Lil' loot from Sephora

Hi hi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

I don't usually shop in Sephora coz they had a 20% off storewide.  I didn't go crazy... i wanted to, but at    the back of my mind, brand new the products in my stash were reminding me not to. 

So, here's the items that I purchased.

First up, I got the Ole Henriksen Instantlt Ageless Essential set at $72 which I paid $57 for.

Comes with the:

• African Red Tea foaming cleanser
• Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster
• Invigorating Night Gel
• Sheer Transformation Creme
• 3 sachets of Power Peel

 Next up, I purchse this Brown Sugar EDP by Fresh coz the one which I was gifted with is running dangerously low.  I simply love love love this scent so much that I am getting a replacement bottle.  I retails at $49 and I paid $39 for it.

 For my hair, I picked up this Percy & Reed No Oil Oil for fine hair.  Retails at $30 and I paid $24 for it.  As with most people, I am wary of adding oily serums to my hair but this oil doesn't leave any residue to my locks which is such a bonus.  However, I wouldn't know if it is doing anything good either ... hehehee.  Will find out after using it for a longer period of time. 

This item from Tarte was something that I had planned on purchasing (",) 

It's the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in fair light neutral.  

I am currently lighter than my usual MAC NC 20 shade and this shade suits me well.

It retails at $$58 and I got it at $46.

Next two items from Tarte are what I am most excited about.  

I chose two of their Amazonian Butter Lipsticks.  Retails for $26 and I paid $20 a pop for each of these.

 Creamy Rose on the left and Pink Peony on the right.  Aren't they just lovely to look at? 

 I'll consider these Butter Lipsticks sheer and they do contain peppermint oil which is in most of the Tarte lippies that I own.  Such a joy to apply and feel a tingle of peppermint especially when your lips are feeling dry. 

I have some swatches of the Tarte Lip Surgence Balm Sticks which I own.  Click on picture to read on.

I'm just gonna sum up the retail prices of these items in Singapore at our local Sephora.  Might come in handy if someone wants to compare/know the retail prices in Singapore.

• Ole Henriksen Instantlt Ageless Essential set - $72 
• Brown Sugar EDP by Fresh - $49
• Percy & Reed No Oil Oil for fine hair - $30
• Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation - $58
• Amazonian Butter Lipsticks - $26

Talk to you soon!

No more mushy soap bars!

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House!

I am currently using this bar of Badger Rose Geranium soap bar which I bought from iHerb.  I do not have a place for a soap dish in my shower area.   So, I came up with this idea of storing the soap in a pouch so that it will not be  exposed to 'excessive flooding' while it stays in the shower. 

Read on to find out more (",)

I bought this shower cloth at Daiso.  I picked this nylon version instead of the cotton one as I figured it will not retain water as well as cotton and therefore, results in less bacteria growth.  Nylon should dry faster than cotton too (",)

So, I cut out a small portion of the shower cloth and made it into a simple drawstring pouch. 

I keep the soap in the pouch in the shower area.

For the first few days, I took the bar of soap out and placed it back into the pouch to air dry after use. 

Then I decided why not just use it while it is still in the pouch?!

And so, I did and I love it this way.  Instead of lathering it and transferring the lather onto a loofah, I simply wet the pouch with the bar of soap inside it and used it as I would a loofah, all over my body.

Once I am done, I hang it in a dry area of my shower, away from any exposure to water when others are showering.  With this pouch, the soap bar remains dry till the next time I use it.  No more mushy soap bars (",) 

Flower girl makeover

Hello, friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Kiddo's debut as flower girl for her favourite lady is less than a month away so I thought I  should do a trial flower girl makeover for her lest I make a blunder on the actual day. 

Instructions on how I put the whole look together is at the bottom. 

Allow me to photo spam coz I am truly thrilled with the outcome (",) 

For her face, a light wash of Bourjois Healthy Mix powder (I mixed two shades to achieve a shade suitable for her skintone).  On her eyes, I used the L'oreal Infalliable eyeshadows - powder eyeshadows just don't hold on kids' flawless skin.  I didn't wanna use a primer on her so the best choice is cream eyeshadows.  On her cheeks, another light wash of a sparkly pink Bourjois blush.  

For asian hair that is stick straight and wouldn't hold curls well, I curled her hair in really tiny sections.  It is important to spritz on hairspray after a few sections are curled coz if hairspray was applied only at the end of curling, the hair that was curled earliest would have become straight. 

I made these floral hair pieces and that's it! (",) 

iHerb repurchase - free delivery for orders over $40usd

Hihi ladies of Hazelnutt House (",) 

here are some stuff that I am repurchasing from iHerb.  Maybe it will give you an idea on what 'tried and tested' items you can get if you're thinking of making an order.

I like this Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Classics.  They are about $3ish usd.  When I first snacked on these, I thought they were much tooOOooo salty.  So the entire box sat on the shelf for quite awhile till I ran out of adam cheese which I snack on with celery and carrots.  I remembered this box of salty crackers and decided to pack it with my celery sticks and carrot for my afternoon snack at work.  This combination turned out fab!  A good alternative if cheese isn't available.

I share this Snickerdoodle animal snack from Barbara's with kiddo.  It's about $4ish usd.
I like that it isn't overly sweet and has a strong taste of cinnamon.

I love love love this tea cup which is currently on sale for $2.95.  It comes with an infuser and a lid - all in clear glass.  Gonna get me a couple more so The Hubs can have his own.  Here's the link (",)  

And since I've run out of this Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme, it'll have to go into my cart too (",)
It's $7.99usd.

iHerb is offering free shipping via SingPost for orders over $40usd.  

Talk to you ladies soon!  Gonna browse iHerb for more online satisfaction! 

Review - Harney & Sons tea, Vanilla Comoro and Earl Grey Supreme

Hi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

I purchased these tins of Harney & Sons tea from iHerb without much knowledge of this brand.  I love how the tins look and I'm already thinking of how I can make use of them once I'm finished with the tea.  

Vanilla Comoro is a decaffeinated black tea and Earl Grey Supreme is a regular caffeinated black tea.

I'm not a tea connoisseur but I really enjoy tea.  

Based on my tea preference, I would say that it is worth spending the money on both these flavours. 

Both the Vanilla Comoro and Earl Grey Supreme are $7.99USD each on iHerb.

I shall put it in simple layman words and give my views on these two types of tea. 

This vanilla tea tastes like regular black tea although it is decaffeinated.   There is no bitter or tart taste.  The scent of vanilla infused with the tea is very warming, creamy and rich.   Especially suitable as a comfort drink (",) Very smooth... Taste great with absolutely no sugar (",)

I like this Earl Grey Supreme for the smooth taste of tea.  Not too tart or bitter.

The scent of bergamot is neither too strong nor weak.  Just right!

I'll like to take this chance to link you ladies to a Tea Community website http://steepster.com 

You'll be able to find reviews of many different types of teas here.

Right now, iHerb is offering free delivery with SingPost for orders over $40usd.

Remember to use this code if you're making your first order on iHerb.com (",)

Talk to you ladies soon!