Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving weekend. What a weekend to cultivate fat cells with endless gatherings.

I celebrated thanksgiving with my roommates on Sunday instead of on the actual day since it was a Friday and we had our own activities. I had a thanksgiving gathering with my groupmates on Friday evening.

Our menu.
It is a homely meal with baked chicken, mushroom soup, mini burger, coleslaw, apple pie, cupcakes, wine and smarties.

We did not opt for the traditional turkey since it is very hard and expensive to get a whole Turkey over here. So baked chicken will do for this dinner.
We stuffed our chicken with potatoes, brocolli, cauliflower and red onions.

I made mini burger and apple pie but it is not that delicious. It is my first time making them.
I believe practice makes perfect. I will make better apple pies soon.

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and also, an awesome weekend. 

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I hope it has been a great thanksgiving for everyone with lots of food and great quality time with family and friends.

Along with Thanksgiving is the awesome and wonderful Black Friday Sales. I always anticipate for Black Friday because there's tons of great deals.
Being a makeup junkie, Black Friday sales is always too good to be true and I always rely on services to get myself a dose of Black Friday from the US.

This year, in Moscow, Black Friday sales is big and there's a lot of great deals through out the weekend. One I have to mention is L'toile , a beauty chain in Russia. There are having 50% off storewide. Time to grab lots of high end makeup and perfume.
I am eyeing on NARS and Dolce and Gabbana from that particular store.

Fashion brands such as Bershka, Stradivarius, Forever 21, Pull and Bear are having 20 -25 % storewide too. There's nothing I fancy from these stores this time so I am just going to skip it.

Many online shops are joining the Black Friday sale bandwagon too. This link will lead you to the sales (applicable for those in Russia only)

Back to the USA, are there brands that has got you so interested with their deals.
Well, I have many but I am not going to get all of them. I do not have that much of money to splurge.

These are the list of websites I want to get from.

One of the brands that I am interested in is Ofra Cosmetics. They are having a 50% off deal until Cyber Monday Nov 30th.
Ofra prices are quite up there but they often have coupon codes lying around. This time with 50% off, you get maximum savings. I am interested to try their liquid lipstick since there's quite a number of good reviews on their formula.

Dose of Colors is another brand that tickled my fancy. The liquid lipsticks usually retails for a whooping USD18. With 20% off I get a little savings from it.
Also, they released a matte lipstick trio for this season. You are interested in the trio, go grab it with 20% off.

Gerard Cosmetics, I guess everybody has heard about this brand. Almost every youtuber talks about it. Their lipglosses, lipsticks, hydra matte liquid lipsticks are really much a very hyped up product.
I have been wanting to try their products for the longest time because of their range of unique colours in the collection. I just never got to placing an order, everyone I just get so close to placing an order the I changed my mind and get other items.
This time I am really firmed with my decision on ordering an item from GC and taking advantage of their 48% off storewide deal. They also have added several new shades to their liquid lipsticks and lipsticks. Great time to grab those now.

BH Cosmetics has a really good deal for Black Friday too with up to 75% off storewide. Carli Byble, one of favourite youtuber, she is just gorgeous collaborated with BH Cosmetics for a eyeshadow and highlight palette. This palette has been out of stock for the longest time and now it's back in stock with 38% off. What a great time to get and try Carli's palette. Also, they have released their own range of liquid lipsticks. Exciting stuffs!

These are the brands that really caught my attention.

Honorable mentions (List of shops I wanted to get but I don't have enough money to splurge)

Morphe cosmetics is having a 20% off storewide.

Coastal Scents up to 55% off storewide

LaSplash all lipsticks and eyelashes only for USD10. I recommend their liquid lipsticks, those are some amazing stuffs.

Happy Shopping everyone. 

FOTD : Diwali Celebration

This is the look I sported during a Diwali celebration with my friends. I love this makeup so much, I find it so gorgeous that I thought it would be a shame if I don't share this look.

The base of this look is neutral colours with a punch of glow. I would call it the nude glow look.

For my base, I applied the Etude House Face Conditioning Cream. Well, this is the only base I have with me right now, it's not too bad. It is moisturizing, so it packs in the hydration for the skin for a nice smooth canvas.
This time I thought of switching up my foundation a little, instead of using my so loved Rimmel True Match Foundation, I opted for the Dr. G BB Cream. Upon first application this BB Cream can appear grey tone on my NC15 - NC20 skin, not flattering at all but somehow after 10 minutes or so it seems to have adapted to my skintone and blends into my skin perfectly. Even so, if you are not in the NC15 - NC20 range I will not recommend this BB cream, it will appear too ashy on darker skintones and I don't think it will adapt to your skintone and leave a white cast or those lighter than a NC15, it might appear dark. Not the best but it is one of the better BB creams I have ever used. The texture is smoother, creamy, very blendable and coverage is really high, I need less than a pea size for my whole face.
Powder, I am using my favourite MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural.

To cover them dark circles, I applied the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer. This stuff is magic for concealing those dark circles, not to mention, it is a drugstore product thus making it affordable.

For my eyeshadow, I used the Catrice Absolute Nude Palette. I used the 2nd, 4th and 5th shade from this palette to create this eye look. The 2nd shade is applied all over my eyelid as a base. The 4th shade is a shimmery bronzy shade that I blended all over my crease to deepen it a little and also give the 'glow'. The 5th shade is applied at my outer V to give my eyes some depth and definition.
I tightlined and line my upper lid thinly with the Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner.

Mascara, I applied the L'oreal Volummissime x4 Mascara for both my upper and lower lashes.

Eyebrows are the Maybelline Brow Satin and Kiss Me Brow Mascara.

Now to my highlighter. Can you see how pretty is this highlight. It is so shimmery and frosty. I just like my highlight strong.
This is actually no highlighter product, I applied the Essence Mono Eyeshadow in Apricotta as a highlight and it works so great, like an expensive highlighter just for 1/8 of the price. So, you don't need to have a highlighting product in order to highlight. You can always search for a champagne, shimmery or frosty eyeshadow to double as a highlighter.

My blush this time is the Essence Me & My Ice Cream Cream blush and Bronzer, is the The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Gel.

Something about the lips. I lined my lips with my oh so favourite Essence Lip Liner in Satin Mauve and applied the Me Now Lipgloss in #18. This shade of the USD1 Ebay lipgloss is known to be a dupe for the Limecrime Cashmere.
For its price, don't expect this lipgloss or matte liquid lipstick as I like to call it to perform wonders. It has the greatest pigmentation and applies non-streaky but the formula is quite bad. It is really tacky, it does not dry down at all. Even so, the shade is gorgeous.
To make my lips have a little more something, I applied the 1st shade from my Catrice Absolute Nude Palette to the little of my lips.

Tiny Events #11

It is almost the end of November, I can't believe how time flew by so fast. It has been awhile since summer break and it is almost the end of the 1st semester of my final year. I am so nervous heading towards graduation.
As usual, I am stuck with my usual busy schedule. I am just a boring person. November is probably more happening due to 482943 Diwali open houses and catching the figure skating grand prix in Luzhniki Small Arena. Also, end of this week, Black Friday and Thanksgiving.
Can't wait for the black friday and cyber mondays sales.

So I am gonna round up my past 3 weeks in pictures.

" I have started doing my own bread and now I am hooked. Basically, I have been baking my own bread weekly. I find doing this is much more economical and also much healthier. You know what you are putting in to make your bread.
This is the picture of my first bread. Not very aesthetically pleasing and doesn't taste well too, I forgot all about the salt but going to improve from now on. Also, the dough didn't rise as much as I wanted it to. I suspect it is because I didn't use a good yeast.
I changed my yeast and I saw improvements in my dough. So far, I have made normal loafs, raisin buns and cinnamon buns.  "

" Also, not aesthetically pleasing. I do not make beautiful food but trust me, it taste much better than it looks.
I have been enjoying homemade pizza much more than takeaways or in restaurants. It gives you space to experiment with the toppings and not to mention, much healthier too. You can add in more greens and less cheese and sauces.
Definitely have been enjoying my things homemade of late to the point I have not been eating out. "

" Kolam a form of drawing made by using coloured rice. They are really popular during Diwali celebration. It is thought to be bring good luck.
My friends invited us over for their Diwali open house, since I did not manage to take any pictures of the food since the it was too crowded. It will let you all feast your eyes with this Kolam.
It is our final year celebrating Diwali abroad, so they decided to make it a big celebration, create good memories of Diwali abroad. "

"Manage to hit the mall. I am still finding for a suitable graduation dress. At the same time searching the perfect makeup products too.
 I really like this dress from Zara. It is so glam and glittery but I could not decide if I should get it.
The glitter fall out is massive. I just can't afford that kind of mess in my wardrobe and room. Also, I do not want to end up with a glitter-less dress at the end of the day with the price I am paying for this dress.
Anyway this dress is so beautiful to look at.

During my journey in the mall, I spotted MAC's new collection with their "Oh! Darling" highlighter. I love the highlighter it is so beautiful but in the end I did not get it because I feel like it is not worth it to fork out 2500 Rubles for the highlighter. It is way overpriced. Somehow the collection came to Russia being priced much higher than US and even Malaysia. With that amount of money, I could have gotten myself Becca's highlighter with some so change.
So, I ditched getting it eventhough it is like extremely gorgeous. "

" This is the food from my Halloween party with my groupmates in the hostel.
I have been feed ridiculous amounts of food of late. I am never gonna go hungry.
The selection of food this time is very cheesy, basically most of the menu has cheese in it. Too heavy for my stomach to handle.
By the way, I made pizza. "

Little haul : L'oreal Infalliable Mega Gloss

The L'oreal Infalliable Glosses.
When they first launched, I knew that I have to get these glosses because I had good experiences with L'oreal lip products and I wanted to find out if these glosses live up to my expectations.

I picked up these three colours when they were having a buy two get one off offer on them.

The colour selection for these glosses are wide. There are 24 shades to choose from and the finishes of the glosses are divided into cream, shimmer, matte and neon.
Sadly, we do not have the xtreme resistance finish that is available in some countries.

The shades that I have picked up are shades I like the most from swatching. I don't really enjoy shimmery glosses so I did not pick anything up from the shimmery line and the neons seem too sheer for me, they appear on me like colourless glosses. I prefer my glosses with some colour pigmentation because I do like to wear my glosses alone most of the times. They are not a lipstick topper for me.

Let me talk about the packaging of these glosses. The packaging of these glosses are so sleek and sturdy that it feels really high end. The applicator is somehow designed to be shaped with a curve and empty in the middle of the doe foot applicator, it is shaped to be like the YSL Rouge Volupte Glosses' applicator.
There are many similarities between YSL and L'oreal products. Can't blame when they are from the same company.

The product. The finish of these glosses feel very luxurious, they are light, easy to apply, buttery smooth on the lips. The colour payoff is excellent for the matte and good for the cream finish. The only downside is probably the fact that especially the matte gloss do not last as long as I would like it too. The matte gloss do dry down matte but it doesn't stay put, it is easily transferable. It leaves a stain but you can see that it has very much faded at the end of the day.
Maybe I expected it to work like a liquid lipstick when it wasn't suppose to. Anyway , I still really like the lipgloss because it is very moisturizing despite being matte. The cream ones are more moisturizing but that is because of the finish.

Overall I like these lipgloss and I do recommend trying them out.

Mini haul : Bourjois & Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret lipglosses are not the best in town when it comes to texture and consistency but I have to say they are a nostalgic beauty item. Everyone and their mother are gifted or own this lipgloss at some point in their life.

Victoria's Secret had a sale on these lipglosses and something just pushed me into picking them up. I usually use these lipgloss when I am really in a hurry or when I find them in my bag. I usually pop them into my bag because they are so convenient to just pick up and apply anytime and anywhere with their plastic slant tip applicator.

The juiced flavoured gloss are really cute with the spiral design of two shades of gloss in the tube,

Redberry Blend and Mango Sorbet.

These glosses taste really good. They taste like fruits and they are sweet. Sometimes I unconsciously lick off the glosses. I know it is not a healthy thing to do but just can't help it with the yummilicious sweet taste.

On the bad side, these sticky glosses are not long hair and wind friendly. My hair just sticks on the gloss like no other.

The next item I picked up is an item that the beauty store was having an offer on and I have wanted to try them for some time. It is the Bourjois Quad Smoky Stories.

The shade I got is 02 Over Rose.
It is a beautiful neutral rose palette to create a rose undertone smoky eyes look.

FOTD: The natural look

This is the look that I wore to my birthday bash. It is really simple and natural.

For my base, I used the Etude House Face Conditioning Cream to keep my skin moisturized and prepped for the foundation. It is important to moisturize the skin so that the foundation goes on smoother and appear less patchy and does not cling on to dry spots.
For my foundation, I used the L'oreal Nude Magique foundation. This foundation has this silicon-powdery feel and it is very fluid, almost like a watery texture. This foundation goes on the skin very light and you hardly need to blend it, pretty fool-proof ,also, you do not feel like there's any product on the face. The downside is probably the fact this foundation has very light coverage and could hardly be build up to a medium.
For my undereyes, I concealed with the Maybelline Dream Lumi Corrector. It conceals at the same time giving a highlighted effect to my undereyes.
The L'oreal Nude Magique does not require a powder to set, since it dries down powdery, but I still prefer to set my foundation. So, I light dusted MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural all over my face.

To add on colour to my face, I applied the Essence Me & My Ice Cream Cream Blush. No highlighting or bronzing this time around.

For the eyes, I created a subtle cat eyes flick with the Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner in Black and coated my eyelashes with Maybelline's Big Eyes Mascara. I skipped the whole eyeshadow step.
To give my brows the extra 'oomph', I used the Maybelline Brow Satin. This has became my favourite brow product from the drugstore, it has completely replaced my Catrice Brow Pencil which I used to swear by. To lighten it up a little, making it less harsh, also, make my brows stay in place, I applied the Kiss Me Brow Mascara. This is my favourite brow mascara to date. It is a Japanese brand.

The lips, to give my lips a nice glow. I used the Catrice Glossy Lip Glow to achieve the natural pink lips look.

Past spring haul

I did this haul quite fairly long ago and I forgot all about it after not arranging my pictures properly into designated files but it is better too late than never.

It is a random haul from various beauty stores.

L'oreal launched a nude palette of rose tones which intrigued me very much due to my love for rose tones and rose and nude together, that just tickled my fancy. I just had to pick it up when I saw the palette in stock in Rive Gauche. I don't remember seeing that palette being stocked anywhere other than Rive Gauche.
I also picked some knicks and knacks from NYX Cosmetics and Essence cosmetics. The Estee Lauder Palette was a gift.

NYX Butter Gloss in Angel Food Cake.

I love the NYX Butter Gloss and I do have quite a collection of these glosses. This colour I have sought after high and low when it was later added on to the existing shades but everytime when I do want to purchase it, it is always out of stock.
I do get why it would be so sought after. This shade is just absolutely gorgeous. It is a mauve rosy nude. It is that type of shade that looks good on everyone and not to mention, such a natural shade.

Another product from NYX that I absolutely adore is the highly talked about Soft Matte Lip Cream.
This product is just so wonderful if you want a matte lip finish that isn't too drying and have a great colour selection. The texture is beautiful, it feels like mousse upon application, very soft and airy and it is long lasting.

The shade I got is Istanbul. It is a baby pink.

I guess I have talked about this lipliner in Satin Mauve many times in my FOTD posts. This is when I first got this lipliner, I actually went to get this lipliner because I love the other shade which is "
Wish me a Rose" from this lipliner range very much and I wanted to try more Essence lipliners.

Essence lipliners never disappoint me. They are just so amazing for the price.

The L'oreal La Palette Nude in Rose.
This palette I have been eyeing on it eversince it was launched because of my love for rose tones. There is never enough rose tone palette for me.

The black palette looks really sleek and beautiful.

Various shades of colours with rose.

It is lovely that the store gave me the Estee Lauder lip palette as a gift.
Something unexpected happened, I had to wait for an hour before it was able to pay my purchase, in the process, the cashier made several mistakes keying in my purchase. So the head cashier came and apologize and gave me this palette as a gift.

I am not a fan of lip palettes. I don't like to use them because I just prefer my lip product from a tube but even so lip palettes are very convenient for travelling. They are packed with various colours and they are compacted into a palette. You don't need bring 3727422 lipsticks on travel. 

FOTD : Photo session

The other day I had a photo session with my groupmates for our graduation photobook. I thought it would be interesting to post and keep note on what I actually wore for the photo session on my face. Graduating from university is a special occasion and it happens once in a lifetime (or maybe more if you decide to do double or triple degrees). So, I would be nice to document even a small photo session so that I can look at this post a year or two later for nostalgia purposes and memories.

I pretty much love the makeup I wore on the day of the photo session. I find it to beglam but at the same time not too out there, still quite natural.

For my base, I have been using the Etude House Face Conditioning Cream. My foundation of choice this time is still the Rimmel True Match Foundation and powder of choice is MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural. To conceal my eyes , I applied the Maybelline Dream Lumi corrector.

Bronzer, to make it look more natural I opted for TheBodyShop's Honey Bronze Tinted Face Gel. Because it is a gel type formula, the bronze seems to look like to be naturally from your skin instead of looking applied on. It blends so well into the skin. Blush I also chose to use a cream blush for a more natural finish, I used the Catrice Lip & Cheek Colour in Neo Geisha. Highlighter I want something that pops out, not a subtle highlighter, I went heacy handed with the Essence Sooo Glow Cream Highlighter in 01.

For my eyes, I went glam natural with Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mono Eyeshadow in Gold Rush with Essence Mono Eyeshadow in Triple Choc. Eyeliner is the usual Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner in Black and Mascara the Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara.
Eyebrows, I have been using my favourite combination of the Maybelline Brow Satin and Kiss Me Brow Mascara. These combination have been giving me a beautiful filled in brows that looks so soft and natural.

My lips, I lined my lips with Essence Lipliner in Satin Mauve and topped it off with Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist. This has been a favourite lip combination of mine. The dusty rose colour is to die for. 

Around Moscow : Kolomenskoye

A few weeks ago, when the leaves just turned yellow and Moscow was like a beautiful autumn painting, I went on a stroll at Kolomenskoye Park. The park which housed one of the first tent roof stone church in Russia, Church of the Ascension. It is also on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
During that week, there was a honey bazaar in the park.

The beautiful colours of Autumn.

Kolomenskoye Park is huge. It is like a neverending breeze stroll in the park.

Along the grasslands of the park, the church is visible from where I stand. 

The Church of Ascension.

Kolomenskoye Park is a great place to stroll around to rewind and refresh. It is a quiet park that helps you connect with nature. Feel at peace.
I would recommend taking a look at the church since it is a UNESCO world heritage. 

Tiny Events #10

10th tiny events post! Yipee!
Happy times do not last forever, I just see my favourite month aka my birthday month flew by just like that and I feel like I didn't do anything really productive in October. Now, let's welcome November, the last month of Autumn and soon we will be welcoming the chilly weather of winter. I do not welcome winter, I loathe winter. Maybe it would not be so bad if winter over here in Moscow doesn't like last half a year and the temperature is so darn cold and the roads usually turn into ice skating rings.
Weather here has been weird these few days, it can rain one moment and then summer weather the next. Even so, the weather has been making me moodless to do anything besides being in room, doing some activities in the room, everything in the room. I just do not feel like stepping out of my apartment. This cycle will continue till spring comes.
Wow, I must be be a boring person, I talk nothing besides the weather.
Other than that I have been doing my drafts for my haul posts. I finally got really hardworking in organizing and editing my photos from my past hauls. So, please await many haul posts soon.
With the amount of haul posts I do, people can just see how much of a shopaholic I am. Well, I am one of those girls who can't resist makeup.

' Baked Pizza with my roommates the other day, mine's the left. The not so pretty breakfast platter pizza (minced meat + scrambled egg + cheese), super easy to make and delicious. I can't exactly remember where did I get the inspiration for it. If I am not mistaken it's Buzzfeed.
The right one is my roommate's the beautiful tuna pizza. From the pizza you can see that I am messy person from the product of my pizza. '

' It was that night during my birthday dinner when I saw this car in the streets of Moscow City Center. The Back in the Future car. Could not resist taking a picture. '

' Few weeks ago we had a gathering in our apartment. These are the food from the gathering.
The only thing fried in this menu is the noodles. The rest is either baked or boiled. Pretty healthy. I am a fan of the roast chicken and potato salad.  '

'Since the weather is constantly changing. I have been getting sick countless times, from sore throat to cough to flu to mouth ulcers. A neverending cycle. Currently while typing this post, I am sick. I am down with cough and mouth ulcers and Hor Yan Hor Chinese herbal tea has been my best friend.
I need the weather to stabilize, if not I will continue getting sick. I am so done with my immunity.  '

H&M new beauty line haul.

I am back from my Scandinavian holiday and so here I am with my my Scandinavian makeup haul.

Actually, I wasn't planning to buy any makeup from Scandinavia because of the prices and nothing really attracts me but I did not know H&M actually released their new beauty line and it was available there and what more, it was fashion night. They had 20% off storewide and since I was not a citizen of the EU or Scandinavia, I could take advantage of the tax refund. It was too good of a deal to pass. 

So, here's my tiny H&M beauty haul. 

Solar Flair Bronzing Powder and two Lip Definers

Did not pick up much from H&M since there's not many reviews, so, I am a little skeptical about the quality of the products. I want to do a test drive on the products before I decide to get more in the future. 

The packaging of the bronzing powder is sleek and chic. Looks very fashionable and high end. 

The case is a glossy black lid on the top and white at the bottom. It looks really great in photos, I would say looks expensive in photos but in real life, it is  a little disappointing. It feels quite plasticky and a little cheap, still sturdy though.
Just not the luxury packaging I was expecting to see as like the on the official website.

I got the lightest shade from the range in Sheer Tan.

The other two items I got are the Lip Definers in Choc Therapy and Prairie Sunset.

I swatched the lipliners and let me tell you. They would not budge at all. Once they set in, they just stay there, rubbing just won't move them away. That is one long lasting lipliner.

Prairie Sunset and Choc Therapy

Prairie Sunset is a medium pink colour.
When I get stuffs, I just have to get a pink, so that's why I picked up this shade. I just love pinks, I can't help it.
Choc Therapy is a chocolate nude with a little mauve undertone.
I fell in love with this shade at first sight. Lately, I am just into these deeper and darker colours. I find them pretty flattering on me. Also, they are great shades for the fall/winter months or for the grunge look.

The lip liners looks pretty luxurious and high end. I appreciate the sleek black packaging. It just makes everything look nicer.

The ends come with matching shades, so it makes it easy to find the lip liner in a hurry.