no more holy grail foundation....??

i can't believe it. my favorite foundation is no more. how did this happen?

when i browse the drugstore makeup aisles, i keep looking for a good deal on my foundation (i'm down to my last bottle now. i usually buy them BOGO so i always have an extra). but everywhere i go, i can only find 4 crappy shades. i just thought that since it's not a new foundation, the stores had pared down their selection to make room for newer products. but noooooo. i checked the revlon website last night, and they only carry those 4 shades!! who ever heard of a foundation line with only 4 shades? preposterous! the lightest shade is "buff". i'm almost 100% sure it's too dark for me.


you know what this is, don't you? discrimination on my pale skin. just kidding (but seriously).


ok, so now the question is, what do i use now? i'm leaning towards the regular revlon colorstay for normal/dry skin. any thoughts/reviews/opinions? they still have ivory shades for us pasty people. i'm hoping it's similar....?

my favorite perfume of all time

i just realized i've never said anything about fragrance before. maybe because this is one of the few areas where i know exactly what i like- fruity and happy. so it only makes sense that i looooove escada. they have several different scents, but they all smell very similar. this is the one i'm using now:

since this is one of escada's earlier fragrances, you can find it for cheaper (about $25-ish?) than some of the newer ones. but like i said, they all smell pretty much the same- happy! as soon as i spray it on, i have the inexplicable urge to dance around like richard simmons.

here's another favorite:

it also smells happy. but maybe sweeter than the escada one? i would totally wear this one a lot, but it's expensive! it's about $25 for that tiny, tiny amount. boo, gwen stefani.

what are y'all's favorites? especially for spring/summer?

exciting beauty news: i have a new fancy gismo!

sorry i've been MIA lately. i've been busy with, you know, graduating from colllege!!! woooo~!

in celebration of my being awesome, my husband bought me a ridiculously awesome present:

a clarisonic!! how excited am i? very. i've never even said i really wanted one. he just did some research and thought this sounded like something i would like. what a good husband :P haha. he even bought the brand-new yellow clarisonic mia and had it engraved for me! i guess he really wants me to stay pretty, huh? ha.

daniel's pretty cute, huh?

i always imagined the brush to be kind of stiff to get all that crap out your pores, but it's surprisingly soft!

the box i keep it in, with a trial-size clarisonic cleanser and a replacement brush head. oh yeah, it also came with a full-size (big!) cleanser called gentle hydro cleanser, which is pretty cool. it retails on its own for $25 online :S. eep.

my clarisonic box, heehee

well, i've been using this for about a week and a half so far, only at night. has it made a big difference? definitely! i guess from the stress of trying to get all my schoolwork done, my face went crazy a few weeks ago. i've never broken out that bad in my entire life, not even during puberty. i had several big pimples, plus the delightful mt. vesuvius on my chin. nice for all those grad pictures, huh? thankfully, i did a good job of concealing all of it. but still! having tons of zits lurking under your makeup does nothing for anyone's self-esteem!

my little clarisonic friend has cleared all of that mess up. in just a few days. and now my face feels like velvet.... or suede.... or something that's not human skin. awesome! and i haven't broken out since. i still have some little tiny bumps (i get those all the time), so maybe when i switch from the sensitive brush head to the normal, that will clear up too? who knows. all i know is i love this guy. 

like i said, it's only been a week and half-ish, so i'll update you on any further progress. but i'm guessing that things will only get better from here.

new nail polish: wet 'n wild in "blazed"

why am i so attracted to this shade of nail polish? on all accounts it just doesn't make sense.... it's um, orange. i usually hate orange. but something about this punchy, coral-y shade was calling to me. see for yourself. can you take your eyes away from it??

fyi, this isn't a very long-lasting formula. but hey, it's $2. and i still love the neon color.

new favorite body wash!

i don't think i've ever repurchased one particular kind of body wash/shower gel before. it seems to take me forever to finish a bottle, and by that time, i'm bored. but i tend to go for citrusy scents. one of my favorites was bath and body works' white citrus shower gel. but um, it's kind of pricey for such a small (but cute!) bottle.

but HOLY MOLY, i think i heard some handel's messiah when i smelled this body wash. WOW.

olay sheer moisture ribbons with mandarin oil

it's singularly amazing. of course, it's all wrong for me. the bottle isn't green, it isn't an amazing bargain, and it's not citrusy at all. but i can't help it, i'm in love. it smells kind of sweet and exotic at the same time (yall, i really can't describe scents to save my life. i'm not one of those people who can be like, "well the top notes are such-and-such and the drydown is doo-hickey...." yeah right). but trust me when i saw it's awesome. 


it's a little over $6 at walmart, which is probably twice as much as i'd usually pay, but can i help it that my mom is in town and told me i needed it?? haha, i think not. it also comes in bar soap, for about $3 for 2, which is a considerably better deal. maybe next time i'll do that.


i'm not used to such a creamy body wash. i always do the gel thing. but it's nice. it's also really great for shaving your legs. just saying....

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.