Shop Goodies: Ross

30 Tuesday Aug 2011

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I am starting a new series called Shop Goodies.  Essentially, this is a “haul”.  Haul or hauling is a term coined by YouTube gurus.  It’s a bunch of things they bought.  It could be clothes, shoes, make up, and groceries.  A haul can be anything, trust me.  I am not against the word haul, but I wanted to use a different word.  So, I came up with Shop Goodies or SG for short.

Recently, I went to Ross and found some great goodies at a fraction of the prices!  Some people might know Ross as TJ Maxx or Marshalls.  Here is what I got!

Steve Madden Black Platform Shoes Size 8

Orignal price: $89.00

Ross price: $24.99

I love the hidden platform

Puma Black Socks Size 9-11

Orignal price:  $15.00

Ross price:  $8.99

Champion T-Shirt Size Women’s Large

Orignal price:  $9.99

Ross price: $4.99

Morera Seamless Active Wear Size Large

Original price: $24.00

Ross price: $7.99

ELF Beauty School Eyeshadow Volume 1

Original price:  $8.00

Ross price:  $3.99

In total, I spend about $45.00.  That’s not bad.

There it is!  My first (and not my last) Shop Goodies.

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in Lip Gloss, Lipsticks

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 Whoohoo, finally I have products not from L’Oreal.  During the summer, I got into lipstains.  I bought four Revlon Just Bitten Lipstains from Walgreens and CVS.  I paid between $5 – $7.

On the left: Instinct. On the left: Mystical/Mystique

On the left: Dawn/Aube. On the right: Desire/Convoitise

All four have a marker type tip and lip balm.

When applying the lipstain make sure your lips are exfoliated.  After applying the lipstain wait one or two minutes.  Either apply another coat or apply the lipbalm.  The more layers you put on, the more darker your stain will become.

Pros:

  • Last longer than lipstick and lip gloss.  For me, it lasted about four to six hours, depending if I ate or drank anything.
  • Smells good.  To me, it smells like a popsicle.
  • Packaging is nice and sleek.
  • Lip balm is moisturizing.
  • Color on the packaging is very similar to the product.
Cons:
  • Without a lip balm, the lipstain is very drying and tacky-feeling.
  • Lip balm is very small.
  • I can’t tell how much product I have left.
  • If you have pigmented lips (like mines) some of the stains looks too dark.  That’s how I felt with Instinct and Mystical/Mystique.
  • Lip balm can easily break off.
I like this product.  I think it’s a great base for a lipstick or lipgloss.  Even though, it’s a tad drying, I don’t mind it at all.  I just have to make sure I have a good lip balm in my purse.  I’m thinking about buying a nice red cherry stain.  I think that would be a great way to introduce myself to bright reds.
How do you feel about lipstains?
FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

L’Oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss

21 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by in Lip Gloss

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 Sorry about the L’Oreal overload.  I didn’t notice that I bought a lot of L’Oreal products.  I’ll try to switch it up next time.  I don’t look at brands when I shop, but more what products looks cool or interesting.

I bought 3 L’Oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss at Walgreens.  These has to be the most expensive drugstore lip gloss I’ve ever bought.  It was about $9 or $11 per tube.  That’s almost a lipstick.  There was a large selection of colors and finishes.  I picked two bright colors and one baby pink.

The swatches look pretty right?  Okay, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Pros:

  • Large range of colors and finishes.
  • Packaging is nice and sturdy.
  • Smells amazing.  Like vanilla cake.  Very similar to MAC’s lipsticks.
  • Available at most drug stores.
  • Nice and compact.  You can take it anywhere.
  • Not sticky or goopy.
Cons:
  • These colors look pigmented, but they are not. (I’m only speaking about the three colors I bought.  I’m sure some of them are super pigmented.)
  • Baby Blossom (151) goes on blotchy.
  • To me it’s too liquidly. It seemed to just melt into my lips.
  • Too expensive.
I don’t like these lip gloss and I regret buying them.  I’m apprehensive to buy another color from this line.  If someone finds a good color payoff, please let me know.  For now, I say don’t buy it.  You can find cheaper lip gloss with better color payoff.
What’s your favorite lipgloss?
FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

Jewelmint: New Wave Ring

20 Saturday Aug 2011

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 I’ve been a member of Jewelmint for a couple of months now.  What is Jewelmint? Celebrity stylist and fashion designer Cher Coulter and actress Kate Boseworth started a month subscription for Jewelry.  Think Netflix, but with jewelry that you don’t return.  All jewelry is one of kind and can’t be found anywhere else except Jewelmint.  I pay $29.99 a month, which includes shipping and handling.  The best part for me, if I decided not to get jewelry this month, I can skip a month and Jewelmint will not charge me.

Each purchase comes with this nice velvet drawstring bag.

Anyways, I am not here to review the company, but their jewelry.  This month, I got the New Wave Ring.  I’ve always wanted a knuckle ring.  I thought it looked bada$$.

Bird's eye view

I got it in the size 8 and it fits perfectly.  I can put this on any of my fingers (minus my thumb and pinkie).  So, I don’t know if the size really matter.

Side View

There is an antique stain on the ring, which gave it a more rocker/tough edge to the piece.  The top of the ring is adjustable, but the seconded ring does not.  To be honest, if the second ring (the ring closes to your hand) is snugged, there is no need to adjust the top ring.

I tend to wear it on my left hand either on my index or middle finger.  There are some restriction when it comes to this ring.  The first one is that I can’t bend my finger all the way, but let’s be honest, who needs to when you are wearing a cool ring.  The second reason, for me, I can’t have this ring on for too long.  I find that I get sweaty underneath the ring.

This is all in all a good ring.  I love it! I can’t get enough of it.  This ring with my DIY Studded Short goes perfectly together.

There is a 50% coupon code for first time buyer.  Just type in WELCOME50 when checking out.

What are some of your favorite jewelry?

FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

Birchbox First Look: August Box

19 Friday Aug 2011

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 I got this month’s birchbox.  I’ve been a member with birchbox since December.  To find out more about birchbox, click HERE.  Each birchbox has a theme.  This month’s theme is beauty innovations.  These products are supposed to be innovative in their respect field.

June Jacobs Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque (3.7 fl oz. $62)

I took a whiff and this smells so yummy.  It smells exactly like papayas.

Ouidad Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel (6 oz $16)

I can’t wait to test this out.  The only downside is that this product is made out of cardboard, so I feel like I have to use this all at once.  I’ve never used that much gel before.  We will see what happens.

Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Foundation Primer (1 fl oz $36)

I’ve already tried this.  I believe it’s a silicone base primer, which made my foundation last longer.  I didn’t see a difference in photos, but there is no SPF, which means it’s perfect for picture taking.  Unfortunately, it broke me out.  Lucky for you, I will be adding this to my One Year Anniversary Giveaway.

Shaveworks The Cool Fix (2 fl oz $11 & 5.3fl oz $25)

I am excited for this product the most.  It’s a lotion that helps “fix” to bumps, ingrown, and other shaving and waxing side effects.  I really need this, so if this works, I’ll be purchasing this product.

Twistband Hair Tie (Set of 3 $5)

Every birchbox there is an “extra” put into your box.  Sometimes, it’s tea, energy bar, etc.  This is supposedly the best hair tie that you can wear as an accessory.  Interesting concept.  Too bad they gave just a little piece to test out.  I don’t think I can wear it in my hair and wrist.

Is there any product above you would like me to review?  Let me know!

FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

Hinone Mizunone Restaurant

18 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by in Good Eats

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The sign outside.

Hinone Mizunone is a mouthful to say.  I’m Japanese and I still have a hard time saying this name.  Hinone Misunone is roughly translated: (Hinone) sound of fire and (Misunone) sound of water.  When my dad was younger, his mom would cook rice in a huge iron pot over a fire.  The sounds that pot made is called hinone misunone.  Sure enough, right outside the restaurant is an old school rice pot.

This is the inside of the restaurant. And that's my dad drinking his tea.

The restaurant looked clean and homey.  The whole place had hardwood floors and wooden tables & chairs.  Behind my dad is the open kitchen/cashier/bar.  They didn’t have a full service bar, but had some beers on tap and bottled.

Each table had a plate of condiments (like soy sauce, Tonkatsu sauce, Japanese chili pepper, tabasco, etc), ice cold pitcher of water, hot tea, and comment/rate cards.  I love the pitcher of water.  I hate having to ask someone for more water.  I wish more restaurants offered a pitcher of water.

My dad got the Hamburger Steak with Demi Glazed Sauce teishoku.  Teishoku is a meal set.  It came with three side pickles, miso soup, and a huge pot of rice.  Cost: $12

The burger was so tender and mixed with the sunny side egg is the perfect mix with rice.  The demi glazed sauce was not to thick nor thin, besides being a little tangy, there was a hint of wine in the background.  All in all, a good glaze.  I could’ve licked the sauce off the plate.  I like to keep it classy, so I didn’t, but I thought about it.

I got their famous Chicken Katsu teishoku.  It came with the same sides as my dad’s meal.  What makes their chicken katsu better than everyone else is the sauce.  The sauce is a sweet and savory combination that brings out the flavor of the chicken.  The flavor of the sauce is very complex, but taste simplistic.  I can find any sauce that taste just like it, not even close.  On this day (Wednesday), Chicken Katsu was on special.  Instead of paying $12, I paid $10.50.

Chicken Katsu is a thin chicken cutlet that is breaded and deep fried to a golden brown.  It doesn’t taste like deep fried chicken, it’s less oily and not as tender.

I love how the rice comes in their own bowl.  Most time, rice is scooped out with an ice cream scooper.  My dad noted the glossiness of the rice, which is good.  He said the rice was washed clean and they probably used filtered water.  And that the rice was not sitting out too long.

All in all, a great place.

Pro:

  • Great customer service. Not one specific person was in charge of our table.  They all worked together, which is very common in a typical Japanese restaurant.
  • Tasty food.
  • Reasonably prices food.
  • Big portions
  • Menu is easy to read
  • Clean eating area
  • Not too quiet and not too loud
  • Major Credit card accepted
Con:
  • Parking lot is too small
  • Limited street parking
  • Bathroom is outside
  • Your waitstaff is not your cashier. Must walk up to pay the bill. (Honestly, this is not a con for me.  Paying at the cashier is very typical when it comes to a Japanese restaurant)
  • Quite busy all the time
They do offer takeout orders and they make a couple dozen of bentos each morning.  (Bento is a plate lunch)  The downside of the bento is that it sells out super fast.  I arrived at the restaurant at 11AM and by 12PM it was all sold out.  Many people were buying multiple bentos.  Even the diners bought some.  That’s how good their food is.
What’s your favorite restaurant?
FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.
1345 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 942-4848
11AM – 5PM
Monday – Saturday
Closed Sundays

L’Oreal The One Sweep Blush Duo

17 Wednesday Aug 2011

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 L’Oreal The One Sweep Blush Duo in (825) Nectar is the biggest disappointment.  I bought mines at Walgreen’s (with the L’Oreal Infallible lipsticks).  I paid about $12.99.  It was quite pricey, so I just bought one.  I was really excited.  I don’t have any orangey-peach color.

 On top is the blush and bronzer duo.  Underneath the duo is a compact mirror and a flat U-shaped bristle brush.

The lowdown:

Hands down the worst blush ever.  Where’s the swatches you ask?  There is no color payoff to swatch.  I rubbed my finger into the product (quite hard, I might add) and nothing.  The bronzer, which should be pigmented, was the same as the blush.  I tried using a flat top kabuki brush and still nothing.  I tried swirling it together and still nothing.

Don’t buy this product. It’s the worst thing ever.  I am usually a nice/fair when it comes to reviews and sadly, I can’t say one good thing about this product.  Okay, if I must say one nice thing, I would say the mirror is awesome.

I am a little scared to try their other colors.  Maybe it was just mines that was lack in luster or maybe just the nectar color.  Honestly, I can’t afford to waste another $12 on a blush that I don’t even like.  So, I won’t be buy the duo blush in another color.

What’s your experience with this blush?  What’s your favorite drugstore blush?

FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

L’oreal Infallible Lipsticks

16 Tuesday Aug 2011

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I don’t normally wear lipsticks, but when I do, I like to wear long wearing lipsticks.  My lips are not too dry, pigmented, and have many lines/cracks.  My skin tone is medium with a slight olive tone.  I’ve been told by many makeup artist that I can wear cool tones or warm tones foundation.

L’oreal Infallible Le Rouge lipstick is a long wearing bold moisturizing lipstick.  L’oreal claims this lipstick can last you 10 hours long and looks great in HD.

I was at Walgreen’s and I picked up three shades:  (112) Unending Kiss, (423) Perpetual Peach, and (814) Forever Frappe.

(112) Unending Kiss:

I would describe this color as a muted pink.  It reminds me of L’oreal Fairest Nude lipstick.

With Flash

(423) Perpetual Peach

(423) Perpetual Peach on the left. (814) Forever Frappe on the right.

Perpetual is pretty peach.  Not too muted and not too bright/shimmer.

(814) Forever Frappe

In Daylight

This color is more of a mauve color.  It definitely my-lips-but-better lipstick.

What do I think:

At first, these lipsticks are very pretty and moisturizing.  To me, it doesn’t last 10 hours.  I don’t think it even last 5 hours.  It lasted about 2-3 hours, which is much longer than any another lipstick I own.  After awhile, the lipstick does dry out my lips.

Pro:

  • Pigmented
  • Large line of colors
  • Satin Finish (If you like that sort of thing)
  • Nice packaging
  • Available at most drugstores
  • Longer wear than the typical lipstick
Cons:
  • Lack of different finishes
  • Pricey. I paid about $11 per lipstick  That’s only $4 dollars difference to a MAC lipstick.
  • Doesn’t last 10 hours
  • Quite drying after awhile
Would I repurchase?  No.  It’s all nice colors and packaging, but it’s quite pricey for a drugstore lipstick.  Although, I may buy a red lip color just to see if that will last a long time on my lips.  I don’t like the fact that L’oreal’s claims fell flat, which was kinda disappointing.
What’s your thoughts?
FTC: Everything was purchased by me with my own money. I am not getting paid to do this blog post, I have no affiliation with this company. These are all my honest opinions.

DIY: Studs & Spikes Jeans

15 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in DIY

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Lately I’ve seen a huge trend on spikes and studs.  It’s everywhere from shoes to handbags.  I am not financially blessed at this moment, so I decided to do it myself.  I must say it was much easier than I thought.

Materials:

  • Jeans (or anything you want to stud & spike.  I would s&s shoes, shirt, jacket, purse, whatevers.  Use your imagination.)
  • Studs and Spikes (I bought mines from Ebay)
  • Old newspapers
  • Fabric scissors
  • Seams ripper

Optional:

  • Rust protectant (From Home Depot for $4)
  • Butter knife
  • Gloves

Step 1:  Prep the Studs & Spikes

Pyramid half inch 2 prong studs

Half an inch screwback spikes

I bought my s&s from Ebay.  The seller I bought it from is called Spikes and Leather.  This is my first time using them and all in all, I am very satisfied.  I have seen a couple other bloggers, like Ann from Ascension Style buy from this company.

 First, I separated all the screws from the spike.  I put into three different piles.  I made sure all the s & s faced the same why, so each side got an even coat of rust protectant.

Read the directions on your rust protectant.  The Rust-oleum said to spray in a well vented area (I was outside) and to spray 12″-14″ away.

I let my pieces dry for about 30-45 mins.  Don’t overspray.  You don’t want to overcoat your s&s.

Step 2:  Layout (optional)

I didn’t layout s&s before hand, but if you don’t know what you want, you might want to do a layout beforehand.  I knew that I wanted to alternate the studs & spikes.  I wanted it to look random, but if you look closely there is a pattern I used.

Step 3: Start S&S

How to stud?

Position your stud.  I’m studding a pocket, so I used the jean’s seams to make my studs straight.  If you don’t have a seam to follow, draw a line with a fabric pencil.  If you don’t have a fabric pencil, a white eyeliner will work.  My jeans are pretty thin, so I simple pushed the prongs into the jeans.

Grab your fabric scissors or butter knife, you are going to press the two prongs into each other.  Try to bend the prongs into the stud, if you don’t the stud may fall out or you may poke yourself when wearing your piece.  If you are having a hard time bending the prongs together, try using a table’s edge to leverage the prong into the stud.

How to spike?

First, make a hole big enough for the screw.  I used a seam ripper, because it’s small and sharp.  I make a small tear in my jean, then push the screw thru.  Don’t make too big of a hole, because through time that rip will turn into a big hole and your spike will fall out.

Simply just screw in the spike.

Step 4: Repeat!

That’s pretty much it.  Be sure to look at your s&s every so often.  Just to make sure the s&s is aligned the way you want it to.

Halfway through my project.

The finish product. Can you see my pattern?

It’s really that simple.  There is really nothing to it.  I am not a crafty person, so I truly mean this: if I can do it, anyone can!  If you have any questions or concern, feel free to comment below, email me (reviewthisjen@gmail.com I check my emails multiple times a day), or twitter (@jenkakio).

I must apologies for my photo quality. I lost my digital camera battery charger, so I had to use my iPhone camera.

Good Luck and happy DIY-ing!

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