FOTD: Coraline + Thank you Ashley, Kiwiberry, Mukuchu!

This was the makeup I did for yesterday's outfit. I decided to venture into applying false lashes and boy do they make a huge difference! I'm still used to more subtle looks with just mascara but the Kiwiberry-sponsored ones I won from Ashley's giveaway are really nice! The criss-crossing is really natural the lashes aren't too long so I didn't even really have to cut them for my eyes. There were little tabs of extra plastic that I didn't know what to do with so I just cut them off xD Also, thank you to Mukuchu for the adorable pink contact lens case! Goodness knows I need to always keep one in my purse when I go out to prevent more art museum disasters (props if you guys remember that one). The black one was sold out and really reminded me of Anna Sui but this pink one is even prettier. I use the mirror frequently for touchups as well.

Did you notice? I also dyed my hair. Yay for no icky roots! I used Revlon Colorsilk in 54 Light Golden Brown, a shade lighter than my previous dye. It actually made my hair .. darker hahaha I don't know how that happened. It will fade soon, so hopefully it's not way too light because I am going to be a tanned beach bunny when I head back to school.

Whenever I go to Walmart with my dad I always sneak in some makeup. I feel awful but I have been wanting these Revlon Super Lustrous Lipglosses in Lilac Pastelle and Coral Reef for absolutely forever! I finally picked them up for about $5.46 each. I love the creamy texture and they have great staying power. The downside is they are uber hair magnets! I shrieked when I stepped outside into the wind and it ended up all over my face and hair. More thorough review to come later with swatches :D Coral Reef is definitely a nice bright colour that is perfect for summer.

I found that this mineral makeup is best used for light coverage and flash photography. In my outfit photos, everyone could tell how tired I was because my undereye bags were showing x_x I would love any recommendations for under-eye anti-aging creams and other goodies for old young people like me hahaha.

Products used:

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

ELF Studio Concealer Pencil in Light

ELF Mineral Blemish Kit in Clear

ELF Mineral Foundation in Light

ELF Mineral Blush in Plum

ELF Mineral Booster in Sheer

ELF Studio Cream Eyeliner in Black

L'Oreal Double Extend Primer + Mascara

Kiwiberry Criss-cross false lashes in #1

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Nude,

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Coral Reef on top

In shade: (Yes I did edit out my baggage in this first photo below only to let you see how awesome I would look if I had done some more sleeping this summer haha)

 I'm The Flash baby, be my Supercamera

 

Shade: Hahaha this my fave picture. I can just imagine making this face after eating some delicious Italian food. Mamma mia, e molto delizioso!

Setting sun Soft Nude + Coral Reef:

Setting sun wearing Soft Nude only:

Just can't see to get rid of the red in my hair

Revlon Colorsilk, the dye I always use. I just love the conditioner afterwards, makes your hair super soft

Now more detail about the lashes! Thank you Kiwiberry ♥ A whole blinking box!

 

Crazy difference, right?

Revlon Colorburst in Soft Nude (flash):

Now onto the kawaii lens case. It's pretty big - maybe the size of a computer mouse? The rose and details are so elegant and princessy. When I use this I feel like I'm staring into a personal mini vanity. Thank you Mukuchu!

I absolutely love this bright coral lip colour! I might do some crazier looks later with the falsies when they really make an impact. They don't seem to show up in outfit pictures much so I might just stick with eyeliner :D For you makeup bloggers, what camera setting do you find picks up colour the best? So far I've been using flash and it picks up much better than bright sunlight or bathroom lighting. I still have sooo many posts to write hahaha. Enjoy your day!

Warm Spring Hair Colour

My suitemates and I all dyed our hair last week for fun. Totally spontaneous, totally spring. My roomie and I actually biked down to a local grocery store and made tough decisions looking at the multitude of shades and boxes.

I went with Revlon Colorsilk (in 53 Medium Golden Brown) of course. It's cheap (at most $4.00) and dyes dark hair relatively well. The major plus is that it's ammonia-free = no bleach! I left it in for probably 1.5-2 hours (I know, really awful for my scalp), making sure that my hair would turn lighter brown but in fact, my hair never wants to play along and it turned more red than anything. At first, my hair was barely noticeably different but after a week of showering and shampooing, it's been turning lighter brown-red. Yay!

These pictures probably aren't good indicators because my hair is turning lighter brown each day, but now the colour is a lot more even. No more black roots mixed with red/dark brown ends : )

I have no idea what that white thing is

With flash ... it's so red o_O

It's pretty much obnoxiously red. I like that word. Obnoxiously.

It's a colour I'm not ashamed to wear at home : ) If you remember my debacle last year, I managed to dye the top half of my head red-orange and the bottom half dark brown. What uber fail. I had to ask my Dad to help me dye it back to dark brown xD

PS: Must ... resist ... urge ... to cut hair short x_x
PPS: Emily is having her first giveaway ^__^

DIY Hair Dye: From Black to Auburn

This spring, I decided to do something I have always wanted to try: dyeing my hair! I learned a lot through my beginner's experiment, and I'll give tips on how not to make the same mistakes I did. This will save you the trouble of hair dye blunders and let you keep that $40 for something nice, not the salon. However, if you want a perfect dye and are willing to spend the money, professionals are the way to go! They know what they're doing much more than I do.

Natural hair colour: dark brown/black with dark brown highlights (typical Asian hair)
Hair thickness: relatively fine
Eyebrows: soft black (quite light)

I used Revlon Colorsilk in Light Auburn (#53), an ammonia-free (no bleach) dye that claims to leave your hair silkier and smoother than before you coloured. After I put in the post-treatment conditioner, my hair was really a lot softer for weeks! The best thing is, this dye is around $3, very affordable drugstore brand.



I put on a white shirt that could take the damage, brushed my hair and separated it (poorly) into 4 parts, and piled on the dye, making sure each strand was wet. However, I ended up pouring most of it on my roots to make sure I didn't miss them, and the result was ... well, read on.

I thought this would only show up a little bit in my hair, and the dye itself was purplish, so as time elapsed, it looked very dark with bright red undertones. I was pretty excited. I waited for about 2 hours and 30 minutes, much longer than the box suggested (killing cells, I know) since dark hair takes a lot longer to absorb dye. When I hopped out of the shower and dried my hair, I was so shocked! I had a crown of orangish red hair D: !!! So my hair looked intentionally two-toned in the wrong lighting, my bottom strands nearly the original colour.


Some people loved it, others said I looked like I was wearing a wig. After a while, the colour evened out. I really love how versatile the colour is. I didn't have to trim my bangs as often, and my eyebrows looked more defined simply because my hair was lighter. It's a very typical Asian colour, so if you have dark hair, you should try it once!

In sunlight, it looks like this:

And in bathroom/yellow lighting:

I also experimented on my boyfriend's very black hair and after 45 minutes, his dyed strands were a dark brown (similar to my original hair colour). This would be great for a very subtle hair colour change or highlights!

After about 2-3 months, I tired of my dark roots of evil so I decided to go back to black (or dark brown). I originally planned on re-dying the bottom portion of my hair to match the top, but it was too much of a hassle and I didn't want to drown my scalp in chemical. So after a haircut, I took a few strands of the darker bottom half of my hair to Walmart and matched up the colour with boxes of Revlon Colorsilk. I chose Dark Brown (#30):

My hair was shorter this time, so it was easier to dye and get all the layers. Tip: always start from the bottom strands near the back of your neck and go up from there. Separate your hair into smaller bunches for more even coverage if you have longer hair and emphasize your tips! The colour was also darker, so 30 minutes would have been plenty but I left it in for over an hour and got a pretty black result. However, after a while without the colour-treated conditioner, it faded properly to a dark brown with slight reddish undertones in sunlight. Perfect : )

If you don't want to create the fading effect and maintain the freshly-dyed colour, make sure you get a conditioner for color-treated hair. I used Herbal Essences Conditioner in Color Me Happy (it contained acai berries), but I think it would have worked even better with a color-treated shampoo.

I love love love Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners! They smell absolutely irresistible and look cheerful in their bright packaging. A cheap conditioner did the trick in locking in my dye and preventing fading. I think my hair was dyed to the core though, so no chance there. Revlon Colorsilk is pretty gentle in my opinion - the dye that dripped onto my white shirt even washed off completely in the laundry with no other treatment.

Have fun experimenting with your luscious locks!