A Comparison: MAC Mineralize Satinfinish vs. MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation

Today, I bought a MAC Mineralize Satinfinish foundation in NC42 (my shade) hoping it would be a great base for my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, but I am not liking it that much. I have reasons why....

The Packaging:

Pros: The pump bottle. It's easier to use.

 

Now, a comparison between my favorite Studio Fix Fluid and Mineralize Satinfinish:

Excuse my dry hand, just finished washing the dishes ;)

What can you see in the above picture? 

Two totally different "finish", of course. I never read the description of Mineralize Satinfinish. I just went straight to the store and bought it. You know when you like something, you just tend to ignore all the labels and go for it? Just like dating! :) 

And oh, Mineralize Satinfinish NC42 is darker than Studio Fix NC42.

What is MAC Mineralize Satinfinish?

Taken from Maccosmetics.com:

"A fluid foundation that blends the natural light-reflecting properties of micro-minerals with a smooth satin finish. Provides a low-to-medium buildable coverage with a slightly luminous look. Contains antioxidants vitamins C and E. Provides everyday SPF 15 sun protection. Long-wearing. Suitable for normal-dry skins."

The description is perfect. It wasn't the product. It was me. The word "Mineral" made me buy this foundation. I never read the description in the first place. I bought this Mineralize Satinfinish simply because I love my Mineralize Skinfinish powder. I thought the "finish" would be similar, but those two items are not even comparable. 

 The Mineralize powder doesn't even have tiny particles that make me "glow". I felt like one of the Cullen clan when I had Mineralize Satinfinish foundation on my face. Ha! Ha! I hated it! I felt so..shiny, even after I set it with a powder. Oh well. 

I wish the Mineralize Satinfinish were like Studio Fix foundation. Absorbs and disperses oil, with a natural matte finish. I really love Studio Fix. It gives me a perfect coverage. Mineralize Satinfinish is for normal-dry skin, and my skin is oily and acne prone. Of course it makes me even shinier as it provides moisture. Note: I hate oily T-Zone!

Mineralize Satinfinish foundation might be perfect for you if your skin is dry, and if you are looking for a sheen or dewy look. Also, this kind of finish is suitable for night events: club and party. I looked horrible in a natural sunlight. So unnatural. I don't like shiny or sparkly face unless I am Alice Cullen. ;) My foundation has to be matte-finish & oil absorbing...so I am returning this tomorrow.

X.O.X.O

Rinz

New Purchase: NARS Orgasm Laguna Duo

Happy Saturday Lovelies,


I finally found NARS Orgasm Laguna Duo after weeks looking for it! Yes, it was sold out at Sephora Sherman Oaks, Glendale and Santa Monica. Luckily, I saw this Duo at Sephora Woodland Hills today so I grabbed and paid for it! Yay for me. They had only four left.  I was so happy. I should have bought from Sephora.com but, I'd rather walk into the store and play with those makeup!


Well, this is my third purchase. I love NARS Orgasm Laguna Duo. The colors are pretty and very natural even if you put a lot of "Orgasm" on your face. :)

"Nars' Orgasm Blush (subtly peachy-pink shimmer) and Laguna Bronzer (sheer light brown shimmer)"

On Sephora website, it says that this item is limited edition, but I've been buying this since 2008! Go figure. However, I was having a hard time finding it at stand alone Sephora store, so I guess it is a limited edition then.

Isn't this gorgeous?? I will keep on buying this!

Nars blushes are all pretty! I wish I could buy them all. I was also eyeing Nars Angelica and Laguna Duo set, but the hot pink color scares me a bit. I might go back and check if that color would suit my skin tone. I was in rush today, I did not get a chance to try. Oh well. Later then. :)

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Be safe!

X.O.X.O

Rinz

Samy Fat Foam Permanent Hair Color in Light Golden Brown

I finally re-colored my hair. Yay! It was about time anyway. My hair was dull and dark, and I couldn't stand looking at the root so I went to WalMart last Sunday and got myself a Samy Fat Foam.
Why Samy, and not L'Oreal or Revlon ( Note: I always use these 2 brands only) ?
Well, I wanted to try this new brand since I have heard a lot of positive feedback from several friends of mine. Besides, trying a new thing is always exciting! :)

The Packaging:

 ...and do you want to know what it says on the back of the box? 

Revolutionary Permanent Foam Color Technology From the Foam Color Experts! New Foam Technology. No-Mistake Hand Application.

 What's Inside:

 Bottle (it looks like a shake bottle!), Base Solution, Color Powder, Gloves, Instruction, Shampoo & Conditioner.

Color Guide:

 My hair was Medium Brown to Dark Brown.

Result from Samy Fat Foam in Light Golden Brown:

Well, I wish the color was a tad lighter, of course. I guess it could only happen if I bleached my hair first, but I don't dare to strip my own hair. It has to be done at a professional salon. :)

Well, for a DIY Hair Color, I think it's not bad at all. The application was easy, and not messy. All I did was mix the base and the powder into the bottle, and shake it for 30 seconds. When I opened the bottle, the white foam was overflowing! It was pretty to look at actually. So I just applied the foam all over my hair, and left it for 30 minutes for the color to develop. 30 L.O.N.G minutes and I hated the smell of the ammonium sulfate! Then when the time was up, I washed and rinsed with their shampoo and conditioner which smell pretty good by the way. The result is the picture above.

Will I buy Samy Fat Foam again? Maybe. Because it is so easy to apply! No mess, no drip. However, the not so good thing is that they do not have a wide selection of colors. I wanted a bronzey-honey like color, but unfortunately they don't have that. They only have a basic selection of black, dark or light brown, and dark or light blonde colors. Well, at least I tried you know. I still prefer L'Oreal because the brand carries all kind of colors, for all kind of skin tones.

Dear Samy, if you read this, please take a note that girls love colors! Just saying!

X.O.X.O

Rinz

My Summer Haul :)

I love summer! It's the most fun season to shop where I can wear pretty, bold colors, and go as short as I want without feeling weird or awkward about it. :) I haven't shopped yet since I've been busy, but I would like to get started soon! So far, I've only browsed several stores and I found these following items are worth buying.

Shoes: Aldo

I love nude or light brown color. I think it looks gorgeous on a tanned skin. I am looking into buying some wedges or espadrilles since they are perfect for summer. This one below is over 4 inches high (my kinda heels) and the material is made of leather, except the wedge part of course. Don't you guys think it's cute? Price: $100.00. 

Jeans: Misty Boot Cuts by Pink Ice.

All my denims are by True Religion just because I love their twisted inseam. My favorite is Joey, of course. :) The jeans fit me so right that I wouldn't want to buy anything else but a TR, and I've been wearing the brand since 2004! However, since I've already own a lot of pairs, I think I should move on, and try other brands. Besides, it's a lot cheaper for my wallet too, which is a plus! :)

Well, back to this Misty Boot Cuts jeans by Pink Ice, I personally find that the ripped or destroyed style is quite sexy! And I also love the obvious crinkled design. Price: $37.99. I might end up going to the store this weekend, and get one for myself just for this summer.

Dress: Asymmetric Peacock Dress by BEBE

Gorgeous, enough said! This style reminds me of Erin Silver (Jessica Stroup) from CWTV Show, 90210. Oh wait, there's a Bebe for 90210, right? Well, this dress is not from the collection though I think it should belong there. :) The price is $98, and it's polyester. Love the print and cut!

Dress: Flower Print Cutout Back Dress by Arden B

I love the bold print, and its slinky style. Those who know me on a personal level would know that I love a cutout back, and a tight fitting dress. I think this dress is gorgeous, and the model has a similar coloring/skin tone as mine, so I think I am going to get this one! Price: $69.00.

 

Is there anything else that I should add to my shoppinh list besides dresses, jeans and shoes? 

X.O.X.O

Rinz

My Laser Hair Removal Experience :)

Women would do anything in the name of beauty, am I right? Going hairless is not something new. I can't complain much because I literally don't have much hair on my body. But still, hair is hair. No matter how thin the hair is, I would get rid of it anyway. I prefer waxing than shaving. Though the waxing process can be quite painful, especially if you wax the underarms areas, it's still better than using a razor. Shaving creates more hair, "shadow" and will eventually darken the areas, not to mention the ingrown hair problems. So the less we shave, the better.

I know I've been wanting to try laser hair removal for so long, but I was scared! So one day I woke up and told myself: "I am done with waxing, and I am going to get the laser treatment instead!". That was about 3 hours before my waxing appointment with a local salon. I canceled the appointment and found myself a good introductory price for a laser hair removal on Groupons. :) YAY for Groupons! If I liked the treatment, I would be charged at a normal price once I used up the Groupon, which I don't mind at all. I call this a "beauty investment". :)

So I called up Royal Laser Med Spa in Pasadena to make an appointment (which was yesterday) and the lady who answered the phone, her name is Ashley by the way, was very nice and made me feel less anxious about the word "laser".  Ha!Ha! Well, yesterday's appointment went quite well. The treatment felt like a a series of rubber band snaps, which was a bit painful. Ouch! I wasn't used to it. So the nurse had to reduce the power a bit so I could tolerate it. Overall, I did not get any blister, and it actually hurt a little which I am not going to lie, but not that bad. The whole process took less than 10 minutes. I was told that it would take up to 7-8 treatments for me to see the result. That would be more "pain" to look forward to, and over $500 to spend, oh well, but I am already excited for my next session!

So, have you guys had a laser hair treatment before? I bet some of you have tried it. :) Tell me which area, and your experience...that if you don't mind to share! I would like to know.

X.O.X.O

Rinz

Summer color!

I am finally in the mood of wearing pink color since the weather has warmed up a little. Yay! Black and french can be a bit boring; therefore, I am done with those two. :) I just need something fresh and cute at the moment so I went to CVS this morning and bought this Sweet Nothing nail polish by Nina Ultra Pro. To be honest, I have never heard of this brand before, and of course I was wondering about the quality. But now that I have tried Nina, I actually really like it! The color is gorgeous, a lavender-pink, the texture is smooth, and the brush is not flimsy. The result? Beautiful, smooth manicure. :) I am so happy with the purchase! So, if you haven't tried this brand yet, I suggest you should check it out. It is available at CVS for only $4.50 (the price I bought). Here are the pictures and Happy Saturday everyone!

.....and oh, I would love to get my hands on these 2 colors from O.P.I Pirate of the Caribbean collection: 

Steady as She Rose Nail Polish with Black Shatter

Has anyone tried this yet?

Thursday Treat!

Happy Thursday!

I am about leave the house to get some Dots Cupcake from Pasadena, California because I am craving for something sweet and delicious! Besides, tomorrow is Friday so I let myself go a little. No workout, it's time to pig out! My mantra ;). Dots has so many flavors to choose from. This is their menu (YUM!). Just in case you don't have Dots nearby, you can always check out your local cupcakes bakeries and compare their menus. Who knows, they might bake similar goodies! Honestly, this will be my first visit and I am kinda excited. I normally get my cupcakes from Sprinkles Beverly Hills, but today I would like to try a new stuff! I am a Taurus, I don't do well with change....so I might stick to what I know like Cookies and Cream, Tiramisu or Red Velvet even though I am going to buy from a new place! Ha! Ha! Have a fabulous Thursday everyone!

X.O.X.O

Rinz

Courtesy: Dots Cupcakes

Aren't they beautiful?!

My Vegas Birthday Celebration. ( Pics Heavy )

Hello Lovelies!


I was away for 3 days last weekend to celebrate my birthday and I would like to share some pictures with my readers. :). To be honest, it was a surprised celebration, arranged by my lovely boyfriend. I did not even know he would be taking me to Las Vegas. I did not even plan anything, just like every year. I hate celebrating my own birthday because I hate getting older! Ha! Ha! How vain! I love parties, and I don't mind celebrating birthday parties of others, but not my birthday. I'd rather spend quality times with close friends and loved ones at a small restaurant. That's it!


So my boyfriend packed my bag (I am surprised he knew what to put in that small luggage!), without me knowing anything about it. I asked him 2 days before my birthday, "...so are we having French or Italian?". He said, "Just take a half day off, a day before your birthday, let's have an early dinner". I agreed to it. When I got home at 12 p.m on Friday, he called and asked me to get ready because he was on his way to pick me up. Well, he said he was going to take me to somewhere special. So when he arrived, he took out my luggage from my closet (I should have known!) and I saw everything was packed, ready to go! He asked me if I had anything missing that I would like to take with me because we won't be home for days. I was ecstatic, of course! Well, my make up bag - that was all that missing! He had already packed my curling and flat irons with some hair sprays! He was darn good! :) So he drove for 3 hours, and I still couldn't figure out where he was taking me...not until I saw lots "Las Vegas" signs on a freeway. I immediately asked, "are you taking me to Vegas?! Are you serious?". He nodded. That was it! I couldn't even take a nap in a car because I was so excited! I even changed my nail polish to black on our way to Vegas! ;) When we arrived at The Strip, he drove into The Venetian hotel parking lot, got the luggage and checked in! I actually felt very happy but, at the same time I hate knowing that he spent over $350 per night for a luxury room. =/ I can be cheap like that! He told me that this was my birthday weekend and I deserved it. We checked in pretty late around 9.00 p.m., due to heavy traffic on our way to Vegas. He asked me to get ready immediately because he had some VIP reservations for us. He didn't even tell me where we were heading, and I really didn't care. I somehow knew that I would be taken to a club, and not to a restaurant! Ha! Ha! Who eat at 10 p.m, right? I love dancing, and I could just dance, and dance the night away. Well, enough of the story, let me just share some pictures from my birthday weekend. PS: All pictures were taken with my iPhone camera. I forgot to bring a regular camera with me =/

....Friday Night: 2 hours away from my official birthday. The dress that he bought me a year ago, and I only wore it once! So this dress got to see the light again! :)

The Hair and Makeup...as usual! Kinda simple because I was in a hurry!

You can tell I was excited! :) The lipstick was Blankety. The Eyeshadows were Black Tied and Cork by MAC.

....So he took me to Rain Club at The Palms Hotel & Casino.  It was packed!

....and at 2.00 P.M, he dragged me to The Playboy club, (all about gambling, so we left) and later went to the Moon. Having a VIP All Access allowed us to go back and forth to any club within The Palms Hotel.

....We were escorted into elevator and to the upper floor.

When I stepped out, I could see the main building from the glass window! Gorgeous view!

And of course it was packed. LOL. Below: Picture of A-Go-Go dancer from far.

Then it was 4 a.m., and I was really tired from dancing. AND it was officially my birthday!

So we headed back to the Venetian and stopped by at the Grand Lux Cafe. I needed my coffee and some food, and of course back to the hotel since I couldn't even walk! I slept for 2,3 hours and got up and headed to Tao Beach Pool Party. Nope, I won't be sharing those pictures. ;)

...and the shoes I wore for clubbing? 5 inches! I love those nude color shoes by the way.

...and on the night of my birthday, there was another surprise from my boyfriend! He told me I had a choice to either celebrate my birthday at the Pure Caesar's Palace or at an unknown club which he won't tell me at first.... I know Pure is great but I would like to go to this "unknown" club...just because...

And oh, he also got me this pretty little dress for my birthday night :) You will see it later..

On my birthday night, I did my hair and makeup differently. I had a side swept and more bouncy hair!

.....Well, my boyfriend told me that he would be taking me to XS at the Encore! It's supposedly the most popular club in Las Vegas because it's super gorgeous, hard to get in, and it is located inside a 5 stars Hotel: Encore. He surprised me with a VIP Service, again. We arrived quite early,around 9.15 p.m., and we saw massive crowds waiting in the guest line to get into the club! It's by the hundreds! We didn't have to be worried because we had a separate entrance, and we were the first to arrive at the VIP section. Ha!Ha! I guess other VIP guests did not really care to be there that early since they didn't have to wait in line and their tables were reserved. I felt quite special that night. I wish everyday would be like this! Life would be beautiful. :) And at 9.30 p.m, we were escorted to our table!

The club was pretty empty still because the Front Guys were still checking the guests' ID, etc. etc., and it was such a huge line so it would take a while! In a mean time, we were roaming around the club. It took about an hour before the club were filled with party people.

 Beautiful, isn't it?? And oh, this A-Go-Go Dancer posed for me! LOL. I thought she was cute, and I started to snap some pictures of her. I guess she realized it, and began to strike a pose!

Some pictures from the pool & cabana side. Yes, they open the whole pool area to accommodate more guests, which means more $ for them ;) 

 I was pretty tired and I had to soak my feet inside the jacuzzi! All because of the 5 inches heel!

Then, we went back inside. At 11 pm, the club was pretty much packed! It was hard to move around.

and this is moi! Standing and posing, the minute we stepped inside the club! :)

To My Love: Thank you for the most beautiful and fun birthday celebration I've ever had! From the beautiful Venetian suite to all first class treatments I received, and to the pretty silver dress I wore on April 30. :) I enjoyed every moment of it. I can't thank you enough for the things you've done to make me the happy.. yesterday, today and everyday. 


Oh wait, not done yet. ;) When we headed back to Los Angeles on May 1st, we had to stop by at the Malaysian restaurant to eat home made chow-mein! YUMM!!

How did you guys spend your weekend? I hope everyone had a splendid one!


X.O.X.O


Rinz