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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Favorites of the month: June 2011

I want to apologize once more for not doing my May 2011 Favorites. I was in Las Vegas during the end of May and when I came back, I was much too lazy to record one and I didn't want to rush a video because I believe in quality. I also didn't have that much products to share with you guys. With that being said, here are my June 2011 favorites =)  :
Freeman Facial Clay Mask: Mint & Lemon
This mask is perfect for anyone with oily skin!!!! If you have an oily T-zone or just oily skin all over, this mask will be a lifesaver because it helps control my oils! I love how invigorating it feels and I like the scent also. I'm usually very picky on scents of products but this one satisfied me. It cleanses deep down in to your pores and if I have a cystic pimple, I would use this and the next morning; it would shrink down to less than half its size.
Shiseido Pureness deep cleansing foam creme (Sephora $22)
This cleanser is great for all skin types. It works well even for sensitive skin because it is so gentle. It has gentle exfoliating beads inside and it makes my skin incredibly clean. It destroys every trace of dirt and makeup. I honestly think it's worth the money! 
The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Skin Clearing Travel Kit (The Body Shop $25)
This kit has helped me so much with my acne problems. By using it with the Shiseido cleanser, I have noticed that I rarely get breakouts anymore. My acne scars have also lightened, not DRASTICALLY, but I can see a difference. I will be purchasing the regular sized bottles of these products! They don't make my acne inflamed like drugstore products usually do.

Tresemme curl activator spray/heat protectant (Walmart $4)
I love that this has a spray! Since it's a mist, it's so much easier to use than my 
CHI silk infusion. It's much cheaper too!
Loreal Paris Elnett Satin extra strong hold hairspray (Target $14)
This hairspray is great! It holds my curls well and does not make it stiff at all. It doesn't last long though, I'd say 7 hours maximum. It also disappears at the stroke of a brush! Come on, you know there are those days when you come home so late and you just want to jump onto your bed without washing your hair. With this hairspray, you just need to quickly brush through your hair once, and the product will disappear, revealing your natural hair again! Isn't that amazing?! There needs to be a quicker & more efficient way to remove makeup too because I have way too many of those nights where I just want to drop down on my bed instead of taking off the gunk on my face and in my hair, lol
SG Salon Grafix invisible dry spray shampoo (Walmart $6)
This is a must have if you have oily hair. I have super oily bangs and this has helped so much. I'm also someone who is obsessed with having volume in my hair so this is just perfect. It adds so much volume to my hair and it's a lifesaver for second day hair. It makes your hair feel refreshed like you just came out of the shower, even if you haven't washed your hair for 2+ days =)
Wet n Wild creme liner: black (drugstores $4)
This is a huge upgrade from my Coastal Scents gel liner. It does not smudge at all and it's super pigmented. It even lasts for a long time although I have oily eyelids. If you're looking for a gel/creme liner, I really recommend this one!

Claudia Stevens Hair Highlighter: Gold (left) and Bronze (right) (Sally Beauty Supply, $5 each)
This adds color to my hair without me having to chemically process them! What an amazing invention =)
IOPE SS Conditioning Spiral Base
IOPE SS Conditional Foundation
The base makes my foundation long lasting as well as make my foundation look even. It matifies my oily face also. The foundation is to die for! I think that it's water based because it feels so lightweight, even more light than a tinted moisturizer! Coverage is medium. I have the darkest shade yet it's still light for me so I use a dark setting powder  and it evens out :)
Uno cards!! (Target $5.25)
No need for an explanation (:
 corepower yoga
visit corepoweryoga.com to print out a one week free coupon and for the closest location to you. I did the yoga sculpt class. I swear, this 60 min class made me sweat more than I did my entire life combined. I feel like my fat is melting off my body. I've only done 4 classes but I feel my body already tightening up. My fat doesn't feel as jiggly anymore lol. I will not be joining this yoga class permanently because the price is just too high. I really enjoyed it though, and you can try out like I did with the free 1 week coupon =)
 Victoria Secret Dream Angels Heavenly Summer Perfume ($25)
If you didn't know, I'm very picky when it comes to perfumes/scents. I get headaches easily so it's hard for me to find the perfect scent. Victoria's Secret Heavenly has been a favorite of mine for the last 5 years. It's the only perfume I use. This year, it came out with a summer version. I like it because it still kept the original heavenly scent with just a hint of a fruity scent. I will be using this throughout the whole summer! It's so uplifting.

Victoria Secret Dream Angels Heavenly 3 piece: Body Wash, Perfume, Body Lotion $17.50 (50% off $35)
For the semi-anual sale, I picked up this set of my favorite scent of course! Every semi anual sale I would stock up on 6-7 bottles of the body lotion and 6-7 bottles of the perfume. They didn't have the individual bottles for sale at the locations near me and I tried 3 different locations! I only found this set of 3 that came with a small gold purse, which I will be turning into a clutch btw. It's orignally $35 but it was half off so I bought it for only $17.50. I don't like the body wash but it was too much of a good deal to pass up!

McDonald's Caramel Iced Coffee w/ Extra Caramel
If you didn't know before, then I will let you know a fact about me. I'm a huge coffee addict. I'm so addicted that you'll be disgusted at me :( haha. I have to have at least 1 coffee drink a day, and I usually go for more than 1.. I am just crazy for coffee. There is a variety of coffee places that I prefer, but one that I love is McDonald's caramel iced coffee. I've been drinking this since freshman year of high school 3 years ago. Recently, I realized that the coffee has lost its flavor, McDonald's seems to be charging me the same price but putting less caramel syrup in!!! So one day, I decided to ask the drive through lady for extra caramel, costing me $0.30 more, and OMG the drink turned out so delicious!!!!! It's comparable to Starbucks' caramel frappuchino (my fav frapp from there). The main difference is texture. McDonald's is a lot more thin and liquidy while the frapp is thicker obviously. Anyways, every time I go order the caramel iced coffee from McDonald's now, I always add extra caramel. That's my secret! Hehe.

Click here for the video or watch below:


Okay, that was a super long post. I hope you guys read through it without falling asleep >.<

xo Tracey

Sunday, June 26, 2011

OOTD: Lace & Ruffles

I'm always roaming around Cerritos, CA because I love the many restaurants there. So, last Tuesday, I came here to take a few pictures and this is my outfit. I don't dress very feminine, so this lace dress felt incredibly girly to me when I had it on, lol.






Dress: fashion4us.com
Ruffle heels (5 inches high! but SUPER comfy): Charlotte Russe

The usual routine that I do when I go to Cerritos is eat out; and it's always a cycle between Thai food, Korean food, or Guppy's. This time, I chose Guppy's. Here's a picture inside =) If you haven't heard of Guppy Tea House, you sure are missing out! They have delicious Asian cuisine and are famous for their ginormous bowl of shaved ice (size small is for 4+ people). The shaved ice is drizzled with sweet condensed milk and topped with freshly cut fruits! The first time I stepped into Guppy's for the first time in the summer of 2007, I thought I found heaven when my shaved ice order came out, LOL.


In case you're wondering, yes I did change. I changed into this teal forever 21 dress that i bought almost 3 years, haha. The lace dress just felt way too girly and dressy for me to go around the city with, so I slipped into this casual dress.

Friday, June 24, 2011

HAIR TUTORIAL: Weave & Curls

This tutorial is long overdue. I previously promised to post a tutorial of this look in my ootd video from Las Vegas. Click here if you haven't seen  it yet or watch below:



Anyways, that was a few weeks ago. I tried recording this tutorial 2 times already, but misfortunes occurred both times, and so I finally achieved success on the 3rd try! It is a hairstyle that I do often because 1) I am in LOVE with side do's. 2) I'm obsessed with braids, any kind of braids! 3) It does not damage my hair as much.

Okay, so I know that it does cause damage since I have to use heat to achieve the curls. But, on days when I want to have curly hair yet I don't feel like damaging my entire head of hair, this style comes in handy because I only have to curl the top half and leave the bottom half natural ^___^

Alright, that was a lot of words, here are the pictures:

I went with a 5 strand weave. You can choose how ever many strands you desire. When I'm lazy or if I'm in a rush, I opt for the 4 strand weave because it is simpler. But, I prefer the 5 strand weave because it makes the weave stand out so much more. You can go with 6 strands, 7 strands, so on if you'd like =) but I'm satisfied with 5 strands. It is INCREDIBLY easy once you get the technique down and it's super cute. You can look both casual and classy with this hairstyle depending on how you style your outfits. That's it for now. It's just a sneak peak =) link to the video will be posted after I upload onto youtube!

BTW, my floral top is from Walmart. It's only $4!! What a great deal. It's so comfy too :D

Products used:
Tresemme heat tamer spray
1 inch straightening iron
Got 2 B Fat-tastic Instant Collagen spray
Loreal Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold hairspray
bobby pins
elastic band
hairtye
sectioning clip

xo Tracey

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Haul: Wet n Wild and Sally Beauty Supply

Last Saturday (6/18/11), I dropped by Rite Aid to see if Wet n Wild would be on sale. I have been waiting for this brand to be on sale for quite a while simply because I want to buy the gel/creme liner so I check in weekly. FINALLY the sale arrived this week and it was Buy One, Get One Half Off. Here are the things I picked up:

Wet n Wild Gel/Creme Liner: Black $3.99

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow: Nutty $1.99

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Lip Lacquer: Passionate $0.99 (50% off)

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Polish: Tickled Pink $0.99

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Polish: French White Creme $0.50 (50% off)
Wet n Wild Mega Slicks Lip Gloss: Cherish $1.99 (50% off)

I also went to Sally Beauty Supply to get highlighting sticks. After middle school where I completely damaged my hair ( I dyed my hair weekly to change colors ) and my hair stopped growing for about 3-4 years, I do not want to go through the same misery again. I really love having color in my hair though, which is a struggle because I have to choose between having healthy hair or a haircolor I love. I then found this highlighting stick which adds color to my hair temporarily and washes out the next time I shampoo. 
Claudia Stevens Hair Highlighting Stick: Gold

Claudia Stevens Hair Highlighting Sick: Bronze

So far, I have used these two highlighting sticks twice. I'm pretty satisfied with them. The only problem that I currently have with them is that they look so streaky since the applicator is a mascara wand. I will do a full review on these products later on as well as a demo.

If you haven't seen the video yet, click here or watch below:

Monday, June 20, 2011

Best Buy: Camera, GPS, Ipad 2

A little over a week ago, I stopped by Best Buy in order to buy a GPS as a present. I already have the TomTom XL 340M 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator and since TomTom is the best GPS brand out there, I decided to also buy this brand as a present. Therefore, I picked up the exact same thing at BestBuy for $159 + tax.

[photo courtesy of Amazon.com]




I have been wanting to buy a new camera for a while. The reasoning is that my Canon Sd770IS somehow always make me look really orange in low light and night time. I have been unsatisfied with the camera after the first month I bought it two years ago. Strangely, I still keep purchasing canons! All of my cameras have been from this brand, and all of them have disappointed me when it came to taking good quality pictures during the night time and low light settings. After about a month of research, I decided to get the Canon s95 or the Canon rebel t21. I needed an upgrade because I want to post high quality HD videos on youtube. Both of these cameras had 720p HD. Being a jobless high schooler, I knew that it would take me a while to save up to buy one of these cameras so I was planning to get it in August right before college starts. But, while I was at Best Buy, I past by the camera section and I saw the Canon SD1400IS digital elph. I thought it was really cute because it seemed so sleek and I love the black color. It even goes up to 1080p HD!


It is orginally $199 but while I was there, it was on sale $149. So, I decided to just get it because $149 is a lot better than paying $399 for the Canon s95. I know that the picture quality isn't comparable to the s95 but it does have more HD settings so I figured why not? It was affordable too! I'm really glad I bought the camera though. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it so much. I'm so glad I made this purchase, even though it was on a whim, hehe.

Then, yesterday I stopped by Walmart to pick up a camera case.
This one is from the brand "case logic" and it was $9. I stood in front of the camera cases selection aisle for about 35 minutes because I was so undecisive!!!!! I always have this problem. The other case that I was about to choose had thicker/more secure padding but it seemed too bulky. The case that I chose to buy (pictured left) is the perfect size for my new sleek camera and it even has a screen protector side to the case. The protector thing is honestly not that dependable though, lol. If you're planning on getting a camera case, there is a GREAT quality one from Best Buy with Hello Kitty on it. It runs for $12.99 but it is adorable and it is the same material as my other hard case for my old camera. Trust me, it is worth buying.

I have also wanted to buy the ipad 2. I decided to buy it the same time that I buy my camera in August but now that I bought my camera early, I'm not sure whether or not I should still buy it. I mean, I think that I will see it as just as a toy if I have it. I can't really use it for school much because it is much more convenient to use my laptop. I even prefer my desktop over my laptop so if I had the ipad 2, I know that I would only use it for fun and games. I still have time to decide. I've been charging up many purchases on my credit card with these recent technological purchases, so should I be really adding an ipad2 onto my list of debt? Hmmmm.
[photo courtesy of Google]

Well, that's it for my mini technology blog/haul =)

xo Tracey

Summer French Boho Twists

This is a super quick and easy hairstyle that I am so thankful for since I have super oily skin. Now, if you have oily skin, then you'll feel me on this. Don't your bangs get super oily and unmanagable?! That's the way my hair is. I have bad "bangs" days often so this is my quick fix! This hairstyle doesn't have to be used only at times when your hair is bad, but ANYTIME in general because I think that it is so cute for a casual look. It's bohemian-like and gives you an effortless look.

Click here for the video or watch below.



BTW, my skin has gotten back to its old bad ways again and started breaking out :( If you watch it in HD you can definitely tell how horrible my skin is. Since I was super lazy that day, I didn't wear foundation in the video but only concealer so it looks spotty/uneven =/ I really liked my eye makeup that day though. I just did a double wing for my upper lid using Maybelline Line Stiletto Liquid Liner and MichellePhan's technique (her video is called Double Wing). Then, I used Rimmel's soft kohl white eyeliner for my waterline.

Nail Polish Collection

I'm pretty sure that some of you guys know that I'm a nail polish addict! LOL. Well, I'm actually not addicted to having many nail polishes but I'm hooked onto changing my nail designs weekly. Yes, I know that it is really bad for my nails and all, but I can't help it >.< I change my nails weekly, and it has turned into a characteristic that people distinguish me by. At school or work, on Mondays people would come up and ask to see my nails for the week. Isn't that funny? Haha. The strange thing is that I usually wear the same colors over and over again but just change the design. Okay, too much blabbering, let's get to the main point of this post! Here is a quick look at my nail collection:




Watch my video here to see the nail polishes in more detail:



Product list (in order of being shown in video):

Kleancolor Gold Shimmer
Kleancolor Sparkle Purple
Kleancolor Sparkle Emerald
Kleancolor Blackout
Santee Copper Kiss Glitter
Sinful Colors This Is It
Sally Hansen Disco Ball
N.Y.C. Starry Silver Glitter
Santee Ruby Glitter
Sally Girl Sparkle Effects: Gold Digger
Sally Girl Sparkle Effects: Teal/Green/Blue
Sally Girl Sparkle Effects: Lavish Lavender

Jordana Calcium Boost Base Coat
Kleancolor Lavenbaby
LA Girl Deep shimmery purple
Kleancolor Black Hole
Kleancolor Love Affair
Debbilia 15
Craquelado Purple
from Sally Beauty: For Rhinestones Only!
Kleancolor top coat
Kleancolor Holo Chrome
Kleancolor Black
Wet&Wild French White Creme
Wet&Wild Morbid
Sally Hansen Pink Slip
Sinful Colors What's Your Name

Wet&Wild Tickled Pink
Jordana Pink Pearl
New York Hot Pink
Inner Beauty Purple Passion
New  York Hot Rocket Pink
Passion Taquilla Sunrise
Sation Tiki Punch
Wet & Wild Burgundy Frost
Rimmel Shocker
Craquelado Pearl Pink
Passion Your Desire
Cheri Eclipse Of Orange
Santee Vikini Orange
Kleancolor Pastel Orange
Wet&Wild Misty Rose

Kleancolor Pastel Teal
Lendi Blue Sky
Kleancolor Cobalt
Kleancolor Silver Lining
Kleancolor Teal Envy
NDB (No Name) Green
Wet&Wild Sapphire Blue
Chelsea Green Paradise
Kleancolor Mermaid
Santee Vikini Green
Craquelado Neon Yellow
Craquelado Green
Wet&Wild Caribbean Frost
Kleancolor Forest Fairy
Santee Pearl Jungle

Cm Hottie Pink
CM White
Cm Light Purple
Cm Pink Pearl
Cm Electric Green
Cm Sonic Yellow
Cm Royal Purple
Cm Black
Santee Gold Glitter
Cm Hot Yellow
Cm Ocean Blue
Precision Run Forest! Run!
Cm Ashy Green


Yes, I'm aware that besides Wet&Wild, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, and Sinful Colors, the other brands are very unfamiliar. You can find these brands in Asian Beauty Supply stores. Santee & Kleancolor are brands that are commonly sold at China Town as well as swapmeets. They run for only $1! Almost all of my nail polishes are under $1, besides Sinful Colors, Sally Hansen, and Rimmel. OH, and the exception of Wet&Wild: Morbid. I am in LOVE with the brand Kleancolor, it is only $1/bottle and the pigmentation is AMAZING. The brush is a little too big for my small nails though. Other than that, I definitely recommend this brand!

xo Tracey



Saturday, June 18, 2011

Welcome!

Hello hello! I'm sure if you're reading this, then you were linked here by my youtube channel =) hehe Well, if not, visit my youtube channel here . I made this blog to correspond with my beauty channel and I hope that you will enjoy the contents that I will post here. I will try to improve this site as much as I can as time progresses. Here, you'll find more information on my videos, frequent hauls, reviews, outfit of the day posts, tutorials (hair, makeup, nails), fashion, and just my daily ramblings! Please follow me along here, I promise not to bore you to death, hehe(:

xo tracey

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