Lush's Snow Cake Soap

My all time favorite soap is Snow cake! It's only available during the winter time at Lush. The first time I tried this I was in love. It smells so delicious! Its a sweet almond frosting scent, another comparison is marzipan. I'm so addicted I had to get more this year! It makes your skin feel super soft and touchable but it does melt fast so it doesn't last long. Honestly I don't mind since its the best smelling thing in the world and my legs feel so moisturized afterwards that I don't even need to put lotion on. I love how it doesn't irritate my skin. I can never stop smelling it, I wish they made a hand lotion out of it so I can smell it all the time!

The only con is that it does get pricey. But I love it so much that I simply would pay that much :)

Xo,

Denise Anne

Ps. I will be choosing my giveaway winner tomorrow!!

Black friday haul!

Hi darlings! I ended up going shopping today for black friday, my mom, my bf, and I decided to go to the mall then and the paragon outlets. It was so totally crowded at the outlets, but the mall wasn't too bad! I was able to go to Sephora and they still had some $10 deals there, I got a couple of presents for my family for Christmas and some stuff for my upcoming vacation to LA and Seattle. It was so crowded at the outlets that I was only able to find some good deals at Charlotte Russe. I really wanted to go to the Kate Spade outlet but it was too crazy. It was already very hectic at Charlotte Russe and my mom took quite awhile at the Bloomingdales outlet. Anyways, hope you all had a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving! :)

Here are the photos of my black friday haul...

2 year Anniversary present/celebration!

Hope you all are having a good weekend! At the moment I'm trying to finish my ethics paper for school before my boyfriend and I go out to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. We are planning on going out for dinner and we also got tickets to see a comedy show after! It's the Russell Peters show, if you haven't heard of him you should definitely check out his videos, there are some clips on youtube. He is hilarious, his specialty his all kinds of racial jokes so we all can relate. I'm looking forward to to the show and can't wait to get all dolled up!

This was us at disneyland last year as Jack Sparrow and Snow White for our 1 year anniversary :)

 I wanted to quickly share what my bf got me for our anniversary gift, we are saving up for Disneyland trip next month so we both decided to get something under $100. He got me the Sigma Mrs. Bunny travel kit which I have been itching for the longest time!

It also came with a free pink E05 eyeliner brush!

Going to use these brushes today, its been so long since I got dolled up! Will do a review asap.

Also just wanted to share this super useful make-up organizer that swivels so everything is easily accessible. It is also very roomy and its for a tabletop. I love how convenient it is, its on my holiday wishlist for sure!! It retails for about $30 click here

Reminder: Please check out my giveaway below, I have added some more items to the giveaway!

November Birchbox

Hi sweeties!

I have been a Birchbox member for 5 months now and I've been thinking about unsubscribing since their boxes were not living up to my expectations with their tiny samples and lack of make-up products. This month I feel like BB redeemed themselves since I finally received a full sized product from them and the sample sizes weren't ridiculously small this time around! If you haven't heard of birchbox check out their site here. It is a $10 monthly subscription. I wanted to share my November box since I love it so much!

Look at the full sized mascara! That is the product I'm most excited about and will give a review as soon as I try it! It is a fiber extension mascara to make it look like you have falsies on. I'm also excited about the Oscar Blandi texture and volume spray since I have limp and thin hair hopefully this will do the trick. It's also a very considerable sample size! I tried the Soy Joy bar recently and I actually love the taste. It's yummy and has cranberries, I'm planning to buy some at my local supermarket. The Smitten bath bomb is super adorable, it looks like a real cupcake! Too bad I do not have a bath tub so I will be gifting this to a friend. The perfume sample is Stella Cadente and I love the packaging, its much more useful than the regular perfume sample bottles. It smells really lovely but kind of strong, so I'll remember not to spray too much. The Caldrea hand soap is really useful as well, I will take this with me when I go traveling or keep in my purse in case there is no soap at public places! I heard this soap smells wonderful.

What I like about Birchbox is that they give you top notch quality samples and sometimes give you full sized make-up products that is more than what you paid for the monthly fee! The mascara they gave me retails for about $22 so I'm super happy about that.

Do you guys subscribe to Birchbox too? How do you like it?

Also please remember to check out my giveaway down below, I have added some new items for the winner!!

Xo,

Denise Anne

150 follower giveaway!

Hi there my lovely followers,

Its about time for my first giveaway! I can't thank you guys enough for reading and commenting my posts. I create them all out of enjoyment :) I love sharing my thoughts about beauty products and I live to shop! One of my favorite stress relievers. I will have one winner picked out of random you will have three ways to win...

Before any of these of course you have to be a follower of my blog
1. Comment on this post telling me what is your must have beauty product
2. Follow me on instagram @deniseanne
3. Post this giveaway picture anywhere on your page or blog post it

Note: You can only do one of these entries and you can still win!

Details about the prize:

1. Floral/ pink polka dot make-up bag 

2. Cream/silver polka dot bow hair tie

3. Benefit samples of foamingly clean face wash and refined finish face polish

4. Benefit creaseless cream shadow/liner in color Silver spoon  full size

3. False lashes from Asia

4. Sephora eyeshadow in 6 shades

Here is a smaller picture you can save and post it if you decide to use this way to enter the giveaway

I bought these products with my own money and had fun shopping for it. This giveaway is open to everyone internationally, I will contact the winner and this will run till November 30th. Good luck!

Xo,

Denise Anne

Edit: I went shopping at Walgreens today and bought the "comfort zone" wet and wild palette and wet and wild lipstick in the color "its a girl" to add to the giveaway! This is everyones favorite palette so I had to buy the winner one and myself haha. 

My Precious Holy Grails.

I'm excited to share my holy grails with all you beauties! These products are the ones I keep coming back to and will continue to repurchase when I run out. I have tried other products but I ALWAYS end up going back to these items.

1. MAC cream colour base in Pearl. This is my all time favorite base, I put this after I apply my Urban Decay potion primer. It is a cream consistency that is easy to apply. It has some light glitters that make your lids glisten a tad bit. It is a cream pearl like color that matches with any eye shadow. It is great over the Urban Decay potion primer, it holds my eye shadow really well. It lasts about 8 hours for me and there is no creasing or fading throughout that whole time. I use this every time I put eye shadow for those longs days or nights. I have hit the pan already but this lasted me for two years! I have repurchased this multiple times.

2. MAC matte eye shadow in Espresso. This is an eye shadow but I use this to fill in my eyebrows. I was introduced to this 2 years ago when a MAC make-up artist was doing my birthday make-up. I thought my eyebrows looked amazing with this so I purchased it and use it everyday since then! I haven't even ran out since those 2 years ago, I hit the pan already. The color matches my brows really well and lasts throughout the day even if I sweat. 

3. Loreal infallible gel laquer liner 24 hour in Blackest black. I needed a really good gel liner that would not smear and last. I was using elf's gel liner and it would smear often and I hated always having to fix it and touch up. This even lasts me through my clinical days which I work in the hospital for 9 hours. It also comes with a brush and I actually really like it. It comes in handy and has a cover for the brush part to keep it hygienic. I usually do not like brushes that come with make-up but this one works just fine, I'm even able to create really nice wings with this brush. 

4. Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. This is my all time favorite mascara! I have tried so many mascaras but I end up going back to this one. I have even tried high end mascaras like Lancome's but I find this is still better. This is the only mascara that give me lots of volume and lengthens at the same time. The brush is also the perfect size, not too small or big. I have short thin lashes and this helps greatly with that! I have repurchased this too many times to remember thats how much I love it.

5. Beautique eye liner in black. I get this eyeliner at Sally's Beauty Supply. Never seen it anywhere else. It only cost a dollar something! This is the only eyeliner that goes on my water line with one stroke and make its very dark. I've tried other ones even expensive ones but they seem to just not stick onto my water line. I have also bought this several times. It can smear under my eye throughout the day but I usually just wipe it once and its gone but my waterline would still have the dark black color. 

I did not get to add these last two HG's in the picture above since it couldn't fit!

6. MAC studio fix fluid spf 15 in NC 20. This is my absolute favorite foundation. It may break me out at times but this foundation matches my face color the best. Whenever I wear it people think I have flawless skin and I'm like really? lol. Since I do have old acne marks, so that's how well its covers! It is full coverage foundation and I love that it has SPF, it has been protecting my skin whenever I go out in the sun. I purchased this too many times to remember as well. This looks really great in pictures and even lasts me a long night of dancing without touching up! There is no other foundation that matches my skin like this does, I have tried Lancome and Benefit. If you know any foundations that work as good as this but does not break you out please let me know :) I really want to try the Tarte one.

7. Urban Decay potion primer, original color. I was too embarrassed to show this picture because it looks so worn out where you can't even see the label!! The whole tube is supposed to be purple and it is totally gone haha. This shows how often I use this eye shadow primer. It lasts for so long as well, it has been more than 2 years for me. I use this under my MAC cream colour base every time I apply eye shadow and is the best for keeping my eye shadow intact and no creasing. It helps with the oiliness of my eyelids and prevents the eye shadow from fading throughout the day. This is also a lot of people's favorite primer, so its a no brainer!

Hope you guys enjoyed my HG's I can't live without. Till next time which will hopefully be my giveaway post. 3 more followers to go!

Xo,

Denise Anne

Never again...

Hi Darlings! I wanted to do a post of disappointments since I haven't yet, these products were definitely a fail for me. They are all just sitting in my beauty cabinet and here's why...

1. Psssst! Dry shampoo, I was really looking forward to this since so many people say it's one of their favorite dry shampoos. This did not do the job for me. My hair was still oily and it was hard to get the white powder out of my hair. I had to keep constantly rubbing it to take it off and I don't really have time for that since I'm always in a hurry. Batiste is STILL my holy grail dry shampoo, it has been the only one that works for me. Makes your hair look like you washed it even though you didn't.

2. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream. I loved the cute packaging of this but its the worst bb cream I ever tried. Maybe it doesn't work on my skin but it does not cover really well. It is very light, sometimes it looks like I didn't even put any on. It is very light coverage. Also noticed after a couple hours my face was pretty greasy! If you have combination/oily skin like me, you probably will not like this. The color is an okay match for me but it is not a perfect match. Still prefer Asian bb creams. 

3. Aveeno Smart Essentials Anti Fatigue eye treatment. This does nothing to my puffiness under my eyes like it says its supposed to do. I did not see a difference at all under my eyes. I used this for 4 months and still no results. It smells really good but it is like a oil and it takes a while to dry too before you put your make-up. This was almost $10, so please save your money. I'm still looking for a cream or roller to reduce puffiness, let me know if you know any!

Lastly, this Celestial Face cream from Lush was a total disappointment especially since I spent $24 on it! It says it is for sensitive skin so I thought it would work great for me but it actually made my skin worst! I love how light weight it was but it gave me the worst dry rash on my face that took 3-4 months to treat! I also still broke out from this lotion on my face after I wore it for awhile. It smells so delicious like vanilla and almonds, I adored the smell. But too bad it did not work for me :(

Did any of these work for you? Or did you have the same experience as me?

I will be doing a post of my holy grails soon and can't wait to share it with you ladies!

Xo,

Denise

My beloved polishes.

Lovelies! I'm ecstatic since I am almost at my 150 follower mark on this blog I started 4 weeks ago :) I will be having a giveaway once I hit that mark, need 20 more followers. So please look out for the giveaway, I had fun shopping for it!

These are the nail polishes I've been sporting lately, in other words been loving them for the Fall season!

1. Revlon in Vixen, deep red wine color

2. Color club in Status Update, dark charcoal grey

3. Butter London in All Hail the Queen, nude taupe with subtle gold and little glitters with two coats

4. Maybelline Color show in Tenacious Teal, greenish jade with two coats

5. Color club in Put a Pin in it, rose gold metallic color- this has been my absolute fave out of the bunch! Such a perfect rose gold color, so pretty.

Here is a better photo of the Butter London in All hail the queen, with flash.

                                                                   Xo, Denise Anne

Owl love you...forever

Hello dears! Just wanted to share an owl haul my mom got for me. She is the sweetest & most generous person I know, she surprised this for me yesterday. She knows I've been working hard with nursing school and she knows I adore owls! Owls are the cutest things next to pandas my all time favorite. Owls have a very autumn/fall feeling. They also remind me of Harry Potter which I love. She got the pjs from Nordstrom and the rest from, Francesca's a gift store if anyone is interested :) I will put some links below.

Owl pajamas! By PJ Salvage, these pjs are pretty expensive but is really great quality. It's 100% flannel, I get too hot in fleece pjs. This will make you feel warm but not too hot that you cant use a blanket. Great for winter nights. She got me an XS because they run really big. This seems so comfy and cozy, these next few weeks are going to be chilly so I needed new pjs. I don't have some like this yet, so can't wait to wear them when its super cold. http://pjsalvage-shop.com/inc/sdetail/10190/10197

Owl clutch, it has some silver glitter on it which makes it look more fancy yet very adorable with the little owls! So cute to bring around when you're on the go. It can fit your phone, small wallet, keys, and any make-up you will need. http://www.francescas.com/product/give+a+hoot+travel+pouch.do?sortby=ourPicks

This owl dish is a cute and artsy piece to hold earrings, rings, and even good for bobby pins! I always lose my bobby pins so now I can just place them here where its easy to reach and see. Nice addition to your vanity, to add a little character.

Adorable key cap for your keys! Sometimes I get confused with my keys because they all look the same, this will make it easier to find.

You can check out the Francesca's website here, there have tons of other owl related things! 

Owl see you guys next time!

Xo, Denise Anne

Battle of the Lip Balms!

I'm a huge lip balm junkie! My lips get very dry to the point it peels at times so I always love discovering and trying new lip balms. I can never have enough ;) I have been using these lip balms for the past few months and here's what I think of them.

This one is the Shea Terra Banana Baobabs organic shea lip butter ($4.00) I got this as I was ordering their mini whipped shea butters, which I absolutely adore. I really needed a new lip balm so I decided to try it, since its only $4. I love how they use all natural ingredients for their products, free of chemicals. When I started to use this, I loved it! It gave me natural shine and moisturized my lips really well and it smells like banana cream pie just like their banana whipped butter! It also tastes good when you accidentally lick your lips, pretty sweet. The bad thing was that after I used it numerous times, I started to see and feel little grains in the formula on my lips. It just didn't feel that well, it was bumpy applying it on. So it gave an uneven amount on my lips, where I would have to go over my lips again to add more. I'm guessing its a part of their ingredients, maybe sugar bits? It still moisturizes my lips really well, I just also wished it also had some SPF since my lips can get dark easily by the sun! I give this one a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This next one is the Burt's Bees replenishing lip balm with pomegranate oil ($3.00) and I got this because I wanted a lip balm with a tint of color. After using this I realized it didn't give much color on my lips, it is barely a tint. It just emphasizes your natural lip color a very tiny bit. I love how it is very moisturizing and makes my lips feel soft, although it doesn't last very long. You will definitely have to reapply. I'm also not a fan of the smell, it smells like a pretty strong pomegranate smell. I'm still on a search for the perfect tinted lip balm! I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.

I got this Sugar lip treatment by Fresh ($22.50) from Sephora as a birthday gift from them! I have to say this the most LONG lasting lip balm I ever tried, its super hydrating and leaves a nice shine. It still makes your lips soft long after using it, this treats dry chapped lips for sure. I also love that it has SPF 15 and very cool design for the product but it takes a bit longer to close it since it has a screw on cap. The negative part is that it is really pricey, I would not pay that much for a lip balm I'm sorry but I loved trying it! It works really great but the other thing is I do not like is the smell. It has a very strong citrus/lemon scent. Don't be fooled by the sugar label, lol I thought it would end up smelling like brown sugar but it doesn't. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Got this Nivea, a kiss of milk and honey lip balm from target ($2.99) and I think this one is my most favorite! I love this best compared to the others before I apply my lipstick or lipgloss, it is very moisturizing for a good price. It will last well under a lipstick, you will have to still reapply when you wear it alone but I think it is worth it! It makes my lips feel very soft and what I love most is that it doesn't have a strong scent! It smells amazing, exactly like milk and honey and it doesn't taste bad when you accidentally lick it. I noticed my lips are less chapped and stopped peeling with this! I would recommend this for a drugstore brand, DO NOT get the regular chapstick brands there is research that it does nothing to your lips! Just letting you know that it makes your lips worse, so for just $2 more dollars you can get this and it will do its job to prevent chapped lips. I give this 5 stars.

Last one is the EOS lip balm in mint ($3.00), and this is many peoples favorites! But this is my 2nd favorite for a drugstore brand :) I love the way this balm works, it also does the job. It moisturizes and makes your lips feel really smooth. You still have to reapply but I love the mint flavor because it makes me feel fresh and it is not a annoying scent. I also use this before applying lipsticks. I used this up pretty fast, I like how it is easy to apply with its dome design but the only bad thing is that it is pretty bulky and big so you cannot keep it in your pocket. I carry this whenever I have a bag since you also cannot put it in a clutch. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

So anyone have any lip balm favorites? I'm always on the search for new ones! I love lip balms especially if they are not too expensive and prevents my lips from peeling or bleed from chapping. I love it when they also have a tolerable delicious scent! SPF is also a plus. The ones I have my eye on next is...

This Korres lip butter retails for $12.00 from Sephora and its supposed to have a peach tint, I definitely need to try this. So on my wishlist and it says its a mango scent/flavor! What a perfect match for me, we shall see. It is a lil pricey but it sounds like a really good product especially for a lip tint. I heard about it from Fleurdeforce's youtube, one of her faves.

I also been wanting to try this, it is the Rosebud strawberry lip balm and moisturizer ($7.00) from Sephora. It's supposed it make your lips feel like silk. And I love strawberry scents, so this is another eye candy for me.

Hope all you lovelies have a great and relaxing weekend! I'm excited that I'm almost at 100 followers, thank you all!! <3

Xo,

Denise Anne

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner in black review

Hi beauties!

I purchased this Eyeko Skinny liquid eyeliner in the color black from Birchbox since I had points to use up! I also got the rose gold Color Club nail polish but still waiting for it to arrive. If you haven't heard of Birchbox, check out their site! You get to try top notch beauty samples for only $10 a month and you get to earn lots of points. I got both these purchases for free with my saved up points :) I decided to try this liner today and here is my review.

The packaging is super cute. This is a best seller at Birchbox so I just had to try it! I ended up loving it, the description on the back is true to its words! Retails for $15.

It is a felt tip marker type of eyeliner and it is not too stiff or flimsy. It has a bit flexibility to create that perfect line or wing you desire but has a lot of control at the same time! This goes on easily with no bleeding, so easy and quick to use. 

It dries very fast. I noticed it took only under 10 seconds and I tested it by wiping my finger on this mark and it did not smudge one bit! It does not fade through out the day, very long lasting. Very convenient so you will not have to reapply during the day! 

The thing I love the most is that the finish is not too glossy like other liquid liners, this one is gives a soft and semi glossy finish at the same time. I hate how when liquid liners are way too glossy, it looks too harsh and is so prominent. This one is also very pigmented, one stroke and you're good to go!

This might end up being my holy grail liquid liner, I love how its so easy to use with no touch ups required <3

Xo, Denise

The Face Shop Green Tea cleanser & White Mud nose pack review

These products were a big hit for me! I'll start off with the The Face Shop's Green Tea foaming cleanser. It has green tea powder as one of the main ingredients and it is known to make your sign brighter and clearer being full of antioxidants.

 It looks like a white pearly formula as I put it on my skin but as I massage it all over my face it starts to look like this and I can't explain how good it feels on my skin! It smells so amazing, I'm thinking about purchasing the green tea hand cream next. It is not too thick or oily at all, and not too foamy as you can see. It seems like the perfect texture for your skin and it does the job! After I wash it off my face, my face feels so smooth and clean. It really makes my skin feel so soft, like a baby's skin! I love how it does remove my make-up residue as well, my skin felt so squeaky clean afterwards. This is meant to be a daily mild face wash, so its good to use night and day everyday. It was not too harsh on my skin after a week of using, I also noticed my skin to appear a lot more brighter. This is very good for combination skin, it removes excess oil but does not make your skin dry at the same time. It actually makes your skin softer and smooth. I would recommend wiping your make-up off with a make-up wipe then use this wash, to ensure all the make-up is off your face. Then finish it off with a toner of your choice. I will review my toner next time! The only con is that this face wash can be pricey, $15 but it is big enough to last me 3 months.

The first is the face wash (pearly formula), the one on bottom is the white mud (white paste formula)

After trying this, I prefer it more than the ever so popular pore nose strips! This works 10 times better because it gets every part of your nose and sticks very well to your skin. You have to put a really thick layer on your nose. I waited for about 12 min until I decided to peel it off. I was so amazed by the results, usually with the strips, I do not see much blackheads or white heads come out. I noticed with this, there was a lot more taken off, I was even able to see the tiny white head looking hairs from my nose! It felt like it took out everything! I even saw a few black heads, I NEVER see my blackheads come out with the pore strips. For $7 this is worth a try. I will never go back to the pore strips and planning to use this 2-3 times a month! The only thing I would warn you about is that the formula dries really fast on your nose, so you have to get a really thick amount and spread it on your nose pretty quickly. But even if you feel like you don't have enough product on your nose you can just apply it on top of what dried to add on but I recommend just getting a lot at once and spreading it fast. 

Xo, Denise