Voxbox: Goody Spin Pin Review

So in my Influenster Voxbox, I received, among many wonderful things, a pair of Goody Spin Pins.

Prior to getting my Blogger Voxbox, I've never heard of Spin Pins (I've heard of Goody, who hasn't bought hair accessories from them since you were 5?)

The package claims that the Spin Pins will do the work of 20 bobby pins. Okay, I think that's a bold statement, Goody. So I attempted a hairstyle (I never style my hair) to see if they were up to the challenge.

 I first tried the pins in my pin-straight, wet spaghetti hair. It was a big fail. These do. not. work. for straight/fine hair. They'll just fall right out, as with any bobby pins. You need some sort of hair product to add texture so that the pins will stay in yr hair.

So, after that fail, I decided not to give up. I was watching Rihanna's music video We Found Love (isn't it funny how you just get lost on youtube, link after link after link and bam it's like 4am...), and I decided to curl my hair in those big barrel curls she has. I dampened my hair with a wet brush, added some hair gel, curled my entire head. And Then, finally, put in those Spin Pins. Well they worked! I was very surprised at how two pieces of coily nothingness held my hair all day, with numerous head-shakings and flailing-abouts just to test the strength of the pins.

By the way, this picture is less Rihanna... more... Chinese wedding photo....... fail (on my part, not the Pins fault).

Thank you, Influenster, for these lovely Goody Spin Pins. They are really cool and something I would have never bought/liked otherwise.

Influenster: Voxbox Preview

I'm about to have a very busy and hectic 24 hours. But I haven't forgotten Influenster! This is a really unique and interesting site. Basically, based on yr online "footprint" as well as doing product reviews on their site, they match you with a category and if yr qualified, receive a really wonderful voxbox of products to test out.

I was selected for the Beauty Blogger Voxbox, and I will give a full review of all the products contained inside, probably tomorrow afternoon. Stay tuned for that.

Go and sign up right now. It's free and you get free stuff in the mail in a pretty box. Who doesn't love that?

Go Go Influenster!

What's on my playlist?

My subway ride to work is approximately 33 minutes long, with no delays and no sudden bicyclists holding the doors open. What do I listen to on the subway? Well here it is, my subway playlist


Birdy - People Help the People
I think this track is appropriate. I like to watch people when I ride the subway. See what makes them tick, predict what stop they're getting off at... things like that. I like to listen to this song after I see someone offer their seat to a little old lady




Ed Sheeran - The A Team
A nice, melancholy song... This is a "ride home" track



Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
Classic.



Radiohead - There There
I don't think I need to explain this one. I usually listen to this when I know I'm going to be late for work and I've just succumbed to the public transit system and all of its flaws.



Placebo - Johnny and Mary
Yes, I know this a cover. But, this is one of those cases where the cover is better than the original. There I said it.



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I suppose I could add more but you get the general idea.

Hurricane Sandy

Half of my hometown is underwater

My home has no electricity, along with 2000 other people in my town as well as 8,000,000+ people in total.

My friends' homes are destroyed.

Businesses are destroyed.

No NYC subways or trains.

Driving to my hometown tomorrow. Hopefully everyone is safe there.

We'll all get through this.

Bring it, Sandy.

Settling in for the long haul. Expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Got my food. Got my water. Flashlights. Kindle. Cigarettes. All of the essentials.


Brooklyn isn't afraid of a little rain. Bring it!

Snuggie. Laptop. Apple spiced tea. See you guys on Wednesday when this thing quite literally, blows over.

The Face Shop: review

My job is conveniently located just one block away from K-town (in other words, I have the best lunch break ever).

On my way back to work from Woorijip one day, I stumbled across a pristinely white, brightly lit hallway of a shop called The Face Shop. I vaguely remember hearing of this brand from the internet, so I decided to kill my last fifteen minutes browsing around the store.

The Face Shop is apparently a very popular Korean skincare line. I decided to purchase a few products and  see what all the hype is about.

Green Tea Mild Body Wash

I needed body wash anyway (my Bath and Body Works mango one ran out) so I got this one, because it looked the least threatening and was the cheapest. It does faintly smell like green tea, and has a really nice lather. It doesn't dry out my skin, but I don't really notice any dramatic difference between this and other body washes I've used. 

Real Nature Mask (Raspberry)

So....... The hell is up with everyone in Korea using these scary sheet masks?! I see photos of everyone, young and old, celebrity or random, posing with this mask on their face. I decided to give it a go, because everybody's doing it. It literally looks like a baby wipe that someone cut out eye and nostril holes. When I put on it was super saturated with the mask product, so I had to squeeze it out a bit before putting it on my face. After fifteen minutes or so I did feel a tingling sensation. And, when I woke up the next day my face was nice and smooth, I didn't even use a moisturizer the night before. I think I'd purchase this again, at 2 dollars you can't really go wrong. There's so many different kinds too, to cater to every kind of skin. Oh, and it didn't smell like raspberries.... Fail, I was looking forward to that.

White Tree Snow Exfoliating Foam Cleanser

Apparently, "exfoliating" is not a word, because my computer keeps underlining it in that condescending red color. But anyway, this is good stuff. I'm such a dedicated Naruko/Murad fan, but this cleanser was definitely sold me on The Face Shop brand. Really nice rich lather, gentle exfoliation, rinsed off nicely. There's no whitening or anti-aging properties in this cleanser. It's just face wash after all, not the fountain of youth.

I will be returning soon to The Face Shop. I'm so happy I found it and I will waste many more of my hard-earned dollars on their nice products.

Quick Update: Fall Stuff

I've been busy everyday with class and work. But I'd like to take a moment and appreciate fall, my favorite season, mostly because of the ability to wear layers and the smells and the fall beers and coffees...

My fall nails. I used E.L.F. nail polish in Cranberry, and Sally Hansen X-treme wear in Celeb City. Hm... maybe more Christmas-y but I.do.what.I.want.

My fall hair. Shower at night. Divide hair into four sections (top, bottom, left, right), and twist into little buns. Sleep. Wake up. Take out buns. Shake. Enjoy.

My fall shirts. I'm all about the button-fronts. I like the whole, "uptight schoolteacher" look. Banana Republic makes the best button-front shirts. So crisp, nice colors. I got this one at the Goodwill in Chelsea for FOUR DOLLARS. Now I'm pissed I actually went to B-Rep last year and bought the same style shirt at full price ><

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I will update soon with my Voxbox Beauty box review! I haven't gotten around to checking the mail yet, since checking the mail means sitting in traffic for two hours on the L.I.E..... next week, Je promets.

Advert: Ktastropheknits

One of my earliest memories is me and my long, long, long-time friend Kaitlyn riding in my mother's car. I was two and she was three, and she was laughing at me because I had to ride in a carseat and she didn't.

Kaitlyn (left) and I (right) and some random girl (center) at my fourth birthday party

Well, we stayed friends throughout the years, and over TWENTY years later we are still good friends. How many people in their twenties can say they have friends from two decades ago? Not many, and Facebook friends don't count.

I decided to do a post to promote her recently opened Etsy shop, Ktastropheknits

Knitted headband, one of the various items for sale on her site. PS: isn't her hair lovely?

Kaitlyn comes from a crafty background (her mother is an amazing sewer) and for as far back as I can remember, Kaitlyn and I were sewing things, and crafting it up. 

Well Kaitlyn really took to knitting, and opened her Etsy store, Ktastropheknits. Her knitted bracelets are especially nice, and right on trend with the (huge amount of bracelets on yr arms) trend happening currently.

Here's the one I have, in a coral/khaki color that I quite literally wear everyday (bonus! it doesn't unravel! because its not some cheap shit!).

Anyway, when you all have some time, go check out her site, Ktastropheknits!

She also does commissions for pretty much any pattern for anything, because she's a boss, and my good friend.

Over and out.

Improvisation

Quick post.
Half asleep.

Needed bath mat.


No money.



Had old pant legs.


Made bath mat.





Now I have a bath mat.


Good story bro.

ELF: Dramatic Lash Kit Review

Today.... was a long-ass day. Originally I was working only four hours. Well, four hours turned into 9 and a half hours. All day long my eyelashes were bothering me, which leads me into why I'm doing this review.

Eyes Lips Face Dramatic Eyelash Kit: The REVIEW 0.o



I purchased three pairs of these when I made my last big purchase with ELF. I am a huge fan of *most of their products, and decided to buy some of these eyelashes to see how they stack up to my usual brand Ardell, which is more expensive.



The first thing I noticed (besides the cheap price) is just how *dramatic* they really looked in the box. The hairs are synthetic, which is cost effective but very fake looking. When I first peeled them off of the plastic thing, I found that the spine of the lash was very bendable (in other words, it took a little while to get them to curve naturally to my eye shape without them drooping). I didn't try the glue, I use DUO eyelash glue instead of the ones that come with the lashes, so I cannot vouch for the glue.

After an entire day of wearing these eyelashes, my eyes are slightly itchy, I don't know if it's because it's all synthetic material, or I just placed them poorly, but they are much more noticeable when I blink and when I wear for long periods, versus Ardells, which are completely unnoticeable.

All in all, I'd say if for a special occasion or holiday that you want really fake looking fake eyelashes, these are pretty good. For everyday use, I'd would opt for ELF's natural lash kit, which has more subtle eyelashes, or Ardell brand.


PS: Working retail is crazy. Those florescent lights do *something* to you after a few hours...
PPS: Anyone have any good book suggestions? Either a science fiction series or post-fiction a la Murakami? Or anything, really... I'm desperate for a good autumn read.

Time for Netflix and potato chips, I'm off tomorrow!

Quick Post: Top Five Girl's Songs!

I've been watching Youtube videos for the past like.... two and a half hours now, and I've compiled a list of my all-time favorite girl's night anthems. Enjoy!


5: Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
I remember hanging out with the girls, sleeping over each others houses in high school, I think it was about 10th grade. This song brings me back to those days. Watching Laguna Beach, biking around in the summertime...



4: M.I.A - Galang
First time I heard this song one morning when I woke up especially early for school, and they used to actually play music videos on Fuse (it was called Much Music, or something, at the time). I fell in love with MIA after that, she's such a badass.



3: Florence and The Machine - Dog Days Are Over
Florence needs no explanation. She will rule the world one day...



2: Vanessa Carlton - White Houses
Flashback..... Summer of 2005, we were on Mike Cashman's porch, singing this song as loud as we could. Us girls were all wearing blue sundresses and went to the greasy town diner.



1: Santogold - The Creator
The ultimate "driving-with-all-girls-in-the-car-and-we're-on-the-way-to-the-bar" anthem





Tomorrow I'm doing a "Top Five Covers" post, because sometimes the real thing just isn't good enough for me....

Fun with Photoshop

What a long day...
Getting settled into the new apartment, getting used to two new jobs and school... Really slaughters yr energy level.

Alas, it's that time of year. Things are always changing.

I recently had a project due in my Photoshop class, here are the five pieces I submitted.



"Turning square, with large, medium, and small information"



Took that same original square, warped it a little, and panned it across the screen



This one took ten minutes, and I almost didn't submit it but then I said eh what the hell, this is just a survey course




Messed around with some reds and smudging.





This one was my favorite, included all of the professor's requirements, and reminded me of *space*.


I love space. I'm very into space and space-related subjects and multimedia lately. Firefly. Cowboy Bebop. Sunshine. Solaris. The Harry Irons Trilogy. I suppose it speaks something of my subconcious. Earth not satisfying... let's turn to the stars....








PS: New apartment? SoooOoOoOoOoooo much better than old apartment... I guess I'll post a tour soon.

Facts About Me!

I'm just going to jump right into it.

• I was not born in America
• I am a student of Graphic Design
• In addition to school, I also work two jobs (one is a secret job, but not that secret job)
• I have five tattoos. They are on my arms. Here is one:

• My favorite book.... it's a tie, between The Great Gatsby and Dance Dance Dance
• I secretly like Hello Kitty shaped things, such as this lip balm from Sephora, which I want, which I want to buy tomorrow.

• My favorite food is potatoes, of any kind, served in any fashion.
• My second favorite food is Pahd See Yu. It is a thai noodle dish.
• I started tweezing my eyebrows when I was seven.
• I sleep with my windows open, every night, every day of the year.
• I enjoy doing yoga but I can't stand people that do yoga and talk about it and "swear by it" aka the ladies of Park Slope.
• I hate fruits that end in -erry (I say this to include "cherry", which I also hate, to the list of every "berry")
• I haven't yet found the perfect subway ride soundtrack.... so if anyone can help me out with that...
• My favorite band is Radiohead. They have been my favorite band since 2001, when I heard "Like Spinning Plates" for the first time.
• I'm being Particularly elusive about my "facts", because
• I am extremely mistrusting of the Internet, and the people that use it. So, that means everybody.
• I don't own a television.
• This is my favorite song of all time.
• I can read and write Hindi.
• My favorite place in the world is Montauk.

Will update on my life adventure. Something exciting is going to happen very soon..... Stay Tuned

I'm bored/my thoughts on Starbucks

Killing time until class. Sitting on an ugly yellow couch.

Starbucks coffee is to people as gas is to automobiles. Starbucks fuels people to go places, but sometimes there are other internal problems that cause us to break down. And the price is going up, up, up.

It's really not THAT great of a coffee brand.... But it's so glamorous and iconic. "oh I had such a rough night, let me wear big sunglasses and nurse my grande iced coffee"

Oh Starbucks, my ultimate long-term, dysfunctional relationship....

Will post something extraordinary on the morrow.

What is in my bag?!?!?!?!

I'm so bored. I decided to clean out my purse that's been accumulating, well.... You'll just see...

aghhh crazy mess. So let's start with the actual bag in question.

I got this bag from Aldo a few years ago, for about $50.00. I love Aldo handbags because they're minimalist and stury, and the hardware is very attractive. So they basically look like a really good version of a Chinatown knockoff version of an extremely expensive bag.

I'll just list everything out and my explanation as to why it's in my bag. Starting at the top going clockwise

• My wallet - it's Calvin Klein Men's bifold wallet. I hate trifolds, I hate those checkbook holding clutch purse/wallet hybrids. No this chunky, very obviously masculine wallet is just fine for me
  
• iPod charger and earphones - Never know when you'll end up in a bind with a dead phone, so I always carry a spare wall charger.
• Underneath that tangled Apple mess of wires is my school ID and NO. You cannot see my mugshot.
• A concealer brush, twinkle teal eyeliner, and all over color stick from ELF. Probably just threw that in their yesterday for quick bedroom cleanup. 
• A pile of wrinkled but unused napkins. I hate wet hands from iced coffee cups.
• Givenchy Hot Couture roller ball perfume- it's my signature scent. To summarize, it smells like the bad girl hot antagonist from a science fiction movie fell into a pile of raspberries and a few sprigs of vanilla.
• My metrocard (it has .25 cents)
• Cigarettes (Marlboro light) and lighter
• USB thumb drive for school
• Burt's Bees Doctor Burt's Res-Q Ointment. I use it for everything from chapped lips to bruises to papercuts.
• True Blue Spa Shea Cashmere and Eucerin Calming Creme - I like soft hands. WHAT. SO WHAT.
• Lancome La Base - Which I haven't tried yet but I got as a free sample from Sephora
• A total of 9 lip products

1. EOS lip balm, the lemon on
2. NYX lipstick in Frosted Flakes
3. Dermstore Lip Quench
4. Sephora brand glossy gloss in Confectionery
5. Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lipgloss in Taffy Go Lucky
6. NYC Liquid Lip Shine in no. 549 (my all time favorite lip gloss)
7. Inglot lipstick no. 236
8. Sugar tinted lip treatment in Rose
9. Elf Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Cherry Tart

• My BB Angel Skin powder compact.. yea... sorry guys still have no idea where you can buy this online
• DUO eyelash glue (for those "oh crap... dammit.. here hold this (friend name) my lash is coming off"
• Sephora Kohl eyeliner in Keep Black
• Cover Girl brow and eye maker pencil in Black
• Neutrogena Skin Clearing concealer
• two pens (only BIC cristal pens in black for me, thank you.)
• money
• big hoop earrings that are turquoise that I don't think I'll ever wear
• two bottles of party-favor bubbles from my cousin's wedding
• two bobby pins
• one key card for the golf course (yes I like golf SO WHAT. WHAT. REALLY.)
• the bandanna that everything is laying on (I got this bandanna when I was 18 from AC Moore because at the time me and my friends all had different colored ones we'd wear and go roller blading around town with (I wish that was a joke)

And that's all, really. I swear.

ELF: Review

 Finally! I can review my products in peace.

The $10.00, 100 color eyeshadow palette was decent. Some of the colors are a bit sheer but hey, it's 100 eyeshadows for 10 dollars, what do we really expect here. And none of them broke during transit yayyy. I recommend this for people that are afraid of color and just want to experiment without looking like an 80's high-schooler.

^ Here I'm wearing the Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, A few of the turquoise eyeshadows from the 100 color palette, the all-over color stick in "Persimmon", the Shimmer Eye Pencil in "Twinkle Teal".

A quick note- I had no idea what the hell an "All-over color stick" was until it came free with my order as part of their "Fall Favorites" collection. Turns out it really is an stick of a certain color, that you can smear all over your face. I used it to highlight my cheeks, and then I made the mistake of trying it on my lips and I looked corpsified. I've seen people complain on other blogs that it's dry and cake-like but I felt it was a decent highlighter and relatively creamy in consistency.

My favorite things from this order? I'll show them here....

There's that ominous "stick of color" which ended up being a surprising favorite, the twinkle teal eyeliner (built in sharpener... nice.). The concealer brush (as part of a free 12 set brush kit, but I liked this one best). Makeup remover cloths which were very nice smelling and took off all my makeup last night, even that stubborn black stuff. The mineral infused mascara, not exactly a standout mascara per se, but I really like the way the brush clung onto my lashes. And last but not least, the luscious liquid lipstick! I loved the color (I'm wearing it in the picture below) it was a nice reddish sheerish color. I suppose it's more of a gloss but I love it anyway.

I look like I just did something wrong. Maybe it's the fact that I never smile in pictures.

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I've ordered from EyesLipsFace.com several times now, and they're always prompt with the shipping and things are packed well. And it's cheap cheap cheap! So go buy that shit.

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I've said just about all I have to say about E.L.F.
The products are inexpensive enough to not bother reading the reviews, if you see something, just buy it and make your own judgment about it. That's what I did, and I haven't regretted it yet.

Then again, you should live with no regrets. No regrets and no fingerprints.


No alarms and no surprises....


~Lindsey Jin

ELF Haul: preview

I'm at my parents house for the weekend for some R&R. Got a package in the mail!!! Reviews of everything over the weekend, once I've tried everything out

Messing around with my webcam

Believe it or not I've had my laptop for the better part of the year and I've never used the built in webcam. I'll try more experimenting and maybe make a youtube video or two soon 

So sleepy after a school day... 

Necklace from Swarovski 

I guess I'll have to do a tattoo post one of these days...

I've never noticed how Asian I look. Growing up in a white-washed suburb seriously skewed my self-image. Whenever I see Internet pictures of myself I say "wow... I forgot I'm Asian"

Well this post was useless. Goodnight you princes of Maine. You kings of New England (and what movie am I quoting here...?)

Oh, a quick observation from today... NYC straphangers are ruthless, cutthroat, and dead-serious. How'd we become a city of such nasty people? Let's all take a step back. A breather...

The Great Coney Island Goldfish Incident

It was a crystal clear night in Brooklyn. With the night off I decided to take the subway down to Coney Island for some salt-filled air and cheap boardwalk thrills...

And so we walked along the boardwalk, inhaling the thick smell of Nathan's hot dogs and wading through the crowds of tourists. After playing some arcade games (Yeaaaaa skee-ball!!), and eating fried unidentifiable foods, we decided to head back to the Stillwell Avenue subway station. OH... but what's this that I pass on the sidewalk? The good ol' throw-the-ping-pong-balls-into-the-jar-and-win-fish-that-are-marked-for-death game! Okay fine. Let's do this thing.

So five dollars and 55 ping pong balls later, I end up winning four cute, small, terrified goldfish. I believe they're just mere feeder fish that fish stores sell as live feed.

Oh shit, what do I do now? Here I am, Sunday night, 10:30pm. I have four fish in a plastic bag in desperate need of some oxygen and food. There's several obstacles in my way such as a 25 minute subway ride, lack of open aquarium shops in the middle of the night, and a very serious lack of knowledge on how to keep carnival goldfish alive.

Now, I love animals (I am a vegetarian). However I have a strict no-pets policy because of my tendency to cry every time anything with a face dies. So I clean a pasta pot with hot water (no soap for goldfish, I know that much), fill it up with cold water, put the fish in it, and go to sleep. What else could I possibly have done?

Next day, I frantically search for an aquarium shop, buy a small tank and small filter... some food, a plastic plant, I have no real high hopes for these poor guys at that point.

A month later....

 My fish are as happy as can be!
No I still haven't named them, I'm a cynic like that. But so far so good. Here's what I did to keep my goldfish live in those crucial first few days.

1) Dechlorinated the water, keeping it at 76 degrees, they seem to like it around that temp.

2) Bought large gravel for the bottom, so the aquarium could start to terraform (Firefly reference).

3) Fed my fish ONCE per day. No exceptions. I've been reading up on fish enthusiast websites and they say that overfeeding is a very common way to kill your little guys.

4) Try not to shake the tank or move it around too much.... Remember the evil kid from Finding Nemo?

I'm really not an expert on fish. At all. I just kind of gained custody of them and now I'm trying to make the best of it. When I move into a bigger place I'm going to buy a larger tank. They're super cute and I don't regret winning them, even with the water changes and maintenance and the constant fear that I'll wake up tomorrow and they're all be floating on their little bellies. If anyone has any tips or information on these carnival goldfish, I'd greatly appreciate it. I've taken a liking to the little guys. Maybe one of these days I'll name them. Or maybe not, after all, Holly Golightly never named the cat.

Lindsey Jin signs off now.

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Decided to do the pale faced china doll look today. Peachy eyeshadow from Forever 21 and Ardell lashes no. 110

Lazy day...

No makeup, no obligations, no problem!

So tired from my cousins wedding last night, will do a good and proper post tomorrow. Full of insight and inspiration....