Hold on...I know...it isn't 2015 anymore. We are so far into 2016 now but I just don't feel right sharing the new Project Make a Dent edition without concluding the last. Plus, everyone likes to see empties right? Especially makeup ones!
I mentioned last post that I had a makeup tossing spree. After seeing so many BB Creams go in the trash, I was so excited to actually see at least one be completely used up (nanoce BB moist cream). The Canmake Cover & Stretch Concealer wasn't completed finished but close enough. I can't say I really enjoyed using it but I didn't hate it either. It was a nice consistency to mix into BB creams to boost coverage.
In the end the Hada Labo BB Moist Emulsion got practically no love. I spent most of the year using the nanoce tube and an IOPE BB cushion that I decided to use up before it dried out. At the end of the year I also decided it was time to toss the Hada Labo BB Cream. I purchased that back in 2011...2011! (The good thing about my past haul posts is being able to track the general length of time I've had products for. Note to self to continue those in the future.) Benefit's Highbeam also didn't get used at all last year. I found myself reaching more towards powder highlighters instead.
Ahh, makeup pans... The things that we always hear others talk about but never get to see ourselves. Let me tell you, if you want to pan out a makeup product, it takes more or less a whole year's worth of dedicated use to reach it. So all those blushes that I showed in my collection post will probably take me a couple decades worth of time to finish.
The first item that I completely panned out, mark Powder Buff Natural Skin Foundation in Powder Buff. This one didn't take quite take the whole year, maybe around 9 months? But do consider I had already hit a little pan when this PMAD first began.
Makeup item #2 to pan out. I believe I finished this also around the 9 month mark. This was a surprise but in reality as more pan started to show and the less product there was, it became more delicate and crumbly. On a day where I was a little too hurried and I swirled my makeup brush a little too haphazardly, the rest of the Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher in 5 Lovely Pink just fell apart onto the floor.
By the end of 2015, I wasn't able to completely empty out this powder makeup product. Etude House Model Face Color in 2 Model Shade came a long way though. It went from barely touched in 2014 to about 40-50% used. Not bad though, right?
I put my whole focus on finishing the powder blush in my PMAD stash that the MAC Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle received no attention. Plus, it is much quicker to swirl and apply a barely-there powder blush than to have to carefully put on this really potent cream color base.
Halfway through this project, the Maquillage Face Creator wasn't getting my attention except for the highlight colors. However, when I had to travel for a few months this palette became my makeup friend. When space is limited and time to make myself up in the morning is questionable, a palette with highlight, blush, and contour/shading all-in-one is a lifesaver! The one thing that bothered me was the all the little makeup brushes I had to use in order to pick up the right colors without accidentally mixing. White highlight and brown sparkly contour doesn't exactly blend well together!
I know I've said that if things are out in plain sight to see I would more likely reach for it. Well eye makeup (especially eyeshadows) and lip products are the exception. When I think natural makeup, I think "skin looks nice and clear" and sans eye & lip products (even if the colors are as natural-looking as can be). The next edition of PMAD would definitely require much more proactive usage of eye and lip makeup.
What do you think, mission accomplished? Kind of? Sort of? Halfsies?
What beautiful sunlight we have.
What nice breezy weather there is.
What pretty flowers are a bloom right now.
How nice to meet you again, Spring.
I am alive! If anyone here follows me on Instagram, there were a few more updates there than here in the past half a year or so. This seems to happen a lot doesn't it? But inspiration comes and goes with me I guess.
With the nice weather and bright sunlight around more often now, I felt like my room needed a little clean up. Hey, it isn't called Spring cleaning for nothing! Sunlight definitely makes all the dust specks more noticeable.
I also realized that I haven't shared how I stored my beauty goodies since 2012...that's a whopping 4 years time lapse! To be honest though my storage setup didn't change much in that time period. (If anyone is interested in the before situation, here's a link to my makeup and skincare storage in 2012.)
This bedside table I have has come a long way. Back in 2012, when I first moved in, it was my computer desk. After I finally found an actual table, it became a typical beside table..."Knick-knacks and Other Junk" drawer. As of now this single drawer system is the home to a good part of my beauty stash.
All my daily (or try to be daily) makeup and skincare goodies have a permanent home on top of the table. Everything is plain to see and easy to grab. I have found that I am super inconsistent with skincare, let alone makeup. If things are hidden or difficult to get to, it is more than likely that I will not even bother to reach for it. This way I set myself up to use these products. So far, so good!
Other than the repurposing of the bedside table, my makeup organization situation really had not changed much over the years. However, last year, I had the sudden urge to go through everything in my makeup collection. This was in the midst of the whole "simplify your life" and "downsize now" trend. Plus, I knew in the back of my head that there were just some things that I was holding on to for way too long. So it herald the "Great Beauty Purge of 2015 for Mandy"!
I tossed away many many tubes of old BB Creams, powder products, and lip products during the purge. It felt so nice afterwards to be left with a somewhat reasonable collection. The process knocked some sense into me: don't buy so much since you can't use it up fast enough! (Hence the lack of haul posts. But don't be fooled, I have bought beauty goodies here and there. The purchases are just so sparse that I forget to take record of it.)
Now all the makeup items that used to sit in 4 separate drawers (1 for foundations and concealers, 1 for powders and blushes, 1 for eye and lips, and 1 for brushes) sit perfectly in 1 giant drawer. The location of it also helps since I do my day and night routines right to the left of this bedside table.
Now the IKEA Expedit drawers that used to house my opened makeup stash has been filled with the new and unopened items in my collection. All the cushion refills I hoarded in Korea, eyeliners and mascaras, masks, etc. everything separated to, again, be more easy to see. I used to keep everything in one basket but it is really hard to tell just how much of what I was hoarding when things are piling on top of everything else.
*Imagine another image with a drawer of nail polishes and nail decorating things. I forgot to take a photo of that and am too excited to post to make up the shot now.
The other part of my skincare routine of course are the very important cleansers. Ever since I started using makeup and sunscreen, cleansing oils have been my one and only remover friends. (Okay, I strayed once or twice with cleansing waters but I figured out oils were the ones for me.) As the trend of my storage goes, these guys sit out in the open as well on the bathroom counter. No excuses! Must take off everything before bed!
*Again, please imagine inside the bathroom cabinets there are other new cleansing, exfoliating, and hair products waiting to be used.
Ahh, there! My first post of 2016. My new and tidied beauty collection and storage.
Hope you enjoyed if anyone is still following my little blog!
How has your makeup collection changed, if it has?
Yonsei University campus
The lovely campus of Yonsei~ This city girl was thoroughly amazed by how well kept the landscaping was. One of my regrets of the study abroad trip was not taking the chance to fully explore all of Yonsei University.
Chicken doshirak from Obong Doshirak at SK Global House
Obong Doshirak is apparently a chain lunchbox restaurant in Korea. I have only seen (or noticed) it at the SK Global House dorm building. My friends and I loved the convenience and variety they had to offer. Even though some of the portions may look to be on the smaller side, it was actually a very fulling meal. For those that are bigger eaters, they also offer combo lunch boxes.
Day 11 marked the first day of Korean language classes. After the fact that I was actually going to be in Korea, being able to learn Korean in an official class setting was the second most exciting part of my study abroad experience. The first lesson we had involved a lot of emphasis on pronunciation.
I don't remember exactly the situation, but judging by my dinner meal it seems like everyone had a busy school night. Eating in? No problem! A few convenience store food options can make a hearty meal.
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What I thought would be a not-so-interesting school day on day 12 ended in a surprising way.
Sogogi doshirak from Obong Doshirak
Since this was our first week of classes, I wasn't daring enough to venture outside of school grounds for my meal between classes. Obong Doshirak seemed like an obvious choice since the first lunchbox was pretty tasty and it's right by the dorms and Korean language center.
The second day in the Korean language course was all about forming words. From the way different letters of the Korean alphabet (hangul 한글) can and can't be combined to how the combinations are pronounced.
Once the Korean language course ended and I made by way back to my dorm room, my computer greeted me with a charging issue. Wonderful!...Where was I going to get my MacBook issue resolved in Korea at night? The hunt was on.
Jeju doshiak from Obong Doshirak
Before trekking to fix my computer issue, the tummy needed to be filled. A quick dinner was definitely much needed. Thus my third meal from Obong Doshirak in 2 days! Perhaps this is some kind of food record for me? So much fried food and eating from the same restaurant so frequently is not ordinary for me.
During my frantic research, I found that Apple didn't actually have an official store in Korea. Considering that Samsung and LG are Korean companies and the most popular brands in Korea, it makes sense that there wasn't an Apple store.
I only managed to find a bunch of authorized Apple retailers via blog posts. Most of which seemed like they were near Gangnam, which was a good 45+ minute subway ride from Yonsei University. Luckily I recognized a name of one of the retailers, Frisbee, being in Hongdae. I didn't notice when we first passed by it but Frisbee in Korea is practically like the official Apple store.
I was shocked by the cost of the laptop charger that I needed (close to ₩100,000 or ~USD$100). If I didn't already research how much this would cost back home (USD$79) and this happened near the end of my trip, I would have seriously considered not purchasing the replacement whilst in Korea.
