HAUL: Roseroseshop ☆

So much for posting more often, let's just admit that I suck at this. In reality though, I just haven't had all that much to blog about. Apologies. I'll try harder, I promise.

In my last post I mentioned that I bought in bulk with my friends. Well, it arrived. Since I wasn't the one who placed the order, my friends and I caught up the other day to distribute our goodies. It totally looked like we were dealing drugs out it in the open, even I'd be suspicious. We ordered from roseroseshop, if that wasn't already obvious from the title. I've only ever bought from their eBay store, though I had only heard good things from the people that have ordered from their site.

I wasn't too fussed with the samples, so I let my friend keep them all.

While I'd love to say that I bought everything you see in the photo above, I didn't want my bank account to start weeping (let's be honest, it's probably already bathing in its own tears). So, in an effort to rule it down to a couple of items, I ending up buying 5 products in total. Despite wanting to buy the whole store, I did manage to control myself. Applause!

I don't think I was looking for anything in particular, so I just went it looking for anything that appealed to me. I bought:

★ Nature Republic Aloe Vera Mist 92% Soothing Gel Mist

★ 3W Clinic Intensive UV Sunblock Cream

★ Innisfree Mineral Shading (#07 Sweet Vanilla)

★ Etude House Dr. Mascara Fixer (Perfect Lash)

★ Secret Key Snow White Skin Booster (for my mum)

Other than the skin booster, I'll probably make a review for each if I can remember. I've also got some other products getting shipped my way, so I'm looking forward to trying those out too. 

(Shoutout to my swag buddy Natt and her boyfriend for ordering everything, and even taking photos for me)

Update ☆

Zzzzzz finally! I really need to start taking care of my blog more ㅠㅠ

It's pretty much been a month since my last post, a bit pathetic if you ask me. I do have a good excuse though, believe me. University thought it would be good to bombard me with multiple assessments in the span of one month, basically. In between all of that, I was just really lazy and had no real motivation with so many things happening at once. Forgive me.

I had my last exam of the semester last Tuesday though, so I have technically reclaimed my freedom. It hasn't even been a week since holidays started, but I've already fallen into my usually holiday routine of sleeping at a ridiculous time in the morning and waking up at lunchtime. This can't be healthy. I also got offered a place at my host university in Japan not long ago. So uh, things just got official. I pretty much got the all-clear to start booking flights, organising insurance, and whatnot.

Since I leave for Japan in early September, I won't be returning for my second semester of university here. In other words, I pretty much have a whole 3 months to myself. Other than revising all the Japanese I've ever learnt in my life, I now officially have more time to blog! I think I may have some stuff I'd like to review soon, and I'm also waiting on some new Korean products to arrive since some friends and I bought in bulk (Shoutout to N8 u da bomb.com). I also have the BTS concert coming up this July, 35 days and counting omg.

That's pretty much it. I vow to take better care of this blog and post more often. I honestly live thee most boring life ever though, so this may be a challenge ^^;;;;;

Dog Lovers Show

So last weekend I was able to volunteer at the Dog Lovers Show in Melbourne. For those who don't know, it's basically a huge exhibition for all things dog related. There were dogs of all sizes and different breeds literally everywhere, dog supplies for sale, special dog performances, dog related activities, and even a chance to pat each and every dog in the exhibition.
You could call it dog heaven, if you must.

My first shift was on the Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm, despite the actual exhibition starting at 10am. Since the most practical way of getting there was by tram, and the fact that I take a whole day to get ready, I woke up at 6am to make sure I had time to make myself look decent and catch the tram to the place. The first day was hella exhausting and I was allowed to go home early since all I was doing was handing out show guides at the entrance, and people had stopped coming in. Sunday was probably the most enjoyable, despite it being the busiest day. I was only rostered for 9.30am to 1pm that day, so I had a chance to take photos and enjoy the actual exhibition after my shift.

Outside the exhibition building

They recommended wearing "comfortable" shoes, but my feet still ached after a day of standing and walking around. My legs look so chubby from this angle, I don't even know why I took a photo of my feet. Moving on...

Bonus artistic angle shot of outside the exhibition building in the morning, since I arrived too early and I didn't want to be the first volunteer to show up. The struggle was real.

I got some sneaky shots of the main stage on my phone, while I was on duty making sure no one was leaning on the railing and whatnot. I didn't tell anyone off that day, I thought it was awkward enough walking around trying to look like I was relevant. It was pretty crowded throughout the whole building though, to say the least.

Cue the cute dog photos!

Yes, that is a dog wearing a tutu.

I couldn't get enough of this rainbow poodle!

I didn't notice this cute little puppy at first since it was all the way in the corner. At this point I just felt like dying, it was so cute I just couldn't handle. I literally dragged myself out of the exhibition after this, I wanted every puppy in the building. Overall, it was a pretty good first experience of volunteering though and I'd probably do it again. 

Shoutout to my bby Tu for telling me about this opportunity, you da bomb

I'M SEEING BANGTAN!

Breathe in, breathe out. I am calm, no, not really. How do you even calm when you know that you're going to see BTS in July, in your own city?!? This time not just on a screen, but in person. It was a stressful morning to say the least, but tickets are bought and it's confirmed ㅠㅠ

Let me tell you a little story, a situation worthy of making the top 10 worst nightmares a fangirl could possibly experience. It's short, I promise. First, the organisers only gave us 4 days notice of when tickets would go on sale. "It's fine, I have enough in my account" I thought. I then transfer my friend's money into my account the day before the ticket sale, and go home happy. I check my account balance at home that same night and would you look at that, I'm literally $5 short of what I actually need. I then try not to freak out and ask my mum to transfer at least $10 into my account. Mind you, the tickets went on sale this morning at 9AM. Long story short, the extra money didn't turn up in my bank account this morning so I literally had to rush to the bank at my university at around 9.30, looking like a corpse who had just escaped its coffin, and manually deposit money into my account. I then went on to have a mini heart attack thinking all tickets were sold out.

While I did manage to get tickets in the end though, 5 minutes before my 10AM lecture, I wasn't able to get the tickets we wanted and I was only able to get single seats. But ayyyyyy I should be thankful I'm even going. Okay, end of story.

MINI MAKEUP HAUL: Priceline ☆

Hi hi, I'm back with a mini makeup haul! Although it's nothing much, my mum and I did do a lot of damage $$$ wise with what we both bought on the day. Priceline, Australia's version of a drugstore, had another 40% off all makeup event recently and I couldn't not take advantage of it. Today I'll just be going through what I bought for myself though, and maybe give some thoughts on some of the products since I've started using a few already. I've put them in no particular order.

The first thing I gravitated to was my much-loved foundation, the Revlon Colorstay. My shade is 150 Buff and I use the one made for combination/oily skin. It's normally on sale for $35, but it was reduced to $21. If you haven't tried this foundation and you want something with great coverage, then I highly recommend this! I first tried it when I bought it especially for my formal (prom) makeup. I bought it in one shade darker at the time since I thought it was my colour, but I liked it so much that I went and bought another one in the right shade. Since I'm nearly out of my current foundation, I figured I'd pick it up since I had no luck getting it the last time there was a sale on. I normally like to mix it with my bb cream when I do my makeup.

The second thing I bought was this Australis pressed powder in the shade Natural. I've actually heard some pretty good things about this stuff from various Australian beauty gurus on youtube, so I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't really have a good pressed powder on hand and I thought it might be good for travelling since it has a nice mirror and it's quite compact. It's known as quite a cheap drugstore brand, but it has some good quality products in my opinion.

The next thing I got was this Essence 3D eyeshadow in 08 Irresistible Vanilla Latte. I personally think Essence makes some really good stuff for the cheap price you pay. I'm a really big glitter/shimmer junkie when it comes to eye makeup though, so I was really excited when I swatched this eyeshadow in store. I've already used it a couple of times as an all over eyeshadow and inner highlight, and I love it. 101% recommend!

Surprise, another shimmery eyeshadow! This is the Almay eyeshadow in Creme Brûlée. This was another eyeshadow I fell in love with when I swatched it in store. I normally don't pay attention to Almay, but I couldn't resist buying it. It's such a pretty colour, the photo doesn't do it justice honestly. It comes off as a really sheer wash of champagne glittery goodness. Yep, officially in love.

So I promise these pictures are of the same lipstick, the first one came out a lot redder that it actually is unfortunately. The second photo is a lot more accurate in terms of what the colour actually looks like though. Anyway, the next thing I got was the Rimmel London lipstick in 103. I'm sure it has a name, but it's not written anywhere on the capsule. I did already use it the day I got it, so I apologise for the gross picture of the lipstick bullet. It's a really nice dusty pink colour appropriate for everyday use, like a my-lips-but-better shade.

Another thing I bought was the Essence lipstick in 01 Coral Calling. Again, the second photo shows the colour a lot more accurate than the first. It was literally less that $3, how do you say no? It's a really nice coral shade and it's surprisingly quite pigmented. I honestly didn't expect much from it, but it's pretty decent and it leaves a nice sheen on the lips. Definitely something I'd be happy to wear everyday.

The next thing I got was a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya. It's a nice light orange/coral shade, perfect for on the go. I already have 4 other shades from the collection, so I couldn't resist. I love these so much, I still remember when they first came out. My mum also got one in Wild Watermelon which I wanted in the first place, but I figure I can always just borrow it when I feel like it.

The next thing I ended up getting is the Savvy High Shine Lacquer in Walk of Fame. This was technically meant for my mum, but she tried it on after and it ended up looking really unflattering on her skin tone. I'm normally not into these type of liquid formulas, but it's not a bad colour and it doesn't look too bad on. These tend to be a lot more messy in terms of application though.

The last thing I got was an Australis brow tint in the shade Blonde. I've actually been using a Tonymoly browcara, but I thought I'd give this a go since I've seen some Australian people on youtube use it. Since my eyebrows are quite thick and practically black, I've been enjoying tinting them so they don't stand out too much. After trying this brow tint though, I think I've found a great alternative. It is a bit of a hassle to order products every now and then, so it's nice to have a good alternative nearby. It does a really good job in taming and lightening my eyebrows, so overall I'm pretty happy! I just make sure not to overdue the tint or else it looks hella unnatural.

Now I won't need to buy makeup for the next 20 years :) :) :)

REVIEW: Etude House Lock 'N Summer Face Conditioning Fixer

I'M BAAAAAAAAAACK, HI
I'm reviewing the Etude House Lock 'N Summer Face Conditioning Fixer this time. I first saw it being used by a beauty guru on Youtube, but didn't really pay much attention to it until summer came. I wasn't prepared to have my make-up melt off my face again, basically. It's my first time trying one, so I won't be able to compare it to anything unfortunately. I've been using it for over a month now though so I think I have a good idea of how this product adds up.

According to the Etude House website and actual packaging, "This is a makeup boosting fixer that once applied, provides a cool calming effect and perfects long-lasting smooth makeup". While I might be able to testify to the slightly better longevity of my makeup, I'm not so sure about the "cool calming effect" that it's supposed to give.

You get 80ml of product, so a pretty reasonable amount. I've been using it for over a month now, close to 2 months I think, and I still have around 2/3 of it left. Although I don't use it everyday, I usually spray my face with 5-6 pumps.

 

Directions are as follows: Lightly spray before or during makeup for better makeup application and moisture, or last step of makeup fix.

I've actually tried using the spray both under and over my makeup, so whether you spray it under or over, I think it really depends on what sort of look you're trying to go for. Since I have combination/oily skin, I'm normally really oily by the end of the day so I personally prefer to spray my face after I finish putting on my bb cream/foundation and my concealer, then powder at the end. I did notice a lot of creasing especially under my eyes and around my mouth, the few times I tried spraying my face after I did all my makeup. If you're not prone to creasing and want to achieve the dewy look, then you shouldn't have any problems with this.

The bottle comes with a basic spray nozzle. Luckily it's not one those nozzles that spray in one direction, so it's quite decent. Although one spray probably won't cover your entire face, I typically like to spray 5-6 times on my forehead, chin, cheeks and lastly the centre of my face.

Did I mention the smell? It has a really sweet zesty scent, like a mix of lemon, lime and orange. It somehow reminds me of those all purpose sprays you use to clean, but it's quite pleasant. The scent doesn't linger too long either, so it's great for those who are sensitive to smell.

Conclusion:
I would say that this is a pretty decent product. I've noticed that my bb cream/foundation and concealer tends to set a lot nicer whenever I spray this over, and it also gives a nice healthy sheen under my powder which I don't mind at all. I'm not sure if I can say that it prolongs the longevity of my makeup, but my makeup no longer looks as cakey as it used to at the end of the day. It hasn't broken me out at all too, which is a plus! I've never tried using it throughout the middle of day, though I know most sprays can be used to refresh your makeup if you feel like your skin is dry or cakey. As the first ever setting spray that I've tried though, I can safely give this an overall good review.

PROS:
- Refreshing
- Sets makeup nicely
- Gives a healthy sheen
- Prevents makeup from looking cakey
- Pleasant scent

CONS:
- May accentuate fine lines if you're prone to creasing

Would you repurchase?
I probably would to be honest, if I can't find a better setting spray perhaps. I would like to try out other brands after I finish using it up though ^^

My First Soccer Game

So since the Asian Cup is being held in Australia this year, me and some friends thought it'd cool to go watch a soccer game in the city. I kind of regret not going to more games since the tickets were so cheap (literally $4.50), but there weren't many "good" games being played in Melbourne, in my opinion anyway. So, we settled for a Japan vs Jordan game. We came to support Japan, of course.

I've always liked watching soccer on TV, my dad and I would even wake up ridiculously early (4-5am) to watch the premier league games live. I would then go to school the same day looking like a complete zombie #yolo. Despite that, I had never actually been to a real soccer game, so this was my first time going. It was pretty surreal. I never thought I'd actually be at a live sport event, being the not-so-sporty/uncoordinated person I am. Soccer and volleyball are probably the only exceptions.

Our seats were pretty darn decent for the price, though we ended up sitting near a lot of the Jordan supporters. Probably because a lot of the Japanese supporters had already taken up most of the seats allocated to them specifically. Nonetheless, it was pretty obvious which side had a bigger fan-base.

Most of the Japanese supports on the right

Jordan supporters on the left
It was a really decent game and Japan ended up winning 2-0 in the end. I feel like I zoned out at each goal since I only realised they had kicked a goal when the crowd suddenly stood up and starting cheering. I promise to pay more attention next time. I walked away happy anyway! I definitely want to go to another soccer game if I get the chance though, regardless of if it's in Australia or not.

A photo posted by ∆LYSS∆ (@alyssalmighty) on Jan 20, 2015 at 5:09am PST

Bonus selfie, pls don't hate me Natt <333