HAUL: Etude House Sweet Recipe

Happy Monday everyone! I know Monday is not the preferred day of the week but this is why I'm showing you what I bought from Etude House's Sweet Recipe Collection! I also bought some other Etude House goodies so I included those too.

HAUL: Day after Valentines is the BEST!

The reason that I love Valentines Day is because the day after means that all the pretty heartsy-themed products along with chocolates are half off! I stopped by my local supermarket (Loblaws) and this is what I left with ^^ The bill added up to only $4.81CAD! Check out your local supermarkets early for the best selection~

HAUL: FREE CLOTHES from H&M, Lush, Sephora, Walmart

Goodies from H&M, Lush, Walmart & Sephorah

 Hello! I just wanted to show you my huge haul that I usually once a year. This is basically my Boxing Day 2012 haul (Boxing Day is similar to Black Friday in the U.S.) So you're probably wondering, HOW THE HECK did I get free clothes from H&M? Is this a scam? Erm lol no. Since Boxing Day of 2011 (at least that's what I can recall), H&M decided to give the first 100 shoppers up to $300CAD worth of free clothes.

My friends got these during Boxing Day 2011

I went during 2011 and by the time I got there, I only got a $10 coupon. Learning from my mistake, I rounded up two of my friends and you can call me craycray, but I convinced them to come with me to the mall's parking lot at 1 in the morning xD Long story short, these immature "kids" (they probably dropped out of highschool or something) butted us and everyone else in the line when the security opened the mall's doors and they got to the store first...and neither my friends or I got the $300 coupon. Everyone else witnessed what had happened and they were very nice and super supportive of us and my friends, telling us that we should do something about it. I called the H&M store but they couldn't do anything about it so I just sucked it up. Quite honestly, I wanted to punch those assholes (they didn't just butt people, they also used really dirty tricks to get there first) in the face but I knew I would gain nothing so I just sat there and fumed. In the end, luck was in my favour and I got the $200 coupon (yay for happy ending) which I split with my friends who each received $25 themselves. 

From H&M, I got this super cozy Divided hoodie (orignally $60 reduced to $20), a constellation shirt ($29.95), the neon clutch ($19.95 but the exact model is available at Forever21 for $23.80), and a shirt for my dad (it's the wrinkled grey one :$).

I fell in love with the sweater because of the thick lining and the pretty knitted detail of the lining :)

The proof

 I wasn't kidding! I only had to pay $5 but hey! I got $90+ worth of free clothes. Still a good bahhhgain ahaha

From Walmart, I bought some Christmas chocolates as they were 50% off and two brush sets. The brush is really cool and perfect for travelling because the handle of the brush has a compartment for an eye sponge brush (meh), a concealer and lip brush. They were half off as well ($4.50) and I got the purple one for my mother. Brushes are super soft! I believe the brand is, how do you say, Bella Bellisima? Lush was doing a buy one get one free promotion like last year. I bought some Snowglobe and Mr. Punch soap.

Lastly, from Sephora, I bought their $12 specials including Buxom Lashliner with brush in Sequin, Urban Decay Shadow Box, Stila Lipglaze trio, and Benefit cream eyeshadow. I'll be gifting those beauties to friends and family when I visit Hong Kong.

I guess this is it! I hope you enjoyed this rant/post and have a great day ^^ Cheers!

Haul: THE FACE SHOP at Pacific Mall

One of my close friends told me that THE FACE SHOP from Korea opened up at two locations in Toronto and being the Korean cosmetic/skin care junkie that I am, I was dying to go. Luckily, I had to run errands in the busy city today so I stopped by the store in Pacific mall (pmall for short) to pick up some items. 

The White Mud Nosepack has been on my list ever since Pam from xpinkxx raved about it. I tried looking for it in Hong Kong but I flew back to Canada with empty hands. The same friend that told me about THE FACE SHOP recommended me their nail polishes. Although they streak on the first coat, the overall product is well worth the mere $1.75CAD. Not even WetnWild is this inexpensive. I picked up PK101, a cool baby pink and I might give it to my other friend who's in need of some new polishes ^^ The last item that I bought was the Raspberry Roots Depuffing Eye Gel. I've never used eye products before so a depuffing one is a nice way to start. 

I'm not sure if this is true at the other location, but all the sales associates spoke Korean so if you can do that, I suggest you do. Apparently they're even nicer then and you get a lot of samples. Don't forget to sign up for their points card! Down side to that is that it's location specific -.-;; like if you got it at pmall, you can only use it there. Another tip is that try to talk to the SAs and be friendly. If you're from out of town, let them know discretely. The cashier gave me double the samples which is way better than the service at Holika Holika that's only a few stores away.

In the phone department, I bought a clear hard iPhone case for $5CAD and got the bumpers for free! I'll definitely be doing some DIY on it~ I went to 4 stores to find the best price and $5 was it. Cases for the 4/4s were as cheap as $2! So grab them while you can.

That's all for now~! Good night!

FOB: Arrr! I think I see me some Holika Holika!

I went to Toronto a few weekends ago. While I was there, I dropped by Pacific Mall as usual. They have really good and affordable bubble tea that are made with real mangoes. The mall also carries clothes, purses, skincare, and make up that I love. I bought this cute nautical shirt-it literally screams "aye aye captain"-from a store called Voir. To my surprise, the mall managed to get a Holika Holika store! I was jumping from the excitement when I saw it. It was perfect timing since I needed a facial cleanser. The annoying thing about the store was that there were these four SAs that kept squealing and yapping in Korean while I was in there...Not exactly professional because it automatically made me feel like they were talking about me -_-;; Unlike the stores of the same brand in Korea, this one did not give out samples. Prices ranged depending on the product you buy. Some coloured cosmetics cost $20CAD+ while my Snow White cleanser only costs $16CAD. From T&T (a popular Asian grocer), I bought the Mandom Cleaning Express Moist that the muse raved about. I don't own any cleansing oil so this was a good choice. Hopefully, these products live up to their name~

FOB: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

 Shoppers Drugmart had these Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters on sale this Sunday and Monday. Since I already own one in Peach Parfait which I love, I grabbed two more shades.

 075 Lollipop is a fuchsia with fine blue shimmer while 015 Tutti Frutti is a tangerine coral with no sparkles. They are both great for the spring and summer season ^^

Last but not least, Shoppers had them on sale for only $3.99CAD! They usually retail from $8-$10 dollars so these were a steal. If you have time before this sale ends, I would reccomend you to grab a few. The lip butters aren't usually this cheap =]

I want to congratulate Cutielippi on reaching 242+ followers! Blogging is not exactly easy and I admire her for all the hard work that she has put into her blog. Be sure to check out her blog for uber cute posts and reviews. You can join her giveaway here which ends April 15th, 2012.

Woahoho! Two consecutive posts in two days. I'm on a roll~ Haha. Thanks for reading!

Spotted! Essence Cosmetics in Canada

Hi everyone! I must first apologize for my loooooong absence but I'm finally back! I hope you've all been doing well ^^

If you haven't heard already, affordable European brand Essence has finally hit Shoppers Drug Mart across Canada. Not every Shoppers carry this line so I suggest going to locations that have higher traffic (i.e. malls). I was super excited when I saw the small but abundant display stand. The items cost $1.49CAD-$4.99CAD each! So far the quality is awesome and with its price, Essence cosmetics is comparable to some WetNWild and NYC products although I favour Essence at the moment.

First Essence haul :D

 I couldn't resist the colours and prices so I hauled the four angels. The nail polishes cost $1.49 while the Tint it! Colour Changing Lipgloss cost $2.99. Any product with "colour changing" properties immediately catches my eye. The shade that I got is 02 Turn to Lucky which changes from a tangerine to a pink.

From left to right:  43 Where is the Party?, 38 Choose Me!, and 86 A Lovely Secret. I've tried 38 and 86 so far and they are fantastic! They dry quickly and you only need two coats for a full opacity. I will definitely buy more shades one Shoppers restock them ^^ Another note, I haven't seen any special/limited edition displays but I'm positive that we'll be getting them. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your lovely Sunday! It's only March and it already feels like summer~ It's 21 degrees outside! Toodles~~

Haul: $5 Jeans?!

It doesn't get any better than this. I bought jeans for $5CAD. This is a total steal! I have never in my life seen jeans for this cheap ^^ I'm also used to wearing their jeans as they cling to the right spots on my small figure.  The cardigan was also 5 bucks. I bought four basic t-shirts and they only costed $1.75CAD each. If you have an Urban Planet near you, I suggest checking it out because they always have really great deals! Some deals include half-price the last ticketed price. 

I hope you all had an awesome weekend!

FOB: New Hard Candy Products and St.Ives Green Tea Line Hits Canada!

Yes. Another haul post hehe 

It's funny how things are always piled up at the same time ya know? I walked into Walmart ages ago (okay maybe a month ago) and I did that twice (so back it up another month let's say) and I wasn't able to find the much raved concealer: Hard Candy Glamoflauge or the much raved green tea cleanser: St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser. I was disappointed because it always takes a million years for our makeup department to catch up to the one of the States (you lucky girls! and boys...) So finally, I was able to get my hands on the new goodies by Hard Candy today ^^ 

The Goods

Hard Candy Fox in a Box Bronzing Duo in Skinny Dipping (I absolutely LOVE corals!), Hard Candy Glossaholic Sequin Saturated Lip Gloss in Gorgeous, and Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer in Medium. I hope I picked the right shade for my NC30 skin tone because the tan one looked too dark but I heard that the concealer actually goes on lighter than it appears in the tube O_o 

SPAresource (only available online and at Walmart, not sure if it's only available in Canadian Walmarts since the website is ".ca") recently added a new Pro-Series line of brushes. I own their small eyeshadow brush from their older line and the quality was pretty good for the price. This time I bought the SPAresource Pro-Series Stipple Brush because I still don't have a stippling brush in my collection and I want to review for all of you lovelys =]

I have been tracking down the Naturally Clear green tea line from St. Ives and it has finally arrived at my local Walmart. I bought the cleanser since I still need to finish my apricot scrub. Hopefully it'll help me with acne prevention and keep my face clean and refreshed!

Be sure to stick around for a Spotted! post about Walmart! They had ton of new products!

FOB: Restocking & Refueling

Hooray for retail therapy. It really works for me especially after stressful times :) It is a way of rewarding myself...and just try new things! This is a very collective FOB (fresh off the buy) or haul throughout January to now.

The Valentine LUSH goodies: Magic Mushroom (isn't there a drug with the same name? XD I remember those health classes...good times=P) Bubble Bar, Love Birds Soap (which I already reviewed), and a sample of Dark Angel Facial Cleanser. The furry earmuffs and yellow tank top were from Ardene when they had a mega 75% off selected merchandise sale ^^ They were both under 4 bucks CAD~

Mini Carried Away Body Mist from Bath & Body Works which smells amazing!! So juicy, ripe and fresh :) Perfect for gals who love fruity florals. It reminds me of lychee too! At Zellers, they sometimes have really good deals if you walk in at the right time. I got this NYC Smooth Mineral Eye Powder Kit for $2.00CAD when it was originally $7.97CAD. 

 Bath & Body Works had all the mini PocketBacs on sale. $5CAD for 5! I got 10 in total so that I have little gifts for friends and family when I visit Hong Kong in the summer. Hehe I can't wait to see my family and eat all the food!! And shopping of course ;) The Liplicious Best Kiss lipgloss was free with a $10CAD purchase. It is a self-adjusting lipglosses that turns a perfect pink (review coming up!) on your pout. It smells like berries! So yummy... From Garage, I bought a pair of purple wayfarers but I later returned it for a nail polish because the sunglasses were just too big for my face XD I got the bamboo tote for free (it only costs a dollar if you want to buy it). I went to Zellers again and found even more steals! The Neutrogena Wave Refill Pads were $5.00CAD, the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eyeshadows POP for brown eyes were only $4.00CAD (originally $15.79CAD), the Maybelline Fit Me foundation was around 9 bucks but I got them to price match it to $7.99CAD and I had a coupon for $3.00 off. So it only cost me 5 dollars :) That's one of the benefits at Zellers. On top of that, the cashier gave me an extra 30% or 40% off the items with stickers so I saved quite a lot of money. Be sure to be a smart shopper and take advantages of these policies/sales!

L.A. Girl Color Addict Nail Color in Delirious from Garage.

Urban Planet had a buy one get one for $1 sale on family day. I bought this really cute teddy bear loosely-fitted crop shirt along with a bubble t-shirt with fancy detailing on the back. The total was around $14CAD which is not bad considering the very intricate design of the second shirt (and I just instantly fell in love with the first one hehe).

Every time I see the back, I go 'oooh' and 'ahhh' just for a few seconds. No biggie.

My aunt bought some skincare goodies for my mom and I :) She knows what I like...I was really surprised when she got me the limited edition Alice in Wonderland set (the blue one has 2 Hyaluronic Acid Moisturizing Masks in it). I ran out of my Laneige Power Essential Skin Refiner Light_EX so I am currently using Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion. I also have the matching essence (dark blue in above picture) and the emulsion(very bottom picture). The rest include: an Estee Lauder eyeshadow quad, Orange Avenue UV lipgloss, brush set (black roll), cute girl tweezers, and a liquid eyeliner.

If there is anything you want me to review, let me know. I'm still testing out the Hada Labo skincare so I will make a post about each product individually when it's time ^^

FOB: Goodbye, 2010

Whoa. 

This haul post (Fresh Off the Buy <-- not exactly fresh anymore) is over a month late. whoops. 

These are the lovely things that I acquired over the months of November and December. Some are gifts (for me and others) while some are things that I bought to "reward" myself for accomplishing yet another, hard and stressful year. Cheers to getting into the holiday spirit and Santa suits! 

I officially dove into blogging in the month of August 2010 (yea I'm still a newbie :P) and I am so glad that I did so because I've met some wonderful people as well as learning new things everyday~ Thanks for all the support! <3 And I would love to say hi to my new followers ^^ *waves*

Garage

Sweater from Pacific Mall

 *pic heavy*

FOB: My Very First with Sephora

 After reading some not-so-good about Sephora and their "service", I was actually afraid to step in there especially when I know that I probably won't be buying anything. Except, this time, I had a purpose so I braved the "cold"(glares) and looked for my baby ;)

 I also dropped by H&M and I picked up this versatile waist belt for under $7CAD! Being petite sized and all, it's always hard to find a nice fitting belt.

 I was really surprised with my experience with the sales associates. They were actually very kind and helpful! I was there to pick up something from the Hello Kitty x Sephora collection and when I got there, they were still putting the display up. I swatched some of the products and a lot of it lacked pigmentation. The sweet gloss and apple cheeks didn't really show up with the exceptions to this one sweet gloss in pink grapefruit: I was able to see the satin pink and it smelled yummy too! I think the apple balm ($12CAD) is worth picking up. The SA gave me some to try: it gives you a pretty and slightly tinted pout and it's moisturizing. I only bought one item and the SA gave me 2 samples (surprisingly!) This is probably because she felt bad that I couldn't get my Bare Escentuals sample.

Hello Kitty Nail Art in Purple Sprinkles

I have it on my nails right now and I am testing it out. Review coming hopefully soon!

FOB: LUSH Boxing Day Sale 2010

 This year I was prepared to face the crowds and the occasional elbow to the gut...but what I wasn't expecting was a claustrophobic LUSH store! It was jam packed with people when I arrived at 10am >< The haul wasn't as big as it was suppose to be because this year, instead of buy 1 get 2 free, it was only BOGO :/ My friend and I worked out the list of things that we wanted to get but some of the stuff like the Candy Cane Bubble Bar was already sold out (I have a little story for you later.) Also, since she wasn't with me (she was at a different mall, scouting the good steals and deals) and the "game plan" changed, I had to work my way around it. Literally. The store was tiny!

 Everything that was BOGO was marked (hah! no pun intended!) with a Mark sticker. Maybe to make up for the disappointing deal this year, LUSH had not only put Christmas products as part of the BOGO, certain items from their permanent line was also BOGO (Honey I washed the Kids, gifts made before November 1st, Rockstar etc.) So my supposedly funny story isn't really much in the impressive department =P But here it goes. When I arrived, I was trying to get everything that was on the list. I was supposed to get at least 2 Candy Cane Bubble Bars but to my disappointment, they were all gone! So I looked desperately around those wooden stands that they put stuff on and luckily, I grabbed the price/info stand and BAM! I see one tucked between two stands ^^ (There you have it, your lesson of the day: never give up. Seriously.)

 TO THE PURCHASE:

• 2 Christmas Eve Bubble Bars
• 1 Bearded Lady Bubble Bar
• 2 Gingerbread House Bubble Bars
• 1 Candy Cane Bubble Bar
• 2 Winter Bath Bath Bombs
• 2 Matryoshka(s)* **

*not sure if they use "S"s to indicate if a noun is plural in the Russian language
**my friend got them for me because she said she was horrible when it comes to buying presents, and of course, I didn't want her to buy me something when you can wait and get it for a cheaper price, thanks love! <3

Next year, depending on the amount of LUSH goodies that I'm after, I will wake up earlier, and sprint to that store and elbow anyone that's in my way..erh...kidding about the last part. Want to share about your funny boxing day experiences? You know what to do~! 

I hope everyone enjoyed this seemingly brief holiday break!

FOB: but not so fresh...

I almost forgot to post about my haulings during September...I just never have the time! I'm really behind on the stuff that I want to show you!

from lush:

• dragon's egg bath ballistic (see review here)
• twilight bath ballistic
• cosmetic warrior mask

I'm a chocoholic X3 got these from a famous chocolate store in Stratford, Ontario 

finally! some MBD masks! I almost ran out of my beloved aloe one. 

• bird's nest (they're really moisturizing! evens out your skin tone too!)
• red wine
• apparently they're really new. i've never seen these ones before but they fit your neck as well! they have these straps that hook onto your ears :) i will post more details on these later

FOB: August, I Miss You

hey lovelies! i'm sorry with my absence but school just started and it's already hectic...i'm ahead on one day but totally behind on the other >.< i'm just glad that the weekend is here! i don't think i'll have as much time to watermark and resize my photos so i'm just going to let them be. it makes the whole photo more appealing anyways ^^ (please don't steal my pictures. if you want to use them, make sure you let me know and give me the credit).

FOB means 'fresh of the buy' (lol. i couldn't think of anything else). i'm going to show you what i've acquired over the month of august in a 'LOOK BOOK' fashion. it's just where i have very few (or even no descriptions). just pictures =) 

mint/peacock/faded violet

review coming up soon! love them so far!

annabelle mono eyeshadow in lagoon and rainforest

chain and ribbon necklace from smart set 

some pads for my shoes

lush honey i washed the kids soap

lush all bland cleanser sample

hard candy baked blush crush in living doll

fruits and passion shower gel sample

my mom needed a new face product so i recommended theBalm balm shelter tinted moisturizer to her. the Bahama mama bronzer and overshadow the sexpots were both GWP.

posh brushes are no longer available at pharmaplus so i picked the eyeliner duo up before it was gone forever.

i went to toronto (pacific mall) and bought a cute acid wash skirt. i like it because of the wash and the length (not too short). some pens and pencils for back-to-school (unfortunately) and i got the strawberry as a thing where you add a bit of money when you reach a certain amount with your purchase. all the stationery stuff were $1CAD! it's really good cuz they're actually cute (not like the ones you get from the dollar store =P) also got my first pair of circle lenses! i don't know why but i look creepy in them...maybe i'm not used to them *sigh* i don't want to waste them. they are the GEO angel brown ones ^^

i'll most likely show you some of the stuff in detail sooner or later! so stay tune!

enjoy your weekend~!

FOB: Annabelle Custom Quads & Revlon Colorburst

You must be like, "WTH?? FOB does NOT go with a post like this..."

think again.

FOB may be known as Fresh Off (the) Boat and I find myself using this term quite often but that's not what I'm referring to. FOB=Fresh Off the Buy which is a haul but translated to my lingo rofl. yeah, I did my best to be creative =_=" haha. Anyways, I went to Shoppers today and I was fortunate to run into some new Annabelle goodies. I also picked up the "OH-SO-Pretty-and-Awesome" Revlon Colorburst Lipstick. (I just found out that Pharmplus is having a 50% off sale for all lip products...GRRRR. too late. I already used it and I've got to say, I'm impressed)

"How are you today?"

"I'm just peachy. thanks."

I thought it would be totally matte but obviously you can see some shimmers in it. (wellll at least you should. except my camera isn't all that great) This pretty lippie (hah. I rhymed) was originally $11.49CAD but it was on sale (which I wasn't aware of until I checked the receipt). Got it for $10.99CAD.

When I saw this, I knew I had to get it. LE. that obvi pulled me in ^.^ They had another palette too: Soar (pretty milky blue with a nice sheen to it), Whipped (iridescent white), Purple Reine (gorgeous royal purple), Smoked (slightly metallic gray). Both cost $15.99CAD which is a great buy because you get four eyeshadows and the palette (it's magnetic btw). They usually cost $5.99CAD regular but they often go on sell for $3.99CAD.

The one that I got is great for those people that love bright colours. Especially greens and blues =D Clockwise from left: Martian (grass-like green with iridescentish flecks), Misted Up (silver with shimmer), Funburst (olive gold with slight shimmer), Laguna Surf (bright aqua blue with shimmer). I really don't know why I got this because I have really similar colours such as Nymphet and Gold Digger...don't get me started on greens :P maybe I just have a fetish with it or something..

Hope all of you enjoy the rest of the weekend!