10.31.2010 FOTN (Face of the Night)

These were supposed to be a Beauty Before and After and realized I forgot to take a picture of the before. But I'm beginning to also realize I already have some pictures of how I look without makeup on here so I'm questioning to myself if it's even really necessary anymore. This was just a random makeup day. I was originally trying to do this look, but I don't think my eyes looked as off as hers.

(photo via Stockholm Streetstyle)

and so instead I did a smokey look with a nude face. I really didn't try to do much knowing I was just going to be home all day. No liquid foundation or tinted moisturizer. Physicians Formula concealers in green and neutral. They look a little off on my face. I did buff a little Bare Minerals powder foundation and then just keep applying a Rimmel's stay matte pressed powder. Lined my bottom waterline with Rimmel jet black pencil liner. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion on my eyes, then with my fingers, smudged some of my new Revlon Cream shadows in Skinlights and used the darkest matte purple in my Wet n Wild lust palette. Used a Sephora mascara. Revlon's soft nude on my lips and MAC's Naked Space lipgloss. For a makeup look so unplanned, I feel like I did a good job and for the first time, I didn't use my eye brushes.

10.31.2010 Happy Halloweiner! Last night's Project Time

This was my Saturday. Made my puppy dog his Superman cape! It was a supereasy process. I think I would have finished it faster last night if I hadn't taken pictures of the process. I still haven't come up with a Halloween costume. And instead I made use of my generic googly eyes and glued them on Mike n Ike boxes.

Here's me two years ago wearing a Star Trek costume I made. This was probably favorite project. I found the insignia's on ebay and my red dress was really a XXXL shirt from the thrift store. I also had fun making the recorders. I attached my old ipod and a speaker to them with recorder noises from Star Trek to play. heh, I also made my boyfriend's Captain Kirk shirt.

10.30.2010 FOTD, Annoying HOTD

So, I didn't do anything for Halloween. I never found my Vulcan ears. But tbh, I think I might really go look for them when I might go to the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention next year. Some of my very good friends moved there recently, and reminded me and my bf. My bf's really into Star Trek. Instead I did a fun project tonight. It started out earlier in the day on a search for felt and adhesive based googly eyes. That was a failed attempt. I guess because it's the day before Halloween, and the JoAnn's Crafts store lot I went to was packed like a tin can of sardines (I love that metaphor). And it didn't help much that I brought my dog, Porkchop with me. By the time we got there, he was panting and wining. We ended up taking a walk in the park instead.

When my face melted during my very important appointment, I now realized it was probably because I didn't use any fix spray on it. After that day, my best friend suggested I get MAC fix plus, but I had just got my Caudalie beauty elixir and so I used that instead today. I really wanted to look my best today for no particular reason. I woke up to a rainy morning and all I wanted to do was get in a hot bath, and doll myself up. I even grew tired of my dark nails already and repainted them in what looks like a taupe color. I'm also really getting tired of my super long hair. They're passed my bra-straps. I'm planning on chopping it off short around the end of January and donating it to Locks-of-Love. I'm scared I might get attached to them, but then I was just seeing Blushing Ambitions newer posts, http://blushingambition.blogspot.com/, and how she owns clip-on hair extensions that she uses on occasion. I might have to look into that.

10.29.2010 Face and Hair of the day (FOTD) & (HOTD) HOTD?

Still learnin, still learnin...... I was trying to go for au'natural. I can't remember, but will probably look at my previous post to see if the looks are similar. I didn't use the same products.

10.29.2010 Googly Eyes

This is going to sound terrible, but this is something I've been wanting for a while now. My friend and I went to WalMart last night and we were stumbling in the makeup department but didn't find anything we really wanted, or needed. Found Pillow Pets in the Dolphin, Monkey, and Bumble Bee. Aren't they great? And then my friend was looking for 7-Up which they didn't have anymore of in stock. And then we stumbled in the craft section where I remembered how I wanted this awesome supply. Googly Eyes! How generic is this though? Wiggly Eyes? Went back to my friends house where I immediately opened them and realized they weren't even adhesive! They didn't really serve a point for my use. So that really bothered me. I realized instead of returning them, I'll find a use for them or give them away. And still be on the lookout for already adhesive googly eyes.

10.28.2010 Beautiful Mistake

Today, I went to my important appointment. I did my face, moisturized, primed, use my good foundation and concealer, my eyes, lips, etc..... and I should mention that I wear glasses. I left my glasses on today. The weather was beautiful. Like the end of spring, beginning of summer. I also wore these awesome boots I own but I probably shouldn't have because the weather was so pretty, I could have passed for flats or some other dressy shoe...... Went to my appointment. It was pretty important. It was somewhat beauty related. I left, walked to the nearest validation station to validate my parking structure ticket stub. Walked to the nearest escalator to get to the floor of where I parked. Walked to my car, took off my jacket, and looked in the rearview mirror.. What? Was I melting?

I was thinking of stopping by H&M. There's this shirt there I saw some famous people wearing and I wanted it. But I immediately went home instead. Went straight to my room to unload my stuff, looked at my face, and noticed my makeup had melted off my face. Omg. I didn't take pictures because I was so embarrassed of myself. Instead I took a cleansing towellette and wiped my face clean. And then I ate a zip locked bag of Chocolate covered blueberries from Costco.

So that this isn't such a depressing post. Last night I was playing with my eye makeup. Yay? Nay? hehe. I'm obviously still learning. And the last picture is a nail polish I've been waiting to put on my nails. I would put on another nail color on. Peel it off. Then paint a new color on.. Peel it off. This color was always on my mind though. It's a dark emerald green color by Wet N Wild in Morbid. I haven't peeled it off yet.

10.27.2010 Beauty Before and After

I have this really important appointment tomorrow and have been attempting to put on my best face. Not to mention, I just wanted to use some of the makeup products I just bought to use. I didn't really want to use a heavy foundation today so I applied a powder foundation instead. And I think for tomorrow, I might just use a light amount of liquid makeup. While taking pictures of my face, I thought I had some awkward poses, but then check out my freckles! They're insane and I love them! I feel like that picture of them is so dull without flash and you know, when I first got my camera (a Nikon D5000), the first picture I took was of my face. I might post it one day even though it's a little embarrassing. (Although, I think I'm getting over that). Well, my camera's quality is so intense with a flash that the quality of my freckles and blemishes was so clear. One day, I'll probably even post one of the freckles on my lips.

I used my new Revlon Skinlights cream shadows and my Wet N Wild Greed palette. Oh goodness, I seriously need to tame my unruly eyebrows.

10.27.2010 Love, Ludlow

These are film stills from one of my favorite movies, Love, Ludlow. Isn't Love, Ludlow a great title for a movie? Even though it was based on a play, I'm happy to have seen and bought this movie because I love the cinematography and set design. It looks like it was filmed in the 90s. It almost looks grainy, but modern. Modern? I really don't know the words.. It's such a muted colored film but with accents of style and pops of color. And I mainly wanted to do this post because I love Alicia Goranson. Not only is she a great actress (she was also the original Becky from Roseanne), she's a great poet. http://aliciagoranson.blogspot.com/. I love the way they styled her for this role! She plays a tough character but the way she dresses in here is so charming. These pictures don't do her justice. Seriously. I'm tempted to watch the movie and try to take pictures from my camera of her outfits. But that might not work out so well. So far check out her coordinating socks along with her purple coat she wears over her teal green outfit. She has a similar outfit during her next workday but in different colors.

Then check out her date outfit in the fourth picture. It looks either vintage or reminds me of the 90s and I think it fits the mood of the movie.

(photos above via http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews20/love_ludlow_dvd_review.htm)

(photos above via http://www.edwigegeminel.com/portfolio.html)

(photo via google images of alicia goranson)

What really reminded of her was watching late night episodes of the old Roseanne. I thought she played the best Becky. The most recent one I saw was one of the first Halloween episodes. They're probably the best episodes of the entire Roseanne series.

10.26.2010 PC

Check out my baby dog, Porkchop. Isn't he so cute? This was from the last two nights. I needed to add it on here so I can look at him whenever and, melt.

10.26.2010 Beauty

I did some cosmetic supply shopping and got things I wanted and some stuff I saw for awesome deals. If anything I'm blaming my very good friend who got me into beauty. She told me that right now, Walgreens is having these Wet N Wild Shadows on sale for 2.50 which is the discounted price from 5 bucks! I got all of them except for one. And that last one was a red and black palette which I didn't even really want anyway. My friend linked me Easyaccessbeauty's youtube, http://www.youtube.com/user/EasyAccessBeauty#p/u/187/l9vej-thTZE, on a review of these shadows and saying most of them are dupes for MAC shadows. I don't own any MAC shadows but I did notice they are pigmented and did swatches of the purple one at the end of this post. Not to mention, they also kind of look like MAC's holiday collection palettes. Oh by the way, I'm sad to say that the Walgreens I went to didn't have anymore Vacation Time nailpolish. It must be getting popular.

Then I went and got the Revlon cream shadows at WalMart where it is the most cheapest to get these if they're not on sale. I was really thinking of getting the Not Just Nudes one, but found that this one, Skinlights was a lot more prettier and just as nude. Plus, there was just this one left. I had to get it.

I also had to go to Big Lots today and while I was there, got makeup remover towelettes for a dollar and also picked up this compact for 2 bucks. I was really excited when I saw the compact for its artsy Van Gogh cover. Not to mention, this was also the last one left. I don't really own a compact, but always think that it's something you just need. I even bought my cousin one last year for her birthday and she told me that she's never owned one before. I must say, the one I got for her was really cute. Lucky girl.

(with and without flash)

10.25.2010 Beauty Review

This is unconventional. This is a review of my own brush cleanser. When I had the idea of posting my product, I was really just excited to posting anything. And then I put the disclaimer saying that I haven't used it yet, which I've thought about it and realized I'm going to try not to do that again. I'll at least use it first next time. So then I finally had time to use it when I was switching between brushes. The oil makes it look like a lava lamp when shaken loosely. But then when heavily shaken, looks like the bubbles in a glass of champagne. I sprayed it onto a thick napkin and used it especially for my brushes with darker colors to see how it'll clean the colors off. And you know, it smells a little like acetone, but the results do it justice. It does the work, the bristles aren't ruined. And in fact the feel is just as soft. I think it has to do with the oil. My favorite part most of all is the aftersmell. It's really subtle. You can tell it's clean, and the acetone smell is gone. It kinda reminds me of Caudalie which smells really off and strong at first but goes away quickly and later smells really lovely.

10.24.10 Outfit of the Day (OOTD) and a Statement Ring

So, I felt I needed to post this before the day ended, because this is what I really wore today. And I didn't really smile like this for the sake of taking a photo of myself. I noticed my baby dog staring at me, wondering what the heck I was doing. hah. I'm still not really used to taking a picture of myself, but figured that I should if the majority of my posts talk about my obsession with beauty. I don't have the money to shop high end, but I do like fashion.

Oh, and so when I did go out, I didn't pick up the new Ecotools brush set but I did get this awesome new statement Owl Ring from Kohl's. Pretty awesome! It was only like 8 bucks. And really the rest of the day went to shopping for necessities for the spare room I'm supposed to be working on. I get to use my trial Autocad for Mac software! Soo excited! Although I'm a little hesitant now that it's so easy to get if you want to shell out 4,000 dollars. I'll be sad when the end of the month arrives.

10.24.10 Beauty

Check this out. My friend's who I blame into getting me into beauty and makeup told me about Alicia Silverstone for Ecotools! I love that collaboration. I have her Kind Diet book and have already made a really tasty vegan cheese cake from it. But that's a whole other story.

The fact that her Ecotools brushes contain a stippling brush to it is something I'm sold by. All of Ecotools brushes are so soft, it's unbelievably ridiculous. I think I might go out and buy it now... hmm. I honestly don't have a large collection of makeup brushes like most beauty people, but I'd like to have some. Especially necessary ones. Like, it's good to have at least 3 eyeshadow brushes: one for a highlighting underneath the browbone, one for an all over the lid, and one for darker shades to go on the crease (or your eye socket). So.. I guess they're for light, medium, dark colors. And you wouldn't want just one brush otherwise you would have to spot clean them each time you use different colors.

And it looks like hers also comes with a blush brush which is a good extra tool to have and for the same reasons. In case you want to switch up your blush colors. Maybe one day you're in the mood for pinks, and the next peaches. They're subtle differences but you wouldn't necessarily want to combine the two and you wouldn't want to be able to tell peeps who compliment your natural glow that it's a mix of such and such, wouldn't you? I am now officially really excited to go out and look for this.

Lastly, it contains an eyebrow brush with comb, and of course a makeup bag. All of which is just good to have on hand! My best friend actually thinks she could do without the eyebrow brush because all of her brush sets come with them and therefor she's collected a few, but I have a mom who goes through those things like reading a good book. I just got her an Ecotools individual one and already the bristles on there have broken. But don't get the brushes wrong, it's my mom who uses them incessantly and obsessively. I'm probably going to wind up giving it to her when I get my brush set.

10.23.10 Beauty Before and After

I really don't look this mean and unkempt. And this is probably the worst way to introduce myself in photos. This was actually over the summer while I was in the midst of getting into my make-up. Crazy how make-up changes how you look. And because I haven't really posted a full frontal shot of my face, how about this before and after look. Check out my lazy eye! I pretty much look the same except of course my hair is longer. I'm planning on donating it to Locks of Love after next January, even though I'm sooo tempted to cut it right now.

I didn't even do much in these photos except for try out this eyeliner I got at the time. I don't even think I used my brushes and I think I used my fingers instead. Something I actually want at the moment and want to try because I haven't tried them yet are cream eyeshadows. It looks so easy to apply even with just your fingers. Yes, I'm a little slow.

Really want to try this out:

10.21.2010 Interior spaces

To get over my last post, I wanted to do a positive follow up and to inspire me to get moving.

As much as I'm getting into beauty and clothes, I love Interior Design. Growing up, I didn't have a room of my own. I slept on a couch in the kitchen. When I finally got my own room, I had a really large bed with a built-in headboard that as a kid, I really didn't need. I wanted a fun room that could double as a play room. Instead I got a sanitarium. I tried dolling it up as best as I could with dolls I collected. I used the built in headboards and made them into dollhouses. They were that big. That built-in. It was really sad. The room actually belonged to my grandpa, but he never liked sleeping there. He liked to sleep on another couch we had in the kitchen. It was terribly unconventional.

Over the years, my parents had our house remodeled and I got my own room, immaculate, untouched. It was my own. I tried decorating it as much as I could. I was always influenced by children's rooms, then teenagers rooms, and so on. I'm getting older and am in a rut. I told myself that I would move out before I hit thirty and I'm sticking to that goal. I've always thought of this one particular movie whenever I thought of the place I envisioned I would live in one day. It was this movie called Smoke. Ever heard of it?

(photo via moviescreenshots.blogspot.com)

These pictures don't do anything for that amazing studio. It belonged to William Hurt in the movie who played a Professor. So he had an open floor plan, a library of shelves in there, Breur's Cane chairs, natural lighting, and check out that bay window in the back. I've always tried looking online for stills of the interior of this movie. I should find out the designer. Today I found out this design site, emmas.blogg.se. I hate that I never knew about this site. Such great spaces! These ones brought me back, but to a more lovelier and girly space, of the memory of the interior space in Smoke. Weird? Maybe.

(photos via emmas.blogg.se)

10.20.2010 In a rut

I just realized, I must sound like I'm bragging in mostly, if not all of my posts. I really don't mean to. Actually right now, I'm in a rut and am trying to get out of it. Everyday is a non-stop operation organization with the occasional exercise. Which I only do maybe three times every other week. I haven't been eating healthy lately, even though I want to. My nightstand is absolutely disturbing. Keeping a blog makes me realize all of this and helps me be a better me, I think.. I must snap out of it and finally get to work on getting my room back in shape.

10.19.2010 Birthday Haul

So I had a youtube account and thought of posting this on there but I'm still a little shy. I spent my birthday which was on the 15th eating free meals at different Japanese restaurants, shopped, and hanged out with my best friend. Watched after my dog who got sick. I was worrying about him most of the time, but finally took him to the vet and stopped worrying. Got two dresses on clearance from Anthropologie, one on clearance from the Lauren Conrad line at Kohl's. Three shirts from WalMart (one's not pictured but it's a boy's shirt that says something about the Bonneville SaltFlats). I went out and bought drugstore makeup. Got Covergirl's Lash Blast Fusion, Airspun, and two Rimmel lipsticks in Crush and Jet Set Red. And here are closeups of my dresses. Very excited for these purchases!

10.19.2010 Project Time: Experimenting Spot Cleaning

Another project I have planned. Although this is beauty related. I'm supposed to clean my brushes soon which I'll probably do after this post. I'm looking at them now, and they need a deep cleansing. I'll really only clean them with Dial Antibacterial Hand Soap, but this entry has to do with Spot Cleaning by makeup brushes.

I had a container from a room deodorizer spray that I finally finished. I love it when I finish products to the last drop. Then I started thinking about buying a brush cleaner and realized I would have an empty bottle leftover because of what it already comes in. Hmm. So then I thought to make my own and went researching immediately. I was watching How-To videos on Youtube, but found that I liked this recipe I saw on ehow: http://www.ehow.com/how_4779487_make-makeup-brush-cleaner.html.

So I'm changing the recipe a little and making it my own. I'm lucky I have a mom who doesn't like some of the extras her hair dye comes with. I have so many of these Garnier Nutrisse Fruit Oil Concentrates that I'm going to use in this recipe.

Makeup Brush Cleaner:

1 c. Distilled Water

2 tbsp. Rubbing Alcohol

1 tbsp. Dial Antibacterial Hand Soap

1 package of Garnier fruit oil concentrate from Garnier Hair dye package (optional) and only use as much as you like, because the smell is very aromatic and the more you use, the more oily the solution gets.

Like on the site mentioned above, take a glass bowl and mix water with alcohol, stir.

Then combine the soap and lightly stir till the solution has mixed in well and has not created any suds. Add the fruit oil concentrate and mix till well blended. Pour into empty spray bottle.

**Warning!! I haven't tried this out yet because I just cleaned my brushes. Also when I made this, I noticed the alcohol I used made the smell a lot more pungent than the oil concentrate. So I used the entire contents of one oil concentrate. And because oil and water don't mix, I plan on shaking this every time I use it. So far right now, it looks exactly like the last picture. The oil is hardly separating, and its smell is in-between smelling like fruit oil and alcohol.