Thursday, December 9, 2010

Review: EOS Lip Balm in Summer Fruit

For those of you who aren't familiar with those cute bright egg-shaped lip balms that everyone's been raving, I'm going to introduce you to my new favourite lip product, the EOS (Evolution of Smooth) Lip Sphere. So far I've purchased two scents, Summer Fruit and SPF15 Lemon Drop but only used the first one. I have the driest lips and usually refrain from wearing lipstick or gloss because they're hair magnets and I end up eating them more than wearing them. This balm is actually something that I want to compulsively put on my lips.

5 flavours available: Summer Fruit, Lemon Drop SPF15, Honeysuckle Honeydew, Medicated Tangerine, Sweet Mint
 
Price: $2.79 at Walgreens for 0.25 oz (7g)

Ingredients
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax (Cire D’abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract*, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract*, Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract*, Linalool1.  
1Component of Natural Flavor. *Organic.

What the product claims to do (from the EOS site):
* Long-lasting moisture
* Shea butter & vitamin E
* Smoothes on clear
* New smooth sphere precisely glides on to lips
* Twist-off top
* Gluten-free
* Paraben-free
* Petrolatum-free
* Phthalate-free

"eos lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth." USDA Organic, not tested on animals.

Packaging: Very cute, bright colours. It doesn't roll around because of its flat surfaces. Clean and simple.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Verdict: This is a great investment lip balm and will last you a long time. I know that I would definitely collect all 5 flavours if I can find them. So much more effective and worth it than Burt's Bees. It actually melts all my cracked lip mess and makes them soft, lasting throughout sipping water and not needing tons of reapplication. I have these EOS lip balms to thank for softer lips.

Pros
- non sticky, not thick layers
- actually softens the lips
- happy fruit scent that I can't stop sniffing
- sweet taste
- a lot of product
- won't pop off or get stuck towards the bottom of the tube
- flat parts on surface prevent rolling away

Cons
- too bulky to fit into pocket
- maybe a tint of colour would be nice
- price?

Effectiveness
- Moisturizing 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
- Smooth Application: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
- Long-lasting: 4/5 ♥♥♥
- Texture: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
Packaging: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
Price: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥
Would I buy it again? Yes!

I was not paid in any way for this review; these are my opinions after use. This product was purchased with my own money. Results may vary from person to person. 

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!
 

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Tunnel Vision

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kersh camel cowl neck cropped sweater (S/M) // Pitaya sexy banded back detail bodycon dress (S) //
Fioni for Payless caged heel pumps (5) // Merona dotted sheer tights (S) //  
Claires and Kohls jewelry //

Photography: JJ (aka my boyfriend, aka Mrow Mii), Thomas Roach for the amazing faceshots
Cameras: Nikon D70, Nikon D90, Canon Powershot SX120IS

When the assistant at the Styleta Fashion Show last Friday night told me to trust her as she pushed my head into the bunched up fabric, I thought, no way. When she finally pulled it down over its full length, a bland super long camel sweater dress turned into a ridiculously adorable cropped cowl neck camel sweater. HOLY CRAP I WAS WEARING THIS UPSIDE DOWN. The $30 I paid goes to charities to help women organizations, so it was money well spent for entertainment, fashion, and altruism. That was also definitely the night of playing with cameras because my boyfriend broke out his dad's old SLR and we tried to take some indoor shots to prevent my little behind from freezing solid. Luckily our SLR afficionado friend came to the rescue and taught us about how to make "the blur" and suggested a prime lens for up-close shooting. A-mazing. We're still learning, so take pity :P

If my photos seem grainy now, it's all Blogger's fault because now I discovered something totally awesome: Adobe Lightroom. Not only can I edit things super fast with a few clicks and get through editing in half the time it usually takes. I usually autocorrect for tone and white balance, but there's also cool filters that make your photos instantly awesome (see second photo's grungey effect with Color Creative CP3 or something like that). The hallway in our dorm has fluorescent lights but the photos come out dim. Three clicks and it's instantly brightened :D I will probably be shooting more in the hallway since Weather.com tells me that "it feel like: 10 degrees Fahrenheit" outside, which is in the negatives in Celsius. My finger sausage gloves are about the only article of clothing thick enough to keep my body warm. Meanwhile, I'm becoming very addicted to chunky knits and PONCHOS. They are quite warm and I've hung up my thin trench albeit fashionable coat for a more favourable white puffy one that my Grandma bought me in China. Warmth is more important than looking like a freezing chicster at this point haha.

I'm going to aim to post more often and write briefly or simply take less photos of daily outfits. I'm sure 30 minutes every day is okay if I have the proper drive and motivation, even encroaching finals week. I will also blog more about makeup yay! There are so many goodies I've accumulated throughout the year that I haven't reviewed or even properly used yet. Lots of things to look forward to and in two weeks, I'm outta here. I'm leaving on a jet plane .. [music]

Click below to see full screen what Lightroom can do for you : ) [Photo credit]


Don't forget to enter my giveaway!
 

On the Last Day of Neurophysiology Lab My Professors Gave to Me ...

Inspiration.
Confidence.
Humility.

Remember when I vowed to post every day or every other day? Yeah, being a student caught up to me. I know I have no excuse when some people without fail chug out new creations every single day and my petite doctor friend PetiteXXS even posts more often than I do. Even if I don't write anything inspirational or important, it's important to keep writing. I just don't want blogging to feel like a chore. I don't want to have to do anything. This was all supposed to be fun, no pressure.

As the semester dwindles down I actually feel like this is the first weekend and week in which I've felt in control of my life. I've felt relatively efficient if not at least hardworking. I had a great interview on Saturday for Co-Chair of the community service organization I'm currently in and I got the position! I don't feel so guilty thinking about my life as "me, me, me, what are my goals, my thoughts, my feelings?" I don't feel guilty for reminding myself that I have strengths that go along with my weaknesses. I remembered what makes me powerful is ideation. I've lived in such negative light, always picking on myself and needing to be perfect in everything I do mentally that I've become a hardened pessimist. For the first time in a long time since I started college, things are falling into place because I have agency. Because I tell myself that I can. Because I "just do it." This brings me back to the first post I ever wrote in this blog. It's exhilarating to rediscover this side of myself.

I know this is a little more personal than I usually write but a lot of you appreciate and ask for more personal posts to get to know me. I sure appreciate it when I get to meet the person behind the posts. Sure it's strange thinking that I have a connection with so many people out there in the world who turn on their computers and type in my blog url. It's flattering and daunting and comforting all at once. Being personal is nothing I'm ashamed of. My real life friend and coworker asked me what do I want to do with my sense of style, with fashion? Where do I want to take this? He told me that I could make this big and that I needn't feel afraid of telling my real life friends or being shocked/embarrassed when people bump into me on campus and say, "Hey, I read your blog." I had to ponder it all because there's a reason I click on pictures and links in my dashboard. There's a reason why I pull up a new post box and type away furiously. There's a reason why I brave the cold to snap a few outfit pictures. This is my one little corner of that huge boundless interweb. This is the true me that I hide from people because I feel ashamed that a person studying in my field would judge me for frivolous interests in a serious profession. But then I remember that once upon a time, I was fearless. I had no shame. I felt no guilt. I'm not trying to turn into a robot but I'm going to stop crying because of me. I'm going to stop feeling sorry for myself because in the end, no one can make me prouder or more disappointed than myself.

This one life we're given is all about taking risks. Signing up for that potentially difficult lab that forces me to get up twice a week and start collecting data at 8:30 AM. Risking a B or a B+ for the sake of knowledge, for the sake of curiosity, even if I know I can't be perfect. Swallowing my pride and the easy perfect GPA's that were so common in high school. Because this isn't high school. No one ever said it was going to be easy, and if they did, they lied. This semester, I have felt the most stressed, most miserable, sleepless, cranky, been an outright bitch to anyone within a 10 foot radius, but it was also the turning point in battle. I may not have all the smarts but I'm not going to give into a three digit number that labels my intelligence. I am artistic, I am a writer, I have all sorts of smarts that I don't even get to utilize on a daily basis. Who's to judge me because I can't derive equations as quickly or write a perfect manuscript? When I watched that cool video today on that projector screen, I realized that I don't ever, ever want to stop dreaming. I'm not done being enchanted with wanting to be a hero, I'm not done with wanting to be a doctor. I'm not done with living up to my "most likely to cure cancer" award from high school. I'm not done.

If there's anything I got right as a naive 14-year-old more concerned about finding someone to sit with during lunch than what purpose I really want to fulfill in life, it's that

I'm no quitter. 

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Pandaphilia Featured on CollegeFashion

Karissa from CollegeFashion wrote the sweetest feature on Pandaphilia today for the CF Reader Spotlight. I'm so excited that she said my look gives all "fall has to offer: deep, sparkling hues and layers, layers, layers!"

Check out my interview responses if you want to know a little more about my take on fashion and find out which college I attend *gasp* 

CollegeFashion interpreted my outfit as a nautical trend with the shorts and tights theme. They said super nice things that made me blush and smile for ever. Please check out the article and tell me what you think : )

Awww they even did a compilation of pieces inspired by my outfit xD 
[photo credit: CollegeFashion.net]
I need to find some better lighting equipment to shoot indoors because recently it has been super cold in the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit. I want to sneak in a few wintery outfits before I leave for warmer climate while remaining toasty warm and not dabbling with frostbite. There's only two couple of weeks left of class before finals for me and am I so ready to finish this grueling semester and dive headfirst into a spa in Taiwan. I might also try to tame my crazy hair and get it dyed again and relaxed or permed wavy. Next semester will be all about the hard work and reintroducing more makeup looks and reviews. I just placed an order for some ELF items from their Cyber Monday 55% off sale, so hopefully all those eye products will become HG-worthy picks! 
 
Don't forget to enter my giveaway!
 

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