Black Sesame Hot Mask by Skin Food Review

Good evening all,

A few months back, I went into Missha as I needed to get some black tone eyelash adhesive and stumbled upon a stack of Skin Food masks on the shelf. Coincidentally, the day before I had just researched about them on the YesStyle website.

As if that was not coincidentally enough, it just so happened that the Black Sesame Hot Mask and the Rice Mask Wash Off (the ones that I was interested in) was on the top of the stack. Debating on whether I should get it, I ended up giving it a shot. I went home with the Black Sesame Hot Mask due to the SA recommendation, as it was aimed for my age group. To be honest, the tub looks quite small (110g) and not worth the $25, but a little does go a long way.

Their description
Warm heat mask with salt and sugar powder to deep cleanse wastes in rough skin with accumulated keratin and with nutritious back sesame powder to make smooth skin.

To use: Apply an appropriate amount to moist face after washing, particularly to areas rich in keratin. Avoid an eye area and massage in circular motion. Rinse with warm water after 3-5 minutes.

The first time I used the mask, I felt an unpleasant stingy sensation. It came to me that the stingy sensation might be due to the use of using two deep cleansing products one after another. I had used to my daily night cleanser (Biore Pore Clogging Scrub) prior to the mask.

A week after, I switched up my cleanser to my morning cleanser (Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser) to test if the stingy sensation would occur. Since it was a more gentle cleanser, I was confident that I would have no problem. And I was right, no unpleasant feeling the second time I used the mask!

Ever since I bought the mask, I had used it once a week with the switch of my cleanser. Once applied, you can feel a subtle warmth and once rinsed, you are left with a very smooth surface- almost baby skin like! The texture of the mask is a little hard to explain. Imagine a mochi without the powder on its surface.. when you hold it, it is sticky and gooey. But once the mask comes in contact with your moist face, it becomes more spreadable as it comes in contact with water.

And if you are worried that the Black Sesame may be too harsh on your skin, don't. Most of the Black Sesame is the size of a grounded pepper or even finer. Just like a grounded pepper, you some time get those bigger chunks like what you see in the photo below.

After using it for a few months now, I notice a big change in my skin. It looks more radiant, healthier and feels a lot smoother. When it comes to the TOTM, I usually break out with some small spots, but I noticed that they had been reduced in size! Although I have to admit, my breakout was never that bad. But to be able to still notice the difference is always a good thing, right? Another plus to the Black Sesame Hot mask is the relaxation it gives me. The warmth of the product plus the massage really helps me relax - and anything relaxing on a Friday night is a plus!! Hence why I chose to use it on a Friday, hehe.

I hope my review was helpful to some of you and if you are interested in trying out this mask, I would recommend you buying it from YesStyle. I purchased it for $25 from Missha whereas you can get it for $12 from the site. And if you spend $25 or more, it is free shipping.
Here is a link to the Black Sesame Hot Mask.


Have you tried any Skin Food mask before? How did it go?

A Very Merry Christmas!

Good evening everyone!!

Although Christmas is over, I hope everyone had a lovely Merry Christmas!

I for one, had a lovely Christmas party which was all last minute planning! It started when I was at work with Hawley (my boyfriend's younger sister) and we talked about how excited we were to see each other open up the presents. It then somehow ended up with both of us being so caught up in excitement, we ended up with a list of food for a Christmas party. But there is a catch - What party?

We did not think. We just did. From our excitement we end up bringing the idea to life! Obviously, without the consent of my man.. (my boyfriend - her brother) woops! But he agreed with the idea although he was a little skeptical on how we just planned it all without his consent, haha! Sorry baby.

Overall, the party was a lot better than expected. I was worried that we may not have enough food, and that it would not taste nice and soooooo on but in the end, everything turned out quite well. If you want to watch my Christmas Party vlog, the video is below if you would like to see it.

And again, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! Better late than never, right? :)
How did you spent your Christmas this year and any plans for the welcoming of 2014?

Food adventure #5

What's up guys!

I know it has been awhile since my last post but I do try and post every now and then, believe me!!! 

Back to the post! A few days ago on the 4th of December, was my boyfriend's 20th birthday. I bought him a cake form Michel's Patisserie and it was soooo delicious!! I am not really a fan of mud cakes but I think it was also a marble cake that made me feel in love!

After we had some cake, we (My boyfriend, his younger sister and brother and I) head out to Thai Manic for some dinner! The restaurant was gorgeous.. From the seats, to the walls, as well as deco! I regret not taking photos of the interior, but I will definitely take some the next time I go!

As there was the four of us, we ordered 5 dishes:

Tom Yum Fried Rice 

Ox Tongue 

Beef Salad 

Devil Crab 

Grilled Scallops 

After we had finish the first five, we decided to order another two dishes since none of us were full. That was when we ordered the Seafood Red Curry and Thai Manic Fried Rice (Which we ate before I got the chance to take the photo)

Seafood Red Curry 

And boy did that filled us up! The experience was amazing, the food was delicious and the presentation?! Come on now, look at the presentation of those dishes.. Amazing.....!! The only downside that I can think of was the prices. But then again, it could be that there was the four of us eating. Overall, I would definitely come here again because it was worth every cent!

Have you been to Thai Manic before? What was your experience like?

NYX in Australia!

Good afternoon everyone!

So if you are like me and had been following many beauty gurus from the states, then you will know about NYX cosmetics. I was really happy to hear the news that they were in Australian Targets so I had to go and check it out myself! The prices are very affordable, similar to Face of Australia price range. Here are the swatches and a mini review on the products that I had bought today!

Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude (Top)

NYX Wonder Pencil in Light (Bottom) - $8.95

I got this eyeliner because I needed something that could brightening up my eyes and replace my Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil that I got a few months back. As you can see, Wonder Pencil is a true nude compared to Scandaleyes (it is a lot more orange) making Wonder Pencil the perfect colour for the bottom waterline! The packaging on the NYX Wonder Pencil is lovely, it was wrapped with plastic that had the dotted lines on the sides which makes it easy to tear the middle piece down without ruining the package itself.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil: Milk, Yogurt, Peacock (L to R) - $9.95

Unlike the packaging for the Wonder Pencil, you can see that the NYX text has been removed from the packaging. This was due to the sticky tape that they used to secure the lids onto the product itself. Despite from that, these pencils are very creamy and very easy to blend! 

Essence lipstick in 53 All About Cupcake - $3.50

NYX extra creamy lipstick in 643 Femme - $8.95

The first thing I have to mention about both of these lipstick is that they are very moisturising! Essence lipstick has a very nice scent to it, kind of like a vanilla flavoured ice block. I find this shade very wearable for everyday and for $3.50, it is definitely worth a try! 

NYX creamy lipstick in Femme is a salmon colour. Very nice for the Spring and Summer time and it does not transfer as much as the Rimmel Apocalips (I think I found my new favourite lipstick!!). There is a wide variety of shades to choose from, so there is something for everyone and it is under $10!

So what are you waiting for?! Go and see if NYX is available at your nearest Target store!!

What a day of recording mishap!

Good afternoon everyone!

So last night, I told myself to finally record my first ever request video the following day (which I had been putting on hold for many weeks now). I am not comfortable in front of the camera when someone else is around so to find out my mum had a day off work was a little bit discouraging towards making this video..

To overcome this feeling or you can say fear, I began to record. Just minutes away from hitting the record button, a family friend came over. What made it worse was that they were having a conversation. I don't know about you, but when one of my parents talk to a friend.. they are pretty loud.....

To make matters worse, I was thinking of recording the intro in my room (the video was meant to be recorded in the kitchen) with the door closed to block out their conversation....which then my mum decided to watch her drama. And when she watches her dramas.. she turns the volume on pretttyyyyy high, to which no bedroom walls can block out the noise!

In results to that.. I head outside into the backyard. Thinking it could not get any worse then this, guess what happens? It started to pour! Oh, come on!! I thought to myself. Why today? Why now? I swear, it is a sign that I was not meant to do this video!!

I then headed into the storage room (used to be the garage) since it was the only place in the house that would be able to block out all the noises. But the lighting was not soo good, I then decided to wait for the rain to die down..

In the end, I was able to record the video! It turned out better than I thought it would, especially with all the discouraging things that had happened. I hope you guys look forward to this DIY video!! Can you guess which video it might be? ;)

5 Minute Makeup Challenge!

Good evening everyone!

Had you ever tried to do your makeup in 5 minutes before? I sure haven't! Usually I would just apply eyeliner and mascara and I am good to go! But what fun would that be if it is not a face up makeup, right? Well, I was able to drag a friend of mine to help me with this challenge! Check it out and if you are interested in doing this challenge than I tag YOU!

Food adventure #4

Good afternoon everyone!

As most of you know, the Asian invasion was just a few weeks ago! Yes, I am talking about Moon Festival!! As I waited weeks and weeks for the festival to come, I was already craving for their seafood balls, chips on sticks, strawberry covered chocolate and their beef jerkyyyyy! Unfortunately, the strawberry stand wasn't being held this year, instead there was a stand with insect!! Yes, insects... And no, I did not try it.. 

What I did had though was:

Honey beef jerky 

Octopus balls

Prawn balls

Satay skewers + bubble tea (forgot to take a photo of it)

And as for dinner, nothing beats:

A bowl of Pho Tai Bo Vien

And frozen yoghurt for dessert!!

Although I wasn't able to eat everything I was hoping for, I am pretty satisfied with a day well spent with my hubby!

What are your favourite food/things to do at Moon Festival? :)

Food adventure #3

Hello everyone! 

Two weeks ago, Sydney had experienced a hot and very dry Saturday! My boyfriend and I spent our 28 months mainly running a few errands; buying pet food and paying the bills. Since we were in the area, we decided to go get some desserts at Little Star, Canley Vale. Usually when we decide to visit this store, it is always closed so we never had a real opportunity to go there and eat. But that day was our lucky day! 

Here was what we ordered:

Pineapple Delight with Rainbow Bubblegum and Sticky Fig & Honeycomb ice cream 

Waffle basket with Macadamia and Pistachio ice cream! 

And again.. I think I found my new favourite ice cream flavour!! Yes yes, I know I said that when I first tried pistachio ice cream.. but the Sticky Fig & Honeycomb was.. just.. soooo... arghhh!!! It was heaven!!!  It tasted a lot better than my nutty flavoured ice cream that I had always tried! 

Spring tutorial!

Good morning everyone!!

Had you check out my Spring tutorial look yet? It was inspired by my summer blanket that my Dad had gotten me a few years back! And yes, I know the camera angle is not the best, I am working on getting a mini tripod over the weekends! Woooot! How exciting, I can't wait until I be able to show you guys a better view when doing my tutorials! 

Michael Kors Hamilton Satchel DUPE

Good afternoon everyone,

I had delayed this post for soo long now and I have no idea why! About a two to three months ago, my friend and I decided to head into the city and look for a handbag since I had been on a hunt for one for quite some time now. As we entered David Jones, the first thing that caught my eyes were the French Connection handbag that was displayed high on the shelves. And what do you know? It looks almost identical to the Michael Kors Hamilton Satchel bag! (I do not own the MK bag to compare it to so please refer the images on the link provided)

The comparison
French Connection: Mini Hayden pleather handbag - $99.95
Michael Kors Hamilton Satchel - $298.00

• The design of the padlock and the strap that it sits on are different
• FC handbag is bigger in size
• The straps on FC is longer
• The material: pleather vs leather
• Interior design: Black/tan vs cream/beige
• FC has an extra two open pockets 

I am soooooo glad my friend convinced me to go ahead with this purchase. The only thing I would wish is it to be a little bit bigger so I can fit my 13" Macbook Pro inside it, instead of carrying it around separately. But the fact that I got complemented on it while shopping just makes it that much worth it!

What are your thoughts on designer dupes?

Sydney International Spa & Beauty Expo

Good evening guys,

On Monday, I had an exciting opportunity to attend the Sydney International

Spa & Beauty Expo. As it was my first time at this kind of event, I was a little confused on what to expect, especially with the prices! I went in and told myself that I had a $100 budget but at the end of the day, I went over by $0.85 (plus $1 that they accidentally charged me) which was not that bad!

Here is my haul video!

Products mentioned: 

Blync Lashes (Modelrock Lashes) in #601 and #41 - $3.95 each

Crown 10 Concealer Palette  - $35

Crown Infinity Flat Bronzer brush - $20

Crown small Angled Blush brush - $9 (Charged me $10 instead)

Mt. Retour Organic Tea Tree shampoo $5

Mt. Retour Organic Lavender conditioner - $5

Timeless Truth masks - $15

Introduction and first tutorial

Good morning guys,

Just a little update from my previous post, my introduction video is finally up! Yes, yes.. I had lagged it for days and days now but at least I got it done! I also have my first tutorial up as well, so check it out! It is a very basic look that can be worn everyday and very school appropriate as it seems like you are not wearing any makeup at all! Well, maybe.. hehe.. :D

Youtube..! :O

Hey guys, exciting news!

I will be uploading videos now on YouTube! I hope you are all looking forward to this new journey with me! To be honest, I am quite scared about putting myself out there. I will be getting haters and negative comments which I am not use to, but it will be part of what I need to overcome, to become a stronger person.

My channel will consist of both vlogs and beauty related videos, so I hope you are looking forward to those! I have one tutorial that I am done editing, but I will upload that after I get my introduction video done.


See you all soon!

Green juice

Good evening, everyone!

Have you ever heard of green juice? If not, it is basically a salad in a cup. Of course there will be some fruits in the mix to add a some sweetness to the overall flavour.

I first heard about this juice on itsJudyLife, a beauty guru and vlogger on YouTube and been dying to try it out! But the thing was, most online juicing recipes has an ingredient called 'kale'. Here in Australia, kale is not really popular and can be pretty hard to find. Luckily, I found out there was a farmers market close by and what do they have..? Kale!! 

There are two main types of kale used in juicing; Curly Kale and Dinosaur Kale. To me personally, I prefer the Dinosaur kale because it is a slight sweeter in taste. As for the recipe, I based it off Dr. Oz Green Juice with Ginger but switch it around to my liking. 

My first attempt was a failure, the mixture was too thick and it barely fit into my blender! Second batch, I halved the recipe and added a little bit more water and it was almost perfect! But I could still taste the strong flavours of the celery and ginger. Third times the charm right? For my third attempt, I got rid of the ginger, reduce the amount of celery and strained the mixture and wallah! A successful green juice!

Overall, green juice in my experience is through trial and error. Find a recipe that you would like to try and change things around to suit your taste buds. If you are going to be using a blender to juice like I have, you may want to strain the mixture to get rid of the lumps. But if you want all the benefits you can get from green juice, you can skip this step. 

What is your favourite green juice recipe? Comment below so I can try some out!

Food adventure #2

Good morning everyone!

On the 7th of August, my boyfriend and I celebrated our 27 months at Holy Basil. I had been cravingggggggg for spicy curry the past week or two and was dying to get my taste buds on them spiciness! Because my hubby has never been there before, it was a win-win situation; I get my curry and he gets a first time experience at a restaurant he never been to before!

For dinner we had:

    Satay Kai (satay chicken skewers)

    Yum Pla Mut (Calamari Salad): Medium spicy 

    Gang Panang (pork panang curry): Medium spicy 

I am soo glad my boyfriend ordered it in spicy medium instead of hot (which was what I was about to choose) because damnnnnnn, it was spicy as heck!! Apart from the spiciness, it was sooooo delicious. That was probably the reason why we were able to finish off both dishes! As for desserts, we decided to go down the street to get What The Fudge (WTF).

There we ordered: 

A fondue for two plus two extra waffles

Pistachio (top) and Japanese Green Tea (bottom) 

I think I found my new favourite ice cream! First it was Macadamia, now it's Pistachio- Deeeelisshhhhhhhhhh! Sadly, we were unable to finish our dessert because our stomach was too full from our previous meal. But we will be back, just you wait!

So, what is your favourite ice cream flavour? Choc mint? Raspberry swirl? Let me know below so I can try some of your favourites!

Food adventure #1

Good morning beautifuls,

On Tuesday after my practical exam, my friends and I decided to head out to the city for dinner. The restaurant that we planned to eat at was closed so we went on a mission to find a place that had some vegetarian meals on the menu. We ended up at a Japanese restaurant called Fuku Sake and Wine Bar. This place has excellent service and our food arrived quickly which was a bonus. Plus, the exterior was so lovely, you have to check this place out! 

Here are some photos from our Tuesday night:

King Fish and Salmon Carpaccio*

Vegetable Tempura

Udon noodle soup

Chicken karaage salad

Vegetarian Okonomiyaki (It has fish flakes on them, lol)

Samurai Roll*

Yakidori Wagyu Beef Skewer*

Not to sure on what the names on these drinks are.. (Green one was mine!)*

Overall, out of all the food that we had ordered, I believe the Samurai Roll was my favourite. The prices here are pretty decent for those who wants to eat somewhere fancy and is still within their uni budget. A perfect place for a date if I say so myself, hehe.

Have you been to a Japanese restaurant before? What was your experience like?


*Disclaimer! Photos were not taken by me, credit goes to Judy and Mimi!

Queen of hearts

Good morning all!

Remember back in high school when we had to write a creative story for English? Well, this time it is with a creative look! During week 1, we were asked to think about what we wanted to do for our creative which would be done in week 3 (last Saturday). After countless searches, I finally decided to look through pinterest- which was where I found this look.

I was really excited when I found something that would suit my model Judy, especially with her fair skin. I texted her with the image and she responded excitedly towards the look. But because our kit did not came with everything we need, we both decided to head out to buy some missing items. As we head over to the Mac counter, we found two eyeshadows that were similar to the red used in the image and they were: Embrace Me and pigment in Rose. Rose was the exact colour we were hoping to find, unfortunately it was sold out which lead us into purchasing Embrace Me instead. At the end of the day, we ended up purchasing:

• Ardell false lashes in 120 Demi Black
• Mac eyeshadow in Embrace Me 
• Mac paint pot in Painterly 
• Heart shape 'Glitter' at Lincraft

Luckily enough, we were able to get everything we needed just in time before the stores started to close. Especially how class started at 9am the following day and there was no way we were able to shop again before class started!! Anyways, here is the finished look. Sorry Judy for making you wear it after class was over, especially how we were planning go eat afterwards!

So, where do you get your inspirations from? Is it through books? Music? Artworks? Leave a comment below, I would love to know where you get your ideas from.

Rules? What rules!

Good morning peeps! 

Had you ever woke up one morning and think to yourself "hmm.. what makeup would I like to do today..?" Whether it is rocking the smokey eye, adding a pop of colour or just a natural everyday look, everyone has their own unique style. There is no right or wrong when it comes to applying makeup because rules are meant to be broken! 

Talking about rules, in my previous post I had mentioned how eye shape effects how you apply eye makeup. According to the handout, eye makeup should be applied to recreate the almond eye shape. Sure, it is best to apply according to your eye shape as some applications looks better than others but for this instance- look at the picture below. 

This is my beautiful friend Van Anh who was kind enough to be my model for my week 2 class. As you can see, she has pretty big eyes and currently has the 1950s look on her. In the handout it mentioned how an extended eyeliner is a way to create an illusion of having bigger eyes. Obviously, she does not need that but because the 1950s look consists of a winged eye and the bold red lips, there is no way I can take those features out! So in this case, there is nothing wrong with breaking the rules of extending the eyeliner on Van Anh eyes, because look how gorgeous she looks!! 

How many rules had you broken when it comes to applying makeup? Think hard, because you might do it everyday without even realizing it! Oh and also don't forgot to check out her blog!

First practical class!

Good morning all!

Last week (6th of July, 2013) we had our first makeup session. The first thing that we saw once we entered the room was our makeup bag, sitting there on the table waiting for us to rip it apart. It felt like Christmas had came extra early this year! This kit contains a wide variety of LimeLily Cosmetics products and include the following:

(Clear Makeup bag, brush roll, foundations, eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, concealers, translucent powder, contour kit, 12 empty pan palette, 6 empty pan palette x2, lipgloss, lip liners, eye liners, mascara, eyelash, pencil sharpener, disposable mascara wands, tweezers and sponges. Our instructor also included her favourite bronzer by Rimmel into our kit!) The kit is missing a purple eyeshadow and an eyebrow pencil. 

As you can see, I had already placed my pans into the magnetic palette according to their uses. The main eye shadows are placed in the 12 pan palette, powders and concealers in the 6 pan palette and all the cream blushes and lipsticks are in another.  Of course, the way you arrange your palette is entirely up to you!

Unfortunately, we did not get to dig through out makeup bag until after our lunch break. The session started off with the basics; Skin type, face shapes, eye shapes and how each of them affects how we apply makeup. Using the activities and diagrams in our handout, we were asked to create a natural everyday makeup look. Excited as I was, I forgot to take a photo of my makeup but I did recreate it a few days after. Here is a picture (Not the best quality though..)

Pretty stoked on how it turned out, as I had always told myself my eye shape was the worse shape to apply eye makeup on. (Referring to not finding any youtubers with the exact same eye shape) Had you ever searched up on how to apply eye makeup but noticed you can't find any beauty gurus that has the exact same eye shape as you? Come on.. I can't be the only one! 

Introduction

Had you ever thought to yourself "I don't think this is right for me" and think of other careers that you could be doing?

Trust me, I know what you are going through. Once I hit year 12, I questioned myself "What am I going to do once this is over?" After countless days and nights of deciding, I narrowed it down to three choices - Photography, Graphic Designing and Animation. After one and a half years of studying Visual Communication, I knew this path was not right for me. I did not feel the passion I once felt when designing in this field. Knowing that, I know I had to find something I am passionate about.

But what was I passionate about? All my life, there were only two things that had interest me - sport and art. I knew I did not want to go towards fitness as a career so there has to be something else, And that is when it hit me. I noticed I had been researching, experimenting and watching more beauty related videos. Searching and researching about different products and ingredients (Something I once did with editing programs). And then I remembered what Michelle Phan said during one of her interviews "I was always interested in art" and that was what lead her into the beauty industry. I remember telling myself, pshh... beauty isn't art.. But now I knew exactly what she meant.