summer '14 wishlist copy

Hello Lovelies!

I went off to the mall today just to take a little stroll through the stores with no particular targeted items in mind. As I was walking aimlessly from store to store I realized there were particular items I was on a look out for so I have compiled a so-called “summer wishlist” but these items aren’t necessarily all restricted to summer only.

1. THE SOMEDAY Ivory Jumpsuit – Summer calls for comfy clothing and nothing can be comfier than a loose fitting breezy cotton jumpsuit. I want to find one like this where its loose and relax up top but is tighter fitting around the ankles. I haven’t found one yet at a more affordable price range because all the ones that I have seen have very loose, big, flowy pants. Theres just this effortless comfortable chic-ness to this that I’m loving.

2. Splendid 3/4 sleeve shirt – I actually already have this shirt in blue but I want more in other colors and one being white. These are so comfortable and breathable that its perfect for summer. You can also wear these all year round making it a great staple item to have in your closet. The only thing thats stopping me from going crazy and buying all the colors I want would be that it retails for $88 but you can find them cheaper when they go on sale or on flash sales sites like Hautelook/Ruelala/Gilt.

3. Aviator Sunglasses – I actually just picked up a pair on my trip to the mall today! I’ve always wanted a pair of aviator glasses because its a different look compared to regular plastic frame sunglasses. Its a more edgier look.  My face, cheeks, and nose makes it really hard to actually find a good pair of sunglasses that fits my face. I have tried on countless pairs of aviators and none looks good so I have pretty much given up on looking but to my surprise I found a pair with floral sides today for $5 at Charlotte Russe! I couldn’t believe my eyes after I put them on that they actually look good.

4. Abercrombie&Fitch Olivia Drapey Pants – Back to the whole comfiness thing, these pants definitely look comfy. Its loose but fitting at the ankle BUT its so much more flattering then harem pants. Its like a toned down version of harem pants if I had to describe it in simple terms. These are obviously super casual but you can also dress it up with heels or booties so its quite versatile. I haven’t tried these on myself so I don’t actually know how it will look on me but I have seen other bloggers styling something like this and its super chic.

5. Asymmetrical Skirt/Skort- These are probably going out of trend for all I know because it’s been around for awhile now but I haven’t found ones that I like yet. Most I’ve seen are skorts which is totally fine but my only problem with those are that the front looks like a skirt but the back shows the shorts. I find that to be really awkward like the manufacturer got lazy and just said lets save money and time and forget about the back piece!

6. Phillip Lim Pashli Mini/Medium – Not sure which size I would get if I really were to make the purchase. I think the mini is adorable but the medium would be more practical (obviously -_-). I have thought about what color I would like my next purse to be and I have decided a purple eggplant color. Its not quite black but its dark enough where it can pass as black so it can be matched with any color. This purse did come out with a purple at one point but its not part of their regular collection colors so I would have to wait for it return (if ever).

7. Manolo Blahnik’ Chaos Cuff Sandal- Something about the simpleness of these strappy heels looks so good with just about every outfit you can imagine. There are so many variations now on the market but its still hard to find a pair thats good looking, comfortable, and affordable. What I’m looking for is a very thin ankle strap because the thinner it is the less it would look like you’re cutting off your feet.

If you guys see anything that matches my description with an affordable price tag then please send them my way!
Whats items are you currently scouting for?

❤ Jessica

June Empties: Hair and Makeup

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Hello Lovelies,

Welcome back to part 2 of my empties post.

I am going to start off with makeup first because the hair stuff you’ve seen in recent post already so its really nothing new.

 

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Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner+Serum – $10.95

Need I say more? Theres 2 of these in the trash bin right now and if that doesn’t say that I freaking love this stuff then I don’t know what does. Long lasting, smear free, easy application, great price point, very pigmented, and just overall a HG product. I will repurchase this.

 

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Model Co Fibre LashXtend Extreme Black Lengthing Mascara – $??

I got this in my birchbox awhile ago and this mascara just does absolutely nothing for me. It didn’t lengthen or volumize much. I like it when a mascara is on the drier side but this was just way too dry. I’m not sure if I got a bad tube but I couldn’t use this anymore after like a month after the first initial use. I would not recommend this product.

 

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Benefit They’re Real Mascara – $23.00

Don’t you just hate it when an overhyped cult favorite product just doesn’t work for you? Well, I was really excited to try this mascara because sooo many people loved it and said it was such a great product but unfortunately my stubborn asian lashes didn’t like it. If it doesn’t hold my curl very well I can look past because I have accepted the fact that it’s very hard for me to find a mascara that will actually hold my curl well. So it did lengthen and separate my lashes like it claims but it didn’t volumize, lift, or curl my lashes. It started to smudge a little after the 6 hour mark but that acceptable. Overall, this is not the mascara for me so I would not be repurchasing this.

 

So for the next 3 products I’m not going to say much because I have mentioned these in past post before. I will be providing the link to a more in depth review if you’re interested.

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Batiste Dry Shampoo Floral and Flirty Blush – $7.99 ($5.99 in TJ Max)

Loves it and will be repurchasing (In depth review)

 

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L’Oreal Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm – $5.99

Will not be repurchasing (In depth Review)

 

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Macadamia Deep Repair Masque – $25.99

Will be repurchasing (in depth Review)

Don’t you agree that it’s one of the most rewarding feelings when you finally finish a product? You finally stuck it through to the end and now you can venture into the next new item. Although its a bittersweet moment when we have to say our farewells to some beloved products but we know that we will come together again one day when the repurchase has been made.

Until next time…

❤ Jessica

 

 

June Empties Skincare

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Hello Lovelies!

I got here a pretty large bag of empty containers that I am going to share with you today. These have been products that I’ve been using up in the last couple of months so I am going to make the final decision today if I will be repurchasing some of them. This will be split into two parts because theres just too many for one post so this is going to be skincare and the next post will be makeup and hair products.

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Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips – 8 Strips $6.27

As you can see this is their old packaging so I’ve had this for awhile now. To be honest I haven’t used a pore strip in a very long time, instead I have just been using a black head extractor to extract after I shower every so often. Pore strips are great because its fast and simple in removing oil build up in your pores. I have gone through countless boxes of these because you can see the white/black head being pulled out on your strip after which I find to be super satisfying when I see all the gunk I have removed from the strip.. am I weird? Anyways, I would recommend this and repurchase in the future but please keep in mind to don’t over use these or else it might do more bad than good.

 

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Pond’s White Beauty Cleansing Foam – $9.0

This product is actually from Hong Kong so the packaging is different from the US Pond’s product but I know the US has a White Beauty line as well. To me this product didn’t do anything beside being a gentle cleanser. It didn’t really remove makeup very well, it didn’t do much lightening, it just acted like a basic cleanser. I would not be repurchasing this.

 

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Magic Olive Pimpleless Serum – $8.80

I discovered this product when a Sasa sales person came up to me and my cousin and said “Wow, you have a lot of breakouts, let me recommend you some products” What a bummer to be called out on because you have bad skin. I hate buying products without doing my research first because I am always skeptical with people that are trying to sell me stuff. Since this was fairly inexpensive I listened to her suggestion and made the purchase.. this was about 4 years ago and it has been a staple skincare acne controlling product since. The sales lady told me that this is infused with chinese herbal medicine as well as tea tree oil and some other herbal treatments. It not only dries it out like other products, but it also treats it and prevents scarring. Although I think my skin has become a bit immune to it so I will probably have to move away from it for awhile after I finish my back ups but I definitely recommend this.

 

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Dior Hydra Life Creme Sorbet Pro-Jeunesse Pro-Youth Sorbet Cream ($56.00) & Eye Cream ($49.00)

Both of these products has the consistency that I like for a moisturizer and eye cream – non sticky and absorbs into the skin leaving it feeling soft and fresh feeling. Although the consistency is good, it didn’t break me out, it didn’t leave my face greasy, and it smelled very nice, I didn’t notice it doing much to my skin. It didn’t love it nor hate, so to pay this hefty amount for a product, my skin needs to really love it for me to justify a continuos repurchase. I would not discourage people to try it because I know some girlfriends that absolutely loves this stuff but I’m not sure if I will be repurchasing this again.

 

Its Shiseido time…
Until about over a year ago my main skincare products has been from Shiseido. My mom only uses Shiseido products so you can probably guess where I got the influence from. I haven’t tried a single product from them that has made me break out so I am pretty comfortable in just diving in and trying any of their products.

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Shiseido The Skincare Hydro-Nourishing Softener Lotion – $ ?? Possibly discountinued

The consistency of this comes out to be less solid than jelly but thicker than liquid. Its a great toning lotion to replenish and give your skin a restart. Unlike regular toners, this one has a little bit of moisturizing element to it. I have gone through bottles of these before exploring other options and it has been awhile since I’ve purchased this. I just googled to try and find the price point of this product and it seems like its sold out on almost every site I come across (except for amazon which is selling it for $60!! thats x2 of the normal price). If you can find it at counters or in stores then I would recommend giving this a try.

 

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Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Protective Emulsion w SPF15 Sunscreen – $54.50

I’m actually not sure why I would get this in the first place because it only has a SPF 15 but I did. I got this to use as a sunscreen because I like the consistency (if you can’t tell already, the consistency makes or breaks a product for me) and how it settles into my skin. It has a bit of a brightening effect when applied but its not a permanent long lasting whitening effect so I don’t think it does what it claims to do. I would suggest using this almost like a morning serum for you skin under your daily moisturizer/sunscreen. Its not a terrible product but its just not something that I find necessary for my morning skincare routine (especially for the price) so I would not be repurchasing this product.

 

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Shiseido Pureness pore purifying warming scrub – $24.00

The lady at the counter sold me this product persuading me that it will solve my large crater pore problems. Well, those craters are still here. It claims that it’s suppose to warm up as you scrub but I didn’t feel any warming sensation and it didn’t minimize the size of my pores either. I haven’t even finished this product yet but I find it to be so useless that I don’t really use it so it has aged itself into the trash bin. I would not be repurchasing this product.

Skincare is probably one of the things that I actually get through and finish.. along with some haircare products.  I find it really really hard to actually finish makeup, especially the powder items. Stay tune for my next post for the rest of my empties!

❤ Jessica

Current: Sun Protection

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Hello Lovelies!

With Summer in full swing now I think its only appropriate to share with you my current Sun Protection products. We should always be protecting our skin no matter the season but once the warmer season rolls around we tend to be outdoors more to enjoy the weather so its more relevant to start putting more stress on the amount of SPF you are wearing.

What I look for in my sunscreens are …
– Hydrates
– Not sticky
– Doesn’t have the sunscreen smell because I despise it
– At least SPF30 with UVA/UVB protection

Lets start off with face because this is something that should be part of your skincare routine by default.

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Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream – Face/Boby SPF 35 PA+++ 50mL- $30
This has been my HG sunscreen/day moisturizer for the past 4/5 years at least. I have ventured out to try others but continued to come back to this one. ( More in depth review) I believe they have increased the SPF of the newer ones to SPF 40 now so I am actually not sure if this 35 is still being sold. Also, the new packaging no longer has the PA levels (which is for UVA)  because the FDA has changed their regulation. If you see the phrase “Broad Spectrum” used then it has both UVA and UVB protection now. (to break down the meaning of SPF and UVA/UVB protection it will be a post on its own so let me know if you guys want one or you can just google it and research it)

 

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Neutrogena Hydro Boost gel SPF 30 PA++ 40ml – $19.30

This is a gel form of sunscreen meaning its very light so its awesome for summer. I have just recently started using this so I can’t say if I love it or hate it just yet but a in depth review should be on its way. The reason why I’m still on the fence with this product is because although it is a gel product, its not as light as you would imagine it to be. I absolutely LOVE their Hydro Boost water gel that leaves my skin silky soft with no sticky feeling which is one of the reasons why I wanted to try a sunscreen from this line since I have been using the water gel for years now. But as first impression is concerned, one day my skin will absorb it and my skin will feel fine but on another day I feel as though the product only half gets absorbed and leaves my skin a bit sticky. So I’m going to experiment a little more before I can make a final judgement on this.

 

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Aveno Protect+Hydrate Lotion – Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – $7.99

Last year I was on a quest to find a Daily body lotion that also has SPF in it because I am just that lazy. I needed a one step product that eliminated the process of having to do the same motion twice. I have found others such as the Eucerin one but that was just unbelievably sticky , it left a sheen on my body that wouldn’t go away, and the worse part was that it had the smell of sunscreen. Its not impossible to find one with all my expectation at a reasonable price because this Aveno one has fulfilled all my requirements. Rubs on just like a lotion and it leaves your skin moisturized without that icky sticky feeling. The scent is… hard to describe because it doesn’t really smell like anything besides standard basic lotion smell? If that makes any sense. Bottom line is that I would recommend this sunscreen

Recently I have noticed that the sun rays seem to be stronger now than a couple years ago?  Just by driving in my car with the sun shining through an open window I feel as though my skin is burning! This can just be me getting older and being more sensitive to the sun or has anyone else noticed this? Either way, it’s a big warning for me to be extra cautious when I am out and that I definitely shouldn’t skip out on sun protection and neither should you!

Until next time,
❤ Jessica

 

Deep Brush Cleaning

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Hello Lovelies!

So the general time frame of how often we should deep clean our brushes is about once every 1-2 weeks. Although its something that most people know about, its actually not something everyone practices unfortunately. Why? .. well its time consuming! Of course it depends on how many brushes you have etc. but its definitely not something you can do in 5-10min. I remember in the beginning it would take me about 45min (waayyy to long) to clean all my brushes and I don’t consider myself having a lot. Through trial and error I have discovered some time saving tips that have sped up my cleaning time from 45min to roughly about 20min.

Items that you will need:
Gym Size Towel
Rice Paddle with ridges
Your regular shampoo / Baby Shampoo
Small-Medium size cup

 

ImageGym Size towel

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Rice Paddle with ridges – Such a random tool right? The ridges on the paddle will speed up the process of getting the make up and gunk off your brush. You can find other household items to use too besides a rice paddle but this is the best tool I have found that works. I got this one that came in a pack of 2 from Daiso.

 

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Shampoo – I normally use baby shampoo because it is a lot more gentle and moisturizing then our adult shampoo. Since I was out, normal shampoo works as well.

 

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Step 1: Take a gym size towel and roll up the ends leaving one end bigger than the other.Image

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Fill your small/med size cup with shampoo and add water into it. You want your water to be slightly warm.. not too hot or else its going to start melting the glue but a little warm for the products in your brush to start breaking down.

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Step 3: Dunk all your brushes into the cup

 

 

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Step 4: After removing a brush from the cup, swirl it around your paddle and you will see that residues will start to come off of the brush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5: Rinse your brush then add a dap of shampoo onto your paddle and swirl your brush once more.

 

 

 

ImageThe method of twice cleaning really removes all excess makeup that was not removed the first time. Some brushes you will see are more stubborn than others. An example would be your foundation brushes as you can see

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Step 6: After you are done cleaning your brush, squeeze out the excess water and reshape it. Lay it on your towel and let it air dry!

 

 

 

ImageThe reason why we want to have one side of the towel rolled up bigger than the other is so that the brushes can dry pointing downwards. You don’t want your brushes to dry facing up because then the water will leak into the Ferrule (metal part) shortening the life of your brush. Many people will lay their brushes flat to dry which is a lot better then having them face upwards but when you have it laying flat, the water is stagnant which means that the water that is inside the Ferrule will have nowhere to go so by angling it downwards you allow gravity to pull water out and away from the Ferrule as it dries.

 

ImageAnd Wa-LA you got clean brushes! It normally take around 8-12 hours for the brushes to completely dry. Of course the bigger and more dense the brush, the longer it will take.

How do you clean your brush and what tips and tricks do you use to speed up the process?

❤ Jessica

Battle of THE: Hair Mask / Deep Conditioners

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Hello Lovelies!

My hair is dry, color treated, thick, and coarse with loads of split end. For an everyday conditioner I need to use some stronger big boy stuff and recently I have finished some that I would like to share and compare.

Macadamia Deep Repair Masque
PROS: 1. It smells AMAZING.. seriously. I don’t know what scent it is but its really good. 2. Conditions quite well and leaves hair nice and soft but you do have to leave it on for 7min+ or else the results isn’t that great. 3. Its cruelty free, paraben free, and alcohol free.
CONS: 1. The price is a bit steep at about $33 for a 250ml. BUT i just went online a checked, they sell this on the Target website for only $15!!.. I’m not sure if its a glitch or not but thats 50% cheaper than normal. 2. You need to use this when you really have time and when you’re not in a rush. If you don’t leave it in for a over 7min the results are very minimal. I’ve used it a couple times where I didn’t leave it on long enough and it just felt whatever after, so don’t waste your product like I did!
I don’t suggest using it on your scalp since this is a deep repair masque and is only recommended to be used twice a week. I haven’t personally tried it but I would think that it will weigh your hair down and make it oily faster after the initial wash.
I would be repurchasing this product.

L’Oreal Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm
PROS: 1. It fixes your dull and dehydrated hair by giving it a boost of moisture. Your hair will be softer after you leave it in for about 5min. 2. Fairly in expensive at around $6 for 250ml.
CONS: 1. This is probably filled with chemicals.. it smells like hair dye so its really of putting when you’re trying to find a product to repair your hair when it smells like the stuff thats damaging it. 2. It claims that is “instantly repairs the 5 signs of damage: split ends, weak, rough, dull, dehydrated hair. I would say that it does 3/5. It didn’t repair or prevent my split ends from forming and my hair was still weak after using this.
I would honestly pass on this product because I am sure there are other drug store deep conditioners that are a lot better or even the same without the heavy chemical/alcohol in this.

Opal One Minute Treatment
PROS: 1. Hello?! 1 Minute, thats it! 2. Very inexpensive at about $2 for 225ml. (i bought mine in Hong Kong and it is really that inexpensive and I remember scouting it a couple years ago and on Ebay and amazon that price was still fairly reasonable but I just checked right now and its around $10 a bottle!) 3.If you leave it for 1 minute, it will be a quick pick me up but the longer you leave it the softer and more apparent the results are. If you can leave it on for maybe even 10 minutes, the results are even better than the Macadamia one.. I kid you not!
CONS: I honestly can’t think of any cons.. besides the fact that its sold overseas and not here in the US.
I have gone through bottles and bottles of this.. its my Holy Grail hair conditioner/treatment. I’ve been using it for years and I haven’t found anything to replace it.

So who is the winner of this battle? *Drumroll* …. Opal One Minute Treatment. Taking into consideration the cost, quantity, and performance, Opal wins the battle. If you have any recommendation then please shoot them my way because I am always looking for a good conditioner!

❤ Jessica

** I have just finished all 3 of these products recently so I was unable to shoot my own photos. These were googled images**

Healthy Eats: Turkey Tomato Sauce Brown Rice Pasta

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Hello Lovelies!

Its been awhile since I’ve been on a healthy grind. I have just been telling myself I’ll start eating healthy tomorrow.. this will be the last ice cream.. last burger .. last.. well guess what.. no more last! So the first meal I have is pasta! I love pasta but traditional pasta has so much carbs and refined sugar so an alternative would be brown rice pasta. According to google, heres how they compare

Brown Rice Pasta    VS    Regular Pasta

Calories: 111                     371 / 100g
Fat:          0.9g                   1.5g
Carbs:      23g                    75g
Sugar:      0.4g                   2.7g

I’ve tried whole grain pasta and the texture of it is just not the same so I don’t feel satisfied but with the brown rice pasta (i have the Trader Joes brand) the texture of it is very very similar so its almost as if you’re eating regular pasta!

 

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Ingredients: Ground Turkey, Brown Rice Pasta, some type of vegetable, tomato, kalamata olives, Mrs.Dash (Extra Spicy), and Garlic Salt.

 

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Step 1: Season your ground turkey. Just add enough seasoning to cover you turkey meat and mix. The garlic salt is optional because the Mrs.Dash is enough to season it but if you want a little bit more flavor then the garlic salt really adds that extra flavor.

 

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Step 2: Chop up your vegetables. You can add as many or as little as you want. I would normally go with onions and celery but since I didn’t have any at home I just grabbed any greens I could find. You can even add a medley of vegetables if you want!

 

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Step 3: Heat up your pan with some oil then throw in your Turkey Meat. Once you see that its about 2/3 cooked you can add your vegetables in as well.

 

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Step 4: While the Turkey is cooking, you can bring a pot of water to a boil and just cook the pasta like you normally would. Keep in mind though that the Brown Rice Pasta is not as sturdy to cook as regular pasta. So if you over cook it then it will be a lot softer than regular pasta. Keep an eye out for it and don’t let it over cook, if anything you can turn off your stove when its almost done but not quite and just let it sit for a little and eventually it will finish cooking itself in your pot while we whip up the sauce.

 

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Step 5: Remove the Turkey from the stove once its done and now we can move on to the simplest sauce you will ever make. If you have fresh tomatoes at home then be my guest and chop up those tomatoes and use fresh ones but since I didn’t I opted for canned ones. Just look at the labels before you purchase and don’t get ones that has a ton of added sugars in it! Dump the tomatoes into the pan and let it heat up. I love olives so I add a lot more than needed but this just adds a really nice flavor to your sauce without adding any additional seasoning to it. Chop the olives up and plop them into your pan, stir it a little and Wa la! you’re done.

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April Loves ’14

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Hello my Lovelies !

April has been a month where I have really been able try out, enjoy, and be able to see if I actually like a product. Its been so long since I’ve ventured out and really try new products instead of just doing the same ol routine because it works.

First, I admit that I am EXTREMELY late to this Beauty Blender party. I’m pretty sure everyone has moved on and I’m the only one left in a deserted room of this party because I JUST tried it in the beginning of this month and I have no idea why it took me so long to actually use it. I have had this for at least a year now but have never used it. Maybe because I was too lazy just thinking about having to wash it after every use. Yea, thats it.

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Needless to say it is absolutely amazing. It turned a whatever BB Cream (Lioele Beyond the Solution) into a skin like finish. I usually apply this BB Cream with my fingers (like most BB Creams) and when I do you can tell that you have BB Cream on your face. I would call it the BB look. It just doesn’t blend into the skin the way you would want a foundation to. But with the Beauty Blender it gives you a blended skin like finish which is pretty cool.

The next two products are ones that I would have never imagined myself liking because I absolutely hate the feeling of having oil on my face. And when you want me to rub it all over my face, its a total turn off. But these next two products have won me over despise the greasy horror I have envisioned in my head.

Makeup Remover

The Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye and Lip Makeup remover

This makeup remover makes removing the toughest mascara ever a piece of cake. The Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Mascara would be the ultimate test to see if a eye makeup remover is worthy and the Camomile one passed with flying colors. Compared to the Sonia Kashuk and Neutregena ones that I adore, this one blew them out of the water. Although the only downside to this is the fact that it is a more oily makeup remover so that must have something to do with it. The first two times I used this I was very uncomfortable because I really really dislike the feeling of oil on my face, but after the third and fourth time, I actually don’t notice it anymore. So all it need is a little getting use to so don’t give up after the first try, give it a couple more chances before you call it quits to something cause you’ll never know what will come out of it. Maybe a new HG Eye Makeup remover?

Garnier Nourishing Cleansing Oil – Dry Skin

My cousins have tried to get me to try so many other cleansing oil and I have refused in the past couple of years. It has now gotten to the point where I just need to try it and just say I don’t like it and move on with my life. Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t the case. Like the eye makeup remover, the first couple of times I didn’t really like it until I noticed how soft my skin was after using this. This has replaced my Bioderma which I used to remove my first layer of makeup before washing my face. Although this doesn’t clean my makeup off completely because when I go in to wash my face with a brush I sometimes still see slight traces of pigments from my foundation, it is a great product to use if you have skin on the dry side. This leaves your skin so soft and moisturized afterwards. No more of that tight dry feeling when you come out of your shower. Time for me to venture into the Cleansing Oil market!

Besides the Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Mascara being the toughest Mascara to remove, it is also the absolute best at HOLDING CURLS/ NON SMUDGING / WATERPROOF / LONG LASTING Mascara of all times. The only problem I have with this mascara thats preventing it from being my everyday HG mascara is 1. The struggle at night I have with removing it (which now has been solved with the camomile remover) and 2. It has a plastic brush making it look really defined.. but in a clumped way if that makes sense. BUT… I have discovered its older sister which fixes both of these problems .. and thats this magnificent Lash King.

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If its called Lash King, then I guess its the older brother. This has ALL the perks the Lash Expander has but even BETTER! The brush is a bristled brush so it separates it but still looking like the natural flare of your lashes. The fibers make your lashes look super long and it holds curls like a dream. This is a very dry formula, probably the driest I’ve ever used. I’m not sure if its my tube but I am definitely going to be repurchasing this so when I do then I can compare and see if thats just how the formula is or if its just because I got a dry tube. But the dryness of the tube doesn’t effect the products performance. I like my mascara to be more on the dry side because I have found that if mascara’s are too wet then it causes me to lose my curls (i have stick straight down asian lashes ).

My TV Show Favorite of the month has got the be Parks and Recreation. I watched a full season during my travel in Asia during January so I decided to start from the beginning and I can shamelessly say that I am pretty much all caught up to whatever Netflix has available in about a week and a half. Its been my go to show to play whenever the TV goes on. I love witty, quirky shows like The Office, How I met your Mother, the Big Bang Theory, so it comes to no surprise that I would love Parks and Recs because somethings will Literally make you LOL. *High Five if you got the reference!

April’s been a great month so I am ready for you May!

❤ Jessica

“April is a promise that May is bound to keep.”  Hal Borland

Guess Who’s Back.. Back Again!

Dear Diary... One comment
hello again

Good Morning Lovelies!

Or afternoon.. or evening.. whatever the time is when you’re reading this. Oh man, where to begin.. I’ve been on hiatus.. for… way too long. I have been swamped with work and school and work and school and work. I think you get the picture. So I have had some decisions to make and priorities that needed to be reevaluated in life and now here I am. Changes have been made and now I can say that I am glad I have made them because I am focusing and doing something that I truly enjoy doing and get such gratification from it when a project is over. I am a Graphic Designer and for the past couple of years that hasn’t been my priority which it should’ve been, instead it has been something that I spent minimal amount of time doing just to meet deadlines and not really dedicating my time to. With that being said, school is the only thing on my plate now along with a couple side things going on so I think it’s only appropriate that I return and share with you what i’m currently up to.

Stay tune to see what I have discovered for the month of April!

❤ Jessica

 

Brophy Bro

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Stopped by for a light quick meal in Santa Barbara on the way home from Solvang.. It was a little hard to find considering that the back of the restaurant was undergoing construction when I went.. but it was all cool and dandy when I found it.

The place looks like any other seafood joint that you’ll find by the pier. Inside seating as well as outside around the perimeter of the restaurant on the second floor.. (the first floor I think is more fast food style? I’m not sure.. they weren’t open yet when I went)  Very open and a great view of all the boats in that little harbor.

Since I was going for a light meal I ordered the…

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HOLY SMOKES.. mouthful of clams in every spoonful. No joke. Even though its clam chowder, you won’t get that overly heavy creaminess. The star of the chowder is in fact the clams and not the potato like a lot of places. Must try!

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If only the oysters shells were cleaned better before serving. It was almost as if the oysters were just lightly rinsed over water before cracking open because there were a ton of concentrated black dirt that got all over my hands when I was trying to enjoy my oysters effortlessly. Don’t get me wrong.. the oysters were deliciously fresh. Just got annoyed of constantly have to wipe my hands after touching the oysters.

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One of their recommended dishes.. and after trying it.. I recommend it as well! When it comes to battered fried fish I am quite skeptical since there is nothing I hate more about food than over battered fried food. (fair food anyone?) But Brophy Bro does it right. The batter is so light its almost tempura like, but its not! I bet you this is one way to get kids to eat fish!

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While you eat, if you decide to sit at the patio then this is the view… Sail Boats! Its so calming because the surrounding area wasn’t crazy busy with a ton of tourist. This was actually away from the crowd which was nice.

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And after your delicious meal, you can go take a walk down this beautiful path.

Definitely stopping by again next time i’m in SB bro~

Brophy Bro’s Yelp Page