First Collective Haul of the New Year! ~

12:13:00 AM mandy 21 Comments

Darn!!! I took soo long to type up this post and blogger didn't actually save any of it...This is the first time this has ever happened. Why would it say Saving... periodically if it doesn't actually save?! All my hard work =.=

----------Rant Over----------
The first haul of 2012 and it's already filled with many many products! I've bought enough products to last me at least half a year to even a year! I think I need to limit myself a lot or ban me from buying altogether :X

Warning: Picture heavy post ahead!


Dove Clinical Protection Visibly Smooth Deodorant & Lush Butterball
I don’t usually post the deodorants I buy but this is the first clinical strength deodorant that I’m trying. In addition, it claims to minimize hair over time. I’ve used this for a little while and I actually prefer this deodorant over the regular stick-type ones. I can’t really tell how well the hair reducing properties work as of yet but I’ll keep an eye out!

Butterball is the first bath bomb I tried. I actually split this in half and let my brother use it as well. It was fun watching it fizz and disintegrate! It lets out small soap like particles that looked like butter. I do not know if it’s actually butter pieces or if it's soap, but it does melt away. While I was in the water my skin felt very soft. The feeling doesn’t last too long…too much of my disappointment. I will probably try other bath bombs in the future though! Maybe the others will be different?


Best friend had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong during the winter break. She offered to help me purchase some things. I felt bad since I had a pretty long list =X All of these were bought from Sasa HK. I wish Canmake and Kate products were available on their online store. Now if only I had the Kate foundation case…


Biore Acne Mild Care Oil Control Facial Foam & Canmake Cheek&Cheek in Candy Flower
I’ve been eyeing this cleanser ever since bubzbeauty mentioned this in one of her videos. I haven’t used this yet but I noticed that one of the active acne-fighting ingredients was Triclosan. I’ve never actually seen an anti-acne product use this. However, I know it's in antibacterial hand soaps (the ones that I have a home at least have it). But the percentage on this cleanser is 0.1% while on hand soaps were a little higher (I think 0.2%?).

My second Canmake blush! I’ve got to say it lives up to the reviews. It’s very soft and easy to apply. The color is also great. The only thing I wish was it was bigger because most of my blush brushes are bigger than the actual product itself. If I had the chance I would definitely try to collect the other shades as well! :]



Canmake UV Silky Fit Foundation in Shade 02
Why do these type of powder foundations appear mostly in Asia? It’s great how we can buy refills! The packaging is bigger than usual but it has its advantages. I’ve been using this foundation for the most of the month and I really like it. It offers more coverage than my usual MSF Natural. I could wear this alone or on top concealer/BB Cream and it doesn’t look too heavy or cakey. This is actually a matte foundation so I like to spritz a bit of mist afterward and/or wear a shimmer base to highlight underneath. Also, I tend to use this with a powder brush rather than the sponge, just personal preference because I’m not used to sponge application for powders.


Kate Lasting High Coverage Powder Foundation in OC-C
I actually didn’t intend to purchase both powder foundations. But since she bought it I couldn’t resist a base product hehe I didn’t want to use this yet because I don't have a case for it. I’m glad that it came with a sponge in the refill though. Has anyone else tried this before?


Physicians Formula Shimmer Strip Eyeliner Trio in Nude Eyes
I spotted this during my visit to CVS. Although I have a handful of eyeliners I need to use, I’m weak against natural looking colors =X All my smudging eyeliners do not help me restrain myself either…I like this trio. But I found that the lighter shade is barely noticeable. It could probably only be used as a lower waterline highlighter. Of the three I reach for the middle shade more. Similar to the other liners that I own, these smudge on me as well. Now I've come to the conclusion that it isn't the liners but my eye shape? The three shade all have shimmer specks in them, but the fine kind.


Naruko Marjoram and Lavender Brightening Peeling Gel & Naruko Marjoram and Lavender Brightening Eye Cream
Another bestie of mine gave me these as a gift. I think she got these at from the Taiwan site when they still shipped to the U.S. I’ve only used the eye cream and it’s very light in texture. I haven’t been paying much attention to the brightening effects though. This is a little hard especially when I have such an irregular sleeping schedule.


This is probably my biggest Sasa haul yet. Best friend and I combined our order. We went way over the needed amount for expedited shipping amount & came in just a few days! The main reason why I bought so much was due to the darn sale that was going on. I’m a sucker for sales >__< Even though they weren’t super big discounts, every little bit adds up to a lot!


Kokobu Foot Pad Healers in Chamomile & Lavender
I found these unique things while I was browsing for the bath powders. They apparently take out the toxins from the body. My health has always been a bit bad so maybe these will help internally? Lol Has anyone tried these or similar ones before?


Bison Bath Additives in Soda & Royal Honey Milk


Bison Finland Spa Relax Bath in White Birch & Searun Magma Sweating Bath Salts
My mom is always telling me that sweating is good for losing weight. She probably means through exercising or steaming it out but it doesn’t hurt to give these a try :P


Kokobu Sakura Princess Bath Powder & Kokobu Milk Bath Powder


Kokobu Soy Milk Bath & Bison FUNWARICH Vanilla Mousse Bath


Kokobu Assorted Bath Powders (5 Pack) – Sakura, Orange, Strawberry, Lavender, and Broccoli (I think…I can’t seem to find it on Sasa anymore to confirm)
After moving into a new house with a new tub, I’ve had the urge to take more baths. Rather than diving right into Lush bath products, I figured that these could be easier to use for multiple baths than a bubble bar/bath bomb/etc is. I have enough to last me for probably over a year of baths (since I take them only once or twice, at most, a month).


Kokobu Funny Faces Sponges – for back, a mitten, and a regular sponge
These were just too cute to exist! & They were on sale, each was only around $1-2.


Genie in a Bottle Hyaluronic Acid Moisture Serum & Genie in a Bottle Arbutin Whitening Serum
After using 2 bottles of the hyaluronic acid serum I couldn’t wait to get these when I saw that they were in stock. It gives my skin the extra moisture boost. And for the price…it's even harder to look away! Since I’ve had such a good experience with the hyaluronic serum I also wanted to give the whitening serum a try. I plan to use the moisture serum in the mornings and the whitening serum at night.


Biore Gel Make-Up Remover & Beautymate Anti-Blemish Repairing Nano Toner & Beautymate Hydro Power Collagen Lotion


BeautyMate Hydro Power Collagen Cream


Naruko Narcissus Total Defense Night Eye Gelly
Most of the skincare products that I got from this Sasa haul is so I can replace out my current skincare regime. My Hada Labo products are running low and I was looking for something inexpensive & moisturizing, Beautymate fit that perfectly. I’ve also seen a few good reviews on them; hopefully, these will work well!


Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair Protect Body Cream
This was actually a last minute item that I added to my shopping cart. I’m not a big body care person but extra whitening caught my eye, which is very rare to find in a body product (particularly in the U.S). Also, my stubborn tan from a few years ago refuses to completely go away =.=


Milani Minerals Blush – Mai Tai, Sweet Rose, and Luminous
If it wasn’t for Nouveau Cheap’s notice on the 75% off certain Milani products at CVS, I probably wouldn’t have bought these blushes yet or at all. Now that I have them, I don’t regret purchasing them. I've only tried Luminous and it gives a natural light flush. Many people say this Luminous is a dupe for NARS Orgasm but I don’t own it so I can’t really say…


Best friend and I went to the new Brooklyn location of Naruko. The promotions and the SA got the best of us :P Together we only bought 3 products + another 3 for our other friend. It actually added up for some freebies that best friend let me keep to use.

For other New Yorkers: Although Naruko – Brooklyn is located on the populated 8th Avenue, it’s located a little further from the more popular streets (50-60th Street). If we didn’t already know the address beforehand, we probably wouldn’t walk down that far on a leisure walk. I noticed that the prices in the store were actually $1 or 2 higher than the listed website prices. It seems to be the norm because when I went to the Queens location, their prices were actually a few dollars (~$4-5)more than the website prices. I cannot say if all the stores elsewhere are similar, but this is what I observed. Also, as with a lot of other Asian beauty stores that I’ve been to, the SA’s are very…active. They tend to stick to you like glue, even when we said we’ll look ourselves. But they weren’t staring us down or anything, it seemed like they just really wanted us to make a purchase heh They didn't carry every single product available on the website. From what I remember the Job's Tears line wasn't there and neither was the Oil Cut Tea Tree Cleanser that some YouTubers raved about.

Despite all this, I probably will go purchase from the store again because it is more accessible. If I knew the products well and have tried and liked them, I might order online. But that is a long way from now...The next time I go I should ask them why their prices are different! The only other thing is I wish they sold the sets that the website offers as well...


Naruko Narcissus Total Defense Moisturizing Dew & Naruko Narcissus Total Defense Moisturizing Day Protector
I purchased this after the persuasion of the SA and seeing the words “promotional price.” It was and wasn’t in a way. From the store's normal price, yes it was discounted. But on Facebook, they listed these two products' promotional price as a dollar less than what I actually paid for! :O But that’s in the past. I’ll think of it as giving them a little for shipping costs…*sigh* Despite already purchasing skin care from Sasa, I could use those during night and Naruko for the day.


ampm skincare skin wakeup pack & Naruko Raw Job’s Tears Super Critical CO2 Whitening Mask & ampm skincare skin ecological complex
All the freebies that I got from the purchase.
For spending $20 = skin wake-up pack.
For spending $30 = whitening mask. Although the promotion was only 1, they gave us two since they knew that best friend and I combined our orders.
For spending $100 = choose a freebie from a few options. After thinking about it at home, I probably could have optimized my purchase by buying a night gelly instead of either the moisturizing dew or day protector and then for this freebie pick the dew or protector instead. That way I could also try a night gelly and toner and moisturizer! *hits heads*

When you buy multiple skin care products, do you switch your whole regime at once or one at a time?