september favorites & regrets

hi guys! only a couple items this month too. enjoy. ~Lin-chan ^.~

favorites:

sable (swatched dry), light, grunge, spiced apple

grunge, spiced apple

1. colourpop lippie stix in grunge -- this is an absolutely gorgeous 90s semi-goth brown shade. and i lurve it!
2. bite beauty limited lab release lipstick for september (spiced apple) -- love at first swipe. i think this is the most perfectly balanced red for my skintone, and the formula is amazing and what you'd expect from bite.
3. it cosmetics bye bye under eye corrector in light -- i bought this on a whim a long ways back and couldn't ever get into using it---probably because it's in a pot. but more recently i've decided to take it out and try it since i've begun developing dark circles....work stress i guess? anyway, this stuff is great. rub your finger in it a few seconds and pat it on the under eye area. wait a bit more for it to warm up on the skin and blend it in. super awesome!
4. ulta eyeshadow in sable -- i never. ever. liked matte eyeshadows. i always had to have super shiny, metallic, sparkly goodness. then i came across makeup geek's barcelona beach. now i'm on a huge 'matte in the crease' kick--for some looks, and this one's a great one for my skintone, and the formula's pretty nice. these go on sale pretty often, so make sure you don't pay full price!

random favorites: 

1. rocket pure shoe deodorizer spray (on amazon) -- yep, we went there. it wasn't until a couple months ago that i realized how much my feet sweat in my shoes. and we're talking no matter what i'm doing or where i am, walking or stationary, inside or outside. typically, i'm a socks and tennis shoes or flip flops kind of person. but i'm working now, so i'm wearing heels regularly. i abhor stockings, so it's bare feet in my shoes. by the end of the day...they were getting kinda funky. so since i've started using this, spraying it all around the inside of my shoes each evening, and it's helped a lot. i'm a little more than half way through this bottle now, so i'd say this bottle lasts for about 1.5-2 months' daily use.
1. update: the past week or so, i've been wearing no-show stocking-sock thingies. lol at the fact that NO SHOW socks.. are very visible in the shoes they were designed to be worn with.
2. barajou no kiss manga -- i really liked this manga. it was kind of cheesy at first, then it gets serious, then you get annoyed that the last two chapters or so go way too fast. but it was awesome while it lasted.

meh/undecided: la girl matte pigment lip gloss in dreamy -- i could never figure this one out. it's so weird. i've applied it many times with different results. i have no idea what i'm doing wrong each time. one time, it dried down perfect and felt powdery and amazing. several other times, it didn't dry down at all. so i: 1) tried powdering it dry---fail. 2) applied more---fail. 3) wet it or touched up after it was dry---super fail and made it worse. so i have no clue how this is supposed to work, and i'm tired of trying. it's a really amazing color, but it was not consistent.

la girl dreamy--it sticks to your teeth at first (as shown).

september 2015 empties

hi! it's september empties time! and i don't have a whole lot to share this time, but here's what i gots. ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. tarte maracuja eye cream
2. simple cleansing wipes
3. sonia kashuk eye makeup remover
4. clinique clarifying lotion 3
5. katy perry killer queen body lotion -- this was a super awesome lotion. not only did it have a great scent, but it absorbed fairly quickly and didn't feel greasy or icky if i began to sweat.
6. hourglass mineral veil primer -- this is really great, but it's kinda expensive.... it has that nice silicony feel that i love, but it's slightly brightening because it's white.
   repurchase? nah
7. marc anthony nourishing argan oil -- this smells super awesome. i thought it worked well with my hair but i think i like other brands better. the packaging is kinda meh, and it leaked a little.
   repurchase? nah, considering the fact that i've got a stockpile of leave-in conditioning type products now.... 

[not pictured]

1. tree hut coconut lime sugar scrub
2. aveeno positively smooth shave gel
3. origins super spot remover -- i finally finished this!!! i got this as an alternative to clinique's spot healing gel and it's ok. i do think it works, but i don't like how it doesn't dry right and is weird under makeup.
   repurchase? no
4. dove white bar -- this was a pretty nice, mild soap. i hear that it's great for people with acne. i enjoyed using it.
   repurchase? maybe
5. dr. bronner's peppermint bar soap -- used this for makeup brush cleaning. sometimes i would use this instead of the liquid. i felt that the brushes with cream products worked better with the solid bar. or i could be completely crazy making that up. ^_^
   repurchase? probably

september hauls

hi guys! here's a few things that i got this month! ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

ulta: becca radiant glow collection (under eye brightening corrector, shimmering skin perfector [liquid] in opal, shimmering skin perfector pressed in moonstone, beach tint lip shimmer souffle in raspberry/opal), soap & glory the scrub of your life; tree hut sugar scrubs in passion fruit & guava, pomegranate acai, and amazon pequi

moonstone, raspberry/opal, opal, corrector

raspberry/opal

sephora: bite limited lab release for september (spiced apple), points & sample: benefit roller lash mascara and lancome drama liqui-pencil in noir intense
target: maybelline falsies push-up drama mascara in blackest black

spiced apple, noir intense

colourpop: shadows in mixed tape, party time, and hanky panky; lippie stix in grunge and kiddo

kiddo, grunge, mixed tape, party time, hanky panky

grunge

kiddo

sigma labor day sale: F25, E55, F80, freebie: E56 mini

ulta: essense all about nude eyeshadow palette, long lasting lipstick in natural beauty, metal glam eyeshadow in frosted apple, lash princess mascara (freebie!); catrice liquid metal eyeshadows in under treasure, mauves like jagger, we are the champagnes

• update, under treasure had a sad. somewhere online, i heard or saw that these are pretty unstable and can break pretty easily.. i was using this one for the first time and turned it upside-down while it was open, and the entire shadow fell out of the pan! thankfully there was a very large chunk and several small ones. so i just pressed the big piece back in.

all about nude palette, frosted apple, natural beauty; we are the champagnes, under treasure, mauves like jagger

natural beauty

makeup geek: duochrome shadows in mai tai & havoc

weeks 14 & 15

it was another long two weeks. one where i wasn't doing much, and the other, i had all of the headaches. if you know anything about databases, there's all these tables and they link to each other. and it's really a lot of work figuring out how they connect to one another--when you never dealt with them before, since you were not their creator--so that you can write queries to pull specific information. that was this past week. last week was actually pretty dull. ~Lin-chan ^.~

week 14
monday: spent most of the day watching project management (agile) videos.
tuesday: watched more agile videos. finally got my daily walk to the grocery store, we hadn't gone since wednesday, since it was rainy thursday and i had all those calls on friday. and yesterday my friend went with everyone else to the mall for lunch. after work, we went and walked around campus, took showers, and had dinner at the mall and walked around.
wednesday: spent the day reading a java textbook. that was pretty much it. there was slight excitement that there are one or two new possibilities for projects, but nothing with certainty yet. (options: ohio, texas, a department store, [unknown], or keep on keepin' on)
thursday: spent the day reading the java textbook...some more. i also found a website that is similar to w3schools for learning java, since they don't have it.
friday: spent the morning in our mandatory training, part 1 of 5. yay~. it was on professional appearance/perceptions and dining etiquette. otherwise, i didn't do a whole lot.

week 15
monday: felt pretty good for most of the day. got to talk with the two "smart" people kind of training us. they finally finished their training and had more time to talk with us and help us out. after lunch, i came back to discover that our phones have finally been connected! yesss! the only problem is that i have to call to get my phone reset, so i can log into it.
tuesday: it was more or less a continuation of yesterday. i got my phone set up after the phone people fixed it.
wednesday: the morning was more or less a continuation of the previous two days, making tables and queries. we had our morning call via skype, which was kind of cool. i've never used it with more than one person at a time. went to one of the food trucks by our office for the first time. it was a local bbq/tex-mex type restaurant that used to be located in the hotel near our apartment..and i got a giant loaded potato. omg it was huge. at 1 we had a call to discuss a previously made app. at 3 we had a quarterly office-wide meeting, followed by a 'yay the terrace is finished!' party. our office building and apartments are almost finished, i cannot wait for the construction to go away. and i'm very excited that we have a new place to hang out during lunch once the weather gets cooler!
[for those who don't know and if i haven't mentioned, our building has a garage at the bottom and two towers, one for our offices and the other is apartments. the terrace is in between the towers, above the garage.]

thursday: a lil more or less like the past few days. ...only highlight was that the morning skype call was a partial fail because something was going wrong with the network, or construction people, and i had to use the guest network to reconnect to the call through my phone app.
friday: spent the day in 2 more mandatory training thingies! it was awful! there's only one more and a presentation class left to go. yay~ TT_TT

aromaleigh cosmetics fatalis collection

hi guys! i got some more aromaleigh pigments...because they are teh pretties. ~Lin-chan ^.~
- i don't think i mentioned it last time, but she included a couple candies from torie and howard and i don't remember one of them, but the other was d'anjou pear & cinnamon. OMG i need more. the ones here are meyer lemon & raspberry and pomegranate & nectarine.
- angrboda and malebranche were freebies, and synchrony was a freebie for the company's 17th anniversary
- pigments are swatched over wet n wild fergie take on the day eyeshadow primer

helleborus niger, leiurus quinquestriatus, phyllobates terribilis, chironex flekeri, phoneutria nigriventer

hapalochlaena lunulata, atropa belladonna, dendroaspis polylepis, nerium oleander, amanita muscaria

freebies: synchrony, malebranche, angrboda

yay! i made another swatch video for you guys!

fall 2015 walmart beauty box

hi guys! the fall walmart beauty box has arrived! and there's sooo many new things to try!! (if you'd like to subscribe, you can sign up here.) ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. simple cleansing facial wipes (7 wipes--mini, ret. $3.66 for 25 wipes [$1.03]) -- do i even have to say anything about these?
   repurchase? duh
2. aussie mega hairspray (1.5oz--mini, ret. $3.74 for 17oz [$0.33]) -- this has a strangely amazing fruity candy type smell and idk. i haven't tried many things from their line, but i feel like they're underrated.
    repurchase? maybe
3. act advanced care plaque guard in frosted mint (1oz--mini, ret. $6.48 for 33.8oz [$0.19]) -- i haven't had an act mouthwash in a really long time. we'll have to see about this one.
   repurchase? probably not
4. aveeno positively radiant daily moisturizer with sunscreen spf 30 (.3oz--mini, ret. $11.49 for 2.5oz [$1.38]) -- you guys know i'm not a fan of facial sunscreens. this, however, has a nice fragrance that counterbalances the sunscreen scent, making it more bearable. i'm interested in trying this out.
   repurchase? maybe
5. jergens wet skin moisturizer samples in coconut oil and monoi oil (.25oz each--minis, ret. $6.84 for 10oz [$0.34]) -- we'll have to see how this goes. something about putting this onto skin while it's wet and it absorbs better? idk. we'll try  it out.
   repurchase? maybe
6. biore self heating one minute mask (1 use (.25oz)--sample, ret. $4.39 for 4 uses [$1.10]) -- i've never noticed this product before. i'm interested in trying it out.
   repurchase? maybe
7. nivea extended moisture body lotion (.14oz--sample, ret. $5.30 for 16.9oz [$0.04]) -- try all the lotions?
   repurchase? maybe
8. dove advanced care deodorant in beauty finish (.5oz--mini, ret. $6.68 for 2.6oz [$1.28]) -- this smells soo freaking good. i've tried other dove deodorants before and enjoyed them, so i'm hoping this'll be a similar experience.
   repurchase? maybe
9. neutrogena healthy volume mascara in black (.16oz--mini, ret. $7.95 for .21oz [$6.06]) -- i've been eyeing this mascara for a while now, but i haven't gotten it because...........i have too many mascaras or samples to still go through. ~.~
   repurchase? maybe
10. schick hydro silk disposable razor (1 razor, ret. $9.06 for 3 razors [$3.02]) -- i already love this line of razors. i have the non-disposables of these.
    repurchase? maybe
11. coupons for jergens, biore, and dove

approximate product value: ~$14.77

sidenote: anyone else think that this is hilarious? usps is somehow disrupting the time-space continuum and traversing the state, nearly corner to corner, in a mere 15 minutes! ...or 21 hours. ya know... who knows?!

september 2015: sephora play!

hi guys! by now, most people have heard that sephora's started doing a subscription service! wooot. it's $10+tax and it's 5 deluxe samples plus a fragrance sample. this month's theme is uncover the essentials.

...

turns out. this service is so new that they can't even pack the boxes properly. i'm missing two items, one of which i've already tried (liner), and the other, a moisturizer. i've listed these two below. anyway, after waiting 10+ minutes on hold for a customer service person, they ended up refunding me because it wasn't a complete box. which was nice, but still kind of annoying. ~Lin-chan ^.~

sephora rouge infusion lip stain in peony (photos recycled from a previous post)

1. ole henriksen sheer transformation (.25oz--mini, $40 for 1.7oz [$5.88]) -- one of the missing items in my box
   
2. marc jacobs highliner gel liner in blacquer (.013oz--mini, ret. $25 for .1oz [$3.25]) -- the other missing item. i already have this liner and i'm not totally sure about it. it kinda but not really stays in the waterline, and i haven't really used it as a lashline liner.
   repurchase? no
3. elizabeth and james nirvana white (.07oz--mini, ret. $60 for 1oz [$4.20]) -- i already have a sample of this, and i actually prefer the black. i have tried mixing the two and i'm not totally sure how much i like that. using straight white, i'm not a fan of because of the floral.
   repurchase? no
4. sephora collection rouge infusion gloss in peony (.068oz--mini, ret. $14 for .152oz [$6.26]) -- i already have one of these already... so i'll be passing this off. the shade is really pretty, it's a little pinker than i'm comfortable with, but it's nice.
   repurchase? not this shade
5. glamglow supercleanse (1oz--mini, ret. $14) -- try all of the glamglow!
   repurchase? maybe
6. bumble and bumble hairdresser's invisible oil primer (1oz--mini, ret. $27 for 8.5oz [$3.18]) -- i'm super interested in trying this. has a realllly nice scent. i likes it.
   repurchase? maybe
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

approximate product value: ~$36.77 (if this were a complete box)

recipe: gram's crab & corn bisque

hi guys!!! i can't believe it's been forever since i did a food-related post! and this is one of my favorites! my grandmother would make this every summer because it's kind of light (but not totally, lol), refreshing, and super easy to make! enjoy! ~Lin-chan ^.~
this recipe made seven 2 cup containers--for me to freeze or take to work for lunch.
total cost: ~$25-30

ingredients:

1 stick butter, melted	1 can whole kernel corn (do not drain)
1 pint half and half	1 can cream corn
3 stalks celery, sliced	1 can cream of mushroom
1 onion, chopped	1 can cream of chicken
3-6 stalks green onion, chopped	1 can cream of celery
1 lb lump crab meat	2 packets splenda (optional)
italian seasoning

tools:

• kitchen spoon or soup ladle
• 6 quart pot
• spoon for scraping out cans
• knife & cutting board
• can opener

directions:

1. in pot, saute celery, onion, & green onions in butter until onion is near translucent.
2. stir in half and half. 
3. stir in soup cans and corn cans.
4. add splenda and italian seasoning --- i usually put enough to cover the surface with a thin layer.
5. heat and stir until ready to serve.
6. turn off heat. add crab meat before serving. (notes: drain excess liquid in crab meat container. if you get a 16oz container like i did (instead of two 8oz), separate the crab meat a bit before dumping the whole thing in---it was pretty difficult to find and break apart all of the clumps of meat in the soup! beware of crab shells!)

september 2015 ipsy bag

hi guys! it's september IPSY BAG* time!! (theme: face fashion) ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. nyx x ipsy eyeshadow trio (0.105oz--full size, ret. $6) -- i'm not so sure how i feel about the black, it's a bit chalky and i'm not huge into using something so dark; but the other two shades (particularly the middle one) are pretty nice.
• likelihood to repurchase: this trio is limited to the ipsy subscription; but maybe their love in rio sets.
2. thebalm put a lid on it eye primer (3.7ml--mini, ret. $18 for 11.8ml [$5.64]) -- i've always wanted to try this primer but never wanted to commit to buying a full size tube of something i couldn't buy locally and test out. testing this for my shadow swatches--it looks similar to urban decay's or too faced's but it's very wet and takes a bit longer to dry down.
• likelihood to repurchase: will update later
3. formula x for sephora nail color in ignite (4ml--mini, ret. $10.50 for 12ml [$3.50]) -- i really like how the color looks in the different lighting--bright red in sunlight, and oxblood in darker lighting. i actually already have a full-size of this polish, so i'll probably save this as a gift. see notd swatch below.
• likelihood to repurchase: probably not this shade again
4. glamglow flashmud (.5oz--mini, ret. $69 for 1.7oz [$20.29]) -- try all of the glamglow! i'm excited to try this one out!
• likelihood to repurchase: will update later
5. not soap, radio the phoenix hand/body lotion (persimmon & plum scented) (1.25oz--mini, ret. $18 for 12.7oz [$1.77]) -- this smells sooo freaking good! feels nice and light, yet moisturizing.
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
6. points: la fresh hello. lip treat lip balm (.08oz--, ret. $10 for .08oz) -- this is really nice feeling. i like how it has a super fresh peppermint gum type scent.
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
7. rose gold ipsy bag -- meh, it's ok. i'm not a huge fan of the patterned part.
8. card with company info/discount codes
1. nyxcosmetics.com: 50% off eyeshadow primer & base, code: nyxbasescvrd (exp. 10/31/15)
2. notsoapradio.com: 20% off purchase & free gift, code: ipsy20 (exp. 10/31/15)
3. clarisea.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy20 (exp. 10/31/15)
4. tresemme.com: $1.50 off any tresemme perfectly (un)done product, click link for printable coupon (exp. 10/7/15)
5. octaviomolinahair.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy&octavio (exp. 10/31/15)
6. citycolorcosmetics.com: 50% off city chic lipsticks, code: ipsy50cc (exp. 10/31/15)
7. jcatbeauty.com: 25% off purchase, code: 915ipsy (exp. 10/31/15)
8. bayberrynaturals.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy20 (exp. 10/31/15)
9. acureorganics.com: 20% off purchase & free shipping, code: ipsysept20 (exp. 10/31/15)
10. vasanticosmetics.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsy30 (exp. 10/31/15)
11. pixibeauty.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsyoct15 (exp. 10/31/15)
12. tinibeauty.com: 40% off $20+ purchase & free full size nail lacquer in kir royale, code: ipsyfashion (exp. 10/31/15)
13. trestique.com: 20% off $50+ purchase & free shipping, code: ipsyinsider20 (exp. 10/31/15)
14. trustfundbeauty.com: 35% off purchase (UK limit 4 bottles/package), code: ipsygirl (exp. 10/31/15)
15. firstaidbeauty.com: 20% off $50+ purchase & free shipping, code: ipsy20 (exp. 10/31/15)
16. evelyniona.com: 20% off purchase, code: ipsy2015 (exp. 10/31/15)
17. drugstore.com: 15% off eau thermale avene products, code: ipsy15 (exp. 11/15/15)
18. elizabethmott.com: 30% off purchase, code: ipsyqueen (exp. 10/31/15)
19. comprarcosmetica.es: $5 off purchase, code: ipsynaobay (exp. 10/31/15)
20. temptu.com: 20% off select products, code: ipsytemtpu (exp. 10/31/15)
21. juviasplace.com: 10% off purchase / 4 pairs of "annabella" lashes for $16 (excludes sale items), code: ipsy (exp. 10/31/15)

approximate product value: ~$37.20 + $10 lip balm

nyx x ipsy eyeshadow trio swatched over theBalm put a lid on it; formula x ignite

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