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!

Bag Snooper + Daily Skin Regimen

Finally an update!! I'm back from Bonaire! Will post pictures in the near future.

I was tagged by Lisa from Shopn'Chomp to do this fun tag to show you what is inside my bag... Thank you Lisa love!

As the title entails, you are all snooping into my bag! :)

This is my current bag. A bit small, but perfect for me since I'm not in school at the moment. School starts from September 8th, so soon!! Ah I've got 2 essays to write and a book to finish.. ugh and it is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (if any of you read that, you may know it is about 400-500 pgs.) So I digress.

The brand is Diesel, I received it as a gift from my aunt in Japan! I believe this bag might be only available in Japan but here's a link I found from the US: Diesel Sea Jet Rincon Bag It retails for $95.00 USD, I think...

The thing I like about it most is that it reminds me of the ever-famous Balenciaga motorcycle bag! Which is one of my dream bags... haha (I love studs and rock&roll inspired designs, plus I love dark designs--such as skulls, etc.)

Back view. This bag is synthetic leather.

Stupid Blogger wouldn't allow me to load this picture horizontally. You can see the cotton patterned lining inside.

Health/Beauty related items:

I carry:

- Tissues (hehe those are from the Netherlands, bought in Bonaire 2 yrs ago?)

- Towel/Handkerchief (this is Japanese influence... no paper towels in public toilets. But recently this has changed. Now they have automatic dryers and some have papertowels)

- DHC Lipcream (need some lip product for chapped lips)

- Case with Advil

- Blotting sheets

- Compact mirror (hehe my deco skills!)

- 2 Packets of Antibacterial handwipes (the green one is a promotional one from AU cell phone company in Japan.. love the free tissues and promotional stuff from Japan! I got a free nail file in Shibuya)

Daily Necessities:

I carry:

- My wallet! Used this for the past 3-4 years. From Anthropologie

- Fendi sunglasses... loving them :) You can see my reflection

- Umbrella--I collect them. One day will show you my huge collection

- Orange portable eco-bag. Gotta be eco-friendly

- Pen with 3 options: Black ink, Red ink, and lead pencil

- Cell phone (I made that glass charm in Okinawa)

Now onto my updated daily skincare regimen, stole this from Lisa again as well! I tried to put the links where you can purchase, but not all products were found. Enjoy!

Morning

1. Kiehls Brightening Botanical Cleansing Cream - morning facewash. Don't know if it really whitens. Well.. it kinda does. It makes my skin luminous in the morning.

2. Balancing Lotion - alternate between several different alcohol free toners. I like DHC Olive Leaf Lotion as well, or Acerola... whatever my mood is, or need to finish. This one is pretty gentle, but not amazing. It just keeps my skin normal.. haha.

3. Kevin Beautymaker Aquamarine Hydrating Serum - Like this a lot. But when I got a tan, didn't fully keep my dry/sundamaged skin hydrated as much as I'd liked. But recommend this item.

4. Kevin Beautymaker Aquamarine Hydrating Lotion - Great product, again same as above. Keeps skin hydrated for normal conditions (not super dry skin)

5. Kiehls Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF15 - Love the moisturizing, wish they have one with more SPF, at least SPF 30. I like this because it's not greasy at all and absorbs really nicely. Repurchased many times!

6. Biore UV Moist Face Milk in SPF 50+ PA +++ - Nice, not that moisturizing as it claims, I need that Kiehls one before I apply this. I just want the SPF protection. This has a powdery finish so it is good for makeup base. For summer I guess this is moderately moisturizing, but not for winter!

Night

1. Lancome Bi-Facil Eyemakeup Remover - Love this! I have so many sample size bottles so I don't have to buy the full-size. Hehe. Almost done with this bottle. I'm going to reuse the bottle and fill it with my Neutrogena eyemakeup remover...

2. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil - Makeup remover, oil cleanser. Removes much of my makeup, even stubborn mascara. Scent is kinda herbal, but overall good. Not as oily as Shu Uemura.. Somehow I don't like Shu cleansing oil because the oiliness feeling remains. This doesn't have that problem.

3. Rohto Hadalabo Hyaluronic Gokujyun Facewash - Loving this. I alternate between this and my DHC facewash. Doesn't strip moisture! Great product.

4. DHC Olive Leaf Lotion - Great toner! Repurchased at least 5-6 times. Used for many years, I will continue using this. A little pricy I think $38 for one bottle? But I like it... Keeps my spots from showing up! Even though I'm young, I am very prone to getting spots on my face after sun exposure. And they are like the beauty mark spots, so they are pretty dark and prominent!

5. DHC Q10 Lotion - I ran out of the Olive Leaf one so now I'm using this. Haha I just kept the empty bottle to show you guys... This one is $36 per bottle. I like this, very moisturizing.

6. DHC Olive Leaf Milk - Great moisturizer, but I usually use something over this winter and summer. This is not enough moisture by itself for me! But it's a great product, makes my skin so soft and smooth, prevents lots of skin damage from sun and other harsh weather.

7. Kevin Beautymaker Skin Repair Wakening Gel - This is pretty nice, love the cooling sensation. I used to use Shiseido's Pureness line gel moisturizer but this is nice too, little different. I like the hydrating feature, but again, it's just good for maintaining moisture for normal conditions. I got a little tan and tanned skin tightens up and gets dry, this didn't really moisturize THAT much. But like this overall.

Special Care Items

1. Mangosteen Peeling Gel by Sweet & Sour - Love this! My 2nd bottle. Can be found in Tokyu Hands or Loft in Japan. Great peeling gel, I don't think I can change to any other... haha.

2. Clear Turn White Mask by Kose - Big 22 sheet box, great for everyday or every other day use. Good enough for daily use.

3. Burt's Bees Pomegranate Replenishing Lipbalm - Love this! I hated the scent at first but now I love it... how weird. I'm almost done with it, gotta repurchase! LOL. Started using this after I ran out of my La Mer lip balm. Gah gotta buy that La Mer one too. The reason I like this is you don't have to stick dirty fingers in the pot, like La Mer.

4. DHC Pimple Spot - Not sold in USA DHC. Like this a lot.. it's like potent salicylic acid. I'm not sure what it exactly is, but it's very fluidy liquid, not a cream or ointment. It shrinks my pimples! I don't get many breakouts of zits or acne but the occasional pimple will die with this in hand!

Extra Note:

1. Might be having a blog sale soon -- Japanese products that many of you can't access... and some other junk haha.

2. I'm interested in purchasing a few things from ZIPIA online clothing store but I don't want to spend $300 for myself. If anyone is interested, let me know if you want to split an order. I think I would prefer US only people if anyone is interested in this; because of shipping, unless they are my good blogger friends. I'm not sure about the zipia order yet... but if anyone is interested, leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

Travel Makeup & Skincare Bag for Boston

Hey everyone, happy weekend!

I'm leaving Sunday morning to Amherst, MA and then heading to Boston for some college visiting! I'm going for five days so I'm not sure if I'll be updating frequently.

So in case this is my last post until then, I will show you what I've packed for my trip!

Makeup Pouch: X-Girl freebie from MINI magazine

Contents:

Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lipbalm

Jill Stuart Blush Palette (Apricot 06)

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Majolica Majorca Lash Expander

NYX white eyeliner

Sisley brown kohl eyeliner sample

Random hairties & hairpin

100 yen Daiso mirror

Free mascara wand from Sephora (haha.. I take them all the time)

Contents:

100 yen vinyl net zip bag from Daiso

Helena Rubenstein face brush

DHC Q10 foundation

DHC translucent setting powder in Pink shimmer

Skincare Bag (Brand: Transversion):

Contents:

La Mer Cleansing Gel

Clinique Gentle Facewash

Aveeno Lotion

L'oreal conditioner from hairdye kit (it smells really nice..)

Kiehl's Lipbalm #1

C.O. Bigelow Ginger bodywash sample

DHC Olive Leaf Lotion & Milk

Kiehl's

Clinique Extra Surge moisturizer sample

Fekkai Technician Shampoo

Toothbrush & toothpaste sample :)

Bag used to carry these things in because I ran out of space in my suitcase...

Paul & Joe freebie bag from some Japanese magazine! It's so adorable with the little kitties.. :D

Alright that's all the beauty stuff I'm bringing for my five day trip... I'm trying not to buy more stuff during my trip but who knows!

I know I've asked this many times but if you have recommendations on places to shop, eat, or just go to in Boston, please write a comment! I'm planning to stop by Natick Mall so maybe I'll find some stuff there.. hehe :)

Alright, have a nice Easter or Passover holiday!

I will leave you with a song that I've been listening to alot lately.

HY - 366 nichi

Daily Skin Regimen

Happy weekend! I didn't do much today; just some food shopping and cleaning.

I saw my school's spring musical production of South Pacific yesterday with some friends. It was great even though I had to suffer sitting in back of someone recording it on video. My favorite character was Bloody Mary :)

So today's post will be my current skin regimen. I don't have particularly oily skin but these days I've gotten pimples... Maybe it's because I haven't been exercising a lot or sleeping. I sleep about 5-6 hours on a school night because I'm doing hw, studying or reading blogs -_-; I should start sleeping earlier. I can't break my sleeping schedule because currently I take naps after school (because I sleep late) then I stay up because I can't sleep and have to study, and it's a very vicious cycle, hahaha ;D

Night:

I use DHC's Olive Leaf Lotion, which is a toner but with no alcohol. It has Q10 in it and citric acid, which balances skin's pH level. I usually pat this on with my hands. Then I apply one pump of Olive Leaf Milk, a light moisturizer. It smoothes my skin and gives me some extra moisture before my actual moisturizer. The toner and milk don't have any scent and are very gentle. Lastly I apply the gel cream from Shiseido's Pureness line. It's meant for oily/acne prone complexions and isn't heavy. I love the smell! It's heavenly~ I like this gel cream because I have normal/combination skin and I don't like to put on heavy creams.

Day:

I tend to use both the DHC Olive leaf lotion and milk again in the morning, then follow with Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer in SPF 15 UVA/UVB protection. I'm trying to change my sun protection to SPF 30 or above but Kiehl's doesn't offer SPF30. I sometimes use DHC's Suncut Q10 in SPF30 with lame (shimmer). It's not as moisturizing so I often put a different lotion on before. The Kiehl's lotion makes my skin glowy and it's not heavy on my skin. It's very easy to spread too, unlike the DHC one. The DHC sunscreen aborbs quickly and is non-greasy. I like it because I can use it as a makeup base.

Before I apply any of this stuff, I always wash my face with a cleanser in the morning. Some people just use a washcloth to wipe their face but skin creates oils when you sleep too! It's very easy for people to get pimples if they don't wash their face in the morning. I like to wash my face with Kiehl's Brightening Botanical Cleansing Cream. It's very gentle and lathers up very well. Like all Asians, I like to brighten and whiten my skin. This works well! I've noticed some of my sun freckles lighten. You can use this cleanser with the whole Bright line, which offers a toner and moisturizer. I just use the cleanser.

I've told you guys that I ordered the Jill Stuart blush palette in Apricot 06 and the Majolica Majorca Lash Expander on Ebay. I just checked the status of the package and it arrived in NY today!! I might get it tomorrow or Monday!!! I'm so excited. I'll post swatches as soon as I get it. Also, Bloomingdales is having private sale for 3 days from Tuesday March 31 to Thursday April 2. I got 4 coupons to take $25 off a $100 purchase! I can definitely buy the Laura Mercier Gilded Garden blush! Hehe I'm very excited for the coming week...

That's all for today, good night!