Somewhat a continuation post from the earlier haul, here are the other 2 random items I had picked up along with my Essence loot.

See what I mean by I am obsessed with nail stuff right now!

The Decorative sticker was about S$12-ish if I'm not wrong and it's basically gel stickers that you stick on and it comes with cute little jewels and designs to further decorate it.

I haven't removed it from it's pack to properly inspect how it works but the gel portion has a soft rubbery curve to it, instead of being a clear flat piece of film.

There are a lot of other designs but I thought this looked really cute.

The next item was something I picked up at the counter. You know, those displays that are placed to deliberately distract you as you wait in the queue? Well, that worked for me this time.

I didn't spot Nail Inc at the Watsons I went to and I wasn't thinking to get magnetic polish so this random purchase just happened.

The magnet is a sole piece without any extra knubs to prop it up etc. There are also instructions on how you can use the magnet to get various designs.

This was my first try at using magnetic polishes so I did a terrible job with it and failed the first time around. The swatch below was just 1 coat of the polish, fairly opaque!

I only painted the ring finger and have A-England's Saint George on the rest of them.

The reason for failure was that the polish had somewhat dried before I could hold the magnet over. You can see very faint black lines above, almost indistinguishable.

The second time, I tried it on my right hand and did it a lot quicker, holding the magnet over straight away without screwing the polish cap back on.

It worked! Well... in a partially fail fashion because the effect was more concentrated on one side but slowly and surely I'll get the hang of it. Don't judge from my swatches but the Golden Rose magnetic shades are quite lovely.

Here is a better shot of this particular polish on muxe.net.

My main gripe, it's so much more expensive here! Well it's not that expensive in polish terms but it is going for about S$15 locally when it retails for, I believe, about 3 Euros or so in Turkey. Tsk...

After this trial experiment, I found a Magnetic polish 101 entry on Scrangie which is very helpful for those new to this.

I think I will have a go at them again, soon... and I don't envision myself using the gel packs just yet. Perhaps nearing the end of April where I may have a reason to head out with flashy nails.

Till then, what are your thoughts on magnetic polishes. Any brands to recommend?

Thanks for reading!

A wee haul, welcoming the work week all over again.

Finally, after an incredibly long time since it's entrance, I decided to give the Essence shelf at Watsons a look. Of course it's almost impossible to walk into Watsons and not be distracted by anything else so here's the overview of what I left the store with.

I'll leave the rest to another entry but a quick rundown of what little I picked up from Essence.

I didn't give the makeup range a good look, probably a scan but nothing really caught my eye. Perhaps I was scanning way too quick but these days my vision hones in to polishes and the only time I really browse makeup is if it catches my eye online, which leads me to checking it out in person.

Like that one time when I got really obsessed with perfumes? This time it's polishes.

At S$2.50 (if I'm not wrong), they are really well priced. It's really no harm in picking up more but I restricted myself to one. Just one (first).

I haven't tried this on my nails just yet but it seems to swatch quite opaque with one coat (on tape). I can't recall the name of this now and don't have it by me but I will update when I have it!

The shade is Sure Azure!

They still had the Ballerina Backstage collection up for display though of course everything was very well rummaged through.

I was interested in the cheek soufflé but alas the Watsons I went by didn't have stock of it anymore. I chanced upon it at others but the whim to purchase yet another unnecessary cheek product had passed.

I went ahead and picked up an eye soufflé though, just cause.

Oddly there weren't any testers in the aisle so I had to do some on-the-spot googling for swatches since I can't recall how they looked and from the vials (when lidded), you honestly can't see a thing!

In the end I picked up Pas De Copper, a shade that I would seem to use. Though I was quite disappointed that the texture isn't as soufflé as the cheek product.

This is straight out cream... like Benefit's Creaseless Shadows but not as 'slick'.

Nonetheless it's still a nice cream shadow product which I could throw all over my lid any day and make do. I think this was about S$3-ish? Or was it S$4... I could be way off but it wasn't a bad price.

Left: Blended / Right: Heavy Swatch

That's it for my simple and little trip to check out Essence. It seems we don't have the whole arsenal of Essence here and in particular I am eyeing a bunch of the gorgeous polish duos. I didn't see them on the shelves, or perhaps I was scanning too quick.

Iris (rougedeluxe) had featured a couple of these lovely duos but this post showcases one of my fav shades she had swatched.

Any recommendations on what are you using and loving from Essence? Foundation? Liners?

Thanks for reading!

Hello! I hope everyone isn't having a premature case of Monday blues or rather, weekend-ending blues.

A lot was accomplished in this long weekend, from wedding dinners to BBQs and errand running inbetween. Amidst all that, we took a little time out to be touristy today at the Singapore Flyer and here's what I wore, makeup and outfit-wise.

The makeup I donned is yet another neutral look. One of those throw-on-and-go moments, no doubt.

I was trying to go for that no-eyeshadow with eyeshadow look. Incase that doesn't make sense, I would say its a little something like this but a whole lot more natural. Plus it's quicker to sweep a skintone shade all over the lid and work a little at the crease. Okay, I'll admit, I'm just lazy like that.

I'll have to work on perfecting it but it would be such a nifty look to do (once perfected) when in a hurry! Natural yet crisp!

Since the whole look is bordering on 'plain-natural', I revisited the old technique of lacing the lower lashline with a shimmery light tone that instantly brightens the look.

Products Used:

BROW / FACE
SANA New Born Lasting W Brow in LB3
Elizabeth Arden Good Morning Serum
Lancôme Macqui Blanc Miracle Compact

EYES
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Eyeshadow in Brule
Make Up For Ever La Bohème Palette (dark brown)
28 Color Palette (blending + highlight)
Maybelline Autumn Spirit Palette (lightest shade on lower lash line)
CLIO Professional Brush Liner in Black
MAC Powerpoint Liner in Engraved
Dollywink Volume Mascara

CHEEKS
Smashbox powder blush in Prism

LIPS
Maquillage Lasting Rouge Perfect in RD306

Highlighted products were provided by companies/distributors,
I was not obliged to use/feature them in LOTDs.

Simple, casual but yet still a pretty put-together look in my books!

Outfit-wise, I wanted to try something new I got yet also be cosy and comfy at the same time so here's what I wore:

The top is actually this really warm fuzzy knit that used to belong to my mom. It was rather chilly in the day, so to make up for wearing shorts, I threw this knit on.

The high-waisted shorts are from Topshop.

The stockings (yes those are stockings, not high socks!) are from Risque. I received 2 designs from them last Thursday and couldn't wait to try them out! They have a lovely collection available and I'll do a proper introduction soon but here's a preview!

Shoes are from Bangkok.

Another shot of the leggings and domo-bag! Domo-bag is home to my polaroid camera because I can't bear to throw it around in my bags so it has a going-out pouch of it's own.

I love domo~

Incase you are wondering, this is how the 'transparency' of this pair of stockings look like.

Just in case, any of you are heading over to Risque before my intro post, quote 'SARA7' upon checkout and receive a 7% off your order!

And that's that! Thanks for reading!

How did your long weekend or Easter weekend go? Resting? Chocolate feasting?