You know when you haven't been posting in a while, and you want to come back with a bang?
And when you don't come up with anything spectacular, you don't post anything at all.

I'm sorry for my absence, I've been working and my looks have been neutral after neutral after neutral, I haven't even touched colorful makeup in a month or so.

This post isn't a bang, but it's a post.

Last monday few of us Finnish bloggers were invited to Lush to check out Lush's this year's Christmas collection!

Be careful, elves are watching you!

But santa wasn't the main character in this little show:

It's Snow Fairy!

Snow Fairy, that little pink slightly mischievous character was packed with attitude:

Santa tried to offer her all kinds of soaps...

...but nothing really impressed the girly Snow Fairy:

But Cinder bath bomb was fun for all:

North Pole is huge!

Part of the Christmas collection:

Captain Bubblebeard to the rescue!

All kinds of fun products coming this Christmas:

Angel's Delight is beautiful:

Mr. Punch was delicious looking:

Fairy Godmother is part of the permanent collection, but pwetty:

Another shot of the amazing North Pole:

I think this is Finnish exclusive soap, called Tassu (meaning Paw), profits of sales go to work against fur farming in Finland:

The products:

North Pole - "A pink and white soap with the aroma of peppermint, like an Arctic wind blowing through your bathroom! The two different colored parts have a slightly different scents  – the pink smells like cocoa and invigorating peppermint (also good for stimulating the skin and blood circulation in the cold winter months). And the white part is more soothing and relaxing with hints of cedar wood and cypress oils that firm the skin."
Last year I adored their peppermint soap (Candy Cane, I think) they had last Christmas, and this is really close to it. The scent is a bit different depending which part of the "pole" you get, others smell more like peppermint and cocoa, other more like cedar wood and cypress oil. Pink parts for me then please! :D

Mr Punch - "This heavenly soap looks like a tasty bowl of punch. Mr. Punch contains fruity essential oils to be entirely prepared for winter. Cleansing juniper oil, black currant, uplifting and soothing lime oil, coconut oil … There’s even a dash of gin in order to strengthen the skin. And of course, pieces of fruit, because it is a fruit cocktail after all!"
This reminds me of Lush's Summer Pudding soap, but this has a bit stronger scent (at least what from I remember). Very fresh, fruity and "punch-y" :D

Angel’s Delight - "The annual favorite with the scent of Jelly Beans is back! Angel’s Delight with its pink glitter, reminding us of bright stars, the moonlit sky… Mandarin and orange oils provide the fragrance. These oils cleanse, refresh and detoxify the skin." 

Back  from previous years, very sweet and very sparkly soap, reminds me of fruit candies.

Snowcake - "Snow Cake is a true classic and a Lush bestseller. A slice of Snowcake soap smells like almond and marzipan, so irresistible! Rose essentials soften dry, chapped winter skin. Snowcake is simply mouthwatering!"
 This was also one of my big favorites last year, it super-moisturizing, smells almondy, and the foam it makes feels so soft! I love also to wash my face occasionally with this, it makes my skin feel very smooth and clean.

Snow Globe - "Imagine yourself in a snow globe, with snowflakes swirling around, feeling refreshed, energized and excited. The same feeling you get from this fresh soap with lime, grapefruit and lemongrass. Very nice to wake up with on a cold winter morning!"
 One of my husbands favorites from last year, very lemony scent because of the lemon and grapefruit. Very refreshing!

Northern Lights -  "A real eye catcher! Northern Lights soap is inspired by the spectacular Northern Lights. Vibrant red, green and yellow, with the fresh scent of pine, cypress and lemon oil. Makes you feel as if you’re walking through a Finnish forest, enjoying the forest-like scents! Pine and cypress oils are very relaxing, lime oil is good for congested skin and cellulite."
My husband also liked this one. First of all it's so bright and colorful (inspired by, well, norther lighs aka. aurora borealis), and the scent is really refeshing too, it's smells with lime and wintery forest :D

Crackersnap - "A Christmas cracker for your bath, with a fresh scent of lemongrass, bergamot and rosewood. You get much more than just a bath bomb, there’s a party hat, a joke and a surprise inside. So put on that party hat, crack a joke and fish for your surprise gift. You can use the Crackersnap up to 3 times, yay for triple fun! And did you notice it has the shape of a crocodile (well, let’s just say “inspired by”)?"

Partypopper - "A bath bomb with a piece of soap inside! When dropping the Party Popper into your bath, it will start sizzling (like those candies) and leave pink and blue traces in the water. This one is made of soap flakes and fresh melon."

Father Christmas - "Drop this joyful fellow into your bath and watch him turn the water from bright red to vivid green (the colors of Santa)!  Enjoy the fruity aroma of mandarin, bergamot and orange blossom." 
Whii, fun! If you go into bath with this santa, he'll fizz around the bathtub, leaving some foam and red glittersparkle behind. And when you thought the show was over, it still keeps going and turns the water green (with the red glitter)!

Father Christmas: red glitter, foam and green color

So White - "Throw the snowball into your bath for an explosion of white and pink foam! So White is even more spectacular this year, and still smells like fresh green apple, bergamot and neroli. A new Lush invention of which the outer layer melts very quickly and makes way for the bubbly pink center. Very interesting how So white changes from white to pink in a matter of a few minutes."

Cinders - "As if sitting in front of a crackling fire place. Get in the tub, drop Cinders into the water, close your eyes … and you’ll hear the fire crackling! The scents of almond, cherry, orange and cinnamon are warming and give you that special Christmas feeling."
Strong spicy scent (cinnamon & orange), lots of crackle and fizzing! It also kinda feels like it's heating the water, though I guess that's just my imagination :D

Golden Wonder - "Which surprise is hiding in this golden gift? Shake it and take a wild guess! What you’ll see for sure are golden stars gently dissolving into the water. Golden Wonder has the scent of Champagne ( a combination of cognac oil, sweet orange oil and lime). Instant party mood assured!"

The Melting Snowman Bath Melt - "He’s back! Lay this friendly snowman on the water’s surface and watch how he slowly melts like a real snowman would under the sun. Cocoa and shea butter hydrate your skin and protect it against the cold. The scent is warmer and spicier this year, with cinnamon oil, clove, lime oil and sweet orange."

Santa’s Sack - "Santa’s Sack is fully packed with gifts, all of them reusable bubble bars! Pull out one of the gifts and hold it under running water, enjoy the foam party and save the rest for another time. Crumble Santa’s red sack under the water for spicy bubbles! Tagetes, neroli oil and tonka will get rid of any cold chills."
(Am I the only one who laughed at the name? :D )

Candy Mountain - "A Lush bestseller for Christmas! This bubble bar is part of the Christmas collection every single year, but comes in  different colors every time, this year it’s pink and green. Soft, vanilla foam for a delicious bath. A real treat, without the calories!"

Christmas Eve - "Whatever you decide on doing on Christmas Eve, make sure to take a long, hot bath with this relaxing bubble bar. Crumble a piece under running water and enjoy the foam with calming jasmine and ylang ylang. Perfect for intense relaxation and a good night’s sleep."

Rocket- Hold Rocket by its yellow and orange “flames”, swirl it around in your bath and see the foam starting to arise. Under the violet scented foam you feel like the King of the World and the shimmering bubbles remind you of a thousand stars. Fire tree, clove and ginger oil have been added to defend you from the winter cold.

Captain Bubblebeard - "You can use this bubble bar wand in the shape of Santa’s moustache in a very original way. Hold the mustache under your nose for fun pictures and after using the bubble bar, create your own foam beard to go with it! Lots of fun, and not only for children.. Essential oils of sandalwood, lavender and neroli soften your skin." Like a sir! From these awesome moustaches you can get several bubble baths.

Magic Wand  - "This candy-like pink bubble bar leaves a cloud of pink bubbles with the popular scent of Snow Fairy! Drift away and enjoy the delicious sweet vanilla and candy scent. Magic Wand can be used several times, use it over and over and over again!"
Same thing as with the Captain Bubblebeard, but scented like long-time favorite Snow Fairy!

Let the good times roll cleanser - "An exfoliating cleanser for face and body, to gently exfoliate and moisturize your skin. The ingredients resemble a recipe for cake: corn flour, polenta and corn oil give you a smoother complexion. Talcum powder makes it easy for the cleanser to easily glide over your skin, and glycerin holds the moist onto your skin. This cleanser is most suitable for dry skin! The crushed popcorn can be used as a soft scrub, and stimulates the blood circulation together with the cinnamon extract."

Buches De Noel cleanser - "This cleansing recipe is based on the traditional Swedish Christmas pudding. Bûche de Noël is suitable for all skin types and contains many soothing and moisturizing ingredients. Ground almonds are a gentle scrub, dried cranberries and fresh satsumas tone the skin, almond oil and cocoa butter are very nourishing, while cedar wood oil brings oily skin into balance."
I had this last year, and I loved it. It was soft and easy to use, it made my skin look and feel fresh. Also it smells like marzipan, and makes you want to eat it instead :D

Ponche - "Ponche means punch in Spanish and is inspired by a Mexican cocktail recipe with plums, oranges, cinnamon and vanilla. A warming blend for skin and hair, and all these ingredients stimulate the blood circulation. Even on the darkest days Ponche will get you back into an exceptionally good mood. The dash of tequila will only increase the party feeling"
Tequila, arriva,arriva! Like Jilted Elf last year (one of the ingredients were vodka), this also contains real alcohol to bring some life to this product! This one has tequila, and though the scent of oranges, cinnamon and plums is strong, you can still catch a hint of tequila in this! Again, my husband loves it :D

Snow Fairy - "Lush’s biggest hit for everyone: men and women, young and old. Pink cotton candy, a little glitz and the sweet, magical fragrance of soothing vanilla. What would Christmas be without Snow Fairy?!" 
Girly, girly, pink and sparkly! The sweetest scent, just like pink candies.

Twilight - "Everyone who’s in need of a relaxing, good night’s sleep, will favorite Twilight! The shower gel contains a blend of deeply relaxing essential oils such as lavender flower infusion, lavender oil and ylang ylang. Use this deep purple, sparkly shower gel to soothe your mind and prepare for sleepy times. " 
Originally a bath bomb, now strongly lavender scented shower gel. My nose wasn't happy about the smell of this one, but when applied on skin it softens up dramatically, and leaves nice relaxing scent on skin.

Midnight Massage - "Enjoy a blissful massage with deep moisturizing cocoa and shea butter. The warm scent of vanilla and sensual jasmine are perfect for a late night massage, right before the clock hits midnight and it’s only a wild guess to where you’ll end up. Forbidden fruits such as figs and quince nourish, moisturize and protect the skin. After a long day of Christmas shopping, you will have earned this massage!"

Sandy Santa - "A festive scrub to help rinse off all the excessive holiday goodness. Use Sandy Santa under the shower, move the scrub over your body in circular motions (pay extra attention to problem areas such as thighs, elbows and heels). Give Sandy Santa the opportunity to polish and scrub away that winter skin. The sand and sugar scrub will completely smoothen skin. The fragrance is delightful: orange, rosewood and sandalwood."
I have loved all the sugarscrubs I've tried from Lush, I'm sure this isn't any exception. Sugar really works, and leaves skin smooth and tingling :D

Popcorn Lipscrub - "This one tastes so much like popcorn, you’ll want to do nothing else than lick your lips! Our lips are one of the most vulnerable spots of our body, especially during winter. Use Popcorn lip scrub to take away any redness or irritation. Jojoba oil will keep lips soft and smooth. Perfect as a small Christmas gift, or keep one in your purse, you never know you might need it along the way! "
You know when you get caramel popcorns first time, and you're not completely sure if you like that something salty is made sweet? This left me with the same feeling. It's made of sugar (sugarscrub for lips), but there's also salt in it. And it's also tastes/smells buttery.  Weird stuff. But if you love sweet popcorn, don't miss this then!

(Quoted lines in italic are from here)

I'm a lover of anything vampy, gothic, dark, spooky, freaky and skulls,but I never knew that I wasn't ready to encounter such scary things in real life.I've always loved to have my photos taken with some dark,vintage, vampy effect and one time I've decided to have a vampire themed amateur photoshoot with friends. We got the ideas from the promotional photos of Vampire Diaries,Breaking Dawn 2, Pretty Little Liars and Secret Circle.

I didn't expect that this shoot will turn out to be the freakiest and the most unforgettable one.

Maybe I'll do it again indoors..but still I'm having goosebumps all over my body.

It started last Sunday afternoon while hanging out with friends. We usually hang out and eat at Edward's place. It's one of the most accommodating and comfy house. He lives in a big village, houses far apart from each other, and it's really dark at night. You have to pass through trees, vacant lots, grasses and abandoned houses. The village used to be where my workplace at. At night it's freaky. I've heard a lot of spooky stories both from the actual homeowners and friends of friends. But I worked there for 2 years, and no paranormal activities and strange encounters so far. That day, it was gloomy and rainy.

We ordered some foods, started to do the fun shots after we finished doing our makeup.

Edward showed us a place across their street which is really beautiful. It's just a vacant lot with a narrow road filled with tall green grasses and a white grass that I don't know what to call it, but we refer to it as a "wish plant".

Since Edward has a photo like this, it looks so beautiful.

We were using 2 cameras, 1 Nikon Dslr and 1 Sony TX5 with no flash. While taking some photos, we've been horsing around, being noisy, laughing, playing, flashes are everywhere.. mosquitos biting our legs... something's pricking my back.. noticed it was just a grass..

still terrified coz it feels like I was pricked by a metal or something.. like a very thick metal wire, it even made me cringe and yell "AAAWWW!!" :( Then we talked about the Acacia tree. It's so tall. Maybe it will take 25 steps from our place to that place.

Edward told us the story of their former housemaid who lost her senses after picking something up from that tree. Nobody knows or can tell what exactly had happened but Edward's family, including him, are all terrified about the housemaid's behavior.

Enough of scary stories!! Goin' back to our preparation, it's nothing special, just used a few makeups to make us look vampy. But the after effect of the makeup in the photos are seriously freaky, especially for my friend Antoniette.

Before the vampy makeup, here's my baby faced friend. :)

and then with my magic wand we turned ourselves into a bad-ass vampire ^^

Vampire Makeup How to:

Use a pale foundation.

Vampires have pale, cold, marbled skin

Contour the cheeks and hollow of the eyes.

Vampires have eyes that looks like it has bruises

so use dark brown, brown and plum colored eyeshadows
I used 88 earth palette from Sugar Skull Cosmetics

Skip the blush application,

just contour the hollow of the cheeks heavily. 
Vampires have heavily contoured cheeks, corpse-like

Use berry stained lip tints, plum or wine colored lipsticks

only to the center of the lips, trying to spread outward,

more of like a dried blood I-just-sucked-someone- effect.

For turning pictures into dark, vampy like, photo editing tools are also very important.

It brings out the colors of the makeup used intensely. It can lighten your skin tone, or make it cooler, and even make it luminous like this one.

I love using Cross Process. But for some pictures here I used Cinemarama, and just decreased the temperatures.

Using some of Edward's ipad apps, luminizing the skin and changing the eye colors are possible too. ^^ He did it for me. YEY!!

Using more from his app, giving more effects and see the differences:

 

I would like to share one photo that gave me sleepless nights, back aches and headache,

but I think it's not appropriate to share it anymore. I have this fear that something wrong might happen if I continue sharing it.It came from my Sony TX5 camera, flash removed.

Upon seeing this one photo, I noticed that there's something. I tried to adjust it's brightness then BAHHM!!! I saw an image of a man!!!!

A man with sharp facial features and pointy nose. But then he's not the only creature there..

There are several entities captured that I couldn't see with my naked eyes,

but then some people with third eye can. I've never had this kind of goose bump in my life.

But anyways, Halloween is just around the corner, and I want to be in a Halloween party.

I wish I could see the Day of the Dead event in Mexico, but I also want to see the beauty of Autumn in South Korea.

I don't know where will I be a month from now. Kinda Worried.

I love this photo of mine captured from my digital camera.

Do you have spooky stories and entities captured from your pictures,
I might share with you the pic, c'mon let's share spooky stuffs!

Last Saturday has been one of the longest day for me. As soon as I woke up I've been to different places and got home at 4:30am. The next day has got to be one of the shortest coz I just slept all day. Prior to Saturday, I've been an insomniac so all of the tiredness and sleeplessness has taken its toll after I got home from a long day of enjoying, laughing and.. getting mad.

I went to SM Mall of Asia with mom, cousins and aunt. We spent our night there while waiting for my cousin as she's attending an annual Young Hoteliers and Restaurateurs Power Conference at the SMX Convention center, which ended around 11pm.

To kill time while waiting, I went to different stores. As I was walking past through the Yamaha Exhibit, I accidentally raised my head and saw the new boutique at the 2nd floor. I was exhilirated!

I felt sad when I found out that my favorite big sanctuary Marrionnaud's gone, but still I'm so happy to see a new solo Mac Cosmetics Store.

I've been hearing and reading comments  from female forums from the Philippines that some Beauty Advisors from Mac Cosmetics at the Marrionnaud Mall of Asia  were a bit snobbish and not so nice..Based from my experience, I've encountered one that day as soon as I entered the store. Coz of her, I remembered this Sales Advisor who was really nice and did my makeup when I bought a Mac Studiotech foundation way back 2008.

Whenever I go to Marionnaud I look for her but I guess she stays at Mac Cosmetics in Glorietta, so I haven't seen her since.

 Marionnaud way back 2008

I brought along my 13 year old cousin, who's never a fan of cosmetics but loves to see what's in there.

The moment I entered the store I've seen 3 Beauty Advisors and one of them if I'm not mistaken is a lady guard wearing white. I tried to check almost all the makeup displays coz

I just wanted to explore the store since it's new and I have to kill time. I asked one B.A. about the latest price of their Studio tech foundations and tested a few powders like Careblend powder and Studiofix powder. She's nice and kind.

Well then, some of them were nice, but one has offended me a bit coz of her attitude, 

the way she approaches customers were not good as well. Maybe if I bought something she'll be nice to me & to my cousin, she doesn't want to entertain questions unless I'll really buy omg you know how you are. I've posted her picture here before but since I'm kind enough I deleted it.

Anyways, imagine the smile on my face when I saw the store. :) It's heaven!!! ^_^

Whiiiiii, Illamasqua has a new collection!

'Generation Q - is generation YOU!

It's what they tell you not to do; it’s what you see your true self through.

It's what is old and what is new.

What you know and what you knew.

It's what you feel and what is true” 

- Alex Box, Illamasqua Creative Director -

Products in this collection:

Empower Palette ($42.50 / £34.00) 

Synth Iridescent pale pink glitter 

Fervent Reddish brown with multi-tonal shimmer

Blink Soft beige nude 

Slick Charcoal grey metallic (Liquid Metal)

Complement Palette ($42.50 / £34.00) 

Slink Soft champagne shimmer

Focus Cool brown metallic (Liquid Metal) 

Forgiveness Rich chocolate plum 

Queen of the Night Blackened plum

Powder Blusher ($24.00 / £18.00) 

Allure Dusky rose pink shimmer 

S.O.P.H.I.E. Golden coral shimmer 

Gleam ($24.00 / £18.00) 

Aurora Champagne 

Intense Lipgloss ($20.00 / £14.00)

Boost Blueberry violet 

Opulent Rainbow beige 

Lipstick ($22.00 / £16.00)

Magnetism Deep raspberry pink 

Underworld Iridescent blueberry violet, shimmer finish 

Nail Varnish ($14.00 / £13.50)

Charisma Deep raspberry pink 

Creator Magical black 

Precision Ink ($27.50 / £17.00) 

Wisdom Antiqued gold

I've been a bad blogger and I still don't have a good swatch pic of all of the products, so I'll start with the lip products and make another post later about the palette and eyeliner.

Intense lipgloss Opulent:

Opulent is amazingly beautifully glossy. It's sheer (because of the color, not because of the texture), sparkly and shiny.

It kinda reminds me of MAC's Resort Life lipgelée, which came out in Venomous Villains collection, but this isn't quite as "silvery" as it was.

Opulent has gold and red microglitters in it, and it's absolutely beautiful:

 

Intense lipgloss Boost:

Boost is really pretty and very intense lipgloss.
The color is a sweet fucsia/lilac duochrome, and it applies smoothly and evenly.

It's a fun color, you can apply it heavily to make it really intense like lipstick, or just a small amount to make a sheer glow on your lips.

Lipstick Underworld:

As many of you know, I've always been a big fan of Illamasqua's lipsticks. Sure they are quite dry, but because of that they also stay put well. They've also been really pigmented and quite easy to apply.

I guess there always needs to be an exception to the rule, and I'm really sorry to say that Underworld is that exception.

 There's nothing wrong with the color. There's lots of wrong in the quality. 

 First of all it's dry. That's nothing new because almost all of the Illamasqua lipsticks are dry, but this is extremely dry.

It isn't very pigmented. It's quite sheer.

And when you combine the bad pigmentation and dryness, you'll get a lipstick that's nearly impossible to apply. You have to press it quite hard to get any color, and when you finally get some color, it blotches. And the result isn't that pretty.

 Of course there's always a chance that I got a faulty product, but based on my experiece I'd suggest some caution with this one. If you like the color you may want to get Boost, which is almost the same color with wayyyyy better application.

Ok, that's it for now. I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been posting actively lately, but juggling between my work, my son and everything else, my time has been a bit limited.