Update: New Phone + Phone Case

I bought my first BlackBerry in February 2011 and it was the "latest" Bold 9780 then. I've always found clamshell phones attractive but I caved in to trying the BlackBerry "smartphone". Before making the switch, I asked around for advice and I had to choose between an iPhone, Android smartphone or a BlackBerry. But because I knew some people who were already on BlackBerrys, the Bold it was.

Fast-forward a year, here I am with a brand new iPhone 4S. What happened, really?

The retired year-old BlackBerry, back in its box

Truth be told, it was my boyfriend, who had bought me the iPhone. I guess he felt obliged to considering that he himself switched from BlackBerry to iPhone 4S and one of the main reasons why I considered a BlackBerry was because he had one. So naturally I was a little upset that he made the switch to iPhone and I was left with a BlackBerry...

I used to have that anti-Apple mindset and naturally, I owned no Apple products back then. The disdain I had for Apple products was fueled by the thought that they were overpriced and overrated. I didn't trash talk the products but just never really fancied giving them a go, you know?

Then it all changed when I got to play some games on my boyfriend's iPhone...

I know right, GAMES! When I had the BlackBerry I thought it was already so cool to download games from the "App World" but boy was I missing out. I was happy playing Bubble Burst, Sudoku and other fun-limited games. You should've seen how hooked I was playing Fruit Ninja on the iPhone! 

So Games-wise; Apple 1 - BlackBerry 0

After making the switch, I was surprised at how easy it was to use the iPhone's touch screen interface. There was worry at the start that I might miss the BlackBerry's QWERTY keypad and well, I do miss it to be honest. But the iPhone is so easy to use, so no problems here. I miss the BlackBerry's tiny size but the iPhone's sleek design makes up for it. I got my 4S in black and it really does look chic. 

The headache began when I had to look for cases for the iPhone. 

One word: Overpriced. 

Sure, you can get $1 silicone cases on e-Bay but I wasn't willing to give up on design! The cases sold by Apple resellers are overpriced and the thin hard plastic ones with horrid designs are abundant. I was searching for a black silicone case with/ without a pattern on the back: very simple but SO hard to find! 

So I had to resort to looking online and I was ready to punch in those credit card digits but either shipping was ridiculously expensive or they didn't ship to Malaysia. I searched some sites and found the perfect case on Nordstrom. I had a few choices but this one was slightly cheaper and was made of silicone. It was this Marc by Marc Jacobs "Mademoiselle Danger" case. It retailed for USD34 but shipping was horrendous. 

I was lucky enough though, to find this case at the local Marc by Marc store at Pavilion and I think it was one of the last cases left. It retailed for RM180 and it may seem overpriced when compared to the USD34 but if I ordered online and paid extra for shipping and customs duties, it would have been equal to or above RM180. So why not get it here and now while its in stock? 

I don't think its too much considering the thickness of the case and of course, the lovely design. Some may buy those RM40-RM60 hard plastic "shells" or cases from Apple resellers but once you drop a case like that, the plastic would most probably crack or chip or have an ugly scratch. That is why I prefer silicone/ rubber cases in general. They kinda absorb the shock from the fall so not much is damaged. And me paying that much for a case is justified by my being a sucker for unique designs and brand names, well somewhat. I definitely won't be spending any money on iPhone cases for a while now! 

The Art in Beauty

Long gone are the days of plain-looking makeup palettes. In times like these, makeup brands spew beautifully designed palettes that we then have to muster the courage to... deflower. Oh the intricate details on the many blushers, eye shadows, highlighters and bronzers I've seen thus far...

Feast your eyes on some of my favourite beauties this year.

#1 Dior Mitzah Panther Eye Shadow Palette,

Img Coutesy of Style.com

#2 NARS Hanamichi Eye Shadow Palette

Img Courtesy of NARS

#3 Maison Lancome Blush

Img Courtesy of Selfridges

#4 Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder & Blush

Img Courtesy of Guerlain

#5 Guerlain Meteorites Perles de Nuit Powder

Img courtesy of Guerlain

#6 Guerlain Meteorites Voyage Pressed Powder

Img courtesy of Guerlain

#7 Chanel Lumieres Byzantines de Chanel Palette Highlighter

Img courtesy of coolspotters.com

#8 Clinique Fresh Bloom Allover Colour

Img courtesy of Clinique

Beautiful aren't they? I have NARS Hanamichi and Guerlain Meteorites on my wishlist this holiday season. Lets hope they're still available...

Lancome's Visionnaire Serum- an Update

Image courtesy of Lancome

I've sent my full-sized 30ml Visionnaire serum back to Lancome. As much as I wanted it to work for me, it didn't. I first tried out a sample and used it for a couple of days. My skin seemed fine, if not better then. Then I bought the full sized serum and to my absolute horror, it broke me out. Looking through the ingredients, it is most probably the mineral oil in it that caused the break outs. If your skin can tolerate mineral oil then the serum might work well for you but I know my skin just doesn't get along well with mineral oil and silicones so the Visionnaire can never work for me. 

I've also noted that the Visionnaire serums sold in Malaysia are imported from Lancome Japan. Comparing the ingredients list on the serum we get in Malaysia and those sold in US/ Europe, the US/ Europe ingredients list does not state mineral oil in the product. 

This time I bought into the hype Visionnaire was and would have regretted it if I wasn't allowed to exchange the serum for it's worth in other Lancome products. I think the amount of promotion and advertisements they put into the Visionnaire serum was a dead giveaway and I've learned my lesson never to believe the hype alone. 

Lancome Malaysia responded well to my complaint and the sales assistant at the Lancome counter was helpful and took back the serum, no questions asked. If your serum has not worked for you, lodge a complaint with Lancome and remember to bring the serum in its packaging, back to the counter you bought it from. Make sure beforehand that they've scheduled you to meet with a particular SA who has been informed about your case.