I realize I haven't been blogging much lately since I started working as cheap labour interning. T_T From now on, I will definitely try my best to post at least once a week! *determined*

Happy surprise parcel :)

For today's post, I have something exciting to share with you all - a beauty swap! My first successful one, to be exact. My previous tries... weren't very successful, to say the least. *shrugs* This lovely swap has restored my faith in mankind! Okay, not really, but at least restored my faith in bloggerkind. (Is that even a word?)

Sneak peek!

I arranged a swap in early June with Mary from Happiness That Lasts; she's a fellow Malaysian but she's studying in Canada, so it was great to be able to try out some items from brands that aren't available in Malaysia. :D Thank you, Mary! ♥

The Reveal - here's what was inside the box of surprises she sent me! :)


The first thing that caught my eye when I opened the box and removed the hot pink tissue paper was the EOS lip balm in "Summer Fruit". The bright orangey-red colour is really perfect for summer! I have been dying to try these lip balms out ever since I heard of them, and now I finally can.

EOS lip balm - Summer Fruit

Next was the NYC lipsticks, and there were 2 of them! I haven't opened them out yet, but from the tube, they are definitely colours I would pick myself. :)

NYC lipsticks

Fragile Pink (left) and Smooch (right)

Also in the box was another lip product, which was a Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss in "Candy, Baby".

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss in "Candy, Baby"

I also received an Essence eyeliner pencil in "Everybody's Darling", which is a soft lilac shade, and a Wet n Wild nail colour in "Blazed", a vibrant coral.

Tucked at the bottom of the lil' box were these 2 eyeshadow palettes. First is the Victoria's Secret "Sexy Spring Eyes" palette. I super love the sultry purple shades in it!



The 2nd palette was hidden underneath the VS palette, and I was super excited to see it because it's by Stila! I remember Stila used to be sold in Malaysia, but they stopped selling it quite a few years back so I never got to try anything from them. The floral pattern on the palette is really pretty, and reminds me of batik print for some reason. XD

Stila Flora Palette

This palette is really pretty, and isn't something that I would normally pick for myself due to all the green and blue eyeshadow colours, but I used it once and it looked really nice! The blusher shade is really lovely, and balances out the darker colours of the eyeshadows. :)

I followed the instructions on the palette on how to apply the eyeshadows, and it turned out pretty good! :D The blush turned out super bright in the picture though. >__<

That's it for my first beauty swap post! Thank you so much to Mary for doing this swap with me. I really love all the items she sent, even though I can't really bear to open them up, haha!

I'll say this upfront: If you weren't at Sunway Lagoon last weekend, you were definitely missing out on a whole lot of fun!

If you were there in the afternoon, you definitely could not miss the "Summer in Clinique" Summer Beach Party 2012 happening at the Sunway Lagoon Wave Pool. (Of course, there were also some really excited MTV World Stage fans who were waiting in line at the lagoon entrance.)


There were a whole row of booths facing the Wave Pool, where party-goers could test out Clinique products, get a makeover, take photoshoots and enjoy refreshments.

Long row of fun booths! :D

The first booth was the Clinique SolarSmart sun care booth, where you get to try out their latest range of sunblock with SPF50! Pretty awesome, especially with our sunny Malaysian weather, and of course, seaside outings. :P The one in the twist-up tube (looks like lip balm) was the one that fascinated me the most, but after trying it out, it felt quite sticky on my skin and didn't dry up like most sunblocks. I think I prefer the lotion type ones.

Bright cheery yellow reminiscent of summer :)

When I arrived, it was already around 3 p.m. and it was sweltering hot! My makeup was (almost) melting off my face from the heat, so I popped on over to the makeover booth for a touch-up. XD At first I wanted them to help me remove my eye makeup and get me a 'lighter' makeover, but after taking a look at me, they just said a touch-up was fine. Not sure if they were just too tired after so many makeover sessions from morning until afternoon, or if my makeup that day was really that good, lol.

After touch-up at the makeup booth

There was also a product-testing booth, where you could try out all the makeup and skincare items from Clinique. I was particularly attracted by their range of lip colours. +__+

Clinique makeup

Clinique skincare

I arrived pretty late, so I missed out on the temporary airbrush tattoo and hair wrap booth, courtesy of Cleo and Cosmopolitan. :(


There was also a food and drinks stall, drink redemption booth, and of course, the photoshoot booths (for the cover girl auditions and makeover)! You can see more pictures of the activities in the Clinique Malaysia Facebook album. :D

Don't forget all the awesome performances by the great artists that day! Even though it was a very hot day, everybody enjoyed the performances and bopped along to the catchy tunes.

Amazing dance moves by ECX Dance Crew

Hosts of the party - JJ and Ean

Shawn Lee's beatboxing was seriously out of this world! I can't believe all that sound was coming from his mouth lol

Diddy Hirdy with some soothing ballads

While standing at the water's edge watching the performances, I couldn't help but be amused and fascinated by the lagoon-goers who loved this particular item at the Wave Pool...

If only bathing was this fun. XD

Anyway, I managed to snap a pic of the new cover girl for Cosmopolitan. :P She's really pretty!


What's a big event like this without taking the opportunity to meet up with some bloggers, right? :D Finally got to meet them at the party! ^^

Xue Ren (left) and Nicole (right)

The lovely Angeline! :)

Cute and quirky Isabel. :D We're in the same uni but we've never met! lol

Not to forget, my high school friends whom I invited to join me at the party. :P Would you believe we've known each other for more than 10 years now?! Time really flies.

YMY (left) and SYS (right)

Quite a number of my uni friends were there as well, but I forgot to take pics with them. >_<

Clinique very generously provided us with a huge goodie bag with some nice goodies inside. ;)

My friends and I had a great time there at the party. Unfortunately, I guess it was kinda overshadowed by the MTV World Stage that was happening there later in the afternoon. Still, it was nice to chill out and enjoy the event while it lasted. Thank you, Clinique! :D (And also to Joanne who invited me, hehe ^^)

Syok sendiri with the MTV World Stage backdrop, lol. Nope, I didn't go for the concert.

I'll leave you with this tantalizing picture of a coke by the pool. Nothing beats a nice cool drink on a hot summer's day by the beach! :D

(This item was sent for review by Yuberactive. You can check out my review in their Trend Nation section.)

You've probably seen this product before. Maybe you've even went to one of their exchange events throughout the Klang Valley, where you trade-in your old lipstick for one of these lip tints. Either way, it looks like it belongs in your stationery drawer more than your makeup table, right? :D

I was sent the Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Tint in Perpetual Plum to review. I had previously obtained shade 600 Carry On Cherry at their trade-in campaign at Watsons, so I was glad to have the chance to try out another colour. :)

Both ends of the lip tint.

My first impression of it was, "Hey, this looks like one of those marker pens I used to play with when I was a kid!"; and indeed, the lip tint has two ends: a felt-tip pen end for precise application of colour, and a lip balm end to seal in colour, moisturize lips and provide a glossy finish.

Below are the swatches of the lip tint and balm on my arm.

Lip tint (left) and clear balm (right).

To me, the colour doesn't really look like plum to me, more of a deep, slightly magenta-ish red. Or is that defined as plum? (lol) Whatever it is, I quite like the colour, because it's a cool-toned red, compared to Carry On Cherry that leans more orange. (Sorry, I forgot to swatch both together. >_<)

And here's a four-step swatch guide on how to apply it on your lips! :D

I like how easy it is to apply the lip tint. Unlike other lip tints/stains in the market, this one is super easy because it's literally like drawing using a marker pen! Just draw an outline of your lips and then fill in the rest. The result is a nice rosy (or pinkish) colour on your lips. You can use a light hand with it to give your lips a nice natural flush, or go heavy and get a nice pop of colour. However, it can be a bit drying, so the balm end is essential to lock in the colour and moisturize the lips. It also gives a nice glossy finish. :)

As far as lip tints go, this one lasted for about  5-6 hours with minimal eating or drinking. It does last longer than normal lipstick, so it's good for those who aren't in the habit of touching up their makeup/lip colour throughout the day (like me, lol).


However, good as the product is, it also has some downsides. It does stay on quite long if you don't eat/drink, but I find that the colour diminishes greatly after a single meal. Besides that, the lip balm doesn't feel very moisturizing after about an hour. I prefer using my own (favourite) lip balm over it. Another thing is, if I don't apply lip balm over the lip tint, my lips will feel super dry after a while. Another concern of mine is that the felt-tip pen will dry out after a while.

The Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Lip Tint retails at RM 29.90, and is available at most Watsons and Guardian pharmacies.

Yes, I need more sleep. @@

Couldn't resist taking another few photos after applying the lip tint and balm. XD