2018 beautylish lucky bag!

hi guys! today i bring you my 2018 beautylish lucky bag, which arrived about mid-January. i was pretty surprised by this year's selection--in a good way, but also slightly disappointed in that i got 1 repeat product (from two years ago) that a lucky friend will be getting. otherwise i'm happy with the purchase. ~Lin-chan ^.~

prism palette, swatched on bare skin
lucid, eden, unity, sphinx, osiris, sphere, obsidian
dimension, parallel, pyramid, throne, saturn, eternal, lure

skinny dip, chrysanthemum

1. anastasia beverly hills prism palette -- this is such a fun looking palette! i definitely wouldn't have picked this up on my own because there's too many 'crazy' colors in it. i did want to give it a swatch for myself, but i'm going to pass this along. based on my swatching alone, all the really pretty (in the pan) shimmery shades were super glittery and the fall out... the mattes were pretty nice too, except for the black and yellow. those weren't that good. if they come out with singles, i'd probably get throne, eternal, and lure. otherwise, i'm not totally sure if i like the color selection in here. we've got two very similar glitters (osiris and dimension), two very similar mattes (eden and saturn), a random bright ass yellow, and a black that's not that pigmented but i guess could be used for darkening..? i do think that the shade names are pretty fitting with the whole pyramid theme.
2. wayne goss brow brush set -- this is a repeat for me.
3. oribe dry texturizing spray -- so this is like an alternative to dry shampoo? so the bottle makes it seem. i'll give it a try. spraying a little into the top, i didn't see any color and it stayed wet for quite a bit. the scent wasn't too bad either.
4. the ordinary. caffeine solution -- this is like a depuffing eye gel or something? seems interesting. i used this once or twice so far and don't have an opinion yet.
5. jouer powder highlighter in skinny dip -- this is such a pretty powder! i can't wait to try it on my face!
6. jeffree star velour liquid lipstick in chrysanthemum -- i can't decide how i feel about this shade. in different lights, it looks fine, in others, it's the brightest peach ever. i'm not sure if i didn't use enough or what, but it seems slightly patchy. i'm also not sure if the shimmer in it gives the illusion of patchiness or not. once it dries down, the shimmer's not as noticeable. as expected with using the same lab as someone else, the formula's really nice and long wearing. i have been wanting to try this brand for ages now, but i just haven't yet because i haven't seen enough swatches on people with similar skintones as myself -- i probably will if i look harder... but i have too many lippies to not go through right now.
7. sulwhasoo first care activation mask -- i didn't realize beautylish had sheet masks online! i can't wait to try this!

approximate product value: ~$180

mini review - omaha steaks order

hi guys! so because this post was easy to throw together, it's getting priority. anyway, last month we were doing some last minute christmas shopping, aka my dad is very difficult to shop for, and we decided to try some too! i'm calling this a mini review, because i don't know all the details about this order and i'm not a huge steak cuts connoisseur. (ribeye all the way!) firstly, i have no idea what the name of this bundle (or dad's) was, paul ordered these. i do recall this bundle being around $60 plus whatever the shipping charge was, but again i don't pay the credit card bills 😉.

ok details... details... if i recall, this shipped incredibly fast (once it was dispatched, was it from texas..? 🤔) and arrived on the promised/selected day. it was packaged similar to how i have it pictured below, sans showing our address, lol. it came in a very nice foam igloo, packed with dry ice (which was almost completely melted when we got it), and shrink wrapped.

i'm not sure if their 'signature seasoning' is included with every order, or just the bundle we got, but it's a cute mini bottle. the seasoning blend isn't something super amazing, but it is a nice touch. the meats themselves were frozen. so they definitely were not going to be bad by the time we got them. prior to them arriving (and negligence on my part for not reading the site), i was under the impression that they were raw/thawed, not frozen. but that's not a huge problem. our bundle included 4 of the following: apple tartlets, pork & beef franks, beef burgers, polynesian pork chops, and top sirloins (is that what those were..?).

1. apple tartlets -- omg, these were awesome. not anything special that you'd have to order from them, but they were super awesome out of the oven. there were huge chunks of sugar crystals on top, the crust was a little flaky, and warm apple goodness. yuuum.
2. franks -- paul really liked these, i thought they were pretty normal. granted, i've never been huge on hot dogs and only eat them on occasion.
3. burgers -- i'm not sure if it was because we were super hungry or what, but our first two were so delicious. they were a little small for the pack of 4 buns we bought (yes we found a 4 pack!!), but hey, whatever. the second two came out pretty good as well, but not as amazing as the first ones.
4. pork chops -- these weren't something to write home about, but they were in a really good and familiar asian sauce. my great grandmother used to make/use a sauce very similar to this, but i couldn't place what it was to even be able to ask her. i will say that this was a bit saltier than i would have liked, but not overly so. i also liked that these were boneless pork chops. my mom used to get bone-in ones all the time, and they were really annoying to cut around.
5. steaks -- these were ok, i'm more for a fattier steak, like ribeyes. but as i mentioned above, i don't really tend to try other cuts of steak much. it was good beef. 😊

would we order again? heck yes, but maybe not for everything we got in this bundle. ~Lindsay

notw/review - nails inc rainbow wishes on false nails

edit: see my updated thoughts in a later post!

hi guys! i'm interrupting my regularly behind scheduled posting catch-up routine (as mentioned here) to bring you something i recently posted about on my instagram. i've been slowly catching up on my youtube watch later backlog...i somehow got it down to 1 video (which is wongfu's single by 30 bloopers until i actually watch the rest of the series...) last month, and now it's back up to like 50+ because i work. anyway that's beside the point, i was watching a video by bailey b and on a whim ordered fake nails from the brand on her amazon list maybe two weeks ago as well as some brush-on nail glue.
polishes used: cnd stickey base coat, 2 coats nails inc. rainbow wishes, 1 coat essie gel couture topcoat

"short" coffin false nails in natural ~$7
these were great once i got them to the length i like! as mentioned in the below IG post, these were supposed to be short coffin nails, but these are definitely long by more than just my standards. but they were easy to file and trim down (i used a 'normal' larger-sized nail clipper) and i was able to get them to the perfect length (right around the length of impress brand short sized nails). i wore these for about 9 days with no signs of chipping or wear, which is freaking amazing. this includes dish washing (without gloves), gardening (with gloves), hand washing, cooking, and working. unfortunately i lost one while sleeping and can't find it 😭, so i took them all off today. anyway, i always got annoyed by expensive nail polishes lasting me only a day or so. after using these, i think the problem is more of me and my nail type. my nails are pretty thin, sometimes flaky, and often bend and break. then considering my previous job of 7 years, i was breaking them constantly while tracing cable in telecom closets or navigating under the floor (because i was the smallest 😉) in search of said cabling's endpoints. these days, i just sit at my computer 10 hours a day and never walk around because who does that?! (lol) anyway, bottom line, i appreciate that these made me feel like i could maintain a manicure for more than a couple days, and gave length and strength that i don't otherwise have. pictured below are my sizes (3, 5, 6, 7, 9). i'll have to play around with it, but i think one of my thumbs might be more of a 2... not sure yet. at the very least, this package has a gazillion, so you could always practice nail art or swatch on the ones that aren't your size! and it's so cheap!
these get a 4.5/5 mostly because of the length i received.

kiss brush-on nail glue (2pk) ~$8
pictured below is only one bottle out of its packaging, but it was a two pack. i was kind of disappointed by this glue. whatever they sell with their gel fantasy press on nail kits is great! that stuff usually lasts me 4 days or so before the nails get loose and come off. this stuff, some nails stayed all 9 days without regluing. some came off 2-3 times each, one of which came off in less than 24 hours. i will say though that the ones on my right hand (i'm a righty!) tended to come off more frequently than the left, which is probably to be expected. i will give it some props back though because i liked the application and ease of use with the brush as opposed to the tube included in the nail kits.
for now, these get a 3.5/5 because of the weird wear time, but i liked the application.

Painted my nails 💅🏻 for the first time in...forever, after getting these in! This packaging is super confused.. I ordered short coffin nails, but they’re long and short? 🤨 I filed them down some, but I’ll have to try trimming them next time since these are a lot longer than I’m used to. Used Nails Inc rainbow wishes!

A post shared by LindsayCH (@lindsaydamodel) on Jan 20, 2018 at 10:10pm PST

~Lindsay

review: nume curl jam set - tri-effect curling wand

hi guys! i'm tired of pushing this post further and further back. so i'm just publishing this nearly as-is, because i'm never going to get around to finishing this post, ever. and i do believe that this post, to some degree, has value. i have removed the original photos from this post because they appear to be broken (too lazy to find them), but you can probably see photos of it in the below linked posts (which i have updated). i am aware that the interchangable curling wand has changed significantly and actually makes sense now. the barrels twist on and off the wand instead of clipping on and never detaching in the most awful fashion. so here y'all go. 2013-14 me. enjoy. ~Lindsay

[i bought this]

hi all. so all the way back last march, i ordered the nume curl jam set. i had a coupon, and paid $74+12ship ($86) on top for this set. well, when i ordered it, it was major back ordered and didn't actually arrive until the later part of may. to my surprise, they included a free thermal pouch and their moisturizing shampoo & conditioner in my package.

when i first ordered this set, i was torn between the curl jam set and the 4play. i decided on this set because there was an extra barrel in the 4play that was an "ok, whatever" to me (the reverse 9-13mm) and the curl jam had a flat iron and only the three barrels. the flat iron in this set was originally intended to be my chi's replacement (see post here), but it took forever to arrive and i've decided that i'm just going to keep one here and one at the in-law's so i don't have to worry about bringing one back and forth whenever i want to straighten my hair.

*[note: my hair is naturally straight to wavy.]
note: i think they've changed the style of the multi-barrel curling irons to twist off. for mine, you have to pinch the buttons and pull them off.

so, on to the review!

tri-effect curling wand: i used it at 200°C (=392°F, the highest setting). the lowest temp setting is 50°C. i love how it tells you if it's on or off. if it's off and plugged in, it will display "off". if it's on, it will light up green and display the current temperature. if you begin hitting the up button, it will flash red. also, in the lower left corner, there's a bar to show it's progress.

1. 19mm barrel:
2. 25mm barrel:
3. 32mm barrel: i don't think i'll use this one all that much--on myself. whenever i used it, it looked exactly the same as when i let my hair air dry. and that's kinda lame.
4. glove: i really enjoy this glove. if you get really close to the iron, you will feel the warmth,  but you definitely won't be burned through the glove. i don't think it'd necessarily be a good idea to hold the heated iron directly in the glove, but it does feel like a pretty solid glove compared to the one that came with my hot tools tapered iron.
5. overall: i do not like how it is in Celsius, see further details below in my overall opinion of the curl jam set.


6. overall for the curl jam set:
1. i do not understand who came up with the temperature settings on these tools. it's horrendous. who decided that the curling wand should be in Celsius and the flat iron should be in Fahrenheit? like really, really?! i understand that they sell to both the US and Canada, but both [or perhaps all] tools should be in the same temperature scale. it was really fun trying to gauge the temperature i needed for the curling wand when i first used it.
1. i think that this set is worth it for the most part. if you're in the market for a flat iron, i think you should look elsewhere, but i do like the tri-effect wand, which you can purchase separately.

erin condren hourly life planner - my december

hi guys! please bear with me here as i catch up on all of my end of month (and end of year) posts! i'm working on getting them done! ~Lindsay ^.~

monthly calendar spread: another awesome one from Dook Plook Designs!

week 1: soo. i got promoted again... how'd that happen?! anyway that was cool. went to teh paul's office's christmas party, and guess what! we won a raffle prize again this year. the value was comparable to what we got last year (a home depot gift card). we ended up returning the item, because it's not something either of us would use, but we definitely used the home depot store credit we got for it! also, if you haven't had a cajun kringle, you're missing out. those things are like $15, and to order one online, it was like $45!! that's crazy, especially considering how far away i live. so i picked it up in person. my team loved it!

week 2: it snowed. like legit snow falling for almost a full day. that. never. happens. here, ever. on a lesser note, due to certain occurrences in the prior week and after several months of being nagged to, someone got our security system ordered and installed.

week 3: so, bubz's book. i read the entire first part one night and loved it so much that i bought 3 physical copies for two friends and a cousin. i have yet to pick it up again -- partially because i got the kindle version, and i've always had problems reading ebooks (and yes, back in the day, i attempted to read a few different books on project gutenberg before smartphones existed). this week, we also had our team dinner, which was pretty fun. it was weird because our manager was out of town at the client site, but his manager came. it was really nice talking with him and reflecting on the good things (achievements) that happened to each of us this year. then for the first time in the [short] history of our office, we had an office-wide off-site after-hours [alcohol-served] party. 😯 one of my coworkers volunteered her new photobooth business to the party and it was awesome.

week 4: to anyone that happens upon this post, no we haven't figured out if or when we're doing a housewarming party. we were waiting til after the holidays, but my grandparents requested it'd be after they return from their vacation, and mardi gras, and chinese new year, and then my birthday'll be here before we know it. so i have no clue how we want to coordinate all that. in other news, harry and david pears are the perfect gift! gotta get some every year! annnd we went and saw star wars..and mixed feelings. i didn't grow up on the series, so i'm not as invested as some people into the franchise, but what. was. that. 😕

week 5: the last week of the year. the last week of the apartment. ten and a half years of my own apartment(s) had ended. wow! but i'm so glad i'm away from all that craziness!

where i've been, 2017 reflections & 2018 goals

hi guys! it's been a while, about a month to be exact! between the holidays, work, being sick, cleaning and returning our apartment, having a new house, it's been a busy month-ish.

it has been nagging at the back of my mind that i've been neglecting this thing, but at the same time, a one month hiatus is not actually that long. and it's been nice not being super proactive and thinking about it. every so often i'll throw stuff onto my desk because i need to swatch it, or take photos, or something. my desk got cluttered and everything got shoved into a sephora bag. with that, i'm not using stuff because it's sitting on my desk in a bag! which is bad. gradually throughout the month, i have been photographing items and swatches in anticipation for making posts, but just haven't been posting. thankfully today, i finally sat down and spent a few hours going through and editing photos, sprucing up some old posts (not that much really), taking more photos, and prepping myself for all of my end of year (and end of month) posts that i've missed. i also dumped the bag across my desk to make sure i get it done! i hate messy workspaces. it'll be a bit before i'm fully caught up with my usual posts, so please bear with me!

onto the reflections and goals.

2017 was pretty good. not as hectic as 2016, that's for sure. 2016, i was on my first client project for a technology i was not super familiar with. two years later, i'm more comfortable working with it, which is great both for me and the client. a good bit of 2017 was focused on the house. we finally have a house! homeowners! a lot of stress was on saving enough for the down payment. meaning, we couldn't do anything fun or exiting last year because we couldn't afford it. the great thing about the builder we chose was that when we chose this house, we only had to put down a deposit for the lot/style of house we wanted. that was it. no down payment til closing. that is great! so for the months of march through mid-october, we had given them less than $2000 between the reservation and going over the allowed amount of add-ons that could be rolled into our loan. then mid-end of october came along, and we pretty much put down the equivalent of my yearly salary. that is a lot. i can't tell you how much we've spent on other house-related things in the past three months. thankfully, i'm not the one in charge of the credit cards. hehehe. but it's been one thing after another with this house. i fully intend to have a 1 year house update in october or november. but it's been expense after expense, little trip to lowes or home depot here and there. a little bed bath and beyond there. get a security system. pay home owner's association fees. fence request to the HOA. hire fence people. badger the poor builder man that my cabinet wasn't replaced when they said it was supposed to be done. apply for permits to even have a security system that the security people waited 3 weeks after installation to tell us that said permits were required by the parish (that's a county for you non-Louisianians).
enough life stuff. as for the blog, i think i did fairly well, keeping up with when things have come in to post about them. which is good. i'm not sure i can say i will be able to keep up the same consistency for 2018, but we'll have to see. i have been posting to instagram pretty irregularly recently. like i've gotten all kinds of planner stickers recently, but haven't felt the need to make like a bulk photo post of it. kind of because it feels like it's becoming too late to do so, yet at the same time, i will be posting about it on the blog, so it's whatever. i'm still taking photos as i get them, but yeah...

i'm never really good about making new year's resolutions, so i primarily just make some general blog goals. it's kind of fun seeing if i actually kept them up or not, especially since i can easily search the blog and find the original post again. anyway, that's beside the point. this year i have a few things i'd like to do that i've had in mind the past several weeks. i'd also like to note that all resolutions related posts or videos i've seen lately include at least some of these, which is helping reinforce the idea that i should actually do them.

1. be a more informed consumer. you don't need that new thing that no one's talked about from an unknown brand. just wait for someone (that you follow online) to say something about it.
1. you don't need every color of that thing either. just get the one(s) that you foresee yourself actively using.
2. with this, saving money will be easier. (or will it, because planner stickers are so stinkin cute?!)
2. save money, stay within budget. i've had a lot of trouble with this one since ever, really. last year's penny challenge, lol that was a joke. and guess what i'm doing this year, the 52 week challenge. please help me now! granted, my budget this year is higher than before, so i theoretically should be able to do this. right now, the plan is to gradually save the amount i intended to save for the penny challenge plus the amount for this year's 52 week challenge. december will definitely be difficult! the ways i'm currently trying to alleviate are to save what i need for the 52 week challenge, spend under budget, and save any remaining.
3. actively go through your makeup stash. things expire, why would you let it sit unused?
1. start an actual rotation of products. don't think about doing it, do it! for things like mascara and liquid liners, try to keep only 1 or two in use at a time.
1. if you're not reaching for certain products regularly, get rid of them. return them (if possible) or pass them along. there's no sense in keeping them if someone else can use them before they go bad.
2. that thing that you have, why keep it if you don't like it?!
4. get rid of that sample stash! i have a huge stash of sample hair products and travel sized things. this one will be a slightly harder goal to achieve, as i am not ready to quit my ipsy or sephora subscriptions, but i definitely want to get rid of my shampoo/conditioner, leave-in's, body wash and lotion stash.
1. if you actually want to try all the things!, then alternate them in with your regularly used items. if you don't like them, it's only one day "lost". get over it.
5. finish those unfinished posts! that video you promised from the 2016 cruise you went on? yeah, where is it? part one was like 2 days of the trip, that was it. that's not everything!! that nume curling wand post that you've pushed off for 4 YEARS now? publish it, get it out of the way! (note: it is scheduled to be published soon. prior to me working on this post.)

i hope you all had a happy new year and have a great 2018! ~Lindsay