Archives for July 2013

Scrumptious Saturday Vol. 27 : Healthy No-Cook Vegetarian Taco Salad Wraps

July 20, 2013 Paris B 21 Comments

Oh hello there, its been a while since we’ve had a Scrumptious Saturday!

Today’s something very quick and easy that I whipped up for a pot luck party one day. There was a vegetarian in our midst and I didn’t feel right preparing something that had meat in it, so I looked around for an easy and quick vegetarian recipe that I could prepare ahead and still have it keep. My search yielded me an easy no-cook Vegetarian Taco Salad Wrap. Turned out to be quite a hit! It surprised me because a) I’m not very good at making anything vegetarian and b) this was my first time making it!

The best part is that this is a no-cook recipe and you can have it chilled so you can prepare it ahead and it makes for good lunchbox meals at the desk too. I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe so you can get the full recipe here or my version here 🙂

RMK Summer 2013 Overview (But I really only wanted to show you that Ingenious W Powder Eyes duo. Really)

July 19, 2013 Paris B 30 Comments

Usually, when we talk about Summer makeup collection, colours that come to mind are bronzed and warm shades. So having a brand tell you that their interpretation of Summer is for transparent textures with shine to capture the gold of the summer sun, I found it interesting.

That is RMK’s interpretation of Summer. I think, if you look at their new Ingenious W Powder Eyes eyeshadow duo, you get an idea of what they’re on about.

This is 1 of 5 new eyeshadow duos available from RMK. I believe the colours are permanent except for one EX-01 Gold which is a Gold-Silver duo that I personally wasn’t taken with. Its just pretty much glitter all over and not practical. If I’m to be perfectly honest, I initially passed over this Brown duo too.

My previous experiences with RMK eyeshadows haven’t been the best. I found the texture too hard, the formula too sheer and shiny, and the colour payoff too poor. Sure, the Deep Iridescent one was pretty, but the way it was laid out was mind boggling. But the minute I took my finger to swatch this one, I paused, whipped out my camera and had to take pictures before I marred the surface further, because this one is quite quite impressive! Interestingly, I noticed that many of you have noticed how lovely this one looks on eyes in a previous look I showed. That assured me I wasn’t alone – this does pass the test!

So while I wax lyrical about this RMK Ingenious W Powder Eyeshadow, I’ll also show you some of the other items available from RMK in their Summer 2013 collection in a quick overview. Like that? Settle in.

L’Herboflore Facial Sheet Masks : The Sheet Masks all sheet masks should aspire to be

July 18, 2013 Paris B 25 Comments

Facial sheet masks – the biggest boon to quick easy at-home pampering ever invented. I don’t know who did, but whoever did, THANK YOU!

Facial sheet masks are one of those things you have to get if you’re ever visiting Asia. They come in one use packs and are so convenient for a quick pick me up. If you want to know why you should use one and whether they work, read this. Asia (in particular Taiwan and Korea) is the hotbed of sheet mask activity and the sheer number of brands, types, benefits that come out of here is seriously mind boggling. Best of all, they are not that pricey for a weekly or bi-weekly treat. I do mine on Sundays, in preparation for the week ahead. When I visited Korea, I came home with half my luggage stuffed with various types of sheet masks. Truth to tell, after going through them, I’ve realised I don’t quite like Korean brand sheet masks.

I prefer sheet masks that come out of Taiwan. They just work better for some reason. So although I wasn’t the biggest fan of My Beauty Diary sheet masks the first time I reviewed them, you might be interested to know that I do repurchase here, because they make my skin feel better. I like the thickness of the material used and the gloopiness of the product that cools my skin down and refreshes it almost instantly.

But you know, that’s sort of past as well, now that I’ve discovered L’Herboflore sheet masks! Move aside MBD, you have serious competition!

L’Herboflore is a brand new brand specializing in facial sheet masks and yes, comes out of Taiwan.

But lest you think its similar to My Beauty Diary, it actually isn’t. L’Herboflore is touted as a luxury brand of sheet masks which means you can expect it to be a little pricier than usual, but its not something you’d have to sell a kidney for. In fact, I’d say its affordable if I compare it with sheet masks sold locally. But believe me when I say that pricier or not, its so worth it. Also, its not that bank breaking and there are different ranges so there’s something for every pocket 🙂

I was introduced to L’Herboflore fairly recently with a very generous care package of a selection of sheet masks to try, so I’ll quickly share my thoughts on them, where you can buy them and why I enjoy using these so much.

Hey there, Lipstick Queen! Are you Red-dy to be a Sinner or a Saint?

July 17, 2013 Paris B 53 Comments

You know, I love lipstick.

No wait, I think you already knew that. Let’s start again.

I REALLY love lipstick. That’s more like it! Unfortunately it’s second only to my love for blush, so I gracefully give up my lipstick queen title to the Lipstick Queen herself, Poppy King.

I’d first heard of Poppy King and Lipstick Queen a few years ago when I started dabbling in makeup. Lipstick Queen is an Australian brand of… you guessed it, lipstick and selected lip products. It’s quite niche in distribution and in its size and I’d never had any luck hunting down this brand anywhere.

Then last year, a gift package arrived from Down Under bearing 2 Lipstick Queen lipsticks in the popular Saint and Sinner series and in the signature RED shades. Ah, my friends, they know me so well! 😀

Saint and Sinner are 2 sides of the same coin, as it were, where the colours are the same but have different textures and formula. Saint is supposed to be a Sheer range with 10% pigment while Sinner is the matte opaque range with 90% pigment. Like a Saint, the Saint lipsticks come in a shiny gold tube while Sinners languish in the tactile, slightly rubbery feel of a matte case.

The question therefore is – Are you a Sinner or a Saint? 😉

Archives for July 2013

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