Replace "http://www.thestagemommydiaries.com"/>

Sunday 24 March 2013

Tinted Lipbalm


I mentioned in a previous post how much I like Burt's Bees lip balms and how much I wanted their tinted ones but could not find them here in the UK. Well, we have them here but they seem to always be out of stock. A wonderful friend sent a couple to me and I could not be happier. I use them as lipsticks actually as the colors are really lovely with the added benefit of moisturizing my lips. I cannot get enough of them.

A lipstick and lip gloss rolled into one.


Handbag Crush


This morning in church, I saw someone carrying a Louie Vuitton bag and I laughed to myself. There is something about LV handbags nowadays that make me cringe. I used to want one ages ago, when it used to be still uncommon, when you only see them in the arms of celebrities and high society but these days, you see them in every Mary, Jane and Susie. It has become a status symbol for women and I do not really want to own a handbag just to prove my status to people. I want to own a certain handbag because I want it, for the quality and beauty of it. I have seen authentic LV's up close in boutiques and they are not really what they are cracked up to be. 


I believe every woman deserves to own a designer handbag at some point in her life. I have come to a point where I do not buy cheap handbags anymore which I would only use a few times and forget about. I find it is false economy. Of late, I have been buying Longchamps and Cath Kidstons. These are I believe mid range priced handbags and I really get a lot of mileage from them because they are of good quality and I can carry them to battle if I may say and would not worry as they do not scratch easily especially Longchamp's Le Pliage and Cath Kidston's oil cloth ones as they are wipe clean. 

I have been wanting that one special designer handbag though which I can use over and over again, season after season. Something classic that my little girl will be able to use when she is older and most especially, something that is definitely not mainstream.

My two contenders are Mulberry and Marc Jacobs.

I remember going inside one of Mulberry's boutiques and the smell of leather was just heavenly. You do not get that in any Louie Vuitton shops. The nice thing about Mulberry handbags is aside from having good quality leather is that they are not made in a sweat shop somewhere in Asia. They are hand made here in the UK.

I have been crushing on these Mulberry bags for a long time.


I love that they don't scream "designer handbag" when people see them.


I know Marc Jacobs is the creative director of Louie Vuitton but his handbags are way too different from any of Louie Vuitton handbag out there. I love how he was able to separate Louie Vuitton and his very own Marc Jacobs brand of handbags.

Here are my favorites from his line.


 

I am taking my time to decide, besides I am still saving for it. I guess my big birthday is the best time for me to splurge which is not too long now.




Sunday 17 March 2013

Face Value

I can still remember the very first time I used a facial exfoliator and I can still remember the brand. It was St. Ives and the friend who introduced it to me goes by the name of Joy.That was many years ago in my early twenties but I have not had the joy of following a beauty regime until I hit my thirties. I read somewhere that this is the best time to start looking after your skin, the time to start preventing  premature wrinkles and sun spots.

I have been using anti-wrinkle moisturisers for almost a decade now with spf (oops revealing my age) and in the last year, I have been using anti-aging serum. 

Below are my favorite brands that has been proven and tested by moi.


I have been using Garnier deep pore wash since time immemorial. It really does what it says on the tin, anti blackhead as since I have started using this, I have noticed that the blackheads on my nose are nowhere to be seen. Another thing is that it has a mild exfoliating effect as it has tiny beads that is fine for daily scrubbing. I use a heavier scrub cream weekly and I love Clinique's 7 day scrub cream. Although it says could be used daily, I only use it weekly as I feel it is harsh enough for my skin to be used daily.

Toning is apparently also good for your skin but I tend to use it only because I feel it takes a lot of my residual makeup after I was my face. I love L'Oreal's age perfect. It smells nice, too.

I love Olay Total Effects for my daily moisturiser, my skin feels soft but not greasy. It also has spf 15, perfect for sun protection. I also use Olay for my night cream.

Once a week (on a good month), I use a face mask for some more TLC and I normally use The Body Shop's warming face cream. 

I used to put Estee Lauder's night concentrate serum right before my night cream but I did not notice any difference to my skin nor feel anything different so after one bottle, I stopped. I have found Clarin's double serum (not in photo) to be a lot better and after using the sample sachet, I noticed a difference.

 I have been using the above products for a long time now as I find that they really work for me.

There, my basic skincare regime.

What's yours?

Monday 11 March 2013

Ready for Spring

I have had too much of the cold weather. I am looking forward to Spring and with that, I leave you with this Spring tutorial from Michelle Phan.