EMPTIES | January to March 2019 Makeup Empties & Declutters

Hello internet! It's been a very long time since my last post (July 2018!) but to be fair, I haven't been blogging consistently for a couple years now. Life has been hectic for me, both good and bad. But I think I'll save that for another post because I've been saving all these beauty empties for months! It's definitely time to jot down my thoughts on these items and find a good way to recycle them. Here's a quick glance at all the makeup I used up from January to March of this year:

There's just so many products to talk about so I'm dividing the posts into makeup, skincare, and finally hair and body. I threw in my declutters at the end of this blog post since most of them were makeup, sadly. 

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PROJECT PAN | A to Z 2018: Second Quarter Update

Hi all! I'm back for another A to Z Project Pan update. I meant to do monthly updates but since I'm making slower progress than I thought, I decided to do quarterly updates instead. Hopefully, it's not boring since there will be better progress pics. Since my last update, I finished three products and rotated in three new ones! Read on to find out which ones they are ;).

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PROJECT PAN | A to Z February 2018 Update

Hello everyone! If you've been following my Project Pan on Instagram, thank you! I'm super excited as this is my first major project pan. Anyhoo, I thought the blog would be the place for a round-up, a summary of updates on Instagram. So if you miss some updates, check the blog at the end of the month. But you you prefer instant updates, my Instagram would be the place for you. :) 

I wasn't sure how I wanted to organize my updates. So I've decided to separate it into the products I used for more than half the month, the products I got use in fewer than half the month, and the ones I didn't use at all. At the end, I'll show the ones I had to swap out for whatever reason and the ones I hit my goal.

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PROJECT PAN | A to Z 2018 Intro

If you've been following my Instagram, you'll know that I've started my first official Project Pan: A to Z Pan. I've been following panning accounts for so long and decided it's time I try my hand at this. My collection has gotten out of control and I think this will help me focus on using up items. This is just a fun format for those of us who get overwhelmed by our own massive collections *raises hand*. I've picked 26 items to coordinate with each letter of the alphabet. 

While this is meant to be a year-long project, I didn't post an update in January because I had started halfway into the month. So, this intro post is much more appropriate while I wait to post my first update at the end of February. Side note, while my blog is meant to feature only cruelty-free items, I wanted to include non-cruelty free items in this project just so I can focus on moving them out of my collection. I won't be repurchasing anything that is not cruelty-free and will clearly indicate those in the ensuing makeup bios.  

This is a long post so I would suggest you get comfortable, LOL. Let's jump into the items and my goals for the year!

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BEAUTY ROUNDUP | Year in Beauty: 2016 Edition Part 1

Welcome to my first post of 2017! It's been another 366 days around the sun and many a beauty love has been discovered. In previous years, I chose four products in six categories to talk about. Strategic buying made this year's list harder to compile because I really do love so many things! Some things will come as no surprise but there are others that are just getting their spotlight now. I'll link to related blog posts so y'all can get more information if you're interested. I've split it into two parts and this one will be all my makeup loves. So without further ado, here is 2016's Year in Beauty!

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BLOGMAS | Day 7: Candy Cane-Inspired Christmas Makeup

Christmas is less than seven hours away as I'm writing this post! I've been super behind on #Blogmas due to family commitments but I'll continue to post what I have planned because I think they still fit it with the winter season. This look was inspired by a candy cane, though it's a shame I don't have one to eat right now. I'm also documenting the Anastasia Modern Renaissance Palette for y'all so I'm doubly excited! So let's head into the tutorial!

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FOTD | Makeup to Beat the Heat

It's been scorching hot in California these past few weeks. Major adjustments were needed to keep me looking perky and fresh. Ditching my liquid foundation and cream products, I went straight for powder products for a long lasting finish that didn't melt off as soon as I stepped out of the refreshing blast of air conditioner. So if you have oily skin or live in a hot climate, I hope that this will help you stay looking put together all day long without the need for heavy duty cleansers at the end of the day!

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PRODUCT SMACKDOWN | Benefit's Watt's Up v NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick

We are in the height of the highlighting craze so I thought a Product Smackdown comparing my two favorite highlighters would be apt. I have come a long way from my powdery matte finish days. With the inundation of highlighting products, I have amended my routine to include subtle highlights. In my experience, cream highlighters are the best at achieving a natural, dewy glow. Benefit's Watts Up! Highlighter has been a long time favorite due to its subtle radiance. Recently, I found the NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick through a lazy browse on Ulta's website. Intrigued, I scanned the colors and saw that Chardonnay Shimmer suspiciously looked similar to Watt's Up and immediately put it in my basket. After a good trial, I'm ready to share my findings with y'all today!

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FOTD | Quick & Easy Back to School Makeup

I'm writing this while waiting for my first class of the semester to start, so excuse the spelling mistakes, hehe. I'm sure many of you can empathize with me on first day jitters. I can never get a good night's sleep before an important event so I'm dealing with dark circles, watery eyes and lackluster skin. Waking up in the morning isn't a struggle for me but I can be sluggish. Doing my makeup gives my brain to wake up as well as giving me a confidence boost. Because I'm quite slow in the mornings, I decided to do a bare basics look and time myself. But I also wanted to see how long it would take me if I added a few things here and there for a complete look, which lately is turning into my fancy face, haha.

So I'll be walking y'all through my bare basics look and my fancy face to give you some ideas and tips. If you aren't going back to school, lucky you! This'll still work for work or any other occasion in which you just want the bare necessities and don't want to be faffing about with a billion brushes.

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FOTD | Simone Biles' Rio Olympics Inspired Makeup

As a kid, I remember having many dreams about what I'd be when I grew up. Becoming a teacher and a violinist are some of the ones I remember most clearly. But every four years, I'd watch the Olympics with my dad and every time the women's gymnastics program came on, I'd be glued to the screen and mesmerized. I'd do tumbles and leaps all around the house for days until my mom told me to sit down and read before I knock over yet another expensive vase. 

This year was a bit different and I've been avoiding watching the Olympics. However, my mom turned it on last night and we watched the women's team event and being the makeup junkie that I am, I was mesmerized by Simone Biles' eye makeup. The colorful glitter pop on her lower lashline felt fun and patriotic at the same time. I'm a bit too old to be doing tumbles and leaps so instead, I wanted to recreate that look for you. I'd post the photo for you but I've just been reading about copyright so I'll link you to the photo instead, hehe. 

Basically, she has a light golden satin eyeshadow all over her upper lid with a cat eye. On the lower lash line, she has red glitter on the outer corner, silver glitter in the center and blue glitter on the inner corner. There's different variations of this look but I like the one using the U.S. flag's color scheme the most. So, let's dive into the makeup!

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BEAUTY ROUND-UP | June 2016: The Throwback Edition

It's that time of time of the month when I share about all the products I've liked these past few months. I call this the throw back edition because they're all products I've had for a while. Pulling them out for the Great Purge (a destashing project where I go through my entire collection to use up all my non-CF products) reminded me how much I love them. I am going cruelty-free so most of these will not be repurchased but I'll still talk about them while  I have them. Without further ado, let's get into the products!

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EOTD | Just Peachy Summertime Makeup 🍑

Hey, all! I didn't mean to be absent for a week but last weekend, I had a bad reaction to an insect bite. My left arm was basically a swollen lump and my joints were aching. It was totally weird...Since my arm hurt to move, long hours typing and editing were out of the question. The medication I was on totally knocked me out and I was tired all the time since I kept waking up from the intense itching. Moral of the story: don't ignore those bites! The sooner you get treatment, the better you'll heal.I'm feeling much better but the bite area is peeling...which is gross and totally not the point of this post, hehe. 

Summer is right around the corner and peach and coral totally get me in the mood for summer makeup! So, to bid adieu to spring and welcome summer, I have an easy tutorial rocking the peach and coral  look. I'm using drugstore eyeshadows and these don't irritate my eyes--yay! I'm still loving the NYX Avant Pop! Palette in Surreal My Heart. There are all the basic shades I need to create virtually any eye with some lovely blue and yellow pops. My only gripe is that the colors are much more vibrant and darker in real life than they are on the website. The light periwinkle blue turned out to be a bright cobalt; I'm not complaining because I love blue shadows but I wish the colors online were more true to life. But let's move onto the tutorial!

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EOTD | Pastel Spring Makeup - Diane Von Furstenberg Spring '16-Inspired

To get back into the swing of blogging, I've been putting together tons of makeup looks. Spring is almost over but I think with a bit of bronzer and coral blush/lips, it would be a great transition into a summer look. 

Products used in the look!

I've been a bit bored of natural eye makeup so I've been playing around with color. My favorite color is mint so I pulled together all my mint-colored items together and created this look inspired by Diane von Furstenberg's Spring '16 fashion show. Now I am no Pat McGrath so my recreation is a pale shadow compared to the real deal so here's a link to the actual look: DVF Spring 16 Makeup.

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HAUL | Collective ULTA + Sephora Birthday Haul

So it's been several months since I've posted on this blog. I'm sorry about the prolonged absence but real life has been draining my energy, leaving me with none for blogging. It's a little awkward getting back into it; I've actually been very nervous about posting again in such a long time. Anyone else feel me on that?

Anyhoo, I've bought all these things last year around November and most of it's just been sitting here, waiting for me to crack it open and use it. I'm embarrassed to say that most of it hasn't been tested at all and still sits in its original packaging. However, I will give updates when I do get around to testing everything. 

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HAUL | Lorac Pro Metal Eyeshadow Palette & NYX Essentials

Hi everyone! It's been such a long time since I last posted that I'm a little off my game. Starting off with a haul post seemed like a good idea to get the ball rolling. ULTA had their annual summer sale and so I jumped on that faster than ants at a picnic! I didn't grab too much since I have tons of things to go through but I of course couldn't pass up on limited edition LORAC and 40% off NYX. So, to cut this long-winded intro off, lets' jump into the items!

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FOTD | Makeup in a Stick (Form)

I've been loving to do FOTD posts as it lets me experiment and play with more of my makeup stash. I revisited several items that I've reviewed previously as well as introduced some new items that I will review soon! I can't claim credit for coming up with the idea. I actually watched a video by LaMuqe on Youtube where she demonstrates her look using makeup in a stick form. Watch it for another take on this fun challenge. :D

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UNBOXING | ❅ December 2014 Ipsy Bag ❅

This post is super late since ipsy is sending out tracking codes for the latest edition of the Glam Bag but the items in this bag are my favoritest yet so I just had to give them a quick mention! If you're not familiar with the Glam Bags, it's a monthly subscription service curated by Michelle Phan and her team. It'll set you back $10usd per month but the items included are usually over that amount so you do get your money's worth.Each bag comes with 4-5 deluxe and full sized products catered to your choices according to the introductory quiz they have you take when you first sign up. I've only come across maybe 2 or 3 items I wasn't satisfied with so the quiz is quite accurate/I have low standards (when it comes to beauty, anyway). I've used these items for the past couple of weeks on and off so I can tell you a bit about each product :D

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FAVORITES┊ ❆ Winter 2014: Beauty Edition ❆

Winter is coming and so are the holidays! I'm so excited and have been shopping like mad to get all my gifts for everyone. Online shopping is a savior for me because it's much quicker to grab a bunch of things for everyone and the deals are insane! Anyhoo, we're here to talk about beauty so let's jump into my picks for this winter!

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PRODUCT SMACKDOWN┊ NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil vs NYX Glam Shadow Sticks vs NYX Infinite Shadow Sticks✎

This post is going to be a long one, so grab your favorite drink and get comfortable! I'm reviewing three different types of eyeshadow pencils from NYX: the original Jumbo Eye Pencil, the Glam Shadow Stick, and finally, the Infinite Shadow Stick. If you've been curious as to how each of these perform and compare to one another along with a few other formulas that I've tried, stick around to find out more.

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FAVORITES | ❄Winter❄ to ❀Spring❀ Transitions

We're well in our way into Spring in the Northern Hemisphere so I wanted to show you the different products I'm using to complement the warm weather. I have some lip, cheek, face, eye, nails and some other random recommendations so let's jump right in!

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