It's the beginning of a new year, so... Hello, 2012! ;)

How much do you believe in the 2012 "End of the World" prophecy? :P Personally, I'm fine with it either way. If it happens, it happens; if not, life goes on. *shrugs* At least, I hope so.

Anyway, back to the post. I've been busy yet super free over the recent new year weekend (mindboggling, I know, but that's how it seems to me) the past few days, but I managed to squeeze more than a little time to do some shopping. What can I say? New year sales are pretty awesome.

Thanks to Carina for the pic!

Had new year's eve lunch at Chinoz on the Park at KLCC with YMY, HL, Carina and Yee Ching. Our original plan was to go to Ben's, but after some snobbery attitude problems from their staff, we decided to change the venue to Chinoz. Seriously. Service in KLCC restaurants is the worst I've ever experienced, especially if you're not an ang moh / Middle Easterner and look like a fresh-faced university student to boot. >_>

Anyway, after lunch, we hung out a while in Kinokuniya. After the others had left, I continued browsing and finally came out with 2 items.

Seventeen Japan February 2012 issue, which comes with a Liz Lisa large tote bag GWP

Typical Liz Lisa rose print design. ♥

I love the glittery gold lettering! And the tote is super roomy; the magazine can fit inside with lots of room to spare. The only downside is that it doesn't have any sort of zip or button closure for the top. >.<

I also got a copy of CLEO for RM 5, which included a mini Maybelline BB Cream (6ml) sample. Never tried this before, but it's the perfect size for travelling. :)

I headed to Watsons (as usual) but nothing really caught my eye, until I noticed the Maybelline Angelfit Perfect Concealer was on sale. I'm currently obsessed with finding the perfect concealer for my dark circles, so I figured it would be worth a try. So far, it's been working really well for me. :D

Maybelline Angelfit Perfect Concealer in 01 Light Beige (Sales price RM 16.90)

After that, I went to Sephora to get my hands on something that I'd been looking for ever since I realized something like it actually existed...

Sephora Express Dry Shampoo, 75ml (RM29)

...DRY SHAMPOO! Yes, dry shampoo. This is a total godsend for us in this sweltering hot Malaysian weather, especially those with long hair. It's a powder-form shampoo without having to wash or rinse or even use any water. This is the solution for days when your hair is between washes but feeling oily or icky, and also when you're travelling and don't have time to do the whole shampoo-conditioner-blow dry routine.

The next day (1st Jan) at 10 a.m., I rushed to Isetan The Gardens to grab their Lucky Bags. I'd missed the Lucky Bag frenzy the past couple of years, so this year I was determined to make it there on time. With dad at the wheel, we got there with plenty of time left (although not fast enough to grab any of the Jane Holli Lucky Bags T_T). Still, I had plenty of the Ettusais ones to choose from, and also picked 1 lucky bag from Pop Soda and Avenue each.

Each Ettusais lucky bag was only RM50! Should have taken 2. >_<

Ettusais, RM 50 → hand cream, acne care sheets, eyelash essence, nail polish, eyeshadow (approx RM 280) 

Pop Soda, RM 50 → 2 tee shirts, 1 vest, 1 dress (approx RM 250) 

Avenue, RM 100 → 2 formal shirts, 2 skirts, 2 business pants (approx RM 600)

I know, lucky bags (or 福袋 'fukubukuro') here are no match for the ones sold in Japan every January, but as far as I know, Isetan is the only departmental store which offers such a thing each year, so they're still pretty worth it. With the exception of a couple of items, I was pretty happy with the stuff from all 3 bags. RM200 for so much stuff, not bad eh?

They were giving out RM5 vouchers (valid for use in Men's and Children's department only) for every RM100 purchased, so I got RM10 worth of vouchers. I used it up right away by using it to buy a spiral-bound notebook. I only paid 10 cents for it, haha!


That's about it for my New Year haul post. :) To all my new followers, thanks for joining the giveaway, and do check back for more new posts and reviews! ^^