Rest of my Taiwan Haul =D

Hi guys!

Greetings from America again! =D I'm finally back lol. School just started so I'm hoping to blog as much as I can before things get too hectic. Anyway! So today I just want to quickly share the rest of the stuff I got from Taiwan!


Naruko-- Tea Tree Oil Out Peeling Gel

This is a pretty nice exfoliating gel, since I can't find the exfoliating gel I used to use anymore--- It's the type of exfoliator that turns the dead/old skin into little flakes that come off as you massage the gel in. It's supposed to be for oily skin but honestly I think all skin types can use it. 


Hmmm not sure what the English name will be for this. 廣源良 菜瓜精華露

It contains extracts of matricaria and cucumber. It's supposed to be cooling and moisturizing and really good for soothing the skin after sun exposure. I didn't purchase this, my cousin gave/recommended it to me lol. Has anyone used this before?


Stiefel Physiogel Lotion

I originally heard about this product from bubzbeauty from a while ago and she raved about how absolutely moisturizing this lotion is (the bottle looks different and the name is slightly different too though). I have to say I am quite surprised at how moisturizing this thing is too! Especially for a lotion. Right now my skin is super, sufferingly dry-- still trying to adjust to the drier climate here in the US as opposed to scorching hot/humid in Taiwan. I've been switching between Physiogel and Embryolisse concentrate which is more like a cream. Both of them are excellent moisturizers if you have dry skin and I would definitely recommend both. This lotion is definitely not for summer or oily skin though. By the way it's a German product and made in Ireland.


FANCL washing powder, toner and lotion

I've been wanting to try FANCL products forever! Main reason for the absolute no use for any preservatives in their products. All their products are only good for 3 months once you open them so you're supposed to use them up within that time frame. And for that reason all their products come in smaller sizes so consumers will be able to finish them. Can't wait to try them!



Burberry Sheer Luminous Fluid Foundation

So apparently Burberry just came out with the "Velvet" long wear fluid foundation =_________________________= Didn't get to try that one out in Taiwan cuz it's part of the fall collection I think. Dammit. LOL. Anyway a review will be coming up soon for this foundation. This is actually my big regretful purchase this summer... lol oh well I will explain it in the review.



Maquillage Perfect Multi Compact

I think this is another regretful purchase unfortunately... but I still need to give it a couple of chances. But so far I honestly think this is a great powder for dry or normal skin. It just doesn't really work on my combination skin. We'll see how it holds up now I'm in the US. There are three shades for this compact foundation-- 11, 22 and 33. Mine is 22 and it's quite light (I'd say around NC20). 22 has more yellow undertone while 11 has more pink tone (so I'd say NW20). 33 is a lot darker, probably for NC30.



AK false lashes in #609

Saw them on a Taiwanese blogger and I thought they looked sooo gorgeous/natural on her. At least they look natural in photography lol. They look so dramatic on me because my eyes are so small lol. They are black stemmed but the band is so thin that they are very comfortable to wear.



Hmmm what do you call this thing? LOL it's supposed to be for hair-plucking XD

It's kind of too weak for my eye brow hair... maybe I'll use it on my mustache? ahahah


Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Mascara Volume (interesting name I know lol)

I love comb mascaras and just wanted to try this cuz there was a sale lol. Although I haven't used this particular mascara before I've used Fasio mascaras before, and from what I can remember, they are mind-blowingly good for curls.



Za mascara base

Again with the sale lol. Just wanted to try something different than Majorlica Majorca primer


Naruko Rose & Botanic HA Aqua Cubic Hydrating Mask

I ADORE this mask! I was gonna get more of these but I ran out of time :T it just feels really nice and moisturizing. I actually brought this onto the plane with me and it felt so good that I didn't want to take the mask off ahaha.


Steaming eye masks??? Is that how it's translated? lol

I read about this on a Taiwanese blog and was intrigued. The eye mask heats up when you put it on and it actually releases steam???? When I took off the mask there was actually moisture on my face lol. It was nice but I won't be repurchasing. I feel like the heat isn't enough so I kept pressing the mask to my eyes so it feels warmer. but then again you wouldn't want to burn your eyes XD


Assortment of masks

I got so many masks lol! I just showed one of each kind I got. I restocked on my favorite My Beauty Diary Arbutin whitening masks =D The lifting sheet mask from Face Q is actually very interesting, maybe I will show it in another post =P


That's all I have! Sorry I'm rushing this post a bit... but I'm so tired and sleepy. Let me know if you want reviews from any of these products? 


Until my next post, hope everyone's doing well!

Collective Haul

What's up everybody!

So I thought I'd stop by my own blog and do a little haul post XD Just finished an exam and I'm so exhausted. 8 hours of sleep in two days O_o I'm too old for this man... but anyway I'd be happy to use this time to take a nap before I have to study for yet another exam, but I'm cranked up on caffeine =_=.... so yeah =T Might as well do a little blogging while the effect of caffeine wears off (my life nowadays is just school school school... or it's always been like that?!??? lololol but anyway sorry if my intros are always so boring)

As the title stated, I have a collective haul to share :D some of the items are not in the original packaging because I've had them for a while. I just realized that everything I showed here were purchased from the Internet... so busy these days to go shopping. The only physical shopping I do nowadays is grocery shopping XD


Here's everything ^_^


I'm slowly being converted to BB creams... especially after I went to Boston. I found that in any extreme/harsh weather (like humidity in Taiwan, and WINDINESS in Boston OMG it's like you don't know what windy is until you've been to Boston), BB creams just do so so SO much better than foundations. I couldn't wear my liquid foundation while I was in Boston cuz it just gets too dry and caked up.

I purchased another SKIN79 BB cream :D this time the Prestige BB cream from the Diamond collection. I have a sample size of this so I already know this is a BB cream I will enjoy. I was tempted to buy a SKIN79 BB compact but I decided to branch out and try out the HANSKIN one. First impression was O__o it has a very unnatural orange tint to it??? Like skin color gone wrong. Haven't used it much so can't say how well it performs. We'll see. Also got a BB cream from Pore Lab that claims for sebum control. So far only used it once and aside from the fact it gives more of a semi-matte finish (rather than SKIN79 which gives dewy), it does nothing in sebum control. Will test it out more but I'm already considering putting it on blog sale XD

Also got a sample size Dr. Jart+ black label BB cream =DDD So excited to try this one! Been dying to try it ever since watching StyleSuzi use them. But could never really bring myself to buy it cuz the price is quite hefty for a BB cream. Now I can try it to see if it's worth the money ^_^

The Pore Lab thingy on the upper left corner is supposed to be a product that helps to extract blackheads without harsh extraction (like squeezing XD). Honestly I'm not a believer in products like this but I decided to give it a try. Gonna use it tonight to see if it's a dud or if it actually works. And lastly there's this mask that I got as a free gift.

Next I have the Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliners

I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to try these out!!! I stumbled upon MszJackieChu's video and she talked about how these are exactly the same as MAC LiquidLast, and MAC LiquidLast being the only eyeliner that ever works on her------> Which is the same as me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I was super excited especially in light of the fact MAC LiquidLast in coco bar which is my holy grail has been discontinued. Hopefully they will work on me too >_< if not... well... I could use them for upper eyelid *shrugs*


Then I also got the Olay Regenerist products, after reading Bubbi's rave review.

How come mine looks even different from the Internet pictures she posted??? oh well. Haven't used the eye serum yet. Have used the micro-lifting serum 3 times and had to stop because my skin was reacting to it. I'm pretty sure it was this product because it was the only different product I was using, although I did wonder if I was layering too much products. Now my skin has recovered I'm gonna give it another shot to be sure if my skin indeed doesn't like this XD But anyway first impressions of the micro-lifting serum... (aside from breaking me out) I like the texture, but man I REALLY DISLIKE the smell. It's very overwhelmingly fragranted X_X I cringe every time I apply it on my face. It smells exactly like Pantine shampoo -___-||||  Even if it doesn't break me out I don't think I will repurchase just for this reason. Way. Too. Over. Powering.

Lastly I have these Josie Maran products: the Argan Oil, the Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation, and the sunscreen.

I will do a fuller review on these. But it probably won't be for a while because although I've been using the serum foundation almost everyday for over a month I'm still kind of unsure whether I like it or not??? XD lol what the hell right I know I know. I LOVE how Josie Maran has the smaller travel sizes for the argan oil and the sunscreen, so I was able to really test them out for reasonable prices ^_________^ big props to that.

And non-makeup/skincare related products XD I finished my 30 day shred workout so I purchased more so I can alternate my routine more. Will share my thoughts and results on the 30 day shred in another post.



At last... because I haven't shown my face in a while XD

This was taken a while ago when I did my Jiyeon's cry cry video tutorial. I guess I didn't post any camwhore pics because I already did that in the other post? XD


LOL my bangs have really grown out since then XD

Actually they aren't that long. They look longer in these pics because I was parting my hair differently that day. Was also wearing eye shadow for lower eyeliner for a change. Usually I don't use eye shadows as eyeliners because they usually don't stay on me, primer or not. But I might have found a way around it, I have to test it out more. We'll see ^_^



That's all ^_^ Thanks for taking time to stop by my blog ^_^ I'm off to take a nap now. Or maybe just roll around for a bit if I still can't fall asleep XD

Take care everyone!

<3 Frances

Clothing/ Shoe Haul Summer/Fall 2011

Hey guys!

How's everybody doing? Happy Friday ^_^
Today we had a sunny day in Maryland! Which made me sooo happy cuz weather here is usually really gloomy... so I decided to take some time off and make a video =D Don't know if you guys enjoy this kind of post/video, but I had fun making it, so I hope you guys likey ^_^


Yes it's the City Hunter soundtrack. I finally watched it (yeah I'm so behind XDXD not a big Asian drama person at all but my roommie convinced me lol...) and I'm officially declaring my undying love for Lee Min Ho. LOL!!!! He acts so well  O_o I'm mega impressed <3 <3 <3 I'll probably be obsessing with the soundtrack for the next month ahaha.

Anyway LOL back to the video. 99% of my closet is composed of Forever 21 clothes LMAO!! I'm really cheap when it comes to clothes. I get tired of my clothes really easily, whether they're expensive or cheap pieces. I rarely get any jewelry but I want to start building some accessory collections to spice up my outfit... I usually dress really simple lol!

By the way I took advantage of the 30-50% sale at the Nine West website (ninewest.com) and bought three pairs of shoes =D I finally got a pair of flats!!!!! So happy!!! And a pair of nude heels =DD (although you can kind of see my toes with these heels... =T no likey but I still like the shoes) but my favorite piece has to be the sequins shoes. The photos didn't do them justice. I love them so much!! Something about the super thick heels make them extra sexy. hehehe. I really love Nine West shoes! It's pretty much the only American shoe brand I trust to buy heels. Their shoes are so comfy and don't hurt my little Asian feet. lol! Anyway there's also an extra 25% off Friends & Family sale (select styles only though) going on right now so I encourage you to take a look and take advantage of it if you see something you like ^_^

I'm also planning on making another video, which will be a collective haul+ mini reviews of the beauty products I have purchased over the last 6 months?!?!?!?? So look out for that if you're interested ^_^

Okay I'm going to bed now. So tired!

Have a great weekend guys ^______________^

<3 Frances

Okay I failed-- I'm gonna die like a pudding... -__-|||

Remember that I said I'm on a shopping ban, and if I buy anything, I will die like a pudding that has fallen 40 stories?

Yes my dear friends, after 1 full month of not shopping/buying anything... I caved. T口T  Yes, feel free to judge me, cuz I am very ashamed -_-|| I think I decompress through spending money or something O.o


Things I bought:
1. Aveda Botanical Kinetics Facial Mist
2. Philosophy Hope daily oil-free moisturizer
3. Aveda Mineral Loose Powder
4. Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation
5. Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Lasting Satin Lip Color in #515
6. Giorgio Armani Face Fabric (which is a sample I received! Not a purchase!)


Aveda Botanical Kinetics Facial Mist

I don't feel bad about buying this cuz I'm running dangerously low on my MAC fix+ spray, and I want to try something else. A facial spray is sort of an essential for me now it's so hot and dry.

Philosophy Hope daily oil-free moisturizer

I don't feel bad buying this either cuz I was out of my daytime facial moisturizer, plus I have a gift card at Sephora! =DD 


I was using the Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital SPF 30 Sunscreen, which is a high-potency daily moisturizing cream. I received this for free, so I was just kind of using it. I don't really care for this, I neither like it or dislike it. Just using it up for the sake of it. So I'm glad I was finally done with this cuz this was too rich that it made my skin feel dull.

The Philosophy daily moisturizer, on the other hand, I absolutely adore! It comes out of the tube kind of thick and creamy, but when applied and spread out on my face it's very light and fresh and moisturizing. Besides the fact this moisturizer smells exactly like sunscreen, I have nothing to pick about it and I absolutely adore it :) Very happy with this purchase.




Aveda Mineral Loose Powder

This... was a very unintentional purchase 囧. I went to Aveda to pick up the facial mist and some hand/body lotion for my brother, and happened to swatch the loose powder on my hand... it was so beautiful I was immediately sold O_O I already 2 powders that I am currently using, so I really didn't need this at all. But I don't regret buying this either cuz I've been loving it ^_^ Will do a review.



Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation

Okay okay I know you guys are gonna exclaim, "Frances!! Why did you buy another foundation?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You already have so many!! Another liquid foundation is the LAST thing you need!!!"

Um, unfortunately that statement is only true to a certain extent. Although the Jill Stuart and Laneige foundation does match my face color, but unfortunately my body has somehow been unintentionally getter tanner and tanner (which is completely odd cuz I'm always indoors working or schooling =_=)  so these two foundations really look too pale on me compared to the rest of my body. I've been wanting to buy a darker shade of foundation for the longest time to mix with my lighter foundation (and may I add it's HARD to find a perfect match foundation... it's really easier to mix it yourself), but I just never got to it because first, I wasn't sure which brand I want to get, second of all, I wasn't sure if I want to spend that much money for a mixing foundation and whether or not if I should just opt for a bronzer. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a bronzer to apply all over my face without looking unnatural, and I really can't put this off any longer cuz my face has been looking ridiculously pale compared to my body >_<

I originally was planning to get the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, which was a foundation I really enjoyed when I tried out the samples back in February or March? However I was hesitant cuz I remember this foundation even after setting with powder tends to slip rather easily when I get oily.


What prompted me to try this foundation was when I watched Rae's June's Hits and Misses video: 

I have tried Giorgio Armani's Luminous Silk Foundation and Face Fabric before, but was unimpressed, but I'd never tried the Lasting Silk! So I decided to give it a go. I didn't even get samples this time, which is SUPER out of the character for me (cuz I really don't have time to go shopping at the malls these days) I just looked for the shade I want (I got it in 6.5 which is several shades darker than JS and Laneige) and bought it. Have only been using it for two days but so far I'm very impressed. I feel a bit guilty buying this foundation cuz of the price (not the most expensive one I've purchased before, but the most expensive one I've decided to keep), but I don't regret and so far very happy with it. Will continue to use it with my JS and Laneige and see how it goes ^_^ prob won't do an individual review on this particular foundation though cuz I'm never gonna use it alone O_O


The Face Fabric foundation sample the MUA gave me. Not sure why I took it cuz I've tried it. Oh well might give it a second chance, who knows I might change my mind and like it?=P


Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Lasting Satin Lip Color in #515

This last purchase was completely unintentional as well O__O

It's pretty weird for me to have such a strong urge or even the will to spend so much on one lipstick, even more funny cuz I've been really really wanting the YSL Faubourg Peach lipstick ever since I saw Michelle Phan use it in her Simple and Clean tutorial


The YSL Faubourg Peach lipstick is $34 O__________O So I was sort of waiting to see if I'm actually gonna go crazy and splurge. But when I saw the GA lipstick at the store, I went O_O++++ (see the sparks in my eyes? XD)


The color in this pic is NOT true to color.
But anyway, it's a very pretty cool baby pink. I don't generally like how lipsticks feel on my lips that's why I don't really ever wear them (the only lip products I really do enjoy will be from Lancome) but I actually like the formula of this lipstick ^_^ feels like lip balm actually, very light and moisturizing and doesn't give that icky feeling that most lipsticks do. I was gonna return it cuz I feel so bad spending so much on a lipstick (although I take a little comfort in the fact this is slightly cheaper than YSL XD) but I already used it O_O so... I might just keep it.

I hope you guys enjoyed this haul! An awful lot of writing for a haul I know XD

I know a lot of you will be celebrating the Fourth of July Weekend for those who live in America ^__^  But please party safe okay? :) Guess what I will be on call for the holiday -_- no celebration for me lol... aiyaya >_<

<3 Frances

Other beauty products I got+things I wanted but didn't end up buying in Taiwan =P

Hello beautiful ppl!

Lol the greeting makes me want to sing Christina Aguilera XD you know that song from Burlesque?

"all the beautiful ppl shining like diamonds  ♪ ♪ ♪"

... No...? ... okay XD

Anyway! I haven't been blogging as much as I'd have liked -__- cuz I'm so busy. In fact, so busy that I was so excited when I got off work today that I could finally go home and do dishes and take out trash and actually cook for myself (been eating out >< one of the worst things you can do to your health) LOL. Yeah, pretty insane. So I prob will just be posting intensively over weekends.

Anyway! Here's the part II of products I got from Taiwan. Yeah I know I know I already showed a lot of products in that first post, but of course I ended up purchasing more products after that... so... XD Okay, let me introduce you... the rest of the beauty-related products I got from Taiwan!




Loreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer


Loreal Touche Magique Highlighter (I had hoped it'd be somewhat like YSL touche eclat but no no no they are completely different!)


K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner. Which I will use when I run out of my Dolly Wink liquid liner.


Majolica Majorca mascara and primer of course! Must buy when I go back. LOL. By the way this primer saves my DW Long Mascara! Which I kind of stopped using cuz I got tired of having to curl my lashes AGAIN after applying mascara. This baby solves the problem ^-^



Kiss Me lengthening and curling mascara. Very excited to try this ^_^ will get to it when I'm through with MJ and DW mascaras.


I didn't buy this, but my cousin is a huge fan of this eyelash glue and insisted I should own one lol! Plus it's the limited pink edition... XD Not sure what brand it is.


Biotherm White D-TOX correcting base. Got mine in green you alllll know whyyy... I have a lot of redness on my face. I use a lot less foundation when I use this base ^_^ still need to wear it more; haven't been wearing foundations still cuz my face is still recovering from breaking out so I'm still wearing BB creams.


Biotherm Aquasource Eye cream. To be honest I don't think it's worth the money... I thought my last eye cream (Kiehls, the avacado one!) worked much better. I might even go back to buying Kiehls after I'm done with this tube.


I also got a lot of samples from Biotherm (they only give out samples if you purchase over a certain amount =_= since I purchased Mother's Day's presents there as well, I qualified! lol)


CONI gel exfoliator. Works exactly like the blue one except even better. It's like a higher grade of the blue one cuz it contains gold foils lol.


Got a BUNCH of these little jars to store my samples =D I hate opening up sample packets and not being able to use them up in one go and have to paper clip them. Haha.


My Beauty Diary masks! Not sure why I got them cuz now I'm a believer and regular user of natural yogurt masks. lol. By the way I'm trying out Bubbi's chocolate mask tonight! it's sitting in my fridge now I'm so excited! XD


I feel like a lot of ppl are gonna freak out seeing that I buy these products? LOL. But anyway, I've gotten questions in the past asking me if my double folds are natural? The answer is yes, they are (to be honest I found this an interesting question... If I'd had surgery or created the fold... I wouldn't have little folds like these are you freaking kidding me LMAO!!!) But I also have answered honestly that sometimes I do have problems with my folds... for example... when I'm really tired, or when I cried the night before. Hahaha. you know, just when my lids get puffy, sometimes my folds will move to different places. This is when I use these things to fix them so they're back to normal. I use the glue if I'm going out (pretty invisible on me) and the tape if I'm staying home. I don't use the whole tape, I cut it in 3 cuz that's enough to put my lid back in place. I will leave it on for a couple of hours and take it off and my fold will be good to go. lol. So since I use these to "fix" my folds instead of "creating" folds, please don't ask me questions about how I create natural folds cuz I honestly don't know >.< But anyway, you don't even really need this specific glue. Any eye lash glue would do. I just like the brush applicator that comes with it :P


Jealousness eye brow pencil. This was my new favorite thing to do my eyebrow! "Was" my favorite until I got my hair colored and now the color is completely off *sob* I don't normally say some product lasts all day long, but this brow pencil does! and so much easier to use than my Anastasia brow powder in my opinion lol.

Last thing... I got... a book =D

It's a makeup book written by 小凱老師. If you watch Taiwanese variety show 女人我最大 then you will know who I'm talking about. I don't even know why I bought this, cuz everything in the book is pretty basic (you can pretty much get everything on youtube) and I've even read the entire book while I was sitting at the bookstore flipping through it. To be honest I feel like this is more of a product promotional book rather than an instructional book, cuz for each look it used completely different sets of products (mostly high-end too). But I get it anyway cuz this book is so beautiful >_< I guess it's like a collection thing XD








You're supposed to be able to cut the pages and mix and match looks you desire! But of course I can't bring myself to do it lol


My favorite look =) So Christina Aguilera. lol!

I might have left out some stuff here and there, but it's okay these are the more exciting ones =P

And... I'm not done yet XD hahaha. Now I want to tell you guys the products I REALLY wanted, but didn't end up getting for various reasons:

1. Clinique Age Defense BB Cream

- I thought this BB cream was pretty unique cuz it gives a matte finish. Matte finish! What BB cream does that?! Usually BB creams give very shiny dewy finish. Plus it blends into my skin really well. I didn't end up buying it cuz I still have my SKIN79 BB creams which work really well... So... I'm gonna finish that, and hopefully get to this product next year? XD

2. FANCL Washing Powder

- My skin just feels so amazing and fresh after using this cleanser. Too bad I already bought the Hado Labo cleanser which is gonna last me for a year =( Will definitely buy this next time.

3. Jill Stuart #1 Baby Blush

- This blush is $1300 TWD (about $45 USD) even more expensive than the JS foundation! WTF Where is the justice?!?!?!?!!! Maybe it's because it comes with a brush. I'd rather just buy the blush without the brush to save money -_- But anyway this blush palette is just gorgeous. But I just cannot spend $45 on a blush. So I'm just gonna drool after it for the rest of my life. XD


By the way guys... I'm officially on a shopping ban  >_< I bought way too much in Taiwan. I haven't got into my shoes haul! O_O so... yeah...UNLESS there's 15 or 20% off at Sephora (LMAO), or I have gift cards or run out of essentials (will be using up all the samples first!), then I can buy. Otherwise I'm not purchasing anything or I will die like a pudding that has fallen 40 stories!!!! >_<

Okay now I'm really done. Hehe off to shower and test out the chocolate mask =D

Have a great weekend guys ^_~

<3 Frances