I totally did not expect to go out when I woke up this morning, since I had to finish up some assignments for the coming weeks. Anyway, I was scrolling through Facebook in the afternoon when I suddenly saw a status update from Shannon asking if anybody wanted to go for an eyelash perming session with her at The Curve - at 2 p.m. no less. Looked at the clock and it was almost 1 p.m.! Figured since it was still early in the afternoon, I might as well go and find out how good it was, since I'd heard about it and was curious how it would turn out.

Reached e@Curve about 2.10 p.m., around the same time as Shannon. :) The eyelash perming deal was bought from Groupon, so it was much cheaper than the usual price for a single session.

I didn't take any "before" pictures of my eyelashes so I have to make do by digging out some random photos I took before today, lol. Oops.

This is basically what my lashes looked like before - short, straight and angled downwards.



And then compare them to the "after" photos. My lashes definitely look much better now; they look longer, thicker (more volume) and curl upwards naturally. That's the best part of the whole thing. I don't have to curl my eyelashes for the next couple of weeks liao wtf. *tears of joy*





Awesome results, right? This is the perfect solution for ladies who are too lazy to curl their eyelashes, let alone put on mascara on a daily basis (like me HAHAHA). The whole process took about 1 hour, and the solutions that they use might sting your eyes a little, but overall it was painless and very efficient.

My eyelashes are considered an 'okay' length, but for those blessed with long, long lashes like Shannon, the effect is even more gorgeous. It will look like you're wearing false eyelashes though, so it might feel weird for a bit. XD

So... The question is, will I go for eyelash perming again after the effects of this one wears off?

Maybe. I'm not sure. I like how it makes my eyes look much more awake, and of course, I don't have to go through the hassle of curling my lashes and seeing them 'wilt' after 2 hours. If there's another Goupon or similar online deal for eyelash perming, I might consider going for it again. :)

So... I've been completely obsessed about this lipstick ever since it arrived in the mail.

It's the Peripera My Color Lips lipstick that I purchased from my mini Gmarket haul. I first saw it in Watson's Ngee Ann City and was really attracted by the sturdy pink metallic lipstick tube with gorgeous lace-patterned cap. I wasn't willing to spend S$19.90 (RM50) for a lipstick at that time though, so I reluctantly put it back. *sad face*

Well, I finally managed to get one from my Gmarket haul, so on with the review! :)

First, the packaging.

Outer packaging (box)

The lipstick tube is packaged in a metallic pink cardboard box that has lace flower patterns printed on it. Very pretty, and the colour and design is reminiscent of the lipstick housed inside.

Box and tube

Metallic pink tube and plastic cover

The packaging of the lipstick is really pretty. It has a pink plastic slip on cover that has a pattern of lace and flowers with silver accents. The tube itself is metallic pink all over with a ridged handle at the end - very convenient to hold when pulling off the plastic cover. When you slip the plastic cover back on, you can hear it closes with a sturdy 'snap' sound, so you don't have to worry about it falling off when placed in your bag.

Size estimate

It is a bit larger than your average lipstick tube (as you can see from the photo above), approximately 8cm tall and 2cm in diameter. A bit bulky, but definitely makes a beautiful addition to any makeup table. :D

So, the colour I chose was 04 Holy Pink. It's one of the most popular colours in the range, and is the one worn by model/actress So Yi Hyun in the Peripera tv ad.

Peripera My Color Lips in #04 Holy Pink

The colour shown in the website picture is quite different compared to the actual product. In real life, the lipstick looks darker and leans towards coral in the tube.

However, when swatched on bare skin, the colour shows up almost the same as shown in the website. :)

Below are lip swatches taken in different lighting conditions.

With flash.

Natural light, in shade.

Under direct sunlight.

In bright conditions, the colour shows up as a light, blue-based pink. Indoors though, it looks more like the colour in the tube, which leans slightly coral and darker.

One thing I love about this lipstick (besides its super cute packaging) is the scent. I don't mind the vanilla scent of MAC lipsticks, but I'm totally in love with this Peripera lipstick, which smells like roses! It's not the artificial sweet-ish flowery scent like Rimmel lipsticks, but rather a soft, feminine rose scent that reminds me of M&S rose body shower. ♥ That's because the formula contains rose petal extracts, which makes it smell so lovely and feel moisturizing.


This is my favourite lipstick in my stash so far! The colour payoff is great, feels moisturizing on the lips and smells lovely. You can apply it directly from the tube, but lately I've been using a lip brush because it goes on smoother and doesn't show lip lines on dry lips so much. The lasting power is average; it can last about 2 - 3 hours with eating and drinking, and around 4 - 5 hours with occasional sips of water. The lipstick has a shiny satin finish by itself, but I like to slick a bit of clear lip gloss over it for extra shine. :D

The Peripera My Color Lips lipsticks (3.5g) retail for 15,000 KRW (price may vary on Gmarket) in Korea, S$19.90 in Singapore and US$21.00 in the US. It is not available in Malaysia at the moment. >_<


Couple of photos where I used the lipstick. ♥

Just a short post to let you all know I'm not neglecting my blog.

I wonder how many beauty bloggers like me have been distracted lately by something other than cosmetics. (I know Nancy is one, haha!) Namely, a certain game that literally took a decade to release.

Yes, I'm talking about you, Diablo 3. *glares*

Decisions, decisions.

Review of the super gorgeous Peripera lipstick (shown above) will be out soon has been done! In the meantime, I'll be slaying some demons. :P

About a couple of months back, I read Joey's post about some items she'd gotten from Gmarket, and it really piqued my interest in the Korean shopping website. I joined the giveaway, and I was lucky enough to win one of the RM30 vouchers Ceebeery was sponsoring. :) Ceebeery is a spree shopping service for Korea Gmarket items.


It took me a while to pick and choose the things I wanted to get (the people at Ceebeery were really prompt and patient with my endless questions and queries), but in the end, I finally placed my order and waited patiently for my package to arrive. The parcel arrived on Friday, approximately 3 weeks after the spree ended.

Can you guess what's inside? ;)

I was glad to see that the items came safely packed with bubble wrap inside a sturdy cardboard box. Now, on to the (mini) haul!

Gmarket mini haul

I bought 2 items, and the other 2 were free gifts! Pretty awesome, if I say so myself. :P

Peripera My Color Lips lipstick

The first thing I ordered was this gorgeous Peripera lipstick. Ever since I saw this in Watson's Singapore, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I didn't purchase this because it was pretty pricey, but I finally managed to tick this off my wishlist thanks to the RM30 voucher. :D Check out my review *here*.

It's Skin Babyface Petit Blusher

This is the second item I purchased, a super cute It's Skin blusher compact with fluffy powder puff. Too bad the wings are actually just part of the outer plastic packaging and not fixed to the blusher compact itself. Nevertheless, it is adorable and small enough that it can fit comfortably in the palm of my hand.

It's Skin Macaron Lip Balm (Strawberry)

This is one of the free gifts included in my order - It's Skin Macaron Lip Balm. I was extremely happy to spot this in my parcel, because I wasn't sure if my order would be placed in time to qualify for this free gift. Fortunately, it not only came with my order, it was also the one I wanted - the pretty pink strawberry macaron! ♥

Gmarket was having a "free gift with purchase" for Holika Holika and It's Skin products, so I got the Macaron Lip Balm free with my purchase of Babyface Petit Blusher.

Vanedo mugwort mask

Last but not least was this Vanedo facial mask, which was also a free gift. I've never heard of this brand, but a few searches on Google yielded some good reviews, so I'll definitely try it out. :)

Well, that's all from my mini Gmarket haul. Have you ever ordered anything from Gmarket before? Feel free to share your hauls/experiences with me! :) I'll be posting reviews on some of the items soon, so stay tuned.

I was given 2 tickets by Yuberactive to watch the premiere screening of 《陣頭》 "Din Tao: Leader of the Parade" at GSC Pavilion yesterday evening. Prior to that, I had completely no idea there was such a movie, and no clue what 阵头 "din tao" was at all.


Anyway, the ticket redemption was from 7p.m. - 8p.m., so my brother and I rushed to Pavilion and got there a bit late, due to the traffic jams in KL (typical *rolls eyes*). The movie started at 9 p.m. so we decided to get a bite to eat from KFC before going in. Little did we know that there were some activities for the movie premier going on, so we missed out on all the fun. :(


We went in, found our seats and sat down, not really expecting anything. It was the first time I'd ever watched a Taiwanese-language movie in the cinema, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Mind you, I did do a bit of homework and watched the trailer on Youtube the day before. :P

Country: Taiwan

Language: Taiwanese, Mandarin

Genre: Drama, Comedy

Directed by: Kai Feng 冯凯

Starring: Alan Kuo 柯有伦, Alien Huang Hung Sheng 黄鸿升(小鬼), Chen Bor Jeng 陈博正, Liao Chun 廖峻, Crystal Lin 林雨宣

Running time: 2 Hours 3 Minutes

Synopsis:

A-tai (Alan Kuo) is an aspiring musician who dreams of being a rocker in the US. Since childhood, he has never been on good terms with his father, Uncle Da (Chen Bor Jeng), who leads a small and struggling 'din tao' troupe in TaiChung. Upon A-tai's return home, he gets into a quarrel with a rival troupe led by Wu Cheng (Liao Chun) and his son A-Xian (Alien Huang), and accepts a challenge to lead his father's troupe and defeat Wu Cheng. Irked by Wu's arrogance, A-tai decides to take the troupe's demoralized members on a countrywide walk in search of inspiration to revamp the traditional folk art form of 'din tao'.

Uncle Da (left) quarreling with Wu Zheng (right)

United they stand. :D

Blood, sweat and tears on their journey across the countryside.

Rivals becoming allies.

Most touching scene in the movie. :')

My Review

I was skeptical of this movie at first, because I thought it would be just another typical boring Taiwanese movie about a young man's coming-of-age story, with gang fights and crying actresses. At first glance, it seems to be another movie trying to promote tourism and culture to its audience, but I have to say, it is much more than that. The film not only brings to attention the traditional - and dying - culture of 阵头 'din tao', a folk art which is an integral part of temple festivals in Taiwan, it also highlights the importance of communication in a family (my inner communications student is taking over the review, lol). To be honest, how many of us have jumped to conclusions about someone or something, and proceeded to use harsh words to justify and defend ourselves before listening to the whole story?

Between the humorous lines and awe-inspiring scenes, there is definitely a message that tells us to respect culture, adapt to change and appreciate relationships between each other. However, I sort of hoped they would use a bit more time/scenes to show the process of how the troupe managed to come up with their final performance, instead of just showing bits and pieces of the 2 troupes displaying teamwork and being all chummy, lol. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie much more than I expected to, and learned quite a bit of new stuff about Taiwan. :)

The best part? It wasn't until the end of the movie and the credits started rolling, that I found out the film was based on a true story. :) This movie was inspired by the true story of Taichung’s Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Arts Troupe, which depicts the struggles and hardships a group of youth endure while engaging in the diminishing art of folk drums culture.

Last but not least, since this is more of a beauty/fashion blog per se, here's my outfit for the premier screening. :P
Turquoise blouse, white vest, grey shorts and fleece-lined heeled combat boots (not pictured). I also brought a black shawl because the cinema hall was gonna be chilly. :)


陣頭 "Din Tao: Leader of the Parade" will be showing in local cinemas 17 May 2012.

Hello everybody! :)  If you've been reading my blog, I'm sure you remember that I mentioned in my teaser post earlier about the Pretty, Sexy, Beautiful Eyes Blogging Contest, kindly organized and sponsored by Mr Lens. Well, here's my take on the Freshlook Colorblends contact lenses, so please read on for my review and verdict, as well as lots of self-taken vain pictures. XD *cough*

Of course, before I start, I must introduce you to the website where my lens came from. :) I'll try to keep it short and sweet without leaving out the necessary details. :P


MrLens.com.my is the largest online distributor of contact lenses from Europe that has entered the Malaysian market, with over 50 types of contact lens available, including brands such as Acuvue, Freshkon, Freshlook, Maxim, Blincon, Sauflon, and many others. They even have toric lenses for those who suffer from astigmatism! :D Besides providing cheaper prices for quality branded contact lenses, Mr Lens also offers free delivery (to selected areas in the Klang Valley) and Cash On Delivery shipping options.

If you think the wide range of choices and great discounts aren't awesome enough, you definitely won't want to miss the chance to save more cash! You can get discounts with Mr Lens' "Recommend A Friend" program and earn vouchers from the "Coupon Share with Friends" activity from the Mr Lens Facebook page. Check out the website if you don't believe me about the affordable pricing! :D

There are currently 12 colours to choose from in the Freshlook Colorblends range, and I was given 2 boxes to review, so I decided to pick 2 of the newer colours, Gemstone Green and Sterling Grey. The prescription power ranges from 0.00 to -10.00.

My lenses arrived via dispatch courier, and the packaging looks like this:

The mini pack of mints is a super nice touch! :)

Note: I am really satisfied with Mr Lens' customer service! :) There was some hiccup with my order, so I sent in an enquiry concerning my shipment. They replied me via email the next day, and the day after that they also followed up with a call to apologize, explain and offer solutions. Needless to say, I received my items within the week, and am impressed with their good and efficient customer service.

The boxes.

Power range, expiration date and colour are clearly labelled.

The lenses are packed in blister packaging.

Compared to the glass vials with metal caps so often seen these days, the blister packaging makes it so much easier to open and remove the lenses without fear of chipping a nail or injuring your fingers.

Freshlook Colorblends - Gemstone Green

Gemstone Green is one of the 3 vibrant new shades in the Freshlook Colorblends range. I chose this particular colour not only because it's vibrant and noticeable, but also mainly due to the fact that Harry Potter has green eyes! Yes, I am a HP maniac. :P Plus, green is also my lucky colour for 2012!

Dad bought me this official HP t-shirt way back in 2003 or 2004.

This is what the lenses look like.

Gemstone Green

My eyes before and after putting on the lenses.

Before and after.

Worn on both eyes.

As you can see, the green is still clearly visible even over my dark brown natural eye colour. It doesn't have an enlarging effect like circle lenses, so if you often wear iris-enlarging contact lenses like me, these will take a while to get used to.

And here are some syok sendiri photos of myself so you can see how green the lenses are! :P

Flower prints and leaf green reminds me of spring and summer. :)

Matches my green nails and makes the green pop!

What do you think? Do green eyes look good on me? ;) I love these green lenses because they're so vibrant and fresh, making your eyes the center of attention, especially in bright sunlight.

Freshlook Colorblends - Sterling Grey

The second pair I chose is Sterling Grey, which is also one of the 3 vibrant new shades in the Freshlook Colorblends range. I like wearing grey lenses because grey is a neutral tone and can go well with outfits of any colour.

The lens itself is grey with a hint of dusky blue.

Sterling Grey

Comparison pictures.

Before and after.

Worn on both eyes.

Similar to the green ones, these grey lenses show up remarkably well despite my dark natural eye colour. For both colours, you can see that on the lens itself there is a darker outer ring, but once placed on the eyes, it is not visible at all.

Again, more syok sendiri pictures. XD




Personally, I prefer grey lenses for everyday wear. They're noticeable but the colour isn't overly unusual, so you can place emphasis on your outfit or accessories. With grey eyes, you can match it with any colour of makeup, so it's perfect if you want to try out fun, bright eyeshadows or go for a classic smokey eye. ;)

Verdict?

Overall, the Freshlook Colorblends contact lenses are pretty good. When I first put them on, my vision was slightly blurry, but after a few minutes my eyes had adjusted to the new lenses and there was no problem with my vision. I've been wearing both pairs alternately over the past week, usually for 8 - 12 hours (I know, it's not recommended to wear them for such a long time >_<) and using eye drops every few hours. They still felt comfortable at the end of the day, and my eyes did not hurt after taking them out.

• Vibrant colour even over dark eyes
• Soft
• Comfortable
• Wide range of colours and prescription powers

• Eyes feel dry if not lubricated with eye drops every few hours
• No iris-enlargement effect.

Freshlook Colorblends are monthly disposable contact lenses, and are available for purchase at Mr Lens for RM43 (retail price RM80) per box.

Many thanks to Mr Lens and Plusizekitten for providing the lenses for review. I really hope that I can win the contest! :D




*The contact lenses were sent to me for review. All opinions are strictly my own honest views of the product.