Sheer & Casual

top/shorts/sunglasses: H&M, shoes: Converse

Since it's summer time I really want to make more use out of sheer tops. They can make any outfit appear feminine. Loved pairing it with bright turquoise shorts and white Chuck Taylors so I can wander around freely. 

New Goodies from Ulta

From left to right: Maybelline Eye Studio Liner in Blackest Black, Real Techniques Liner Brush, Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, Freeman Dead Sea Minerals Mask

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged and it's a total fail since I said I would write more entries during my short break last week. If it's any consolation, there weren't anything exciting that happened to talk about anyway!
This is my first week of summer session and I haaaaaate it. I'm taking speech, which is pretty terrifying because I'm not one who can speak articulately when put on the spot/talking in front of other people. Luckily, I got through the first of four speeches today. So relieving! It was quite dreadful sitting there, summing up the courage to go up there to speak, but I convinced myself it will be ok because once I get home I'll have a package waiting for me! Haha.
My package from Ulta came about 30 minutes after I got home and I was so excited to open it. I bought two Real Techniques brushes: the Expert Face Brush and the Fine Liner Brush. These brushes are from Samantha Chapman (Pixiwoo on Youtube) and I've heard a lot of great things about her line. I'm really looking forward to using the Expert Face Brush to apply cream/liquid foundation. The bristles are really dense but soft so it should do an excellent job at blending out the product. I bought the Fine Liner Brush because I wanted to try Maybelline's Eye Studio Liner, which I heard is comparable to the Bobbi Brown Gel Liner but for half the price. There was a brush that came with it but I prefer the thin liner from Real Techniques since it allows for greater precision--whether you want a thin line or a thicker line. Lastly, I got the Freeman's Dead Sea Minerals Mask because there are quite a lot of good reviews on it. I have a tendency of gravitating towards face masks and I'll be trying it out tonight to see if it lives up to the reviews! 

Past Week Through Photos

From left to right: making French toast/finished French toast with strawberry syrup + strawberries + grapes/ light pink flats with rhinestones/wearing my new cat eye sunglasses/the madness of studying for finals/dinner break/Thai Iced Tea at a new Thai place/finally the keys to my car/floral for the sunshine

Since I knew I wouldn't get a chance to blog as much last week when finals were happening, I had in mind I wanted to snap some pictures to create a collage! Everything pertains to the previous week except for the car keys which I finally received a few days ago :P (the car has been in the garage but I haven't been able to drive it.) It's quite scary being a new driver but with more practice I'll gain more confidence. I remember when I first rode my bike on campus Freshman year. I never learned how to ride a bike until then when I had to get to classes! Oh boy, I got into so many (minor) accidents: biking into a bush, running into the sidewalk, not keeping up with bike traffic, and distinctively, getting yelled at by an officer for not stopping at a stop sign and having two earphones on (yes, there are actually these type of rules in Davis...). That's easily a $300 or so ticket but, luckily, I didn't get one (phew). So aside from the point that I was once a horrible biker, I eventually got pretty good at it! I know it's not quite the same as driving but the idea is that I'll get better! But for now, I'm one scared, scared Asian girl. 

Skincare/Makeup

Q: What is your skincare routine?

Morning- Neutrogena Foaming Cleanser, Cetaphil Moisturizer, Aveeno Moisturizer w/ SPF

Night- Neutrogena Foaming Cleanser, Clinique/Lancome eye cream, Benzoyl Peroxide Treatment, Clinique Moisturizing Gel

I have acne-prone skin so my night time routine is a bit more complicated. I'll wash my face and gently pat it dry then wait a few minutes (I pat on one of my eye creams during this time) before putting on Benzoyl Peroxide to where I need it. I wait a few minutes again until it dries completely, then follow up with moisturizer. I make sure to wash my hands before EVERY step. Hands are full of nasty bacteria so I'm very careful about touching my face. It's quite time consuming, yes, but I think it's worth the precaution. Once or twice a week I'll use my Skin79 Peeling Gel to get rid of dead skin cells, which will help absorb moisturizers, serums, etc, better (thus better results from the products you use!). I'll also use Mario Badescu's Silver Powder from time to time as well, which is supposed to help with unclogging pores. This routine works for me for the most part but I'm always in search of more efficient products. I still break out here and there, of course, especially during times of high stress (midterms, finals) but it hasn't been as bad as it was when I was 16. That was probably the worst time of my life! In addition to an external skin care, I also believe eating healthy plays a big factor. In my opinion, beauty starts from within. Eating health not only makes your skin happy, it also makes your body and long-term health happy too! I definitely try to avoid fast food, foods high in sugar, and dairy. My biggest weakness is chips (Hot Cheetos, yum) so I allow myself to indulge at most once a week.

Q: what are your fav make up products

Lips: Elf Lip Balm in Blissful Berry, NYX Lip Cream in Amsterdam

Face: The Balm's Mary-Lou Highlighter, Shiseido Lifting Foundation in Ivory, The Body Shop Luminizer/Bronzer, Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in Medium, MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC30

Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Palette, Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC eyeshadows in Print and Saddle

Freedom

Ahhh I'm finally done with my Spring Quarter finals! It's been a week since I last blogged but it feels so much longer. The combination of hot weather and having the stress of studying and taking exams resulted in my go to items: shorts, tank/tee, flip flops, sunglasses. I also made sure to wear a watch (I forgot it for two exams, though) so I could see how much time I have left to catch the bus home! All this stress has been laid to rest...temporarily. I'm going home to SF tomorrow and then start a one-two driving session on Saturday. I have one week to practice (I got my license 3 years ago but never drove regularly after) then I'm bringing up my car for summer school! It's about time! Summer school is an accelerated 5 week program so I'm going to try to relax and have fun as much as I can before then! And of course I'll be updating more frequently from now on :D. I know I've been neglecting some questions on Formspring too, but no worries because I'll answer them in my next post! 

Friday

Wow. I didn't realize how horrible the quality of the photos were until I resized them to be larger. Fail :(. Anyway, this is what I wore to grab a quick dinner. To be quite honest, all I wanted to do was throw on a t-shirt, shorts, flip flops and be out the door. I thought to myself the combination of those three would be my best friends next week when I have to take my finals. So, why not be a little bit more festive?? White button ups paired with floral shorts just makes an outfit look so fresh and spring-y!

P.S. I'm still baffled at how blurry the photos are...But I suppose a post is better than no post, right?! I figured I ought to do an outfit entry today so I could do an entry dedicated to some questions next time. I have a  final tomorrow afternoon so I have to get back to studying + sleep soon.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I've been slacking the past couple of days in terms of updates, and that's because finals are coming up shortly! This means I don't do much but study (story of my college life) and I put in zero to minimal effort in what I wear so there's not much to document, right?? I don't want to completely abandon my blog in times of immense stress so here's two new things I'm currently loving:

1. A new book I got titled Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. I try to read this every day on my way to school and back home just to put in that dose of positivity for the day. Sometimes we can lose sight of what's really important and I find that this book helps in realizing that the things we worry about are really just "small" stuff; thus, the title. I'm hoping to find/read more of these types of books!
2. A star-shaped glass container. I've been trying to reorganize all my jewelry and make-up so I was really excited when I found this to store some of the jewelry I wear the most. It was only $1 at the dollar store. I'm going back to get more!

Q: How would you describe your style?
A:It's very casual, simple, and a touch of feminine. I like to be comfortable!

Happy Monday

Took advantage of F21's free shipping for Memorial Day and got these new goodies!

1. Ditsy Spots Blouse. Cuffed short sleeves with a gold tone zipper in the back and front pocket. I like how I can dress this up or down. Big plus: I got this on sale!
2. Cat eye sunglasses. I told myself the next pair of sunglasses I would get are the Ray Ban wayfarers but I'm slowly parting ways with that idea. Too many people have them and I'm kind of clumsy with my things so I will probably cry when I sit on $200 pair of sunglasses. With that said, I'm happy to add these tortoise shell cat eye sunglasses to my collection!
3. Nail polishes in Lavender and Beige. LOVE!

Highlighter & Lippies

Wearing the color "Amsterdam"

Really cute packaging!

Bought the Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter, which retails for $24 (you can get it HERE!). There's actually a ton of product (8.5 grams) and you only need a little bit for application so it'll last AGES.. It's soooo perfect for highlighting the cheekbones and the inner corner of your eyes. Can't complain with the super unique and cute packaging either :D

Now, onto the lip products. I got these NYX lip creams awhile back in Amsterdam and San Paulo, but I don't think I ever talked about them in detail. There's been a lot of hype of them, and I can see why! The product reads,

"It's not a lipstick, nor is it gloss. It's like nothing you've experienced before. It's lipstick cream that goes on silky but looks soft matte."

The description pretty much says it all. It's definitely a very unique formula and the color payoff is really good and long lasting. With San Paulo, I can just apply a little bit of product then blot the color off to have a more subtle hint of pink, which I did in this post. Amsterdam is more of a fierce color so I'm going to need an occasion to wear that :P.