忘年会 Look & Happy New Year!

The last post of the year! The last 48hrs have been extremely hectic!! Let's just say I was sleep-deprived for most of it!! On a thursday we had a 忘年会 Bonenkai- which means end of year party or year-end party. You basically you drink your way through the night to forget the bad of the year ;) I think we did exactly that on that night and partied until the end of the night ;D

Here's what I sported on that night...

wish took better shots of my eye makeup with a good camera instead I got dodgy indoor light in the toilets with the iPhone! It was basically a light gold grey plumish smokey with dark red lips combo! I used Topshop Crayon in Equinox (courtesy of Penelope!) Then added a peachy gold shade from the Smashbox Heartbreaker Hot Date palette (thanks Riya!) and smoked it out with the darkest shade in the palette. I am in love with that palette :D

Since it was for a night out I went for a stronger liner look. The base was a surprise mix - Luview Real Skin BB primer & Nanoce Moist BB cream - what a combo!! It made my skin looked poreless and I love the fact it made my makeup last pretty much most of the night XD I used the Shu Uemura Pro concealer on some blemished areas and I used the point concealer under the eyes (since the Bobbi Brown tend to go cakey after long hours). I set the whole face with Luview Crystal Mineral compact. Since the eyes and lips were pretty strong I went for subtle cheeks - NARS Orgasm Illuminator (love this!) with the lightest nude pink from Maquillage face creator no.66 - again, a surprising good combo! I finished off the look with MAC's Soft Pause for that night festive look!

Group picture! a better picture of my black lace scoop neck dress I bought from H&M a while ago in the Sales in UK :D I really liked the makeup I did that night, I'll have to re-do it again to show you guys what I mean!

Anyway here's me signing off with the last post of the year!! 2011 hasn't been the best year for me... bring on 2012!!

Wishing everyone a very happy new year and all the best for 2012!! xx

Luview Mega Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to the following winners :D

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners have been contacted so please check your emails...

Thank you to everyone who participated!!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday, will try to update properly soon!! xx

Flirty Pink FOTD ft. Luview

Hey guys! I'm back with another post before the Xmas weekend. Hope everyone is enjoying the time with family and friends at this time of year - my in laws are throwing a family xmas party for us all on Xmas eve! There will definitely be Christmas cake (the Japanese kind, haha) and definitely won't have KFC (yep you heard it!).

I did a flirty, girly and "cute" pink look last Saturday! The only thing was that we were in a hurry so I did my makeup in the car!! yep, car!! I think it tuned out pretty well if I must say so myself. I manage to take these pictures when I got home before looking red and dishevelled after some wine haha!

Luview Glossy Kiss

The title comes from the pinky lips and cheeks :) Let me introduce you to Glossy Kiss from Luview - It was my first time using it and I was really amazed by the colour of pink it gave on my lips. Now, the only ever lip product that has really wow me in every sense of way has been the Dior Lip Glow! But this seems have achieve that similar pink I always get from Dior Lip Glow - check it out below - it's a mix of both colours :)

 So like I said I was in the car, so I also applied all my makeup in the car :P I have Luview Real Skin Primer BB cream on my face. It's the most light weight face makeup I've probably used. There is in fact, very little coverage (it can be used as a primer) with this BB cream but it's quite clever that it's managed to even out my skin tone really nicely and gave me a poreless look :D I think the best point was the face it felt like I wasn't wearing it!! It gives a nice velvety matte finish too.

 My face was actually feeling a bit dry around my chin but somehow my makeup didn't look too bad! The BB primer doesn't cover all the flaws but my Shu Uemura Point Cealer did a great job of that!! The cheeks are done exactly as my travel and glow post!! I left my brows undone and just added a coat of Luview's Gleam Long Lash mascara :) I set the whole face with Luview's Crystal Pact, which I now travel with in my makeup bag ^_^ does a great job setting the makeup and touch-ups (especially when I get oily at work!!)

Luview Crystal Pact

Yep I was wearing very little makeup that day but I think I manage to look somewhat polished before stepping into the LV store to exchange my wallet (for a different colour :P) If you guys would like to try out some Luview products don't forget to enter the mega giveaway which ends on Xmas day!!

*disclaimer: company sample products*

This brings me to the end of the post.. thank you to everyone who's been reading my blog all year around. I promise to work harder on my posts - that's my gift to you! *cue cheese*

Tokyo Xmas in Ginza - it's as bling bling as you can get :)

It's going to be quite busy since we're going to move out on next Friday!! Hopefully I'll throw in another post or two?! It's late and I have to hit the sack before working on a national holiday then come xmas weekend. Have a great one everyone!!

*Wish You all a very Merry Christmas!!*

xx

Birthday Collective Hauling & Gifts ♡

I like doing collective hauls because I'd feel less guilty buying everything at once! This time I bought some extra goodies since it was birthday and I wanted to treat myself to something :)

Everything arrived (online shopping) arrived promptly before the birthday so I didn't need to worry about the post (office) :D

 First of all - I treated myself to SWEET magazine, cos if you guys didn't know they are really expensive! 720yen!! I can't imagine overseas prices. There was a MJ GWP - totally worth it!! Comes with 2 pouches and a calender :P I still havent read it yet...

 My order from FeelUnique.com!! I have ordered from this company for years. They have use paypal now, which is even more convenient - a bonus. The delivery is usually free AROUND the world but I paid a little bit extra to speed up the shipping. It arrive about 10 days later after being processed! I really wanted to try a new eye cream, so I had a good scour around the online store - found NUXE eye cream tailored to my needs the most and it was around £17 - not bad!! I went head and bought some more brushes :) Loving it so far!

 If you're wondering what the small metal one, it's a lip brush (around £6)! A good quality one from Lily Lilo (a mineral makeup company, which I tried once upon a time) The size is perfect (the brush itself) and it looks great in my makeup bag :P I'm using my lip brushes for my Chanel reds :) The concealer brush is also from Lily Lilo!

 I bought a DHC acne essence, which I didn't realize until I tried to read it properly LOL I thought it was a pimple cream haha. It shall be interesting to see if it works... I needed to stock up on my Fiberwig and decided to get this one since it had a lovely LE design! pretty eh?!

 I honestly thought about getting my Clarisonc brush heads from FeelUnique.com but I didn't want to risk it since they are hella expensive! I found them on the Clarisonic Japanese website!! They were nearly 3000yen each!! totally worth because they last up to 3 months and I can't live without my clarisonic. I could pay via COD too :D

 Yes, finally!!! The Shu Uemura Pro Gel Concealer!!! XD I was actually surprised how quick-drying the formula is - it's long lasting - I tried to rub it off after a swatch at the counter, it would not budge! I decided to get it anyway because I've been lemming it for SO long. The 7YR Medium Light (like my other Shu Uemura concealers) was the best shade for me. I'll give it a good test soon!!

 A big shout out to my lovely cousin Ren for sending me such a SWEET package all the way from the UK. She sent me the cutest gloves!!! She also included a cute Kiehl's mini set  :D Thanks hun!!

By way the scary demon looking thing can be found in our in law's house. It's to scare away evil spirits :P

I've asked two of my sibling to get me perfume (and I couldn't help, a blusher too) but they are all being sent to the UK :( Here are my choices..

Picture courtesy of bloomingdales.com 

Present from the brother :P This is my ABSOLUTE favourite!! This will be my 2nd bottle of this perfume (still got some left ^^)! I previously used the eau de toilette but the perfume is so much more long-lasting!!

Picture courtesy of http://www.mimifroufrou.com

A bottle of Chloé - something different :)

Picture courtesy of Debeham.com

A dior blush in Vintage Pink!! :) Sadly I have wait until I go home next time.. probably in May.

Saving the best until last??? My husband bought the Damier International Wallet!! Actually he originally got me the white one, which I wanted to keep BUT for practical reasons I decided to go for the brown because it doesn't stain as easily as the white one. I do love it! My work bag isn't clean enough to use it yet LOL. The sweetest thing was that he knew that my Mulberry wallet got ruined in the rain (there's a huge water mark on it :( ) and that I was using my old Prada one again (which is actually in good conditions after 4 years :P) I guess I talked about it so much he decided to buy me a new one! LOL. Thank you honey!! ♡♡♡

That's my hauling and gift post for now :)

I'm actually expecting 2 more lovely packages from the UK - can't wait to receive them!!! Hope you enjoyed this "hauling" post hehe. There should be another post before Xmas weekend! xx

*Drum Roll*... Giveaway Winner ♡

The winner is...

Winnie from Diamond Canopy!!!! 

♡Congratulations♡

THANK YOU to everyone who participated!! Definitely doing another giveaway again soon since Rafflecopter made life so easy XD

Playful Day to Sophisticated Night Festive Birthday Red&Gold Look

Hello my loves! Thank you for all the early bday wishes!! I've had a really lovely weekend so far :D We started off Thursday night with some bday drinks - we finished off the night with a whiskey shot but that really made me sick once I got home! What a start to being 27 :P

On Friday, my birthday - I spent the day relaxing and getting ready. I actually wanted to go shopping at the new Lumine in Yurakucho, but I found my leaving there after an hour. It was a bit disappointing - all the clothes stores weren't really to my taste (a bit too mature for me :P) So went home, got ready before my husband whisked me off for a 9-course meal!!

Inspired by the festivity, I decided to go for a coppery gold look - I went for a simple playful look for the day..

 I decide to put on the Nanoce Whitening BB Essence for the base. As my skin was a little dry, I decided to add a bit of Nanoce Moist BB Cream on areas - particularly around my chin area! For all the concealing I used a mix of Shu Uemura Pro concealer and Point Concealer on the blemished areas. For under the eyes, I used Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Warm Natural. For cheeks I mixed Maquillage Face creator in no.66 (a nude pink) mixed with the contouring bronzer on the same palette :) I did a little highlight around the inner cheeks area and under the brows - using the same palette.

I started off priming the eyes with the Too Face Shadow insurance (this stuff is the bomb) and then added Benefit Birthday Suit on top as the base colour (since it was my birthday :P Thanks to Julie!♡) I added Urband Decay Half Baked all over the lid before defining with a darker shade with a mid-toned coppery colour from the Rimmel's British Oak palette, courtesy of Penelope ♡ I also defined the eyes with the Urban Decay liner in Whiskey (and lower outer lash nice - smudge and set with coppery shadow). I finished off the eyes with Luview Gleam Full Long Lash mascara.

 I finished off the look with Canmake's Candy Wrap Lip in 04 Lady Strawberry for that subtle day red :)

 

 I curled my hair... with my GHDs :P I actually prefer the heat-less result much more!

 

I wanted to do the shirt and collar look haha.. the sheer cream shirt was at least 60% off!! Jumper from Topshop and Diesel Matic Denim Jean.

My husband told me to dress up for the dinner so I wanted to look more "sophisticated" :P I didn't want to spend hours getting ready again so I simply added a darker shade to smoke out the look using Rimmel's British Oak Palette - the dark coppery brown from the palette :)

   A full face picture - I'm sporting Chanel Vendôme #25!! I think I added a little more bronzer and that was about it :)

 I finally got to wear out this dress I bought from Topshop... back in April!! I totally love the pattern on this dress. The cut fits me really well too! I went for a up-do but it didn't last up too long and I eventually had my hair down (which I preferred).

 Dress from Topshop

 This is also a new cardigan I recently acquired but haven't had the chance to wear it until now :P It's from Forever21!

Close up of the pattern! I wore out the boots my husband got me for my early bday present. The husband was really sneaky! He gifted me another present on Thurs night!! I was super surprised!! Will reveal in another post ;)

This was the last dessert (out of 3 desserts lol). This was a sweet surprise :)

This was a pretty long post. Props to you if you stuck it through! Hope you guys had a lovely weekend as much as I did! I'm going to do a bday collective haul and gift post next - I truly felt spoilt! ありがとう！♡♡♡ I'm going to be announcing my giveaway really soon! xx

Quick Post: Good hair days and Love from PinkStrawberrieLove

Hey loves, how's everyone? I hope everyone is doing well.

This is a quick hair post :P I recently got my hair cut (about 10 days ago), nothing drastic really... actually it was quite boring.. I took off about 2cm / got long bangs / lightened the volume (it was too thick and heavy). I moaned earlier that my stylist didn't do a very good job, and it's true because I found myself trimming off split-ends myself! Thankfully I think I managed to get rid most it (the obvious ones). Now my new thing is to put my hair into two mini twisted buns (it's thin enough now), sleep and get voluminous wavy/curly hair :)

looks something like this :)

Since my hair is all smoothed out from the MoroccanOil, the wave comes really smooth with very little frizz. I didn't even finish-spray it the other day and it lasted a long time!

boo, you can't even see my bangs.. -_-

 I've also switched shampoo and conditioner to Bene Premium Crystal and I just love the smell of it :) Don't skimp on a good shampoo / conditioner / treatment and your hair will thank you for it!

Chanriya, or Riya from PinkStrawberrieLoveYum generously offered sent me some goodies and her package arrived just a few days ago. I had no idea what she was going to send me and she was spectacularly generous with everything!! Riya was really sweet and very thoughtful, she sent me items she thought I had never tried - Smashbox goodies and threw in the new Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters too!!

she included a really sweet note

I'm obviously excited to try everything!! I can't thank Riya enough for her kindness and generosity. Thank you! ♡♡♡

It's my b'day in a few days time - I don't have anything special planned, except maybe a nice dinner with the husband. I'm treating myself to a 3-day long weekend! Just relaxing, shopping, eating and sleeping! Haha. Hope you're all having a nice week. I want to do a festive look - perhaps this weekend :) be back soon! Thanks for reading xx

Luview Crystal Cover BB Cream & BB Cream swatches

Thank you for all the lovely comment on my last post :) It's been a long week, but the weekend is finally here! I am back with another review..

I have to be honest, I was a little scared venturing outside my trusted Nanoce BB creams! The Luview Crystal Cover BB cream wasn't the first BB Cream that I tried out from their line but it was the first BB Cream to use it consecutively for a couple of days and during my worse breakouts. Using this bb cream during my breakouts was the real test - would it make my breakout worse and how well could it cover my flaws? Those were my questions for this BB cream!

Claims:

Soothing and natural-looking coverage for all skin imperfection, including Surgical and acne scars, birthmarks, sun spots and varicose veins with triple function of wrinkle improvement, whitening and SPF 30

1. Natural and flawless, full coverage
This BB cream provides customized coverage, from sheer to moderate with a matte finish.

2. Radiant and soothing effect
The jewelry ingredients keeps skin velvety, radiant and translucent while 11 botanical tea ingredients provide soothing effect.

3. Cell rejuvenation
Swiss almond, centella, aloe etc. helps cell rejuvenation with moisture supply

4. Wrinkle improvement
Whitening and UV protection : KFDA certified

My first impression of the packaging was that it looked very cute and sleek. The colour is perfect for any girl who likes their pink! This sturdy bottle comes in a generous 40g and in a very hygienic pump. The only thing I didn't really like about was that there were no "lock" for it - I mean how are you suppose to close it, especially when you travel? It came with a white mini "plug" but it's so tiny and it can be lost quite easily. Interestingly their Whitening BB cream has a lock, one of the best points about it! It doesn't say on the website but it does contain SPF30 on their bottle.

This BB cream comes in two shade - the lightest being No.1/Light beige.  It has a slight pinkish tone - quite different to the Japanese creams I've been using in the last year, which are more peachy beige tones. The consistency isn't too thick or runny, offering a medium coverage. It has a kind of powdery scent about it, I don't mind it but people who are sensitive to scented products should take note!

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I blended it out. It matched my skin tone very well, leaving a very nice semi- dewy finish. Compared to other base makeup products, I didn't think this BB cream had a matte finish though.

02 Natural Beige

 

I also received a darker shade in no.2. The colour is about 2-3 shades darker and think it would probably work for medium skin tones. Like a lot of BB creams in the market, the shade range is limited.

I do love the concept of this BB cream - it contains 11 natural ingredients that is good for your skin. One of the reason for choose this particular product when during my breakout is because it's suppose to be soothing with it's healing properties. I guess you'd need to use this product consistently pretty constantly in order to see those results but this review will focus on immediate results.

My face from the Pearly Nude Pink post :) It covered my redness pretty well. however, I found that it didn't completely cover the blemishes as it claimed it would (not even on the blemish on my forehead :P). It did, however, did well reducing the appearance of it and it provided a good canvas for the the concealer to work on. Some foundations / BB creams can make the concealer appear cakey, this was the opposite and worked well with it! This product didn't get cakey when I layered on areas when I had more blemished areas too.

On another positive note, it left my blemish-free area on my face (ie. my cheeks) smooth and glowing! I'm not sure why but it did give me dewy-finish and for that reason, it did leave a little shine on my nose but nothing powder won't sort out. I decided to add a slick of Chanel's Gabrielle on!

Like a lot of base makeup, I do recommend prepping the face with a good moisturiser. Recently I have found that dry, flakey skin is TERRIBLY hard to work on, with any base makeup! Sometimes its not the product, but how you prep your skin. I had this experience not just with this product but with my Nanoce bb cream (which I love to death).

I am very pleased to report that it did NOT worsen my acne (that time) or did it break me out!

Out of the Luview BB Creams I've been trying this comes top - anyone interested but kind of scared of venturing into a full size product, might want to look into the travel set. It's a great way to try it out before investing into the full size products.

This product is great if you're looking for a base makeup (typically Korean of BB Creams) with that extra added-value, then this would be a nice all-rounder BB cream. I did find this BB cream quite dewy so I wouldn't use this for everyday nor would recommend this for oily skin types or for those who prefer heavier coverage. For all the lucky ladies who have nice skin / normal skin - it will leave you glowing ^_^  Nanoce is still my favourite because the shade matches me very well... see swatch below!

Here's a swatch comparison of all the BB creams I'm using (except for the other Luview BB creams, which are not in the picture)

Please check out other Luview Angels also holding the mega-giveaway that maybe participating in your country!

Japan: Monica Ai (Japaneses/English blogger ^^)

Korea: Yujinsang
Germany: Cutielipp
USA: Jin
Indonesia: Lina (Sparkle Apple ^^)
Philippines: Andrea
Malaysia: Kim
Spain: Aikoneka
Russia: Elena
Taiwan: Lois
Finland: Carita

Join the chance of winning 2 Luview products in this mega giveaway here!

Sorry about this extra long post. If you made it here in one piece then props to you! I hope you found this post somewhat useful! Have a great weekend! xx

Disclaimer: It's a sponsored review but I'm going to give my honest opinion anyway. I wasn't paid to review this product. 

**Don't forget to join my giveaway here!**
 

Pearly Nude Pink ♡

It's been a while since I've done an outfit post!! I tend to hibernate in winter... and actually I desperately needed some winter clothes so about 10 days ago, I went shopping! I just bought some wooly pieces and one of them was this long pretty pearly nude pink sweater...

 Pearly Nudy Pink Sweater from Index

 Sported with H&M leggings!

A close up of the pearl detail :)

The complete outfit with my long black boots & creamy white coat! We were suppose to head to the Tokyo Motor Shows but it got late and it was a "last minute" decision, so in the end we didn't go. I went and got the hair cut instead (no shown in the picture) Now my hair feels a lot lighter! I only took off 2 Cm in length and I have long bangs :P I don't think my stylist done a good job though because I have found myself dealing with split-ends myself! AARGH! WTF. Seriously WHO can cut hair properly these days?

10 days ago was also our 2 year anniversary! Who would have thought 2 years would fly by? Anyway we treated ourselves to a quiet one this year. We promised that we'd have bigger celebrations for your 5th, 10th 15th etc!!

 I received these gorgeous bunch of flowers the night before - it was a nice surprised because I was out for a some friend's joint bday party!

And.. they blossomed beautifully! Thanks babe!

I'll be back with more reviews... It's gotten REALLY dry in Japan so it's been a real test for some base makeup I've been trying out -_- I haven't been feeling the best the last few weeks.. maybe it's winter blues or PMS... or just breaking out like mad.. it's been emotionally stressful for me. I am feeling a lot better today. There is light at the end of the tunnel - you just need to keep going and hold your head up high. Thank you for all the feedback I have received from my giveaway! I never knew what some of readers about my blog - it feels like a big pat on the back. I'm looking forward to announcing this giveaway soon!

This month is going to be busy.. Because I am moving again.. all is happening at the end of the month. It's gonna be stressful but as the hubs says, hopefully a nice start to the new year. See you all soon xx

** don't forget to check out my giveaway and the Luview Mega Giveaway here :) **