Friday 28 August 2015

#Playingwithnails

So these are the nail nonsense that I enjoy doing when I can be bothered to look nicer. Cant find the original pictures anymore so most of them ive screencapped from instagram. Just realised that they are not clear. Maybe instagram used to diminish uploaded picture quality? So annoying.













Tuesday 25 August 2015

Lime Crime Velvetines: Bleached



SO... Sa wakas! Finally!!! My long awaited Bleached is here! Thanks Jan for ordering - my Lime Crime representative hahahah. Lime Crime was having free shipping then and it was the perfect moment. I thought I had to wait for ages till the next time I lay my hand on this. 



So my Bleached doesn't have a label like the rest. Hopefully i won't grab the wrong stick when I'm in a hurry. It does look lighter than the other ones though so it's pretty easy to tell it apart, maybe I need to compare it more to Riot. Smells like the other Velvetines - vanilla-ish, which is great, much better than having it smell like very artificial berries I guess. 


All my Velvetines swatches. I think I'm done for all the colours for now. These are probably the only 4 colours that suit me. Maybe till my skin gets lighter which I doubt is possible because I was even tanner once upon a time hahah. 



Met up with Jan at Nanas again and this is what Bleached look on us after our meal. I removed my Cha Cha Tint but it probably still has an orangey residue on my lips so Bleached look a little coloured than it should be on my lips. It looks different on Janice. More nude pink? She had Wicked on before this so maybe it darkened Bleached a little. I think it looks a little orange on me in this picture. 


Maybe it's the lighting that is dulling the colour hahah. 


Another lighting and a closer look. Looks pinkish here. I think finally I can say I have found my nude or light pink shade that I can carry off. It looks alright on my skin finally. Applying Velvetines definitely takes practice. Certain shades I feel you need to spread them out and and certain shades you can just pile on especially if you have very smooth lips. Less is most of the time - definitely more. 


It doesn't look obvious here but I dabbed Suedeberry in the middle portion. Looks better in real life, feels more alive, has more dimensions, not too flat. Maybe its because the splash of orange wakes me up. Riot with Red Velvet at the centre probably will look nice. Has yet to try that out. 

Lime Crime Velvetines
#Bleached

The pros and cons are similar to the other Velvetines I have.

Pros:
This shade suits my yellowish skin tone - doesn't look very off looking.
Very pretty matte shade especially for you who love this look.
Long lasting.
Easily removable at the end of the day.
Smells lovely.

Cons:
Probably too little if you use it everyday, it won't last very long.
Highlights your lip lines.




All the Velvetines on me. Red Velvet really stood out. I would say Suedeberry is still the one that looks the best on me. Riot is a little too dark for my skin. I will use it when I'm feeling a little emo or semi goth hahah.

Review on Red Velvet and Suedeberry is here.
Review on Riot is here.


Friday 14 August 2015

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask



Ordered this some time back when the hype was still on. Kept seeing this online and it was cheaper than retail pricing so I ordered. But the order came almost a month later. It was out of stock even though seller said he's shipped it out - hate this. Lips been peeling like mad as usual... Maybe it's in dire need of much needed H2O. I feel like I've been drinking very little water lately. Substituted by more sugary drinks and alcohol. You really get influenced by people you hang out most with (damn you, Conrado! hahah)



Tube is pretty small but I'm not worried. My sleeping mask lasts me FOREVER. It comes with a silicone tip spatula which is pretty.... redundant in my case since I'm so lazy I'll probably just dip my whole lip or just scoop it out with my finger. Yuck? Screw you, you probably do it too hahah. As for the dipping of the whole lip, I didnt realise it can be such an ugly action till I told Conrad to do it and it looked damn horrible like he was trying to eat the whole tub. Kit used to look at me and exclaim WHAT ARE YOU DOING! hahahah.. 



A little scoop goes a long way. It might look pink but it's more clear coloured. I tried applying a thick layer and it made me look like I had a sick person's lips - too nude. You can afford to apply thicker as well since you have so much of that. It smells like an artificial berry.. which I don't really like but you don't really smell it anymore after application. 



My lips before application. Actually Ive applied a layer but removed it because I forgot to take a "before" picture hahah so it might look already a little bit better than it really is. The reddish part are hardened dry skin waiting to be peeled off but if I do that, you will hear me wail in agony because it's too dry and I will bleed. 



This is what it looked like after application. I didn't apply too much. Just enough to coat the whole lips. It feels really moist. I would say maybe slightly thicker than the usual gooey lip balm. I'm comparing it to my Etude House Magic Balm which is my got to lip balm for every situation. I used to use it every night especially when I feel my lips are extra dry. But... it's tinted and I sometimes drape the duvet over my face and it will stain the duvet GRRRRR~. 



I tried peeling off the reddish part 30mins to an hour into application. It didn't hurt like it would if I were to just peel it off without applying the mask. There are still some parts left so I just applied a little more on top of the existing mask. Feels much smoother already.


Clearer shot of the after effect. This is probably almost 2 hours after I first started application. I find it better if you apply a layer at night and when you wake up in the morning, wipe it off with a tissue and scrub your lips. You will see tiny flakes of skin coming off. I usually just brush my teeth first and wipe off later. The teeth brushing action will not remove this goo hahah. If you don't wipe it off your dry skin will probably still dry up again later. So better get it off your lips while it's super soft. 

Should you get this? Yes, if you tend to have dry flaky lips and if you like using matte lipsticks. Otherwise... I guess you will do just fine with normal balm. 








Friday 7 August 2015

Instagram Obsession


So, I have been "obsessed" with Instagram everything since I downloaded the app for the second time. First time I deleted it after a while cos I didn't really know how it worked. Second time Jan told me to install and it was more fun since I have an active friend there hahahah. So now, Instagram is like my go to time killer - besides Pinterest and 9gag. If you want to follow me, my usename is @immech. My feed is displayed on the right bar. Feel free to stalk hahaha. Follow me and say hi though. Would be nice to know that someone friendly is actually reading all my jibberish.

These are just some Instagram inspired DIY stuff that I've made. I have also crafted a clay charm with my usename on it I think but it wasn't very impressive and I'm too lazy to search for the picture but I think it's still on my Instagram feed.

Everything you see here is for sale in my Etsy account. They are customizable also. Click here to view and order or drop me a message for custom order if you like. This post is about Instagram items only but of course there are many more handmade items there.




I think this is my first or second felt item. I wanted it for my keychain and my bag. You can simply pin this back with a safety pin to anything you like. I pinned it onto my DIY sling bag which I have painstakingly handsewn - I don't know what had gotten into me. When the creative juices are flowing, they flood hahahha (just like your period on day one/two #ew #tmi). I have never felt comfortable when people say ohhh you're creative blah blah because I feel like this isn't my original creation - Instagram is not my creation even though everything else was made by myself fresh from the oven. Maybe there are other similar products out there for sale but I don't know and I wouldn't say that there is one that is exactly the same as what I made.

I wasn't one of those people who appreciates handmade items in the past because I always think they are overpriced. You need to be able to appreciate the time and effort people put into crafting the items. The cost of materials might not be comparable to the final asking price but think about this, for a small "business", they buy raw materials at NON wholesale price so the cost of materials are already more expensive than mass factory produced items. The factories might be able to obtain a piece of raw material for 20cents but for people like us it might cost 5$ a pop. Well you never know. I definitely am not the kind who will buy hundred over pieces of raw material for something that can't sell as fast or I do not have the capacity to produce in a short amount of time. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you pay for the crafters' time and effort and maybe the number of curses I utter every time the needle pricks my hand hahahah

Now I can appreciate when I see handmade items going for a more than average asking prices but I might still spend a lot of time thinking before i decide to get them, most of the time I will think if I can make them myself, which I normally do. There is still a project I wanted to make for myself instead of ordering online because I felt it was a little out of my price range and I want to enjoy learning and making it myself. I really enjoy making these items. Sometimes I think it's funny when friends ask me if I made some stuff myself when I actually bought them. I don't know if I should feel offended or flattered since it can go either way - are you saying my purchased items looks "handmade"ish even though I paid so much for them or are you saying my handmade skills are very impressive that my purchased items can pass off as my handmade quality. Usually my first thought and response to that is WHATT HOW DARE YOU hahahahah 



This is the key/cash/card/coin pouch that I probably made first before the mini keychain. I remember drawing out the "prototype" (sounds so fancy siahhh macham engineer *pukes hahahha) in my journal and it's one of those that Jan says looks like a child's drawings - if you're reading this, Jan, F@RKY0U! It's cute ok hahahah..  The metal chain is detachable. I made everything based on what I would use myself - I want something that can keep my housecard or any loose items sometimes - like maybe my hair tie or extra keys that I only need once for that day/week or maybe battery sample I need to get when I go out later (yeah, so random I know, no one needs a sample when you need to get AA or AAA battery but if you wanna get a frickin tiny battery for your watch - the blahblah622 kind, you better bring your sample - or picture lah whatever you want, I prefer to manually compare and be sure), my many keys and i want to be able to just pull it out and have everything still attached together. I notice that I tend to rant off hahaha #oops. Anyway, this is the latest version. I notice that I keep changing up the look, sometimes it's to make things easier to sew for me and sometimes to improve the look. This is the best it has ever looked. You should see the first one - it's still on my Instagram feed. It's so ugly. I kept that piece for myself as sample sizing.



So this is my latest obsession. I wanted an Instagram sling bag for myself but I've decided to put this one up for sale first. I intend to make a bigger size and also another one of this for me, maybe slightly smaller? But I think this size is perfect. It fits my iPhone 6 Plus and all my make up stuff and other tingtongs I need to bring out. I added a base so it looks nice when you put in your items. You'll notice that sometimes some bag doesn't have a base and it tends to sag really badly when you dump in your stuff. I hate that look. 



The strap is adjustable. You just have to re-clip it according to the length you desire. The bag is fully lined. I really like when pouches or bags are lined. They look more expensive and proper, not some half assed made stuff. My first pouch wasnt lined and I just cut a line at the back for my ezlink card hahah. Yikes. I feel like making another sling bag soon for my Gili trip. 



This is the size comparison between the sling and the pouch. You can do an instagram inception - pouch within pouch hahaha. The decoden phone case is also listed on my Etsy. There are many versions available and they are all for iPhones mainly iPhone 5/5s/6. 






Monday 3 August 2015

Mamonde Creamy Tint Color Balm Intense


Saw a video of this girl using this balm and her natural lip shade looks similar to mine - little dark. It looked good on her so I think it might look good on me too. Since I'm trying to look for a pinkish shade, this might be a good find. Still waiting eagerly for my LimeCrime Bleached. I think that might be my best pink fit. #fingerscrossed.

So this is what the packaging looks like. Mamonde Creamy Tint Color Balm Intense in shade #25 Bouquet Deep Pink. The pink butt has a twist function so you don't need to sharpen this, just twist the new portion up. I think it's best to keep it in bullet shape though for easier application considering some people have weird ways of applying lipsticks that alter the head completely.

Easy compact size for small pouch. Need to be careful with the cap though since it might come off anytime but it sits pretty tight. I foresee this cracking soon under my care.




Swatch looks like this. Seems promising. Glides on easily. It has a dry formula. So if your lips are the kind with dry lines, it will show up when you apply this. And the lipstick head is like any other lipstick but less moist so it picks up residue from your lips - you know the kind that sometimes you see transferred to your clean lips when you apply it, some flakes of skin or dirt maybe. That ruins the look so need to check after application. I really prefer to apply without looking into the mirror nowadays since I'm too lazy to take out the mirror. That works better if the balm is moist enough so you just need to smack your lips around to finish the look. It won't work with this balm. I would say, there is no smacking around. The colour won't transfer easily between your lips. Which is also a good thing because it means it's kiss proof. No transfer residue on my hand and mugs. BUT one thing that is strange is, it's easily removed by tissue also. Probably happens only when you scrub it. 

Comes off easily with Micelar water. So it's easily removable. I haven't tried food test yet. Few hours of drinking through a straw and eating crabsticks and ice cream left it intact with very minor rub off. It's surprisingly very long lasting for what it looks like. I have a feeling most of it is probably going to stay put with food or at most exactly like Velvetines. Click here and here for the reviews. 



Picture taken from the web. Many shades available. It's a little difficult to find a colour spread of all the shades and I think this should be for the same series but my shade isn't listed again. Maybe it's one of the new ones. Don't think the other colours will match me. 



Here is what the colour looks on me. I think it's a good substitute for my Etude House Color Lips-fit, also in Nicki Minaj pink hahahah. Click for that review. This is slightly more forgiving and easier to apply as it's more normal balm consistency but still towards the dry side. Looks better in pictures but I'm still annoyed with the dry part.



Mamonde 
Creamy Tint Color Balm Intense
#25 Bouquet Deep Pink

Pros:
Pretty long lasting.
Transfer proof.
Easy to remove. 

Cons:
Feels dry. 
Emphasizes your lip lines.
Looks better when applied with lip brush but... aint nobody got time fo dat.
I think it looks acceptable on me but I still think it's more suitable for fairer skin people. 


Rating: 3.7/5