Life's Snapshots #10

  This week has been rather chilled as I've got absolutely no school so my days have been spent catching up on tv series, reading, baking, blogging, teaching my sisters maths, going to the gym (or try to at least) and lounging around. Is it just me, or do you also feel lost whenever you've got no homework to procrastinate on or deadline to rush to meet? Oh also, I've applied for university accommodation and have a mini Europe trip to be planning... 

  On Monday, went into school for a while to set up our senior prank! Tamer than I wanted but ohhh well, rules are rules. Tuesday, had a lovely glam dinner at a rooftop restaurant/lounge for a friend's 18th! Also, I changed my Twitter and Instagram usernames to @yuenlim96 because it's just easier to remember than my previous one :P

Follow me on Instagram (@yuenlim96)

Finished a good book // Made mini pizza pockets - super quick, easy & tasty! Recipe up soon! // All that prints & colours

Happy 18th Hung! // It's an owl print kind of day // The world is a magical place

#ootd today - shorts from Persunmall // Sister drew this and I found it funny // It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday

Mini oreo cheesecake bites makes the world go round // "Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones" // Up at the crack of dawn to watch #WorldCup2014 - England vs Italy

Happy Father's Day Popsicles! Love, your eldest daughter

The Craziest Paradigm's posts this week:

Graduation Trip Part 1 - a recap of Nha Trang, Vietnam!

Graduation Trip Part 2

Review // theBalm Instain Blush in 'Swiss Dot' - a pinkish coral that's perfect for spring!

Review // theBalm Instain Blush - 'Swiss Dot'

I won theBalm Instain Blush in a giveaway some time ago and thought it was about time I gave it a little review. I chose the shade 'Swiss Dot' because it looked relatively natural and was a nice pinky coral shade.

What theBalm says:

theBalm’s long-wearing, STAINING powder blush is a fashion must have! With six shades, perfect for all seasons and skin tones, it will give your cheeks color that won’t quit.

Packaging

I absolutely adore the packaging of these! The blushes come in a sturdy cardboard packaging and are the perfect size (not too small, not too big) to put in your purse or travel makeup bag whilst allowing you to obtain a good amount of product on your brush and it latches magnetically. It opens to reveal a compact with a good-sized mirror which makes it perfect for on-the-go touch ups (a bonus!)

What stands out is the French retro feel of the whole packaging that fits beautifully - come on, polka dots! Each shade has a different picture on the front, and even shows the best suited season of the particular blush shade. For example, on Swiss Dot, it says 'Fall' - although you can wear it in any season really and I think the pinky-coral shade would look gorgeous during the warmer months as well!

Formula

Swiss Dot is described as a warm-medium peach with a matte finish, which I agree with! (to see the other shades in the range, click here - there are shades of pinks and plums) Although it looks more pink in the pan, from the swatch, it actually leans more towards coral which means it's perfect for fair to dark skin tones, anyone really.

The powder texture is very fine and applies incredibly smoothly and evenly. From the swatch, you can see that it's relatively pigmented too so I'll advise you to use a lighter hand when applying and then slowly build it up as desired. The blush blends really easily as well, despite its pigmentation, giving a natural wash of colour to bring life into your face on a sleepless night - no one will know any better. It also lasts quite well, for a good 8 hours on average!

Final Verdict

Despite being someone that not only has limited knowledge on blushes, but also only wears it sparingly (i.e not on a daily basis), I actually really like this blush, particularly due to its natural look. Although the price is definitely not drugstore prices, the pigmentation and longevity makes it value for money if you want to 'splurge' on such item since a little goes a long way!

Where to buy: USA: US$22 for 0.2oz - Amazon // Zappos // BeautyBridge UK: £18.50 for 5.5g - Feel Unique 
What's your to-go blush in the warmer months?

Graduation Trip, Nha Trang - Part 2

{If you missed Part 1, here it is!}

Another highlight of my graduation trip to Nha Trang, Vietnam was Vinpearl which is an amusement park and water park all rolled into one. Granted it's not the world's biggest theme park, with only about 4-6 good rides for each (I preferred the water park), I enjoyed it nonetheless and hey, it's not where you go, but the company you're with ;) Besides, the entrance fee was relatively cheap at 550,000 VND (slightly more than US$25) for both parks. And that also included the cable car ride there and back, allowing us to have a picturesque view as we hung above the sea.

The amusement park itself had only a handful of rides, but just walking around admiring the view is rewarding enough. One of my favourite rides is the one pictured below where it spins you upside down...something I haven't tried before...resulting in head throbbing within the next 10 minutes or so. But hey, for an experience, I think it's worth it.

Then there was the water park which had a load more slides, and even a private beach! The slides were actually really fun and there were more to choose from! Unfortunately, due to me not wanting to risk my phone dying by drowning, I don't have any pictures of the water park itself :P

And there we have it, a brief recap of my graduation trip to Nha Trang! If any of you are planning to visit, do drop me an email and I'll be glad to recommend anything and everything :')