april 2015 empties

it's empties time!! i'm not sure how my empties post for next month will work out. we're trying to move into a new apartment (in the same complex) and haven't gotten confirmation yet. so it may be early or it may be late...or not at all... depends on how the move works out. ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. clinique ddm gel mini
2. simple oil balancing face wipes
3. sonia kashuk eye makeup remover
4. almay clear complexion concealer in light 
5. tree hut honey almond sugar scrub
6. tree hut island mango body wash
7. formula x top coat
8. london brush company lemon zest solid goat's milk brush shampoo -- this one smells great! the only downside is that these are kinda expensive now, so i think i'll still stick with dr. bronner's and the sephora collection solid brush cleanser
   repurchase? nah
9. skindinavia makeup finishing spray mini -- i got this free with an order of the oil-control finishing spray, and i thought this worked ok. it was better than urban decay's all nighter--that stuff made me oily--but i probably will still buy the oil-control one instead.
   repurchase? nah
10. well at walgreens watermelon revo lip balm -- it took me forever to finish this..and it's still not exactly finished but i'm done with it. i'm not sure why but i just did not like this at all. the scent was ok, but the moisturization was ok and the taste was weird. it was a good weird (like candy or something sweet) but a not for me kind of a weird.
    repurchase? no
11. benefit roller lash mascara -- i had this in a recent favorites post and i really do like this a lot. is it worth the price? not really, it performs similar to covergirl lashblast mascaras.
    repurchase? not for now
12. secret ph balanced deodorant -- this wasn't too bad. i picked this out with one of those winn dixie hygiene deals and i quite enjoyed this. despite the ridiculous heat and humidity we have here, it worked well!
    repurchase? maybe
13. elf essential eye primer -- this is a really great affordable eye primer. it's only $1! and you can take the stopper out to get all of the product more easily. so worth it!
    repurchase? yes
14. schwarzkopf essense ultime omega repair & moisture shampoo and conditioner -- i'm not really one for buying moisturizing shampoos...i'm pretty sure i've mentioned that a bunch of times before. this stuff is rather weird. it smells super chemically in the bottle, but once you lather it up, it's more pleasant. so strange. these did work well and didn't make me oily, but i think i'll still stick to my usual pantene.
    repurchase? no
15. dove go fresh body wash in mandarin & tiare flower -- this has such a great orangy-fruity scent! i never tried dove body wash before and this one was really nice.
    repurchase? maybe

[not pictured]

1. nugg exfoliating face mask -- while it's nice that you can get two uses out of these pods, you may as well buy a freeman mask. one of these pods is like 80% of the cost of a 6oz freeman mask.. anyway, this mask was nice, and it's probably safe for sensitive skin? unless it's a chemical exfoliator.....the exfoliating particles are pretty large and gentle.
   repurchase? nah
2. pur-lisse pur-delicate gentle soymilk cleanser & makeup remover -- got this In my march ipsy bag. this stuff was ok. it was non-irritating and felt pretty milky-gelly like. did it take off my makeup? i'm not totally sure, because i usually use a remover wipe beforehand anyway.
   repurchase? nah
3. skinfix hand repair cream -- i got this in one of the target boxes around christmas time and i enjoyed this one. i'm not huge into using hand creams, but this one worked pretty well. i usually have pretty dry skin and this helped out a lot! it has a slight scent to it, but i can't really place it. it's not very strong or anything, but it's not a typical smell. this is a thicker hand cream compared to most.
   repurchase? maybe

april 2015 favorites, a fail, & an update

iiiiiiiiiiiitsssssss april favorites timeeeeeeeeee! it's another neglect responsibilities and wear sweatpants monday! with all that severe weather and tornado watches/warnings this morning, i ended up not going to work, and school canceled anyway. i've been home studying pretty much the whole day because i have a final tomorrow that's worth 40%. like seriously. ~.~ and the power went out for like four hours.... studyin by candlelight! (see my latest two instagram photos in my sidebar widget) anyway, the more extensive life update is at the bottom of this post. ~Lin-chan ^.~

ps, did yall see that ridiculous video of the train that blew off the huey p?! holy crap man! and secondly, who the hell goes to canes at 1030 in the morning to take said video?? (click for the article & video)

favorites:

right: wearing colourpop cookie, wisp, birthday suit

nars rikugien, benefit posiebalm, colourpop cookie

mac bao bao wan palette; colourpop birthday suit, wisp

1. mac bao bao wan jewels veluxe pearlfusion shadow palette -- this is such a pretteh and sparkletastic palette! i love using the top shade as my brow and inner corner highlights, the second as an all-over shade, the fourth as my crease, then the third patted over the lid, and sometimes but not so much the fifth one as a lower lash liner.
2. nars satin lip pencil in rikugien -- as i mentioned somewhere else before, i wanted this pencil a long time ago and never got around to buying it. i loved the formula of the other two nars lip pencils that i had previously and i was definitely excited when this shade was included in this year's birthday present!
3. burt's bees herbal blemish stick -- this is an inexpensive salicylic acid alternative, made from 100% (or close to it) natural ingredients. i've been using this nearly everyday since i got it in early march and i've been liking it. it's a lot cheaper than the clinique spot healing gel i've been using (and you know how much i love ◔_◔ the new formula compared to the old--bleh!). the only real complaint about this one is that it's a rollerball and sometimes there's too much liquid on the ball when i go to apply it and it starts dripping down my face....and for people with a lower pain tolerance--this stuff burns a bit.
4. benefit posiebalm -- i'm not sure why, but i've been using this guy every morning recently. when i first got it, i wasn't a super huge fan because it has a rosy scent and the staining power is minimal or non-existent. but, it's a nice flush of pink for my more natural days.
5. colourpop 
1. blush in birthday suit -- this is a very natural pinky rose shade with a hint of gold glitter. yall know i'm not huge into cream blush, but this one's pretteh good. it has the same texture as their eyeshadows.
2. highlight in wisp -- this is such a pretty highlight. i think it would work great as a shadow topper too. it comes off as a really pretty sheer gold shimmer.
3. lippie stix in cookie -- this might be my new perfect nude type shade. or maybe orangy-nude. i really do like it!

random favorites:

top: triple chocolate, chocolate peanut butter cup; bottom left: double chocolate mint,
upper middle: peanut butter chip, white chocolate macadamia, lower: snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin

lol, can we talk about this color palette i've got going here? but seriously, i basically live in blue, black, and gray.

1. salmon furikake rice seasoning -- so in february's meh's section, i mentioned how i got the bonito furikake and it was super fishy. i've been wanting to try the salmon one out and i finally bought it earlier this month when i went to the korean store. soooo much better! it's a lot more subtle but still has a nice salmon taste.
2. insomnia cookies -- so we just got one of these out by northgate..and it's derricious. if you have one near you, definitely check them out because it's so good, and warm, and mmmmm! a word to the wise, do not get their sugar cookie. it's weird and not sugar cookie-like---if that makes any sense at all. their snickerdoodle is a more accurate ..depiction? additionally, if you do have delivery, expect to not see them for a while and not so warm cookies. from placing the order to receiving my first delivery, it was one hour--and i ordered before 530PM, like before most peoples' dinnertime. go and wait in line, it's worth it!
3. work clothes! how lame am i now? i recently bought a crapton of work clothes from the limited because they had some awesome deals going on. so i bought several pairs of pants and tops. i also got a few new tops from marshalls/tj maxx. then, i bought several pairs of shoes from payless because sales and coupons too... the comfortplus by predictions shoes are super comfy, i had two pairs prior and needed more (karmen, marge). and i got some dexflex flats (bianca) and wedges (daylight).
1. mil's handiness/sewing skillz -- back in high school, my mother didn't let me take home ec, which i genuinely wanted to take. but anyway..it's ok kinda, because my mil is nice and hems all my pants for me..because i'm shorter than short..[pants] by like one inch. sadface.

mehs:

1. koh gen do pure cotton -- i bought these from sephora to try out, mostly because i wanted to check out alternatives to cotton rounds. i've tried out several brands of cotton rounds and my favorite is still the sephora ones--but they're not always available, so i go for whatever's in the drugstore. anyway these are ok. i used them for eye makeup remover (i cut one pad in half to use for both eyes) and it worked great. using these with micellar water or toner, they're not so great. they generally hold up, but they pill up a bit when i use them on my face. i also tried applying toner or cleansing water to them and splitting the layers apart, but that didn't really change much either. after these are gone, i'm planning on trying out the shiseido ones next--and they're more cost effective.

regrets: i didn't actually have any this month. wut!

1. can we call this one? i painted my nails with the intention of a notd redoux post and it was late at night and i didn't get to take any photos. then my topcoat ended up bubbling by the next morning... so it was more like a fail on my part. i'll try doing it again sometime soon, i promise.

update:

1. recently, i've had the stuck in a rut feeling. it's the end of semester crunch and graduation and all of the things. here's a mini checklist:
1. send out my graduation announcements
2. graduation
3. pay off the student loan
4. pack up this apartment since we're planning on moving to a larger unit (in the same complex)
5. pack up at my room at my mom's because my "storage unit" is no longer available for free starting in july
6. starting my new job...except that they haven't figured out my start date yet...... the new building is almost finished, so they're moving in anytime now basically. and mass confusion involved with all that. so i'll start sometime before the end of summer! who knows when!
7. teh paul has another europe trip/conference to go present at this summer. and i'll be at home because i'll be working.
2. teh paul's got his own work stuff that he's been trying to figure out.. contractually, his fellowship doesn't allow him to get outside income because it's basically like a salary (gettin' paid to study, ain't that the life!). so he's thinking about not taking his final year of the fellowship, and take an internship with one of the instructors who has a consulting firm for the summer. then, for the fall and spring, he'll be a GA or TA or whatever the hell. same difference. the reasoning is that he doesn't have much teaching experience, and the consulting firm is good real-world practical experience. and at the moment, he's leaning more toward working at this company rather than pursuing academia for now at least. there's too much uncertainty with him becoming a professor: a high chance of not getting tenure, and the 100% certainty that we would have to move out of state. likewise, if he keeps his fellowship, nothing will really change aside from him maybe taking on guest lecturing for his professor and maybe TA/GA for a lab or something. he still has no idea which he wants to do... ~.~
1. and then we've got the added stress of, "well if i'm going to intern this summer, i'm not going to want to drive my old car all the way out there." well you ain't driving mine! so we might be car shopping here very soon. the original plan was for him to get a new car at the end of the year for sales and that's when new mazda3's are released--which is on his list. [sidenote, i just remembered: when i got my car, his was next to mine in the photo i posted, and someone said "yeah, paul's car got soul too!" ..i have a kia soul.]

notd: farmec 101 & opi princesses rule!

hi guys! today i've got a super duper oldie but still friggen goodie. and by that, i mean that my grandparents bought me this nail polish in romania (i think?) when i was in middle school. yes, middle school. no i didn't throw it out, it's still good! it's not gloopy so i never put thinner in it, and it doesn't have old nail polish smell either. so bizarre. anyway, i always loved this color as a sheer one coat and go, but today i decided to do two coats with two coats of princesses rule! ~Lin-chan ^.~

target spring 2015 beauty box & impressions

hi guys! earlier this week, target had their spring beauty box on sale and i gots one! woot. it came super fast too, got it today! the good thing about this set is that i've already tried and love most of the items in here, and the price i paid was right. $5 is the cost of the lippie alone! ~Lin-chan ^.~

yes. i has dj pusheen shirt. lippie: rose redefined

1. loreal infallible pro spray & set setting spray (3.4oz--full size, ret. $13.29) -- i paid the full $16 or so at a drugstore when it first came out and i love it. now, i've been trying to use up all of my minis before throwing it into my travel makeup bag (since i have a huge skindinavia i use daily). now i has another one for practically free. i think yes.
   repurchase? at this rate, i won't need to! but, YES
2. tresemme tres two hairspray (1.5oz--mini, ret. $1.47) -- i got a mini of this a long time ago in ipsy or some other beauty box. anyway, i still haven't finished that can either. but yall know i have a love-hate relationship with hairspray--mostly i don't use them because of the added step... and when i was in dance, my mom would give me a helmet-head... anyway, this is probably my favorite hairspray, it holds really well and doesn't feel crunchy.
   repurchase? yes
3. sheamoisture superfruit shampoo (3.2oz--mini, ret. $10.99 for 13oz [$2.71]) -- has a really nice fruity scent, i'm excited to try this!
   repurchase? maybe
4. neutrogena hydroboost gel cream (.25oz--mini, ret. $17.99 for 1.7oz [$2.65]) -- has a very liquidy, gel-like texture and it absorbs relatively fast. it has a slight scent but it's what i would consider an "unscented" product scent. leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated (to the touch). i'm interested in seeing how this works out with my skin.
   repurchase? maybe
5. maybelline color color elixir lippie in rose redefined (.17oz--full size, ret. $5.49) -- this is hilarious. so i was hoping to get a new color, but i got the exact shade that i purchased a while back. oh well, i think i'll pass this off because i know it's great and i don't really need a backup right now. these are more like a liquid lipstick but with a balmy, glossy texture. they do wear off pretty easily, but they're very nice looking otherwise. these do have a light rose scent to them.
   repurchase? yes
6. card with product info & $3 off $15 beauty purchase coupon at target
7. card advertising dermstore.com; 20% off and free shipping and a complimentary gift with code: springbeauty (exp. 6/4/15)

approximate product value: ~$25.61

april 2015 ipsy bag

hi guys! i got the april IPSY BAG* today!! yuuushhhh! (theme: beautifully bohemian)  ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. elizabeth arden beautiful color moisturizing lipstick in red door red (.12oz--full size, ret. $25) -- omg can i just take a moment to talk about this packaging. this is a super heavy and substantial lipstick tube. the weight alone makes it feel super luxurious. and the shape on all four sides looks like the red door in their logo. i first heard about elizabeth arden years ago, in fact my glasses are from their collection and they came with a huge bright red case! anyway this lipstick shade is very reminiscent of that case and somewhat of the red door logo.
1. anyway, onto the product itself: it drags a bit when applied from the tube and it isn't super emollient but its creamy enough to where it still feels comfortable with a slightly balmy texture. this shade is actually prettier than i expected--and yall know i'm not huge into reds. it's got a slight pinky coral lean to it. i think it looks great!
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe other colors
2. mullein & sparrow mini lip & cheek tint (.25oz, ret. $10) -- first off, let's talk about how this stuff smells. it's a really nice fruity scent, like oranges and strawberries---or maybe it's the patchouli? idk anyway, it smells very reminiscent of something, but i can't place it. as far as tint, it's extremely negligible. on the lips it kinda not really does something for them...but not really.... probably because it contains so many oils etc, it feels weird on the lips. it gives a ridiculous oily slip, as if i rubbed straight olive oil on them. but it doesn't absorb super fast and dry quickly. i think i'm going to pass this off because it's really weird and i'm not a huge fan. and hells no i'm not trying it out on my cheeks. if my lips are super slick for more than a minute, what are my oily-combo cheeks going to do?!
• likelihood to repurchase: no
3. mica beauty eye primer (4g--mini, ret. $44.95 for 8.3g [$21.66]) -- i think i'll be giving this guy away. i don't really need more eye primers right now and this one is only ok. compared to the nyx shadow base, this is not as creamy and slightly more difficult to smooth evenly over the lids.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
4. theBalm nudeDude shadow single in fit (.035oz--full pan, ret. $36 for 12 pan palette [$3]) -- ughhh this makes me want the nudeDude palette now. i held off on getting it when it first came out because i don't really use my nudeTude palette that much (and i even de-palette'd it). this shade is a gorgeous copper gold..which i don't really need more neutrals or golds in my life, but it's so prettyful.
• likelihood to repurchase: ........sadfacin over here!
5. pandora's makeup box pink carnation blush (.14oz refill pan--full size, ret. CA$14 [~$11.48]) -- this blush isn't totally a shade that i'd go for myself. it's a reddish plummy color and vastly different from basically all other blushes in my collection..again because it's more red. i typically like corals, neutrals, or pinks (particularly with blue tones) and a little plum here and there. as for the formulation, i'm not so sure i like it. it's super soft to the touch, but when i tried picking it up with my brush, it was freaking loaded and didn't want to tap-off enough. but this blush does blend out nicely in the event that you apply way too much all at once, but i'll have to see about this one....
• likelihood to repurchase: undecided
6. multicolored woven ipsy bag -- this is such a fun bag. this makes me think of summer beach mats! it's a bit larger than some of the ones recently and this one is definitely going to get used!
7. card with company info/discount codes
1. elizabetharden.com: 3 free deluxe samples & free shipping with makeup purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 4/30/15)
2. mulleinandsparrow.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 5/31/15)
3. micabeauty.com: 40% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 5/31/15)
4. thebalm.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy20 (exp. 5/31/15)
5. pandorasmakeupbox.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy20 (exp. 6/30/15)
6. lather.com: 15% off purchase, code: ipsy15 (exp. 5/31/15)
7. olivenaturalbeauty.com: 20% off purchase plus free gift after $50, code: ipsyolive20 (exp. 5/31/15)
8. starlooks.com: 20% off starlooks lip gloss, code: ipsy (exp. 5/31/15)
9. jorelparker.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy (exp. 5/31/15)
10. bonitacolors.com: 40% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 5/31/15)
11. juicebeauty.com: 15% off purchase, code: ipsy15 (exp. 4/30/15)
12. evelyniona.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 4/30/15)
13. gallanycosmetics.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy (exp. 5/31/15)
14. zjashop.com: 20% off purcahse & free shipping, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 5/31/15)
15. heyhoney.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsyhoney (exp. 5/31/15)
16. crownbrush.com: 30% off purchase, code: crownipsy30 (exp. 4/30/15)
17. toofaced.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 5/31/15)
18. jessesgirlcosmetics.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2015apr (exp. 5/31/15)
19. hikaricosmetics.com: 30% off purchase and free eyeshadow with purchase, code: hikari30 (exp. 5/31/15)
20. ulta.com: free essence long last lipstick with any $10 essence purchase, code: lip15 (exp. 5/3/15)

approximate product value: ~$74.35

red door red

carnation pink, primer, fit (over mica primer), tinted lip balm, red door red

*Affiliate Link.

new iphone!! & the saga continues

hi guys! here's what i originally had written for this post.. and i will follow it with the saga that ensued. ~Lin-chan ^.~
edit: happy easter, a little late..by the way.

i have finally upgraded to the current generation! due to family issues, we had to rearrange our family plan; plus my 5 was beginning to have some issues. turns out, my battery is swollen, so it's making my screen bulge out and the home button is nearly unresponsive. i'm pretty upset that i can't keep using my prettyful tkdk unicorno case that i only got a mere three months ago.... TT_TT's and 晚上s for me... butttt. i needed a new phone, so we gots a 6. as per usual, i got my anti-glare screen protectors and cheap phone cases from eforcity on ebay.

i really like the blue water droplet-y one. it was unexpectedly textured for the little droplets. the only downside i have about this one though is that it's so ridiculously thin compared to other thin plastic cases i've had in the past. like it almost felt like i was going to break the tiny slivers of plastic that go on either side of all the buttons--just to put the stupid thing on. on the other side, i got a semi professional looking one since i'll be working here soon. so i got a black brushed aluminum case. this one is interesting. the sides of this case are rubberized and the aluminum part is somehow adhered to the rubbery part. at the very least, this case is thicker and feels more substantial, as well as it has a similar feel to my *sadface* tokidoki 5 case.

*** onto the present.
so yesterday, i had to go to the apple store, less than a week after getting it because the front "selfie" camera was bad. and i'm not talking about user error here, i'm not that retarded and i know to tap the screen to focus. but the photos were coming out soooo bad and blurry that i needed to exchange it. so far, the replacement's been good. hopefully i have better luck with this one than the series of 4's that i chronicled about a couple years ago. anyway, it was weird. at normal selfie position, aka arm's length, photos were crap and blurry. but at an uncomfortably close distance of 1 inch, photos were supah amazing. i'm not sure, maybe they put the lenses on in the wrong order or something..but wow dude.