11.30.2010 Photog

I don't know how to vector art, but I do try to learn some Photoshop every now and then. I'm excited for a purchase I made before Cyber Monday, and I think and hope it was a good one. On the night of Cyber Monday, I went to check to see if my purchase was just as good of a buy than the one I made, and it wasn't so bad. From individual seller's, they ended up costing more. I'm always weary of who I buy from. I always check their seller's history, and their location. Price, tax, etc. And I think it was a good buy. I hope I can use it, and it's not makeup. Although.. I have some beauty buys in mind..

Like this Benefit fan brush. Not so fanned out, and perfect for highlighting and dusting fallouts off the cheeks. Ooh, I also got a "supposedly 15 dollar" gift card in the mail from Sephora. This is with any purchase of 40 dollars or more, of course. I may just be able to get my Tarte cheek stains and Sephora lip palette seen from this wish list posts. Pretty excited!

11.28.2010 Beauty

This is me trying to perfect my cat-eye, but unfortunately, I think I still need a steady hand. I tried to use a different method than just resting my arm on a flat surface, and I got to get some use out of my other L'Oreal Linear intense wand eyeliner. I attempted to draw a dashed line with the wand and connect them with my other Linear intense felt tipped eyeliner. And I love that cat-eye looks always remind me of the 60's so I went with a pink lip and slathered on Revlon's lipstick in Carnation.

I was also having fun with the natural lighting going on in my room. And I thought it made a great distinction of my eye and lip makeup.

11.28.2010 California Romanza

(movie via http://www.glamalert.com)

After watching Conan, I had to post this short on here. It's Eva Mendez's directorial debut and it's cute. What sold me though was the title, Christina Ricci, and Eva Mendez. I just love the combos. And I don't mean to quote Conan on the combos part, but I've always loved Christina Ricci as an actress, and, Eva Mendez is so ridiculously talented. Since Hitch, I've always thought she was so classy in an old Hollywood way, and goofy in a contemporary way. Plus, I love anything that involves California or just LA in some way.

11.27.10 Post Black Friday

This is what I forgot I meant to do Post Black Friday. Meet Apolo Ohno. I didn't get home till two last night after watching Harry Potter (it was a good one), and eat Pad Thai. My phone was dead all night and by the time I got home to charge it, I noticed my friend Rosalie had sent me a text about this morning and leaving early. I totally forgot. I don't really care for Apolo Ohno, and I was only really there for my friend. But boy, do I get starstruck, it's ridiculous. This a-polled me (hah, pun intended). hehe. No, but really, I had to hand my camera to this lady who was supposed to take my picture, and can you believe how this came out? And I was following rules and so the only thing I said to him was, "hi.." and it wasn't even a good Hi, it was a creepy hi. He was at the Warwick's bookstore for his book Zero Regrets, and I already had it in mind. That I would say, "Hi, I'm Aileen," but no.."hi..," in a drooly, hi, don't touch my hand right now, because it's clammy, came out instead. And to which, he didn't even shake anybody's hand.

I really didn't go Black Friday shopping, and only bought one Christmas gift that I purchased online. Instead, I was on a trek for cheap dog beds. I thought Marukai would have them for 2 bucks, but no, they were roughly the same price as anywhere else. Because I drove all that way, I picked up some stationary. My seafoam green stapler was something I've always had, and it was perfect that they carried colorful staples in the perfect size as my own. Picked that up, and a stack of blank postcards for Thank You's. I must also admit..... and it's kind of crazy. I don't know what made me get it. I felt I just needed it. If anything, if I don't use it, I'll probably give it away. Not pictured is another Dariya Hair Clip Tape in Black. The beauty related items I picked up were two necklaces: a chain on clearance from Kohl's, and a bow on clearance from Anthropologie. I've been really into Solid perfumes lately and was looking in the clearance section at the ones they had, and they didn't smell so great. So I was stumbling upon their beauty area, spritzed some Classic Petal fragrance on me, and found more solid perfumes. The one I picked up is actually called a fragrance pencil, but it was one I tested and found so easy to apply, and the smell sold me. This one in particular reminded of a mix of Gardenia's and Jasmine. It's a familiar smell that I cannot remember, but I knew I'd miss it, being without it. So I bought it, and now I still smell it on my wrists since early this morning.

This morning when I was at the bookstore, my friend got her book signed before me, and so while I waited, I picked up this awesome nail brush for 1.50. It reminded me of my friend from school who carried a nailbrush with a pig on it, instead of a hedgehog. I can't wait to meet her soon and show her the brush I picked up.

11.25.2010 NonThanksgiving Beaute

Happy Thanksgiving. Today I am thankful for being alive and that my friends and family are safe, healthy, and alive. These pictures were from the other day. I didn't do anything for Thanksgiving except for semi-help my mom, eat, and sleep. And then eat, and sleep again. And then eat.. and sleep next to my dog. And now I'm here. I had an entire outfit ready, too. But nowhere to go.. wah wah wah.... heh. All kidding aside, I think this beauty related post is also my fall look. Light, perfect shade of Autumn, and really easy.

Since it's been really cold lately and my face suffers from dry skin, I'm attempting to use more creme-based products. I have Nyx's French Fries mainly all over my lids. I tried throwing in some of the darkest shade of my Revlon cremeshadows in Skinlights around the outer V area, but it looks hard to tell. I'm also using Nyx's Doll eye waterproof mascara. I'm trying to also go casual with no eyeliner. Except earlier that day, I did try a little color putting Rimmel's eyeliner in Aubergine in my bottom waterline, but that's clearly not visible. The concealer I use under my eyes which I've been using lately is Lancome's Effacernes Waterproof Undereye Concealer in Medium Bisque. And I think these pictures are so obvious that it was taken much much later, because I did use Mac's Joie de Vivre on my cheeks but it looks like it wore out. And I used my new Palladio tinted lip balm in Brownie. Looks pretty good, right? I'm thinking this is my natural look. I'll figure out a way to be more descriptive with my makeup another time, esp. with a lot less talk.

And this is the ultra trendy color of Sally Hansen's Slick Slate, which I'm currently loving. Although I'm thinking of changing up my manicure routine on this color, because these chipped the next day rather easily. I think it might be the layers I put. I always apply a nail hardening clear base. Then nail polish, whether or not they need 1-2 coats. And then apply a topcoat which at the moment is Seche Vite. Because the applicator is supposed to be ergonomic, I was able to get it on my last three nails in only one coat. I'm also planning on limiting the beauty products I buy because I don't want to be a collector. I just want things that will look good on me. Ugh! It's so hard not to buy things because I just an ad for the L'Oreal Million Lashes, and it looks like something right up my alley. I'm noticing how I hate clumpy lashes, and these look like they would separate each one perfectly.. So as of right now, unless of course, there's a sale on a specific product I want, I'm not buying much. Not entirely a project ten pan, or a no buy because I think I might lose it. ahhh.

11.24.2010 Brownie

Is this a visible screen shot? Well today I went to my new favorite store for drugstore makeup, Bed Bath and Beyond. I'm excited to also announce that I found it cheaper than WalMart. Yesterday when I went to WalMart, I noticed their Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse Foundation was around 7.50, whereas Bed Bath and Beyond was (oh no my short term memory..) around 7.39... Well, it was cheaper than WalMart. Oh, and WalMart's Dream Matte blushes were at least 6 bucks, Bed Bath and Beyond was 5 something. Close to 6 dollars, but at least it shows. ha, I'm so excited by this now because from now on, other than sales and deals I'll find elsewhere, I'm going to Bed Bath and Beyond. Although, I did find that they didn't carry some other products I like to look for, like Wet n Wild, or NYC products. It was a rainy evening tonight, and I had just gone to eat Sushi with my friend and went to Bed Bath and Beyond afterwards, my lips were chapped and I didn't have any lip product on me, so I bought a Palladio lip balm in Brownie. I was surprised because I thought I picked up Rosey. And I'm glad that happened because Brownie turned out to look pretty good and natural on me. The ultra hipster with grandpa glasses rang me out, and thought it looked like a nice shade too. haha. And I've been noticing my current obsession over beauty products, so it took me so much courage not to buy much more. The only other thing I got, was the last Sally Hansen nailpolish in Slick Slate. It's such a trendy darkish gray nailpolish color that I am loving. Plus, the applicator was almost intimidating. Where it's flat, and is supposed to ergonomically paint your nails so much easier. It took me a while to get used to, and by the end I probably did at least three pretty well. I also did one coats in most of my nails. I wanted to post a photo, but it it's getting late. So, til tomorrow..

11.22.2010 Beauty

Today I was a day of little production. I started at JoAnn's, and because Big Lots was right next door, I thought I'd drop by to see what beauty steals they would have. They had a lot of elf products. But I didn't buy anything because nothing looked appealing to me. Plus, it's a ghetto Big Lots where products were spilling out of their packaging, or just kind of gross looking. Then I headed to WalMart because I needed to buy Adapter chords. I rarely ever carry a list with me, and realized I should have bought Hot Hands Hand Warmers. They're ridiculously convenient. Last night I used one because it was so cold, at around 53 degrees when I checked. I heard in the news this morning that it was in the 40's when I woke up today. I forgot to find them though. Instead, I perused the beauty dept. but didn't find anything worth buying. My last stop was at Urban Outfitters where I was in search of the lipgloss rings I talked about two posts ago. Last night I was so tempted to buy them online in black, mint, and ivory but hesitated when I saw the shipping's 10 bucks. And it was a good thing I went there too cause I found only one left for 1.99, but then I saw the lipgloss was used and the rosette pretty much snapped off. And to top it all off, it didn't even fit my fingers. haha. So that was today for me. And I should have taken a picture of my face, but forgot and the card is in the reader already.. whatever. Instead, so this isn't a boring entry, my mom picked me up these statement rings at her work that were on sale for like 7-8 dollars. I was ecstatic! They're duo purposed where you flip the top, and it's a clock. She mainly got them for me because of that while she does know about my obsession for big, obnoxious rings.

11.22.2010 Food Porn

As generic as the title is, I had to remember to throw one in because I almost forgot in my last post. I was looking at it later and realized.. "What's missing, here?" Dang short term memory. This is what I did this weekend though. I was starving on Friday and made a Salmon pasta. Penne pasta has to be my favorite kind, and I'm not sure why. Second to that would probably be farfalle. I think it might be the size of them and that you can snag perfect bitefuls in one average fork. The second dish I made was a Rugelach inspired by Sam the Cooking Guy who featured a guests recipe by someone named Addie. If you read this and read about two posts back, and saw that I mentioned Sam the Cooking Guy, well, this is it. I didn't braid the puff pastry well, but when this was all done cookin', it was delicious. I had to substitute and knick a few ingredients out, but everything else was correct. For instance, I didn't have pecans, so I crushed sea salted almonds for that part, and I didn't include the spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, because no one uses spices in my house. This is what the Rugelach is supposed to look like, and the recipe seen here, http://www.thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=590.

This was probably one of the first dishes I made where I didn't use that many pots and pans and so in the end the Rugelach tasted so much better just cause there was less cleanup. Thanks Addie!

11.21.2010 Beauty

Ever since my bf went to Hawaii, I haven't been up to much. Had lunch with my friend at the Souplantation, and already thought of gifts to buy while strolling through Kohl's. If there's anything on my mind though, it's beauty products I'm thinking of buying. These are products I want, but a lot of them are kind of pricey. Like how awesome is that Paul & Joe Makeup Binder? But the price is ridiculous. What the heck is so great about Paul & Joe anyway? Just because they're some fancy schmancy French brand? As cute as the packaging of them are, they almost remind me of the products sold in Longs Drugs from the nineties. Whatever. I loved Longs Drugs. What I'm really loving these days are statement rings. And the ones I found and shown are multipurpose, which I am loving. The black one is a lipgloss, and the cocktail one is a solid perfume by Juicy couture. And although, I don't really care for the Tarte blushes, I'm sold by the statement ring it comes with. I heard the Sephora lipglosses was a small palette, but I love the colors. If anything, I do have a coupon to Bed Bath and Beyond, so I might go there and buy the Dream matte mousse products. I feel like I'll eventually try and get some of these products soon. At least, the ones I can afford. Esp. that black ring which is only like 4 bucks.

11.19.2010 Beauty and Prada

Something awesome happened to me this evening, and I had to celebrate. Except, I was supposed to go to dinner with my friend and she flaked on me right when I was just done dolling up my face with my good makeup. Whatever..

I wanted to do something pretty grand with colors under my eyes, and it was probably a good idea I didn't seeing that I didn't get to go anywhere. So instead, I just did a smokey brownish-taupey look using mostly my new Pop Beauty palette. I'll probably be using this more because I love the colors and I want to see what I can do with them. Just as long as you have some kind of primer underneath, most of these colors can stand out.

And then later this evening, I decided to make a version of this Rugalah recipe,

http://www.thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=590. I was excited because I was just watching Sam the Cooking Guy earlier today and he cooked up this recipe. Here at my house, no one cooks with spices, so I had to knick those out of the recipe. Whatever. What am I saying? I don't even have pictures to back up my long explanation. haha.

So then my mom came home with a surprise for me. I've been eyeing these sunglasses where she works at every now and then. They used to be around 60 bucks around wintertime last year. They hardly ever got marked down, even during the summer months. And so, today she found one left marked off to around 14 dollars. Prada's! And then I saw this site,

http://www.smartbuyglasses.com/designer-sunglasses/Prada/Prada-PR51IS-5AK-8C1-15999.html?feed=us+shopzilla

where it retails marked down to 342.95 from 566.00. Yes. I'm insanely surprised, and excited because I always wanted these and thought these were so unique and fashion forward. In a way, they also look very science fiction to me. I haven't told my mom yet on the price I saw them online yet, but she believes a lot of the priciness in it is already because of the packaging. hehe. I must admit, it is really nice. Thank you so much, mom.

11.18.2010 Beauty

I was really trying to keep a daily routine of my posts, but I couldn't do it. Maybe next month. I have found new uses for my sturdy hair clip tape in my first picture below. It is so sturdy, I can hold my hair up in a bun. And I've discovered that I can use it while sleeping without it hurting my head, so I could get loose natural looking waves the next day.

And so I also did my face today, and realized that it took all of these products to get it the way it looks. Seems like a stretch. I wanted to try and emphasize my Pop Beauty palette, but that was kind of hard. I mainly only used three of the colors. A peach, one of the main pinks, and the brown part which is supposed to be an eyeliner color. This palette is called "Smoked Out Gold," but it should really be called, "Sheer Pinks." I did a brown smokey look which I mainly achieved using my small bit of Black Brown Covergirl eyeliner (which I can't even seem to find in my picture below) that I smudged. And I got to use my Benefit's Benetint. I might think twice now after looking at my pictures and noticing how light my face is compared to my neck, and it might be because of the Palladio powder I dusted my face with.

11.16.2010 Beauty

I had to take these two with a flash otherwise my eyeshadows would probably just look really light. I used my new Pop Beauty palette and I must say that I love pink eyeshadows. Which is what sold me on this, but it's really sheer. They would look really good with a thick black eyeliner though.

I'll never forget this one time I was at the Seaport Village (a touristy spot in San Diego) with my friend Liza, and I couldn't get over this Japanese girl's style that I saw there. I even stopped to ask her where she got her clothes from, and I was really young. It was obvious she got it in Japan. She wore this silver sparly tank top with capri denim pants (I was also inspired by her look for my bf's senior prom). She had on a purple sparkly headband, and silver eyeshadow with black eyeliner. Up until now, Liza is amazed how I remembered and am still influenced by how this girl dressed. I currently still feel like I'm experimenting with makeup, even though I know there are some colors I know won't look good on me, but I'll always stick to neutrals and pinks. I never finished this look because I didn't want to look too caked on with makeup, but I did just want to use my palette I just bought. I'll probably be using this palette more while the weather is ridiculously beautiful. Or most likely during the daytime.

I should also mention that I used elf's eyebrow gel on my brows, and Rimmel's sexy curves as my mascara. It's ridiculous how I am discovering mascara these days. I used to hide behind my glasses, hoodies, and bangs. I feel like I've gotten over that and instead now have moved on to being vulnerable without wearing mascara. ha

I threw in this photo because I was really excited to try out my makeup products last night and did this really messy. I was surprised that the Pop Beauty shadows didn't have much fallout and with a primer underneath, the colors come out a lot more. But it looks good on here if I were to actually go out or to have a full on look. Nyx's French Fries is all over the lid on the left and I mainly used the greens in my Pop Beauty palette on the other. The greens came out more pigmented than the pinks, and I did use elf's eyelid primer, since I was just trying this out and wasn't going anywhere.

11.15.2010 Doxie and Beauty Haul

I had to throw a photo I took of my puppy Porkchop on here because he's so cute. But really this is a beauty post on what I got today. This weekend I got an Ulta magazine with coupon in the mail and was flipping through the pages and saw the Pop Beauty Jigsaw palette I've wanted. I loved the massive amount of pinkish colors in it and the fact that it looks like I could achieve a vintage-y look with it. It supposedly retails for around 60 dollars but it the pigmentation's kinda blah. Like it's not worth that price. It looks buildable though and I think this would look really good with a good black liner. And if I successfully attempt a good look with this, I'll show a picture tutorial.

Because the closest Ulta where I live is a 20-30 minute drive, I was there on a mission to get what I only needed, and what I only wanted. And I realized on the road that I stepped out of the house without mascara which I told myself "okay, I'll just pick one up. Something cheap". While I was at Ulta, I was considering mascara options and found this Rimmel's sexy curves for around 7.50. And to be honest, I was considering getting this Mascara eventually. It only seemed like it worked out. I mean, some of the other mascaras there (even the Ulta brand ones) were already around 1o dollars. So I picked that up and a Nyx Jumbo Pencil in French Fries. And of course my palette which was 20 dollars at the store, but I like to think of it as 16.50 since I used a coupon stating I would save 3.50. Haha, I should probably reconsider the details of my beauty hauls and posts. I'm beginning to realize I talk way too much.

11.14.10 Beauty

Yesterday while running errands, I stopped by Target and was looking for things I needed. I was really thinking of getting Maybelline's Clear Mascara for my eyebrows, but remembered hearing someone say that the e.l.f. one was just as good, and it's only a dollar. Come on. It's duo ended with one eyebrow gel on one end and an eyelash gel on the other. To be honest, they look similar, and I think I might just use both for my eyebrows. I used the eyebrow one last night, and it was good. Tonight I'm going to try the other end. Although today was going to be the day I'm giving my face a break for the week, but later tonight, my family and I are going out to celebrate my dad's birthday. My other recent buy was this nailpolish. I have been on the lookout for any type of taupe colored nailpolish to follow this season's new trend. I never really try to follow trends, but I love this one. I've been trying to steer clear of shimmers and glitters, and found that this is a good pick. It's Revlon's Gray Suede. Although when in natural light, it looks more like a pinky taupe. I think some sites think it looks beige, but I beg to differ. I'm also on the lookout for a more darker grayish taupe. I picked up a new Maybelline color in Cocoa Motion. It's a good brownish taupe that I'm leaving on my toes, but I think grayish tones look better on my fingernails.

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11.13.10 Operation: Take Better Care of my Face

(from l to r: amazing tool to pull my hair back, Lancome Creme Mousse Comfort for Dry skin, Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Control Moisturizer, Carmex, Nicole Miller Hydrating Facial Cleanser Normal to Dry, Dove Deep Moisture Facial Lotion, St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Philosophy Hope in a Jar, Clearasil Oil Free Daily Face Wash, Aquaphor Healing Ointment, and Philosophy Purity)

I feel like I'm not the best spokeswoman for skin advice, but I'm realizing that I need to take better care of myself and my skin. My friend that got me into beauty showed me a youtube video that I absolutely cannot remember. But I remember one of the main things she said that I'm taking into consideration. It's the amount of water you drink in a day. I haven't been keeping that a routine and am realizing the effects it's taking on my skin. So from this day forward, I am going to attempt this advice she gave. Which is taking your body weight/2 = # oz of water to drink in a day. Although she seemed a little hesitant when she was talking about those who weigh like a 100 lbs. or less. hah. But I'm really going to try this out. I'm also going to attempt to give my face a break at least one day out of the week, a la ChefCaffy's youtube videos. She takes a day out of the week of not using any makeup products on your face and just giving it a break.

So I've been noticing my face wash routine. Which is kind of slim because I forget that my face is sensitive and dry and I try to wash my face as fast as I can without thinking of ways to improve it. When it comes to my face washes, it changes. When I feel or have a pimple, I'll use my Clearasil face wash. When I feel the need to exfoliate, I'll use St. Ives. Lately I've been using my Philosophy Purity face wash to clean my makeup off. Then I'll sort of switch off between my Lancome and Nicole Miller face washes. They smell so, soo good. My moisturizing routine is pretty accurate though. After washing my face, I'll always use my Clean & Clear Advantage as a base. And because I tend to have more dry than normal skin, I've been using Philosophy's Hope in a Jar on my dry patches. But I've only recently discovered that. My go to on the dry parts of my face esp. underneath my nose, I'll tend to use Aquaphor there, but that's been kind of irritating me lately. I've been scratching underneath my nose every time I use it. This is so bad, but I'm also rediscovering SPF which is something that shouldn't be rediscovered at all! I've had my Dove moisturizer with an SPF of 15. Until that's done, I'm planning on getting a higher SPF. Hmm, I also used to use this Blistex medicated ointment for my lips but found that Carmex heals and feels a lot better. I think I even got used to the smell. Also I've heard good things on the Garnier eye roller thingy and will soon use it as soon as I'm done with what I'm already using on my eyes. I've been using this sample of Amore Pacific Moisture Bound Intensive Vitalizing Eye Complex but I think this is really expensive so I'm looking for cheaper alternatives. I think the Garnier will be good because I'm really looking into an eye product that will help with undereye circles and puffiness.

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11.12.10 Beauty Time

My mom works at a department store where they recently started carrying a variety of high end makeup products and not only that, but yesterday there was a Veteran's Day sale. I got my first Nars product! Which is the blush/highlighter in Albatross. I've been eyeing this one every now and then and got it because I love, love, love the glow! They also had a Benefit counter and I was so excited to play around with their products. I'm beginning to love looking at their products because most of them are all vintage inspired which I love. And when I was playing around with their Benetint blush, the counter lady recommended a smaller version for a lot cheaper and comes with a lip gloss. So, I had to get that too.

I also got a few other stuff yesterday, but mostly cooking accessories like a cookie press, and a Spam Musubi maker. I also found this awesome Jones New York coat on clearance at Ross. Today I was going to use my cookie tool to see what I could do, but instead I just made a generic version of Pumpkin Chocolate chip cookies. I meant to use a fancier recipe, but instead went with my friend to Vons and found an easy bake Pumpkin cookie bag and bought mini chocolate chip morsels on the side.

11.11.10 Beauty

I tried out my friend's Benefit's Benetint and fell in love. I love how easy it was to use. Now, I would primarily use it on my cheeks though than as a lipstain. I didn't find it drying fast at all, but maybe that was because I applied it onto my cheeks quickly. And you know, I must admit that I am getting older. Because of that, I now feel obliged to consider the products I use on my face. I also tend to have more dry skin than normal. So from now on, I might re-consider the amount of powder make-up I use. And maybe stick to more creme based products. I love that this product is a liquid and non-powder though so I'm also considering purchasing this product.

Then I found that there's a similar product made by Pixi. Although its name sounds so generic, I might consider buying this instead. The Benetint's price range is around 28 dollars I think whereas Pixi's Water Blush is around 18 dollars. I think this might be a good buy. Now, I just have to go out and find it.