Where Have I Been?!?!?!?!

Oh my!!! A whole month (November) has passed me by! Actually I should say two months because I threw in that haul at the end of October when I was supposed to be working on school work :( Anyway...I am starting to get a lot less busy, and I am excited to be graduating :D

I just wanted to throw some stuff out there as to what I am planning to do within the next few weeks.

FIRST: I want to finish up some review posts that I had drafted, but no pictures uploaded which I think does nothing...

NEXT: I want to show you the goodies I have been getting from my Birchboxes...

THEN: I want to show some hauls that I have been holding onto for a while...along with some upcoming stuff I'll be getting in the mail (HINT-theBalm & Urban Decay) very soon!!

I will also be going to Torrance in the middle of this month...hopefully I'll have time and money to do a little shopping and I will update you about that as well...I will have internet up there too so I will hopefully be uploading my pictures and trying to post more blog posts!

Until then...I hope you are all doing well and I'm looking forward to blogging when school wraps up!

MAC Holiday 2011 Haul

Oh my...it's been way too long!!!

Well...I've been doing some shopping, but unfortunately I haven't posted anything in a while, but since I saw some of the MAC Holiday stuff up and close (and yessss bought some), thought I'd share with you my take on the collection.

I bought only lip stuff from this collection. I looked at all the eye stuff, and I've seen promotional pictures so I got excited, then I saw swatches, then I lost my hopefulness. I wanted to get some stuff for my Christmas shopping, but I lost hope when I started to play with the actual product at Nordstrom the day of the launch. Since everything was pretty much brand spakin new, I knew that for sure this stuff wasn't that good (the quality hasn't been compromised from numerous people handling it for weeks, etc).

Here's the stuff I got:

Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag, $38.00

Left to right: Lip Pencil in Boldly Bare, Cremsheen Glass in Deelight, and Lipstick in I Love Winter.

Dazzleglass in Spanking Rich, $19.50

I haven't used any of the products too much, but overall I think I like them color-wise, but I think the two lip glosses are going to be a bit drying to me. However, I really liked the colors of these products.

Another mention is the new foundation I picked up. It's the new Matchmaster SPF 15 Foundation that came out last month.

This is shade number 4.0. Unlike the "traditional" numbering that MAC uses, this one is not separated by undertone. It's supposed to match to your skin. After using it once on my face and swatching it on my hand, I would have to say that it is pretty good at that, or it could also be that this shade leans warm (yellow).

If there's any new news about my purchases, you will be the first to know ;)

August 2011 Birchbox: Overview

My friend Jamie, known as The Happy Cardigan on Word Press, kinda convinced me through her blog to jump on the Birchbox bandwagon...kinda hate her for that, but I just received mine in the mail, and am excited to try out a bunch of these things.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Birchbox ( I wasn't until Jamie introduced me to it), it is a service that will send deluxe samples of beauty products every month. The samples are picked out for you from a pool of stuff they're currently "sponsoring" or featuring. You can subscribe for $10 a month. My box took quite some time to ship here in Hawaii (not exactly a benefit of living in "paradise"). You are also able to purchase products that Birchbox features on their site. Anything you buy gives you reward points (including the Birchboxes themselves), and once you reach 100 points, you can redeem that for $10 to use on the site. The only downside to the points is that they expire every 365 days.

This is the box the samples came in. I like the size since it will fit in my mailbox in case my pops isn't home to receive it.

You'll be greeted with this card explaining the samples you receive in the box.

Here's all the samples. I haven't tried everything (although it's taken me forever and a day to post), but when I do try them, I'll try and do a post about my experience with them:

Left to right: Be fine food skin care Night Cream, Be fine food skin care Single Serve Exfoliating Cleanser

I tried the night cream, and it's nice. If you have dry skin, I would say this isn't for you. But it's the right amount of moisture for me. I will try the cleanser one night.

N4 Reconstructing Masque.

N4 Volumizing Shampoo. This sample is like a one time deal. I hope it at least cleans all my hair.

Tocca SPF 30+ Sunscreen Towelette. It came with 2 packages (with one towelette in each). I'm afraid to try it because of the fact it might get my skin all greasy, but I gotta try it eventually I guess.

Twist Band Hair Tie. Yeah...I don't think this could even tie up half my hair.

Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Medium. This stuff isn't all that great. Almost no coverage, and it makes my face greasy anyway (not necessarily more than usual, but enough to make note of).

I like this idea of getting these deluxe samples regularly. A few things I am not too fond of is that some of these samples, like the shampoo I got aren't really deluxe in my eyes, and that it took forever and a day to ship. One solution to the shipping would be for them to stagger the shipping of the boxes so that they come to our doorsteps at approximately the same time. However these minor things are just what they are...minor. One thing that I am liking is that I got a bunch of stuff that I have never heard of. So this is a great way to introduce yourself to different companies in the beauty industry.

Stila Holiday Collection

Hey guys,

I got an email this morning about Stila's holiday collection.  There's some interesting things that you may want to check out.

Dream in Full Color Palette $39



Includes: 29 eyeshadows, 7 cheek colors, and a smudgestick in stingray.

Color-wise, it looks a lot more wearable than the color wheel that came out last year.  There are a lot of earthy colors.  The thing that I kind of like is that it comes with the cheek colors, which I believe are those things on the "outside" of the "flower" looking thing.  They seem very similar in color though.  If I catch it at Sephora, I should try and swatch.  This would be cool to buy if you already don't have a neutral palette, and also would like to try the smudgestick, which I am not the biggest fan of.


Daydream Palette, $18



Includes: 22 eyeshadows

This palette has a lot more color colors.  I may look into buying this.  I has nice, softer looking teals, blues, and purples, along with some neutrals.

Holiday Lip Glaze Set 2011  $25



Includes 4 best sellers and 4 holiday exclusives in a smaller .05 oz (compared to the full sized .08 oz) package.

Colors:

•  Apricot (Permanent)
•  Kitten (Permanent)
•  Starfruit (Permanent)
•  Grapefruit (Permanent)
•  Believe - rosey wine with gold shimmer (Limited)
•  Dreamy - creamy, beige amaretto with subtle shimmer (Limited)
•  Fantasy - warm pink with gold shimmer (Limited)
•  Kaleidoscope - sheer apricot with multi-pearl shimmer (Limited)

I personally don't love Stila lip glazes.  They're on the sticky side, and pretty pricey.  However, if you like these lip glazes, or if you want to try them out, this is a good option.  It's pretty cheap and you get a LOT.

Holiday 5-Piece Brush Set  $28

 This includes:

• #24a powder brush
• #6 lip color and liner brush
• #9 all over blend brush
• #33b domed concealer brush
• #5 eye shadow brush

This looks like a pretty good deal, but keep in mind these look like they're travel sized.  I will look into this set because I've been looking for some eye brushes I can carry with me for touch ups.

This collection looks pretty neat.  Good stuff to check out.  I believe for now it will only be on the Stila website (stilacosmetics.com)  where you can get 6% cash back from ebates.  The only thing is that if you live in Hawaii (and Alaska too I think) the shipping is redonkulous, so there's your downside.  If you're tight on shipping, I would say wait for it to come out at sephora, where it is actually 4% cash back from ebates.

Let me know if you pick anything up, or what you would want to pick up :)

Photos from stilacosmetics.com

This post contains affiliate or invite links that I am able to earn commission from. I would not support any company that I didn't like. What I earn from affiliate programs are going to be used to improve this blog, and bring more things for my followers.

Sunscreen: To Use or Not to Use?

So, school started for me yesterday (no classes on Mondays!!), and so it begins, me waking up about half an hour earlier than my lazy day summer schedule, my long hike from the parking structure to my building, and yesssss wearing a more intense sunscreen on my face to protect from them rays. During the summer I was just working, so I never used a really high SPF, just either my VitaZing moistirizer, or my Murad Oil Control Mattifier which are both SPF 15 only. Now that I will be out in the sun for longer periods of time, and during those peak hours (10 am till 2 pm) more often, I tend to wear more sun protecting products to keep my face safe, and white ;P

What is the problem you ask? Well along with stronger sun protection, most of these products do a number on my oily skin!!

As you may remember, I tried MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect that had an SPF of 50, which was nice. I was ok with how it was on my face...not horribly greasy: manageable, but then I broke out and gave it to my friend, who I think is liking it.

So, I tried Neutrogena Liquid Moisturizer SPF 50, and I used it straight out of the bottle, and hated it...way too greasy. However, after my experience with the MAC product went down the toilet, I tried this stuff again, and mixed it with my Murad moisturizer, which ended up being pretty good...not great, but tollerable! I also tried it with MAC Oil Control Lotion, which is ok too!!

I also tried a sample of a Shiseido one, one that I got in an earlier haul. It was the same...ok.

My dilemma: I need to find a better sunscreen that will control oil on my face. I will always be in the search, and I hope I find it soon. For those of you who do face the sun on a regular basis, whether it be walking from your car at those peak hours, or you like to walk around your neighborhood in the afternoon, I really do suggest you wear sunscreen. Meleanoma can kill, so take it seriously! If you have not too oily skin, you may want to check out some of the stuff I mentioned :)

My Brazilian Peel Experience

The other week Sephora was giving a special pack of samples to their V. I. B.'s (basically the Beauty Insiders that spend way more than they need to be), and I picked one up because it had this one sample, the Brazilian Peel. It just sounded so appealing, maybe because it's "Brazilian?" I don't know, but I ended up buying my $35 worth of product to get this and I tried it on Saturday. This won't be a full review because I believe you're supposed to use it for a month (4 treatments) to get full results, so I'll just talk about what happened and my first impression of this stuff.

I've hear glycolic acid has its benefits with acne, so I thought this would be nice to try, and the anti-aging properties weren't so bad either :) Also, since it's supposed to tighten skin, I thought it would be good for my rather large pores.

The product comes loaded into a syringe. One side contains all the good stuff: glycolic acid, and the other is a neutralizer so that the stuff doesn't go nuts on your face.

Don't ask me which side is which...I'm NOT a Chemistry major!

Here's my face before this process. I used my Clarisonic and cleansed with St Ive's Green Tea Cleanser, which contains Salacylic Acid.

My forehead has been breaking out a bit lately, but this is it up a little closer.

Here's my nose area. Big pores.

I heard that there's a lot of product, so putting some on your hands may be wise (to decrease waste).

So the instructions say to shoot the whole syringe into your palm:

It shoots out really nice...no waste!

Then you have to mix the two parts with your fingers until you feel a heating sensation, then apply it to your face, neck, wherever!

It's colorless, and just makes your face a bit shiny. I really thought this was going to make my face burn or irritated because of its high glycolic acid content, but it didn't. And I guess I just assumed that because some salacylic acid and benzoyl peroxide treatments leave my face like that, but I will have to go out on a limb and say the glycolic acid isn't like those guys? During my 10 minutes, my face really tightened up, not to the point where I couldn't talk or show emotion, but enough to notice. I washed it off with cool water and patted dry.

I think my face looks a bit smoother. Maybe like I have a primer on? Nothing too noticeable though.

Pores look a bit tighter.

Forgot to take a before pic of my chin :( But this is after...no real change...

My hand doesn't look any much younger either :( Well...I think my hands look pretty descent, so I don't think they could get any younger looking ;)

FINAL THOUGHTS

This treatment wasn't really bad, but it wasn't as great as I thought it was. Maybe it's because I'm not really that old, and in need of such a treatment, but the day after, I think oil production was lower than usual, and it was really hot and humid in my house. So, that was a plus! I am quite non-differentiated about this stuff.

I must admit, I really liked the packaging. Like I mentioned earlier, it was literally a no waste package, which is great, especially for the price you would have to pay (if it wasn't a sample). I am a sucker for packaging, and if all my acne treatments came packaged like this, I would be in heaven!

Would I pay $78 to see what a month of this would do? Not at this moment, but I may check out the acne treating version of this stuff in the near future :)

Spotlight On: Sigma Beauty

Ok, gonna start doing a new series that spotlights different beauty companies. I will talk about my favorite products from the company, and about what I know about from what I can tell about the company. I just want to show these companies through my eyes and why I like them so much!

For this first spotlight, I'm spotlighting Sigma Makeup.

When it comes to makeup, the tool is just as important as the products you're using. I find it quite easy to find cheap alternatives to expensive makeup in relation to finding cheap alternatives to brushes and other beauty tools. In comes Sigma Beauty.

I own a ton of Sigma brushes. I have both the complete and the advanced kits. With the advanced kit I had no option with the brush roll, but with the complete kit there was an option, and I opted for no roll, mostly because it was cheaper. However, I recommend getting one of the Make Me Up kits which come with a brush carrier/holder. It comes in handy if you are doing work on people and you can separate the clean and dirty brushes. Plus, they come in neat colors. I think I want to get the purple set one day :) I may just treat myself to it for Christmas or something ;) I also have the F80 brush. I LOVE it for foundation--powder or liquid, doesn't matter...it's good with both mediums :)

My personal favorites are: E25, E45, E55, F10, F25, F35, and the F80. And now that the brushes can be purchased individually (not just in the kits), you could just pick up the ones you need. Although, if you see a bunch that you're going to like, I would pick up a kit that has those in it, and you'll probably discover something new :) and it's usually a value too.

Check out their site, browse around, and if you have any questions, you can ask me, or I also found their customer service very helpful and very personal, not too business-y, more like a person (if that made sense).

This post contains affiliate or invite links that I am able to earn commission from. I would not support any company that I didn't like. What I earn from affiliate programs are going to be used to improve this blog, and bring more things for my followers.