Review: Wet n Wild Coverall Stick Concealer

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Product name: Wet n Wild Coverall Stick Concealer in 804
Price: about $2 at CVS

Review: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant

Hi everyone! I am currently away at a Christian conference. I won't be back until the 11th,, so until then, here is a post I wrote in advance :) Or rather, a post that I finished a while ago but forgot about :P

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Product name: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant
Price: about $7 at Ulta

Review: Wet n Wild Juicy SPF 15 Lipbalm in Strawberry

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money* 

Hi guys! Just wanted to let you all know that I might be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks :X I have just started my second year of college and things are pretty crazy right now. Trying to balance two internships, a job, school, church, and other extracurricular activities is pretty tough! So...until then~

Product name: Wet n Wild Juicy SPF 15 Lipbalm in Strawberry
Price: about $3 at CVS

Packaging: It's a bit too bulky but then again, it IS a jumbo-sized lip balm. You can't twist the lip balm all the way down but that doesn't bother me at all. I'm not a huge fan of the length of the plastic cap though; I wish it was shorter as the length makes it hard to take the cap off without getting a bit of lip balm on it (you can see some stains in the picture above)

I liked this lip balm more than I thought I would. Although it's bulky I kind of like the jumbo size. The color is also really cute. Furthermore, it's slick but not greasy. It's not by any means going to help super chapped lips but if you need to moisturize your lips a little bit this lip balm will do the trick. In addition, there is a bit of artificial strawberry scent and hardly any tint. I don't like how it tastes though...it's not like I bite off a piece of lip balm and eat it, but the taste somehow creeps into my mouth and it's a bit disgusting. Thank goodness the taste doesn't last long.

Overall: I give it a 7/10. It's cute to look at and it does moisturize my lips a little bit, but it's not to the point in which I would buy the product again. I have other lip balms that are much more moisturizing and travel friendly. In addition, the chemical taste is gross and for this reason I will not consider buying this lip balm again.

Review: Essence Match2Cover! Cream Concealer

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to review a concealer I bought during my vacation in Canada. It was really cheap and I have heard good things about Essence's makeup products before, so I thought I would try it out and let you guys know what I think. 

Product name: Essence Match2cover! Cream Concealer
Price: about $3.50 at Shoppers Drug Mart/Ulta

Packaging: I like how compact it is. However, there wasn't a plastic seal on it so anyone could have opened it and took a swatch with their fingers....which I saw and put back on the display wall -_-"

Thoughts: It's okay. Not amazing, just okay. It's creamy and fairly pigmented, and of course the price makes it a great deal. It also has decent staying power.

Overall: I give this concealer a 7/10. As you can tell, I'm not loving this concealer but I don't hate it either. I would recommend this concealer to those who are looking for a cheap and decent concealer, but I personally wouldn't buy this product again because I rather pay a few more dollars for a great concealer than save the money and settle for a so-so concealer. .

Review: Majolica Majorca Lash King Mascara

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Product name: Majolica Majorca Lash King Mascara
Price: about $10-13 at Watson's
Packaging: I love the design! It's so pretty and probably has the "fanciest" design out of all the mascaras I own.

Thoughts: Aside from the gorgeous packaging, I quite like this mascara. I have stick straight Asian lashes and somehow with this mascara my lashes manage to curl. It definitely lengthens  my lashes but there it doesn't noticeably volumize, so I would recommend using this mascara with another volumizing mascara. It's not very black, which I actually like since it looks more natural. I have been using this for two weeks and it hasn't smudged once, which is a plus.

Overall: I give this mascara a 10/10. This is the first mascara I have ever used that actually manages to curl my lashes without me having to use my lash curler. I also like how natural it looks; there is minimal clumping and it doesn't smudge! I unquestionably would buy this mascara again and highly recommend it :)

Review: Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Product name: Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit

Price: I forgot exactly how much I paid for this but I would say it was between $2-4

Packaging: Average packaging for lip balms. I love the pink cap though :)

Thoughts: You guys...I think I just found my new favorite lip balm. The grapefruit scent is amazing; it doesn't smell artificial at all! Also, it's incredibly moisturizing and makes my lips super smooth and soft. The soft and slightly creamy texture is very similar to that of Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter, another personal favorite. 

Overall: I give this lip balm a 10/10. I am a huge lip balm junkie and this is easily my favorite one thus far. It's moisturizing and it smells amazing- what's not to love?!

Review: Organia Water Drop Essence Hand Cream

*Disclaimer: this product was a gift from my aunt*

Product name: Organia Water Drop Essence Hand Cream
Price: Unsure; I received this as a gift

Packaging: Standard hand cream packaging so I don't really have anything to say about the packaging haha. I would prefer a flip cap over a twist cap though. 

Thoughts: I love it! The consistency of this hand cream is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It's almost gel-like but dissolves as soon as you rub your hands together. It's super light and yes, it feels like water after it dissolves. I think it's pretty moisturizing but since it's so light, those with extremely dry hands might have to reapply it often. In addition, there is a light floral scent.

Overall: I give this hand cream a 9/10. I love the unique consistency and how light it is. However, I took a point off because it's not extremely moisturizing and I personally don't like scented hand creams. It might also be hard to find in the United States.

CVS Haul

I had some Extrabucks that were going to expire soon so I stopped by CVS and ended up buying a few beauty products. 

I love using cotton squares to remove my makeup!

The CVS acne treatment gel is the BEST. I should probably do a proper review on it because it's seriously so amazing. I also bough ta pack of CVS oil blotting sheets; they work pretty well and are cheap.

I'm not a huge fan of Burt's Bees products but since their Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter is my HG lip balm, I decided to try out their grapefruit scented one. I like it a lot! It smells wonderful (exactly like a grapefruit) and soothes my chapped lips. I still like the mango one better though :P

And last but not least, I purchased the Milani Liquid Eye eyeliner in brown and the Wet n Wild liquid eyeliner in black/brown. The Milani eyeliner is now my HG eyeliner so again, I need to do a proper review!

Hope you enjoyed my CVS haul! I have a lot of reviews coming up so keep an lookout for that :)

Review: Wet n Wild Idol Eyes Creme Shadow Pencil in Pixie 130

*Disclaimer: this product was purchased with my own money*

Product name: Wet n Wild Idol Eyes Creme Shadow Pencil in Pixie 130
Price: about $2 at CVS
What it claims: According to Wet n Wild's website, it is a "Soft-blending, creamy eyeshadow at the convenience of a pencil. Silky-smooth formula glides on easily for high impact, light-infused color that last for hours."

Packaging: Not much to say about the packaging; just your average pencil with a plastic cap.

I bought this because I fell in love with the shimmery cool champagne color. I thought it would look great as a highlight color and so that's what I used it for. This is now my HG highlighter for the inner corner of my eyes! Also, it's so pigmented and really does light on smoothly. In addition, it doesn't smear off; in fact, it stays on for hours. 

However, it does look like it'll be a pain to sharpen. I might have to go out and buy a jumbo pencil sharpener just so I can continue using this pencil :/

Overall: I give it a 9.5/10. I can't say too much about it as an eyeshadow pencil but as a highlighter? Love! And for just $2? You can't go wrong! I took half a point off because it looks like sharpening the pencil will be somewhat inconvenient, but in any case I will definitely be purchasing this again when I run out.

Taiwan Haul Part 4

I usually never wear false eyelashes and actually wasn't planning on buying any in Taiwan, but my cousin convinced me that they really do make a difference and are perfect for special events. I caved in and bought a box for about 150 NTD. These were the most natural false eyelashes my cousins could find (out of the 20+ kinds sold at the store...).

I am a huge sucker for stationary. In Taiwan, I spent over one and a half hours looking around in just a single, modestly sized stationary store. I bought a ton of stickers and birthday cards. I also bought 4 notepads, a set of paper envelopes, and a box of small notecards.

It would take me way too long to individually photograph each food item that I bought in Taiwan so I'm not going to :P But I filled up 2 large suitcases with food, so yes, I bought a TON of snacks. Half of my snack haul was generously gifted to me by my cousin Wendy.

 Some of my favorite snack purchases include a box of pudding (one of my favorite things to eat in Taiwan), matcha milk mix, and Koala's March cookies in various flavors (I think I got them in chocolate, milk, custard, and vanilla ice cream).

I apologize in advance for the next few weeks: I'll definitely be posting since I have about 3 more posts to go until I finish my Taiwan/Japan haul posts, and I have purchased quite a bit of things since I came back from Taiwan -_-". However, I think I'm putting my Taiwan/Japan diary posts on the back burner for now.

I'm going to try and finish them, but they take a long time to put together so I'll only work on them when I have some free time...which will be rare during the next few weeks due to my online classes, internship, traveling (again...), church activities, meeting up with friends I haven't seen in a while, and taking my cousin Ivy (who'll be coming from Taiwan and staying with us for about 3 months) out to shop/eat/explore.

So a big THANK YOU! to those who read my blog and comment. It brings a smile to my face :) And yes, I can't properly say thank you with a giveaway...which is coming up very, very, VERY soon ;)

Taiwan Haul Part 3

Hi everyone! This is the third part of my Taiwan Haul. Sorry for breaking it up into so many parts; I have been extremley busy lately and so it's easier for me to edit a small batch of photos at once instead of editing all the pictures from my Taiwan/Japan trip.

Back of the makeup pouch

I went to Watson's and bought a few Majolica Majorca makeup products to try out. I adore the packaging and I've heard nothing but good reviews of this brand's products. I'm not sure of the exact names of these products, but I picked up a liquid eyeliner, a cream eyeliner, 3 eyeshadow palettes, and a mascara that was highly recommended by my cousin Ivy. The mascara came with a free mirror. Also, Watson's was having a special promotion, so if you spend over 500 NTD on Majolica Majorca products you get a free makeup pouch.

I also bought 7 packs of 3m Nexcare acne patches. They work amazingly well and were fairly cheap (I think I paid about 70 NTD per pack). I regret not buying more!

Finally, I purchased this purse at Feng Jia night market for 350 NTD. The quality is pretty good but I wouldn't use it on a day to day basis. However, since I don't own a gray purse, I thought I might as well buy it.

Hope you guys enjoyed this (small) haul post! There's a lot more to come :P

Review: Robanda Eye Gel

*Disclaimer: This product was purchased with my own money*

I have been looking for a good eye gel/cream for quite a while now. I have horrible puffy dark circles in addition to barely-there-but-still-exists fine lines; in order to prevent further "damage", I spent some time browsing in stores and looking up reviews for an affordable but good quality eye gel/cream.

I stopped by Marshall's the other day and found THE best eye gel I have thus far.

Product name: Robanda Eye Gel with Advanced Retinol Vitamin A
Price: about 6-7 at Marshall's or TJ Maxx
What it claims: "Minimizes the appearance of fine lines, puffines, and dark circles. 100% pure Vitamin A penetrates quickly andhelps restore clarity, tone, and elasticity to revitalize tired eyes.."

Packaging: It's a really simple packaging so I'm not going into too much detail...I mean, it's just a jar. I would prefer a pump over a jar though;it's probably more sanitary.

How to use it: As written on the jar, "Apply gently morning and night on the eye area after removal of make-up with the Robanda Facial Cleansing Lotion. To apply, pat the gel around the eye area with the tip of the finger." I only apply the eye gel at night as I have discovered that if I apply it in the morning (before I put on my makeup), it messes with the consistency of my BB cream.

Pros:
1. It works!: I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the eye gel actually does what it claim to do. Just after a few days, I noticed that there was a dramatic decrease in puffiness around my eye area. As for my dark circles, there wasn't a significant amount of change but I do believe it's getting a little lighter. I'm not too sure whether or not it's doing anything for my fine lines, but then again, I don't really have any prominent fine lines so perhaps that's why I don't see a difference.
2. Affordable: Since these are found at Marshall's and TJ Maxx, they tend to be cheaper than the original price. For $7, I would gladly purchase more if I happen to see them.
3. Does not cause milia: This was a huge pro for me. Overall, I have pretty good skin and rarely break out...but for some reason all the eye gels/creams I tried in the past caused a tiny bit of milia around my eye area. Even though it was barely noticeable, I tossed those products. I'm so glad that this eye gel doesn't cause ANY breakouts.
4. Will last for a while: Although some may think paying $7 for a .5 oz jar is a lot, but so far I have been noticing that you only need to apply a tiny amount, so it should last you for quite a while. I have been using it for 2-3 weeks and have used up only maybe 5% of the eye gel!
5. Good ingredients: The gel contains aloe vera barbadensis extract, retinyl palmitate (vitamin a), tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e). Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think the aforementioned ingredients are known to be really good for the skin!
Cons:
1. May be hard to find: When I went to Marshall's, there were only 2 jars. I stopped by again another time and spotted just one jar left. I have seen this sold at TJ Maxx but haven't been there recently, so I'm not sure if they have any still in stock. Then again, the stock at Marshall's and TJ Maxx constantly changes, so it may be hard to get your hands on this product.
2. Packaging: I wish this eye gel would come in the form of a pump. I always make sure my hands are clean before applying anything to my face, but still, a pump would be better and more convenient than  a jar.

Overall: I give it a 9.5/10. This eye gel actually works; I was able to see the results in just a few days. That itself makes me want to buy a few more jars in case Marshall's or TJ Maxx stops selling it. Furthermore, it's extremely affordable and just one jar will probably last for a while. However, I wish it was easier to find and that it came in a pump than in a jar.

geoGirl FYEO Feather Lash Mascara Review

I have Asian lashes, which means I have thin, stick straight lashes. As a result, I constantly buy mascara and  keep an eye out on MakeupAlley for any different brands of mascara that offer great length/volume for a decent price. I found out via MakeupAlley that a brand called "geoGirl" supposedly makes really great mascara that lengthens and thickens; it also supposedly doesn't clump and overall looks pretty natural.

I decided to buy it, and so I went out to Walmart, where I then quickly found the aisle with various geoGirl makeup product...and stared. The name of the brand itself implies that it is perhaps aimed toward younger girls, but everything looked so cheap in terms of packaging and quality. However, since it only cost $4 and had favorable reviews, I thought I might as well give it a try. And so here is my review!

Product Name: geoGirl FYEO [ForYourEyesOnly] FeatherLASH Mascara in Grey
Price: about $4 at Walmart
What It Claims: "This totally weightless mascara with Nettles and Sage makes even itty-bitty lashes look crazy long & naturally thick. Won't flake, clump, or speckle."

Packaging: I'm not going to lie, I love the packaging. I love the fact that it is made from "planet-friendly materials including renewable corn and recycled paperboard." Yeah, it doesn't look expensive and therefore may turn off some people, but who cares? If it's good for the planet, then I support it 100%! I actually like the cardboard material and the cute feather print.

How to use it: According to the packaging, "Blink, wiggle, wiggle. No U R not squeezing URself into skinny jeans. This is the secret 2 applying mascara. Just hold UR mascara wand horizontally at base of lashes & wiggle it back & forth until U reach the tips." Yikes. I'm not a fan at this brand's attempt to attract tween girls with its use of "U" and "UR".

Pros:
1. Length/Volume: I was pretty surprised that after curling my lashes and applying just one layer of mascara, my lashes seemed noticeably longer and subtly darker.
2. Natural ingredients: I love that this mascara (and apparently all geoGirl products) are free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, propylene glycol, PABA, DEA, petrolatum, paraffin, synthetic fragrance, synthetic color, carmine, and animal ingredients (with the exception of cruelty-free honey, lanolin, and beeswax).
3. Affordable: At only $4, it's pretty cheap and won't break the bank.
4. Eco-friendly packaging: As mentioned before, the packaging is made from "planet-friendly materials including renewable corn and recycled paperboard". Love!
5. Giving back: According to the packaging, "geoGirl will donate a portion of net profits to gg-Gives to support girls' causes." I tried looking this charity up but couldn't find a lot of information on it. This was all I could find: "There's a philanthropic component as well, gg-Gives, which will donate a portion of net profits to a charity chosen by geoGirl's young customers." In any case, it's great that part of the money that consumers pay for geoGirl products will go toward helping others.

Cons:
1. The colors: Apparently geoGirl sells this mascara in black, but at my local Walmart, only 3 colors are sold- grey, blue, and brown. I wish it was easier to obtain this mascara in black! The grey color is fairly dark, but for my skimpy lashes, I'm sure that a black one would be better. Then again, this is supposed to look natural T~T So I suppose grey is acceptable but not ideal.
2. Minor clumping: Although this product claims to be clump-free, I found that there was still minor clumping.
3. Packaging: This is in regard to the text on the cardboard backing that came with the mascara. This actually isn't really a con but just something that irritated me haha. I strongly dislike the use of "U" and "UR" in general, so to anyone else it may not be a problem at all (I am an English major after all). I understand this brand is marketed toward tween girls, but still...

Overall: I give it a 8/10. I like the fact that it's eco-friendly and uses natural products, but I wish I could find the mascara in Black in stores. It does look natural, which is a plus. However, I can't overlook the fact that there is minor clumping. I will consider buying this again in the future because it' so cheap and the clumping is really minor. I still reach for this mascara for everyday makeup but for a night out, I would choose something different.

Brushes, Blush, and Blazer

Edit: ^ The alliteration was completely unintentional 

Until two days ago, I never understood why people bought so many makeup brushes. I was satisfied with just my Ecotools kabuki brush and my Ulta blush brush. I scoffed at the idea that a good quality brush could make that much of a difference. But then I was looking at reviews on Makeupalley and noticed that there were extremely good reviews for a makeup brush brand called Paris Presents. Apparently the brushes are amazing and affordable, and so I headed out to my local Walmart to purchase the HD powder brush and the HD angled blush brush. 

And now I can't stop buying brushes -___-" 

They were so soft and fluffy that I went on Makeupalley once again and discovered this line of makeup brushes called Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman. So the next day, I went out to Ulta to purchase the powder brush and the blush brush. And again, the quality was beyond what I expected. I actually went back to Ulta the very same day to buy the expert face brush and the setting brush. 

L to R: powder brush, expert face brush, blush brush, setting brush, HD powder brush, HD angled blush brush

I know my collection is nothing compared to that of most bloggers, but as a broke college student, me buying 6 brushes within 2 days is a huge deal haha. But these brushes are so worth it :)

I also decided to splurge and buy the tarte amazonian clay blush in Exposed. I tend to spend around $6 for blushes so handing over $25 was a little hard, but after hearing Jen from frmheadtotoe rave about it, I had to buy it. I haven't tried it yet but here are some pictures!

I also went to TJ Maxx with my mom to do some shopping before I head back to school. I actually think shopping is boring now...it's reach that point where I feel like I have too many clothes. That being said, I only browsed the clearance section but was pretty happy that I did. 

This cotton maroon blazer was on sale for just $10! It was originally $60 so I thought it was a pretty good bargain. 

Hope you guys all had a good week! I'm heading out to run a couple of errands now; I'm going back to school tomorrow and need to stock up on food and school supplies!