Review: Guerlain Blanc de Perle Lightening UV Base Brightening Pearl Perfection

Wow, only 4 days left in 2012. I hope it was a great year for everyone. It was a very challenging year for me, in almost every way. Am praying for a great 2013! :)

Well, today I shall review the Guerlain Blanc de Perle Lightening UV Base Brightening Pearl Perfection SPF 30. I have used this for about 6 weeks now and I absolutely LOVE it! 

The pink spot on the tube denotes that it is the pink toned-version. They also have a beige-toned one, but because my skin has pink undertones and I love having a rosy, glowy look, I went with the pink-toned base (which was also recommended by the beauty advisor (BA) at the Guerlain counter). Initially I wanted to get the Blanc de Perle UV Shield Brightening Pearl Perfection SPF 50 as I felt that SPF 30 might be a little inadequate for our tropical sun. But after consultation with the BA, I decided to try the SPF 30 first and only move on to SPF 50 if I felt that I still needed it. 

I only started using this a few days after I bought it because I wanted to finish off the remnants of my previous tube of sunscreen/base. Of course I had tried it at the Guerlain counter before purchasing it, but I have had some products which felt so nice at the counter, but disappointed me after a few weeks of usage. This was definitely NOT the case with this UV base!!

The moment I squeezed a tiny amount out of the tube, I was in love with it. It is this lovely, light-textured emulsion with an iridescent pink tone. It has this light powdery, floral fragrance that may turn some people off as I know not too many people are fond of fragrance in skincare. I adore the scent though. Makes me feel pretty... hahaha...

                              (pardon the tanned hand!)                                               

When applied evenly onto my skin....

                                   Doesn't it look lovely?                                                             

                                                               

I must say that the pics really don't do justice to the product. 

At first I was afraid that it would end up looking like an oily mess on my face after a few hours (tends to happen to me with many European brands), but under Guerlain's Lingerie de Peau foundation and a dusting of Meteorites Perles D'Azur, it still stayed nice, rosy and glowy, and my skin remained dewy. The BA mentioned that I needn't use any foundation over this, but me being me, I never leave the house without a little bit of foundation. 

After 6 weeks, it has kept my freckles the same (I LOVE my freckles, don't get me wrong, I just don't like them getting bigger or darker), so I really didn't have to worry about SPF 30 not being adequate. :P

The verdict: A DEFINITE REPURCHASE!

The only downside I can think of to this is that, if bought on its own, it costs RM193, which is a heck of a lot of dough to spend on a UV base. But now and then Guerlain has some best buy sets and I bought both this AND the Blanc de Perle essence (RM410) for only RM455. So at RM45? Definitely a steal! :D

Has anyone else tried this one before? 

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My First Makeup Review: Sephora Le Waterproof Extreme Resistance Mascara

Bought this in September from Sephora KLCC.  It came in a set, a mini 11ml tube together with a 50ml bottle of Sephora Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover for RM69 (if I remember correctly). After 3 months of using it, thought it was time for a review. 

I love mascara. It's something I use on a daily basis, and I've gone through many, many tubes of various brands, and so many different types within each brand. So given the rather reasonable price of Sephora's house-brand cosmetics as compared to the rest, I decided to give this a shot. 

The first time I used Le Waterproof, I felt it was a pretty average, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary mascara. It has no fragrance and is slightly thick in texture (which gets a bit clumpy after a while). It comes with a brush wand that is slightly tapered at the end. I have naturally long and curly lashes so it doesn't take much to accentuate them. This mascara just basically made my lashes more visible. Did not have any extra curl effect nor did it lengthen them. 

But oh my, they really weren't kidding when they said 'Extreme Resistance'!

Each time I wanted to remove this, I had to soak a cotton pad with eye makeup remover (yes, I used the one that came in the set), and then  press the cotton pad on my eyelashes and leave it to work on them for about a minute or so before the mascara would come off! And even then, it would take an eyelash or two along with it! :( The only other time this used to happen was when I tried one of the waterproof Avon mascaras some time back. Sigh. 

After 3 months, Le Waterproof is still useable, but I honestly feel like tossing it out already, no thanks to the amount of eyelashes it took off, and that it is already getting clumpy and I have to keep using an eyelash comb to get rid of the clumps of mascara after each application. 

So well, if you are looking for a mascara that will stay on for a whole day, or while you go for a swim, this certainly makes the cut.  If you don't mind removing your eyelashes along with it at the end of the day, that is. 

Has anyone else tried this? What do you think of it?

Vroom

The last few days have been pretty interesting. But this will only be a short entry cos I have to get ready to catch a flight later. 

Been thinking about my car a lot. I miss her a lot, obviously. She's still work in progress but God-willing she should be back with me in a few weeks. 

Yesterday had a new client referred to me. One of them high-profiled ones. As I walked into her driveway, I was drooling at the cars parked there. Makes me wanna dream... 

Ok ok gotta go. 

Junkie

Lately, I've noticed a pattern on my personal spending over the years.

In my teens all I bought were CDs. Probably spent most of my allowance on them. If I remember correctly, when I was in Form 4, I was given RM40 a week, which added up to RM160 a month. Part of that was spent on food for recess and ECAs, some on the really, really long phone calls I was made to pay for (yes, dulu kan zaman gayut telephone :D), and the rest on CDs. I remembered buying 2-3 CDs a month. Which meant that I spent up to RM120 each month on CDs. Did food really cost that little back then? It wasn't that long ago that I was 16. Or was it? :P

In my 20s, beginning from after I graduated from uni, I was into designer stuff. Clothes, bags, shoes... you name it, I just HAD to have it. Seriously. It got worse when I was flying. Designer stuff AND makeup. I was a regular at MAC. From the time I started flying, I have probably spent literally thousands on makeup, especially eyeshadows and lip-glosses. 

At least while I was flying I had a reason to buy all that makeup. The thing is, my makeup fetish hasn't stopped. If anything, it's probably worse now than before. But it's a good thing that I'm into the natural, nude look now, so colourful eyeshadows tempt me less. Not much less, but good enough that I am able to stop myself from buying them now. Most times, at least. I still go a bit nuts each time I walk into Sephora. 

Now that I'm in my 30s, the other thing I splurge on is skincare. I have never really had any problems with my skin, other than the occasional pimple. Mum first started me on a very basic skincare routine (cleanser, toner, moisturiser) when I was about 12. I remember it was Blackmores natural skincare range and smelled very herb-y. Once she was satisfied that I used them regularly, she graduated me to Clinique's 3-Step skincare. And after that came all the nice brands like Lancôme and Shiseido and Clarins.  

It certainly pays to have taken care of my skin! I have had 23 year old girls thinking I was their age! *smug smirk* 

I don't know whether to call it a downside or upside that I am utterly addicted to makeup and skincare really. Ok, I shall take it as an upside cos I think it probably does more good than bad (the only bad being I spend quite a bit on it every month). 

Since I'm such a junkie maybe I should start writing reviews on the stuff I've tried. Hmmm...

Hiatus

Been an absolute freaking long time since I wrote anything (including Elmo's blog). Been missing it but just could not get my writing mojo back. Today I thought I'd attempt an entry. And hopefully keep at it. 

What I have been up to since I last wrote an entry:

Work

I'm practising full-time now. It's a housecall practice so my time is pretty flexible. But mind you, it can get terribly busy some weeks, which is actually not such a bad thing. 

I do have some new projects in mind which I am working on with the family, but at the moment those are just in the planning stage. 

Family

Well, it's still the 2 of us. Plus the 18 cats. And 3 dogs. 

Mum and my friend Moon have encouraged me to start writing again. I remember when I used to write fiction. For the time being I won't even attempt it. One needs inspiration for that, obviously. Last I wrote pretty interesting stuff was back in secondary school, especially in Form 4 & 5. Banyak betul inspiration, having a boyfriend, breaking up, having one of your closest friends going out with him, the list goes on.... Oh, the drama... 

If anything were to be of inspiration right now it would just be the emotions and lessons from my experiences in recent years. Strange but I seem to be picking up writers and journalists as friends lately. I connect better with them than my vet or stewardess friends. I dunno, like Moon says, she doesn't believe in coincidences, perhaps I was just meant to have these people as friends. 

Oh yes, I still love mangoes. Haha. :P