A new year, a new favorites and more than a couple of new products. Well, if I'm honest with you, I think all of these products were results of shopping trips from November onwards. Welp! My bank balance. But it's all done in the name of research, and these were the newbies that made the cut. 

For the longest time, I'd sworn to have found the perfect foundation brush. Actually, three weeks ago, if you asked me if I'd trade in my Sigma F80 for any other brush, I probably would've looked at you like you sprouted three heads and turned a shade of neon green. No biggie. But even though I was more than content than the offering I had on hand, as soon as the handle started wobbling from over-abuse, the restless brush addict in me started searching high and low for something that could par with the slowly retiring Sigma F80. 

L'Oreal and I never seem to be love at first sight. My current favorite mascara (and almost HG status), the L'Oreal Telescopic and I had a complicated love/hate relationship at first (read here). Miss Manga and I were no different. 

I know. I know. I've been late again with The Update again. Whoops. School's been going on for 2 weeks now and we're really hitting the ground racing running. My schedule has also been a mess these two weeks as teachers have been rearranging classes and lectures to fit their busy schedule. That means hanging around in limbo, wondering if we're supposed to do the presentation in two hours or in a week. 

I'm hesitant to call anything a dupe unless it's virtually the same thing. Hence, by my standards, this is by no means a 'dupe', but it's definitely an alternative (and spoiler alert, even better in my opinion) to the MAC 224 brush. 

It's like I constantly feel the need to expose more details of myself that might potentially drive you guys away with the craziness. Don't ask what's wrong with me. I have no idea.

Today continues the eyeshadow week on the blog with the second installment (read the first part here). You know those days when you just can't be bothered to use half a palette to create a contoured, ombre, sophisticated, complete eye look but you still want something on the lids? Or the days when you wake up, cursing at the time but still wanting to do a quick eye look to pull yourself together? This is where the one-wash wonders come in. Using one shadow and one brush, it takes less than a minute to have a put together eyelook with these wonders.

This week is going to be eyeshadow week on the blog. For those that know me in real life, hardly a day goes by when I don't put on a shadow of sorts. What can I say? I like to play up the eyes as it's hard to maintain lip color when I'm either nibbling or drinking (water/tea/coffee, not the fun time drink reserved for after the sun goes down) all day. So remember to check back later this week for my favorite shadows for the days you're in a rush, and *gasp* a MAC 224 dupe? 

[Mystery | Cork | Shale | Satin Taupe]

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Okay, in all honestly, I have no idea if you can teach an old dog new tricks as I've never had a dog. (I know, considering how much I love dogs, it's sad that I've never had one of my own) But today, we're not talking about dogs. I'm the kind of person that's tempted to break the rules (although most times, I'll chicken out), but in the privates of my bedroom and during my alone time with my makeup collection, I've multi-tasked the heck out of my products and I'm sharing my favorite ones with you today. 

[Urban Decay Naked Basics | Too Faced Shadow Insurance | Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude | Benefit Boi-ing Concealer | Real Technique Expert Face Brush]

I know I said that I would let you guys know before I made the move from 'Peanut Butter and Chocolate Life' to 'subgenre of a dream'. But well, I was bored last evening and ended up making the move far sooner than planned. Call it as evidence of my impatience. Everything on the blog is the same, except for the name. I've changed my blog name on bloglovin' and on GFC, so if you see 'subgenre of a dream', don't worry. I'm still me. 

Oh Laura Mercier, how have I not tried your eyeshadows before? I got the Laura Mercier Artist Palette for Eyes when I was under essay-stress last term (debut here) and this has got to be one of my best impulse purchases ever. As this is a limited edition palette that already sold out at the House of Fraser, I was hesitant to share a glowing review on the product that could no longer be bought. But seeing that I'm loving this palette like it's my (imaginary) puppy and there's not enough rave over the Laura Mercier eyeshadows, I thought I'd pitch in my two cents. 

[Top: Sparkling Dew | Guava | African Violet | Plum Smoke | Kir Royal | Violet Ink]

[Bottom: Vanilla Nuts | Primrose | Fresco | Bamboo | Truffle | Espresso Bean] 

The past week flew by so quick, I felt like I was just typing up my last Update. I literally had to go back to the one from last week to find out where I left off. I know I talked about Paris last week, but there was one incident that happened after/while I was typing up the last post that I forgot to mention and well, I'll let you decide if this little story was worth trekking back to.

So, this is finally it. The Name Change Announcement. Honestly, I shouldn't even be making this announcement now since things are still in planning and more importantly, I honestly have to write up this essay. It's terrible. But here's the problem, I'm doing everything I can to not start this essay while panicking over the fact that I haven't started it yet. Oh, Daphne! 

With break coming to an end and preparing to start school again (while procrastinating finishing up an assignment. Again) (Really, Daphne? Already?), I'm enjoying the last few days of break with experimenting to find a new school routine. And in the midst of swapping and switching products, there have been a few products that I've been reaching for quite a bit. 

[Urban Decay Naked 3 | NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base | Burberry Sheer Concealer | Accessorize Elephant Earrings] 

Who could resist a bit of shopping in the French pharmacies while in Paris? Even a skincare newbie like me was able to marvel at how well stocked the shelves were. If it wasn't for the simple fact that my luggage was getting just slightly ridiculously heavy, I would've bought more. Most of these things I either had heard of, or knew that I wanted to buy beforehand. But there were several that were picked up after squatting in the aisles, trying to decipher French by picking out the words that resembled either Spanish or English. 

No matter where you are in the world, I'm pretty sure that you're already celebrating the start of the new year. So happy new year everyone! I started taking my blog seriously back in late May, 2013 and thank you for sticking around and putting up with my rambling posts since then. No matter if you've been a long time follower or just hopped onto the train, I just want to let you know how grateful I am for each and every one of you.