A couple of weeks ago, I let you in on my favorite wintertime skincare products.  Now, I realize that good skin always looks a little better when you use quality stuff.  But, why is it so darn expensive?

I tallied up the cost of my current go-tos and the price tag came out to a whoppin’ $187.50!  I’m not going to lie, I love my high-end stuff and I’ll probably never fully let them all go, but in these hard times, I’m always looking to cut costs and still feel pretty.

Bioré’s Skin Preservation is a complete skincare system that’s targeted to what my current needs are – age prevention!  And the best part about it?  It’s budget friendly.

I can cleanse, moisturize and exfoliate, all for $52 bucks!

Step 1 – Wash with Bioré Clean Things Up Nourishing Gel Cleanser ($6.99 US).  It’s no nonsense and with Vitamin E as the star ingredient, it does a nice job of cleansing without drying my skin.

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New for the season, one of my makeup faves Laura Mercier also comes out with a soft collection called First Blush.

Is it just me, or have you noticed that Laura’s collection inspirations (or just the names at least) have been quite similar to others in the recent past?

Last fall, Laura gave us Cherries Noir the same time MAC released their Cult of Cherry collection.  And this spring we get First Blush from both Laura Mercier and Clinique – interesting yes?  (I’ll also be covering Bobbi Brown’s Blushed Pink very soon!)

But to me, it doesn’t matter, I’m loving all the softer colors right now.  It makes makeup a breeze for me in the morning!

The staple in Laura Mercier’s spring collection is her First Blush Face Palette ($55 US).  I love palettes because they make mixing and matching super easy, requiring no guesswork at all to look pretty.

This limited edition piece includes: three neutral shadows in Granite, Tawny Apricot, and Buff; two cheek shades in Blushing Peach and Blushing Pink; and three soft lip colors in Flushed, Natural, and Naked Lip Glaze.

Also included in the First Blush collection are three new shades of Lip Plumper ($30 US) in Peach Glow , Pink Pearl and Rose Flush.  I’m hot for peach tones right now so I’m eying Peach Glow.  Unfortunately the price tag is steep so I’ll have to save it for a splurge day.

If you love nail lacquers in neutral, no nonsense colors, Laura has two new ones this season: Nude Peach (pale beige peach) and Sheer Pink (soft pastel pink), $15 US each. I’m more of a color kind of gal so passing these up won’t be as hard for me.

To round out the collection, the First Blush Mini Brush Set ($50 US) has the essentials: a mini cheek, angled eye, and lip color brush all in a soft pink makeup bag for you to tote around.

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Like most Asian women, I have short, stubby eyelashes.  I’ll try any mascara that hits the market with promises of full, long or voluminous lashes.

From time to time, I’ll harass my beauty editor friend for recommendations to make sure she hasn’t discovered a magical formula that I haven’t seen at Sephora yet.

The last few times I asked her she emphatically recommended Imju’s Fiberwig Mascara ($22).  According to the packaging, corporate website and Sephora.com’s product blurb, “Fiberwig is the top-selling mascara in Japan – beating the competition with remarkable, “false eyelash-like” results”.

Even with all that going for it, my skepticism of full-of-promise mascara marketing kept me from picking up a tube.  It took my recent trip to Asia over the Christmas holidays to get me to finally buy one.

In Taipei, the girls are obsessed with long lashes.  I saw long, glorious, spider-like lashes framing the eyes of nearly every trendy young woman.  Some of them were wearing false eyelashes while others were just mascara-enhanced.

A quick trip to the local Watson’s  (Asia’s hybrid of an American drugstore’s beauty section and a smaller department store beauty counter area) confirmed that Fiberwig was a major contributor to those sultry lashes I’d seen all over the city.  I gave in and slapped down $440 New Taiwan dollars (approximately $13 US dollars) and took Fiberwig for a spin.

I applied Fiberwig as instructed on the package on bare, uncurled lashes.

• Using the tip of the brush, apply to lashes by stroking upwards from roots to tips, layering repeatedly until the desired effect is achieved.
• Be sure to dip the brush into the tube between layers for a fresh coat of length-building fibers, every time.

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Happy Chinese New Year!

It’s technically tomorrow but because the Boyfriend’s parents have work, we’re celebrating it today with traditional fare and offerings to our ancestors.

But before I tell you all about it, we’re getting ready for lunch and a little family time.

In the meantime,  spend a few minutes catching up on these beautiful reads from my friends at the Beauty Blog Network.  There’s nothing like a contest, new collections and helpful tips to start off the new year right!

Ready for Spring? Lilan from The Daily Cookie will have you falling in love with Clinique’s new First Blush collection.

Beauty Anonymous brings you Givenchy Spring 2009 Limited-edition Collection.

Beauty411 checks out the new Fekkai Salon Color. Will this new at-home haircolor make the cut?

A Touch of Blusher loves plum.

Beauty Banter recruits Lindsay Lohan’s hair stylist to reveal the top Spring hair cuts to suit YOUR face!

Beauty Junkie in SF proclaims the T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer to be worth every penny, as long as you buy it at the right place!

Beautiful Makeup Search asks if Coralista is the new Orgasm?

The Fragrance Fanatic explains why Philosophy’s latest Amazing Grace Gift Set is called The Big Stink.

The Makeup Divas tells you about three high performing hair products that will keep your color/highlighted hair looking it’s best.

The girls over at Beauty in Real Life are having another giveaway. Click here for your chance to win an Anastasia Highlighting Brow Kit!

Partied too hard? Drank too much wine? Got puffy eyes? ThisThatBeauty says TRY THIS!!!

Elke shows how to save and budget, with your blush.