Preserving Memories - Adoramapix photobook review

Dineish enjoys photography and recently made a photobook of our trip to India. After much research and reading reviews, he decided to go with Adoramapix to create our album.

Adoramapix is an online photo lab catered for not only the professional, but anyone regardless of their photographic expertise can create masterpieces. The image finish is of high quality and photobooks are made with Fuji Archive paper, not print. So not only is your album looking very stylish on the coffee table, but the images are amazing.

The cover was very thick and had a metallic sheen. 

 

The paper is of high quality. The pages were extremely thick and sturdy, and again had a nice sheen to them. There is a slight texture on the page, which can take away from the photo finish.
Some of the images were not edited to the best standard, so next time we would go back and correct and brighten before finalising.



As AdoramaPix uses real photo paper. You cannot see it here, but finger prints can be picked up on darker pages.



Spread

 

Page thickness

Crease down the middle of page and between a full page spread - image is not lost.

Photobook laying flat and spine.

Book dimensions: 10"x8", 14 pages
Software: Very easy to use. There is an option to either choose from their standard layouts or customise your own (as we did).

Paper quality: Archive paper in professional lustre finish, so these memories are forever! The pages were very thick and durable, and have a nice sheen finish (not glossy or matte). There is a slight texture, which take away from the sharpness of the image.

Print quality: Really good. I think next time I would invest a little more time in ensuring that the photos we use have been thoroughly edited to ensure that the finish is clean.
Cover quality: Very thick with a metallic sheen finish.
Prices: This book (without shipping) costs $32.95USD. Check their website for pricing, shipping, sales and delivery time (ours took a little over 2 weeks to arrive).
Overall thoughts: The book is perfect and I love flicking through the pages! Since making this album, we have bought both our families a copy to keep - it's a really great gift idea :)

Hopefully I will be making one very soon of our honeymoon!

xS

Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Therapy

My all time favourite hand cream is Crabtree & Evelyn's Gardeners Hand Therapy. I absolutely love it.
Seriously, I never fussed over hand cream before, but this one has me hooked and works well on young and ageing skin.

The smell of Patcholi is subtle, but enough to have pleasant smelling hands. It's moisturising and rubs in well without leaving a greasy residue. I think that it's longivity depends on how dry your skin is and whether the temperature is cold/hot. For me, my hands are fairly moist (except for when I wash them as they tend to dry out very fast), so a little goes a long way and now that I am almost at the end of the tube, I am looking forward to buying another one (currently retails for SGD$33 at Raffles City)!!

You can find it amongst my other necessities kit at work too!

Some might consider it a little on the expensive side at AUD$20/SGD$33 per 100g, but because I am making an effort to invest into my skin's well-being and seeing the results from using this product the price is fair. I carry it around in my hand bag and use it daily. It certainly leaves skin looking smooth, soft and moisturised :)

What's your favourite hand cream?

xS

Getting NAKED twice

 Although the Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette hype is over, I thought I would still do a review, especially for those with dark skin tones.

Clockwise: Packaging - the original - Naked 2

Compare and contrast
I found that N2 shadows were more pigmented than the first and easily lifted from the pan with a light touch of the brush (some times I make a mess if I don't tap the excess off properly). My pan's weren't filled to the rim as they were in the original - did anyone notice this?

Original palette swatches

Naked 2 swatches

• Foxy unique to N2
• Half Baked is a repeat
• Booty Call is a peachier version of Virgin (Naked 1), only its slightly warmer
• Chopper is more orange than Sidecar (Naked 1)
• Tease unique to N2
• Snakebite is not as golden as Smog (Naked 1), but it’s nowhere near as dark as Darkhorse (Naked 1); however, if you mix both Smog and Darkhorse together, you get something similar to Snakebite
• Suspect is little more beige compared to Sidecar (Naked 1).
• Pistol unique to N2
• Verve unique to N2
• YDK looks pretty similar to both Sidecar and Toasted (both from Naked 1). I think Sidecar is the closest match.
• Busted is quite similar to Hustle (Naked 1), but less red-toned
• Blackout unique to N2

Packaging & Extras

The original palette comes in a velvet covered cardboard case with magnetic locks. Below the 12 shades, there is a slot the eyeshadow brush that comes with the palette. In the inside lid, there is a small mirror, but I've rarely made use of it considering its small. The palette also comes with a travel-size Primer Potion.

I prefer the Naked 2 packaging, because its sturdy and the mirror is huge! The shadows sit inside a hard metal case and snaps shut. Its definately easier to travel with as I don't have to worry about the box getting damaged or shadows shattering. Again the palette has a slot for the duo blending and shadow brush and comes with a sample Lip Junkie in the colour Naked (I'm repurchasing that!!).

I rarely use the brushes that come with the palette as I find that they are slightly rough and not the best to blend. The original palette brush is a packing brush which is compact and has smooth bristles, its great to apply any eye shadow. The duo brush in N2 (blending and packing) bristles, although descently sized, have course hairs and I find that it doesn't help in applying or blending the make up. But, if you dont have an alternative brush set, these will do the job fine. You don't have anything better to compare to, right!?

The Primer potion only comes in the first palette and is a great eye shadow primer. Although small in size, it helps the eye shadow stay on and reduces creasing throughout the day. The second palette doesn't come with the primer potion, instead they give you a small sample Lip Junkie in the colour Naked. I really like the texture of the balm as it gives a nice pink hint to my lips, isn't sticky, has a minty smell and keeps the lips cool (and tingly?!). Glad that Urban Decay didn't double up on the primer again, because for those of us who have both palettes, this would have been a disappointment. But for those who don't, I do recommend the primer over the lip junkie. So maybe, if you asked for my opinion, when it comes to the extras and brushes, the first one wins!

Verdict
I like both palettes and if you are a beginner or just want my opinion on which to purchase, I would suggest the second one (even though you don't get the primer). The colours are fairly similar to the original, but appear to suit darker skin tomes better and you get a range of mattes and shimmers. I have played more with N2 due to this reason BUT, I need both for some reason :p

Swatching the shadows - original (left) vs Naked 2 (right)

Hope this helped some of you and for those who have both, I would love to hear your fave :)
xS
*Photos courtesy of my husband