Instagram Account ^_^

Hello everyone!

Just a quick announcement... got my Instagram account set up XD  I'm quite excited about it :D It will be fun to just upload random beauty tibits here and there without having to commit myself to writing a novel XD Lol let the hash tag game begin... hahaha. Still need to figure out how to embed my instagram on my blog but I'll figure that out another day #toolazy #practicinghashtag #obviouslypracticingonthewrongspace 



LOL I didn't know what to name my account, so for now it's called BeautyBudgie. Sounds kind of stupid XD But I've always loved budgies and have had several when I was younger ^_^

I changed it to "bbudgie"-- too lazy to type beauty xD 


Here's one of my baby budgies from 2006 =')


Anyway, I don't have much on my account yet, but hopefully I will be updating fairly regularly there. Please feel free to check it out if you're interested (:  Until the next post, have a great weekend everyone! I must go do laundry now T^T

BASE MAKEUP OVERLOAD-- Holika Holika, Innisfree, Hera

I've been drinking hauling, I've been drinking  hauling
*insert Beyonce's song*

Lol hi guys!

Super quick and short post here O_O I have a bunch of stuff to read but I can't help it, have to come up here cuz I'm too excited >.<

Basically last month during my off block, my self control went out of the window, and I bought a bunch of base makeup =_=... as if I don't have enough already. I now have enough base makeup for every day of the week... LOL (actually... more than that X_x). Been trying to rotate all products ahahha. Okay gonna shut up now and just get on with my haul!

First, got the Holika Holkia Aqua Petit Jelly BB Cream O_O!!

I bought it from Amazon.com here.  I got shade #2.

I've been eying this BB cream FOREVER ever since I saw Jen talk about it here:


But as I tried to research reviews on this BB cream, there were so many mixed reviews :( it was either hit or miss, so I kind of just put it in the back of my mind for a while. But then I finished my SKIN79 BB cream and really wanted a new one :P I started looking at this BB cream again lol. Not gonna lie the "cooling effect" of this BB cream really attracted me-- I wanted a BB cream I can use in the summer! What really prompted me to buy this BB cream, however, was after reading Filia's review. Check her out guys if you haven't already! I LOVE her blog. Every time she announces that a new blog post is up I get super excited and rush over to her blog XD Her blog features a TON of Korean cosmetics. But what I love the most about her blog is her super honest opinion. I'm so sick of blogs/youtubers that rave just about everything and anything. Plus she has oily skin :P So I figured I can trust her opinion! (I have combination-- same difference really lol).

I've had this BB cream for about a week now. Long story short, for $14-- I'm pretty damn impressed with this BB cream. Of course I'll try to do a review... just don't know when ToT


And I also got a little haul from iBuyBeauti.com!



They gave me so many samples O_o seriously, I think it just keeps getting more and more every time I order from them. What I actually purchased were the Hera and Innisfree cushion foundations. Really excited to try that Banila.Co makeup remover!

I've been really pleased with iBuyBeauti's customer service... I actually thought about purchasing from Koreadepart... but a lot of their stuff is always out of stock/never restocked =_= And even though I know the shipping is really included when iBuyBeauti says it's free shipping (but if you really look at the prices... the prices are like only $2 more than retail price most of the time... for someone who has done blog sales... that's like nothing for international shipping... usually international shipping is at least $6!) when I really add everything together, shopping at ibuybeauti really isn't more expensive than Koreadepart.

Anyway, I really really wanted to try the Hera cushion foundation cuz I heard good things about it being good for oilier skin. At that time it was out of stock, so I left them a message asking them if they could send me an e-mail when they restock. Honestly I kind of wasn't expecting them to actually e-mail me, but to my surprise, about a week or two later, I got an e-mail notification saying it's been restocked O_o  Hahaha I will admit when I left them the message I was still debating if I should get it (too many base makeup... what can I say). But since they had the courtesy to send me the notification, I figured I would return the courtesy by placing my order XD and why not throw in the Innisfree cushion foundation too LMAO.  Oh gosh.


And just want to say thank you to iBuyBeauti for throwing in this extra cushion puff for me T_____T lol. That was super thoughtful and sweet of them (those little gestures that showed they care >_<). Because those puffs are actually pretty hard to clean (I have long given up getting all the foundation out of the puffs lol) and I've been thinking about buying some... from god knows where lol. Anyway, thank you iBuyBeauti for taking such good care of your customers : ')  This is starting to sound like a sponsored post -_- but I promise you guys it's not. Heck my blog is not popular enough for ppl to want to sponsor me okay? XD


Dang this post is turning out to be longer than I expected. I need to get going with my studies now.

Before I leave, just a thought here... I'm thinking about starting an Instagram account that's just for this blog? I did one years ago but it turned into more of a personal account XD  I kind of like the idea of being able to share thoughts on products really quickly on Instagram (because it takes me forever to blog these days... >.<). I don't know. It'd be such a hassle to switch between accounts though -_-a  but I think it'd be fun to do. What do you guys think? Yes? No? Don't care? Haha.

Until next time, hope you guys are enjoying the last of summer days. Time is really flying by O_o

The Face Shop My Lips Eat Cherry Aqua Tint Review & Chat / Haul? Lol

Hi guys!

So today I just have a quick review for you all, then I'm gonna talk about other random stuff (hence the wordy title XD)

A few days ago I stopped by The Face Shop in Virginia (they're opening one in Maryland in August too!) Truth be told I've actually never used their products before O_O so I really don't know their products at all. Nevertheless I'm still excited XD

While I was there I picked up a few products:
 
1. Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam
2. Rice Water Bright Cleansing Cream
3. My Lips Eat Cherry Aqua Tint

Yep, I did some serious damage there. But I figured I can always use a cleanser and makeup remover XD The Green Tea toner & lotion kit is a free sample. They also gave me this cute little shopping bag :D Gonna leave it in my car so I can bring it whenever I go shopping.

Anyway, today I'm gonna review this lip tint for you (: I've wanted a red lip tint for quite a while. The Face Shop actually wouldn't be the number one brand that I want to try my lip tints from... but I just decided to give it a try anyway since I was there and the color is exactly what I was looking for lol. But I would really like to try Peripera and Aritaum! (And maybe Nature Republic and Skinfood... haha oh gosh). 







Got mine in the color 02 Juicy Red.


You can see it's a very watery consistency, completely different from the Etude House lip tints I reviewed a while ago. As the name implies, it is a very nice tomato, juicy red :P


Ready for my dead-looking bare lips? XD



Dead points maxed out. (Why so serious... XD)


Application photos:

I hope I didn't scare you guys with the application photos O_o when I was editing the photos I was quite taken aback by the thumbnails... looks like my lips are bleeding orz.

Since the tint is very watery (I would describe it as jelly water? Like water with a little bit of stickiness), it's really easy to just spread the product by rubbing your lips together.


So here's the weird thing about this lip tint. The inner parts of my lips take the color well, as you can see in the picture. But my upper lip just would NOT take the color for some reason -_-  the bottom lip takes the color okay. This is one layer... you can see the color pay-off is very subtle



This is what it looks like with one layer


Adding intensity. I also applied extra to the top lip...


Even though I can distribute the color quite well by just rubbing my lips together, I still like to use my finger to get the product exactly where I want it.


See what I'm saying?! My bottom lip took the color just fine, but for some reason my upper lip just would NOT take the color (except for the inner part).



Went on to add more...


I even let the product sit on my lips for a little longer like this to make sure it stains


Ever so slightly better but it still doesn't apply well on the top lip.


So weird. Anyone have this problem with The Face Shop lip tints?? I didn't have a problem with the Etude House ones. I wonder if it's because of the watery consistency.

Overall effect:



I do love this color though ^_^ it really has that I just bit into a cherry that kind of effect XD
Excuse the hair. Don't know what's going on there XD 

So as you can see, you have to do quite many layers to build up the intensity of this product. But the same goes to the Etude House ones, as well as the Benefit lip tints, so that's not really a drawback for this particular product. But among the three lip tints I've tried, The Face Shop one is definitely the least drying! (Benefit is the most drying-- makes my lips crease). I am okay with reapplying the lip tint throughout the day without feeling the need to use a lipbalm, which is a first for lip tints! As for the uneven lip staining... it kind of annoys me but I can live with it. Oh, I forgot to mention-- this lip tint does have a strong fragrance-- it smells like one of those chewy fruit candies??? I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it smells heavenly to me XD Like I mentioned several times in the past I don't usually like my makeup/skincare to be fragranted, but I love the scent of this lip tint XD

My final verdict is that I am glad I have it, but I won't be purchasing more lip tints from this line. Too many lip tints out there that I want to try XD


Since we're on the subject of The Face Shop, I thought I might as well include some other pictures of the other products I got, just in case if any of you is interested for more information.







Most of The Face Shop products contain parabens. Personally that's not a deal breaker for me. Just thought I'd point that out for those who care.





I did try out the cleansing cream in the store, and it was able to take waterproof makeup off (but you do have to massage for a good minute). I'm a little worried if it's going to take off waterproof mascara. We'll see.




Not sure why I bothered to post this pic since you can't really see anything here anyway XD


When I tried these two products at the store I was surprised how they brightened up my skin. Plus the cleanser is HUGE... will last me a while :P I just hope they're good and won't break me out or anything >.<

Moving on to other stuff... on Fourth of July, Blogilates had a 20% off event, so I jumped!



I got one booty short, one side scrunch booty short, one capris, a water bottle, and a mat :D

I don't know if you guys remember, but the last time I purchased the Blogilates clothing, I wasn't very impressed. The booty shorts are literally booty shorts and come just below the bum, which makes me very self conscious and I don't like to wear it out in public. This is still true, but it turns out I love wearing it when I work out at home XD it's just so light and soft and comfy. The side scrunch shorts are just a tiny bit longer than the booty shorts. If I don't fold the band too much, I am okay with wearing it out (although I'd still feel self-conscious... but at least I don't feel as indecent as when the booty shorts barely covers my bum -_-). And I am not sure if this is true, but I feel like the side scrunch shorts is made of slightly thicker fabric?? I don't know, it's like the same fabric, but it feels slightly thicker.... maybe I'm deluding myself XD But I do prefer the side scrunch shorts over the regular booty shorts. As for the capris, I like it :D much to my surprise, I don't know why. I think because I thought it's gonna look too long on me, but it fits just fine. It's also nice and light and soft.

Can we please take a moment to appreciate just how adorable the water bottle is?! It's smaller than I thought-- it contains 600ml. I much prefer a bigger water bottle when I go to the gym. But the thing that disappoints me the most about this water bottle is the lid-- the loop that's supposed to prevent you from losing lid comes off so easily when you open it, it's actually kind of inconvenient. Furthermore, you have to unscrew the lid in order to drink from it-- I wish it comes with a lid where it has an opening and a cap that you can just snap open and shut. When I'm running or on an elliptical, it's just so hard to drink from this because I kind of have to slow down/pause doing whatever I'm doing to unscrew the lid, take a drink, and screw the lid back on. Double inconvenient. So yeah, I'm a little disappointed in the water bottle design. I don't really bring this to the gym because it's just too inconvenient.

The item I looked forward to the most was the mat, because my current one is literally falling into pieces orz. When I first got the mat and felt the material, I thought it felt very sturdy and firm (which is a good thing).

Here's what the material looks like:




I really don't know how to describe it XD but anyway with this pattern/design/texture, I thought it's going to have really good grip and anti-slip, so I was really excited. After working out on it for a few times... I discovered... that I like this mat even less than my old mat orz.....

Here are my problems with this mat:
1. It's too thin. And with the firm/hard material, I found that it really doesn't give much cushioning, so it kind of hurts when I work out on it. Is this just something I need to get used to?
Update: Actually I realized the problem was my floor. The carpet was very very thin that's why it hurt with just this mat. Now that I have moved out and the "normal" carpet... it works perfectly fine :D

2. I slip so easily whenever I get sweaty... I find it hard to hold poses on this thing. When I get sweaty, sometimes I just start slipping out of the position. Didn't have this problem with my old mat. Boo.
Update: I got used to it and I don't slip as much anymore lolll

I'm not sure if these are just things that I have to get used to with practice? Who knows. I ended up putting my old mat underneath this mat to give myself more cushion so my knees wouldn't be in pain when I'm on this mat. In regards to slipping... I just have to keep readjusting myself or try my best to hold the positions for as long as I can before I slip off orz. I guess I can try using a towel but that's more laundry for me to do -_-

So yeah, I'm kind of disappointed. Anyone out there with experience has any advice?


And being completely random here... Just wanted to show this picture to show off my awesome waterproof/sweat/smudge proof eye makeup XD

I don't usually ever re-do my makeup. If I do usually it's only the foundation. I had to go somewhere after the gym that day, so I showered and washed off my foundation. My eye makeup was still intact despite the 1hr gym session and running water all over my face XD Woohoo! MAC Liquidlast and Majolica Marjorca mascara all the way!


PS: Just want to note that some days MAC Liquidlast perform better than the others. This happened to be a really good day XD  Majolica Majorca mascara on the other hand is always smudge proof/waterproof without fail.


So after starting to use the IOPE cushion, I really wanted to get a good primer that would keep my oiliness in check. When I told the MUA at Sephora that the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer does nothing for me, she said I should get a treatment/skincare that's mattifying instead. The thing is, I'm already using the Shiseido Pureness matifying moisturizer =_= She insisted that I try some skincare treatment and gave me some Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Treatment, Pomegranate Balancing Cream-Gel Moisturizer (not shown in the pic cuz I forgot to include it), and the mattifying primer.   

I remember in the back of my mind I was like, "but I just want a primer... I'm not looking for skincare -_-" BUT! To my surprise, it actually works! XD I've used Korres skincare before-- the Wild Rose Face and Eye Serum-- completely unimpressed. So this is a pleasant surprise! I haven't tried the Korres primer yet, but the mattifying treatment totally works O_o it really does keep my oiliness on my nose to a minimum. I am so surprised. The balancing gel-cream only keeps the oil at bay for the first hour or so, after that my oils just start coming out freely XD I just apply the treatment to my nose (the only place I get oily), and apply regular moisturizer on the rest of my face. Planning to purchase it after I'm done with the sample ^_~   Oh by the way, if I only use this treatment then apply the IOPE cushion, it still makes me extra oily XD So I still need my Dior sunscreen as a base. It's like this: I get minimally oily with this treatment plus my regular foundations. I get slightly oily with this treatment plus the IOPE cushion. Does that make sense? Just want to let you guys know that this treatment is not a miracle product-- it's not strong enough to combat products that cause my skin to produce extra oil.  


I am totally on a cushion foundation craze now O_o I made a purchase of The Face Shop Cushion Screen Cell on ibuybeauti.com. I saw that this cushion retails for $26 in Korea, but for some reason is only $24 on ibuybeauti XD ... and there goes the rational side of my brain =_=

I haven't got a chance to use this yet, but I will make sure to do a review when I do ^_^ 


And... I have a Target gift card so this happened *covers face* I bought the Laneige BB Cushion O_o

But I can tell you guys this is pretty much exactly the same thing as the IOPE cushion. If I really want to be nitpicky, the Laneige is a BB cushion, whereas IOPE is a foundation cushion. The Laneige one is slightly more glowy than IOPE. Laneige adheres to the skin better than the IOPE one (Like I said in my IOPE review, IOPE kind of just sits on top and creases easily). I didn't have creasing problem with Laneige. Unfortunately, Laneige also makes my nose extra extra oily like IOPE does.  But other than that, the two pretty much feel the same to me. If you take the cushion out of the cases for me to use, I won't be able to tell you which one is which. Oh except probably for the shade I guess. The Laneige one is slightly darker than the IOPE one... and leans a little bit more beige. Laneige BB Cushion in Light is equivalent to shade 23, not 21!!!!  Hope that helps you guys when it comes to color match. The smell is also almost identical. Not surprised that these two cushions perform almost the same since they're from the same company. I am already planning to return this. Is anyone interested in seeing a review at all? O_o I feel like even if I do a separate review I won't write anything that I didn't already here. I wish the Laneige Pore Control one is available here... that's the one that I really want to try from Laneige T_T 

I also have a guilty confession to make guys... I also bought the Hera cushion and the Innisfree cushion *buries face in hands again*  I know I know, I am stopping!!! This is the end of the cushion foundation craze, I promise! It'd be fun to do a battle of the cushion foundations though, yeah? :P

Okay, now to conclude the very long chatty post... my hair is getting so long again!



I think I needz a haircut =D But I like how I can use my hair doughnut again and fake a bun with this length >.<


Hmmm to cut or not to cut? I kind of want to dye my hair black... the roots are bothering me =.=


Alrighty folks! That's all I have! Hope you guys enjoyed this extra chatty post. If you read till the very end, thanks so much for taking the time out of your day ^_^

I probably won't be able to blog as much anymore since I will be back to doing rotations, pretty much non-stop until November O_O Wish me luck! But I will try to sneak in a review or a random post here and there =) Until next time, take care guys! And don't forget to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated >.<


<3 Frances

GlamGlow First Impression Reviews

Hey hey guys!

How are you all doing? My vacation block is coming to an end T_T Sad. It's okay though. Although I really enjoyed unwinding and relaxing, I am ready to start working and learning again! It's so easy to get bored when you're not being productive lol. Although I have a feeling by the end of next week I will be whining about not getting enough sleep and being overwhelmed LMAO. My next rotation is going to be at the medical intensive care unit O_O I'm not gonna lie I feel quite apprehensive. But it should be really interesting though.


Anyway, over the last month I tried out a few samples of the GlamGlow masks, and I thought why not compile a little first impression review?


GlamGlow BrightMud Eye Treatment


I got 2 uses out of this sample lol. I just opened one side at a time... I don't see why the product should work differently for left and right eye you know lol.


I was using my LUSH BB Seaweed mask, and I thought why not throw in the eye mask as well LOL. As you can see it goes on a translucent layer. It actually doesn't try to a clay finish as other GlamGlow masks do. It just stays wet until you rinse it off. The instructions said to just wipe it off and allow the residue to give extra hydration, but I didn't.

It does have a slight tingling sensation while it sits on my eyes. I noticed my eyes felt pretty relaxed after, it was quite nice actually. I also noticed the redness in my eyes went down after using the mask O_o like the blood vessels temporarily retreated or something. SO weird. If you've been reading my blog for a while you will notice my eyes are perpetually red/plagued with blood vessels (from chronically looking at the computer screen for too long... T_T).  Too bad I only used it twice so I'm not able to tell if it helps in the long run. I mean obviously my blood vessels/redness came back the next day XD But I was still surprised at what it did to the redness of my eyes. More effective than my Rotho eye drop O_o Other than that, didn't notice anything about fine lines or anything, which doesn't say much since my fine lines are genetic (and getting worse with age XD) and I only used the mask 2 times. Honestly if it wasn't for the ridiculous price, I would very much like to purchase a set and test it out further.



GlamGlow YouthMud Tingle Exfoliate Treatment

This is a small trial size I got from redeeming my Sephora points. You can see I took care to avoid my eye areas because it's an exfoliating mask. When this mask is applied to your face, you do get this intense tingling sensation-- I wouldn't describe it as burning sensation (if there's one mask that gives me burning sensation it's Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque simply because it's wayyy too cooling that it even made me tear up). But since I already heard things about this masque giving really intense tingling/burning sensation, so I was prepared for it. I'm sure it was just the blend of acids doing their thing XD It wasn't to the point that it was uncomfortable either, so I wasn't worried if my skin would burn/turn red from this thing.


It dries like a clay mask.

After rinsing off the mask, I was amazed by how baby soft and smooth my skin was O_o definitely felt very properly exfoliated XD My standby exfoliating treatment is the CONI exfoliating gel (which I've been using since I was in undergrad), but this mask does a much much MUCH better job! I was impressed! The only reason why I'm not running to the store to pick up the full-sized product is because of the steep price tag... $69 is just too ridiculous. They do have a 0.5oz jar that's priced at $19... but if you think about it... almost $20 for about 15ml/0.5oz... still really expensive. I might pick up a small size in the future to pamper myself once in a while, but for now, I will stick to my current exfoliating regimen. Definitely a product I wouldn't hesitate to pick up if it ever comes back as a point gift.


GlamGlow ThirstMud Hydrating Treatment

So on the instructions it says you can leave it on overnight or use it as a hydrating treatment during flights... may I just ask... HOW???? It dries to a clay finish.... if I have the slightest facial expression after this mask has dried I get wrinkles and cracks in the mask -_- so I really don't understand how you leave this mask on for any length of time. And it's really not that comfortable to leave on after it's dried.

With that said, this mask also gives an intense tingling effect like the exfoliating mask does. In terms of hydration... I don't know, my skin definitely feels softer using it, but it's not like hydrated-soft... more like exfoliated-soft. So many ppl reviewed this mask raved about how hydrating this mask is, but for me, it just didn't do that much other than giving my skin a very nice post-exfoliated baby smooth feeling. I didn't feel like my skin was extra plump or anything. Then again it's summer so my skin tends to not feel that dry these days anyway. To each and their own I guess (: all products work differently for everyone.


Sorry I don't have a pic of how the mask looks like after it's dried. I forgot XD

I have also tried the GlamGlow SuperMud Clearing Treatment before,  but that was a while ago. That one is supposed to help clear blackheads and whiteheads, which it definitely did not do for me. But I do have very deeply rooted blackheads (ew XD) so I wasn't expecting much from it. It did smooth out the bumpy texture of my blackheads a little bit, but that was all. Maybe you have to use it persistently to get the results? I have no idea. It's too expensive. Maybe for those who only have very minor blackheads/whiteheads problems it will work.



I would recommend the YouthMud Tingle Exfoliate treatment the most out of all the treatments I tried, if you do have the budget for it! :)  Simply because it did make a very noticeable difference, and I feel like everyone can benefit from using it. As for the other masks, I liked the eye treatment but it's overpriced. The hydrating and clearing masks feel more like gimmick products to me. All 3 facial mud treatments feel like exfoliating products to me, but just the YouthMud does the best job out of all XD  I recommend getting a sample first if you can't decide if it's gonna be worth the money.


Have you tried GlamGlow masks? What do you think about them?
Hope some of you found this first impression review helpful!


<3 Frances