My Beauty Stash + Farmgirl Beauty Secrets #22, #101, #111 and #45!

Take a peek into my everyday beauty stash in no particular order:

1. Farmgirl Beauty Secret #22: Do you continue to breakout even though you can’t find the culprit within your skincare regimen? Your brushes could be the problem. I find that no matter how often I wash my powder brushes, I still breakout from using them. For that reason, I rely on Asian cotton squares to apply my mineral powders on a daily basis. This is a great alternative for people with highly reactive skin as it applies powder seamlessly. I keep my cotton squares in this nifty Q-tip travel container.
2. 100% Pure Cocoa Pigmented Bronzer: I’ve been using this as a contour powder. It works amazingly as it contains no orange undertones.
3. Complete Cover Concealer in Light: This is my daily powder+SPF. It applies flawlessly and acts as a protecting barrier against the environment.
4. Farmgirl Beauty Secret #101: For extra lash pizzazz, layer 2 mascaras. Don’t know why this works, but it does! This is why you’ll always find 2 mascaras in my beauty stash. I’m currently layering Clinique Lash Power Mascara and Naris Up Maxigrade Mascara. They’re both tubing mascaras, which applies as a liquid and dries as a solid, polymer tube around your lashes. Tubing mascaras won’t smudge or run and they wash off in neat little tubes when you rinse your lashes in warm water! More on that later.
5. Farmgirl Beauty Secret #111: I like to use LipSense Creamy Pink and Pink Champagne to highlight my cupid’s bow. Because is completely budge-proof, the highlight stays on days through eating and drinking.
6. Senegence LashExtend: I’m obsessed with makeup that does double duty so I’ve been trying this liquid eyeliner+ lash growth treatment.
7. Jane Iredale: 24K Gold Dust in Champagne: This highlighter feigns the most gorgeous glow with real food-grade 24-Karat gold particles! My skin is usually irritated by mica but I remain itch-less with this one.
8. Garden of Wisdom PhytoStemCell Serum: My makeup bag contains everything I travel with, so this is a must. When I’m away from home, this is my day and night time treatment. This anti-aging treatment mists on like water so I can use it without touching my face (which is so ideal for germ freaks like me). Its active ingredients also save my skin during suffocating air travel. I’m obsessed with the entire line, really. I went a little crazy buying/collecting their serums so I might do a review on my collection once I try them all.
9. Bioelements Multi-task Eye Oil: This multi-tasker is my day and night eye moisturizer when I’m traveling. It’s also doubles as a rich facial moisturizer in a pinch.
10. Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Malibu Strip/Pink Sand Bronzer: I don’t typically allow talc in my beauty products but had to make an exception for this absolutely gorgeous palette. These bricks of blond, copper, rose gold and bronze shimmers are wearable as highlighter, eyeshadow, blush and bronzer.
11. Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Berry Juicy: I bought this because I was drawn to the packaging but as you can see it has suffered some light abuse so the packaging is no longer glossy and new. I was also intrigued by this drugstore cheek/lip tint as it contains some fruit pigments. This is limited edition so consider yourself lucky if you can find it.
12. BeingTRUE Cosmetics Interference Color-rich shadow in Graphite- I hesitate in recommending this as this poorly textured shadow suffers a severe case of fall-outs and creasing while the color leaves much to be desired. You also have to buy the case separately (which I declined to do so I stuck it in a spare case I have). So why do I use it? Well, blame it on my obsession with treatment makeup. I like that it contains anti-aging Dermaxyl. My search for more sophisticated treatment eyeshadows continues and will be ditching this as soon as I find a suitable replacement- any suggestions?
13. Senna Cosmetics Brow Fix in Taupe X: This awesome brow gel comes in the most perfect taupe shade- not too brown and not too grey. My brows are sparse and light, causing a stark contrast to my deep brown hair. When I use this, it doesn’t look like I’ve colored in my brows; it looks like I have brows.
14. Rubotan Super Line in 01: This HUGE container of liquid liner comes with the best slanted brush. This is a polymer liquid liner, which utilizes the same technology as “tubing” mascaras. It washes off completely with warm water and slight friction, leaving zero residues between lashes.
15. Farmgirl Beauty Secret #45: Use your favorite facial cream to subtly highlight your cheekbones and brow bones without the use of a shimmery highlighter. I dot and blend my Garden of Wisdom Majik Coconut Revival Cream on the heights of my cheeks and brow bones. This uniquely-textured cream absorbs completely into my skin while leaving it with a healthy sheen with no residue. It is originally created for healing acne and I find that I can use this allover my face without feeling greasy or fearful of breakouts.

How it's organized:

Farmgirl Beauty Secret #51: MAC LiquidLast Liner is COMPLETELY waterproof.

Despite its fame and highly-touted color selection, MAC has never really impressed me much. Like my skincare, I prefer makeup made of simple, good ingredients and MAC is often the opposite of that. With that said, something compelled me to dissect the ingredient list for MAC LiquidLast Liner and my strong suspicion of it being waterproof proved to be true. Liquidlast is COMPLETELY waterproof AND smudge-proof (don't you just hate the smudges you get w/ "waterproof" eye makeup? they don't budge once they manage to smudge- just horrid!). If you are an eye-lining kind of girl, this is an absolute summer must-have. YES, it will absolutely survive a swim or two. YES, it can double as a liquid eye shadow that's YES, waterproof. Bonus: it is also paraben-free.

The formula is slightly goopy out of the container and the brush leaves much to be desired. However, practice makes perfect with this product. As usual with MAC, LiquidLast Liners come in a great color selection; you’re sure to find a color or 2 that you like. The color Inky is a gorgeous deep blue and it acts as an eye brightener. Point Black is a great basic.

Removal for this eye liner is easier than one would expect. Use a q-tip soaked with cleansing Oil (my favorite is Bioelements Sensitive Skin Cleanser). Implement the “twirling motion”described in Farmgirl Beauty Secret #10 to gently remove eye liner. With that said, I recommend saving this eye liner for the beach and pool-side. LiquidLast Liner is quite tenacious and I prefer to not use this on a daily basis.

Conditioning Dream Team: Shiseido Tsubaki + Living Proof. No Frizz Conditioner

I rarely speak of hair care products and tips- most likely because it’s been a sore spot of mine as I rarely take care of my hair. I haven’t stepped foot into a salon for over 4 years as I’ve been cutting my own hair and I’ve been known to reinvent skincare products to double as “hair care” (See Farmgirl Beauty Secret #17).

My hair routine consists of: brushing once a day (if I remember), washing, conditioning and blow-drying. I have the greasiest hair known to man so I HAVE to wash it everyday. Conventional conditioners on the market are simply not strong enough to counter the drying effects of daily shampooing and my ends suffer the consequences. I was also testing various “natural” conditioners” in an effort to go green for my shampoos/conditioners and while I’ve had luck with shampoos, natural conditioners just lack pizzazz. They leave my unruly hair drier, poofier and they strip my hair of shine.

And yes, I am Asian. Isn’t beautiful, glossy hair a trait bestowed upon all Asian women? Where’s my gorgeous Asian hair?! I found the answer within my question- If I want Asian hair, I need Asian hair care. So a few months back, I picked up the famed Shiseido Tsubaki Conditioner (white-gold bottle) at my local Japanese grocery store. No, the ingredients are not as clean as I like it to be. If anything, the ingredient list reads like a pretty typical conditioner, which I was kind of bummed about. But I’ve had much experience with true Japanese skincare products (manufactured in Japan using ingredients from Japanese suppliers), I swear they use different grades of ingredients than they do in the states. For example, “Mineral oil” used in Japanese products feels and works better than “mineral oil” formulas in the states, and that applies to many ingredients. It’s the strangest phenomenon and really challenges what I know to be true about ingredients.

Shiseido Tsubaki ingredients (english, but not a complete list- hate it when they do that!):

Shiseido Tsubaki ingredients in Japanese:

Anyways, I gave Shiseido Tsubaki a shot. I’m so glad I did. Upon first use, my hair was softer than it had been in ages. I need only the tiniest bit to condition my long hair- about 2/3 less than what I need with conventional conditioners, to be exact. It really hydrates and softens my hair, but I still felt like something was missing- what does a girl have to do to get hair that swings and bounces like it’s in a Pantene commercial?

I had to look further than the Pantene hair care aisle, that’s for sure. I started researching hair care and found an awesomely clever haircare line, Living Proof., created by couple of geniuses from M.I.T. Instead of making products with run-of-the-mill ingredients, they have a team of scientists inventing new formulations with ingredients never before used by other companies. The result: not only did it Living Proof. No Frizz Conditioner de-frizz my mane, it completely improved the overall texture of my hair. You know how frizzy, dry hair tends to possess a gravity-defying quality? Well, this made my hair healthier and more substantial while giving my hair a sleek appearance.

Living Proof. No Frizz ingredients:

I feel like I’m on to something here. By alternating between these 2 conditioners, my hair is improving steadily. It provides the benefits of both conditioners but it doesn’t cost more than using 1 conditioner at a time. Do you alternate between conditioners? Which are your favorites?

Here’s my disclaimer: I write extremely researched reviews after extensive, self-conducted testing. I do not review products I dislike; it's a waste of time and typing skills. This review contains product I purchased and product sent by company due to interest in feedbacks. My first priority is to my readers; company gratis does not guarantee placement. Affiliate and non-affiliate links are provided to inform readers of where to purchase products. All in all, you can be sure that items seen on my website are the very few products that qualify for recommendation after rigorous testing.