About Me

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California, United States
Hi! Thanks for visiting ^_^ My social media platforms: Instagram: meowmier Youtube: http://goo.gl/U5SnNM (formerly under the username francesvlogs but I don't have access to that anymore). I don't really do videos anymore simply because I think blog posts are more informative. Hope you enjoyed your time here! :)

Monday, April 30, 2012

First-time attempt to sculpt my lips XD Hyorin/Hyolyn Inspired... kind of :P

Can you even spy the difference here? XD Photobucket
LOL prob not? XD


I saw the cover of Hyorin's song "I choose to love you" and for some reason noticed her lips :P Photobucket
I found the shape of her lips adorable :D

I don't have her lip shape so I just tried to fake it using lipstick and concealer XD

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The difference is pretty subtle cuz I wanted it to look natural...


Although... it really doesn't look natural at all in real life =_=

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The concealer just looks really unnatural and awkward around the lips =( I even tried using a concealer that's darker than my skin tone but it appears so much paler next the the hot pink lips. Boo =(
(yeah I have mustache leave me alone XDXDXD lololol) Hmmm maybe lip liner would've helped? =D but I don't have one XD

Seriously, I don't know how I watch Michelle Phan do this in so many tutorials without ever thinking it looked unnatural??? @_@ must be the lighting and the video being washed out. I should'n't be surprised actually since I do videos myself XD

As always, some camho pics for your enjoyment (?) XD
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Excuse my mega dark circles. I had 1 hour of sleep last night. O_o
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lol you can see the concealer in this pic

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and this pic

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every pic?!?!?!?!?!?!

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To be honest I kind of like this lip shape XD But in reality no one probably would even notice the difference lol.

So before I end this post, just want to share some of the songs by Hyorin =D
I've been obsessed with her >_< which is horrible timing because I've been youtubing her videos when I'm supposed to be studying for exams/preparing for finals X_x

I'm seriously in love with her >_<
Her voice is incredible <3 I actually kind of love how her voice is a little bit raspy :P she sings very soulfully... if anyone have the same feeling? And for some reason she reminds me of Christina Aguilera a bit when she's performing this particular song. She has the cutest smile >////< (haha omg listen to me going on and on about her lol)

I feel like I haven't seen a Korean singer with so much presence since BoA @_@ My level of obsession for her is nowhere near the level I was obsessed with BoA years ago XD (not yet hehe)  But seriously, this girl is always so confident! It really shines through when she's performing.

She needs to go solo :P I hope she would XD I feel like Sistar is just like any other mainstream Kpop groups... she needs to do different elements/style of music :D (If there are any Sistar fans here I'm sorry lol).



Lastly... two songs I've been obsessed with :D on replay all the time haha
Her voice is so versatile >w< she sounds so cute in this song <3

I think both of these songs are from the drama "Man of Honor" (or is it "Glorious Jane?" I have no idea). Haven't watched it yet. I don't have the habbit of watching Korean dramas but Park Min Young's in there and I like her :D we'll see.
At first I thought this song sounds so generic, but somehow it got stuck in my head. lol.

That's all I have today ^_^ Hope you guys enjoyed the music!

Any songs recommendation? =D



<3 Frances

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Really want to try the SK-II Facial Treatment Cream Foundation ><"

Woah... Logged into blogger today and realized the whole format has been changed O_O!!!! It will take some getting used to lol.

 If you've been reading my blog for a while you all know I'm a foundation junkie XD Recently came across this video... and OMG the foundation looks incredible on her O_O++++


 

Fast forward to 1:00 to see the cream foundation in action. Hehehe she's Taiwanese too =DDD

I LOVE that glow the foundation gave!! omg omg omg omg so pretty ><" (but she has dry skin...)

Anyway so I got really excited and immediately went to look it up... and I almost fainted at the price tag ><" $95 for 0.7 oz?! It's not even the standard 1 oz.... HOLY CRAP.


Having combination skin I've never had good experience with cream products because they tend to separate/slip and slide (even with powder) on my face. But I looked up quite a few reviews and some state because of how hydrating this foundation is (also the Pitera treatment it contains I guess?) it actually keeps their oiliness at bay?!

Too bad there is not a SKII counter where I live or else I would have gone and picked up a sample T^T

Hahahah just a short whining post. :P



Since I shared newapplearial 陳佩佩's video, I figure I might as well share some of her other videos that I really enjoy =D Her videos are in Chinese though, so sorry for non-Chinese audiences!

I knew about her for quite a while ago but I wasn't really fond of her videos back then because I thought her tutorials were just okay. But when I randomly came across her videos recently again I realized her style has changed and I like her now :D I'm still not crazy about her tutorials but I really really enjoy her reviews ^_^


I thought this concealing tutorial is pretty interesting O_O+


 
This video talks about her favorite skincare products from 2011. I really want to try the Bobbi Brown eye cream but DAMN it's pricey. ><" but from the way she described her fine lines I really think this eye cream might work for me since I have the same problem as well. (Jeune d'age eye cream hasn't really done anything for me... 殘念orz)



And this video talks about her favorite makeup products from 2011. I adore that Etude blush it looks so cute!! Must try to track it down when I go to South Korea this summer. Did I mention I'm going to South Korea for one week this summer? =DDDDD

By the way thank you guys for the encouraging words regarding my last post about my fitness progress... =D I'm still not at my goal but it's okay I know it's gonna take just that extra bit of effort and time. I'm very close =D Me and my roommate didn't do the P90X workout. We started with the Insanity workout instead since that one is shorter (it's too hard to find time or even just work out for 1 hour straight at the moment XD especially with that kind of intensity...) My body is feeling pretty sore at the moment. Which is a good feeling actually considering I haven't felt sore in a while since I work out consistenly now XD (but man when I first started doing those workout videos soreness and pain and weakness were all I could feel everyday for like a month O_O)  Okay now I'm just rambling.

Hope you guys still enjoyed this post anyway? ><" 

Talk to you guys later ^_^

<3 Frances

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Bangs are SO long! And fitness/weight-loss progress

Hi guys!

Okay this is just gonna be a somewhat vain post where I just put up pictures of myself XD Just realized how long my bangs are the other day so took a few pics lalalalala XD

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My bangs haven't been this long in a while... usually I get a haircut before my bangs get this long XD Hair was somewhat crimped and curly cuz I had it up in a pony tail when I worked out earlier that day.
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It's very annoying sometimes. Remember how I always complain about my right eye not wearing eyeliner well because of the way my bangs sit? Here you go. Eyeliner on my right eye tends to smear because of my hair.
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Hmmm not sure if I like it or dislike it? I guess I'm trying to grow it out cuz I'm sick of trimming my bangs all the time. But not having bangs make me less photogenic. Surprisingly iPone pics turned out okay XD
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Hmmm but I do think I look a bit older/sophistated with this bang length =D we'll see if I'm gonna keep it this way.


Okay now onto my fitness progress. I started working out to Jillian Michael's 30-day shred on 1/13/2012 (I keep a workout journal)
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You might remember I posted this pic in this post here. This pic was taken on day 12 of the 30 day shred, and I already toned up a bit at that time (so imagine how fat I was before that.. T^T) At that time I didn't really lose much weight at all, just toned up cuz I was just starting to slowly adjust my diet.


Okay as of yesterday 4/21/2012 after about 3 months of consistent workout/diet control
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=DDD Stomach looks so much better XDDDDDDD (don't mind my bare face and wet hair here XD)

By the way in both pics I was sucking in my stomach as hard as I could (Again marvelling at how fat I was before O_O look at my stomach even with me trying to suck it in... damn)

But anyway my stomach still needs work. My stomach is not flat when I relax it lolololololol XD And still trying to work on my arms although not very hopeful cuz I was born with chubby fat arms. My arms have slimmed a bit but as you can see the difference is not that noticeable.

I think the best part of working out that is not shown in the pics is I like the way my butt and thighs feel now XD they're pretty toned and tight now. Woohoo! Never thought my thighs can be this tight and firm XD But my thighs are quite massive (aka muscular) though lol. Definitely do not have the Asian pop star long and slender type of legs.

 Hmmmm so as of right now I'm working on the 30 day shred again. Cuz kind of ran out of things to do plus I wanted to challenge myself to do it much better this time around. I'm still kind of at a plateau with my weight but oh well... I'm trying... 4 more pounds!

My roommate is gonna start doing the P90X workout I might do it with her XD We'll see hehe.

That's all ^_^ thanks for reading!


<3 Frances

Friday, April 20, 2012

Change of season loves! And new toy =D

Hiya guys ^_^

So today I want to talk to you guys about some products I'm LOVING during this change of season time!

As spring is transitioning into summer, my skin started acting up. It was very dry and I started having dry patches along the sides of my face. Even for the areas that don't have dry patches, I still couldn't powder my face because powdering would just make my face look so dry. I almost never got dry patches before O_O so for about a week or so I wasn't sure what to do with it. I started using oatmeal to cleanse my face; it helped with my dry patches somewhat so they didn't really show up under/affect my makeup anymore. But at night when I removed my makeup the dry patches would still be there. So I decided to break out my emergency skincare XD

Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Face Cleanser.
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I'm already half way through this stuff!

I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this cleanser! I talked about this and the serum from the same Mega Mushroom Skin Relief line in my best of 2011 products post. But honestly I like the cleanser even more than the serum. I personally found the cleanser potent enough to deliver benefits.
You might think it's just a cleanser how is that gonna help because you just wash it off your face? Well this is a treatment cleanser and you're supposed to be able to even just tissue it off and leave it on the skin.
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I personally don't do that, but even after you wash it off you can still feel "a layer" of product on your face (not unpleasant or anything, kind of like when you use whipping cream on your face) but whenever I use this cleanser my face is always calmer and more supple. Love it :) it does have an herbal scent which I don't mind. So after a week of having dry patches on my face, the dry patches disappeared the next day I used this cleanser. Yes, the next day :D awesome stuff.

By the way I don't use this everyday. I try to only reserve it for days when my skin is feeling rocky, simply because this cleanser works so well on my skin I don't want my skin to get used to it!


Another love for change of season would of course be my natural plain yogurt mask :)
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My absolute favorite! I think it tastes better too O_O

I ran out of yogurt for the longest time and did not have time to go grocery shopping until about a week ago. I stocked up on yogurt this time XD while the Origins cleanser helped me get rid of dry patches, the natural yogurt mask made my face so hydrated and restored its brightness and suppleness.... sigh, I almost forgot how absolutely amazing natural yogurt masks work! LOVE!
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Sometimes I opt for chocolate mask :P it really doesn't matter which one you use, as long as there's natural yogurt in there ;)
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So that's all! Absolutely recommend these two "products" :D Really helped my skin battle the changing seasons!

Oh another product I've been loving will be my SKIN79 gold label BB cream... forgot to snap a photo but you guys all know what it looks like. Simply because it makes my dry skin look so glowy and nice. I haven't been powdering my face at all lately with this BB cream because it stays on well on its own, plus powdering still makes my face appear a little dry. I was using the Josie Maran foundation for the last few months and I'm switching back to SKIN79 again.


Next, I received my new toy today :D :D :D
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My new Sigma F86 Tapered Kabuki brush! So freaking excited XDDD


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I was lucky enough to be contacted by Sigma to join their affiliate program (I think anyone with beauty blog/channel can apply?) Since I do own a few Sigma brushes and absolutely adore them I was very excited to accept this opportunity, and of course, the complimentary gift :D
So yeah, if you're wondering why I have a Sigma banner on the right side of my blog, it's because I'm now in the affiliate program :)

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Jennifer, the Afiliate Program Coordinator was so nice and let me choose the F86 brush since I already own the F80 which originally was the brush she offered me :P

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I noticed they have changed the handle! They used to have this matte handle (bottom two) and now it's a more glossy/plasticy handle (top)? It looks more sleek but I prefer the old handles better because the new handle attracts finger prints quite easily.


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Yay! I have 3 Sigmax brushes now =DDD now if I can get my hands on the Angled Kabuki... lol! Maybe someday.

Anyway, super duper excited! Can't wait to use this brush ^_^

That's all I have for today! Next will be reviewing some LUSH products :)

Have a great day guys!

<3 Frances

Saturday, April 14, 2012

MAC Liquidlast Liner vs. Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner. And KissMe Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara

Update 2/18/2014:

So I noticed that the Milani eyeliner in 06 unlimited performs almost the same as the MAC Coco Bar after it has been dried out a bit. I would suggest if you have smearing problems, take the cap off and let it sit for about an hour or so to let it dry out a little more. That might help improve the staying power ^_^ Happy to announce that the Milani eyeliner is indeed a replacement for my MAC Coco Bar. 

Hey guys!

Haha I'm back again! Sick of me yet? XD

Just finished 5 exams so I'm on a mini break. Decided to be a slacker and watch movies/blog instead of catch up with all the lectures I missed while I was studying for all the exams orz....

So I finally FINALLY finished compiling pictures/swatches for this detailed comparison review for the MAC Liquidlast Liner and Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner. 
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So I know the only thing you guys would like to know would be, "Are they the same??"

And my answer is no. Not really. I think I'd still rather spend more to buy MAC than Milani.

Now, I would say though, if you are non-Asian, chances are you wouldn't even be able to feel the difference, so I'd say if you're non-Asian, go ahead and get Milani. Unless you have major eyeliner smudging issues. But in general I found non-Asians don't usually have eyeliner smudging problems. Non-Asians can even wear non water-proof eyeliners and get away with it =_= (from my experience anyway... my non-Asian friends can literally wear a non-waterproof eyeliner ALL day without it moving on them. at all. jealous. !!!)

Also I would like to add that I don't base how good the staying power of an eyeliner is on how they hold up under running faucet and rubbing it =_= to me that kind of attestation is completely worthless. Yes that may be able to prove if an eyeliner is waterproof or not, but that can in no way tell if an eyeliner is long lasting. And rubbing the eyeliner under water doesn't prove anything either. Combined with the oils, blinking and eye watering etc etc, it's a completely different kind of environment for the eyeliner. The only way to test the wear of an eyeliner is to really just wear it. Just thought I'd throw this out there.

Before I start, I just want to say I've already done a review on the MAC Liquidlast Liners a while ago. Please check here if you're interested ^_^ 



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First off the applicators are pretty much very similar. They do feel a bit different, but to me that's negligible because I do NOT apply these eyeliners with these applicators. These apply too thick and harsh and tend to have the thick eyeliner catch on your eye lashes.

By the way, please keep in mind that these are not your traditional "liquid" eyeliner, because rather than the traditional thin, liquidy formula, this liquid eyeliner has a very thick, gel-like conistency. I think this is why this eyeliner works on me when traditional liquid eyeliner formulas don't =D Again, please check here to see the consistency.
The best result as I've mentioned before, comes with applying with your eyeliner brush.
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The love of my life, Hakuhodo G522 eyeliner brush. Been using this for two years and still going strong.

Here are the swatches
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The good news is, the black and the brown eyeliners are exactly the same color. While the brown eyeliners apply exactly the same, I feel like the black ones apply ever so slightly different? Like the Milani one is just a bit thinner?? However the difference is quite negligible. Nevertheless I thought I'd throw that out there as well. 

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I bought the Milani eyeliners from Amazon.com because I didn't have time to go shopping. On the website it described 07 as a "charcoal," which I cannot disagree more =_= it's more of a silver/gun metal color. If I had known it was this color I wouldn't have purchased it. So for those who are picking these eyeliners on the Internet, beware!

I decided instead of trying to verbally describe the differences for you guys, I'm just gonna let the pictures to the talking. They will explain much better than I can describe them anyway XD

So this is what I did. I just picked two random days when I was wearing the eyeliners and photographed in the morning when the eyeliner was freshly applied, and at night, right before I removed my makeup. Two random days because eyeliners have their good and bad days, like I've stressed before. It's just utterly unrealistic to expect an eyeliner to work the same every day 365 days (especially for us Asians anyway XD). So anyway, hopefully you guys would have a better idea on how these eyeliners wear :) I also put the timeline in the pictures so if you're curious about how long I wore the eyeliners for, look for that in the pics :) 

Also, I want to add that in general, my left eye wears eyeliner pretty well. My major issue is my right eye, and it's because of the way my bangs sit. I part my bangs to the right, and therefore even though I don't notice my bangs bothering my eyes, they do affect the wear of my eyeliner. So that needs to be taken into consideration as well :) Also, in almost all of these pictures I have worked out and taken naps XD

Finally, I want to mention that any smearing along my lower eyelid was from the mascara I am currently using, the KissMe Heroine Make Long & Curl mascara. My eyeliner only smudges on the outer corners of my eyes, and nowhere else. I was wearing this mascara in all of the pictures.

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Okay now, with ALL that said, we can finally get into the eyeliner comparison XD 
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1. MAC Liquidlast Liner in Point Black

left/morning
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right/morning
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right/night
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sorry that should say 11pm. My mistake!
left/night
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on a different day, same eyeliner

left/morning
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right/morning
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right/night
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left/night
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MAC Liquidlast Liner in Coco Bar

morning/left

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morning/right
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night/left
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night/right
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On a different day

I forgot to snap pictures in the morning, but they're the same as the other day so you can reference that. 
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Can you see why Coco Bar is my absolute favorite? It just wears consistently better than the black one. Unfortunately, Coco Bar has been discontinued. It never hurts to ask your local MAC stores to see if they still have any left. But I'm hoping if enough people complain about it, MAC might bring it back >_< I have two back-ups of this eyeliner, don't know what I'm gonna do after I'm through with them ='(
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Now onto Milani eyeliners!

Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner in 05 Everlast 

morning/left

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morning/right
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night/left
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night/right
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On a different day 
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I feel like the Milani black eyeliner definitely has a weaker formula than MAC
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 Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liner in 06 Unlimited



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Again on a different day. Again forgot to snap pics in the morning XD 
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It's not as good as the MAC Coco Bar, but the formula is definitely better than the black one.
I also want to add it's lucky that this eyeliner appears to wear quite well in those two random days. Because this eyeliner still in no way replaces the MAC coco bar in my heart. It just doesn't hold up as well as MAC Coco Bar.

What's up with me having better luck with brown eyeliners than the black ones?!?!?!?!? Anyone have the same experience?!
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So the order of best staying power to the least... the best of course is MAC Coco Bar. MAC point black and Milani 06 (brown) come next; their degree of smudging are quite comparable. And lastly the worst staying power is Milani 05 (black).

That concludes the differences between the eyeliners!

Since I mentioned the smearing of the KissMe mascara, I thought I'd do a mini review of this particular mascara as well.

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You already got a pretty good idea on how this mascara looks on my lashes from all those eyeliner pictures so I'm not gonna post more. I don't know if you agree with me, but they do not enhance the appearance of my lashes... rather I feel like this mascara makes my lashes look quite rigid.

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You can see the fibers that are supposed to elongate your lashes. Which sometimes do flake off onto my cheeks.

So my conclusion on this mascara... it's... meh. I had high expectations for this mascara because it is often compared to Majolica Majorca mascaras. First off, I really just prefer MJ's applicator, because it's rubber wand so it doesn't scratch my eyelids, and second because the rubber wands are small and perfect for my small eyes. And third MJ wands just separate my lashes really well.

MJ also has a much better formula. The major issue I have with KissMe mascara is that it tends to smudge on my lower eyelid, like you've seen in those pictures. Plus it just doesn't look good on my short lashes. I feel like KissMe mascara is for people who have naturally long lashes.

So conclusion, KissMe mascara is a miss for me, I will not repurchase. I'm gonna stick with MJ =)

Alrighty, I am done here XD So tired from writing all that, but I really do hope it helps some of you, because I am SUPER picky when it comes to eyeliners and I know a lot of my Asian girl friends often struggle with eyeliner smearing problems.

I'm gonna go slack some more now XD Later ^_^

<3 Frances