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.