Here is the new address:
http://marycdiary.blogspot.co.uk
Sorry to be a pain.
Mary xxx
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Moving blog (well sort of...)
I have decided to use open a new blog strictly for beauty and food stuffs and keep this blog for random casual things such as vlogs or personal blogs.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Review - Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation
I bought this foundation around September last year as the weather was warm, and I fancy switching to a compact foundation from my usual liquid or mineral one, hoping it will have better staying power (i.e more longer lasting) and less messy touching up than liquid ones. Funny enough, initially when I went to the Bobbi Brown make up counter at John Lewis, I was actually looking for a lipstick (it's the colour Sandwash Pink, in case you're wondering), although I ended up buying the colour Soft Rosé instead, but that's another story for another day. I might do a review on that at another time.
I had bought 2 Bobbi Brown foundations in the past - one were the BB Moisture Rich Foundation in Sand 2.5, and the other one was the foundation stick, also in Sand 2.5, and had loved it as being an Asian, my complexion tend to lean toward more yellowy side which may be difficult to find in high street brands, although I noticed that more and more of the high street brands are now introducing more yellow/warm based foundations into the market, which is a bonus! Anyway, back to BB! However I did find the colour Sand slightly too yellow for my skin, so I asked the MA to help me select a more closer shade and was matched Beige 3. I specified that as I have a dry sensitive skin, I wanted something more moisturising and is in a compact form so I was recommended the Oil-Free Even Finish Compact Foundation, which I believe cost around £29.00.
The foundation is inside a black case that has a mirror and a sponge in a separate compartment which I like. At first I loved the foundation as the colour matched perfectly and the finish looked quite natural and is not noticeable. I would say the coverage is light to medium, not a full one for sure. I haven't used the sponge that comes with it yet, instead I used RealTechnique Stippling brush or any dual fibre Stippling brush to apply it. Unfortunately maybe because the foundation is quite moisturising, it really lack staying power. Even with a face primer and setting with translucent powder afterwards the foundation still rubbed off very easily. The fact that I got the habit of touching my face and always trying to pick off my hair that sticks to my face make the foundation last even less. That to me is the biggest disappointment, but I still use it occasionally when my skin is good and I only need small coverage to even out my skin tone, but for an all day long lasting makeup, this foundation is a big NO NO! Otherwise I would highly recommend it.
I am now trying the MAC face and body foundation and seem to be impressed with it. I will be going to somewhere hot and humid in July so hoping the MAC foundation can withstand the heat.
Let me know if you have used the Bobbi Brown oil free even finish compact foundation and what thoughts you have of it. You never know, I might have applied the foundation wrong!
M xx
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Mayonnaise Hair Mask
Using mayonnaise (the edible ones you put in salads) as a hair treatment is not new. If you type it in search engine you be guaranteed there are millions of posts and videos on how to use it, along with reviews and opinions on its effectiveness.
I've tried using it in the past before, in fact I first tried it more than 10 years ago when my hair didn't really need to use any treatments on it as it was already healthy enough, but being an adolescent, I spent most of my pocket money on face masks, face creams and hair treatments thinking its necessary in order to look pretty!
Anyway, I did use the mayonnaise for a short while, even managing to finished the medium size jar that I placed on my desk in the bedroom so no one will use it for eating, not because I'm selfish, but because it has been contaminated by my not-too-sure-if it's-clean fingers scooping out the products to rub into my hair, hence don't want to poison my dear family. I did alternate it sometime with just rubbing eggs on my hair, but I found the smell of the mayonnaise more bearable than the raw eggs.
Back then I didn't noticed much difference in my hair (maybe because it wasn't even damaged in the first place), but looking back at the photos of me taken around that time, I noticed that my hair very glossy and shiny. Funny enough I never continued with the treatment for long, the likely reason will probably be I got sucked into believing the high-end brands hair treatment are way better (and thinking back, are 100x more pricier) than a jar of mayonnaise or egg treatments.
Fast forward to present day, I've started to incorporate more "natural" products in my everyday life because my health has deteriorate badly for the past few years, mainly my skin and many people believed that commercial/synthetic chemicals are to be blamed and swears by natural products in improving their health. I got diagnosed to have autoimmune disease few years ago and it has made my skin very itchy and dry. I saw many doctors, both through NHS and private, even went as far as going to Hong Kong to see those Chinese doctors, but nothing helped. I got given steroid creams and steroid tablets that totally ruined my body and made me gained more than 2 stones, going up 2 dress sizes because it has increased my appetite a lot (I wasn't warned about it and my dad thought my eating habit was unusual), and nothing has helped improved it. All the doctors ever says is to make sure I stopped scratching (easier said than done)! Therefore I want to try using natural products in case I might be allergy to some of the chemicals used in body products.
I've mentioned using coconut oil in my previous post. The result seems fine, hair was more glossy, however I have recently dyed my hair and want to see what other DIY masks is good. I came across the mayonnaise mask again whilst googling on the net and remembered it has made my hair glossy and shiny so I thought I try it again today.
Method:
Just rub mayonnaise onto dry hair and massage it into the scalp if your hair and scalp is dry. (Only massage it into the mid length and ends if your hair tends to be oily). Cover hair with shower cap if you have one and leave for minimum one hour then wash out the product with shampoo TWICE, use conditioner as well if you feel you need to. You can leave it overnight if you want. I prefer to leave it overnight and wash it out the next day to maximise the benefit but its personal preference.
WARNING: Only use enough to cover hair and not drench it with too much products. I've made a mistake today by piling too much products on my hair before taking a shower. Afterward when I finished moisturising my skin I noticed there were oil dripping out of the shower cap onto my neck. I try rubbing the oil onto my skin like massage oil, even wiping it off with a towel but after a minute or two I noticed there's still oil running down, so be warned!
Let me know if you tried the mayonnaise mask and what's your opinion on it.
M xx
I've tried using it in the past before, in fact I first tried it more than 10 years ago when my hair didn't really need to use any treatments on it as it was already healthy enough, but being an adolescent, I spent most of my pocket money on face masks, face creams and hair treatments thinking its necessary in order to look pretty!
Anyway, I did use the mayonnaise for a short while, even managing to finished the medium size jar that I placed on my desk in the bedroom so no one will use it for eating, not because I'm selfish, but because it has been contaminated by my not-too-sure-if it's-clean fingers scooping out the products to rub into my hair, hence don't want to poison my dear family. I did alternate it sometime with just rubbing eggs on my hair, but I found the smell of the mayonnaise more bearable than the raw eggs.
Back then I didn't noticed much difference in my hair (maybe because it wasn't even damaged in the first place), but looking back at the photos of me taken around that time, I noticed that my hair very glossy and shiny. Funny enough I never continued with the treatment for long, the likely reason will probably be I got sucked into believing the high-end brands hair treatment are way better (and thinking back, are 100x more pricier) than a jar of mayonnaise or egg treatments.
Fast forward to present day, I've started to incorporate more "natural" products in my everyday life because my health has deteriorate badly for the past few years, mainly my skin and many people believed that commercial/synthetic chemicals are to be blamed and swears by natural products in improving their health. I got diagnosed to have autoimmune disease few years ago and it has made my skin very itchy and dry. I saw many doctors, both through NHS and private, even went as far as going to Hong Kong to see those Chinese doctors, but nothing helped. I got given steroid creams and steroid tablets that totally ruined my body and made me gained more than 2 stones, going up 2 dress sizes because it has increased my appetite a lot (I wasn't warned about it and my dad thought my eating habit was unusual), and nothing has helped improved it. All the doctors ever says is to make sure I stopped scratching (easier said than done)! Therefore I want to try using natural products in case I might be allergy to some of the chemicals used in body products.
I've mentioned using coconut oil in my previous post. The result seems fine, hair was more glossy, however I have recently dyed my hair and want to see what other DIY masks is good. I came across the mayonnaise mask again whilst googling on the net and remembered it has made my hair glossy and shiny so I thought I try it again today.
Method:
Just rub mayonnaise onto dry hair and massage it into the scalp if your hair and scalp is dry. (Only massage it into the mid length and ends if your hair tends to be oily). Cover hair with shower cap if you have one and leave for minimum one hour then wash out the product with shampoo TWICE, use conditioner as well if you feel you need to. You can leave it overnight if you want. I prefer to leave it overnight and wash it out the next day to maximise the benefit but its personal preference.
WARNING: Only use enough to cover hair and not drench it with too much products. I've made a mistake today by piling too much products on my hair before taking a shower. Afterward when I finished moisturising my skin I noticed there were oil dripping out of the shower cap onto my neck. I try rubbing the oil onto my skin like massage oil, even wiping it off with a towel but after a minute or two I noticed there's still oil running down, so be warned!
Let me know if you tried the mayonnaise mask and what's your opinion on it.
M xx
Friday, 8 March 2013
Coconut oil - on hair!
This post is very overdue because I've started trying the coconut oil treatment about a year ago and wanted to share with others who want to minimise the use of harsh chemicals in their daily routine. It is funny how the cosmetic products always emphasis its products are enriched with olive oil, coconut oil, or Shea butter... but when you look at the ingredients list you will noticed the oils comes quite low in the list, meaning the amount being used are quite minimal. Agreeing with what other bloggers had mentioned in their posts, if the oils are that good, then why not use it in its purest form?
There are dozens, actually HUNDREDS of posts on the internet with quite a decent amount of informations on the goodness of using coconut oil, whether used internally (adding it to cereals or substituting it from your usual cooking oil) or externally (applying it to skin as a moisturiser, or on hair as a conditioner and hair mask treatment).
I forgotten how I came across the articles about the benefits of coconut oil, but it was likely to do with trying to improve my diet and skin condition (I got diagnose with an autoimmune disease and side effect is it had made my skin as dry as the Sahara Desert!)
Initially I tried adding a spoonful of the coconut oil on my hot porridge for breakfast (just make sure you stir the coconut oil thoroughly otherwise it will taste very oily!), however this healthy breakfast didn't continue very long as the coconut went mouldy for some reason (but since its an oil it should preserve quite well doesn't it?), anyway, so as a result I didn't have the opportunity to see the benefits it has on my body.
Rather than chucking the oil in the bin (it did cost me £9.## and I've only used about 2-3 teaspoons) as it is virgin , organic coconut oil, I decided to use it on my hair as an overnight hair treatment instead (since there is only a tiny bit of mould in it, although I did scraped it and disposed it in the bin beforehand). Lots of people swear by this oil and as my hair need a bit (well actually a lot) of TLC from daily abuses of ironing and dyeing the hair I decide to give it a go, there's nothing to loose, it is a natural product with no harmful chemicals and I doubt I will be allergic to the oil. The worse scenario I could think of were greasy hair, but it weren't something a few shampoos can't sort out! ^_~
I chose to put the oil as an overnight treatment because I felt the longer I leave the oil, the more it will absorbed into the hair and scalp. I must admit the oil was quite hard to get out of the pot as it was rock solid, but nonetheless just heat/warm it a little and the oil will soften. Also it is very messy with some oil dripping down the neck and forehead if too much are applied, which I must confessed always happens to me! Haha! To combat the problem I usually just rub the oil into my skin like a moisturiser and wrap it in a turban, also I put a towel to cover my pillow case to catch any oil in case my turban become loose.
The result I found was my hair become easier to brush also felt more nourish, probably because there's more oil in the hair (keke), BUT I did need to wash my hair more often. Usually I will wash it about twice a week, but after the treatment I probably need to wash my hair again after one or two days. I prefer not to wash it too often because I don't want to strip the natural oil in my hair too much. My hair were also more glossy and less static. At the beginning I use it nearly once a week, but after few weeks I lessen the amount of time to twice a month, and then once a month depending on the condition. I still use commercial type conditioners and hair oil since I bought plenty in the past, however I will try use the coconut oil more often as a leave-in conditioner and treatment as its more natural and economical =p
Has anyone use coconut oil on your face or hair before? Please share your stories as I enjoy reading other people's reviews on it =)
M xx
P.S. Below is the coconut oil that I used. You can purchased it in local health store or supermarkets.
Coconoil Organic Virgin Coconut Oil - 460g
There are dozens, actually HUNDREDS of posts on the internet with quite a decent amount of informations on the goodness of using coconut oil, whether used internally (adding it to cereals or substituting it from your usual cooking oil) or externally (applying it to skin as a moisturiser, or on hair as a conditioner and hair mask treatment).
I forgotten how I came across the articles about the benefits of coconut oil, but it was likely to do with trying to improve my diet and skin condition (I got diagnose with an autoimmune disease and side effect is it had made my skin as dry as the Sahara Desert!)
Initially I tried adding a spoonful of the coconut oil on my hot porridge for breakfast (just make sure you stir the coconut oil thoroughly otherwise it will taste very oily!), however this healthy breakfast didn't continue very long as the coconut went mouldy for some reason (but since its an oil it should preserve quite well doesn't it?), anyway, so as a result I didn't have the opportunity to see the benefits it has on my body.
Rather than chucking the oil in the bin (it did cost me £9.## and I've only used about 2-3 teaspoons) as it is virgin , organic coconut oil, I decided to use it on my hair as an overnight hair treatment instead (since there is only a tiny bit of mould in it, although I did scraped it and disposed it in the bin beforehand). Lots of people swear by this oil and as my hair need a bit (well actually a lot) of TLC from daily abuses of ironing and dyeing the hair I decide to give it a go, there's nothing to loose, it is a natural product with no harmful chemicals and I doubt I will be allergic to the oil. The worse scenario I could think of were greasy hair, but it weren't something a few shampoos can't sort out! ^_~
I chose to put the oil as an overnight treatment because I felt the longer I leave the oil, the more it will absorbed into the hair and scalp. I must admit the oil was quite hard to get out of the pot as it was rock solid, but nonetheless just heat/warm it a little and the oil will soften. Also it is very messy with some oil dripping down the neck and forehead if too much are applied, which I must confessed always happens to me! Haha! To combat the problem I usually just rub the oil into my skin like a moisturiser and wrap it in a turban, also I put a towel to cover my pillow case to catch any oil in case my turban become loose.
The result I found was my hair become easier to brush also felt more nourish, probably because there's more oil in the hair (keke), BUT I did need to wash my hair more often. Usually I will wash it about twice a week, but after the treatment I probably need to wash my hair again after one or two days. I prefer not to wash it too often because I don't want to strip the natural oil in my hair too much. My hair were also more glossy and less static. At the beginning I use it nearly once a week, but after few weeks I lessen the amount of time to twice a month, and then once a month depending on the condition. I still use commercial type conditioners and hair oil since I bought plenty in the past, however I will try use the coconut oil more often as a leave-in conditioner and treatment as its more natural and economical =p
Has anyone use coconut oil on your face or hair before? Please share your stories as I enjoy reading other people's reviews on it =)
M xx
P.S. Below is the coconut oil that I used. You can purchased it in local health store or supermarkets.
Coconoil Organic Virgin Coconut Oil - 460g
Friday, 16 November 2012
The consequences of not doing your research before buying stuffs!
Due to the recession (and my excessive spendings on junks) I have recently been trolling on the Internet to see if I can find products at a cheaper prices that can still satisfied my spending spree. Debenhams had some attractive offers lately with 25% off clothes and others products; and 10% off beauty products (why not 25%?!?). I know they start selling MAC products and was dying to get my hand on the MAC 219 pencil brush because the reviews seems optimistic about it. Oddly enough after typing in "MAC" in the search box, the result I got was the brush cleanser and one other item that I don't want. Feeling very down and wanting to get hold of that specific brush I decided to trek to Selfridges today and buy it.
... I think you can guess what's coming next... Yes! Somehow I managed to realised afterwards that Debenhams sell it 10% cheaper than other places. It means I could have saved £1.90 on the brush, except that I have already paid the full price for it.
Warning ladies (and gents), make sure you type in all relevant words on the search box and browse through all the shop online before deciding where to purchase the stuffs. Well at least I only paid full price for that one item...
M xx
... I think you can guess what's coming next... Yes! Somehow I managed to realised afterwards that Debenhams sell it 10% cheaper than other places. It means I could have saved £1.90 on the brush, except that I have already paid the full price for it.
Warning ladies (and gents), make sure you type in all relevant words on the search box and browse through all the shop online before deciding where to purchase the stuffs. Well at least I only paid full price for that one item...
M xx
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Debenhams Exclusive: Passport to Posh eye kit... Have I seen you before?
I was browsing through the Debenhams website today looking at some make up and perfumes sections because they are doing 10% off offers on beauty products (and also doing some planning for Xmas pressies!) when I came across something very familiar... "Debenhams Exclusive: Passport to Posh eye kit" (http://m.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123901005199_-1?breadcrumb=Home%7EBeauty accessed from mobile phone).
The name doesn't look familiar, however its content resembles the Xmas present I received last year, which was called "BENEFIT PRIMPCESS Travel Set Glamorous eye primping Kit", (available in amazon.co.uk if you're interested).
Not too sure if the kit I've got had been released in UK previously or not, and whether it is the same kit, but if so, I don't see why they should changed the name? I might pop in to the counter later on and have a browse to see if the shade is the same or not.
If it's the same kit then I must say it will make a lovely gift present.
I must admit I really like browsing beauty products during the Xmas periods since they usually promote those "all in one set" that include eyes, cheeks and lips products. These are fabulous for people starting to wear make up or as a travelling kit to minimise the luggage space. It is also economical comparing to buying the eyeshadow, blusters and lipsticks separately.
For the Primpcess kit (since I don't own the Posh eye kit, there's no point of me commenting on it), it is purely an eye kit where you get 3 eyeshadows (the darkest shade can be used as an eyeliner), a mascara, a crease less cream eyeshadow, bo-ing concealer, eye bright and 2 small applicators along with instruction booklet and a mirror.
The eyeshadows are very subtle and gives (in my opinion) a posh finish (maybe that's why they have change it's name?). The lightest shade look like a vanilla tone, the medium shade is like a brown-pink tone, and the darkest is a brown colour; this somehow reminded me of the Big Beautiful eye kit except less pinky tone overall. In my opinion it is more suitable for light to medium shade skin, but not too sure about darker skin tone.
The cream eyeshadow is used as a base colour, but I find that it doesn't stay well and creases quite quickly, so maybe an eye primer is needed to solve the problem?. The boi-ing is obviously used to cover under eye dark circles, however I don't really use it as I find the shade slightly too dark for my skin tones, and also because the concealer is hard to dig out. This is likely to be due to the kit is an old stock as the mascara was already dried up when I first tried on the kit, so no reviews on the mascara ;).
The eye bright is used on the brow bone and the inside of the eyes to emphasise it, not bad but have to make sure the lids are tightly closed afterwards to avoid the concealer and the eye bright starting to go hard. I will put some photos up soon to show you swatches of the colours in the kit.
Has anyone else used these kits before? If so, let me know what you think of it.
M xx
The name doesn't look familiar, however its content resembles the Xmas present I received last year, which was called "BENEFIT PRIMPCESS Travel Set Glamorous eye primping Kit", (available in amazon.co.uk if you're interested).
Not too sure if the kit I've got had been released in UK previously or not, and whether it is the same kit, but if so, I don't see why they should changed the name? I might pop in to the counter later on and have a browse to see if the shade is the same or not.
If it's the same kit then I must say it will make a lovely gift present.
I must admit I really like browsing beauty products during the Xmas periods since they usually promote those "all in one set" that include eyes, cheeks and lips products. These are fabulous for people starting to wear make up or as a travelling kit to minimise the luggage space. It is also economical comparing to buying the eyeshadow, blusters and lipsticks separately.
For the Primpcess kit (since I don't own the Posh eye kit, there's no point of me commenting on it), it is purely an eye kit where you get 3 eyeshadows (the darkest shade can be used as an eyeliner), a mascara, a crease less cream eyeshadow, bo-ing concealer, eye bright and 2 small applicators along with instruction booklet and a mirror.
The eyeshadows are very subtle and gives (in my opinion) a posh finish (maybe that's why they have change it's name?). The lightest shade look like a vanilla tone, the medium shade is like a brown-pink tone, and the darkest is a brown colour; this somehow reminded me of the Big Beautiful eye kit except less pinky tone overall. In my opinion it is more suitable for light to medium shade skin, but not too sure about darker skin tone.
The cream eyeshadow is used as a base colour, but I find that it doesn't stay well and creases quite quickly, so maybe an eye primer is needed to solve the problem?. The boi-ing is obviously used to cover under eye dark circles, however I don't really use it as I find the shade slightly too dark for my skin tones, and also because the concealer is hard to dig out. This is likely to be due to the kit is an old stock as the mascara was already dried up when I first tried on the kit, so no reviews on the mascara ;).
The eye bright is used on the brow bone and the inside of the eyes to emphasise it, not bad but have to make sure the lids are tightly closed afterwards to avoid the concealer and the eye bright starting to go hard. I will put some photos up soon to show you swatches of the colours in the kit.
Has anyone else used these kits before? If so, let me know what you think of it.
M xx
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Buying 2 Winding paths for Smurfs Village game
I know some of you are trying to follow the tasks on the Smurf's Village game about buying 2 winding paths. I've figured it out and here it is:
- Go to the store and into the 'flower' icon and then scroll through the items until you see the path shown in the picture that cost about 175 coins (picture 1). To know its the right path you should also be able to see a small Smurf with the feather hat face on it as well (not shown cos I have already completed the task). The smurf should resemble the one in picture 2.
Hope this helps.
M xx
- Go to the store and into the 'flower' icon and then scroll through the items until you see the path shown in the picture that cost about 175 coins (picture 1). To know its the right path you should also be able to see a small Smurf with the feather hat face on it as well (not shown cos I have already completed the task). The smurf should resemble the one in picture 2.
Hope this helps.
M xx
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