NOTD: Fall At Its Finest

Burgundy is always a hot color for autumn, so this season appropriate color was naturally my first color pick when I decided my chipped, pink nails were long overdue for a makeover. And gold is a nice accent color, so why not?

For more pictures, look no farther than the jump!

A Warm Weekend

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Hello bubbling daisies!

It's predicted to be in the 70s and maybe low 80s this weekend, I'm super excited! I'm going to be going to a bake sale tomorrow that's going toward the American Cancer Society, supporting another team that's participating in our local Relay for Life! It's going to be a blast. (: I might put up pictures afterwards, in another "My Life" post.

Here are some links to check out while you're deciding what to do on your nice weekend ahead!

Which Youtuber should be your beauty guru? Find out with this quiz from Teen.com (and comment down below your response!)

Offensive or over-reaction over Jim Gaffigan's tweet? Refinery29 has the deets.

Need some prom hairstyle inspiration? Beautylish has 4 hair tutorials to help you get inspired!

Nautical bracelets perfect for the upcoming summer!

FOTD: Sick Days

Hello, ladies and gents. I've got to say, waking up at 9:30am is really rewarding on a weekday, but not when you feel like you can barely breath between coughs and feel woozy everytime you stand up. If you couldn't tell by the title, I'm ill. And dreadfully so. Everything kind of aches and just doesn't feel right. Oh, and I'm expecting my other lung to be hacked up soon enough.

Enough of my moaning and groaning, it's not becoming. Update on my blog: I could give you a list of reasons excuses for my absense, but honestly, it's the same things. School, life, lost camera, etc. I've got a whole lot of post ideas up and ready, but it's testing season coming up very soon. As soon as Friday night hits, my life will be dedicated to just dishing out photos (maybe ^_^;) and posts. Though I can't assure you as much quality as you would get while I'm not as busy, I assure you there will be more of me around. c;

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon: Review and Swatches

Hello readers!

Here's the deal. I bought this lip butter (and a few other colors) a week or two ago, but I've been testing them day to day. I was hesitant to jump on the we-all-love-lip-butters train, but after I tested them for a day or two, I was in the front, tooting the horn.

I naturally had to reach for this color because of well, the name, and because I love anything watermelon. Anything! Actually, I really only prefer really firm and juicy watermelon, not the really watery, flavorless kind. And I always prefer artificial watermelon flavor over any other flavor. Is that bad? Nahh, it's artificial watermelon, what could go wrong?

Spring Beauty Trend 2013: Bright Eyeliner!

Hello beautiful rays of sunshine,

I hope you're having a wonderful week so far! I know I'm not... Exams galore and last minute grades going into the gradebook. >.<

My birthday's TODAY (happy birthday to me..), but I'm not very excited this year. I have two exams and additional homework from other classes. I might have to get up early to go to a math review session at school... 5:30am on my birthday, woooot~

Anywhoo, on a much brighter note (ehehe), I've been honestly seeing this trend EVERYWHERE lately, on celebs, on the runway, on the street, legitimately everywhere I go. Bright eyes, a brilliant pop of color along the upper lashline. It makes your face look youthful and adds some color. You can play around with the look, whether you want it subtle or dramatic, it's entirely up to the person.

Runway

Kenzo Spring 2013

Moschino Cheap and Chic Spring 2013

Donna Karan Spring/Summer 2013

On the runway, the colors were being worn on the upper and lower lashline, accentuating different parts of the eye, but still bring attention to the eyes in general. Another way of wearing the bright eyeliner is just a ring around the eye.

Valentine's Day Face Tutorial

Hello my fuzzy luvs,

It's that time of the year again! It's the month of lurrrvvv. Around February 14th, men scramble to find flowers and chocolate, women try to get ready for the big day of celebrating the best emotion out there, couples are happy and engorged (I feel like this is bad word choice.) in each other, and I?

I'm at home watching the ABC Valentine's day specials with a bucket of mint chocolate ice cream and my stuffed animals. Forever alone! <3

But, I know a lot of you guys want to look special for this special holiday (is it a holiday?), so I'm putting together a very small series of posts centered around Valentine's day, maybe an inspirational picture or a makeup tutorial here and there, you can never tell with me. c;

So, on to the face tutorial!

Would You Rather: Beauty Edition TAG!

Hello little, fluffy rain clouds,

It's been extremely cold and grey outside here in Washington State. I'm almost always wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with a hot chocolate in my house. Okay, whenever you go to Starbucks and get any drink, always say yes to the whipped cream. It's insane not to!

QUESTIONS:

1.) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

Crap. Why did it have to start out with a hard question? (¬､¬) Well, if I really had to choose, I would rather lose my palettes and eyeshadows, just because I have freaking Asian lashes, aka short and straight. My lips always need some love as well. Yup, yup. 

2.) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

I would chop off all my hair because... Well, it'll grow back eventually. And wouldn't extremely long hair be kind of gross and tedious?

3.) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

I wouldn't expect this to be hard, but it actually kind of is. In the summer, I wear coral cheeks because it makes my tan stand out more. In the winter, a pink cheek is a more natural flush that makes you look like you just got kissed by the wind (more like got beaten up, but you know..). I say pink because it's always cold here, no matter what the season LOL!

4.) If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Hard decisionnnns!!! I would... Use it to buy some high end makeup. Clothes go in and out of style, while makeup is something you can wipe off one day and reapply the next to make a fresh, brand new look.

Read more after the jump!

Golden Globes Beauty Trend: Smokey Eyes and Sleek Waves

When I watched the Golden Globes last night, I was drooling over the gorgeous dresses and oh Lord, their hair. But something I saw pop up pretty often was the retro waves, that have made a comeback, and smokey eyes, an essential look that pops up everywhere.

Oh, and I totally knew Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman would totally win for Les Mis. Wasn't it obvious? X3

(image source: News Whip)

Congrats to Claire Danes and the producers of Homeland for winning a slew of awards. They always do. Her smokey eye is just a simple ring of black eyeliner, smoked out with a dark eggplant on the top lid.

(image source: BellaSugar)

I loved Julianne Hough's whole look. Her golden smokey eye is just one thing that totally completes her look. If she wore her dress/makeup any different, she wouldn't have been able to pull her pompadour-esque hair off, at all.

Read on for more snapshots of the night!

31 Day Nail Challenge Day 8: Metallic Nails



Hello lovely person, I hope you're having a great day. I'm just doing my homework and lazing around the house... Yep, that's the outlook of my Monday.

So if you're new here, check out what the 31 Day Nail Challenge actually is (here). Basically, I try to do nail art for 31 days (not really consecutively, I've been taking it slow) and then I post here what polishes and products I used in the making! If you'd like a tutorial on any of the looks so far, shoot me an email or comment below!

Without further ado, Day 8!

Read on to see more pictures and the colors I used!

New Year's Resolutions! (Beauty, Fashion, and Lifestyle)

Image Source: psdGraphics



Happy new year, everyone! I think 2013 is an odd number. No pun intended. I read somewhere that it was the first year without a repeated digit since 1987. There's your interesting tidbit of the day. And the first one of 2013, at that! ;D

Beauty Resolutions:
- Remember to take off my makeup every night（ﾉ´д｀）I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know, I should do it every night, but I'm just kind of... busy.

- Exfoliate at least once a week, including my body. I'm a regular with my face, but I just get lazy when it gets to my body.

-Take better care of the pearly whites! Actually, they aren't pearly or white, but I'll be working on that.

-Wear SPF everyday, year round. Even if I do live in Washington state, it doesn't mean I can skimp.

-Toss beauty products that I don't use at all, and haven't for at least a year. I have a bad habit of just having a bunch of makeup lie around the back of my organizer, and I need to clean it out about every three months.

-Be bolder! I usually wear little to no makeup on a daily basis, as all I have to do is school. But, my 2013 is pretty busy so far, which equals more occasions to be fancier!

Read more to find out the rest of my resolutions!

31 Day Nail Challenge Day 4: Green

Hello, lovelies. Today's nail challenge is GREEN. Nail challenge here. Personally, I think today's design was a little holiday-ish. But I really adore the hunter green that adorns my nails. Take a look for yourself~

Pinterest Picks of the Month: Chianti EVERYTHING.

Fall is officially here, and so I wanted to celebrate with a few Pinterest picks! (: Last time, my other PPotM was actually pretty popular, so we'll see how this series spins out.

The theme of this month is chianti, oxblood, burgundy, whatever you want to call it! That was the IT color of the season, and I wanted to showcase its loveliness. It's really a gorgeous color you can pair with black or brown. Or really any other color actually. Anyway, keep on reading through my rambles!

Source: blog.globalstreetsnap.com via Preethi on Pinterest

The above picture is one of my favorites that I've managed to find on Pinterest. Oxblood is so versatile, and it can be used casually or at a formal event. Either way, it looks gorgeous.

31 Day Nail Challenge Day 3: Yellow

Hello, lovlies! Don't my nails inspire sunshine into your lives? If not... They make my happy, okay? Just.. deal. 

For today's challenge, I did a kind of gradient/glitter/flowery look. I just wanted to do something happy with yellow. (: Because yellow always kind of reminds me of pee. -_-

For the full challenge, look no further than here. It's fun stuff, you should keep following my progress if you're interested. 

Anyway, keep reading for more pictures and info, if you want no more, click away on the rest of my blog. ;)

31 Day Nail Challenge Day 2: Orange



Hello, lovelies. It's an icky day in Washington State today. I wish we had summer sun still. But that's kinda a huge feat for the clouds that hang over WA.

Anyhoo, I've finally got up to painting my nails! And let me warn you, they aren't a pure shade of orange and that is for a few reasons:
1. I didn't really have many oranges to choose from, I mean come on!
2. Girrl, would you put pure orange/pumpkin barf on your nails? I don't think so.

So I kinda stretched the rules a bit and went with a dominantly orangey-coral. And a few more pops of orange. Oh, and if you have no flippin' IDEA what I'm talking about, then mozey on over here! Then life shall be simpler. For more pictures read on!

Yeah, I got impatient with the scotch tape..

I didn't actually particularly like this day, just because orange is a hard color to work with. I'm really excited for Day 3, which is orange! (:

Thanks for reading, read some more while you're here, alrighty?

Your rambling beauty addict,

Mai

Exfoliation: Is It Essential?

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Let's be honest, how many ladies really exfoliate either their faces, bodies, or both? I for one, didn't learn what exfoliation meant until about last year. But ever since, I think my skin has looked clearer and better. So what is this big word, exfoliation? Read on to find out more.

Tip of the Day: 9/21/2012

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Do you ever have that moment when you find an eyelash on your face, on your finger, or ON YOUR EYELASH CURLER? Basically, anywhere else besides your lashline? Well, if you haven't, I totally have.

I will help you prevent this! Da da da DAAAA. Mai to the rescue! Because I think I know what you're doing wrong. Here's the tip of the day:

Fall 2012 Nail Trends You MUST Try

Once the leaves start turning colors, the nails do too. Out go the neons, in go the dark and neutrals. This year, rich burgundy was seen everywhere, whatever you like to call it. Chianti, oxblood, wine, they're all one and the same, the hit color of F/W 12/13. This year, we're evolving into a variety of jewel tones, soft metallics, and bold nail designs.

Trend #1: Oxblood

From the left: Oxblood nails at Catherine Malandrino and Jenny Packham(image)

Are You Up to the Challenge?

The 31 Day Nail Challenge that is! I'm going to take up this tedious exciting challenge with open arms! YEAH! Wait. I still have school. Maybe I'll take it slow? Yep, I think I'll spread it out opposed to 31 consecutive nails in a row because 1. I need to let my nails breathe. 2. Between homework and social-ness, I don't have enough time. Read on for more...

Hair-spiration Thursday: Braids Falling on Forehead Lane

I'm so creative with titles aren't I? At least it grabbed some of you in, right? ;) Anyway, to set off this Thursday, we go to the timeless hairstyle, the braid. Braids are so gorgeous, they can be sleek or messy, precise or half undone, and casual to formal. They can go with any look. Which is why I decided I needed to learn how to do an edgier look that isn't just floating and dreaming, yet simple. I needed some inspiration first, though. Want to see what I dug up? Read on to find out.

Perfume, Body Splash, What's the Difference?

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Honestly, I didn't know the difference between Eau de Toilettes and Perfume extracts were before I used the  trusty Internet 2 months ago. But now I know! And I'd like to share some facts with you! :) Read on to find out more..