Finished!

Oh my goodness!! It took me forever to pull off a post like this. It definitely put me through a tough discipline: stick to certain products and use them up. It feels good, really good! Now I understand why my fellow blogger lovelies show off emptied containers monthly. It's like an achievement, ones that deserve oohs and ahs. We clear out the used and make room for new found loves :D. I'm so excited to share my first post of this type. 

First thing first, full sizes. 

The most epic finisher is my Clarins Ever Matte Foundation in 108 Sand. I used it pretty regularly and finished in a little bit over a year. My first two high-end foundies, Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich and Dior Skin Nude, got spoiled and dried out half way through the bottle. So those didn't count. This is actually my first time to use up a foundation! Not that it's impossible but rotating between 6 foundations and a dozen of samples at the same time is overwhelming. So I decided to finish one by one. My next target is Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick. But since they're 2 of my 3 all time favorites, they also sit on top of my repurchase list and then become a target again. Circle of life :D. We'll see.

Come closed second proudest is Tocca Giulietta perfume. It was my first full size perfume I purchased myself. I have run through full sizes before, but never have I been so excited to switch to new scents. I spritzed Giulietta like 3 times a day since April. I just want to get it done. And there I have it, an empty bottle after one and a half year.

Tom's of Maine deodorant (unscented) also took me about a year of daily uses. It's the best. Organic, effective and last a long time. Priced friendly too.

I also quickly sweep through Liz Earle Instant Boost Toner and Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Facial in about 5 months. The toner is a must for me everyday, especially in Houston humid, it gives the right amount of moisture, soothes and smoothes my skin! I replaced the Korres cream with Wild Rose 24-hr moisturizer of the same brand. It's a bit lighter and can be used any time of the day.

Kielh's ACAI damage repair serum is quite good for my discoloration but I want a more effective yet gentle serum so I'm on the hunt again. Does this thing even exist? I don't know. Give me a shout in the comment if you know a good one.

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill mascaras the Original and Stretch. I love Stretch better for the length and long wearing! I've used up several tubes already but decided to switch to YSL Babydoll.

Now comes the samples.

Don't underestimate the small Shu Uemura cleasing oil premium A/I deluxe sample (50 ml!!). It lasts for good 8 months! I love how it removes every bit of residues of makeup and conditions my skin. However, it contains mineral oils, which leaves really heavy oils afterward. A cleanser is a must afterward. So I'm looking for something less oily and still effective. *wink wink* Tatcha one step camellia cleasing oil!

I love Nars pro prim smudge proof eyeshadow primer so much that I purchased a full size not too long ago. Great stuff! It's lightweight and guarantees me no creasing or smudging.

Then Molton Brown Body Wash Patchouli and Saffron. Right now I'm debating between this and Black Pepper. Any recommendation?

The three mascara samples were just so so. Benefit BAD gal does nothing for me. Both Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara and Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara define my lashes yet no lengthening nor volumizing. And both clumps my lashes a little. Decent yet fall short for a full size order.

That's it. Now your turn my friends. Any empties this month or this year?

New Hair Cut in a Decade

Happy 4th of July!

If you followed my pinterest, this new do probably didn't surprise you. I dedicated an entire board for it! Can you believe that I stuck with simple long straight hair for the past 13 years? Although I didn't have a particularly horrific hair cut night mare, I've never had a favorite hair dresser ever in my life. The results usually turned out OK yet far from satisfying. About 3 years ago, I just stopped seeing one. I trimmed my hair myself when it reached my waist line, usually within one year. Yes all by myself! My hair was too heavy for a pony tail but I was too lazy to style it. Basically, I have no-style style. This year I was simply so tired of giving myself a hair cut. I decided to test one of Toni and Guy salons and prepared to intervene the cutter. Turned out it wasn't a necessity.

My decade-old hair style

10 inches, 2 washes, no styling what so ever later......

I feel so much better!!! Lighter head. Dry faster. Less shampoo. And best of all, it appears that I have some sort of style and it doesn't require a million styling steps. 

My stylist at Toni and Guy did an excellent job. I showed her the picture and specifically requested a low-maintenance version of it. OKed then cutting she did! She then blew dry my hair then applied hair spray to get it in the magazine-cover-shot quality and it only looked better than my careless hair above in the back. After washing my hair, I combed and fluffed it and it felt into its place except for those baby hairs at the top of my head. OMG, I love it! 

What is your happiest hair experience? Do you have a favorite hair dresser or like me you trim your hair yourself?

p.s: If you know a hair donation organization, please give me a shout in the comment. 

My Beauty Revolution: Bronzers As Bronzers

Another stereotype about Asians I want to put down: tanning-phobic. Americans have tanning-beds. Asians take whitening bath. But then both are aggressive for our skin. In Asia, whitening makeup and skincare sell like oil and gas and here we have spray tanner and bronzers. It sounds like no-brainer to create sun-kissed (or bronzed) complexion with bronzers. Ultimately, that's why they're called bronzers eh? I just didn't get it. Before you guys call me silly, I must confirm that I'm not afraid of being too pale nor too tan. In fact I really enjoy the tone and depth of my skin color, to the point that I didn't see any reason to warm it up or cool it down. So I used bronzers as blushes :D.

Then I found my perfect foundation match (Clarins Ever Matte, Burberry Sheer Luminous, and Tom Ford Traceless Stick) and realized that my face needed some dimension. The foundations even out my skin tone, which is awesome, yet also flatten my face. Since I'm not up to high-tech contoured cheekbones on a daily basis, faking sheen and bronzed cheeks sounds much easier. Now, I LOVE bronzers, those with satin finish in particular. 

Thanks to a shameful number of hours spent on blogs, tutorials, trials and errors, I finally figured ways to create an over all healthy looking skin. Here are how. 

Warm up my foundations especially for the forehead area. I've found peachy bronze is the most natural looking for this purpose and adding warmth to the high points of my face. Dior Aurora is my all time favorite. 

Add natural glow. I love bronzers with satin finish because my skin isn't completely matte. A matte bronzer doesn't look believable on me. Edward Bess Daydream works like a charm on my the high points of my cheeks. 

Create dimensions for my face. It doesn't necessarily sculpt my bone structures although we could use bronzers to contour the face for sure. Instead, I apply bronzers on to the areas where the sun naturally hits the face, i.e. forehead, sides of nose, apples of cheeks, and high-points of cheeks. Nars Laguna is a classic. For a total bronzed look, I love to layer Tom Ford blush in Savage on the apples of my cheeks on top of bronzers. This gorgeous red-tinted brown creates my natural redness when I got tanned.

I finally GOT IT.

Do you use bronzers at all? What are your favorites? And how do you use them? 

Lately

My husband's love of golf must have had certain effect. I was surprised the other day when my friends ask me the hottest players at the Shell Houston Open this year. I can name good 20 dudes who are currently under the radar!!! For those of you who don't follow the sport, Shell Houston Open is an annual professional golf tournament. We earned some free tickets as my husband volunteered for the event. While the hubs was marshaling the spectators near the green, I spent much of last Saturday beside him sunbathing and cheering his favorite golfers. Well, I do like Louis Oostheizen for his effortless powerful swing and calm manner. I also like Keegan Bradley. He's such a cute kid. Still, watching a bunch of guys hitting tiny white balls never sounds appealing idea to me. So I piled on sunscreen, put on sunglases, and scrutinized the makeup and outfits of some particularly well-dressed audience. Got some really good ideas from them!

Back to my recent love. I've been really enjoying the Real Technique brushes. Affordable, decent quality and great result. 

As usual, Sephora Birthday Gift this year is a sweet little treat. The retailer has been upgrading the gift recently. I remember about 5 years ago, it was just Sephora lipgloss duo. I didn't even use them. This year, I received deluxe sample of They're real mascara and What's up highlighter which has the same amount of product as Edward Bess full size highlighter. Not bad right? Both have good quality, too

After much pondering and testing of Tom Ford fragrance, I settle down for Santal Blush and Black Violet (I think :D). However, I must admit that I prefer those little sample than the full size bottles. I can't really choose which to get from Tom Ford. With only few exceptions, I love all the scents I've sniffed.

Hope you're doing fabulous! Any plans for April? 

Lately

It's been ages since my last Lately post. Basically, the series help me to stay on track with both my blog and now my non-blog life. It's also a way to share with you my inspiration in life, small or big.

So lately,

Our unused mileages from several airlines got turned into a full year of magazine subscription. I think we have a dozen. Ambitious I know. Not sure what made me think I could handle that much offline reading as I glue my eyes on the computers infinitely. I can't. Still love to do that though, whatever the hubs says.

I've been adjusting my skin care routine in the past few months successfully. My skin texture has been way smoother and more even. Acne scars, dull looking skin, dry patches and pigmentation are reduced. My skin is the best since the beginning of my adulthood. I can't wait to share my thoughts on some of the products and how I use them :)

The Blake Shelton concert at Livestock Show and Rodeo Houston. Love this dude on The Voice. Listening to him live is a dream come true.

I am still a control freak.

How are you doing? High-fives if you're also a captain control freak in the household!! 

My Beauty Revolution: Peace with Pinks

Asian girls are defaulted to be obsessed with pinks and Hello Kitty. I used to be not able to stand both, big time and in a serious way. No joke. In the past, I hated pinks, especially what so called Hello Kitty pink, ugh. No offense or objection to any Asian/non-Asian girls who love Hello Kitty. Call me a weirdo if you wish. Until now I still dislike the cat and the pink that has become associated with her. At my last university, we even have a hybrid Hello Kitty version of our MALE mascot, in pink with that hair bow. Gosh, that's the ultimatum. Ok ok back to the post.

For some odd reason though, I ended up with buying quite a few pinks, lipsticks, lipglosses, blushes particularly, and even pink eyeshadows. While I was disrespecting them for a long time, I grew to appreciate how brightened my skin looked with them.

Handling pink eyeshadows is way too tricky on my shallow-socketed eyes. I stick with pearly pink or golden pink with a touch of peach and brown here and there. Soft pink eye looks haven't established a permanent place in my look book.  The only exception is Edward Bess Berry Chic (a look here) that features general soft pink and berry color theme.

Edward Bess Berry Chic Palette

Dior Rose Diamond and Edward Bess Berry Chic Palette

Dior Rosy Nude and its sister Rosy Tan also have the warm soft pink that don't show up as opaque pinks on my skin tone. See, I must play safe on the eyes! 

Pink blushes, bright vibrant blue-based pinks in particular, on the other hand are now must-haves in my routine. All started with the discover of Lancome Pink Preview Lipsticks. It's cool and pale and washes out my lips yet it's an excellent blush color. Edward Bess Soft Orchid is a more neutral version of Lancome Pink Preview, subtly mimicking my natural blushing. There are also Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair, Bourjois le Cendre de Rose Brune, Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Dollface and one of the more recent procurement Chanel Joues Contrast Rose Innitiale.

     First column: Bourjois le Cendre de Rose Brune, Edward Bess Love Affair, Smashbox Radiant, Tom Ford Narcissist

      Second column: Tarte Dollface, Chanel Rose Initiale, Edward Bess Soft Orchid, 

Lancome Pink Preview

Middle: Make Up For Ever HD blush #6

But not until I swept Smashbox Radiant on my cheeks, the whole new horizon of brightening makeup laid out in front of me. At that moment, I realized my face had some blue, red, pink beside my main skin tone of yellow.  And I look good in those bright pinks. I feel lively, energized, confident. I'm myself when I wear bright pinks. I love to wear them played down. They ARE my natural blushing color. My all time favorite blush is the Tom Ford Narcissist.

Top to bottom: YSL Rouge Couture Fuchsia, Chanel Glossimier Pink Teaser, Nars Easy Lover 

Now pink lipsticks are of more my natural choices and I embrace bright pink lip colors much earlier than blushes. My lips are red-tinted and pinks complement them well. However, cool pinks like Lancome Pink Preview ain't for me. I look dead. To play safe I need brown-based or at least warm-based pinks for everyday. When I need instant boost of color, however, nothing beats a pair of sexy bright pink lips!! YSL Fuschia lipstick for the ultimate drama. Then Chanel Glossimier Pink Teaser and Nars Easy Lover for flirty and glamorous lips.

YSL Rouge Couture Fuchsia 

Do you love pinks? What is the color you've learned to love with your beauty journey?

Why do I wear makeup?

"You look good already. You don't need makeup!"
"Your nose is too flat, otherwise you'd be so beautiful."
"Try a few shades lighter. Your skin is a bit too tan. You'll look prettier with paler complexion."
"You're short, you know, so don't wear floor-length dresses."
"You're too this or that, so wear this don't rock that."
"bla bla bla"

Does any of these sound familiar to you guys? Or this one is worse to me - "Men don't like women wear makeup. Why do you do it?"

My bare face at Johnson Space Center. Not the best no-makeup shot but I remembered I was happy.

Every girl, no matter how confident, feels insecure at least one time in her life because of those kind of comments. I struggled through out my childhood to accept how I looked. My face, my body, my eye color, and almost every other features of my physical appearance used to bother me. It wasn't because I didn't feel pretty myself but the standards that the culture and society created for people. I believed everybody was beautiful, in different ways. You don't need to have hour-glass figure or perfectly symmetrical face structure to feel it. I believe we, women and man, shouldn't let what so called beauty standards dictate our view of beauty. And yet those "standards" put such a pressure on my younger self. Being different in my culture (I'm Asian in case you couldn't tell) is not encouraged. Those days were unhappy.

Until I decided I can't be anyone else but myself. So heck, I'll do what make me feel happy.

My love for makeup started at very early age, probably 7. I still remembered eyeing my mom's lipsticks.   I was thrilled when discovering how to use mascara. I used to want to grow up fast so that I can wear makeup too. With all those insecure feelings about myself, strangely enough, I never thought of makeup as something will make me look prettier or more up-to-date in someone's eyes. It has always been a way to express different aspects of myself. It has always been fun. It has never meant to please anyone but myself. I also have faith in a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet and proper exercise. I believe they work better than an anti-winkle serum or a dark-circle eraser.

Do I look more/less beautiful with makeup? You guys decide.
Do I feel more/less beautiful with makeup? I decide.
Do I feel more/less confident with makeup? No. Makeup is one of my hobbies.
Do I listen to my man if he says he doesn't want me to wear makeup? No. In fact, he has told me more than a dozen times that makeup is redundant for me. But he understands it's something that I want rather than a necessity.

Now, I don't undermine the power of makeup nor advocate for inappropriate makeup. When people compliment on my makeup, I am certainly flattered. Makeup helps me to express how I feel. And I truly appreciate people's recognition of my feelings. How do I define inappropriate? Say, I wouldn't bring red lips to work. But if I had the same "job" as the Kadashians, I would need to wear a heck lot more to stay employed rather than just smokey eyes or red lips. I think when makeup is done in the way that fits your personality and your purpose, it can change the way you feel about yourself, and therefore your life.

That's my story. I would love to hear about your opinions on wearing makeup. I understand everyone's different. So please don't argue over what's right or wrong. Please just focus on what you think.

Joanne xx