FASHIONABLY LOVESTRUCK

I Caved! MAC LE Disney Blush in Bite of an Apple

2010-10-28T18:53:00.000-05:00

I usually don't buy make-up from high end brands such as MAC but after reading and watching all the reviews for this limited edition blush I was really lemming it. Passing by the MAC counter today at the mall was all it took and I shelled out the 19.50+tax on this little baby. I think LE products have more of a draw for me vs. something I can get anytime. This is only my second MAC product, the first being the viva glam gaga lipstick. I think I may pick up the viva glam cyndi one as well before it's gone! Hey, it's donating $14 dollars to charity, right? Anyway, since the html gets screwed up after I insert pictures, I'm going to write everything first. If you want to take a peek at the lovely pictures of Bite of an Apple, scroll down. Click for larger view. Sorry that the swatch is kind of lame. It was hard to get the color to show up, surprisingly. But it does show up on the cheeks, I assure you!

So my thoughts? Was it worth it? Let's find out!

Description: A matte bright coraly-red powder blush. It's photographing a little pinker than in real life. There is absolutely NO shimmer in this - which I like :)

Packaging: A little disappointed with the packaging. You'd think being LE it would be nicer, but it's not. The design for this Disney Villainous Villains collection is underwhelming. They're like cheap images stuck onto a clear plastic plastic lid. Why not use the nice and heavy matte black cases used on the main line?

Pigmentation: It's VERY pigmented in the pan. However, it doesn't show up a crazy bright coral-red on the face, well unless you want it to (it's buildable). Definitely a color I can't say I've seen anywhere else. I think Rock and Republic as well as Cargo may have dupe colors but they're both more expensive anyway so I don't mind having this one.

Staying Power: It has average staying power. I don't think it lasts all day on my oily skin, but at least a few hours.

Overall: I really like it. It's unique (many drugstore brand colors are so boring) and it's limited edition MAC. It's a little pricey for my taste, but I don't mind dishing out a little more on limited edition items. My only complaint (aside from the price, lol) is the packaging. It could've been designed more elegantly, less cheaply looking.

Review: Wet n' Wild Craze Polish in Morbid

2010-10-08T18:34:00.005-05:00

Long time no post! I know, I've been seriously neglecting my blog. It's been a very busy few months for me, but hopefully I'll be on here as regularly as I can as this is much easier to update than my YouTube channel - videos take a lotta time to film, edit and upload. But don't worry, I will still do videos when I can.

So anyway, let's continue on to the review! So, this week Walgreens was having a very rare sale where all WnW products were 50% off! They're so ridiculously affordable already without the sale that I just had to get something. I have a lot of colors already similar to most of the nail polishes they have and I really didn't need anything else (or they were already sold out), but I saw morbid and HAD TO HAVE IT! I actually snatched the last bottle :) Regular price is $1.99, but with the sale I purchased it for about a dollar!

I don't have many dark polishes but i'm starting to expand my collection and I love morbid! I would describe this color as a black base with tons of fine deep moss shimmer. Both of the pics above were taken in direct sunlight .The shimmer isn't as beautiful under artificial lighting, but it's still there. The second picture gives you a better idea of how it looks in the bottle. It took me two coats for the opacity you see. The first coat can be a little streaky but the second coat evens it all out and the formula is pretty easy to work with. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Review: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

2010-01-11T19:52:00.001-06:00

After years of never really using a top coat and waiting forever for my nail polish to try (which usually doesn't turn out well b/c of accidental smudging) I finally decided to look for a good fast dry top coat. After seeing the rave reviews about this $9.50 (at least that's the price at my Ulta) bottle of fast drying top coat I decided to give it a try. In quick, it is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, but nothing is ever perfect and it this top coat does have its not so good points.

GOOD
My nail color was looking streaky though opaque, after 2 coats and when I applied seche vite's top coat it totally wiped away the streaks! It was just smooth nail color and super shine! Just look at it! Also, it does dry super fast - in about 10 min you're pretty much good to go. Now, I'm not saying you can go and start doing heavy duty work, but normal tasks are ok (which they weren't for me before). In addition, it prevented my color from chipping for about 3 days. The rimmel nail color by the way is called Milk Chocolate, excuse my icky cuticles.

NOT SO GOOD
I don't think it's the healthiest thing for our nails though. I mean, it's gotta have some pretty gnarly chemicals to work like that. I don't remember them exactly so feel free to go look it up yourself if it is important to youl. Also, after about 4 days (when your nail color starts to chip) it causes the color to start peeling - like you can literally peel off the nail color in sheets. The pretty shine also wears off and gets dull in about 4 days as well.

Thoughts: Retin A Micro

2010-01-03T01:37:00.003-06:00

So the reason why I titled this "thoughts" instead of "review" because it's not exactly a proper review, but rather me just jotting down things about my experience with this little bugger:
I recently (meaning about 4 months ago) move to a warmer, more humid environment for school and it wreaked havoc on my skin. I have oily, eczema flare-up prone, acne-prone skin and the combination of walking to class in 80-100 degree weather everyday, wearing sunscreen and make-up on my face = disaster. My face an oily mess (even with blotting powder) and that somehow caused my eczema to flare up which lead to lots of dry flaky patches of skin and that lead to at least 2 new pimples appearing every other day!!! So, when my winter break came up and I flew back home, I made an appointment with my derm stat! She prescribed me something called locoid lipocream/lotion for my eczema and retin-A micro .04%, solodyn and acanya for my acne.

Now, retin-A micro is extremely drying (almost all acne meds are) and when I have dry flaky patches all over my face to begin with I was wary of starting the retin-A so I applied to locoid stuff everyday until my dry eczema patches went away. Then I decided it was time to start the retin-A (I decided not to take the solodyn b/c of the scary reviews I've read on its side effects & my acne isn't severe so I'd rather presrve my health). I went to ulta and purchased a good moisturizer with SPF after a couple days of research and, as per doctor recomedation, applied the retin-A micro every other night and followed up with moisturizer.

After using the retin-A twice over a 4 day period, my skin began to develop those really dry flaky patches AGAIN in THE SAME AREAS as before and new areas of dryness popped up as well. My whole face was litteraly a nasty flaky mess. Granted the derm did say that acne treatments tend to make things worse before they get better, but I think my face eczema problem is the culprit here. The tendency for my skin to develop these really dry flaky patches is very high (if I don't continue to use topical medication for it at least every other day) and that doesn't go well with drying acne medication.

I was really hoping for the Retin-A to give me lovely acne-free, soft and smooth skin with a minimal amount of drying (due to good moisturizing), but it totally failed and I don't think I can push through the excessive dryness and eczema complications. Oh and I forgot to mention that this is the lower dosage too. There is a .1% gel <-- I don't even want to know what that could do to my face if .04% is doing this (shivers).

So I think the moral of this story is, if you have stubborn facial eczema or very very dry skin, this may not be a good choice for you to clear up the acne. However, I am no professional so please consult your dermatologist for advice and use my "thoughts" as something to just keep in mind or ask about. Remember, almost ALL acne treatments are drying so it's up to you whether or not you have the balls to push through the uglies for a possible greatness. Think about how severe your acne problem, is it worth the money and suffering? If not, try alternative ways to keep those zits at bay.

My goal now:
- Get rid of the dry patches
- Use gentle facial cleanser and spf moisturizer
- Spot treat only (i'm going to use the acanya for this, I'll report back on the success or lack of)
- Drink more water
- Eat healthier & get more sleep

I'll let you guys know how this new plan works out.

Movie Reviews: Harry Potter & The Ugly Truth

2009-08-11T14:17:00.002-05:00

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Rating: 2.5/5

Let me say that this is probably the worst Harry Potter movie I have seen. You would think that the movie producers, director etc...would want to at least try to do the book as much justice as they could in a movie. That's what normal people would do, but for some reason someone decided that the love stories between Ron, Lavender, Hermione, Ginny and Harry were more central. WHAT??? Someone also decided to add in scenes that never happened in the book. Please tell me when the Weasely's house ever caught on fire?
This movie was just extremely disappointing. The last important scene in the cave with Dumbledore and Harry was super intense and climactic in the book, but it was a mere tiff in the movie. I did not need to waste $10.50 on watching wizard love stories when expecting a whole lot more. Yes, they were an interesting sub-plot, but come on!

Good parts (and they were few and far between): The story of Tom Riddle, Draco's Struggle. That's about all that I can remember being well done.

Let's just hope the 2 part seventh movie knocks the socks off of the audience. I do not wish to be sorely disappointed two more times.

The Ugly Truth
Rating: 3/5

So...this movie gets half a rating more than Harry Potter because it at least made me laugh through it. I usually like romantic comedies, even if they get horrible ratings from rottentomatoes.com. However, this one sort of failed. Yes there was the humor, good looking men and women, and an awww worthy plot; however, the vulgarity was completely unexpected. Of course I didn't expect rated G stuff, but man...seriously I did not need to sit uncomfortably next to my guy friend listening to "Mike Chadwick" talk about flicking "Abby's" bean nor did I need so many sexual innuendos and lewd gestures. Total overkill.
I am glad that there was a message (albeit small) about not trying to be someone else, but yourself, in order to find love. However, it was definitely overshadowed by lots of talk about SEX, SEX and more SEX.
I love Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl, I just think this movie could have been better, even by Romantic Comedy standards.

Peace & Love,
CH

Like Twilight?

2009-07-13T22:50:00.004-05:00

So I usually read a lot during the summer. I started kind of late this year for some reason but I've already gone through 3 books in like a week! Anyway, for those of you who are Twilight fans and have read all of the books in Stephenie Meyer's series I have a recommendation for you! I'm been searching for books similar to Twilight (being very picky about it as well). I've heard many suggestions such as: Vampire Academy, Sookie Stackhouse, Vampire Kisses etc... and after browsing through summaries of the book or series I have found at least one series so far that I enjoy and that keeps my Twilight memories alive.

I highly recommend Evernight by Claudia Gray. It's supposed to be a 4 book series and I've read the first and a little bit of the second book, Stargazer.

Other books that I am planning on reading (and are supposed to be reminiscent of Twilight or its genre) are: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series by Laurell K. Hamilton and The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The latter two are in the adult fiction section so there may be more mature content, just warning you youngsters out there :) However Evernight is appropriate for younger readers, it takes place during high school.

Just thought I'd share :)

And...if you don't like Twilight, but are in to a nice beach read, I recommend The Last Summer of You and Me by Ann Brashares, the same lady who wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. This book however is not a YA one.

Peace & Love,
November

Plans for the Summer?

2009-06-10T09:43:00.003-05:00

I just got back about a little less than a week ago from my 2-week vacation overseas! It was tons of fun, except for the 4-5 days of less than ideal weather (rain, fog, no-sun) but I guess we just went at a time where the weather's transitioning. Oh-well.

I had an interview a few days after I got back so my room is a mess and parts of the house are as well. Since that's over, it's really time to buckle down and get some cleaning and unpacking done! After that, I need to find a job. One thing at a time I guess.

In other news, there are a few products I'm dying to try. They are:

- Egyptian magic cream: I've heard so many amazing reviews, and that coupled with the fact that the product has a risk free guarantee, I'm going to shell out the 36 dollars and give it a go! I could use some scar reducing, skin improving effects!

- Missha B.B. Cream: I ordered this about 3 days ago from Korea so it'll be a little while before I get it but the price was just right. Heard loads of good things about this as well and it's a liquid foundation, something I do not have in my collection. The BB stands for blemish balm. I hope my $10.20 is worth it! ( it retails for about $25 bucks).

- Laneige Subum Control Primer: I really want to try this primer out. I've never used primer before and I hear it really does help your make-up stay. Also, I definitely could use some sebum (oil) control. Sadly, I have yet to find it anywhere near me and the prices online are still too high for my liking. I guess we'll just wait and see.

Well, that's it for now. I'm off to clean and organize my mess of a room. I'll do a review of the products I end up trying either on this blog or on my youtube channel!

Peace & Love,

November

Hello!

2009-05-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

Hello fellow bloggers!

EDIT: No more fashion blog, just me and my ramblings. If you do happen to make your way to this page, greetings and I hope you will follow me!