Corina

My friend Corina asked me to do her makeup for a photoshoot and I couldn't say no to her! She's seriously one of the sweetest girls I know! She asked for a smokey eye so we went for a Kim Kardashian makeup look. Tell me she's not channeling Kim K in this photo:

I absolutely love this shot of her.  She oozes fabulous-ness!

Review: Blinc Mascara

Hello beauties!

This review is going to be on the Blinc Mascara I have been trying it out for the past week and I wanted to share with you guys what I thought!

First, let me begin by telling you guys what I look for in a mascara. I want something that is going to give me volume and length. My lashes are a bit sparse, but unlike other Asian eye lashes that I have seen, they are not stick straight and they hold a curl pretty well. I do not like watery, goopey mascara formulas because that will take the curl right out of my lashes. I like a drier formula to make the curl last; that also helps so that my mascara does not run or flake.

Now let's take a look at what Blinc claims this mascara will and will not do:

What it does:
Blinc Mascara is the original tube-technology mascara. It's invented to form tiny water-resistant "tubes" around your lashes for maximum amplification and hold, rather than painting them like conventional mascaras. Once applied, the tubes bind to your lashes and cannot run, smudge, clump, or flake, even if you cry or rub your eyes.

What else you need to know:
This mascara adds both volume and length, to give you a radiant natural look that lasts all day. Neither water nor pressure alone will remove Blinc Mascara. Only the combination of lots of warm water and gentle pressure (no need for harsh makeup removers) will slide the tiny tubes effortlessly off your lashes into your hand. Upon removal, you will actually see the tiny tubes slide into your hand.

Source: Sephora

Okay, so, on to the review. I like this mascara, but I was hoping to fall in love with it considering all the hype it's getting. Even some of my girlfriends have told me how much they love this mascara. I find that the Blinc Mascara is nice if you want natural-looking lashes. It adds a little length and a little volume. I also noticed that it dries very fast. When I went in to put on a second coat, it felt like there was a lot of tension created between the brush and my lashes- it didn't run through my lashes smoothly, so I would recommend going in with a second coat BEFORE the first coat fully dries. The mascara did not smudge on me at all, no matter how long I had it on for. Really, the only way to get this mascara off is with warm water and a little pressure from your fingers. It's actually pretty cool seeing the little tubes coming off your lashes. I also noticed I did not have any lash fallout, which is great!

Overall, I like this product for daytime use and would recommend it to anyone looking for a mascara that will give natural-looking lashes. I probably will not be repurchasing this mascara, however, because I know there are mascaras out there that will give me natural lashes with one coat and I can get more dramatic results if I put more coats of it on. This is for natural-looking lashes, period.

the mascara come in this tube

natural lashes

natural lashes

my lashes after I curled it 

first coat of the Blinc mascara

second coat of the mascara

warm water and some pressure and the tubes of mascara
comes right off

St. Patty's Day Makeup

I didn't have anything green to wear for St. Patty's Day so I improvised and used makeup! :)

FACE:

makeup forever mat velvet foundation
mac prep and prime loose translucent powder
smashbox suntan matte bronzer
mac peaches blush

EYES:
mac brow in strut
mac teal pigment
mac sassy grass eyeshadow (limited edition)
mac penultimate liner

LIPS:
mac way to love lipstick (limited edition)
mac nymphette lipglass

Update & What I've Been Up To

Heeeeeeeeeey! Seriously, it's been way too long!

I have been kind of M.I.A. on this blog. Sorry guys! But I'm back and I wanted to share with you guys what I've been up to.

Many of you already know that I got a job at MAC Cosmetics and well, it's kind of my dream job! At first, it was really intimidating being around so many makeup artists and even if you've done makeup before, working at a counter is totally different from freelancing for yourself! Working at a counter, you learn that your main job is to MULTITASK! So that's what I've been training myself to do, but it is so absolutely FUN! Every single day is different and you meet some really cool people! My coworkers have all been really friendly, helping me out since I didn't know where anything was! So yea, for the past 3 weeks, I've been concentrating on working and getting better at my craft.

Other than that, I've also been kind of down, dealing with negativity from people who think what I'm doing should be my hobby, not my job.. Don't you hate that? Why can't people just be supportive and happy for me? But that's just the way life goes sometimes.

This past week, i had my basic training for MAC and it was so incredible. I feel so inspired and, quite honestly, I feel like I'm (for once) doing what I really love. It all feels right. I know the direction I want to take in my life and I know what I need to do in order to get there. It's exciting and I'm glad to have all the support from you guys. I'm truly blessed to have had all the opportunities I've had thus far. :) *feeling grateful

I will try my hardest not to neglect this blog again. Just know that I love writing for you guys, even if only one person reads it, that's enough for me.

Have a fantastic day,
kimtran

Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette Review

Hello world!

I'm finally reviewing the Naked2 Palette for you guys today! I didn't want to do it the day after I got it because I wanted to really test the product.

Here are some photos I found of the Naked (original) Palette and the Naked 2 Palette.

photo by: temptalia

Naked 2 at the top // Naked (original) at the bottom
photo by: musingsofacitygirl

Naked (original) at the top // Naked 2 at the bottom
photo by: xsparkage

Okay, on to the review. The original Naked palette has more warm tone shades and a few cooler shades. I can't say I love specific colors because, well, I seriously love every color in this palette! I have warmer undertones to my skin so I think the colors look great on me. Even the cooler colors like gunmetal and creep look good because of their texture. There's not a lot of grittiness to them; they go on super smooth and blend well. Sidecar is the only one that has a chunkier kind of glitter in it so it does have some fallout, but it doesn't bother me too much.

As for the Naked 2 Palette, I absolutely love the packaging. It's a hard aluminum case as opposed to the velvet case of the first one. It just seems sleeker and heavier duty. The velvet case of the first one attracts a lot of dust and gets scratched really easily. So, I do like this palette as well, but I find that there are cooler tones that don't look too flattering on my skin, like verve, YDK, and Pistol. It probably has to do with the texture as well. These shadows don't seem as jet-milled and fine as much as the other colors; they have a grittier look to them and I don't like that too much. Another thing I don't like is that Urban Decay decided to keep the color half baked in the second palette. It's kind of like a cop out. They should have just created a new color. What I do love is that the two last colors (Busted and Blackout) are so heavily saturated and rich, great for the outer corner for definition and to smoke out any look you create. I also like the highlight colors Foxy and Bootycall as well as Tease (great for defining the crease).

All in all, I believe that you just need one palette. If you like cooler tones, go with the 2nd one. If you like goldier/warmer tones, go with the 1st one. In my ideal world, I would have the packaging of the second one but with the colors of the first one and I would add the matte black to it. :) If only... 

Well, that's the end of my review. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed testing out the products and reviewing it for you all. <3

kimtran

Clarisonic Mia Review

Hi guys!


Today I will be writing a review on the oh-so famous Clarisonic Mia and my experience with it. First, let me admit that I wanted this product for the longest time, but it was just soooo expensive and since my skin is sensitive AND acne-prone, I wasn't really sure how my skin would react to it or if it would be worth it for me. About a year ago, my boyfriend bought it for me and I was really excited to use it!


Since having it for a year, I feel like I can write exactly how I feel about it.


So, for those who don't know what a Clarisonic Mia is, it's basically a vibrating brush used on the face for a deep-cleaning, kind of like a vibrating toothbrush except for your face. This is what the Clarisonic website claims about the Mia:

• Cleanses 6x better than with your hands alone in just 60 seconds
• Works with skin, not against it, to gently massage away impurities trapped within pores
• Prepares skin for better absorption of creams, serums and moisturizers
• Gentle enough to use 2x a day

Here's what the Mia looks like:

Mine is lavender, but it comes in like 16 colors!
And there are always limited edition ones coming out.

When I first got the Mia, I had already had a few breakouts on both cheeks. After each use of the Mia, I felt my skin felt really nice, smooth and clean. My skin did not feel tight, which I really liked. However, I found that around the area I was breaking out, I had a few more zits that popped up around the area. It was really weird since I had read reviews where some people said that the Clarisonic cured their acne!! I even sent an email to Clarisonic's customer service email to ask if it was fine to use on acne-prone skin and they responded telling me that I might experience an initial breakout. but that it is because the Clarisonic is deep-cleaning my pores and it's bringing to the surface all the gunk that was underneath. I continued to use the Clarisonic for another month, but still didn't see my skin getting better so I stopped using it.


I personally do NOT think that the Clarisonic Mia is good for those who have acne. It was not a miracle worker like I was hoping. My theory is that the Mia was actually picking up bacteria and dirt from the zits I already had and was spreading it around. That's the only way I can justify why I was further breaking out in areas relatively close to the zits I already had.


After my skin cleared up, I began using the Clarisonic again. I was using it once every other day. This time I didn't break out from the product at all. Some people claim that their pores are smaller from using the Clarisonic. I don't find that that was the case for me at all. There just wasn't any difference in pore size. I did notice that I was getting these bumps on my cheeks and forehead from using the Clarisonic. Not like zits. I guess I would say they seemed more like irritations maybe. My skin would feel overall smooth, but right at the apple of my cheeks and the center of my forehead, I had these really small bumps. But if I stopped using the Clarisonic for like a week, the bumps were gone. I guess my skin just didn't like me using a brush on it. Thinking back now, I used to use this one face brush by Sephora and I had the same "bumpy" reaction. That brush looks like this:

Nowadays, I use the Clarisonic like once a week and it really serves one purpose for me. And that's to get rid of my blackheads! The Clarisonic brush moves in a back and forth motion that gets blackheads out really well! So for the most part, I use the Clarisonic on my nose where I get the most blackheads.


Here are some other things to consider when purchasing the Mia.


- You have to replace the brush every 3-4 months, which can be costly. 
- After each use, you have to wash the brush. I use a mild dish soap to disinfect it then I leave it to dry.
- There are different kind of brushes to choose from. I have tried the delicate, normal and sensitive. My fave is the delicate because I want the gentlest brush to use on my face.
- The Mia is the small cleansing system this brand offers, but they also have other ones like the Classic and the Plus, which have brushes that you can attach and use on your body.


Overall, I would not have purchased the Clarisonic Mia if I knew what I know now. It's just not worth it for me. I think the Clarisonic cleansing system would probably work better for people who have normal skin that isn't sensitive or break out. And if you want something for blackheads, just use the Biore pore strips. It's cheaper. And just as a disclaimer, this is my experience and opinion on the Clarisonic Mia. If you want to try it, by all means, please do. And if you have it and love it, then I'm glad it works for you. :)


I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I know it's a lot longer than my previous posts. I always try to keep it short and sweet because I don't want to bore you guys, but reviews do need to be wordy so I hope you guys understand.


XO,
kimtran

Natural with a touch of purple

Hey guys,


About a week-ish ago, my friend Anna and I were just hanging out and she said I could do her makeup just for fun. I wanted to keep it natural with a pop of purple. Here's what I came up with:

FACE
- loreal true match liquid foundation
- mac ladyblush cremeblend blush
- benefit hoola bronzer
- laura mercier translucent powder

EYES:
- mac taupe brow pencil
- mac stars 'n rocket, violet trance and parfait amour eye shadow
- bobbi brown black gel liner
- bobbi brown black pencil liner

LIPS:
- mac likes candy lipglass