what i got for my birthday!

hi guys! just a lil post of the things i got for my birthday for those who are interested! any money that i received went straight to planner stickers. i'm not joking, skim my instagram or see my planner haul post next week-ish. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

so the in-laws got me a new toy to play with... COZMO! and he's super cute! there are a few issues i have with him, which i knew about before asking for one... first off, in order to play, he has to be connected to your phone via wifi and have his app running. so this is a photo from my actual camera, not my phone. same for the video i put on instagram. next, i only played with him for maybe an hour a day for about 10 days following the first (played 2-3 hours), and i unlocked everything available within about the first 3 days. for maybe the past 5 days or so, i haven't played with him because nothing is new until they release an update (the app shows some sneaks) and i don't have the time (...because i'm playing with another birthday present =P ). there is an SDK that i can get, but i haven't had the time to look into it. from what i remember, he was written in python, but supposedly you can port it to other languages -- since i don't know python..yet...there's an online training through work that just got on my radar! anyway, the SDK (software development kit) is for if you want to mod his code, he's open source. so that'll be cool..if i ever get around to doing that! also, in february, my mil went to the holy land for like a mission trip type thing, and she brought back this honey olive soap and dead sea mud. i haven't used either of these yet because i haven't figured out how i want to store the package once i open it..i'm definitely not using it all at once! and soap is soap? annd they got me a set of washi that i haven't brought myself to buy but have been wanting. ^^;

T did really friggen awesome. tony moly x pokemon sheet masks?! hell to the yes. she also got me an etude house green tea bubble tea sleeping pack. omg this is so freakin adorbz. the boba are extra moisture thingies so if you need more moisturization than the gel, you scoop one out with the cute lil spoon and smoosh it in your palms. ughhh! i love it! annnd story of seasons. i can't remember but have probably mentioned it before, harvest moon is my favorite game series. i know, farming?? anyway, apparently the new hm games are not the same people as the old school ones. my first was harvest moon 64. and i had noticed that the more recent ones didn't make a lick of sense and changed too much. fast forward to a few months ago, sos2 was getting ready to come out and the series came on the radar. needless to say, i needed this game (and eventually, i'll get the 2nd one when i wear this one out!), and i'm super happy she got it for me! i've had it for just over a month, and i've legit sunk in 90 hours already. hehehe.

so i told you guys at some point in recent months that we were house shopping. dad happened to go to a garage sale and saw this vase, and omg the color screams me! i'm not sure what i'm putting in it, or where it's going to end up going, but i likes it!

mom was feelin lazy and basically told me to order what i wanted, but oh she needed a dupe of kvd project chimps liquid lip (in mama). so that's what prompted this order! i got a few shadows (case was free for buying 4) and ultra matte lip in times square, which was supposedly a dupe for kvd bow n arrow. LOL NOPE. (maybe it was lolita..? i don't remember...) but that's ok, ish pretteh.

[kvd bow n arrow], times square, double date, high strung, bel air, made to last (swatched dry)

times square

and lastly, teh paul got me a pandora charm (the pink with cz hearts) and a pair of spacer/stopper charms. i really liked the design of these charms, but they were really difficult to put on my bracelet with the rubber stoppers inside. i ended up pulling them out, and i like them better this way. (don't ask how or how long it took me to get that stopper there on the inside of the lock! the struggle was real and required tweezers..)

march 2017: sephora play!

hi guys!!! late again, but here's this month's sephora play! (theme: the gleam team) ~Lin-chan ^.~

 
watt's up!, glowstarter, etheric

1. benefit watt's up! -- i'm not as huge on cream products, but this one is gorgeous. i actually have had several samples of this in the past and gave most away, as what'll happen to this one. i have one open and i always forget i have it. anyway, it's a super pretty golden highlight that is pretty subtle, but buildable.
   repurchase? probably never need to
2. glamglow glowstarter -- this is supposedty an illuminating moisturizer... considering what happend with my skin with their last moisturizer sample, i'm skeptical. anyway, i'm willing to give this a shot since it does have a pretty sheen to it!
   repurchase? not likely
3. urban decay primer potion (original) -- the cult favorite.
   repurchase? will never need to, you could probably live on primer samples... i do!
4. verb ghost oil -- this has a very interesting scent. as far as function, it reminds me of living proof smoothing serum.
   repurchase? maybe
5. josie maran surreal skin argan finishing balm in etheric -- first off, let's talk about this joker of a sample. it's not even a full jar! let's also talk about quality control. this jar passed through at least two hands before getting to me. you'd think someone'd notice. not only that, just puruse instagram, lots of people did not get a full jar. anyway, complaints aside, this is an interesting product. there was a bit of clear fluid (the argan oil?) in there too so after mixing it together, as i'm assuming it separated, it's interesting and primer-balmy feeling. it's worth trying but be aware that their quality control for this was awful.
   repurchase? undecided
6. atelier cologne clémentine california -- i love pretty much all their fruity scents!
   repurchase? no, too expensive
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

march 2017 ipsy bag!

hi all! i'm late againnnnn. it's been a super busy month over here, and i'm just getting the chance to blog in peace! more details to come in my upcoming monthly planner update post. anyway, here's my march IPSY BAG* (theme: très jolie)   ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. eva nyc mane magic 10-in-1 primer -- this has a very strong argan oil scent, but it's really nice! try all the 'apply to damp hair' products! i can't wait to use it!
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
2. mudmasky facial detox purifying recovery mask -- i'm definitely interested in trying this out. mud masks are usually pretty good. this one has a slight honey and sunscreen-y type scent, which is a bit weird. i'll have to update further later.
• likelihood to repurchase: we'll have to see how my skin reacts..
3. tarte tartiest lip paint in rosé -- i'm not sure how i feel about this color. like it's bordering on what i usually like, but it has a touch of peach or orange that's making me not like it as much..
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe other shades
4. elizabeth mott blending brush -- yay for another crease brush in my favorite color! i like how stiff this is, it'll be great in the crease!
• likelihood to repurchase: maybe
5. dirty little secret cosmetics blush in kitty pink -- this is kind of a powdery blush, i'm not too sure on this one.. it leans more peach than i typically use, but not so much that i wouldn't use it. i'll have to try it out and see if i want to keep it.
• likelihood to repurchase: probably not
6. (points freebie) lather white clay deep pore cleansing mask -- this has a very spa mud type scent to it. kind of similar to the green loreal mask, but bit stronger.
• likelihood to repurchase: we'll see.
7. pale pink ipsy bag -- i really like the color and pattern, but not a huge fan of foldover clutch things, stylistically.

rosé, kitty pink

rosé

*Affiliate Link.

february hauls

hi guys! here's the last of the posts for now! haulllllls! ~Lin-chan ^.~
popsugar january must have (~$140 value)
goldfaden md fresh a peel multi acid resurfacing peel, may designs desk calendar & notecard, daily concepts your hair wrap towel, manduka equa mat towel in playa, sourcebooks, inc instant happy notes, dean & deluca peppermint loose leaf tea, glade atmosphere collection N°3 free - coconut and beach woods candle

sephora (multiple purchases) - urban decay anti-aging primer potion (on sale for $8!), too cool for school egg cream mask sheet mask, boscia peppermint blotting papers, kat von d tattoo liners in trooper and mad max brown, freebies: bobbi brown lipstick in sandwash pink, touch in sol metallist liquid foil lipstick in penny, urban decay vice liquid lipstick in amulet, tarte birthday gift tarteist lip paint in birthday suit and amazonian clay blush in paaarty

mad max brown, trooper, penny (liquid, gloss, liquid + gloss), amulet, sandwash pink, birthday suit, paaarty

bobbi brown sandwash pink

touch in sol penny - liquid

touch in sol penny - liquid + gloss

urban decay amulet

tarte birthday suit

planner stuff haul - target.com -- they had sets of things you can find in the dollar spot, so i went ahead and got the $15 unicorn set and the $10 fruit themed set.

february empties, makeup graveyard, & a food favorite!

hi guys! another late post, but here are my february empties, makeup graveyard products, and a food favorite. i didn't really have any favorite products this month, so i just included the food item here. ~Lin-chan ^.~

1. tree hut sugar scrubs in tropical mango and coconut lime
2. clinique clarifying lotion 3
3. skindinavia oil control setting spray
4. ecotools makeup brush shampoo
5. kat von d tattoo liner in mad max brown
6. it cosmetics no tug eyeliner in black
7. be a bombshell cosmetics blush in sweet cheeks
8. sonia kashuk eye makeup remover
9. members mark makeup remover wipes x2
10. biore charcoal pore minimizer -- first off, the packaging for this is awful. i appreciated the consistent dispensing of product, but it was too much if you use the full pump. second, it's the kind of packaging that it goes up as you use it, so it becomes top heavy and doesn't like to stand upright in the shower. no thanks. it didn't wash off the skin very easily either. it was ok to try, but no thanks.
    repurchase? no
11. aveeno therapeutic shave gel -- this is an interesting shave gel. it feels really nice on the skin, like the positively smooth variety, but it has no scent. my skin felt pretty comfortable after using, but there was something about it that i still liked the positively smooth better. i can't remember what it was though...
    repurchase? maybe
12. belif aqua bomb sheet mask -- this is an interesting product, it's a dry mask and you fold the package and press on it to moisten the mask. that being said, i had some difficulty getting the serum compartment to pop... but once i got it on, it felt very cooling and comfortable. as far as if i felt it did much...no not really. and for $8 each... yeah that's ok...
    repurchase? nah
13. cetaphil lotion -- this is a really thick lotion and didn't blend in very well. i wasn't a fan of the lightly sunscreen scent it had. not a fan.
    repurchase? no
14. trader joe's tea tree oil soap -- i recieved these as part of my christmas stocking, and they're ok. i'm not a huge fan of vegetable based soaps as far as using them, but whatever. as far as it having tea tree oil, it's meh. i mean i didn't feel like it helped my skin.
    repurchase? no
15. 7th heaven tea tree peel off mask -- this was definitely not as pictured. lol, green mask..no. it's a green tinted clear gel. and it's super awesome. it's very cooling and made my skin feel so much better after using. only issue i have with peel off masks is that it's difficult to spread them evenly enough that it dries down consistently. with that said, about 1/3 of it was too wet to take off, so i washed my face afterward. my face felt a bit weird for a bit afterward, like sticky-ish. but i really enjoyed using this.
    repurchase? yes!

makeup graveyard - did another pass through the closet (hence the two packs of wipes..), and realized a few liners went dry, this lip gloss smells a bit weird.. and this mascara is pretty old.

[not pictured] - secret ph balanced deodorant in shower fresh

food favorite - ajinomoto vegetable chow mein -- these are soo good. you get them in a box of 6 from sams in the freezer aisle, microwave for 3:30..not 3 minutes.. and they're super delish. they have sauce as well as non-typical vegetables...well typical for asian food, but you get what i mean.. anyway, really love these, they're super convenient, and they're in the shape of a bowl! in the photo below, i did not mix it yet, so that's how it looks out of the microwave!

february 2017 ipsy bag!

hi all! i'm suuuuper late, but here's my february IPSY BAG* (theme: #ipsy much love)! woot-woot!  ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. nyx butter lipstick in ripe berry (full size, ret. $5.99) -- i really like this formula a lot, it's very moisturizing and comfortable. this is a really pretty shade too.
• likelihood to repurchase: probably not, too many lippies in the stash...
2. luna by luna cosmetics highlighter in calypso (.3g--full size???, ret. $23 for ??) -- this is a really pretty highlight, and i can't wait to test it out!
• likelihood to repurchase: nah, i have a ton already..
3. biobelle sheet masks in #iwoke up like this & #stay gorgeous (1 mask each, ret. $4.99 each) -- gotta try these out some time!
• likelihood to repurchase: undecided
4. elizabeth mott whatup beaches matte bronzer (.7g--micro size, ret. $25 for 8g [$2.19]) -- what is with these guys and the microscopic bronzers.. i mean, you really can only use these as eyeshadows because of the size. anyway, this is pretty close to benefit hoola in color, but not the same pigmentation as far as i could tell. and for the price, just get hoola.
• likelihood to repurchase: no
5. luxie beauty rose gold blush brush 514 (full size, ret. $18) -- this is a pretty fluffy brush, not as dense as i usually like, but i'll give it a go.
• likelihood to repurchase: probably not this brush, but definitely others!
6. denim and orange ipsy bag -- it's cute.. probably will pass it along for someone else to use.
7. card with company info
• i skipped on the discount codes this time, for the sake of time to make this post. those codes take a lot of work to get, and really even if you're not an ipsy subscriber, as long as you have an ipsy account, you should have access to them. in the future, i may not keep recording all of these because they take a lot of time to collect on here.

approximate product value: ~$36 + highlighter = $40-50?

ripe berry, calypso, whatup beaches

ripe berry

*Affiliate Link.

february 2017: sephora play!

hi guys!!! sooo. like two weeks late, but here ya go: this month's sephora play! (theme: the soft side) ~Lin-chan ^.~

nars bound, too faced milkshake, clinique pep-start, origins ginzing

nars bound

1. clinique pep-start hydroblur moisturizer (.24oz--mini, $29.50 for 1.7oz [$4.16]) -- i'm interested in trying this out, considering their ddmg is my favorite!
   repurchase? undecided
2. too faced lip injection glossy in milkshake (.03oz--mini, ret. $22 for .14oz [$4.71]) -- this is super plumping.. like i put it on before the lip swatch above and yeahhh... i'm not a huge fan of this product because it has a bit of a burning sensation -- but you know it's working! and the color is kina meh, the sparkle is whatever--which is why i didn't feel the need to photograph lip swatches... anyway, this is getting passed along.
   repurchase? no
3. nars velvet lip glide in bound (.07oz--mini, ret. $26 for .2oz [$9.10]) -- this is a really pretty color. i'm not sure that it'd stick around if you eat or drink, but i like this shade.
   repurchase? undecided
4. origins ginzing (.17oz--mini, ret. $30 for .5oz [$10.20]) -- for a while, i really liked this eye cream, but eventually i was kind of ehhh about it. i feel like there's nothing better than the tarte maracuja eye cream for my skin.
   repurchase? nah
5. sephora collection laashcraft length + volume mascara in noir (.094oz--mini, ret. $12 for .33oz [$3.42]) -- i haven't had a chance to actually try it on the eyes, but the wand is pretty interesting. think if you were looking at it from the tip, it's like a rectangle shape. so like two sides are flat and two sides are rounded like a standard wand... very interesting!
   repurchase? undecided
6. marc jacobs divine decadence (sample, ret. $72 for 1oz) -- i think it's ok. like it's nice, but i won't wear it.
   repurchase? no
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

approximate product value: ~$32

erin condren hourly life planner - my february

hi guys! i'm super late on posting again! next, i'll be working on getting my mid-month posts done, followed by my usual end of month posts. but this one was the easiest for me to get done, so here it is! ~Lin-chan ^.~

monthly calendar spread

week 1

week 2: guess who's getting certified, like for realz guys? so i got my exam voucher, and will be taking my exam soon! and by the way for the next several weeks, the 'lunch and learn' or 'l & l' things on the planner are for study sessions for the exam.

week 3: sooo. team unity and stuff? i think i mentioned before that lately they've wanted us to get together with people in the office with the same client... so as part of the 'social committee' ..i know right? we decided to go to a pool hall for an evening to hang out. it was pretty fun and we had at least 75% turnout, which was good too.

week 4

notes page: so i mentioned it on my instagram, but i decided to make a late 'year in pixels' page. for the first couple days, i used pens.. but then they started bleeding through and it's slightly hard to tell the difference in the colors, so i switched to colored pencils.