Rainy Days, Lazy Ways

Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes. Green tea. BLT sandwich. Extra large chocolate chip cookie. Stereo Love by Edward Maya. Oh and other things not pictured: 2 hour long nap. Moleskine sketching. And Haribo cola gummies.

Summer Makeup '10

Here's a quick rundown of my summer makeup routine:

1. Pop Beauty Face Magnet Primer: ($26) In the summertime my face is a complete oil slick. Primer is an absolute essential for me in order to keep the oilies at bay. During the fall and winter months I usually use a gel based primer, but in the spring and summer when its hotter I like to use a creamier primer that feels lighter on my skin. This one is really great and doesn't break me out (hallelujah!) it does a good job of keeping my skin matte for at least 6 hours a day and also prevents my foundation from running down my face.

2. Mac Blushcream in Posey: ($18) I LOVE LOVE cream blushes. They look dewey and fresh on my skin and are perfect when you want to wear a little bit of rouge on your cheeks to the beach. This color is pretty and light-- I even wear it on my lips sometimes and put it in my purse for touch-ups for lips and cheeks. SO GOOD. please try =)

3. Milani Secret Cover Concealer: ($4.99) I have this in 07-Natural Beige. A lot of people don't really like cream concealers but their my favorite things ever. The trick to using it and preventing it from looking cakey is to put a bit up moisturizer on your brush, and then swirl your blush into your concealer--it'll give you a nice smooth coverage while still having the pigmentation of your cream concealer. I use this color to banish my undereye circles (I don't really use concealers on my blemishes..too lazy I suppose) and it really brightens up that area to make me look awake and fresh.

4. Missha BB Cream: ($29) I have this in No.23-Natural Beige. If you find tinted moisturizers a bit oily for your skin--definitely try this foundation out! BB cream gives you the feel of a tinted moisturizer (I can't even feel this foundation on my skin!) but also gives you more coverage than your average tinted moisturizer. BB creams are supposedly good for your skin...not sure how, but I believe it because I have never broken out from using this product--even when sweating under the hot sun.

5. L'oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara--Waterproof : ($8.99) I think the main reason I like this mascara is because of the sleek packaging. It kind of looks like a bullet or something. This mascara really does add a ton of volume to my lashes and I really like that's it's waterproof so I can wear it all the time.

6. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eyeliner: ($8.99) I have this in blackest black. I know some say it's a faux pas to wear loads of eyeliner in the summertime--especially black. But it's like my security blanket. I feel sad when it's not with me. This is great and easy to maneuver since it's in a pen form and doesn't have one of those wobbly brushes that are hard to smear the ink onto your lid with.

7. L'oreal HIP Jelly Balm: ($10) I have this in succulent. I really don't know if this product is discontinued or not. But its wonderful stuff for summertime! The gloss is in a cute glass pot that I love taking out and using. The pigmentation is actually pretty good in these things which is nice. Their a bit sticky but nothing I can't handle. Oh, and they smell like vanilla which is the tastiest thing ever.

8. CLEAN Shower Fresh Rollerball: ($20) Simple. Clean. Fresh. You get what you ask for. Amazing for summer--doesn't give you a headache from all the sugary floral smells of most perfumes that aggravate my allergies. Smells refreshing and is a universally flattering scent.

Ketchup

Here are some forgotten photos hidden in the depths of the 'my documents' folder on my laptop. Here's a quick rundown of these pics in order.

A "pageant" I did for my school during Chinese New Year. (And I use the term "pageant" loosely because it was just for fun. No cat fights, bikini wearing, or vaseline on the teeth happened.)

Me holding baby "Lilo," Robert's new puppy (he actually got a new puppy shortly after named Yogi--she's SO adorable--will put pictures up soon.)

At Koffee Klatch fter going to a book signing at Laguna Beach, and waiting to go eat chocolate souffle at French75.

The next two pics were during Christmas time when I went shopping at Southcoast Plaza for gifts for family, friends, and myself of course=).

Eating lunch at a local sandwich shop and waiting for my next class. I think I had a midterm that day too...

Holding up a white balance card while Robert tested out his new camera.

I wore that hat to death last winter. Must bring it back <3

A Loveless Life is a Living Death

I am studying abroad in UK this summer and so far it has been absolutely brilliant (a fun word us temporary "brits" like to say here.) Yesterday we had a formal dinner where we were able to enjoy a 3 course meal of tortellini in gazpacho sauce, duck with potatoe tart, a decadent snickers tart with nougat ice cream, and coffee and macaroons :) probably my favorite dinner since I've arrived here. I found this dress for dirt cheap at H&M. Silly me forgot that I would actually need to wear things outside the range of denim shorts and grungy t's during my stay here at University. But luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it...) my housing is within a few steps of two very large shopping centers where everything is conveniently always on massive sale.Now off to finish studying for my final exams tomorrow! Hope you enjoy! :D

I See London, I See France

I just realized how terrible I am at tending to this poorly neglected blog. Even though this is undoubtedly no consolation for my failed blogging attempts, here are a few pictures of my summer here in Europe. My first and true love <3.

Enjoy! And expect some more outfit posts coming soon!

Basic Beauty Routine

Have been really lazy lately. REALLY lazy. haha therefore my outfits have been uninspired-- unless you call velour track pants and American Apparel hoodies inspired....(yes...sadly I did say velour track pants =//) in that case i would probably take you to the hospital for intensive treatment for brain damage-- ANYWHOO I thought I would do a daily makeup routine since blogs are supposed to be entertaining, and not depressing (like my outfits). A rule of thumb I usually go by for the days that you dress totally UNFABULOUS is to compensate by making doing your hair and makeup to prevent you from looking like a slob, or homeless, whatever. Take a look at my daily must haves:

1. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion: This stuff is my best friend. It's the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I put on at night. During the wintertime I get really dry around the..muzzle (hate to describe my face to words used to characterize a dog...but thats all I can think of to describe that area around your mouth) and this stuff works wonders to keep my skin from becoming flaky and dry. It's light and oil-free so it's good to use in winter or summer.
2. CG Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer with SPF15: I never used to really wear any type of face powder/foundation/tinted moisturizer except for when I would attend the occasional high school dance or It's light, it's easy to apply, and it has SPF in it which is really great for preventing wrinkles. I usually apply this after I put on my moisturizer on my forhead, a little on the nose and around my cheeks underneath the cheakbone. wedding because I hate the feeling of too much makeup and I my worst nightmare would be hearing my peers refer to me as "cakeface". But I have a problem with an uneven skintone and slight redness on some parts of my face (and no, not on my cheeks, I wish!) so no face makeup made me look sort of splotchy and not very put together. So a nice common ground for me was tinted moisturizer.
3. Benefit Eye Paste: No matter what, I NEVER leave the house without some type of under eye concealer. I'm seriously raccoon eyes without it, it's terrifying. This one is really good but if I'm feeling frugal I'll sometimes buy the Maybelline Cover Stick which is good too. I pat this underneath my eyes where those dark circles are and voila it looks like I've slept 6 hours more than I really did.
4. N.Y.C. Eyebrow Powder: This stuff is great. I don't like to use pencils since the line is too harsh but this powder is really easy to blend and makes your brows look natural and groomed. The wax helps your brow hairs to stay in place too.
5. Jemma Kidd I-Tech Liquid Eyeliner: Usually don't do this unless I have an extra five minutes to spare in the morning...which is not often. But when I do I try to put this on because I'm ALL FOR making my eyelashes appear a little bit more lush. This stuff is AMAZING. This is the first eyeliner I've tried that DOES NOT come off. I'm serious, rub at it all you want and this sucker will not budge.
   
6. E.L.F Eyelash Curler: I love long and voluminous eyelashes. Which is sad because my eyelashes are short and sparse=/. That's why I always use an eyelash curler to trick everyone into thinking my eyelashes are prettier than they are ;).
7. Maybelline Colossal Mascara: I only really like this because the packaging is so cute. It's bright yellow and fat haha. It's not my favorite but it's what I'm using right now. I usually stick with the good 'ole Maybelline Great Lash.
8. Stila Convertible Color: This is really pretty. I usually buy this in the color Poppy which is a nice red color..but not too red don't worry you won't be looking like a clown if you try this. I like it because it's a cream formula so you can also use it on your lips!
   
9. Nivea Kiss of Flavor Tinted Lip Care: I really REALLY love this tinted chapstick. The color is so pretty (I have Passion Fruit which is a red-ish color) and it smells FANTASTIC I'm seriously hungry everytime I apply it. This is a must. Especially if you don't really wear lipstick. Try this out. Definitely reccomend.
   

Vday

You don't need to say it. I royally suck for my infrequent postings. Please forgive I am the worst multi-tasker known to man and have been swamped with midterms and projects lately. Anyways these are some pictures from my vday. FINALLY got to pull out this lovely white dress that I've been dying to wear since I received it from my sister about a year or two ago. The black detailing is so pretty it reminds me of the decorations on a cake.

Dress: ABS by Allen Schwartz; Shoes: Cathy Jean; Clutch: Express