Christmas Outfits by El

Hello people!
So who's excited for Christmas? I hope you are! Unless you're like me. I'm actually starting to feel tired of waiting for Christmas, since I got all too excited waaaaaay too early(like in October). I started planning my gift list and singing Christmas carols in the shower in October because I knew my essays and exams will eat into my time later. It's starting to feel like Beckett's Waiting for Godot for me, where everyone just keeps waiting for Godot to appear but he never comes...

Seriously, 2 more days to Christmas and it feels so far away! I'm actually not doing anything special on Christmas day itself(but I do get to go out with friends the next day yay!). But this post is about what I'd wear for Christmas, so let's all pretend that my life is quite happening and I've got some great gathering to go to. I'm gonna show 2 outfits (one casual + one glamorous) that I think would be great outfits to wear for Christmas.

OUTFIT #1-Street style
First up, a more casual outfit that is on a bit of the cool side:

Outfit- Asymmetrical white tank: NA; Dark green skirt: Forever 21; Black buckles boots: taobao, brown sweater: Cotton On, Black bag: NA.

So I decided to have a skirt+boots combination because I like that it gives it a sense of edginess(I think my boots look like what I'd imagine knight boots to look like haha.) For contrast, I chose a white, flowing, asymmetrical blouse which is partially translucent( there's this shimmery translucent section at the side that is reveals my body). Asymmetrical tops also has a good slimming effect because it elongates the body. I thus have a bit of feminine elements to soften the hard edges of my knight boots. I put on 'tough' accessories like my yellow studded bracelet and black triangle earrings to round off the look. 

Yellow studded bracelet: Cotton On, Black triangle earrings:H&M.

In case you were wondering about my brown cardigan, I brought it along because I thought I'd be cold that day. It's one of those long, drape-y cardigans that I think is quite cosy.  I tied the cardigan around my waist to create a relaxed vibe and also to make my legs look more flattering.

Yay Kate Spade Saturday is coming!

As can be seen from the picture above, the cardigan will cover the outer edges of my thighs, giving the illusion that my legs are slimmer than they are. I chose brown because it goes well with the green of my skirt. Overall the look is quite cosy and comfortable. It's suitable for a day out of watching movies with friends or gobbling down cakes at cafes. 

OUTFIT #2-Decked in Lace

For a more glamorous look, one can always trust lace to up the wow level in your outfit.

Outfit- White chiffon top: Dorothy Perkins; Lace see-thru skirt: H&M; Red bag: Korea; Heels: Bata.

This is an ultra feminine look to me. Not only does the blouse has chiffon, it also has crochet details AND sequins. That is one huge amount of feminine details packed into it. The feminine air is further enhanced by the see-thru lace skirt I have on. I seriously adore this skirt for the lace details and the fact that it is see-thru. The lace details are really pretty and the lace skirt veils my legs, giving this air of mystery and-- (may I boldly suggest)-- sensuality to the outfit. The purplish grey colour also softens the look, making this outfit great for a fancy dinner party. I wore my coral red heels and took my red quilted bag for a pop of colour so that I will not look too washed out. I find that I neutrals always need pops of colour to brighten the look or else you'll fade into the background (and nobody wants that). A more comfortable shoe alternative would be a pair of ankle or chelsea boots, which will also create a chic look.

A quick look overall at my outfit. I pinned my hair with my favourite pearl clip that I also wore in my monochrome affair post. I also wore a gold bangle but I did not have a good close-up of it >.<. 

And here's a closeup of my top becaue I think all the lace and sequins deserve a picture on its own! 

Makeup

For makeup, I did a red lip with neutral/burgundy eyes and mascara. Red lips always scream festivity on its own, but is pretty high maintenance. Feel free to go with your favourite red tinted lip balm or lip tints that are more fuss-free.

My bareface! I'm actually pretty happy with my skin now since my pimples are clearing away. 

I actually used burgundy eyeshadow but it just did not show up in the camera. Anyway, it's mostly neutral eye makeup as you do not want to have anything else fighting for attention with those red lips! 

These are the makeup I used:

1. Revlon Colorstay Concealer (03 Light Medium). I use this everyday to cover blemishes. 

2. Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation SPF 15 (O40 Natural Fair Ochre). Awesome foundation that gives medium coverage even though it's liquid.

3. Bourjois Blush (16 Rose)

4. Essence All About Matt! Fixing Loose Powder

5. Catrice Cosmetics Re-Touch Light-Reflecting Concealer(010 Ivory). I use this to cover my undereye area

6. Benefit Browzings Brow shaping kit (medium)

7. Sleek i-Divine Eye shadow Palette(au Naturel 601). For my eyes, I used the colours Conker to line my eyes and a little Mineral Earth to blend the edges.

8. NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base. This is great as a primer.

9.NYX Single Eyeshadow (Rust)

10. Fasio Hyper-stay Mascara Magne-plus curl long. This has a comb brush with lash fibres that gives me long lashes that do not flake or smudge at all. 

11. NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick (Electra)

12. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Pure Gold). I used this as the base colour.

13. NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow (Oro). I used this in the middle of my eyelid because it just pops out.

Products that aren't shown:

NYX Slim Lip Pencil (Deep Red). You definitely need to line your lips if you're gonna use red. 

Holika Holika Makeup setting spray. This is pretty good and affordable to use for setting makeup. 

To add an extra oomph to your makeup, add in a pair of false lashes if you're able to. I don't enjoy wearing false lashes so I didn't put on any. You can also swap the red lips with a pink shimmery gloss to add an extra sparkle to your face. 

Well I hope you enjoyed this post! Hopefully it gave you some inkling on what to wear for your Christmas this year! This will be my last post before Christmas so I'm gonna wish you all lovely people a blessed Christmas! Have a great time during this festive season and eat all you want :)

Merry Christmas!

Love,

El   xoxo

P.S If you're wondering about my hair, I permed and coloured it. I'll blog about my experience some other time :)

Christmas Outfits by Christine!

3 days to Christmas!

If you're a Doctor Who fan, then this means 3 days to the X'mas Special.

And saying goodbye to Matt Smith :(

Have a X'mas party to go but don't know what to wear?

Fret not!
Elle and I have come up with 2 outfits each - one for a chill and relax kinda party and one for a formal up-you-go kinda party.

But of course, with a few details here and there, the outfits can bring you from casual to formal and vice versa.
Now, on to what I have for you guys :)

 First up:

THE CASUAL GLAM

Outfit
Lace L/S Top: Chicwish
Red Velvet-like Skirt: Cotton On
Red flats: Rad Russel
Bag: Charles & Keith
Accessories: Bow Ring, Toy Outpost & Hako; Ribbon Hair Clip (Elle's)

Grab a pair of black stockings, slip on a pair of red heels, add a statement necklace and change the tote to a clutch to instantly "upgrade" the outfit.

~~

Next:

THE COSY FORMAL

Outfit
Green knit sweater: H&M
Navy dress pants: Mango
Heels: J-runway/Glifeed
Bag: Tangs Studio
Accesories: Snake Double Ring, Lovisa; Knuckle Ring, Dorothy Perkins, Necklace, gift.

Ditch the clutch and heels for a mini-crossbody and a pair of comfy loafers to transform this outfit for those under-the-radar parties.

~~

Get into the X'mas spirit, wear something red or green.
Or wear both colours at the same time.
It is X'mas, live it up!

I'm really psyched about X'mas although I am probably spending it at home.
Going to a X'mas party on X'mas eve though :)
Will you be attending any parties?
Comment below!

Warning - not for the faint hearted. 

Special reveal: MY BARE FACE
A close-up comparison of the before and after.

Warning - not for the faint hearted. 

Yeah, I have pretty bad dark circles and eye-bags.
So far, eye creams are not working for me.
Any recommendations? :)

Anyhow these are the products I used to transform myself :)

1.Wet 'n' Wild Ultimate Brow Kit in 963 Ash Brown

2. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation in 52, Vanilla

3. Laura Mercier foundation primer

4. Revlon New Complexion Loose Face Powder in Translucent #2

5. Revlon Colourstay concealer in 03 Light Medium

6. Canmake Cream Cheek in CL01

7. Majolica Majorca Blush in RD 255 (Nars Orgasm dupe!)

8. Nyx Matte Lip Creme in Amsterdam

9. Urban Decay Naked Basics

10. Maybelline The Falsies - Volum' Express Waterproof

11. Nyx eyeshadow in ES160 Africa

12. Nyc Eyeshadow in ES41 Tropical

13. K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 1-Day Tattoo

14. Mac Kohl Eyeliner in Fascinating

15. Bourjois Contour Clubbing Waterproof Eyeliner in 51 Golden Dress

~~

Hope you guys are inspired by the outfits and makeup!
Instagram (mine and Elle's) or tweet us your versions.
We'd love to hear from you.

Look out for Elle's Christmas party outfits, coming up next :)

Till next time.
Love,

Christine xoxo

Christmas Gift Ideas: DIY Christmas Cards (Part 3)

Hello lovely people!

Welcome back to the last part of our Christmas DIY cards series! Today's card is SUPER EASY and fast to do. I'm going to show you my print out cards that I designed and created using the tools on Picmonkey and Microsoft Office. I'm usually more of a cut and glue person when it comes to cards, but one can't deny the convenience and ease of print out cards. Thus I'm going to share the print out cards files with you here. You can also customize how the cards look like even after they are printed out, such as adding a photo inside or adding on little decos. I'll show you how I did my cards and  customized them so they don't look run-off-the-mill.

The 3 card designs available: (from left to right) Card 1, Card 2(stripes card) and Card 3(words card).

• First off, download the files.(Files are in PDF format)

First card:Click here
Second card:Click here
Third card:Click here

• Print the card on a piece of white A4 size paper. For the third card, you can use other coloured paper as well since it is in black and white.
  
• Cut away the excess paper marked out by the vertical line.
  

• Use a creasing tool to mark out the lines that you have to fold. These lines are indicated by the dotted lines. 
• Fold both the left and right side of the cards inwards to get something that looks like the card in the picture below  
  
• Write a message inside the card or add a photo. Decorate the card as you wish, both outside and inside.
• To decorate, you can tie a ribbon around the card as seen in Card 1 or make a flower like in Card 2.

How to make the paper flower:(refer to pictures for visual help)

1: Cut a strip of paper around 15 cm long. The width of the strip will be the radius of the flower.

2: Fold like how you would fold a fan. 

3:Make a circle with the strip and glue the ends together. Glue on a circle or flower shaped paper in the centre.

Here are pictures of the cards:

Card 1: A snowflakes card that looks really cute and cheerful with the scalloped edge. I added a pink ribbon to make it more girly.

Card 2:  A card that reminds me of a carnival due to the colourful striped background (it's the same as our blog's bg).

Card 3: A simple monochrome card that uses text for decoration. Suitable for both genders and gives off a mature but fun vibe.

Well I hope you do take a shot at making these cards this Christmas. It'll make a great gift by itself or as an add-on besides the Christmas gift you're giving! I hope enjoyed our DIY Christmas Cards series for this year. Here's to wishing you a good Christmas filled with fun and food. 

Here're the 3 cards again after I was done with all the decorations! Don't they look pretty?

Till next time.

Love,

El   xoxo

Christmas Gift Ideas: DIY Christmas Cards (Part 2)

Hello lovely people!

Welcome back to Part 2 of our Christmas DIY cards series. Today's card is for all those Whovians out there as we're making a TARDIS card! This will be a super awesome gift for those Dr Who fans anytime of the year. A TARDIS card will make a special gift since this year, since not only is this year the 50th year since the show has aired, but also because there's going to be a new Doctor this Christmas! Hands up if you're excited to catch this year's Christmas special.

I'm going to show you how to make a TARDIS card in 2 different ways. First one will be the easy card, which just involves printing, cutting and gluing everything together. The second one requires more effort, but it definitely is cooler. I actually made this card for my friend's birthday earlier this year and she loved it. Sorry that there's no final completed picture for this because Christine didn't help me take a photo of it after she finished gluing the parts together. Anyway, let's ditch the rambling and get started :)

TARDIS Card: The Easy One 
Materials:

• A piece of blue paper (TARDIS blue)
• TARDIS stencil (click on link below)
• scissors
• glue
• ruler
• writing materials

Steps

1. Draw out your own TARDIS if you can. You can access my TARDIS picture with the measurements by clicking on this link.  Well, I did this part, so I've scanned the finished version and uploaded it. You can get it here. (NOTE: You have to use a paper that is not too thick or else your printer is unable to print it. I learnt this the hard way when my printer got jammed *cries*)
2. Click on link and open file. Print it on blue paper and cut the outline. 
3. Open the file for the TARDIS add ons (like the windows etc) and print them. The add ons like the windows and 'Pull to Open' poster have been sized to the scanned drawing, so if you printed the TARDIS drawing in original size, everything should fit nicely. Cut them and print them. Don't worry if you screw up the cutting since I made extras for such purpose. 
4. For the window panes, I made small white rectangles because I used them as stencils to draw on black paper and cut them out. If you're lazy, just make the rectangles black, print and cut them out. 
5. Glue the add ons to the TARDIS as shown in the picture. Download the TARDIS add on document here. The respective places have been marked out so you just paste accordingly. You can choose to write a X'mas message behind or add on anything else to make the card look more festive :)
6. And now you've got your very own TARDIS card!

Tadah! A simple TARDIS card is formed!

TARDIS Card: The Difficult One

This is how it should look like in the end. Notice that you get to open the doors! 

Materials:

• 2 pieces of the same blue paper and other coloured paper
• glue
• scissors
• clips or stapler
• ruler
• writing materials

Steps

1.  Same as the easy version. Print the drawing outline by clicking on the link here. Use your blue paper or rough paper if you're going to be doing step 2. If you can print it on your paper, then skip to step 4. I advise you to make 2 copies of the TARDIS if you're printing. You'll need one copy to be the base TARDIS and the other for the doors.
2. Now this is the important part if you're using a thick paper that your printer rejects(aka it's too thick to print). You take the printed paper and attach it to your desired TARDIS paper using stapler/glue/clips. The printed TARDIS picture will act as the outline for you to cut along. Cut carefully!

   

   You should get something like this. Notice there aren't any lines on it.

3. Now, take a pencil and ruler and draw back the lines on the TARDIS based on what you see on the printed version. Don't need to draw the doors part because we'll be making the doors. Take a black ink pen/marker and draw over the pencil lines. This will be your base TARDIS.
4. Alright now for the doors part. For those who did the printing method for the TARDIS, this is where you continue reading. You should have 2 TARDIS printed out. Take one of it and cut away the parts that are not the doors as shown by the black dotted lines in the picture. Cut the doors in half to separate them. You should end up with a door for each side of the TARDIS.  Fold along the white dotted lines as marked in the picture to make the tabs. 
5. For those who did the cut and draw in the lines method, measure the TARDIS doors and draw them on another piece of TARDIS blue paper. If you're lazy, take the TARDIS that you printed to act as a stencil and cut out the doors portion. Use that as a stencil to draw the doors. Add a 1cm tab along the sides of both doors so you can fold and glue to the base TARDIS.  For this step, you still have to draw in details on the doors.
6. Print the TARDIS add ons and cut them out. Download the add ons from this link. Glue them to the respective places.
7. Glue the tab part of the doors to the base TARDIS. Now you have a TARDIS card with doors that can be opened and closed! For the inside of the TARDIS, you have to cover the lines with a picture or a paper. You can print a picture of the inside of the TARDIS and scale it to the right measurements and then paste it. Or you can take a nice piece of paper and cut it down to size and paste it there to cover the lines. Then take a pen and write a lovely, heartfelt message on it. 

This should be more or less how your final TARDIS should look like. I've not glued in the window panes for this.

Final notes:
In case you've missed out on the available resources, here's the round up.
Picture of TARDIS for printing:here
TARDIS add ons:here
Picture of TARDIS with measurements:here

That's all the steps needed to make a TARDIS card. Now make one and surprise a Dr Who fan. If you're unfamiliar with how the TARDIS looks like, Google images and note down the details. I hope you enjoy making this card! Check back again tomorrow for the final segment of our DIY Christmas Cards series!

Till next time
Love,
El   xoxo

Christmas Gift Ideas: DIY Christmas Cards (Part 1)

Hey lovely people!

Christmas is coming and your wallet's almost empty. What presents can you get for your loved ones, you wonder. How about making Christmas cards? It's always the thought that counts, and I find that handmade cards with heartfelt wishes make sweet gifts. I think it's wonderful that someone would put all their efforts into making and writing a card. The thoughts put into making a card can be worth just as much as a store-bought gift or more...like a pencil case. For this Christmas, we're going to show you 3 different kinds of card designs that you can easily make yourself! We'll be posting a card DIY tutorial here for each day. If you're excited about cards, skip this long introduction and look at the instructions. Still unconvinced about making cards? Then keep on reading!

So you might be thinking, "A card is just paper. It's rather...cheap." There are tons of reference materials out there that you can draw inspiration from to make your card look cool.  However, one problem I find with those beautiful cards I see online and in scrapbook magazines is that they use such EXPENSIVE paper and tools. This is a problem if you're not a frequent crafter. Honestly, a piece of scrapbooking paper costs $1++ each in Singapore. Stickers and stamps cost even more. A tip to get pretty paper is to PRINT them. There are awesome sites and images out there that you can use as paper background. You can even make your own by designing them using Paint or Powerpoint. If you've got Photoshop, go ahead and use it. Anyway, choose a couple of designs and print them using laser printer. If you're seriously broke, use wrapping paper or normal coloured paper. Or just grab a marker/colour pencil/pen and draw. A little thinking can do wonders. A useful place for printable deco paper is Craftingeek's site, where you can find beautiful papers available for downloads and print. 

For tools, you can make use of things around your house or just buy them. I don't buy many tools, because they're usually so expensive. But if I want any tools, I'd go Daiso. It sells a smorgasbord of things for $2 each. It sells craft punches for $2, which is at least $3 cheaper than the prices in specialty craft shops. It has embossing tools also, but I've yet to try them. Craft punches can save you a ton of effort on cutting out deco pieces. Like stars for example. Drawing and cutting out stars by hand can be pretty frustrating (something that I've learnt while making Christine's gift a while back). A star-shaped craft punch can reduce the hassle. I'm pretty sure most people would have the usual scissors and glue, if you don't, go borrow some. If you need a creasing tool, just use the point of your scissors or a bobby pin.

For today’s post, we’re doing a pop-up 3D card!

I saw something like this selling online and I thought that it is an easy card to make. This card took me around 3 hours to make from scratch; including time spent figuring out the measurements and such. Christine and I have made cards of 3 different sizes using the same method.

Materials:

-       Scissors/ Penknife

-       decoration papers

-       glue

-       colour markers/pens

-       paper punchers (optional)

-       printouts (optional)

-       pencil

Steps

1.    Use a piece of firm paper like card stock paper. Decide on the size and shape of your card. Do you want the background to be square or rectangular? For my card, I decide to make it a square that measures 12x12 cm.

The 12x12 cm part will be the background. The 4cm part is the stage. The 1.5cm parts are the 'legs'.

2.    Next is deciding on the depth of the ‘stage’. The ‘stage’ is the part where you stick the pop-up figures on. The longer the stage, the more space you have to create the depth for your card. For the ‘stage’, I made mine to be 4 cm long. However, my advice is that you make the stage around half as long as the background to give your card the support it needs to stand.

3.    Make ‘legs’ that measure 1.5cm to 2 cm, depending on size of the card. For this card, I used 1.5cm.

4.    Now, take a creasing tool (use the edge of a scissors or back of a needle etc) to crease the lines. This will help you fold nice edges without excess paper wrinkles as you’re using thick paper. Crease along the lines as shown by the dotted lines in the picture.

Take a ruler and run your creasing tool along it. I'm using my comedone remover because it's the best creasing tool I've got(I've washed it really clean >.<).

5.    Decorating time! This is the fun (but tiring) part. You can paste deco paper on the card’s background to make a pretty backdrop. Decide on the items you want to put in the card such as Christmas tree, presents, tv, fireplace, words etc. You can draw out the decorations or print out pictures and add tabs at the bottom. Fold the tabs and glue it to the ‘stage’ part of the card. I’d advice that the tabs be at least 0.5 cm wide. 

Things to note: don’t decorate the background of the card using heavy papers. If you do, the card may not be able to stand as the legs will not be able to support the weight.

I used my flower craft punch from Daiso to punch out pretty blue flowers that can look like snowflakes.

Christmas tree drawing for dummies: Draw triangles and stack them as shown above. Remember to leave a tab of around 0.5cm at the bottom!

6.    You can write a message on the back of the card. Just apply glue to the 1.5 cm section between the background and the stage to join them together. Now you're done!

Tadah! I decorated my tree using a black marker and drew fairy lights on it. Simple and easy for those who can't draw or are short on time. 

You can make bigger sized cards like what Christine did:

She did a 15x15 cm sized background. Notice the 'stage' part of the paper is also bigger.

And this is her finished product! She's gotten creative with making pop-up words and a cozy fireplace. You can print out words and add tabs at the bottom to save the trouble of drawing and cutting.

You can also make small cards like so:

A cute mini version! I used leftover pieces of paper to make this.

A look at the finished cards! Don't they look pretty?

Well I hope you've enjoyed this card tutorial. I do hope you try this out if you're looking for card ideas :) Check back again soon for the next installment of the DIY Christmas cards series. 

Till next time

Love, 

El   xoxo

Another New Look for Christmas!

Hey lovely people!

What do you think of the blog's new look? I finally got some time on hand to revamp the blog, as well as attempt to make the blog look better. Since Christmas is coming very soon, I thought I might as well use the traditional Christmas colours of red and green for the blog. Instead of using bright red+green colours, I used the milky/pastel versions of red+green to tone the colours down. I like it this way since the colours will look more "girly" and less in your face. I've been reading up more on HTML and other tips to customise the blog, so expect more changes to the blog's look in the future! Hopefully I get better and more resourceful at doing this kind of things with time, because all the coding is like rocket science to me. Don't be surprised if the blog's appearance keeps changing in the meantime whilst I fiddle with a couple of details.

Since we're on the topic of Christmas, how're your preparations for Christmas? I've been doing Christmas shopping for myself and for others. There are just simply so many sales going on! I've been to The Body Shop lots for skincare stuff and also Metro and Watsons to check out the makeup. If you're still stumped over what to get for Christmas, check out our recent Christmas shopping guides! They just might help you get started thinking on ideal gifts for your loved ones. For those who are broke, check back here tomorrow for our DIY Christmas cards! They're pretty+easy+cheap to make, and handmade cards are always wonderful gifts.

Well I hope this December has been great for you so far, and will continue to be even better. Have a goodnight and check back here tomorrow!

Till next time.
Love,
El   xoxo

Christmas Gift Ideas: Christmas Shopping Guide (Part 2)

Welcome back to the shopping guide!

- The "Upgrade" Version -

X'mas will be upon us in a few weeks' time!!
i.e. X'mas sales!
And deals :)

For those who have more cash to burn, this post will certainly help you get rid of those extra money.
That said, these are still definitely value for money.

Read on for a list of places to get gifts for her and him!

~~

1. LUSH - Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Personally, I have never owned nor used any lush products. In fact, my allergies acted up the very first time I stepped into the store. The smells, to say the least, are certainly very strong.

Hailing from UK, they are, undoubtedly, most known for their au naturel handmade products.
At minimum $10.50 per 100g of soap, it is high up on my list of "Most Expensive Soap Ever."
 But that's not to say LUSH is not awesome! It is, indeed, very awesome.

From facial masks to soap to perfume, they have what you need to make that gift just that tad extra special for that special someone.

Lush has a men's range too!
So don't feel like you're leaving him out.
If nothing, get the facial masks! He will thank you for his new found baby skin.

If really nothing else, check out the X'mas range.
I'm highly intrigued by Snowcake.

What I would buy for her: Henna hair dye, Mask of Magnaminty, Snow Fairy
What I would buy for him: Mask of Magnaminty, Dirty Shaving Cream, Toothy Tabs

Click here for their online store.

Brick and mortar stores: Wisma Atrium, Suntec City Mall.


2.  MONOYONO - Anything But Ordinary

For quirky and fun gifts, look no further.
Just as it's tagline states, all the items are "anything but ordinary".

From sticky notes rollers to moustache cookie cutters to poo-pourri bathroom sprays, Monoyono is definitely not your average store.

For those with 'tongue-in-cheek' friends, this is definitely a to-go place to check out for x'mas gifts!

What I would buy for her: Poo-pourri, Pumped Up phone stand, Roller Notes

What I would buy for him: Poo-pourri, Beat Bot, a Mug.

Yes, I did write POOPOURRI. Watch this to be mind-blown. No more stink! :O

Click here for their online store. 

Brick and mortar stores: Plaza Singapura, VivoCity, Raffles City.

3. Sephora

Now, THIS is a haven for her and for him.
There are a lot, I repeat, A LOT of gifts to find here.
But more for her.

Just recently, Urban Decay launched Naked Palette 3 - rose gold edition.
So yes, if you are feeling generous this year, why not consider this lovely new eye palette?
(Though beware that it is rumoured to have quite a fair bit of fall out)

The different in-store brands also have X'mas deals for sale.
I chanced upon this while I was whiling time away recently.

For $36, this STILA lip glaze set, Colour Me Glossy, contains 9 different ones.
It costs $31 for one usually. Do the math.
It makes a good gift to someone who's a lipgloss fanatic!

For him, there are the hair and body products.
And cologne.
If you're at a lost, there's always the friendly staff to help you out.

What I would buy for her: Naked Basics, Stila Lipglaze set, gift vouchers (don't be stingy!)
What I would buy for him: Gift Vouchers. (Best to let him decide what he likes)

Click here to go to their online store
Brick and Mortar store: Ngee Ann City, Marina Bay Sands, Plaza Singapura, Ion Orchard, Vivocity, Jem, Great World City, Bugis+, Suntec City Mall.


4. The Body Shop

This is the place to go for all those value-for-money X'mas gift sets.
They are all packaged prettily too!
Starting from as low as $5.90 for a X'mas nail file to $65.90 for a X'mas limited edition body set, there is something for everyone, him or her.

Also, they are having a buy 2 get 1 free offer now.
Whatcha waitin' fer?

(A cheaper alternative to Lush) This is the best fall-back place to get X'mas gifts.


Check out their online store here:
Brick and Mortar store: A LOT


5. Sasa

Sasa has a lot to offer this X'mas season too.
Sasa's in-house brand, Sasatinnie, is having a BOGO deal for their eye shadows and lip range.
Colour pay off is pretty good, although if the receiver is not a big fan of shimmers, you'd do well to skip this.

Also, almost all make-up ranges have up to 20% discount, if I'm not wrong.
This includes TheBalm.
Any make-up fanatic will know about Meet Matt(e), Bahama Mama and Frat Boy.
Now is a good time to buy them, for yourself or for that one friend who's crazy about make-up.

Perfumes and fragrances are on discount too!
They have up to 30% off which I think it's a decent discount for such items.
They have those set of 5 travel-size perfumes, or similar sets, for certain brands.
I saw one from Lanvin. The packaging is pretty cute and sturdy.

Be sure to head down to the nearest Sasa and check out their offers!

What I would buy for her: Meet Matt(e) Nude, Sasatinnie's Beloved eyeshadow palette, Facial masks.
What I would buy for him: Hmm, this is tough. Perhaps facial masks? Or hair gel. Hah. For him.

Find them online here.
Brick and mortar stores: EVERYWHERE. Almost.


6. Kinokuniya

Books are always a wonderful gift to receive.
Knowledge is power after all.
From now till 23rd dec, you get 20% off all purchases if you're a member.
Pretty good deal considering one year's membership is at $21.40.

Here are some authors to consider: Neil Gaiman, John Green and Mitch Albom.
If you're into dark humor, you will love Cyanide & Happiness and Ice Cream & Sadness.
For the poetry lover, why not gift them Sylvia Plath's The Collected Poems?
Or give aspiring polyglots some language books.
Cookbooks are aplenty too for the chefs-to-be.

With more than 500000 books, you are so spoilt for choice.

Check their online store here.
Brick and mortar stores: Ngee Ann City, Liang Court, Bugis Junction, Jem


~~

Have fun shopping X'mas! :D
Don't forget to pamper yourself too.
<3

Till next time.
Love,

Christine xoxo

Christmas Gift Ideas: Christmas Shopping Guide (Part 1)

Hello my lovelies!

First post after my exams and it's on my favorite topic:Shopping!
I've been walking around in malls and streets chilling out with my friends and I noticed some totally awesome Christmas deals around. This post will be a quick guide on where you can find some pretty good Christmas deals in places that you might not have thought of visiting! Nothing brings on the Yuletide cheer better than scoring awesome festive deals! This post will be on some of my ideas on where to get gifts. You can always do more research online and find out other deals that are going on in your favorite shops :). Have fun!

For gifts that are affordable but presentable, you can check out these places:

1. Watsons 

They're having lots of buy 1 get 1 free or buy 2 for $xx offers now till 11 Dec, so grab some quickly. The deals apply mostly to chocolates(in nice boxes) to bath and moisturiser sets. These include travel size body butter and shower gel sets by Beauticology and antiseptic hand moisturisers. Super awesome as gifts if you've to buy things in bulk for people like your female colleagues or as backup presents for surprise Christmas visitors.

2. Typo

Typo has lots of quirky stuff that can be used as decoration or as functional stationery. There's a huge range of things you can find, and so are the prices. I love their notebooks with their interesting/pretty covers and the laptop sleeves. Right now, the A4 and A5 spiral bound notebooks are selling at 3 for $10, and they'll make pretty awesome gifts for people who loves to write or are still schooling. Writing in an awesome looking notebook can just boost one's enthusiasm for writing or kill the writer's block :)

Hot Pink Transforma Tablet

3. Lovisa

Looking for bling? Check out Lovisa, which is currently having a bunch of necklaces and other accessories at buy 1 get 1 free or 2 for $20. There're also offers going on for other things. The selection is quite large is you're not picky, but I think the designs are rather limited depending on how much you're willing to spend. It's a good place to get accessories as gifts for your Bff or special person.

4. Topshop

Topshop is a cool place to go to if you want to get mostly gifts for girls. It's like a wonderland for girls. There're shoes, makeup, clothes and underwear to check out. Right now, there're some pretty good things there, like the edgy accessories and makeup. Not all of Topshop's stuff are that affordable, but I recommend checking out the accessories or makeup because they're the cheaper priced things. I love getting socks from there because they've got so many girly designs.  

5. TS

This is the shop selling CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray etc. I think DVDs and CDs are unisex gifts that can be given to many people even in the age of iTunes and online downloads(ahem!) Grab an awesome CD or movie and wrap it up! If I remember correctly, the TS outlet at Causeway Point is having a closing down sale, so there probably are some good deals there.

6. Daiso

Ok this is one of the desperate choices that I'm suggesting for you. YES YOU. To the you who survives on a small allowance but would like to show your appreciation for some of the people around you. Don't judge things from Daiso 'cos they costs just $2. It is always the feelings that count the most. I'm sure if the person cares about you, he/she would understand the sincerity in the gift no matter the shape or price. Daiso sells some pretty awesome things throughout the year. I think an inflatable travel pillow will be a useful gift that is thoughtful of the person's needs. There're also nice snacks (look out for the rice crackers in red,green and black transparent packaging, they're yummy!). There're also nice cups and accessories holder. Basically there're alot of things, and it's easy to pick something as long as you have the person's needs in mind. Practical gifts are the best in my book. 

7. Value$ Shop

This may seem even worse than Daiso to some people, BUT it is a treasure trove of interesting food. You want to give generic gifts like chocolates? This shop's the place for you. It has a bunch of different chocolates at cheaper than supermart prices. Better still is that they're boxed nicely, so wrapping is a breeze. In my recent foray there, I've found Bailey's Chocolates(gasp! they exist?!) and Lindt chocolates. It's also a good place to grab some snacks for the office(or home) Christmas party. Go to your nearest Value$ shop quickly:)

8. Qoo10 (Gmarket)

This is the place to go if you want to buy things online. It has a ton of things that you can buy. However, you will have to think about shipping time for the object to arrive. Therefore, it's good to find sellers that enable self-collection in shops or are located locally so shipping time will (hopefully) take around a week or two. It's good to start a month early with online shopping for Christmas if you want to get something from overseas. You can find pretty cool gifts like polaroid films, international travel adaptor, handphone covers, bags, makeup, cute shirts and many more. It's one of my favorite places to shop and compare prices, especially for korean brands like Holika Holika and Skinfood. Click on the link here to get to the website.

That's all for the first part of our Christmas Shopping Guide! Hope you've enjoyed reading it and found some deals that you're looking for! Look out for part 2 of our guide, which will cover more expensive places.

Till next time.
Festive cheers,
El   xoxo