USC Class of 2020!

Hey guys!

I can't believe I just finished the last test in high school today! I'm done with all my IBs/APs and there are 16 days left to graduation. 

Maybe if you're reading this you may already know where I'll be going next year, but I never talked about it here on my blog. So...

As the title of the post suggests, I will be attending the University of Southern California! I'm delighted to be joining the Trojan Family with an International Student Academic Scholarship :) I seriously can't wait to step on this beautiful campus!

I took these pictures during my college visit last June.

Fight on hand sign from http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.116957008.1026/sticker,220x200-pad,220x200,ffffff.u1.jpg

Literally fighting on since I was born.

I'm so excited to begin a new chapter of my life and I thank everyone who has helped me and supported me on this journey. For those of you who are going to start applying to colleges trust me when I say you'll end up at somewhere that's perfect for you.

Thank you for reading!

Review: Innisfree Wine Jelly Sleeping Pack

Hey guys!

I'll be reviewing the Innisfree Wine Jelly Sleeping Pack today. I have tried a couple of Innisfree products and I'm really satisfied with their products so far! Innisfree is a Korean store but I got this in Shanghai, so there are product descriptions in Chinese, which I will translate.

This is actually my very first sleeping mask. Like I mentioned before, I bought this at an Innisfree store in Shanghai and I got it for 100RMB, which is slightly more expensive than if I were to get it in Korea for 12,000Won (approximately $10USD). The price is definitely very affordable and I think this would last me quite some time. 

There is a significant wine or grape smell to it, but it's not overwhelming that you won't be able to sleep at night. Innisfree is also known for using healthy and natural ingredients, which is why I personally do not mind the smell. To be honest, it smells pretty good! However, I just wanted to inform you of this fact if you are extremely sensitive to fragrance so that you can make a thoughtful purchase.

Description: "Wine jelly sleeping pack with wine and green complex. Enriched with wine extracts from France, Wine creates a clear and smooth jelly-like skin by gently lifting away dead skin cells and providing hydrating moisture. 

Translation:

This hydrating wine sleeping pack creates a clear and resilient jelly-like skin with its shape-memory barrier.

Directions: In the last stage of your evening skincare routine, apply an appropriate amount on the entire face, avoiding the eye and lip area. Gently massage the face before going to bed. Rinse off with water in the morning.

This contains 80mL of product.

I'm rather amused with this product because it magically goes back to a hard and smooth looking surface even after I dug out the product and left an indent in it. You'll see what I mean in the following photos.

Magic.

I took these pictures on my iPhone and while they may not be camera-resolution, I thought they would be helpful for you to imagine what it looks like. 

This is how the mask looks like when I first apply it.

This is how the mask looks in the morning. You basically won't be able to see it, except for some white flakes. Also, don't mind my eyebags. They have literally been with me ever since I was a kid. 

The only thing I didn't really like was the fact that mine was manufactured in China. I'm just slightly iffy in general whenever it comes to beauty products that are manufactured here. I would much rather prefer if it was made in Korea and imported from Korea. I'm pretty sure though that if you go buy products from Innisfree in Korea or get them on Amazon or some other online shopping website, they will be made in Korea. 

Overall, I do really enjoy using this product! It leaves my skin feeling smooth, soft, and elastic the next day. I use this once or twice a week and although I would not say that this helps to lighten the color of my acne, it really does hydrate my extremely dry skin. I feel that it makes my makeup apply smoother too after I wash my face and apply moisturizer again in the morning. 

I would highly recommend this product because it is inexpensive and helps hydrate the skin. I feel like no one really talks about this on Youtube or on the Internet, and I hope that you would try this product out for yourself!

Thank you for reading and I hope you found this helpful :)

Review: Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Special Kit

Hi guys!

Not too long ago, I visited an Innisfree store in Shanghai. When I was checking out, the lady kindly gave me this Green Tea Balancing (Special) Kit sample. I know that the green tea line from Innisfree is really popular, and so I thought I would write a short review on my thoughts on this sample.

I took the photos on different days, so I hope you don't mind the changes in lighting!

http://www.koreasnbymalaysia.com/product/innisfree-korea-cosmetic-skincare-makeup-online-malaysia/innisfree-green-tea-balancing-special-trial-kit-38ml/

I actually can't find this kit on Innisfree's official Korean website. The one I got is for normal to combination skin. In general, after using the items a couple of times, I found that it isn't hydrating enough for my super dry skin.

The kit comes with a toner (skin), serum, lotion, and cream.

Korean products may call a toner "skin." This is how the balancing skin looks on my hand.

It is very thin and light, and I think it makes a nice toner. The smell of all these products are also very pleasant and not overly irritating. Innisfree is known for using natural products and not adding artificial scents so even though I prefer skincare products to not have a scent, I'm alright when it comes to Innisfree. 

Korea's lotion is basically a light moisturizer. As you can see in the following pictures, it is indeed very light. I think it is alright for people with normal or oily skin, but like I said, it isn't hydrating enough for my really dry skin.

Finally, I was surprised to find that the balancing cream was only slightly thicker than the lotion. This cream is more water based than oil based. It definitely wasn't enough for my dry skin.

This is the green tea seed serum. I am pretty sure this is different from all the balancing products because I heard it is made from green tea seeds. The green tea seed line is also rather popular. I was unable to take a picture of how the serum looks like but I couldn't see any major improvements in my skin from that small amount of samples given to me. I might buy a full sample of this in future though since I've heard great things about it. 

In general, after using the balancing products, I didn't feel like my skin was hydrated enough. I probably would not purchase them in future, unless they have a dry to very dry skin formula. I would recommend this for people with normal or oily skin that just need a little moisture that is not too heavy. 

I hope you found this useful, and thank you for reading!

Boston Spring Haul 2016

Hey guys!

My mom recently visited Boston and brought back some products that I've been wanting to own for some time. There are two Korean products here that I ordered off Amazon and she managed to pick them up from a friend's house before she had to fly back. I'll be showing you what I got and I would probably write reviews on some of them in the future. Please keep reading if you're interested!

Also, I want to apologize for the changes in lighting in the photos. The sun wasn't being nice to me. 

I got my second bottle of the Burberry Brit EDP but this one is in 100mL. I am almost done with the bottle I'm using now (which is in 50mL). This scent is so classy and it's my favorite perfume. I took a photo of the bottle I have now so that you guys can see how it looks like.

I also got the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent. I've heard good comments on this, so I wanted to see how this compared to my MAC Prep and Prime, which is currently my favorite setting powder.

The next two products are the Korean products I got from Amazon.

The first one is the Banila Co Clean It Zero. It is an oil cleanser and it removes all your makeup. I've used this a few times and I think I will be writing a review on this in the future. 

I also got the Skinfood Black Sugar Strawberry Mask Wash Off. I'm not planning to open this one anytime soon until I've used a decent amount of my Black Sugar Mask Wash Off. I have already written a review on that, which you can read here.

I finally got the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. I told my mom to pick up the color Granite for me but she got Dark Brown. I've used this quite a few times and so far, I think I can pull it off. 

The next product I am extremely excited about is the MAC Viva Glam Ariana Grande Lipstick. I LOVE dark lipstick colors. I'm so excited to wear this more often. 

Recently, I've been hearing a lot about the NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick. My mom told me that most of the colors were sold out already, so she just got 01 Honeymoon for me. I've tried it once and it's really grayish and brownish. So I'm not sure how often I will wear it.

The last thing I got that I'm really excited about is the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. Usually, I would test out the foundation personally, but the NARS website had a huge range of shades that were really detailed and the shade I got matches me perfectly! I've been using this since I ran out of my previous foundation and so far I've been enjoying it. I'll definitely write a review on this in the future!

I didn't purchase this but I think my mom redeemed it for a certain number of points at Sephora. This is the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion + for very dry to dry combination. I've used this a couple of times, but I'm not extremely impressed with this. You know that feeling when you put on a heavier duty cream moisturizer and it burns because your skin isn't hydrated enough? Yeah that's what happened with this lotion, which apparently wasn't very moisturizing for me. I might have to get the cream version if I wanted try out this line.

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know in the comments if there are any products you want me to review if I haven't already said I would :)