mua cosmetics undressed & heaven and earth palettes haul/comparison review to ud naked palettes

update: to see my review of naked2 vs. undress me too, click here.

hi guys! another review!! so in november, makeup academy (mua) hit 35k likes on facebook and offered 35% off and free shipping after £10. (they also have other offers for future fb milestones.) so i ordered 2 of both the undressed and heaven and earth palettes (1 pair as a gift); which are both considered dupes of/comparable to urban decay's naked and naked2. the naked and naked2 retail for $50 each. and mua's for £4 each, plus 35% & free international shipping, uhhh yes please. if you don't believe me, below is part of my invoice. now, with christmas and all, it took usps a month to deliver it--but, that could be their regular timing; i haven't ordered anything from the uk before, so i'm not sure.

naked (top) vs. undressed (bottom), over ud original eye primer

the shades in the undressed palette are certainly modeled after those of the naked1 palette. going one by one, they are arranged in the same order and it's very close. seen far away, there is no noticeable difference. up close, it's hard to tell too, but there are some textural differences in some and the amount of glitter/shimmer is slightly different. carbon copy? i think so.

naked2 (top) vs. heaven and earth (bottom), over ud original eye primer

as you can see, pan by pan, they don't match up to the naked2 but some shades are similar..if you switch them around. this isn't as exact as the undressed palette and i don't think that was the intention. i do think that the shades in heaven and earth are a very natural selection and can be used for smokey looks.

the verdict: i definitely think that if you're interested in the naked1 palette--and don't want to shell out $50, go ahead and try out the undressed palette. i mean, what do you have to lose? £4+shipping is very affordable. relatively, heaven and earth isn't exactly the same as naked2, but it's a very nice natural palette. both palettes come with a double-ended sponge-tip applicator "brush".

i can't say anything about mua's other products, but based upon comments on their facebook, people seem to really like them. me personally, i think they're the uk's wet n wild cosmetics: their products aren't completely the same, but their prices are very similar.

~Lin-chan ^.~

christmas gifts!!

like last year, here are the highlights! ~Lin-chan

• 3DS in aqua blue
• Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (999 part 2)
• Beauty Blender PURE (white)
• The Casual Vacancy
• The Manga Guide to Databases
• 2 pairs of boots in black and brown -- Carlie by Trend Report (at Sears)
• pots and pans wall-mount rack
• cupcake maker
• mini george foreman grill (dirty santa pick)
• domo/panda beanie
• Lush Ice Blue soap
• physician's forumula happy booster blush in natural
• ulta metallic eyeshadow palette
• Gift Cards
• Sephora
• Sigma
• Visa

  

tools for today's look (sorry, didn't have time to take a headshot)

notd: lazy lindsay! & happy holidays!

hi guys! things got hectic and i got lazy..so here's some sally hansen salon effects nail polish strips in snow way! hope you guys have a safe and fun holiday with lots of presents! =P ~Lin-chan ^.~

cvs & ulta haul!

hi guys!!! i got two coupons to use--25% off at cvs and 20% off at ulta!! and i had some cvs extrabucks w00t! so i went ahead and got the new color tattoo metal collection. these did not come wrapped in "limited edition" shrink wrap, so i think they'll keep on making them. cleaning up with a makeup wipe, there was shimmery glitter everywhere, in places i didn't even apply it. butttttt they're amazing.

• of these, i think the silver, pink, and gold are most worthwhile.
• the blue is ok, it's very similar to urban decay evidence..but in cream form. i haven't started using it yet, but the swatch left a stain on my arm.... compared to the other blues (tenacious teal, test my teal, blue on by), it is a more dark royal or purpley blue.
• barely branded is ever so slightly orangier than barely beige (which is pinker); but if you missed barely beige (fall limited edition) you could totally pick up barely branded as a substitute.  
• i think that gold rush will be a perfect new year's party color. compared to the previous golds (bold gold, gold shimmer), this is a yellow-gold with more shimmer than the previous two.
• the silver, compared to audacious asphalt, is a more chrome-silver than gray-sliver (audacious asphalt)

then at ulta, i decided to get a few more of the zoya's ornate collection. they didn't have the gold one and i'm not too keen on the silver bar glitter one, so i skipped on it. storm was so pretty i had to have it, and blaze and logan: i don't really have that many greens or reds... and 'dey pretteh too. ^_^ ~Lin-chan ^.~

makeup collection and storage & updated unii/z palettes

hi everyone! i'm all about organizing stuff, so i figured this would be interesting--as i am interested in seeing how others store their stuff. hope you like it! this is how i store my stuff in a 600-sqft apartment! hopefully by the next time i make an organization update--in the very distant future, we will be finally settled in a house; this apartment is way too small for me and my stuff...and paul's. lol! ~Lin-chan ^.~

• caboodles clear cosmetics counter tray from target
• makeup brush cup from sephora -- a similar one
• sterilite 4-drawer cart (#2822) from amazon
• small 3 drawer desk organizer from walmart
• unii palettes, z palettes -- see my review post/where to buy
• mesh bin drawer organizer from bbb

the bathroom:
top: so here's everything i've been grabbing for lately. i really like this container for the counter. it does take up a decent amount of space, but it's easy to see and reach everything. the heart pot was from an edible arrangement that teh paul got me a few years ago. i've been putting my dirty brushes into it to remind me to wash them, along with a few brush guards in the bottom. the black cup on the right is from sephora--but they don't sell them anymore... and i've got my current mascaras and some taller eyeliners in it. that green tube, chillin with the cotton balls: yeah, i got that in 7th grade. how long ago was that?! i wish they still made it, it's the clinique nighttime treatment gel. it was about $20-30 for 1.7oz, compared to .5oz $16 spot healing gel....hmm! yeah it still works great, but it's time is almost up: it's almost gone!
left: we don't have a lot of space in the bathroom nor is there a medicine cabinet..so i bought a two pack of these and the other is below..
middle: this thing. lol, i bought this shortly after i moved into my first apartment. i've been putting manicure stuff and hair accessories into it for the longest time. it's the perfect size to keep these things--outside of a cabinet drawer.
right: cabinet drawer. this has all of my larger items that i use daily and all of my face primer samples that i'm slowly going through.. on the right, i have a single organizer bin with samples etc. going on in there.... anyway.... and some powders and concealers to try out... @_@
unii palettes: white: face powder and bronzers, blue: boi-ing concealer (it's almost gone! TT_TT), blushes, lumiere from paris palette

• snapware containers from target -- small (a similar one), large
• sephora professional embossed train case -- a similar one

bedroom/closet:
top: dresser top. my aunt's mom gave me this huge vase (left) at my bridal shower and i'd been struggling to figure out what to use it for. then, i saw one of my youtube gurus using a similar vase with some rocks or sand or something at the bottom. so voila~! instant brush holder. so this one has my most-used/most-liked brushes, the other two have my less liked, spare brushes. the one toward the middle has my current lip glosses. then there's my crystal ring holder and box--awesome for keeping track of your frequently-worn jewelry! and finally, a little jewelry box i'd gotten from a cousin a few years ago. i mostly have a few costume jewelry pieces in there that i frequently wear. my "good" jewelry is hidden, out of sight, out of mind. and in the foreground, redwood woodwick candle and my naked palettes. and two somethings that will remain unnamed until a certain person gets their xmas present. if you're wondering about the random blue towel under my frame on the right; my dresser is too big for the wall it's against and our bedroom door swings right there; so it's to make sure we don't scratch it...and the closet door is just on the other side of the dresser. ....hmm that should be my next project: making this apartment in sims3.
bottom: closet. here's the other sterilite drawer cart! and some snapware containers and my train case from sephora! on top of my cart: harajuku lovers wicked style baby perfume, bbw forever red perfume, givenchy play perfume, a crapton of mascaras, and a box with some products that i don't want and haven't decided what to do with yet.

  

• copco cutlery tray from bed bath and beyond

so here's the inside of the drawer cart. the top drawer is not very interesting; it's got lint rollers and other things of the like in it.
the second drawer: left: lip glosses and balms, middle-left: cheek tints, lipsticks, and (temporarily) loreal eyeshadow duo. middle-right: travel sized eyeliners, shadow pencils, cake eyeliner, and some clear nail polish bottles. right: more mascaras, full-sized eyeliners. front: nail files, aveda translucent powder, a lip balm, lip stick, lip gloss, lash curler, clear nail polish, and a pen. along the side: a spare nyx brow shaper, new loreal onesweep natural for brown eyes shadow, and too faced bb cream.
third drawer: has my dry and shape; the shoulder strap and extra dividers from the train case (below), false lashes that i have yet to use..., nail wheels, extra brushes that i don't like nor frequently use, extra bottles of stila foundation and tt pearl glow primer, mufe sens'eyes. and inside my ud urban bride box is extra lip and eye products that i'll get around to eventually, or doubles.
fourth drawer: lush stuff!!! the front-ish has soaps, middle-ish has bath melts and bubble bars, and the back-ish has bath bombs. then a few lush times along the side.

left: here are my snapware containers.

• top: mini snapware container.
• top: spare primers and lip products, spare tubes of clinique super city block--which are usually free at dillards at certain times of the year with like no minimum purchase, they'll mail you a card.
• middle: face powders, blushes, highlighters, luminizers, eyeshadow, foundations, eye primers, ...floss..? lol.
• bottom: nail polish that i'm currently into or that i want to try out sometime soon
• left: my extra, random makeup junk. top: some konad stuff, brush roll, travel bliss set, small bathroom cups for future water marbling, spare clear nail polishes or treatments that are meh. bottom: extra brushes or other accessories, sample perfume "collection". extra ud body powder that i bought for no reason when i never use the small one from urban bride set......... tokidoki compact mirror that is too heavy for my purse..but it's cute..
• right: nail polish collection of course! the taller bottles (lower bin) are in the top bin, as the lid gives some extra space compared to stacking a bin on top, and the shorter bottles are in the upper bin/bottom of the stack. the bottles in the lower bin with the blue nail polish on top are to remind me that those are the shatter polishes before i grab for any of them. DO NOT grab this container by the handles. it is heavy and it will give out and create a huge mess.

right: travel makeup bag. this is kinda out of place in this post but whatever, my travel bag is on top of my train case, cut off in a photo a few pictures above, and there's a unii palette in it so yeah. what's in my [travel] makeup bag! this is the ud 15th anniversary bag. it's sparkly! >w< anyway! brushes: concealer, powder, blush, angled contour, shadow. (i should probably throw in a couple more eyeshadow brushes >.> ...) philosophy grace powder, too faced eye and face primers, nyx brow shaper, locally-made lip balm (fleur de bees), lipstick, mini de slick spray, ulta shadow duo, avon 8-in-1 neutrals palette, grind house sharpener, loreal onesweep eyeshadow in playful for brown eyes. unii palette: random pressed powder, benefit sexbomb, random concealer, clinique blush in posy. blotting paper and tweezers in the zipper compartment; and i usually throw in some eyeliners and mascara from my counter.

so here's the inside of my train case, and photos of it the contents outside of it. ...and updated z palette photos. if you're not observant, between photos, i switched out the small zebra z palette for the striped palette.

• right-left-top photo:
• the pro zebra is all blushes and bronzers from benefit, tokidoki, sigma, and clinique.
• the black is ud eyeshadows, theBalm nude'tude palette, and 2 sephora shadows.
• the striped palette has the sigma paris palette shadows, mini free sigma shadow, and stila kitten. the leopard palette has tokidoki, too faced, clinique, and lorac eyeshadows.
• the little black palette toward the top right corner is the lorac femme fatale palette from hautelook.
• 2 maybelline quads, a loreal quad, and 3 too faced glamour to go palettes
• right-right-top photo is too faced leopard love set, tokidoki bronzer and luminizer, benefit prrrowl, ud primer in eden, mini mufe sens'eyes, a few mini setting powders, some maybelline color tattoos, lorac 3d liquid lustre's, sephora eyeliner, ud walk of shame, eyeliners, highlighters, and mascaras. 
• right-right-middle: too faced 2 glamour to go palettes, candlelight, and candlelight glow; black jars: depotted ud eye primer potions (original, greed, sin), ud 6-pan build your own palette, stila foundation, tt pearl glow primer
• right-right-bottom: some loreal lip butters, spare boi-ing, lip products, pencil sharpener, destroyed pink leopards in a jar, more color tattoos

review: ud naked basics palette

another review of the naked basics palette! because there aren't enough out there! yeah, right. =P as many probably already know, this is urban decay's new matte palette, for the naked line. two of the shades, foxy and walk of shame (w.o.s.) are repeats. foxy is in the naked2 palette and walk of shame, in the 6-pan build your own palette. the palette itself is coated in a rubberized texture but not to the point where it will have things sticking to it or the coating will come off when scratched. maybe it's the same texture as the vice palette? i don't have it, i'm not sure. it is about the size of an iphone 4; it's smaller than my 5. next to the 5, if you hold it aligned with the bottom of the phone, it reaches the top of the screen. one complaint about this palette is that the naked and naked2 each came with a brush and an eye primer or lip gloss, and have 12 shadow pans each, at $50 each. naked basics has 6 pans, is $27, and is just the palette; no primer, no brush, no-nothing! annnnd in the midst of everything; the naked basics did not sell out on the first wave, unlike last year's naked2--which sold out on the second and few successive waves. basically; the week that this palette was released, it was announced that l'oreal was buying urban decay. the beauty community's problem: l'oreal does animal testing, urban decay does not. even though ud assured all of their die-hard fans that they will continue to not test on animals, the fans were pretty upset that their new parent company does, and a good number of them are basically boycotting now. we'll see what happens with that i guess.

anyway, back to the palette. venus is a pretty, shimmery ivory. yes it's a matte palette, they call this a "demi-matte"... it's nice to put in the inner corner to brighten it up. for me, foxy and walk of shame are highlighters or clean-up shades--for lighter skin tones. they're great to lighten up an area or to help blend out a harsh or dark shadow mistake. annnnd you can't see either of them on me. lol! naked2 is a really nice, light taupe color and looks great on skin tones across the board. faint is a medium brown and a great transitioning color. crave is a browned black (compared to my other black shadows; like ud blackout and thebalm serious). it is very dark and unless you hold it up to other blacks, you won't notice that it's brown-toned. i'm not sure how often i'd use this as i'm not a huge into smokey on myself, but it's a great color to set eyeliner.

swatches over ud original eye primer

the verdict: overall, i really do like this palette. like i said above, i do think they should have included something else with this palette, considering the price and what they've done for the other naked palettes.

~Lin-chan ^.~

notd! essie aruba blue, bobbi brown black pearl, opi number one nemesis

 

hi! i recently received some nail tape that i ordered from amazon (see here) and decided to try it out! if you don't want to order this kind of tape and if you can't find it locally, you could use scotch tape or painter's tape, cut into thin strips. if you use painter's tape, make sure it is fairly thin or that you don't overlap it much as it does not stay adhered to your nail very well (see all of my index and ring fingers).

base color: 2 coats essie aruba blue, topped with 1 coat of bobbi brown black pearl or 2 coats opi number one nemesis. make sure your base color is completely dry before applying the tape. paint on top color. when it dries, remove tape in the reverse order you applied it--you should be able to see where to start. apply a top coat; i used seche vite. since this was my first time doing this, i did them one nail at a time, but you could tape them all and go if you'd prefer. i think that if i do this again, i'll use colors that are very different as it is very hard to see/distinguish the blue and black in certain lights.

if you want black pearl, i ordered it directly from the bobbi brown website ($18). be sure to use ebates* when you order!

~Lin-chan ^.~

*Affiliate Link.

update: or i think i just used crappy $1 store painter's tape. will have to get the good stuff and try it again.

the results are in!!!

hey guys! so grades are all posted now.. and i'm super depressed i didn't keep my a in accounting.. i was so close..yet so far. TT_TT

crazy voodoo-black magic!!! i somehow got a c in econ!!! i can apply to the business school now! yayyyyyyyyyyyy! ~Lin-chan ^.~

Fall 2012

Dept	Course Number	Section		Grade	Hours Carried	Hours Earned	Quality Points
ACCT	2001	001		B	3.00	3.00	9.00
BLAW	3201	007		B	3.00	3.00	9.00
ECON	2000	010		C	3.00	3.00	6.00
ISDS	1102	007		A	3.00	3.00	12.00
ISDS	2000	002		B	3.00	3.00	9.00

Totals

	Hours Carried	Hours Earned	Quality Points	GPA
Semester Totals	15.00	15.00	45.00	3.000
LSU System Totals	164.00	167.00	488.00	2.975
Overall Totals	164.00	167.00	488.00	2.975

(for those wondering about the discrepancy: i got 3 credit hours from my ACT score)

my first little black bag order/impressions

 

so here's what i got from my first little black bag*! i don't foresee myself getting these very often as they are pretty expensive. i bought a "$29.99" single-purchase bag. basically the gist is:

• when you make an account, you take a style quiz. (style quiz can be retaken whenever)
• when you go to buy your bag, you get to pick one item from a long list of items. this list will not show you everything-everything that they have available--it's based on your answers to the quiz, but you are ensured to have the first item that you picked, unless you decide to trade it off later.
• items include jewelry, handbags, scarves, wallets, sunglasses, random electronics accessories (like phone cases), makeup, etc. from many different designer brands.
• before you check out, they will tell you how many items their "stylists" have picked and put into your bag (can be 1-3, based upon first item's retail amount); these are hidden until you complete the check out process, but it does tell you the brand name and the price of the item..so if you hit the back button and look at the list, you might be able to figure it out or have an idea... or you can go back and forth between tabs doing this, wait a few minutes, and mess with it so that it'll put other, different items in your bag ^____^
• you go through the purchasing process with credit card and shipping info, etc.
• usps shipping: $4.95
• $29.95 (monthly subscription) or $39.99 (non-subscription) + shipping
• $49.95 (monthly subscription) or $59.99 (non-subscription) + shipping
• facebook "like" discount code: facebook10 for 10% off
• monthly subscription can be "skipped" by every 5th of the month; read up on more info before deciding to start a monthly subscription as i don't know the full details.
• i feel like they're kind of deceptive in saying that the bag is only $29.95 or $49.95; when in reality it isn't. it's based on your subscription status and they only tell you otherwise when you go to input your payment information...and possibly on some of their policy, etc. pages.
• afterward, it shows you the hidden items in your bag, opening up the whole site so you can see everything that they have available, and you can trade with other users for items you want with items in your bag that you may not want. their inventory changes very often, so it's highly likely that if you miss something, it may not come back.
• trading time: 3 days ($30 bag) or 7 days ($50 bag) -- your credit card will not be charged until trading ends or if you click "ship my box"; there is a countdown at the top of the page for your reference.
• when offering a trade, you can offer more than one item to trade for an item, but you can't ask for multiple items for one. you can offer to trade a single item for multiple other items if you want to try asking everyone for all the different things on the site
• OR if the item you really want is available (it will say "buy"), you can add it into your bag for half of it's retail price in addition to the cost of the bag. i believe that if you do this, you are not allowed to trade these items, but don't quote me.
• you will receive notifications when trading ends and when the "bag" is shipped. they use a weird website that lists the usps tracking number on it if you'd prefer using usps, like me...newgistics???? what?
• package arrives in about a week from shipment date, give or take holidays.

betsey johnson's pearl round studs, all the rage pyramid earrings, and a full-sized smashbox full exposure mascara

so, the betsey johnson earrings (ret. $38) were my first choice. raeview on youtube was showing them off in one of her videos and i really liked them. turns out, basically everyone in existence wanted to trade for these earrings. suddenly, after finishing the check-out process, my phone was going off like crazy with emails. by some bizarre logic, lbb thinks it's ok set the default to email you every time someone offers you a trade. why would you do that???? anyway, so i had to go turn that off, because really 108594759 people wanted these earrings and i can't handle my phone going off every 2 seconds. anyway, some people were offering dinky things like travel-sized shampoo while others were trying to trade upwards of $60 worth of items for it! it was insane. and i denied each and every one of them! =P

anyway, the pyramid earrings (ret. $14) and mascara (ret. $19) are another story. my other two initial items were smashbox limitless eyeliner pencil (ret. $19) and a pretty, leafy costume jewelry necklace (ret. $24). i liked the necklace, but it looked kinda long on the mannequin so i wanted to trade it off. eventually i decided to trade it for the mascara. then, i couldn't figure out what to do with this eyeliner. i have a ton of eyeliners and i didn't really want another (not that my stockpile of mascaras is any better off, but that's another story.....) to try out and potentially love. so i searched and searched, and i decided on the pyramid earrings. i'm not huge into gold-toned jewelry, i really prefer silver-toned ones. which i guess for both pairs of earrings, that's uncharacteristic of me but whatever. they are cute and i love them. >w<

i hope you guys found this helpful and if you'd like to join little black bag, here's the link again*! the account is free and you don't have to purchase from them immediately, nor do you have to become a monthly member. i made my account earlier this year and waited until now to actually buy something. this bag ended up being ~$41 with shipping and the discount, but i did get $71 worth of stuff. ~Lin-chan ^.~

*Affiliate Link.

finals weeeeeeek!!

hi guys! it's finally finals week! round 100000! because i've been in school too long. anyway. here's my breakdown. and as you can see, econ is certainly not my forte. hope everyone has a successful finals week and a super awesome brain melt/memory-wipe by saturday! ~Lin-chan ^.~

finals week exams schedule:
mon work all day
tues 3p econ 2000
wed morning work a bit
wed 730p acct 2001
thurs 10a blaw 3201
thurs afternoon work a bit
thurs 730p isds 1102
fri morning work a bit
fri 730p isds 2000

pre-final grades:
acct 2001: 92.11
blaw 3200: 84.39
econ 2000: ....d?
isds 1102: 96.84
isds 2000: 83.33

scores needed:
acct 2001: 73% to keep my A
blaw 3200: B to keep my B
econ 2000: A to get a C..which is highly unlikely >.>
isds 1102: 48% to keep my A
isds 2000: 90% to get an A -- final replaces the lowest grade; i.e. it's counted twice

black eyeliner comparison review! urban decay perversion vs. tarte onyx

today we have a comparison of tarte skinny smoldereyes in onyx and urban decay 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in perversion. last weekend, i bought the tarte smoldereyes holiday pencil set, which included onyx. after several days of alternating between onyx and perversion, i decided to do a side-by-side.

i normally only use liner on my lower lash line and not my waterline, as i did here. i used onyx once on both my uppers and lowers; it stayed pretty well except in the outer corners because my eyes were itchy and i was tearing that day. i have not used perversion as my upper liner. i took the following photos 5 minutes, 6 hours, and 12 hours after application..because, realistically, who doesn't touch up by the 12hr mark? this was a normal day, me rubbing at my eyes as i normally do. i did not touch up or wipe off the raccoon-y for the photos. i apologize..not really..for the different lighting in the center photo. i had the bedroom curtain drawn and it looks a lot nicer than my bathroom shots... ^^;

my right (the left): perversion, my left (the right): onyx

what i found:

• application:
• onyx is a very creamy, soft liner to the point where if you apply too much pressure, you will break the tip. i'm not sure if it was just me, but i did make some mistakes in applying it because it's so soft, it catches on your lashes--they can cut into it a bit!, and i was being too careful. nothing a good ole q-tip can't solve! comes with a smudger on the other end, but i don't ever use those...
• perversion tugs at your skin a bit. it is not nearly as creamy as onyx, but it is creamier than most other eyeliners i've used.
• color: i think that they are the exact same color, very dark black and nicely pigmented
• longevity: 
• onyx seems to last a lot longer than perversion. they both last quite a long time, but onyx seems to remain dark and solid longer than perversion can. i really like the staying power of onyx, it does raccoon after a few hours, but not to the point where others will notice it.
• perversion: they'll notice the raccoon.
• i feel like, how thickly you apply these will determine how well they stay. but even if i applied them equally and evenly here, i still feel like onyx stays longer and better.
• removal: i used three different products to remove these liners. both liners came off about the same for each remover.
• neutrogena makeup remover towelettes refill pack (blue pkg): keep on wiping! it takes a while but you'll get it all eventually...
• avon moisture effective eye makeup remover: (applied with cotton ball) mostly came off. skin was gray tinted afterward...
• make up forever sens'eyes: (applied with cotton ball) effortlessly came off

the verdict:
onyx definitely gives perversion a run for the money; of which, they both are the same price ($19 for .04 oz). i think this is the new favorite black liner. it's amazing. sorry urban decay!!!

for those who may be wondering:

mascara: almay get up and grow in blackest black--uppers only, lash curler not used.
eyeshadow: l'oreal one sweep in natural for brown eyes, no eye primer
photo collage app: PicFrame for iphone

~Lin-chan ^.~

an update/haul

 

i feel like i've been posting hauls too much and not so much product reviews. so today, i'll just list the items i've gotten since i've dismantled everything's packaging last hauled and eventually i'll get around to posting more reviews. ~Lin-chan ^.~
ulta

• tarte smolderEyes eye catchers pencil set
• maybelline eyeshadow quads in green with envy & give me gold
• macadamia natural oil healing oil treatment (free; used my ulta points)
• too faced triple threat set
• 5 for $5: 3 eye pencils, chi silk infusion, and ulta hide & go sequins polish
• zoya aurora
• butter london fairycake

sephora

• urban decay ocho loco pencil set
• nars satellite of love blush/luminizer
• 500pt nars deluxe sample set (eye & face primers, lip pencil in new lover, orgasm blush)
• perfect formula clear gel coat
• lasting impression it kit (free w/code)
• clinique clarifying lotion 3 (16.5 oz)
• too faced
• perfect collection
• hot cocoa collection
• eyeko skinny mini set
• caudalie cleansing & lip duo
• benefit high flyin glosses set

sigma

• p82
• p86
• e05 (free for spending $30)

urban decay

• de slick xl spray
• naked basics palette

elsewhere online or in-stores

• glam-rx touch up palette (order here)
• macadamia natural oil deep repair [hair] masque (8.5 oz)
• skylark by elle and blair ava & sophia lip gloss set (from blush.com)
• theBalm mary lou-minizer & hot mama (from hautelook*)
• bobbi brown black pearl nail polish
• revlon
• colorburst lipstick in pink sugar
• super lustrous lipstick in sassy mauve
• just bitten kissable balm stain in smitten
• photoready concealer in light medium
• covergirl
• intense shadow blast in beige blaze & brown bling
• lashblast clump crusher in very black
• trublend pressed powder in translucent medium
• l'oreal
• color riche quad in snooze addict
• infallible le gloss in blush
• infallible eyeliner in black
• wet n wild blush in pearlescent pink
• real techniques brush sets -- starter kit (purple) & core collection (orange)
• 24-piece brush set (from widget love, via living social coupon)
• white barn "thanksgiving" candle; a 3-wick candle sleeve
• lush: candy mountain bubble bar, melting snowman bath melt, north pole soap, sandy santa scrub, cinders bath bomb

*Affiliate Link.

nail mail/notd! seche smokey & hypnotic

hi all! i haven't seen the seche lacquers locally around here, but i found them on ebay for a pretty decent price ($6 ea w/ship). these babies came in today! i got smokey & hypnotic. they're so pretty! hypnotic almost looks like black in some lights though, so in that respect it's not so cool. and i knew smokey would come out something like this so it's got my approval. these polishes are being marketed as basically one-coat-and-go in opacity. and for the most part, i agree. pending on how much polish you have on the brush, you can go one coat with these polishes. if not one, definintely two; some nails were a bit streaky and needed a little more, but i think it's because i wiped too much off the brush. i used: orly primetime, orly bonder, 1-2 coats seche lacquer, 1 coat seche vite. overall though, i really like them. i hope i can find them locally sometime soon so i can see the other colors in person, rather than relying entirely on online swatches. i tried cleaning up some before taking photos this time and fudged my right ring nail in the process. oops. whatever! ~Lin-chan ^.~

DIY nail polish ornaments!

last year sayanythingbr00ke posted a video on nail polish ornaments! so i decided to give them a try myself! we went over to our local cvs (with a $3 off  $10 nail polish coupon in hand) and, with the help of teh paul, picked out these five polishes. of these three brands, the i really liked the sally hansen the most. it came out the most opaque and it gave me the least trouble. the nyc polishes on the other hand, were ok; they were both extremely watery and very thin. i got the plastic ornaments from the craft section at walmart for $1 each (you can also use glass ones). if you can't find them at walmart, try looking for them at a craft store. my total cost: ~$13.

polishes used:
sally hansen xtreme wear: virtual violet
spoiled: i'm so jaded (green) & tip your waitress (pink)
nyc: chelsea (red) & east village (blue)
materials needed:

1. newspaper
2. cardboard egg carton--not styrofoam!!!!
3. polishes of your choice
4. nail polish thinner if needed
5. nail polish remover if needed for clean up
6. clear glass or plastic ornaments
7. decorative ribbon or stickers if desired
8. ornament hanging hooks

so, pop the tops off the ornaments and pour some nail polish inside. tilt the ornament to coat the inside and add more polish as needed. place them into a *cardboard* egg carton, open-side down so the polish can drip out. so as you can see, this is why you shouldn't use a styrofoam container. nail polish eats styrofoam. lol! overall, these came out awesome and i'd totally do this again. make sure you do this in a well-ventilated room and allow it to dry overnight...also in a well-ventilated room. these took me about half an hour in total to "paint". my favorites of the bunch are the green and purple. ~Lin-chan ^.~

i has a panda phone!

an update on my new phone! (link to previous phone post)

got my new phone cases in time before we went back home for the holiday! they called me on friday afternoon to pick it up! the only problem i have with it is AT&T's service with the new LTE data connection. back home, it's extremely patchy, i guess the suburbs aren't good enough! it's still new technology, so whatever, i guess it's ok. back at the apartment, i haven't really used it that much yet so i'm not sure what it's like. according to said apple store employee, his co-workers say that it's better here in BR and NOLA (i guess more central vs. suburb..). that remains to be seen. anyway, love my new cases! had to get a cute one and a pseudo-normal one. the panda likes sticking to the insides of my pockets >.< and the blingy one is nice and slim, which is what i'm used to anyway...well except for the fact that when the phone is sitting on a table, etc. and vibrates...then it scares the crap out of me, it's so loud!! well later! ~Lin-chan ^.~

on a related note; if you haven't seen it already, watch nigahiga's first world problems. it's hilarious.

more belated notd goodness! china glaze fast track

 

another belated post! i should be getting my new phone this weekend. we shall see.
belated happy turkey day, happy black friday, and early happy cyber monday. don't forget to utilize ebates* when online shopping!

this is from the hunger games collection. it's fairly true to the bottle but it looks weird on my skintone. i think i'm just not huge into nude colors in general; but it's got such a pretty gold shimmer! i think if this polish were paired with a darker color or if it were over another color it'd be better. ~Lin-chan ^.~

*Affiliate link.

how to make yaki udon (favorites)

this was intended to be part of my oct-dec favorites, which will be posted in january, but i wanted to put this up for one of my friends. ~Lin-chan ^.~

 

i'm not sure why, but i've been on a super udon-kick lately. i got the first pack of frozen noodles to try it since it's probably better for you than instant udon (see here) and because, months ago, i bought soba sauce for who knows what reason...well i do have dry udon noodles that i've been neglecting to cook and try. anyway.....and it's getting cold out; it's hot beverage season. so, tea time!

• frozen udon noodles, soba sauce, stir fry; these can be found at your local asian *cough*korean* grocery store; this brand of udon comes with 5 individually wrapped bunches for $6 and this bottle of soba sauce was $3 at the store near our apartment. i've been really liking it either alone with some soba sauce, or as stir fry (yaki udon).

1. boil some water and cook the noodles, drain, and shock them in cold water so they don't stick together and get mushy.
2. either put them in a bowl and pour on some soba sauce (1 serving, left photo--in a cereal bowl)
3. OR 2 servings (right photo--in a 1.5qt bowl): stir fry some vegetables (bite sized), sliced mushrooms, cooked meat (bite sized), crushed red pepper (to taste), and 1 tbsp garlic in sesame oil (enough to coat pan) while the noodles are boiling. add the noodles to the vegetable pan when they're done. then stir fry the noodles and vegetables together for a few minutes until they are evenly mixed. pour in some soba sauce, toss to coat and serve.
• ingredient ideas/alternatives: pre-packaged frozen stir fry mixed vegetables or fresh vegetables of your choice; chinese roast pork, plain or teriyaki chicken (marinate chicken in teriyaki sauce for 20-30 minutes and pan fry/grill--we've been using zea's thai sauce), beef; jar of minced garlic vs. fresh, dry vs. frozen udon
• if you buy too many fresh vegetables, you can always cut them up into bite sized pieces, and put them in a zip-lock to make your own frozen stir fry blend for next time!

• zhena's gypsy tea: vanilla chai herbal red tea (~$10 @ cost plus world market, 22 bags). with several heaping teaspoons of sugar--yes, i'm a sugar fiend, but...we've got dentists in my family so it's ok. =P i'm not sure if all cc's coffee has red tea like the one in lsu's library, but i think this tastes just like it...and the library is really annoying to get to from all my other classes and my apartment and i haven't checked at the other ones around yet......so yeah. ^^;