Weddings Everywhere!

Hey everyone, sorry this isn't a makeup update again but I've been crazy busy lately! This past week has been all about dress fittings, decorating, preparing for my future sister-in-law's wedding, getting nails done, deciding on flowers and cake, and reserving hotels. I'll be managing the guestbook signing later today (Friday) and help send my new younger sister off in happy matrimony. I'll also be doing her bridesmaids' makeup for the occasion.


Can I just say one thing about wedding season? I am very emotional and if anyone gets teary-eyed I can't stop my own tears. It's time to pull out all of the waterproof makeup in my arsenal!

Anyway, her wedding is tonight, I have another friend's wedding next weekend, I move into my new apartment the weekend after, then it's already time for my own walk down the aisle in just 3 weeks. Things are going to be hectic for a while but I promise I'll try to capture some of the madness along the way. ;) I am super excited about the apartment and getting to decorate it just how I want it to be. Pics will definitely be posted when it's all done.

I also (finally) got my NYX haul from cherryculture.com. For some reason, the processing time was a whole week and it took another whole week to ship, but I am really happy with what I got for the most part. I'll try to get swatches of everything soon. I got a few lipsticks, a couple lip liners, an eyeliner, a mosaic highlighter, and some eyeshadows. Maybe I'll do that as a video review. What do you guys prefer to see? Pics or video? Please let me know!

So I should get to bed before tomorrow's big day but just as a tagalong question I want to know, what are your favorite long-wear makeup products? I've been researching Maybelline's Superstay Gloss for my wedding and I already love Urban Decay Primer Potion. Should I do a finishing spray of some sort if I'm already going to use Smashbox Photofinish as a foundation primer? I want all your advice for my wedding day! Please be generous in your long-wear knowledge.

Thanks guys, love you, and I'll pop in again soon~

From Head To Toe Shop Now Open!

The From Head To Toe Shop is now officially open. I just added two Coach bags and a pair of size 4 Cole Haan Pumps, but I will be adding more items soon. Please add it to your bookmarks and check back soon!

From Head To Toe Shop

Love you guys!

Selling things and life

Hey everyone. Today marks the day of 1 month until my wedding and I was thinking I'd like to clean out my closet soon before that happens. I've got designer jeans, coach purses, and size 4 and up shoes. Maybe this money can go toward my honeymoon, as I just had my college graduation and am yet a poor woman. :) Let me know what you guys think about the idea. I know it could be nice for those of you who have difficulty finding petite clothing.

Speaking of graduation, I wanted to share with you my graduation outfit, FOTD (face of the day), and graduation silliness.

For makeup, I did a "Pinky-Brown" look:
Eyes
* Urban Decay Primer Potion
* Revlon colorstay eyeshadow
- #3 and #4 from copper quad for crease
- #1 from berry bloom for highlighter and tear ducts
- #3 from berry bloom for lid color
* MAC fluidline in blacktrack
* Shisem false lashes
* Max Factor Lash Perfection mascara in navy for lower lashes
* Koji Eyetalk double eyelid glue

Face
* Lancome Photogenic concealer in Camee
* Everyday Minerals foundation in Fairly Light Neutral Intensive + Golden Medium Semi-Matte
* EM blush in Siesta + Apple

Lips
* Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Lilac




My outfit was a white knee-length dress with red pattern and piping. The sweetheart neckline accentuates the bust while the high waist band narrows the waist. I flipping love this dress! And of course, white heels.



And here's a couple more of me being a ham. Yay graduation!




10 points to whoever can name who this is:


Anyway, things have been super busy lately but let me know about if I should sell things! Also, as a side note, I went to MAC and got my foundation shade. I'm NC 30. 25 on much of my face, but 30 on my forehead and body.

Here's what to look forward to:
* selling stuff
* purse and accessories size demo
* Wonder Eyelid Tape review
* 5-way convertible bikini tutorial
* choosing sunglass styles
* nail art tutorial
* Koji Eyetalk tutorial
* misc wedding stuff...

Super Petite

It occured to me today that most people wear clothes to cover themselves. You try on jeans, they fit okay, and you buy them. You try on shoes, they fit, you buy them. I could at this point go on a tirade and say, "IF ONLY I HAD THE LUXURY TO SIMPLY FIND THINGS THAT FIT!" but in all honesty, there are more things that fit me than I actually buy.

The reason is that I buy clothes that not only "fit" me, but also fit my body type. I know I am very short (4'10"!) and very slender. I'm in proportion, but because I am so thin, I have a VERY difficult time finding pants, jackets, and shoes that fit. I'm assuming there are other girls out there with my same problem! So, I thought I'd make a list of basics for super petites and squash some rumors about what you should and shouldn't wear to make the most out of your height.


Tops:
The most important things to keep in mind with tops is the length and fullness. Either keep tops shorter (an inch or so past the top of your pants) or long (tunics that go to the bottom of your butt). I know long tank tops are in style now, but they do make us shorties look shorter because of the horizontal hem cutting our body line in half! In general, stay away from fuller tops. You want a balanced look on top and bottom so if you want a big fluttery top, wear a thin belt around your natural waist to pull the weight back in. Above all, you want the attention to go upward to your face, not down to short-looking legs.

Good examples


Bad example


Jackets:
Keep jackets to a "cropped" or "petite" length. This will help keep your torso in proportion and you don't lose your leg line. A jacket too long will make your legs look short and a long torso and short legs makes you look even shorter, but a nice-fitting jacket will make you look clean, professional, and put together.

Good example


Bad example


Dresses:
Dresses should either be short or floor-length. Empire waistlines will give you added height, as well as any vertical lines in pattern or fabric draping. Just beware of too much fullness. Sheath and A-line dresses are always a good standby. Always go for a natural waistline over a dropped waist. Never wear a pattern where the main element is larger than your fist, but solids always look good.

Good examples


Bad example


Pants:
Petite girls are lucky in that they can wear more styles of pants, but keep in mind balance. Try to stay away from a large flare in a light wash, since this will bring the visual focus downward. A light-colored skinny jean with a heel is okay, but darker, slimmer pant cuts are always a safer bet. Thin or wide straight-leg pants are good. For jeans, try to find one where the knee break is higher so your legs look longer. Go with either a very high waist or a low rise. Keep the length past your ankle, always!

Good examples




Bad examples




Finally, keep a closet of good heels with some killer ball-of-foot and heel cusions. Heels always look good on short girls, plus we don't have to worry about being TOO tall like tall girls do. I have size 4 feet (actually more like 3.5) in womens and wear size 2 in kids and excellent stores for small feet are Nordstrom, zappos.com, Amazon.com, and Cinderella of Boston. For flats, I recommend the girls' section at Payless. They are actually pretty comfy and some styles are exactly the same as womens. Some styles do run a bit big, so try them on at the store but I usually fit a 1.5 there.

I hope this helps any of the shorter petite girls out there when they are out looking for what style of jean to buy or if they are getting a new jacket. Just keep in mind, you want the attention to go up, not down, and you don't want too much bulk. All of the examples are from ASOS.com which just goes to show you that many shapes are popular now, but not all are flattering! Now, some rules are meant to be broken but keep this general guideline in your head the next time you are in that fitting room. Good luck shopping!

OPI and Revlon Nails

I got this OPI "Who are you wearing?" polish a couple months ago in the clearance section at ULTA. It caught my attention because it looked like a shimmery midnight purple color and I loved the shiny purple flecks in the bottle. I've been a little hesistant to hop on the "black nails" trend, so I thought I'd give this a try as it seemed to be a little less harsh than flat black.

I'd be lying if I said I was 100% happy with it, only because it didn't look like the color in the bottle. I'm not sure if you can see in the photo, but it came out a very, very dark indigo blue. Indoors it looks almost black, deep navy, while in the sunlight, you can still see the purple flecks. I wish you could see the purple more often and I also wish it had a redder undertone!

Still, it did make a nice rockstar blackish shade that I would be able to wear casually. I certainly like it better than the purported "spring trends" like orange and gunmetal (yuck to both!).

I also recently had been eyeing Revlon's "Strawberry Electric" in hopes that it would be a good dupe for OPI's "It's all greek to me" so when I got the chance, I picked it up. Again, it's not quite what I'd hoped for but I do love the color nonetheless. This color is a sexy hot-hot pink with a beautiful pink shimmer. "It's all greek to me," which has the same hot pink tone but red shimmer, I will have to buy the next time I can. These hot pinks are both not for the timid, but they are perfect for spring and summer toes. :)

Here are my fingers and toes from last week:


Gotta love shooting stars and hearts!

Anyway, let me know what you think of these colors and what nailpolish are YOU wearing right now?

Smokey Purple Eyes Tutorial

I used to be very intimidated by smokey eyes because I didn't know if it would overwhelm my Asian features. Since I ususally wear pretty natural makeup, I made it a goal to conquer my smokey eye fears! After much experimentation, I found a technique I really like.

First, you'll need to gather your tools:

* Urban Decay Primer Potion
* A GOOD, pigmented black matte shadow. I used NYX Black single eyeshadow.
* NYX Purple eyeshadow
* NYX Opal eyeshadow
* A pigmented white shadow. (I used a white Revlon colorstay eyeshadow)
* Black matte liquid liner
* Black pencil liner
* Max Factor Waterproof Lash Perfection in black (top lashes)
* Max Factor regular Lash Perfection (bottom lashes)

Smokey Purple Eyes

Start off with a clean face. Apply your basic face makeup such as concealer, foundation, and blush. Apply UDPP or any shadow primer to your eyelids.

Next, take your eyeliner and cover your entire lid under the crease. If you wear eyelid tape, cover all of the tape and a little bit above it too. It doesn't have to be perfect at this point since it's just a base. A black MAC paint pot works for this step too.


Cover your entire lid under the brow bone with the purple shadow. Add shadow along the bottom lids too.

Take the black shadow and apply it in a modified oval shape that goes up on the outer edges. Blend the black shadow line into the eyeliner base and also blend the top into the purple.


Next, add the Opal shadow as a highlighter under the brows. Add a touch of white shadow to the inner corner of your eyes and in the center of the highlighter color for an extra pop. Take your black pencil liner and line the bottom lash line tapered 3/4 of the way in. You can blend the line with a q-tip. Also, fill in your brows with a dark grey shadow as it helps to frame the smokey shadow.


Curl lashes and add mascara. I use Max Factor Waterproof Lash Perfection (for holding curl) for my top lashes and non-waterproof (no clumps) for my bottom lashes.



Here's the finished look:





You can switch out the purple for any color, but this would be a great look for prom makeup or going out clubbing. Remember to keep your lips pink or neutral since you want to keep your face in balance. If you have strong eyes, go easy on the lips and if you are doing bright red lips, keep a natural eye. I also love wearing a grey or light hazel lens with this look since it really brings out the colors. If you try it, send me pictures because I'd love to see your results. Good luck!