[Fancies] sheet masks from myfaceworks/my beauty diary

I love to end the night with sheet masks: a sheet heavily soaked with beneficial serums that you place on the skin for 20 min.  You don't need to wash anything off your face afterwards, just simply massage in the residue.  It is convenient and effective.

For me the results are immediate, my skin automatically looks rested, more even, and a lot brighter.  Tonight I used the 'I need to heal' sheet mask from myfaceworks that is in my Jan Birchbox.

Simply place the mask on your skin, sit back and relax for 20 min.  Let the serum soak into your skin.

Make sure the mask completely hugs your skin :)

The results are immediate but unfortunately temporary unless you continue to use the sheet mask.  I like to use it every week for maintenance, or 3 days in a row if my skin needs a serious boost.

Myfaceworks retails at $55 for a box of 6 masks, VERY expensive compared to the top selling My Beauty Diary masks at about $15-17 for a box of 10.  Unfortunately My Beauty Diary isn't that easy to find in stores in the US, but I have seen it in Asian markets like Ranch 99.  

I am featured as Editors' Picks of The Day on bloggers.com

I am featured as Editors' Picks of The Day on bloggers.com!  Thank you :)

[Frowns] WEN Cleansing Conditioner

I've heard lots of good reviews on the WEN Cleansing Conditioners, that it is one product that replaces your shampoos, conditioners, masks, leave-in treatments, etc.   Their philosophy is that regular shampoos strip away the natural oils in your scalp and hair therefore making your scalp even more oily and your hair more dry/brittle/frizzy/etc.  Their philosophy makes sense to me, it's just like how we aren't supposed to overwash our faces.

Since WEN is not cheap, it took me awhile to finally decide to try this, especially because I never buy expensive hair products.  To me hair is hair, it'll just grow back =p  Anyway, I ended up buying these:

[Beauty Basics] Easy way to wing out your eyeliner

A winged out eyeliner can be classy, and is also a fun way to dress up your eyes.  It's simple to do as well, in 3 easy step:

[FOTD] Mally Beauty and fun day in Sausalito + San Francisco

Today I spent pretty much the whole day in Sausalito and San Francisco.  The weather was gorgeous too!  See how blue the sky is? :)

My Face of the Day consists of the Mally Beauty Pro Tips & Tricks 8-piece Color Collection, check out the swatches here.

Let's start:

[Swatches] Mally Beauty Pro Tips & Tricks 8-piece Color Collection

Last month I ordered Mally Pro Tips & Tricks 8-piece Color Collection and finally received it about 2 weeks ago.  I've been playing around with it and overall I am pretty happy with this purchase.  This was also my first time using Mally Beauty.  Now time for some swatches.

All the pieces came in this cute pink pouch.

The pouch contains compartments that are handy in organizing all your makeup goodies.

All the "stick" forms come in this organizer:

But I personally think this organizer isn't that helpful as it is inconvenient to put each item back in its holder.  I prefer to just throw everything in the pouch =p

Now, onto the swatches.  Evercolor Poreless Face Defender:

[Fancies] Birchbox, a beauty discovery service, funded by First Round Capital

I came to know Birchbox from First Round Capital's 2010 Holiday video on Youtube.  I watched the video expecting to see engineers representing start ups across the US until I saw a group of women whom of course caught my eye!  Naturally I looked up their company - Birchbox, and I have come to absolutely LOVE their business: a beauty discovery service founded by Harvard Business School grads where you pay a monthly fee of $10 to receive a box with a handful of deluxe samples from various beauty brands every month; similar to magazine subscriptions except you receive actual samples instead.  What a great way to try, sample, and DISCOVER different beauty products!  You also accumulate points every month that can lead up to discounts if you decide to purchase the full size afterwards.  Be sure to visit http://www.birchbox.com/ for more information.

So this is what you'd receive in the mail: 

The box contains:

[Invisalign] Tray 2 - with attachments

So it's been 2 weeks since I started my [Invisalign] Tray 1!  It hasn't been that painful physically.  The first 2 days were the most uncomfortable, although they weren't painful, they felt really tight on my teeth - so tight that I just wanted to rip them right off!  But after about 2 days I started getting used to the feeling of having something on my teeth.  I was told that I need to eat with it on, drink with it on, and sleep with it on.  I really tried to eat with it on but I admit that sometimes I do take them off, especially when I eat with coworkers because food WILL get stuck in the aligners (yes very gross), and when I ate meat like steak and burgers LOL.  They also have affected my speech, I have trouble pronouncing my S's and X's, and overall I sound like I have a piece of candy in my mouth, and people who don't know I have Invislign on probably just think that I have a big tongue =p

Today I went to my dentist to get attachments on my teeth to prep for my Invisalign Tray 2.  And you know what, she called me out for not wearing my aligners all the time =p  She was able to spot that 2 of my teeth didn't fit the aligners perfectly which means I've been slacking off.  She told me that she needs more commitment from me else my teeth won't look like My 3D treatment plan :(  She also said that I'm only on my 2nd tray and I'm already behind schedule, so embarrassing!  So yes from now on I have to try harder to chew with the aligners on, I don't want to get yelled at again =p  

See the white things that stick out?  Those are the attachments, which are used to help the aligners grip onto the teeth better.  Traditional braces have attachments on every single tooth, but only certain teeth need attachments for Invisalign.

Wow, I've never shown you my teeth so close up right?  I'm kind of grossed out by it, so proceed reading at your own risk!  LOL.

Attachments on the left side.

Attachments on the right, notice I have a cross bite here?

You can see the place holders for the attachments on the aligners themselves.

So here's what my teeth look like with Tray 2:

[FOTD] Maybelline Eyeshadow Trio in 15T Green Gardens

After a very heavy makeup from [FOTD] I entered the NYX Vamp Appeal Contest, I wanted something light for my Face of the Day, using the Maybelline Eyeshadow Trio in 15T Green Gardens:

I saw this palette at Walmart the other day and I just HAD to pick it up, love the pink and green combo.  This palette is not really pigmented:

The light pink and light green are very light, the dark green is fairly pigmented.  And here's the look that I came up with:

Let's start:

[FOTD] I entered the NYX Vamp Appeal Contest

Couple of days ago I saw on NYX's Facebook page that they are hosting a Vampire contest where the winner gets a bunch of free lip products.  The contest ends on Jan 19 so check out their page and enter!! :)

Here's the look that I came up with:

I didn't own any red lipstick so I had to go out and buy one last night =p  and I realized how BAD I am in applying lipsticks, I couldn't really get the shape right LOL.  Anyway... here are the steps in achieving this look:

[Frowns] Mario Badescu Whitening Mask

Mario Badescu Whitening Mask will help brighten uneven skin tones and gently minimize the look of old acne scars and discolorations from the sun. Skin lightening, natural ingredients like Kojic Acid, Licorice and Mulberry make this mask gentle for all skin types. Contains no Alpha Hydroxy Acids making it safe and gentle for acne erupted or very sensitive skin.


I bought the Mario Badescu Whitening Mask because I have quite a few acne scars that don't seem to fade.  But unfortunately I didn't see major improvements with this mask, not even after I've used up pretty much the whole jar:

I did notice that my skin seemed brighter and softer immediately afterwards but the result is pretty much just temporary.  Another thing I want to point out is that this mask is quite painful!  And I don't really have sensitive skin so I was surprised that it would hurt so much.  At first I thought perhaps after a couple of usages the sensitivity would go away but my skin remained sensitive and it hurt every single time.  I really wanted to love this mask too!  Oh well, didn't quite work for me.

[Frowns] CVS's "beauty guarantee - 100% satisfaction" is not true

You might already know this but I love CVS, I live right next to one so it has quickly become my "go-to" place - whether I actually need to buy something or if I just need some place to stroll.  I especially love CVS's beauty guarantee and return policy: 

The CVS/pharmacy beauty guarantee - 100% satisfaction.  Be 100% happy, or receive 100% money back on any beauty product. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you can return the beauty product (opened or unopened) along with your receipt or invoice to any CVS/pharmacy store. We will refund the full purchase price—no questions asked!  To return the item by mail, call our Customer Care Specialists at (888) 607-4CVS (4287). We will work with you to ensure that both your return and credit refund are processed accurately.

So on Sat, I again took a stroll at CVS.  I saw that they had some crazy 50% - 75% off clearance going on in the beauty aisle so decided to pick up these:

Almay Pure Blends Loose Finishing Powder, Translucent Shimmer

Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-free Mineral Pressed Powder Shade Extension, Soft Green

Neutrogena MoistureShine Lipstick, Angel's Blush

CoverGirl Outlast Double Lip Shine, Tutu 200

Check out the awesome savings, each item ranged from $3 - $5.  Cool eh?

Unfortunately afterwards, I tried but did not like the Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-free Mineral Pressed Powder Shade Extension, Soft Green because it doesn't blend nicely and the cap doesn't shut.  I also didn't like the CoverGirl Outlast Double Lip Shine, Tutu 200 because it smells horrible.

Naturally, since CVS claims to offer 100% satisfaction in beauty guarantee, I went back to CVS yesterday to try to return these 2 items.  Well they did not let me.  Their reason was:

[FOTD] I tried Fuzkittie's Socialite Makeup 名媛氣質 Party 妝

This weekend is socialite-wannabe weekend!  LOL, yesterday I tried Kaitlyn's Socialite Makeup and today for my Face of the Day I tried Fuzkittie's Socialite Makeup 名媛氣質 Party 妝:

The concept is the same: light, natural, classy look.  No crazy eyeliner and lashes.  Healthy glowing skin.

Let's start:

[FOTD] I tried Kaitlyn's Beauty Journal's Socialite Makeup 名媛系彩妝

So there's a slight obsession with 名媛 (socialites) in Taiwan, many "commoners" (like me haha) strive to look more like them, because, well why wouldn't we want to look more like socialites right?  The key to socialite makeup is natural and classy.

Kaitlyn from Kaitlyn's Beauty Journal did a tutorial on socialite makeup and I decided to try it today:

Let's start:

My current skincare routine: Philosophy, Kiehl's, Bare Escentuals, Josie Maran

I am very happy with my skincare routine at the moment, I think my skin has been on its best behavior for about a week :)  Here's what I am currently using.

Morning:

Face wash: Philosophy Purity Made Simple or St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser

I alternate between these two. I use St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser to help prevent break outs.  Since I don't have active pimples at the moment (cross fingers) I only use this every other day; if I am breaking out I'd use this every day. The Philosophy Purity Made Simple is my holy grail cleanser as mentioned in my My HOLY GRAIL products of 2010.

Toner: Kiehls Calendula Herbal Extract Alcohol-Free Toner

This is a great toner for normal/combination/oily skin, it is also one of My HOLY GRAIL products of 2010.

Acne treatment: Symmetry Paris Acne Soft Essence

This is a very random find.  I've never heard of the brand before nor have I seen it anywhere.  My mom bought it from her friend who works at a salon in Taiwan.  This is actually my 2nd bottle already and I forgot to include this in my holy grail products of 2010.  The texture is clear, very watery, very easily absorbed.  I use this on my t zone, break outs, and acne scars.  I've also used this all over the face and it doesn't dry me out at all.  Overall, a very good acne treatment.  I will write a separate review for this, it definitely deserves a mention.

Skincare: Josie Maran Argan Oil

[Invisalign] Tray 1!

Today I started my Invisalign!  Remember couple of months ago I had X-rays, Photos, and Impressions taken?  Afterwards my trays were made based on my 3D treatment plan.  I was told to take vitamin C and calcium during the treatment as written on the box.

Today I received my box of aligners, all 22 of them!  Each aligner is supposed to be worn for about 2 weeks.

The aligners are placed in pouches like this, and here's what my first set looks like:

[Sponsored Giveaway] WINNERS of Cellulite Magic - Créme De La Créme Body Care System

Thank you for entering the [Sponsored Giveaway] Cellulite Magic - Créme De La Créme Body Care System!!

and the 8 winners are:

1. Gina P / @ginasweepsit / Gina Parker
2. katherine / @kathie78
3. Stella Chu / @stelladorohk
4. Gwen Tan / @applelost
5. Emma / @EmmaSaidWhat / Emma Kelly-Hasken
6. @kimssyyy / Stephanie Kimssy
7. @KaitlynBeauty / Kaitlyn Chen
8. sqweira

actually, I also want to give away the ones that I used to review, it's always good to share your goodies with your friends right Marjorie Cheng?

:)  Please send me your mailing addresses!  

[Fancies] My Top 5 eyeshadows of 2010: Shiseido Integrate, RMK, Laura Geller, Milani, Laura Mercier

This is my first post of 2011!  I was thinking of what this post is going to be, and I thought since I've already written about my Holy Grail products of 2010 but didn't include eyeshadows because I can't single out any of them, I decided to make a separate post dedicated to eyeshadows :)  

Shiseido Integrate Accent Eyes Eye Color palette in RD770

This is my favorite neutral quad, if I can only take one palette with me when I travel, I'd pick this one since you can never go wrong with neutrals.  I did a Face of the Day back in July featuring this palette, what do you think?

I especially love the pink highlighter color (3rd one from the left), it just looks super flattering :)

RMK eye palette 02 Deep Red Brown

This is a duo that I am constantly reaching for, it's pretty neutral as well.  The light gold is very shimmery, and the deep red really complements the shimmery gold.  Check out FOTD - I tried bubzbeauty's summer make up tutorial featuring this.

Laura Geller Baked Eye Shadow Duo in Rome and Milan