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! :)

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged Foundation Review

Hello hello!

I'm back =D After a grueling week of classes, quizzes, lab, and case presentation... cannot be any happier that the weekend is finally here! I feel like I had been too relaxed since third year started, so even though this week wasn't so bad, it was still a hard kick in the butt for me XD I think it's mainly because of my group case presentation yesterday, but our group did a really good job so I am in a super super good mood now ^_^ I was basically eating sleeping and breathing on the case for an entire week, so after hearing the how positively the professors respond to/agree on our medical decisions, it was SUCH. A. HIGH. Okay I'm sounding like a freak. I'll talk a little bit more about my case at the end of this post, but let me get started on the review for now :)


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**image credit goes to Sephora.com!

Okay so I don't own this foundation, but I did get some samples from Sephora :D

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One on the right is 22 Bisque Light, one on the left is 26 Bisque Medium. Inside Sephora under its terrible lighting, I couldn't really tell which one would work better for me, they both looked like they could work so I got samples for both shades. It turns out 22 Bisque Light is more suitable for my MAC NC20 complexion, because it's more neutral/yellow. I noticed later that 26 Bisque Medium has a little red undertone.

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Sorry for the inconsistent lighting... the way my window is positioned it's really hard to find the best lighting.

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See what I mean about 22 is more neutral/yellow, and 26 is more red? I haven't tried 26 on my face but I honestly think it wouldn't be so different since it's not too red. I think both shades can work for me.

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This is probably the most true to color swatch.

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Face application. I had to take my foundation off and took the application pics again because when I took them in the morning, it was too dark to see anything, so that's why my makeup is already done in these pics.
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Application on half face.
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Shade used here is 22 Bisque Light.

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Upon blending this foundation into my face with my fingers, it reminded me simultaneously Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation and Giorgio Armani Maestro foundation?? I'm not exactly sure why, I feel like it's as if someone added a tiny tiny drop of GA Maestro foundation into the Chanel VA foundation and then try to blend that out. It's weird because the texture of Marc Jacobs foundation is more like a gel and nothing like the GA and Chanel one, but there is definitely a silicone feel to it when you rub it in. Not as heavily silicone-y as GA, so I guess I would say imagine the Chanel VA with a more silicone feel??? Am I even making any sense?? Haha.

Half face application.
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Applied with fingers. As you can see, coverage is sheer.

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The coverage kind of reminds me of my TonyMoly CC cream, but slightly better (or maybe because my skin has been relatively even these days).

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Honestly... for days like this when my skin tone is pretty even, I feel like this foundation almost makes no difference to my skin. I mean yes it does enhance it, but I don't find it necessary. I just cleaned out my blackheads too so I was unable to see if it can actually cover them up -_- may come back to update this.


Full face effect:
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These were taken before I took the foundation off, after about 2-3 hours of wear:
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No oxidation.
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As you can see, after 2-3 hours of wear, it got a little bit shinier, which is normal/expected, but still holding up pretty well!

So my overall thoughts?

I have to say I wasn't expecting much from this foundation because I generally have no luck with gel formulation because of my combination skin (example of gel foundation: Chantecaille Future skin foundation). But I'd say think about this foundation as a silicone-gel foundation? I was surprised at how well it held up. With Chantecaille, it started fading and breaking down and got so patchy on my skin, but not with this foundation!

I really like the finish of this foundation, but in general I'm a sucker for any foundation that makes my skin look glowy. And I do think this foundation still looks pretty good at the end of the day (I didn't powder my face at all while I was testing it out). The coverage is sheer to light... which, I guess if your skin is great, you might like it. But with that said, some days when my skin is truly in great condition (when I have minimal redness), I feel like this foundation is redundant and I'd rather go bare faced to give my skin a break lol. As for the smell, I was so surprised that it doesn't smell like anything! I thought they're gonna put in some Marc Jacob signature smell or something XD Givenchy foundations all have this gorgeous scent to it, and Chanel foundations all have a rosy scent too, so I don't know, but I was surprised, haha. Not a bad thing though! Most of the time I prefer my skincare/makeup to be free of fragrance.

I feel like foundations these days are so well-formulated, it's impossible to pick a favorite one anymore LOL. I do love the gorgeous finish/glow/radiance it gives, but I will not be purchasing the full bottle, because if I want to spend so much money, I'd really like to have something with higher coverage for the days I need it. For people who have great skin to begin with and just want something to even out redness/add glow to your complexion, I do recommend looking into it!

That's all, I hope this review is somewhat helpful. I feel like I didn't say much, makes me sound so dispassionate lol, but I do like it. Just don't feel the I-HAVE-TO-HAVE-THIS urge lol!!


Okay now, for those who are actually interested in my academic life XD if you're not feel free to skip this paragraph, since it has nothing to do with the foundation!

So even though it was just a case preparation, I found it so much more stressful than preparing for exams. Our case assignment was on how we're gonna manage the poorly controlled pain in an elderly Asian patient who has stage 4 breast cancer, post-hip surgery. In a nutshell, we have to identify what kind of pain it is (nociceptive? inflammation? neuropathic), assess severity, and decide the best therapeutic regimen for her. And for each therapeutic agent, we have to consider how it's metabolized (believe it or not, your race actually influences how your body metabolizes medication due to different genetic make-up), how it's eliminated (because patient might not have enough kidney/liver function), dosing, drug-drug interactions, comorbidities, toxicities, contraindications, does it have active metabolite?...... blah blah blah blah blah... filter through all the available medication and come up with the most appropriate for this specific patient. And of course we have to develop a plan to monitor how effective the medications are and some most common toxicities that we should look out for.  And of course there are always discrepancies between drug databases vs. actual clinical observations; for example:

Drug database: all opioids can cause respiratory depression even when used at recommended doses.
Professor: in real practice you never see respiratory depression unless it's an overdose. Respiratory depression is always dose-related!

Lol, but seriously, how are we gonna know since we have like close to zero clinical experience? So we had to comb through guidelines, lectures, and any clinical teachings and a ton of literature reading to come up with a plan. One thing they are teach us in school is that we cannot rely on textbooks/databases. You always have to look for literature/guidelines for more clinical information. Our group kept going over every little detail because we want to make sure we cover everything, but at the same time we have to determine what is the most relevant and most important information. I won't bore you guys with the details, but I'm really starting to appreciate the magnitude of the practice of pharmacy.

Hope you guys have a fantastic weekend, and as usual, thanks for taking the time to read my blog ^_^



<3 Frances

Monday, September 16, 2013

Etude House Cookie Blusher in #2 Strawberry Choux and #10 Peach Parfait Swatches

Yo!

Haven't used that greeting in a while XD
So today I'm gonna review and swatch these babies for you guys =)
Let me just say I absolutely ADORE the Etude House Cookie Blushers! I only own two because some of the colors they I have I feel like I already have something similar. And the other colors I wasn't so interested because they contain glitters (yes, glitters, not shimmers).

I think the main reason why I like these so much is because of how soft they look... the two I own are matte and they I feel like they almost have a soft-focusing effect on my skin; they make my skin look really soft and pretty ^_^

Another reason why I like them is because of how easy they are to use. Basically super fail-safe blushes. Some examples of blushes that I DON'T think are fail-safe are MAC blushes and NARS blushes; these I feel like you have to go easy on your application otherwise you can easily apply too much. Of course that depends on the kind of look you prefer; I personally like my blushes to be as inconspicuous as possible (I don't like it when there's an obvious stripe of color... the so called very chiseled cheek look). I feel like when blushes are very noticeable, you automatically look like you have a lot of makeup on. Sometimes I like that look, but most of the time I just want to have a little color in my cheeks.

Did I mention the powder is very finely milled? :P

Anyway! Let's take a look at the blushes :)
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I have to say, as cute as these look, they are SO BULKY. Definitely a big pain in the butt hole to travel with. But I actually de-potted these as soon as I photographed them XD so now I just have them sitting nicely in a palette. Two things I discovered while depotting them: 1. They are not at all hard to pop out... there's very little glue involved. 2. The pan itself is magnetic =D No need to glue on a piece of magnet. Cool beans.

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Gorgeous colors.

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#2 Strawberry Choux
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Love love love this color. So soft... I always feel super girly when I pop this on. This is the cutest soft matte pink ever. Perhaps not the most natural pink if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for a truly natural pink, go for Benefit "Dandelion". Otherwise if you're looking for a cutesy pink, seriously look into this!

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#10 Peach Parfait
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This is a gorgeous peachy blush! If you struggle with finding a peachy blush that doesn't make you look flushed/sun-burned, try this! Another good peachy blush will be Canmake Cheek Gradation in 02, but that one has shimmers. If you're curious what the Canmake one looks like I have a photo of it here, please scroll allll the way to the end to see it XD But the Canmake one is also a safe one to use.

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Swatches
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See what I mean about the soft-focusing effect? :3

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You can find these on eBay for around $8 each. Can't beat that price!!

In conclusion, yes I highly recommend! =D I was obsessed with the pink one for the longest time hehehe.

Remember in my last post I said I have so much free time now? Well I totally jinxed myself and now I'm trying to play catch-up ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Hope you guys enjoyed this quickie. It was pre-typed. LOL


<3 Frances

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Non-stop Hauling =_= Braun, Hot Tools, Z-palette, Kett, Blogilates, etc.

Hello Blogger!

So basically... for the last week... I've been shopping... non-stop =__= mostly online (which is even more dangerous, mind you ← Don't know why I'm suddenly talking like Harry Potter/British). A lot of it is for school (first time buying textbooks since undergrad LOL), and a lot of it is for home too. I'm pretty much done with settling in, just need some small stuff here and there. I broke my body-length mirror the day before yesterday T_T so I have to get a new one. But that was plain stupidity on my part. Gahhhh!!!

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Okay I didn't spend money on samples obviously XD But I did go to the mall and pick up samples for Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Super-Charged foundation, Lancome Teint Visionnaire Makeup Duo, and YSL Youth Liberator foundation. I got Marc Jacobs in two different shades because they both seem like they could work, so I wanted to make sure I got the one that would suit me the best. Times like this I wish I have ten faces so I can try them out all at once XD By the way my shades are updated in the My Beauty Information/My Foundation Shades. Swatches are in the works! Any one in particular you guys would like to see first??

Okay now let the blood bath (?) begin.


First... I finally got on the bandwagon for epilating XD
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I got SO SICK of getting those red dark bumps from shaving. And I feel like my shaves are never clean enough-- you can always see the dark little stubs that dotted my armpits and legs (and they feel so unpleasant to the touch). I know you're supposed to change blades like after every 1-2 uses, but seriously who spends all that money on blades?? Honestly, blades and razors are not cheap at all. I wish had I started epilating sooner... all that money I spent on blades and razors could've got me a really good epilator already. So with that said,  you can guess that yes, I LOVE it. I can NEVER go back to shaving again. Since I'm still new at the epilating thing, I will hold off the review for this epilator until I'm more experienced. But so far this is the single most exciting purchase I've made since my Nike Free Run 3. LOL. #TotalMindBlown

Oh by the way, anyone has a good post-epilating cream recommendation????? For ingrown hair prevention. I'm still researching but I just want to close my eyes and pick one and be done with it >.<


Hot Tools Deep Waver
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I'm sure you guys see it coming, of course I got the recommendation from none other than Bubzbeauty ^_^
Been wanting it ever since I saw her use it in this video:


And after seeing it again in her newest favorites, I guess it just "pushed me over the edge" XD

Am I referencing this video way too often? XD

Lol really though, it was like 45% off on Amazon (you can find it here). Moral of the story: sales are so dangerous.
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Lowest setting is 280F.

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Highest setting is 430F.

I've only used it once so far (trying to spare my hair some damage >.<) and it literally gave me volume like POOF. I like XD. I need more practice though because for some reason my curls came out a little frizzy.



Next, I got a Z-palette
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I got it from Amazon to save on shipping XD

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It comes with a generous number of magnetic stickers.

Back.
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I have been de-potting a lot of my blushes. De-potting is actually very addicting and weirdly gratifying O________o I'm mostly de-potting my blushes cuz they take up SO. MUCH. SPACE. Both in my makeup storage AND with traveling. I actually went ahead and bought two more Z-palettes after receiving this because apparently one Z-palette is not enough XD Didn't think I have that many blushes. But I also want to separate eye shadows from blushes in case the powders get on each other. I ordered another large palette and a small one... didn't want to get the Pro palette because I don't think it would fit in my makeup drawer.



Kett Fixx Creme Foundation
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Yep. I got too excited. Again. From the video above XD I don't think Kett products are sold anywhere except from its website (darn no Amazon Prime free shipping XD). The foundation was pretty affordable so why not XD I was so intrigued lol.

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It's actually smaller than I thought. I thought it looks pretty big in YouTube videos.

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N3 surprisingly was a perfect match for me.

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The flyer that came with the product

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=D It's gonna go into my small Z-palette. Didn't want to buy the compact... such a waste of space.




I took advantage of the Blogilates 20% off sale and bought some shorts and hoodie. The sale code was announced on Cassie's Instagram over the Labor Day weekend in celebration of the successful launch of the Blogilates app. Not sure if it was announced on her other social media?? Anyway I just really wanted some cute gym wear lol.

The Train Insane or Remain the Same Hoodie (you can find it here).
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It's alright. It's pretty soft and comfy, but it doesn't have as much shape as I had hoped. This is the problem with online shopping for clothes =_= they look so different on the model verses on me. It's not the most flattering on me but not bad either. I like it but don't love it.

***update: just put this hoodie in wash for the first time the other day. OMG the cotton got EVERYWHERE. So if you're buying this hoodie, you might want to consider running a separate wash. 

The Train Insane Booty Shorts (you can find it here).
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First of all I just want to say that the shorts that I really really really wanted was the Beast Mode shorts XD But unfortunately the shorts were all sold out, like no joke (I wish on the website it would just say it's sold out on the main page... instead of us having to click on each one to see if it's still available). So I just settled for whatever I could snag.

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The color in these two pics are not true to color at all, but I just wanted to show the shape of these shorts.

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This is most true to color XD

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What it looks like on me. Yes I gained a little weight XD And lost some of the definition over the summer. My weight fluctuates between 101-105 lbs -_-"
Been trying to get back to my routine.

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As to what I think about these shorts... eh... I'd have to say they're really not my favorite. The material is very light and soft (like my butt would feel nicely ventilated during workouts XD). My problem is that it keeps riding up... granted these are "booty" shorts, but when it rides up, I just feel too uncomfortable/self-conscious that I have to keep pulling them down O_o Just for reference, this the normal/pulled down length in the pics. When it rides up, it goes just below my bum. Not to the point it's gonna show my butt cheeks or anything, but I have some fat and cellulite on my upper thigh that I'd like to keep to myself XD

I also bought an O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand cream because my hands have been so dry =(
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My Aveda hand cream helped, but did not make the dry patches go away. I once read a review from Rainy Days and Lattes and her condition looks exactly like mine, so I decided to give it a go. Just received it so I haven't got a chance to try it out.

Lastly, I bought more beautyblenders. They were also on sale on Amazon xD (you can find them here). It's also a Prime product so free shipping heck yeahhhhh XD
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I started using my old beautyblender again lately and kind of rediscovered it XD I used to have two of them but I sold one. Beats me why I even decided to sell it in the first place. I think it was because it was too much of a hassle to clean? LOL. I kind of wanted the white, dye-free one, but there wasn't any deal on it, so whatever. The pink one works just fine =D



Wow, I'm on a roll with blogging these days! Am I just having way too much free time in my third year?? LOL. Second year was HECTIC cuz I literally have exams every week. Third year is all cases and readings so I'm not as pressed on time as I used to be =D But I must go work on my case now. Hopefully I don't misdiagnose my patient this time O_o