Every Fall, I fall into the same pattern of loving everything burgundy and crimson (haha).  I came to realized I start wearing anything that's in that colour family.  Case in point—I have been switching nail polishes, but they are all fall in the same colour range (haha)...

If it's not said already, I'm quite Urban Decay obsessed, especially when it comes to their NAKED line.  But you know, while they're really well known for their NAKED line, they're best known as the "Beauty with an Edge" brand.  It's apparent in their Book of Shadows (anyone remember those?), the Electric Palette, and the most recent Vice 3.

The annual Sephora Friends & Family Sale is here.  I was lucky to get a code from an awesome IGer.  Even if you missed out on the F&F sale, if history repeats itself, a VIB sale is going to happen soon (most likely early November).  The discount for the F&F sale was 20% (VIB sale was 20% off last year as well), so it's really the best time to stock up on some of your favourites, and also some holiday gift sets!

If you're wondering what to get, here's my haul + a few of my favourites I highly recommend!

Sometimes you gotta keep things interesting, especially with makeup.  So I have been changing things with my routine to make sure my products get some love.  Okay, maybe I gave out too much love because the list is quite long this month.


I think you already know about my oily skin complex and what I would do to try to stop the shine on my forehead.  That's right, I'm still loving Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 15 (CA $60 / US $52) and Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide (CA $59 / US $48).  You can read about my favourite primers here and my favourite foundations here.

For my vampire dark circles, seriously it's bad, I turn to Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen in Wake Up Call (CA $47 / US $39) to cover them up.  This concealer is light and liquid-y in texture but it stays in place.  My lazy self has turned to the BeautyBlender (CA $26 / US $19.95) to apply foundation and concealer, because it's the fastest and easiest way to do so.

To set, the Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Loose Finishing Powder (CA $40 / US $34) has been so great for prolonging the wear of my base makeup.  It's super smooth and it won't look too powdery.

Who (what) is your biggest makeup nemesis?

For me, it is my own oily skin.  I don't know how many times I end up look like a grease ball by 5PM.  Even when most things work on others, I seem to always be out of luck.

So I have taken the "Mission Makeup Stay Put" very seriously.  I tried and tested many different kinds of makeup primer out there that cater to oily skin.  I finally found 3 that I would call my faves and keep going back to it...

Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector (CA $44 / US $36)

It's been over a year now since I last raved about this product but this is seriously DA BOMB in oily control.  The silicone primer texture dries down super duper quickly.

The application takes a bit of time to get used to: Dispense a small amount on your fingers, warm between your hands, and pat it onto your skin.  Like I said, since it dries down quickly, I would apply area by area, starting form my t-zone.

I definitely won't squeeze a lot out and then apply to my whole face in one go.  I tried it, it looks flakey, never again.  It is really matte though, so if you have combination oily skin, you may want to stick with T zone only; and skip entirely if you have normal/normal-to-dry skin.

It's my study time again, so I've fallen into a makeup routine (or rutine) lately... I vow to change my it up starting today, but not before I give it the spotlight it deserves because these products have been amazing to me.

When Urban Decay brainstormed the Pulp Fiction Collection, it started with just a lipstick (that red Mrs. Mia Wallace worn in the movie, but has expanded to a 5 item collection.  They knew from the start that to achieve Mrs. Mia Wallace' signature look, you will for sure need that deep blood red lip.  Therefore Urban Decay has created Mrs. Mia Wallace Revolutionary Lipstick, and a 24/7 Lip Liner in Mrs. Mia Wallace to go with it!

If you haven't seen Pulp Fiction (btw, you should see it), you would at least have seen its theatrical poster featuring Uma Thurman with a fringe bob hair cut with a cigarette in hand.  Her character in the movie, Mrs. Mia Wallace was so cool and so bad a$$.  This year marked the 20th anniversary, so  Urban Decay has released a whole collection to commemorate this occasion.  Of course, the entire collection is surrounding Mrs. Mia Wallace, including the Pulp Fiction Palette.

Feeling a bit badass late last night, so I decided to put on the Urban Decay Mrs. Mia Wallace Nail Color (CA $18 / US $15) from their limited edition Pulp Fiction Collection (review of the entire collection coming soon).

I quite like this colour on my skin tone.  Sometimes I feel like some reds make my hands look... evil... lol... I meant they would look like they were injured.  I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of this deep blood red colour, and I'm already enjoying it :).

What's on your nails today?

Until next time,


x Rica

Images from Urban Decay

UDers rejoice!  We have loved all the NAKED palettes from 1 to 3.  Many of us love the NAKED Basics palette even more.  A lot of us often say, "I wish there are more shades in the NAKED Basics palette".  Guess what?  Urban Decay heard us and they will be releasing the NAKED2 Basics soon.

Images from Urban Decay

Every NAKED palette has a theme and will feature neutral shades that fit the theme

• NAKED 1: brown neutral
• NAKED 2: taupe and greige neutral
• NAKED Basics: stripped down matte neutral
• NAKED 3: rose toned neutral

Images from Urban Decay

Images from Urban Decay

Now the new NAKED2 Basics features "6 TAUPE-hued matte neutrals" (they said that but they're not actually all matte):

• Skimp: pale nude satin
• Stark: nude-pink matte
• Frisk: warm gray matte
• Cover: muted red-brown matte
• Primal: muted brown matte
• Undone: deep, smoky brown matte

Like the NAKED Basics palette, it is designed to be suitable for everyone, every skin tone.  With eyeshadows, you can count on Urban Decay to give you richly pigmented and buttery smooth shades.

I do own all the NAKED palettes, but I still want this new one.  I can't wait when it becomes available!  I have already signed up for notification.  Hopefully we hear more from Urban Decay before it's available for sale (more than just an Instagram teaser), because we know it's going to fly off the shelf.

Shop this story...

Until next time,


x Rica

It's a day early, but Happy Valentine's Day!  Believe it or not, I rarely celebrate Valentine's Day.  My friends called my man lucky because he doesn't need to get me a gift or flowers.  But I'd be lying if I say I don't care for the romantic stuff, roses and chocolates.  At the very least, I would have to put on some Valentine's Day themed makeup.  Here's how I'm gonna get that...

If that person is anyone like me, who jumps on most of the beauty bandwagons, chances are they already have a lot of things available out there.  But no beauty enthusiast can say no to a pretty palette and here're a few favourites that would impress the important him/her.

It's day 2 of the 12 Days of Holiday Giveaway!  Today, we brought to you the Urban Decay NAKED Basics Palette.


I use mine almost every time I wear eyeshadows.  Some more heavily dipped shades include Crave, Naked2 and Foxy.  Either you're a fan of the Urban Decay NAKED or NAKED2, or just jumped on the NAKED3 bandwagon, you could always get help from the NAKED Basics!  It is the perfect basic palette that everyone would need in their eyeshadow collection because you can use it in conjunction with other eyeshadows that you have, or if you're a minimalist, this palette could be all you would need.

If you would like to win it, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is opened internationally until January 10, 2014 at 11:59PM.  Good luck!

Until next time,


x Rica

Every year around this time of year, Sephora will have a Friends & Family Event followed by a Beauty Insider Sale.  In fact, the F&F sale has already begun on October 17, 2013 and it's running till the 30th.

If you're one of the luckier ones who have friends or family working at Sephora, you might want to take advantage of the 20% off discount to stock up some of your essential products.  (To get the F&F discount you actually need to know someone who work there and provide you with a code, so ask around to see if someone you know has it.)

If you don't know anyone, fear not, the Beauty Insider should be coming up soon if they follow what they did before.  Last year it was a 15% off discount, which is great considering things that are sold at Sephora rarely go on sale.

I usually stock up on skincare products that I used before and liked, get some beauty products that I've eyeing on, and buy some holiday gifts in advance because a lot of them have already come out!  Here's some idea to get you started...

IMATS LA was not only a great experience (read about it here), but also a great place to shop for your beauty products and tools!  This year, I did not have a shopping list, or a budget.  I decided to wing it and just buy whatever that intrigues me.  Luckily, I did not bring enough cash, so I did not overspent lol.  And here are my goodies. =D



It actually wasn't that bad consider that I can fit them all into a small reusable bag that I got from Nigel Beauty Emporium =P.  Let me break it down for ya...

Base:

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick in Warm Beige
I have always wanted to try foundations by Bobbi Brown. I was looking for the Natural Long Lasting Finish one, but they didn’t have it in my shade, so I got the Foundation Stick instead. But hey, 40% off Bobbi Brown doesn’t come by all that often... Okay, maybe twice a year at IMATS LA and IMATS NYC lol.

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in ATF
Stacey and Jessica were raving about this concealer, which you can guess what happened next... Yep, I bought it too... They were also having 40% off, so yay!

Awesome makeup creation at IMATS

I'm back with an IMATS LA experience post as promised!  I went with a few of my good friends Jessica, Stacey, and Pascale.  We have been planning for this trip since the beginning of the year and it was well worth it!  To be honest, I expected this event to be HUGE and overwhelming, but it was not like that.  It was still a huge venue, but because of how spacious it was and how they controlled the traffic.  It was actually pretty comfortable to walk around.  I did not feel suffocated at all even with the amount of people there.  There were so much to see that I think if I had more time, I would go on both days!  I had such an amazing time that I know I have to go back, and hopefully, sometime soon!

On to my actual day at IMATS, when we first arrived in Pasadena, Stacey suggested that we go pick up out tickets in advance to avoid the line at the venue.  Let me reiterate: best decision ever (I said that like 5 times on Saturday lol)... and thank you, Stacey!  It really got us in so fast that we did not need to line up at all.  Since we got inside at around 8:30am, there was not a huge crowd, yet.  We were able to quickly shopped around at the places that we want to go to (e.g. Nigel Beauty Emporium, bdellium tools, NYX, Urban Decay, Naimie, etc.).  After we checked most of the things off our shopping list, we started browsing to look at vendors that are only in IMATS LA.

The bdellium tools guys are super nice!  They remember you if you interacted with them on twitter.  That's great customer service!

On my list: say hi to Edward and Daniel at bdellium tools and get some more brushes XD

AWESOME 3D makeup at Dinair!  I wish my camera has 3D glasses on to show you how cool it was!

Young Blood Cosmetics... Can't believe I forgot to get some foundation to try >////<

With Valentine's Day just one day away, have you prepared to surprised your other half on the day of love?  If you still haven't found the perfect gift, never fear, take a look at my suggestions and see if it will make your shopping trip easier when you head to the mall later on.  I'm going to mix things up because some gifts are applicable to both ladies and gentlemen =).

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette (For her only)
Available at Sephora, Ulta, Urban Decay, Shoppers Drug Mart, etc.

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

One of the hottest items in the beauty market right now.  The universally flattering shades in one compact palette makes this palette a perfect gift for every girl, no matter if they just wear minimal makeup, or makeup enthusiast!  Due to popularity of the original Naked Palette, Urban Decay and Sephora have learned their lesson and have really stocked up their stores.  Even if you see the display is empty, go ask the sales associates there.  Chances are they have tons at the back room but just didn't put them all out yet =).


Fujifilm Instax Mini (For both)
Available at lomography stores, Urban Outfitters, Sears, Walmart, etc.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 50s in Piano Black

Capture all your precious memories and print them out instantly.  I love instant cameras, I used to have a sticker one from Polaroid.  I can't say they're better than digital cameras or film cameras but they're certainly a lot more fun.  With Fujifilm Instax Mini, the photos will be printed out immediately and they are credit card size which means you can put them into your wallet right after!  I personally own two of them even though they are basically identical in terms of function.  (One tip to taking instant picture: Do not follow that song that say "Shake it like a Polaroid Picture".  I repeat, do NOT shake it.  It can damage the picture and make the film separate prematurely.)





Fragrances (For both)

Product photos from Sephora.com

Pick a fragrance that you like and they don't already have and make sure they don't hate the scents.  It's easier said than done, I would agree.  Thankfully, there's the Sephora Favourites Deluxe Fragrance Sampler For Her and Sephora Favourites Collector's Edition Fragrance Sampler For Him, so it is highly possible that they will find something they in these sets.  In Canada, there are an even better deals at Shoppers Drug Mart.  At SDM, there are sets for guys and girls that allow them to try out around 10 samples before they pick a full size with the gift certificate included in the set!  They will have a year to choose, so no rush, no rush.



Shops: Build A Bear Workshop (For both)

From Build A Bear Workshop

I love BABW! I got my LiBeary (yes, that's the name I gave my bear) there as well.  I don't really know anyone who would hate a cuddly soft stuffed animal.  They have tons of options there, from Bears to Dogs, from Bunnies to Cats, and let's not forget about Hello Kitty.  They also have a few asthma friendly ones for you to choose.  You can simply pop up to the mall and build a bear, which takes about 15 minutes or so to make.  The best part is that they're not all that expensive and you can personalize your stuffed animal with different costumes they have there!  Or you can shop online too.


Shops: Urban Outfitters (For both)

Product photos and logo from urbanoutfitters.com

Urban Outfitters is one of my favourite shop.  I like to shop there because their stores have a variety of items.  Their jewelries are quite affordable, and you can't really go wrong with jewelries for girls.  For guys, there are lots of apparels and novelty items!  They just have a variety of brands and stuff for you to choose from.  Basically, UO has it all: from fun T-shirts to dainty necklaces, from quirky books to figures, and from lomo cameras to home decors.  There are also beauty products at UO!  How can you not like this store?  While shopping for him/her, you might even be able to find something for yourself =D.

These are the gifts that I have received or I actually want to receive.  I hope this will help some of you out there to get a gift for your love.  Happy Early Valentine's Day!


x Rica

Yesterday, I posted about my trip Buffalo last weekend with Joyce, Emily, and Michele.  I shared a little (fail) photo + travel log with you guys.  Now it’s time to show what beauty products I got for myself for my birthday (there are two extra things that I got before the trip that are included here =P).  I didn’t really get a lot of beauty products , but there’s two that are more on the hefty side of the price tag...

Haul galore