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

Sephora VIB Sale Haul

Hi guys!

How's everyone doing??? Excited for the holidays?? Lol I'm kind of ambivalent toward Thanksgiving this year since I don't have family here and I will be using my break to catch up with school work... sigh. Not too much to look forward to. Just really want to get through this semester. Anyway! So today I thought I'd share my Sephora haul with you guys! I thought this was the F&F sale but it's actually the VIB sale... I think the actual F&F sale will come later this month??? Not sure.

I really should go on a beauty ban =_= I've been spending way too much than I like. But I can't seem to control my spending nowadays. Because all I ever do is study study study... and when I get bored of studying, I browse the Internet... and shop orz..... I think I need to whip out my determination I used to lose weight and apply it on online shopping. That doesn't seem like a bad idea XD

Oh by the way you might have noticed I took down my header. I got fed up looking at it. Haha. Will need to make a new one soon. Hopefully something that doesn't involve my face XD But I'm no good at graphics design =T We'll see what I come up with. Or I might just leave it like this lol.

Enough with the rambling, let's get started shall we? =)


Hahaha... quite deviant from the shopping list I made for myself a while back. Bought several other things besides the Josie Maran sunscreen and Benefit body balm that I originally planned to get. I actually did purchase the full size SK-II Facial Treatment Essence but I got mine from eBay, along with some Facial Treatment Cream Foundation samples, but I will talk about these in another post. SK-II is just too overpriced in American stores that's why I decided to turn to eBay, instead of getting it from Sephora or Nordstrom. And I also want to mention another item I really wanted to purchase was the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes... there was this $35, 4 piece value set that contains two mini blushes, one highlight and one bronzer. But I didn't manage to snag it because it was sold out online (I think it's no longer available cuz I couldn't find it anymore, otherwise I'd post a picture) and although it was available in store I didn't have time to physically go shopping... so... that was that -_-a we'll see if I can still find it in store.

Anyway! Let's go through the items one by one =)

1. Benefit Bathina Body Balm



I gotta say... the packaging is SO much cuter in person. I freaking adore it!! Why is it so cute!?!?! lol

What it looks like on the inside. I haven't tried it yet. But like all other Benefit products (or maybe not all?), it has this pleasant, rosy (?) scent to it. Will do a review once I've used it. Which... might take me a while cuz there's no point using this in the winter XD

2. Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer (sunscreen)

This came in just in time since I ran out of mine XD I have a rather lengthy review on some Josie Maran products including this sunscreen. Please refer here if you're interested.


My small bottle in comparison. I actually ended up purchasing the full size bottle because when I actually think about it... the small bottle didn't last me all that long at all. And since we have a few more months to go before summer is here again... I thought I might as well go with the big bottle just to make sure I don't run out.

By the way did you guys notice the new labeling regarding SPF? I noticed almost all of the newer beauty products I own all have appropriate SPF labeling now. I believe FDA's new law requires all sunscreen products (and "sunblock" is no longer a term allowed) to be broad spectrum and contain at least a minimum of SPF 15.

3. NARS lipstick in Honolulu Honey

Another lipstick I purchased because of Jenn from ClothesEncounter >口< But!! I've already decided to return this lipstick



Thought I'd show the excessive packaging of the lipstick... there's a little box within the box to hold the lipstick. Honestly... I thought... what a waste of paper -.-"


It's a gorgeous nude color, but too close to MAC freckletone lol which I did end up keeping. I mean yes they're slightly different, but seriously close enough that I'm sure no one would be able to tell the difference. Plus MAC is significantly cheaper and I really don't think this particular NARS formula is any more superior. Will return this as soon as I have time to make a trip to the mall.

4. Fresh Umbrian Clay Purifying Treatment Bar

A rather impulsive purchase. Saw this in Raeview's acne-fighting video. By the way have you guys seen her new video on Tom Ford's fall 2012 collection video???? That review seriously got me really interested in Tom Ford eye shadows O_O but of course I'm not about to spend $75 on an eye shadow quad, at least not in another 3-5 years XD Funny thing is if you really think about it, each eye shadow in that TM quad is about $18.75... and a single MAC eye shadow is $15. MAC is getting so expensive nowadays... =_=


So far... not that impressed. But then again my expectations aren't super high, since I know my pores are smaller and therefore my blackheads are hard to get -_- I can't really say if this treatment bar works any better than my Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. But I will say this is very abrasive and I cannot just rub this against my face. I have to get the products on my fingers first then transfer it to my face. Also I cannot use this on my entire face. The first time I used it I applied it all over my face and my skin freaked out badly. I think it's because it's too drying. So now I only use it on my nose where I have a ton of blackheads, and on the center on my chin where I have a little bit of whiteheads. Still debating if I should continue to try this or return it.

5. bareMinerals Renew & Hydrate Eye Cream

I am currently using the Lancome Genifique Eye concentrate sample (which I received with my $35 or more purchase) and jeune d'age eye creme (simply just trying to use it up.... nothing exciting there). I also have Origins GinZing eye cream but I only use that in the morning to depuff my eyes. I'm already more than half way through the Lancome one (again, didn't really do anything for my undereye fine lines or dark circles... sleep really is the key to dark circles. As for fine lines... have them since a kid... it's genetic) so I thought why not take advantage of the sale and stock up on a few eye creams. I kind of just randomly picked this up, since I like the brand.



6. L'OCCITANE Ultra Rich Eye Balm

Another eye cream. Will be using this one after I'm through with my Lancome one. Honestly I'm not sure why I bought this... cuz I'm not even a fan of L'OCCITANE (don't care for their hand creams). I guess I'm just trying to branch out and try more products XD

The container is pretty nice though. I really want to try the Bobbi Brown eye cream but the price of that is just out of my league.



And... I actually made a second purchase during the sale -__- IT WAS COMPLETELY IMPULSIVE.

Quite honestly I still can't really believe I bought it. In fact, it sat on the top shelf of my desk for 4 days before I finally steeled myself to open it -_-a I couldn't decide if I wanted to keep it or return it. Quite frankly I think my skin is fine the way it is... I just really hate my blackheads. I've always wanted to try Clarisonic but the price tag is too hefty (would NEVER purchase this with full price). But anyway I finally decided to open it last night and charge it. Just gonna see if it helps with my blackheads at all. If not then I will promptly return it (not having high hopes because I feel like blackheads is an age thing as well... I will just have to wait until I'm older when my skin decides it wants to be drier or what XD)

***Update: I've returned my Clarisonic. I decided it was too abrasive for me (for everyday use at least). I know they have "delicate" brush heads available but I didn't want to dish out extra dollars for that. I'm not saying it doesn't work well though; in fact, I was actually quite blown away by the results. I noticed after I used it my pores were gone O_O how did that happen?!?!??! lol. I already don't have big pores to begin with but... for them to disappear after cleansing... MIND-BLOWING. But it was only temporary a few hours later I saw my pores again ahaha. With regards to blackheads... I only used it for a few days but I know it's not gonna eliminate them. It did help just a bit... my blackheads seem a bit smaller and in control, but nothing spectacular there. I guess I could've waited and tried it out for longer, but looking at my calendar I know I won't be able to make another trip to the mall until late December, and I don't want to not be able to return it if I decided it wasn't worth it. But anyway regardless if it works on my blackheads or not, I know this is not a device I can use everyday... the brush head really isn't that soft and it's just too much exfoliating for my very thin and sensitive skin. I can't even use a sponge to wash my face everyday. So in the end I didn't think it's a worthy investment since I wouldn't be able to get as much mileage out of it as I would've hoped. 

Oh also, I don't feel any difference using Visionaire. Orz... so disappointed. Not sure what I was expecting but I heard so many good things/raves... so that's that. 


Clarisonic Aria comes with a stand/holder, which I think is super nice. Plus I really wanted to try Visionaire XD The samples are tiny though.


90 day money back?! I wonder if Sephora will accept it after 90 days. I probably should double check with them.



That's all I have to share today! I know that's a lot of stuff... you would think school should help with my reasoning skills but I think it's doing the opposite to me.

Have a great weekend guys!


<3 Frances