Essence Trend Edition: Hugs & Kisses

Ready for the newest essence trend edition? Well you better be, because it's all about summer lovin' with hugs and kisses from essence this summer. Here's a short post to share the press release for the Hugs & Kisses trend edition!

July/August 2013 Trend Edition – Hugs & Kisses

The latest Trend Edition for essence cosmetics is in stores now! Fall in love this summer with essence’s Hugs & Kisses, a trend edition that pairs this season’s trendy colours with the magical feeling of falling in love!

In this Trend Edition, essence brings you a lovely mix of fun and bright colours to the deep, intense colours of love. Get a flirty, summer look with Hugs & Kisses eye shadow palette, multicolour blush and glitter eyeliner. Get soft and smooth puckers with the moisturizing lip scrub. Top them with the lip tint to give your lips that lasting hint of colour. Mix up your summer look with the nail twins base and top coats in various colours. Lastly, spritz on some hugs and kisses eau de toilette and you’re all ready for summer lovin’!

HK Updates + My Week on Instagram: 24 June - 7 July 2013

Hi guys! It's been AGES since I last updated as I'm in HK now for a school-based summer programme from 29 June - 7 August (which is coincidentally my birthday!). To be honest I've been quite lazy since coming here. The food's good and I love just hanging out with my friends, so there's not much motivation to plop myself in front of the computer to blog. Coupled with the fact that I'm out most of the day either eating, shopping or in classes, you can probably understand why I just feel like sleeping early at night.

I haven't been updating this space with My Week on Instagram and LOI posts for the past two weeks, but I'm getting back in the groove now. This will be a post on the past two weeks on Instagram and I'll do up an special HK edition of LOI for next Monday. You can also look forward to some travel posts with pictures and more reviews of stuff. I've had review pictures in my computer for ages and ages so I'd better get down to churning out 'em reviews soon.

25 June 2013

This tree in my neighbourhood was destroyed by the heavy storms and hail that hit the Western part of Singapore. If you hadn't heard already, it hailed 2 weeks ago. That's very surprising because of one thing: Singapore just doesn't get hail. The hail was probably due to the crazy hazy conditions we were experiencing just a couple of weeks ago. Some people theorised that the hail was due to Indonesia's cloud seeding efforts, as the clouds could have be blown over to Singapore. I think that's not very possible as it's too far away for the hail to be carried to Singapore. My theory is that the increase in airborne particles (due to the haze) caused more moisture to coalesce around these particles, but they were pushed upwards due to a lack of clouds (because of the thunderstorms previously) and were cooled until they became hail. Seems to be confirmed by this source.

My Week on Instagram: 17 - 23 June 2013

17 June 2013

I hadn't shown any love to my Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick in a long while, so here's a shot of me wearing it! Black Honey became an instant cult favourite in the beauty world when it was first released a few years ago, and that's no surprise given how versatile this red is. It works on every skin tone and enhances your natural lip colour to give a subtle and fresh look. I should do a review on it huh!

My Week on Instagram: 10 - 16 June 2013

10 June 2013

I mentioned in my previous Week On IG post that I went to Legoland, so here are some more pictures of Legoland!

These musical instruments are really pretty and I love how they're placed in a fountain. The fountain really features music too - when we walked past, music from the different instruments (e.g. violin, harp, drums etc) were being played. It was really cute!

Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Tint Swatches and Review

These Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lip Tints became a fast favourite of mine when I first got them in Malaysia last June. It's easy to fall in love with the vibrant selection of colours and the ease of use, not to mention the fact that they're a 2-in-1 value for money kind of product - on one end there's a lip tint, and on the other, a lip balm.

Essence Trend Edition: Oz the Great and Powerful

Just received the press release for the newest Essence trend edition to hit Singapore's shores!


Essence Trend Edition: Oz the Great and Powerful

Summer is sure to be magical as essence whisks you away to a world full of adventure this June. essence is turning all beauties into true magicians of make-up. The breathtaking 3D adventure shows beginnings of the Wizard of Oz and how the little circus magician Oscar Diggs came to the fantastic world of Oz. Viewers can look forward to a truly magical movie full of exciting events, impressive images and fun characters like the three witches Theodora, Evanora and Glinda or Finley the flying monkey.

Inspired by the bright and colorful world of the enchanting Disney movie, this trend edition consists of gold, red, green and soft pink as well as blue shades. The matching must-have products: eyeshadows in cool and trendy colors, eye pencils with a shimmer effect, highlighter powder with a fabulous embossment, innovative colourchanging lipbalms, cream blush in a practical pump dispenser, cracking top coats for magical nail designs and a sparkling necklace with an emerald-green stone as a gorgeous accessory.

Are you a slave to the beauty industry?

Recently I've been thinking and talking a lot about beauty and what it means, in relation to the beauty/cosmetics industry. I've also come across many related articles/events/ideas, including Dove Real Beauty Sketches, local accounts of the increasing trend in plastic surgery, posts and comments written by others that challenge ideas of beauty circulating in society. It's a topic close to my heart as I'm participating in the beauty industry by writing about cosmetics and other beauty products. I've grown to become rather disillusioned about the way the industry works, and am questioning the direction that "beauty blogging" will take me and my blog. As such, I've decided to dole out some tough love to everyone who takes an interest in the beauty industry.

How To Be A Discerning Cosmetics Consumer

Since I started CherchezBeaute.com, I've learnt a lot about skincare, make up and other cosmetic products. I've learnt to differentiate between true and false claims, and look past some of the hype of a product. Far too many people take a product's claims at face value and tout the product based on its own advertisements. I'm sure readers would be sorely disappointed if they bought the product based on such reviews and it did not live up to their expectations.

Today I'd like to share with you 7 tips on how to be a discerning cosmetics consumer. I use these pointers every time I'm thinking of buying a product so that I can make better choices without breaking the bank and buying every hyped-up product in the market.

Confession: Make up is my beauty crutch

Guess what? The semester has almost ended! There are more essays to do but there's always time for my blog ;) I was freed from a particularly hellish week last Wednesday, and have been relaxing and doing some work for most of the weekend. Looks like I won't be able to catch up on my post backlog until the summer hols start in May though.

Anyway, yesterday I was working on my video review for the Hitachi HadaCRiE Cool -  it's the second instalment in my reviews of this awesome facial skincare device. I know I promised a video by week 2 of using the HadaCRiE, but I wasn't entirely pleased with how it turned out. I'll be filming it again tomorrow - crossing my fingers that things will go right!

Today's post is a contemplative one on a topic close to my heart. Inspired by the recent "confessional" type posts I've read (think Thought Catalog), I decided to divulge a little more about myself and perhaps reach out to others who're feeling the same way.

Here's a confession I have to make to everyone (including myself):

Make up is my beauty crutch.

You may be wondering what exactly I mean, or perhaps you're facing this same issue and are nodding your head in agreement. What I'm saying is that make up is not just a means of enhancing my looks or attracting others' attention. It has become a crutch that supports my self-esteem with regards to my looks.

Beauty Blogger Tag: 32 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Me!

I'm been so swamped with essay-writing (it's that time of the semester) that it's been virtually impossible to do much over here, dear readers. Got a really delayed post on Jindie Nails Swoon and Zomboy that I haven't posted up because I haven't got the perfect swatches yet. Here's a sneak peek I posted a few days ago:

I hope to post the full review post soon! Sigh so many posts lined up but no time right now.

Anyway, I was recently tagged by the lovely Miss Rusty to do this little meme. I figured it wouldn't take up too much time and would be a welcome break from writing long, tedious essays, so here goes!

Featured: Essence Trend Edition - Ready For Boarding

Hi everyone, this will be a short post to share an Essence Singapore press release for the newest trend edition about to hit Watsons this weekend - Ready For Boarding! Check it out:

March 2013 Trend Edition – Ready For Boarding

The latest Trend Edition for essence cosmetics is hitting stores this weekend! With summer coming around real soon, essence is introducing Ready For Boarding, a travel friendly trend edition that packs in all the necessities for the jet-setting girl!

London, Rome, New York, Rio de Janeiro – summertime is travel season! Whether you’re going on a last-minute trip in Europe or travelling to far-away countries or even around the world: with the new essence trend edition “ready for boarding”, you can welcome that yearning desire to travel in March 2013. These practical little travel products simply have to come along, no matter how full your suitcase is! So go pack those bags, head through the security check and get ready for take-off!

In this Trend Edition, essence brings you a range of versatile and compact colours to bring on that vacation you have been planning. Dual sided kajal pencils, peel off base coat (perfect for changing nail colours on the go!), luggage tags and handy wipes are some of the items in this travel-friendly trend edition. What’s more, there is also a cute cosmetic bag in this collection for you to keep all the products in!

Here's a sneak peek of all the different goodies in this TE... after the jump!

Exchange in Switzerland Part 4

Time for the least serious part of my exchange posts thus far! ;)

How to be a Domestic Goddess (wannabe)

In Switzerland, I started learning how to cook and make my own meals every day. My most successful dishes to date: ABC Soup (first picture) and beef stew (second last picture). Those are my tried and tested favourites of all the recipes I've tried so far. I let my apartment mates try those two dishes, and they loved them too. Means a lot to an amateur like me! Look out for my future travel series posts - maybe one of them will be about food, where I'll teach you how to whip up some dishes like these; they're pretty easy!

Stella Double Flex Brighten Up Eyelashes (AS8941) Review and Pictures

In my previous post I reviewed Solone Gel Like Smoody Pencil (05 Brown). Today I'm going to review Stella Double Flex Brighten Up Eyelashes (AS8941), the other half of Loothavn's generously sponsored goodie package.

This pair of nylon eyelashes are dramatic and double-layered, designed with a cross sectional pointed eyelash over the top layer to brighten up and enhance the eyes.

The first thing I noticed about these false eyelashes is how dense and long the lash fibres are! The individual eyelashes are of different lengths, creating that "doe-eyed" effect. Wondering how it would look like on my eyes? Read on!

Solone Gel Like Smoody Pencil (05 Brown) Review and Pictures

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you'd probably know that I recently received some goodies from Loothavn and Glow to review.

What an adorable hand-made envelope! I loved it the minute I set eyes upon it. This is what I found inside:

To find out more about these products and read about my experiences with them, continue after the jump!

Featured: 10 Most Common Makeup Mistakes

Hello everyone, today I have a guest post from the lovely people at Videojug, a video content website dedicated to delivering high-quality "how-to" content from a range of topics for users' needs and enjoyment.

So, what are the 10 Most Common Makeup Mistakes according to Videojug? Read on to find out!

Watsons (Taman Maluri Jusco) Haul

And today, I proudly present my haul from F.O.S. (at Viva) and Watsons and Daiso (at the Taman Maluri Jusco)! Just like yesterday's haul, I have no idea why today's haul isn't that fantastic - I just didn't like most of the things I saw. Am hoping that tomorrow will be different. I still have to hit Times Square and Sungei Wang before I head back to Singapore, so I'm crossing my fingers on being able to get better hauls in the next few days. Full haul post and more pictures after the jump!

Naruko Narcissus Total Defense Make-up Removing Mousse Review and Pictures

In my review post of the Naruko Narcissus Defense BB Sunscreen SPF50★★★★, I was wearing some make up, which included the BB Sunscreen, concealer, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil and lip gloss. This is my basic make up, less the eyeshadow, blusher, highlighter etc.

Today, let's see how effective the Naruko Narcissus Total Defense Make-up Removing Mousse is at removing my make up! I've also tested it two other times on a more heavily made up face and had the same results. To find out how effective this make up removing mousse is, read on after the jump!

Naruko Narcissus Defense BB Sunscreen SPF50 ★★★★ Review and Pictures

Oh, what's this? A Naruko product with both skincare and make up functions? I knew I had to try this, and when Naruko Singapore offered me the opportunity to review the Naruko ampm All Day No Shine Sebum Balancer, Naruko Total Defense Make-up Removing Mousse and this BB Sunscreen, I jumped at the chance.

Naruko is a brand that is well-known for its plant-derived ingredients (e.g. essential oils) and focus on high-quality, low-cost, effective skincare products that are suited for daily use. However, Naruko has also ventured into make up, with products such as the Naruko Narcissus Defense BB Sunscreen SPF50 ★★★★. Against my glowing reviews of Naruko's other skincare products, how will this BB Sunscreen fare? Find out after the jump!

Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover Review

After yesterday's post about my Watsons haul, I received a comment from a reader asking about Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover. Neither she nor I had seen it before, and I found out that it is the newest Bioré facial makeup remover, replacing the well-loved Bioré Hydra-Clear Makeup Remover. I had been meaning to try the old one for the longest time, but I hadn't finished using my Bifesta Water-Based Makeup Remover yet (comparison review soon!).

This is the Bioré Aqua Jelly Makeup Remover.

Review after the jump! 

Watsons Private Member Sale (30 May 2012) Haul Post

Yesterday, Watsons held a private sale for its members from 12 noon-11pm at 26 of its outlets. I was alerted by the EDM that arrived in my inbox, and headed down to the Watsons store at Causeway Point (Woodlands) to check it out with my mom. We came back with a huge haul! I only took pictures of my half of the haul though. Check out close-ups after the jump!