My The Body Shop loot is HERE!

Got super excited when I saw my package today. All thanks to my darling angel who helped me order off the US website! :) :) :)

I'm sorry but I must warn my camera isn't really good.



I bought:
- Cheek Bloom (01 Desert Rose, 02 Dune Pink)
- Duo Eyeshadow (Eucalyptus Grey, Khaki Green )
- Sparkle Eye Palette 02
- Retracable Lip Brush

I got a sample of the Aloe Soothing Day Cream free.



The sparkle eyeshadow palette is from their Christmas collection.



The blushers and eyeshadows are from their Autumn Limited Collection. I swear I have been drooling over the blushers for the longest time. However the Cheek Bloom is selling at SG$34.90 in stores which is way too pricey.

Managed to get it at a good deal. Items were going for 3 for US$10. That's about SG$5 each. :D Of course, shipping doesn't come free. But it's still cheap after shipping.

It's my first time trying out The Body Shop cosmetics. I have heard bad reviews about them but there were some good reviews for these. I only wanted Cheek Bloom but couldn't resist the deal so I bought more. :P~ The lip brush is really soft I wished I bought more. It's still available so maybe if you are interested, you can still grab it. As for the blushers and duo eyeshadows, the packaging is really terrible. I had a hard time opening the casing. The eye palette is really pretty and comes with a mirror and a drawer with a long eye applicator. However, the drawer is a pain to open.

I'm not going to be doing swatches since my camera is just lousy. LOL. If you are keen to know, you can read jojoba's review here (she does great swatches :P) for Cheek Bloom and the Sparkling Eye Palette. Or you can try My Women Stuff's review for Autumn Limited Edition and Cheek Bloom here.

What to wear for this Chinese New Year?

I haven't been catching up 女人我最大 lately.

Haha. Here are 2 videos that will help you do last minute Chinese New Year shopping...

Checkered and tartan prints are in this season.



This one for festive Chinese New Year. lol..


Enjoy.

New on Shelves

I was planning to write a longer entry but had some problems finding some information so.....

I'll just share my excitment. Remember the Canmake Cheek Gradation I reviewed few entries before. Teeni (Canmake's distributing company) answered my prayers.

Peach Stripes, Cheek Gradation 05 is coming to Singapore. I'm so thrilled when I saw the ad in CLEO magazine.


Source: http://www.canmake.com.sg/

Will be getting it for sure since peachy blushers go on a little better on my yellow-toned skin.

Also spotted a new Fasio eye palette. I can't find it on the site yet. It's selling at promotional prices at 20% off at John Little. But I'm still drawn to their Double Dazzling Eyes palette. It's just so pretty. :)

John Little Expo Sale till this coming Sunday

Went and it was quite a quiet sale. Updates are as follows:

Apparels

Nothing much for girls. Clothes more for home wear. And very old ladies.
G2000 is worth checking out for. Saw bottoms at $13, tops at $6. But range is very very limited and really small section. No fitting rooms. Bottoms (bermudas, skirts, slacks) are very worth it but it's either hit-and-miss for sizes. (You can try sneaking to a corner to try but I doubt you will want to.) Blazers are for sale too.

Personally, I find plenty of men's wear. Think the apparels part is more targeted towards them. Most of the men are really shopping.

Lingerie

Pierre Cardin bras at $10 (with sizes when i went). Bra sets at $12 each (messy). Undies at 3 for $15.90. There's also a very very messy mountain of undies and bras.
Triump sloggis selling at $15, maximiser at $19, fashion bras also at $15. Smaller size is 75A for sloggis, the rest are the larger ones. (from cotter )

Other brands: Sorelle, Young Hearts, Hush Puppies, Levis.....

Shoes
Charles & Keith. Shoes at $9, $14+, $16+, 19+, $29+.
Boots at $9 onwards (not sure of price). Mostly knee boots.

For cheaper shoes, very limited sizes ,mostly 34, 40, 41.

C&K Size 41, you MUST head down. There's lots of size 41 shoes selling at $5 each. Very worth it. Very sad I can't buy. There might be some defects so you have to search a little. But I think even getting a few wears out of them is worth it. If you want new ones, $9 section also has a lot of size 41 left.

Belts. Very few at $9.

Shades. Very few left.

Did not see any bags. :(

Other brands: Everbest, Vincci, Tracce. C&K has the biggest section.

Cosmetics/Skincare

ZA 20 +20% off
Makeup and skincare involved.

L'oreal 20+20% off
But not much so didn't stay long. Items I've seen include:
L'oreal Mineral Makeup, True Match 2-way refills, True Match compact + refill (worth it), Blush Delice (very few). There is mascara. Not sure of item name.

For skincare, there's Revalift (red), Hydrafresh (green), a white range with sunblock, and a range for guys. L'oreal Exfotonic Body Scrub is sold bundled up ( I am not sure of the product and its price but I think it's worth it).

Maybelline 20+20% off
Placed with L'oreal. I suppose same discount.
Saw Angelfit 2-way. Loose powder.
NO gel liner, NO mineral makeup.

Fasio 35% off
Fasio has quite a lot of cosmetics on sale. Personally I recommend the gift sets as they are very cheap after 35% off. No idea of their expiry date though.

There's 4 types: (prices before discount)
A. 3D eyeshadow + Lipstick + nail polish (in cardboard bags) $18
B. 3D eyeshadow + Lipstick + lip pencil + whitening toner (stuck on cardboard flat) $18
OR blusher + nailpolish + lip pencil + whitening toner $18
C. Whitening toner + lip pencil + something else (in clear plastic wrappers) $23
D. orange mascara + lip pencil + something else (in coloured yellow or purple bags) $15

If you like Fasio mascara, you can check out set D. I can't compare prices with Kose sale as I didn't go. I'm supposed it's quite a good sale.

O2 skin is having 50% discount! (from cotter)

Other brands: Bioessence, Ginvera, Eversoft but I didn't check out those.


Supplements
Kordels at 15+ 20% off

Ocean's Health at 10+ 20% off (or 20+20 i forgot)

I hate to rant but do check prices of what you want to get before going. I bought Kordels multivitamins (original price $26+) at $18+. Just went down to check prices and it was only $20+ in store. No idea what it means here (whether the price was increased in Expo, or price decreased in store.) Left me grumpy. If you want to buy, get the bundled ones. Much better deals.

Other sections include bedlinen, storage items, CNY items. There were really cheap deals which you need to look for.


By the way,

There is a "CNY sale" in the hall next to JL sale. They are selling Chinese New Year goodies (no testing. :( ), food, drinks (canned, bottled). I saw a car fair too and a children's playground. You can drop by. I think I saw a corner (near JL's hall) with someone selling clothes (i think more lookable than JL's)

There is also a "Branded Sale" at level 2 Expo. They are selling similiar brand shoes, lingerie, bags. Not very interesting though.

The Body Shop Atrium Sale @ IMM

Popped by IMM just now to get TBS items. Shower gel was running low. I am now officially a TBS addict (once you signed up their card, you will become one).

Items and prices on sale were the usual. Fragrances, gift sets, Autumn collection cosmetics, (i don't recall seeing brushes), leftover of the Christmas bath collections, skincare, shower gels and more shower gels. :p

The "5 for $10" section was much bigger than the one I saw at Plaza Singpura during the previous sales. More variety and there were skincare items. And so I couldn't resist anymore. I have been lemming for the Seaweed range and Tea Tree Oil range for quite a while. I need to try them. Here are my buys:

5 for $10
- Vitamin E Cream Cleanser
- Vitamin E Hydrating Toner
- Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash
- Seaweed Clarifying Toner
- Tea Tree Oil Facial Wash
- Tea Tree Oil Toner
- Camomile Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover
- Aqua Lily Shower Gel
- Mango Shower Gel
- Aqua Lily Body Lotion

2 for $14.90
- Strawberry Bath & Shower Gel
- Ginger Bath & Shower Gel

Also grabbed 2 body mists at $9.90 each.

Spend $50+ and you'll get a $10 voucher which you can only spend within the month at IMM. (bummer) I think you'll also get offered membership if you aren't one, which is a good deal too cos I had to pay for my membership.

Ok I think I bought enough to smell nice nice for a long while. I have quite a few cleansers on hand and am really wondering how I am going to finish them all. Officially on TBS ban!


P.S. This is not the end of my TBS purchases. Still something due my way sometime soon. I'll post it when it comes. :P~

---------------

The sale's till 11 January. And it's at IMM atrium, the area near to McDonalds. (There's actually also a lingerie sale where Pierre Cardin bra sets are sold for 2 for $35. But of course, it's in the MIDDLE of IMM so haha, it's hard to shop in peace.)

Shuttle buses from Boon Lay and Clementi MRT have ceased operations from 2 Jan. If you are taking shuttle buses, drop off at Jurong East where they promised to increase its intervals.

Happy shopping.

Lose Weight With Chocolate?

Which is More Filling: Dark or Milk Chocolate?

New research confirms: dark chocolate is more filling than milk chocolate. This means that dark chocolate not only provides potent antioxidant activity (which is why I’ve made small portions of dark chocolate part of my anti-inflammatory food pyramid) but it can satisfy hunger quickly, which may make overeating of other foods less likely.

In a study released in December, 2008, researchers at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen examined 16 healthy men of normal weight who all liked both dark and milk chocolate. The men reported for two separate sessions, the first time testing dark chocolate, and the second time, milk chocolate. All had fasted for 12 hours beforehand, and were offered 100 grams - about four ounces - of chocolate, which they consumed in the course of 15 minutes. The calorie content was virtually the same for both types of chocolate.

Two and a half hours after eating the chocolate, participants were offered pizza, and were instructed to eat until they felt comfortably satisfied. The calorie intake of pizza was 15 percent lower when they had eaten dark chocolate beforehand.

This is good news for those of us who prefer dark chocolate anyway. I recommend varieties with at least 70 percent pure cocoa, and that you have an ounce or less at a time, a few times a week.

Source: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/WBL02122/Which-is-More-Filling-Dark-or-Milk-Chocolate.html

Review: Canmake Cheek Gradation

link: http://www.canmake.com/en/ebase/item_base013.html
Price: SG$25.90

This is Cheek Gradation in 04 (Chocolate Stripes).


Bought this earlier during a Canmake sale at 30% off too. Was clearing items and saw it so finally unwrapped it to try today. :p

Cheek Gradation in 04 contains 4 pretty colours. A dark brown, a medium brown, a light pink and a champagne gold colour. All the colours are shimmery. You can use this in any way you like it. You can apply the blusher by:
1. swiping all 4 colours at one go,
2. or as recommended on the website, use the 2 darker colours as the blusher and the 2 lighter colours as the highlighter.

I tried both ways. Method 2 did not work for me cos the browns are too dark to be used as blushers. Contouring maybe but it's very shimmery. The effect of method 1 was rather unexpected. It gave my cheeks a nice glow with pearl sheen to it. Although there were browns, it wasn't prominent. I supposed you have to swipe downwards if you want more pinks on it.

And the best part? This cheek gradation can also be used as eyeshadow. So if you find this doesn't work well on your cheeks, at least you can use it on your eyes. The browns look lovely on the eyes, and the light champagne gold colour can be used for the inner corners of your eyes to brighten up. You can then use the pink stripe separately as blusher. I would totally bring this out if I don't want to bring too much things with me. It's so useful.

I own Cheek Gradation in 02 (the one with orange stripes). It looks really lovely in real life. I think it gives a sunkissed glow. 04 is natural glow. I was lemming for 01 (pink stripes) too but I didn't think it's that unique. But I might pick it up again the next time I see a sale. Now, I just wish they'll bring 05 in real soon. The peachy one looks good too. :)

Review: Canmake Eyelash Essence

link: http://www.canmake.com/en/eeye/392.html

Bought this earlier during a Canmake sale at 30% off. Decided to give it a try. I have been using this on and off only about 3 times ever since I bought it. Upon application, it is a little stinging. I think that is due to the alcohol content. However, I find it bearable if you can apply it with precision on the lashes so that it does not get to the eyes.

I only use this when I'm going out. Tried it as a base before using a electric eyelash curler (which is Watsons inhouse brand btw, managed to get it cheap). The curls lasted better.

And the effects? It works for me. My eyelashes were not very short to begin with. But I did notice that it's definitely longer now. I'm pleased with the results. And it's noticeable cos my lower eyelashes are not that much but now I can definitely see it. :)

I would definitely recommend this product. I am a little worried of my eyelashes getting TOO long though (lol), of which I am not sure what I would do when that happens. Never heard of eyelash trimming anyway. It is good to have to use as a eyelash base before applying your mascara as it protects the lashes. You can also use it at night to repair your lashes.

The cons of this product is probably that it contains alcohol (which most people don't like for it's drying). I think you still can give this a try and use it on a weekly basis if you are concerned about the ingredients.

Will try using it on my eyebrows and see what happens next. :P