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Christmas Beauty Questions Tag

/ lolitaland / 2 Comments

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Hi, everyone! I read Denise’s blog post responding to the Christmas Beauty Questions Tag, and she invited everyone who read her blog post to do this questionnaire too. I love reading Denise’s beauty reviews, and she also has really cool photo diaries. My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but I’ve always enjoyed giving holiday presents to close friends. Christmas doesn’t feel like a special day to me; it’s no different than any other “normal” day. To be honest, winter is my least favorite season (because I hate the cold), so I am not fond of December but I try my best to stay positive! And giving winter holiday gifts to others is definitely a great way to add some positivity to the shivering cold weeks.

Without further ado, here are my answers to the Christmas Beauty Questions Tag!

1. Have you been naughty or nice this year with your skincare routine?

I have been naughty… Very naughty. I really should take better care of my skin, but I’m always stressed and busy during academic semesters, which spurs on skincare laziness due to lack of free time. Although skincare should be a priority… But nope! And even during the summer, I didn’t take very good care of my skin since I had an internship and was busy. I am guilty of rushing through washing my face at night… and not removing makeup properly. I also rub at my skin roughly when I apply face cream; my mom scolds me every time I’m home and I do this because she says it looks painful. On a “nice” note, I always apply face cream at night and I use acne spot gel when I have breakouts (which happen a lot due to stress).

2. What’s the go-to beauty, makeup or skincare product you would gift to your family and friends?

It depends on who I’m gifting to and what they like! For some friends, perfumes would be the perfect gift because they love fragrances. For others, lipstick would be a better choice. My mom doesn’t wear makeup, so if I were to choose a gift for her, it would be a skincare item such as a cream or cleanser.

3. Do you mind gifting high-end products or rather drug store products to others?

I have gifted both high-end products and drug store products to others in the past. I think real friends would appreciate the gift regardless of the price or where it’s from; it’s the thought that counts!

4. What are the beauty products you’re hoping to get to see under your Christmas tree this year?

I don’t have a Christmas tree and my family doesn’t celebrate Christmas… So I am not exactly “hoping to see something” unless it’s something I buy for myself (and I really want to try more sheet masks and eyebrow pencils). However, my friend Terry got me a gift and made me promise not to open it until Christmas day. And she heavily implied that it was a beauty item… (This is the same Terry who got me my first Korean eyeliner! Read my review here.)

5. What is the beauty product that you’re dreading to receive for Christmas this year?

Not dreading anything. And as previously mentioned, I don’t celebrate Christmas.

6. Are you are beauty blogger participating in Blogmas this year? If so what is the post you’re most proud of so far?

Nope! I actually had no idea what Blogmas was until Denise explained it to me. Maybe I can participate someday!

7. Do you remember the first beauty product you received as a Christmas present? What was it and did you enjoy it?

I am not sure if I have ever received a beauty product as a Christmas present… But WishTrend sponsored a Klairs skincare set around Christmas time, so if that counts as a present, I definitely enjoyed it! It was fun writing the review and I’m still not done using all the products.

8. What mini size product would you recommend as a great stocking stuffer?

Lipsticks and eyeliners are lovely small items that would fit nicely into stockings! Small eyeshadow quads would also be really cute.

9. Would you rather you friends and family ask you gifts you wanted to receive or have them surprise you?

I don’t mind either way. I honestly feel awkward when people ask me what kinds of gifts I want since I don’t want to ask for things that will inconvenience my friends and family. It’s the thought that counts, so I appreciate any gift, as long as the gift has good intentions.

10. What is your favourite way to show Christmas spirit through your look or outfit?

My favorite color is red, so Christmastime is yet another excuse for me to wear lots of red! I haven’t tried to pull off a Christmas fashion look yet, but I did attend an Ugly Sweater Cosplay Meet recently and designed a really silly ugly Christmas sweater. Before this year ends, I hope to wear a Christmas-y Lolita coordinate! In 2013, Terry invited me to go with her on a winter Lolita adventure on Christmas Eve. My Lolita coordinate wasn’t exactly Christmas-y… but it was red!

Anyone who would like to do this: YOU’RE TAGGED! ^_^

Here’s the list of questions in case you want to copy and paste them onto your blog:

10 Christmas Beauty Questions Tag

  1. Have you been naughty or nice this year with your skincare routine?
  2. What’s the go-to beauty, makeup or skincare product you would gift to your family and friends?
  3. Do you mind gifting high-end products or rather drug store products to others?
  4. What are the beauty products you’re hoping to get to see under your Christmas tree this year?
  5. What is the beauty product that you’re dreading to receive for Christmas this year?
  6. Are you are beauty blogger participating in Blogmas this year? If so what is the post you’re most proud of so far?
  7. Do you remember the first beauty product you received as a Christmas present? What was it and did you enjoy it?
  8. What mini size product would you recommend as a great stocking stuffer?
  9. Would you rather you friends and family ask you gifts you wanted to receive or have them surprise you?
  10. What is your favourite way to show Christmas spirit through your look or outfit?

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~Connect with me~

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The Face Shop: Ink Graffi Brush Pen Liner Review

/ lolitaland / 11 Comments

My friend Terry bought this eyeliner from The Face Shop for me, so I thought I would write a review for it!

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I’ve always had terrible luck finding eyeliners because of my really weird eyelids… They look like monolids, but I do have a crease (but it’s invisible). I’m not sure what the technical term is, but it may be “hooded eyelids.” In any case, my eyes looks like monolids, but whenever I apply eyeliner, I need to make it really thick so it will be visible. If I draw a regular line, once I open my eyes, the line disappears! It’s so frustrating. I know how to make the eyeliner show up: I make a super thick line. But then this causes another issue: when I close my eyes, there’s an awkwardly massive line. It’s really annoying but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Since I have this oddly hidden crease, I’ve always had trouble with pencil eyeliners and liquid eyeliners. For some reason, they always get really smudgy (probably from blinking), and the only eyeliner that I’ve ever had luck with is a cream eyeliner that comes in a jar. The cream eyeliner is really heavy though, so I only use it for photoshoots, dance performances, and cosplay. If I’m putting eyeliner on randomly (just for fun, or for work), then I don’t want to use the cream liner.

During the past semester, I’ve been using this eyeliner for “daily wear.” I don’t wear makeup every day, but sometimes I will wear eyeliner to class if I’m not too tired in the morning.

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Pros: dries quickly, great staying power

Cons: not always precise

The Ink Graffi liner is a brush pen liner and it does feel like a pen when I hold it. Drawing the line is pretty easy, but as I explained above, I have to make the line really thick for it to show up. Sometimes, I’ll just do one line and let it be since it’ll show up when I blink or close my eyes. If I want to make a thick line, I have to draw the line a few times, adding more to the top part of the line each time. This liner is easy to use, but sometimes the ink doesn’t run smoothly and I have to go over spots that don’t have ink. The ink dries quickly, which is a plus! After using this eyeliner for the previous months, I have never had any bad side effects or reactions. I have extremely sensitive skin, so I’m glad I didn’t get any irritation from this eyeliner. I’ve had bad reactions from drugstore brands in the past, even reputable brands like Maybelline and Revlon.

This eyeliner holds up really well! When I scattered my grandfather’s ashes last weekend, I basically cried all day. I thought I had made a dreadful mistake by wearing eyeliner in the morning… But at night time, my mom told me that my eyeliner was still black; the only issue was some of it transferred to the area under my eyes, but that transfer was probably caused by me rubbing my eyes with tissues too much. When I looked in the mirror at night, I was surprised to see that the liner was still on the upper lids (and it still looked black!). And the transfer on the bottom wasn’t as terrible as I imagined it would be.

Here is an example of what this eyeliner looks like on me:

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The color is a nice matte black. It’s not the blackest black, but it’s definitely a true black.

Here are my ratings for the Ink Graffi eyeliner from The Face Shop:

Comfort: 5/5 (would definitely recommend for people with sensitive skin!)

Ease of use: 4/5

Color: 4/5

Staying power: 4/5

OVERALL RATING: 4/5

Do you have a favorite eyeliner? Any new eyeliners you want to try?

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~Connect with me~

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Alice au Pays du Salève

/ lolitaland / 2 Comments

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Photographer: Studio du Petit Oiseau

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As some of you may know, I spent my spring semester studying and interning abroad in Geneva, Switzerland. My last two days in Geneva was spent photoshoot-ing with the amazing Studio du Petit Oiseau. I worked with them a few times over the course of my semester abroad, and every photoshoot was a lovely experience. This will be a photo-heavy post because I love too many photos from this set!

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I wanted to write this blog post earlier, but did not find the time to finish this post until now. Looking back at these photos brings back lovely memories of sunny days spent outside… I still miss living in Europe. Genève, tu me manques! _DSC7019

Basically, here is how these photoshoots worked out: I took a bus to the Swiss/French border, and that’s where Studio du Petit Oiseau met up with me. For the Alice au Pays du Salève shoots, we drove up Salève (a mountain, which I called my home mountain throughout my stay since I could spot it from anywhere in Genève) each day to shoot. The first day was difficult since there was a mysterious car rally going on; I’m still not sure what was happening to be honest. The next day, we went up the mountain and were able to take many more photos.

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“Mais je n’ai nulle envie d’aller chez les fous”, fit remarquer Alice.
“Oh ! vous ne sauriez faire autrement, dit le Chat : Ici, tout le monde est fou. Je suis fou. Vous êtes folle.”
“Comment savez-vous que je suis folle ?” demanda Alice.
“Il faut croire que vous l’êtes, répondit le Chat ; sinon, vous ne seriez pas venue ici.” 

-Alice au pays des merveilles

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And now, let’s look at some of the photos from the second time we went to Salève! (And this was my last day in Europe. The day after this shoot, I flew back to the United States!)

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In the background of some of these photos, you can see Lac Léman and Genève~!

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This shoot was part photoshooting and part sight-seeing…

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It was really cold up in the mountain! I should have brought a warmer jacket with me… (Down in Geneva, it was really hot. What a stark contrast in temperature!)

_DSC1454wSalève is definitely one of my favorite places. It’s so breathtakingly beautiful, and I feel like I could go there 100 times and still never get bored of looking around._DSC1412 _DSC1429w _DSC1405“Alice au Pays du Salève” is what Studio du Petit Oiseau named this photoshoot. I thought it was such an adorable name, since it’s a play on the French title for Alice in Wonderland, “Alice au pays des merveilles.” This blog’s name is Alice in Lolitaland, so this title is too perfect.
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Merci beaucoup, Studio du Petit Oiseau!

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Aren’t these cows so cute? The time spent photoshooting on Salève will always be in my memories, even if they feel like dreams now. If I ever return to Switzerland, I definitely want to visit Salève again. Is there a place you wish you could return to?

Check out my Facebook albums for more photos from these two photoshoots: First album & Second album.

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~Connect with me~

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