What's in my Travel Makeup Bag

I'm staying at my sister's house for a month, here are some of the makeup I'm taking with me.  Most of them are my stable everyday wear all neutral and safe colors. 

The makeup bag is from Walmart I remember paying $5 or less, I had this bag for over 5 years and I still love it till now although I'm not sure if Walmart still carry this.

The brushes are all random from various brands, most of them are drug stores. 

1) Koji Eyelash Curler
2) Sugar Eyeshadow Pencil, shimmery beige to brighten the inner corner
3) Makeup Forever Brown Liquid Liner
4) L'oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Liner in Carbon Black
5) Brown Lancome Waterproof pencil liner to line the lower lash line
6) Benefit Erase Paste concealer
7) Bobbi Brown shimmery taupe cream eyeshadow
8) Missha M Vita BB Cream SPF20 (moisture type)
9) Physicians Formula Healthy Wear pressed powder
10) Makeup sponges for my BB Cream
11) Benefit Posie Tint for my lips and cheeks, can't live without this product!
12) Benefit High Beam to highlight
13) ELF powder blush in "Passion Pink"
14) Essence I <3 base="" beige="" br="" eyeshadow="">15) Sephora Brand Advanced Lash Booster, this mascara is surprisingly good!
16) Maybelline Baby Lips tinted lip balm in "Pink Punch"
17) Lancome Eyeshadow Duo in "Sparkling Pink"
18) Maybelline Eyeshadow Quad in "Chai Latte" amazing quad this is a must have in your collection if you love neutrals.  I have the old packaging.
19) Cotton swabs to clean any smudges and Aleve for pain killers

Disclaimer: I purchase everything

2012 Favorite Products

Here are some of my most used and loved products of 2012!  A lot of skincare favorites in this post,  I've been experimenting and focusing more with skincare then makeup, I've come to realize if you don't have smooth skin your makeup will not apply nicely so skincare is very important.

 Missha's MISA Golden Snowflake Eye Cream If you didn't know I am obsess with Missha's Misa Golden Snowflake Overnight Cream so the eye cream is just as good, very moisturizing especially if you have dry under eyes.

The Body Shop Vitamin C Facial Radiance Capsules I was quite surprise how smooth and velvet this felt on my skin, on some nights I would open one capsule and apply it all over my face and my neck.  The texture feels like putting on a silicon base primer, so I can imagine using this product as a primer before applying makeup.  Although this product is quite expensive at $28.00, so I would purchase this when it's on sale at The Body Shop since they have sales quite often. 

De Herbs 100% Hyaluronic Acid Serum (Purchase at Sasa.com) I just have to say, this serum is AMAZING!  It doesn't feel greasy, the texture is gel like and it does keep the moisture in your skin.  I apply the serum after using the Watson's Rose Toner and both products together really does wonders!  Unfortunately the toner is very hard to get a hold of when you're living in the states because this is only available in Asia or countries that has a Watson store, I purchase mine from China and I wished I bought more!

The Face Shop Aqua Drop Sleeping Mask At least 1-2 times a week I apply this sleeping face mask at night and in the morning I just rinse it off with a cleanser.  I bet you're wondering "What?  a mask to bed?"  trust me, the texture of this mask is gel-like and very light weight, it feels like a moisturizer and it sinks into the skin really nicely and by morning your skin will feel very smooth! 

Bausch & Lomb Eye Relief Eye Wash I highly suggest everyone to use any kind of Eye Wash product even if you don't wear eye makeup daily.  This product really helps wash away all the dirt and dust off your eyes and I promise you your vision will be so much clearer after using this and your eyes will well refresh and relief. 

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadows I found myself reaching for these eyeshadows more often and I love the shimmery finish they give out and they're very pigmented.

Inglot Eyeshadows This is a custom made palette I created from their website, these eyeshadows are so pigment, a little goes a long way and the price is cheaper then Mac pan eyeshadows especially when you wait for their 20% off promotions, even better!

Maybelline Eye Studio Palette in "Caffeine Rush" In my opinion this maybelline palette is the best one they ever released, the pigmentation is excellent and I found myself using every single shade which is rare when I purchase already made palettes because theirs always one or two shades I would never touch.  The size of the palette is perfect for traveling, no waste of extra packaging and the sparkly shade on top is gorgeous especially in the inner corners or lower lash line.  I can't raved enough of this product, I love it!!


Now for the finale, the new brand I discover in 2012 that I found myself using the most is Alpha Hydrox  (SITE) I love almost all of their AHA lines, they all work well with my skin and controlling my acne.  If you're wondering what is AHA, I recommend you watch this video (LINK)

That is all, I can't wait to see what new products are out there that I haven't tried for 2013!

 Disclaimer: I purchase everything.

Collective Drugstore Haul

Some new stuff I got over the past 2 months :]

Target
I purchase the new Garnier BB Cream which I ended up returning :p  I didn't enjoy the formula and it didn't felt like the Asian BB Creams I've tried, to me it was more like a tinted moisturizer.
I also bought the new Revlon Just Bitten lip balm stain which I only paid around $3 because I had coupon, so far I'm liking it!  Will do a review once I'm use it to.
I got the new Simple Makeup wipes since I also had a coupon for it. 

One of my most exciting purchases were these Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips.  These are perfect for people like me who suck at doing nail designs lol.  I only paid $4.27 for each of these since these were on clearance, as pretty and convenient these are I wouldn't paid the full price for it :[

I got two new eye brushes, one blending brush by Target brand and a small smudge brush by Sonia Kashuk. 

From their dollar section I got these cute fruit stationary that I couldn't pass up!

Also from their dollar section I bought two pink organizers

Pretty nice!

CVS
I got two of the new L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow shades since I LOVE these very much and then I went crazy on the Wet n' Wild nail polishes since these were 40% off a while back.

Whole Foods
I bought the Desert Essence Tea Tree Facial Wash ($12.99 for 32 oz that's a lot of product!) and their Tea Tree Oil.  I've heard a lot of good benefits on Tea Tree Oil and since the weather is warmer I want to try something that will keep my skin oil free.  I tried the facial wash already and so far I'm loving it!

That's all!  Coming soon will be my Asian cosmetics haul :]
thank you for reading!

May Favroties 2011

1) Milani Powder Mosaics in "Sunset Spice" I use this as a bronzer, I love how its matte, its not very pigmented which is fine with me since I like light bronzers.

2) NARS Orgasm Illuminator I like using this over my cheeks for a extra glow, this is a sample size which will last me for a quite a while since I only use a little.

3) L'oreal Wear Infinite Quad in "Golden Khaki Seduction" Unfortunately this product is discontinue I purchase it a long time ago and its been in my drawer for years and I decided to use it this month. This is a very summery palette it has gold and deep olive/khaki shades its a change from my usual brown palettes.

4) L'oreal Eye Highlighter in "Peach Chrome" This was actually purchase at Dollar Tree three weeks ago so do check to see if yours still have this. I love using this on my waterline to brighten my eyes.

5) Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner, Glam Collection in "Hazel Eyes": I love the black liner in this trio because contains gold shimmers in it which is really pretty for the summer and the texture in this cream liner is very creamy!

Thank you for reading!


Disclosure: I purchase everything.

Review: L'oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara

Where to Buy: any drugstores
Price: $8 - $10
How Long I had this product: 2 months

What L'oreal Says:
L'Oreal, Telescopic Explosion Mascara, 970, Black. L'Oreal introduces New Telescopic Explosion Mascara, to lengthen, thicken, and separate 100% of the lashes. The patented Flexi-Globe Brush applies from every angle for a spectacularly fanned-out look.

* Clump-Free, Flake-free, Smudge-proof
* Removes easily with soap and water
* Opthalmologist & allergy tested
* Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers

Review:
Honestly the only reason I purchase this mascara was the interesting wand. I've been wanting to try the Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara but I wouldn't pay over $29 for a mascara that can only last for 3-4 months, I thought this L'oreal mascara would be a similar dupe.

I typically love most of L'oreal mascaras but this one was a disappointment. This mascara clumps horribly and it doesn't do much with lengthening and after 8 hours of wear this mascara will smudge even though they claim that its "smudge free"

Without mascara


With L'oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara


What I like about this mascara is the tiny wand, it does get into every lashes since I have very short lashes but it takes practice to get use to the wand.



Rating: 2/5
Would I buy this again?: no


Disclosure: I purchase this mascara

Thanks for reading!

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Review: L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Eyeliner, Carbon Black 690

Review: L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Eyeliner, Carbon Black 690

Product Detail from L'oreal:
For dramatically bold eye looks, L'Oreal presents Carbon Black Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner. Lineur Intense's felt tip applicator allows you to create delicately thin or dramatically bold lines.

* All Day wear up to 8 Hours
* Won't fade away
* Ophthalmologist tested
* Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers
* Fragrance-free

Images: (click on the image for a larger view)



My Review:
I think this is a great product for those who just started using liquid liners because the sponge-like applicator makes it very easy to control whether you want thick or thin line on your lid, unlike some liners that has a flimsy thin brush applicator. For lasting power, I think it really does a good job, I put it on for more then 8 hours and haven't seen any signs of fading or creasing on my oily lid. I love the dark shiny black finish it gives and its very easy to remove with a makeup remover.

One main problem I have with this liner is that its not good to put on the waterline or bottom line because when it gets wet especially from yawning it will fade, I used Revlon colorstay liquid liner and it doesn't fade on bottom lid as much as this does. So I recommend putting this on top lid only and always set it with a black powder eyeshadow for a longer staying power.

Rating: 4 out of 5 only because I wish I could put this on my bottom line.
Would I buy this again?: Definitely yes!