Nemo Came and Went

10:18:00 PM mandy 14 Comments

Let me give everyone here, old or new visitors, a proper & BIG

Although it is an icy & cold welcome for now, I hope your opinions of my little blog will warm up soon!
Hehe, sorry for the corny intro! I just couldn't resist myself. But I really do WELCOME YOU from the bottom of my heart ^__^ Here are some random shots I took in my backyard after the big snow storm, Nemo, came in the beginning of February. Nothing special. Kind of boring/generic to be honest. But I didn't want them to just sit on my computer. So they're finding their place here. Hope you enjoy!

New Nail Polish Storage & Revlon Buys

4:36:00 PM mandy 12 Comments

I wanted to get this after seeing xteener's nail polish storage video. This storage system is one of those things that I don't really need but it is definitely nice to have. I got it from The Container Store for $13.99. If you subscribe to their E-Mail service I think they still offer a 10% off coupon to use for your first purchase.

Modular Flip-Out Bins from The Container Store

My current polish collection fits inside just perfectly. Very perfectly, with no extra space at all. My base and top coats actually have no room inside this storage but that's alright. They have a new home on my tabletop. Each bin holds about 6 or 7 nail polishes depending on the shape of the bottle. It isn't ideal for those with a polish collection that's bigger than say...40ish polishes. Unless you don't mind having more than 1 of these. The good thing is it's stackable. There are grooves on all four sides that lets you connect other pieces to it.

Inside look at my polish collection!

I joked on Instagram that this either meant I should stop buying more polishes because I have no room for it or...I have more space than ever because I now have my old nail polish container to fill with newly acquired polishes. I wasn't expecting to buy any new polishes so quickly but a stop to Walgreens with Bestie C the other day and I came out with 2 bottles of Revlon Nail Enamel. It didn't help that there was a BOGO 50% on Revlon polishes, it only made me want to get these even more.

L to R: Revlon Girly & Revlon Gray Suede

L to R: Revlon Girly & Revlon Gray Suede

L to R: Revlon Gray Suede & Revlon Girly

Top to Bottom: Revlon Girly & Revlon Gray Suede

I'm not sure if Deborah Lippman has a polish like Girly but it looks very Deborah Lippman-esque doesn't it?

Do you have a big nail polish collection? How do you store your polishes?

Recent Hauls

10:27:00 PM mandy 22 Comments

I really miss having school days where classes end by 4PM latest. The best thing that comes from having a later school schedule is the fact that I don't have the time to go to the store all the time anymore. BUT when I can go...I seem to do a lot of 'hoarding' all at once.

Some of you may have seen my recent haulings on Instagram. If not, let's just say I have enough shampoo, body wash, and eye makeup remover to last me many months! I didn't take a better photo of my shampoo and body wash buys because I usually just get whatever is on sale. Also, I find it harder to gather my opinions for those two particular type of products. So for now it won't be appearing on the blog, maybe in the future I'll give it a shot. I did however take photos of my other beauty related purchases that I wanted to share with everyone.

Target haul & Sephora buys Sonia Kashuk Eye Makeup Remover; Neutrogena Body Clear Pink Grapefruit Body Wash; Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover; Sephora B.I. Benefit Bday gift; Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover; Bumble and Bumble Prep

After running out of eye makeup remover, I knew I wanted to make a trip to Target to try some different brands. CVS/Walgreens/Rite Aid doesn't seem to have a big selection of eye makeup remover to choose from. (Or maybe it's just the ones that I go to.) Anyways...I haven't tried any of these yet but from looking at the ingredients, the lists are surprisingly short. That's always a plus!

Lunar/Chinese New Year Mani

4:23:00 PM mandy 3 Comments

The New Year was actually last week, but festivities usually last for longer than that! & Before this look would become irrelevant...Here's the mani I did for the holiday.



Gold base: Milani 3D Holographic Nail Lacquer ~ 510-3D
Red polish: Complete Salon Manicure ~ Right Said Red

Recreating Song Hye Gyo's Elle KR Look

3:30:00 PM mandy 38 Comments

After seeing rolala loves share a set of Song Hye Gyo's Elle KR spread, I was intrigued to recreate her pictorial look on myself. This is a new interest that I have acquired and it is only the second time I have ever tried to copy a makeup look on my own. The first time was me trying to recreate 15&'s Park Ji Min's debut look, which did not turn out well. (I've always watched videos of others recreating makeup looks but I never did any of them on myself. Does anyone else do this too?) I tried my best to pull off her pose, but alas I'm definitely no model. It was kind of difficult for me to tell exactly how her eye makeup was from the photo, so I just played around a bit to get what I think looked closest to what she had.

Group shot!

Base Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer mixed with DHC Q10 Cream Foundation

Blush: Kate Cream Cheek PK-4 on apple of cheeks (the little glass jar) & Milani Mineral Powder Blush #204 Sweet Rose toward my temples (the top blush compact) Highlight: MAC Wonder Woman Collection MSF - Pink Power (the right compact) Contour/Bronzer: NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder - Sunny (the left compact)

Lips 1) fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF15 2) Etude House VIP girl Dear Darling Lips Stick PK007 3) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick #680 Temptress 4) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss #150 Peach Petal

Eyes Primer: Benefit Stay Don't Stray Eyeshadow: 1 & 2) Wet N' Wild Coloricon Eyeshadow Collection #737 Blue Had Me At Hello ... 3 & 4) Urban Decay Eyeshadow - Creep and Gunmetal Eyelash Curler: KOJI Eyelash Curler No. 73 Mascara: The Face Shop Freshian Volumizing Mascara Eyeliner: Physicians Formula Shimmer Strip Black Eyeliner from the old Nude Eyes trio

After applying a primer, I applied a light shimmery blue/gray shade (#1 in the photo above) all over the lids. Then I used a darker shimmery gray (#4) in the outer half of my lids. But I thought that my look wasn't smokey enough so I added a bit of the shimmery black (#3) in the V or outer corners of my eyes. As for the lower lashes line, I applied #1 on the inner half of my eyes, #3 on the outer half, and #4 right in the middle to create a gradient effect. Since Song Hye Gyo's eyebrows are pretty dark and prominent in her look, I took a matte black shadow (#2) to lightly fill in my eyebrows. Finally, I lined my eyes, curled my lashes and applied mascara. If I knew how to put on fake lashes, I would have definitely sported some. My lashes were practically non-existent with all the smokiness going on my eyelids.

For the lips, I actually had to mix and match to create a lip color somewhat similar to hers because I don't own a corally-pink colored lip product. I ended up applying Revlon Temptress lightly all over my lips and dabbing a bit of Etude House VIP girl lipstick on the center. The lipgloss was mainly just to make my lips look as soft and lustrous as her's were.

How is it? Do you think my version is similar to Song Hye Gyo's look or was this a failure?
I'm going to try to keep in mind to number the products in the photos if I ever do posts like this again. I'm so sorry if it's a bit confusing as to what is what. If there are any other suggestions you'd like to make, feel free to say so! :]

Becca Beach Tint - Lychee

12:30:00 PM mandy 14 Comments

Hard to believe right? A makeup review coming from me. I have never formally done one of these on the blog. But! This is the first step to trying to post more. Hope this will be of help to someone! :]


I've been wanting to get these since I saw them at a Duane Reade a couple of years ago. But the price always stopped me from doing so. $25 per little tube leaves quite a big dent in my wallet. When my $15 off $50 from Sephora came around I knew this was definitely something I wanted to finally get. I do not regret this purchase at all. I'm glad I held out until now because I was able to get this lovely (recently released) color.

Product Description & Ingredients:

The ingredients list is relatively short. The ingredients on the packaging show what makes up ALL the available Becca Beach Tints, not just the one you buy. (Lychee is the last on the long list.) There doesn't seem to be any oil in the product (like the packaging claims), but there is dimethicone (a silicone) and mica in the product. I know some people can be allergic or sensitive to these so be careful!

Places to buy:
✻ certain Sephora stores
✻ Sephora.com
✻ Duane Reade (in NYC)
✻ BeccaCosmetics.com

Packaging:

It comes in a 7mL, or 0.24 fl. oz., plastic tube that has a colored stripe on the tube which correlates with the color of the product. I don't mind the packaging at all. Especially since the consistency of the product is a bit liquidy sometimes it helps to be able to squeeze the product out of a tube. It is very easy to control how much product you want to get out. I haven't experienced any of it spilling out by itself either. Perhaps as I come to an end with the product, it'll be a little harder to get every last bit of product out of the tube. But that's a problem that I will have to deal with when the time comes. The one thing that really bugs me is the color name cannot be found on the actual tube. If I had more than one of these tints I think I would have a difficult time remembering what is what, particularly for the blog or if I wanted to recommend a shade to someone. Especially since some of the other colors in the line do look a bit similar.

Product:


Lychee is a very bright hot pink color straight out of the tube. But don't let that scare you!! It goes on surprisingly natural. It can definitely be built up to the bright shade though. Unlike the usual cream blushes, this blends out to a matte finish. Unlike liquid tints, this is much easier to apply without leaving blotches/stained dots of product on the cheeks.

On a winter day, without setting or blotting my face, I wore it for maybe 10+ hours. Sure the blush lost some of its initial intensity but it still looked pretty great in my books. Keep in mind this was when I wore glasses with frames that did not touch my cheeks at all. I can assume that if you're a bit oilier, blot your face more often, or have frames that touch your cheeks the wear time will surely not be as long. The good thing is there is such a thing as a powder so you can set over top with. By putting a light layer of powder, the color can still show through and the blush can also last a bit longer than when without.

The price is definitely not cheap. But I need so little each application for both cheeks. I think I'll be able to get a lot of usage out of it. This is also a dual purpose product, for both the lips and cheeks. I've tried it once for the lips just for fun. As it does on the cheeks, the same goes for the lips. This applies matte. I would not recommend it for those with dry lips! Do remember to moisturize and it may help a little. The alternative would be to exfoliate, apply the Becca Beach Tint, and then apply a lip balm or gloss over top throughout the day for a natural lip look.

I really want to get some of the other shades as well! Definitely not immediately, but in the future, I think you guys will for sure see another one or two in a haul post. Has anyone tried these and have a particular shade they really love?

Disclaimer: These are just the results I had while using the product. Remember, everyone else's skin is different!! What may have worked for me, may not work for you & what may not have worked for me, may work for you. Try the product at your own risk! I bought this product with my own money and am in no way connected to the companies mentioned. This is my honest opinion!