2018 beautylish lucky bag!

hi guys! today i bring you my 2018 beautylish lucky bag, which arrived about mid-January. i was pretty surprised by this year's selection--in a good way, but also slightly disappointed in that i got 1 repeat product (from two years ago) that a lucky friend will be getting. otherwise i'm happy with the purchase. ~Lin-chan ^.~

prism palette, swatched on bare skin
lucid, eden, unity, sphinx, osiris, sphere, obsidian
dimension, parallel, pyramid, throne, saturn, eternal, lure

skinny dip, chrysanthemum

1. anastasia beverly hills prism palette -- this is such a fun looking palette! i definitely wouldn't have picked this up on my own because there's too many 'crazy' colors in it. i did want to give it a swatch for myself, but i'm going to pass this along. based on my swatching alone, all the really pretty (in the pan) shimmery shades were super glittery and the fall out... the mattes were pretty nice too, except for the black and yellow. those weren't that good. if they come out with singles, i'd probably get throne, eternal, and lure. otherwise, i'm not totally sure if i like the color selection in here. we've got two very similar glitters (osiris and dimension), two very similar mattes (eden and saturn), a random bright ass yellow, and a black that's not that pigmented but i guess could be used for darkening..? i do think that the shade names are pretty fitting with the whole pyramid theme.
2. wayne goss brow brush set -- this is a repeat for me.
3. oribe dry texturizing spray -- so this is like an alternative to dry shampoo? so the bottle makes it seem. i'll give it a try. spraying a little into the top, i didn't see any color and it stayed wet for quite a bit. the scent wasn't too bad either.
4. the ordinary. caffeine solution -- this is like a depuffing eye gel or something? seems interesting. i used this once or twice so far and don't have an opinion yet.
5. jouer powder highlighter in skinny dip -- this is such a pretty powder! i can't wait to try it on my face!
6. jeffree star velour liquid lipstick in chrysanthemum -- i can't decide how i feel about this shade. in different lights, it looks fine, in others, it's the brightest peach ever. i'm not sure if i didn't use enough or what, but it seems slightly patchy. i'm also not sure if the shimmer in it gives the illusion of patchiness or not. once it dries down, the shimmer's not as noticeable. as expected with using the same lab as someone else, the formula's really nice and long wearing. i have been wanting to try this brand for ages now, but i just haven't yet because i haven't seen enough swatches on people with similar skintones as myself -- i probably will if i look harder... but i have too many lippies to not go through right now.
7. sulwhasoo first care activation mask -- i didn't realize beautylish had sheet masks online! i can't wait to try this!

approximate product value: ~$180

september favorites & hit pans

hi guys! i've got another favorites post for ya! plus two hit pans because...well they didn't make it into the empties post.. i messed up when i was taking the photos.. oops. anyway close enough, right..? ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

liner in black, rigel, sweet cheeks

1. it cosmetics no tug gel liner in black -- got this liner in a recent ipsy bag and i love it for the waterline. it's so black and does not tug..as it's name states. i made sure i bought a full size this month when it was on ulta's 21 days of beauty!
2. it cosmetics superhero mascara -- this has been the new go-to mascara since i got it in my ipsy bag. it's basically everything i wanted in a mascara and more - curl, volume, slight separation, super black, doesn't get clumpy by 2 passes on each eye (one eye, then the other, repeat). i'm very impressed with the it cosmetics things i've tried (that were my shade), no complaints!
3. nars rigel -- this is such a pretty shadow!!! i bought this with the money (plus a lil) from when i returned the makeup forever liner, because that's an expensive liner for it not working out on me... anyway, i really love this peachy golden shade!
4. wayne goss #17 brush -- i'm too lazy to check, but i'm almost certain i mentioned this brush before.... so good for getting all over the lid because of the massive size!
5. be a bombshell blush in sweet cheeks -- it's been a while since i got back to this blush. this is actually my second of this blush, the first came in one of my first few ipsy bags. it's such a pretty blue-toned shimmery pink. it's awesome.
6. makeup geek vault palette -- t got me this for my birthday and i actually didn't start using it regularly until pretty recently. i think this is great for the absolute favorites to travel back and forth with and it has a nice sized mirror.
1. contains: makeup geek shadows in baby face, barcelona beach, havoc, ardency inn rose gold, benefit hoola, ofra bliss.

random favorites: 

1. phoenix wright ace attorney: spirit of justice -- i'm almost finished the main story, and i just bought the extra turnabout DLC this week and will start it pretty soon. so far i like it a lot, but there are some aspects that i think are dumb. 
1. for whatever reason, they thought it was necessary to have the divination seance video play during each and every case when you're in khura'in. so long. but, they have a skip button, so it's not as bad. (even the demo had the full length of this cut scene...)
2. some turnabouts are multiple parts. some of them have little summaries if there's going to be more parts. ok i get that. but for whatever reason, they decided to add in this almost epiphany thing where it's like the person's thought process and you have to pick one of two to three answers to 'find the truth' of what happened. really guys... idk. i don't recall this feature being in any of the previous US-released games, and don't really understand why they thought this was necessary.
3. the 4th turnabout was stupidly short, shouldn't have been two parts, and was just a way for them to have you play as a character you've never been, as well as bring back two people that were in previous games...for just like 1 hour or less of gameplay.
4. i haven't looked into the two theater DLC, but it seems kinda weird to buy them for $4 each if it's just a 'theater' video or something........... i did get the costume DLC when it was free, and it's ok. not quite as good as the last game.
2. lever 2000 bar soap -- so random, but not really. teh paul likes using these and we buy them in giant packs from sams, so i decided to steal the very end of one of them and try using it on my makeup brushes. it works. omg. liquid foundation is gone, bristles are white again, it's great!
1. note: tougher liquid foundations like my estee lauder double wear light are still pretty tough to completely remove product and get the bristles white.

hit pans

1. makeup geek baby face -- i just hit pan on this one just last week. such a great skintone shade!
2. makeup geek barcelona beach -- this is still my first one, but here's the current progress on it.

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...

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!!!

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

december hauls

 

hi guys! sorry for the delay on this haul post, i had to include a shot of some awesome software i gots today. =P so without further ado, let's get this show post on the road! ~Lin-chan ^.~

M536, I524, I550, D652, ME728, ME230, D926, ME930

sephora $20 off: mufe artist palette, sephora citrus brush cleanser, freebie sample bag

top: champagne, nude, mocha; (palette swatched dry)

cvs: almay intense i-color liner in purple amethyst, physicians formula shimmer strips custom eye enhancing shadow & liner, and gel cream shadow & liner trio

enduring rose, taupe, copper ink, violet ink

bbb: loreal infallible eyeshadow sticks in forever taupe and enduring rose, covergirl ink it liners in copper ink and violet ink
cvs: broadway impress press-on nails in space cadet

rose quartz, garnet

roze quartz

garnet -- this is a lot more purple than i was thinking it was... it's still super pretty though.
beware: this one's a teeth-magnet!

target: revlon hd lip lacquers in hd rose quartz & hd garnet

beautylish.com: wayne goss holiday brush (black & white) -- i couldn't resist... i've really wanted his brushes, and i love both the black and the white bristles that i couldn't choose......... it was nice that beautylish was doing a free shipping promotion and $10 off $50 for new users... ^^; one word about these, to quote wayne goss himself: gorgeous! these are so amazing and soft and i need the rest of the line.

nude eyes (champagne, pewter, black), warm nude eyes (copper, bronze, black)

cvs: physicians formula shimmer strips kohl kajal eyeliner trios in nude eyes and warm nude eyes

• these are actually only ok... they don't actually last in the waterline, and if i use them on my lid, it transfers because i have hooded asian eyes.. >.>

lolita (arm swatch photo taken while wet) -- i blend in with the comforter!!

sephora: nails inc gel effect polish in kensington high street (notd to come later), kat von d everlasting liquid lipstick in lolita. freebie tarte bb primer in light

rose gold, taupe smoke; lipstick stain, gloss stain

lipstick stain

gloss stain

ulta.com 20% off + points: becca shimmering skin perfector pressed in rose gold, mini mally beauty perfect prep poreless primer, it cosmetics the it factor duo (je ne sais quoi gloss stain & lipstick stain), loreal infallible smokissime powder eyeliner in taupe smoke

• cvs: maybelline fit me matte + poreless foundation in nude beige & powder in translucent, loreal infallible pro matte foundation in nautral buff & powder in nude beige, nyc instant matte bb creme in light
• dermstore.com: london brush co goats milk brush shampoo in lemon zest
• target: sims 4 premium edition