A hiccup

I know it’s been a while…it’s a long story but I lost about 2 years of my past blog content >.< which actually wasn’t much but recently I posted some travel logs that I’m so sad to have lost! I’ll have to repost them later.

Quick update since the last post on here is from Sept 2016 when I was still living in San Francisco:

I’m now in Dallas where the heat is hot and the pool days are looooong.It’s the first I’ve lived out of Cali (except college) and the culture is def different out here, but the people ares so nice. I misss the coast dearly, but I will say being in the center of the country means I can get to east or west coasts in under 3 hours, which I’m totally okay with. I’m a new-ish IVF mama and plan on having some baby/pregnancy content on here soon. Okay, you’re all caught up now ;)

I’m also working on adding some new vlog content as well as some posts from friends about life + such, so stay tuned…I’m excited to get the create blog juices flowing again! 

XO.

I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.

Oprah Winfrey

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Summer Nails

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TOPSHOP Nails in Aurora

Summer color on the natural nails.

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The Best Mascara Tip

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I rely heavily on friends and beauty boxes for all my makeup tips. I’m such a newb.

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I like: Dior Mascara Base travel size and Clinique Mascara Primer

Tip: one friend with exceptional eyelashes shared: always use eyelash primer. This allows for long-lasting, fuller lashes. My favorite part though: you know when you get black mascara all over your eyelid? When you apply this first, you can hit your skin with it and be as messy as you want, it won’t show up. Your final black mascara layer will only need a few coats.

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Two Faced BTS Mascara originally discovered via Glossybox

The best mascara I have ever used. Hands down. Makes my Asian lashes have length & volume unlike anything else I’ve used. It’s in between regular & waterproof mascara. Lasts as long as waterproof mascara, but washes off way easier.

 

Second from top image via NSMBL

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My Favorite Beauty Subscription Boxes

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When I was at my hair salon a few months ago (see above–blurry pics, no makeup, just how I like it >.<), I was talking with my hair stylist about my other blog Subaholic.com, where a friend & I share reviews on subscription boxes we try. She said her friend was trying to get her to try Birchbox, but she was worried that $10 / month for what looked like cheap-o makeup was not appealing to her. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy some months of Ipsy & Birchbox, but those are not the only beauty subscription boxes with value!

I hurriedly jotted down on some note paper my favorite subscription boxes that I would recommend, outside of Birchbox & Ipsy. If you too are in an Ipsy/Birchbox rut, here are my five favorite beauty boxes, based on price, what you get, and what you value.

Also PS It’s funny how your hair stylist does your hair after she cuts it, and it never looks like that again. Haha I just can’t style it the way she does.

Allure Sample Society

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Cost: $15 / month, FREE shipping

Allure magazine’s Editors teamed up with BeautyBar.com to create Sample Society – a monthly beauty subscription box. Each month Allure’s editors pick the hottest, greatest, and latest beauty products to share with you. This is one of my favorite beauty boxes because:

  •  I usually love all the products I get from Sample Society because they carry great name -brand, high-end products alongside trusty drugstore brands that are favorites among the beauty community.
  • Allure’s box doesn’t just charge to give you freebies that you could get from Sephora. They give you deluxe and often full-size items that last for a while! I am just now finishing a dry shampoo that I received in one of my first boxes from last fall.
  •  I really like the amount of products you get, both the size of the products and the number of great products (I got six in my box). Most people love the $10 per month from other beauty boxes like Ipsy and Birchbox (which-don’t get me wrong, I love those too), but ladies! For just $5 more I feel like you get double the quality + amount.

Boxycharm

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Cost: $21 /month + FREE shipping

Boxycharm is a monthly beauty subscription box that sends 5 full size and deluxe size beauty items to you, every month.  Loving Boxycharm because:

  • They pack full size products – not all but mostly. Over the past year they’ve given me 3 different eye shadow palettes of over 30 different shades in each!
  • They have a really great variety of skincare, haircare, nailcare, and makeup. They seem to mix brands likely to be found in Sephora with brands from your local drug store, which is kind of what I do with my makeup collection anyway.

GLOSSYBOX

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Cost: $21/month + FREE shipping

Glossybox is a beauty and make-up subscription box. They have a team of 300+ beauty enthusiasts with a strong global network with top beauty brands and trends, making every box a special experience. Love my Glossybox because:

  • Most of these products come from high-end brands that feature the latest products from Milan, Paris, Tokyo, and New York.
  • Every box always looks beautifully packaged and impeccable!

Frenchbox

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The cost: $24/month + FREE shipping

FrenchBox is a relatively new monthly subscription box of 5 products from French brands in fashion, cosmetics, gourmet, and lifestyle surprises! We love Frenchbox because:

  • We love French style and everything about that culture, and this box delivers super cute, forward fashion beauty items. I still use a water mister, hair accessory, and eyebrow kit that I received from them 8 months ago.
  • Everything is legitimately from France! Like the writing on their products are all in French.

Babe Boxx

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Cost: $24.99 for month-to-month, cheaper options for 3 & 6 month subscriptions

BabeBoxx is a beauty/makeup monthly subscription that is a little different than other beauty boxes. They adhere to vegan, organic, natural, handmade, or otherwise chemical-free beauty products.

  • The cost for this box is high, but if you’re vegan and want all natural, all vegan beauty products, then Babe Boxx will give you just that!

 

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Antiques

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One of my favorite things to do is browse kitchens and bathrooms and bedrooms and living rooms (ok I could’ve just said homes) on pinterest. Dreaming, planning, but mostly dreaming about how I want my home to be like. Being a grad student (ha! not me, AKG…sucker) means semi-permanent living situations, so I often think about if I ever will be in a more-permanent living sitch.

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I love when I read blogs and someone asks, “…where’s that couch from?” and the person responds something along the lines of “Oh it’s an old/vintage thing that I had reupholstered.” It’s the same reason why I love Hobags….I just adore that someone can have something that likely no one else does. Having something truly unique to you & talored to your taste is priceless I think. So, sometimes I also wander through antique shops and do some more day-dreaming…

wpid-2015-04-19-10.41.24-1.jpg.jpeg This vintage blow dryer was awesome…it also weighed like 20 lbs.

wpid-2015-04-19-10.47.31-1.jpg.jpeg I WANT THIS TV.

wpid-2015-04-19-10.47.30-1.jpg.jpegThis guy is for my future babies….or for me. Either way, wouldn’t it look cute in a room? Like, any room? Even the kitchen? Ok not the kitchen.

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This wallpaper and those chairs…

wpid-2015-04-19-10.41.18-1.jpg.jpegMy mom had a vintage singer sewing machine like this, growing up, and I need one so my daughter can also say that.

wpid-2015-04-19-10.47.28-1.jpg.jpegThe table! and the chair! and for some reason the cat!

wpid-2015-04-19-10.41.26-1.jpg.jpegVintage pink blender and juice king….so much perfection on one shelf.

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Vintage clothes.
Need I say more??

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