january 2015 favorites & regrets

hi guys! here's what i've been loving (and not) for this month! also, i've decided to try making individual monthly posts and see how it goes. can i keep up with them..? ~Lin-chan ^.~
favorites:

sugared peach & rust brown shimmer; pouty petal

1. kevyn aucoin eyeshadow duo in 210 sugared peach & rust brown shimmer -- i got this in my natural beautylish lucky bag. this is the perfect neutral pair. the formula is so buttery soft and holds up throughout the day very nicely. super gorgeous. sadface on the price tag though...

• extra super sadface that this compact arrived broken on arrival. the little plastic bit on the top that holds it closed was completely cracked off. but it kinda works out that they give you the felt cover..so i've been just using that to keep it shut.

1. maybelline fit me matte & poreless foundation -- i'm actually quite surprised with myself for liking this foundation. it is kinda weird though, because some days i'm super oily by the 8 hour mark, and sometimes it just doesn't happen at all. either way, it's not a huge deal and for $8 or so, i likes it.
2. kat von d tattoo liquid eyeliner in trooper -- i really like this eyeliner. granted, maybe it's just that i like brush-tip eyeliners? because i love lorac's too. but this one is super black and it dries fast enough that it doesn't transfer with my hooded eyes.
3. elf mineral lipstick in pouty petal -- this is a really sheer shade, but it's a really pretty one and i enjoy the formula a lot. nice and balmy.
• my tube didn't have the name sticker on it..so i made one!
4. chapstick total hydration lip balm in sweet peach -- got this in my target box last month and i'm already halfway through this thing! the scent and moisture are perfect!
5. elf crease brush -- i bought this a while back and never got around to trying it until somewhat recently. while i still really like my mua E3 brush for blending the crease, i really like using this brush for placing color into the crease (and blend with the E3). it's the perfect size for my eyes and has a nice amount of give.
6. bite beauty bb for lips in flush -- i got this in the sephora beauty closet set and i love it. now i'm not sure about the pigmentation of the others in this line, but this one applies very sheer on me. i'm not sure if since my lips are so pigmented, that i couldn't see the tint, but that's not something i really cared about when i used this product. i really like how this little guy feels on the lips. granted, it's a glorified lip balm, but it is awesome.
7. loreal infallible eye crayon stick in enduring rose -- this is such an amazing quality pencil. i've been using this as a base for the kevyn aucoin duo and it's gorgeous. the staying power is amazing, and this shade is super pretty. i bought a few others, but i haven't been using them as much as this one!

random favorites:

1. tiffany-d 2.0 candle from candles by victoria -- when i first opened this candle (and the soap) i wasn't totally sure about it. but i started burning it and omg i love it. i feel like i've smelled something fairly similar before, yet it seems almost like a distinct scent. it's so weird! but i love how woodsy and slightly floraly-fruity it is.
2. new furniture -- in addition to the table and chairs set we got for christmas, we bought a few new pieces with some of our christmas money. so not only did we buy the new dresser and second nightstand (ashley furniture: huey vineyard), we bought a wine cabinet from target. which i'm pretty sure was the best investment decision for our small apartment. it has a good bit of storage and we were able to move some stuff out of the kitchen cabinets. also, we were able to get rid of paul's tv tray setup coffee bar and put it on top, so the whole area looks much nicer now. so excite.

• the nightstand is under the window because the chest of drawers is literally up against the closet and there's not enough room for both nightstands on either side of the bed plus the dresser... basically, our apartment is designed pretty crappy... maybe i'll do an apartment tour post? hmmm! and i can make a sims rendering!

 
left: this is definitely not to scale, but it kinda works...; right: kinda for scale, that's the front door in the top left corner.

mehs:

1. loreal brow stylist plumper in medium to dark -- while i do like this wand style/size much better than maybelline's brow drama, i don't like how wet this formula is. so not only does it dry slowly, it's also easy to smudge and smear when you don't intend to...
2. bite 01/15 limited lab release lipstick -- this is more of a disappointing than a meh i think. this lipstick is definitely not formulated the same as the other bite lipsticks that i have. it's a gorgeous color and i love that, but it feels so dry and draggy. it's a huge sadface. and these are a whopping $12 more than the regular line ($24 vs. $36).
3. candles by victoria wooden wick candle (scent: zucchini bread) -- the scent is not the issue with this candle because i intentionally picked it after having a scent shot. the problem is actually the wooden wick. it smoked up our apartment pretty badly. not that you were choking on the smoke, because the delicious scent of diabeetus was in the air, but you could see like a fog or smoke cloud when walking between rooms. so if i ever buy a replacement zucchini bread, i'll definitely go for a regular candle than her wooden wick.
4. equate sensitive cleansing wipes (compare to simple) -- these smelled awful. i can't totally place it, but weird sunscreen. they were ok at removing makeup, but the scent on my face is so off-putting. i'll probably slowly use these up for swatches or something..

regrets:

natural, bold, mua

1. to some degree, buying all 3 beautylish lucky bags ($75/ea). had i known there would be so much overlap between them (contrary to what i saw from last year), i probably would have only gotten one. more specifically, the coq-10 toner is decently scented (and floral at that...) and scented skincare is generally not a good idea, and now i have 3 of them... and second, am i really ever going to use the rcma palettes..? i'm not sure.
    
2. physician's formula shimmer strips custom eye enhancing kohl kajal liner sets (nude eyes & warm nude eyes) -- despite the claims on the packaging these are crap. they aren't waterproof, they rub away to nothing in the waterline, and they transfer horribly with my hooded eyes. no good. and it's sad too, because they are really pretty.