[Musing] Song of LOVE: Eyes That Smile 愛笑的眼睛, 林俊傑 JJ Lin (Cover Version)

  

Loving you, was never a secret to my heart
Never thought that after leaving you, my smile can be more beautiful
Clothes drenched in tears are left under the sun to dry, dry out those memories
Though this city of love is crowded
If I ever meet you once again
Don't be surprised that my smile can never be replaced

[Inspiration] Photographer Crush | Cindy Chen from Melbourne

This is yet another new discovery of ours just today. Actually we have been following this photographer via instagram but never really get to checking her blog out until now. We are absolutely delighted that we did. Definitely a great find we had. 

Cindy Chen is a freelance stylist and photographer based in Melbourne. She styles and photographs projects which involve food, lifestyle and product. We have totally fallen in love with her styling and photography, especially how she captures beauty products. We still can't get over the fact that how nice she can make her cat look! (usually we are not so much a cat person and seeing pictures of this feline creature, haha).

Comyns' Jazzy Launch Event - The Jazz Collection

Comyn recently celebrated its launch of a special collection at their Royal Selangor, Comyns and Selberan boutique at Pavilion KL, which we had the pleasure to attend, with many other guests. We were serenaded by a three-piece-jazz band, inline with the latest range called The Jazz Collection. It was quite an event. 

What caught our attention was the array of the brand's items and creations in the boutique, made from pewter from Royal Selangor, sterling silver, gold, to sparkling jewellery from Selberan and Comyns. It was amazing to see such a home-grown brand like Royal Selangor expanded over the years, but deeply rooted in its heritage and history, and also included brands that focus on delivering quality jewellery, like Selberan and Comyns. Today, the Royal Selangor brand has grown from a cottage industry to a global brand. This fourth-generation family business has employees spanning the globe, from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to Shanghai, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Tokyo, making Malaysia proud, obviously.

[Sneak Peek] Early Christmas Surprise from M.A.C

What a pleasant surprise that this year, Christmas mood came knocking earlier at LUMINNEJ! After a lovely lunch meet up with the lovely friends from M.A.C Cosmetics Malaysia, we were presented with two lovely XMAS presents! Yay, don't we all love gifts? 

Here are a little sneak peek to what we got. We shall update you with more details soon! Till then, stay luminous and be happy always. Have a great weekend, lovelies *_^

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

[Inspiration] Design Your Life

It is interesting how when one subtracts certain elements out of the whole, it still makes sense, yet redefine the sum of its whole. We came across these visuals via pinterest and they make us ponder more. It is almost similar to life, we feel. Sometimes, there are things which we accumulate, yet, if we strip away some of the things in our life, it may not hold as much significance as we had thought it would have, previously. 

The Idea of Creating

Founded on the principle of balance. The idea adopted principle of minimalism and compensation. Access replaces a missing. In the right place subtracted elements are added to the missing cell. This synthesis obtains harmony. 

Source: here to understand more.

We love that notion of "one man's style must not be the rule of another's" mantra. We do agree with them. Style is uniquely individualistic, to a certain degree. It is like having a blog. You would envision how your blog would look like, stylistically and aesthetically, and you would also dictate how you would like to create your own style of contents. We feel, when we blog, sometimes, we do put our audience in mind, thinking what sort of content would appeal to our readers. But we feel that, there must always be a balance between the two - satisfying the mass/readers out there VS creating your own voice and content that matters to you too.

We love designs in life, and we are always intrigued by how others can conjure up a design concept or the thoughts that one puts into creating something. The creative thought process has always been something that we would love to explore and understand - why and how someone create something, this way and not that? Isn't it fascinating? And what actually dictates our sense of style and aesthetics and the decisions that we make? All these are burning questions that we always love to find out. It is like trying to figure out what makes a man and woman so different in every way and how do we, as the opposite sex function and behave. What brings us together and what tears us apart, for some? Wo...we are going too far, right? All right, let's get back to the topic.

If you love designs as much as we do, perhaps you will find more interesting inspirations via our pinterest board here called Design Illustrated.

Those questions aside, we do believe, we are the designer of our own life. Are you one?

Would that be correct to say so?

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

Burberry Prorsum Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 The Birds and The Bees

We know, we know, this is long overdue, nonetheless, we can't help but sharing it. Watched the show live here on LUMINNEJ, it was a fun filled affair, spotting some of the denim jackets that we like, contrasting them with shell leather, sequin or tulles pieces? Crazy ideas but somehow, it works, well , at least for us. Based on the theme The Birds and The Bees, can one call this collection whimsical? We got some of them, not all, so we couldn't figure out what Christopher Bailey was up to. Overall, it was a colourful collection! 

尋人啟事 | Lala 徐佳瑩

當歲月的河終要流入人海之中，我們漂流，隨波起伏。
在緣份的潮汐之間，我們相遇又分別，放逐又追尋。

如果在人海漲潮之前緊緊擁抱，也許就能縮短思念的距離。
當你在照片那一邊逐漸淡去，我還想再見你一面。

但願歲月的河磨平了粗糙的世界，我會張開我雙手，撫摸你的背。

我多想找到你。

每個人聽到這首歌都有不同的解讀，或許是失去，或許是遇見，更或許是未知。不論什樣子­的感情，都會被包含在這個歌裡。以低音和口氣為主的唱法，相較過去你對徐佳瑩的想像­可能不是太容易連結，但現在起合而為一，這個傾訴會改變她和你之間的一切，不論演唱，­鋼琴，弦樂等等，此曲蘊含的全部，都直直往你心裡去。

We have always loved Lala's style of music and singing. A young and talented Taiwanese singer-songwriter, she exudes that very intriguing way of singing and her voice is crisp and clear, yet hypnotic in certain ways that capture our heart. 

This particular number, "Looking For Someone" is quite a longing type of song. It speaks of searching for that someone in life. Do you have this kind of person in your life? Whom you have always been searching for. Longing for that moment of contact, or even share your pieces of moments with that person. That sort of feeling, tugged at your heart string, it is at times, buried deep down inside your heart, not willing to surface, not ready to let go either.

It reminds us of a young friend we used to visit when we were very small. Vaguely remember those afternoon where we spent at her home, her lush green big compound, chasing one another, without the worries of the world, just some good old fun time. Those were the days. But sadly, we can't even recall the person's name, now. Could only remember that beautiful innocent face of hers. Wonder how is she now, or even if she is still around?

Perhaps our path will cross, some day, if we were meant to see one another again...

Have a listen to Lala's number here and you shall know what we mean. Loving the vibe of the song, on this quiet night, after a heavy rain. Mandarin text via her youtube page.

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

Review: Lovely Cheek And Mineralize Finishing of LUMI's Favourites from M.A.C Cosmetics

We have always loved a blusher from M.A.C, as we owned one quite some time back and still remained one of our favourites. We are currently loving this M.A.C powder blush we got from the time when Romero Jennings dropped by for the M.A.C Colour Trend presentation in KL some time back. We have been using this blusher since. 

It comes in a lovely see through casing, with the red rim and "sealed" with a Sharon Osbourne's signature on top. Pretty lovely indeed (here for more other shades and textures). Most of all, we love the finishing and the subtle soft pink colour on our cheeks. Never too bright, but just nice to compliment our complexion. 

Another favourite from the 4 makeup items we received from M.A.C is their Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (Light Plus) finishing powder (here for more). It is a luxurious domed face powder with mineral, really fine and gives a light finishing to set the foundation. We love the new mirrored-compact and its light-weight feel, as it won't make the face look cakey. It also snaps back into place real easy. Lovely sleek all black casing, as usual, a signature of a M.A.C product. 

The two other items are M.A.C Nail Lacquer Vernis A Ongles and M.A.C Mineralize glass (Fashion Perk).

[Faces] An Intimate Chat With The Charming Fashion Designer, Justin Yap

Our vivid memory of this KL-born fashion designer was when we first interviewed him for Mifa8 Fashion Forward 2007 TV show (which we were producing), having won the title of MIFA Best Evening Wear Designer Award 2005, speaking to us with a great sense of pride, but more importantly what stayed fresh in our mind till today, at Palate Palette, that day, was his self-assured way of delivering his vision towards fashion and his eloquent words about how style should be, yet, in an unassumingly down to earth manner, which we love most.

Today, seven years later, we finally sat down again, this time, at his atelier situated at the heart of KL (Lee Rubber Building, to be precise), a gush of nostalgic sort of feeling filled our heart, and it was a great feeling to be able to have a face-to-face chat with someone whom we admire, not only for his talent as a fashion designer, but his passion and vision in delivering the best, to make a woman feel beautiful, in his signature way. This fashion designer friend, is none other than our homegrown JUSTIN YAP.

His passion for fashion, did not change, in fact, seven years on after creating his own fashion label, under his own name, Justin is now more matured (and with age comes better wisdom too, we feel), be it designing a piece or creating a whole collection for the recent KL Fashion Week 2014 and a special showcase piece for MODA Fashion Show 2014 at Publika. In fact, when we visited Justin, he was busy sewing this beautiful piece above for the showcase! Here is what we spoke about on that beautiful afternoon.

[Inspiration] Seasons and Mood

It's drizzling outside, at where we are now, on a Thursday afternoon, we drifted into a completely different world, wondering if the rest of the world is wearing its own blanket of beauty, enveloping itself in its own dreamland, like us, whether it is warming up to the smell of fresh spring in the air, or just stay put in a transparent home, a peaceful place, to hide away from the winter storm outside. 

We love this architectural design ardently, that modern feel, that openness, that connection to nature outside, merging as one. Wonder who actually live there? Follow the footprints in the snow, perhaps we may find the answer?

The world is far and wide, we wish to travel to each and every corner, walk every little path, pick up each little pebble and rock, trace the path of the past, discover the roads of the unknown future, beyond our own.

This is a perfect time to imagine, imagine that the world is only that small, yet that vast at the same time and imagine that we can,  in fact, travel through time and space, and be where we truly desire to be, at that one given moment in time.

~~Time, does not exist, after all, does it~~

Look, the rain has ceased.

Visuals via pinterest: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Facebook    |    Instagram    |    Pinterest    |    Flicker    |    Twitter    |    Bloglovin    |    Polyvore

Introducing RMK's New Skintuner Treatment (Moist and Extra Moist)

We believe hydration is an integral part of a good skincare regiment and skincare that enhances such quality to the skin will naturally perk our interest (tremendously, actually. Of course there are other concerns like anti-aging, firming, brightening... gosh! the list can go on and on. Girls just want to have it all, aren't we? haha). So, when RMK sent us information on their latest release way back, we couldn't wait to share it with you all here. Only now we had the chance... sorry for being late! 

Best known for its signature dewy natural translucent skin achievable with its base make-up, RMK is firmly rooted in its New York make-up artistry, a Japanese brand that believes in helping us to reveal our best beauty with fun makeup collections and assortment of skincare products. 

The latest addition to their skincare range is the NEW Skintuner Treatment. Intensive nourishment to the skin, it is reformulated to provide powerful results by rehydrating multiple layers of our skin. Containing three powerful elements - hyaluronic acid, collagen and anti-oxidants, it penetrates all three layers of the skin, providing maximum nourishment, hydration and comfort to the skin. Wow, that sounds really interesting.

[Inspiration] Come Away And Stay With Me

A Smokey Eye Session With Bobbi Brown

We love a smokey eye look but we have never learnt to master it and will always shy away from doing one, hence for our eye makeup, we tend to go with nude and neutral colours as it is always safer and easier to work with. But some times, we just need to break away from the routine and start to do things a little differently. 

So, walking passed Bobbi Brown Malaysia boutique at Midvalley one day, the sign at the entrance got our interest piqued! We walked in and minutes later, walked out with an appointment with one of their makeup artists in a few days time *_^ To say we were excited was an understatement. Nervous sounds more like it too, haha.

That day finally came. Our lovely and friendly makeup artist for the day, Seng Yee greeted us warmly and started to assemble the makeup items that we will need to do a smokey eye. The interesting thing is, she started showing us how to do our eye makeup, even before any foundation and concealer. Seng Yee said, it is all right because some times, our eyeshadow may drop as we go along, foundation later at times, can be a good thing. Now. that's something new to us.

[Star Gazing] The Enigmatic Carey Mulligan

This seemingly laid back and nonchalant outlook girl started acting when she was only six and has ever since made acting her vocation. She remembered, she somehow just fell into it, naturally. We love the subdued performances of this Hollywood actress, Carey Mulligan. From her intensely emotional role in Never Let Me Go (starring opposite Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield), the vulnerable role in Drive (playing opposite one of our favourite actors, Ryan Gosling) to the beautiful woman in The Great Gatsby (opposite heartthrob Leonardo De Caprio), Carey seems to successfully transform herself into such strong yet refined roles that it takes our breath away.

We could not help but to fall in love with her beauty. This Suffragette actress looks stunningly charming as a lady in these latest editorial for Harper's Bazaar UK, wearing designer pieces from Michael Kors, Jennifer Behr, Valentino, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel Haute Couture, Elie Saab Haute Couture and others, photographed by Alexi Lubormirski and styled by Miranda Almond. She most definitely look dreamy here (we heart all the pieces, by the way *_^)