Friday, February 28, 2014

February No Buy: What Have I Learned?

Source: Chiot's Run


Good afternoon everyone!

I think it's a good question, and a good place to start: what have I learned?

Well, a few different things:


  1. I can still find things to post about, even if I'm not constantly buying and trying new things.
  2. I already have a good amount of makeup I can use to look pretty!
  3. I'm still learning, and I can experiment with what I have.
  4. I can overcome stress without retail therapy.
There are several others, I'm sure, but I think these are the four biggest points. I remember being concerned that I wouldn't have anything to post about if I wasn't buying new stuff, but then I realized that I have a lot here to work with (although to be fair I did have a good chunk of posts about stuff I bought in January). 

I also realized that I should utilize my 88 Original Palette a lot more (which is on sale right now by the way, check it out!). It's pigmented well, even more so with some Nyx Milk underneath, so I should try and use it more, and for more than just my brows (seriously y'all I'll take a picture one day and you'll be able to pick out IN AN INSTANT which color I use for my brows). 

I also remembered how satisfying it is to use up a product entirely. It feels good to know I've used something to its fullest and that I've gotten my money's worth. This was just as comforting to me as buying, in a way.

Going off of that, I've sort of replaced my need to buy with Otome games on my phone where I can use in game money to buy stuff (even if it isn't fancy or a lot). It sounds silly, but they're nice for bus rides or waiting for the bus. 

Does this mean I'll never buy makeup again? Hell no. I already know something I would like to get with some birthday money I got a few weeks ago. But it does mean I will be more careful with my dollars, and not use buying as a way to deal with stress.

It was tough, I almost broke a few times, but I made it. I made it, and here I am, perhaps a little more learned because of it.

I was even good about my food budget and using what food I already have here; I brought a lunch with me almost every day! I feel accomplished that I was able to apply this to more than just makeup.

Have you gone on a no buy? How did it go? Let me know!

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Mary Kay Eye Makeup Remover Review



Good morning everyone!

I hope the weather is nice where ever you are, because here in MN we haven't had this much snow on the ground since the late 80's (will winter EVER be over?). Anyway, Today I'm sharing one of my favorite products of all time: Mary Kay's (Oil Free) Eye Makeup Remover.

My mom has always used this, so it was something I used when I still lived at home. I moved out, and failed to grab some of my own, so I was using Almay's Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover instead.

Let me just say it: that shit sucks. It was oily, greasy, and almost impossible to get completely off my skin once it was on. But I felt bad buying something and then not using it, so I managed to use 90% of the product before my mom said, "Hey, I bought you some of that Mary Kay stuff you like". 

Yes, my mother is a wonderful woman. 

I love this product because a little goes a long way, and with the top not being completely open you have more control over the flow of the product. It doesn't leave my skin feeling disgusting, and it doesn't smell horrible either. If you don't trust me, most people on makeup alley seem to like it.

I'll be honest and say I'm not a huge fan of Mary Kay stuff overall, but this is one product I will repurchase in the future.

What's your favorite eye makeup remover? Let me know!

Cheers!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Weekly Window Shopping: Knitwits

Good morning all!

In honor of the chilly weather we're getting here, I thought I'd share a cute little hat shop I found whilst browsing some other blogs (most notably The Clothes Horse, one of my fashion inspirations).

Well, let's get started!


Robbie the Raccoon Animal Hat, $29.99
Hello Kitty Animal Hat & Mitten Set, $64.99

Oscar the Grouch Animal Hat, $34.99

What do you think? Which hat (or set) would you buy? Let me know!

Cheers!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Snow! And lots of it!

Good evening everyone!

Sorry I didn't post as I normally would today. We got a TON of snow yesterday, meaning I got home late (as in after 11 pm) and today I had plans so I was away from my lappy all day.

I'm still alive!
Cheers!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

NARS Train Bleu + L'Oreal Mulberry






Good morning everyone!

So today not only am I showing off my Star Trek: Voyager comm badge and my Star Trek bow, but also my NARS Train Bleu lip pencil! Of course, I fell in love with this color just as NARS announced they were discontinuing it, and I was pretty bummed. But then word got around that it was back in stock (curse them) so I went to the NARS website and ordered myself one from there (I linked to Sephora's website because something's wrong with the NARS website? I dunno what's up with that).

Anyway, I'm wearing that with another favorite of mine, L'Oreal's lip color in Mulberry. It's one that I wear A LOT, so the tube is a little worse for wear (but I love it anyways!). It goes on super smooth, and lasts very well - both of those things being things I greatly appreciate in a lipstick.

Train Bleu also goes on smoothly, and I used it just around the edges of my lips since I don't want to waste it (and since I've wanted to match these two colors up since I found out about Train Bleu). Overall I'm pleased with my purchase. It's something I ordered in late January and just got now, so it'll be the last thing I'll receive/get until March (it's gonna be tough y'all, but I think I can make it).

The first thing I plan on getting is my hair dyed (lookit all that regrowth :C) since I need it pretty badly. Also, I am pleased to report that my eyebrows are growing in well (woot!) although not as quickly as I'd like. Oh well. I have time.

Do you have Train Bleu or Mulberry? What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Cheers!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Weekly Window Shopping: Tiny Attic on Etsy

Good morning everyone!

People always post the most beautiful clothes and accessories to tumblr, and since I love to window shop, I almost always click the links (and I can't stand it when people decide not to share a source). So anyway, someone shared a piece of jewelry from the esty shop Tiny Attic, and I fell in love! Here's what I liked the most:

Dynamite Dried Flower Pressed Rings, $12.03
Malva Lavender & Rose Dried Petal Snow Globe Ring, $12.03 
Pastel Moon Pendant Necklaces, $6.01
Butterfly Explorer Necklace, $10.31
That's all I've got this week! See anything you like? I'm especially fond of the necklaces.

Cheers!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Stila Countless Color Pigments Review







Good morning everyone!

I hope all of you had a good week last week (I say this as I am writing on the 10th). Of course, right before my no buy month, something I had had my eye on for a good while went on sale, and that was the Tie Dye Countless Color Pigments eyeshadow from Stila (that's the one in the blue container, if you're wondering). All of a sudden it was all sold out on Sephora, and I was sad and thought I had missed my chance, since on Sephora they were marked as limited edition. Well, I was able to find my Tie Dye shadow on the Stila website, and for $8 instead of $22! (wooooo!) Because it was such a good deal, I also snagged one in Melody as well. 

I had read some reviews that said these weren't very pigmented, and after a few uses I've found that I don't have this problem (to be fair, I always use Nyx's jumbo eye crayon in Milk under all my shadows). I love these colors quite a lot, and they definitely pop for me.

My only complaint is that when I used Melody last, I had a hard time completely cleaning it off my eye (but didn't have a problem on the 9th, when I took the picture above). 

As a side note, I tried a new way of curling my hair overnight, and am pleased with the results. Maybe I'll do a blog post about that sometime soon as well!

Have you tried these shadows out? Did you find them to be pigmented enough? Let me know!

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Peppermint Foot Scrub Review



Good morning everyone!

I have to start out by apologizing for the wonky coloring/lighting in my pictures - I usually take all my shots midday, but today I am up at 7:30 am (for whatever ungodly reason) and had to take some quick photos since I was taking care of my sick roommate yesterday morning and didn't have time to before work. So sorry!

Anyway, today I'm reviewing this peppermint foot scrub from Body & Earth Spa. It's something I got from one of my old roommates because she didn't want it anymore. Upon doing some research, it seems that they mostly do gift baskets and can be found at KMart (hence me not linking directly to the product itself). I didn't have any foot scrub at the time, so I figured I'd give it a go.

While I like peppermint tea quite a bit, I'm not sure I like it in this foot scrub. The scent is almost overpowering, and it doesn't really smell natural or real. While the texture of the product in hand is fine, it doesn't go on very evenly or well onto my feet, and big clumps usually end up at the bottom of my tub. It also uses microbeads, which is not good (since they can't be filtered out of the water system). And most disappointing of all, I'm not entirely convinced that it actually works or does anything -  I feel like my pumice stone does a better job of buffing out my feet than this does.

I guess I can't complain too loudly since I got it for free, but here are some products from Ulta I think I'll try out once my no buy month is over:


Do you have any foot scrubs to recommend to me? Have you tried this product? Let me know!


Cheers!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Weekly Window Shopping: Pinup Girl Clothing

Good morning everyone!

As some of you may know (and others not), I am a huge fan of pinup fashion. I've always been a big fan of vintage clothes, and while I love them dearly, my current budge just won't allow for it (boo).

I recently discovered Pinup Girl Clothing via someone on tumblr, and I fell in love with a lot of the super cute clothes they carry. They're American made, which probably accounts for the price (along with all the fabric that gets used in full bodied skirts and dresses). But right now they're having a special set of items that are 15% through Valentine's Day, so click here if you're interested!

Anyway, here are some of the things that I found cute. Enjoy!

Heidi Dress in Cat Print With Red Bow, $98
Audrey Skirt in Black, $78
Pencil Skirt in Blue Floral, $54
Jenny Gathered Full Skirt in Neverland Print, $98
High Waisted Cropped Trousers in  Light Blue Sateen, $82
High Waisted Cropped Trousers in Black, $82
Boatneck Top in Black and White Stripe, $48
They also have a t-shirt section, which I thought was sort of weird at first (but hey, you can do what you want), but I checked it out and they had a lot of cute nerdy stuff in there, like these two Star Wars shirts, which are both a little more within my price range: 

I am R2D2 Tunic Tank, $32
Star Wars Long Sleeve Off -Shoulder Tee, $42
Along with clothes, they also carry accessories, lingerie, and also petticoats! Petticoats are most important for the nice, full body of vintage skirts and dresses. 

Well, that's all I have for you lovely folks this time around. Have you purchased from this store before? Let me know what you think of it! Maybe once my no buy is over I'll let myself get one of the Star Wars shirts (maaaaybe).

Cheers!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Boiré Self Heating One Minute Mask Review

Good morning everyone!

I was really excited when I found out about the new BiorĂ© Don't Be Dirty line from Nouveau Cheap (that's one of my favorite beauty blogs, by the way). The new products use charcoal to deeply cleanse your pores (or something). I honestly can't explain to you why I wanted to try the masks and the facial cleanser out (well, I do seem to have a liking for face masks) but the need was real. So when I popped into my campus CVS the other day, I was delighted to see that they had these in stock (even though Target didn't, which I found surprising).

Anyway, I have the facial cleanser as well, but I'm not really sure how I feel about it just yet, so for now you just get a review of the mask. With that all said, let's begin!



Sorry the pictures are so wonky, I took them in my bathroom and the lighting is always a little bizarre in there. Anyway, it comes in that little package, and contains four little servings of facial mask. Unlike the Say Yes to Cucumbers facial mask I reviewed not too long ago, these actually DO end up being enough for one use (and not two - as a side note what was left in that package didn't dry out and I was able to use it all up!) which is nice, because I don't like things that are meant to be single-use but contain far too much product for that to be practical. I paid about $8, and as you can see there are $4, making them $2/each. I suppose that isn't too bad, although some of the stuff I got from Ulta was about the same price and has more than 4 uses. 

But those are self-heating, so I suppose I can't judge. By the way, "self-heating" is a bit of a misnomer. You have to continuously for one minute. So you do have to do some work. But the product does heat up, and it feels nice on the face (at least I thought so) and calming to boot. The smell isn't too strong or overpowering, and it feels kinda nice to just rub your face for a minute, which isn't that long anyway. Because of this the product never hardens, so it's easy to get off as well.

My skin was left smooth and beautiful, which is what I like to see (especially since as of late my skin's been very dry and lizard-y looking). 

I think this was worth the price, and I could see myself buying it again once I use it all up.

Has anyone else used this product, or for some unknown reason (like me) been interested in trying it out? Let me know!

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Memebox Fourth Edition


Good morning everyone!

So let me start off by saying that I'm really glad that I ordered my Memebox Fourth Edition last month because a) holy shit those babies are selling fast (everything up to 7 is sold out, including 5-2 and 5-2) and b) this no buy month is already hard. :C A lot of times I want something, a lot, and then after a few days I don't care as much anymore, but the wanting is tough man, the wanting is tough. 

As some background info, Memebox is a beauty box that isn't a subscription, so you pick whichever box you want (and whatever's in stock). This one was $21 and after shipping about $27, but now I see for the newer boxes they're charging $23 (so more like $30 after shipping). They ship fairly fast, and they usually hit the states in 3-7 business days.

Anyway, mine came in the mail on 31.01.14, actually, but I wasn't awake yet at 9:30 am, so I missed the USPS person, which meant I had to pick it up the next day. This is a little frustrating, by the way, since normally I only bus around and I can't bus to the USPS office, but I'm glad the company actually gives a shit if we get the product or not.

It's obviously quite full with items, and each box contains a little card that explains what's inside and how to use the product. I found that to be helpful, since a lot of the stuff is familiar, but I can't read Korean (and I wouldn't want to apply too much/not properly/etc). 

This is more of a brief overview of what's inside the box - I'll probably revisit this a bit later with a more detailed review, once I get a chance to use the products (thus far I've only been able to try the shampoo). As a warning, this post is going to be picture-heavy, so I apologize if you aren't a fan of pictures. Let's get started!

IOPE Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning, 18ml (Full: 168 ml/$60)
The description is, "Intensive skin-enhancing program, clearing and smoothing skin texture within three days. Fast-absorbing active ingredients instantly regenerates the skin". You apply this stuff in the bottle with the pads in the morning and night. Sounds interesting. I'm not sure about the whole texture thing, or if I would be able to judge how well it works, since I have pretty all right, smooth skin to start with, but I'll still give it a go.


LANEIGE Snow Crystal Pure Lip Gloss, 3g (Full: 5g/$20)
The description is, "Gel-based, high-sheen lip gloss formulated to smooth the surface texture of your lips. Rosy tint and micro glitter creates the illusion of a full, juicy kiss". Well, firstly, I'm offended that Memebox thinks my kisses aren't juicy enough as is (thanks guys). Secondly, this stuff feels kinda sticky, so I'm not sure someone would want to kiss me while wearing this anyway. Well, I guess I'll have to try it out on my lips and see what I think after that. (Also, this is literally called "the snow" snow crystal pure lip gloss. I'm not sure why people think saying things in another language [in this case French] makes them fancier, but they do.)

Goodal Repair Plus Essential Oil, 15ml (Full: 100ml/$48)
The description is, "A fast-absorbing multi-use essential oil derived from argan, olive, macadamia, sun flower seeds, jojoba, camellia, and green tea. This combination of oil from these super-seeds hydrated, firms, and enhances the skin's complexion". Apparently you can use this on your face, nails, cuticles, and hair. But what I'm wondering, is what the hell are jojoba and camellia!? After some research (and by that I mean using google and wikipedia) I discovered that jojoba is, " is a shrub which is native to the Sonoran, Mojave and Baja California deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico and the southernmost portion of the California Floristic Province". ... Oke. Sounds good I guess? And for camellia, I got, "Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia". All right. Well, the more you know. 

Anyway, I've been meaning to try out some essential oil stuff, but it can be kinda spendy. I'm actually glad this (along with another oil thing) was included in the box, so I can try this sort of product out first in a small amount before committing to a lot.

Clio VF 21 Water BB SPF35 PA++, 15ml (Full: 50ml/$20)
The description is, "Ultra-hydrating BB cream designed for dry skin with SPF35, PA++. It gives you a natural dewy glow with long-lasting, medium coverage. Enhances skin complexion and fights against wrinkles". Uhh... What the hell does PA++ mean? I see I'll be off to google again (man this is turning in to a long-ass post). Well, apparently it's the "protection factor" of anything with SPF (according to Yahoo Answers, god only knows how much I can trust that, but I don't really care enough to dig any deeper). 

I've always been leery of BB creams ever since I read this post on Brightest Bulb in the Box's blog. I mean there's nothing wrong with them, per se, but people seem to think they're some sort of miracle cream when that really isn't the case. Anyway, I feel like this is going to be hella dark on me, since I swatched on my hand and saw this:

It's like me, but if I were ten shades darker
Now to be fair, I didn't really blend it in all that well, but that is how it comes out of the tube. Usually I prefer things with sheer coverage, since I usually don't use that much product on my face and I feel like a buildable product is better since you can... y'know, build up and get your desired look. I haven't tried it on my face just yet, so I'll have to do that before giving up on it completely. I do like that is has some SPF since I burn and turn lobster within a matter of minutes when I'm outside, but we'll have to see.

Peripera Peri's Tint Mini Mandarin Juice, 2.5ml (Full: 6.5 ml/$7)
So I had originally thought to put this at the end of my post, but a) this post is starting to get ridiculously long and I didn't want someone to give up before seeing this disappointing mess and b) I figured maybe it would be better if I encased the bad in the midst of good and all right products. Either way, look at this fucking bullshit right here. Now I am no scientist, and I'm actually REALLY bad at measuring things, but you can't honestly expect me to believe this is 2.5 ml. Also, why waste that whole (tiny?) bottle for like... a few nasty looking drops of product? Was this really the desired amount? Could you at least make it look better if that's the case? Obviously it got tossled around in transit, but my god it looks like weird orange cooking grease in there.

The little box thing was so cute, I was really excited. And then I opened it and was like.... "wat??" Yeah, I'm not impressed. I sent an email to Memebox customer service. Either this is wrong or I'm a picky customer, I don't know.

Anyway, here's what it looks like swatched:

As you can probably see already, orange is not my color
I'm not too impressed, as it left a gross-looking orange stain on my hand after I tried to wash it off, but if I'm feeling really ambitious I might try it on my lips a little later. We'll see, we'll see.

LJH Dr's Care Vita Propolis Ampoule, 5ml (Full: 15ml/$26)
The description is, "This perfect combination of vitamins and propolis (psst, propolis is "a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from... botanical sources" peeps) harvested by bees brings out the natural, healthy luminosity of your face. High concentration of propolis in the hermetically sealed ampoule (a fancy word for the vial itself) hydrates, soothes, and protects skin. Suitable for sensitive skin". Directions are to either drip it on to your face, or (what's "highly suggested") is to mix it with your facial lotion/cream. Lots of fancy words in that one (at least fancy to me, maybe I'm the only heathen in the house who didn't know some of those terms). It smells nice? That's basically all I have right now, I'll report back later with more.

The Shampoo Plus Natural Waterless Shampoo, 50ml (Full: 50ml/$5)
A wild full-sized product appears! And the description is, "Made out of oregano (wat), this foam-based dry shampoo allows you to cleanse your hair anywhere without water. It also protects your hair from harmful UV rays, and enhances scalp and hair follicle health with antioxidant properties". So this is something I've already used (as in on Sunday morning as I am sat here writing up this post). I wouldn't call it a dry shampoo, exactly. It's like... somewhere between dry and wet. It's a foam, but a bit more watery than a foam? You definitely don't need to stick your head under a faucet for it to work.

I can actually say that I like this product already. Because of my red hair, I try to wash it with water about once every two weeks and to use dry shampoo in the interim. My dry shampoo ran out recently, and so my hair was getting pretty gross, so I tried this out ASAP. And my hair felt much better, and looked better, immediately after use. Not sure if it actually protects or does anything good for my hair, but at least it doesn't look greasy as hell anymore.

Danahan Bon Yeon Jin Essence, 12ml (Full: 50ml/$68)
The description is, "Concentrate your skin's effort to enhance regeneration and elasticity. Thick serum is a formula made of red ginseng and herbal extracts compatible with all skin types" uhhhh.... K. Somehow this sounds like bullshit to me, but whatever, I'll give it a go.

Lanoa Natural Soap Sulfur, 100g (Full: 100g/$12)
Another full-sized product! The description is, "100% natural handmade soap featuring powerful natural ingredients: sulfur, shea butter, chamomile and lavender. It is specially designed for sensitive and dry skin by hydrating on the surface as well as underneath the skin's barrier". Well, my facial skin has been really dry lately (no matter how much lotion I apply) and I do have sensitive skin, so I'll have to give this a go.

T. E. N Cremorlab Mineral Treatment Essence 100ml (Full: 270 ml/$36)
The description is, "Start your day with essence derived from therapeutic hot spring water to hydrate, tighten pores, brighten and even skin complexion". So basically it's something you apply to your skin after washing. My god, with all this "essence" talk I'm reminded of Zoolander:




Anyway, we all needed a good laugh after that long-ass unveiling. I know it was long, and those of you who stuck around till here deserve cookies (or maybe more appropriately awesome lip stick and facials). I'm excited to try all this stuff out, and I feel like it was certainly worth the money that I spent, but I'll make sure to report back later (and we'll see if I still think so).

Have you gotten this Memebox or another one before? Thoughts? Was this post too long? Did it make you want to take a page out of Oedipus' book and gouge your eyes out? Let me know!

Cheers!

Monday, February 3, 2014

Weekly Window Shopping: Tasty Peach Studios


Good morning!

So last year I went to Anime Detour, and sadly this year I won't be able to go (yes, I do like things like anime/manga, cute kawaii merchandise, Twin Stars, Sailor Moon, etc). Last year when I went there was a cute little booth set up for Tasty Peach Studios, and I ended up getting a super cute kitty cellphone charm that is still in perfect condition on my phone to this day (Piplup was not so lucky, sadly...). I also got some very cute hair clips!

To change things up a bit, I thought I would post my favorite things on her website right now! I'm not a huge t-shirt wearer (I only wear t-shirts a small margin of the time), so most of the things I've picked out are accessories (but hey, we all need more cute accessories I think!!) I hope you like them as much as I do!

Bento Octopus Necklace, $10

Black Sheep Necklace, $10 $7

Blue Flower Fawn Necklace, $10

Black Cat Ring, $10

Narwhal Hair Clips, $10 $7.50

Meowchi Mochi Kitten Zipper Pouch, $10

Meowchi Plush Mint, $20

I allowed myself to get the smaller Lucky Pack (and before anyone calls me on my no buy month, I did buy the Lucky Pack in January) since I love her accessories so much, but it's so hard to decide!

What's your favorite item in her shop? Is this style too sweet for you? What are you thoughts? Let me know!

Cheers!