My Beautiful NYC

First off I would like to apologize for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. I've been a bit overwhelmed and stressed out over finals and such, but summer vacation is quickly approaching so expect much more frequent posts. Second off, I would like to add that in August I'll be going away to Texas for about 3 weeks to visit some family, but I'll possibly be doing some pre-planned posts.

This summer I definitely plan on going out a lot more and stepping out of the mundane, so expect some photos throughout the summer. Plus I want to give more variety to my blog. I'm definitely not a photographer nor do I claim to be, but from time to time I take a few good snaps and I thought I would share. These are from the past year or so, but not many at all. Most are taken at the Bronx Zoo. :)

Bit blurry (taken through some glass)

And if you're here through Frankie's instagram then welcome. :)

NOTD: Owl Nails

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! I'm just going to take it easy this weekend and not do very much. It's going to be a chocolate eating, milk drinking, and tv watching with a gorgeous smelling candle lit in my

room kinda weekend.

I recently got these owl nail decals from this eBay seller. They're pretty easy to apply once you get the hang of it and tweezers are pretty helpful as well. This was my first attempt and it looks pretty awful to be quite honest. My left hand looks a lot better than my right. Practice makes perfect. :)

You have to use these over a light color base or else they won't show up quite well and then apply a generous layer of top coat.  The base color I used was Revlon Jaded and the top coat I used was Seche Vite. I love having these beautiful little owls on my nail, I can't stop looking at them. Got a whole bunch of these nail decals from different sellers and will do a little haul post once I get all of them in the mail. Hopefully my second attempt at these decals will look a lot better than this. :P                                    

                                           

Versatile Blogger Award!

Eppp! Today (well yesterday actually) I came home from school and saw that I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award. I am so truly grateful to the lovely and talented Niamh from Niamh-Makes-Things for nominating me for this award. Can't thank her enough! With the award you have to tell everyone 7 random facts about you and nominate 15 bloggers that are relatively new to blogging. 

 Here goes my 7 random facts:

1. I never sweat in my armpits. NEVER. Even in 100 degree weather and doing physical activities, not a single bead of sweat or any odor at all. Sometimes it worries me honestly, isn't sweating normal? I don't even wear deodorant cause there isn't a need to. I swear I'm not smelly I promise! I've had people take a whiff and there's nothing at all! :P

2. I can neither swim nor ride a bike. No one has ever taught me how to. I put these two facts together cause my best friend Frank is suppose to teach me how to this summer and he better keep his word! XP

3. I suffered from severe acne extremely early on in my life, around 8 years old. It was horrible.

4. I lack pictures from the ages 11-13 because I was so self-conscious of said acne.

5. I've never traveled outside the country (U.S.) Although I would love to someday.

6. I can't stand parsley, celery or cilantro. The smell and taste makes me gag.

7. I'm extremely short, only 5'2. Can someone spare me a few inches please?

Now here are my 15 (more like 3) nominations for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Melissa from Bubbles, Glitters, Unicorns!

2. Jordana from The Style Young

3. Lickle Star from Life's Little Stars 

Haven't been on blogger very long so I don't have too many blogs that I follow. Sorry :/ 

FOTD #3: Saturday Night Out

Face:

-Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

-Benefit The Porefessional Face Primer

-Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation (NC20)

-Benefit Erase Paste Concealer Shade 1 (undereye)

-Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer Shade #6 (face)

-Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (to set foundation)

-NYX Cream Blush in Orange

-Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

-Nars Laguna Bronzer

Eyes:

-NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Brunette

-Essence Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

-Eyemazing Ciffone Line No.403 Lashes (Japanese Brand and yes it is spelled ciffone on the box. Lost in translation?)

Lips:

MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick

This is the makeup I wore while going out with friends to see a school show yesterday. It's pretty simple, nothing special to be honest. Just some bright lips, winged eyeliner and dewy foundation. Starting to get into wearing false lashes but I'm not ready for the super dramatic ones (I'm a natural kinda gal.) I'm absolutely loving MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick at the moment, it's a nice bright summery coral. Seemed like a pretty big hit with some sleazy guy who tried to hit on me with the line " That lipstick looks good on you sexy." Uh, okay...thanks? That's NYC for ya! 

P.S. Will update with a picture of the actual products once my camera is up and ready. 

My Clarisonic Mia 2 is Here!

Hello everyone! First off I would like to apologize for my lack of posts over the week. I've been super stressed out studying for my AP English Composition Test that I had on Wednesday. Did anybody else take it, what did you think of it? Anyways, I'm so happy to finally get my Clarisonic in the mail! 

 The model I got was the Clarisonic Mia 2 in the color Coral, which is a limited edition color for spring. I've been wanting a Clarisonic for almost 5 years now (:O) but I never got one cause of the price of it. I convinced myself that it wasn't worth it for a glorified face brush, seriously $149 is overkill. After reading and watching literally hundreds of raving reviews on the Clarisonic Mia from bloggers and youtubers (all of whom have gorgeous skin) and seeing the state of my skin now I just broke down and purchased one. 

I can't stand my skin. I literally cringe every time I look in the mirror without foundation and concealer slapped on my face. It's scarred, uneven, acne-prone, my pores are large and clogged with flakey areas on my cheeks and around my nose. I'm a person that has and will spend tons money trying to find products that will help with ALL of my problems, only to end up in disappointment. I thought to myself, instead of trying every skincare product on the market maybe I should be changing the way I cleanse my face. It's a definite long-term investment for me, but I'm willing to pay anything for beautiful skin.

The kit comes with the Clarisonic Mia 2(obviously), a sensitive brush head, a pLink magnetic charger, protective travel case and a Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser (I will probably end up using my regular cleanser). Unlike the original Mia, the Mia 2 comes with two-speeds and a one-minute Pulsing T-Timer. If you're one of those who people don't care for these extra features or the travel case then you can get the orginal Mia for $119. I've used this once already and found the timer to be extremely helpful (cause I'm a Clarisonic noob! :P.)

This isn't a review post, but I'll do one eventually (not like we need another Clarisonic review) but it has to be helpful to someone right?! No? Maybe? Whatever, I'm still going to do one anyways. :P

A Few More MAC Lippies

If you guys couldn't tell already MAC lipsticks are my favorite lipsticks, because MAC has a huge selection of colors and different formulas and the price of them is about mid-range (in the U.S. at least.) With brands like Nars, Lancome and others being high-end and brands such as Chanel, Dior and Sisley being luxury brands. And then some of my favorite brands such as Revlon, Maybelline and NYX being low-end but definitely without skimping out on the quality of their products. 

MAC lipsticks retail for $14.50 in the U.S. 

Razzledazzler (lustre) was a limited edition color that came out with the Fashion Sets collection (the Asia part) but was only available online but is now sold out unfortunately. It's a beautiful peachy-orange color. I believe it is permanent in Asia.

Impassioned (amplified creme) is a bright watermelon pink, perfect for summer.

Lickable (cremesheen) is extremely similar to Girl About Town. Its a cool-toned fuchsia. I would say its the sheerer little sister of Girl About Town.

Last but not least is Girl About Town (amplified creme), another cool-toned fuchsia. I put off getting this as I thought it would be too cool-toned for me, but after seeing it on Melissa's Blog  (Bubbles, Glitters, Unicorns!) and seeing how beautiful it looked on her I just had to get it. I definitely would recommend following her blog cause it's great. :) 

P.S. I'm seriously debating whether or not I should get a Clarisonic, tired of the state of my skin and my constant battle with clogged pores (it's awful.) It definitely would be an investment, but I'm willing to try anything at this point. 

House of Harlow Jewelry Dupes

This post is going to be on House of Harlow dupes, copies, replicas, fakes; call it what you wish. Currently frustrated at how my pictures turned out (taking pictures of jewelry is no easy task) but after an hour or so you kind of throw in the towel. I got all of these from a wonderful place called eBay. :)

Left: Authentic  Right: Fake

First off is the dupe of the House of Harlow Gold Medallion Locket. I actually own the real necklace from House of Harlow (original post here) Obviously the fake one is bit flimsier than the real one, but not everyone can afford the real one. That's what dupes are for right? The magnets are a tad weaker and the chain is about 2 inches shorter, but still quite long. Would still recommend. I got this from this Ebay seller.

Next up are two dupes of the Double Star Burst Necklace. The smaller pendant actually moves up and down the chain, so you can wear the smaller one dangling down while wearing a low back top. These are pretty nice quality, my only grip about about these necklace are the lobster clasps. As you can see from the photo above it looks quite awkward when the smaller pendant is pushed all the on the other side of the chain. The authentic necklace doesn't actually come with a clasp at all, so know awkwardness there. Black one from this seller and the khaki one is from this seller. 

This one is another dupe of a Star Burst Necklace. This one is actually quite nice, doesn't feel too cheap. Pendant is quite big (2.2 inches across). Definitely a statement piece. Bought from this seller.

Last but not least is a dupe of the Starburst Ring. Another statement piece (measures 1.5 inches across.) No complaints about this one either. Bought from this seller. P.S. Would like to note that the seller claims that it is real leather and 22k plated gold which, obviously it is not.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them down below and I'll get to them as soon as I can. :)