Where Have I Been? and Big Glasses Obsession

Hello Lovelies!
It's been a while since my last post... yet again.
Yes. I've been extremely busy and I think it's that time of the year when there is sooo much to do.
I'm currently getting ready for a big recording session for Wednesday (yes, I'm a musician). I'm a cellist and I have an important recording session coming up that requires lots and lots of preparation and time. Plus, with work, I've been getting no free time. T.T  But as I always say, "hard work pays off!" and I know that all the effort I'm putting into work and practicing will surely help me in the long run.

Also, the weather here has actually been acting completely bonkers. No joke! Just last week it reached 112 degrees (F) and then it was rainy and cold and went down to the 60s. Seriously, that's a little over 50 degrees difference right there. I literally went through a complete wardrobe change in a week from summer dresses to thick sweaters and boots. I love dressing for autumn and winter weather.  I'm a sucker for coats, scarves, hats, and boots.
Lately, I've been obsessing over big fashion glasses! These kinds of glasses are also know as "ulzzang" glasses or "nerdy" glasses.
Here are my glasses for the day:

At first, when I purchased these kinds of glasses, I was a little too scared to wear them out. I like to add a statement piece to my outfit, but these glasses just seemed a little too.... costume-like, at first! But one day, I was in one of those moods where I felt bored and wanted to try something new. I tied my hair back in a low ponytail, put on a sweater cardigan, and just popped on the glasses.

Surprisingly, I got a good response from other people. People actually complimented me saying that I looked "cute" with the glasses. Some people actually thought they were real glasses, regardless that the glasses were huge! From that day on, I gained the confidence that big "ulzzang" glasses can add a lot to a simple outfit or a day when you're feeling bored. Now, I'm on the urge to buy more.

I actually visited Little Tokyo and snatched a new pair of glasses that are even bigger than the ones I'm wearing in the pictures above. I'll be sure to take a picture of me wearing them next time. They're huge and make an even bigger statement! LOL. I think I need to gain another level of confidence to wear them out, but I think they will be fun to match with an outfit.

Where can you find them? You can find them at Pretty & Cute, the ulzzang headquarters! LOL. They have an amazing collection of ulzzang fashion glasses. Click here to see there awesome inventory of glasses!

How cute are they?? I want them all!!!

In the meantime, I'm tempted to head back to Little Tokyo to snatch a few more of these glasses. I'm regretting just getting only one new pair.

Btw... I'm dying my hair this week! Super excited since I used to love dying my hair. More updates coming soon!

♥,

Mindy

Beauty Breakthroughs (New Products Put to the Test)

I was reading through some stuff online on instyle.com and came across an article that I found extremely interesting.  This article was about new beauty breakthrough products that InStyle tested out to see if these products lived up to the claim to accomplish certain results.  Although I myself haven't gotten a chance to test any of these products out, I am tempted to want to try out every product listed because of the raving reviews.

I'll share some products that I really want! :)

1. Eye Shadow that Lasts 24 Hours

Armani Metallic Eyeshadows (launching in October) $32

Claim: 
Yes! There could finally be a breakthrough eyeshadow that doesn't fade. Well, at least for 24 hours! This eyeshadow is a densely pigmented powder-gel hybrid containing shimmer with translucent emollients to lock the color in place.

From the Experts:
"These shadows are ideal for my red-carpet clients because there's no need for a touch-up," says makeup artist Joanna Schlip, who works with Jessica Simpson and Ellen Pompeo.  However, "Because the color is so rich, they can be tricky to apply.  I suggest dipping a damp brush in the pot and swirling it on the back of your hand until the shadow is a sheer paste."

InStyle's Verdict:
The color didn't budge, crease, or fade (applied on a hot, summer morning).  Lasted for at least 10 hours.


Sounds awesome, in my opinion.  However, the price is a little too high for my liking.


2. An All-in-One Polish

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, $8 (found at CVS)

Claim:
Think of it as five products in one bottle: a keratin-and-amino-acid growth treatment (which fortifies and protects nails), a filling base coat, a strengthener, color, and quick-dry top coat.  The extra-wide brush helps give a full coverage with just one sweep.  Could this be truly an All-in-One polish??


From the Experts:
"Home manicures typically don't last as long as professional ones because you rush through the coats and don't let them dry completely," says N.Y.C. manicurist Jin Soon Choi. "This eliminates that problem. I've even started using it at my spa." 


Instyle's Verdict:
"Our nails looked perfectly groomed in a flash. After four days of constant tapping on our keyboard (and occasional dish washing), the color was still glossy and chip-free."




I'm loving that this nail polish is a drugstore product and is so affordable.  This could definitely be a breakthrough product that may save us LOTS of money (since with this polish, there is no need to purchase separate top coats, base coats, etc.)


3. The Self-Adjusting Lipstick

DuWop Personal Color Changing lipsticks in Private Plum (left) and Private Nude, $22, duwop.com

Claim:

Within five minutes of application, the color morphs into one that perfectly suits the complexion of the person wearing it. 

From the Experts:

"These lipsticks react to pH and heat, so they do change color according to body chemistry," says cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson. "But they don't flatter everybody. The nude is hard to wear." 

InStyle's Verdict:

"Well, they definitely morphed! WE tried each shade on three staffers--one with very pale skin, another with a dark complexion, and the third with an olive skin tone--and it looked completely different on each of them. Basically, the fairer the skin, the darker the color looked. Of the two shades, each person found one that was flattering--but no one looked good in both." 

I want to test it out myself. It sounds so scientific! XD

4. 3-Setting Mascara

Almay One Coat Dial Up mascara, $8 (found at Walgreens)

Claim:

An adjustable dial allows you to vary the amount of mascara deposited on your brush so you can use the same formula for day and night.

From the Experts:

"The adjustable applicator is amazing," says N.Y.C. makeup artist Nick Barose, noting that it saves time and money. "It spares you from having to wipe away excess product when you want a more subtle look."

InStyle's Verdict:

"Love! The sheer, clump-free formula let us leapfrog from natural-looking lashes (setting 1) on Saturday afternoon to major volume (setting 3) later that night. Setting 2--which provided serious definition with minimal heaviness--was our sweet spot for daily office wear."

Could this be my new HG mascara? I'm a huge fan of Almay products and the fact that they made this mascara makes me so happy.

5. The Universal Blush

Stila Custom Color blush, $20 (stilacosmetics.com)

Claim:

So Stila does it again! A breakthrough blush! This bright pink cheek color is the first powder blush that adjusts to your skin tone, taking the guesswork out of picking the perfect shade. 

From the Experts:

"In fact, it isn't actually self-adjusting, but the color is just translucent enough to blend in with any skin tone," says Ni'kita Wilson. "The shade is bright, but the base that's used is not titanium dioxide, so there's no chalkiness." 

InStyle's Verdict:

"We tested the blush on five people (with complexions ranging from milky white to deep mocha), and amazingly, it gave a flattering, blushing-from-within glow to everyone. The color was bright enough to show up on very dark skin yet sheer enough that it didn't look clownish on pale complexions. "

I want to test it.  Actually, I'm more interested in testing it on different people to see if this really does flatter different skin types. LOL!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All these products seem so interesting and I really want to put them all to the test! I'm going to try to purchase some and then share the results with all of you! Thanks for reading!

Source: InStyle.com

FOTD for my audition!

Here's the FOTD for my audition that I had today. I tried to keep my makeup very neutral. I tried my best to capture the colors with my webcam.

On my face today:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Foundation in Classic Ivory 10

Rimmel Brow Pencil in Dark Brown

MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Half Baked (on my lid)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in YDK (on my corners)

MAC Eyeshadow in Naked Lunch

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Liner in 0L (black)

Covergirl Lashblast Mascara in black

Lioele Blooming Cushion Blusher in Peach

MAC Lazy Day Lipstick

Hello again!!

Hello again! It's been a while! A really long while!
How have you all been? I missed you!

I know I've been away from my blog and channel for a long time, but I definitely have not forgotten about them.
I actually have been balancing work and school. I recently got a job and it's definitely been taking up a lot of my time. Even if I've been super busy and will get busier, I do plan on reviving my blog and channel. :)
Please be patient!

I'll start with a giveaway first so keep looking forward to that!

Oh and I plan on getting a new HD camera sometime. I recently got a HD webcam, but I think it washes me out a lot. It makes me look too pale. LOL. I'll post some pics of how the camera makes me look.

I would make this a FOTD, but I wish it wouldn't wash me out like that. :/

Well, I'll describe what's on my face anyways:

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Makeup in Classic Ivory 10

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Light

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown

MAC Eyeshadow in Naked Lunch

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

Covergirl Lashblast

See you all again, really soon!

Love,
Mindy

Review of Foster Grant Sunglasses and Giveaway (Pic Heavy)

It's been sooo long! I haven't blogged for more than a month! Gasp!

I'm sorry everyone for being gone and not updating. Life has been crazy, yet again. To top that, I've been sick and also suffering from summer allergies.

This blog post and video is so overdue. I was very grateful to receive 5 wonderful pairs of sunglasses from Foster Grant and was planning on posting this long before, but I was internet-less for quite some time.



I was contacted by Foster Grant to review these sunglasses for the summer and also was given an opportunity to throw a giveaway for my readers/subscribers on youtube!

These glasses came well packaged and was wrapped nicely so none of the sunglasses came broken. What's nice about Foster Grant sunglasses is the quality and the amazing prices! I was very impressed by how sturdy they were and they don't feel cheap at all. I don't really like wearing super cheap sunglasses that seem like they'll break after a few wears.  Also, these are excellent for the summer since it's 100% UVA protected.

I'll just jump into showing you the sunglasses they sent me.  Foster Grant sent me 2 pairs of aviator sunglasses.  Aviators are "in" for this summer and lots of celebrities are seen wearing them.  For many years up until now, the popular wayfarers were the "it" glasses, but aviators have slowly taken over again.

The first style they sent me were a pair of gold aviators called Madonna.

I usually have issues with sunglasses sliding down my nose and falling onto my cheek bones because of the structure of my nose. I don't really have a prominent nose bride. What's nice about these aviators is that they seem to work with my nose really well and don't fall down onto my face.

The next pair of aviators that they sent me were white ones called Wireless.

The stock photo shows a purple one, but the ones they sent me were white in the same style.

These aviators are slightly larger than the Madonna, so I do have a problem sometimes with the glasses hitting my cheekbones or sliding down. However, I still like the style and usually the sliding down issue isn't that big of a problem.

The next sunglasses that they sent me were fashion glasses called Plaid. The design is very pretty because of the side plaid details of the glasses and the pretty purple colors.

These glasses are extremely comfortable as they aren't really round.  They have more of a streamlined look, but still super cute.  They also fit nicely above my nose.

The next pair of sunglasses are the unique-colored Safari.

What's cool about these glasses is the rhinestone details on the sides. These glasses are more rectangular shaped, which I'm not the biggest fan of.  Also, they don't really fit my nose and face very well since it sits right on top of my cheek-bones, which is my least favorite when it comes to wearing shades.

I feel like the Safaris don't really flatter my face very much since I have a long, oval face.

The last pair of sunglasses that they sent me are probably my favorite out of the 5, aside from the aviators.  These sunglasses are called Milan.

Something about these shades make it feel as if they were high-end, designers sunglasses.  As you may be able to see in the stock photo, the side details are divine with a snake-skin-like pattern and square rhinestones embedded. They also fit my face nicely and don't fall down. They're actually a little on the tighter side, but that doesn't keep me away from wearing them.

Foster Grant is so generous and is sponsoring my giveaway to my readers/subscribers to my youtube channel!

There will be one random winner. :) The winner will be able to choose a pair of sunglasses.

Please read all the rules:

1. You must be a subscriber to my YouTube channel: iAMminky3

2. Go to the Foster Grant website: www.fostergrant.com and tell me which pair of sunglasses is your favorite! (Please, no Enter Me comments!)

3. You can enter only once a day. I will make sure that you keep this rule. More than one entries will result in comment disqualification.

4. Open to all my YouTube subscribers, including international subscribers!

5. If you are under the age of 18, you will need your parent's permission to enter. I will need to get your shipping address for Foster Grant to send you your prize.

6. This giveaway ends on July 24, 2010.

7. I will post the winner on my blog and will be announcing the winner hopefully via YouTube as well. Also, I will let you know through twitter. Follow me on twitter! :) @iAMminky3

Good luck and have fun!


Oh and if you have facebook, makes sure to like their facebook fanpage!
Foster Grant on Facebook

Update: Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick Review and Experience

If some of you may recall from my May Drugstore Haul, I talked about a new product that I hauled, which I bought in hopes to quickly heal the breakouts and pimples on my skin.  The product was the Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick.

The reason I bought this was because the reviews and ratings for this product were fairly high and it contained tea tree oil.  Tea tree oil has been something that I've been looking into recently.

Tea tree oil is said to have beneficial medical and cosmetic properties when applied topically.  Tea tree oil has antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral action properties and is often times used in many skin care products.

I had the option of buying diluted tea tree oil that came in a bottle labeled "Tea Tree Oil" or buying the Burt's Bees Herbal Blemish Stick, which not only contains tea tree oil, but contains other natural ingredients such as willowbark extract (natural source of salicylic acid), fennel oil, eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, and others.  Since the ratings were so high and was highly recommended to me from some other gurus, I just decided to spend the $8 for this product.

The bottle itself is really small and doesn't contain much product (.26 fl. oz)


The first thing I noticed about this product was the strong smell! The liquid smells like very strong black licorice mixed with herbs and the smell almost stings my nose.  Many people are also drawn back from the pungent smell from the product.  Whenever I applied this product, I would try my best not to have to smell the medicine.  Even as of today, I really don't like the smell.


With the roller ball technology, there is no need to apply with fingers.  However, I'm not sure how sanitary it is to use the roller ball so I would recommend not to share with other people or I would make sure to clean the top occasionally.

When applied onto acne and affected areas, the medicine stings the area.  The product comes out in liquid form, but the medicine dries really fast on the skin, which I like since I don't have to wait a long time for anything to dry. Also, before applying this product, it is recommended to wash the face thoroughly for a clean surface.

One thing for sure, this product is very drying so I would recommend not to apply all over the face, but mainly for small areas that need healing.

With that being said, surprisingly, this product did not work for me. I did see quick results at first since the redness from my new pimples seemed to be going away. However, it didn't end there because after the pimples seemed to be getting smaller, all of a sudden, the pimples became larger again.  It was strange since I thought it was working, but then I woke up one morning to see that the pimples on my face looked worse from before. The redness in the pimples had enlarged and it actually hurt to talk because the pimples had become more painful.

After reading some other reviews on the Herbal Blemish Stick, I found out that this product shouldn't be directly applied on pores. It should be applied directly on spots that need quick healing and it should be applied minimally to see quick results.

Since everyone's skin is different, I'm sure that this product works better on others, but I really feel that this did not work on me. I was so shocked by the worse outcome and I've put away this product and currently am using something else to heal breakouts (and I think I've actually found a winner! Updates on this new product will be up soon.).

If anyone has tried this and it works for them, please share your experience. Maybe, I may have been using it wrong? I'm not sure, but I plan on making a video about this as well to talk more in detail if needed.

Here's an overview~~~

Pros:
-Did see quick results with acne
-Small and easy to work with
-Dries fast

Cons:
-Awful smell
-Stings when applied over acne and breakouts
-After quick results, the pimples on my face got worse
-Overdrying

MAC "To the Beach" Collection Lazy Day Lipstick Giveaway

Exciting news everyone! I've been saving up my money and I finally bought some new prizes for my giveaways and this time there will be not one, but two winners. ^o^  I will be holding two giveaways: one for my YouTube subscribers & one for my blog or twitter followers.
The reason I'm holding these giveaways is to celebrate summer :) and to also just show my appreciation to those of you who have been so sweet and so supportive. Also, I'm almost at 400 subscribers for YouTube! Definitely exciting for me! :D

Both giveaway winners will receive a brand new lipstick from the new MAC "To the Beach" collection in the color 'Lazy Day' which is a lustre lipstick:

For the YouTube giveaway, please watch the entire video and read the rules:


1. You must be a subscriber. Please don't enter if you are planning to unsubscribe after the giveaway is over. It is not fair to my true friends and subscribers who have been so supportive to me.
2. Comment entries, but please NO "Enter Me" posts. Any enter me's will be resulted in disqualification and will not count.
3. To enter, ask me any random questions about myself, beauty related, etc.  This is for an upcoming Q&A video that I will be filming using some of the questions from this video.
***Please be appropriate though. Inappropriate questions will also result in disqualification.
4. Each entry must be a different question.  To avoid any spamming, each entry must be a separate and new question(s). (However, it's okay if you accidentally used the same question as someone else.)
5. If you are under the age of 18, you will need parent's permission to enter.
6. Giveaway ends June 6, 2010 when I "close" this video.
7. Open to international subscribers!
8. Winner will be posted on my blog on June 6, 2010. Please make sure to check my blog that day. (I may make a video announcing the winner. I'm still deciding if I should or not). The winners have exactly 2 days to contact me or I will generate new winners
9. Please don't bother with spamming out other comments because I will be able to see them all.



For my Blog and Twitter Followers:
Thank you to all of you who have been following me! I've been wanting to give back to you all for a long time and I'm glad that I found the chance.
If you are a twitter follower, blog follower, or both, simply comment on this blog post and like the YouTube giveaway, to enter, just ask me a random question about myself or a beauty question. This is also open to my international twitter and blog followers as well.
If you are a twitter follower, make sure to let me know your twitter username. Also, RT this message, which I will be posting on twitter:

RT: @iAMminky3 RT this for a chance to win the MAC To the Beach lipstick in Lazy Day giveaway. http://bit.ly/9nfV2O


I will keep track of all the retweets and they will all be included as an entry. So Retweet as many times you want! :)

**You must be a blog follower, a twitter follower, or both to enter. I know that many people don't have twitter, so I didn't want to exclude those. Also, please don't enter if you plan on unfollowing me after the giveaway. That isn't fair to the people who have been following me from the beginning. Twitter is a way where I can keep in touch with new friends I made and just keep you all updated on what's up in my life. My twitter username is: @iAMminky3.


Here are the swatches of MAC Lazy Day lipstick:

Good luck!

I hope this post wasn't too long, but I do hope that you will all enter and read all the rules. Also, be sure to check out my tutorial of the look I had in my giveaway video! Click here to go to the blog post.


Disclaimer: I purchased all the products in this video with my own money. I am not affiliated with the company represented and I am not being paid to make this video.