Monday, April 16, 2012

Making a Change for the Better

I recently made a reeeally big purchase for myself and I'm super excited to start using it. I got the Clarisonic Mia, and it just came today!!

I'm not going to say much because I've only used it once, but trust me that first time was amazing! I never would have thought about getting one before, but in the last couple of years my acne has gotten a lot worse and it's showing no signs of changing. I'm also starting to scar a lot more, so on top of new breakouts I have reminders of old ones. :( After some long thoughts of how much money I've spent on trying different mid-level skin care treatments and considering how my skin is only getting worse, I decided it was time to make the investment. I'm also considering higher end cleansers, but that's going to require a lot more research...



This is the brush that I got - it's the acne head. The descriptions says, "Extra-plush bristle gradation helps to provide ultra-gentle cleansing for sensitive and acne-prone skin." The Clarisonic does come with a normal brush head, but this one clearly fits my needs better.



When I made my order there was a special gift included in any purchase of a new Clarisonic. So this gift included a mesh bag and a full size Gentle Hydro Cleanser. The mesh bag actually turned out to be the perfect size to hold everything, I definitley expected to toss it in the pile with all of the MyGlam bags.


And here it is! As you can see I bought the fuscia one, which I LOVE! Plus you get a travel size cleanser with it. Truthfully, I wanted the coral one, but it's been sold out for a while. 

The only downside is that I told myself I wasn't going to buy any beauty products for two months to help balance out such a big purchase... This is going to be a rough couple of months! I already have a growing mental list of things I want. Uhoh.

Hehe, even Nemu was excited for it to come. 



Friday, April 13, 2012

MyGlam April

My April MyGlam bag came today! (is that name weird to say to anyone else?) I was super pumped because I purposely didn't check the shipping tracker so I could be surprised. So let me show you what I got...


As you can see the bag is a fun metallic pink and the inside looks a little bare, but that's just because they're all smaller items.


This is the cute information card they send with the package. It just tells about each product that way you know exactly what you're getting. I really like this one, I think the colors are amazing - it's just really well designed and you know I'm a sucker for that.


They also sent two brushes. Now, I did not get last month's bag because their billing stuff wasn't working. I had originally signed up with my old bank account and they couldn't switch it until this month. So, as a side note I have to say that was ridiculous - it makes nooo sense to me why they would launch the service without being able to adjust billing accounts. BUT, it only affected me for one month so I think I can get over it. It just means I don't have the first brush or the pouch to hold them in. And I keep my brushes in a jar, so I'm not missing the pouch.


The next thing is a lip treatment from Dermstore.com. It says it will make your lips fuller and softer and the info card says it's made from nourishing oils. There's no scent listed anywhere on it, but it smells like a sweet strawberry desert - it's delicious!!

The next item is an Urban Decay eye liner and it's one of the 24/7 glide on pencils. I got the color purple, which is actually really perfect because I recently threw out my purple eyeliner because it was really old. I've also been wanting to try more brands of eyeliner and Urban Decay was on that list. I photographed it next to my phone so you could get a better idea of the size. After I swatched it on my hand I left it alone for a minute and then tried to rub it off and .... it held up! No smudges! Exactly what it promises.


The last item is lashes from All-Belle, which is a Singaporean company. I knew there were going to be lashes in the bag from MyGlam's twitter. And when I opened it I was more excited that it was a Singaporean brand because Asian brands (especially products dealing with lashes) are becoming big in the U.S. As I was opening up the lashes I kept thinking, man I really wish they would have sent some glue in the bag, that's lame that they expect everyone to have their own glue, not everyone uses false lashes (myself included). Well, it's a good thing I opened them up all the way because there's a tiny little bottle of glue taped to the bottom of the lashes! No more complaints here!

If you received a MyGlam bag this month leave a comment about your thoughts!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Rose Gold Watch

Rose gold, mensware watches are huge right now! I love the look, especially when it's layered with other bracelets. Like this...


My problem is that I really want a Michael Kors watch, which are pretty expensive in my book. I have bought two cheaper watches in similar styles - both are okay, but have proved to be worth only what I paid. Which makes me wonder, do you get what you pay for in a watch? A Michael Kors watch is a timeless piece (pun intended) and I can wear it forever. This particular style might become a little less trendy, but I think that won't be for a few more years and even then I don't think it will be unfashionable.

So here are the two that I'm down to. What are you thoughts? Do more expensive watches hold up to what you pay for them?


Sources {top going clockwise: 123} {watches: GenevaMichael Kors}



Monday, April 9, 2012

Instagram

Instagram recently came to Android and I have been LOVING it! I love taking pictures and I love the fun filters Instagram has. They make low quality phone pictures come out pretty cool. Here are a few of my favorites.



I was originially going to post this a little later in the week, but today Facebook bought Instagram so I though I should keep up with the news and post now. I don't know what this purchase means for sure - I can guess that Facebook wanted some kind of photo editing built in to their picture manager, just how Google does on Google+. For that reason I think it's smart move and I think a lot of people will have fun with it and really enjoy it. 

However, for me this mean something entirely different. To preface this I want to explain my background a little: I started college as a computer science major and married a software developer, technology surrounds my daily life. I studied ethics in technology for a semester, it is something that I became very passionate about. This passion grew even more as I switched majors to graphic design and found many people misinformed on the topic. All this to say, one issue I have problems with is Facebook's terms of use and privacy standards. So much so that I have disabled my account and refuse to rejoin, no matter how inconvient it makes my life. A major reason for this is because I am a graphic designer, my pictures, ideas and information about what I'm doing needs to be my own - I need to have complete rights over it and in the least be credited for my work if someone else uses it. Under Facebook's terms I don't have that, anything that is posted is owned by Facebook. This means my creative thoughts and ideas - which  I use Instagram to capture and create - could go under that same clause. 

This is not a call to boycot or tell you what to do, it's just my point of view and hopefully something to make you stop and think. Technology is amazing and has opened so many doors for so many people; but be very careful how you use it, especially if it relates to your business. Read the fine print and take great precautions, even if you're alone in them.

Easter Weekend

Tim and I had a very low key weekend, in fact we had no plans despite the holiday. Since living in a dorm and being kicked out every holiday, scrambling to find a ride to the airport, money for a flight, packing in as many visits with friends as possible, only to return exhausted with a mountain of homework that didn't get touched; Tim and I have purposely embraced a quiet life this year. (wow that was a long sentence) While we could probably pinch the budget and find time to travel on the holidays, but neither of us wants to spend half of the break in the car.

So, witch each break I find a new project to tackle. For me Easter was filled with cooking and baking of all kind! During the week Tim and I eat out a lot and I've realized it's because I don't have the energy for making a whole meal or I only have an hour in between class and work. So I made Easter my day to prepare for the week ahead.


I made General Tso's Chicken, it is a new seasoning packet that I tried and it smelled great! Poor Tim kept hoping that each dish I made was for dinner last night. I also baked the other half of the chicken breasts to cut up and put in a salad.


I also made some beef that was precut in strips and I tenderized them and marinated them. I haven't had much luck with beef, it always comes out tough; tasty, but tough. So I'm hoping the tenderizing helped, and I grilled them on the George Foreman just to try something else.


I also made these lemon bars (recipe here), they were really easy and turned out amazing!! The photograph doesn't do them justice at all! I maaay have eaten 2 1/2, but who's counting? The last thing that I made (and it really didn't photograph well) was guacamole. I also ate most of this - whooops! It was really good, but since it's not quite their season the flavor was as strong as it normally is; but you won't hear me complain!



Friday, April 6, 2012

DIY Funky Nails

I have been having a lot of fun playing with my nails lately. There are so many nail tutorials online and when I start to do them I think of so many variations you could do. So here are the basics and some pictures of what I've been doing.


I always start by filing, buffing and putting a clear base coat on.


These are the dotting tools I use. They're just two mechanical pencils I don't use and I put a nail through the eraser. The head actually makes a pretty big dot, so I made the other to do more detailed work. Plus they're great because they're big enough and long enough that I can use them with my left hand too!


Have fun with it! And remember that not all ideas work out and there's usually a leaning curve - especially with tape. I often put the tape on too soon so the first color gets messed up or I didn't press hard enough so the edges aren't clean. The best lesson to learn is to not be a perfectionist with this - play! get dirty!


If you don't to take the time to do all your fingers, just pick one. I'd suggest picking contrasting colors, this way that finger will really pop.


Monday, April 2, 2012

Kitty Love

When I have a weekend packed full of work I enjoy my cats even more than usual. This weekend in particular was full of work as I try to get my website created. Here are a couple of pictures of the cuteness I enjoyed. :)



Nemu has been a little grumpy lately because he has a tapeworm. He's normally suuuper cuddly and loves to hop in your lap the second you sit down; but lately he'd rather sleep in his bed or on the couch. :( Needless to say, we'll be going to the vet this week.


On the other hand Mojo has been extra cute and perky. These pictures are fuzzy, but he wasn't as cute after I fixed the shutter speed - of course. 
Hope you all have a good week this week!