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Saturday, July 30, 2011

BACK TO SCHOOL: 3 quick hairstyles using no heat/products

I'm constantly being requested to do a back to school series. So for the first part of the series, I decided to go with hair because I love doing my hair obviously hehe =) I came up with these three looks because they are easy, quick, and require no heat/products.

Look 1 is a twist that wraps around one side of your head. It's an unexpected twist on your dull morning and hides your bad bangs day. I have way too many bad bangs day, that it should be illegal!

Look 2 is a messy top knot bun. It has lots of volume and oomf but it does not require any teasing or pre curling/waving your hair! As long as you can do a simple 3 strand braid, you will get this hairstyle down right away. It hides your bad hair day and is great for 2nd/3rd/4th/etc day hair =)

Look 3 is super schoolgirl chic. Moving away from regular braided headbands,  this hairstyle uses your own hair to create a fishtail headband by combining two fishtail braids together.

Here is the tutorial below:


I hope that you like it! Please keep a lookout for the rest of my back to school series.

xoxo Tracey

NAIL TUTORIAL: Summer Forever



I change my nail designs on a weekly basis. For this week, I decided to use this beautiful lavender color because it reminds me of summer. Since summer is unfortunately coming to an end, this color makes me feel like summer is everlasting. It's such a nice pastel color and it's certainly eye catching!

Here's the tutorial:

The best thing about this nail design is that it's EXTREMELY simple and easy yet it's an attention grabber.

Products used:
Sation Base Coat
Lendi Grape Soda
Cm White
NYC Starry Silver Glitter

Monday, July 4, 2011

HAUL: Swapmeet (Thrift/Cheap finds!)

My friend, Michelle, and I went swapmeet shopping in Orange County a few days ago and we bought a lot of things. If you search orange county swapmeets on google, you will find a few (Cypress, Goldenwest, OCC, Stanton, Anaheim, ...) and all of these swapmeets have really great bargains/deals. Michelle and I are both alike in terms of loving cheap items so of course we would go to the swapmeet and hunt for deals! BTW, everything we bought is BRAND NEW in its original package.

I bought both of these purses. They were $15 each. They are both so versatile! They can both be worn as a  crossbody bag or a shoulder bag. The brown one above has metal studs on the side and I was contemplating whether or not to get it in brow or black. I was on the verge of buying both colors! The grey one below is extremely cute because of its quilted texture and gold chain strap.

When I took this picture, Michelle was like "What kind of picture is this?!" Yes, my photography skills are terrible haha. The picture is out of focus so the beautiful print of the fabric can't be shown sadly =( The top fabric is a silky material with little connected chained loops over black. I bought 2 yards of it for a total of $3. The bottom fabric is a tunic kind of material and it is in a purple/grey color. I bought 2.5 yards of it for only $2! I'm planing to make a romper with the top fabric and make some kind of ruffled top with the bottom one.

These are Michelle's purchases. She bought a dotting tool for $1. One end is thinner than the other. The picture to the right is a nail stamping kit. It is a knockoff of Konad. It was $5 and Michelle was so lucky  to get the last plate with Hello Kitty on it. The next time I go back to the swapmeet, I hope that they will restock so I can get one for myself and also get one to give out in a giveaway!

These accessories are Michelle's purchases also. The bracelet is so cute because it is black and gold. It has the same strap/material as my grey quilted purse strap pictured above! The necklace is SO cute too! Do you see all the little charms that come with it? Flowers, wing, heart, etc. Each of these accessories were $2.50. They're also from F21.

This picture is a mix of Milani cosmetic products. Only the eyeshadow is mine, and everything else is Michelle's. The eyeshadow is in the color Moonlight, it is a white color with few purple/blue undertones. The two nail polishes are 'Totally Cool' and 'Truth or Bare'. The buzzworthy lip gloss is in the color 'Be Gone 06'. The HD advanced concealer is in the shade 04. The lipstick is in the color "Attitude." (Check out the video for swatches/thoughts!)
Michelle bought this for a friend of ours. It is 3 yards of white lace ribbon and costed $0.75. I knew that Michelle wanted to buy this for our friend because she had a hole in her shirt and needed the lace to fix the shirt. But, I got a surprise while we were filming the haul, because Michelle said that I would be the one fixing the shirt, I just didn't know it yet. LOL, those 2 sneaky sneakies!
I bought 2 of these. I usually use another kind of air freshener for my car. It is also in the scent "squash" but it's rectangular and comes in a case. It costs $10 though so I hate replacing it! Although the scent is breathtaking and I've been using it in my family for the last 7 years. I then saw this one also in the scent "squash" so I decided to give it a try! It was 2 for $5 which is SO cheap. I'm already using one in my car, and it makes my car smell really good. The scent of this one does differ from my $10 one because this one is  a tiny more citrus-y. Either way, I LOVE this scent. It smells NOTHING like the squash vegetable so don't be grossed out haha I promise it smells amazing <3 (I'm super picky on scents!)
These lace tops were $5 each. The picture does not do the detailings of these shirts justice! We caught the sun at a bad time and so our pictures came out bad.  This shirt's material is AMAZING quality and its original price is $28. Michelle and I ended up each buying the same shirt! Just in different sizes. Hopefully we won't clash and accidentally wear it on the same day, hehe. Please watch the video to see how beautiful these tops are.
Both of these are Michelle's shirts. They were $5 each. The one to the left is so beautiful and I'm really sad that the sun ruined the picture! Please watch the video =) The front has a butterfly that is made up of  pink/peach lace. The back also has an area of pink/peach lace. So cute<3 The top to the right is a loose fitting top with a pocket. I think it's perfect for summer. It's currently on sale at F21 for $14 but she bought it for only $5! It's from F21 but we got a great deal by shopping at the swapmeet.
I bought both of these items. The nail polish is by Kleancolor in the color Metallic Black. The name is the perfect description for its color, LOL. It was $1. I also bought the Stop Nail stamping kit for $5. The patterns are mostly just flowers. I'm so jealous of Michelle's hello kitty one!
Lastly, I bought this thin cotton pullover sweater. It feels SO soft and lightweight which I love. I have a feeling that I'll overwear it this fall =) It even has triangle center that is made up of black lace. How adorable! It was $5 as well.

That's it for my and Michelle's swapmeet haul! We plan to return in either 2 or 4 weeks  (We're BROKE now and also waiting for new inventory(:  ) Hopefully we'll have a haul next time too. 

The video will be uploaded soon.

xo Tracey

HAUL + MINI REVIEW: Missha BB Creams [for DARK SKIN!]

Over the past few months, I have been on the search for a BB cream that would match with my skin color. I have pretty dark skin. I am in shade NC 42 for MAC which makes it difficult when it comes to purchasing a BB cream. BB creams are usually only made for people with light skin tones. BTW if you didn't know what BB cream is, it is a foundation that gives you many benefits. It feels lightweight like a moisturizer, has excellent sun protection, can whiten your skin/scars, and can prevent/fix wrinkles. I came upon a video which I cannot recall where the guru introduced a BB cream that would work for dark skin types but after reading the reviews online, I discovered that people who were above NC 40 were still having  trouble with that BB cream matching their skin color. So, I went to my local Korean cosmetic stores and asked for dark BB creams, and they told me that the only one available costed $60+. So, of course, I did not buy the cream nor bothered to try.

Fortunately, about 2-3 weeks ago, I did research once again about finding the perfect BB cream for me. I came across a few blogs that introduced Missha BB Cream No. 31. I then looked around for reviews and all the reviews were very positive. So of course, I googled that BB cream and was led to the website Missha.net . I was even fortunate enough to find the website during the time they had their 50% off sale! I snatched the BB creams right away. I also saw an ad that if you buy $40+ , then shipping is free. I searched and searched the website to find something else to buy so my cart could amount to the minimum requirement, yet I had no luck. So, I asked my friend Michelle if she would like to order  anything, and she ended up ordering BB creams as well.

Okay, picture time! Here are the things we purchased:

Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 31 $15 (50% off)



Missha BB Deluxe Sampler (Free)

Time Revolution White Care Super Essential Toner $20 (50% off)

[have no clue why the pic is sideways]
2nd set of Missha BB Deluxe Sampler (free)
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 21 $15 (50% off)
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 23 $15 (50% off)
Missha Nail Gradation Sponge $1.50 (50% off)

[pic is sideways again =( ]
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 21 $15 (50% off)
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream No. 23 $15 (50% off)

Michelle agreed to make a haul/review/first impressions/demo video with me so here it is below! We had so many bloopers filming this, lol. BTW, both of us were very unhappy with our appearances because we both just came home from the outdoor swapmeet where we spent almost 3 hours at in the blazing sun (there will be a haul!) and I had second day hair which meant disgusting/oily bangs :(



Watch the video to see us do a quick demo/review of the BB creams. In conclusion, we both agree that the BB cream is super lightweight, has medium coverage, blends smoothly/easily, a little bit goes a long way, and was worth the purchase =) We will both re purchase if there is a 50% off sale again, since we're both students, and can't afford to keep buying $30 foundations! But in all honesty, the BB cream did not disappoint me and ended up exceeding my expectations.

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