I say "Oh, it's gonna be a good life, a good good life!"

You can expect that though I'm the first to rave about this, I'm also likely to be the last to blog about this. And life doesn't get any beautiful than that.

So behold.

I didn't do much/have much to do (depends on how you put it) now that I'm only short of 4+ months of studying here in University Malaya. Except for of course, studying, I decided to go a little daredevil and joined this little cute production of this little cute college- the theater production. Apart from the fact that I love the idea of art and acting myself, I also figured that as someone as old as I am, I've got nothing to lose.

Well, except if you count the past three years that I've spent not joining anything art-filling and finally pulled the guts to do it in my final year, then..

The same old repetitive story that I've been playing in my mind: went for the audition-got selected-script came out-skim through the pages but a single female line was not found-they want male actors only-figuring what else can I offer-decided to stay as a makeup crew.

It wasn't so bad. I told myself that as much as I love acting, I would gladly settle for anything less than that if it so requires. Being in Mock Trial for the past four years (the only stage act that I did) taught me that.. who am I kidding? I love performing, that much is true. I would never bring myself to quit it. As I said, the only exception to my feelings that I harbor is that I waited this long to be a part of something so...beautiful.

"macam mana perasaan first time masuk? seronok?," -elloanwarmansur

It was beyond seronok, I must say. Anyway, onto the integral part of this long winded and soon picture loaded post.
The story of the theater was about this group of 5 people who have been on battle for a while with a last shot of escape in the form of one of them agreeing to be a suicide bomber. The story was called BERANI MATI, script written by Mr Fasyali who also help directed the theater this time.

And because the other thing that I love apart from acting/being in a performance is undeniably, makeup..I shall bore your eyes out on my job scope as one of ze makeup crew, along with 2 other beautiful ladies.

We did some makeup hunting to look for colors appropriate for stage makeup, but the director wanted the looks on the actors to be nude, "filthy" and "smudgy" lookings. Think car mechanic's style. I ended up using most of my own makeups and bought only the essential makeup tools.

First of when you're not sure yourself of the kind of makeup that you're about to make, try and understand the characters' role. Asked the director and the actors on the type of makeup that they want. I remembered my days in Mock Trial when I demanded this and that from the ever patient makeup crew (believe me, I'm tasting my own medicine now). I realized how hard it was to actually do someone else's makeup, let alone makeup on boys! So first off, I need a model to test out the makeup that I'm going to use. I definitely didn't want to have fidgety fingers if the first time I get to apply makeup on the actors was when the show is about to start!

The very kind volunteer who didn't know what he's getting into when I asked to do makeup test on him.

Terima kasih, Halim ;D

On the day of the show itself, the makeup turned out pretty good on the actors.

Farid "playing around" with the bombs attached to a jacket

Farid (right) and Pian (left). I like Pian's fake mustache and beard, courtesy of black kajal liner and some black eyeshadow all over. Thanks to my ever awesome makeup crew, I failed with this on first try. And on Farid, we placed some black "celoreng".

Lipan, the total klutz soldier who was so good in his role, he won the Anugerah Pelakon Pembantu Lelaki Terbaik!

Razak, the main actor who was nominated for Anugerah Pelakon Lelaki Terbaik. His "jambang" was made out of tea seeds!

Lipan (left) and Razak (right)

The bomb makers. Pian and Azhar. Azhar's hollow cheeks was out of much much much shading.

Azhar and Lipan. It was so tough applying makeup on Azhar. He can't stand kajal eyeliner on his waterline and tightline that I have to literally have someone hold his head up so I could fill the liners in. LOL ;D Glad that the uneasiness he felt in his eyes didn't show up in his acting- he was nominated for Anugerah Pelakon Lelaki Harapan.

The night of the show was a blast. Every five of them did their very best. Apart from the nominations mentioned above, we were also nominated for Anugerah Props Terbaik, Anugerah Skrip Terbaik, Anugerah Pengarah Terbaik, Anugerah Tatarias dan Busana Terbaik ( :D ). We were just estatic to be nominated and when the winner's name was called up one nomination after another, we realized that all we have to be proud of was the award that goes to Lipan.
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Until they announced the 1st runner up winner, and our name was called..we went ballistic.

Shooo proud of my team! My heart went out for them, and I truly feel some bond of just more than teammates surrounding- we have turned to friendship. Very, very bittersweet I tell you. Had we win or had we lose, I love them all the same with my whole heart. When it all ended, today and now, I was bumped into thinking that I have to force myself to turn back to my studies and the beloved faculty. Although I joined in late and God knows how much I regret that now, I'm still grateful to have this opportunity nevertheless. Better late than never right?


Thank you to the directors, scriptwriter, casts and crews (makeup team, costume team, lighting team, props team, stage manager), of which without all of these lovely people, I wouldn't carry around this bliss of utter happiness and satisfaction inside my head, heart and even in my stomach!

Nailed :'D Bai Semua!

p/s: just sharing with you some of the team's other thoughts here and here.

wear em till they flair

Hye All! first of all, a very happy start of the semester. I'm not quite sure yet how mine is going to fare me but since this is my last one (hopefully) I'll make very full use out of it.

Just sharing few bits and bops for the early studying process. Some things that makes my heart flutter every time I see/put them on.

*excuse giddiness and the constant webcam-ing. you outta know by now that a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!



Necklace and Ring

I've posted a picture before about some of the accessories that I got (along with Catching Fire and Mockingjay books) and needless to say, I've been wearing them with pride ever since. I particularly liked the necklace. It's not too long like the other necklaces I owned but it sits perfectly over any tops that I'm wearing. I usually like my necklaces to be long and relent longly on ones that don't because it's pointless wearing a short one over a hijab. Being my current fav piece, I even paired it with a flowery blouse once and much to the opposition by my boyfriend cuz you can hardly see 'em on, I simply had to wear 'em. It's a rusty gold necklace (ya know I like my stuffs to be rose gold) with white and gold wings and a heart in the middle.

And my double fingered ring that looks like Wolverine claws...

...I usually like my rings to be gold in color to but this one has it's own edge feeling to it. I'm picky over rings because they don't fit me well because of my stub fingers but this one matches me perfectly. I don't wear this often, not as often as the necklace but I do like it a lot. I still feel a little self concious because it does look massive on my fingers but for the most part, it's pretty unique.

Lip Combo


I've been playing around in my lipstick and lipgloss holder yesterday and come up with a combo that I like, probably be wearing them often during the first and second week of the semester, before it tires me into a new direction.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in #628 Peach Me and Elianto Lustro Lip Gloss in #05 Pizzaaz

I like the peach/light coral color that the Revlon lipstick gives and I'm glad that adding the lipgloss on top doesn't disrupt it, in fact it just compliments and enhance the color and gives my lips a subtle feel of "just dug into a fruit bowl of watermelon".

Speaking of Revlon, I've bumped into these babies at Watsons and was debating whether to get them or not. Then I was thinking, what the heck!

I brought the MJ poster back yaw!!

Anyways, I bought two of the new Revlon Lipbutters in #096 Macaroon and #020 Brown Sugar. The packaging was okay- I still prefer the Revlon's sleek black case instead of this plastic ones. The only new thing is that you need to open the whole tube of plastice case to get to the lipsticks, which is not an easy feat. I twisted and pulled it over before I can get these devils to open up. It's packaged the same way as Maybelline's new Color Sensational line lipsticks minus the hard work to open it up.

When it DOES finally open..the colors are not so bad. My first thought of them was meh, but after a few tries they do work out pretty good. They're very moisturizing, even more than the regular Revlon lines but not very creamy. I judged from the lipbutters that they're supposed to be balm-y instead of cream-y, if you know what I mean and honestly right now, I prefer the Revlons regular line than these. I like my lipsticks to be creamy and rich feeling- I got my lipbalms for the acclaim buttery effect. But I probably need these to grow on me.

Some crappy swatches you can't see properly at the back of ma hand! LOL, too bad.

Bai Semua!

cheap makeup is an ESSENCE

Essence Blush Brush, Essence Quattro eyeshadow in #05 "to die for", Essence Silky Touch blush in #10 "adorable", Essence Stay With Me longlasting lipgloss in #03 "candy bar", Essence longlasting eye pencil in #01 "black fever", Essence kajal pencil in #04 "white"

Yesterday was not the best time to go makeup shopping. I was pissed over something trivial and "being in the time of the month", 'justified' seems like a correct word for all the stuffs above..at least at that point of time.

Tonight as I look back at my purchases, it didn't escape me that I have managed to get cheap stuffs whilst I was pretty sure I grabbed things absentmindedly yesterday. Lucky I only stucked in the Essence section, which I've mentioned before in a post where I rant about a mascara I bought from them.

I kept the receipt but rest assured I spent lest than RM50. Still guilty as charged.

I wanted to see if the makeups that I bought even work. I mean, the mascara was an okay product for being so cheap, but I wasn't so sure about the rest of the items. I'm not one to quickly associate good makeup means big money though, all of you know that I rarely slurged unless it's that good. If you're with me long enough, you'll know I stuck on Elianto for a long time.

No, to me, the techniques in applying makeup is the most important. And that's what I'm trying on tonight.

I must say, it looks pretty good. I mean, the makeup..


Okay, being serious now. Webcam quality isn't at its greatest though, and please don't nag on why I need to do this so late in the night as to deprive myself of good natural lighting and better quality pictures.



You (I) would think that the eyeshadow quad was the crappiest of them all, but no. It is definitely powdery and pigmented enough. Not chalky to anyone's dislike. definitely a Silkygirl quality if you know what I mean. I bought the neutral shades just to be less disappointed if it didn't turn out to my expectation, but it surpass that. I especially love the two colors that I'm pointing my fingers to in that picture. The darkest brown is a matte color whilst the other three has little shimmers in them.

Darn it. I hate my webcam, period.


Up close and still hate it. My lighting is so bright in this room #blameitonotherthingsexceptself



I know the blush wouldn't show up most- I picked the palest shades from the range. It doesn't dispose much, but the product is hardly to blame. I've tried building it up but against natural lighting, it is really difficult to tell. Part of me thinks that this would be a comparison to Silkygirl "Dune Rose" blush that I had (in college so can't show you now) but I remembered the later being a lot more pigmented though it's the palest of its shades. I wouldn't recommend buying this one and instead, pick up the later from Silkygirl. Not unless all you like is a sheen to the cheek.


The lipgloss is..everything a lipgloss should be. Shiny (glossy) enough and has nice smell. Whether it be sticky or not depends on everyone's liking, and to me this one is semi sticky, which is okay- it definitely doesn't clamp your lips together. I believe I picked up the brightest shade if not the second brightest and it's okay enough to be worn on it's own whenever I feel lazy for a lipstick or lipliner.


Excuse my non-symmetrical eyes..

The eyeliner is my second favorite from all the mash above- the eyeshadow quad being the best by far. I applied this on my waterline and it is soooo good. It's creamy and black enough and doesn't smudge. Of course the non smudging part is contributed by a coat of black eyeshadow on top (TIP ALERT!) but it is good nonetheless. I've had eyeliner that didn't deposit anything other than bits of black specks (a much expensive one that is too). Me like this.


Me like 'em 'oll!

Products not from Essence:-

Revlon Photoready foundation in "Golden Beige"
Topshop cream concealer in "Light"
Loreal Super Liner Intense for upper lashline
Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Bai Semua!

"you love me. real? or not real?,"

The second and the third book in the series. It took me some time between the last post and this post to finish reading them, hence completing my whole read on the Hunger Games.

I must be honest here and say that it's not quite like the experience I have when reading the Harry Potter series. All 7 books brought anxiety to me without fail and to think again, maybe that wouldn't be fair a comparison to the Hunger Games. It's quite a new read to me though I know this series have been out long enough since 2007, but I know myself. I need a couple more reads, maybe some flip-through to some of the chapters that I liked best and allow it to grow on me.

Speaking of a few chapters, I feel like this post will be shortly written to the point of prejudice in my part if I didn't share a few highlights that I like for myself. Maybe not an all round overview, but just enough to wirte about my journey when reading these books.

Yes, that should be it. A journey.

When I first read the Hunger Games, I must confess that I have probably 70% knowledge already on the book judging by the extensive reviews that I have read prior. In spite of that, it was still an enjoyable read. 70% of that knowledge revolves on the game played. The main character in this book is a very stubborn, hard-to-figure girl with speech incapability that sometimes get on my nerve called Katniss Everdeen. Bad characters aside, at least the ones I judged of her instead of what the author really wanted to portray, she is very brave, cunning, willing to sacrifice herself for her loved ones and one that stands out the most about her is that, she dislikes being in debt with anyone and will try very hard to repay them.

I went from liking to not liking to liking her back all the way through the books. And it isn't something that I can help because sometimes I feel like she doesn't like herself that much when she did something wrong for the sake of something she thought was right. That's why I love this book- it shows that not every story needs to be perfectly written, that sometimes even the main character fails you. And it's hard not to fail on you because the games are so realistic, so based on human morality and standards that you know by putting yourself in that situation, you might be forced to do exactly the same things as she did.

I think I'm confusing some of you here, but let's move on.

Anyway, Katniss has a mother and a sister named Primrose Everdeen and they lived off poorly, managing each day by scarce provisions that she could provide by hunting. Oh yeah I forgot to mention one good part of her, that she's very partial to her bows and arrows. She hunt down animals or "games" as they called it that way. She has a bestfriend named Gale Hawthron. They all lived in District 12 out of 13 Districts of Panem, controlled by the Capitol.

The Hunger Games is something that the Capitol invented, mostly to show that they are in complete power. So basically every year, a girl and a boy from each districts- 1 until 12- will get picked out to represent their districts in the Hunger Games. They were later called Tributes and in order to win, they must survived the rest in the Games and that vastly include killing. One thing that shock me reading this series is how eventhough I find the idea repulsive-and trust me when reading the actual thing, they make it look repulsive- I can't bring myself into hating any of the Tributes no matter how readily they seem to kill each other. Not even when they kill the ones that have no self defense or the quick witted ones or girl tribute who begged and cried. I'm not convinced that I have gone to think that it's okay to kill for your own life but in the games, they made it look like you have to choose what's at stake. I really like something that Peeta Mellark said (he is the boy tribute for District 12 besides Katniss), in Mockingjay, and I quote;

"...As bad as it makes you feel, you're going to have to do some killing, because in the arena, you only get one wish. And it's very costly."

"It costs your life," says Caesar.

"Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?," says Peeta. "It costs everything you are,"

"Everything you are," repeats Caesar quietly.


And you will be very astonish as you read it that regardless of how brutal they made the games look like, there are still shreds of human morality that tributes cling on too. That even in the face of death, one has a choice either to do good or evil. That's how sometimes in the story, I doubt it made such a moving impact on me that such messages need to go through such barbaric storyline. In fact, I'm glad it did cause most of us wouldn't truly appreciate a thing (and in my case, this story) if it was played of easier. I was even okay with some of the killings, up till Book 3 where it evolves around the District wanting to rebel against the Capitol.

The games itself in my imagination is not a riff-raff sort of thing. None of Potter's magic to win the games or anything and the arena in which the games are held is not some techno structure like the ones they made in video games. The scene is real, though it's designed by the Capitol and the tributes fight on arms in combat. There are some rules and whatnots for the games but I'm not going through the details here. I think I've spilled enough.

Not quite.

If you're the sappy romantic kind that even look for it in a book, fret not. The Hunger Games is packed with all kinds of love and it is very very very deep and touching. The love for a mother to her child, a wife to her husband, between sisters, friends, even between allies or simply people who's not so nice to us and of course, the love triangle between Katniss Everdeen with Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawthorn. Though in most love stories, the reader would almost always know who's the right suit or candidate for the fellow heroin *cough Twilight cough*, trust me this book doesn't give away that privilege easily. I'm considerably torn between Peeta and Gale and both are perfect and imperfect in some ways. Both had their reasons to love Katniss and although rather frustrating to see her play with one in disadvantage of the other, the situation under which she was put into was so...delicate. It took me a long time in the books not to blame her for treating Peeta or Gale the way she had to treat them.

Spoiler alert: I must say that I'm very satisfied with who she chose in the end, only disliking the part where she and the other didn't end too well and, to put in my friend's choice of words, "It looks like the author is rushing to finish off that one,"

I don't know if they are going to make all three books into movies. I would be rather dissapointed if they don't because the ending in Book 1 wasn't that good enough to satisfy the whole story- it needs a countinuance. They might alter the ending, which lots of movies have done before *cough My Sister's Keeper cough*. I don't know if I'm going to like that but at least, my reading the series compensate to that.


Delighted and excited :) Bai Semua!