review: soap & glory shower trip set

toward the end of december, i ordered this set from sephora with some christmas money. i've just now gotten around to using everything, and here's what i think! ~L-c ^.~

• the scrub of your life: i feel that this is gentle enough to use daily, that being said, i actually prefer harsher products because i get really bad razor bumps/ingrown hairs--and i'd usually scrub with those once or twice a week. this is an interesting scrub though, it comes out like a clear gel and has lots of small particles and pink scrubbing beads inside, then as you work it in, it lathers.
• clean on me: feels like any ordinary body wash. the only thing that would stop me from buying other shower gels is the scent.
• the righteous butter: the consistency's an interesting cross between lotion and body butter. it's not thick as you may think of bbw or body shop body butters, but it goes on somewhat of a body butter, but with a more lotion-like thickness. it's weird wording it like this, but it you build it up, it will feel more like a body butter.
• hand food: i'm really enjoying this hand cream. my hands feel nice and soft.
• sexy mother pucker in punch bowl: this smells like chocolate..or coco powder. while this is a nice shade, i don't like how sticky this gloss is. light tingling.
• shower pouf: just an ordinary shower pouf..nothing special.
• bag: i adore this bag, it's a great size, the only thing i don't like about the design is the zipper placement. it's basically runs through the entire depth of the bag so it's awkward to actually fill the whole thing.

scent: the four body products all have the same scent. it's nice and pleasant, not overpowering. i can say it's floral, but i'm not totally sure what specific flower(s). but you guys know i hate rose oil or super strong rose-scented things, and i like this, so i dunno. =P

from the soap & glory website about the scent: original pink
"modern, fresh, fruity and citrus
soap & glory's original fresh summery fragrance, with orange leaf, lemon, peach, sweet strawberries, summer rose, gardenia blossoms and jasmine."


the verdict:

• what i'd repurchase: 
• maybe's: yes for the scent, but no for the price: scrub of your life, clean on me, righteous butter
• yes!!! hand food 
• what to leave behind: sexy mother pucker lip gloss

notw! cnd shellac--french tips

hey guys! sorry for the lack of notd posts. on sunday, my aunt was in town and wanted to get nails done. so  we got shellac. this is the second time i've gotten it done, the first being for the wedding and it was also a french, white-tip manicure. both times were at the same salon, where my hair stylist works.

sorry for not taking photos on day one this time, but here's day 6 photos! whenever i get a manicure..or give myself one, i always happen to mess it up within 24 hours. shellac on the other hand, because it's cured by the uv lamp and lasts longer (like gel), it lasts me a lot longer...but still not the average length of time most people get (2+ weeks). when i got it done for the wedding, they lasted to about halfway through our honeymoon then started peeling. this time, my issue is that my actual nails underneath are breaking for whatever reason (my nails tend to be brittle). thus, making the shellac peel or crack. filing has been helping, but last night they started looking not as nice to the thoroughly observant.

overall, i do like getting my nails shellac-ed, but, like tanning beds, i don't totally agree with getting the additional uv exposure. thus, why i don't get shellac often (i've never gotten gel before)..in addition to the price. so here's some photos from today, and one that i found from our wedding. i think what i like more about the wedding nails was that the lady used a striper brush and the guy this week used the polish brush and nail brush with polish remover to shape the line/remove the excess white, making the whites thicker this time. oh well. ~L-c ^.~

skylark by elle & blair on groupon!

hi everyone, just wanted to let you know: ending midnight cst tonight is a groupon goods* deal for elle and blair's snowkissed cashmere eyeshadow palette--
for $14 (+$3ship+tax) vs. $40 on blush.com! i ordered mine for $17.55!

happy shopping! ~Lin-chan ^.~

*Affiliate Link.

notd: covergirl constant caribbean

here ya go! another notd! i just bought this polish the other day and had to try it out! ~Lin-chan ^.~

review: too faced primed & poreless loose powder

a long ways back, i purchased this product. i waited a while to finish off other products i was using; then i used it off and on for a while.

what i don't like about this product: it claims to be both a priming and a finishing powder, but it seems to leave a white cast on my face whenever i use it as a finisher over foundation, or even on primed and concealed skin. i never tried it as a primer, but the idea of priming with powder seems strange.

what i like: i like how the container is made, so that you can only open up a few of the holes and dispense only what you need without making a huge mess. it does make my pores a little bit smaller, but that's what i use primer for anyway...


the verdict: buy other translucent powders/setting powders, etc. not worth it. my suggestions are mufe hd microfinish powder or tarte's smooth operator finishing powder, or for face powder aveda inner light translucent loose powder. and for primer, my fave is too faced's original primed & poreless in the pink tube.

~Lin-chan ^.~

UD Friends & Family sale!

hey guys! urban decay's having their friends and family sale through saturday night! 20% off sitewide! don't miss out! ~L-c ^.~

mua haul!! swatches/impressions

hey guys! so i mentioned mua's final facebook milestone coupon/sale toward the end of january. and to my surprise, the order arrived last wednesday! yesss! so i'm guessing that it takes about 2 weeks to get to the us from uk. when i ordered from them last, it was november-december and took a month to get to me...so i was probably right: christmas shipping delays. all of the swatches are over urban decay original eye primer.

going for gold

i love this set. it is as the name says, totally contains a vegas-type shade range. or like new years. >w< i think the thing i dislike most is that #6 & #8 are fairly close, swatched. #6 & #10 are beauts!

glamour days

i feel that this one is pretty good for the fun colors, but #5 & #10 seem out of place on here. they're matte taupe and brown and i just don't feel like they'd be worn often with the other shades...but you could always make something totally awesome out of something unexpected!

glamour nights

this is really like a party-night, almost club-night selection of shades. kinda wish #3 was more blue than green/black but it's still an awesome dark shade. overall, it's got a great selection. it's very reminiscent of ulta's metallic palette i got for christmas from A.

pretty pastels

this is a great easter pastel-y palette. a lot of these would by nice accent/highlight/blender shades. thumbs up!

poptastic

only complaint is that #7 & #9 are so close. yes 9 is blue..but swatched, it's just too close to green. overall, i do like the colors in this palette; they're a bunch of bold colors, reminiscent of pop art.

starry night

this is a great set for smokey eyes, and subtly add one of the purples/pinks/blues from this set. it'll be awesome. #4 & #9 are not actually the same; one is more chrome-y (9) and the other is more gray (4).

glitterball

i don't like how these have a ton of different textures. the black (1) is very tough to pick up. the other ones: some of them melt (easy to gouge) and others are nice and smooth. overall, really pretty, fun colors. i also don't like that this palette--probably because of the glitter--is very fallout-y/crumbly, but if applied in moderation instead of super thickly like i did, it'd probably be ok. these were swatched over urban decay original primer, but there was still some fallout....

the artiste collection

the only real complaint about this, but these are only marbled on the top. once you start brushing into them..the prettiness goes away. sadface! pistachio (#1) is really more of a sky blue kind of color..rather than green..like pistachios... mocca (#2) is is a really pretty champagne color and i love it! nice brow-bone color. ice and grape are really fun colors and i like how grape's a duo-chrome. chocolate and cookie are brownish kinds of colors. i think i like chocolate more because it's more brown, where cookie's more orangy. the blushes, bronzer, and highlight..i swatched them pretty heavily, but they do go on nicely when you use a light hand. the highlighter is a pearly pink-tone.

overall: this is a meh palette. of the eyeshadows, i really like mocca, grape and chocolate, and the blushes/bronzer/highlight are decent too.

immaculate collection

of the top row, the black (#4) was difficult to swatch, i guess because it's matte..? the blue (#5) is very soft. the gray (#6) looks more gray in the pan, but swatches like steel-blue almost. 

the second row: the purple (#13) was not working for me, i couldn't swatch it at all. it's one of those that hates humidity and skin oils, and hardens..kinda? idk, it's kinda annoying to have to scrape off the hardened part and waste it...anyway. i didn't actually scrape at this one and #23 until after i cleaned up and started typing this up. this one is a big fail. the gold (#14) is absolutely crazy soft. i was expecting it to be the same as most of the other ones...hahha..no. i basically almost gauged it. i managed to get it all back into it's pan and press it all back together..but yeah..be careful with that one! #16 swatched kinda meh too.

the third row: the matte white (#20) didn't swatch all too good, but i think it'd be an ok highlight. #23, the taupe-y brown, was horrible. just like #13. i tried to swatch it. but yeah....

overall: i think this is a fun and versatile palette and for £8, not too bad. #13 & #23 are huge fails, but the rest are awesome.

re-swatches: immaculate palette #13 & #23. they still didn't really pick up though...

the brushes: £1.95-3 each
e1 eyeshadow: it's not my favorite but it's pretty high up there. for the cost, definitely worth it!
e2 eyeshadow contour: it's a great contoured fluffy brush.
e4 eyeliner: it's ok for powder, and also, just ok for gel liner. it doesn't hold the product as well as other brushes i have, making it a patchy or uneven line.
f3 concealer: not my favorite. it stiffens a bit when you dab it into product.
f6 blush/contour: this is a great blush brush, it's fairly dense and totally affordable!


after long deliberation, at least one of these palettes will be going to T once i get a chance to hang out with her and show her the new car--probably closer to my birthday, unfortunately. i'm pretty sure she can guess one of the palettes pretty easily: the one that screams her and not so much me. lol! ~L-c ^.~

herb garden update

sorry for the lack of an herb garden update. but there's not really a whole lot that can be said..except: "dey dead". because of fall and winter, our front window hasn't gotten as much sun. pretty much everything died. and the parsley is still on it's last leg..but it's been dying a slow and painful death pretty much since the day we got it. our aloe vera plant, on the other hand has been thriving like crazy. it loves the bedroom window. the larger section is the original plant that i got when i started college. all the little babies (9!) appeared in the past three or so months. i think that's why i like keeping it around; aloe vera is so easy to take care of. water it once a week or so, put it in a sunny spot, and it's golden and won't die on brown thumbed people like myself. lol! anyway, until we get more sunlight in our front room, i won't plant more seeds or buy anything else. ~Lin-chan ^.~

 

Giveaway: Lisa's Nail Obsession

enter to win 2 pairs of earrings by spilled polish on etsy! enter via the rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post: http://www.lisasnailobsession.com/2013/02/spilled-polish-giveaway.html

~Lin-chan ^.~

candles by victoria sale--today only!

hey guys! candles by victoria is having a sale today for the super bowl!

code: superbowl

rules:
-percentage off is based upon the combined scores of both teams at the end of the first half.
-percentage off is a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 25%
-sale will be held only for the duration of half time.


happy shopping!

my picks: leaves type candle/soap, tiffany d candle/soap, coffee scented candles

~Lin-chan ^.~