Luluchinadoll

Side by Side Swatches -- Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

2011-12-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

Today is a continuation of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters swatches. Karen on twitter requested me to do a side by side swatch on my arm, I thought that was a great idea to show the color comparisons better. To see my lip swatches, please click here. Enjoy!

Indoor daylight (click to enlarge):

With flash (click to enlarge):

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters Swatches

2011-12-15T22:40:00.000-08:00

After a few unsuccessful drugstore trips searching for these recently released Revlon Colorburst Lip butters, I finally found these babies this week! These colorfully packaged lip butters instantly became my new favorites. They have a great formula that provides both moisture and a healthy shine to the lips.

050 Berry Smoothie

035 Candy Apple

055 Cupcake

030 Fig Jam

060 Gumdrop

075 Lollipop

025 Peach Parfait

040 Red Velvet

005 Sugar Frosting

090 Sweet Tart

Since there are 20 shades in total in this line, and if you are like me who is indecisive when it comes to choosing, here are a few tips:

1) Don't be scared of the dark chocolaty shades (I always skip this shade range when I chose lipsticks in the past) -- they actually came out like MLBB for these lip butters because of the sheer formulation.

2) The reds are all very nicely pigmented, if you are a newbie to red lipsticks, these lip butters are a great place to start, because they are easier to apply (no lip brush/liner/all that fuss involved), and they are not as intense and scary as some of the classic red lipsticks.

3) Some formula have fine shimmers and some don't, but even the ones with shimmers are very hardly noticeable because the shimmers are so fine.

My New Nail Polish Storage

2011-09-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

After showing you my recent nail polish haul in my last post, some of you asked me how I keep my collection organized. I thought this is the perfect time to address that question, because I have just switched to a new nail polish organizer last week!

If you remember my introduction post to my "Nail Polishes of the Month" project, where I try to swatch all the nail polishes I've been wearing for that entire month (no repeats), as a way of attempting to swatch every single one of my nail polishes in my collection in the end. I used to use a plastic Sterilite cart. Each drawer was tall enough to put in two layers of nail polishes standing up. I took those pictures (1, 2) at the beginning of 2011, now that I look back, I am amazed at how my collection has grew over the past few months!
As my Sterilite cart got full, it has become very difficult to find a specific color I need, especially since in order to find a nail polish at the bottom layer, I have to lift the top layer completely off. So today, I introduce you to my newest nail polish storage, the Helmer from IKEA.

I read about the Helmer drawer unit from various nail blogs and girls there have said that it was the perfect size and height for storing nail polishes. I also needed to look for something that will fit under my vanity table, and the Helmer was PERFECT!

Installing the Helmer wasn't a piece of cake, as all the parts were metal and required a ton of fiddling, but thank goodness my hubby was nice enough to help! The Helmer has 6 drawers, each drawer was plenty of space to hold about 50-70 nail polish bottles, depending on the brand. I decided to organize my nail polishes by colors, so that it'll be easier for me to pick out a nail polish at a glance. I also intentionally left a little space on the top and bottom drawer for "future expansions" :p I love that I can centralize all my manicure/pedicure supplies at once place, Konad plates, nail treatments, cleaning supplies, nail arts, etc, and have everything organized.

What do you use to store your nail polish? I'd love to take a peak! :)

Colorful Polishes

2011-09-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today I organized my blog pictures folder and decided to gather up some of the nail polish hauls I've been documenting for the past year or so (fall/winter of 2010 till now) and showcase them in one post. These nail polishes were from many different shopping trips/online purchases. I am still slowly attempting to try out all the polishes in my collection at least once and document all the swatches through the Nail Polishes of the Month posts. Let me know if you spot any shades that you are interested in seeing swatches first.

I love looking at nail polishes, they are so colorful and puts me in a happy mood. It's amazing how many different shades of pinks, blues, reds different nail polishes have, and they each have different finishes, some are glittery, some are shimmery, some are matte, some are creamy...the list goes on and on. Nail polishes also have the most clever names, some are really cute, some are really funny, and some have significant meanings to the owner. Are you also a nail polish addict like me? Enjoy!

♥ August Favorites ♥

2011-09-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

♥ Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder
This is an old favorite, and I found myself to be using it a lot this past month. It is a brown matte shade that I find to be a great contour shade for me -- it doesn't have much orange so no it doesn't make my face look muddy. If you are interested in trying Hoola, I found a really great deal on Sephora right now that lets you sample several of Benefit's great products.

♥ MAC NW25/NC30 Chromographic Pencil
This is a multi-use pencil that could be used as a spot concealer, brow/cupid's bow highlighter, eyeliner, etc. I chose the darker shades of the two, which doesn't really match my skin as a concealer so I rarely used it for that purpose, even though it was my original intent for buying the product because I thought it would be a very easy to carry, precise spot concealer. However recently I have been using it to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and also have been putting it on my waterlines -- it doesn't look as harsh as a white eyeliner yet still gives you that bigger/more awake eyed look.

♥ CoverBlend Multi-Function Concealer SPF 15
Also an old favorite of mine, I like it so much that I wanted to conserve it so once in a while I put it away and use other concealers instead. It is really good for covering up my dark circles and doesn't crease, it also provides very good coverage as a concealer for my face, and is so long lasting and transfer free. It also blends in very easily and isn't drying at all. Before I use this up, I will definitely need to buy a backup!

♥ Estee Lauder MagnaScopic Maximum Volume Mascara
Being a big fan of Kiss Me Heroine mascaras, I always have a tube open and use it all the time -- it's perfect in every way except how difficult it is to remove. Sometimes I just don't feel like putting on Kiss Me and go through the cumbersome procedure of removing my mascara at the end of the day -- and on those lazy days I use a non-water proof mascara. Right now I'm trying the Estee Lauder MagnaScopic mascara. I like it so far, it seperates and lifts and no major clumping issue.

♥ Huge Lips Skinny Hips lip gloss in Lychee Martini
The formula is very sheer and not sticky at all, yet it gives my lips enough moisture and shine that is still office appropriate. It is a lip plumper so expect a slight tingling, but it's not nearly as bad as some others I've tried.

Review: Dermelect Nail Recovery System

2011-09-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Being a nail polish addict means that I change nail polish more frequently than I probably should have, and I also should have probably given my nails more breaks in between nail polish change to let them breathe and recover, but I was just always too anxious to brush on the next newest shade in my stash. As a result, my nails often have that hideous yellow tint when I don't wear polish to cover it up. I also unfortunately have naturally thin, brittle nails that peel and break off so easily, which makes them so hard to grow long. I've tried all sorts of nail strengthening coat, nail thickener, magical potion that claims to make nails grow fast, Biotin...you name it...I am constantly on the look out for the next best aid to my nail problems. This issue became an even greater problem this past week because I have gotten gel nails done recently for a wedding, and my nails suffered greatly from the procedure -- thin, soft, peely, and uneven.

The sad states of my poor nails.

Soft Surroundings came to the rescue and sent me a set of Dermelect Nail Recovery System to try out.

It is a nail regimen that contains ProSina Keratin Peptide and Pentavitin Moisture Magnet. While I can't say that I know exactly what these words mean, the product description gave me exactly what I am looking for (click to enlarge):

Perfect for hard to grow, thin, weak, brittle, chipping, splitting, discolored, uneven and contain grooves and ridges, acrylic damaged nails. Hello!!! I think Dermelect is calling out MY name!

The Dermelect system comes with 4 full sized products:
· Launchpad Nail Strengthener, an anti-aging base coat delivering protein peptides to the nails restoring strength and flexibility.
· Makeover Ridge Filler, a natural pink hue that cleverly conceals while treating unsightly nail ridges and discoloration.
· High Maintenance Instant Nail Thickener increases nail thickness up to 50% with a single coat, extending the life of your manicure. Also utilizes a UV absorber to prevent polish colors from fading and yellowing.
· Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail & Cuticle Treatment the first anti-aging nail cream using peptides, hyaluronic-acid, shea butter and vitamins to restore moisture and nutrients.

The product I was most excited about is the cuticle cream. I have just recently learned the importance of cuticle cream and after religiously applying cuticle creams to my nails daily for the past few weeks, I was amazed at what a difference it made. The only issue I have with most cuticle creams are how greasy they feel, so I only would apply them at night before I sleep, otherwise I will make everything I touch greasy.

When I tried out the Dermelect Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail & Cuticle Treatment, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it was for this to absorb into my cuticles and it didn't even feel greasy at all. It comes in a very decently sized 1 oz. plastic jar, with a thick cream consistency. Once applied, it has a faint floral scent, but not overwelming at all. It really makes my nails and cuticles look fresh and healthy instantly. I give this a big thumbs up and will continue to use this every day!

My nail with Makeup Ridge Filler and the cuticle cream -- what a difference it makes!

Dermelect Makeover Anti-aging Ridge Filler comes in a 0.4 fl oz glass bottle with a brush just like a bottle of nail polish. It has a slight pale pink color and contains fine shimmer. It acts as both a concealer to hide the yellow tint on the nails, and to make the nail surface smooth for nail polish application later. Think of it as a nail polish primer, and it worked very well as one! The ridges I have on my nails were smoothed out once a thin layer of this product was applied and dried. The pink hue makes my nails look brightened and healthy. When you are not in the mood for nail polish, I would totally wear this alone (and maybe a top coat to give it more shine) to give my nails a little bit of a "makeover". Thumbs up for this ridge filler as well, although I have no prior comparison as this was my first bottle of ridge filling product. I am aware that a lot of other brands also make ridge fillers, and I would be interested to get my hands on those one day and compare!


My nail with Makeover Ridge Filler, prior to applying cuticle cream, hence the dried up cuticle that is clearly visible in this picture. But the nail bed looks healthy and smooth, doesn't it?

The 3rd product is a Launch Pad Anti-Aging Base Coat. This could be used with the Makeover ridge filler interchangeably. I suppose if you don't have ridge or discolored nails, then you can just use Launchpad as a base coat. What a cute name it has! It is suppose to give your nails strength. I didn't quite like this one as much as the Makeover, mainly because of the blue tint it gives my nails, so for days when I just wanted to wear a base coat + top coat without any colored polish in between, I would not choose Launchpad.

Last but not least, High Maintenance Anti-Aging Top Coat. This looks just like your regular clear top coat that gives a clear high shine finish to your manicure. What's special about this top coat is that it also acts as a nail thickener. I enjoy using nail thickeners as part of my manicure every time because it does add strength dramatically on my weak, thin nails. This is no exception. I feel that once my nails are protected with a thickener/strengthener, then they won't break as easily, and this will allow my nails the chance to grow longer and stronger. My only complaint about High Maintenance is that it has a slow drying time, or perhaps it's because I am so used to how fast Seche Vite dries, but you do have to be patient with it. I accidentally put a nick on my nails while waiting for the top coat to dry.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Dermelect Nail Recovery System, and I think it is a great set to have when you have problematic nails like me and want them to be healthy, longer and stronger. The system will harden your nails while they regrow, and because all the products contain helpful ingredients for your nails, it will make recovery more speedy. I will continue to use this system and keep updating on my nail growing progress. I had gotten my nails pretty long already with rigorous care right before my gel nails, but now that I have taken the gel nails off and cut my natural nails all short again, I am going to start over, this time with Dermelect's help on top of my nail care regimen that I am already doing (cuticle oil often, Biotin/multivitamins, etc.), and hopefully I will have the beautiful long nails that I have always dreamed of!

Thank you Soft Surroundings for sending me this product to try out. I really appreciated their timely response and taking extra care to pack my package so nicely.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the Dermelect Nail Recovery System to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company (Dermelect or Soft Surrondings). All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Colors of the Summer -- Nail Polishes (July)

2011-08-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

Essie -- Chinadoll

Essie -- Heavenly Sunset

Essie -- Peach Daiquiri

Sephora by OPI -- Beauty Junkie

NuBar -- Pink Glitter

Colors of the Summer -- Nail Polish (June)

2011-08-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

Took a nail polish hiatus *gasp* for the most part of June (also because I was gone for vacation and did not bring any nail polishes with me), so only one polish swatch this time, but it's a good one! Love this shade with a sweet name :)

Two coats. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

China Glaze -- Sweet Cream

Colors of the Summer -- Nail Polishes (May)

2011-08-22T22:27:00.000-07:00

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

OPI -- Java Mauve-A

OPI -- Hawaiian Orchid

OPI -- I'm Not Really A Waitress

OPI -- Last Friday Night (4 coats)

OPI -- Mod-ern Girl

OPI -- You're A Doll!

China Glaze -- Glam (3 coats)

China Glaze Crackle -- Fault Line (over CG Glam)

Chine Glaze -- Swing Baby

♥ Summer Favorites -- July ♥

2011-08-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

I searched through my pictures folder high and low and couldn't remember if I took pictures for June favorites, then it struck to me that I must have skipped that month because I was traveling and had brought with me mostly travel sized and sample packets of skincare and makeup products so I wouldn't over-pack. That method actually worked quite well for me because as I gradually used up and tossed my skincare samples, my luggage got lighter, which means more room for souvenirs!

I did however have a few products I loved during the month of July.

♥ The Body Shop Watermelon Pasteque Body Lotion
I love watermelon, and I love watermelon flavored candy, watermelon scented body sprays, watermelon scented hand soap (Bath and Body Works makes the yummiest smelling ones!)...you get the idea. This The Body Shop body lotion is no exception. It is also a perfect lotion for the summer because it is not oily at all, and is very light weight -- almost a waterly consistency. So it's super easy to spread, super fast to dry, no sweating involved. The scent is sweet and yummy enough to make me go to bed a happy gal :)

♥ Giorgio Armani Face Fabric Second Skin Nude Makeup
I jumped onto the GA bandwagon last month and I am so glad I did. Even though I only purchased two things, both products were instant love, so much that both of them made it onto my Monthly Favorites. This foundation leaves a really nice finish on my face, makes my pores disappear, and helps me to stay matte. It contains silicone (thus its super smooth texture) so another silicone based primer is not needed. It has a light coverage but nothing a little dab of concealer underneath won't do.

♥ Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush #2
At first glance, this blush is very unremarkable, and definitely would not be something that I'd want to pick up and purchase right away if it weren't for its awesome reviews. It has an all black packaging with minimal writings on it. When you open up the compact, it has your standard mirror on one side, and the powder. #2 is a light peachy pink with very fine shimmers. One swipe and you will know why I fell in love with it right away -- it has the smoothest texture and is the finest milled powder ever. It is very sheer (hence the name), but a little bit of layering gives me the most beautiful glow -- a healthy flush of glow within and doesn't even look like I had blush on. This is a very flattering shade and is perfect for going to work with. I was wowed by GA blush, and #2 will definitely not be my last. (I am a MAC NC20-25, if you have darker skintones, #2 might have a hard time showing up on you, and I recommend #10 for you.)

♥ La Mer the Lip Balm
When I came back from my Asia trip, my lips got extremely dry and peely, I suspect it was because California was a lot drier than the hot humid weather I experienced during my trip, and my skin went crazy trying to readjust. I decided to splurge myself with the La Mer lip balm, hoping for a quick lip repair. This lip balm does live up to its hype, however I do wish that it doesn't come in a jar form so it's more sanitary. Since this product doesn't contain SPF, I have decided to use this for bed time and my Jack Black (has SPF 25) for day time.

♥ Summer Favorites -- May ♥

2011-08-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Long time no see. I am having a very lazy summer -- sorry for not updating as frequently. Even though I haven't been writing blog posts lately, I still have kept up with taking pictures of products to review, new goodies I bought, and nail polishes that I've tried on, etc etc. So hopefully I will be able to make up for all the uncovered topics I have been meaning to share with you.

I realize the last time I posted about my favorite products of the month was April. So today I will start a series of posts sharing my favorite products that I enjoyed using this summer, starting with May 2011!

♥ Benefit High Brow
This brow highlight is a life saver for days when I looked like I could use a few cups of coffee, or when I was too tired the night before to groom the tiny hairs peaking out from under my eyebrows -- because one swipe of this matte light pink shade under my brow and then blended in will instantly make me look more awake. It gives the illusion of a nicely arched, well groomed eyebrow.

♥ Conair MiniPro Crimping Iron
Having very flat and straight hair, I am always looking for ways to give my hair an extra boost of volume. Crimping the under layer sections of the hair base at the crown is an excellent trick I learned if I want an all day volume. Because I only crimp a tiny section of my hair near my scalp, a small sized crimper is perfect for crimping exactly where I wanted to. I also love how this tiny crimper is light weight, super mini-sized and comes with a cute heat protecting case to make it all so travel friendly.

♥ Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit (02 Medium)
I grabbed this convenient little compact during a random CVS run, boy aren't I glad I picked it up! This palm sized palette comes with 3 powder pans, top one for highlight (under the brow or at inner corners of eyes), a lighter shaded brow powder and a darker brow powder (both matte). It also comes with a small mirror on the side. On top of it holds three useful brow tools -- a small angled brow brush, a sponge tip applicator for applying highlight and blending, and a mini tweezer for plucking any stray hair. So tiny, yet has everything enough to take on a trip and have beautifully groomed brow during your whole vacation :) The brow powder stays on very well. I sometimes switch between the dark and the lighter shades depending on the occasion and my mood, and sometimes I mix and match both. If I am at home, I normally don't use the tools included in this compact, but when I am away, these tiny tools came in really handy. The only thing I wished it has but is missing is a spoolie to smooth over the brow for a perfectly groomed look.

♥ Jack Black Intensive Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25
As soon as I picked up my first Jack Black lipbalm a few months back, I was in love. So much that I went and got every flavors that are available right now -- so I can toss one in my purse on the go, one in the car, one next to my makeup table, one on my desk...My favorite is the Black Tea and Blackberry flavor, it has a mildy sweet berry scent mixed with sweet tea scent, reminds me of those tea candy that I loved. Not only do these lip balms smell good, they keep my lips stay very moisturized for hours, but feel very light. I dislike lipbalms that gives my lip a waxy and heavy feeling, Jack Black is far from it, sometimes I don't even feel like I had anything on. It also has an insanely high SPF of 25 for a lip balm, which makes it my #1 choice when choosing products to take on trips when I'll be outdoor for most of the day.

♥ L'Occitane Hand Cream
L'Occitane makes super moisturizing, yummy smelling and travel friendly little tubes of hand creams that I just can't stop using. Even though the tubes are small (there are large sized tubes available as well but I prefer these 1Oz. sized ones for convenience), you only need a little bit of the cream to cover both hands, so they last me quite a while even with daily use.

♥ Maybelline Lash Discovery Mini-Brush Waterproof Mascara
I can't believe I didn't discover this earlier. This mascara has the tiniest brush I have ever used on a mascara (bottom-lash mascara excluded), and they are excellent for reaching every tiny lashes that I have, even the ones at the corners that are impossible to reach with my jumbo LashBlast without depositing a huge globe of black goo at the inner corners of my eyes. Because the brush head is so tiny, it's also great for putting mascara on my lower lashes -- something that I never used to do before I discovered this because it always ends up with more mascara smudged on my lower lid than the actual few lower lashes that I had hah! If you have short lashes like me, this this one a try. I recommend using your normal mascara to apply on your lashes first, then go over the ones a normal wand couldn't reach with the Lash Discovery.

What's inside of my travel bag

2011-07-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

When I was packing for the bag that I was going to take on the plane during my 12 hour airplane ride to China, I decided to take out my camera and record what I brought with me. Interested to take a peek into my travel bag?

Since the flight is long, the seats are uncomfy, and we all know how cold/dry it gets on the airplane, I wanted to make sure that I bring all the essentials to take care of my body/skin in-flight. Yet everything has to be light and compact enough that I don't feel like I'm dragging an extra piece of luggage with me.

This is the bag I chose -- a canvas duffel with two front pockets for easy access, two side pockets for water bottles, plenty of room inside with a secure zippered closure, and an extra small zipped pocket inside for the extra valuables to prevent them from getting lost. The bag itself is light weight, and has no rigid corners so I can squeeze it anywhere, even when the overhead compartment is filled with other people's suitcases. The straps are wide and soft, so even when my bag gets heavy, they won't cut into my shoulders and cause fatigue. Also, don't you just love the panda prints? :)

First up are everything liquid/gel that need to fit into a ziplog baggie so they can be screened separately during security. Here I have

Go Smile Touch Up, perfect for preventing stains on my teeth when I drink that glass of red wine during my flight so I can fall asleep quickly :p

Jack Black lip balm has gotta be my favorite lip balm at the moment, it really keeps those lips stay moisturized. Plus the black tea & blackberry flavor is so yummy.

L'Occitane hand cream in a 1 oz. travel sized tube. L'Occitane makes excellent hand creams. Since the back of my hands tend to get dry, I find myself constantly applying them.

ELF cuticle oil stick is a mess free way to keep those dry cuticles moisturized whenever needed.

Hello Kitty tinted lip balm for when I get off the plane, to give my lips some extra color.

L'Occitane rose facial spray prevent my skin from getting too dry, plus it is so refreshing when the plane ride gets to feel too stuffy.

Stila converticle color is so versatile, it could be used for both cheeks and lips, plus the compact comes with a mirror that comes in handy.

Sample pack of My Scheming Camellia Sleeping Mask, to use when I am resting.

Of course, my iPhone and headphones, for movies and music.

Empty water bottle, since you can't bring water pass through security, it is a good idea to bring a water bottle so you can fill up inside of the terminals. Stay hydrated at all times!

Kao Steam Eye Mask (buy here), doubles up as a sleep mask to block all the cabin lights, and it warms up so it really relaxes and soothes your eyes.

Airbourne, to prevent any chances of catching the bugs and getting sick from the trip.

Clean & Clear moistened face wipes, they clean up my face, removes all the dirt, oil and impurities, and contains salicylic acid to prevent pimples.

Books and magazines to read and keep me busy.

Pen and notepad, just in case. The notepad also contains all of our travel information, itineraries, phone numbers of people to contact because once we enter China, our AT&T phones would no longer be working. Make sure you bring a pen, it will come in handy when your flight attendant hands you the Customs form to fill out.

Makeup bag:

Shiseido Pureness Refreshing Cleaning Sheets, to clean face, hands, and body.
Shiseido Pureness Oil Control Blotting Sheets, this is a must for me as my tzone gets oily easily.
Collagen Crystal eye mask, it is clear and not very noticeable when the lights are dim (to avoid weird stares), and they really help your undereye areas to stay hydrated.
Sample of DHC Facial Film Soap, a very convenient face wash that foams up when wet, in case if my face feels gross at the airport or in flight.
Trident White gum for fresh breathes. Also chewing gum during landing and take off helps to reduce that annoying buzz in the ears.
Band-aid, you will never know.
Floss to be used after eating.
Alcohol hand wipes to keep hands germ free, especially before handling food.
Hair ties and hair brush to pull hair into a pony when they get in the way.
Retractable kabuki brush and a powder to use after I land.
DentaBurst Refreshing Teeth Cleanser to keep my teeth clean since brushing teeth during flight will be hard.
Nail file, because broken scratchy nails would suck.

To stay comfy and warm:

Neck pillow, a must if you don't want sore neck from sleeping weird in your chair.

Long sleeve cardigan & scarf, to keep warm when the plane gets cold.

Portable slippers, to keep my feet warm and comfy during the long flight.

Plus an extra inflatable neck pillow for the hubby, they are so convenient because they take no room when folded up.

China Haul

2011-07-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

When the Customs officer at the airport asked us what we bought in China, I told her -- makeup and skincare. She looked at hubby and jokingly asked, are any of them for you? The answer is of course, none. hahaha :p

Because we had to visit several different locations during our two weeks trip, the domestic traveling really prevented me from purchasing much during the first few legs of the trip. It wasn't until we arrived at our last location -- Guangzhou/Hong Kong, that I seriously hauled. At that time I finally room in my luggage after most of the gifts we've brought were given away, and if I couldn't bring any of the yummy food back, I had to bring back something right ;)

Most of the beauty items I purchased in Guangzhou were from Watsons -- like Walgreens, they are everywhere! During our one day trip to Hong Kong, I also had a chance to visit Sasa and Bonjour.

Being the mask addict that I am, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of buying more. I actually didn't get a whole lot this time because they weigh a lot and would be a hassle to travel with. I got some more of my favorite mG masks. The individual ones were not cheap, about $4 each. But they are made with an ultra thin silk clothes that feels so heavenly on the face.

The top right corner is a peeling foot mask from Watsons. I have already tried one after I came back. Basically you wear the foot mask on for about an hour and then rinse off. In about a few days time, all the dead skin on your feet will start to peel off. The process is very gross yet satisfying. I had a few calluses from walking/exercising. After peeling, I was left with baby soft feet. Now I am totally for sandal season!

I picked up a backup of my favorite mascara: Kiss Me Heroine. This combo set also comes with the mascara remover -- it has a plastic wand similar to mascara. To remove mascara on your lashes, you just apply the solution onto your lashes, and gently wipe. Its compact size will be perfect for travel.

On the right side were a bunch of tools I've picked up -- pore extractor, eye brow razor, spatula for scooping out clay/cream masks, and brushes for applying mask. Last month, I went to my first facial, and my beautician used a brush to apply my face mask, it felt so good and luxurious. So when I saw these brushes at Bonjour, I had to pick a few up to try. They make mask application so much easier, no more messy fingers, and they help apply masks very evenly. The synthetic fiber makes it very easy to rinse them clean and dry.

Top left, a peach flavored hand cream in a peach shaped container -- too cute to pass up!

Top right: stocked up on my favorite deodorant from Nivea. It has skin whitening ingredients to help combat skin discoloration in the armpit area from shaving.

Middle left: my best friend asked me to help her pick up a NUXE cream because it is hard to find in the US. So I picked one up for myself to try as well.

Middle right: oil blotting paper, in various cute packagings.

Bottom left: multi-layered cotton pads that can be peeled off in layers and used as a quick face mask with your favorite toners.

Bottom right: decided to give Nexcare Acne Dressing another chance. I have purchased this before from Sasa and used up the whole box, but unfortunately it didn't work too well for me. After talking to some blogger friends and reading reviews online, I realized this acne treatment is only good for certain kinds of acne, namely the raised puzzy ones -- after a few hours of putting this on, the acne dressing is suppose to soak up all the impurities inside of the pimple, and helps it to heal so much faster. It actually doesn't work well for cystic acne.

Picked up a Chanel Rouge Coco in 17 Orchidee at the duty free shop at the airport. After I came home and opened my lipstick drawer, I realized it is probably time for me to stop buying new lipsticks that I never get a chance to use. So here is a reminder for myself to not buy new lipsticks for the time being, so I can get to all the new ones I've bought recently and swatch them for you soon :)

I also bought a lot of hair accessories during my trip -- more than enough hair clips than I could use because I almost never put my hair up in the US. But the hot weather in China really got to me and it was too annoying to leave my long hair down the whole time, so hair clips really came in handy.

The red hair bun holder and hair brush were gifts from my best childhood friends. The hair clips on the top right corner were gifts from cousin's wife when she took me out shopping in Guangzhou, thank you :) The funny looking phone cord thing on the left bottom corner were actually hair ties. Appearantly they are really popular in China. After trying them on, I loved how nicely they held up my hair, but wasn't too hot on the idea of having phone cord in my hair. But I still asked my cousin to pick some up for me because they will be perfect to tie my hair up before I put them in a bun (so they could be hidden), because they not only hold well, but will help my hair to add volume!

Jewelries that I picked up.

This matching earrings/necklace set was a gift from my cousin ♥

Cute socks that I found in Guangzhou :)

Hope you enjoyed my haul!

Meeting Kay in Beijing

2011-07-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, hubby and I visited China for two weeks. While I was in Beijing, I had the chance to meet my wonderful blogger friend Kay! Kay works in a nearby city but she took the day off and rode the train all the way to Beijing to see me. I felt so honored and was super excited about our meet up.

Kay and I posing next to a billboard featuring Jay Chou and Hello Kitty -- two of my favorites hahaha.

We decided to meet in Xi Dan (西单）area, where a lot of restaurants and shopping malls are located. The last time I visited Beijing was when I was 6-years-old, so the city was completely new to me since so much has changed. There were so many exciting places for us to visit and discover, but unfortunately we only had a short stay of 2 days in Beijing this time. I also do not recommend visiting China in the summer months if you have a choice, the weather was extremely hot and humid, every time I go out, I just wanted to go back home and jump in the shower because I hated that sticky feel all over my body.

For lunch, we went to a hot pot place called Hai Di Lao (海底捞）， which was famous for its excellent service and yummy food. Hai Di Lao was such an interesting dining experience -- the waiters were super attentive, the food was yummy and fresh. We ordered a side of noodles, just to see this performance to be done next to our table. When hubby's eyeglasses got fogged up by the steam from the hotpot, a waiter came right away with a glass wipe. They also offer a ton of extra services to the diners -- free internet, computer games, karaoke, chess and checkers, to name a few. Kay and I enjoyed a round of checkers together. The best part was getting a manicure after our lunch -- also part of the free services the restaurant offers.

Free manicure for the girls.

Kay was such a fun person to be with. We chatted about anything and everything during our few hours together. I totally wish that I didn't have to go and that we could spend more time together!

Kay also brought goodies for me, which was so kind of her. She got me a little bit of everything -- face mask, her favorite Cover Girl Lash Blast, Sleek Pout Polish, Revlon lip gloss, pretty pigments, and a cool looking eyeshadow palette with a super blingy silver shade. She also bought me these pretty pearl earrings ♥ Thank you so much dear, for making my Beijing visit so much more exciting!

Sephora Haul

2011-05-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sephora had a 15% off sale in April. This is a sale that I always look forward to every year, because it always coincides with my birthday, so it was a perfect excuse to get some presents for myself.

The first thing I got was this Sephora's Favorites Sun Safety Kit. I missed out on theirs last year, but this year's seemed even better! This kit contains 11 sun protection products, 1 deluxe sample plus a pink beach tote. This is a great way to try out different brands, and the sizes of each sunscreen is convenient enough to take on summer vacations. The beach tote is light weight and folds into a palm sized bundle, great for taking on shopping trips.

Remember, sun protection is very important!

This Sephora Advanced Airbrush Set is something I really looked forward to getting. I've heard all sorts of great things about Sephora's Airbrush line, so I thought this would be a great start to get introduced to some of the brushes. A lot of times a brush set's brushes are not as good of a quality as their full sized equivalent, but this set is an exception. Every brush in here are super soft and dense, the handles are long (comparable to that of full size) and has a good grip, and none of them have yet to shed a hair. This is also a great set to take on travel, the brush case is soft and roomy, and probably would fit another brush or two to take along (since this set doesn't have a blush brush).

Powder Brush: even though the bristles look really long, but it's not flimsy at all. It picks up my setting powder nicely. I use it with a light patting motion to apply powder on my face.

Foundation Brush: it is really easy to control, dense and applies creamy products very well.

Concealer Brush: this is the brush I looked forward to using the most, this is very unlike your typical flat concealer brush. It is dome shaped like a mini kabuki. It blends in concealer like a dream and gets the job done as well as you would with fingers, even for under eyes. This brush is so amazing, highly recommend!

Crease Brush: this blends in eyeshadows very well, and is the perfect size for my crease area.

Eyeshadow Brush: I think this brush is best suited for blending in cream eyeshadow, it provides a very even application.

Bliss Love Handler's name drew my attention. I grabbed it since my L'Oreal Sublime Slim was running out and I wanted to see if this would be a comparable product. So far I am liking it! It's also very hydrating for my skin.

I also picked up this Benefit High Brow as a brow highlighter. It is the perfect shade for me. One light sweep under my brow, blend blend, and voila, I look more awake already! It really gives the illusion of a brow lift. Love!

This Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer is a 100 point deluxe sample. I really love the Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer, so I wanted to see how this compares. Anyone tried this one before?

As silly as it sounds, I really look forward to the free birthday gift that Sephora gives out every year, as little and sometimes useless as they were, I like my free goodies :) I really like this year's gift, as it is totally my cup of tea -- I love Philosophy bath products, they have a wide range of yummy scents. This one is in vanilla birthday cake, sounds yummy enough to eat!

Nail Polishes of the Month -- April

2011-05-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

OPI -- Big Hair...Big Nails

OPI -- Chocolate Moose

OPI -- Dating A Royal

OPI -- Melon of Troy (as base)
LaRosa Crackle Shatter -- Hot Red (crackle top)

OPI -- Significant Other Color

Another angle to show its beautiful yet so difficult to capture duo-chrome.

OPI -- Lincoln Park After Dark

OPI -- Lucky Lucky Lavender

OPI -- Pink Before You Leap (3 coats)

OPI -- Shanghai Shimmer

OPI -- The One That Got Away

Finish Products in April

2011-05-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

✔ Aspirin -- This uncoated Aspirin makes a great aspirin mask. Whenever I remember in the shower (to avoid mess), I'd take a few tablets, add a few drops of water to crush the tablets and apply to my face. The crumbled pills make a great exfoliator as well. Aspirin mask is really a cost effective, travel convenient way to give your skin a quick pick me up.

✔ Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion -- Make sure to shake this toner up before using, and if you have dry skin, please skip it, as it is rather strong. For my oily combo skin, it works really well to mattify skin and treat my occasional breakouts. A staple on my vanity.

✔ The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Booster -- I had high hopes for this product, but sadly it's a no-more-buy for me. Upon application, it makes your skin feel super smooth and...slippery, because yes, it is the yucky silicone that I dislike! While it does have a nice citricy scent, I am not really sure if the vitamin C in this is potent enough to show any improvement on my skin. It also caused me to break out, probably from the silicone that was clogging my pores. I ended up using the rest of the bottle on my body because I'd hate to see it go to waste.

✔ ELF Eyelid Primer -- This $1 primer is pretty awesome. It doesn't make my eye makeup last as long as my Too Faced or Urban Decay eye primers, but it is a great choice for everyday use.

✔ DermaSilk Tightening Serum 5 Minute Face Lift -- A pretty good face serum, easy to apply and not greasy. Best yet, never caused me any break outs. See my review here.

✔ Fekkai MORE Scalp Purifying Shampoo and Root Nourishing Conditioner -- These were my first Fekkai products, and I really enjoyed using them. Yes they are a bit pricey compared to my normal drugstore shampoos, but you also need less of them each time. This pair made my hair so soft, clean, and volumized. See my brief review here.

✔ Crabtree & Evelyn Rose Water Hand & Body Lotion -- I really enjoy rose scented hands and body products, and this is no exception. I have tried the Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater hand cream in a metal squeeze tube before and loved it. I think this plastic pump version makes it much easier to use. The texture of the lotion is a bit thinner and easier to spread than the hand cream, a great warm weather body moisturizer.

✔ The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector -- This hand cream is really nice and moisturizing. Its scent however is really unpleasant, but at least goes away fairly quickly.

✔ Rock & Republic Classic Tinted Primer SPF 20 -- Loved this primer. It has a mousse/whipped texture with a slight tint, it applies really easily, doesn't feel super slippery/silicone on my skin and gets the job done. Unfortunately I think this is really hard to find now as Rock & Republic discontinued their makeup line. If I see this again on sale on HauteLook or something, I will probably repurchase.

✔ Zirh Rejuvenate Anti-Aging Face Cream -- Finished by a joint effort between hubby and I. I actually bought the cream for hubby since Zirh is a men skincare line. But upon trying, I really liked it as well. It is unscented, which is pretty pleasant esp when layering on skincare products, the cream is light and easy to spread.

✔ Zirh Fix Blemish Control Gel -- I completely claimed this one my own after trying it on my pimples and how it magically shrunk in size overnight and dried up. Now I use it as an acne prevention gel whenever I feel there might be some break outs. I apply a thin layer all over my face before moisturizer. It doesn't dry skin up like most acne products, and feels just like a light moisturizer.

✔ DermaSilk Double Chin Firming Facial Contouring Serum -- Double chin be gone! I wish it's that magical. While it did have a firming feeling, but I didn't notice too much of a visible result on myself. Read my review here.

✔ L'Oreal Sublime Slim Anti-Cellulite + Smoothing Body Toning Gel -- I really enjoyed using this on my tummy area, it provides a cooling feel upon application, and it is really nice to take this opportunity to give my tummy a quick massage. On the nights that I use this, I do feel that the next morning, my stomach feels tighter, which makes me believe that this product helps to get rid of bloating.

✔ Cake Milk Made Body Frothing Bath & Shower Cream -- Smells SO divine! This shower gel foams up really nicely and fills my entire bathroom with a yummy sweet milky scent that I love so much. I haven't tried this in a bath but on my next bottle, I'll be sure to do that.

♥ April Favorites ♥

2011-05-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Before end of April becomes end of May, I want to quickly share some of my favorite products that I enjoyed using in the month of April:

♥ Lancome Ageless Minerale Foundation SPF 21 Sunscreen
I like to use mineral foundation when the weather gets warmer, they do a better job at oil controlling for my super oily t-zone. I purchased this Lancome mineral line to try, the kit came with a corrector/primer, a mineral foundation, a setting powder, along with a powder brush that I have been absolutely loving! I chose the shade Natural Beige 30, which was a prefect match for my MAC NC25 skin. This foundation gives me the most amazing glow and evens out my skin very nicely. I love how quick and easy it is to apply mineral foundation in the morning when I'm in a hurry -- swirl, tap and buff, then I'm out of the door.

♥ Naruko Magnolia Brightening and Firming Night Gelly
I purchased a few Naruko Night Gellies from Sasa and this one was my favorite. Unlike some other sleeping masks I've used in the past, this Night Gelly/mask applies so much easier, absorbs into my skin like a regular moisturizer without the stickiness, so I don't have to go to bed worrying about the product getting all over my pillow. The Magnolia line brightens and firms the skin. On days that I did not get a chance to do a sheet or clay mask, I like to put this Night Gelly on before bedtime, it is soothing and relaxing. The magnolia flower scent is heavenly, it brings me to the sweet memories of my weekly visit to grandpa's house as a child, as his house was surrounded by magnolia trees.

♥ Naruko Rose & Snow Fungus Classic Hydrating Night Eye Gelly
The Rose & Snow Fungus line is for hydration of the skin. This eye gelly is very soothing around the eye area and causes no irritation for me. I like to pat in a thick layer of this before bedtime, massage and slowly let it absorb. I feel like it has helped with the fine lines under my eyes, which have been especially bothering me recently because of my allergy and constant rubbing my dry and itchy eyes.

♥ Philosophy Turbo Booster C Powder
The concept of this product is very interesting. It is a little vial packed full of Vitamin C powder. Every morning, I'd take a little scoop of the powder out and mix it with my morning skincare, sometimes my moisturizer, sometimes my serum, and sometimes my toner, depending on my mood. It dissolves very quickly upon mixing and won't leave any white powder residue on the face. I found it to be amazing at helping to brighten the skin and my acne scars have also lightened significantly after continued usage. My skin does feel a tiny bit of tingling when using this product, but I don't mind it, I think of it as the powder working its magic.

I had read somewhere that while Vitamin C is good for your skin because it contains antioxidants and gives your skin a younger, clearer and brighter look, many products with Vitamin C lose its potency significantly as they are exposed to light or mixed with some other ingredients. This powder is pure Vitamin C that will stay stable in its dark colored glass vial until ready to be used. So perhaps that's why this product has worked so well.

♥ Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 Oil Free
This is my first Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer. I was debating between the regular TM and the Oil Free version and decided on the latter because I have oily T-zone and want to stay as matte as possible throughout the day. I think I made the right choice, this tinted moisturizer is amazing! I use my hands to apply this, it is quick, easy and an instant complexion booster! Since this was an online order, I wasn't sure which shade I really was, and after doing a ton of research, I decided on Sand, which turned out to be a tad dark for me, but it will be a better shade for the summer for sure. For now, since it has a sheer coverage that is buildable, I have been applying a very thin layer, which has worked out great as well.

♥ Ole Henriksen Grease Relief Face Tonic
This toner's name definitely caught my attention -- it is what I've always been looking for, grease relief for the face! I am liking this toner so far. It is non-irritating and non-drying even though it does contain alcohol, for some reason though there is no sting unlike other alcohol-containing toners I have used in the past. The witch hazel scent is quite strong, but I don't mind it too much.

♥ DDF Glycolic 10% Toning Complex
This toner contains Alpha Hydroxy Acid that exfoliates the skin and claims to minimize the appearance of fine lines and visibly decrease the look of pore size. I use this as a once every few day/week treatment in place of my regular toner to help my skin slough off dead skin cells -- it does a great job exfoliating the skin and makes my skin feel softer. It also makes my skin less oily, and is an excellent acne-prevention/treating toner. I don't really recommend this product if you have sensitive skin though, as it is a quite harsh and drying formula. But if you have oily skin that is prone to break-outs, give this a try.

♥ Cake Milk Made Body Hydrating Moisture Milk
I've been loving this as my everyday body moisturizer. It has a very light, non-greasy and fluid like texture that is perfect for the summer. There is no yucky greasy feeling on my skin after using this one. Plus, it smells so yummy too. It is a sweet milky scent with a hint of raspberry. My only complaint is that while the concept of pump bottle seems to be a great way to spray this on for a light even coverage, the formula is still a bit thick to be pumped through a thin straw. It didn't bother me too much though, I just unscrew the top every time when I use it, and it's been working great anyway. I've already purchased back-ups of this.

Overall Review of DermaSilk Products

2011-04-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Now that I have reviewed all 5 of the DermaSilk products I have been testing out for the past month, I wanted to talk about how I incorporated these products into my everyday skincare routine, and some of my final thoughts on them.

Night Routine:

toner
Gold Collagen Serum
Miracle Cream
90 Second Eye Lift
Double Chin Firming Serum

Morning Routine:

toner
5-Minute Face Lift
Miracle Cream
eye cream
sunscreen

In between I will add other products that I own, such as anti-acne serum, more nourishing eye serum/creams, sunscreen, when I see needed.

I am happy that none of the DermaSilk products have caused any break-outs on my acne prone skin.

My favorite out of all were probably the 2 serums, they are light weight, easy to absorb, and make my skin feel refreshed. The Miracle Cream is also pretty good, but it's not a must try. But make sure you include a moisturizer into your routine if you don't use Miracle Cream, since the serums alone are not moisturizing enough.

I really liked the clear pump bottles that most of the products come in. It uses vacuum suction with a base that moves up to push products out and I can clearly see how much products I have left.

Maybe I am still a little young to see any visible firming effects on my skin upon using DermaSilk products, but I can feel the tightening effect right away (although not lasting). I cannot speak for how well these products do for sagging skin and deep wrinkles. But if anyone who do have to combat these skin issues, hopefully these products I've reviewed will help you out! To me, I see DermaSilk products as a great line of products to help me prevent aging and sagging skin, prevention is just as important.

Review: DermaSilk 5-Minute Face Lift

2011-04-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Could this be the face lift in a bottle? DermaSilk 5-minute Face Lift "immediately lifts, tightens, and firms aged skin. it creates the appearance of tighter eyebrows, fuller shapelier lips and an overall more youthful lifted appearance".

The lifting effect is suppose to last up to 8 hours. So it is recommended to use this every morning and night. I have started off using this every morning since I had the Collagen Gold serum to use at night, and I figured since it says a result of 8 hours, I should use it during the day when I need to go out and look my best :)

This is the biggest container of all the DermaSilk products I have tried, at 1 fl. oz. I use about 2 pumps each time. The consistency is that of a thick gel. It is very easy to absorb. I usually use a light padding motion to distribute this product all over my face and neck.

It also has a slight fishy smell. Upon application it does feel slightly sticky, but once completely dried, my skin felt soft and smooth, and best of all, matte. So this is a perfect product to go under makeup, as it provides a good base.

Overall, I feel like this is a great serum and offers skin an extra layer of protection. As far as lifting effect, I do feel some tightening but there is no visible changes for me. But also keep in mind that I am in my mid-twenties and this product is more targeted toward aged skin.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the DermaSilk 5-Minute Face Lift to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Review: DermaSilk Double Chin

2011-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

This was another DermaSilk product that really caught my attention. I've always been curious to try chin firming products because I read that with adequate massage motions, it will help to tighten the chin area and make the face appear smaller, thus slimmer face. DermaSilk Double Chin Firming Facial Contouring Serum claims to be "a dual action forming formula that firms sagging skin and reduces the appearance of fat under the chin and neck".

Turns out this was probably my least favorite product out of all the DermaSilk ones I have been trying. Perhaps I didn't have much of a double chin to start off with, so I really didn't see any effect it had. While it does have a firming feel upon application, it also felt very sticky, and made my skin itch a few times. I also tried this on hubby a few times, he says it felt like glue on his chin, I guess because of the tightening and the sticky feeling at the same time.

Whenever I remember, I use this as the last step of my night routine. Like the eye serum, make sure to not use too much otherwise it flakes off as well. And don't use a rubbing motion. I take 1 pump, and pat it in. I wish I could use more of a massage motion to give my chin/neck area a light massage while at it, but the flaking becomes cumbersome.

It has that of a viscous gel consistency and is very sticky. It has a little fishy smell but not as bad as the Miracle Cream.

Overall, I think this product will be better suited for perhaps someone older with more visible sagging skin, as I did not notice too much result on me. But the obvious firming feeling tells me that someone who is looking for tighter skin will appreciate it even more.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the DermaSilk Double Chin Firming to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Review: DermaSilk Miracle Cream

2011-04-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

DermaSilk Miracle Cream Skin Rejuvenating Cream is a nice light weight moisturizer that I have enjoyed using both day and night.

It claims to "repair cellular damage, repair skin's natural moisture barrier, and significantly reduce pore size. Skin becomes brighter, tighter, and more radiant".

It also claims to help protect skin from harmful UVB rays, however I do not see anywhere mentioning that it has any SPF protection, so it is still important to use a sunscreen during the day time routine if you use this miracle cream.

I also don't think I saw any changes in my pore size. But as a moisturizer it does the job well. This is the most moisturizing product of all the DermaSilk products I have tried so far. Once applied, it leaves a slight glow on my skin, but not oil-slick oily. I also did not experience any break-outs from using this product.

It does have a very unpleasant fishy smell upon dispensing. But the scent dissipates fairly quickly so it doesn't bother me too much.

It pumps out as a white cream. I used about 2 to 3 pumps during the night routine and a little less for mornings, enough to cover my whole face and neck. I used up this one first of all the DermaSilk products, because it's the only one that I use both day and night, the other ones were either day or night only. Plus it comes in a pretty small bottle of 0.5 fl. oz.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the DermaSilk Miracle Cream to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Review: DermaSilk 90 Second Eye Lift

2011-04-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

Today's DermaSilk review is on the 90 Second Eye Lift Instant Tightening Serum. This was the product that first caught my attention when I checked out DermaSilk's product page. I am always looking for a good eye cream/serum that will help depuff my undereyes, erase appearance of fine lines, and diminishes dark circles. Could this be the one?!

This eye serum claims to "significantly tighten the loose skin around the delicate eye area while reducing under eye puffiness as well as lightening dark circles."

It comes in a thin marker sized pump bottle. Compared to the other DermaSilk products, this one's pump is a little bit harder to control and have a precise amount dispensed each time, especially since you don't need too much eye serum each use. The first time I pumped, a huge glob of products came out. Despite the warning on the back of the box that says "Overapplication may result in the appearance of a white residue. If this occurs gently pat the area with a damp cloth". I didn't want it to go to waste! Turned out it was a bad mistake, the dried up excess serum fell into little eraser dust like flakes around my eyes and I looked like my my skin were shedding. I had to wash off the whole thing and reapply.

I at first wanted to use this product in the mornings, but found out it was not compatible with my eye makeup at all! It got all flaky when I put on my eye primer and then the eye shadow. So now I switched to using it every night and it has worked okay, provided that I make sure I don't over apply like the first time.

It has a clear watery consistency that is not oily at all and has no scent. Upon patting in around the eye area, it felt sticky at first, and then once completely dried, I can feel the tightening effect dramatically. My eyelid actually felt funny because it felt like it got glued and lifted.

Besides the dramatic lifting and depuffing effect, I haven't seen any improvements to my dark circles. It might have helped with the fine lines around my eyes but I also didn't see too much dramatic difference.

Even though it provided a very nice depuffing effect to my eyes, I probably would not consider repurchasing this again, due to its hassle during application. Make sure you use gentle patting motion and do not rub to prevent the product from flaking off. Also, I've noticed that it has a little bit of a burning/tingling sensation around my eye area upon application, and I didn't enjoy that experience too much. Overall a nice product but needs some improvements to make it more user friendly. I would really like to use this in the mornings especially since that is when my eyes are the puffiest, but an eye serum that I cannot apply makeup over is so inconvenient.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the DermaSilk 90 Second Eye Lift to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Review: DermaSilk Collagen Gold

2011-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

This week, I will post a series of reviews for DermaSilk products. I have been sent these products to test out and review. DermaSilk line are claimed to contain "clinically proven ingredients to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and premature aging". I was sent a total of 5 products that I have incorporated into my day and night skin care routine for the past month and after having used them for a while (even finished with two of the products), I feel that I am ready for a proper review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's focus will be on the DermaSilk Collagen Gold Revitalizing Facial Serum. This serum claims to "restore and maintain levels of collagen in the skin, promote collage synthesis and control the breakdown of collagen fibers while plumping and smoothing the skin for a more youthful appearance".

The bottle comes in a 0.5 fl. oz. size. The pump is easy and convenient to use. I used this as my night serum, after toner and before moisturizer. I used about 2 pumps worth of products each time, and used a light tapping motion to apply this all over my face and neck.

The product has a gel consistency with a very faint floral scent that goes almost non-detectable. Upon applying onto the skin, it feels very cooling and refreshing. It absorbs very easily and dries matte. I liked that it didn't make my skin feel heavy and oily after using this.

Once patted into the skin, there is a slight sticky feel to it, I am guessing this is the collagen component. But it is not bothersome at all, and I'd just go on to the next step of my skincare. This serum makes my skin feel lightly moisturized, soft, and I can feel a slight tightening effect.

Did it have a lasting improvements on my skin? It's hard to tell but my answer leans towards no. It makes my skin soft and tightened for the night but I didn't notice it improve (or deteriorate) the condition of my skin overtime. This is a nice to have product to add an extra layer of protection for my skin.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the DermaSilk Collagen Gold to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Nail Polishes of the Month -- March 2011

2011-04-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

Orly -- Sapphire Silk

LaRosa Crackle Shatter -- Sea Weed (on top of Orly Sapphire Silk)

OPI -- Japanese Rose Garden

Revlon Scented Parfume -- Sublime Strawberry

Revlon Scented Parfume -- Pretty in Papaya

Base color: Essie -- Pink Parka

Glitter coat: Wet n Wild Fast Dry -- Party of Five Glitters

Essie -- Au Natural

Hello Kitty x Sephora -- Pink Sprinkles

China Glaze -- Below Deck (1 coat)

China Glaze -- Naked

Orly -- Gilded Coral

Finished Products in March

2011-04-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

New month again! Today I will share my thoughts on the products I've finished in March:

✔ Paul & Joe Finishing Powder 002 --This Paul & Joe powder came out during their 2010 summer collection. It is my holy grail setting powder because it does an excellent job smoothing out my face and controlling oil, even during warm days. I think the packaging is very cute! Despite the cardboard box, it is sturdy and held up well through my daily uses for the past several months. I already purchased a backup of this.

✔Smith's Rosebud Salve -- Dun dun dun dunnnn! This was the product I am most excited about finishing last month because it's been such a long time since I've used it. It is a pretty big jar considering I only used it as a lip balm every night at bedtime. I think I am getting the squeeze tube version next, it'd be so much easier to apply and travel with, and mess free too! I love Smith's Rosebud Salve, it keeps my lips moisturized all day long. The fact that it's a multi-purpose cream also makes it a great product to take along so you can apply to dry cuticles, elbows, heels etc if needed.

✔ ELF Zip Zapper -- My 3rd one already. So inexpensive, yet effective at making the spots go away. It also doesn't irritate or dry out my skin, so I often roll out a generous amount on my finger tips and dab all over the face for break-out prevention. Need to go to Target and grab more!

✔ Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer -- This face moisturizer is a little bit on the heavy side for me but perfect for hubby's dry skin, I appreciated the higher SPF (of 25) in this moisturizer.

✔ Celeteque Facial Wash -- This face wash was a gift from the lovely Georgina. Hubby and I both enjoyed this face wash a lot. It is gentle, non-irritating, and foams up nicely. I loved the clear squeeze tube that allowed me to squeeze out all the products to the last bit!

✔ Clarins SPF 30 Sunscreen Wrinkle Control Eye High Protection -- An eye cream packed with SPF is a must in my morning skincare routine. I loved the Clarins one. It's easy to blend out, does not leave my eye area with a white film, and is well worth the price because one little tube lasts me a very long time as you only need a little squeeze each time. I will repurchase for sure.

✔ SPAresource Melon Body Butter -- I can't get over how good this smelled! I am a big fan of melon scents and this body butter not only smells great, but works very well too. Want to read my review?

✔ LUSH Snow Fairy -- I lost count how many bottles of this lovely shower gel I have finished already. It is my all time favorite scents from LUSH and I will continue to purchase and love it :)

✔ Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Hand Therapy -- I went through a Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream phase a couple years back and while digging through my stash I found this one left unused. La Source is a wonderful scent described as " A crisp, clean scent reminiscent of fresh sea air". I love everything about the hand cream except for the packaging. The tube is made out of metal and it becomes extremely hard to squeeze towards the end. I purchased the Tube Key from their website this past winter and it is a nice little accessory that really helps getting the product out easier, but towards the end where the key can't turn anymore, another helpful hand, such as hubby's, was still needed.

✔ The Body Shop Wise Woman Eye Cream --The pump was very easy to control how much product I wanted to pump out each time. The eye cream is rich and perfect for night time use. It moisturizes very well without any tingly or burning sensation.

✔ Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat -- Despite how much I disliked sometimes Seche Vite made my nail polish peel off in big sheets a day or two after my manicure, it is still an essential in my life. For someone who loves changing nail polish but hates the waiting time for it to dry, Seche Vite was a life saver. I normally apply this top coat when my polish is still slightly wet, about a minute later, my manicure would be all dried to the touch. If you are someone who's always on the go, you NEED this! Keep in mind that Seche Vite tend to get really gloppy by the time you've used up half of the bottle, so you will have to purchase a nail polish thinner and add a few drops in there to thin it out, and you will need to continue doing this until you use up the whole bottle. But other than that, it works great and dries nail fast! Now only if I can figure out how to make it not peel so easily (even when I wrap the tip, although sometimes when my nails are too short I can't wrap the tip easily).

✔ DermaSilk Miracle Cream --I really liked this face cream. It is light in texture and non-greasy yet does a good job moisturizing the skin. This product was sent to me by DermaSilk for review, and please be on the look out for a detailed review soon!

✔ Kuan Yuan Liang Cucumber Water -- This toner is soothing, non-irritating, and is a refreshing treat especially for warm weathers. It is alcohol free and fragrance free. If you are someone who likes to do DIY masks at home, this would be a good toner to use.

✔ Organix Rejuvenating Cherry Blossom Ginseng Conditioner -- This smells really nice and is just your typical conditioner such that it keeps my hair smooth and rinses out very easily. But there is nothing too special about it.

✔ Organix Rejuvenating Cherry Blossom Ginseng Shampoo -- Once again, leaves my hair smelling nice, does a good job cleaning but not as much volume as I'd like. A pretty typical shampoo for me.

✔ Jurlique Intense Recovery Mask -- This was another product that I have used before and kept in the bottom of my storage, so I was desperately trying to finish. I started using a large amount of it on my body too so I could finish up fast. This mask is soothing, but I didn't find anything too magical about it. It has a strong herbal scent.

✔ DermaSilk Collagen Gold Serum -- This serum was light weight, very soothing, and very easy to pat in. I loved it. This was sent to me for review, so be on the look out for a detailed review soon!

✔ Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea Foaming Shower Mousse --Very interesting concept for a shower product. It pumps out in a mousse like consistency so there is no need to foam it up any further. However for someone who's used to having a shower puff to help foam up shower gels, this was a little bit weird for me. So I still ended up pumping a whole lot of products onto my shower puff so I could exfoliate in the process as well. Sweet Pea is my favorite Bath and Body Works scent so I really enjoyed it. While the packaging is unique, I do have complaints about it. It seemed to pump out products in a mousse foam quite nicely at first, but as you get towards the bottom of the bottle, it no longer pumps even though I shook the bottle and there were still products inside. So I ended up having to press the pump with the bottle upside down so the remaining gel would flow out and I could use up the whole bottle.

✔ Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 -- I used this every morning. The SPF is enough if I am just staying indoors most of the day. It is a good product that keeps my T-zone oil free for a few oils, and yet it's not extremely dry that it becomes hard to blend out.

These 3 Korres products are little bottles that came in one set that I was able to use up very quickly, since it's my first time trying them, I will briefly talk about them as well.

✔ Korres Aloe & Soapwort Little Shampoo (For Frequent Use) -- While I have used many tubes of the Korres body butter (HG!), this was my first time trying their hair products. The shampoo is gentle and foams up quite nicely. Other than that, nothing too special that I've noticed about my hair after using this.

✔ Korres Achillea Little Conditioner (For All Hair Types) -- This conditioner was a big disappointment. The consistency is just way too thin, and it did not condition my hair at all. As a result my hair came out of the shower all tangled and I needed to apply extra conditioner to smooth it out afterwards.

✔ Korres Guava Little Showergel-- Love this one. The scent is so yummy, and the showergel creates a ton of foam.

♥ March Favorites ♥

2011-04-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

♥ Clarins Toning Lotion -- Alcohol Free With Iris (Combination or Oily Skin)
This toning lotion is very gentle because it is alcohol free. The scent is floral and refreshing. I store the toner in a spray bottle to spray onto cleansed face and then use light patting motion to refresh the skin. I use this toner in conjunction with the Clarins Face Treatment Oil, which I will mention next.

♥ Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil (Combination Skin Prone to Oiliness)
I have been using this face treatment oil/above mentioned toner combination during my night routine for the past month and have been loving it. This famous Clarins face treatment oil is well known in the Asian beauty community to be a great product to help reduce T-zone oiliness, brighten up complexion and help shrink pores. Makeupalley.com also gives this product wonderful reviews. At first I had doubts about this fighting oil with greasy oily product method, but surprisingly it works -- no breakouts in the process either. The way I use it is to spray the Clarins toner all over my face, lightly pat but make sure my face still feels moist from the toner. Then drop a few drops of the face treatment oil onto the palms of my hands, rub hands together a few times until palms are warm, then pat the oil onto my face, concentrating in my oily t-zones and cheeks. At first my face would look and feel really oily, but once absorbed after a few minutes, it's not too bad. Plus I only use this before bedtime so I am not afraid of my face looking shiny. The first night when I tried this, I went to bed scared to death about waking up with huge pimples because of how oily the product was. To my surprise, I woke up to super smooth and radiant skin, and looked like I had a great night of sleep! Normally I wake up with very oily t-zone, but the oil has helped to reduce the oiliness, amazing or what?

♥ Benefit Bella Bamba Blush
This is Benefit's newest boxed blush. It is described as a watermelon shade, and it smells like one too! First sweep of this product on my cheeks, I fell in love with it instantly. It gave my face the right amount of glow and pop, with a slight gold shimmer that is hardly noticeable with a light hand application. This is my go to blush for that look awake look.

♥ Borghese Illuminare Brightening Hand Serum
This serum gives me soft hands and is great to use throughout the day. It absorbs super quickly and leaves no greasy feeling. I find myself using this quite often, less than a month of using this, I am already down half a bottle -- that's how much I've been loving it!

♥ Guerlain Blush 4 Eclats -- Rose Plein Vent 05
This blush is LOVE! Love the smell and the finely milled powder, love the choice of 4 different lovely shades that could be used separately or mixed all together, love the pretty packaging!

4 shades mixed together

♥ Guerlain Ombre Eclat 4 Shades Eyeshadow -- Bronze Dore 481
Thank you Edna for getting this for me for Christmas! 481 is her favorite Guerlain palette, so she got me one to try as well. But seeing how pretty it was, I didn't want to touch it despite her constant nagging for me to bust it open and use it :p Finally after about 3 months of waiting and staring at this piece of eye candy, I used it, and it was love! The cream shade is creamy and smooth, which helps to even out eyelid quite nicely. The light green shade is a wonderful eyelid color while the dark green shade gives just the right amount of definition for outer-V, or perfect as a liner. The green colors really make my brown eyes pop! The bronze shade adds a nice bit of shine to the middle of my eyelid whenever I feel like it going for a little more shine. All the shadows are super smooth. I will definitely be reaching for this palette often :)

Review: SPAresource Melon Hand Cream

2011-03-22T22:21:00.000-07:00

Along with the SPAresouce Melon Body Butter, SPAresource also sent me a Melon Hand Cream to test out. Just like the body butter, it smelled sweet and wonderful. Their hand creams also come in a variety of scents, and come in bigger and smaller sized tubes. The one I received is the smaller of the two, at 1.7 fl. oz./50 ml, and retails for $2. The bigger size they offer is 500 ml and retails for $6. Again, very reasonably priced products. Unlike body butters, I only use a little bit of the hand cream every time, so I think even with the smaller sized tube, it will last me a while to use up.

I like the idea of matching the same scent for the hand cream and the body butter. I brought both products on my recent trip to San Diego. Because they are both in small sized containers, I appreciated the luggage space they both saved me.

The hand cream comes out as a thick cream, thicker than some of the hand creams I have used in the past. However it melts pretty easily and leaves my hands very moisturized. Even though the product description claims that the product does not leave hand greasy. I still felt that it was a bit greasy for day time use. But also keep in mind, I am the type of person who couldn't bare any trace of greasiness on my finger tips from any beauty products. If I have to apply hand creams during the day, I normally squeeze a little bit onto the backs of my hands and rub the backs together, so that my palm and finger tips never touch the products. That is the only way I can bare to have hand creams on during the day, and I have no problem doing that with this hand cream. But once a day before bed time, I layer on my hand cream thickly and massage well. I loved that it left my hands super moisturized for the entire night and smelled wonderful even after I woke up. I also appreciated the flip top design, which makes it much easier to use compared to a screw-on cap.

I would love to try the SPAresource hand creams in a few more different scents. I would probably prefer to buy the smaller sized ones so I could try out more scents, and the tubes would be small enough to toss into my purse on the go without being too bulky and heavy.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the SPAresrouce Melon Hand Cream to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Review: SPAresource Melon Body Butter

2011-03-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Body moisturizer is a must in my daily skincare routine. Fresh out of shower, I always make sure to apply a thick layer of moisturizer all over my body to keep my skin well hydrated. In particular, I love using body butters. Their thicker, more creamy yet super smooth consistency make them extra moisturizing and easy to spread on. Plus they come in a variety of wonderful scents that lingers and put me in a good mood before bedtime. A few of my favorite body butter brands include Korres, Yes to Carrots, and the Victoria's Secret Secret Garden line.

I was contacted by SPAresource to review and test out their body butters. This company is based in Canada and ships out all their products from their warehouse in Ontario, Canada. A quick glance at their body butter page, I already spotted a few scents that I knew I would really enjoy. In particular, the Juicy Peach, Mango, and Melon ones really stood out. I picked Melon scent to try. I have never tried any other brands with a melon scented body butter so I was especially excited about it.

The scent smelled like fresh sweet honeydew and was exactly what I was imaging it to be. The container I received is the smaller size, with 1.7 fl. oz./50 ml of products, and is priced at $2. SPAresource also offers a larger sized container for sale, at $6 you get 6.8 fl. oz./200 ml. Obviously the bigger size is a better deal. But both are so reasonably priced! The small container I received must have been the cutest jar of body butter I've ever seen. It fits in the palms of my hands.

Needless to say, there weren't that much products in this little container and with generous use every night, this jar lasted me about 2 weeks. This would be a perfect size to travel with since the majority of the body butters I have purchased in the past all come in pretty huge jars.

I love all things honeydew melon scented so I loved this body butter scent oh so much. I couldn't help but keep sniffing as I applied it. The texture is thick, yet melts with the heat from the palms of my hands upon using and spread easily on my skin. It is really moisturizing, yet did not seem to leave a heavy greasy film feeling on my skin after wards.

Because of body butter's thick consistency, they are better suited for the colder weathers. I also noticed they offer a range of Body Butter Lite, with a lighter, whipped texture that would be perfect for warmer days.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the SPAresrouce Melon Body Butter to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

Finished Products in February

2011-03-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

February was one of those months where a lot of bottles just decided to run out on me (yay for replacing them with new products to use)! So we have a lot to cover today! Let's get started :)

Image from lushusa.com

✔LUSH Buffy the Backside Slayer Body Butter -- It is really a body butter and scrub in one. It is a really moisturizing scrub that you use after shower, while your skin is still wet. Then I'd like to lightly rinse my body to get rid of all the scrubby bits left by the bar, and then pat dry. When I use this scrub, I don't even need to use a body lotion afterwards because my skin would feel really moisturized already. It is expensive, but it comes in a huge bar that lasts a long time as long as you be careful not to get it wet. I like to either turn my shower head away or turn the water off when I use it so the bar itself doesn't get in contact with running water (it melts!).

✔Thayers Alcohol-Free Toner -- Rose Petal Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera -- This must have been my 3rd bottle of Thayers rose toner. It is very inexpensive, but does the job well! I love that it is non-irritating, alcohol free, and contains ingredients good for the skin. I also dump some of this in a sprayer bottle to use as a facial spray. You could even use this toner to soak cotton pads in and apply on face as a mask.

✔AmLactin Moisturizing Body Cream -- I used this mainly on my heels before bedtime. I at first tried it on my body but it stung a little bit. On my feet it is absolutely wonderful at keeping my heels soft. According to reviews, this cream is also good for those that have Keratosis Pilaris, or those little goosebumps like things on arms/legs.

✔Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Oil Skin Formula -- My second bottle already. It is gentle on the skin, fragrance free, and foams up nicely. I appreciate the pump bottle design that dispenses just the right amount of product for my whole face each time. I will keep using this face wash and repurchase whenever there is a Clinique GWP at department stores :)

✔E.L.F. Makeup Remover Cleansing Clothes -- Used up two packs of these in February. I use this daily to remove face makeup before Clarisonic. I also use it whenever my face feels greasy or gross, or wipe my hands clean when I am playing and swatching makeup on the back of my hands.

✔CHI Infra Treatment Thermal Protective Treatment -- Took me forever to finish this bottle. It has somewhat of a thick consistency, so you only need a little bit every time. I also don't apply this product (I use it like a conditioner for my hair) anywhere near my scalp, but just at the roots because I noticed it tends to make my hair very oily and weighed down. It makes my hair smooth and helps to detangle. It also serves as a heat protectant to protect the hair from blow dryer damage (or flat iron/curler if you use those) after shower.

✔PERT Happy Medium 2 in 1 Shampoo Plus Conditioner -- I had this bottle near my tube so I only use this shampoo to wash my hair whenever I bath. So it has been sitting there for a long time now and I am glad I finally finished it! (yay for bathing). To me it is just a normal shampoo, nothing special. I still use a conditioner afterwards because the it doesn't provide my hair with enough conditioning when used alone.

✔LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel -- This is a small bottle of Snow Fairy that I kept next to my tube to use for bubble baths. I squeeze a pretty good amount of this under running water when I bath. It makes a ton of bubbles, and makes my bath smell so good, I love it!

✔LUSH Vanilla Dee-Lite Hand and Body Cream -- I mentioned this cream in my January Favorites post. It is a light textured cream that is not greasy, and gives skin a light moisturizing effects. I think it would actually be a great product to use for the summer when the weather gets warm and applying heavy greasy body lotion feels yucky. The smell is great too, very rich vanilla scent, reminds me of ice cream.

✔Physique 2 in 1 Shampoo + Conditioner -- Mom left this in my shower when she was visiting. I just wanted to use it up. Don't have much to say about this product, not really a big fan hehe. My mom loves to use 2 in 1 products it seems (she buys me drugstore shampoos/body lotions/wash and brings them over when she visits, which is awesome of her so I don't have to waste time purchasing these necessities, because I always have backups in the house!).

✔Clarins Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Comfort Cream -- Even though this is just a deluxe sample tube, but I still want to mention it here, plus it lasted me quite a while to finish despite how small the tube looked. I love this night cream and I love how smooth and radiant my skin looks and feels the next morning, so I will definitely be purchasing a full sized product soon!

✔Kose Clear Turn White Essence Mask -- This sheet mask are not individually packed, but 28 of them come in this plastic tube with a resealable opening on top. Unlike individually wrapped sheet masks, these do not contain as much essence and are suppose to be a quick 5 minute daily mask for a quick pick-me-up. Since they are not soaked with too much essence, they dry out on the face pretty quickly (especially along the edges) and start to fall off, which can become annoying. I use a sheet right after I come out of shower, and then apply body lotion in the meanwhile, which usually takes 2 to 3 minutes. And then by the time I am done, I can take off the mask and proceed with my night time face skincare routine. So it is a good way to keep my face moisturized until I apply face products, but is it a necessity? Probably not. I normally apply face products right out of shower anyway.

✔Bath and Body Works Twisted Peppermint Body Cream -- This is a BBW scent that comes out every holiday season. I love the smell of it, it's like the peppermint bark without the calories, and is just heavenly when I go to sleep with this smell on hehe. Another good thing about this body cream is how cooling and tingly (in a good way) my skin feels after this minty cream is applies. I used this when my skin suffered from itchy rashes caused by the LUSH Sugar Scrub, and it greatly helped to reduce the itchiness after wards so I can go to sleep without scratching myself to death.

✔The Body Shop Carrot Moisture Cream --This cream is an orange colored moisturizer that smells...pretty awful! Luckily it really goes away quickly after you apply it into your skin. Other than the scent, the cream itself moisturizes pretty well, it has a thick consistency and I am sure it will be a wonderful product for super dry skin. I tried it on my face, on my neck, and even on my elbows. It didn't cause me to breakout on my face despite the thick texture. But I probably won't repurchase again because I didn't like the scent very much.

♥ February Favorites ♥

2011-03-08T22:15:00.000-08:00

♥ First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Intense Therapy -- Skin Protectant w/ Fab Antioxidant Booster
February weather in the Bay Area was cold and nasty. As a result, my skin felt dry and itchy. To make matters worse, I was immensely bugged by the itchy skin rash caused by the unfortunate incident from using the LUSH Sugar Scrub (see my previous review post), so I was on the hunt for a more effective skin cream. After some research, I decided to pick this one up from Sephora. Many reviewers said that this cream made their itch stop fast, and I really needed something fast acting like this.
It claims to "hydrate dry, parched skin. Relieve minor irritation and itching due to eczema and other conditions". It could also be used for the face, which was a plus. I was suffering from a terrible cold/fever in the latter part of February. You know when you blow your nose excessively, the skin around your upper lip area and your nostrils become raw and peely? This cream helped to soothe that and did not cause any breakouts on my face. When used on my body, I do feel that it is very soothing, and helped to relieve itchiness. It also made my skin feel smooth.
I love that it is fragrance free. The texture feels light and almost whipped, so it's really easy to spread and sinks in quickly.

♥ Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Penetrating Oil
I've heard so many good reviews about Moroccan argan oil and how beneficial they are to help maintain healthy hair. I got this Organix one from CVS for $7.99 a bottle, which is a lot cheaper than similar Moroccan oil products offered at Sephora.
After I wash my hair every night and towel dry, I squeeze a few drops of this product onto my palms, rub my palms together a few times to evenly distribute the product, then apply onto my hair, concentrate on the roots. This product is suppose to help protect styling heat (such as blow drying after wards) and UV damage while helping to make hair healthier and soft. What I love about it is how fast my hair soaks the product up. I used to use BioSilk Silk Therapy prior to this, which is also a oil based product. But I always felt that it was a bit greasy, like my palms would be left greasy after applying BioSilk. But not so much for this Moroccan oil. It also leaves my hand feeling soft after, so I know it is definitely doing good things to my hair. The product comes out clear and has a nice refreshing smell.

♥ Sephora x Hello Kitty Sweet Gloss -- Peachy (see review here)
I've been using this almost every single day since I purchased it from Sephora around Christmas time last year. It gives just a little bit of nice tint to my lips, yet feels moisturizing like a lip balm. It's slim design allows me to apply this wherever and whenever without the help of a mirror. I might need a backup of this soon (perhaps a different color?) because what you see in the picture is all that I have left, and when I started it was almost twice as much.

♥ Victoria's Secret Eye Flash Liquid Brightening Pen -- Spotlight
I spotted this product while browsing through Victoria's Secret a few weekends ago. It is suppose to be an undereye brightener/highlighter that helps to diminish the looks of dark circles, or it could also be used as a highlight for the cheeks, around the nose or anywhere that you need a little bit of concealing/brightening up. It comes in a clicky pen brush packaging, which reminded me of the YSL Touche Eclat that I have been lemming for a long time. I have been using this product mainly under my eyes to help with my dark circles, and it works great. It doesn't crease on me either (primer applied underneath). I hope to purchase a YSL Touche Eclat soon so I can compare the two.
In the pictures below, the bottom left showing its coloring, and the bottom right image is how it looks lightly spread out. There is a little bit of shimmer, but not too noticeable once completely blended out.

♥ Philosophy The Supernatural Superglossy SPF15 Lip Gloss -- Bare Your Soul
Love the texture of this lip gloss. It is not sticky at all, doesn't settle in fine lines, and makes my lips feel moisturized and smooth. There is no shimmer at all, so no gritty texture either. It has a light minty scent, and feels refreshing on the lips. The SPF is an added plus. This lip gloss comes with a doe foot applicator.

Review: LUSH Sugar Scrub

2011-03-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

Image from LUSH

I am sorry, but LUSH Sugar Scrub, I really really didn't like you! I am normally a big fan of LUSH products, and I have tried numerous products from them that I loved and repurchased over and over again, sometimes even recommended to my friends and family. But this is the first LUSH product that I had to toss away.

LUSH described this product as: "Our Sugar Scrub is hard, but a bit of a sweetie. Its no nonsense stance stimulates activity and tackles cellulite with fennel and ginger. Calming lavender has a balancing effect and encourages healthier skin."

To use: "Wet your skin in the shower or bath and rub a sugary scrub all over your body, then rinse. Do not get the scrub wet under running water or it will melt before it has had a chance to health and smooth your skin. As you rub on your body feel the scrub work its sugary magic, leaving you with bright, smooth and healthy glowing skin"

Um, excuse me? Smooth, healthy glowing skin? After I used the sugar scrub, it left little scratches on my arms and legs, and then a day later, a ton of itchy, rough raised bumps that took forever to heal! I am not new to scrubs and I use a body scrub at least once a week in my shower to exfoliate and help get rid of dead skin cells. But this was my first time using the LUSH Sugar Scrub, and the result was so disappointing. It felt so rough on my skin, so I had to use an extra light hand. Even so, it damaged my skin. I feel like the only area you can safely use this scrub on are your heels, but that's what my pumice stone is for.

The only thing I liked about the scrub is its scent. It's sweet and flowery. But other than that, I disliked how it melted and left a pile of green mess in my shower after using it, and I strongly disliked how it was so rough on my skin and made me feel miserable for days while my rashes healed.

At first I thought I had been using this all wrong -- even though this has always been how I use a scrub! You take it and rub it on your body! I still wanted to do research and checked out its review on makeupalley.com. It turns out I wasn't the only victim who got scratches and rashes from using this product. Some people suggested crushing it first and use the crumbles, which is less abrasive. I tried breaking it apart but it was solid as rock! I suppose I could take a bag and break it inside w/ a hammer or something, but honestly it was too much hassle for me to use a product.

In conclusion, LUSH Sugar Scrub was a completely disappointment to me. If you have sensitive skin, take my advice and do not try it! If you want something really powerful against callused skin, perhaps this has enough power for you. For me, I will never use this again!

Nail Polishes of the Month -- February 2011

2011-03-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

Chinese New Year Nail:
Base color: Zoya -- America
Yellow stripes: L.A. Colors Art Deco Nail Art -- Yellow
Gold sparkles: Winmax New York Pedicure Nail Enamel

Revlon Scented Parfume -- Peach Smoothie

OPI -- Black Shatter (on top of Revlon Peach Smoothie)

Tarina Tarantino -- Meteor Night

Zoya -- Helen

Valentine's Day Nail:
Base color: China Glaze -- Mr. & Mrs. (1 coat)
Heart accents: Maybelline Express Finish -- Clearly in Love

Paul & Joe Nail Enamel -- 23

Zoya -- Summer

Hello Kitty X Sephora -- Blueberry

Paul & Joe Nail Enamel -- 15

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure -- Choco-Latte

Scented Nail Polish Show Down

2011-02-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

I have recently discovered a new love for scented nail polishes. This started when I purchased my first bottle of Paul & Joe nail polish during the holidays. Not only was the polish consistency smooth and easy to apply, it left a nice fragrant scent on my nails once dried. Ever since then, I purchased 3 more bottles of Paul & Joe nail polishes, all of them leave the same nice scent once dried, and I am totally in love!

I have also been informed that Jill Stuart nail polishes also leave a nice scent once dried. I will have to get myself a bottle to try out soon!

While browsing CVS, I also discovered that Revlon also came out with a scented nail polish line called Revlon Scented Parfume Nail Enamel. Out of curiousity I picked up two to try.

Today I am going to compare the Paul & Joe vs. the Revlon scented nail polishes.

The Paul & Joe Nail Enamel left a light floral scent on my nails, and it is also very long lasting -- even after repeated hand washes and still left a faint smell the next day. I just couldn't help but keep sniffing my finger nails for the whole day after I had it on, good thing I stayed at home, otherwise I'd probably been stared at weirdly hahaha. The scent the Paul & Joe polish left is light, sweet and feminine. The polish formula is smooth, and very easy to apply. The only downside of the Paul & Joe polish? Its price tag, at $14 a bottle.

Paul & Joe Nail Enamel -- 23

The Revlon Scented Parfume Nail Enamel left a fruity smell once dried. The scent is stronger than that of Paul & Joe immediately after drying, but actually not in a completely good way, more of a if you are sensitive to perfume/strong scents, then you might sneeze kind of way. After a few handwashes, the scent grew fainter and it was completely gone by the next day, unlike Paul & Joe. So the scent is not as long lasting, despite its stronger and much sweeter note when freshly applied. Much to my disappointment, the formula, like a lot of Revlon ones that I've tried, is streaky. However once the second coat and top coat are applied, it is opaque and smooth at last. Each Revlon polish is about $5 to 6 dollars, and often times you will find them at BOGO 50% off sales, so for under $10 you can get two bottles.

Revlon Scented Parfume Nail Enamel -- Peach Smoothie

I also think maybe the Revlon polishes come in different scents as each polishes' names suggest, such as Peach Smoothie, Sublime Strawberry, Grape Icy, etc.

Overall, I guess I am still more attracted to Paul & Joe, for its smoother formula and more favorable scent (to me personally). I also just cannot resist its pretty bottle. However the Revlon ones will be a good alternative for anyone who's interested in trying out a scented nail polish because they are more readily available. Scent wise, if you are into the lighter floral scent, try Paul & Joe. But if you prefer the sweet fruity scents, Revlon would be your choice.

Nail Polishes of the Month -- December 10 & January 11

2011-02-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Please read my previous post for an introduction to this project.

All polishes are applied with 2 coats unless otherwise indicated. Left is taken with either natural light or room light, right is taken with flash.

Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer -- Peach Parfait (3 coats)

Sinful Colors -- Vacation Time

OPI -- Bronzed to Perfection

L'Oreal Paris -- Mango-Get-Em

L'Oreal Paris -- Sweet Chiffon

Orly -- Toast the Couple

Zoya -- Mia

Sephora by OPI -- Beauty Junkie

China Glaze -- Don't Touch My Tiara

Paul & Joe Nail Enamel C -- 003 Classical (LE Holiday 2010)

Nail Polishes of the Month -- Introduction

2011-02-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today I am starting a new series of posts for my blog, much like the "monthly favorite products" and the "used up products of the month" posts, this one will hopefully make its appearance on a monthly basis -- Nail Polishes of the Month.

It's come to my attention that as my nail polish obsession grew overtime, some of my nail polishes are not getting the love they deserve. I'd often change my manicures among a few that I really loved and ignore some of my earlier ones. I also realize that before I decide to buy a nail polish, it is often useful to Google swatches to see how they'd look on real finger nails instead of what it shows on the picture of a bottle. Even though there are already tons of awesome nail blogs, I would still like to contribute my share, and hopefully someone will find a particular swatch useful and help them to decide on a purchase. I also hope that by keeping track of all the manicures I go through in a month, these series of posts will help myself to tally up all the nail polishes I own.So by the end of the series, I will have showed all the nail polishes in my collection.

How frequently I change my nail polish totally depends on my mood and schedule. Sometimes I'd change manicure every 2 days, sometimes a week or longer. Most of the time I change manicure because my current one chipped, and because I have this bad habit of picking/peeling at my nail polishes once they are chipped (I know, so bad! But polishes have at least prevented me from picking at my own nails, an even worse habit I've had since a kid). I also admit that I am not blessed with beautiful long nails. They peel easily and are hard to grow long without breaking, even with the help of a daily dose of Biotin, and strengthening top coats. The type of work I do also sometimes tend to be extra damaging to my hands, thus the sometimes rough cuticles. But I still hope that my swatches will be helpful. I am also hoping that now knowing I'd have to post my hands on the Internet every time I change a new polish, I will be reminded to take care of my hands and cuticles better!

I actually decided to start this project in December of 2010, but never got around to editing the photos and posting them. So the next POM post will start with December + January, and then February will follow as soon as the month ends. Let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, and enjoy!

Let's end the post with a glimpse of all the polishes I will have to go through, and my nail polish organization. I used two top drawers of a 3 drawer Sterilite cart. Each drawer is tall enough so polish bottles could stand upright. I read somewhere that it is not a good idea to store nail polishes sideways because over time polish could seep through the cap and dry out and shut the top closed. I also placed smaller baskets in there so I can further organize the polishes by shades. The top drawer contains base and top coats, sheer polishes or glittery ones that look best when added on top of another polish. The basket beneath that has some black/brown/grey/yellow/green/blue shades that I could only wear on the weekends because they are not work appropriate. I own a lot of pink/coral/red shades because I tend to sway toward those colors when I buy nail polishes, and also they are the ones that are more office appropriate. So the whole second Sterilite drawer contain these shades.

L'Oreal The One Sweep Eye Shadow

2011-02-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

This eyeshadow is a new product from L'Oreal. When I first spotted it at Target, I was instantly intrigued by the huge sponge tip applicator and decided to pick one up to try.

I think it's great that the shadow comes prearranged with 3 complimenting crease, base and highlight shades and are designed for different colors of eyes. They have a natural color and a fun color for brown, green, and blue eyes, plus two more for all eyes.

The one I picked up is 809 Natural for Brown Eyes. The highlight shade is a light taupe color, the base color is a light grayish brown, and the crease color a darker brown. All of them have shimmers. The colors are not extremely pigmented, but together they create a nice gradient on my eyelid, and are perfect for a day time office appropriate look. I do wish that the shadows are a little bit less shimmery and frosty though.

To use, you grab the sponge tip applicator and sweep it across the pan vertically, then sweep across your eyelid. The curved-in part of the applicator is always picking up the darkest shade on the right, which will then go closest to your lash line. So one sweep, and you get liner/crease shade, all over shadow and highlight shades in one step. The concept is really cool, and even though I thought it was a little gimmicky, it actually worked surprisingly well for my eye shape! The sponge tip applicator is soft picks up a lot of shadow in one go.

This shadow is great for someone who might be new to makeup but wanted something with more dimension than a single sweep of shadow. This shadow is also a great one to bring on travel because it's quick, easy and fool proof.

I got mine at Target for $8.99 + tax. However since it is a drugstore product, I am surethere will be a BOGO free or 50% sale at CVS in the future.

The pigmentation is lacking, but the shades I picked up is one of the lightest among the group. Some others seem to have fun vibrant colors and I would love to pick more up to try when there is a sale.

Have you tried this shadow? Do you often pick up a new product because you were curious about its special packaging or features?

My Secret Valentine 2011

2011-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

This is my second year participating in the Secret Valentine event hosted by Diana. This is a really fun way for us to meet new blogger friends and send love packs to each other. This year, Liz was my Secret Valentine. Boy did she spoil me rotten! p.s. Iyah got me as her SV, check out her post here :)

Liz's packages came in two big Nordstrom boxes. She was so thoughtful! Not only did she ask me anonymous questions on Elfster beforehand to find out what I liked, but she placed my gifts in super pretty gift boxes! I felt so special to be receiving such nicely wrapped presents.

Oh YES! I LOVE pink, and I LOVE hello kitty! Thank youuuuuu!!!

My super duper adorable Hello Kitty pillow that I LOVE! Did I tell you I love it?! Not even Mia's allowed to touch it :p

This NARS Tained Love Set is so gorgeous! This is the first NARS Multiple I've ever owned, it's such a pretty pink! The lip gloss is equally gorgeous, and the nail polish's pretty hot pink color is so irresistible! All three products scream Valentine's Day! (And upon further research, this set is actually a Limited Edition set from Nordstrom for V-day! This blog also has gorgeous swatches of the products, so please check it out!)

Thank you Liz, for making my Valentine's Day extra special, extra sweet, extra cute and pink!!! Thank you so much for being the best Valentine ever <3 Also, I wish you a very happy birthday :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

This year's Valentine's Day is extra special for us because exactly a year ago, we got engaged! And today we will be celebrating as husband and wife for the first time in our lives :)

Hubby surprised me with a super cute key pendant necklace, I love the little pink sapphire on the heart. He did such a good job selecting this gift, I am totally in love with key pendents.

The back is pretty!

A few days ago he also got me my permanent pot of daisy flowers that will now sit next to my computer forever. The flower petals are made with removable paper clips that sit on a magnetic center. Isn't it adorable?

So here is my little post dedicated to this year's Valentine's Day. I am thankful for having a wonderful husband and friend for life. Despite our ups and downs, I am proud to be your wife, and lucky to have you in my life! <3

Shopping With a Friend is Way Better Than Shopping Alone

2011-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

...because window shopping is more likely to turn into some real shopping, hahaha. This was a shopping trip with my friend YY from way back in December. She is one of my few real life friends who is also really into makeup/skincare. When I get together with her, we just couldn't stop talking about beauty deals and makeup, which was a ton of fun! She's also the only friend whom I could shamelessly admit to how much of a beauty addict I am.

When I met up with her that morning, she pulled out a printed coupon from Estee Lauder, as they were giving away free lip glosses for the day only. I have never tried Estee Lauder lip glosses before, so this was a nice treat!

We wandered into Juicy Couture and came out with matching bracelets. I love how chunky this is, as I've never had anything similar to it before. I'm not planning on adding more charms on it though, I think the heart and the J is bulky enough, haha.

At Sephora, I picked up the Make Up For Ever Duo Mat Powder Foundation. The SA matched me up for 203 (light beige). I have heard so many beauty blogger friends rave about this product. This product is perfect for my oily skin!

I also stood shamelessly in the long line of little kids anxiously getting their holiday presents at Build-A-Bear for my own stuffed animal. They had 4 Sanrio characters on sale back then, Hello Kitty (which I own), Chococat (which I really wanted but OOS everywhere), My Melody, and Keroppi. I opted for Keroppi :) And since it's limited edition, my Keroppi is numbered, cool huh? :)

Also picked up some CLEAN products -- Fresh Laundry Clothing & Linen Fragrance, and Simply Soap Soft Body Lotion. I love CLEAN scents -- they give you a fresh out of the shower and just did laundry feel.

Hello Kitty PJ pants-- hey I'm wearing it right now as I am typing! So soft and warm. Perfect for lounging around the house for.

Victoria's Secret shimmer powder, and bath products, all in Pure Seduction scent, which is my favorite scent from VS. I bought the trio of body lotion, spray and shower gel for the cute pink pouch with gold accents, and put it to use right away at my friend's Indian wedding:

My first time wearing a sari! My college roomie chose this sari for me and the pink and gold matched my VS wrislet perfectly :)

Final Result: Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum

2011-02-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

It's been 4 weeks since I've started using the Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum. Are you curious about the results? Before we start, please read this post, and also this post to get some background information on this product and my thoughts on it.

Now are you ready? Let's see some Before and After pictures! (Click to enlarge)

My lashes look visibly fuller and longer. I am also very happy that my bottom lashes grew longer too, they were almost non-existent before (and super hard to put mascara on).


Look! I can see my bottom lashes!

For the past 4 weeks, I always made sure to have the lash growth serum on 24/7. In the night I'd apply the Clear Serum, and in the morning I'd either use the Deep Brown liner as my eyeliner for the day, or apply Clear Serum after cleansing my face and before I put on my makeup.

I would highly recommend this product. I am loving its 2-in-1 property, and how easy it is to use. It is a relatively new product from Physician's Formula, I found mine at my local CVS. They retail for about $10 each.

♥ January Favorites ♥

2011-02-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

♥ L'Oreal One Sweep Eye Shadow (809 Natural for Brown Eyes)
I was shopping at Target and passed by the L'Oreal new product display, and this gigantic sponge tip applicator caught my attention. What in the world...! I decided to grab one to try anyway because I got really curious about the product. You grab the sponge tip applicator and sweep it across the pan vertically, then sweep across your eyelid! The curved-in part of the applicator is always picking up the darkest shade on the right, which will then go closest to your lash line. So one sweep, and you get liner, all over shadow and highlight shades in one step. The concept is really cool, and even though I thought it was a little gimmicky, it actually worked surprisingly well for my eye shape! Will have swatches in a upcoming post soon!

♥ LUSH Vanilla Dee-Lite Hand and Body Cream
I have been using this as a body cream after I shower every night. It has an extremely light and watery texture that is not greasy at all, so it is really easy to apply. It has a light vanilla scent, which I really enjoyed. Love this!

♥ Clarins Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Comfort Cream
I picked up this 100-point deluxe sample from Sephora to try out, and have been using it as my night cream for the past few weeks. I really love it. It helps to repair and plump up the skin while you sleep, and the next morning I'd wake up to refreshed and soft skin. It's not greasy and absorbs well. I will be purchasing a full sized product after I'm done with this tube, because I love the way my skin feels and looks after using it!

♥ MAC I Get No Kick Eye Kohl
A soft shimmery champagne colored liner from the Cham-Pale collection. I love using it at the inner corners and inner bottom lash lines to help me look more energized and awake, and also a dab at the center of the Cupid's bow to give my lips a fuller look.

Swatch with flash on.

Swatch without flash.

♥ Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Day & Night Lash Boosting Serum (Clear Serum) ♥ Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner & Serum (Deep Brown)
It has been almost 4 weeks since I've been using this amazing Physician's Formula lash growth serum/liner, and I am so happy with how much fuller and longer my lashes are now. Even my bottom lashes, which were almost non-existent before, are visibly longer now. I made sure that I have this serum on 24/7. In the night I'd apply the Clear Serum, and in the morning I'd either use the Deep Brown liner as my eyeliner for the day, or apply Clear Serum after cleansing my face and before I put on my makeup. The thin brush tip is really easy to apply, and is able to reach every corners of the eyelid. The brown liner is very long lasting. For more information, please read this & this. A final review showing my progress at the 4 week mark will be coming soon too :)

♥ Dior Diorshow Mascara
This is a little sample sized Diorshow mascara, and I am loving it! I have been using waterproof mascara for the majority of the year in 2010, and I got tired of how much harder it was to remove them at the end of the day. This mascara is really easy to remove, yet it stays on for the whole day for me. It lengthens, volumizes, and doesn't clump. Would I repurchase? hmm at $24.50 a pop, I might have to think hard about it. Seriously, do mascaras have to be that expensive! Especially since you are suppose to replace it every 6 months :T

Finished Products in January

2011-02-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

It feels like I just wrote one of these, and January has ended already!

✔LUSH Rub Rub Rub Shower Gel -- This is another LUSH products that could be used for both guys and gals since it has a somewhat neutral scent that's not extremely sweet and girly. This shower gel actually has exfoliating granules mixed in, which lightly exfoliates the skin. Even with the exfoliating granules, it foamed up nicely on a sponge.

✔Korres Body Scrub in Fig -- Just a very typical body scrub with somewhat coarse exfoliating bits mixed with a creamy base to help get rid of dead skin on your body. Even though it was a tiny tube, but it lasted me a long time, since you only need a little bit each time. I try to exfoliate my body about once a week in the shower.

✔Mandom Morning Hair Fix Water (Floral Fragrance) -- This is truly a life saver in the mornings when I'm in a hurry to get ready, but my long hair just had to tangle up and make it so difficult to brush through. What choices do I have? Either be rough and try to break a few hairs and pull through (a big no no!), or just spray this hair fix water and it works magically to help detangle my hair! It also leaves my hair smelling nice. The spray bottle is really easy to use and sprays just the right amount of products each time.

✔PERT Plus Thick 'n full 2 in 1 Shampoo plus Conditioner -- Not a big fan of the smell, but it does work -- I get soft and fluffy hair the next morning. I still use a conditioner after the shampoo, normally those 2 in 1 products do not have enough conditioner for my long hair.

✔e.l.f Makeup Remover Cleansing Clothes -- I stocked up during the 50% sale. At $1.5 for 20 pieces, it's such a great deal. I use these cleansing clothes to remove makeup on my face first, and then I use Clarisonic brush + Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser for a more thorough cleansing to make sure I get rid of all traces of makeup/dirt from the day. And yes, I clean off my makeup as soon as I get home so I can have clean face for the rest of the evening, and can do face masks, etc before I go to sleep.

✔Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover -- The Target version of the Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover. Does just as good of a job, but costs less. Yes please!

✔Bath & Body Works For Heaven's Sake Super-Softening Oil-To-Cream Bath & Shower Wash with Sake -- This is a very interesting product. It has a similar consistency as those face cleansing oil we use to remove makeup. You know, the one you apply all over your face to dissolve makeup, then use a little bit of water to emulsify the product until it turns milky white, and then rinse off with ease without the greasy feeling. Just a little big of this oil makes a big foam ball on the shower puff. It also left my skin soft and without any dry feeling. It also smells really nice, a soft light fragrance (not exactly sake though, imo).

✔Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect European Pedicure Callus Remover --Neat little product for at home pedicure. It is extremely easy to use. I just turn off my shower, and apply the gel all over my heels, wait for a minute and rinse off. It is suppose to help exfoliate and smooth the feet and get rid of calluses. It helps my heels to stay soft. After I rinse off, sometimes I'd use a callus stone to further exfoliate and smooth away any rough spots. This is especially a nice treat in the summer, since the gel felt cooling and relaxing on. And summer is when my heels get more rough from wearing flip flops.

Recent Shoe Haul

2011-02-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

In searching for the perfect pair of nude heels, I went on Target.com as per a friend's recommendation, and was pleased to discover this:

It was perfect! The color was exactly what I was looking for. My only thing about it is of the 4" heels. I am quite clumpsy when it comes to walking in heels, so 4" is a little bit of a challenge for me, especially for an extended period of time :p

So thennnn, I discovered these, at Forever 21! Normally Forever 21 heels are also freakishly tall for me, but these are labeled as medium heels with 3.5" heel height. They have two color options, Beige or Gray. This pair is surprisingly comfortable and I've wore it to work a few times already without too much problem. Here is the link if you are interested in getting them.

Also at Target.com, I got a pair of brown Oxfords. I am actually not too much of a big fan of these Oxford shoes. But I got them anyway because I wanted to get up to $50 total for free shipping, LOL. I originally thought I was going to return these, but once I put them on, I didn't want to anymore :) They actually don't look bad at all on (looks good with skirt too) and are comfortable enough to walk around in for the whole day.

Also got this pair for my best friend's wedding in December. Even though the heels look high, but the platform and the strap around the ankle help tremendously.

I also grabbed this pair of super adorable flats from Target store when it was on clearance. I actually originally saw this pair in the store a few months ago and wanted them, but couldn't find a pair in my size. When I shopped online, I again looked for them but unfortunately they were out of stock. So imagine my excitement when I found a pair of size 7 in another Target store, with a red clearance tag a few weeks ago! These are my favorite pair of flats to wear now.

Best Secret Santa Ever :)

2011-01-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

In December, I participated in a Secret Santa event hosted by Sheila. My Secret Santa was the ever so sweet Rina! We weren't suppose to open our packages until Christmas day. But Rina's box arrived two weeks prior! Imagine my anxiety!

When I finally ripped open the box, I let out a gasp! I was amazed at how much goodies Rina sent me! It was truly the best Christmas present ever. She asked me about what I liked and wanted to try, and granted many of my wish list items. Even though Rina and I have never chatted before, but it's like she knew me so well already!

She knows of my love for cute blushers. I love how adorable that pink blush with the "magic wand" looking applicator is! The peachy blush comes with a cute little puff. The powder in the middle I think is a setting powder that's suppose to help improve your complexion. It is small and travel friendly :)

She also sent me falsies. The two pairs on the left also comes with a lash storage box, which is super useful and something I have been looking for! Rina also got me three Kate eyeshadow palettes. I have never tried this brand before, but I am impressed with their packaging and the range of shades in each -- it comes with highlight, contour, cream base all in one.

Lip glosses and lip balms:

Paul & Joe Nail Care Oil and a pa nail polish in a cute mauvy pink shade. Love the elegant design on the Paul & Joe bottle!

Rina is also a big fan of sheet masks. Ever since this Secret Santa package, we have exchanged our favorite sheet masks with each other a few times. I am glad to have met another friend who's interested in sheet masks as much as I do haha. Thanks for all the different kinds of My Beauty Diary masks to try! My favorites among them were the chocolate, strawberry yogurt and bird nests!

Hello Kitty galore!!! I was in heaven when I saw all the cute Hello Kitty pouches Rina sent me! I love the white coin purse with the cute checkered back. The black pouch is roomy and would be such a cute travel makeup bag. She even got me the sticker and magnet sheets from the Hello Kitty 50 year anniversary truck!

Rina also read my wish list and got me a Bath & Body Works ScentBug, along with two fragrance oils. She had asked me prior what kind of scents I liked and she was spot on! I especially loved the Island Nectar scent.

Thank you so much Rina for being an awesome Secret Santa and making my Christmas a joyful day with all your gifts! I absolutely loved everything you picked out for me. Most importantly, I am glad to have gotten to know you better through this event. Can't wait to meet you when I visit SoCal, and have you take me to your favorite Asian beauty shops ♥

Christmas Love [Picture Heavy]

2011-01-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

My package delivery guy deserves a big tips and a big bag of cookies for working so hard during the holiday season. Not only was I shopping like crazy, I also received a TON of love from friends. I felt so blessed to have gotten to know so many super sweet ladies since I started blogging, and I think our friendship are the best thing that happened out of my blogging experience <3

Today I want to share with you the Christmas love I've received, so you can share my happiness with me :)

Yumeko send me the most adorable Christmas card. I wasn't sure what the Japanese were saying, help please?

My friend Ying knows of my love for Hello Kitty and being the crafty girl that she is, she made me this Hello Kitty key holder -- it's too cute for words. I also don't want to use it after seeing how delicate and pretty it is, she even asked me what my favorite colors were (yellow and baby blue, for now haha) and incorporated into the key holder:

My friend Teresa gave me this big Burt's Bees set, it's got a little bit of everything, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, face scrub, towel, you name it. It'll be an awesome kit to bring on trips!

Stephanie baked YUMMY cookies! She packed them so nicely too. Are you hungry yet?

Nic send me her sweet Christmas love, the chocolate lover in me was really excited when I opened the package:

Dear May gave me this pair of warm and soft Hello Kitty slippers, and a TON of beauty goodies: masks, Sabon body butter bar, Cake Beauty lotion spray, scrub and shower gel, NARS shadows and a pink Scent Bug.

Iyah's Christmas card is so adorable, thanks for the super sweet message, your hand writing is so neat and pretty!

My birthday twin Diana surprised me with two LUSH items that was on my wish list. Sneaky girl! Thank you so much for being so thoughtful! Isn't her Christmas card super adorable too?

Catherine gifted me the cutest Hello Kitty plush ornament that I placed on top of my Christmas tree this year. She also gave me my very first L'Occitane hand cream. I can't wait to try it out!

The super super sweet Edna gave me SO much goodies! Look at her Christmas card too! We are both Hello Kitty (and kitty) lovers <3

A cupcake shaped bath bomb she got me during her vacation, Almost could pass for a real one!

What was inside of the Hello Kitty box? MAKEUP!

Edna got me my first Guerlain eyeshadow palette. She is a Guerlain lover and she's trying to convert me into one :p Isn't this so pretty! Thanks love!

So there you have it, a collection of photos of Christmas love from my lovely friends. Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart <3

Finished Products in December

2011-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Holy cow! I'm behind, again :( Nevertheless, let's keep the Finished Products posts going in Year 2011...Do you guys like this monthly post where you get to look at empty containers and hear me talk about how I liked using them?

✔St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser -- I truly enjoyed using this gentle face cleanser. It is lightly green tea scented, which I love. It also claims to clear breakouts and reduce redness. Even though I don't get redness on my cheeks often so I can't attest to that, but I do believe it helps to control breakouts. During the duration of me using this bottle of cleanser, my breakouts have pretty much reduced to none. I am loving my clear skin nowadays. It also doesn't foam up too much, which made it easy to use my Clarisonic brush with.

✔Perricone MD Advanced Face Firming Activator -- I've been using this on and off as a serum for well over a year. I don't think it helped me much to improve and firm my skin, it's also got a weird fishy smell that sometimes gets annoying (although disappears quickly). The texture is a light white gel that is easy to absorb but has no moisturizing effects, so you should follow up with a moisturizer.

✔Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 -- I think I started using Clinique 3-step products around the same time last year, and so far I've finished two big bottle of toner and 1 super sized bottle. Toner is the most easily used up item among the three. I kept the pump bottle all year long and poured more toner into it every time I finish because the pump makes using the product much easier. As far as the toner, I do really enjoy using it, although I'm not a big fan of how alcohol-y it is. For someone with sensitive skin, it might sting a little. For me, it was okay. I would buy this again when Clinique has another GWP event (it's all about the bonus we can score when we shop :p)

✔Zirh Herbal Under Eye Cream --Loved this eye cream. Its light weight formula is really easy to absorb. During night routine it could serve as a serum and during the day it goes perfectly well under makeup without sliding or smudging. It also contains caffeine that really helped to reduce my puffy eyes in the morning. Granted it doesn't smell girly and floral like most of my facial products because it is originally a men's product, but if it does the job well, that's all it matters :) It's also pretty big (for eye cream) and lasted a long time.

✔Neutrogena Ultra-Soft Eye Makeup Remover Pads -- Loved the Neutrogena Eye Makeup Remover, but hated these remover pads. I am not sure if I got a bad package or what, but the pads inside were rather dry and contained very little makeup remover fluids. As a result it was almost impossible to remove any eye makeup, let alone the waterproof ones like they claimed. I actually bought this to take with me on my honeymoon because I did not want spilled makeup remover fluids in my luggage, but ended up not using any on my eyes. What a waste of luggage space because it is a rather bulky jar. For a face makeup remover, it works though. The pad is large and thick, which felt pretty nice against my face. Will not buy again to remove eye makeup.

✔LUSH The Olive Branch Shower Gel -- This shower gel smells great, and the scent is not so sweet (like my favorite Snow Fairy) that even guys could use this. My only complaint is that the consistency of this is rather watery. When you pour it out of the bottle, some products drips right through the shower sponge and into the drain it goes. At first I thought mine expired, but after doing some research online I found out a lot of people had this problem. Make sure you shake it up before using. However it lathers really well on the body, and you will love the scent!

✔Sofymo Coenzyme Q10 Super Cleansing Sheet -- When I first opened this box of cleansing sheet, I was surprised at how thin and tiny the sheet was. However once I used it, I was impressed. It is only about half the size as my usual ELF or Pond's makeup remover sheets, which makes the shape rather odd (thin and long), but it takes off makeup amazingly well. Even though the sheet was thin, it still contained enough fluid and won't dry out before you even finish wiping your entire face.

✔Tree Hut Shea Body Butter in Coconut Lime -- First of all, this smelled SO yummy! It is a creamy and super spreadable body butter (sounds like I'm talking about food instead) that applies on the skin like a dream. It's also super moisturizing, perfect for the winter time when your skin is dryer from the weather.

✔LUSH Chai Spicy Shower Gel -- This shower gel has a strange strong herbal scent to it. It kind of reminds me of Dr. Pepper (both the scent and the smell). It's a good winter/holiday time shower gel, but keep in mind it smells nothing like Chai tea. It's got more of an allspice smell, so if you hate that, then this is not for you.

Revisit: Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum

2011-01-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Remember last week when I mentioned the new Physician's Formula Eye Booster eyeliner and how it might be an easier to find alternative to the well-loved Dolly Wink eyeliner? I promised I'd report back to you if I get a black one so I could do a better comparison. Unfortunatly when I went to CVS last weekend, there were only 2 left on the shelf, one in Clear and another one in Deep Brown. In a week's time the entire display case was almost cleared out, I guess it wasn't just me who got excited about this new discovery!

I picked up the last Deep Brown liner. Instead of named the Day & Night Lash Boosting Serum like the clear one, this one is named as the Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum. The clear one could be worn at all times, while the colored ones are to be used as an eyeliner when you go out. But the colored ones also contain lash growing serum to boost lash length, volume and thickness.

Physician's Formula Eye Booster in Deep Brown.

Top: Physician's Formula
Bottom: Dolly Wink

I love the thin brush tip that is really easy to control and draws on the line so precisely. Compared to Dolly Wink, I find both of them to be easy to control how thin or thick of a line I wanted. Both draw on very smoothly and dries quickly. I worn the Deep Brown liner for the whole day on Monday and it didn't smudge on me, so it does live up to its long wear claim. I also love how the brown shade is not super dark and sharp like a black liner and is perfect for a toned down every day look.

The only downside of these liners are the fact that you couldn't use them on the inside of your lash line. I know Dolly Wink is perfect for tight-lining and filling in those gaps between lashes. I am guessing because of the lash growing ingredients in these liners, it is deemed unsafe when the product gets into the eye?

Physician's Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Deep Brown on my eye.

I have been using the clear serum day and night continuously for almost 2 weeks now. Below are the pictures I took after about 6 days of using the clear serum, I do notice that my lashes are a tiny bit longer, lower lashes too. (Click on images to enlarge)

I will report back in 4 weeks time and see if we can see a major difference on my lashes!

Did I just spot...Dolly Wink Liquid Liner at CVS?

2011-01-10T22:30:00.000-08:00

Nope! It was the new Eye Booster 2-in-1 Day & Night Lash Boosting Serum from Physician's Formula. Why mention Dolly Wink though, you ask? Please keep on reading!

For those of you who haven't heard of the Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner, it is from a Japanese line of makeup launched by a former model, Tsubasa Masuwaka. Her line is known for the super adorable packaging, such as this eyelash case, this eyelash glue, and of course, the well-loved liquid eyeliner. Beauty bloggers love this super thin, precise, long lasting liner. I am no exception. Its thin tip really helps to get in between the lashes and the liner stays on all day long.

When I was browsing CVS yesterday, I spotted this Physician's Formula lash boosting serum display case, and the shiny packaging immediately drew my attention. Yes, I admit I often get persuaded because of a pretty packaging. But hey, in the case of Dolly Wink, it was a win-win situation! Pretty packaging AND great product = love!

I picked up the Clear Serum one to try. They also offer brown, black, and ultra black ones that are called Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum. So basically, mine is simply a clear serum that you apply to clean lash line to help grow longer, thicker and more volumized lashes. But the ones with color also double as an eyeliner during the day! The back of the packaging claims that "After 4 weeks over 93% of women saw extended, defined and more enhanced lashes" along with pretty convincing before and after photos. 93% is pretty high! Hopefully I won't fall into that remaining 7%. I plan on using this morning and night, and will report back in a few weeks whether if this serum has helped my lashes!

After I got home and opened the packaging, I immediately thought that it looked familiar. Comparing this Physician's Formula one to the Dolly Wink eyeliner, do you spot a close resemblance? Except for the obviously different outer packaging, the thin brush tips look almost identical. They glide on my skin with the same feel too -- smooth, soft yet precise. The back of the packaging did mention that it uses a "High-tech Japanese formula"...Could it be that these two products use the same formula that stays on all day and all night long? Now I had wished I picked up another liner in black so I could compare -- a post for another day!

For those of you who already own Dolly Wink and love it, pick up a Physician's Formula one when you get a chance and let me know if my instinct is right? :)

♥ December Favorites ♥

2011-01-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! 2010 was a wonderful year, and I hope 2011 will be even better! As usual, I made a few new year's resolutions, one of which is to blog more often. So your job now is to keep reminding me of this goal and help me accomplish it this year :) Let's get started with the very first post of the new year: December Favorites.

♥ Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser

This is the perfect cleanser to be used with my Clarisonic Mia. It is gentle and non-drying, yet effectively removes the dirt and makeup. Since it doesn't foam up, it won't make a bubbly mess on my face while the Clarisonic brush is spinning. I use this twice a day, once in the morning to wash off any oil produced on my face while sleeping, and once in the evening after I take off my makeup, just to make sure there isn't any trace makeup left over on my face. I bought this huge pump bottle because I find the pump to be super convenient to use. Philosophy should really consider putting pumps on their smaller sized bottles. This one is definitely not travel friendly, but will for sure last me a long time!

♥ Shiseido Tsubaki Head Spa Massage Spa Mask with Essential Oil

Shiseido Tsubaki hair care products have always been pretty popular among blogger ladies. I really enjoy using their white damage care line as well. This gold line is a series of new products they came out with in the recent months, and it concentrates on conditioning the scalp for improved blood circulation, in order to achieve healthier and more beautiful hair growth. Normally when I use a hair mask, I always concentrate at the tips of my hair to help repair damages and split ends. But this hair mask is to be used directly on the scalp. It's tapered tip makes it easy to apply in between the hair onto the scalp. I use this about once a week, and it leaves my hair so soft and shiny. It's also got a wonderful scent to it.

♥ The Face Shop Fruit Garden Hand Lotion in Peach and Pomegranate

This past month has been very cold, rainy and windy in the Bay Area. Due to work reasons, I also had to be outdoors a lot. So I find myself carrying a hand lotion with me everywhere I go. This is the one that I tossed in my everyday purse. It smells wonderful with a sweet fruity scent. Every time I apply it, I find myself sniffing my hands, hmmmm. The lotion is light weight and easy to absorb. *pulls the tube out and apply some while typing*

♥Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Eye Serum

The name of the product really drew my attention, "mega-mushroom", it sounds like it came out of Super Mario Bros. or something. I've been using this light weight eye serum for about a month now. While it doesn't really do much for dark circles and puffiness, it is a soothing serum before my eye cream that claims to help with redness and sensitivity. I feel like it helps to add an extra layer of moisture to help protect my under eye area. The pump bottle is nice because it could precisely control the amount of product being dispensed each time. I really dislike the smell though, a very strong herbally scent, but it goes away once my morning regimen is done. Seeing that it's $45 for a 0.5 fl oz. bottle, I probably won't be repurchasing this after I finish. However for now I am enjoying the light weight texture and the soothing comfort it makes my eyes feel.

♥Guerlain Meteorites Powder for the Face (Teint Beige 02)

This was my little splurge of the month from Sephora. I've always been intrigued by this interestingly packaged Guerlain powder. Ever since I missed out on those Paul and Joe Disney blushers that are shaped like little balls in the box, I think I've been increasingly interested in other products that also come in little ball shaped forms. Besides its interesting presentation, I also love how lovely this powder smells, a really soft floral scent. I believe this is to be used as more of a highlighter than an all over powder because it is shimmery. I use a large powder brush and roll it around in the container, and lightly dust on my cheeks and a little on the bridge of my nose and across forehead. What I get is a nice healthy radiant glow, and I couldn't stop staring at my face afterwards. The packaging also looks so beautiful, definitely a staple piece on my vanity from now on!

♥Maybelline Define-A-Brow

These slick little brow pencils are so wonderful! I love how you can just twist out the pencil and save the hassle of sharpening it (which end up wasting a lot of products inside of the sharpener). I have this in shades dark brown and medium brown. Both work pretty well for me. I use medium brown everyday to give my brows a more defined look, and dark brown if I have to go out at night for more definition. They have amazing stay powers, and little bit of it swiped on my brows really make a big difference.


Top: dark brown, Bottom: medium brown

Finished Products in November

2010-12-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

Much belated, but here are all the products I finished in the month of November. I will do a short reviews of each one for ya :)

✔Kose Coen Rich Q10 White Hand and Finger Cream (with Pearl Extract)

The big blocky letters that spelled out "white" drew my immediate attention to this product. While I've tried many hand creams in the past, none other claimed to also have whitening effects. We have whitening/brightening products that helps to diminish age spots, sun damage and blemish scars for every parts of our body, so why not hands too right :) I bought the big tube from Sasa.com. After finishing the entire tube, I don't think I noticed any brightening effects on my hands. But I do enjoy its moisturizing abilities and rich formula, a perfect product to use before I go to bed every night to keep my hands moisturized all night long. It has a nice flowery scent too, which is relaxing for bedtime.
I also bought a smaller sized tube from the same brand to carry in my purse for on the go. Very convenient.

✔Victoria's Secret Girls' Night Flirty Peony and Waterlily Nourishing Body Cream

I really enjoyed using this body cream. The scent is really sweet and fragrant, the cream texture is light and not at all greasy once rubbed in. I also like the tube packaging, makes it easy to squeeze out till the very last drop.

✔Borghese Therapeutic Foot Cream

I got some Borghese products from a gift set that I got a while back, one of the products inside was this foot cream. I really enjoy using Borghese body products, I've tried their body cream and face masks before, they all have this very nice and refreshing scent. This foot cream is no exception. As a foot cream, it's moisturizing and gets the job done. Honestly though, do we really need to purchase a separate foot cream? Body lotion probably does the same thing right? haha I get foot creams anyway, more reason to shop. I kid! :p

✔St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Scrub

This gentle facial scrub really does smell a little like green tea! Unlike the apricot scrub from the same brand, the exfoliating bits in this scrub isn't as harsh and sharply edged, and the direction actually approved for daily use. I think for a while hubby used it daily though and no complaints from him. He never watches what he grabs to use in the shower, I won't be surprised if he's using my shower gel for his face one day if I move the bottles' locations around, hahaha. Anyway, about the scrub. I used it in conjunction with its sister product, the green tea facial wash. I really like this green tea line. It claims to clear up breakouts and reduces skin irritations and redness. I think it does a good job at cleaning the face. I also haven't been getting much break outs lately and I wonder if the green tea line had anything to do with it. All in all a very good and inexpensive facial wash line that you can get at any drugstores.

✔Porcelana Night Skin Lightening Cream

I received this product to review, so I will have a detailed review post on this coming up soon. Let me just briefly talk about it here and mention how much I loved this product. It is a skin lightening cream that claims to fade dark sports and even skin tone. It does exactly what it claims. I've noticed a more speedy fading of my acne scar on my face, and I've also been using this on my body where I had scars from when I suffered eczema earlier this year -- that's why I used up this jar to fast (I also brought it with me on my honeymoon trip and used it on my body twice a day). This product really works!

✔Sarah Michaels Moisturizing Bodywash

Yummy yummy peach scented shower gel. Need I say more? Smells so good!

✔The Face Shop Fragrant Enamel Remover

At $2 a pop, these The Face Shop nail polish removers are my favorite to use. They remove nail polishes, even glittery ones quite effectively, and they do not have that strong acetone smell, which I really appreciated. Instead it leaves my nails smelling nice.

✔Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

Gosh took me a year (on and off ) to finish this bottle. It is so long lasting, also because I only needed a pump of product each time for my whole face. It is a light weight gel that is designed for combination/oily skin. I like this moisturizer for my face, especially in the summer/warmer days because it doesn't leave a heavy greasy feeling on my face. I am glad I finished it just in time for the winter though, I feel like I need to layer up with something a bit heavier if I use this gel during colder months.

✔ELF Zit Zapper

Another Zip Zapper finished. It is cheap (only a $1), has very effective ingredients, easy to use and travel with, works (as an acne prevention serum or as a spot treatment), and unlike the acne creams (benzyol peroxide) that I used to use that stained numerous shirts and pillow cases, this one won't. Need I say more? Go try it :)

✔EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream

This is from the maker of those cute colorful ball shaped EOS lip balms. Unlike other shaving creams I've used, this one does not foam up. It is in a cream texture that you just smear over your skin and then shave away. It leaves skin feeling moisturized, and I haven't had any nicks and cuts from my razor while using this bottle. The pump on top makes it convenient to use.

✔Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner Blackhead Extractor

This is an interesting product. I was drawn to it first because of its name. It sounds so convincing right? It is a gel consistency that you smear over just cleansed face, wait 10-15 minutes, and rinse off. I think it is suppose to help loosen up the sebum and bring out the gunk in your skin so they could be gradually cleansed away overtime. For me, I always follow up with extraction (either with a pore strip, a nose mask or an extraction tool) because I found that the product makes those whiteheads easier to extract. While the product is drying on your skin, you will feel a strong tingly sensation. While it is fine for me, I can imagine some with more sensitive skin to sting from this. Always patch test and try new products with caution.

Honorary Mention:

✔Peter Thomas Roth Max Complexion Correction Pads

I did not use this product up, but my hubby did, and he was so proud that he nmentioned to me that I should include it in my monthly finished product post. So here it is! dun dun dun! :)

I actually purchased this product for myself from Sephora in the spring. It sounds like the perfect product for my oily break out prone skin. Sadly my skin didn't like it (despite the yummy peach scent it leaves my skin with). Contrary to most reviews I read about how it helped with other people's blemishes, I in fact I think broke out from using it :( I was totally bummed out and told hubby that I wanted to return it. He said, are you sure? Let me try it! Since then it has been his and he loved it!

Would I buy this again for hubby? Probably not. He even said himself that he doesn't need to use this (he likes his Clinique one, or whatever I give him just fine), he just didn't want my un-loved product to go to waste (hahaha thanks hubs, I already told you I could have returned it!). I think though, he secretly really loved how he could just pick up a sheet, use it and toss it away. Instead of taking a cotton pad, screw open the toner bottle, dump the product on the cotton pad...all that extra steps that he already doesn't want to do if I didn't force him. hahaha.

Tossed Mascaras: I honestly never finished a tube of mascara before it is time to toss. I feel like mascaras could last forever if you keep using a tube, but then I'd rather not risk any eye infections associated with using the same mascara wand for too long.

✔Physician's Formula Organic Wear mascara

Would not buy again. The most dry and clumpy formula I've ever used -- even before I applied it on my lashes I could see the clumpiness on the wand. The mascara wand is a rubber wand with lots of short bristles, which I could see as potentially a really nice applicator, if paired with a formula that actually works. The mascara smells like sweet honey, kind of weird for a mascara but the scent was yummy regardless. Too bad this one goes in the trash because it just doesn't work for me. I kept going back to it hoping it'd work but it has been disappointing.

✔Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara

This mascara has a nice and big applicator that applies on the lash nicely. It really helped to lengthen my lashes. The formula is a little on the wet side, which means it takes a bit longer to dry on my lashes. I have on several occasions blinked my eyes before the mascara was dry and ruined my makeup with it. Once dry it stays on fine for the rest of the day and doesn't flake. However I noticed when I remove this mascara with an oil based eye makeup remover (Neutrogena), it leaves a lot of clumpy black pieces on the cotton pad.

✔MAC Zoom Lash mascara

This is my first MAC mascara. It came as a little free sample from one of my MAC orders. It didn't work out for me at all, so clumpy! I will not be buying a full size.

Sephora Hello Kitty Sweet Gloss

2010-12-25T16:41:00.000-08:00

When Sephora had their two day preview of Hello Kitty items last weekend, I unfortunately missed out on most of the stuff. By the time I saw the email and checked, a lot of the items I was interested in getting (such as the nail polishes, brush set, perfume, and the bling bling mirror) were all out of stock. The sale was suppose end at 12PST on Sunday night. I just had to be annoying and check the collection again at 11:45PM to see if anything were back in stock, and to my surprise, some items were! One of which was this Sweet Gloss. I hesitated on the perfume though. Even though it's got the cutest packaging ever, and the scent description sounds like something I would really love (sweet fruity scent), but I still wanted to sniff it in the store first just to make sure. This Hello Kitty collection comes out in Sephora stores in mid January I believe.

On the expiration date symbol on the label, it has a Hello Kitty bow on the lid, how cute :)

The sweet gloss I picked up is in the shade Peachy. I was afraid of the packaging looking cheap with white plastic casing, but alas this lippie has a very slick yet sturdy packaging, in a slim twist up tube.

Peachy looks like a pretty coral shade in the tube. On the lips though it appears pretty sheer, almost clear. The texture feels like that of a lip balm, light and moisturizing. So I guess you could classify this item as a tinted lip balm.

without flash

with flash

I really love the sweet strawberry scent of the balm, and the slim design -- the lip balm fits on my lips just right, without having to worrying about applying any products on the outside of my lips by mistake. This means I could apply this whenever and wherever without a mirror. I always admire girls that can apply their lipsticks and glosses without a mirror, I am always afraid of getting uneven spots or getting products on my skin hahaha.

Overall, I really liked this product and glad that I got it. However I have to admit, packaging played an important roll in my purchasing decision. Hello Kitty fans are breaking wallets left and right, is it me or does it seem like there are Hello Kitty items everywhere nowadays haha. I can't wait to see and play with the rest of the products from this line once they become available in store in Jan!

Review: Karmin G3 Salon Pro Straightener

2010-12-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

Today, I want to talk about a new straightener that I received -- a Karmin G3 Salon Pro. At first I was a little hesitant to review a hair styling product because I am in no way good at styling my hair, nor do I use hair straightener often because I already have stick straight hair to start off with! I do own one hair straighter at home, and I use it once in a blue moon when I want to make my just showered hair more smooth (to get rid of kinks in my hair) or use it as a curling tool. However when I saw that Karmin G3 Salon Pro iron was ranked as one of the top hair straighteners on hairproductspro.com, I decided to give it a try. Plus it will allow me to compare my $29.99 iron that I got from Marshalls with this one (valued at $129.95).

The box it came with is a sleek black cardboard box. The box is also suppose to come with a free Heat Mat/Carrying Case Combo worth $25 with your purchase, but it wasn't in mine, so I am guessing maybe mine is a specially packaged one for review purposes only? The mat would be a really cool idea to protect your desk/vanity surface from getting burned/damaged.

The straightener is black and shiny, and has this super sleek and professional feel to it. It also feels really light, yet sturdy in my hand.

The straightener uses 1" wide tourmaline ceramic plates and ionic technology that will give shiny and healthy hair. It has a minimum temperature of 180F, and can reach a maximum of 450F. So you can adjust it to your desired temperature accordingly. Usually for thin hair types like mine, I never go to the highest setting because I don't want to burn my hair. But if you have thick hair that are hard to style, feel free to turn up the heat.

Karmin plates

Helix by Hot Tools plates (for comparison)

What makes this Karmin straighter also a good candidate for curling hair is its special curved edge scratch resistance plates. Let me compare the Karmin plate to the Helix iron I already own. Notice how the Karmin plate is shiny, and curves around on the edge, where as the Helix one is just one thin plate that abruptly ends with a rather sharp edge? (click on the photos to enlarge) The curved edge on Karmin is what will give a kink free, smooth curl.

Once on my hair, it feels so smooth and just glides through my hair with ease. I had no idea before that a better straightener makes so much difference. I then tried with my old straighter, it didn't feel the same anymore. The plates felt like they were tugging on my hair as I dragged it through, and it also feels a bit heavier in my hands. A smooth plate means it could cause less damage and tugging on my hair, especially when you use your styling tool for curling.

Here are some of Karmin's instructions on how to create different looking styles with this one tool:

For me, I think this tool will be perfect for when I wore pony tails for the whole day, but have to change outfit and hair for a night out -- this will quickly help me to get rid of that hair tie kink in my hair for a quick style change. It will also be a good tool to bring on travel so I've got a curling iron, volumizing tool and straightener in one.

Even though I have only used one type of hair straightener before using Karmin, I have to say that Karmin is now my favorite among the two. Like I said, I am not an expert when it comes to hair styling tools, but even with the simple comparison, I now understand a good hair tool makes a big difference.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, I received the Karmin hair straightener to test and review for free. I did not get paid for this post, nor am I affiliated with the company. All opinions expressed are my own honest opinion.

♥ November Favorites ♥

2010-12-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, the last time I blogged was still around Thanksgiving time, and all of a sudden it's almost Christmas, where did all the time go! Sorry for MIA for the past few weeks, I've been so terribly busy. I've been feeling so guilty that I haven't had time to blog, because I have soooo much to talk about! So let's get started with my last month's favorite products before it's way too late! And from here on I hope I can resume my normal blogging schedule, at least I will try! I've got a lot of the pictures organized already, so hey, at least that's a good start right?

So in the month of November, which now seems so far far away already, I really enjoyed using:

♥ Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder with Real Cocoa --

First of all, this powder smells SO YUMMY! Like chocolate, and I have the urge to lick it! This powder has no shimmer, and no orange, and is perfect for me! It's smooth and goes on well. I've been contemplating on getting this for a while now, but have heard both good and bad reviews about it. To me though, this is the perfect contouring powder, and I am glad that I decided to give in and give it a try anyway. You really don't need a lot each time, i just use a big fluffy brush and dust the powder right below the apples of my cheeks and extend it towards my jawline, along my cheek bone to give my face more definition. The compact is nice and sturdy (the latch was very tight at the beginning and I had trouble opening it! But after a few uses, it is okay now), with a big mirror. On the mirror, it prints "why be beautiful when you can be gorgeous". I thought that was adorable.

♥ Rock and Republic Classic Tinted Primer SPF 20 --

This primer has a mousse consistency, its light and airy formula makes it super easy to apply and smooth out. I love how it also has SPF in it. I purchased this during Rock and Republic's 50% sale, started using it in September and still haven't finished. I can't tell how much product is left because the bottle is opaque, but it does feel significantly lighter now (another empty soon I hope? :p). Since the product is tinted, just it alone on my face already could help brighten up and even out my complexion a bit if I am not trying to achieve a full coverage makeup day. It is by no means a tinted moisturizer though, because it is super sheer and is more of a primer (glides on smoothly) consistency than a moisturizer. So on most mornings I'd just apply this, dab on concealer under my eyes and blemishes, dust on finishing powder and done! Super simple and quick. The pump bottle dispenses just the perfect amount of products each time. As far as oil control, it does a decent job, for me 2 to 3 hours at least before I need to blot (I blot several times a day), but the same goes with a lot of products I use because I have such oily face. During the winter time I don't actually need to blot as often, maybe once a day and I'm good to go.

♥ ELF Nourishing Cuticle Pen --

This is another great $1 find from ELF. I got mine from Target on a whim, but ended up really loving it! I will have to remember to stock up next time ELF has a sale. It is a pen shaped product that dispenses the cuticle oil through the highlighter shaped tip. The cuticle oil contains avocado and almond oils, with vitamin fortified E, A, C and pro-vitamin B5. To apply, I just apply the product along each of my cuticles and then lightly rub in. It is not super oily, and is pretty easy to absorb, yet it leaves my dry cuticles with a much more moisturized and nourished look. Because of it's pen-like applicator, I could achieve a very precise application without the mess as compared to my usual brush-on cuticle oils in a bottle. It also dispenses just the right amount of products so there is no need to rub the product in super hard. This is great for on the go because it's light and slick. It's scent-free and color less, so it won't stain if you accidentally rubbed your fingers on anything you are holding.

♥ LUSH Snow Fairy Lip Tint --

Being a LUSH Snow Fairy scent fan, I have this urge to get every products available in this scent. For those of you who aren't too familiar with LUSH, they come out with a few classic holiday products very year, my two favorites being Snow Fairy shower gels (sweet candy scent), and Snowcake soaps (almond jello scent). Over the year they also come out with various products scented just like Snow Fairy, so far I've tried a few bath bombs with this sweet scent that I can't get enough of, a solid perfume, a lip scrub, and now this lip tint in the same scent. Even though it looks super bright and pink in the container, it actually goes on fairly clear on the lips. But if I wipe it off with a white tissue, I could see a trace of pink tint to it. The consistency is that of a lip balm, and it feels pretty moisturizing on the lips. However when I first purchased this, I was very discouraged by the fact that I have to use my finger to apply. The balm was also pretty waxy and not soft at all. Which meant it was really hard to take out enough products on my finger tips no matter how hard I rub. It wasn't until I talked to Catherine about it and she told me her trick -- take the tin and rub the product on your lips just like applying chapstick. The warmth from your lips will melt the product much better than finger tips, plus no dirty finger involved in the process. I tried that and it worked out wonderfully. Now I have it next to my computer, and throughout the day I find myself grabbing it to apply some on my lips. hmmm smells so good! What will happen when I used enough of the product that I can't use my lips anymore? hmm I will think of a way when that happens :p For now, it works great, so thank you so much for the great tip, Catherine! :)

♥ MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner --

I can't rave enough about this new find from last month. I loved them so much that I purchased Black Line (black with gold and green shimmer) and Lord It Up (bronze with shimmer) the first time, then went out to get Black Swan (black with pearl) to add to my collection. These are actually limited edition products that came out with the A Tartan Tale collection (haul post coming up soon!). So I made sure that I got enough until MAC decides to come out more with another collection in the future.
These liners are one of the softest and most pigmented liners I have ever used. They have a gel-like consistency that seriously glide on the skin, without pulling or tugging. What's even more amazing is that unlike UD 24/7 and even my beloved MUFE Aqua Lines, which still smudge a little bit by the end of the day on my oily lids, these are super smudgable while drying, but once dry, are so smudge-proof, it's amazing! The only bad thing about these liners is that because of the chunky glitters in them, it's not safe to use on waterline or tight line. I had once or twice applied it too close to my eyes and it started to hurt. So please do not get them in your eyes!