Fragrance Review | Nina Ricci L'extase

Ciao Tutti!! yes.. yes.. I am still alive. 

The world of fragrance... what can I say, I forgot how much I love fragrance for years, forgot that I love collecting em, smelling em and looking at the beautiful bottles.. Maybe because there are not easy to packed and with us moving so much in the last few years, it stop me from buying and getting more and by time I just simply forgot this love I have for them until recently... 

Lets start my very 1st written review about fragrance on a sour note... literally. Due bare in mind though, fragrance like most things in the world are personal opinion and taste, and here are my take on it,

Nina Ricci L'extase EDP, beautiful bottle, with dark plum gradient and gold plate infront, Everything about this fragrance bottle are my aesthetic. In Fragrantica this fragrance are classified as oriental florals with pink pepper, peach and pear listed as the top notes, bunch of white flowers and rose as the heart and benzoin, cider musk and amber in the dry down. It is created by the infamous perfumer Francis Kurdjian. I mean he is nowadays the Godfather in perfumery and now having his success in his own fragrance house MFK (who haven't heard about Baccarat Rouge 540 by now?)

Apart from the bottle, sadly to say this one is a fail for me, another fail blind buy ... yippiieeee... not! On my untrained nose, what I mean by that is I am not trained in perfumery nor that I have ever work in the industry, I am simple a fragrance addict, enthusiast and a collector. The 1st blast are full of heavy white floral with a hint of sheer rose, love it. After 30 mins or so this is where it start become weird for me. While it still smelling super gorgeous and warm on my clothes, on my skin it turn to smelling sour.. like a very sour peach and by 2 hour or so that sour notes start developing metallic / zinc  on my skin. This is where I know it is not for me. The metallic smells, you know.. like when you have a few coins in your palm and you hold it tightly while walking to buy an ice-cream when you a kid.. you hold it so tight till your palm sweating, and those coins leave that metallic smells on your palm... that's how it smells for me. The longer I leave on my skin, the sour and metallic smells stay on me like a bad ex. 

Anyway, I leave at this.. I think I have to be careful with any fragrance with peach note in it. I hate peach flavored tea cause it makes me want to vomit, but that is a story for another day. Hope everyone stay safe and take care one another.

Aliexpress Haul - MAC Gamballi Vatista Lipsticks

Ciao Tutti,

Been MIA for a while sorry my little blog. Since few months ago I got hooked shopping in Aliexpress, can't remember what I was looking for in the 1st place but yup.. once you go Ali (usually) you never turn back. Having a daughter that love makeup and shopping as much as I do.. we start placing small orders in the website and see what turned up. I decided that even though truth be honest that I neither my daughter use this fake cosmetics we keep placing small orders just to see how good the fakes are and I think posting some what a review on the items might have some of you guys making purchasing decision. Don't worry most of these items do not go to waste, we give them away to friends and family that want them.

 

We decided on Aliexpress offering of MAC Cosmetics Vatista Gambali lipstick as the promo photo seems too good to be true and the review was not bad at all. The parcels came after 3 weeks from China. The tracking was not really updated accordingly but we sort of knew that before buying. 

To our surprise the outer box look identical to the original ones.. the tube look absolutely gorgeous with soft feel rubber material just like the original.

The lipsticks have almost no scents and it is completely matt and opaque. I could not compare how accurate and identical the colours are to the original MAC as I do not own any from this collection.. (it was sold out almost in an instant after their release) .



Here are few more photos of this haul.

Disclaimer: I AM NOT promoting, endorsing nor encouraging my viewers and readers to go and buy fake makeup. Please know that these counterfeit products do not have regulation on ingredients that they using while producing the products. This blog is solely for research and educational purposes only. Buy and use fake / duplicate makeup at your own risk  

Thank you for stopping by, 

Ridi Speso, Ama Molto..
Sara A.

TARTE COSMETICS BB Primer 12-HRS - The review

Ciao Tutti,

This is love at first sight, or should I say at first application. I get hold of a deluxe sample of this Tarte Cosmetics BB Primer cream as a gift from a purchase online. I kept it and never really thought about it since the name kinda threw me off, Come on! is it a primer or a BB cream??

One find day I got curious and decided to try it out.. and wham! magic.

As I am a lazy ass and have no talent in taking product photos, this photo is not my own. Googled it. 

This BB cream or primer or whatever you want to call it, have a thick siliconie consistency that spread easily and evenly upon application. A little goes a long way with this product. It give blurring effect on the skin which I love and provide some coverage. It is perfect to use on the days that you want the no makeup makeup look or you just to lazy to put anything on but still want to look like like you have 8 hours sleep and been to the gym and yoga and eat good diet for a month! :D

The rest of my makeup and powder product sit nicely on top this cream. As primer it provide extra coverage and in my opinion good for oily skin up to dry skin. Would I recommend this product from Tarte Cosmetics? yes definitely! I even bought myself 2 full size tubes as backup. As reference I am MAC NC37-NC40 and I am using the medium shade in this Tarte BB cream primer.

Face : Tarte Cosmetics BB Primer - Medium
           MAC Studio Fix Concelear - NC35
           Ben Nye Banana Powder
           Mac Mineralize Blush - Warm Soul

Eyes: Kiko Cosmetics Extra Volume Mascara
          Kiko Cosmetics Eyebrow Pencils
          MAC eyeshadow - Brun

Lips: Kiko Cosmetics Creamy lipstick -              404*discontinued





Do you know that Tarte Cosmetics website ship to most countries and offer international shipping with a certain amount varies to every country.  The regular shipping is using DHL so no long waiting time needed. You can order Tarte Cosmetics from  http://tartecosmetics.com

Thank you for stopping by lovelies.

 Ridi Speso, Ama Molto..
   Sara A.

MIGRATING TO ITALY : Post Malaysia International Shipping Service - The Story

Moving to another country? Getting your belongings to your new home is one of the most important matters that you need to to think and it is mostly will give you a headache. If you or your other half is working for a big corporation that will take care all the logistic matter then lucky you, but if you anything like us and have to do everything on your own time and expenses then I feel your pain but lucky you.. you here reading my experience and hopefully this post will give you an idea on deciding how & what to do next.

http://www.pos.com.my/pos/homepage.aspx

As we do not have any furniture that we want to have with us, nor any electrical appliances and bulky items (we decided to give it away to friends and sold a few), we eliminate all shipping options that required us to pay a container worth of space as a minimum rates. After days of calling and researching (with lots of cursing all the way) I finally decided to do all the packing by myself and go with the old trusty Post Malaysia. Actually I made the choice because of 3 reasons. numore 1 being we do not have much time to keep researching for the perfect shipping company within our budget, 2 being not wanting to pay whole container than we know we will no way have that much stuff to fill the container with and 3, as bad as I want to admit, 100% of the items that need to be ship to Italy is belong to me. yes all of it. I do not know how he manage to have only 1 medium box, 1 check in luggage and 1 hand carry.... after 5 years in KL, I mean common!!! how guys managed to do that is beyond my imagination.

After buried up to my neck with my belongings scattered all over the house, the day before we fly out I finally seal up all the boxes.. all together I had 8 boxes going back home to Sabah to my mum and cousin.. and 6 boxes going to Italy. It was a painful process.. very painful indeed.. I do not think I had to make difficult decision like that in a very long time.. pergghh!

We paid almost RM2,000 for the whole lot.. which is not cheap but way lesser than the rates of the other big relocation company quote us. We took all my precious to post office at jalan Tun Sambathan near Kl Sentral, they weight it, we paid and I walk out hoping for the safety of my shoes with a heavy heart.

Not after 6 weeks than news of them boxes actually arrived in Italy reach us.. but not by the delivery man ring the door bell but buy a letter from the Poste Italia to declare the value of the stuff in my boxes. The boxes arrived in batches.. or they just release it in batches, first 2 boxes, then 2, then another 2 big boxes. As the form in Italians, Mr. Man handle that part. and few days after sending them the copy of filled declaration form by email, my boxes arrived at our front door, cold and wet.. and definitely sad looking. Of all 6 boxes only 1 boxes arrived in almost perfect condition. most of them have been ripped apart and tape up again.

It goes by saying that I did lost some Items in my boxes.. a handbag,  and a few clothing items. but to think that most of them arrived, I am more than thankful. My advice is, yes post Malaysia can be reliable when shipping your boxes to EU, just prepare that you have to wait for them for more than a month or so and in case of shipping to Italy, prepare to fill up some value and tax declaration papers.

Hope this post give you few pointers and help in any way. Thank you for stopping by,


Ridi Spesso, Ama Molto..
   Sara A.

KIKO COSMETICS - Crystal Sheer Glossy Lipstick - Review & Lip Swatches

Ciao Bellezza,

Went to Kiko Store last week with promises that I will only picked up items that I want to gift to others for Christmas. I broke my promise of course. Out of curiosity I bought this lipstick by Kiko call Crystal Sheer Glossy Lipstick. The word sheer actually kinda threw me off a bit... as I don't know about you but my principal when it comes to lipstick, I want the color not just a sheer shine. If I am looking for a shine in lip products I will go for lipgloss not a lipstick.

Well, Another pleasant surprise by Kiko Cosmetics. Let's talk about the packaging first. Like usual the packaging is gorgeous, I love the shiny metallic finish of the cap and the tube. The cap have this metallic finish with a hint of pink... beautiful! It looks expensive and feel expensive. The lipstick itself engraved with 'Kiko' on it, and does not really have a distinctive scents to it which is a plus for me.I bought this lipstick in the shade No.404 / Caramel Beige.

Despite its name, it is not sheer at all. The lipstick is super creamy, with good pigmentation and leave a hint of glossy finish on the lips. If you have dry lips like mine.. this is gorgeous. I have quite naturally pigmented lips, with the upper lips is a tad bit darker than the bottom lips, and this lipstick balance the color out in only 1 application. I am very very impressed happy with it. 

Indoor Photo. No flash. No Editing

Shade 404 remind me of Bobbi Browns type of nude lip color.. It is this classy nude brown that do not wash you out. If you are around my skintone which is around NC40 in M.A.C coloring this is no fail choice.. and if you have lighter skintone, this shade will look excellent on you too. 

Outdoor photo with natural sunlight. No flash. No Editing

I highly recommend this lipstick range by Kiko if you looking for that creamy lipstick that at same time give a hint of glossiness. It look amazing on chapped lips. I am for sure will picked up more colors soon. Hoping that Kiko Cosmetics will do some crazy sale for this coming Christmas.  

Product Rating : 8/10
Price: €6.90
Where To Buy:   Kiko Cosmetics Milano

Interested in Kiko Cosmtics products but couldn't get your hands on them where you live? We at DesiderioBySara is offering shopper service with a minimum flat rate service fee. check out our Shopper & Forwarding Service page for info or email us at desideriobysara@gmail.com 

Thank you for stopping by, 

Life, Love, Laughter
  Sara A.

KIKO COSMETICS Color Fever Eyeshadow Palette No.101 Bordeaux - The Review

Ciao Belleza,

Do we all love eyeshadow palettes. Yes! We love it so much the cosmetic company keep making 'em and we kept on buying 'em even though we all know that there is no way in this lifetime that we manage to used up all the eyshadows that we already stash in our collection. But that is not important. what is important that right now we talk about this particular eyeshadow palette (quad is more suitable word in my opinion). It is one of the Color Fever Eyeshadow Palette No:101 Bordeaux by Kiko Cosmetics Milano.

To be honest I have hard time choosing on which palette to get. There is 4 palettes available in this range. I decided on 2 of them, trying so hard to ignore the taupe and bronze tone palettes, But I am making it my mission to get the other 2 palettes as soon as I can because these eyeshadows are amazing!

Highly pigmented, luxuries in texture, blend like a dream and in such gorgeous shades. If you are a fan of shimmering shadows, you have to get your talons on these. I have no fall out problems when using them.. the quality is amazing and for the price tag on them, it is a steal. It came in a sleek black matt compact that come with a mirror.. I know for sure by the time I wrote this Kiko Cosmetics in slowly changing the packaging of their permanent products to a shiny square gun metal compact. 

This eyeshadow in my opinion perform way better than their infinity eyeshadows, and remind me of Chanel and Kanebo eyeshodows which cost way higher, and I can't help to noticed the similarity of this palette and Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow quad in Vintage Vamp. If you are looking for burgundy, reddish eyeshodows to add to your collection, this is the palette to get.

 
Product Rating: 9/10
Price: €12.90
Where to buy: www.kikocosmetics.com

I used the palette to create this look for the Halloween

 Interested in Kiko Cosmtics products but couldn't get your hands on them where you live? We at DesiderioBySara is offering shopper service with a minimum flat rate service fee. check out our Shopper & Forwarding Service page for info or email us at desideriobysara@gmail.com 


Thank you for stopping by,

  Life. Love. Laughter
   Sara A.

Online Shopping Review - Asia-Market.it - Asian online groceries shopping in Italy

Ciao Tutti,

It's DECEMBER! the month that full of anticipation.. at least for me. OK, before I start babbling what so great about Dec, let's take a rest from makeup and all things related to beauty and this time let us talk about FOOD! Well staple Asian cooking ingredients to be exact.  

No Asian kitchen will be complete without any type of soy sauce, oyster sauce.. etc.. As I was running out most of my regular sauces, and Mr. Man not keen to drive all the way to Piazza Victoria any time soon, I decided to try ordering online form this website that I knew about since 8 months ago. 

My precioussss!!  

The website address is www.asia-market,it and they carry almost any ingredients from sauces, to spices, grains, instant noodles and even the infamous Thai beer, Chang beer. No matter which kind of Asian dishes you have in mind, you sure will find the ingredients you need in this website. The website is based in Italy and it is in Italian, but even if you do not read Italian the website is quite easy to understand. The items is categorizes by types and countries. 

I've placed my order on Sunday, by Tuesday morning my box arrived and they use GLS courier service. I have no complain on their delivery service. It is excellent. All the sauces that came in glass bottle all packed nicely with almost 2 meters of bubble wrap wrapped around each bottles.. As an Asian, to see a plain ol' soy sauce bottle being treated this way made me laugh so hard... Ahhh.. The life of living abroad, full of surprises.  

There is of course receipt included in the box and a free wooden chopstick.. Yayy! better than nothing. All and all I highly recommend this website. The price tags is fair and the shipping is fast. as for the shipping fee it is depend on the weight of your order. They shipping rate begin with €4.90 and above.

Store Rating : 8.5 /10

Till next time, hope you have a lovely day ahead, thank you for stopping by.


Life. Love. Laughter
    Sara A.

KIKO COSMETICS MILANO 3D Lifting Cream - The Review

Ciao Bellezza,

In this post let's talk about moisturizer shall we..? As I ran out of my regular skincare item, I was looking at affordable and easily available moisturizer, I was reluctant to part with my SKII products but it is almost impossible to get my hand on them in Italy not to mentioned this brand cost more and more each year.. sigh..

As I love my Khiel's Ultra moisturizer face cream and been my life saver in winter months, I want to try around new products and if possible cheaper price tag. As I am addicted to Kiko Cosmetics and have not tried any of their skincare.. I started looking around their website and the review on them seems to be promising.

I decided on the 3D Lifting Cream (photo above) to replace my Khiel's as my daytime moisturizer. Why I chose that cream in particular? well, when you in your 30's believe me you will start looking deeply into keywords such as 'anti-aging, lifting, tightening... 'you got my rhyme?

Packaging: 1st impression of course the packaging. like usual Kiko never disappoint with their packaging. 3D Lifting Cream came in 50ml heavy thick plastic almost glass like jar, with a beautiful metallic chrome fuchsia lid. It is also came with the typical inner plastic stopper/cover. 

Products: The creme is off white in color with somehow thick consistency, but not too thick, a little products goes a long way. It have a faint scent to it. I am bad in describing scents but it is the regular scents that you will find in most skincare products, I wont say it is overwhelming in any means. The creme spread easily and absorb into the skin within a minute after putting it on to my face.

Conclusion: It is a pleasant product to use. Does it really do any lifting? sorry to say I do not see any significant changes or lifting effect take place, however keep in mind that I have not finish a jar of this creme. Would I repurchases? yes & no. To use as daily moisturizer with or without makeup? Yes. It is hydrating enough. To use because of the significant lifting as Kiko claimed, No.

This moisturizer is retail at €15.90 / 50ml

Hope you have a great day ahead. Thanks for stopping by.

Life. Love. Laughter
    Sara A.