Archives for October 2013

Getting older and a wee bit wiser: 21 things I’ve learned in the past year

October 24, 2013 Paris B 120 Comments

Hi everyone!

Last year at about this time, I had a bit of a melt down haha! Things have improved a little over the year as I’ve learned to do things “my way or no way”, which has been a bit of a coming of age for me. There’re still things I’d like to do better so I’m learning to be tougher too. But there was something I did last year that I felt was very good for me blog-wise, and that was taking a break.

So, by way of a gift from me to me on my day (guess you’ve worked out what the Celebrate October giveaways were really about), I’m taking the day and a little time off from blogging. But instead of having you come by today in anticipation of a post and have nothing to read, I’m going to share 21 things I’ve learned about myself in the past year. 21 of course, because I’m forever 21! 😉

The Body Shop introduces a Sumptuous Cleansing Butter but is it truly sumptuous?

October 23, 2013 Paris B 46 Comments

If you didn’t already realise, I no longer use cleansing oils to remove makeup and as my first step of cleansing so despite being a huge fan of them before, you won’t see anymore going forth. These days, I’m all about cleansing balms because cleansing oils are far too drying for my skin and I find that balms work better on my dry skin. I started out using the Antipodes Grapeseed Butter Cleanser which I loved, and have incidentally finished and scraped clean, so it was time I experimented with another.

It was at about this time that I discovered that The Body Shop had come up with the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, which had my senses pricked and my interest piqued.

This then, is a balm cleanser which comes in a large flat screw top tin and a consistency that reminds me a lot of shoe wax. I’m sorry, it does! I spent many weekends as a child helping to wax my parents’ leather shoes (child labour yo! LOL) and I know my shoe waxes.

I managed to get a sample of this for evaluation and I must say that it is interesting. It retails for just RM63 which isn’t very pricey, considering all the other cleansing balms I’m using or have stockpiled and will be using and a little does go a long way. But this is something that I think you have to work out for yourself if you’d like it.

Your Say: Do you need expensive makeup brushes?

October 22, 2013 Paris B 85 Comments

I haven’t been buying a lot of makeup lately (I’ve developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with other things like skincare and gasp! scented candles) but there’s one thing I’ve been indulging in recently and that’s makeup brushes. Not just any makeup brush, I recently took the plunge and went for a couple of high end, pricey makeup brushes notably from Tom Ford, Hakuhodo and Wayne Goss.

So, I was talking about it online to my friend who’s my sounding board and we got round to discussing these really expensive makeup brushes. I have started seeing a lot of these luxury makeup brushes appear in people’s blogs and Instagram feeds and how everyone goes “OMG you NEED this! It’s perfect for applying blush/eyeshadow/powder” blah blah and I can’t help feeling that it’s not all true, because statements like this sway people and make them irrational.

Despite the fact I do own some luxury brushes and I enjoy using them, I don’t think anyone actually really “needs” these brushes at all. In fact, while I agree that you need good makeup brushes, I don’t agree that you have to sell a kidney to buy that Hakuhodo or Tom Ford brush, no matter how amazing it is, because you could quite easily get similar results from a more affordable brand, but a GOOD brush.

I think it’ll be interesting to hear your thoughts on this, or if you have compared a luxury brush to a regular one and think that my statement isn’t quite accurate 🙂

Celebrate October Giveaway No. 7: A touch of luxury for lips and tips!

October 21, 2013 Paris B

Ah 2 of my favourite brands come together in this giveaway of some very fun items just for you! You know I love my Guerlain lipsticks and since not everyone is into intense, opaque colour for lips the way I am, you get to win yourself a Shine Automatique lipstick instead. Remember when I talked about sheer lipsticks? I mentioned these! And for you also are a pair of mini Dior polishes in very pretty, summery colours to brighten your day or winter maybe if you buck the Fall/Winter trends.

Celebrate October is a celebration of what a great month October is (but of course!) and a thank you for your support through the year and years. Each gift pack sponsored by me, offers at least one (or more) item I personally love and if you have been following long enough, you’ll be able to quickly identify which item it is 😉

This prize pack will be sent to anyone, anywhere in the world! Oh and this is the final giveaway in this series and quite possibly, for the year 😉 Go on now, time is short!

Archives for October 2013

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