The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist

I tried a bottle of this Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist for use during my travels and liked it enough to buy a couple of backups. This is a multi-purpose product that can be used as a toner, a pick-me-up/on-the-go moisturizer, as a base underneath makeup as well as to set it. I find my skin getting so dry and dehydrated after a flight that I need a little freshen up to de-zombie-fy xD 

This milky, as in opaque white, liquid in a spritzer bottle is scented with a mild rose scent. You need to shake well prior to spraying, and even then, the liquid seems to be a tad thick and what lands on your face isn't a fine and even mist and needs to be patted in for even absorption. I did a little reading on this mister before trying it. Basically, the chief complaint is that it can be pore clogging for some people. I haven't experienced any clogging even though I used this mister over my sunscreen towards the end of the flight, about half an hour before landing. It does a good job of reviving my tired skin, making me look more awake (and alive) emerging (crawling out?) from the plane. 

OTD - Out the Door (Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine), San Francisco

Hanging around Japantown so much, hubby and I eventually ventured into the surrounding restaurants. This one is a poshy Vietnamese fusion place called OTD - Out the Door. And out the door indeed, both the line and myself. Really, the place was so "hip" I immediately started dreading whether all the good reviews online were mostly hype. Well, let's just say there are times I hate being right.

Osha Thai Restaurant, San Francisco

While I spent a week out at my company's conference downtown SF back in February, hubby and I ate  at Osha Thai a few times. To be more precise, hubby ate there twice (dinner and lunch) and I thrice (dinner, lunch, and lunch take out). Yes, I know, Thai food three times a week sounds like a lot, but that just shows how much I love the cuisine. Unfortunately, I didn't love Osha Thai so much. It was more poshy (and overpriced) than tasty.

The first dinner was for Chinese New Year, and it started out great! So we ordered a few neat things, like this bacon wrapped scallops appetizer, and it was good.

Fillmore Street, San Francisco (Picture heavy!)

Being the close vicinity of Japantown, inevitably Fillmore Street is my second favorite part of town, which means every time I visit Japan Town, I have to visit Fillmore Street also ^.^ While there are numerous fun streets in SF, Fillmore is quite special. There's the ollection of neat little shops lining both of its side. And then there's the slow rise slowly to a high point (Broadway Street) before the steep drop all the way down to the ocean, directly to the Marina Green with a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge at left, Alcatraz Island at center right, and Fort Mason at far right. 

So, the shops. My favorite is probably Fillmore Bakeshop, food, of course :P Fillmore Bakeshop is home my favorite buttercream filled French cookie sandwiches, the colorful macarons. I do agree that the food coloring is a bit too garish and the macarons themselves can look bulky, but be rest assured they're yummy, you bet because I've tried macarons from several other places and those didn't quite hit the spot. My favorite from Fillmore Bakeshop is the Irish Coffee macaron, which has the best coffee cream ever! Hubby's favorite is the coconut macaroons (no, that's not a typo, and yes, they're two different cookies).

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss

Got a mini 3.6mL/0.12fl oz. tube of Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Midnight Cowboy as part of Ulta Spring 2012 GWP.

Midnight Cowboy

Ulta Spring 2012 GWP

Maybelline Baby Lips Part III

More limited edition colors of Maybelline Baby Lips in 60 Melon Mania and 90 Yummy Plummy. ^.^ These are the latest release, and unfortunately are hit and miss. I love one (60 Melon Mania) and could not care less for the other (90 Yummy Plummy). At least I don't hate it as passionately as I did 80 Pink Wink. Sigh...

- 60 Melon Mania: smells more like cotton candy than melon, which is actually a plus for me. This balm is nowhere as bright as it looks in the tube and I love it! It gives me a very nice bee-stung pink tint that's pretty but cannot be overdone no matter how much I layer on. It is a balm after all. Bought backups of this one, that's for sure ^.^

Coffret D'Or Beauty Face Shadow

Even with many complaints, I was still quite happy with the two Coffret D'Or Total Designing Sets EX-2 and EX-4 released last fall. So when they released two more limited edition Beauty Face Shadows, I was happy to indulge in both.

Beauty Face Shadow in limited edition 07 Orange Beige and 08 Pink Bordeaux. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

It also helps that the compact case is quite elegant looking, with faux jewels encrusting the upper left and lower right of the reflective metal strip running vertically long the compact. Very different from the pretty and feminine rose vines of 05 Lavender Purple and 06 Lime Khaki. 

Coffret D'Or Total Designing Set (Picture heavy!)

Long review post ahead. Took me forever, sorry :(

I've been drooling over this Coffret D'Or Total Designing Set ever since I saw it on Rouge Deluxe last fall (who, by the way, is on hiatus *sniff*). Each set comes with a Beauty Face Shadow palette, 2 from the permanent line (EX-1 with 01 Peach Brown, EX-3 with 02 Cream Brown) and 2 limited editions (EX-2 with 05 Lavender Purple, EX-4 with 06 Lime Khaki) in a special rose compact, a mini Color Blush in either RS-17 or PK-22 housed in an adorable tin can with rose print, and a mini Bright Up Rouge (Creamy Liquid) in either BE-202 or PK-262.

The sets were released in later September 2012 while I was in Taipei, which sent me on an immediate hunt from Watsons to Watsons since not all branches carry Coffret D'Or items. When I finally found a Watsons branch that offers the set, they only had EX-1 and EX-2, while EX-3 and EX-4 were not available to them at all! Since I only wanted the 2 sets with the limited edition Beauty Face Shadows, I grabbed EX-2 from Watsons and stalked Adam Beauty like a psychopath and pounced on EX-4 as soon as it was listed - at a promotional discount, no less - scored! Good thing EX-2 and EX-4 each comes with a different set of blush and lip color, so it was perfect xD

Coffret D'Or Total Designing Set EX-2 and EX-4. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Tarte LipSurgence Part II

The last from the 2012 Sephora Give Me Some Lip trial set is this full size Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in the color Hope.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

From left to right: Sephora Collection Glossy Gloss 03 Precious Pink full size (gifted to my sister), Fresh Sugar Rose Mini Tinted Lip Treatment 0.08oz/2.2g, Bite Beauty Lip Shine Vintage 0.1oz/2.72g,  Laura Mercier Lip Glace Baby Doll 0.1oz/2.8g, Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss Child 0.12oz/3.5g, and this Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint Hope full size.

Tarte LipSurgence 5-piece Collector's Set 2012

I've been wanting to try the Tarte LipSurgence pencils for a long time but missed out on the 2011 Lip Service Collection, which sold out in a flash at a super reasonable $29 (the pencils are $24 each!). So last year, I made sure to snatch up the LipSurgence 5-piece Collector's Set 2012 before it too sells out.

From left to right: Natural Lip Luster Escape, Natural Lip Tint Enchanted, Natural Matte Lip Tint Exposed, Lip Luster Sweet, and Lip Tint Elite. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.