Amazing Grace

I bought this in the US from Sephora just before I headed back home to London (I know it was plenty of years ago, but I'm still rather heartbroken Sephora closed in London). I've always loved the Amazing Grace scent and have a tiny 'sample' bottle of it from one of the Sephora sampler Christmas packs.

They say the scent is soft feminine and floral (floral blossoms with a hint of light musk). To me the scent is soapy and clean - very feminine, but not specifically floral. Either way it's a delightful daytime scent.

I got the set, so it came with the body butter and shower gel, both of which I have yet to use. Philosophy bath products have not failed me yet though, so I doubt it will start with these.

Something I love about Philosophy is their packaging. They really hit the nail on the head. This specific set is made with Mother's Day in mind, and the packaging allows you the option of removing the generic photo and instead putting your own personalized picture inside. It's such a small detail - but they're the ones that always make the difference!

A little Obsessed?

So for as long as I can remember...or well, at least the past few months, I have been lusting after a Michael Kors Rose Gold watch. My dear parents finally took the hint and as a 'gift' for the start of university I adopted into my family my new baby - my Michael Kors watch.

Sometimes I touch it just to check it's reality...honestly though. My sister caught me a few times and started laughing.

Whirlwinds

The past few weeks has been a whirlwind and a half.
Since my last post, I flew half way round the world back from Singapore to the East Coast of America, and the home to London before going on a quick week long holiday to Tenerife with friends.
The whole thing was rather comical. I had a couple of energetic 'last minute' shopping days in America before packing up my whole life neatly into two suitcases, (one of which ironically burst open as it came through baggage claim) and flying home to London. I then went on the epitome of a classy British holiday in Tenerife, which then required two days to recover from my ailments of a week with almost sleep.
Next came Freshers. If anyone knows Universities Freshers in the UK, the KNOW nothing takes a higher priority than sleeping....and drinking...but mostly sleeping.
Now here we are.

So my goal is to get back into the swing of things. I'm sorry that I left you so long. My mind has been thinking up new ideas faster than my body can react to them.

Food for Cuticles

After I slew of bad manicures I decided to take matters into my own hands, and am buying all the tools to do my own manicures. I recently stopped by Skinfood and as of my favourite asian brand I
decided to try my luck and pick up their 'Coffee Almond Nail Scrub'.

I love that this scrub doesnt only help take away dead skin, but hydrates and moisturises the cuticle area too. Not to mention it smells delicious! Coffee and Almonds? Yum!

I'm obsessed. I just know that when I'm back in university I'll be using this scrub as a form of procrastination.

'The Disposable' Bracelet

Being the creature of habit that I am I made another trip to the $2 store for some DIY supplies. I say 'another trip', like it was only one trip...but we can talk more on that later. Since my lace bracelet turned out better than expected I thought I'd try my luck again and went straight for some ribbon. It turns out much like lace, ribbon frays. Only it's a little weaker, and when it frays it FRAYS. Although, dipping the end in some wax or pvc glue certainly helps matters.

So instead of creating a bracelet to last - which is what I've tried to do in the past - I'm branding this one 'The Disposable'. For $2 SGD/ £1 I received 6m of ribbon, and each bracelet is around 35cm in length. That means for $2 I can make 17 disposable bracelets!

DIY RIBBON BRACELET

Materials: Ribbon

Step 1 
Cut a piece of ribbon to size. The piece I used was about 33cm in length - evidently it depends on your wrist size and how tight you want the bracelet. My wrist is 14.5cm around.

Step 2 
Tie a knot leaving a 2-3 inches at the end. I thought I'd include pictures on tying a knot....just in case - always be prepared!

Step 3
I personally tied 6 knots with spaces of around an inch in between. Obviously here you can use your own discretion on how close you want the knots to be.
nb.Of course, if the physical action of tying 6 knots in your ribbon proves too much for you, you can just wear it as is. 

I paired two of the knotted ribbon bracelet with one plain ribbon bracelet.

These are lots of fun since they come is any colour under the sun with varying textures and patterns and they're incredibly easy and inexpensive to make. Then best of all, they are even suitable for people that share my skill level in arts and crafts - a low, low, LOW skill level. Enjoy! 

Dreaming of Péridot

peridot gem

The beautiful colour and semi-holographic nature of the Chanel Péridot vernis actually reminds me of Missha 'hgr01'. Which is why I had to think if I wanted to buy it or not - since Missha is so inexpensive in comparison to Chanel. However, I decided that as inexpensive as hgr01 is, it's still a completely different shade to péridot, and so money exchanged hands and I got to take péridot home with me.  

I actually had to rush out the house before I had a chance to paint my nails, so I found myself painting my nails in a bank, no less. I felt somewhat bad about half gassing everyone with the stench of polish, but I decided they would appreciate the colour once I'd finished.   So yes, the skill of application leaves something to be desired, but the colour speaks for itself.

peridot gem via

Occupation of a Queen

"Lace - the invention of a goddess and the occupation of a Queen."

I've been having a love affair with lace of late, and when I stopped by the $2 shop the other day I saw some beautiful lace strips in the DIY section. So naturally, my first thought was 'I NEED to buy this', then once my reasoning caught up with my desire, I realised I needed to do something with it. So, I present to you my,

DIY: Lace Bracelet.

Materials: Elastic, Lace, Thread, A Button

Step 1

Lay the lace and the elastic together, and tie a knot onto the end of the thread you are using. Make sure you leave a 2-3 inch length of bare elastic at the beginning. Then, from the underside of the bracelet start by threading the needle through the elastic first, and then through the lace.

nb. one small knot in the thread will suffice as it would take a large force to pull this through the elastic.

Step 2

Go back on yourself and thread through the lace and then through the elastic.

Step 3

Continue to weave over and under to secure the lace and elastic together.

nb. I used lace that had concentrated bits of lace where my thread-work would be hidden.

Step 4

Once you reach the length you want make sure the thread is secure and will not unravel by making another tight knot as close to the elastic as possible. You can cut the lace where it ends, and leave an extra 1 centimetre to sew the button to.

Step 5

Sew on the button to the 1 centimetre of bare elastic.

Step 6

On the other side where there is 2 inches of bare elastic, fold it in such a way that when the button it attached, it will still lay straight (as done in the above photo)

nb. To stop the lace from fraying once cut, you can dip the ends in a little bit of PVC glue, so that they'll stay together and your bracelet will last for a longer time.

You can make the bracelet go once around, or make it into a wrap bracelet! I personally prefer the single one as once there are too many wraps it starts to look a little like a bandage.

Small Haul

When shopping in different countries I like to keep a structured shopping plan so that I don't miss out on anything I really want...I completely failed to do this in Singapore. I mean completely. I see things and think, 'I'll come back and get this' and then forget what they were. Although I guess that's the mark of not entirely needing something - or maybe it just proves at the grand old age of 19 I am finally submitting to the inevitable - memory loss. Either way, I'm buying anything I see and really want straight away now.

Skin Food

Skin Food is actually a South Korean make up company. When I went to South Korea a few months ago I bought a few things that I absolutely adore! For the most part the prices definitely marked up in Singapore, but some of the things they sell I love so much, (and look so cute) that just a couple of purchases are necessary.
The 'Pedicure Sparkle' is actually more expensive than the 'Nail Vita', but all the pedicure colours they do are to die for, and tend to have good staying power.

Sasa
In Singapore there's a pharmacy chain named 'Sasa' which sells some great things.

The sasatinnie is pretty self explanitory - it's shaped like a heart! The ocean blue shimmer is really gorgeous. I'm excitied to see the formulation of these since they're just 2 for $3.50 and a perfect mini size! I wouldn't mind buying a couple more if they're good.

I couldn't pass up on the pack of eyelashes for just $5 SGD/£2.50/$4 USD. They aren't too long and look just natural enough, so I'm excited to try them out. 6 pairs for $5 is a deal I just couldn't miss out on.

The Champagne Nail Cocktail is something from Japan - since the price is in Yen on the back. My friend showed it to me a couple months ago, and as soon as I spotted it in the store I HAD to have it. It's probably one of the easiest things to recreate, but on the off chance this is a really special 3-pack, I had to go ahead and buy it. At least the individual colours are pretty - especially the gold!

Watsons

This mascara by 'majolica' was recommended to me by a friend. It's supposed to have great staying power and be volumising too.

Other things

I bought these super cute gold plated earrings from a little boutique the other day. My ears are pretty sensitive to metals so hopefully they won't react badly to these.

Soon I'll be posting a DIY on this bracelet. I'm currently making a wrap one as well. This first one was pretty much just working out the stitching and the closure etc. I love the way it turned out, and the lace seems to blend well with my permanent fixture gold bracelets. It's fast becoming a staple to my wrist.

Singapore Coconut Survival

One of my favourite things about Singapore are their markets.
One of my least favourite things about Singapore is the heat and humidity.
It just so happens, markets are outside in the wonderful heat and humidity, and thus difficult choices must be made. I, naturally, took the heat in my stride. 

Heat aside, the Hawker centres are really the most fascinating things. Rows of stalls serving up delicious local and continental foods. Then just across the way are stalls selling almost everything else under the sun.
My favourite thing after a browsing the stalls selling clothes, accessories and household items is to head on over to the food court and buy a young coconut.

In Clementi, the coconut I bought was just $2.20 SGD - that's just $1.80 USD.
They open up the top for you, and arm you with a spoon, straw and cup. You can scrape off the coconut itself from the shell walls to eat, and drink the coconut water within.

The Health Benefits
Coconut water is incredibly healthy, and is enjoying recent success in the US markets as companies like 'Zico' and 'Naked' become more popular. People are realising the healthy benefits coconut water has:


1. Re-hydrates your body, works to keep you cool and replenishes your bodies liquids.
2. Raises your metabolism and promotes weight loss.
3. Boosts your immune system and fights viruses.
4. Controls diabetes
5. Balances the pH and reduces risk of cancer.
6. Boosts poor circulation.

Coconut Oil

Coconut in Makeup
Coconut isn't just another yummy fragrance to add to make up to make it smell better, it also has great benefits for your skin!
Coconut oil is extracted from the kernel of matured coconut. It can be used to:


1. Hydrate and moisturise dry skin.
2. Reduce protein loss in hair.


No. 1 is pretty self explanatory, but 2 is more useful than it may at first sound. Hair is made of protein, which is made of amino acids. By reducing protein loss, you hair is made stronger and less likely to break or split.

Other things I love in the market? These incredibly adorable pastries. Isn't it the cutest pig? and YES that's a bunny in the back. I don't know how anyone could eat these. Too. Adorable. 

Coconut oil via

The Gilded Age

Ever since I got to Singapore a week ago, I've been on the move. Constantly counting the days until my imminent departure. Making sure I could fit everything in...which is when I realised, 10 days just isn't enough time to really see it - even if you have been before. Take two days for complaining about the heat, and three for the humidity, and you're already down to half of what you started with.

 

Yesterday, I pushed my flights back an extra week. As a reward to myself for my airline being able to accommodate my indecisiveness, I'm taking a day out to relax.

So today I bring to you an incredibly simple post on 'The Gilded Age' a Wet n' Wild colouricon eye shadow trio. Brought on by the fact I have limited resources and that the guardian pharmacy near me only stocks overpriced Revlon and Maybelline. I wish someone had let me know before I ran out in the heat of the day with only my sunglasses to protect me from the ball of fiery death that is the Singapore sun.

The Overview

I like to throw everything I own into my bag. Literally. I walk around with a huge weight daily. The only good thing that comes from this is the HOPE it will tone my arms. So when I come across a great cheap product like the Wet n' Wild Eye shadow Trios, I take advantage of it. $3 down the drain is much better that $23!

The Application

The trio provides you with three colours that work together. Embossed in each shadow is the suggested use of each, 'browbone', 'crease' and 'eyelid'. 

In this trio I tend to use the pink as my eyelid colour, and the dark as my crease colour, and if I'm feeling particularly fancy I'll apply the gold to the centre of my lid. 

The Durability

What I love most about these shadows are that they are incredibly durable. Even in hot Singapore, with no primer, they do not slip, slide or crease on me and stay on all day long. The colours apply just as strong as they look in the palette and the fallout is minimal. In fact, I have no qualms over the trio.

The Damage

The Wet n' Wild colouricon eye shadow trios are priced around the $3 USD in most stores. A complete steal!

nb. 'The Gilded Age' was a limited edition Wet n' Wild trio, and unfortunately the only Wet n' Wild trio I have with me in Singapore to review. They are still available on Ebay, albeit for a marked up price. I tend to find most Wet n' Wild eye shadows to be of good quality. If you're particularly partial to blue/teal the 'Blue had me at hello' coloricon palette is fantastic, and another favourite of mine.