Naked Palette Restocked: Christmas came two days late UPDATED

Urban Decay restocked their Naked Palette! Well, technically. If you signed up to be alerted when the Naked Palette is restocked, you were also entered into waiting list. An hour ago, I got this email.

Better than a letter from Santa!

For the time being, I think it's on a waiting list basis. Click here to sign up for the waiting list, and you'll be notified when it's your turn! Or just wait a bit longer for it to be officially restocked. I hope this helps people who were lusting after Naked, but didn't get theirs the first time around.

I also bought a Smoke Out eye pencil to qualify for free shipping. Ah, Merry Christmas to me. ;)

Did you get this email too? Hauled it? Your thoughts!

UPDATE: Sephora has officially stocked the palette! Grab it here. Thanks, Muse! 
UPDATE 2 (1/09/11): And on Ulta too!

Current Obsession: Shimmer Atomizers

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!

This winter, I've been dangerously addicted to bulb atomizers that disperse shimmer powder. 

All thanks or no thanks to Muse.

She reviewed The Body Shop's The Sparkler ($18) and I was hooked! Something about 10g pink shimmer stored in a vintage-looking bulb atomizer in a frosted bottle made me gasp.

The bad boy that started it all. www.thebodyshop-usa.com

I don't know why I was so smitten. I have never been a fan of shimmer off my eyelids. I've gone out of my way to avoid the sparkle. It's pretty much the attitude of the makeup blogosphere: avoid the disco ball look. I've stuck to my mattes time and time again. The powder is also scented with Cherry Blossom. If there's anything in makeup I usually hate besides shimmer, it's scent. Covergirl's baby powder smell makes me gag. I can't believe I might be rocking the shimmery, scented look!

But this holiday season is all about the glitzy look. Looking a like a vampire in the sun is great for Christmas and New Year Eve's parties. I want it mostly for the luxe atomizer bulb, I love that you can apply shimmer without a brush ever touching your face!

So I strove like mad to find The Sparkler in stores. I called all the stores in SF and the greater Bay Area. But they were all sold out, a few of them told me that it's been sold out nationwide. It's a cruel psychological effect that you want something even more now that it's unattainable. :P 

Bah, I found out soon after that it wasn't that innovative. Perhaps my beloved Sparkler took inspiration from a Guerlain powder?

Definitely a worthy substitute. http://www.nordstrom.com/

Guerlain has released powder atomizers for the holiday season for the past few years. Guerlain Or Imperial Sublime Radiant Powder Face & Body ($85) is the latest offering. The gorgeous glass atomizer with a bee-etched design stores 10g of violet-scented gold shimmer. Too bad the price is terrifying. I just really like the bottle! Maybe when I'm the type who buys Guerlain.

Or maybe The Sparkler is The Body Shop's version of Tarina Tarantino's Sparklcity Sparkle Dust ($39).

Looks similar! http://www.sephora.com/

It also comes in a gold version! http://www.sephora.com/

It's definitely a better deal than Guerlain and you get 2 more grams. Still, too rich for my blood.

Muse tried to lure me into Team Sparkle again when she reviewed Fusion Beauty Objects of Desire Virtual Powder in Opulent. It's an iridescent shimmer!



I don't like the bottle design as much as the others. http://www.dillards.com/

 Unfortunately, it's the same price of Tarina Tarantino's but you only get 5.5g.

Finally I came across the one that makes me want to get my haul on. Bare Minerals offers a limited edition (I hate that word) shimmer atomizer called Body Lingerie.

Lol, I hear angels sing when I look at this. http://www.qvc.com/

It's in a frosted bottle, which I love. Though it's not the pink shimmer I lusted for, I'll get 20g of awesome vanilla-scented gold shimmer. That's more than the other bottles! And for $29, which is cheaper than most of them! And now it's on sale, so I can buy it for $22 online. I'm damn happy that I finally found a suitable alternative. I'm thinking of refilling it with pink shimmer powder, if and when I empty it. 

Are you in love with shimmer atomizers too? Any ones I've missed? Tried any of these? Your thoughts! 

Prospective Canada Haul?

EDIT: for the horrendous misspelling of the title, it was late y'all. :P
I need your help, Canadian beauties!

My bf is currently in Quebec resting up with family and friends before the semester starts. He's mentioned he'll be happy (well, let's pretend he's happy about it) to pick up a few items for me. 

So do you have any suggestions for Canada-exclusive beauty must-haves? I'm thinking more along the lines of affordable drugstore brands like Anabelle, Marcelle, etc. 

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. :) Your thoughts!

Sasa who? Guide to shopping for Asian beauty products in the Bay Area

Sorry for the delay in posting, but this took me a few days to write.


This has been a post I've been wanting to write even before I started the blog.

Personally, I always try to buy Made-in-USA products. The manufacturing of so many consumer products are outsourced overseas. But makeup, even drugstore makeup still is predominantly made here. I like to do my part to keep it going. :)

And when I can't stick with my lofty goal (too many cute Asian goodies), I try to buy in store locally, so I know it goes to people who pays taxes here. Haha, relieves the guilt!

After a few years of shopping locally here, I've got a good idea of where to look. I rely mostly on Asian grocery stores since there's usually a good selection and no pushy SA's watching you. I'll break it down into two categories: variety and price.

It's super pic heavy, so I'll leave it under cut

Brand Crush: Dylan's Candy Bar

I've recently fallen in love with a body care brand! Dylan's Candy Bar! DCB seems to be a luxury candy store chain that has added a fashion and beauty component.

My Preciouuuss

I discovered it randomly browsing through Ross. Body care stuff is really hit-or-miss there. But I came across the Birthday Cake Batter Body Smoothie Lotion and was intrigued because of the name. I love creamy, sugary scents! It smells amazing! It's so hard to describe, like donut custard filling or frosting. Lol, I feel like I inhaled calories. I looked at the label and was pretty impressed by the ingredients: no mineral oil, no parabens, and lots of natural oils and extracts. I hauled this for $3.99. It's supposed to cost $7.99 at Ross, but someone broke the safety seal. Gross, but I bought it because I still really wanted it! I definitely wouldn't buy it at full price ($16 for 10 oz.).

EDITED TO INCLUDE INGREDIENTS
Ingredients: water, caprylic/caprictrigyceride, glycerin, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, simmondsia, chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, dimethicone, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, aloe barbadensis leaf (aloe vera) extract, spirulina maxima (algae) extract, bisabolol, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), PEG-12 dimethicone, xanthan gum, retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), fragrance, silica, disodium EDTA, phenoxythanol, chlorphenesin.

Ingredient ♥

When I applied it, it was a very milky texture. It's a very rich lotion, so some might find it greasy, but it's perfect for the dry winter weather! It doesn't absorb as quickly as my favorite Aveeno lotion. But I don't mind, I apply it right after I shower, and I think my skin absorbs it best then. The scent disappears a bit quickly on the skin and reduces to like a popcorn jelly bean smell, lol.


After this lotion, I was super addicted and wanted snatch it all up. I picked up a back-up, seal broken again. *Sigh* I also found and hauled the body lotion in Chocolate Cupcake and a Candy Butter Cream (body butter type) in Coconut Bon Bon at Ross. They also had sugar scrubs and body washes and a line scented Strawberry Licorice, but they didn't interest me.

I also used up my $15 Sephora certificate to order the Candy Lip Savers. They're out of stock now. :/

When I'm finished with the Birthday Cake Batter lotion, I'll break open the other products to try. Stay tuned for reviews!

If you're interested in trying it out, check your local Ross.

Also, Sephora seems to be discontinuing the line, so it's even cheaper at Sephora! Right now Sephora is selling Candy Butter Cream in Birthday Cake Batter for $5.50 and Body Smoothie Lotion in Coconut Bon Bon for $4 and some body washes. I hauled some myself tonight!

And Dylan's Candy Bar online storefront is having a BOGOF sale, which lowers the prices to around what Ross is charging. But online buying keeps dirty hands from breaking the safety seal! Check it out here.

Interested? Your thoughts!

Collective Sightings at CVS, Haul, and Swatches

I'm back from the cruel experience that is finals week and I survived! :P
 
I've walked through CVS a few times this past week, but haven't been able to post it until now. 

Last Saturday night I've walked through the beauty once again, because that's my most exciting activity during finals week, lol!

I spotted the Milani baked eyeshadows I've been lusting after!

Milani Marble Baked Eyeshadow, the aqua/powder blue one is lust-worthy! Retails $6.99.

Milani Metallic Baked Eyeshadow, with the red one I love! Retails $6.99 too.

The price is a bit high for drugstore, so wait until CVS has the BOGO1/2off sales! Check out both displays, because sometimes the eyeshadows are misplaced! Also, I've been having trouble finding the purple baked one in the metallic display. I wonder if they forget to bring it out or it's super popular.

They are really ramping up Almay for 2011, look at all the displays!

Almay Get Up & Grow Mascara ($8.49) and Eye Makeup Remover ($5.99)

Almay Dial Up Mascara, retails for $8.49!

Almay Smart Shade Smart Balance Pressed Powder, retails $13.99.

I haven't used Almay since they launched eyeshadow palettes for different eye colors a few years ago. If I see something cool launching this year, I'll give it a try!

I don't know how recent it is, but I noticed they changed the packaging of Maybelline's uber popular Stylish Smokes eyeshadow quads. 

Stylish Smokes in Emerald Smokes, That's my friend Wilson's hand! He wants the credit, lol.

Stylish Smokes in Natural Smokes, his hand too. :P

As you may notice, they changed the proportions of each shade. Before, each shade was equal size. You now get more of the "Brow Bone" shade, which is now called Base and less of the Outer Corner shade now called Liner. I think it's a great change, I end up using most of the Base color and less of the Liner shade anyway. What do you think of the change?

As you may have guessed, I hauled the Milani eyeshadows! I hauled a red from the metallic line and a fabulously complex looking one from the marble collection.

I couldn't wait for a sale this time, but I'll wait next time to get my hands on the purple and aqua!

Tops off, so gorgeous! I do hate the packaging though. It was so difficult to get the top off. I took a bit off the red eyeshadow with my nail when I opened too hard. *Tear*

The photo does not truly capture the multicolored amazingness that is Famous Duo. I spotted red shimmer, silver shimmer, in a black-brown base. It'll probably be great for a holiday smoky eye. The red eyeshadow isn't a true red, comes off a bit orange-red. I love it, never thought I would look good with red eyeshadow. :) I think it would look great on warm tones!

Spotted these displays in your stores yet? Any lemmings? Your thoughts! :)

P.S. I promised myself that I would write a post everyday during winter break, now that I have time to do so. So watch out for more coming soon! :D 

New Sightings at CVS: Revlon, L'oreal, and Almay

I dropped by CVS today to check out new products and there's plenty to see!

A new Revlon display popped up with new eye products!

It contains the CustomEyes Mascara with adjustable wand.The mascara gets a pretty harsh review from Muse, so try at your own risk! :)

Retails for $8.99

I'm particularly interested in the CustomEyes eyeshadow/liners palettes!

Retails for $8.99

I love the cable-knit design! Gianna has better pics of the palettes here. That being said, I'm a bit disappointed that they are made in China. I have nothing against Chinese-made products. I love and buy wet N wild and N.Y.C. products which are all made in China. But I always thought that brands like Revlon and L'oreal and Maybelline which are pricier than wet N wild and N.Y.C. were more costly because they were US-manufactured. What would be the point of buying a $9 Revlon palette when you can buy a $4 wet N wild palette, if they're both made in China? I'm curious as to how these palettes perform. But I won't be purchasing until I read good reviews or come across a really good Revlon sale. 

A close-up of the new Revlon eyeliner.

Luxurious Color Smoky Crayon retails $9.99

Behind the Revlon display was a new L'oreal skincare stand!

What the heck is "Gene Science"?

Some close-ups of the new products. Forgive the blurriness!

Eye Cream

Day/Night Cream

Day Lotion with SPF 30

Serum

Starter System with Day Lotion, Day/Night Cream, and Eye Cream

The Starter System retails $34.99 and everything else retails $24.99. 
Yowza, this is super pricey for drugstore products. I'm not a fan of L'oreal, so I'm not going ga-ga over this. But I'll be willing to try when there's a crazy good sale.

New Almay displays are also up!

Retails for $12.99

This is the new Almay Wake-Up Powder Foundation that Gianna blogged about, that features a gimmicky powder that transforms into liquid. This also gets a thumbs-down from Muse. 

The other Almay display features smoky eye kits.

$7.49 for eyeshadow kit and $8.79 for mascara/liner kit

I didn't get anything today, sometimes a stroll is enough! :) Any of these catch your fancy? Did you already haul them? Your thoughts!

New information for the Estee Lauder Coach bag purchase with fragrance purchase

After my brutal Coach bag experience, I gave up on ever buying it. But I was shopping in SF this past weekend and I saw the Coach bag purchase with fragrance purchase in store!

There were boxes upon boxes of the Coach PWP at the Macy's store in Union Square. 

www.macys.com

I don't think there's any fear of it selling out anytime soon at that branch. Check it out if you're interested in the red bag! I snatched this up, because I thought it would be the only store that carried the bag in-store.

Ha, but I was wrong!

Bloomingdales in SF Centre also had the gold bag in stock!

www.bloomingdales.com

Lol, I quickly returned the one from Macy's since I thought the red one might be a bit young for my mom.

I tried Nordstroms in SF Centre too, but there was no sign of the platinum bag. But I'm not sure if the other Nordstrom's will be carrying it.

Dillard's online carries the PWP, though it's on backorder. But at least you can still buy it! Click here to order. You can also check your local Dillard's to see if they have it in-store. 

www.dillards.com

The shades of cosmetics between each set seems to vary, but I doubt anyone is buying the bag for the make-up, lol.

As for your fragrance with purchase, it looks like you'll have to spend at least $28 on fragrance. I tried all the fragrances to pick one, and I really loved Beautiful. It's a rich, mature, floral scent that reminds me of jasmine. Perfect for younger or older ladies. Beautiful in .5 oz. retails $29.50. Make sure you get the .5 oz. and not the 1 oz, the 1 oz. costs $48.50! I accidentally bought that one. *Shudders* You best believe I'll be trading that one in for a smaller size. :P

www.esteelauder.com

Tip: Gift wrapping for Estee Lauder is complimentary. Get it wrapped if you plan on giving it as a gift! 

Think she'll like it?

Will you be hauling this? Which one do you like? Your thoughts!

New Sightings at CVS and Haul

I went to CVS today to use up a $5 off $15 coupon. While I was there, I spotted some new displays.

New collection from Organix with argan oil! Organix is my favorite shampoo brand, I love their quirky botanical combos. Argan oil has been the it-ingredient in haircare for a while. Nice to find it in a more affordable range!

The collection includes shampoo, conditioner, hair serum, and treatment.

Some closeups 

EDIT: The shampoo and conditioner retail for $7.99 too.

The hair serum, it's not 100% aragan oil though.

I jotted down the ingredients for the Renewing Moroccan Aragan Oil Penetrating Oil (hair serum).

Ingredients: cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, cyclomethicone, C12-15, alkyl benzoate, butylphenyl methylpropional, argania spinoza (argan) oil, linum usitatissimum (linseed) extract, parfum, yellow 11, red 17

The ingredients are similar but definitely not identical to Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum.

The hair serum (in the box) and treatment (in the tub) retail for $7.99.

I spied some new Rimmel foundations.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation retails for $8.99

It's pretty chic for Rimmel. The packaging is luxe-looking, in a heavy glass bottle. Wonder how it performs! If you're in the UK, you can enter here to win a free full-size sample of this foundation to try out. 

Also saw some Tweezerman sets. 

I don't like traditional tweezers, I'm used to the scissor grip variety. I run through the revlon scissor grip ones quickly, because they misalign in months. I'm looking for a more durable scissor variety. Any suggestions?

A Maybelline One By One Volume Express Mascara display

Lol, it's not just cardboard, it's a giant wand replica. I'd blind myself with it if i used it!

I've seen this Milani display for a while. But it's the first time I haven't seen glitter polishes picked clean. 

Milani is BOGO1/2 off this week.

Aaaand my haul

I got: 
Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Renewing Treatment ($7.99)
Milani Jewel FX Nail Lacquer in Gold and Gems ($4.99, BOGO1/2 off)
eos Lip Balm With SPF 15 in Lemon Drop ($2.99 on sale with $2.99 extra bucks, Thanks Gianna for the tip!)

I'm really excited to try the treatment. My hair is crazy damaged, I'll try anything to get rid of my split-ends. 
I'm slightly nervous about the glitter polishes. I feel like the trend is on its last leg. I'll bet next spring everyone will be rocking duochrome shades instead, and I'll be stuck with a dozen glitter polishes, lol.

Any of these new collections pique your interest? Have you tried them already? Your thoughts!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Hauls and Disappointments

I'm back again! Thanksgiving was hectic, as I was cooking all Thursday. I got to break my meat fast for a bit by nomming on some turkey. I hope everyone got to spend some time with other loved ones! :)

I didn't think I spent that much money until I tallied it all up just now, lol. 

Here goes: 
I didn't buy much on Black Friday. I am super scared of big crowds and the cold. Black Friday's for the true fanatics! I stayed warm all day and ventured out to my local stores just to browse around. I picked up the N.Y.C. limited edition rose glosses Rite-Aid. Learn more about the collection here. The collection never showed up in the East Bay, but they found their way to my hometown. I was so excited to find them, because it's been a while since they've been released. And there was still one of each! I felt soo excited... until I got them home and realized that someone broke the safety seal on one of them and swatched it. Gah, but I decided to keep it and sanitize it with rubbing alcohol on the surface. Check the safety seal, it should be on all unopened rose glosses!

After dinner, I check out the local Ulta. They stocked some new Freeman products, so I, of course, helped myself to a new clay facial mask. I glanced over the ingredients for this one and I see no parabens, woot! (EDIT: I didn't looked closely enough, it does. :/) I'll get a new review up for this one soon. 

When I got back to school, I proceeded to haul some L'oreal products that have been heavily discounted. Thanks Gianna and Lisa for the tips! Another thanks to Gianna for alerting me that the new Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle nail colors were available at CVS.

CVS Haul

Here's the breakdown (yes, I made a chart)



I saved tons of money on the L'oreal sale, though I'm not a fan of L'oreal skincare or cosmetics. I've looked through the labels: way too much mineral oil/petrolatum and alcohol. But I'm pretty happy with my purchases nonetheless. Save even more money by printing out some L'oreal coupons. I found mine here. 

I kicked off Cyber Monday with e.l.f.'s 55% off sale on Sunday. It bugs me that it doesn't include free shipping, but $6.95 is manageable. Here's my forthcoming haul. 

The sale has been extended, so you still have a chance to get your haul on! Another way to save money is to spend over $30 on e.l.f., not including tax and not counting coupon savings. You'll then be eligible for a magazine. But if you forgo the magazine, you'll receive $12 rebate back. That's like super savings! Click here for more deets. 

Rants follow

Hard Candy Haul and Review

Ever since I heard about the new items for the Hard Candy line from Gianna, I was psyched about hauling them. Luckily, I was able to pick up everything I wanted. 

My haulage

My eyes were mostly on the duo blush sticks and concealer. I'm a blush fiend and I'm always on the lookout for my nasty undereye circles. 

(L-R) Hide & Glow Cheek Duo Cheek Tint in Pillow Talk, Hot Date, and In Love

When I got to the display, I did not want to choose between the three gorgeous shade duos, so I hauled them all. Typical me. ;)
When I first apply the blush on, it feels sticky, a lip balm-y texture. I kept expecting the blush to sink into my skin into a dry finish, but that never happened. I was so disappointed when I thought I was stuck with sticky cheeks! However, I found that when you blend it in with your fingers, the stickiness subsides. So blending is key to this!

Some Swatches

You get 8g of product per tube, 4g of each color. What I loved about the color range was that it all looked very natural on my cheeks. The vibrant, neon-ish colors are on top and darker, plummier shades on the bottom. In the tubes, In Love looked like a lovely vibrant coral. I wanted it the most coming out of Walmart. But after swatching it, I am far more impressed by the other two shades. Most of all, I loved the darker sides of the duo, which actually aren't too dark for me, like I had thought. Each tube retails for $6. 

Glamoflage Heavy Duty Concealer With Concealer Pencil in Light

I am not sure how to feel about this. This is a super pigmented concealer, so much so a teeny, tiny dot will be enough for your eyes. I totally think people will be able to cover up tattoos with this baby. But on the other hand, this is a bad undereye concealer. It looks fine when I first apply it, but it already settles into my fine lines in as little as five minutes. Yikes! Also, the concealer is formulated with petrolatum and lanolin, which make some people break out. And I am far too vain to use it, if it might make me break out. So, it might be good for covering up scars and tattoos off your face. 

A Swatch

Another tip is that the concealer runs very light, so you might want to go a shade up, if you are a fair-medium. I had to exchange the light for a medium.  The pencil concealer was a perfect match for my skin, you can't even see it! This retails for $6.

 

Glow All the Way Face & Body Luminizer in Doll Face

I randomly picked it up, since I was hankering for a new primer to try out. I had heard about liquid highlighters from Tao. This would be a super cheap alternative to Benefit's High Beam. You get 2.7 oz. for $8, which is a steal compared to High Beam which retails $24 for .45 oz. This luminizer is a pink gel consistency and is super pigmented with fine silver shimmer. You really have to be careful not to overdo. It's easier to work with if you apply it underneath your foundation, so it's more subtle.    

Holy Pigmentation, Batman!

Overall, I really love the blushes and highlighter. I'm still on the fence on the concealer. 

Have you hauled the new Hard Candy too? Let me know your thoughts! :)