Disappointing Products #1

In my past posts, I've only talked about products that I liked; I thought it's about time that I mention some products that I didn't like so much. It's rare for me to find products that I don't like because I usually do pretty thorough research before I purchase anything, and a lot of these products that I'll mention are actually cult favorites of many but they just didn't work for me. A disclaimer that I want to make is that what works for you may not work for me and vice versa, so hopefully you guys won't be offended if I'm bashing on products that you actually enjoy using; these are just my personal opinion. I will also be mentioning some alternatives that I think work much better.

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray is a salt spray that's meant to give you tousled beachy waves, however I found that it made my hair look dry and crunchy, and actually weighed my hair down instead of giving it volume. It was hella expensive too. A cheaper and better alternative would be the Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray, which acts as a leave-in conditioner and a salt spray in one to help to hydrate the hair while also giving it texture and volume.

I decided to try the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner because it's supposed to be the longest wearing gel liner on the market. Unfortunately, it did smudge on me, even with the help of a primer. Keep in mind that I have super oily eyelids, so if you have normal or dry eyelids it might work for you. I have yet to find a gel liner that lasts on me so if you have any great suggestions please leave them in the comment area below!

Benefit They're Real Mascara claims to give the false-lash effect in a tube, however I found that it did nothing for my lashes. It did not lengthen nor volumize, and it also weighed down my curled lashes. The only good thing about it was that it lasted pretty long without smudging. For a better alternative, try the Kiss Me Long & Curl Mascara, which will definitely give you the false-lash effect and I always get compliments from people when I use this.

YSL Touche Eclat is meant to act as a concealer and a highlight in one to brighten up your undereye area and erase any signs of fatigue to make you look more awake and rested. However, I find that it is far overpriced and over-hyped. It just didn't cover anything and the formula was way too dry for my undereye area; I would prefer a drugstore concealer over this. If you want a concealer that's going to cover and brighten your undereye area, try the Clinique Airbrush Concealer. It is super creamy and hydrating, and is one of few concealers that doesn't emphasize the fine lines in my undereye area. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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Current Skincare Favs #2

Borghese Fango Active Mud Mask is a long-time cult favorite and I've always been a bit skeptical when it comes to super hyped-up products like this. I finally bought it when strawberrynet had a sale a while ago, and I can't believe that it took me so long to try this mask because this is without a doubt the best mud mask that I've ever tried. Being a mud mask, it does more than just cleaning out your pores. It contains super gentle mud particles that helps to gently exfoliate and draw out any impurities. My complexion looks significantly smoother after using this, and it also helps to heal up my breakouts faster. The avocado and almond oil in it helps to give hydration so my skin doesn't feel dry or stripped of its natural oil after using this.

Lately I've been trying to go natural with my skincare because I found that my skin has gotten quite sensitive after using a lot of acids over time. I decided to try the PAI Geranium & Thistle Combination Cream since I already love their rosehip oil so much. Apparently this has gotten quite popular lately and is the moisturizer of choice for many makeup artists. This is not quite as heavy-duty as the Murad mattifier at oil-control, however I still like it on days where I won't be wearing makeup for a long time. This feels super light and non-greasy on the skin and leaves a beautiful matte finish on the skin; I find that sometimes I can even skip the primer with this one. It is also packed full of great ingredients such as essential fatty acids, jojoba oil, borage oil, etc. to rebalance the skin and keep it hydrated throughout the day. I'm definitely in love with the brand PAI at the moment.

Alpha-H is another brand that I've been meaning to try for a while after hearing so many British beauty gurus rave about it. I got a set from lookfantastic a while ago that came with a bunch of travel size products to try out; my favorites are the Daily Essential Moisturizer SPF 50+ and Liquid Gold. On my lazy days I like to slap on the Daily Essential Moisturizer because it is a moisturizer and a sunscreen in one, and it contains a lot of antioxidants which is always a plus. This feels super light, is non-comedogenic, and doesn't leave a white cast on the skin. Liquid Gold is another cult favorite and it claims to be an "overnight facial in a bottle". It contains 5% glycolic acid, and it's supposed to resurface your skin overnight to even out the skin texture, refine the appearance of pores and brighten up the complexion. I was skeptical at first about how this would work on my skin because I already use a lot of products with higher percentages of glycolic acid, but surprisingly this showed amazing results after just one use. This did everything that it claims to do and just made my skin look amazing. I'm definitely going to purchase the full size sometimes soon!


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My Online Shopping Guide

Being a self-professed beauty junkie and shopaholic, I've shopped at pretty much every single online shopping site over the years. I love online shopping because it saves you so much time and money, and you can find some really unique pieces that you won't be able to find in stores. Today I'm here to share my online shopping experiences as well as share with you some tips and tricks and my favorite sites to shop at. Because there's no way that I can go through every single one of my favorite sites, I've created a page with a comprehensive list of sites that I recommend, including beauty, fashion and supplements. You can click here to go the page or simply click the online shopping guide button on the menu.

Tip #1 - Always compare the prices
Just because you have a favorite site to shop at doesn't mean that you have to get everything from there. A site may have one brand for really cheap prices but might jack up the prices for another brand. So before you purchase something, always compare the prices across different sites. Also, always check on ebay because 75% of the time I can find something for a cheaper price on ebay. I know some of you might be a bit skeptical about ebay, but as long as you always buy from sellers with high ratings you shouldn't have a problem. Personally I've never had a issue with shopping on ebay.

Tip #2 - Look for coupons
This is what I love about online shopping because there's always coupons floating around on the internet. Retailmenot is my favorite site for looking up coupons, and it's the only legit one that I found so far. Also, subscribe and sign-up for the website's mailing list because they often send out exclusive sale promotions to their subscribers. I've also added a new feature to my blog where I'll be updating on the latest sale and coupon codes on the top left corner, so definitely check in everyday for the latest sale in beauty and fashion!

Tip #3 - Calculate the shipping
Always look through the shipping information before you start to shop. Some sites charge you ridiculous amounts for shipping, so in the end it might not be worth it to buy it online.

Tip #4- Look for reviews
With online shopping, it's so easy to get ripped off sometimes. If you don't know whether the site is legit or not, look for other people's shopping experiences and reviews online. If you're buying makeup or skincare, look for reviews and swatches online to know whether if it's suitable for your skin type or skin tone. For example, if you're buying a foundation online, get your shade matched at a mac counter and then look for reviews online to see what shade of that foundation is equivalent to your mac shade because most people will have a mac shade. If you're buying clothes online, sometimes the site will allow customers to review the items online so you can see what the people who've bought the item think about the sizing or the quality of the clothing. As well, you can look at the model's height and weight and what size she is wearing.

Tip #5- Keep your purchases under $80.
I know a lot of you will have questions regarding taxes and customs. Customs won't check your order if it's under $20, but from my experiences if it's under $80 I usually don't get charged for taxes and customs. This is just my personal experience and it might vary depending on where you live.

Tip #6 - Get Cash backs
Ebates is a program that allows you to get cash back when you shop online. Simply go on ebates and click on the website that you want to shop at it. Ebates will track down how much you spend on that website and it will give you a certain percentage back every three months.

Now, time to talk about a few of my favorite sites to shop at. I love trying out beauty products from all over the world and I love the fact that online shopping allows me to do so. One of my favorite site to buy asian beauty products is sasa. It has so many brands on there that I've never heard of, and their prices are quite fair. Shipping is usually free with $100 purchases but they often have promotions where they give you free shipping for orders above $39. Roseroseshop has a lot of korean beauty products for super cheap prices; shipping starts at $5. For US & UK beauty products, beautybay, feelunique, and lookfantastic are three of my favorite sites. They all offer free shipping with no minimum purchases and their prices are so much better than sephora.

My favorite online clothing store is urbanoutfitters. They have a lot of unique brands on there and they always have amazing sales. Shipping to Canada is free with a minimum purchase of $50. I also love the fact that they allow customers to review the clothing pieces online so you know what's worth buying and what's not.

What's your favorite site to shop at?



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Brand Overview: Kevyn Aucoin

Kevyn Aucoin is a brand that I recently discovered and fell in love with, and I feel like it's a brand that deserves more attention than it receives. I love their elegant and understated packaging, and their products just have a super luxurious feel to them.

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin is a multi-purpose base product that is my secret weapon for creating a flawless and perfected complexion. You can mix it with your moisturizer or primer to create a tinted moisturizer or use it on its own as a full-coverage concealer. I usually stay away from full-coverage base products as they tend to look cakey on the skin, but this one manages to cover everything flawlessly while still making your skin look like skin. This is without a doubt my favorite base product of all time.

If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know that I have an obsession with cream blushes, and I had to give the Kevyn Aucoin Cream Glow a try after falling in love with their concealer. I have it in the shade Tansoleil, which is the perfect shade of apricot coral color. It dries down to a dewy finish, which helps to give my face an amazing glow. It's also super easy to blend and lasts all day on my oily skin.

Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder is hands down the best bronzer/contouring powder I've ever tried. If you want defined, chiseled cheekbones and a slimmer face, then you have to try this. A lot of bronzers have an orangey undertone which can sometimes make you look like an oompa loompa if you don't use it properly. This one however has a neutral grey undertone which looks super natural and subtle on the face.

As usual, here are the swatches:

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Products I Can't Live Without- Skincare

So it should come as no surprise to you that these products have made it into my holy grail skincare products list as I've mentioned them over and over again on my blog. These are my fail-safe products that I know I can absolutely rely on to get my skin better.

It  is essential that your face is completely clean without any trace of makeup at the end of night, and no matter how expensive of a serum or moisturizer you use, if your face is not clean before you put them own, they would just be useless. The gentle vibrations of a Clarisonic help to get deep down into your pores and remove any impurities from your face. Even if you don't wear makeup, a Clarisonic is still going to benefit you because it physically exfoliates the skin to stimulate cell turnover and creates a clearer complexion overtime.

I don't think I need to say more about the Peter Thomas Roth Max Complexion Correction Pads because you're probably tired of seeing this. This is my go-to product when I'm breaking out or when I have uneven skin texture. Click here to see a more detailed review.

Another product that you're probably tired of seeing is the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. This is just a miracle in a bottle because I see amazing results just after one use. It feels like a moisturizer and I leave it on overnight, and in the morning my skin  just looks more perfected and glowing.

The King Olive Sebum Care Mask makes getting rid of blackheads so much easier. I haven't been getting a single blackhead on my nose since I've started using this. It's like a black goop that sinks deep down into your pores and after 15 minutes it dries up and you can just peel it off. It is super gentle and doesn't hurt at all. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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Current Favorites #5

One of my summertime skincare staples is the Murad Oil-Control Mattifier, and I can't believe that I haven't mention it on my blog before because it is what I absolutely swear by in the summertime to keep my oily skin at bay. It is the only thing that will keep my face from looking like a oil slick throughout the day, and I've pretty much tried every single oil-controlling or mattifying product on the market.

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Products to Achieve a Glowing Complexion- Makeup

I've been all about the glowing skin lately, and it's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago I was terrified of putting anything slightly dewy on my skin as I have super oily skin and I thought that they would just look disastrous on my skin. Well, I was wrong. It's all about putting the glow in the right places and not only will it help your skin to look more youthful and healthy, it's also going to blur out any imperfections that you may have and even out your skin tone. So I've picked out a few of my favorite makeup products to help you achieve a glowing complexion.

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Current Skincare Favs

If you've seen my skincare routine posts, then you'll know that I have a pretty extensive list of products that I use. So instead of posting a whole new routine every time I change something in my routine, I thought I would just do these current skincare favs posts where I review skincare products that I've been trying lately.

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Brand Overview: Chanel

Chanel products are known for their gorgeous packaging and even though a lot of their products are over-priced, I do find that some of their products are so uniquely made that you won't be able to find from any other brands, and so from time to time I do splurge on some of their products.

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Products I Can't Live Without - Makeup

Because I have extremely oily skin, the products I'm sharing today are products that help to keep my face matte and help to keep my makeup from melting off my face throughout the day. These are products that I have to use whenever I wear makeup because without them, my makeup would just slide off my face the second I walk out the door. So if you want to achieve long-wearing makeup, these are the products for you.

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Brand Overview: Clarins

Clarins is a brand that I've loved and adored for years, and every single product that I've tried from them have never disappointed me. The price point is also quite good for the quality of product that you're getting.

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch is one of my favorite makeup primers of all time. It is non-comedogenic and helps to smooth out any unevenness in my skin, making my makeup go on so much better. It also helps to camouflage my pores and makes my makeup last all day.

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My Skincare Routine: Masks Part #2

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I love moisture masks because they seriously load up my skin with all the hydration and nutrients that it needs to repair itself, and my skin always feels super smooth and soft after using them.

Antipodes Manuka Honey Mask contains manuka honey which draws moisture to your skin while also being antibacterial. I find it just really calms down my skin, and reduces any inflammation or redness from any breakouts.  It is super gentle yet effective on the skin, and makes my skin feel like a baby's bottoms.

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