The Sleek Original i-Divine Palette is oh so divine!...

When it comes to wearing eyeshadow, I’m usually the finickiest person around – anything too gritty, too powdery, too difficult to apply, etc gets relegated to the back of the drawer almost immediately. However, enter the Sleek Original i-Divine palette which I got as a Christmas present from some loverly ladies *wink* – and despite initial reservations, I’m quite in love with this baby!

Description:

The Original i-Divine palette contains a variety of highly-pigmented colours, ranging from green to purple, allowing you to create endless looks fit for day or night. The velvet-touch consistency gives full and shimmering coverage to the eye lid for maximum effect. Each of the 12 shades can be applied alone for a dramatic effect or mixed to create a personalised look.

When I first opened it up, the colours were breathtaking – this palette doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to colour! I was a bit alarmed by the powdery flecks scattered throughout the palette but I reckon it was just due to shifting during transport/ shipping.

And here come the swatches:

Gorgeous colours, aren’t they? With the exception of the flat black shade (top left shade or #1) which feels a bit gritty and is the only matte shade in this palette, the rest have great colour payoff and texture. Personally, I do like my colours a bit on the shimmery side so this is right up my alley.

My initial hesitation was not with the texture of the eyeshadow, but rather the hues – knowing me, I’m more of a brown/ nudes/ neutrals sort of person with a strong hue added in (think deep jewel colours like emerald and amethyst) and only ever use multiple bright colours for special occasions, so I was initially hesitant to try a lot of the shades (hel-lo, bright blue? Uh oh…).

However, I’ve found that using my fingers to apply this gives me a more muted look and makes the bright hues easier to blend (although the instructions say the eyeshadow is best applied with the enclosed dual-ended sponge applicator), so now I’ve gotten quite used to it and (god forbid!) am even starting to use brighter colours overall.

Incidentally, the i-Divines have been given a makeover – the outer packaging has been updated and they’re now pressed flat instead of the waffle print you see in these pictures. A bit of a shame really, since I kind of like the waffle print. :D

Ingredients for those interested

Overall, this is a great palette for those wanting to experiment with colour and want shades that are easy to blend. It's certainly gotten me out of my neutrals comfort zone and who knows, you just might see me with a lot of brighter colours soon?

And on that note, Happy Friday and have a lovely weekend!! :D

The Sleek Original i-Divine palette retails at £6.49 and is available from the Sleek Makeup website. International shipping is available (except to African countries).

Rating: 4 / 5

Value: $$$

Coming up smelling roses with Enavose FloraComfort Micellar Cleansing Water…

Early last week, this box landed on my table – beautifully wrapped as usual, this time containing another product, rose-scented potpourri and some organic cotton rounds from Swiss brand Enavose. Did I like it as much as I did the Black Tea Quench Mask? You’ll have to read on to find out. :D

Description:

The Enavose FloraComfort Micellar Cleansing Water with Micellar technology captures and removes debris, makeup and residue in one simple step while hydrating and softening skin to prevent any feeling of tightness or discomfort. Cornflower extract and hyaluronic acid work to add radiance and hydration to skin for enhanced nourishment. Perfect for on-the-go cleansing, freshen your skin with long-lasting water reserves and elevated suppleness.

Similar to other Enavose products, the FloraComfort Micellar Cleansing Water (which shall hereafter be referred to as just Cleansing Water!) comes in a sturdy plastic case or in this instance, bottle.

The pump is one of the best I’ve come across – doesn’t dispense too much, easy to use and the whole thing is sealed up so the product inside remains sterile…very hygienic! Product wise, the Cleansing Water has a very mild scent with just a hint of rose – perfect for those with sensitive noses.

Instructions are super simple – just pump out the Cleansing Water onto a cotton pad, sweep over your face to remove makeup and repeat until your makeup is gone. For me, the most notable result was taking off my foundation, just check out the before and after below:

Not bad, it does a decent job removing foundation and blush. :)

For makeup, I decided to make the test more obvious and drew on myself (oh the things we do to test products!) so what you see above is waterproof mascara, eyebrow pencil, lipstick and liquid eyeliner.

This was after soaking a cotton pad and leaving it on to saturate the area before wiping off in one swipe – you can see it did a good job with all the other items except the mascara. To be fair, the mascara was waterproof (hel-lo Maybelline!) but I generally use a separate eye makeup remover so this didn’t bother me too much.

I was told that this is a no-rinse formula which means you don’t have to wash your face again after using the Cleansing Water, but personally I felt my skin was a bit sticky after using this (particularly along the T-Zone area). The feeling dissipates after a while, but I don’t like the sensation so I prefer to splash water on my face afterwards. A point to note is that I have a really oily T-Zone, so chances are it’s only me having this problem.

Ingredient list for those interested

All in, this is a decent cleanser that does the job for me (only caveat would be the waterproof mascara) – Enavose is having a promotional price for the FloraComfort Micellar Cleansing Water at the moment for just SG$29 (Usual Price: SG$45). If you purchase more than SG$100 on either the Enavose online store or Facebook e-shop, you’ll get a free Mineral Concentrate Refresh Mist worth SG$32.

Of course, if you want to win yourself something from Enavose instead, they’re currently running a “My FloraComfort Cleansing Buddy” Facebook Contest. What do you have to do?

1. Share on Facebook when you would most love to use this versatile cleanser

2. The three entries with the most number of likes wins

3. Winners get an Enavose hamper worth SG$145 consisting of the Glo Enzyme Powder Wash, Alpine Edelweiss Dew and Nutritive Hydrator.

** Please refer to the FB page for further details, terms & conditions.

Enavose FloraComfort Micellar Cleansing Water retails at SG$45 for a 120ml bottle and is available at Suntec City Mall (Tower 3), Tangs Vivocity Beauty Hall and online at www.enavose.com (free shipping islandwide) and the Facebook e-store.

Rating: 4 / 5

Value: $$

Fancy fish eggs on your nails?

Okay so I didn’t mean that quite literally, but that’s figuratively what you get with the Ciate Caviar manicure kits. :D

Essentially, what you get is a bottle of polish together with a bottle of tiny spheres/ caviar/ fancy balls/ whatever you want to call them which you sprinkle on to your nails.

Looks interesting, no? The instructions look easy enough to follow, although I think I’d be pressing my nails into the bed trying to make doubly and triply sure they stay on!

There are three shades available, which are white, multicoloured and black (with purple highlights). And no, there’s no prize for guessing my favourite out of the three…it would just be too easy! You can read more about them on Kiss and Makeup here.

The Ciate Caviar manicure kits are due to be released sometime in April so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them then.

If not, maybe it really is time to pile caviar on my nails…they’d be tasty for sure! :P 

Can you see yourself trying something like this, or is it too fancy-schmancy for your liking?

Finally, a free (well not quite, but very enjoyable) weekend…

Ahhh…did you ladies have a good weekend? I finally had a weekend to myself to do as I pleased – it’s been a long time in coming, since all my weekends this year so far have either been spent running errands, travelling or out and about. You get the idea!

So what did I do with my precious two days? I think I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Saturday had a rather ominous start since I woke up super early and couldn’t get back to sleep (don’t you hate it when that happens?) so…I decided to watch movies and do my laundry instead. But the afternoon was decidedly perky as I had tea with the lovely ladies from Bella Box. The bracelet above was their “sign-in” ID – how cute!

The tea itself was amazing (I’ll do a more complete post on it later because I forgot to bring the thumbdrive with the bulk of the photos! Super fail, I know…) but the biggest highlight of the evening was….*fanfare*…making your own Bellabox! You can have a peek into the items I selected, but mind you, this was only part of the stuff we went back with.

Every participant picked out an activity from a fishbowl when they arrived, and mine was a manicure (now how did they know I needed one?) The manicures were done with Ozotic polishes, and this colour is just seriously gorgeous. I haven’t stopped patting my nails yet (and Rinnah can attest to that…LOL…)

We had originally wanted to head to the i Light Marina Bay show after that in the evening, but alas it started to drizzle so plans were put on hold until the next day, which gave me some time to do some cleaning (Random Q: Why is it everytime I clean up stuff from drawers and put them back, there seems to be LESS space than when I started??)

Sunday was Simpsons day! Hehe…I had pickedup a packet of organic pasta in Simpsons shapes (cue squeal for cute food!) and made a tomato-based sauce with bacon, onions, mushrooms and chilli for lunch. Best part? I made enough to pack my lunch to work for two days…yay! I’ve missed cooking…previous places I’ve stayed at didn’t allow cooking, and when I’m at home my mum tends to love hovering while I cook, so I haven’t been in the kitchen for a while.

And finally, we made it to the i Light Marina Bay show in the evening – it rained earlier in the afternoon, but thankfully cleared up by about 6pm so the evening was nice and cool (albeit a little damp!). The i Light Marina Bay is the second time this show has been held (first time was in 2010), and will be on until 1 April 2012.

There were more than 30 innovative and environmentally sustainable light art installations on display, including a gorgeous water, light and fire show which is held just outside the MBS shopping gallery (overlooking the bay) at 9.30pm.

Mind you, the display is spread out across the whole bay and starts at 7.30pm – after over 2 hours, we had only covered half of the show so I reckon we’ll have to come back again for Part 2. Nevertheless, these were two of my favourites… :D

Brightly coloured “toadstools” made from jumbles of lights in different hues.

The “SQU1D”, which alternated between white light and bursts of psychedelic colour along its body and tentacles.

This is just something random in the Louis Vuitton window I saw while we were walking back to MBS to catch a cab – love the way the display was laid out, but to be honest I thought it took away the focus from the outfit. What do you think?

And last but not least, how I spent my Sunday morning – taking out and actually cataloguing my makeup palettes. Extremely enjoyable, and I’ll be damned if I found items that I’d actually forgotten about! *oops*

I’ll definitely go into this in a bit more detail later, but for now I’ll just leave you with this…just a part of the various palettes I have, and some I haven’t even touched!

And that was my weekend in a nutshell. How was your weekend ladies? Hit me up! :D

Try the new Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective range and stand a chance to win!

Passed a Kiehl’s store or roadshow recently? Well, if you haven’t you’d better make your way to one on the double!

Kiehl’s has just launched their Clearly Corrective range, and for the month of March, Kiehl’s will be giving away four bottles of Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution worth RM200 (one per week).

The steps to win are simple – all you have to do is visit any Kiehl’s store to get free samples of the Clearly Corrective range, ‘Like’ the Kiehl’s Facebook page and leave a review of the samples you tried on Kiehl’s Facebook page (under the Clearly Corrective tab). The best review per week will win. Easy peasy lemon squeezy right?

Kiehl’s has also implemented a new Friends of Kiehl’s (FOK) membership program. New customers will have to spend RM250 in a single receipt to become a member, while existing/ old customers need only spend RM150.

So if you pass by a Kiehl’s don’t forget to drop in, have a look and try their new Clearly Corrective range! :D

Bailey Shops – Weekend Sightings…

It’s been a while since we last heard from Bailey, yes? He’s been a little busy burrowing a cosy little corner for himself in my bed amongst the new pillows I just got, but he’s all perky today and ready to tell you all about the new finds we spotted over the weekend. :D

First up is the Garnier UV Protect Lightweight daily UV block lotion with SPF50 PA+++ in Beige. I haven’t seen it back in Malaysia yet, but at S$14.90 in Watsons here, it looks pretty interesting. Also, Watsons is having a "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" promo on selected Garnier and Maybelline products from now until 28 March so head on down to check it out if you're interested! :)

Ohohohoho…look what finally arrived!! I’ve been waiting for this Lip Smackers Bottlecap Edition for almost a month since getting a preview on Beauty Fool, and they’re finally out! There are 3 flavours available – Coca Cola (of course!), Sprite and Fanta Orange. They’re currently retailing for S$6.90 each and available from selected Watsons outlets (preferably the bigger ones). And before you ask, yes I did get a few. *wink*

For those familiar with BHG in Singapore, the entire store will be having a 20% off all regular-priced items in store. Bourjois fans are sure to rejoice, because this covers pretty much their entire range, including the new Healthy Balance Unifying Powder (upper pic) and the Spring 2012 Paris Sucre makeup. :D

And last but definitely not least, it’s not beauty-related (and not part of Bailey Shops) but…we’re going to Lady Gaga baybeh! I finally collected the tickets yesterday and we’re ON! Come 29 May, Rinnah, Dom and myself are going to be rocking out dressed err…OTT for it…? :P

And that’s it for this edition of Bailey Shops, hope you ladies had good weekends too! :D

About Bailey Shops:

Bailey is a soft toy dog who will be bringing you little blurbs on promotions he spots while wandering around with his little shopping cart. Apologies in advance if the photos for this section are a little blur though, since his paws can’t work the camera on the phone very well while keeping an eye on his cart.

My skin’s A-OK with the Melvita Cleansing Foam Floral Bouquet…

Happy Monday folks! Hope you all had a great weekend – I was back in Seremban celebrating my paternal grandma’s 92nd birthday, and if you follow my tweets you’d have seen some funny pics! :D

Now instead of doing a typical review for the Melvita Cleansing Foam Floral Bouquet – Clarifying for normal to combination skin, I thought I’d try something different. Let me know what you think! :D

Got this cleansing foam for my combi skin,

Decided to use it on a whim,

Did a little ditty cos the words all rhyme,

I’ll start it off by saying it smells sublime!

The mechanism itself is easy to use,

Just two pumps is sufficient - not too profuse,

You might think this cleansing foam’s a bit weak,

But it leaves my skin soft, clean AND without a squeak.

Soap-free and enriched with moisturising ingredients,

My skin loves the inclusion of Orange, Rose and Narcissus,

And to brighten skin further and lock in the moisture,

I recommend you follow with Narcissus Extraordinary Water.

The ingredient list is above for you ladies (and gents),

And never fear, Melvita uses organically farmed or responsibly picked ingredients,

What will I do once I’m done with this bottle?

Recycle of course, and head to Melvita on the double!

So there you have it, my purple prose,

I hope you didn’t find it too gross,

This was the first product I’ve tried from Melvita,

I’m kinda liking it, now what about you yeah? :D

Melvita Cleansing Foam Floral Bouquet retails at RM107 for a 125ml bottle, and is available at all Melvita outlets.

Rating: 4 / 5

Value: $

A Legend is relived with A England’s Ascalon…

Back in early February, I tried A England’s Tristam from their Mythicals collection and absolutely loved it, prompting me to champ at the bit waiting for their eagerly-awaited Legends collection to become available.

Needless to say, I snapped up a few of the Legend polishes as soon as I could, and I’m glad to say they’ve done it yet again with the new collection – my favourites are St George and Ascalon, but I’ll save St George for another day. Today, it’s all about Ascalon…

Image source

Ascalon was the name of the sword or lance St George used to slay the dragon if legend is to be believed. I’m not sure how the colour was derived from that, but being a lover of all hues purple I’m not complaining!

Without flash, Ascalon looks pretty enough with colours ranging from silvery-grey to a dusty lilac. Two coats were enough to give full opacity, and the formula is similar to that of Tristam which was a complete breeze to work with.

With flash, you can see the real brilliance in Ascalon (which is also visible under sunlight). The shimmer seems to dance under direct light and is nothing short of breathtaking. The description on the website describes it to a ‘T’ – “Forged by magic and guided by our hero's sainted hand, the steely grey of his spire is alive with a swirling heart of lavender fire”.

Despite the hefty price tag on A England’s polishes (at £9 a bottle, they’re easily one of the most expensive polishes I own), the results are nothing short of spectacular for their shimmer polishes. As mentioned previously, the cream finish polishes can be a little difficult to apply evenly but for shimmer, A England ticks all the right boxes.

A England’s Legend collection is made up of seven lovely polishes, each as gorgeous as the next with similar finishes. Admit it, you want to get it now right?

Now if you don’t mind, I’ll get back to staring at the lavender fire heart in this steely grey spire…*wink*

A-England polishes retail at £9.00 a bottle, and can be ordered from www.a-england.co.uk. International shipping is currently free.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

Value: $$