Estée Lauder Companies' Earth Month 2014 in conjunction with the school holidays.

When I posted some photos of the Estee Lauder Companies' Earth Month 2014 launch in Mid Valley  on my Instagram, I saw one cynical comment on people's pure understanding of campaigns to preserve the environment.

I don't think one should be cynical about whatever little bits of things each of us are doing to help  these kind of campaigns, simply because we get caught up with our hectic lifestyles and every little awareness counts. I mean, it's better than not doing anything about it, right? Even big things start with the smallest of ideas.

Bioderma Hydrabio Tonique Lotion Hydratante for Sensitive Dehydrated Skin is a win for me.

When beauty enthusiasts hear of Bioderma, the first thing they'd think of is the much renowned, very frequently mentioned Crealine TS H2O Micellaire or cleansing water. During my last trip to Paris, that was exactly the first item on my shopping list. However, while shopping in their pharmacie at the popular Champs-Elysées, this beautiful clear blue bottle truly caught my attention. I've never heard of this product when I was doing my research on French drugstore beauty items to buy yet I was drawn to the clean packaging. Of course, it coming from Bioderma is a bonus because I was confident that it would be a product of quality, or so I had hoped.

We had a field time shopping in the pharmacie and since I had budgeted for loads of foreign beauty products to bring home (almost half was for the customary year-end gift exchange with lovely friends), I happily put this in my basket without giving a second thought.

iPad Air first impressions.

Ladies and gentlemen. I have always loved the my fat iPad. Yeah sure i have since bought other tablets like the Asus Transformer, the Blackberry Playbook and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the original first generation iPad still holds a special place in my heart. So much so that I still keep it to entertain the kids and it is being utilised to the maximum.

So when it came to indulging my gadget acquisition syndrome, i finally decided on the iPad Air. The tablet is truly a magnificent engineering marvel. A slim and sleek design, gorgeous display and it just have a solid premium feel to it. Coming from a samsung tablet, the iPad Air oozes quality in its build and i'm not just saying this because i'm a fan.

In terms of the hardware specs, you can always argue that there are many other android tablets that have better configurations. But when it comes to Apple, what matters is how you utilize the hardware to provide the best user experience for their customers. This time, Apple have taken the Microsoft approach in bundling its best apps free with every new purchase. Productivity apps like Keynote, Pages and Numbers along with multimedia apps like iPhotos and iMovies along with GarageBand are now free. To me this is a very good move as Apple would make more money off selling their hardware and Apple users would get more from their devices right out of the box.

The battery life is as expected from any apple tablets. Its brilliant. You should expect a full working day use depending on your usage patterns. The iPad Air, despite being slim and thin is quite hefty to be used for long periods. If you want something as powerful but lighter you may wanna opt for the iPad mini with retina display. Its the same iPad inside and out only smaller. Okay that's stretching it a bit eh.

My planned usage scenarios would be to use the iPad as my main communication device when i'm at the office. So i've popped in a celcom simcard in and activated the LTE. And it flies. Again this will depend on your area of coverage but so far i've been getting good 4G signals around the house. I do believe that the iPad has more 4G bands covered compared to the iPhone 5 that i have so maybe that's another factor too.

I am now in the process of getting a good stylus for the iPad. That will be the only thing that i will miss the most from the Galaxy Note 10.1. There are some options out there which i may cover in later updates. 

I'll leave you guys to some comparison pictures of the iPad Air, the original iPad and the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2012)

Original vs Latest

Stacked

Stacked 2

Same screen size thinner bezel.

From the back

Note 10.1 vs iPad Air

Stacked 3

Compared

I see berry pretty colours everywhere I go.

I've been noticing a healthy increase in my lip colours in varied forms and realised that there are always that small pool of colours which I'd reach out to use. The fact that I like them so much made me wonder how I am currently preferring these beauties which are all named under the same family.

Berries.

I don't really pay much attention to current colours that are considered the "in" thing but through the years I noticed that I'd have that preference pool of colours which I'd reach out to. At one point I was choosing coral colours over everything else, then one year after finding out that Mr Oosband actually likes bright red, I've been experimenting on many shades of red. Last year I saw myself reaching out to softer pinks and the year before, I think I liked dark tones of reddish brown. The funny part was also getting gifts in the colour that I preferred. For instance, the Stila Lip Glaze up there, I got that at this year's new year gift exchange and coincidentally it is aptly named Cranberry.

As I noticed that even gifts I received from the previous years were in the colours of my choice in those respective time, it got me to wonder if it's because they came in abundance due to them being the current trend at each relevant period or because it was just a coincidence that my preference had shifted in each year.

L-R: Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Broadest Berry, Estee Lauder Pure Color Shine in Brazen Berry, Estee Lauder Pure Color High Gloss in Berry Lush and Stila Lip Glaze in Cranberry.

Not forgetting one of my most favourite colour, Sundried Berry by Lancome's Le Lipstique. 

So I went online and checked the current trends and apparently, it was reported that even the recent Oscar showed berry lips as the "in" thing. 

According to Fashion Magazine, it was burnt-berry though... 

And apparently, the 2014 Spring Fashion Week also saw berry lips by Michael Kors on his models. It seems that a nice shade of berry would perk up a minimalistic look.

I read that berry lips was already the trend from fall of 2013. To tell you the truth, I've never really paid close attention to the colour trends of the fashion seasons but since I wonder why it is such that I have a peculiar preference at different periods of my life made me seriously question it. Funny that I'd question myself something like this for such a simple matter. But it does sound serious when I'd keep getting myself lip colours of the same family. Like how many berries do you actually need?? ;)

But really, I think that berry tones do suit many skin types. Fashion trends are many but I don't think one should choose a colour based on current trends. However, it is really wonderful to be able to choose from a large shade of the berry family and explore to see if the shades do complement our skin tone and look of the day. And what better time to explore if not for its abundance due to it being the trend...

It's nice to have a variation of colours to change your looks especially since lipsticks would usually be the main tool of every woman's makeup diet. I mean, you can still leave home without eye shadow or blusher or even foundation but I don't think any woman would leave home without lipstick (gloss, glaze and pencils included), right?

What is your preferred colour recently?

the evolu Recovery Day Cream and Decrease Eye + Lip Line Serum, another botanical option for your skin needs.

I'm extremely lucky that in my search for a good balance of skincare ingredients, I am introduced to evolu, a brand which has recently made its way into Malaysia but probably not talked about much. When I was contacted, I told them my skin probably should start on an anti-aging regimen but due to my combination oily-pore clogging-prone skin condition, I may not be able to tolerate rich formulations. However, I did mention that I love cream cleansers because it doesn't make my skin tight while it helps control redness from sensitivity.

Despite me telling I may not tolerate rich formulations, they sent me a day cream for dry and sensitive skin, which I initially thought may be rich for daily use (since I don't have dry skin) and an anti-aging eye + lip line serum. Of course, I believe they would know their products better... perhaps they thought the day cream would be suitable for me. Nevertheless I couldn't wait to give them a go the minute I received them.