This is why I hate pressed powders

I prefer using a loose powder on the face just because I think it looks more natural than pressed powder and plus I think whatever they use to make the powder stick together like that would probably wind up making my face oilier.

But I went against my bias to try out a pressed bronzer and look what happened:

Totally smashed bronzer 

I dropped it!!! My heart practically stopped for a whole second, and makeup is the hardest thing to clean off the floor. The stupid pigment clings to the floor. Had to wash my hands twice after cleaning up.

This just proves my theory that loose powder is better. I don't need to worry as much about dropping it because the worst thing is, maybe I'll lose a bit of powder. Whatever.

I'm protecting my translucent powder now. I'm going to smash it and put it in a jar with a sifter so my heart doesn't have to go through the trauma again.

Don't worry, I won't let you die too.

Birthday Present

Yes, I finally figured out how to fix the camera problem! I'm really sorry but the pictures are all cloudy because the camera didn't work. Yes, I swear I ran back to get the camera, but first it didn't have a memory card. Then the memory cards didn't work. Then I was just like, whatever, I'm so excited that I'm just going to take some crappy pictures with my phone and make them real small on my post.

Get ready because this is a long, picture heavy post.

OK so it was raining and that's why the box is so wet. I felt bad for the mailwoman. (Yes, it was a woman not a man like you predicted. :D She was really nice.) I squealed when I heard the woman say 'Post Office' and my dad laughed at me.

Then I opened the box, pull out the box and took another picture. lol I know it's a lot of pictures, but I wanted to do a step-by-step show.

You were right, it was hard to open, I had to pull out the scissor.

And here I stopped because I was steaming breakfast at the time and had to turn off the fire.

Haha I was already taking pictures but I was using my phone here. I stopped and ran to get the camera because I wanted you to have good pictures... But that went to hell and I was so impatient that I just opened it. Here I got really hungry so I took the present with me to the table.

So here's your present, sitting next to me while I set up breakfast... I was so excited and happy!

So of course I laid everything out neatly, thrilled at every item I pulled out. You can even see my breakfast in the background! I had dumplings.

Here's the empty box...

And now I finally opened everything, swatched stuff, read your notes...

I haven't tried anything out for long term, but I will assure you that I love your present and I love that you thought of me for several months, buying all this stuff slowly. The lipgloss tastes like cotton candy, sweet and slightly sticky. I was worried it would wash me out, but it's just a nice sheer gloss with really nice pink glitter that hides all my lips lines. (Success!)

You read my mind on a couple of these gifts too. I also use that Clinique moisturizer. I like it, it's OK, best for winter but I like something lighter for summer.

I love pencil eyeliners; I sacrifice staying power for ease of use. Now I don't have to! I'll try it out and review it here if I ever remember. 

I really like the jewelry you picked out. I don't like to give jewelry since I'm sure everyone has different tastes, but I liked the ones you picked out. I love big earrings, but I rarely wear them since they clash with my glasses. When I get contacts I will be stocking up on lots of big earrings. I like the necklace too. Now I wish I remembered to wear it for the party. I was rushing that day to set up the food and it was really humid and disgusting. I'll pair it with an outfit and take a picture for you.

I laughed at the highlighter, what do you do, hand them out to people and say 'Join today for ENLIGHTENING opportunities!' ??

I already have that elf eyeshadow brush, but it's so annoying to wash, I really really needed more!

Quick note about the orgasm illuminator... I notice... nothing. Haha. I'm a bit shinier, but I think I'll keep trying it out and look at it under different lighting. The light in my bathroom is super flattering but too dark. I can't believe you even think of me when you're ordering stuff. Shame the blush/bronzer duo didn't work out for you. :(

When I try out the primer and eyeshadow and samples I will post about it. (Which reminds me, I must try to get some samples for you too...)

I ate one of the candies even though I was coughing, because guess what, I'm sick too! Our immune systems are both absolute shit :DDD Why am I happy about this?

So I'm happy that you sent me tea. I really needed it. I wish I took a picture of the tea I had but I was so desperate for relief I just drank it right away. I had the lemon one, which was a little too lemony for me... but it really cleared up my throat! Oh well, I don't like tea much, I just drink it for the health benefits. 

Thank you so much for mailing this to me. I know getting to the post office and paying shipping sucks, so thanks, you're the best best friend ever! I was so happy, it cheered me up. I had to spend that entire day buying stuff for the party. It was also humid and disgusting.

A picture of my MAN HANDS using your keychain. (My breakfast is half eaten in the background lol)

Lastly, a picture of my too big for me makeup collection, taken quite a while ago.

If you're curious about anything in here, you could ask me. I even included stuff I didn't like in here, to remember why I should never impulse buy. I own quite a lot of Physician's Formula... now that I realize it...

Thanks for being an amazing, supportive best friend. We haven't seen each other for like an entire year, god. I miss you so much. Hope to see you during xmas vacation to binge shop!

I love you. I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Makeup Review: L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara

L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara (7 out of 10)

My skin is so oily that all mascaras smudge on me, it's only a matter of time. I nearly gave up on trying any more mascaras...

And then I met my one true, almost-HG mascara:

L'Oreal Beauty Tubes


Want to know how much I loved this? After trying it out for a few days, I went back and bought TWO back-ups. It was love.

This stuff has not ever smudged on me. I've worn it for over twelve hours and it's still making my lashes look awesome. The secret is the tubing technology- It forms a black plastic-like coating that covers your lashes. This makes your lashes feel kind of heavy, but I LOVE it, makes me feel like I'm wearing false lashes.

But the part that makes the lazy girl in me happiest is the fact that it comes off with just water. Yep. Simple warm water makes the tubes slide off your lashes in less than a minute. This is amazing for my sensitive eyes that get so red after rubbing off stubborn mascara.

So why isn't it my HG? Well, this amazing mascara comes with cons. Really big cons.

1. It flakes. I get about 8-12 hours wear before it starts to flake a little. Not enough to bother me, but still. I've noticed that it flakes more when I put too many coats.

2. It kills your curl. Whether I use the primer or not, my lashes go back to being stick-straight. Other mascaras are much better at keeping my curl, but they smudge on me, so the choice is still a no brainer for me.

3. You won't get much length/volume with this mascara. It makes a natural, everyday look- my lashes definitely look longer and fuller, but it's not a dramatic change.

4. There is a definite learning curve with this mascara. It can get clumpy really fast. You have to play around with it- Use the primer, skip the primer, wait for primer to dry before using black side, use black side immediately, do one eye at a time, do both eyes, etc.

5. The packaging is really bulky and stupid. It would be better if it were in two separate tubes.

After some trial and error, I found this works best for me:
-first curl lashes
-use white side on both eyes, try to use as little as possible, mostly at the base of lashes
-quickly swipe black side on top of primer, work fast. Once this dries you can't add more coats
-look down for about 20 seconds so it can dry

*I worried that sweat would also make my mascara come off, but no worries. Sometimes I'm still wearing my mascara when I excercise. I get very sweaty, sweat drips down onto my eyes, but it doesn't budge the mascara. I think it's because I didn't rub my eyes, and the sweat is very little water. No idea what happens when you cry or get caught in the rain or go swimming? Haha

Bottom line is I still love this mascara, it's the cheapest tubing mascara out there, and it would be too expensive to replace a $30 blinc or trish mcevoy mascara every 3-6 months. I would definitely repurchase and recommend this mascara to others with oily skin. If you have no problem with oily skin, then you lucky, lucky... bird. Haha Try something more dramatic.

My vacation and book obsession

Dear Joanna;

I'm on vacation right now, so yeah, I'd say I'm feeling pretty chill right now. Nothing big happening, and I can sleep in every day without even thinking about school. It's awesome- I won't get huge breaks like this anymore when I start working.

To be honest, I was kind of disappointed when vacation first started... There wasn't much to do. I wanted to stay home and soak up the comfort of it all, and I also wanted to call up some friends and go shopping. By the time I got up the energy to want to get out of the house, I got sick.

I'm really sick now. Horrible nasal congestion that makes me sound like... a frog. Actually, a toad. A toad dying of thirst and choking on its own spit. I can't go outside, because my allergies make my throat flare up and hurt. (Yeah, I have allergies and for some reason, they haven't really affected me for the last two years, but they suddenly came back? Is this a medical thing?) And I don't have the energy to go out even if I were brave enough to get past the pollen. My mom is convinced this is a cold, so I haven't washed my hair for 48 hours now... And I've skipped showering and washing my hair today, so that makes 72 I'm going without.

I feel so... dirty.

Haha.

Since I'm stuck at home now, I have to entertain myself even though I feel so miserable and sometimes can't even laugh, that's how stuffed my nose and throat get.

One thing I wanted to show you was my present for my cousin's birthday- I thought you might be interested to see what kind of makeup I bought her:

As you can see, I got her a set of gel pens, two NYX jumbo eyeshadow pencils, an almay highlighting pencil, a mascara and a sharpener.

*** Since buying a new sharpener that fits the jumbo eyeshadow pencils, I love just sharpening them as opposed to depotting, which takes a while, is not worth it and is really annoying.

My cousin wanted to use something to highlight her waterline, so that's why I got her the three pencils. The mascara, though, is the closest thing I have come to a HG makeup item.

I want to post a review about it and sing my praises about the mascara, but that'll have to wait. Just know that it's the L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara, and it is honestly the best mascara I have ever tried. I'm so tired right now, and I need to go to sleep soon...

Have to start going to bed early because sleeping late gives me massive headaches, even if I get 9 hours and sleep in until noon. Am I the only one this happens to? Joanna, you have a weird sleep schedule too... Does it start to affect you when you sleep very late?

Before I go, I want to talk about my latest book obsession. I took this week to catch up on my reading. Since school started, I have been reading way too much from textbooks. A good novel always cheers me up- It's got to have a believable, entertaining romance with some flowery prose, an underdog heroine and a hero that sounds really hot but it kind of a jerk.

Anyway, I'm embarrassed to admit that I love-

Oh god, I feel bad for saying that I really, really enjoyed reading and mocking

The Mortal Instruments Series

7/10, Borrow it before buying

Why am I so embarrassed? It was a huge guilty pleasure read. The books exist in a world that was rich and believable with a lot of fighting. The series is about a race of people called Shadowhunters who are part-angel, part-human and they are the police force of the supernatural world. I love the fantasy genre, so this really called to me.

I first saw a bunch of copies floating around in Marshalls and I skimmed the back cover but it didn't sound that great... And I don't even remember how, but then I ended up borrowing the book from the library several months later to see if it was any good. (Same thing happened with the Vampire Academy series, but that's a whole other story I have to tell you later. Suffice to say, I own the entire Vampire Academy series, and I also feel a bit embarrassed by it)

I was madly in love with the first book, even though the biggest flaw for me was the heroine, Clary. She was a a total Mary Sue, which is a writer term for "Perfect character who has some incredible talent, is super pretty and almost everyone likes her, but she has a fatal flaw! Like clumsiness or stupidity that magically goes away necessary!". Clary is really pretty but she doesn't know it, and oh no, two boys are madly in love with her but I'm like, WHY???? (Do you think I'm jealous of her? Haha)

She was like a piece of cardboard to me. In the book, she'd get mad and slap someone, but I never felt her anger or her fears or her happiness. To me, it was like the author would tell you all you needed to know.

Clary was angry. She threw things. They hit other things. (Sometimes I felt she got angry out of nowhere)

Clary was sad. She cried. She cried tears that leaked out of her eyes and splashed on the wooden floors. And then she ran away because it was all too much.

I would just roll my eyes when Clary did or thought anything because she was so lifeless. Her actions were so predictable and boring. I didn't give a shit about her.

I'm going to stop ranting, because you can tell it frustrates me. Even then, I kept reading because I loved the story despite it's gaping flaws.

I really, really liked the romance. Not the love triangle that was so stupid. (You knew from the first chapter who she would pick) It was amazing because the main guy was Jace, a misunderstood guy who is a kickass fighter with witty, sarcastic lines and a dark past. I'm a sucker for a badboy blond who is vain and proud, because that's just a hotter version of myself. I know, the narcisstic irony.

Plus... Clary and Jace love each other but... DUN DUN DUN They're brother and sister?!

I also loved the world of the Shadowhunters. I love that they draw runes on their skin, scarring themselves to give themselves special powers. I love the way it works, even if most of it is vague. Like, how are Shadowhunters trained? I saw no training happening in the book. Jace is too young to go out on battles but he can go out and hunt demons with his friends? What?

I love the floweriness of it, the poetic little things that sound beautiful... To love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed.

But god, parts of the story also annoyed the shit out of me. Some things happened because they were so convenient to the plot. There were way too many secondary characters that blur together. Our best example of a female warrior is a girl who uses a whip... and no, she's not as good as one of the guys.

Do you want to know how much I couldn't put it down? I was supposed to be studying for midterms, but this book sucked me in. Did I mention it was the day before midterms? Midterms I hadn't studied for?

So I just want to recommend this series to you because even though the flaws drove me crazy, the books mostly made me happy and I think you should try them out.

If you want to hear more about the books I read, tell me. Even if you don't, I'm still at least going to tell you about the Vampire Academy series. I loved it, but the last third of the series makes me intensely dislike it.

Before I go, I bought one more present for a cousin, and it's adorable. ;)

It's plastic, squishy animals from the vending machines! Just realized it looks like the cow is sniffing the pig's butt.

P.S. Yikes, you're leaving May 2nd? I better mail your care package fast; haven't put it all together yet. Still need to buy some soda candy you can't buy in Jersey and maybe a book... from a used book sale. Does it bother you if I buy you a used book? Tell me before I waste money on it.

I love you. Hope to see you in the summer. You owe me a lunch and shopping trip!

Love, Wendy

Product Review: Missha Botanic Garden Purifying Sheet Mask

Missha Botanic Garden Purifying Sheet Mask in Acerola and Bamboo

You actually sent me two of these, and a Bamboo one that I can't remember because I used it already. You said you loved these, and they're very moisturizing, but for me they were just OK.

My face has been really dry this past winter. I fell into this habit of applying baby powder on my skin to keep it oil-free. That only made it super dry. It's gotten a lot better since I've stopped using baby powder, but it's still kind of dry. Anyway, I said dry too many times.

So I used two of the masks so far, Acerola and Bamboo ones. The masks smelled nice, and they were good at moisturizing, but not great. I think it's because it's a sheet mask, and can't reach every corner of my face, like the corners of my mouth and sides of my nose. I didn't keep this mask on the whole night like you did, only about 40 minutes. The mask was partly dry by then. I took it off, pressed the gooey residue into my skin. (Which felt so weird) I didn't have to apply moisturizer before going to bed but when I woke up my skin felt the same.

In short, I think you're wasting your masks on me, Joanna. They work like lotion does on me. I wouldn't buy these for myself, since my face is different from the cut-outs they placed. While moisturizing, I could have just put on lotion, which is a lot simpler for me.

Rating: 7/10
Pros: I really like the smell of both the Acerola and Bamboo, and this was pretty moisturizing
Cons: Can't justify buying this for myself; it's so much easier just to smooth on lotion
Buy again? NO

Makeup Review: Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner

OK, so I wasn't planning on doing a review until the camera got recharged, and I could take my own pictures, but doesn't seem like it's going to be happening anytime soon and I'm free right now so I might as well use stock images and replace them later.

So the next thing I'm reviewing is the Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner

I don't know what Smashbox considers "Jet Set" or "Waterproof" because it's definitely not either. This tiny pot is way overpriced for what you get. It's an average gel eyeliner. There. I said it.

One thing that really bothered me about this eyeliner is how dry it is. It's not as creamy as I want it to be, and I wish I could show you how it kind of flakes at the edges, 'cause it drives me mad. I have to smooth out the edge, but then I end up putting too much. When you try to load this eyeliner on, it cracks and flakes.

Smashbox was right not to put "Oil Proof" on the label, because this is not oil proof, not even a little bit. But then again, nothing is oil proof against my eyelids. Must add that this works really well for the waterline, but I never tested staying power for this liner on the waterline.

I want to say this sucks for winging out liner, but it's probably my own lack of skill.

I would not buy this again; I haven't yet tried the MAC one that everyone loves and I hope I love it too.

Since this liner is very pigmented and dries fast, I will put it at slightly above average:

Rating: 7/10
Pros: Pigmented, glides on well, average staying power, dries fast
Cons: Too flaky for me, and seriously, average staying power
Buy again? NO. Haha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So according to the tracking number that I wasted a buck on, the birthday present was delivered at 7 AM TODAY. Which means that you should either be getting it today or tomorrow.

One day we are totally going to share a piece of cake. In Martha's Bakery on Austin.

     HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOANNA!!!!     

Wow, we've known each other for one full year now. You're the ~best~ best friend ever and I wish you the happiest birthday ever. So for one night, skip homework and spend the night eating chocolate and trying out new make-up! And then review it on your blog!

Have a magical, happy, carefree birthday!

Love you ~ Wendy

P.S. Did I use too many exclamation points?

Mailing Your Birthday Present

Ok, I finally, finally mailed your present. It was supposed to be mailed out on Saturday, but my post office closes at 1 PM and I got there just as they were closing, so I had to wait for Monday morning to mail it. I mailed it today at 10 AM, even got a delivery confirmation number because I was so worried that it would get lost in the mail... and because I thought it was free... Haha. I had to pay like a dollar, but I wanted to make sure it got to you! Because if it didn't, boy that would suck and I would have to go out and buy everything again and you would have to wait even longer to get it! :(

So anyway, the package is scheduled to arrive exactly on your birthday, only I'm afraid you might have to wait another day for it to actually be deposited in your PO box.

I'm so excited! Only two or three more days til you get your present <3 I must admit, as time went on, I just kept stuffing more and more things in there, determined to use up the space while still being able to close the flap and keep the envelope flat. Next time I am buying one of those bubble-wrap envelopes. Where do you get them? Staples?

Oh and one question: if I got you nail polish, would you use it? I didn't get you one this time because I'm afraid you won't use it. You don't seem like you like nail polish much.

Two days until your birthday...

Makeup Review: Flamingo Mascara and Revlon Matte Lipstick in Nude Attitude

You know how you give presents, and secretly you wonder whether the receiver actually liked it and is using it or if they threw it away? I'm going to give you a review on each thing you gave me, and do a semi-thorough review on each product, talking about what I hated or liked and if you have the time, you should do the same for me. Don't be shy, tell me if you hated it! Then I know what works for you, what doesn't and you'll get better presents in the future.

Flamingo Mascara:

OK I love asian mascaras. They just feel made for me, you know? This one gives me very good volume, but not much length. My eyes are kind of sensitive, so when I accidentally get the white fibers in my eye, it burns like hell. I love this mascara; it was the first one I tried that didn't give me panda eyes after 2 hours. Seriously. Most american mascaras last about two hours on me. I'm not sure why this stayed on so well, since the Benefit Bad Gal mascara lasted pretty long on me too. I think it's because the formula is quite dry; dry formulas have better lasting power. It makes it hard to pull the mascara through the lashes, but it's a fine sacrifice to make.

I tried to take pictures to show you how it changes my lashes, and it took me nearly 30 bad pictures to realize that my camera is shit at picking up detail. No matter what I do the picture is super fuzzy. Do you know how to fix this? I have no clue. That's why there's no pictures.

If you look closely at the picture, you can see the hot glue on the black mascara tube. I kind of dropped it, and the tube completely snapped off at the neck part. Yeah... I glued it back, but it doesn't work too good and I'm going to be careful now so I don't drop anything else.

Pros: Good staying power, good volumizing, decent at length and holding a curl
Cons: Takes quite a while to build up, time-consuming, starts to smear on me after 8 hours, takes a while to get off
Overall: I would buy this mascara again if I ran out, because it gives me way more dramatic lashes than my almost-HG mascara. (More about that later) I love it quite a lot, and want to try more asian mascaras


Revlon Matte Lipstick: Nude Attitude

Can you tell from the swatch that it's more orange than pink? I'm not a fan of nude lips so I am biased, but this just washed me out. Worse than that, it emphasizes every imperfection on my lips. Even if my lips are perfectly smooth and free of dead skin, this sinks into the lines of my lips. I do notice that if I put a lipgloss over it, the lines disappear, but I'm not big on lipgloss. I like my lipgloss to be pigmented, so it would just cancel out the color of the lipstick, making it useless. I will have to be very careful when I wear it, exfoliating my lips then applying clear-ish lipgloss (like the Neutrogena one you gave me) over it But every time I blot my lips after applying, the tissue looks so orange, like cooked salmon. I really like this as a blush, though. I swipe some on my fingers and blend it along my cheekbones.

Pros: It looks fine on my cheeks, and pretty good pigmentation
Cons: Emphasizes every line on my lips, hate the color, would have been so annoyed if I bought this
Overall: I would never buy this for myself; I'm only using it as a blush just to use it up.


More reviews coming later; my camera ran out of battery as I was taking pictures of the things you gave me. I wanted to give more true-to-life swatches and stuff.

The Wendy Show

It's time for...

The Wendy Show

This was an incredible amount of work, mostly because I look like a troll and had to take about 60 pictures to get a handful of ok pictures. I don't think I look that great in any of these, so why am I showing them to you? Because you're going to need a bunch of pictures so you can rotate them and I dunno, choose which one you like best?

So first thing I did was put on make-up, so you can see how good I'm getting. Oh and I timed myself! Just moisturizer, concealer, highlighter and powder took about seven minutes. Boo. I was trying to do all of that AND mascara in five minutes. But then I decided to do eyeshadow and eyeliner, which was a big mistake. I totally messed up the first time and had to take it all off and the second time, I screwed up my right eye. Can you tell in any of these pictures? Probably not, they're too far away.

My bathroom was a mess. At one point, I dropped all my brushes in the sink, so they all got wet. :(













But anyway, onwards! I sat at my desk, because it just felt normal? And by the second picture, I was already goofing off. Haha, imagine what I'm like when I'm working!

I am a huge, huge Glee fan. Can you tell? I do a perfect loser sign.

I then moved to the bathroom, where I have the best lighting. It's perfect; kinda dark and yellow. I'm sitting on the floor, in case you were wondering.

I'm trying to do the fobby asian pose, so why is my left hand holding up 3 fingers?

I don't know what I'm doing here, but I look totally funny.

And then I got super pissed, 'cause my pictures were so shitty, so I actually did the mirror pose. I'm kind of ashamed, since I usually make fun of people who do this.

Do I look good? I at least look like a tiny less fat, but otherwise I have this super dumb smile on my face.

At this point, I'm about 40 pictures in, hating myself and feeling hungry so I went out to the kitchen to eat something. What did I eat? You guessed it: crackers.

Oh god this is a bad picture; I'm pissed and hungry.

But then I got this really cool shot! Or at least I think I look cool, like a Hollywood version of a mob boss? C'mon, I've got the dark lighting, and the slightly pissed off scowl.

So finally, finally I went back to my desk, and took the only decent, realistic shot of me: I don't know how, only that I was really tired of it all and also, people were going to come home soon and see my craptastic photoshoot.

 ^^^Click for a bigger image!^^^

So that is what I really look like now. I think it's pretty accurate. I'm not smiling, and my nose looks huge. That's totally realistic. I'm unfriendly and have unflattering shadows on my face. Woohoo. One thing I do notice is that my under eye circles are non-existent. Could it be that I'm actually getting good at concealer??? Haha. I messed up on concealer and had to do it again. I tried to blend it in with a fluffy brush like this one girl on youtube did (she made it look flawless) but on me the concealer just forms blobs.

This took about two hours, for makeup and photos, and I'm tired now. And I know these pictures are unflattering, but hey, at least you have some pictures of me, right?

The green shirt I'm wearing is one of my favorites. It's a boatneck that shows off my collarbones, which I love. Other than that, it looks ratty on me. I wear it as pajamas.

Now that I think about it, I cannot believe I didn't change my shirt.

I'm going to close this with a Sailor Moon picture. You probably didn't know, but I used to be a huge Sailor Moon fan. I watched it in Chinese. Anyway, in this picture the cat was making fun of Sailor Moon and called her Sailor Fatty. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who feels fat.

That's all for now!

I basically used up my whole day on this. Haha; hope you enjoyed. I'm going to take a break from posting. Oh and I'm curious. How long does it take you to take pictures?

HUGS

This is so cute and makes everyone melt into a puddle of goo:

Need a hug? Got your back.

My Wall

***CLICK ON PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER.***

I know it's been forever, but I got stuck in this vortex of school and procrastination. :( But so far everything's going OK. Not much is happening, just time slowly ticking by. I managed to make some new friends, haven't seen my old friends and totally repulsed this guy! Oh my god, it was both hilarious and crushing to see how much this guy DIDN'T want to talk to me, even though we were sitting next to each other in the lab. I offered him a pencil, (He was furiously scribbling with his pen, trying to get it to work, and I was like WHAT IS THAT HORRIBLE SOUND?) and he was the least grateful person I've ever met. Oh well. Hopefully we're not sitting next to each other next time. I was actually sad, because usually I sit next to this really funny girl, and this stupid guy took her seat instead. : (

Anyway, this post is titled "My Wall" and it's because... I want to show you my wall! You know how I have this blank wall by my desk? I put a poster of Taylor Lautner up on it for a while? Yeah, I took it down because it was getting boring. And then I put up a huge collage of... stuff. Haha. I cut out a bunch of stuff I like from magazines, put up some pictures:

*****NO, REALLY. CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER*****



So that's the entire collage. You can see I have real photos surrounding it, some pictures by my little cousins, and even your halloween card! They surround the collage, which I made way before I decided to put other stuff around it.

Here's a closeup of the collage:



Here's a close-up of some really old pictures of me: In the left picture, I look super nerdy and like I haven't changed much. I'm in sixth grade there, I think. In the right picture, I'm like five or six. I know, I looked so cute when I was little. WHAT HAPPENED? Haha. And that's my sister next to me, holding the bear. (Sorry, there's a weird reflection on the picture. You can see my green cabinet on the left and me in a purple bathrobe on the right!)



OK, so another thing I did is get a glue gun. I feel like a real arts n crafts person now that I have a glue gun. So what did I do? I went crazy and glued a bunch of plastic stars to my desk. Haha. Here's two pictures. You can see that I try to use the stars to hang stuff, like my gorgeous new headband, only $2.50 at Club Monaco. Can you believe they charge $29 originally? For rhinestones and ribbon?




Before I go, just wanted to show you my brand new patent leather nude pumps. I know they're not tall enough for you, but I'm out of practice wearing heels,and I found even these really uncomfortable. Actually, I wore them out for about an hour, and it made two cuts in both my feet. Showering that night was like an acrobatic routine as I tried to keep the water away from my feet. Can you imagine? Even water made those cuts burn like hell. What do you do to prevent foot pain? Suck it up?




No, seriously. How do you hold up against the pain in your feet? My feet are dying here. Ignore me. I've been kind of whiny lately, because there's just so much schoolwork to do. All I want is to play around with makeup. By the way, how do you do your winged eyeliner? I must be doing it wrong, because it always comes out looking stupid on me.

So I'm doing fine. How are you doing? Your birthday's coming up! What do you want? Give me some hints, will you? I won't be mailing your present... Actually, that's cruel. I'll mail a small portion of it, but the entire thing is going to be really heavy because I'm stuffing it with chocolate. Literally. You know how you use bubble wrap? I'm using chocolate as bubble wrap. I'm not sending everything I haven't bought all of it yet. Haha. I don't know what to buy... You have way too much makeup, I don't want to give you more... unless I think it's amazing and you should try it.

God, I can't wait until we go to Sephora together! I'm trying to put together a list of everything I want... and I'm trying to apply for jobs so I won't be broke after it's over. I'm spending quite a lot on drugstore make-up, all to find my holy grails.

Love you, be happy, and be healthy! I hope you made lots of friends!

~Love, Wendy

Brian Jacques

Do you know who this man is? Probably not. He's a writer, one of my childhood favorites. He wrote the Redwall series, which I don't think you've heard of, Joanna. This man wrote some of the most magical stories. I loved reading his books. I lost interest after a couple books, but I always remember how much fun I had reading them. The best part was that I had a really good friend who loved the series too. I don't have many friends that I can talk to about books, so that was a special friendship that I feel Mr. Jacques brought to me. He also inspired me to start writing terrible poetry, and he got me into the fantasy genre.

It's been almost ten years since I first read his books, and just today I found out he died on February 5. I wanted to take the time to thank Mr. Jacques for entertaining and inspiring a little bookworm, and for bringing me another bookworm friend. I love to read, and he really got me into reading.

R.I.P. Brian Jacques

(This is random, but I keep spelling things wrong. I really need some sleep.)

Oh, and I know you didn't ask, but the Redwall series is about... animals... that talk and have wars and act just like people. Haha, sounds weird enough? It's like Lord of the Rings, lots of songs (I never read this book, but this is what I heard) but it's animals. And the stories are epic adventures.

Look how adorable...

Mascara Miracle

I didn't have the best day today at school. I was so thirsty since I accidentally spilled all the water in my bottle all over the floor. I didn't get to buy the Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl Mascara since I saw the price tag ($20? What the hell?!) I thought it was about $12, honestly, and the character on the packaging reminds of a manga character I really love.


Anyway, I was feeling kind of down so I went home and put on make-up. I know this is weird. I wasn't planning to go anywhere. Putting on make-up just makes me feel so relaxed and happy, so when I feel down I put on make-up. So I curled my lashes, and for once, I curled both sides perfectly. Then I put on Maybelline Lash Discovery mascara, fulling expecting it to smear or smudge. I was just like, whatever, don't care. No one's going to see me.

I worked out on the elliptical for about half an hour. I kept on sweating so I knew my mascara was probably smudging like hell. But then I checked my reflection after the work-out in the mirror and...

IT WAS PERFECT.

I don't know if my mascara was perfect because I curled them so my lashes couldn't touch my eyelid and smear or if it was a Valentine's Day miracle. I mean, I didn't even put on a primer. No primer, no powder, and my face was kind of oily.

This just proves that I don't need a boy to be happy. I just need my mascara to stay perfect through a hellish work-out and I will be floating on air.

By the way, I'm back to working out! I skipped last week because I felt so blah (was on my monthly thing) but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things.

So how are you doing, Joanna? I miss you. School's no fun when I can't ignore the professor and talk to you. I love you, hope you're doing well. Love, Wendy

Pictures!

Finally kept my promise, and took some pictures of my makeup collection and my closet. I tried to take a picture of my dresses to make a background, but it doesn't look that good and the file is too big to upload here. Oh well. I'm still going to show you these pictures.

No pictures of me, only because I feel like crap today. Haven't washed my hair and I have got so much hw to do. *sigh* But let's get onto the pictures!!!

CLICK ON PICTURES FOR BIGGER SIZE! YOU CAN BARELY SEE ANYTHING FROM HERE...

This is my closet. I took two pictures. I know it's a bit messy now, but whatever, it's always messy. So on the right, with my picture of Squidward and the creepy guy, are my tops and bottoms. The very top shelf is t-shirts and tank tops. Second is long sleeve shirts and long pants. Third is foldable tunics and summer pants. Fourth is sweatshirts and stuff I don't like anymore. The drawers I didn't open are filled with underwear and socks, which I didn't want to show. :) On the left is pajamas on the top shelf. The hanging rack is all jackets, unfoldable dresses, cardigans, skirts and dress shirts. Basically, all stuff you can't fold. I need a new organization system. You should tell me your system since mine is such a mess.

Oh, and did you notice I keep some books and makeup there? I can't keep my makeup in the bathroom because someone keeps playing around with it. The Physician's Formula concealer you gave me went bad. :( Someone played with it and squeezed out almost all the product, leaving only weird gray fluid inside. I was really coming around to liking it, too. :( The books are there because I like to read on my bed.


These are all my dresses. I haven't shown all of these to you yet, and some are new. My favorite is the one on top: It's a navy blue top with a bright green skirt. Really cute. The one with the blue floral skirt is also cute. When you visit, I'll definitely wear one to show you.


This is my makeup collection. Actually, I keep some makeup at my desk, so this isn't everything, but this is most of it. It's probably not as big a collection as yours, but I sometimes can't believe how much money I spent on all this stuff. By the way, the only mascara I like here is the asian one you gave me. :( The rest smear on me.


So that's all of my pictures for today. It was a lot of work, but it was so fun! I had to hide it, because I didn't want anyone to know how frivolous I am for taking pictures of my clothes. Haha. I didn't take pictures of my makeup brushes because I just washed most of them today.

Would you want a picture of my sweater rack, filled with sweaters, cardigans, belts and bags? I don't know; it seemed too boring to show you.

So, love you lots, Joanna. Hope you had fun looking. I took more pictures but I'll upload them later.

Love, Wendy

Makeup Review?

Today was another average day at school, and I was waiting for it all to end because I was going makeup shopping afterwards! For some reason, though, I forgot to bring money (?) so I only had enough to buy one lip thing. I bought the Maybelline Superstay 16 Hour Lip Color in 720 Blush:

And it looks like that. The color is kind of accurate, only there it's more of a golden pink in real life. There's a lot of shimmery gold glitter in there.

No, it doesn't last 16 hours. Haha. I ate dinner, so I wasn't expecting it to last through that. But I love the color and the balm it comes with and I can't wait to put it on tomorrow! Also, I tried it out on my hand first and tried to rub it off, but oh my god it's not coming off. I tried putting on lotion and I even took a shower, and it's still there. The mark is faint, but wow. I mean, it lasted through my 20 minute shower.

Ooh, and Joanna, you gotta tell me if you're liking the idea of this because I want to get you one now. The colors are so sheer, and the balm is fantastic.

The best part? Everything, the balm and the lip color SMELLS LIKE STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM. I love the smell of this lip color!

Writing

Why do I write? What can I possibly hope to get out of this kind of time-consuming, frustrating and endless activity? Part of the reason I write is that I know I have talent and I know that if I work hard, I can make it. There are a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is the drive to create. I wrote this passage way back in December for an English paper, but I think it perfectly describes why I choose to writer, to be creative. 

            How does it feel?

            It’s like suddenly your brain runs in a million different directions. You are obsessed, a person possessed by the need to bring your fantasies to life.

            Creativity is like a match. It ignites something dormant inside.

            You are different, extraordinary and you can do anything.

            Even change the world.

Exercise

Back in 11th grade, I remember I went on this crazy exercise plan where I actually used the exercise bike 5-6 times a week, and this actually went on for about five months. I think. It was crazy, the way I was so determined. So then I gave it up, mostly because I got lazy. I did try to keep it up but I went down to 1-2 times a week and then down to nothing. The problem is making that determination to keep it up, because no matter how busy or tired I get, if I really, really wanted to do the exercise, I would make myself go because it's so soothing.

Anyway, this post means that I will try to get back on that plan. It's hard, but it's really worth it. Plus, I'm getting so fast and lazy. I can't go on diets; I love food too much. So I will have to exercise my way there. I'm secretly destroying my skin with all this junk food and late night sleeping, and I hope exercising will bring my skin back to normal. It's looking really... lumpy now.

This post is going to be a reminder to myself that I really want to get into shape, especially when it's spring and I can go running again! Yay! More torture for me... Haha. No, seriously. I want to die when I run. It's so hard to find a place with no people, no cars, and no cracks in the street to trip me. Oh, and getting myself to keep going is a nightmare. Why am I doing this again?

Right.

Mission: Hot Body
Progress: Not going so well. Must start tonight.

Letter

OK, so I know it's been forever since I updated, but I'm so lazy since I've been going to school. I think I'm just going to update once a week or something, and put up a bunch of posts about what's happening in my life. But how are you, Joanna, because it's been forever since I heard from you!

Anyway, on my first day back at school, I wrote you a letter. I'm going to post it here so you don't have to wait for it to arrive in the mail. Just as well; I wrote it on totally boring looseleaf and I have nothing to decorate it with anyway.

1/31

Dear Joanna;

I am writing this to you while in class, so excuse the boring paper. I'm having a shit first day back in school and I thought you'd want to hear since it's hilarious if it's not happening to you.

So first, let me tell you that I have bad luck on first days all the time.

The first problem was my mom- I set my alarm for 8:55 and then she woke me up at 6:10 in the freaking morning because she thought I had an early class. I couldn't get back to sleep- I was so pissed . It took an hour and I finally fell asleep. Then at 8:42 my mom wakes me up again. I just gave up and got up because those last few minutes were not worth it.

Later, I'm really early to class so I purposely miss my bus and buy lunch. I figure I'll catch the nest bus. What the hell the bus doesn't appear for half an hour! I'm standing in the shade, shivering, and no bus appears. This is probably my fault for wanting to buy food but that kind of punishment is way harsh. I hate waiting- It makes me want to stamp my feet and you know, punch someone. Sorry, I must sound like a violent rageaholic. It's just that when I get frustrated, I need to let it out.... with violence. Haha

Then I was at the administrative office and the system was down. What the hell, why are these systems always down? Those people are so unhelpful, they might as well look pretty, you know? God, what if I end up working one of those jobs?

And the last dumb story for today is my fault- I was looking in this building for room 258... and I was so confused because the rooms went from 201 to 212 and that was it. I walked around the building, and down the same hallway three freaking times. And I even walked out the back entrance, where the snow wasn't shoveled and walked through several inches of snow, back to the front entrance. Finally I check my schedule again and realize the class is in room 209. Like, duh. 258 is for another class.

This was seriously such a dumb moment- I don't know if I was just nervous or dumb. I need to go back to school just to make my brain work again.

Anyway, missing you lots. Only people I actualyl talked to today were unhelpful administrative people. I'm so exhausted, and listening to this professor talk in this loud, high, nasal voice that is giving me a headache.

I really hope this cheered you up (feel free to laugh at the pain I cause myself) because of course I want you to be happy. Also, hope you're not working too hard. Vacation's coming soon in April and I'm not going to Belize, so we have to go shopping again! I'd like to avoid Queens Center (because of the Aerosoles incident) so let's just go have lunch.

Love you ~Wendy

Saturday, and getting my fortune told

Dear Joanna;

Almost forgot, about why I didn't take any pictures- I tried to take some, but my camera isn't working. It keeps saying the memory card has a problem. Is it full or something? I'm so aggravated with it. I had so many pictures to show you and I wanted to change the background... so you could see my ugly plastic hangers. Haha

Saturday, January 22nd

  Today wasn't so bad. I got up at 11. What the hell? It means I've slept about 10-11 hours. Shit. I need to put myself on a better sleep schedule.I went to Flushing and got my new phone. I got a texting phone, baby~ Just wait til I get a texting plan. I will start bothering everyone I know with stupid texts. I wish I could take pictures for you~ The camera on my new phone sucks. I also get 4 months of Internet, (some kind of trial), so let's see if it makes me update this blog more...

So the rest of the day was a family day, and you don't know about these, so let me explain. When my dad takes a day off and me and my siblings have no school, we'll all out go to Flushing for grocery shopping and whatnot. After getting my phone, we went grocery shopping. So me and my brother and sister toss a bunch of snacks in the cart like usual, and then we went to Costco- the one by Century 21. I thought of you and wondered how you were when I was there. :) Great, now I'm crazy about those emoticons.

The one thing I hate about these days is that we go in the car. I get carsick SO BAD. I wanted to play video games when I got home, but I had a massive headache so I just watched TV.... Wow and not much happened.

Oh, I got my Allure magazine~ My subscription's ending in April, I think? I'm not renewing. Sick and tired of these magazines because most of their stuff is one big advertisement. The advice is always the same, and the 'editor's favorites' are chosen by the beauty companies who pay to have their products on that page. Only some stuff is trustworthy, like that one article I read about Coty Airpsun Face Powder, which really works, and is great. (But it's a pretty old and hard to find product, so I don't think the company paid for it? I don't know) The only thing I'm renewing is 17 magazine because as stupid as it is sometimes, it makes me laugh and is really fun to read. I love reading the romance section~ I am dying for a romance, but at the same time, I don't want one.

I want to fall in love because I consider it the best feeling in the world, but at the same time, I'm too messed up to be in a functional relationship. I would be clingy or whiny or dependent. Right now I can't handle it. Also, I've had my fortune told, and according to Chinese people, this is pretty accurate (the fortunes are all in this one book) and it says that this year, I will fall madly in love but the guy will think of me as just a friend. HOW CRUSHING IS THAT? Oh, and I'd be very studious. Like I care! I don't want my heart broken again. Wait for it, Joanna, I'm going to be writing long letters soon about this perfect guy that I've just met in my class. *sigh*

OK, and then I had my fortune told again. My aunt and mom did it first, and it was pretty accurate, so when it came to my turn, I got the most disappointing love thing ever: I will be torn between two guys: One of them is my dream guy, the kind of guy I am naturally attracted to: He's charming, social, easy to talk to, outgoing, basically, all the stuff I'm not and he talks sweet bullshit to me and I buy everything he says. The other guy is someone like me, quiet, saves his money, works hard (that's not like me, though... haha) and I will find him kind of boring. The thing is, boring guy loves me a lot and will be the best marriage match for me. If I marry boring guy, the marriage will last a long time and be nice and I'll grow to like him. Bullshitter would make it clear that he is settling for me, and I would take the chance because I love his sorry ass and I am so attracted to him. But the marriage won't be so great because he thinks he can do better and I would probably be trying  to match his standards.

What can I do but refuse both guys? I don't want a relationship where the love is so unequal, you know? Someone who loves me more than I love him or someone who doesn't love me as much as I love him?

So I will end up alone, bitter, with maybe a fabulous career but a shit love life and a string of crappy affairs. I was seriously so disappointed, but now I'm not going to take this so seriously. I can change my life and I will. I will fall madly in love with boring guy and kick bullshitter in the face. It's going to work, for realz. The reason why I think this fortune is so real is because I don't even understand it. It's based on a bunch of Chinese stuff like the hour and year you were born, and some other stuff. Also, my mom's is scarily accurate. It predicted that my mom will marry someone just like my dad.

Haha, but no fortune is set in stone. Things change and you make better decisions and even if today is shit, tomorrow's another day, another chance to start over.

Love, Wendy.     it's so late... crap.

Catching up

 Dear Joanna;

I'm trying to catch up on my blog posts and this is kinda as far back as I can remember:

Friday, January 21st

I stayed over at my cousin Ling's house in Flushing for five days last week, so I've been trying to enjoy spending time at home. I want to spend the entire day at home, but I've been out every single say. The day before this I went out to the bank to open my bank account because Ling told me the gov't sends you financial aid faster if they can send it to your bank account. ? I have no idea how this works.

I wanted to stay home all day, but my mom suggested I try going to Aerosoles again to return my stupid boots. I was like, fine, whatever. Guess what. I got there, and I STILL COULD NOT RETURN IT. I was beyond pissed. It was all because my cousin paid for me with her credit card since I didn't have enough money with me. I needed the credit card to return. I know, it was stupid, why didn't I just ask the guy if I needed the card to return the last time I went there? I am someone who likes to push my luck, and I assumed it would work anyway, because sometimes the people there are nice and let you. Nope, no such luck.

It was terrible. I was so incredibly frustrated and angry, but had to bottle it up. I wanted to throw the boots through the doors, that's how bad it was. So I pushed down my anger like I always do and took the bus home. Only, the anger came out as sadness and I started crying because I thought, "Why the hell can't I do anything right? I'm so stupid at doing things normal people do." And it's true, too. I'm only good at living in my own little world. Even worse, it was just a string of bad days that felt like the world acting against me. I couldn't stop crying, so I didn't go home right away. I went to the library, and finally calmed down. I wasn't angry or crying, just very still.

As soon as I got home, it blew up in front of me, of course. My mom started lecturing me about how I was being stupid, of course you need the credit card, and I just didn't want to hear it, you know? I went into my bathroom, the only place in the house I really feel calm, and sat down and cried some more. But crying is annoying for me, because I tell myself I'm stupid for wasting time with it. I went downstairs to do some exercise, take my mind off everything. I read one of my favorite books instead of going on the computer and slept early. It wasn't an easy day, but well, I think my usual method of pushing it all down and distracting myself worked, don't you?

God, now I'm making sick jokes about it. I'm sick and tired of going out. I just want to stay home, where nothing really bad happens.

Love, Wendy

So today I wasted my time...

Wednesday, January 19th 2011

So I wake up today at 1 PM and I'm like 'Oh, shit, it's the afternoon already?' Yeah, I slept about 11 hours. I was really tired from yesterday; took my grandma to the doctor and waited over three hours and that was ALL I did. Thinking about this pisses me off again.

OK, so today: I ate breakfast. It was already 2:30 by the time breakfast was over, so since my day seemed like a lost cause, I decided to go to Queens Center to return my Aerosoles boots since I found better ones in Macy's. Will have to take lots of pictures for you tomorrow, Joanna; I love those boots.

Just taking the time out of my day to go there was a waste of time. The computer was down, and the guy was like, 'Oh, you should come back tomorrow around 4' I felt like he was testing me to see if I really wanted to return these boots or what. Does he think I'll forget and decide to just keep the boots? I want my money back, asshole. Now I have to make another freaking trip there? I swear, if I go back and the computer's still down, I will NEVER shop at Aerosoles again, not even for those totally cute purple maryjane heels that are on sale for $30.... Or maybe I will just make one more purchase and that's it! Haha, I can't even take my own threats seriously.

I tried calling you, Joanna, to ask if you knew where the store that sells NYX stuff is, but you never answered so then I went to Rite Aid, where they had my St. Ives Apricot Scrub on sale and I also tossed in some Lays potato chips since I love them and then I looked at the new Physician's Formula blush and oh my god it's so CUTE. I WANT it. I hate you for starting my makeup addiction.

LOOK AT IT! It's so cute! I want it!!! Um, anyway...

Nothing much happened, played some video games~  That's my zen garden in Plants vs Zombies. You gotta show me how you play because I think the game is pretty easy.

I will try to take pictures of all my clothes tomorrow, since I plan to stay home ALL day... except maybe I'll pop out to Michaels to see if they're selling anything I could use for a present. It's my baby cousin's b-day on the 24th, you know?

Goodnight; I'm going to sleep early and get up early! I'm serious! Kind of.