Bath and Body Works, Revlon, Stila, Lush Haul

Hi guys!

My dad just came back from the US not long ago and you know what I do... I gave him a list of items to get :D

I will do specific reviews for some of them but now I'm just showing you what I (he) got.

These are the Gentle Foaming Hand Soaps from Bath and Body Works. They were 4 for $18 when my Dad got them. I'm not sure if that's sales price but I feel like BBW always has some kind of sales. I really wanted the Pink Vanilla Macaroon one but they ran out ;'( So my Dad got Warm Vanilla Sugar instead. 

I'm actually using warm vanilla sugar now. I don't know what to feel about it because I like vanilla and  this has vanilla but it's not my favorite scent.

I have also tried out Caribbean Escape. It's SO fruity. I know this is one of the shop's spring/summer bestseller but I personally am not a fan of fruity scents. So I gave this to my mom to use.

Hey I just realized that I kind of like this towel for my background since I don't have a fixed background where I do reviews and hauls...

Anyway, my dad also helped me get the Revlon Photoready Foundation in Medium Beige. Unfortunately, this is too dark for my skin. I tried it out in Singapore and it's the exact same name and number but the color is just soooo different. I'm kind of disappointed because I was really looking forward to using this! I've actually started using this by mixing in with a lighter foundation and I think the coverage is better than when I mix the Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Benefit foundation with the lighter foundation. I'd have to keep using it and see how it goes. 

My dad brought two of these and I plan to sell the other one away. If you're in SAS and you think your skin color matches this, please talk to me if you are thinking of buying it!

One of the products that I am most excited about is this Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. I heard LOTS of good stuff on Youtube about this product and I am really excited to use this! It says that it is waterproof and I really think that it's going to be the eyeliner that I can always depend on.

It's really black as you can see.

Another product I was absolutely ecstatic about when my dad got it back for me is the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm. I heard the matte collection is fairly new. I think this is amazing and being a "balm", it is extremely pigmented. If you scroll down, you'd see a swatch of it and that was when I barely applied any force. This is 250 Standout.

The last product I have is the Bubblegum lip scrub from Lush. This smells absolutely AMAZING. It truly smells like bubblegum and it's extremely yummy. I'm totally in love with this. 

That is all I have! Thanks for reading. (:

Review: Empties (Winter 2013-2014)

Hi guys!

Spring is here (or almost here) and it's time to write a post on my empties over the winter. I've used up quite a number of products so here goes.

This is the Body Shop's Spiced Vanilla Body Lotion. I got this a longggggg time ago in December 2012. I never used this much until this year because my skin is really dry during winter. I didn't use this in when I was in Singapore because I really didn't need it. Also, I think this is limited edition since it was only available during the Christmas season. I like this scent much more than the Vanilla Bliss body butter that I have. Somehow, the Vanilla Bliss body butter smells kind of... "burnt". I'm not sure if it's because I have not used that for a really long time and the scent has changed or if that's just how the scent it is supposed to be.

Another product that I have used up from The Body Shop is the Strawberry Shower Gel. It's really sweet and fruity but it's not a sickening kind of fruity scent. I did get a little bored of it towards the end of the bottle and I just wanted to finish it up. I still have another one of this but I'll probably give it to my mom to use since it's not my absolute favorite scent. I also find that this shower gel does not foam up a lot... I know a lot of people love TBS shower gels but I think I have not found something I am very drawn to yet! I look forward to trying out the Honeymania shower gels and the other body products because I LOVE honey scented things. 

The last product I have used up from The Body Shop is the Vitamin E Moisture Cream. I think I have gone through a couple of these already. I really like this because it's in a plastic container and it's extremely convenient to bring around and it's not heavy. I can just put it in my makeup bag and bring it to school. I feel that this is really moisturizing since it's oil based. 

The next product I have used up is from Tonymoly, a Korean brand. It's the Peach Anti-Aging Hand Cream. It smells amazing and if you love peach scents, this is perfect. It's also not very greasy. The product is only at the bottom half of the packaging, it may be slightly deceiving if you did not know about it. But overall, this hand cream is really nice.

I'm a lip balm junkie and I'm always trying out new lip balms. I got a few Nivea Essential Care lip balms. I have actually used up 2 already and I'm on my last one. I just go through lips balms really quickly. I think this is going to be my new favorite lip balm because it is SUPER moisturizing. And I think I only got it for 4 bucks in Singapore which was really inexpensive. I really recommend this lip balm to you!

Another lip product I have emptied is the Vaseline pure petroleum jelly. It's just like a lip balm but you can apply it much thicker on your lips and leave it on overnight. I used to have chapped lips when I wake up the next morning and lip balms were not effective enough. But now, my lips are in a pretty good condition ;)

The Silk Scarf Repair Hair Essence from Etude House is another Korean product that I have finished using. It's basically a hair serum. I have never actually used hair serums before this, which is probably why my hair never grew. So ever since I started using this, I have seriously seen great improvement in the health of my hair. It also instantaneously leaves a shine to my hair and my hair just feels so smooth after I use it. It also smells good but the scent is really subtle and you can't smell it unless you put your face into my hair. I have a love-hate relationship with the packaging. It's really small (60ml) and I can put it in my travel bag wherever I go. The cap also does not come off too easily. I just really dislike the font color used on the packaging. I was checking if the amount was less than 100ml so that I could bring it with me on the plane and it took me so long to find it. The font just totally blends into the label. Other than that, I have really enjoyed this product. I will move on and try out other hair serums because I always like trying out new stuff.

I have also used up the MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation. I have a whole review for it already and you can check it out here: http://itsjennyzhu.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-mac-studio-sculpt-spf-15.html

I am extremely proud to say that I have finished burning a candle. This is Christmas Cookie by Yankee Candle. It didn't smell as nice as I expected it to and the smell is very faint compared to Bath and Body Works candles. I have another unused Yankee Candle called Vanilla Cupcake and I think that smells much better than this. So get Vanilla Cupcake instead of this if you want a Yankee Candle. (:

That will be all! Thanks for reading :)

Other links related to some products:
Tony Moly Haul
Etude House Haul

DIY: Brush Holder!

Hi guys!

Ever wondered what you can do with an empty candle glass jar?

Well I made it into my own makeup brush holder and here's how you can do it:

So I have finished burning Christmas Cookie by Yankee Candle.

Firstly, put the jar into the freezer for a couple of hours. I left mine in the freezer for about 3 hours. It will be much easier to take the remaining wax that cannot be burned out.

Use a knife to loosen the wax. I used a pair of scissors because I didn't have a knife handy. So just press on the wax at the side of the jar, and pull the wax out by holding on the candle wick.

Peel off the label and wash the jar out using hand soap. Use the rough part of a dishwashing sponge together with the hand soap to remove the paper label at the bottom of the jar and the stickiness left from the label. 

Now, just fill the jar with whatever you like! I wanted to fill it up with plant filler beads initially but I didn't have them. So, I used folded paper stars and filled them to the top. I made these paper stars a long time ago. It's kind of like a childhood thing to me. The downside to this is that it is softer than plant filler beads so it is more difficult for the brushes to stand upright. 

Yup and that's it. I'm horrible at doing artsy crafts but trust me, this is so simple. I got it done in less than half an hour (not counting the time I left it in the freezer). 

So girls, give this a go and thanks for reading!