top favorites & discoveries of 2015

hi guys!! today i bring you my top favorite things for the past year! actually, i thought about including the bad, but i forgot about most of them or tossed or gave them away........so yeah, only favorites! haha. enjoy. ~Lin-chan ^.~

beauty

1. urban decay afterglow blush in rapture -- i don't think the 8-hour claim holds true..or i just touch my face too much, but i really liked this color a lot.
2. makeup geek eyeshadows: barcelona beach, starry eyed, magic act, beaches and cream, rapunzel, baby face -- you'll have to go back through my individual favorites posts for the year to see what i said about each one, but these are my standout favorites for the year. my absolute favorite of the bunch is barcelona beach, which is basically what i use in my crease all. the. time. these are super inexpensive and amazing quality.
1. makeup geek soft dome brush [not pictured because i totally forgot!] -- this is an amazing crease-blending brush. super soft bristles and i had to get a second one!
3. benefit boxed blush/bronzer in hoola and dallas -- for some reason, i've been gravitating toward both of these a lot the past few months. originally, i was a bit scared to use hoola but it's actually an amazing contour shade. and dallas is a really nice dusty rose blush shade.
4. becca shimmering skin perfector pressed in opal -- such a pretty highlight! it's super glowy and gorgeous!
5. kevyn aucoin duo in 210 (sugared peach & rust brown shimmer) -- this is such a pretty duo. if it weren't in the beautylish lucky [grab] bag, i would have never tried it.
6. nars dual intensity eyeshadow in himalia -- this is a perfect one and done eyeshadow. i love taupes and neutrals, and this is a good one!
7. ardency inn rose gold shadow -- i picked this up on the suggestion of talkbeckytalk. soo freaking pretty. it's not exactly rosegold by most people's standards, but it's still really pretty nonetheless.
8. ofra shadow/highlight in bliss -- such a gorgeous highlight. i'm super excited that i got something so amazing from my ipsy bag. i know ofra is typically a makeup artist or stage-makeup brand, but this is beautiful!
9. buxom palettes -- these are such a great deal! they're $40 a palette, or $12 per shade, and they are such great quality that i had to have two. hahaha. these have amazing staying power and blend very well.
10. maybelline blushed nudes shadow palette -- this palette is not the most amazing thing ever, but for whatever reason, i was really gravitated toward it.
1. maybelline lash sensational mascara [not pictured because i don't currently have one] -- this is a pretty great mascara. actually, i think it's fairly comparable to benefit's roller lash. possible dupe?
11. maybelline fit me matte+poreless foundation (120) -- i've gone through so many bottles of this stuff throughout the year, it's kind of ridiculous. i really enjoy this foundation. it does begin to wear down toward the end of the day, but it keeps me pretty matte throughout the day.
12. makeup forever artist shadows -- these are so amazing. if they're still available, get the palettes because they're an amazing deal, then branch out from there. pictured is 18 singles in an xl z palette.
13. kat von d tattoo liner in trooper -- this is the new favorite brush-tip liner. it's super black and stays all freakin day and does not transfer with my hooded eyes. i probably won't get another in the limited edition packaging, since it costs more for the same amount of product..but i love this packaging too.
14. it cosmetics bye bye under eye corrector (light) -- this is such a great product. with my new job, i've started to develop dark circles. eeeep! but this blends in very nicely with the heat of your skin.
15. colourpop lippie stix in lumiere and cookie -- for just $5 these are super great and affordable! cookie is my favorite orangy nude and lumiere is my favorite mlbb type shade!
16. benefit roller lash mascara -- i have yet to actually buy a full-size of this mascara, but i really enjoyed this mascara. i liked the curved rubberized wand and the length and volume that this mascara gave.
17. bite limited lab release lipsticks (may & september) -- these two shades were my favorites of the bunch. i love bite lipsticks because the formula feels amazing, and these two shades were ones that i wasn't totally sure about when i ordered them, but i ended up loving them!
18. luxie beauty tapered blending eye brush 205 -- this has been my go to fluffy blending brush. i typically use this for highlight or blending the rough edge of the crease.
19. laura mercier caviar shadow stick in rosegold -- i primarily used this as a base for my kevyn aucoin duo, so i'm not sure how well it holds up on its own. but it's super gorgeous!
20. wayne goss holiday (00) and 02 brushes -- these two brushes omg. they're super soft and apply product sooo freakin well. sometimes i use just the holiday brush for highlight, blush, and bronzer. using the tip for highlight, and one side each for blush and bronzer. and the 02 brush, i also use for highlight.

random

1. salmon furikake -- the best of the several rice seasonings i've tried.
2. bubz shirt -- it's just too adorbzable.
3. elizabeth & james nirvana black -- i'm not sure what about this i love. at first i wasn't sure about it, then it grew on me.
4. shiseido facial cotton -- the best for makeup removers, micellar waters, etc.
5. insomnia cookies -- supah delicioso. don't get delivery if they're in your area, so slow...

december favorites

hi guys! for whatever reason, i didn't really get into anything new this month aside from shopping my stash of makeup brushes apparently. anyway, here's my favorite tools and brushes and a new eyeshadow combo i've been liking. ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

1. sigma F84 & real techniques sculpting brush -- these are essentially the same brush in my eyes. i'm not sure why, but it wasn't until this month that i actually tried using these two for liquid foundation..and i love them. i don't really get what about this shape makes them so much more amazing than sigma's other kabuki brushes (or their dupes)..but it's amazing.
2. wayne goss 17 brush -- i never would have thought i'd love this brush. it's a freaking paddle for your eye (or i guess wherever else you choose to use it). it's really nice and wide (surface area coverage) to pack on color super easily.
3. wayne goss 02 brush -- this is soooo soft!! i also recently discovered this one. which is dumb because i got these two brushes in this year's beautylish lucky bag..in january. end sidenote--anyway i really like using this for highlighting the face.
4. rickycare by ricky's nyc classic 3D blender -- i have no idea why i like this so much. for whatever reason, my experience with this sponge has been so much better than that of my beauty blender. the coverage is great and i feel like i can cover my whole face a lot faster using this than the beauty blender. also, it cleans very nicely and seems to release product a lot better when cleaning than the beauty blender.
5. tinkle (brow/face) razor -- this is a pretty freaking good one. i like how the blade is long so it can cover a larger surface area. that being said, you can also be a bit clumsier with it and accidentally take off bits of your brows if you hold it at certain angles......
6. not new favorites, but this eye combo applied in this order
1. makeup geek baby face -- on browbone (sadface that i dropped a real techniques brush on this and gouged it.....)
2. ulta eyeshadow in sable -- in the crease, blended upward
3. makeup geek barcelona beach -- in the crease, focused on the outer corners
4. inner corner eyeshadow color if different from main shadow color
1. makeup geek rapunzel, starry eyed
5. main eyeshadow color -- patted across lid, use crease/blending brush to blend near crease
1. nars himalia, ardency inn rose gold, milani dolci (this one also had a sad, and got pressed into a pan..)
7. favorite daily-use brushes
1. foundation: sigma kabuki face brushes, or real techniques sculpting brush or expert face brush, or elf ultimate blending brush
2. powder: real techniques powder brush
3. blush/bronzer: wayne goss 00 brush (formerly the holiday brush)
4. highlight: elf small tapered brush, wayne goss 02
5. eyes: sigma E35 & E55, makeup geek soft dome brush, luxie beauty 205

random favorites: 

1. trader joe's cookie butter sandwich cookies -- omg these are teh dia-beet-us. these are butter cookies with cookie butter in between them!!!

july hauls

here's a few things i bought this past month! and teh paul came back from europe with some foreign lindt goodies! ~Lin-chan ^.~

germany somewhere....lindt yogurt strawberry rhubarb & strawberry panna cotta

makeupgeek: they were having 10% off mug products so i went ahead. marlena's always raving about the gel liner in immortal, so i got one. then i wanted a second soft dome brush, and i've been wanting to get baby face eyeshadow. also, i've been wanting to get a vera mona colorswitch, so i bought a solo from them as well.

babyface, immortal

ulta: urban decay naked smoky palette -- i was good and waited for it to become available on the ulta side...because i had over 1000 points ($50 off) accumulated..and so this palette was basically free =D

sephora (multiple orders): bite beauty limited lab release lipstick for july (snapdragon), becca x jacklynhill highlight in champagne pop, kat von d tattoo liner in trooper (5th anniversary limited edition packaging), ardency inn modster eyeshadow in rose gold, boscia luminizing black mask, [not pictured shiseido facial cloths], [freebies with codes or points: boscia pore purifying black magic set, too faced born this way in vanilla, formula x minis in white matter & riotous, alterna caviar repair heat protection spray, becca shimmering skin perfector poured in opal], and i renewed my vib status! eeeeeep!

champagne pop, rose gold, trooper, snapdragon, so rouge

bite snapdragon

marc jacobs so rouge -- is it bad that i really like the color and fomula of this? 买到所有的东西！

1. beyond the rack*: they sent me a $15 off $30 code..so i had to use it, and they just so happened to have michael todd on sale at the time, so i got: tropical fruit enzyme exfoliant scrub, charcoal detox deep pore gel cleanser, and wild berry exfoliating peel
2. ulta: essence gel-look plumping gel topcoat & lip liner in soft berry
3. walmart: burt's bees targeted spot treatment
4. amazon: l.a. girl matte pigment lip gloss in dreamy

becca opal--poured, dreamy, soft berry

la girl dreamy--it sticks to your teeth at first (as shown). but once it's dry, it's great!

essence soft berry--can you tell i'm tired after a long day at work. yep......

colourpop (2 orders): lippie stix & pencils in button and frida, shadows in nillionaire, on the rocks, to-a-t, and summer lovin, ultra matte liquid lipsticks in solow & midi

solow, midi; button and frida; summer lovin, nillionaire, on the rocks, to-a-t

solow

midi

button pencil, button lippie stix over button pencil

frida pencil, frida lippie stix over frida pencil

aromaleigh cosmetics: ok, so after courtney (phyrra) posted this amazingness, i had to try. yall know i'm not a pigment girl, but these were too beautiful. so i got: theodora (full size), this is my design (sampler) set, sample baggies of krampus & hydra, and a mini jar of phylira. she also threw in a few freebies in sample baggies (including one blush) and a mini jar of shadow (grazie mille). swatches to come later, because holy &!@#$^ that's a ton of baggies! [see swatch post here]

photo with size comparisons; plus freebies

this is my design set

july 2015 favorites & regrets

hi guys! july was a kinda hectic month for me. teh paul finally came back from his eurotrip adventure and then we moved!!! and craziness man. so that's why i don't have a ton of favorites, but anyway here you go!~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

blushed nudes palette (top 1, 3, 5, 6; bottom 3); amaze, summer lovin, rose gold, baby face, trooper

1. maybelline blushed nudes palette -- this one's a surprising one. i bought it on a whim, even after seeing many reviews, but i need more rose gold palettes, right? anyway, compared to the naked3, this is not that great, but for a drugstore palette, it is freaking fantastic. granted, i keep gravitating toward the same 5 shadows and not really the rest of the palette, but it's still really great. it takes a little more effort to pack on color, but it blends very nicely.
2. kat von d five fearless years tattoo liner -- i already mentioned her tattoo liner on here, before, but omg the packaging on this one. yes it is more expensive than the regular packaging, but it's limited edition and contributes to a good cause. so whatevs. anyway, i'm loving going back to this liner!
3. ardency inn modster manuka honey eyeshadow in rose gold -- this is so freaking pretty. this has been on my sephora list for forever since it's been out of stock (like over a year?, with email alerts), and i ordered it when i got the chance! someone i follow on youtube a loooong ways back was talking about this particular shadow, and it is soooo freaking pretty. it's not exactly my definition of rose gold...but it's still super pretty.
1. ps, this is magnetized into the container, so it's super easy to depot!
4. colourpop super shock shadows in amaze and summer lovin -- we already know that i love their shadows......anyway, these are really pretty (i'm on a gold or rosy gold kick right now, can't ya tell?) and i'm super glad they brought back summer lovin (i think was limited edition again, when i got it)..
5. makeup geek baby face eyeshadow -- this is basically my skintone, but that's why i like it. and it's matte.

random favorites: the new apartment! what else!? so as i've mentioned a few times already, we've moved! we're actually just down the street from where we were before, since this is where the larger 2 bedroom apartments are. eventually, when i actually have time.....i will try to post pictures, once we're done. (and i have yet to bring all of my crap from my mom's here, my rough deadline is my cousin's wedding on halloween, so that relatives can stay over.)

regrets: revlon colorstay oily/combination in 200 nude -- first off, i have no photo because i bought this and returned it two days later. i had a couple issues with this product, despite hearing great things about it. first off, the color. i tried my best to research the color and grab other foundations to compare through the bottles.....this one is actually darker than how it appears in the bottle, or at least that's my impression. with that, it was orangy on me. secondly the scent. i have no idea why they'd put a fragrance/scent in the foundation, but it's no good, didn't like it. i will say that the staying power was about what i expected or wanted, but the scent was off-putting enough that i didn't want to trade for a lighter shade.

black friday/cyber monday haul part 1

hi guys! so here's some of the damages for this year's black friday/cyber monday shopping! i guess because there was tons of people ordering from ulta they're backlogged on shipping out packages. so ulta items and items from a few other stores will come in a later post, whenever i get them. ~Lin-chan ^.~

see part 2 here.

(swatched dry)

• urban decay.com black friday: smoked palette
• i was reluctant to buy this palette when it first came out because i already had like half of these shadows, but for $20, heck yes.
• i somehow acquired $10 urban decay cash? which i'm not sure when that started, but anyway...it was quite nice since it was valid during black friday.

sephora.com black friday $10 deals

• kat von d lip love set (lipstick in lolita, liquid lipstick in berlin)
• smashbox be legendary lip duo (posy pink, fig)
• tarte magical moments deluxe best sellers essentials set (blush in magic, lights camera lashes, lip gloss in magic)
• caudalie honey hand cream and lip conditioner duo
• josie maran argan hand healers (bare naked wipes in lavender, whipped argan hand cream in sweet citrus)
• bite beauty lush lip trio (strawberry, currant, rambutan)
• (freebie) ardency inn modster eyeliner in black

i wasn't kidding when i said that november was the month of lippies. for reals, just sayin.

posy pink, fig, ardency inn liner, lipsurgence in magic, blush in magic


smashbox posy pink

smashbox fig

tarte magic

rambutan, currant, strawberry, lolita, berlin

bite beauty rambutan

bite beauty currant

bite beauty strawberry

kat von d lolita

kat von d berlin -- this one was super scary. i knew this would look crazy on me as soon as i saw it.
dunno if it was this shade, but it was difficult to apply evenly. and it was a b* to remove, but that does say something about the staying power!

sephora.com cyber monday

• clinique black honey beauty set (almost lipstick, nail polish, superbalm, quickliner for eyes)
• cyber monday sample bag

black honey: almost lipstick, superbalm, quickliner intense, a different nail lacquer

black honey almost lipstick

black honey superbalm