my mini-haul from imomoko.com arrived today. that was fast! i ordered on sunday, it shipped monday and arrived today by priority mail. i ordered the hada labo uv moist spft 50, hada labo shirojyun lotion (toner), kose deep cleansing oil, my beauty diary french white lily masks, and some selena fresh cotton squares. the kose and my beauty diary were on special for 15% off.

the clarins hydraquench cream was from a seller from ebay. i’d got a small tube to try out when i was using the ddf brightening cleanser with the mario badescu 2% glycolic acid toner. my skin seem to really like it. it didn’t have any scent, absorbed to a matte finish and is moisturizing enough to calm my flaming skin after the ddf. i think a 1.7 oz container retails for $49!! yikes! i won this (3 x .53 oz tubes) for almost half that price. i am planning to use this at night and the hada labo milky lotion during the day. anyway, so far i think this cream is awesome! i’ll have to decide if i want to spend that much $$ when i run out.

cleansing oil…this is the first time i’m using a cleansing oil. i’m not sure i’ve ever really heard of that cleansing method until a few weeks ago. i bought the kose deep cleansing oil to try out and see for myself. cleansing oils are suppose to dissolve all your makeup before your regular cleanser. for some reason, i am starting to get clogged pores on my forehead and chin and neither the noxzema blackhead cleanser, ddf brightening cleanser, or aveeno smart essentials exfoliating scrub seem to help. i was ready to just scrap them off but unless i want to end up bright red and have inflamed skin, it wasn’t the smart choice.

without wetting my face, i squeeze out 1 pump and a half and started massaging it onto my face. it’s a clear liquid and i just kept massaging it upward for about 3 minutes. i get a slightly warm feeling from it. hehehe i washed it off and there was no greasy, oily or filmy residue, on my hands or face! wow! i love how my face feels clean but not tight at all.

love the colors and packaging!

after padding my face with a towel, i tore open the lily mask (it came in a set of 5) and i really dig the barely there floral scent of the mask. love it! the packaging is also well-made and i adore the colors. i believe this is the first sheet mask i’ve ever use but i’m not positive. i just can’t recall any other time. the fit of this mask is almost perfect! i put it on and it just seem to stick to my skin. the essence is kind of sticky but not bothersome. totally love it!  it fits my face well and throughout the 30-40 minutes i had it on, it did not slip off or bother me in anyway. it was just a cool, refreshing feeling.

when it was time to pull it off, it came off without any problem. the mask was still wet when i took it off and i sort of patted the essence still on my face so it’ll absorb. i’m so in love with this mask. i’m quite tempted to use it every day…LOL i have some other masks on order so i’ll see how those compare when they get here. for now, it’s my beauty diary.

i waited a few minutes until my face was almost dried again to apply the hada labo shirojyun lotion (toner). it is a whitening toner but i think it’s more to even the skin tone. i don’t know if it’ll work but i want to try. ^^  it’s a white waterly liquid and a bit more sticky than the milky lotion (moisturizer) but also absorbs well. there’s no scent so i’ll use this and see how it goes.

i don’t have pictures for everything because the camera battery ran out. oops! i’ll do a follow up after a week or so and see if i still feel the same.

anyway, today i received the kose seikisho mask white from beauty.com (20% off) and the hada labo gokujyun hyaluronic milky lotion from amazon.com. the mask is a peel off mask. the concept of it gets me all excited and giggling. i have never try one before and this was my first. the hada labo is all the rage in japan i believe, with 1 sold every 4 seconds. impressive! i have combination to dry to sensitive skin so i really need a good moisturizer and decided to try this.

in the interest of trying not to scare you. ^^

back to the mask. it’s in the form of a thick liquid. it is not running. it is easy to apply; take too long and it’ll get sticky. i did a not too thin but not too thick layer for the first application. i waited for about 20-30 minutes. after 10 minutes you can start to feel the mask stiffen and tighten around your face. there’s no scent that i can tell. i peeled off from the bottom and there was no pain. i did leave a bit here and there but nothing major and my skin feel super smooth afterward. i love the mask! you can see the little whiteheads and other things if you look really close once the mask is off. eeewww! i will definitely buy it again at a discount. i hardly ever buy anything full price.

my interest in the hada labo hyaluronic acid came about as i was researching the hada labo uv moist spf 50 sunscreen. one thing lead to another and i’m in need of a moisturizer as i had ran out of the zia. i still have half of the yes to carrots night moisturizer but i was itching to try this too. luckily, amazon had it through their prime shipping and it was in my hands in 2 days. i just love prime, don’t you?

again, this milky lotion (moisturizer) has no discernible scent, is in white liquid form and can be running. i’m starting to like these things with no scent as some of them are way too overpowering for me. one reason i never never use the stuff from bath and body works. i squeeze a dime size (per instruction) on my palm, smack it with the other palm and started “patting” it all over my face until it was totally absorbed. it only took a minute or too and this was a new concept too, patting instead of rubbing it on. my first impressions: it was kind of fun (patting). it is not greasy or smelling (did i say that already?). i can see myself using this unless my skin get some kind of weird reaction or it turns out that it’s not as moisturizing as i thought. it comes in a generous size, 4.7 oz. i’ll wait another week or so before i decide.

throughout all this, the hubby was right there along side me using the mask and milky lotion too. funny!

fast foward a couple of years to the present; i do not go out without at least wearing something with spf 20 or higher. i also have multiple bottles of various sunscreens throughout the house. everyone put them on before a day out and about unless it’s raining or overcast.

my current staples are the neutrogena ultra sheer liquid spf 55 or 70 for face and coppertone foaming spf 75 for body. i love liquid (and foam) sunscreens and they are so easy to apply. there is no way i’m going back to creams. LOL

anyway, the real reason i’m using sunscreen religiously is because i do not want anymore of the tiny little brown spots, cute as they are. hahaha my mom has a lot of them so i’m really trying to prevent them even though it may be a genetic thingie. i read that it is nigh impossible to get rid of them but darn if i don’t try. i am using ddf’s discoloration pods and today’s the 2nd day. i got them off ebay, new and sealed, for a really low price so i figured there’s nothing to lose (except the brown spots). i couldn’t take a photo of my brown spots today but i’ll try tomorrow.

well, wish me luck!

i did bought some awesome new stuff…

first off, the nyx jumbo eye and lip pencils are super creamy and moisturizing! i haven’t actually wore any of the eye pencils but the lip pencils are just fabulous and very pigmented! ulta had them for $3.99 and on sale for b1g1 half off. these are my favorites now!

i am almost out of my jk lipstick, which is the most moisturizing lipstick i ever own. i usually do not buy them because they are drying. i was getting worried because i got the jk one on sale and didn’t want to shell out $16 for a tube. well, my answer came in the form of palladio’s herbal tinted lip balms!! they are so moisturizing that 1 application lasts me hours! like the nyx pencils, they are very pigmented for a lip balm but so pretty! a light coat is all you need. it seems like these lip balms are made for me. i currently own champagne, bronzy pink, and golden pink. i am planning to pick up the rest of the colors on my next ulta stop since i have a couple of the $5 off $10 coupons. at $3.99 a piece, these are a definite steal! i am hooked!

i bought a cargo blu ray pressed powder and their medium matte bronzer to replace the sephora because i can no longer carry it in my purse. the ulta rep tried shade 20 (medium) on me and say that was my shade. for the record the pressed powder comes in 4 colors – 10 (light), 20 (medium), 30 (med-dark) and 40 (dark). i was afraid the 20 might be too light and got a second opinion. the 2nd lady said the 30 but it seems i can wear both??? i decided to keep the 20 for now (as fall is here) and get the 30 during the summer. this is a very matte and fine pressed powder that doesn’t look cakey. i’m assuming if you apply a lot it’s a different matter but i’m liking it alot! the bronzer is also a very pretty brownish pink matte finish. my cheeks are usually rosy and i don’t want a regular blush for fear of looking a bit feverish. hahahaha

i saw the soap & glory products in a few magazines but never really try anything. i was at target recently and they were clearancing out Soap & Glory. The shelf was mostly bare but I saw Night in Shining Armour and Catch a Wrinkle in Time that interested me. Since I was almost out of the Olay Age Defying night cream I thought I’ll give this a try. The jar is a very pretty peachy-pink color and the cream is just luxurious! It’s got a bit more fragrance than I’m used to but I do not mind! So far so good. I do know that I like this way more than the Olay and will definitely repurchase unless I find something else. LOL I also purchased the Catch a Wrinkle in Time to try and I’m loving this too! Like the night cream, it’s got a nice fragrance and creamy texture. It does make my skin feel so nice and supple. I think it’s never too early to start prevention measures, right?

once a upon a time, I received Zia’s Deep Moisture Repair Serum in a swap and loved it. I used it to the very last drop. Unfortunately, it was too expensive for me to buy as it costs $36.95 for a .5 oz jar. I waited and waited but never saw another one up for swap. i started tracking it on ebay and managed to score 2! within the last week for about $7 each BNIB including shipping! awesome huh? a pump in the morning and at night is all you need for added moisture. simply love it! definitely a stapled item for me. i will keep scouring ebay as long as i’m able and stock up on these babies.

to support breast cancer awareness month, sonia kashuk have some limited time beauty products for sale at target. with my $25 acuvue rebate, i bought a pink “circle of hope” kabuki brush and the “circle around a cause” set of 6 brushes. these are some very pretty and functional brushes. i do not have any eye brushes so i’m very happy i got these.

until next time…:)

and i thought i was going to save some money by waiting until later. aaahhh…i guess not.

i wore the sample the SA gave me yesterday and today. i am loving this! i’m giving myself until the end of the week before i place my order. if i do not break out by then, i think i’m good. LOL

anyway, if you guys want to check out tarte, the sale will last through august 9th.

http://www.tartecosmetics.com

zia natural products

i’m a skin care products freak…like i try different things a lot. my staple products so far is zia. i’ll try whatever and then when it doesn’t work or i get bored, i go back to zia. i have multiples of their little papaya enzyme mask and citrus night reversal. i love those things! they always seem to make my skin feel nice afterward. i don’t like everything but i liked MOST of what i have tried. you ladies know how it is, you just want to try something else once in a while.

the noah’s naturals didn’t seem to work so well for my skin. after using the cream cleanser for a week straight, my skin got really tight and i started to get dry, itchy patches. whenever my skin gets that way with new products, it takes another week of using a really moisturizing cream to repair. you’ll think i have learn my lesson by now right? nope!

now, the thing with zia products is that they are way too expensive!!! just totally out of my price range. i cannot justify spending $37 for a 1 ounce face creme, no matter how much i love that stuff. the pro here is that it lasts a long time. that’s still not going to make me spend that much $$.

my zia cleanser has lasted me months now and it never never never dries me out, even if i use it every day, morning and night.

i sorted gave up hope on finding any of their stuff at reasonable prices, even with scouring ebay here and there. the last two days though, i scored BIG! a seller have the bamboo exfoliant (6.7 oz) for $7.95 and the nourishing creme (1 oz) for $8.95 with free shipping if you buy 3 of each. what did i do? i purchased three of each of course! this will be the first time i try the bamboo exfoliant. i’m actually very very tempted to buy all that’s left! i keep asking myself if i can use them all before they expired and that’s the only thing that’s stopping me. i’ll sleep on this thought for a few more nights and see. i’m just very psyched!!

if you want just try a few of their products, they have small kits (for oily, combination or dry skin) with 5 sample pieces for $20 at natural stores.

i want to share some of my absolute favorite zia products of ALL time (keep in mind that i have normal to dry skin), and not in any order:

citrus night reversal

moisturizing cleanser with soybean

deep moisture repair serum

nourishing creme

noah’s naturals cleanser and moisturizer with spf 15

i’m back after a long haitus with some new products to try. things have just been busy (kids and all).

i was at walgreens almost a week ago to pick up a few things and this new line on the shelf – Noah’s Naturals, with it’s sophisticated colors and packaging caught my eyes. it looks like these new repackage products just debuted this February (it’s not even on their website yet!). the anti-aging cream cleanser tempted me. i have been using Zia‘s lotion cleanser but thought i could use a change. it retails for $8.99 for a 3.4 oz squeeze tube.

i’ve been using it everyday (morning and night) and hasn’t broke me out yet. in fact, i like it so much better than zia’s. it seems to clean better yet doesn’t dry out my skin and that’s what i want. my skin feels very nice after too. the smell isn’t too strong for me but may bother some people who can’t stand fragrances. the first time i used a nickel size dollop and it was too much. after that, i use just a dime size and that was much better.

today, i picked up the  moisturizer with spf 15 and can’t wait to try that since i do not have a dedicated day cream. i have just been making due with cetaphil’s moisturzing cream and i want something with a little bit more anti-aging prevention or so i hope.

the moisturizer retails for $15.29 for a 2.5 oz squeeze tube.