11.17.11 Wish Listing

1. Grove New York perfume or the lotion, smells like one of my favorite scents, the flowers found in orange groves.

2. Scissor Charm Necklace, supercheap from Forever 21

3. An sleek, chic acrylic make-up storage case. This one's from Muji.

4. Chelsea Boots, and hoping to find them somewhere cheap and random. Found some at Ross, but I hated the ones I saw which were patent-y leather looking. I'm sure I'll find the perfect ones soon. ::hoping::

It's been awhile since my last post, and I have been busy but not with anything I was actually really interested in. Except for moving. We're pretty much settled in, and I'm loving our small cottage. It has character and it's not the type to hoard otherwise it would get super cramped. Eric's in Guam right now for work, and it's not so bad except I really do miss him right now. And so does baby dog.

However, omg! It gets so distracting with him around. I feel awkward to update this blog because I don't want him seeing it. Idk why. Since the holidays are just around the corner, I thought my long follow up entry would be a wish list. It's not much, but they are products I would like to get sooner or later. And I'm hoping to find that necklace at the mall tomorrow. And I know while I'm there, I can stop by Anthropologie to see if they still have the Grove New York lotion in their clearance area. Oh, I hope!

7.4.11 4th of July Face

I'm beginning to find my summer look that utilizes a whole bunch of dollar bronzers I bought last year from elf makeup. They make the perfect eyeshadows. Last night I was doing swatches of all my cheap-o elf face products. And I found that the 1$ blush and bronzer duo has the be the best one. Not glittery. It's more shimmery than glittery. And then I used another elf 1$ bronzer in Sun-Kissed as a layer over the bronzer from the duo on my lid. Excuse my ridiculous faces, but I feel these best show how well elf makeup can make you look. I'm going to attempt a youtube tutorial on this. I was very excited on this turnout.

6.26.11 Wallpaper nails

The fun thing I did this weekend: attempt to do these floral print nails a la Lauren Conrad. Not exactly the same. And if anything, Eric told me it looked Van Gogh-ish moreso than flowery. I don't have nail pens, but I did use a combination of nail colors that included Elf, Essie, and Wet n Wild. I'd say for something I winged, this was pretty successful.

(photo via Lauren Conrad's Twitter)

5.17.11 Blood Shot

Tonight as I am about to head to sleep soon, for no reason, I decided I would play with my Wet n Wild Pride makeup palette. It was a total waste of time, but I don't really use these kinds of colors. I thought it was really pretty. I feel like this would look better with false lashes, but there's no point since I will take this off after this post. My camera barely captures the blush I used which was more rosy than pink. It's quite terrible. Makes me want to buy more blush. And because I didn't want to waste my clean brushes, I used the applicator it came with.

Ohh! And my carry on came today. Very excited!

4.21.11 Face of the Day

Last weekend, I went to Marukai and picked up face masks for like 98 cents each. I only tried one that's supposed to keep whatever moisture I had back in my face. And I like to think it's working even though I haven't been rubbing on the dry skin under my nose like I usually do. I feel like it's working and my skin is slowly getting better. Today, I wanted to do a matte grey eye but found that I didn't have any.... and then telling myself, don't buy any makeup til you finish up the ones you have! And then I realized, I think I am almost finishing up the ones I have. I had already finished up a No 7 Nude lip liner (the one Lisa Eldridge uses a lot in her videos), and I'm actually thinking of experimenting with a different brand nude liner.

I hope to at least attempt another art project by taking more pictures of myself. This is the first one I did and decided to try and look my best for it. Here I'm not wearing a lot of the products I typically use and in fact, am really using mainly all elf products. I'm not even wearing foundation in this one.

3.31.11 Winters Passing

I had a stomach ache that seems like it's lasting the entire day, and I think it has to do with the weather. I was afraid it had to do with what I ate last night. I went to the Crest Cafe over in Hillcrest last night here in San Diego, and got the Cheese Buttah Squares. It is so not worthy taking a picture of now. It was good at the time, but I felt like I got some slight form of food poisoning (thank goodness without the diarrhea). Anyway, I apologize that to start this entry is a "tmi" type of post.

So unrelated to my latest fashion inspiration, and not to mention but the fact this weather is so hot, the way Reese looks in these two pictures makes me sad it's not cold anymore. And I had these bright red flats one time that I regret selling it to Buffalo Exchange. I eventually found a replacement at H&M, but I just don't think they compare to how cool and at ease it looks on Reese Witherspoon. This is my fashion inspiration as of late.

3.29.11 No more Zooey hair

The last photo of my hair before I chopped it off. And I'm glad I did it because it wasn't looking so 1960's anymore. I didn't really get much of a good photo after the cut because I was a little in shock. The guy who cut my hair straightened it and it looked "too hip" as I kept mentioning. I had him chop a little more off one side so it didn't look so perfect. I wasn't entirely sure why he left it straight when he was done, other than to see if it was even. But I didn't want him to because I don't really have time to straighten my hair.. And I guess I just wanted to look myself. I made him cut it a little asymmetrical. And because of that, and the fact I have naturally wavy hair, it could almost look 1950's-60'ish.

I wish I could blog more, but realized I started this off being really into beauty. And I'm trying to tone down how much product I've been using lately because my skin has been really bad. Thanks to elf and their newsletters, I remembered that the oil in Vitamin E capsules are perfect for moisturizing my dry skin. I'm really trying to give my face a break right now.

Last weekend, my bf took me on a random trip to Palm Springs. We didn't even have a reservation, but I knew I wanted to stay at those Mid-Century Modern boutique hotels. Unfortunately, the one we were able to afford was booked so while driving around and thinking of stopping by a Travel Lodge, we stumbled upon a vacancy at a cute B&B called Rendezvous.

That's where the second picture is taken from. So this post won't be entirely out of sorts, I'll talk about that trip next time. It was really fun though.

2.20.11 Beauty & Food

I'm no fashion maven, or beauty guru, but I do know what I like and this weekend was spent buying eye pencils, nail polish, long cardigans, food, and a really cute dress I got for 5 bucks at Ross. Unfortunately, the dress will have to wait a little while to wear cause it's mainly a spring dress. These don't seem like much, but these were the nail polishes I got this weekend and I must say that my collection is now growing and I must stop!

Ohh! And by the way, I'm a proud owner of this awesome-ness beauty tool:

Took me a few Walgreens to find, and my friend was the one who told me about it and said she got it at the last Walgreens I went to, and the only reason I wanted to go to that one was because it was closest to our friend's house and I wanted to get some Wet N Wild products. They barely even had any more Wet N Wild.

I went to Old Town with my boyfriend yesterday:

Ugh, don't we look so creepy. We take oddly awkward pictures. Anyways!! So, in Old Town they have this 5 and Dime store and obviously, nothing was really 5 or 10¢, but they had a Wet N Wild display! With all the things I wanted. That's where I found the Craze nailpolish in Shield above. Except I didn't want to get too crazy. They're prices were a little steeper than drugstore. The only other thing I got there was the famous creme eyeliner that's supposed to be just as good as MAC.

Anyways! Some of the items I did get this weekend that were duds are NYC makeup duo eye pencils! They're so hard to apply. I can barely even write on my own hand with them. They were about 1.97 at WalMart. What a waste!

02.14.2011 Orange Crush

Me having fun with my makeup for Valentine's. Throughout the night, I ended up reapplying Rimmel's Crush on. I think it's a great lip color. Hint of color.. nudish.. sheen. Perfect for going out. Ugh, now that I'm looking more at it, I hate the discoloration on my face.

02.14.2011 Happy V.D.! (No, not Venereal Disease)

Hah, my boyfriend got me traditional Valentine's gifts: Heart-shaped box of chocolates, a dozen long stemmed roses, and a card. But not just any card. This one is Twilight themed where Bella, Edward and Jacob look as though they're staring off into the distance, and inside is a recording of Edward going, "I promise to love you every moment of forever," and Jacob "I'm going to fight for you till your heart stops beating," hahahahaha. Hilarious! Too funny! The cover says, "Whoever said a good man is hard to find......." and then inside saying, "sure hasn't been to Forks, Washington." hahahahaha! Isn't that funny?

I felt a little bad though because Eric's birthday is also today. I meant to get him a shredder but didn't have time, or money right now for it. So instead, I just made him cherry cupcakes. His shredder will wait.

02.13.11 Shopping, Food, Beauty, Boyfriend

I hope that the title of this post makes sense. My friend's makeup was in shambles so it was the perfect excuse to go shopping. On Friday, we found a big makeup clearance at Target. Picked up a Milani eyebrow and lip pencil, Sonia Kashuk's Reach for the Stars nail polish trio, and Physician's Formula gel eyeliners for Hazelnut eyes (it was the only one on sale). Then we went to Bed Bath and Beyond where I picked up a couple of other beauty items. Oh blah, my pictures hardly show any of the items I picked up. Needless to say, I had a fun time playing with makeup with my friend. She picked up a lot of goodies actually. I should have taken a picture of that instead. Then I went and found an awesome grassy toothpaste and toothbrush holder.

And before I picked up my boyfriend from the airport, my other friend and I had a feast of pastries from Hans & Harry's. Delicioso! Blurry outfit of the day on Saturday by my boyfriend. And today we were in search for cervezas this evening.

02.1.11 Made with ♡ by, Me

I think this is going to be a funny posts now looking back on last weekend when my very good friend Marnel married her latin-lovah. So this is not entirely beauty related. Our friend from high school who is now a cosmetologists did our hair and makeup. Because I'm obsessed with the 60's, I told her I wanted something of that genre. I feel like it fell flat during the wedding, though. I feel like the day of her wedding was probably the most I felt stressed while helping as a bridesmaid. I had to do placecards that day. Thank God, I had some help from a fourteen year old lad who honestly put the charm in Charm-ing. It was so cute, he kept reminding me that he owed me dances that entire day. It was probably the most I got seeing that Eric is still in Hawaii, and couldn't be there with me. Anyway, I had a good time being there with my friends.

I probably shouldn't have gotten so trashed if you can't tell. I hardly took any pictures. My friend almost lost a cake stand that she was supposed to return the next day(thank God, it was in the lost and found). And something I was most proud of, I had made my friends their guest book and case, which throughout the night, someone had stolen the case. My friend Nathaly, (above in yellow), even said, "Usually people know how to behave at weddings," What is going on in the world? People are so ghetto.. So... if found in life, please return this back... Please! This was Made with ♡ by me, Aileen.

01.31.2011 Beauty

Today I went to the dept store where my mom works at and found they sell drugstore cosmetics for ridiculously cheap! Not only that but they sell those cheap NYC and Wet N Wild right next to each other! On top of it all, I found that they sell freshMineral makeup! I cannot stress it enough, for ridiculously cheap! I was ecstatic when I saw this, but didn't get too crazy right away because I've never tried it before. It looked like they were running low on a lot of products I would be interested in getting anyway. Like their foundations, and neutral eye makeup.

However, I picked up this for less than 9 bucks. It's twenty on their website. And it's so goofy because the main reason I got it was because of the flat top kabuki brush. When I got home to open it, I found it soooo ooo soooooo soft. You know, I just found out and I don't think this brand is affiliated with the other fresh beauty company. Whatever, the packaging looks so chic. Although just looking at the mineral foundation it comes with, looks shimmery.... I'm a little hesitant, but I know I can find use for it, like as a highlighter. Hmm. So, while I was also there, I picked up some other beauty products I didn't take a picture of because A. They're rather generic.. nothing too exciting, and B. I think there's something wrong with my camera lens I just got.. sadness. I picked up the last Tresemme dry shampoo on the shelf, an NYC blushable creme stick in Plaza Pink, and a NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Peach Glow. Excited to be getting into beauty again. I've got another update on my friend's wedding that I was a part of just last week. Beauty related, as well.

01.19.11 Beauty

So I came back from Santa Barbara yesterday and finally had time to try out my new Sally Hansen nail polish strips. I feel like you have to work with it quickly and try not to yank on it so that it fits on your nails cause I messed up a little bit. Not to mention, I'm a real cheap-o and cut most of the strips in half so that I could still have some for another use. My nails are already short anyway.. These are terrible Photobooth pictures, obviously but I wanted to throw these in. Esp my last one. I didn't do much shopping in Santa Barbara because most of my money went to this Wine Tour, food, and going out to this ridiculous but insanely fun nightclub called Wildcats.

Hah, I bought this lovely tunic dress that is currently being washed right now because I had worn it already to Wildcats and the next day driving back home. And I wish I could mention how beautiful the drive back was, but that's going to go into my other blog. My diary. hehe. While we were shopping, my friend had lost a blouse she had bought and caught the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale. Found a bra for 17 bucks, but after her lost shirt, she was sulking at the thought she had really paid 40 for it. hah. I also came back with a Victoria's Secret product. I bought a ridiculously creamy lipstick called Scrumptious. The last picture is a pretty accurate photo of the color, and I love that it's not entirely nude. I feel it makes me look like I have at least some color to my face. Excuse my face though because before we left, I went to reapply my lipstick and found that I had knicked the tip of it on the cap. I wanted to cry.

01.09.11 Fashion, Beauty.. and Oprah's Gate!

Wanted to post these the other day but realized the majority of what I had bought were coats who deserved their own diary entry. hehe. I've been on the lookout for a blouse similar to what I had once seen Lauren Conrad wear. I think I saw it on her in one of her twitter pictures.. Tbh, I can't remember. And then I saw this makeup guru named Vanityhouse on Youtube where she wore a shirt that reminded me of it and she had mentioned she had gotten it at H&M. I never found it. Until just last Friday, I was shopping with my friend, and at a cheap-o store at the mall, I found something very similar to it on clearance for just under 6 bucks. I love the looseness of it and that it hardly shows any chest (because I hate that). Something I'm also really excited to show, and to eventually try is this new product by Sally Hansen. It's a copy of Minx Nails which I thought was awesome! I was just thinking of Lisa Eldridge who had a video on her trying out Minx Nails and it was cool. Her's was leopard print which Sally Hansen also carries. It's ridiculous! There were so many designs. I could hardly decide which one I wanted to try out first. So I got this one. It's in the number/name 220 Cut it Out.

I must also say that I'm in love.. no, I'm in lurve.... with my new Essie polish in Sew Psyched. haha. Although, I'm on a ridiculous kick lately. I feel like it's hard for me to save anything these days. I went on the Urban Outfitters website and bought a purple backpack for around 42 dollars. Hopefully it was worth it. I've been wanting a backpack, ironically enough that I don't even go to school anymore. Except, it would be perfect if I got it by the 15th because I'm going on a weekend trip, wine tasting in Santa Barbara. I'm a little excited. Not so excited on having annoying wino headaches hours later.

I went along with a couple of my friends last time we went there to go Beer Tasting for my friend (the one who got me into beauty's) birthday. That was so much fun. We were debating on doing a beer or wine tasting at the time and realized wine can really sneak up on you. Anyway, this time I'm hoping to get a souvenir wine glass if they'll allow it. Ooh, here's a funny video of the time I went Beer Tasting. I had to throw this in somewhere on the internet. We were picked up by any other normal looking young Southern Californian, and realized just how flamboyant he can be. Rode in his fancy schmancy SUV, picked up two lovely young couples, drank at four of Santa Barbara's famous brewery's, and then got a tour of bumpy Montecito where apparently Drew Barrymore just bought a mansion in, and where Oprah and her dogs live. Enjoy!

01.08.11 All Coats & No Play

Reference coat on clearance, 16 bucks, yo.

Coat from Ross on clearance, around 25 dollars.

Coat from Marshall's, around 25 dollars.

I need to stop, I know. But I cannot help but suck myself into the "end of winter" coat sales. These coats aren't anything special. They're not name brand or anything, but they were dirt cheap, it was ridiculous. The last one is the one I'm most excited for because it's going to be a staple in my closet. It's got a classic trench design, except it has this awesome military gold design in between the buttons. It's subtle, but it also says, she's creative, hire her. I should probably mention I went to school for art and design, (and that's all I'm going to say). I actually even wore this for new years. I've got a terrible but mean story that I wish I could tell, but unluckily for my new years resolution, I told myself I'm going to try and be more nice, so I'm ashamed for even bringing it up. Ahh, this is going to kill me. I've already broken a few other resolutions.

This is also going to sound really weird, but I'm also really liking the trench, and also the first one because it has this awkward pocket angle. I hope I'm not the only one who likes this too, but whenever I place my hands in the pockets, my hands are places more towards my hips, making my arms look a lot more slimmer than they are. haha. As opposed to the second one where the pockets are more lower, and my arms just fall limp. hahahaha.