Relay For Life 2014

Hi guys!

I'm aware that I haven't been blogging for quite some time since I was so busy. But anyway...

Yesterday, I came home from Relay For Life. It's a school event that a lot of people participate in to fight cancer, to celebrate those who made it and to remember those who did not. Other than fundraising a minimum of 5000RMB, every team had to have one member walking on the track and this went on for 24 hours. This was actually my first time doing relay since I was pretty anti-social last year and I just didn't feel like doing it. This year, I was co-team leader with Franny of my group Flaming Flamingos. Lol I know the name is pretty lame but our sweatshirt is pretty cute. Overall, it was really meaningful, despite the fact that it was always raining so heavily and the numerous obstacles I had to deal with.

I had shifts from 3-4pm, 5-6pm, and 7-8pm but sometimes, I was walking around with other friends when it was not my shift. I went to basketball preseason for a while and the other members were setting up tents at the same time. A few hours later, the tents fell... It was a major tent crisis. Anyway, we got one of the tents back up after a really long time so that felt good. My group was planning to sell marshmallows dipped in warm chocolate and s'mores but it was soooo windy and it was always raining.  And no one felt like eating. It wasn't very pleasant. 

But the most meaningful part of Relay was the talking session that was open to anyone who wanted to talk about their personal experiences with cancer/relatives with cancer. It was really, really sad. Like everyone was silent and a number of people cried when they heard stories of fellow schoolmates. I also had tears forming and I don't usually cry in front of people. It was so difficult for them to share their stories and almost all of them cried to the point where they could not talk anymore. Right after the talk, everyone went for the luminary walk. There were luminaires all around the track and the point of this walk is to walk in silence, reflect on your life and how you have been treating your loved ones, and celebrate and remember cancer patients. It really served as a reminder for me to treat my friends and family with so much more love and compassion. The night was cold, but walking with my friends made me feel so much warmer.

Also, I didn't really take photos since it was raining most of the time but I took a photo with Victoria and Samantha and Meera, Emily and Hannah. It's a pity I didn't take photos with Nicole, Evette, Vivian, Katherine and Hannah though. I barely saw them.

We are cute ok.

Hannah looking fierce and sexy.

I was seriously really tired this week and I actually wanted to sleep. Since my group members aren't going to sleep and there was practically no space for me in the tent, I went to the cafeteria with May. I thought we could go to the upper cafeteria since there were fewer people there but when we went up, there was a group of Koreans that stared at us and I am pretty sure they asked us to go away. Like what the heck did we even do to you, we practically just climbed up the stairs. Yeah they were pretty rude so we went to the cafeteria and tried sleeping. It was pretty quiet at first but in the middle of the night, a bunch of people came in and they were literally talking and laughing at the top of their lungs. I don't think I fell asleep at all and I'm feeling really horrible now. I may have caught a fever too since it was cold and windy and raining.

It was raining really heavily in the morning yesterday, but we had to take the tents down so we did that. After some time, we were dismissed.

I really wished that it did not rain because it made the atmosphere so gloomy when it's supposed to be a much more lively and there was so much hassle. However, I still really enjoyed walking around the track and reflecting on life, which was the bulk of the event.

I know I didn't use a lot of smiley faces or exclamation marks in this post and it may sound really serious but I think cancer is a serious topic and I hope that one day, a cure for cancer will be found. Thanks for reading! (:

H&M Spring Haul 2014 :)

Hi guys!

I realized I haven't been blogging for quite some time again. I apologize for that. I'm just soooo busy.

Anyway, on one weekend, I had to drag my brother out of the house to go shopping, because I simply cannot stand how poorly he dresses, and I think he needs to get new clothes. I picked up a few items  for myself while at H&M and they were all on sales.  

I happened to be going out one day and here's an outfit photo outdoors.

The sweater was originally priced at 179RMB (28.8USD) and it got cut down to 70RMB (11.25USD).

I think I have mentioned a thousand times that it is super hard for me to buy shoes in China because the stores never have my size. I was so happy that H&M had boots on sale (because who in the world has size 41 feet except for me). The original price was 399 (64.1USD) which seemed a little too expensive but it was on sales for 150RMB (24.1USD). I don't have a lot of boots and this leathery surfaced boots are so edgy and really versatile. 

Lastly, I got another sweater that has cut outs in it. I think this is pretty cool and it's perfect for spring. But shirts with cut outs are always tricky. I never know what bra to wear.

Yeah I got a little carried away editing photos. I'm so into vintage photos now.

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

Japan Beauty Haul Spring 2014 :)

Hi guys!

So my mom just came back not long ago from Japan and well... She helped me get some beauty products. I still have to say that most of these things are for my mom, and I know it looks like I have a lot of stuff here, but I actually do not have that much. I did not do reviews for any of these because I didn't have time to try most of them out yet but I will when I get to use them.

I personally think that Japanese beauty products are really good and some of the drugstore products there are rather inexpensive too. It definitely is harder trying to get to know some of these products  and what they do because they are packaged in Japanese and many of us can't read Japanese. But overall, I think some of these products are worth a shot at. I have to admit that I know much more about US products which is surprising because I don't live in the US and I'm Asian and I should know more about more Asian products. Sometimes, some beauty products do suit different ethnicities better and I just feel like it is useful to get to know more products from Asian brands.

I will start with my mom's hauls first.

I actually recommended her to get this Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen with SPF50+. My mom is a sunscreen junkie. I think she never leaves the house without sunscreen. I don't really have a good understanding of this product, but I just heard that it's good and it does not leave the white residue many sunscreen does. I will write a review on this when I get to try it out.

I am so sorry but I have absolutely no idea what this product is. I'll just put it here though. If I'm not wrong, I think this brand is Hada Labo and I'm guessing that this is a moisturizer because I do read Chinese and it says "高保湿" which basically means high moisture.

This is a White Beau Essence. I think this may be from Japan Gals? I saw a similar product from this brand but it's not the same. I'm sorry for being so clueless for some of these products. I think some of the things my mom got are more suitable for her age and I've never encountered such a bottle in my life before. 

The next product my mom got is the Shiseido Perfect Whip Cleansing Foam. I've actually used this a couple of times before when my mom brought it to use on a vacation. My first impression was that it was really soft and felt super nice on the skin and I think it was also super foamy. I don't remember it having a scent so if you like unscented facial washes this is for you. Apparently, my mom got like 3 of these (she was clearing stocking up) and well... I think this shows that she likes this a lot. I think I may do a review on this too!

This is the Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence. I have used this before and I think I used this as a moisturizer but my mom once told me that this is a serum. I can see how it is a serum instead of a moisturizer because when I put it on my skin, it gave that "stinging feeling" and it does not feel like a moisturizer as well. I googled it and Hyaluronic acid actually helps "to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles".

Alright I'm going to move on to my hauls now :D

I got the SANA Nameraka Honpo Soy Milk Isoflavone Moisturizing Milky Lotion Emulsion. This is basically a moisturizer. I'm really looking forward to using this because I have dry skin and I have to use moisturizers, and also because this is a really popular product in Japan.

Another product I got from SANA is the SANA Nameraka Honpo Soy Milk Isoflavone Moisturizing Lotion Toner. The packaging is really similar to the milky lotion emulsion, which makes it slightly harder to differentiate the products. I don't really use toners but I want to start trying them out and I feel that this brand would be nice to start with.

The one on the left is the toner while the one on the right is the moisturizer.

I finally got a Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler! I know a lot of Youtubers rave about this and I really want to try it out for myself and see how well and how different my lashes look when I use this. I will probably do a review on this too since it is a really popular product.

I can finally read.

I also got 2 Kate Eyebrow Pencils. One is in BR-3 and the other is in BR-4. I've actually wore the BR-4 already to the Bruno Mars concert. My first impression of this is that when I was trying out the colors by drawing them on my hand, the brow pencil was actually rather hard and it didn't go on easily... However, when I drew on my brows, it turned out fine and the pigmentation was really good. I want to use it more often so that I can give a more comprehensive review soon. 

Anyone else likes to twist the product all the way to the end to see how much product there is? Yup.

Another really popular product is the DHC Cleansing Oil and this is for removing makeup. I was actually rather stunned that this was a really small bottle. I think I was misled by a photo I once saw and I didn't know that the actual size was only 70mL. SO I'm telling you this right now! What I like about this is that the packaging will not allow the product to spill so easily.

I got another one of my all-time favorite mascaras, the Heroine Make Kiss Me Mascara. This mascara is the bomb. It is waterproof (although the packaging does not say so, or maybe it's because I can't read) it does not clump, volume can be built up easily and it is everything you want in a mascara. I can't believe that I have not done a review on this and I should probably get to doing one. 

Believe it or not, these are my first pairs of false lashes. I've never tried false lashes before because I once thought that it will look "fake" and too dramatic, and partly because I was rather new at makeup and I wanted to keep things simple. But now I think that I should switch things up a little since I'm getting more into makeup and I have seen people looking really fabulous wearing false lashes and hey I want to be fabulous too (although I'm pretty fabulous already. Ok jk).

This is from RiPi and this is more of a natural look.

I also got falsies from Diamond Lash and this ones are really dramatic. I'm actually really excited to try these out.

By the way, my mom likes this drugstore called Amano. She says that the products from this store are cheaper than another one she went to and there is also a huge selection of products available.

Falsies don't just magically go on, you have to have lash glue. I just got this lash glue from Dolly Wink because it's pink in color and the packaging is really cute :> I've also heard that Dolly Wink has amazing false lashes as well and I will definitely check them out when I go to Japan next time.

Alright that's all for now! 

Like I said, I will write reviews for a couple of these products when I get to use them more often. Thank you for reading and see you soon :)

Bruno Mars The Moonshine Jungle Tour in Shanghai :)

Hey guys!

This Thursday, I went to the Bruno Mars concert in Shanghai. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. No words can describe how good Bruno Mars is and the concert was just mindblowing. This is one of the best concerts I've ever been to. 

I went with my brother, Henry, and we were sitting at the side. I actually prefer to sit at the side because no one can really block you and it will be easier to take photos and videos, as compared to when everyone is standing and waving glowsticks right in front of your camera. We were not that close but it was good enough. The photos I took were not as close up as the ones I took at Alicia Keys, which you can check it out here.

Before concert selfie.

Photos are taken with Canon EOS1100D (not the most professional DSLR) and with Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens.

Yeah it was pretty difficult to take these photos especially in low light but enjoy!

This is one of my favorite shots ^

This shot looks good too ^

I really love how confetti bursted out towards the end of the concert!

Yup and that's all I have.

This concert was really memorable partly because I knew almost all the songs and the atmosphere was just so great. I hope to go to another concert like this in future! :)

Thanks for reading!