FAIL X_X

I fail at keeping up with my resolution to blog more. So many ideas run through my head, but not enough motivation or energy or time to blog about it! But I'll do my best to make some sort of an effort! :P

busy busy..

AHH, I know it's been a while since I've blogged.  I've been really busy working my FIRST JOB EVER  as a pharm tech, whoo hoo!!  And if I'm not working, the HKLT pageant takes up the rest of my time!

Well, it's a new year, and I have a few resolutions I need to keep up with!

1. Continue to exercise regularly - I've been running on a regular basis since summer!! :) I run a mile at least twice a week, as long as the weather and my work schedule permits.  It's funny to say, but my dog motivates me to run, because he gets soooo excited to go on a run with me!! The added health and fitness benefits are a plus :D

2. Eat healthier -  I need to eat more greens regularly!

3. Keep in touch better - I personally find it difficult to just stay in touch and talk to everyone when I get so busy!  It's a problem I've had since high school.  It's understandable if I'm busy with work and school, but applications like Facebook and AIM, there isn't much of an excuse to not keep in touch with someone!  Honestly, it's because I hate posting things and writing on Facebook, because it can be too public, and I'd also rather carry a conversation with someone in real life than just through AIM.  But life gets busy, it's what we must do and what I must try to be better at!

4. Blog more - I started this blog because I enjoy reading other makeup blogs, and I wanted to share my opinions on certain makeup products.  The only problem is.. I get lazy to write about it LOL.. I swatch and take photos of my things, but I never get around to writing about it :P

5. Take more and better photos - there was a time in my life where I took pictures everyday!! Not artistically, but I just love how photographs capture the many different moments and memories in my life.  I have been saving up to buy my own DSLR, and when I finally get it, I want to work on improving my photography skills :)

6. Cook more, bake more - I havn't been doing much of either lately, and the only way to improve myself is through experience!!

7. Start on my apps early - most definitely!! and hopefully get into the school of my dreams!! :)

I'll add more when I think of them ...

Pandaphilia's Giveaway

One more giveaway..
Pandaphilia 250+ Giveaway from Pandaphilia: Ponderings of Bamboo Shoot

I love reading this blog! Angie's outfits are really cute, and her photos are even cuter! I especially like that a lot of her clothes are from Forever 21 and H&M, two places I love to shop! Cute and affordable outfits are always a good read :)

Join Pandaphilia's giveaway :)

Testing my Luck :)

I've never won a raffle of any kind ever in my entire life, so I'm testing out my luck with these giveaways from some blogs I like to read :)  so here goes!

First up is a Birthday Giveaway from Kali at The Makeup Drawer
I really like reading all of her reviews!! I also like that she posts often, so I always have something read :)

Join Kali's Birthday Giveaway!! :)

Next, we have a Holiday Giveaway from Navigating Through the Quarterlife with a Smile and Open Arms
Phew! That title is quite a handful, but I really enjoy looking at the outfits she put together! They're always really classy and professional looking :)

Join her giveaway!! :)

Next up is a Blog Giveaway from Kalmo at Cambo Soup
I started following her blog, because she's from Berkeley!  I always find it fascinating when I find makeup blogs from other Cal student or graduates just because I went to Cal too lol!!  :)

Join Kalmo's giveaway :)

Last but not least, I joined Karmin G3 Salon Pro Flat Iron Giveaway from Agnes at Pinkbox Makeup.
Her blog has a lot of wonderful reviews, and I especially love reading the drugstore makeup reviews!! It's nice to know that there's nice makeup that's cheap :)

Join Agnes' giveaway :)

Daiso Pore Pack Reviews

Lol I need to make more of an effort to write my blogs! I recently finished another round of midterms and have been spending my time job hunting!! I'm also participating in an intercollegiate pageant, so I'll let you know how that goes :)

Anyway, I wanted to review these pore packs I bought from Daiso awhile back.  Over the summer, there was a lot of hype over the pore pack from The Face Shop, but it was sold out everywhere! I even asked  a friend who was visiting Vietnam to look for it in their shops over there, but no luck :P  I don't actually have very large pores or blackheads or anything, but I was just curious about how much junk was in my pores, and those Biore strips never worked well for me. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found pore packs at Daiso!!

I bought the cactus one first about several months ago, and I found the black one about a month ago.  The white one costs $4, and the black one is $2, and their difference in price reflects their difference in quality.

Both pore packs are used in the same way.  For this to work well, you have to apply a thick layer onto your skin.  I think the cactus one dried faster than the the black one.  Once dry, you peel them off.  The cactus pack is stickier and hurts more than the white one when you peel it off, but both leave your skin feeling nice and soft.  For the purpose of this review, I used both packs in the morning before I washed my face, because I typically don't have much in my pores. I think my daily ritual of cleansing and toning keeps my face fairly clean.  Anyway, so how do the results compare?? Well see for yourself!!



Obviously, the cactus pack is white, and the black pack is black.  When you initially look at the strip, it's really hard to see what the cactus pack picked up, whereas with the black back, the junk stands out against the black strip.  But upon closer inspection, you'll see that the cactus pack picked up a lot more gunk than the black pack.

 

I admit, this is kind of gross, but at the same time kind of cool! From the pictures, you can tell that the cactus pack picked up A LOT more gunk than the black pack.  I had a really hard time trying to capture the little white pore gunks on the black strip, but on the cactus strip, it really stands out!

One last picture of all the gunk LOL sorry if it grosses you out, but I wanted to show you how much it pulled out!! Amazing, right??

Halloween

Hello!! It's been a while...  I've been spending all my free time working on my pharmacy apps, and I just submitted my last supplement a few minutes ago!! Now I'm ready to just  r e l a x :)  It honestly wasn't my best work, so I have very low expectations for the outcome.  It's okay, because  I don't completely feel ready either, and next year I'll be a much better candidate to compete against other people. But as for now, I'm done :)  Now I can concentrate on my classes and job hunting again and some other feel good activities, like baking :)

Anyway, I went out with my girls Friday night to celebrate Halloween at my girlfriend friend's charity halloween party, but it was more like a birthday party with a charity title slapped to it that we paid $20 to go to X_X It's okay, I still highly enjoyed dressing up and spending time with my girls.

Sorry, these were my only full body shots, lol. I was a CAVE GIRL!!  I was actually inspired by:

I actually ordered this dress, but they only had size medium left and it was super unflattering on me!  Besides that, this dress costs $27.80!! That's a lot more than I'd want to spend on something I'd never wear again lol.  So I went with a friend to go buy fabric, and I made my own dress. YES, I made my own dress, and I'm quite proud :) I spend late late Thursday night cutting and drawing the pattern and pinning it to make it fit my body, and then I spent all Friday sewing it all together. I even had to sew a zipper in the back so I could wear it.  It's quite an amazing feat, because the last time I sewed a dress, it was a complete disaster and a mess of thread on the inside lol.  I also made my own necklace and a bracelet out of clay, but I threw it away at the end of the night. I tied leftover leopard print fabric to a headband so I could match the model, put on my favorite black Forever 21 belt, and my new nude Payless sandals, and TA DA! cave girl :)

FOTN:
Foundation: Sephora Mattifying Compact Foundation in D25
Contour: Contouring Palette from Coastal Scents
Blush: Elf Contour & Blush
Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Palette Smog, Sin, Darkhorse and Mac Ricepaper
Eyeliner: Loreal Linear Intense for upper lid and Almay eyeliner on waterline
Mascara: Covergirl Lashblast
Lashes: Model 21
Lips: NYC Sheer Red

My first time wearing red lipstick in public!!  I own three or four red lipsticks and no one has ever seen me in them lol. This NYC one was really nice, it's a very wearable shade! However, I noticed that my lips dried out a lot by the end of the night.  When I looked in the mirror before washing everything off, my lips looked kinda cracked, but I don't think it's anything a bit of chapstick can't help. It was still red though, through several drinks and half a hamburger lol  I think the red lipstick made my skin look really really white.

I'll leave you off with this last picture, you can see my homemade necklace and bracelet :)  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Cal vs. UCLA

Hello!! It's been a while!  I've been a bit busy with school and pharmacy school apps.  I'm still not done with my apps yet, and I honestly don't feel too ready for it yet. But we'll see how it goes!! As for school, I'm taking two online courses in psychology and microeconomics.  I was really frustrated by how unorganized these classes were, but it's going well now.  I've been spending most of my day working on either apps or studying for my classes with one or two days off to hang out with friends. Overall, nothing too exciting...

...except for yesterday! I went to the Cal vs. UCLA homecoming game!! :)

yay!! I miss football games, but I sat in young alumni section, which is quite different from student section.  Watching the student section cheer made me realllly miss college though! It's cool, we still got to do a few "go bears" and the alligator song chomp. I don't actually know what that alligator song is called, or what it's for.. lol forgive me, I don't know much about football LOL

Before the game, I went to Sproul Plaza to check out the homecoming festivities.  In the past years, I used to help sell banh mi for VSA at the homecoming festival.  The first one I went to was really fun.  There were club booths selling food up and down Sproul, athough we got stuck with the worst booth location, all the way past Sather Gate.  There was also a little kid's area where they could play games get face painted and sticker and stuff like that.  I think that homecoming was successful because the game started around 5.  The following year, the game started at 11, so we all had to set up and sell at 8.  And to make matters worse, it was a rainy morning!!  No one wants to buy banh mi 8 am in the morning at homecoming!! People didn't even want to buy Vietnamese coffee!! People already made their accommodations elsewhere before coming to the homecoming festival.

Well this  year, I was excited to go, because it's my first time as an alumni.  But surprisingly, I only saw like 3 booths this year!! WHAA?? urgh, budget cuts!! :P  I did get to see Cal Band play though! I love Cal Band!

The game started at 12. We missed the kick-off, but eh.. we didn't miss anything too exciting lol.  I saw Oski Bear when I got in, and so of course I had to take a picture with him!  I remember at one point during the game, I saw these little kids punching his nose!! poor Oski!! Oh and at one point, his neck was sticking out of his shirt, lol and we kept trying to tell him to fix it. Oh Oski!

I sat pretty close to the field.  We were in the 7th row by the end field. They were pretty nice seats! and I got to see one of the players, Shane Vereen perhaps? i dunnoo lol, jump over some UCLA players during two different plays.  Pretty awesome!!

Testing out the zoom capabilities on my camera.  Look how sweaty they are!!

UCLA's band played first, and then Cal Band.  They played the same songs they did at Sproul earlier in the day, a medly of Latin American songs like Livin a Vida Loca and The Macerena hmm.. a Gloria Estefan song and  J Lo song.

Final Score, woot woot!! I knew we would win :)

Chicken Basil Pizza from Zachary's

After the game, we walked to Zachery's from the stadium.  Yes, we walked the entire 2 miles!! Luckily, we didn't have to walk back, although I think I would've really liked to!  So this was my first time eating Zachery's.  Yes, I went through all 4 years of college and never tried Zachery's!!  Well.. I DIDN'T LIKE IT!!! lol  I guess deep dish pizza just simply isn't my thing!! The pizza was just too tomato-y, and it was sour.  And I was stuffed after eating two slices.  I had a slice of chicken garlic, and it was good but if I had to pick a pizza to eat, I wouldn't eat this.  Next I had a slice of sausage pizza, and it definitely was not as good or flavorful as the Chicken Basil.  We also ordered a thin crust pizza, which I was only able to eat half off.  Although I prefer the thin crust, their thin crust pizza just had too much cheese on it!  It was like eating globs and globs of cheese X_X  After eating here, I was completely stuffed, and I felt bloated well on through the night.  And it's left me with no appetite to eat, even til today!! Now I'm craving for some good pizza.  Lol, I even prefer Dominos and Round Table and even Costco to Zachary's!!! Bleh..



Oh I forgot to mention, I sunburned my nose and a part of my shoulder and neck :(  Poo, I put on a lot of sunscreen on my nose too!! I used my Neutrogena SPF 70 sunblock on my nose, and then put Aveeno SPF30 tinted moisturizer on top of that! I thought it would be enough sun protection, but I guess not enough.. So now, my nose is significantly darker than the rest of my face, but hopefully it'll fade away quickly! :(