Another mini haul

Hello~

I know I'm posting a lot lately, but that's because I'll be going on a trip this weekend and I'll be busy starting next week with camp so I don't think I'll be able to post as much anymore. D:

Anyways, here's a haul from around a week ago~

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in 180 Medium Beige

I bought this at first, but then people told me it looked like it would be too dark for my skin. I did Revlon's shade match thing-y on their website and chose medium and warm for my skin tone. This was the recommended shade, but I guess I'm between medium and light...?

Revlon Colorstay Concealer in Light, Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation in 130 Shell

I went back the next day and exchanged my unopened 180 Medium beige for 130 Shell. I know, big jump, but that was the only thing they had besides100 and 120.. I also got a stick concealer. I just hope the concealer isn't too light for my skin tone! Time to start wearing hats and sun protection more often!

I'm a make up noob right now.. I don't like to wear make up because I'm too lazy to erase it, especially waterproof eyeliner!! This was my first time buying concealer and foundation ahaha! I got them for a great deal, so I'm satisfied. I never realized how difficult putting on liquid eyeliner was until recently as well... -.-

I also stopped by a crafts store!

some felting wool~ I wanted to try out needle felting after seeing Bubzbeauty's videos.

Also got myself some reinforcement labels to make half moon nails!

Drillbur, Pansage, and Woobat!

I can't believe they had Pokemon plushies at the crafts store! They were moderately priced too! They're all Gen V pokemon, so I'm not very familiar with them. All I know is that the one on the wayy left, Drillbur, is super annoying in the games because it one hit KO's all of my pokemon. T_T

Hope you enjoyed my mini haul!

side note: lately, I feel like I keep on getting treated differently because of my appearance. I know it'll get worse in the future, but idk... Maybe I'm noticing it a lot more lately because I'm not in my room studying 24/7..

'Til next time~

Star Manicure!

Hello~

Today I have a delayed star mani. I've been in a starry mood lately. :P 

This designed turned out to be much more holiday-ish than I planned.. ahaha

I painted these with my non dominant hand, so there's a bit non-star like :P

I used one coat of everything. 

before top coat

Après top coat

L-R: Timbleberry, Pistache, and generic acrylic paints

Overall, I really like painting details with acrylic paints a lot more than nail polish! Probably because it's just a lot easier because the paints don't dry as quickly or bleed like nail polish does.. I gotta keep practicing though!

I just finished half of my summer French hw, so I'm still a bit in my French-y mood.. T.T After 6 hours of nonstop French hw, my brain is fried...ahaha well I guess these are the consequences of procrastination.. D:

Anyways, look forward to a cute mani soon! Hopefully my nails don't break before I paint them again!

'Til next time!

Weight update~

Hello~

Lately I've been not caring about what I eat or how much I exercise, if at all. Of course, this has led to some unwanted consequences.. T_T For the past few weeks I've been eating lots of wheat, fatty foods, junk foods, etc. I stopped exercising daily, and started eating a lot at night. T-T I let myself do this because I was like hey I'm young for only so long, I should take advantage of my age and just pig out. 

Well.... I gained 6 lbs. I know that may not sound a lot to some people, but given my height, it makes a huge difference on my body. I'm average, maybe a little shorter than average, and to add to that, I mostly gain/lose weight on my lower body first. I've noticed that my legs have become much more stubby and jiggly. T^T Darn those yummy nachos and ice cream! 

Now I'm trying to stop eating at night. (Usually, I eat dinner at around 5pm and eat nothing until the next morning!) I'm going to try exercising at least a few times per week. I'm gonna slowlyyy reduce my junk food intake, because I'm too addicted. I eat when I'm stressed out. Some people lose their appetites when doing things, but I don't think I've ever lost my appetite because I was sick or something. Ok maybe once, when I felt sick from the medicine they give you after undergoing surgery. But that lasted only so long, and I put on the pounds like crazy afterwards. Gurl, I gotta lose weight to be able to wear my clothes again!

It's my one and only Rilakkuma!! :D <3 <3 

Well, g'nite everyone! It's 1:02 AM. :P hmm should I paint my nails? ....nahh

'Til next time~

Zoya Remove + 3-In-1 Nail Polish Remover Review

Hi Guys!

I'm really excited to do this review because it is one of my favorite products to use on my nails. The Zoya Remove + 3-in-1 Polish Remover is by far the best nail polish remover out of all the ones I have tried.

The original color of the remover is actually purple. I actually ran out when I took this picture and refilled it with a different remover. The reason I refill the bottle instead of throwing it out, is because I love the cap.

You just need to twist the cap left to open the lock and twist it right to close the lock. Now I don't need to worry about the nail polish remover spilling everywhere if I accidentally knock the bottle over. :D 

The remover itself works really well. It has a pleasant scent, not like regular nail polish remover. It takes of nail polish quickly (it is even effective on glitter nail polishes if you leave the remover soaking on the nail for 10-15 seconds). 

Overall, it is a great product that I would recommend to anyone. Have you guys tried it? 

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream Review

Hey Guys!

I realize that I haven't posted in a while, but I have a good reason. I finally got a new camera! I'm really enjoying the clarity of my photos :D

Now for the review:

The Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is amazing. It soaks into the cuticles quickly and it smells like lemons. Not the artificial lemon smell, but real lemons. 

This is what the product looks like. It looks like I have used up most of it, but really the Cuticle Cream has lasted me a long time. Almost 4 months and I have just hit pan on it (I use it everyday). 

The only complaint is that it leaves a sticky residue after it is applied, and it transfers onto other surfaces. I normally am on the computer and when I apply the cuticle cream with my fingers, it makes my keyboard sticky. 

Other than the one complaint, it is a great product that I would recommend to anyone, especially those who have dry cuticles. 

Have a great week!

Kpop Nails: BoA's Starry French Nails

Hello muffins!

Today I have a manicure that Korean singer BoA wore in one of her music videos! It was in her music video for Hurricane Venus. It's a very electronic, catchy song~ 

Here's a screenshot I took of her nails. I used this for reference.

Voila! As you can see my nails weren't as long as BoA's, so I had to adjust the sizes of the designs. Nonetheless, it's a partial success in my book. :D

It was my first time using acrylic paints for the black and white nail art. 

It took me a while, but it was fun! I used one coat of everything.

L-R: Sinful Colors Sugar Rush, Julep Parker, Orly Butterfiles, Sephora by OPI Is it Payday Yet?, Sally Hansen CSM Buttercup

I used generic acrylic paints from my local crafts store. 

Overall, I'm happy with this mani! It was very colorful and fun to paint. I need a lot more practice, but hey, my freehanding didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would! Next time, I'll remember to take pictures so I can show a tutorial. :D 

'Til next time!

Rant: Life of a nail polish maniac

Hello~

Here's my rant of the month. haha hopefully there will be less rants in the future. 

I had dinner out with a family friends. Their daughter, who is a little older than me, and her little girl cousins looked at my nails and complimented them, so I was happy. :D But then, they kept on saying how nail polish is so uncomfortable to wear, which I understand, because at first, I could not stand to wear nail polish because it felt like it was smothering my nail bed. We nail polish ppl know, however, that once you wear nail polish more often, you get used to the feeling, and besides, having cute and pretty nails are worth it! haha Anyways, they kept on saying things that sort of made me feel uncomfortable, like "I can't imagine wearing nail polish all the time!" and "Wow I would never spend more than 10 minutes on a manicure." and "It's so uncomfortable to wear nail polish! My nails can't breathe, and it's super bad for your lungs to smell the fumes!" I was just like ermmmmmm... Do you think I don't know the cons of nail polish? Funny thing was that the older girl had nail polish on herself for the first time (she's doesn't like nail polish, as you can see above...) with cute Studio Ghibli inspired nails that her friend painted for her. (side note: I was surprised because she never ever wears any nail polish!) I was happy for her because then she could maybe stop her habit of biting her nails! The thing is, everybody that said nail polish was uncomfortable would compliment and fawn over her nails, and then see my nails, and continue complaining about the bad aspects of doing your nails. I mean, I know it's not a big deal, but how am I supposed to respond? It was just so awkward after they said things like "Oh nail polish is so uncomfortable! You must be very obsessed to be able to do your nails like that!" Then they came over to my house, looked at all my nail polish in my room, and they were just appalled. They were like "I would never buy that much nail polish." I'm like ok. The thing is, all the moms and girls and teens KEPT on saying bad things about nail polish. 

This is where things get personal: The older girl that I was talking about? My parents CONSTANTLY compare me to her. She's going to a great Ivy League school, her dream job is very impressive, she was very successful in high school and took many AP classes, she got very high SAT scores, she has TONS of guy friends. The thing is, I'm just glad that she achieved so much in her life so far. The above things that I mentioned are all what my mom tells me, implying and reminding me that I am (and I actually am) worse than her in those areas; but I don't really think about it too much. I know that everyone is different. I'm not as smart as her, or as fun as her, but I still have a family and friends who like me for who I am, and I'm completely fine with that. Of course, I do like it when people compliment and congratulate me, but I don't beg for it. It's just that sometimes I get very emotional and sensitive... T_T If I had to choose which one of the seven deadly sins I would be, it would definitely be envy. I am sooo crazy jealous of people sometimes, which is one of my bad qualities. I hate being jealous, but I always am. D: (ehehe that's why I sort of felt not as good when everybody kept on complimenting her nails and how adorable they were, and then when they see my nails and know the effort I put into them, they just dismiss them, saying all these bad aspects about nail polish. hey, I'm not begging for compliments, but I can do without the bashing!)

I'll stop here. If you guys in the story read this, I don't mean any harm! I'm just ranting haha. I still love you guys. :D And I know that you guys didn't mean anything when you said those things. I'm just thinking too much and assuming.. -.-

End of Story: For me at least, the pros that come with pretty nail polish override the "cons" of nail polish. I love painting my nails; it's one of my most favorite hobbies, and I don't regret painting my nails or buying any of my nail polish. I know some people might say it's not one of the "best" hobbies one could have, but I don't care, because you can't really "compare" hobbies. Painting your nails can't be compared to reading books or playing an instrument or learning a language. They're all different types, for different people.

I will try hard and continue to post in this blog about my nail polishing adventures! Without nail polish, I wouldn't have been able to have as much confidence and self-esteem as I do today! (I'm still very shy haha)

I don't hold any grudges, so probably within a week, I'm most likely going to forget this even happened! ^^ I'm looking forward to better days and better experiences!

'Til next time~

Journey of Life Anywhere (JOLA: New series!)

Hello~

I decided to try and create a series on the blog where I just update you guys about my life. I know my life isn't super duper amazing or fun, but hopefully this will make some people smile and laugh. :D This is just a little update of what I'm doing~ Also, I've always wanted to come up with a series! The name of this one, JOLA, was pretty random, and I didn't really give it much thought. I was originally gonna go with JOFL (journey of food/life) but it reminded me too much of rofl. lol

Today's entry is mostly about food... LOL I promise (hopefully) that these will get more interesting as time goes by~

I've been eating these like once a day... They're sooooo gooood. >o< Very fattening, but sooo good and satisfying.. Lately I've been craving the super fattening foods like nachos, ice cream, pizza, etc. 

This was like 9pm outside yesterday! I looked at the sky and instantly though, "Man, that would be an awesome gradient color combo for my nails.." LOL

I volunteered for the past few days and it was hard, labor volunteering. Man, sometimes volunteering can be exhausting! So I decided to recharge myself, er, more like comfort myself with sweet tea, crackers, and Pokemon. :P I was supposed to do my hw today, but I fell asleep yesterday at 4am and woke up at 8am, so I knew I'd fall asleep once I started studying. T.T

Just one of my boxes of nail polish... >.< This is mainly my drugstore brand polishes. You can see lots of Revlon, some Sally Hansen, some NYC, etc. I got most of the Revlons for 75% off in the current CVS Clearance Sale. :D Man, my polish collection has mushroomed ever since last year... I'm strictly limiting my polish buying now. Even though I have so many, there are constantly new, very pretty, colors being released! T_T

Just curious.. how would you guys describe a perfect day? My idea of a perfect day is usually all about comfort. I love to be fresh and clean from a shower, cuddled in my bed with either my computer or my DS. I just love that feeling of being safe, clean, and cozy. :3 Also, NO HW. Hw ruins the comfy level of any environment. at least for me.

'Til next time!

OPI Liquid Sand Review / Swatches / Comparison

Hello~

Today I have reviews and swatches of some of OPI's liquid sand polishes. I remember when they first came out, I was all "liquid sand?!? nail polish is supposed to be shiny and glossy!" I now really like the liquid sand trend. :D The comparison of the three red/pink/coral liquid sands are near the end of the post!

(Pictures aren't very good today..sorry! >.<)

L-R: OPI Get Your Number, Magazine Cover Mouse, Jinx, The Impossible

You can see I got most of the red/pink/coral ones.. heehee

L-R: OPI Get Your Number, The Impossible, Jinx, Magazine Cover Mouse

One coat, under direct artificial light.

Under indirect artificial light. (Thumb is Magazine Cover Mouse.)

At first, I was sort of worried that these three would all look the same. Boy, was I wrong.

Oh, The Impossible has star glitter, as you can see in the bottle. When I painted these, however, I rushed and didn't have time to fish out the star glitter.. -.-

L-R: OPI The Impossible, Jinx, Magazine Cover Mouse

See? It's much more obvious in real life, but you can tell that these three colors are indeed different. In real life, The Impossible is a hot pink, Jinx is much more coral with the golden glitter, and Magazine Cover Mouse is a very pigmented dark strawberry red. Some people may argue that they are all very similar, but in the nail world, these three are not dupes for each other. :P

My 2 cents on liquid sand: I know it's been a while since the trend has been out, but overall I like the liquid sand finish. It's not as rough as I thought it would be; more like sandpaper rough...? These polishes look especially pretty in sunlight, because the intense amount of glitter sparkles like crazy! I got compliments on The Impossible, which is the most pink out of the three. Removal wasn't as annoying as I thought it would be. I used the foil method to remove the glitter.

'Til next time!

Sales sales sales!

Hello readers!

FINALLY online classes are done! Yay! Now time to cram my summer hw... T.T
Anyways, here is my recent haul from the mall! There were so many one day sales from 40-75% off, so I got pretty good deals I think. :D

Polka dot shorts: ~$13

Yayy I finally got myself some nice looking shorts! I'm looking up what to match these with though.. I'm still a fashion noob who is learning. ^^

Dresses: ~$17 each

Yayy dresses! I like me some cute dresses. The one on the left has the tiny hearts all over the dresses. They're both so cute~ These were originally $49.99 or something each!

I've been spending wayyyyyyyy too much lately.. probably because it's summer. Once school starts, I literally wake up, go to school, come back, do hw until like 1-2am, and then sleep. GLORIOUS SLEEP. Repeat for however many days of school there are left, and then summer time again! T_T

I'll do another life-what-I'm-up-to post soon. ^^

'Til next time~ 

OPI Tickle My France-y Swatch and Review

Hello~

Today I have a very nice nude color from OPI called Tickle My France-y. Polish names are so interesting now that I think about it.. Anyways, I really like this color! Once I put on some top coat, it looked so shiny and elegant. I literally stared at my nails for a good minute. ^_^ 

Ahh this polish color is so hard to capture on camera! 

This is two coats under artificial light.

Interesting tidbit: The color on my pinky and ring finger look different because they were actually stained blue from a previous polish.

 The color looks a little dark at first, but if you stare closely, you see hints of pink.

Under natural, indirect light. 

Under natural sunlight. You can really see the pink undertones in this pictures.

This picture shows a little more pink to the polish. I really like this slight pink tone because it makes my nails look very ladylike. It's like a MLBB for my nails.. so MNBB? Nah I think people just say it's a mannequin nude nail color or something.. It's a good neutral nail color!

Formula was great! The first coat was a lot more pink and sheer, but after the second coat, the darker color showed more. I personally prefer that light tint to your nails from just one coat, but everyone is different. The formula was even; not too thin or thick.

Overall, I really like this color! I think it's a great "palette cleanser" and mannequin nail color especially for people with my skin tone. The polish was the color of my nail bed, so it made my fingers appear longer and more elegant. I'm not a very elegant person, but this color would be great for a toned down, feminine look. 

I know Essie's Ladylike might be a dupe. I dunno about other colors though. Oh man, after trying Tickle My France-y, I feel like I've been opened to a whole new world of nude nail polish colors. I remember when I first started collecting polish, I only opted for pastel colors. 

This will be my last post for this week probably! I have final tests coming up for online classes. I need to practice flute too... Gosh auditions are next month! I hope I practice enough.. I need to volunteer too.. I also need to hurry and start my summer hw.. Oh dang.. T_T Don't procrastinate guys! 

'Til next time!

Quick summer haul~

Hello~

I went shopping a few weeks ago to buy a birthday present for a friend. Of course I bought some stuff for myself as well. ^^ There were too many sales that I couldn't help but getting a few things here and there~

I got a pair of skinny jeans (on sale woopwoop) that actually fit me! They're stretchy, so they're pretty comfy for skinny jeans. $13

I also got a plush Pokemon doll for my friend. I gave her the Cherubi, and I kept the Shellos. You can guess which one is which based on the names haha. Man, the new pokemon are so similar to normal animals or objects! There's a new candle pokemon, an ice cream pokemon, and a bunch of others. >_<

Blouse - $7

shirts and tanks on the left - $5.95 each(?)

I stopped by H&M and bought some stuff on sale! The clothes on the left are for a cosplay, and the blouse on the right is just something light and nice. You can't really tell who I'll cosplay as yet, but I hope it turns out nice! It'll be my first time trying to cosplay.

From L-R: F21 no name glitter, Revlon Buttercup, Coastal Surf

A haul isn't complete without some nail polish! I gave the blue one to my friend, but I kept the rest. Yay I'm so happy I found a nice light pastel yellow! My hello kitty yellow is so sheer that I end up using 4-5 thin coats. The richer, darker yellows look kinda weird with my skin tone. I'm hoping to use the glitter for gradients. :D

Well that's enough shopping for me. Either tomorrow or the day after, I'll be starting my intense detox diet again so I'll look good for my pictures next week! Online class final tests are next week as well.. Cramming time! Oh, also I'm gonna volunteer at this race tomorrow morning.. We have to get there by 6am, and it takes around 30 minutes to get there, so I have to wake up at 5am... I'm contemplating if I should just pull an all-nighter, because I'm afraid I won't wake up on time. T^T

Wish me luck~

Manicure experiments

Hello~

Ever since I saw this picture of a girl's nails with a lavender base and red french tips, I've always wanted to recreate it. I tried back last year here with Essie's To buy or not to buy as the base color, but it was so streaky so I used Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac this time instead. 

Well... Lacey Lilac was too blue... It made Essie's Clambake look too blood red. This wasn't the look I was going for, but oh well I can try again next time!

Thumb: jelly sandwich with OPI Living Daylights and Essence Cotton Candy

Slanted French tips L-R: Sinful Colors Orange Cream, Island Coral, Beautiful Girl (The mint part was Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet.)

Pinky: jelly sandwich with OPI Minnie Style and OPI I Theadora You

So I fixed that hand ASAP into this. I was experimenting with which pink base would look best against the mint green tip. These were inspired by Minzy from 2NE1. I saw her have something similar in some episode of 2NE1 TV. I used tons of different colors to see which combo would look the best. 

Pretty good for me cause I can't freehand anything!

My first jelly sandwiches.. I kinda like the one on the pinky rather than the thumb. Sorry for not cleaning the edges! T-T

'Til next time!~

Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac Swatch and Review

Hello!

Today is just a quick swatch and review of Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac.

I think this was one coat. (in direct artificial light)

indirect artificial light

This bottle was actually one of my first bottles of nail polish. I think I only had like 10 bottles max when I bought this. :P
Anyways, Lacey Lilac is a cool toned lilac with blue undertones. The formula is very nice; sorta thick, but it evens out. You can see some bare patches with one coat, so you could do two. It's a pretty pastel color perfect for spring. Of course, I like pastels in general so I wear them throughout the whole year.. :D
I was going to use this as a base for french tipped nails.. I'll show you the pics and why it failed soon. T.T

'Til next time~

My experiences with diets

Hello lovely readers~

So recently I've been trying to eat healthy and lose fat. I'll be taking pictures soon so I wanted to look my best. :D I have a chubby cheek complex; I have really chubby cheeks and when I smile my cheeks look even chubbier! ToT 

Here are my "diet secrets" ahahahah 

At the end are my experiences with various meal plans.

Disclaimer: These tips are what worked for me. They may not work for you; everyone's bodies are different. I'm no nutritionist or health advisor either; just a girl who wants to be healthy and look healthy. 

Tip 1: Eat healthy! I know this is pretty obvious, but it's more important than you think. According to Cassey from Blogilates, our diet is 80% of the weight loss. Other things like exercise, enough sleep, etc. make up the remaining 20%. Whole foods and mostly veggies are great components of any meal.  

I ate the above salad for lunch for a whole week! It's made out of lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, carrots, cucumbers, and chicken, topped off with raspberry vinaigrette. YUM.

Tip 2: Have a break day! It's okay to have a break day once in a while, and moderately eat any food you are craving. Make sure to get back on track afterwards though!

Mmmmm pineapple pizza, my favorite. ^_^ (One of those slices have over 300 calories! daaaang...)

Tip 3: Drink tea~ I drink oolong tea because I have a lot left over after I bought a big container at Teavana.. Green tea is really good too. It helps with metabolism and detoxifies your body. Drinking a cup a day can help with weight loss, as well as naturally improve your health overall.

Nice tea...

Tip 4: Avoid eating at night! Our bodies use significantly less energy at night, so there's no point in charging up our bodies with sugars, fats, and proteins if we're just going to relax at home and sleep. I try to avoid eating anything heavy after 6-8pm. This way you feel hungry in the morning for breakfast too. :D Instead of eating, do your work or keep yourself busy with your hobbies. Mine is gaming. ^o^

My obsession with video games continue~ 

Don't forget the many other parts to a healthy lifestyle such as exercise, relaxation, good sleep, etc.

On a side note, I tried a detox diet for a few days. I drank tons of oolong tea and only ate veggies and maybe a boiled egg or some boiled chicken a day. I actually lost around 1 kg a day doing this, and my body felt much lighter and less groggy. The weight didn't come back on as fast as I thought it would too! I might try this again to see if the results are consistent. 

On another side note, after the detox diet, I heard about this one meal a day diet. It sounded too good to be true, and it was.. T_T Apparently the one meal a day diet is when you eat whatever you want, except in one meal around 2-4pm. This way you stay full the whole day and don't eat at night. I tried this for a week; no good. It is too good to be true. It might work for some people, but it didn't work for me. (Probably because I ate lots of cookies and ice cream in that one meal ehehe)

I know tons of people have no concerns with their weight or their health. This is just my experience with trying to maintain a healthy body, because I know myself too well. If I didn't have any limits, I would eat many fattening foods like chips, fries, burgers, ice cream, spaghetti, pizza, cheese, cereal, lots of cookies and crackers, pastries, bread, ahh the list goes on and on. Why do I love food too much.. T-T

'Til next time!