Hello everyone and I am so sorry this is late! The holidays and then transitioning into work made me completely neglect this poor blog, which really isn't surprising at all -.-

Anyway I thought today's update should be about a couple of products I've been trialling and a couple of new things that have happened since I last saw you all, so here it is!

1. La Mer The Hydrating Facial

Boy, oh boy, is this mask a treat! It comes packaged as luxuriously as you would expect of a La Mer product - green box, white packet, and then the sheet mask, sandwiched between two plastic holders to keep the creamy product saturated into the mask. Once you remove the mask itself, you immediately feel just how much rich, creamy product is packed into one sheet mask - the mask feels thick, super creamy, and just so densely packed, it's insane. To use, rinse your skin, then remove the mask and apply according to the cuts and contours of the mask, made to fit the face, of course. Leave on for just 8 minutes (and literally, you only need 8 minutes. I left mine on a tad too long and the cream kind of melted into my skin - a good thing - and down my face, getting into my eyes - not so good! - and that really stung!), and massage the remaining product into your skin. I like to use my facial massage technique with this mask.

After application, my skin felt incredibly plump and smooth. I have been struggling with dry skin in some areas, so I have a flaky chin and forehead, but this smoothed everything down and gave me such soft skin. So good.

2. Urban Decay Spring 2015

Urban Decay needs no introduction at this point. This year's Spring collection is nothing short of gorgeous. True to their edgy roots, their Spring collection features no pastels and pretty pinks. Instead, the brand chose to release a selection of sheer-but-dark lipsticks, a fab mascara/primer hybrid (more on that in a bit), a foundation and concealer, and a stellar selection of eyeshadows.

My favourites are most definitely the eyeshadows and the mascara! The eyeshadows are gorgeous, multi-dimensional shimmery pans of makeup goodness - take a look at their swatches below:

And that mascara/primer is something else! You know how most times when you're out all day and have another event to attend in the evening, you tend to just freshen up your makeup rather than redo it all, and when it comes to your mascara it's kind of touch and go there, because your lashes are stiff as f**k and all you want to do is add on product but you feel like you're pulling them clean off your face instead? That's where their Mascara Resurrection comes in. This baby smooths and softens that day-old mascara, and makes your lashes pliable enough to accept an easy application of extra mascara. What's more, it actually primes your lashes for that application, making them longer and thicker. Even my sister, who never bothers with lashes, noticed them enough to ask me if I was using  falsies - the ultimate compliment!!

The concealer as a bit of a disappointment for me, because I have lines underneath my eyes (ugh!), and these just settle into those lines no matter what I try to do to stop the creasing! The concealer itself is lovely and I still do use it to conceal my imperfections (this performs particularly well on dry areas) and to highlight my brow bone. Not under the eyes though.

3. Miss Dior

I was so excited to receive a fresh delivery of the gorgeous new range of Miss Dior fragranced products, including a shower gel and lotion duo, the new Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet fragrance, a deodorant, and an interesting hair mist! All the products smell so deliciously feminine, not a scent I tend to gravitate towards, but I love these so much, I've been reaching for the fragrance, deodorant, and hair mist almost daily. And you know that the best way to get your fragrance to last all day and all night, is to layer them - this range allows you to do just that!

4. My new hair colour!

I just had to share this because colouring my hair has always been one of my favourite experiences. I remember getting lovely comments and questions about my balayage back when I was still in Melbourne, so this time I wanted to post a little bit about my current hair colour and where I got it done. Here's what it looks like now:

I had it done at Grace Salon in Bangsar Village II - from the get-go, you can tell that they have a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them, and that they're committed to helping you find a hair colour that's best suited to your lifestyle and preferences. They take things step-by-step, advising you along the way and taking the time to make sure that things are going according to plan, making leeway for change if it looks like the colour isn't taking or won't turn out the way you wanted it to.

They also took the time to recommend the proper hair care products for my hair, what to use and what not to, as well as how to care for my hair. The advice I received was invaluable and is helping so much with my hair care post-colouring.

With the owners of Grace Salon, Grace and Lisa

5. Bobbi Brown Extra Illuminating Moisture Balm

Oh my gosh this is my absolute favourite product at the moment! It is marketed as skincare, but I use it as makeup and it is beautiful. It is a lightweight moisturiser with the most finely milled shimmer particles that make a very natural, yet very high shine look. I adore the finish that I get with this! If you're looking for a highlighter, seriously, look no further than this beauty right here. I am honestly blown away by how beautiful it makes your skin look! Plus, with skincare benefits, how can you go wrong with this?! Here's how it looks on me:


This retails for RM245 per bottle at all Bobbi Brown Counters.

6. Estee Lauder Micro Essence
Last but not least, the Estee Lauder Micro Essence. Brands don't like us bloggers making comparisons between their products and products of other, competing brands, but let's face it - that's the best way I can describe something sometimes! This is Estee Lauder's answer to SK-II's Facial Treatment Essence - a serum-esque product that's as light as water (literally - it looks and feels almost exactly like water) and absorbs easily and quickly into the skin. Like the SK-II FTE, this product is meant to be applied before serum and moisturiser, after cleansing.
Its performance? I would say that it's almost on par with the SK-II FTE. It brightens and clears my skin (I didn't experience the nasty 'breaking in' problem that I had with the FTE, where I had to endure a week or so of breakouts before my skin finally got used to it and cleared), it makes my skin look healthy and glowing, and it helps keep my skin hydrated.
In all honesty I would probably rate this an 8/10 to the SK-II FTE's 9/10, but it's a negligible difference, especially since it's about RM100 more affordable than the SK-II. A bottle of this stuff retails for RM320 per 150mL.