Gratitude Day 2

I'm grateful for:
1. Having RM15.60 off on my grocery shopping ( RM3.00 Off Voucher for Friskies, RM0.60 Off Voucher for F&N Ginger Ale and RM12 Off for Purchases RM80 and above Tesco Voucher)
2. Having the energy to cook dinner once I got home with all the shopping
3. Finally dropping off two of my many bookcrossing books (and thus reclaiming some space) at the bookcrossing zone in The Curve
4. Not "bumping" into the snake in the stairwell! Having collegues warn me just in time --- phew!!!

Gratitude Day 1

1. The Kitty I've been feeding at work didn't run away when I took a peek at him. Instead, although he was wary of me, he looked back at me.
2. Having the time in the morning to fix myself a quick breakfast to take to work.
3. Having a car and getting to work safely.
4. Having leftover food for an early dinner when I got home from work.

Dr Cafe at The Curve

Armchairs, Mocha Frappe....Just me making myself feel at home while working in a little cosy little nook in Dr Cafe at The Curve. 

FYI Dr Cafe at The Curve is currently running a promo. My Grande Mocha Frappe cost me only RM6.

Mc D's Breakfast Day

My Mc D's free Egg Mc Muffin. I decided to give the Latte a go since I was given coupon for it. Not being a coffee person, all that caffeine left me jittery for most of the morning!

Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation Review

I've been using this product every day for over a week or so now and I'm ready to write a review on it.

The Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation comes in a 30 ml frosted glass pump bottle and a clear cap. I like the pump as it's pretty easy to control if I want to dispense less than a pump of product. This is an oil free foundation and it is creamy in texture.

I get a light to medium coverage when applied with my buffer brush and more of a medium coverage when applied with a makeup sponge. Personally, I find that this looks better on me if I apply it with my buffer brush instead of a makeup sponge.

Finding a matching shade may be a problem for many people as there are only three shades to choose from (I wish they would make more). I bought mine the shade 020 Rosy Beige which I think is a tad too light for me when I first put it on in the mornings but I find that the foundation oxides as the day goes on and then, it looks okay on my skin.

I read somewhere that this is a dupe for Makeup Forever's Mat Velvet. This foundation doesn't transfer as much as the Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation. Once on the skin, it feels light and it lasts around 5 hours on my extremely oily skin before my oil blotters have to come to the rescue. Around mid day, I normally would blot my face and apply setting powder and that lasts till the end of my workday.

Overall, I love this product. I have read many complaints about the rosy scent of this foundation but I have no issues with it. The best thing about this product, I think, is that it's great value for the price.

The Good
The price!
It's a good quality product.
The pump dispenser allows me enough control to dispense less than one pump for product.

The Not So Great
The colour selection is small (only three shades, to be exact).
The rosy scent may be an issue with some people.

Update May11, 2015:
I purchased the next shade 030 Caramel Beige as I found the shade that I had initially bought, 020 Rose Beige, to be a little bit light for my skin (yes, this was only after 6 weeks of wearing the lighter shade!). In order to not waste the lighter shade, I now mix the two shades together.

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Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation | 30 ml 
Made in Germany
Retail Price: RM 37.90 (I purchased mine for RM26.55 as it was on 30% discount)
Available from selected Guardian outlets
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My Wild Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation Chase!

After weeks of looking at and visiting the Catrice foundations in Guardian, and reading as well as watching reviews on their two foundations online, I finally decided to give it a go. So last Saturday, I went to Mid Valley Mega Mall with one thing in mind --- to purchase the Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation from Guardian's.

Once there, I decided look around the mall and to purchase the foundation only on my way out of the mall as I didn't want to be loaded with stuff as I walked around the mall. As luck would have it, when I finally went up to the cashier after a long wait in the queue, I was asked by the sulky cashier if I had another card on me other than the Amex that I had given her because  apparently, she said that it takes a long time to get an approval code on Amex. Tired and turned off by her less than polite tone and non-customer oriented attitude, I asked for my card back, told her to cancel the purchase and walked out. Yes, it was something that I would have liked to have but not something that I had to have as I still have about another half bottle worth of my Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation left (even though I wear it to work everyday!).

The following day, on Sunday, I was in KLCC and once again, I visited the Catrice stand there but decided not to purchase the foundation then as there was a long queue at the check out counters. Then Monday rolled around and lo and behold, what did I see on my FB feed --- Guardian announced that some selected makeup brands were going for 30% less and one of the brands was Catrice!!! WooHoo!!!

So yeah, I made my way to the Guardian in IPC after work and finally purchased a bottle of the Catrice Photo Finish 18 Hour Liquid Foundation. I guess, I was lucky that I didn't purchase the foundation just two days earlier as it on only a 10% discount then instead of the 30% discount when I purchased it yesterday. Mmmm.... can't wait to try it out!

Oh, btw, all the Catrice products were going at a 30% discount and I was going gaga just looking at the prices. I had to keep reminding myself that I still had A LOT of fairly recently purchased makeup to use up before I can reward myself with more.

Joey Yap's Feng Shui 2015 Seminar Encore

Learning on a Sunday. I love his seminars.

There's this annoying male usher-er who is insisting that I close the gap and sit in the row in front of where I have already seated myself. I know, you are only doing your job but I'm stubborn and choose not to move. Sorry. He's clearly not impressed when I tell him that other people will come in and and those seats will be occupied... only not by me.  

Empties: February 2015

Just thought I'd share with you my empties in February 2015:

1. Minnie Mouse Cotton Facial Pads   150 pieces
Purchased this in Guardian while it was on sale. Thought that the packaging was cute.

2. Daiso Facial Oil Blotters
I use the ones in the box at home. Not brilliant but it does the job, so I can't complain.

3. Daiso Facial Oil Blotters
I usually have a pack in my handbag for use throughout the day when I am at work. This isn't the kind that I would normally purchase at Daiso but they were out of my regular ones and I was desperate for some!

4. Nivea Anti-Perspirant Spray in Energy Fresh   150ml
This is one of my repeat buys from time to time.

5. Clear Anti-Dandruff Shampoo   350ml
I've had this for AGES!!!

6. Benefit's Maybe Baby Body Lotion   200ml
Purchased this years ago and forgot all about it until I rediscovered it recently. I simply adore this product. It's a shame that it has been discontinued :( And oh, it's got tiny shimmers in it that can only be seen when light shines on your skin. I love, love, love the scent!

7. Marks and Spencers Peach and Almond Bath   500ml
This was my treat purchase last Raya. While the product is good, the scent isn't something that I am likely to repurchase. The bottle is pretty and I'm saving it to be used for other products that I buy in refill packs.

On Time and Self Development

I think I shouldn't waste time and should instead use it wisely. So this is the plan: I'm going to spend at least an hour on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on self development.

I started day one of self development yesterday by reading a book I found in the library entitled, "Money Smart: Secrets Women Need to Know about Money".

I'd have made good use of my time if I learn something.

Silky Girl Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balm Review

I'm always on the lookout for a good bargain. Guardian recently had a buy one get one free promotion and the Silky Girl Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balm was one of the items offered. I figured that it would be a good time to try out this product as I have been curious about this product but was not about to break the bank and pay the full price for it but since it was going at half price each, I thought, "Why not?".

So I purchased mine in Coral and Ruby. I've so far have only used the Coral one and I find that it doesn't feel as moisturising as my Essence lippie but it doesn't feel drying on the lips either. I was quite surprised to find that the colour lasts a lot longer than I expected since it is classified as a lip balm. I also like the bright  Coral color. By the way, the coral color is much brighter in life than in the photograph.

According to the Silky Girl website, this product doesn't contain fragrance, parabens, carmine and isn't tested on animals. So that ranks pretty high on my list.

I couldn't get any information on the amount of product that you get but by the looks of it, it seems to be less that your normal lipstick. That's kinda okay with me as I like to have the colour variety and one lip color lasts a mighty long time for me.

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Product: Silky Girl Moisture Boost Lipcolor Balm
Retail Price: RM20.90 (I purchased mine during the Buy 1 Get 1 Free Promotion at Guardian Pharmacy)
Product Amount: 3.2g
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Key chain

Meet my new key chain. This guy was just too difficult for me to pass up on. I just had to purchase him. I use this specifically for my thumb drive as it would make it more visible especially when it's in my handbag that has got LOADS of stuff.

A Makeup Trick I Learned and It WORKS!!! :)

My super oil slick skin drives me up the wall sometimes. I've recently been experiencing my makeup transferring onto my handouts when I happen to touch my face and then the handouts (not cool!). I initially thought that perhaps I should be on the lookout for a more matte foundation but I recently came across this video tip on youtube from one of my fav makeup artists and I am eternally thankful for it.

If you're like me, all you need to do it to apply loose powder all over your face BEFORE you apply your foundation. That's it! It's that simple! And best of all, it WORKS!!! My makeup lasts a lot longer now. Now, this is not a miracle solution as if you've got oily skin, your skin will be what it is --- oily! BUT this tip will make your makeup last a lot longer than normal. This tip has helped me save $$$ as I no longer feel the need to run out and get myself another bottle of foundation and I can now look forward to finishing my current bottle of foundation. Hope this helps! :)

Essence Almost Famous Lipstick Review

Drugstore makeup have certainly come a loonnngggg way since I was a teenager. They used to be cheap and nasty. That, I'm pleasantly surprised to discover, is no longer the case now. Nowadays, it's pretty easy to get good quality makeup products at a budget from the drugstore.

I bought an Essence lipstick yesterday. Up until very recently, I had no idea that this brand even existed! I happened to stumble upon it on the Watsons online store website and upon research discovered that many bloggers and vloogers were raving over Essence products.

For the uninitiated, Essence is a German drugstore makeup brand. It's not available in all drugstores in Malaysia, only in selected Watsons outlets. I literally had to hunt it down to find it!

I was actually looking for 'All About Cupcake' lipstick since I'd read many positive reviews on it but discovered that the shade was more of a light pink (I swatched the tester). Then, I tried swatching 'Almost Famous' and discovered that although it's a red, it has a touch of pink to it. Although reds are not colors that I would naturally veer towards, I figured that I would give this one a go since it seemed pretty. It's been a looonngggg time since I used a bright lipstick colour and it took some getting used to but like I said, it's such a pretty colour.

As always, I only bought one lipstick to try out as I have never purchased any lipstick from Essence before and was curious to find out how I would get on with the formula. My first impression of the product is that the formula is really creamy and moisturising (something really important for me as my lips tend to dry out rather easily). The color is sheer but buildable. There are no shimmery flecks in it, something which is difficult to come by nowadays. It also has a yummy scent which I like.

Like most other moisturising lipsticks, it doesn't last long before requiring a touch up but this doesn't bother me as I'm used to it and in fact, expect it to not last long. Long lasting colors tend to be very drying on my lips.

I have only applied the lipstick from the tube thrice  so far and the lipstick bullet looks like it's moving around in the packaging and getting squished into the sides of the lipstick packaging just from the pressure applied when using the lipstick (hmmm...that explains why the testers were all swished up and messy). I'm worried that if I carry on applying this lipstick from the tube (as I do with other lipsticks) the lipstick is going to break. Yes, it is that soft of a formula! Looks like I'm going to have to use my lip brush for this lipstick to avoid from squishing it further. Apart from that though, I'm generally pleased with my purchase.

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Product: Essence 44 'Almost Famous' Lipstick
Retail Price: RM11.90
Available at selected Watson's outlets
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Valentine's

Will you be my Valentine?

Grateful

Today I'm grateful for:
1. the quiet lunch hour that I had
2. having been excluded from the lunch that was provided by the 60-something part-time staff and thus saving on calories :)
3. the gift of the cookies by a more civil colleague

I'm grateful for having more than enough. 

Of Immaturity and the 60-something-year-old

Something happened at work today to reinforce what I already know to be true --- age is certainly no indicator of maturity.

Case in point: A 60-something part-time staff came into work with lunch for everyone in the office  except for the head of the department (and yours truly). For your information, there are only seven of us in my department.

When I came back from lunch (I normally take my lunch early ahead of the lunch crowd), they were all in the office eating at their desks. The head of department was there too and she was looking over their shoulders and making remarks about being left out of the lunch fest as they were busy stuffing their faces. She was whining and they all just ignored her.

I found it all very strange behavior on the part of all the parties involved. I mean, why openly exclude anyone? What good is it going to do anyone? Why not be diplomatic and get food for everyone? Wouldn't that give you the fuzzy feel good feeling? Wouldn't that feel good vibe result in not only a happier you but also a healthier you? I think it was immature to exclude anyone from a food fest. Openly excluding anyone is not about them but about you. It just seems like some people have never played in the sandbox as children.

On my part, I wasn't really upset about not having had been included in the lunch fest but I did find the whole thing extremely strange though... By not buying lunch for me (it was nasi lemak, by the way), she saved me the calories. No complains there! Like everything else, I choose to focus on the positive. I can't change the people around me but I can change my perception of the situation that I'm in.  

Catrice Ultimate Lipstick Review

Catrice is finally here! After reading reviews on the net, I decided to give this brand a try.

I purchased the Allround Concealer Pallette and the Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 140 Pinker-bell. I haven't tried the Allround Concealer yet. I purchased it because it has the pink colour concealer and I'm curious to see if the pink will cancel my under eye circles.

I wore the lipstick today and it lasted a lot longer than I thought it would. It was moisturising enough (a VERY important requirement on my lipstick buying list). I love the bright colour.  It's a pigmented creamy lipstick that goes on smoothly.

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Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick 

Price: RM19.70 (Price is after 10% discount at Guardian Pharmacy)
Product Amount: 3.8g / 0.13oz
Made in Italy

Catrice Allround Concealer

Price: RM17.00 (Price is after 10% discount at Guardian Pharmacy)
Product Amount: 6g / 0.21oz
Made in China

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Steve Madden Handbag

I've been browsing for a nice, trendy and affordable handbag suitable for work recently. Oftentimes I would find something I like but the price tag is just way out of my budget and not something that I can justify splurging on.

I went in to the Nine West store in the Gardens Mall and saw a brown coloured bag that I liked but unfortunately, they didn't have one in stock (they just had the display bag). So, after asking them to check out for stocks in other stores, I was directed to the Nine West outlet in Robinsons which is just around the corner and in the same mall.

Upon getting there though, I discovered two things: one, the bag that I was after, although was displayed on the shelf in Robinsons, they too, didn't have any in stock and two, I saw the bag that I eventually purchased in the Steve Madden outlet which happens to be right next to Nine West. Although I liked the Nine West bag's design, I preferred the material of the Steve Madden Bag more. Moreover, the Steve Madden Bag was slightly cheaper than the Nine West bag, so, win! :)

After finding out recently that Maybank Treats Points have expiry dates and are good for only 3 years. So, with that in mind, I went ahead and traded some of my Maybank Treats Points for Robinsons gift vouchers and purchased this Steve Madden handbag :)

I'm glad that I didn't purchase the bag in H&M a few months back. This bag looks way nicer :) It's roomy (read that to mean that I can thrown in loads of things into it including a book, newspaper, a bottle of water for those hot days and perhaps small shopping purchases on top of my regular handbag things) and hopefully it'll last me a long time.

On Being Blacklisted

I finally received my Sephora Black Card after months of wait. I reached my 250 points in November last year but only received my Black Card recently. The customer service of Sephora sucks.

Note: The card comes personalised with my name and card number which I have taken liberty to edit out of the photo.

AEON BiG Gift Card

My steam iron decided to retire a few days ago without giving me prior notice. I discovered this in the morning when I was trying to iron my top for work.

So, after shopping around for a replacement iron, I decided to purchase one from AEON BiG Mid Valley since I could trade in my Maybank Treats Points for a AEON BiG Gift Card worth RM105 at the Maybank Credit Card Centre in the Gardens Mall. I used the gift card to not only purchase an iron but also some groceries and I've still got a balance on the card! I'm not complaining :)