BITE x INFLUENSTER

I've heard about Influenster for a while but I never actually tried it until a few weeks ago. After registering and setting up my profile, I was lucky enough to be picked to be a part of the Bite x Influenster box filled with Bite matte creme lip crayons! I received a cute box with lipstick swatches on it. Inside were 3 lippies: cava, glaze, and red velvet. Red velvet is a bold red. On Sephora, they describe glace as a dusty mauve but in my opinion cava is more of a dusty mauve and glace is like a dusty rose color. I am the worst at describing colors especially when it comes to make up. My strength is in fashion and my weakness is in make up so this is my poor attempt at a make up review. 

Cava and glace are actually super moisturizing, and are good every day lip colors. Red velvet is obviously more bold and vibrant but can definitely be rocked as an every day look. I did find that red velvet is a little less moisturizing than the other two, so it was a struggle when I was trying to fill in my lip. But, it was so easy to outline my lips with red velvet. Precision on point! The duration of these lippies are pretty good, but you do have to reapply. I would recommend these lippies! I have a photo of me in red velvet on my Instagram (@kay_ng). 

Also, you should all sign up for Influentser because it's such an amazing program! Leave your reviews and get a chance to receive boxes from them full of goodies from make up products to snacks! Here's a link to sign up! 

influenster.com/r/2411494

influenster.com/r/2411494

2015 Beauty Favorites

I decided to do something a little different and put together a blog post about a few of my favorite products of 2015! I'm not much of a beauty girl but in these past few months I have definitely been trying more products so most of these products are from the end of the year. I personally love reading reviews or watching review videos because it really gives me a sneak peek of the product before going out to purchase it. I hope this can help a little bit! 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Promade in Medium Brown | $18

http://www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com/dipbrow-pomade-waterproof-color-brow-sculp.html

I got lucky enough to try this for free because it was a hand-me-down from one of my besties, hi sally. This shade was too dark for her brows so she so kindly gave it to me since she knows I'm all about dem brows. After testing it out, I just fell in looooove. Using the Anastasia brow brush, it created such a perfect outline and it was so easy to work with. It also filled in really nicely as well. Before I used to use e.l.f's brow gel for outlining, then I would have to color in with Maybelline's brow pencil followed by more filling in with Anastasia's brow pencil. With the dipbrow promade, I don't need to use brow pencils anymore because it fills in naturally as long as you don't use an excessive amount of product. I recommend this product, but if you have naturally dark and full brows, it might be a bit much. It works well for me because I have very sparse and light brows.

Colour Pop Ultra Matte Lip | $6

https://colourpop.com/product-category/lips/ultra-matte-lip/

OBSESSED. If you haven't seen this whole liquid matte lip trend, I don't know where you've been! I was so excited when I stumbled upon a YouTube video featuring these lippies because these are serious amazing AND affordable at only $6 a piece. These are comparable to Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks, Stila's and even Kylie Jenner's lip kits. I'm not going to give any specifics, I am no Beauty Guru and I do not want to give any false information so you can turn to YouTube for that! It's important to put a lip liner on prior to applying these lippies because you don't want it to feather. When I'm not in a rush, or use darker more bold colors I like to use a lip brush to ensure a better finish but the applicator still works really well. I love that it dries and mattifies rather quickly and the product does not transfer! I would say it lasts for a pretty damn long time unless you drink a lot of liquids or eat super oily foods. I am seriously so happy with these liquid lipsticks and I will definitely be purchasing more in the future. My favorites are Bumble, Tulle and Avenue. I might do a more in depth review on these liquid lipsticks since I went around searching for swatches of these lippies.

LORAC Skinny Palette Black | $?

I don't think this is available anymore unless it's sold by third parties but I have been loving it these past few months. This was a birthday gift from my soulmate, hi heej peej, and I thought I would never get any use out of it but boy was I wrong. I was always just an eyebrows, eyeliner and lipstick girl but I've finally expanded my horizons and learned new makeup techniques. I've finally learned how to apply eyeshadow without looking like I just got punched in the eyes; my routine is super subtle but I like it. I use the tan (3rd from left) as the base, then I use the light brown (middle) and use it on half of my eye (LOL I don't even know how to explain this) and then I take the darker brown (3rd from right) and use that as the corner shade.. Please excuse my lack of knowledge for this topic haha. If I want a little shimmer I just use the two glittery shades. I've been using this almost every time I go out on weekends and it's also compact so it's easy to bring on the go.

Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover | $19

http://www.clinique.com/product/1673/5380/Skin-Care/Cleansers-Makeup-Removers/Take-The-Day-Off-Makeup-Remover-For-Lids-Lashes-Lips/Make-Up-Remover-for-Lids-Lashes-Lips

I was on the search for a good makeup remover and when I saw that they had a mini size at Sephora for $9.50 I had to try it. Neutrogena wipes worked really well for me but I just hated how since there was no actual closure, the wipes would dry out before I finished using them since I do not wear makeup every single day (besides brows.) One of my friends, hi connie, told me she didn't like the Clinique makeup remover because it was way too oily. It definitely is super oily but it really gets the job done for me leaving almost no makeup on my face. Usually when I use makeup wipes to get off eyeliner, there is still excess liner on my eyes but with this remover I find that there's almost none left. Due to the oiliness, it's best to use this right before you wash your face but I mean that's when you usually use makeup remover so it all makes sense to me.

L'Oreal True Match Super-blendable Powder in W4 | $11

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=VP10394#

Not 100% positive if I got this at the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015 but I've been using this consistently throughout 2015. I was introduced to this by one of my friends because I wanted to try powder foundation since I'm not a fan of liquid foundation since it feels heavy on my face. I don't think this really counts as a foundation because the coverage is definitely on the light side. I use this more as a setting powder and I just use a bit on my face after I've done the rest of my makeup. When I used to use liquid foundation I would finish it with this powder and it made my face matte which I loved. I sometimes bring this on the go and if my face is getting a little shiny, I blot my face, throw a little of this on and the shine goes away!

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger | $29

http://www.narscosmetics.com/USA/radiant-creamy-concealer/999NACRCC0001.html?dwvar_999NACRCC0001_color=7845012344#start=1

This product is definitely on the pricey side especially because I usually don't like spending too much on beauty products since I don't use them on a daily. BUT this product is definitely worth it even though I was lucky enough to score this during the Sephora VIB sale and got 20% off. I have acne-prone skin so this concealer has definitely made a huge positive impact in my life. I initially thought my color was Custard but when I went in store, since I wanted this concealer for the purpose of covering blemishes the sales associate told me I should get Ginger because it was a little darker than Custard. It covers blemishes surprisingly well, being my first concealer ever I've been very impressed by it. I also went to Sephora the other day and the associate gave me a mini makeover and covered up my dark circles using Custard + Ginger which gave my eyes a whole new look, I've never looked so alive. After that session, I decided to try hiding my dark circles with my Ginger and it wasn't as brightening since I don't have Custard but it was still effective. If you're a makeup noob like me I highly recommend going to Sephora because they can really help you choose the right colors for your skin tone.

haul | sephora

A few months ago, Weylie mentioned an eyebrow gel that actually helped growth of her brows.  After overplucking for the past few years, my already sparse brows are extremely sparse now.  So I finally decided to go and purchase the brow gel she talked about.  Since I was going to order the gel I decided to just make the minimum shipping price so I shopped around a little more.  Here's my mini haul from Sephora!

Since it's super cold and dry out my hands have been so dehydrated and dry!  I was browsing through Sephora's site and this caught my eye.  Yes, the packaging caused me to make this purchase.. The color, the fonts, and the name "Hand Food."  Read the reviews and they were fairly high.  Then I kept browsing and saw this body scrub, and my legs have little dots on them, which I have no idea what they are, but supposedly this will make those little bumps go away!  So I thought to give it a shot.  The hand cream smells good I guess, not what I would normally buy, but at least it's not a strong floral smell. 

I. love. face. masks.  So I didn't even hesitate to try this.  There were a selection of "flavors" which all specialized in helping different problems.  I leaned toward the green tea one because my skin gets super oily throughout the day so I love mattifying products.  Plus I have pimples which led to pimple scars so anything to try to minimize them.  First off, I thought there were two masks.. but it turned out it was just a folder-type thing and inside a pocket was only one mask. One mask for $6 is ridiculous if you ask me.  It felt like any regular mask and when I first applied it, it smelled like alcohol in my opinion.  I won't be purchasing these Sephora masks again!  I can definitely find masks for way cheaper.

I just took advantage of some promo code that allowed me to get a free deluxe sample with my order over a certain amount.  None of the choices really appealed to me so I just settled with this.  By the way, this is Tata Harper's Regenerating Cleanser.  Don't know when I'll try it, don't know if I will, but it was free.  Always accept free stuff.

This is the brow gel I was talking about earlier, and I mean I just started using it so I am unsure of the results and if it will actually stimulate hair growth.  If it does I will definitely update you girls! I know lots of girls suffer from sparse brows due to overplucking or just genetics, and as Weylie would say, gotta help a sista out!

beauty | e.l.f mini haul

I recently picked up a few things from e.l.f, and I love e.l.f products because of the price.  Everything is so inexpensive and affordable, ranging from $1-$5.  Being almost completely clueless about make-up, I don't want to spend crazy amounts of money on make-up cause chances are I'll end up doing a horrible job and never using the product again.  I've tried putting on eyeshadow several times, watched loads of eyeshadow tutorials but I could never get it right.  Then one of my friends (hi heejae) told me about eyeshadow sticks and how they're easy to apply and to blend so I thought I would try it out.  Let me tell you.. it IS easy.  After playing around for a bit, I came up with a look that surprisingly looked pretty good, I was actually super proud of myself and didn't wanna remove my make-up.  I wanted to be able to put eyeshadow on since new year's is coming and I think I've got my routine!  I'll definitely need some more practice, but I'm so glad I got these eyeshadow sticks.  It's pretty much just coloring on your eyelid and using your finger (well I used a smudge brush) to blend it in.  I highly recommend the eyeshadow stick if you're a beginner and want to learn how to apply eyeshadow.  But seriously.. props to you girls who put on a full face of make-up every single day.

Eyeshadow sticks:

1. Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick [in Turkish Coffee]: I used this as the "smokey" part of my look (lol I don't even know how to properly say any of this).  It glides on super easily, and blends well.

2. Waterproof Shadow Liner [in Blush]: used this as the base..? it's a pretty color! 

Both sticks are glittery and your eye will definitely be shimmery.

I got the 11 brushes for $3 because of some promotion, but unfortunately it's not going on anymore! I tried using the brushes for the smudge pots but uhh that didn't go too well..

I haven't tried any of the other products yet, but I'll list what else I got

Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in Movie Star

Matte Lip Color in Nearly Nude

Smudge Pot in Back to Basics

Smudge Pot in Ain't That Sweet

Eyebrow Kit in Medium (what I always use to line my brows)

Eye Primer & Liner Sealer

Lip Exfoliator

I miss Evelyn

(hi Eve)

until next time, hair

When I was a sophomore in high school, I cut my hair up to my shoulders, and I pretty much regretted it.  I told myself I would never have short hair again because of that haircut.  It took me years to get my hair at this length, with a few haircuts to cut off the dead ends.  I had this 'ombre' look for the past year but it was more of a natural 'ombre.'  I didn't purposely dye my hair like that, it was my previous hair dye that grew out into an ombre-like effect.  People always comment about my ombre hair and I just always thought that was funny.  Well anyway, recently my friends found a groupon deal at a salon called Asanda Aveda Spa Lounge for a shampoo + haircut + hair treatment for $49, and we all decided to buy it.  We typically go to asian places, but we wanted to feel the luxurious feeling of being pampered like in the city salons.

This is the after picture of my new hair.  When I first got it cut I was glad it wasn't TOO short, but now that I've had it for a week, I kinda want to get it cut maybe two inches shorter.  I am a little asian girl with that natural baby face, but with my short hair I look at least 18 now (I'm 20 btw.)  To talk about my experience at Asanda Aveda, I had a 4:00 appointment with Kaprisha.  My mom and I got there early, around 3:20, and when we went upstairs there were several people waiting already.  Once you check-in with the front desk they offer you complimentary water or tea.  There weren't many places to sit in the front of the salon but I overheard that there were more seating areas in the back of the salon.  Kaprisha was ready for me at around 4:05, I was a little nervous because I had class at 7 back in Queens.  Kaprisha was sassy.  I love sassy.  Her assistant was Fei (not sure about that spelling) but she was sweet, she washed my hair, and did the botanical treatment for me.  I thought the botanical treatment would take longer but it only took 5 minutes.  My treatment was for damaged hair since my hair was so damaged and dry from previous perms and dyes (it doesn't look dry in the picture but in person it was.)  I told Kaprisha what length I wanted and that I wanted long layers.  Overall, I really liked the haircut, but she layered it more than I would have liked.  Including tip and everything, this haircut came out to $80.  In my opinion, it was not worth it, it was a great experience to go to a 'fancier' salon, but I think I'm going to stick to my $30 Chinatown haircuts.

what's in my cosmetic bag

All my make up products stuffed in one little cosmetic bag.  I bought this cosmetic bag over a year ago from Forever 21 for about $5.  The gold metallic triangles are starting to fade, and strings are starting to show, but what to expect from a $5 cosmetic bag.  Over the past year I've purchased a lot more make up products (especially eyebrows) so my cosmetic bag is getting a little crammed.  I've been trying to look for a designer cosmetic case but I haven't found anything I absolutely love.

If you know me, I am NOT a make up type of girl.  I cannot put on eyeshadow for the life of me, I don't know the difference between contouring and highlighting.  Yeah, I'm pretty much useless when it comes to make up.  However, I can't step out of my house without doing my brows.  BROWS ARE IMPORTANT! The most important in my opinion gals.

Products shown from left to right:

Top:
1. Stila waterproof liquid eye liner in intense black: One of my all time favorite eyeliners.  I've been using this for the past four or five years, and althought I don't wear eyeliner everyday it has never failed me.

2. e.l.f. studio eyebrow kit in medium: I use this to outline the shape I want my brows to be with the gel on the left side.  There is some powder on the right side but I don't use it because I don't know what to do with it honestly.

3. NYX eyebrow cake powder in taupe/ash: I use this to fill in my brows
4. L'oreal true match powder in W4: I just recently purchased this because I wanted some type of coverage on my face but like I said before I am a make up noob so I didn't want to try foundation.  My friend recommended this to me and I would say it does a pretty good job at hiding small imperfections.  I only apply this when I'm going to a special occasion or if my skin has red spots.  Overall, it makes my face look matte, soft, and more even.
Middle:
5. Becca ever-matte poreless priming perfector: This is the most expensive product in my cosmetic bag.  It was about $36, if I remember correctly, from Sephora.  I bought this because my t-zone gets extremely oily throughout the day.  I went into Sephora asking for some type of product that would help control the oil on my face.  The first few times I used it, it worked well, my face stayed dry for most of the day.  Then after that, my face wasn't as oily as before but not as dry as the first few days.  It is extreme drying and will leave sensitive skin with signs of peeling.  Definitely not recommended for those with sensitive skin.
6. e.l.f. wet gloss lash & brow clear mascara: I bought this because when I was watching youtube tutorials on eyebrows, a youtuber used these brow mascaras so I decided to buy one from e.l.f since it's so inexpensive.  It's alright but it does brush up the hairs that tend to droop down.
7. Anastasia brow wiz in medium brown: Definitely recommend this product! However it runs out really fast. I use this to fill in my brows along with the NYX eyebrow powder.
Bottom:
8.e.l.f. essential eyelid primer in sheer: I also bought this after watching youtube videos.  I almost always forget to use this before drawing my eyebrows but when I do use it, it does hold the product for longer periods of time.
9. boscia green tea blotting linens: Oil paper is essential to those with oily skin, which is why I always have this in my cosmetic case.  I prefer boscia's over clean & clear's oil absorbing sheets.
10. Revlon super lustrous lipstick in certainly red 740: I love lipstick. However, I only ever really wear red lipstick.  I have several different brands of red lipsticks.  This Revlon one is definitely one of my favorites and it always brings a pop of color to my outfit and a sense of boldness.
11. ecotools large powder brush: I purchased this when I bought the L'oreal true match powder because I just needed a brush to apply the powder.  I know nothing about brushes, so this works well for me!