July Favorites 2013

Hey all! I've decided to do a different format of monthly favorites. I don't really change up my make-up products, which to me is the basis of monthly posts. So instead I'm using a format that Youtuber cutiepiemarzia uses and I chose questions that I could easily answer. So here they are!

1. Did you read any books?
I haven't been really reading any books for a while! I'm trying to read City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare.

I bought the book when I was in Vegas this past April because I had seen the preview and thought that the movie looked pretty cool. But the more I see the preview, I start to get a Twilight vibe from it, which is no good for me lol. I absolutely hate Twilight, both literally and cinematically (yeah I know that isn't a word :P). But like with Twilight, I'll give the first movie a chance, but seriously it better be 100x better than Twilight >:(

2. Did you watch any movies?
Yes! I watched Despicable Me 2 and The Wolverine. Despicable Me 2 was super adorable, just as I expected. I'm super happy they're making a Minions movie XD. I also really enjoyed The Wolverine. I don't read X-Men comics and I'm really not familiar with the whole series in general, but I thought the story that they chose was fantastic. Hugh Jackman's body is delicious and can I just say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!! at the cut scene at the end?!?!?

3. Which foods did you eat and love?
To be honest, my choice of food doesn't really change because I always tend to eat the same things. I suppose my favorite of the month was my Rolled Quesadilla from Cactus in Kailua. I uploaded a pic in my Monthly Gram post for July so I won't upload it here so that I'm not repetitive.

4. Which songs did you like?
I'm probably going to be so mainstream with my song choices but I don't really care :P. I genuinely liked both songs when I first heard them. It's Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I, Get Lucky by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell, and Treasure by Bruno Mars. I think what I like about all three songs are the melodies. I'm loving the throwback feels of the 80's, which seems to be in all three. I feel the whole eletronica, don't-really-need-talent-to-sing type of songs are getting old for me, so to hear something that pulls influences from earlier decades has become refreshing to me.

Blurred Lines

Get Lucky

Treasure

5. Which products did you like?
I've been really liking my mini benetint that I received as part of a 500 point perk from Sephora. I just put three little streaks on each cheek and blend it in to create this natural blushy tint. I also love that it has a nice rose scent to it. I think it lasts pretty well all day! I would definitely get the regular size of this once I run out of this mini.

6. What did you learn?
I learned that you can't go back to school just to get a minor even though you've successfully majored in something earlier. I was just bummed because I wanted to go back to school to get a minor in Fashion Merchandising, but unfortunately it's not possible. But after some research, I found an online program for an Associate's degree in Fashion Merchandising through SNHU. I'm a bit wary about doing a degree fully online, but I'm gamed to do it. Plus, I can transfer a lot of my credits so that I don't have to take as long. I just gotta make sure I can get an internship in fashion merchandising and then it's all ships go!

Thanks for reading!
-LAUREN

April Favorites 2013

Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted. I just got back from a week long vacation in Vegas with my dad. I must say that I did a lot of shopping AGAIN and I'll be posting clothing hauls for each store! The weather was bearable, but it did get hotter and hotter as the days went on, but because of the dry heat, it wasn't that bad. Actually, I heard that Hawaii was quite humid that week. It was still humid when I got back though hehe.

Anyways, I thought I'd try out a new segment on my blog of monthly favorites that range from beauty and fashion to music and random other things. I know that this is a popular tag done by a lot of beauty gurus on YouTube, but because I don't post videos, I thought I'd give it a go on here. So lets begin!

Beauty

they're Real! by benefit: I must say that I was never really loyal to any mascara, let alone any beauty brand, but I must say that benefit produces really good beauty products. I came across this product by watching my favorite beauty gurus and I just had to try it. I think this is one of the best mascaras I've ever tried. My eyelashes are thin and straight, so it's hard for me to make them pop. This mascara definitely lengthens and thickens without clumping due to the unique structure of the brush. It's suppose to give the impression of fake lashes, and while it doesn't wholly achieve that on my lashes, it does a great better deal than all the mascaras I've tried. For $23 at Sephora, I would definitely repurchase again!

Hibiscus Tinted Lip Balm by Burt's Bees: I've been in love with fresh's lip treatments, but one stick is $20~+ and I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much. Luckily, when I was at Walmart, I happen to come across Burt's Bees products and saw that they had an array of tinted lip balms for $7. I figured why not try one and went with the hibiscus version. Needless to say, I absolutely love this. I wore this everyday when I was Vegas to not only give my lips color, but to keep them moist. Definitely would repurchase again and try new shades!

Molly Coddled by butter London: Once again, I wanted to try a nail color from the Sweetie collection by butter London due to the positive raves from beauty gurus. The one that I wanted was called Fiver, which is a mint green shade (I ended up buying it online from Nordstrom), but they didn't have it at my Macy's. So I went with this pretty lilac shade. At first, I wasn't used to the color, but I quickly fell in love. The formula for the product is fantastic. If applied correctly, you can get away with just one coat, which is true but I suck at application and need a second coat to cover my mistakes :P. Also, the formula is fast drying, which I was amazed at since I thought the polish was on the thicker side. For $15, although pricey, the quality is worth it.

Fashion

Muscle T-Shirts: I'm absolutely in love with this trend. I feel like the popularity of muscle tees stem from Brandy Melville, an Italian-based brand with a very casual-boho vibe. I should also include that I'm loving everything Brandy at the moment! Wearing these type of tees requires a bralette of some sort, which I'm okay with showing. Whenever I wear this sort of top, I feel so care-free and cool. I get this "whatever" vibe lol! I'll definitely be wearing these throughout the summer as well.

Music

Stay by Rihanna: I'm not a major fan of Rihanna and her music, but something about this song just makes me keep on hitting repeat and I never get tired of listening to it on the radio. It's rare that I like EVERYTHING about songs, but honestly I love the lyrics, composition, vocals, and even the music video. I was super happy to have found the sheet music at Sam Ash in Vegas and I've been playing it multiple times a day!

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men: I think this song is super catchy and totally the type of music that I'm listening today. If you're not familiar with the band, they're a 6-piece band from Iceland. Although I'm not totally familiar with the band, I've heard snippets and I'm probably going to order their album. I really love the vocals and composition of the song. One person who commented on YouTube said that this song is about a girl who is expressing her feelings of her parents going through a divorce or something like that. I think that's a great juxtaposition with that against such an upbeat tempo.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading! I'll try to get these out every month if possible. I really do enjoy blogging and sharing my thoughts with all of you!

Thanks for reading!

-LAUREN