Hey everyone! I am so excited to share my first venture out again after being sick, which was such an amazing blessing: getting to visit the Too Faced headquarters! I've got to say, as a beauty blogger and flat-out makeup lover, there are few things that inspire me more than to get to see first-hand the passion and creativity of those behind the products that make it to counters. This visit to the fun, sparkly, PINK offices at Too Faced definitely didn't disappoint. With my bff photographer extraordinaire Kassia (all these photos are big-time credit to her, she's basically made of angels and unicorns) in tow, we set out to enjoy all the pretty at the event!
The intimate event was to reveal Too Faced's Fall 2013 release which I cannot wait to share with you. Definitely the big highlight was this Pretty Rebel neutral-with-sexy-punches eyeshadow palette. Sooo creamy and pigmented, and just enough edginess to inspire something different each time.
Check out more photos of the event below!
Hello everyone. Today's update has a little bit less to do about makeup and a little more about true beauty, strength of the spirit, and real life. I know I don't always go into my personal life here on the blog but every now and then I feel compelled to speak about things that are pressing on my heart and it seems the season has come to spread some branches out and grow.
The last couple of months for me have been rather life-changing. As you know, I had an amazing whirlwind of a trip with my family and husband to South Korea in May where I got to share with him the roots of my family and culture. I feel like it was such a God-blessed trip that it could happen at all, but also that I got to share laughter and tears with relatives I hadn't been able to see in 8 years and also hold my own meetup in Seoul which I anticipated maybe 20 people to show up. I never expected that in a foreign, non-English speaking country that 5 times that number would arrive instead. I was utterly speechless with appreciation and overwhelmed to tears at the thought of each person taking time out of their day to meet me, someone who does nothing more than type on a computer and talk to a lonely camera in her living room. Although embarrassing, my tears were because I felt very loved and unworthy in that moment.
In juxtaposition to all of the new experiences of Korea, it was then that I also found out that my sister, only 2.5 years older than me, was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma (glandular cancer) which was in its early stages but had an aggressive onset in a very short period of time in my sister's case. Since we've been back to the US, she has faced 2 major surgeries. Obviously for being so young and beautiful, this came as such a shock with great emotional turmoil for my entire family.
At nearly the same time, my husband Ben found out that his father was also diagnosed with prostate cancer, the same cancer that Ben's grandfather on his mom's side just passed away from last year. Again, it was alarming to find that in someone so young and healthy. My father-in-law is an avid cyclist and has always been a wonderful example of what a father should be in body, mind, and spirit. He went into major surgery on the same morning as my sister, thousands of miles away.
The mental and emotional burden of everything we experienced must have been too much for me because a couple days after both had surgery, I came down with fevers, body aches, and a cough which I am only now recovering from. Most days I was weak and delirious in bed, I would check Facebook Angels For Talia to see how Talia Castillano, also known as Taliajoy18 on youtube, has been doing. If you haven't heard of Talia, she is an amazingly brave and vivacious 13-year old makeup enthusiast, artist, and Youtube beauty guru who battled multiple types of cancers for 6 years. I had the honor of meeting her earlier this year and I was blown away by her vibrancy and humbled to find we were mutual fans of each other. We talked about fashion, being petite and how that makes people see you, and how she reminds me of myself not only when I was younger but also the person I am now. Such a lifetime had already been bottled into that little girl, it really leaves you impacted on so many levels.
I've found out that Talia has joined the angels in Heaven today (Tuesday July 16th as I'm writing this blog entry) after fulfilling her purpose here on Earth and touching and inspiring countless numbers of people. In lieu of all that has happened in my own life, I can't help but feel great depths of emotions ranging from a deep sadness that we've lost a beautiful human, to relief that she's no longer in the pain and suffering that she'd fought especially hard in the last 6 months, to an intense determination to spread the message to love harder.
There are always horrible things happening everyday. Things that are unfair and wrong and have no answers. The only conclusion that we can come to is not that we can fix those things or to justify them, but instead we have to focus on loving those who need it to make up for all the unfairness out there. To love deeply, desperately, generously, and selflessly.
It's easy to see snippets of other people's lives and think that they live such an enchanted existence, but the reality of the matter is that we are all faced with truths in life that slap us in the face and remind us what is really important: to love those we encounter and touch each other's lives one by one. Lets all actively love out loud, for Talia, for my sister, my father in law, for everyone who has had sickness, heartache, or loss.
Be humble, give grace, love deeply - my purpose and yours.
The last couple of months for me have been rather life-changing. As you know, I had an amazing whirlwind of a trip with my family and husband to South Korea in May where I got to share with him the roots of my family and culture. I feel like it was such a God-blessed trip that it could happen at all, but also that I got to share laughter and tears with relatives I hadn't been able to see in 8 years and also hold my own meetup in Seoul which I anticipated maybe 20 people to show up. I never expected that in a foreign, non-English speaking country that 5 times that number would arrive instead. I was utterly speechless with appreciation and overwhelmed to tears at the thought of each person taking time out of their day to meet me, someone who does nothing more than type on a computer and talk to a lonely camera in her living room. Although embarrassing, my tears were because I felt very loved and unworthy in that moment.
In juxtaposition to all of the new experiences of Korea, it was then that I also found out that my sister, only 2.5 years older than me, was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma (glandular cancer) which was in its early stages but had an aggressive onset in a very short period of time in my sister's case. Since we've been back to the US, she has faced 2 major surgeries. Obviously for being so young and beautiful, this came as such a shock with great emotional turmoil for my entire family.
The mental and emotional burden of everything we experienced must have been too much for me because a couple days after both had surgery, I came down with fevers, body aches, and a cough which I am only now recovering from. Most days I was weak and delirious in bed, I would check Facebook Angels For Talia to see how Talia Castillano, also known as Taliajoy18 on youtube, has been doing. If you haven't heard of Talia, she is an amazingly brave and vivacious 13-year old makeup enthusiast, artist, and Youtube beauty guru who battled multiple types of cancers for 6 years. I had the honor of meeting her earlier this year and I was blown away by her vibrancy and humbled to find we were mutual fans of each other. We talked about fashion, being petite and how that makes people see you, and how she reminds me of myself not only when I was younger but also the person I am now. Such a lifetime had already been bottled into that little girl, it really leaves you impacted on so many levels.
I've found out that Talia has joined the angels in Heaven today (Tuesday July 16th as I'm writing this blog entry) after fulfilling her purpose here on Earth and touching and inspiring countless numbers of people. In lieu of all that has happened in my own life, I can't help but feel great depths of emotions ranging from a deep sadness that we've lost a beautiful human, to relief that she's no longer in the pain and suffering that she'd fought especially hard in the last 6 months, to an intense determination to spread the message to love harder.
There are always horrible things happening everyday. Things that are unfair and wrong and have no answers. The only conclusion that we can come to is not that we can fix those things or to justify them, but instead we have to focus on loving those who need it to make up for all the unfairness out there. To love deeply, desperately, generously, and selflessly.
It's easy to see snippets of other people's lives and think that they live such an enchanted existence, but the reality of the matter is that we are all faced with truths in life that slap us in the face and remind us what is really important: to love those we encounter and touch each other's lives one by one. Lets all actively love out loud, for Talia, for my sister, my father in law, for everyone who has had sickness, heartache, or loss.
Be humble, give grace, love deeply - my purpose and yours.
Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share with you an easy-to-follow makeup tutorial for Korean style makeup that is a bit edgy but basic enough to wear on an ordinary day.
Everyday Korean street makeup is frequently "no makeup makeup" style so I wanted to kick it up a notch, incorporating glitter (very common and well-loved in Korea) and silvery-gunmetal eyeshadow to frame the eyes while staying true to the basic shapes for color makeup application. For those interested in Kpop, this look is similar to what you'd see on Korean singing competitions or what girls would wear for special occasions like a night out with friends.
Check out the tutorial below!
Everyday Korean street makeup is frequently "no makeup makeup" style so I wanted to kick it up a notch, incorporating glitter (very common and well-loved in Korea) and silvery-gunmetal eyeshadow to frame the eyes while staying true to the basic shapes for color makeup application. For those interested in Kpop, this look is similar to what you'd see on Korean singing competitions or what girls would wear for special occasions like a night out with friends.
Check out the tutorial below!
