♡ANIMUAX

Sunday, 1 September 2013

I have been the worst blogger in the world recently, I apologise! Summer has been absolutely crazy for me. I've been away from London and travelling a lot, the only social media I have time to get in touch with daily is Instagram, so you can follow me and see what's up.

As many of you may know that I love desserts, I have a giant soft spot for anything sweet. I like trying desserts out everywhere I go. When I was in singapore, I realised that there's a very cute coffee shop right next to the apartment I was staying at. It is called "Antoinette" The interior design was amazing, it has a classic victorian era vibe to it, which I especially like. It reminds me of the movie 'Antoinette', not sure if that was their inspiration, either way it was very nice. I chose a chocolate cake, white mocha cake and the strawberry one. Packaging was so nice, I love the designs on each boxes and the bag as well. I have an obsession with storing bags and I think these have to be one of my favourites.

The price was definitely up there, but I have to say that it was worth it. Apparently there's another one in Palais Renaissance and the shop is bigger and prettier, so I might go there next time. If you are in Singapore or if you ever plan to visit please give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Michelle xxx

I'm a bear

Just a picture of me for you guys while I'm writing my new blog post!

I hope you all had a great weekend

Michelle xx

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Boterkoek

Hi there! I'm so guilty for being MIA for so long, life has just been very hectic for me. Right after my final exams I had to move into a new apartment, and just been traveling a lot during this holiday. Since Uni is starting soon in September I want to make sure to update my blog before that. So here I am!

This cake was baked ages ago, before I moved to my new place. I got the recipe from Claire Marshall, she's a Youtuber with the best fashion style and apparently can cook, too. It turned out pretty good, except for the fact that I put too much almond extract in the cake batter,

other than that it was not bad for my first Boterkoek.

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Glossy Box: April&May

Hi there! I'm so glad my last term of uni is over, it's been a long journey and I needed a break. Also, now I actually have time to blog properly, haha. So keep a look out for a lot more blog posts from now!

Alrighty, it's pretty obvious what today's topic is going to be about.. Glossy Box! I've heard loads of good things about them, but didn't subscribe to them until last month. The reason why I didn't write about them on the first box I got is I wanted to make sure I like it enough to consider ordering another one. I want it to be like a continuous thing.

So here is my April Glossy Box

The box was a special edition designed by the lovely Pearl Lowe.

I was one of the lucky people who got this gorgeous eye/lip liner by Illamasqua. The color came off as a bright barbie pink with purple undertone, almost like the Nicki Minaj for MAC lipstick.

This is a hand-cream by Crabtree & Evelyn, it is rich in macadamia nut oil, shea butter and antioxidant-rich vitamins C and E, this indulent cream. It claims to restore dry skin while leaving a subtle aroma. I'm not crazy about this product. The consistency is quite thick so you just need a little bit. It does moisturise my skin, there's nothing 'odd' or different from the other hand creams that I've used before.

I also wasn't so keen on the smell when I first put it on, but after awhile it turned into this soft sweet scent which I was happy about. It's a nice product, doesn't make me want to go out and purchase another one though.

I must apologize, but have never heard of a perfume from Yves Rocher France before. When I saw the perfume box I thought "Oh great, a perfume sample I could get at the counter." but it turned out to be a mini-size. The scent wasn't really my taste, it reminds me of nightclubs and was a bit too strong for me. It supposed to be perfect for the headstrong, passionate woman who embraces change and isn't afraid to reinvent herself. So there you go!

Next is my May Glossy Box that I just got recently. I had high expectations for this month since it's their 2nd Anniversary(Happy birthday!) So let's see what I got here,

First is this little plastic container that's supposed to be super multi-tasking aloe vera gel product. It claims that other than being a primer it can be also be turned cream foundation, blush and eye shadow. What they meant by that is you can mix it with your powder blusher or bronzer to create a cream tint or mix it with your eye shadow to turn it into liquid eyeliner. It's supposed to be one of former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt's favorites. I have yet to try it on with my foundation, so I will keep you guys updated on how well it works. I also wish the portion was a little bigger than this.

A sample size moisturiser from L'Occitane. I felt so lucky, because it came just at a right time when I needed a new cream. I'm currently using Kiehl's moisturiser and it was really good when I started off, but now I feel like my skin is getting used to it.

This month's box is filled with multi-tasking products, including this one. The Caudalie Divine Oil can be used for your body, face, hair, nails, added to a hot bath, or used as a massage oil. Wow, right? You only need a tiny bit when you use it, so it will lasts you forever! The smell is quite nice as well, I'm very excited to try it out.

This lipgloss is one of the full size products in the box. The color I got is called Raspberry, it's red-ish purple with a little bit of shimmer. I'm not sure the color is right for my complexion or spring time, it does a good job keeping your lips moisturise though.

Fairy Lashes of Jelly Pong Pong. I've never heard of the brand before, but I can say this is my favourite from this box. It makes my lashes long and full and not clumpy at all. I didn't expect it to work better than my They are Real from benefit. Love it!

This a little cute prezzie from Glossy Box, I can keep my nails nice and clean on the go or incase of emergency. Woo!!

Friday, 19 April 2013

Ombre Guide on Dark Hair

Hi there! It's been a while. I've been so busy with uni work as this is my last term and I'm excited for it to be over. haha

As you can tell by the title that I've finally got Ombre done. I feel like I'm a hundred years late, but oh
well :P I've actually been sitting on this idea for almost a year, but the fear of damaging my hair and not getting the result I want scared me off a bit. I don't want to go to the hair-dresser and pay hundreds just to get bleach on my hair either. So I did some research and kind of experimented along the way(I will speak more of that later on)during the process.

I will keep it short about how I did it, because the most exhausting thing about this process for me is reading/watching the oh so long tutorials telling me 1313242 things that are not really necessary to achieve the Ombre look.

PRODUCT USED:

1. L'Oreal's Wild Ombre Preference
2. Jerome Russell B Blonde Highlight Kit (If you have long/thick hair you might need two)
3. L'Oreal Exellence Creme 9.1 Light Ash Blonde

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

*Disclaimer: I am not at a hair-dresser nor a hair expert, this is just what worked for me. I'm simply sharing my experience.

*You need a whole day to do this

*Bleaching on a second hair day will be best

*Wrapping your hair with tin foil will help speed the bleaching process

*When you first bleach it expect some light orange-brassy hair :D haha. Don't panic, we're not done.

HOW I DID IT

1. If you don't want to a darker shade of ombre you can skip this stage and skipped to bleaching. The first round I used the L'Oreal Wild Ombre Preference just to see how the ombre effect would look on me before going too light with the actual bleach.

2. I followed the instruction on the box and left it in my hair for 45 mins. It turned out to be light golden brown(way darker than what's shown on the box) so if you are looking to achieve a dark blonde or a light shade, that's not for you. I was happy with the ombre effect but not the color.

3. I wanted to go lighter so I went back in with a hair highlight kit. Leave it on for at least 20-30 mins, check every 10-15 mins if the bleach has develop enough to your liking. Note: you will need it to be a little bit lighter than what you prefer if you want to follow the next step and get an ash-blonde tone.

4. Getting the ash-blonde tone(not brassy or orange tone). After washing out the bleach and conditioning, dry your hair or let it air dry.

<At this stage you will realize that you have turned into an orange ninja, calm down, we are going fix this. If you're going for a brassy tone then kudos! You are done! :) >

When your hair is completely dry, proceed the hair dye step. Go over the bleached hair with the hair dye and leave it on for 20-25 mins for the color to develop, depending on your the dye you use.

5. Wash and condition your hair... and we're done! You will notice that the brassy/orange tone from earlier has toned down a lot and turned into a nice cool blonde.

AFTERMATH

*I love the result!! It was what I expected, so that was awesome *pat myself on the back*

*My ends felt dry afterwards there's no denying it. It wasn't bad or anything, but it will happen. You're putting chemicals on your hair after all. Deep condition it 1-2 a week will help a lot.

*Although the hair dye helped a lot on reducing the brassy tone, I want the yellow tone to be less noticeable. So right now I'm using a silver/purple shampoo to do that. I've been using it for only two weeks, when I see a major change then I'll do a update for you guys!

FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS!

I HOPE THIS HELPS IN SOME WAY. WISH YOU GUYS A LOVELY WEEKEND <3