New York Photo Diary

I went to NYC for a girl's trip for 4 days. Here are some shots of from the trip!

The Cartier shop dressed as a giant present

How is this a library?

Gossip Girl anyone?

Obligatory visit to K-town

Rockefeller centre Christmas tree and skating

Saks 5th window display

Disco Empire

LOVE - missing our 4th member

Library again

Bite sized heaven

Chick magnet

Pretty explanatory

Jewellery at an outdoor market

Octopus ink pasta

Giant snail - which I subsequently climbed

Times Square we met again

The Gugenheim

Artsy fartsy

Hi Georgia May

Brooklyn Brooklyn

Best breakfast ever

Jean Paul Gaultier 

A dress fit for Demeter

The Crystal Renn dress

A piano in a tree

bisous,

mooncake

Em. by Michelle Phan

I have been watching YouTube videos since I was in high school. One of my best friends introduced me to make up tutorials and I have been hooked ever since. One of the gurus I have been following for a long time has come out with a highly anticipated make up line - Em by Michelle Phan.

Me, being a subscriber, decided to support Michelle Phan and got a day life palette and a chiaroscuro. Michelle's make up line is priced mid to high end.

The packaging:
I'm not too into the plastic see-through packaging. It seems kind of cheap and... the palette itself is $75. I did however get these products on sale and ended up paying $50 for the chiaroscuro and the life palette. Pricey, but still worth it.

The life palette:
The life palettes are big square palettes with 8 lip colours, 24 eye shadows and 4 blushes. The make up is in circular pans which are magnetic so that the colours can be rearranged and repurchased if necessary. When you order a life palette it comes with a travel palette so that you can design your own essentials palette. What attracted me about the life palette is that there were nice matte and shimmery neutrals in the palette as well as the fact that I could make my own travel palette. I love my day life palette, because I am a huge neutral eye shadow fan. While there are other palettes in the Em collection, you won't find vibrant hues (at least not yet). If you're looking for vibrant eye shadows, I recommend Urban Decay.

The chiaroscuro:
I also purchased a chiaroscuro, a double ended highlight and contour stick, in medium. I love the contouring portion of the stick, however, the highlighter does not suit my face at all. I prefer Watt's Up and High Beam for my complexion. The chiaroscuro is super blendable which is a plus - but that also means that I'll end up using it up a lot faster than I'd like.

Overall:
I am glad I purchased these products, because I want to support Michelle Phan and her endeavours. I plan on doing more of this with other bloggers and YouTubers :)

What I like most about that palette is that the colours are versatile and that the eye shadow colours show up true to colour even without an eye primer.

Bisous,
Mooncake

90 day challenge

In November 2013, I decided to do a 90 day challenge. I planned to start in December of 2013, but due to circumstances I pushed it back to January 2014.

So I am declaring that I am starting this challenge so that I can keep myself accountable throughout the process. I am a bit shy so my stats and goals won't be posted until I achieve them, but they are recorded in my fitness journal. I will be following my own routine and combining it with tips from Cassey Ho from Blogilates. She has some great videos and meal plan schedules for young women like myself. However, my ideal fitness role model is Katie Vella of theminibeast.com. I want to be strong and fit, not just lean. 

I will report back every 2 weeks to share my progress.

Bisous,

mooncake