review: st. ives green tea scrub

well, i totally caved on this the other day. i saw it at a drugstore, saw that it had green tea (i'm such a sucker for green tea anything- beverages, skin care, anything.... i did grow up in japan, after all!), and that the product itself was bright green! had to buy it.

it's a little pricier than the regular st. ives apricot scrub (a little over $5 at walmart) for a smaller amount of product. but hey, i like trying new things. is there anything worse than being stuck in a rut? i think not.

i really like it! it feels kind of weird for a scrub, but in a good way. it has smaller granules than the apricot scrub, but they aren't sharp like a microderm abrasion product. it feels more like a washcloth. just slightly rough. 

like i said, it's bright green (love!) and the smell is awesome. fresh and pretty, but not old lady at all. and it makes my face feel very smooth. but i don't really worry about using it 2x a day, because it feels gentler than the apricot scrub. i don't think it's as stripping of my skin.

i've been using it for a couple weeks now, and i think i like it. but of course, i'm fickle, so i may change my mind. in which case, i'll let you know!

found: holy grail lipstick!!

revlon colorburst lipstick in soft rose!

i've suspiciously eyed this lipstick many a time in the drugstore aisles but never convinced myself to spend $8 on it. but THEN....

i found a $3 coupon! go to revlon.com, and all you have to do is register your e-mail address to print out a $3 off coupon for any colorburst lipstick. woot!

what i love about this lipstick is it's exactly the same shade as covergirl's now defunct blushberry shine. PLUS everything they've said about this lipstick is true. it feels very light and luscious, but is highly pigmented. it's not as sheer as blushberry shine, but i'm ok with that. that means it actually stays put on my lips! after the creamy feeling kind of fades and you think your lipstick has all worn off, it leaves behind a super pretty vintage-doll-looking stain! even after eating a meal, which means it's perfect for dates!

also, you can get different effects with it. in the picture above, i just applied one very light layer. it just kind of brightens up your face and looks natural. but if you apply more, it's a more classic, sophisticated look. the shade is neutral enough to go with practically anything. i've worn it with cool eyeshadows and warm eyeshadows. oh, it's definitely never leaving my purse.

i think i will cry if they ever discontinue it, which means they will, just because i love it.

DON'T try this at home: honey on your face

i read on bellasugar.com the other day that washing your face with honey is good for dry, flaky skin. they also said it was antimicrobial, so it wouldn't cause you to break out! sounds perfect, right?

ha! not even close. i felt pretty good about it at first. i mixed some honey with warm water, and rubbed it all over my face. it wasn't as sticky as i thought. and my skin felt smooth and soft. but the next day? i realized i had some honey stuck in my hair (yuck!) and tiny little bumps all over my face.

darn. i was hoping it'd be awesome.
 
BUT, i did read a tip in seventeen (hey, i was waiting in an eternal line at walmart) that you can dye your hair darker with coffee. since i'm apparently such a glutton for punishment, i might try that too.

but i think i'll wait until after graduation next week....

$1 bronzer (for very pale girls)

i bought this eyeshadow on recommendation from nouveaucheap (if you haven't browsed her blog yet, you seriously need to!). it's sally girl connecting eyeshadow in cinnamon, and they're all $1 at sally beauty supply stores. i thought it was pretty nifty that you could hook them together with other eyeshadows and build your own palette!

unfortunately, it kind of sucks as an eyeshadow. it's not very pigmented, and not shimmery enough for my liking (i LOVE shimmer eyeshadows). but one day on a whim, i discovered that it's awesome at giving my white skin some glow.

i love it because it's so natural. now i must confess, i've never extensively tested out bronzers before. but i do know (from some of my friends, ahem) that when pale people try to compensate by piling on the bronzer, they just look too orange or too muddy. not cute. but this, i like.

try it, it's only a dollar!

new nail polish: revlon's "lilac pastelle"

oh, my my. i really don't mean to keep buying new nail polishes. but can i help it that i love pastels, and it's spring so there are tons of new pastels on the market?? of course i can't. that's what i'm telling myself, anyway.

i've been looking for a lilac cream for FOREVER. who would've thought that i'd love cream formulas so much? i used to be all about the metallics (you know, when i was 12....). i paid between $4 and $4.50 for this at walgreens.... i don't usually spend that much on a silly nail polish, but what can i say? i loved it and walgreens was the only place that had it. end of story.

they also had a gorgeous mint green shade in this spring collection that's totally my cup of tea.... you're next, mint green.

review: hard candy balm girls tinted lip balm

i bought this balm about a month ago, because the color just looked amazing. it's so hard to find a cross between peach and pink at the drugstore, for some reason. unfortunately for me, this is one of my favorite shades! anyway, i was really hoping that this balm would be the answers to my lip product wish:


1. the perfect mixture of peach and pink
2. sheer color
3. moisturizing


well, it seems that i got more than what i wished for- it's not only sheer but practically invisible!

what? but it looks so pigmented in the tube! oh no, on my lips it's like wearing plain old clear balm. bah.


but it does feel really great- super super smooth. like butter. compared to all of my other lip balms (even eos!), it's way smoother and creamier. plus when you wear it over a lipstick, it makes the texture look light and amazing (more about that later)! so i'm definitely keeping it around. i just wish it had some tint to it....

review: palmer's cocoa butter formula for dry, ashy skin

(yes, i know it's been a couple weeks since i last wrote.... so sorry! i've been super busy and stressed about my senior recital. pictures from that later! i'm feeling less stressed out now, so i couldn't wait to get back to my blog :)

ok ok, i know it's funny. why would a VERY WHITE girl like me need a lotion for ashy skin? actually, my husband thinks this is pretty darn hilarious. 

well, the reason i'm using this is because it contains AHAs, which keeps my chicken skin on my arms under control. my old favorite (lubriderm triple therapy lotion) is MIA. i've been to umpteen different drugstores, not to mention several targets and walmarts..... nothing. but ironically, at the walmart about a mile away from my house, i found another lotion with the same ingredient, that's even cheaper. score!

i believe it was less than $6. in a huge bottle. and just fyi, the bottle i bought doesn't have a slightly scandalous female form on the front :P.


so does it work as well as my lubriderm stuff? yes, i think so. it's really light and milky feeling. and i think it keeps the chicken skin away on the backs of my arms.


BUT....


the smell! oh my! it's very (as my husband said) pungent. so much so that he has stopped cuddling with me when we're trying to fall asleep. eep :S. so i guess i'm still looking for a new body lotion with AHA for my arms....