Surprise, Surprise...

Ever since I start blogging back in December 2008, I realized that I never missed a single month without at least one entry, so I have no intention to start a new tradition and ruin my track record just yet, hehe =P 

I had a very wonderful February so far, packed with activities which kept me from spending my precious time to blog =( I'm not complaining of course, as much as I love writing, I love living more, haha =D 

I always have a thing with surprises, I absolute-freakingly love it!!! And this month alone, I had executed 2 successful surprises, hihi x) The first one was the surprise birthday gift for my special someone who celebrating his 27th birthday 2 weeks ago, and it probably was the grand-est gesture I ever did for a guy in my whole life, hee~ 

I'm very pleased to know that he love it so much and very2 surprised indeed!!! @_@ Curious about my so-called grand gesture? Check out my video below, wink2

I sounds funny I know, so let's move to the next surprise, hehe =P It's the Shazwani Hamid belated bday bash that me & 9 other girls threw for her last week ^^ It was a very girly affair, full of pink stuff and wonderful company that I'm so thrilled to be a part of since I haven't had any girly time for quite sometime~ ^_^

She certainly have no idea about the party and I can tell from her reaction that she's loving it very2 much too =) I didn't have my camera with me so, this is the pic that I stole from one of the girls FB, please don't judge my weird poses, haha =D Till then, live your full of surprises life to the fullest girls, adieu~  

Guess Who's Back?...

 

I miss this girl so much ♥

I have a great news for all of you makeup fanatics out there, our favorite girl will be back in town this March, yeay!!! @_@ Need I say more? Well, I kind of knew it weeks ago but keep it under wrap and waiting until someone confirmed the news before I can blog about it, hee~ Actually I found about it through Hello Malaysia magazine twitter and then I contact Sephora Malaysia for confirmation... So save up for more shopping spree soon babes, wink2

Hello Malaysia Twitter page

I'm so freaking excited already, can't hardly wait!!! I think you can probably figure out why by looking at the picture of my Stila collection few years ago, how fast time flies, sigh~ After Stila left us, I'm very2 devastated and turn my sight mostly on Benefit Cosmetics... But now, I can have the best of both world again, weeeeeeeeeee~ @_@

my precious Stila collection back in 2009 ^_^

[Tips & Tricks] When Life Gives You Lemon...

My issues with acne isn't exactly a news, in fact I've been struggling with it ever since I hit puberty, exactly half of my lifetime ago~ =_= I had tried almost everything I could think of, from traditional methods, dermatologist medication, expensive skin care, not so expensive skincare, diet, Vitamin C injections, charcoal and the list goes on... That's why I can get pretty sensitive sometimes when people point out my skin imperfections, but today I'm pretty much immune to all the nasty words, it doesn't hurt that much as it used to be =)

Back to the topic, I don't really obsess over acne that much anymore, I try to control my food intake, pay more attention to my health and more focus on making myself happy... And I guess it kinds of work (I think, hehe =P) I slowly swap all the expensive over the counter skincare with a more natural solution, which I get from google mostly, thank god for technology ^^ And among the one that work wonders for me is this D-I-Y Lemon-Aid! 

Okay, the pic above here are the stuff you going to need for this beauty project; fresh lemons + empty bottle for storage (I'm using my Benefit Woman Seeking Toner used bottle ♥) + facial cottons + filtered water (not in the picture) + a knife and a pitcher... You can find all these in your kitchen or get it at your nearest hypermarket! It's a very affordable acne treatment for cheapskate like me =P

Firstly, you have to roll the lemons on a clean surface for a few times to get juice flowing nicely, and then cut the lemons in half. Squeeze out the juices from the lemons as much as you can and get rid of everything else but the juice... Add a little filtered water to your juice and let it cool in your fridge before you bottled it up =) 2 lemons are good enough for my one week usage, I'm afraid the juice will be rotten after one week because I don't refrigerated it... To use it, just apply generously with you facial cotton at the scars and acne area. Make sure you clean your face first before you do so and let it soak in and dry out. Super easy, don't you think?

I had used it for about one month now and I love the brightening effect it gave to my acne scars, I also noticed that my acne doesn't pop out as frequent as it used to... It may hurt a little since lemon is acidic, but no pain, no gain, right? And the best thing about it, it's cheap, easy and natural so you don't have to worry about side effects, sweet isn't it? And if it doesn't work out for you, you can always make lemonade, wink2

Price Tag...

Every good stuff got a price, and yes I wonder how they can sleep at night (coz it can keep me up all night sometimes to figure out ways to have it =P) This is my interpretation of Jessie J's - Price Tag lyrics which I knew most of us can relate to, wink2 Benefit Cosmetic had their own prestige and price tag of course, with their whimsical packaging and brilliant potions that always speak to me and close to my heart @_@

Benefit definitely had a magnetic power to lure me to the dark side (I mean my broke side =D) My recent visit to the Benefit Cosmetic Parkson KLCC had proven very2 worthwhile because not only I discovered the new attraction that will soon coming to our shore, but get this girls, they're reducing all their products price in Malaysia this year, yeay!!!! I can finally save more money and buy more stuff, double yeay!!! @_@ You can expect from RM5-RM20 (or more...) less than original price for every items, weeeeee~

The reason they're reducing their price here according to one of the SA is to standardize the Benefit Cosmetic pricing in Asia, thank god for the great news, now I can happily Bene-spree, hihi =P By the way, don't forget to check out some of the new stuff like Hello Flawless in liquid form, Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow, a repackage of Boo Boo Zap, Cabana Glama palette, blush in a box Hervana and a new twist of High Brow, High Brow Glow =) I can't hardly wait to welcome all the new addition to the Benefit family ^_^

HELLO FLAWLESS OXYGEN WOW =)



BOO BOO ZAP ^^

HERVANA ^_~



HIGH BROW GLOW n_n

[Giveaway] Win The Day...

Do you guys still remember my giveaway couple of weeks ago? I did take my very own sweet time to announce the winner cause I can't help but loving all of it, hehe =P

It's quite hard for me to pick just one winner for this giveaway so I had to ask for my dear sisters assistance in order to select the best entry which caught our attention the most and deserve to bring back home Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude, an ultimate must have for a makeup addict =)

After hours of deliberating and debating, we all mutually agreed that the most creative entry for my blog giveaway should goes to...........

HARIM HAMDAN

Congratulation Harim!!! I'll contact you soon, dear~ n_n You can check out her entry below ^_^ We all choose her because of the simplicity creativity of her post... As for the others who didn't win, stay tune for more giveaways in the future ya ^^ Thank you all for your support and till then, stay gorgeous babes @_@

The One That Got Away...

It would be unfair to say goodbye to 2011 without at least glancing back to all the beautiful memories it represent. My oh my, what a great year 2011 turn out to be and I'm nothing but thankful for all the good fortune that fall upon me, wink2 Okay, now It's time to do the recap for the 10 most memorable stuff that took place in yours truly un-eventful life last year, hihi =P 

1) A Tiger by the Tail ^^

After intense grueling, pleading, and spending, I managed to collect all the 60 stamps needed in order to obtain this cute little Tigger (one of the characters in Winnie The Pooh), you have no idea the hell I've been going through to get this little fella, I for one have no wishes whatsoever to repeat this whole ordeal all over again but the wonderful feeling after possessing this baby is certainly classified as "I'm over the moon" kind of feeling, it's beyond awesome!!! This actually a surprise birthday gift to my significant other who have a weird fond-ness for anything Tiger related stuff except Tiger Beer of course, hehe x) 

2) Life is a Beach n_n

This unique picture of our family vacation at Pulau Pehentian made it into the New Straits Times travel column in the middle of March 2011, cool isn't it? I never really thought our funny pose will be chosen as the winner of their weekly travel giveaway but luck certainly shining bright for me in 2011 =) The prize is a weekend getaway at Corus Paradise, Port Dickson that I used to celebrate my sister birthday but it's not the prize that really intrigued me at that time actually... The once in a lifetime opportunity to imprint our family sweetest time in view of thousands others and our daily newspaper is definitely hard to pass on, I still remember the moment and the surprise shriek coming from my mother when she read the newspaper that day, hee~

3) Two is Better than One @_@

Early April last year, I was fortunately given a rare chance to meet up, close and personal with the Annie & Maggie Ford Danielson, the daughters and nieces of my favorite makeup brand, Benefit Cosmetic founders, Jean and Jane Ford =) The moment was so surreal, and I had to pinch myself a few times to believe it!!! They're both my beauty icons and I really look up to their sheer geniuses in creating a very fabulous line of makeup, I'm such a big fans of the brand and meeting both of them definitely deserve a big highlight in my book!!! They both are very warm, friendly and approachable in person and I can't get my eyes off their effortless beauty and height, I felt very much like a midget next to them, haha =D  

 

 4) Foot-loose ^_~

As written in my previous post, I bought myself a rather unusual birthday gift last year to compensate for my lack of "music & me time" in the last couple of years, hihi =P I had the best-est musical experience in my whole lifetime in this one night performance from my favorite band since forever, Switchfoot!!! I don't mind to relive the moment again and again for even twice the price, coming from someone who barely make ends meet, it certainly speaks volume of their performance aura, wink2

5) It's my birthday!!! ^_^

My 2011 birthday celebration is quite different last year I must say since I'm celebrating it with my love one for the very first time =) We're hundreds miles apart so seeing each other frequently is definitely not an option and a luxury that we can't afford T-T But he did came all the way even after a hectic day to spend my birthday with me ^^ He even surprised me with my favorite flower, white lily and an instrument I've been eye-ing for quite sometime, ukelele... I love both gift so so so very much!!! =) 

 

6) Tie the knot =)

One of the main highlights of my 2011 life is none other than my best friend forever (it's 14 years to be exact, hee~) Deya engage to be married day with her now fiancee, Alfian... Knowing her for almost half my life, I'm very2 happy that she finally met someone who treat her right and someone that I highly approve, hehe =P She deserve a guy who love her unconditionally and I knew that she did get it right this time around... They both are perfect for each other, I couldn't think of better person who could complete her the way he did!!! I'm wishing you guys the very best, be nice to each other okay,@_@

7) Who's that girl? n_n

Another milestone that I reach last year was I finally succeed in my vain attempt to wear contact lenses, fake lashes and blue-ey eyeshadows, hehe =P I'm too afraid to wear lenses before and too lazy to master the art of wearing falsies, LOL After I figured out the way and experimenting with lots of neon colors, I can proudly say that blue is no longer included in my "NAY" eyeshadow shades list, it certainly took me quite a long time to get it right but I'm so happy nevertheless with the results, I only have two more colors challenge to conquer, yellow and red which I'm in no rush to pursue yet ^_~

8) Lucky Strike @_@

2011 really2 was my luckiest year ever, I won not only 1,2 but 3 big concerts tickets from big names like Micheal Buble, Maroon 5 and 30 Seconds to Mars!!! Life is good, hee~ ^^ I won a lot of other stuff too from perfumes, skincare, book, handbag and even a hotel stay, I felt very2 lucky and surprised actually because I have no idea that I'll be on my winning streak for the rest of the year... Now,I witness it first hand that you do gain a lot more when you give more, may 2012 bring me more luck and excitement, wink2

9) Aye Aye Captain x)

During the Merdeka's month last year, Fly FM had came up with their own version of Captain America named Captain Malaysia (no surprise there obviously, LOL) which planned to help out 54 different Malaysians to overcome their difficulties in everyday life... I'm just trying my luck there and submit my application, little that I know I'm among the lucky 54 who had been granted a visit not only by Captain Malaysia but all the Fly FM's Rock Pagi Crews, yeay!!! I will not unveil what I had been asking for from them because It's quite embarrassing actually to even mention it here but it really2 made my day (and week too to be honest =P), to have all of them paid me a visit, hehe X) The only regret I have was not having my digicam with me at that time to capture the moment~ =(

10) The One That Got Away =P

The last but not least of my favorite highlights of 2011 was I finally brave enough to took the challenge of uploading my very own Youtube video, hehe =P I'm not even close to perfect but I'm very2 proud of myself for going through the motion and producing my very first Youtube cover... I now have a brand new respect for all the Youtubers because it's not as easy as it look, my singing and plucking were all over the place and I couldn't trust myself to speak even a little in this video because I'm afraid my voice will betray me, hahaha =D I do get a lot of positive reviews from my friends, and I'm looking forward to produce more covers in the future ^^

Dare You To Move...

I missed their first show in KL few years ago and I decided back then, nothing can stop me from going to their concert in Malaysia again, I even planned to go to their Singapore show if they didn't drop by at KL, thank god I didn't have to do that, they adjusted their tour dates at the very last minutes and make an appearance at Kompleks Mutiara, Sentul on 1st May =)

I can spend hours just talking about my fav band in this world, Switchfoot and still I can't justified their musical influences in me in just one mere day. Big words, I know but Switchfoot, despite it's roots is really2 one of the best-est band I could ever think of (I'm bias but lots of peeps out there can vouch for their work you know, lol) I'm so inspired to play guitar because of them and the first song that I learn to play is "You" from Switchfoot itself =P

I never heard of Kompleks Mutiara before but my love for Jon Foreman and his band drove me to the hunted place with my sis... Because of the un-popular choice of location, it felt very much like an underground gig that only a few chosen one selected to attend, which added the mystery to the concert itself, wink2 

We waited quite a while before the band show up, thanks to the technical problems from the organizer, haih =_= Like usual, the band charmed me from the very start and continue to do so till the end of the show @_@ I must said, I enjoy myself way too much and loving their non stop energetic performance ^^ This is by far the best birthday gift I ever got for myself and the best concert I had the honor to be a part of!!!

Anyway, I dislike the opening act, Busco which sound very much like Bunkface, and they sang like forever and bored me to death, huhu~ I think all 1,000 fans that present that day must felt the same way too because as soon as the light dimmed and the spotlight focus on the band name on stage, everyone were shrieking like crazy!!! After 7 studio albums and 15 years in the business, Switchfoot definitely know how to build up their audience anticipation and suspense...

They started the night with The Sound from their latest album Hello Hurricane, before singing their hits like Stars and a very emotional version of Your Love Is A song (one of my personal fav) The show goes on with Awakening, which Jon sang with his brother who also in the band, Tim Foreman... The crowd getting crazier and crazier as they keep up the momentum with Needle And Haystack Life before the light were dimmed again...

This time around, they coming back again with their all time hits, Dare You To Move taken from A Walk To Remember OST, which without a doubt was the crowd's favorite... This song brought them an overnight fame and a huge mainstream break to the band in the industry =)

Switchfoot not only sing with their heart, their passion for music clearly illustrated with the beautiful melody and lyrics, eventhough their words were debated for being preaching and gospel-ly at times, I guess different people decipher and interpret it differently, so I'm cool with that ^_^ I'm on board with the music which keep on evolving over the years but their humble personality still remain very much the same...

Being the hyper performer that he always identified with, Jon jumped to beat, even go as far as climb the stage with 16 hits after hits from their current and previous albums and urged us to sing along and be in the moment with him and the music...

I'm quite close to the stage and as you can see from the pictures, Jon Foreman is cuter and hotter than I can ever imagine, he get us on fire not only with his guitars but harmonika as well and keep us rockin' throught out the night =) he's one heck of energizer bunny I must say, hihi =P I had nothing but respect for a guy who can play guitar beautifully complete with a sexy voice, I guess I'm still a big sucker for cute guys who musically proficient, wink2

Unfortunately, all good thing must come to the end, the almost 2 hour musical journey seem to goes by way too fast and I can't help but wanting the night to never stop =( Malaysia, being the last leg for their South East Asian tour clearly not the last thing on their mind... Before leaving the stage, the band not only leave it with style but words that warm up all their Malaysian's fans, hehe =P Taken from Jon Foreman's twitter; "I think we saved the best for last. Malaysia, tonight will be one we will never forget!" Yes, we won't forget you for sure and we'll hold to your promise to come back again next year, wink2



Till then, this is my special pose with the concert banner after the show and I dare all of you to move and switching your foot to 2012, adieu~ @_@

Steal @ splurge...

I think the money I spend on cosmetic had escalated dangerously during every Christmas season, which always made me felt bad for a little while, but like an addictive drug, I can't help but falling into the loop over and over again... I might regret some of it later but right now, these are my babies, my happy pills and my guilty pleasure @_@

You know how it feels when you're a kid and walk into a candy shop? It's exactly the same with me, I get the similar excitement everytime I step my foot in my favorite cosmetic store, it's a very2 fantastic feeling to try every single stuff that I fancy and use it to my heart content... Anyway, I've stray away from the thing I wanna blog about which is my 2011 Christmas haul, behold the beauty peeps, wink2

 

Estee Lauder Blockbuster Set - RM250 

My verdict : IT'S A SPLURGE!!!

Okay, I must be honest, I'm not impress at all with any Estee Lauder Christmas Set this year, I think it's the same thing all over again but with different packaging and slightly different color selection. 

The quality for this set is so-so only especially the eyeshadow set, the blushers are awesome though... Since my mum adore this so much, me and my sis decided to bought this set for her birthday few weeks ago and I'm very happy to say that she still very much in love with it to date n_n

Sephora Makeup Studio Blockbuster - RM179 

My verdict : IT'S A STEAL!!!

This is a pretty good investment in my part I think, the shades are very2 nice and with 96 eyeshadows, I got plenty to play with, yeay!!! I just don't get it why there are so many lip glosses in this set, who'll actually wear some of the colors in the real world? =_= 

This definitely a great tool for makeup artist, lots of colors to experiment with and it comes with eyeliners and mascara too, the shades are quite intense and pigmented, with the price, it's certainly a bargain I can't refuse, hehe =P

Benefit Cosmetic Website Haul - USD125 (approximately RM400)

My verdict : IT'S A STEAL!!!

As much as I love Benefit Cosmetic, I think it's outrageously priced here in Malaysia, and they didn't valued their regular customer such as myself that much, so I had to resort to another sources, which more reasonably price and gave me freebies without even asking...

Thank god for Benefit Cosmetic Website that provides lots of great deal from time to time for their customer =) My total purchase which will cost me twice the amount here, entitle me to free shipping and free Benefit Thrrob face powder, definitely a very huge steal in my book!!! I'll never turn back to retail shopping again, this I can definitely promise you ^_^

Lush Christmas Candy Box Set - $67.50 (approximately RM170)

My verdict : IT'S A SPLURGE!!!

I have a mixed feeling about it, especially since I knew that Lush Singapore were giving 35% discount for all their Christmas Gift set on the boxing day =( Anyway, I have Hanna to thank for this gift set, she bought it for me during her Singapore trip last week, thanks babe @_@

Lush goodies are so delicious and to die for, it may be a bit expensive compare to any other bath products but it's definitely a nice treat for yourself and a great way to lift up your mood after having a bad day n_n There are 6 products in this set; 2 soaps, 1 shower gel, 1 lip tint, 1 bubble bar & 1 bath ballistic... and every single of them smells so divine, and it make me wishing for a bathtub more than ever now, T-T

Shu Uemura WKW Collection Drowning in Flames palette - RM198

Shu Uemura WKW Collection Brush Set - RM190

My verdict : IT'S A SPLURGE!!!

This is without a doubt is definitely a splurge, which I won't buy unless I'm very2 in lust with it, hihi =P Fortunately enough for me, this is a gift from my dear "Santa", who really2 know how to make me a very2 happy kid, wink2 I love the selection of shades for this particular palette, purple + pink + gold, it's refreshing and the packaging too, it's stunning and breathtaking, this collection definitely mesmerize me the most among other Christmas collection this year!!!

That's why I save the best for last, wink2 The brush set is so awesome and work wonderfully with the eyeshadows, I'm in love~ @_@ If I don't count the brush case, I guess this set is perfect for me and it's a very2 worthy buy if you're looking for a great stuff with a good quality =) 

My hypothesis :-

AYNA + MONEY = MAKEUP

MAKEUP = BROKE 
AYNA = BROKE T-T