Black Friday 2018 Beauty Haul!

I no buy when there's no discount... anyone else? XD

Hope you enjoyed these long chatty hauls....?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?

Time for me to disappear again... LOL.

Have a great day guys :)

Products mentioned:
1. Rael pantiliners/pads/tampons/period pants
2. Aveda Mineral Loose Powder
3. Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo
4. Aveda Pure Abundance shampoo
5. SK-II Facial Treatment Mask
6. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence 
7.  Clinique Repairwear Anti Gravity eyecream
8. Neogen Sunscreen
9. Huda Beauty demi-matte cream lipstick in Shero
10. NARS Audacious lipstick in Jane
11. T3 Featherweight Compact folding hair dryer
12. Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily perfume
13. Bobbi Brown Luxe Liquid lipstick in Italian Rose, Strike a Rose, Your Majesty
14. Clinique Smart Treatment Oil
15. Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum
16. Sand & Sky Porefining Face Mask
17. MAC Matte Lipstick in Taupe 
18. MAC Liquidlast liner in Cocoa Bar
19. Pony Effect MEMEBOX Coverstay Cushion Foundation in Nude Beige
20. MEMEBOX PONY Easy Painting Brush Liner in 02. Natural Brown
21. MEMEBOX - PONY Blossom Velvet Lip Tint #04 Petite Bouquet
22. MEMEBOX - PONY EFFECT Prime Protect Sun Base
23. MEMEBOX - PONY EFFECT Smooth Dough Puff 
24. COSRX - Acne Pimple Master Patch
25. Etude House - Lash Perm Curl Fix Mascara
26. COSRX - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner
27. Pyunkang Yul Balancing Gel, Moisture Serum, Moisture Ampoule, Moisture Cream, Essence Toner, Oil




<3 Frances

November 2015 Empties/Mini Reviews

Hi guys!!

Two posts in one day =D Haha reason why I'm so productive today is actually because I caught a cold -_- Just trying to stay out of the cold and away from people lol. Oh good news guys =) I passed both of my licensing exams!! =DD right now just waiting for the Board to issue me my license. Decided to put aside job applications for a while because it's almost impossible to apply for a position without my license. I was hoping some places might be willing to train me while I wait, but nope! lol. Anyway, since I'm just staying home and sneezing and coughing and trying to keep my head from exploding... figured might as well catch up on some blogging. I know it's only mid-November but I figured I already accumulated enough crap to talk about XD


1. Bumble and bumble thickening shampoo and conditioner samples 

In general I would never go for high end conditioners, cuz I really feel like they don't make that much of a difference (since I only apply conditioner from the mid to ends of my hair it doesn't touch my scalp at all). This conditioner is no exception... didn't do much. I liked the shampoo though! My hair does feel more fluffy/voluminous when I use this. I got the travel size to play with, but I don't think I'd ever go for the full-size... too expensive for how much you get.

2. Perfect Whip cleanser

Don't think you can go wrong with Shiseido products lol. I think I went through 2 or 3 of these??? It's cheap and cheerful and does the job. Probably won't repurchase in a long time cuz right now my favorite drugstore facial cleanser is the Innisfree volcanic one, and I haven't got sick of that one yet so I'm gonna stick with that =D


I did good didn't I? haha. Sorry it looks kind of nasty.

2. Fasio mascara and Integrate mascara primer

Talked about these two here. Thoughts did not change so you can just refer to that if you're interested =)

Here's what the wands look like since I didn't show them in that post:





Very very fat wand lol.

Will I repurchase?

Well I don't have access to either, so nope! Haha. If you can try them at a reasonable price I would say you could give them a try. I haven't tried any mascara primer that tops the Majolica one. If I have access to the mascara I wouldn't mind picking the black one up. I like how the formula is very thickening, somewhat lengthening, yet it does not contain any fibers. That gets a thumbs up from me!


3. Yes To Grapefruit Body Wash

I like =) currently using up a LUSH soap that I got a while ago, as well as my Jo Malone body/hand soap that I got in a Nordstrom anniversary sale set, but once I finished those I will probably get something from Yes To.... unless something else really catches my eye.


4. Clinique Repairwear Lase Focus



I've never used an eye cream that made me feel a significant difference. So... I'll leave it at that. I was actually gonna purchase the full size of this but I got a Shiseido one instead cuz I wanted free shipping LOL. But I might revisit this product.


5. Innisfree Manuka Honey mask, My Beauty Diary Arbutin Whitening mask, Naruko mask





Kind of forgot about my sheet masks but pulled them out for extra hydration/whitening since the sun in Cali was pretty brutal in the summer. I enjoyed them all but none of them stood out to me. I used to really like the MBD arbutin one but I think they changed the sheet material and formula so now I'm more ambivalent.


6. Aveda Lip Saver



The last of my backup. Used to be my favorite lip balm but I'm happy with Lucas' Papaw Ointment and that one is MUCH cheaper lol.

7.

Another mask


8.

You guys sick of seeing this? haha


9. L'occitane Almond Shower Oil


Talked about it here:

I can sum up how I feel about this shower oil in two words: OH BABY. 😍😂 in all seriousness though, this thing is so nice! More worth it than LUSH bath products IMO 😂. First of all... It smells absolutely DIVINE. Second of all, leaves my skin feeling moisturized with absolutely no residue/greasy feeling 😄 I guess the only sad thing is that this is not a little-goes-a-long-way product... I would imagine if you're tall you'll probably run out of this product quickly? 😂 #loccitane #amande #showeroil #sephora #review #instareview #beautyblogger #bblogger #blogger

A photo posted by Frances (@bbudgie) on Sep 22, 2015 at 3:49pm PDT

It's nice if you want to pamper yourself... but I can do without it =D


10. Aveda Scalp Benefit Balancing Shampoo

Of all the Aveda shampoos I've tried, this one definitely feels the most drying to the scalp (think super deep clease). I wouldn't say it's stripping, but it's not a shampoo I would use daily. I did use it daily for a week and my scalp felt fine, but I prefer using it once a week as a deep cleanse. I actually purchased a 1L bottle of this and kind of regretted it... should've just got a small bottle for weekly use.


11. St. Ives Blemish Control apricot scrub

Sorry it looks nasty. I prefer the green tea scrub. The beads in this one are a lot bigger/rougher than the green tea one. I also used this on my body because there was just no way I could get through this if I used this exclusively on my face lol. Won't repurchase. Although I thought it was quite good as a body scrub XD


12. Belif The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb

Got this free sample size from Sephora. It's pretty good-- I think a lot of ppl would like the consistency and the formula of this. Even though I really liked it, I personally don't feel any different when I used this vs. using Cetaphil moisturizing lotion lol. Not interested in purchasing the full size.


13. Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Edge Meister

Reviewed here. Pretty sure I talked about this in one of my empties. Anyway, I have a lot of these but they aren't my favorite. When it dries out as you use it, it gets very clumpy because it has SO MUCH fibers in it. And I always have to make sure to use a tweezer to pull out any of the fibers sticking out so they won't poke my eyes. Also because of the high fiber content, it does dry out faster than other mascaras.


Hope you guys enjoyed =)

<3 Frances

August 2015 Empties/Mini Reviews

Whaddup guys!

Trying to be good and not let things accumulate. Let's go =D

1. Paul & Joe Powder Compact Foundation

So I basically bought this from P&J cuz I REALLY wanted something from them, but at that time there wasn't any limited edition cute blushes or lipsticks... bascially I bought this because I didn't know what else to buy LOL. Bought it purely for the packaging. Now that I have used up the foundation... I kind of feel stupid for buying this for the packaging... er... should I keep it? -_- it's unlikely I will repurchase. Keeping it for now but it's highly likely that it's gonna end up in trash one day.


My shade is 103. It matches pretty good... but it has VERY STRONG YELLOW TONES.


To be honest I didn't use it all the way up... I was 95% done when the remaining power shattered on me. I just tossed out the shattered bits


There's still a bit left around the edges but I didn't bother... why try so hard  ╮(￣▽￣)╭  next powder foundation! LOL.



Since I did have a bit left, here's a swatch. Can you even see it? LOL


It's a good powder foundation. Pretty finely milled. Decent oil control. Good coverage. Overall a good powder foundation but didn't blow me away. I liked it (obviously, since I used it up) but it's like a lukewarm-like, haha. It has a very distinct scent though... not sure if that's the P&J signature scent. I think it's supposed to be floral but I don't like it haha. Jill Stuart has much better floral scents.


I've actually shown my face in this foundation on my blog multiple times over the last year but just never mentioned it. Pretty much if my face looks matte or not overly dewy/glowy... then I'm wearing this powder foundation (except for my Mulberry wallet review-- was wearing a different powder since I already ran out by that time).

Just to give an example of what this powder looks like...


Powder foundation is pretty much my go-to. Especially in the summer because it's just too hot/heavy to wear anything else. And it's quick. As much as I love liquid foundations, if I have to live with one foundation for the rest of my life... I'd totally go for a powder xD


2. Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion

Cheap and cheerful, have repurchased :D sometimes I use it alone and most of the time I use it as a medium to dilute my heavier creams. But I do want to say at one point I was kind of missing my Skin MD for a lighter feel... but since autumn is upon us, I didn't go for it. Haha


3. THREE Balancing Cleansing Oil sample



I forgot I had this, but when I did remember, I was BEYOND excited to try it! Every Taiwanese blog I read all said it has the most amazing, luxurious, comforting, relaxing citrus scent (ooh all the words they used to describe it XD)  Um O_O I guess my expectations were different lol. I was expecting more of a fragrant citrus scent, if you know what I mean? This one actually smells very aromatherapy. So I can definitely see the appeal. Maybe I'm just not there yet so while I appreciated it, I didn't love it. I did read that since this oil is essential oils, once it's oxidized the smell changes with time. Don't know about that but just want to throw it out there. I did notice when I massaged my face with this oil whilst taking my makeup off, it heats up. Quite unlike any other cleansing oils I've had. Actually felt really good. Other than that, it's pretty effective in makeup removal as well-- no problem with my waterproof eyeliner/mascara!


4. Origins Dr. Andrew Weil Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Face Cream




If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know I'm a big fan of the Mega Mushroom line since it calms my skin during my bouts of eczema/atopic dermatitis/allergic flares. Actually I haven't had a single flare during the entire time I was using this O_O haven't had another episode since I finished this either (knock on wood!). Maybe it did strengthen my skin?! You guys know I won't always have this on hand, but I for sure will repurchase the Mega Mushroom line here and there in the future :) I still have the cleansers and since the moisturizer is very pricey, I'm gonna stick with the face wash for now. By the way I highly encourage you guys to wait for the discounts at beauty.com or Sephora since this is expensive.


5. Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey Cologne samples

I blew through these like within a week xD I have the full size ^.^ my current perfume obsession hahaha. I wear it during the day, I wear it before I go to bed... I wear it whenever I feel like it lol. Does anyone else do that? Put perfume on before going to bed? Puts me in a really good mood :D it takes forever to finish a bottle of perfume anyway lol (so far... never finished a single bottle).

I will say though, this particular scent is NOT long-lasting at all :(  in fact, it disappears super fast. The only time it stays is when some get into my hair when I spray the perfume behind my ears. Where do you guys spray your perfume??


6. Kose Sekksui White Washing Cream

Pretty sure this is Japanese 7-11 exclusive. I adore the formula but the smell is meh. I enjoyed it while it lasted but I'm not crying about it after it ran out haha.


7. CONI Infinity Hydra Super Moisturizing Overnight Mask

Ehh... didn't use it on my face, cuz I'm not a fan of overnight masks. Plus the scent is so... detergent-y -_- I used it as a body moisturizer. It's a free gift with purchase anyway hehe. To be fair though I love it as a body moisturizer. But the smell omg. ICK. CONI is a Taiwanese brand.


8. Aveda Invati Scalp Revitalizer Spray

Sad that I'm done with this small bottle. To be honest, between the shampoo and the spray, I think the spray works better. Kind of wish I bought the spray system instead of a 1L shampoo. Oh well. That said, don't expect a ton of volume from it-- it works, but only to a certain extent. I do notice my hair falls out a lot less when I use this though. Volume boost-wise, there was a noticeable difference but nothing too impressive. BUT!! I didn't follow the instructions-- didn't use it twice a day and I didn't use 16 sprays (this is the travel size by the way). I can only imagine if I use it as directed I'd get even better results. Although it does have a distinct scent O_O not sure how I'm gonna like that if I were to use it in the morning.


9.

Y'all already know what it is.




Okay, bed time for Frances ^_^ Hope you all have a nice day <3



<3 Frances

July 2015 Empties/ Mini Reviews

Hi hi!


It's time to go through my trash again LOL. Let's do this!!

1. Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector

I want to say it does nothing,  but since I ran out of this and returned the Aveda one and only been using the Kiehls Avocado eye cream in the morning... I've been noticing my dark circles have been horrible O_o so maybe it did do something. Not repurchasing this time around but gonna get something with caffeine for my morning eye cream. 


2. Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-drain Serum

Have had this for a longggg time. Stopped using it because it makes my skin feel dry??? It's kind of hard to describe. Not a tightening feeling, just it just gave me a weird feeling as if my skin is dehydrated from the inside. Lol I don't even know, I just know I don't like how it makes my face feel after. Anyway didn't want it to go to waste so I only applied it to the jawline and neck this time around (you're supposed to apply it to your entire face and neck, followed by a "massage" routine). This works for water retention so it does have a slimming effect. Lipo-drain? I think that's false claim. I bought two of them at that time so currently working on the second bottle.


3. Skin & Co. Truffle Body Milk Sample

Nothing special. Smell reminds me more of almond milk lol. 


4. Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Neck Cream
 

 
This is just a deluxe sample size I got when I purchased the lipo-drain serum. I actually liked it! And I do feel like it works. It does give you that tightening feeling and I feel like my double chin is less saggy/prominent while I used it LOL. Don't know if I'm gonna purchase the full size product. I feel like I like it but don't love it to splurge.


5. Diorsnow UVB Protection
 
... This is the first time I noticed it says "UVB" protection on this product. Does that mean it only has UVB protection and not UVA??? Or is it merely emphasizing it has UVB protection in addition to UVA??? I gotta look into it O_O

Anyway you guys know I love this sunscreen. Talked about it multiple times (see here). The only thing I will add though is it is more suitable for winter. Even in the desert/dry climate here in California, I found this sunscreen to be a bit too heavy in this heat... Didn't realize how heavy it feels until I switched to Anessa. That said I still love this sunscreen and I do have two more in my stash. I need to stop hoarding!!

 
I noticed they do have new packaging now! Which is awesome because when the product is low, the cap just will NOT stay on. Kept falling off which frankly was very annoying. I'm really glad they changed the packaging but I'm also bummed out that I have two of the old package ones -_- lol
 
Love that it comes with a pump. Super easy to control. Not sure if the new ones do (feel like the new ones look like regular screw-on lids).

 
Thought I squeezed out all of the product but when I cut it open there was SO MUCH product left. I ended up applying the leftover product on my body and there was more than enough.


6. Arcona Magic Dry Ice Hydrating Gel Sample

It was nice... ppl who like gel moisturizers will probably like this. But to me it wasn't special and I don't miss it. Smells like cherry flavored cough syrup which was a turn-off for me.


7. Origins Youthopia-Lift Firming Cream Sample

I'm not even sure if this was discontinued or renamed/repackaged. Can't seem to find the Youthopia line anymore. Anyway this thing is really old too but I do like it! Like the Clarins firming cream, it gives a tightening feeling and somewhat "reduce" the appearance of my double chin lol. I'm more inclined to look into firming products from Origins than Clarins... ummm... simply because I like Origins? lol.


8. Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner 



Here's another one

You'll probably see this product on my blog until the day I stop blogging.


9. Guerlain Abeille Royale Face Treatment Oil Sample

I think it's nice and it does hydrate my face/make it plumper, but I don't think it's that special. First time I used it was very taken aback by the smell-- it was like applying perfume to my face. Doesn't smell like old lady exactly... maybe smells like rich middle aged lady skincare??? lol


10. Lancome Soothing Recharging Night Cream

This expired before I had a chance to try it on my face O_O I just used it on my body.  I think I would've very much enjoyed it though. The name "cream" is really misleading because it's more of a thick gel. If you like the Clinique Moisture Surge I think you will enjoy this. It was very hydrating when I tried it on my body.


11. NUDE Progenius Omega Treatment Rescue Oil Sample

When I was at Sephora the SA insisted that I need to try this because she said it was basically the most amazing oil she's ever tried. Ummm... sadly didn't work out that way for me. It has rosehip oil so I was excited to test it out. But when I applied this it didn't want to sink it. The two nights I had it on I could feel a layer of oil on my face. The Sunday Riley oils and Guerlain oil didn't do that. And I didn't notice anything extraordinary either.


12. Yes to Coconut Polishing Body Scrub

The formula of this body scrub was very interesting-- it contained exfoliating beads in jelly. Don't know how else to describe it lol never used anything like this before. It did feel quite hydrating and not in a residue/uncomfortable sort of way. Not sure if I will repurchase. It was okay.


13. Wen Lavender Cleansing Conditioner

As you can see... the pump broke -_- I have no idea what happened to it. Anyway too lazy to use it. I'm pretty much over cleansing conditioners anyway so I just decided to toss it out. Such a waste but whatever. Not gonna try to hang on to products I don't like when I have so many other good products that are waiting for me to finish before they expire O_O lol.



14. Aveda Invati



Talked about it here. Since I wrote that very recently and my thoughts have not changed, please just refer to that :)


15. Maybelline Fashion Brow Duo in BR-1

Really enjoyed this product! At one point I was pretty much in love/obsessed with it lol but that has passed. Still doesn't change the fact it's great though! But it ran out quite fast @_@ seeing that I've never ran out of other brow products before. 


One end is the twist up brow pencil, the other brow powder. I have backups of this product so I'll make sure to write about/swatch it the next time I open up a new one =P



16. Kate Lash Maximizer (white)

It contains a lot of little fibers, which became really annoying as the formula dried-- the little fibers stuck out and poked my eyes. The same applies to all fiber mascaras though-- have to make sure to use a tweezer to get all those fibers that are sticking out. It does the job of holding curls/volumizing, but I won't repurchase. Too expensive for what it is. There are cheaper and better options.


17. Mistine Super Model Mascara

This is a dual end mascara that I got while I was in Thailand. The description was all in Thai so I kind of had to figure out how to use it on my own LOL.Was a bit cautious when I bought it cuz I've never tried Thai cosmetics but I've seen positive reviews on it (from a Taiwanese YouTuber) so decided to give it a try.


1. Mascara has little curl hold. It doesn't make my lashes go stick straight but my lashes would lose a bit of the curl
2. The fibers stick poorly to the lashes if you don't lay something down as a base first

I used the mascara two ways. I'd use my mascara primer as always, put on a layer of the mascara, follow up with the fibers, then mascara again. More often I would use my own mascara primer, then just the mascara end. I found the mascara is pretty good for length/volume without the fibers.

If you want to use the fiber end but don't have your own mascara primer, I'd still suggest putting down a layer of mascara first, then fibers, then mascara so you can get the fibers to stick.





I will say, the fibers aren't messy as I anticipated. I didn't experience any fall outs/irritation while using it. Major kudos to that since I find most fiber formulation really irritating to eyes. When you apply the fibers to your mascara-coated lashes though, you might find the fibers clump up quite a bit. But that can be combed out as you use a second layer. Yeah kind of troublesome that's why I usually forgo the fibers lol.


I do have some application photos for you =P Took them a long time ago lol.





Not the cleanest looking lashes. Personally don't really care hahaha. They do look better from afar



Overall effect



Really love how much my lashes stand out with this mascara.

Pretty much in my last few posts I was using the primer+mascara combination (so no fibers). You can see the effect best here.  The mascara itself works pretty well. Fiber end really isn't needed lol.

Will I repurchase? Probably not. I'd be totally willing to try out another mascara from Mistine though! I will probably just look for a regular mascara without fibers.


18. MAC Liquidlast Eyeliner in Coco Bar

Discontinued. Hoarded some backups when it was being discontinued. Later discovered Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner is a dupe.


... I always felt like I didn't finish that much stuff, but how come my empties posts always end up being so long? -_- lol.

Have a great rest of the day :)




<3 Frances