Collective Haul | February 2015

Sooo.... I failed again.  I know I said I was on a spending ban earlier this month and I failed quite miserably.  I think I'm just addicted to buying things and it's starting to get serious (not even joking!).  But anyways, I thought I picked up some pretty awesome things throughout the month of February so I thought I'd share them with you!

I'm surprised to see that I have some diversity in my haul.  Usually I tend to buy two of everything, so I am happy that wasn't the case here.

Soo, the products I looted throughout the last 20some-odd-days are:

• Nivea In-Shower Body Lotion for Dry Skin
• Goody Boar Hair Brush
• Conair Bun Maker set
• Laneige Hydration Trial Kit
• Tonymoly Mini Cherry Lip Balm
• Revlon Bordeaux Nail Polish
• It Cosmetics CC+ Lip Serum
• Origins Clear Improvement Activated Charcoal Mask
• Dior Creme De Rose

Although I didn't purchase that many items, a handful of these items were pretty pricy.  I don't know what I was thinking, probably thought I was fancy or something, when I purchased those high end products, but I'm actually really enjoying them! (*cough* Dior and It Cosmetics *cough*)  I'm going to try to justify my high end purchases by saying that it was my birthday month and I was spoiling myself, but I'm pretty sure it was just the shopaholic in me.  

Anyways, I really need to get on that spending ban.  I think I'm going to go on a 30 day spending ban in March so that I can purchase some things in April when Sephora has their sale... And hopefully this time I'll succeed.  *fingers crossed* 

What are some of the products you guys have purchased lately?

PS: Sephora now carries 8 different Tonymoly products!  How exciting!

Unboxing | Target & Walmart Fall 2014 Beauty Boxes

Soo... I'm terribly late for these unboxings but, it's better late than never right?  I'm so embarrassed that it's almost time for their spring boxes and I'm just getting around to talking about the winter ones, which came out around early December.  But anyways here're the products I received from Target and Walmart beauty boxes a few months ago.

We'll start with Target.  There were three different boxes that Target released and I grabbed two out of three.  First box is the Beauty Box For Her, which retailed at $10 with free shipping.

I really love the fact that these boxes come with a little info card, along with a coupon attached at the bottom.

Products I received in this particular box are:

• Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Advanced Serum sample
• ChapStick Total Hydration Lip Care in Sweet Peach
• Revlon HD Lacquer in Sunstone
• CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Kit in Daring Nudes
• Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in BlackNoir (sample?)
• L'oreal Butterfly Intenza Mascara in Black
• Laneige Water Sleeping Mask sample 
• Hair Food Thickening Solution

This box was really worth the $10 since it came with many full size products!  Everything except for the Boots No7 serum and Laneige Water Sleeping Mask were full size.  I'm not sure if the Pixi eyeliner is full or sample size since Target doesn't have it on their website.  

Now for the second Target box.  This is the Target Beauty Box Natural and it was $5 with free shipping.  

This box came with many products I was not aware of and I'm happy I get a chance to sample them out.

Products I received in this box are:

• Acure Organics Facial Cleanser
• Borghese Age Defying Facial Scrub
• Burt's Bees Facial Wipes
• SheaMoisture Coconut Hibiscus Smoothie
• SoapBox Argan Shampoo
• Skinfix Hand Repair Cream

I believe everything in this box is sample size.  But I'm not complaining, since I can see myself using all of these products except for the SheaMoisture product.  Btw the Skinfix hand cream is some expensive stuff! Full size of it (twice the sample size) is $18!  I'm so excited to see if it's actually worth that much!

And finally we have the Walmart Beauty Box for Winter 2014.  My box came pretty beaten up and stained with coffee but I'm sure that wasn't Walmart's fault.

I was kind of disappointed by Walmart because they didn't send me any e-mail notifications about the payment of the box (it's a subscription box so they automatically charge $5 to my account every season) or the tracking information until after I received my box.  

Products I received in the Walmart box are:

• L'oreal Oleo Therapy Oil Infused Shampoo sample 
• L'oreal Oleo Therapy Oil Infused Conditioner sample 
• Olay Fresh Effects Everything Off! Make-Up wipes sample
• Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder swatch sample 
• Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs in Maple Kiss
• Nivea Cocoa Butter Body Lotion sample pack 

This time I was a bit disappointed in Walmart's box.  Compared to their first box, this box has less products that I am excited to try.  The one thing I was kind of excited about is the Maybelline lipstick, but the shade that I got was not a shade I would have chosen for myself.  There were coupons attached to the Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder and the Nivea Cocoa Butter Body Lotion.  I'm hoping their spring box will be a lot better, but you can't really expect to love everything you receive from a $5 box.

So, I apologize again for the late unboxing and I will try to be more timely with them.  I am super excited for spring to arrive (nothing related to the weather since the Bay Area has been enjoying a wonderful spring/summer weather in mid-winter...) to see what will be included in the spring beauty boxes.

15 Products of 2015

I noticed that there are many tags going around youtube where youtubers pick out certain amount of products they want to use by specific dates.  Last year I noticed a tag somewhere along the line of finish 14 products in 2014, and I knew I want to do something like this for the year of 2015.  So without further blabbering, let's get into the 15 products I dug out of my collection that I want to use up in 2015.

I've organized the products into different categories.  I have a nice variety of hair, body, skincare, and makeup products.  I've also taken some pictures for "before" so that I can track my progress throughout the year.  I plan to update my progress every three months or so until the end of the year.

HAIR 

Tresemme Thermal Creations.  I actually received this (not this EXACT one) from Allure a few years ago when they were doing their annual, big giveaways on their website.  Since then I've used that one up and have repurchased this one.  I think this one is still almost brand new since I've rarely used it.  I don't style my hair with heat tools and I rarely blow dry my hair, or forget to use it when I do.  I'm hoping to heat style my hair more this year and I'm hoping I will get a good use out of this.

Garnier Fructis Oil Treatment.  This is actually my sister's and she left it home when she went off to college.  Unfortunately she took it back to college after her winter break and I'm not sure if she'll be bringing it back or what, but I am currently using the sample dry oil from Dove.  If my sister is not planning to leave it at home again, I might have to find a replacement for this item.  As you can see, it is already more than half way gone.

Orlando Pita Argan Restoring Hair Mask.  My dad purchased this hair mask for my sister from Costco a long while ago and my sister has only used it maybe once or twice.  It has literally been sitting in the shower for the longest time now and I thought I should give it a try and try to use it up this year.  I've recently been really into hair mask so I do wonder how this one will compare to some of the other ones I've used before.  And this product literally looks brand new still... except for the dust it had collected on the container.

BODY 

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction Body Butter.  Another product from Victoria's Secret.  I purchased this body butter from them a while ago to go along with the body spray I got from them, because you're supposed to layer scents to make them last longer.  I've used it a handful of times but I still have a long way to go.  I think I'll probably start using this after I finish up my Jergens body bb.

Victoria's Secret Love Spell Body Splash.  Over the years I've managed to hoard collect a handful, or two handfuls, of body sprays from Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works.  I believe this body spray was one of my first ones and it's been a long, long time since I got it.  As you can see, I've made a small progress in using this up.  The scent is ok, but I have other scents that I would rather wear.  I found out that the Mister actually doesn't mind the scent so I might start wearing this more when I'm out and about with him.  I've also been using it as a room spray so I think that helped with the progress of this product.

SKINCARE 

L'oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector Serum Concentrate.  A brand spanking new product!  I purchased this a few months ago at Rite Aid for some odd reason; I blame the sales combined with coupons.  I read some good reviews on this so I decided I wanted to give it a try.  I just started using this product this month so I do wonder how long it'll take for me to use it up since one pump is all I need for my full face.

Boscians 5th Cycle Repair Wrinkle Spot.  Another brand spanking new product to use up!  This came in my skincare memebox last year.  It's a wrinkle filler but since I'm only in my mid-20s, I don't have crazy wrinkles yet *knock on wood*.  Because of that, I am using it as an under eye treatment since wrinkles will most likely appear there first.

Laneige Water Sleeping Mask.  This is another semi-new product I've had for a while.  I purchased this some time last year and have used it maybe 3 times since.  I really do like the product and want to use the product so that I can try others as well.  Currently I'm in a dilemma where I have two samples of this on top of this full size so I don't know if I want to use up the samples before I start on this...

Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel.  Another new product... are we seeing a pattern yet?  I purchased this a few months ago during one of CVS's semi-annual clearance sales.  I heard people use toners in their skincare routines and I heard this was a popular on here so I decided to grab one to try.  I honestly don't know what to expect out of using a toner since I am still researching the purpose of a toner.

Clean&Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer.  This is an older product that I've used a handful of times before.  I purchased this as a day time moisturizer after I used up the Garnier gel cream.  I think my problem right now is waking up early enough to put anything on my face.  But I'm sure I can finish this up in no time once I actually start using it on a regular basis.  

MAKEUP

Face Products 

Maybelline Dream Pure BB.  *New product alert!*  I swear this is the last new product I have on this list!  I want to use up a BB cream and this just so happened to be my latest one that I purchased and the one I want to try.  I'm not 100% sure if I'll keep this in the 15 products list, but if this doesn't stay I will be replacing it with another BB cream in my collection.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder.  I'm quite ashamed to admit this but I've had this in my collection, and have been using it on and off, since I was in school... and that's been a while!  As you can see, I've hit some major pan on this product but there's still a long way before this will get used up.

Lip Products 

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait.  How shameful; this product still has the New sticker on it!  Yes, I've had this for that long!  Anyways, out of all the lip butters that I have, Peach Parfait is definitely my least favorite shade.  I don't understand how everyone was raving about this shade but I dislike it!  It is a nice neutral shade but there're so much glitter in it!  I don't like glitter on my lips at all so this will definitely be a challenge to use up.  

L'oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss in Really Rose.  This is definitely one of my favorite lip glosses I have.  I love the shade and the scent of the gloss!  I was really when this particular shade was discontinued, it went on clearance at target and I believe all the other drugstores too..., but I managed to buy two other backups... So in order to get into those backups, I need to use this one up!  I've made some dent and I'm hoping I can layer this on top of the Peach Parfait lip butter to use it up.

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Glossy Shinestick in Colada Love.  I've had this for many many years and it's quite embarrassing that I haven't used it up yet.  I received this as a gift from a friend several years ago and Victoria's Secret already discontinued this product too.  I do enjoy using this since it's a no fuss product; I can put this on without needing a mirror.  I am more than half way done with the product and I hope to use it up without much of a challenge.

So these are the products I'm hoping to use up within this year.  Are there any products you're hoping to use up sometime this year as well?

TV Shows | Spring 2015

It's no secret that I love watching TV shows.  Since I was in college, I have a rather long list of TV shows that I watch week to week and for a while I actually remembered the days of the week by what shows are on that day.  I thought I would do a round up of the TV shows that I'm currently watching for the Spring of 2015, or more like the first half of the year.  I think it would be interesting to compare the shows that I'm watching from time to time and see how my interest changes.

Since I have a long list, I thought I would organize it by the days the shows come on.

SUNDAY:

Once Upon a Time.  I loved the first two seasons of this show, actually I think I really enjoyed season 3 too.  But ever since the Evil Queen/Regina "turned" good, the show has been a bit boring.  I think they're just going to have a new villain every half season and just go on for who knows how many more seasons.  One thing I really do like and enjoy is how the creators have mixed the different fairy tales all together so that they all somehow relate and connect to each other.

Revenge.  Used to be my favorite show.  I would have been happy/satisfied if the finale of season 3 was how the show ended.  Season 4 just seems so different and I don't have high hopes that it'll carry on to future seasons... hopefully I'm wrong on this.  I do think season 1 was the best because every episode involved taking down an enemy, and all the revenge plots were different.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  This is one of the older show that I just started watching.  There isn't really a storyline to follow from week to week which is nice if you don't, or if you can't, follow the show week to week unlike me.  I think I started watching this show on season 2 and I haven't gone back to watch season 1 yet and have no trouble following along the episodes.

MONDAY:

2 Broke Girls.  Hilarious show.  Really enjoyable but it's not that family friendly.  They crack a lot of inappropriate jokes but it is overall really funny.  The show follows two girls on their dream to open a cupcake shop with no start-up money/investment.  I really like how they keep a running total of how much they've saved at the end of each episode, making you recap on how they made that money in the episode.

Jane the Virgin.  This show is still a new show, on its first season currently.  I have to say, it took me a while to like this show.  I thought a lot of the plots in the show were so typical, like when something happens I thought to myself, of course this would happen at this moment... That annoyed me for a long time and the narrator took a while to get used to.  It has a good, typical, predictable storyline and is a light, fun show to watch.  

TUESDAY:

Pretty Little Liars.  A popular favorite of many girls and young female adults currently.  I loved the show but currently I feel like the show is confused, like it doesn't know which direction it wants to go.  New characters keep appearing for the last few episodes to add more to the storyline but they can only hide A for so many more episodes before we get frustrated again.  Plus, the main characters have been in their senior year of high school for the past 3 seasons... So I do wonder how they'll pull off college... or are they going to be in the summer before college for the next 3 seasons?

New Girl.  Not my favorite show, but definitely not my least favorite show either.  It's funny but recently I've noticed that I'm slowly losing interest in the show.  I wouldn't miss it if one day I stopped watching the show for some odd reason.

WEDNESDAY:

The Middle.  An old show that is new to me.  I just started watching it this current season, which is their 5th or 6th season already!  I don't really know what else to say about this show except it's funny and enjoyable.  I haven't watched the previous seasons but I am sure it won't be long until I get to them.

Black-ish.  New show, still on its first season.  I think this is a pretty funny show that is done pretty well.  I don't really have much to say about the show.  It's about a well off African American family and shows normal family situations and some situations they faced due to the fact that they're blackish.  

Modern Family.  An old favorite.  I'm really happy Modern Family is still going strong after all those seasons.  It is a funny, family-oriented show that I can imagine watching with my parents, and trust me, there aren't that many of those shows.  I don't think there's really a storyline that is carried out week to week.   

THURSDAY:

The Big Bang Theory.  Another oldie but a goodie.  I used to follow this show, then stopped for a few years and I'm starting to follow it again.  I still haven't watched the episodes that I missed but I'll get around to it eventually.  It's about a group of nerds and their lives.  I am starting to notice that I'm slowly getting bored of the show but it's still pretty funny.  Recently I noticed that they don't have good transition from scene to scene, which I guess is their style.

How To Get Away with Murder.  Holy cow.  I started watching this some time in January and literally watched the first 9 episodes in less than 2 days.  I am addicted to the show.  BUT I noticed that I can't stand a lot of the characters.  I haven't found a character that I like from the show; they all seem to annoy me.  But the storyline is really enticing and I can't wait to see how they'll carry on the show to Season 2 and more if they get renewed for them.  

FRIDAY:

Last Man Standing.  This is one of my favorite shows at the moment.  I started watching this at the beginning of this current season and quickly fell in love with it.  It's funny, witty, and talks about a lot of the current event in the show too.  One thing I love is that the casts from Tim Allen's previous show, Home Improvement, drop by sometimes and they make small inside jokes referring to the show.  

Honorable Mention:

Fresh Off The Boat.  This is a brand spanking new show that premiered on ABC 2 weeks ago, tonight will be the 3rd week the show has aired.  It's about a typical Asian family on the road to the American dream.  I put this in honorable mention because I still don't know how I feel about this show.  It's funny and relatable to me because I came from the same background but I don't know how others who can't relate will see it.  The show reminds me of a mix of Malcolm in the Middle and Everybody Hates Chris.  

Have you guys watched any of these shows before?  Do you have any show recommendations that you love and that I should watch?

Wishlist | February 2015

It's that time of the month again, where I'll be talking about products I've been itching to hoard.  This time I have a list of drugstore-ish lip products that I've been lusting over since I found out about them.  I mentioned that these products are drugstore-ish because although they have drugstore prices, you can't find all of them at your local drugstores.

First up on the list is Colour Pop's Lippie Stix.  I have no idea where and when this brand came out but I noticed back in October of 2014, a BUNCH of youtubers were raving about the brand.  There're so many shades that I would probably spend a good amount of time looking up swatches.  I think the best part about this brand is that all their products are all affordable!  I couldn't believe their Lippie Stix is only $5 each!  That is cheaper than some lipsticks we have at the drugstores!  The one downside is that you have to order their products online.  I'm most likely going to get my hands on these some time later this year, and I'm super excited for it!

Next we have Jordana's Modern Matte lipstick.  I believe these are new products that started appearing at Walgreens and Kmart back in January while the official launch date is actually February.  Honestly these matte lipsticks are the reason why I haven't allowed myself to step inside Walgreens lately.  I know that if I see them, I'll be too tempted to get it so in order to avoid buying it, I just don't go to the store at all.  

Then there is Hard Candy's Plumping Serum Gel Stick.  I believe I heard about these from emilynoel83 on youtube, if not another youtuber, raving about this.  I was intrigued but unfortunately I don't have a Walmart near me (closest one is actually about 30 minutes away!), and Walmart doesnt sell it online!  I'm sure I'll eventually make it to a Walmart that sells Hard Candy eventually, but until then I'll just be lusting over these.

Lastly it's Milani's Color Statement Moisture Matte Lipstick.  I believe these just launched this month but people have been finding them since January.  There are 8 shades and I'm eyeing the red one in Matte Confident.  I currently have a weak spot for red lippies, especially matte ones.  For some reason I just think matte red lips are so classic.  

I honestly see most, if not all of these, in my hoard collection before the year is over.  I can feel that I will be hunting these down sooner or later.  My challenge to myself is to see how long I can go on before I cave and purchase any one of these.

Have you tried any of these?  If so, what are your thoughts on them?

Unboxing | Memebox Superbox #72 Etude House

So I have to admit, I'm quite awful with these unboxing posts.  I've literally have this box since maybe late October to early November and I'm just now writing an unboxing post about it in mid-February.  I will admit, I have thought about not posting this up at all but I really want to have a record of the memeboxes that I purchased and what was in each box.  Soooo, here is my unboxing of the Etude House box.  (PS: I have Target's and Walmart's winter beauty boxes that I will unbox real soon... and I promise to be more on time with my unboxing posts from now on.)

I will be honest, I was quite disappointed with this box.  I've noticed Memebox gained popularity really quickly and it felt like there was a new box released every day, sometimes multiple new boxes per day.  Unfortunately the quality of the boxes have gone down from people's unboxing posts on instagram.

I purchased this box the day it came out because I knew Etude House is a popular brand in Korea, most of Etude House products are really cute, and I've also been wanting to try some Etude House products.  I think I just had a really high expectation for some reason but I was really disappointed with the selection of the products included in this box.  I thought there would be more popular products included in the box, but I think only the Moistful Collagen Cream is the popular product, and maybe the Play Therapy Sleeping Pack.

Note: If you want better selection of products, purchase a non-brand-specific box (ie: skincare, or masks, or something like that).

I received 6 products and it seems like all except 1 product is full size!  So let's see what was included in this box:

• Etude House Play Therapy Sleeping Pack ~$10
• Etude House Face Conditioning Fixer ~$12
• Etude House Moistfull Collagen Cream (sample size) ~$?
• Etude House Belle Dress Pretty Look Shower Cologne Pretty Look ~$8
• Etude House Oh My Lash Mascara Top Coat ~$5
• Etude House Brow Mascara ~$7

As you can see, the value of the products in this box is quite low compared to my first memebox.  The only product I've used so far is the Shower Cologne, which I am assuming is the equivalent of a body mist.

I think I will not be buying from Memebox for a while after the disappointment of this box.  It also helps that I've recently discovered some places to purchase Korean beauty and skincare products online that are a bit cheaper than what Memebox is offering.  In fact, I have another haul post that I am working on that is full of Korean skincare products from one of those websites.

Anyways, have you purchased any memeboxes recently?  If so, what are your thoughts on the quality of the recent boxes?

Collective Haul | January 2015

Sooo, I tried to put myself on a low buy for the month of January and I have to say, I failed miserably.  I thought I was doing fine, until I put all the products I bought together and realized I purchased a lot more than I had planned.  I will say a lot of the products I purchased were either on sale, or I had coupons for them, but that's just me trying to justify my shopping addiction.

(PS: I already failed my spending ban I put on myself for this month.  Darn you Sephora!  Let's hope there'll be no more slip ups for the rest of the month!  Only 23 more days to go!)

So here are the products I ended up hoarding in the month of January.

I've kind of organized everything into categories.  One thing I've noticed is that I tend to buy things in twos, especially lip products.  Anyways, let's jump into my new lip products.

Too Faced La Creme lipstick in Bumbleberry

Jack Black lip balm in Natural Mint

Wet 'N Wild Silk Finish lipstick in Hot Red

Wet 'N Wild MegaLast Lip Colo in Stoplight Red

Rimmel Provocalips in Make Your Move

Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss in Berry-Medium and Red-Medium

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Monte Carlo

Maybelline Baby Lips in Melon Mania and Coral Crush

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser

L'oreal Total Repair 5 Multi-Restorative Dry Oil

Pantene Pro-V Dry Shampoo

Garnier Fructis Full & Plush Root Amp Root Lifting Spray Mousse

Maybelline Fit Me powder in Translucent

Garnier + Clean Balancing Daily Exfoliator

Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara in Very Black

Hopefully this will be one of my bigger hauls for the year.  I believe I purchased everything on sale or with a coupon.  I think I should also put a disclaimer that these were not purchased in one huge shopping haul; they just slowly accumulated throughout the month of January.

Have you tried any of these before?  If so, what did you think of them?  Also, did you pick up anything new recently as well?

Goals & Goos | February 2015

So I decided to change my Monthly Mission posts to Goals & Goos!  I thought this is a bit more catchy than Monthly Mission.  Anyways as always, I have a few goals I want to accomplish this month, along with a few goos (products) I want to concentrate on using up as well.  Without further blabbering, let's get started.

Goals:

• Spending ban.  I just need to (try to) not buy anything this month.  After my January haul post, you'll see why.  I figured February is the shortest month so it should be the easiest to get through...?  That and the fact that most of the new drugstore releases are already out and I already got my hands on some of the ones that I want to try out so it should be a bit easier-ish.  
• Blogging schedule.  I swear this is one of my goals every month.  It's really been hard to get back into the swing of things.  I've been meaning to blog again on a more regular schedule, but I would miss a day and would push back the day I want to start again by a week, or two, or three... I really want to stick to Tuesday/Friday schedule, but we shall see how that goes.
• Daily vitamins.  This used to be in one of my earlier Monthly Missions, but I kind of stopped taking my gummy vitamins daily again... I think I need to place it somewhere where it'll be visible so I'll remember it.
• 3 Grateful things per day.  Last year, I used to religiously recap my day and think of all the things that happened during the day that made me happy.  I believe that helped me out of the depressed funk I was in last year.  Unfortunately I stopped sometime mid-last year and I have been having trouble getting back into it.  Hopefully I'll remember to start doing it more.

Goos:

• Softlips.  I was working on finishing my EOS lip balm for the longest time that when I actually finished it, I started using a different lip balm everyday since.  I want to have a lip balm to focus on and I chose this one.  I purchased the scent Pomegranate Blueberry from Big Lots for $1 and it's definitely worth it.  It's the same scent as one of the Softlips cubes and it's definitely more affordable (the $1 ones from Big Lots).
• Nivea Body Lotion.  This is one of the samples I received from Target a long time ago.  I use this as a hand lotion at home, but my sister doesn't like the scent of it.  I figured I would try to use this up this month since she's away at college for most of the month.
• Dove Pure Care Dry Oil.  I believe this was in the Walmart Beauty Box for Fall 2014.  I'm about half way done with it and this sample size is definitely lasting quite a while for me since I only use about four drops every time.
• Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil.  My current night time moisturizer.  I found that I only need 2 drops of this for my whole face!  I was using 3 drops and it left my face really oily.  I've used a little more than half of the bottle already but I think this will last me quite a while still since I only need 2 drops.
• Jergens BB Body.  This is one of those XX youtuber made me buy it products.  So many people on youtube raved about it so I went out and tried it.  I like it and have used about half of this container.  Unfortunately I'm not the biggest fan of the packaging.  I think there're some weird air bubbles in the packaging or something.

What are some of your goals for the month of February?  Are there some products you're also planning to use up in February as well?