Review: Nature Republic Super Origin Complete Control CC Cream: Color Change SPF 30 PA ++

Hey friennnnnnds! One more midterm and then I'm officially done with them! As a break from studying I thought I'd review my current every day foundation/bb/cc/concealer-type of makeup. I picked this up during my trip to Hawaii and if you're curious as to what else I picked up and spent my money on then... the link is right here! 

Unboxing: Memebox Special Box #18: Smile Care

Hey friends! I'm in the midst of studying for midterms and completing assignments and homework so I'm sorry for my lack of blogging. School is seriously kicking my butt and hopefully after the next 3 weeks I'll actually be able to finally take a break and actually breathe. Anyways, today was an exception to my lack of contribution to the blogosphere- Memebox recently sent me their 18th Special Box for an unboxing post and I thought that it'd only be courteous of me to share with you what is inside this little guy! 

Wednesday's Wishlist: #3

Hi all! 

It's been a long while since I've done a wishlist post so I thought I'd bring it back! (For this week at least..) Honestly, finding items that I really truly want has become quite a struggle for me, as I've realized that I already have a great deal of makeup / skincare / clothing items in my collection. These days I've been more about looking for staple items that I can really solidify my wardrobe and beauty needs with. 

Life Update: My First Week at University

Today's post will be a bit of a personal one as it doesn't fall within the typical fashion or beauty based posts that I normally blog about. Most of you probably didn't know that I finished my first week, or three days actually, of post secondary education yesterday. I thought I'd share my experience with those who are curious and thought that this could be something I could look back on!

Fall Fashion Inspiration / 1

The period of crunchy leaves, crisp air, and the sense of back-to-school is quietly, but quickly approaching us. Today I wanted to share a few images of some looks that I'm personally excited to experiment with, and hopefully you'll be able to find some inspiration to update your wardrobe with too!

 death by electrocution

Review: The Face Shop Face It Waterproof BB SPF 50+/PA+++ in 02 Natural Beige

Hello everyone, today I'll be reviewing my current favourite BB cream that I have in my collection. This review has kind of been long in the works as I've been trying to steer away from strictly review posts on this blog! Anyways, let's continue.

50 mL of product 

What I Would Wear - 1: 25 Degree Weather

I'm not sure about how the weather is like wherever you're at, but even though the summer is technically winding down, I'm still experiencing some serious heat. Even though I claim "catconfesses" to be a beauty, fashion, and lifestyle blog.. I've definitely been lagging a lot in the latter two. Today I'll be sharing some fashion picks that I would wear in 25 degree plus weather and hopefully give you some inspiration in your last minute summer outfits before the fall comes full force with cable knits, cardigans, and cute booties! 

Beauty Corner

I try and find things to busy myself during the summer and cleaning and reorganizing my beauty corner was definitely something I should have done a long time ago. Come explore with me!  

Here is where I get ready every morning- is it bad that I don't remember the last time I cleaned this out? 

 All cleeeeeeeeeean! I ended up throwing out a lot of makeup that I haven't touched in a long while- just because of all the upgrades that I've gotten over the last few weeks. 

July 2014 Beauty Favourites

Hi everyone! Since I've been picking up new products here and there I've discovered some new favourites that I'd like to share with you all. This summer has been a really sweaty and hot one for me- from travelling to Hawaii and I've even been enduring some crazy heat here back at home too. Anyways, I've been using this products on an almost-daily basis which I think is enough proof to say that I'm really enjoying them! 

Midsummer Playlist 2014

Heya! Thought I'd mix my content up and share with you some songs I've been jamming to ever since summer has started! Lots of these are oldies but are still definitely good! If y'all don't know- my taste in music definitely ranges. I'm into just about everything with a few exceptions here and there. If you have any suggestions as to what I should be listening to, leave them done below and we can definitely swap favourite songs and artists! Click to listen!

• 1901 - Phoenix 
• Alive - Empire of the Sun 
• Wasted (ft. Matthew Koma) -Tiesto 
• Carried Away (Tiesto Remix) - Passion Pit
• No Faith in Brooklyn (ft. Jhameel) - Hoodie Allen
• Mason Jar - Smallpools
• Sleeping with a Friend - Neon Trees
• Dreaming - Smallpools
• Changing of the Seasons - Two Door Cinema Club
• Riptide (Flicflac edit) - Vance Joy
• Shiver Shiver - Walk the Moon 
• Riptide - Walk the Moon 
• Girls - The 1975
• We Come Running - Youngblood Hawke
• & quite possibly my fave, Resting Stone - Jhameel 

Korean Cosmetics Haul: Nature Republic & Tony Moly

Hi everyone! I'm back from my little trip to Honolulu and even though I had a great and relaxing time on the beaches and soaking up the sun, I'm super glad to be back home. I've been meaning to get this haul up for a few days now, but the weather has been weird here so the natural lighting that I use in my photographs are off. Today was not different, but I was getting annoyed and impatient and thought whatever; it's just a haul anyways. 

While I was in Hawaii I had the opportunity to shop in both Nature Republic and Tony Moly stores! This was honestly such a treat to me since I do 99% of my Korean cosmetic shopping online or in the 2 The Face Shop stores I have here. I had the chance to visit Tony Moly once on my 7 day trip but I got to visit Nature Republic a few times more.. hence why this haul is basically me throwing all of my American cash at them and their products. Plus, I don't know about you guys but I find shopping for Nature Republic online is quite difficult, as the online store I frequent don't carry a lot or any product of the brand. 

WELLLLLLL- here we go then! 

Review: Aritaum Full Cover Liquid Concealer 02 Natural Beige

Hi everyone! Today I'll be reviewing one of the three concealers that's a part of Aritaum's Full Cover line up. This line captured my attention through a Youtube video I saw of a girl with troubled skin demonstrating this line's capabilities through the Full Cover BB. The Full Cover line not only includes 3 different concealers and a BB cream, but also a finishing spray; all which can be purchased here.

Wednesday's Wishlist: #2 Hawaii Edition

As you all should know, I'm headed to Hawaii tomorrow! This will be my first time going and I can honestly say I haven't been this excited for anything in a really long time now. I can't wait to see and be on a real beach and smell the ocean and be in the waters and just experience something new for 7 whole days. Travelling excites me like nothing else and I'm so happy that I'm able to do this trip with my loved ones. Anyways, today's wishlist will be a little different because it's what I want to see/do/buy while visiting Honolulu :)

1. Experience aquatic life  - I've always heard about people talking about snorkeling or scuba diving and coming to see underwater life like turtles and tropical fish and that would probably be one of the weirdest and most OMG memories ever.

2. Tan- or not tan, but mostly be on the beach - Beach life just seems so weird and unreal to me because well, I've never been to one or seen one in person, well, not a tropical one at least. The pictures of beaches I've seen are all so beautiful and relaxed looking so being a beach bum is FOR SURE something I'll be doing in this next week :)

3. EAT TONS - Not that I don't already.. but vacationing for my family always means eating out- and eating food that we wouldn't normally experience. Coming from an unadventurous Chinese family, eating different ethnic foods out of the Asian range is something we normally don't do so going on vacations is always something I look forward to because I get to eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat and eat and eat and then come home and feel semi bad about it haha! I seriously cannot wait to have seafood though. And KBBQ, because I've heard that there's lots of  that down there!

4. Visit Tony Moly + Nature Republic - This is seriously one of the things that absolutely HAVE to be done within this next week. Once I learned that there are physical TM and NR stores in Honolulu and I nearly died. Plus, I'm totally digging that everything is within walking distance in and around Waikiki. Love love love love love love it! And then I can't wait to pick up goodies and bring em home and share them all with you!

5. Visit China/Korea/Japan/Any sort of Asian Town - This has also kind of become a tradition with me and my family whenever we visit a new city- we always like to scope out other Asian communities. My mom is super excited about this because of all the markets and the fruits that will be sold at hopefully good prices. I'm personally excited for all of the food, but hey!

6. Do some shopping - I'm definitely planning on visiting the Ala Moana shopping centre and the Waikele outlets.. I mean, 7 days in Hawaii... you'd have to be surprised if I didn't shop for at least 24 hours of the 168 that I'll be on American soil.

7. Do some type of water sport - Whether that be surfing or parasailing or anything really.. I'm just excited to be out in the water!

Anyways! That's all for today and I probably won't be able to sleep at all tonight because 1) I'll be too excited and 2) I have a super early flight. The next time you'll be hearing from I'll definitely be tanner and probably weigh quite a bit more too!

Thanks for reading and until next time!

xoxoxooxoxoxox Cat

Week #2 Essentials

Heya! This week's list of essentials will be super short and sweet. I've mostly been at home and relaxing since last week was pretty hectic for me, hence why I didn't do any blogging. I apologize!

Anyways! As you can see, my week mainly consisted of work out essentials. I've been really slacking with exercise ever since I stopped dancing and I've seriously been noticing a difference with my body  and how sluggish I've been feeling. It's definitely hard to get back on track after taking a long break from things but I'm super determined this summer to change my ways and hopefully get back to where I used to be. 

Week #1 Essentials

Hi hi hi! I'm taking a super short study break to write up a quick post for y'all. Sooo, I've been following Kate from ghostparties for a while now, and every week she does a "This Week's Most Loved" mainly revolving around beauty and cosmetics. I thought I'd take her idea and give it a spin of my own- including beauty, lifestyle and miscellaneous items!

May + June Korean Cosmetics Haul

Heya! I know it's beeeeeeeeen forever, but please forgive me! My life has been super hectic recently, with finishing up courses, flex weighted exams, grad banquet + commencement, and now government issued examinations right around the corner! I definitely won't be regularly blogging for the next 2 weeks I'm thinking, but I thought that I'd try and squeeze in a post before I'm gone again. Today I'll be sharing with you some of the products that I picked up over the months of May + June. 

Wednesday's Wishlist: #1 Long-time Lusts

HEYA! How are y'all doing today? Anyways, today I want to try this new wishlist series thing that was inspired by one of my favourite beauty bloggers Michelle from jsthero! If you've been with me for awhile then you might remember me asking her about her thoughts on The Face Shop's Chia Seed Sebum Control Moisture Cream that I reviewed here.  She recently just made a Facebook page where she can connect with her readers, and she's on Bloglovin' now too! Please check her out, her blog is crazy cute and her pictures are divine :)

Anywho,
I do realize that I have a Wishlist tab which is a part of my nav bar on my blog but I thought that this series would be a way for me to keep actively blogging, especially when I don't have any reviews/hauls/other posts that week. Anyways, this series will feature products that I've been lusting for that week!

18th Birthday Haul

Not only was I blessed with snow on this fine day, but I was also blessed with a few gifts from the most important people in my life: my family and friends. It's been awhile since I last posted, so I thought I'd share with you the goodies I received!

Korean Cosmetics Haul from Honest Skin & Site Review

Heya! Today I'll be sharing with y'all some items that I recently picked up from honestskin.com! The website is also fairly new so I'll be doing a little site review that'll feature my thoughts on its customer service, site, prices, and its variety of cosmetics offered. If you're interested, keep reading! :) 

At a Glance: Its Skin Power 10 Formula LI Effector

My "At a Glance" series will include short snippets and blurbs on products that I'm introduced to / or interested in! This series will follow my pre-trial thoughts on the product and why as to I'm interested in it. These aren't reviews! Think of these posts as a tour of my wishlist and my  justification as to why I should be getting it haha :) 

Hey hi hello!
I hope y'all are doing well and are enjoying your day :)

Today I want to talk about serums. Well, a specific line of serums. I'm sure all of you recognize Its Skin's Power 10 Line- as it offers a buttload of serums that are specially catered to an individual's skin care concerns. Personally, I've been using their VB Effector for almost a year now, and I go through weird phases of its effectiveness with my skin. The VB serum is directed for people suffering from an imbalance of oil/sebum so it seems like it'd be the perfect product for my skin. Some days I really take time out of my day to question whether it has helped with my skin's condition, but on others, I try and convince myself that it has helped... Either way, my bottle is almost empty which means I'm in need of another.

While proof reading this post, I've realized that it definitely doesn't fall under it being a "snippet" or "blurb" haha.. it might as well be a full blown essay. Y'all are warned!

(EDIT/SHORT REVIEW: I've been using this since the end of May and while I haven't been applying this stuff twice every single day- I've noticed a dramatic decrease in my past acne scarring and any redness I've been suffering from. From the end of May until now, my skin care routine has consisted of a gentle acne cleanser which contains a bit of salicylic acid. I've also occasionally been using a relatively strong salicylic/glycolic acid based toner which also aids in the process of exfoliating dead skin; thus any scarring I had. While I have been using other products to help with my scarring, I truly believe in this serum's capabilities in decreasing any pigmentation spots. I normally use this serum after applying a generic toner (recently being Etude House's Wonder Pore Freshner). If my skin is feeling dry that day then I will use a full dropper's worth of product- as the serum itself is quite thick and oily. On days where my skin is feeling more hydrated, I only use a maximum of 3 drops. If you are looking for a lengthier review of this product I would highly recommend visiting this review written by SampleHime; who also includes pictures of how this product has changed her skin. If you are wondering about the type of skin I have- I typically have combination skin leaning towards the oilier end. I suffer from large pores, sensitivity, and am quite acne prone. This serum did not irritate my skin at all and I would definitely repurchase it. I purchased this product here for $10-11.) 

Small Korean Cosmetics Haul: The Face Shop

SOOOO, today I'n going to be sharing a small haul with y'all! The Face Shop recently opened what I believe is their second store in Canada- that being in my local mall! It's been awhile since I've been excited, and I was even more excited when I actually set foot into the actual store. :) 

They were having a super great promotion sale which my mum and I had to take advantage of! The original prices of the products themselves were pretty cheap and I think they reflect their original Korean prices. The only products that I noticed a price difference was with the skincare products and the BB/CC creams; I've seen those products offered online for cheaper prices. ANYWAYS, we both spent $45 each and got $15 reduced from that... so we spent a total of $60 :)))) 

Review: Skinfood Vita Color Lipsticks: OR02 Grapefruit Toktok & PK03 Sakura Peach

If any of you know me, you'd know that I'm not a big fan of lip colors, mostly because I have super pigmented lips and anything that isn't a moisturizing balm isn't really my style. This year though, I thought that I'd branch out and test out color. I picked out these lip sticks from Skinfood mainly because they're advertised as being glossy, plus the packaging is super freaking adorable, and totally up my alley! 

You can find these lip sticks here for around $11. The two that I'll be reviewing today are OR02 Grapefruit Toktok and PK03 Sakura Peach :) 

Updated Skincare Routine ft. Korean brands: Innisfree, Etude House, Skinfood, It's Skin...

Visit here to read about my previous skincare routine I did last summer.. and how that has changed! 

With spring comes the emphasis on skincare because no one wants to be caught with skin that doesn't reflect the freshness of the season! Today I'll be sharing what works for my skin, and if you have sensitive, acne-prone combination skin, then hopefully this post will introduce you to some products that could potentially help you target your skincare issues. :) 

At a Glance: Catrin's Natural 100 Mineral Sun Kill SPF 42 / PA ++

If you live in a climate anything like mine, Spring is definitely the season that the others have to beat. How excited am I to actually to break out my spring wardrobe and experiment with new makeup colors?! I'm not sure about you guys, but the sun is just around the corner and is so close that I can almost feel its rays on my skin- almost.

Today I want to share my thoughts on a product I've been introduced to and genuinely interested in testing out:  Catrin's Natural 100 Mineral Sunkill, which offers SPF 42 and PA ++, perfect for the spring and summer :)

Review: Secret Key Secret Kiss Twinkle Waterproof Gel Pencil Liner in Deep Black & Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliner in #10

I'm not sure about you guys, but eyeliners have never really been a big must-have product for me. Most likely because of how oily my eye lids can get, and how precision isn't something I'm all too well at :( 

Today I'll be talking about a certain type of eyeliner that I'm slowly starting to fall in love with: the gel type- in pencil form! 

Review: SKIN79 Lemon Brightening Mask

I apologize that I haven't updated in forever but let's just cut the crap and start this review, yeah? Today I'll be reviewing SKIN79's Lemon Brightening Mask. 

January 2014 Memebox 3rd Global Edition Unboxing

HI EVERYONE :) I'm super excited today because I get to share with you guys what's in the first Memebox of 2014! If you guys don't know, Memebox is a beauty sampler box that offers many different Korean brands; some popular, while others are just starting out! It isn't your traditional subscription beauty box sampler, instead, you purchase the boxes online once they're released- that way, you can pick and choose whether you want a box or not that month. Personally, I think it's a great idea since you don't have to dish out a bunch of money in one sitting. The super competitive aspect about Memebox is that once a box is sold out, it's seriously gone forever. 

Review: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack

HEYA- it's been a good month since I've last updated this blog and I'm incredibly sorry for it. :( There really is no excuse as to why I've been away but good news is that my finals will be over within in the next two weeks and I've received a bunch of orders (plus more coming!) so fingers crossed that I'll be able to throw in a haul and some more reviews once the second semester has begun. :) Thanks for sticking with me so far!