YamilG’s Neighborhood

So it's been a while since I last blogged. Mainly due to my lovely brothers going on holidays with my camera so I kind of got lazy. Anyways one of my brother went to USA and it was a very good chance to give him my wishlist. Of the 3 items on the list, he managed to get me at 2 of them so I'm quite a happy girl although I had to pay for them myself. :D

Shopping in the US is like a shopping paradise for us Britons. Everything converted from British pounds to American Dollars works out so much cheaper for us. You get those ridiculous american brands coming to uk and charging us double than what the US have to pay and then again you get those silly Britons who are willing to pay that amount.

I asked for a Coach large Carly bag but my brother ended up getting me a slim large carly bag because he forgot to take the sheet I printed out for him. At first I didn't like it because it was so slim but once I filled it up it looked ok. The lovely thing about it was the price, he paid £120 ($240) for at the Coach outlet. The rrp was actually $378.00 so it was a big saving. I specifically encouraged him to visit the outlets there to get the best bargains. In uk, Coach doesn't exist. It hasn't made it's name here yet and they still don't have any shops here. I'm hoping they will do so soon! They have some really cute bags I would like to buy. The only place to buy a Coach bag is from TK Maxx if your really lucky. I manage to stumble on some the other time I was shopping at one but too bad it was the style I wanted. I think it was the Sophie style bucket bag and it was priced at £100 ($200) which really isn't too bad.

I also got a Coach Hamptons Signature mini skinny wallet. My dkny purse was just too big and heavy and I prefer to travel light these days. I only use one bank card and I only need to carry money. I'm a sad person really, I still don't have a driving license and I see no reason to carry so many cards. Very rarely do I use my credit card and when I do, I only order things online when the company won't take my debit card and plus I don't remember the pin for my credit card so I wouldn't be able to purchase anything when I'm out. In my opinion, I think it's silly to use a credit card because it's so much hassle. If you have money in your account, why not just use your debit card? If your poor, why be silly enough to use a credit card if your just going to be in more debt? :D I love my coach wallet as it's so light and takes up less room in my bag.

I also wanted to get some crocs but they didn't have my size :( My brother got me some Hollister perfume instead called Malaia which reminds me of Issey Miyake. It's fresh and yummy and comes with a cute spray ball thingie. :D

So I've been very very busy lately and haven't had time to update my blog and I'm pretty sure no one reads it anyways. I've started a new job in retail and sometimes I'm just too tired or stressed out from it. I haven't really had the time and money for makeup as I did before. Since I'm not really allowed to wear makeup at work, I've been using my Scinic bb cream more often, about 4 days a week at work and on other days when I don't work I end up using my mineral makeup. I probably have enough mmu to last me a few years I think. :D

So I've been discussing about about mmu foundation lately but I haven't showned any swatches on blushes I have got from mmu companies so I thought I use this chance to show my tiny collection I have collected from everyday minerals.

I also got a free sample from coastal scent called true. It's a very bright orangey colour. I also love silk naturals because it's very pretty and sparkley. lol I thought the Cherub glow was actually a blush until I read the label. It's so pretty in pink unlike other glow powders from other mmu companies. Silk Naturals's Climax blush is suppose to be a dupe of Nars Orgasm. I haven't tried the actual Nars Orgasm because it's pretty damn expensive in uk at £18.50, about usd $37 just for a blush. Anyways I do love the Silk Natural's dupe which came in a 10 grams jar with 1 and a half teaspoon. I wished that their blushes came in bigger size like edm. :D

So edm launched a new website last month and to celebrate that they had a 20% discount code so it was a great chance for me to stock up :D Yeah I'm a cheapo and edm rarely gives out 20% off. I even got a free 'launch party' blush in full size. I also got their puff jar, edm green tea cream and another kabuki brush as a spare.

I also got Pearl sunlight, a new edm product and I do regret getting it without sampling first. It's similiar sunlight but because it's so pearl like, it gives a white sheen/glowy look.

Their puff jars are really cute and comes with a mirror on top so it's great on the move. The puff sponge on it's own is soft. I haven't really used it much so I can't really comment much about it.

I have mixed feelings about edm green tea cream at the moment. It's made from sweet almond oil, green tea leaf and hygrogenerated vegetable oil. It haves slight green tea smell. When I first got it, it felt very oily and reminded me of Vaseline in terms of texture. Now that I have started using it, it does feel different from vaseline. Once you apply it to your skin, it kinds of melts into your skin. It doesn't feels really greasy at all and it leaves your skin moisturised.

I love gmarket! It's like an ebay but it's based in Korea and they offer some very low value priced goods but shipping is expensive as they send by EMS. You can buy bb creams from ebay or through softpeachy but I got to admit, their prices are steep! But if you buy it on Gmarket, it works out so much cheaper eventhough shipping is high on there! :p

Anyways I bought Lioele and Skin79 intensive BB cream since I'm still looking around to see if there are any other one's better than the Scinic bb cream. I've only tested the Lioele one a few times so no comments at the moment. It is slightly darker than my scinic bb cream and haves a yellow tone to it which is good. On gmarket, there's currently an offer for 2 x Lioele BB cream + a free mineral loose powder or a powder compact and you also get a free makeup cleanser sheets and a discount coupon to use next time and all this for $42 or £21 which is a bargain! I also got Skin79 Intensive which has spf 15 for only $5 or £2.50 only. I also got lots of freebies as you could see.

so I finally received my Nyx haul from a survey on Soompi. That's why I love Soompi because you get some nice people who will do a survey and charge a little service charge. I'll probably do swatches in the future.

Ultra Pearl Mania L-R: Nude, Baby Pink, Purple, Baby blue

Any Korean could tell you exactly what a BB cream is. It stands for 'Blemish Balm Cream' and is known as an all-in-one Concealer, Base and foundation cream with the added property of being able to 'heal acne' and in some products with added benefit of whitening and sun protection. It sounds so wonderful that you only have to use one product to cover your face in the morning which is what attracted me to bb creams in the first place. Coverage is usually sheer to medium so it's more like a tinted moisturiser.

It's a big craze in Asia at the moment and there's loads of different brands available to buy. I personally have tried at least 5 different ones and I gotta admit I'm a very picky person. My memory is a bit fuzzy with some of the bb creams I have tried so I have tried to be fair with my reviews on them. I know that for some of the bb creams, it's highly raved by many but they just didn't work for me. I usually apply the bb cream straight after I apply my daily cream because it makes it more manageable. Note that I do have combo skin which generally leans towards dry sometimes:
Skinfood Aloe Sun: This one is scented but manageable. When applied, my skin felt smoothed and cooling. lol I actually don't remember much about it.

Tony Moly: This one was heavily scented so that was a big minus for me as I really hate products that are scented. I think it gave my skin a dewy look after I applied. I didn't use it much as I couldn't stand the smell.

Scinic: I got this as a free sample from Sasa and this is the only one I keep going back to. The free sample lasted me ages. It's non-scented, spf 15, sheer to medium coverage and only comes in one shade only. After an hour, it generally blends into my skin quite well. It feels a little thick but once I warm it up with my fingers, it changes into a manageable liquid and could be applied easily on the face. I have combination skin so oil-wise, its ok. I don't get too oily or dry which is a good thing. I love the way that once I apply it, it fills my pores to make it less visable. Sometimes on good skin days, I like to use this as a concealer for my dark circles because it's got this nice shimmery affect to it. It's doesn't exactly cover the whole of my dark circle but it does lighten the area. I like to mix this bb cream with my Lancome Blanc expert cream so it gives my face a dewy look. The first time I used it, my bf actually complimented how good my 'skin' was eventhough it was the bb cream. :D Big thumbs up!

Skin79 DermaRX: It's a dark shade which is probably too dark for me with spf 15. It's a very dewy bb cream which I think I find a little sheer. I hated the glow from this one because it also made the bad areas of my skin stand out. It was so bad that my own mother asked me what I put on my face because my skin looked terrible. I only wore it for one day, and my face started to break out and because it was so glowly, I think my combo skin started to get oily.

lol so I think I'm addicted to sampling from different companies. I'm still actually looking for my 'dream' mineral makeup that will feel creamy and blend in with my skin to create that flawless natural look. I'm need to save money but when I see any mmu companies that are having sales, I tend to take advantage of it. I ordered some Joppa samples when they were offering free delivery which finally arrived after 1 month. I also got a surprise package from Silk Naturals. I have no idea why they sent me it because I only ordered once from them and I have already received that one package. I did send them an email but I never got a reply back so I'll think I will keep them :D Your know...so that it don't go to waste.

I haven't really had time to test them out yet so I don't know if they are that good. They actually sent me one wrong sample, I was suppose to get Medium #2 instead of Medium Light #2. I also got free samples :D I love samples.

Full Formula, L-R: Medium Light #2, Medium Light #3, Medium #3

Their formulas in 2 are peachy pink colours and the formula in 3 are actually more yellow beige colour. I think Medium #3 should work well with my skin though I haven't tested it yet as I've been so busy lately.

Simple Radiance Formula, L-R: French Toast, Honey Bisque, Prairie Wheat, Nutmeg

In Silk Naturals' package, I received another foundation mixing set, Perfecting Powder, Cherub Mineral Glow, Damsel Lip gloss and Mascara. I have bought their foundation mixing set in the pass and did like the fact that I was able to mix my own shade. They use silk powder in their products so it made my skin feel very very smooth when I apply the foundation on. However, I do think the coverage is quite sheer and would suit someone who haves a good complexion. I love Silk Natural's dupe of Nars Orgasm. It's called Climax and is a cheap alternative. It's so pretty! I wished they did them in even bigger sizes.