Spring Break = more time to buy things

Okay, so I already heard from all the grad schools. And since I got rejected from one of them, I decided to reward myself for getting into the other six. (Yes, I applied to a lot of schools, I can't afford to not get in!)

Anyway, went to CVS and bought some Revlon stuff from their BOGOfree sale! I got the Revlon Colorstay Foundation with Softflex and also their Anti-Aging Primer thing just because I didn't know what else to get. To my dismay, I came back and checked reviews on makeupalley.com and the primer received a 1.9 out of 5! wow. Apparently it smells horrible and made a lot of people break out. Since I have fairly acne-prone skin, I couldn't take the chance and returned it.


I also went to Target with some cousins that visited from Australia. We walked around for 4 hours.. and I had heels on! I shouldn't have done that because I was dying towards the end. From Target, I bought some Sonia Kashuk stuff: the angled liner brush, highlighter brush (looks like stippler), and the hidden agenda concealer. I was looking for a good, but inexpensive stippler.. and found that the Coastal Scents or the Sonia Kashuk one might be decent. I heard the CS one sheds a lot though so I just decided to get the Sonia Kashuk one since they were having a 10% off all products by Sonia Kashuk (which is not a lot but it's something). I also heard some good things on the Sonia Kashuk concealer and have been looking for a better one. I'm currently using Maybelline's coverstick for my red scars [more like broken capillaries from having busy hands when i had small pimples :( ]

We also stopped by Sephora in old town Pasadena. I didn't really find anything I really wanted.. except I was looking for Two-faced shadow insurance but sadly they don't carry Too Faced at that location! That's so weird.. perhaps there's less teenagers there? I always saw Too Faced as a brand for younger adults since it's designs are more girly and bright. Hmm.. oh well. Oh! I also was considering buying the Shu uemura 24k gold eye lash curler.. I tried it out and it was okay. It wasn't super amazing or anything (but maybe cause my eyelashes were already curled from getting ready) Plus I ordered a bunch of stuff from E.L.F. the other day, including an eyelash curler. I don't really need another one though.. I'm fine with my $ .50 US MixBox one from China. It works so well with my sparse Asian lashes.

Oh! I also bought some Biore pore strips and Self-heating mask. I've used these before and I really like how the self-heating mask feels. It really does heat up! Although I doubt it deep cleans the pores because I saw little difference from when I use my normal face cleanser. But I don't care cause it feels good anyway. I also just bought the pore strips because I had a coupon for buy $15 get $5 off. I usually prefer the pore strips from Pond's because they adhere stronger and are more effective in pulling out the clogged pores. But yeh I couldn't find it and I already spent a lot of time in CVS.. I figured I already put the bf through enough torture, waiting for me to buy makeup.

Also got Cetaphil from Costco!!! Yeah.. I bought a lot of stuff.. I better not spend any unnecessary monies for a longgggg time.

Anyway, this has been one long entry. Have a great day lovelies!

P.S. did you notice I put up a header image? it's drawn and photo-manipulated by yours truly. :)

Bare Escentuals Free Sample!

Get a free sample of bareMinerals SPF15 Foundation with free Premi Buki Brush!

Get the free sample:

http://store.bareescentuals.com/Peace%20and%20Love%20Sampling/MasterPeaceSample,default,pd.html

You have to pay for shipping though, + $3.95 US.

p.s. I heard this made a lot of people break out... hm.

Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse

In my Glamour magazine, there was a free sample(s) of Maybelline's Dream Liquid Mousse foundation! I thought it was pretty cool..

With flash!... Without flash!

So I thought I knew what shade I was since I used Maybelline's Pure Makeup in Medium 2: Pure Beige.. but I knew it was a little off because it was a bit too rosy for me.

So I sampled the ones next to it!

L-R: Medium 1: Sandy beige, Medium 2: Pure Beige, Medium 2.5: Natural Beige

The shades are the same in this one, but reversed. (Medium 2.5 on the left)

Conclusion: I think my shade is Medium 2.5: Natural Beige. Even though Medium 2 looks like it works, it's actually too pink for me. Medium 1 and Medium 2.5 looks similar to me though, except Medium 1 is probably lighter.

Have any of you gals tried this? If not, what foundation do you usually use?

CG haul and grad school

Okay so I went to Rite-aid recently and bought some stuff from CoverGirl. CG Lipslicks (in Daring and Demure) and Outlast Smoothwear Eyeliners (Smoke and Indigo)

Daring (The red one), Demure (The pinkish one). Liners top to bottom: Smoke and Indigo

Demure

Daring

I really like CG's lipslicks in Daring. This is the 3rd one I've bought because I use it so much. It gives a nice red tint without being overwhelming and it's casual enough to wear to school. Plus it's shiny and feels soothing to my lips. It also smells nice too! Kind of like.. some sort of lotion.

Left to right: Smoke, Indigo. I like Smoke because it's not as harsh as black, but it's dark enough to make the eyes pop. I use Indigo mostly for the bottom waterline.

Left to right: Indigo, Smoke. There's also a sharpener at the end, but it don't think I'll use it much.

Random picture of some blossoms at school.

This part is non-beauty related so don't read it if you want :)

In other news.. I AM SO EXCITED/ SHOCKED because I got into my top choice for grad school (Masters program). Seriously, when I applied I knew I had like a 5% chance of getting in because my grades aren't the greatest, none of my recommenders were even professors, and I don't have nearly as much research experience as most people applying to grad school. I guess somehow, I beat the odds.

I am still in shock (I found out yesterday) but nevertheless ecstatic. I was actually considering going to a less prestigious state school because I haven't heard from anywhere else and was seriously expecting all rejections because they're all top tier research schools. After checking forums and finding out that people were already admitted to those schools, I was just waiting for the rejection letter. Here's how it went down...(yes, I feel the need to document this magical moment)...

Yesterday...

I check my email the billionth time, expecting nothing because I haven't received anything grad school related for almost a month or so.. the first message I saw was something semi-important about class enrollment so I immediately click that. Then I notice an email with the subject "Admission Decision" and think, "It's about time they sent the rejection." So I click it and the first line says "Congratulations!" and I'm like.. "okay.. WAIT. WHAT?!.. WHAT WHAT WHAT!!?" Then I started freaking out and reread the email to make sure they sent it to the right person, if they spelled my name right, etc. My roommate was in the bathroom and I started screaming. "I GOT INTO CARNEGIE MELLON OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG. Is this a dream, is this a dream, is this a dream?" I swear my roommate probably thought I was on drugs or something and that I'll probably go to hell because I said "God" so many times. (She's Christian and has a thing about saying the word "God" in vain.)

I guess the bad side to this is that I will be in a lot of debt after I get the degree. Especially since I've already taken out loans for undergrad. The tuition (not including ANY other expenses) for CMU is about 35,000 a year... ouch. Anyway, I'm still trying to convince myself that this isn't a dream. And looking for housing isn't going to be fun..

Stress and Breaking Out

I've been breaking out a bit lately, probably due to stress from school. And waiting for grad schools to reject/accept me!! Sigh.. can't wait to graduate already. Anyway, I'd thought I'd talk about some acne products I've used that work for me as I'm also curious what you gals use.

Clean and Clear Oil Free Acne Moisturizer: I bought this for my teenage brother since he's lazy at taking care of his skin. It has a pleasant fragrance and it really does work if it's used consistently. I feel like it mainly prevents breakouts rather than treat existing ones.

Clinique Spot Healing Gel: I got this as a sample. Everytime I've used this, my pimples start going away the next day! I'm planning to buy the full sized version sometime soon.

Clearasil Daily Face Wash: I used this in high school. It's especially good for oily/acne prone skin and I feel that it really does help clean your face and treat the acne.
Clean and Clear Acne Spot Treatment: I'm currently using this now. It claims that "100% of people showed clearer skin in just one day." It's a clear gel with a pleasant fragrance. I bought it because it was around $6 and wanted to see if it was similar to the Clinique one, plus its claim is pretty bold. However, I find that it doesn't work as well as the Clinique one, but I guess I saw some difference after a couple of days.

Thorakao Curcuma Cream: Ah.. I haven't really used this consistently.. yet. My aunt got this for me when she went back to Vietnam and apparently it's good for treating scars and acne. I didn't really trust it at first because it's instructions had really poor English and said "Really random, its effect is, do test it, all of you. Please!" So as I was laughing my ass off, I googled this online and came across different forums that had positive reviews of this stuff. So I guess I'll try it...

I'm currently looking for some skin products to help clear clogged pores. I exfoliate and tone but I'm trying to find some sort of cream that will help. Any suggestions?