USC Welcome Week 2016

Hi guys!

I've officially moved into my dorm at USC and classes start tomorrow so I'm super excited! These are just some photos that I took this past week, which is known as our welcome week.

Tommy my man.

No I have not graduated. This was convocation, which marked the beginning of my journey as a Trojan.

Sabrina, my roomie, and I trying out skirts for game day. The sizes are actually for kids so I didn't get the skirt. I felt like it was a little too short for my liking. Fortunately, adult sizes are coming in soon.

I did get the tank top though.

Mom came by my dorm before she left back for Shanghai. That night, we had a college residential cup which was a competition between the different residential colleges. I'm in the International Residential College (you don't have to be from international though).

While figuring out where our classes were in our huge campus, Sabrina and I found our dance class. This is us fooling around.

We also had a welcome back concert and a carnival. I'm really loving my suite mates!! We're all getting along so well and that's everything I've wished for. LANY performed and I'm seriously so in love with their songs now.

 Gotta love me some cotton candy.

Thank you so much for reading! I'm super excited for college and ready to embark on this new journey. Talk to you guys soon!

Review: Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation SPF 15

Hey guys!

Today, I'll be reviewing the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation with SPF 15. This foundation may look familiar to you already. I mentioned it in a 2015 empties and a 2016 empties post previously, but have never written an in-depth review on it before. So let's jump right in.

This was the first high-end foundation that I got from Sephora when I was at a Stanford summer camp. The lady helping me recommended that I get a Color IQ match. It's like a mini camera that takes pictures of different parts of your face and finds all the foundations (or concealers) in store that match you perfectly. I ended up with the shade Warm Sand 2.5, which has strong yellow undertones and is my perfect shade in the summer.  

Here are the claims on Bobbi Brown's website: "A natural-looking and long-wearing foundation with SPF. Comfortable and hydrating, this medium to full coverage oil-free formula never looks cakey or masky." It is targeted towards normal to oily skin but even though I have pretty dry skin, I never felt like this foundation dried up my skin or left weird patches. Additionally, I feel like the foundation does really live up to its claims. I will have pictures down below for you to view.

The foundation comes in a frosted glass bottle and has a rather classy look. It also comes with a pump and is travel-friendly since I never had to worry about the foundation spilling or anything. 

There is also a lavender scent to it, but it's not overpowering and it doesn't bother me. Wayne Goss (the Youtuber) said in one of his videos that lavender is irritating, but personally, this foundation never broke me out. I just wanted to let you know that there is a fragrance and if you are sensitive to fragrance this foundation might not be for you.

It comes with 1 fluid ounce (30mL), which is a typical amount amongst most foundations. It expires around 24 months after opening. 

Here are some swatches of the foundation.

I like to apply this foundation with a damp sponge rather than a brush because I tend to prefer a more natural and sheer look. 

Now, here are some pictures of how the foundation wears on my skin.

I took these pictures after I came home walking for 15 minutes in like over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, under the hot sun, and I was sweating PROFUSELY once I reached home. The foundation has been on my face for about 7 hours. I really wanted to test if it was long-wearing and if the finish was still even.

So I came home and blot my face with some tissue to get the sweat off. I then took these photos and I am surprised to see how the foundation did not break down that much and there was still a really even finish. 

I sweat a lot on my forehead, but from the looks of it, my skin still looks pretty smooth.

I must say that this foundation settles into my smile lines, but then again, every foundation that I have used does that. Thankfully, it'll go away when I rub over the crease lightly.  

I've circled out the slightly problematic areas. There's my smile line, my nose, and my cheeks. You can't see the crease on my smile line anymore since I rubbed it off like I previously mentioned. The foundation wore off a little around my nose, but it's not extremely obvious unless you stare closely at it.

The biggest problem for me is that the foundation will settle into my pores on my cheeks. When I use my Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Perfecting Primer in the pink packaging, my pores won't show through. BUT, when I use my Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12-hr Perfecting Primer my pores would really show through.

The same goes for the other side with the circled areas.

Another slightly problematic area is my nose. Maybe the foundation is settling into the pores as well. Once again, it's not that noticeable, unless you zoom in on the picture. 

Overall, I do enjoy using this foundation. I feel like not a lot of people talk about it. If I put on just a little powder, there is a slight dewiness to it and my skin does seem to show through. If I put on just a normal amount of powder for those days where I really need my foundation to last, I will get a matte, but not a cakey face. 

I have worn this foundation to all my dances or special events, such as Winter Formal and Prom, and it never gave me a flashback even though it has SPF in it.

Do keep in mind that when I took these photos, I was using the Hard Candy primer so that really helped to eliminate the look of pores. I must say that the foundation does not look that nice when I don't use that primer. It may just be that the foundation doesn't work that well with my skin and it could work better for you.

I would probably try out some different foundations just because I like trying out different products.

I hope you found this review informative and thank you so much for reading! :)

Japan Beauty Haul Summer 2016

Hey guys!

I recently went to Japan (two times actually, one for my senior trip, and one for a family vacation) and got back some beauty products. The one thing that's hard for me is that everything on the packaging is in Japanese so I am not extremely knowledgable about the products, but hopefully after some time I can write reviews on them. I have a ton of stuff so let's get started right away.

These are the products I got while I was in Ishigaki.

Firstly, I got the KAO Megurhythm Steam Hot Eye Mask in the unscented version in a box of 5. I've seen this quite a couple times on the Internet so I thought I'd give it a try. I have already used this 2 times before I went on my family trip and wanted to try it out some more, so I got 2 more boxes but in a box of 14.

You simply tug on the center and it will allow the ear straps to come loose.

I also got the LuLuLun High Moisture (Blue) Mask. There are several different colors but I got this one because I have drier skin. I totally forgot to take a picture of one side of the mask, which states that this comes in a pack of 32 masks.

Another product that I got is the SANA Nameraka Honpo Extra Moisture Skin Lotion. Japan calls a toner skin lotion, while a lotion is usually called emulsion.

The next product I have here is the Rosette Cleansing Paste Acne Clear. I've seen this a lot of times on the Internet so I thought I would give this a try. There are different versions, such as "Ghassoul Bright (yellow)," "Kaidei Smooth (green)," and "Hakudei Lift (pink)." Since acne appears to be more of a concern, I got this one in blue.

I'm now moving onto the products I got while I was in Sapporo for my family trip. 

I got the next two items at the Shanghai Pudong Airport Duty Free store.

This Lancôme UV Expert XL-Shield BB Complete with SPF 50 PA+++ is actually my mom's haul, but I thought I would include it here anyway since I used it while I was in Ishigaki and felt like it really protected my skin and provided a little coverage with the BB complex. 

I wanted to give this Kiehl's Ultra Facial Deep Moisture Balm a try. I've actually done some research on the other Kiehl moisturizers, such as the Ultra Facial Cream, which is rather popular but had some mixed reviews. It seemed like the balm did not receive as many mixed reviews and from testing the product, I really liked how thick this moisturizer is. I'm definitely excited to try this out.

While I was in Japan, I visited the DHC store just to stock up on my favorite makeup remover, which is the Deep Cleansing Oil. I also went to the store because the drugstores I visited only sold the Cleansing Oils in bottles of 70mL but I wanted bottles of 200mL. Although it wasn't tax free, the promotion which sold the bottles in a pack of two made the total cost lower than if I just got the 70mL bottles from the drugstores. 

I did not want to rip open the packaging so this picture is from a previous haul, which you can view here.

The lady also gave me some samples.

I kinda went a little crazy at the drugstore.

The next two products are my mom's. She got the LuLuLun Brightening Face Mask (White) and the KOSE Clear Turn White Mask (Collagen) in a box of 5. Once again, KOSE has many different masks that serve different purposes, and I think it's better if you visit their website. 

This is the side of the mask that I missed in the previous blue mask pictures which shows that it comes in a pack of 32.

I got a few more boxes KAO Megurhythm Steam Hot Eye Mask in the unscented version and I'm giving one to my aunt.

Another extremely popular product in Japan that I got is the Oshima Tsubaki Camellia Hair Care Oil, in a bottle of 60mL. I seriously see this EVERYWHERE and since I have pretty dry hair, I wanted to give this a try.

I had to pick up a few more bottles of the Shiseido Perfect Whip, but somehow I think it may not be produced by Shiseido anymore since the bottle now says SENKA. The last bottle I was using had the brand SENKA on it and I felt like there wasn't a difference as to when the bottle had the brand Shiseido on it. Overall, it's still one of the better cleansing foams that I have used and it is very affordable.

The pack came with some samples from Tsubaki and I'm pretty sure Tsubaki is a line under Shiseido.

Of course, I had to stock up on my SANA Nameraka Honpo products. I got 5 bottles of the emulsion in the original version and 1 bottle of the emulsion with Q10. I'm not exactly sure what the Q10 does and there are literally almost no reviews on the Q10 line. Hopefully I can formulate my thoughts on it and write a review on it soon.

I got two containers of the SANA Nameraka Honpo Wrinkle Cream. My dad actually got one for me a few months ago and I've really been enjoying it. Most drugstores will only have the original version (white) and I thought since the price was not that different I might as well use this wrinkle one.

Since the lighting wasn't being kind, here are the photos I took previously when my dad first got the product. Somehow I never blogged about the products he got for me. I'll probably write reviews on them sometime later. 

I got three refills for the SANA Nameraka Honpo Extra Moisture Skin Lotion. The bottle on the left is actually the one I got in Ishigaki (shown previously). If you were wondering if SANA has refills for the emulsion, I only saw refills for the lotion. I think they are cheaper than if you were to get the bottles and easier to store. But also, I will use less plastic and save the Earth! The bottle comes with 200mL and the refill comes with 180mL. 

I also had to get one more of my favorite mascara, the Isehan Kiss Me Long and Curl Super Waterproof Mascara. 

My mom wanted an eyeliner so I picked this up for her. This is the K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Waterproof Eyeliner in Super Black. 

I've never had a good eyeliner pencil that did not smudge on me so I'm hoping that this K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Waterproof Eyepencil in Super Black will be nice to me. This pencil eyeliner is in a retractable form.

The last product I got is the K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Lasting Eyeliner in 01 Black. This is in a pencil form. I'm just hoping one of the eyeliner pencils I got would finally work.

And that is it! Thanks for staying till the end of the post. I will write some reviews on some of them soon so you can be better informed on my picks. I hope you found this helpful and thank you so much for reading :)