Progress: Towards New Year's Resolution

I figured that I need to write my progress once a while to help me reflect on what have I been doing to reach my goals..

It's been over 2 weeks since I posted my new year's resolution.. and my progress through all of it are.. PRETTY BAD =(

To start, I still procrastinate. It may be because I just back from holiday that I have yet to find the study rhythm again. It's been 3 weeks since school start and I must say that I have been putting behind in catching up my studies and doing my work. On top of that, I've been putting off small things like sending an overdue gift to a friend. However, the biggest crime I did in procrastination is NOT THINKING ABOUT MY FUTURE, what I want in life and how to reach it. There are a few things that I should have made a decision soon but I've put off.

These weeks have been really busy and tiring since my club's production is coming up very soon (this Sunday in fact) and rehearsals have been gruesome. Yet, I shouldn't have rest all day despite feeling tired-I should make more good use of my time.

As for staying healthy, the progress is 50/50. I guess what I'm proud of is the fact that I've been choosing healthier options like salads whenever I have the opportunity. It was tough at first and it probably takes about a week for me to get used to stopping myself from making bad decisions. I still relapsed, especially when I'm tired and too hungry, but I know I'm getting there.
Yet the thing that I'm not proud of is my sleeping pattern. I've been developing this habit of sleeping at 1-2am in the morning. I switched off my com at 12 and then continue surfing with my phone until 1-2am on my bed. Because of this, I kept waking up late and skipping breakfast =(

As for respecting myself more, I did well most of the time for these 2 weeks. I listen to myself more often than not and I've been seeing the result from this. I realize that if I put myself first, I can be a better person for myself and those around me. To share a little bit, I've recently talked to my Professor about my job task and the concerns I have about it (I was prepared to quit in fact). The old me would usually kept silent and stressed over it on my own, but then I'll be grumpy and stressed all the time. I'm glad that I took the courage to talk to him about it as we now found a common ground on expectation.

For the last goal, sharing myself.. Well =( I didn't post anything last week when I have to post 5 posts a week. this is the one that I lacked the most. Hopefully after my production ends (which is this Sunday), I can focus more on this blog..

Well, that's it for my progress. Will definitely improve before the next progress post =) To improve I will:
1. Keep a journal for my thoughts
2. Keep a food journal
3. Create daily schedule for myself to allocate time better
4. Switch off my phone latest at 10pm
5. Wake up earlier (7am?)

Etude House Eraser Show Line Remover Stick Review

Again, I purchased this during my trip to Korea and was curious to try it out.

I was basically under the impression that Korean eyeliners are tough to remove so I decided to purchase this, just in case my usual eye makeup remover cannot remove the eyeliners I bought.

  

The product comes in a pink blue box and it basically looks like (and functions like) a marker. Unscrewing the cap will reveal a wide rounded soft tip.

Hmm to be honest, I don't understand why I even purchase this product. I guess it's my impulsive buying acting up =( Looking at the tip itself, I should have realized how such a wide tip will caused me to remove a lot of my eye makeup besides the eyeliner. I only realized this today as I was trying to remove my Etude House Drawing Show Dot Liner (which smudges so bad, click here to see the review). As I pressed the remover into my lid, a third of my eye makeup was gone.


However, that's not the worst part. Instead of completely removing the eye makeup, it only breaks down the eye makeup (aka smudging it). I had to use tissue to remove the residue from the remover which further smudges the eye makeup.

Before

After (Look at all the smudge)

Furthermore, reusing the used remover without wiping it with tissue first will transfer smudge makeup into the new targeted area. Long story short, I ended up redoing my entire eye makeup =(

Residue after use

Residue after use (will smudge to other eye area)

Overall will not recommend this to anyone. You may actually fare better by using cotton buds dipped into your eye makeup remover. The only one thing I like about this remover is the smell of floral-y fragrance it has.

If there's anyone who'd manage to get a good use of this product, do leave comments and share your tips. Will be much appreciated =)

How to: Build Your Basic Makeup Stash

I'm not a makeup a guru nor am I planning to but I did have a period where I became obsessed with makeup and start buying makeup like crazy (thinking that it's important to have 'em all) only to regret it later. Well I don't exactly have a closet full of makeup, I do have quite a collection and from these, I learnt what are the "good-to-have" and the "ok-to-have-but-not-really-necessary."

So here are some of my tips.

The "good-to-have":

1. A good foundation or BB cream - if it's for everyday, I'd recommend a BB cream as it has SPF and other benefits. The only time you may need a foundation is when you need heavier makeup (for evening parties, etc) or when you need to take lots of photos (in which SPF is not really your best friend). I apply my foundation and BB cream using my fingers and find it good enough =)

2. Concealer - skip this if you have a very nice skin that only needs BB cream/foundation to even out your skin tone. For me, concealer is a necessity for my under eye area and breakouts (during the time of the month). I apply this with my fingers too.

3. Powder - to set the BB cream and concealer. I applied it using powder brush to avoid looking cakey but using the sponge that comes with your powder is more than sufficient =)

When I'm in a rush or just plain lazy of putting on makeup, I usually only use these 3 products. Otherwise, I'll also use the stuff below:

4. Eye primer - skip this if you do not have oily eyelids. This is very important for me since 1. I have an almost monolid eyelids, 2. I live in a humid country, and 3. I have the oiliest eyelids ever.

5. A good neutral eye makeup palette - Any neutral eye palette will do! Owning one can basically help you create neutral look for any occasions. And face it, we do not really wear bright colors most of the time. I usually just sweep one color all over my lids for the sake of having some powder to prolong my eyeliner from smudging all over my lids. Alternatively, I'll add darker color on my outer corner to define my eyes a bit more.

6. A long lasting liquid eyeliner - it may be easier to work with pencil or gel liner but these do not stay well on my eyelids. Liquid liner may be intimidating but with new designs such as felt-tip pen like or 3-dotted tip, it's definitely easier to use them nowadays.

I'll stop until these 6 products unless I want some more color on my skin, which I will add:

7. Blush - It is very tempting to collect as many blush colors from various color ranges. After learning from my mistakes, I find that as long as you have a neutral pink (and optionally a coral one), you can survive =)

8. Bronzer - I have chubby cheeks so I need this to contour my face though I rarely use it since I'm kind of lazy >.<

9. Lipbalm - I only make this a necessary when my lips are very dry. But beyond that, I rarely wear any lip products

What about brushes? There are only 3 brushes I used for the 9 products above - 1. powder brush, 2. blush brush (double for bronzer too), and 3. eye blending brush.

Basically, that's the 9 products plus 3 brushes that I find as "good-to-have."

What about the "ok-to-have-but-not-really-necessary"?
1. Face primer - only when you need your makeup to last super long
2. Brow powder - this is pretty debatable, I have a pretty dark eyebrow so I don't really find the need to fill in my brows all the time. If you have sparse eyebrows, you might consider moving this to the "good-to-have"list
3. Cream eye base - besides my eye primer, I still use cream eye base to further ensure that my eye makeup stays put
4. Eyelash curler - I'm Asian and I have straight lash so this is important whenever I'm wearing mascara
5. Mascara - I rarely wear mascara because I just haven't find the one that stays on well on me (by the end of the day, I usually have racoon eyes). And I kinda like the just eyeliner with no mascara look.
6. Lipgloss/Lipstick - I guess it's because I have a pinkish red lips to start with so I don't really find the necessity to use one.

Any additional brushes? Well, if you're using a brow powder, you will need a small angled brush for it =)

That's basically my suggestions. Do feel free to comment on the list above! Thanks for reading =)

Etude House Drawing Show Dot Liner Review

I bought this product during my trip to Korea and was really excited to try this out. I heard that using 3-dotted tip is much more easier when it comes to applying eyeliner compare to the usual felt-tip. Plus, with a price of 9000 won, it's a steal from the Too Faced 3-Way Lash Lining Tool.

The product comes in a pink box Etude house style and the eyeliner itself comes in a matte-black tube. As mentioned, it has a 3-dotted tip. 

 

I tried so hard to like this product but honestly for someone who has an oily eyelid, this product is a HUGE LETDOWN =( One of the most disappointing eye product I've ever tried.

The eyeliner SMUDGES LIKE CRAZY. The first time I used this, I tried it with the Urban Decay's Eden eye primer, I came back with the liner all over my lid =( Then today I tried it again with my trusted NARS Eyeshadow Base and guess what? In 15 minutes the eyeliner smudges everywhere and I mean, everywhere (I should have taken photos of this -.-) It smudges to the bottom of my eye and to my eyelids. It's as if I just cried black tears =(

Another problem that I have is with the 3-dotted tip itself but I guess this one is just a matter of getting used to. Since the tip is wider to the sides, I kept getting dots all over my eyelid. I guess it's because I have this habit of angling my eyeliner slightly upwards when applying.

Top: when lined gently, bottom: when lined with more pressure

I was really really hoping that this liner will work out =( I really like how when I dotted the liner, I can get very close to my eyelashes and gives this effect of fuller lash. The color payoff is also really good. It's really really black. But the stay power of the product just really makes this product a huge disappointment.

Overall, I will definitely not recommend this product, especially for those who have oily eyelids like I do or for those who needs long lasting eyeliner.

If there's anyone who has a different experience with this liner or finds a way to make this liner last longer, do let me know. Really hoping for a better review.

Chanel Correcteur Perfection Concealer Review

My love for Chanel starts from my Mom's obsession with it. It's practically her go-to trusted brand. Yes, it's expensive but there are things, such as concealer, that I am a bit skeptical on trying other brands.

    

I actually came across this concealer by accident. A little background story, my mom and I have been sharing a Chanel stick concealer for a while but I was about to go overseas on my own. She told me to buy a new one at the airport (FYI, it's cheaper to buy cosmetics in the airport since it's tax free =)). I wanted to purchase the same stick concealer but they only have this product. Afraid of trying other brands, I decided to purchase this.

The product has a creamy thick consistency and it comes in 6 shades. I'm in the color 20 Beige Ivoire. The concealer is pretty much odorless. The product comes in a sleek rectangular bottle which can be unscrew to reveal a sponge-tip to deposit the product out from the bottle.

Applicator

I use the product 2 ways interchangeably. The first one is by directly dotting the sponge-tip into the areas I'd like to cover up. The second one is by depositing the product into the back of my hand and blending bit by bit. Both method works well with me.

Product before blending

After blending

I'm pretty surprised that there's not much hype about this concealer. I honestly really like this product and it's definitely way better than the Chanel stick concealer. The product stays on until the end of the day (especially if you're using face primer), blends really well on the skin and can be worn to cover up basically everything from dark circle to pimple marks.
Another bonus is I felt that it definitely brightens my under eye area. It really delivers what it is meant to do based on the description on the website.

The only downside that I have from this product is how it can be quite messy after numerous use. A lot of the product end up at the mouth of the bottle. I guess I have to be more careful next time and try to use these excess first before it builds up.

Overall, I will definitely purchase this concealer again =) 

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base Review

Let me just start with the fact that I have the OILIEST eyelids (and oily skin general) and an almost monolid eyelids (as such, my eyeliner can easily smudge)! The fact that I live in a humid place doesn't help either. I've been hearing good things about about the NARS eyeshadow base (misglamorazzi is an avid user) so I decided to try this product out. 

NARS Eyeshadow Base Packaging

The eye primer comes in a black and white packaging and has a sponge applicator. The product itself has a cream texture with a white color that turns transparent after blended into the skin. As for smell, it has a slight stinging chemical smell which I have never realized until I took the effort to smell it for this review. Guess the smell doesn't really bothered me...

Sponge applicator

What I can say is this eye primer works really really well on me. On an average, my eye makeup can last up to almost 7 hours without smudging and almost 10 hours with very minimal smudging. In addition, I do not need to use so many products for both of my eyelids. A little goes a long way. Compared to the other eye primers I've tried, which is Urban Decay's (both Original and Eden version), NARS definitely win hands down.

I can use this amount for both of my eyelids!

On a downside, I'm not sure whether this happens to other people who use NARS eyeshadow base, I find that after using this, I can no longer use my Urban Decay's. It's as if I'm now resistant to the Urban Decay's formula as it creases on me like crazy (even the Eden version one which is suppose to last longer than the original one creases after 3-4 hours). This does not happen before I start using the NARS eyeshadow base. My concern is that the NARS eye primer is too strong that I am resistant to any other formulas. Not sure if this is a good thing or not >.<

But overall, I will definitely purchase this eye primer again since this product by far works really well on my super oily eyelids =) For those with oily eyelids and have problems with eye makeup smudging, this is for you =)

2013's Resolution: Do you have one?

Picture from kikki.K

One of the most debated topic in the start of the year is New Year's Resolution.. Is it good? Is it just plain bad idea? Is it worthwhile?

I figured I might as well have one but supplement it with smaller goals leading to the big ones set in the New Year

I was really contemplating on publishing this post as I'm afraid that I won't be able to tick check on all that I set here... But I realize that if I post it here, I'll be more driven to reach these goals so as not to disappoint myself and those who read the goals... (I hope this will be a strong motivation for me!)

So without further ado.. Here's my goal for this year:

1. Stop procrastinating - seriously this is the one bad habit of mine that I hate the most. It's a goal that I set half a year ago and will still be included here.. I shall kick this habit once and for all!

2. Finally be healthier - this is a really tough goal for me.. To be honest, I'm way over my ideal weight and has been constantly fighting this ever since I was in the 4th grade =( I'll be 23 in about 2 months time and this year I shall reach my ideal weight on my birthday March 17.. Hmm should I post my weight loss journey here?

Picture from kikki.K

3. Love and respect myself more - Thinking lowly of myself and sacrificing what I desires to make room for others' are the biggest crimes I commit to myself. To be honest there's lots of decisions I made that I wish I could've thought of myself more.. This year, no matter how egoistic this sounds, I should think of myself more and love myself more because if there's anyone that should, it's me.

4. Share about myself - Yes, I'm still struggling to find the confidence to share my identity in this blog. I'm afraid that I'll be the laughing stock or that after seeing who I am, no one will care about whatever it is that I write. By the end of this year, I hope that I'll be confident enough to reveal myself more. In addition, I vow to post at least 5 posts every week - be it beauty related products, random thoughts, etc.

That's it those are my big arching goals for 2013.. I hope and I will be ticking those off in the end of the year! For those who came upon this post, hope that you will support me in this journey.

Wishing you all the best for any goals that you're creating this year =)

Let 2013 be our year!

Happy 2013! Let's start a new journey ahead!

Etude House Magic Bubble Peeling Review

This is another product that I've recently tried and I guess the product's name is pretty self explanatory =) It is a skin peeling foam that you can use once to twice a week. I've been using this twice these 2 weeks and must say that I like it.

Foam

It is written in the instruction that the foam should be use after cleansing your face but I use it after removing my makeup. I have a pretty sensitive skin and am worried of having any residue of the foam left on my face so I cleanse my face after the peeling. One quick note is that the foam dissolves pretty quickly so it's better to cover your whole face and then start massaging it gently. The foam will dissolves into tiny beads as you massage these beads for about a minute.

Product texture

After rubbing

I actually really like this product! I was afraid that it'll irritate my skin but it didn't =) I also really like the milky smell (this has got to do with the milk extract ingredient). The smell is very soothing. My skin feels really smooth and nice after rinsing though it gets a bit tight after a while. Just quickly moisturize after using the product or another tip is to put on a face mask (which is what I do). I've been using Laneige water sleeping pack and really like it.

Overall, I would consider purchasing this peeling foam again =)