FOTD with NARS Rajasthan duo

I've been planning to do a look for this duo but as per usual, I procrastinate too much - the latest excuse is that I've been catching up on older episodes of Supernatural (I only realised the other day that "Sam" in Supernatural used to be Rory's boyfriend "Dean" in Gilmore Girls xD).
This duo is my current favourite, it's the one I reach for on most days as it's just so darn useful. I use it in the day time for a subtle smokey and I use it at night for an INTENSE smokey eye (btw, it is spelled "smokey" or "smoky"? I want to insistently ignore the spell-check red lines because "smoky" just doesn't look right...). Perfect for Autumn with all the browns and blacks I tend to wear.

Products used:

• NARS Rajasthan duo (I was recently asked by a reader how to pronounce the name of this duo, bear in mind I have a funny accent due to being a Somalian pirate but the way I'd pronounce it would be "Rah-jus-than");
• NARS Multiple in Portofino;
• NARS Blush and Bronzer Duo in Deep Throat and Laguna
• Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero;
• Maxfactor 2000 Calorie mascara in Black;
• Gosh Effect Powder in Bottle;
• Maquillage Neo Climax lip in RD422;
• Urban Decay Triple X Shine lipgloss in Guys <3 Betsy;
• MAC lipstick in Innocence, Beware!;
• MAC lipglass in Sweet Strawberry;
• Dior Skinflash Radiance Boosting Pen in 002 (not pictured);
• Anna Sui loose powder (not pictured);
• Coffret d'or soft gel foundation (not pictured)

Day look:

• Apply light shade of Rajasthan duo to entire eyelid
• Using a pencil brush, apply dark shade of duo to upper lash line and extend into crease.
• Blend away harsh lines.
• Apply mascara
• Lightly dab NARS Multiple in Portofino on apples of cheeks, blend away harsh lines with a fan brush.
• Apply Innocence, Beware! lipstick and top with Sweet Strawberry lipglass.

Evening look:

• Darken outer V and crease dark shade of Rajasthan duo;
• Dust Gosh Effect Powder on outer half of lid;
• Line a cat eye with UD Zero;
• Using a pencil brush, apply dark shade of duo to outer half of lower lash line;
• Contour using Laguna;
• Highlight using Dior Skinflash pen;
• Apply UD gloss and Maquillage gloss

Day:                                                                                                  Night:

Coffret D'or LP Soft Gel Foundation UV review

I stole this off a fellow beauty addict at Sheila's blogger meet up last month. I feel really really bad, she didn't want anything that I'd brought and yet I walked off with her brand new foundation. I felt even worse when I found out the steep price of the product. $40! Yikes! Zoe, dearest, please get in contact with me, I have not been able to sleep nor eat because I keep thinking bout how I gimped you of this foundation. I mean this in all seriousness, if you don't contact me, I'm gonna have to track you down at work where I shall proceed to do all kinds of creepy stalkerly things such as smelling your hair and hoarding your gum wrappers.
Ok, onto the review.

What they say:

"Gives an ecstatic feeling of lasting moisture. For luxurious and radiant skin. Lasting Power that even stands up to sweat and sebum! Just one application deemphasises shadows of pores for more elegant skin. Spread this silky gel on your skin to change to a smooth texture. Adhering to skin while evenly covering pores to smooth the skin's surface, makeup deterioration is prevent and the comfortable, freshly applied fit lasts and lasts. Formulated with Change block Fixer. Formulated with Poreless Powder."

What I say:
Coffret D'or is another one of those subsidiary lines by Kanebo, like Lunasol, Kate, and T'estimo. Its price point is not as high as Lunasol, but not as cheap at Kate, for example, this foundation sells for around HK$270ish or US$40 which is around MAC prices I guess?
The foundation comes in 7 different colours, and you get to choose between a beige (more yellow) and an ochre (more pink) hue as well as level of brightness. I got mine in the colour BE-B which is the brightest of the beige hue family and I'd say that the colour is suitable for NC 20-25.
You'll all be glad to know that the foundation comes with a pump dispenser that actually works!...unlike "some" products we know *ahem* MUFE HD Blush *ahem* xD
Has SPF 25.
The texture of the foundation is very light and moussey, it is even fluffier than MAC's Studio Sculpt gel foundation.
Coverage is medium and buildable to full, it had no problems covering up my redness and dark marks.
Finish is what I'd call a satin. It is neither matte nor dewy, it just looks very natural yet slightly luminous.
My only issue with this foundation is its application and the fact that it gets a lil patchy and cakey after a few hours of wear.
I found this foundation really hard to apply. I tend to have problems with gel based foundations, they streak like a mofo. It doesn't matter how I apply it, be it with a traditional flat foundation brush, a flat top or a skunk brush, it'll all end up looking like Canadian bacon - streaky. The Coffret D'or website recommends applying this foundation with a sponge, maybe I need to try that -__-" The way that I apply this foundation is by stippling it on with a small duo fibre face brush and then buffing out the streaks using a large flat brush. A tad time consuming but the results are quite worth it.
The other qualm I have with this foundation is that the finish tends to get quite patchy and cakey after around 4-5hrs of wear. I set my foundation using MAC MSF Natural and I find that after a couple of hours, the areas around my nose and my cheeks would look like power floating on top of oil. If I don't set the foundation with powder, my face gets really really shiny after 3-4hrs =.="

Before:

After:

Damage: I don't know how much this retails for in Japan, but online it goes for anything between $40 - $56
Verdict: A light feel foundation with good coverage, beautiful finish and no oxidation. However, I don't think it's suitable for oily skin as its oil control properties are really quite poor as evident from the patchy finish after a few hours of wear. Would be a good winter foundation.
Price is also quite steep.

More things your Asian parents say

Due to the tremendous support for my first "Parents say the Darnedest things" post, I shall hereby share some further pearls of wisdom from our dearest Asian parents.

1. "Don't bathe immediately after eating."
Thank you Anita for reminding me of this one! Somehow, lying prostrate in tub of H2O immediately following a meal will result in...indigestion, which will result in death of course.
2. "Don't run or jump around after a meal or you'll get appendicitis."
My mum told me that big movements after a meal will make the food in your intestine FALL into your appendix where it will rot, thus causing it to explode resulting in...death. She was deadly serious about this and gave really graphic descriptions of the outcome. I was so horrified impressed that to this day, I won't even lift a hand to do the dishes after dinner due to fear of the itis.
Truth: in 2nd year university, a friend of mine had appendicitis and my first question upon seeing her was "were you jumping around after eating?"
3. "Don't sit too close to the TV or you'll go blind."
Also applies to looking too long at the computer screen or reading books held too close to your eyes. Unless said book is your medical/law/accountancy textbook, if so, you'll have to read it even if your electricity has gone out and all you have is a lone candle. Mummy and daddy will buy you a Braille version when you go blind.
4. "You are _____(good thing) because you take after me."
Cos like Fergie, you got it from yo mama. If you're tall, thin, fair and beautiful, it's because your Asian parents bestowed you with their faultless genetics. If you've got kinky hair, stumpy legs, pimples and a tiny bit of happy fat, they don't know where you came from, the hospital must've pulled a fast switcheroo when their perfect child was born.

5. "You are _____(bad thing) because you learnt it somewhere!"
That is because Asian parents have no bad habits. End of discussion.

6. "Don't shake your legs or you'll be poor."
There was a proverb thing that went with this, something like "Human sway fortune thin, Tree sway leaves fall". When I see people shaking their legs in public transport, I really want to walk up to them and tell them to stop shaking or their fortune will get thin.
7."Don't poke your bellybutton or you'll have diarrhoea."
It will be painful and...explosive...

8. "Tampons will break your virginity."
Only said to girls for obvious reasons. If you use tampons, you won't be a virgin any more and the Harvard graduate doctor won't marry you. I don't even know where the reasoning for this one came from, but chances are if you're Asian, your parents DID NOT give you the birds and the bees talk any way so you wouldn't have had the chance to ask.
9. "Did you greet auntie and uncle?"
This dreaded phrase. This bane of my existence. The embarrassment associated with these simple words can only be understood by another Asian child who has been subjected to this cruel and inhuman punishment. It's not that I'm unfriendly or don't the the initiative in greeting people, it's just that my mother will ALWAYS beat me to the punch line!There'll be times when I'm just opening up my mouth to vocalise my greeting, she would've uttered those dratted words already. It's like a race, to embarrass me.
It doesn't help that majority of the time, we have no idea who the person we're greeting actually is. Are we really expected to know the wife of the 4th uncle of my cousin twice removed who recently graduated from Harvard medicine and has just married a lawyer who graduated from Cambridge?
The conversation usually goes like this:
Mum: "Did you say hello to auntie and uncle yet ah?!"
Child ADULT offspring: "Yes."
Mum: "When?"
ADULT offspring: "When I arrived."
Mum: "Didn't hear, say so softly like mosquito ga"
ADULT offspring: "...I said it already."
Mum: "Say again la, say loudly, Uncle is old and cannot hear so good, you say so softly."
ADULT offspring: *finds nearest man hole and jumps in* 
The whole time, the person you're suppose to greet will watch you unwaveringly and expectantly...
Hi, my name is Nunu, I am 26yrs old and my mum tells me to greet people.
10. "Did you eat yet?"
Even if you come home at 11:30PM, your Asian mum will ask you this question. If you reply in the affirmative, she will then proceed to make you give her a run down on precisely what it was that you ate. Regardless of the answer, she will tut, get up and bring you a bowl of soup that's been simmering since 5:00AM to supplement your "un-nutritious" meal.


Asian parents, you can't live with them, you can't live without them.

FOTD and NARS swatches- Brown and plum Autumn look.

A look I had in mind for a while. Browns and plums always make me think of Autumn.

Products used:

• MAC Devil May Dare palette
• MAC Fafi Quad 1 palette
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
• Anna Sui loose powder
• NARS Multiple in Portofino
• Skin79 Pearl BB Cream
• Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer palette
• Maxfactor 2000 Calorie mascara
• Gosh Brilliant a Levres lipgloss in 0059

Method:

• MAC Hey (champagne beige) as all over lid colour
• MAC Pink Venus (frosty pink) on outer half of lid
• Coastal Scents purple and plum (fourth row from the right, 1st and 2nd colour from the bottom), dip brush alternatively between the two colours on upper and lower lash line, blend upwards on the outer corner of lid.
• MAC Devilishly Dark (chocolate brown with bronze shimmer) darken crease.
• Blend.
• Mascara
• Stipple on foundation
• Apply Skin79 Pearl BB Cream to highest point of cheeks, forehead and down center of nose. Blend into foundation.
• Dab NARS Portofino to apples of cheeks and blend outwards lightly with a fan brush ( I found that this to be the best way to blend NARS Multiples. Fingers just don't do the job)
• Anna Sui loose powder to set.
• Lipgloss.

I was looking over the shoulder of me Godmum's son the other day while he was surfing Facebook. He had a bunch of girls on his Friend list that have profile photos like this: 

What kind of pose is that??!! What is the youth of today coming to?? SMH

In other news, I recently went to yet another NARS makeover event where I bought more stuff xD.

Multiple in Portofino:

No relation to the Italian fishing village of the same name, the NARS website describes it as a "shimmering coral". It reminds me of MAC's Peachykeen blush, only that Peachykeen, being a sheertone shimmer blush, is a lot more shimmery and less pigmented.

Swatched: Left: MAC Peachykeen, Right: NARS Multiple in Portofino

This is my first Multiple and I think I've found a new line of products to hoard. It gives a really gorgeous sheer wash of colour that stays for around 4-5hrs. Application is a bit tricky, I struggled quite a bit at first, I either applied too much and ended up looking like a clown, or it went all over the place. In the end I learnt that a fan brush was the way to go.

I also picked up the Rajasthan duo eyeshadow.

This is a new release that came out with the recent Autumn 2010 collection. I believe it is a limited edition.

Swatch:

The NARS website describes the colours as a metallic beige and a blue-black charcoal. I've worn this duo once or twice already and it does a really sexy smokey eye xD

I can't believe summer is over already. The infamous unrelenting rain of Vancouver has begun and I am utterly miserable.

Nunu's Kitchen - Come into my parlour...

Curious about what dinner at my house is like? read on. Excuse the disgusting colour of my veggies, they were from the day before xD

Beer and garlic mussels

You will need:

• 500g Frozen or fresh cleaned mussels
• 3/4 cup beer
• Dash of Tobasco sauce or however much you want depending on your tolerance.
• 2 cloves of garlic - minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pinch of dried chilli flakes depending on tolerance
• Small bunch of fresh coriander - finely chopped

Le Methode:

• Mix together the beer, Tobasco, garlic, salt, and chilli flakes.
• Heat up a sauce pan, throw in your mussels.
• Pour the beer mixture over the mussels.
• Cover pan with lid, cook for 4-5 minutes or until mussels begin to open and turn opaque.
• Sprinkle with coriander and serve with the juices.

Cream corn soup

You will need:

• 1 can cream style corn
• equal parts water to cream corn
• Approx 70g chicken breast - diced into small cubes
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger approx 1" in size - julienned
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1 egg - lightly beaten
• 1 stalk green onion - finely minced
• OPTIONAL: mushrooms or other veggies

Le Methode:

• Mix together soy sauce, salt, sugar, sugar, oil, ginger, and corn starch to make a marinade. Add your diced chicken to this marinade. Allow to sit for 15-20mins.
• Empty cream corn into pot, add equal parts water.
• Once the cream corn begins to boil, add the chicken including its marinade.
• Once soup returns to boil, turn heat down to low, allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
• Take pot off heat, add beaten egg and green onion. Stir.

Black Bean Steamed Cod

You will need:

• 1lb Black Cod steak
• 1tbsp preserved black bean
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1" piece of fresh ginger - minced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp corn starch

Le Methode:

• Clean and pat dry cod. Rub with corn starch and set aside in a heat resistant dish.
• Mix together preserved black bean, minced garlic, minced ginger, and oil.
• In a wok with heat on high, sauté the black bean mixture until garlic becomes fragrant.

• Coat cod thoroughly with the sautéed black bean mixture
• Steam the cod for approx 10mins or until cod is fully cooked.

• Remove cod from steamer, pour out excess juices, pour soy sauce over cod.

And that is how dinner is served at La Chez Nunu

FOTD - Gyaru inspired look

The result of reading too much Popteen xD
This look was probably one of the most fun to do! I loved the results but it's way too much work xD
Key points of this look are glowy flawless skin, greatly exaggerated eyes, barely there eyeshadow and blush and pale pink glossy lips. I am also wearing Geo Nudy Brown contact lenses which have a pupil enlarging effect.

Products used:

• MAC Intriguing Scarlet Warm Eyes palette
• MAC lipglass in Underage
• MAC lipstick in Hue
• Formula D blush in Flushed
• Paul & Joe Protection Fluid Foundation in 15 Sable
• Skin79 Diamond Pearl BB Cream
• Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen in 002
• Dollywink liquid liner in Black
• Anna Sui loose powder
• Sephora eyeshadow in Aspen Summit
• Mascara (not pictured)
• NARS Laguna bronzer (not pictured)
• False lashes, upper and lower

Method:

• MAC Warm palette - apply Sweet Joy (light beige) all over eyelid.
• MAC Warm palette - apply Warm Suede (warm medium brown) on outer V and crease.
• MAC Warm palette - apply Well Spiced (dark brown) to upper lash line and outer half of lower lash line. Extend and blend out.
• Line upper lash line - thin on the inner corner and thick on the outer corner. Extend "tail" as if for an exaggerated cat eye.
• Line lower lash line. I created a false inner corner by using this method to give the appearance of larger eyes.
• Apply upper lashes - DO NOT cut the lashes to fit your eye. You want to apply the lashes so that the outer corner of your lashes extend beyond your natural outer corner. This elongates the eye.
• Apply lower lashes - I cut mine into multiple bunches then glued them individually to outer edge of my lower lash line.
• Curl lashes and apply mascara to bind your real lashes to the falsies.
• Line lower inner lash line with a white eyeshadow or eye liner. 
• Fill in brows.
• Stipple on foundation.
• Apply Skin79 Pearl BB cream to forehead and highest point of cheeks and blend out. This BB cream has a shimmery/pearl finish which gives your skin a glowy finish.
• Highlight bridge of nose with Dior Radiance pen.
• Contour face with NARS Laguna bronzer
• Apply Formula D blush lightly to apples of cheeks.
• Apply lipstick and top with gloss.
• Dust face lightly with Anna Sui loose powder
• Put on your most kawaii look!!!!

Cho kawaii desu!!!

My best Popteen pose!!!

With Kitty!!!

Ok, now excuse me while I puke xD

Random: Am currently in love with wavy hair now that my hair is finally long enough.

p.s.

Lunasol Nature Summer Blue palette FOTD a.k.a. Creature from the BLUE lagoon xD

I recently came into a huge haul courtesy of the lovely Sheila of Maddy Loves, I shamelessly pestered her until she ran away to some remote part of China where they have no internet connection.
I will share my stash with you in due time, right now they're on a glass pedestal, I take them out every now and then to pet and giggle at them.
One of the pieces that I could not resist using immediately was the Lunasol Nature Summer Blue palette.  Blues and Aquas, how can I resist?
Apologies for the poor blending job and the bloodshot eyes. Does anyone know a cure for chronically bloodshot eyes??!!

Products used:

• Lunasol Nature Summer Blue palette
• MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural in Light Medium
• Canmake Cheek Gradation in Chocolate Stripe
• Diorskin Shimmer Star powder in Rose Diamond
• Annabelle Smudgeliner in Blue Sapphire
• Maxfactor 2000 Calorie mascara in Black
• Make Up Store glitter liner in Sea Blue
• NARS lipgloss in Orgasm

Method:

• Lunasol palette - apply light champagne shade all over lid and inner half of lower lash line.
• Lunasol palette - apply aqua shade on outer half of lid.
• Lunasol palette - apply dark blue shade on crease and outer half of lower lash line. Blend the darker blue shade into the aqua.
• Lunasol palette - apply gold shade to area between the champagne shade and the aqua shade.
• Annabelle liner - upper lash line.
• Make Up Store liner - apply glitter liner over the Annabelle liner. Pat some glitter onto the outer V.
• Mascara
• MAC MSF Natural - buffed onto skin as foundation
• Canmake Cheek Gradation - applied as bronzer
• Diorskin Shimmer - applied to apples of cheeks and forehead as highlighter
• NARS Orgasm lipgloss.

Close up of eyes:

Acting "chio"

My maxi dress which I never had an opportunity to wear *sigh*

In other news, guess where I went last week? xD

Is a grumpy demeanour a necessity when you're a security guard? He literally looks like this ):

In one word, AMAZING!