may 2015 favorites & regrets

it's may favorites time~! yay! ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

bite lavender thistle

mug starry eyed, barcelona beach; laura mercier rosegold; nyc deep brown, jet black

I514, D562, I544, D552, ME302

1. bite beauty limited lab release lipstick for may (lavender thistle) -- i was extremely surprised when i swatched this beaut. i wasn't totally sure when i bought it, if it'd look like death on me or not, but i went ahead anyway and i was thoroughly surprised. i think it really works with it's slight sheerness, plus my mauvy pigmented lips. it's really pretty.
2. laura mercier caviar shadow stick in rosegold -- this is a nice and creamy pencil. i love it! it's similar in texture to the loreal infallible shadow sticks
3. belif true cream aqua bomb moisturizer -- i love the texture of this moisturizer. it's a gel but it feels like water when you spread it out. and it has a really nice citrus scent. i've been religiously using clinique's ddm gel for the past 7+ years, and i've been using this sample like crazy!
4. nyc brow & eyeliner pencils in jet black & deep brown -- i bought these because i heard that they were pretty good brow pencils on the cheap (packs of 2 for $2 -- per color). i haven't tried these as liners, and i'm not sure that i will because they're a little too waxy for my taste. for brows, i love using both of these. the waxiness is perfect and it stays put all day. i recommend using a light hand and have a spoolie on hand.
5. makeup geek 
1. barcelona beach eyeshadow -- i really like this as my matte crease shade. i almost don't know how i survived without this one! it's kind of similar to shades in the naked2 basics palette
2. starry eyed (foiled) eyeshadow -- this is such a pretty color! i love using it on top of other colors to give them a foiled effect since the color (not exactly pigmentation..) isn't super strong for this one, and it looks great when it catches the light.
3. soft dome brush -- i really enjoy using this brush! it's the perfect size as a crease/blending brush and it's very soft and not irritating
6. mufe
1. nude artist palette (particularly the middle column I514, D562, I544) -- i think i like these 3 shades a lot because two of them were in a previous favorites post, and I544 is very similar or in the same family as I548.
2. D552 -- this shadow is like perpetually sold out, so if it's available, you should definitely jump on it! soooo pretty.
3. ME302 -- i like layering D552 on top to soften it up. the pretty blue does blend away to show the brown undertones, but if you pack it on, the blue duochrome is super pretty!

random favorites:

1. zenana outfitters knit open cardigan, with three quarter sleeves and pockets -- i bought this at tj maxx...i think..? or it was marshalls...? ours are right next to each other and they're like the same store............... anyway, this sweater is so comfy and cute with shorts!
2. bubzbeauty teespring shirt for charity -- who couldn't resist this adorableness? it's a penguin with an ice cream cone "unicorn horn". so kyoot. and it was for a good cause too, she donated the proceeds to two charities. the only thing i dislike is that it's kinda long, but i still luff it.
3. kate spade iphone 6 case (from apple.com) -- i really love this pattern. the only knock on it is that it is painted onto a black-based case, so i dropped it and a small chunk of white has disappeared on the corner near the camera (as shown in photo). thankfully this pattern is kind of random, so most people wouldn't know otherwise!
4. online manga: relife -- this is still ongoing as they translate and upload this one..but it's so funny and has an interesting concept. relife is a program where neets can essentially take a pill to look younger and have a second chance by going to high school again and potentially getting better job opportunities when they complete the relife program.

product updates:

left: koh gen do, right: shiseido

1. shiseido facial cotton -- these are a lot better than the koh gen do ones. they're slightly smaller in both size and thickness, but they're at the same level as the sephora cotton rounds. i will probably continue buying drugstore cotton rounds for eye makeup remover, and use either this facial cotton or the sephora cotton rounds for micellar water and toner.

regrets/disappointments:

skone navy, almay purple amethyst, bm stroke of light, it cc cream in medium

1. houston flooding -- we were going to visit our friends this weekend but then the flooding...so we ended up cancelling out trip. i think my relatives canceled their vacation too because their houses got over 12in of water from the flooding. bleh!
2. bare minerals stroke of light -- i've had this sample for who knows how long...but i tried it out as an inner corner highlight...and it was pretty lame. it might work for darker skintones, but definitely not mine.
3. it cosmetics cc+ cream in medium -- this was disappointing because of the color ipsy sent me. my profile has light, so why they would send me medium is beyond me. i was interested in trying it out too.
4. almay intense i-color liquid liner in purple amethyst -- sadface at how pretty this is and the fact that it burned my eyes to all hell while i was applying it. nope.
5. skone cosmetics pretty eyes automatic eyeliner in navy -- can we talk about how this looks navy in the tube and not navy on my skin? either way the color is pretty, but the formula isn't that great. it applies nicely, but it's too creamy and smears like crazy. it definitely needs to be set if you try using this product.