Long time no see

It's the first time i have blogged in almost 7 months! I miss blogging so much and it disappeared from my life for quite some time. I will be leaving to university at the end of august it is my first year! I cannot believe time passed this quickly, my blog is over a year old. I hope to be updating again, now. i can post via android so it might be a lot easier. See you all soon!

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Surprise Gift and Current Updates

So I have been MIA once again for a month. Once you get out of the blogging mood, it really doesn't want to make you budge. My personal life has been very busy including new relationship, schoolwork, and stress from everything. Maybe I shouldn't be making excuses? I need to use blogging as an outlet to relieve stress!! :)

Anyway I will be posting today a very belated one on a Secret Santa gift I received from Fuzkittie way back in the end of December.

Her gift included a very cute Christmas/New Year's card, two perfume samples, a L'Occitane lipgloss and cream set, and a JuJu Cosmetics primer.

The JuJu hyaluronic primer that I haven't even tried yet :( Can't put lots of base makeup because it has been causing me blemishes...

The hand cream is in Sweet Cherry and the lipgloss is also a Cherry Blossom flavor. Both are really moisturizing and I love them! I loved the hand cream so much that I was tempted to buy the set from Sephora...

So I ended up hauling a little! I think this was the time when that Beauty Insiders $15, $25 off coupon was going around. I think mine was only $15 off a $35 purchase. I also bought the Rosebud Salve trio which is really cute!

Close-up shot of all the lipbalms and the canister. Right now I've only opened the Minted Rose salve. I love the tingly feeling I get when I spread this on my lips. I don't know if this was a good purchase because it was rather impulsive but I still like the product! It gives a very juicy look to the lips and plumps them up.

So this President's holiday I had a week off from school and it happened to be my grandmother's one year death anniversary. It is a very important date in Japanese Culture and it is called Isshuki (一周忌). I know this might be a morbid picture but my grandmother's family grave is very pretty! It is a quiet and private area with large space. I didn't travel to Japan only to visit a grave, of course I took advantage of the chance to go shop around and meet up with various members of family. I tried to plan to meet with some bloggers like Kay and Nic Nic but it didn't work out because Kay was busy and I didn't have enough time to meet Nic :( However I will try to meet them again next time!

I hope I will not give up blogging. I still read people's blogs daily but I am very lazy to update my own. Blogging is really fun for me and I've met a lot of genuine people. Take care, everyone!

Blair's Love Pack + Finally, Update!

Wow I have been MIA for a month and a couple weeks now! Things have gotten busy for me with school and work, also I've become a little lazy as well... Must be a diligent blogger!

This post is going to about a little parcel I got from BLAIR before the holidays and what I did over the holiday vacation.

Here's a little sneak peek at what Blair got for me :)

Blair and I started to chat and email each other frequently in December and we decided to do a small love pack exchange :) Blair and I have similar tastes and interests so we each requested some things from each other. I requested specifically from her the Rimmel Gloss Maxx Lipsticks and the Maybelline Angelfit foundation. I've yet to try them for a prolonged period so I will do so soon and review them.

A mask, L'occitane lipgloss, cuticle oil pen, eye spongies, Tony Moly lipbalm and mascara (not to mention her cute little note! Look at that neat handwriting)

Maybelline Angelfit! Can't wait to see how this works on me.

Wow, look at the snacks Blair sent me! We both love food and candies... And Japanese Kitkats!

This is the Ramune flavored KitKat. Yummy, no?

So over the holiday break, I took a family vacation to Winter Park, Colorado for some skiing. This is an annual vacation that my family has taken for over ten years (and to the same place). Here we are at one of the slopes... I am with my mom.

Moguls! Yay :) Like my sticker on my helmet?

The first two days were freezing so I had to use handwarmers. I had these Hello Kitty handwarmers from my friend in Japan. Aren't they cute? They last for about 8 hours too.

On a random note, some guy got JERK written on his car because he parked weirdly... He parked in the middle of nowhere and other people couldn't get out. It was so funny that I just had to take a picture.

It was nice to update again, I've become so lazy to even write blog posts but I'll try to write at least once or twice a week. It is my new year's resolution! I'm also trying to organize another blog sale for myself so maybe next week I will let all of you know when that happens. Thanks for the support that I've gotten from my longtime (and new) readers and followers, thank you so much for staying with me even though I've neglected you all for a month!

Brushlove Hairbrushes Review

Today I'll be reviewing some products I've received from the generous PR reps at Brushlove.com! As a disclaimer, I do not get paid to do these reviews and this review is 100% my honest opinion. Thanks!

I received a total of four brushes: two round barrel brushes, a plastic bristle brush, and a wooden boar hair/nylon bristle brush. (Please click on the retailer picture of the brush to see the link)

Brushlab Orange Ceramic Thermal Jumbo Hair Brush

I used this brush to blowdry my hair while it was partly damp and partly dry. The brush did a very good job of getting a hold of my hair and did not tangle any hair at all. I've tried boar bristle round brushes in the past and all of them did not adequately grip my hair without tangle. The bristles do not scratch my scalp and are for the most part gentle. It's a great brush for achieving volume and straighter locks. The grip is also very comfortable due to the tiny nubs! This brush gives me a little static hair but it's nothing a little patting down can't fix.

Retail Price: $12.98

Brushlab Ceramic Flow Thermal Round Hair Brush

This brush is great for shorter hair as the barrel is smaller. I think these bristles are even softer than the orange brush! The bristles are also treated with tourmaline to break up moisture molecules and target odor-causing bacteria. I also used this for blow drying on damp/half dried hair. The grip doesn't have any nubs on it, but it is still easy to use. The bristles also didn't pull at my hair too much, so I didn't have massive hair fall-out for this brush. Causes me a little bit of static, but not a big deal.

Retail Price: $11.98

Brushlab Pretty Pink Dual Mirror Brush Combo Hair Brush

This brush is more like the ones I use for everyday, I normally use a nylon bristle paddle brush. The best feature in my opinion for this brush is the mirror in the back. The mirror is very nice quality--sometimes cheap mirrors can appear somewhat cloudy, not clear. Although this is described as a travel brush, I feel like the size is still a little big for travel, but I think I will bring this along for my next trip! The bristles on this brush are very gentle as well.

Hana K. Diamond Wood Oval Cushion Hairbrush

I own a similar boar bristle brush but that one gives me tons of static although it states Anti-Static. This one doesn't give me much static at all! It really smooths my hair down, I love the sleek effect. My only gripe about this brush is that the nylon bristles are quite scratchy and a gentle hand is needed or else the scalp might be irritated.

Overall: I am very satisfied with the Brushlove hairbrush line! The items are very high quality and are mostly sold in beauty supply stores such as ULTA. Some little qualities of the brush were not the greatest but no item is perfect. All of these brushes and more hair supplies (flat irons, blow dryers, curling irons) can be purchased at Brushlove.com.

Score: 4.5/5

Note: Some of you asked me for swatches for the Urban Decay 24/7 liners, I will do so and post sometime this week or next week! By next month (January) I will have more time to update, my college apps are due by January 1st... Wish me luck! Thanks to everyone for continued support, I'm sorry I am not always available to answer questions! If you need something answered, always feel free to email me, my contact email is to the left.

I've also received my Mario Badescu samples yesterday, I will make sure to review them! I'm in the process of trying everything out now.

Happy Thanksgiving + Sephora Haul

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's been so long since I've last posted, I've been very occupied with schoolwork, college applications and work!

I've hauled a little bit a long time ago but I haven't posted it -- it's my Sephora F&F Haul. Haha so long ago right?

I bought the Urban Decay 24/7 Super Stash eyeliner set and a Diorshine lipstick.

Urban Decay 24/7 Super Stash

So colorful!

It comes with nine pencils and all of the colors are so vibrant, creamy and pigmented.

Currently I obsessed with using the black and brown one but I also love the navy and aubergine ones too. The sizes are a bit small: each one measures about 3 inches (including the cap). But that doesn't really matter since I'm don't use makeup every single day. If I love it enough, I'll buy the full size. I was thinking of getting the MUFE 4 eyeliner set but thought there were more colors in this set... Oh well! Maybe next time :)

Dior Addict High Shine Lipstick in Pink Couture

Lovely packaging right? It glows...

I love this color! So natural. I was compelled to buy it after seeing Fuz's swatch on Beauty Swatch. The formula is really smooth, buttery, and moist. It makes my lips watery which I love.

Do you see that strange picture in the background? That's the new Barney's catalogue.. hehehe

My Thanksgiving Dish!

My family doesn't really like turkey so we made a roast pork loin! Last year we made a roast beef dish but this year we tried something a little different... Despite the little chars on the top, doesn't it look mouthwatering?

It is seasoned with a little sea salt, rosemary and slathered in peppercorn mustard. Then you wrap it with strips of bacon and tie it up so everything stays together. Place some apples and onions on the side and roast for 90 or so minutes while checking to see if it's roasting nicely.

Mario Badescu Skincare

Mario Badescu Skincare is now available on Gilt Groupe until 11/16 Noon EST.

I recently requested samples directly from the website (recomended by Stacieeee) and the products that I will be sent are:

Enzyme Cleansing Gel $20.00
Buffering Lotion $17.00
Special Cucumber Lotion (only on Mario Badescu site)
Cucumber Tonic Mask (only on Mario Badescu site)
Collagen Moisturizer (SPF 15)$22
Hyaluronic Eye Cream $18.00
Kiwi Face Scrub $15.00

To receive free samples from Mario Badescu catered to your skin type: go HERE.

Hopefully I receive these samples soon! I'm excited. Check out Stacieee's post on her free samples HERE.

On Gilt most of these products are available, compare the the prices with the discount:
Enzyme Cleansing Gel $16.00
Buffering Lotion $14.00
Collagen Moisturizer (SPF 15) $17
Hyaluronic Eye Cream $14.00
Kiwi Face Scrub $12.00

More products are available at Gilt -- there are special value sets as well. Go check it out!

If you are new to Gilt, click HERE .

*This is not a company affiliated post, only my personal suggestion for you all!

Review: Kose Clear Turn Hyaluronic Acid Mask

Today I will be reviewing a product! It's another mask... Yeah I know I've been only reviewing masks these days but I haven't been applying makeup lately due to stress induced acne (so sad right?)

Also I've been having some ear piercing infection problems since last week. I first got my earlobe pierced in August so my piercing is not that old yet. I wear all 14-18k gold/white gold earrings so not a problem with the metal allergy. Last week I had some yellowish puss, redness and swelling but I did a hot water sea salt bath for my ear everyday for 1 wk. I shouldn't have stopped but this week my ear seemed to be normal so I stopped. However now it's getting itchy again and my earlobe is still swollen (no redness though). I don't think it's really necessary to go to the doctor since there's no puss or bleeding. Right now I'm doing the salt bath again and using the solution from the piercing place. What do you all do when you get piercing infections?

Anyway on to the review!

Kose Clear Turn White Hyaluronic Acid Mask

This mask is sometimes available in Mitsuwa but I would recommend checking Sasa out

Instructions and some details about how hyaluronic acid works. Read more about Hyaluronic Acid in my review for the Hada Labo Facewash.

When you open the package

On my face

Pros:

- Very, very moisturizing! A+

- Mask fabric is thin but liquid solution is gel-like and very concentrated

- Mask fabric reminds me of a paper towel, sticks so well to my face and fits my face well

- After I pat residue on my face, my face is very smooth

- No scent, no irritation

Cons:

- Leaves a slight stickiness but goes away immediately after patting in residue

Overall Rating:

5/5 :)

For my Japanese class I had to make a Kyaraben or Character Bento. Bento is a very big cultural aspect of Japanese life, bento is basically a lunch box or box food. There are varieties of bento from cheap convenience store bento to very deluxe and high quality bento with gourmet food (some cost 100 dollars or more...).

A kyaraben was originally a creation made by mothers for their children to make food appealing to eat. Also the kyaraben was made to combat picky eaters or other problems that some children have such as the dislike for vegetables. In general, the kyaraben is just so fun to look at and eat!

So this is my kyaraben...

Isn't it kind of scary and cute at the same time?

It's actually supposed to be Totoro but I'm not very good at making kyaraben to look exactly like the character so this is my best.. Haha. I'm going to try to make bento for myself at least once a week and maybe improve my cooking skills. Most kyaraben use cute cutters to make shapes and various accessories like decoration toothpicks. I have these little rice shaping molds that make rice into cute animals like rabbits, frogs, and bears but I don't know where those molds went!