August Favorites 2014

Today is officially the last day of August and I am thinking of showing you my favorites for this month. I know posts like these seem materialistic or another way of boasting, but this is actually my way of expressing how blessed and thankful I am for this month. There's nothing wrong in counting your blessings, right? Personally, it's a good exercise for me to stay optimistic (since I had a lot of pessimistic issues in the past). So again, I do not intend to show off. I just want to express how happy I am with the month August because looking back, it has been a great month for me. School is back and I actually miss studying and spending time with friends. My mom is blessed with another birthday and I found myself smiling more often, which is great for me.

So here are my favorites for this month.

School 

1.) School days- August is basically the month where I come back to school. The fact that I am finally a sophomore in University makes me feel so accomplished. Right now, I am more than satisfied with the major classes that I am taking and I enjoy every moment so far. My professors are great, I met new people, and above all, I am learning a lot of new things.

2.) Mead Five Star Notebook (Pink)

Mom actually bought me this notebook a very long time ago, and I only got to use it now. Before, I always used pretty big notebooks because I had a hard time writing in smaller ones, which is why I did not use it right away. But I decided to give it a shot in using it this semester, and I do not have any regrets so far. What amazes me are the pockets in each divider. I found them really handy because it spares me from using a file for my papers (which is something I normally do). Too bad it's not refillable. But it's a great item to have at school, so God bless this notebook. 

3.) Pilot G-Tec-C4 (0.4, Black ink)

A long time ago, I was not a huge fan of this pen. Mostly because the ones I used to own broke pretty easily. I also had these for a while, but I used them sparingly because I cannot afford to have another broken G-tec.  I mean, come on...these kinds of pens are pretty expensive for a student like me. When I was preparing for the first day of school, I only realized that these were the only available black pens I could use. I did not want to buy new ones, so I decided to use them on a regular basis. Now I understand why my friends love using this pen. It makes your handwriting look neat and the ink does not run out that easily. So yeah, you can say that I am good friends with G-Tec now. They're long-lasting and good for people who still love to write. But I suggest that you should handle this with care, though. 

4.) Daily Notes (Apple App)

This month was also the time I finally got to use iPad on a regular basis. I used to turn to my iPad to simply play games. But since I needed a decent planner and a place where I can keep documents, I figured it is time to put this 1st Generation iPad to good use. I'm not sure if it's still available in the App Store, but I enjoy using Daily Notes. It's basically like a planner. You can type your notes and it also has a task/to-do list. It can even remind you if a certain task is due today, which I find most helpful. 

Gadgets

5.) Apple Keyboard for iPad

Well not only can I type, but it serves as a stand for me every time I am multitasking. It makes things a little bit easier for me. Hehehe. 

6.) Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H3 (8.1 Megapixels)

Now here is the camera that is responsible for most of my pictures featured in this blog. It used to belong to my mother, but I asked if I could have it and she agreed. It's not really close to the camera that I really wanted, but it's more than enough and I am content with the quality it gives to my photos. 

Fashion

Since the place I go to everyday is school, I was more keen on the shoes I had to wear everyday because I had to do a lot of walking. So here are my top three. I chose these simply because they are simple and extremely comfortable to wear. I don't know with you guys, but I do not really have the time to doll up when it comes to going to school. Maybe because I value sleep too much. 

7.) Crocs

8.) Brand unknown

9.) Primadonna

Beauty

10.) Tinted balms and nude glosses- In university, I guess they are less strict in terms of dress code, make-up, and accessories. As for me, I'm not too keen on putting on make-up during school days, simply because it is time-consuming. But in case I feel like dolling up, I go for the neutral kind of look. For my lips, I would go for nude glosses and tinted balms. On the very left is my Mac Dazzleglass and it's the color Pale Violet Red. For me, it looks nude because it blends with my lip color quite well. The one in the middle is what I normally use when I go out on a leisure activity. It's from Innisfree and unfortunately, I do not know the exact color or the product because it's in Korean. But I can assure you it's a lipstick and it is similar to my Happy Skin Lippie (Summer Crush) only this one is much brighter. The last one on the very right is from Burt's Bees, and it's a tinted lip balm with the color of Pink Blossom. This is the one I used the most this month, and I just love applying it because...it tastes so good. It's like I have honey on my lips or something. 

11.) BB - I've been using very light make-up lately and these are my top two products. The first one on the left is Etude House's BB Magic Mist. My mom somehow recommended this to me. All you have to do is just spray this on your face and you will feel instantly refreshed. There are many times when I feel distraught, so this one is a total life-saver and I love it. The next is Shu Uemura's UV Under Base: BB Mousse. Again, this used to belong to my mom's, but she ended up not using it that much so I asked her if I can have it. Compared to the BB creams I have, this one is the lightest coverage ever and I think that is what I like about it. When you apply it, it gives you this really cool feeling and since it is very light, it doesn't feel like you are wearing any make-up. You don't have to use much either, because just one pump is more than enough. So I think I recommend this for people who are beginners at make-up because it's light, simple, and you won't have to worry about break-outs on your face. 

Music

12.) Ariana Grande's "Yours Truly" Album- I love Ariana Grande. There I said it. Sure, she may be another typical pop princess, but I like the fact that she somehow incorporated jazz into her songs. In this album, the sound doesn't sound too generic to me, listening to it actually makes me feel calm and energetic at the same time. My favorite song out of the entire album would be Honeymoon Avenue. It's just filled with feels that I can relate with (a bit) and even though I suck at singing, I end up belting out whenever this plays in my iTouch. I still haven't got Ariana's recent album. Is it good? 

And that is all of my favorites for this month! Now it's time to tackle September! Happy Ber-month everybody! 

Let's Review! Happy Skin's Shut Up and Kiss Me

Being a newbie in the world of make-up...

Last summer was the first time I came across the wonders of cosmetics. I eventually understood why people love it so much. It's art, it makes you look good (nothing wrong about that), and applying it is just as fun. My ultimate favorite though are lip products. Be it lip balm, lipsticks, or glosses. I just love applying any of them on my lips. When I went make-up shopping with my mom one day, we came across this brand called Happy Skin Cosmetics. They were selling their Summer Collection for the year and we fell in love with the line of lippies they offer! 

Mom bought so many lippies and we decided to split them. In my case, I got these shades and they are simply gorgeous.

First Impression

It's kind of like a lip balm, lip gloss and lipstick combined (or at least that's what the description says), and it is in the form of a lip crayon. This is actually the very first lip product I got, that has this kind of appearance. Also, the packaging is adorable, simple and very colorful (unfortunately, I was not able to take a photo of it, but click here to take a look at their gorgeous packaging). Since it was the Summer Collection, it was slightly different from the usual products they offered. But yeah, I thought the products will help me look awesome and fresh throughout the day! 

The Reveal

When I first heard of Happy Skin, I immediately thought of a line of cosmetics that not only makes you look pretty, but it helps in moisturizing and making your face look healthy, as well. And when I read more about their products, my assumption was correct! For this product, it is not just a lippie, it is a moisturizing lippie. Meaning, it contains a formula that will make your lips look matte. But in reality, it will leave them completely refreshed, just like a lip balm. It's my first time to try such a product and I'm very pleased with the results. I tend to have really dry lips. I could not afford to use any severely matte lipsticks because they make my lips brittle and very dry. But thanks to these babies, I can wear bold colors without having to worry about looking like a girl who hasn't drank a glass of water in days. Apart from that, it can also act like a lip pencil (for me); so applying it is not too difficult. Not too sticky and not too dry...just right! As for retouch issues, never have I once had to do something like that, because the color would last for hours and hours. Yes, it's that pigmented! Getting it off your lips is the trick! Hahaha! 

The Downside

Again, I was kind of disappointed with the packaging... particularly, with the tube of the actual lippie. As you can see, the one with the pink tube looked like it was more used to the point that the designs slowly faded. I know it's not the most important part of the entire product itself, but what makes a product great for me is the physical appearance. Other than that, it does not really have the shine of a lip gloss, which is fine. And again, maybe you might have a hard time getting the color off your lips. The color tends to stick to your lips even after you remove your make-up, especially if you get really bold colors. 

So here are the colors that are currently in my possession. The first one is called Sunset Kiss, and they say it gives off a coral color. But for me, it looks more of a red orange color. Sometimes I can't tell if it's red or orange. Hahaha! This is actually the first time for me to try out such a shade and I like it so far. But I only use it when the occasion is really fancy or something. The next color is called Summer Crush. It's a pink shade, but it looks very magenta (not sure if I got the shade right. Sorry, not a color expert!). Again, this is another bold color for me, but this is what I would usually wear whenever I go on a night outing or to Church. 

My rating scale!!! 

Overall

I don't know how many times I said I love the product, because I will say it again. I LOVE THE PRODUCT. It's not too troublesome to have, it's long-lasting, and it's basically my answered prayer. Hopefully I will be able to buy more products from Happy Skin very soon. For this product I give it four eggs! It's a soft-boiled! :3 

For more info, visit their website.
Hatching Scale and Tamago Pictures designed here

See you soon!