what i got for christmas and my birthday

hiya! so this one's super late... christmas is almost upon us! anyway, here's a few of the fun, blog-worthy things that i got for both christmas last year and my birthday this year. most of the other items that i'd received were not super interesting and home related. ~Lindsay

Christmas

1. this charmed aroma hedgehog candle is super adorbz!
2. i still have to get around to using this missha bestsellers kit T got me.

1. i loved my unicorn corkcicle mug that i'd gotten previously and requested the purple one. look at that holo!
2. the LSU night light is actually a scentsy plug-in. i've been using it off and on in the guest bathroom.

Birthday

1. i've heard so many things about these jade rollers and wanted to try an inexpensive one. and i still have not actually used it yet. 😖

august favorites & regrets

hi guys! it's time for another favorites! not too many things this time, but i've been using them a lot this month!! ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

top - bottom: brazilian tan, purely naked, beige

brazilan tan, dangerous affair

1. revlon super lustrous lipstick in brazilian tan -- i've finally rescued this lipstick from the depths of my closet. a couple years ago when this lipstick came out, i fell in love with it and probably mentioned it on here at that time. anyway, i've rediscovered it and am super happy to have it back in my life!
• as a random side note, i thought this lipstick was limited edition when it came out, but apparently it's on ulta's website, so idk.
2. ciate london paint pot in dangerous affair -- as i've said many many times. i am not a red person, not so much for lipstick or nails. and what is this?! blasphemy! i really like this color and i really enjoy this formula. i applied this polish twice, back to back this month. this polish legit lasted me 5 days both times before there was any major peeling. that like never happens to me anymore. 12 hours. that's how most polishes have been lasting me lately. this is awesome! i'm super impressed and interested in buying other shades. 
3. makeup geek eyeshadow in purely naked -- this is such a great all-over lid shade for minimal makeup days! it's a nude-y peach shade with a slight shimmer.
4. bobbi brown shimmer wash eyeshadow in beige -- this is not very amazing at first glance or swatched. but on the eyes, how it catches the light, and paired with a great crease color, is such a pretty and effortless eye look. that i've been using it almost every day since i got it.

random favorites: 

1. ReLife anime/manga -- so i totally forgot to mention this last month, but the first season of relife anime is online...and omg. it is amazingness. two gripes: sequence of events for some things wasn't 100% true to the manga (but at least they were still included! - unlike a lot of anime), and second: it was too short. season 2 needs to come out like yesterday. not only that, but the manga is still amazing by the way, and continues to impress. i can't wait to see what happens next!
2. gyakuten saiban (phoenix wright: ace attorney) anime -- omg they made the first two games (if not more, as it's still airing!) into an anime. loooooooooveeeeee! the things that throw me off are that their japanese names aren't as cool, and the subtitlers are inconsistent using their american names vs the japanese ones. but whatever, i love it. this is one of my favorite game series, and the next edition (spirit of justice) is slated for US release in a couple weeks, so excite!

meh:
makeup forever ink liner -- this is a gorgeous eyeliner. it's super black, dries down matte.... but that's as far as it goes for me. i think i've mentioned before that my eyes get itchy and watery or i tend to rub my eyes a lot..... well this stuff runs. and smears. and transfers. all. over. there was one day that i had a smear line from the outer corner of my eye to pretty close to my temple, and this was maybe 4 hours after application. another day, i mysteriously got a huge line across the center of my lid. i swear it wasn't there when i left the house, but when i got home..there it was! in short, if you're like me, don't get this product. but if you don't have any of those issues/habits, this is a really great liner!

may 2015 favorites & regrets

it's may favorites time~! yay! ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

bite lavender thistle

mug starry eyed, barcelona beach; laura mercier rosegold; nyc deep brown, jet black

I514, D562, I544, D552, ME302

1. bite beauty limited lab release lipstick for may (lavender thistle) -- i was extremely surprised when i swatched this beaut. i wasn't totally sure when i bought it, if it'd look like death on me or not, but i went ahead anyway and i was thoroughly surprised. i think it really works with it's slight sheerness, plus my mauvy pigmented lips. it's really pretty.
2. laura mercier caviar shadow stick in rosegold -- this is a nice and creamy pencil. i love it! it's similar in texture to the loreal infallible shadow sticks
3. belif true cream aqua bomb moisturizer -- i love the texture of this moisturizer. it's a gel but it feels like water when you spread it out. and it has a really nice citrus scent. i've been religiously using clinique's ddm gel for the past 7+ years, and i've been using this sample like crazy!
4. nyc brow & eyeliner pencils in jet black & deep brown -- i bought these because i heard that they were pretty good brow pencils on the cheap (packs of 2 for $2 -- per color). i haven't tried these as liners, and i'm not sure that i will because they're a little too waxy for my taste. for brows, i love using both of these. the waxiness is perfect and it stays put all day. i recommend using a light hand and have a spoolie on hand.
5. makeup geek 
1. barcelona beach eyeshadow -- i really like this as my matte crease shade. i almost don't know how i survived without this one! it's kind of similar to shades in the naked2 basics palette
2. starry eyed (foiled) eyeshadow -- this is such a pretty color! i love using it on top of other colors to give them a foiled effect since the color (not exactly pigmentation..) isn't super strong for this one, and it looks great when it catches the light.
3. soft dome brush -- i really enjoy using this brush! it's the perfect size as a crease/blending brush and it's very soft and not irritating
6. mufe
1. nude artist palette (particularly the middle column I514, D562, I544) -- i think i like these 3 shades a lot because two of them were in a previous favorites post, and I544 is very similar or in the same family as I548.
2. D552 -- this shadow is like perpetually sold out, so if it's available, you should definitely jump on it! soooo pretty.
3. ME302 -- i like layering D552 on top to soften it up. the pretty blue does blend away to show the brown undertones, but if you pack it on, the blue duochrome is super pretty!

random favorites:

1. zenana outfitters knit open cardigan, with three quarter sleeves and pockets -- i bought this at tj maxx...i think..? or it was marshalls...? ours are right next to each other and they're like the same store............... anyway, this sweater is so comfy and cute with shorts!
2. bubzbeauty teespring shirt for charity -- who couldn't resist this adorableness? it's a penguin with an ice cream cone "unicorn horn". so kyoot. and it was for a good cause too, she donated the proceeds to two charities. the only thing i dislike is that it's kinda long, but i still luff it.
3. kate spade iphone 6 case (from apple.com) -- i really love this pattern. the only knock on it is that it is painted onto a black-based case, so i dropped it and a small chunk of white has disappeared on the corner near the camera (as shown in photo). thankfully this pattern is kind of random, so most people wouldn't know otherwise!
4. online manga: relife -- this is still ongoing as they translate and upload this one..but it's so funny and has an interesting concept. relife is a program where neets can essentially take a pill to look younger and have a second chance by going to high school again and potentially getting better job opportunities when they complete the relife program.

product updates:

left: koh gen do, right: shiseido

1. shiseido facial cotton -- these are a lot better than the koh gen do ones. they're slightly smaller in both size and thickness, but they're at the same level as the sephora cotton rounds. i will probably continue buying drugstore cotton rounds for eye makeup remover, and use either this facial cotton or the sephora cotton rounds for micellar water and toner.

regrets/disappointments:

skone navy, almay purple amethyst, bm stroke of light, it cc cream in medium

1. houston flooding -- we were going to visit our friends this weekend but then the flooding...so we ended up cancelling out trip. i think my relatives canceled their vacation too because their houses got over 12in of water from the flooding. bleh!
2. bare minerals stroke of light -- i've had this sample for who knows how long...but i tried it out as an inner corner highlight...and it was pretty lame. it might work for darker skintones, but definitely not mine.
3. it cosmetics cc+ cream in medium -- this was disappointing because of the color ipsy sent me. my profile has light, so why they would send me medium is beyond me. i was interested in trying it out too.
4. almay intense i-color liquid liner in purple amethyst -- sadface at how pretty this is and the fact that it burned my eyes to all hell while i was applying it. nope.
5. skone cosmetics pretty eyes automatic eyeliner in navy -- can we talk about how this looks navy in the tube and not navy on my skin? either way the color is pretty, but the formula isn't that great. it applies nicely, but it's too creamy and smears like crazy. it definitely needs to be set if you try using this product.