Busy Weekend

Hope everyone had a good weekend! There were lots of things going on for me. Two birthdays, Asian New Year's and Valentine's! Sorry this is a fluff blog post of pics. Here they are...

Food spread from our combined parties! Yum, I think I ate too much...

It's amazing what circle lenses, makeup and a flattering angle can do for a girl. I look so different without all this makeup...
For the lips, I tried layering Revlon Soft Nude over Maybelline Pink Please. This is the result. It's less bright in-person. If you find that the Revlon lipstick accents your lip lines, try layering it over one that doesn't.
You can hardly tell but I'm wearing Benefit blush/bronzer in 10 on my cheeks. My new purchase off e-bay. I finally have it! I've wanted it for a couple years now...

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Pearls in Lawless Lavendar- I really like this. I've always wanted to try a baked shadow! Thanks Megan!!
Maybelline XXL Pro Curl Mascara- only used the mascara side of it. It's nice, but the wand is too curly? It def made my lashes fuller. Do you think I still need falsies?
L'oreal Lineur Intense- good for winging the top line, stays put.
MUFE eyeliner pencil in Black and Purple- tightlined upper lashes, stays put (purple for lower corner lash)

Lisa of HQCD generously offered up her MUFE primer, and me being MUFE crazy jumped at that. :) She is so amazing; she stuffed that box full of goodies. Even though she's a full time student and makes fantastic jewelry, she's still got time to make caramels! Your friendship means so much to me. <3

They are delicious and so soft! Thank you!

I also got special treats from Stacy, Steph, and Megan! Thanks for all the love! <3

A preview of my new limited key collection in my shop later today! They are one-of-a-kind keys! :)


I recently came across WongFu Productions again. I was glad to find out they are still making videos. They are most known for their video "Yellow Fever." If you watch that then watch this you can see how far they've come. Anyhow, this vid is really funny! Enjoy!

Big deal about Lush?

I hit the Lush store on Sunday for the first time to get some prizes for the giveaway on my other blog. So apparently I haven't been in here before. I got this confused with Sabon in NYC. Sabon is amazing btw. I forgot what scents I liked, and there are no stores near me. :( Atleast now they have a working website. As far as overpriced soaps go, yes please! I know the difference between the two but all I can remember in my head are rows and rows of soap- no scents. So that was Sabon not Lush in my memory. Lush has soaps in stacks not rows... Now back to Lush, haha.

When I walked in I was greeted and whisked straight to some products to try. The guy showing me around was really helpful and jolly. They definitely hire the high-engry happy types here. No grumps allowed in soap land. He had a lot to say even showing me the stretch marks on his arms, haha. For this and all other skin problems he recommended the "Buffy" bar (square block in left corner). Like a lamb I succumbed. It seemed okay and the smell was not offensive. Maybe it'll help my kp.

The product demonstrations consisted of me layering on lotion after lotions after soap after soap? I can't remember what they were but it was just way too much for a simple gal like me.

He demoed the Ex-Factor bath bomb (blue guy) in a tub of water by breaking off appendages one by one. hence the name- the ex factor. The water was "soft" like he described. It fizzed and made the water blue which was cool. Then he took me over to the sink, thew in a comforter bubble bar and poured in the giant tub of ex-factor bomb water into the sink for "cock-tailing" as they like to call it when they mix products. Those two make the water "extra soft." Which is true, it did!

Cute like a voodoo doll. The bag of Lush stuff was sitting under my desk and one scent kept popping into my nose. This guy was the culprit. I think it's too concentrated as a solid. It smelled much better when dissolved in water. Jen wanted to try this, so it'll be going to her.

So far I've only tried Sultana.

Other things I got:
Whoosh shower jelly- bright blue and wiggly citrus jelly for the shower (grapefruit, lemon and lime). so curious after the guy demoed the lavender one. It didn't break apart like I thought it would.

Angels on Bare Skin cleanser- looked like a turd on the website so I had to try this. Also highly recommended on my giveaway. it looks like it has dill seeds, but I guess it's lavender? The smell is not that great, but it's decent.

Sultana- favorite in the store. one girl said she works at lush just for that one. really? I really like it at the store, at home, in the shower.. then I didn't like it so much lingering on me 3hrs later. I dunno. It's pretty with berries on/in it. (fruity and floral fragrance of olibanum and bergamot oils) apparently I like bergamot...

I Should Coco Soap- nice light coco smell (creamed coconut infusion)

Sexy Peel Soap- really good citrus smell. highly recommended so far (lemon and lime marmelade) to give or keep? ahaha.

Honey I Washed the Kids Soap- #1 rec'd on the giveaway. very nice! (toffee scented, bergamot and sweet orange) Jen is getting this too, hehe.

Rock Star Soap- too sweet for me but a fav for many (bubble gum and vanilla)

Tramp Shower Gel- I don't know what's in it but I know I don't like it... too earthy.

I only had the balls to ask for two samples. Angels on  Bare skin and I Should Coco. They are generous sizes and prolly worth $3 each. They did give two extra pre-packed samples at checkout. Rock star soap and tramp shower gel. I managed to stay in my budget! I decided on an amount in my head during the long drive there.

Anyway, during checkout the lady told me I had good taste for a first-timer. That's praise I like to hear! haha, I'm so picky on bath stuff. I loathe b&bw scents.

I think I tried to sniff everything in the store. ha, you can't without dying. My nose got overloaded and I started sneezing. That's my cue to leave! Until next time!

Conclusion: Lush is a fun store to visit. So far I think it's overrated even though I'll probably be back!

So of course I stopped by Sephora to play around. I saw this Miss Dior Cherie mini perfume bottle on the counter and spazzed. I LOVE this scent but the full size is $95 ish and I can't justify getting it b/c I'll never use it all. I like getting the smallest size I can find since I don't even use perfume everyday. This was the beauty insider freebie, so I just grabbed a cheap lip liner to get this baby. I always hoard my points for something better to come along, like the holy grail. haha.


btw, these pics are from my DAILYBOOTH account. You can post pics directly from your webcam. I like this b/c my camera is always in the other room. Sign up and we can follow each other!

Bare It All while Skinny Dipping, New Fav Lipstick

Wet n Wild has really outdone themselves in 2010! I have never bought a wet n wild product before because I thought they were cheap and crappy. I decided to put that thought aside and try out this lipstick after watching a review on youtube. :P

Blogging has made me more into lipsticks and let me take a second look back at drugstore products. You all know this from my last post on the effects of blogging. I appreciate all the comments! It's good to know I'm not the only one!

Back to the lippie! They looked really pigmented and nice on the video so I popped by my local Walgreens after my stop at the Post Office. I was just here yesterday at looking for EcoTools where I spotted the Wet N Wild Color Icon palettes. They were so pretty, how could I miss them? I totally ignored the lipsticks though! After trying to research the palettes I also came across these lipsticks. Since I'm swimming in eye shadows I thought I'd try some lipsticks. But believe me, I'll be buying those palettes when they're bogo.

Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color / Lipstick - $2.99

902C Bare It All

From the website:
Lips take center stage! This 4-hour, longwearing lip color leaves a semi-matte, crème finish in one stroke. Glides on easily with rich, velvety color that doesn't cake, feather, or bleed. Made with hydrating skin-care ingredients: Hyaluronic Microspheres provide extraordinary adhesion to lips, an exclusive polymer complex offers cushion-like feel and texture, and natural marine plant extracts Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamins A & E help smooth lips.

Review:
Basically I really like it because it's not drying. It's matte. It's pigmented. It's smooth. No smell. I'm no lipstick expert so I dunno what else to say. I'll update this post when I think of more. I just bought this today! I like these better than the nyx circle lipsticks. Actually I don't really like the nyx circles all that much- drying. My prediction is people will be comparing the two.
I was trying to look for a dupe for the Max Factor below.

So I thought I'd be crazy and put all four of my favorite nude lipsticks on at the same time. haha. It's hard to really tell a difference.

Revlon Soft Nude- great color, the lightest of the bunch
Max Factor Skinny Dip- favorite nude for my medium skin but it's discontinued and old smelling now
Wet n Wild Bare it All- the only matte one. could be more pink
Rimmel Nude Delight- has the most moisture, great color, slightly more orange than the rest. It's between nude attitude and soft nude.

All of these are highly recommended! My skin is lt/medium now so I can't wear Nude Attitude or Elf Nymph.

I don't feel like this photo is color accurate. Everything should be more pink. But they really do look that different on my arms and lips in real life.

Top two color showdown. I still like Skinny Dip better, but Bare It All is close enough that I can stop looking. Adding a pink gloss on top would make it match.

What the packaging of all four look like.
Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick - $5.99
Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipstick - $2.99
Max Factor Vivid Impact Lipstick - $8.99 but discontinued.
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick - $8.99

Would I buy more of these? YES. Recommended? YES b/c it's only $3. But if you have the others don't bother with this color. Try one like Just Peachy? Or none at all, save your money! lol!

If anyone can recommend MAC cremesheen (or not) nude lipsticks comment below. Such as shy girl or creme d'nude. I think creme d'nude may end up being too light for me.


Oh, and if you're wondering why there is a Vitamin Schtick balm in the first photo, it's because I got it for free technically. You get a register reward for this for $1.99 when you pay $1.99+tax. Then you take that certificate and  can buy this lippie at $2.99- $1.99 = $1 + tax. wee!

Since Beauty Blogging

So I decided to not let my ass off this chair until I make a post here!

I just checked, and I've been blogging for almost 9 months now! whoa! It started off with me watching people putting on makeup on youtube (before they were called GURUS). Then I decided I wanted to share my own input instead of just lurking on other people's blogs. I've actually blogged since 2003. I went from emo blog, to photo blog, to live journal, to no blog, and now back to blogger via makeup obsession.

So a few days ago I came across Sparkle is my Crack where Lisa made a post of things she things she has started doing since blogging. I thought this was a cool idea, so here's mine!

1. New vocabulary words
When I first started reading blogs, I'd be like WHAT THE F--- is an EOTD  or FOTD?? I didn't want to ask and sound like a dumb nut. I think I screamed when I finally figured it out. A scream of shock because it was so dumb. Then there's HG (holy grail) and DD (dear daughter). Those are stupid terms in my opinion. I think there are still some out there that I haven't figured out yet. I used EOTD in some of my posts now just to torture some sad fool like me. I can be slightly evil.

2. More new vocabulary
The word HAUL. To me hauling meant pulling something or hauling oats or haul your ass over here. Now it's used in regards to buying lots of stuff. I think Aubrey / fafinettex3 coined this word. She'd be hauling this and that (okay mostly MAC) but I was always surprised at how much people hauled at one time. Then there's the collective hauling with tons of stuff x tons of stuff.  (damn, after i typed this I went to check if I spelled her name right and now I want a lippie she just "hauled." crap.)

3. Swapping
I did a few swaps here and there before blogging via Makeup Alley, but I never had much (or wanted much) then. Now I have too much stuff and want too much stuff, lol. Plus, I really prefer blog swapping much more! Less chance of swap-lifting and you can sell your stash for cash. I've met so many beautiful and nice ladies here on blogger- love swapping with ya! I feel really fortunate to have met you all!

4. Reusing padded envelopes
Some of my swaps on makeup alley came in the envelope that I had sent them first. At first I thought it was weird and cheap. Now I'm okay with it b/c I realize those padded envelops really add up. I think it's $1.29 for a decent sized one at regular price. It's best to buy in bulk when Walgreens has them for 3/$1. But reusing is good too I think. Remember, Recycle, Reduce, Reuse? They made us chant this in elementary school. I reuse envelopes for swapping only, not for jewelry sales btw. If the envelope looks dirty or is falling apart, don't reuse it. What I do is cut off the old flap, cut into one side a rectangle so I can fold over a new section, and tape it down.

5. Not using makeup my mom suggested
My mom suggested Estee Lauder foundation to me my senior year or highschool. It seems like the mom-foundation makeup brand. Sad for them. Their gold packaging reminds me of YSL but YSL seems to sell better thanks to makeup gurus. haha. Anyhow, I realize now my mom's knowledge of makeup is limited, and since then I have been experimenting with lots of different brands.

6. Buying makeup products weekly
I used to buy every now and then, but now I'm always buzzing around the makeup section like an obsessed makeup junkie or stalking the internet for deals.

7. Overflowing drawer of makeup
Before blogging I tried to keep my makeup to one drawer, but now it's spread to my dresser... floor... boxes... my room's a mess!

8. Stacks of  packing boxes
This goes with #4 of reusing envelopes. I keep some of the shipping boxes I get so I can reuse them later. It really comes in handy when I'm in a pinch. I mostly flatten them and stash them away, but they grow in numbers... Oh yes, please reuse the boxes I mail things out in. :)

9. Trying bronzer
I never tried bronzer because I didn't want to be darker. I thought it was suppossed to just make you look tan, and that's the last thing I wanted. Now I know better, but I still stuck at it. sticking to blush/bronzer mixes.

10. Got sucked into buying things I didn't really want/need.
There's something about seeing someone else have something that works for them and wanting it for yourself. It's like we're on the never-ending quest to find the perfect blush or lipstick etc. Pretty on you? okay pretty on me!! 

11. Wear lipstick
I never really wore lipstick unless I went to a party. Now I put it on at weird times of the day so I can stare at my lips or test out products. It's so weird. Now I'm so curious I even want to buy a mac one. I used to just love my lip color with any sheer gloss b/c they are so pigmented, but now I know too much of what's out there...

12. Pictures of myself
Started taking pictures of my eyeballs. Currently it was only available to those of the cast of Lost.

13. No Gardening
I used to garden a hell of a lot more. Now I'm always on the computer. I even forgot to plant my bulbs this winter. It's not too late yet, but I'm just lazy now. The old hyacinths from last year already came up b/c Texas weather is crazy. Bulbs come up after it gets gold then warm . Well Texas gets cold and warm so often the bulbs are confused. They're supposed to come up in March/April.

I think there's tons more, but I'll save it for another time. I hope this long ass post makes up for my lack of blogging. I will try to post some Alice stuff on my jewelry blog later tonight! :)

Please do this on your blog if you want!! I'd love to read it! There is no limit or number required. Just whatever comes to mind.

Some swaps I did in January. Thanks ladies! <3

Swap with Megan. That's Rimmel Airy Fairy! Very close to what I want to dupe. I love the edm brushes! See how I made one dirty already? thanks so much! <3

Swap with Steph. Thanks for all the goods! The eye shadows are great! Sadly Nymph makes me look like I'm wearing glue... lol. Plus I was always curious about those revlon glosses. The minerals are a little yellow, but I can make it work. <3 you.

Swap with Jessie. She was kind enough to help me find Rimmel Nude Delight b/c they don't sell it where I am. I swapped her some batiste and candy. That girl's got a sweet tooth like me! Thanks for the minerals! <3 I'm on a mineral kick right now. hehe.