[Review] Clarisonic Plus: Sonic Skin Cleansing System

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Clarisonic is a brand that uses Sonic Skincare System to cleanse the skin. Below are fractions of info shown on their website:

You can know more about the sonic technology and how it works its magic here!

Clarisonic also claims that Sonic Cleansing is able to:

There are 3 types of Clarisonic, namely Mia, Classic and Plus. However, my reviews are only applicable as far as Clarisonic Plus is concerned, since that is what I'm having right now.

Clarisonic Plus have 3 different speeds for the face and if you're going to use it for your body, there is a body mode available.

The kit comes with:

1. Cordless Clarisonic Plus
2. Charging Cradle
3. Sensitive Brush Head
4. Body Brush Head
5. 1oz. trial sizes of Refreshing Gel Cleanser, Gentle Hydro Cleanser and Nourishing Care Cleanser
6. 2oz. trial size Refining Skin Polish

I use my Clarisonic during the days when I have make up on (which is plus minus 5days/week) and I use it after removing my make up. The cleansing process takes only 1 minute/usage (this was the duration that the sales assistant in Sephora suggested) to complete. After using it for a good old 6 months:

The Pros

• It really does cleanse my skin thoroughly.
• Less acne problems for me.
• It leaves my skin feeling smooth.
• It is waterproof! Hence, you can use it even while bathing!
• Time saving! 1 minute is all you need to get a squeaky clean face!
• No irritations for me.
• Can be used for both body and face! There's no need to spend extra for body scrubs!

The Cons

• It doesn't reduce the appearance of my pore size.
• This baby here is not cheap, hence it might be a major concern for most people who are interested.
• The brush head must be changed every 3-5months depending on how often you use it, which means this is not a one-off spending.

Conclusion is, this is a great investment!

[APPROVED!]

Where to get it?

To my Malaysian readers, we're lucky that we finally have Sephora in town! I've got mine from Sephora for MYR849. Don't think you can find it anywhere else in Malaysia. To my Australian readers, you can get this from David Jones and MYER. But not sure on how much they are selling though. Another alternative will be getting it online.

xoxo,

Charlotte

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[FOOD] Hanaichi

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Curry Katsu Don

Kay's Chicken

If you happen to be at QV square during lunch hour, you'll definitely notice that there's always a lot of people at Hanaichi. The first time I walked passed it, I thought it to be just another Japanese Restaurant like DonDon (which I'm not a fan of). It looks cheap, messy and it is always very noisy. My first experience with Hanaichi was a take-away brought back by my house mates. It was Kay's Chicken and I was quite surprised at how yummy it tasted! The chicken is crispy and I love the tartar sauce too!

After Kay's Chicken, I was tempted to try other dishes from Hanaichi *drools*. I almost walked away during my first visit to Hanaichi, the queue was so long! But in no time, it was already my turn to order! I looked around and saw people eating Curry Don, hence I followed suit. It turned out to be the best Japanese Curry I've ever tasted! The curry is not as sweet as normal japanese curry and the gravy is thick enough. Like Kay's Chicken, the chicken nuggets are very crispy. Curry Don comes in chicken and pork. I've tried both, and I prefer chicken over pork :)

This is one of my favourite place because:

• It is cheap! The price of a regular dish is about 6-7dollars; a large dish is about 8-9dollars.
• The portion is filling. I am satisfied with a regular sized :)
• It is fast! Even though the queue is long, but you don't have to wait 30mins for your food to be served.
• There isn't a wide varieties of choices which is great for an indecisive person like moi!
• They serve Curry Katsu Don! *yesh I like this better than Kay's Chicken!*

Hanaichi

QV Square,

Cnr Swanston &, Lonsdale St,

Melbourne, VIC 3000

(03) 9662 9409 ‎

Charlotte the Glutton

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[FOOD] East2West: Roast of the Day

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If you don't already know that I love eating, I'm here to say it again: I love food and I never say no to food hunting! And since sharing is caring, I am going to share my food journey in this blog. Here goes:

Are you someone who loves food that are peng, leng, jeng (cheap and yummy)? If the answer is yes, you'll love this:

Roast of the Day: Beef with 3 sides

(Mashed Potato, Roast Potato, Vegetables)

Roast of the Day: Chicken with 2 sides

(Mashed Potato & Roast Potato)

East2West is located inside Crown Casino. So, if you're not of age, you can't go in! I've been there twice so far, both times for the Roast of the Day! Let me tell you why I like it:

• It is cheap!
• The mashed potato is really awesome!
• It is very filling!

The Roast of the Days are different everyday. I had beef on my first visit and chicken during the second. Both of them are cooked just nice. Roast of the Days are served right from the counter, hence you can't decide how you want your meat to be cooked. I guess that is why the beef are being cooked that way; not too raw, not overly cooked. There are 3 side-dishes for you to choose from: Roasted Potato, Mashed Potato and Vegetables. My favourite will be the mashed! yummy yummy yummy!! On the other hand, the roasted potatoes are normal, nothing special about it. I'm not a fan of cauliflowers and broccolis, hence if I can only choose 2 sides, it'll definitely be potatoes! *yeah yeah I know, CARBS!!*

From the pictures above, you can see that the beef came with 3 sides, but the chicken, only 2. On my first visit to East2West, the lady at the counter asked me if I wanted all 3 sides so I automatically assumed that the Roast of the Day has 3 sides. During my second visit, I asked for 3 sides but to my surprise, the lady told me I can only choose 2! :( My conclusion is: the portion served for the chicken is bigger than the beef, hence lesser sides; either that or, it depends on your luck whether the counter lady is generous enough.

Overall, it is a good meal. No harm trying when it's just AUD8.50 right?

East2West

Crown Entertainment Complex,

8 Whiteman Street,

Southbank VIC 3006,

Australia.

(03) 9292 5302 ‎

Cheers,

Charlotte the Glutton

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Favourite Gurus on YouTube

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Gurus on YouTube (YT) nowadays are like celebrities! People watch them, admire them, send them goods to be reviewed and they even have fans! These gurus transformed yours truly here from a noobie who knows absolutely nothing about beauty and skincare to the vain person she is now! :P So, if you have zero knowledge and experience in cosmetics, learn from the pro! In this post, I would like to share and recommend a few gurus which I have subscribed, and also the reason why I like them. So here it goes:

Michelle Phan

She was the first YT guru that I have subscribed myself to. I like how she shares a lot of useful beauty tips and tricks, not to mention different make up looks for different events, I've learnt a lot from her. Besides teaching make up looks that are wearable, she also does make up tutorials that are slightly interesting which can be worn to special occasions such as Halloween Party, Masquerade Party etc. This is what makes her interesting; she teaches a wide range of make up techniques and able to attract over a million subscribers on YT. She's now a spokesperson for Lancome. I guess that explains why most of the products she uses for tutorials nowadays are of that brand.

Kandee Johnson

She's a Hollywood make up artists. Like Michelle, her videos involve useful tips and tricks, fun make up tutorials and updated beauty news. She's also a funny person, who doesn't like a funny teacher right? It just make learning that much enjoyable :) Apart from that, she have a lot of giveaways to show her appreciation for the support from her fans. Her giveaways are always very generous, it includes brands such as Sultra, Urban Decay, Nars, Mac et cetera. So far, I haven't won any of her giveaways, but who knows you might be the lucky one! *wink*

MakeupbyTiffanyD

Oh! Tiffany is my favourite guru!! Love her to bits. I think I've watched every single make up videos of hers! She is very informative and I like the way she explains and reviews about something, it will always be very detailed and precise. As such, she gives the impression that she knows what she is doing. All of her make up tutorials are wearable, which is good. We like looks that are wearable but different everyday right?

Something totally irrelevant: I think that she's a doppleganger of Celine Dion! Check her out and you'll know what I mean!

Chriselle

So, enough of make up gurus. Chriselle is a fashion guru. She is a stylist who styles many celebrities for advertisements and photoshoots. I got to know of her channel through one of Michelle Phan's video. Chriselle's tutorials are really useful, she teaches how we should mix and match, different ways of wearing a piece of clothings, how to transform a day outfit into a night outfit etc. Believe me you won't go wrong if you stick to her rules!

Cutepolish

You should know by now, I am a nail polish freak! I've tried searching for many DIY nail art tutorials, but most of them are really complicated and required skills of a professional manicurist. That was before I came across Cutepolish. Her nailart tutorials are really simple and easy to do. If you love nail stuff as much as me, subscribe to her channel and you won't regret!

A note to keep in mind while watching YT gurus, do not purchase something just because they recommend it. They might be giving good reviews because they were being paid for it, even though they claim that they're not getting a penny. To avoid buying something you might regret, do a little research before making the purchase. First, try to ask if any of your friends or member of the family (because they will be your most trustworthy source) use the product mentioned before and ask them what they think of it. Next, just google for the products' review and take a look at what people have said. I recommend Makeupalley for this. If a product have a whole lot of bad reviews, it is highly likely that it is not as good as the gurus claims it to be. On the other hand, if your little research yields positive results, you can be assured that the products are good and it is more likely that your money will be well spent.

Putting that aside, I'll be more than happy if you manage to learn as much as I did from these wonderful people :)

Cheers,

Charlotte

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China Glaze: Re-Fresh Mint

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Here's my first NOTD post! Have been quite excited to try on my newly purchased nail polishes! Re-Fresh Mint is one of them. This colour is from the China Glaze Spring Collection 2010. I've always love Spring Collections, because pastels are always popular during this season! I owned a few nice shades from this collections and I might swatch them soon. :)

From the bottle, we can see that Re-Fresh Mint is a pale-minty-pastel-green, which is nice. Because its not the kinda green shade that will make you look like an evil sea monster. It is soft and cute. The formula is very opaque. One coat is good to go if you apply it careful enough, because you might end up with streaky looking nails otherwise. So, if you have the time, apply two coats and you'll get the perfect finish!

China Glaze: Re-Fresh Mint

As you can see, the colour turns out to be almost the same as what you see from the bottle. I am saying this because there are times where the colour might looks good or bad from the bottle, but when you apply it on your nails it turns out to be the exact opposite.

So, any fans of pastels out there? :)

Hugs and Kisses

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[Review] EOS Lip Balm: Smooth Sphere in Honeysuckle Honeydew

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I get to know of this lip balm while browsing through makeup videos on Youtube a few years back in Malaysia. However, it is hard to find a lot of international brands when you're in a country which is kinda ulu (not up to date) when it comes to cosmetics. The fact that I'm in Aussie now makes things much easier! *muahahahah*

I'm a sucker for cute packaging and this egg-like lip balm definitely did catch my eyes! Besides that, this happens to be the favorite lip balm for a few of my favorite Youtube makeup gurus. It's sad to say that I am quite gullible when it comes to beauty slash skincare products. So after hearing so many great reviews, how can I resist such a cute thing right? *I WANTED IT! teehee!* and I BOUGHT it...

JUST LOOK AT THE SHAPE OF IT!! SHOOO CUTE!! ;)

Lets have a brief introduction for this lip balm. It is from a company called Evolution of Smooth (EOS). The range of their products is quite narrow; lip balm, hand lotion, body lotion, shaving cream. The following info was taken from their official website:

This lip balm was a love at first 'swipe' for me!!

The Pros

1. It has a really good smell! Trust me, it is addictive! (not literally of course)
2. The texture is not like other ordinary lip balm. It is not as sticky and gooey; it doesn't feel as though you have a layer of oil on your lips! Hence, you can definitely apply it when you're out on a date, if you know what I mean. *wink*
3. The packaging is so adorable! Some people might find it bulky, but for me it is good in a way where I don't have to rummage through my makeup bag 1234567 times before finding it!

The Cons

1. It does not work as a treatment lip balm, your lips will still feel dry when you don't apply it. But I don't mind applying and re-applying it again and again, just because I absolutely love the smell and texture of it!
2. As I've mentioned, the packaging might be bulky for some people. But worry not! EOS has another range of lip balms - the smooth stick, and it is shaped like any other ordinary lip balms, and I believe it is as good as the smooth sphere:

Source: evolutionofsmooth.com

Overall, this is a great product!

[APPROVED!! BUY BUY BUY!!]

Since we're here, I'll review and rant a bit about my online purchase experience for this product.

I was about to get this from EOS official website, they were selling it for USD3.29 and I thought it was a good buy. As I was about to check out, I realised that the international shipping fees is completely out of mind - USD 15! Whaaaaatttt..the shipping fees itself is 5 times more expensive than the price of the product!??! So I went to have a look at their shipping policy. It says that shipping for orders less than 6 or fewer individual lip balms is a flat rate of USD15! I was going to buy only ONE lip balm so I decided to search for another alternative and that is how I came across Addicted2LipBalm.

Addicted2LipBalm sells EOS smooth sphere for AUD6.35, which is almost twice the price of the official website. Before rejecting this site, I went to check on their shipping rate, it was a flat shipping rate of AUD4.95. Though it seemed to be pretty reasonable but being the greedy me, I googled and gotten myself a free shipping code! (*hooray* ALWAYS google for promo/discount codes before purchasing anything online, who knows you might get lucky. Like moi! I would love to share this code, but the code expired the day I made the purchase) So, without thinking twice, I bought it. Okay, back to reviewing this website, like the name suggests, they sell lip balms of course, besides that they also offer a wide range of lip products, from lip stain to lip gloss. They do ship internationally, the flat shipping rates varies according to which country you want your items to be shipped. I waited a week before receiving my parcel, which I find it to be very slow for local shipping. Apart from that, all new customers are entitled to get a 10% off for their first order, so don't forget to input the code: 1ST ORDER before checking out! :)

I'm not saying that it is not a good idea to buy from EOS official website. If you are going to buy in bulk or share the purchase with your friends and family and end up getting 6 lip balms or more, do the maths and it'll definitely be more worthy to buy from the official website than from Addicted2LipBalm.

I hope my review helps and have a great day! :)

Love,

Charlotte

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My Not-So-New Obsession: Nail Polishes

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Nail Polishes! I've been obsessed with them since forever! I couldn't even remember when was my first nail polish experience. But I do remember, when I was in primary school, whenever I'm in a drugstore, I'll play with the testers on shelves, trying them on my pinky since I never get to apply them on each of my fingers. Back then, I really thought it looked pretty that way and wouldn't bear to remove it. Haha, things you do when you were a kid. Funny memories.

I started buying nail polishes during high school but they were all cheapo brands that cost like MYR 3-4 each? I can't remember. As time passes, there is this new line of business: salons that offer manicure/pedicure services. As a teenage girl, I know I have to try them and that was how I know of the brand OPI, along with its wide range of colors. Since then, I've been spending on OPIs.

Recently, I've been exploring other brands of nail lacquers, such as Butter London and China Glaze. Butter London obtained its great reviews for its new concept of natural nail care. It is 3free: free of formal formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (Dibutyl Phthalate) which are bad for our nails. On the other hand, China Glaze is said to be as good as OPI quality wise. That is why this happened:

TADAAAAAHH!!

(Left to Right): Re-Fresh Mint, Oxygen, Second-Hand Silk, Below Deck, Cowgirl Up

Purchased from Crush Cosmetics

I've lost count on how many nail polishes I have now and I'm not anywhere near to 'enough'! What makes it worse is that I don't really have color preferences when it comes to nail polishes. Is this a good or a bad thing?

Might consider doing NOTD (Nail of the Day) posts whenever I have a new color on my nails. I figured it will be a little fun addition to my blog. :)

Love,

Charlotte

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