a hiatus

My grandfather passed away yesterday. I got a Facebook message from my cousin shortly after a short email from my father. Her message was hesitant, as though she couldn't quite find the words. She settled on, "He's just. Gone," followed by sad cat emojis. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

I will (probably) be traveling to Taiwan, so you will not see posts from me this month. Hope you are all well.

february 2015 empties

This month flew by so quickly! I don't have many empties to share, but let's get right to it.

The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Cream. This was a so-so makeup remover. I find that the best way to use this is to tissue it off rather than rinse, but even then you do have to follow up with another cleanser to get all the residue off. I never felt like my makeup came off completely with this--especially not waterproof makeup--so this is a skip for me. I'm currently using the Banila Co. Clean it Zero cleansing balm, which I'm loving so look out for a review of that soon!

h2O+ Deep Sleep Recovery Cream. My sister gave me a sample of this and I loved it. It's really light but very moisturizing and I wake up with supple, soft skin the next morning. It's a bit pricey so I don't think I'll run out and purchase the full size, but if I ever feel like splurging on skincare...

Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen. This is the sunscreen of all sunscreens. I love how lightweight it is, how quickly it absorbs into the skin, and the SPF of 50. It also wears well under makeup! I already have 3 back up tubes of this. A definite must have, especially as we're moving into warmer weather.

msh Love Liner Mascara. This mascara smells like strawberries! The curl and length that it gives you isn't really impressive, but it's a great everyday mascara. What I liked about it is that I never needed to use a primer with it and it doesn't flake or smudge throughout the day, even on my oily lids. This is probably due to the fact that this is a tubing mascara, so you can remove it easily with warm water. So while it's oil-proof, if you're prone to crying, this is probably not the best mascara for you.

Lancome Bi-facil Eye Makeup Remover. I have several trial size bottles of these because I bought my mom and mother-in-law gifts from Lancome for my wedding. It's a good eye makeup remover; I'm not that keen on the rose smell, and I do feel like my Mandom remover gets off the Japanese mascara more easily, but I don't mind using these bottles up. I won't purchase it full size, as it is quite pricey, and my Mandom remover does the same thing for less.

Did you finish any products this month? Any standouts?

another impulse buy: baublebar

BaubleBar had a flash sale this past weekend, and I just couldn't resist this adorable ring tree.

How cute is that? I have a super cute ring holder already in a cat shape (from Japan) and a giraffe jewelry holder from Anthropologie, but it's getting a little crazy as you can see from these pictures:

 

I'm thinking about just having my engagement and wedding rings on the cat and putting my other rings on the elephant!

How do you organize your jewelry?

daiso silicone makeup brush cleaner

I was browsing Daiso when I stumbled upon this Daiso egg laundry board. Doesn't it look just like those silicone brush cleaners? For $1.50, I couldn't resist. I picked it up and put it to the test.

It works like a charm. I wet the brush, pour a little bit of Daiso's makeup brush and sponge detergent onto it, then swirl it around the egg under running water, and watch the makeup melt away!

If you have a Daiso nearby, I would definitely recommend picking this up. At $1.50, you can't go wrong!

impulse buy: it cosmetics

I got a $25 discount code from It Cosmetics for filling out a survey recently, and I knew I wanted to purchase a brush from them, since I've heard so many good things about the quality about their brushes! Imagine my surprise when I was browsing their site today and found this:

Needless to say, I jumped on this--with my $25 discount, I paid roughly $10 for 7 brushes! I can't wait for these to come in and will let you know my thoughts after I've played with them.

Have you made any impulse buys recently?

my valentine's make up look

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This is how my Valentine's Day look turned out, based on my previous post. The only thing I ended up not using was the Revlon crayon--I went with a gradient lip instead using the Benefit Benetint. I felt like having a brighter lip instead of the pinky nude.

Hope you're all having a lovely Valentine's Day!

Products used:

1) Base: The Face Shop CC Cream in no. 2
2) Cheeks: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose
3) Lips: Benefit Benetint
4) Eyes: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette in Booty Call, Chopper, and Tease
5) Eyes: Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara
6) Eyes: MSH Love Liner in Rich Black
7) Under eye: IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer
8) Brows: Lioele Auto Eyebrow #3 Gray Black

What did you wear this Valentine's Day?

valentine's day makeup

I don't usually "celebrate" Valentine's Day, but my husband surprised me by letting me know that he made reservations at a Japanese restaurant for dinner that day! Here's what I'm planning on wearing, beauty-wise:

1. Base: The Face Shop CC Cream in no. 2
2. Cheeks: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose
3. Lips: Revlon ColorBurst Lacquer Balm in Demure
4. Eyes: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette in Booty Call, Chopper, and Tease
5. Eyes: Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara
6. Eyes: MSH Love Liner in Rich Black
7. Under eye: IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer

I love soft and sweet makeup, so I'm keeping it simple: a bright and radiant complexion with softly defined eyes and pink lips. The CC cream has a surprising amount of coverage, and isn't too dewy, while brightening your skin. The shimmer brick gives a subtle hint of color and a lovely sheen that brings life back to your face.

I have extremely oily eyelids, but these Japanese mascara and eyeliner simply do not budge on me! The under eye concealer by IT cosmetics is one of the most pigmented that I've used, and I only use it on special occasions. Finally, the finishing touch is a hint of pink shimmer on the lips.

What are you wearing this Valentine's Day?