Ulta haul + ramblings

Since I had a few coupons & there were sales going on, I decided to buy some makeup that I was dangerously low on (might do an empties post in the future?) & for some things I just felt like I needed.

There was a BOGO 1/2 off sale, so I got two of each brand.

Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner: My old eyeliner is just doing as well as it used to be, so I was in bad need of new liquid eyeliner. Can't really use pencil eyeliner because that stuff usually just slips right off! But wow I am loving how easily it is to apply eyeliner with this, the felt tip really just glides on & it's so easy to do the cat eye that I've been doing it everyday since I got this! Best part, it definitely lasts all day.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair : I'm kind of undecided about this, but I think it's partially got to do with the fact that I may have gotten a shade too light, but at the same time, it looks fine to me? I've never used concealer before, but what with the all nighters and minimal sleep, I needed something to cover my dark circles. I'll keep testing it, but I think I'll invest in some other well reviewed concealers.

Rimmel London BB Cream in Light: I've already gone through one tube and I liked it so much that I got it again! It's the only BB cream I've used, but after going through countless reviews on BB creams in the US, this one tends to get consistent positive reviews. May try another in the future, especially with summer upon us. Still, it does such a nice job for being a US based BB cream.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent: Whoops, I'm an doofus & haven't had the chance to use this one yet! (I'm still using my pressed powder from Ulta) Can't wait to see if it works or not, my oily skin definitely needs it!

Nyx Cosmetics Butter Gloss in Cherry Cheese Cake: This is my first venture out of the normal pinks that I would normally get, and I'm in love. It's not too orange for my lips, but it still stands out. Highly pigmented, and I'd say it lasts about, oh I don't know, three hours? In combination with drinking (water!) at least. Smells yummy too.

Nyx Cosmetics Butter Lipstick in Pops: I don't believe I've ever owned an honest-to-goodness lipstick before (not including the ones from play makeup kits as a child). So obviously I needed a relatively inexpensive one, but one that's more of a nude. I think it was a pretty good choice. Definitely adds some color to my lips, and I think the smell reminds me of graham crackers.

I received some samples along with my order, all that I haven't used yet (oops!). Well, I guess that's a lie. I've actually tested One Direction's Our Moment Perfume in stores before, and I actually thought it smelled really nice? It's light enough for me to wear everyday. 

Then there's Redken Diamond Oil, Versace Man Eau Fraiche Eau de Toilette, and Gucci Made to Measure Eau de Toilette. All which I'll try in the future.

I should really start working on some kind of outfit posts, if not for this blog, then for Instagram or something. It's kind of nice to see all the different outfits I can put together & gives me an incentive on to not wear the exact same outfit probably, eh, I'd say a week and a half later.

I might try put up some weekly posts, like links to stuff I think is interesting/cool/whatever. Especially since that would help me keep track of them besides just bookmarking them. Especially helpful when I'm not on my own laptop and/or can't use Google Chrome for some reason. Yeah, that would be incredibly helpful.

Maybe even have a weekly/monthly wishlist since I always forget about things until after my chance to get them passed.

"You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive."

— Maya Angelou

Small haul

Last weekend was Mother's Day, and so we celebrated it with my family! I don't have pictures since they're all on my mom's phone (I mean I have some of my cousins', but they're all ugly pictures ones). Fortunately, my mother liked the gifts I got her, which were a Bath & Body Works lotion, some aromatherapy bubble bath to soothe muscle pains & aches, two work out shirts, a cardigan (I kind of stole hers for work oops), & some Nike's. I'm glad because they actually took me a while to pick out!

Anyway, while I was getting some of her gifts, I had my eye on a few items, and thanks to the discounts I had, I ended up with a few clothes myself.

The blue crop top is by About a Girl and is actually a Large, since it's the smallest size left at the store, but I don't mind it as I have a large chest anyway. The small fit me well too, but unfortunately, the hard tag was tearing the shirt at the seams. 

The cream tank I actually can't find on the website which is pretty weird, but oh well. It's by Mudd and feature a pattern of small elephants! I was wanting something like that for summer & it was perfect.

The Tinseltown jeans on the left are high-waisted AND are ankle jeans. That combination makes it absolutely perfect for me (I'm only 4'11!) since the high waist gives an illusion of longer legs, and length is actually the perfect size for me! Best thing is, I got them on clearance! I believe that Macy's sells the same brand as well.

The Mudd shorts on the right are also high waist and don't look skimpy short on my short little legs. There's crocheted lace on the sides, and it's kind of got this bleached look going on. It's perfect for summer honestly.

Oh yes, I got everything from Kohl's! I ended up spending enough to receive some Kohl's cash, so I have an extra $10 to spend next time I shop there. That's kind of how they keep you coming back. They give you all these different discounts & incentives to come back & I can definitely say that it's working. 

*This is not sponsored by Kohl's & I bought everything on my own. These opinions are mine only.

Out To Eat: Mikuni Taizen

Sushi has become a part of my life. No joke. However, when a friend of mine mentioned that she wanted to go out for ramen, I was absolutely in. I mean, of course I've had the packaged Top Ramen before (I pretty much live on that stuff) and I'm fairly certain when I was a wee little thing that my grandfather made it, but recently? And not packaged? Yes please! Besides, it always looks good in anime.

Credit

So after class last Thursday we hit up Mikuni Taizen, a small chain of Japanese restaurants & sushi bars. Luckily we got there during happy hour & managed to snag some appetizers. She got pot stickers while I got the Negihama hand roll (minced yellowtail & onion). Absolutely delish!

Oops, took a bite before I remembered I had to take a picture!

And of course, we ordered ramen. It was funny though, our waiter asked us if we wanted them in separate bowls, and I guess he thought we were just going to order one and split it? Nah, I wanted to have the whole bowl myself. Besides, I was hungry.

The swirly things were fish cakes!

Ended up making a bunch of slurpee sounds haha. Definitely going there again (someday). I do want to try out all the other sushi restaurants in the area though... Mikuni's is pretty popular and well-known around here, being a small chain and all.

Wish I took better pictures, but I had to do with it. All in all, good food, good service!

Celebrating both sides + Mini food haul?

I love walking around the city because of architecture.

We went to a Cinco de Mayo festival for a friend's paper (I forgot to take pictures), but only spent about 45 minutes there, and since the lines for the vendors were way too long (plus we couldn't really locate the prices), we decided to walk to a Thai place that I swear was longer than the 0.7 miles Google was telling us.

It was happy hour when we went so we all ended up with $1 Thai teas!

Let me tell you. That Thai place? The absolute bomb. We're planning to go again because all the food was just delicious. I ordered a Thai iced tea & Giow Nahm Mu Daeng with egg noodles, which just hit the spot. I'm pretty sure my friend's boyfriend ended up ordering something three or four separate times. It was just that good!

Want to know something very cool? My friend and her sister started to 'beam' each other photos since one had a photo the other wanted. Basically, if you have a Samsung Galaxy S3 or higher, there's this technology where you can put two S3s (or higher) together and you can send them to each other without having to email or use MMS to send pictures! I'm pretty sure you can do it with other media too. Very helpful when you don't want to use mobile data. It actually reminds me of the technology that Japan uses to exchange information as well (& possibly other parts of the world?) Anyway, it was a Galaxy S4 party, since each one of us had one. I've always felt left out since most of my friends have iPhones but not here!

Select S Beam from the drop down menu. I found that NFC also works similarly.

Then we went to a shaved ice place that was in the middle of the Asian area. Felt so at home here since everyone was my height. Oh but this shaved ice? Not your average festival/carnival shaved ice/snow cone. Nope, this stuff was actually a bit creamier! Not so much ice cream (unless you add condensed milk to it which I will try next time!) but not so much ice either. I ordered mango shaved ice with lychee & popping strawberry toppings. So good! Definitely trying that place again.

Going back there again someday!

Then we decided we wanted to wander around the area to check out all the shops. We went to this one small snack shop, & then I saw this supermarket that I sometimes go to with my mother, so we all ended up going in & coming out with some snacks and drinks we got all psyched about because they were so cheap!

Everything but the marble soda & the coconut wafers I got from the supermarket. The other two were from the snack shop.

Drinks: The first pink bottle is this lychee flavored drink with coconut shavings inside (I believe?); the slightly tan can is pearl milk tea (I'll admit it, I got it partially because of the packaging); the Calpico is a strawberry flavored non-carbonated soda (I've seen it all around on Tumblr so I was like hey why not?); the Thai tea was just... I wanted more Thai tea; & the glass bottle (yes I already drank it!) was a pineapple marble soda ! We tried to open it in the car which was a terrible decision because it kind of squirted since you have to hit the top in order to open it. Welp. Really good anyway!

Snacks: So the Adobo cracker nuts are actually available in the Asian section of many grocery stores, so it wasn't like 'ohmygoshIneeditnowbecauseIdon'tknowwhenI'llbecominghere". However, these are like my life and I don't care I love them & will always get them when I can. The Royal Grand coconut wafers were from the snack shop and we were actually able to get them as a sample.

Very happy though, and my wallet is just slightly crying (only slightly because everything was under $2 except for the wafers; actually, almost all the drinks from the supermarket were under a $1!) but I had a fun time.

Maybe in the next week or two I'll be having a small beauty haul?

Until next time!