The semester is over!

I am finally done with my 4th year. Rejoice rejoice.
Let us welcome Summer Holidays.

This is my FOTD.

For my base, it is my first time trying my Rimmel True Match foundation which I had bought quite awhile ago. So far, I quite like this foundation. It has a medium-full coverage with a dewy finish. I really like the dewy finish on my skin, it just gives my skin a healthy glowy look. I am quite impressed with this Rimmel foundation.

EOTD.

The mascara I am using today is the L;oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. My eyelashes do look pretty good in the picture.

I hopped into H&M today and I just got one thing. Something intrigue me very much.

It is the Makeup Sponge by H&M.
Doesn't it look familiar? Yes, It looks similar to the Beauty Blender. I can't fork out so much money for the beauty blender, so I have to settle for a cheap dupe.

It feels really dense and rubbery.

I am excited to see how it performs, will come back with a review on it.

Walk around Moscow : Olympics Gala Concert

After we flew back from Sochi to Moscow, we had the chance to watch the 'Olympics Gala Concert' in Luzhniki Stadium.

Since we didn't watch all figure skating events in Sochi. I thought it was a good chance since Virtue/Moir and Davis/White were participating in this gala event. 

Before the Gala starts, I just had to go to GUM. It's like my only hang out place in Moscow. 

The Olympic Rings decoration in GUM during the Olympics season. 

Our tickets. We bought our tickets with a very discounted price for the afternoon sitting. 

It's a working day, I guess there were many leftover tickets for the afternoon sitting. 

Stage setting of the Olympic Gala with a live orchestra. 

Davis/White.

They performed an exhibition to a Russian music.

Szolkowy/Savchenko performing to one of favourite free programme of the season - The Nutcracker.
It's so beautiful. This is 2nd time seeing this programme. Ofcourse in the gala, the programme is watered down.

Curtain call. 

Travel diary : Follow me around Melbourne

My friends and I took AirAsia flight from LCCT, Malaysia to Melbourne. We arrived Australia at night and checked in our hostel which is Discovery Melbourne.

We chose this hostel because it is cheap and we are staying in Melbourne for a week, we don't want our accommodation to mess up our budget.

Sad face on the bed. 

I don't like sleeping at the top of a double decker. I slept well on the first night because I was too tired but in the morning, the whole room was freezing!

Someone just opened the window for the whole night and it's winter, in Australia atleast. 

The first stop of our Melbourne Journey is Queen Victoria Market where we are going to get breakfast. 

Yummy Potato Rings. 

German hot dog from Bratwurst in Queen Victoria Market.

If you do stop by the market, I recommend to try out this German Hot Dog. It taste really good.
I got the smoked pork sausage with lots of Sauerkraut. The Sauerkraut is great but the best one I had was in Hungary ( I haven't been to Germany to try authentic Sauerkraut but hey! Hungarian cuisines are also inspired by German cuisines, they can't taste too different).

Time to dig in!

The portion is big. My friend and I shared the portion so we could leave more space in our stomach for more food.

I will a separate "Eating in Melbourne" and compile great food I have had in Melbourne.

Royal Arcade in Bourke's Street.

Bourke's Street is a shopping street. They are arcades, department stores and also boutiques along the street.

We went into the Royal Arcade Mall for a look. The architecture of the mall is so elegant.

The Melbourne State Library.
It is located opposite of Melbourne Central.

We were waiting for our friend who studies and currently lives in Melbourne to take us around Melbourne and also take us to a good restaurant.
We didn't go into the library but we took a leisure walk around its compounds. Is it me or there's a lot of seagulls in Melbourne.

A picture outside the State Library.

In Melbourne Central. There's a lot of shops in this train station. We roamed around for awhile and went for some shopping.

I only got one thing from the a shop called Typo.

Matryoshka earphones. Aren't they the cutest thing ever?

Night view at Yarra River. 

We are taking this picture from the South Wharf after shopping in DFO. 

I didn't post a haul post on the clothes I got from DFO but they weren't very interesting pieces. 

Also since I stayed in near the city center, basically every night my friend and I will head to Big W to look for snacks to snack on. I would say chocolate in Australia seems to taste better than what we have got over here. Could it be the milk? 

And, milk in Australia is awesome, the taste is just so good! If you are in Australia, you just have to try their milk. 

I really enjoyed my stay in Melbourne , there will be another few more posts about my journey in Melbourne. So stay tune!

If you have missed my cosmetics haul in Melbourne. I will link the post over here. Also, a perfume haul from Mychemist over here. 

Also, please do follow me on Bloglovin'.

Thank you. 

Little June Haul

I accompanied my blockmate to the beauty store which is probably one of the worst decisions I have made. Knowing me, It is impossible for me to leave the store without getting anything.
Guilty as charged. I came out the beauty store with three items.

The much raved Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream. My shade is in 31, I am pretty fair so this suits me just nice. I first heard about this CC Cream from Essiebutton and how much she likes it. I trust Essiebutton's opinions, so whatever she recommends, I just have to get it. This was the last tube  in the racks, I thought to myself, get it now or never since the beauty store is awful when it comes to restocking their products.
I swatched it on my hand and I pretty like the formula, it feels really lightweight. The coverage is light-medium, which is alright for my current skin condition. I am pretty excited to try it out.

L'oreal Volumisse Extra Black Mascara or as known in the US, L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara. I got this mascara because it was on sale. At the same, I got it because I wanted to try it and see whether is it worth all the hype. I am currently on the hunt to find a good lengthening + volumizing mascara since my favourite mascara, Maybelline TheMagnum is all done and I can't get this mascara at where I am currently. I know it is just weeks before I go back home for university break but before that, there's Summer Holidays and I want to look good in photos.

Essence Eyeliner Pen. I am going for a holiday soon and I do need a waterproof and smudge-proof eyeliner. My Maybelline Gel Eyeliner just smudges all over my eyes and by the end of the day, I would look like a panda. So I do hope this eyeliner stays and doesn't smudge, so I can look good in my travel photos. 

and I have hauled again!

First, I want to say, I am back to bad lighting. Please bear with the lighting because I can't help it.
Weather has been bad, there's no natural sunlight and it's exam period, I don't want to go to my roommate's study table area (where the window is) and disturb her.

I have been checking on the website of the beauty store near my hostel and finally they have brought in the Bourjois Rouge Velvet. I have been waiting for them to bring in the Rouge Velvet for the longest time.
Since I have a 15% off in my beauty card, I always try to get most of my beauty products there, the price without discount is cheaper than most beauty stores out there and with the discount, I can get a better deal. They have a morning 5% discount everyday before 12pm. So 5% with 15%, I get 20% off my purchases, not too bad of a deal.

I went in only wanting to pick up the Rouge Velvet but you know, no one ever goes in the beauty store getting what they want.

I came back with 4 items.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet

I first fell in love with the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet when I was swatching it in another beauty store, the texture is just to die, it's smooth, airy and feels like velvet on the lips. In the other store they were selling it for 520 rubles (Approx. USD15) which I would say is really steep for a drugstore lipstick, so, I picked up one colour which I love the most which is Pink Pong! but do I want other colours? The answer is yes.
I told myself to hold it in and wait till the beauty store near my hostel stocks them.

If you haven't seen my haul post with the other shade (Pink Pong!). I am linking it here.

Finally they stocked them and it is priced for 499 rubles (Approx USD14.50). Steep? Still really steep but I have my beauty card and also I took the advantage of the morning discount and I got the lipstick at a much better price of 399 rubles (Approx USD11.60). To my surprised, with all the discounts in, it is cheaper than the retail price in UK (but in the UK , you probably can get deals like 3 for 2 in Boots or buy one get half off).

Nude-ist is the most wearable daily colour among the collection. Most colours in the collection leans to the bright pinks and reds, not for the faint hearted.
Unlike its name, Nude-ist is not a beige nude. Nude-ist is a soft rosewood pink. It definitely makes a gorgeous everyday subtle colour.

I am now eyeing on getting Frambourjois and Peach Club.

Rimmel Mono Eye Shadow

I didn't mean to pick up these eyeshadows but they were in the clearance bin for a very discounted price.
I thought it would be rude if I don't pick them up. There were four shades in the discount bin but the other two shades were grey, not a colour that I would usually go to. Thus, I didn't get them.

Gold Rush is a shimmery gold colour.

Tribute is a tauey-brown colour

Eveline SOS Lash Booster

Like most East Asians, I do not have long eyelashes, they are pretty average. When I saw this product on the shelves for quite an affordable price, I thought I did pick it up to try. 

I know most people haven't heard of Eveline Cosmetics before. If I am not mistaken it is a Polish brand. 

There is an official USA website over here.

It comes with a white plastic wand. 

The serum does leave a little bit of white cast so I would recommend to apply at the night. 

Not going to be sexy to have white eyelashes. 

I didn't experience any irritation using this serum. This serum doesn't feel like anything on my eyes. 

This is the first time applying this serum. I am interested to see what changes it would bring to my lashes. 

I will report back in a month time. 

Travel Diary Day 4 in UK : London - The Magical world of Harry Potter

I know how much I slacked with my travel posts but this time I promise to get them up. 

As a kid I have always been obsessed with Harry Potter. Always daydreaming about entering the school of Hogwarts.
When Goblet of Fire released, I begged my dad to get me the book and he had to hunt bookstores to bookstores to get the book for me. When it was first released, people actually lined up overnight to get the book.
Imagine the Harry Potter craze.

To visit the Warner Bro. Studios of Harry Potter World, it is a dream come true.

My Harry Potter World ticket!

To get to the studio, we took a train from London Euston to Wartford Junction.

Oh my Oh my, Harry Potter Studio.
One step closer the dreamworld.

My ticket into the world of fantasy

I booked my tickets online in a package together with Madame Tussaud and London Eye. It is definitely than study the tickets alone. So if you all plan to visit a few attractions, do search online for package deals.

Feeling the magic already?

The moment I stepped through the door, I felt like I was in Hogwarts.
Waiting to be sorted into my house. Which house would it be? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff?

One of the highlights of the studio tour - Butterbeer!

Honestly I really enjoy the taste of butterbeer. Unlike its name, it's not a beer. It is a buttery soda, it is really good. 

I like the smooth taste of the soda. How I wish I can go back for another cup. One day, one day I will visit London again. 

The price of the butterbeer differ depends on the choice of cup you choose. There are butterbeers served in collectible cups. 

I kind of regret I didn't opt for that cup. 

The house of Privet Drive. 

My favourite shop in Diagon Alley 

Ollivanders Wand Shop. 

Hogwarts. 

I really enjoyed the Harry Potter Studio. I hope to go back and visit again.
It really feels like living in magic.

If you want to check my older post regarding my trip to London. I have compiled it below

Day 1 London 
Day 2 : Stonehedge , Oxford , Food time - Seafresh
Day 3 : Madame Tussaud , Buckingham Palace , Big Ben & The London Eye

Special : UK haul - Superdrug , Primark haul

Essence Glossy Lipbalm mini review

Being the shopaholic I am, I actually ran back to the beauty shop to pick up more Essence Glossy Lipbalms.

I picked up another two shades/flavours - Cherry Brownie and Strawberry Cheesecake.

The Essence Lipbalms comes with 5 colour choices in Moscow : Berry Cupcake (Shimmery Berry), Strawberry Cheesecake (Shimmery light pink), Mango Icecream (Peach Pink), Mint Drop (Shimmers) and Cherry Brownie (Red)
So far, now I own 3 out of the 5 shades.

To the review,
The essence glossy lipbalms are lipbalms with a 'glossy' twist to it. Eventhough the finish looks like a lipgloss, they still retain the main function of a lipbalm, they moisturize the lips, keeping the lips soft and supple.
Eversince, I bought the glossy lipbalm in Mango Icecream, I have been using the lipbalms everyday, they moisturize my lips well and gives a nice hint of colour to my lips thus brighten my look.
And let me say, I love the new formula, they aren't as sticky as the old formula, somehow they feel a little oily, they feel a bit like the Benefit Lipgloss on the lips.

The only downside since they are wet balms, they do wear out fairly quick, like one an hour or two but the lips will still feel soft and supple, just that the colour is pretty much gone but I think most girls don't mind reapplying lipbalms.

Here are the swatches
From left : Mango Ice Cream, Cherry Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake.

Overall, they are a very fun lipbalm to carry around in the bag. The shades are really pretty too, especially Mango Icecream, it is such a beautiful peach pink.
I would recommend this product to girls who wants a balm with the shine of a gloss with a hint of colour. With the price tag, it wouldn't hurt trying these balms. 

Summer little loot : Essence cosmetics

I went to the beauty store wanting to get a top coat but as usual I exit the store getting more than just a topcoat.

These are the items I got from the beauty store. Nothing too exciting, everything is from Essence cosmetics.

First item is the Essence lipliner in Wish Me A Rose.
It is a newly added colour to the collection.

This lip pencil is a very budget friendly lip pencil and surprisingly it is very creamy and pigmented.
This colour is a matte pink which is quite a MLBB colour on me.

I came across Carli Bybel's 'how to make your lips appear larger' video the other day and I thought, wow! I want to try that tutorial.

By the way Carly Bybel is a youtube guru with beautiful eyes and lips. She is extremely gorgeous.
You can watch her video on the tutorial over here 

I do not have a lipliner with me over here.
When I saw this at the Essence stand for 65Rubles (less than USD2). I just picked it up because of the extremely affordable price for a great quality and pretty colour.
I will do a quick post when I do try it out.

Essence Glossy Lipbalm in Mango Icecream.

Just a basic glossy lipbalm that is always handy everywhere.
I own their old version in Pink Dragonfruit and I like that lipgloss a lot because it's just really handy and moisturizing. The only downside it doesn't last that long and it is quite sticky.

These are the new versions. I don't know what changes they have made in the new version but a review is coming up soon. I hope they made changes to the formulation in terms of stickiness.

This is the star product of my haul.
I think I just found my HG top coat. I just applied nail polish over my nails before I blogged and oh wow, this top coat dries down so fast like a dream. It dried seconds after I applied it. No joke.
I never used a top coat that dried so fast.
I am already doing my daily routines as usual after applying my nail polish without having to worry my nail polish is going to 'dent' or smudge.
It gives an absolutely lovely high shine too. Usually the shine in my nail polish fades after awhile but the shine is still here.
I just can't sing enough praises for this product. I am going to see how many days the nail polish is going to last without chipping and report back.

This top sealer is probably for gel nails but I used it on normal nail polish and it works fine on it.

I am having it over my Orly's You're Blushing. Incase anyone is wondering what nail polish I am using on my nails.