Jill Stuart Haul (or "Why my dad rocks.")

So my dad does a lot of traveling for business. He's always off somewhere far away, but mainly he's in China and Japan. Because he's so busy with work, he doesn't have time to shop so my sister and I generally don't ask him to bring us anything. In fact, I think the last time he brought me back something, it was in 2003 when I was just getting into j-pop. He brought me back three CDs which I still have and treasure; the cases are worn and scuffed because I've played them so many times. (FYI it's Ayumi Hamasaki's A Best, BoA's Listen to my Heart, and Mai Kuraki's Fairy Tale albums).

Anyway, this time when he went over I asked him if he had time to keep an eye out for any cute makeup. I named a few lines -- Banila Co (they opened a store in Tokyo), Kanebo, and Jill Stuart. I'm guessing he went for the last option because it's the easiest to remember. Three days into the trip and I get a text: "The girls from the office and I are figuring out where to go shopping." Picturing my dad going into a department store made me laugh, and even moreso when I considered the alternative -- his two young assistants running around Japan with his corporate credit card! In any case, he promised me a surprise when he got back.

Well, he just flew back in this morning and since it's my mom's birthday today (and my sister's on Saturday), we all went out for dinner. But not before stopping at home so they could open their gifts from me. And then my dad started pulling out what he brought back for my sister and me.

OMG. He pulled out the first little pink box that I never thought I'd have. It was a set of 3 Jill Stuart lipglosses. I squealed, oohed, and aahed. But wait, there's more! Another Jill Stuart lipgloss. And then an eye shadow!

How pretty is all of it?! I just kept opening the boxes and looking at everything all throughout dinner, ha ha ha! And here's some other goodies he brought back...

Apparently these teddy bear necklaces are really popular in Japan! They're made of white gold and have the most adorable rhinestones on them so they sparkle so brightly! And to add a sweet touch, the arms and legs are fully articulated joints like the old fashioned teddy bears. So they swing to and fro if you move a lot while wearing it.

My dad also did some shopping for my mom -- he bought her a Bobbi Brown eye palette (a pastel color set) and a lip palette, and at the Bobbi Brown counter apparently you got a cute necklace for free. Mom already had one from the last time he went to the BB counter in Tokyo, so she gave it to me. It's got a cute glass heart on it!

Rain, rain, go away...

It's Sunday night, we lost an hour of daylight today, which means spring is officially here and soon the weather will be warming up. Of course, in Canada that means we'll get snow in April like we did last year. Hmph. Right now, it's raining, dreary, and chilly. As is my mood. I've been feeling melancholy lately because of some health issues, and of course when you're at home sick, the tendency to do some retail therapy online is just too tempting. Needless to say, my credit card bill will be a bit higher than usual. Oops.

Right now my dad is in Asia on business, and he left with a little wishlist from his favorite daughter. Hehehe.

I'm waiting for several packages in the mail. I've been a bit naughty.
- MAC LoL order
- New earbuds and matching iPod Touch case
- Ebay order (Sheet masks, bath salts, deodorant, and a KATE eyelash curler)
- Konad order
- Some swaps for Asian MU/skincare including an Etude highlighter, Etude House sunscreen, and a Majolica Majorca e/s single (the Shu Uemura ME Silver 945 dupe, allegedly).

A Mysterious Package...

So this morning, a rather large package showed up at my apartment... With glee, I raced downstairs to the main floor to greet the mail carrier, and signed for it.

Open it up... more boxes!

Slightly wasteful, in my humble opinion. Plus I suspect this is why shipping was so astronomically high, eurggggggh.

Freebies and extras! I think that's a sheet mask top-left. Some BB creme samples (swatches coming later), maxipads (LOL), some Etude House collagen creme samples, a little soap sample, a small MU remover from Banila Co, and cotton squares. Woo!

First Sasa Haul

Just wanted to post a quick photograph of the contents of my first Sasa order.

I do want to say some things to those planning their first Sasa orders as well:

PROS:

- Lots of Shiseido's drugstore line of haircare/skincare! Each item averages at about $8-10 and there's a good choice.

- Free shipping once you hit $100 in your cart so it's great to stock up on heavy skincare items.

- Free sample with your order (I picked a package of 20 cotton pieces for removing MU/applying toner).

- Prices are competitive for skincare but not so much for makeup. For makeup, it's cheaper on Adambeauty.

CONS:

- Limited stock in the more popular brands.

- Samples aren't that interesting or intriguing. Choices now are the cotton squares, a notepad, or "red packets" (my guess is this has something to do with Chinese New Year)

- They declare the full value on the package, so I had to pay $23 in duty/taxes. Eurgh.