While I was doing my Amazon.com thing a couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon this pink XBox 360 wireless controller. I already knew they existed, but the color has been discontinued so I hadn't really given it too much consideration. However, I have been trying to come up with a holiday list ahead of time this year, so this seemed like the perfect thing to ask for.

Then I decided I needed it immediately. After some eBay action, I managed to get a brand new for $29 with shipping. The battery was $11 on Amazon, and so for a total of $40 I am now in possession of this lovely pink controller.

My main motivation for purchasing it now instead of waiting was the fact that I have been playing a lot more XBox lately. Usually I play more on my laptop (Sims 2, Civilization IV, Diablo II), but my boyfriend got Fable II and Fallout 3 for his birthday and I'm a little hooked.

What are you playing?

Recently I've had to rein in the expenses a bit, and one of the places I thought I might tighten up on is my skin care. I love my Origins products, but the full regime is a bit expensive. I'm sticking with the face wash ($20 and lasts several months), but the moisturizer ($61) and the serum ($35) have to go. 

Thankfully The Body Shop sent me an email alerting me to their buy 2 get 1 free skincare products sale, and off to the mall I wandered. Besides a saving in price, I was also looking for products that had the least harmful ingredients. Skin Deep cosmetic safety database helps me evaluate the products I am putting on my skin. It's a helpful tool, but you also have to take into account the ratings on ingredients are often evaluated on "moderate" amounts, which can be much more than how much is in the product you are using. 

The first product (Vitamin E Moisture Serum) isn't rated by Skin Deep yet, but based on the other products in that particular line, it's probably not as good as I'd like. Had I known that before hand, I probably wouldn't have purchased it, but oh well. The second two products (Aloe Soothing Day Cream and Vitamin C Intensive Night Treatment) both had extremely low hazard ratings when I looked them up before going to the store, so those were my main targets. 

Anyways, in place of the Origins A Perfect World serum twice a day, I'm using the Vitamin E Moisture Serum in the morning, and the Vitamin C Intensive Night Treatment at night. I follow the Vitamin E Moisture Serum with the Aloe Soothing Day Cream before applying any makeup. 

So far the results have been great. I just made it through that difficult time of the month without any blemishes, my skin is still soft and smooth and I spent $44 instead of $96. Also, the two serums combined were 2 fl. oz. as opposed to the 1 fl. oz. for a comparable price, and the moisturizer was the same volume (1.7 fl. oz) for less than a third of the price. Regular price I'd pay $60 for all three items, but I'm still saving money and getting more product per dollar.

In conclusion, if any of you ladies (or fellows!) out there need to scale down on your beauty budget, I would definitely recommend checking out The Body Shop.

Yes, I am blogging for the second day in a row. I'm in repetitive task mode at work, and I need to entertain myself!

I was checking out the Zoya website yesterday and playing with their color search feature, when I realized that their colors all are named after girls. As I was browsing, I found the names of half my cousins and the light bulb went on over my head - Christmas presents? I'm a bit concerned that nail polish is a crappy little gift, but then I gave them iTunes gift cards last year, and I think gift cards are impersonal kind of crappy gifts too.

Anyways, I couldn't find all of their names at Zoya, so I went over to Essie. The girls I couldn't find names for are quite passionate about their respective hobbies - writing, dancing, acting and soccer.

For the actress I chose Curtain Call, the writer Well Red and the dancer Foot Loose. The challenge came for my little sister the soccer player. She is 13 and her mom doesn't really like her to wear bold colors, so I think the two I've narrowed it down to are appropriate, but I'm not sure which name is better.

Help - Should I choose "Adore-a-(soccer)Ball" or "Steppin Out (on the field)?

*Edit* Ugh, she's 14! I remember when her mom and my dad got together, she was only 4... The years fly by!

Hopefully my boyfriend will not checkout my Kaboodle page, but I don't think he ever has in the past, so I am probably safe now. 

I love buying presents. If I were rich, I would:

1. Be a professional philanthropist and create a foundation so I could help people who need financial assistance.
2. Buy people lots of gifts.

The main challenge in buying gifts is to avoid giving people things that they will keep around for a year or two and then get rid of. I like to get gifts that will be useful and/or something that has some sort of special value. For example, for Jake's birthday (Jake is the BF) I got him two tshirts because he loves tshirts, some of his are wearing out and he likes Zero Effect (the blue shirt) and he thinks birds are weird (the grey shirt). The plushie is from a comic strip we both love, and the DVDs are an out of publication cartoon that we have not been wanting to pay $80-$120 for.

I am so excited for his birthday! We are also going to Todai for lunch with two of his best friends, his aunt/uncle/cousins, his mom and his brother. He and his brother have the same birthday, so they both get free lunch at the restaurant. 

Also, I'm starting to get ready for Christmas. Besides my direct family/Jake's family, I have 8 younger cousins and a stepsister that I get things for every year. Time to start setting aside some money from the weekly paycheck...

Anyone else love shopping for others?

Earlier this week I was using the Glove Me Tender hand cream that I keep in my desk, when I realized that I really don't like it. Like, I'm about to throw it away don't like it. There are two main reasons for this:
1. It makes my hands feel like they are covered in a layer of sticky gunk, even if I use a tiny amount.
2. It doesn't seem to really work.
Now, maybe it doesn't work because instead of absorbing into my skin it just clings to the surface and makes my hands feel gross. It does claim to create a protective shield (a glove-like shield?), so perhaps that is the problem. Whatever the reason, I don't like it. Not worth the $15.

On the other hand, the L'Occitane 100% Pure Shea Butter is awesome. Just take a little bit, rub it in and VOILA - dry and flakey no more! It's a bit bulky to carry in my purse though, and because it's so thick, it's better suited for my feet and legs. If you need some super moisturizing power, and you can afford to pay $39, buy this. It seems a bit steep, but this will last you forever. I've had mine two years, and it's not half gone.

The third item on the agenda is Shea It Isn't So foot cream. This one runs about $15 as well, but it can multi-task! My mom likes to use this as a foot cream AND a hand cream. Genius. I should have followed her example a long time ago, and never bothered with the Glove Me Tender. There really is no reason to buy two products when one will suffice.

In conclusion, I am going to toss the Glove Me Tender, and bring the Shea It Isn't So to work for my desk. My L'Occitane will remain at home, where I will continue to apply it as needed, post shower.