Kiko haul!

Hello beautiful strangers, I just got back from my vacation in Italy, and when in Italy - you go and check out Kiko cosmetics!



During the two days I had free in Bologna I made not one, but three visits to the Kiko store. There's even one at the airport - how could I not? So I thought I would share my loot with you and tell you my initial thoughts.

Let's start with the best bargains - the smart nail polish (€2.50). The colour range is decent, there's about a good 30 shades. I picked up a burgundy #14, because it's Autumn, a tomato red #10, which I've been searching for since last summer, and a lovely peaches & cream shade #8. I've only used the red so far and on initial application - I really like it! The cap is easy to grip and the brush is the perfect size. The polish glides smoothly and doesn't dry streaky. What impressed me most was how fast my nails dried!



But because it was my last day and I was doing a lot of packing and maneuvering my luggage up and down stairs, on to buses, etc... my nails pretty much chipped immediately. I'll try it again with top coat and see if it sticks around for a little longer. I also picked up a nude shade #27 from the higher priced power pro line (€4.90) to see if price makes a difference. I shall report back soon :)



On to the lipsticks (€8.90) - how chic is the packaging! I was in the mood for some nudey shades so from the Gossamer Emotion creamy lipstick range, I picked up #102 and #107. They glide on with ease but I feel like they sit on top of the lips rather than meld with your lips. I'll update you though when I've actually worn them out and about. The other nude is the Glossy Dream sheer lipstick in #202. It's very glossy and pigmented but there's shimmer in it and it's still stuck to your lips after you've removed your lipstick, grrr.

The packaging for the Velvet Passion matte lipsticks is different and has a magnetic closure rather than a click mechanism like the previous ranges. Do I need another bold lipstick? Probably not but I couldn't pass up the Charlotte Tilbury-esque squared off tip. I'll let you know how well it wears after I've given it a proper go.

Watch out for the eye shadows in part two, hope you're ready for some bombtastic sparkly goodness! Thanks for sticking with me x

High Tea at The Ritz!

Hello beautiful strangers, happy leap day! Hope you all had a lovely weekend, the weather here in Hong Kong has been absolutely lovely. 

Last week I went for afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton hotel with my lovely friend Anna. The Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong, situated on the 102nd - 118th floor of the International Commerce Centre, is the highest hotel in the world. Afternoon tea is served at Cafe 103, 425m above sea level... and if that isn't High Tea, Idk what is.

Chanel Sunkiss Ribbon Blush ~ the most beautiful thing you'll see today

Hello beautiful strangers,

seeing as the weather is super gross in Hong Kong, here are some very overdue pictures of the limited edition Sunkiss Ribbon blush harmony to brighten up your day.

Chanel's exclusive creation for this Spring consists of five different colours in an intricate ribbon design creating a blush harmony that brightens your cheeks with a warm coral glow. The powder blush is smooth and blends out without looking patchy, one swipe of the brush over the blush gives me a warm natural flush while two gives a beautiful pop of colour. I've been wearing it all through the Chinese New Year and it adds warmth to my deadly pale complexion and a look of healthy radiance that does away with any signs of late nights and too much partying.

While the Sunkiss Ribbon blush comes with the very steep price tag of $540hkd ($70usd), it's absolutely massive with a net weight of 11g, compared to the standard 4g of Chanel's Joues Contraste blushes($395hkd). It comes with a slanted angle brush in it's own little velvet pouch as there isn't a slot for it in the compact. I've used the brush to apply and it does a very good job, and would make a great contour brush too.

I love the look of the Sunkiss Ribbon blush on my cheeks, but what excites me even more is that the beige ribbon makes the prettiest warm brown eyeshadow! Hopefully you can get an idea of what it looks like in the shifty-eye selfies below.

Chanel Sunkiss Ribbon blush harmony on the cheeks, and beige ribbon as eyeshadow

December 2015 Favourites

How are you, beautiful strangers? Hope the new year is kind to you. 

I feel like I've started off the year more of a wreck than I was last year... Since I was 12 my new year resolutions have always been:  1. be nice to people, and 2. refrain from swearing. But I've rang in 2016 feeling bitchier than ever, swearing like a sailor and being lazy af. I told myself that this year I would be good and sleep before midnight and develop a regular sleeping pattern, and that has certainly not been happening... I'm a bit of a hot mess really, but I digress, this post is about my December favourites so let's save my problems for another time.

Baublebar Favourites!

Baublebar has become one of my absolute favourite websites to procrastinate on, I mean, who could resist browsing beautiful affordable jewellery for hours on end? Now that Christmas is near, I'm going share with you some of my favourite picks from baublebar in the hopes that it will spark some gift inspiration for yourself your girlfriends :)

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet swatches: Fu(n)chsia & Pink Pong

I've never liked liquid lipsticks in the past so I didn't try the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks until recently. Bourjois released two new shades into their Rouge Velvet line for Autumn, and so I finally bit the bullet and picked up one of them, Fu(n)chsia and the cult favourite, Pink Pong.

Joël Robuchon x Lancome 80th Anniversary Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is such a treat, but afternoon tea plus free beauty samples? I'm so there! On the weekend the girls and I went for afternoon tea at Le Salon de Thé de Joël Robuchon, where they're currently doing an afternoon tea set in collaboration with Lancome. We had such a lovely afternoon, but how was the food? Let's find out...

What's on my face: Review + Swatches

Hello beautiful strangers, 


I threw together this look for my friend Tisha's birthday dinner last Friday and considering how out of practice I am with eye make up, it turned out pretty decent. So here is a little post with mini reviews and swatches of the products that I used for this easy eyeliner-only smoky-eye look.

Revlon Strawberry Suede dupe 2.0!

So remember back in June when I found dupes for the discontinued Revlon Super Lustrous matte lipstick Strawberry Suede? Well today Strawberry Suede is back to haunt us! Get ready people, because today I have for you… a REVLON reincarnation!

MAC Limited Edition Lipstick Collection: Swatches, Comparisons and Dupes!

Though it’s not very large, I’m quite proud of my limited edition only MAC lipstick collection, ‘cause one, they’re limited edition (duh) and two, it means I have enough self-control to not be tempted by MAC’s vast permanent collection. So here for you today, are my six limited edition lipsticks and two viva glam lipglasses from MAC. Grab a cup of tea and get ready for swatches, comparisons and lots and lots of pictures! Enjoy~

Sunday Treat: "The Best of London" Afternoon Tea, Island Shangri-La

Like every other Hong Kong girl, I love going for afternoon tea - it's so quaint and posh. An afternoon at a five star hotel, trying to act classy, trying to use your "indoor voice" and not laugh too loud while catching up with your girlfriends. It's so good to take time out from our busy schedules and escape reality on a Sunday afternoon.

For the month of March the culinary team from the London Shangri-La are in Hong Kong serving up their best dishes, as well as their quintessential English afternoon tea. So, since I know must of you aren't even from Hong Kong and it's the end of March already, I'm gonna shut up and just fill this post with pictures (they're not very good though, we were too busy talking, but I hope you'll enjoy them anyway).

The tea selection at Island Shangri-La is quite limited, which I thought was kinda crap for a cafe at a 5 star hotel... I chose Chinese Tieguanyin tea, and it actually complimented the set really well.

Good scones are hard to come by in HK, but these were pretty decent. 2 plain ones and 2 Earl Grey poppy seed, though I didn't notice the flavour of Earl Grey at all, but maybe it's 'cause I put too much clotted cream, ha. The texture was good, not dense and doughy, perfectly cooked and the bottom was crunchy were complimented the soft cream.

pièce de résistance

Favourites: Smoked Salmon on wholemeal bread, Chicken Sandwich,
Rou Nen &Yuzu Cheesecake

I thought the sandwiches were a bit basic, but they were quite good. The Smoked Salmon one on the left was the yummiest, it has white caviar on top (wonder what kind of fish it came from)

The Hazelnut Dulce looks so melted 'cause we were talking too much to eat, it just tasted like a Ferrero Rocher, but sweeter. The Rou Nen was really good even though I don't like coconut, I liked the contrast of the sesame seed. I thought the floral plates were so cute.

The Yuzu Cheesecake was really refreshing, I didn't like the Pear Compote with cinnamon infused cream though, I thought it was seasonally inappropriate, but my friend loved it. The baby macaron was good.

A photo of us because we're beautiful, duhh ;) 

The waiter was so cute, he was like "smile!" and he smiled with us, haha C:

Afternoon tea is so overpriced, but really, I think you're paying for the service, the staff were super attentive and friendly, it really was 5 star service. We were so fussy and swapped table three times, haha, first they sat me in the middle of the room because that was the only table free at the time, and it was super awkward because the table seemed so in the way, so 'ah dang'. Then a bigger table was ready so they moved us there, and then the people at the corner table left, and we wanted that table 'cause the couch looked so comfy. Seriously, the staff are so lovely and friendly, and I think one of the waiters is rather good-looking, haha, always a bonus ;)

We had tea at the Island Gourmet cafe/patisserie and it was really comfortable. The ambience is better than the Lobby Lounge I reckon, 'cause it's so busy in the lobby with people going in and out. They also have a really wide selection of cakes which looked rather tempting. If you're ever visiting Hong Kong I'd definitely recommend going to Island Shangri-La for tea, the service and food were en point.

Sigh, it's Monday, back to the grid. Hope you beautiful people had a lovely weekend, I'd love to know what you got up to!

Linzi

x

Review: Antipodes Skincare

Hello beautiful strangers, I’ve been trying out products from the natural skincare brand Antipodes for more than a year now and so I thought it was about time I did an overview…

Antipodes is a natural skincare brand from New Zealand. Their products are carefully formulated from selected pure ingredients from nature, and are a healthy and positive alternative to products containing synthetic chemicals. Antipodes conducts scientific investigations through clinical trial and human testing, and their products are “scientifically shown, under in-vitro investigation to stimulate the synthesis of elastin, Type I collagen and Type III collagen in human fibroblast skin cells”.

Oh cool, their products stimulate the renewal of skin cells in petri dishes, but anything is possible in a laboratory, no? So do they really perform in real life, on ma face?

MAC Bao Bao Wan lipsticks

Hello beautiful strangers! I finally got the long awaited lipsticks from the MAC Bao Bao Wan collection, and just couldn't wait to share them with you!

let's just pretend this is 'artsy' not blurry

Bao Bao Wan is a renowned jewellery designer and socialite in China. Her collection was inspired by her decadent designs and precious gems, which is certainly reflected in the beautiful jewel-tone colours and luxe packaging. There are four lipsticks in this collection (among other things), I didn't pick up the nude (Romantic Breakdown, lustre) 'cause that's just not my jam. The remaining three beautiful bold shades all come in a matte finish.

Review + Swatches: MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus

Whenever a beauty product aimed for fundraising comes out, I feel I must buy it! My compulsive shopping is totally justifiable if the funds are going towards a good cause right? My latest philanthropy beauty purchase is the hot pink lip duo from the 2015 MAC Viva Glam Miley Cyrus collaboration. According to the MAC AIDS Fund website, 100% of the proceeds from Viva Glam products goes directly towards helping women, men and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The lipstick and lipglass both retail at $150hkd.

MAC Viva Glam Miley lipstick is described as "a super-sexy hot pink" with an amplified finish, 

and the lipglass is hot pink with sparkling pearl shimmer.

Currently Obsessed

Hello Beautiful strangers, here's a much belated blog post on the things that I've been utterly obsessed with in the last two months.

Review: MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinsh

Hello beautiful strangers, hope your February has been lovely. Today let’s take a look at the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade, a part of the Lightness of Being Collection for Winter 2014/15. Being a bit of a granny, I was immediately attracted to the knitted embossing.

Lightscapade is so undeniably beautiful I don’t know what to say really. In the pan it’s a light beige shimmer with shots of baby blue and peach running through it. It’s pearlescent, but not frosty and on me it leans more neutral-cool. But obviously, due to the marbled pattern every pan will be a little different, ooh so unique ;)

What I really like about Lightscapade is that it’s so awakening! I apply this in a C-shape from my browbone to the top of my cheekbones, and I instantly look so much more awake. As it’s pale and slightly cool-toned, it really brightens instead of just giving you a glow like most highlights do. Does that make any sense to you? I feel like most highlighters being champagne/peachy coloured just provide you with that gorgeous lit from within glow, whereas Lightscapade makes you all bright-eyed and ready to conquer the world! Even though it’s slighty cool-toned and very light in colour, it’s not at all metallic or stark. It’s finely milled and blends seamlessly into your makeup. It’s not crazy pigmented but enough to work with, so basically you won’t ever mess up and become a disco-ball.

Just a few words of caution though, as it’s finely-milled it will crumble if you drop it; also the magnetic case can be a little hard to open, so take care that you don’t end up stabbing your highlight with your fingers when you try to pry it open.

This is the first MSF that I’ve tried and I’m very happy with my purchase. The Mineralize Skinfinish contain 9 grams, which is huge! So at $275HKD, I’d say it’s a pretty good deal, though does anyone ever go through an entire pan of highlight? Probably not, haha. TGIF! Time to actually rest and refresh, and not just feign it with Lightscapade ;)

Review + Swatches: Lipstick Queen Lip Nouveau

Hello beautiful strangers, I got a bit slack with my gift reviews didn't I... 
I've been so ridiculously busy and tired, anyway today I'm sharing with you the Lipstick Queen Lip Nouveau set. Lip nouveau is a set of three lipsticks, featuring Red Sinner, Saint Berry and Butterfly Ball in Fly.

I've never tried Lipstick Queen lipsticks before so this trio was a little taster into their huge array of lipsticks. Poppy King, the founder of Lipstick Queen found inspiration from the Art Nouveau movement when envisioning Lip Nouveau, so the colours in this set are suppose to evoke the decadent glamour of 1930s Paris. Umm, what? Anyway, I've swatched these on my lips for you today, so I hope, along with my comments, that you find this helpful if you too are looking to delve into Lipstick Queen lipsticks.

Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set!

Okay, so I know I pretty much start every post saying I have something beautiful to show you, but really, what’s coming is truly STUNNING.

The Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury Set is what I would consider the perfect brush set. Not only are they unbelievably beautiful, this set is just so well curated – these are the only brushes I’d ever need to use. This eight piece set, with rose gold ferrules paired with matte black handles, consists of a mix of synthetic and natural bristles.

Benefit's Cheeky Sweet Spot box o’ blushes!

OMG get excited y’all, because I have something seriously beautiful to show you! May I present to you, the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot box o’ blushes!

The Benefit box o’ blushes is so full of cuteness I can barely handle it. Looking at this makes me salivate – this truly is better than candy. I sat at my desk staring at it in a daze for quite a while when I got home…

Shop my Stash: Nails

As much as I love lipstick, nail polish is my biggest vice. Here are some favourites that I've rediscovered from my collection. :)

L to R: Bourjois Violine Hypnotique, Revlon Vixen, Revlon Facets of Fuchsia,
OPI Russian Navy, OPI Berlin There Done That, Essie Sand Tropez