Current Obsession: Wet N' Wild

Recently while perusing the aisles of the drugstore, I came across the wet n' wild brand, which has been widely talked about in the beauty community. I have never paid much attention to this brand, probably because of the "too good to be true" prices and it's tacky packaging. However, just for fun I picked up a few of their products, fell in love, and have since gone back for more. 

Here is my small but well loved collection of wet n' wild makeup:

1. Mega Last Lip Color - 901B Think Pink
2. Mega Last Lip Color - 903C Just Peachy
3. Color Icon eyeshadow single - Brulee
4.  Color Icon eyeshadow single - Nutty

These lipsticks are completely matte but they are not so drying if you put lipbalm underneath or some gloss on top. I like the matte texture because it doesn't feel like you're wearing a lipstick, and it lasts forever.
I absolutely love the colors of these. They are so vibrant and yet still very wearable. The coral peach shade is almost an exact color dupe for YSLs Rouge Volupte in No 30 that you guys know I'm obsessed with. Obviously, the texture comes nowhere near the YSL, but the color is so pretty and really lifts the face, not to mention it is much longer lasting. The bubblegum pink is really nice as well; it is like a brighter version of creme cup. These are the only colors I found in the collection that I would wear, but I saw online that they do make a nude shade, which I am trying to hunt down.

The only thing I hate about these lipsticks is the packaging. It is as cheap as they come, and not only that, the lipstick does not twist all the way down into the tube so it impossible to pop off the cap without nicking the lipstick.
Other than that, I love these!

I picked two of the neutral eyeshadow shades in the collection, nutty and brulee, and I am obsessed with them both! The quality of these eyeshadows isn't the greatest and can be a bit powdery if applied with a fluffy brush, but for $2, they are well worth it to me.
Brulee is a nice matte skin-toned pinky beige color which is really convenient to wear all over the lid and as a subtle highlight. Nothing that you need to run out and get, but I didn't have a shade like it in my collection so it was well appreciated. Nutty on the other hand, is amazing and I am so seriously in love with it I will probably keep it in my collection forever. It is a dirty brown color with a taupe sheen running through it. To me, it is like a more wearable version of MACs club. It is so pretty on it's own for a natural smokey look and I have also been wearing it in the crease with brulee on the lid on most days. 

I also really enjoy the tiny, bare minimum packaging of these single eyeshadows - they're cute and easy to store and carry.

Overall, I really love this brand. I really want to try out some of their eyeshadow palettes and possibly some more lip products. The collection is small so it is easy to get all the colors that suit you without being overwhelmed. There's nothing that really rivals high end makeup, but nonetheless it is inexpensive and fun to buy and use =)

I also want to thank everyone who has been reading and commenting on my posts. I love blogging and your thoughts are well appreciated!
Hope you had a good weekend =)
<3

Monday sights

Love this cardigan, courtesy of my good friend for Christmas =)

A shopping list is brewing...

Just finished The Lost Symbol. So good! Any suggestions for next book?

Wishing for summer... :/

Have a good week!

<3

Girl's night

Last night, after hours of "so...what do you want to do"s, me and a few of my friends decided to have a little girl's night at a nightclub in Hoboken.

We ended up having so much fun getting ready, doing our makeup, drinking, and of course, dancing =)



Us, plus mystery man in the back >: /



Me and my friend Stef, from Inspiration by S



My friend Sarina wanted me to do her makeup, so I decided to experiment a little with the look, and ended up with this navy blue smokey eye I guess you could call it.

I used:

Nars thunderball - concentrate towards the lashes and smoked outwards

Benefit Hoola - to blend out into crease

MAC club - on lower lashline

Sephora Aspen Summit - inner corner

Clinique gel liner

Maybelline the Falsies mascara
MAC margin blush

Wet n' Wild 903C "Just Peachy" lipstick

Sephora No 14 lipgloss



Hope you guys are all having a good weekend! =)

Products I'm loving right now

Recently I have discovered some products that I have really been enjoying using, so I thought I'd share with you =) 

These first two products are kind of similar, even though they are meant for different things. 

BECCA Eye Tint - Vacuna 

Orgasm Illuminator 

                                                                                                                                       Orgasm                           BECCA eye tint 

As you can see, they are both shimmery liquid/cream products. 

I was first turned on to Becca products after watching Lisa Eldridge's videos, and the eye tint seemed like something I would really like. It comes in a variety of very neutral colors; I chose one of the lightest ones, which I was hesitant about because some reviews complained that it was barely visible on the lids. I personally love the color. It really brightens up the eye and is the perfect product for a barely there makeup look because it takes 2 seconds to apply. I have just been wacking this on with a little bit of gel eyeliner and I LOVE it.

It stays tacky after it has "dried" so I think it would work well as an eyeshadow base. It does crease slightly, but only if you apply a lot. This also works amazing as a highlighter, but make sure you test it out first if you have sensitive skin. 

The Orgasm illuminator is a sample that I got with my sephora beauty insider points, which I didn't think would be anything special, but I really like it. 

It applies really smooth and liquidy and imparts a beautiful peachy glow to your cheeks. You could use it anyway you want - as a highlight for your cheekbones, under your blush, mixed in with foundation. It is such an easy product to use; I love the packaging! You have to be careful to blend out the edges though, otherwise you're left with an obvious patch of highlighter, but otherwise, it's amazing!

MAC Creme Cup lipstick

Lately I've been more daring with my lipstick. Daring as in, wearing things other than nude, and this pink is so pretty. The cremesheen formulation is always great and the color a very wearable blue toned pink. 

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

I wanted to see what all the hype was about and so far I have really enjoyed using this. I apply it with a regular flat foundation brush, which I'm not really a fan of, but it seems to work the best. I like to use stippling brushes, and sometimes I will use a stippling brush after I've applied it just to buff it in - this gives such a nice effect. 

It gives good coverage and is really nice to work with, but I don't really get the dewey complexion that I thought I would with a name like "sheer glow". But, so far, I'm happy =)

Origins Ginger Souffle

This just sounds delicious. And it smells delicious too. It is basically a huge tub of body moisturizing goodness. 

It is a very light moisturizer and it soaks into your skin quickly, so it's good if you don't like a sticky feeling that lingers. It works like a dream and I'm glad I will be using this for a good while. 

LUSH Shampoo Bar - Karma Komba

Who doesn't want their hair to smell like karma? 

I have always been so skeptical of these shampoo bars. They look funny, and seriously, how does one wash their hair with a soap bar? But after buying this and trying it out, I am now a believer in shampoo bars, and I would love to try out some of the other ones. I still don't know how the hell it works, but you only need to rub this through your hair for a few seconds and you will have the fluffiest lather ever. 

Each one is supposed to work for a different hair concern. Karma in particular is good for detangling knotty hair, which I don't think is very true, but it is good for deep cleaning. It is a shampoo that really clarifies and gets rid of all the grease and gunk in your hair. Some people might find this "stripping", but I have oily hair and it works really well for me. This would be really good for every other washes, so that you don't strip your hair of its natural oils, but you can still keep oily hair in check. 

*Beware, do not leave this in the shower unattended. It will melt.*

So there are a few of the products I've been really enjoying lately. 

Do you have any products that you have been particularly loving recently?

Inglot

I was so excited when I found out there was an Inglot in Vegas, as I've heard so many things about the company. Naturally, I had to go have a look for myself. 

The store itself is like a playground for makeup addicts, with rows and rows of eyeshadow, lip, and cheek colors.  Everything is really sleek and modern and looks really expensive, but the products are surprisingly affordable. 

With their freedom system, you could pick any one of their palettes ranging from 2 pans to 10 pans and customize the shape of the pans (circle or square) and of course, the colors and products. I stuck with the eyeshadows, which were overwhelming enough on their own. With so many colors, it's so hard to choose which ones you want. I ended up picking out the colors that I absolutely had to have and then choosing the palette that would fit them. I ended up with this:

Unfortunately there are no catchy names for the eyeshadows so I can only give you the "code" that is on the back of the pans. 

KE31CF                                                                KD29CW                                                             K123CJ

Yes, I only walked out with 3 eyeshadows! But if I had to pick more, I would have spent too many hours in that store. Each of the eyeshadows is the same size as a MAC eyeshadow and for all 3 of them I paid $16. Also, refills for the palette are only $5 each. 

I can safely say that I am obsessed with my purchases! The shadows are such good quality and they all have the same buttery smooth texture, even the really glittery ones like the one on the left. 

One thing that really impressed me was the quality of the lighter colors. Sometimes with lighter eyeshadows, the texture can get a bit chalky and not as smooth or rich as the darker ones. But at Inglot there were so many golds and shimmery champagne colors that swatched amazingly, like the light gold one that I purchased. The gold is the only one I've worn so far. It is such a unique color in my opinion and looks really nice as a wash of color all over the lid. 

The palette is durable, compact, and comes with a little mirror on the inside. I didn't really think about getting colors that went well with each other, but this palette would be great for traveling. Not all the palettes are of the same design though, some of the other ones have a translucent magnetic cover, which is nice also. 

I am really lucky that one of the five Inglots in the U.S is located in New Jersey, so I can conveniently revisit it again in the future. 

If you get the chance, you should definitely go to Inglot - it's just really fun =) 

Vegas!

I'm back from Vegas and so exhausted, but it was such a ridiculously fun trip. Lot's of roulette, heels, clubbing, bruises, and laughs. I took my SLR out for the first time so the pictures aren't the greatest, a lot of them were blurry, but I did learn a little more about picture taking =) 

The Belagio

I treated myself to this Thomas Sabo bracelet after winning $200 on roulette! 

My friends and I had an amazing time and I would love to go back again. For now, my body is in need of some serious TLC.

I also stopped at an Inglot in Vegas, which I was so excited about because I've heard such good things about the brand and I will definitely do a post about it soon!

xx

Travel makeup

Me and my girlfriends are going on a 4 day trip to Vegas tomorrow so I thought I'd do a post on the makeup I like to bring with me when traveling. 

It's always hard to decide what to bring. I hate being confined to a certain set of things and not having the freedom to choose from my whole collection, whether it be clothing or makeup. Ugh I hate packing! 

When it comes to stuff like foundation, bronzer, and highlighter, it's enough to choose one of each thing and be content. But with eyeshadows, blushes, and lip products it's hard to pre-select the colors that I'm going to be wearing, especially in a place like Vegas. 

Anyways, here are the things I will be bringing,

My travel makeup bag

Face and Cheeks 

 I wanted to bring more cream/liquid products because its so dry in Vegas

L'oreal Studio Secrets primer

NARS sheer glow foundation 

MUFE HD powder

Benefit hoola bronzer 

MAC margin blush

MAC cream colour bases - virgin isle and tickle me pink 

NARS Orgasm illuminator (I love this!!)

Eyes

Palettes are the best!

MAC Painterly paint pot 

MAC Taupographic shade stick

My MAC palette

NARS essential eye palette

MAC soften the mood eyeshadow trio 

Milani silver charm eyeshadow

Clinique gel eyeliner 

MAC black swan eyeliner 

Maybelline brow definer 

L'oreal Telescopic 

L'oreal Bare Naturale

Lips 

A coral, a pink, a mauve, a nude, and a gloss that goes with them all

YSL rouge volupte - no. 30

MAC Creme Cup

MAC Blankety

Revlon Soft Nude

Sephora gloss - no. 14

Seems like a lot, but if it fits in the bag, then it's good for me =) 

I'm so excited! Will be back next week with some updates!

<3

Squeaky clean brushes

I always try to keep my brushes in tip top condition, and that means washing them regularly is a must. To me, there is something therapeutic about washing brushes so it is a chore that I enjoy doing. 

In the past, I've used various shampoos, and brush cleansers that have cleaned my brushes, but only to a certain extent. I'm always left with a small amount of makeup residue and the brushes never look completely clean, especially the white goat hair ones. 

Until one day I decided to wash my brushes with one of the random Dove shampoos sitting in my shower. The particular one that I have is the Go Fresh Therapy shampoo for normal hair. Not only does this lather like crazy, but after washing and drying, my brushes look like they did when I first got them without a trace of makeup on them. I love using this shampoo as a brush cleaner; it keeps my brushes conditioned and fresh smelling too! 

Here are some dirty brushes:

And after washing with some of the Dove shampoo...

Bam! Squeaky clean brushes =)

For spot cleaning in between uses and when I'm in a rush, I use some MAC brush cleaner on a paper towel, which works really well for desanitizing and for getting most of the makeup off, but for deep cleaning this is what I much prefer. 

What do you guys use to clean your brushes?

An award!

I recently received the Versatile Blogger Award by Yu from Let's MakeYuUp, who's blog I love to read. To me, it seems that these awards are just a nice way to get the word along about blogs that you like and I am thrilled to be able to take part in the fun =)

The "Rules":

1. Thank and link back to who gave you the award

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Pass it along to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy

4. Leave your recipient a note, telling them about the award.

7 Things About Me

1. Despite my quiet asian girl appearance, I am quite rambunctious on the inside. 

2. I love animals - and not just the cute and cuddly cats and dogs, but the squirrels, birds, and bears too =) 

3. My dream career is in dermatology. I understand that this is a long journey, but I just got accepted into med school and I'm so excited for this first step! 

4. I can clean my room, and it will be messy the next day. 

5. I have a number of behavioral quirks, one of them being my complex with clean feet. I clean my feet several times a day =x

6. I am a food lover - I never deny myself of something I want to eat. Now, I am not a complete fat lard, but I do enjoy to indulge my taste buds =) I'll eat anything and everything; I love trying new foods from different cultures!

7. I just got a new camera, the Canon 1000D, as a birthday present and I am obsessed. I'm in love with this new hobby and learning new things about photography. 

7 Blogs I Love 

1. Dutchess Roz

2. Chic Geek

3. Ramblings of a Cosmetic Junkie 

4. Inspiration by S

5. Kelanjo

6. My Precious Nailpolish

7. Makeup by Ansa

Hope you check these girls out they are amazing! Thanks again Yu for tagging me in your award =)