Archives for March 2015

Swipe on a lacquered shine on lips with Shu Uemura Laque Supreme in BG01, PK01 and RD02

March 30, 2015 Paris B 20 Comments

Many years ago, I had the chance to visit a lacquerware factory when visiting Vietnam. I saw first-hand how Vietnamese lacquerware was made, and I was told that the best way to get the high glossy shine associated with good quality lacquerware, was to polish the products by hand. No machine could measure up to the shine and sheen that could only be brought forth by hand.

Which explains why high quality lacquer ware is expensive, and due to the materials used and effort and skills, lacquerware is primarily decorative these days instead of used for practical purposes.

But it is that glossy shine of a high quality lacquer product that inspired Shu Uemura’s Laque Supreme lip colours.

Shu Uemura Laque Supreme RD02

Inspired by Japanese lacquerware, Shu Uemura offers a lip colour that is lightweight, glossy, shiny and pigmented. I like the black tubes it comes in, because that is very in keeping with the theme, and there is a nice window of colour so you know which ones you have.

I won’t classify these as lip glosses. They are much more pigmented, so I’d place them in the category of liquid lipstick, but the liquid texture allows you to dial back on colour and pigment as you see fit. Since I love lip colours, how do you think these fared for me? I can tell you that a quick online search will yield you mostly raves; that this is the best thing since sliced bread!

What, Why, How: Tips for bringing a packed lunch with #PBPacksLunch

March 27, 2015 Paris B 34 Comments

This year, due to various circumstances, which includes the lack of good food near work, and the rising prices of food, especially at the hawkers, I decided to make it a point to bring my lunches to work. I used to a while ago, but as with a lot of things, it didn’t last as long as it should.

But I’m going strong now, and I attribute it to Instagram, where I slot in pictures of my packed lunches in between my beauty updates, and I tag them #PBPacksLunch and you know what makes it fun? The interaction I get! 😀

And what makes it even more fun is that some people have told me that it’s inspired them to pack their own lunches, and that spawned a new hashtag #PBMadeMePackLunch. No, I don’t make packed lunches for people, but I try to inspire people to join me 😀

But what I’ve also been asked, is about the “equipment” I use to carry my lunches to work, especially hot lunches, because I enjoy eating hot food better than cold; and my process. So I promised I’d write a post on why packed lunches are a good thing and what you can use and here it is! 🙂

Naturally, if you too pack lunch to work, I’d love to hear your ideas! If you want to start, I hope this helps!

Your Say: Do you follow the mascara-wearing beauty rule or don’t you?

March 25, 2015 Paris B 78 Comments

I’ve mentioned this occasionally in my blog posts in the past 6 months or more, that I no longer wear mascara. The last post I wrote about a mascara was back in 2013. What this means is that I’ve not been wearing mascara for at least 6 months, if not 12!

I’ve had a few of you ask me why and I’ll tell you why here. It’s not scientific, nor a beauty rule. Perhaps a rule I’m breaking, but it’s just something I’ve decided to cut out of my routine.

My question for you though is what do YOU think? 😀

Let REN V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream get rid of your urban grey (not a hair product!)

March 23, 2015 Paris B 8 Comments

I was feeling a bit blah last week, and I’ve sort of worked out what it is (No, it’s not that damned construction). It’s beauty fatigue. So, as much as I hate making announcements (because I always find myself going back on my word not long after) I’m just going to say that I’ve put myself on a beauty spending diet.

Not a no-buy nor a low-buy (I won’t commit that much) but just a diet of sorts, so slim-and-selective-buying maybe? So what this means for me is more money to save (yay! Or maybe to spend on other things heh) and what this means for you is that I’ll be working off the pile of material I own from yonks ago. This may also mean you may not get the latest and newest (unless I’m given access to them, which I’m not begging for – if it happens, it happens c’est la vie) but you still get beauty talk and I hope that means you don’t all run away 🙂

Which brings me to my favourite day cream du jour – REN V-Cense™ Youth Vitality Day Cream. I’d used a version of night cream from REN powered by Frankincense many years ago, which I really liked and this is the new iteration in day cream form.

I like REN products in general. They’ve got a lovely clean, simple aesthetic and the concept is a good one. I have noticed though that they have changed their outlook over the years. Previously, they used to have these crazy long names of products and list their bio-active ingredients in the name and on the label. These days, they’ve abandoned that for a shorter, snappier naming process.

Which is probably a good thing because I’d have liked to ask them was sort of ingredient V-cense™ is. I’ve actually already used up half the bottle before I remembered that I hadn’t told you about this!