Weekly photo challenge ~ Vacation Edition

A little late this week. I've been busy hunting for wedding gift and planning a short trip to San Francisco(for the wedding). Coincidently this week's challenge is about vacation. Great timing yumeko. Check hers out here.

1. Somewhere you visited on your last vacation

We went to Taipei. I blogged about it previous posts. Check them out if you're interested.

2. Something you bought on your last vacation

A ring/jewelry holder from muji. I always have a hard time organizing rings. Time to shop for new rings to fill it up.

3. Something you ate on your last vacation


I got to picked this crepe wrap ice cream. The weather is excruciating hot in the summer and I'm always craving for cold ice cream or froyo. I miss that peanut and cilantro ice cream wrap in a crepe.


4. A ticket/bill/receipt from your last vacation

I decided to share one FamilyMart receipt. The receipts in Taiwan is particularly small and they're printed on both sides. Great for the environment, we should adapt it here :)

5. The number 1 place where you live, that you think people should visit
Soco aka south congress avenue on the first Thursday of each month.

(source)

(source)


Austin is a small "weird" city. You'll definitely get a taste of the "weirdness" at soco. It's like one big block party with trailer food, arts and crafts vendors, shops, restaurants and live music.

 





Weekly photo challenge ~ makeup colors edition

Time for weekly photo meme started by yumeko. This week challenge is pretty interesting. It actually got me to reorganize my stash and take note what colors I have too many or lack of.

1. Black

Definitely a staple color for eyeliner and mascara. Milani liquif'eye is still my favorite drugstore eyeliner pencil. I've tried maybeline master drama and it smudges horribly (granted I don't always use eye primer, but I doubt it'll help). The cute brush roll is from the body shop. The matte black shadow from Sleek Storm pallette is great as layers over eyeliners to make them last.

2. Brown

My go to color for work. I love browns and neutral. I'm currently loving Milani 00 radiant bronzer. It's great for contouring as I'm a slightly tanner in the summer(thanks to tubing and swimming)

3. White

like yumeko. This is a hard one for me. I rarely buy anything pure white. I threw in some highlight shades in here.

4. Orange/Coral (adding coral as well)

Almost everything here is for the cheeks. Doubt orange eye shadow will look good on me.

5. Gold/Bronze (adding bronze into the mix)

Anyone know why max factor is no longer sold in the US? I picked the brown/gold shadow long time ago from Walmart. Bad to the bronze is my favorite shade from the color tattoo range.

Zara is having sale right now. I ordered this pair of shoe to go with my wedding dress. Egg robin is my theme color and it's almost impossible to find shoes in this shade.


http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/us/en/zara-us-S2012-s/244930/674559/COLOURED%2BFAUX-SUEDE%2BCOURT%2BSHOE#
 





Red summer wedding guest outfit





Taipei adventure ~ day 3

Taipei adventure ~ day1, day2
Travel date: April 21st 2012
I finally got around to pick and edit the photos for day 3. It ain't easy when sd card is cheap which makes you snapped at anything and ended with more than a thousand photos. If you miss day1&2, checkout the link above.
Day 3 started with a much better instant ramen, with meat!
It was a busy Saturday morning in Taipei.


we dropped by Dr. Sun Yet-Sen memorial on the way to 101. Glad i watched 1911 movie by Jacky Chan before the trip. Refreshed my memory on the founding of the Republic of China.
Dr. Sun Yet-Sen & I. I wonder why his statue aren't as big as Chiang Kai-Shek's considering he was the founder of the nation.
The statue-like guard. I think it's torturous to stand still for hours, but I think they do take pride on their duty.
Wondering around the memorial. It's difficult to take photos together (we were lazy to setup the tripod even though we brought it), so we seized the opportunity and used the camera there :)
A blurry Taipei 101.

Next stop shinkong mitsukoshi, elite and Taipei 101. All the high end department stores are located next to each other. We spent hours in eslite looking at books, magazines, and fancy gadgets.
The main reason for us to go there is not to shop, but to EAT! Din Tai Fung at 101 was crowded with mostly tourist when we got there. We waited for about 20 mins to be seated. I got the say the service was excellent and the xiao lung bao was the juiciest ever. On top of that, they have English menu :)
It started to rain when we were about to leave the area, so we decided to drop by Taipei Main Station underground mall. I heard about the shoes galore there and happy to announce that it's absolutely true. The underground mall is like a labyrinth. You can almost find anything you want there. I love those "cube" shops where sellers rent a cube from the store to sell their products. it's great for small businesses and the items are pretty random. All the shoe stores sell the same shoes that are on sale. So, if you're just eyeing for discounted shoes, you can just go to one store and call it a day. The only difference I encountered is that 1 store sell it for cheaper, 2 shoes for 350nt instead of 200nt each pair at the other stores. Naturally, I bought from the cheaper store.
I've been wearing them almost everyday since I got home. The quality is decent and they will probably last through summer and fall. For less than $6 each, I really can't complain.

Accessories from the cube shops. I'm currently obsess with skulls and skeletons.
We rested in our hotel for a while to drop of all the shopping bags and rest our feet before heading out again.
Cosmed is just around the hotel, which makes it super convenient to haul sheet masks(they are heavy and I wouldn't recommend hauling them all over Taipei unless you have strong arms). I kinda overdid it and probably won't need to buy sheet mask for a year or so. Noted they are about half price cheaper than online. I got my beauty diary, sexy look(new fav) and my scheming box set, which come in several different variety.
We hunt for the famous Ah Zhongshan Mian Xian at Ximen. With all the raves, we expected it to be excellent, but it fell short. The texture of the noodles were soft and thin, but the soup had too much vinegar. I prefer meat or vege broth rather than sauce base.
on the other hand, I give the passion fruit bubble tea a 5 star. Great for hot humid night.

The crowded Saturday night at Ximen. I spent lots of time in the 24hrs Watson.

Beauty/makeup haul from Watson.
Shiseido Tsubaki damage care hair shampoo and conditioner. I love this line as it makes my hair soft without drying out.
Naruko niaouli & tea tree clay cleanser and targeted treatment. I'm using the clay cleanser and it feels so refreshing and clean. I usually leave it on for 5 mins before rinsing off since its a clay cleanser and helps to remove any impurities.
Integrate accent eyes gr760. An olive green shimmery eyeshadow.
Kate cheek color s or-1. Love this natural orange blush.
Majolica Majorca Lash King mascara. A new mascara from the highly rave brand. The fibers lengthens, the mascara doesn't clump even on several layers, and it stay on whole day. my only complain is that it doesn't volumize as much as i like it to. i need to layer on a separate mascara for that. 
Lavshuca little star glow rouge in be-1 lipstick. A sheer nude orange lipstick with shimmers.
Koji no. 71 eyelash curler. This curler is amazing for a cheap price tag.
Biore Sara Sara uv watery essence. My current favorite sunscreen. It blends easily, absorbs quickly, non greasy and works great as a base for my foundation.
Biore Sara Sara uv perfect milk. I have not tried this.
Biore blotting paper. A must have for oily skin like myself.






Fickle Friday Five ~ what's in your bag

It's time for fickle Friday five. It's technically 2 hours passed Friday, but I'm doing it anyway :) Check out yumeko's Entry (Swooning over her Chanel wallet).

1. Cellphone

yup, I'm using an old, crack but goodie Samsung Solstice. I gave my iPhone to my mum and currently nothing in the market appeals to me. I'm waiting for a compact, lightweight, > 8mp camera phone that runs on ice-cream sandwich. Is that too much to ask??

2. Something to keep your money in

My everyday Marc by Marc Jacobs wallet with tons of card slots, which I absolutely need.

3. Something in your wallet

I'm showing my keys instead with tons of loyalty store cards and a rilakkuma key glove to distinguish the most frequently use key (they all look the same). I figured it's more interesting than showing receipts or credit cards......hopefully.

4. Makeup you carry on the go

I carry my makeup in a cath kidston pouch which I got from their spring/summer 2012 mook. flower prints are never boring.
Baviphat Sugar girl peach sebum solution pact powder (pretty mouthful). I like the fresh peach scent and how it sets my foundation nicely without caking. The oil control is decent as well. I'm happy to pick this up on sale for $4 in kl.
Fresh mini sugar rose tinted lip treatment with spf15. This is a last year birthday gift from sephora. I'm obsess with this all-in-one lip product. I can just carry this out and call it a day without hauling a separate lip balm, lipstick and lip gloss. It's very moisturizing plus I love the lemon scent.
Bath&BodyWorks hand sanitizer. You never know what you'll touch.
Rotho eye drops for my dry eyes when I wear contact lens.

5. Whatever you wish to share from your bag

I decided to share my fresh out of the box Tyra wedges from JustFab. It's a subscription website where you take a personalize quiz and they'll match shoes/purses/accessories with your style. Every item is $39.95, but I got my first pair for half off during their promotion.Can't wait to wear them out tomorrow. Check back to see how I'll pair them.