Being A Vainpot

Being a vainpot is really not fun at all, it used to be but not after having a baby... There are so many beauty regimes to follow every day and yet so little time to do so. Nowadays, it's super common for me to knock out without any lotion or cream as I don't even have much time to rest, just let the guilt set in :'(

But!!! That doesn't mean I give up on chasing the youth fountain, I'm just taking some time off now and then :p Here, my beautiful report card that compiles with some of my current fave beauty products and also a super duper effective microcurrent facial toning device! Although it takes me so long to share, I'm sure you won't mind it at all ^___^V


#1 The Givenchy Photo Perfection Liquid Foundation which I adore so much! H.E.R.E is a pic of me wearing it for the very first time, flawlessly & effortlessly beautiful~~ I mean the foundation itself lah of course...


#2 Also, I bought the Givenchy Eclat Matissime Fluid Foundation the day before I departed. They are both equally great, although I think this one suits M'sia weather better; I personally like its airy & radiant matte effect ;)


#3 The Benefit samples that I received from Sephora as birthday pressies are super awesome! Highly recommend these two, especially the Benetint! Loving my rosy cheeks every day~~


#4 When it comes to defining Asian eyebrows, Kate eyebrow palette is irreplaceable. Restock it right away once I got home.


#5 Last but certainly not least, I'd like to introduce the ultimate beauty device that I'm having love affair with... NuFace Trinity Microcurrent Facial Toning Device, the only handheld microcurrent device with FDA approval. These all come in with a classy hard box but I eliminate it to save luggage space for BB #worldsbestmom


#6 Very user friendly and ergonomic.

To be frank, I was a little hesitate before getting one and was debating between the Nuface and the NuSkin device... After giving it some serious thoughts, I think nothing beats return policy & customer protection in the U.S., thus I ordered one and got it right in time, right before the week I went home. Thanks Nuface for making me a very satisfied customer since then :D You should really check out its website or google this cool technology because it really works!

Now, hold your jaw as I'm gonna show you the breakthrough result... After using it on one side of my face for about 5 mins, followed by the guide/instruction available online...


#7 Wooooo Hoooo... It's quite obvious, isn't it?


#8 A teeth showing pic :p


#9 Super closed-up. It helps tightening the pores and minimizing fine lines too~~

Btw, every single pic here is fresh from Siew Bak (my iPhone 4S), took them 40mins ago (yup, at midnight) and with zero retouching, but I did use Camera360 (an iPhone app) to make my skin appears to be more "presentable," hehe... And, bare face of course but wearing FreshKon cosmetic lenses~~


#10 Ohh... Almost miss this out... Brands Berry Essence with Grape Seed Extract is one of many nutritional supplements that I'm consuming now, love fueling my skin with lots of vitamins & antioxidants :p

Supple and healthy skin can be made/maintained as we age, my very own beauty philosophy lah. Thus, the next beauty topic on BS is going to be the Vitamin C injection that I'm getting lately, wakaka... Can't wait to share it with you, so stay tuned!


P/s: Jeez, it's 1.36am now, I work overtime today! Will revise this posting tomorrow, gonna catch some beauty sleep before it's toooooo late, 24 mins to go... N.I.T.E!!!



XOXO,
Bev



 

Drugstore Products Review

#1 Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipsticks: 1) 202 crush, 2) 170 Alarm ★★★★✩
Love its soft & smooth texture, quite pigmented but not super long-lasting. Go for it if you're looking for a boost of subtle color at a reasonable price point. Worth every penny ;)


#2 Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo ★★★★✩
A complimentary birthday gift from Sephora. Fresh is not really a drugstore brand but judging from the fact that I got these for free, I might as well do a quick review on them. Cute packaging, pleasantly scented with SPF 15, pretty hydrating and moisturizing for daily lips protection. Would recommend them :)


#3 Carmex Moisturizing Lip Balm (Original) ★★★✩✩
Extremely affordable, unscented, and I personally enjoy the minty tingling sensation :p It's kinda refreshing. However, it won't promise an instant healing effect on chapped & dried lips, unlike my all-time-favorite Kielh's Lip Balm #1. Still, I love having them sitting around every corner of my house so that I can just snap & apply whenever my lips need a little comfort.


#4 CoverGirl Cheekers Blush Natural Shimmer 103 ★★★✩✩
Perfect for a neutral touch in summer, not too glittery yet it brings peachy shines to your cheeks. Easy to blend and quite pigmented. Be careful while handling it, it's quite fragile, I dropped it on the floor right after I bought it and the blusher almost popped out @.@


#5 CoverGirl Bronzer Copper Radiance 102 ★★★✩✩
Bought this to go with CoverGirl Cheekers Blush Natural Shimmer 103. A great bargain, and I adore its natural sun-kissed glow. Won't use it everyday, but definitely worth a try~~


#6 Vasaline Healthy Hand & Nail Conditioning Lotion ★★✩✩✩
Bought this at Safeway months ago because I forgot to bring L'occitane hand cream with me. I'm one of those hand cream fanatics who can't live without hand cream, and I usually stuff all my bags with a travel size tube (and lip balm too), will go crazy and super insecure if I don't have them in my bag @.@ Anyway, I'm just ok with Vasaline hand lotion, a bit too greasy and most importantly I do not appreciate its scent. Will try my best to finish it but won't buy it again.


#7 DUO eyelash adhesive: 1) Clear-white, 2) Dark-tone ★★★★✩
Essentials and they both work equally great to me, depends on my eye makeup of the day of course! Dry quickly, hold all day long, easy to apply and remove. Falsie lovers, go get them N.O.W!


#8 Eyebrow Pencil with Brush from Daiso, Taipei ★★★★★
It deserves 5 stars, no doubt, it's my current favorite eyebrow pencil! The brush comes in handy while shaping the brows and the shades precisely matches my skin tone & eye color. A.R.G.H, I wanna stock it up so bad!!! Do we have this in Daiso Malaysia? Or Daiso U.S?


*Side Note*
Cut down a lot on skin care and cosmetic products ever since I got pregnant, missing facial mask, body scrubs, bubble bath, essential oil massage, and all those chemical-heavy self-indulgences that I used to abuse :p Just couple more weeks to go before claiming my vain life back. Muahahahahahahaha...

Hope you enjoy this simple review still~~



Warmest regards,
Bev

Hey, What Are You Reading?

Hello BS-ers,

Does my recent frequent updates hype you up a bit? Cherish & savor it while you can cause I'm mysteriously planning to abandon my blog after this month. Ok, obviously it's no longer a secret :p Just so you know. And also to kinda give you a heads up so that you won't feel awkwardly abandoned when I abruptly vanish into thin air or leave this place unannounced... I'll definitely miss you all. Although the interaction between us has been decreased dramatically (why ah?), I know you all are still hitting, clicking and reading BS. Thank you. I think I also ran out of reasons to keep you around since I myself have been experiencing some sort of writer's block. Well, I'm not really a writer kinda writer but I do write (a bit, BS is photo-heavy in case you are a newbie) so maybe now is a good time to divert your attention to something I've been real engaging with...

Nothing too fancy. Just books. As straightforward as it sounds. Not many but worth sharing still.


#1 Spent most of my days reading while stuffing myself like a pig at home. This book, as many of you have asked about, is called...


#2 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (from Amazon.com). It's hilarious yet intense and I personally find the cultures dilemmas as well as the motherhood's emotional roller coaster ride Amy experienced intriguingly fun. Jeez, I can totally relate myself to what she'd been through. Finished this one in just T.W.O days, need I say more?


#3 And you've requested me to share about this book too...


#4 Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. Just finished it this noon, a little heavyhearted though, I'm still lingering on Sadie's cheerful & feisty spirit, I think Lara Lington feels the same too. Should have taken my own sweet time on this... Btw, I picked this book at Goodwill (when I stopped by that area for Sunday brunch) for only a dollar, yup, US$1, tra la la la (^__^)V


#5 sMothering by Wendy French. Ok, Also grabbed this one, nothing can beat a dollar-deal :D Haven't flicked on this yet, guess I'm going after this next. The plot builds around a twenty-something American girl living in Portland, Oregon... It's Portland, you see!!! I just have to grab it. No doubt.


#6 Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (from Barnes & Noble). Hastily bought this the night before my Cancun trip, with an image of myself enjoying an easy read while listening the soothing sounds of ocean waves from the Caribbean... Obviously, I think too much; it didn't happen as I planned and this book is all new still.


#7 Looking Glass: A Special Edition of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (from Barnes & Noble). I'm half way through this one and I stopped reading it at page 62. Honestly don't think I can ever finish it, especially now that I'm preggie with a baby girl. Just too much for me, sorry Susie Salmon (T____T)


#8 Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews (from Barnes & Noble). It was on sales, like 50% off or so, no wrong to add it in my book collection I thought and yup, it's brand new still, I haven't get any chance to gaze at it yet :p


I know you're probably raising your eyebrows at me right now, why buying when you don't even have time to read? Ah ha... I do have time to read and I read everyday, just that I'm prioritizing on different genre instead...


#9 From Vogue, Vanity Fair, ViVi, Popteen to all these mama magazines... It's quite a dramatic change I'd say in terms of mentality and lifestyle. But hey, these magazines are free copies, picked them up at my OB's office, Y.A.H.O.O~~ See, always look on the bright side of life :D


#10 Then from The Devil Wears Prada and That Extra Half an Inch to this one... Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 (from Amazon.com).

What the hell, I know, please excuse me for a moment. %$#%^&*^%$#@$%^&%$#@%^&

It feels so much better after blurping it out. Ok, let's get serious now. This book is recommended by Marsha, a mother of two and a real good friend of mine. It's super insightful and informative, be prepared to familiarize yourself with new medical terms and vocabs though. It preps me for in-depth conversations with OB & pediatrician, and this significant knowledge eventually led to conscious decisions... Truly think it's a bible to all first-time-parents. Thanks Marsha ;)


#11 The book is about 2 inches thick, covering basic knowledge and advanced finding that will answer all common medical and parenting questions.


#12 Apgar Scores.


#13 Vaccinations and shots. I actually snapped this page and showed it to the pediatrician I chose for BB during our vaccinations discussion, guess what, she's having the same copy too. Not to my surprise, but it's a total reassurance to know that this book is a reliable guide.


#14 Before I Say "Yes, I Do" by Angelica Lee. 《在我说愿意之前》李心洁. BFF Eling presented this to me, the night before my wedding. Thanks, dear~~


#15 翻开斑斑的记忆 by 李忠勳. Yup, it's by Jimmy Lee, my pre-wedding photographer in Taiwan (click H.E.R.E to read more).


#16 The words on the back cover: “有时候拍照不只是拍照而已，而是关心这片土地，是倾听人的心跳，是感觉自己还活着。” So touching & super inspirational~~


#17 On this page, he wrote:

“2010年，飞鱼记忆美术馆有一个梦想要去完成。我们赶在出书之前把第一个梦想作品放了进来。明年，梦想继续。《脸的皱褶。半世纪环岛婚纱》飞鱼帮老人拍婚纱的环岛希望计划。请帮我们把这件事传达出去， 这是个完全自发性完全免费的活动，在飞鱼心里有一件重要的事情，那就是每一个人的回忆。也许在你们身旁的朋友身边有一张皱褶的脸需要或等待着被纪录，请告诉他们飞鱼也正在做，让我们一起为这个梦想加油。

我记得小时候看爸爸妈妈的脸，那回忆好清晰，尽管经过岁月的冲刷与累积，脑海里的印象仍旧挥之不去。从身高只到爸妈的腰间，然后肩膀，然后超越他们成为大人，在学校拼学业，在外头忙碌工作，离开家乡离开家人，好久好久以后回过头，那张温暖而皱褶的脸，那脸孔如此熟悉又陌生，我们已经忽略了很多年，皱褶里藏了什么样的心情，那就像是永远说不出口的秘密，不会跟孩子说的秘密。

每一张脸都是在诉说着半个世纪的故事，我们准备把故事纪录下来。” －－ 飞鱼记忆美术馆



Karin bought me this as a gift & souvenir, I'm not sure where you can order it or how much it cost, guess you can only get it in Taiwan. But if you are very keen to get one, feel free to drop me an email or shoot me a msg on Facebook, I'll try to hook you up with Fei Yu.

Hope you enjoy this post. Have a great weekend in case I do not have time to blog tomorrow (*^___^*)



Take care,
Bev

More Apps

My burgeoning belly keeps me up real early this morning, not much to do except organizing Siew Bak's home screen... Some of the apps are installed ages ago but some are recently added; anyway, this's just a semi-compilation of my current fave apps, not planning to go into details because they are quite a number of them that I'd love to share...


#1


#2 LINE Camera is really cute~~


#3


#4


#5


#6 Highly recommend these two apps to all mums-to-be, love the kick counter & contraction timer (*^___^*)


#7 Bedtime stories for BB~~


#8 Love reading educational stories to her too! It's never too early to start instilling/teaching good manners :p


#9 Ok, I should come clean. Actually it's me that adore all the readings and bedtime stories, wakaka!!! Mama Bev just can't help it :p

Is there any cool apps I missed out here? Or you have got something cooler to suggest? ;)



Best,
Bev

A is for Apps!

Yoo Hoo~~ Appreciate the responses I received from my previous iPhone Apps post! It's like an idea-exchange and discussion platform for iPhone apps lovers; I downloaded some useful apps recommended by you guys too such as BatteryDoctor & Pic Lock 2. Thanks for sharing!

Despite the utterly popular 美图秀秀 app that I can't live without, here are some of the iPhone apps I've downloaded and deeply felt in love with lately. Guess what, they are all F.R.E.E (although some are free for a limited time)!


#1 My Melody wallpaper for 2012, cute or not? ;)




#2 Crop. Super easy to use and I'd highly suggest Apple to include this feature in their own photo App. That'd make our lives so much easier :p




#3 Frametastic. Wait til you see this before spending US$0.99 on Diptic (another awesome photo collages app that helps combining multiple photos in no time). I wouldn't say Frametastic is better than Diptic but, they are equally fun to play with and are priced the same. Good news is, Frametastic is now free for a limited time! Grab it now or regret forever :D


#4 Cincai created this pic via Frametastic.




#5 Photo Timer. Another great app that's free for a limited time only. Don't feel left out, go get in the group pic!




#5 RealCoverLite. Just to celebrate the narcissistic side of me. LOL...


#6 Teeheehee...




#7 PS Express. Adore its basic editing features such as color/brightness adjustments, filters, effects, etc. Worth having and toying around with~~


#8 Before.


#9 After. Again, I cincai edited this one, spent less than 2 secs, I'm sure you can do better than this ;)



Came across any great apps recently? Share with me please!!! (*^___^*)



XOXO,
Bev