Hermo cyber sales haul : masks!

Hermo had a bundle special for their cyber sales. It was 3 items for RM49 for selected items.
I saw these masks available in the bundle and I got pretty excited and purchased them right away.

I got the Pearl Bird's Nest Mask, Apple Polyphenol Platinum Mask and Black Pearl Q10 Mask.

These Sister Diary mask usually retails for around RM42 per box (correct me if I am wrong) in Watsons/Guardian. This is such a steal.
I haven't tried Sister Diary before but I have tried My Beauty Diary. They are similar in terms of packaging.

Shipping was very slow for Hermo for these mask mainly because one of them were out of stock and they were trying to get it restocked. In the end, they explained to me how their supplier could not get it restocked asap and they had to wait till around December to get the stock,so, they asked me to change my order to another available flavour to avoid the dreadful long wait.
I changed my Cherry Arbutin Mask to the Pearl Bird's Nest Mask.

The functions of the masks are :
Black Pearl Q10 - Brightening and improving skin elasticity
Apple Polyphenol Platinum - Pore minimizing and oil control
Pearl bird's Nest - Whitening and Moisturizing

I will try them out as soon as I am done with my old batch of mask and see how much I like them and is it worth repurchasing.
Also, hoping Hermo has more sales like this. 

Around Malaysia : Kluang Street Art

About a week ago, I headed down to Kluang to attend a friend's wedding. After the wedding, she and her husband took us around Kluang's Street Art alley to wander around.

Little towns in Malaysia have been painting their streets up with hopes to lure in tourist.

I did not managed to explore the town further than the street art due to time constrain. Next time maybe when I come down to visit my friend. 

Aliexpress haul #2

Curiosity kills the cat.
Before anyone starts lecturing me on the items I have purchased, I know that most items I have purchased from aliexpress are replicas/fakes but I couldn't help with the price tag.
I am willing to be the guinea pig to see how good are these products for the price.

These are the Lime Crime replica except for the one that is printed with Lipgloss, it is from a brand called Dragon. The packaging just looks so much like the Lime Crime.

From left : Faded, Bleached, Dragon Lipgloss in #8, Cashmere

I do not know how true to colour these are compared to the original since I do not own these shades.
Anyway, the replicas have a decent formula. They are very light but still go on tacky. Translucent powder always the saviour for toning down the tackiness. They have a nice scent too.
The shades I own do not go on streaky at all. They are pretty drying though, just remember to prime and prep your lips.

These are Anastasia Beverly Hills Replica. From left : Blush and Pure Hollywood
I do not like the formula of these at all and these two are very different in formula. Blush is a medium pink. It applies ok but it will turn up cracking and patchy after drying down. It is still wearable but you have to work with it. Just apply a thin coat and do not build it up.
Pure Hollywood is a neon peach and it is pure rubbish. This one smells like perfume overload and it is super streaky and patchy. There's no way of making it work.Off to the bin it goes.

M.n Liquid Lipstick and Danimer Liquid Lipstick.
From left : 30, 2 and 3.
These are so cheap, I have bought them before, you can refer from my previous haul and they are good liquid lipsticks for the price tag. It can be a little sticky but it can be solved with setting it with setting powder.

Qibest Soft Matte Lip Cream in 620 and NVX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 05

They are light and nice liquid lipsticks, I enjoy the shades. They do crumble throughout the day but not very major crumbling. I do stay well if you don't eat.

M.n Powdery Matte Kiss Proof Soft Lipstick in #15.
The shade is undeniably beautiful, it is a dusty nude pink. Just that this lipstick really tugs during application and it is tacky. On the lips, it doesn't budge at all and it crumbles throughout the day. Since the shade I own leans to nude, the crumbling is not obvious unless someone comes really close to your lips. I will continue using it because I love the shade so much, if not the formula is pretty meh.

I have to got to admit that I got caught up with the whole transparent lipstick with flower beautiful lipstick thing that I got one for myself.

Yes, you can see the flower in the lipstick.
On the lips, this lipstick shade will suit to the pH and warmth of your skin and turn into a lovely natural pink.

Pony Memebox Lipstick in #4

The quality of this lipstick and its packaging is really great.
It is a sheer type lip colour, it is moisturizing and smooth upon application and it leaves a beautiful sheer pink on the lips.

I couldn't resist getting these replica Kylie liquid lipstick. I purchased the one that comes with only the liquid lipstick because I don't think I need the lipliner and it is much cheaper to purchase without the lipliner.
The shade I got is Candy K, I do not know how true to colour these are since I do not own Candy K
I have not tried this liquid lipstick yet, I will get back in a FOTD when I got to try it.

I have a few more aliexpress items coming in but they are mostly accessories and others and will be posting about as soon they arrive my doorstep.

p.s. I have not had any reaction with any of these products. 

Eating out Malaysia : Restoran Pik Wah

It has been a long long time since I had a full course Chinese meal. I can't even remember when is the last time I had one. Maybe six years ago.

My relatives decided to treat the October babies by booking this restaurant and having this luxurious Chinese full course meal.
I definitely enjoyed myself thoroughly with these food.

Four Season.
It is basicallyfour appetizers served in a huge giant plate.
Here, we have some fried fish cakes, meat wrapped in bacon, scallop and mini crabs.
They are all very delicious. I enjoyed the fried fish cake, there were salted egg, seaweed and a small piece of shrimp. It made the fishcake more flavourful.

Seafood soup.
There is faux sharkfin and crabmeat in this pot of goodness.

Fried cod fish in Thai style sweet and sour sauce.
I love this dish, the shallot and mint added a hint of fragrance to sweet and sour sauce and it blends well with the cod fish and the dried squid stripes on top of it.

Boiled chicken and choy sum
The most basic of Chinese dish.

Butter prawns.
Gosh this dish looks so pretty. The butter is so rich and the richness complements the prawns really nicely.

Napa cabbage with scallops.

Ebiko fried rice

Towards the end, I hardly touched the dishes. I was way beyond full.

Lotus bun that are dyed pink to look like mini peaches.
So cute.

Last but not least, a durian birthday cake.

Definitely one of the best Chinese restaurant around. The dishes served in a style very unique to their own and you can't find other restaurants serving the dishes in the same presentation. One place to go if you would like to treat yourself with a premium Chinese meal once in awhile. 

USA Haul : NYX, L.A. Girl

This is a mini NYX haul that I did last summer.

Just picked up the usual favourites from NYX. Got myself two cream blush and two Xtreme Lip Creams. 

I got the Xtreme Lip Cream in the shade Pinky Natural and Nude Peach Fuzz. 

Pink Natural is a medium pink and Nude Peach Fuzz a pinky nude with slight peack undertones. 

The Xtreme Lip Cream is not as widely talked about as the sister counterpart, the Soft Matte Lip Creams. The Xtreme Lip Creams have a glossy finish which means they are not as dry as the Soft Matte Lip Cream but as equally pigmented. 

I enjoy popping this on on days where I do not feel like sporting a matte lip look. 

A little goes a long way for this product, you only need a swipe to get an opaque finish. 

Mine came looking sweaty. The heat in my country is just unbearable. 

NYX cream blush is one of my favourite cream blushes in the drugstore market. They have a nice selection of shades with beautiful formula and not to mention an affordable price tag. 

I already own a few of the cream blushes but since I really like them , I went ahead and pick up two more. 

Boho Chic

This is a beautiful pale blue-pink with silver shimmers. The silver shimmers is not very visible upon application. 

Glow

Glow is vibrant medium pink. 

LA Girl Glazed Lip Paints.

I happened to bump into these while purchasing my NYX items. I was intrigued with them since they reminded me of the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks and I had heard good reviews about too. 

I picked them in a bundle of six since it is slightly cheaper to purchase the bundle rather than purchasing them alone. 

From left : Coy, Bombshell, Pin up, Hot Mess, Babydoll, Blushing 

FOTD : Wedding Dinner look

I attended one of my highschool friend's wedding during the weekend.
I am going to share my look for the dinner event.

I wore a traditional Chinese dress (cheongsam) which I bought from Beijing for the event.

Face :
Banila Co. Prime Primer in Hydrating Shimmer
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural
3CE Full Cover Concealer
Ebay Contour Palette
Bourjois Blush in Rose D'oro
Etude House Face Glam Golden Ratio in #Pink

Eyes :
ELF Mineral Eye Primer
Maybelline Brow Satin
Kiss Me Brow Mascara
Elianto Mono Eyeshadow in Thulian Pink
Catrice Absolute Nude Palette
Ellefar Glitter Eyeshadow Palette in Brown
Mee Liquid Eyeliner in Brown
L'oreal Volumissime x5 mascara
Ebay/Aliexpress false eyelashes in 216

Lips :
Bbia Last Lipstick in #4

Have been using the Banila Co. Prime Primer more of late. I certainly did feel that my makeup did not crack as much at my smile lines with this primer compared to my other roadshop primers and it goes nicely with the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation.
Also, the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation has been one of my favourite high end foundations. I love the fresh and dewy finish and how well it stays on my skin.
Bbia Last Lipstick in #4, this shade is so gorgeous! The lipstick has a matte finish and it is a pinky nude shade that suits Asian skintones really well. I have been using this lipstick a lot. It has been my go to. 

Rant : Prices of beauty products in Malaysia

Today I am going to talk on a topic that not many people has touched on.

The steep increase of prices of cosmetics in Malaysia.

I used to come back to Malaysia once a year when I was pursuing my studies overseas. 

This year when I came back, what shocked me the most is the total steep increase of prices of cosmetics especially in Sephora and Departmental Store. 

For example, when Sephora.my used to be Luxola, my Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Poured in Moonstone used to be RM102.50 and now it cost RM195. What is this atrocity! And, I only placed an order on Moonstone a year ago. What is this 190% price hike? 

Don't come blaming on GST and currency fluctuation. It won't add up to the extra 90%. That is blatant daylight robbery.

In red are the prices of Luxola before it became Sephora. 

Are Malaysians that easy to rip off?

Why Sephora thinks they can get away with the crazy irrelevant pricing.
The main reason, Sephora for one dominates the beauty market currently in Malaysia by bringing in many brands that are exclusive to Sephora.
There is no competition. 

Another thing, based on my surrounding friends who purchases quite frequently from Sephora. 

People do not bother to do researches on the products they are about to purchase. It is just too bothersome to compare prices and not everyone has the luxury of time to do so. As long they can get the item, they do not mind paying whatever price tag. 

Also, many do not like online shopping due to waiting time. 

Back to prices,

Let's take Becca Shimmering Splits as an example. It cost MYR 209.00(about USD50) in Malaysia based on current rates and in the US it is USD38, in UK, GBP 32 (about MYR 164).

MYR 209 is a lot compared to USD38 and GBP 32.  Just think MYR 209 is worth USD209 and GBP 209. That's how much we can do with MYR 209. 

Based on what I found on google, the average salary for a fresh graduate in the US is USD 44,455 whereas in the UK is GBP 29,000. In Malaysia, the average fresh graduate salary is RM 25,200 which equates to USD 6033 or GBP 4931. 

Let's say RM1 = GBP 1 or USD 1. RM38 or RM32 what can you get in Sephora or the departmental cosmetics section? Almost nothing. Probably could get one Maybelline lipstick or mascara from the drugstore. 

So why are we paying way much more? Our spending power is not strong. 

I am a fresh graduate, I do not have the luxury of extra cash to throw around.  

Nowadays, I just stick to online shopping where I can get my products for a much fairer and reasonable pricing than to pay such a cut throat price locally. 

There are so many websites or preorder agents to purchase items from. 

I also have been noticing I do not purchase as much from Sephora anymore, the last was from their 20% off sale and since then I haven't exited Sephora with purchases. Now, it has became a place to look around and play around with swatches and see if I find a product I like, if I do I would order online.
But mostly, I have been cutting down my spending on makeup products. At some point of life, you have other priorities. 

I find it so sad that cosmetic products are getting pricier in Malaysia. At this rate , many people won't be able to afford their favourite cosmetic brands anymore.
Also, I wish Malaysians would be smarter consumers because by doing so, company will realize it is not okay to put on crazy price tags.