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.

Tag + Giveaway

Photo Tag - Tagged by Eki! Thanks :)

Rules:

1 - Open first photo foloder

2 - Scroll down to 10th photo

3 - Post that photo and story on your blog

4 - Tag 5 other (or more) friends to do the same

This is the 10th photo in my first photo folder, it is a Blythe doll!! My mom and I are obsessed with collecting these, but this picture was taken for selling on Ebay (this doll has long been sold by now). I can't see what doll this was from the picture, the name on the left bottom is too small to see.

Anyway we both still like collecting Blythe dolls but after 6-7 years of collecting, it is getting a little boring. But we still have the original FAO Schwartz re-issue of Mondrian and Hollywood.

Giveaway Reminder!! Last minute -- ending 12 AM tonight!

Mona's 200th Follower Giveaway - ending tonight

Rules:

1. Must be a follower

2. Tell me your favorite metal in your comment, i.e. 14k gold, sterling silver, rose gold, brass, copper etc

3. A link/post back to this blog on your blog (ok if you don't have a blog)

Prize:

1st prize

2nd prize:

Mona, I hope you are ok with me posting your pics for this giveaway contest to promote it!

UPDATE about me:

I'm in Bonaire scubadiving!! Sorry I haven't been commenting or getting back to anyone.. will be returning on Sunday morning. I'm getting sucked up by mosquitos at the moment!! My face is suffering T_T They are biting my face because that is the only area exposed when I wear my wetsuit, also my hands but not as bad. I have like 10 bites on my face and neck area... it is terrible. The mosquito situation is very bad because of the rain Bonaire had the day before I came, it is not humid but the mosquitos like this weather...

Hope to update again soon! Thanks for continued support.

Weekend Update + Blogging Space Tag

Thanks everyone for the sweet comments on my previous post about my prize for the Kite Contest to go to Japan! I'm so psyched to finally go back after 4 years! 

Received Ms. Jamilla's 100th Follower Giveaway Contest prize in the mail this Saturday; I was overwhelmed by the contents! Look at all of this amazing loot she sent! The two high end lippies by Dior and Chanel were the main prize but she kindly included many extras including two Molton Brown shower gels (love them!), a MAC lippie palette, and a Bobbi Brown mini case (sadly the mirror cracked throughout the rough mailing from UK to US but it's all good!).

Thank you very much dear, you are too kind!

Weekend Purchases:

On Saturday I hit the shops in Soho and Madison Ave/5th Ave with a good male buddy of mine. Surprisingly I didn't spend that much money however my friend did a little bit too much spending... *cough*shopaholic*cough* I went over to Uniqlo and picked up two tunic-style shirts, one for a friend's birthday and one for me. They're having a sale for 2 UT t-shirts for $24.90!

Last was the Sephora store! I successfully restrained myself and only bought the MUFE Lift Concealer after doing extensive homework on reviews and etc. Thanks to Iyah and Fuz I was convinced! Thank you :) 

Quick Review on MUFE Lift Concealer in 1: I asked the SA which color would best suit my skintone even though I knew that 1 would probably be the best choice and 1 it was! What I am looking for in a concealer: light-medium coverage, neutralizing of blue/purple tone, and brightening for undereye area. So far I've used this three times and it's very nice. The shade is like a light pink tone that will cancel out the bluish tone of the blood vessel under the eye. I blend this with a more natural skintone color for little more coverage,  it does a good job! This concealer also has skin-care properties to lift the eyearea for any sagging. I'll do a more extensive review on this concealer with pics later on. 

On Sunday I went to Mitsuwa for a haircut and picked up the Kose Clear Turn White Mask. This mask box comes with 22 masks, that's a lot! The instructions state that to use the mask at least 2-3x a week. I haven't tried this on myself yet but I offered my mom to try one, she said that it wasn't as good as the DHC face mask. Will do a review on this product too.

On Sunday morning I went over to Michi Hair Salon in Edgewater, NJ at Mitsuwa for a haircut. If you remember, Fuz went over to the same salon last weekend. Way back in February I recommended Fuz try this salon as I've been going there for about 4 years but she went to another in Chinatown. Surprisingly she went to Michi last week and I was so shocked because she got the same stylist who does my hair!

If anyone is looking for a nice Japanese style hairdresser in the NJ/NY area, go to Michi Salon in Mitsuwa! Also ask for the stylist Miho (or Izumi the owner if Miho isn't available), who does my hair and cut Fuz's last wk. If you happen to go there, please mention that Mika recommended you to try!

Prices are reasonable for the type of service you receive, an average haircut for women costs about $50-60 without tip. If you mention you are a student, they might give you a discount.

So what I asked her for my cut was more layers to reduce heaviness of the hair, haphazardly placed bangs and thinning to encourage volume and natural waves.

I don't color my hair at Michi because I want to save money and I could do a pretty good job myself. I need to dye my hair again soon... The pictures are a bit misleading, my hair isn't actually that red. The dye I used was Palty brand.

Blogger Space Tag:

I was tagged by Innerchild, Zwala, and Nic Nic a few wks ago to do this blogging space tag. Here is my desk where I do all of my computer work, blogging, and studying. The pic doesn't show my full desk because I didn't want to show you my messy paperwork all over the place. Next to my computer where you see the yellow shipping packet (which Jennifer from Beeyoutiful blog sent me hehe) is where I store all of my things that are blog related and some bits and bobs here and there. Do you like my orange chair? It's so cute but it's not that comfortable after spending a few hours on the computer. 

Hehe and sorry for the receipts on the desk, calculating my spending from Saturday's NYC trip.

I'm too lazy to do the questions but I tag these people to show their blogging spaces because I'm so nosy :) I'm sorry if I repeat tagged you (I tried to pick people who didn't do the tag but I might've tagged somebody who already did it.. T-T)

Valli

Chomsiri

Kay

Millie

Blair

Also if you have a chance and some cash to spare, please check out my new makeup/clothing sale! I've got some more goodies from DHC and lowered some previous prices. Thank you!

Tag + Quick Update

Hello everyone!
I've been extremely busy this week and haven't found much time to update my blog.
Thank you everyone for the kind and supportive comments! I promise I'll try to get back to each one of you~ Your comments make my day :)

Anyway I've been tagged by EKI and Nic Nic to do the survey quiz. Their quizzes were both different so I combined some of the questions.

So here goes, hopefully this post will satisfy you stalkers!! XP

What is your current obsession?
Hm.. I’d have to say that I’m currently obsessed with clothes… This obsession is very bad for my budget haha

What is your weirdest obsession?
My weirdest obsession is looking at people's pics on facebook or blog ahahaha but not too much!
Also peeling at cuticle and lip.. Really bad -_-;

What are you wearing today?
Today I was wearing black leggings to the calf area and a gray Uniqlo tunic dress which sort of had an unflattering pregnant shape LOL

What's your favorite comfort food?
My grandma’s cooking! She made the best food… I miss it. She passed away recently so now I’m trying to learn how to make my favorites. I really like Thai green curry and Japanese nabe soups.

What would make today special?
Today wasn’t very special except that it was a HOT day, like 90 degrees. Oh, I wore a dress slash tunic thing, that was kind of special? I usually wear pants all the time.

What would you like to learn to do?
I'd like to learn how to run faster hehe

What's the last thing you bought?
The last thing I bought was a cardigan from Madewell and two tunics from Uniqlo.

What are you listening to right now?
HY, my favorite Japanese band. I posted a song by them before called 366 nichi. I love slow ballad kind of songs. I’m listening to another one of their songs called Song for…

What is your favorite weather?
I love sunny but cool temperature. I HATE hot weather like today, I get too sweaty and lethargic during the day. My hair also tends to get frizzy if it’s humid.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
Getting into a good college.. I want to go to Boston College hehe

What do you think about the person who tagged you?
Eki – My Japanese onee-chan I never had! She’s so nice to me and always treats me well (btw she sent me another package which was awesome!) She also makes the cutest accessories so check them out.

Nic Nic – A very cool and cute lady who has beautiful style and taste! I feel that my fashion and makeup tastes are the similar to her. She is one of the first beauty bloggers that I read all of the time. I started talking to Nic Nic before I had a blog!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Definitely somewhere in the mountains outlooking a forest (something interesting and surrounded by nature)

if you could swap lives with anyone for one day who would it be and why?
I'd want to try being a guy, it seems kind of interesting LOL. However I wouldn't
be able to wear makeup haha

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Hong Kong or Japan.

What would you like to have in your hands at right now?
An A in all classes hahaha

Which language do you wanna learn?
I really want to learn Chinese and Korean. I want to learn Chinese because I’m ½ Chinese and I wish to know more about that side of culture. I want to learn Korean so I can understand my friends!

What do you look for in a friend?
I look for a genuine, caring person who takes the time to treat me well. I like people who can hold good conversations.

Who do you want to meet in person?
Beauty bloggers! Yay ;)

What's your favorite type of music?
Lately I listen to a lot of Jpop/Jrock. I like mellow music and ballads.

What's your dream job?
Hm.. A journalist in a high fashion/beauty magazine! LOL

Any favorite model?
Yamada Yu. I like Mika Nakashima but she's a singer.

If you had $100 now what would you spend on it?
Hahaha.. I’d probably spend it all on clothes and makeup.

Things you wish you could change in the past?
I've always been very shy.. I want to change this even now.

Fashion Pet Peeve?
I really hate it when some people wear too many trendy things all at once. Such as, mini shorts, tights, high heels, dyed hair, and loud tunic blouse all at the same time. It really depends on the person though. Another thing I don’t like is the really tight pants called So Lows with the writing on the butt. Girls usually wear these pants with thongs and I don’t really like seeing their butt jiggling around when they walk -_-;

Do you admire anyone's style?
Aoi Yuu

Describe your personal style.
I like simple stuff like blouses, cardigans and jeans. I don’t work yet, I’m still a student so I can dress casually everyday.

Favorite Designer/Brand?
Marc Jacobs for the bags and Jcrew/Madewell for clothes.

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
I love fruit sherbert/sorbet. For regular ice cream I like strawberry & vanilla.

What's your favorite makeup brand?
Mm... Not sure. I really like Jill Stuart packaging! I wish I can afford to get more xP

What makeup do you use a lot?
Lately, brown eyeliner and mascara (so basic and boring but quick)

Do you get enough beauty sleep? yes or no? why?
No... I surf the internet way too much and procrastinate in studying. I do try to take naps though but it's not the same!

Why did you start your (beauty) blog?
I was always interested in skincare & makeup stuff. I had nobody to talk to about it so I started this blog. Btw my username Beauty Snap comes from my love for taking photos! Snap = photo haha

EDIT: I totally forgot to tag people... Ok here goes~
Beeyoutiful aka Jennifer
The Purple Snowflake
Diane
Innerchild
AND anybody who hasn't done this tag yet! :)

Um... I was trying to get some people that weren't ever tagged before but many already were!!
Hope you enjoyed this post haha