Saturdays are for Sharing - November Edition + Jenn's First Giveaway Winner! :D

Its the end of the month again, so it means that I have my favourite posts for November from the fabulous ladies! :D

Nikki of Ask Me Whats shows us how to get Sesame Street characters on your nails! It's too cute!!!
Paris B of My Women Stuff muses if sheet masks actually do work! :)
Syen of So Loverly shows us how she organizes her stash! :D
Tine of Beautyholics Anonymous shares with us her first experience with an epilator! :D
Xin of Pretty Beautiful is disappointed by the Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara.
Yani of Red Luscious Lips posts an absolutely adorablely unconventional picture of a creature of nature wearing the sexiest shade of red!

~.~

This month, I get the chance to try a hand at being a flying fox as well abseiling down a man-made wall! Woohooo!! :D

Sunset on the way to face my fear of heights Sungai Sedim! :D



Sailing through the jungle! Wooohooo! :D



It was mighty fun and not as scary as i thought it would be, but the next event takes the cake for being the scariest part of it all! At the other end of the flying fox line, we had to abseil down!! *faints* for somebody with severe acrophobia such as myself, I had to drag my already shivering legs to actually go for it! lol!! :D

But hey, I did it!! :D :D :D



It's actually not too high up, but it felt that way anyways for someone with jelly for legs at the moment! lol!! :P



All in all its a great experience! I'm glad that I went with the plan and didn't chicken out at the last minute! lol!!

~.~


Andddddd, last but not the least, here's the moment everybody's waiting for!! Who will the Giveaway winner be??


*cues drum roll* The winner of yes, a MAC Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach, is

Slowbrogal

Congratulations Cynthia! Please email me your mailing details within 72 hours yeah? ;)


That's all for now!! I'm soooo looking forward to tomorrow when i get to have dim sum for breakfast then go for a karaoke session with my girlfriends!! It's been a rather horrendous 2 weeks at work, so hopefully after the 3 hour session I'll be ready for war at work again!! lol!! :D

What do you have in store for the weekend?? :D

Mini Product Review: Garnier Skin Naturals UV Protect Advanced Daily UV Blocking Lotion SPF50 PA+++

At a Glance:
Price: RM26.90 (approx. US$8.15)
Website: NA
Weight: 30ml
Made in: Indonesia
Likes: High SPF protection, absorbs into skin quickly, non-sticky, color looks natural on my skin.
Gripes: Makes face shiny, whitish cast, a little drying!
Repurchase: No
Jenn's Rating: 3 Stars! Not bad but i think this product is more suited for oily skinned individuals!

Ingredients:



Product Description:
Daily sun exposure causes immediate visible effects such as skin darkening, and long term damages such as spots, fine lines and roughness.

New Garnier UV Protect Advanced Daily UV Blocking Lotion SPF50/PA+++, not only fights these 2 types of sun damages today and tomorrow, but also instantly makes your complexion more beautiful.

How does it work?
Thanks to its ultra resistant Mexoryl® SX/XL - a Garnier patented UV filter system with extra large UV absorption spectrum, it protects against both instant and long-term damages no matter how intense the sun is.

Get optimal instant protection - skin is protected and you can get your desired skin tone TODAY:

• Anti-UVB SPF50 to protect skin against darkening and sunburns. 
• Reveal skin's radiance by neutralizing instantly the undesired skin tone. Available in 3 shades, it is tailor-made to suit your complexion.
• Enriched in a hydra-active complex, it hydrates skin for 12H.

Get optimal long-term protection for a healthy looking & beautiful skin TOMORROW:

• Anti-UVA/PA+++ to protect skin against spots and premature ageing. 
• Enriched in Pure Vitamin E, it helps resist environmental aggressions.

Its incredibly light texture allows a pleasant daily usage.

Noticed efficiency:
Today and tomorrow, skin looks visibly fair, luminous and beautiful. Get an optimal protection for a healthy looking skin.

Dermatologically tested on Asian skin.


Actual Product Pic:


Texture & Scent:


This sunblock is a light beige color fresh out of the tube, but it looks totally invisible on my NW20 skin. This has the consistency of a liquid foundation, so it smoothes easily unto your skin! However, once applied, this felt a little drying on my skin! :(

This is how it looks on my skin:



And this is how it looks on my face:



Shiny right?? There's an unflattering whitish cast too! :(

This smells just like how a liquid foundation would! :P

Packaging:



This sunblock comes in a slim shaker bottle with a twist off cap. I love how small the dispensing hole is:



That way you can control the amount of product you dispense quite well! :)

This is the box it came in:



Time Test:
This sunscreen lasted about 4 hours on my skin before I feel the need to reapply.

Price & Availability:
This sunblock is priced at RM26.90, and should be available at most Garnier displayers in Watsons / Guardian! :)

Usage:
This is for daily use! :)


My $0.02:

My colleague kindly offered to let me test this one out when I was about to run out of sunblock (Thank you!! XOXO), since I couldn't make up my mind if i should repurchase my usual Lancome one or to try out something new (read: cheaper! lol!). I'm really grateful for this because I had always wanted to try this one out for myself and see how this compares to the Loreal one, which I really love!!

And the verdict is? I'm sorry Garnier, but I still prefer the Loreal one!

The main reason why I prefer the Loreal one over this one is the fact that this one feels a little drying on my skin, although like the Loreal one, this one does make my skin shiny! This gives a rather obvious whitish cast too!! :(

On the bright side, I LOVE the high protection this one offers (SPF50 is the MINIMUM I'll ever go)! I also like how this one doesn't feel oily or filmy on the skin!! Last but not least, at that price, everybody can afford a tube for themselves!! :)

All in all methinks that this one is not bad, but i personally think that this would suit oily skinned people better since it feels a little drying for my combi dry skin. I won't repurchase because of this!


Credits: Product photo from Critiques.she.com.

MAC Lipglosses 101! :D

Reader Carol asked if I could list the differences between several MAC lipglosses, so here it is! :D



I have an old post on this, but that only features the Lipglass, Lustreglass and the Dazzleglass, so this will rectify that now! lol! This post is not complete though - I'm missing the Dare to Wear, Plushglass and Lipgelee lipglosses!

Ok, lets start with the Lipglass! :)



With the Lipglass, it's really a huge box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get. The pigmentation ranges from sheer, almost clear gloss-sy, to full on color. It comes in different finishes too - from creamy opaque, to just the right amount of shine and shimmer, to full on frosty! I really recommend checking these out in the store for yourself, or at least check out swatches online prior to purchasing to see if its for you! :)

Swatches:


These are moderately sticky - I'm ok with some stickiness because methinks that it helps the gloss to last longer! :)

At US$14.50 / RM63 for 4.8g / 0.17 US Oz, its the best buy of the lot! Plus there're tons of shades to choose from! :) 


Lustreglass



The Lustreglass is often overlooked - because its similar to the Lipglass in appearance and it doesn't have as many shades as the Lipglass to choose from! However, I kinda like them because they give a lovely sheen and it has a brush applicator, which I prefer! :D

Though this is advertised as "high shine", i personally find that these will give low to medium shine to your lips, depending on shade. I don't have any swatch pics for this though... its been awfully long since MAC released a collection featuring the lustreglasses!! :(

The other thing I like most besides the brush applicator, is that this isn't too sticky!! :D

This is also priced at US$14.50 / RM63 for 4.8g / 0.17 US Oz, so do check this one out if you want the most bang for your buck, and prefer brush applicators! lol!! :D


Dazzleglass 



Ahhhh, these are my favourite - though they're definitely not office safe if you work in a conservative environment! :D

Swatches (these are probably among the most pigmented of all the dazzleglassses):


Most (in fact, all) shades are sheer - these are meant to be layered over lipsticks for the most amazing shine and shimmer! :D

The downside to these though, is that they're probably the stickiest MAC glosses ever (bar the Superglass)! The biggest boo boo though, is its price - at US$18 / RM80 for a measly 1.92 g / 0.06 US oz, its an outright rip off! But ah well, MAC sure knows how to do us in - suckers like mua will still buy because they're just too darned gorgeous!! :D


Cremesheen Glass

These are just soo comfortable to wear! Non-sticky and lightly pigmented, these are great for those who love natural looks! :)

Swatches:

The first 3 colors are Cremesheen Glasses, and the last 3, Dazzleglasses. 

As you can see, these are essentially creamy colors. They do settle into the lines of your lips though, but this can be solved by using a lip primer beforehand.

Like I mentioned earlier, this lipgloss is not sticky at all, but that also means that it disappears quickly so you'll need to reapply more often.

These go for US$18 / RM80 for 2.7 g / 0.09 US oz each.


Dazzleglass Creme



Many people were irked by the lack of pigmentation of the Dazzleglass, so MAC came up with this (which makes me think that MAC actually do stalk online forums listen to their customers sometimes! :P).

Swatches:


As you can see, these are significantly more pigmented than the Dazzleglasses! Certain shades however, have rather large glitter particles in them (particularly the lighter shades).

At US$18 / RM80 for 2.7 g / 0.09 US oz, these lipglosses would make a better buy than the Dazzleglass for those who prefer their lipglosses a bit more pigmented! :)


Superglass

This are essentially Dazzleglasses with larger glitters, so they're not very pigmented! I guess these are best reserved for special occasions at night! lol! :D

Swatches:


These are quite sticky and gritty, making them the most uncomfortable MAC glosses to wear! On the bright side, you're getting more than double the amount the Dazzleglasses get at US$18 / RM80 for 4.5 g / 0.15 US oz, so those who love your bling, you can consider purchasing this one! :D


So to sum it up, here's an spreadsheet on the blabla I've talked about, just because I'm a geek like that! :D



Hope that helps!! :D Thats all for now!! Do let me know which MAC lipgloss is your favourite!! :D :D


Photo Credit: Lipglosses from Maccosmetics.com

Product Review: The Face Shop Vita B Mask Sheet

At a Glance:
Price: RM6.90 (approx. US$2.30)
Website: http://www.thefaceshopen.com/
Weight: 23ml / 0.67 Fl. Oz.
Made in: Korea
Likes: Moisturizes and brightens skin really well, essence absorbs into skin quickly, no sticky after feel! :D
Gripes: Contains alcohol! T_T
Repurchase: No 
Jenn's Rating: 4 Stars! Love the effect but not the alcohol content! :(

Ingredients:


Product Description

With energy boosting Cucumber & Broccoli Extracts.

• Formulated with Vitamin B and extracts of Cucumber and Broccoli, this vitamin drenched mask sheet gives the skin an energy boost to fight stress.
• Vitamin B moisturizes, brightens skin tone and helps fight acne.
• Patented Phytolex Nanoliposome effectively delivers beneficial ingredients deep into the skin and helps protect tired, rough skin from environmental damages.

What is Phytolex Nanoliposome?
Phytolex Nanoliposome is a composite of Ceramide and natural plant extracts of Mung Bean, White Birch and Rumex Crispus L.


Directions:



Actual Product Pic:


Texture & Scent:
This mask is soaking wet fresh out of the pack, so be careful when you're removing it from the package! :) After removing the mask, the essence absorbs into the skin quickly and leaves no sticky feeling behind! :D

This has a light floral scent which I don't really like.

Packaging:


This mask is individually packed into their respective foil packs and is sold by the piece. For once, a mask from this brand that doesn't have a huge mouth opening:



Time Test:
15-20 minutes!

Price & Availability:
This mask is priced at RM9.90 each and is available at all The Face Shop outlets.


My $0.02:

This mask looks, feels, smells, and even works like the Vita A one. In fact, they even have the same 10 ingredients at the top of the list!

The only two difference between the two i can think of are the brightening effect this one has that the Vita A one didn't, and that this one didn't sting my face! :D

This is how i look after using this mask:



Moisturized + brightened face!! I'm loving it!! :D But yeah, i think you guys know this by now - I won't repurchase because this contains alcohol!! :(


Photo credit: Product photo from Thefaceshopen.com.

Product Review: Pantene Hair Fall Control Intensive Treatment

At a Glance:
Price: RM14.90
Website: NA
Weight: 135ml
Made in: Thailand
Likes: Cheap, softens hair ok, makes hair shiny, easily available!
Gripes: Dries out hair initially, doesn't really reduces hairfall, not moisturizing enough for ends!
Repurchase: Most probably no
Jenn's Rating: 3 Stars! Just alright!


Ingredients:



Product Description:

Pantene Pro-V Hair Fall Control Intensive Treatment helps reduces hair fall due to breakage.


Actual Product Pic:



Texture & Scent:


This hair treatment runs a little more liquidy than I'd like, but it means that it spreads easily unto your hair. It rinses out easily and I like that it doesn't leave a residue behind!

Thankfully this one doesn't have the sickeningly sweet honeydew melon scent of the shampoo. Ok, come to think of it, there's just a hint of that. But very mild. Very tolerable! :P

Packaging:


This hair treatment comes in a plastic tub with a flip top cap, which i think is cool! :D

Another view:



It comes nicely sealed with foil too, which i appreciate!! :)



Price & Availability:
This hair treatment is priced at RM14.90 each and is available at all Watsons / Guardian outlets as well as your local supermarket! :)


My $0.02:

This really, really reminds me of the conditioner from the same range in terms of texture!! Even the ingredients are exactly the same! :P

However, weird as it may be, unlike the conditioner that gives me super soft and smooth hair (at least for the few hours after showering), this dried out my hair at the beginning! ARGH!! To be fair, this improved after a few uses, but it still didn't work as well as the conditioner for yours truly! :( Also, i can't tell if this product did actually reduce any hair fall, since I've been using the shampoo for quite sometime now!

On the bright side, this does a not too bad job at softening my hair and making it shiny, plus its easily available everywhere and the price is affordable too! :)

To sum it up in a nutshell, I will be sticking with the conditioner if i were to revisit this range. That one works better for me! :)



This item is sent to yours truly by Pantene for review purpose. I am in no way affiliated with them nor do I get compensated monetarily for this post. Kindly purchase at your own discretion.


Credits: Product pic from Google Images.