june + july, on instagram

Some of the food I ate recently, getting in touch with my inner foodie! I'm trying to eat a little healthier with more salads. I've also been drinking a lot of tea recently, the one pictured is cold steeped strawberry rhubarb parfait from David's Tea.

Speaking of trying to eat healthier, I can't. Because there's an ice cream cart across the street from where I work, and one of my coworkers, Big Wei (we have two people named Wei - Big Wei is a tall guy and Little Wei is a tiny girl, haha), spoils everyone by treating us once in a while. Big Wei also made us fried ice cream today! :9

I don't get why chocolate covered strawberries are so flippin' expensive when it's very easy to make! Wash and dry your strawberries thoroughly, melt some chocolate (I did it the lazy way in the microwave, 15-30 second intervals and stirring after each time), dip, and refrigerate for 15 or 20 minutes. Easy and (somewhat) healthy dessert!

Air travel can get very tiring, but the view from the airplane is always pretty. I went to visit my boyfriend in Canada sometime in June. Long distance sucks, but it's worth it!

I upgraded my tower case! It's a Fractal Design Define R4, with the side window I always wanted (even though I don't keep my tower at a place where I can look at the inside). It's also super quiet, and I sometimes even forget that I had my computer on if I leave the room for a while. The only issue I have with it is that the back fan rattles just a little bit sometimes, but I think it's fixable if I weren't so lazy with doing so.

Again with the laziness, having a galaxy accent nail because I can't be bothered to do all ten of my fingers. I work as a barista so I have to wash my hands a lot - sadly, nail polish usually lasts 2 or 3 days before it starts to chip or peel.

Ending the post with this little guy that I got at the Lego store with Jessie, my coworker. We were the only ones there that didn't have kids, but there's no shame in that!

Until next post,

Becky

ipsy | july 2014 first impressions

{ mouse over for product names! }

the bag
It's super cute! It's hot pink with scalloped edges and just screams summer, made with a faux-leathery material. I wouldn't personally use it in my handbag because it's not my style, but I hope I can find something else for it. It's way too cute to throw away.

pixi beauty | mini tinted brilliance balm in unique pink

It's a lip balm I guess...? It's very light in the tube and I was confused at first (this tinted balm IS NOT TINTED??). After reading a review on Reddit I found out that it changes color when you use it, though you do have to wait a few minutes for it  to show up. It's a nice pink tint, not too opaque or sheer like some lip tints out there. It has a slight minty/tingly feeling which I don't prefer in my lip products, but I don't mind it either. Also, good job to me for TOTALLY COVERING THE LIP BALM.

pop beauty | sunkissed bronzer
I dunno. I'm really happy with my bronzing/contouring "routine" for now (Dolce & Gabbana blush in Tan and Benefit Hoola bronzer just under the cheekbones) so I'm not interested in trying something new for the meantime.



pur~lisse | pur~protect essential daily moisturizer spf 20
I'm a frequent lurker at r/skincareaddiction on Reddit and I've spent a while reading up on sunscreen and using it properly. Having sunscreen in your moisturizer isn't enough - something about having to apply a certain amount of sunscreen for it to be effective that I can't remember off the top of my head. But of course, you should do your own research and use your own judgement on skincare since it's a very personal thing. Who knows in the future, but this isn't something I can't see myself using.

derma e | bb creme with spf 25
Same with the above, no real opinion on this. I forsee a sunscreen post in the near future!




bareminerals | ready eyeshadow 2.0 in muse and passion
The only thing I'm really into for this month's bag - it's so tiny and CUTE! They are colors that I can see myself wearing (did I mention that purple is my favorite color?), and I've been wanting to try BareMinerals for a long time. Very excited to try this one out!

overall
I'm not super impressed with this month's contents. I feel like I operate on a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" kind of mentality when it comes to beauty products. I'm currently using a sunscreen, BB cream, and bronzers that I already love so I don't feel like it's necessary to try new ones unless they are super super appealing (which all of these aren't, sorry!). I am very happy about the bareMinerals shadows though! I would definitely prefer this over the other option, which was a liquid shadow.

Until next post,

Becky

new in | elf x ariel

First off, thank you guys so much for the positive comments in the previous post! It's good to know that I'm not the only one that gets these feelings of not wanting to do anything blog-related. Reading your comments gave me all the fuzzies, so thank you again - I'll do my best to post more often! ♥ ♥

On Sunday, I went out to buy groceries. There's an Asian supermarket that's closer to my house but the Latin supermarket further down has a much better selection for my tastes. It also happens to be across the street from Walgreens. It also just so happens that while I was catching up on Ashley's blog, I came across her review on ELF's Disney Ariel collection, which also just so happens to be exclusively sold at Walgreens.

You know what that meant?



I came home with groceries... and part of the collection. The Under The Sea Eyes and Bronzed Beauty set, to be specific.





Can we just stop for a minute and admire the packaging? It's too pretty to throw away, so I want to find some kind of use for it. But knowing me, I'll probably end up tucking it away and forgetting that I even had it.

Yes, I realize that the first picture and the rest don't have matching backgrounds. I've already taken pictures of the products and I don't want to stuff them back into the packaging to retake the first shot, haha...! Laziness at its finest, I probably shouldn't even categorize myself as a beauty blogger. BUT THAT BEING SAID, whaaaat, I actually took product pictures to review?! That's a first.

Until next post,

Becky

a quick update

Hey guys! As you can tell, I'm still as bad as ever when it comes to updating these days. I feel like I've kinda lost the drive for this blogging thing since I'm always so tired from work. I'm sure everyone feels like this once in a while though, and the real difference between me and them is that they'll manage to pull through no matter how busy life is, or how tiring/boring blogging can get at times. Then maybe the fun and charm in blogging will come back, sooner or later.

That being said, I (maybe) have a few posts planned out so keep an eye out for them (maybe)! Hope you're all doing well in the meantime! <3

- Becky