Malaysia haul Part I

Greetings all from Malaysia! Sorry for the lack of updates - I've been shopping, eating and resting well for 2 days and almost don't want to do anything but that. However, I thought of all of you and decided to share the spoils. Let's check the damage done thus far... after the jump!

Presenting... The Solitary Book Club - You don't have to be a "Literature Geek" to read these books

What in tarnation is a Solitary Book Club?!

I'm sure you've heard of Book Clubs where people sit down and discuss the books they've read, like the famous Oprah's Book Club. Clubs are a social activity, so there's no way there could be a club of one, right? Well, I bet you've never heard of a Solitary Book Club where the only member goes on and on about the books she (yours truly) has read. Those are called reviews, right?

Wrong. I'm not just reviewing books that I'm currently reading/have recently read/are my perpetual favourites. The social aspect of my club lies in the way I'm opening up the (comments) floor to discussion from all my readers, whether you're avid literature geeks or sporadic book flippers. By doing this, I intend to transform your perception of books that people dismiss as "high-class literature" (as they say in our uniquely Singaporean brand of Singlish) into a worldview that embraces literature as an accessible way of learning about other cultures and worldviews. Literature is not just confined to books on the Times bestseller lists, and I take up the job of introducing you to books you may otherwise not have read. Some of these are on bestseller lists, some are relatively obscure, but I'm sure that after reading what I (and the commenters) have to say, you'll know whether they're worth the read or not.

A few ground rules. I welcome all comments except

1) Inflammatory comments that are personal insults

2) Comments that are not Spam, but are non-related to the book

3) Spam

I will not publish your comments if they are any of the above. Commenting on how you find the book is completely okay, even if it's just to say "I think this book sounds cool! I'll check it out." Comments that request for more information on the book or that attempt to clarify certain details of my review/the book are welcome. Just no flamers, no spammers and no trollers.

That said, welcome to my Solitary Book Club where I sit behind a screen of anonymity and share my latest and greatest reading exploits with all of you and provide recommendations for everyone. Don't be afraid of reading, don't be afraid of participating in this Book Club! Sitting behind a screen of anonymity has its benefits - there's a lower possibility of being embarrassed at a slip-up - but just a reminder to Keep It Nice, everyone.

Disclaimer: My Solitary Book Club posts are for people interested in literary fiction (e.g. by Jeffrey Eugenides, Haruki Murakami etc.), science fiction (I am a huge Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick fan), dystopian fiction (1984, Animal Farm, and the classics (blame the fact that I'm a literature major). Even if you're more used to reading chick lit and other genres of fiction, I suggest you read some of my reviews and give these genres a shot! You may be pleasantly surprised.

Stay tuned for my soon-to-be-published reading experience of the wonderfully quirky and fun... part science fiction, part dystopian fiction... Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde!

Front cover
Picture credits: Lightbox

Front and Back
Picture Credits: Lightbox

P.S. "But... what does Literature have to do with Beauty?" Oh it has everything to do with beauty, my friend. A well-crafted piece of prose or poetry is a work of art, and beauty is found in art, no? Plus I wanted to show the intellectual side of Cherchez Beauté. I am a literature major who has loved reading since I was little. I sing, I play the piano (well, if I may say so), I write poetry... My life is about so much more than nail polish and make up - why dumb down the content just to fit into certain typecasts? I want to be different, and here goes!

Nail Polish: A teaser...

Just a teaser on what's coming up soon on Cherchez Beauté...

Red shimmer and
multichromatic glitter

Look at the colour gradient!

This is no ordinary gold glitter...

The gold glitter reflects blue!

For the first 2 pictures I layered two glitters over a black base. The glitters are from an Asian brand. For the next 2 pictures, I layered one sheer shimmery polish over another creme polish. Both are European brands. For the last two pictures, I layered a sheer shimmery polish over a creme polish. One is from Asia and one is from the UK.

Anyone want to guess what polishes these are? :)

Because there's beauty in humour too

Disclaimer: This is a funny post to perk up your day, ladies and gentlemen. No offense intended to anyone, so if you're offended by a funny parody video... Lighten up, live a little! :)

Ladies, have the guys in your life complained about how you always talk, talk, talk, talk and end up repeating the same things?

Men, do you find yourself tuning out after the first few words of a few very familiar sounding diatribes that your girlfriends/wives/female friends tend to spout?

Shit Girls Say (pardon the language) is a new twitter account (just set up on 12 December and already has 90 000+ followers!) that rehashes the familiar questions, comments, criticisms that females often say with a dash of humour and a sprinkling of parody.

There's even a related video that is the funniest thing I've watched in a while:

I hope you laughed very heartily because I sure did! As a female, I must admit I'm guilty of saying many of those things, and many of them don't even make sense. Heh I never realised how ridiculously funny I must sound at times. Though of course I don't think I've said 50% of the stuff the "girl" in the video said... Right guys? Uh, guys?

Right. So all the guys ran off before I could give them a piece of my mind. Anyway, I got wind of this (and the video below) from Thought Catalog (affectionately known as TC), which is a pretty awesome site with lots of articles on all sorts of topics. I usually read the Life and Love tagged posts from TC when I'm looking for short articles to fill the empty tracts of time in between going out, sleeping and waking during the holidays. TC was also my go-to for some quick entertainment when I was in the midst of my exams earlier in November. Go check it out for your daily dose of entertainment - TC updates very regularly and there's already a repository of articles which you can start exploring. You can follow TC on twitter for new article updates as and when they come along.

Enjoy your day, friends. Victor Borge was right on the money when he said "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people". Though you may be reading this from across the globe, I hope that the video made your day just a little funnier and better and brought you just a little closer to me :)

Naruko Marjoram and Lavender Brightening Eye Cream and Classic Whitening Night Eye Gelly Review and Pictures

Hi lovelies, firstly, thanks for all the encouragement and praise - I'm really just soaking in all the positive energy and channeling it back to you wonderful readers in the form of more posts. I would really be posting less if not for your constant reminders that you enjoy reading what I write about!

Some news: the nail hauls/swatches/art can wait because I'm quite busy at the moment so bear with me while I free up my time a little before showing off/presenting to you some vignettes of my ongoing nail polish/art obsession.

On to the main point of my post! I've been getting comments, questions and emails about Danielle Laroche Purifying Gel which I recommended a while ago. Just an update in my quest for the perfect facial wash - I've just found a really great and affordable facial care line and am really excited to share it with all of you! I split this post into 3 parts because I realised how long it would be once I started writing about the eye cream. I have lots of useful comments and tips, so read on after the jump!

A few confessions about blogging

Hi all you regular readers and random passers-by! This post is more of a wordy, reflective post on the past 10 months of my blogging experience. You don't have to read it as it's partly for me to reflect through the process of writing. I have some good news that I will be announcing soon though! So if you want an early heads up, go ahead and read it :)

1) Since the inception of this blog, I realise I haven't been very consistent with my updates. This is partly because I had a lot of other activities going on - school, my piano exam (diploma; I think I did well, fingers crossed) - and also because I lacked a consistent motivation to keep posting.

Before the idea of this blog was even realised, many people, including my parents and friends, questioned whether it would work. They thought it lacked a focus, say on nail polish, or make up, and that as a result, it would not garner a dedicated readership. Still, I stubbornly insisted on doing things my way. I told them that even if no one read this blog, I'd still write posts. I'd still chronicle my experiences and put them into words, creating new memories as I continued my exploration into what the concept of "beauty" entailed. That's my manifesto and blog title after all - cherchez beauté, a French phrase I coined, means "looking for beauty" in English.

However, many a time I have doubted myself. I have questioned myself about the reason for the existence of this blog. Originally I thought it would be a kind of hobby to chronicle my forays into blogging about beautiful things that could even earn me, a college student mired in poverty (I kid, I kid), some pocket money on the side. Later on it was more focused on reviewing products. And yet later on I grew lax in posting and it became a convenient place to post giveaways. To be honest, this would have stayed the same had something incredible not happened to me, courtesy of a number of kind people. These people really inspired me to do more with my blog, and I began to realise the potential I had at my fingertips! Great things are about to happen to me and this blog and I am really excited! It's a surprise at the moment, but I'll keep you posted as soon as possible.

2) To you faithful readers who've been reading my posts (Hitoshi I know you subscribed so I'll give you a shoutout here. Thanks for believing in me!), I promise that over the next year I will be updating a lot more. Even while I'm on student exchange from next September to February. Yes, I'm heading to Switzerland for 6 months and I have lots of exciting plans in the pipeline... I'll give you a big hint: It has something to do with nail polish and other beauty products, travelling and food. Don't groan - I'm a total nail polish addict; I'll admit it! When I'm overseas I'll still be blogging here, but stay tuned for something different.

3) I may be planning a giveaway some time next year. Hurray for giveaways! I've participated in a few so far (check out Giveaways) and it's really been fun even if I didn't win. I'm still crossing my fingers for those that have not ended, but honestly, the real fun is in participating, finding new and cool beauty blogs and just appreciating the generosity of these awesome people.

I guess that's all I have to get off my chest. I'll keep everyone updated soon, so just check back soon!

P.S. In the near future I hear whisperings of...

- A haul post of The Face Shop nail polishes

- Posts on certain nail polishes including Cult Nails Clairvoyant, Glitter Gal Lizard Belly and a few others I've been wanting for ages which I just managed to get my grubby paws on!

- Christmas nail art - this would be the first time I've tried nail art. I have some fantastic ideas which I hope can be translated onto my nails!

Alright I'm signing off for now. Thanks for reading this post if you did.

... You really read this post. All of it?! You deserve a prize, my friend.

Featured: SG Nails - Don't Panic, Don't Blink, just buy now!

I am breaking my "hiatus" of writing proper posts to do this because I just couldn't stop myself.

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Oh gosh oh gosh as I speak bottles are flying off the... (metaphorical) shelves!

There's a new kid on the block and boy is he ever so tempting.

SG Nails is so many kinds of awesome I cannot even start without gushing on about it. Helmed by a husband and wife team, SG Nails has brought in a collection of custom-blended nail polish made by the talented Amanda of NerdLacquer fame at 25 SGD a bottle (excluding 3 SGD for registered mail) that reminds one of Lynnderella's glitters.

Everyone knows just how hard it is to get ahold of NerdLacquers because they keep selling out. Harlow & Co. has a wide range of NerdLacquers too, but they sell out very fast! That is where SG Nails steps in to help us local polish addicts.

SG Nails' nail polish offerings from NerdLacquer include polishes named "Don't Panic", "Hyperspace Bypass", "Entirely Unlike Tea" and "Regeneration". If those references just went over your head, I'll explain for your benefit: The first three make not-so-subtle references to Douglas Adams' cool, wacky, crazy book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the last makes a very obvious reference to Dr Who and the regenerations of the different doctors. When I first saw the lovely colours sitting in their geekily labelled bottles, I almost cried for joy. Here at last, someone who understands the needs of geeky nail polish lovers and brings such an awesome range of polish!

If you were wondering, I just bought a bottle of "Hyperspace Bypass", described as

a massively glittering big yellow something that hovers on your fingertips in exactly the way that bricks don’t. Packed with pale gold glitter, medium and large golden hex glitter, and small and medium black glitter, plus a sprinkling of holographic hex sparkles, it’ll disintegrate every other polish in your collection.

The description brings a tear of geeky joy to my eye. I am so upset I can't snag "Don't Panic" and "Exterminate" as well, in addition to currently out of stock nail polishes "Don't Blink" and "All of Time and Space", partly due to my current lack of funds and also due to the fact that there are so many nail polish lovers out there grabbing those lovely bottles.

Here is "Hyperspace Bypass". Feast your eyes upon it (it looks like a yellow kiwi to me hm)!

 Credits to SG Nails

Credit: SG Nails

Just look at that. Convinced now? Visit SG Nails without further ado and be transported to a world where nail polish and geekdom coincide. But like I said, do it quick, because many of the most gorgeous colours are already sold (within the same hour of the store's opening) to people who either appreciate 1) awesome local small businesses 2) awesome geekiness 3) awesome nail polish colours or all of the above. I snagged the third last bottle of "Hyperspace Bypass" so that's one less beauty for you to grab. Oh and there's a discount ongoing - just use the discount code of "WELOVESGNAILS" when you checkout to get 10% off.

Final thoughts: I just adore the selection at SG Nails, and I can't wait to get "Hyperspace Bypass" on my nails. I guess no matter how much nail polish and girly make up implements I have, I'm still a huge geek at heart. Remember: Don't Panic, just grab the bottles you want that are available, and Don't Blink - you may not live to regret not getting these beauties.

P.S. Like SG Nails on Facebook as well to show your appreciation :)

EDIT: SG Nails is selling NerdLacquer at 18 SGD per bottle now. Yay for more affordable polish! Amanda is currently missing in action and no longer produces NerdLacquer, so grab all the available bottles you can before you don't have the chance to!

Disclaimer: This was not a paid advertorial. The views expressed in this post are 100% my own.

Short hiatus

Apologies all for the lack of posts! I will be travelling from tomorrow until Saturday, and after that I will be heading to the lovely land of cheese and chocolate fondue (Switzerland, if you haven't guessed!) from 1-24 July. Between Saturday and 30 July, I will try to squeeze in at least 1 post, but my schedule is rather hectic, so no promises here... Also, I will try to update all of you with a travelogue of sorts when I'm in Switzerland, including many pictures and things to note in Switzerland. Normal posting of reviews etc. resumes when I'm back.

For those having your June holidays now, enjoy them before they end! Do something meaningful :)

Cozycot Holy Grail Beauty & Fashion Awards 2011

Hi all! I'm still working on Part II of my 20 iPhone Photography Apps. Part I's here :) I promise it'll be up soon, along with more great posts like a review of Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm (a staple amongst women)!

Meanwhile, I thought I'd like to share this event with you. It's the annual Cozycot Holy Grail Beauty & Fashion Awards! What's so great about it? For one, you get to vote for your favourite beauty/fashion products and spread the joy with everyone else in Singapore! You also get to discover the products that other women here are raving about, and there are even reviews written for some of these products. To cast your vote for your favourite make up/skincare etc. products and fashion must-haves, click on the logo below and look on the top left of the cozycot website to see the Beauty and Fashion Award logos! Hurry, voting closes on 30 June 2011 :)

P.S. Share the above logo to stand a chance to win fabulous prizes (if you're one of the top 10 referrers!) Help me become one of the top 10 referrers by just clicking on the logo :) Thanks for all my readers for reading this blog! Your support is invaluable :)

DesignByHumans Shirts Review

written by owq

I just received 2 shirts bought during DesignByHumans’s (DBH) sale!

1. Drifting

The printing is mostly spot-on, and the blues have to be seen to be believed! Unfortunately, there’s a printing error near the bottom right of the shirt, but at least it’s not that discernible. As stated on DBH’s site, the print is a soft all-over one, so you can’t really feel the ink while wearing it – certainly a big plus in my opinion. However, they tend to use some adhesive on the inside of the shirt for such over-sized prints, which may take a few washes to be cleaned off.

2. TREE

Yep, this is just a tree with lots of details. I really like the art. Just like Drifting, this is another soft print, so you can’t really feel the ink. Perfect printing this time.

Tips for buying from them

1. Wait for their sales that usually occur every season, when prices go down to 15USD.
2. Use discount codes that you can find at http://www.designbyhumans.com/forums/show/975205
3. You can earn store credit by sending in photos of you wearing shirts you bought.

About their shirt blanks

Their blanks are usually made of a 50/50 cotton-polyester blend, so you can buy to size since they don’t shrink as much as 100% cotton shirts. However, they’re a bit longer for me than normal. They’re quite comfortable, though I still prefer the feel of 100% cotton.

What I like about DBH

They have bolder designs as compared to Threadless. I absolutely adore their all-over prints which spill over to the sleeves.

What I don’t like

There’s a watermark printed on the outer back of every shirt. I like the fact that it highlights the artist, but I don’t really like wearing advertisements :/

I’d rather they put this on the inside of the shirt and remove the tag, just like Threadless does.

Also, their shirts are quite pricey when there are no sales. Their international shipping is also quite expensive.

What is DBH?

A T-shirt community/competition site where you can submit and vote for designs to be printed. They have a new design every working day.

Here is my referral URL. Use it if you like.

14 June update: They're having a sale right now!

100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream Review and Pictures

I had heard good (and bad) things about this product and the brand it belongs to, so I decided to give it a shot and ordered 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream through the local distributor (do check out the 100% Pure Singapore Facebook page) Read on to find out more about my experience with this delightfully scented au naturale eye cream...

Vintage green purse

Who doesn't like accessories? I sure do! And that's why I'm going to be featuring some of my most-liked accessories and some possibly strange ones on Cherchez Beauté. I often buy quirky looking accessories without regard for the price - I meant the low, low prices I'm used to ;) But I'll admit that I feel a thrill of anticipation and excitement whenever I spot a cheaply priced bargain. Flea markets and vintage stores are right up my alley!

Today' accessory is a lovely vintage green faux-velvet purse, given to me by my lovely Aunt Kat. I have to admit, I've never used it before - it's really small and can barely hold more than an iPhone, but I love it all the same. The colour is very unique, and coupled with its brassy looking metal clasps and chain, adds to the vintage appeal of this lovely purse. I can just imagine toting it around to a garden party, coupled with a lovely summery dress or one with earthy brown and red tones. Pity there hasn't been any garden parties requiring my attendance.

 That's how small the purse is; it's only slightly bigger than my iPhone

Speaking of my iPhone... The picture above was taken when I had just gotten my Vintage top grain leather SGP iPhone 4 case a few months ago. It looks very clean, no? Well, not anymore. It has aged beautifully on the back (no doubt from countless times of holding it in my grubby paws) but the front is relatively patina-less except for a few splotches of darker colour. I'll be reviewing the case soon, so stay tuned!

The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Nail Polish Remover Review

I'm sure everyone has used nail polish remover before and hated it. Whether because of the smell, or the fact that the nail polish just won't come off! Well, this nail polish remover from The Face Shop will change your mind; read on to find out :)

It looks absolutely lovely too!

Victoriana Calendars - Cynthia Hart and Zozo The Magic Queen

Today I'll be sharing my love for Victoriana (articles from the Victorian era) and Victorian-inspired designs with you. In January I was looking for a present for my friend at Borders (I'm really upset that it's closing down...) and I saw a rack of those yearly calendars on sale. Browsing through the differently themed designs, I found two that I especially liked and both were Victorian inspired designs with pictures of genuine Victoriana! They cost only 9 SGD each, so I bought them both :) I've taken pictures of some of the pages of both calendars, take a look!

The pretty slip-in case that the Cynthia Hart Victoriana 2011 Calendar comes in...

Battle of the handmade rock candies - Sweet Enchantment VS. Sticky Comparison Post and Review

Apologies for the lack of updates - I promise to update more regularly! I've been "getting used" to my holidays and catching up with old friends for the past few weeks and now it's back to blogging here for all you great readers :)

Today, I'll be reviewing something sweet and sticky that has recently been both on and in the mouths of Singaporeans both young and old... Yes, I'm talking about homemade rock candies! I'm sure most of you have heard of Sticky by now. It's the first brand of handmade candy that opened in the Central and also retails online at the Sticky website. I bought an assorted packet of candies and the "Together We Can Help Japan" candies (they donated the profits to aid for Japan) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Lychee and cherry flavoured rock candies!

Things started to get interesting when I saw another handmade rock candy store in Vivocity one day... Named "Sweet Enchantment", it struck me as a smaller but quainter shop front. How will it measure up to Sticky? Read on to find out!

Champagne flavoured rock candies!

If you're wondering why there's a random purple and white piece of rock candy at the top of the jar, that's 'cos my SO bought another flavour (Lavender) and we swapped some candies :)

Pure Colors Mineral Powder Swatches and Review

Back after a long hiatus because of the exams!

Eyes - the windows to the soul... As romantic and poetic as that phrase sounds, compared to other parts of the face that can be made up, I've always held that the eyes are one of the first features to be noticed. That's why I've always been looking for ways to play up my eyes and it's been a challenge...

Berry shades for the lips

Shades of berry, yay or nay? Darker colours make your lips appear smaller, but fret not, darker coloured glosses can impart a nice shine to your lips without making them appear smaller. In fact, some of these glosses can even make your lips look bigger by their gloss factor. Today I swatch 3 of the berry-toned lip products I have, The Face Shop Diamond Shine Lipgloss in PP401, The Body Shop Cranberry Shimmer Lip Balm and Smashbox O-gloss Noir. Three reviews in one post, whew!

GAIA 10 - Beautiful Visual Style for Windows 7

Weary of the Windows 7 look?

Here is a stunning visual style to freshen up your favourite operating system!

Two steps to getting a new look
1. Download CustoPack Tools from http://www.custopack.com/en/home
2. Download the style from http://www.custopack.com/custopack/gaia-gaia10us

P.S. Sorry, this is Windows 7 only. Mac users already have a beautiful operating system.

Kanebo Coffret D'Or AA Rouge PK 246 Swatches and Review

Today I'll review Kanebo's Coffret D'Or AA Rouge (in PK 246), which has received great reviews when it was released along with the rest of the Coffret D'Or Spring Collection in December 2010. 

ME! Bath Choco-holic Body Wash Review

[EDITED 25/4/2013]

Added the ingredients list!

Ingredients list: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Polysorbate 80, Cocamide MEA, Fragrance, Cola Acuminata (Kola Nut) Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, DMDM Hydantoin (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Benzotriazole Dodecyl p-Cresol, Red 40 [CI 16035], Yellow 6 [CI 15985], Blue 1 [CI 42090].

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Don't these pictures just speak for themselves? I bought the ME! Bath's Choco-holic Body Wash at Sephora out of curiousity and also because it smelt delicious. It didn't disappoint.

China Glaze He's Going In Circles Swatches and Review

Today will be the first time I'm reviewing nail polish over here, and it's China Glaze He's Going In Circles, as shown above.

Violet Cries - Esben and the Witch Album Review

fadedblank thinks...

Esben and the Witch haven’t quite got it yet. You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise upon first giving their debut album, Violet Cries, a spin as it does start out very, very strong.

Danielle Laroche Purifying Gel Review and Pictures

[EDITED 24/4/2013]

Hi everyone,

I'm editing this post because I don't want my past misconceptions to mislead others. I don't recommend this product anymore mainly because it contains Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) that is drying and potentially irritating to the skin, especially sensitive skin. My skin is mildly sensitive, so I can't recommend it.

After a few years of blogging, I'm much more knowledgeable about skincare products and their ingredients, and I feel that I have to amend previous posts in case they spread misinformation. However, I'm not deleting this post so that I can show my accountability through these few years of blogging. I'm not going to shy away from saying I'm wrong if I find out that I am, and I will amend the mistake. If there are other posts like that in my blog which I haven't noticed, please do point them out to me and I will gladly edit them like this.

Thanks for being great readers, cheers!

Love,

Rachel

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Today I want to introduce you to one of the only facial cleansers that has worked for me! This facial cleanser is so good that I've been recommending it to all my friends who have skin problems like mine. I've always had skin that is hard to handle - my skin type is a combination of oily (T-zone) and slightly dry (cheeks) skin which is sensitive to boot. I've tried a number of different brands of facial cleansers prior to using Danielle Laroche Purifying Gel (pictured below) e.g. L'Oreal, Simple, Defense Pure, The Face Shop etc... but none of them lessened my skin problems. Except this...

thesixtyone - a music adventure

Let me kick-start this site with an introduction to a pretty awesome music streaming website that was just introduced to me by a fellow music-lover. Get ready for a lengthy review, but if you don't want to read it, you can skip to The Verdict right at the bottom of the post for a short summary.

I had no idea what I was in store for when I clicked the link to thesixtyone or t61. What happened was I came face to face with something like looked like this...

Hello world!

Apologies to any passers-by for the lack of content on this website... I'll be posting new content soon as I manage to do some writing. It took a while to customise the widgets on this blog, credits to the awesome article on changing blogger labels to pages by Fors.

A word/disclaimer/whatever one calls it: Don't expect reviews on expensive products (though I do splurge once in a while) or academic essays on critical issues - this is a college student's take on life and beauty in its many forms. Do enjoy!