late september/early october hauls

hi guys! here are a few things i got over the past few weeks or so. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~
ps, i had my in person interview with ibm yesterday, so i'm just waiting to hear back if they want me!

tarte lipsurgence in wishful, amazonian clay blush in thrilled

ulta.com

• 21 days of beauty: mally poreless face defender compact -- got this for $25. i'm going to compare this to the liquid version and let you know which i prefer better.
• this thing is so heavy and the sponge is ridiculously large and thick...is this supposed to be portable? how would people transport this..?
• order #2: 12 days of tarte petite treats [advent calendar], tarte smooth operator & gifted amazonian clay smart mascara (gift with tarte purchase); essence i love extreme crazy volume mascara, and a real techniques shading brush
• the 12 days of tarte set contains an ulta-only coupon inside for in-stores or online, $10 off $50 tarte purchase, code tarte10 (exp. 1/31/15, not valid on tarte 2014 holiday collection).

tattoo liner, they're real liner

luminous flush, incandescent electra, mood exposure

• sephora.com x3: 
• ordered mom's bday present and i finally got myself a benefit they're real push-up liner sample.
• on a second order, i got a mini kat von d tattoo eyeliner pen in trooper.
• third order: hourglass ambient lighting blush palette
• sephora: i needed a new perfect formula pink gel coat so i went over to sephora and they had a mini pack of the pink and clear gel coat polishes for $20..instead of $30 & $24 respectively for the full sizes..which is awesome because i wind up wasting a lot of these because they get goopy shortly after the halfway point...... and i got the tony moly bbo bbo lip balm in blueberry and the soap and glory clean getaway set (giving away the hand cream & body butter as a gift, keeping the shower gel and shampoo)

melt; righteous, tyranny, vengeance, anger, furious (swatched over milani eye primer)

urban decay.com: pulp fiction palette, rebound & melt byop's, electric nail trio (deep end, goldmine, woodstock)

• swatches for the nail trio will be featured in a future notd post.

deep brown, rosy future, street style (swatched dry)

• bbb: maybelline brow drama in deep brown -- this product does have a learning curve to it because of the huge ball-tip on the wand, but once you're used to it, it's fine. it's pretty comparable to the benefit gimme brow in appearance, but it makes my brows crunchy to the touch.
• cvs: revlon super lustrous lip gloss in rosy future, luxe creme eyeshadow in street style (revlon was bogo half off, and after $7 extrabucks, a 25% off coupon, and a $1 off revlon eye item, i paid only $3.50 after tax for both of these!)
• the luxe creme eyeshadow has an interesting texture. it's not like a maybelline color tattoo creamshadow consistency, it's kinda bouncy or mousse-y.. i never had a maybelline bouncy blush but this is kinda how i imagine this eyeshadow's texture.
• [not pictured] target: dr. bronner's pure castile soap in unscented baby-mild

summer 2014 favorites & regrets

hi guys! i've finally got a favorites and regrets(!) post for ya. i also included some meh products and random favorites. ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

walk of shame (w.o.s.), snatch, bordello, rock (swatched dry); lip mask in champagne

• urban decay 
• rock byop; with walk of shame, snatch, bordello, and rock -- as seen in this fotd
• perversion mascara -- see my review here
• naked 2 basics palette -- swatches, fotd, review
• bite agave lip mask in champagne -- (swatch, second from the left) this stuff's so thick, i needed to put a tube squeezer on here to keep all the product in place whenever i go to squeeze it. it's gorgeous on the lips, looks similar to nars orgasm but not exactly. it has a slight chocolaty type scent to it and it's very comfortable on the lips. it's similar in consistency to an ointment, but not exactly.
• almay clear complexion concealer in light -- this is a great liquid concealer for my acne days. it's got 1% salicylic acid to help heal acne. luff it.

random favorites [not pictured]:

• small blue ice gel pack wrapped in a kitchen towel -- i have no idea why i'd never done this before for migraines until recently. i have a bunch of eye masks from earth therapeutics and they don't stay cold for very long..but duh, blue ice stays cold for a long freaking time! so yeah.. 
• publix italian 5-grain bread (baked in-house!) -- super sadface that we don't have publix. we went to orange beach, alabama just before school started and got a loaf and it was teh awesome yums. and it was gone two days later... TT_TT
• trader joe's maple pecan clusters (granola, both variations) -- so yums! great with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt..or just snacking on the granola by itself! >w<

regrets [not pictured]:

• ulta liquid eyeliner in onyx -- this liner is ok.. but it dries too slow. i have hooded eyes and it transferred really bad, but it was weird too because i was able to remove the transfer effortlessly [with no smearing or problems! shocker!] with a qtip right after it happened.. i didn't like that it pilled up and rubbed off whenever i rubbed at my eyes throughout the day. i'm glad i didn't pay full price ($8) for it!
• cvs mua crease brush -- i'm pretty sad about this brush. i actually prefer stiffer brushes (as a whole) and this one was a bit too flimsy for me. it was only ok at blending.. i'm glad i didn't pay full price for it ($10); i had coupons and it was on sale or something at the time.
• maybelline great lash doll eyes mascara -- maybe i just don't like the maybelline great lash line as a whole? i'm not sure. the wand is basically the same as the original great lash mascara, just curved now. i think i don't like this line of mascaras because it's not thickening/volumizing and only a little bit lengthening for me.

mehs [not pictured]:

• nyx angel veil primer -- this primer is pretty good, but i'm not sure if it's worth the $16 price tag. this is a product that needs to be applied in moderation, if you apply too much, you'll get a major white cast to your face..perhaps this is the veil aspect of it..a brightener/lightener? texturally, it's almost a cross between a silicone primer and a lotion-like one. also, it needs to be shaken before using because it separates into a weird creamy wateriness. regardless i won't be repurchasing this, but it is worth a try if you are interested.
• nars ita brush -- the regret with this one is mostly the exorbitant cost of this brush ($55). i'm fairly upset that this brush seems like meh quality. like the shape is a little unusual and unique, but in essence it is just a longer-bristled benefit boxed blush brush with a longer handle. (as seen here)

2014 summer empties

it's summer empties time!!!! ~Lin-chan ^.~

july

• tone body wash in fruit peel -- i didn't feel like it was particularly exfoliating, it felt like the other tone body washes... The scent is very fruity, mostly apple i think. but i liked it
  repurchase? maybe
• elf essential volumizing mascara -- i got this mascara a ways back because i forgot to pack mascara into my weekend bag, and $2, sure! this is a pretty good mascara on a budget. it's not blow your mind amazing but it worked well for me when I was in a pinch
  repurchase? yes but not for now
• revlon colorstay concealer in light -- i've had this for quite a while and finally decided to retire it. i even took the stopper out months back! this is a pretty good light coverage concealer
  repurchase? maybe
• loreal telescopic shocking extensions mascara -- the wand on this guy is kinda interesting, but i enjoyed this mascara.
  repurchase? yes but not for now
• neutrogena makeup remover wipes in the blue pack-- i bought these because i couldn't remember what i thought about these, and the answer is no. sometimes if i wash my face afterward, it burns my eyes. i have no idea why, but any residual liquid from these wipes will burn my eyes--so dumb. the scent is pretty light and inoffensive.
  repurchase? no
• benefit it's potent! eye cream mini -- while i do like this eye cream, i think i like tarte's better.
  repurchase? nah
• simple oil balancing face wipes

[not pictured]

• elf essential eye makeup remover pads -- these are very gentle and take everything off! you do need to let them sit for a bit, but they're inexpensive, great, and definitely better than the simple ones. they don't irritate my eyes
  repurchase? yes
• pantene moisture renewal conditioner -- i also bought the corresponding shampoo but it was too heavy for my hair, so paul's gradually using it up. this conditioner was otherwise pretty good, just like any other type of pantene conditioner
  repurchase? maybe
• aveeno positively smooth shave cream -- this stuff is amazing. my skin feels smooth even after a few days of growth--isn't that crazy weird? and i'm not a lotion person, i usually only apply lotion on shave days (or as needed in winter). there's is a light almost undetectible scent.
  repurchase? yes!
• clear scalp & hair therapy strong lengths shampoo & conditioner -- these stayed at the in-laws' so i didn't use them consistently. i didn't feel like they were particularly amazing but they smelled good and my hair felt clean..
  repurchase? nah
• tree hut hawaiian kukui sugar scrub -- while i like tree hut sugar scrubs, the scent of this one was ok. it's kinda hard to describe, kinda fruity plus something else..
  repurchase? not this scent
• rimmel fix & perfect primer -- this primer was pretty good, it doesn't have the siliconey slip that i like; it's more like a lotion-type, like black radiance complexion perfection primer or nyx angel veil
  repurchase? nah

august

• rimmel london stay matte powder in translucent -- this is a very nice powder, i stay matte for at least a couple hours longer than with most other powders, but i do develop oiliness toward the end of the day.
  repurchase? yes
• benefit fake up concealer mini in light -- when this first came out, i thought it was gimmicky, but it is pretty legit. i don't totally advise using it in the under eye area as far as looking greasy, but in areas where i had healing breakouts, the moisturizing part helped a lot.
  repurchase? already have; yes
• aveeno positively radiant targeted tone corrector -- see my review here
  repurchase? i don't need this type of product right now, but maybe in the future
• urban decay perversion mascara mini -- see my review here
  repurchase? yes, already have
• japonesque solid brush cleanser mini -- this is fairly comparable to london brush company's brush cleanser. toward the end, it was a little difficult to use because it came out of the container in a solid outer ring, but otherwise, i really enjoyed using this.
  repurchase? yes, already have
• olay fresh effects out of this swirled in green apple & jasmine tea -- i really liked the original blue one that they made.. the scent kinda got old after a while, like the fruitiness stopped being exciting..and as i got to the end, the scent itself kinda wasn't as potent as when i first opened it, which was weird.
  repurchase? nah
• simple oil balancing wipes
• simple eye makeup remover
• urban  decay de slick spray

[not pictured]

• caress body wash in vanilla sandalwood
• bbw twilight woods body wash
• pantene nature fusion with avocado oil shampoo & conditioner -- i got these for our trip in may/june because that was what was still in my travel bottles, but i think that they've reformulated it since i've last purchased it (3+ years ago). i thought it was ok and i didn't totally like that it was different from before but i still used it up anyway.
  repurchase? no

september

• philosophy purity made simple cleanser mini -- i used to really like this cleanser, it's very gentle and helps remove my makeup. but there's so many newer, cheaper products out there that i'm not going to repurchase when i finish up the other bottle i have.
  repurchase? nah
• elf makeup remover cleansing cloths -- these actually really irritated my eyes. basically to the same extent as the neutrogena ones. they do remove makeup, but be careful with your eye area. i ended up finishing these for wiping off swatches.
  repurchase? no
• wet n wild fergie bb cream in light -- i really enjoyed this bb cream. it's very light and blends pretty well. has a distinct scent, but i can't really place it.. it's super inexpensive (~$5?) and worth trying if you're interested.
  repurchase? yes
• covergirl bombshell volume mascara -- this isn't totally dried up but i'm retiring this one because it's old and i was only ok about it. i love the regular lashblast line, but this was a meh. the #1 side (wand similar to lashblast) was good, i really liked it. it was almost like any other lashblast mascara. the #2 side (normal bristle wand) was ok. i did like how black it was, but it was basically waterproof and super annoying to remove... another thing i didn't totally like about this duo was that it's heavy and bulky. it's kinda awkward to hold...
  repurchase? nah
• dr. brandt pores no more primer mini -- like i said before, this primer's ok. like it works decent, but i don't like the weird scent it has....and it's super freaking expensive. no thanks. the texture is also bizarre. toward the end, it started coming out weird and stringy and no bueno.
  repurchase? no, too expensive
• tree hut 
• mediterranean sea salt scrub in fig & olive -- this scrub was super annoying to use. the salt was heavier than the charcoaly-liquidy part so it sunk to the bottom. every single time i used it (about once a week before shaving) i had to mix the stupid thing, otherwise, i'd have straight up "tar" goin'. the scent was ok; not really my thing. i really wished that i smelled it in stores before i ordered it online, but it sounded interesting at the time. oh well.
  repurchase? no
• shea moisturizing body wash in coconut lime -- this body wash was unexpectedly good. the scent's not exactly the same as the sugar scrub but it's still nice. this bottle lasted me for a good while. and despite that this is a shower gel, it was a lot more moisturizing than i thought it'd be.
  repurchase? maybe
• michael todd jojoba charcoal facial scrub mini -- got this in an ipsy bag a ways back and i never finished it until now. i really liked it but i'm also kinda indifferent about ordering more. it's kinda hard to explain...
  repurchase? maybe
• benefit
• gimme brow in medium/dark -- this guy's pretty dried up and i've had it for almost a year anyway... it did have a learning curve to it since the wand is a tapered, conical shape. i liked how i was able to fill-in spots with this guy with no issues and it was easy to use, once you got the hang of it
  repurchase? maybe
• hello flawless me vain? champagne powder mini -- got this in the how to look the best at everything box set and it's alright. not really my favorite. i did get a bit shiny after a while when using it.
  repurchase? probably not

[not pictured]

• neutrogena deep clean cleanser -- i actually didn't really use this all that much, i didn't like how it smelled.. paul used it up but he didn't really like it either...
  repurchase? no
• origins ginzing eye cream mini -- while i do like this eye cream, i only really liked the brightening benefits from it. the moisture wasn't enough for me.
  repurchase? no
• simple nourishing 24 hr day/night cream -- this is a pretty heavy cream, not super scented and makes me feel pampered whenever i use it. in southern louisiana, you wouldn't want to use this for daytime, but nighttime--sure. this is more of a winter face cream for me, not so much any other season.
  repurchase? maybe
• too faced better than sex mascara mini -- while i do think this is a great mascara, i feel like you can get equally good ones at the drugstore for much less. in general, i'm not typically inclined to buy high end mascaras (unless it's bundled or something..or the perversion mascara!) because of the cost. the wand is kind of unique, it's similar in shape to covergirl flamed out (solid red-orange tube), and in general these two mascaras look very similar on me. so yeah.
  repurchase? nah
• dr. bronners pure castile soap (liquid) in almond -- smells like sweet almond oil!!
  repurchase? maybe for this scent; yes for the line of soaps
• alterna bamboo smooth kendi dry oil mist mini -- while this oil mist was nice, it didn't feel like it did anything extra or special to my hair.
  repurchase? probably not
• trader joe's tea tree tingle conditioner -- really inexpensive conditioner and the scent is a nice wake-me-up peppermint + something..
  repurchase? probably
• simple cleansing wipes
• clinique clarifying lotion 3
• elf essential eye makeup remover pads
• sonia kashuk eye makeup remover
• folicure shampoo
• pantene beautiful lengths replenishing mask

fall 2014 walmart beauty box

hi all! walmart has started a quarterly beauty box program! it's free*! (*just pay $5 shipping for each shipment) if you'd like to subscribe, you can sign up here. apparently there were two different boxes sent out based upon age range and here's what i gots! ~Lin-chan ^.~

thoughts: i think that this was a pretty good deal with a nice variety, relative to the target beauty boxes which have about 5 items, also for $5.

i wasn't all that careful with that lip swatch..but whatevs. you get the idea.

1. neutrogena nourishing long wear makeup with tone correcting complex sample card & $2 off coupon (sample, ret. $14.99 for 1oz) -- this is, like it says, just enough to match yourself. idk if i'll actually wind up buying a full size because i'm pretty content with the foundations i have now.
   repurchase? probably not
2. covergirl glowing nights glosstini nail polish in #laserlight (.11oz--full size, ret. $2.97) -- i like my dark polishes, but if it looks black on me when it's not supposed to be black, then i'll usually pass. this is an extremely dark navy that leans black in the bottle but, like i said you almost can't tell the difference on the nails.
   repurchase? no
3. loreal glossy balm in lovely mocha (2.7g--full size, ret. $6.97) -- i almost didn't try this out but i'm glad i did. even though this is mocha, on me it's a nice pinky nude shade. it looks very glossy and feels pretty comfortable too.
   repurchase? maybe other colors
4. l'oreal youthcode pore vanisher (.06oz sample, ret. $19.97 for 1.4oz [$0.86]) -- i'll have to update on this later. i'm not in on the whole antiaging products thing yet. from what i hear, it's got a similar feel to a primer but it's not really supposed to be used as a primer..something like that...
   repurchase? nah
5. nicki minaj pink friday perfume (.04oz sample, ret. $29.97 for 1oz [$1.20]) -- this is so fruity and unexpected!! i really like it.
   repurchase? yes-side of maybe
6. dove oxygen moisture shampoo & conditioner (1oz each--minis, ret. $4.99/ea for 12oz [$0.83]) -- i'm actually thinking of giving these away since it says it's for fine, flat hair...which i definitely don't have and shampoos that have "moisture" in the name typically make me look greasy within just a few hours.
   repurchase? no
7. dove pure care dry oil (.4oz mini, ret. $11.99 for 3.38oz [$1.42]) -- this smells like baby powder for some reason...it's not something i totally like in my hair but i'll try it and possibly use it up.
   repurchase? probably not
8. secret clinical strength invisible solid deodorant in completely clean (1.6oz full size?, ret. $9.99) -- i really like their original, which is in the "advanced solid" form..whatever that means..anyway i'm excited to try it.
   repurchase? probably

approximate product value: ~$24.24

life update.

hi guys! sorry for the lack of a post this week. i'll definitely have the walmart beauty box up this weekend when i get a chance (i just got it!). this week has been crazy ridiculous. i had three papers to write for two classes (2 short ones, and a 7pg single spaced-er!), meet multiple times with my various groups for all my classes, tutored my friend in C#--which i never learned and don't even know the syntax...., and i have a test tomorrow that i'm neglecting to study for because i'm soooooo not about studying right now.

in a nutshell for right now: basically ibm is doing super huge recruiting at our school because they're in the process of building a new facility here and they want 800 jobs filled by 2017. needless to say i've got very good chances. i've already done a technical interview which went alright but since it's entry level they're not expecting a whole lot aside from the basics, and there'll be like 100 hours of training..i think i'll be ok. and i'll have an in-person interview sometime soon. but for the technical interview, i got nearly all the SQL questions correct, but my programming answers were meh. my programming style is more of doing rather than knowing what the actual concepts mean...so i can do, but i have trouble explaining what terminology means.... but someone i met at the event tonight works in the position that i applied for and she has a liberal arts degree...so with training and all, i think i'll be good! i'll have to let you know how it goes sometime later.

tonight was an invitation-only event, where i had to email my resume to someone and they filtered who got to go. and i went there, with no prior knowledge of what the hell was going to happen..turns out a lot of people in the parking lot on the way to the restaurant were bewildered too. it turned out to be amazing. it wound up being a women-only event and they made us name tags and gave us goodie bags with a nice notebook and pen. and it was just a mingling thing. go join conversations with various ibm people and ask any questions and hear fun stories from them. then they had a few promo videos about this new location. (a-k & t: do you remember ian? he was in one of the videos!) it was super awesome and i enjoyed myself. the restaurant was downtown--so i'd never heard of it--but it was a wine and tapas type place. they had the bar open for us which was cool and the food was really good. i was thoroughly surprised with how the ibm people were. they were so cool and fun. super bubbly and genuinely love their jobs. which is not something you'd think when you imagine IT people. hahaha. another lady was funny, she told us that ibm "stole" her from a competitor, accenture, which is where my aunt works. another was hilarious too, (shortly after the party started) she's drinking wine and saying all she had was a salad for the day and she was starving, waiting for the buffet-line to open. hahaha. a third lady told us that there was a vacant desk at their office, so it's now the designated tea station and another lady bakes cupcakes all the time for everyone. like i said, it was a pretty cool experience with real people, and it wasn't something i would have expected from such a large company, especially IT people.

also, i applied for a full time position where i currently work..for the third time. last time i applied, there were three of us vying for two positions. needless to say, i didn't make it and one of the people was hired and pregnant at the time... then she decided to not come back after her maternity leave ended. ~.~ like really..really?! not that she's a bad person or anything, she's really smart and nice, but it's just one of those annoying hindsight feelings.

anyway wish me luck as i go through all this job stuff--i graduate in may..and for my finance test. hahahaha. later. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~