Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy Chinese New Year!

Hi Everyone!

Being that I am half Korean and most of my family on my mom's side is celebrating today, I thought I would wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! 2014 is the year of the wooden horse. 새해복 많이 받으세요!



What is your Chinese zodiac? Mine is the tiger :)


until next time <3

..diana

2014 Resolutions

Hi Everyone!

Now I know that it's already the end of January and I'm definitely late in the game but I still wanted to make some resolutions. I should've done it sooner but ya know.. shoulda coulda woulda lol so here I am with my resolutions.. better late than never! :)



Even though I didn't write them down in the beginning of the year, I still kinda had something in mind so I can give you progress on what I've been working on etc.

Reading: I have officially completed 10 books and currently reading my 11th one :) I have my little goodreads counter on the side panel :)

Eating: I have been trying to watch what I eat but I definitely need to make more of an effort.

Weight Loss: Definitely need to work on this :p

Blogging: I have definitely been blogging everyday since I started my blog on the 15th of January except for 1 day I believe so I'm super happy about it. I never realized how much I would love blogging!

Schedule Maintaining: I haven't actually created my schedule as of yet but I will be creating one for blogging, housework etc to make sure that I can stay on track.. if not I feel like I forget to do things :p

Do you guys have any resolutions for this year? How are they going?

until next time <3

..diana

#backthatazzup Friday!

Hi Everyone!

I thought it would be fun linking up with I wore yoga pants and the others for #backthatazzup Friday!



I've been reaching back in the depths of my music collection to the stuff I was listening to in high school and forgotten how much I loved it. Dashboard Confessional was so good back then and it's still good now :) This is one of my all time favs for sure :)

As Lovers Go by Dashboard Confessional on Grooveshark

I hope you enjoy! What have you guys been listening to lately?

until next time <3

..diana

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Currently...

Hi Everyone!

This is what's been going on this week :)

Reading: Seriously.. I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres and its awesome so far.

Doing: I feel super productive because I've been tidying up the apartment and doing laundry.

Thankful For: Life, my wife, my health and the opportunity to be able to work on my blog full time which is awesome :)

Watching: I've actually been catching up on some shows while my love has been away for business so I've been watching Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood, The Fosters, and Reign. I have absolutely been loving Reign! I love when it takes place and it's just so addicting. Anyone else watching?

Loving: My new Kate Spade essex scout handbag and the fact that my love is finally home from being on business since Monday. I've missed her so much!

What's been going on this week for you? I'd love to hear :)

until next time <3

..diana

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

What I bought Wednesday!

Hi Everyone!

Recently I purchased a new bag on sale at Kate Spade and it finally arrived today and I'm so excited so I just had to share. Kate Spade is one of my all time favorite brands because it's so classic. Now onto the bag I bought!



It is the Kate Spade Essex Scout cross body handbag in natural. I've been looking for a cross body bag for the longest time and I'm so glad that I held out because this one is just perfect! It isn't too small or too big it's just perfect. Now this bag definitely came in different colors but I feel like the natural brown color will always be classic and if it were to get scuffed up or anything it would still look nice.

What's your favorite cross body bag and brand? I'd love to know :)

until next time <3

..diana

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Tea Time Tuesday and Latest Read!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday and Latest Read!

I don't know about you guys but I absolutely love drinking tea and lately I have been trying out various kinds and thought it would be fun to review them.

Since drinking tea is such a relaxing thing to do, my favorite thing to accompany my tea is a good book so I thought that I could combine the two and give you guys like a weekly Tea review and let you guys know what book I've just finished and what I'm currently reading.

I have a goal on goodreads to read 100 books by the end of the year so help me get there with awesome book recommendations :)



The current tea that I have recently tried and have been loving is the Tazo Cocoa Mint Mate. The first time I tried this I knew I would be hooked! It is an herbal tea infused with cocoa peel, peppermint, spearmint and mate. I like that it has a hint of mint but it's not too minty and just a slight hint of cocoa. It's amazing and very little caffeine content so I can drink it before bed no problem. I found mine at Target for I think $3-4 so it was definitely a decent price. I would definitely recommend this tea!



Just Finished: Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? by Mindy Kaling.I have to admit that while it was a good read, I kind of got bored towards the end. I think the beginning was witty and fun to read but towards the end it kind of seemed to die off as far as the comedy goes. Overall though, I enjoyed reading it and it was an easy read.



Current Read: Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres. Lately I have been on a kick about reading various comedian's autobiography and I have heard nothing but great things about this one so I'm really excited to read this one through :)

What are you guys reading? any yummy tea suggestions?

until next time <3

..diana

Monday, January 27, 2014

Beauty Goodies I'm Lusting After!

Hi Everyone!

These are the current things I'm totally lusting for at Sephora!



Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink. I have seen this stuff been raved about by so many of the YouTube and beauty blogging community that I really want to try it. Not to mention that it looks so pretty! Everyone says it gives off just the perfect color for you and its moisturizing.. what more could a gal want?

Dior Nude BB Creme in Fair 002. After hearing Estee from rave about this stuff I totally want to try it out. I love using bb cremes instead of liquid foundation because it feels light and natural. This stuff just looks amazeballs!

Foreo Luna. I have been wanting the full size Luna since I saw it all over instagram and it looks amazing! I love the fact that you don't ever have to change any brush heads and that it's super easy to keep clean and has multiple settings for different speeds for cleaning and massaging your face. It just has a rather hefty price tag so I'll definitely have to save up :p

Philosophy's Total Matteness Oil Free Mattifying Pore Eraser. Now ever since I saw this on the sephora website it has intrigued me. Now I know that you can't actually minimize your pores but I figured that anything that could help my pores look smaller I'm on bored. I have combo dry skin and some really big pores around my nose and cheeks so its always a constant battle to camouflage them.

All of these amazing items are just hanging out in my loves on sephora.com :) Have you guys tried any of these and if so, what are your thoughts? What are you guys lusting after?

until next time <3

..diana

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday Social- The Beauty Goods

Hi Everyone!



I saw this post and thought it would totally be fun so I'm linking up with Neely and Ashley on this beautiful Sunday!

1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
Well I technically wasn't allowed to wear makeup until I graduated high school but I definitely snuck in some mascara and eyeliner in my junior year of high school :)

2. What are your top 3 favorite beauty products?
mascara, blush and cream eyeshadows! I love to just be able to put on and go

3. What is one makeup product you don't leave home without?
a moisturizing lip balm which is currently the Nuxe rev de Miel in stick form (simply amazeballs) and usually some kind of lip crayon for a wash of color when I need it :) I think I have a few Revlon just bitten kissable balm stains floating in my handbag :p

4. What is your daily beauty routine?
brush my teeth, wash my face, tone and moisturize and then some powder or powder foundation depending on what I'm doing and some mascara and lip balm.

5. What is your favorite hair/makeup product you have discovered in the last year?
the wet brush! its so good at combing through my thick and unruly hair without tugging and hurting :)

Weekly Rant: Sprint Store Issues!

Hi Everyone!

I was thinking about what I would want to post on this beautiful Sunday morning and I thought that doing a weekly rant would be kind of fun :) I had an experience that down right wanted to make me pull my hair out on Friday and wanted to share.

Ok, so let's start from the beginning.I am an avid Apple products user. I love all my Apple products, one of them being the iPhone 5s. I've owned iPhones for the past fews years (the 4, 4s and now 5s) and never had any issues with them which is one of the reasons why I love them so much. Well anyway, after having the phone for a few months, the bottom of the multitouch screen stopped being responsive. Sometimes it would work, and sometimes it wouldn't. It made for texting to be awful and I wasn't able to play Words with Friends at all.. because I couldn't click on the dang letters. It was super inconvenient so I made an appointment with the Genius Bar to see if there was something wrong with it. God knows I've factory reset and restored my phone numerous times to see if it would help and it didn't.

So Friday was my appointment at the Genius Bar and as always the people working at Apple are simply amazing and always willing to help. They ran a diagnostic on my phone to find out that 12 out of 15 apps on my phone were continuously crashing and one of those apps being tied to the multitouch screen. They told me that it was a software issue so they said they would go ahead and replace it for me. That was easy peasy.

Now comes the issue. First, they weren't able to activate the phone at the Apple Store and they said that my service provider, Sprint, sometimes had issues with activating in the store so they said that they would attempt a few more times and if it still doesn't work I'm going to have to go to a Sprint Store to get it activated. No problem, that wasn't a big deal.

So they tried a few more times and weren't able to activate so I left there to go to my nearest Sprint Store to get the phone activated. When I get there I sign in and wait for like 10 min and they call me up to the front. They attempt to activate the phone and flat out tell me that the phone can't be activated. I asked them why and they said that it was tied to another account and told me that I had to go back to the Apple Store. That was it.. they didn't even want to help me anymore so because I didn't have a phone, I asked to use theirs which they were kind about and called the Apple Store to see what I needed to do next because I'd never heard of a new phone not being able to be activated.

I talked to a rep from the local Apple Store and explained the situation and they were baffled and had never heard of that before so they asked if they could place me on hold to ask their supervisor so I said no problem. They get back on the phone and advise that that's never happened before and that they were sorry about the inconvenience of my having to go to a Sprint store when clearly if they weren't able to activate it at the Apple Store then chances were that I wouldn't be able to activate it at a Sprint store so they said to come back in so that I could get another replacement.

Mind you, the nearest Apple Store to my apartment is about 25 minutes away and I was supposed to take my wife to her doctor's appointment. I told the Apple Store rep that I had a doctor's appointment to go to and if it would be ok if I stopped by after and he said no problem. Well I went home only to find out that my wife had cancelled her appointment and didn't want to go so I had gone home for nothing. That was super irritating for sure. You never realize how inconvenient it is when you don't have a phone to be able to communicate because if I would have known that she didn't want to go to her appointment I would have just drove back to the Apple Store.

Fast forward about an hour and a half later I show back up at the Apple Store and tell them the situation at hand and so they start playing with the phone they gave me and low and behold, they get the thing activated. You have no idea how excited I was! It was like I had connection to the outside world again. But then it made me wonder what the hell happened at the Sprint Store and why they weren't able to activate it and why they would tell me it was attached to another account. That made me so irritated because I felt like they were so unhelpful and didn't give a crap about the situation at hand not to mention they straight up lied to my face. I definitely won't be going to that location again.

Luckily, I am not tied into a contract with Sprint, I don't have the best service but then again I don't really feel like there are any service providers that provide great coverage at the moment. I'm so thankful that Apple is so generous and willing to help their customers.. I just wish that Sprint was the same way :p

What do you guys suggest as a service provider? Do you guys like these kind of posts or no (if not, no worries, thanks for letting me rant this time :P) ? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

Happy Lazy Sunday!

until next time <3

..diana

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Ulta Friends and Family 20% off Haul!

Hi Everyone!

I've been wanting to do this post for a while now but I was waiting to get the rest of my order before I posted it. I'm super excited about everything I got and want to share with you guys. I'm going to ask you ahead of time to forgive me if the pictures aren't 100 great, I'm still learning the best ways to take them for the best quality so please bare with me while I continue to play around with them.

Now onto the haul!



I have finally caved in and purchased the Urban Decay Stay All Night Setting Spray. I've never been really into setting sprays but I wanted to see what all the hype is about so I'm really excited to try it out.

After hearing so many rave reviews on the Jack Black Lip Balms, I also decided to try these out, specially since it was in a 2 pack for $12 plus the coupon. I haven't tried them yet but I can't wait :)

Now, I have been on the search for a good makeup wipe because the new Neutrogena ones aren't cutting it anymore. They seem to be drier and they don't take off makeup very well. I heard a few good reviews on the Ponds Wet Makeup Towelettes from the beauty community on YouTube and I have used these a few times and I think they work great. They don't work super well on mascara but I use an eye makeup remover first anyway so that's not an issue for me.

After running out of my seaweed clay mask from the body shop, I decided I wanted to try something different for a change so I decided to pick up the Formula 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Skin Clarifying Mask with Strawberry and Yarrow. It smelled really good and I've heard nothing but good things about it so I picked it up. It was also more than half the price of the mask at the body shop so that's always nice :)



I got the Too Face Matte Palette vs the Naked Basics Palette because I liked how it had more colors than just browns. I felt like it would be more versatile :) The swatches are in the following order: (top right pic) Tufted Suede, Chinchilla and Coffee Bean. (bottom left pic)Velveteen Bunny, Pebbles, and London Fog. (bottom right pic) Fresh Linen, Vintage Violet and Midnight. I liked how this palette had a row for matte browns, matte blueish colors and matte purplish colors. All eyeshadows were really creamy and great color payoff.



I was super excited to get this Urban Decay Naked 3 duo eyeliner because the colors are on the purpleish taupe side and are very subtle and pretty. I've already worn the Darkside before and simply love the color. Blackheart is nice because even though it is black it is not super black so it's not harsh looking at all. The swatches are in the following order: Darkside (purple taupe) and Blackheart (matte black with pinky glitter)



I got 4 different lip products for NYX. The top two in the picture are swatches of NYX Butter Lip Gloss in Strawberry Parfait (pretty pink) and Creme Brulee (pretty sheer color on the nudey side) and the bottom two are the NYX Butter Lip Balm in Brownie (sheer nude) and Red Velvet (sheer red). All of these butter lip products from NYX are on the sheer side but I like them because they still give a slight hint of color.



These Stila Waterproof Smudge Sticks were on super sale, I got all 5 of them for less than $15. All of them have amazing pigmentation and glide on super easy. Once they set, they don't move either which is definitely a plus. Swatches from top to bottom: Stingray (jet black), Lionfish (brown), Aubergine (burgundy purple), Navy (blue), and Emerald (green).




I'm super excited to have gotten the Tarte Be MatteNificent palette! Ever since I saw this palette, it was love at first sight because it contained matte pinky purples which I feel look really good with green or hazel eyes. The swatches on this palette are kind of wonky so I'm super sorry about that but the first color is the blush and then the eyeshadows in order as you see them on the palette and the last two swatches are the eyeliner swatches on the bottom. All these eyeshadows are super pigmented and blend really nicely. This is my first Tarte palette and I'm super impressed and loving it!



Now these last two items I didn't get at Ulta but I wanted to go ahead and include them. Aren't these Inglot blushes so pretty? These colors are definitely out of my comfort zone but when I swatched them I had to have them because they were so pretty and creamy. The only thing I hate is the fact that Inglot doesn't have color names they go by numbers. The colors I got are 29 (matte orange) & 55 (matte pinky purple)(in order of the palette, the colors are swapped on the swatch so the swatch is 55 & 29).

The last thing I picked up was a new eyelash curler. I had been on a hunt for a new one and after reading tons of reviews I decided to go with the Kevyn Aucoin eyelash curler. From what I read it's one of the eyelash curlers to have so I'm excited to try it out. I really like the fact that the cushion on the eyelash curler is red. It give it a pop of color.

I am planning on doing reviews on some of the items as soon as I have had a fair amount of time to try them out so be on the lookout for those! Do you guys have any of the items I've bought? Do you love them or hate them? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Again, sorry this is kind of all over the place :) I hope you enjoyed!

until next time <3

..diana

**disclaimer: I bought everything shown and I'm in no way trying to brag or anything, I'm just sharing because I love reading these kind of posts :) **

Friday, January 24, 2014

Get to Know Me More: the TMI Tag!

Hi Everyone!

I thought as something fun I would do the TMI tag so that you guys would get to know me more on a personal level :)
Questions:

1: What are you wearing? sweats and a white shirt.. it's laundry day :p
2: Ever been in love? yes
3: Ever had a terrible breakup? yes
4: How tall are you? 5'3
5: How much do you weigh? probably around 160.. i'm chubby :p
6: Any tattoos? yes, I have a japanese blossom branch on my foot and an infinity symbol with my wedding date on my wrist :)
7: Any piercings? yes, 2 in each ear and I had my tongue and belly button pierced but those have been taken out and healed for a few years.
8: OTP? according to the interwebs OTP means one true pairing of characters in your fandom. i think this would have to be Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter.. I know I'm a nerd :p
9: Favourite show? oh man.. too many to count but currently it's Modern Family.
10: Favourite bands? All time favorite band would have to be Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin and then Muse and 30 seconds to Mars, The Neighbourhood, Imagine Dragons and many more.. I love music!
11: Something you miss? my family in Korea.
12: Favourite song? currently it would have to be Afraid by The Neighbourhood.. if you haven't heard it, go check it out on youtube. http://youtu.be/LILL0AV0938 the music video is really weird but the song is awesome. it does have some curse words in it so listen accordingly :)
13: How old are you? 27 years old
14: Zodiac sign? I'm a Virgo but I was born on the Virgo Libra Cusp so I have traits from both signs.
15: Quality you look for in a partner? honesty, sense of humor, caring and compassionate.. basically everything my wife is :)
16: Favourite Quote? "Imperfection is Beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”Marilyn Monroe and "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss
17: Favourite actor? George Clooney, Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Gosling
18: Favourite color? Purple, black, and pink
19: Loud music or soft? loud most of the time
20: Where do you go when you're sad? If I'm really sad then I would just stay in bed all day
21: How long does it take you to shower? 15-20 minutes
22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? about 45 minutes to an hour
23: Ever been in a physical fight? nope
24: Turn on? confidence
25: Turn off? dishonesty
26: The reason I created a blog? to be able to share my thoughts on beauty and life and love or anything I want to really :P
27: Fears? death, spiders, bees, snakes
28: Last thing that made you cry? a shitty situation a friend was put in
29: Last time you said you loved someone? this morning to my wife
30: Meaning behind your blog name? its actually my married name
31: Last book you read? the last book I finished was Unintended Consequences by Marti Green
32: The book you're currently reading? Is Everyone Hanging Out with Me by Mindy Kaling
33: Last show you watched? Ugly Betty on Netflix
34: Last person you talked to? my love :P
35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? she's one of my best friends
36: Favourite food? chicken fingers and fries or anything korean
37: Place you want to visit? I would love to tour around Europe
38: Last place you were? other then home, Target
39: Do you have a crush? my wife :)
40: Last time you kissed someone? this morning
41: Last time you were insulted? a few days ago
42: Favourite flavour of sweet? i love chocolate
43: What instruments do you play?? i can play the piano
44: Favourite piece of jewelry? my necklace and my bow rings from kate spade
45: Last sport you played? haha I don't play any sports
46: Last song you sang? afraid by the neighbourhood.. its been stuck in my head
47: Favourite chat up line? I haven't actually chatted with anyone via internet in a long time
48: Have you ever used it? no
49: Last time you hung out with anyone? yesterday
50: Who should answer these questions next? anyone who reads this.. I would love to know more about you as well :)

Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave your responses in the comments below!

until next time <3

..diana

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Currently.

I saw this post on another blogger's site and thought it would be great to do weekly so here is my first post! I will be posting these every Thursday and we shall see how it goes :) Hope you enjoy!

Reading: After talking with a few friends about The Office (US version) I just had to download Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me by Mindy Kaling. I'm a little more than halfway through it and it's such a light and funny read. I think it's super interesting to see how people achieve their dreams and the funny things along the way. Even though I'm not done reading, I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants an easy read that's funny.

Doing: I'm currently debating on whether or not to start a fitness regimen to get my body in shape to have a baby next year. I have about 30 pounds to lose to be at a healthy weight.. what are your thoughts? would you be interested?

Thankful for: my amazing wife who supports everything I want to do. I'm also thankful for being blessed and not having to worry about a roof over my head or food on the table.

Watching: Beautiful Creatures is on in the background.. I have to have background noise whenever I'm doing something :p but I enjoy the movie too so it's a win win :)

Loving: life and reading blogs :) I'm also really enjoying posting more and getting the hang of blogging.


Thanks so much to Danielle (sometimessweet.blogspot.com) for giving me the idea to start doing these kind of posts. I think it will be really nice to be able to look back to at the end of the year :)

until next time <3

..diana

Favorite Perfumes of 2013!

Hi Everyone!

Today I thought I would share my favorite perfumes of 2013. I'm not super big on perfumes but these ones made the cut this past year :)



My favorite perfumes are Marc Jacobs Daisy, Snooki Couture, and Escada Absolutely Me.

Marc Jacobs Daisy is a blend of strawberry, violet leaves, ruby red grapefruit, gardenia, violet petals, jasmine petals, musk, vanilla and white woods. I love this scent because it is floraly but light and when it mixes with my body chemistry it smells floraly and sweet. This scent definitely makes me feel like a pretty lady :)

Snooki Couture is a blend of Meyer lemon, Fuji apple blossom, Pink honeysuckle, White musk and cashmere woods. Originally when I saw this fragrance I didn't think I would like it but when I smelled it, I knew that it was for me. It is fruity and sweet but not kiddy like. It still smells lady like and I love it. It is great for those days you want to smell fresh and fruity and fun!

Last but certainly not least, the last one is Escada Absolutely Me. It is a blend of fresh fruit, raspberry, rose macaron and vanilla. I like this scent because it's more musky in scent even though it doesn't look like it. It smells very sensual and makes me feel really pretty as well. I like to wear this on nights out on the town :)

What are your favorite perfumes?

until next time <3

..diana

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Favorite Beauty Products of 2013: Haircare Edition!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the Haircare Edition of Favorite Beauty Products of 2013! Let's get started!



My two favorite shampoos of the year go to Head and Shoulders Smooth and Silky and the Dove Nourishing Oils Shampoo. Now, I noticed that dandruff isn't highly talked about in the beauty community but there has to be others like me who suffer from this condition. I think that the Head and Shoulders works the best by far and I have definitely tried my fair share of different dandruff shampoos. The great thing about this shampoo in particular is that it is gentle enough to use everyday but I actually only use it about once a week and it seems to keep those pesty flakes and itching away. My everyday shampoo that I use the majority of the time is the Dove shampoo and I completely love this stuff! It smells amazing and is moisturizing and doesn't weigh my hair down at all. Not to mention it's cheap!



My favorite conditioner of 2013 is the Dove Nourishing Oils Conditioner.I love this stuff because it smells good and makes my hair silky smooth and doesn't weigh my hair down either. This Dove line is simply amazing!



After seeing the last few products, this should be no surprise :p my favorite leave in conditioner of 2013 is the Dove Nourishing Oils leave in conditioner. It's lightweight, again smells amazing and it makes my hair shiny and tangle free. It also doesn't make my hair oily.



My favorite heat protectant is the Tressame Platinum Strength Heat Protectant. Now this stuff does the job but I am currently in the search for something a little bit better. Luckily I don't heat style my hair very often so this isn't a huge issue.



Now for those of you who don't know, my hair is wavy so for the days that I want to wear it down, the Got2Be Kinkier Curl Enhancing Mousse is my favorite. It smells amazing and really does a great job at keeping my curls nonfrizzy and looking great and feeling nice aka no crunch. A little goes a long way with this stuff and its cheap so win win!



Last but not least, my favorite finishing hairspray would have to be the Moroccan Oil Finishing Spray in Medium Hold. This stuff works great, doesn't leave a white film or make my hair crunchy but keeps my hair in place and manageable. It prolongs curls if I heat style it that way and spray this in last as a finishing touch. It's a little bit pricey but totally worth it because it smells amazing and works exactly the way I want it to.

What were your favorite haircare products of 2013?

until next time <3

..diana

Monday, January 20, 2014

Favorite Beauty Products of 2013: Makeup Edition!

Hey Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a great Monday! Today I'm bringing you my favorite makeup goodies for 2013 :)

Let's get into it!



My two favorite face bases are the Bareminerals Original Foundation in fairly light or golden fair and the Etude House Precious Cotton Fit BB Cream. I wear either of these depending on what kind of coverage I want. I love that the Bareminerals foundation is very light in feel but has great coverage but if I am looking for a bit more coverage I will wear the bb cream. This bb cream is matte and has great coverage. It also feels fairly light on the skin and neither of these break me out.



My favorite concealer of the year is another bareminerals product and it is well rested. It gives awesome coverage and it brightens under my eyes as well. Because I am so fair I can actually spot conceal with this as well and I don't feel like it brings more attention to my spots. It actually does great with spot concealing.



My favorite blushes of the year have to be Easy Manner by MAC and Dusty Rose by Nyx. There are plenty other blushes that I really enjoy but when looking back on the year these are the two that I wore most. I especially like the Nyx blush because it is a little bit darker and can actually wear this for both my blush and bronzer.



The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer has been my favorite all year. I wear the lightest shade which is Light 01. I love this bronzer because it's matte and doesn't make my skin look muddy. It is also great for beginners because it's not super pigmented so you can really learn how to apply this with ease. It also stays on all day. Not to mention that I love the honeycomb pattern in it :)



Favorite palette of the year has to be the Bareminerals Power Neutrals palette. This came out in the middle of the year and I knew from the moment I saw it that I had to have it. All the colors are super pigmented and they are just so pretty!



Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in Mushroom has definitely been my favorite by far this year. The color is a very pretty brown/taupe and it just looks amazing. I love that it gives definition to the eye but isn't super harsh like black eyeliner is. I have been wearing this a ton the past year.



This probably comes as no surprise since it has gotten so much hype in 2013. My favorite mascara of the year is Maybelline's The Rocket. It definitely lives up to the hype and is great at volume and separating.



My favorite lip product of the year definitely has to be the Marvelous Moxie Lip glosses by Bareminerals. The colors are great, they are moisturizing and the price is right. I got this little kit for Christmas and I love it but I have a few of the full size ones as well.



Last but not least, my favorite highlighter of the year goes to Bareminerals in the Love Affair. It is just a beautiful highlight that isn't too strong. It is subtle and very pretty and doesn't accentuate pores or anything. It gives a lovely sheen to the face and I just love it!

Well guys, that's it for my 2013 beauty products makeup edition! Stay tuned tomorrow for my favorite haircare goodies!

What have you guys been loving this past year?

until next time <3

..diana

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Favorite Beauty Products of 2013: Skincare Edition

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I know this is a tad late but I wanted to go ahead and post my favorite beauty products of 2013. I will be choosing items for skincare, beauty products for face, eyes, lips, etc, but I will be doing separate posts for each so that I don't have a super long blog post and for those who don't want to read only specific areas then it will be super easy to just go to that post.

Let's get started with skincare! My skin type is combo skin but then dry at the same time if that makes sense. I am oily in my t-zone but everywhere else tends to be dehydrated and dry.



My favorite facial cleanser is the Garnier Radiance Renewal Cleansing Gelee. I have been using this cleanser for about 6 months now and I love it. The texture is a thick type of gel and a little goes a long way. I love this stuff because I feel that because of the gel formula, it cleanses my skin really well and makes it feel squeaky clean but without drying out my face. It does great removing any excess makeup that my makeup remover doesn't take off and I feel like it does great in making sure that my pores don't get clogged. It smells like tangerines which is definitely a plus too!



Next up is my favorite toner which is the Skinfood Deep Sea Water Multi toner. I absolutely love this stuff! It really tones my face but does not dry it out at all. It does a great job of prepping my skin for my moisturizer and I feel like it does make my skin look hydrated and just nice. This also smells really clean.



My favorite moisturizer is the Skinfood Deep Sea Water Multigel. Now this isn't your typical moisturizer because it is a complete gel formula but it definitely helps with putting extra hydration in your skin. This is typically used after toner but before moisturizer. For the most part I can just use this as my moisturizer and it does great. Since I started using the multi toner and multi gel I have not experienced any dry patches on my face which is awesome!



My 2 favorite masks are both from The Body Shop. For a clarifying and deep pore cleansing I love using The Body Shop Seaweed Iconic Clay Mask which works pretty well. I feel like it cleans out my big pores without drying out or irritating my skin. It also smells really nice as well. I do this about once a week or try to anyway :P For an extra burst of cleansing and hydration I use The Body Shop Honey and Oat Mask. I love this mask because it cleanses and gently exfoliates and it's also really hydrating. I try using this about once a week as well and I feel like with using both of these at least once a week it really keeps my skin looking and feeling great.



Lastly is my favorite chemical exfoliant which is the Skinfood Pineapple Peeling Gel. I started using this about 6 months ago after reading a bunch of reviews on how gentle but effective this exfoliant was and I love this stuff! I use it about once a week and it definitely takes off all the dry and dead skin I have on my face and makes my moisturizer sink in better and makeup go on smoother. I love the fact that you can actually see and feel that it is working. When you place this on your dry clean face and rub in circular motions, the dead skin literally balls up all over your face and you just rinse off. Now at first I was skeptical because I thought that maybe the gel was meant to do that and so it would ball up no matter what but I was wrong. I tested it again right after doing it the first time and when I used it the second time there was barely any balling up of dead skin. It's so gentle and didn't irritate my skin when I did it twice in a row. This stuff is hands down amazing and one of my Holy Grail products.

What are some of your favorite skincare products of 2013? I didn't include a eye cream because I have yet to find one that I like. Any suggestions?

I will be posting the next edition of beauty products of 2013 tomorrow :)

until next time <3

..diana

Friday, January 17, 2014

MeMe Box 3rd Edition Beauty Box Review!

Hey Everyone!

Omg! I have been so excited waiting for my memebox and I am so excited to tell you guys about it today! I originally heard about this box from Dani on youtube on coffeebreakwithdani(www.youtube.com/coffeebreakwithdani) and I was even more excited because I'm half Korean and I love Korean beauty products! :D Now to give you a little bit of background as far as what memebox is. Memebox is a beauty subscription box and the number 1 beauty box in Korea but it is not monthly. Basically what happens is every time there is a new box coming out you receive an email stating that the new box is coming and if you want it you can buy it at that time. The reason why this box is so exciting to me is that the beauty box is a Korean beauty box that gets shipped directly from Korea with all the newest skincare and beauty. The box is $21 a month plus $6.95 shipping so about $27 total but in this box you receive anywhere from 5-7 beauty products and many of them are full size. The coolest thing is that they guarantee that your box will be worth at least $100 in full size products every box! I feel like currently there is nothing like this on the market, the only downside to this box is that they are not customized for each person, everyone gets the same thing.. but that doesn't bother me :)

I just received my box today and let me tell you that I am thoroughly impressed! Now onto the exciting part! Let me show you what I got :)



First thing's first, how cute is the packaging? It's all pink and pretty :) Like birchbox, this box also has a card with information on all the products in the box and lets you know what is full size and what is sample size along with the pricing. On the card it also shows pictures of all the items at the bottom with corresponding numbers so that you are able to see what item goes with what. I think that is especially helpful with this box because sometimes a product may have only Korean writing on it and if you aren't Korean or don't know how to read it, you would have no idea what to do with the product. In this box there are 8 items total and 5 of them are full size! I was so impressed by this!



The first item on the card is the Dear by Enprani Bounce Cheese Cream. This is a deluxe sample size with 30ml but when I saw it I seriously thought it was a full size item. According to the card the full size item is 75ml but I am still super impressed by how big this sample is. This face cream is light in texture and contains a lot of milk serum which apparently is really good at hydrating the skin. Now because of the name of this product I was really scared to know what it smelled like but I was pleasantly surprised because it just smells light and clean with a slight herbal smell to it.



The next item is the Dr. Jahrt V7 Eye Serum 15ml which is a full size product. This eye serum contains 7 different vitamins (vitamins A,B3,B5,C,E,H & F) and it supposed to be useful in depuffing bags under the eyes. This item retails for $38. I'm super excited to try this out.



Next is the Tony Moly Delight Tony Tint Red 1.5ml. The full size is 9ml. This sample is pretty small but if you notice from the swatch it is super pigmented and a little goes a long way. It is a super pretty red stain and let me tell you, it does stain big time. I washed my hands and the stain was still there. I even took a shower and I still had the stain swatched on my hand so it definitely lasts a pretty long time. I am really excited to put this on my lips for sure.



Next up is the Banila Co. It Radiant Brightening Cream and CC cream. This is a deluxe sample which still seems like a decent size. Silly me I forgot to take the stuff out of the box and swatch it for you. Hopefully this won't be too dark for my super pale skin tone :p



The next full size item I got were these eyelashes. These retail for $3 a pair. To me they look pretty natural so that's always a good thing. I can't wait to try these out.



This is the Secret Key Twinkle Waterproof Gel Pencil Liner in Deepest Black. This is also a full size item and retails for $8. The swatch on this is a little bit blurry but I was kind of disappointed with the color because it was not super black like I thought it would be. It looked like an ashy black/dark grey. On one hand beause it's called deepest black I was disappointed with the lack of pigment but on the other hand I really like the color because its less harsh looking which I definitely enjoy so overall I think I'm going to get some great use out of this product.



Next up is the Nuganic Customized Sunblock Fresh SPF 50 PA+++ 40ml. This item is full size and I'm really excited for this because I went over the ingredients and there are no chemical sunscreens in it and it has a ton of skincare goodies that are really good for your skin. This item retails for $45. I definitely feel like I will be getting a lot of usage out of this item for sure.



The last item I received in the box is the Papa Recipe Princess Lip Gel Patch and this is full size as well and retails for $3. This item is supposed to be placed on your lips for 10-20 minutes for ultra hydration. I am really curious about this product and can't wait to try it out. I've never seen anything like it so that's exciting to try something so new.

Memebox wasn't kidding when they guarantee $100 per box. I believe that the full size items I received in this box retails around $110. Overall I am so happy with my box and can't wait to start trying out the products. I have to say that I can't wait for the next edition as well! I think I have found a great beauty box for sure. Definitely worth the $27 including shipping! What do you guys think?

until next time <3

..diana