November Giveaway: LUSH Honey I Washed the Kids Soap

It's another new month... and it's time for giveaway again!!!!


This month I'm giving away ONE (1) lucky reader ONE (1) bar of LUSH Honey I Washed The Kids Soap. Since LUSH is not available in Malaysia, I thought I can share this wonderful product with my readers, and I hope a LUSH virgin will get to experience this wonderful soap :D

LUSH is a vegan cosmetic brand. All the ingredients they use in making their products are organic and from sustainable resources. They are expert in making bath and shower products. And I've chose to give out the Honey I Washed The Kids Soap is because it is their best seller.

Honey I Washed the Kids is one of our best-selling soaps because it’s simply irresistible. People who fully intended to walk past a LUSH shop find themselves unable to resist its sweet caramel fragrance. You’ll inhale, drool, pick up a big chunk and immediately want to wash yourself all over with it. It’s so gentle, buttery and scrumptious you’ll have a hard time keeping it to yourself. The honey water and aloe are so softening and moisturizing, you can use our toffee-scented sensation on the whole family.

Here are the conditions for the giveaway:

1. This giveaway is opened to all Million Dollar Beauty blog followers. If you haven't follow this blog, just click on "Join this site" on the right bar on this page.
2. Comment on this post, stating the ID you use to follow this blog and also your email.
3. I will randomly draw one name from the comment on the 12th November 2012 (Monday). Winner will be posted on this blog, do check back ya?
4. I have the right to substitute the gift with another soap bar (just in case it is sold out or not available by the time I want to send it out to you.

Good luck.

***This post is wholly sponsored by Million Dollar Beauty blog and not related to LUSH marketing.

OPI Euro Centrale Collection for Spring/Summer 2013 Press Release

Classic meets contemporary with Euro Centrale by OPI for Spring/Summer 2013. Celebrating a region where history meets modern design, the collection’s twelve new nail lacquers offer a mixture of glamorous metallic hues; playful bright shades in periwinkle, aqua and pink; and creamy blues in indigo, midnight and aubergine.

 

“Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania make up an exciting new fashion hotspot,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “When visiting these countries, you’ll view Gothic churches alongside vibrant graffiti murals, blending two very different aesthetics. This fusion of old and new was also seen in runway looks during New York Fashion Week, where classic styles were reinvented with modern silhouettes and patterns.

 

“Euro Centrale boasts a wide variety of shades, ranging from pale nude to deep blue – and featuring everything from shimmering copper to aqua in between!,” continues Weiss-Fischmann. “Whether you’re looking to spice up a black and white print, or add neutrality to a vivid brocade, these lacquers are designed to accessorize spring’s hottest looks.”

 

 

 

My Vampire is Buff - a creamy nude

 

 

I Saw... U Saw... We Saw... Warsaw... - a midnight blue

 

 

 

Vant to Bite My Neck - An aubergine color

 

 

A Woman's Prague-active - a copper shimmer

 

 

Oy - Another Polish Joke! - a shimmery gold color

 

 

Hands Off My Kielbasa! - A bronzy tan

 

 

 

My Paprika is Hotter than Yours! - a fiery red

 

 

Can't Find My Czechbook - an aqua blue

 

 

You're Such a BudaPest - a periwinkle purple

 

 

Suzi's Hungary Again - warm pink

 

 

OPI... Eurso Euro - creamy deep blue

 

 

Polka.com - blue and violet glitter

 

 

Euro Centrale Collection lacquer contains no DBP Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each includes OPI's exclusive ProWide Brush for the ultimate in application. This collection will be available from 6th February 2013.

 

 

My thoughts:

 

I'm extremely excited over Polka.com and Hands Off My Kielbasa! Other than that, I think there are similar shades in existing collection. A Woman's Prague-active reminds me of Sprung from Mariah Carey's Collection. Oy - Another Polish Joke! is kinda similar to Golden Eye from Skyfall Collection and Suzi's Hungary AGAIN looks close to Elephantastic Pink from the India Collection. Within the Euro Centrale Collection itself, OPI Eurso Euro and I Saw... U Saw... We Saw... Warsaw... both looks kinda similar too. But I can't tell for sure that they're dupe until I see the swatches. Nonetheless, I will definitely get Polka.com. I think the glitery combo is a breath of fresh air.

 

What do you think about this collection? Will you be getting any shades?

Vanity Trove November 2012 Dream Girl Edition

Last month, I accepted some international advertorials which paid me via Paypal. With a little bit of funds in my paypal, I was able to subscribe to Vanity Trove, which is a beauty box service from Singapore.


Every month, Vanity Trove has different theme of products that they will put in their beauty box. This month, their theme is Dream Girl.


Here's what I have inside the box:

1. Skin Inc Happy Hand Dew 50ml (full size)
2. ZA Total Hydration Amino Mineral Refreshing Gel 5g (trial size)
3. Adore sanitary napkins 2 pieces (trial pack)
4. Laline Body Cream 60ml (travel size)
5. Neogence Pore-Reducing Serum 7ml (trial size)
6. Uriage Aqua Precis Moisturizing Refreshing Cream Gel 5ml (trial size)

... and extras:

1. Laline promotion voucher
2. Sasa SGD5 off for every purchase above SGD30

The packaging are just ok...

Verdict from this month's Vanity Trove:

1. I'm extremely disappointed with it. 4 out of 6 items from the box looks like those samples you get from magazine.
2. I don't really know most of the brands they put in it (except for ZA and Laline). I don't know if the brands are new or I didn't educate myself enough with the brands in the market.
3. The entire box don't have any makeup product at all. They're all skincare, and repetitive of moisturizers. I signed up to try different products, but now I feel that I'm getting similar stuff in one box. It's kinda redundant.
4. All the vouchers are only valid in Singapore, I have to minus the value of the voucher from the price I paid :(
5. They missed out two items that suppose to be in the box - Ujene Puriste Collagen Eye Gel and BRTC BB Cream...

...and they substitute that two items with the Uriage Moisturizer. This is the biggest disappointment of all.


If you ask me whether I will subscribe again, yes I will. I already subscribed to the December edition before I receive this box. Let's just hope the December edition would be much better.

Monday Mani: Halloween Zombie Nail Tutorial

My Monday Mani post is kinda late today since it's going to be Tuesday soon in few hours (pacific time). Right now I am blogging from my dad's laptop and I have to depend on the mercy of his time table to be able to blog. Sometimes he went off few days for meeting, his laptop has to go with him, that explains why I am so slow in posting up.


Anyway, I'm breaking off from showing you guys OPI mini swatches. I actually have one more OPI mini stash to share with you guys. This week, I'm going to show you guys a simple tutorial on how to do a zombie nails. If you're dressing up as zombie this Halloween, try this very simple nail art to complete your look. It only takes 2 minutes to achieve the look.

Here are the stuff that I use for this nail:

You need a piece of cotton, a clear nail polish (any clear nail polish will do whether it is top coat or base coat), a blood red nail polish (here I use the MAC Stage Red from Marilyn Monroe's collection), and a dark color nail polish that resembles dirt color (I use OPI Black Onyx).


If you don't want to read the steps, you can watch my simple video at the end of this post. But if you prefer to read it (with more details), here you are:

Step 1
Take you clear nail polish and roughly paint it around your cuticles. It doesn't have to cover your whole nail. You just need some here and there.

Step 2
Take the cotton pad and place it on the clear nail polish you painted. The cotton fiber will stick to your nails. You need this step to add a more 3D effect on your nails, as if your flesh is popping out of your nails. And the cotton will soak your red nail polish later to add different tone to the nail polish as if you have a clogged or dried blood. If the cotton fiber came off on your nail cuticles, it doesn't matter, you can use your clear nail polish to touch up to put them back in place.

Step 3
Take any blood red nail polish and paint it on your nails clumsily. The more mess you make the better. It's even better if you know how to make it look like you just rip off a living creature and the blood naturally stain your nails. Other than roughly painting my nails, I really don't know how to achieve that look.

Step 4
Use the black (or dark color) nail polish to touch on your nails here and there. It suppose to be the dirt on zombie nails. Zombies have dirty nails right?

.... And you're done!!!!

And here's the video that my grandma helped me film....

Wonderbox October 2012: Malaysia Beauty Box Debut

October 2012 is Wonderbox's first beauty box. There are very little beauty box subscription available in Malaysia, that's why it made me so excited when I heard about Wonderbox service. I think I was one of the very first to subscribe.


I waited... and waited.... and waited... *yawn*. Still nothing in my mail box. But they say good things come to those who wait. Is it true???


Yes, it is!!! Finally..... here's my very first Wonderbox!!! Want to take a peep inside???

The box is sooooooo pretty!!!!! It looks like a wedding gift box. So chic and sophisticated.


It is worth all the wait. Since it is their debut, it is quite satisfying to receive some branded beauty products. Here's the list of items that I got:

1. Clinelle SnoWhite Mask 50ml (full size)
2. Clinelle Blemish Clear 15ml (full size)
3. Elianto Princezna Mascara 7g (full size)
4. The Body Shop Strawberry Bath Shower Gel 60ml (travel size)
5. Sothy's Homme Tri-Active Cleanser 15ml (travel size)

... And some extra vouchers:

1. 20% off The Body Shop strawberry shower gel.
2. RM169  worth of Sothy's 128Faubourg Salon facial treatment.

All the products worth more than RM200. And I only paid RM39.90 for it! . If this month's products are not appealing to you, maybe you can subscribe to the next month's box. After all, this is only the very first box. I believe they will continue improving to bring in more exciting brands.



The November Wonderbox is already opened for subscription. If you want to get the next surprise, you better hurry up because they have limited boxes each month. I already subscribed mine. If you're not sure what to do, here are the steps:

1. Sign up for your own account <<HERE>>. You don't need to pay anything when signing up.
2. Take the quiz provided (I think they call this the beauty profile). The Wonderbox team needs to know your beauty philosophy so that they can curate your beauty box according to your beauty personality.
3. Once you're done, you can subscribe to the beauty box monthly, quarterly, half yearly, or annually. (I prefer to subscribe monthly, that way I can control which month to subscribe to).
4. Your beauty box will be delivered to your door step once it is ready.

Do LIKE Wonderbox's Facebook page. The adnin is quite interractive and I really appreciate their effort in replying every question. They do share some beauty tips on their Facebook page once awhile. You can also get updates of the new brands they're bringing in from their Facebook page.



Conclusion for my first Wonderbox:

1. I'm extremely happy with the Clinelle's skincare, Elianto mascara and Body Shop shower gel. And I can't wait to try them out.
2. I'm a little disappointed with the Sothy's cleanser because it is a man's product. Sothy's has so many great skincare for females, they should have drop in something which is more appealing to the female crowd. I will have to give this to either the mister or my brother. I hope they will appreciate it.
3. The Sothy's treatment coupon was quite satisfying. Sothy's skincare services are good, but they're also expensive. With this discount coupon, I can try out their service for the first time at lower price.
4. I love Body Shop's bath products but I'm not exactly a fan of strawberry scented shower gel. Unfortunately, the Body Shop voucher is limited to only strawberry shower gel. It's quite sad isn't it? I don't think I will be using this voucher. If you want to have it, do let me know in the comment below.
5. The packaging is so chic and classic. I hope it stays this way.
6. Overall, it is quite worth it if you measure all the monetary values. I will continue to subscribe and hope they'll bring in more of my favorite brands.

Monday Mani: OPI New York City Ballet Petites Collection

This week I have another collection of mini OPI to show you guys. It is from the New York City Ballet Petites Collection.

I was suppose to go to David Jones to buy Shikin's OPI, Tickle My France-y. And that was what I intended to get. But I came out with two bottles of Tickle My France-y and two sets of the NYC Ballet Petites Collection - one for myself and one for Shikin. Ballet really reminds me of her. If you ever go to Melbourne, do visit the OPI section in David Jones. You'll feel like a kid in a candy store. They have almost all the colors of OPI on the shelf for you to try on.

This collection is quite special. Unlike other nail polish, this set has very different formula. They are very sheer and has jelly finish. It's quite shinny, you don't really need top coat to get that glowing coat.

L-R: My Pointe Exactly, Don't Touch My Tutu!, Care to Danse?, Pirouette My Whistle

My Pointe Exactly is not exactly my favorite. It is a sheer gray with blue tone. The reason why I don't really like this color is because gray is never my favorite. Otherwise, the formula is great. I use 4 coats on the swatch below...

Don't Touch My Tutu! is a wispy white. I quite love this. It is very similar to Care to Danse? except the base is an obvious white. Think of Mentos mint white... I use 4 coats for the swatch below...

Care to Danse? is suppose to be a lilac color. It looks purplish on the bottle. But I see more pink base in it on the nail. It looks as natural as your nail color. This  is definitely my favorite from the stash. I use 4 coats on the swatch below...

Pirouette My Whistle is a silver sparkly top coat. It has micro silver fairy dust and hexagon pearl colored flakes. It is a perfect top coat for this collection. When I put it on, it reminds me of shimmers on organza. I use two coats on top of Care to Danse?

I'm really amazed with this collection. Although the colors look somewhat similar from a glance, but each color has different characteristic. And although it is sheer, the formula is really unique. Go for it if you love soft shades. And if you love ballet, you really gotta have this. 

How to Spot Fake OPI Pt.1

My laptop died. It took along all the photos I've edited and also my blogging tools. Blogging is going to be a bitch without my precious laptop, so I've sent it away for repair. Hopefully it will come back alive. And I shall remember to backup all the files from now onwards.


I don't want this blog to sit around and collect dust, so I'm going to copy all the popular beauty posts from my old blog into this blog starting with my tips on how to spot fake OPI's. You all know by now how much I love OPI nail polish.

There are crazy amount of fake OPIs out there. And I almost couldn't believe it that some irresponsible saloon sold them openly in their stores. The other day, Michelle and I were discussing on how to spot a real OPI nail polish, and I think I should post this up to let all of you OPI fans to know. It's kinda sad if you are going to pay a full price for a fake stuff.

The real OPI brush has an embossed logo on the top of the brush. It is quite hard to see it. My advice is to push the paint downwards against the bottle head repeatedly. Because the logo is embossed, you can feel the rough texture.

Original OPI has some code number at the top of each bottle. I'm not really sure what these codes stand for. It is quite hard to see it, but it is there if you take a look properly at the bottle.

At the bottom of each bottle, there is another code printed in black. This code is not the same as the one printed on top. 

You can see the code on the sticker at the bottom is the same as the one printed in black at the bottom of the bottle. There is also color code. Make sure the color code matches the name of the color. You will have to refer to OPI website for the color code.

There is a "peel here" sign on the sticker. If you peel it, there is a list of ingredients. And on the other part of the sticker, the color name and code are printed on it. There is no way you can stick back the "peel here" tab. Once peeled, you will have to live with it. 

OPI also has a lot of mini bottle collections. For the mini ones, there is no sticker stuck to the bottom of the bottle. However, the color code is printed there. Make sure you check the name of the color on the box and compare it with the color code on OPI website. That way you'll know it is original.


To prove my above points, I went to SS2 pasar malam last night to buy some fake OPI with Tzethon. The bigger bottle cost RM10 and the mini ones cost RM2. With a little bit of flirting with the pasar malam guy, we got 2 mini bottles for free.

To my surprise... The brush has the embossed OPI logo too! Talking about real fake...

The top of the bottle has the code too!!!! I must find out what are those codes for.

However, the name and the code of the color is totally wrong. The blue nail polish here called Funny Bunny.

And it's funny how I have the real OPI Funny Bunny which is in white color.

The sticker at the bottom of the bottle is poorly stuck.

As for their mini collection, the bottle has sticker stuck at the bottom, with Korean words... Korean words??? Does it say sarang hae???

The obvious thing that I spotted on the fake OPI is, it doesn't have code printed in black at the bottom of the bottle.

And the color name and code is totally wrong.

The nude color I bought from pasar malam is called Baguette Me Not. When I googled the color, Baguette Me Not is actually red color like this:

To know if your O.P.I. is real or fake, check out the colors on their OPI Nail Studio. It is like an application where you can click on the colors to match your skin color and nail length. It is really fun to try playing with that application. Check to see whether the name of the color matches the color code. If it doesn't match, there is a possibility that the OPI you have is a fake.

Since I've bought so many fake OPIs. I will try on the fake ones and compare with the real OPI. Come back here next week for the result. Let's see if the fake OPI are as good as the real ones.