Book & Beauty Connection: Max Factor and "Ballet Shoes" by Noel Streatfeild

Hands up if you grew up reading books about ballet and aspiring ballerinas. If you did, chances are, you have come across the "Shoes" series by Noel Streatfeild at one point of time or another.

Published in 1936, "Ballet Shoes" is a very old book. However, it has never gone out of print and I always find myself buying second hand copies to give away to little girls or friends who don't think themselves too old to be caught reading children's books. "Ballet Shoes" isn't the best children's book ever but there is something very engaging about it.

"Ballet Shoes" was Noel Streatfeild's first children's book and tells the story of Pauline, Petrova and Posey Fossil -- three orphans who are adopted by GUM (short for Great Uncle Matthew) and raised by his great-niece Sylvia. GUM disappears while travelling one day and after money runs out, the children are sent to an academy to train in acting and dancing. Pauline discovers that she has a talent for acting, Posey is handpicked for private ballet lessons, while Petrova hates it. Her passion lies with automobiles and aeroplanes.

The book is chock-full of details about acting, dancing and performing on stage back before the Second World War. Noel Streatfeild herself was an actress so she drew on her experiences when she wrote "Ballet Shoes".

Flipping through the other day, I came across this passage which made me laugh. Don't you love discovering how long some products have been around for?

Beauty Blender sponge - a lifesaver for non-silicone foundation users

Sorry ladies, I know I haven't been posting much lately,but it's been an exceptionally busy time. If I'm not travelling, I'm hosting someone. Right now actually Syen's staying with me. Whee! It's all been fun but has left me little time or energy for posting.

Still I was so thrilled about this wee pink egg that I had to share!

Reading reviews online I was never quite convinced that the Beauty Blender Sponge was that much better than a regular damp sponge. While some ladies gave it rave reviews, others said they preferred their buffing brushes to it (more on that later). Also, it wasn't available in Asia.

When I spotted this in the Sasa outlet on D'Aguilar St, Central for HKD170 (ouch yes I know, but it retails for USD19.90 so the price is fair) I bought it and gave it a go... also gave it death threats all the way home should it fail to perform. Good thing for its hot pink skin that it did!

FOTD: A muted glam look for wedding dinners ~

'Tis the season to be married. Or so it seems.

From September up till the end of the year, I've had no less than 10 wedding invites. And boy is it fun dressing up.

And this, dear lovelies, seems to be pretty much the look I've been donning for wedding dinners. With slight variations at each wedding, of course.

Beauty To-do Lists: Do you have one?

Apparently its a Virgo thing: Whenever I can't sleep, I pull out a notebook and start making lists. Things to do, books to read, recipes to try, lists of lemmings... You get the idea. Call me obsessive-compulsive but I find list-making quite soothing whenever I feel overwhelmed by work and other things.

Whether I actually get around to ticking all the things off the list is another story all together.

I finally managed to tick everything off my to-do list yesterday. I was on sick leave so I finally had the time to wash my brushes (neglected them for over a month, eww) and neaten my eyebrows (went veerrrry slooowly as I was worried the fever might impair my judgement). Shaving last week made me realise that I have to replace my razor as blunt shaving tackle is just asking for trouble and I managed to give my unwanted cosmetics away to a delighted cousin.

Ahh... It felt like placing a puppy with a good home.

What about you? Do you have to-do beauty lists or are you so organised, you don't need one at all?

Review: A palette that's Oh So Special!

It seems to me that everytime I feel the need to review something with a bit of colour in it, Sleek MakeUP eyeshadow palettes are the first thing that cross my mind. And for pretty good reason too.

Of the many wonderful things Sleek MakeUP has to offer, the thing that really gets to me are their palettes. And today, we'll be looking at their Oh So Special palette.

Unexpected delight: L'Erbolario 3 Rosa profuma roll-on gel

I don't like Rose scents (except in fresh roses) as a rule. But I love this one...

Perhaps it's the mix of pink pepper in the fragrance and the fresh green notes they wove in - that make it smell like you're in a rose garden on a frosty bright day.

It's a very ladylike fragrance, but but in anyway old lady. It isn't heady or powdery. It's sweet, fresh, with a rose note and a peppery bite.

It's also inspired by.... Pink. Which is another surprising thing for me, I really don't do pink except in makeup. The name 3 Pinks comes from the use of Cabbage Roses, Hollyhocks and Pink Pepper.

The perfume oil-gel is another revelation. It's not too strong but it lasts and lasts with a quiet endurance - perfect. I rather wish I had the spray too though... so I could spray my clothes and have them smell like it.

L'Erbolario is the Italian verison of L'Occitane and, in my opinion, classier and comes with far more heritage. It's in Malaysia in Bangsar Shopping Centre (I spotted it before I left for HK), so check it out.

This was a gift but the only site retails it at 12 Euros. Worth it I say!

Book & Beauty Connection: NARS 'Kudoki Kabuki' Lip Set and "Thousand Cranes" by Yasunari Kawabata

Beauty isn't my first love; books are. Every once in a while, I'll come across a product that reminds me of a book I have read; or a passage which has interesting imagery connected to beauty -- perfumes and lipsticks to powder compacts.

I don't know why it took me so long to think of this but why not combine the two? I get to write about something beauty-related while letting you have a peek into my bookshelf

Be warned though: My taste in books is quite unconventional.

The first time I saw the NARS 'Kudoki Kabuki' Lip Set, "Thousand Cranes" immediately came to mind.

The characters in "Thousand Cranes are brought together by a set of Japanese tea bowls and the Japanese tea ceremony. Written by Yasunari Kawabata in 1949, it is a short novel revolving around Kikuji,a man who has an affair with his late father's mistress, Mrs Ota. Following her death, he is drawn towards her daughter, Fumiko.

Quick Post: Great deals on theBalm!

Hello lovelies!

Surprised? Hehe... Ah well. It's not really my time to post, but I bumped into a great deal today and great deals must be shared, scheduled or not.

To our Malaysian readers, if you've been one to have been lemming after theBalm products, you definitely want to find out what's after the jump!

Review: Kiehl's Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser

Poor Kiehl's. They kindly sent me their Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser and Gel Cream to review over a month ago, but thanks to travel I haven't been able to really give them a try. Since my face tends to break out and go into a state of flux during travel it didn't seem fair to trial their products until everything had calmed down.

Well I've been using the cleanser almost daily for nearly two weeks (sorry a 3-day business trip got in the way) and I think I can formulate an opinion on it now. The gel-creme moisturiser though will take far more intensive testing.

Cleansers are one of those products that are easy to test but hard to review. Unless they do something miraculous or truly hellish you end up with no real opinions on it. So far, I can tell you that Kiehl's falls into the "good but not magic" category. 

US Haul Part IV: And finally the brushes!

Hello lovelies,

I guess the title says it all. This is pretty much the final installment of my US hauls. *grin*

As I've mentioned before, I did pick up quite a few brushes there, so they truly deserved a post on their own. Here goes!

Do You Use Sunscreen while Driving?I

I am no puteri lilin (translation: wax princess; a Malay term referring to someone who is delicate and fears the sun) and get quite miserable on gloomy days. However, I really do hate driving under the hot sun. You know the feeling: you are waiting for the light to turn green, the sun is beating through the windows and you can feel the skin on your arms burning like crazy.

Argh, it drives me nuts.

My arms are now 3 shades darker than my face and I can see some faint freckles beginning to form. I have started toting sunscreen around in my handbag and keeping a bottle on my office desk so I can whip it out before going anywhere.

I am thinking of buying really long gloves just like female motorcyclists do in Vietnam (their gloves extends alllll the way past the elbows), or of stealing my father's golf arm socks to wear while driving. If i really want to be cheap, I can cut off the sleeves from an old long-sleeved shirt, sew on some elastic and use that instead. I am wondering if wearing arm shields seems too "auntie" though.

Anyway, what do you readers do to protect yourselves from UV rays while you are out and about in your car? Do you use sunscreens, arm shields or super illegal heavily tinted car windows? Or, has it never occurred to you at all?