Skincare I Have Tried In The Last 6 Months

Here are a list of some skincare that I have tried out in the last 6 months and even earlier. It's not the complete list, as in between I tried out some samples as well. But this is more of a list that serves to remind myself of the products that I have used and that I want to review. Most of the products are purchased by myself, while some are sent to me for review purpose.

In random order......

Elemental Herbology Facial Glow, Facial Detox and Biodynamic Facial Souffle

AromaFabulous Bamboo Mist skincare range

Omveda - an Ayurvedic skincare from Australia

Estee Lauder NEW Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex

Estee Lauder NEW Hydrationist Serum

Others that I have used, but I couldn't find their photos in my folders at the moment are:
-Hada Labo Moisturizing Cream
-RMK Recovery Gel Intensive Night Treatment Anti-Roughness & Hydration
and a few others.

I will try to review them, but I don't know how soon I could review all of them. Besides not being able to concentrate to write, though I try to distract myself by going online more often, I still have to help my Mom take care of my Dad's things.

Testing: C.Michael Heilmoor Clay Beauty Bar

I was given this new prototype of a facial bar soap to test and review. This should be done weeks ago, but I was caught up with many things, and something unexpected happened last week, hence, even more delay in writing many reviews which should have been up long time ago. And it doesn't help that I am such a great procrastinator.


This product is only a prototype of a new facial bar soap from a relatively new brand in Malaysia, C.Michael, which will be only available in the market some time in the middle of the year. I was given this product to try out and review by a PR firm, which requested that I give my feedback in the form of a blog post in my blog.



I have to say that this is a rather new 'concept' for me, as you know, I normally write about and review products already in the market. And I do not have any info on this product except the product itself and the name of it.


So this is basically a facial bar soap which contains clay. I Googled up "helmoor clay", but I found Heilmoor Clay, which is a type of mud found in the Moorland. Well, I can't tell you whether this product really does contain the mud from Moorland. I found a website from Google search which explains further on Heilmoor Clay here. I shall update more when I get more official information on the product.

OK, let's speak a bit on this product. I had it with me when I was in the UK and used it to cleanse my skin which was quite dry then.

It's a bar soap for cleansing the face, without any scent. Perhaps, a slight scent of nature?

I wet the soap bar with some water, and rubbed it between my palms to form some lather. But the lather formed was only quite mild, not the bubbly kind of foam. I used the foam to cleanse my face daily after removing my makeup in the evenings. Please note that my skin then was a bit dry, and I was worried that bar soap would dry out the skin on my face even more.

After cleansing the face and rinsing off the foam with warm water, my face felt clean and not tight. In fact, I felt that somehow it made my skin smoother and after about a week of using it, my skin felt more supple each time after cleansing.

I have used this for almost 3 weeks, till I came back to Malaysia abruptly about a week and a half ago but I forgot to pack it with me.


For the time being, this product is not available in the market yet. I will update when I get more information of its availability.




*Products were sent by PR firm, Magma Communications, to me for review purpose.

Aimee Mullins - New Global Ambassador For L'Oreal Paris

Extraordinary and stunning: Aimee Mullins is a woman who demands admiration. Gifted athlete, fascinating model, talented actress, Aimee is characterized by her unique achievements, her charisma and radiant beauty. Today, she joins the family of L’Oréal Paris Ambassadors.


“The L’Oréal Paris icons are among the most beautiful women in the world. I am very honoured to be joining this family. The “Because I’m worth it” tagline means a lot to me. Beauty is not skin-deep; it can be a means of self-affirmation, a true indicator of personality and confidence", says Aimee Mullins.


“Aimee embodies perfectly the L’Oreal woman. Sublime, charismatic, strong. Her life is extraordinary in all meanings possible", says Cyril Chapuy, Global Brand President of L'Oréal Paris.


“Aimee Mullins is a truly remarkable woman. An accomplished athlete, muse, fashion model and talented actress, yet she is so much more: a smart, confident, curious woman who will wholly represent our philosophy, ‘Because You’re Worth It.’ We are proud to welcome her to the L’Oréal Paris family,” says Karen T. Fondu, President, L’Oréal Paris USA.


While some would imagine a life of “disability” (Aimee was born with a limb anomaly and lost both of her legs when she was one year old), she credits her unique body for her ability to develop a sense of personal beauty and glamour. Her strength and determination were supported by an active imagination, one in which she claimed autonomy over her own identity, and indeed changed how the world would come to view her as an entirely capable woman.


While attending Georgetown University on a full academic scholarship, Aimee embarked upon a stellar athletic career: she was the first woman with prosthetic legs to compete in top-level NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) competitions. She competed in the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta in the 100- and 200-metre dashes, as well as the long jump, and set World Records in all three events. In 2007, she became the president of the Women's Sports Foundation, being an honoured symbol for all women athletes in the USA.


However, she did not stop there: she turned her focus to the world of fashion. In 1999, she became a muse to British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, and walked the runway in his London show using intricately carved wooden prosthetics. This cultural milestone was recognized by many, and People magazine included her in their list of the “World’s 50 Most Beautiful People.”


Aimee has also seen the film world open up to her. She was recognised for her performance in the film Cremaster 3 by acclaimed contemporary artist Matthew Barney in 2003, and she continues her film work with him in their current collaboration Ancient Evenings, an adaptation of the Norman Mailer novel, in which she stars as “Isis.”


Aimee has been featured in numerous prestigious magazines all over the world such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Sports Illustrated, Life, Glamour and Elle, and appears regularly on TV programmes and at conferences to share her experience with innovation, design, and her vision of beauty.


She joins the L’Oréal Paris family which already includes Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles, Rachel Weisz, Gwen Stefani, Gerard Butler, Freida Pinto, Diane Kruger, Aishwarya Rai and Patrick Dempsey.




*Press Release dated 17th February 2011 received from PR of L'Oreal Malaysia.

Hello!

Hello, everyone!

Thank you for all the comments, messages and emails that you have sent for the past week during a very difficult time in my life and that of my family. It just happened too suddenly, without any warning signs, that no one can accept it yet. Words just cannot describe my feeling of loss, but I do find that going online, whether just by reading blogs, writing or simply chatting with well-meaning friends, helps me to take my mind off the sadness and tears.....temporarily........

I will try to write some posts tomorrow and in the next few days, especially reviews of products that have been sent to me. My apologies again for the delay.

I also have made many looks when I was in the UK, and even before then, which I have not posted here. I will try to share them with you, as I have not made any look for the past weeks. I just don't have the mood to put on any makeup these days.... even shopping doesn't seem to interest me anymore. But I got 2 MAC Peacocky Mega Metal Eyeshadows - Odalisque and Dalliance, yesterday. Had wanted to get more, but the colors which I like were already sold out.

Anyways, just a short post to let you know that I am coping, or rather, trying to cope. And thank you for your understanding and words of comfort in my difficult times.

Vonvon

Blogging Activity Ceases Temporarily

To all my dear readers,

There will be no update in this blog for a while.

To those who have sent me products for review purpose, my apologies but I will eventually write about your products here. I can't tell you exactly when.

Please allow me some time to grieve as my beloved father just passed away.

Thank you.

Vonvon

Roses.....

My Valentine roses..........

Happy 'belated' Valentine to all......

Nails Of The Day(NOTD): Shiseido Maquillage Glossy Nail Color #94

Yesterday we were invited to our Turkish friends' place for dinner. And dinner meant the opportunity to dress up! :D So I wore a shimmer silver-grey turtleneck top from Victoria's Secret Tee Shop with a purple party skirt from GAP. And I put on a lavender-grey shade nail polish from Shiseido Maquillage - Shiseido Maquillage Glossy Nail Color #94.

This is a rather complex shade to describe with a a slight duochrome effect, perhaps not the product itself, but the shade surely changes in different lighting.

This is generally a silvery-grey shade, with a hint of blue and lilac/lavender.
The formula applies smoothly, and dries quite fast too. It has a glossy finish with multi-colored fine shimmer. So far, after doing some washing and chores, the color is still intact on my nails, no chipping yet, after 24 hours of wear.

Nails Of The Day (NOTD)

I purchased this from the Shisiedo counter last month together with 2 other Maquillage Dual Eye Glows (will talk about that later).
This retails for RM35 for 10ml bottle. There were 6 colors, including this one, on display at the counter in Parkson Pavilion.

A Visit To Space NK: Saw By Terry Makeup, Laura Marcier Spring 2011 The Silk Road & NARS Spring 2011 Collections; WEI Beauty Samples; N.dulge, etc.

I went on a shopping trip few days ago in town, and decided to explore Space NK. Space NK is a leading luxury beauty retailer offering the latest cult products in facial skin care, fragrance, cosmetics and body in the UK.

The one I went to is the smaller version of Space NK, and they didn't carry the Chantecaille range
of makeup except only 1 mascara from them. I was interested to check out their palettes which I had been ogling online. ;)

But they had full range of By Terry makeup which I didn't manage to take pictures of. Well, I didn't take any pictures in the shop as I wasn't sure if it was allowed. Anyways, I made some swatches of Laura Mercier Silk Road Eye and Cheek Palette(GBP37) from their Spring 2011 collection, and they also had NARS and its Spring 2011 collection!

I swatched the 2 eyeshadow duos from NARS Spring 2011 - Nouveau Monde and Bateau Ivre, and the Soft Touch Pencils.

Swatches of NARS Nouveau Monde eyeshadow duo (top) and Bateau Ivre eyeshadow duo (bottom). Between the 2 shades of Nouveau Monde is Celebrate Soft Touch Pencil (chartreuse color).

Again, swatches of NARS Nouveau Monde eyeshadow duo. I tried to capture the shimmer and beauty of the silvery lilac shade....but the lighting didn't allow me to. :(
On the top right corner of the photo, is part of the swatch of Hollywoodland Soft Touch Pencil.

And Laura Mercier The Silk Road Collection for Spring 2011, was available too. I swatched the eyeshadows from the Eye and Cheek Palette. It seems that now, Laura Mercier is coming out with palettes sans cream products. Before they used to have eyeshadows, blushes (both powder products) together with lipsticks (cream) in the same palette such as the beautiful Zen Face Palette. That kind of palette is such a no-no for me, and I am sure, for many of you too, as over time, the powder (dust) will migrate to the cream products....and you know what happens next. ;)

So, kudos to Laura Mercier for coming up with such palettes. They must be listening to us, the consumers. :D

Swatches of Laura Mercier Eye and Cheek Palette from The Silk Road Collection Spring 2011.
Golden Sands was a bit difficult to swatch and to get it to show up.
Rare Taupe is definitely a hit with me, again, couldn't capture a nice pic of the swatches.

The Laura Mercier Liquid Liner in Gold Thread has been compared to MAC Superslick Liner in Pure Show. Well, I have to say the tip of the applicator is indeed almost identical to MAC's. But I think that's where the similarity ends. I swatched them side-by-side and you can see that MAC Pure Show is more of a golden yellow, while Laura Mercier Gold Thread is more gold, for sure.
But they both are water-proof and smudge-proof, lasting through my washing the dishes, and even a shower!

One of the nice SAs there offered me some samples of WEI Beauty skincare, a Chinese herbal skincare line.





And I also signed up for Space NK N.dulge membership which is complimentary without any purchase. Love it when there are offers like this. And I got a makeup pouch as a new member. The membership gives 1 point per 1 Pound spent, and for every 100 points, one will get a 10 Pound rebate.







Hmmm...now what should be my 1st purchase from Space NK? ;) NARS Nouveau Monde eyeshadow duo?? Laura Mercier palette??

Freebie From Elle UK March 2011

I was browsing through the magazine section at the store few days ago, and saw the Elle magazine was giving out a free black eyeliner from Neal's Yard Remedies(NYR) worth GBP9.50. And the mag itself cost only GBP3.80.

Since I haven't tried anything from NYR before, so what a good way to try out their product, and a magazine to read. ;)








Hmmm.... interesting, as it says it's 37% organic. Shall try it the next time I do some makeup. Have been having some no-makeup makeup days again.....

EOTD/FOTD: CNY Look - Soft Smoky Green

Yesterday, I shared with you the look I did on CNY eve, and today, it's the CNY look. Well, it wasn't a look done on the 1st day of New Year itself, as I was pretty busy that day spotting only my no-makeup makeup look. Anyways, the look that I am going to show you today was done last Saturday when I organized an Open House (basically, it's open, yea, everyone invited could feel free to come in at any time they wish within the stipulated time frame). :D But as it turned out, everyone decided to turn up all at once during tea time, which stretched way into dinner time. So, the more, the merrier!

Opsss, a little digression again......

CNY Look

This look wasn't really a planned look. All I knew when I sat down at my dresser to start putting on makeup like minutes before my first guests were scheduled to arrive, was I wanted to use MAC Ivy Fluidline from the Mickey Contractor collection. I didn't get to purchase any of the fluidlines, as by the time, I got to MAC MV, too late..... both the fluidlines were gone. But they still had the testers, so the sweet Hing 'decanted' a small amount of each for me. I will speak about the 2 gorgeous colors of Ivy and Siahi Fluidlines on another day.

So, I had to work my eye makeup around the beautiful jade green shade of Ivy Fluidline.




Eye Of The Day



1 - Define the brow with Dodo Tip Brow 03;
2 - Apply Stila Kitten eyeshadow all over the lid up to brow;
3 - Dab Stila Kitten eyeshadow on the inner corner of the eye;
4 - Apply MAC Humid eyeshadow (Frost finish) on the outer corner of the eye and blend inward and into the crease to create a light smoky effect;
5 - And now, I have the 'base' to line the upper lash line with MAC Ivy Fluidline from Mickey Contractor collection, Jan 2011;
6 - Finish off with Maybelline Magnum Super Film (in these EOTD photos, mascara was not applied yet.




Face Of The Day

Face: Sunplay Skin Aqua BB Cream
MAC By Candlelight MSF

Cheeks: Sleek Makeup Shimmer Blush in Pomegranate

Lips: Dodo Cosmetics Lip Gloss 08

Sesame of Viva Woman wanted to see the Chinese-style jacket by Monica Quen which I wore for CNY. I don't have a full picture of me wearing the jacket. So, for now, here it is, partly. ;)
Inner top: Gold turtleneck top from Victoria's Secret

EOTD/FOTD: CNY Eve Look - Neutral Yellow

This is the look I did on CNY eve. I just stick to neutrals as it's easy and quick to do. But I used yellow (MAC Bright Future eyeshadow, Veluxe Pearl finish, from Style Warrior collection, May 2009) on my lids, just because! ;)

I didn't feel like using red eyeshadow so I figured using yellow and some gold for the eyes would be good for a CNY EOTD too.

CNY Eve Look

Products used

Maybelline Magnum Super Film Mascara
MAC Kissable Lipcolour from Peacocky, February 2011 - Love Peck
Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Tigers Eye
The Body Shop Roseflower blush
Estee Lauder Sand Pearl Shimmer Eyeshadow
MAC Bright Future eyeshadow (yellow)
Stila Kitten eyeshadow
MAC Superslick Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Show

Not in the photo: Juice Beauty Perfecting Foundation in Organic Sand, MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder from MAC Liberty of London, April 2010.



Eye Of The Day

1 - Define the brow with Dodo Tip Brow 03;
2 - Apply Estee Lauder Sand Pearl Shimmer Eyeshadow all over the lid as a base;
3 - Apply MAC Bright Future on the lid;
4 - Apply Stila Kitten eyeshadow on the outer corner of the eye, crease and also as highlight, blend;
5 - Dab Stila Kitten eyeshadow on the inner corner of the eye;
6 - Line the upper lash line with Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Tigers Eye;
7 - Since Kajal is kohl and will smudge, instead of using a powder eyeshadow of similar shade to set it, I used MAC Superslick Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Show (golden yellow shade) on top of the Kajal Eye Liner. By doing this, it didn't only set the Kajal but also impart a golden tone to the brown color, making it appear golden brown;
8 - Apply Stila Kitten eyeshadow lightly to the lower lid;
9 - Finish off with Maybelline Magnum Super Film (in these EOTD photos, mascara was not applied yet.)

Face Of The Day

Face: Juice Beauty Perfecting Foundation in Organic Sand;
MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

Cheeks: The Body Shop Malaysia Roseflower Blush

Lips: MAC Kissable Lipcolour from Peacocky Collection - Love Peck (it appeared brown in the tube, but it's actually a deep and rich berry shade)..... More on MAC Peacocky Kissable Lipcolour later.

Sorry that I am back to my old-style of presenting EOTD/FOTD, without the step-by-step photos. But when I was doing this, well, let's just say that these days, I have tonnes of things that need to be attended to first before doing things for myself and ME. OK, not gonna rant today.... it's still New Year! :D
Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days!

In future, I will revert back to the step-by-step style of presenting my EOTD/FOTDs, subject to I have more time for myself. :)


Have a nice day!

1st Post In The Year Of The Rabbit - Random Photos From CNY Celebration

Hello, everyone! How have you been? It's been almost a week, and as has been promised, I'll be back today. Well, I had to say that celebrating Chinese New Year away from home is definitely not the same with back home in my dear old Malaysia. Not that this is my first time celebrating away from home. Anyways, the first day of the Lunar New Year falls on a working and school day here. So there wasn't much celebration. But last Saturday we had an Open House for our friends here.... and it just changed everything! Suddenly the festivity feel was in the air, and it really felt like CNY. And to make it more special, our guests could make up parts of the United Nations! With friends from Malaysia (of course!), China, Singapore, Canada, USA, Turkey, Italy and Australia, it's like the G8! ;) OK, not exactly the member countries of the G8. :P Almost always, CNY in Malaysia was celebrated with family and friends.

Coincidentally, Hubby found this 1kg Gold Bunny Milk Chocolate from Lindt at the supermarket.
What a perfect complement to the Year of the Rabbit! And it came with a red bow tied to the neck too, with a little bell. :)

Also, just in case you are wondering why suddenly I am writing about the UN, well, 'cos Princess learned about it from one of her Little Einsteins episodes, and I have been almost driven up the wall by her constant.... "Mummy, United Nations is in New York City. And what is United Nations, Mummy? Why are there so many flags when the Little Einsteins go to United Nations, bla bla bla bla....." There you go..... so, to 'illustrate' the 'concept' of United Nations to her, I took the examples from her friends and hubby's and my friends.

Here are some random photos from our CNY celebration...... I have chosen photos of myself and Princess and not our UN guests as I haven't told them that I would be publishing their piccies on the Net.... ;P

A whole carton of different Jelly Belly, gift from Princess' uncle to her.

Princess and her 50-flavor pack of Jelly Belly

Hubby caught me on camera at the right moment, while I was preparing CNY dinner on New Year's Day! ;) 'cos almost always, when I am cooking, there is no smile on my face! Yes, because I don't like to cook! But I have to cook for my family. :P
(if you are wondering, yes, I did put on some weight lately, again... :( it must be the cold!)

Princess' favourite thing to do.....separating the pomelo into pieces for the yee sang.

Our first yee sang for the New Year
Well, normally, the pomelo would be separated to small bits, but since Hubby loves pomelo so much, I told Princess to separate it into bigger chunks instead. And topped up with Scottish smoked salmon! Yummy!

Time to loh sang (toss and mix the yee sang) during the Open House Hubby and I organized for our friends last Saturday, led by Princess and her friends from the 'United Nations' :D


If you are wondering about my looks for CNY, well, I did mainly neutral looks this time, quick and easy, as I just didn't have the time to do a full face of makeup.
Coming up next! :D
Some sneak peek of the looks on my Facebook page.

Happy Lunar New Year 2011 - Year Of The Rabbit

Here's to wishing all readers of Vonvon's Interests who are celebrating Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year.....

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

A Very Happy New Year!

新年快樂

May the year of the Rabbit bring you good luck, prosperity, wealth and good health!





Regular posting will resume next Monday, February 7, 2011.
Updates will be irregular till then, if any. :)

Meanwhile, I will post quick updates and photos on my Facebook page.