Triple S: Pop Out!

I was making a birthday card for a friend when I thought of a neat little trick. I wanted to make one of the accents "pop out" and I didn't have any sponges or styrofoams around. Also, it's a pain to stack little bits of cardboard to achieve the same effect.

An epiphany struck me. Remember I bought a bag or assorted buttons for really cheap? Some of them have defects on them. I'm really glad I didn't throw them out because they proved to be useful in this case.

I glued the button to the base and then glued the accent onto the top of it. I used PVA glue, which less messy and just as firm as UHU glue.

Ta-da! There you have it. A 3D/pop out accent. You no longer need to run out to buy sponges or styrofoam. Plus, we're saving the environment by using these defective/unwanted buttons!

Do share any crafty tricks that you have!

Wicked Wednesday: The Brush Guard review

I ordered a set of Brush Guards a month or so back. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this product thanks to Michelle Phan. If not, you can watch this video but don't worry, I'll explain it a little along the way. Since these are not sold locally (not that I am aware of), I had to order them directly from thebrushguard.com.

The Brush Guard are these little flexible cages that you slip over the bristles of your brush. This helps keep your brush in shape and minimises the amount of dirt exposure. This is very handy in terms of storage and travelling. You can easily throw them into your drawer or makeup bag without having to worry about the condition of your brushes. The Brush Guard comes in different sizes so that you can protect all of your different brushes.

Here are some of my brushes of various sizes.

I tried to do what Michelle Phan showed in her video, drying my freshly washed brushes by slipping them into a brush guard each and stand them inverted in a cup. It didn't work for me. The brushes remained damp after some hours and I did not find any water at the bottom of the cup. I still think is a good and useful product. Plus it was very affordable at USD$5.50.

Do you use The Brush Guard? How do you find it?

Triple S: Wave Envy Giveaway CLOSED

The feedback so far to my question on this post, has been for me to throw multiple giveaways, so that there will be multiple winners. I'd like to start off by giving away this hot tool (yes, pun intended). VS Sassoon's Wave Envy. This is not a sponsored giveaway. I received this as part of my Blogstar Awards prize. I thought it'd be a good way to thank my readers (yes, that's you) by sharing out the prizes. Here's a quick video on how this wave-making machine works.

Rules:
1. This giveaway is only open to Australian residents.
2. You must be 18 years or older to enter.
3. You must be a follower of this blog (via Google Friend Connect).
4. Only ONE entry per person.
5. Winner will be selected via random.org and announced on the 3rd of August!! 

Simply fill out the form below to enter! Good luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Wicked Wednesday: Lipgloss Disaster!

This is by far the dumbest mistake I've ever made, makeup-wise. My mum gave me this beautiful set of Estee Lauder lipglosses at the end of 2010 as a Christmas present. I know I should have thrown them out by now because they've past their use by date but I couldn't and still can't bring myself to do it. They are/were beautiful and I'm not even halfway through each tube. After all, there was a study that proved five-year-old lipsticks and eyeshadows to be still safe for use.

A few months ago I noticed my lipglosses have hardened up, I couldn't get the product out to apply on my lips. I googled for solutions to fix my "dried up" lipglosses but the closest I've found was Michelle Phan's lipgloss saver video. I tried it out and it didn't melt the product back down much. For a while, the lipglosses were left sitting in my drawer, untouched.

The other day, I had this stupid idea (at that time I thought it was brilliant). I thought that since warm water wouldn't make the lipgloss budge, hot water would. I cling-wrapped each tube and stood them in a mug. After the water boiled, I poured it straight into the mug. I didn't check back on my lipglosses until (at least) 15 minutes later. By then, it was too late. I think the moment I poured the hot water in, it was too late. I had ruined my lipglosses.

As you can see, the hot water "reshaped" my lipgloss tubes. It softened the product literally. It goes to show how "weak" the plastic used for these lipgloss tubes are. They were once rectangluar; now they are oblong. I really want to kick myself for doing it. At first, I was too shocked to be upset. Later, as reality sunk in, I felt morose and regretful. My boyfriend had to do the job of consoling me and reassuring me that there are better lipglosses out there waiting for me. I scoured the internet for websites that sell these lipglosses. I believe they have been discontinued and I was not able to find all of the shades.

So remember ladies, DO NOT soak your lipglosses in hot water. Warm water is okay. The water must not be hot to the touch. I hope this post can serve as a warning. Hopefully, no one will make the same mistake.

What kind of makeup mishaps have you experienced? Do share.

Triple S: Travel Makeup Bag

As promised, this is a post on my "travel makeup bag". I was away for the last weeks, because with a winter course in a different campus (one in a different town). So the makeup that I brought with me, was technically travelling.

Here's what I took with me:
1. My trusty Bobbi Brown Day to Night Cool Eye Palette
2. Natio Extreme Volume Smudge Proof Mascara
3. A compact mirror
4. Eyelash curler
5. Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in 10 Grapefruit
6. Mini nail clippers
7. A pair of tweezers
8. A nail file

The Bobbi Brown palette is perfect for travelling. From left to right is Ivory (matte), Flint (matte), Charcoal (matte), Petal (Shimmer wash), Rockstar (Metallic) and Gunmetal (Shimmer wash). You can easily create a day time look with Ivory, Flint and Petal. Rockstar and Gunmental are great for a smokey grey eye look, perfect for night outs. Most importantly, I use Charcoal religiously as my eyeliner. I simply wet the eyeliner end of the brush provided and dip it into Charcoal. So I simply could not have gone on this trip without this palette.

So far I'm not impressed with the Natio mascara. I'm still trying it out. The only perk to this mascara (that I can say for now) is that it doesn't smudge and leave me with panda eyes. I really like my Clinique lipgloss. It doesn't dry out my lips and it gives a touch of colour. I clip my nails once a week because I can't stand them long. So they are a staple in my makeup bag. Tweezers and a nail file were also staples for me. I had to keep my brow hairs in check and blunt my freshly cut nails down.

What do you have in your travel makeup bag?

Wicked Wednesday: On a Side Note

I know I'm really late with this week's Wicked Wednesday post but hey, better late than never, right? It's 20 minutes to midnight. So I better make this short so that it'll actually be a Wicked Wednesday post. Not a random Thursday post. Lame, I know. That's what happens when your mum is not working and she gets you running around the house helping her and she gives you cooking lessons on how to make pork buns.

Anyway, this was going to be a post on my travel makeup bag but I guess it'll have to wait till Saturday. Don't worry, it'll be worth the wait. I'll make sure to craft the post nicely instead of giving you a rushed version now. So this post is going to be about "side notes", things that are not so important or entirely relevant to beauty or arts & craft or shoes.

Side Note #1: I want to ask you, my readers, if you'd prefer a very big giveaway (with one winner) or a very big giveaway (with multiple winners, whereby the prizes are distributed out)? If you've been following this blog, you'd probably know by now that I'm planning on a big giveaway. I've been building up the prize pool and I think I'm almost ready to throw the giveaway. Please leave a comment to let me know which one you prefer.

Side Note #2: I'm sure you'd already know by now (if you've been reading my posts) that I'm a huge fan of Bobbi Brown and her products. I just thought I'd share with you this lovely look that a Bobbi Brown MUA did on me. Yes, this was the time when I bought the teeny tiny expensive concealer because I felt bad that the lovely MUA did so much work on me for free.

She was a little bit heavy-handed with the blush, so my cheeks looked really bright and pink in real life. However, I still love what she did. If you're interested in knowing what products were used on me, leave a comment below and I'll post up the face chart. Yes, she took time to write up a face chart upon my request.

Should I throw a giveaway with one winner or multiple ones? Would you like me to post up the face chart? Please let me know!

Triple S: Winner of Crafty Giveaway

I'm back! Sorry for being MIA for 2 weeks! I know the announcement for the winner of my Crafty Giveaway is long overdue. So without further ado... I'd like to announce Kerri as the winner! Congratulations!

Please reply to my email as soon as possible (within 7 days), Kerri.Otherwise, Elizabeth will automatically become the winner.

Keep your eyes peeled, everyone!! I'm putting together a very big beauty giveaway. My blog has a already turned four but I don't see why we can't still celebrate!