Saturday, March 23, 2013

DIY Chocolate Lip Scrub

I'm not entirely happy with the messed up weather and it's been snowing this month as well! Crazy -tut tut-. My lips have been experiencing the winter season again so I've decided to show you guys this chocolate lip scrub I've been meaning to do. Be warned though it's more to my "taste" so changes would be made during the process.

Ingredients you'll need :          Tools you'll need:

> brown sugar                     > clean empty containers
> honey                           > clean bowl to mix in
> cocoa                           > spoons (preferably 2)





Now for the fun part:



1 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon or cocoa and 1 teaspoon of honey



Mix all the ingredients together and place into small containers or any tightly sealed container should do the job.


I use my EOS Lemon Drop to moisturise my lips after washing off the lip scrub


If it feels a little too stiff I cheated a little and added extra virgin olive oil (°∀°). This should be used once or twice a week depending on how dry your lips are but DON'T over scrub as this can weaken your lips even more and it's not a pretty sight!

Things to remember:

> scrub once or twice a week never more
> you only need a small amount to rub onto your lips

> wouldn't be ideal to lick your dead skin as well so...
> rinse well with lukewarm water and pat dry with towel
> it's important to moisturise your lips afterwards with a lip balm

This was my first time making a lip scrub but it can be altered to suit you so leave me a comment if you find this "recipe" was lacking in certain areas so I can keep that in mind for when I make other flavours in future.



٩(^‿^)۶



Mucho love,


Tofu x 

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I've joined in the Minecraft craze! :D

Yep I thought it'll be until the summer arrives with my degree over and done with but after going through some big personal problems (still am) I've decided to treat myself to this wonderful game. Cannot define this game well enough to the point I love playing the demo but just seeing everyone else play Minecraft with different skins and different textures...I JUST HAD TO!!

Still getting the hang of it but I've always like to vlog for some time but doing research for that so hopefully on my Youtube channel (putting it to good use) I'll be doing tutorials for this game and for makeup/beauty and fashion :D.



My best side...sides!! :D wheeeeeee


without armour :)


my character template for uploading onto the game


Yes HT being the initial for my blog name/youtube name :D so proud! -weeps-. Looking forward to spending my free time crafting my way to victory :D



Mucho love,



Tofu x

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Blog's 1st Burfday ^^

Just realised I've been blogging for a year now marking 1st March 2012 as my first post [Link]. I completely forgot as I started blogging properly last summer!


It's me not as a sugar cube but a tofu block :) hence the nice curvy look hehe

I'm still new to this whole blogging community but I'm hoping to do more hauls, reviews and maybe FOTD (Face Of The Day) and more OOTD (Outfit Of The Day), etc etc. Just struggling with horrible breakouts due to me carelessly abusing my skin with/out makeup and I'm trying to control how much junk I consume :(.


I hope to continue posting up more interesting things for you guys to read and hopefully more followers ٩(^‿^)۶ - yaay. Just the importance that my blogs are reasonable to look at for tips/reviews encourages me to continue blogging even though I tend to stop every now and then (uni or just too lazy sorry o(╥﹏╥)o ).

What's important is I've made it past a year! Oooh yeh!

 
(°⌣°)


Mucho love,




Tofu x

[Review] Poundland Chit Chat makeup range #1

Not really one of the places you'd expect to have a makeup line but Chit Chat is Poundland's very own. At first I didn't think much of the range due to the brand and not realising it was Poundland's own...I decided to purchase a few things just out of curiosity.


Chit Chat Cheek Tint (£1)
(dupe for Benetint and 2true's Lip n Cheek tint)
Looks deep red from the outside but very watery and the only downside of this would be that most of the product stained my finger rather than my hand (shown third slot)

This is worse than 2true's lip n cheek tint and I would not purchase this again. This wouldn't be of any use for my lips as it's heavily pigmented and it won't show up so...yeh that's £1 down the drain :( -sighs-.



Chit Chat Highlighter (£1)
(dupe for High Beam)
As this was the first highlighter I've tried I can't compare against any other brands but so far this works fine for me

I only apply this on my brow bone and above my cheekbone, just small dabs would do fine for me. A little goes a long way with this one though so have a disco ball for a face! The brush looked destroyed when I pulled it out of the pot...not pleased to use this but I only dab the product on my face then spread using my finger.

 
Chit Chat Highlighter brush: the brush has seen better days...


Chit Chat Gel Eyeliner (£1)
(a dupe for...?)
I didn't realise someone had already opened the pot so used that same area to swatch this post. The consistency is quite smooth but at least it wasn't flaking on my hand

The brush is rather small but I don't think it'll keep shape after a while so I might use my other liner brushes. My eyelids are quite oily after a few hours so I doubt this is even going to stay for an hour but I'll give this a try (at home).



Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick in Pink (£1)
(dupe for Revlon Balm Stain and Clinique Chubby Stick)
The packaging looks too similar to Revlon's Just Bitten but the lid doesn't stay put. It's more of a buttery feel like it's melting onto my lips which felt weird however the colour was quite nice as it wasn't too harsh but a nice shimmer



Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick in Coral (£1)
(dupe for Revlon Balm Stain and Clinique Chubby Stick)
I half expected the orange colour to be really bright but like the pink there's the shimmer but a nice hint of the colour intended
Again the buttery feel for both the lipsticks was probably the only negative point for me personally but I've used the Pink a few times just to give me a nice hint of pink.


~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~


I'm contemplating whether or not to purchase the other products in the Chit Chat range but being aware of the dangers in poorly made cosmetic products I'll have to see if any problems have occurred since releasing more products lately (or so I've noticed).

Personally I prefer Superdrug's MUA over Chit Chat but there's always the idea of having cheaper products to practice with or to be a good dupe for, etc. But that's just me so everyone is different when it comes to personal preferences. :)





(•‿•)

Mucho love,


Tofu x

Friday, January 25, 2013

[Review] L'oreal White Perfect Re-Lighting Whitening Facial Foam

TREASURE??

This is probably one of the best finds in the 99p store. No joke THE 99p store! ( I'm cheap YES I've always felt my skin tone was darker than the typical Chinese but I'm more prone to getting a tan. I rarely wear foundation unless my confidence level has dramatically dropped (I joke) only for occasions as my skin needs to breathe (oily Asian face o(╥﹏╥)o ).

This product has 100ml worth of facial foam with whitening effect and leaving you with clearer skin...[NOTE: dermatologically tested on Asian skin].



Just realised this is available largely in the East than here in the West due to the needs for different skin types so this is fortunate for me.




"I'm a man!" to squeaky clean (°⌣°)


The texture feels a little rubbery when washing off but no harm done. After washing off the scrub, pat your face dry then moisterise afterwards. I'm not entirely sure this would be available in all 99p stores but it works for me these past few weeks since purchasing last month.




♥‿♥


Mucho love,


Tofu x

Thursday, January 03, 2013

[Review] Tesco's Along Came Betty face scrub

Recently in Tesco they have revamped their beauty range 'Along Came Betty' which seems to look like Soap and Glory from a distance and all the other retro packaging from different stores. I thought I'd give it a go seeing as it was introductory price at £1.99 and only having one face scrub that is too harsh against my skin -coughs- St Ives Apricot Scrub.


The packaging is very retro-based but that's what attracted me to buying this in the first place (°⌣°)


Don't worry the white consistency spreads very easily on damp face. Smells fruity and feels very soft so it's not grainy like most scrubs I've seen.


After washing off the scrub, pat your face dry then moisterise afterwards (°⌣°)

Personally this is better than St Ives but that's my skin preference. I would repurchase this again in future but it'll be £3 something or more but it works for me. I think this works great for people with acne as the scrubbing isn't so harsh plus it smells really really nice ♥‿♥




(°⌣°)




Mucho love,


Tofu x

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lip stain swatches #1

There are different kind of lip staining products out there so I thought I'd swatch what I can at my local Superdrug. This post is solely for the purpose of comparing the brands and the consistency for each one plus the colours.

Rimmel Lip Stain collection
(4):

For this product you would use the stain first before using the balm to seal the colour and moisture in. The colours are very dense and they don't rub away that easily so you can imagine how they maintain the "stained lips" effect :)

This is probably one of the brands that can get away with "loud" colours but that's my opinion. For me personally I'm not keen on the balm at the end of the stick as it reminds me of glue stick or glue gun sticks. The packaging does match with the tints as intended so that's a positive thing, however...it took me three days to have the denser colours completely off my hand (bath, soap you name it). For £5.99 it's not a budget brand for a student like myself.



Miss Sporty Dr Balms (5):

Left - right swatches: 02 Glam Kiss, 03 Gossip Kiss, 04 Heartbreaker Kiss, 05 Honey Moon Kiss and 01 Sweet Kiss

The swatches for the Miss Sporty range is clearly different from Rimmel but the consistency is almost clear. I bought Glam Kiss (02) and it is moisterising for my lips but doesn't show much of the colour however for £1.99 you can't go wrong. Also they smell nice, fruity and sweet! The product itself looks like a normal lip balm you would buy for rescuing your dry lips.



NYC Smooch Proof 16H Lip Stains (3):
Very soft to the skin but sadly as they were 'TESTER's the consistency was difficult to show for 498 Berry Long Time (middle)

The colours are lighter and softer than the packaging so it wouldn't be too harsh of a tone against your skin. I bought 490 Persistent Pink as my lips are quite pigmented as it is so I opted for the lighter shade. These were sold at £3.99 as the felt tip applicator would be perfect for precision. The colour of the packaging remind me of raspberry jelly but different tones but NYC are known for their vibrant colours throughout their makeup range.

Collection 2000 Colour Pout Lipstain (6):
Left - right swatches: Heartbreaker, Kiss, Flirt, Tease, Pout and Pucker. A range of colours shown here and each match accordingly to the swatches on my hand (except for the 4th and 5th).

The applicator is again a felt tip but at the same time the consistency is very runny so the swatches, particularly the red and pink, bled a lot on my hand. £4.99 each, six different colours but with pigmented lips I may have to use nude lipstick/gloss beforehand but the runny consistency doesn't entice me sadly. It's interesting how only the cap and the bottom tip are showing the colours reminding me of felt tip pens I use to have when I was a child in school, probably not the best design I could pick out of my makeup bag.


GOSH Long Lasting Lip Marker (4):
Vibrant colours!!! Swatches from top left - bottom left: 003 Berry, 001 Red, 005 Soft Rose and 002 Pink. There was a 004 Chocolate but that was dried out to the point where nothing can be swatch from that.

Unlike the Collection 2000 range the consistency is similar to Miss Sporty range but much better and at the price of £6.99 I think this would be worth it. The packaging is similar to a felt pen with the chunkiness but distinctive to the GOSH range with the black, sophisticated look.


MUA Kiss Proof Lip Stains (3):
Very light against my skin complexion as you can see with the swatches. Left - right: Fruitillicious, Kissalicious and Fabulicious.



   
MUA is renowned for their affordable range at Superdrug starting at £1 but recently expanding to MUA Professional. These products would be perfect for that soft stain effect and that's £3 for this lip stain. The packaging itself looks lightweight with the shiny text reflecting back at you but at the same difficult to see without the store lights waving over your shoulders.

●‿●   ●‿●   ●‿●   ●‿●   ●‿●

Now comparing these six brands I have to say that all achieve similar results but some lack in consistency others lack in packaging. However I personally feel some of them are very drying on my hand, making them impossible to rub off until a few days later. 

Questions: why are there so many of these lip stains to choose from I don't even understand the importance of this product for starters. Isn't a lipstick enough to give your lips a flush of colour or is it the fact that lipsticks wear off so easily it's a hassle to be retouching throughout the day? When did these lip stains become popular? Why are there so many complaints of the product drying out the lips and people wasting money, trial and errors are happening in the world of beauty, etc.

Why I numbered this as '#1' is because there are other brands out there that I haven't been able to swatch or they lack samples so I will pop into my local Boots for this opportunity.

My poor hand ~ sacrificing my skin for the sake of these swatches. If you personally have a favourite lip staining product please feel free to mention below in the comments or you want to give your opinion as to why these products are so popular, I need to know why as a fellow beauty lover. :)



Mucho love,


Tofu x