My Makeup must-haves

Seriously? I’m not really picky when it comes to a product or brand. But it’s my skin who decides what certain brand I ought to use. I have tried some products that didn’t work on my skin and some are just okay. Depending on what type of makeup it is, my skin can be selective at times. Selective because every so often I would break out and in worst case scenario, it burns.

I do have my makeup must-haves that I can’t do without and these are the things that my skin has gotten used to. But as much as possible I would want a laid-back approach to my skin and makeup.

First of all, it is important to moisturize before applying makeup. My go-to moisturizer would be Olay. It doesn’t give meany greasy feeling…I just love this product! Not only does it moisturizes and whitens my skin, it also protects the skin from UV rays.

Just recently I discovered a face primer that works great and is comparable with other high end brands. Wet n Wild Intuitive Blend Shade-Adjusting Foundation + Primer is supposed to be a foundation but it’s so sheer that I prefer using it as a primer. But oh boy it does work! My make up stays on for hours and not a single smudge came about. As a matter of fact, it can do without the eye primer. I love how it gives me a smooth and silky feeling as well as providing a flawless finish. I was pleased with how good this product works and for that reason I am hooked!

I’m opting for MAC foundations in place of drugstore brands not because of its name and the popularity it is getting. I seriously hate how expensive it can get but I must say it is the best foundation I have ever tried. It is considered a beauty investment and the whole thing about it is perfection! It’s my holy grail.. I love what it does to my skin and I guess it’s because it matches my skin tone perfectly. It provides a flawless coverage, very buildable, and completely covers any blemishes.

For my face powder, I would always go for Neutrogena mineral sheers powder foundation. Apart from being a purified mineral makeup in a compact, it also contains anti-oxidants and spf 20. It is oil-free, non-comedogenic, and fragrance-free. It's great for everyday use and it's completely natural looking. It blends perfectly with my skin.

Sephora lush flush lip & cheek stain is the best cheek stain ever! I went gaga over it and can’t resist having more back-ups. It is gel-based which makes it easy to apply since it just glides on the cheeks. The stain lasts longer and it creates a natural looking flush. 

Finally, my Wet ‘n wild pencil for my eyebrows. ..Apparently I can go without the rest of my listed must-haves here but I gotta have my brow pencil. I do skip most of them and just wear my bare face with nicely filled and polished eyebrows. What I like about this eye pencil is how it complements my eyebrow hair perfectly, it is inexpensive, and the pencil itself is longer than usual eyeliners.

 

Even though I settle on these products, I still love trying out new things. But I still find it better to sport a no-makeup look because I believe that you can be just as beautiful with a low maintenance, clean and natural look.

Disclaimer: Products were purchased by yours truly :) These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Shopping splurge without spending

FAKE SHOPPING!  This is what I do if I don’t want to spend and yet I feel the urge to do some retail therapy.  I have a thing about going online store hopping and it’s my source of gratification. I often add items in the cart and then eventually add them to my wishlist for future purchase, as long as the item is still available or who knows I might afford it someday. Clothes can be so expensive, but if you’re patient enough to wait for sales, you’d be able to buy it without worrying about your budget. 

I stumbled upon this great website that has all sorts of designer brands. I’m talking about Bluefly.com website which sells countless well-known brands. As always, I drool on all the stuff they have in there…stuff like 7 for all mankind, Free people, Burberry, D&G, Balenciaga and so much more! Their website actually offers a better value compared to the actual retail price, which makes it tough not to pick out more stuff that what I actually needed. But why pay full price when you can find fabulous coats on sale at low prices from this website, right?!

At the moment, Bluefly.com is having a 75% off sale on their coats, which is awesome because fashionistas are already haggling on stuff like this. You gotta be prepared for that before winter clothes goes higher just when you needed them most. Plus you get to save gas for going to the mall and you can’t even find a good deal with branded clothes like so.

Lately I’ve been contemplating on some fashionable outfits for the cold season since we’ve already arranged our trips to my hubby’s hometown and to a friend’s wedding. All I have to do now is focus on what to wear and where to purchase them. But I'm gonna say I'll pass on that fake shopping for now... :)

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with this website and the views and opinions are 100% my own.

Getting ready for winter

Right now is supposed to be autumn season…but I’m not feeling it. It seems like the weather jumped right through winter! Instead of wearing lightly layered outfits, I just needed a coat immediately! As the calendar confirms that winter is a few weeks away, I’m anticipating it’ll be chillier and I hope I won’t freeze to death! Taking into account that we transferred to Kansas, a 4-seasoned state, I’m aware that it will be somewhat different from California.  

At this point,  women’s winter coats are getting trendier and more styles emerges in half a shake.  I wish I have many options in my closet to match up with the latest trends. But what I learned from beauty articles was to know how to mix and match your fall clothes into winter, making sure that you are kept warm fashionably. 

I have a few winter clothes that I acquired throughout my diminutive years in the states and my most loved winter outfit is my hoodie and skinny jeans.  I do need to pile up some layers to stay warm and with my hoodie, it keeps me snuggly with less effort. I also own one black faux leather jacket with a built-in hood which I purchased long time ago and I still fancy wearing it during fall or winter. I love it because it is very versatile; the style is motorcycle-inspired and yet it can be feminine looking especially when nicely paired with a dress and leggings. Opting for waterproof coats or faux leather jackets can be a plus since it is suitable for snow (for some, I suppose). 

For people who are cocooning (ahem! Yours truly), try oversized sweaters. They go together with leggings/jeggings perfectly which will amp up your cool factor! It’s the quickest way to pull some no-effort look. Personally, to be fashionable is to be uncomplicated. Easy and doesn’t blow things out of proportion.



Disclosure: I am not affiliated with this website and the views and opinions are 100% my own.

Meeting my digital friend

For the first time in 9 years, I finally met my online friend in person! She came all the way from Washington State just to visit me and I was so excited to meet her. It was nice of her to take us with her to all the places she wanted to visit. First we dined at Kansas City's famous Arthur Bryant's BBQ place, which by the way was the best bbq I've tasted so far, then checked out Hallmark Museum and The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Arts after the scrumptious lunch. 

Arthur Bryant's BBQ, KS

When we were at the restaurant, at that time it was jam packed! I thought it was just because we went in around lunch time. But even after lunch time, the lines kept adding up and people kept coming in. I ordered the ribs and oh my gawd it was delicioso! Though I was surprised how their "Original" sauce tastes yuckky for me and I preferred the Sweet and spicy instead. But overall, the food was great! Thanks to my friend Salve too for the first meeting treat. teehee! :)

These photos are taken inside Crown Center Plaza and in there you can find pigs and crayons! lol! well its the Three Little Pigs BBQ restaurant and an unexpected restaurant that was named after a crayon. (Which is the Crayola!) Other than restaurants, the mall also occupies nifty shops and never before seen stores (for me, though) like tea store wherein the sales guy drinks most of their samples, and another shop that sells mostly boho style apparels.

Kansas City is known for its abundance of water fountains. I believe the city was also called the City of Fountains (?). Everywhere I turn to, there's a fountain! Ok, ok..I'm exaggerating. lol! But it was nice to see water fountains, they are beautiful and the water flows gracefully...very pleasing to the eyes. 


I will be posting separate posts on each place we visited. Thanks for reading! xoxo



Disclaimer: Post not sponsored. 

A scarecrow for scaring trick or treaters, not birds.

This guest post was written by Nicole Hawthorne.

It's been a little hobby of mine each Halloween to find some new way to spook trick or treaters. It's not like I'm really scaring them all that much, it's just little spooky things that I like to do at my house. My house is really the only one in the neighborhood that does that anyway. I think that each block needs at least one homeowner that does that.

Years past I've jumped out at trick or treaters or done similar things. But I just don't have the energy to do that all night like I have before. So I used my wireless internet service Raleigh to look online and find some ideas about what I could do. I decided to make scary looking scarecrow and have it in my yard by my sidewalk where kids will have to walk by to get candy.

I thought that would be a really lazy way to be creative and scary so I'm going with that instead. I have a strobe light that I'm going to put right there and make the normal scarecrow look really frightening.

Have you ever tried Become.com?

Holidays is fast approaching and you are thinking what best gift you can get for your friends and families. You wanted it to be the best gift but in an affordable price. You can't be sure how to find the best deals unless you search each online stores one by one. That's when you need www.become.com! I'm a thrift shopper myself and I have to make sure when I purchase something, I need to choose from a good quality with a high price or from a good quality yet affordable price. This website allows you to make optimal buying decisions by simply entering a specific product in their innovative shopping search engine which is then providing us with comprehensive information about a product and price comparisons. What's cool about this website is, aside from product comparison, they also give you product tips, reviews and buying guides that will help you find the trendiest gift ideas.

Unlike any other shopping search engine, Become.com provides search results that are really related to shopping.  This is their way of never letting consumers feel regrets especially with the status of our economy right now...It only takes a few clicks and save some money. Oh and by the way, if you are one of those coupon hunters, this website also offers Online Coupons for certain stores. Now, how convenient is that!?

Become.com has an extensive selection of products from top brands and to whatever you are looking for such as fox racing shoes, cute cowgirl boots, or even born boots. Halloween is near too! You can compare costumes thru Become.com's search engine and look for the best deals.  So before I purchase something online, I'll make sure I'll search it first on this website for me to be able to choose which is the best bargain I'm getting.

FTC Disclosure: Post is sponsored. I am not affiliated with this company however, all opinions expressed are solely mine and were not influenced in any way.