Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara + Demo

Hello everyone. I have a feeling that November is going to be my lazy month unlike October where I managed to published 25 posts in 31 days! That's a huge success for me and my blog. I wasn't lazy last month but now I can feel every inch of my muscle not wanting me to write on my blog. I didn't know what to post so I'm using one of my drafts because I don't want my blog to be dead without new posts. At least one post every other day is okay for my lazy ass.

I got this Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara a few weeks ago along with a new moisturiser which I'm currently loving (so good!) from Watsons. I ordered them online with RM7 postage charge. I don't know about you guys but I hate paying for postage which is why you don't have to pay for postage for most of the items in my online shop! Go check it out here: @shoperin.co (shameless pug right here)

My sister insisted that I mention this mascara is hers so you guys, this mascara is my sister's. She bought it for RM15.90 which as you all know, Essence is a very inexpensive drugstore brand. Mostly nothing over 30 ringgit!

Nothing special I can say about the wand, it's just your regular straight mascara wand that does a good job in separating lashes. Here I will show you the before and after:

My normal lashes that I already curled.

Without mascara on the left, with one coat mascara on the right.

One coat of mascara on top, bottom, left and right.

I have a love-hate relationship with this mascara. I loved the effect it gave my lashes. As you can see, with only one coat you can get extreme and crazy lashes like the name suggested. It lengthens, it volumizes, it separates my lashes. Basically what you see in the picture is what you get.

But.

There's a reason why I only put on one coat.

It flakes. It crumbles. You can see bits of mascara under my eye and the photo was only taken merely 5 minutes after application. I don't know if I got a bad batch or anything because everyone who tried it loved it. The bottom lash application is a pain in the arse because the formula is so clumpy so it's hard to get it evenly on the bottom lashes.

This mascara is not waterproof so you can't really expect it to last all day long especially when it starts to crumble as soon as you've applied it even in air-conditioned room.

If you can get around with the crumbling and flaking and you like clumpy mascara, then do give this a try.

If you don't like clumpy mascara at all, then this isn't the one for you. Try the Essence Lash Mania Reloaded instead. That one is a natural mascara that still gives you the length and volume you need without doing too much.

All in all, it might work better on you than on me so if you wanted to give this a try then go ahead because for RM15.90, you're not really breaking the bank if it didn't work out for you in the end.

I would give this a 3.5 stars just because it flakes. I don't have problems with clumpy mascaras but panda eyes only one hour through the day? Not my thang.

Before you start asking: it's NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm.

So what's your favourite mascara?

Garnier Skin Naturals Micellar Cleansing Water

It's time for me to do a review of the Garnier Skin Naturals Micellar Cleansing Water that I ordered from Hermo last week. I believe the Skin Naturals line comes in two types which are Gentle and Oil Control but I went with Gentle because my face basically produces no oils and this sensitive skin of mine needed something gentle or it can go crazy, trust me. Take it from someone who got breakouts from eating Samyang ramen.

The 400ml bottle retails at RM29.90 and the 125ml at RM14.90. I suggest you go with the 400ml because this is basically water and 15 ringgit for a 125ml of water is expensive. You will use a lot of this if you have on heavy makeup.

This product claims to:

This All-in-1 cleanser is surprisingly powerful yet gentle to skin. It effectively removes makeup, cleanses skin and refreshes. A multi-purpose cleanser that contains Micellar technology. Like a magnet, micelles capture and lift away dirt, oil and makeup without harsh rubbing, leaving skin perfectly clean, hydrated and refreshed without over-drying.

To be honest, I don't care what it claims to do as long as it removes my makeup one hundred percent without breaking me out or burning my skin. I always double cleanse after removing my makeup as using makeup remover alone isn't enough.

The makeup I have on is not that heavy but I do have foundation, eyeshadows, and mascara on. The makeup was only a few hours old before I removed it with this micellar water and most of the makeup hasn't rubbed off yet so you can see how it works with fresh makeup instead of 10-12 hour makeup that is probably gone by the end of the night.

It removes my makeup wonderfully! I always use a toner after washing my face with facial wash and there was no makeup residue on the cotton pad. It doesn't have any smell nor burn my skin so it's perfect for sensitive skin. I used this micellar water to remove my lipsticks for the MAC Lipsticks Swatches + Demo and it worked great and very gentle on my lips. It's very hydrating and does not dry out my skin.

BUT.

I needed quite a lot of cotton pad to remove my makeup as using one or two pads weren't enough. During the removing process where I swiped the pad all over my face, it moved my foundation instead of picking it up on the pad. Imagine trying to wipe spilled oil on a table with wet cloth, the wet cloth isn't picking up the oil in one swipe and you have to wipe a few times before the oil is all picked up, that's how it was with this micellar water.

The other trick is leaving a cotton pad soaked with this micellar water on the eye for 10 seconds before removing it gently. It didn't remove all my makeup in one swipe like my Good Virtues Co. Purifying Makeup Remover can. I still have to wipe my eyes a few times before everything was gone and I didn't even have eyeliner on and the mascara I was using isn't waterproof.

The micellar water will not leave you with a red face like my skin. My face is always red everytime I get out of shower and everytime I use makeup remover/toner/moisturizer before going back to its 'natural' colour so please don't mind that. All in all, it is a good makeup remover and I definitely recommend it especially if you have sensitive skin.

MAC Lipsticks Swatches + Demo

I've gotten a lot of requests to do a review and demo of MAC lipsticks to the point where I felt guilty of not doing yet. Honestly, it's not hard to google swatches and reviews of these lipsticks but I couldn't ignore my blogger friends who requested it so here goes nothing.

Half of these are mine and the other half is my mom's. I figured if I wanted to do a demo, I should do hers as well. More shade options for you to pick, no?

I have two lines of MAC lipsticks which are the normal lipstick that looks like bullets and the Mineralize Rich that is slightly taller and wider than the bullet lipsticks. The 'bullet' lipstick costs about RM78 (was RM74) while the Mineralize Rich lipstick retails at RM110 (was RM97). MAC Malaysia increases their prices like nobody's business. Currency sucks.

The bullet lipstick has 9 finishes in the range but I have only ever bought their matte finish. What can I say about MAC lipsticks that everyone doesn't know yet? They're absolutely great. I gotta be honest with you, since I'm on the MAC lipsticks bandwagon, I haven't used any of my other lipsticks (excluding NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream because it is my favourite liquid lip formula). I feel bad for my other lipsticks but the colours I got from MAC are so beautiful I only want to wear them when I have somewhere to go.

They are super pigmented and you do have to apply a few times for a smooth application because they are matte and matte lipsticks tend to have drier formula but the lipstick itself will not dry you out. Just make sure to apply vaseline or any lip balms on your lips before applying the lipstick. For a better matte effect, wipe the excess lip balm on your lips first.

They are not as long lasting as liquid lipsticks but unless you're eating greasy food and chugging down bottles and bottles of water, then the colour will stay on your lips. You can always reapply your lipstick later in the day.

My mom loves this range! She went through a few of these lipsticks and I, myself have never went through a whole lipstick in my whole life.

The packaging is a bit more posh with magnetic closure and curvature towards the middle of the lipstick. If you don't like matte lipsticks and wanted something moisturising and hydrating throughout the day, definitely go with this range. They are pricier than bullet lipsticks but if you have extra to spend on, I'd say go for it.

What I really like about this range is the shade Glamour Era that gives me a nice nude stain even after the colour has come off. I used to wear this a lot because it is hydrating, perfect when you have classes in an air-conditioned room the whole day.

Pink Plaid: I thought it would look very pink on me but it doesn't! It's a cool toned blue based pink and the sales assistant said that not everyone can pull off this lip colour. I would suggest going to the store and trying it on first before you purchase.

Velvet Teddy: The perfect brownish nude for me. I can't go one or two shades lighter if I want to look not dead. I bought this because of the hype surrounding it and it was one of the best purchases ever.

Diva: My mom purchased this vampy burgundy colour because the sales assistant told her that this is the colour that Neelofa always wears. My mom likes Neelofa a lot so she bought it. You don't have to wear any makeup to rock this lipstick shade, trust me. This lipstick alone will make you feel like you run the world. Ya go gal.

Mehr: I wasn't going to purchase this because I thought it looked a lot like Velvet Teddy but the SA told me to just try it first and ooooooh my god. It is a gorgeous rosy, mauve-pink colour that looks like a pink version of Velvet Teddy. I was sold!

Glamour Era: A mix of brown, peach, and pink. Neutral shade.

Red Coquette: It complements my skin tone so well. This shade is not as intimidating as other red shades.

Elegant Accent: The lipstick that my mom repurchased twice because she liked it a lot. She was going to purchase it again but I told her to just get another colour already.

Lady At Play: Quite similar to Elegant Accent with a bit more orange. 

Divine Choice: Described as a mid tonal pink shade that looks purple on me. It does bring out the blue in my contact lens, though.

I know that for some people (including me!) 78 ringgit is too much to spend on a lipstick but if you want to try and own at least one MAC lipstick, I would suggest going to the counter and ask the assistant which colour that would suit you best for everyday wear. You don't want to be spending a fortune on a lipstick shade that you're only going to wear once or twice.

I hope you enjoyed my review and swatches! Which colour do you like? And which one do you think look the best on me?

Etsy Blog Templates Review

If you're a long time reader of my blog, you would know that I'm obsessed with blog designs. I spend a majority of my time (and money!) on Etsy and I have bought 5 templates in the past not including the templates that I helped people buy. I'm going to do a review of all 5 templates from 4 different shops on Etsy to help you in deciding which template shop that suits your blog needs. They're all responsive and mobile-friendly templates that look awesome on mobile!

Violin from Vefio Themes | RM36.17

Preview / Shop

The customer service is 10/10. Angga (the owner) will help you every step of the way. I had to get my template recoded because Blogger changed something in its html coding whatever so the Popular Posts photos got blurry and he tweaked my template for me in under 2 hours.

PROS

Compatible with Blogger Template Designer

Free installation service

Slider

I really like the slider in this template. It looks professional.

Auto read-more

It comes with two layout option, with read-more button or without read-more. You will get both.

Social network buttons

You have social buttons on the top left of the page and sidebar.

Dropdown menu

Sticky navigation

Comment section

Avatar and border around each comment

Instagram widget

Related posts

Popular posts

CONS

You cannot put two photos in a post side by side. Both of them will take the full width so the second photo will go under the first photo.

You will have to copy paste codes that are provided in the template into respective gadget for them to work like the social media button, recent posts, and pinterest gadget.

The dropdown menu is very tedious to do including the categories/label. You have to put in the link of your label one by one. If you have 20 labels, hmph good luck.

Gigi and Gadot from Fearne Creative Design | RM20.72/RM21.28

Gigi Gadot / Shop

The customer service is 10/10. Eve (the owner) found my blog and she messaged me on Etsy about my problem with the comment section not having border and avatar so she gave me the CSS code (Gigi). For Gadot, she helped me with the post title and date. I wanted the date to be above post title and she gave me the step by step tutorial. Very helpful.

PROS

Easy to install and edit because the coding is simple

Free installation service

Slider
Not my favourite but the slider is okay. You can choose to have the full-width slider on Gigi.

Auto read-more
It's a grid layout so it's basically auto read-more.

Social network buttons
You have social buttons on the top right of the page and sidebar.

Dropdown menu

Sticky navigation

Instagram widget

Related posts

Popular posts

CONS

Not compatible with Blogger Template Designer

Comment section
No avatar and border around each comment

The post body link has a bottom border sort of like underline which I really like but my post images has bottom border too because when you upload an image it's basically a linked image and that's not cute at all. (Gigi)

You have to copy paste the codes provided too such as the slider, social icons, search bar, and Instagram widget. If you want a second dropdown menu you will have to go to edit html and edit some coding before you can set up your second dropdown.

Majestic from Design by A | RM63.85

Preview / Shop

Beautiful template! I would have still used this template if I hadn't found my current one. I've only used it for 4 days.. I wanted the blog copyright (2016 © ERIN AZMIR) on the bottom of the page that this template doesn't have so Alex (the owner) edited it for free. The credit coding is complicated so I can't edit it by myself.

PROS

Compatible with Blogger Template Designer

You don't have to touch a single code

Slider

The slider is gorgeous!!!

Auto read-more

It's a grid layout so it's basically auto read-more.

Social network buttons

You have social buttons on the top right of the page and sidebar.

Sticky navigation

Clean comment section

Related posts

Popular posts

Well-structured template

CONS

No free installation provided as far as I know

No dropdown menu

But there's a lot of space for your links on the navigation bar. You have the top menu and sticky navigation.

No Instagram widget

You can easily get one from LightWidget.com

Marigold by Underline Designs | RM148.94

Preview / Shop

(CURRENTLY USING) GORGEOUS. I fell in love with it the first time I laid eyes on it. After you've purchased this template, you should leave a message to the seller for the headers, she will create two headers for you with the font used in the demo. I got mine in less than 30 mins after messaging. By the way, you can get 20% off if you subscribed to her newsletter. Just apply the discount code while checkout.

PROS

Compatible with Blogger Template Designer with a lot of options

You don't have to touch a single code

Slider

Clean and simple slider

Auto read-more

It's a grid layout with a homepage

Social network buttons

Top right of the page, sidebar, and footer

Dropdown menu

Sticky navigation

Clean comment section

Instagram widget

Related posts

Popular posts

On sidebar and homepage

Full-width pages

Well-structured template

The template looks complicated but it is very easy to install!

CONS

Paid template installation (free installation for Marigold)

For the recommendation from each shop:

Vefio: Calypso / Nueva / Caroline
Fearne: Esmée / Sigrid / Clementine
Design by A: Fabulous Eve / Milky / Paprika
Underline: Marjoram / Celandine / Amaryllis

This is such a long post! I hope you enjoyed my ranting about blog templates. I have 'converted' many of my blogger friends to using Etsy's templates because I talked about templates every week and we perempuan cannot tahan from buying, you know? Hahaha. Let me know if you have any questions or if you need help on buying from Etsy.

PS: No more posts about templates after this, I promise.

TheBalm Nude Dude Palette

Hi everyone! First of all, SASA IS HAVING A WAREHOUSE SALE up to 70% off! My friend went there today so I asked her to buy me the Nude Dude Palette. The original price of this palette is RM155 but I got it for RM50! All the palettes are either RM50 or RM60 and the blush, bronzer, and Mary-Lou Manizer are RM30 only! Maybelline and L'Oreal have a buy 1 free 1 promotion so you guys really need to check it out! The promotion is until August 31st only and everything is selling out super fast.

I was contemplating between Nude Tude and Nude Dude but I went with Nude Dude because I didn't like the white (Sassy) and yellow (Snobby) shades in Nude Tude and that's two shades gone already. I like the rosy and brown shades in Nude Dude palette as those are the shades I'm always geared towards. Both palettes are beautiful in my opinion but unlike Nude Tude, I like all the shades in Nude Dude palette.

Here's a picture of Nude Tude palette to compare:

(My mom swatched some of the shades already)

Fearless, Flawless, and Fabulous are matte. These are perfect for highlighting the brow bone, blending, and crease colour. Firm, Faithful, and Fit are shimmer, perfect for the lids.

Feisty and Friendly are matte. Friendly is a deep, dark purple shade. Flirty, Fierce, Funny, and Fine are shimmer shades. Fine is a shimmery dark brown shade. You can check this out for an in-depth comparison between the two palettes and swatches.

Overall, I'm quite happy with this palette because it has all the colours I like to use for my eyeshadows. For RM50 after discount, this palette is definitely a steal!

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

Hi everyone. TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer has been in my wish list for the longest time but every time I tried to purchase one at Sasa, they were always out of stock. But today I went to Sasa IOI City Mall and they still have 6 (5 now because I got one!) Mary-Lou left! The sales assistant said that so many people are buying this highlighter thanks to the beauty community who can not stop raving about this product.

The original price is RM89 but Sasa is having a sale right now (August 2016) so you can get it for 10% off or purchase 2nd item from any participating brands and get it for 20% off! So I ended up paying RM75 with it + two packs of wet tissue as my 2nd item.

It comes in a silver plastic case and a huge mirror which I am thankful for. You get 8.5g of product and honestly that can last you for years! With highlighting, you don't need that much product for that awesome glow. I did swatch the product on my skin and to be honest I didn't want to touch the surface of the product because just look at how pretty it is! Aaah I haven't even tried it on my face and I'm already in love!

It's a honey-hued highlight that will give you an intense glow like BAM on your face kinda glow. As you can see from the swatches above, I was only using light hand to swatch because I don't want to ruin the surface of the highlighter so forgive me for not doing the swatches properly. You can check out the full review here.

I hope you enjoyed this post and please leave a comment down below if you have tried this highlighter or been wanting to try. x

Skincare Tryouts #1

Hi everyone. So I've been wanting to try a new skincare line for quite some time now but I had never gotten around to buying them because I have a really sensitive skin and I'm scared that I might get breakouts from trying new products. I was a Dnars skincare user before this and I had been using them for two years. You see, one of the reasons why I was scared to try new products was because you know how it is with local products, you might get rebound effect if you stop using them so I was scared of that. But I bought the Azanis Scar Serum and one of the benefits of that serum is it can help you if you have used a wrong product on your face. I did not get breakouts since I stopped using Dnars, alhamdulillah, but my skin turns really dry with a lot of patchy areas. I have been on the hunt for products for sensitive skin and this Simple Skincare fits the bill.

Simple Kind To Skin Moisturising Facial Wash | RM20.90

I have had oily skin for as long as I can remember. When my skin turns dry, I got really anxious because my acne soap is not cutting it anymore. If you have dry skin, it's best to avoid soaps or any kind of facial washes that produce a lot of foam as they can completely strip the oil off of your skin. With this facial wash, you only need a tiny amount of product and it doesn't have a lot of foam which I kind of didn't like at first but thinking of my super dry skin, I have to give in and get used to it.

Simple Kind To Skin Smoothing Facial Scrub | RM22

If you're looking for an intense facial scrub, then this isn't the one for you. Go with the St. Ives Apricot Scrub instead. This scrub is fitting for sensitive skin as it is not harsh at all and my face does not turn red after using it which I really appreciate, provided you don't scrub your face too hard.

Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser | RM20.90

Based on the reviews I read of this product, the majority of them have been raving about it saying it is the best moisturiser that they have ever used. That is true. I am not saying it is a bad moisturiser. However, it didn't work like I expected it to on my dry skin. But it is a light moisturiser so I can't really blame the product. Nonetheless, this product is perfect for moisturising the face before primer as it absorbs into the skin like a dream. I needed an intense moisturiser so I have been reapplying it 4-6 times a day (which I just found out is NOT good!) and it drives me a bit nuts when there isn't any changes I see on my dry areas.

I have a few products from this line that I still want to try such as their toner, micellar water, cleansing lotion, face mask, and night cream. I might have to get some of them online though because they're sold out everywhere. Anyway, what skincare products are you using right now? Do you know any homemade remedies that might work for my dry skin?

Product Empties #1

Hi everyone! I didn't get any posts up in the past few days because I have been busy with some stuff I needed to finish but I'm not busy anymore as of now. I have a few posts sitting in draft but I was not feeling them so I thought why don't I do a product empties post because I have never done that on my blog before and it would be fun to make a quick review of each of the products. These are the items that I gathered in the 15 minutes I spent to find them in my bathroom and beauty shelf.

Safi Balqis White Trilogy Kiwi Scrub: some claimed that this scrub broke them out but thankfully it didn't on me. However, it does nothing to my skin from what I can see but if you have sensitive skin and you're looking for a gentle scrub, this might be the one for you. The beads are very small and they are not rough at all. 

Mistine Egg White Peel Off Mask: I love this product. I already have backup and one tube of this lasted me a good a year and a half. It leaves my skin feeling smooth, reduces the redness on my face and I'm pretty sure it did something to my pores. It also removes your fine hair (read: facial hair).

Nivea Pearl & Beauty Roll-On Deodorant: I was a huge fan of spray deodorant but I read online that you can get cancer from it. Although death is inevitable, I would like to live a little longer. Anyhow, I was using a different brand before and I was in need of a new, inexpensive one because at that time I was still in Shah Alam and you know how it is with students, we are broke all the time so this was the cheapest, only RM4 so I got it. I love it! I feel fresh from morning till night and it smells so good. I rarely get sweaty armpits ever since I use this deodorant.

St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub: a cult favourite in the beauty world. I really like this scrub because my skin felt so soft after using it but the beads are rough. I don't know the proper adjective to describe the beads but if you have sensitive skin like I do, don't ever scrub your face with so much pressure using this product because it will leave your skin red.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask: I only had a sample size of this product but I'll feature it in this post anyway. I mentioned it in my skincare wants post so please check that post out. Basically, this is the best mask I have ever tried.

Innisfree Jeju Peach Hand Cream: my favourite hand cream was Hand Food by Soap & Glory but I ran out of it so I went ahead and got the Etude House Missing U hand cream but I didn't like that one all that much. But this Innisfree one is awesome. This particular smell is so good and it doesn't feel greasy on the hand which I really like. Definitely will repurchase.

Etude House Moistfull Aloe Soothing Cream: this was an impulse buy for me. They had some sort of promotion going on. I believe I paid RM120 for this cream, essence, and a bunch of other products and sheet masks. I still have a bit left of this product but I bought it back in 2013 and I do not keep anything more than 3 years so I had to throw it away. Besides, it smells off so I'm not keen on the idea of putting it on my face. If you have dry skin, this is good for you. Oily skin like me? Not really suitable but it does hydrate your skin.

Etude House Black Head Heating Scrub: getting rid of it because I had it for years already. It's a clear gel with black beads which feels warm once rubbed on the skin. It only removed the top layer of my blackheads so I guess it didn't work on my blackhead-infested nose. I don't think you can get this in store anymore, though. They might reformulate the product and name it something else.

Nutox Pre-Cleanser: I talked about this makeup remover on my makeup removers showdown post so please check it out if you haven't already.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts about them?

A Review: JF Skin Solutions Anti-Acne Soap

Assalamualaikum and good afternoon earthlings!

I am going to do a review of a face soap I have been using for a few months. Before going into details, you should check out my skincare routine where I talked about my skin condition and all about my acne problems.

So basically I have hormonal acne since 2014 and although some of them have cleared up already, sometimes I still get a few pimples popping out of nowhere. Before trying out this product, I used Dnars soap on my face but that didn't work that great when compared to this JF soap. I would still get acne with Dnars soap and although it wasn't that bad, it annoyed me because I would still have pimples no matter how I took care of my skin.

You can get this product at Guardian or Watsons for around RM10. Yes, it is cheap and works well!

The product claims 3 effective actions:

1. It relieves the clogged pores and impurities.

2. It cleanses the pores from germs and bacteria and also reduces the excessive oil.

3. It protects and prevents skin from further possible problems. 

The product also says that it contains volcanic sulfur as a natural active ingredient. The soap is also uniquely developed as a skin care soap to help in the treatment or prevention of skin problems.

Skin problems can be of various kinds. Here are some of them and how these problems be treated with the help of this soap. 

1. Acne 

The Keratolytic effect helps in relieving skin's clogged pores and its impurities. The active ingredients cleanse the skin from dirt and excess oil. 

2. Oily Skin 

Helps in controlling and reducing skin's excessive oil and related problems. 

3. Bacteria 

Helps in giving anti-septic effect on skin, hence, discouraging the tendency to fungal, bacteria, or other skin hygiene problems.

It's a yellow bar soap that you can cut into 4 parts to get maximum use. It is recommended that you use this only twice a day, morning and night, because it can be a bit drying and also because it contains volcanic sulfur and I suppose it's not good to be used multiple times in a day.

I freakin' love this soap. I think it's safe to say that I haven't had any breakouts/pimples ever since I used it daily except for period acne but I rarely get period acne and if I do, only one would pop out each time. So can you imagine how good this soap is for my skin? It prevents new pimples from coming out, too. It dries up your pimple overnight without getting dry, patchy areas like you would with OXY 10. Now don't get me talkin' about that crappy OXY 10...

PROS:

• cheap
• available at the drugstore
• one bar of soap can last you months!
• treats pimples and oily skin
• no new pimples coming out thank GOD
• you can use it on your body (body acne), can treat fungal infection (such as panau, kurap, and scabies), and as shampoo to fight dandruff
• safe to use. the first time I used it, my mom actually got it from a clinic that only uses good medicines/products and the doctor is great. how do I know this? I worked at this clinic after SPM lol.

CONS:

• it is drying so make sure to put on moisturizer/day cream and night cream, okay!

VERDICT:

I swear by this product. It is my holy grail and I don't think I will be using other facial cleanser. It doesn't break the bank and despite of still having hyperpigmentation from previous acne breakouts, my face is now free of pimples and I couldn't ask for more. I give it a 4.5 stars!

Premium Nobluk Lens

I actually wanted to write about how I started wearing contact lens but then I figured it would be better if I dedicate a whole blog post about eyeglasses, contact lens, and such so stay tuned for that blog post if you're interested!

So for today, I will be doing a review about my new contact lens that I got from nislenshop on Instagram. To start off, my previous contact lens that I used was a Nobluk lens in brown but I got them from another Instagram shop that I forgot the name of. So I googled where can I get a Nobluk lens on Instagram and I came across @nislenshop. To be completely honest, the seller is not that friendly but I don't mind as long as I got my lens, it's alright to me. The lens was RM30, including shipping, and the wear time is 3 months, just like my old ones.

She asked me which Nobluk do I want, they have two versions of Nobluk which are Hydro and Premium. She said the Hydro is much bigger (I think its diameter is 15mm) or Premium (14mm). The previous one that I have worn was kinda small so I went with Premium thinking that they are exactly the same. When the package came, the design on the lens looked exactly like my old ones.

But booooooy, I was wrong. They are nothing alike. They are completely different. I'm pretty sure that my old pair was not a Nobluk. I kind of prefer the old lens but the new ones are much softer in terms of colour. They don't look fake to me. I want contact lens that when people see me wearing them, they don't immediately think that "oh that girl is wearing lens", I want something that looks natural. I have worn so many in the past and I pretty much went with brown/hazel or sometimes grey. Other than brown and grey, they are not what I favour.

PROS:

• neutral colour which is what I like
• very cheap, you can stock up a lot
• 3 months wear-time
• they look amazing on me!

CONS:

• have to order online to get
• you can see the lens sliding downwards if you looked attentively in the mirror
• the comfortability is so-so, the old ones are much more comfortable to wear
• you know how with contact lens, the thickness differs? this one is definitely on the thin side so when they start drying (which is really fast because they are thin), contact lens eye drop is going to be your best friend

VERDICT:

I really like this contact lens but I also like the Hydro ones. To be honest, I prefer the Hydro Nobluk but the ones I have now are gorgeous, too, so I am in a serious dilemma right here. I will keep repurchasing Nobluk lens in the future because in my opinion, they look very natural and I am comfortable with the Nobluk line.

So which one do you guys prefer more?

UPDATE (26/7): just found out that my old Nobluk lens is not actually Nobluk. I bought a new pair from the old seller thinking that they were my old ones but they're not :(

A Review: Farra Beauty Super Glowing Foundation

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone!

Today, I am going to do a review of a cream foundation from Farra Beauty, a local beauty company. It was my mom actually who wanted this foundation so bad after seeing all the reviews on Instagram. Typical moms. She wouldn't stop talking about it until she got it in her hands.

I got this foundation from @farrabeauty on Instagram for RM40. I believe the usual price was RM56 something, I'm not so sure. They're having a promotion right now so if you're interested, head on to their Instashop.

This foundation comes in 3 shades, 1. Pinky, which is what I have, 2. Natural, my mom's shade, and 3. Sawo Matang. 

My first impression of this foundation is the packaging is really small. I have only used it twice and look how I have hit pan on it:

But it was partly my fault because I used a lot of the product the first time I used it on my face because I wanted to see if it could cover my hyperpigmentation on my cheeks. It did cover up really well but not 100% that you can't see it at all. The downside is, your face will look really pink! So use only a generous amount of product, do not cake it on your face.

As you can see, the foundation unblended is a pinky beige colour but more pinky in my opinion. Between the shade Pinky and Natural, I honestly do not see that much of a difference aside from Pinky being.. pink. It all depends on your under tone. If you are cool tone like me (pink underneath), go for Pinky but if you're more to the warmer side, go for Natural. Click here to determine your skin tone.

The consistency is more liquid-y than I have expected. Before I swatched it for the first time, I thought it would be really creamy and thick but it is actually not! When I touched it, it felt like a liquid in a cream form. Maybe the heat from my finger warmed up the product a bit. I really like that it feels like a liquid because the application is da bomb dot com.

As you can see, I have a lot of acne hyperpigmentation on both of my cheeks and chin. I actually got rid of my previous hyperpigmentation problem a year and a half ago but then I went and ate a lot of seafood with my mom's family and who could resist seafood anyway and I brokeout like crazy and it's been a year since it happened and I still have hyperpigmentation from the breakout. I swear they are really hard to get rid of especially a fair skin like mine. I'm going to try a homemade remedy to help with this issue. Will recommend it to you if it worked for me.

Don't freak out, I'm not using a beautyblender, I haven't found it in me to spend RM90 on a sponge. Maybe one day but certainly not now. I'm just using an RM5 sponge dupe for beautyblender. It does not expand when run through water but that's okay. I like it better than the other sponge I have that does expand.

I spread the product all over my face as per picture. If you do put it on your eyelids, make sure to set it with powder because they might crease and you will be left with a thick line across your eyelids. Yikes! Not cute. Actually, any cream or liquid products you put on your eyelids must be set with powder, including eyeshadow primer which you should put on top an eyeshadow base/transition colour before doing your eye makeup.

And tadaaaa! This is the final result. You can still see the hyperpigmentation on my cheeks but that's fine, I can put a bit more product on the area and blend. However, since I used a DSLR to take the picture, it looked like the hyperpigmentation is quite visible as if the product didn't cover anything but in real life, it looked pretty covered and not as 'vibrant' as it looked in the picture.

Gotta put on some concealer under the eyes because your home girl is finally having dark circle after 21 years of living. Eeeek.

This is the final look. I love how natural it looks on me. I know when you see the testimonial online they look super flawless and shiny as if they're using a 360 application. Let's be real, your phone camera can't be trusted. They don't pick up details like DSLR does. Unless your skin is like bontot baby, there's no way you get that flawless kulit telur skin.

PROS:

• I have oily/combination skin and this works well on my skin. I hardly got oily at the end of the day, just a bit around my T-zone, nothing that a blotting paper can't fix.
• It becomes more glowing after some time. Probably because it oxidises.
• Very affordable.
• Easy to apply. I like using sponge and brush better than fingers.
• Skincare + makeup in one. Some claimed that their acne scars and jeragat got better after a week of use. I don't wear makeup everyday so I can't back up this claim.
• Long-lasting. It did not budge at all and it was a very hot weather when I tested it out!
• It has spf35 so you can go out and be under the sun all you want.
• Suits all type of skin. To me this is really important because my skin is really sensitive and oily.

CONS:

• IT CLINGS ONTO YOUR DRY SKIN, leaving you with dry patches. Best to scrub and moisturize your skin before makeup.
• Have to order online to get it.
• I just wish a bit more coverage from this foundation without having to add more product to problematic area.
• Needs more shades for people with darker skin tone.

VERDICT:

I really like this product and I definitely will buy more for backups. It's hard to find an affordable foundation for oily skin and this one does it for me. It has a nice coverage, easy to blend, easy to apply, and it feels so smooth on my skin. 4 stars for this product!