Life: Rhythm & 'Blues'

MY SCHOOL WEEK IS FINALLY OVER! Driving to one school and commuting back and forth to the next really exhausts me. -sigh- One more week and then I'll just be commuting for Japanese, which I'm sure I can handle more since I won't be waking up at 6:30am everyday for a boring history class. :3 Hope all of you guys had a great week though. Dude, I can't believe July is nearing it's end. What happened? o_o

Anyways, been really tight on money these days since there's been a hold on my respite care job (haven't been paid for 2 months T_T). Sparingly living off of the 1-day-a-week pay is quite depressing. *needsjobASAP* HENCE, the title of this post.

Just a few "blue" things to share...^^

Quite a few of you guys commented on my nail color and it's China Glaze's "Towel Boy Toy." (hehe, what a name). It's a vibrant and bold blue that is great for the hot, hot summer! It dries to a semi-matte finish which I think is pretty unique. Friends had gifted this one to my last year and it's my first ever China Glaze to own.

Went back to Yogurtland (but with my mom this time) to pick up the blue Chococat spoon! Super cute, right? ^^ Yogurtland was super packed for a Tuesday night! Reminds me of the times where frozen yogurt places weren't as convenient as they are now *cough*ktown*cough*. The next spoon to be released is Keroppi and I think the date is August 11?

If any of you guys are familiar with such Asian American artists such as Far East Movement and Wongfu Productions, they are taking the whole sha-bang out to Seattle this coming Sunday to kick off their ISA 2011 tour! I wish I could go to support and help out, but like I said before, I'm having troubles in the bank account so..as hard as this was, I had to pass. But, I'm still grateful to have participated during last year's concerts (one being in NYC!!) and will definitely be going to their upcoming ones. :D

But, if any of you guys are in the Seattle area and don't have plans for Sunday night, get your tickets now to ISA 2011!! :D (psst, spread the word!)

ARTISTS:
DAVID CHOI
VICTOR KIM
I.AM.ME CREW
FAR EAST MOVEMENT
WONG FU PRODUCTIONS
NEW HEIGHTS (JUST ADDED)

HOSTS:
CATHY NGUYEN
RYAN HIGA
KEVJUMBA

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS

Okie dokie. No class tomorrow = me catching up on all the Zzzs I've been missing! Soo looking forward to being a bum and catching up with all of you guys here and hopefully restarting my drama watching. :D

MAC "It's A Girl" Lip Bag + Foodies & Good Company

Hi guys! Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. I swear...the weekends always seem to go back so fast. DISLIKE. I started my second class for the summer today, which is Japanese 4 back at my university. Super hot! My car's reading was around 101 at some points when driving back home. Aish. But Japanese is fun. Learning it again makes me miss Japan and Japanese culture all over again. Since the class is only 5 weeks long, we cover two lessons in one day with a quiz and homework due every day as well. がんばれます〜！ Must work extra hard this time around...but I was seriously exhausted today (probably because I frantically wrote a paper this morning...SO BAD).

Anyhoo, here's the MAC Cine-Matics lip bag that I uh impulsively ordered the day it was released to the public: "It's a Girl" ($38) I had them order it for me since this one was sold out at the 2nd locations...but yay for free shipping!

Exclusive to all MAC Nordstrom department store locations for their Anniversary Sale. I wanted "Real Drama" at first, but that one sold out so freaking fast. o_o I still like this one though. Unfortunately it's no longer available online. I swear, these lip bags were such hot items!

Comes with a small make-up bag, a cremestick lipliner in "CREME O' SPICE", a cremesheen lipstick in "INNOCENCE BEWARE", and a dazzleglass creme in "IT'S A GIRL." I've worn the lippie already and I like it a lot. It's so pink! Oh yeah, and this was my first MAC purchases and I'm very satisfied. :D The dazzleglass is a bit glittery though, but it's ok. Kinda gives a unique holographic effect. Kinda cool. ^^ Will show you guys swatches soon in a later post!

This past Sunday, I met up with an old friend from elementary school (who's back from spending two years in Korea ^^) to do a little shopping + lunch trip. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect. I refrained from buying since...I feel like I've done so much shopping this past month that I felt bad. :3 Instead, I agreed to everything that looked good on my lovely friend at the MAC location of Nordstrom. :D It's what I do best. :P She got lots of awesome goodies though~ I'm jelly. lol

But anyways, we ate at a Italian restaurant which was really nice. Felt so classy and mature...I don't know. It's different from the typical Asian cafe I'm used to going to. :P

I think it was the act of pouring the two bread vinegar dips that made me feel all fancy. keke.

:D

My veggie pizza that I thought I couldn't finish but ended up eating all but two pieces. heh heh. So good!

My lovely friend whom I'm so grateful to have. ^^ (kawaii nails!)

I think this was a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad?

Looked good too. ^^

Alrighty, here's to a great week! ♥♥ Time to brush up and study my nihongo! じゃね〜！

Hello Kitty "friends forever" + Dinner with the fam. :D

Wooo! Happy weekend! Had a great day with two of my closest friends where we watched "Friends With Benefits" at our local AMC for $6! The movie was cute. Justin Timberlake is awkward...but still cute. heh. Even though the storyline was pretty similar to "No Strings Attached," I still enjoyed it. ^^

Afterwards we had a nice lunch at a local Japanese restaurant and then headed to Yogurtland for the Sanrio promo~ SOO KAWAII~!

It's the cup the cutest? :D They have different character spoons as well. Right now, the choice is between Hello Kitty and Chococat so naturally, I had to get the HK one!

Must stop photo op!

After that, we headed to a local nail supply store, but I ended up just looking around. Surprisingly they had all the new collections from China Glaze ("Metro") and OPI ("Miss Universe"). Then, we headed to a local thrift store just to look around. It was my first time "thrift shopping," and the only section I really looked at was for purses. Found some pretty good vintage Dooney and Bourke bags, a small black Longchamp bag, a BALLY one that I liked, as well as Coach and some other ones. The designer bags were $37.50, which is really good. But today...I didn't feel like spending anything. Maybe next time~ also stopped by LUSH but...didn't get anything there either even though I've been wanting to go visit a location for the longest time. -sigh- Must save for now!

In the evening, my mom and I headed out to meet with my relatives since some were visiting from Arizona. (My mom was born and raised in Arizona, so we have a lot of family over there.) We had a full course Chinese dinner~ so good! I'm stuffed.

My cousin brought her two kids. Sooo cuute right? :D Gavin on the left, RIley on the right.

Riley! She's the sweetest little thing. Every time someone takes her picture, she always wants to see it and then smiles and laughs in satisfaction. Such a happy little girl. Love her. hehe

Then after that, we all did a boba run. Shared with my mom since I can't take caffeine so late at night. :3 Overall it was a great day. Lots of great company. It's been a while since we had a family dinner like that, so it was nice. ♥

Work tomorrow! Should be easy though. ^^

Thanks for reading~ enjoy your weekend!

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FOTD: No flash photography!

Hello! Thursdays are my "Fridays" when it comes to summer school, so happy early Friday + weekend! :D Another weekend to look forward to before I start school back again on Monday along with my other class that I have to drive far to. Meh. Not too excited about that...but gotta finish. I'm almost there! ^^

Anyways, youtube has become quite an interesting "time waster" of mine (ok, not a total time waster...) as I enjoy watching various tutorials of different make-up looks and I've always wondered how girls take the time out to do all of that and make it flow! It amazes me...I think that's why I'm so intrigued to watch them. SO! I've been thinking of trying out a video tutorial and came up with a look today:

First time posting such a up close picture w/o flash. Excuse my enlarged pores. :3

Yes, this is as real as it's gonna get. haha.

I took out my 3 Rock & Republic eyeshadows that I purchased from Hautelook a few months ago and decided to do a look with all three. I really like the result as I tried different things and added more liners to the look. My mom said she liked it, and I liked it as well. ^^ A very subtle smokey eye that can be worn during the day and can be darkened for a night time look. I paired it with my L'oreal colour riche lipstick in "Peach Fuzz" and since I think this color is a bit to orangey, I topped it with a pink/peach lipgloss by E.LF.

Thumbs up for a possible video tutorial? :D

And for the boys in the back! Extra points if you know who they are. :P

Let me know what you guys think. ^^ Might try it out tomorrow. I'll have to figure out how I'm gonna do it...but I'm excited. heh. Oh yes, and I just received my Nordstrom package (which I haven't opened yet~). Upcoming post on that soon as well!

(Oh yeah, and there's a new palette that I'm lemming for and it's not the UD 15th anni one...WANT!!!!)

Deck the Hauls (Video): F21, Face Shop, WnW, NYX

Hello there! Happy Hump (Wednesday lol) Day! Had a pretty awesome day in class. Ok, so my professor isn't a complete meanie...ended up getting a B on my exam and an A on my paper. PHEW! Looking forward to the upcoming weekend though! Family from AZ is coming down on Friday so we'll be having dinner that evening. Can't wait to play with my cousin's kids. :D

Slight delay, but here's the HAUL post + video that I've been meaning to share ever since Saturday! :D
(btw, I kinda slur my words and speak in mumble...I guess I was tired? I napped right after this lol gomen ne~!)


More up close pictures:

Most of my Face Shop haul~ some are missing...heh ^^

Excited to try these face masks~ (Ranging from $2-$2.50; got a few free)

Far right: Extreme Dot Pen Eyeliner ($18)

polish in nail color BR805 ($2) + face wipes ($3)

free gel mask + cleansing soap. YAY!

CVS: WnW BOGO1/2 (6 icon palette in Vanity $4.99 and trio in Walking on Eggshells $2.99)

NYX eyeshadow in Jazzy Brown ($5)

Thanks for watching and reading! :D

Niles posing with one of his fav. toys "Fox" from "Fox and the Hound".

He thinks he's Tod. LOL

Random: Ebay ftw.

Hello! ^^ It's been a little while since I've posted here. BUT, first let me say...thank you guys for all the support with my videos. I'm learning a lot in the process of doing so. It's been a very fun experience so far and I hope to continue! :D

Anyways~ School's been kind of rough lately since my professor is so freaking frustrating and anal and moody. Aish. Hate it. But, I'm feeling a little bit better about it today. ^^ This week feels super slow though...meh. Hope all of you have been well though. Weather's definitely been heating up! Gah. But I guess I kinda like it. ^^

I was going to do a haul video + post today since I recently took a trip this past weekend to "The Face Shop" :D but, I got kinda lazy and napped instead. (I need to stop napping, or at least get some decent sleep x_x). So, instead...I will just show you two things that I received in the mail today~

Etude House Black Head Heating Scrub +

The Face Shop Clean Face Night Spot Eraser Whitening

Super excited to try out the heat scrub since I have major black heads and white heads all over my t-zone (sad fact) so I'm really hoping this will do something to help me minimize them. I know they probably don't seem as visible, but to me...I dislike! Oh yes, and hopefully the night spot eraser will do something as well. I am definitely disliking the one I got from "The Body Shop" a while back (I should do a dislike review on those ones too eventually..)

This is my first time trying anything Etude House and my first time trying something from The Face Shop's skin care line. *crossingfingersforsomevisibleresults!*

Have you guys tried any Etude House or Face Shop skin care products?

Any recs? ^^

Alrighty, hoping to post some kind of haul video tomorrow! May include some random things in there as well that I've...purchased/accumulated. :D Until then~~~ ♡

Review (Video): Lioele Waterproof Eyeliner and Automatic Brow Pencil

(I was meaning to post this last night, but umm..iMovie and Youtube were being a pain -_-)

Hello!! Week is over and it's time for the weekend~ yay!! I DO have a long awaited review for you guys, but before I get into that, I will share my little Nordstrom story.

So, I went with my friend Kristine - (she just started blogging~ ^^ follow her here) to check out the Nordstrom anniversary sales yesterday. I started eyeing the MAC Cinematic lip sets before, and had "It's a Girl" and "Real Drama" on the brain, but to my disappointment, "Real Drama" was totally sold out! I was seriously kinda sad...lol so I ended up not getting "It's a Girl." BUT, later on in the day, I realized that I should've gotten "It's a Girl" anyways! UGH. I hate that feeling. So, after my sister's practice, I dragged her with me to another Nordstrom, only to find that they had only one of the lip sets in stock, none of which were the ones I wanted. SADNESS! So, in the end I just ended up ordering the "It's A Girl" since "Real Drama" is even sold out on the website!! -sigh- Lesson to be learned: GO EARLY. I never realized how many people know about sales like these...*clueless* lol. But I'm excited! So please look forward to a post on that in the near future. :D

Ok ok, now for the review!! I posted my little Pretty & Cute haul in one of my posts last month, and I'm finally ready to review it! I decided to do a video review, so hope you guys like it and find it helpful. ^^

Here are more detailed pictures of the two Lioele items:

Both are the twist pencil/pen type.

Water-proof Eyeliner in "Black"

The fail sharpener.

Artist Automatic Eyebrow Pencil in "Gray Black"

Can be used for thinner shading as well.

The brush that is attached to the other side.

Alrighty, that's my review. ^^ Hope you all have a great weekend. (Prepare for CARMAGEDDON! lol) Untill next time~ ♡♡♡

Feature: Tips on Throwing Away Old Make-up

Hello! Hope all of you had a great day. My exam ended up being not as bad, but I did wake up this morning at 4am to study. :3 Hopefully I did alright. Oh well. For summer classes, Thursdays are like Fridays so, no class tomorrow! Yay!

Ok, so I didn't end up working on the review I wanted to post but, instead while I was going through my daily emails, I found a very interesting feature on Chictopia. If you guys haven't heard of Chictopia, it's an online "fashion" and "style" site where users submit their high quality outfit pictures for viewer ratings. It's just a fun site to browse. I like getting ideas from it. ^^

Anyways~ the email included a very informative feature on "5 Reasons to Throw Away Make-Up." I personally haven't started using and collecting make-up for very long, but I found this article to be super informative and I wanted to share it will all of my readers. ^^

Credits: Chictopia.com

Here are just some of one specs that stood out to me for those make-up products that don't have an expiration date printed:

Shelf life:
- Powder: 2 years.
- Foundation: 6 months
- Pencil Eyeliner: 2 years (remember to sharpen every so often!).
- Gel/Liquid Eyeliner: 3 months
- Mascara: 3 months
- Lipstick/gloss: 2 years

I know we're all guilty of keeping things for long periods of time because the feeling of throwing something away that might have had quite a hefty price is hard to bare. BUT, if it comes to skincare and health, then I think we all should educate ourselves further and take precaution to the make-up we use on our face without having the risk of future infections or skin problems. Make-up is fun!...but we still must be cautious on what make-up we use and how it reacts to our skin. Even if a certain item costs $50, in the end it's really not worth it.

So, even though I'm not the greatest at keeping track of stuff, I will definitely be keeping tabs on all my make-up products and have that liberty of tossing it away. I mean...doesn't that give a great excuse to go out and buy something new out on the market? XD Make-up is endless! And, it will forever be in demand (or at least until technology catches up to the make-up world).

Here's the link to the rest of the feature: 5 REASONS TO THROW AWAY YOUR OLD MAKE-UP

Thanks for reading!!

Have a lovely evening/day!

I'll most definitely be working on that review tomorrow. ^^

(Oh yeah, any one gonna get anything from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale that starts for all of us non-cardholders tomorrow?? I'm eyeing one of the lippie sets from MAC - possibly "Real Drama" or "It's A Girl" and the nail polish set from Le Meticier. dkfjlskj. We'll see. Damn them!)

OOTD + Special Guest: Where's the sun when you need it?

Hello!! Back with a quick OOTD post since I'm supposed to be studying for my first "major" exam tomorrow...but eh. lol. Anyways, I put a little more effort into my outfit today and thought it seemed very lackofabetterword "BEACHY," except it was really overcast this morning, causing the sun to finally rise around 2pm? Weird. heh.

I've been into baggy, oversized tops lately since I think they're more flattering for my body type as they help hide my lovehandles. :3 Plus, they breathe well and don't stick to my skin during those super hot and sweaty summer days. Oh yes, and they hide my currently healing sunburns while not irritating them as much. ^^

The sleeves are what one would call "bat winged" (I think) and the back has a very baggy hoodie.

I paired it with these leather like flip-flips that have rhinestones on the straps to kind of match the silver studs on the left front side of the top.

As for accessories, I wore the new necklace I bought yesterday. I've been looking/wanting shorter, daintier necklaces to wear, so when I saw this one, I thought it'd give a nice, subtle pop of color that can be worn both for casual outfits as well as dressy ones. ALSO, my new sunnies that I showed you guys from this post!! I think they scream a bit of "Gaga," yes? :P

Look who popped up...I swear, he ALWAYS just lies on the floor whenever we're in each other's pressence. LOL. BUM!

OUTFIT: Dark gray, acid wash hooded top - Foreign Exchange

"Destroyed" white jean shorts - Pacsun

Leather like rhinestone flip flops - AE

Gold and black shades - beach fair

Necklace - Forever 21 (See better picture here in Gold/Blue)

Extra Niles pictures:

"I'm ready for my close-up!"

BYE BYE!

Hoping to work on getting a review together after I get back from class tomorrow. ^^ It's been so long since I've done one!

Feature: Finally got my "Hidden Agenda"

Hi guys! Hope all of you had a wonderful day. I ended up feeling like an insomniac last night due to giving into a nap during the day. I swear, caffeine and naps are two of my worst enemies now. I remember the days when I could nap for hours and still be able to get good night's rest. -sigh- Oh well.

Anyways, in the make-up world, I've been hating (hate is such a strong word...) my Physician's formula concealer (in Fair Light) as I feel that it is WAY too light for my skin tone and I personally feel that it's a bit cakey, making it hard to blend. SO, I was in definite need for a new alternative.

I took a little shopping trip to ease my urge to sleep x_x with a friend and we ended at Target where I finally came across something that I've been on the search for recently:

Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette! ($9.99)

It was recommended from Tiffany of Will Work for Makeup on her simple tutorial on "flawless skin." During my last Target trip, I looked through the Sonia Kashuk items and couldn't seem to find it. BUT today, lo and behold, it was right there waiting for me. ^^

Here's what you get in this wonderful palette:

(Oops, typo in 'powder' :3) This palette would most liking work for shades that begin with concealer one and end right about the color of concealer two. Since you do get two concealer colors along with a neutralizer, it is said that you can mix which ever combinations in order to find the right match for your skin tone.

As you can see, I've already started playing with it. heh heh. I'm an NC25 so it seems to be a great match so far. I was going to post a FOTD with a bit of contouring that I tried, but my eye bags just weren't cutting it. =[

Will definitely post a full review once I continue playing with this very promising "hidden agenda."

What concealers do you guys use? Any recommendations?

Alrighty. Until next time...I'm off to bed! ♡

Feature: My almost lost "Happy Booster"

Hello there. ^^ Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. Took a trip to the Japanese market with my mom and got a ton of goodies~ from rice crackers (senbei) to ramen to miso! I'm going to attempt to make the miso mushroom soup that one of the workers made as a sample. Totally sold us on getting a tub of miso for ourselves! I'll uh...update you guys on how that goes tomorrow evening. I normally don't cook but, it seems easy enough? :3 Afterwards, we went to the local beach and just relaxed on the sand while eating our bentos. It was nice. I was 99% in the shade. Life was good. :P

Anyways, here's my long lost Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in "Natural" that I couldn't find for the longest time! I seriously thought I had lost it on one of my recent trips and was so sad to find it missing. But, after doing some summer cleaning (which reminds me...my room's getting a little messy agan...aish), I FOUND IT! It was on my little make drawer section, but hidden under papers. -sigh-

Look at all those mix of pinks. So cute!

The bottom brush + mirror that I never use/open.

Funky swatch. :3

I never got to fully use and test this one out, so I'm glad it's back and tucked safely into my little blush collection. :] It really does spark the happiness within me when wearing this on my cheeks. ^^

Do you guys have any of the Happy Booster blushes/bronzers? ^^

Alrighty. Gotta start my 4 page paper... :3 and it's 11:27PM and class is at 8AM. -SIGH- Story of my life. lol. Here's to a fantstic week! ♡

Feature: What I've gotten recently! ^^ (+FOTD)

Before I get right into today's entry, I've implemented the Disqus commenting app for blogger because I really want to reply back to all comments made by you guys personally! ^^ (even though I dislike how all previous comments are erased...WAE?!?) - Thank you, Mai!

Hello lovelies! Are all of you having a great weekend? :] I worked this morning so I'm a wee bit tired. Weird since I've just recently been feeling really tired...but I'm alright. Thank you guys for all the recommendations for SPF/sunburn treatments. ♥ Starting today, it started to peel! Lol. Though that may sound a bit gross (gomen~), I've been waiting for this day. -sigh- A sign of healing; slowly, but surely.

Anyways, just wanted to show you guys what I've gotten recently in terms of mainly accessories, face masks, and uh...stickers? XD

Since I recently started my first summer class, the campus is right across the street with a plaza filled with stores that sell beauty products, accessories, and more. I've been trying to refrain myself as much as possible (for now), but I had to stop by at least one of the stores on my way home. :P


Picked up these 3 polishes from Sally's Beauty. I was super surprised when I got home and found out that the Finger Prints "Groovy Green" (my first from this brand) one and the China Glaze "Electric Pineapple" are both from their respective 2011 summer collections! Those two were quite a steal at $1.99 each, and considering I didn't have anything in my polish collection like it, I figured it was a good deal. Also, finally picked myself up my first China Glaze Crackle in "Platinum Pieces" for (I think) $6.


New shades I picked up from my last beach trip! Only $5~ definitely can't beat that. :D I also picked out this Hawaiian/island inspired cuff bracelet for $2. Both, perfect for those summer beach days. ^^


This past Wednesday after my class, I stopped by a vendor who was selling a whole bunch of earrings. They were $2 each, or 3 for $5, so I couldn't pass it up! I spent quite a while picking out the ones I really wanted...and I knew one of them had to be feather earrings. (I've been wanting some for quite a while!) OSM find of the day. IMO, these earrings are of same or even slightly better than F21 jewelry.


Today after work, I stopped by this small shopping/restaurant area before heading home to do some "swap" shopping (will give details later~ ^^) and picked up a few things for myself. :D Got some face masks by the Korean company "Naisture" in "Sweet Honey", "Moisture Green Tea", and "Lovely Strawberry." Will definitely let you guys know how I like/dislike them in comparison to the MBD masks. Also got a few stickers for future snail mail/cards/writings. I feel like...stickers really can add an extra personal and "cute" factor to cards and letter just like a piece of jewelry can really add to an outfit. (lol, I think I've been watching/reading too many fashion blogs :P)


Whenever I head over to this area, I almost ALWAYS have to stop by my favorite shop for accessories. I feel like they have the most unique/cute jewelry pieces that you won't find any where else. Got these earrings because I thought they were soo pretty and girly. You can't see in the picture, but the color of the stones are a mix of a really light pink/peach, with alternating shimmers stones as well. This place is my "go-to" store for jewelry gifts. Found this store last summer when I first started working at this job, and have been a loyal customer ever since (or at least when I...kind have the money to spend.) Their clothes selection is super cute too! If you're into Japanese fashion mags (not gyaru...though they also have a store for gyaru type clothing), they carry all similar types of styles. ^^

From yesterday - FOTD:

I wish I had the patience to curl my hair more often. heh heh. (Excuse that big bump near my right eye...TT__TT) Put my WnW "Sweet as Candy" in use! I'm starting to really like the colors in this trio since it provides a nice shimmer with a hint of color. Great for everyday wear as well. I used it again this morning before work. :]

Thanks for reading! Oh, and I also started KIND OF getting stuff together for a giveaway...but I plan to get a little here and there, so stay tuned! ♡