Cosmetic Cupcake

I'm back after spending the last 3 weeks in Hong Kong for Chinese New Year and the post holiday slump has well and truly hit. Combined with jet lag and catching a cold off my nieces I am so not liking being back. It was great to just relax, spend time with my family and mainly just eat lots and lots!

I didn't really shop too much because the exchange rate isn't crash hot at the moment so this is probably the smallest HK haul I've done over the years. I did of course purchase a few items I've been lusting after but lately I haven't been blown away by new products so I'm mainly finishing off products in my stash which my wallet is happy about.


I thoroughly regretted not purchasing Les Merveilleuses Ladurée cosmetics when I was in Paris last year so when Christina told me they had launched in HK I had to rectify that immediately. I bought 2 of the blushes, the cheek brush and brush holder along with some gifts - plus an item to give away shortly too! I'll be swatching the gorgeous blushes soon too.


Gucci Beauty launched in HK late last year so of course the nail polishes were on my wishlist. It was hard deciding which of the shades to get so I went with some of the iconic shades - Red, Gold and Ottanio.


So technically I didn't purchase these while in HK but I did bring them home with me from HK so I've included them in this post. I can never resist a good sale and the Models Own 50% off sales are pretty epic! Sadly they don't ship to Australia anymore but they do ship to HK so I got my order shipped to the in-laws and they arrived just as I got to HK. Absolutely perfect timing! I hauled the entire Colour Chrome collection which are perfect for stamping.


The Dolly Wink mascaras are my Holy Grail so I stocked up on a few to last until my next trip. They've been my favourite for the last few years and they don't budge on my oily lids.


My first Ferragamo piece! I've been after a small coin purse for my Chanel wallet on chain and the Vara bow coin case in Macaron is so sweet and exactly what I was after. It fits neatly into my wallet too!


I also bought a few phone cases for my new iphone 6 and a replacement Longchamp bag but that's it for this year! Very tame compared to previous years haha. What have you guys hauled lately? Thanks for looking as always!

Happy Friday ladies!! I've been back at work for only 5 days and I feel like I need another holiday already haha! I've definitely got the post holiday blues but at least it's Christmas soon so there's public holidays (and presents!) to enjoy =D Today I have my haul from my latest trip to Hong Kong for you!!! I didn't actually buy much in comparison to my other trips which is a good thing for my wallet haha xp The exchange rate wasn't so great and I'm saving for a few things so I used a LOT of restraint! I did more eating to make up for it lol.


As soon as I saw the Deborah Lippmann Space Oddity set on her Instagram I knew I had to have it!!! They aren't your typical holiday shades but they look absolutely gorgeous by themselves and together too. I also picked up the Stronger which is the collaboration shade with Kelly Clarkson - it's been on my wishlist for months and I finally picked it up squeeeeeeeeee! I love Kelly Clarkson!


I let myself get talked into buying the OPI Mariah Carey Pure 18K White Gold & Silver Top Coat xp I missed out on The Man With the Golden Gun last year so couldn't miss out this year!


I hauled a few things from Etude House for myself and for pressies! I love their stuff because it's just so sweet - pink everything! I got some polishes and a foot mask for myself and scored the little tin as a freebie.


My niece had her birthday party while I was in HK and my sis in-law asked me to do a little nail bar for the girls. Of course I said yes and it was so much fun! I didn't bring any of my tools so I bought the Lucky Trendy Dot Artist set to use but didn't end up needing to use it so I'm keeping it for myself haha. The purple is really pretty! I came across a Korean brand called Ally's Ajell and they had dual nail art pens so I picked up one in white to try out. I also bought 2 gorgeous glitters from Tony Moly!


I adore Anna Sui and I couldn't resist this limited edition Nail Care Oil!!! Isn't it just gorgeous? You shake it up and then apply and works wonderfully.


I stocked up on my favourite Zoya Remove and also picked up my first Pixie Dust in Stevie. I wish I had got a few other shades too because I am loving Pixie Dust! They wear so well and the shades are so pretty.


I picked up one of the new Canmake creme blushes in 04 and also restocked my HG Dolly Wink mascara which came with a bonus eyeliner woot!


Bioderma is my HG makeup remover and so I had to pick up this new bottle with pump dispenser. You should have seen how excited I was then I saw it haha!


Some lovely gifts from Jen who blogs over at Life and Lens of Beauty! I met up with her as usual and did some shopping =D Thank you Jen and I can't wait to go shopping with you next year!! (Thanks for letting me use your Joyce Beauty member discount btw!!)


I picked up the new Roses de Chloe on an impulse but I haven't opened it yet because I'm not sure I'm going to keep it! I love the smell of it but I have so many perfumes already I'm not sure I really need another one.. I might end up gifting it to my sis but we'll see.


Some Forever 21 accessories! I love their accessories and always try to pick up a few each trip. Their accessories department takes up like an entire floor and it is always SO DAMN HARD deciding what to buy when on a budget!


My biggest splurge on my trip was a new 11" MacBook Air!! My beloved Air died a few months ago so I took advantage of duty free and bought a replacement. The 11" is the perfect size I think!


I hope you enjoyed seeing my Hong Kong haul! Thanks for looking as always and don't forget to enter my Face of Australia Carnivale giveaway!

Aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back from my trip! I hope you've all been fab =D 2 weeks seriously is not enough time for a decent holiday, it just went by way too quickly! I spent time with my grandparents and also doing wedding stuff (got so much stuff ordered and organised!) which didn't leave too much time for shopping so my wallet is happy haha. I went over with a specific wishlist as I'm on a tight budget so my haul this time is far less than my usual ones! I have way too many products and I still need to get off my butt and do a blog sale! I bought quite a bit of clothing though this time and also shoes but I can't be bothered taking pics of those oops. Here's my haul!


Polishes!! 3 of the Essie Mirror Metallics, China Glaze Wicked collection and one from the Bohemian collection, innisfree glitters, Deborah Lippmanns, a Jessica and a peripera.


I met up with the lovely Jen as always and she very very kindly gave me a $50 Make Up For Ever voucher! I was only going to get one polish from the Black Tango collection but they were buy 2 get 1 free so of course I couldn't resist and ended up with the whole collection! I also picked up a Aqua Eyes Liner. They are the BEST liners!


Some nail art stuff of course! Fauxnad plates, nail art brushes, nail decals and stickers, fimo, palette and some cabochons.


Yes I indeed did lug home a 1L bottle of Zoya Remove lol. It was on sale and it's so hard to get here! The downfall to polishing my nails all the time is staining so I let myself get talked into getting the Cuccio Sicilian nail whitening paste. Here's hoping it works!


The shu uemura eyelash curler is my HG and I was tossing up between getting the gold or the mon shu girl curler and ended up going with mon shu girl. Karl Lagerfield rocks and I'm a sucker for a charm.


A few misc items! A refill for my Clinique powder, YSL glossy stain, MAC Select Moisturecover concealer, Kiehl's Cryste Marine eye cream and one of the new Clinique Chubby Stick shades.


I've heard so much stuff about the Bioderma I had to try it out. It's so much cheaper in HK!


Of course I got some face masks! I'm kind of obsessed with them lol. I actually bought 4 more boxes but had to leave them behind because my luggage was too heavy. The darn Zoya Remove!


Kracie poppin' cookin' is the bomb so I got a few more kits. If you haven't heard of them I HIGHLY recommend you check out RRcherrypie's blog and YouTube channel! You will be addicted!


My sister got an iphone 4S a while back and nicked some of the cases I got last time so I had to restock my supply haha. The MJ and Kate Spades I got for a bargain at Ladies Market so they're obviously not real xp


So that's my haul! I haven't done a haul post in a while because I've been on no buys. I hope you enjoyed my post!

Thanks for looking as always =)

Sooooooo I'm off to Hong Kong again today! Yes for the 2nd time this year X) I'll be away for 2 weeks to help out the family unit and also to recuperate and get my mojo back after an intense, hectic and stressful months at work. Even though I won't be hauling much at all this trip because I'm getting married next year (EEEEEEK!) I'll be stuffing my face full of yummy food, picking up some wedding related stuff and catching up with some blogging friends.

As always you can catch me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook (don't forget to "like" me!!) while I'm away. Expect lots of food and beauty pics haha! I hope you're all doing well and see you in HK!

XX

Hi ladies! I'm finally back after my long absence. I've been back home now for a few days but I've been so rundown I haven't felt like doing much at all let alone come home and blog after work. Plus I got food poisoning a few days ago argh! So annoying! Anyway, here is my haul post for you all which is much requested every time I go to Hong Kong =) I didn't have a lot of time to shop this trip but I actually came home with nearly the same amount of stuff as I usually do or more even *shakes head* I work better under pressure what can I say! Looking at my previous HK haul posts they all sort of look similar.. I always tend to stock up on the same brands and things haha.

WARNING: This post is INSANELY pic heavy! I was going to split it into 2 posts but I couldn't be bothered xp I'm making up for not blogging for so long I guess!


I'm not responsible for creating any lemmings!


My nail polish haul for this trip. Not a lot because I have a crazy amount of untrieds! I limited myself to picking up some lemmings which included Color Club Where's the Soiree, OPI Alpine Snow (I needed a new bottle), 3 of the Essie Luxeffects and Zoya Roxy. The BK holos are getting discontinued so I stocked up on a few colours to include in swaps. Also a Lajour duochrome recommended to me by my fellow polish and food lover Abby. Thanks for the tip Abby! Also two magnetic polishes from a random brand I came across too.


These Canmake polishes deserve a pic on their own! These are their new Nail Topping Coat polishes to create easy ice-cream nail art. They also released a chocolate coloured polish (pictured on the left) with some adorable pastels to help create the look. I was itching to get the pastels too but had to show restraint every time I walked past a Canmake counter since I have dupes at home =( I am SUPER excited to try these out!

Today I'm off to Hong Kong for 3 glorious weeks!!! I'll be spending quality time with my family and doing lots of fun things like eating, shopping and celebrating Chinese New Year XD I absolutely cannot wait! Even though I go every year the thrill never dies down haha. Plus I haven't celebrated CNY there in AGES! I'll also be taking time off blogging with the occasional HK update though. I'm going to be FAR too busy eating and shopping to blog sorry! I do have a few posts in draft so if I have some downtime I might post those up.

You can catch me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as always. Normal blogging will resume early February. Cosmetic Cupcake celebrates its 2 year anniversary in February OMG!!! How time flies when you have fun =)

Take care and see you all soon xx

When you think of a black holo, I always think of the elusive and amazing OPI My Private Jet original version. I don't own a bottle myself unfortunately but I do own the new version and yeah, it kinda sucks as a holo. You can check out pics of the original OPI My Private Jet on The Polish Addict and the Lacquerista. Anyhoo, I believe I may have discovered a dupe for it!! May I introduce to you: BK Diamond Duet in 20. Prepare to be WOWED.


I have been waiting to swatch this baby since I arrived home from Hong Kong in May. I picked this up from the HK Konad distributor (full details coming soon - I have a "HK where to buy" in the works but it's a lot of work!) and OH MY GOD WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE ITS FREAKING AWESOMENESS. Hence I will say little and show you pics =D Pictured is 2 coats of 20 which is a smoky black/grey holographic. In my rush to catch the sun I accidentally dented my middle finger. Oops!


Close up:





Bottle pic:


In artificial light:



How I wish I owned a bottle of the original My Private Jet so I could compare the two! But in my opinion this is at the very least is a fan-bloody-tastic black holo! What do you think?

Thanks for looking as always! International ladies, don't forget to enter my Beautysnapz giveaway here!

I went to Macau overnight during my visit to Hong Kong last month and I thought I would share some pics with you from there as well as the rest of my food pics =) Macau is such a strange place because it's got so much history yet is filled with casinos and is so touristy. It's always lots of fun going there though!

We stayed at the Venetian hotel overnight which was a bit of a letdown. The service was very crappy but at least it's fun exploring the place! I can't go to Venice anytime soon so it's the closest thing to going lol.



The view from our 33nd floor room:


A new casino opened up while we were there called Galaxy casino Macau and ZOMG it was so amazing! The view of the casino at night:


It was seriously over the top (but cool) inside and to top it off they had a huge water feature in the lobby that would play music and reveal a MASSIVE fake diamond every half hour. I WANT A DIAMOND THIS HUGE Xp


We walked about the town centre and visited the Ruins of St Pauls amongst other places to take some pictures:


Food highlights of Macau! I didn't get time to eat a pork chop burger unfortunately but at least I had a Portuguese tart. We had an awesome Thai dinner at the Venetian before we left to go back to HK which I unfortunately threw up on the ferry ride X( Again, all pics are clickable and hover for a little description =)


I'll leave you with some more food highlights from HK! Because I only went for 2 weeks I didn't get to eat everything I wanted and when I did I scoffed it down greedily and totally forgot to take pics haha.

Some main meals:


Honkie food:


Snacks:


Desserts:


I hope you guys enjoyed seeing my HK adventures! Do you like food and lifestyle posts like this? I love food as much as I love nail polish and cosmetics (OK maybe a teeny bit less) so I hope you don't mind me sharing =)

Thanks for looking!