NARS Kuala Lumpur Duo Eyeshadow

I don't wear a lot of makeup but I am a huge fan of Nars. They make the best lipstick and last summer I discovered some of their amazing eyeshadows.

This lovely duo debuts January 15, 2010 for the Spring 2010 collection. I'm choosing to highlight this to pay homage to my native city. The colour combo here is excellent -- gold infused taupe rose and purple -- very suitable for golden skins and dark-eyed beauties. I can already tell I'll like this a lot more after I try it in-store.

Retails for $32 at Nars and Sephora.

Mac Factor Shuts Down

The rumours had swirled for almost a year now. Max Factor will no longer be sold in the U.S. after the current stock is sold out. Please consider this the worst decision Procter & Gamble Beauty Care has made in the last decade. My, and most Max Factor users', biggest gripe is the impossible replacement of the Volume Couture mascara -- pound for pound the best mascara in the commercial market today.

P&G's peace offering, if you can find them, are $2 discount coupons for Max Factor users to buy a CoverGirl "replacement" product. I've tried their much touted supposedly-Diorshow-comparable LashBlast mascara and it's absolute rubbish, not trash rubbish but rubbish nonetheless.

Hopefully P&G will come to their senses and bring Max Factor back, as L'Oreal has now (this week) brought back the once banned Ellnet hairspray. In the mean time, Max Factor users will have to scour the Internet or the European Union for any remaining stock beyond 2009. Good luck, ladies.

Thanksgiving Haul

In keeping with my personal recession, I had decided to do no shopping this Thanksgiving weekend and merely enjoy some good food and good company.

Alas, my friends are shoppers and as such, I helped the miserably ailing Michigan economy (highest unemployment in the nation, four years in a row, ya'll!) by purchasing some justifiable goods that I had been eyeing for a while anyway.


Of course, I don't have to explain why I bought O.P.I nail polish, especially when they were buy one get one free. I'm not a regular polish junkie but these are the best (suck it, Essie!). I am also not a fan of the current matte polish trend -- it really ages the hand. The suede formulation looks more doable and I'll report back here again if I start painting and it turns out otherwise.


I also lucked out with the gleaming stainless steel additions from Cuisinart since some friends were eyeing a skillet from a generously priced seven-piece set. These pots now join my beloved heirloom-quality WMF jumbo saucepan. I'm still waiting for a good chef's knife to go on sale; hopefully the wait won't be long.


However, the best deals this weekend could be found at Old Navy. I'm not a frequent visitor there since I've experienced repeated quality issues. Yet their discounts were extremely generous, even more so than what is offered on their website and I want to recommend their solid coloured tights to anybody whom cares for tights. Yes, they are well-made and at 50% off, the price is unbelievable. Buy them now, because they were flying off the racks in the store! Available in many colours; I bought purple and will be hunting for more. For everyone else, get one of the colour block scarves from the men's department -- they are awesome, even in acrylic.

Alien Vibrating Mascaras and other stories

I'm quite a newbie to eye makeup in general, which upon reflection either shows how much I love skin preservation, or how much wasted potential I've allowed in not highlighting one of my best facial features.

To shortcut years or adolescent makeup ignorance, I have ventured into the deep waters of mascaras and have tried out most of the well-documented / oft-praised department and drugstore tubes of vaseline+talc+iron oxides. Yes, mascara is all the chemical stuff your dermatologist told you to avoid.

I give myself a pat on the back because I've made astounding progress in just a few short months. There's nothing like a recession-induced boredom to make you try out new things.

Today, I want to give praise to the industry-approved Lancôme Ôscillation. This award winning bla bla bla ....

Look, let me put it this way, I have stick straight lashes that don't really stayed curled even with a (really good) curler. And yes, I own the best curler in the market.

This vibrating mascara thing curled and coated my lashes just like that; I mean LIKE THAT. And it wasn't even waterproof! Girls with stick straight lashes get my drift about waterproof mascara and keeping a curl.

7000 oscillations per minute -- Jesus didn't give me nice lashes but science did and I am now a believer. The price tag is $34.

I'm looking forward to trying the exact drugstore knockoff, right down to the vibrating mechanism: Maybelline New York Pulse Perfection Vibrating Mascara, at $13 a pop. Could it really be the same product for a third of the price? I'll let you know when I try it.

But for now, if you ever need a gift for your mother / sister / cousin / girlfriend / wife, get her a tube of vibrating mascara. She will thank you, I promise.