birthday~ and a hyooj march haul

    

hey guys!

the day before my birthday: teh paul took me to cheesecake bistro, like last year, and i was depressed that they changed the menu! we haven't been since last year, and i wanted my usual croque madame..but apparently they took it off the menu a few months ago. >.> now there's no reason to go there anymore... regular copeland's is better.

on my birthday: my dad took paul and i to mosca's restaurant, which none of us had been to before. it's a local italian restaurant. apparently it was one of the restaurants of choice back in the 70s with mafias and stuff. lol. it was pretty good, we got crab salad, shrimp mosca, and oyster mosca, followed by a piece of homemade cheesecake with a candle in it. if you ever want to go, they're cash only!

the day after my birthday: my mom's family took me out to siamese, a local thai restaurant. again with the menu changes: i wanted their chow mein..and now it's gone! so i settled for their pineapple fried rice, which i'd known was a safe choice. afterward, we had a strawberry shortcake from whole foods! mmm!


and here are a few things that i got for my birthday! yayy~!

• for the soul: spare tire kit, trunk security cover
• tales of the abyss (3DS)
• kitchenaid flex edge beater (mixer attachment)
• apple lightning to 30-pin adapter--my phone will work in my car now! yay!
• mystic divine nourishing oil treatment -- from my hair stylist
• sigma gift card → spa brush cleaning glove in aqua (& free sampler of surrender, command, and publicize eyeshadows--swatched over ud original eye primer)
• amazon gift card → makeup geek dark raspberry damask z palette (shipping was $2.25 on amazon, but on the mug store site, it's $5.52? what?!) & they sent me a free, full sized mug eyeshadow in pixie dust! awesome! as you can tell, i've already filled the new palette ^^; ... the only complaint about this z palette is that the pattern is only on the lid and the rest is black, unlike other patterned z palettes. also, despite the discrepancy of the dimensions of this palette, it's the same as their large-sized palettes. as far as makeup geek, as a company, i really liked how they personalized a little handwritten thank you note for me. it's the little things that make people happy, and that's exactly marlena's goal.

march hauls:

L: tornado, aura, magic, illusion, oz, south--swatched over ud original eye primer, rockstar eyeliner,
R: glinda lip color (L), sweet beige lip color (R), watt's up (top)

sephora: urban decay glinda palette, sephora ultra vinyl lip pencil in sweet beige, benefit birthday gift (watt's up & they're real), living proof style extender sample, and clinique happy perfume sample---had to show this to you guys! i've never seen a card-style perfume spray before!

 

lace, nutmeg, blitzen, ember, pinecone, shiver, satin sparks (all swatched over ud original primer potion)

• sally's: hair chemist macadamia oil hair serum & purple tangle teezer ($10 off $20 bday coupon!)
• bestbuy.com: apple lightning cable (with $5 from reward zone & free shipping!)
• groupon*: skylark by elle and blair snowkissed cashmere eyeshadow palette
• first impressions: this is an awesome, very pigmented palette. only complaint is the price (the full price--$40, not the groupon price--$17), and satin sparks shadow: why is it so huge?! why is it so crumbly? to me, it's very reminiscent stila kitten, which is interesting because i'm pretty sure elle said she didn't like that about kitten.... and pay-off for shiver was ok, it needed to be built up a bit to get it to this swatch. the brush, both ends are very dense, haven't used it but it feels great!
• zpalette.com: aqua/yellow 4u palette -- i love this size! the magnetized area is approximately the same size as unii palettes.

shadows (swatched over ud original eye primer): rock, snatch, bordello, bb cream

polishes (2 coats): steel my thunder, ivy thyme, for shay, flaming berries

• haulerdeals.com*: skylark by elle and blair shiver shades nail set
• first impressions: i don't feel that this set is in any way unique as far as the colors. i do like the pigmentation, but only steel my thunder came out awesome in one coat, while the other three were streaky. got this set on sale for $15+ship vs. $30 on blush.com
• urbandecay.com: rock palette, snatch & bordello shadows (plus walk of shame from the original 6-pan palette)
• beauty.com: urban decay naked bb cream, [something for hub hub for our anniversary (really early...)], and richard chai rory bag (click the link to get yours: free with $100 beauty.com purchase)
• Shaveworks® The Cool Fix™ Targeted Gel Lotion
• Stila® Stay All Day® 10-in-1 HD Beauty Balm
• Go Smile® Touch Up Smile Perfecting Ampoules
• Nuxe® Masque Crème Fraiche de Beauté 24H Soothing & Rehydrating Fresh Mask
• ARCONA® Hydrating Serum, Replenish AM/PM
• Joanna Vargas Skincare Daily Serum
• Caudalie Premium Cru The Ultimate Anti-Ageing Cream
• PHYTO® Phytopolléine Scalp Stimulant Universal Elixir
• Murad® Acne Clarifying Cleanser
• Peter Thomas Roth® Mega-Rich Body Wash
• H20 Plus™ Targeted Care Hand and Nail Cream
• The New Black Full-Size Nail Polish in Gold Grenade (see notd post here)
• bareMinerals® Stroke of Light™ Eye Brightener in Luminous 4
• Beauty.com® $10 Gift Card

swatches: pink in the afternoon, teddy bare, brandy

• sally's: finger paints hoppy go lucky, i spy-der, basecoat (buy 2, get basecoat & ring free), palladio rice powder in translucent
• first impressions palladio rice powder: i've removed the shrink wrap on this (haven't actually started using the powder), but this is not a travel-friendly package. the lid just slides right on and off.
• cvs: milani color statement lipstick in teddy bare, lip pencil in brandy, revlon super lustrous lipstick in pink in the afternoon, sally hansen salon effects french mani (pink)

makeup geek/amazon: beauty blender 2-pack & free eyeshadow in prom night (swatched dry)

~Lin-chan ^.~


*Affiliate Link.

notd: finger paints i spy-der

hi all! so this is new; i've changed my nails twice in a week for once..in a long while. ...and hubby's not home to complain about the polish/remover smell. ^___^ the polish from last time just chipped like crazy. but i was doing a lot of errands and cooking..so that probably has something to do with it! anyway, i got this polish on sunday (if you didn't see my revision to sunday's notd post, i went to sally's). it's so pretty. and i'm not a pink person...i'm pretty selective about what kinds of pink things i have. i love the purple shimmer in this though. >w< later. ~Lin-chan ^.~

in other news, we built a plastic cup and bowl tower in my class yesterday. i didn't get a shot of if before they started taking it down...so this'll have to suffice. lol.

FTC regulations

hi all! with recent news of the FTC guidance rules and...whatever.. (you can read about it on beauty and fashion tech's page) ...i am complying by placing one or more of the following obnoxious banners at the top of my products posts from here on out. until i decide on a better means for the banners (like making smaller ones or something), you'll be seeing these giants..a lot. also, my disclaimer/disclosure page has been updated to reflect these changes. later. ~Lin-chan ^.~

   

 

these banners were made with MS Publisher (part of Microsoft Office) and edited to be transparent in Paint.net (free to download).

notd! the new black: gold grenade & opi pirouette my whistle

hi all! again, sorry for the lack of notd posts. after removing the shellac, my nails were really brittle, so i used the past two weeks using seche rebuild to strengthen them back up a bit. but now, i give you a new polish i've recently acquired: gold grenade by the new black (2 coats), with opi's pirouette my whistle (1 coat). happy st. patrick's day! ~Lin-chan ^.~

edit: i went to sally's and they had these cute rings! buy two finger paints, get the ring & a basecoat free! >w<

NO! NOT Google Reader!!!

hi all! google reader, which i have been using for about two years now, is going away this july. super sad face!!! but never fear! make an account on bloglovin' and follow me, and your other blogs, there! after confirming your account, you can import your blogs directly from google reader without manually adding each individual link. super sweet, right? so once you've made an account, you can now follow me using the link below. later! ~L-c ^.~

review: diy makeup brush cleaner & ycc total immersion brush cleaning jar

hey guys! a review for you! this recipe was found on xsparkage.com (original post here), i have included a pdf of it in my "other" folder of my recipes (link above).

ingredients used:
2 cups distilled or filtered water
1/2 cup 91% isopropyl alcohol
2 tbsp leave-in conditioning spray -- use a thin, liquidy one; the one i used has the consistency of normal conditioner and doesn't dissolve very quickly..clumps.....
1 tbsp clear shampoo
1 tbsp dish washing liquid

additional items needed:
-large measuring cup or container with a spout that can hold more than 2.5c
-funnel (if needed)
-containers that can hold up to a total of ~20oz to store the cleanser

i made 1.5x the recipe to fit into these three bottles

in addition to using this diy brush cleanser, i've finally gotten around to trying out my ycc total immersion brush cleaner from sally's.

the dirties → the cleans..? (just to give you an idea of the beauty blender's size, dry & wet)

the results

the verdict: 

• brush cleanser: i think that this works great for larger brushes, when either powder or cream/liquid is used. works well on the beauty blender (i think the ud naked foundation stained it >.<). some brushes are more stubborn than others (like my concealer brush above, needed something more powerful after two washings with the DIY cleanser). but this cleanser is worth making and definitely less expensive than buying other brush cleansers/shampoos.
• brush cup: this cup is great for most brushes, containing powder or cream/liquid..with the exception of small brushes with concealer/foundation on them. like i said before, i believe the intent of this cup was for nail polish remover and nail art brushes (the brush drying holder part is very small), but it does work well removing foundation from my denser brushes. i don't like how the groves are are so high up, making you use more product. also, the cup is fairly small and short, so some of the liquid will come splashing out even if you're careful. it's height and circumference make it a little difficult to hold short-handled and fat-handled brushes in the cup and move them with ease. is it worth the ~$5? it's ok.

my thoughts on other brush cleansers/shampoos:

1. cover fx brush cleanser: this is my favorite liquid brush cleaner
2. london brush co solid brush shampoo: this is the best stuff ever. period. ever. the biggest problem is that it's so expensive!
3. blender cleanser (liquid): works great on brushes, but only ok on the beauty blender.
4. blender cleanser solid: i think this'll be my replacement for the london brush co solid shampoo!
5. mac brush cleanser: works ok, not my favorite. doesn't work super great on brushes with liquid/cream in them.
6. elf brush shampoo: pretty good for the price. definitely wouldn't mind picking up more.
7. sephora brush shampoo: pretty good shampoo. for the price and quantity, you could get the elf shampoo for less, so why not?
8. bare escentuals: my mom actually really likes this..or maybe it's just a keep-everything-the-same-brand kind of thing because she uses their makeup... i dunno. i didn't love it and, again, for the price and quantity, there's better alternatives.

march: crazy hell schedule.

i'm starting to get tired of this whole being in school thing again. i think it's mostly due to the fact that i jumped from all freshmen classes to senior level ones within the same school year. >.< anyway, this month sucks too..mostly just this coming week. but it's like midterm time:

• some people are lucky: the week before midterms, midterm week, and the week after all have an even spread of projects/homework/tests.
• some people are unlucky: one of the aforementioned three weeks is utter hell. that's this semester/this week for me. usually, i've had an even spread, but this coming week is absolutely ridiculous. 

anyway, here's the schedule and i'll do another school check-in later. ~L-c ^.~


3/11: 3100 project group meeting
3/12: 3100 project due, 4113 hw due
3/13: econ hw due
3/14: econ & 4113 exams (back to back, by the way), acct hw due
3/15: 2001 class canceled, 2001 exam
3/21: 3100 exam, 4113 hw due, acct hw due
3/22: acct exam, econ hw due
3/25: 3100 project group meeting
3/26: 4113 hw due
3/28: 3100 project due, 113 project due, 4113 canceled
3/29: 2001 project due, econ hw due

free UD 6-pan palette w/ purch of 2 new shadows

hey guys! urban decay's having an offer: buy two [new formula] eyeshadows, get a free 6-pan build your own palette (with walk of shame); while supplies last. free shipping at $50! ~L-c ^.~

so bad, but so true.

if you haven't been here, you may  not get it.. the weird explosion marks on the right are potholes. they are everywhere. ~L-c ^.~

disclaimer: this photo was downloaded from facebook, and uploaded to my xanga to not lose the link. as of late, facebook has been changing the links to photos (after a period of time) causing the connection to break, thus why my xanga is hosting this image. i do not take credit for making this photo. here is the link to the original photo at the present time.

notw part dos! cnd shellac

hey guys! this is the end of week 2 with the cnd shellac french tips. see last week's post here. these photos are from last night, day 15, and here's how my right hand was lookin. i started taking using the foil method to take the polish off before i remembered i wanted to make this post. ^^; ~L-c ^.~