Frosted cupcake, you are finally mine!

ast year, I was on a mission to find Bath & Body Works' Frosted Cupcake candle around the holidays. I just heard numerous good things about that candle, but I was too late. By the time I went to the stores they were all sold out. I ended up buying Homemade Cookies instead. Luckily I ADORE the smell of Homemade Cookies as it makes my house smell delicious. I love how it doesn't smell like chemicals, but actually like the real thing.
The other day I was shopping at my local mall and there was a promotion going on at Bath & Body Works. They had a promo for 2, 3-wick candles for $25. Plus, if you purchased it you got a cute reusable bag (shown above) + 3 mini candles. To my surprise I saw my Frosted Cupcake candle. I ended up buying Frosted Cupcake and Homemade Cookies. I smelled all the other candles, but these were my favourites.

These 2 candles have been burning non-stop in my house. It smells sooooooo good!

Here are my 3 mini samples. They also smell pretty good. I haven't burned them yet, but I can't
wait to around the holidays.

It arrived!

y Sigma order came in the mail today. That's one thing I like about ordering stuff online. Yeah, it's a pain waiting for it to come, but once it arrives it's like Christmas!

I placed my order on January 4 and it arrived today- January 20. Not bad. Not the quickest shipping, but not unbearable. I had my packaged delivered to my work because I'm never home. I was dying to open it and look at everything, but I decided to wait until I was finished work.

As soon as I came home I unwrapped the contents.

My brushes came in a red, mesh pouch. One thing that hit me when I opened the package was a very strong chemical smell. I guess it's from the manufacturing process, but it was quite strong.

I got a free travel-sized E25 brush with a silver handle. It is tiny, but it looks like it's good quality.

Here is the brush in context to my hand.

I think this is one of my favourites of my purchase. It's the Princess Grace Retractable Kabuki Brush.

Here is the brush with the lid off, but with the protector over the brush.

And this is what the brush looks like. It's soooooo soft. Soft like the Sigmax brushes I ordered. I can't wait to try this when I'm out.

My order came with many reading materials. I didn't get a chance to look through them all, but it explains what each brush does and cleaning instructions.

My 4 eye brushes and 2 face brushes. I can't do a proper review until I have tried them, but they look to be good brushes. Way better than Quo brushes.

The F80- I'm dying to try this brush. I haven't seen one negative review yet on the Sigmax brushes. I was using the MAC 187 brush, but I find it very prickly. This one is super dense.

I think this was the softest brush I have ever felt.

The F84- I think I'm going to try using this to apply cream blushes. Again, so soft.

I mean, look how dense it is! I wanted the F82 as well, but when I placed my order that one was out.

The E40- This one is a little bigger than what I imagined it was going to be. I'm going to be using it to blend my eyeshadow out or to use to apply the highlight colour to my brow bone.

I think the brush is too big to apply the crease colour. My eyelid isn't that big so I don't want to get a big area with this brush.

The E70- I don't have a brush like this. I'm going to use it to apply the darker shadow to the outer corner of my eye. I was using the MAC 239 brush.

I like that it has an angle so I have more control in applying my darker eyeshadows.

E45- I'm going to try using this brush to apply the crease colour to my lids. I think this will be a good brush to create the cut crease look.

One thing I noticed about this brush upon close inspection was that the point was not perfect. It was a little wonky. I'm hoping it will go back into shape after I wash it.

The E65- I wanted to have another angled brush to use in applying gel/cream eyeliner.

This one is a little thinner in width than the one I have from Quo.

Wow, I really feel like in the past year a half I have really expanded my makeup collection. I constantly want to learn more about makeup and try different products. Please recommend any makeup products that you can't live without. I'm always curious to see what people are using.

BTW, I got a call from Sephora telling me that the Hello Kitty brush set was in stock at my local store. I went to check it out at lunch and was disappointed. It was expensive- $62CAD and the brushes were teeny. Plus, they didn't look to be of good quality. The Hello Kitty brush holder/figurine was cute, but I'm not forking over $62 for it. Sometime I wish I lived in the States so that I can pay a little less for makeup. It's so much more here...

Goodbye 2010, hello 2011!

appy New Year's Eve everyone!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun night tonight. I wish I can say that I'm getting all dolled up to go to a swanky party to ring in the new year, but I'll be enjoying a quiet night at home with my family. There's nowhere else I'd rather be :-)

2010 was a big year for me because I turned the big 3-0. I'm usually not a big resolutions person because I never follow through with it, but I feel like making one for 2011. Here goes!

1. I want to be more spontaneous. Both my husband and I are pretty practical (him more than I). Everything we do is planned out to a tee. I remember telling my husband the other day that one of the best times I had was when I was going through a tough time at work and he called me up and said to me, "Why don't you go home and pack your bags. We are going away for the weekend." He whisked me off to a ski resort a few hours away from the city and it was one of the most fun I've had. This was before we had the baby so we can't really do that anymore, but then again, why not???

2. I want to be more romantic. My husband and I have been married 4 years now. I know that isn't a long time, but already we are like an old married couple. We do the same things every weekend and even on birthdays we go to the mall and pick out our gifts. We didn't do that before, but lately everything is so... blah. I want to plan something special for Valentine's Day in 2011. I don't remember the last time I did something special for my man.

3. I want to read more. I used to read books all the time. This was a looooong time ago. I feel like my brain has gotten stupider (is that even a word???) because I just don't read. Even bringing a book with me for my commute in to work would be the first step.

That is it for now. There's a lot more I want to do in 2011, but I narrowed it down to 3 so that I can actually accomplish these goals. Wish me luck!

BTW, I got my print that I ordered for my shoe shelf. I'm a little disappointed in how it arrived because it wasn't packaged very well. My print was a little bent at the top. Also, the colours were a lot more subtle in person than what I saw online. Also, the illustration looked kind of pixelated- like it was enlarged from the original. I'm being very picky here. It's just that when you don't get what you are expecting it's always a little disheartening.

Look how the colours in the illustration is so washed out.

The background was supposed to be a pink, but frankly it just looks white.

Here's another angle.

Maybe for those of you who are thinking of ordering from this seller, choose a print with more contrasting/vibrant colours?

On a side note, see my ring/earring tray. The peach cocktail ring is my latest addition. I got it from Forever 21 for $3.80! I have another jewelry case on my vanity dresser so don't think these are the only rings/earrings I have!

Asian makeup haul

Creams have fascinated me ever since I first heard about them last year, but I had yet to purchase one... until now. I stopped by my local Korean supermarket and there happened to be a beauty store inside. I couldn't help, but look at BB Creams. I saw the Missha brand that's been talked about all over YouTube, so I swatched both colours on my hand- the #21 (lighter shade) and the #23 (darker shade). I thought for sure that I was a #23, but the lady said that I was most likely a #21. Then she asked me what skin type I had and I told her I was on the oilier side. She said that I should try the Dr. Jart line of BB Creams. I haven't heard of Dr. Jart yet, but the colour (it only came in one shade) seemed like it was a better match than both of the Missha ones. It was also a tad more expensive. Dr. Jart was $32.99 and the Missha one was $23.99. They also had a newer Missha line called 'M Signature Real Complete BB Cream' and that was $28.99. I know you can get BB Creams online for much cheaper, but I feel better buying makeup when I've seen it in person. Once I know what works for me then I will probably buy it online.

I decided to buy the Dr. Jart one. Hopefully I made the right decision!

Here's my little shopping bag.

I got the Dr. Jart Silver Label BB Cream. The sales woman said that this one was her best seller for her "older" clients. Keke. I guess I'm that target market now since I'm 30...

The package says "This unique professional formula containing innovative active ingredients aims at perfectly expressing flawless look, concealing blemishes, and activating skin rejuvenation. It soothes red, irritated skin while providing moisture to skin and controlling excess sebum." It came in 50 mL. It looks a lot smaller than the 50 mL Missha (with the pump), but it's actually both the same mL.

Here's a tiny swatch of the Dr. Jart BB Cream on my hand. It's a tad thicker than the Missha BB Cream.

It has a grayish cast when I first rubbed it around...

...but it looked ok when it was all blended in. It does look a tad light on me, but my hands are slightly darker than my face. The smell was quite subtle and pleasant too. It dried quickly and looked very matte. Let's see how it does on my face.

The sales lady gave me lots of samples. That's what I love about Korean beauty stores! She gave me a sample of the new Missha BB Cream. This one is in 10 g.

The colour I got in the sample was a #23. This one is a little darker than the Dr. Jart one and a little bit more runny.

I blended it out a little bit.

I feel like it doesn't cover as well as the Dr. Jart one, but we'll see. This one smells more perfume-y than the Dr. Jart one, but I don't mind the smell. Mind you, I don't really have a sensitive olfactory...

There was a whole shelf of Darkness lashes and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple.

I bought the ones that came in 2 pairs. It was $5.60 each. This one is the K.ma3 style and it looks very similar to my beloved Revlon Beyond Naturals false eyelashes. I think I use the natural style. I love this one because it looks so natural. At my age I can't go for the crazy dramatic lashes...

After saying I can't wear dramatic lashes, I bought a dramatic set of lashes! I couldn't resist. It's criss-cross, spikey lashes and I was curious to see how they would look on my eyes. I placed it on my eyes when I came home and it looks AMAZING! It's not as crazy as I thought it would look and it makes my eyes look sooooo pretty. I can't wait to try this. I wish I had a special event coming up!

The sales lady also gave me a sample of the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in #21. If the Dr. Jart one doesn't work out I can always try this one.

The sales lady gave me a mini pack of BB Cream cleansing wipes. I'm sure they work like regular makeup wipes, but I'll try anything that's free!

She also gave me a whitening sheet mask. They were on sale for $3.80 each, but she said she would give me one for free because I was pretty. Haha, she probably says that to all of her paying customers.

I also got a couple of these TINY (size of the length of my thumb) moisturizers. She was explaining what they are in Korean, but I couldn't understand most of it. I think it comes with lots of great ingredients.

BTW, I want to wish all of you guys a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!