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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EMPTIES | December 2016 & January 2017

I've been holding onto my empties for over a year now so to justify my hoarding, I've decided to write about them. As I write this, it's Valentine's Day and what better way to end the night with some blogging about what I loved and what I didn't? 

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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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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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BLOGMAS | Day 6: Favorite Long Lasting Lips for the Holidays

As I'm writing this, it's Christmas Eve! I don't know if my level of excitement is noticeable but I cannot wait to see my family and chow down. So, I've prepared a few options that are guaranteed to last through the night. Whether you like a bold and matte lip or a glossy or sheer lip, all options will stay through the festivities! So let's get into the details.

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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 | July 2016

July is finally over and that means only one more month until school starts! It's been a month of ups and downs but let's focus on makeup, shall we?These are the 8 products I've been using this month so let's dive in. 

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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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EMPTIES | June 2016

 Hello everyone! Long time no blog...and it's getting repetitive. The long and short of it is that I am going through some tough family issues that pretty much suck all the happiness out of my life. I'm not a crier but I've broken down twice this week. Instead of moping around and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to return to the things I love, mainly blogging and makeup. So, I'm starting my return with a June empties post, even though it's the middle of July, haha. I'm not the most consistent when it comes to blogging these days but bonus points for being unconventional? 

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DESTASHING PROJECT | Going Cruelty Free: Eye Edition Pt. 2

This is part 2 of my Eye Makeup De-stashing Project! If you haven't checked out part 1 of the De-Stashing Project: Eye Edition, head on over there to find out what eyeshadows are staying and which are going onto greener pastures.

So without further ado, here is me trying to decide what to keep and what to let go...harder than it looks :(

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DESTASHING PROJECT | Going Cruelty-Free: Eye Edition Pt. 1

Welcome to the first part of my De-Stashing Project! As you all know if you read the previous post, this blog is going cruelty-free. I have been limiting my purchases to cruelty-free only items but decided that it was finally time to go through my collection and either sell or use up the non-cruelty stuff. The process took me at least 3 hours plus photography time but it's been organized and being put to use. Since I have such an overwhelming amount, it was difficult to find things but with the way things are now, I am reaching for more products and getting use out of them. We're starting off with the eyes since it was the easiest to go through.

When I finished writing this post, it was super long and ain't nobody got time for essays. So, I'll be splitting it into two parts. This first part (going up today) will be single eyeshadows and palettes while the second part will be eye primers, eyeliners eye crayons and mascaras. The second part will go up on Saturday so you get an extra post this week--yay!

 I'll be keeping tally of what's staying and what's going to a better home. So let's get started!

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DE-STASHING PROJECT | Samples Weekly Edit #1

As I mentioned in my Beauty Samples Hoarder post, I've made a commitment to use up more of my items. I like to save things for rainy days or for travel but they end up going bad before I get any use out of it. Stockpiling items has made my collection grow out of control and like I mentioned before, I've lugged all of these items through 3 houses and since I'm about to move again, I really need to clear things out.

Each week, I'll pull out at least 5 samples from 3 categories: hair & body, skincare and makeup, to use throughout the week. Every Sunday, I'll report back and give mini-reviews. I'll try to include swatches but since these aren't official reviews, I apologize ahead of time if there aren't any!

So with the introductions made, let's get into the juicy bits!

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FOTD | Sparkly Purple Prom Makeup 2.0

I meant to post this up waaaay earlier than this to make it in time for prom season, #storyofmylife, BUT if your prom has already passed, take this as a #throwbackThursday! My senior year prom was back in 2011, which isn't that long ago, now that I think about it...I was adamant about doing my own look after a friend's quinceanera fiasco a year back. At the time, I was super proud of my look, evidenced by my wide smile. I usually don't smile as wide anymore but I was also ecstatic about getting my braces off in time for prom, haha. 

While my 2011 look isn't horrendous, there are many things I would improve upon, like my base makeup, which was virtually nothing, and eyeshadow. So, I decided to call my updated look "Sparkly Prom Makeup 2.0", abbreviated to SPM 2.0 for future reference. Unfortunately, I no longer remember or have the original items used in SPM 1.0 so I substituted with items readily available in 2016. So with improved product formulas and additional experience, I'll walk you through my updated look! 

Oh gosh, the nostalgia of 17-year old Cindy...

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BEAUTY REVIEW | August 2015 ♡

This month has flown by so I didn't test as many products as I wanted to. There are repeat loves but there are a couple new products that I'm extremely excited to talk about! Without further ado, let's get on with the post. :D

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FOTD | Spring Beauty

Spring is my second favorite season because I love rainy days. My friends think I'm crazy but I love the cozy feeling of being indoors, curled up with a huge blanket and sipping on some warm tea or chocolate, listening to the pitter pattering of raindrops on my window. Since there's a lot of rain, the humidity makes makeup feel heavier than usual and can make mascara run. I have two looks that I've been wearing a whole ton this season. I'll walk you through the products for each look below!

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