Christmas Haul time!!

A few posts back, I showed you all my beauty haul for this winter season and the amazing Dior Mitzah palette that a friend had gotten for me.  I wanted to take time today to show you some of the non beauty related items that I got for Christmas :)

Before I start, I hope everyone had a really good Christmas with loads of food (and drinks lol), time with family and friends, and I hope everyone at least got one thing that they wanted to get.  We can all lose sight of the holidays by thinking it's all about the gifts, but really it's what's behind the gifts that matter. The thought, the love, and the effort :)

The first item that I wanted to show was a book that DH gave to me.  This year, we really couldn't afford to buy an Alexander Mcqueen bag so he bought me this amazing book about the designer himself.  Savage Beauty will go nicely with my Louis Vuitton and Stephen Sprouse book that is already in my collection. 

The book is massive and heavy (which I love) and has a brown cloth cover with an amazing holographic photo on the front.

As you tilt the book the image shifts from Alexander Mcqueen to a skull.

 

It contains such beautiful photographs in there and here are just a few. Words can not describe how stunning these are to me.

I wanted to share with you all this quote in the book as it really hits home to me.  Whether it has been music, art, fashion, I am always drawn to artists that understand the concept of finding beauty in sadness and the melancholy.  Mcqueen did just that for me. He beautifully brought together the chaos, intricacies, dynamics, and sadness of life and created such beautiful pieces of fashion for us all.

I can't describe how much I love this artist and how much I love this book. DH did really well in buying me a gift that I would love without having to look at my wish list :)

Other than some cash, which I put into our cruise fund, I also got the following items. I treated myself to these items as I really wanted to treat myself after the maniac couple of weeks that I have had, where I had zero personal time to myself.

McQ - Alexander Mcqueen tartan iphone case.
I think it's time for me to give my bear case a rest and join the adult population lol
I love the razor blade on this and that is what sold me on this case.

 

I finally got a pair of the Jeffrey Campbell litas. I couldn't have asked for a better price on these and I knew I had to grab them. 

I can't wait until I get these two in my hands. My orders are currently being processed and I can not WAIT! I hope they look just as good in person as online.  I love boxing day shopping.  Truth be told, I hate paying full price for things here in the UK as they are always so expensive, but the price of both these items were so ridiculously low that it would have been rude not to grab myself one x

So what did you get under your Christmas tree?

Happy Holidays!!

Christmas 2012 has been an insane adventure for me. I've literally had no time to do anything to this blog or even on facebook & twitter.  I haven't been able to find that work and personal life balance and unfortunately this caused my blog to suffer, but I'm dropping by right before Christmas dinner to say MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all my readers.

While my husband and his family glue themselves to an afternoon of films, I'll be updating my blog with a lot of interesting products that I have encountered over the last 2 months of being away from cyber world.  I'm hoping that nobody is alone on Christmas, but if you are and you stumble upon my blog, then hopefully it will be an interesting read :)

Christmas was modest in the T&O home this year as we are trying to be a bit more responsible with our money.  I even managed to save £50 after all my Christmas shopping this year to put away to our 2014 cruise fund.  I'm quite proud of myself as £50 would have never made it even 5 seconds after it got into my hands.

As 2012 nears it's end, I'm always left reflecting on the year beforehand and basically seeing what I could have done better.  The one thing that I learned is to really follow my gutt instinct. What have you learned this year?

Off to go stuff my face :) and be back soon.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! xx

Blog Giveaway?

What are everyone's thoughts about giveaways?
What sorts of gifts would you like to see in the next T&O giveaway?

Christian Dior Mitzah Palette

I never in my dreams thought that I would be able to blog about this palette.  I remember when I first saw the press releases for this beauty.  I instantly fell in love, until the cruel reality kicked in and I saw the price tag.  I gave up trying to own it and didn't blog much about it after I mentioned it once in a lemmings post.  Then I had the privilege to become really great friends with someone who happens to work for Dior.  I never in my dreams thought that she would end up getting one for me.  You could imagine my surprise when I opened up the bag to find this! I was speechless...absolutely speechless.

I haven't dared to swatch it yet, and it might take me sometime to actually tough it.  I just love it so much and I'm still contemplating about whether I should use it or not.

This is the first Christmas gift that I have received.  If this is any indication of what Christmas is going to be like this year, I have a feeling it's going to be a good one :)

The packaging is luxurious (rightfully so for the amount of money they were asking) and it's really such a gorgeous product.  The actual palette has beautifully crafted as well.  I'm in Dior heaven :)

November's Beauty Haul

I have a really fun post to share with you all. November flew so fast and so is December! I managed to grab some high end polishes last month, so I definitely had a splurge month.

Here are my babies unwrapped...

 

Up first ..

OPI - Man with the Golden Gun gold topcoat

Christian Dior - Diva

 

Christian Dior - Marilyn

Gosh - Holographic Hero

 

Christian Dior - Dune

 My amazing Dior SA was so sweet and gave this to me xx

YSL - Premiere Niege topcoat

China Glaze - Electric Beat

 

So this is my small November haul before I had to start saving for Christmas.

What did you end up buying last month?

 

My life through photos

Hi beautiful ladies. I just basically had to take a step back as I was seriously loosing my sh*t.  Thanks to good friends, a listening husband, lots of sad music, going for swims, and the cuddles from my lovable Oscar, I managed to cope with the death of my sister in law and keep plodding along.

So just a quick update about my life. I am switching jobs and now officially work for Lush Cosmetics. I'm super excited about my new adventures with them, and very very eager to immerse myself into the beautiful world of Lush.  I am currently working two jobs, still helping the hubs with his record label as he needs, and trying to start up a mobile beauty service with a friend. So as you can see, I enjoy being busy.  The idleness from my depression after the death was literally killing me.  So onwards and upwards, as I know Lilian would have wanted me to do.

I have a load of photos to share with you...just a glimpse into my life these past few weeks. So enjoy:)

Beautiful church I walk past everyday to work

First time at Harriets with friends

Hope Santa brings this to me for Christmas

I have that top (or a similar variation of it, and I want that necklace BAD!)

Thanks to my skilled father in law for making this shelf unit out of the IKEA Ribba Frame for me. This..my friends is my Chanel nail polish collection. I just can't get enough!

I had no idea I walked past this everyday to work! This is the English literature major nerd in me coming out :p

Chanel Malice with Rococo Gold Leaf on top

Can't say much about these products, but this is my Beauty Bible testing products. I'm really enjoying this testing process

Sorry that I don't have much energy to really go into detail about any one thing in particular. I think it's going to take me a bit more to get back into the swing of things, but it felt so long that I left this blog idle, so I really wanted to feed it with some more content and let you all know that I'm ok. Thank you to all my friends and followers who have been so kind to leave me messages.  It was that kind of positivity that really reminded me that life does go on even after a devastating event.

See you all soon, and I will just apologise in advance that there might be an onslaught of Lush reviews in the next few months lol.

Take it ez everyone xxx

To my dear older sister

Good morning to all my readers. I am in need of some time away from blogging. Last night, I learned that my older sister/ex sister in law, whom I dearly loved was murdered.  This is what horror movies of made of, but unfortunately for me, this isn't a movie.  So obviously, I can't even function properly let alone blog, but I wanted to dedicate this post to Lilian.

I am going through all the usual emotions of losing someone you love, but I need to compose myself and pull myself together as I'm about to go do a car boot sale for a local cat charity, and I can't be arriving in tears. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I think that I need to stay strong and focus on all the good memories and the positive things that she brought into my life.  This is my mental though process right now, even though my heart is broken and I can't stop the tears as I'm writing this.  She would have wanted me to be strong, because that's the kind of strength she had inside of her.

I met Lilian when I was 16 years old.  It was during a time where I was a lost and misguided child and she embraced me like her own sister.   On a very trivial level, she was the first person to ever buy me designer shoes, which gave birth to my love for fashion and all things beauty related.  But on a more serious level, she was a role model to me. She was career oriented, strong, assertive, and fearless. She thought me what a strong Asian female was like. I would not be half the person I am today without learning that, and I learned it from her.  For that, I have always loved her, irregardless of what happened between her and my brother.  She was like a proper older sister to me.  I have so many little memories of her that fill my head right now, but that is the one thing that she has done for me.  I wish I could have done more for her.

So this post is dedicated to you Lilian.  May your spirit move on and not stay within that home, and I hope that you were truly happy inside before that tragic night happened.  I love you so much. I will never forget you...never.

Happy Halloween My Lovely Ghoulies

Hope everyone has a great night whether you are out at a Halloween party or staying home and watching a scary film.  We are trying to decide which Korean horror film to watch :)

 

Polishes used:

Illamasqua Boosh, Illamasqua Scorch & Julep Molly

My Camden Market find -

Camden is full of little shops that are pushing their own designs.  I found this uber cute shop which for the life of me I can not remember, but next time I'll make sure I remember it.

Check out my adorable long chain necklace. It's hilarious!

£12 bought me this little funny conversation starter :)

Swarovski Golden Gun Pendant and Bracelet

Dear Santa -
I have been a very good girl this year and would love this James Bond set from Swarovski.

 

Golden Gun Pendant (£72)

 

 

Golden Gun Bracelet (£72)

 

The Military Look: Dior 454 ROYAL KHAKI 5-Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette

The military look is one that I absolutely love. I love all those button up tops, military inspired boots, and sage green just happens to be one of my favourite colours; however, if this style is too masculine for you, then a military style inspired eye is just for you.  Dior has come out with this amazing palette that brings the femininity into this masculine style.

And to answer your question, No, I didn't win the lotto and basically have a total high-end makeup splurge lol. My awesome Dior SA gave me a mini of the Royal Khaki, because she had pity on me for being poor this month lol. No, seriously though, she is always so great with giving me these extras on the side as I do tend to spend out of my budget with her. So I have Royal Khaki to swatch for you all thanks to Rachel!

Now, I must apologise first, because I can not seem to get a decent thick swatch out of this tiny palette, so the colour that appears in my photos is a light application.


My eye is a bit irritated from my allergies, so I don't have a snapshot of my makeup, but I went with the beige blended into the green and I used the black along my waterline, and of course I used the white as a brow highlighter. The silver will have to wait another day :)

I won't lie, I find Dior eye shadows to be quite pricey, but this is a luxury palette that will make any girl feel pampered. I will also say that from the sample, I find that the texture of the middle green colour to be a little too matte for my liking. I really love the white, beige and silver shimmer and wish they would have done the same for the middle green as that is really the selling point of this palette.

What is your favourite eyeshadow look this fall season?

Chanel illuion D'ombre in 89 Vision

I just had to quickly blog about this gorgeous new addition to the cream eyeshadow range by Chanel. This is a gold that cool-toned people can wear, because it is very warm and rich.  The amount of shimmer on this is perfect for the upcoming fall and winter darker days.  I am in love.

My DH is so clever to read my blog's wishlist and decided to grab me this as one of our anniversary pressies. He did so well.  This really is a luxurious cream shadow that can also be applied onto any other park of your body for that stunning shimmer.

Just look how rich that looks! I just don't know how they do it, but Chanel really knows how to do mature and elegant shimmers.  This is what I call a pot of gold!

Christian Dior Creme Abricot pour les ongles Nail Cream

My cuticles have always been my #1 enemy. They just refuse to soak in lotion. I wash my hands quite a bit at work and even with lotion application, they never seem to be hydrated. So by the time that I get home, my cuticles are cracking and often times they crack and peel so badly that I do get infections. I've had this issue all my life.  And of course, it doesn't help that I use 100% pure acetone to remove my nail polishes almost every other day.

In hopes of finding a solution, I shelled out £19 and purchased the Dior nail cream after I remember a friend telling me that this was her favorite nail cream on the market (boy was she right!).

This is a 10g pot.  It came with a foil lid that you peel back to expose a coral/pink petroleum jelly like cream. It is very rich and applies clear.  It doesn't smell very nice and reminds me of the petroleum jelly that my mother use to lather her face in lol.  But the case itself is adorable and it really has improved my cuticles even with only a week's time.  This also soaks into the cuticles very quickly, unlike the oils that I find leave a mess everywhere.

Here are some other facts about this cream:

* Created in 1963 (why am I just hearing about this now? lol)
* Overnight cuticle treatment
* It also encourages nail growth

I think I may have found my HG nail cream ladies :)

Have you tried this nail cream? What are your thoughts?
Are there any other cuticle treatments that you highly recommend?

Peripera Smile Fit Blusher in #5 Coral Orange Review

I'm a little late in the game (as usual), but I have been getting more and more into Korean drugstore makeup. I find the quality is amazing and the price really affordable. Heck, I can't always be buying high end and pretending like I'm some princess of Arabia or something lol.

Korean brands are a plenty, and Korean women being very picky about makeup (this isn't a racial comment, I am Korean myself and this is an observation of my people) when it comes to quality, so I find that the quality is a lot higher than a lot of US and UK drugstore brands.  This is of course just my opinion and I'm sure many beg to differ.

So far, I have loved all my TonyMoly and Etude House products that I managed to grab off of ebay.  If anyone can recommend a place in the UK that sells Korean or other Asian makeup brands, please hit me up below or email me please.  I don't mind buying them from Korea on ebay, but I hate the wait.

So today's review and swatch is of Peripera blush #5 Coral Orange. Don't worry, it's not coral or orange, it's actually a very muted baby pink LOL

 

You can all see my camera lol

The packaging is a lace adorned mirror like plastic case. It's extremely light and compact.

The color does have a tiny tiny hint of something peachy, but definitely not coral or pink. It goes on very sheer as you'll see in the photos later. It has a mirror and brush compartment. I have't used the brush as I don't see the purpose of applying blush with a brush like this. It's a nice add-on, but really unncessary for someone like me who applies blush with a proper blush buffer brush.

The colour is very subtle and neutral. It appears great on fair skin tones like myself, and it's not chalky with a light application, but it can get a little chalky if you want to build up on it, therefore, I do recommend this colour for fair/light skin tones as this would not show up on someone with a darker complexion.

I love this blush as my travel blush as I won't cry if I lose it or break it and it mimics my other beloved blushes (that I won't take with me on travel) and at a fraction of the cost.

Peripera is picking up popularity over here in the west, so shop around on ebay or just do a google search for where you can pick up Korean makeup products. I know the US has tons of places to purchase from, but I am here in the U.K., where I have to import it (unless someone tells me otherwise).

US Peripera website (so cute!!)

I am excited to try more Peripera products since I am happy with this one.  What's your favorite Peripera product?

Suqqu Eyeshadow Brush F Review

It has been too long again ladies, hope you're all doing well. I finally got a chance to snap some photos of my favorite items this month. Let me just start to say that England has not seen sun for the last 3 days, so the fact that these photos came out clear is a miracle! lol.

Suqqu has been a brand that has been unobtainable for me. First off, it's not available everywhere like other high end brands like Chanel and Dior. Second, in the UK, you can only go to see it in Selfridges. So that is what I did.  You may have seen this brush in my London haul post from 2 weeks ago.  I just have to disclose that this brush did take me several months to save up for. It's not everyday that I drop £48 on an eyeshadow brush, but I do not regret it one bit. I'm not kidding either, £48 is well worth this brush, because it is the softest thing on earth. I imagine that if unicorns are real that this is what a unicorn would feel like. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

So here goes the photos...

Firstly, the box it comes in is a very simple and minimalistic box. Standard black paper box with a film on top. I know, I know..for £48, it should have came in a metal box, but I forgive Suqqu for that oversight :p

Sorry you can't really see the lettering from my photo, but in real life it's just as hard to read.

 

 

Firmly packed and beautifully tapered

 

Dior (left) vs. Suqqu (right)

So it really boils down too one question. How important are brushes for you? For me, they are extremely important. I know no matter how much I bang on about how soft these brushes are, there will be some who really don't care as long as they are saving money.  I totally get that. This was one of my 2 Christmas gifts to myself, and I just couldn't be happier.  £48 is quite a bit, I will be the first to admit that, but let me tell you one last thing about this brush that might make that price sticker not so painful.  When I applied my eyeshadow on my lid, I could not feel the brush.  It was astonishing. The softness and lightness of the brush was so weightless that I didn't think any eyeshadow applied, but it did.  For that reason alone, Suqqu has now kicked all the other brush's behinds and made it to my #1 favorite brush.  Now, how am I going to get £168 to buy the face brush? Should I sell a kidney? lol.

Do you own any Suqqu brushes? Love it? Hate it? Let me know below.

You can buy yours at Selfridges (they moved into the main beauty hall, so they are easy to find now and connected with Kanebo) or online at Selfridges.

Mavala Nail Polish in Orion and Capella

For all you flake lovers out there, embrace yourself.

Many months ago, a friend put Agena on her wishlist and while searching high and low, an angel on ebay sold it to me.  I soon then found out that Agena was not alone. Meet her sisters, Orion and Capella.  Both flakies, both gorgeous and both underappreciated.

I bought enough Orion and Capella to give to every single Nail polish friend of mine. They are just little bottles of jewel :)

OPI SkyFall The Bondettes mini nail polish Set

I've had a cold all week long and everything has been getting on my last nerve.  Thank god for pretty things :)

A fabulous friend gifted me with the new OPI Skyfall "The Bondettes" nail polish set.

The world is not enough

Goldeneye

The spy who loved me

Live and Let Die

 My favourite of this entire collection has to be a toss up between The Spy Who Loved Me and GoldenEye.  I have to say that out of all the holiday collection this year, OPI has won my heart.

What's your favourite?