I have to admit, it took a while for me to get on board the whole canvas shoe phase. When I first saw them, I thought they looked too much like the shoes that were worn in China years ago (and what my grandpa still sports now). But after trying them on for myself, I don't think I could go back to any other shoe for casual wear.
Very easy to slip on and off.
Doesn't take long to break them in.
Doesn't cinch my toes like Converses do.
Very comfy.
Although...I think this one depends on the brand.
The arch in the first pair I had took some time getting used to.
However, I have yet to buy a pair of TOMS because they are quite pricey. I know that I shouldn't support the 'copy-catters'...but discounts and deals are hard to say no to. Perhaps for my next pair, they shall be TOMS! I've had a sparkly/glittery pair that I bought from Century21, which I completely worn out. I recently bought another pair, Gloriee from Madden Girl, that is black with white skulls print.
Left: Rebert's Toucan $68 ...... Right: Dure's Pink Flowers $68
TOMS sent a e-newsletter to announce a new collaboration to support local Haitian artists. I didn't think much of it. When I browsed the collection, I immediately fell in loved with these two. (More so the flower because it's easier to pair everyday outfits with. But the Toucan shoe is so colorful!)
Left: Grey Ikat $54...... Middle: Tyler Ramsay Speckled Dot $688 ...... Right: Splatter $54
If pricing wasn't an issue, I would love TOMS just for their variety. I usually gravitate towards the solid colors. But these 3 stood out to me. I especially like the middle one!
What do you think of TOMS or this style of shoes?
I was SO excited when I woke up to a tweet from rolala loves that said I had won a $20 E-Gift Card to use at firmoo.com. There had been so many rave reviews for the company for their prices. Plus I have been wanting another pair of glasses for a while now. But as I browsed their site I had the hankering to order myself a pair of prescribed sunglasses (I am not a contacts person and am too scared to try).
The prescription I needed turned out to be too high for prescribed sunglasses. But the Firmoo suggestion boxes said that I could opt to purchase prescribed tinted glasses instead. Which I don't think should be too different. Right? After picking the options that I wanted, my total turned out to be pretty hefty. Although, definitely not as much as if I were to get any kind of prescribed [sun]glasses from the optical store.
The giveaway that rolala loves had was specifically for the Classic series of frames at Firmoo, with frames ranging from $16-$39. The pair that I ended up liking the most was priced in the middle at $26. (Well to be more honest, I restrained myself from choosing the $39 frames and I didn't like the $16 frames very much.) Which isn't as great of a price as I had seen from other Firmoo reviews, but still on the cheaper end when compared to the optical store. I wish I could have chosen from the less expensive frames in their whole collection but I guess I can't complain too much since these are brandless frames.
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| Total + $20 "E-Gift Card" |
I added all the extras that I wanted:
Super Thin lenses ...... $35.95
My current thick frames glasses are a similar size to these and the lenses are way too heavy, which makes my frames sit/touch my cheeks so they aren't that comfortable
Anti-Reflective/Anti-Radition ...... $2.95
Not too expensive, why not!
UV Coating ...... $4.95
A must since I intend to use these as sunglasses
Tinted ...... $9.95
No-brainer here, Tinted Glasses :D
Total = $79.80 (sans ship)
I went on towards finalizing my Checkout.
Added on the FREESHIP code first because I noticed that I could qualified with my order total.
Afterwards I tried to add my $20 E-Gift Card / Promo Code, only to find that the FREESHIP discount was cancelled.
Maybe I am being self-fish here but if I will spend enough, shouldn't I be able to get the free shipping? I really strongly dislike One Code Only website checkouts. I can understand that they're trying to prevent the most loss that they can. However, that doesn't stop me from feeling cheated of my $6.95 shipping (if I go through with the order).
Then I remembered that the big selling point for the site was their "First Pair Free" deal. I googled and found that the way to get this would be through another Promo Code. Which of course would not work in my case because I already have a code to use. So technically, I wouldn't be able to get my first frames free...ever if I ordered using the E-Gift Card code...correct? Also, if I choose to get my first pair free instead, I would actually get a better deal since the frames I chose were $26 v the $20 E-Gift Card. So technically, I could browse through the more expensive frames and pick one with ease because I am not constantly thinking of the higher price of the frames.
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| Total + First Pair Free promo code |
I added the FIRMOOFREE code just for the heck of it at around 11PM EST, and was told that the code couldn't apply. It said along the lines of the code I wanted to use could not be applied to the style that I chose. Thinking that was odd to have such a restriction when they market on the first pair being free, I found on their FAQ that perhaps they reached their daily limit for the free frames. So I tried again at 12:30AM just for the heck of it and the code went through! Perhaps they should switch up their error messages because the one I was told had a totally different meaning than reaching their Free Frames cap. It fueled to my dislike towards them even more at that particular moment in time.
Basically, the $20 that I won would cover shipping & a little extra.
But I would get a better deal not using what I 'won' by $6 which would cover the shipping costs. It would essentially be as if I had a $20 discount ... which makes giving away $20 "E-Gift Cards" totally counterintuitive.
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Frames I might buy instead if I choose to use my First Pair Free promo
These are NOT a part of their Classic, so I would not be able to use the -$20 anyways
& It would be too pricey at $39 for my liking to use a -$20 for (just a personal preference) |
I don't know, this makes any sense at all to anyone else?
Right now I don't have very high & positive feelings towards their marketing ways.
If I didn't notice the Free Shipping for $39+ AND I forgot that they had First Pair Free promotion, I wouldn't get the best deal as I could have.
Although I have to say, I really do love their customization options and obviously (just as everyone else) their cheaper prices.
Maybe I am just making a big deal out of nothing?
Perhaps I should just forgo my $20 "E-Gift Card" and use the First Pair Free promo instead?
But with their return policy and the total price of the frames that I want, it seems too much to take a risk on.
The $20 E-Gift Card is a lot more useful for returning customers. Definitely not as great for a first-timer like myself.
What do you think? Am I overreacting? How would you feel in my situation?
I realized that had it not been for winning the giveaway, I probably wouldn't ever consider purchasing a pair of prescribed glasses or sunglasses any time soon. An extra pair of frames or sunglasses is nice to have, but not a need for me.
Err so my plan to get back in a blogging routine went out the window...When did the days go by so quickly? I was so sure I made the last post no more than a week ago! *sigh* Anyways, I'm going to share my opinions on a product that many of you guys were interested in a few hauls ago. Hope this can help someone out!!
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One product seemed to have taken the beauty world by storm recently, Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution. All the raves for it sparked my curiosity to try it for myself . However, Bioderma is not carried officially in the USA and I do try to limit myself from ordering beauty items online. When I saw that a beauty store in Chinatown started to carry this product and for a fair price (similar to that on Amazon), I decided I couldn't wait any longer to give the product a try.
This particular product I believe comes in 3 different sizes but all with the flip-top spout. The one I have is the largest. The packaging does the job but it could be a bit better. I think I'd prefer something other than this flip-top bottle because it is a little difficult to control where and how the liquid pours out. Sometimes it'll leak and drip down the sides. However! I do remember a blogger share that there is new packaging for these cleansing waters. Instead of a flip-top it has a pump (like those at Sephora) which I think would be the best for this type of liquid product.
Product Description (in French I presume):
Ingredients:
I have consistently used Bioderma Crealine as my sole makeup remover for the past few months. I have to admit it was hard for me to decide whether I liked this product or not. One of the main reasons being, I am a bit very bias towards a particular makeup removal method. I started my makeup and beauty journey being a cleansing oil girl. Cleansing oils are probably the quickest and most heavy duty makeup removers out there. So the switch to a cleansing water was very different for me.
Like with any other product, with the exceptions of maybe HGs, there are positives and negatives to the Bioderma Crealine.
Positives:
✔ very gentle
✔ not messy
✔ pleasant, light fruity scent
✔ doesn't sting or irritate my face or eyes
✔ leaves my skin feeling super soft and hydrated
✔ can remove some eye makeup (eyeshadows)
✔ doesn't leave a residue (when it dries down feels like when I don't have makeup on)
✔ not many of the common harmful ingredients (ex: parabens)
✔ very simple product & free of extra/unncessary additives (ex: fragrance & color)
Negatives:
✘ needs way too many cottons pads to remove all my makeup
✘ eyeliner and mascara removal takes a bit of effort
✘ rather pricey and difficult to get a hold of in the USA
But the reason why it ended up being a love and hate item on my list is because the pros and cons seem to balance out each other despite one list outnumbering the other.
I always found myself gravitating towards the cleansing water even though I had a bit of cleansing oil left that I was easily accessible. That must mean that I like it enough to keep going back to it right? Perhaps it's because I love how mess free and simple it is. Unlike most cleansing oils, this also does not leave my skin dried out or make it feel tight.
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This was after (what I think) a light makeup day.
In terms of number of products it seems like a lot. But it was the amount of each that made it 'light',
Maybe not yet half a squirt of primer, a pea size amount of BB cream,
a bit of concealer, powder, blush, eyeshadow, and pencil eyeliner. |
The problem really come from having to use so much more of the cleansing water and cotton rounds in order to get the job done and well. Regardless of whether it's a light or heavy makeup day, I could easily use 3+ cotton rounds (back & front) yet still have traces of yellow residue on the next cotton round. As for removing eye makeup, this only does a mediocre job. It isn't impossible but I would definitely recommend sticking to your favorite eye makeup remover for that task. It just boggles my mind to think of how much product and cotton rounds I could go through if I ended up really loving the Bioderma Crealine for makeup removal. Whenever I use this product to wipe off makeup, I feel like I must put in more effort to double cleanse afterwards with a cleanser.
While in the process of trying out this product, I came across a couple of bloggers/Youtubers who shared their experiences with this cleansing water. Some feelings were so-so, while others were negative. But their methods and suggestions on how they repurposed the product was very interesting.
Lifeandlensofbeauty mentioned that she started to wipe her face with the cleansing water AFTER a round of cleansing oil. For her, she found it was able to pick up more gunk and residue which I found fascinating. I gave it a try and didn't end up with much residue on the cotton pad. Perhaps this would be different depending on the cleansing oil. But it is definitely not a bad idea to take extra precautionary measures when it comes to makeup removal anyways.
Pinkiecharm on youtube mentioned she used this in the morning as a gentle cleanser rather than as a makeup remover. Of the two suggestions I came across, this one worked best for me and made the most sense. After my skin started to break out like crazy in the last half of the year, I have gotten to the point where I sometimes don't do anything to my skin to try to let it balance itself out. The problem is I always get a little annoyed because my skin feels so dirty and a bit oily but I don't want to further irritate it because I don't know what exactly is causing my breakouts. Now, using the cleansing water doesn't particularly help nor prevent my breakouts but it does ease my mind loads in terms of feeling clean.
Oh the troubles of having conflicting feelings. After thinking it over, for myself at least, the Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution will sadly not be replacing the role of cleansing oils in my makeup removing routine. But I may consider repurchasing this as a morning cleanser and as an precautionary makeup removal step depending on if my breakouts and skin gets any better with this addition to my routine. After finishing this I am also thinking of giving the oily-acne prone skin version (in the green packaging) a try. However, I heard that formulation was definitely more harsh in comparison to this, so I am going to have to think about that a little more.
Here are some sites that sell Bioderma for those who are curious and would like to try them out. They seem to sell for more or less in the $30s range online (sans shipping). I think outside of the USA, the deals are much better though. So if you get the chance to while abroad, you could always grab yourself a bottle then!
Sasa (It goes by Sensibio instead of Crealine)
Imomoko
oo35mm
Amazon
Nonetheless, I still wonder why so many people love it as a makeup remover. Is there a trick to using this that I am not getting? How do you use this product? Please share your routine down to the number of swipes and direction of wiping you make! Perhaps I am doing something wrong... For those who have yet to test this product, do you still think you will still give it a go?
