april hauls

hi guys! hauled mostly skincare stuff this month it seems! maybe because i've been buying stuff for mother's day and i want stuff for me too? ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

sephora: its skin cookie & body ice cream in mint, original, and strawberry, code freebie: kevyn aucoin candlelight highlighter, points freebie ole henriksen counter balance oil control hydrator
walmart: sally hansen hard as nails hardener, masqueology collagen hydrogel gold mask

makeup geek: eyeshadows in luna and legend -- legend was on the sale page and listed as damaged for $6 instead of $10, but this looks fine to me aside from not being perfectly smooth..so i'm not sure if that's why, but yay for not paying the full amount!

luna, legend, candlelight, sin, prismatic amethyst, lovesick

ulta: the body shop tea tree oil set, bath fizzes, and shower tablets
lush: sex bomb and immaculate eggception bath bombs

1. sephora: sephora favorites give me some lip & liner set (was on sale for $30!, giving some of this away and haven't fully decided what i'm keeping yet), peter thomas roth acne-clear invisible dots, points and code freebies: urban decay afterglow highlighter in sin and SK-II facial treatment essence
2. sephora spring sale: sephora collection contour blush palette, estee lauder double wear light in intensity 2.0, becca shimmering skin perfector in prismatic amethyst, points freebie: kvd liquid lipstick in lovesick
3. ulta spring sale: it bye bye under eye corrector in light

sephora collection contour blush palette - top row, bottom row

kvd lovesick

beautylish 2016 lucky bag

hi guys! i ordered another lucky bag and it came today!!!!! this year there was only one option, which was $80 ($75 + $5 shipping) for $150+ worth of products. i'm so excited! now onto the impressions! ~Lin-chan ^.~

ombre rouge palette (swatched dry), tresbelle

1. it cosmetics bye bye pores pressed powder in transluscent (ret. $29) -- wow. this powder is soft and silky smooth! it applied pretty effortlessly with my finger. it does kick up a bit of dust when using a brush though. it does seem to minimize the appearance of pores, but only a tiny bit. the packaging on this is kind of annoying. it's thick to house a sponge in the bottom, and there's a mirror underneath the powder. but sometimes when i open it, i go straight to the sponge compartment because the powder section kind of sticks to the lid. oh well though i guess. i'm still interested in trying this out though.
2. charlotte tilbury lip pouch (ret. $???) -- i love this design. i'm not a huge pattern or image type person..(does that make sense?) but it like how the zip is along the smile area and the rosegold star zipper pull is cute. it can definitely hold a few lippies in your purse if that's how you'd want to use it. i'm not sure what i'm doing with it yet.
3. bioderma sensibio mini (ret. $6.95) -- you guys know i've been loving this! i actually was getting close to ordering another travel sized one for my future work travel!
4. kevyn aucoin the creamy glow in tresbelle (deep peach) (ret. $26) -- cream blushes were always something i wasn't sure about, and this is no exception. i could never figure out the best application technique for me or how much to apply, etc. i'll give it a shot and if not, it'll get passed on. otherwise though, this is a really pretty shade. i'm not sure how i like it sheered out though (see swatch).
5. becca ombre rouge eye palette (ret. $40) -- i was always interested in trying out becca's shadow quads, but this is kind of nice too. i like how there's a mix of mattes and lightly shimmery shades. i do have an issue with the packaging of this too. it's slightly difficult to open, and when i can get it open, the plastic insert thing that holds the shadows in place is not fully adhered to the bottom, so as i'm opening the lid, i sometimes pull on that bit of plastic as well. and it fingerprints sooo badly.
6. nudestix blur pencil (ret. $24) -- i'm interested in trying this out. i was always curious about this brand's concealers, but never bought one. rubbing this on my hand, it does blur the lines on my hand, but i'm not sure i like the feel of it. it's slightly waxy but kind of melts down a little with the heat of your skin. i like the tin it came in--the lid has a mirror on the inside, and they included a sharpener--which is always nice!
7. wayne goss the brow set (#21-23) (ret. $55) -- this was a really unexpected treat! i'm not huge into 'doing' my brows, so when these came out, i wasn't that excited about these. now, i don't know if having these will motivate me any more to use other brow products (other than pencils and gels) but hey, they're multifunctional. we can figure something out. #21 is super stiff and dense. i haven't washed these yet, but it seems like it might be good for gel liners too. i always hated brushes like #22. the teeth of the plastic comb always break so easily. the bristles are actually pretty nice and stiff though, which is nice. and #23 is a regular ol spoolie brush. pretty standard sized too, maybe slightly thinner and not tapered.

approximate product value: ~$181+

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...

june 2015 favorites

hi guys! i've got my june favorites for ya! i didn't have any regrets this month, but some food meh's. lol. and i shopped my stash and rediscovered a few things that i still love! ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

1. colourpop cosmetics kathleenlights set -- these four go so freakin well together, it's gorgeous. yall know i'm a neutrals fan, and this is perfect!
2. lancome artliner liquid liner in noir -- this came in the sephora favorites glitz & glam set. this was actually one of the items i really wanted to try when i decided to order the set. if i remember right, my mom used to consistently use this a long time ago, and now i see why. it's really awesome. i love the elongated and flexible felt tip that it has. it also stays nice and black all day.
3. becca shimmering skin perfector pressed in opal -- i got this in the sephora bronzed something-or-rather set in may, and i've been practically using this non-stop. it's so gorgeous!
4. urban decay afterglow blush in rapture -- this is such a pretty blush! it's subtle yet a nice plummy shade.
5. anastasia beverly hills tamanna palette -- [see #6 below] i never actually used this palette until recently. i really love sangria and china rose. so pretty!
6. i shopped my stash this month and attempted to use each of my palettes (as demonstrated in my first week at work post), since i've been slacking lately. and i re-fell in love with (in no particular order):
1. urban decay naked2 basics palette
2. urban decay naked 3 palette
3. be a bombshell cosmetics quad in bora bora
4. too faced natural eyes palette
5. mac bao bao wan jewels veluxe pearlfusion shadow palette
6. maybelline master drama chromatics eye pencil in turn on the teal
7. kevyn aucoin shadow duo in sugared peach & rust brown
8. benefit rockateur blush

random favorites: there's a lot this time!

1. song: skrillex kill everybody -- this should have been included in my favorites a long time ago... paul burned this onto my "car cd" like a year ago, and it's one of my favorites on there (aside from ff5 chainsaw). you should go have a listen. not to sound like a completely terrible person, but it's like my anthem and "because dey got people in the world, [and i'm] glad i ain't one of 'em!" --- lol, that's a reference that only people i went to high school with would understand.
1. another song that's great is knife party internet friends. it's got some language, but it's so funny because of people and the social media age. i love it.
2. target: c9 champion concealer sports bras -- [buy all the colors!] they were having a sale on this brand earlier this month, so i picked up a few. these are super comfortable, no removable cups (which is awesome for washing them!) and they have built in petal-pasties..so maybe that's the "concealer" aspect of them? anyway, i really like these a lot.

1. snacks!! these are a few of my all time favorite snacks, plus a few new ones.. (all of these were purchased either at my local asian grocery or world market)
1. kasugai roasted green peas -- these are like popcorn..ya can't stop eating them. they also come in wasabi flavor, but i'm not for spicy.
2. licorice melon seeds -- these are like sunflower seeds..but not. the shells are a lot tougher than sunflowers, so you'd typically use your back teeth with these. they're pretty salty and by the time i realize it, i eat so many that my lips are burning from the saltiness. haha.
3. green tea pocky -- i've loved green tea pocky, and i recently discovered the midi variety, which is a shorter, thicker "pretzel" stick and they put a thick coating of the chocolate flavoring on the outside. super good!
4. white chocolate tolberone -- my family's a huge fan of these, and i was super excited when i found out they made a white chocolate version a few months ago, really yums.
5. perugina baci white -- these are white chocolate covered hazelnut ganache plus a whole hazelnut. so yums. i found these at world market a few months ago, on the same trip that i found the white tolberone. for quite some time now, i've been buying my dad perugina bars and baci and i always wanted to try it..well now i can! and yes, i'm completely ignoring the fact that the ingredients list says chocolate milk. i don't care, it's teh yums.
6. c howard's violet mints -- aka, soap candy. apparently out of my entire family (both sides), my paternal great grandmother and i are the only ones that like these things..because everyone else thinks these taste like soap. and rightfully so, but i always liked them. when i was little, my great grandmother would pick up a few extra packs for me whenever she went to the drugstore, and i would practically eat the entire pack as soon as she gave them to me.
1. i'm the same with wintergreen tic-tacs. idk, so good, must eat all.
7. not pictured because they were hiding in the grocery bag: haw flakes -- i've always loved haw flakes. throughout elementary and middle school, i would pack my lunch myself, and i'd throw in a couple packs. i would always share them with my adventurous friends, but most of them never liked them. i never understood why. they're flat disks of sweetness, maybe like a dried puree? ....apparently they're made with chinese hawthorn berries.
1. on a sidenote: all of my friends growing up became obsessed with white rabbit candy. those are super addictive too. and yes, you eat the paper--no, not the individual wrapper, but the sugar paper wrapped around the candy.

product updates:

1. i bought more furikake! i got ebi (shrimp) and shiso (beefsteak plant leaf) flavors. i think the ebi is good, but still has a slightly fishy taste to it. like, i still like the salmon one more. and the shiso is interesting..i'm not really sure how to describe it. it's a very earthy taste. for a little while, i was trying to grow a beefsteak (type of tomato) plant, and this smells similar to the plant. but this also has a slight tanginess to it, that's hard to describe. i feel like i've had the flavor somewhere else before, but i can't totally place it. it almost tastes like dim sum sticky rice? like the flavor that the lotus or banana leaves give the sticky rice?? ...does this make any sense whatsoever..? probably not. haha, but that's the best i think i can do.

january 2015 favorites & regrets

hi guys! here's what i've been loving (and not) for this month! also, i've decided to try making individual monthly posts and see how it goes. can i keep up with them..? ~Lin-chan ^.~
favorites:

sugared peach & rust brown shimmer; pouty petal

1. kevyn aucoin eyeshadow duo in 210 sugared peach & rust brown shimmer -- i got this in my natural beautylish lucky bag. this is the perfect neutral pair. the formula is so buttery soft and holds up throughout the day very nicely. super gorgeous. sadface on the price tag though...

• extra super sadface that this compact arrived broken on arrival. the little plastic bit on the top that holds it closed was completely cracked off. but it kinda works out that they give you the felt cover..so i've been just using that to keep it shut.

1. maybelline fit me matte & poreless foundation -- i'm actually quite surprised with myself for liking this foundation. it is kinda weird though, because some days i'm super oily by the 8 hour mark, and sometimes it just doesn't happen at all. either way, it's not a huge deal and for $8 or so, i likes it.
2. kat von d tattoo liquid eyeliner in trooper -- i really like this eyeliner. granted, maybe it's just that i like brush-tip eyeliners? because i love lorac's too. but this one is super black and it dries fast enough that it doesn't transfer with my hooded eyes.
3. elf mineral lipstick in pouty petal -- this is a really sheer shade, but it's a really pretty one and i enjoy the formula a lot. nice and balmy.
• my tube didn't have the name sticker on it..so i made one!
4. chapstick total hydration lip balm in sweet peach -- got this in my target box last month and i'm already halfway through this thing! the scent and moisture are perfect!
5. elf crease brush -- i bought this a while back and never got around to trying it until somewhat recently. while i still really like my mua E3 brush for blending the crease, i really like using this brush for placing color into the crease (and blend with the E3). it's the perfect size for my eyes and has a nice amount of give.
6. bite beauty bb for lips in flush -- i got this in the sephora beauty closet set and i love it. now i'm not sure about the pigmentation of the others in this line, but this one applies very sheer on me. i'm not sure if since my lips are so pigmented, that i couldn't see the tint, but that's not something i really cared about when i used this product. i really like how this little guy feels on the lips. granted, it's a glorified lip balm, but it is awesome.
7. loreal infallible eye crayon stick in enduring rose -- this is such an amazing quality pencil. i've been using this as a base for the kevyn aucoin duo and it's gorgeous. the staying power is amazing, and this shade is super pretty. i bought a few others, but i haven't been using them as much as this one!

random favorites:

1. tiffany-d 2.0 candle from candles by victoria -- when i first opened this candle (and the soap) i wasn't totally sure about it. but i started burning it and omg i love it. i feel like i've smelled something fairly similar before, yet it seems almost like a distinct scent. it's so weird! but i love how woodsy and slightly floraly-fruity it is.
2. new furniture -- in addition to the table and chairs set we got for christmas, we bought a few new pieces with some of our christmas money. so not only did we buy the new dresser and second nightstand (ashley furniture: huey vineyard), we bought a wine cabinet from target. which i'm pretty sure was the best investment decision for our small apartment. it has a good bit of storage and we were able to move some stuff out of the kitchen cabinets. also, we were able to get rid of paul's tv tray setup coffee bar and put it on top, so the whole area looks much nicer now. so excite.

• the nightstand is under the window because the chest of drawers is literally up against the closet and there's not enough room for both nightstands on either side of the bed plus the dresser... basically, our apartment is designed pretty crappy... maybe i'll do an apartment tour post? hmmm! and i can make a sims rendering!

 
left: this is definitely not to scale, but it kinda works...; right: kinda for scale, that's the front door in the top left corner.

mehs:

1. loreal brow stylist plumper in medium to dark -- while i do like this wand style/size much better than maybelline's brow drama, i don't like how wet this formula is. so not only does it dry slowly, it's also easy to smudge and smear when you don't intend to...
2. bite 01/15 limited lab release lipstick -- this is more of a disappointing than a meh i think. this lipstick is definitely not formulated the same as the other bite lipsticks that i have. it's a gorgeous color and i love that, but it feels so dry and draggy. it's a huge sadface. and these are a whopping $12 more than the regular line ($24 vs. $36).
3. candles by victoria wooden wick candle (scent: zucchini bread) -- the scent is not the issue with this candle because i intentionally picked it after having a scent shot. the problem is actually the wooden wick. it smoked up our apartment pretty badly. not that you were choking on the smoke, because the delicious scent of diabeetus was in the air, but you could see like a fog or smoke cloud when walking between rooms. so if i ever buy a replacement zucchini bread, i'll definitely go for a regular candle than her wooden wick.
4. equate sensitive cleansing wipes (compare to simple) -- these smelled awful. i can't totally place it, but weird sunscreen. they were ok at removing makeup, but the scent on my face is so off-putting. i'll probably slowly use these up for swatches or something..

regrets:

natural, bold, mua

1. to some degree, buying all 3 beautylish lucky bags ($75/ea). had i known there would be so much overlap between them (contrary to what i saw from last year), i probably would have only gotten one. more specifically, the coq-10 toner is decently scented (and floral at that...) and scented skincare is generally not a good idea, and now i have 3 of them... and second, am i really ever going to use the rcma palettes..? i'm not sure.
    
2. physician's formula shimmer strips custom eye enhancing kohl kajal liner sets (nude eyes & warm nude eyes) -- despite the claims on the packaging these are crap. they aren't waterproof, they rub away to nothing in the waterline, and they transfer horribly with my hooded eyes. no good. and it's sad too, because they are really pretty.

beautylish 2015 bold lucky bag

hi guys! just after christmas beautylish held their annual sale on their lucky bags, which were $75 for $150+ worth of products. this time, they had 3 different choices: natural, bold, and mua (makeup artist). i decided to be adventurous and got the bold bag. ~Lin-chan ^.~

rcma palette

pebble & smoky teal (swatched over milani eye primer);
afternoon delight patted over milani eye primer (left) & (right) swatched with included brush and clearly liquid glitter base

1. indie lee coq-10 toner (ret. $32) -- i'm game for trying out new toners. granted, this one is more expensive than clinique, but we shall try it!
• kinda weirded out by this. not the product, but the packaging and shipping. when i opened up the package, the box for this product was wet, but the bottle was completely sealed and dry. wut. really confused.
• update: i'm not totally sure about this..fragrance in mah skincare........
2. bliss lemon + sage body butter (ret. $29) -- i love lemon and herb type scents. i'm not certain about using such a scent on the whole body, but ok. i'll try it. 
3. lit cosmetics summer sparkle lit kit in afternoon delight (ret. $13) -- i've never tried the lit kits and i was kinda but not totally interested in them. i'm not huge into applying chunky glitter to my skin so i was halfway about this product. but i think that this glitter is milled small enough that it'll be ok. i definitely think that you should use the included glitter base--otherwise it won't stick to your skin! the brush that was included was pretty crappy and made application awkward.
• be careful opening up the glitter if you get one of these. the sifter doesn't have a sticker on it, and a lot of glitter is sitting on the sifter.
4. kevyn aucoin the eyeshadow duo in 214 (pebble/smoky teal) (ret. $42) -- this duo is so pretty in the pan. but swatching it, the teal was meh. the pebble is a nice all-over shade, but teal did not want to swatch nicely, i had to build it up.
5. rcma series favorites palette highlight/contour (ret. $30) -- i've been wanting to try an rcma concealer palette for a while now and now i can! this is really creamy and super blendable, but it seems like it needs powdering to set, otherwise it will move.
6. inglot colour play mascara in blue (ret. $13) -- i haven't tried anything inglot before (i've been wanting to try their shadows!), but i'm super excited that they sent me blue. >w< i generally use colored mascaras on the lower lashes.
7. wayne goss eye brush 17 (ret. $32) -- w00t. another wayne goss brush! super amazing awesome. it's a little bit bigger than i like using for an all over shadow brush, but we will make it work! (i prefer brushes similar to sigma's E55)

approximate product value: ~$191