Collective Haul and Giveaway Wins. Pic heavy!

Hello friends! I am back. And refreshed, sort of. Ah, not really. Going back to work was hard. Visiting my family back home was a nice break and hanging out with my mom and going shopping with her and having . I didn't do much Black Friday shopping this year and I'm glad because i went one year and it was outrageous. I actually did tag along to Best Buy with my brother at 1am but we saw the line wrap around the store twice. We left.

LOVE Sriracha! It's a popular Asian chili, aka sauce with the rooster logo, aka Vietnamese chili, aka the chili I can't live without.

Leftover turkey omelet and mashed potatoes.

My only Black Friday purchase! A wireless mouse for my laptop :)

My brother's a bit of a rubix cube lover. Here's a 6x6! This was like $60! 

Here is the skincare stuff I acquired over the last few months! I don't shop frequently, but when i do, I hoard.

I heard a ton of great reviews from several bloggers about Nuxe Skincare so I decided to try it. I purchased both the liquid lotions because I love the feel of these on the skin. They're uber hydrating and smell amazing! Will review both soon! =)

My mom gave me this moisturizer. It's a little too rich, but it feels nice and has a pretty scent.

Shiseido White Lucent Emulsion -  This stuff is actually really good. I plan on reviewing the entire White Lucent line for you guys, so hang on!

Shiseido Bio Performance Night Cream - Another night cream to try. I'm running out of my Naruko one so I decided to try this. I haven't opened it yet, but I hope it doesn't disappoint. I've read amazing reviews about this stuff!

La Prairie Cellular Eye Contour Cream - My very first La Prairie product! I'm hoping it lives up to the hype. Of prevention, that is!

I got this a week ago. I'm liking this so far! :)

I was also really fortunate to win 2 giveaways within the month! The first one is from Vintage Makeup. She is so sweet. It was a Twitter win!

Stila Convertible Eye Color in Lilac. It's a dual eyeshadow and liner. It's a gorgeous plum shade isn't it? :)

And my next win is from Mayaari. I won some of her handmade goodies from her shop, DC Bijou. She makes adorable cosmetic pouches, hair accessories and jewelry. Check out her Etsy shop here. =)

Cute!!!! This is going in my purse! 

Masks, and other samples!

She added a Maybelline eyeshadow palette! I love the colors! I'm excited to try this.

And a lip gloss charm from Missha~! Love!

I bought my cat Bacon a new home yesterday! It was only $12 at Kohl's! Cute? LOL The brand is Animal Planet. If you buy it online, it's like $10 or something, but I couldn't wait!

One more thing....to stir your sweet tooth ;)

Cupcakes Babaloo brought :) OMG, it was delicious!!!!!!!!!! Check out Frost Cupcake Factory here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be grateful for this year, and it continues to grow day after day. I look back to the beginning to this year and realized how much happy days I've had. My blog has grown tremendously thanks to this community of bloggers. I can't imagine how life would be without it now!

Going to be taking a road trip to visit my family tomorrow. We're driving at 4am... it's going to be looong, but I'm excited! 

Have a good one! Stay safe. Be merry. And eat!!!!!!!!!!! <3 

Below are some paintings from Thomas Kinkade. You may have seen these in calendars. His work is pretty mass produced, LOL :) I found these fitting for the holiday. Enjoy!

"Autumn Lane" by Thomas Kinkade

Not sure what this is titled! o_o

Tag! The A-Z of Me

I was inspired by Laura from The Blog of Worldly Delights and her lovely little factoids about ze person behind the blog =D And what the hell, it's the start of the week. I love tags!


A. Age: 25
B. Bed size: Not big enough, that's for sure!
C. Chore that you hate: I'm not a big fan cleaning my cat's litter box, but I haz to. 
D. Dogs: Someday!
E. Essential start to your day: My day doesn't start if I don't have a piping hot cup of English breakfast in the morning. 
F. Favorite color: Greys, browns, pinks
G. Gold or Silver: Silver, although antique golds are lovely.
H. Height: 5'4 - not tall by most standards, but most of my other family members pale in comparison to my towering Amazonian height. (lol, it's true.)
I. Instruments you play: I wish I could say I play the harp or the ukulele or the banjo, but I'm going to have to take the cliche route - Writing is my instrument. [insert lame comment here] 
J. Job title: Staff Accountant 
K. Kids: None yet!
L. Live: I live in the Silicon Valley - home to nearly all the major tech companies. 
M. Mother’s name: I call her my mother :)
N. Nicknames: Anything derived from Jennifer, I guess!
O. Overnight hospital stays: Luckily, none so far =)
P. Pet peeves: Using desk items (a la grown up school supplies) as paperweights. One example from work... I hate coming in find papers on my chair with a stapler on top of it. Like I'd totally miss it and sit on the papers if the stapler wasn't there. 
Q. Quote from a movie: "If I wasn't a cop anymore, I would still go out with a gun and shoot people", from Bridesmaids!
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Stores you love: Online. Shopping. 
T. Time you wake up: My alarm is set at 6:30am, but I usually snooze it till 7:30. I'm human. 
U. Underwear: Duh! 
V. Vegetable you hate: I hate bean sprouts... they're watery and look like sticks
W. What makes you run late: Dressing myself. I'm not fashionable in any sense, so I stick to my cardigans. It just takes so much time to put it together! lol
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental ones
Y. Yummy food that you make: Dumplings, lemon bars, sammiches =P 
Z. Zoo animal: I love potbellied pigs! :D 

- 5 things Tag - 

1. I'm no photographer but I'm loving the filters on Instagram for making my photos look antique and awesome!

source: Google

2. Michael Fassbender is the love of my life. He is sooooooooo devastatingly gorgeous! He's really down to earth and a serious actor and not into all that Hollywood crap. Not that I know, I've never met him! And he's outofthisworld insanely hot.  I cannot wait to see him in Shame this December. I lovez Fassy. <3 *sigh*
And he's in this month's cover of GQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Must buy! LOL (he brings out the 14 year old in me)

Source: GOOGLE

3. I love to buy candles and scented oils for burning.

SOURCE: GOOGLE

4. Grinding the joy out of the literature is something I indulge in. I love everything from the canonized classics of Milton, Dickens and Steinbeck to poets like Blake and Keats. I think my love for literature stemmed when I discovered Kafka in my teens. There is something so unique about his stories - the irony, the simple words, allegorical themes. You find yourself smiling, although never really laughing, at the dark humor he implants in his writings. He was my emotional sustenance and literary hero.

SOURCE: Google

5. I love lighthouses and castles! 

Source: Google 

I've actually been to this lighthouse in Pigeon Point, CA! =)

Source: Google - Scottish Castles

I'd love to read about you guys! If you do this tag, link me so I can read it :) Or do it here in the comments! haha

  

Thrifty Makeup Removers

Makeup removers have been known to be one of the best investments for your skin! I am pretty thrifty when it comes to buying them though, because I've seen many inexpensive ones that do a fantastic job. Better than fantastic because they're affordable and easily accessible. Who doesn't love that?!

Here are three of my picks:

 Sephora Waterproof Makeup Remover, $6.00 for 1.69oz, $9.50 for 4.2oz is a plant based eye makeup remover that has a dual oil and water phase that you have to shake up to use (much like the Lancome Bifacil, but much cheaper). It's really gentle on the skin, and good for people with sensitive eyes and/or contact lens wearers.

Before: Lipstain, waterproof gel liner with glitter, waterproof mascara, lipstick

Most of the makeup came off after using 3 cotton squares. It's highly unlikely I'll ever wear this much makeup ever. But I guess I have some sense of security knowing that I could. It's ideal for eye makeup but it's pretty good with everything else.

Biore Cleansing Oil, $13.99 for 5oz is a Japanese drugstore cleansing oil that removes everything! Unfortunately, the Biore products in the US and Japan are so incredibly different! The ones from Japan have the cutest packaging and cool formulas. This one has a fruity scent, but not really bothersome or strong.

To use this oil, you dispense a few pumps into your hands and massage your face dry. Use a little water to emulsify the oils, and the makeup should slowly come off. Rinse off and follow with a gentle cleanser. 

I never appreciated cleansing oils until recently. I never understood how to use them before, but once I learned how, I realized how wonderful it is... everything comes off!

Took off some of the remaining residue that the Sephora one couldn't pick up. I cleaned the left side of my arm. 

And finally, here is the most thriftiest of thrifts! Brace yourself for.........

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Yep! You've probably seen this on Youtube and in a vast amount of beauty blogs, discussion boards and whatnot. But olive oil is truly, truly the best one to use. Not only is it affordable, it's also super easy to find. 

I get the Extra Virgin bottle because it is the most readily available one in my grocer and is of the highest grade for olive oil, but you can choose fancy schmancy ones like Extra Virgin that's cold pressed, 1st pressed, which basically means that the oil was never heated to a certain temp making it the most meticulous method of extracting the oil. 

This was like $7.99 or something. Do the same as you would with a cleansing oil and be surprised! 

These are all amazing makeup removers and equally as good as the pricier ones. I'm looking at you, Shu Uemura!

Goodnight!