Everytime a brand released a new highlighter, you went crazy and swear THIS IS your highlighter and IT IS THE ONLY highlighter you need. You hunt for it, you bought it and then, another brand also released a new highlighter, you find yourself repeating the same reaction or process. And another brand, and another. The story goes on. “I only need this highlighter in my life”. How often have you said that or heard your friend said that? Too often . “I only need this highlighter in my life” – NOT!

As much as I still go gaga or ooohhhs and ahhhhs over new highlighter releases, I don’t find myself wanting to purchase them. It’s getting stale. I find that everybody in the whole wide world is forever never ending releasing a new highlighter. It’s getting too repetition that I got bored and stopped buying highlighters. Let’s be honest here. Highlighter never finishes! I piled them up on my face every day and I don’t see that I’ll hit pan anytime soon. Let me show you my small little highlighter in my collection, which are my favourite and why I don’t purchase anymore highlighters.

Ultimate favourite, the one I regretted not buying a few more

I have heard Zoella talking about the Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée Blush so many times that I regretted not getting it while I still can.

2 years ago, I went to Estée Lauder Staff Sale and I saw this! There she was, sitting beautifully on the table with no one near it. Everyone probably thinking it is too shimmery to be used as a blush but I knew this is not a blush type of blush but a darn pretty highlighter. I giggled my way to the table and grabbed one without blinking. Not even a split second. I had an urge to grabbed another one but I thought I wouldn’t use this as much as that time I wasn’t into all the contouring and highlighting routine. It was my one and only highlighter and I have used it so much so that it has a small dent to it. It’s a waste that Estée Lauder no longer make them anymore as they are the most absolute gorgeous highlighter ever. I was hoping that I will see this at the next warehouse sale but nope, these never make an appearance anymore. It was made in 2013 so Estée Lauder wouldn’t sell this at 2016 staff sale. No way I am throwing this away. There is something about a pink highlighter that goes on so beautifully on the skin. I never quite get this effect from other highlighter except from this. It’s the only highlighter that shows up on photos for me.

The one that shocked me and caught on camera

I tried this Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips All-in-1 Custom Nude Palette For Face & Eyes one day on camera and my shocking reaction was caught on point on camera.

Not only this Shimmer Strips has a cute lace box packaging, albeit a bit bulky but I like lace so yeah. It is said for the face and eyes. So far I used it as highlighter as that’s what I learnt from international Youtubers. Plus I have a separate eye palette within the range for my eyes so I don’t use this for the eyes. Some people has been using the warm bronzey bottom as their bronzer but I find it to be too shimmery. As a topper yes, not as the main bronzer alone. I like to use the top two rows, run my brush on them several times and voilá. The highlighter is so blinding that it lasts the entire day. If you have darker skin, just swirl everything together. Another thing I notice is how fine the shimmers are. There aren’t much powder kick back to it. Although I have been using this like crazy, I still don’t see a dent. How is that even possible! I am so totally recommending this if you need a good highlighter that is absolutely affordable.

Waitlisted, bought and disappointed, the one that is cheap but does nothing

I wanted to complain about the ELF Illuminating Palette so much but it is so cheap, like RM26.84 cheap that I shut my mouth lol.

I own a ELF Contour Palette and it was not too bad so when iHerb has the Blush Palette and Illuminating Palette, I bought immediately. However the Illuminating Palette was sold out within the next minute that I was put on waitlist. I immediately check out when it was back in stock.

It was a disappointing palette to be honest. It has no pigmentation AT ALL. The only shade that is more shimmery is the 1st shade on the top left. The rest is more of a matte shade with no pigmentation at all. I don’t reach out for this palette at all nowadays as this palette require plenty of time piling up. And the end result is not wow even though so

Does better than how it look

I decided to lump these two Essence Prismatic Rainbow Glow Highlighter and Wet n Wild Mega Cushion Highlight together because my thoughts on them are pretty similar.

Essence Prismatic Rainbow Glow Highlighter is an exciting purchase this year. It is so cheap and it’s pretty interesting to see a rainbow highlighter turned into a golden highlight. It is beautiful on the skin, with super fine shimmers and almost no powder kick back. The highlight is subtle but definitely there type of highlighter. As it is a golden-ish type of highlight, I can’t see clearly in my dark room and I always end up piling them. What amazed me was that, no matter how much I used, it is not blinding or looking too overly done. It is still beautifully highlighting and yet not overly done type of highlighter.

Wet n Wild Mega Cushion Highlight on another hand requires a little bit of getting used to at first when it is new. At the beginning I ended up with a patchy highlight strip on the top of my cheeks and that freak me out. Later on I found a way around; and that is to tap on the back of my hand to even out the liquid highlight before dabbing it on my cheek bone. It is so gorgeous! I was blown away everytime I whipped this out to use. The end result looks like as I was using an expensive highlighter but actually this cost just $5.99 each. I’m glad I bought 2!

The most outrageous expensive highlighter I use

Ahhhh Guerlain Coque D’Or Perfumed Shimmer Powder Body & Hair. I fell in love with this mainly for its packaging. Do I have any use for perfumed powder? Not at all

These days no one goes out with shimmery hair or skin unless you are in a photo shoot or fashion show. I missed the previous one so I told myself I have to get this. And I did. Then I ended up not knowing what to do with it. It cost me nearly RM400. I told myself it’s too expensive as vanity table decoration lol. So I ended up using it on my cheek bone as highlighter! It works but the misting has to be really precise and on point. If not and you need to spread it out with your fingers, you will find all the shimmers stick to your fingers instead of the face. It’s a waste of money I tell you lol. During my earlier highlighting days, I used to use this a lot but I can never get a precise mist. It always ended up on my cheeks rather than on my cheekbone. It also has fly away shimmers that tend to get on every other part of the face. It’s outrageous, it’s expensive and I’m using it as highlighter. Oh well

Now, confession time. Which one of you cannot stop buying highlighter? I think I have problem to stop purchasing contour or bronzing product but highlighter? I don’t need a lot. So far I have been doing pretty good.

The post “I only need this highlighter in my life” – NOT! appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Do you? Because I do. I GET VERY PARANOID.

I don’t know what it is but last time I used to buy buy buy, get get get and I like it. I don’t feel suffocated or paranoid about expiry date at all because I know I will get through it since I use so much product on day to day basis. But since last year, I changed unknowingly. I started to get very paranoid with how much stuff I have – used and unused.

It has gotten out of hand that I have to buy a 6-tier shoe cabinet to store my “stock pile”. My home Sephora as I name it. And I have a FIFO (first in first out) system for my stock pile too! For the first month everything was good, then it gotten out of hand very quickly. Even my cabinet is weighing down at the middle now lol. Mind you all this happened even when I have always been very selective with the events and engagement I agree on.

Used skincare wise, I am doing pretty good. I have a strict rule of only to open a new one when I have gone through the existing product. I also reject skincare product review, sponsored or not sponsored when I feel that I can’t justify opening another new product only to stress about it later. I know other bloggers don’t care but I do. I have always believe that we should not waste, especially beauty products. Especially skincare!

But I can’t say the same with unused skincare. I have so much! So much so that I have to really be selective with skincare launches. I have to consider if the brand or range suits me and if I want it. Otherwise, I don’t go. Unless I have been confined in the house for a few days and I get to see a bunch of my blogger friends, that is when you will see me lol.

Used makeup wise, errrr…this one I failed tremendously. I have the tendency to “open up a new product” to use whenever I feel like going to Sephora to shop. In order to curb my Sephora shopping addiction, I turned to my own stash. Most of the time I have to keep reminding myself that I have a Sephora at home. STOP SHOPPING!

Having said that, I have no regrets with opening up a new makeup products. This way I get to clear my stock pile faster and I get to save money for not shopping at Sephora. And sometimes, just sometimes the temptation is too strong, I will go for drugstore new product hunting. It is my favourite thing to do these days. I like to bring you around (I meant Insta Stories) whenever I go to Guardian or Watsons to look for new products. Once a while I find hidden gem or markdown or new releases. Sometimes I went home with disappointment. You know how it is. Drugstore brand don’t do launches like the higher end brand so who the heck will know if there is any new products unless we go to look for it, right?

I remember someone once sarcastically teased me on Instagram direct message saying that I don’t have as much new makeup products as I do with skincare. True. BUT, I do have four large Sephora gift box full with new makeup products. Of course it is not as much as skincare from the look of it because skincare bottles are blindly bigger than makeup products. If you need to see equally same width and height of stock pile then that would mean I have lesser skincare. And I bet she have lesser than me

Enough rambling already. So, based on my casual chat with numerous friends and bloggers, they feel fine. They don’t feel paranoid of having so many products used or unused around them. I know one or two bloggers who will get paranoid when she discovered the expiry date is in a few months time lol. I know because I usually get phone calls with the other party screaming “die la die la” on the phone.

What do you think? Are you a beauty hoarder as well? I have been allocating some of my stock pile out for #IWillBeOkay Beauty Fund Raising. Even that also I don’t see my mini Sephora getting emptier.

The post Do You Get Paranoid with Too Many Used and Unused Products appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

As you already notice, blog update for this week is at a minimal as both of my camera decided to complot and broke down one day apart from each other. My main camera is the Olympus PEN E-P3. The lens started to have an issue when I tried to zoom in from 25mm onwards. But it is still usable until the morning while I was taking photo of the L’Oréal Lucent Magique Cushion Glow Blush. I couldn’t move the lens anymore. That is when something inside had broken. All was still good as I have a spare camera. A point-and-shoot Canon Powershot S110 which I bought as a spare camera a few years ago because the same E-P3 was sent to the service centre for the same issue. When I took it out to take photos of the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Cream, the lens is not retracting in. Same issue. I ended up with two camera lens that wouldn’t retract back in.

Olympus is charging me RM200 to RM250 for the spare part including camera body cleaning. Canon on the other hand quoted me RM527.90. That’s right. A camera which cost me half the price of the micro 4/3 is charging me double of the repair price of the micro 4/3. Story cut short, my Olympus camera will be home in another week and I am not paying for the Canon. Poor thing. It’s a fairly new camera as I’ve used less than 10 times since I bought it. Geez Canon!

I will try to update as much as I can. But until the camera is home, product reviews will be kept minimal.

Stay beautiful! xoxo

The post When Both Camera Decided To Break Down Together appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona

Let’s talk about something else today instead of another beauty product review. Since I started #IWillBeOkay ‘Fight Against Depression’ Awareness Campaign, I have been lectured so much about social media in the short one week compared to half of my life. No kidding. It was a good lecture. That got me to do some digging and maybe just a little bit of fine tuning on social media posting. Having to come from advertising and social media background, obviously I know what I was doing but I always have a quirky idea when it comes to social media. In the advertising industry, I am known as someone who do things creatively different. I don’t do things the conventional way. Advertising people ought to keep changing and create out of the norm ideas. But because I am also a blogger and an editor, I tend to do lengthy post. Social media on the other hand needed to be short.

So that got me thinking about Instagram. What does Instagram mean to you? To me, Instagram is where I tell a story. Each photo I posted has a story and I am not shame to post lengthy post to tell my followers my story.

Instagram posting can be a hit and miss. It depends on how you see it. I don’t bother much about followers and likes. Having said that, the numbers of followers and likes is how one are measured, whether the campaign is a success or the otherwise. I can tell you upfront that mine has always been a neutral. If you follow me long enough you will know that I LOVE SHARING, not so much about product selling except for the recent #IWillBeOkay. I find a good deal, I share it. I like something, I share it. I am happy with something, I share it. I have a story to tell, I share it.

Instagram is a place for me to share a photo (or two or five) and to tell a story. I believe each photo has a story. Mine have stories and I am more than happy to share albeit the lengthy post. Trust me I have tried to cut it short lol. You know me, I do not like to twist and turn. I am as straight as a train.

There are three main theme for my Instagram posting – (1) beauty, (2) candid shot, and (3) *secret* . Another type of posting that you will see popping out once in a few days is my fictional short stories. This has been playing a mind trick on most people. Some thought it’s real, some knew it’s fictional. I say it depends on how you see it. My hashtag #fictionalstory says it all (spoiler alert!).

Instagram is really a good place to share your beautiful photo of the day, things that caught your eyes, new launches, OOTD, MOTD, happy times with friends, yummylicious food and so on. No doubt it will attract some funny followers like dodgy middle eastern men with pictures of himself or suspicious account full with girls photo. I go through every new follower’s profile and force unfollow those that are dodgy. God knows what they will do with the photos from my account. Gaining new followers is good but I like to scan through them to make sure they are legit. Some are fake accounts that are created for people who buy likes and followers. These are the followers that I will delete.

Instagram is a story telling. My voice. Despite how I was lectured to keep my caption short by the marketing team, I refused. Especially for photos where I want to share my experience and advice. More specifically on my journey with battling depression and the awareness campaign I have came out with, #IWillBeOkay. These are the one that I want to put in my personal journey story. There is no short cut to giving advice. I cannot just tell my followers to “get well”. It does not make sense. It will just make things worse. I’ve learnt that no one can tell you what to post and what not to post unless you are paying someone to manage social media for you. But you, you will always have the say with what to post on your social media

Now tell me, what does Instagram means to you? Do you hate it, love it, just meh about it? I spent more time on Instagram more than anything else. It used to be Facebook and let me tell you a secret…my Facebook was created by a friend lol. I was not keen with Instagram when everyone got onto the bandwagon. I did not know what is the purpose of posting on Instagram or what it does except for collecting followers and likes. Now, I like that I can share my thoughts and chat interaction I can have with my followers. In fact my Instagram is like a mini Street Love.

The post Instagram Story: What Does Instagram Mean To You? appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona