Sunday, September 22, 2013

LOTD: Fall and Warm Natural Look

Hi everyone! 
I am trying something new in my makeup routine. I usually put on a brightening concealer under my eyes after applying foundation to give an extra brightening effect. Somehow, I always end up looking with a white cast on that area. I always tend to cover it up with whatever's left on my foundation brush. This time I tried putting the concealer before my foundation. It works wonder for me. I don't look white yet it still gives the brightening effect that I want. 

So, if you want to look more natural with "no makeup" makeup, try it out and see for yourself. often times I find the brightening concealer step gives heavily perfected skin look which I tend to avoid for day-to-day application. 

My skin looks flawless. Thanks to a little bit of concealer and foundation. 


Face:
✿ 
Maybelline Insant Age Rewind dark circle eraser 
Laura Geller the Real Deal concealer - medium
✿ Urban Decay Naked foundation - 4.5
✿  Urban Decay All nighter setting spray
✿ Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
✿ Rimmel bronzer
✿ Benefit blush - Hervana
✿ Wet 'n Wild Reserve your cabana for highlight




Do you know that this is the first day of Fall in the States? I'm sporting this mauve-y warm eye makeup for fall. 

Eyes:
TooFaced shadow insurance
Wet n' wild walking on eggshells tiro - middle shade on lids
Lorac pro palette - shade mauve in the crease and as blending shade
theBalm 'Nude tude palette - shade sexy in the crease to "smoke" it out a little bit

And on my lips I just used Maybelline Baby Lips in cherry me. I'd say this look is very natural and appropriate for pretty much anything. 

I am really excited that Fall is here. It was raining yesterday in San Jose. I got to wear my quite new windbreaker jacket. The weather was quite cold for cali-weather. 

Thank you for reading. Happy Autumn!



Monday, September 16, 2013

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hello everyone! Happy super birthday to me! =D

I celebrated early this year. I went to San Francisco on Saturday and basically just roamed around the Ferry Building and Japantown. Later that day, my friends gathered together and prepared super yummy dinner for me. Yay! 

 This crowd seemed to me to be Fire Department Chili Festival . This was just across of the Ferry Building

Ferry Building Farmers' Market




Supa' yummy japanese crepes =D


Bakmi Ayam + Bakso Goreng + great friends
(chicken noodle + fried meatball)

Homemade birthday cake. So I didn't take a flattering picture, but this was made by our baker friend. You should check out her blog. She's awesome!

Ugly faces!

I ended my birthday fiasco with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. This was taken just tonight, on my real birthday. 

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by loving friends. This was a great birthday. 
Thank you everyone!



 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Milani Eye Tech Extreme Eyeliner

Hi everyone! Aren't we all glad that weekend's just around the corner? =D
I've been distracted with so many different things lately that I cannot really concentrate on my studying. My exam in just 20 days away. Hopefully I'll be ready by then.

I've mentioned in several posts ago, or was it on twitter I can't really remember, that I've found my holy grail eyeliner. I've loved my Kat Von D tattoo liner. I've got the tiny size from a Sephora kit a while back, and I haven't used it up yet. How amazing is it that it hasn't dried out at all? So, I've found the drugstore version that works just as great. Thanks to Emily and her awesome recommendation, I've found Milani Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner. 


The tip is long and pointy. This makes the application easier. You can just stamp in on your lash line. If you're not a pro when it comes to liquid liners, this is a great alternative. I personally prefer this felt-tip pen eyeliner rather than the straight-up liquid liner just because they tend to be messy. I'm still in training when it comes to liquid liners. 

 I've used it for several weeks now, and let me tell you, it stays like nobody's business. This thing doesn't budge! I've even put it on test when I went to the gym. I did a 2-hour back-to-back classes, Turbo Kick and U-Jam which by the way I really miss doing. 
I haven't gone to the gym for 3 weeks now. 



Have you tried the Milani Eye Tech Extreme yet? What do you think?


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

L'Oréal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream




Hi everyone!
 I'm back with another first impression for you. I got a little tiny sachet of L'Oreal BB cream. This is not a new product. It's been out a while, but I just haven't had the chance to try it out yet. I was digging into my pile of sample sizes and found this. I think it was from a magazine or something I can't really remember.
The shade I got was light. 
I forgot to take a picture right after I did my makeup, my bad. The pictures below were taken after a full day. I had my makeup on for a good 9 hours at least.

 I didn't use any powder because I wanted to test its lasting power. I did apply some blush and bronzer, which is hard to tell by looking at the picture. The coverage it provided still looked good after a hot summer day in north California. I noticed my T-zone became slightly oily, but it should be okay with powder.



Random lipstick swatches. I was trying on different shades for my friend's makeup starter kit. Basically I helped her pick out products for her to try out since she's new into this whole makeup thing. She wants products that she can wear everyday and appropriate for work. A blog post is coming up!


By the way, this is the second BB cream I've tried ever. The first one was from Maybelline. I did a blog post about it a while back. BB cream is said to be somewhere between tinted moisturizer and foundation, but really I just think the whole idea of BB cream or CC cream or whatever is just another marketing gimmick. They're basically foundation, something you wear as a base for your makeup. 

Anyway, back to the product, I've only used it once since that's the only amount of product I had from the sample. I like how it doesn't completely fade out at the end of the day. My face still looked even and you still can see slight color which means that the product doesn't oxidize badly. The only problem I had is the shine. My face isn't really on the oily side, so when a product makes my skin oily than it's not really for me. It doesn't dry out my skin, which is a good thing. 

Overall, I'm surprised at how well the coverage of this bb cream. Yet, I don't think I'm gonna buy the full size but not because it's bad. It's just not really an outstanding product in my opinion. It might be a good product to try if you don't want a heavy, thick foundation. This feels light on my skin.

Have you tried L'OrĂ©al Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream? 
What do you think?

Monday, September 09, 2013

Labor Day Half Moon Bay (again)

Hello lovelies! I know it's a bit late, but I just want to document me going to Half Moon Bay on Labor day two years in a row. I didn't realize about it until I saw my old post.

I also cut my hair during the weekend as you've seen on my last post. 
I've gone short! I should've posted this before my Marc Jacobs post, but I was too excited about that gel foundation! Anyway, a little background of me going short. It's not because I'm stressed out or anything (although I kinda am, a little bit). I've been meaning to cut my hair for a long time, but I'd always backed out.This time, I pushed through my doubt.I let go of my thick long hair with a semi-bob cut. The pic below shows right before and after the haircut. I'm still not used to my short hair, and I honestly don't know if I like it - yet. 


This year's Labor Day Half Moon Bay, I went for what turned out to be a super long lunch and chillin' on the beach. We went to 3-Zero Cafe. The place has quite a good review on Yelp, and my friends  wanted me to have egg benedict. For some reason, I couldn't remember of what an egg benedict was like. The place was packed, and we had to wait for a little over an hour from being seated to finally got our food. It was already around 1.30 in the afternoon, and we were supa hungry. Yet, the great companionship kept us entertained. 
inside the 3-Zero Cafe

We were seated outside. Nice weather!

I had the Crab Cake Benedict. Yummy!



My boy chillin'
It was surprisingly a very nice weather! What a rare happening in Half Moon Bay. 
So grateful for that =)

courtesy photo posted by my friend 
You can't see it in this picture, but we saw dolphins jumpin' not too far from the shore. I wish I could capture that with my camera. I've never seen dolphins outside of Sea World before. 
What a wonderful day indeed!



Sunday, September 08, 2013

Marc Jacobs Beauty Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation

Hello!!! Sorry for the lack of postings. I've been so exhausted lately. There's always a reason, I know. I have a lot of exciting blog post plans to come, I just haven't had the energy to write them yet. It's soooo hard dividing my focus between work and studying and other things, but so far nothing I can't handle. 

Yesterday, I went to Sephora solely because of the new Marc Jacobs makeup. I heard Tati from GlamLifeGuru on youtube talked about it on her Hot or Not video which is on every Thursday. She posts video from Monday to Friday. How awesome is that? You should check out her channel if you haven't. 

courtesy photo from Sephora.com
Anyway, I saw the packaging, and I'm not gonna lie. I am a packaging kinda gal. Fancy packaging intrigues me. Marc Jacobs packaging is really sophisticated for me. So I went to Sephora and checked out the foundation. I asked for the Sephora lady for a sample in the shade beige deep, and I got a little tiny bottle which should be enough for two to three uses. The packaging comes with a pump, so I don't have to concern for sanitary reason. 

I put in on a test today. It's said to be "a  breakthrough gel foundation that's anti-aging, long wearing, awakens your skins to its ideal radiance and clarity." The consistency was a bit liquid-y. I needed to build up the coverage a little bit when I applied it on my face. t's definitely not a thick foundation. You know what? I love the finish. It gives my skin this glow. I don't wanna say it has luminous finish because it doesn't. But somehow, it can give you that healthy glow we are all looking for if you know what I mean. It has dewy-looking finish but not at all oily. Amazing!

I got this lovely color-block necklace from ebay. Love the color!

I didn't use a primer like I usually do because I wanted to see how well this foundation performs. It was such a hot toasty day in San Jose, and I could see the foundation still held up pretty well. I can still see my blush after several hours, which by the way is the indication of a good foundation. 


At the end of the day, I gotta say I really like this foundation. I know I just use it for a day, and I will continue to use it to see how my skin reacts in the long term. But generally speaking, I can see a great prospect for this product.

My skin was quite dry, and now it's in a semi combination stage. I don't know what changed. I did put a touch of Rimmel Stay Matte powder on my t-zone to control the oil.
It is very rare for me to have a foundation that can make my skin look dewy without adding any highlighter. So good job, Marc Jacobs! You truly know what women want in a foundation =p

It it weren't for the very steep price tag, $48, I would without a doubt purchase it in a heart beat. But, for now, I will have to be satisfied with my little sample and save up to buy the full size. My birthday's coming up, so maybe by then? =)

Oh and by the way, do you notice my new short hair? I just got it last week. Should have posted it last week. Oh well. I still don't know if I like it or hate it. I got mixed comments from my friends. But hair grows back. I was just so bored with my long fine hair, and I wanted a change.


Have you tried the Marc Jacob Foundation? 
What do you think?

Sunday, September 01, 2013

Fun Saturday in Berkeley

Hi everyone! How's your Saturday?
I spent mine shopping and hanging out with my friends in Berkeley. My friend got an invitation to Mountain Hardware employee store, and we were all invited with her. I didn't plan to get anything, but I came along anyway just for the fun of it. And it was fun. 

We pretty much spent our time in the Berkeley area. 
The city is really nice. I guess there was a football game playing somewhere because it was packed! It's a good thing we could find parking. 

Fall is coming soon. Can you believe it? I can't believe Christmas is just four months away! When I think of Fall, I think of cozy weather where it's chilly but not too cold. Somehow, I was drawn to this puffy bright-colored vest in the store. I've never owned anything like this before. I thought it looked nice, but I didn't get it. 

Instead, I got this wind-breaker jacket.
I've been looking for an army-like utility jacket. I didn't think it would be a wind-breaker type of jacket because this tends to get me hot inside. But for windy weather like Fall, it's kinda great.

And Ocep with his new kicks. The shoes are very light weight
He's excited to use that as his running shoes.

The invitation said "For invited guests and immediate family only", and my friend brought the whole shebang. We are family!

After that, we continued our shopping to Northface outlet. If you're wondering why we went to these outdoorsy stores, my gang and I are kinda outdoorsy people. We go camping every summer, and we also like to go hiking and enjoy the nature, basically the outdoors. Don't get me wrong, I still love going to the mall, but national parks are really my cup of tea. Plus, one of our, let me say, members, are going to Nepal for his trip to the Mount Everest base camp. So he's shopping for all the necessary gears and all that. 

And by the way, how gorgeous is my lipstick? I use Maybelline Color Whisper in the shade "A Plum Prospect".
I honestly prefer the Color Whisper to Revlon lipbutter. I find that they're not as moisturizing. Color whisper goes on really smooth and not at all griddy like some of the Revlon lipbutters that have shimmer like "Peach Parfait" tend to be, but I still love them and will continue to use them. I like want to collect the all the lipbutter shades because they're all pretty. 





We also went to Asha Tea House, which was only about 5 miles away from the Northface outlet. This is kinda an asian thing really to drink boba milk tea.

Here I ordered Macha Latter and egg tart. The latter wasn't really what I expected. It was yummy, but a little bit too bitter for me. I ended up having to add a little, well a lot, more sugar.
The egg tart on the other hand is amazing. Yummy!








top: Ayam penyet
left: Pempek
and Nasi goreng ayam dan udang
We had dinner at Padi, a little Indonesian restaurant in Berkeley. We are quite a tough foodie critique when it comes to Indonesian food, at least I am since I have certain expectations in my mind. The food wasn't bad to give you a taste of Indonesian food.


Random pic inside lululemon store with my new jacket.

Found this little pretty outside the store.
 Inspired to have the same in the new home. 


It was such a beautiful day. Friends, fun, and long weekend!
Hope y'all have a great one too!