Ever since I tried Petrol, I've kind of been a little obsessed with this particular Sally Hansen line. When I saw that CVS was having a BOGO FREE for this line I made sure I went to check out what colors (if any) were left at CVS. I read the reason why these are being cleared from drugstore shelves is that the company is reformulating the line. I hope the new formula is at least going to be on par with the old formula. But I'll probably wait for a sale before I try the new formula version...heh!
Surprisingly, the selection at the CVS I usually go to was almost untouched (a big contrast to Walgreens). I guess compared to the Walgreens prices ($1.99) the CVS "sale" didn't look as appealing? Nonetheless, I was excited to see all the choices available! In the end I decided to choose the colors below. (The fourth one I picked up is going toward the giveaway!)
I've been wanting to try a red polish and a black polish for a while now but never got it because those are colors I feel I wouldn't wear too often. Especially since I have always associated red polish as a more mature shade. But since these were on sale and I liked their formula enough, I didn't mind making the purchase.
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Right Said Red, Red Zin, & Midnight in NY
However, I was not very happy with the tricky sales method CVS had though...(well at least the CVS I went to). I went into the store having read that this particular polish selection was BOGO FREE. After I chose the polishes I wanted to get, I went to their price scanner to just to make sure they were on sale. Lo and behold, the Midnight in NYC (the black polish) was the only one to come out as BOGO FREE...while the two red polishes were BOGO 50%.
I asked someone (who I'm assuming was the store manager) and was told in an annoyed tone that only certain colors were BOGO FREE and I'd have to check all the polish prices if I wanted that promotion. Afterward I even checked their in-store circular to make sure what the actual sale was in case I read something wrong or the store had different terms than what was posted online...but that was not the case. The ad clearly said BOGO FREE for the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polish line and BOGO 50% for every other Sally Hansen line (excluding the Complete Salon Manicure polishes). In the end, I bought the polishes anyways because one of the red polishes only had one bottle left (impulse much? hah).
I don't know about others but in a way, I feel a little cheated...Or am I just overreacting and should just be happy that there was a sale in the first place?
Anyway!! Back to the polishes.
One layer of each polish.
Since they're all a jelly like formula they can be a bit on the translucent side if applied a certain way (like how the black color shown above is a bit patchy). I'd recommend not to fix the first layer when wet. Just to wait for it to dry and then touch up with a light second coat instead.
I'm still warming up to Right Said Red, the fire-engine red on my pinky, but it is a really pretty color!
Red Zin is a gorgeous blood red shade. Especially because of its jelly consistency it looks as close as nail polish can get to real blood, don't you agree? I never thought I'd ever buy this color because it seems difficult to pull off...but I ended up liking this shade the most of the three.
Midnight in NY looked like a really nice black with micro shimmers which kind of emulated stars in the sky (hence the name), but sadly it didn't translate very well onto my nails. Instead, it was ended up looking like a normal jelly black polish. In certain angles, you can see the micro shimmers but is close to being microscopic. I guess in a way it is an accurate depiction of the sky in NY since it is pretty difficult to see stars in the city. Maybe I'll grow to like this polish the more I wear it?
Two layers of each polish
Sorry for the blurry photo! I'm not use to taking photos with my left hand. It was surpisingly much harder to handle a DSLR and control focus with my left hand than I thought...
Since I didn't feel like taking off the polish I just decided to practice the tape nail art method on my pointer and thumb. These came out much better than the last attempt! (Yes I do have different designs and colors on my left and right hand. I didn't think I'd be able to wear these out comfortably and confidently but I've been sporting these for 2 days already!)
This month went by really quickly! I forgot that school does that to a person's perception of time...Especially with all the days off we had at the school I go to, I hardly felt like I've been attending classes for a whole month already. I didn't get to do many things other than go to school, eat, and shop some. Doesn't sound exciting enough to share right? But nonetheless, there were some highlights of my month!
I didn't get to post on the actual date but Happy Belated Mid-Autumn Festival! (This sounds a little weird to me because the official start of fall was only like a week ago...hah.) For this year I didn't eat the traditional mooncakes. I was finally able to try the snow-skin mooncakes. This one, in particular, was a taro one. I must say...it was yummy. Of course, it's a plus that the mooncake was purple!
The most exciting event of my September!!!!! This one deserves all the exclamation points it can get!!!
I have been anticipating this concert since they announced Big Bang will have one way back in...the summer. I didn't think I'd actually be able to go but when my friend said she was interested as well I definitely wanted to get my butt there in November. She was able to get not 1 but 2 of the highly sought after VIP tickets. I was so surprised...I checked the ticket listings for fun a few minutes after they were released and they were virtually non-existent. Despite the high ticket price, I am stoked! I can't wait for this concert.
The rare chance that my nails are actually strong enough for me to paint them! Nothing too flashy, but a nice transition going into fall no?
I also shopped more than I would like to admit this month. This is just a photo of one of my hauls...Scary! I've been putting a lot more effort into dressing "up" for school nowadays. Definitely trying to get out of the jeans and hoodies rut I was in for the longest time...
I haven't browsed the Macy's selection of clothes in a LONG time. I went the other day with my mother and I was immediately drawn to this burgundy Tommy Hilfiger button down. My mom, on the other hand, did not like it at all. But that didn't stop me from at least trying it. I LOVED the way it looked. It had a slight hi-low and when I tucked the front in, it didn't show my muffin top like most other shirts do *sigh* The only thing that stopped me from getting it was its price. I scanned the top and it came out to be $55.xx...WHY SO PRICEY?! I must wait for this to go on sale!
Do you guys think my gym gear is breaking too many fashion rules (if any)? Or does that not matter when you go to the gym? I haven't been worked out in a while so I made it a point to get myself there the other day. I don't know what made me get on the treadmill when I usually just go on the cross-ramp but it felt nice (at the time). My legs couldn't even bend without hurting for the next few days...
The only other interesting thing I did was eat.
Poutine @ Pommes Frites
I'm not sure how poutine in Canada tastes, but I think this is the closest we can get in NYC? I loved how crunchy the fries were. But I just wished the cheese curds was a little more melted/stringy.
Takoyaki @ Otafuku
A little hole-in-the-wall shop on a side street at St.Marks. I love their takoyaki! Surprisingly, of the three times I've bought from them this was the only time I've eaten it fresh and hot. It was good...The only complaint I have was I wish mine were a bit crispier on the outside. But that could have been a timing problem because I didn't want to burn myself eating the takoyaki right away...heh.
Chocolate Swirl Bread & Macarons @ Panya Bakery
I gotta say I loved both of these. Especially the bread. It wasn't overly sweet but definitely not as plain as white toast. Not something I'd indulge in often but definitely something I'd get again. I love that you can ask them to cut the loaf of bread there. They have a thick toast option! LOVE~
Sunrise (Mango & Strawberry White Tea) with Aloe Jelly @ Yaya Tea Garden
I've tried a couple syrupy teas and I think they just aren't for me...They all taste too sweet for my liking. I wonder if I could ask for less of the syrup the next time I go (whenever that is). But I do appreciate the different types of jellies they had available!
Variety of sushi rolls @ Wasabi
Since I don't eat raw fish, I always end up getting a plate full of not so healthy but very delicious sushi with something fried in it instead. Not complaining though! I love me some sushi!
Homemade Herbal Jelly (not made by me)
I've been eating this all of August and September. At first, we just bought the stuff from the store but my mom decided to try making it herself. It wasn't too bad, although some batches were more jelly like than others. I love to eat this with agave nectar instead of liquid sugar. Apparently, ABCs aren't a big fan of this? I guess I'm the exception...I love this stuff!
I wish I could be as carefree as this guy (at least it seems he is). The next coming months at school will be stressful. Not just because of the workload. Mainly because it's my first semester as a sophomore and I really still have no burning definite decision for my major yet. AHH! Was anyone else in this situation or am I just really terrible for not having a goal in life...still...?
No this isn't a photo of some kind of monster figurine that has only one eye and a tongue sticking out. Silly!!...Although it does look like it could be from this angle.
This little thing is actually a toothpaste squeezer! I recently bought this Squeezeit during my visit to The Container Store with Bestie C. The intentions were just to squeeze every last bit of toothpaste out of the tube with the contraption. I didn't have too high expectations for this since, to be honest, sometimes products like these can look very gimmicky, yet we're still all curious if they really work or not right?
When it flatten my tube of toothpaste like a car tire ran over it...I got a little Squeezeit everything happy and I used it for all the opened toothpaste tubes in my house. Then I thought why not try it on other tubed products? Disappointingly, my cleanser and exfoliator tubes were just a little too wide to fit into the Squeezeit. *hint make a bigger one please! hint* I guess I'll just have to keep cutting those open for now...
For a few seconds after my tube hunting, I almost forgot I had this little tube of eye cream to try the Squeezeit on. I'm so glad I did because now I can get everything (well...almost everything) out without having to cut open the tube. I don't mind doing a mini operation on my beauty containers but it always bugged me when I have to leave the product all exposed to [bathroom] air afterwards.
So to sum it up, the Squeezeit does work! I'm sorry for thinking this was gimmicky and doubted its abilities! I bought this in a set of 2 for $2.99. It seems pricey at first glance but when I think about it again, it'll help me use a lot of product that I might just throw away if I didn't have one of these. Plus I probably won't need to own more than 2 anyways. It's a little difficult to take the Squeezeit off the tubes but it isn't impossible. After you use it on one tube, just take it off and do another!
How do you get the most out of your products?
Does anyone else get a little peeved by germs after cutting their tubes open (or is that just the germaphobe in me talking)?
I have a confession to make...
I completely neglected to take care of my skin over the summer!
After I finished my last round of skincare products (in maybe June or July), it was the perfect opportunity for me to use up the sachet samples I accumulated the last few years. All was going well until my skin started to break out all over.
I thought maybe going the simple route [just washing my face with water and not put anything on] my face would help. Alas, it did not. Ultimately I gave up trying altogether. But school was starting and I really did not want to go anywhere with my face looking the way it did.
I had been meaning to go to Naruko earlier to buy a new set of products to use. I wanted to try the Tea Tree line for a long time now because of one of my besties raves of it. But since it's started to get cooler here, I had a difficult time choosing between products for oil controlling & acne fighting or moisturizing. In the end, I decided to go for the former choice because I chose to go shopping right after my facial appointment. At the time I felt like treating acne and the red spots were top priority! Whether this was a bad decision in the long-run...we'll have to wait and see soon.
My haul in all its glory! I did make a big dent in my wallet with this one. But I think it was worth it. It seems like it's doing good stuff for my skin. Plus the Naruko store in Brooklyn had (might still have?) a special GWP promotion at the time. I think it was something along the lines of...spend $30 and get a free mask(s), spend $60 and get a free $25 product, spend $100 get a $10 off coupon. Since the necessities that I chose were close to the $100 mark anyway I decided to add an extra toner [Rose Astringent Lotion] to my total to get the $10 off. What the heck, right! I'll need it in the future anyway.
Top row, L to R: Rose Astringent Lotion, Tea Tree Oil Out Night Gelly, Narcissus Total Defense Repair & Relaxing Eye Mask*, Apple Seed & Tranexamic Acid*
Bottom row, L to R: Raw Job's Tears Supercritical CO2 Brightening Cream, Narcissus Total Defense Night Brightening Serum*, Tea Tree Oil Out Balancing Serum, Tea Tree Oil Out Toner
*GWPs
I also bought the Tea Tree Acne Clay Cleanser with a coupon I got from them. [I forgot to take a photo of it, so sorry!]
Ah! Heads up to those who are in NYC/Brooklyn and want to purchase from the store rather than order online. I found that the prices in-store were all +$1 whatever is listed on naruko.us ...I'm not exactly sure why it is this way (maybe to make up for shipping) but just to let you know! The boutique does add tax. I've never ordered through their website so I'm not quite sure how it goes with tax there. Also, if anyone is the type who likes to look around by themselves...I warn you to be patient there. Like almost all other Chinese beauty stores I've been to in NYC, the SA(s) really like to follow you around and make sure you are being helped. If somehow you can get away from them pestering you, in the end, you'll eventually have to ask them for help to get your products anyway.
Of all the products that I bought, I only started to use the basic ones.
Toner & Serum
Moisturizer & Gelly (Sleeping Mask/Pack)
Even though I've used tea tree infused products in the past, I still cannot really get used to its scent. Other than that I have really come to like my new skincare goodies. I seem to have a lot fewer breakouts and clogged comedones compared to how it was a week ago. I wish that Naruko had an actual moisturizer (gel/lotion/cream consistency moisturizer) for the Tea Tree line rather than its milky lotion (which I consider a toner, but the SAs all tell me otherwise).
Both photos are unedited.
Sorry if they scare anyone...
One week earlier & Current skin condition
Please excuse my dark circles! Anyways...back to the main point here!
As you can see the red spots have almost all completely disappeared within the week. I noticed there are fewer breakouts on my forehead and chin (but not completely...sigh..my chin is always the problematic area). My face hasn't felt this soft and smooth since April! I hope this is here to stay and not just a temporary stage *knock on wood & cross my fingers!*
However, I'm having a difficult time trying to decide whether this is because of the new skincare products or if the facial really did help my skin. Perhaps both contributed equally? What do you think?
