K-drama frenzy: Scent of a Woman & Lee Dong Wook

Let me confess why I have not been blogging regularly recently. Apart from not buying much new makeup collections… I have been watching KOREAN DRAMA almost everyday.

To be honest, I have only started watching Korean dramas in 2009, the first being Boys over Flowers, so I can't say I have watched lots. The ones that are more well known are Goong, Personal Taste, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Secret Garden and My Princess. 

Right now, I am pretty much obsessed over Scent of a Woman (along with a few others), starring THE TALENTED Kim Sun-ah, and the ever-so-yummy Lee Dong-wook.

Kim Sun-ah as Lee Jeon-jae

Lee Dong-wook as Kang Ji-wook

Seo Hyo-rim as Im Sae-Kyung

Eom Ki-joon as Chae Eun-seok

Scent of a Woman talks about a plain and hardworking woman Lee Yeon-jae (stars Kim Sun-ah), who one day discovers that she has terminal cancer with only 6 more months to live. Having suffered much indignities at work and hardships in life, she decides to live the rest of her life happily and fully, resigns from work and heads for a luxurious holiday to Okinawa. There, she meets Kang Ji-wook (stars Lee Dong-wook), the director of the company, Line Tours, where Yeon-jae used to work in before she turned in her resignation.

Of course, the characters fall in love and we get the usual conflict of 'man and woman from different social status falling for each other'. However, what is more interesting, and sort of grim is that the female character may die at the end of the series. I find this plot line a refreshing change from the usual K-romance comedies where 'everyone lives happily ever after', and I want to find out how the story concludes, desperately :)

Seo Hye-rim plays Im Sae-Kyung, Ji-wook's willful fiancee; and Eom Ki-joon plays Chae Eun-Seok, Yeon-jae's childhood friend, the doctor who diagnoses her with terminal cancer, who also used to have a crush on her in their childhood days.

One of my favorite scenes in the show so far is of course the Tango scene in episode 8, which is much talked about and praised for the sizzling chemistry between the leads in the dance. Both the leads executed the dance with so much longing and passion for each other that it seems as if they are lovers in real life.

Source of video: http://www.youtube.com/user/musicallheart#p/u/18/jzGb_cRAkA4

Another reason why I love the show so much is also because of Lee Dong-wook. Don't think I have to explain too much why I like this actor, do I? Just look at the muscles!! LOL

Jokes aside, Lee Dong-wook acts well and he portrays his character with suavity -- you just know what his character is thinking at that moment, with the subtle changes of facial expressions, eye movements and tone of voice. 

Scent of a Woman premiered on 23 July 2011, and airs every Saturday and Sunday. It just broadcasted its latest episode, episode 11 tonight. There will be 16 episodes altogether. 

Source of images: http://tv.sbs.co.kr/scent/

Jill Stuart Loose Powder N in 02 Lucent

Jill Stuart Loose Powder N in 02 Lucent, 20g

Along with it's extremely princess-like packaging, I have high hopes that this loose powder will work for me. I am not disappointed, but also not all excited over it.

When I tested this powder at the counter, I expressed my concern to the BA that this powder contains shimmer, and might be unsuitable for the whole face. I prefer my loose powder to give a matte finish, and usually shimmer will make the T-zone appear oily since there is too much shine, or might make my face appear bigger than it is. LOL.

The BA assured me that the shimmer is there just to make skin appear more radiant, and will not make skin appear oily. Ok, I didn't really believe what she said, but I just wanted to get this loose powder! Haha!

I started using this about 2 weeks ago, and I use it as a setting powder for my liquid foundation. Unfortunately, I DO find the shimmer make my T-zone look oily, so I use my Majolica Majorca Pressed Pore Cover for my nose and forehead, and the Jill Stuart Loose Powder for the rest of the face. It works well for me this way :)

I like the way the shimmer makes my face appear a little brighter, without being overwhelmingly sparkly. Just too bad I can't use it on my T-zone! However, the powder also makes my face a bit fairer, so I must be careful to remember to pat the powder on my neck and shoulders as well.

There is nothing much to comment about the powder's oil control ability, because my skin will start to 'shine' a little after the usual 2 hours.

The powder has a nice mild floral scent, which does not irritate my nose or my skin!

Before loose powder, with liquid foundation

After, with loose powder over liquid foundation

From the pics above, you can see how the powder makes me appear fairer! So, I don't really use a lot of the powder each time, which means the the powder is going to last a long long long time. Overall, this is a powder I enjoy using, like the result of it, but will not repurchase.

Jill Stuart 2011 Fall Makeup Collection: Prism Carat Eyes

Jill Stuart Prism Carat Eyes, 7g each

For Jill Stuart's Fall Makeup Collection, the Prism Carat Eye caught my eyes the most! Known for its brilliant eye makeup colors, I had high expectation that these will add a brilliant sparkle to the eyes, especially when it is called 'carat' eyes :) They come in 5 shades, and I got 3 of them.

Each eyeshadow jar comes with 2 colors in 2 textures. The 1st being an eyeshadow powder, the one that gives off a beautiful sparkle, while the 2nd a cream eyeshadow, and carries the 'main color'.

Swatches first!

101 Brilliant Crown

Eyeshadow powder - dark moss green

Cream eyeshadow - golden orange

101 Brilliant Crown has a sophisticated color combination. The cream eyeshadow is a rather light golden orange frosty shade. When applied on skin, it is quite close to my skin color, not as bright as I had imagined when I first looked at pictures. The powder eyeshadow is a dark moss green with gold and orange shimmer (lots of it)! The powder is pigmented and intense upon first application, so I guess a little goes a long way.

104 Twinkle Cross

Eyeshadow powder  - greyish silver

Cream eyeshadow - berry pink

104 Twinkle Cross is a gorgeously romantic, yet mysterious color combination. The cream shadow is a berry pink with a little silver shimmer,  and the eyeshadow powder is a greyish silver with lots of sparkles, mainly gold and silver. 

105 Radiant Corsage

Eyeshadow powder  - silver sparkle

Cream eyeshadow - chocolate brown

105 Radiant Corsage creates the most brilliant smoky eyes. Best for functions/ events when you are going for that smoldering and sexy look :) The cream eyeshadow is a dark chocolate brown with silver shimmer. It is an interesting color as it looks brown on my hand, but seems grey on my eyelids. The brown is slightly sheer, and I layered on a lot when I was testing it out. It's one of those shades that will look washed out if you apply too little, as it looks much better as dark and intense. The eyeshadow powder adds more sparkle to the eyes than color. It's a silver with silver and golden sparkles.

(you might want to click on image to get a better view ^^)

*Note: 104 is Twinkle 'Cross', not Twinkle 'Rose', my mistake!

Which color do you think I used in the 2 photos above??

105 Radiant Corsage!!! See what I mean when I say the cream shadow looks a bit greyish on my lids? ^_^

As for the texture of the eyecolors, I think it is easy to apply quite evenly with the cream eyeshadows, with the exception of 105 Radiant Corsage, where the brown looks slightly blotchy if I don't layer on. The powder eyeshadow is easy to apply with fingers, but if you want precision, I guess a brush will be good too. But like all powder eyeshadows, do be careful of fallouts as you apply!! 

As the powder eyeshadows are so sparkly and will make anyone look glamourous in seconds, I don't think Prism Carat Eyes is suitable for everyday wear… but they are so pretty that I can't wait to find a chance to wear them out!!

Victoria's Secret Laptop Bag

Today, my friend D and I went to Sentosa Resort World, and we dropped by Asia's only Victoria's Secret!

I exercised self control, and bought only one thing: laptop bag!

Laptop Bag, $56

Pink interior

I just love love LOVE this design!

Gold hardware

The bag is made of canvas-like material and it's well padded to protect my laptop. There are no shoulder straps, so could only be hand carried. Even if I don't use it to carry my laptop, I could put A4 size papers and files in it!

I am definitely going to go back and get the perfume and body lotion from the Sexy Little Things Noir Tease collection next month:

I. CAN'T. WAIT

Etude House Apricot Stick, Aloha Cocktail Syrup Nails Kit, Petite Darling Nails & Mascara Remover

I finally couldn't stand the 'days without new make up', and bought a few Etude House items :)

Aloha Cocktail Syrup Nails Kit, Sunshine Bronze

Comes in 3 colors, 7ml each, $16.90 a set

All 3 colors are meant to be used together to create the graduation nails look.

Shade 1

Shade 1 is the base color. It's a slightly milky peachy color, which looks fine even on it's own. It covers natural nail color in about 3 coats. 

Shade 2

Shade 2 is a sheer orange glitter polish. The glitters are on the large side.

Shade 3

Shade 3 is a frosty reddish brown, with glitters. The glitters are smaller as compared to shade 2.  The color probably could be worn on its own.

Nails Gradation

For this gradation look, I applied 2 layers for each color, with shade 1 on the whole nail as base, shade 2 from the middle of nail, and shade 3 at the tips of the nail.

I think these colors are indeed very 'Aloha', very summer, very seaside! 

*Confession* I bought this kit because I liked shade 1, but luckily, the other 2 shades look good as well!

Darling Petite Nails BR302, 7ml, $5.90 

This is a milky nude brown shade. Ok, not exactly nude, as the color is pretty light, but nude in the sense  that it gives nails a 'clean' look. This is 3 coats!

I am pretty satisfied with these Etude House nail polish. They are easy to apply and don't streak. 

Apricot Stick in shade 1 (top) & shade 6 (bottom), $9.90 each

Each Apricot Stick has a different fruity scent, which is not very strong, so I don't really mind. The finish is glossy. I used 01 out once, and i think it was very moisturising! When I swatch them, they might appear a little sheer, but on lips, the colors are bright!

Left: shade 06, right: shade 01

Natural lipcolor without lipstick

Apricot Stick Shade 01

Shade 1 gives lips a pop of raspberry bluish pink. I love raspberry shades! The stick smells of raspberry too :)

Apricot Stick Shade 06

Shade 6 is a coral shade. Peachy, but leaning more towards reddish. This color covers lip color a bit better than shade 1. This one just smells sweet (still fruity) to me, not sure which fruit it is.

The photos are a little bit blurry as they are taken with the front camera of my iPhone 4! Couldn't get good photos of the colors using the rear camera. 

Mascara Remover, 80ml, $10.90

This Mascara Remover is so gorgeous, isn't it! Such a sweet pink hehehe… I think this remover removes waterproof mascara moderately well. No tugging of eyelids. However, I think it kind of stung my eyes a little, not too much for me to throw it in the bin!

I ordered some Benefit cosmetics online. Hope it will come this week!!