meet the bridal party

thought it'd be a nice change up and another wedding post. photos are compliments of stalkerbook: you posted them (or were tagged), i picked them. ^___^ ~Lin-chan ^.~

Maid of Honor: Tarryn

 

Best Man: Daniel
  

Sharon & Adolfo
 

Sophie & Ryan
 

Jessica & Tracy

 

Flower Girls:
 

Ring Bearer: Nicholas
 

what i'm loving: maybelline color tattoo eyeshadows & a meal "plan"

i know these are still crappy phone photos for you guys..those of you who do keep up with my xanga ^^; anyway we've got about another month before my birthday so let's hope i get a new camera!

L → R: pomegranate punk, bad to the bronze, and bold gold
after ~9 hours

after ~19 hours & sleeping (different lighting)

thoughts: these are amazing. i haven't touched or rubbed my eyes since i applied it. i finally found a use for all those concealer brushes i have!!! these are actually cream eyeshadows and they picked up pretty well in the concealer brushes (haven't tried it on actual shadow brushes yet). i started with pomegranate on the lid, then bronze on the upper part of the lid. afterward, i highlighted with gold and used gold in the outer corners. finished with ud perversion pencil eyeliner (lower only) and, to give it another go, the illegal length mascara.

would i recommend it? absolutely! i chose the more warm tones. if i actually wore bright colored makeup, i would totally get the blue one! these are anywhere from $6-8 and are on sale this week at some drug stores (buy one get one 50% off on maybelline products). for a review/swatches here's a video. ~L-c ^.~

edit: i added another recipe/meal plan to my shared google docs recipe folder, 10 meals under $50 (serves 1).

update 2/4: i have all but the orange one now!

update 2/14: i've got the orange one!

maybelline illegal length review: updated

so i told you guys last week that i bought a new mascara. well, after a few uses i don't really like it. it's not really a "mascara" per se. it's as it says, fiber extensions: which you apply like normal mascara. it does lengthen my lashes a bit but it needs a lot of layering to stay put for several hours at a time. the first time i tried using it, it barely lasted 6 hours or so. this time after layering it over and over....it stayed for at least 12 hours. on a separate occasion that i used this, i applied the falsies flared mascara on on top of this and it stayed. maybe this goes hand-in-hand with the whole layering thing, i dunno. but in all honesty, i do not want to spend 5+ minutes just applying mascara, sorry not my thing. additionally, with it's super long, thin wand and the eyelash fibers...it irritates my eyes whenever i apply it. maybe i'm applying it too close to my eyes, not sure.

would i recommend it? meh.

~L-c ^.~

candles!

every now and then i see people popping up, talking about candles they love (local or not). my favorite local (Thibodaux) candle maker is Amy's Country Candles, particularly their bird of paradise and vanilla sugar cookie candle scents (8oz jellies shown). i've tried their b.o.p. oil and wasn't a fan, but their candles are awesome! the whole house smells like the candle, not just the room. yum! you'll know what i'm talking about when you pass their shop in esplanade mall or the cart in lakeside! a word from the wise: these wicks smoke, so make sure you keep an eye on the length and trim as needed. ~L-c ^.~

the first wave...

after several hours of tweaking........the first wave is ready to go out sometime soon. now i can go to bed ~.~  ~L-c ^.~

another haul; hides in a corner

another shopping haul... I, LINDSAY, HEREBY SWEAR TO MY READERS THAT, FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, I SHALL ONLY SPEND MONEY ON FOOD AND GASOLINE UNTIL I GET A JOB! ...which could very well be next week with the help of grandma. interview on monday~!

went to target, rite aid, sally beauty, and best buy. mom's paying me back (an early gift), but best buy is having a buy 1 get one free on all sims 3 pc games til...tomorrow. yush! got pets and ambitions (not pictured). ~L-c ^.~

got three more lip butters and one last eyeshadow tattoo. now i have all of the shades of these two product lines that i want. i actually need to exchange the sugar plum for another, the twisty dispenser thing somehow broke in the less than a minute i used it, so it now just sits there--won't go up or down... >.> i really like these three colors, of the 7 of these that i got, peach parfait and sugar frosting are the closest to my natural lip color. yay! and brown sugar looks almost like a dupe of delovely on me. the pomegranate punk eyeshadow is actually more of a burnt reddish color rather than straight brown, like it looks here.

edit: by the way, rite aid..which i always forget they still exist, had all shades of the lip butters in stock.

haven't swatched these yet. found the finger paints flakey that i wanted!!! motley has blue/green flecks. sally had a bunch of nail polish on sale and clearance, so that's what's up with that one. the other three at the top are china glaze, the tiny ones were $1. and some of you may have not heard of sinful colors (the brand), but that's the bottom right one, and orly on the bottom left.

shopping haul!

stores visited: ulta, walmart, cvs. until saturday, ulta has a 20% off coupon for non-prestige cosmetics and skincare, so i got several bottles of nail polish and makeup remover towelettes. i also visited walmart and cvs in search of a few more revlon lip butters, unsuccessfully (not the shades i wanted). ~L-c ^.~

 

asphalt, bronze, gold, taupe

• Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow pots. as you can probably tell, taupe is matte and the other three are shimmery. asphalt doesn't actually look blue when swatched--probably my laptop cover's fault, it's actually a dark silver. these are very creamy, took a little bit for to get it on dark enough with my finger and they fought with me when i used a makeup remover towelette.
• Falsies Volum' Express Black Drama mascara: i haven't tried it yet, i only bought it because, through the cvs reward card/program, you get "5 bucks" for spending $15 on Maybelline eye and lip products this week, aka a coupon worth $5 to use later. and 2 eyeshadow pots were $13.98. >.> needless to say, i wound up spending more than i wanted to between the three items, but i got 2 "5 bucks" coupons with magic! yay~!

took a picture of my nails if you saw them in the photos above and were wondering what i used. i used Seche Rebuild as the base (a strengthener), 2 coats OPI Miss Universe collection: Swimsuit...Nailed It!, 1 coat Sephora by OPI blasted opalescent glitter, 1 coat Seche Vite.

i have not swatched these colors yet..

• Pure Ice: Oh Baby! i'm definitely going to try this layered over something like i did with heart breaker.
• OPI
  → Touring America Collection: French Quarter for Your Thoughts; i actually don't really like this color all that much...but it's the new orleans one, so yeah.... ^^;
  → Nicki Minaj Collection: Super Bass shatter, Save Me, Fly
• Essie: Dive Bar, LuxEffects: Pure Pearlfection
• China Glaze: Ultamate Holiday
• Orly Birds of a Feather Collection: Sweet Peacock

life..

so i worked on invitations, writing peoples' names on the inner envelopes and when i went to put the outer envelopes through my printer, it ate them!!! yes, the return address was to be printed on the FRONT. needless to say, i quit at that point. we'll see how it goes on mom's printer. >.> (i love domo, he's on my lappy cover and my car >w<)

i've still been applying for jobs. today i sent my resume for a position in NO via grandma. i think i'm going to start looking around the NO area more and reel out applications to those, in addition to BR. worst case, after we get married, i can stay home during the week and be with teh paul on weekends or something if it comes to that..... we'll see. ~L-c ^.~

what i'm loving: sigma update & a recipe

so this isn't technically a "what i'm loving"..exactly........ it is an update on my sigma purchase and another somewhat recently discovered product. you'll see...
~L-c ^.~

current dorama: Love Keeps Going -- totally crazy/bizarre show...but i love it. i hate how they do a preview of like the entire series at the beginning of each episode, so i know what's going to happen..just not when! asdklfjasdl;fjseiotawsgjsa;ljdf!!!!!!11111 >.> lol.

Sigma beauty:

12 Brush kit - Make Me Cool (aqua): these brush sets come in a variety of colors, travel (7 brushes) and.......nontravel? the polar bear on the box is so cute >w< anyway; i was actually looking around to get a makeup brush holder for my counter and this set is pretty cool in that it comes with two that snap together if you are traveling (i guess the one in the travel set is smaller???) and the outer casing seems to be a durable leather. i actually decided to get this set partially because of the holder(s) and because i wanted to see what's so great about sigma brushes....not to mention the fact that i had a 10% off coupon code (0112XJML until 1/31) and got a free brush after spending $30. shipping on their site is actually pretty outrageous, 'spend $1k and get free shipping'.....wooooooh! that's a deal there! >.> anyway, back to the brushes. the instructions said to clean the brushes before the first use, and for a good reason. because half of these are natural hair brushes, they shed..and did they shed while being washed!
impressions after the first use:  they still shed but it's probably because they're still super new...

• Eyeliner E05 -- picks up pigment well, line is about as thick as a slightly dull eye pencil. will definitely use if i had more/better gel or pot eyeliners
• Blending E25 (free brush, not pictured) -- i think this is the travel size since it's a freebie, but it works great
• Pencil E30 -- works great in corners and retains pigments well, but doesn't clean easily for "quick" daily cleaning
• Tapered Blending E40 -- it works well, but i think it's kinda big for me, i think i'll probably us the E25 more.
• Eye Shading E55 -- works like my ecotools, this is a bit wider and covers more area though
• Large Shader E60 -- this brush is pretty large for my uses, but it works well
• Small Angle E65 -- love it! 
• Medium Angled Shading E70 -- liked it a lot, probably will start using this frequently.
• Large Powder F30 -- this is a massive brush, in a few quick sweeps, it covers your entire face
• Large Angled Contour F40 -- it took a bit for it to pick up pigments, i give it an ok. see F50's review for more
• Duo Fibre F50 -- i didn't like using it with my deluxe sample sized pink leopard because the pan is small (see pic below), and it was very attracted to the pink vs. bronzer. with the regular size pink leopard, it was much better, still very attracted to the pink though.
• Foundation F60 -- works and cleans like my other foundation brushes. (see pic below)
• Concealer F70 -- like i said before, i'm not huge on concealer...but it does do it's job!

Dry'n Shape: i saw reviews and how-to's for this and i decided that i had to try it. in the end, i feel mixed about it. my bronzer brush handle is a tad too big for the largest loop, but with a little finagling it'll go through. it does fit my larger brushes, but the smaller loops are too large for several of my eye brushes. the 3rd smallest loop can fit my foundation brushes. the sigma f30 (large powder brush) is probably the largest brush i have--aside from the ecotools bronzer brush--and it can fit in the second largest loop. as for drying time, i actually didn't check it after about 6 hours (which is when they claim the brushes will be dry), i checked it more like 12+ hours later. ^^; but my brushes were all dry and ready to use! ... remembered about 8 hours later the second time and they were dry as well. i think i'll have to talk about this again when i actually get the timing right ^^;

update: so i checked them after almost exactly 6 hours, and a few of them were still damp/wet. i think 8 hours is about right.

Anastasia Clear Brow Gel -- ok, so this is weird. anyway, a year or two ago, sephora had a box set of favorites..or something. the tiny one was in it. i was very reluctant to use it because...well.. [eye]BROW GEL?!?! anyway, so i started using it because i had a few brow hairs out of line and would not stay put! in the end, i love it! it does not make them crusty (when you use the applicator, which looks like a mascara wand) and hard like normal hair gel and it keeps them in place when they go astray ^^; i don't use it every day, only if i really notice hairs out of place or growing in crazy directions. if you want to try some, they're currently in this small set or 2 for $30 (reg. $21 ea).

Food:
Pat's Broccoli and Chicken Stir fry: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/pats-broccoli-and-chicken-stir-fry-recipe/index.html
sorry guys, i made this last night and forgot to take a picture ^^; paul and i are trying ways to make our own sauce instead of buying packaged marinade, so we tried this recipe. we made some modifications though.

1. i used about a pound of chicken and a regular sized package of great value frozen stir fry vegetables. 
2. following the measurements on this recipe, the only ingredients we used were: orange juice (try using 2x), red pepper flakes (try using 1/2), light brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar (aka, rice wine vinegar), sesame oil, cornstarch, and minced garlic. mix these in a separate bowl.
3. cook chicken thoroughly, then add vegetables. when frozen vegetables are done, pour on the sauce, stir to coat, and serve over rice. yum! 

lindsay's skincare routine

so for people who didn't know me pre-college (and kind of pre-high school), i had really bad oily skin and frequent breakouts, to the point where i started going to a dermatologist. fast forward to now: as of Katrina, i no longer go to the dermatologist and rarely to occasionally try new over the counter acne/beauty products because everything is under control, given i try a new product and have a "bad" reaction...anyway, shortly after ending dermatologist visits, my mom had me on proactiv. now it could be that i was a lazy bum, but i didn't feel like the proactiv system worked for me. it helped with the oiliness, but not so much for my breakouts. it was kind of expensive and it was subscription-based..i guess it works different if you pick it up at the mall nowadays?? anyway so i was not really for all that. at a later point in time, mom's coworker worked at a dillard's clinique on the side and introduced me to their acne care line. and for a long while, everything was amazing..until clinique decided to discontinue some products in the past several years....... >.> regardless, i still go half and half with them and various other products that work for me - which i will get to later. and now, over the christmas holidays, i bought myself a clarisonic. yes it's only been a month, but i haven't had any skin problems since introducing it, which is totally awesome. anyway; i realize this is an overwhelming number of products i put on my face almost daily, but this is what works for me. also, this is what i do year-round. i probably should use a stronger moisturizer in winter, but again..i'm lazy. =P ~L-c ^.~

alright so to the current routine. pending on the time of day (morning or evening) and when i take a shower, my routine changes.
pre-clarisonic:

1. shower (either time): clinique 7-day scrub or st. ives apricot scrub: medicated. i prefer to use any type of face scrubs in the shower so that any particles caught in my hair are easily rinsed out.
   → not taking a shower (opposite time): wash face with a foaming cleanser. right now, i'm trying to finish off a free bottle of ole henricksen's african red tea foaming cleanser, but i generally use clean and clear foaming acne wash
2. both times: clinique clarifying lotion 3 (toner, for oily skin), followed by clinique dramatically different moisturizing gel.
   → clarifying lotion is not actually a lotion, it is a liquid toner. pour it onto a cotton ball and apply to your whole face, do this with one or more cotton balls if they appear dark after applying. do not saturate the cotton ball. a year ago, i purchased a pump bottle which is more commonly used in medical practices..to dispense my clarifying lotion. you just pour the liquid into the bottle and place a cotton ball on the dispenser part and push down a few times.
   • sidenote: i previously used sea breeze which gives your face a burning/alcohol-ish feeling, clarifying lotion does not.
   → i personally prefer the dramatically different gel over the dd lotion..so if you ever buy them, read the label carefully as the products are the same color and packaged the same. i don't like the smell of the lotion and i generally buy the squeeze bottles, even though they cost slightly more per ounce, because the pump bottles are super annoying when you're close to the bottom.
3. night time: if there are no acne spots or acne forming or anything, do nothing.
   → if there is something there: (mini review of the following items)
   • an open wound: apply clinique spot healing gel
   • acne spot forming: apply clinique emergency gel lotion; this is actually a thick lotion in consistency..not gel at all....
4. morning/going out and about:
   → apply sunscreen. i like using clinique's super city block spf 40, they also make spf 25, because it is not like a white, body sunscreen, it's tinted to go on sheer. i do not use this all the time; i generally only wear it spring to fall...even though i probably should wear it year-round..the sun and uv rays don't go away!
   • whenever i get a job with an income, i might eliminate sunscreen and moisturizer with this new product, but we'll see.
   → apply face primer. as you guys probably saw, i really like too faced's primed and poreless primer for daily use. now, i do use this all over my face because that's what works for me, but you don't need to. (mini review)
   → apply makeup. 

post-clarisonic, only step 1 changed. i bought murad time release acne cleanser to try a while ago, but it is too drying for daily use, so i use this every other day with the clarisonic to use it up. on the opposite days, i've been using clarins one step exfoliating cleanser--also to use it up--with my hands. once i finish both of these, i'm thinking of buying the giant sized (this size is cheapest, per ounce) philosophy purity made simple sometime in the future and using that with the clarisonic daily.

a short trip home

新年快乐！gung hay fat choy! year of the dragon has come again and my third snake year is next!
took a day trip home to pick up the wedding invitations so i can address them at my apartment and mail them off sometime soon. found a couple exciting surprises waiting for me too! ~L-c ^.~

i don't think that this is just for "loyal" customers... if you didn't get one, click here or use online code: 62714 (excludes prestige cosmetics and skincare).

Too Faced sent me a new pink leopard and actually did what i had asked: pad it on all sides of the product; it is not damaged! kudos.

edit: i added a pinterest link in the right sidebar

what i'm loving: a wedding update

hi everyone! so as a wedding update...if you didn't see it before, we picked flour power bakery, and we will be sending out the first wave of invitations (family) sometime soon. what i'm loving right now is a pack of calligraphy pens i bought like 3 years ago (pink, purple, blue, green, black) that i haven't used and are magically not dried out. i will be using these to address the inner envelopes, i think i'm going to use a computer/printer for the outer envelopes...175 invites, addressing them by hand, yeah ok. ^^; anyway, so i ordered a box of these pens in case this one runs out because apparently, these pens run at about $3.50 each, but a box of 12 is $9.50...  ..............so yeah, uh, box of pens! so anyway, those of you in the bridal party and any family that does read this; you will be getting your invite sometime soon. later. ~Lin-chan ^.~

today's shopping haul & new in my sidebar

hey guys! this is the result of today's shopping spree with hannah that i probably shouldn't have gone on as i am still unemployed. >.< we went to ulta, lush, cvs, and walmart.

also, maybe some of you are curious, i added a list of bloggers/vloggers i've been following on the right sidebar. please check out cooking with dog; it's hilarious. i mean, it's a japanese man, speaking english with a "french" accent as the dog's voice-over...and yummy japanese food goodness. >w< i have a few more vloggers that tarryn follows saved, but haven't watched many of their videos yet to decide if i like them too or not. and if you didn't notice it, i added a link to my twitter that i just started in the sidebar as well.
LOL @ obama sushi, had to add this.  ~L-c ^.~

Revlon Lip Butters -- the online beauty community is raving about these right now! and i think these are awesome too. to me, they're a step up from a tinted balm, but not lipstick consistency and the color is long lasting. they're not super "butter"-y to me, i feel that 'buttery' is Fresh Advanced Therapy. but i do like how they feel and that they're moisturizing. i'm a little disappointed in two of the colors i chose, as they look very nude/sheer on my arm but on my lips....well, not so much. creamsicle looks like a shiny orangy-white on me and creme brulee made my lips the same color as my skin.....kinda creepy looking. sugar frosting is a little brighter than my lip color but goes on almost sheer, and pink truffle looks like it'll be the brightest red i'll ever wear as i'm not a huge red fan; my favorite lipstick is a beige-brown (Delovely). i think i'll try them again and see, but that's what i think of them now.  i do want to try a few other colors eventually, but not right away as i do not have a job yet. ^^; 我没有钱！but we'll see. as far as availability: went to ulta, cvs, and walmart today. ulta was completely sold out of every shade, cvs had like 5 shades, and walmart had all but one shade. so try walmart or target or something.

update 1/22: i'm giving creme brulee another shot, but my opinion of creamsicle is the same.

Maybelline Illegal Length mascara in Blackest Black, waterproof -- i have yet to try it, but i'll talk about it sometime later.

• Zoya Marina (blue-gray)
• Essie→ Trophy Wife (greenish blue)
  → Aruba Blue
  → LuxEffects: Shine of the Times (also shown: 1 coat over 2 coats OPI Black Onyx) -- lots of flecks!!

Lush -- ok so i splurged on myself a lot at this store today. TT_TT two of these were not purchased today (1 & 6), but a the comforter bubble bar (mini-review) that i did buy isn't shown because i already broke it apart. of the following, i have only used #7 before.

1. Twilight bath bomb -- it doesn't smell like straight lavender to me, like it's been sweetened..if that makes sense...
2. Mrs. Whippy bath bomb -- can't describe the scent, but definitely not strawberries and cream like the site says!
3. Butterball bath bomb -- i love vanilla scented things, yum!
4. You've Been Mangoed bath melt -- smells like lemons, not mangoes... very melty when held.
5. Strawberry Feels Forever massage bar (tin sold separately) -- faint scent of strawberries, feels a little melty.
6. Avobath bath bomb -- smells like fruit loops!
7. Sex Bomb bath bomb (x2) -- i love the way this smells. it's jasmine and my whole apartment smelled like this for a while after using it. >w< i'm not a huge fan of the "blooming flower" though, it feels like weird gelatin when using (it's stiff when dry).
8. Creamy Candy bubble bar -- smells similar to the comforter, maybe sweeter..like you can eat it! and yes, that is an actual piece of candy, like cake décor, in it
9. Dragon's Egg bath bomb -- citrus-y, smells kind of like fruit loops, but not as strongly as avobath does!
10. MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment bath melt -- looks like a flat-topped cupcake, smells like chamomile, is not melty feeling..texture is similar to bubble bars
11. Happy Blooming bath melt -- faint cherry scent, same consistency as #4, but does not feel melty when held

what i'm loving: makeup & a recipe

hi guys! i haven't used all of my new sigma stuff yet, so i'll have to post about them later, but i HAD to post about this newly discovered bread recipe and decided to include what i had so far for the what i'm loving post. sorry again for using my phone for these pictures! paul helped me pick out a new camera, so hopefully i'll get it for my birthday.. *hint hint* ~L-c ^.~

current dorama i'm liking: Love Buffet -- it kind of reminds me of Peach Girl, minus Sae...thank god!

Urban Decay cosmetics:

swatched over ud original primer: midnight cowboy, midnight rodeo, midnight 15, ac/dc

Midnight Emergency Kit: comes with full sized "Midnight Cowboy" lip junkie lip gloss and an eye brush. i love the colors that come in this set! i'll admit that AC/DC and Midnight Rodeo by themselves are a bit dark for me, but can definitely be toned down by blending other shades. i had a deluxe sample size of the gloss and i love it too. it's a sheer and verrrrry sparkly gloss. it's a little tacky but not terribly sticky and the scent is minty. if you don't eat or blot it away, it lasts a couple hours.

 

• Eyeshadow primer potion size comparisons; travel/deluxe sample size ($9 or 100 points occasionally at sephora), regular size - vintage bottle (on clearance due to new squeeze tubes), xl - vintage bottle (on clearance). they also sell professional size tubes (in original only). again, sorry for the blurry picture..sin looks like it's a more bronze color with a nice shimmer. in order of how much i like them, i think i like greed the most, then sin, eden, and original. ...maybe i like greed and sin mostly because they're sparkly and not matte... >w<
• Perversion eye pencil: (travel size from electric pencil set, regular size) this is the darkest black i've ever tried and i absolutely LOVE it. i'm still new to using liquid eyeliners, i really prefer pencil as far as control goes. this is a comparison of all the black pencils i own, along with the perversion liquid eyeliner. the perversion pencil (1 stroke) is a darker, creamier black than zero (3 strokes). click for a review of perversion pencil. in all honesty, i feel like the perversion pencil is more worthwhile than the liquid...and basically every other black pencil liner i've tried. i'm not sure if it's because i rub my eyes a lot, but the perversion and revolver liquids crumble off after several hours... like less than 12...

• Seche Vite: this is the favorite top coat of a lot of bloggers/vloggers. it is also sold at sally's. apply over wet nails; dries fast. DO NOT apply over nails inc. magnetic nail polish, it will blur the effect to almost nothing. if you work with your hands a lot--like i do, this stuff will be about the same as any other top coat. my nails chipped about four hours after painting, while making bread (see below).
• Perfect Formula
  → Pink Gel Coat: this is exactly like the clear-pink polish they use in salons for french manicures, only way better. i usually apply 2 coats alone for a more natural look.
  → Clear Gel Coat: i also like to use this alone, but can be used as a top coat. my mom likes using it over a salon mani/pedi to "seal" it better and she claims her polish lasts longer this way. the clear and the pink last about 1-2 weeks.

Food:

so paul and i tried out the "Everyday Bread" recipe in Make the Bread, Buy the Butter and it didn't turn out so good. i may try it again sometime, but it was hard as a rock to saw through and only tasted good hot out the oven. >.> anyway, in an effort to use up the rest of the wheat flour we bought (and try to make bread vs. buying it), i went looking for other bread recipes. and thus, we tried this one. i ate an end before taking the pic. yum! ^^;
*note: do not use as many oats as i did on the top; they do not all stick, making it difficult to remove from the pan..mess-free.
**note: half the loaf is already gone, less than an hour later. ^________________^
***gone in less than 24 hours..