NOTD: Essence Where Is The Party?

I love Essence nail polishes. Not only they're cheap, they are also available in different fun colours. I recently picked up Where Is The Party?. What caught my attention was the duo chrome effect in the bottle! M was with me at that time, even he thought that was cool! My husband is absolutely fine with my nail polish collection because his mom is a nail polish lover too! :) She was the one who got me into all the gel nails and nail art years ago.

Where Is The Party? is a combination of metallic purple, olive green and grey with silver shimmers. I took the picture using a Nikon SB-400 Speedlight, flipped it up so it bounced off the ceiling instead of firing the flash directly to my nails so that it would show better colours of the polish.

From the photos below you can see the colours. Aren't they pretty? It's my first duo chromed nail polish. I hope Essence will make more of them.

2 coats give a perfect finish. The nail polish itself dries pretty fast. That's another reason why I love Essence.






I gave myself a little manicure. I used to get my nails done at the salon every 3 weeks before but have decided to DIY instead. Now I can't wait till my pinky nail grows longer again. It's so ugly.

Alverde Macadamia Nut Shea Butter Body Butter

I've been using Alverde Macadamia Nut Shea Butter body butter for almost 3 months now. I was a little skeptical and didn't know what to expect because I've never tried any dm brands before. By the way, dm is a German drugstore chain.

I love body butter but the only brand I've tried is The Body Shop. I bought a travel size to try out and I was immediately sold after my first use. The body butter is creamy and it absorbs into the skin quickly and isn't greasy.



I use it every morning after shower on my entire body. It's not heavily scented and it doesn't last long so I don't have to feel like a walking a giant macadamia nut. Ok, I'm exaggerating :) The body butter isn't heavily scented but it does have a faint nutty smell.



All Alverde products are natural and vegan friendly.

NOTD: H&M Moody Model

It's been a while since my last NOTD post.

I picked up H&M Moody Model a few days ago. I really love the colour and couldn't wait to try it. Even M thinks it's quite a nice colour! He doesn't usually like my non-pink or red polishes, he says they're crazy colours.

This one is quite a unique colour for me since I don't have many greens/teals in my nail polish collection.

Moody Model is creme dark teal. The application was surprising easy, 2 coats give a smooth finish.

Please excuse my pinky... I broke the nail last Sunday. Ouch! I know :/

Chanel Lipsticks

I used to be a lipglosses only type of person. About two years ago, I started falling in love with lipsticks. I'm quite particular with the brands I go for because I can't stand some of the scented lipsticks! The smell is just too much for me.

My favourite ones are from MAC (need I say more?), Benefit, Rimmel and NYX. I've never tried any lipsticks from high-end designer brands before. When the department store nearby was having 50% off some selected Chanel cosmetics, I was thinking, why not?



I picked up Rouge Allure Adorable and Rouge Hydrabase Rose Rebelle. Believe it or not, Rouge Allure is US$51 and Rouge Hydrabase is US$49 here, outrageous price for a lippie! Anyway, I shouldn't be complaining too much because I got them at pretty decent prices :) One thing for sure that I'll never pay retail prices for Chanel lipsticks here.

Rouge Allure - Adorable
My first Chanel cosmetic ever! It's from the Rouge Allure Collection in 2009. Just like the name says, Adorable is adorable! It's a gorgeous soft pink - my type of colour.



Rouge Hydrabase - Rose Rebelle
After trying Adorable and how much I like it. I decided to stop by the department store to see if there's anything else I could grab when the sale was still on. I found Rose Rebelle and fell in love with the beautiful mid-tone rosy pink colour. I didn't have a similar colour like this one so I brought it home :) It was part of Chanel Spring 2009 collection.



Rouge Coco - Jersey Rose
I picked this one up from the duty-free shop in the airport on Tuesday. I paid US$31 for this one, I guess that's the normal price you lucky ladies in the US? I absolutely love the pink, slightly peachy tone. It's light and perfect for spring - I'll definitely wear this colour in the summer too.



It's weird to say I can't wait for my next business trip so that I get to buy more cheaper cosmetics. I'm pretty sure my wallet won't be very happy about it :)

Love/Hate Prague

In a few months time, I'll be celebrating my 5th anniversary with Prague. I moved here in summer 2006 for my current job.

I really didn't like Czech Republic that much in the beginning! No offense to my Czech readers (if there's any other than Yarisse)!

I've had some really terrible experiences in the beginning of my stay. My purse was stolen a month after I first arrived. My friends and I were in a restaurant for a brunch, my purse just disappeared! I was accused of stealing a beanie at Roxy when I was at the counter paying for the hat I wanted to buy. The SAs spoke to me in Czech, I later was told - they were demanding me to give them back the beanie I stole!!! I went to the local hospital to get my dressing changed for a finger infection. The nurse just ripped the bandage off my finger as if I didn't have any feelings. The waiter who told us, 'Who are you to tell me who to serve first?' when we told him we've been waiting for our food for more than 45 mins and why the ladies sitting next to us who came later already had their food served. The list goes on. I was very mad at myself, I wanted to leave but I loved my job (I still do!).



It's been almost 5 years. From the angry foreigner to one who has learned to accept the culture, I've adapted my life in Prague. When SAs are rude to me, I walk away. I take it as they're not having a good day. I've met a lot of great people here, including my husband. Sometimes M will tease me if I want us to move back to Australia and then saying there are many reasons I should love living in Prague.

Reason 1: The nearest M.A.C is 5 mins drive from where we live
Reason 2: Sephora is everywhere (which is true)
Reason 3: Louis Vuitton is cheaper here (he's so darn right!)
Reason 4: My career

There are places in Prague that make me happy. The historical places I've been to many times, numerous great museums in the city and of course, there's Parizska (Paris Street) where you can find all the high-end designer boutiques. My wallet doesn't like that place at all!


Parizska last Saturday


Louis Vuitton Prague. If you're ever going there, ask for the SA named Katka

And... summer!

New Baby #2

My Net-A-Porter order arrived a day before I left Brussels for a business trip. I was tracking the parcel on the courier site every 30mins *lol* When I received the email notification from our office mailroom, I was thrilled!

It's carefully packed in this black box.



I really like the black bows. I didn't untie the ribbons because they're too pretty! I'm weird like that :)



Tadaaa... Here's my new MIU MIU Matelassé leather clutch.



Now I can't wait to carry this on a night out.

I just came back from Brussels yesterday and am dead tired. My certification exam is next week that means I only have 7 days to study! Now I've a second thought on doing MBA. I'm not sure how I can cope with studying and working full-time especially when my job requires me to travel.

A Year Older!

It was my birthday yesterday. Hubby took me shopping, massage and dinner. It was a relaxing day :) As usual, I bought myself another designer handbag for my birthday. How original can I be :D



Brought this baby home from LV yesterday. I've always wanted a Speedy 30 but whenever I was at LV, I always walked away with something else! I never knew I'd be in love with Damier Ebene until I bought my Neverful MM last year. Here it is... my new handbag!



It wasn't the only handbag I've received for my birthday this year. My sister gave me a Coach pouch and I've a MIU MIU clutch coming my way from Net-A-Porter :) Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow!

Will put up some pics when I'm back from the business trip next Thursday. I've so many things on my to-do-list. On the top of it is to prepare for my next certification exam in two weeks!

Blog Sale

I was clearing out my drawers and found a few items I do not use anymore. There are plenty of BNIB MAC items I'm still thinking if I should sell them :D

I only buy MAC from MAC stores, so, you don't have to worry about the authenticity of the MAC products listed below :)

I ship worldwide. $5 shipping for first 2 items, $0.50 for each additional item via AirMail. All items will be packed carefully and shipped in bubble envelopes. I hold no responsibility for lost/stolen/damaged item(s) once they have been posted. Hence, insurance is highly recommended ($5 extra). Paypal only.

My Etsy feedbacks and eBay feedbacks.

If you're interested, please leave a message with your email address.

All items come in their original packaging/box unless otherwise stated.

MAC Hello Kitty Too Dolly Palette - gently used 2x - $27


MAC Dirty Plum blush from Riveting collection - Used 1x - $13 - SOLD


MAC Blooming Lovely lipstick - used 2x (no box)- $10 - SOLD


MAC Bite of an Apple (BOA) blush - swatched 1x - $20 - SOLD


Thanks for looking :)

Holiday Haul + Feb Haul

DH and I went on a 2-week vacation in Asia recently. We came back with more than 40kg of stuffs in our luggages. They're mainly my stuffs, you bet! :) Am too lazy to take pictures of the clothes, shoes and Chinese magazines I've bought.



MAC
I found MAC Pearlglide Black Line and Lord It Up at a duty-free shop Frankfurt International Airport (that's where I found my backup for Petite Indulgence Cremesheen Glass last year). They were the last ones. I was really thrilled because Black Line has been my most used eyeliner since I got it last year. Lord It Up was sold out here before I had a chance to grab myself one. I love Pearlglide!

SK-II
Bought this the day before we came back. I paid around 87EUR for this one. I've never spent that much money on a single skin care product. I've been using it twice a day for a week now and I could see some improvement on my skin condition. I'll soon write a review on this product.

My Beauty Diary, My Scheming Beauty and Deary
I've read plenty of good reviews on these masks. Can't wait to try them.

Hair Stuffs
Liese Hair Cocktail, Juicy Shower and Lucido-L Designing Aqua which I use everyday when blow drying my hair. Good stuff.

Other stuffs I've bought are Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil, falsies (Doll Lash and Kiss), Lip Ice lipbalm, fringe grips and some earrings from Diva.

I promised myself I would go on 'no buy' for a month after the vacaton but I couldn't resist the cosmetics sale here! I got myself two Chanel lipsticks - Rouge Allure (Adorable), Rouge Hydrabase (Rose Rebelle), Benefit Party Crasher and Escada Ocean Lounge (from summer 2009) that comes with a cosmetic pouch and 50ml body lotion.

I'm Still Here!

Happy Valentine's day, everyone! Hubby and I don't have any special plan for today. We just came back from Asia yesterday :) I think we'll have some candlelight dinner at home.

I know this blog has been really quiet... My 2011 started with hectic schedules at work. That's why I haven't had time to post anything here!

I've spent a great 2-week eating, shopping in Asia. I bought plenty of skin care products in Asia - I wish I lived there! :D Stay tuned for the upcoming entry!