over 3 months of empties, makeup graveyard, and a hit pan!

hi guys! it took me a bit to get this post up...sorry about that! between work stress, and new video games, 😊 the blog went on the back burner....annnnd i had several items that were on their way out and just decided to wait and do one massive empties post. over 3.5 months worth!😱 anyway, i apologize in advance for not remembering feelings on certain items..because well, it's been a while, lol! ~Lindsay

ALL. of. the. sheet masks!

1. tony moly tea tree (x6)
2. tony moly red wine
3. tony moly tako pore nose packs (x2)
4. tony moly 3 step strawberry nose pack
5. peace out acne dots (x2 = 1 box)
6. sephora collection shea lip mask
7. ulta lip mask cranberry & pomegranate -- if i remember right, this didn't even fit properly..or maybe it didn't even stay..? something like that. i couldn't keep it on for the entire time it suggested and didn't get any benefit from it.
   repurchase? no
8. life of beauty tiger grass & tea tree oil (x2) -- while i liked this, i think i'll keep buying the tea tree & honey one.
   repurchase? nah
9. life of beauty tea tree & honey (x4) -- this smells soooo good! you can smell both the tea tree and honey while wearing this mask. i definitely think that this has helped my skin recently!
   repurchase? yes! (at walmart)
10. masqueology watermelon moisurizing glow -- this was a suuuper bright pink color, like the color of watermelon.. but, i wasn't a fan of this one. i can't recall if it was the scent or how freakin saturated and dripping it was.. anyway, it was ok.
    repurchase? nah
11. garnier moisture bomb (x2) -- to be honest, i don't fully remember these all that well. i think i did like them though.
    repurchase? maybe
12. elf hydrating water -- i'm not sure if these are available in stores that sell elf yet, but i didn't think it was worth my time. like it felt nice on, but i was pretty indifferent after using it.
    repurchase? no
13. elf hydrogel under eye masks -- same as the sheet mask, are these in stores yet? these were just ok.
    repurchase? no
14. patchology flashpatch restoring night eye gels -- these were also only ok, if i remember right. i think i have at least 1 more set left...
    repurchase? no
15. patchology exfoliate flashmasque -- i really liked this one! my skin felt great afterward and i believe it did it's job as far as the exfoliation!
    repurchase? yes
16. soo ae tea tree -- how many times have i put this one into empties and not remembered my thoughts? probably should just stop buying them, lol!
    repurchase? nah
17. soo ae brightening peeling gel -- i can't recall how i felt about this one either. i want to say that it felt nice on and peeled off nicely, but as far as a brightening aspect, i don't remember...
    repurchase? nah
18. earth therapeutics tea tree (x2) -- i got these in a pack from kohls..of all places. anyway, these are ok, and try everyone's tea tree masksssss!
    repurchase? nah
19. leaders pore gone for good -- i really don't remember this mask aside from the fact that i liked it. sorry! >.<
    repurchase? yes

other skincare!

1. simple cleansing wipes (x4)
2. the body shop tea tree oil (x2)
3. bioderma sensibio
4. glamglow supermud
5. estee lauder advanced night repair eye
6. biore baking soda pore cleanser
7. clinique ddm gel
8. clinique clarifiying lotion 3
9. clinique take the day off -- while i like this product, i don't know if it's my absolute favorite. it does get the job done with reasonable effort and doesn't burn my eyes.
   repurchase? undecided
10. sonia kashuk eye makeup remover -- so, is there a story about these, because i would like an explanation as to why the best eye drugstore bi-phase makeup remover is no longer sold. 😡
11. lancome bi-facil eye makeup remover -- so you know how i was all like, i don't like rose scented things... this is an exception because this stuff works amazing. pretty pricey as far as how frequently you'd need to repurchase, but still really good.
    repurchase? yes
12. the ordinary. salicylic acid 2% solution -- this is pretty good! super inexpensive for an OTC product, this is like $5!
    repurchase? yes
13. kate somerville exfolikate -- you guys. i love this stuff. for a while, i was hoarding sample packets of this because it's so freakin expensive. this is the most abrasive exfoliant ever but super gratifying.
    repurchase? undecided
14. clean & clear acne triple clear bubble foam cleanser -- while this worked well and didn't irritate my skin, it wasn't a replacement for my usual product.
    repurchase? nah

hair, body, misc. (pretty sure i'm missing some deodorant sticks and shave gels, but you can look at previous posts for those. still using my usual.)

1. neutrogena [clear] shampoo
2. aussie 3 minute miracle moist
3. aveeno daily moisturizing yogurt body wash in vanilla and oats
4. tree hut sugar scrubs in coconut lime, almond & honey
5. tone body wash in blissful awakening
6. tone body wash in island vibes -- i'm not one for florals, but i liked this one a lot. maybe the pineapple helped balance the scent a bit?
   repurchase? yes
7. tree hut sugar scrub in lemon blueberry tart -- this scent is so weird. like it's good but it's weird! it's just like a delicious lemon blueberry pie, spot on in the container. but when you go to use it in a tub full of other stuff (bath bombs, etc) it smells strange.
   repurchase? nah
8. jergens natural glow daily moisturizer in fair to medium -- i'm not one for self tanners, but i really like this lotion a lot. it gives a nice gradual tan type of look that isn't fake looking.
   repurchase? yes!
9. it's skin cookie & body ice cream in strawberry -- this smells like strawberry pockey. yuuum.
   repurchase? yes
10. candles by victoria - create a scent (lovin lemon & garden mint) -- i was hoping this combo would be like a certain store in the mall's lemon mint leaf, but this was wayyy off. i kind of wish i'd gotten the two in scent shots and tried melting them together before committing to a full candle.
11. fekkai blowout hair refresher -- i don't remember thoughts on this one. spraying what little is left of this, it smells very hair spray like.
    repurchase? nah
12. john frieda frizz ease secret weapon touch-up creme -- i bought this a looong long time ago and didn't use it right away. after i started working, i'd used it almost daily to smooth out the frizz in the mornings. less than 3 years later, i finally finished it!
    repurchase? yes
13. nexxus keraphix shampoo & conditioner -- i really like how these make my hair feel and they have a nice scent.
    repurchase? yes
14. nexxus keraphix treatment masque -- this packet lasted me like 2-3 treatments, which was nice. i don't recall if this has the same scent as the shampoo and conditioner, but my hair felt real nice after using it.
    repurchase? yes
15. it's a 10 miracle leave-in plus keratin -- yall. how long ago did i say my aunt bought me this in a twin pack? because this is made in florida, i guess they do those amazing value bundles for like $45 for this size (just $5 more than the cost of one bottle!!). anyway, between using other hair products here and there, i finally use this up. like three years later..practically. so crazy!
    repurchase? it'll be a while as i work through bottle #2
16. luxe by mr. bubble meltaways bath candies in sweet & clean -- unfortunately, i don't remember what i thought about these. i think i added them in with a bath bomb or something, so i probably wouldn't have noticed the difference. i do remember being kind of indifferent about the scent.
    repurchase? nah
17. onyx bathhouse bath bombs in omg a unicorn & mermaid life -- these were at walmart and they were whatever. they barely fizzed away and i ended up crushing them up with impatience. the scents were only ok.
    repurchase? no
18. hallu unicorn bath bomb -- this was also at walmart and it was pretty good. but that's about all i remember about it.. i liked it.
    repurchase? yes
19. fizz & bubble unicorn swirl bath bomb -- this was underwhelming, but still nice. i don't recall how else i felt about it..
    repurchase? nah
20. sol de janeiro bum bum bath bomba -- this is a really expensive one. $10 a pop...but so worth it. i really advise getting it during sephora sales for as low as $8 each. the bath is sooo nice and moisturizing, the scent is just like the bum bum cream.
    repurchase? yes!

makeup empties & a hit pan!

1. benefit cosmetics hoola lite
2. rimmel london stay matte in transluscent
3. it cosmetics bye bye under eye corrector in light
4. it cosmetics brow power
5. skindinavia oil control makeup setting spray
6. estee lauder double wear light in intensity 2.0
7. fenty beauty foundation in 140
8. maybelline fit me matte+poreless in 120
9. maybelline baby skin primer
10. maybelline master camo green concealer -- as my first green concealer to try, this was pretty good. it is on the thinner side, but i don't think you really want it thick anyway or it'd look strange. this was really easy to blend. a couple gripes are the packaging. i don't like the fuzzy tip for hygienic reasons, and twist ups are always annoying, especially if you can't see inside to know how much is left.
    repurchase? nah
11. parian spirit -- i knew this was a great product for spot cleaning because this is like my 3rd bottle now? but it wasn't until recently that i actually read the label and it removes laytex. i recently was being crafty and using something that was laytex based and ended up gunking up the brush i was using. granted i used a throw-away type brush, but i was curious how it'd help remove all the dried laytex from the bristles that got stuck together real funky. and it really worked. the brush is completely reusable now!
12. sigma sigmagic brush shampoo -- i think i had this in a favorites or items that surprised me post or something a ways back..? anyway, this is still a decent brush and sponge cleaner, but it's just as easy to use a bar of soap to clean sponges and brushes....
    repurchase? undecided
13. kat von d liquid lipstick in bow n arrow -- i love this shade a lot. so much so that the studded kiss lipstick in this shade will likely be gone before i know it!
    repurchase? yes
14. elf blemish control primer -- a primer with salicylic acid in it? please and thank you!
    repurchase? yes
15. it cosmetics superhero liner -- this was a very nice liner. i'm not 100% sure if i'd say it's at the same level as kvd tattoo liner, but it's close and lasted me all day.
    repurchase? yes
16. em cosmetics matte gel pencil eyeliner -- i really really liked this liner a lot more than i feel i should. it's on par with the it cosmetics no tug eyeliner!
    repurchase? yes
17. urban decay 24/7 liner in smog -- i can't recall if it was the eyeshadow in smog or the liquid liner that i loved a lot first, but when i saw that this came in pencil format, i had to get it!
    repurchase? yes!
18. urban decay eyeshadow in tonic -- i hit pannn! i love this shade!

makeup graveyard

i'm not going to list out everything that's in this photo, but the lipsticks are the biggest disappointments. mostly because yes, they don't really last as long as other products, but....it feels like just yesterday i got the mac star trek lipstick...and it's getting gross. some of the others here are looking and smelling off, and i'm soooo glad i have backups of revlon's brazillian tan, this one is just old. and i think i had these two mascaras for too long before i started using them. there's still a decent bit left in them but they weren't performing as well as if they were brand new ones, and they're starting to smell off.. so that's why i threw them in this grouping instead. both of these are very good and i plan to repurchase whenever my mascara backlog is gone.

erin condren vertical colorful planner 2019

hi guys! this post seemed easiest to make as my next, so i decided to go ahead. as can be seen in my instagram history, i got the 2019 planner already, along with this year's designer washi tapes, a bookmark and a notebook. in this post, i'm going to primarily highlight the changes between the 2018 and 2019 planners. if you'd like to see the 2018 vertical colorful planner, please check my post from last year. ~Lindsay ^.~
if you're interested in purchasing your own, here is my affiliate link* for $10 off your order -- which is basically like free shipping, which is awesome.

this time, i got this succulent themed cover personalized with a rose gold coil. i wasn't feeling this year's themed pattern for my cover, and have been eyeing this cover for a while now.

the notes pages have returned to lined pages, instead of having the circles, two columns of lines, and box at the bottom. the monthly view pages now have a mini calendar for the following month. i really appreciate this addition and sometimes look for these mini calendars when buying monthly kits.

the notes section still has the lined, dotted, and coloring pages, but they have now included a page for important phone numbers, etc. or you could use it for other important notes.

this year, they have also included the same foiled banner type stickers, but also included a sheet of random functional stickers.

this year's freebies and accessories are more or less the same as previous years. there is a separate sheet of foiled functional stickers, along with comment cards, clips, pouch and gift labels. they also included a reusable collapsible T-shirt bag with my order (i think this was a time sensitive freebie), which is pretty cute! 

*Affiliate Link

hey there stranger, where ya been?

hi. i exist. i am here. and i am ready to post again! well probably not super consistently..but do i want to take this weekend or so opportunity to catch up on posts that i've been major slacking on. i expect to post the following over the course of the next week, not necessarily in this order: empties, ipsy bag posts (condensed into one), sephora play posts (condensed into one), erin condren planner spreads [undecided on how to post], and hauls.

now to the real stuff for this post. the what i've been up to, where ya been, why didn't you post for months....post. lol. it's going to be a loooooong one, and i appreciate you taking the time to catch up with me! a quick summary: work has been super busy, i've been doing too many other things in my spare time, and i wasn't in a great mental state for quite a while. with these, the idea of working on the blog was starting to feel like work, and i was starting to reject it.

let's start with one of the first things i remember noting before.. my skin. my skin has taken a huge hit recently, as can and will be seen in my upcoming haul and empties posts, almost all skincare stuff... i've never ever really been all about talking about my acne or scarring to anyone really..because let's be real here..because i'm my biggest critic and society thinks you should have clear skin. no not really they don't totally, but again, there's that self-induced pressure, right? my problem areas have always primarily been my face and upper back, and a little on my shoulders and chest. and back to the insecurity, it'd affect how i dress, 'oh i can't wear that because it's backless', 'as long as my hair can hide it...' anyway, that's only a taste of the ongoing struggle that i'm 100% certain that i'm not alone in. 😏

anyway, all that said. i've been experimenting a lot for the past few months trying to figure out how to alleviate it all, and i haven't come to a solid solution yet. i've been trying to be better about following the tips and tricks of several people i follow that have faced the same problems. one main change that i've done so far is getting dye and fragrance free laundry detergent and dryer sheets. the only problem with this is that i haven't rewashed absolutely everything i use, and as a result i've been wearing the same things over and over lately because it's easier to remember. lol. but i have noticed an improvement by doing this. secondly, i've reduced my dairy intake. i say reduced and not eliminated because realistically, cheese and ice cream are pretty hard to give up. but if i consume them less frequently than before, it's better. third, i know that drinking plenty of water is also a good solution, but i'm still forever working on that one. not only does drinking lots of water help with your skin, it also keeps you hydrated. and guess what could happen when you're dehydrated..? migraines. i don't get them quite as frequently as i did when i was in college, but i still get them from time to time, and more times than not, it's because i didn't drink enough water the previous day. fourth, keeping your hair off your face/skin. for the past few years. i've been putting leave-in products in my wet hair and going to sleep or letting it air dry. i still do this, but the difference now is that i'm actually pulling the hair up and away from my skin by braiding it or putting into a bun. by keeping my hair loose with all this product on it..it's bound to get on my skin and irritate it. and i have also noticed a difference by doing this. and speaking of my hair.. as mentioned in an instagram post a couple months back, i think i do want to donate it again sometime soon, but i haven't fully decided upon when. it took about two years to get to this point, and as of now, i need it this length for an upcoming cosplay i'm doing at mechacon! (i haven't been since 2011! 😱)

anyway, wish me luck on my current skincare journey, as it has been kind of weighing in my mind as of late. actually, so much so, that's a reason why i'm behind on some of my posts here. not wanting to photograph my face here or on instagram. it got to a point that when i finally did have a picture of myself again, one of my friends that lives far from away messaged me and said it was good to see my face again. that made me realize how stressed i'd been with so many things, maybe i was ruining my skin with too much going on. the mental affects the physical and vice versa. annnnd with that, we are going to segue into my work life balance and how it's been horrific. 😩

so. work and stuff. my client project work has been more or less the same level of effort. the thing that has changed most is things and goings on around at my office. i can't recall how much i've delved into it here in those last few life-related posts, so i apologize if i'm reiterating myself here. let's start chronologically. several months ago, a few people from my client's team that work in my office were replaced by others in our office due to various reasons. my coworker and i have been the replacements' go-to people between environment setup, processes and procedures, and programming. (i'm a developer, for you new people..) with them joining, it was a lot of distractions with trying to train them, and working on my own work. let's couple this with the buddy system that i think i'd mentioned before. new hires in our office are paired with existing employees to ask them questions and yadda yadda. and guess who is an office go-to? 🙋 so between my client, new client coworkers, coworker friends, newbies, people walking up to my desk, and people sending me various forms of notifications on my phone, i was literally distracted every 10 minutes of the work day for several weeks straight. and this stressed me out because i felt like couldn't get get things done. if you know me, i like getting things done and i like helping people to the best of my ability. and i was having trouble balancing these two for a while. thankfully, things have calmed down, and the onboarding and training process with my new client coworkers has stabilized and i'm feeling a lot less stressed.

now.. let's get to the other piece of the puzzle that i didn't include in the above scenario. well, i guess there's two or three? but let's keep with the work part... i don't recall if i'd mentioned, but aside from being everyone's best friend these days, i've also been given a shitton of administrative things to do with our team. without saying too much too early, i've been in charge of scheduling a ton of meetings, planning and orchestrating them, presentations, and doing followup work for them. but remember, i'm a rock star, right? hahaha. i guess it's to be expected, since last month i made 3 years at my company. to give everyone an update on our numbers, i am among the final 5. alrighty, piece number two. so, i'd mentioned above that we got some new people on our team. one of them is partially a cause of distraction, but it's also refreshing nonetheless. that person has a small, year-old youtube channel with regular video game play streams. i haven't the time to regularly watch all their streams and videos, but it has definitely influenced what i've been doing in my free time. in the past 4 months, i have bought more video games than i have in years. years! i've got 4 games on preorder right now, and about 10-15 others that i've bought. (i'm counting all items in steam bundles too, lol.) anyway, my recent reintroduction to gaming was also brought upon piece number three. teh paul's work has made him extremely busy and constantly traveling. his office takes on contracts of varying length, taking him to various places in neighboring states. so with him not being home as often....video games have made a comeback in my life. plannerdom and makeup have been put onto the back burner to some degree (😆) as well. but as far as makeup, this is also part of me becoming a more informed consumer when i buy things, and i haven't been fully keeping up with the next thing coming out. i do find it very refreshing that several of the people i follow on youtube are realizing it themselves and are expressing the same feelings and frustrations. maybe we're all moving on in our lives? or we're aging and skincare is the next thing! lol. which, (full circle, guys!) brings me back to how i've been more focused on my skin than the next new lipstick.

i do want to conclude this post with a positive thing that makes me smile inside. after a few months of full-on stress, it was refreshing to see it paying off in some way, shape or form. first off, i got a bonus at work. woohoo! it was related to all of the administrative things i was referring to earlier. second, i recently spent a lot of time talking to my manager. like we've had random 15-30 minute meetings here and there, but we're talking a friday evening for an hour and a half. i left the office past 6:30 on a friday. 😲 it was super productive and ended up being that long because we were talking about random things (he was a coworker friend before becoming a manager), brainstorming things for upcoming meetings, etc. he brought something to my attention that i never really thought about or realized before. i have an impact on others. i know i've mentioned before, there's this one coworker that constantly helps me out with client work and how he's supah awesome, right? before my manager mentioned it, i never ever thought that i'd done something impactful for him as well. given the nature of the work we do in my office, a larger proportion of people are introverts. myself included. i will admit that i'm still growing as a person and could have better people skills.

let's have a lil storytime! i'm less of an introvert than i was over ten years ago. in high school, i started out as being someone who wanted to keep a relatively low profile, but still have fun and do things that can only be done in high school. which, thinking on it, is in stark contrast to the large group of friends i ended up having in middle school.... our circle was like 30+ people! and that's a lot for a 500 person school. anyway, at some point, i decided that i probably should stop thinking that way and start doing something. i joined clubs. the first of which was founded by my friend (and sadly not too long after my departure, died...) was anime club. that friend ended up moving schools, and i became club president. and then katrina happened, and i was able to join student council and i got a part time job at a restaurant. all of these happening so fast and close to one another helped me a lot. i was always uncomfortable talking to new people, and even though i knew my friends and classmates in my clubs and classes, i still would be super nervous presenting in front of them all. but i managed to make it through at the end of it all. eventually, i made it into college, and i feel like i regressed. college is a big place, and it's easy to become a fly on the wall. it took me a while, but i think it wasn't until i was working on my second degree that i became better about talking to people. which, this is also funny because i ended my first run with a psychology degree, lol. anyway, i'm not sure if my current state can be partially attributed to me going back to school with a more mature mindset, or the fact that i was working on a business degree which included a ton more group work and presentations. two things that certainly did help me change were 1. a presentation business course i'd taken. it involved taking technical knowledge of a topic and presenting it in such a way that a layman could understand. i really enjoyed the knowledge and experience gained from this class and my group. and 2. forcing myself to do things i don't like. if you want to change, you need to step out of your comfortable bubble.

ok, end of storytime, back to my coworker and me being an impact. he and i have been on the same two projects (for one client) for about two and a half years now. my manager said that he and another noticed my coworker had changed, he frequently makes small talk and talks to people about random things. they were trying to figure out what had happened, and after further observation they concluded that i was a catalyst. he said that prior to me joining the project, this coworker would rarely talk to anyone around him, outside of normal work-related conversation and hellos and goodbyes. no small talk about anything. these days, he's making jokes, sending us random videos and memes, recommending video games to us, and playing MMOs after work with others in the office.  anyway, i thought that was something really cool to share. whether you know it or not, you can have an impact on someone, and it could be something as simple as noticing an anime desktop wallpaper on their computer or a video game figurine on someone's desk and striking up a conversation.

as i said before, i appreciate your time and interest in what's been going on with me. i hope that my sharing this experience helps you in some way, shape or form! ~Lindsay