Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Promotion: Crabtree and Evelyn Avocado Olive and Basil Collection

 Just got this from the mailbox.....a new collection at Crabtree and Evelyn = The Avocado Olive and Basil collection.

 A moisturising and soothing collection.

A description of the collection.

 The in-store promotions that is currently ongoing till 11th of March.

 The sets at special prices for mailing list members.

 The Gift with purchases.

 Cut out coupon required to enjoy the special price for the sets and 2 sets for each coupon.

Interestingly the tree logo reminds me of Origins's as well as Nuxe's......seems like beauty brands nowadays has the tendency to go "natural" to appeal to the mass...

I will drop by a Crabtree and Evelyn store to check out on the new collection hopefully soon.... till then.

Haul and Reminiscence of an Addict: Evita Peroni Hair Accessories and Childhood

While makeup is like enhancing one's facial feature, skincare would be taking care of the canvas which makeup can work beautifully on, then hair accessories would play pivotal role as the above to our hair.

Sometimes when i walk down the streets, i would observe and ponder why most women that i see possess beautiful skin and makeup but when it comes to hairstyling all i see are endless pony tails and tight buns secured with plainly black rubber bands or pins. A shame isn't it?

When was the last time you are attracted by a beautiful piece of hair accessory worn by someone?

When one talks about hair accessories, i can't help but thought of Evita Peroni, a luxury accessory brand that hails from Denmark (they are famous mainly for their hair accessories and do they venture out to handbags and accesories too).

I am not afraid to admit that i am a hair accessory snob, if the love for quality and unique design qualify me as one, i will gladly proclaim as such. Most importantly this is the brand that i grew up with, the brand that taught me my first lesson in appreciating quality in and beauty in simple things in life.

I will always remember the very first time when i entered a Evita Peroni Store when i was 9 with my mother, the brightly lighted gigantic store (to a 9 year old, yes it is huge : ) ) commanded all my attention and literally took my breath away. The countless rows of colourful hairbands, pelican clips, shark clips, french combs and what nots... were organised according to colours and themes as well left me so stunned that i stood there not knowing how to react. It was more than a child in a candy shop, it was more like a dream instead. : )

My mother chose 2 simple and yet functional hairclips for me, something that if i were to use it today i would not look out of place. Simple and chic.

I was ecstatic (the length of my hair was near waist then) and had wore 1 of the 2 almost everyday to school and the other i saved it for special occassions (like family outings for instance), until i lost them in the midst of moving house.

My love affair with Evita Peroni ended briefly when i chopped off my hair to just below my chin when i was moving up to secondary school. From then on, for many years i never touch any of those beautiful ribbons that my mother would buy from her shopping trips, and i just wore my hair as short as possible. That lasted until my final year in the University, i began to keep long hair once again.

Yes, Evita Peroni remains forgotten as i strayed towards other hair accessory brands, i am unable to shake off the "something seems to be lacking" feeling when i made my purchases over the next few years from various brands. I have things like hairclips in a particular design but in 3 or 4 colours, now i do like what i bought, just not love that's all. They are quality pieces (not really cheap though more affordable than EP's), which is why when i brought 1 or 2 for repair at times, my friends would be surprised to hear that people actually send their hairclips for repair.

Why such long winded reminiscence for a haul?

This piece of bad news was made known to me by a SA from EP that Evita Peroni (EP) will officially withdraw from Singapore from 1st of March 2012. Which explains the severe storewide markdown from 50% to 70% recently and that they did not receive any new stocks from the Pre-Spring 2012 and Spring 2012 collection as well as the previous Fall/Winter 2011 collection.

And, so before Evita Peroni finally becomes something beyond my reach, i did a haul these few days. In fact the hauling is starting to get a little out of hand (quoting from my BFF and prior to this hauling i purchased just 1 piece of hair accessory about 4 months ago).

Without further delay, i present my a-little-out-of-hand hauling.....


I can't help but sigh......

 My Evita Peroni Family (inclusive of previous purchases).

 1st Group.


 2nd Group (my absolute favourite is the one in the 2nd row from the middle, the multi-stone elastic wrap, which i bought 4 months back, the teal flower hair fastener below is a present from my BFF).

 3rd Group.

 Day 1 haul- part 1.

 Day 1 haul- part 2.

 Day 1 haul- part 3.
 
 Day 2 haul.

 This reminds me of something i would wear if i was 9 again. : ) A little like "Alice in Wonderland" ?

Part of my Hair Accessory stash- the hairclip drawer.

While i do appreciate quality and the uniqueness of one-of-a-kind of design, i understand that EP's accessory is really too high-end for say a clip or a hairband.

S$60 for a hairclip? S$100 for a Austrian studded hairband? It is a form of luxury spending that one would frown upon, just like how i will never be able to convince my BFF that a S$60 hairclip is worth the price tag (her simple trusty hairclip serve her just as well), let alone justifying my collection to her.

Well, to each her own i say.

Forgive me for being decadant.... while i allow myself to immerse in my luxury laced childhood memories with EP where there is still time......


Monday, February 6, 2012

Haul: The object of my Desire....Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder and Blush

How can i possibly forget this beauty..... waiting to join the others in my beloved stash?




Something Random.... I can't believe Chinese New Year is over......





Yep, all that preparing and back breaking spring cleaning..... its over.....

Review: Naruko Marjoram and Lavender Brightening Peeling Gel

Today's review would be on Naruko Marjoram and Lavender Brightening Peeling Gel. Essentially this is suppose to be an exfoliator of some sort that will brighten and smoothen the complexion. It contains a patented ingredient called "Phytoferulin" complex (which is a patented ingredient that is in every Naruko product) that heals and faciliates skin's cell renewal.

This is a product which i would love to love, especially since my previous experience with Naruko's Raw Job's Tear skincare range leaves me wanting to try out the other range. 

It's a shame that this is a product that made me felt completely stunned and confused.

Why?

It simply doesn't work at all and i can't believe it is from Naruko as there are rave reviews for this product in the cyberworld.

The Toothpaste tube packaging.

Product description.

120ml which is good for at least 3 months worth of usage (twice a week).

Instruction on how to use the product in Chinese.

Gel-like texture of the product.

Thick consistency texture.
After several attempts to make it work.

Before application of the product.

After product application.

Another shot of after product application.

In terms of packaging, its toothpaste tube-like container is typical of those exfoliators.

Fragrance-wise, there is a weak chemical scent that i cannot find an apt word to describe it, except that it reminds me of something plasticky. The scent of Marjoram or Lavender? I think i know how Lavender smells like, but Marjoram? I don't have the faintest clue how its suppose to be like, though a quick search in the cyberworld tells me that it should smell herbal or pine-like. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoram)
Weird... since all that i can detect is a weak plasticky scent.

The texture of the gel is quite thick, according to application instruction, i am suppose to use this product after i have cleanse my face. Squeeze the amount of the size of a cherry and apply it onto my face, follow by massaging with my fingers for approximately 20 seconds which i will see the dead skin cells and dirt emusify and formed, after which just rinse with water.

I followed the instructions to a T and i tried not once, not twice but for 3 weeks (twice per week) and nothing that faintly resembles dead skin cells or dirt resulted from using this gel. All that i have gotten was this slick slimy feel that my face is not thoroughly cleansed. In the end i had to wash my face with my cleansing foam again to make sure the gel is off my face.

I can't bear to subject my face to the test again, so you see what my hand went through. I was massaging it clockwise then anti-clockwise and finally rubbing it up and down my hand, yet no dirt or dead skin cells of any sort resulted from usage of the gel.

This is a total waste of my time, but then there are raving reviews of it on a few forums and websites.... so maybe, just maybe i got a dud. But why me? Urgh!

To be honest, i am really disappointed by the performance of this as i had high hopes of it working for me. I guess the higher the expectations you have, the greater the disappointment will be if it doesn't work out.

Luckily i got mine at a very good price while i was in Taiwan last year but still it is a waste. The tube is still sitting in my bathroom on the rack.

Available at Watsons Singapore and http://www.naruko.com.sg/ , the price is S$17.00 ( i am not too sure about it as i saw it in Watsons quite a while ago).