In All My Jannieness

Glitter All Over My Nails

2012-01-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

I'll be wearing this nail look until everything begins to chip off. Haha... I'm no manicure expert, but I am totally feeling the glitter with dark purple base. This is attempt #2 already. I did my first attempt an hour or a bit more before work. BIG MISTAKE. Even with top coat that promises to dry fast, the color on the right index finger ended up smearing. It had happened while I was getting dressed for work. I should've done my nails the night before. No more doing nails no less than a couple hours before work. LOL.

As a base color, I applied Essie's Sexy Divide, which is a glossy, dark purple. The glitter on top is Wet 'n' Wild's Party of Five Glitters. This has been one of my favorite nail polish colors (Err...glitters?) for the past couple months. It's very festive and eye-catching. It gets attention when I wear it. Especially over darker colors or gold.

I remember when my co-worker asked what's the name of glitter polish I was wearing. I told her it's Party of Five Glitters by Wet 'n' Wild. (I had it on with a dark red color at the time.) Remembering the show, "Party of Five," she giggled. It's an old 90s show that starred Neve Campbell, Lacey Chabert (Gretchen from Mean Girls), Jennifer Love Hewitt, and many others. To make my co-worker laugh more, I mentioned there's a color named Buffy the Violet Slayer. LOL.

From nail polish, I got stuck in the 90s all a sudden. Haha... Quite a good decade though. :D

Clothing and Unmentionables Haul

2012-01-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started school, I've been excited about going clothes shopping. Not like there's anyone to impress at school, but I'm sure you understand the feeling of looking good resulting to FEELING good. When you feel good about yourself, you're inspired and motivated to do pretty much ANYTHING. Feeling good all starts with taking care of yourself. Appearance included. :)

I have to admit, there will be times I'll come to school donning a more low-key look. Especially when it's cold and rainy.

Featured in this haul are a couple tops and yes, unmentionables too. Yeah, I know. TMI, but the set is pretty. I just had to include it. LOL. I did not buy everything all in one sweep.

The first top is from H&M. It's a loose-fitting, black and white polka dot blouse that's 100% polyester. It's quite sheer, so I'll wear a tank top or cami underneath. I tried on two other variations of this blouse (white and red polka dots and hot red-orange) in the store, but I wasn't really feeling them as much. What I really love about the blouse that I ended up buying was that it reminded me of the early 90s. LOL. I remember how much I wanted a sheer blouse back when I was in eighth grade. It was popular among more than half the girls in school. My mom didn't want to buy one for me though. LOL. I'm glad something quite similar came out a couple decades later. Now I can make up for what I missed out on. Hahaha...

The next top is my FIRST ever purchase from ASOS. Just like the top on the previous picture, this blouse from ASOS is loose fitting as well as 100% polyester. This isn't sheer though. I really like the color a lot. It's dark red. I can imagine this color working very well with very dark denim, a variety of grays, tan, and brown. Although it was quite pricey for me (It was on sale for $29.50.), it's a very practical piece because it can be paired up with a lot of colors. Other than colors, it can be paired with various bottoms too. Skinny jeans, boot-cut jeans, boot-cut slacks, cigarette pants, shorts, and even a mini-skirt. If the top were long enough, I'd wear leggings with it. Too bad it runs down to the hip, so it's not long enough to cover your bum. Other than not being long enough for leggings, my other minor complaint is that the sleeves are a tad too long. Not a huge deal for me though. Favorite details on this blouse are the ruffled collar and cuffs.

Moving on to the unmentionables... I purchased this beautiful set from Adore Me. The name of the set is Christa and it retails at $39.95. Earlier this month, I was asked via email to do a survey regarding the Adore Me showroom layout and was given a 50% off code after completing the survey. From that code, I ended up spending $19.97 on the whole set. I don't know if anyone is still getting the survey emailed to them.

The Christa set is made of 93% polyester and 7% spandex. Although it's comfortable on me, I would not recommend it to anyone who is not used to wearing thongs. Details I really love about this set is the floral embroidery and the little black ribbons.

A pleasant surprise was included in my Adore Me package. I got a free pair of Aquagirl full stockings. Hmm... I wonder why they're called Aquagirl. I haven't worn them yet. Now I will have an excuse to wear a dress or skirt when it gets chilly outside, thanks to these stockings. :D

I know I should've done this before making this post, but it's now time for me to finish what's left of my reading assignment. Luckily I only have about five more pages to go, I believe. Not too much, so that doesn't make me THAT big of a slacker. Hahaha...

Hope this haul was fun for you to read as it was fun for me to post. ;) Take care and please don't be sick like me. It's going around.

What Happened This Week

2012-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Ben came over for a visit. It was great timing. I had school the next day. Some time with the boyfriend definitely helped give me even more motivation to go back to school. I haven't been to school in such a long time, so I was nervous as heck. Ben gave me some tips as well as many hugs and kisses. :D Yes, I'm cheesy. They help ease nerves BIG TIME. Haha... I am looking forward to his next visit. He can hear me ramble about school. LOL. Poor guy has to hear me ramble. Then again, he's a good listener and doesn't mind that I have a tendency to talk a little too much. :D

Oh, the first picture is so random. Ben was fascinated by the pretty lighted fountains at the Lexus Escondido dealership. He took pics (There are two others, which made it to my Facebook profile instead.) of the fountains right after we had dinner at his favorite Chipotle Mexican Grill. I like Chipotle too. I had cravings for a burrito bowl that evening.

On the first paragraph, I mentioned I went back to school. After 10 years of debating with myself, I finally decided I'm ready to go back. And yes, it's about time. I have to admit, I am still a bit nervous and overwhelmed about school. Especially with the projects and papers I need to brace myself to during the semester. Group work in class really scares me. I don't know anyone. :P

I know I probably mentioned this in many, many posts. Working retail has really helped me break out of my anti-social shell. Especially working in the jewelry department where I interact a bit more one-on-one with customers. Compared to talking to classmates in school, talking to customers is CAKE. I froze up and shyness attacked me when I was paired up with the girl sitting to my right. I've been painfully shy ever since I was in fifth grade. It all changed when I started working at my current place of employment. Because of friendly co-workers and nice customers as well, I began to open up to people more. Hopefully the same will happen with my classmates. I am also hoping my future group project won't be as scary and that I'll end up tripping for nothing after all. LOL.

This semester, I'm taking just one class. It's Infant and Toddler Development. For now, I'm still trying to get used to my big school comeback. Maybe in future semesters, I'll step my game up more and take between two to four classes at a time. I'm taking baby steps right now. Speaking of school, the second random picture is of the notes I've taken from class. I actually transcribed them. The original notes are written on the back of my school map. I had no paper that day, so I hurriedly jotted down notes once I turned my school map over to a nice, blank side.

I will be going to bed soon. I am sick with a really horrible sore throat right now. Talking and eating are both painful for me at the moment. Not fun. :( Plus, I'm beginning to get all drowsy from the medicine I've taken. Good night and stay tuned for an upcoming haul post. :)

Pink, Blue, and Oh, So Cute!

2012-01-10T00:14:00.000-08:00

I just had to get this Mrs. Bunny Blue Travel Kit when I saw it on the Sigma website. The brushes are so cute with their pink ferrules and baby blue handles. Putting cuteness aside, Mrs. Bunny and the rest of the Bunny Collection brushes are Sigma's first ever vegan brushes. The bristles are made with the same synthetic Sigmax HD fibers.

I ordered this set on New Year's Eve, I believe and got it last Friday. Soon after taking pictures of the brushes, I washed them right away. There seriously was not a single sign of shedding or bleeding. Other than no worries of shedding or bleeding pleasing me, I was also very pleased with how soft they are. I've been using them since Saturday and I'm impressed with how well they perform.

My favorite one is the F40, the Large Angled Contour brush. This brush applies blush and bronzer very seamlessly. You won't see streaks or blotches on your cheeks or in the hollows of them. Another favorite is the E40, Tapered Blending brush. Because it is tapered and quite stiff, it made blending color in the crease very easy. I like it for applying transition color above the crease as well. The E65, Small Angle, is pretty good too. Instead of gel liner, I used this brush to apply eyeshadow as an eyeliner instead.

The F30, Large Powder brush was alright for me. It is useful for lightly dusting powder all over the face. For heavier coverage, you're better off using a kabuki or powder puff. This brush will also be great for touching up your T-zone too when you see signs of shine.

I tried using the F60, Foundation brush, for cream foundation. It did not work for me. I ended up resorting back to cosmetic wedges. I am not giving up on this brush. I will give it a chance when I use liquid foundation. Now that's when I'll really get to know the ability of this brush.

The E30, Pencil brush, is pretty good as well. It performs like any other pencil brush. Unlike many other pencil brushes, this one is not scratchy. Now that's a plus. The last brush to be mentioned is the E55, Eye Shading. Poor brush. I actually haven't used it yet.

Another cute factor to mention about this brush set is the baby blue container. Because I bought the travel edition, the container will probably be a lot smaller than the standard-sized one. It's neat how you can unclasp the container to become two separate cups. The travel edition set of seven brushes complete with cup container retails at $59.99. If you're more into basic black with silver ferrules, there is a Mr. Bunny set too. Both sets have bigger versions that cost $109.99.

Because I've been using the brushes for about three days, I still need more time to get a better feel of their performance. Plus, there's one brush that I still have yet to use. With this set, I like how I'm not really feeling the need to pull out more brushes to use. The set seems pretty complete to me.

Naked the Second Time Around

2012-01-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Don't get ideas with the title here. LOL. I am talking about Urban Decay's Naked 2 palette. I ordered my palette from Sephora though. It's available there now, so that should be good news for those of you who've anticipated more Naked 2 palettes to come. I'm so glad I don't have to wait a whole year to get this unlike with the original Naked palette. A big YAY to not missing out. Hehe...

One little bothersome thing I knew I'd be in for is the return of Half Baked. I'm pretty sure that's one of the first things everyone noticed about the Naked 2 palette. Don't get me wrong. It is a pretty color. Isn't it enough that it's in the original Naked palette already?

Other than my small rant about Half Baked the second time around, I have no other complaints about this palette. It arrived just this afternoon, so I'm just sharing my initial thoughts.

I really like the new packaging. It feels durable. I also like how it actually locks shut. Being the nostalgic person I am, I thought the palette's tin container reminded me of a pencil case I had back in elementary school. LOL.

In terms of colors, Naked 2 has a cooler and lighter range of shades compared to the original Naked. Instead of having just two matte shades like the original, Naked 2 has three. Namely Foxy, Tease, and Blackout. On me, you can't see Foxy at all (first swatch in last pic). Therefore, I will use it as a highlight on my brow bone. I can see Tease (fifth swatch) as a transition color to go over the crease color. It's a nice plummy mid-tone brown shade, but it didn't blend too well when I swatched it on my arm. Blackout (last swatch) would be nice as a liner, crease color (when blended with a light hand), or definition color for the outer-V.

Colors I instantly liked while swatching are Pistol (eighth swatch), Verve (ninth), and YDK (10th). All three shades are either frosty or shimmery. Pistol looks borderline charcoal and cool brown to me. Verve looks very hard to describe. It looks like a very shimmery mix of silver and very light taupe if that makes any sense. This color would look so flattering and gorgeous on the lids. I can see this brighten up either the eye color you were born with or the colored lenses that you're rocking. :D As for YDK, this looks like a rosy copper. This would look pretty either worn on the crease or outer half of lids.

As for the other colors, they range in various shades of brown and bronze. These are all very ideal for anyone who prefers more neutral, wearable eyeshadow colors. They are shimmery, so apply them with a lighter hand for a more subtle eye makeup look.

Oh, and another flesh-tone color is Bootycall (third swatch). In the picture of my armful of swatches, it looks very similar to Foxy. I promise you in real life, Bootycall is more pigmented. It's shimmery too. If you're going for a luminous looking brow bone highlight, this color is the one for you.

If I wake up early enough tomorrow to have some time to do makeup, I probably might play with this palette. I know for sure I will be using this in conjunction to my original Naked palette. All the colors in both palettes should compliment each other very well. It's quite hard to go wrong when combining neutral colors on a single eye makeup look.

It is nice to have both palettes. Especially if you really love makeup and like collecting it. In my case, if you're obsessed already. LOL. :P Having either one or the other version of Naked is nice too. You're not missing out on much if you have one or the other. If you have neither, it's okay too. There are a lot of just as nice dupes provided by other makeup companies. And in case you're on a budget or not willing to fork over $50 for a palette, a lot of Naked 2 (and original Naked) dupes are affordable.

Mouthwatering Sushi Post

2012-01-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

My friend, Helen, and I went out for sushi yesterday. We usually go to Sushiya, our favorite sushi place. Whenever we go, we pretty much order the same things. We've given up on that big Scallop Dynamite dish we used to order though. Although delicious, the sauce on it is way too rich and the portions are way too abundant as well. LOL.

For Helen, it's usually the Spicy Tuna Roll. The tuna in the rolls are raw. I'm okay with raw fish, but I prefer the rolls with crispier fish or seafood in them. Her Spicy Tuna Roll is on the top picture. And yes, the pencil is part of what she ate. Just kidding. LOL. We used that pencil to fill in the sushi list they (the staff) provide on each table.

My order of Salmon Eggs (orange eggs) with Quail Eggs (yolk) on top is in the second picture. These rolls may look a bit intimidating for some people that haven't tried sushi yet. I don't blame them. Believe me though, they are DELICIOUS. I always order them whenever I come to Sushiya. They are a bit on the salty side, but I like them. Some people may like them. Some people may not. Tastes vary. You can try them though. In case you're willing to. ;)

On the third pic is a whole lot of rolls. LOL. I did not realize that two orders of Salmon Skin Rolls would equal to 16. Yikes! Next time, I'll stick with just one order. :P The rolls on the left are Shrimp Tempura Rolls. Helen said they look like a work of art. Although delicious, I liked my Salmon Skin Rolls better. Maybe if I skipped out on the Shrimp Tempura Rolls all together, I could've finished all my Salmon Skin Rolls. Yes, I felt bad for not finishing my food. :( That was such good sushi. I don't like wasting food.

So yes, lesson for next sushi run, order the usual. Make only ONE order of Salmon Skin Rolls. That way, there is also room for dessert. I missed out on my Green Tea Ice Cream.

Other than sushi, we went shopping too. We also had an interesting kiddie train ride in the mall with our friend, Chris. LOL. The kiddie train ride was HELEN'S idea. LOL. LOL. LOL.

I had a fun day today. And no, I did not take pics of the whole train experience. :P

11 Questions to Say Goodbye to 2011

2011-12-31T23:12:00.000-08:00

Here in California, we have about 45 minutes left until 2012. What better way to say goodbye to 2011 by doing a tag about it? :D I was tagged by the lovely Dee to answer two sets of 11 questions and come up with 11 questions of my own. This is brilliant. I haven't come across a survey that leaves some room for you to ask some questions to the people you tag. :) If you haven't done so yet, please visit Dee's blog. She has very precise and detailed makeup reviews. She is mega-talented. Her eye makeup looks are gorgeous. Her eyes are so pretty too. I am sure you will enjoy her blog posts. :)

Here are the set of rules for the 11 Questions tag that must be posted. Now I won't get mad if they're going to be broken. I'm quite a rule-bender myself. I'm not doing it on purpose though. LOL. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer. You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her. No tag backs. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this.'" You legitimately have to tag 11 people. Then again, for me, I can't really come up with 11 people to tag. I will be honest and will cheat a bit on the tagging part. Forgive me. Hehe...

Here are 11 facts about me. This will be quite long, so forgive me once again. Then again, it's cool if some of you may find longer tags quite entertaining. :D

I love music and can listen to pretty much ANYTHING. Well, pretty much. I mainly like music from the 80s and 90s. A bit of the 70s too. I also like current hits, but it gets annoying when a lot of songs are overplayed. Among my favorite artists and bands are Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Michelle Branch, Katy Perry, and Kylie Minogue.

I haven't broken any bones nor have I been stung by a bee. I hope I'm not speaking too soon. LOL. I'd be (I was almost going to type "bee." LOL.) scared if either of the two ever happened. Especially the bee one. :P

Insomniac in the house! It's hard for me to fall asleep at a time when I really SHOULD be sleeping. There are rare occasions when I actually sleep at times, which I consider normal. Usually, I sleep around 2 or 3 AM. Sometimes, later.

I don't beat around the bush when it comes to my various moods and emotions. When I'm happy, you'll see me smile and have that pep in my step. When I'm upset about something, my face and expressions will show the obvious.

My dreams are usually pretty WEIRD. It's a rare occasion when I have normal dreams. Wait. Are there even normal dreams? LOL.

I prefer phone calls over text. Call me old fashioned, but I would rather hear the person I'm talking to than get my fingers exhausted over a whole text conversation. Maybe, I'm a little too old anyway to hold a whole conversation through text. Whatever... I like phone calls better.

Over TV, I prefer watching makeup videos on YouTube. Haha... You learn something and get ideas. (Don't we all love makeup after all? :D) Plus, they're fun and entertaining to watch. I especially like watching makeup collection videos, reviews, and hauls.

For years and years, I've been putting off buying a camera. I use my BlackBerry to take all my pictures. I know I should buy a camera soon. I'm quite scared I would not know how to use it. I can't trust myself with one. LOL.

I used to bite my nails. I thought I would never kick the habit. I'm so glad I am so over it. I haven't bitten my nails since 2006, I believe. I've been a nail biter ever since I grew teeth, maybe. I know... Gross. :P

I hardly ever get sick. On rare occasions when I do, it's pretty BAD. Each time I get sick, my voice completely disappears. I have to admit that I sometimes like when I lose my voice. LOL. I don't get pestered a lot. Hahaha...

I don't have a celebrity crush. I don't need one nor do I want one. Besides, they're too unattainable. Other than that, I am VERY happy with my Ben. He is MY celebrity. Hahaha... :D

Here are 11 questions Dee came up with for all us ladies she tagged to answer. :)

2011 is almost over, are you sad or glad that it’s over? A little bit of both. Glad that we're going to welcome another year. That means we'll have another year to fill with memories, opportunities, and changes that will help us learn and grow. Sad because 2011 will be missed...just like any year that passed.

Have you met your resolutions for 2011? I did for a bit, but I completely lost track after some stressful situations.

What is/are your resolution(s) for 2012? To get in shape. I'm considerably healthy, but I need to exercise more and improve my eating habits. I love to eat, but a lot of what I eat is bad for me. I need to stay away from whatever is bad for me. I am waiting for 2012 to do this. Haha...

Do you consider yourself addicted to makeup? Hmm... Isn't it obvious? Hahaha... Not only am I addicted, I'm OBSESSED as well. LOL. Hey, at least it's a rather healthy addiction and obsession. Not only do you make yourself look good, you also FEEL good when enhancing your beauty with makeup. :)

What is your favourite beauty product? Eyeshadow. Either when you dress it up or dress it down, you can always get creative with it.

Do you prefer mascara or lipstick? Hmm... Wow. This is hard because I like both. I guess I'll have to go with mascara though. Even when other parts of my face have no makeup, I feel like my look is complete with mascara. (And eyebrow pencil too, but we did not mention that. LOL.)

Do you like your hair up or down? I like my hair down. I'm quite lazy when it comes to hair. I don't really like to fuss with it. It gets blow-dried, then it stays down. Every now and then, it goes up. I like it better down though.

Do you shop till you drop or shop only for the stuff needed? It really depends on my mood or if I have enough money. Hehehe...

Which one you prefer; makeup or shoes? MAKEUP hands down. I can live with two or three pairs of shoes. As for makeup, I love it, appreciate it, collect it. Therefore, I prefer it.

When it comes to makeup, what is the craziest thing you have done? As in applying it? Well, there was a time when I didn't realize I took too much concealer out of the pot. I didn't know what to do with it. Because I didn't want it to go to waste, I had no choice, but to put it all over my face. Even on parts that didn't need it. That did not feel pleasant either. :P

What is one beauty product that you would recommend to everyone? Any face primer. For me, foundation feels smoother and easier to apply over a primer. SOME will even reduce the appearance of lines and pores if they really are THAT great. I have yet to find the REALLY great ones. I am happy with the ones I have though like Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Pro, Smashbox Photo Finish Light, and MAC's Prep + Prime.

If you've been tagged, I have 11 questions (and an accidental bonus one) for you to answer too. Not very creative ones, but I'm sure you'll all come up with great answers. :) In 2012, if you had the opportunity to travel anywhere around the world, where would it be and why? What three wishes do you have for this year to come? What are your three current favorite songs? What will you be doing this New Year's Eve? If you can remember 10 years back, what was your favorite memory of 2001? What is your ULTIMATE favorite fragrance you've used all throughout the past year? Since I'm going back to school this coming year, may I ask what your favorite subject is or was in school? What are your 11 favorite eyeshadow colors? What are your favorite things to do when the weather gets cold? What is your favorite dessert? What is the best gift that was ever given to you? Do you have any exciting events lined up for 2012?

Here's a shoutout to nine lovely ladies I'm tagging. :D I tag Dana, Huda, Donna, Nancy, Nikz, Chetz, Jamie, Jie, and Iris, if you're planning to blog again. Hehe... Once again, I apologize for having the hardest time to come up with 11 people. I guess nine out of 11 isn't so bad. :) In case you're too busy to do tags, it's okay. Consider this a shoutout because you're among my favorite people. :D

Overall, this tag was fun to do. I hope you have fun with it too. In advance, I wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR. May 2012 be a fruitful and prosperous year for you. May 2012 also be a year full of health, safety, blessings, and great times with loved ones. :)

A Smoky Birthday to Me

2011-12-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's me with a smoky eye look...AGAIN. The smoky eye is my favorite eye makeup look of all time. Since yesterday was my birthday, I ended up with another one of my million smoky eye looks. Hehe... :D

I used my Too Faced Romantic Eye palette to achieve this look. The colors I used were Soulmates, I Do, Cut the Cake, and First Dance. I used I Do, which is a light, milky brown color, on the inner half of the lids. On the outer half, I dabbed on Cut the Cake, the frosty taupe shadow. I also dusty that same shadow to blend out the crease color, which is First Dance. To me, it looks quite like a blackened purple shade. Other than a crease color, I used it to define my bottom lash line as well. For the highlight, I dusted on Soulmates, the pearly vanilla color. For more drama, I tightlined my inner and upper lash line as well as the waterline with MAC's Technakohl liner in Graphblack. On my lashes, I swept on two coats of Voluminous False Lashes Waterproof by L'oreal.

On my face, I had on the bronzer part of ELF's Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder and blush in Mellow Mauve. I kick myself for not really remembering what lip colors I used other than the gloss. (Yeah, I probably might need to write it down for future reference. :P) What I used to gloss my lips is the lipgloss half of Michael Kors Very Hollywood roller ball Nancy sent me. :)

For a short summary of my birthday... It was one of the BEST birthdays I've ever had. I was very touched and happy with all the birthday greetings I've gotten. Everyone's thoughts and kind words are very well and highly appreciated. I was also very happy to have an awesome time with my boyfriend. We spent quality time with each other and had a yummy pasta dinner at CPK. I gave him his Christmas gift while he gave me my combo Christmas and birthday gift. I instantly enjoyed the Burberry perfume he gave me. I liked the unmentionables he gave me as well, but I won't be mentioning them. I just did a review on something similar. LOL.

I'm very thankful my birthday was indeed a happy one. I am hoping more happy ones will come in the following years. :)

My Romantic Eye Buy

2011-12-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

You all might be thinking I'm on a roll here. I just posted VERRRY recently and here I am posting again. Hehe... Oh, well... Might as well. Oh, yeah... I actually have another one coming up. So, yes. It's post after post after post. Hehe... Well, for now. :P

I used the Sephora Inside JC Penney gift card Chellie gave me and treated myself to this. A Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette. :D Along with it, I bought Tarte's Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed. I ended up giving that to my mom as an add-on to her Christmas present. I gave her a set of four Chubby Sticks (for lips) from Clinique, which came in a cute makeup bag. I thought she could use some blush to go along with her lip colors as well. :)

I haven't used the palette yet. All I did was swatch the eyeshadows. As usual, I CAN'T wait to play with all the colors. I know for sure I'll come up with a birthday look using some colors in this palette. I may wear some of the colors for work tomorrow too if I'm not lazy.

Just like the other Too Faced palettes that come in nine eyeshadow colors, Romantic Eye has colors for Day, Classic, and Fashion. There are three cards that have tutorials on the looks too. I find these cards very helpful. Especially for beginners, people still learning how to apply eyeshadow, or anyone who needs ideas on how to wear the eyeshadow colors.

I like how there is a balanced range of colors in this palette. There are three highlight shades, which you can also use as a base color all over the eye. There are also three crease colors and three definition colors. In some palettes with multiple colors, all you get is one dark shade and maybe, eight light. That doesn't give you much options to create a variety of looks. From the Romantic Eye colors, you can go from shy and coy to sultry and sexy.

Based on the swatches I made, I have a few instant favorites already. On the first pic, which are the Day colors, I like Soulmates. Although it's not a cream shadow, it feels soft and creamy. I can imagine this will feel so pleasant to apply all over from brow to the upper lash line. The color itself looks like a pearly vanilla. From the Classic colors (second pic), my favorite color is Cut the Cake, which is a velvety taupe. On the third pic, I like all the Fashion colors. Bouquet Toss is a nice bone color, which will make a pretty highlight. It's matte, so it will balance out Honeymoon (true gold) and Ever After (chocolate brown). Both colors have a frost finish.

Other than trying to contain my excitement over wanting to play with all the colors, I wish you all a good night. :)

Christmas Gifties For 2011

2011-12-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! :) Hope you're all having a fun and happy celebration with all your family, friends, and favorite people you love. :) I enjoyed my Christmas celebration this year. My son was the one who was especially happy. He said this is the best Christmas he's ever had. Hehe... I'm so glad he liked this year's Christmas. I hope he will like the next ones to come too. :)

Christmas was happy this year because my relatives came over to visit. There were a couple family friends that stopped by too. Funny how one of them was actually a classmate of mine from high school. LOL. I did not know he knew my aunt and mom. Small world. This is the second classmate who happens to be a family friend. Another one is my sister's friend's husband. LOL.

Anyway, our celebration consisted of going to church, eating (multiple meals), games, and family bonding time. We all liked it a lot. I wish we can play games in every family gathering. It's very fun and interactive. :)

Another exciting part about our celebration is opening up the presents. This never gets old. Every year, it's hard to wait to open them already. LOL. We did something different this year to spice things up a bit. Instead of doing a Secret Santa, we had this little game for our presents called White Elephant. I really don't know why it's called White Elephant. Anyway, you draw a number from the bag. If you get #5, then you'll be the fifth one to choose among a pile of random gifts. You have to unwrap whatever you chose. You can either keep the gift to yourself or return it to the pile if you're not too crazy about it. It's great when you end up with something you like. Not so great if someone decides to steal it from you. LOL. In our version of White Elephant, gifts can be stolen from someone up to two times. I snickered while my cousin's boyfriend was trying to grab the present from me in the pile. It had makeup in it. Then again he could've given it to my cousin. Anyway, another cousin ended up with my makeup goodie box.

Okay... On with my presents. Hehe... I LOVE each and every thing I received. :D I am very happy with my gifts. Whether they read my blog or not, I give a big THANK YOU to everyone. :)

First present in the pics is from my son, Justin. It's a Premium Body Care set from Chandler Farm. It's my first time hearing of this brand. This will be exciting for me to try products from a new brand. Well, new for me at least. This was originally a gift for my mom, by the way. Tsk, tsk... :P LOL. Oh, well... She's not much into bath and body type products, so at least I can definitely put this to good use. The set also has bar soap that smells like mint. I can't wait to try that. :D

The next gift is from my mom. It's the fragrance I've been wanting for so long. Very Hollywood by Michael Kors. :) Now I have a version of this I can spritz before leaving the house and a version I can roll on while I'm on the go. Not too long ago, Nancy included a Very Hollywood roller ball (with lipgloss) in the package she sent me. So yeah, I love that I have quite a supply of Very Hollywood now. My mom got me the big 3.4 oz bottle too. :D

In our White Elephant gift exchange game, I picked out a Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea set in the pile. It's from my cousin, Melissa. The box is BEAUTIFUL. I put the box on my dresser as a decoration. It does help in storing a few random things too to save space. As for the Sweet Pea things, they smell really good. They have a sweet, floral scent. Although I'm not much into sweet scents, Sweet Pea has just the right amount of sweetness to be easy and pleasant on the nose. The set includes body lotion, body mist, and bath gel. I was very pleased nobody stole the gift from me. :D I'm glad Melissa got something from B&BW. I've been obsessed with that place lately. LOL.

Speaking of obsession, Donna included Warm Vanilla Sugar body lotion in the package she sent me. This package is meant to be for my birthday, I think. Or is it a combination Christmas and birthday present? Whatever occasion it's meant for, I AM LOVING all the contents in it. Thank you so much, Donna. You surprised me with that. Especially because it arrived so quick. :D Other than Warm Vanilla Sugar, she included a Paco Rabanne Lady Million roller ball. Another fragrance favorite of mine. :D My deluxe sample from Sephora ran out a couple months ago. I was sad about that. I'm so happy Donna included another Lady Million in the package. I can't help but gush so much. I am IN LOVE with the taupe colored scarf she sent me. My aunt liked it too. I need to wear it ASAP. Hehehe... It is too CUTE. :D Donna was also very kind to include a treat in the package for Justin too. :) The moment I told Justin he had a treat, he grabbed it from me. It was never to be seen again. If it's chocolate, I am pretty sure he downed it all already. LOL. He says thank you to the nice friend of Mama who gave him the treat. :D

Trying to channel my (pretend) psychic abilities, I had a hunch Rachelle (a friend from work) would be my Secret Santa. I was right. :D I had a hunch, but wasn't really too sure. I was getting kinda worried either nobody drew me from the bag or somebody unknown probably did. Whoever came up with the Secret Santa idea decided to include newbies. That's fine that newbies weren't getting left out. Then again, a majority of us don't know them. I was happy Rachelle was the one who picked me after all. :D She's one of my good friends at work and she knows I'm obsessed with ANYTHING girly. Hehe... She got me a mirror and gift card to Sephora Inside JC Penney's. Yes, that's the only Sephora we have access to other than ordering online. I'm thinking of what to buy with my card. Hehe... That was so nice of Chellie (Rachelle). It's pretty much like she read my mind. :D

Other than nice presents, I am happy and thankful I had an awesome Christmas and spent it with all my loved ones. I really wish everybody had family and friends they can celebrate with too. Everyone deserves to be surrounded with the people they love and have that moment of joy. There honestly is no greater gift than that. :)

Joined in B&BW Insanity

2011-12-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

Bath & Body Works was CRAAAZY yesterday. There were people EVERYWHERE in the store. It was a bit hard to get around without bumping into someone. LOL. I'm not one who often squeezes myself within crowds. Then again, the holidays are coming up, so I can't complain. Haha... Pretty much EVERY store has a whole swarm (like bees) of people. It takes a whole lot of patience to shop this time of year. In order to remain in positive spirit, we must accept what's expected. We must not be grumps while in the midst of waiting in a long line at the checkout. Anyway, I rambled on too much. Let's cut to the chase. LOL. :P

I know B&BW often has pretty good deals on hand soap. Yesterday, I bought four of them for $15. You can also buy six of them for $20. I don't know if this deal is still going on. Individually, hand soaps retail at either $5 or $5.50. Here are picks in the pics. Hehe... Warm Vanilla Sugar, Iced Gingerbread, Vanilla Bean Noel, and Ribbon Candy.

For me, a B&BW haul is not complete without anything Warm Vanilla Sugar. Once in a while, I can get away with it. Yesterday, I just had to get another hand soap in that scent. And yes, I get tempted to call scents flavors. Everything I bought sounds edible after all. Other than Warm Vanilla Sugar, the only other scent I've smelled (and tried in lotion form) is Vanilla Bean Noel. It is so yummy. Haha... Now you can tell I like vanilla scents A LOT. I am excited and curious about how Iced Gingerbread and Ribbon Candy smell. I won't be opening them yet though. I hid them all somewhere in my bathroom, so my son won't have access to them. He likes playing with the hand soap. In a day, half the bottle is gone because of him. He makes bubbles in the sink. :/ Now that I remember, I did that to bar soap back when I was a kid. :P

Within my hand soap stash, I threw in some hand lotion as well. And yes, it just had to be Warm Vanilla Sugar. :P The 2 oz. squeeze tubes are two for $5. (Individually at $4.) Grr... I should've bought two. I could've included the other as an add-on for the Secret Santa gift for a co-worker. I don't think she knows about my blog, so I'm safe. LOL.

I Adore My Hannah Set

2011-12-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Adore Me sent me this lingerie set named Hannah to review shortly after Thanksgiving. Shipping was rather quick. I picked out my set on the 22nd of November and it shipped the next day. I ended up receiving it three days later. Not a very long wait at all. :)

I was very impressed with the Hannah set as soon as I took it out of the box. It's ADORABLE. The color is a very light, warm baby pink. Both the bra and pair of panties have textured, vertical stripes on them (if that's how you describe them). Both garments also have a peach lace trim. The bra has a small peach ribbon between the cups. This set to me looks sweet and romantic. It looks very well-made too. It's made of 78% nylon, 14% polyester, and 8% spandex. With proper washing, this set should last a while.

What I like about this set is that the bra provides really good support from the straps to the cups. I get annoyed with bras that always have falling straps. The straps on the Hannah bra are completely adjustable, so you won't have to worry about "wings" flapping about. :P For those who need a lift, there is slight push-up padding in the cups. I also like how the set is very comfortable. For guaranteed comfort, make sure you get this set and others from Adore Me in the right size. Like what I mentioned earlier, I was impressed with its appearance. :) I've seen other sets on the website and each of them range from styles that are casual, sweet, romantic, sexy, and elegant. There is a set for every woman. :) The price is very reasonable too. Each set costs $39.95. That's for both bra and pair of panties.

Now here are my two cons. I would love to order the other sets, but a lot of them don't come in my bra size. I originally wanted to get Savannah, but the available bra sizes for that set are way bigger than my size. (I am pretty well-endowed, but the sizes on the drop-down menu come in D, DD, E, F, and G. I'm a C.) Another con is not having the option to try the sets on before buying them. When I shop for bras, I prefer to try them on first before taking them to the checkout. Luckily with the bra from Adore Me, my size didn't run any bigger or smaller. The panties fit nicely too. (I normally don't try those on at the store though.)

In case your undergarments don't fit you, exchanges are free. You can return your items too, but you get charged $5.95 for a restocking fee. Make sure you do your exchanges or returns within 30 days. I think it's a reasonable amount of time.

Just to let you know, you must sign up as a member if you'd like to purchase lingerie sets from Adore Me. Membership is free. You don't have to worry about paying for subscription fees each month.

Would I purchase from Adore Me? I definitely will. I love how I can buy a whole set for only $39.95 without having to worry about matching each piece together. The quality of the lingerie is decent too. I can see the Hannah set and future sets sitting in my drawer for a couple years or so. Speaking of future sets, I have a few on my wishlist already. :D

For more information or if you are or would like to be a fan of Adore Me, please visit and like the Adore Me Official Facebook page. :)

Amazing Package From Canada

2011-12-09T00:25:00.000-08:00

Nancy rocks for sending me this amazing package. :D If I remember correctly, I received this lovely batch of goodies a couple weeks ago. Before I go on about how happy and excited I was to open the envelope, I thank Nancy a million times for being so kind to send these items to me. What she chose was well thought of. It's quite like she read my mind. Hehe... :D If you haven't done so, by the way, please visit Nancy's blog. You will enjoy her posts on makeup, fashion, and travel as well. :)

One of the pleasant surprises I found in the envelope was the Michael Kors Very Hollywood double ended perfume roller with lipgloss. Very Hollywood has been on my wishlist for quite some time now. My mom is actually giving me a 1.7 oz bottle this Christmas. (Not only did she tell me, she showed it to me. :P) I'm glad Nancy gave me the roller though because I can throw it in my purse and take it everywhere with me. The liggloss color is a very pretty and flattering shade of pinky peach with tiny golden flecks.

Yay for another addition to my Annabelle products in my makeup stash. I love the blush color Nancy sent me. The name goes by 48, which looks mauve to me. It's very pigmented and easy to blend and swirl on the cheeks. Because it is very pigmented, I apply it with a light hand. The shade is very fitting for both fall and winter. Adding to the excitement was seeing three of the Gosh eyeshadows she sent as well. I can imagine all three colors complimenting the 48 blush from Annabelle very well. I still have yet to play with them.

One of the things from the package I had already played with are the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Wishnets. The strips are ruby red with a black fishnet print on them. The design is oh, so sexy. Hehe... I actually have the strips on my nails right now. I can't wait to show them to Ben. LOL. :D

Other than cosmetics, Nancy threw in a few trinkets too like bracelets and earrings. I love, love, LOVE the feather earrings that come in a set of three from Forever 21. :D I've been obsessed with feather earrings for the past few months. I've heard they're more suitable to wear in the summer. For me, it doesn't matter. I am wearing my feather earrings all year round. Haha... They work for me. :) As for the bracelets, I've worn the beaded, silver charm bracelet. I love pairing it with my black cuffs. I have yet to wear the cute bracelet with tiny beads. I'm looking forward to wearing it soon. :)

Included in the package is a really neat card entitled "99 Ways to Survive the Holidays." Reading this guide on the card comes in handy. Inside the card is a very sweet message from Nancy. And I know I've said this so many times, but thank you very much, Sis. :D I am so blessed to have a friend like her for many years through blogging. :)

Hana Air Hair Dryer Review

2011-11-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I was contacted by Brian of Misikko. He offered to send me Hana Air, Misikko's top hair dryer, for review. I've read good reviews of Misikko's Hana blow dryers (or hair dryers), curling irons, and flat irons before, so I took the offer of trying the blow dryer out myself and doing a review on it.

Just like many other people, I always thought a blow dryer is a blow dryer is a blow dryer. And in my many years of existence, I've been regularly blow-drying my hair for just the past four years. Prior to that, I started my day with wet, flat hair and it naturally dried all big and poofy by the end of the day. For the past four years, I've always used Conair blow dryers. I've gone through three of them within that time span too.

A few tidbits about Hana Air. It's an Italian design hair dryer with a Scratch Resistant Shell. It has three heat settings, two fan speeds, and cold shot. It's infused with tourmaline, titanium oxide, and silver for healthier, anti-bacterial hair. Speaking of healthy hair, the dryer's ion technology conditions hair and reduces static electricity.

I've only had this Hana Air blow dryer since the 24th of October. And I must confess, I used it as soon as I got it. I honestly was very pleased with it since the first day. Being one who wasn't willing to shell out more than $25 on a dryer, this Hana one is by far the nicest one I've ever used. Now I see why some people splurge on their hair tools.

What I like about Hana Air is that it's very lightweight. Holding it up to my hair does not tire my hands. I also like how it dries my hair fast. When I had long (thick) hair, drying time was eight minutes. Now that I have shorter (still thick) hair, drying time is only five minutes. That really saves a lot of time of my hair routine. Another pro about the dryer is that it's not very noisy. I also like how the air does not get too hot even though it's already on the hottest setting. Now for the best part, my hair always feels soft, sleek, and silky ever since I started using this dryer. Even co-workers have noticed a positive difference in my hair. :D

A few minor cons about the dryer is the super-long cord. (Yes, all 12 ft. of it.) Its length is beneficial, but I wish it had some sort of keeper instead of those two little wires it came with to help coil it. Another con is that you probably may not find this dryer in a store near you. And yes, it retails at $314.99 on the website. It's currently on sale for $194.99. Honestly, it's quite pricey for me. Then again, it's totally an investment if you want healthy, silky, manageable hair each time you blow-dry.

Shipping was fast. It was sent on October 18th and it arrived here on the 24th. I had the pleasure of receiving a whole bunch of other goodies too along with the dryer. I loved how my package was arranged with care with a pretty purple polka dot theme. :)

For more information about Hana Air and other hair tools, you can also visit Hanasalon.com.

Thank you, Brian, for giving me the opportunity to try out and review this awesome blow dryer. :)

Pop Goes Red Hello Kitty Bag!

2011-11-20T19:20:00.001-08:00

I'm so happy the local mall reopened a Sanrio store. It's been years since the previous one closed. I don't even remember how long ago it was. It's great there's now a whole new one. I sometimes swing by there before work. Believe me, it's hard to get out of that store without buying anything. Knowing it's the home of Hello Kitty, Twin Stars, My Melody, Keroppi, and to name a few others, Sanrio lovers will go crazy. Hehehe...

One thing I wasn't able to keep my eyes off of was this big, adorable Hello Kitty bag that was displayed by the back wall of the store. It just had to be in my favorite color too. RED. There were two other colors too, which were brown and black. Red stood out to me though. It is my favorite after all. Plus, it's very eye-catching. :D

According to the Loungefly website, the bag's exact name is Hello Kitty Small Tango Red Patent Embossed Tote. I don't know if the bag on the website is the same size as my bag. My bag is definitely NOT small. It's quite huge compared to all the rest of my bags. It may be the overnight bag, but I'm not sure either. From how I pack things for overnight stays, the bag I have will explode. LOL. It is big enough to fit several makeup bags, a wallet, cardigan, a few snacks, water bottle, and a few other miscellaneous things.

Although it is a Hello Kitty bag, what really sold me was the bag's mature look. For a Hello Kitty bag, this embossed, patent (faux) leather look can be appreciated by grown-ups without having to worry about looking too childish. Especially in the black or brown version. I still like my red bag though. Haha...

As pretty and cute as the other Hello Kitty (and rest of the Sanrio characters) bags can be, I don't think I can rock anything glittery, fuzzy, or furry. Plus, at my age, I'd look silly toting around a big Hello Kitty head with straps in public. LOL. It is quite tempting to get one of them though. Like for an ACTUAL overnight bag, maybe. It can hide in the hotel room instead of be on my shoulder or hand at all times. :P

There are a few places I know of where you can get the bag. One is at a Sanrio store. Either in the mall or online. Loungefly.com and Baghaus.com sell this model too. If you can't find Tango Red, there are still other colors to choose from that you might like. :)

So far, I've used the bag just once and I can't wait to use it again. I really like how it's very roomy. Another plus is that the pocket for the cellphone is high enough to find. You can easily pull your phone in and out of the bag without having to rummage for it. If you like a lot of pockets in your bag, this only has three. For something big, I was expecting more than three pockets. It's all good though. I like organizing my bag by making use of a couple other smaller bags to put inside. This prevents the smaller things from getting lost or eaten by this big bag. :P

I am hoping this bag will last a long time. If you collect handbags, this is definitely a piece you can add to your collection. :)

Yummy Perfume and Sanitizer

2011-11-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to find an eau de toilette version of my favorite all-time favorite fragrance from Bath and Body Works. It is Warm Vanilla Sugar. :D I've loved this scent for almost a decade. I am guessing this scent has been around for quite a while.

I will read the back of the box describing Warm Vanilla Sugar's notes. With those quotes, you can get a better idea of what the fragrance smells like.

"Master perfumers have infused vanilla absolute with basmati rice water and sweet, creamy sandalwood to create this addictively comforting fine fragrance where indulgence meets pure seduction."

I don't know about seduction, but I know it sure is a fragrance to indulge in. My take on describing the scent is that it's sweet, yet it's very light. It's light enough for you to wear every day. Other sweet, dessert-like scents have the tendency to be quite overpowering and even nauseating. Not this one. This has a more pleasant scent that makes you smell as yummy as cookies.

Last time I had this bottle was about eight or nine years ago. It looked different though. It used to be taller and skinnier, I believe. Now, it's a simple, square 2.5 fl. oz. bottle. (Quite a generous amount for a reasonable price at $26.50.) I remember what I had back then had pretty decent staying power. Not the longest lasting, but you still won't feel the need to re-spray multiple times during the day. To enjoy the scent more, you might want to spray again once or twice, maybe. I don't know about the fragrance now if it's still like that. Long lasting or not, it will always be my all-time favorite scent from B&BW. Sweet, light, and classic.

Along with the fragrance, I bought three hand sanitizers. They were only 30¢. I bought two little bottles of Mocha Mousse and I just had to get one more bottle of Coconut Caramel Whip. In the picture, I showed just one bottle of Mocha Mousse though.

Mocha Mousse will make you want to eat your hand just like many other B&BW sanitizers. If you're familiar with Stik-O wafers, this sanitizer smells similar to the chocolate flavored version of them. Each time I smell my hands after slathering them with Mocha Mousse, I crave for a Stik-O or two or three or four. Hmmm... Not good, huh? LOL.

Unfortunately, Mocha Mousse and Coconut Caramel Whip won't be around for long. They were in a display right along with the Halloween sanitizers.

Oh, since the holidays are coming up, it sure would be a nice time to shop for presents at B&BW. Some coupons were thrown in my bag as I was checking out. Hope I don't forget to use them like the previous two I was given the last two times I was there. :P

All-in-One Lip Product

2011-11-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

I was excited and psyched to see a Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter display when I stepped in the CVS near me. The first time I came across the display, I bought just one item. That was Crème Brûlée. I fell in love with its texture and application, I wanted to buy more. I ended up buying four more the next day. :D

The ColorBurst Lip Butter line has 20 lovely colors. Now there's a lot to choose from. Out of 20, I bought five. I may be back for more. :D When I was there two days ago, there were good BOGO (Buy One, Get One 50% Off) deals on them. It's the same thing for a lot of the other Revlon products at my CVS. (You know I don't own CVS. LOL. You know what I'm talking about. Hahaha... :P) The Lip Butters regularly cost $7.79. (Price varies depending on where you buy it.) For the second tube you buy, it costs $3.89. Because my math isn't great at all, I am cheating by looking at my receipt.

I love the Lip Butters because they're each like a lip balm, lipstick, and lipgloss ALL IN ONE tube. It's very handy if you don't want to throw more than one lip product in your purse. Just like a lip balm, the Lip Butter is very moisturizing. Its key ingredients are mango butter, shea butter, and coconut butter. It's like a lipstick because it has pretty decent pigmentation. Not as opaque as a lipstick, but its color still goes on very visible. It can also pass for a lipgloss because it adds a pretty and healthy sheen to your lips.

Here comes the fun part. Describing the colors I had bought. :D On the very left is Sugar Frosting, it's a sheer, pale nude color. Next to it is Strawberry Shortcake. This color swatches darker on my arm, but looks lighter on my lips. On my arm, it looks like a mid-tone pink. On my lips however, it looks more like baby pink. The middle color is Cherry Tart. It's a cooler-toned red. You can either wear it sheer or build it up for a slightly bolder color. This is great for anyone who wants to try red lipstick, but still is a bit reluctant for a red that's rich and bright. The second to the last shade is Pink Truffle. It's a rosy, mauve-y looking shade. It looks quite brownish too. It's great lip color to wear everyday if you're into slightly darker colors. The color is the first color I bought, which is Crème Brûlée. It's basically nude, but not pale enough to wash you out. Another everyday color I recommend. It would look very nice if you want that balance between bright, bold, or dark eyeshadow with a softer, simpler lip color.

Yikes. I forgot the names of some of the other lip colors. I wanted Peach Parfait, but the only one left in the display was damaged. Hopefully CVS (and other stores) will stock up on more. This is becoming a fast favorite of mine. :)

A CPK Moment With the BF

2011-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to California Pizza Kitchen in a while. Last time I went was on Ben's birthday last year. I was craving the White Pizza from there. Before Ben and I got there, I forgot the pizza's name. I just remember it being white with a lot of spinach and cheese. Lo and behold, it's called White Pizza. As simple as that. LOL. Hmm... Now that I'm looking at the menu, funny how it's supposed to have bacon on it. Mine didn't. Oh, well. It was still delicious. :D

Ben asked if I wanted to take a picture of his pizza too. Why not? He got The Works with pretty much everything on it. I tried a slice. It was good too. He also tried a slice of my pizza. He still liked his better. LOL. We dipped our pizzas in his favorite sauce concoction, hot sauce mixed in ranch dressing. I actually like when he mixes the two together. His (I'm sure many other people do the same though like one of my friends.) special formula adds kick to whatever we eat. Whatever we feel needs sauce, that is.

To kick off our meal, by the way, we had Crispy Mac 'N' Cheese. This tasted especially great with hot sauce and ranch dressing dip. I can imagine this would be something Justin would probably like. He loves anything crispy and cheesy. Well, almost anything. I'm sure this appetizer would totally be kid approved. :D

For dessert, we shared a big slice of Red Velvet Cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. Ben really liked the white chocolate shavings on the right side of the cake. It's a good thing he helped me eat the cake. The slice a tad big for me to attack all by myself.

Now something in the pics that's not CPK related is the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino from Starbucks. I don't really consume frappuccinos as much as before. When I get my Vanilla Bean, it usually has no whipped cream. To make up for the missing whip, I ask for caramel drizzle. I don't really like whipped cream on my drinks. I know. Personal preference thing. LOL. I had this drink for breakfast along with an egg and sausage sandwich. Ben had the same sandwich, but went for a coffee frappuccino with no whip also.

I had a great time with my love. I miss him already. It's always really sweet of him to drive down here to Esco to visit me as often as he can. He likes it here because of the weather and the slow, relaxing pace. Actually, it's a bit too relaxing though. LOL. I'm glad he enjoys his visits here though. :)

Welcoming the New Laptop

2011-10-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

My old laptop was acting up. It's about time I get a new one. I don't want to have to deal with laptop tantrums. I've had it for almost four years. I was hoping to keep it for a while. It's still alive, but I'll just keep it around for my son to practice with.

I broke down and bought a new one last night at Fry's Electronics. I got a Lenovo Ideapad. I like how the laptop is small and light. It has a 13.3 inch display. My old one was about 17 inches, I think. It was big, heavy, and clunky. Although I can imagine this new laptop being easy to travel with, I'm still quite reluctant to take it anywhere with me. I have never taken a laptop anywhere with me. I was always afraid I'd either break or lose it.

What I really like is the keypad. The gaps between the keys aren't so narrow and deep. You won't have to worry about dirt or debris getting trapped in those spaces. Keypads can get really dirty and disgusting because of what gets trapped between the keys.

I am hoping I'll have this laptop around for a while. I was considering getting an Apple MacBook, but it's way over my budget. Plus, I'd probably have a hard time using it and getting used to it. Maybe someday I'll considering getting one. For now, I am happy and satisfied with my Ideapad. :)

Online Lingerie Shop to Adore

2011-10-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Hi, ladies! I have some exciting news to share. :) In just three days will be the official launch of AdoreMe.com. It's the first lingerie website to cater to everyone's personal style as well as schedule. How great is that? You can feel free to shop for lingerie within the privacy of your own home at your own time. I love lingerie shopping as much as the next girl. Then again, being in a lingerie shop can be quite an overwhelming experience. You end up going through items that are not your size or they're simply just not what you're looking for. Talk about standing in long lines at the checkout.

Sitting comfortably in front of your computer, shopping at AdoreMe.com is made simple. Simply sign up first and take a short, fun fashion quiz in November. The quiz will unlock your very own showroom full of sexy, elegant lingerie that fits your personal taste. The garments are handpicked by the website's stylists based off your quiz feedback. To keep you coming back for more, your showroom changes each month with new selections, still personalized for you.

Each set is $39.95 with free shipping and returns. If you have questions about fitting or pretty much anything lingerie-related, don't hesitate to ask AdoreMe's knowledgeable staff. They will get in touch with you and be more than happy to help you.

For more information, you can take a look at (and like) AdoreMe's Facebook page or follow them @AdoreMe on Twitter.

I am really looking forward to this whole new concept of lingerie shopping. Being one who has yet to shop online for lingerie, my experience with AdoreMe.com will definitely be fun and interesting for me. Especially having those new showrooms to get excited about each month. You get variety, but it's still within your comfort zone. :)

Coastal Scents Brush Set Plus Two

2011-10-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

I just got my order of Coastal Scents makeup brushes this morning. I guess it arrived while I was taking a nap. Yes, it's weird to take a nap in the morning. I took one when I got home from dropping my son off to school. Waking up to a package waiting on my doorstep sure made my day. That was a pleasant surprise. :)

What I mainly ordered was the Ultimate Pink Brush Set, which has 10 pieces. In addition to that, I decided to throw in two more brushes to my order. Those were the Fan Brush Black (Yes, not Black Fan Brush.) and Pink Semi Firm Pointed Crease. The set doesn't come with a fan brush. I sure can use one. I'll see if this one works for cleaning out fall-out or other purposes. As for the crease brush, I got it because it's cute, pink, and on clearance. It's only $1.98. Might as well. Plus, you can never have enough crease brushes. Hehe...

Now for the set... Taking it out of the baggy was a bittersweet moment. I was happy to finally have it, yet quite disappointed to discover two of them are DENTED. First, I saw the Kolinsky Lip brush cap. It's banged up on the center. Nothing that major, but it somewhat bothered me. I still kept it though. I washed it and threw it in my makeup bag after it dried. What made me sad is the Synthetic Oval Foundation brush. The ferule is dented too. Other than being dented, it's loose. It's trying to break away from the handle. This is the brush I was most looking forward to. It's really cute and I am sure it would be useful. Too bad it's broken though. Oh, well... I'm glad all the rest of the brushes are fine and in tact.

Other brushes in the set are the Flat Top Bronzer Buffer, Deluxe Oval Shadow, Blending Fluff, Oval Fluff Shadow, Synthetic Oval Concealer, Semi Firm Pointed Crease (another one), Oval Taklon Lip, and Angle Taklon Liner. And yes, I had mentioned the two broken brushes earlier. All 10 pieces with brush roll included are $24.95. Not a bad deal.

Delivery was quick. I ordered these Friday early morning and got them this morning. I got them after three business days, which is awesome. I have to admit though. I paid a bit extra for shipping. I'd get very antsy if I had to wait longer. LOL.

If you'd like for me to go into further detail about the brushes or have me review them, please don't hesitate to ask. I am excited to use them. I can't wait for them to dry after washing. LOL. Actually, the eye brushes are dry. Still waiting on the bronzer buffer one. It's nice to see some cute, pink brushes as new members of my brush family. Boy, that sounded weird. Haha... But yes, incorporating color with anything (makeup brushes included) sure does put a lot of us in a happy mood. Myself included. :)

Five-in-One Sigma Brush Review

2011-10-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

I remember a couple months back, some of you lovely ladies requested I do a review on my Sigma brushes. Two months of usage and acquaintance with the brushes is ample enough time for a review.

What I ordered were four brushes. Because you're seeing five, the fifth one was a free gift for orders over $30. From left to right are the F85, E55, E45, E70, and E25. Each of the five brushes have natural bristles. They all have nice, durable wood handles.

The first brush is the only face brush I ordered. It is the Small Contour F85. I like how this brush helps give my round face a sculpted look. Its size is great for product distribution. Some brushes are so big, you end up getting color on areas of your face you don't need bronzer on. With the F85, you can easily blend bronzer on your cheekbone area, for example, and work your way to a broader area if needed. I use this brush almost every time I wear makeup. My only minor complaint about it is that it bled and shed quite a bit during the first few washes. It stopped since then. :)

The Eye Shading E55 brush is mainly for packing on color on the lids. I also like using this for blending as well as applying a highlight color on the browbone area. Speaking of packing on color, this brush gets me motivated to put my pigments to good use. It picks up loose eye shadow powder very well and patting it on the lids is hassle-free without any mess. This brush has experienced the shedding of just a couple bristles on the first wash. That was it.

What I love about the Small Tapered Blending E45 is that it fits very nicely right on the crease. This brush is amazing for blending and feathering very intense colors along the crease. Because of its size, this brush is very easy to maneuver. This is a very useful brush to have if you're on the market for a very handy blending brush.

A good multitasking (I'm sure brushes can multitask, right? LOL.) brush is the Medium Angled Shading E70. First, it can be used for highlighting the browbone area. Second, it's great for blending colors right along and above the crease. Third, it creates a nice, arched crease if needed. And lastly, this brush is also good to use on days when you want just a wash of a single eyeshadow color. It diffuses color nicely from lid to browbone. I personally would not use this for shading or packing on color though. I tried it. It turned out blotchy. Then again, there must be a technique to use this brush for shading that I don't know of yet. :P

I am so happy the Blending E25 was included as a free gift with my order. This brush is a spot-on dupe for MAC's 217. It works just as well. It blends very nicely along the crease area. My favorite part about it is that it also works very well when blending out transition colors between the crease and browbone area. I also like how this feathers out unwanted harsh lines when certain eye makeup looks don't call for them.

What I like overall about my Sigma brushes is that they are all very soft. None of them poked or scratched me at all up until the time I recently used them. That was yesterday. :D The quality is very good at reasonable rates. Each of the eye brushes cost $9 while the face one was (and still is) $14. The brushes are very easy to use. I honestly still have a lot to learn when it comes to using makeup brushes. Luckily these brushes are very easy to maneuver. Applying and blending out colors are a breeze with them.

A couple minor cons are very minimal shedding on a couple brushes and slight bleeding on another. Many brushes, regardless of what brand they are, usually shed during the first couple washes. That's nothing to be alarmed about. It's normal for brushes. As for bleeding, it happened to my F85 after two or three washes. It stopped right after that.

Would I repurchase? I will FOR SURE. :) I'm still trying to get ideas of what brushes I need and would like to buy next. In addition to the products, I was also very happy with their customer service. They were very protective of the items they put in packages. Delivery was very fast too. Since ordering, I received my brushes after four business days. Not a long wait at all.

Now I see what the rave is all about with Sigma brushes all over the beauty community. They are definitely worth the rave. For anyone who's thinking of buying them, go for it. :D

Eat All Date Long

2011-10-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm back and blogging again. I apologize for posting very sporadically. So much went on both positive and unfortunately, negative. Then again, that's life. So much for that. I do not want to bore you with such a long intro. Haha...

On Monday, Ben came to visit me and as usual, we had a great time. Being people who love to eat, that's exactly pretty much what we did all day. EAT. LOL. It was a lot of fun trying out so much food. Don't worry, neither of us eat THIS much every day. LOL.

For lunch, we decided to check out Panda Buffet. There was a nice variety of food. Everything looked and tasted delicious. Well, almost everything, that is. The moment we went for our second round of plates, Ben discovered something in one of the dessert trays (that came with clear plastic lid). There were FLIES inside it. EWWWW... I got a bit turned off by the buffet place the moment he asked, "Why are there flies inside?" :/

We got the check and fortune cookies soon after that and left. Yes, we managed to eat most of what were on those plates in the picture. Just in case you're wondering, two of the other plates are BEN'S. LOL. My one and only plate is on the far right. The one on top is for Ben's lemons and dip. Oh, the egg drop soup in the middle is mine too. We each came back for another plate shortly before Ben discovered the flies on the cake. :P

Now I know why the place was kinda empty. No traffic in a restaurant is a potential telltale sign that the food or service (or even BOTH) is not all that great. Reminds me of this restaurant my family and I went to back when I was a kid. It was pretty bad. I'll probably get into that later. Hehe...

My fortune cookie message was pretty interesting.

"Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat."

LOL. Both Ben and I shrugged at first when we saw this. I tried figure out the meaning of it, but I know for sure I'm wrong. I'm not very good at decoding fortune cookie messages. I'm guessing it means hard work is not going to kill you. Who knows? If you know what it means, please tell me. I'm dying to know. :DDD

For dinner, we decided to eat somewhere more FAMILIAR. Especially familiar to Ben. Hahaha... His favorite Chipotle. :D I know eating there makes him happy and it makes his day or night complete. LOL. Then again, I like eating there too. We each have our favorite burrito bowls there. What I usually get in my bowl is rice, Pinto beans, adobo marinated steak, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. Now I'm getting hungry just thinking about it and looking at the picture. LOL.

Dessert was at Yogurtland. I remember seeing Becky's picture of a Hello Kitty yogurt bowl with really delicious looking yogurt inside. Other than wanting to eat off a Hello Kitty bowl, I want to try Yogurtland yogurt too. Becky said the yogurt there is really yummy. :D Monday night was my first time going there and I sure was very happy with my yogurt. I had Red Velvet Cupcake Batter swirled with Plain Tart (I believe). Other than wanting to try something Red Velvet, I was drawn to the My Melody picture hanging over the Red Velvet yogurt machine. LOL.

I topped my yogurt with very few chunks of brownie, white chocolate chips, and strawberries. It was all a very good combination. Decadent and refreshing all at the same time. :D I don't remember what Ben got, but he put an overwhelming amount of M&M's, other bits and pieces of various chocolate, and coconut on his. LOL.

I could not help, but get drawn to the Sanrio display next to the registers. I was planning on buying the Hello Kitty plush keychain myself, but Ben ended up buying it for me instead. It's so sweet of him. Plus, he knows I like Hello Kitty. :D I love how he says Hello Kitty with his sexy accent. ;D

Other than food pics, I posted three pics of my makeup look for the date. I used the Enter a New Realm trio Donna sent me. :D It makes a very nice smoky look. The red mixed in with the other colors ended up looking maroon, which nicely warms up the crease.

I was really happy to see my mahal (love). We always have a great time together. Even when we sit and talk, it's still fun. We can talk about various things for hours and hours. Whether it's of light and humorous nature or on a more serious level, we never get bored talking to each other. I know there are times when I can talk a little TOO much though. I feel like a crazy person when I become quite a chatterbox, but he told me not to worry about it. And yes, that's what I'm doing now, rambling on. Haha... Hope you all enjoyed the food pics. :)

Desserts You Can't Eat

2011-09-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

You can't eat these goodies I got from Bath & Body Works, but you sure can sniff them. I nearly ate both my hands when I sampled one of the hand sanitizers I had just bought. My hands smelled like yummy coconut caramel flavored cupcakes. LOL.

After work, I stopped by B&BW to replace my broken cupcake keychain. I thought I was going to be in there just for that. WRONG. Along with the keychain, I bought three hand sanitizers and a hand soap. I didn't do so bad though. It's not like I went crazy and emptied out shelves. LOL. Maybe one of these days I might. Hehehe...

In detail, I bought the Warm Vanilla Sugar hand soap. Warm Vanilla Sugar is my all-time favorite B&BW scent. It's been my favorite for almost a decade already. That's how much I love it. :D

The sanitizers I bought are Lunch Box Honey Pretzel, Coconut Caramel Whip, and Chocolate Crème Donut. The first and last sanitizers were only 75¢ each. The Coconut Caramel Whip was $1.50, which is still not bad. I should've bought more. I will. Hopefully Honey Pretzel won't be gone on my next trip. I'm going to look for other scents too. I still have a few other sanitizers I bought a while back. I like stocking up on them though. I take these everywhere with me.

I'm thinking of buying perfume, but I'll hold off on that for now. I'd like to try the Charmed Cafe fragrance. Plus, the bottle is super cute. It's pink with white polka-dots. :D

Well, this is such an odd hour to be posting a blog entry. Good night, everyone. :)

Simply One of the Best

2011-09-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Aww... Thank you so much, Donna, for tagging me with the Best Blog Award. Congratulations for receiving one of these too. :D Donna's blog is WAAAY awesome. That's why I am a frequent visitor. I practically live in her blog. Hahaha... :D

So yes, here are some rules of the award tag. Link back the post to the person who gave you the award. Share seven random things about yourself. Answer the "favorite" questions.

I am going to bend the rules a little bit by linking my "favorite" questions to a previous tag because the questions are pretty similar. The answers are quite similar too. The only thing that changed is my current favorite song. It's now "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People.

Now on with the seven facts. I'll give a head's up that some facts may be repeats from previous tags. Haha...

First fact is that I was one of the many San Diego residents who endured the big power outage last Thursday. It lasted overnight. Because nobody knew what was going on at first, we were all pretty much freaked out and LITERALLY left in the dark. :P Then again, this is nothing compared to power outages in the Philippines during a typhoon or some other calamity.

This next fact is quite embarrassing. I DO NOT know how to do a pedicure on myself. Hahahaha... Many of my friends do. I feel quite bad for not knowing how. I've made attempts, but I ended up hurting myself and painting my toenails all wrong. Rather than fail again, I just go to my favorite nail salon called 4 Seasons Nails & Spa to get my feet pampered and dolled up. They do an amazing job there. If you're ever in the Escondido area, 4 Seasons is the place to go. :D

Whenever I have a new favorite song, I will constantly play it over and over again. My poor iPod must be so tired of playing the same damn song many, many times in a row. Some songs become all-time favorites while very FEW others suffer a horrible fate of being deleted from my iPod. Those that get axed have become a bit too embarrassing for my ears to tolerate. :P

On my Facebook, I've mentioned this TOO MANY times. LOL. I CANNOT stand the word "flip-flops." It's unexplainable why I dislike the word so much. I cringe when I hear it. Growing up, I've always called them "slippers." Must be something I learned and heard a lot from my parents. (In Kapampangan, they told me to wear them by saying, "Ay! Isulod mu detang slippers muuuu!") I still do to this day. Don't EVERRR think of correcting me or making me convert to THAT word. Err... Refusing. Sorry. LOL. I sometimes call them "chanclas" (Spanish) or "tsinelas" (Tagalog). A new one I've learned and really like is "sandal jepit" in Indonesian, which Marz taught me. She said they literally mean pinch sandals. :D

I think I must've mentioned this before. Hehe... I have never broken a bone in all my years of existence. Well, I hope I'm not speaking too soon. I'd probably be really scared if it were to happen. I really hope it would never happen. LOL. :P

Growing up, I used to collect and LOVE Archie Comics. My sister and I had tons of them while we were living in Guam and in the Philippines. I remember this hobby of ours caught on with our cousins too. They had started collecting as well. I also remember how my sister and I used to swap, borrow, or lend Archie comics to our friend, Daisy. We did the same with one of our neighbors in the Philippines too.

Now down to the seventh fact... I had my FIRST serious boyfriend when I was 18. The relationship lasted only four months though. I was quite bitter about the breakup. Luckily I'm all grown-up now and I just think of it as a fond memory of my youth. LOL.

So, this tag is an open tag. Each and everyone has the best blog. I really mean it. That's why I love this beauty blogging community. Not only do I learn so much, but you have all become really awesome friends. :)

Three Days in the Bay Area 2011

2011-08-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

My sister's (Her name is Joyse, BTW.) birthday was last Friday, so we drove over to San Mateo (where she lives) on that very day. We had a long eight-hour drive. Back when Joyse and I were kids, we've had drives LONGER than that. Like the one from San Ysidro all the way to Chicago, IL. And yes, six months later, the other way around. :P

To make a long story short, my family and I had a very good time visiting my sister and our friends, Jovic and Joie. :D I am looking forward to another visit. Hopefully it'll be soon. :D I am looking forward to them visiting us here in Esco too. :D

After relaxing and unwinding from our arrival to San Mateo on Friday, we celebrated my sister's birthday at Leo J. Ryan Park in Foster City. Along with my sister's birthday celebration, we also celebrated Jovic's, Joie's, and their brother, Jamboy's (also with us at the park) late mother's birthday. Our party in the park was fun. Justin really enjoyed playing with the kids that attended. Us grown-ups really enjoyed the food, which I forgot to take pictures of. Oops... LOL.

The next day, we toured Downtown San Francisco. We visited Pier 39 and looked at really interesting souvenir shops. What caught my eye were the magnets. Along with San Francisco snow globe magnets, there were these food magnets I could not resist looking at and drooling over. They're not real, but I still drooled. J/K. LOL. I didn't really drool. I was tempted to though. The donut ones felt very real too. Haha... Other attractions we saw at Pier 39 were the sea lions. They're so adorable. :D

The highlights of our day are the boat tour around the Bay and our visit to Ripley's Believe It or Not! San Francisco.

For the first part of the boat tour, we all sat on the deck. Soon after that, everyone else, except my mother and I, wandered about on the boat. I tried to brave the fog and cold (The ride did start off sunny though and ended up sunny as well.) just to get a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. No luck. MOST of the bridge was covered in fog. Our tour started at 5 PM after all. Having no luck getting pics of the bridge and being really cold, my mom and I went inside the boat and joined everyone else. I did get a picture of Alcatraz though from the dirty boat window. LOL. It actually looked cool and creepy through the window. I also took a pic of it from a distance before boarding the boat.

I did get a picture of another bridge that day. It's the Bay Bridge. It's very pretty. I should've gotten pictures of it at night. I took pics of it while we were still in the car.

Now for the Ripley's visit... We saw weird things there like a box with a hole in it. If you look inside, you will see your butt. Hahahaha... Yup, serious eye candy. :P There's also a mirror maze, which I was quite scared to get lost in. Luckily, following everyone around prevented me from getting lost and crashing into mirrors. Along with the fun, peculiar stuff, I really liked looking at the sculptures and taking pictures of them. My favorite is the wedding gown made out of toilet paper. Can you imagine wearing such a gown on your wedding day? Would suck if someone stepped on your train. Yikes.

Before going on our long drive back home yesterday, we tried our luck again to see the Golden Gate Bridge in the morning. We were hoping it would be nice and sunny once we got to the bridge. No luck. It was still foggy. That still did not stop me from taking pics. I took pics while we were walking on it and driving on it while leaving.

Thank you, Joyse, Jovic, and Joie, for making our stay unforgettable. We are looking forward to visiting you guys again. We are also looking forward to you guys visiting us too. :D

And yes, San Francisco is now one of my favorite cities. :D It's Justin's favorite too. He actually wants to live there. LOL. I told him he can if he ever decides to attend college there. :D

MAC Lippies to the Max!

2011-08-22T21:35:00.001-07:00

Thank you very much, Huda, for suggesting I do a lipstick overview post. :) Please remember to check out her blog too. Her makeup looks are so gorgeous. Having very pretty eyes, she can rock any kind of eye makeup look. :D Her beauty product reviews are very helpful and insightful. Plus, she has a really cool nail polish collection I can't help but stare at. :D

Last time I made a lipstick overview post was two years ago. I'm not going to lie. It grew a bit. Haha... Throughout this two-year span, there have been new members of my MAC lipstick family. Some are limited edition and others are from the permanent line. Are you ready for some MAC lipstick? I am if you are. LOL. I will name them as we go along. :)

The first picture just shows all the tubes of lipstick with their caps on them, so we'll skip over to the second picture. On that picture are nude colors. They are Creme d'Nude, Myth, Freckletone, Hue, Blankety, and Fresh Brew.

On the third picture are roses, pinks, and corals. From left to right are Cosmo, Snob, Angel, Bombshell, Sashimi Mimi, Vegas Volt, and Costa Chic. The fourth picture has a berry shade along with reds and oranges namely Lustering, Russian Red, Powerhouse, Morange, and Meltdown.

My frosty brown MAC lipsticks are on the fifth picture. These colors are very fitting for fall. Although you can still wear them in any season. They are Sequin, Plastique, Chintz, O, Bronze Shimmer, Icon, and Coconutty. Also great for fall and winter too are the darker red shades on the sixth picture. The following four are Desire, Carnal, Amorous, and Twig.

I love this batch of violet-based pinks, purples, and wine colored lipsticks on the seventh picture. In this batch are Girl About Town, Pink Poodle, Trimming Talk, Up the Amp, Go For It, Odyssey, Cyber, and Rebel. The eighth picture still has pinks and purples, but they look more like Easter eggs. They are Pretty Please, Color Crafted, Saint Germain, Pervette, Creme de la Femme, and Sweet Bits. The picture below still has Easter egg colored lipstick, which are Summer Shower, Tanarama, and Metal Maven.

The second to the last picture has a couple limited edition lipsticks and three Viva Glams. They are Strawberry Blonde (Catherine Denevue Icon 2006), Blood Red (DSquared), Viva Glam Gaga, Viva Glam II, and Viva Glam V.

Lastly, but not the least are another batch of limited edition lipsticks. These all come in special packaging. I have to admit, I still LOVE staring at these. Front and center is Heroine from the Wonder Woman collection, to the left of that is Funbathing from To the Beach, Brave New Bronze from Style Warrior, Sunsational also from Style Warrior, Blooming Lovely from Give Me Liberty of London, Kanga-Rouge from Dame Edna, Big Bow from Hello Kitty + MAC, and Strayin' also from Hello Kitty + MAC.

That concludes my MAC lipstick collection. Please stayed tuned for my lipstick collection overview post from other brands. It will be sometime very soon. Once again, I thank Huda for giving me this fun post idea. I had fun taking pictures of the lipsticks in a different location. Rather than take them in my room, I set them down on this cool-looking drum in the middle of the stairwell for a mini photoshoot. :D

The Spontaneous Five

2011-08-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Rachel of Vilverin asked me what five makeup items I'd take with me on a spontaneous trip. Thank you so much for this question that actually makes a really cool blog post idea, Rachel. :D I know for sure I'd most likely take more than five makeup items. LOL. Since I am on a limit of five though (She had originally asked for three, but she stretched it to five. LOL. :D), I will talk about those five items I'd take with me.

The first item I'd take would be makeup primer for the face. Currently in my makeup bag is Make Up For Ever's High Definition Primer. Before I started beauty blogging, I did not know primers for the face existed. Thank goodness for stumbling upon the beauty community. I learned about the purposes and benefits of primers (whether it's for the face or eyes) through other beauty bloggers. For me, face primer is a makeup must-have. It really helps my foundation or powder blend smoothly without tugging or caking up on certain spots of my face.

The second makeup item I'd grab is pressed powder. I normally use powder to set my cream or liquid foundation though. When I am in a hurry or just plain being lazy, I skip cream or liquid foundation and go straight for the powder. Powder alone does the job of making your skin tone even and it has pretty decent coverage. Another advantage powder has is that it helps blot oiliness on your T-zone during the day (or night). Make sure to blot with napkins or blotting paper first before applying powder. I would not want nasty oil on my powder puff. Haha... The powder I take everywhere with me is Clinique's Perfectly Real Compact Makeup in Shade 102 (N).

Whether my trip is spontaneous or not, I always make sure to grab my Brow Enhancer by Revlon. Anything to draw in my brows comes in VERY handy for me. I am sure you've heard many, MANY times that I over-plucked my brows and they never grew back. Yes, I'm regretting it very much. Why I did it? Must be because I was very into it. Hahaha... Anyway, this makeup item will go everywhere with me. Who knows? Maybe someone might throw water balloons in my face and my brows will disappear. Would not be fun to go out in public without brows. I have yet to find something to draw in my brows that's waterproof.

Speaking of waterproof, I'd make sure to grab my LashBlast Volume Waterproof mascara by CoverGirl. This mascara in particular has been an all-time favorite for me. :) Being limited to only five items to take to a spontaneous trip with me, I picked mascara over eyeshadow and eyeliner. Reason being is that mascara enhances the lashes and fuller lashes are enough to make eyes pop and look awake. Other than the mouth, eyes do a lot of the talking. They say a lot with fuller, flirtier lashes. ;)

The last out of the five items I'd grab is lip balm. Actually, I always have lip balm with me. Even when I go somewhere without my wallet or handbag, I make sure to keep lip balm in my pocket. My lips can't live without it. Plus, my lips tend to dry very easily too. Other than getting the job done of soothing and smoothing, lip balm adds extra sheen on my lips. Sheen will be enough to keep me from crying over not having lip gloss or lipstick. LOL. My lips aren't the most pigmented in the world, but they have enough pigment to get away with looking alive even with just lip balm. In the picture is Nivea's A Kiss of Milk & Honey.

Speaking of trips, I am going to San Francisco this Friday. This trip is not spontaneous, however. LOL. We planned it for a month. I'm excited. :D Hopefully I can go on a spontaneous trip after my SF trip too. Haha... I've only been on one and that was when Ben took me to Vegas last year. Whether it's spontaneous or not, I would love to go there with Beanie again. ;D

Would love to know what five makeup items Miss Rachel and yes, all of you will take on a spontaneous trip. I am curious to know. :D

Enter a New Realm Color Icon Trio

2011-08-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Wet n Wild recently released limited edition Dreamweavers Color Icon eyeshadow trios. As soon as I saw videos that featured them on YouTube, I wanted to get my hands on them so bad. Unfortunately, they are difficult to find in my area. I've searched high and low for them. NADA.

Luckily, Donna of My Sweet Milk Tea was VERY kind and generous to send me one of the Dreamweavers trios. It's the one that I wanted THE MOST too. I was very happy and excited to receive my package from her yesterday. :D What she sent me is called Enter a New Realm. The colors in this trio kind of remind me of Wet n Wild's Night Elf palette from the holidays. The Night Elf colors look shimmery though. Yes, I missed out on that one as well as the other holiday palettes too. I don't think any store in my area carried them either.

The star of this palette is the matte red eyeshadow. Red may appear to be a scary, crazy color for an eyeshadow. The red eyeshadow in this trio is actually very buildable. You can swipe your brush on this with a light hand to warm up the area above your crease. To get a bit creative, you can also use this as eyeliner too. I'd recommend it more for the upper lash line though than the lower one. Unless you can pull off red liner under your eyes without looking tired. Along with the red shadow are black and silver eyeshadows. The black shadow is also matte. Like what the engraved letters suggest, it's a crease color. I've tried black on the lids too for a smoky look and it isn't bad. What I'm planning to do is mix the black and red together for a brick red or burgundy lid. The silver eyeshadow has a shimmer finish and it's either great as a browbone (engraved letters again) color or it would look pretty on the lids too.

I cannot wait to play with the colors. Especially red. Hehe... Thank you so much, Donna, for being so awesome to send me this palette. :D You can see that she packaged it so cutely and with A LOT of care too. My son really loved the bubble wrap and turquoise tissue paper. The stickers are just darling. Another thank you for Donna. :D

Arrival of First Four Sigma Brushes

2011-08-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

I ordered my Sigma brushes on Friday (early morning) of last week. It shipped the same day. I received it Wednesday morning. That sure was VERRRY quick. I was very pleased with the quick delivery and EXCITED, of course. :D

The packaging inside the box is very pretty. All the contents come in a little mesh red bag. In addition to the brushes, included in the package are leaflets for Sigma's Premium and Professional Brush Kits, another leaflet for joining the affiliate program, and a Cleaning Instructions guide.

Because it's my first time ordering from Sigma, I decided not to go too crazy and purchased just four brushes. They are the Small Contour F85, Small Tapered Blending E45, Medium Angled Shading E70, and Eye Shading E55. I washed them as soon as I got them. I'm relieved there was VERY minimal shedding while washing the brushes. There were two strands that fell off the F85 brush. There was only one that fell off the E55. I guess I must have good luck with brushes because none of the ones I own ever shed on me like crazy. Even the Ulta one I'm not too crazy about and hardly ever use did not shed a lot either. I was afraid it would, but it didn't.

The only brushes I've used so far are the F85 and the free gift included, which is the travel size Blending E25. (It's so generous of Sigma to include a free gift. You get it when you spend $30 or more. :D) I like how they perform. F85 is very helpful with doing spot-on contours and preventing them from looking too harsh. I like the E25 A LOT. It's really great for feathering out your eyeshadow either right on the crease or the transition color above it. If you're not too sure about splurging on a MAC 217 Blending Brush for $22.50, then the E25 would be a great alternative for that for just $9. :D

I will wait to use the rest of my brushes as well as the two I mentioned to do a proper review. Stay tuned for that after getting better acquainted with my brushes. The two I've used so far have made a good first impression on me. :D

Before putting this entry to a close, I'd like to mention that customer service is great. Sigma's team members were really nice to tweet me when I tweeted about ordering my four brushes. They tweeted me back too when I tweeted them about getting my order and being all excited about it too. Hehe... :D Plus, you can tell the Sigma people package their products with a lot of care. With the leaflets, you get a good idea of what the brushes are used for. I also really appreciate how they included a Cleaning Instructions guide too. This comes in handy for people that ordered their very first batch of brushes and haven't cleaned a single makeup brush yet in their lives.

I already have a few things in mind of what to order next time. I'd really like to try their Dry 'n' Shape. And of course, more brushes too. :D

Looking Through My Makeup Drawers

2011-08-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I dedicate this post to two very sweet and lovely ladies. They are JC of Makeup Diary and Donna of My Sweet Milk Tea. :) They both suggested I do a post showing what's inside my makeup drawers. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my makeup. And yes, it made me feel quite nostalgic. There definitely has been some growth in my collection through the YEARS. Haha... :D Thank you so much, JC and Donna, for giving me this post idea. :D

I am going to warn you ahead of time. This is quite heavy on images. I'll try to keep my rambling to a minimum. I wouldn't want your eyes to hurt from looking at 20 pictures and giving you a lot to read too. LOL. Oh, and as much as I hate making disclaimers, I'll go ahead and do it. I bought most of this stuff with my money. I work for my butt off for my money. LOL. A lot of this stuff is pretty affordable though. Only on rare occasions I buy items that cost me an arm, a leg, and a thigh. :P I do own a few things that are gifts from friends, family, and my boyfriend. No company has ever sent me anything for free. I'm not hinting or complaining, but that would be totally awesome. Hahaha... I do enjoy buying, collecting, and of course, using makeup though. It's been a hobby of mine since 2005. I enjoy looking through other people's makeup collections as well. :D

If you guys are interested in details on a particular drawer, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to do an overview of it. :) Like I promised, I won't ramble as much in this post. Hope you all enjoy raiding my drawers with your eyes. Hahaha... :P Happy viewing and have fun. :D

One Lovely Blog Award and Tag

2011-08-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

I got awarded and tagged by the cute and pretty Vicky of Build the Face. Thank you so much, Vicky, for being very kind to share one of your awards with me. Congratulations on the awards you received, by the way. :D Please remember to check out her blog. She has helpful and amazing reviews. I also love the different contact lenses she wears. :)

Now, here are the rules of the award. There are only five, so that doesn't sound too scary. Hehe... Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. Post seven things about yourself. In addition to the seven things, answer the questions listed below. Pass the love to 15 bloggers. Let them know they received an award.

For fond memories, I love taking pictures of my destination while traveling. I'm not very much of a morning person. If I had a choice, I'd just sleep in all morning, but I can't. :P I've been addicted to the Peanut Butter Moo'd smoothie at Jamba Juice. It's delicious and it keeps me going. :D I wear heels almost every day. I'm short and feel quite naked without them. :P I'm very old-fashioned when it comes to communicating. I prefer phone calls than having a conversation through text. I love listening to music from other decades. Yes, they bring fond memories...again. LOL. As hard as it is to come up with words while presenting something on a rare occasion, I TRY my best not to say "umm" a lot. TRY. :P

Name your favorite color. I'm going to name it and it's red. You probably thought pink, huh? I like pink A LOT too, but red is my FAVORITE. :D It's bright and bold. That makes this color fun AND sexy at the same time. :D

Name your favorite song. At the moment, it's Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (TGIF)." As for an all-time favorite, it's "True" by Spandau Ballet. It's an 80s hit. It came out when I was in kindergarten. Loved it then and still loving it now. Haha...

Name your favorite dessert. Hmm... Do I have to name just one? Hahaha... Being one with a sweet tooth, I LOVE many different kinds of dessert. I can never turn down anything with chocolate in it. That's for sure. Oh, I'll tell you three favorites. They are cheesecake, ice cream, and brownies. Now I'm craving them. :P

What is pissing you off? There is something alright, but I really can't share this in public. I can tell you two adjectives that come to mind though related to the things that are pissing me off. Unreasonable and unfair. Yup, I am frowning upon them. Hmp. :(

When you're upset, you...? Sleep it off. It helps a lot. First of all, it's a great escape to whatever is bothering you at the moment. Secondly, your mind feels clearer once you wake up. And lastly, you feel better enough to either go on with your day or start a new day. :)

Your favorite pet. Unforunately, I don't have any pets. Therefore, I don't have a favorite.

Black or white? Definitely black. It's sleek, elegant, and a very flattering color to wear. Plus, it doesn't get dirty very easily.

Your biggest fear? Birds. Have had a phobia of them ever since I was very little. I don't even know what made me scared of them. I know it's their beaks, but I don't remember what started it all. Other two fears are loneliness and rejection.

My best feature is... The pair of eyes I have. :D I like their shape and color and it's really sweet of people to give me compliments on them. Very much appreciated. :)

Everyday attitude... Hmm... That for me is not to sweat every small thing. I know many times I am a victim of stress. Then again, things won't become easier either if I keep letting all my stress bring me down. I try to chill and calm down as best as possible to avoid potential panic attacks.

What is perfection? Something many people want, yet doesn't really exist. It's a good thing it doesn't exist. Otherwise, all uniqueness and quirkiness will be lost.

Guilty pleasure. There are two of them. FOOD and shopping. :D

Haha... Now for the sharing and tagging part. I know I'm always caught up in this dilemma, but I really can't think of 15 people. Sorry. I will tag three lovely ladies though. They are Nancy, Donna, and Jamie. :D

To know where the award is, it is to the left. :D

How It's Been Arranged

2011-08-04T21:29:00.001-07:00

I've actually had this storage setup for my makeup for a little over a year now. Last time I did a post of my makeup storage, I had just one To-Go Cart. Now, I have two of them. I purchased both of them at Office Depot. I love these carts because they look pretty attractive and best of all, they're SPACIOUS. Even if your collection keeps growing, you don't need to constantly add drawers or change your setup. The drawers that come with the cart (In my case, carts. LOL.) are wide enough for major makeup stashes. Other than makeup, of course, you can store whatever you like in these drawers. :D

On top of my To-Go Carts, I still have a couple of the Sterilite sets of drawers I used to use for storing all my makeup. What I have in these drawers are basic essentials like Q-Tips, cotton balls and rounds, sponge-tip applicators for eyeshadow, sponges for foundation, etc. Other than what I previously named, I keep lotion, false eyelashes, bandages, and other miscellaneous things in these drawers as well.

On top of the Sterilite set on the right, I used a loose plastic drawer to house all my skincare products, hand sanitizers, and body sprays. On top of the left set is a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a spray bottle with water in it, a mirror (that moves a lot), and a small handbag.

My makeup brushes, brush cleaner, and hair products (which I don't have too many of) are on my dresser. I'm still on the process of rearranging that area.

Hope you enjoyed my little break-down of my storage area. It would be nice to see yours too. And yes, this applies to anyone that reads this post. :D

Sushi Dinner Date With Boyfriend

2011-07-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend left for LA just this morning and I miss him already. Yes, I sound like such a sap. His visits are always fun and exciting. Whether we go somewhere or just chill, we always have a great time with each other. I like bragging that he HARDLY ever gives me a hard time. If not hardly, it's almost NEVER. Hehehe... :D

I was having major cravings for sushi yesterday, so I picked out a place for us to eat dinner. It was at Love Boat Sushi in the San Diego community of Rancho Bernardo. The moment we stepped right in, these guys gave us loud, upbeat, and cheerful greetings. As soon as we were greeted, we were escorted to our table.

There was so much to choose from, so it took us a while to decide what to eat. Ben was actually overwhelmed with what to order for himself. I suggested he get a dish with teriyaki in it, so he did. What he got was the Filet Mignon Steak Teriyaki and California Roll Combo. His dish (third picture) came with rice, soup, and salad.

What I got was The 14 Piece Tuna, Red Snapper, Salmon, Albacore, California Roll Combo. Phew. What a LOOONG name! LOL. This dish came with Miso Soup. Ben's did too. All that sushi was delicious, but a little too much for me to handle. I should've just gotten the nine piece combo or something of lesser portions. I liked everything in my dish except the salmon. Ironic because salmon is my favorite fish to eat. The couple pieces of it on my dish tasted a bit fishy even with all the lemon I doused on them. I LOOOVED the California Rolls as well as the two red pieces on the plate. I believe that's the albacore. Ben gave me most of his California Rolls. He also offered me his Miso Soup. Luckily the soup was light, so I didn't feel too gluttonous for eating two bowls of it. LOL.

Unfortunately, Ben wasn't feeling the food very much. I felt quite bad for him, but he sure was a good sport to try and eat some of it. I'm glad he finished his teriyaki steak at least.

Although I was beginning to get mindlessly full, I still WANTED dessert. LOL. We no longer had the menu, so I asked the waitress for green tea ice cream. I was expecting a small cup of ice cream. Instead, we ended up with a beautiful plate of Tempura Ice Cream. Ben and I shared it. It tasted HEAVENLY. :D

Other than all the food I had, I enjoyed looking at photos Ben showed me of Tehran. (Capital city of Iran where he's originally from.) It's such a beautiful city. I love how there's a view of the mountains right behind the buildings. :) I don't see very many photos of cities with mountains on the background.

I don't know if Ben will ever take me to Love Boat Sushi again, but I'll probably just go with friends if I ever I get the chance. I enjoyed the food very much. :D

To make up for not eating very much of the Love Boat food, Ben got more dinner at Chipotle Mexican Grill. He knew very well I was full, but still insisted I get some food from there too. I did just in case hunger strikes me at night. Although it was delicious, I didn't eat very much of it. I had a little bit a few hours after our Love Boat experience and a little more for breakfast. LOL.

Aside from food pics (Err... Food porn pics. LOL.), I decided to throw in what I wore to our dinner date. It's a maxi-dress I bought at Sears, AKA work. LOL. The brand is by Apostrophe. It's strapless with crinkly, garter-like material on the chest area. What made me buy this dress is the color-blocking on the bottom. I really love how the hot pink stands out. Being short, the maxi-dress gave the illusion of having a little more height on me.

Hope you guys enjoyed my little food display here and enjoy your weekend. :D

Current Faves on the Spot

2011-07-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

As much as I'd like to make posts for my monthly favorites, I end up forgetting to make one. Hehe... It's okay though. It's easier for me to do it collectively or at the spur of the moment.

Here are a few of the items I've been using A LOT and of course, LOVING these past couple months. I love them all equally. Therefore, one item does not steal the thunder of the other.

The first image you're looking at is Paco Rabanne's Lady Million. What I have is the deluxe sample at 0.17 fl oz, which was thrown in with the Sephora.com order I made a couple months ago. Because it's an eau de parfum, its scent is stronger and it lasts longer, too. Dabbing a little bit of this scent on your pulse points will go a long way. Unfortunately, I don't get to use this often because of the ridiculously and disgustingly hot weather. I TRY to get my hands on it whenever possible though. On rare occasions, I'll wear it to work. I also wear it on dates with Ben. I like how this scent is sweet, sexy, and elegant all at the same time. Although strong, it's not overpowering. Well, as long as you don't practically bathe in it. LOL. According to the Sephora website, there is a whole list of notes in Lady Million. What I can smell is a hint of orange and raspberry. Maybe a touch of honey too. I can smell a few floral notes in it too, but I'm not too familiar with specific floral scents. Yes, I need to sniff flowers more often. All I know is the scent of roses because they're all over our lawn. LOl. Anyway, other than the scent of Lady Million, I love the packaging too. It's the shape of a diamond. I would love to get the 1.7 oz bottle one of these days. It's quite pricey, but it's going to be worth it and will definitely last quite a while.

I love face powder. It doesn't matter whether it's loose or pressed. I admit that I'm a powder junkie. Anyway, one of my favorites and by far, frequently used is Revlon's PhotoReady Translucent Finisher. Yup, you can tell from one of the compacts in the picture that it's frequently used. Haha... I had to buy another one. What I love about this is that it keeps your face, T-zone in particular, from looking oily. It photographs well. It has decent enough coverage to even out your skin tone and hide redness or other discolorations. It doesn't leave you looking all cakey either. I am not too crazy about its packaging. It's not compact enough and I'm scared that the cover can bust open in my purse or makeup bag. I love this for everyday use though. It's good and handy enough to keep in the drawer. For something from the drugstore or general store, it is quite pricey. I know the last compact I bought was a bit over $11. Then again, it's still way less than something from MAC, Clinique, or other department store and specialty brands.

The third mention here is a Revlon product as well. It's a double-ended Eyebrow Definer. In the picture, the tinted wax is Medium Brown and the highlight color is Soft Pink. I mentioned many, MANY times that my brows never grew back. All I have are stray hairs, but that's it sad to say. Whether you have brows or not, you will have an easy time drawing or filling them in with the tinted wax. If you don't have any brows, you will end up with natural looking brows depending on what strokes you make or how you draw them in. Just like other brow crayons and pencils, this has a tendency to cake a little. If it does, just smooth it out with a hard-angled eyeliner brush. I haven't tried doing that with a spoolie, but it probably might be an option too. Now for the highlight, other than using it to define the brows' arch, I also like using it on my waterline as well. It makes the eyes pop and keeps them looking fresh and awake. If there are a couple things I don't like about this product, they are the clear, plastic caps on each end. They crack easily. And no, I did not jam the caps back on after each use. LOL. That is my one and only complaint about this product. Overall, this brow definer is useful and handy. The highlighting end is multipurpose too.

I am sure you've seen this product a few posts back. It's my Naked Palette (from Urban Decay)! YAY! Haha... I remember how excited I was to order it and most especially, receive it. To this day, I kid you not, I am still excited to use it. LOL. :D I remember how I've lost hope getting this palette because it was sold out everywhere. It was one of the happiest days of my life when I found out a couple months back that it had finally been re-released. If there is one con about this product, it's going to have to be its price. It cost $48. Then again, it's worth it to have. Not only do you have 12 gorgeous neutral and smoky eyeshadow colors all in one palette, you have a nice and durable brush as well as a mini Urban Decay Primer Potion. With the neutral and smoky colored eyeshadows, you can do various eye makeup looks. You can create natural daytime looks great for work, school, or even errands. You can also create sexy and glamorous night time looks as well for clubs, parties, dates, special events. There are just so many possibilities with this palette.

I have one more eye-related item and it's ELF's eyelash curler. Just like pretty much every product on ELF's regular line, this only costs $1. It works so well for $1 too. Either that or I got the lucky curler. LOL. I like how it curls the eyelashes tightly without pinching the lids. It also fits my eye shape very well. I like both this ELF one and the Shiseido one I got a few months back. My Shiseido curler is a bit too pricey though. When I got it, the local Target did not carry ELF yet. I'm so glad it does now. :D The downside I can think of about the ELF eyelash curler is that the little rubber pad in it has a tendency to come loose. Despite that, I still love this eyelash curler. :D

Lastly, but definitely not the least, is the Jasmine Lip Butter by Korres. I honestly have no idea what jasmine smells like, but this lip balm does not smell floral to me at all. That sure is a good thing. I am okay with the smell of rose on my lips (Like the Rose Salve I used to have by C.O. Bigelow.), but I'd rather have either fruity or decadent dessert flavors. This Jasmine Lip Butter smells more like honey-flavored candy to me. It sort of reminds me of something my ex-husband and I bought from a candy store in Mexico. Ahh... Good and sentimental memories. Haha... Now back to the lip butter, other than smelling (and tasting) great, it's very moisturizing. I've heard people complain about Korres lip butters being quite pasty, not this Jasmine one. I also love its nude pink color. I either wear this alone or under lipstick and gloss. I also like dabbing it on my lips before bedtime. It helps me wake up to smooth and moisturized lips. :)

Yes, I apologize for RAMBLING on about each and every product. For those of you that enjoyed the rambling or at least tried, hope you found my detailed account of things somewhat helpful. I also hope I gave you some good ideas of what to buy next. Yes, I am enabling to you to buy MORE. Hahaha... Most of everything is at a reasonable price though. As for the splurges, they are totally worth it. :D

Hope or No Hope?

2011-07-13T23:09:00.001-07:00

I bought Philosophy's Hope in a Jar about a few weeks ago. I wanted to try out a new moisturizer. Something I can use at night at least. I have a daytime one, which is Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer (with SPF 15) by Aveeno. I remember I was told by one of the MUAs at Sephora Inside JC Penney that Hope in a Jar is AMAZING. I went ahead and bought it a few visits later.

Because I could not find a full-size version of this moisturizer, I went ahead and got the travel/trial-size one. It's 0.5 fl oz. When using a product for the very first time, it is advisable to get a size like this. At least you won't waste very much in case you don't like it and want to toss it out. (Another solution is to give the product to someone who's willing to inherit your hand-me-downs. Hehe...)

My thoughts on this product? It's not a bad product, but it's not all that great either. Let's put it this way. It's quite mehhh for me. I'll explain why.

It's not bad because it does the job. It moisturizes decently without making my face feel greasy. It also makes my skin feel soft. Another good thing about it is that it's gentle enough to use every day or night.

Now for the cons. I don't really like the smell. People on Makeupalley complained on their reviews that this particular moisturizer smells like wet dog. Hahaha... (That made me laugh when I read that. The smell of wet dog is pretty gross. LOL.) Actually, the smell isn't as bad. Well, not to me, at least. I still don't like the smell though. To me, it smells more like plastic. It's not a strong scent, but you can definitely smell something as you slather it on your face. It reminds me of hair on a brand-new Barbie doll. That's how it smells like to me. Another con is the price. For something tiny, $15 is a bit steep. You can get drugstore moisturizers in bigger containers for the same price or a little less.

This con I'm about to mention is not that big of an issue for me, but maybe for a few others it is. It's the packaging. Some of you might find dipping your fingers in a tubful of product quite unsanitary. Yes, it is if you don't wash your hands prior to the dipping. I'm sure everyone knows better than that. Hehe... I don't really mind dipping my fingers in the tub, but I personally prefer something with a pump.

Before ending this review, I won't fail to mention this con. In the beginning, my eye area felt quite a burn on my first few uses. I did not rub this on my lids, BTW. I guess my mistake is to get it on my under-eye area even though I'm not supposed to. Then again, I never felt that kind of mild burning sensation from other moisturizers I've used.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Products do work differently on different people after all. Some may work wonders while others make you wonder in a not so positive way.

I will continue using this until all the contents in the little tub are all gone. After that, I won't repurchase it anymore. I'll just go back to my Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel by Clinique.

As for the MUA who recommended Hope in a Jar, lucky for her that it worked for her. She has recommended me some other amazing products though. :) Plus, she's one of my favorite MUAs at Sephora Inside Penney's. She's very upbeat and I always feel welcome in that little section of Penney's when she's around. :D

A Couple Semi Precious Beauties

2011-07-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

I miss posting a blog entry, so it's high time I make one. :D I got something in the mail from MAC a week or two ago. I honestly can't remember anymore. It's a flyer featuring its Semi Precious collection for this summer. The collection mainly includes mineralize eyeshadows, skinfinishes, and blushes. It also has a few lipstick and lip gloss colors as well. Honestly, the lip colors are quite common. They are good to have, but I'm pretty sure there are MANY dupes for them.

All I bought (so far) are a couple mineralize eyeshadows. They are GORGEOUS! :D I got Hint of Sapphire and Clarity. I promise you the colors look so much better than the swatches I provided below. Hint of Sapphire is a dirty, dusky blue with a hint of copper on it when swatched. Clarity looks like a smoky, grayish olive color. Both colors would be ideal to incorporate with smoky eye looks. I think Clarity would look pretty along the crease or outer-corner or even third of the lid as well. As for Hint of Sapphire, it would look very pretty all over the lid. I can imagine how stunning one's eye makeup would look once Hint of Sapphire is paired with Amber Lights. Perhaps add Cranberry for a bit more drama. Now that's a hot summer evening look. :D I'm sure there is a way to soften it up to make that combo day appropriate too. :)

I could not stop staring at the multi-colored swirls on these shadows. Well, they are what actually drew my attention to them in the first place. I might buy more in the near, NEAR future. I just did not want to go crazy today. Plus, I was overwhelmed with all the pretty colors. That's why I settled for just two. :D

BB Cream, Cover, and Some Samples

2011-06-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Monday of last week, I ordered Lovely Girl BB Cream along with The Oriental Perfect Cover BB Cream. Both products are by SKIN79. I ordered them from Pretty and Cute. Donna was the one who recommended the site to me because of its fast shipping. Monday was when I placed my order. It shipped on Tuesday night. Friday was when I received my package. It was rather fast. Then again, I paid for Priority Mail shipping to make sure it would be fast.

Aside from my order, I got a couple sample packets too. One was SKIN79's Super BB Cream, the one that comes in a hot pink container when you buy the full size version. The other one is Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream. I finished up both samples already and liked them a lot. I'd like to order them next time. :D It always helps to try samples. At least you won't waste any money and a lot of product in case you end up not liking the sample you tried.

For what I ordered, I tried out both products last Saturday when we went to Belmont Park. I am amazed so far. I hope I'll keep being amazed each time I use them. Hahaha... I may probably be one of the last people on earth to try a BB cream, but please do let me know if you'd like me to review what I ordered. I'd be more than happy to once I get better acquainted with them.

What amazed me about the Lovely Girl BB Cream is that my forehead did not shine while having it on for hours. I decided to use it and try it out when we went to Belmont Park on Saturday. Other than not having a shiny forehead while using it, the product also felt as light as air. I felt like I did not put anything on my face. I did set the BB cream with powder, but everything still felt light.

Although Lovely Girl BB Cream is supposedly for gals between the ages 17 to 22, I went ahead and ordered it. I read reviews about this product working out well for oily skin. Even though my skin isn't oily as it was in my younger years (In fact, it's dry in colder weather.), my T-zone gets quite shiny in the summer. Instead of using foundation, this BB cream in particular works out well for my face in this season. I don't see it having any SPF though. There is no mention of it.

Now for the other product. I freaked out when I first saw the tube of The Oriental Perfect Cover BB Cream. It's so tiny. I didn't realize it's a concealer. LOL. I should read descriptions better before I start ordering stuff. Hahaha... I finally found out it's a concealer when I read what's on the back of the tube. DUH. I'm not too disappointed though. It does an amazing job at hiding my yucky under-eye area without looking cakey.

Other than BB creams and samples, Pretty and Cute threw in a pair of Glamorous Lash false eyelashes too. You get them for every $20 you spend. I would've gotten two pairs if I spent $40. Ahh. Maybe next time. If that offer is still going on, that is.

I would love to order more BB creams in the future. Next time, I will order products aimed more for my age group. Stuff meant more for mature skin. :P Then again, I'm lucky my skin hasn't really matured much. I might as well try them though. Maybe they'll help stop the clock to aging skin. Hehe... Other than BB Creams, I'm thinking of ordering a few neat things from the Pretty and Cute website, which I don't have access to in stores. Other than makeup, you can order accessories and other trinkets too. :)

Summer Appropriate Date Makeup

2011-06-18T00:39:00.001-07:00

This was a look from Thursday, so sorry for posting this just now. Excuses, excuses, but my internet was totally throwing a tantrum. It hardly gives me problems, but once it does, it's major. Second time within a month, maybe.

To make a long story short, Ben visited me on Thursday. As usual, I wanted to get dolled up and look nice for the boyfriend. :D Because it is crazy hot outside, I didn't want to go heavy on the makeup. Especially not the eye makeup. Now that gave me the opportunity to play around with my Naked palette by Urban Decay. :D

Although what you see on the fourth picture is a simple, subtle look, there's still quite some drama action in the crease. Especially on the outer part. I used Darkhorse for that area. That color was also used along the upper and lower lash lines as well. Other than Darkhorse on the upper lash line, I had my brown Elf Liquid Eyeliner on too. Above the crease is Half-Baked and the brow bone highlight color I used is Virgin. On the lids are Sin and Toasted. For the finishing touch on my eye makeup, I swept The Falsies by Maybelline on my lashes. This is one of my new favorite mascaras, by the way. :)

What I liked about this look was how it made my eyes pop. Even though no bright rainbow colors were used in the look, my eyes still looked bright and alive that day. Neutral colors are very flattering to ANY eye color. They are easy to work with. Plus, you can wear them for any occasion.

I am very happy with my Naked palette. Its SURPRISING re-release was totally worth the wait. :)

Truth Palette Swatches

2011-06-07T17:19:00.001-07:00

Through a comment a couple posts ago, I was asked by Laura if I can do swatches of Kat Von D's True Romance Truth palette. I sure will. I'd like for you all to see how pretty and fun the colors are. Actually, some of the colors are more subtle and subdued than others. Thank you so much, Laura, for asking. :) Please check out her blog too. She has very gorgeous makeup looks as well as precise and informative makeup reviews. :)

Like what I mentioned two posts ago, I got the Truth palette on the Sephora website for $17 instead of its regular price at $34. So, yes. SCORE! :D The colors on this palette has something for everyone. Bright colors for people that love fun and funky eye makeup looks and softer neutral colors for people that prefer a more daytime-friendly look. With use of the lone dark color in the palette, you can either create a smoky look or add some drama to the look you're going for.

Just like other Kat Von D True Romance palettes, Truth has eight colors. From left to right they are, Sugar Skull, Long Distance, Snake Eyes, Finland, Prague, Galeano, Rehab, and Sister.

Sugar Skull is a white wine color with a beige undertone. The finish is frosty. It makes a very nice highlight color for your brow bone. This would be nice for the waterline too if you want to brighten your eyes more. If you're into using eyeshadow as face highlighters, this would look very pretty for brightening your face as well.

Long Distance is a frosty yellow green color. This makes a nice accent color on the lids or even a color to put above the crease for a little more fun and dimension.

Snake Eyes is more like spring green color. It doesn't have a yellow undertone compared to the previous color. Just like the previous color, this would also make a nice accent color for the lids. I can imagine it would look pretty too to line the lower lash line.

Finland, the one and only cream eyeshadow of the bunch, looks aqua. This would be great to wear alone or as a base for the eyeshadow colors that accompany it. Especially the two green shades in the palette. If worn alone, this would make a pretty accent color for the lids as well.

Prague is the one and only dark color in the palette. To me, it looks like a blackened red color. This would make a nice crease color. It would also make a nice color to add drama and accent to the outer-corner of your lids. It's also nice as a liner for either the upper or lower lash line as well. I love this color. It looks very vampy. :D

Rehab is a champagne color. It reminds me of Urban Decay's Sin. I don't know if this and Sin would be close dupes of each other though. I haven't swatched them side by side yet. This color would either look great on the lids or as a buddy color to blend right under the brow bone highlight.

Last, but not the least is Sister. It's a light peach color that would look nice on the lids too or as a buddy color as well. To avoid the stark white look to brighten the waterline, Sister would be a great color substitute.

Hope you all enjoyed looking through the swatches. I think this would be a great palette to take with you for traveling. The packaging is compact and lightweight, yet the colors in it have a versatile range that will help you create a variety of looks while you're on the go. :)

Laptop Bag Turned Overnight Bag

2011-06-04T23:08:00.001-07:00

I was getting quite frustrated with my previous overnight bag. Not only was it falling apart, but you can't really pack very much in it. Bye-bye to that bag. Hello to this new one I got at Ross. :D

I bought this bag earlier in the week, actually. I haven't used it yet, but I'm excited to. Especially with all its pockets and compartments. The bag cost $19.99 (Not a bad deal. Especially for an item that's reliable and sturdy.) and it's by Targus. It's supposed to be a laptop bag, but I think it would make a great overnight bag too. Even backpacks for school make great overnight bags, but you can't really pack too much in them either. Maybe just a PJ set, underwear, and some toiletries. This one will not only fit overnight needs, but clothes and other necessities you can rely on for at least two or even three days. Plus, you can stuff a pair of shoes in here if you need a change of shoes. (Just make sure you stick your shoes in a plastic bag. That way the rest of the bag doesn't get dirty.)

I was trying to look for a girlier looking bag at Ross, but some were just bulky. Others were a bit out of my budget. (I wasn't willing to spend more than $30 on an overnight bag. Especially at Ross, where you can find better deals than $30.) The rest were pretty alright, but they were either too flimsy or not roomy enough.

Although the bag I bought looks like a dude's bag, I know for sure I'll be using it for a long time. Plus, its many different pockets and compartments will make packing a lot easier for me. I don't have to struggle anymore with trying to squeeze in all my stuff in a bag with a broken zipper. LOL.

Naked Truth

2011-06-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

LOL. Nope. No unveiling of anything naked on this post. Haha... Actually, I unveiled something naked alright. The Naked palette from Urban Decay I've been anticipating. Along with Naked, I got Kat Von D's True Romance palette in Truth. I scored a deal with Truth too. It was only $17 instead of its regular price at $34. :D

My package arrived today. I'm assuming it was delivered while I was at work. I found it on my doorstep when I got home. It's a relief nobody took off with it. Haha... I ordered both palettes at the Sephora website. Rather than comb through nearby stores that would potentially carry the Naked palette, I decided not to risk my chances of missing out on it again by ordering it online. I found out it was back in stock on the Sephora website through one of MsFili's haul videos. (I love her videos. They're really funny. Other than makeup and beauty product hauls, she has very interesting DVD and Blu-ray hauls too. :D) I was ecstatic about the news and instantly placed an order of that Naked palette I've been wanting to get my hands on for MONTHS.

To meet the $50 quota to get free shipping, I ordered the Truth palette as well. I did not want to wait a week for my package to arrive though, so I decided to pay $3 for UPS 3 Day delivery service. Paying $3 isn't so bad. I got my package right on time as I was hoping for. :D

A tidbit about the palettes. I noticed Naked now comes with a Good Karma eyeshadow brush instead of a double-ended 24-7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. If i'm not mistaken, I think it had Zero and Whiskey back when the palette was first released. Just like the older Naked palettes, the newer ones still come with a mini Urban Decay Primer Potion.

In one of the pictures, I swatched one of the eyeshadows on the Truth palette. I was curious about the texture of the lone cream shadow and how its color would turn out. The color is a GORGEOUS, eye-popping, metallic light teal color. It's called Finland. I am hoping it won't dry out over time. I've heard and read reviews mentioning that the cream shadows in Kat Von D palettes tend to dry out. I hope not. Other than Finland, the rest of the colors are gorgeous as well. I like how the color names are included on the back of the palette. As for packaging, the vintage keys Kat Von D had drawn on it are WAY cool. On the website, she mentioned that the keys illustrated on this palette are about "unlocking the soul and redefining beauty." I love how her illustrations on the packaging of her makeup line either have a story or piece of inspiration behind them. :)

Other than palettes, Sephora threw in some samples for me too. I'm excited about the deluxe size fragrance sample of Paco Rabanne's Lady Million. I'm going to wear it when I see the boyfriend. Hehe...

I am very happy with my palettes and totally looking forward to playing with them. I am also looking forward to using up my samples as well. The other two fragrance samples are so TINY, but both smell REALLY good. Now I'm getting ideas of what full-sized versions of fragrances to buy some time in the future. :D Other than fragrance samples, I got a little dinky primer sample from Cover FX. I'm quite curious to try products from this brand. For now, I'm satisfied just to try them because they are quite on the pricier side.

Here are some pics of what I got today. Happy viewing. :D

Simple Look For Simple Errands

2011-05-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't really played very much with my makeup lately, so I decided to do a very simple makeup look today. I used neutral eyeshadow colors with a touch of MAC's Sketch, which looks like aubergine or eggplant. That color went on my crease and outer-corners of each eye. For my brow bone highlight and lid color, I used Short Shorts. It's a frosty white champagne color. This is from MAC's Surf, Baby! collection. This is the only item I have (so far) from this collection. This color makes a very gorgeous highlight. I really love how it catches light and adds lift to brows. I also traced this color right on my water line and it made the whites of my eyes look brighter. As a buddy color blended underneath the brow bone highlight color, I used MAC's Cork. The eyeliners I used are Sketch eyeshadow (again) and ELF's Liquid Eyeliner in black. I swept CoverGirl's LashBlast Waterproof Mascara in Black Onyx and penciled in my brows with NYX's Light Brown Auto Eyebrow Pencil.

I'm not going to go on with what I used on my face. Haha... I'll tell you what I put on my cheeks and lips though. I had Vintage Grape (MAC's Blush Ombre) on my cheeks and NYX's Eggplant lipstick topped with MAC's Superglass in Tunnel of Love.

The lips are a bit on the dark red side, but the simple eyeshadow colors balanced them out. I didn't go too crazy with the blush either. Even though I used the darker part of the Vintage Grape Blush Ombre, I applied it with a light hand on my cheeks. Usually, I have to apply blush with a light hand. Otherwise, I'd look like a clown. Hahaha... :P I made that mistake already when I went a little heavy with one of my NARS blushes. LOL. The lighting here at home wasn't really telling me the truth. I finally saw the whole bold truth when I got to work. Actually, my friend pointed it out to me. I had to fix it in the restroom. LOL.

Pet Peeves (Most of Us Have Them)

2011-05-29T01:30:00.001-07:00

As a regular human being, I have pet peeves. I'm pretty sure everybody does. I wonder if there's someone without any. I'd sure wish to be that person. Hehe... At least there wouldn't be an excuse for me to get annoyed or frustrated.

I thought of a list of things that REALLY get to me. Some minor that I can kind of live with. As for others, I think I really can do without. My honorable call-outs will come in no particular order. I know some of you can relate.

My first pet peeve is captured in the one and only picture on this post. STICKERS on makeup packaging. They wouldn't bug me so much if they were easier to peel off. The easier they peel off, the less goo they leave. I know there's always Goo Gone for the goo to be gone, but just saying...

I'm not too crazy about getting stains on my clothes. I try my best not to be such a messy eater to avoid not getting food remnants on my clothes. I also don't let other people do my laundry. I remember when my parents used to do the family laundry, my clothes would come back with little dots of what came from bleach or from other clothes of not like colors that bled like crazy. That's what really pushed me to do my own laundry.

Now this pet peeve is VERRRY disgusting. Going to the restroom or bathroom and having to encounter an UNFLUSHED toilet. Yes, you can flush it before you use it. Too late though. You already SAW what was in it. Now isn't that traumatizing enough?

You're in a hurry, but the people walking in front of you walk TOO SLOW. Even worse is when you try to dodge them or walk past them, ALL FIVE OF THEM are completely blocking your way. People in the mall are NOTORIOUS for doing this. Especially those that walk in groups or pairs. They think that all activity in the mall had frozen because of them. Therefore, these slow walking groups and pairs walk pretty much like they're frozen too.

I CANNOT stand tardiness AT ALL. I think I've mentioned this before. Now that I'm talking about pet peeves, I am going to mention this again. I really don't like when people are late. It's really a waste of time. It's really no big deal when somebody is less than 15 minutes late. Beyond that, it's time to ditch whoever is practically ditching you. It's totally understandable when it happens once in a while because stuff does happen that makes people late. Then again, a person is not totally worth waiting for when this is a habit for them. Your time is valuable. Valuable time should not be wasted. :P

Last, but not the least, FLAKY PEOPLE. It really sucks when you and a friend (Really sad if it's your lover. Some love there, eh? :P) plan something out. You guys talk about the event for days and get all excited about it. Then all a sudden, BOOM! The day before the event or even on that given day, your friend BAILS out on you. Wow. That sure kills the excitement, doesn't it? There you are looking forward to spending quality time with your friend and this friend of yours just ruins it for you. Yes, stuff happens too. Once in a while is forgivable. Being a repeat offender of flaking off from what you planned together, NOT SO MUCH. So, yes, friends, don't lead your friends on. :(

Sorry I just had to vent and let some steam out. :P

Two Nail Colors and a Topcoat

2011-05-25T00:47:00.001-07:00

I wanted MORE Essie Nail Polishes. I noticed I don't have very many. What I like about Essie is that its nail polishes don't chip very easily. I also like its brushes too. They are thin and that makes application on small, narrow, child-sized fingernails like mine very easy and mess-free. I bought two colors yesterday. Shift Power and Eternal Optimist. Shift Power is a frosty, true gold color. Eternal Optimist is a peachy nude color. I have the latter on my nails right now. I normally wear dark colors (Brights too! :D), but I'm beginning to get used to nude nail polish colors. I've been wearing nude nail colors for the past three days now. The previous color I had on was from a gift I received a couple birthdays ago.

I really like the look of nude colored nails. They give this illusion of having elongated fingers. The simple, classic, and minimalistic color also makes the nails look very elegant. It's like you've done your nails up for a wedding. I haven't been married in YEARS and never had a fancy ceremony, but I know for sure I would like a simple nail color and look rather than something bright or dark.

I was happy to discover a few $2 bins of Essie nail polishes at the Trade Secret near my work. I think the store is going to stop carrying Essie. I'm not too sad about it because both Walmart and Target now carry Essie. :) I found the two polishes I bought in a couple of those bins.

Because I was running low on my topcoat and couldn't wait for a day to go to Walmart to get one, I just grabbed Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. I've used this before and I liked it. I wasn't too crazy about its thick consistency and the smell. That stuff smelled really horrendous when it spilled on a section of the train case I keep all my nail polish bottles in. I stopped buying it after getting quite traumatized by the smell. It smells quite like rum. LOL. I normally Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat, but I'll go back to Seche Vite for now. Someone suggested I use a nail polish thinner along with the topcoat, but I'm too lazy to do that. LOL. Plus, the thickness does help keep the nail polish from chipping. It also leaves a nice, smooth surface over the polish.

That, my friends, concludes my little nail post. I'm sleepy now. Hehe...

You Asked, I Answer

2011-05-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is a VERY SPECIAL post that features questions from various friends and family. I truly appreciate their participation in this post. Their contributions mean a lot to me too. I love answering questions from tag surveys, but it's also nice to gather up questions from different people and compile it all in one set. They came up with very interesting questions I was more than happy to answer. Thank you all so much. :)

The first two questions come from my friend, Jessica. She is a good friend of mine that worked with me at the jewelry counter a few years ago. We had a lot of fun and laughs working together. Especially during holiday season when we had to close at midnight. LOL. Because of her bubbly personality and being such a great listener as well as speaker, conversations with her were always lively and fun. I remember we always had interesting things to talk about. LOL. Thank you so much for coming up with not just one question, but two. :)

What is the best concealer? In my opinion, I actually have two that come to mind. One of them is BeneFit's Erase Paste and the other is the Dream Matte Concealer by Maybelline. I love Erase Paste because its thick and tacky consistency is powerful enough to hide even the peskiest of dark under-eye circles as well as bags. Because it is concentrated, all you need is a little Erase Paste to go a long way. Other than making your under-eye area look less tired and haggard, this concealer is great for spot coverage to tiny pimples or little scars. It is also long-wearing. As long as you set it with a loose powder, you won't have to worry about your concealer vanishing from you late in the day. For a more affordable concealer, I highly recommend Maybelline's Dream Matte Concealer. There is one catch though. Unfortunately, I believe this product has been discontinued already. I don't see more of it in stores anymore. Just like Erase Paste, it's also very powerful enough to hide typical under-eye problems. The consistency of this is different though. Unlike Erase Paste, Dream Matte Concealer has a whipped, mousse-like texture. I like this texture because it goes on the skin smoothly and is easy to blend. That prevents parts of your skin you cover with concealer from looking cakey. Other than hiding under-eye yuckiness and the occasional spot coverage, I use the Dream Matte Concealer to hide this big patch of redness on my forehead too, also known as my birthmark. It does the job. There are plenty of other concealers I like, but these two I mentioned are my ultimate favorites. I know for sure there are a lot of other ones I haven't tried yet that I would end up liking a lot too.

There's this trend going on wearing socks with open-toe sandals. Do you think it's ever okay for this trend to slide? Why or why not? In my personal and honest opinion, I don't think it's okay for it to slide. I don't see the purpose of wearing open-toe sandals if one is going to cover those toes up with socks. Especially during the summer time. You'd want to keep those toes cool and perhaps show them off after an awesome pedicure. :D Thank goodness this is only a trend, so I'm sure it won't be around for long. For those of you that like to wear socks with open-toe sandals though, to each her (in some cases, his) own. Maybe few can rock this look. I know I can't. LOL.

The next question is from Marz. She has an awesome website named after her at Maria Celina. What I love about visiting her site through the years are her trademark colorful layouts. Marz really knows how to make all the rainbow colors work together. Her site features her beautiful artwork and web design work, breathtaking photography, and insightful writing and various reviews. Marz has been a buddy of mine since 2002. She is sweet, intelligent, and very creative. I'm so happy to have met her through visiting each other's sites. Thank you for the Mother's Day question, Marz. :)

Favorite Mother's Day you've celebrated? It can be your own, or one that you've celebrated for your mother or grandmother. The Mother's Day of Sunday this week was actually my favorite Mother's Day celebration. :) After work and shopping a bit with my friend, I went home to have some bonding time with my son. We both had a really fun time playing charades and pretending to be mimes. Through this activity, I was pleased to see how creative my son is by portraying characters through actions and gestures. I also enjoyed his update about school and his friends. What also made this year's Mother Day special was celebrating it with my boyfriend too. He drove down here to Esco from LA to visit me and spend time with me. :)

This blog-related question is from my friend, Nancy May. Nancy and I go way back. We had a couple classes together in STI College. I can't believe it was such a long time ago already. Still back in 1996. LOL. She still hasn't changed a bit through the years. She still looks like a teenager. If anything has changed, she's more gorgeous than ever. :)

What advice can you give to someone who's just trying to start blogging? Have fun with it and don't be afraid to express yourself on what you post in your blog. Through your posts, your followers and readers can sense your enthusiasm. In order to maintain that enthusiasm and the fan-base (whether big or small) of your blog, please yourself and feel free to post ANYTHING you would like to post. Make sure you're comfortable with whatever you post too. With regards to this question as well, another piece of advice I can give is to be open to suggestions and constructive criticism from the people that visit your blog. They write this stuff to help you, not to hurt you. And of course, to give you friendly advice which will inspire you more to have fun and get creative with your blog.

Another blogging-related question is from my friend, Rachel. We fondly call her, Nikz though. :) Even at a very young age when I met Rachel back in 1999, she was already very skilled at web design. She is a very good writer too. Her blogs and journals were always fun to read. I am happy she's working on making a comeback in the blog scene. Girl, give me a head's up if it's ever okay for me to put up a link to your blog. :) I've always enjoyed exchanging guestbook entries, e-mails, even snailmail, and FB messages with her. What makes corresponding with Rachel very enjoyable is that she is very sweet, has a great sense of humor, and is intelligent. :)

How has your blogging experience been in this social networking era? How has maintaining a blog changed (if any) from the old blogging days? In this social networking era, I can tell for sure my blogs are easier for people I know personally to access. That makes my blogging experience fulfilling because that gives personal friends and family a better understanding of who I am and what my interests are. Vocally, I don't express very much to people, so my blog helps me open up in a way. As for changes in maintaining a blog, it still is pretty much the same from the old blogging days except for one minor difference. Compared to a few years back, I don't really update as frequently as I used to because I somewhat have a busy lifestyle now. Of course, I can never give up blogging. Therefore, I will always do my best to squeeze in updates on my blog whenever I get the chance.

The last question comes from my cousin, Richelle. We fondly call her Beh. I don't know how she got the nickname, but it stuck with her since she was a child. I used to love hanging out with her when I was living in the Philippines. She is very upbeat and tends to say the funniest things. It's amazing how she can have a great sense of humor and be intelligent at the same time. She graduated magna cum laude from her college. She is now a mom of two adorable children, my nephew and niece. :) Anyway, I thought it was really cool how her question is inspired by this new teleserye (soap opera) from the Philippines entitled "100 Days to Heaven." :)

If you will be given a second chance to go back as a child, what will you correct and what will you do that you haven't tried or done yet? If I were given a second chance to go back as a child, the main thing I would correct is how I treated my parents. I've always been a very stubborn person. If I weren't so stubborn and had only obeyed them, I am pretty sure I would be more successful today. Also, if I could go back in time and become a child again, what I would do that I haven't tried or done yet is probably get more involved in sports. Other than give me better coordination and a healthier lifestyle, sports would've helped me become more discplined and determined too. Discipline and determination are two important factors to having a successful life.

I hope you all enjoyed this post that consists of questions asked by people very dear to me. If you have a question yourself, please feel free to ask me. Just like the questions featured in this post, I would love to answer yours as well. If you have some type of Q and A or interview post going on, don't hesitate to let me know too. Thank you all once again. Love you all. :)

A Coach Treat

2011-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I feel the need to treat myself to a nice handbag. What better way to treat myself than with Coach? Well, there's Louis Vuitton, but I certainly cannot afford that. I'm pretty sure that'll cost me my soul. Maybe one of these days I'll strike lucky. Hehe... Anyway, we all deserve to treat ourselves. Whether we're in school or working, we deserve to reward ourselves after all that we do. Rewarding ourselves does not necessarily require spending money either. If you feel like spending, go for it too. :D Whatever tickles your fancy as long as you don't end up hurting or hurting others. :)

As for me, I've been lemming for a handbag for quite sometime. LOL.

My mother, son, and I went to the Carlsbad Premium Outlet today to treat ourselves to handbags as an early Mother's Day present. I got myself this Coach bag I took pictures of and I got my mom a bag from Dooney & Bourke. It's this really cute red, plaid bag with a brown, leather trim. I would love to get that bag on the next trip. Except in a different color though. Hopefully they'll be there next time.

Because Mother's Day is coming up, Coach has been offering 30% off coupons. I took advantage of that to score me a good deal. Every little bit helps after all. LOL. I am guessing they'll still be given out until Sunday. My mom and I both have work on Sunday though, so it's a good thing we went today.

The Coach bag I bought is part of The Coach Signature Collection. I just thought I could use another black handbag, so this particular one (seen in the pictures) caught my eye. Because it is black, it will look great with many articles of clothing I own. I also like how it's big enough to carry a lot of things. Especially a water bottle. Now that's very essential in this California heat. I'll just have to make sure it's sealed very securely. Otherwise, there will be a pool in my purse. :P

Other than handbags, I also bought a couple MAC eyeshadows from the CCO and a Mineralize Skinfinish in Porcelain Pink.

So, yes. The shopping is over and it's back to work again tomorrow. :P

New, But Not So New Wallet

2011-05-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am loving my new Coach wallet right now. In my eyes, it's so pretty. Hehe... :D This wallet actually isn't new. This used to be my mom's. She didn't really use it though. Rather than keep it stashed somewhere deep within her closet, she just gave the wallet to me. That was really nice of her to give me her wallet. :) I was actually going to buy one on our upcoming trip to the Coach store at the Carlsbad Premium Outlets. Although my previous wallet had never fallen apart on me, it had some peeling action going on on its corners. It's not that bad, but it still bugged me. Plus, I would like to have a wallet that will last me a while. That way, I won't feel the need to keep buying new ones after a short usage span. I know for sure I'll be using this Coach one for quite a long time. :)

Just like my previous wallet, this Coach one also has many pockets and compartments to store cash, cards, and receipts in. It also has a huge pocket for change (shown in the last picture) and a cool pocket right under the wallet's flap for storing miscellaneous junk. I decided to shove my coupons and stamp cards in there.

I am quite afraid of getting this wallet dirty though. Even scarier would be to get it lost, but I'll make sure that DOESN'T happen. I've lost a wallet only once (Hopefully that'll be the LAST.) in my life. It was when I was still dating Justin's father, Kevin. (Rest in peace, Kevin.) When he dropped me home from the mall, I noticed my purse felt a lot lighter. It turned out my wallet was missing. Kevin already drove away by the time I made that discovery. I called him about the wallet, so he was nice enough to drive back. I was guessing it had probably fallen in his car, but there was no luck. The wallet was forever GONE. I had to call the bank about my card and go to the DMV the next day for a new ID. I don't remember having any cash in my wallet though. That totally was a mystery how that wallet went missing. Never again. :P

Sorry, I just had to include the story about the missing wallet. LOL.

ELF Eyelid Primer Review

2011-04-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

I went shopping at Ross a week ago with my sister, her friends, and an old classmate of mine, who happens to be my sister's friend's husband. (Small world, eh?) Anyway, to make a long explanation short, I found this Eyelid Primer by ELF in a boxed set. I shouldn't have thrown the box away, so I could've told you all the name of the set. It's a really neat set. Along with the primer, the set included a Day & Night palette with six eyeshadow colors, a black Brightening Eyeliner, and a Lengthening & Defining mascara. I used the mascara just once. I won't use it again. It's okay, but I don't use non-waterproof mascaras very much. I get paranoid about them running on me. And yes, I'm a crybaby. I never know when I'll cry. I may end up with raccoon eyes, thanks to runny non-waterproof mascara. LOL.

The reason why I'm doing a review on the Eyelid Primer is because it's my very first eyeshadow primer from ELF. I've been using it on a daily basis so far and I am very impressed. :)

First of all, I love the consistency. It's very light. I feel like I have NOTHING on my lids. Because the consistency is very light, this primer is also very easy to spread and blend all over the lids. That makes blending the eyeshadow over it easy as well. You won't feel any pulling or tugging that cause the eyeshadow colors to go on quite streaky.

The sample you see in the second picture may look thick, but it is certainly not. Once it's blended on the lids, the primer comes on clear. Speaking of lids, this should work out fine on oily lids too. Like I mentioned, the consistency is light after all. Another plus is that it's not at all greasy too.

This primer also has pretty decent staying power. My shadow stays put without signs of creasing for a whole eight-hour shift at work. Also, as far as product in the tube goes, primer supply will last quite a while. You don't need much product to apply on your lids. A little goes a long way.

In terms of packaging, the tube is very light. That makes it very travel-friendly. Because the primer comes in a tube, you won't have to worry about potential mess in your purse or makeup bag.

On the ELF website, the Eyelid Primer costs only $1. (The set I bought that included the primer was $4.99.) The price may look too good to be true, but I'll tell you that it really is good and it's true. :D Because of that, I can't really think of any major cons. I guess the tube could be a tad bigger. Then again, all you need is a little dollup of the primer to keep your supply around for a while.

Next to UDPP and Too Faced Shadow Insurance, the ELF Eyelid Primer is now my third favorite primer. As much as I will always love the other two primers I mentioned, my third favorite is just a pinch in comparison to how much the other two cost. :D

Just like any other product, BTW... What may work for me may not work for you and vice versa. In case you try it though, I hope it will work out for you and that you'll like it. Then again, there are a lot of other great eyeshadow primers out there. :)

Eyeshadow Pasalubong From the Philippines

2011-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a mini lesson for those of you that don't speak or understand Tagalog. Pasalubong means present or gift. It is (or they are) usually given by someone arriving from a trip. Anyway, it's so nice of my sister to give me this Ever Bilena eyeshadow palette with 12 shades. She and the rest of my family, excluding my brother, went on a trip to the Philippines last December. Because she lives in San Francisco, she finally had the chance to hand it over to me. We haven't seen each other in almost four months. I thanked her as she gave the palette to me. Hehe... It is awesome. :D

I noticed the nice, smooth texture as I swatched the shadows. They are not at all chalky or powdery, so I am pretty sure application won't be a mess. The colors have decent pigmentation too. They're not as bright and bold with just one swipe, but they show up very nicely after a couple swipes. They are buildable. You don't have to rub the shadow numerous times just for the colors to show unlike other eyeshadows. I remember getting disappointed with past eyeshadows because of that problem. That won't be the case with this palette. :)

There is a versatile range of colors in this palette. There are neutrals, smoky colors, and yes, fun colors. Rather than being bright, in-your-face colors, they are wearable for a daytime look. And of course, you can build them up to a bolder look for night. Because of the selection of colors and its small, thin compact size, this will be travel-friendly. The way the palette closes and locks is very secure. You won't have to worry about it mysteriously opening up while it's in your purse. I've had that happen to one of my little palettes before. It opened and the shadows inside ended up breaking. What really sucked was the powdery mess that spread all over my makeup bag.

I can't wait to play with the colors in this palette. I will let you know how the shadows work out and last on my lids if you want to know. Hehe... :)

For those of you that are in the Philippines, this palette costs ₱160. I don't know where in the Philippines my sister bought this. The cost may vary depending on where you live or where you buy it. Anyway, converting it to US Dollars, you get an awesome deal at $3.70. Not bad for 12 lovely colors...with Vitamin E too. :D

Candy Colored Eyeshadow

2011-04-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

I was happy and excited to find an Eye Candy version of Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner. (Yes, the long name.) This palette here is specifically for blue eyes. (It's called Blue Eye Candy, BTW. :D) Then again, you can wear the colors and rock them too no matter what eye color you have. :) I don't know how long this has been around, but I'm so glad I found it today. :D

The color range in this palette mainly has shades of periwinkle, aqua, and a single pink color. This really stood out to me, so I just went and grabbed it. I saw other new (to me) things from Physicians Formula too. Like its gel/cream liners with METALLIC colors. I will get those next time. I am hoping they don't go out of stock right away. I am going to check out the other Eye Candy palettes that go with the rest of the eye colors too. I hope the palette for brown eyes will have a pretty range of colors too. I was quite disappointed with the Pop Brown Eyes palette. The colors looked very murky and muddy. I am hoping the Brown Eye Candy palette won't be that way.

This Eye Candy palette will be great to wear in the spring. It has very bright and cheerful colors. It matches the mood for spring...especially when it's not raining. Hehe...

I really like how the box shows three different eye makeup looks to give consumers an idea on how to make the colors work for different occasions. This will especially help for people starting out with makeup or even those who are trying to branch out of the neutral color zone.

I am looking forward to playing with these gorgeous colors. I am also looking forward to buying more Eye Candy palettes if I fancy the other ones too. And yes, let's not forget those metallic gel/cream liners. :D

Seven Things Revolve Around Me

2011-04-04T01:31:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Donna for my second Stylish Blogger Award a while back. :) I'm so sorry it took me just now to do the tag. Please check out Donna's blog. What I love about her blog is that she posts about various topics. They're pretty much anything you can think of under the sun like makeup, school, food, life in general, you name it. :) Donna is a very awesome lady. I love how she's upbeat and positive. It shows through her posts and comments. She is very beautiful both inside and out. I know for sure she will age very gracefully. Even in her 20s, she still looks like a teenager. :)

Now from what I remember about this tag, I need to post seven things about me. I posted so many things about me in past blog entries, so some may be repeats from before.

I will start with the obvious. I am a CHOCOHOLIC. Haha... You can tell from the picture I LOVE CHOCOLATE. What I have here is Hershey's Bliss Smooth & Creamy Solid White Chocolate Eggs. I am going to share the rest of these with my family. Even though they're VERY delicious, I can't eat too much of them. Eating too much will result to a belly ache. :P

I haven't dyed my hair in almost four years. Although changing up my hair color would be nice, I'm happy with my natural color. That's dark brown. :D Going a tad or even a lot lighter is a consideration, but I know for sure I won't have fun retouching the new color at the roots. I get lazy to do that. LOL.

Believe it or not, I don't have a Twitter. I had an account there, but gave up on it. It was hard for me to get used to and hard for me to use. Hehehe...

I've been blogging or keeping online journals since 1999. I started off by posting general things like daily updates on life, random thoughts, even very expressive rants, etc. It was in 2008 when I decided to do a beauty blog instead of a general one. I'm more comfortable doing a beauty blog. Because life (not all aspects of it) is stressful, talking about makeup and anything related to beauty and fashion is a great escape. It's fun and positive too.

I don't wear shoes or slippers inside the house. I prefer to either wear socks or go barefoot. My feet need to breathe after all. :P

Even though I am quite a girly-girl, insects don't really scare me. They gross me out, but I don't scream or freak out when I see them. There are two that scare me though. Flying roaches complete with propellers and bees.

I used to lie about my height. I'm still not too happy with being short, but I have learned to live with it. Plus, there's nothing I can really do about it. Even heels don't help because taller people wear them too. LOL. In case you'd like to know, I am 5'1." To be exact, 5'1 1/2." To try and mask my insecurity of being looked down upon by the majority of people 5'3" and above, I told everyone I was 5'2" instead. :P I really don't know why I did not become 5'3" like everybody else. It's not like it's a huge difference compared to my height, but I'm still shorter. Haha... Oh, well...

Hope you were all entertained by my seven facts. If not, that's okay too. LOL.

Romantic and Mysterious Date Night Look

2011-03-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am going to make this post before I clean the bathroom. I REALLY dread cleaning the bathroom, but someone's got to do it. And that's me. :P

The look featured in this post was from last night's date with my boyfriend, Ben. I'm so happy he drove from LA to visit me. Whether it's going places or simply just hanging out, I always have a good time with Ben. I'm so proud to say we've been together for three years. Time sure does fly fast. It seems like yesterday when we first met.

Anyway, what we did last night was eat at Chipotle, pick up a few things at Target, and watch "Dancing With the Stars." We didn't watch the entire episode though. As for shopping at Target, I did not bug him about makeup. He spoils me enough already. I did not want to be too much of a bratty girlfriend. LOL. His birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so I'll be spoiling him. :D

My look consisted of mainly dark eye makeup. I had on really dark blue eyeshadow, but it looks black in the pictures. On my eyes, I had on MAC's Greasepaint Stick in Uniformly Blue as a base. Over it was Blue Flame Mineralize Eyeshadow, also by MAC. A couple other MAC eyeshadows included in my look were Electra and Forgery. The eyeliner I used was Jordana's Easyliner in Blue Devine and ULTA's Metallic Eyes Automatic Eyeliner in Merlot. My lashes were coated with CoverGirl's Lashblast Waterproof Mascara.

On my cheeks, I used my Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder by ELF. As a highlight, I dusted MAC's Perfect Topping Mineralize Skin Finish on the higher point of my cheeks.

I had on CoverGirl's Lip Perfection lipstick in 205 Temptation. It's an orange shade. You can tone down its craziness by topping it off with lipgloss of a softer color. Over Temptation, I slicked on MAC's Lipglass in Flurry of Fun.

The dark eye makeup added some mystery to the look. For a touch of romance, I used warm, bright colors on the cheeks and lips. Plus, curly tresses are pretty romantic too. I might've mentioned this before, but I really like how curls soften up my features and frame my face pretty well.

Other than me liking my look, Ben liked it too. Although he pretty much likes ANY look on me even when I don't wear makeup at all, it feels real special to get all dolled up for him. :)

My Messy Curls and Me

2011-03-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

I won't lie. I DON'T really know how to do hair. Not my own hair nor anyone else's. Then again, I wanted to sport a different 'do today. I had some time in the morning to bust out my curling iron with a big barrel and just run it through my hair. The result was a big, tousled mess that I actually liked. :D

My hair routine is usually just brushing it while blow-drying it. I don't really do much to it. Most of the time, my hair is just usually down. When I'm not too lazy to mess with my hair, it's either pulled back in a ponytail or secured by a big clip. I miss the biggest clip I have ever had. I guess the poor thing had given out from too much wear.

There are rare occasions when I decide to have a little fun with my hair. I sometimes use my Bump-Its for some height or if I want a crazy beehive on top of my head. LOL. I also sometimes use my Spin Pins too to make my updo look a bit more fancy. I must confess. I SUCK really bad at putting on the Spin Pins. The people doing YouTube tutorials on these little hair thingamabobs make Spin Pin twirling look so easy. I wish it was easier for me, but oh, well... LOL.

I'm okay with my basic blow-drying and brushing routine. The blow-dryer has spoiled me for the past four years, so I don't think I can ever give that up. I have thick hair, which is very prone to frizzing. I like to keep its length long or at least right on the collarbone at its shortest. If it were cut shorter, like up to my chin, my hair ends up looking like a mushroom. Maybe half a coconut too. Hahaha... I sported a chin-length bob for the longest time. I think it was all throughout junior high. Maybe some of high school too. Wait. I think even some of college. Yuck. I've had enough of the bob when I was 18. That's when I had my hair layered pretty much all the time. I still like layers until now. I wouldn't mind having a bob...as long as it's right on the collarbone.

On me, I don't like extremely short hair. I wish I could rock it like a lot of girls. Unfortunately, I can't with my round face shape. Hopefully I'll be able to rock a mohawk in my next life. Some women look really fierce with a mohawk. Other than looking fierce, they look confident while rocking that hairstyle too.

I like the curly do I rocked today. Hahaha... Although it's quite messy, I like how it looks very feminine. It somewhat softened up my features too. I've been wearing my hair curly for two days now. I don't know about tomorrow if I'll curl it again. Maybe if I wake up early enough.

A Shatter of Excitement

2011-03-14T23:20:00.000-07:00

Yay! I lucked out on getting OPI's Black Shatter nail polish. Just like Urban Decay's Naked palette, I thought I was NEVER going to get Black Shatter. I'm so happy AND lucky I did. Luckier because it came in a set with ANOTHER nail polish. Other than being part of the Katy Perry collection, I didn't know it was also part of the Serena Glam Slam set. The other nail polish included in the set is Simply Smashing. It is a gorgeous golden lime green color. Both nail polish colors will compliment each other very well. :D

Black Shatter compliments pretty much ANY color imaginable. I would rather pair it up with brighter or lighter colors though for A LOT of contrast. I really had fun playing with this color. (Maybe I should say color that brings out texture and cool-ass designs. Hahaha...) On Saturday night, I paired it up with Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength No-Chip Nail Color in 42 Pink Bouquet, a frosty, warm mid-tone pink. They looked awesome together. :D

My friend, Jessica, said you can do different brushstrokes with Black Shatter too. Other than brushing it vertically, she said it can also be done horizontally and diagonally. I tried it diagonally and LOVED the results. :D

Being in a playfully creative mood, I paired Black Shatter up last night with White on White by China Glaze. This combination reminds me of a lot of things. Cows, zebras (Well, that's what my son said. A little, maybe.), a broken dark chocolate bar with vanilla ice cream filling oozing out, and black marker written on nails painted with White Out. LOL. Now that reminds me of Life Science class in seventh grade. Whenever there was a dull moment in class (almost all the time), I painted my nails with White Out. After the White Out dried up, I drew designs on my nails with my black Pilot needle point pen. The look did not bring out much of a pretty look on the nails as nail polish, but I was happy with it. I know I was quite bad for doing it in class though. Good thing the teacher did not notice my makeshift manicure. LOL.

I am loving this funky black and white look on my nails so far. It looks a bit crazy, but crazies like me are always down for crazy. :P :D

Face Makeup Frenzy

2011-03-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

All I was planning to buy was pressed face powder from Clinique. Preferably Perfectly Real Compact Makeup. I don't know how long I've been using it. I know for sure I've used it for a long time. I was going to stop by Macy's to get it. One of my friends, Jamie, mentioned Sephora Inside JC Penney has Hello Kitty cosmetics already. I got excited and had to take a look. I ended up not buying anything Hello Kitty though because I really NEEDED powder. I was lazy to walk to Macy's though. Plus, I wanted to try a new face powder for a change. I ended up buying Amazing Face Skin-Balancing Flexible Coverage Foundation Powder from Too Faced. Phew. What a LONG name. LOL. It better be good. Haha... I'm sure it will be. Too Faced cosmetics are awesome. :D

I also went ahead and bought loose powder too. I bought Sephora Mineral Loose Powder Foundation. It originally was $13, but it was on sale for $10. I had to get it and try it out.

Because I've been putting it off for a whole month already, I grabbed BeneFit's Erase Paste Brightening Camouflage For Eyes & Face. I reviewed a sample of this product a while back and really liked it. It's about time I get the actual size and make good use of it. Although it is on the thick and heavy side, this concealer makes my problem eye circles disappear for the handful of hours I have makeup on.

Other than face products, I threw in a mini UDPP (Urban Decay Primer Potion) to my purchase. While we're throwing things, I'm going to throw this little eye makeup wonder in my purse. Eyeshadow primer comes in handy when you're traveling, sleeping over, or even when you go somewhere and you decide to put eyeshadow on. At least you know for sure you won't have to worry about eyeshadow creasing on you. :D

So, yes. I was on a mad face makeup spree. I enjoyed the madness a lot. Haha... :D Oh, and please let me know if you'd like for me to do a review on the products I had just bought. I'd be more than happy to do so. :)

On another note. This is a friendly reminder that it's almost time to set our clocks. I'm looking forward to longer days. WOOHOO! :D

Green and Nude With a Touch of Blue

2011-03-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

My Smoky Eye Palette by Too Faced has been my go-to palette for the past couple days. Because other colors are thrown in there like a couple neutrals and nudes, you can do non-smoky looks too. The blue and green shadows included also help contribute to the non-smoky look. I really don't know if my eye makeup in the pictures is considered smoky. I like how it looks though.

In the palette, I used the lightest nude color (under Day Smoke) on my lids and as a highlight. The lightest brown color (Day Smoke too) as a buddy color to the highlight. To add pops of color, I applied the green and blue shadows (Fashion Smoke) on my crease. The blue shadow was mainly on the outer corner of the crease.

For makeup application, I used both sponge-tip applicators and eye makeup brushes. I used applicators to pat down eyeshadow color. They help make the colors look bolder. For blending, defining, and good practice, I used the brushes. I was satisfied and happy with the results. :)

I think this look will help make your eyes pop if you want them to be the center of attention. All eyes will be on your eyes. :D

Outfit on a Night of Fun and Friends

2011-03-07T20:34:00.000-08:00

Pardon the messy background in the pictures. I randomly tried to get things out of the way in my room as I got ready. We had a going-away get-together for a couple of friends last night. I was happy all us work buddies got to hang out and have fun. Then again, it was sad at the same time because two of them are moving away to other states. :( I surely will miss seeing their gorgeous faces around. One of them is a makeup junkie like me. When it comes to makeup, we pretty much speak the same language. Haha... I am going to miss our conversations about Urban Decay, Tokidoki, and various drugstore makeup. Oh, well... There is always Facebook to stalk her. LOL. She's the one who taught me how to add color to my waterline. She has the prettiest eyes ever. :D Hopefully, she and the other friend will come back to California and visit us. :D I think the other friend likes makeup too. Her makeup is always so gorgeous and her skin is super-flawless. :D

Our get-together was at North County Tavern and Bowl. It's actually neighbors with my workplace. We were looking forward to bowling, dining, and drinking. We ended up not bowling because it took two hours to wait for an open lane. We dined and drank, however. Only a few of us drank though. I was so happy to get carded three times last night. Haha... I am really hoping we will all do this again. Especially when the two girls come back to Cali for a visit. :D

Now for the outfit... I picked a comfortable ensemble. Because it was cold last night (and still is tonight), I wore a navy blue long-sleeved shirt paired with faded charcoal gray jeggings. Underneath the shirt was a light gray cami with a lace trim. I threw on a black double-breasted jacket over the whole outfit. I got the shirt and cami from Charlotte Russe. I bought the jeggings from my workplace, Sears. :D They're from this brand called Canyon River Blues (CRB). The jacket is from H&M. Oh, and who can forget to wear boots in this cold weather? I bought the pair I wore last night from Forever 21. They are cute. And even better than cute, this pair won't make you sacrifice comfort either. I've been living in them for almost a week now. :D

My favorite part of this outfit is the navy blue shirt. It's very comfortable and flattering too. The fabric will hug your body, yet it won't squeeze you in too tight. I really love how it drapes on the neckline. Layering underneath the shirt is a must, but that will give you the opportunity to get very creative with this top. Imagine the various colors and patterns you can layer underneath this simple, yet versatile top. The draping neckline is long enough to cover the mid-section, so that comes in handy for people who'd like to hide that part of their body.

Other than for nights out with friends, this outfit would be suitable for school and maybe for shopping too. You can even wear it to an amusement park if you decide to go this time of year. I know for sure, I wouldn't be able to wear shorts or skirts in this cold and windy weather. I sometimes get cold even when it's not cold to a majority of people. LOL. :P

Fishnet Nails

2011-03-02T22:51:00.001-08:00

I was quite intrigued when I saw this nail innovation while flipping through magazines. It's Sally Hansen's Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. I don't know how long this has been around. While looking at the ad in one of my magazines, I thought the strips would be cool to try out. Then again, I was quite scared too. When it comes to nails, I really don't know anything other than painting them. I finally decided to get them after seeing a couple how-to videos on YouTube. Application looked easy enough, so that convinced me to finally buy them.

I got them for $8.50 at Walmart. I remember finding these strips at Rite Aid too and they're $9.99 over there. I know other places have really good BOGO (buy one, get one half-off) deals. I have yet to discover where they're at. Hehe...

Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips promises instant salon effects on your nails with no dry time. It claims that the staying power lasts up to 10 days.

The strips come in this little box with instructions, a cuticle stick, and a mini file that's also a buffer. (Sorry the file/buffer looks kinda gross in the picture. That's because I used it already when it was taken. LOL.) There are 16 strips. The strips are rather long. If you have shorter nails, you can probably use one strip for two nails.

What I like is that the strips are very easy to apply. The instructions and its illustrations are very detailed. You don't have to specialize in nail art to achieve the look of having your nails done by professionals. I really like the design selection too. It's just too bad the ones that I really wanted sold out fast. I am so glad I found this fishnet design called Misbehaved. It was the last one. I was lucky to have snagged it. Hehe... Most of all, I really like the idea of spending a lot less than having your nails done at a salon to get really cool nail designs. My nails would look so funky in a bad way if I were to be the one drawing fishnets or animal prints. LOL.

Now for the cons. Of course, the results won't be so great if you're not careful with applying the strips. I got quite distracted by my son who was being such a chatterbox while I was trying to concentrate by getting the strips in place. Some of my nails look a bit weird, but still presentable. It also would've been nice to have 20 strips instead of just 16.

Overall, I really like this product. I really like the compliments I got from it too. Hehe... One of my managers asked me if I did my nails myself or had them done. She was impressed when I told her I did this myself. I told her it was easy too. It would be cool to see her come in with some fierce nail designs too. :D I will definitely repurchase this product. I would really like some animal prints, the houndstooth design, and the lacy one too. :D

Bronze and Blue For Brown Eyes Too

2011-02-28T22:41:00.001-08:00

I keep hearing this rule about never matching the colors of your eyeshadow to your outfit. I know in some cases it can be too much. Then again, it can be fun too. It's sometimes okay to bend or even break the rules. In this case, I bent them a little. Hehehe... I was wearing navy blue too. You can't see very much of it. All you will see is the gray tank top. I had a navy blue tunic over it. I guess the tunic is a little too low-cut and it ended up not getting shown in the picture.

To get this eye makeup look, I used my Shimmer Strips Pop Blue Eyes palette from Physician's Formula. From the pics, you can tell I DON'T have blue eyes. So, yes, I bent the rules once again by using a palette meant for enhancing blue eyes. Then again, I believe there is no official rule that says you have to have blue eyes to use eyeshadow colors that make blue eyes pop. The bronze color and different shades of blue worked quite well with my brown eyes. I'm sure the colors in the Pop Blue Eyes will work well with any eye color too. Speaking of blue, the navy blue eyeshadow looked really nice with my tunic of the same color. Then again, that's really something quite hard to notice. Hehe...

So, what's been going on with me lately? Pretty much just work. I don't know what March will hold for me, but I'm hoping there will be something exciting that awaits. February hasn't really been my best month. It's okay though. It's unbelievable how it's already March tomorrow.

Palette in Package Fail

2011-02-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

I ordered ELF's Endless Eyes Pro Eyesahdow Palette about two weeks ago. This is the palette with 100 eyeshadow colors in it. Target carried it. I was going to get it, but I wasn't in the mood to go too crazy buying makeup at the time. I went for one of The Beauty Encyclopedia eyeshadow palettes instead. This was during the holidays. I guess I should've gone crazy with the 100 color palette instead because they were all gone when I came back to Target for one of them.

For a while, the ELF website was out of the 100 color palette. I was very excited when it went back on stock. I ordered one the moment I found out. My excitement heightened as I waited for the palette to get delivered. It arrived Saturday, which was fairly speedy delivery for me. I was very happy to receive the package until I pulled out a defective looking palette from the box that accompanied it.

I noticed a couple eyeshadows were broken. The pans were visible already. That bugged me a little. Some parts of the broken eyeshadows flew to other colors too. One of the pans of eyeshadow fell off its little compartment. It's the white one on the upper right corner. Although this isn't an ultimate online delivery horror story, I still was slightly disappointed. It wasn't an expensive product, but money is money. You want to actually use and benefit from what you pay for.

Holding on to this palette was a consideration, but it had a smell that gave me second thoughts. It had this weird smell that somewhat reminded me of a mix of old plastic and chemicals. I wasn't able to bare it any longer, so I trashed the whole palette. I know there's the option of returning it, but I did not see any type of return policy notice on the invoice.

I will still repurchase from ELF. I was very happy after all with the first few items I have purchased from this company. I don't think I will buy any of its big eyeshadow palettes. I will just stick to its blushes and other small things. If I want big palettes, I would rather go for the ones from Coastal Scents. The 88 Shimmer Palette Ben ordered for me a while back was nicely packaged. The big box with a lot of bubble wrap totally prevented the palette from shifting around.

There goes my first package fail. Hopefully it will be the last. HOPEFULLY. LOL.

On a Major Nail Polish Kick

2011-02-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Yup, I went crazy with my nail polish sprees. And nope, I did not buy all seven of them all at once. LOL. I would not mind buying a whole bunch of Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine polishes all in one sweep though. They are just 99¢ each after all. :D As for the others, I could probably buy one, two, or three at a time. No more than that. Otherwise, my wallet would really suffer a technical knockout. :P Then again, I get a discount when I buy nail polish and other beauty supplies at Trade Secret. Now that's one of the perks of being a mall employee. :)

Featured on the first picture are Black Crème by Wet 'n' Wild from the Wild Shine line, Give Me the 1st Dance by Nicole by OPI, and Mink Muffs by Essie. I got Black Crème from Rite Aid and purchased the other two from Walmart.

Black Crème is a basic, solid black nail polish. It isn't metallic or glittery. Because it's from the Wild Shine line, Black Crème has this sleek, glossy finish. Applying a top coat over this color (and most likely for other Wild Shine colors as well) is optional. Give Me the 1st Dance is a chrome-like silver with very fine glitter. I haven't used this yet, but I'm guessing the glitter won't show up too much on the nails. That's alright with me. :) As for Mink Muffs, I've been looking for this color for quite a while now. Trade Secret doesn't carry it. I was pleasantly surprised Walmart had recently stocked their shelves with Essie nail polish. It's still at the $7 or $8 price range, but you definitely get good quality out of this brand. :) Now on to the color. Hehe... Mink Muffs reminds me a lot of chocolate milk. Now that's not much help from fighting the urge for a chocolate fix. LOL. Then again, Mink Muffs is a gorgeous color. It's not too dark of a brown, so people trying to branch out of the flesh tones can appreciate this color too without getting too overwhelmed.

On the second picture are four OPI nail polishes. One from the Burlesque collection, a random one, and two from the Katy Perry collection. All of them were purchased at Trade Secret. That's usually where I buy my OPI nail polishes because of the mall employee discount they give. It's still not very much, but every little bit helps. That sure is nice of Trade Secret to appreciate their fellow mall employees. :)

On the very right is Rising Star from the Burlesque collection. It's a metallic amber with very fine glitter too. I don't know if the glitter will show up on the nails or not. The color next to Rising Star is Brisbane Bronze. I have it on right now. To see how it looks, refer to the fifth picture. Sorry how the light sort of washed the color out. To me, this color looks more like a copper. It is beautiful nonetheless. In the same picture, I randomly put Milani's Gold Dust on my ring finger. LOL. Back in the second picture, the third and fourth polishes are from the Katy Perry collection. The third one is The One That Got Away. It's a dark wine color with flecks of pink. As a result of the wine color and pink flecks joining forces, the nail ends up looking fuschia. In person, it looks quite wild and funky. It sure does capture that Katy Perry vibe. As for the last bottle of nail polish, it's a gunmetal gray that captures many different colors under the light. I see silver, purple, and green. This color is called Not Like the Movies.

I am waiting for Black Shatter and Teenage Dream. Wait. I think Teenage Dream IS (or maybe WAS) actually in stock. I just was so in a hurry to get back to work from my break to pay attention to everything. LOL. If I ever get to purchase both, I will definitely make a blog post featuring them. :)

A Look Back at Yesterday

2011-02-09T01:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know. Old picture. Haha... It's from yesterday. I was going to do an OOTD (Outfit of the Day) post, but yesterday's outfit looked like any other work outfit. Black skinny pants, black shirt with bat wing sleeves, and a white tank top underneath. A flowy, ruffly, white cardigan was layered over the whole outfit. The cardigan is cute, but to me, it looked quite unflattering in the picture. I love wearing it though. It's just so comfy. Best of all, I love its bat wing sleeves. I've been obsessed with sleeves of that sort lately. LOL.

The makeup look featured is very simple. Yes, it's another smoky eye look. I love the smoky eye look because it's just so easy to do and it really brings out the eyes. Either simple or dramatic, smoky eyes will make your eyes steal the show. I used my NYX Jazz Night 10 color eyeshadow palette for this look. This palette is part of The Runway Collection. I am pretty sure this collection from NYX is not limited edition. It's been in stores for the past few months now. Maybe even the past year. I got Jazz Night almost two months ago.

Once again, I totally apologize if I haven't posted very much. Because of everything being hectic and quite chaotic, I haven't really had the time or chance to spend much time on the computer. Believe it or not, I have abandoned my farm in Farmville. Hahaha... That actually shocked some of my friends. To them, I'd be the least likely person to give up Farmville. I've been addicted to it since who knows when. Yes, I quit cold turkey just like that.

That is pretty much it with this post. I will try my very best to put some content here as often as I could. I do have another nail polish post coming up. I have been on a big nail polish kick lately. I was excited to buy a couple things from OPI's Katy Perry collection. I still don't have the Black Shatter nail polish. I'm still waiting for Trade Secret to have it on stock. The lady said it will come in three weeks. It's on back stock. At least it's coming, so I don't have to cry. Hehehe... I'll include what I have from the Katy Perry collection on my next post. I have one from the Burlesque collection too and some random OPI one. I have new nail polishes too from other brands.

Alright, everyone. Good night. :)

Nail Polish Review in Mochachino

2011-01-27T22:03:00.000-08:00

I just can't stay away from very dark colored nail polish. I like how colors such as this reddish-brown one I'm about to review give quite a vampy to look to my nails. Hehe... Now on with the review.

Tonight's featured nail polish is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in 17 Mochachino. In the bottle, it looks reddish-brown with a very slight hint of champagne. That hint seemed to disappear right when I applied the polish on my nails. It still is a pretty color though.

Insta-Dri promises one-stroke application and one-coat coverage that dries in 60 seconds. Now this product would be great for someone who doesn't really have the time or maybe the patience to do her nails, yet she wants gorgeous color on them.

I will start out with the pros. I really liked the color of this nail polish. Like what I mentioned earlier, I'm into vampy looking nail colors. (I like all colors, actually. The vampier ones are my absolute favorites though. :D) This color definitely fits the description. I also like its opacity. All you need is literally ONE coat to get its true color. Speaking of color, the third pro is that this particular nail polish line Sally Hansen carries has a WIDE and diverse range of colors. You have the dark and vampy ones, the bright and happy ones, and the natural neutrals too.

Unfortunately for me, I have more cons about this nail polish than pros. I really was not too crazy about the brush provided and its wand. They were too wide for my liking. Maybe it's because I have small, child-sized fingers and fingernails. That must be why. I had such a hard time controlling the brush, so I kinda made a mess while painting my nails. The wide wand was really gloppy too. I had to keep wiping it on the stopper to prevent nail polish from dripping on my lap or on the floor. Another con is that it did not live up to its dry in 60 seconds promise. On me, it took five minutes to dry. I checked after 60 seconds and a minute after that, but the polish was still tacky. Even though the color is pretty, the finish isn't glossy. Adding a top coat always works out, but that would defeat the purpose of using a quick-drying polish. Especially for people who are in a hurry to even bother with a top coat. Well, if you don't want to wait much for your top coat to dry, I suggest either Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat or Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat. Both these products live up to their fast-drying promise and won't keep you waiting forever for your nails to dry. My last and final con is the consistency, it feels quite gooey. I prefer nail polish that glides on slick and smooth for easier application.

I really like Sally Hansen nail products a lot, but I won't be repurchasing the Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color. This brand definitely has better nail polishes like the Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color and the No Chip 10 Day Nail Color. They're not fast-drying nor do they promise to be, but the colors are gorgeous. Most of all, they are easier to apply because of their smooth consistency and narrower brushes.

I know a lot of people have raved about this line of nail polish. I just wished it worked for me. Then again, there are a lot of other nail colors to choose from in the sea. Haha... They may not be fast drying, but I'm glad I have my top coat that dries fast. :D

The Look of Monday

2011-01-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's Monday again. Haha... I know it's not everyone's favorite day, but I hope you're all making the most out of it. :) I'm okay with Monday. It's one of my days off work. That's why. My other day off is Thursday. I'm okay with that too. Wait. It's actually my favorite day of the week. Ben visits me every Thursday of the month. :)

Call me crazy, but I came up with this look before I took my walk. And yes, I actually wore this look while taking a walk. I normally don't wear makeup when I take a walk or do my workouts, but it's been so long since I've done a look. While I had time and nice, sunny lighting, I went ahead and did one. Based on the pictures, the look is not too intense and crazy. In real life, the hot pink color is a bit bolder, but still tame enough to wear in the daytime. The hot pink eyeshadow is Sting by Urban Decay. Along with Sting, I used Ulta's Calla Lily, Party All Night and Irresistable by Essence, MAC's Technakohl eyeliner in Rapidblack, and Rimmel's Waterproof Sexy Curves mascara.

What I really love about this look is the gray hoodie with little black hearts all over it. I got it at Pink Zone. Getting more into the whole hearts theme, I wore my pink heart earrings from Claire's. I think it was from Valentine's like three or four years back. Yup, it was THAT long ago.

That reminds me, Valentine's is coming up. Because it falls on a Monday, I'm pretty sure I'll be sleeping in on that day. LOL.

An Empty MAC Palette From the Web

2011-01-17T23:45:00.000-08:00

I was excited about getting this MAC Pro Palette (15 pan) this afternoon. This is my first online order from MAC. I ordered this about a week ago and it arrived today. Before going for a walk, I found it on my doorstep. I guess they delivered it while I was taking a shower.

I'm so glad they have this available on the MAC website now. I remember it was available only on the MAC Pro website a while back. I'm not a Pro member, so I doubt I'd be able to order anything from there.

Getting this palette online really saves me from a long trip to Fashion Valley Mall or to the Gaslamp Quarters in Downtown San Diego. Plus, waiting for the palette to arrive did not take long at all. I sure was happy and satisfied with my MAC online experience. Now I know where to order in case I can't find certain items I want at the MAC counter in Nordstrom.

Right after I took the pictures, I converted my MAC palette. A couple weeks back, I did the same with my three other palettes. Without the tray that holds 15 pans, the palette can hold about 26. I don't really like putting the pans on the area close to where the lock is, so I'll be putting 24 pans instead. Converting the palettes definitely saves more space in the makeup drawers. That also made me de-pot a lot of shadows. Now that I got the hang of it, I really like de-potting. I would never de-pot the shadows that come in unique, limited edition packaging though. I wouldn't touch the mineralize eyeshadows either.

Mini ELF Haul For the First Time

2011-01-09T02:09:00.000-08:00

YAY! I received my package from ELF Cosmetics yesterday. I was super-excited to tear it up and take pictures of what I ordered. Because of my excitement, I didn't bother to adjust the lighting in the living room upstairs where I had taken the pictures at. I apologize for how washed out some of the pictures turned out to be.

This small ELF haul is actually my VERY FIRST online purchase. After all these years, I had finally mustered up the courage to order something online. It's about time. LOL. Plus, I had no other choice anyway. The Target in my area carries ELF only on the holidays. I really don't know of other stores that carry ELF all year round, so its website was the best bet for me to satisfy my hankerings for its products. LOL.

I made the order on December 28. The package was shipped two days after and I received it yesterday. Waiting a week for it wasn't bad at all. I honestly was quite anxious to receive my package though. I'm happy I received it on time. I almost forgot to mention saving $5 on my order. The products were already at very low prices to begin with. It's quite like I paid a little over $1 for shipping because of the $5 off coupon code that was available at the time. :D

I started off small by getting just four items. I'll eventually get more for sure. Hehe... :D The four items are the ELF Studio Fan Brush, the Eyeshadow Brush from the $1 line, the Eyebrow Kit in Medium, and the Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder duo. With the exception of the Eyeshadow Brush that cost $1, everything else cost $3 each. I really wanted to try and buy items from the Studio line. I was especially excited about the blush and bronzer duo.

My first impression on the products are good overall. I was a bit disappointed with the deformed fan brush though. I thought the wonkiness would go away after a good washing. It didn't. It's okay though. I'm just going to use this brush to wipe away fall-out from eyeshadow.

In a very positive note, I am very happy with the other products. Even with the Eyebrow Kit that got many complaints on YouTube. I played with it a little. I got mine in Medium. The wax is quite light, but the powder that sets it is the perfect shade for my brows. For application, I used my hard angle brush by BeneFit. I will continue using it too for the brow kit.

As for the blush and bronzer duo, the texture and colors are excellent. The blush and bronzer are soft and silky. I don't find them chalky at all. They actually feel like NARS blushes. The color pay-off is amazing. I compared the blush with NARS Orgasm, BTW. The latter looks a tad more coral to me and it's a couple shades darker too. They're close dupes, but not at all identical. That's good news to me. I wouldn't want two of the same shade of blush.

The eyeshadow brush looks like it's going to be likable. It's stiff and dense enough to do a great job of packing on eyeshadow color. We'll see how it works out.

I can't wait to actually use these products. :D Because this order from ELF turned out to be a success, I will certainly order more from its website in the near future. :)

Starting the Year With a Tag

2011-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Getting the Stylish Blogger Award sure is a nice start for 2011. I know we're already a week into this whole new year now, but it's never too late to make a fresh start and wish everyone a fruitful and prosperous 2011. May this be your year. Work it and own it. :D

The gorgeous lady whom I received the Stylish Blogger Award from is Lidia. She is such a sweetheart. Thank you so much for this award. :D I'm going to put it with my Cherry on Top Award. :D

Please do check out Lidia's blog. She is very fashionable and elegant. She looks like a model too. She puts together very cute outfits in each of her posts. :)

Along with the receiving the are a couple simple requirements. One of them is to share seven things about yourself. The other is to share the award with 15 other lovely people.

Finding 15 people is going to be a challenge for me. There are A LOT more deserving stylish bloggers out there than 15. Therefore, I am going to make this an open tag. :D As for the seven facts, I'll go ahead and share them with you. :)

I love drawing. The two drawing mediums I have in my room are my Sharpie markers and Crayola coloring pencils. I especially love to color with my coloring pencils. You can get beautiful results and interesting effects from them too. My favorite things to draw are clothes. It's been that way ever since I was a little girl. At three, I started off drawing funny looking geometric people. I was in the first grade when I started to get interested in designing clothes.

Other than drawing, I love singing. Yes, I may be on the shy side, but I would rather sing than speak in public. At family functions, family members always urge me to sing karaoke first. That motivates other family members to sing as well. In college, I've taken singing classes just for fun and I really enjoyed them. Instead of a written exam for finals, we always had a singing recital. It was exciting, rewarding, and somewhat nerve-wracking to have family and friends watch and listen to you sing at the recital. If I could take these singing classes again, I would. :)

I love to dance, but dancing DOESN'T love me. Hahaha... I have never been good at following dance steps when other people do them. At parties, I run away once a big group of people decide to do a dance number together. I just can't get the steps right. I never shy away from freestyle dancing, however. I'm fine with just my own steps. For me, dancing is part of my daily workout. It really works. :D

I still prefer the old-fashioned way of communicating rather than texting or chatting. I love snail mail and phone calls. Honestly, I haven't been too great with snail mail ever since I've been a working girl. I can never say no to phone calls though. It's always fun talking to friends and hearing their voices.

For me, age is just a number. By law, of course, there are going to be age restrictions for certain things. Other than that, you can never be too young or too old for anything. Like in the beauty blogging world, you don't have to be in your 20s or younger to be a part of it. Women of ALL ages enjoy beauty products, so it is a breath of fresh air getting different points of view from women of various age groups. Also, for the friends you choose. They don't necessarily have to be your age in order for you to click with them. It's always nice to mingle with people from various age groups. Of course, I don't try to act older or younger when I'm with my friends who are not my age. I'm always just myself enjoying the company of those who've always been with me through thick and thin.

Although my life is not perfect, I always am up for a good laugh and a big smile. I enjoy the company of people with a great sense of humor. I somewhat shy away from very serious types. Life is stressful after all and it gets beyond stressful when you're always with someone that never smiles. I love my friends and boyfriend who are always smiley, cheery, and positive. I do have a tendency to get depressed, but they've all helped me become resilient. My cute and positive son is always a ray of sunshine for me too. I'm so blessed and thankful to have him and all of my loved ones in my life. :)

And now, we're on the to the seventh tidbit about me. Scrapbooking is one of the many hobbies I have. I especially have fun making my son's scrapbook. Speaking of that, I am almost done with his that has his first five years in it. I'll need to buy another one soon. Hehe...

I know this was quite long, but it sure was fun to write. Thank you once again, Lidia, for sharing the award with me. :D

My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2010

2010-12-30T03:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2010 will be over in two days. Now is a great time to think of what products I started liking and sticking with through the months. There are many to mention, but naming 10 of them will be more fitting for me and the year 2010. :D Especially at this hour. (It's now 3:18 AM. :P) I can't sleep, but I will force myself to soon after I finish this post. :P

There are a few products I've shown before on past entries and others I use VERY often that I haven't shown yet. What I'm about to feature are mainly go-to products. They are things I use on a daily basis. If not on a daily basis, I use them rather frequently.

First off is the St. Ives Naturally Clear Facial Scrub. This mildly exfoliates the face. I've been using this for a month. So far, it's been working very well for me and I love it. :) This actually was my sister's, but she left it behind when she came down here from San Francisco last Thanksgiving. Being one with sensitive skin, I was quite reluctant to try this facial scrub out. I remember trying out another facial product from St. Ives a long time ago. I can't recall what it was. All I remember was that it made my pimples worse. Now that I don't have much of a pimple problem anymore, trying out new products haven't been a problem for me either. It's still good to be careful and cautious of what you put on your face though. Anyway, I love how this scrub makes my face feel soft. The area under my chin can feel a bit rough sometimes. This scrub makes that rough feeling go away. I don't use this each time I wash my face though. I only use it every other day or three times a week.

Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse has been a go-to foundation for me. It's very easy to apply and blend. You can actually use just your fingers to spread this all over your face. I like to dab a little of the product on sections on my face. To spread and blend it evenly all over my face, I use a wedge-shaped sponge. I really like how this foundation gives my face a nice flawless looking finish. I don't have to worry about looking shiny or worse, greasy. Hehe... For me, this was especially great to wear in the summer. I still wear it even though it's already winter. I just love the matte finish on my face. I also love how two shades in this foundation actually work for my super-fair complexion. I use either Light Ivory or Porcelain Ivory.

I've done a review on the third product before. It's NYC's Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder in Translucent. I love using this to set my makeup. It does a great job of holding foundation and concealer in place. For something really inexpensive (Less than $3 for sure.), your face will get that quality airbrushed look. What satisfied me the most is that it did not give my skin a bad reaction.

It's quite hard to come by matte bronzers that actually work for my fair skin. I am glad I found Sephora's Bronzer Powder in Riviera. I use this as a contour. I like how this isn't too dark or harsh looking for my skin tone. I sometimes don't wear a blush with this when I'm too pressed for time to do a complete makeup look.

I believe it was my friend, Helen, who had gotten me into using this Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover by Neutrogena. This is practically half the price of the eye-makeup removers I used to purchase from Clinique or Estee Lauder. It COMPLETELY removes all your eye-makeup. Even CoverGirl's LashBlast Volume Waterproof Mascara, which is VERY stubborn to remove. Hehe... I usually use this before actually washing my face.

Urban Decay's Primer Potion is Sin has been very good to me whenever I just don't have the time to bother with eyeshadow. Sin gives a very pretty champagne colored shimmer to your lids without the fuss. Compared to the original UDPP, Sin is a little more runny in consistency. To avoid creasing on the lids, it's best to use this product sparingly. A little of it gives pretty results.

If you don't want to spend $16.50 on MAC's Penultimate Eye Liner, LA Girl's Fineline Liquid Eyeliner works just as great for only $4.99. That's how much it costs at Reflection. It's a little shoe store in the local mall. Other than shoes, it sells accessories and some cosmetics too. I'm sure you can find it cheaper than $4.99 in other places. For a liquid eyeliner, Fineline is very easy to use because it's in the form of a pen. I sometimes have days when my hands feel a bit wobbly, so this liquid eyeliner pen gives me better control. There is a slight problem of having to wait a while for the liner to dry, but I'm patient enough to wait. Plus, the wait isn't very long anyway.

My ULTIMATE favorite mascara is CoverGirl's LashBlast Volume Waterproof Mascara. There are other mascaras I like too, but this particular one is THE BEST for me. It lives up to its name by giving my lashes volume. Other than that, it gives my lashes crazy length too. Now that saves me from pairing this up with an actual lengthening mascara. Another rave about this product is that it separates very beautifully. You won't have to worry about ending up with the five clumpy lash look. My only complaint about it is that it can be quite stubborn to remove. Then again, it still cannot withstand the power of the eye makeup remover I use.

These two Sonia Kashuk brushes have been my absolute favorite brushes. They both are soft and dense, so they do an excellent job of applying face makeup. What I like about the Angled Contour Blusher Brush is that it works great for applying either bronzer or blush. As for the Synthetic Flat Blusher Brush, this works great for applying cream blush or even liquid foundation. I think it should also apply loose face powder nicely too.

Last, but not the least is the eyelash curler from Shiseido. I like how the arch on this curler is not too high. For me, maneuvering it in different angles is easier. It helps me get the the tiny inner corner lashes. It was quite a struggle to do that with other eyelash curlers. I still like my Revlon one though, but I like my Shiseido one better. I think it likes me too because it doesn't pinch me. Hehe...

Whoa. All this typing is putting me to sleep. I guess it's time for me to sleep. Actually, it should've been time HOURS ago. I surely had a great time sharing what had become my favorites this past year though. :)