STILA - EYES ARE THE WINDOW PALETTE

Ciao Tutti,

Another cosmetics company came out with eyeshadow palettes?! Yes, please. We all know that we will never have enough of  eyeshadow palette, whether it is neutral or bright colors, We always find a reason t get another palette, does this thought seems familiar ' ohh wow.. neutral palette, I like it, but I have dozens of neutral palette already.. oh wait.. that single shadow color, I do not have that color! Ok I'm getting it.' It does sound familiar right, because we all guilty in that area.

As you can see in the photo above Stila's Eyes Are The Windows palette came in 4 palette appropriately named Mind, Body, Soul & Spirit. These palette is released on Aug 2014 (yes I am bit late on posting these, but these babies is hard to get in Italy and I only got it last month). There is 12 eyeshadow colors in every palette with combination of  matte and shimmer finished.. It is hard to chose between the palettes as all of them is gorgeous and screaming pick me! And did I mentioned the packaging is beautiful!

My favorite of all is the 'Soul' palette.. It is the perfect palette to go travelling with, You can create almost any makeup look with this palette alone.

2nd favorite palette is the 'Mind' palette. Another neutral palette with a twist. the burn orange color in the palette is a reason alone to get this palette in your collection.

3rd place is the 'Spirit' palette. As someone with tan olive skintone, this palette is a bit to light for me. Neither the less, this palette will be amazing for lighter skintone. It is packed with crease and beautiful transition color. I Particularly can't take my eyes on the burnish red eyeshadow on top row. 

And last certainly not least.. The 'Body' palette. this pallet is 4th in my favorite list only because personally I do not wear that much of a darker shades eye makeup anymore. This palette is amazing to create dark smokey eyes. With enough transition and crease shades and packed with at least 6 gorgeous shades, this palette is smokey eyes fan must have.

So the big question, which one to get? it's all up to individual preference and 'needs'. Sorry can't help you in this matter.

Where to get : At Stila website , Your nearest Sephora, and for you in Italy and other part of Europe that your local Sephora do not carry Stila you can get Stila products at BeautyBay.com

Till the next one...

Sara. A

Faces & Places - Bracciano Lake Lazio, Italy

Ciao Tutti,

As the winter is slowly passing by and I can defiantly looking forward to Spring (or Primavera in Italian), it was a sunny day and we decided to take a short drive to a place outside Rome city center. Located only 32km outside (takes around 40-60 mins drive depends on traffic) Rome in the Lazio region. Lago Di Bracciano as the Italians call it is one of the major lakes in Italy. The lake is surrounded by 3 towns which are Bracciano, Anguillara Sabazia & Trevignano Romano

View of the small town from the lake

I am proud of this photo!

 The atmosphere surrounding this lake is perfect for spending your afternoon is tranquility and quite is what you after. There is not much shops and restaurants around and mostly in winter they close for business. If you looking for crowded place on Sunday this is definitely not the place, For me personally every time I came here I just walk around the edge of the lake enjoying ice-cream in a cone while watching ducks and swans swimming gracefully while praying that out of the hundreds seagulls flying above me not one of them decide to poop on me, so far so good. 

  

I love walking around the small old town and as I was walking, a house caught my attention on how she decor the outside front wall of the house. I am making an assumption that whoever did the decor is a female because it is really feminine.. but yet I might be wrong. I made a note to myself that I will make the same decor when we get our own place which I am hoping very soon... and oh.. did I mentioned cats?! Cats everywhere..

How Cute! Future DIY projects indeed. The small pot hanging on the wall is planted with different herbs and every pot have a cute signage written what herbs planted in it. 

If you like taking photo be sure to bring good gadgets for photo taking because this lake can give you a postcard worth of sunset :) Even with my lack skill of photography I manage to get beautiful photos with using only my mobile phone.

Birds eye view of the town

You can find out more about the origin and fact of Lago Di Bracciano here -  Wikipedia

How to get there - Google Maps

And here is 1 more photo I took that day... It is the photo of my father-in-law with the family dog Lily.

Until next time, take care and drive safe. 

Sara A.

KIKO COSMETICS MILANO Super Colour Mascara - The Review

Ciao Make-Up enthusiasts,

I am loving Kiko Cosmetics for more than 3 years now. Now I am living in Italy, I can breath easy as I have no longer need to wait for our annual holiday to Europe or have to beg for a friend that going to Europe to get me my dose of Kiko products. Kiko Cosmetics is available trough out Europe and some part of America but sadly not in Asia yet. Kiko website promotions, sales and overall products availability is varied among countries. As I am base in Italy, my reference on the products item will be mainly based on Kiko Cometics Italy website, and the other main reason is I am paying in EUR for items that I bought. Ok on with the review. 

Photo Source : Web press release

This Super Colour Mascara comes in 7 shades..  I only have 1 of the shade in 05 Plum, I chose this colour mainly because I have brown iris and plumy colours are good to make brown eyes pop. The product description including vibrant colours and volume effect mascara. As an Asian the word 'volume' makes me want to try any mascara I can get a hold off, and if I can only chose only 1 makeup item to bring with me, mascara will be the one.. so I consider myself a mascara addict and perfectionist. 

The wand is a standard size and type of mascara wand. Tried and sad to say even though it is on sale right now, I probably won't be getting any of the other colours available except to give it to someone else.. For me personaly it is an OK mascara but nothing that makes me excited over it. Tried it for a week and at maximum applied 3 coats of  the mascara before deciding it is not for me. Let me tell you why..

The voluminous effect only visible after 3 coats, even then it is nothing magic.. my good ol' L'oreal mascara can give me the same effect in 1 coat. The colour (or at least the one that I have) is barely visible and when it dried it turns into dark brown which is almost look black on my dark lashes. Gone are the plumish colour that made me bought it in the first place. 

In my humble opinion this mascara might work for you if you have a thick, long  and light lashes in the first place. or if you just want to play around and add coloured mascara that you will never use in your collection like a real makeup addict :)

I love Kiko Cosmetics but for me personally I will give this mascara a pass.. (or should I say not buying it anymore. Hope this help.. till the next one, take care and be safe..

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 

Where To Buy : http://www.kikocosmetics.com/

Price : EUR5.90 on sale now for EUR3.90 - Kiko Cosmetics mascara sale - click here

Sara A.

ITALIAN WEDDING - 2nd STEP | Documents Endorsing - What You Need To Know

Ciao Tutti,

This is the 2nd part of my Italian Wedding 'know how' basically I am writing all the info of procedures, guidance and tips on how to get it done with less headache as possible especially for Malaysian citizen. If you have not read the 1st version of this series than please head over to my previous post.

Previous Post Link:   ITALIAN WEDDING - 1st STEP

Ok, where were we, yes the all important Nulla Osta. After obtaining Nulla Osta form your embassy, now it is time to deal with the local departments. If you do not speak Italian, of course it is best to do all this arrangement and meetings with your other half who I presume speak the language or with someone that do. This will make thing very easy and to avoid confusion and not to mentioned, most government departments officials do not speak English. Parlaro Italiano or come back later when you do. 

Armed with your Nulla Osta (for both if both foreigners) and passport in hand and if your other half Italian he/she only need to bring Identification Card. The first agenda is to get the Nulla Osta obtained at the embassy to be endorsed by the council / state, in my case the state of Rome. You will need to go to the Procurra Della Repubblica i Tribunali to get in endorsed and you will need to pay/buy a stamp that equivalent as paying tax for the service. The stamp can be obtained at any Tabacchi around Rome that sell cigarettes and ticket for public transportation. The tax /stamp or as they call it marca da bollo should cost you around EUR16.50 for this endorsement. My advise, go early in the morning as there usually packed and there will be limited numbers of transaction per day. My experience was, the customer service was fast, efficient and even took time to wish us congratulations on the engagement. 

With your Nulla Osta endorsed by the state stamped and signed at the back with the tax sticker on it, now it is for the next step which I will write about soon in the next version of this series. In the meantime below are some links and info on departments and places mentioned in this blog. 

What is a Tabacchi in Italy: http://goitaly.about.com/od/italytravelglossary/g/tabacchi_def.htm

What is Procurra Della Repubblica: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procura_della_Repubblica

Where is Procurra Della Repubblica i Tribunali in Rome:

 http://www.giustizia.lazio.it/appello.it/base.php?sx=sx_pr.php&inf=proc_rep.php&bc=71

Foot Note: As I am writing base on my experience, my recommendation and suggestion best suited for Malaysians and (maybe) other SE Asia citizens.

Till the next one. Take care, Drive Safe,

Live. Love. Laughter

Sara A.  

BOBBI BROWN BB Cream SPF35 PA+++ - The Review

Ciao Tutti, 

I am so looking forward to March and it means the arrival of Spring! Today we going to talk about 1 of my daily must have. The BB cream with SPF 35 by Bobbi Brown. I have been using this products for at least 18 months now and it still my go to products for that natural fast everyday look and not too mention the SPF protection built in it, in my opinion is enough for daily UV protection if you will spend most of your time in the office.

Image source : The web

It comes in a convenient plastic tube of 40ml and available in 9 shades ranging from very fair to medium - dark tan complexion.. for very deep skin tone you might have problem finding your shades. It is very thick in consistency so a little goes a long way. It gives a nice velvety feeling to the skin (dry skin need to moisturise first before using this) , very natural coverage. I usually wear this product with my concealer and set it with either my M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish Natural powder or my Ben Nye powder.

My daily neutral look essentials

I totally happy with this BB Cream and defiantly recommend it for people that want fast, simple morning daily routine. I am wearing shade medium. 

Note: I am NC40 - 42 in M.A.C coloring code.

Rating          :  8.5 /10

Finish           :  Natural velvet texture

Coverage      :  Light Natural finish

Best Suited   :  normal to oily/combination skin

Application   :  Fingers

Where to buy : Bobbi Brown cosmetics store, Sephora or Bobbi Brown Online  

Till next blog.. Take care and thank you for stopping by

Live. Love. Laughter 

Sara. A