Tuesday, September 5, 2017

recent favorites and mehs

hi guys! it's been a while since i did an actual standalone favorites post, hasn't it? anyway, i skipped out last month, but i wanted to share a few things that i've been loving recently and may have forgotten to post about (whether at all or as a favorite). ~Lin-chan ^.~
makeup

tonic, zeal, pencil, liquid
  1. sigma zeal -- i kind of wish this wasn't a loose pigment. only because i'm almost anti-loose pigment. that aside, this is a really nice color. it's one of those duochrome brown blue types of shades. 
  2. urban decay eyeshadow in tonic -- this is such a pretty color! it's super unicorn-y purpley-blue. >w< i've worn a lot on the lid recently with a relatively neutral look, and it's really pretty!
  3. tarte tartiest double take eyeliner -- i really like this for travel purposes. it's a felt tip liquid liner on one side, and a super black retractable pencil on the other. it's funny because when i first got this, i didn't realize it was dual ended, and i only noticed the liquid side...which makes no sense because the cap for it is straight like a bottom, and not curved like the other lid. anyway. the liquid side is a really nice matte black, and the pencil stays really well all day in the waterline.
random
  1. lsu pj's -- sam's had these pj sets for like $17, and who could pass that up? anyway, please ignore the balled up comforter and random junk on the floor of our room there.. this photo was actually me trying it on and asking my mom if she wanted one or not, lol. anyway, these are super comfy and soft!
  2. lsu jersey -- sam's $20, can't beat it! we had a quarterly party at office this week, and so management wanted us to dress in sports fan attire. anyway, i couldn't find any of my shirts, so i decided to get this jersey because it was cute and inexpensive.
not pictured
  1. banana bread (click for recipe in my recipes folder) -- so, sam's again. we buy bananas at sam's and don't always finish them. but they're so cheap there, so why not? anyway, for the past several weeks, i've made banana nut bread with any remaining bananas we've had and even brought a loaf to work. so yummy and easy to make!
  2. original ruffles chips & onion dip -- such a good combo! for the onion dip, combine 1 pack of lipton onion soup with 16oz sour cream, and done! such a fatty but yum snack!
  3. stardew valley -- i think i briefly talked about this in whichever months' post i actually got the game (during the steam summer sale...?). anyway i have mixed feelings about this game. while i liked the game in that it was like the harvest moon and rune factory series, there were issues i kind of had with it.. 
    1. the controls were a bit weird, and i'm not used to playing PC games and using keys as the controls. it was awkward and hard for me to remember which letter meant what. i also don't really play the xbox 360 that often, so getting used to that controller (usb'd to my laptop) but once i figured it out, i enjoyed playing that way.
    2. basically the idea is to get a tooon of stuff accomplished by the end of year 2 for 'grandpa' to give you an awesome rating and that is basically the end of the storyline. you can still play beyond fixing the community center and retry to get a better rating from grandpa, but aside from that it's whatever. and i kind of stopped playing early to mid-year 3, after getting married with two kids and completing the community center, without grandpa's blessing.
    3. i wasn't huge on the farming aspect of the game. for example, you'd plow one square and plant one seed there. and your farm (pending which location you pick, i picked the standard farm) is massive and you will never ever get all of it completely filled. i did like that tools could be leveled up, but you had to get metal and money to upgrade them. i liked that the barn and coop could be upgraded and there were a ton of animals to choose from, but feeding them was annoying. you could either buy a tooon of fodder, or get grass starters which could be planted, spread out, and then cut. but grass only had a 50% chance of becoming actual fodder? it was weird, who's got time for that?! i did like the 'alchemy' type aspect of it. you could go into the menu and create random items, like sprinklers and makers. omg sprinklers save so much time!
    4. i did like being able to unlock stuff by fixing the community center. and having near daily quests available to gain friendship with the townsfolk. i also liked the rune factory-esque mining gameplay where you can fight monsters who'd occasionally dropped stuff. i do like that relationships with the single people in town was more open, so you could be straight or gay with any character, and either have biological children (who don't do anything..) or adopt them, per your orientation. i think it kind of sucks though that the townsfolk don't get married to each other and remain single for ever and ever though. so once you're with someone that's kinda it. i also read on the wiki that you can somehow get rid of your kids, get divorced, erase the ex spouse's memory, and get remarried... pretty interesting for this type of game, lol!
mehs
  1. covergirl total tease mascara -- i did not understand this mascara. moreso the wand than the formula. the formula is what you'd expect from covergirl really, but the wand... i think my biggest issue was the mini brush thing on the end. i'd always feel like it'd catch on my lower lashes while i'm trying to paint on my upper ones or my cheeks. it was super awkward to work with, and because only one side of each edge had bristles, i couldn't roll the wand as i was using it.
  2. ulta aromatherapy shower tablets in eucalyptus & sage -- i really liked the verbena & lemongrass one but this one, it's a pass. i'm not sure if it's because the scent of this is not as strong or what. but i could barely smell it.

Monday, May 29, 2017

may hauls - beauty and planner

hi guys! posting this up now because i have free time, three day weekend. so aside from this stuff, and i didn't really mention it on my planner post earlier today, but we ordered our fridge! w00t. spend all the moneys! we picked out the washer and dryer we want, but we're going to wait to order them since we still have two more major holidays before we can even move in. ~Lin-chan ^.~

elf -- best friend eyeshadow duo in pink pal, selfie ready foundation & powder brushes, pointed powder brush, lip exfoliator in pink grapefruit, $1 slant tweezer, and 3 brushes gift with purchase ($1 shadow brush, [flat] powder brush, and contouring brush)
ipsy offer -- 14 day sheet mask challenge
  1. sephora -- nails inc unicorn nail polish duo, sephora collection cream lip stain in vintage rosewood, code freebie: bite beauty lip pencil in 22
  2. ulta.com -- physicians formula eye booster liquid eyeliners in black and brown (buy 2 get one! -- more cost effective than kvd and i wanted to try these), tresemme thermal protector spray
  3. target -- essie gel couture in twill seeker & topcoat, wet n wild megalast liquid catsuit matte lipstick in rebel rose, covergirl total tease mascara, loreal voluminous lash paradise
  4. walmart -- maybeline eyeshadow quad in designer chocolate (the pink is similar if not the same as the one in the blushed nudes palette...score!), yes to tomatoes charcoal mud mask, alba botanica hawaiian detox sheet mask
  5. hot topic -- nail polishes in lilac shimmer, midnight galaxy, iridescent peacock, and teal galaxy
    1. i'll try to post swatches of these at a later time, since three of these aren't really good for work.


rebel rose, vintage rosewood, 22, designer chocolate quad, pink pal duo (accidentally swatched in reverse..) -- all shadows swatched dry, brown and black liquid liners

rainbow wishes & dream dust, twill seeker

sephora vintage rosewood

wet n wild rebel rose

bite lip pencil in 22

stickers -- again, here's the link to my etsy list of purchased planner stuff
  1. two nine sticker co -- got some 4th of july goodies
  2. the washi shop -- blue and white stars bundle and red stripes washi
  3. target washi -- $1 spot for the blue foil with stars, and the day designer trio

my newest addiction: i ended up ordering 4 oops bags, which were the limit, plus the 4th of july sheet. so much holo oopsies! i also never mentioned it, but a couple months ago, i got one of her shirts. it's soooo comfy!

Sunday, February 5, 2017

january hauls

hi guys!!! here's the next one! january hauls..because i spent more on stickers than makeup this month, and this post was pretty much ready to go. LOL. ~Lin-chan ^.~

skindinavia oil control finishing spray, freebie finishing spray & post-makeup recovery spray
sam's: member's mark makeup remover wipes -- these are really thick, and they work pretty well!
camera ready cosmetics: parian spirit -- i got the giant one this time!
etsy: researched for a couple days, and decided to go with a bulbasaur from 6123D because the opening was much larger than most other shops, and there's a drainage hole. then, i picked out a couple succulents from ExoticSucculent
be a bombshell cosmetics blushes in sweet cheeks -- i had to get two because they're super cheap now and my favorite, according to my ipsy post, these used to be $16, but i got these for $6 each. wut?!
makeup geek: soft dome brush, baby face eyeshadow -- hitting major pan on this eyeshadow, and i decided to pick up another brush because it's awesome.
walgreens: loreal micellar water purifies & mattifies, covergirl trublend powder in 2 transluscent light
ulta: it cosmetics brow power, essence princess lash false lash mascara and make me brow gel
sephora: bite beauty agave lip balm, code freebie: glamglow volcasmic moisturizer
qvc: 2 pack of it cosmetics no tug eyeliner in black

Monday, October 31, 2016

october hauls

hi guys! you might notice a bit of a theme in some of the items i got this month. we're went on a cruise! so i got a bunch of minis of oldies but goodies! ~Lin-chan ^.~
ulta: tree hut sugar scrubs, soap and glory clean on me & happy pamper mini set, zoya remove+ mini, body shop tea tree oil (new larger bottle), tony moly i'm real refreshing sheet mask & intense care snail hydro-gel mask, freebie bag for spending a ton of the monies -- i'm surprised there's two full sized prestige products in here: tarte tarteist double take eyeliner & buxom full on lip polish in dolly.


- sephora: i needed to return something that i accidentally bought, so i got an anastasia beverly hills shadow in warm taupe.
- sephora jcp: last month, they had a mascara set with several minis and a voucher for a full-size from that set. i'm planning on giving the minis away as gifts, but i couldn't pass that deal up! got myself a benefit roller lash.
- ulta: travel size clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel
- target: covergirl lashblast volume waterproof mascara in very black -- this used to be my favorite mascara when i first started college, and this is like my first new tube since then! also, loreal pure-clay mask.
- walmart: they're stepping up their sheet mask game in the drugstore! got a couple of yes to ones and a soo ae one. also got equate makeup remover wipes (travel) and a bag of the epsom salt from last month's beauty box.
- bbb: simple makeup remover wipes mini -- because i can't decide which one i'm taking with me on this vacation....
- 5 below: totally random, but i had to inclue them.. pocky & chocorooms. never had chocorooms before, but they were a bad decision. gone in just a couple hours!

warm taupe, dolly, tarteiest liner

sooo... we got a gopro! we went on a cruise and thought this would be perfect for our underwater adventures! (vacation post to come, need to spend some time sorting out photos and footage)
on the ship, they have a ton of shops, and one of the deals they were advertising was a clinique ddm lotion/gel double pack for $40 (ret. $26 ea), and i was like soooold! that's a better deal than saturday's ulta & the upcoming sephora 20% off sales! also, i'm not sure if it's on every cruise line (probably though), but they sell gold chains by the inch. so you can buy custom length bracelets and necklaces and a variety of different chains, gold, silver, and i got this rose gold with rhinestones. it's super pretty, and i kept eyeing it the whole week!
one of the excursions we went on had a gift shop, and we got this super cute obsidian turtle! i'm not sure the name of the dark sparkly stone on the edge of the shell (blue goldestone? i've always loved red goldstone!), but the top is abalone shell. i kind of wish he were bigger, but the larger ones he was selling were like 2-3 times more expensive than what he wanted for this small one.


walmart: soo ae tea tree sheet masks, wet n wild eyeshadow brush & waterproof liner, essential tools makeup brush cleaner
bbw: got another no purchase necessary free travel size coupon in the mail, so i picked up another mini of endless weekend, which is really nice!
h-mart (houston): green tea pejoy, green apple & kiwi melon sodas -- these are the best. they're in a plastic bottle..thing..with a metal can lid. very interesting. anyway, if you see these, be sure to try the apple, because it's the best!

Sunday, July 31, 2016

july hauls

hi guys! not too much hauled this month...spent a lot on planner stickers instead of beauty-related stuff. ~Lin-chan ^.~

beautylish: wayne goss the air-brush
sephora: sephora collection algae sheet mask
ulta: it cosmetics bye bye under eye corrector in light, brow power mini
winn-dixie: covergirl nail polishes in emerald blaze & teal on fire


sephora: mufe ink liner in black, 500 points: skin inc my daily dose set (vitamin a, chlorella, hyaluronic acid serums), code freebie: supergoop defense refresh setting mist with rosemary; sephora collection shea lip mask
amazon: tinkle razors set & cotu brush -- haven't tried the brush yet, but it doesn't feel as nice as the my beauty tool. this has a very dense, but cheap plasticy feel to it.
target: biore charcoal pore minimizing scrub
walmart: simple dual effect eye makeup remover

july favorites!

hi guys! i have only a few things this month too. been super busy with my work project that i haven't really been trying out much new stuff. ~Lin-chan ^.~
favorites:

  1. makeup mat -- sorry that it's a bit dirty.. i found this at walmart for like $3-4, and it's great! it's definitely helped with the mess on my dresser! and it's machine washable!
  2. royal & langnickel moda powder & complexion brushes -- this is a really nice fluffy powder brush, and i liked the complexion brush for foundation so much, i bought a second! i really like the weight and feel of these brushes, as well as the bright colors they come in!
  3. kiesque liquid palisade -- got this in my ipsy bag this month and it was like an instant favorite. nail polish mess cleaned up in an instant! i'm not sure i necessarily appreciate the cost and size of this exact product, so i'm interested in trying out brands that sell larger bottles for a better price.
  4. formula x for sephora in victory lap -- this is such a gorgeous color! i'm super sad that it was limited edition and sold out pretty quickly! my original swatch post got a ton of hits too since i was among the first to post about it!
  5. covergirl nail polish in teal on fire -- such a pretty duochrome, i love it! unfortunately i don't have nail swatches of this because..well blue's not acceptable at my office, so it's been on my toes.. 
  6. treat lip balm in marshmallow cream -- this is such a great lip balm. i don't remember if i ever mentioned it in a favorites before or not. i got this for christmas and have been using it once or twice daily since, and i'm only halfway down the tube! 
random favorites:
  1. green tea kit kats -- omg, my mom found these at a local chinese grocery story and they are amazing! my picky grandmother even liked these! previously, i saw them in the mall for like $9 for 12 mini bars. that's crazy! but she got them for about $5 a bag. anyway, these are super good, the cream is a bit different from what they use for pocky, this is a little bit more granular in texture.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

june hauls


hi guys! can you believe the year is already halfway gone!? anyway here's some of the stuffs i got this month. made a few trips to sephora because they decided to make like 4 of the sephora play! bonus points coupon things expire this month..... ~Lin-chan ^.~

tarte: swamp queen palette
ulta: lorac pro 3 palette, covergirl clean matte bb cream in light

target: wet n wild color icon blush in rose champagne
walmart: wet n wild 1 step wonder gel polish in stay classy, royal and langnickel moda powder brush, makeup mat (only $3!), kiss salon color nails in bonita
sephora: jack black the stick lip balm in fresh mint

bonus review! this polish lasted me less than 12 hours before chipping. at least it was only $2!

bonus review! these lasted me about 5-6 days before popping off, using the included glue. the glue included is the same in their gel fantasy nail sets.

sephora: formula x in victory lap (see notd post), sephora collection green tea sheet mask & rose lip mask, freebie clinique almost lipstick in pink honey
target: nyx tinted brow mascara in espresso
sally's: renewed my membership with a half off coupon, got a membership renewal freebie product - ion thickening shampoo, and i bought volumedic volumizing shampoo. i got both of these because they no longer sell folicure, and i thought these'll be worth a try to start growin my hair back!
walmart: royal & langnickel moda complexion brush, maybelline color tattoo eye chrome in beige luster


maybelline beige luster, clinique pink honey

ulta: last week, they had a 4-hour deal thing where if you spent $40, you got 5 extra items. so i went ahead and placed my order, since the items appealed to me, and i got: nyx high voltage lipstick in flutter kiss and wine & dine, clinique clarifying lotion 3, secret ph balanced deodorant, tree hut sugar scrubs, and the freebies in the 5 piece set: maybelline vivid matte liquid lip in berry boost, master precise skinny in defining black, and lash sensational luscious mascara in blackest black, garnier micellar water and miracle anti-fatigue sleeping cream.

master precise skinny pencil, flutter kiss, wine & dine, berry boost

flutter kiss

wine & dine

berry boost

target: pantene bb shampoo
sam's club: garnier whole blends shampoo, conditioner, and mask set in honey treasures
amazon: zero time dilemma -- zero escape is one of my favorite game series! can't wait to playyy!!
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