pulp

October 29, 2013

NARS concealer, Shiseido moisturizer, Kiehl's eye cream, Deborah Lippmann Rolling in the Deep, Givenchy 202 Rose Dressing, Philosophy face cleanser, Diptyque Figuier, Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia, MUFE brow gel, UD palette

Sephora VIB 20% off sale is near (Thursday Nov. 7 to Tuesday Nov. 11 to be precise.) So I've been thinking about what to get. This is a good list for one-of-each...right? (Kiehl's and Diptyque not sold at Sephora.) *must narrow down* Things that are absolutely necessary - that concealer (my under-eye circles are larger than my eyes), moisturizer (mine is too old probably full of bacteria), and that face wash (current smaller version running out shortly). Though I'm pretty sure I'll come up with excuses to buy more stuff.

Route to world domination continues with learning about local barnacle distribution/zonation on the Atlantic coast of New England and with the ongoing memorization of 70 paintings and their associated facts.

*11/10 update: I bought the concealer, face wash, eyeshadow palette, and got a moisturizer for free! Weee!

Labels: beauty, wanted

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May 4, 2013

Weekend Update

What are you up to?

I'm rereading The Great Gatsby in preparation for the new movie. I don't think I appreciated Fitzgerald this much until now. The weird thing is, every time his name is mentioned, Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of him in Midnight in Paris appears in my head. Haha. But the hair and everything was perfect though.

These are the beauty products that I am currently loving (for real). My absolute favorite spring-time nail polish is definitely OPI You're Such A Budapest (the little one) from their Euro Centrale Collection. It's a pale blue-leaning lilac that is super flattering on my skin tone. My hands are somewhat tanned and it's a weird color because I'm Asian. And usually, pale colors make my hands look like mannequin hands. I suggest all Asians try out this color because it is won-der-ful! (I feel like it's universally flattering though.)

I recently got my hands on a NARS blush...yes, I finally splurged. I got Gaiety, which looks barbie pink in the pan, but it translates very well on my cheeks. This subtle pink lightens up my cheeks which are usually blotchy red. Less pink colors like Super Orgasm make my skin tone look funny and make me look older, which I dislike. So pink is the way to go! I also use NYX Liquid Illuminator in Sunbeam, which is a dupe for Benefit High Beam, on my cheeks. It just lights everything up!

I am also loving L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Emerald. It is such a perfect...golden emerald! Super amazingly pigmented and long-lasting, even on my oily lids! If you get this, I suggest you apply it over a base to make it more vibrant.

I never tried any lip pencils because I am afraid of what I've always imagined to be a dry/hard texture. But NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover proved me wrong. It applies PERFECTLY, and is moisturizing. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. NARS also have some new colors out recently, in both "gloss" and "satin" formulations. These are definitely products that totally changed my mind about a certain type of makeup.

I can NEVER find exfoliators that get rid of all the flakiness on my face. But this Caudalie one comes close to perfect. It is not a gentle one. But it works. And it does not irritate my skin. And after massaging, my face feels super soft and clean and almost flake-free!

BEACH WAVES. This Charlotte Ronson A Perfect Mess is...perfect. I wash my hair and towel dry it a little bit. And then I spray some onto different sections of my hair and distribute it evenly. Then I put it in a bun and leave it like that for as long as I can. If I'm in a hurry, I just blow-dry it. And voila - it adds some beautiful volume to my pin-straight fine hair. I haven't tried other beach-wave products but this one does the job. Unfortunately, it is discontinued, I believe. :\

Lastly but not least, I got another NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, this time in Alaska, because I find my old St. Moritz slightly too dark. Alaska is actually the second lightest shade in the spectrum, and there are 11 shades. I am not pale at all...I don't know how super pale white people can find a shade that fits...Anyhow, I like how natural this looks on me, as I really despise the I-have-foundation-on-my-face look. Another favorite thing about this product - it has SPF 30 in it! Sunscreen is essential in aging-prevention. :) I don't know how well this performs on oily-skinned people, as mine is more like combination type. And I always powder my nose...so.

So, I did not mean to make this post into a makeup rant. But I really did find some beauty holy grails recently. And I feel bad for not publicly appreciating them as I've spent some of my hard-earned money on them...

Moving on. I AM READY FOR SUMMER! Even though I will be spending my 3 months following a rigid routine mostly studying. But I am still pretty excited. Since I bought my new bikinis, Columbia has been absolutely horrible to me. There has not been sun in two freaking weeks! As you have probably figured out, I've been chilling in these last weeks of my sophomore year, because I have easy finals. And I really wanted to go sunbathing ("tanning" sounds tacky) on the horseshoe (if you don't go here, then horseshoe is the historic part of the campus with lots of grass and trees and beauty). I even bought a new beach towel (pictured in the first photographs, the blue striped one)! And of course, next Wednesday, the day after I move out, it will be all warm and full of sunshine here. -.-

Since I can't lay around doing nothing, I decided gym would be a good alternative. So I've been hitting the Strom everyday for over a week. I also got this new Rachel Rachel Roy tank for that purpose. Fashion-wise, I've been loving black items as they look good against my skin. Plus black is a classic color that never goes out of style. This tank also features this neon Native American head that makes it rave-ready. I love it.

Another thing that I love recently, is this little cute notebook Steph bought me in Taiwan when she went...last summer? I like to plan and write down things I need to do. And this is a perfect size. After I finish this one (which is not even remotely close), I will probably get a Moleskine or something. But I absolutely adore this.

I just have one more exam next Tuesday. And then I am ready to go home. And then David and Stephanie are gonna come to gvegas to visit me! :D It's gonna be a good week.

Also, if you haven't, check out my may mixtape! I am very proud of it, and it's got lots of listens on 8tracks. :)

Labels: beauty, personal

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November 10, 2012

Christmas wishlist

It's that time of the year again!

Useful things that I haven't really found specific ones that I really want...

A good coffee maker for myself in da dorm
A travel tumbler that does not spill and is easy to clean
Good-looking + comfortable rain boots
A personal planner
Hair products that don't make my hair look super flat on mah face
Makeup brushes
I will get myself a USC hoodie...
An outfit to wear to the Lady Gaga concert....and a unicorn that I can ride to Nashville!

As y'all can see, this is a rather long wishlist...

Gloves from Quinton & Chadwick (1,5) ASOS (2,4) ZARA (6) Marc Jacobs (7) Miss Pom Pom (8)

Necklaces from ZARA (3,9)

Jeans from ASOS (1,4,), ZARA (2,3,5,6)

Nail polish from Illamasqua in Radium, Cameo

Lipsticks from Dior, YSL

Eyeshadows from Milani in Olympian Blue; L'Oreal in Sultry Smoke, Glistening Garnet, Gold Imperial, Liquid Diamond

Eyeshadow palette from bareMinerals

NARS Illuminator in Super Orgasm

Perfume by Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Marc Jacobs

Jackets and sweaters from ZARA (1,2,3,4,5)

Books - Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent, Lady Gaga X Terry Richardson, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Everything from ZARA (1,2,3,4,5,6)

Obviously, my recent obsession with ankle boots will make it onto a solo post...

Labels: beauty, personal, wanted

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August 15, 2012

The end of summer

It's is pretty much the end of summer. 'Bout time to do a "summarizing" photo post. (PUN INTENDED)

It was a rainy day at the wedding as I recall. Even though I took lots of out-door photos, only a few of them turned out OK. The location was really beautiful though. Oh, I also really love how the giant chandelier light photo turned out straight from the camera. The color is perfect!

And I most definitely attempted at a Chanel Couture mani.

There's this kind of fragranced flower called orchid cacti that blossoms only one night each year. Fortunately, over a dozen of them at my house bloomed for two nights all together. They are quite lovely.

It is pretty amazing how my little camera captured all these. I'm still delighted about that last photo...I thought it came out too bright with the flashes and all...

Lastly but not least, my overly adjusted photo of a whole bunch of these flowers. My front door isn't all that attractive. And I thought this effect was pretty cool!

Labels: beauty, music, photography, travel

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June 6, 2012

'New In's

Got a few new things recently...and none of them is nail polish! :P I'm proud of myself...

Got myself a brush...finally. I've been searching for a perfect foundation/tinted moisturizer/BB cream and it has been unsuccessful so far. I really want a medium coverage one that gives a flawless finish...but at the end of the day, I think I should invest more of my $$ in skincare products instead...Anyway. This is Real Technique's Expert Face Brush. I wanted to get the buffing brush that Tanya (pixi2woo on YouTube, my favorite makeup tutorial person there!) always uses to apply her foundation, but it only comes in variety packs + I don't need the rest...

As you can see, I also got myself two Revlon lip glosses in Bronze Shimmer and Sunbaked. They are pretty nice summer shades. The latter is from the new Escapism Collection for this summer. I also got the bronzer in this collection, except I didn't think it worked out on me so I returned it...

So I also got new sandals for the summer. I was going to get them in black, but those actually doesn't look as good as these in orange. It will be hard to match them with any clothes that I own...but who cares? I rarely match anyway...

Labels: beauty

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May 17, 2012

OPI New York City Ballet Collection - My Pointe Exactly

I went to Ulta to wanting to pick up "Just Spotted the Lizard" (I blogged about it in a "want" post a while ago, it looks like Chanel Peridot) from OPI's Spiderman Collection. But I ended up getting this one instead. When I first saw the swatches of the OPI New York City Ballet Collection, I wanted to get "Don't Touch My Tutu". It's the off-white hue that does not have any warm/cold tone in this collection. But that one was sold out when I went. After testing out several sheer shades, I decided to get this one. It's about time for me to get a sheer nail polish. :P Maybe I'll go back and get Just Spotted The Lizard eventually...It's still on my pinky on my left hand and it looks wonderful.

This polish flows amazingly especially when you don't put too much on your brush when you apply it. I was always afraid of sheer polish not able to level off itself and thus looking clumpy on your nails. But this one is pretty awesome (as were all the other ones from this collection that I tried out). The color is a slate-leaning white that looks really milky.

(Sorry about how weird my pinky looks...That white thing in my nail is resulted from unknown reasons -.-) Two coats are thinly applied here. I was going to put on another coat but I was in a hurry. But I'm settling with this. :) It looks pretty cool especially when I'm wearing cool-toned clothes (don't I always!). There's also a glitter shade that comes with this collection. It looks great. You can see all the swatches of this collection here.

Oh, I'm at home now so I don't have a cool black background to take photos! So I decided to do pictures in my backyard. You can totally see how terrible my lawn is...all we do is mow it we never take care of it...

Song of the day! Outlaws of Love by Adam Lambert. This is clearly recorded by someone (I'm still skeptical about this SoundCloud account...it's probably not Adam himself?) while leaving the music on...so, excuse the sound quality + random typing in the middle...Anyway. Adam is fabulous!

*all photos taken by me

Labels: beauty, music

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April 25, 2012

Want Wednesday!

I know I have only done 1/3 of the studying that I'm supposed to do today...but it's Want Wednesday and there's nothing that can prevent me from doing a post! Today, there will be Zara clothes & accessories (as usual), accessories from other brands, and beauty items (nail polish AND others!).

This week, Zara offers more "tropical" items that I adore! My favorite one is this silk (yes! real silk!) shirt that is beyond gorgeous.

Zara Studded Silk Shirt $89.90

Next up are some Zara dresses that I adore. The first dress has an adorable hem and amazing drawstring details in the back. The second one is really vintage looking! I love it. It looks like some wedding dress in an indie movie.

Zara Dress with Drawstring at the Back $89.90 // Zara Embroidered Tulle Dress $169.00

On to accessories! I meant to post this a while ago, but I'm really in love with transparent stuff on outfits. In this case, there's the "vinyl" Zara bag. I saw similar transparency stuffs in a clutch (ahh forgot the brand!) and the Miss Sicily purse by Dolce&Gabbana. There's nothing chic-er than showing the world what you are carrying right?! :PPP I also love this leather clutch by Werelse x Mango Touch. Werelse is a new clothing brand created by three of the bloggers I follow - Chiara of The Blond Salad, Carolina of Fashion Squad, and Andy of Style Scrapbook. This collaboration came out two weeks ago & I like most of the pieces. However this cuff is my fav!

Zara Vinyl Messenger Bag $89.90 // Werelse x Mango Touch Buckle Leather Bracelet €19.99

More transparent stuff and Werelse...why didn't I regroup these? Too much effort...Anyway. Here are some shoes that I'm digging...

Zara Sandal with Methacrylate Heel $129.00 // Werelse x Mango Touch Silver Loafers €69.99

Beauty products! Summer IS here! If you are afraid of getting skin cancer (or freckes, or uneven skin tones, or sun burn...) from tanning (don't even mention tanning bed...those are the worst!), put these on and you are good to go!

Lorac TANtalizer Deep $32.00 5oz // St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse $40.00 8oz

Lastly but not least, nail polish!

OPI Holland Collection Thanks A Windmillion $8.50 // Essie Navigate Her $8.00

How gorgeous are these "girls"! I pretty much want to try all of them. Someone...swatch them please?

Deborah Lippmann Run The World (Girls) $45.00 for all 5

I have also been posting some other fashion finds that I'm drooling over on my Pinterest fashion board. Go check it out! :P

*all pictures are from their product page on the respective sites that I linked to
*nail polish swatches from ommorphia beauty bar

Labels: beauty, wanted

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April 24, 2012

a british affair

After seeing Eugenia's swatches of a-england Legend Collection and most importantly, spotting a coupon on her site, I purchased one bottle from this fairly new British brand. I originally wanted Saint George, a gorgeous deep holographic teal, but it was sold out when I had to purchase it before the coupon expired. So after careful consideration, I decided to get Princess Sabra, a pale gold-ish shade, as I am severely lacking good non-dark colors in my nail polish collection. After a little bit of waiting, it has finally arrived and I painted my already-bare nails immediately!

First of all, all European nail polishes are 3 Free. So I didn't have to wear my mask when I was painting them. LOL! After my mom heard that some chemicals in nail polish could cause leukemia (formaldehyde?), she made me wear a mask when I paint. A lot of the most recent nail polishes manufactured by OPI and Essie are free of these chemicals. But all the older versions and China Glaze polishes do contain them. However, European Union has a ban on non 3 Free polishes, so I get to paint my nails care-FREE! XD

Nothing out of my expectation here. The polish already looks amazingly gorgeous in the bottle.

It's hard to capture the true nature of this polish on my camera, but this picture presents a pretty decent view of the holographic effects of this polish - green, blue, gold, and orange. Pure beauty!

However, the holographic effects become barely visible from a distance. And the polish looks like a very subtle pale green-toned gold. To bring out the color of this polish better, I think I will try to paint it over a white polish like OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (rich white) or Essie Navigate Her (soft pastel green).

As for the application process, this polish is one of the best that I've encountered. It flows really well and is not messy at all. I did not need to clean up at all even for my right hand (I'm right-handed). Here I applied 2 coats without base or top coats. It's super smooth to touch and dries fast too. I will probably purchase more from a-england!

Labels: beauty

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April 16, 2012

China Glaze Midtown Magic...for the lack of better post titles

I never did a legit swatch for one of my favorite nail polishes - China Glaze Midtown Magic!

This was from China Glaze's Fall 2011 Metro Collection. It has a blackened burgundy base with a plum or mahogany tone depending on the lighting. And it is filled with fine gold, orange and green sparkles. In dim lighting, it's beauty is mostly hidden as it appears black to others. But in the sun and flash, it's super gorgeous! I love how it has become my default dark polish because of its different looks in different occasions. It's best for fall/winter of course, but doesn't hurt to wear it as a funky spring polish!

It applies really well even though it can be streaky in its first coat. It generally requires 2-3 thin coats to achieve full opacity. Here, I also applied a top coat to bring out the fine glitters.

*all photographs taken by me

Labels: beauty

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