spring 2013 taobao mini haul KITAAAAAAAAAAAAA━━━(゜∀゜)━━━!!! beep beep beep beep beep

So chocolatey!!
This haul may be small, but I'll have you know it's truly, truly outrageous (A SPRINGY FANTASY)
 

Ahem. It's breakdown time~

 

Convertible floppy hat by 夫车马

I've been in need of one of these for a long time, mostly for practical keep-the-sun-off-face-and-neck purposes. And the brim on this lovely hat can be folded down for those needs! Unfortunately it's not really photogenic when it's flopped out like that...

 Yellow cross-strap flowery dress by lucky house

SO SWEET! Another great find from lucky house!! This dress has the cutest details. I am loving the countryesque, springy aesthetic, the ruffles and lace, the flower pattern (super flowery at the bottom, and then a sparse scattering of flowers and petals at the top, as if they're being blown into the wind.)

MILK DAIRY DIARY "book-style" purse by 娟子时尚女人坊

 Such a cute idea! I absolutely love the shape of the bag, the design, everything. I do wish the storage compartments were bigger, but I have my bottomless satchel bag for that purpose, I guess. Interestingly, my wallet is also shaped like a book...!!!!!!
If you would believe it, there's a little book inside my (enormous) book-shaped wallet as well.
A BOOK IN A BOOK IN A BOOK. Madness!

 Bear hat by 盼盼帽业

 Roar! I'm really a rabbit, but I can be a bear too, really. It just depends on my mood, but this hat helps.

Comfy pleated culottes by nanalcollection店

These are quite comfy indeed, but contrary to its cute pleated skirt look, this is actually a pair of shorts. Hello, secret shorts samurai cybersquad. Who's with me??

 Retro side-zip booties by 季小莫家 Zee Amor

Love the convenience of the side-zip on these, so I can keep 'em permanently laced. The opening is wide enough to allow for slipping them on, too. Laces?! Who needs 'em!

After a 'test flight,' I'm none too happy about how they messed up my socks, though. I wore them for a brief errand out to break them in, and when I took them off the toes of my OTK beige socks were spotted with black, and somehow the teeth of the side zipper had snagged on some of the threads on the side of the sock ankle and pulled them out a bit. Now it's all loopy >( So I guess I'll have to be more careful next time, and wear socks that I don't mind getting funky...

CURRENTLY MY JAM~~~

day by day.... BB cream diary

4/17 Wednesday
 YAHAAA! A new face, same place??
I've been using Clinique BB cream in 01 for two years now. It's been a good match for my sensitive/combination skin, but at $40 a pop and 2-3 tubes a year... yeah. Not what I'd call a sustainable habit, and it doesn't really blow me away enough to continue shelling out $$. My most recently purchased tube is bottoming out, so I've been shopping around for something new and found~~

 

Skinfood's Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream
It's about $19, ships quick, (from K WAVE USA) SPF 20 PA+, and advertises triple skin benefits of whitening, anti-aging, and sun blocking. I was mostly on the prowl for a cream that would suit my skin tone though, which is difficult to come by -- even if I hit the local drug stores -- since everything  too much on the warm side. Not being able to test it first, I was honestly a little anxious.

 Some off-the cuff observations:

• The tube is slightly larger than the Clinique BB I'm using, but they both have the same amount of product. (1.7oz/50g)
• Mushrooms are cute.
• I'm having second thoughts, though. What if it actually smells like musty shrooms?
• The lid seems to be made of cardboard -- it seems pretty sturdy, but I hope it'll hold up. Neat insignia on the bottom. The design of the entire bottle is pretty neat.
• Will the 'whitening' component make me even whiter?
• Is that font Comic Sans MS?!

 

 It's too late to try the cream, unfortunately, as I've just showered and scrubbed off all my makeup for the day. I smoothed a drop on the back of my hand and it seems to blend well. It does look similar to the Clinique BB in terms of color and texture. It's very light, a bit shiny, and has a floral scent that starts off more juicy green plant-y. So it doesn't smell like shiitakes soaking in water or something...good! I was actually expecting something more earthy.

 My Tonymoly Cat Chu Wink lipstick in #5 Red Cat came, too!!!!!! All I gotta say is ME-OW.

 Well, g'night! I'm gonna take these for a spin tomorrow~







4/18 Thursday
Bike commute to work again. Chilly morning. Lots of sunblock as usual, moisturizer, and let's slap on dat BB.

 Skinfood on the left, Clinique on the right.

It feels really nice. It's silky, smoothing, evened out my skin tone (which is pink and a little blotchy this morning, ew) and even though I was put off by the fragrance at first, it only took a few minutes for me to not be able to notice it at all. It looks to be a warmer shade on my face when compared with the Clinique BB, but when blended well this doesn't seem to be an issue.

Then the Cat Chu Wink...  TRIPLE THREAT!! Because 'double' just doesn't sound as good. Um, um, I gotta find something else for the third thing. OK, rabbit hoodie it is!!

YES

 Not drying, cute pop of color, and doesn't highlight the flaws in my lips, which are numerous! Doesn't seem as if it will be long-wearing, though, and especially since I am constantly drinking water all day, I have a feeling reapplications will be in order. My biggest beef with this otherwise adorable and useful product is that the lipstick is just so damn hard to roll up! I played with the tube for five minutes until I was able to get the stick to pop up. I tried again and couldn't replicate my technique to push it up, so I just fiddled with it until it came up again somehow. I sure hope it isn't broken.

Before I head off, here's some easy listening cuteness for you:

I particularly enjoyed the comment by a certain YouTube user which read:

"Im a fucking punk!! So fucking punk!!!  Destroy everythi... OMFG Taeyeon is so fucking CUTE!!"

warning-- THIS POST IS SPRINGY!! coming taobao haul & cosmetics fun

Birds are chirping! Rabbits are hopping! Buds are bursting! Worms are worming!
After six months of snow and nose icicles (arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhh) finally the warm springy weather is upon us here in Cow Countryland!



Or at least it was?? The weather was all warm and shiny and it was just like, how super nice to BE. I took a small nap in the sun, and even biked to work a few days this week -- new bike! --

Wahaaha, pimp my ride

 ... that is, until the thunderstorms and 50MPH winds started. The April showers are upon us now. So be it, but bring on the May flowers, dammit! Oh, my aching bones~

I have a miniature TaoBao haul comin' in soon too! It's rather.... chocolatey? EXCITEMENT!

& speaking of chocolatey, I've got a sweet tooth for springy, poppin' Korean cosmetics and it's aching really bad!Too bad I don't have dental insurance............. well, window shopping for now! INTERNETS window shopping, clearly. Derp derp

( L to R )
top row: Skinfood Honey Pot Lip Balm #3, Tonymoly Pocket Bunny Mist, Etude House Secret Beam Highlighter #1 Pink White Mix, Tonymoly Latte Art Cappuccino Cream-In Scrub,  Tonymoly Water Jelly Tint #2

middle row: Tonymoly Cats Wink Clear Pact #1, Skinfood Good Afternoon Peach Green Tea BB Cream #2, Tonymoly Mini Bunny Hand Cream, Etude House Lash Perm 3 step Volumecara

bottom row: Tonymoly Hello Bunny Perfume Bars, Tonymoly Clean Dew Broccoli Sprout Cleansing Cream, Etude House Vanilla Moist Eye's Cream, Etude House Sweet Recipe Chocolate Highlighter

tonymoly's petite bunny gloss sticks!

hi there! 안녕하세요!

i have some new buddies from korea! courtesy of a good friend--
petite bunny lip gloss bars by tonymoly.
i've recently discovered this brand, and am a big fan of both their use of all-natural ingredients, such as fruit and vegetable extracts, and their adorable presentation style!

you want the cute?
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE CUTE!! even though some have observed they resemble bunnified tampons!?

extract properties:

#1 juicy strawberry: prevents skin trouble, refines pores.
#2 juicy grape: contains potent antioxidants, regenerates cells
#3 juicy apple: pectin fortifies pores
#4 juicy cherry: has whitening and anti-aging properties
#5 juicy peach: prevents dry skin, strengthens skin immunity
#6 juicy orange: has abundant vitamin C, whitening for radiant skin

& some newcomer cuties! the neon sisters: neon orange, neon yellow, and neon red. their 'skin benefits' are a mystery to me!

speaking only from my experience with my dears, sassy #3 and angry #4:

packaging
OMG. speaking from the perspective of someone with a rabbity predilection: grabby hands. strength is irrelevant. resistance is futile. cutest glosses i have ever seen.

pigment
the colors go on subtly, very glossy and shiny. i found i did have to reapply a few times to get them to show up clearly. these are great for daily wear. true to packaging, #3 has a more purple-y, magenta hue. cherry is a pinkish red, but again, both colors deepen through further application.

swatches

#3 apple in natural lighting.

#4 cherry in gross incandescent lighting :(

feel
it's a solid, lipstick-style roll on. feels nice and smooth on your lips, and don't make them all dry and crackly like some other stick glosses i've tried. i always like to put a little clear lip balm on first to make the flaws of my lips stand out less, though.

scent
 they both have a light and fruity scent, though #3 is hardly as apple-y as I would expect it to be (before I knew what it was, I was calling it 'indistinguishable tasty fruit' or just pretending it was something exotic like mangosteen...)

so... in summation.
they have a highly collectible look, which is tempting, but as much as i love them, i'm not sure that the colours are different enough to really be worth buying every single shade (unless you really really want to, just to keep all those cute faces!) i do want to check out the #1 light pink still.

where to buy??
yesstyle
ebay
pretty and cute 

i'm looking forward to posting about more tonymoly products as well!!