Run It Like an Op

Hi everyone,

I have come to believe that opportunities arrive to those who plan. Makeup is fun but there's a time to play and there's a time to bring it. Since I am going to a wedding today, I can't play with my makeup because I only have a short time frame to prep before hitting the road. Therefore, all the planning has to be done before that.

The wedding I went before this one, I did minimal planning and it took me about an hour to put things together. Half of that time was spent to find the things I needed. This time around, I am running it like an op. I have things mapped out to a T and I hope this will save me a lot of time.

Here is how my planning looks like:

1. Do makeup trials:
I actually did two to find out a look I really love. Doing makeup trials makes me realize a lot of things and since they are just experiments, I can find ways to improve it. Also, I believe that you should stick to something familiar when it comes to important events. Trying new things on the actual day is not a good idea since (a) it would take more time for you to do, (b) you may not feel comfortable with the new makeup look, (c) the chance to mess up is huge.

The trials I did are here and here. I learned a lot from both but I'm going with the 2nd look tonight.

2. Select your own army:

This is my makeup table after the last makeup trial. It looked like a tornado just ransacked my house. Makeup, makeup everywhere!

Doing the makeup trial makes me realize I don't need everything, just a selected few. Here are the brushes I am going to use. I washed them last night and now they are dry and ready for me to use.

Makeup I am going to use are stored in this plastic zippy bag. I just love this type of bag as it allows me to see everything while is roomy enough to store the things I need

3. Do your prep work ahead of time:
Since I don't want to fumble around at the last minute, I already took time to do my nails and trim my eyebrows last night. Whatever I can do to make my life easier, I just do it ahead of time. Also, my outfit is ready for the night. Which leaves me only to do my makeup before I go.

I guess I am not used to big event makeup but a bit of preparation can take away the anxiety. The most important thing here is to have a plan and go with it. When you are crunch in time, thinking of what to do next is actually a time waster. So, this time around, I am running this makeup business like an op. We'll see how it turns out when I report back from the battlefield.

With love,
Dao xoxo

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Makeup Trial, Part 2: Nailed It!

Hi everyone,

Here's a sneak peak at what I was working on for the upcoming wedding that I'm attending tomorrow. It's a Marilyn Monroe-slash-Kim Kardashian inspired look. It's very dramatic in real life but looks more demure on camera.

Please pardon my hair, I was just playing around and did not intend to fix my hair to my liking

Close-up at the eye
I just love this nude smokey look. Very romantic.
P.S: them lashes are mine, well, partially, of course!

I did a bang up job with the foundation. It was an afterthought since I only intended to do my eye makeup. Anyways, I'll probably end up using this foundation since it looks so good on film. In real life is another picture, though. One more thing: no more contouring for Dao. Did you see how my face is darker than my neck. That's not because of the foundation. It's because I wanted to make my face look slimmer by contouring with a darker foundation only to realize that my face is slimmer than it used to be.

Since I'm happy with the result, I'll probably go with this look. If I have a change of heart, I'll go with red lips since this look is versatile for both pale and bold lip colors.

I would appreciate if you have any feedback for this look. Also, if you want a tutorial, please let me know. Last but not least, the first makeup trial can be found here.

Take care,
Dao xoxo

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Three Incredible Eye Brushes from E.L.F

Hi everyone,

I ain't gonna lie: I love makeup brushes. In return, they love me. Magically, they have found their ways to my home and sometimes, the ones that cost me the least money seem to work better. Since I discovered E.L.F brushes, a few of them managed to impress me enough to make me venture out to new ones. The three brushes I am about to show you are my E.L.F eye brush trifecta to complement my $1 eye shadow brush. The cost? $5, even less for moi since I bought them during sales.

My three favorite eye brushes: (top-bottom) E.L.F contour brush (from the Studio line, $3), defining eye brush, and blending eye brush (both from the regular Professional line, $1 each)

 First of all, the E.L.F Contour Brush:

Since it is from the Studio line, the handle is black and longer. It probably works better with those who have big hands. To me, this handle is just a tad too long.

Since I thought it was a dupe of MAC 219, I bought it. However, this one is a lot softer and rounder than the 219. Definitely not a dupe. However, I have come to like it in an unexpected way: since it is soft, I can slightly blend the color from the outer-v. Also, blending the harsh line in the cutting the crease technique is breezy with this one. To be honest, MAC 219 pencil brush is fantastic to place color on the lower lash line but using it for other purposes is quite painful since the bristles are so stiff.

Secondly, E.L.F Professional Blending Eye Brush:

I bought two of these: one for me, one for my BFF. Neither of them have the same shape and I have to say, the quality control in the regular line is quite lacking. My brush had unevenly cut bristles and I had to do the trimming myself. The one I gave to my BFF, however, was a perfect brush.

This is a superb blending brush for those with smaller eyelids (like mine.) Bigger brushes take up the space and tend to overblend. Since this one has a more compact head, blending is quite easy and concentrated. The bristles are really soft, which makes blending a joy as well. Of the three, this is the shortest brush but the length is comfortable to me.

Last but not least, E.L.F Professional Defining Eye Brush

At first, I thought it was a dupe of MAC 275, the medium angled shading brush. However, it is a lot smaller and thinner than the 275, probably 2/3 to half the size and thickness of the 275.

With that said, it is not a bad brush. I use it to shape and clean up my outer-v area and it works well for that purpose. Blending is something this brush cannot do as it does not have the required thickness for that purpose.

Please don't let the price fool you. These are some reliable brushes that do not make you break the bank. Also, the bristles are soft and I have been using them for more than a year without seeing any hair falling out of the ferrule. On top of that, I just love they way E.L.F engraving the names of the brushes on their handles. So convenient, especially when I am on the crunch.

Seriously, if you have small monolid eyes like mine, these brushes are your life-savers. They are small enough to fit the curves of my eyes, as if they were made for me! These are incredible value brushes that I hope you will enjoy as well. (Pss, buy them when ELF has a sale. You'll save even more!)

With love from your brush loving friend,
Dao xoxo

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Unleash Your Inner Dragon!

Hello everyone!

Happy Lunar New Year!

May the Year of the Dragon bring you success, wisdom, strength, and courage!

By the way, that awesome picture of the apricot flowers were taken by yours truly using the Canon G12 camera =) Since the annual Flower Festival opened on Saturday, we decided to go there to take lots of pictures. I was floored by the sheer amount of flowers and creativity from this festival! I kept on taking picture after picture of flowers and half a day later, I had 284 photos in my camera! Also, it was a sunny day and my pictures required almost no editing, which is an extremely rare occasion for me.

A gilded dragon statue that I saw in China.
By the way, it only costs you $2,653 USD just in case you want to buy it!

My mother asked me if Westerners believe in dragons as they are mythical creatures. I told her yes, and there are several differences between the Western and Easter dragons. First of all, Western dragons have wings, look bulkier, and live in caves. They also spit fire. Eastern dragons, on the other hand, are slimmer and longer, do not have wings, and live under the sea. Also, they spit out water. It is believed that in heaven, the dragons are ordered by the Weather God to create rain.

In the East, the dragon is the symbol of the king, as the king is believed to be the son of God (and I thought Jesus Christ was God's only son!) When I went to China and visited the Forbidden Palace, the dragons were carved in places used by the king. The symbol for the queen, by the way, is the Phoenix.

The seal of the dragons at the outside of the Winter Palace in Beijing

That's all for now, folks! I hope you'll have a superb Dragon year! Since it is Lunar New Year and we do have a looong holiday here, I may not post as often this week as I plan to visit my relatives. It's been a really long time since I have a Lunar New Year back home so I am going to enjoy it very much.

Take care and unleash your inner dragon!

Dao xoxo

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My Makeup Trial

Hi everyone,

Last night, I was playing with my makeup stash and an idea came to me: "Why don't I do a makeup trial on myself?" The thing is, I have a wedding to attend at the end of the month. Before, I just winged it as I went and sometimes it worked. Since this is an important wedding with the bride being my cousin and all, I don't want to embarrass her and myself by wearing some really interesting makeup to her wedding. Let's put it this way: lately, my taste in makeup has changed and I don't wear demure makeup anymore. Everything has to be ostentatious and RuPaul-esque. For a wedding, that would not fly. I need to tone down.

After half an hour of meticulous makeup-ing, I came up with this:

It was supposed to be a look inspired by Angelina Jolie in the 2012 Golden Globe
Instead, I looked like my aunt!
Or a successful business woman
Lord have mercy on my makeup!

This is a slightly better picture but still, I don't like the look
However, my face looks so slim, though. Which means Hip Hop Abs work, y'all!

This one probably looks like me the most but look at the shine around my nose.
This foundation is a no-go for me!

This silly picture tuned out to be the best :)
It has that MAC-esque factor similar to that Barbie Loves MAC promo
Again, notice the shine

I'm glad I did the trial because I learned so much from it. First of all, from the way the pictures came out, I am sure I am not going to use this foundation and powder combo. Since I am paler now, my go-to liquid foundation is a lot darker now and I can't use it anymore. This is really bad because that foundation films really, really well. The new foundation is really thick and creamy and I had to use a powder (also new product) to fix it. This creates another problem: cakiness. On top of that, the foundation, albeit being thick and all, offers no coverage whatsoever. You still can see my dark marks, can you?

Secondly, this pair of lashes has to go, too. It is too long and unnatural-looking. I may keep the red lips for fun but we'll see.

From this trial, I am back to square one when it comes to powder and foundation. Since I'm bound to buy a new foundation anyways, this would not be a problem, although my wallet is screaming profanities at me right now :( I have 10 days to come up with a new look and I want to look poise and lady-like this time around.

That's all for now. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I highly appreciate your inputs.

Take care,
Dao xoxo


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The Hardest Thing to Find in Vietnam

Hello folks!

While I can buy my essential makeup items in Vietnam, there's this one thing I can't seem to find. Scratch that, it is impossible to find. You know what it is?

Self-tanner!

I'm not even kidding. I haven't seen a bottle of self-tanner anywhere while browsing low-end to high-end makeup counters. Insane, right? Snookie would be mad if she vacay here.

I guess you can always get a good tan from the sun since it's always sunny here. However, the glowy and bronzy goddess skin from the bottle is something nature can't do to you. On top of that, the two self-tanners I have tried smelled so damn good!

I can't believe I miss self-tanners!

That's all for today, folks! Are you a self-tanning person?

With love from you makeup and beauty loving friend,
Dao xoxo

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Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution Is My Foundation Primer

Hi everyone,

It took me a while to realize how much I needed a face primer. Until the end of last summer, I was without one. My FOTDs suffered: no matter how much I buffed my foundation, it did not look the same without a primer. On film, the foundation just looked bad and lumpy, as if I did not do a good job applying it. But noooo! I buffed and buffed and blended and blended but still, it did not look fine.

The Vietnamese market is still a skincare-centric place and it took me a while to find a foundation primer. The irony? It is not even marketed as a foundation primer but as an oil control gel. Since I tried a couple of products from Mentholatum before, I trusted its quality and got this Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution.

Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution (30ml)

I love the simple, yet cute packaging

 Acnes is Mentholatum's anti-acne skincare line that ranges from face washes to acne treatments and other miscellaneous skincare products that target the teen market. Since this is the first product I have ever tried from this line, I did not know how effective Acnes is. However, it seems to be a popular skincare line here and the price was right for the amount of product given. Bought it I did

The gel is white and slightly scented with a touch of menthol once applied to the skin

 Like a "good" beauty blogger, I had to throw away the packaging. Hence, the lack of an ingredient list. However, I do remember it having dimethicone as one of the first 5 ingredients. Unless your skin is extremely sensitive, a product that contains a high concentration of dimethicone is going to do a good job as a facial primer. I remember using Strobe Cream from MAC as a primer cum moisturizer before as it contains dimethicone. It worked just fine, albeit being a tad more expensive than I wanted it to be.

Anyways, I digressed. Let's go back to Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution, shall we? Please take a look at the two pictures below:

This one has my bare skin without anything. It looks a little bit rough and you can see a tad of discoloration at the center

Rub-a-dub-dub!
A tiny bit of Acnes Oil Solution on the skin. Does it look smoother? Also, do you notice the lack of discoloration as well? Again, no foundation applied whatsoever besides the oil control gel.

I have to say I was impressed with the result to the point that I am still using this product. Not only does it film really well, it also controls oil quite decently. In the sweltering heat of Saigon, I put this oil control gel on before foundation and went out until the night came and my face still looked good. It spreads really well and a dab is all I need. More than that and the menthol will start to burn.

As far as non-comedogenic goes, I only use it once in a while to notice if any zits sprouting up because of this. However, I do remove my makeup and wash my face well to avoid zits and my skin has been behaving well lately. As far as the price goes, this costs me around $2.50 USD, which probably is the cheapest foundation primer I have ever own. The only gripe I have is the packaging: I would prefer a tube or a dispenser type bottle rather than a jar. However, recently I went shopping and noticed they did not have this product anymore. Instead, I saw a tube that labeled "foundation primer" which costs twice the price. It is probably the same thing but housed in a better container.

How about you? Do you use a foundation primer? If you do, what is the brand and do you like it?

With love from your makeup loving friend,
Dao xoxo

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New Hair, New Hair!

Hi everyone,

Guess what? I got a new haircut like...a few weeks ago =)

I know, I'm late in updating this kind of thing and my actual hair is about an inch longer now but it's still better late than never, right? The last time I had a haircut was around the end of July, 2011 (around the time I did this FOTD.) I waited a good 5 month for my hair to grow out before getting a haircut. The previous haircut was more of a Rihanna hairstyle with the front longer than the back. As I grow it out, that style no longer works and the new guy who cut my hair decided to do the traditional layered look on me.

This is a funny looking but decent shot of moi sans makeup :) Believe it or not, I just woke up and realized my hair looked awesome so I snapped away some pictures. I know, I am vain galore!
But on the other hand, the lightning is awesome or not?

Another pic of me moving away from the camera, haha!
I decided to post it to show how awesome my skin is. Vain x2 :P

From now on, I guess I am not going to cut my hair every two months anymore. Since I cut my hair in August 2010, it was an excruciatingly slow process to grow it out. Why? Because I used to cut it every two months. Everytime I cut it, the hair dresser chopped at least 1/2 inch off, which means about half of what my hair had grown out was gone.

So, the wisdom of growing longer hair is quite simple: do not cut your hair as often! When you do, just trim a tiny bit at the end. In my case, the hair stylist did not take off the length at the end. He only corrected the layers and recut my bangs, which does change my face shape a little bit. I may go back to him again because he did my hair really well. It requires minimal styling and looks good even after a long night of sleep.

Hip-Hop Abs week 2 recap:


I didn't miss any workout, yay! Did all six of them. Also, I did the X-Stretch DVD from P90X, aka the mother ship of all workouts! There is a butt stretch in the X-Stretch DVD, which made my eyes go like this o_O when I heard about it but yes, it did stretch out my gluteal region :D

Also, I love this song:



I hope this song will make you feel pumped up and ready for the week ahead. Have you ever heard of Jin Akanishi? This is the first song I've heard from him but from what I found out, he is really big in Japan. I hope he is going to be known worldwide as well.

With love from your makeup addict friend,
Dao xoxo


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My Accidental Weight Loss and Update on Hip-Hop Abs

Hi everyone,

If you have been following me on Twitter, you already knew the drama surrounding the removal of my wisdom teeth. Last month, I tweeted quite excessively about it and luckily, some of my followers already did the procedure. They ensured me it was a piece of cake and they were right. I removed two wisdom teeth from my lower jaw and the procedure was painless. I did not feel a thing as the dentist pumped me with anesthesia. However, the pain before and after that was quite something. I was unable to chew solid food for a month. As a result, I lost 6 lbs!

However, that was not just it. During the time, I had to rely on soup and it was not plenty. The first week was painful. I could not even chew properly and my stomach was growling for more food while my mouth could not function. Then, the second and the third week, my stomach got used to having less food and as a result, it did not make so much noise.

Now that I can eat properly, my stomach still does not want me to take in a lot of food. I probably eat 1/2 of what I used to do half a year ago. My clothes fit me better and some are even loose. I guess I can't hate my wisdom teeth so much for that. Which leads to the biggest revelation of the year so far:

Believe it or not, I have never been a believer of limiting calorie intake and dieting. Every single time I tried to diet, I failed. I was miserable. I was grumpy. Diet is a four-letter word to me. It is ugly and it is vile. However, I do believe in exercising but the results I had were not that good.

Then, I bumped into this and lost 6 lbs without even trying! Now, I believe in restricting calorie intake in order to lose weight. However, the trick is to do it slowly so your body does not notice the change and starts fighting against it.

You see, the body is clever. As soon as it feels starved, hibernation mode kicks in. Instead of using the energy from food for your everyday activities, the body converts it to fat as it is the energy storage unit in our bodies. I have made this mistake so many times before. I exercised but did not eat enough only to find myself feeling fatigued while having a pouchy stomach. It was the weirdest thing ever!

Which also leads to another point: the way you eat does matter. Before, I was loaded with carbs. Now, I eat less carb, more vegetables and protein. My stomach feels fine and I have enough energy to exercise and do everything else.

This finding was inspired by my friend Trisha who has lost a lot of weight on NutriSystem. I have read her weight loss journey and realized that she does eat regular food and even has desserts and pizza! Her food intake is a combination of delivered NutriSystem meals and lots of steamed vegetables. So far, Trisha is doing fine and I was inspired by her veggies to eat my own :)

Also, I would like to say something about Hip-Hop Abs before we leave for the day. A few readers have been asking me about its effectiveness. So far, I am in week 2 and it does take me by surprise today. Before I started this month-long schedule, I did a trial of it and was not interested. Compared to Zumba, Hip Hop Abs is a lot easier. The workouts are shorter and I did not seem to sweat as much. I thought it was a joke but since its creator Shaun T is so adorable, I decided to give it a try anyways.

Today, I had a "holy mother of cow!" moment while standing side way in front of a mirror. My stomach looked considerably flatter than it used to be. Forget about the six-pack abs, mine was two: one roll of fat on top of another.  Now, while standing up, the rolls are no longer visible. Instead, there's this beautiful flat stomach that I haven't seen in years! (However, do not mistake that I look like Gisele Bunchen or anything. There's still fat but the fat no longer spreads out in rolls!)

With Hip-Hop Abs, I don't need to do any crunches. Yet, the whole workout is full of vertical crunches if done correctly. So far, I don't feel sore but it does take a toll on my knees after exercising. However, that's not severe since I stretch myself out after each and every single time I work out.

If you have any questions about Hip-Hop Abs, please let me know. It is a good workout and only two weeks, I've notice results already, which is rare to me.

I guess I should end my rambling for now. If you make it this far, thank you for reading!

With love,
Dao xoxo

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Faith Hill True Perfume Is Clean and Breezy

Hi everyone,

I love Faith Hill and her music. In fact, the first CD I bought in the U.S was "Breath" and I still have good memories when I heard the title song. When she came out with her first and eponymous fragrance, I bought and loved it a lot. Like Faith, her perfume smells very chic, classy, and feminine. Then, last year I got a travel size version of her second fragrance, Faith Hill True, for a dollar!

This perfume has been traveling with me to many, many places. Yet, I manage not to review it. Well, not anymore. Today, I am going to give my best shot at reviewing Faith Hill True perfume.

According to the website, Faith Hill True is described as the ultimate casual allure of a musky floral fragrance. This passionate and spirited fragrance captures your attention with an invigorating scent of sparkling citrus notes like Yuzu and Sheer Mimosa. Gardenia and Lily weave a breezy aura while precious woods and musk provide a sensual base.


The notes are:

• Top Notes: Japanese Yuzu and Sheer Mimosa.
• Heart Notes: White Lily and Gardenia.
• Base Notes: Sandalwood and Sexy Musk.

My version is a traveling size with a removable mini bottle inside a cannister

The juice has a hint of blue in it, which is hard to see in this picture

Last year, since I traveled a lot, this was perfect for travelling. Not only it was small enough to tuck in the purse, it does not violate the liquid restriction when traveling by air. Also, while I love to smell nice when being on the road, I also do not want a fragrance-induced headache. After so many hours in the car, a strong scent can make me nauseated to a point of vomiting.

Faith Hill True is none of that. It is so nice and fresh that I barely notice it. It smells like fresh air on a sunny day at the beach: so fresh, so clean, so cheerful. Many times in China, I smelled something nice around me only to realize it was this fragrance on my body! This scent is personal. I have worn it so many times and people always commenting that I smell nice, not I wear a nice scent. Once sprayed on my body, it becomes a part of my skin and I guess that's why people cannot differentiate it as a perfume.

Moreover, Faith Hill True is not something I regularly wear. I am more of a fruity-floral-feminine fragrance wearer and this is not that. I would like to describe it as a watery scent with a tiny touch of chypre. Think of it as a lighter and more feminine version of CK One when it started out. However, as it progresses, Faith Hill True does not have that dirtiness that CK One has. It dries down quite sweet and feminine. Although it is not a strong scent, this perfume lingers on quite long. I spent 10 sweaty hours on the road only to come home and still smelled it on my skin. Amazing, right?

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! This perfume is perfect for everyday wear and if you are a Faith Hill fan, this is a must! This lady knows how to make classy perfume and so far, the two I have tried do not disappoint. It is sold at many mass-market stores as well as drug stores. If you wait until the holiday season, you can get the set for $15-25 USD. Not bad for some seriously nice perfumes!

That's all for today. Have you tried any of Faith's perfume? If you have, what is your experience? Share with me, ok?

With love from your perfume loving friend,
Dao xoxo

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Ms. Fix It Fixed Her Retractable Brush

Hi everyone,

This is my EcoTools retractable kabuki brush which I love very much. Only, there is a tiny problem: the brush is not retractable anymore.

As you can see, the case is separated from the brush and I did not do it purposely. After a few washes, the glue at the bottom of the brush fell off the case and I have been using this brush without the case for a while now. Even in this contouring tutorial, you can see I used the brush by itself. It is ok that way but I want my retractable brush, not a kabuki on a stick!

So far, this is the softest brush I have ever used. There is no way I am going to toss it away. Besides, replacing it is out of the question. So, with a little bit of patience and super glue, I managed to put my brush back together and make it a retractable brush once and for all.

Before I re-glued things together, I washed and dried my brush first. Depending on the weather, this brush can take up to 48 hours to dry and I made sure it dried completely before I proceeded to fix it.

What you need: all the parts of your brush and super glue. It does not matter what brand you use. The dollar store version works just fine. Here, I use the 502 glue, which is the Vietnamese super glue.

Step 1: put the shiny metal part...

...and glide it up. This part is the retractable component of the brush

Step 2: make sure the bottom of the brush as well as the inside of the case is clean. Then, open your super glue...

...then squeeze the super glue to the bottom of the brush without getting any glue into the hole. Also, squeeze the glue to the bottom of the casing

Step 3: quickly, put the brush into the casing and let the glue dry overnight.
DO NOT move or touch the brush while it dries. Doing so will disturb the drying process.

After the glue completely dries, put the cap back on and voila, your retractable brush is retracting again!

Also, super glue is good to glue back your brush once the ferrule is detached from the handle. Just make sure to glue the metal part to the wooden part without touching the brush bristles. Super glue dries fast so don't get it on your skin, either.

Hip-hop Abs update:

Today is day 2 of week 2 and things are getting a lil' intense. I did 2 workouts back to back since the schedule instructed me to do so. Now, as I am typing this, my obliques are sore. Tomorrow is going to be another double workout day and I can't wait for it!

I hope you enjoy this tutorial. Ecotools retractable brush is a really good brush and I am glad to find a way to fix it. How about you? Have you reattached your brush before?

With love from your makeup addict friend,
Dao xoxo

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Why We Buy Makeup + My Internet Can't Handle True Blood

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, I was playing with my makeup stash and I've realized how little it has grown since 2011. While my move to Vietnam put a damper to my makeup shopping habit, there is something more to it that makes me not buying makeup as much as I used to. I could not put that idea out of my head and kept on asking myself why I haven't bought makeup anymore. Of course, the love for makeup is still there but why?

About a year before I started makeup blogging, my stash was relatively small. An eyeshadow quad here, a couple of lipsticks there, and probably 5 brushes. I was happy and my mind was not cluttered with the question of what products should I use during my makeup session. And then, I discovered makeup blogs. The result? Makeup hoarding began.

To make it worse (or better, depending on how you look at it!), I decided to open My Makeup Blog. As a makeup blogger, I had to buy makeup, makeup, and more makeup. It was a vicious cycle. I bought things only to use 2-3 times before I lost interest. And they were good products, too. Before I went to Vietnam, I sorted out my stash and donated about 2/3 of it. The stuff I brought home are things I truly love. My must-haves.

Since I came back to Vietnam, I haven't bought more than 20 makeup items. To think about it, when I started wearing makeup back in 2001-2002, I probably bought that much makeup during a month. Or even in 2 weeks if Ride Aid had sales.

To come back with our original question- why do we buy makeup- I have a few answers:

1. The novelty effect

Every season, makeup companies roll out with new products to entice us. New colors, new textures, new scents, new packaging. And guess what we do? We buy the new stuff and forget the old ones that are still full in our makeup drawers.

If you notice, some makeup companies like MAC come out with new limited edition collections very frequently. MAC is notorious for it up to a point I got sick and tired of their new LEs. It is hard to keep up with MAC collections anymore and after a year or so of following them, I have come to a conclusion that their regular lineup is just as good. On top of that, they don't have the limited factor that worries me.

2. The sales effect

As a bargain hunter, I love, love, love sales. Sometimes, I could get a whole lot of things for cheap when combined with coupons. However, not all the time the sale items are worth it. Once in a while when I sorted my stash, I had to throw away barely touched items that did not live up to my standards. Yet, I bought them because they were such awesome bargains.

3. The happiness effect

I don't know about you but always, when I have a new makeup item, I feel happier. A new lipstick, eye shadow, blush, or even nail polish put a smile on my face. It does not take much to make me smile because most items I bought these days are affordable.

I guess I am not the only one. Coined by Leonard Lauder, the lipstick effect is an indicator for economic uncertainty and recession. During tough times, lipstick sales go up. Now, even nail polish sales increase in this economy. Lipsticks and nail polishes do not cost as much as a dinner or even a movie ticket. On top of that, you can use them over and over again. Therefore, they have better pay offs in this economy.

My internet can't handle True Blood!

Now, here comes an interesting part: since last Thursday, I was not able to go online at all. My internet decided to quit on me. It was the second time this week and the internet guy began to remember my face.

Guess what happened two days before that? Two friends of mine encouraged me to watch True Blood, starting from the very beginning. So, I went online and watched a few episodes in two days. Ok, I lied. I watched half of season 1 in two days. And then, le internet decided to call it quit!

It was beyond frustration, ok? I was in intense pain. It was like the Internet God was toying with me to lure me into something dirty and raunchy only to yank it away when I was hooked.

So, I called the internet guy again and he came, took a look at my setting, and told me there was nothing he could do. My internet setting was messed up beyond his repair and he needed to call in the crew to fix from the main line. That was Friday evening. Internet was down since Thursday. And there was a weekend without the World Wide Web.

Thankfully, I had books. During the weekend, I managed to polish up a book and started reading half way through another one. Not so bad. But now that le internet is back, I guess I am going to watch True Blood again. This time, sparingly since I know my internet cannot handle half a season of raunchy, dirty, sexy TV in two days.

That's all for Monday. I did Hip Hop Abs earlier today and I felt so good. Week 2 is more intense and I already feel a slimmer waistline. How about you? Do you have any plans for Monday? Also, are you a fan of True Blood?

With love from your makeup addict friend,
Dao xoxo

P.S: show me your love by subscribing to my blog, yeah?

Nghia O'Beauty S019 and that Obnoxiously Pink Nail Polish from Odessa

Hi everyone,

I guess I'm one of those people who prefer having a pedicure over a manicure. Most of the time, my fingers are not painted while my toes endure some really interesting colors (but mostly, I prefer red.) Recently, the moon and stars synced up or something because I finally had painted fingers and toes.

The products I used are from Kem Nghia shop, a place where they sell the legendary Nghia cuticle nippers. Both are utterly cheap and after wearing them for a week, I was very happy with the results.

(L-R): Nghia O'Beauty in S019 and a nameless Odessa nail polish which I call "Obnoxiously Pink"

 First stop, let's take a look at the fingers, shall we?

The picture does not do justice to this nail polish at all. While it does look like milk with a couple drops of coffee in the picture, in real life this nail polish has a touch of pink in it. It looks almost like Revlon Pink Suede, y'know, the one Angelina Jolie used to wear. I had Pink Suede before and could not make it work at all. It was too gunky and did not spread evenly. I was so frustrated that I had to return Pink Suede.

However, Nghia O'Beauty S019 works like a charm. Not only does it spread out beautifully, it also requires only one coat. Like the S030 that I reviewed before, this one does not chip during the week that I wore it. By the end, there was some minor tip wear but that was about it.

The price? Less than a dollar! Which makes me want to stop by that shop more frequently to get more nail polishes for me :D

Secondly, the toes:

While Nghia O'Beauty is the house brand of Kem Nghia, Odessa is a product from ATP cosmetics with ingredients imported from France. It is a bit cheaper than Nghia O'Beauty but not so much for me to jump ship. I have two bottles of Odessa and the texture is the same: they are cream nail polishes that can make OPI creams run for their money.

Seriously, this cream nail polish is that good. It is shiny, easy to apply, and most importantly, it lasts and lasts. I applied two coats since the first coat looked really opaque and the shine was almost blinding. The brush is wide and thick that leaves streak-free coats after layering. Usually, I do not like creams because of the streaks. The first layer may look fine but when I put the second layer on, streaks are all over my nails. And this happened when I used OPI creams, no less!

But the only set back I have with Odessa is its drying power. I guess since it is a cream, it does not set as fast as the other one. The trick for not messing it up is to wait for the first coat to dry before applying the second one, then wait for it to dry before applying the top coat. In one of my trials, I was impatient and applied my top coat so fast. Fifteen minutes later, I opened a book and got marks all over my nails!

Last look at my toes and fingers du semaine :D

While I love both colors, the obnoxiously pink nail polish is the one that makes me smile a lot. It is a cheeky nail color. When I wear peep-toe shoes, that hint of pink is a nice surprise for those who manage to take a look at my feet.

Therefore, the tip of the day is: for those of you who work in conservative environment, wear nude colors on your fingers while reserve the bright and cheerful ones for your toes. When you take off your shoes, those bright colors will make you smile.

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