Here are my favourite go-to makeup products... or rather 'Things In My Emergency Make-Up Kit". It all started when a friend asked my out from work and I was totally 'unequipped' LOL. One thing about me is that unless I'm going around the neighborhood or work, I need to have some make up on. And don't even question me as to why I need to have make up on ok it's like asking a guy why they should own a PS4 - it would just be a rhetorical question.

Anywho, here are the products that I have!

• Benefit's The POREfessional Matte Rescue Gel - If Benefit is not in your list of 'Favourite Makeup Brands', then you seriously need a reality check. No words can describe how great this product works! If you're familiar with their POREfessional Face Primer, then you'll get what I mean. It reduces the appearances of my pores (duh) and keeps my face matte all day! This thing is such a life saver and if you're not willing to invest in their primer (because it is crazy expensive), then consider this one!
  
  
• Innisfree Long Wear Cushion Foundation - If I were to be completely honest, I wasn't really a fan of Korean beauty products mainly because I find that they have a very limited skin tone range for foundations, powders etc. And also that cushion foundations are not usually recommended for oily/oily-prone skin like mine because they usually have a dewy finish which will pretty much enhance the unnecessary shine on your skin. But for some reason, I just loved this one. It's extremely long lasting, doesn't cake, has the perfect medium coverage finish and it doesn't melt under hot weather. Plus the application is so easy and I don't usually have to touch up with a press powder, so yay bonus points!
  
  
• Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara - Too Faced is one of those brands that have gotten a lot of highly raved products but I never actually taught of buying anything from them because weirdly enough, no Sephora salesperson have ever recommended me anything from this brand. Quite frankly, I was hoping that this mascara would be extra lengthening/voluminous as compared to others since many beauty gurus have sworn by this product but when I tried it, well, mehh. I do, however, love the fact that it is waterproof. It has never smudged at all and it still gives my lashes a natural looking curl.
  
  
• Stila Perfect Me, Perfect Hue Eye & Cheek Palette in Medium/Tan - As much as how I've always claimed to love makeup, there are still two things I suck at: eyeliner and eye shadow. I've had this for a while now and was finally brave enough to try out applying the eye shadow and I fucking loved it! It's incredibly pigmented and stays on pretty well. I love the blusher and highlighter too! Ah gosh, I didn't know that there could be so much perfection in one palette. Not even kidding, go get one of these for yourself. Pronto.
  
  
• NYX Wonder Stick - Everyone loves NYX. I mean, how can they not love NYX!? It's the most affordable makeup brand there is! Anyways, I remembered when contour sticks were so in because of it's easy application and how it took such a long time for there to be one in SG.  I love how it gives my face more dimension. And yes, super easy application too!
  
  
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz - Weirdly enough, my brows are the only part of my face that I would usually ignore because my natural brows are just generally, well, horrible. All thanks to my mother who accidentally trimmed part of my left brow. Haha! I remembered ordering this online and waiting forever for it to arrive but it was totally worth it. Again, easy application (especially with the brush at the other end). I mean, I still suck at drawing brows but I love that when I fill it in, it just looks hella natural.
  
  
• Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Chi - If you're not already aware that Colourpop does international shopping now, then where have you been!? I just love everything from Colourpop. It's really affordable and the quality is just excellent. The formula is not too drying (although my lip cracks eventually surfaced but I generally have dry lips) and again, extremely long lasting. Seriously guys (or rather girls), you should own at least one colourpop ultra matte lippie. 

That's pretty much it! What's in your make up e-kit? Xx 

Hair History

Greetings starshines! 

I think if Oxford ever decides to give my name a definition, it would probably be: Someone who changes her hair colour multiple times in a year. 

Come to think of it, I've actually dyed my hair at least twice each year for the past four years! I just find so much joy in switching colours because I generally love exploring different looks. Plus, I must also appreciate the fact that my hair can take in hair dye so well. 

Anyways, let's get into it shall we? 

1. Original, but not really

I used to think that I've had brown hair for the longest time because it seems as though no matter what colour I did, it always fades back to brown. So this is pretty much the base colour and if I remembered correctly, the first time I dyed my hair in a salon was when I was 17. I remembered always choosing a safe and natural colour because I was afraid that it may not be suitable for my job back then (I was a waitress lol). 

Also, my hair was always long, which I love despite the split ends. I think despite knowing that my hair was on the verge of getting damaged, I'd still refuse to cut it short (until recently of course). 

2. Redhead 

After the first time I dyed my hair red, I was so certain that I was not going to dye any other colour for the rest of my life! For real though, I was ready to be a fully committed redhead and not to sound narcissistic here but I loved my red hair almost more than anything! 

I was a redhead almost throughout my poly life and since there were a lot of people with the same name as me, they would usually refer me as, "Artika who? Oh, the redhead!". Haha, what an awesome time that was. 

I think I dyed my hair red for a total of three times in 2 years! Whenever I decided to dye my hair a different colour, I would always go back to red because for some reason, it just suited me well. Again, not being narcissistic, but I honestly loved this version of me and quite frankly, I foresee myself dying my hair red again. 

3. Cotton candy 

So, I came on the dip dye trend a little late. It was such an in-thing back then in poly but I didn't do it because well, redhead ftw. 

I wanted to write a whole post based on this hairstyle because I was having a rather hard time in my life back then and I did it because I wanted it signify a new beginning for me. Of course, a new look doesn't justify the fact that you become a whole new person but to be frank, this phase in my life right here, was the person whom I always was. 

 I have always loved pink, always! It matches my loud (but not so provocative) and girly personality. I like how my hair has a pink ponytail whenever I tie it up. It was another signature look because no one that I knew had pink hair as bright as this. Well, I'm sure there are but I'm just not aware of it :p 

Btw, my soul sister Nadiah affectionately calls me chocolate-strawberry because of this hair shade but she is so mistaken because it is cotton candy!! 

4. Unicorn  

If it's not already obvious, I'm the kind of person who won't usually settle for natural colours because what's the point of dying your hair if you want it to look natural, right? Might as well leave it as it is! 

To be frank, I have never, not in a million years, pictured myself in short hair. The last time I cut my hair short, I was 13 and I was forced to do so and I hated my short hair. I was really surprised with the outcome and now I'm even contemplating if I should even let my hair grow out again lol. 

I have been wanting to try multiple colours on my hair since forever and when I was looking through pinterest, I saw the oil slick hair trend and fell madly in love with it! It was a really impromptu decision but I'm so glad that I did it! I mean, the colours are messy but hey, how many nurses with rainbow hair have you met? 

So unlike my pink hair, this doesn't have any sentimental reason behind it. But I love how it represents my fickle mindedness, hehe. 

That's about it, for now. Goodnight Xx 

My favourite facial products

I feel like I've procrastinated more when it comes to blogging than anything else. Oh, how I truly miss sitting at my desk and being able to write freely.

Anyways, I've been wanting to blog about my favourite skin care products - for my oily-combo skin - so here goes!

1. Tea Tree Toner by The Body Shop - I think that this is by far the only product I've used the longest. I was using this from secondary school up till the beginning of my poly years and I just loved it. I love how applying the toner (after the cleanser from the same range of course) leaves a biting and tingling sensation on certain parts of my face. Plus, tea tree has so much added benefits naturally and the scent is just so therapeutic.
   
   
2. Liquid facial soap for oily skin formula by Clinique - Another product I swear by would be this one. It is no doubt that Clinique offers the best (not even exaggerating here) cleansers. This cleanser is extremely gentle and it definitely helps in keeping my moisture level at bay. It's not too drying and my face stayed shine free almost throughout the day.
   
   
3. Purifying Face Cleanser by Melissa Chen - This is probably the best (but most expensive) facial wash that I've owned. It costs ~$70 and I got it from my local beauty centre. It's pretty upsetting that they don't sell them at drugstores but ah gosh, this product was just so good I refuse to share it! Apart from keeping my face matte all day, it also helps with brightening my face - which is definitely a plus!
   
   
4. Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser by Philosophy - I'm currently using this particular one at the moment. It was highly recommended by my cousin who works at Sephora and I can honestly see why! I actually stopped removing my makeup with a makeup remover because this cleanser gets rid of practically all kinds of gunk on my face. My face feels so clean and fresh and, well there's really no other things to say. I just loveeee it. 

That's all for my list of favourite facial products. What's your favourite cleanser? Xx

Kylie Cosmetic's Metal Matte Liquid Lipstick

Greetings starshines! 

I don't know about you guys but I have always been envious of those living in the US because they always get first dibs on all the latest beauty products. Like hello, did you know how long it took for Maybeline's Age Rewind Concealer to finally be available in Singapore?! TOO LONG I TELL YOU. 

(Side note: Colourpop should totally be available in Singapore like, pronto. Someone please look into it.)

Anyways, when I finally managed to get my hands on some of Kylie's lipkits, I just HAD to share!

These weren't the first liquid lipsticks that I owned and I must say that my love for them grows more and more every time I use them! 

I decided to get the metallic shades because I figured that there are many cheaper dupes for their matte and glosses series. And believe me when I say this: it was the best decision I've ever made! 

I absolutely love the colours! They're just extremely gorgeous and different from whatever I have!

The shades I bought were Heir, King K and Reign.

So here are my thoughts on them in a nutshell.

• Easy application - I guess it applies to all liquid lipsticks and it makes sense because the brush on the applicator is pretty thin and you'll be able to reach the corner of your lips with so much ease. But it's not just that. These lippies glides on so mothereffin' smoothly, it's ridiculous!

• Long lasting - The day I took those photos were the day I first got them and I didn't manage to wear them out till today. I was surprised how the colour stayed through the whole day - mind you, I even had buffalo wings!

• The colour's not pigmented at first - I think the only reasonable explanation for this is that everyone has different natural lip colours and textures which may affect how the lip product can look at you (which also explains how some people can pull it off better than others pfft). But one thing I've noticed that the colour gets better and better throughout the day so you got to give it time.

• It's super expensive - Not gonna lie, this is probably the last time I'll be getting anything from Kylie Cosmetics (until they ever decide to retail them here which I highly doubt so). Their lipkits are all amazing and I wish I had all of them but I recently discovered that there are some other brands that sells a similar shade at a much cheaper rate (Eg. Sephora, Stila). Besides, there are so many brands coming up with liquid lipsticks nowadays!
  
  Also, I would advice to refrain from dealing with resellers because although they may be honest about the authenticity, they may probably be selling them at a higher price for a profit! >:(

I think despite the negatives, I have absolutely no regrets purchasing them. Can't wait to wear them out again! 

Till next time lovelies Xx 

Favourites I

Oh howdy everyone! 

I do apologise for the hiatus. It's just that life's been pretty uneventful (aside from work) and to be frank, I haven't been feeling very inspired lately. It just occured to me that I've been wanting to share my favourites since forever so here we go! 

What: Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser. Where: Watsons, Guardian, Venus. Price: $7 (on sale)

It has always been a challenge to find a suitable makeup remover and I would usually prefer the cream based ones. My cousin recommended this brand to me and it has been amazing! All I have to do is apply this cream all over my face and wipe it off with a facial wipe. It even leaves a moisturized feel on my skin and I love how it preps my face for my proper skincare routine. 

What: Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray. Where: Guardian, Watsons. Price: $24.90

I've always loved hair care products but some I bought were just disappointing and on most days, I get lazy to apply them *guilty*. This product however won my heart over! My hair was definitely not dull and it leaves really big curls at the ends of my hair. It's perfect for days when I didn't feel like having smooth straight hair - plus it's not damaging!

What: Real Techniques Makeup Brushes. Where: Watsons, Guardian. Price: Varies.

If you know me well, you would know that my favourite method of applying makeup would be with my makeup brushes - and I would love to have tons of it! On a personal level, I find that my makeup spreads more evenly with a brush. I actually bought these in a set but the ones here are by far my favourite. I use the buffing brush to apply foundation and the crease brush for my darker eyeshadows to give it more dimension. 

What: Rings. Where: Lovisa. Price: $5 (on sale).

I'm not particularly a big fan of rings because I have rather chubby fingers but I walked into Lovisa one day and saw that this was on sale so why not right? I love how simple it looks and it goes with everything I wear. I'd rarely ever leave home without wearing one or two :)

What: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer. Where: Coles (Australia). Price: $20.85 (AUS).

This was definitely pricey for a drugstore product but while I was in Melbourne, I knew I had to try this out! This concealer has had so many good reviews and is used by so many beauty gurus on youtube. It's definitely a shame that they don't sell them here. I remembered feeling pretty skeptical at first but there was definitely a vast difference when I applied them. It brightened up my under eyes in an instant!

What: Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet. Where: The Body Shop. Price: $32.90.

My love for Body Shop started when I became an avid user of their products from their tea tree range and then I moved forward to their seaweed range and now here I am using their Vitamin E aqua boost sorbet. My skin has improved so much since my teen years so I'm no longer fussy when it comes to my skin care products. I love this one because it gives a really cooling sensation when I apply them - literally like applying sorbet on your face without the stickyness! Like always, it keeps my face moisturized and fresh all day. I doubled this product as a night cream also so it's an added bonus! 

What: Refillable pens. Where: Muji. Price: ~$6

I know, what an awkward thing to add to my favourites. I'm currently undergoing my induction program at work now so I've been writing lots of notes and using the right pen is crucial for me. I've always loved pens from Muji although they're slightly more on the pricey side and I have to admit that they actually finish pretty quickly - but they just glide on so smoothly and I just love using them! The refills costs roughly $1 plus so it's pretty worth it after all :) 

What: Covergirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous Liquid Foundation. Where: Coles (Australia). Price: ~$18 (AUS).

Another product I was skeptical about at first (because I'm not a big fan of liquid foundation) but this foundation lasted all day! I would usually wear this on most days for work when I'm not feeling lazy because it's sweat proof and shine free. I've heard a lot of good things from covergirl so that's why I decided to get this one and I have completely no regrets. Totally worth investing in this one. 

So that's pretty much it for my favourites! Apologies again for the lack of updates. On a side note, here's to wishing all my Muslim brothers and sisters a blessed Ramadan. Have a good week ahead!

My Everyday Makeup Routine

I've always loved watching makeup tutorials on youtube and everyday makeup tutorials are my favourite kind. So I thought I would like to share my beauty regime I do on an almost daily basis. 

This is how I would do my makeup whenever I'm going out and yes, it's pretty basic. I do own other makeup products but these are my favourite ones.   

Here's me - facially naked. I don't usually start my makeup fresh after my skincare routine (though I think I really should). And as usual, I like putting my hair back despite how ugly my fringe always turns out afterwards. Well, it all depends on luck.  

Step 1: Priming my face

The one I have here is from Laura Mercier. I used to neglect this step until I randomly decided to get a primer while I was walking around Sephora and I've got no regrets! My foundation stayed all day and there was lesser shine too. I have oily combo skin and I've always prefer the matte look so this primer helps me achieve it.

They have other foundation primers suited for different skin types. You may click here to find out more about them.

Step 2: Foundation 

If you don't own this foundation by benefit cosmetics, then it's time for you to totally get one! 

I've never been a fan of liquid foundations because they can be pretty messy but I've seen a lot of good reviews about this one. It is so lightweight and natural looking and at the same time, gives a flawless finish. I'd say that it gives a medium coverage because it still doesn't hide my most stubborn pimples but this product just won my heart over.  

Step 3: Concealer 

I've actually never used concealer before my mum gave this to me and honestly, I'll only apply it when I feel like it. Yes, I do have fairly bad black under eyes due to my frequent colds but I do not find it necessary to apply them as the difference won't be very vast. 

But as far as concealers go, this is probably the best one I've tried and it's from Revlon. On a personal level, I do believe that Revlon's pretty underrated for a drugstore brand and it definitely deserves so much more recognition. So if you're looking for a concealer, then I would recommend this one! 

Step 4: Powder 

Another Revlon makeup product I have would be their Colorstay pressed powder. I can be pretty fussy when it comes to press powders because on days when I don't feel like using my foundation, I'd solely rely on my pressed powder for a nice skin texture on my face. And since it's a drugstore product, I don't have to worry about having to set aside a handful of money to get an expensive one every few months. It has a pretty matte finish and it doesn't run off throughout the day like some do. 

Step 5: Eyebrows 

Once I'm done with my base makeup, I continue on with my brows and here, I have the brow kit from body shop. I actually have really sparse eyebrows (one side is more sparse than the other because my mother accidentally snipped it off when I was younger) so I just use this to fill them in. I'm really no expert in shaping my brows so if you're no expert in this area - and trust me when I say that eyebrow drawing/tracing can get pretty crazy if you're not good at it - then you can try this out using an angled brush. 

Step 6: Blush 

I used to own a compact blush until I realize that a cheek stain is much more convenient because I don't need a brush to apply it. I got mine from Tarte Cosmetics in the shade tipsy and I don't think you can see it here but it gives a really feminine rosy shine. They have different shades if you're interested to check them out!

Step 7: Mascara

This is no doubt my favourite step! I have really short eyelashes so I get excited after applying mascara because my lashes will tend to look fuller and perkier (especially perkier!). I'm using one from Rimmel London and unfortunately, they don't sell them in Singapore (not that I know off). I bought this while I was in Australia and if I knew that this was gonna be one really good mascara, I would have bought a dozen of them! I haven't tested if they're waterproof yet but just to show how curled up my lashes become after applying it, here are a few close ups :) 

Moving on to the final step!

Step 8: Lipstick 

I actually prepped my lips in the beginning or a few steps before applying lipstick. My lips can look really chapped and applying lipstick on chapped lips just isn't pretty. So I used the lip balm from Nivea to moisturize my lips. 

My current favourite lipstick is the one from The Body Shop 's Colour Crush collection and this is in a baby pink shade which I absolutely love! You'd probably think I'm bias because I'm a pink lover but in my opinion, I do believe that light pink lipsticks go well with everything. I do occasionally wear the ever so classic Ruby Woo from MAC Cosmetics (which is something I think every girl should own) but still, you can never go wrong with this pink one right here.

On a side note, I really should be exploring other lipstick shades and colours :p

So yeah, here's my finished look!

I know there isn't much of a drastic change but when I wear my make up, I don't really aim to look like a completely different person. I believe that you shouldn't really waste so much time trying to look like someone else when you're already the best version of yourself, right? And well, it still doesn't hurt to wear some makeup once in awhile :) 

Goodnight lovelies! Xx