Updated skincare routine

Hey guys,

So I haven't done a skincare routine in quite awhile, so I thought I'd share it with you =D

Keep in mind that these prices are the prices I bought them at; I'm not exactly sure what their prices are right now, although they might be very similar since I bought most of these things recently.

In the morning, when I get up, I first wash my face with the Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Cleanser ($6.99, Target).

Next, I use some Witch Hazel from Wal-mart ($1.77) as a toner:

I then moisturize my face with the Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture, Spf 15 ($11.99, CVS):

I also use an eye cream for my eyes (duh!): the Yes to Carrots Eye cream, $15 (it's the cheapest one out there, 1.7 oz for $15!):

At night, I first use the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash, 2% Salicylic Acid ($5.99, Target):

Next, I use the Dermalogica Clearing Skin Wash ($33, online): NOTE: this was a gift given to me from my mom!

I actually use two cleansers during the night because my skin accumulates a lot of oil during the day. I guess I have a pretty oily complexion. This Skin Wash is only 0.5% salicylic acid, which is not strong enough for me, so I have to use this in conjunction with the Neutrogena 2% one.

Next, I use the Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Daily Scrub for exfoliating my underarms. Note: this is for shaving purposes, I guess it's not part of my skincare routine but my underarms are part of my skin, so lolz. I just wanted to share this because it's great as an exfoliator but I don't use it for my face because it is very abrasive, although the little scrubby things are finer than those of the St. Ives Apricot Scrub (2% salicylic acid).

Oh yeah, I got this for around $6.99:

 

To tone my face, I use the Witch Hazel that I used this morning:

I use the Eye cream again:

To moisturize my face, I use the Clean & Clear dual action moisturizer, with 0.5% salicylic acid ($6, Target):

Finally, I cover up any acne spots with my On-the-Spot Acne Treatment from Neutrogena (with benzoyl peroxide, I think 2.5%). This was $7.

Whoa.... these products in total are worth almost $100!!!! That's a gigantic amount of $$ to spend for skincare, especially for a poor college student like me. Lolz. I got a job to cover my personal expenses for college; other than the Dermalogica wash, I bought these all with my own $$. I guess I just invest a lot into skincare. For other personal expenses, I'm a bit more frugal; I almost always buy my clothes and shoes on sale, I'm on scholarship for my college tuition and room and board, I buy my books online or from friends, I buy school supplies during the beginning of the school year, I buy electronics during Black Friday, etc etc.

Just trying to be a college student without killing the budget... (wait no I already have!)

But anyways, enough of the digression. I just wanted to show you guys this because I know that a lot of people are suffering from severe acne. I had really bad acne for years and years, but during college it finally cleared up, I'm guessing from a different lifestyle, diet, and all of these products that I use to try to mitigate it. Here is just a treatment that works for me. I suggest you try some of the products if you want to try to improve your acne; almost all of the products (save one) can be bought at the drugstore or any general grocery store. There are often coupons in newspapers and stuff so you can just use those to save as well.

The ones I would suggest trying are Neutrogena Oil-Free Wash (2% salicylic acid), Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture, Spf 15, and the Witch Hazel toner. They are the ones that I think are worth investing the most in. And the witch hazel was only $2!!! Really cheap and good deal.

Anyways, that's all for today.
<3

Vitamin haul!

Hey guys,

So a few days ago I went to Target. I love getting vitamins for some reason; I've always felt that they were just useful for getting and taking in order to supplement the diet.

Here are the vitamins I had beforehand:
1. NatureMade Multi Complete, $10 (CVS)

Pretty good value, just your average multivitamin.

2. Origin Chewable Vitamin C, 500 mg, 60 Count, $2 (Target)

These were just $2!!! That's really cheap. I actually bought 4 bottles of these at the time; I believe now they are discontinued, or if they are not, I just can't find them at my Target anymore. Really tasty.

3. NatureMade Calcium, 500mg, $10

Really useful!

Here's what I actually got:
4. Vitamin C, 500 mg, Origin, 500 tablets, $8.24

I got this on sale for 50% off! Such a good deal. This is going to last me for more than a year.

5. NatureMade Chewable D3, 400 IU, 360 ct, $6.48

This will last me almost a year (1 year = 365 days, and there are 360 tablets, so if I take 1/day, yeah). Great value as well - 50% off!

6. Calcium+D dietary supplement, 120 tablets, ~$6

I don't remember the exact price of this, but I think I would need it soon since I'm running low on the calcium supplements. But I'll definitely try this Up & Up version =D

That's all for now!

XOXO

Stuff white people like?

I recently came across this website named "stuff white people like". Pretty interesting. Apparently it was from a book that tested people on how "white" they were.

Mostly it reflects views of young hipsters in America....

To access the site, click here.

Screenshot:

Have a good day everyone!

ELF Shimmer Palette Review

Hey guys,

So today I decided I'm going to do a review of a product I've been using for a long time. I think I actually kind of like it! It was the first thing that I had ever purchased from ELF from my first ELF haul. I bought everything on the ELF website, which you can get to here.

So here is what the palette looks like. Note that I've been using this for a long time so the palette is kind of smeared; the original thing looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

When you open it up, you get a brush, and 4 shimmer cream shadows:

As you can see, I've used the first 3 colors quite extensively. I've used this palette for about almost a year now, and it still has a lot of use in it left!

The first color is a pearly white color. The second is more of a peachy pink, while the third is a beige-like color. The fourth is more of a pinkish color. They are all pretty sheer and light, yet very shimmery:

As you can see from the swatches, they look very similar to each other when actually applied.

I personally think they are a great base to use, as you can see below:

The color to the most left is the eyeshadow color without any primer of sorts. The second, third, fourth, and fifth swatches are the same eyeshadow with the shimmer palette's bases underneath. There's a big difference between the eyeshadow without a primer and that with the primer (of the shimmer palette). The order of the shimmer palette's swatches is in the same order as those in the palette themselves (the white first, then the peachy, then the beige, then the pink).

Here's the eyeshadow I used to swatch everything. It's "Cornflower" from Wet N' Wild:

Anyways, I think this was a great buy. It cost only $3 from ELF's studio line and, after a year's use, is still going strong!

XOXO!

HPV Vaccine

Hey guys,

http://kirstyne.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/hpv-the-tricky-std/

So a few days I finally decided to get the HPV vaccine. For those of you that do not know, HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus. It is known to cause cervical cancer in women and genital warts in both women and men. Crazy stuff huh?

Anyway, I finally decided to get the first dose, against my parents' advice (they are very wary of vaccines, unlike me, the crazy bio nerd). I thought about it for a long time since I knew that it had just recently come out. Even though in Texas the governor gave an "Executive Order" to have all young women vaccinated using this vaccine (Gardasil), I was still kind of wary. I guess if in Texas, this was important enough, then in my little town it was supposed to be OK too, right?

Thus, I got my first injection. Surprisingly, after I got it, the nurse actually told me to lie down and stay still for 15 min. Apparently the injection caused some people to faint or something within the first 15 min of administration. Wow. I guess that is really something to look at and be wary of. (And I'm being serious here!)

Anyways, I have to get the next shot within 3 mon, and the last one within 6 mon. Afterwards hopefully I'll be fully protected. Hopefully I won't get cervical cancer sometime in the near future?

http://defeatingcolorectalcancer.wordpress.com/
Cancerous cells, although not cervical (is colorectal)

Toodles!

XOXO

Youtube Makeup Artist of the Month!

Hi guys! Today I'm going to be starting a new series where I talk about a Youtube MUA that I really admire, enjoy his/her videos, etc. I will like several of my fave vids on the post as well as comment on his/her style of explaining things. For the month of September, the artist is Wayne Goss from the UK. Click here to go to his channel. He is known as "gossmakeupartist".

He is very well known for his very useful tips and for giving actual, real facts about products rather than just saying "cover" things about them. For example, in one video he talks about the "Beauty Blender" and a dupe for it, and also talks about how he "has a problem" with people hiking up private labeled items and such..

Another cool thing is that his videos are FAST. He gets to the point really fast, and his longest videos are at most 6 minutes. At MOST. For many other gurus, such as meganheartsmakeup and frmheadtotoe and hollyannaeree, this might be a short video. His videos are fast and awesome. Epic.

Although he does generally prefer high-end makeup, there are some videos where he does drugstore makeup:

Fake NARS orgasm:

He's really good about also explaining and getting down to the gist of exactly what some people at department store counters want to not talk about, and exactly what is going on there. For example, here, he talks about exactly what causes people to break out with their makeup and stuff, no frills and no extras, just the blunt facts:

He also gives really good tutorials, such as how to get good eyebrows:

And also of course, the real deets on what mascara is:

So thus, for all of his honesty, bluntness, succinctness, etc, I proclaim him YT MUA of the month of September. Yay! Or rather, just my fave YT MUA of the month. Lolz.

Anyways, hope everyone has a great day! Check out his channel if you get a chance =D

XOXO

Review: Almay One Coat Thickening Waterproof Mascara

Ever since school started, I've been using the Almay One Coat Thickening Waterproof Mascara in Black. I got this mascara from my mom (she purchased it from Walgreens, I think, for around $6 or $7)... I think it was like a "back-to-school" present from her. I've been testing it for awhile (~1 month) and I think I like it!

Note: This is my first post where I actually use pictures I've taken myself. So credit all photos to Med School Girl!

Before Opening

Here is what the brush looks like

The brush
Nails: Wet N' Wild Shine Nail Color, Bijou Blue 443D

Comparison to CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume, Waterproof

As you can see, the tube is MUCH SMALLER than the LastBlast Volume. I always get waterproof mascara because it holds my curl better. I have extremely short East Asian eyelashes, which are short and stick straight out. Terrible!

I've got to say though, the Almay mascara doesn't hold my curl very well at all. It does clump a bit after I put it on. I have to basically wipe off the excess when I first pull the wand out of the container because there's so much residue on it. For the LashBlast, I don't have to do this. However, the good thing about the Almay mascara is that it is very hypoallergenic. My eyes get really irritated and itchy after I put the CoverGirl mascara on. However, with the Almay one, they feel very happy, "nourished" in a sense. After just one coat I think I am okay.

I think the overall purpose of mascara is not necessarily to "lengthen" or "volumize" but actually just to make your lashes look thicker and blacker. And I think this does the job, though perhaps not the best.

Mascaras usually last around ~1/2 year before they mess up. I think thus, during spring break, I'll buy another one. I've heard the Falsies is good, or L'oreal Voluminous. Of course, I'll have to buy the waterproof version. I'm with Xteeener on this one.

Xteeener's review and description of waterproof mascaras, from Maybelline

Toodles!
Lucy

Dark chocolate is good... but too dark of chocolate = BAD!

Hey guys,

I LOVE dark chocolate. I like it a lot more than milk chocolate, white chocolate, mint chocolate, whatever. I think it deserves award after award.

Hence today when I went to the store, I bought a chocolate bar that was 85% cocoa. Whoa - that's a lotta caffeine there!

http://www.lindt.com/fileadmin/lindt_int/products/4_Excellence/85percent.png

Previously, I hadn't eaten any chocolate that was more than 70% cocoa, and I thought this would be excellent.

WRONG!

It was extremely bitter tasting. Dark chocolate usually has that really rich taste that milk chocolate and white chocolate don't have. However, this taste was terrible. Absolutely terrible. So much that I had to drink water and eat an orange with it to bring it down. And both the orange and the water were sweeter than it. The orange, i can understand, but the WATER????

How can this be sweet????
http://www.instructables.com/image/FDA04K9FTTOTQW4/water-bottle-rocket-only-around-7.jpg

Anyways, my lesson is learned: You like dark chocolate, but too much is too much. Don't go overboard.

Shin Ramyun

The stereotype about college students is that they LIVE on ramen. Or rather, instant noodles.

Me? I eat them for a snack. I have a meal plan at the university's cafeteria, which means I get breakfast/lunch/dinner Monday -Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturdays and lunch and dinner on Sundays. Which is 19 meals a week.

But what about midnight cravings?

I am IN LOVE with Shin Ramyun noodles.

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/41589_118718505699_5136649_n.jpg

They are really hot and delicious. They are terrible for me but I still enjoy them. While I am still a college kid I actually have an excuse to eat them.

What is your favorite kind of instant noodle?

My obsession with boba

I am a food freak. I admit it. I love food.

Wait... if we are so addicted to food that we need it in order to survive, shouldn't that be an addiction? Like an addiction to caffeine or coke/crack or meth or something?

geez. I guess it all boils down to what the definition of the word "addiction" is.

Anyways. This post is going to be solely about food.

Lately, I've been really tired of buying boba. At my university, various clubs sell boba drinks basically every day of the week during lunch. However, most of the time they only sell milk or cream-flavored teas. As a person who is lactose intolerant, how am I supposed to deal with that? And also, it costs $3.50 to $4 a pop. That's a lot of money. Seriously.

My solution? Make my own boba.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
1. dried boba from the supermarket (get from Chinatown)

http://img.chinaqualitycrafts.com/photo/ps32225/tapioca_pearls.jpg

2. Lots of sugar

http://www.consumerqueen.com/consumerqueenwp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Imperial-Pure-Cane-Sugar-4lbs.jpg

3. Green tea bags

http://www.iplanretirement.com/retirementblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/green_tea_bags_lipton.jpg

4. Ice cubes

http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Files/Gifts-and-Crafts/Electrical-Gift/Ice-Cube-Misting-Lamps-21100254588.jpg

that's really just about it.

Instructions:
1. Boil a pot of water with the ratio of water volume to the amount of boba you want to put in as 10:1. You can just eyeball it.
2. Once the water boils, put in the boba you want to cook.
3. Meanwhile, make a pot of tea (depending on how much tea you want) with an ordinary tea kettle or coffee pot or whatever other device you have.
4. When the boba floats to the top of the water, that means it's been cooked. It usually is about 5-10 min, depending on the power of your stove.
5. Drain the boba using a colander, and then immerse it immediately into sugar water. Ratio of sugar to water should be 1:1. I know this is a lot of sugar but trust me it's less than what tea shops put into your boba drinks when they make them. The water should be twice the amount of boba and sugar (by volume) together.
6. Let the boba sit in the sugar water for about 10 min. Stir occasionally.
7. When step 6 is done, you are ready to make your boba drink. Take a tall glass (maybe 2 cups in volume) and fill it 1/2-way with ice chips. Put in as much boba as you want. Then fill it up with green tea.
Note: Add as much ice and tea depending on how cold you want your drink to be.
8. Swirl it around and drink!

Cost-wise, this is MUCH more effective than buying boba from the tea shop.
One bag of boba cost me $4, and it made enough boba for ~30 drinks. The tea cost me less than $10. The ice was free (I got it from the fridge).
Thus, this was $14 for 30 drinks. so $14/30 = 46 cents per drink!!!

In contrast, each drink at the tea house costs at least $3.50. The homemade drink is about 7 times cheaper. And it didn't have milk in it, which allowed me to actually be able to drink it!!!

Homemade boba drinks are lovely =D

Sorry....

Hey guys,

I want to apologize for not updating in a LONG LONG LONG time. I've been extremely, extremely busy with school. The semester just started up again and as a senior I have a honors senior thesis to write and publish by the end of the year. Along with a lot of other capstone courses and my extracurrics and everything, this is has just been CRAZY.

So to make up, I'll (try my best to) post lots of posts with lots of density for these next few weeks. whoo!!!

First updates first. I broke up with my boyfriend ~3 weeks ago. There were a lot of reasons. He was wanting too much from me.... wanted stuff from me that I couldn't give to him. It was a difference in beliefs and values. He wanted things that I couldn't provide, and I wanted things that he wasn't willing to give. So we parted ways. Or rather, I said goodbye to him.

And now I am very very very glad that episode of my life is over. VERY GLAD.

http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/happiness_bulldogdrummond.jpg
SOOO HAPPY!

Next. I moved back onto campus and this time have a new room setup. I bought some new furniture (new mirror, bookstand, suitcases, boxes, etc). Enough with the boring stuff. I also got a new laptop cooler. I tried making some videos using my webcam on my computer but basically the entire time my voice was cut off by the laptop's fan RUNNING AND RUNNING AND RUNNING. Seriously it sounded like I was on an airplane flight or something with the airplane's turbines right next to me. Seriously. Terrible.

http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Notebook-Cool-Pad-Fans/dp/B001B077PO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316728973&sr=8-1

This was the laptop cooler I got. Isn't it cool??? It's got LED lights and everything. And with Amazon Prime (Amazon student prime) it cost only $4.89. Great deal for a pretty thing that helps so much.

Next. I ordered a Harry Potter scarf and beanie for the winter. Now, down in this part of the south you usually don't wear these things unless if it's the dead middle of winter. Which is for about 2-3 months at most each year. Which thus means that these aren't very efficient. But I AM A DIE-HARD HARRY POTTER FAN. Seriously. I wasn't able to sign up for Pottermore (I didn't want to wake up at 6 or 7 AM everyday to do it) but I basically know all of the trivia facts, own all of the books, both hardcover and ebook and softcover, have the posters, everything. About time I got some more memorabilia.

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Gryffindor-House-Purple/dp/B0006GYLOE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1316729147&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Elope-LU2365-Gryffindor-House-Beanie/dp/B000XEVDTK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1316729176&sr=1-1

Aren't they lovely?

Anyways, that's all for this post. Just some miscellaneous updates on my crazy college life. Toodles!!!