Quick OOTD + FOTD

Wow. Life has been pretty hectic here in KL. Everywhere you go in the city you'll see beautiful people in beautiful clothes and I can't help but feel inspired to wear something nice when I go out too but alas, I live and thrive in my T-shirts and black leggings. Today I finally decided to chop some inches off my hair because it felt really blah to me already. Don't get me wrong, I love having long hair but it's a hassle taking care of such long tresses. I got mine done at a salon recommended by Kim which is Secolo at Times Square. Apparently, Kinki Ryusaki also did her hair there?

 

I call this dressing up. lol

  

This is taken before we head out. Struggling to keep my hair out of my face.

Top: Forever21

Shorts: Mango

Tights: Susoku

Flats: Studded flats from Schumaker

Bag: Fringe bag from Elle Girl

Shades: Vincci

  

Eyeshadow: Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Palette

Lips: MAC Blankety

Cheeks: MAC Fleur Power

Eyebrows: L'oreal Brow Stylist in Dark Brown

Setting Powder: MAC MSF Medium Plus

  

Used some black eyeshadow today for the outer corner of my eyes which I rarely do. I'm also glad my eyebrows looked somewhat similar today lol It's the closest I can get to have them look identical.

Hauls and some other stuff

So did I really just wrote up my last post a week ago? Felt just like yesterday when I sat down and updated my blog. Time really flies when you have much to do and places to go. I've been posting on instagram more lately so you should totally follow me there lol My username is pinkydiamonds. Figured I could update you guys through the pictures I posted there on this fine sunny Sunday.

I bought this sexy pair of booties a few weeks ago in... gosh I can't remember the name of the store now. Debenhams I think it is. Yeah. The best part about Debenhams is that when new stuff came in, they really cut down the prices of their older stuff by half. This particular pair usually costs more than RM200 and I got them for RM80. Good luck finding a pair like this with a price like that in Brunei!

Sunshine by Marc Jacobs

I was looking for another perfume and I stumbled across this one in Pavilion and it smelled really good. Then somehow I found out it's one of their limited edition fragrance and I saw it again in amarixe's April favorites video and then all I can remember is marching straight into Aeon in Midvalley and purchasing it on the spot. It only comes in a 50ml bottle and is a eau de toilette. I can't really smell it on me after some few hours but my friends can smell it when they're 'in range' haha The original Daisy perfume smells good too but of course one will always go for the limited edition version. Top notes: Red Currant, Guava, Juicy Mandarin. Mid notes: Lily of the Valley, Violet, Lychee. Base notes: Apricot Skin, Blonde Woods, Musks

Another beauty haul from a few weeks ago! The Soap and Glory facial scrub is really something. The grains are really small compared to the regular ones you can easily find in drugstores like the Neutrogena facial scrub but they work wonders. My skin has been giving me problems as of late and they're getting rough and I have spots on my jaw and neck area it's horrible. The scrub has been helping a lot and I've been using it once or twice a week. 

The Sephora eyeliner is another great find. They are extremely creamy and is very pigmented. This is good and also bad at the same time. Good because it's easy to glide on your eyelids, bad because they're so creamy you have to sharpen them after every few uses. But it's totally worth it so you'll probably see me back in Sephora scavenging for the other colors soon. lol I also bought MAC's lipstick in Ravishing! That color stood out from the other lipsticks like a sore thumb. It has an orange-y shade and it's gorgeous.

Ahh... zouk's. Where absolutely anything and everything can happen, according to my friends. haha! That night I tried shisha for the first time at a bar called Temptation on Changkat street. I can't remember ever seeing anyone smoke this in public in Brunei so I'm assuming it's illegal back home. I don't know. Anyway, it's basically flavored smoke and we tried mint peach. Not bad!

I missed working out so much I had to do it every now and then here else I'll go mad and poor Kenny had to listen to the loud music and watch me flail my arms around trying to catch up with the beats. hahaha oh well, Kenny's a sweetheart and she said she doesn't mind. But seriously, I can't wait to go back and resume my usual workout routine. And I am in love with the polar watch my sister Shala got for me!! It's so gratifying when you know how much calories you burn with each workout. If only it measures the calories consumed and help you calculate the balance by the end of the day. Then life will be almost perfect.

Sephora Smoothing Primer

Before I ever got my hands on face primer, I've always heard beauty gurus on youtube saying that once you started using a primer, you can't really go back to not using it. It's like the magical liquid which helps your makeup stay longer, help combat oily skin and is also this protective shield which protects you from getting clogged pores from the foundation and dirt of your surrounding. Of course I was intrigued! Since then, I've tried a handful of primers and this is one of the good ones that I've found. Oh, and it's true. I can't remember the last time I used foundation without applying a primer first.

Sephora Smoothing Primer

The packaging is lovely, it's of this matte translucent glass that really gives a classy feel to the product. The thing I'm bummed about is that it only comes in a tiny glass of 15ml. Fortunately, you don't need a lot of it. I normally apply a very thin layer of it on my T-zone. 

Sephora Smoothing Primer

The Primer also comes with a pump which is really good. The pump is soft and you can control the pump to expel the exact amount of product you need. I wouldn't recommend this for dry skin because it's really quite matifying, even for me who has oily-combo skin. But it really does help with the makeup staying on.

Sephora Smoothing Primer

The primer itself has a gel-like consistency and is light on the skin. It seriously made the skin velvety-smooth once you put it on and allow it time to settle. I also like that it's fragrance free. I don't mind my products having some scents but when you're putting on primer+foundation+setting powder+blush on your face, it can be overwhelming if each layer you put on has its own scent. 

Overall I like it and would probably buy another bottle of it before heading back to Brunei. The Sephora Smoothing Primer retails for RM49 and you can purchase them at any Sephora outlet here in KL. I got mind in Bukit Bintang!

Life updates and more FOTD!

So I've been gone about two weeks and I hardly noticed! When you have much to do I guess you tend to prioritize things and this particular hobby of mine has been pushed back to the end of the list. I was having breakfast earlier. Hot Milo, Marks & Spencer dark chocolate, Lindt chocolate truffles and Lindt chocolate biscuits. So yes, I've been a total chocolate freak lately and worst of all I can't seem to stop! I really admire some of my friends who doesn't give two shits about chocolate. How do they do it?? Living with another chocolate freak (yes, it's Kenny lol) certainly doesn't help. She call ourselves partners in crime.

Anyway, school is pretty boring with the usual stuff. Presentations, essays and tests. The good thing is, our tests are open-book tests so that's that. I also did a presentation with two fellow German classmates and that was pretty cool. I don't know, life outside campus outshines life in campus so much there's no comparison. My family came to visit last week and that was some of the best fun I've had. Somewhere along the way I became the unofficial tour guide and it was pretty hectic shepherding seven adults in the city of KL. I also went to a luxurious conference in Genting, wined and dined with Kenny and the family and for the first time in my life, sat in a bar with my mom and drank with her while we chatted like old pals. The night life here is great, 3 in the morning looks and sounds like 9pm. I doubt I'll ever get over it.

 The other day I took some more before and afters. Some day I'll really need to do something about those eyes of mine.

Kim and Azna liked the eyeliner I'm wearing so much they went out to Sephora just to buy it! I'm glad I bought two. :x

 I hardly ever used to do this but I'm starting to like smudging eyeliner on my waterline. I rarely do this before because using dark eyeliner on the lower lash line 'closes' the eyes and makes it look smaller. As if my eyes can get any smaller than it already is. But to hell with that, I'll wear my makeup in any way I like it!

March & April favorites!

Last week was our semester break and initially me and the girls planned to do so much like going to Langkawi, Penang and even Singapore! haha In the end, Singapore is out because our visas are still being held back by the visa unit in UM and Langkawi and Penang just didn't happen so we ended up hanging around KL, which is still fun. To me at least! 

We went to the KL Bird Park and also the chocolate factory where they made these Durian flavored chocolate. They sell it in a bar where the filling is made with real durian. Omgosh that was the best. lol There were also chili flavored chocolate which made Kenny choke and curry flavored chocolate which is surprisingly not bad at all! One day we took the KTM to I-City and was stranded by the roadside for a good half an hour before a taxi saved us at almost midnight! And we finally took some pics of KLCC after more than two months in KL. We are the most procrastinating tourists in Malaysia lol

Spartans!!

The snow walk was fun!

 I-City is darn gorgeous at night!! Perfect for a night stroll..

Gorgeous trees!

Anyway... I'm supposed to share with you guys my March and April favorites! I thought it might be fun to do this since I've been trying out so much new stuff lately. 

Victoria's Secret Fabulous Eau De Parfum

This is one of VS's newest fragrance and it smells heavenly! Initially I was thinking of either getting this or one of their bestsellers, Bombshell but in the end, I chose this! Just because Bombshell smells quite familiar, I swear I've smelled someone using it before in UBD! I still can't quite put my finger on who it was... Fabulous has a wonderful blend of juicy currant, osmanthus blossom and pink freesia. No idea what they are but there you go. My only complaint is my skin reacts badly to this perfume. I have a habit of spraying perfume directly onto my neck and Fabulous is the first fragrance that gave me problems. It wasn't anything serious though, just that my skin gets super itchy and I can't help but scratch it like a drug addict. Now I spritz them on my shirt instead.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer and Smith's Rosebud Salve!

I've been so so curious about the Benefit Hoola bronzer. Literally every youtube guru owns this stuff. I've seen it a number of time every time I walk into Sephora. I'll stand in front of the Benefit makeup stand, take a peek, and move on. But this one time I was like 'F*ck this shit, I'm gonna buy it.' lol I've held back because it was so damn expensive!! I couldn't justify the price even if I convert it to BND in my head in Sephora but ahh... this is definitely one splurge that is worth every dollar. Okay I think I over-reacted, it was RM110. More or less like the MAC Pro Longwear blush wtf. I just realize this. haha 

Anyway, it's really pigmented. I made the mistake of putting on too much the first time I used it and the makeup look so muddy on my face. It's really best to put on little by little and build it up depending on how strong you want it to look on your face. I use it as a contour btw.

Smith's Rosebud Salve

I bought this on a whim because my lip balm from The Body Shop is running out and I kinda panicked because I CANNOT live without a lip balm! I use it all day everyday. I heard what they say about lip balm making lips even drier than before but ah what the heck. This is the best balm I've used and I kid you not it's even better than the Nivea Strawberry lip balm I swear by all these years. And I've been using the Nivea one since my secondary school years! It makes your lips look plump and most importantly, it really moisturizes and makes your lips smooth as butter.

It's multipurpose too! "Rosebud Salve may be used as an all purpose skin preparation. Rosebud Salve may help to relieve chapped lips and skin, diaper rash, blemishes, detergent burns, and rough cuticles and may soften rough hands."

 Knuckle rings

I saw this at Lovisa and couldn't resist. Instagram made me buy it haha there are so many pics on there showing girls using knuckle rings and I really like the look of it! Something different than the regular ring. Plus you can wear them with practically any outfit you choose to wear. They're really versatile and I think it gives a little more oomph to your overall look.

Jelly bunny sandals

I didn't know Jelly bunny exist before the girls wore it to class one day. Jelly bunny is like crocs except they are way cheaper! This pair I bought for only RM25! They also have a ton of other designs in various colors like green, blue, peach, nude, black and red I think. Of course I had to go for this gladiator design. It's been a fantasy of mine to own a pair of gladiator sandals lol I can never find a pair that fits my feet nicely before so I'm glad I found it even though it's been years since the gladiator shoe trend ended (four years, to be precise).

 

Next favorite, shopping!

I don't know, can shopping be a favorite? It doesn't mean that I have to buy something, even window shopping can be so fun. Last weekend was the first time me and Kenny browsed H&M. I know, how stupid are we to walk past the shop every single time we went to Bukit Bintang without giving it a second glance when all the gems and diamonds are there!! But it's okay, we are wiser now and will never again make the same mistake! haha The dresses here are so cute and the prices are super affordable! It's actually cheaper than Forever21! wtf seriously. A dress in F21 can easily go up to RM100+ and I found this GORGEOUS dress in H&M for freaking RM39.90! wtf! So of course I had to buy it in black and grey.. haha there's also one in white which is perfect but I think having two of the same is enough.

Debenhams is another gold mine which we've neglected since coming here. The rush of regret is so overwhelming I can't even.

Food favorites!

 

 Chocolate brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream

This brownie is to die for. It's from this western restaurant called Delicious. I don't know if it's just based in Malaysia or if it's international but either way, you must try it! You can find Delicious in Sunway Pyramid and Midvalley, those are the places we saw that has the branches. I'm sure there are more but please, try it. lol

 Subway!

Me and Kenny is staying at a condo which is of walking distance to Subway. I thought we would go there really often but so far, today was the first time we sat down there and ordered food! Normally we just buy one or two of their soft cookies, which is really good btw. So far I've only tried a couple of their sandwiches and after seeing how much sauces they put into these, I'm not entirely convinced of their 'healthy' menu anymore. Good thing is you can skip the sauce if you wanna avoid extra calories.

 Starbucks! 

Me and Kenny is addicted to this stuff. At least once or twice in a week we'll head over to Starbucks and order something and sit in the open area and watch people walk past and compliment/criticize people's outfit. Okay, not really but it's definitely a good place for sight-seeing. haha My fav is none other than their green tea latte! But I also enjoy Java Chip and Dark Mocha.

That's about all of it! Life outside of UM is so much fun!! I won't say anything about UM. Yet. lol

MAC Blush in Stubborn

Blushers for me are one of those things that I couldn't get enough of even though in general, one can hardly tell the colors apart once you applied them on the cheeks. But I always find myself looking for all the different shades of blush as if I really need them and this time around I found MAC's blush in Stubborn.

MAC blush in Stubborn

Stubborn is one of the blushes from MAC's Pro Longwear line and it's a beautiful shade of plum and is described as a 'Mid-tone Rose Plum' on the MAC website. I'm still not sure if this is part of their permanent line but I think it might be. It reminds me their Fever blush which is slightly deeper in comparison. It has a matte finish and is very pigmented. I use the Sigma F10 for this and just dab the brush on the pan and then sweep it across my cheeks. All you need is a light hand and the blush brush will handle the rest!

Sigma F10 Blush brush

MAC blush in Stubborn

I don't know if the Pro Longwear makeup line from MAC is supposed to wear longer on the face but it wears pretty much the same for me as their regular blushers. However, I really do like this blush though. Their matte blushes are my favorite out of the rest. I'd recommend Stubborn to those with medium to darker skin tones. It's a little intense for light skin tones but if you really like the shade then I suggest using a very light hand for this! MAC Pro Longwear blush retails for RM100.

MAC blush in Stubborn swatched

OOTDs: Day out shopping & Zouk

The other day me and Kenny went out to Midvalley to shop for some clothes after we decided to join Kim and her friends to Zouk. We've really no choice coz all we own are T-shirts and jeans and shorts and in my mind at least, Zouk deserves better treatment than a T-shirt and shorts lol I bought a few items at Forever21 and damn.. F21 is pretty expensive here! 

FOTD:

 

 Top from Cotton On, Hi-low skirt from Forever21 and flats from Jelly Bunny

 

I love the skirt!!! So flowy and girly. This is one of the few times I actually wore a skirt apart from Baju Kurung lol

Kenny's OOTD! Top from Forever21, Skinnies from Soda and flats from Jelly Bunny

OOTD for Zouk night out:

My top is from Forver21 (a whooping RM95 fml).. cross leggings and shoes from Cotton On, cross body bag from Bonita and jacket I brought with me from Brunei. Kenny got her amazing dress from The Pink Pussycat from Midvalley and Kim's gorgeous black dress is from Times Square and cross body bag from Forever21!

I feel very 2NE1-ish with the printed leggings and sneakers lol

Zouk was so much fun! Some of the music remind me of the ones they played at the music festival in Sepang. There were even some dub step music thrown in too. I've always wanted to go to the clubs here but I never thought the first club I'd step into in KL would be Zouk! It sets the bar high for me and I'm kinda hoping now that the other clubs would be as good as this one (fingers crossed we'll be going to another club at all lol)

Recent haul

I'm starting to wonder how a shopaholic lives in KL. How can one resist not buying anything when going out? I just love walking around in the malls, even if I'm not really buying anything. Which is probably why we basically went to Bukit Bintang every weekend. It gets repetitive sometimes, but I still really enjoyed it! Nothing can ever bore me when it comes to shopping. Plus, I can only do this for a few months! Can you imagine, going to BB every weekend? That would be every Bruneian lady's dream! Things also seem more affordable here coz our currency is stronger, which is all the better. lol

Over the past couple of weeks I've been buying a little bit of things here and there, so I thought why not write up a post on my recent purchases. Pics are mostly from instagram. Follow me if you haven't already! I have a thing for posting food (duh) and other random stuff like makeup and pics of myself. I love watching hauls on youtube as well as reading about them in blogs, I hope you do too because here it comes wtf

 

 I bought these brushes at Midvalley in one of the many kiosks they have in the lower ground level. This booth in particular sells individual makeup brushes, brush kits and falsies! The brushes are super affordable, I got them for RM17, RM23 and the likes. Nothing crazy expensive. If I'm not mistaken, a MAC 239 costs about RM130+. And I got all five of these brushes for RM100. They're also similar in quality with the Sigma brushes I own, and depending on the type of brushes you're looking for, can be made of goat hair, horse hair or synthetic fibers, pretty much like any other brushes. I think they came from the same manufacturers as the crown brushes too, though these are unbranded without any labels.

I've been wanting a MAC palette of my own for years now but you know how it's like, living in Brunei. So I decided that I should make one while I'm here in KL because it's now or never. MAC released their new palette, which has a clear top where you can see the eyeshadows like those of a Z palette but that costs RM130 or something like that, which is kind of ridiculous. I asked the MAC branch in KLCC and they no longer carried the old cases but luckily the one in Midvalley does, so of course I bought the old palette. That costs me RM65, which is more reasonable. The eyeshadows I got are Phloof!, Naked Lunch, Woodwinked and Satin Taupe.

This purchase happened in Sephora in KLCC when I went in to get the Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation, another one of those I've been lusting over for months and months. I've been holding back on getting it, which is why I only bought it two months after I'm here. Every beauty guru on youtube that I came across mentioning this says that it's a very very good foundation and I can't find one who talks bad about this product! I know Blair (juicystar07) swears by it and I think she even mentioned in one of her videos that she has used 3 or 4 tubes of this stuff. It's crazy! 

I also wanted to get the Too Faced Romantic Eye palette initially, but they ran out of stock! They have so many palettes and the Romantic one is the only one that was out of stock. Fudge... So I settled for Natural at Night and I freakin love it! The eyeshadows are a dream to blend, they are so creamy and pigmented! It's as good as the Urban Decay eyeshadows. I'm impressed! I'm almost scared to ever walk back in to Sephora now coz I know it's where I'll do the most damage to my bank account! There's still so much I wanted to try, the Benefit Hoola bronzer, their blushers, UD Naked Basics, even the Oscar Blandi dry shampoo. I should do a Sephora wish list post next! haha

I am also loving the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush body butter! Worst part is I have no intention of buying it before I walked in the store until I saw their display of new Soap & Glory Sugar Crush products! It smelled similar to Solero ice cream, you know the ones with lime coating and creamy vanilla inside. But after a while, only the vanilla scent remains and it smells heavenly! Kenny loves the smell too, which is great because we are sharing a room lol 

Btw the Sephora body lotion was a free product given when I joined as a member. Joining as a member is free and permanent! For those of you who visit Sephora KL frequently I highly suggest signing up as a member because you'll get these little perks sent to your email every once in a while.

Fossil Rose Gold watch!!!!! EEEKKKK! If you know me you'll know how much I wanted this for sooooo longggggg I still can't believe I finally bought it!! Before I came here, I always browsed through watches in stores and stare at them longingly. I can never bring myself to buy them. Shopping is so much easier here because there are countless timepiece stores here and you can easily compare the brands and prices before deciding which ones you like best.

 I initially wanted the Michael Kors watch but the design is quite masculine when I tried them on my wrist. I've also seen others from Guess, Esprit, Armani Exchange and Alexandre Christie. All of them are really nice but in the end I find myself revisiting Fossil the most for their watches. Even in Fossil there's quite a collection to choose from, ones with diamonds on the side, ones with diamonds on the face of the watch, ones without diamonds, etc etc.
 

  The Editor Stainless Steel watch

This is another one from Fossil that is really gorgeous! I really like the ones with the 3 little circles in the watches. I don't even know what they are called but they made the watch prettier and more interesting. It's a little bit of a dilemma for me because I like the face of this watch better but I like a simpler strap.

Stella Plated Stainless Steel watch

Opted for this in the end. I prefer watches without any bling on them coz I am a klutz when it comes to taking care of delicate items and I am pretty sure the blings will fall out within a year if I were to use them. Ahhhh I can't stop staring at it! Does that make me materialistic? Ah who the heck cares as long as I love it! This is also the first time I own any watch above B$30. lol So I totally have a good reason to buy this. My wrist deserves it. I'm also glad I got this in a Fossil store, they have a TON of different designs to choose from and it seems they have a lot of stock too, which is good. haha The sales person are also nice. I can't tell you how many times I've walked in to a Fossil store and ask them to take out watches for me to try and then walk out of there empty handed and yet, they are still super friendly. Can't say the same for the other timepiece stores though.