February Haul: Loopy About Lipsticks (Among Other Things)...

Helloooo everyoneee!

This month I discovered that Revlon has released their Colorburst Matte Balms and when I swatched them I was immediately hooked! And you know what? It started a whole obsession towards lip products as you will soon see.

I also did a bit of long-distance shopping. Nope, not online shopping but literally long-distance shopping. My sister went to KL for almost a week you see, so tu la ambil kesempatan minta beli brands yang tiada di sini. So without further ado, let's get to the haul shall we?

Tadaaaa!!!

First up is my KL haul. Initially I had asked my sister to get me Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. Unfortunately the Sephora she was at ran out of it and so I contented myself with my second choice, Strawberry Milk (Isn't that just the most delicious name?). I also made my sister swatch every shade available there (Jahat kan? Hehehe..) and fell in love with Rocky Mountain Green as well. Bayangkan, even from a long distance I could 'walk' into a store with one thing in mind and 'come out' buying more than I planned. Hahaha..

L-R: Strawberry Milk, Rocky Mountain Green.

L-R: Rocky Mountain Green, Strawberry Milk

Did you spot a Revlon product in there? Yup, it's the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Showy. Why on earth did I have to get it all the way from KL? It's because walaupun ada Watson di Keningau tapi malar abis stock. Tinggal tester jak  and everytime I go to Watsons and see the empty shelf, I'd swatch Showy and want it more than ever so in the end I had to enlist my sister's help to hunt this lippy down. Can you believe Watsons in KLCC pun habis stock?! Nasib di Guardian ada. Just goes to show how popular this shade is and why wouldn't it be? It's so gorgeous!

I love, love you Showy my dear..

Next up is an eye shadow set from Benefit. This is one of the 3 World Famous Neutrals palettes. Each palette contains 2 small pots of creaseless cream shadows and 4 powder shadows. The 3 palettes are Most Glamorous Nudes Ever, Most Sexiest Nudes Ever and Most Easiest Nudes Ever. Initially I had wanted the Most Glamorous Nudes Ever but upon closer inspection it kind of looks like the shades from the Naked Palette. Hence, I decided to go with the Most Sexiest Nudes Ever because I don't really have anything like the lilac and purple color with such finish in the palette. Ini pun after berabis meng-Google reviews on the products baru dapat decide while my sister awaits my answer. My sister is the best!

 T-B: Holy Smokes!, Bikini-Tini (Creaseless cream shadows)

L-R: Milk it, Pause For Applause, Raincheck?, Blingo! (Powder shadows)

And now for my 'local' haul at good ol' Watsons ('Cause that's the only place I could get my makeup fix in this town). As you can see, they are all lip products. I literally went loopy over lipsticks this time. Although it's a bit much but I LOVE them all (with 2 exceptions)! I have been wearing them on rotation every chance I get. In shaa Allah, I will be posting reviews on some of these products in the future. 

Here is the list from left to right: 

01. Maybelline ColorSensational Bold Matte in MAT6

02. Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede in Finale

03. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Shameless 

04. Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Audacious

05. ZA Pure Shine Lips in Apricot Nectar

L-R: MAT 6, Finale, Shameless, Audacious, Apricot Nectar

There you have it, my haul for February 2014. I apologize for the lack of quality in some of the photos. I have tried taking them during the different time in the day but they still come out blurry. At any rate I hope you still enjoyed this post. See you in the next one. Toodles!

Love, 

Phy

P/S: By the way, I have started posting clips of how I put on my makeup for the day on my Facebook Page (Phyllica Robert) so if you're interested to have a look at the them, do visit my page and give it a 'Like'. Thanks!

First Experiences: Driving On My Own...

Hello hello there,

Today marks the 8th day that I have been driving myself. It has only been 8 days yet macam2 sudah sy lalui. Drive dalam hujan, got caught in a jam, kena kejar dan kena maki sebab hampir terlanggar orang. Huish, gila eh.

Perasan kah tu hidong kembang semacam? Itu sebab bangga tahap gaban dapat drive sampai tempat kerja dengan selamat.

Memang dari dulu sy tidak berapa suka driving pun. I prefer to be the Datin in the front passenger, kena chauffer ke hulu ke hilir. With that being said however, I concede that there are benefits to being able to drive. Kalau habis kerja jak boleh terus pulang. Selain itu, boleh menjenayah pergi Watsons beli lipstick kalau ada urusan di kedai boleh pergi sendiri. How long or short your errands are all depends on you. It just gives a sense of freedom to me. Terus terang sy cakap, kalau bukan sebab drive sendiri pergi urus Streamyx, tidak tau la bila baru dapat register.

You know, I had always said that I am not suited to drive because I have a short temper. Lain orang yang driving, sy yang marah lebih2 bila orang lain overtake mengejut apa semua. Selalu sy ckp, "Hmph, kalau sy sudah lama sy hon lama2. This is why I shouldn't be driving, I'd become nasty". So far I have withheld myself from honking more than 3 times a day. Then again, it's still early. I'd just might pull Cruella de Vil antics on the road before my 28th birtday. Miahahaha!!

Drove to town on my 2nd day driving on my own... Siapa dapat teka apa bangunan ni?

Do you drive? How long did it take for you to become a pro at it? Any tips? Do share in the comments section below. Until the next post. Toodles!

Love,
Phy

P/S: Moga2 sy sentiasa dilindungi daripada mala petaka dan orang2 gila road bullies. In shaa Allah. Amin. 

Dainty Pearls: Hair Makeover, Another Sophie Milestone And My Latest Drama Series Obsession.

Hello hello..

Just want to do a Dainty Pearls updates for mid February 2014. If you don't know what a Dainty Pearls post is, click here to know more.

Sophie Can Eat Finger Foods By Herself
Actually, when she turned 16 months old, I had taught her feed herself finger foods. I used peas, raisins and cheese rolled into balls. She took it up immediately and did so for a few weeks. Then suddenly she regressed. She refused to pick up foods let alone put it into her mouth. Mau minta kena suap jak. Susah juga hati ni but a friend told me that it is quite normal and that I need to give it  time.

Every now and then I'd try to ask Sophie to take food from my palm to feed herself but she refused. Since she is coming to 2 years old, risau juga ni jadi like one of those kids yang kalau di playschool, independent tp kalau di rumah, mau makan pun kena suap (Nau'dzubillah minzallik)). Then on Tuesday baru2 ni, something told me to try again. I rolled some cheese into small bite-sized balls and she feed herself without much coaxing from me! Punya la sy senang hati! Hehe..

Streamyx
I had thinking about subscribing to Streamyx. A Telekom guy told me that the cheapest fee was RM120 and that really put a hold in my plans. Ya la, sy kan belum confirm. Nanti kalau la palis2 tidak kena confirm ni keja and then sudah subscribe to pay RM120 a month with a 1 year contract, mana mo cari duit untuk bayar? Sekali tengo rupanya the cheapest fee was actually RM60 for 384Mbps. Laaaaa... Rupanya. Minta kena pasut tu abang telekom tu bagi wrong info.

So I have decided to subscribe to the RM60 plan when I receive this month's pay. I am thinking of paying for 6 months upfront upon subscription and then pay RM100 every month until I've covered the payment for 1 year. In shaa Allah.

Once Upon A Time
I was late to jump on the bandwagon but man is it worth watching this drama series. I am obsessed! It's about Fairy Tale characters being real and the much-loved stories we know are actual histories. There are just so many life lessons to be learnt from it.

On the downside, by the 3rd season I was kind of weary of the 'True Love' and 'There is a harder but better way' litany but it is still tolerable. My favourite character has to be Rumplestiltskin. I really admire Robert Carlyle as he had to act 3 extremely different 'versions' of Rumple which is the coward, the Dark One and Mr Gold. Brilliant piece of acting if I may say so.

Photo Source

I love how you get a preview on what the episode is going to be about during the introduction. For example in the screenshot above you see a ship because the episode is about how Captain Hook became a pirate. Simple but oh-so-cool. (Photo Source)

If you haven't watched it, please do. You won't regret it I promise. I have 4 episodes left of season 3 and I am trying to drag it out a bit because the series is on mid-season break until March 2014. It's a good thing that I have other series to tide me over as I wait for the series to resume again.

Trying To Avoid Wastage
Earlier this week I discovered a L'Occitane skincare set that had expired in 2011 among my beauty items. Sayang betul oh. Such wastage is regretable and it prompted me to go through my beauty and makeup stash to separate the old and new products.

So far, I have only managed to separate my liquid and cream-based makeup items (I'm not so worried about powders because powders have a longer shelf-life). Skincare and body care products belum ada kesempatan lagi mo buat.

This week I have been using my old makeup products and switching them up every single day. Follow me on Instagram (@phylliciarobert) to see my picks everyday (Or every other day for that matter. Hehe..) as well as the looks I do with them. I don't do anything crazy as I use them for work but I will try to actually come up with something better and more creative soon in shaa Allah.

Hair Makeover
I am thinking of giving my hair a makeover. I am not sure what I am going to do though. I am considering the possibility of perming my whole head of hair as opposed to just a mid-length to ends type of perm that I usually do. Just curious on how I would look like with such crazy hair you know.

Something like this kind of curls. (Photo Source)

I am also thinking of dyeing my hair BUT I am a bit hesitant because I have never had a good experience with it. Adaaaaa saja masalah yang timbul. Terover bleach la, colour tidak masuk la.. Haih, pening tau asal dye rambut.

Isn't this caramel-brown color simply gorgeous? (Photo Source)

So what do you think? Should I just go for the hair colour and perm? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you have an awesome Sunday and I'll see you in the next post. Toodles!

Love,
Phy

Makeup Playdate: Semi-Dramatic Look For Work

Hello hello there..

I would like to share with you the look that I wore yesterday. I have been really into using coloured eyeliner on my waterline recently. I find that it is one of the many ways that I can incorporate colour into my makeup looks while still making it work-appropriate.

So here's my FOTD:





For the eyes, I did a cat-eye using khaki colored liquid liner. Eventhough the line is dramatic, the softer shade of khaki (as compared to black) helps to tone it down and make it wearable. I used the same color on my lower lashline and lined my waterline with a blue coloured pencil eyeliner. I merely wore a shimmery champagne cream shadow on my lids to keep the rest of the eye super simple.

On my face, I used a cream to powder foundation faker by Benefit. Next, I concealed my dark circles and redness with a liquid concealer and set it with a powder foundation.

Before I used the powder however, I dabbed a cheek and lip tint on the apple of my cheeks and blend the color towards the hairline.Then I used a powder blush over my cheeks. Using a cream blush or tint then setting it with a powder blush re-inforces the colour and helps the blush to last longer.

Last but not least, for my lips I start my moisturising my lips with a lip balm. Nothing heavy, a light swipe would do. I put on a dusty pink lip color then dabbed a peachy-gold coloured gloss lightly to the middle of my bottom and upper lips. This highlights and gives depth to my lips, making it look full.

Here is the list of products used:


Face
01. Benefit Some Kind-A Gorgeous foundation faker in Medium.
02. MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer in NW25
03. Make Up For Ever Powder Foundation (shade unknown)

Cheeks
01. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks in Powder Pink.
02. Bobbi Brown blush in Pale Pink.

Eyes
01. MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study
02. MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner in Desires & Devices.
03. The Body Shop Eye Definer in 10 Brilliant Blue.

Lips
01. Paul Frank Lip Smacker in Clancy's Cotton Candy.
02. Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon in Naked Pink.
03. The Body Shop Liquid Lip Colour in 10.

Would you wear a cat-eye to work? How do you usually do your makeup to work? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Toodles!


Love,
Phy

Phy Says: Would You Let Your Child Move To The City/Migrate Overseas?

Hi there...

One of my staff came to see me today and asked about his status within the company. After discussing the subject with him, I asked him a few questions and this was how our conversation went:

Me: It's hard to get a high paying job in this town. You're young and single, why don't you go to the city and find a job there?
Him: I can't. I am the only son in the family. My dad won't let me.
Me: Why? The only son should be the one to go out in the world and seek a job elsewhere.
Him: Every time I broached the subject with my dad, he would say,"If you go to the city, who will help me in the orchard? Who will go with me to mend the fence?"
Me: It's difficult when we don't have our parent's blessing to go elsewhere.
Him: Yeah.. He told me the only time he would agree for me to work outside of this town if I got a job in the Government.
Me: I see..

I hear a lot of similar stories like this, where the parents won't let their children venture out of their hometown to look for work inthe city or overseas. Here are some of the common reasons why:
01. They are genuinely concerned that their child(ren) might be negatively influenced by the city life.
02. They are worried what might happen to them if they get into a spot of trouble and their child(ren) are not around to help.

I can understand the parent's concerns and reasons but there are those who hold their children back from pursuing a career out of their hometown for purely selfish reasons. They want their children to be around them and close by. They don't care about what their children's feelings, hopes and dreams of pursuing a career that could very well improve their lives.

One example is this: A friend of mine wanted to go to Kuala Lumpur and try her luck working there. When she stated her intentions to her parents, they stomped on the idea (figuratively of course) immediately. They say that the cost of living is high, that she won't be able to save money, that it doesn't matter where you work yang penting boleh cari makan. When she decided to go anyways (tau la, cuba nasib kan), on the day before she departed, her mother talked about selling the land so that they (the parent)s will have money to send themselves to old folk's home since their daughter is 'abandoning' them.

This makes me really sad and angry. It's one thing to be concerned about your child's survival out there. It's quite another to guilt trip your child. That's just not right and believe it or not, I find that this kind of attitude is very common in parents.

Sometimes I would sit and ask myself, if Sophia murah rezeki and gets to study or work overseas like the United States or United Kingdom, would I stop her? I don't dare to say "No, I wouldn't" now because I don't know what the future might bring. Neither do I know how I will feel when that time comes. However, I really hope that I can be supportive of Sophie's decisions when it comes to her career and where she wants to work. Yang penting halal, mendatangkan kebaikan dan tidak membahayakan diri dia atau orang lain, in shaa Allah. Sebab kalau cakap pasal bad influences ni, di mana2 pun ada. Hatta di kampung pun ada pengaruh2 buruk. The only one who can truly protect anyone or anything is God.

I also hope that I will be able to make a life for myself so that I could be self sufficient and independent when I am old (kalau panjang umur in shaa Allah). This is so that I wouldn't have to depend on Sophia to make my life complete or to entertain me, causing her to be held back from pursuing her dreams should they lie elsewhere.

I am sure there are a lot of parents out there. What say you? Would you let your child(ren) venture out of your hometown/country to pursue their career or would you rather they stay close to you?


Love,
Phy

Wordless Wednesdays: 1 More Month To 2 Years Old