R O L S B A K

Nail Polish Haul

2012-02-13T18:05:00.000-06:00

I'm usually don't buy nail polishes all that much but I went a little crazy this month and bought a bunch of Kleancolor nail polishes. I bought a set of 12 from eBay and a set of 24 from Amazon. They were about a dollar each or so?

I also bought two Revlon nail polishes last month (Whimsical and Plum Night) as well as Glass Slipper from Sally Hansen and Essie's Shine of the Times.

Now the question is how I am going to make room for all of these and what kind of nail design can I come up with since most of them are glitter polishes?

[Sample Review] Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Nose Pack

2012-02-12T15:19:00.000-06:00

I thought it's about time I started using the samples that I receive from stores, orders, etc. This review format is going to be a little different than my other reviews because these are based off samples. With samples I'm not able to get a good grasp on how I like the product. Everything in the "sample review" will all be based on first impression.

The first sample review will be on the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Nose Pack. I received this in a little care package and since I adore Biore's nose strip I wanted to see how this compare. The Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Nose Pack usually come in a pack of 6 and retails for $2-4 USD.

From the picture it seems like you can use the nose strip on your forehead and chin too but I used it on my nose. Since I don't know how to read Korean I ended up using it the same way I would if I was to use my Biore nose strip.

The nose strip have a herb-like smell to it which I am assuming comes from the name of the product. The actually nose strip did not perform like I wished it would. It was able to get some whiteheads but that was about it. Seeing that it's advertised as removing blackheads it did not do any of that. The blackheads on my nose was still there after removing the strip.

Overall, I'll probably just stick to my Biore nose strips because they work better for me.

The Results:

Jason Wu for Target Haul

2012-02-08T12:40:00.003-06:00

I told my friend that I would accompany her to Target for the release of the Jason Wu for Target line and I did just that. We got there around 7:05am and were the only people there. It wasn't until 7:40am that we started lining up because more people were coming. Even though we got there first we were the 7th in line because everyone made a mad dash to the door when the fifth car arrived.

There were probably around 20 people in line but honestly I think we had less than that. There wasn't a store policy so everyone just grabbed whatever they wanted. The line to the fitting room was long at first because they only allowed you to take 6 pieces at a time but after awhile the employees there just told us to bring all our stuff to try on. One of them told me that it was their first time seeing so many people go crazy over a Target collection. LOL!

I interpreted this experience as madness but it wasn't like a Black Friday madness. It was a pleasant madness if that make sense? By the time everyone was done grabbing/trying the items they wanted all that was left were the mediums, larges, and extra-larges of every design. One thing I did learn is that the smaller sizes are the first to go but don't worry not everyone is going to buy it. Hang out around the fitting room and you're bound to see people return items that didn't fit right.

Poplin Dress

The fabric feels kind of cheap but I love the design of it. If you're still able to get your hands on this size up if you have a bigger chest. I had to size up because my chest area felt so constricted. LOL!

Black Flared Dress

This is probably my favorite out of everyone I got. The thing is I wasn't even planning on getting it! My sister tried one on and really liked it so she told me to try it on as well. I didn't want to at first but she kept bugging me so I figured I might as well. I ended up loving the way it fit and how flattering it is. Plus it didn't hurt knowing that this was one of the nicer made item. Same with the Poplin dress, size up with if you a bigger chest.

Red Striped Shirt

I've always wanted a shirt like this so I bought it. It was inexpensive too -- only $20. The shirt is very loose which I love!

At the end of the day I spent a total of $120 for all three items which isn't so bad. And of course while I was there I couldn't help but buy more items.

These floppy hats were on sale for a couple of dollar each so I bought both. I'm not a hat person so I'm not completely sure how I'm going to style it/incorporate it into my outfits.

So yeah...that's all for my Jason Wu for Target purchase. Did you go out on Sunday to buy some? If so, what did you get and how was your experience?

I Love Your Blog!

2012-02-06T21:43:00.001-06:00

I recently received this "I Love Your Blog" award from Traci of Drinkcitra. If you haven't seen her blog, please check it out. Her nail swatches and nail designs are incredible!

I'm not sure about the rules associated with this but there are some questions.....

1. What is your favorite fashion magazine?
I don't have a favorite since I don't really read magazines all that often. I find that even though I get them in the mail I never read them only my sister does.

2. Who is your favorite singer/band?
I have so many but my love will forever be with Coldplay.

3. Who is your favorite YouTube guru?
To tell you the truth I'm not really subscribed to that many Youtube gurus. I prefer to read blogs about makeup reviews and what not.

4. What is your favorite makeup product?
That's a toss up between eyeliner and mascara.

5. Where would you like to live?
I don't think I can ever move away from where I am now only because I've grown attached to it despite all my complaints. I would like to travel to a lot of countries though.

6. What is your favorite film?
I have so many favorite films it's not even funny. Recently I've been watching a lot of old (like really old -- most in black and white) Japanese and Korean films and from that bunch I really enjoyed Seven Samurai by Kurosawa Akira. And a film I'm looking forward to is The Vow -- I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. <3

7. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
I used to have a lot but I went on vacation one week and when I came home I found out that my mom had given a box of shoes that I have (this was when I moved back home after I transferred schools) to Goodwill. I was so angry and honestly I never recover the amount of shoes I have since then. I probably have like a dozen?

8. What is your favorite color?
Red.

I follow a bunch of blogs and I love every one of them so why would I single anyone out when EVERYONE can do it? I tag.....everyone! =)

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia & Whimsical Swatches

2012-02-05T11:23:00.001-06:00

I have a couple of Revlon nail polishes but these two are my only glitter polishes from the brand. They are Facets of Fuchsia which is known as Scandalous now and Whimsical.

Both polishes are said to be dupes of two Deborah Lippmann nail polishes. This shouldn't come as a surprise since Revlon seems to be notorious for making dupes of Deborah Lippmann's polishes. Facets of Fuchsia is a dupe of Bad Romance and Whimsical is a dupe of Glitter in the Air. I've also heard that the Sparkling nail polish from Revlon is a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Enchanted Evening.

L to R: Facets of Fuchsia, Whimsical - 3 coats each.

[Review] Catrice Nail Polish

2012-02-04T14:39:00.001-06:00

L to R: 120 Plum Play With Me, 230 Clay-ton, My Hero, 240 Sold Out Forever, 200 From Dusk To Dawn

I received these Catrice nail polishes awhile back from my friend Evy. They are some of my personal favorites which is unfortunate because you can only buy them in Europe.

The polishes are long lasting and they never chip on me. For a drug store brand I think they are really good and inexpensive too. I think one cost 2-3 euros which is about $3-4 USD.

They are definitely worth getting if you're going to be or in Europe!

L to R: 120 Plum Play With Me, 230 Clay-ton, My Hero, 240 Sold Out Forever, 200 From Dusk To Dawn - two coats each.

The color 240 Sold Out Forever is supposed to be a dupe of Milani's Dressmaker which closely resemble Chanel's Jade. 230 Clay-ton, My Hero has gold shimmers but my camera couldn't pick up any of it. Both 120 Plum Play With Me and 200 From Dusk to Dawn are cream polishes.

[Review] Holika Holika Juicy Shine Lip Balm in Watermelon

2012-02-03T12:12:00.000-06:00

I purchased this lip balm from Holika Holika in early January from G-Market. Since it was on sale during the time I bought it I got it for 2,330 won which is roughly $2 USD. It retails for 3,500 won though (~$3 USD) so it's still an inexpensive lip balm in general. Of course if you're getting it overseas then you might have to pay a little more. I think it goes for around $7 USD on eBay which is a little too much for what it's worth.

This lip balm is okay. It's not great but it's not entirely bad either. The lip balm is moisturizing but it doesn't last long. I think you can go probably 2-3 hours tops without reapplying maybe even less. The tint is nice. It gives your lip a nice subtle red color but it's not overpowering. It's also very glossy (hence the name "juicy shine"). I think my favorite thing about this lip balm is the smell. I cannot tell you how much I love the smell of this. It smells exactly like watermelon but a little sweeter.

I had some trouble with the packaging. For awhile my lip balm would twist up and down perfectly fine but I recently noticed that it can only twist up. It won't twist back down anymore so if I happened to twist it up too much I would have to push it back down with my finger. And if you're applying directly to your lips then the product slip to the sides (see picture below) which can be kind of annoying.

I'd say, if you're able to get this for around retail price then it's worth a try otherwise I would skip it if it's going to cost you more than $5 USD.

This is how much you're getting.

There's some glitters but it doesn't show up when you're using it.

When you use it the product slip to the side like this.

[Review] Milani Baked Blushes in Corallina & Berry Amore

2012-01-28T13:11:00.000-06:00

I've always heard great things about Milani cosmetics but the only thing I've tried were the nail polishes. During Cyber Monday last November they had a 50% off and free shipping promotion so I decided to take advantage of that. My true motive was to get the eyeliner but I thought it would be pretty worthless of the sale if I didn't get more so I picked up Corallina and Berry Amore as well.

I love these blushes. They are really pigmented so the color payoff is great. I find that a little goes a long way. They stay on for a very long time. I can go the whole day without ever reapplying. I like that they're finely milled so they're easily blendable too. They give a nice warm finish but I dislike the shimmer sometimes -- Corallina has more shimmer than Berry Amore. It's not overpowering like NARS Orgasm but it can be a little too much at times.

Overall, they're great blushes and inexpensive too. At retail they cost $8 each but I know that CVS is always having BOGO 50% off so you can get them for less.

Berry Amore

Corallina

L to R: Berry Amore, Corallina

[SOTD] Only You by Noona

2012-01-24T11:45:00.000-06:00

How freaking adorable is this music video?! Noona and Mark Prin are so cute!

The story is Mark Prin owns a chocolate shop and put out flyers about a class on making the chocolate of love. Noona was interested and asked him to help but when she did he told her that he's busy because he needed to get married (his parents were visiting and he needed to find a fake wife fast). Noona grabbed onto his hands and that's when he asked if she would married him in exchange for the chocolate class.

If you're familiar with Thai lakorn this probably seem out of the ordinary because many lakorns are based of this type of arrangement. With that said, I would not mind seeing a lakorn based on this with Mark Prin and Noona! Well....I guess it's more like I want to see more of Mark Prin. <3

[Review] Sleek MakeUP Oh So Special Eyeshadow Palette

2012-01-20T21:58:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine went to London earlier this month to visit the university she'll be attending in the fall and while she was there I asked her to stop by Super Drug to pick up a Sleek MakeUP palette for me.

Sleek Makeup is a cosmetic company based in the UK but according to their website they can also be found in some African countries. Many of their products are inexpensive -- right around drug store prices (and technically it's a drug store brand in Europe).

A little pamphlet with Sleek MakeUP's other products comes inside the box.

The compact is pretty thin and well....sleek.

Unfortunately, for those that stray away from paraben products there is paraben in this product.

Many people have been raving about their eyeshadow palettes and honestly I was a little underwhelmed by it. I guess there's so much hype around it because every review that I've read gave it such high marks that when I did get it it didn't live up to that hype. I was like, "This is it?" when I tried it.

All the shimmer shades were great. They had a buttery/powdery texture (which I hate/love). They were also well pigmented. The problem was with the matte shades. I love matte shades and I would prefer them over shimmer or glitter shades but these were not pigmented at all. They also had a waxy feel too. I had such a difficult time with them that I didn't even bother using any of the matte shades. In terms of how long they stay on, if you have a primer or base underneath they will stay on for a good amount of time. I had on a LORAC eyeshadow primer and was able to go 5-6 hours until they started loosing that rich pigmentation you see when you first apply them on.

Overall, I was not impress and I was so excited for it too! =( Hopefully, I like the lipstick better. I have yet to try that out though. By the way, each shadow is about the size of a US nickel.

Swatches:

Sorry for the horrible photos, I'm so bad at taking swatch pictures. -__-;; Also, the matte shades took a couple of layers to get to the intended color.

[Review] Etude House Nail Polish Kits

2012-01-20T00:28:00.003-06:00

I'm not exactly sure how long Etude House has been doing nail polish kits like this but I bought my first one from their Aloha line. They retail roughly between 5,000-6,000 won which is about $5-6 USD. If you were to buy it off eBay they can cost as much as $10 or more.

I personally adore these nail polishes. I love how in each kit they have steps for you to achieve a gradient design. Underneath each polish they list which polish comes first, second, and third. I have six nail polish kit and all of them except for one are the three step to create gradient effect on your nails. The one that's not part of this comes with two cream colors and a glitter polish that you can put on top on either one.

I'm kind of lazy when it comes to applying nail polish. I usually never use a base or top coat. I find it to be so time consuming and honestly I hate waiting around for my nail polish to dry. I also like to pick the nail polish off my nails especially when I'm in class or just bored. What I like about these nail polishes is that I don't have to use a base or top coat and it'll stay on for a long time without chipping. Also, it stays on so well that I can't even pick them off my nails! I think I wore the Aloha gradient for almost all of December until I decided to remove it with nail polish remover. I will say that the newer kits do not last as long as my Aloha kit.

If I was to estimate how long they last without chipping I would say at least a week but I've had them not chip for more than two weeks (I know, I might be the only person that wears the same manicure for more than a week -__-;;) Beauty products are always subjective (they work differently for different people) but for me these nail polishes are one of my favorites. They're also very inexpensive if you can get them close to the retail price but even if you were to buy them off eBay for $10 it'll work out to be $3-4 a bottle which is still pretty cheap (and practical).

Aloha Cocktail Syrup Nail Kit - Sunshine Bronze

Nymph Aura Glam Nails

Party Queen Graduation Nails - Party Silver

Party Queen Graduation Nails - Party Gold

Party Queen Graduation Nails - Party Pink

Wannabe Perfumed Syrup Nails

Closeups

Before I Die I Want To...

2012-01-16T21:05:00.000-06:00

This is a shameless plug for a friend of mine's project. She's located in New Orleans, Louisiana so it's going to be more beneficial for those that live in the area.

My friend doesn't have an official name for the project but basically the project is about people sharing their stories, their dreams, their life, but more importantly the thing(s) they would like to do before they die.

The entire "Before I Die I Want To..." idea was created by Candy Chang, an artist, designer, and urban planner. She said that it's easy for people to get caught up in their everyday lives that they don't stop to think about the things that matters to them most. She set up huge chalkboards with the saying on the side of abandoned houses and people that walked by started posting up the things they wanted to do before they die.

My friend's project is basically building upon this idea. She's setting a goal of 366 photos in 366 days about 366 people's dreams, hopes, and aspiration.

I personally think the project is very inspiration in the sense that it really makes you wonder what you would like to do before you die. When she told me about the idea I honestly have no clue what I'd like to do before I died. I googled some of the images of the walls it's been painted on and I found myself agreeing with a lot of what's been written. I kept going, "Oh, I want to do that before I die too.....no, I want to do this instead" and so forth. Plus, I don't know about you but I definitely feel motivated and inspired whenever I hear/read about someone's goals and aspiration.

For more information about my friend's project, please visit her blog here. She listed her contact information so you can get in touch with her if you want to participate (I really hope you do!).

By the way, expect an Etude House nail polish review soon! I took a bunch of pictures of the nail kits and how they look like after being applied. All I need to do now is resize the picture which is what I hate doing the most. =(

[Review] Luview Crystal Cover BB Cream & Crystal Mineral Compact

2012-01-14T18:26:00.001-06:00

Luview which stands for Luminous View is pronounced "Love You (better known as 'luv u')". It is a fairly new Korean cosmetic brand and when I say 'fairly new' I mean the company was established in 2010 so they have only two years under their belt compared to other brands like Etude House, Skin Food, etc. Luview pride themselves on their "oriental secret" or the idea that beauty can be achieved naturally -- meaning products made with the highest dermal technology from natural ingredients.

Luview held a promotion during the second half of December. All of their items were 50% off so I thought I would take this time to try it out since all the reviews I've read had been good.

Before I start I want to apologize for the different light settings on the pictures. It was cloudy the day I took these pictures so it kept shifting from being very cloudy to very sunny. =(

Crystal Cover BB Cream #2N

SPF 30
40ml

Crystal Mineral Pact #2N

SPF 25 PA++
13g

The bb cream and pressed powder comes nicely packaged in these metallic cardboard boxes. What I like about the box is that the cardboard is thick and sturdy.

The inside of the box is red and as you can see the name of the product is pretty much written everywhere on the box.

The bb cream is housed in this cylinder pump It reminds me of the Skin79 Pink Label BB Cream but taller and slimmer. The quality of the bottle is also a lot better than the Skin79 one. It's thicker and doesn't seem like it was cheaply made.

Something I like is that it comes with this white thing that covers the opening. I know the product probably won't dry out because of this small opening but I still like knowing that having it prevents any sort of drying.

The pressed powder is enclosed in this metallic gold and red compact.

The color is more like the picture before this one but a little deeper in color.

The bb cream is creamy in texture as well as a lot thicker than the Missha and Etude House bb cream that I reviewed before.

This is the first time I've found a bb cream that match my skin color so well. Usually all the darker shades bb creams that I've tried are a little lighter so I would have to mix it in with a little of my mineral foundation to match my skin color.

In terms of coverage it has a medium to full coverage but like most bb creams it's definitely buildable. It also have a matte finish. Out of the all the bb creams that I have this one have a more "natural" finish. The oil control is actually very good. I was impressed that I was able to go 5-6 hours without blotting my face!

I don't know if it's just me but whenever I have bb cream on I always feel this stickiness on my face. With this bb cream I hardly feel that. There's been a couple of times I've gotten into bed just to get out of it a few seconds later because I realize I forgot to take off my makeup.

This bb cream is now my favorite bb cream out of the ones that I've tried. One thing I don't like is the price of it. It's a little more expensive than most bb creams coming in at $25.20 for a 40ml bottle. However since it's worked great for me I would probably repurchase it. I was kind of sad I wasn't able to get a backup bottle before the promotion ended though. =(

There's really not much for me to say about the pressed powder. I think it works well setting the bb cream but if you already have a setting powder than you can probably do without this because there's really nothing special about it. I also used it without the bb cream and it was just mediocre for me. It's expensive as well at $20.40 for 13g.

Overall, yes for the bb cream and no for the pressed powder. I think if Luview keeps producing products at the level of their Crystal Cover BB Cream then soon everyone is going to know about them. If anyone is interested in trying out either one, Luview is currently offering free shipping. Even without the free shipping it is typically $3 for parcel mail, $6 for registered airmail, and $15 for express mail regardless of how much you order. I chose the $6 shipping and received my package within a week and a half.

Let me know what your favorite bb cream is! I'm always looking to try new things.

Baking Party

2012-01-08T14:29:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, my awesome friends and siblings came over to the apartment for a little baking party in celebration of my upcoming birthday and basically for the heck of it.

We started baking around ten in the morning and was able to finally eat around two. To mix everything we used my friend's KitchenAid and I must say....I need to get myself one of those! I cannot tell you how amazing that thing is. Every time we were mixing something we would crowd around it to see how the consistency of what we're mixing change. LOL!

Here's what we made...

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Strawberry Cheesecake

Crepes

We also made cupcakes. I didn't participate in the cupcake making so the one with the 'M' on it is not mine. LOL! My sisters and friend decorated the cupcakes and they're trying to see which cupcake was decorated the best out of the others. So if you'd like, please comment and tell me which cupcake you like the most (you can choose more than one).

#10

#11

By the way, I got rid of the Disqu commenting system. It was starting to annoy the crap out of me. So now everyone's comment that were made on Disqu were either deleted or shows up as comments that I made. In my previous post about the Hello Kitty palette, it's like I commented to myself 11 times! LOL!

Also from this post, the guy's name is Mark Prin Suparat. He's a Thai actor. I've been watching Sam Noom Nuer Thong with my cousin. The only unfortunate thing about watching it with her is that she's so much further into the lakorn than me. I only understand parts and bits of the dialogue so I have to wait for the English subtitles. My cousin understands everything so whenever she talks about it I'm like, "Don't tell me!"

Don't you hate it when you're watching something and someone ruins it by telling you what happens or how it end? =( My grandma does that a lot. Whenever I see her she tells me what she's been up to and what she's been watching. She recommends me a bunch of Thai lakorn but instead of letting me watch it by myself she would tell me everything that happened in it including all the small details!

Which reminds me....I still need to watch the last Harry Potter movie!!

Hello Kitty Mon Amour Palette

2012-01-05T17:39:00.001-06:00

Umm....how freaking adorable is this?! It's $35 at Sephora and comes with two blush (the big "balloons") and eight eyeshadows.

I have a Sephora gift card so maybe...just maybe I'm going to get this. It's way too cute to pass up! Reminds me a little bit of UP!

Jason Wu for Target?

2012-01-04T22:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, please! I want everything even though I don't know how the rest of the collection look like. I know I'm going to get that blue dress (picture on the left).

Hopefully as we get near the release date more pictures of the collection will pop up. It's out in store and online on February 5th which is a Sunday. I'm not sure if all the Target stores will get the items but I'm hoping that the very first Target would have it since it's the closest one to me.

G-Market & Luview Haul + Random Things

2012-01-02T17:47:00.002-06:00

These two hauls were never planned. They just spontaneously happened because I saw that Holika Holika and Luview were having a sale.

From G-Market, I ordered a bunch of Holika Holika items because they were 30-40% off the original retail price. Since I was ordering them off G-Market I figured I would get some of the Etude House items that I've been wanting. I also realized that most of the items were hand lotions. LOL!

Snail Hand Cream

Juicy Shine Lip Balm in Watermelon

Water March Moisture Full Cream in Poreless and Nutritive

Catch My Hand Mini Hand Lotion

Freebies: A box of cotton wipes, brushes, two samples

Bee Happy Hand Lotion

Party Queen Nail Kit in Gold, Pink, and Silver

Wannabe Nail Kit

Nymph Aura Nail Kit

Freebies: Be Happy Mug, I Miss You Hand Warmers, Baking Powder Pore Cleansing Foam Samples

Luview was having a 50% off sale on their items. The brand is fairly new and there's not that many reviews but from the reviews that I have read they were mostly positive -- well at least for the items that I wanted/bought.

Crystal Cover BB Cream in Natural Beige

Crystal Cover Pact in Natural Beige

Crystal Travel Size Kit in Natural Beige

Four good friends and I started playing Secret Santa last year and it continued this year. I gave my person an Anthropologie gift card because that's what she asked for. Evy, my secret santa, surprised me with the following:

A cosmetic bag and three items from Elizabeth Arden.

As well as these pens. Now before you cringe at receiving pens as a gift let me tell you I have a pen obsession -- it's no joke. I have a box filled with pens that I've bought or received. Even though I know I have this box I continue to buy pens as well as colored permanent markers -- I have a bunch of those as well. But these pens that I received are my favorite. I love using them for school because they provide me with four different colors and a mechanical pencil all in one! They're also really hard to purchase here in the states and very expensive too. I know JetPens sells one for $7+ so I was more than excited to see these!

My friend and I went thrifting last week and I bought this oversized cardigan. I really wasn't going to get it at first but I was drawn to the different color vertical stripes and it was only $5 so I ended getting it. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to style it though....let me know if you have any tips!

Jane does this little "Guess What I'm Eating?" contest/giveaway thing. I decided to participate for the heck of it because all the food looked so good! I know I was a little envious while looking at the food pictures because it's hard to find a really good restaurant with really good food where I live. Below is what I received for being one of the three winners:

Also, Jane is having an one year anniversary giveaway on her blog so be sure to check that out!

Lastly, I made these two felt cellphone cases for my sisters. I know Hello Kitty has a yellow nose but at the time I only had red felt. I find myself slowly getting better so hopefully I continue to improve. Please excuse my sister's hands in the Hello Kitty picture. The picture was original taken to show my little sister.

By the way, this post marks my first post for 2012. How ironic is it that it turned out to be a haul post?! *dies*

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T13:06:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!!

Picture taken from Google

I don't know about you guys but I had a tough 2011. It did not work in my favor at all, then again it's not like it was supposed to but it was very eventful and most of them were not always good.

I'm definitely excited to see what the new year brings. I hope it'll be better. I have a big trip plan for March so I'm really looking forward to that the most.

Are you guys making New Years Resolutions?

I normally don't because I know I'll never do it. Maybe I'll make it a resolution to only buy the things I need...but knowing me I'm going to try to justify that I really need that item just to get it. LOL!

Have a safe New Years Eve!! And BRING IT ON 2012!!

Urban Decay Books of Shadows IV for $29!

2011-12-30T00:26:00.000-06:00

As you may already know the Urban Decay Books of Shadows IV is currently on sale for $44 on Sephora, Ulta, and the Urban Decay website. Sephora is having 20% off their clearance section which brings the palette down to $36 but you can get it for even cheaper on the Urban Decay website!

At the beginning of this month MyGlam gave out a promotion code for $15 off the Urban Decay BOS IV. If you apply that to the already discounted price it brings your total down to $29 plus tax and shipping.

How incredibly cheap is that?! That's a little over 50% off the palette. Urban Decay offers free shipping over $35 so you can add some of the items from their clearance section to meet that goal.

Instructions:

1. Add Urban Decay's BOS IV into your cart.

2. Apply the code MYGLAM11

You should see that your total is now $29!

My New Love -- Guess Who?

2011-12-29T17:46:00.002-06:00

Brownie points (and a random gift) for whoever can guess who my new love is...

-------------------------------

Also, I recently got into making cellphone cases out of felt. Here's my latest creation:

It's Totoro!

[Review] bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 8.0 Palette - The Playlist

2011-12-27T12:24:00.000-06:00

Bare Escentuals's bareMinerals line came out with two limited edition eyeshadow palette this holiday, The Playlist and The Cocktail Hour.

I ended up purchasing The Playlist because the first time I saw the palette I was immediately drawn to the gold. I remember swatching the color on my hand and telling my friend how beautiful it was. And honestly, I'm always drawn to gold, coral, and maroon shades. I guarantee you that if you show me an eyeshadow color that's in one of those shades I will eventually buy it. Haha!

Beside the Inglot Palette that I purchased at the beginning of this year, this palette is one of my best buys. I love love love love this palette. The pigmentation is crazy good, the texture is soft and creamy, and the staying power is absolutely amazing. Where the palette lacks is when you're picking the product up with a brush. I think it's a little harder to grab the product with a brush than with your fingers or a sponge applicators. I mean it's not like it's really hard but I just find that the brush doesn't pick up the product as good as my Inglot Palette.

There's not much else I want to say about this palette because I absolutely love it! It's a limited edition palette so if you're interested be sure to pick it up before it gone!

It's called "Eyeshadow 8.0" because there's eight eyeshadows inside. Their duo eyeshadows are call Eyeshadow 2.0 and the quads are Eyeshadow 4.0.

I adore the gold metallic compact. It's so pretty but it's also a fingerprint magnetic.

I love the clasp on the palette and I don't even know why -- I just do!

The palette comes with a huge mirror! I don't know about you guys but when I apply makeup I like being able to see my whole face so I love big mirrors.

I didn't care much for the duo ended brush since I prefer to use my own.

Swatches:

T to B, L to R: Max Volume, Louder, Remix, Speaker Box

T to B, L to R: Pumped, Chart Topper, One Hit Wonder, Most Requested

L to R: Speaker Box, Remix, Louder, Max Volume

L to R: Most Requested, One Hit Wonder, Chart Topper, Pumped

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T00:28:00.001-06:00

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to wish all of you a happy holidays! I hope you surround yourself with lots of love and laughter this holiday seasons. I hope you have many presents to open on Christmas day! Remember it's not about receiving but giving and most definitely about being with those that you love.

If you're traveling or just staying home, please stay warm and safe.

Here's four of my favorite Holiday videos, two from back when I was a kid, one from last year, and one from this year. =)

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

NSYNC - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

Jellyfish Entertainment - Christmas Time

Dalmatian's Daniel, Jeesu, and Youngwon - Christmas Medley

WeTopia

2011-12-17T13:23:00.001-06:00

Is anyone obsess with WeTopia like me? I mean I wouldn't call it obsess but it's the only game that I check up on daily. I think part of it has to do with the fact that after you get a certain amount of "joy/love" points you can donate it whichever charity you'd like from their list of charities. The only charity that I'm really interested in is the literacy one because I worked as a mentor/tutor for a school with majority of their students coming from low-income families.

I first heard about the game on Ellen but didn't look into it until one of my best friend messaged me about it. The picture above is my village. I've blacked out of friend's name for their privacy but as you can see I only have four friends playing with me! Which kind of sucks especially when you're trying to build Joy Amusement Parks and you need friends to be part of your staff. I think the one thing I don't like about the game is that they give you too little energy! After harvesting my crops I don't have enough energy to collect goodwill from my houses. =(

By the way, if you type "let it snow" in the Google search bar and hit enter, snowflakes will start falling down and eventually "frost up" your screen!

Mid-December Haul

2011-12-15T16:21:00.007-06:00

Umm....I bought a bunch of makeup this month (probably more than I needed to too). With all these new items I will say that I'm going to skip out on the CVS beauty sale. I don't think I need any more things any time soon. I also need to reorganize my makeup drawers too but I'll do that once school is over. My makeup items are scatter all over my room, desk, closet (where I keep my makeup drawer), and the bathroom.

First up, I bought some things from the Milani Cyber Monday sale. All the items were 50% off plus free shipping. Beside their nail polishes I don't think I've tried any of their beauty items. I used this time to order the much raved about Liquif Eye Pencil and two blushes, Corallina and Berry Amore.

I also picked up three nail art polishes for my little sister who loves doing her nail. She's a lot better than me and she's only 11!

From there I made several orders on Sephora with my older sisters. We went a little crazy with all the lines from Bare Escentuals. Picture below are my items.

Philosophy Papaya Passion Punch Shampoo, Shower Gel, & Bubble Bath

Benefit Watt's Up!

Benefit Hervana Blush

Benefit Tan About Town Kit

Stila Custom Color Blush in Self-Adjusting Pink

Sephora Foundation in #20 Light

Bare Mineral Eyeshadow 8.0 in The Playlist

Soap & Glory Cleansing Cloth

Lancome Artliner

Revlon Lipstick in Coral (From Target)

Sephora Eye Liners + Essence Liquid Liner (From my sister)

The Philosophy Papaya Passion Punch was something I've been wanting to get since their Poolside Party kit went out of stock. I bought Watt's Up! to try since I've never used a highlighter before. The Hervana blush has already been reviewed here. The Stila blush was really just so we can have over $50 for free shipping but I actually like the blush so I might keep it. My friend wanted the Sephora foundation for her birthday/Christmas so I got that for her. Hopefully, she doesn't read my blog until after her birthday otherwise that would ruin the surprise. LOL! I absolutely love the Bare Mineral Eyeshadow 8.0 Palette. I saw it in store and fell in love with it. I bought the Soap & Glory Cleansing Cloth because I wanted to try something new but it really irritated my skin so that's going to get returned. Been wanting to try the artliner from Lancome so picked that up as well.

The eye liners were from my sister. She bought them awhile ago and never used them so she gave them to me. I bought the Revlon lipstick from Target for $1.94. Target always have their Revlon items on clearance here. I'm not sure why either because all the other brands like Cover Girl and Maybelline are never on sale and if they are it's like only 10% off or something.

Because of the Sephora orders that we made we received a bunch of samples.

All the samples from the bags.

My friend and I were inside the Forever 21 accessories store and as she was looking for a gift I started looking at the nail polishes. Next thing I know I was in line paying for them.

My oldest sister and I finally found the free Eco-Tools coupons that my older sister gave us. I exchanged it for this eye brush set.

Last October and entered the sweepstakes for a free Essie nail polish from Allure. I totally forgot about it but just yesterday the nail polish came in the mail. It's a beautiful red. I think my little sister is going to enjoy it even though we just bought her a red nail polish from Sephora a couple of weeks ago.

I received a birthday card from Victoria's Secret and used that plus the secret reward card to get myself these canvas tote bags. I absolutely love how big and roomy the VS tote bags are. I travel to and from parent's house a lot so they're just the right size for me to pack two pairs of clothes and my essentials for the weekend or weekdays depending on how I feel.

Lastly, I was telling my good friend about how I don't have any nice clothing. All of my clothes consist of shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and jeans. I really don't have any skirts or dresses. Since Christmas is just right around the corner as well as my birthday I figured I'll buy some dresses. I got these from ASOS which is one of my favorite European website. After two years -- three in January, I finally ordered from them. YAY!

Tell me what you guys think of the dresses. I show my little sister and she told me I have such "old" taste in clothing but I can't help it....I'm old!

Please comment below and let me know what kind of things you bought during December so I don't fee like such a maniac with my crazy makeup haul. =(

By the way, have you guys seen the new eyeliners from Physician's Formula? I've tried these type of eyeliners before and I do like them but they can be hard to apply since you apply them horizontally. And Allure is giving these out to the first 500 people to sign up on January 2nd at 12PM EST so be sure to sign up!

[Review] Benefit Hervana Blush

2011-12-10T18:03:00.001-06:00

On Monday, December 5th, there was a flash sale for the new Benefit box blush. I bought mine off Sephora so I can use the $15 gift card but the flash sale was also held on Benefit's website, Ulta, and Bloomingdales.

Swirl on this orchid-blossom blush for a heavenly flush of enlightenment! These four shades—lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight—blend together perfectly to lift your look to cloud 9. (Taken from Benefit)

Hervana is housed in the standard blush box in a pinwheel design. Benefit went ahead and named all the different shades -- (from lightest to darkest) Lucky Shell, Divine Peach, Heavenly Rose, and Berry Delight.

I've never own a Benefit blush before so I'm not sure how the older brush compare but I really like this one. The slant makes it easy to apply the blush on my cheeks.

I really liked the blush. It gives you this nice natural pink-peachy flush to your cheeks. I've swatched Benefit blushes in store and I can tell you that this blush is not as pigmented as the others but it is buildable. The blush has a nice satin-sheen finish. There's some shimmer but it's not overpowering -- it's very subtle.

There's also a scent to the blush. I'm not really good at describing and recognizing scents but I do know that there's a nice floral smell to it. Of course, it's not an overpowering smell. I don't think I would have noticed it if it wasn't for some of the different Hervana reviews that I've read before purchasing it.

I've been purchasing a bunch of blushes lately and this is one that I really like. It's a very nice blush to use as part of an everyday look. I would recommend it for anyone that's looking for a nice natural pink blush.

Rumor has it that the blush will hit stores in January but according to Benefit's website it'll be available for sale on December 14th. I'm not sure if this means that stores will start selling it on that date too.

Swatch: