LOTD: No-Makeup Makeup

Does the title even make sense to you? =P

I was going out to dinner the other day, and I was in a kinda weird mood. I wanted to look nice, but I didn't really want to make an effort to really ready. I was browsing  to look for the "hidden" gem products in my collection, things that have been stuffed in the back and don't really get the love they deserve. I wish I could say I love everything that I purchased, but well who am I kidding. When you're in the world of trying different makeup brands, you are bound to encounter one too many fail products which I usually set aside from my collection for maybe future posts. 

Memorial Weekend: It's a Beachy Kinda Day!

Hi everyone! 

Here's another weekender post. We visited Zuma Beach in Malibu. I think this was the first time I've ever been to Malibu. I've only heard Malibu as in Malibu Barbie, so bikinis and surfer dudes were totally how I pictured  the place was. I wasn't too far off, except there was not much really of hot surfer guys out in the ocean. Anyway...

The weather was super nice, and I had the best time relaxing and walking around the beach to collect unique stones with my boyfriend. It's his recent hobby I guess you can call it to collect stones from different beaches and put it in a glass jar. 

Memorial Weekend: Makeup in the Car

I had a trip to Los Angeles for the Memorial-day weekend with my friends. It was really nice to have a day off. We didn't really have any plan or specific agenda of what to do there, so we just go with the flow. We arrived on Saturday morning and basically just wandered around.

We were supposed to be on the road by 6 AM, and I was planning to get up at 5 so I could have some time to get ready. I was picked up at 5.35 and I was totally snoozed out. I brushed my teeth, wet my face, changed from my pyjamas and out the door in 5 minutes! I really felt undone. 

So I put my "face" on in the car after couple of hours sleeping. We rented a van, so it was pretty spacious for me to move around. 

Getting ready in the car was not as easy as I thought. The car kept on moving and it was extra difficult to apply eyeliner. I really tried my best to keep my hand steady but it was as slow as snail!

Shower Stuff #2: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo & Conditioner

Have you watched Amelia's, from Amelia Liana on youtube, hair? Her hair is exceptionally gorgeous and I really adore it! I've watched her hair care routine video, and one, or two, of the products that intrigued me were this shampoo & conditioner from John Frieda.

Every time I go to a salon, the hairdresser always tells me how soft or straight or fine or thick my hair is. While I feel really blessed with naturally fine, un-frizzy hair, deep down I always long for a voluptuous body of hair. Really, it is so hard to build volume and make it stay without the some kind of help from hair spray or hair styling mousse of some sort. 

Facial Pampering: Kiehl's. Caudalie, Josie Maran & More!

I get a lot of sample from my shopping haul here and there. The sample sizes pile up without me having enough time to catch up and try them on. I feel like today is a good day to try some of them and pamper myself at the same time.

I don't spend as much time as I wish I did in taking care of my skin. I'm in the hunt of skin care products tailored for my skin, so this is a good opportunity to start. Not everything here is a sample. I bought the Garnier Lightening peel-off mask a while back from from Jakarta. I thought this would be a good pick-me-up product. In reality, I don't really use it as regularly as I would like because I'm just bad like that. It does feel like it takes off the gunk out of my skin when I peel it off of my skin.

"One Body" Camping Trip

 Last weekend, I went on a short camping trip with 15 other people. The camping itself was not designed for fun only, but it was a trip with a purpose. We wanted to share with some of these college students about servanthood and discipleship, and how those apply in our everyday life as Christians. I took part in preparing the game with two other friends. The preparation of the trip itself was short a and rushing. Everything was kinda last minute, but thank God we managed to get the best out of it. The recurring theme was "One Body" as in "One body in Christ" because we played this game called Pen Gurita aka Octopus Pen where we had to write together, all sixteen of us, using one pen and 16 strings to navigate the writing.

  I just feel so blessed that I got to come. I was hesitant at first because I thought this is so under-prepared with many were not even final the week of the trip. I was wrong. God's love was totally with use throughout the trip. We took off at 6 am on Saturday and drove for about 4-5 hours. Those hours have taken into consideration that we needed to pick up people and made a breakfast stop at McDonald's.

Argan Oil

Let me share with something that really has made a difference for my skin. Ever since I went back from Indonesia, my skin had been really prone to breaking out, especially my forehead. It's like there's nothing I could do. Acne kept on popping up out of nowhere, and it's really driving me nuts!

I might be late on the whole face oil bonanza. About two months ago, I finally tried out the little sample of argan oil from Josie Maran. What I have is the light version. I put it on one night as a substitute of my face moisturizer because I really wanted to know what it would do to my skin.

LOTD: A Warm Date Night

LOTD on a weekday is unusual for me. My boyfriend got us a reservation at Chez TJ, a French-Michelin-star restaurant in Mountain View. It was a very warm day as high as 93F! I decided to wear a skirt and plain tee because I just couldn't handle putting on a pair of jeans and dressy top when I was sweating balls! Okay, I am exaggerating just a little bit, but it was darn hot that day.

Anyway, I was unexpectedly excited for our date night. I didn't even think of it that away until hours before. It's been a while since we went out on a proper dinner date. I guess every day is a date for us, and I'm not really a fancy-dinner kinda gal, but once in a while it's nice to experience something different. 

Clarisonic Mia 2

I have been holding off buying this for a long time because it costs a lot. I've heard so many great things about it, but I was really skeptical especially when it costs $125. I used to say I have dry skin, but lately I've realized that my skin has turned toward more combination than it is dry. 

I get oily on my forehead and a lot more when I wear makeup which is odd for me because I was never the case. The other day I was testing a foundation and I was really shocked of how much I needed to blot that day because my forehead felt so greasy. I guess my skin has changed its personality throughout the year without me even realizing it. 

Anyway, I got this in  late in the beginning of April with 20% off at Ulta plus my $8 rewards, so it was quite a deal. I've heard that some people got a bit of a red-skin reaction when they first used it and it'd go away. Thankfully, mine didn't show any sign of "rejection" towards clarisonic.

Empties!

Finally, I've accumulated enough empties to write a blog post about. Some of them have been sitting in my empties basket -yes, I have a basket dedicated for empties! - for weeks. 

If you're unfamiliar with the term 'empties', it's basically a collective of products that have been used up, thus the empty packagings. 

Let's dig in!

LOTD: Pink Passion

Greetings!

I don't typically go for this shade of blush. It looks very bright and neon-y on the packaging, and this usually would drives me away from blush. But this doesn't transfer the same on the skin. Once blended, it looks pretty wearable and is perfect for a sunny day just like, well, yesterday for me. =)

Recent Discovery #2: Little Lipsticks Haul

I really couldn't contain my excitement when I finally tried these two lip products. I am so glad that I found them and get to share with you all.