FOTD: Smoke on the Water + DSK Jewelry

As promised, here is the FOTD to yesterday's sailor dress outfit. I wanted to try out some blue eyeshadows for this look to mirror the blue ocean waters but I realize that I don't have any :o I remember I had one shimmery palette with 4 bright blues from Claire's but I have no idea where that is and it makes me look like the glitter fairy. I decided to work with browns instead using my Wet n Wild palette. I love those richly pigmented shadows so much - the next time I chance upon a CVS, I will definitely pick up the Pride palette (blues and greens) and maybe Greed (pinks and smokey eye). I'm also excited to try out some of their lipsticks and the famed Creme Eyeliner.

I also used my new Revlon Photo Ready Foundation (04 Nude). I have heard good things about this and my skin does look very even in the photos I took. The shade I chose seemed to match in store lighting but it is slightly light for me so I had to cover my face and then my neck too to blend it in. I really like how silky smooth my skin felt afterwards. It also doesn't melt off at all even after a day of wear (and a nap oops) - I had to remove it with my face wash. Coverage is about medium-heavy and I used probably a total of 2 pumps on my face, more concentrated on under-eye area. However, it did not cover up the bags as well as I would have liked. I'm not sure anything can fix that besides more sleep. Speak of which, I fixed my sleep schedule today! I went to sleep at 3 AM last night and woke at 11. I set my alarm but all the technology in my apartment is going crazy and malfunctioning - phone, internet, now alarm. The reception up here in the mountains is terrible.

I am so excited about Fourth of July! I am hopefully braving La Jolla Cove to watch fireworks there and maybe getting some beach time in before sun sets : ) Today I went to Lake Miramar with my dad and we took the beaten path with all the rocks. I think it actually was more than 5 miles because the trail was so convoluted and kept winding back on itself. All the rocks made it hard to walk on but that only made the exercise better. The water was super beautiful, reflecting the rays of cheerful summer sunshine and it wasn't too hot. I wore a long sleeve shirt to prevent unwanted tanning :D The breeze was quite cool and the atmosphere perfect. There are a lot of weird plants I'm not used to in SoCal. It's interesting to see baby palm trees next to fully-grown giants and think that they'll grow so tall someday. I ended up with a lovely shorts tanline but I'll live. It's nice to be able to synthesize some vitamin D every once in a while. Afterwards we went to a Sichuan restaurant nearby to get some spicy side dishes. Yummm. I like spicy food because it makes you pay attention to every bite! I stopped by the Bubble Tea place a few doors down and got a Large Jasmine Milk Tea with Apple boba (they have awesome FLAVOURED boba!!) and lychee jelly :D So refreshing after such a long walk.

Last but not least, thank you again to Steph of DSK Jewelry. Her beautiful handmade crystal pieces are so pretty and glisten wonderfully in the sunlight. I won the Beachy Coral Aqua necklace and a pair of green flower crystal studs in a giveaway she recently had. I absolutely love the unique shape. I've seen hearts before, stars, and leaf crystals but never coral! Her package came in 4 days and completed my nautical outfit. Be sure to give her some love and support her jewelry : )

Products used:

Wet n Wild E/S Palette in Vanity:
cream coffee brown all over lid, shimmering bronze on corners,
dark brown for shadow, matte peach for browbone highlight
Wet n Wild H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation in 04 Nude

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light for spot touch-ups

ELF Studio Complexion Perfection

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

Imju Fiberwig Mascara (3 coats), heated using heated lash curler

Burt's Bees Moisturizing Chapstick

ELF Studio Blushing and Bronzing Powder
(blush applied with ELF Studio Powder Brush.
The Contour Brush barely picks up any colour so I decided to get another flat top one and it's amazing; bronzer for nose bridge contour)

Wet n Wild Creme Eyeshadow Stick in Pixie on nose for highlight
Geo Angel Blue lenses
Delia's Polish in Mint Green

Lol ulzzang attempt? The photo was kind of blurry, so I sharpened it using Picnik and applied Orton-ish effect for a smoothed out and whiter skin look. I curled my hair slightly for that beachy wave look ♥

After a windy day and hat hair ... Revlon Photo Ready lasts ALL DAY and gives that flawless look. This was taken under shade

And now for the lovely DSK Jewelry! I love the Hello Kitty stickers!

And candy! Hehe I already eated the strawbee one. Thank you Stephanie : ) You know well that I like kawaii things :3

Such cute packaging :D

It even matches my nails! My favourite polish is mint green, hands down. Delia's isn't bad at all. After 4 goopy/streaky layers, it evened out with topcoat and became super smooth. Even with a ton of typing, it hasn't chipped much yet.

Here's me attempting to model the jewelry. Hahaha. Revlon Photo Ready looks pretty spankin' under bright sunlight too

The green earrings make perfect second piercing studs. The blue and white jewel ones are from Claire's a long time ago. I think I got them for $0.50 back when they had those awesome 10 for $5 deals.

Hope you enjoyed my little sailor girl look and check out DSK Jewelry for beautiful crystal earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Have a great Fourth of July whether it's Independence Day for you or not : ) I remember going to sleep one day and wanting to do a red white and blue smokey eye then woke up and was like .. what was I thinking .. and where do I get such shadows? Hehe I remember seeing a palette in a magazine somewhere. Now here's where a 88 shadow Coastal Scents palette would come in handy, eh?

FOTD: Heliotrope is a Shade of Purple

Did you know that? Heliotrope? It's apparently named after the flower. The endless things you learn on Wikipedia ... I've been a little under the weather today but that's probably because I forced myself to stay awake the entire night and day (since 11 PM yesterday) til now, about 11:30 PM a day later. To prevent myself from caving in and messing up my chances at a diurnal sleep schedule yet again, I went to Borders and guzzled coffee working some MCAT Inorganic Chemistry problems. For not sleeping, I did okay. I had more focus that I ever do at home, so I think I will be returning to the bookstore quite often.

Anyway, yesterday was my brother's junior high graduation and I felt I should slap on some makeup. I think in the bright light of June gloom, my makeup looked a little scary and disturbing (call .. girl ..), but I think it turned out fine in photos. My eyes were realllly purple and lips were super light fuschia. I need to fix that bathroom light when I apply my makeup xD

Products Used:

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash
ELF Mineral Primer

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light

ELF Studio Complexion Perfection

ELF Studio Blush and Bronzing Powder

ELF Studio Creme Liner in Black

Wet N Wild E/S Palette in Lust: bright purple all over lid, matte creme all over that, slightly above purple

Imju Fiberwig Mascara, 3 coats

Wet N Wild Creme Eyeshadow Stick in Pixie for nose highlight

Revlon Nude Attitude, then Clinique Lipstick in All Heart over it

Wearing:

Purple v-neck tee, F21

Hummingbird layered gold necklace, F21 (Prize redeemed from Chictopia!)

Crystal drop earrings, Claire's

Black satin bow belt, F21

Grey rose print pencil skirt, F21 *

Low heel white pumps, Payless *

Geo Angel Wing Violet Lenses

* = not shown in pictures, sorry! I was super sleepy and crashed after the ceremony. You've seen both pieces before :D Skirt and pumps in this outfit. Just switch out the top colour.

Haha don't get all excited for this bright crazy look, I was playing with Vibrance and Saturation on Photoshop xD I did not rub Cheesy Poofs all over my face, I promise.

I don't know why this eye's mascara looks so much cleaner xD Fiberwig works great on lower lashes too! I was in a bigggg hurry

The lipstick looks really really pink under gloomy yet bright skies, if you know what I mean. Odd. I basically dabbed bright red lipstick over a matte nude one.

Now for the jewelry showcase! These are some old earrings from probably as early as junior high. I have boxes and boxes filled with earrings but I'm usually too lazy to wear them xD

And now my new favourite necklace: the hummingbird layered one I redeemed from Chictopia Rewards :D It's superrrr cute and the first time I saw this necklace was on Aney's blog when she featured her silver version of this precious piece. I thought that I wouldn't like the gold but I actually really like this necklace in a warm tone. The only problem with it that the beaded chain likes to catch and get stuck on other pieces of the necklace so I have to constantly untangle it. The hummingbird is my favourite part - oh bird imagery is timeless.

Still trying to grow out my hair. I like my currently hair colour in the shade but when I step under bright sunlight, it almost matches my skin D: (okay, I jest). Should I dye it black? Maybe even foregoing my natural dark brown. BLACK. Should I risk it? I dyed my hair April .. so it may be a bit soon. You tell me, lovelies :D

FOTD: "Au" Digger (Wet N Wild Vanity E/S Palette)

Well aren't I clever? Haha. I didn't want to use Gold Digger as my title, but the nerdy chemical version will do. This is the makeup I wore with yesterday's look. I took all the photos outdoors so in bright sunshine, it may look different than the bathroom lighting you guys are used to.

I was going for a more natural look so if this melts right into my skin tone, that's probably why. It's a nice, pretty sun-gorgeous look for summer : )

Products used:

Wet N Wild E/S Palette in Vanity: bronze shimmery shade all over lid, gold on inner half of lid, pearl for browbone, a little gold swept under lower lashline
ELF Mineral Primer

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light

ELF Studio Complexion Perfection

ELF Studio Creme Eyeliner in Black

NYC False Lashes, cut in half and glued to outer corners

Imju Fiberwig Mascara

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

ELF Studio Cool Bronzer for cheekbone contour

ELF Healthy Glow Bronzer Powder in Luminance for nose highlight

Revlon Nude Attitude, then ELF Mineral Lipstick in Rosy Tan

Clear contacts (yay natural eyes!)

Yes, I do realize that up close my lashes are crooked. Didn't prevent me from batting them though :3

See how my eyes look flirtier? Just cut your normal lashes in half and apply them along the outer corners (works perfectly with winged eyeliner. I dislike wearing full falsies anyway. Can never align them right.

Looks odd from above, eh? I applied Fiberwig to lengthen my inner lashes that weren't eaten by my falsies.

This is in full sunlight taking a walk through the neighborhood. My new camera makes the sky look more awesome than it actually is. Now that's talent. No editing of the colours at all. My hair is actually quite light. Never noticed that until now. Good? Bad? Should I dye it some abysmally uber dark colour? Btw, I don't know why I look so pissed xD

 I leave you with an adorable picture of a baby Squirrel monkey. I did think they were a crossbreed of squirrels and monkeys for a second but they're way more uber. Lookie that precious hug the crap out of that fuzzy duck :D

Do you like my bathroom lighting photos better or these new bright sunshine ones? I don't know which pics up more colour. And how do you get rid of the tiny tiny little brow hairs that like to hang out around your crease? Never see them til you take super macro pictures and blow them up.

Ah, yet another giveaway :) This is Cosmetic Outlet's NARS Giveaway. You can win a Sheer Glow Foundation, Blush, and Eyeshadow Single/Duo.

Enjoy your Friday, sweets~

Wet n Wild Haul: Glitz-licious and Glamourous

After watching Iron Man 2 on opening night (accidentally, in fact), I had around $13 left after purchasing the movie tickets I wasn't supposed to purchase. Long story short, I participated in the Eco-Friendly Fashion Show and won a raffle of 2 AMC movie tickets, which I tried to use at the Esquire but they wouldn't let me for a "special event" like Iron Man 2 pfft. Well, luckily the movie was worth every penny. [By the way, as I'm typing, all the words I'm saying come out in my head in British. What? I guess that happens after watching charlieissocoollike on Youtube. He's bloody brilliant!]

Walgreens had a Buy one get one half off deal going on for Wet n Wild, so I figured I would get some things I've wanted to try. I like the E/S Palettes because they're very pigmented with primer and because there's 6 shadows for $5 ... not bad. Since it's buy one get one half off, I nabbed both for $7.50. I can live with 12 shadows for less than a dollar each : ) The brush applicator they give you is useless, toss it. I just used my ELF Studio Eyeshadow Brush and it's pretty amazing. It picks up colours and I can keep dipping it into another colour but it will only deposit the colour I want. Is it magic? Perhaps. I also have been looking for an orange/tangerine lipgloss but don't want any of that sheer nonsense, so I found one that looked similar but it was more reddish so I didn't risk it. Also wanted to get some dry shampoo but I realized that I ran out of money.

Purchased:

Wet n Wild Craze Nail Polish in Glitz (the crazy purple glitter LOVE it)

Wet n Wild Craze Nail Polish in Goldmine (a yellowish gold)

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Polish in Blazed (a coral hot pink)

Wet n Wild E/S Palette in Vanity (browns)

Wet n Wild E/S Palette in Lust (purples)

Wet n Wild Dual Pencil Sharpener (which is PERFECT for my big fat Wet n Wild Creme Eyeshadow Stick thank goodness)

Vanity: normal lighting

Vanity: flash

Lust: normal lighting

Lust: flash

Glitz: normal lighting. I love these little bottles! I think I will eventually buy all of the Craze polishes because they're so adorable and application is amazing. I bought this obnoxious purple glitter polish because it reminds me of 7th grade, a little bottle I had with purple and blue glitter. This one is mostly purple, blue, and white small glitters. I like how it dazzles in sunlight.

Glitz: flash

Glitz: up close

Goldmine: normal lighting. I don't really love this colour because I think it's too yellow but it's still nice. It's a cremey, slightly sparkly yellow-gold. The cap is too adorable!

Goldmine: up close

Blazed: normal lighting. I bought this for my toes, I wanted something bright to wear with my sandals. It turns out to look a lot more hot pink/reddish than coral and makes my skin look more than than it is D: Still a pretty shade. The polish is super smooth to the touch : )

I'll do a look with the purple palette sometime. I love purples for brown eyes - they're so compatible and lovely. I've also become interested in the Ashton DSLR .. Nikon D3000 or D5000? Have you heard good things about it? It seems like a dummy-proof DSLR, which flies in my book. I hope it's not too heavy either.

Tell me if you have any camera recommendations! From my deluge of photos, you can definitely tell I need good colour (if my dress is purple, I want it to show up as purple and not blue), macro, and shutter speed. Thanks lovelies~