Economic woes = more lipstick sales?

So do you gals feel you've been buying more lipstick? :P I think I have.. but it's cause I started getting into makeup more.

N.Y.C. Bronzer and Blush

I had a $2 off for N.Y.C. cosmetics for CVS and they were having a buy one get one 50% off. I didn't really know what to get so I looked up some reviews on makeupalley.com and got the "Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder" in Pink Cheek Glow and All-Over Bronze Glow.

Food Blog: Soy Yogurt thoughts

So I recently tried Trader Joe's Soy Yogurt in Peach.  Yes, that's right SOY yogurt.  I was pleasantly surprised in the taste.  Now, I'm usually a meat-lover (sorry vegans) and I used to be super meat eater (especially when I studied abroad in China when ate a total of one apple each month because my stomach did not like the fruit there.)  Needless to say, I came back to the U.S. with some nutritional problems but now that's all fixed cause I try to eat healthier.

So on to the Soy Yogurt.  I felt like it was such a surprise that I had to blog about it.  Plus, I don't really have any beauty related things to talk about yet.. been busy with school.

Anyway.. at first glance, the soy yogurt looked pretty normal, comparable to regular yogurt.  Orangey, thick, globs of white with little bits of peach fruits.  The first bite was kinda bland.  I think I was trying to compare it to regular yogurt.  By the time I got to the fifth bite, it wasn't that bad because I started eating it as SOY yogurt and not just regular yogurt.  It has a bit of soy undertones without much, so I think that's why it took a while to appreciate its taste.  It's interesting to try and I would buy it again.  But I heard the raspberry one tastes bleh so I'm glad the first one I tried was peach flavored.

Happy Valentines!.. or SAD! (Single's Awareness Day)

Whether you're single or in a relationship, you probably love or hate today. I didn't do anything super special. The bf and I just went and ate Japanese ramen for lunch and made things we don't usually make for dinner. He made some salmon and I baked cupcakes. (Pictures at the end.) Also, I had a chance to wear some false lashes (Ardell's demi black) and get fancy with eye make up. I just used Valentine's day as an excuse because usually I'm too busy with school and work.. blah.

Hello Kitty nail stickers my sweet roommate bought me!

The stickers were huge so I decided to put the biggest one on my big toe and paint the rest a similar pink color.  The Keratin Base Coat is from my mom's nail kit when she went to beauty school to get a manicurist license.  The NYC star glitter is from my roommate and the tiny pink nail polish is from Bath and Body Works.


I feel kinda weird showing my toes on the internet...

My tinted moisturizer= Everyday minerals + Olay moisturizer!

Testing..
All gone!  It has really light coverage, but that's okay cause I kind of feel weird when there's too much coverage on my face.
I did this gold/bronze/brown look before I went out.  The camera really washed out the colors.. it was a lot more vibrant.  It just looks really neutral on camera.

Stopped by CVS and bought some Maybelline stuff (BOGO free)!  I actually don't have a foundation (can you believe it?) because my face used to get real oily and I would just use powder.

The man preparing salmon!

Closeup after it was baked... it was really good.

Some carrot cupcakes and frosting I made from scratch.

It came out quite tasty.

Lash Blast, Everyday minerals, Hello Kitty, and Clinique

Okay, so I finally gave in and bought Lash Blast.  Yep, I know I'm super late in trying it out, but I really didn't feel like spending money on mascara since I still have several Clinique sample ones left.  I was waiting for the drug stores to have those buy one get one deals again to get it.  Anyway, I went to Target this weekend to get some random stuff and I saw CG's Lash Blast in a dual pack for $10.  2 for $10!  Since I just threw away my mom's mascara (I think she's had it for years and her being Asian didn't want to throw it away even though the brush was deformed and gross), I bought it and gave her the other one.

The left side looks bigger.  But really, I just took the picture sideways and rotated it.

 I also bought these cute Hello Kitty band-aids just cuz.

The instructions are pretty cute.  I know you have to tilt your head to see it, but the first line is the only real cute part and it says "Ouch - you've hurt yourself! BAND-AID brand can help."

I ordered another sample kit from Everyday Minerals!  I ordered one sometime last year and never really got to ordering another set.  I didn't really find a color that suited my skin the last time because the ones I ordered were either too light or too pink.  The closest one was Golden Medium and it would've been perfect if it was just a tad darker.  The weird thing is my forehead tends to be darker than the rest of my face so Golden Medium sorta suits the rest of my face while making my forehead look a lot lighter.  :(  

This time I ordered: Olive Medium, Olive Neutral, Warm-Buttered Tan, Sunday Brunch (Blush), and Intensive Tan Concealer.

Top row: Neutral, Golden Medium (old), Nick Nack (old), Intensive Tan Concealer

Bottom row: Olive Medium, Buttered Tan, Sunday Brunch, Mint Concealer (old)

Notice...

Left: Nick Nack, Right: Sunday Brunch

It seems like Warm-Buttered Tan and Golden Medium might be the winners.  I also really like the Sunday Brunch Blush because it's so pigmented.  I got Nick Nack in the last sample kit and although it's a nice pink color, it doesn't show up too much on my face unless I put a lot on.  It looks chalky on my skin.  I think the color suits lighter skin gals better.

On another note, I'm debating whether I should buy stuff from Clinique because they have the Bonus time deal at the one in my school.  It ends this week!

Description: "Bonus includes High Impact Lip Colour SPF 15, All About Eyes, blush & eye shadow Colour Palette, 3-piece Brush Set, 7-day Scrub Cream Rinse-off Formula, and High Impact Mascara—all in an exclusive cosmetic bag."

The only reason why I want to buy something is because I might run out of their face moisturizer before they have another Bonus Time and the next "gift" might have more things I don't really want.  But I already spent some money on the Beautycrunch.com haul and told myself I wouldn't buy anymore makeup for a month.  Ahh.. what should I do?  

Daily products

I used to have REALLY OILY skin back in high school.  Seriously, my face was like a greased pan.  Sounds disgusting right?  You could probably fry an egg on it... okay, yeah I think I'm going too far.  Anyway, I think the reason why my face ended up like that was because I was afraid of putting anything on my face (even moisturizer) since I was acne-prone as well.  Gotta love the teenage years huh.

When I started college, my face got less oily and became somewhat of a combination/oily skin.  I usually get oily around the T-zone and sometimes my cheeks.  So why am I talking about all this grease on mah face?  I look back and wish I knew more about beauty stuff so I could've.. you know.. not looked so super oily all time.  Now that I'm a bit older (early 20s), I think I've learned more about my skin and what it likes/dislikes.  Plus, my skin is more tame now. heh.  Anyway, here are the products I use daily right before I go to school (btw..I'm graduating this year!).

Clinique's dramatically different moisturizing lotion.  I use this everyday after I wash my face in the morning.  And by washing my face, I mean wiping it with a clean damp cloth.  I don't wash my face with any facial cleanser in the morning because I'm lazy and... I feel like I don't need to. My face was clean before I went to bed and I didn't do anything except sleep... okay fine, I'm just lazy. :)
Clinique's Moisture Surge. I use this sometimes in place of the moisturizer.  This stuff is soo good.  I got this as a sample from those free extra samples Clinique always has.  The thing is, one night I made the mistake of putting too much because I had super dry skin, and I woke up with a few small pimples growing.  Mind you, I put LAYERS of this stuff on, so it probably suffocated my skin.

My favorite concealer: Maybelline's Coverstick.  I've been using this stuff since high school (so about 5+ years now?) because it works really well.  I use this on my blemishes and scars and the consistency is thick, but it blends really easily.  The only con is that there's only a few skin-tone shades (like 3 or 4?) but that might be a good thing since it blends well?

Carmex!! I have like 3 of these lying around.  I leave one in my backpack, one in my purse, and one at the bf's place.  Haha.
Physician's Formula: Powder Palette Multi-colored Face Powder.  I have this in beige and I just use it to cover some oily-ness without making it look cakey.  I like this because it's pretty light and it doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything.
Physician's Formula Organic Wear Origin Pressed Powder.  I got this as an extra item in a buy one get one 50% off deal.  It came with a concealer (which was totally teh sucks) but this itself is pretty good.  I don't use the brush it comes with, I feel the bristles are too thick and hard that it'll leave streaks.  I also got this in Beige but the color is a lot lighter than the Multi-colored Face Powder.  This overall is okay, it's a bit more powdery than the Multi-colored Face Powder, but it works.
At the end of the day, I wash everything off with St. Ives Apricot Scrub!  It smells good and has these little grains of broken apricot pits (I think?) and it gently scrubs off all the dirt and little blackheads off.  Plus it's pretty inexpensive ($3-$4) at Target.

I'm curious, what products do you guys use daily? 

Essence of Beauty Brushes and Too Faced Palettes

Brushes from Essence of Beauty (found at your local CVS).  These four brushes (Powder, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner) also came with a cute black clutch holder!  The bristles are really soft and I can't wait to use them.

I stumbled across Beautycrunch.com and they have Stila, Too Faced and other brands of makeup for low, low, low prices!  I bought a "Too Faced Decade of Glamour" for $16 (originally around $40) and "Too Faced's The Quickie Chronicles in Hopeless Romantic" for $11 (originally almost $30).  

Of course shipping costed a ton ($7.95 or so), but it came super quick.  I ordered it late at night around 12 am on Wednesday (technically Thursday morning) and it came Friday afternoon! The warehouse is pretty close to where I shipped it to (about 40 miles away) so that might've helped.


Too Faced Decade of Glamour.  Look at all the pretty colors!!  It includes a bunch of lip glosses and lip sticks (on the sides).  6 eyeshadows on top left, bronzer (top right and bottom middle), and blush (middle).  Also included eyeliner, mascara and lip injection (lip plumper).

close up of the middle panel.

The Hopeless Romantic Palette.  Panel 1: 4 eyeshadows (top) and 4 lip glosses (bottom).  The packaging on the lip glosses got messed up somehow.  sadness... maybe the glosses were sitting next to it too long.  Oh well..

Panel 2: Blush, bronzer, highlighter.

CVS - BOGO 50% Essence of Beauty

I've been real busy with school and work... I just finished my grad school apps this weekend!  To celebrate, I  bought myself some Essence of Beauty brushes at CVS.  

They are having a Buy One Get One 50% off all "Essence of Beauty" products!!! 

I've heard about their brushes being really good and pretty high quality for a cheaper price (I don't really wanna fork out $40 for a MAC brush...) so I decided to give them a try.  I haven't used them for applying makeup yet, but they are sooo soft!  I bought a brush set that included the following brushes: Powder, Blush, Eyeshadow, Eyeliner.  It also included a cute clutch wrap to keep the brushes nice and neat when travelling.  For my other item, I purchased a Foundation and Concealer brush.  I don't really use foundation, but I'm starting to use my homemade tinted moisturizer since winter is really drying my skin and powder isn't really helping.

I'll be getting my camera back in about a week so expect frequent updates and pictures!