30 Day Makeup Challenge Day 3 - Favourite Brand

It's hard for me to say which makeup brand is my favourite since I've got a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I'm not totally committed to any one brand at all when it comes to makeup because if it looks interesting then I'm going to go try it out!


But looking through my stash, 3 brands are easily the most represented in there:

Fyrinnae
These guys make vegan eyeshadows. They don't make them in the pressed form, their shadows come in the powdered form in a jar. I love love love the richness and depth of the colours that they produce and I always buy in their sample sizes which last me a long long long time at affordable prices.

Sleek
In the last few months, my collection of Sleek palettes jumped from 1 (Bad Girl) to 9. Their eyeshadows have won me over in the dense pigmentation and ease of application, at very pocket friendly prices.

NYX
Most of my lipsticks are NYX. The prices are very affordable and I get a tonne of colours to choose from. The formulation works really well for my dry lips as well as the creaminess of the round lipsticks seems to be quite moisturising for me. The jumbo eye pencil is also my favourite base for my eyeshadow.

30 Day Makeup Challenge Day 2 - How Did You Learn to Put on Makeup?

My mum taught me how to put on makeup. She was previously a flight attendant so she had some experience with makeup. But sorry mum, I don't think I learnt that much from you! For the longest time, my repertoire was slap on concealer, then foundation, brush on some bluch on the apples of my cheeks, and lipgloss. When I did put on eyeshadow, it was a swipe of a single colour on my eyelids. I didn't learn about how to choose colours for my skin tone or anything advanced because all I owned for ages was a single blush, a couple of neutral lipglosses and a single palette of 4 earthy eyeshadows.

I started learning (and am still learning) how to put on makeup only very recently, about 2 years ago from watching YouTube and reading beauty blogs. I will do a separate post about my favourite YT gurus and beauty bloggers soon as I believe that they deserve more than just a passing mention here.

30 Day Makeup Challenge Day 1 - When Did You Start Putting on Makeup?

I actually had a toy makeup kit when I was about 7. Someone gave it to me for a birthday or something and I remember playing around with my next door neighbour putting on eyeshadow and lipstick from it. It was just a cheap little kit and I think the lipsticks were mostly wax and the eyeshadow and blush mostly talcum powder.

The first time I remember having real makeup on my face was for my secondary school graduation party. Mum did up my face with her Estee Lauder. I remember feeling pretty grown up wearing foundation, blush, eyeshadow and lipstick. Previously I'd had only experience with tinted lip gloss.

The first time I actually owned makeup was two years later when I was 18. Mum bought me my first foundation, blush, eyeshadow and concealer to wear for my JC graduation night.

As to when I really started putting on makeup, that would have to be when I started work. In university, I only used makeup on and off, never regularly. Makeup only became part of the daily routine for work.
Ok, so that's day 1 of the challenge done! Let's hope I keep up with the rest :)

Haul: IHerb.com October 2011

Small haul from Iherb.com. There was a promotion on shipping and I took advantage of that to stock up on a couple of things that were running out:

Avalon Organics Rosemary Shampoo and Conditioner (325 ml each) - USD6.21 for the shampoo, USD6.56 for the conditioner
I'd heard quite a bit about Avalon Organics and the local Watsons has also started stocking this brand quite recently. I decided to start with the Rosemary volumising range. It's quite a bit cheaper (about half price) to purchase online, so if you don't mind the approximately 10 working day wait for shipping to Singapore, this is quite a good deal. I've used these only once so far, and will do a proper review once I've actually made my way through about half the bottle in order to get a proper feel of the product. My first impression so far is pretty good! My hair felt softer and fuller after one wash with both the shampoo and conditioner and the scent is not overpowering, but pleasantly herbal. Because the product is sulfate-free, it doesn't lather up which could be a problem for people who feel that they need bubbles and foam to feel clean. I didn't have an issue with that because I've used sulfate-free shampoos every now and then.

Jarrow Formulas Max DHA 670mg 180 capsules - USD19.17
I've been taking this supplement all the time I was pregnant and will continue to take it while I'm breastfeeding. This is different from the usual fish oil capsules because the main component of the capsules are DHA. Most fish oils sold on the market are a mix of EPA and DHA, as EPA is cheaper. DHA is more beneficial for the brain, eye and nerve development of the fetus during pregnancy and for the baby after it's born. Again, much cheaper to purchase online, then to buy in the pharmacy. I bought all my prenatal supplements online and saved about 70% of the cost that I would have paid at the local pharmacy.

Nature's Baby Organics, Shampoo & Body Wash, Vanilla Tangerine, 8 fl oz (236.5 ml) - USD5.29
This one's for my son. I'm just trying out different things as the regular Johnson's & Johnson's products are a bit boring :)

Now Foods, Essential Oils, Tea Tree Oil, 1 fl oz (30 ml) - USD6.87
This is 100% tea tree essential oil. I'm planning to dilute it to about 15% in jojoba oil to use as a blemish treatment. I can also use this as is in my essential oil burner.

Madre Labs, Mild by Nature for Baby, Free Samples, 3 Pack - FREE
Free sample of more baby stuff for me to try out for baby!

So that's my little haul from Iherb. I really love shopping on this website, there are tonnes of different products that I want to try! And best of all is that even with shipping included, I save easily at least 30% from what I would be paying for similar products in my local stores.

If you've never purchased from Iherb before, do use my code TAH738 to get USD5 off from your first