Revlon Girly

10:53:00 PM mandy 19 Comments

Aren't I on a blogging roll this week! Here's another post before March ends. (I noticed I would have had only published 4 posts. Not that I'm the very superstitious type or anything but I just like to avoid the number 4. It's the Chinese in me lol)
Girly looks really pretty in the bottle. A soft blue pink with blue, magenta, silver glitters and tons of smaller purple and coral/pink glitter specks floating around.
This is only showing 1 (light) layer. I'm sure if you layered the polish the pink base color will show even more prominently. But do keep in mind the pink base is the sheer jelly type so don't expect too much. For me, it is one of those 'my nails but better' pink colors. If you're going to apply a light layer like I did, it is hard to get an even coat of the glitters. I had to fish around for them a little bit. The main reason why I didn't apply a thicker coat of the polish or put more layers on was just because glitter polishes are so darn hard to remove! Any great tips to share? I'd love to hear how to easily remove a glitter polish.

oo35mm Haul

1:33:00 PM mandy 10 Comments

With some of the birthday money I received, I knew I immediately wanted to replenish my skincare stash. I don't know the reason why but my face has been erupting with pimples, breakouts, blackheads, and anything else that can go wrong with the skin. I thought my teen acne years were suppose to be over?!
oo33mm.com is a site I have been following now and again since they had a Soompi shop. Seeing their new store front in Chinatown was quite a surprise. It's definitely a step up from their last 'hole in a wall' store front. Compared to the the prices of other beauty shops in the neighborhood, their prices are about the same plus or minus a couple dollars. They do offer some unique and quirky things to differentiate themselves. What I love the most about them is that they have a rewards system (unlike most other beauty stores in Chinatown, at least of the ones I have purchased from). Plus, they have more of an online presence compared to the others which (to me) is always a positive point.

I decided to go a more simplistic route with my new skincare routine this time. Not really in terms of the number of products, more so 'natural' and less ingredients wise. Since Hada Labo worked for me last year when I had relatively clear skin, I decided to give it a try again. But being the curious person I am I opted to purchased Juju Aquamoist's whitening line rather than Hada Labo's (which I've already tried and reviewed). My decision may have also been influenced a little by bubzbeauty's previous recommendations for this Vitamin C/whitening line.
I've tried Baby Foot a couple of years ago before prom. However, I didn't use it properly so I didn't want to review it without trying it again. Since my feet are horrendous looking all year round anyways, I thought I would give this a try again. Will definitely update everyone on how this goes!
Yes, I did buy this adorable phone case from this shop. What makes this store different from the others in the area are they don't only sell beauty products. If you browse their site you can see that they also sell a ton of cute items as well. A lot of the goods they sell are they type that we don't really need but you just want to have. I can't really describe it all so just check it out for yourself!
Here are some GWP I received. I think I got the blinc eyeliner because I spent over a certain amount. Of the 3 times I've bought something from this store, I've received a small Avene sample each time. It is great how the SA always tries to pick a sample that will fit my skin problems. I'm saving these samples up for if I ever travel any time soon.
The day I went to do my massive haulage, the store just ran out of this. Luckily it came in stock the day they estimated so I didn't leave without this product for a second time. I have been lusting over this item for the longest time. With so many great reviews about this cleansing water out there I just couldn't resist myself. I haven't tried it yet but I hope it lives up to the hype for me.

& Yes the baggie from the first photo turns into a strawberry :]
But I think you can only get it if you spend over $20 (or was it $30...) and maybe in store only?

Sugar 'N Spice VoxBox

12:37:00 PM mandy 4 Comments

This box of goodies arrived on my doorsteps a couple of weeks ago. Just in time since I probably would have neglected it if it came any earlier or later due to school.



I can't wait to try everything. The only ones I don't think I will be using are the Colgate products. Bestie C is very into teeth whitening right now so I plan to let her try them instead. Plus I already have a full tube of toothpaste opened & Colgate recommends to use all three for best results. We shall see what good news (or bad news) Bestie C will have for us soon! Otherwise, I'm very intrigued by the spray on lotion. I tend to be very picky with body lotions so I hope this will meet my standards.

Have anyone tried any of these products before? Any recommendations?

One Year Older

2:45:00 AM mandy 6 Comments

My birthday was actually 3 weeks ago but school got the best of me and I couldn't find the time to blog about it until now. YAY for spring break! But since I 'celebrated' my lunar birthday yesterday, now should be a fitting time to share a birthday post without it being old news.
As with past birthdays, this was more of a family gathering more than anything. I always just enjoy the company and the crazy amounts of food we order & prepare for the occasion. The part I look forward to the most is always the cake (particularly if I get to choose one hehe).

My dad was sweet enough to drive me to K-Town in the morning to get this Tiramisu Mocha Cake from Paris Baguette because I usually end class pretty late. The joys of being a commuter student still living with her parents! Lucky enough, that day my last class was actually cancelled. It really couldn't have been a better day, well...if my besties were able to celebrate with me that would have been the BEST.

Compare to the Blueberry Chiffon cake I had last year, I much prefer that one than this Tiramisu Mocha cake. Not that this was bad but because of the layered cake style, it a little felt too crumbly. Plus the macarons were a nice visual touch but they are not the typical "ERRMAHGAAHDD these are awesome" macarons either. Knowing me I'll probably try a different cake next year just because all their cakes look great.

Even though the three of us in our 'clique' are terrible at gifting, Bestie C never fails to still give the rest of us gifts on our birthdays. This year was not an exception. As you can see there is a purple theme! Also, two of the items were things that I mentioned I wanted to get recently. (If you're reading this...THANK YOU!! :D)


I was just wondering, does anyone know how to use the Wen Lavender Replenishing Treatment Mist? I was browsing through gossmakeupartist's reviews recently and he said that lavender oil isn't a good ingredient to use on the face. Does anyone know more about this?

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio - Nude Eyes

10:42:00 PM mandy 13 Comments

Perhaps this is HG?


I tried a bunch of eyeliners that many on the blogging and Youtube community raved about. Sadly none really gave me the same great results that everyone else had. I got this trio on a whim a LONG time ago and actually forgot about them! At the time and for a period after, I did not bother with eye makeup of any sort. But after realizing how much I had been neglecting my eye makeup collection and finally paid some attention to these guys, I found that I was completely missing out on a good product the whole time.


This set that I got is from a couple of years ago. I know that Physician's Formula recently just promoted the Nude Eyes line, but I am not sure if these eyeliner colors are the still the same or not. Comparing from the photo on their website it looks to be about the same. Don't fret if you're looking for something more smokey or a variety of colors. Although it isn't much they do offer gray, blue, purple, and green. The common themes with these Physician's Formula eyeliners seem to be they target eye colors & there is a black liner in all the trios.



Ingredients:

The ingredients list is relatively short. Most of these aren't ones that I understand. Some that I remember reading/hearing are Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, and Silica. If anyone is allergic to these, be careful! As far as fragrance and parabens go, this product is free of them (as the company claims).

Packaging:

I absolutely love that this is a retractable eyeliner. I wouldn't mind sharpening a pencil liner if it worked well for me. But having something that I don't need to sharpen at all is great! This product actually comes with a built in sharpener that I rarely use. I don't go for a defined eyeliner look anyway so a short stubby eyeliner is fine by me! The downside to having a retractable liner is the plastic packaging. It isn't the most eco-friendly but there doesn't seem to be a way around it while still being retractable.

Black

Pewter

Champagne

Champagne (top row), Pewter (middle row), Black (bottom row) left column: Swatched 2-3 times, about how I would apply on my eye normally middle column: Swatched heavily to show the colors right column: Swatched once

There is sparklies/glitter in all 3 eyeliner colors in this trio. I actually don't mind the glitter because it isn't too apparent. It shows more in Pewter and Champagne than in Black. I tend to reach for Pewter most often. I barely even use Champagne because it doesn't show up well when I apply it on my upper lashes. It's probably best to use this on the lower lash/water line. (That is something I have yet to do...baby steps!)


Smudging, transferring, panda eyes, flaking...you name it, that's how the other eyeliners (pencil, gel, & liquid) worked for me! I thought it was just that my eyes were too watery for eyeliner altogether. But come to find it was just the formula of a product that made the world's difference!

The formula of these is drier than other eyeliners I have tried. I think it is also waxier? After seeing the ingredients list I think this may be because of the synthetic beeswax in it. I think this is the main reason why I didn't experience smudging with this. I know...But creamy eyeliners are the best! There's no tugging when you apply it. The only problem for me is, I don't think creamy eyeliners & my eye shape works well. Usually, with the others, they smudge from the upper to lower lashes within the hour of applying. I don't usually set my eyeliner. Thinking back, I assume that would have helped a lot. But...FUSS FREE IS KEY! Despite the drier product, these eyeliners were actually not that difficult to apply. It kind of warms up a bit and glides pretty smoothly onto my lids.



After rubbing a bit with some cleansing oil and rinsing, there is still some eyeliner stubbornly stuck on there. If I remember correctly, that actually stayed on my arms for another day or two. Why I'm not sure myself. I would think a shower should have cleaned it off but apparently, I didn't scrub enough that day. I think this is sufficient enough to show how well it could last on my eyes. Again, I don't set the product and I can easily wear this pretty much all day with only some fading. If I had really watery eyes or blinked more than what I normally do (which is already quite a lot) then there may sometimes be some transferring of it onto my lower lash line.

My biggest gripe is this product ONLY comes in a set of three. Even with the other sets, I think I would only regularly use one (two depending on the set) of the three colors at most. If I wanted all the other colors, I would end up with way too many black colored eyeliners (even with daily usage one of these can last a while). Other than that, I think Physician's Formula did something very right with these liners. This is definitely a product I would repurchase. Anytime soon...I'm not too sure yet because I still have a lot of the product left in one eyeliner x3! Perhaps if there was a very good sale/promotion happening?

What is your favorite/HG eyeliner? What makes it THE best for you?