hazelnutt house

Hi friends of the Nutt House (",)

Come on in & shop my stash.  For items that I've bundled together for sale, please do not request for single item purchase (",)

Please leave a comment along with your email address and I will get back to you asap.

$1 for normal mail.  Registered mail upon request.  All items will be bubbled wrapped for safe transit to you.

Please check my blog or online for swatches (",)

Happy shopping my stash! (",)

 

PS: there is nothing wrong with these items, it's just that I've not been giving them much attention.

A) Too Faced eyeshadow duos in Totally Toasted and Shamrock Chic - $10 for both (used a few times)

B) Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof eyeliner - Black (2.5g, not full size) - $5 (used twice)

C) Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick - Peregrina no. 78 - $20 (used thrice)

D) Korres Antiaging primer - 10ml Expires Aug 2012 - $5 (NEW & SEALED)

 

E, F, G) ELF blushes - Gotta Glow, Berry Merry & Tickled Pink - $9 for three. (used once or twice) on hold

H) ELF HD powder - $6 (used once) on hold

 

I) Nars Mata Hari blush - $10 (used about 20 times) on hold

J) Wet & Wild blush - Heather Silk - $4 (used once) on hold

K) Stila custom color blush in Pink - $15 (used twice) on hold

L) Benefit Thrrob - $10 (used a few times) on hold

Hello friends of Hazelnutt (",)

 

I was having breakfast at Changi City Point when I came acoss this poster at Shins, a shop that sells brands of beauty products that are not commonly sold in our department stores.

The thing that made me do a double take was the miniscule pictures of the Real Techniques brushes right at the bottom of the poster.

 

 

 

 

"Real Techniques?  Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" I thought to myself.

I dragged The Tod towards the poster for a closer look.  Indeed they were the Real Techniques brush sets.  However, upon closer inspections, despite the 10% discount they are offering, they have jacked up the prices way above the $17.99USD that Ulta is selling them at.

I won't purchase them personally, but if you really, really NEED to try their brushes, and don't wanna get them online, get them before they stop giving the 10% discount.  I asked the lady if they sell the individual brushes and she said they only carry the sets.  oh well.... bummer.

Oh yes, I do not see the much acclaimed stippling brush in the sets above.

Anyone knows if any blog shops or spree-ers carries Real Techniques brushes?

Dearest friends of Hazelnutt :)

 

Here's a really long and wordy entry about how I came to have clearer skin with less clogged pores and breakouts.  Read on if you are interested :)

I visited the Derma Rx clinic in Tong Building situated in Orchard Road in 2004.  I was 25 years old back then and was really depressed with the difficulty in achieving clear skin even in adulthood.  Every couple of days, out popped a new horrible red gnome (zit) on my face.  It will sit there, poking fun at me and laughing at me right in my face.  I had lots of clogged pores and some eventually became infected and turned into pimples.  Needless to say, my skintone was uneven too.

After the consultation, I was given a range of products to battle my skin issues.  I'm not going to go into the products I was given, but they were all from Derma Rx.  The one product that I am using up till this day in 2012 is the Comedone Formula (CF) which I find myself repurchasing annually.  The rest of the products were the cleansers, whitening lotion and some AHA stuff, all of which I did not finish using.   I only visited the Derma Rx clinic once and I found a neighbourhood clinic in Simei that sold Derma Rx products.  Since then, I've been purchasing my yearly bottle of CF there.  It used to cost $60 and then it went up to $66 and when I purchased it a couple of days back, it was at $72.

 

Apart from seeing my face clear up, skin becoming less blotchy and finally getting less black/whiteheads, there were two incidences that convinced me that CF really did work for me.

Allow me the chance to blab about it.

First incident:

A month into my new skincare regime, a MALE colleague came up to me and asked me if i've been doing something to my skin coz he noticed a HUGE change.  (positive change of coz, judging from his expression)

 

Second incident:

My regular facial lady was 'unclogging' my pores, and that usually takes quite a long and painful while; she suddenly stopped and checked my schedule on the appointment card.  She asked if I've visited the shop recently coz there was nothing much for her to extract.  I told her, it has been 2 months since my last visit which intrigued her coz she told me that the usual clogged pores that she needed to work on, had significantly decreased.  She stopped her extraction procedure and went ahead with the fun part of the facial... massaging and masking. (> <)

 

These two incidences including me witnessing the change on my own skin convinced me that CF really does work for me.

 

 

 

Information taken from the Derma Rx website about CF:

"Brown essence with a strong herbal scent that leaves a slightly sticky after-feel, which goes away when completely dry."

My views: Yes, the essence is brown.  I find it stinky but bearable... nothing herbal about it.  It does leave a sticky feeling but that does not last for long.  I usually wait for it to dry before I apply my moisturizer.  Oh yes, I only use this at night.  A personal preference not as directed by the doctor.

"Comedone Formula is a natural formulation containing botanical extracts, which work to reduce the appearance of comedones (blackheads & whiteheads). It assists in dissolving and softening comedones and prevents new comedone formation by loosening the follicular plug and also by reducing sebaceous activity."

My views: It literally dissolves and softens the existing comedones and somedays, I see a 'head' peeking out on the surface of my skin and all I needed to do is to gently wipe it away instead of extracting it.  I am not sure about reducing sebaceous activity though, coz I did not keep track of that.

 

 

 

Hey... but if it works for you, why do you keep having to repurchase it?  Shouldn't your comedones be all wiped out?

Well, as you can see from the above picture, this product has a lifespan of 6 months.  After 6 months or so, I will stop using it and my skin will naturally and gradually start 'collecting' and forming comedones. Thus the need to repurchase a few months later.

Initially when I purchase a new bottle, I'll apply it nightly and soon when the comedones become unplugged, I reduce the application.  Sometimes, I apply it on alternate nights and sometimes I go for a week or longer without applying it.

 

 

 

 

I like how sanitary the packaging is.  It comes in a plastic pump bottle.  As you pump away, the bottom 'plunger'? pushes up, instead of leaving the liquid in an ever increasing volume of air space as the product is being used up.  The bottle on the right is my 2011 bottle.  As you can see, the liquid is pushed all the way up, leaving little chance of interaction with air which of course caused product efficacy to change.

 

I have been holding back this review for a really long time, because I've heard so-so reviews from others and I'm afraid that by putting it out here, it may cause someone to be hugely disappointed or worse, it may have an adverse effect on someone who decides to try it.  I am not proclaiming that I have trouble-free skin now, but the occurance of breakouts and clogged pores has decreased tremendously.  I do have clogs here and there and of coz with normal hormornal changes, I see breakouts here and there too.

Then again, I guess there are so many products out there for us to try out based on trial and error.  So, I do hope that this will help in one way or another.

Talk to you ladies soon!

Greetings, friends of Hazelnutt (",)

 

A couple of days back, I received this unique brand of nail polish from Mei Mei Signatures, who had earlier on sent me a Cult nail polish for review.

The nail polish I received this time is a timeless red from Megan Miller in the shade Roja.  As you can see from the collage below, the nail colour is housed in a cute, bulbous apple-shaped glass bottle with a cork that holds the brush applicator. 'Natural & rustic...' that's how Megan Miller describes her nail polish collection.  A bottle of this nail colour usually goes for $18.  The price has been lowered to $16 for a limited time.  Mei Mei Signatures is currently the only place in Singapore where you are able to purchase Megan Miller nail colours.

 

 

Megan Miller's nail polish collection is free from the 3 major harmful chemicals that most major nail polish brands try to avoid:

1) Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP)
2) Toluene
3) Formaldehyde

 

 

 

When I saw this shade, it reminded me of the kind of red that Snow White would wear.

Pic of bottle in a sunlit room(L) and in direct sunlight (R).

 

 

Usually, I'll go with at least 2 coats of nail colour with most brands.  However, with this particular shade, I decided not to apply a second layer coz 1 coat was good enough!  I'm not sure how the rest of the 9 colours in the collection applies though.

Here's how it looks on my nails in a sunlit room.

 

Under direct sunlight.

 

 

I decided to add a layer of Essie luxeffects, Shine of the Time after wearing this shade for a day.  Here's how it looks.

 

 

Etched onto the top of the cork handle is Megan Miller's peacock feather logo. Lovely, isn't it?

 

 

Here's how the brush looks like.  It is not the pro-wide kind like that OPI has but I had no problem with application.

 

 

Just wanna do a comparison using the only red I have in my collection. Malaga Wine by OPI on the left and Roja by Megan Miller on the right. Hopefully it will give you a better idea what kind of red Roja is.

 

 

Finally, here's my general overview of this nail polish that I was sent.  Do note that the points mentioned is only for this shade - Roja, for most nail polishes of the same brand usually differ in consistency.

• Pigmented
• Non-streaky
• Easy application
• Creme/jelly finish
• Dries quickly - similar to any major nail polish brands
• This is purely asthetics, but I really like the design of the bottle (> <)

 

I am eyeing Coral Bliss and Caribbean in Megan Miller's bottle of 10 shades collection.

 

Talk to you ladies soon!

Hi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

Happy Lunar New Year to all of you who celebrate this occasion.  For those who do not, enjoy the public holiday (",)

The Tod was still sleeping while I was getting myself ready, I thought since I have some time, I'd do some swatches of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters that I picked up during my vacation in the US. I picked up two shades, Pink Truffle & Red Velvet.  They cost between $6ish to $7ish USD depending on which store you visit.  I got mine mainly from Kmart coz in CVS and Target (where they are cheaper), it looked like someone had robber the stand of all the lip butters even though i've been trying my luck at several places till I found a nicely hidden display in Kmart that had quite a lot of colours to choose from.

During the bitter cold winter in the states, at times when I do not have my lip balm with me, I'd reach out for Pink Truffle and it kept my lips hydrated and protected.  That's just how moisturizing these lip butters are.

 

 

Here's a closer look at the shades.  I really do like Pink Truffle and I feel that it will suit most skintones, giving it a MLBB kind of look.  Believe it or not, Red Velvet is my first red lipstick.  I was hoping that it'll be a close match to the Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick that I own but has mysteriously disappeared.  It isn't a close match but I am still happy with this colour.  I would say that these Revlon Lip Butters are more pigmented as compared to the Clinique Almost Lipstick - then again, I am only comparing it to Black Honey.  I'm not sure how they are compared to the other shades in the Almost Lipstick range.

 

One gripe that I have about these lip butters is that the metal tube is built really close to the lipstick and this when I slide it up and down the tube, I tend to get lipstick deposited around the rim which I find yucky.  Then again, given how terribly soft and shaky the earlier released Revlon Colorburst lipsticks are it is definitely a good thing to have less space between the lipstick and metal tube.

 

 

For today, I went easy on my makeup, coz in our weather and numerous places to visit for the day, it is better to keep things simple.  I used one of the Bourjois Little Round Pot eyeshadow collection in Brun and the Tokidoki blush in Skate Girl.

 

 

Here's how the Bourjois Little Round Pots of eyeshadows look like.  I got them some time back from ASOS.com and this collection of little round pots fit into the box shown which is no longer than 8cm.

 

 

To end off, here's how I wore my hair today... gotta keep the heat away as much as possible and putting my hair up in this simple updo means I don't have to worry about it falling flat due to the humidity.

Talk to you ladies soon!!!... oh... I have yet to have my Bak Kua fix this year!!!... what am I doing?!!!

Hello friends of Hazelnutt House (``,)

 

I've been wearing the Giorgio Armani Designer Lift smoothing firming foundation SPF 20 PA+++ in shade 4 and the Helena Rubinstein Magic Concealer in shade 03 (Dark) for about 5 times.  Twice in the cooler winter climate of Hong Kong and thrice in the warm & humid climate of Singapore. In the chilly winter of HK, this foundation keep my skin dewy and hydrated.  But I guess you ladies are more interested in how it holds up in our climate.

 

 

FYI: I have combination skin and tend to oil up around my nose and inner cheek area.

 

Full frontal face shots galore ahead!  (",) muah haha!!!

 

Barefaced:

Notice the dark circles under my eyes, redness on the sides of my nostrils, uneven skintone.... and my freckles (natural... not sun induced... phew!  well, I guess a few have emerged due to the sun too...)

 

 

After one layer of foundation: skintone is even, less redness and darkness around the eye is less obvious.

 

 

After patting in concealer: dark eyerings are toned down

 

 

Brows done and lightly powdered with Bobbi Brown Pressed Powder in Pale Yellow: ... I wish I wake up to skin that looks like this!

 

 

 

Picture summary of the above:

 

 

I wanna just do some swatches of the common foundations that some of you may have in case you'll need a shade comparision:

(L - R): Giorgio Armani Designer Lift smoothing firming foundation SPF 20 PA+++ (shade 4), Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (B20, Beige Tendre), Bourjois Healthy Mix (shade 52), Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet (shade 40) and Ettusais BB mineral cream (shade 30)

According to the GA website, this foundation contains "an unusual hint of Prussian blue pearliser. A bold addition that brings a new freshness to the complexion." I noticed that my skin looks really fresh when I use this foundation.  The evidence of freshness and radiance were doubly reinforced when I got my friend to check out my makeup.  She told me that I looked really radiant. *fist pump* yes!!!

Also from the website, it says that this foundation gives "A perfect second-skin sensation." I have to absolutely agree with this coz it feels like nothing on the skin!  Gives me a really clean feeling which is really important in our himid climate.

I wore this on my 4 hour flight from HK back to SG and I did not feel any dryness or tightness on my skin when I landed.  My friend who picked me up commented that my skin looked good after the short flight.  In comparison, on my flight from SG to HK, I wore my MUFE foundation and within an hour into the flight, I felt an unbearable tightness gathering around my cheekbones and eye areas.

 

 

Round up of what I like:

- Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Smoothing Firming foundation SPF 20 PA+++

1. Buidable coverage
2. Fresh and dewy sheen
3. Fake radiance... Muah haha!!!
4. SPF 20 PA+++ (I still wear a sunblock though)
5. Wears well throughout the day
6. Does not settle into pores
7. Uber light texture... I do not feel like I am wearing foundation

You may not like it if you:

• prefer a matte, shine-free finish
• have super duper oily skin

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

Now, comes the next item that I have to rave about - Helena Rubinstein Magic Conealer in shade 03 (dark). I wanna thank my friend for introducing me to this concealer.  There are 3 shades for this concealer and I was surprised when the BA picked out the darkest shade for me.  My friend who has similar skintone uses this shade as well.  Not convinced, I got her to let me test out shade 02.  It was too light and on my skin, imparts an ashy grey tinge.

As you can see from the face swatches above, it does a decent enough job of making my dark circles look less obvious.  I cannot say that it has camouflaged them completely coz I have eyebags too, so it is quite impossible to completely cover those circles as my eyebags are popping the circles out for all to see. However, I marvel at the tenacity that this concealer has on my eye area .  It stays put under my eyes without drying the area out or caking up into the fine lines.  The best part is I cannot tell where the concealer ends and where the foundation starts.  Usually as the hours go by, I tend to be able to see a distinct differation between the concealer regions and areas where foundation starts - usually the concealer region gets a tad bit drier and cakes up thus showing very clearly where foundation actually begins.

 

It really does look rather dark here (L), compared to the ZA concealer in shade 1 (R).

 

 

Round up of what I like:

- Helena Rubinstein Magic Concealer shade 03 (dark)

1. creamy consistency
2. easy to apply - I pat it in
3. wears well on skin (I usually have my makeup on for at least 8 hours a day)
4. does not dry out undereye area
5. does not settle into fine lines

 

Thank you ladies for reading (",) I'm gonna post a road-test entry of this foundation/concealer combination in my next entry that depicts how this duo wears on my skin over a few hours.

Hihi friends of the Hazelnutt House (",)

I brought The Tod to Hong Kong DIsneyland for a couple of days after my return from the states.  Well, I told myself that I've shopped enough in the US and that there's nothing I need to get in HK. But... what do you know? Things just happen... :) ... muah hahah!!! I met up with a friend in HK and she said that I NEED to try some of the brands that's not available in Singapore.  So, I caved and did some research online and got myself some goodies.

I included the prices for reference, in case someone wants do a comparison with their local prices.

First up, Giorgio Armani Designer Lift smoothing firming foundation with SPF 20 PA+++.

510HKD appx $85

I got mine in shade 4 and it is an exact match to me NC 20ish skintone.  I've tried this foundie a few times in the cool HK climate and twice in our himid SG climate and both times it was immaculate :)  I'll rave about this soon.

 

My friend raved about the Helena Rubinstein Magic Concealer and she said that this is the best concealer that she has tried thus far.  I got mine in shade 3 - Dark.  As with the Giorgio Armani foundation, I will save my rave for this item in a later entry after I've had the chance to try it for a longer time.

260 HKD appx $44

 

 

Finally, I got myself a Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact.  I picked Milky Strawberry.  I've yet to try this out... gonna save it for later :) It just looks sooOoooo pretty.  I've to keep this away from My Tod coz she'll start dipping her fingers into the pan.

370HKD appx $62

 

 

In Mongkok's Ladie's street, I bought some iPhone cases for about $10.  I checked with my friend and she said it is a reasonable price for that street. You can get these here too but then again, I hardly get to shop in Singapore so I might as well get a few so last me for awhile.

Yup, I AM A CLOSET HELLO KITTY FAN (",) muah hahah!!!

Just a close up of one the cases I bought... pretty unique, yeah?

 

 

In Bourjois, I picked up some essentials.

• Kose ClearTurn Collagen Essence Mask - 22 sheets in the box.  65HKD appx $10.80
• Bifesta Q10 cleansing water - 59HKD appx $9.80
• Pantene Clinicare Time Renewal intensive treatment - 40-50ish HKD

 

 

Before boarding the plane back to SG, I brought The Tod into Muji and got her this set of wooden Lapin tic-tac-to toy. It costs about 100HKD appx $16.

Finally, onboard the plane on SQ, I got myself a Thomas Sabo love & luck charm bracelet.  It was $115.  I'm not sure if it is a good deal or not, but my friend told me it is slightly cheaper inflight than in town.

I intend to wear it together with the Tiffany & CO charm bracelet that I wear everyday.

 

Oh yes, before I forget, I picked up this beloved Missha Perfect Cover BB cream at Incheon Airport when I was transitting from the states back to SG.  I used to use shade No. 23 two years ago, but this time round, the BA said No. 21 looks better on my skin.  I think I must have gotten fairer somehow.

 

Talk to you ladies soon (",) wait for my raves on the GA foundie and the HR concealer!

Hi friends of the Nutt House (",)

I've a question with regard to our new OnSugar streaming system (ok...not that new).

Do you ladies get updates of new blog entries of ALL the blogs that you follow on Onsugar when you hit the STREAM button?

Coz for me, I tend to get only updates from a few, say for example 10 of the blogs that I follow. Initially, I thought maybe the other blogs that I follow weren't updated but I just did a check and I realised that there are new entries in these other blogs that did not show up on my screen when I hit the STREAM button.

So, the question is:

"Do you ladies get updates of ALL blogs that you follow?"

 

Also, with the older Onsugar tracking system, I could do a 'check' on entires that I have read and they will not appear at the top of myreading list.  For this new system, it seems like even after I have read a particular blog entry, that blog entry still remains right at the top of my screen when I hit the 'STREAM' button.

So, it brings me to my second question:

"Is it possible to have unread entries at the top of my stream list?"

Do let me know ladies, I'm quite an IT nutt (",) not very bright when it comes to these intricacy ... muah haha!!!

Hello friends of the Nutt House (",)

 

woo hoo!!! Here's my first LOTD of the year using some items from my spanking new loot.

 

 

Face & cheek products:

• Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer
• Make Up For Ever Duo Mat Foundation Powder - shade 202, Translucent Beige
• Hard Candy Fox in a Box blush - Hot Flash

 

Close-up of the blush in a box :) I used the top two shades instead of swishing my brush in to mix up the quad.  I didn't want a POW! WOW! shade on my cheeks for this look, thus the lighter peach and bronzey shades. 

 

 

I used Nars sheer lipstick in Damage on the right.  Dolce Vita is my all time favourite... or should I say my all time fav in 2011??? hehee... I use Dolce Vita all the time and that is just how much lipstick is left in the bullet.  When I went to get a backup of Dolce Vita at Sephora, it was OOS and Damage caught my eye almost immeditely.  It was a shade that my friend wanted me to check out too.  It was love @ first swatch (",) ... maybe, just maybe. Damage will be my all time favourite for 2012 (",)

Some ramblings about the Nars sheer lipsticks... I really like how it is sheer but still pigmented.  Coz you know with some pigmented and creamy lipsticks, I tend to get a coat of disgusting buildup at the corner of my lips as the day goes by.  It doesn't happen with sheer lipsticks.  It is moisturizing and wears easily.  Despite the obvious colour transfer on my lips, I don't need a mirror to apply these lipsticks (",)

 

Here are the swatches of Dolce Vita and Damage.  Dolce Vita gives me a MLBB look.  Somehow, it looks slightly orangey here next to the pinky berry shade of Damage.

 

Today's the first day I am using the Black Radiance primer in our warm and humid weather.  However I was only out for a short while, say 4 hours? My makeup held up well... but it's too early to do a detailed review.  Coming up soon after some proper roadtesting (",)

Talk to you ladies soon!!!

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt (",)

First blog entry of the year comes with a BANG! with some beauty goodies that I picked up.  I'm currently holidaying in the states and I am excited to share my loot (",)  I hope to update my blog more often coz it is a shame to see it sitting quietly with nothing much going on. I am so going to throw out a good amout of makeup when I get home.

 

Before I forget, these pictures do not show true product colours.  So please do not use them a guide for online purchases.

 

So, here goes ... presenting my loot (",)

 

 

These HandiBac hand lotion smells heavenly.  Fresh and Crisp!

 

 

 

I scored some Jo Malone at a good price.  If I am not wrong these 30ml cologne are at $95 SGD.  I got them at $55USD.  I was initially just gonna get one but decided to just go for it and ended up with two.  According to the lady at Neiman Marcus, the Red Roses Cologne is a new item.  I'm not too sure though.  The minute I smelled the rose scent, I told the lady, "I want this!"  It is a really lovely scent, pure roses... nonsense kind of rose scent.  After sniffing out these Jo Malone scents, I now know why so many ladies love them.  Will talk about them more in time to come :)

 

 

 

Some drugstore goodies... I've seen the Comfort Zone palette so much online and when I finally saw it in real, it just looked sooOoooo familiar.

 

 

 

I am planning ahead with these Kiehl's items... they will come in handy when my current skincare products run out.  It's cheaper in the states$43 and $56USD respectively.

 

 

Lip product galore :) blushes and lipsticks are my best friends.  So it is no surprise, I picked up quite a few buddies both at the drugstores and at Sephora.

 

 

 

 

I'm excited about this Hard Candy blush quad :) It is so ala-Benefit's boxed powders.

 

 

At Sephora, I purchased the MUFE Duo Mat powder that had been sitting on my list for some time.  I was so excited to see the Bobbi Brown pressed powder in Pale Yellow at CCO going for $22.50USD.  I actually put it into my shopping list before leaving for the states and was really glad to see it a a lower price at CCO.   Lucky lucky me!

 

Oh yes, at Rite Aid, I picked up the Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Primer.  This is not a very popular primer but I am a follower of Nouveau Cheap and she loves this primer.  She lives in San Diego which is pretty warm but definitely not as warm and humid as in Singapore.  So with the slight climate similarity, I am hoping that this primer will work for me.  Other then silicon, it contains kaolin which is not something I see often in silicon-based primers.  Hopefully the kaolin will help to zap the oilies around my nose and inner cheeks (",)

 

Goodbye ladies :) Hope you've missed me ... muah haha!