Happy New Year! (and time for December Favorites!)

Happy 2010!!! Thank you so much for being there with me throughout 2009! I am so grateful for your support and love! Blogger girls are the bestest bunch of friends I could ever ask for, and I am so glad to have joined this happy big family! I hope year 2010 will be another great one! Happy New Year everyone! :)

Another month has passed. In the last month of 2009, I enjoyed using:

♥ The Face Shop apple hand cream -- I found this in my vanity the other day and scolded myself for neglecting it! This is the yummiest smelling hand cream I've ever used, and the cutest too :) I toss this in my purse for whenever my hands feel dry. It has a thick consistency, so even when it rolls around during traveling, the cream won't get all over the cap (which I hate!).

♥ Korres Body Butter in Fig -- OMG I forgot how good Korres body butters are! I bought this fig scented body butter a while ago but didn't want to use it because I love love love Korres body butters, and I am the type of person who saves the best for the last. My skin suffered from eczema last month, and while I was looking all over for moisturizing yet non-irritating body lotions to sooth my poor legs and arms, it never occured to me to take out my Korres body butter! This thing is so good, it moisturizes my skin really well w/out any irritations, yet leaves my hands feeling non-greasy (a must for me!). The only bad thing is that I finished up the bottle so fast, because I couldn't get enough of it everyday, hahaha. To see my detailed review on this product, click here.

♥ Korres Lip Scrub -- It's a solid lip exfoliator that looks like a tub of lipstick. The exfoliating bits is the rice powder, while the jojoba oil and beeswax help hydrate the lips. I use it right out of the shower while my skin is still soft and moist from the steam. You only need to apply a thin layer of it every time. Then I'd smack my lips together and rub the products between my lips for a few seconds, remove the product w/ a wet tissue/towel, and I am all done! It does a pretty good job making my lips feeling soft and nice afterwards. It is kind of pricy ($19)  for its size, but I don't think I need to re-purchase any time soon because it will last me for a while.

♥ MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Duo -- I use this product almost every day to set my makeup, and it's lasting me a long time! Yup, still my favorite since May, until I find my next best powder :)

♥ NYX Concealer in a Jar -- Creamy, excellent coverage, and the only makeup product I've hit pan on since I've started Project 10 Pan in Nov (which needs to be re-started soon because I've broken my own rule several time already, darn holiday sales!!! :p). Need I say more?

♥ Korres Face Primer -- It's an all natural, silicone-free primer. It feels really light once applied to my face.

♥ Softlips Lipbalms -- Still my favorite!!! I've been using my vanilla one everyday for the past month :) I love the packaging, really easy to tuck into my jean pocket on the go! I also love the SPF 20 it has. I haven't been using too much lip colors lately, but Softlips is a must everyday to keep my lips moisturized and protected! I will have a more detailed review of Softlips coming up!

Disclosure: All products mentioned in December Favorites were purchased by myself, no companies mentioned paid for me to be featured in my post, and I am not affiliated with any of the featured brands/companies.These are my honest opinions.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone, just wanted to drop by and wish you all a Merry Christmas, and thanks for being so supportive of my blog for the past year! I am still alive! Just extremely busy this month with graduation, my new job, and my family visiting. I promise to have a lot of blog posts coming up soon! And thanks to all the lovely blogger ladies whom I received Christmas presents from, thank you for being such wonderful friends to me, and thank you for thinking of me! Be on the look out for new year's presents from me soon :)

What's in my bag?

Hope everyone is staying warm in this chilly weather :) I am catching a break from cleaning the house to get ready for my best friend's visit tomorrow. She is staying with me for about a week. We were best friends in kindergarten and elementary school, and haven't seen each other for 12+ years! So I am super excited about finally seeing her again!

Today I am doing a catch-up tag from Shanghainese Dumplings, What's in my bag?

I am currently using my Coach purse that I mentioned here. It's nice and big to carry a lot of things for school and work.

Inside I have:

My planner (can't go anywhere w/out my handy planner), Hello Kitty notebook, my pink netbook, a pencil pouch, plus my beloved iPhone.

Wallet (obviously), Kleenex tissue, ID, business cards, iPhone headphones, makeup pouch, sunglasses, keys (bf bought me those "mon KEYS" cover, aren't they cute!), and pepper spray (this has been with me ever since college, you'll never know when you need to use it!)

Inside of my makeup pouch:

Wet Ones wet tissue for those yucky hands situations, DentaBurst disposable teeth refreshening wipes, band-aids, Stila face powder, pain killers/allergy pills, hand cream, stain remover, floss, hand sanitizer, pen, nail file, blotting tissue, hair ties/pins/clips, comb, tiny kabuki brush, whatever lip product I am using that day, chapstick, travel toothbrush/paste, purse hanger, LUSH solid perfume, Rhoto eye drops.

My pen is very special to me. It was specially made by mom for my birthday during freshman year of college. It says: "Dear Lulu, happy birthday" on it.

Recent hauls & Love packs

Here are some goodies that I got in the past few days :)

Ever since Catherine mentioned these Tsumori Chisato for Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Jupiter Brown, I knew I had to get it, I just couldn't resist the adorable packaging! At first I was hesitant because of the "brown" color, but from her swatch, it didn't look bad at all! I actually really like the MLBB color it offers! I knew that if I don't get it now while it's still in stock (since it's a limited edition product), I will definitely regret it later. I've learned my lesson about LE items, if I want it now, I should get it because when it runs out later and becomes impossible to get, I always end up regretting! It happened with the MAC HK items, and it happened again with the Paul & Joe Disney Face Color blush (by the way, if anyone has one, especially the orange one up for purchase or swap, please let me know! Pretty please!!!)

I purchased the lipstick from Shu Uemura website, which has free shipping if you order any of their holiday 2009 collection items. There is also a 5% rebate when you purchase through Ebate right now, which is pretty nice! You can also get this at Nordstrom, I believe. When you order through Shu Uemura, you also get to pick one free sample, and I chose the 20ml cleansing oil. It comes in a tiny cute bottle, perfect for traveling. I can't wait to try it out!

I haven't touched the lipstick yet, it looks so pretty I don't want to damage it, LOL. What's good about this adorable casing (w/ a BLACK CAT on it!!!) is that once you are done w/ the current lippy, you can actually use the same casing for any of the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks! 

A funny story: when I received the lipstick, I had placed it in its box on my desk and ran to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. When I came back half an hour later, the lipstick was gone but the cleansing oil box was still there. I knew right away that Mia Catcat had something to do with this! I searched around and around the room but couldn't find the lippie. Turned out she had knocked it off the desk, pushed/dragged it all the way to the closet in the other bedroom, and tucked it under the gap between the floor and the closet door! What's worse was that the box was OPEN! I was literally screaming cuz I thought she had damaged the lipstick! Luckily it was fine, even after all the abuse by Mia. I think she was jealous about my pretty lipstick! Or maybe she was jealous that another black cat gets to be on my lipstick casing, not her picture! hahaha

May and I went to Sephora together Friday evening. We both received the $20 VIB coupon (Good towards $35 purchase and above) and wanted to get some goodies right away, haha. I looked around and around and didn't know what to get, so May suggested that I get an eye cream because you can never go wrong w/ extra protections around the delicate eye area! I picked up the Ole Henriksen Fresh Start Eye Creme to try. It is suppose to "nourish with anti-oxidants for younger looking skin". It comes in a big 1 Oz glass jar, the texture felt really smooth. I can't wait to give this a try!

Edna (www.abcgrrrl.com) always spoils me with goodies!!! I had a chance to stop by her city on the way back from my Thanksgiving trip, and she came visiting me with a huge goodie bag. She also got me a big jar of chocolate chip cookie dough, but it's in the fridge right now :) YES she got me a pair of Juicy Coutour crown earrings! I have been wanting it forever, little did I know she surprised me and got these for me -- gift wrapped in cute JC tissue paper!!! I am wearing it right now, and I am loving it! The Hello Kitty I *heart* NC doll is super adorable, it's the souvenir she got me from her NYC trip! It is now with my other HK doll on top of my "Hello Kitty Shrine" in my room -- as the BF calls it! She also got me a whole bunch of LUSH goodies to try, including the yummiest shower gel on earth -- Snow Fairy, that was in my November Favorites! Thank you so much hun for spoiling me with all your goodies!

Juicy Coutour crown earring on my ear *heart*

When May and I met up Friday night for our little shopping trip, she also brought me goodies, again! She got me two China Glaze nail polishes in Cherry Pie and Grape Juice, a Kuan Yuan Lian sheet mask to try out, BLACK KITTY stationary set, Nerdy HK key cap, and some samples. Oh and she got me two bottles of Napa wines!!! *love*

May also spoiled me with more Hello Kitty goodies! I am so excited about my HK stocking and HK ornament that I get to decorate my house and Xmas tree with :)

 

While shopping at Bath and Both Works, I gave her a "buy $10 get a free product" coupon that I didn't get to use during Thanksgiving. She bought some hand soaps, and gave me the freebie item -- I chose a pair of Lambie slippers. These are the most adorable slippers! And it's super comfy. I always wanted to wear a pair of slippers that would fit on my feet snugly instead of flopping up and down when I'm running upstairs from the bedroom. These are so great! I am thinking about stocking up another pair for next year! hahaha

Are they adorable?!

November Favorites ♥

In the month of November, I loved using:

♥ Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream -- I am not sure if it was because of my super stressful November, or the change of weather, or a combination of both, but I suffered from bad eczema flare-up on my legs and arms. The itch was so bad, that sometimes it'd keep me up all night :( Normally I use my trusty Cetaphil moisturizing cream during my sensitive skin days, but I just happened to run out of it last month. I tweeted and asked fellow beauty junkies what product they would recommend and Audrey from Audreydao.com told me that a lot of her patients at her pharmacy used to request this cream. There were also some other great recommendations. But since Vanicream was available at my local Walgreens, and I needed the relief right away instead of waiting for an online purchase to ship to me, I decided to try it. It's designed for people with "dry, irritated skin, such as "winter itch" and other dermatologic problems including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), contact dermatitis, and ichthyosis". And it's free of common chemical irritants such as dyes, fragrance & masking fragrance, parabens, lanolin, formaldehyde. I apply this in thick layers right after I get out of shower/bath every night, or whenever I feel like I need more moisturizing. It works wonderfully, and doesn't irritate or sting my skin. I'd recommend this product to those who also suffer from sensitive and itchy skin!

♥  Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in 09 Little Bouquet -- I haven't stopped using this blush ever since I received it two weeks ago! Out of all four colors, I like the orange blush the best! I have never tried an orange toned blush before, and boy was I missing out! I like peachy blush much better than my usual pink ones :) Besides the pretty colors this blush compact has, I also love how pretty the packaging is! Just using it everyday puts a smile on my face :)

♥  Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 -- This super creamy and moisturizing lip balm saved my lips (and the cut on the back of my hand) during my Thanksgiving trip to the midwest! The colder weather (compared to California) and long hours in the airplanes and the car made my skin suffer so much. The pores around my cheeks were enlarged, the skin around my jaw was flaky, and the back of my hands felt rough, no matter how much lotion I was applying. But my lips did not suffer, thanks to this lipbalm. I kept applying the product, I think I used up 1/3 of the product just on this trip! It also has SPF15, which is a plus!

♥  LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel for Body and Hair -- OMG this smells SO yummy! This pink sparkly gel smells like sweet sweet cotton candy. Miss Edna got me this bottle for Xmas :) What I like about this product is that it could double as a shampoo for hair, and leaves my hair smelling so sweet! I can't get enough of this, I think I must get myself a huge bottle of it to stock up since this is a LE holiday item.

♥  NARS Orgasm/Laguna Blush Bronzer Duo -- Laguna bronzer is perfect for contouring! Why haven't I discovered this product earlier! I love love love it! The Orgasm blush is such a pretty color on my cheeks too, but it'll receive its proper love one day, since I am still in love with my Jill Stuart blush compact right now, hehe :p

What are your favorite products?

Disclosure: All products mentioned in November Favorites were purchased by myself, no companies mentioned paid for me to be featured in my post, and I am not affiliated with any of the featured brands/companies.These are my honest opinions.