Top Ranked Japanese Products

I was searching the net to see where i can purchase my current obsession: Lux Super Shine Rich shampoo and conditioner, when i chanced upon this!

This was featured in PopSister September 2011 edition, and i realize i'm not the only one crazy about Lux haircare.It is the number one hair care brand in Japan based on repurchase rate.

I can't believe i am so slow to discover this though.

Well, better late than never. Have a look.

Top ranked facial cleansers
1) Biore Marshmallow Whip (It's out in Singapore, but not in Malaysia yet and the drawing point is purportedly the tiny particles of foam it produces so it cleans deeper? Go figure.. number 1 in Japan anyway)
2) Biore Facial Foam
3) Lush Kindness of Angel (天使の優しさ)- This is a Japan limited edition. Heck we don't even have Lush in Malaysia yet, but since it's in Singapore already, probably wont be long now)

Top ranked face toners/lotion
1) Hada labo Japan Gokujyun Hyaluronic emulsion and lotion (I've tried this before but it only succeeded in making me break out, and tiring nights slapping my face- those who've tried it will know what i mean). Since I've got a whole bottle that was barely used to i tried using it on other body parts (like my dried out cuticles and shins) and by golly it really locks up a lot of moisture!
2) Sana Nameraka Soy Bean milk lotion and whitening milk moisture toner (i think i saw it at Watson's somewhere-tempted to buy but i've got so many stuff i'm putting on my face already- so how?
3) Orbis Aqua face lotion and moisture (Not even a whisper of this in retail markets yet)

Top ranked face masks 
(I really have no comment about these cause I don't really use masks save for the MyBeautyDiary ones given to me: Thanks ChauPei!)

1) Pure smile essence mask
2) Missha pure source sheet mask
3) Skinfood black sugar mask

Top ranked body cream/lotion
I really hate the feeling of sticky body cream on me so i'm not a fan of body creams either. Perhaps these are exceptions?

1) Body Shop Pink Grapefruit body butter
2) Nivea happy time body milk
3) Johnson's body care creamy

Top ranked hair care products
1) LUX Super Rich Shine shampoo + conditioner (The product that started this whole post. I still can't find a place that sells this in Malaysia though)
2) Pantene Extra damage care shampoo + conditioner
3) Shiseido Tsubaki shining shampoo + conditioner (At least this is available at Watsons. Will have to try this too)

Top ranked beauty gadgets/skincare devices
1) Panasonic steamer NANO care EH-SA60
2) Panasonic hairdryer NANO care EH-NA93
3) Estenad skincare

Okay now, on to the make-up items.

Top ranked foundation
1) RMK Liquid Foundation
2) KATE mineral liquid foundation
3) Coffret D'or silky fit powder
(I've never tried any of these! Any good?)

Top ranked eyelashes
1) Dolly Wink #1 Dolly Sweet *awesome!*
2) Diamond Lash Fairy Eyes
3) Daiso Lashes (can't see from the picture which eyelash they're referring too, cos there are so many types in Daiso- and not all of them are great)

Top ranked eyeshadows
1) KATE Gradical Eyes BR-1
2) Dolly Wink Eyeshadow No.1
3) Majolica Majorca BR355

Top ranked blushers
1) Canmake cream cheek no.8 (I have this in another colour-soft and slightly creamy blush turns powdery on application.Though i feel application with fingers is a great way to spread microorganisms on your face-since I'm in microbiology now- super paranoid)
2) Candy Doll cheek color (strawberry pink)

Top ranked mascara
1) Maybelline volume express magnum waterproof
2) Majolica Majorca lash expander frame plus
3) Dolly Wink volume mascara
(We rave about Japanese mascaras so much and the top ranked brand is Maybelinne?-Feels cheated)

Top ranked eyeliner
1) Loveliner brown liquid eyeliner
2) Dolly wink liquid eyeliner
3) Maybelline Eye studio creamy gel liner

Top ranked lipstick
1) MAC lipstick in siss
2) Candy Doll lipstick (ramune pink)
3) Maybelline water shiny milky RD606 (I can never find the exact shade here!)

Top ranked lipgloss
1) Candy Doll lipgloss (macaroon pink)
2) Majolica Majorca honey plump gloss (NEO PK144)
3) Melliesh lipgloss (06 candy pink)

And that's it! A whole new lot of products for you to look out for and buy! I'm not too sure if that's a good thing or not for the pocket, but definitely something to look out for when shopping, especially since Chinese New Year is just 2 weeks away!

Credits: Hudie

Beautiful deception

Further proof that there are no ugly girls in this world only lazy ones.

I really do not understand how anyone can possibly be 'ugly' in a world where beauty products are so advanced and innovative it can rival NASA.

For the guys, take a look and weep. Not all hot girls are pretty girls ok?

Bridal make up artist ( The difference between a high-end and medium-end MUA)

What a mouthful of a blog post.

Sorry but that's exactly what this post is about. Seriously there are so many makeup artists (MUA) around these days with so many different prices and styles, it's really hard to find the 'perfect' one unless you really do go and have a trial done with each and everyone of them.What most brides do, is get a few recommendations, go for trial and choose the one which suits her best.

However, being a bride working in Slim River and working on-calls quite frequently, who has time for all that hassle?? What i did was get a recommendation , research on the forums and then just stick to it.

Of course, i could not find anything about make-up artists in JB, cos many of them don't have blogs and neither are there much information about them on forums (English ones anyway). But KL make-up artists are a savvy lot. They have websites, FB profiles , glowing reviews and horror stories up on the forums.Definitely a bride could do much research on the net. However, pictures do lie so a recommendation is always your best bet.

So, having had gone through 3 make up artists (one free with bridal shoot , one famous one from KL who was recommended by a friend and has glowing reviews on forums, and the MUA from JB was one who made up all my friends during their weddings).

Of course price range was also different. I do not want to 'spoil market' or anything but the price for my KL MUA was slightly less than double the price i paid for my JB MUA.

The MUA i got from Keep Gallery for my pre-wedding photoshoot was needless to say included in the package. My mistake was not insisting on choosing a make-up artist that was recommended by the forums. In fact, i did not choose at all as the sales assistant at KG insisted that all the make up artists were VERY professional and will assign the MUA based on the photographer. I thought that was odd but did not bother arguing.. Big mistake.

This is what happened.

Okay not fair i was making a face. 

This was the nicest picture i could find.

If you want to see the ugliest picture click here cos it pains me to put it up again.

Two layers of fake lashes, 'garang' eye brows and over the top eye make-up!

Bad mistake. I did tell her the make up was a tad... heavy, but she insisted that make up for photo shoots HAVE to be heavy!After chatting with my KL MUA i realized it was a big fat lie.

So what my pre-wedding MUA achieved was, obliterated all my features in one sweep by dolloping a humongous amount of foundation on my face and then for good measure decided to add on 2-3 layers of foundation on top of that.From those first few strokes, i did not look like me anymore. Being a MUA virgin then, i thought this must be how it's like. Maybe my features are not compatible with make up. Running though my mind was 'How will i face people on the actual day itself looking like this?'

Bleh.. even now i shudder at the thought of my transvestite-like self in a wedding gown parading around various parts of KL having my photo taken.Worse still, some ang moh guy had photographic evidence of it (read here) and is probably saying to hi friends back home, "... and this is how brides look like in Malaysia. Ghastly!" (assuming of course that he is Brit and speaks in Enid Blyton English.)

Thankfully the photos turned out all right. But certainly i looked unlike myself.Too much make up was the key word.

Thankfully my make-up in JB was not as horrendous but oh the stress that this make-up artist put me through!

Because i've seen her work on many of my friends, this JB make up artist- let's just call her Annie, seemed to be a really good choice. And her asking price for a whole day make-up and hair plus staying back for the second outfit change was only a middlish 3 figure sum. She was an obvious choice since i did not know any other make up artists in JB anyway. So i booked her- a freaking 6 months before hand.

So 2 months before my wedding i sent her a simple sms reminder- which yielded no reply. I then called her only to get this response:

'Oh.. you are Mei May's friend right?" (at least she remembered)"Um.. would you mind if i ask my colleague May to do the make up for you? i might be going overseas ler."

OMG. Of course i mind. I didn't book you 6 months in advance only to have you pull out 2 months ahead. And she did not even have the decency to contact me first!

Tried to find another MUA but 2 months before my wedding many of them had already been booked. And those attached to the bridal houses could not come over to the lunch venue. I had to go over to their shop!

So what to do. I accepted May with the promise that she would come and do trial make up for me beforehand.

But then.. 3 weeks before my wedding Annie suddenly says she will be available after all.So she will be doing make up for the lunch plus a stay back for the second walk in while May will do my morning make-up. Okay whatever , by that time i was so just wanting to get over with the whole wedding planning thing. And of course May did not turn up for the trial make up. I just had to trust whatever make-up style and skills she had.

And these are the results.

Morning make-up by May.

By the way love my JB photographer. Go see his work here.

May was okay. She didn't do anything outlandish. Make -up ran a bit and hair was a bit messy but i was pretty satisfied with the results.

Then for the afternoon lunch, i had Annie as my MUA.

Gorgeous photography and make-up was at least natural. She did ask my opinion first before putting on the fringe hair piece and i was game to experiment.

However was a bit bummed she did not change my hairstyle or make-up for me for the second march-in which was essentially the whole purpose of her staying back right? But nooo.. she just parted the fake fringe a bit, added a big purple bow, helped me get into my dress and that was it!

Bummer.. i was getting sick of that fake fringe and wanted it off! But of course she was hungry and wanted to leave FAST. Cheh.. and it did not help my make up had been on since 6 am in the morning. For the Lunch Annie came late! No wonder she asked me not to remove the make-up May did for me in the morning. Sh said that she had her ways. Should have known better. May told me i should remove the make-up cos the lunch would be a whole kind of make up look.

Anyway since Annie said not to remove the morning make up , i being the obedient bride heeded her instructions. So Annie basically just did some touch up and changed some eye make-up. The result of that and the fact that they used brandless make-up? OXIDATION!! Luckily my photographer was so good with playing with lighting, it did not show in any of my official pictures. But you could see clearly from my friends digital camera pics that my face was turning an ugly shade of grey!! So you do pay for what you get.

Now on to my KL wedding with Remy Ngan.

By far the best! Attentive, punctual, professional and most importantly a naturally talented artist!Sorry for gushing but she really is all that. I did not have a trial make-up with her as i was really busy and tired after the JB wedding. Furthermore since she is the more 'famous' make-up artist she had to be better than my JB make-up artist. And my JB make-up though using less than stellar make-up products did manage to make me feel pretty. I'm not fussy.

And i didn't need the trial anyway. She knew exactly what to do with my hair and make-up. She took one look at me and told me what king of person she envisioned me to be and how she would make me up to look as natural as possible. The point when i totally connected with her was when she told me : 'Why did you pre-wedding make up artist make you look so old? ' She sees what i see. I need less heavy make-up!

This is me before make up.

She is totally painting me like i'm a piece of art.

And I'm loving it. I just knew there was something different about her.

And these are the results.

I specifically requested for flowers 'cos i love the flower-in-hair look.

 Natural make-up to hide my imperfections and unconventional facial features, beautiful yet simple  hairdo, what more can a bride ask for? It almost looks effortless.It helped so much that she had a great eye of aesthetics in general. She picked up straight away that my evening gown needed major ironing (Thanks Yeng Wen and Yung2!) and she helped me look better in my wedding gown. I can't tell you how but don't you think i filled this gown so much better than my JB ones? She even prepared a 'care pack' of q-tips and a straw for me to use throughout the day.Thoughtful and experienced or what?

And i so do love my dinner hairdo.I think this is the very first time in my life that i actually looked elegant!

I don't really know how she did it. But i remember her using her fingers, minimal bobby pins and minimal hairspray too.It was actually already really nice without the flowers but yeah i sort of insisted i wanted flowers! And these posies were fresh of my bouquet. On hindsight she was spot on that i didn't need the roses, but still with the roses it wasn't a total mess either.

And the front part of the hair did not bother me at all. It stayed in place quite well the whole night!

I would say money well spent! 

I wish i had her for JB. The make-up products she used were a mix of high end and medium range brands. She has though a penchant for Japanese based cosmetics some of which are not even available in Malaysia.I had a peek and saw Paul & Joe, MAC and Canmake among others. She also used a Beautymaker product to prep my skin before make -up.

Thanks Remy!!

 So yup, that is the difference a make-up artist makes to a bride. So girls do your research and find someone who really suits you cos looking good gives you the confidence to thoroughly enjoy your day without feeling self conscious about donning a can-can and over the top gown and lots of make-up.

PS. I'm not affiliate to Remy in any way but i am a fan.

Tears, fears and cheers

That basically sums up how my day went. After a blissfully uneventful 1st passive call ( in charge of children 1mnth-12 years) i went to work today (SUNDAY wtf)with optimistic hope that the rounds and work would be done by 1 so that i can have lunch and go for my... wait for it.. first relearning driving lesson.(My driving sucks~ i need to improve)

The MO came at 9 am which was fine and finished up the rounds rather quickly. We were left with practically nothing to do and we just sat at the counter wondering when the specialist will come and do rounds since she is notorious for coming late for rounds. Needs to prepare breakfast and lunch for her kids it seems. BAh~ by 12.30pm i was really on the brink of just leaving the ward since 2 of my colleagues were on-call in that ward and there wasn't much to do anyway.And one of my colleagues had already left at 12pm.

So i called JH to come pick me up. Just as i was walking to the entrance of the ward.. who was to appear but the housewifely specialist.. grr.. We hoped she would do a quick round since the MO had already covered the whole ward. But yet again it was not to be.She did a full round!And worse thing was before i could call JH he had already reached the hospital. Needless to say he was really p***ed.

After a tiresome round i had to find my own way back and reached home at 2.30pm whereby i was just too tired and lazy to eat. Just took a can of tuna and tucked in ala FAnn Wong in 'reaching for the stars'. I was so stressed up that half my day was gone tears just trickled down my cheeks.I guess it was a stress buster of sorts.JH was really nice and went to get me some real food. I guess tears play a part too.

But then just as he went out Encik Mansur came, the driving instructor. By that time i lost some of the nerves of driving manual cos i just wanted to get it over with. Surprisingly i did not 'mati enjin' at all and sort of remembered how to drive manual.The skill was like in my 10th driving lesson when i just started learning. And it helps that he was so calm and patient.I practically drove around the whole of Ipoh.. to old town, Tambun, Bercham, Fairpark, The airport (which i realize is functioning but only flies to Indonesia.. sien)..wa covered everywhere i've been to in Ipoh.

But admittedly i still have fears of changing lanes and getting too close to other vehicles plus i dun look at mirrors enough when i turn.Next lesson will be using my car.He he he ..

And to end the day on a sweet note we went to watch Igor which was ok pretty funny.A movie to laugh too whoo pee..So now i'm relaxed and ready for the challenges of tomorrow in 6c (jaundice ward!!! neonates!!) which is pretty ok if only the MO's there we'rent so JUMPY. I've got this MO who over reacts to everything.

Oh, and i've been meaning to show all my new beauty purchases..
I've discovered Bloom sheer colour cream! My God u can use it on ur cheeks and lips and even on your eye lids. I think that's a bit much so i just use it on the cheeks (gives me a rosy glow) and lips. I'd say its a beauty must have!



Plus i also bought the BLOOM lip plump.To obviously plump up my lips. I'd say it looks like a really nice gloss but if u ask me if there is any plumping effect? Err.. so far not much.

But it has a good moisturizing effect so no regrets buying either.Plus i got a free gift with purchase..

An aromatherapy lip balm which i have yet to use. I think i'll just give it to someone since i've got the lip plump anyway.Anyone needs some lip balm??

Oh and i also bought some masks and BB cream which i'm really pleased with~ I'll put it up on the next post. I work everyday but still its strangely ok~