Re-Cap of My Life in 2011

I can't believe it's going to be 2012 already, I remember getting into college in 2008 and just wishing it would be 2012 already so I can get myself out of there... but now I almost don't want to leave! I feel like the year flew by so fast, I didn't even get the time to appreciate the really important things in life because I was too busy looking out for the future. Here is a quick re-cap of the highlights of my life that happened in 2011, enjoy!

January

My mom was going crazy on the ferris wheel ride at Disneyland and we just had to take pictures of her while she was freaking out because we decided to go on the cart that swings back & forth!

February

The Valentine's Day weekend I will never forget <3

March

My friend Christine and I along with (missing in the picture) Casey & James planned a trip to Florida to stay at Christine's relative's place and go around Disneyworld and Universal Studios! We had such a blast, I especially loved Universal Studios, it's so much better than the one in California. This is a picture of us with our first cup of butterbeer from Harry Potter land!

April

A lot of eventful things happened in April, one of my good friends who moved to LA came back to visit us and we were so, so glad to see her again! And a few weeks after, my friends and I planned a trip to Vegas to celebrate Christine's 21st birthday, it was my first time going to Vegas without my parents so it was definitely a different kind of fun.

May

This was taken during our school's graduation and they are the first two friends I ever made in college, ahh memories!

June

My brother's graduation, I was so proud of him!

July

Family vacation in Lake Tahoe

August

Another trip to Vegas to celebrate my friend Karen's belated 21st birthday but this time with Josh! It seemed so short, we've been wanting to plan another trip but we're in the process of saving money.... haha

September

Josh & I took a French macaron baking class in San Francisco after being obsessed with them since our first discovery.

October

Looking through the pictures, I realized I didn't take very many photos in October.. but this was definitely worth mentioning! After seeing this place, Dad's Kitchen, in Sacramento on Food Network's Dine-ins, Diners, & Dives, we decided to check it out. The food was so fattening but good!

November

Two things happened in November as well, a giant family potluck for my fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega and a small reunion between friends from high school at a local fancy diner; it was so much fun catching up with them all!

December

Besides another family trip to Vegas (we go every summer plus like once another time during the year if my parents feel like..) which wasn't very eventful but still fun, Josh & I went out to an amazing dinner at The Melting Pot! We love food, so obviously that had to be one of the highlights of the year!

Whew, that was a long post of pictures.. Looking back at these photos I realize the way I do my eyebrows changed a lot. Actually, that's one of the things I change pretty often because I want them to look defined and full without looking too much or fake. So I always try to come up with ways to fill them in differently to get that result. Old pictures often make me embarrassed as well because I just don't think I look as flattering as I thought I did, haha!

Tutorial: How I Fill in my Eyebrows!

Once in a while, people ask me how I do my eyebrows and I just give them a quick list of what I use and what I do, but here is a video showing exactly what I do every time I put on make up step by step!

Products I Used:

Maybelline Define-A-Brow eyebrow pencil in Dark Brown
MAC e/s in Espresso
Medium sized angled brush

Since it's still my Winter Break, I feel like I have a lot of time to film & edit the videos.. but I'm worried that once school resumes, it will take up most of my time as always... So enjoy this rapid speed of video uploads while it lasts, hehe!

Tutorial: A Subtly Blue Look, An Easy Way to Add a Hint of Color!

I'm too much of a chicken to use color for my every-day, casual eye-look but for the sake of making informative videos, it has become my mission to slowly start incorporating a more colorful palette for my daily look. It's been a challenge, especially since the eyeshadows I've brought home from school are all neutrals & I don't want to buy unnecessary eyeshadows because I have more colorful palettes at school... So I've been trying to get creative lately..

I hope this helps, I think it's a great way for people to slowly ease into the use of color without looking tacky or too dramatic!

Don't forget to subscribe to my channel :)

Thank You!

Products used:

FACE:
Make Up Forever HD Foundation in #127
Illamasqua blush in Lover
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
NYC Bronzer in Sunny

EYES:
MAC e/s in Arena, Deep Truth, Brun, Vanilla, Rice Paper, Embark
Urban Decay Naked 2 palette
Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express mascara
L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara
Revlon ColorStay eye liner in Black
Maybelline Line Stiletto eyeliner in Blackest Black
MAC Prep + Prime eye primer in Medium

EYEBROWS:

MAC e/s Espresso

Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Brown

LIPS:

Revlon lipstick in Mauve it Over

MAC Cremesheen Lip Glass in Just Superb

My Skin Care Routine!

Starting from top left:

1. Olay, Complete All Day UV Moisturizer with SPF 15

2. Sephora, Age Defy Eye Cream

3. Olay, Active Hydrating Cream in Original

4. Neutrogena, Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

5. Clarisonic, Mia Cleansing System

6. Origins, Make A Difference treatment

7. Lancome, Visionnaire serum

8. Ponds, Original All Day Clean Wipes

9. Chanel, Mousse Douceur Cleanser

I know this looks like an overwhelmingly heavy load of skin care products for daily use but it only looks that way because I lay it out product by product..

Olay Complete & Active Hydrating Lotion

I ran out of my trusty Ponds lotion so I decided to try out something new and grabbed the two from Olay. I've been meaning to get a day time lotion SPF because I figured since I'm getting older, I need to take better care of my skin and what better way to start than with protection from the sun? Then I just picked out a creamy moisturizer for night time since I used to suffer from random dry patches on my face. 

Honestly, I don't like the way both of these products smell.. it smells like cheap potpourri but I think I'm getting used to the smell. I try to brain-wash myself into thinking that the smell is rather "fresh."

Eye-Cream

Lately, I've been noticing little creases under my eye and at first, I thought I needed to start using anti-wrinkle creams but found out it might be most likely due to dryness around my eye area. Therefore, I was recommended by the lady at Sephora to try their generic brand of eye-creams and since I had a gift card I decided to give it a try.

So far, I've seen no results. I'd like to say I have but I still see the crease after I put on my make up.. So after I run out of this one I think I'll be trying the Jeune d'Age Eye Creme because I've seen a few reviews on YouTube and it seems to work better on fine lines around the eye than this one from Sephora.

Make Up Removal

I've been using this Neutrogena's Oil-Free make up remover ever since I can remember, I don't know how I came across this but it's the best make up remover I've ever tried! I always use waterproof mascara and this takes it off without tugging or pulling on my lashes. After I remove my eye make up with the Neutrogena one, I use the Ponds wipes to take off the rest of my make up and it feels so clean.

I've tried other wipes but they don't smell as good as the one from Ponds and the other kinds seem to leave oily or greasy residue, which I don't like even though I still wash my face after I wipe it with this.

Face Wash

I usually use the Clarisonic Mia at night or sometimes in the morning when I feel like I need an extra smooth canvas for make up with the Chanel cleanser I got for my birthday from my mom. I don't really see any benefits of using the Chanel face wash except for the fact that it smells good, leaves your skin squeaky clean, and it's so huge it'll last you like five months.

However, the Clarisonic Mia does wonders! I've done a full review about it and you can watch it here, but this cleansing system has made my skin feel so much smoother, help minimize acne break outs, and get rid of the random dry patches on my face; so I love it!

Skin Care

I've been wanting a flawless face, smooth like a baby's bottom and figured I should try using skin-tone correcting serums. The one I chose was Lancome's Visionnaire with their grand advertisements and claims of phenomenal differences for your skin... However, the results are minute and I almost want to say I see no difference.. But maybe it's the mixture of using my Clarisonic Mia and this serum that has overall helped my skin look clearer. 

Lastly, I honestly don't know what I use the Origins treatment gel for... I just use it because my mom gave it to me and I feel like it wouldn't hurt to add this into my skin care regime. I use this day and night and it smells like a lemon-y cleaning agent.

Over all the only thing that I really like about what I use for my face now are my Clarisonic Mia, Neutrogena eye make up remover, and my Ponds wipes! Woot, woot for drug store products! 

Tutorial: My Everyday Look Created with the Usual Products!

Every Christmas Eve, it's our family tradition to open one gift. So this year, I opened my brother's gift which was this Sony Bloggie! I was so thrilled to try it out and I had such a fun time filming this first make up tutorial for you guys. I hope it was helpful & easy to follow, I want to make more in the future but I don't want to bore you all with too many neutral colors since that's all I really use... So I need to learn to get more creative with my make up as well!

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you want to stay in tune for more videos in the future :)

Thank You

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is a list of products I used:

FACE:
Make Up Forever HD Foundation in #127
Illamasqua Blush in Lover
NYC bronzer in Sunny
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus

EYES:
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
MAC e/s in Antiqued, Arena, Embark
Inglot e/s in #42
Revlon ColorStay eyeliner in Black
Maybelline Line Stiletto liquid eyeliner in Black
L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara in Blackest Black
Maybelline the Falsies Volume Express

EYEBROWS:
MAC e/s Espresso
Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Brown

LIPS:
Eucerine Aquaphor Lip Repair balm
Revlon Lipstick in Smoked Peach
Revlon Lipgloss in Coral Reef

Current Obsession: Lush Bath Bombs

Our bundle of bath bombs from Lush

My stash of the bath bombs (Satsumo Santa, Magic Wand, Li'l Lush Pud, and Golden Wonder)

Satsumo Santa bath bomb

Swirling around my Magic Wand in the bath!

The combination of the Satsumo Santa & the Magic Wand smelled a lot like the strawberry starburst, it made the water turn pink and it was just wonderful!

I also tried the Golden Wonder with the Magic Wand and it was interesting to see the little colored tablets escape out of the gift-shaped bath bomb. There were blue, green, pink, and orange colored tablets that came out of the bomb but the water ended up turning very blue. My brother thinks it smells like bubble gum or cotton candy, but I can't really decide what it smells like.. I just know I like this scent better than the Satsumo Santa.

My brother and I love taking advantage of the amazing bath tubs at the hotels in Vegas and I guess it's just a way we treat ourselves at the end of the day. It started off on a whim but it became a little tradition for us, and of course, we take the baths separately!! I just don't like it when my fingers and toes become prune-y, so I don't stay as long as he does so he always gets to go first.

Family Trip to Vegas 2011! [Part II]

Me & my brother, everyone mistakes us for a married couple here in Vegas...

My dad bought me a box of French macarons!

And they're the biggest macarons I've ever seen

My parents trying to cheese it like me :D

With one of my best friends from high school, Scottie

Here are some more pictures from our family vacation in Las Vegas! I usually hang out with my brother while our parents are out and about doing their own thing, but I hate getting mistaken as a married couple... I thought we looked a like, but I guess most people can't really tell!!

My parents & I spent a little time in the morning trying to figure out how my mom's smile can look more noticeable in photos and it looks like my dad's got a better hang of making the cheesy smiles! He said "open your mouth like you're saying 'ha, ha, ha'!"

Later, I ran into one of my best friends from high school, Scottie at Mandalay Bay!

Product Review: The Clarisonic Mia

This is my first YouTube video!

I've always wanted to start making videos but I felt too shy, hehe.

But since I had more free time than I thought in Vegas, I decided to give it a shot. I felt so awkward filming while my brother was watching and giving me "advice," haha.

I guess I just need to get over feeling self-conscious... not to mention, stop focusing on my flaws!! But I hope you found this video helpful. I want to be able to make better videos for you guys so you won't have to read such lengthy reviews anymore.

Enjoy :)

Current Obsession: Asymmetrical / High-Low Skirts

(Photo source: Dare to be Different)

(Photo source: Song of Style)

(Photo source: Xoxo, Scarlett)

(Photo source: Snake's Nest)

Ever since I saw this girl walking around campus with this.. beautiful seafoam green asymmetrical or "High-Low" styled skirt over the summer I was in love! I had to find out where I could get my hands on some of them but didn't really know where to start. Luckily, they've been EVERYWHERE lately and I've found a bunch of fashion bloggers and affordable websites that offer them in many different styles, textures, and colors.

I picked up a black knit skirt with this type of cut today at Forever 21, I couldn't find it online but it's really simple but gorgeous! Now I just need to figure how I am going to style it for school :) I'm also debating if I should get the one from Zara or if I'm just getting a little too obsessed with them...

But I can't help it, they look so sexy and unique! It's not like it's too short in the front but the contrast of the long length in the back makes them just so flirty.

 

Forever 21

Zara

 

ModCloth

Free People

ASOS

Family Trip to Vegas 2011! [Part I]

Like mother like son; my brother snuck a flask of SoCo & we find out, mom snuck a flask of soju, haha!

My mom has been raving about how nice and spacious the rooms are at the Wynn, so we decided to try out the place this trip. We actually go to Las Vegas pretty often since my dad's company convention is held here annually in the summer, we always made it a point to take that opportunity as a family trip. We used to fly, but as of about two years ago, we started driving since my dad thinks family bonding time over the whole road trip experience is fun... but that's only because my brother and I do the most driving anyways!

So, there are some pictures from our first night there! Surely, my mom was right. The room my brother and I have is huge, there's lots of space between the TV and the beds.. I don't know if there was supposed to be a couch there because my parents' room has one, but since our room lacks it, it definitely looks so much bigger.

GAP sweater, Urban Outfitter jeans, boots from Target, bag by Chanel (stolen from mom)

One of my favorite bags that my mom has, I've been putting this to good use!

Product Review: Philosophy "The Present"

I was looking for a new primer since I ran out of my Make Up Forever one a long time ago and decided to try this one from Philosophy. I went to Ulta without anything in mind and the lady suggested this one for me, she put some on the back of my hand and I loved the way it made my hand feel and look. Since the back of my hands can get pretty dry, I liked how it filled in the little dry cracks on the back of my hand and looked so moist! So I was sold, it was considerably cheaper ($25) than the ones I were looking at from Benefit & Smash box and came with more or just as much amount of product.

However, the results were a different story... The direction tells you to apply this right after all your skincare routine then wait 2 full minutes for the product to soak in and seal the moisturizer before applying your foundation. So, I waited (more than 2 minutes actually) and then applied my usual foundation (Make Up Forever HD foundation in #127) with a synthetic brush. I didn't notice anything too special, as it claims to make your skin look "flawless" and "air-brushed."But I DID notice some flaking around my eye area, cakey-ness around my nose, and uneven application on my nose.

This problem was still there even when I tried applying the foundation with my hands instead of the brush and even tried to apply less of the product to prevent the "flaking" and the "peeling." None of those methods worked for me, I thought it would get better throughout the day and it did just a little.

Personally, I think my foundation looks better when I apply it without this "primer."

PROS:

1. It smells nice, like lavender

2. The soothing properties in the product apparently helps calm your skin at night

3. A little goes a long way, you don't need too much

CONS:

1. It peels off your face if you rub the foundation in too much

2. Doesn't really help your face look flawless or air-brushed

3. Cakes around your nose and under my eye

4. Hard to apply evenly around the nose

5. It didn't really help me control my oil

6. No SPF / sun protection