OOTD: Versatile Look

Happy Holidays! I'm so stuffed and jolly right now :)  I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday too ^_^  The other day I spent some time filming three videos and this is the last of the three.  It's a short outfit of the day video.  I don't think I've really talked about my style or the way I dress much yet so this is a good place to start right? I'm sitting here right now trying to compare my style to one single person and I realize that I don't have a specific fashion icon that I look up to.  I think I take a little bit of inspiration from different celebrities, bloggers, and my own taste.  I'm quite a petite girl so that is also something that I always have to put into consideration...which can be extremely difficult sometimes.  There are a lot of cuts and designs that tends to make me look even more petite.  I have always been into business and professional look because I want to be a no-nonsense, strong, and kick ass kind of woman.  I hope someday I will be :)

Top: Gilly Hicks

Jeans: Forever21

Boots: JCPenney

Blazer: H&M

Necklace: By Boe

Product Review: La Femme Blushes

Hey everyone! This entry is extremely late, actually I think it might a two or three late...so sorry everyone! >_<  I bought this La Femme Blush palette a couple months ago during the summer when I watched a review video from gossmakeupartist.  I personally think these blushes are amazing and highly pigmented, to point where to it might be wayyyy too pigmented.  The only downfall that I found to these blushes is the fallout of the blush and it is very powdery.  The next best thing about these blushes is their price.  I'm pretty there are other places to purchase these blushes but I went to Makeup Mania.  Each blush costed about $2.50 (What a steal!!) I'll link their website below.

Colors: (Left to Right) Cinnabar, Coral, Coral Spice, Soft Beige, Heather, Red, Mandarin Red, Pink Velvet, Mocha, Peach, Peach Sparkle, and Terracotta 

Makeup Mania Website   

Makeup Tutorial: Holiday Look

Hey girlies and guylies :) Happy Holidays to you all. I hope you have a great time with family and friends this holiday and for college students, welcome home! It's good to have my sister home again....sort of. Haha I'm just kidding.  Since the festivities are just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to do a holiday look.  I have worn this look before and it's super super simple to do.  I spent the whole day filming and editing three videos.  This is the first one and I forgot how long it's been since I filmed a video in my living :) Hope you guys like it!

Product Review: Elle Bang Confidential Brushes

A while back, Elle Bang was having a sale on many of their brush products.  I never heard about them before so I decided to pick up the All Natural 12 Piece Set.  This has been the biggest brush regret purchase so far for me.  I love raving about makeup products but there really isn't a lot of good that I can say for these brushes. On the good side, the shipping was very fast and customer service was decent.  I really appreciated how Elle Bang was willing to remedy the situation by sending me replacement brushes but I was still unhappy with the product itself in the end.

So to start, I ordered the All Natural 12 Piece Set and when I received my order I was missing several brushes.  Including, a contour brush, a concealer brush, and also the lip brush.  I didn't realize that I did not receive the lip brush until later on when I checked out the website again.  The foundation brush was synthetic too which I don't understand because they were all suppose to be natural.  All of the brushes shed like crazy, I think I almost cried from frustration when I used them on my face.  I contacted the founder of Elle Bang through their Facebook page because I was unable to email or call them. She answered quickly and was very helpful.  She sent me replacement brushes but I didn't like them any better.  I won't be purchasing any Ellen Bang products anytime soon but I do appreciate the customer service.

First Impression: Sigma Synthetic Face Kit

I'm terrible at updating my blog but I'm working on catching up I promise :)  I posted a video for my first impression of the Sigma Synthetic Face Kit a couple weeks back and I also did a review on it a few days later.  This is basically an  unboxing video. For a better understanding of my experience with Sigma as a makeup line.  This is my first time purchasing from their website.  I honestly was very pleased with the speed of processing and shipping.  My brushes arrived within a week so I was a happy camper :)

Makeup Tutorial Inspired by Nana's Look (In The Night Sky MV)

Ooops late blog entry :( I updated my channel with a makeup tutorial video that was inspired from Afterschool's music In The Night Sky a week back but never updated my blog.  This look is Nana's and I had so much fun doing it.  It's extremely simple and dramatic.  Basically if you have back and brown eyeshadow and black liner.  You are pretty much set for this look :) Enjoy ♥

Hair Tutorial: Straightening Hair With Instyler

Hey guys I received a request to show you how I would straighten my hair with the Instyler....the only problem is that I have straight hair to begin with 0.o So what I did was waved my hair with the Bed Head Wave Artist.  Then I used the Instyler to re-straighten my hair.  I don't normally use the Instyler for the purpose of straightening my hair, I rather reach out for a straightening iron instead.  Nonetheless, here are the results :) Enjoy

Product Review: anothersoul Palettes

Hey! So I couple weeks ago, I was just jumping from site to site with no purpose whatsoever...and I came across this Etsy store that sold hand made empty or freedom palettes.  I was absolutely blown away by the quality, design, and price.  To let you guys know, I've been looking into purchasing some palettes that I could use to store my depoted eyeshadows and blushes for a long time now.  I do know about UNII palettes and Z palettes but the prices were a little more then I wanted to spent on palettes and I wasn't a big fan of the designs either.  So when I discovered these I knew I had to get them.  They are $12.99 which is a great price for makeup palettes. The seller's name is Lynn and she is super sweet and nice.  I had so many questions about shipping and payment, she answered all my questions really fast.  So I do recommend these palettes for those who are looking into buy makeup palettes.  

Three Palettes That I bought:

PURCHASE: http://www.etsy.com/shop/anothersoul

OOTD: First Day of School

Heyy! I just had my first day of school the other day and usually like to make a good first impression back.  I was planning to wear a casual dress with scandals the day before but when I woke up that morning.  It was full out fall weather.  There was no sun and it was raining sadly.  So I had to throw something together really quick and result was a simple and cozy outfit. Here is my first day look.  Hope you guys like it and much love from a blank palette :)

Riding Boots and A Jacket

Hi lovelies!! I'm super duper excited about two items that I recently bought.  The first is a black jacket that falls a little too short to be considered a trench coat and the second are brown riding boots.  These two items have been on my lust list forever and it took me so long purchase them because I had a vision of what I wanted them to look like and I had to do a little searching.  Hope you guys like them :) Much love from a blank palette♥

 

August Haul

Hi there! It's another monthly haul video.  Sorry I was so late on posting this video on my blog.  I've been working hard on my summer assignments :)  If you have any question please feel free to ask.  Enjoy and much love from a blank palette ♥

Makeup Tutorial: Maybelline Charcoal Smokes Look

If you've read my previous post (Target Haul) then you pretty much know how I feel about the Maybelline Charcoal Smokes Quad.  I really don't like it because it's not something that I would consider a BANG FOR YOUR BUCK.  There's just too many cons that overweigh the pros.  The darkest color (which is the liner) is pretty good but that's pretty much all that is good about this quad.  I apologize if this sounds like I'm bashing this product but I've tried it and I don't recommend it to anyone :(  I just don't want you guys to waste your money on something that doesn't work very well.  I can't say the same for the other quads in the Stylish Smokes line because I haven't tried them so I don't want to say anything bad about something that I don't know yet.

For those who have tried it and love the Charcoal Smokes or any other one from Maybelline, I'd love to hear your input on it.  I'm a true believer that not all products will work the same on every person so I'm glad if it works for others :)  Even though using the quad is pretty simple, this tutorial is how I would go about using the eyeshadow quad. Enjoy and much love from a blank palette! :)

  

Target Haul

Before you go HOT DAMN! GIRL YOU NEED TO GO AND PUT SOME MAKEUP ON! I would like to start out by apologizing for the lack of make up in this little haul video of mine.  Hopefully, you guys won't mind the change of scenery :) There are a couple products that I definitely recommend in this video and others that I advise you to stay away from.  I'll list them below and write a brief summary on why they are or are not good.  Enjoy and bunches of love from a blank palette :)

Recommended Products:
Sonia Kashuk Nail Polish Starry Night - long lasting and very pretty
Sonia Kashuk Iced Coffee Eye Definer - very creamy and a good dark brown color...not sure if it's long lasting yet? I'll find out soon though :)
Sonia Kashuk Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (Beige) - light to medium coverage, color match for NC37, tends to leave skin looking overly radiant so powder is necessary
Elf Angled Contour Brush: very good for the price and very soft

Products to Avoid: 
Maybelline Charcoal Smokes Eyeshadow Quad - creases easily, not blend-able, and poor pigmentation
Revlon Illuminance Creme Eyeshadow - terrible fallout, tends to crease, not long lasting

Makeup Tutorial: Dramatic Purple Inspired Look

Heyyy!! Summer is wrapping up pretty soon my dear friends.  For most of us, this means SCHOOL.  As much as I hate the thought of that, I have admit I'm looking forward to doing more dramatic special occasion looks for you guys.  Today will be the first of many looks, I was inspired after buying nail polish off of the Zoya website.  Funny how you can find inspiration in the strangest place? :) Either way, this look is great for you girlies going to homecoming, prom, or just out with friends.  And for those with brown eyes, this look is PERFECT :) because purple brings out those lovely brown eyes =] Have fun and check back soon for more updates!

Instyler Beachy Wave Tutorial

Hi ya'll I did a review on the Instyler a couple months back (here yo). Now I finally got my act together and filmed a tutorial on a beachy look that I usually do with my Instyler.  If you've ever used a curling wand, it's pretty much the same method.  This look is really good for going out but I usually wear it when I want to look more dressed up.  So if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.  As always I'd love to hear what you think :)

Mac Select SPF 15 Foundation Review

Hey guys! It took me forever but I finally uploaded my review on the Mac Select SPF 15 Foundation. This is pretty much my everyday foundation.  I've been using it for about 3 weeks now and I really like it.  It doesn't break out my skin and it's not too cakey either, which is my idea foundation.  I think this foundation is great for the summer because it has SPF and it's more of a sheer coverage.  Let me know what you think of the foundation :)

Summer Skin Routine

Hi  :] I know everyone has read and heard lectures about the importance of taking care of your skin.  Well I'm jumping on that bandwagon too because it's a topic that is so important.  Here is my thoughts on it.  I'm a true believer of prevention over cures.  I rather go through the hassle of washing my twice a day and applying SPF then go through expensive treatments when I'm older.  That's why I'm crazy about taking care of my skin and making sure that I know what kind of products I apply to my face.  The thing about makeup and skin is, the more you take care of your skin, the better it looks and better it looks, the less makeup you have to wear :)

Products Mentioned: 

Leaves your skin feeling moisturized and cool. 

If your skin has the tendency to leave you looking like a grease ball.  Definitely try this cleanser out :) 

It's hard for me to find a scrub that doesn't leave my skin feeling like I used sand paper to wipe my face.  This Alba scrub is just sensitive enough for me skin while doing its job.  

Black African Soup, don't be so quick to judge this chuck of 

magic.  Looks can be deceiving friends :) This is all natural and though it may look nasty 

but it has no nasty chemicals. 

I use this mask about twice a week to help remove blackheads and minimize the appearance of pores :)

*Reminder: I use these products because they work well for me skin.  I can not guarantee that they will work for you.*  

Neutral Everyday Look

I love neutral looks :) They are just so versatile and simple to do.  I can wear this look to work and out to dinner without looking too over done or casual.  And the best part?  It matches just about everything ♥  If you want to jazz up this look between work and going out. Simple, just apply a shimmery or frost eyeshadow and Voila! you got yourself a dramatic look to go out =]  Enjoy!

A close up ♥

Taupe Look

Hello Hello! It's been too long since I've updated my blog :( So today I want to show you a gorgeous taupe look I've been wearing a lot lately.  It is probably my favorite look so far.  I recently purchased an eyeshadow palette from the MAC website and also a few eyeshadow pans.  I'll post pictures of the swatches later but they are Satin Taupe, Naked Lunch, Soft Brown, and Shroom.  I did bunches and bunches of research before I settled for these picks.  

July Haul

I've been doing some seriously shopping lately and I wanted to share my purchases :) I'll do a more in depth review of some of the items that I bought later on.  If you have any questions feel free to post below ♥

Prom Prom Prom

The last three weeks have been crazy for me.  Between studying for exams and prom preparations, I can honestly say that I'm so glad it's all over now : )  It's good to not be in a constant state of panicking and rushing.  I know I've been slacking on my blog and channel but it's time to get back on track. Since this is my first blog in a while, I'd like to share my prom pictures!

 

 

 

OOTD: Senior Pictures

I had my senior pictures today so I wanted to wear something that I wouldn't look back years from now and think "WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I WEARING?" Black is always a safe color in my book, along with neutrals and white.  After changing into and out of many outfits. I finally decided to wear a black floral romper with black tights and a cardigan.  I am in love with this romper it's so comfortable but a little hard to remove when using the bathroom.     

Product Review: InStyler

Hey everyone! I just wanted to talk a little about a product that I've been using for a long time now. It's called the InStyler.  I've been using the InStyler for more then 3 years now and I can definitely say that it's one of my favorite curling irons ♥  It works the same as any normal curling iron but has a rotating barrel.  I've never used it to straighten my hair because it just does not work for my hair type.  I don't think this is a necessary item at all.  It's cool and something out of the norm but comparing the price to the product.  I definitely think that you can get more bang for your buck by purchasing other curling irons and straighten for half the price.  

 

 

I changed the color of this photo (which changed the color of my hair)

to show you what the curls really look like.  

Hair Tutorial: Bed Head Wave Artist Tutorial

Hi everyone! Here is my hair tutorial for the Bed Head Wave Artist.  I hope you guys like it because it nearly placed me in my grave. =[ The process of editing and uploading this video took about a total of 5 hours.  I also had to restart when I nearly finished. Anyways, I did my hair in a rush so you want the waves to be tighter, just hold the waver in place for a longer amount of time.  I held the waver in for about 3 seconds.      

 

Hair Tutorial: Inverted Side Braid

 I have always loved side braids but it wasn't until recently that I actually started wearing them.  You see, if you have dark hair like I do.  You can understand that braids just blend in and do not show very well.  Well, I'm here to save your day if you have not discovered the inverted braid =]  It's the same method as a normal braid but it's inside out.      

 

Bed Head Deep Waver

With the weather finally warming up a little, I decided to go on a quest to find a new way to get beachy waves. I've already tried different braiding techniques that require no heat and also the Remington Airwave Hair Dryer.  The result were good but I found that it was not consistence.  So recently I was looking into purchasing a 3 barrel waver and I ended up buying the Bed Head Wave Artist.  It is also known as the Bed Head Deep Waver.  I will post a video review below and links to where you can purchase the waver ♥

 
 

Purchase:

Amazon

Walmart

Forever21 Haul

Can you believe it's almost the end of April already? The view from my bedroom window tells me otherwise.  Why? because I live in Buffalo, home of the cold and snow.  From the months of November to the end of March, I live in a winter wonderland that isn't very wonderful for the majority of the time.  Lately, it has been snowing and raining so I feel like spring is never going to come. :(

On a better note, I've been doing some major spring shopping to help lift my mood.  I bought some items from Forever21 just recently but most were from a month or two ago.  A few are from the store but it's safe to say that most of it was from the website.

  

Items Mentioned: 

Springtime Dress -size small (here)

Peggy Woven Dress -size small (here)

Shimmer Floral Tiered Dress -size small (here)

Crepe Lace Trim Dress -size small (here)

Braided Leatherette Sandals -size 5 (here)

Braided Suedette Sandals -size 6 (here)       

Black Denim Shorts -size 25 (here and similar here)

 

 And for those who want a closer look at my makeup ♥

Skin79 BB Cream

Hi everyone! I've been dying to try out BB Creams for a while now.  The first time I heard about this product was from one of my favorite bloggers (fromheadtotoe).  For those who have yet to discover BB Creams.  Its similar to a tinted moisturizer and has the coverage of a foundation.  Unlike the cakey texture of normal foundations, BB Creams give you a natural look and does not clog your pores.  They also have benefits like whitening, anti-aging, and most importantly SPF.  Different BB Creams have different benefits.  Unfortunately, most BB Creams do not come in many shades.

Today I'm reviewing the Skin79 BB Cream.  I bought the BB Cream about a month ago from Amazon.com.  Sadly,  it wasn't love at first sight.  If you watch the video below you'll find out why.  It took some time but now it has become an essential product in my daily routine.
  

If you're interested in the Skin79 BB Cream, you can check it out here

A Beginning

Hey guys! This my first and officially blog post so I'm super excited.  Since this blog is mostly dedicated to beauty and cosmetics.  I think it would be appropriate to provide you with information about my physical appearance.

1. I am full Vietnamese and I'm very proud of where I came from

2. With that being said, I am tiny (4'11" to be exact) or according to my family members I'm fun sized =]  

3. I have dark brown eyes and black hair that is very coarse and refuses to curl

4. My shoe size ranges from 5 to 6

5. My skin tone is medium during the winter and a little on the darker side in summer

6. I have dry combination skin