erin condren hourly life planner - my august

hi guys! so august. it's almost over. but in other news, we're one more month closer to closing on our house! w00t! ~Lin-chan ^.~
like last time, i wanted to chat again, but not too much.. i got another interesting email. one where the person found the blog through my instagram, asking about increasing my brand. as an employee in the business world, yeah this is a discussion that happens a lot. how to increase your brand to be more marketable to clients, yadda yadda. anyway, for this blog though....as mentioned last time, this blog is a [not so] creative outlet for me. with that, i don't want to think of it as work. for a little while i did, and when i started working it became too much and i didn't feel like it. but on the topic of brand, i do think that changing the name of this blog and rebranding it would be an option in the future. i'm just not sure when and need to further evaluate the idea. i mean come on, this screenname is something i made up in like 4th grade in the 90s. back then, the internet wasn't so widespread and scams where everywhere. anyway, i got 'scouted' at the mall by a supposed talent agency. i don't know if it was a real one or not, but in hindsight, i don't feel like they did anything for me anyway. regardless, that is the history of my screenname, it was my aol instant messanger handle when aim was where the cool kids were.
on another note, two more of my onboarding people left this month, and i have linkedin to thank for that, or i otherwise would not have known.... anyway, so that brings our numbers down to 9 based out of our office and 1 who moved to a different location out of 20.

monthly calendar spread: this month, i got my spread from MyNewestAddiction. it's super pretty and i love how it has the mini calendar for september.

week 1: we got sides and roof!

week 2: two people from our client's office came to visit for the week, and we ended up hanging out with them for nearly 3 days straight. it was crazy, but it was nice getting to know them and finally meeting them in person. also, since it was crazy birthday madness week, my inlaws decided they wanted to do a combined painting party. so that was pretty cool. also, i forgot to add it to the spread before photographing, but we got walls!

week 3

week 4: forgot to mark off eclipse day before photographing, but soo neat!

notes page: didn't take a photo this time since i didn't use this space. but the quote for this month is: sometimes you win sometimes you learn

august 2017 ipsy bag!

hi all! as mentioned in my sephora play! post, i was slacking last week, but i'm sitting down and going to get these posts done! anyway, here's my august IPSY BAG* (theme: good vibes only). ~Lin-chan ^.~

here's my impressions:

1. aurora pro cover up concealer in 49 balmy beige -- so it's funny how in my sephora play, i got a foundation that i'm not sure if it's too light or somehow magically the correct shade...this is the opposite. this seems darker than my shade, but also somehow magically correct? i'm not sure. i think i will try using this more and see if i can give you a better opinion.
• repurchase: undecided
2. leaders sheet masks in pore gone for good & what happened last night? -- ugh, i have soo many sheet masks now and i have been lazy about using them! these'll be used eventually, but no guarantees it'll be before my yearly ipsy post.
• repurchase: undecided
3. theBalm balmVoyage vol. 2 eyshadow in kuwakaribisha -- i have been pretty content recently with receiving sample shadows from their various palettes as opposed to buying a full theBalm palette. is that crazy? and the shades i've been sent (by ipsy) are pretty much up my alley. this is a really pretty champagne highlight shade, and i'm not sure how much i see myself reaching for this particular product considering all the eyeshadows i already have, but if i had a smaller collection i can see myself using this regularly in the inner corner and maybe browbone.
• repurchase: the palette -- nah
4. crown brush SS035 medium face contour brush -- this brush does not feel that great. the handle feels very cheap, you can feel the seams on the plastic, and super lightweight, making the brush feel unbalanced and not weighted properly. that aside, the bristles are very soft and dense. size-wise, i don't think this will be a great contour size for me, but i can see myself using this as a liquid foundation brush, if the bristles are up to that challenge.
• repurchase: not likely
5. pacifica coconut blush duo in beaming & tenderheart -- i think i might pass this one along. pacifica makeup has always been pretty hit or miss for me. beaming (i'm assuming is the left one) is an okish color. not really a contour color but not really a blush either. and it's super light, you'd have to build it up. tenderheart (assumingly the right) is a nice light rosy shade, but swatches awfully patchy and i don't think it'll last very long. packaging-wise though, it's pretty interesting. it's your typical inexpensive but durable plastic, but the backside has a mirror on it, with no kind of protection to keep it from breaking. weird, right?
• repurchase: nah
6. points freebie: margaret dabbs crystal nail file -- i redeemed for this with the intention of leaving it in my pen cup on my desk (in it's sleeve of course) so that i have a file easily accessible. testing it out, it's not too bad. i have had a few 'crystal' nail files in the past, and i still have mixed feelings on them, between effectiveness and durability. but if i'm not using it frequently, it should be fine.
7. wild & free purple-pink ombre ipsy bag -- i'm not sure about it having 'wild & free' written on it, but the ombre colors are pretty.

balmy beige, kuwakaribisha, beaming, tenderheart

*Affiliate Link.

august 2017: sephora play!

hi guys!!! i'm finally taking the time to sit down and get some posts done! i wasn't feeling it last week, so i appologize there. but let's get onto this month's sephora play! (theme: the innovators) ~Lin-chan ^.~

hourglass foundation in shell, korres golden krocus

1. beautyblender micro.mini -- this is now my third? sample of one of these.. i still haven't used the first, gave away the second, and now i'm probably going to give away this third one. while i like beautyblender as a sponge brand, i'm just not into using sponges. i really should use my first one similar to how i use the real techniques eraser and see how it fares, since i don't really plan on using this lil guy on concealer.
   repurchase? undecided
2. clinique mascara duo with lash building primer & high impact mascara -- i think i'm going to give this away for a friend to try. i've used this mascara before, i can't remember about the primer, and i did like it. i think my thing though is that there's a lot of really good mascaras between maybelline, covergirl, and loreal that are better value for your money.
   repurchase? maybe
3. hourglass vanish seamless finish foundation stick in shell -- i'm so uncertain about this shade i received! like it seems kind of light on me relative to my foundation color, but it seemed to blend in perfectly fine on my face. i'm so confused! i'll have to use more of this to give you a better report, probably in an empties or something.
   repurchase? undecided
4. korres golden krocus ageless saffron elixir -- this reminds me a tooon of the farsali serums. just saying. and the price point? also way up there. i think i will actually give this a fair shot, but i doubt i'll see miracles happen.
   repurchase? nah
5. alterna haircare miracle multiplying volume mist -- i honestly don't have a volume problem. my hair is pretty thick as it is. while i love alterna's caviar line, i think i'll pass this along to someone with thinner hair.
   repurchase? nah
6. burberry my burberry -- this one's a little too florally, powdery, and something else for me.. not into it.
   repurchase? nah
7. 'coupon' for an extra 50 points on the next in-store purchase

july hauls - planner and makeup

hi guys! i'm a few days late on this one. haven't been feeling like doing much of anything after coming home from work lately, so i'm trying to catch up now. i haven't decided if i'm doing a dedicated july favorites post yet or not, but it'll likely be a couple more days before i get around to it if i do. ~Lin-chan ^.~

i can't remember the reasoning for placing this order, but i bought quite a few repeat skincare items (not pictured) along with two of the new loreal cleansers to try. and for spending all the monies, there were three choices of sample bags. of the three this one had more things in it that i would be inclined to use, though one of the others had something i really wanted to try but everything else was meh. anyway, i'm keeping most of the items included here and passing others along to friends.

so. amazon prime day. i ended up placing maybe 4 separate orders throughout prime day and these bath bombs were one of them. having them in person, they're quite small, probably smaller than lush's butterball (which is among their smallest). but i wanted to try them nonetheless.
i went to lush! it's been a looong time since i've bought myself something from there, hasn't it?! i was actually getting a few items for my mil and sil's upcoming birthdays, and got myself a the experimenter which i haven't tried, twilight, and intergalactic. while there, i mentioned wanting to pick up a wiccy magic muscles and the girl showed me the 93,000 miles shower jelly, which has the same scent. now, i have mixed feelings about the execution and usage of shower jellies, but i decided to pick one up anyway.

i can't remember if i mentioned it or not, but i got a ton fewer birthday coupon emails this year. but i don't remember if that's partially because i intentionally unsubscribed from a lot of websites over the past year or not. anyway, urban decay was among those that i did not receive. so late june or so, they sent me a 'omg we forgot your birthday' email. a few months late, but better late than never! and the gift was quite nice. they sent out a full size of their sin highligher. i still have a sample from a previous box or something that i've been neglecting... anyway, i'll hold onto this for now but i'm not sure if i'll keep it or not. and for that order, i bought an eyeshadow in tonic because all of the unicorns.
sigma also sent me an offer i couldn't refuse: free copper F80 with purchase. heck to the yes. so i ordered their new F83 brush (which is denser and thicker in diameter than their past kabukis), and to get the free gift at $30, i added this eyeliner in nutmeg, which is a pretty color. the free gift isn't pictured because i plan to give it away.

nutmeg, sin, tonic

placed another order with skindinavia because i'm running out. they frequently have discounts and free minis with purchase, so i got 20% off on the 8oz oil control setting spray, plus minis in their regular setting spray and primer spray.
sephora did something a little different this year. they sent out a $20 off $100 coupon to rouge members for the vib program anniversary or something.. anyway, i actually ordered one more thing, but it was cancelled for being out of stock. thankfully they still charged me accordingly with the $20 off. i didn't really need anything at the time they sent this coupon out, but i got a new pair of kat von d tattoo liners, and i wanted to try these peace out acne dots to compare them to the peter thomas roth ones. just for starters, there's a huge price difference, but i'll eventually talk about my thoughts on them. and for 100 points, i got this makeup forever aqua xl color paint in M56. i forgot to swatch it, but there's swatches on the sephora page for it. i still haven't fully decided my thoughts on it yet.

planner stuffs -- here's the link to my etsy list of purchased planner stuff
placed a couple more orders with thecoffeemonsterzco and oncemorewithlove. my spring PBC sale order from omwl never came, so marg worked with me to try reordering most of the missing sheets.

annd got some goodies from mynewestaddiction! so pretteh!

july empties, hit pans, and makeup graveyard!

hi guys! it's august already?! that's crazy! but in other news, that means my house will be finished that much sooner..? lol. something like that.. anyway, hope you had a great july and onto my trash. ~Lindsay-chan ^.~

1. member's mark makeup remover wipes
2. tree hut sugar scrub in coconut lime
3. clinique ddm gel
4. clinique clarifying lotion 3
5. aveeno positively smooth shave gel
6. neutrogena (clear) shampoo
7. biore baking soda pore cleanser
8. maybelline fit me matte+poreless foundation in 120
9. maybelline baby skin primer
10. the body shop tea tree oil
11. rimmel stay matte translucent powder
12. it cosmetics bye bye under eye concealer in light
13. benefit hoola lite
14. estee lauder double wear light in intensity 2.0
15. it cosmetics bye bye under eye cream -- this was definitely worth the try and vast amount of samples i received. and while i did like this, i'm not sure if it was as great as tarte's. i think this one is a better warmer weather type product, and tarte is better for colder weather and dryer spots.
    repurchase? nah
16. christophe robin sea salt hair scrub -- i almost didn't try this sample when i got it in my sephora play box, but i thoroughly enjoyed using this. i got maybe 5-6 uses out of this jar, which i was impressed by. so it's not super obvious by the label on the packaging and no i didn't write it's actual name here, but it's a salt scrub for your hair. whaat? anyway, this has some pretty coarsely ground salt particles in a sort of shampoo gel hybrid that lathers amazingly. this also has a nice scent, but borders on salon smell, if that's not your preference.
    repurchase? yes
17. shea moisture jamaican black castor oil styling lotion -- this thing lasted eternity and a half. and i have long hair. anyway, i really enjoyed the scent of this and how it'd make my hair feel once dry, but i'm not sure if i'd go back for another just because it didn't overly wow me.
    repurchase? nah
18. benjabelle brush cleansing balm -- i love my benjabelle brush tree, broken and hot glued legs and all! (replacement legs are $10 but i'm lazy..) but this balm was just ok. this product does work and it does clean brushes, but i was pretty indifferent about using it for some reason. i primarily used this on precision and eye brushes just because it was easier and more manageable that way.
    repurchase? nah
19. caress tahitian renewal body wash -- so you guys know i love my caress and tone body washes. they're inexpensive and they're the formula that i like. this however was annoying to use. this has pomegranate seeds (presumably ground ones) and it made it pretty difficult to dispense. like i was barely 1/4 through the bottle and i'd have to keep the bottle on its side or upside down to make it less annoying to get out. i'm not sure if that was what was clogging the cap or if the gel like formula of this that was doing that. on a different note, it's really nice and fruity!
    repurchase? not this scent
20. peter thomas roth clear acne dots -- so this packet contains 12 dots, and it's 24 for $12 which is a good deal relative to the peace out acne dots i just bought (more on those later...) at first, i wasn't sure if these were doing much, but after using several, i think they were. i typically wore these overnight and peeled them off in the morning, and by the end of the day or next, blemishes be gone! some complaints about these, they're clear and comfortable, and you may forget about them. but they are super matte and slightly shiny, so you'll see them. and second, they're difficult to remove from the plastic. like not super difficult, but i'd often curl the edge underneath and stick it to itself when i am first trying to apply it. so just be aware. and they are relatively easy to peel back up and re-position if necessary.
    repurchase? undecided
21. yes to tomatoes detoxifying charcoal mud mask -- i honestly don't remember much about this mask. i want to say i broke out a day or two later, but that's kind of expected with something that's 'detoxifying', lol.
    repurchase? undecided
22. leaders labotica green tea sheet mask -- i don't remember this one either... >.< i'll just say, if it didn't leave a lasting impression, it was just whatever.
    repurchase? nah
23. sky organics bath bombs (adult) gift set -- for the price, i think that this is a great value. the thing about this set that made me only think it was ok was the variety of scents. i think it's a good variety, but for me personally, i don't like certain scents so i wasn't as huge of a fan when using some. i can't remember which ones, but i felt like several had faint scents. not that i was expecting strong scents from these, but after a few minutes i no longer really noticed them. conversely, maybe 2 of them were pretty strong and smelled awesome...whichever ones those were... and as a whole, the box arrives smelling awesome. these came individually shrink wrapped with paper labels wrapped around each one with the scent names.
    repurchase? nah, but i'm interested in the kid's set
24. anastasia brow wiz in chocolate x2 -- i got two samples of this and these samples were kinda awful. like in packaging as well as color, since i'm my brows aren't chocolate... anyway, brow wiz is good, but kind of expensive for what you get.
    repurchase? nah
25. living proof prime style extender spray -- i'm not sure i felt that this did much. like it was nice to spritz into damp hair, but i often used it at night so i didn't really see much of a difference than the other products i use..
    repurchase? nah
26. butter london double decker lashes mascara -- this is a pretty good mascara. i was quite surprised since i've never really used much from butter london aside from their nail polishes. anyway, it did all the things i like, volume and separation.
    repurchase? maybe
27. candles!
1. glade No3
2. the candle crate dutch apple crisp -- how long ago did i buy this? so long that it looks like she's only selling locally now, and i ain't goin to canada to buy more. which is sad because i really liked this one, but alas.
3. fleur de lis candle -- i received this as a gift a couple years ago and it was half and half purple and gold wax in a vanilla type scent. it was really yummy and warm, but i'm not sure where i could get another.

hit pan:

1. makeup geek baby face
2. benefit rockateur blush -- i'm in the try to finish everything before moving mode, so i realized i was getting pretty close with this one and i ended up hitting pan on it. i'm going to continue to use it regularly until it's done. i'm not sure if i'll repurchase or not. like it's pretty but it's not super amazing (anymore, lol!)
   repurchase? undecided

makeup graveyard - cnd air dry topcoat -- i cannot remember if i even used this twice. did i even use this once? look at this thing! i was digging through my drawer and noticed that this dried into a gelatinous solid blob. kinda sad, but i've probably had it a while....