges, but I've noticed that it doesn't seem as good in removing liquid foundation as the sponges often still contain minor traces even after a thorough washing with a generous amount of the detergent. Recently, when when it was re-stocked at Daiso in Ion, I quickly snapped up another five bottles.
10. Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover: Although this bi-phase remover took off eye makeup effectively and quickly, it stung my eyes occasionally when I pressed the cotton pad against my lashes to remove mascara.
11. The Body Shop Mango Shower Gel: I found the sweet mango scent generic and it was slightly drying on my skin. I would not re-purchase it as I much prefer the Body Shop's Earth Lovers range.
12. The Body Shop Mandarin & Tangelo Linen Scented Candle: With a burn time of up to 40 hours, this candle lasted me for about two weeks with nightly use for two to three hours. I find it reasonably priced at S$29.90 and it has good throw. The slightly sweet citrusy scent is comforting without being cloying.
