9.30.2012

Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

Just stopping by to wish you all a wonderful and happy Mid Autumn festival. Some people know it as Moon Cake Day. If you are celebrating, please have a moon cake for me! I don't have an Asian store nearby that sells them in the area I live in. Happy Sunday and go JETS!


Image taken from: Pure Travel

9.29.2012

MAC Haul: The Marilyn Monroe Collection

This past Tuesday I was able to attend the Marilyn Event in Shrewsbury before its official launch. The place was packed and though my girlfriend and I got there at 7:30 (the event started at 7), a few items were already sold out, including one of the lipsticks I had really wanted. So when I went to the city on Thursday and went to the MAC store at Grand Central, I managed to snatch the LAST one. The SA made sure to let me know it was the last one, by bidding me farewell with "enjoy our LAST Charmed, I'm sure."

Anyway, back to the event itself. If you have ever been to a MAC event, you know it's madness. Women of all ages come to purchase these limited edition items and to socialize. All the MUA there that night were gorgeous in sparkling black dresses and platform heels. There were young guys passing drinks and hors d'oeuvres. My friend and I grabbed a prosecco, a form of sparkling wine and tried to browse the items. I was rather disappointed they only had one display of the items. I could not for the life of me find the beauty powder and it was a free for all for the lipsticks. Women didn't place the items back properly in the display (something that drives me up the wall) and of course there was some slight purse stabbing.

About a half an hour later my wonderful, patient friend and I exited the store with our goodies in tow. I mainly focused on the lip products and only purchased one eye shadow. I was disappointed at how light the blushes were and two out of the four eye shadows looked so similar and since I didn't even get to look at the beauty powder I passed on it all together. I do like what I purchased, especially Charmed, I'm Sure and Little Rock. If you are interested in the line, check your counters because the website is all sold out of the limited edition items. All right, this is long enough, here is my haul.

For those of you lucky enough to snag something from the line, what do you think of it? 

9.26.2012

September Favorites

I can't believe September has flown by! It was a pretty packed month, Beau's birthday along with other gatherings with great friends and food have definitely made the time fly faster. Fall is officially here and though I'm more fond of the summer, I look forward to the fall with its pumpkin treats, Halloween and my birthday!

My favorites this month were pretty minimal since I've been very simple with my routine. I guess I've kinda been into the natural look as of late. Sometimes I'll feel bold and use a bright lip to spice things up, but yeah that's pretty much it.

Lips:
-Inglot Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil in 28: This is a beautiful bright fuchsia pink and because it's a matte formula, the color tends to stay for quite a while on my lips. The only gripe is that it's not self sharpening so you lose some of the product when you sharpen it.

-NAR Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover: This was from my dear friend Steph last year for my birthday. I have to say this is so lovely. It slides on smoothly and gives my lips the appearance of a fuller pout. Definitely been using this a lot.

Eyes:
-L'Oreal Infallible Laquer Liner Brush: I vary in my cream eyeliners and while I do really enjoy the L'Oreal Infallible Gel liner, I love the brush. The bristles are dense enough to not be flimsy and it creates a smooth line. I have mastered my winged eyeliner with this brush.

-MAC Brow Set in Beguile: Since I love to color my hair my brows don't always match and instead of bleaching my brows like I used to do, I use this brow set. Not only does the brow set add a bit of color, it holds my brows in place. I'm thinking of investing in the other colors in case I do change my hair color in the future.

-Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Eyeshadow in Barely Beige: This is a limited edition color found in their current collection. This is still currently out so if you have a chance, please go see if you can find this. It's close in color to Bare Study, a MAC Paint Pot, but it's relatively lower in price. While I picked this one out to be my favorite this month, I do love all the ones I have, especially Bad to the Bronze and Bold Gold. These are great as a primer, base or just as a stand alone eye shadow. I have yet to have it crease on it even on the hottest days.

-Maybelline the Falsies' Waterproof Mascara Black Drama: I love my lashes with this mascara. They are super long and hold my curl. Paired with the Tattoo Cream Gel eye shadow, I look refreshed.

Face:
-MAC Mineralize Skinfish Natural in Medium Plus: I shelved this for a while and decided to bring it back. On really hot days, I'll have to blot once or twice but overall, this powder does help with setting my liquid foundation.

-L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Medium: While this is nothing like an Asian BB Cream, I really enjoy this. People with scarring or deep pigmentation will probably hate this because there isn't much coverage or concealing but it just gives me a polished look and with the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural topping it, it's great for everyday.

-Neutrogena Shine Control Liquid Makeup: I wanted a foundation that I could use on warm days without looking like a greaseball. After hearing some positive reviews about it, I decided to try it. Let's just say I like it enough to keep using it. I don't know if I will repurchase it though.

What are your favorites? Have you tried any of these? What did you think of them? Happy Hump Day!

9.24.2012

Review: HANA Professional Flat Iron 1"

A couple of weeks ago, Brian from Misikko contacted me to do a review on the popular HANA Professional Flat Iron 1". If you have been a reader of my blog for some time you will know that I have been approached before to review another iron and their blow dryer as well. (If you would like to read the reviews, please click here.)

I'm not going to lie, the HANA Titanium Ionic flat iron sent to me previously is considered to me, one of the best hair straighteners I've ever used. I haven't tried the coveted GHD flat irons, but when I received the Titanium Ionic flat iron, I replaced my BedHead straightener after only two uses just because it was that good. So when Brian asked me to review this 1" flat iron, I agreed knowing I would receive a quality product to review for my readers.

After I told Brian I would agree to review the flat iron, I received confirmation emails of the shipment and my package arrived withing days. I was glad to see that their fast shipping had not changed. Later in the day I opened the package to find it riddled with goodies. There was also a thank you note included. I also found out that every package sent out contains goodies as a thank you to their customers.

I took all the plastic out and left the iron out
Now to the iron itself.

Here are the features:

  • Advanced Tourmaline Ceramic Plates for Accelerated Ion Generation and Maximum Frizz-Free, Conditioning Shine
  • Ceramic is naturally hygienic, protects color & retards fading
  • Floating 1" Plates Auto-Adjust To Glide Over Any Hair Texture
  • Curved Plate Edges For Versatile Styling - Curl, Flip or Straighten!
  • Adjustable Temperature Dial - 5 Settings from 140-450° F for All Hair Types
  • Flash Heats in Seconds with Instant Compensation for Heat Loss
  • Ergonomic Handle Design with No-Slip Grip
  • Smooth Grooves Keep Hair Strands Separate and Snag-Free
  • Tangle-Free Salon Quality Cord Swivels 360°; Convenient Hanging Loop
  • Energy Efficient at 38 Watts
  • Independent On/Off Switch
  • Includes Luxe Heat Proof Storage Pouch, Heat Proof Silicone Mat, & Special Edition Tin Case
  • Two Year Warranty
  • LED indicator light remains steady when iron is heating up and will blink when desired temperature is reached. If the light is off but the switch is set to On, the iron is decreasing temperature to a lower setting.(Text from: Misikko.com)
On the website the flat iron is priced at $129.98. A pretty hefty price but this is considered a professional, quality hair straightener. There is also a two year warranty for the flat iron which is nice.

The HANA Professional Flat Iron 1" is pretty popular on the blogsphere. If you type it into Google, there are plenty of reviews, most positive, some mixed but what it all boils down to is your hair type. Girls with thicker, coarser hair may not find this hair straightener to be ideal, while girls with fine, thin hair may fall in love with it. With me, this flat iron left my hair silky straight and smooth. My natural hair is pretty straight, but the ends are a bit damaged from coloring.
The iron is pretty light and easy to maneuver. Its rounded edges make it easy to use for curls as well. When I turned it on, the iron heated up very quickly around 30 seconds, which was impressive. After sectioning off my hair, I went to work with the iron. Overall it was fine, but I did notice that if I didn't brush a section of hair before I straightened it, it wouldn't slide down as smoothly and it felt like it was pulling on my hair. Also, for those of you who didn't know, if the temperature of your iron is too hot, it causes that unsightly crimp in your hair. Read your instruction manuals to determine what heat setting is right for you. Mine was between the 302 and 370 marks.
The end results, silky, smooth straight hair. I added some Moroccan Oil to the ends and a heat tamer before I started but that's it. Overall this a high quality iron that is light in your hands and gets the job done. If I want pin-straight hair I'll take my time but if I just want a polish look, this flat iron gets the job done in less than 10 minutes. I would recommend this flat iron to those with thin hair, wavy hair and slightly colored hair. Girlies with very thick coarse hair may not have the same results.

What is your favorite flat iron? Do you like them, hate them or don't care? Happy Monday and I will talk to you all very soon.

***This was sent by the company for review consideration. Please know all my reviews are honest and based on solely my experience with the products. The results may differ for you. I also do not receive any money for my reviews.***

9.22.2012

Big Bang is Back!

(image courtesy: Ticketmaster)

So I set my alarm for 9:40 to wake up to get a ticket to go see Big Bang in concert on November 9th and waited patiently for the 20 minutes to pass so I could purchase it. Am I crazy? Probably so. Good news? I got me a great seat! I'm in the first row of one of the lower level seating sections. So this means I won't be having some other fan's huge sign in my face and some leg room!

I am so excited! Anyway, the reason I was sharing this blog post was to ask if any one of my readers is going to the concert as well. If so what will you be bringing? Wearing? Who's your favorite (biased)?

I'm getting back into the swing of things on here. Reviews and favorites to come up this week! 

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