beauty product: foundation

Here's the continuation of last post...

Foundation is the most important makeup in my beauty case... It basically evens out your skin tone, can cover up redness/imperfection and also can provide basic sunscreen protection (providing your foundation has spf).

So before putting on makeup, wear base/primer. Primer/Base is basically providing a base for your foundation. Your foundation/Makeup would glide easily. Also, it could shrink your pores so that you could achieve that flawless skin.

1)Body Shop Matte It Primer RM49.90 @ Body Shop for 30ml. This Primer provides matte finish, absorbs excess oil and leaves you with matte look. In my opinion, this one is like clinique pore minimizing gel - only cheaper. If you want a dewy glowy look, skip this primer.
2) Sephora Primer - I am super loving this primer.. Bought in in Sephora @S'pore for $19.00. It's dewy and has a little bit of shimmer. The texture is creamy. You could mix this with your matte foundation to achieve the dewy/glowing look or wear it under foundation. I bought this because it provides the same function as mac strobe cream.
For foundation, I prefer liquid foundation because it glides easily and doesn't give me that cakey look- but this is just me. It's so important to find the right shades for your skin to look natural, otherwise you're just gonna look like wearing a mask. The trick is to just put on makeup on your chin, and compare to your neck. If it blends with your skintone, then it is the right color. Otherwise choose darker/lighter color. Pls don't try it on the back of your hand, the color is different there.

I usually splurge on foundation. Why? I couldn't really find my shades in the drugstore that doesn't my face loooking grey-ish. Plus, foundation lasts me 1-2 years, so I'm guessing it's worth it.

1)Maquiliquide UV Infinité Liquid FoundationBought this @ Parkson RM126. This is a water based foundation so as you might guess it's very lightweight ( as opposed to creamy). It provides sheer to medium foundation but definitely builadable. Bear in mind, the finish is not matte, it's gonna give you a slightly dewy look (as it's water based, so the makeup could easily be oxidized). Top up this foundation with powder if you want a matte look.

2) Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
Got this at mac for RM105 recently . The texture is creamy yet as it was claimed this is oil-free. The coverage is medium to full.. I was matched to NW35 ( I was NC35 before). If I want a matte look, I just wear this on it's own , while if I want a bit dewy look, I just mix this with my primer ( so it's gonna be a bit sheer and dewy). The good thing about this foundation, you don't have to put on powder afterwards, as it last quite long plus the matte effect. So far I've been using this foundation, no major breakouts yet.. The only thing I hate about this foundation is it doesn't have a pump, so I couldn't control the amount of foundation I want to dispense.

3) Mac Mineralize SkinFinish

Got this at mac for rm105 last year ( this was last year's price. Have no idea what's the price now). I kinda have a love/hate feeling with this foundation. It's a sheer foundation with a bit of shimmer to it. Basically it will gives you that dewy/glowy look, but.... there's a but.. sometimes after wearing it forawhile you could end up looking very greasy. So the solution is, to just powder on top of foundation. I think this could work if you want to wear for a short time, but if you want to have a long-lasting makeup, dont wear this as it could easily be gone by half of the day. Will I buy this again: probably not.

Those are the foundations that I've used and am using. How do i put on my foundation>
1) Finger - this works as your finger could warm up the foundation and will make the makeup glides easily.
2) Foundation brush - I have body shop foundation brush, and I don't really fancy it much. Using foundation brush basically you have to paint your face, and really blends it. If not properly blended, you could end up with streaks and patches on your face
3) Sponges - I am not a sponge person, as I think using sponge could waste products since the products basically will be absorbed in the sponge.
4) Stipple Brush - this is my new love! Okay fine, I dont a mac 187 brush to show off. But, I got a lumiere stipple brush which is i think serves as the same function as 187. This cuts down half the time and blends my foundation perfectly.

Okay.. until next products :D

Beauty Product 1

I know... I know.. it's been gazillion years since I last blog... I was lazy or maybe I was simply doesn't have anything to say...

SO this blog is supposed to be fun and vain.. Rather than writing about political issues or world agenda, I'd rather blog about something fun like makeup :D

So here is my makeup counter:
So the big vase actually holds face products and the small vase holds eye products... While the box organizer holds foundation, brushes and lipstick...

While some people actually born with perfect flawless skin, unfortunately I aint one of them... I guess I'm one of those young at hearts who still get breakouts even at my age... who says only teens get breakouts? those people are lying... So the goal is to wear makeup but looks like not wearing makeup at all... tricky eh? but actually you neeed mooooore products to actually looks like not wearing makeup..

So what is your makeup routine? I usually spend 10-15 minutes for makeup routine every morning including toning and mosturizing... So here is the normal makeup routine

1) Tone and mosturize
(always mosturize, so that your foundation will glide easily> No matter how oily the face is, you need hydration. I realize when I skipped moisturizer, my face could get dry spots by midday)
2) Foundation using lumiere duo fiber brush
(I found that applying foundation using stippling brush is easier and cuts down the time it takes to apply foundation. plus it's so much easier to blend the foundation compared to using foundation brush/fingers)
3)Concealer
(Undereye is a must! how to get rid of eyebag??? also, blemishes if necessary)
4)Powder
(Loose powder to set foundation. I found that water based foundation could easily slipped off the face, so setting it by powder will make it last longer)
5) Blush
6) Optional
- White eyeliner on inner corner of eye
- Eyeliner ( I use gel eye liner ! I found it more water resistant than pencil kind. Plus, it doesn't smudge by mid-day)
-Eye shadow
-Lipstick/Lipgloss

I'm all set!!!

So next time maybe I'll write down about the makeup products I've been using ...

Enjoy the rest of your sunday!

Gym or No Gym

So.. after running half marathon - I've found out that I am sooo not fit at all... So in attempt to be fit (and be healthier), I'm thinking maybe I could sign up for gym... (this also to lose the gazillion kilos I've gained since got out of college)

Criteria:-
1) Location : Near workplace
2) Free parking (there's no way I want to pay for gym AND parking!)
3) Got the basic facilities - shower etc

Being an analyst and all, no decisions are done without some research. So here are some finding so far:-

1) 1Fitness - 1Borneo
- Price: RM139 1 time fee, and RM119 monthly
- Parking -NOT FREE - Considering now the parking fee is RM2 per day , if I actually go average 4 times a week, I would be paying extra RM32 just for parking.
- Location: good, near workplace
- Facilities: quite good, they have cardio and weight as well as group exercise

2) Core Fitness - Citimall
- Price: from research - it's rm180 per month start anytime stop anytime. but 1 year commitment is RM1800 (rm150 per month)
- Parking - Free parking - although sometimes it's hard to find parking there sometimes
- Location: okay, not near workplace but it's on my way home
- Facilities - good: cardio, weight and plenty of classes

3) Promenade hotel Gym - Promenade Hotel
- Price: rm120 per month
- Parking - Free
- Location - not near workplace, but on my way home
- Facilities - limited: cardio and weight - but no classes

4) Michelle & Scott Gym - Damai
- Price: ??
- Parking- Free
- Location- on my way home
- Facilities -???

Gonna find out others soon...

second half marathon!

I just finished running my second half marathon! I haven't gotten my official time yet, but I'm assuming it's around 3:35-3:40. Oklah much worse than my last time which was 3:16 but still I get to finish the distance.

Honestly this time around, I didn't train that much. I wish would've, then I would be up and running instead of in bed recovering.. yikes! So all these while, I did few training itu pun around workplace, which was like what once a month. Work was kinda taking my time lately... Hmmmm, come to think about it, why should I invest so much time in work when I'll be getting the same compensation>> So I guess if I were to put the same work commitment and dedication to my training schedule, I'm sure I'll even do better if not great personal time as well as great bods (I'm saying MY personal time okay, errrr, maybe sub 2.30 is not great for others, but for me that's great) .

So here's how the journey begin.... I signed up for BIM half marathon sometime in march with the hope in two months time I actually trained. Days and months passed, yesterday came. Boy, time flies! Went to pick up my race kit and bought two power gels for the run. I also did a great stretching/warm up yesterday by bringing my nieces to 1B. The night before was quite nerve-wrecking, I was nervous about not finishing, about not training, about not being waken up by the alarm.... So I picked up the most boring book of all, and finally dapat juga tidur...

The morning...
I woke up at 3am - shower, get ready, make coffee and find breakfast in the kitchen... By 4am I was already at the door, driving to Likas Stadium while having breakfast in the car. Reached LS around 4.50 and started warming up and taking the pre-run snack.

By 5.30 am, the siren started, and people started running.... I tried not to rush the first few kms, remember the analysis I did in my previous post? heheheh... So one by one started passing by me . The first few kms was okay but my pace wasn't fast enough to pick up the 8 mins/km pace. I was running basically around 9 mins/km and this was during the first few kms.. We passed through pasar where the 10k runners turned around (5km marker).. At that time, I kinda wished I was running for the beginner 10k.

Next we passed wawasan plaza, and this was when the trouble began.... My legs started to hurt, so I started rubbing muscle rub on them... The thing about this muscle rub , it's kinda like minyak panas... It felt hot and kinda give that numb feeling to the muscles... By 730 am, the sun came out, and let me tell you, it was freakingly hot... Okay, I complaint 2 years ago that the sun was hot right? This year around, it was burning hot! Is it possible that our ozone has thinning over the course of two years?

Instead of going into Sutera Harbor, the route this year is a bit different. We go into Tg Aru, and turned around at Waikiki Apt. That was the 10.5 marker. Oh yea, I did post a facebook status update on-the-run :D

Going out from Tg Aru, I passed the great Ulai who ran her first FULL MARATHON... Okay, that's 42 KILOMETERS> That's far! Only someone who has her commitment and guts dare to take on that challenge. And the thing is, she looked pretty good at her 30km... when I was almost limping on my 13km...

I started to run-walk on my 15km... the weather was hot- my face and legs felt burning hot. So next time, have to wear cap. The weird thing was, my fingers were practically swollen! I got the fat fingers symptoms on the run.. This was new experience to me coz it didn't happen to me last time. I'm assuming it was because of the too warm weather???

So going back to Likas Stadium was kinda painful, I think I almost hit the wall! Worse point, Jesselton to LS. It was hot, my legs hurts, my big fat fingers numb - I think at one point I almost wanna quit and be picked up.. But I didn't ... So I kept running and (occasionally walk) until I reached the finishing line ! Yeay --- so the truth is maybe it's 50% mind and 50% stamina.... But having stamina defnitely gives you more confidence of finishing...

By the time I reached the stadium, the others were already there... We waited for the great Ulai to finish her 42 kms.. cheh, cayalah Ulai....

gonna continue this soon...

7.30 pm - headache, nausea, soreness... I've taken painkillers to ease off the pain, and hopefully tomorrow I can book a massage session. .

p/s Please DO NOT ATTEMPT to run without adequate training. You're just gonna subject to injury (like me)