YOU Beauty Discovery Advent Calendar

I recently purchased the YOU Beauty Discovery Advent Calendar from YOU Beauty Discovery online and it came into my mail by 30/11!

Just in case you don't know what a advent calendar is, it is actually a special calendar used to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of Christmas, it normally starts on 1 December. As for a beauty advent calendar, it is a calendar filled with 25 different beauty products and you open one door to discover one new product everyday. It is so much fun in opening each door every day, 'cause you will never expect what's inside.

I will keep track of my advent calendar experience on my Instagram by posting a video of unboxing and showing you all the product everyday. If you would like to know what I get everyday, check out my Instagram account @jacqtalks :)

*I will try to do a review on some products that I really like/ dislike here.

My 2013 Christmas Wish List

Top left: Naked 3 Eyeshadow Palette by Urban Decay http://tinyurl.com/pd78663

Top right: Redline Collection - Cube in Blue http://tinyurl.com/ok787xz 

Bottom left: Mini Bailey Button Bling Ugg boots http://tinyurl.com/o9j7a4b

Bottom right: Boy Chanel iPhone 5 case http://tinyurl.com/ox5e5u6

Hope I can get my hands on everything I want during this Christmas!

#BigKnit with Innocent smoothies!

Have you guys tried Innocent smoothies before? If you're living in the United Kingdom, then you will know what I'm talk about! Innocent smoothie is a smoothie brand which offers natural fruit smoothies in various flavours. My favourite flavour is bananas and strawberries, it is soooo good. 

Every Christmas, they will collaborate with AgeUK to carry out the BigKnit campaign. Small hats are knitted and put on top of each bottle, each bottle sold will contribute 25p to AgeUK. The money raised will be spent on buying blankets, offering hot meals and organizing social gatherings for the elderly and let them enjoy a warm and joyful Christmas.

I got mine from Tesco this morning, if you wanna do a good cause and enjoy this yummy smoothie, go get one now! :)

Sam Tsui x Kurt Hugo Schneider concert

On 15/9, my boyfriend surprised me by bringing me to watch Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider's Concert! I was like 'oh em gee. Sam Tsui is in Hong Kong? Are you kidding me?!' And yea, I saw him! And I was super close to him :)

The concert was awesome! He sang a lot of his own songs from his new album 'Make it up' and some of his most popular covers! Here are some pictures from the night.

The ticket

Opening

Kurt and Sam <3

Sam singing!

Me and boyfriend trying to get closer to the stage

P.S. Just in case you don't know who Sam Tsui is, he is a vocalist who sings on YouTube and now on a tour in the Asia Pacific region. Below is my favourite cover from him! Enjoy :)

Ootd: I miss my boyfriend

'I miss my boyfriend'

Jacket: Denim Jacket from F21

Top: 'No Boyfriend No Problem' t shirt from Muah Mush

Bottom: Black leggings from Miss Selfridges 

Shoes: Black flats from Zara

NOTD: Barry M

After reading all the positive reviews on the internet, I decided to purchase this Hi-Shine Nail Polish from Barry M. Gosh, it's really nice. The colour pay off is brilliant and it's literally 'high shine' - super glossy. You will have a feeling that you don't have to put on topcoat after apply 1 coat of this polish. Here are the pictures of my nails.

Review: Dewy Tree Trehalose Aqua Solution Mask

Long time no blog! I have been extremely busy with assignments and exam these days. I hate exams :/ especially when I have a few exams packed in 2 days! I enjoy putting on facial masks whenever I want to take a break from revision lol so I think it's a good time to a review on this Dewytree mask too!

This mask is made in Korea and it claims that it has extracts from the plants in desert therefore very moisturising.

DIY Time! Heart Shaped Lego Jewellery Box

Just got back from a 10-day-vacation! I went to Spain and Germany - 2 places with extreme weather. And now I am back to reality, got to start working on my assignments and exams : / Before actually getting started for work, I decided to do some DIY stuff to brighten up my day! I bought a Lego package from Frankfurt's lego shop and made this cute heart shaped jewellery box <3

Package of the lego I bought

Updated everyday makeup bag

As I have mentioned in my previous post, everything was gone, even my makeup bag. YES. That guy stole my makeup bag as well.. -_- So I have to repurchase some of the items and switch some products that I normally use at home to be part of my everyday essentials.

Let pictures do the saying!

My makeup bag from Agnis b, it's made of water-proof material.
I bought this in Hong Kong 7 years ago.. still in good shape haha

NOTD: Chanel

I own a few Chanel polishes but all are in Hong Kong's home at the moment so I don't really have chance to paint with those. Recently, one of my really good friends bought me some new nail polishes from the Chanel Spring 2013 collection and I tried to paint them on my nails. He bought me May 535 and Frisson 543. And I tried 535 May today :)

Base coat: Models Own | 2 coats of Chanel La Vernis Nail Color May 535 | Top coat: Sally Hansen Anti-Chip Top Coat

Everything is gone :(

Sorry for lacking on blogposts.. Recently, something bad happened to my house and most of my valuable stuff were gone. (laptop, computer, wallet...) and that's why I was not able to blog these days. And I have no camera to take pictures for reviews and stuff now :/ I will try using my crappy phone camera to take pictures and continue on reviews once my new laptop arrives!

Review: BeautyUK Eyeshadow and Eyeliner Palette

I saw this palette when I was queueing to pay at Superdrugs. My instant thought was 'Wow, eyeliner and eyeshadow palette - something that I have longed to have for ages!' So I just grabbed this and brought it to the till. I picked up no.2 amazon and it came with 6 neutral yet shimmery shadows, 1 black and 1 brown gel liner. I tried them on my hands and quite amazed by its pigmentation (given that its only £3.99)! I googled and that's what it wrote on their official website.

'WINNER! - Best New Eye Product 2011 at the Pure Beauty awards in London.

Everything you could want in a palette! A collection of our 6 intensely pigmented shades and 2 gel-based liners - More precise than a pencil, more forgiving than a liquid, this super-smooth formula offers more control, play time, and buildable coverage than your average liner'

What it looks like on their official page

I agreed that it's definite those colours you would like to have in a palette, all shades are very neutral and suitable to use on a daily basis. I personally like gel liners more than liquid and pen ones so I really like the fact they put gel liner in as well. It's always a problem for me to bring my pot of gel liner, a shadow palette, liner brush and shadow brush when I go travelling. With this, I can just bring this palette then I am good to go ! So let the pictures do the talking -

What is actually looks like - the attached brush is duo-sided; one for shadow and the other  for eye liner

Swatches - swatched according to the order on the palette

I did a natural brown smoky eye to show how the colours showed on actual eyelids.

I used the white as a base and to highlight my brow bones, the  light brown shade for my lids, the dark brown shade at the end of my lids to contour and the gold in the middle to make my eyes look more 3D. I also used the brown gel liner to line my eyes.

Closer look

I think the colours are quite pigmented (I put on a shadow base though). The gel liner started to smudge after 5-6 hours which is pretty awesome for this price range. You can normally get a drug store single eye shadow with only £3.99 and therefore I think this palette is a good bargain! I couldn't say this is a must-have palette but I would highly recommend this palette for people who start putting on make up or someone who is looking for a travel-friendly compact! :)

NOTD: Look Beauty

Look Beauty's Nail Pop nail varnishes always surprise me with its colour paid off whenever I use it. I used Grape Juice today. Look at the colour below! With 2 coats, it gave me a really nice opague purple colour :) And I think these nail polishes are very affordable, selling at £5 each. I got them online which was even cheaper, 2 for £6! Such a bargain :D I might get some more of these later on! Love them <3  

Overview

My thumb - My hands look whiter with this nail polish! 

Haul time! F21 Accessories

Recently, I got a few goodies from Forever 21 at Birmingham. And it's probably my first time in this year to get stuff from there! All of them were bargains and I was pretty happy with what I got. I got a pair of earrings, 2 necklaces and a pair of heels.. all of them were so wearable :) and when I stepped into F21, I realized it's time to get some clothes for SPRINGGGG! Let pictures do the saying now!

Mint Green x Gold Earrings - £3.15

Silver necklace with an Eagle - £3ish | It's not a very long necklace which I can always pair up with some jersey t-shirts, just to spice your outfit a little bit.

Closer look

Silver necklace with 3 diamonte triangles - £2.40 | Simple piece that I can top that up with all outfit basically! I am looking for a necklace that is not too girly nor too funky (lol) for my business suit recently and that's the one!

Closer look

Open toes black heels with platform (Front view) - £25max | My legs looked so elongated after putting this on! And it's actually quite comfy.. well compared to other 5" heels.. :P

Side view

So sorry that I have been wearing some of the items only and I lost the price tag :( I will try to update the prices whenever possible xx

NOTD: L'Oreal

I painted my nails yesterday with a new nail polish I bought from Superdrugs for the sake of the V day. But aww I love this nude pink colour so much, it makes my hands look whiter now. I am pretty impressed by the colour for this nail polish, with one coat, it's quite opague already. I wanted a more solid pink color, therefore I went for 2 coats and topped with my Sally Hansen top cat. Even my boyfriend praised my nail color (first time he did that :-o) during our vday dinner. I am really like this collection of nail polishes, the packaging looks really nice as well. Mini but elegant :)

Base coat: Models Own NP041 | L'Oreal Paris 204 Boudoir Rose | Top coat: Sally Hansen Insta-dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Haul time! Sephora at Rome

I got a few beauty/skincare products from Sephora during my trip at Rome. It's my first time visiting Sephora hahhaa so I purchased some of their products instead of products from other brands.. even though I really want to get some goodies from Urban Decay and Too Faced... ><

Here are the things I bought in Sephora...

Sephora day cream with SPF 15 - tried on my hands, not too thick nor sticky but it gives a dewy finish on my hands.. looking forward to try them out!

Sephora single eyeshadow - N.26

Very pigmented and love the shimmery bit. It becomes my go-to eyeshadow now :D

Swatch on my hand - can't really see the pigmentation on screen, but the colour really pops out when I put that on my lids :)

Sephora Rouge Shine Lipstick - N.39

Swatch on my hand - Quite shimmery and the color is very buildable!

Sephora Professionnel Smudge brush No. 14

Sephora Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner - Heard reviews on these for quite a while, finally got to try it. I think it's quite good for cleaning brushes on a daily basis, the scent is quite nice too. I used to use the MAC ones but now I like this more as it is uses a spray bottle. You need to pour the MAC one out yourself  to clean the brushes but I normally pour too much of it... 

That's it for my Sephora haul! I wish there is a Sephora in the UK too.. 

Travel time! Rome, Italy

Last week, I went to Rome for a 3-days-2-nights trip with my boyfriend ;) yes, a pre-celebration of Valentines' Day! Rome is such an amazing city, love the heritage, love the Italian food and love the annual sale there! There were so many spots to visit that I walked almost 8 hours everyday lol but it surely worth visiting. I could tell how glorious the Roman Empire used to be.. There is one special thing in Rome in February is that there is an annual sale during this month! Everything was on crazy discounts, even those high end brands like Moncler and Salvatore Ferragamo! ANDDDDD There is SEPHORA in Italy which I have never visited before. I always see reviews on Sephora products and how amazing the collection of beauty products the shop owns. ( the place where I spent most $ there!) Mini haul will be coming soon :)

No more talking, let's get to the pictures!

Making a wish in front of Fountain di Trevi

Pizza time! Love Ham&Cheese and Potato pizza :)

Climbing up to the Cupola at St Peter's Basillica

Lovely breakfast provided by the Hotel - I stayed in Hotel Aurelius (Highly recommend!)

Overview of Vatican City - I felt peace when I was there and saw the Pope too!

Roman Forum - amazing architecture

Of course, one cannot leave Rome without having Gelato! Gelato sandwich @ FLOR

Colosseum - sorry for my excited face, really excited when I saw this! An architecture that I have heard about since 3 years old I guess :p

Review: Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturizing Lip Cream

Today I am going to do a mini review and some swatches on one of my favourite lip products - Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturizing Lip Cream. I have been using these lip creams for over half a year and I am still loving them! Amazingg huh? ;) I love this lip cream so much that I bought 3 different colours which they only had 4 colours in the market. Each costs  £2.99 and they are available at Superdrug (UK Drugstore).

Here comes the review...

My Beloved Lip Creams - Nude to Pink-est (From left to right)

Product names: Angel Delight 4 | Cotton Candy 1 | Fairy Cake 3 (From top to bottom)

Swatches: Angel Delight 4 | Cotton Candy 1 | Fairy Cake 3 (From Left to right)

Only applied Vaseline Lip Balm

 My dry lips :/

One coat of Angel Delight

 I absolutely love to apply this color when I am doing a heavy makeup, this will make my eye makeup more 'popped out'! It looks much more nude in reality ..poor lighting :/

One coat of Cotton Candy

 This is my go-to lip color. I always apply this whenever I am in school or at work. It has a really subtle pink and suits my everyday makeup a lot.

One coat of Fairy Cake

Nothing much to say, love it! It is brighter than cotton candy but yet still gives a matte finish to my lips.

The Applicator

The applicator is a pointy sponge tip one. I quite like it but it's not that easy to clean :/ So if you are a person who are obsessed with clean makeup tools, this may not be the most appropriate lip product for you.

Overall, I like this lip cream a lot not only it is highly pigmented but also giving a matte finish to my lips. I hate glossy finishes, it will just discourage your boyfriend from kissing you. lol Apart from the colours, it is quite hydrating too, my lips start feeling dry after 3-4 hours which is pretty amazing for a drugstore lip product. With its affordable price and high quality, I would rate it as 4.5/5 as a lip product!

*this is my first review so please bare with my poor lighting and stuff...*