Calling All Insomniacs - Check Out This Works!

Every vain person knows the importance of beauty sleep.

But if you're a vain insomniac like me, then getting some shut-eye is almost impossible!!

When I heard fellow insomniac @Legeeque raving about This Works sleep sprays, I knew I had to get my hands on them so I hopped straight over to their website and ordered this trio.

Note : These sleep sprays are NOT CHLOROFORM and won't knock you out immediately but they have fantastic sleep-inducing benefits...

This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray is an UH-MAZING lavender fragrance which is super soothing and helps me wind down.  I love spraying it all over my pillow and my end of the duvet (Aussies say doona!) cover.  Not only does it help prepare me to sleep, it masks the stench of my hubby's windy bum.  He is very prone to snarting (snoring AND farting!).

Deep Sleep Pillow Spray is also another lavender scent but it is more potent in terms of lavender.  However, I find that I have a DEEPER sleep with Sleep Plus Pillow Spray compared to Deep Sleep Pillow Spray.

My insomniac sister is arriving in Melbourne next week so I'm going to gift her the Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and see if it works better on her.

As for the Deep Sleep Stress Less, it packs a punch (in rollerball form) with lavender and eucalyptus oil which I LOVE!  I work in an environment where there are occasionally less than pleasant smells (think bad breath, B.O., etc) so I can easily whack this onto my face mask and inhale this instead.  However, instead of making me sleepy, it actually makes me more awake.

I'm still suffering from occasional bouts of insomnia but at least, I feel more relaxed at bedtime and my quality of sleep feels much better with This Works products.  It really works!

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You can buy This Works products online and I bought my haul from their website - which offered free international delivery...but it ended last week...oops...sorry for not sharing earlier...I was too busy catching up on zzz's :P

How To Take Flat Lay Photos Like A Boss - 10 Tips

If you haven't noticed, flat lays are the new black!  Flat lays are a daily Instagram staple.

You can flat lay everything from your latte to your lipstick.

But not all flat lays are created equally - some are more yay and some are more nay!

If you want to learn to how to take flat lay photos like a boss, then read on for my 10 tips :-

1.  Lighting

This will help create a clear photo highlighting all the details.  Set up your flat lay near a big window where natural light will shine through and don't forget to position yourself to avoid lurking shadows in the photo.  Consider getting a white foam board to reflect the light.

2.  Background

Plain backgrounds work best as a bold backgrounds can drown out the items you are trying to highlight.  If you don't want to go for the same old solid white backgrounds, try using wallpaper, wooden floorboards, bed covers or your partner's bare back!  { << just joking and making sure you're paying attention! }

3.  Use Blu Tack
Tack down the items that have a tendency to roll away, e.g. lipstick

4.  Make it pretty

Use your common visualising senses here.  For example - don't have too many different colours in your flatlay

5.  Negative space

Don't be afraid of having negative space because sometimes less is more.  But then again, don't have your flat lay too bare because sometimes less is...erm...less!  Think of balance.

6.  Camera

Nowadays, smartphones can take great photos...but if you want to go one up, use an actual camera.  A lot of cameras these days are Wifi enabled which means you can snap the photo, send it to your email and then download onto your phone to upload onto Instagram.

7.  Props

Get prop happy to add a special touch to your photos, e.g. flowers, candles, inspirational quote prints, MacBook, magazines

8.  Steady hands

Nobody likes a blurry eyeball-hurting shot.  Hold your breath as you take the photo.  Or if you really want to be a pro-flatlayer, use a tripod and remote control.

9.  Practice makes perfect

Nobody is a flat-lay-born pro!  Just keep practising and take a number of shots till you get it right.

10.  Edit
Crop, change the angle, sharpen the image, brighten up the pic, etc etc.

Now go forth and slay your flatlay like a boss!

The Birth Story Of Bunty

Before I embark on the exciting tale of my birth experience as a public patient at Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, I would like to point out 5 important things :-

1.  You are totally awesome!  Thanks for tuning in to my new blog *mwah*  You may be sitting on the train to work or you need a bit of bedtime reading or you could be sitting on the loo thrusting out a big poo - but wherever you are, I hope to give you a lot of blog reading pleasure!

2.  Do NOT read this post if you are about to give birth as you may not want to open your legs to pop that sprog as I did have a bit of a traumatic experience...!  But you're going to ignore me and read on, aren't you?

3.  I look TERRible and horrIFIC { = TERRIFIC! I wish!!! } in the photos thanks to Mr LOL's insane ability to capture my ugly moments.  If you think the photos in this post are bad, you should see the ones I have at home with my wide-open legs up in the air.  Definitely NOT suitable for anyone's eyes!!!

4.  I didn't have a birth plan except to "wing it" and do all it takes to get the baby out safely.  Every mother has a different birth experience so I'm just sharing mine.

5.  It's a long story so grab a drink and sit comfortably.  It may also contain #TMI { = Too Much Info } and scenes of a squeamish nature.  Proceed with caution.

Let's begin...

...with a cute pic of my Mum holding my newborn bubba Bunty girl...

15th December 2013 - EDD

EDD.  The estimated due date of the baby.  The day we have all been waiting for.  But only 4% of women actually give birth on their EDD.  I was already the size of TWO whales { I piled on 25 kgs } but absolutely nowt happened.

In fact, my Mum, Mr LOL and I play Candy Crush all day on our iPads.  Just before we head to bed, Mr LOL completes all the levels (at that time) of Candy Crush and turns to talk to my bump, "Okay, Bunty come out and play with Daddy.  I'm ready now."  She responds with a little kick to my ribs.

16th December 2013 - Waters Broken

Around 2am, I wake up to pee and discover that my knickers are slightly wet!  I am convinced my waters have broken but Mr LOL thinks I am being a drama-mama-to-be and declares that I have most likely peed my pants and goes back to sleep.

An hour and a half later, I get up again to go to the toilet.  I check my sanitary pad that I whacked on and it is dry.  I am totally disappointed, but just as I stand up, I feel a trickle run down my leg and it is at this precise moment that I KNOW my waters have broken.

"OH MY GASSSH!!  MY WATERS HAVE BROKEN!!!  I FELT IT TRICKLE DOWN MY LEG!!!  WAKE UP MR LOL!!!!"

I expect him to leap out of bed and to take me to the hospital at the speed of Superman.  Instead, Mr LOL lays there like a lump of lard and opens one eye and says, "Nah, the doctors will just send you home because your labour hasn't started yet."  And he turns and buries his face further into his pillow.

Long story short, we eventually head to the hospital to get assessed.  After an inconclusive sniff test { yep, they sniffed my knickers to see if it was urine! }, they perform a swab test and discover that my waters have indeed broken { like duh! } but as there is no progression of labour, I would need to return the next day at 6am to get labour induced.

"Go home and rest up because you have a big day tomorrow!" - they said.

I translated it as, "Go eat your FAVOURITE roast duck noodles because you're hungry!"  { I lived on Roast Duck Inn Roast Duck Noodles during pregnancy, I kid you not! }

17th December 2013 - THE DAY I POPPED A SPROG!

5am - Selfie Time!

First, let us take a selfie!  I have fun snapping the last few photos of my precious bump!  We just cannot wait to bring our bundle of joy home!  I simultaneously wonder why the heck I never cleaned my dirty mirror throughout my pregnancy!  I will have forever dirty bump photos.

6.30am - Induction

Checked in at hospital, signed forms, stripped off, hooked up to IV, considered live tweeting / Facebooking of the event with hashtag #lingslabour but decided to savour the precious moment instead, apply red lippy { because beauty blogger! } and then the doctor comes into my birthing suite...

"I need to break your waters as only your hind waters broke yesterday."
"Okay cool."

She takes out what looks like a knitting needle and proceeds to jab it up there.  GUSHHHHH!!!!  It's like a big neverending flood but at least it's warm.  Like warm pee.

"Your baby's hand is raised and popping out your cervix so I need to pinch it away to allow your cervix to dilate."
"Okay cool."

It turns out that "Okay cool" is my favourite default phrase throughout labour.

"I have to lie in my pool of warm fluid for hours and have my legs spread wide apart and strapped into stirrups?  Okay cool."

10.30am - I NEED AN EPIDURAL!  STAT!

Kudos if you have a drug-free painless birth.  But
F this bleep!I have gone over my pain threshold and NEED an epidural.  I also get a catheter stuck in as I can't get out of bed to go to the loo.  "Okay cool."

Unfortunately, Bunty does not like the epidural nor does she likes the IV induction drugs so it needs to be adjusted till her heart rate is stabilised.

3pm - Oh Hai There!

My cervix is still not dilated because guess what?  Bunty has raised up her left hand again!!!  She thinks she is Supergirl and she can fly out my ladybits.  Yeah, if only it was THAT simple!

6pm - Sponge My Bob!

Mr LOL thinks it is hilarious to take unflattering photos of me with a Konjac Sponge on my forehead.  Very mature!!  Do you know that you're going to be a FATHER in a few hours?!!!

{ Side note :  Preggo ladies, pack a Konjac Sponge in your hospital bag!  Great way to cool you down during labour / mop up sweat / wash your face / pose with #spongeselfie }

7.30pm - Sh*t Is Getting Real!

The 3rd midwife takes over as the others' shifts have ended.  I can't believe I have forgotten her name.  But she is young in her twenties and has cool blonde hair with an awesome hair undercut.  When she declares that it is "time to push", my Mum scurries outside and Mr LOL goes into Ultra-Supportive-Birth-Partner mode!

Epidural gets turned down so I can feel the contractions and push when it stops.  Yep, I can confirm that contractions are P.A.I.N.F.U.L.

Is the pushing part of giving birth like pooping out a big poo?  YES!  If your poos are usually the size of a giant hippo and they come out of your vagina, then yes!  For everyone else who does delicate pebble poos, GOOD LUCK in getting that hipPOO out!

What's worse than having your legs akimbo and strapped into stirrups?  Vomit.  Yep, I decide to throw up.  Not once, but three times.  For luck.

8pm - The Hippo Is Stuck!

"Did you know that you have a cyst in your left uterine wall?"
"Ummm...I think they mentioned that I had a cyst during an ultrasound appointment..."
"Do you know what type of cyst it is?"
"
FOOK ME!  How the heck should I know???  Check my EFFKING records!!! No idea."
"Well, the baby is stuck.  We are going to set up the theatre and use forceps.  If that doesn't work, you will need an emergency C-section."

*blink blink*  WTF?!!!  I don't know why but I kinda get pissed off.

It's been 42 hours since my waters broke and now you decide to do a C-section when she's halfway down my vagina??!!

I channel this inner fury into pushing.

And it works!!!  { in retrospect, after sustaining 3rd degree tears, I wish I had that C-section! }

9.42pm - Welcome!  We've Been Expecting You!

At the final push, Bunty slithers out of my ladybits and at the same time, she raises her left hand again - VICTORY FIST IN THE AIR!!! - and proceeds to rip my delicate bits to shreds.  A third degree tear!  Front to back!  Thanks for that!

The midwife gives her a quick check before placing her on my chest.  And at that SWEET moment, I know that all the blood, sweat and tears has been worth it.  She's doped up from all the drugs so she doesn't cry...but it's okay, because I turn on the waterworks.  Might as well since all my orifices have been opened up today!

She weighs in at 3.83kg (8lb 7 oz) - definitely a HIPPO! - and is 51cm long!

10pm +

This is when all the traumatic shizz happens.  Placenta doesn't detach, doctor pushes, BIG SPLAT on the floor, bloodbath on the floor, so much blood loss...doctor PUSHES real hard and she manually removes placenta...blah blah...I drift in and out of consciousness...I can hear everything but I don't even have the energy to answer...I can't hold my baby anymore...I am sick again and again...they have to sew me up...bad tearing...I can't feed my baby colostrum so they have to use a syringe to aspirate it..."Are you okay Ling?"...OMG!  I never want to go through this ever again!...Why can't I speak?...Open my eyes!  Open them!!...Feed the baby...Get up!...Why is she taking so long to sew me back together??...What's happening??

18th December - After Midnight

My Mum is smitten with Bunty.  I see that naughty left hand!!!

I am given more drugs, I am sewn up, I drink some water and I can finally interact again.  I'm off the epidural and I can get out of bed to take a shower.  I don't feel any pain thanks to the painkillers, I have to carry around a pee-bag as the catheter is still attached to me and I am no longer leaking out amniotic fluid but blood instead.  YUKS!

After my shower, I am wheeled off with the baby to another delivery suite room because all the wards are full.  Mr LOL and my Mum head home.

I am supposed to sleep but even though I am utterly exhausted, I turn to my side and just watch Bunty the entire night.  I watch her breathe.  I watch her cough and sneeze.  Yep, newborn babies cough and sneeze a lot.  I watch her tiny fingers move.  Now and again, she lets off a little newborn cry and then goes back to sleep.  Her eyes flutter open and then they close.  And I thank God for this amazing beautiful blessing over and over and over again.

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my incredible birth experience with you.  Don't let it put you off having a hippo because our bundle of joy has brought us so much love and happiness.

Review & Swatch : MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Reckless

After giving a not-that-fantastic review on the MUA Ever After Matte Palette, I wanted to quickly follow up with a better review on another MUA product I bought this year.  It's from their MUA Luxe range - Reckless, a Velvet Lip Lacquer.  You know I love my lip products and this one is on point and I wish I bought more colours.

{ Side note : If you didn't know already, I've resurrected my Lip Stalker channel here or go straight to my new YSL 52 lipstick swatch video here.  I've just reached over 29K subscribers & nearly 10 MILLION video views!  Just WOW!  Thanks for the support! }

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this but I bought it because I was curious on how matte lip lacquers would fare on my lips and at only £3, I wasn't fussed if I only used it once - anything for a beauty blog post, right?

It is beautiful.  A beautiful beetroot rich dark red.  I actually wore it on the day I had a beetroot and red wine beef stew for lunch and thought, "Hey, that matches my lip colour!".

And the application.  Oh the application.  You have to be really careful to apply this slowly in front of the mirror.  Good thing that the doe foot applicator is nice and thin so you can get it into the corners of your lips without making a mistake.

[ Mucho apologies for the not-so-stellar lip swatch.  Pre-baby days, I would have done the lip swatch again until I achieved perfection but nowadays, mehhh, I have a demanding baby and too many other distractions in my life! ]

It dries really quickly.  And when it does, it stays!  It does not budge.  And there's no noticeable stickiness and it doesn't bleed.  And more importantly, it does NOT dry out lips.  I applied it without priming my lips beforehand and my lips did not shrivel up.  There isn't a noticeable scent nor taste.  I wore it for hours and it faded slightly after the 6 hour mark but not much.  It is simply beautiful.  I am wowed!  Just wowed!

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Reckless has totally converted me into a matte lippy lover!

Review & Swatches : MUA Ever After Matte Palette

For today's blog post...oh wait...let's all do the...

*Friday happy dance*

...for 5 minutes first!

And then, let's continue with today's post...

I picked up the MUA Ever After Matte Palette on my travels back home to UK this year and I finally cracked it open a couple of weeks ago.  It was cheap as chips at only £4 so should you buy a ticket to UK to buy this baby?

There are 10 matte eyeshadows in a cheap plastic palette with a double ended eyeshadow applicator - which is pretty useless so you can chuck that out and use your dirty fingers instead :P

I am happy to see that the shades now have names instead of numbers (which they had when I first encountered MUA back in 2010).

These are the swatches of the top row which contains the lighter matte shades - Unwrap, Butter, Bare, Taffeta, Fade.

The pigmentation was slightly disappointing.  They were almost non-existent in my yellow Asian skin.  I actually had to swatch a few times for it to show up on my arm.  But I appreciate the subtlety if you are going for a barely there makeup look.

These are the swatches of second row which contains the darker shades - Penny, China, Truffle, Fog, Smoke.

The pigmentation was better here, but not OMG-I-MUST-FLY-TO-UK-AND-BUY-THIS-RIGHT-NOW.  My favourite shade is Penny - a great shade for contouring - the only problem is... I don't know how to contour properly without looking like i have a dirty face, hehe!  But it's also great for faking the crease area on my Asian hooded eyelids.

Overall, I was left feeling a wee bit disappointed with the MUA Ever After Matte Palette because the eyeshadows weren't buttery smooth and as strongly pigmented as their mono single eyeshadows which I love.  I guess I had high expectations as MUA is a brand that I have loved from their early beginnings when they only sold £1 products.  However, the palette was ONLY £4 so it's definitely WAY better than other cheap eyeshadow palettes that I have come across which reek of some grandma scent with too much mica sparkles and looking at it will give you conjunctivitis - you know which ones I mean right?!

Well, thanks for reading this week!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend and catch ya next week.

Peace out,
Ling xoxo
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Review & Swatches : Maybelline Baby Lips Electro Pop

M for Monday...itis!

But hey, I'm fully recovered from my bout of Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease (thank you to baby germs!) so I ain't complaining!

M is also for Maybelline!  They recently sent me a few of their newest products and I immediately gravitated towards the Baby Lips Electro Pop Lip Balms.  (Okay, so they aren't new in the US of A but they are new to Australia.)

I am already a major fan of Maybelline Baby Lips but these Electro Pops are the sexier and more colourful elder sister (I'm only saying that because I am the eldest of 7, haha!  Sorry sibs!)

Basically, Electro Pops are awesome moisturising lip balms with a sheer tint of punchy colours.  I like the packaging of these more than the original Baby Lips because I like the longer lids which make them look more sophisticated like lipsticks.

• Pink Shock is Watermelon flavour
• Oh! Orange! is orange flavour
• Berry Bomb is berry flavour.

I have been wearing all 3 babies non-stop, but I think my favourite has to be Oh! Orange! but seeing as they are only $3.95 a pop, just buy them all! :)

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Five French Favourites featuring Uriage, Nuxe, La Roche-Posay, Gatineau & Bioderma

Today's letter is brought to you by the letter F.

Yes, it is Friday.

F yeah!

And also, I have Five French Favourites { featuring Uriage, La Roche-Posay, Nuxe, Gatineau and Bioderma } that I am really excited to share with you.

Clearly, the French do it best - French fries, French accents (mais, oui, eet eez zo zexyyy!) and French skincare - ooh la la!!!

1.  Uriage Xemose

When I was pregnant last year, I piled on 55lbs and most of it was due to my giant belly bump.  To keep my belly moisturised, I knew I needed something non-irritant, non-scented and highly hydrating.  Enter Uriage Xemose (Merci beaucoup to the lovely Emilie) and my bump was happy.  What is super awesome about this moisturiser is that it absorbs quickly without leaving an annoying greasy residue.  I got my Husband to moisturise my belly when it grew too big for me to do it myself and out of all the lotions and potions I used, he loved this the most because of the reasons I mentioned.  Added bonus was that his dry hands got moisturised too so they were well prepped for when baby popped out.

2.  La Roche-Posay Redermic [R]

I was only introduced to this infamous French brand earlier this year at the launch of Redermic [R].  This is a lovely retinol-based product which targets those dreaded wrinkles.  I am a big fan of retinol because it is a scientifically proven potent skincare ingredient.  Redermic [R] only contains 0.1% retinol and 0.2% retinol lineate so it is not as intensive as the concentrations that I have used before.  That said, I had stopped using retinol whilst pregnant so it was a gentle product to ease my skin back into retinol use without stripping it dry.  Fantastic for retinol skincare virgins.  There is also a Redermic [R] version for use around the eyes - I must get my hands on this!

3.  Nuxe Merveillance Expert Enrichie Jour Rich Correcting Cream For Visible Lines

With the changing seasons, my skin can go out of whack easily.  This is a fantastic ultra-hydrating day moisturiser which will keep very dry skin ladies like moi very happy.  It is a day moisturiser without SPF which is actually a good thing in my opinion because it forces you to apply additional sunscreen.  A lot of people skip sunscreen because they think that SPF 15 in their day moisturiser / makeup / BB cream is adequate - listen up ladies, it is (usually) NOT effective enough!

4.  Gatineau Activ Eclat Flash Radiance Serum

If you want beautiful glowy skin, get this pronto!  This just adds that special 'je ne sais quoi' radiant touch.  I have been mixing a few drops with my foundation and it just transforms my skin.  Love it!

5.  Bioderma Atoderm Nourishing Cream

Bioderma is famous for its micellar water but there are also some outstanding products in their range and this is one of them.  As a newbie mum, I only want the best skincare products for my baby's delicate skin.  Bunty's poor wee face was suffering from a rash (teething? weather? allergies? not sure...) and I tried 2-3 different creams but this Bioderma Atoderm Nourishing Cream was the only one which worked in calming down the redness and flakiness.  Now, we use it every night after her bath.  Not just for her face but all over the body too.  Major thumbs up from me!

Merci for reading.  All the products mentioned were provided for editorial consideration but I wouldn't recommend them if I didn't like them.  Je t'aime beacoup.  Au revoir!

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DKNY MYNY : Love At First Sniff

Well...I think the title of this post "DKNY MYNY : Love At First Sniff" sums up my review so let's just gaze at the gorgeous bottle instead...

Haha, just kidding...read on to see why it is such a delicious scent...

When this first arrived in the mail, I removed the packaging and plastic before I saw the bottle, but already my nasal senses were excited.  And then when I saw the heart-shaped bottle with the modern architectural lid, it was instant *heart eyes*.

Even though I can dissect the stench from my baby girl's nappy, I am not an expert at describing perfumes so I will let the experts do the talking...

Top notes :  Raspberry, galbanum, pink pepper
Middle notes :  Egyptian jasmine, freesia, oris
Bottom notes : Patchouli heart, vanilla absolute, creamy musks, ambergris

Together from top to bottom notes, DKNY MYNY is a fantastic concoction.  It is not overly sweet, the right amount of musk and it is all kinds of sexy!  Don't forget that the bottle looks gorgeous on your dressing table too!  This is guaranteed to escalate into your MUST-HAVE LOVE LIST!

Disclaimer :  Thank you to DKNY for providing DKNY MYNY for editorial consideration and for making me smell oh-so-damn-good!
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Essie for Spring 2014

Spring is here!

Spring is here?!

The weather in Melbourne has been crazy just like my recent mood swings.  One day it is full-on sunny, "slap sunscreen all over me STAT" and the next day it is raining cats and dogs and hailstones and frogs!  Okay, it didn't really rain frogs!

Anyway, to celebrate Spring 2014, Essie have released a limited edition collection and you may remember seeing a few of them in a previous post, but here they all are in their awesome colourful glory today.

Hide & Go Chic : an almost-denim blue
Truth Or Flare : a dusky greyish blue
Spin The Bottle : beige nude
Romper Room : babydoll pastel pink
Style Hunter : bright fuchsia pink
Fashion Playground : soft minty green (MY FAVE!)

Which shade are you loving?

Disclaimer :  These polishes were provided for editorial consideration
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Review & Swatches : Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation & Concealer

This post is proudly brought to you by Maybelline & Nuffnang.

I've had a lot on my plate recently with juggling work responsibilities and parental duties with severe sleep deprivation which translates to tired, dull skin and D.A.R.K. under eye circles and bags.  Bring out the world's smallest violin!

On the plus side, I realised that I was indeed the perfect candidate to trial and review Maybelline's newest range - SuperStay Better Skin Foundation and Concealer.  Bring it on!

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation

So first up, there's the SuperStay Better Skin Foundation.  It is not like every other foundation because it contains a "powerful vitamin derivative", Actyl-C, which claims to give better looking skin in 3 weeks.

Hello?!  A foundation which gives an all-day flawless finish AND has skin-benefitting properties - slap it on my face pronto!!!

I was an eager beaver to put this foundation to the test, but first, I needed to select the right shade out of the 8 available.

Here is my verdict on Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation :

PACKAGING :  Sturdy glass bottle with a dispensing pump always gets a big tick from me.  However, the clear plastic cap can get mucky if residual foundation is not cleaned immediately after pumping.

APPLICATION :  Very easy to blend into skin using fingers which is fantastic for time poor ladies like yours truly.

PERFORMANCE :  Medium coverage which did a great job at masking my freckles (I hate them!), evening out my skin tone and hiding my pores.  On occasion, I did find it clung onto some extremely dry patches on my skin around my nose, but on the whole, I loved how it made my skin look like I had a good night's sleep - and we all know that I haven't had that for a while!!!  As for improving my skin itself, there haven't been any noticeable changes but at the time of writing, I have only trialled it for 10 days - so maybe it will get better with continued usage?  I'll keep you posted!

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer

Moving onto the SuperStay Better Skin Concealer; there are only 2 shades available and it's either Light or Medium.

Here is my verdict on Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer :

PACKAGING :  Nice squeezy tube with a slanted tip gets no complaints from me.

APPLICATION :  Like the foundation, I can use my fingers to blend and pat this to cover up my imperfections (and there's lots of that!)

PERFORMANCE :  Just wow!  It was love at first use!  Fantastic at disguising my dark circles and hiding the redness around my nose.  Can't fault it at all.

PS - No, I was definitely not born with it and it definitely was Maybelline :)

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Pink + Black

In terms of makeup, I've been embracing my favourite colours this week, namely pink (there can never be too many pink in my life!) and black.

I also had to crack open my brand spanking new Shu Uemura Face Powder Matte and use it BEFORE I took any photos for the blog!  Yikes!

And if you look closely, you can see a smudged beige fingerprint on the oh-so-soft powder puff.  I had been holding off using it for a while after I finished using my previous Shu Uemura loose powder, but I quickly realised that not all loose powders are created equal and Shu Uemura remains my ultimate Holy Grail favourite!

That cute little dinky bottle of Benefit Posie Tint is courtesy of my lovely girlfriend, Gigi, who got it free from Glamour magazine in UK.  UK magazines give the best little freebies!  They recently had mini Clinique Chubby Sticks!  I love makeup mini-me's!

Onto the essie polishes*, they are - Romper Room, Style Hunter and Spin The Bottle - from their forthcoming Spring Collection which is Limited Edition and only available September to October so get in quick!  They have updated their formula (which I already thought was fab, so now it's even fabber!) with a new thicker brush for easier application.

I reviewed Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner* a few months ago and back then, I liked it but I wasn't enamoured in it.  Fast forward a few months and it has become my go-to eyeliner!  How did that happen?!  It's like the guy who you put in the friend zone but they are persistent and eventually, they win you over.  True story.  Didn't happen to me but one of my guy friends who was friend zoned is now engaged to the girl!  Fantastic excuse for me to go to Sydney for their wedding next year!  YAY!

And last but not least, Lancome Rouge In Love 163 Dans Ses Bras*.  My current handbag lippie.  'Nuff said!

Have you tried any of these products?  What is your holy grail loose powder?  What beauty products have you been loving lately?

Disclosure :  Products marked with * were provided for editorial consideration.

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Review & Swatches : Maybelline Color Elixirs

I was in lippy heaven when the collection of Maybelline Color Elixir Color Sensational Creamy Lip Lacquers (phew, what a long name to type out!) landed on my desk recently.  I had already read rave reviews about these lip-tastic elixirs and I wondered if they would live up to the hype so I immediately put them to the test.

Hello doe foot applicator, my lips are pleased to meet you!

And the rumours are true!  Maybelline Color Elixirs are the bomb dot com.  Here are the reasons why I have big *heart eyes* for them :-

• The right amount of glossy shine (as opposed to S.C.A.R.Y. glossy as adorned by "I-will-eat-you-alive-Blake!" girls from The Bachelor Australia!) - check.
• Non-sticky so come at me strong winds with my glossy lips and long glossy hair - check.
• Great pigmentation and can almost survive a soup noodle eating marathon - check.
• Hides an abundance of lip sins including lip wrinkles - check.
• It isn't a bitch to remove at the end of the night - check.

The only teeny tiny thing that I didn't really like about these Maybelline Color Elixirs (apart from the Americanised spelling of "Colour") is that it has a slight vanilla-y perfume-y taste when you first apply it but it dissipates after a few minutes.  Of course, you're not really supposed to be licking your lip gloss and eating it like me!!!  But when a girl gets hungry and there are no nearby snacks...  well, I rest my case! :P

With 12 shades of Maybelline Color Elixirs to choose from, it can be quite overwhelming if you struggle to make decisions like me.  (Apparently it's called Dependent Personality Disorder!)  To save you from staring at your swatches all day long at the nearest Maybelline counter, I have simplified it into the following 3 categories :-

1.  Vampy Vixen shades
025 Mauve Mystique, 030 Raspberry Rhapsody, 040 Vision In Violet, 020 Signature Scarlet

2.  Nude with Attitude shades
065 Caramel Infused, 060 Nude Illusion, 100 Petal Plush, 095 Blush Essence

3.  Bold & Bossy shades
085 Hibiscus Haven, 015 Mandarin Rapture, 075 Fuchsia Flourish, 090 Rose Redefined

Anyway, if you're in Aussie-land, head to your nearest Priceline ASAP as they are currently doing a half-price on everything Maybelline which means the Color Elixirs are under $10.

For non-Aussie readers, drop everything and go directly to your nearest Maybelline counter now.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.  Maybe it's Monopoly! :P
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