Spring Outfit Look

The weather got really cold this past week and it actually hit the freezing point for several days in the evenings. It's very confusing since I had put away most of my warm clothes already. Me and my buddy Hansen had the time to take some pictures with his newly bought camera (Canon 1D Mark II) 2 weeks ago when it was breezy squeezy 70 degrees meezy. 

We had enough time after work to capture the golden hour and went for a walk in Main St for a cup of coffee. Pretty spontaneous but the result turns out to be pretty darn good. He said that I should do more of outfit pictures on my blog, which I had intended to do this for a long time but I'm just too lazy. LOL.  I guess you can consider this as my Spring go-to outfit since this type of ensemble is pretty much what I wear on a daily basis.

A light top and cardigan (in this case a super bright pink with orange accent), straight dark wash jeans, pair of heels and accessorize accordingly. Please don't mind the hair, like I said earlier, it was a spontaneous shoot and that day happen to be on my non-wash day hence the messy bun. :D

 


 Jeans: Paige Jeans Skyline, White Top: Loft (old), Pink Cardigan: F21, Leather Belt: A&F, Shoes: Sam Edelman for AEO, Necklace: Gorjana (old), Bracelets: Express, H&M, Gifted.
I'm still debating on what I should do this weekend. Catching up some loss sleep is much needed, but I also can't resist wanting to see my baby nephew again in NY! Decisions decisions!
PS: It's probably hard to tell, but I am using the new Lancome foundation that I did a review on recently in these pictures. This is after an 8-hour work day and a quick touch-up (blot + powder) before the shoot. I think it's pretty impressive.

Review: Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H

For one thing, I'm a big advocate for tinted moisturizers especially the MAC Studio Moisture Tint that I've been using religiously for the past 2 years for my everyday make-up routine. However lately, this MAC tinted moisturizer have me blot a lot more often than I would like through out the day which bugs me the hell out of me.

Recently I've been wanting more coverage in the event for a more put together look. The reason I had left foundations in the first place is because I have not found any good luck with them at all. I never had a favorite for a long time due to my problematic skin (that's an understatement really). I have a sensitive/combination skin (oily T-zone with dry patches here and there along with sensitive acne-prone). It's extremely hard to not look cake-y and heavy when I have foundation on my face.

However, early this year, I started looking around for new foundation by reading reviews on beauty websites and blogs as well as getting color matched and samples from the stores/counters. It boils down to this one: Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24H foundation.







Pros:

• Wide selection of color (light, medium, dark range = 28 shades in total)
• Medium to full coverage (build-able) 
• Light texture
• Semi-matte finished (looking like regular velvety normal skin)
• No fading and lasts a long time (Although it says 24 hours, I only tested over 16 hours and it only needs minimal touch ups with my MAC compact powder).
• Very good oil control (extremely important for me - cut down more than half the time I blot everyday)
• Beautiful packaging in a glass bottle

Cons:

• Price is a bit steep to my liking at $44 a pop
• The glass bottle made it a little bit more heavier for travelling
• The light texture made it sets into the skin rather quickly, so you have to blendfast to your skin

As you can see, the pros are overpowering the cons. In fact, I have no real issue with the cons at all. One thing to spend good money on is towards a great foundation. This is very true because if you have a great foundation, everything else (makeup wise) will just follow through. Secondly, I'd rather bring 2-3 less of other makeup items (lipsticks, eye shadows) to compensate the weight of this heavier foundation bottle. Lastly, the trick to apply this foundation is to blend it with your fingers. I literally tossed my MAC foundation brush and apply them with my fingers one area at a time after moisturizing the skin (just make sure your hands are clean before applying). Problem solved.

Overall, I am loving this foundation and been using it everyday opting out from my MAC Studio Moisture Tint (sorry!). This foundation has such great coverage that I rarely use my concealer anymore unless I want that "perfect flawless" look for an evening out. My color is 410 Bisque W (slightly darker than my current skintone but I am planning to use this foundation throughout the Summer) and I set it with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural compact powder in Medium Dark. 

At any rate for anyone who's currently looking for a summer-time foundation, I would highly recommend this foundation to try out. Go to the Lancome counter at your nearest department store and asked for a color matched and a small sample to try.  Good luck!

Updates!

Hey guys! The time has come and I'm finally moved to my new place. The moving process was pretty brutal due to the pouring rain all day but we all get them done like troopers. Thanks to all my friends who helped me (you know who you are!). Without revealing too much, the new place is located right in down town city which is completely different from the place that I used to live for many years in the suburbs. Lots of change and lots of adapting needs to be in place, but overall, I think I'm holding okay thus far.

Apart from my moving fiasco the past weekend, my cousin gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Saturday morning (finally!), after roughly about 24 hours long labor. Yikes. So on Sunday, I made a day trip to the hospital in NY to see them. Meet baby Reggie everyone!

Isn't he the cutest thing ever? I can't handle it. Really.

Next thing to do this week is to finish unpack my things in my new place and clean-up the old apartment to get my sec deposit back (hopefully!). Taking a break today and laying low after the busy weekend.

More Spring updates coming soon!

Basic Casual Chic

Last week, the weather was very warm in the 70s considering we are still in winter. My new Sam Edelman for American Eagle Espadrille and Paige "Skyline" Jeans have been my staple every single day that week.

 

Paired with my old oversize flowy shirts, water colored from H&M (left) and stripes from F21 (right). And as always, my Swiss Military silver watch and a vintage garnet ring from Nepal (all gifted) on my left hand. 
I'm moving this weekend, so I will be packing my way out this week. Excited and exhausted at the same time. I'll catch up again soon after I'm done with the packing/unpacking ordeal. Hope you all have a great rest of the week!
Xoxo

On the Menu as of Late

TGIF everyone!! A quick recap on what has been on my menu in the past few weeks
  1. Newly opened LBR 614 Restaurant and Bar. House Fried Chicken and Fish and Chips. 2. Sky Cafe. Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken) and Tahu Campur (Tofu Soup) 3. Joe's Crab Shack. Grilled Tilapia with Crab Cake and Buckets of Crab 4. Caffe Gelato. Seafood Crepes and Mimosa for brunch.
Have a great weekend! xoxo

Going Green

I've been rather busy juggling work, the packing, the purging, and finding a new place to live. SO. MUCH. TO. DO.! Anyhow, have you noticed all the green trends going on? I love it! Especially the minty teal kind of green. I took the plunge and purchased two of my favorite green nail polishes at the moment and honestly I can't get enough of them.

The green colors this spring is so amazingly refreshing. This Estee Lauder Teal Topaz is my favorite along with the ESSIE "Turks and Caicos". I know Revlon has their own version in "Mint", OPI "Fly" and "Go on Green" as well as MAC on their limited edition, but I haven't got around to purchase them yet. Maybe I will.


   ESSIE Turks and Caicos
Estee Lauder Teal Topaz

What color are you obsessing about for the spring?