Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick #SYR33

A perfect semi-sheer color in beige or nude to go on your lips, which will complementing your dark eye makeup. Take a look at how Cheon Song Yi (Jeon Ji Hyun) wear this shade. You can tell her eyeliner is heavier than usual, therefore a beige color such as this lippie complementing her overall look.

Laneige Serum Intense Lipstick in SYR33 Sheer Beige.

Super moisturizing. I don't even have to put on vaseline prior to wearing this color. The only downfall is that, it is not very long lasting compare to other brands such as YSL or similar brand IOPE. I still love it though! I don't mind reapplying it every 3 hours or so.

IOPE Water Fit Lipstick #44

For those who have read my previous post on the YSL Rouge Pur Lipstick worn by Cheon Son Yi (Jeon Ji Hyun) in You Who Came From Another Star K-drama. I am recently very obsessed with her lip colors so I decided to purchase a few lippies worn by her in the movie. Here it goes...

IOPE Water Fit #44 Forever Pink

Texture is smooth and rich on lips, but moisturzing enough. Unlike the MAC lipsticks, which I do like them because of the variety of shades they have, however I'd hate using them on a regular day-to-day basis because they're super dry. $15/lippie... Oh well what can you expect! This IOPE Water Fit Lipstick #44 is a great hot pink option to be used everyday (if you like). It is moisturizing and has a semi-glossy finish. Totally in love with it!! Been using it everyday just because I love it so much and I think it goes really well with my skin tone. Pretty long lasting as well, however not as long lasting as the YSL lipsticks.

If you happen to read this blog and know any awesome lip color please leave me a comment! Thanks! 😊😊

YSL Rouge Pur Lipstick #52

I have decided to jump on the band wagon of the K-drama "Man From Another Star." I became so obsessed with the series that, I finished it within a day and a half. Of course, that meant a sleepless night. The movie made me laugh when the female actress Jeon Ji Hyun, who played Cheon Song Yi were so hysterically heartbroken. The movie made me cry when the couple went through the depart moments.

Not only I love the movie because of its story behind it; everyone needs to love and be loved whether it is with a person or something that you do. People who look glamorous on the outside may be lonely on the inside and that, we just cannot judge a person solely on the surface. I am also obsessed with Cheon Song Yi's makeup. Her dewy looking skin with hot pink lips and barely-there lifht pink eyeshadow. She looks beautiful, effordless!

Isn't she beautiful???

I googled and find that her lip color wasn't created by just one lip product. However, one of the colors that they used on her lips were the YSL Rouge Pur Lipstick #52 in Rosy Coral.

 I went to Nordstrom and found that it was already sold out (in America). I had the sales associate orderred me one. Here is my baby....!!! So excited!

The lipstick looks more of a hot pink to me than on Nordtrom's picture, which looks more red. Tried it on! The color is vibrant and lasted me all day long, even after a meal.

Love it!!!! Under white lighting it looks pink. With less lighting, it looks more of a hot pink with a tiny red in it!

Will you buy it?? I'd say Yes! You'll fall in love with it!

Black, Red, & Pearl

My previous post was all about Ao Dai, light makeup, super loose waves, and the softness as a whole. In this post, it is all about looking simple but sharp, thus elegant!

I chose a long black dress with cut out back. I originally got the dress at Winsor, but then I did some alterations on it, and of course, to add a little sexiness I did a side slit on the dress.

It is a night wedding event I went to. Since my look was light and dreamy in the morning, I decided to go bright at night. Never ever combine all the bright elements in your wardrobe together! If you really wanna go bright, choose from 1 to 2 elements of brightness as attention points and leave the rest in contrast colors. You want your highlights to stand out. This is key to simple but elegance!

Makeup:  Taupe and brown eyeshadow. Black cateye eyeliner. A little blush in coral topped with highlighter. My attention graber no. 1 would be bright red lipstick with a hint of orange in it.

Hair:  Lots of layers of curls and waves. I flipped my hair upside down and did an overall sea salt spray to keep my curls in shapes the whole night and to add volume. Then I pushed it to the side to show off my backless dress.

Outfit:  Black dress with cut-out back. Nude/gold heels. My attention grabbing element no. 2: pearl necklace and earrings. The way I wore my pearl neclace is a little different. I wore it at my neck line, leaving the rest hanging on my back because of my cutout back dress.

Traditional Vietnamse Áo Dài

My first time wearing the traditional Vietnamese Áo Dài. There are many styles and types of Ao Dai. The style that I'm wearing is called "áo dài cách tân," which means modern Ao Dai style. It is a little different from the traditional in the collar, the sleeves, and even the material. Mine is 100% handmade with blue turquoise lace. I chose short sleeves instead of long and still kept the same type of high collar. I wanted mine to give off the impression of a mix between modern and traditional. 

In the olden days, women in Vietnam generally only wore Ao Dai once when they were in middle school, high school and college. Basically, the image of Ao Dai goes hands in hands with the image of the students and innocence. Because when you are a students and still in schools you don't have much to worry about. Your life would normally be school, home work, friends, and social life. Thus, the innocent and carefree image go with it very well.

Makeup:  Chose a soft pink eyeshadow, which has a little bit glitter in it, just to play with the light as a base. I also wanted to make my eyeliner and eyelashes pop out later on. Then I topped it up with a dark pink/burgundy/browny color on the outer corner to create the illusion of bigger eyes. A bit of ighlighter on my cheekbones and T-zone. Petal pink blush on the apple of the cheeks. Lips: Orange/coral lipstick color from Revlon topped with a little bit of YSL #204 light coral lipgloss to add shine.  This kind of makeup techniques go very well with day light or any event that is going to be outdoor. At the same time, it doesn't feel overwhelming in the eyes of others. I actually received quite a lot of compliments on this look!

Hair:  Crimped my hair underneath to make it look thick. Did soft layers on the top and at the end of the strands. Clipped one side up to show off my half crimped hair. Crimped hair gives off the youthful look!

Wearing Eyelid Tapes Long Term

Ola guys,

I've been testing out a few eyelid tapes to see what works and what don't. Here's one that I've found that has been working great for me. It's called:

COSMOS Lovely Eyelid Tape (Large)

These are awesome! They come in a pack of 30 pairs for about $3 bucks. You can get them on Ebay or Sasa.com. I got them on Sasa, but as of this moment they're out of stock. Keep an eye on them though, because this brand sells fast! Make sure it is the "Large" version, because sizes do matter :-) and I'll tell you why!

As you can see, eyelid tapes come in different sizes depending on your lid shape and what look you're going for. The larger size makes your eyes seem rounder. Whereas the smaller size gives you a more natural look.

Now, don't let the word "natural" fools you! If you're going for a temporary result, meaning that you want to use them for one day only, it's absolutely fine! Beacause after one night of sleep, your lids will go back to the usual shape. However, if you're aiming at reshaping your lids in order to give them creases, you'll be better off with the larger size. This is especially for people who have monolids, like I do!

So, why do I want to use eyelid tapes and can't just let it be natural?

Here's my serious confession:

I've been told by many people, including my family members, since I was 13 that I look sad/sleepy all the time. I even had one incident when in my past job, my manager actually told me that "you need to let the customers know what you're doing, because when you squint at the screen you look very mean!" Ouch! She wasn't mean when she said this, because it was an honest comment that's why it hurts my feeling even more!

My pictures below reflected my original lids, which don't seem like I have any creases...

Though, on some occassion, now and then my creases do show a bit but not much...

Either way, it doesn't matter...! I want my creases to show! I WANT to have creases, not in an effort of me trying to raise my eyebrows in order for them to show. Cause for a while I did that and that was fucking tiring, because for the longest time it made me feel anxious and that I had to keep remembering to raise my brows. No... Thats ridiculous and I will never do that again!!!

For those of you who've been in my shoes, aren't you just tired hearin the same thing over and over about you looking tired/sad/upset/shitty... etc...? The normal phrases would be similar to this:

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, why?" 

"Oh coz you look tired!" 

Or

"Hey are you mad?"

"No... Why?"

"Oh coz you look upset!"

Ok... I know that people were just trying to be nice by asking me if I'm ok. But honestly, I'm just fucking tired of hearing the same questions and answering the same answers over the years from different people. So I want to MAKE a change!

Why don't I just get an eyelid surgery?

I'd like to... But I don't have that kind of money to travel back and forth from the States to Asia and spend 1-2 weeks in Korea (knowing that it is a #1 leading country in plastic surgery and if you're thinking about getting one, might as well just get it done in Korea to avoid any mistakes made by inexperienced surgeons). I don't want to do it in the US either! Too many Asian eyelids got messed up by plastic surgeons here. Doubled eyelids just ain't their specialty and I'm not willing to take that risk!

How do you know it helps with changing your expression?

I had tried temporary eyelid tapes before and yes... I look LESS tired/upset/sad/mean, etc! I received positive comments from people when i have creases while I wear them, so I do know what I'm doing!

You should be happy with your facial features and you should just let it be natural. Don't try to change who you are!

Nooo... Cosmetics in general, should be done in a way that it ENHANCES your look, not changing you into a different person! To be honest, if we were so happy with every natural feature on our face/body, we shouldn't even use makeup (i.e. Eyeliner, bb cream, etc.)

Enough for emotional talk. Let's talk positive now! So... Check this out!

I've been wearing the eyelid tape since August of this year on a daily basis. I'm so happy that I do see that my creases actually show more! I wore them everyday - day and night for about 2 months straight and here's the result:

Me wearing my eyelid tapes. They hardly show right?? Now you know why I can wear them even during day time - at work.

Now, I don't really wear them everyday anymore, not even at night. In the morning when I wake up, my lids would still have the creases. Yay!!

Bottom Line:

Please don't let any body stops you for doing things that boost your confident level and ultimately your happiness! If you  want to get a doubled-eyelid surgery and you can afford it, go for it! Do not let your friends and family talk you into not doing it. If they're your close friends and beloved family, they should understand how much a part of your facial feature is bothering you and should give you all the support that you need to end this low self-esteem factor!

Simple Face

Simple Face by tina-mai featuring short false eyelashes

Forever 21 flower hair clip / NARS Cosmetics blush / NARS Cosmetics lip shine / Bobbi Brown Cosmetics eyeliner / eylure short false eyelash, $8.04

Put Vaseline onto your lips prior to your makeup routine, it will absorb and make your lips super soft. BB Cream is the way to go for everyday makeup to conceal any imperfections on your skin, yet light enough allowing skin to breathe. Top off with a high pigmented pink blush right onto the apple of your cheeks close by your nose wings for a more youthful look. Draw a thin liner using gel liner close by your lash lines. Throw on a pair of natural looking falsies and finish off with a high shine lip gloss. Definitely simple enough for an every day look!