Author: Carina

Sunday Reads

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Hey ho, just some beauty reads I wanted to share with you. Because they are gems is why. I tried to do this every week, but then I felt pressured and it fell out of my radar. I think I just have to make these posts when I feel like there are things I absolutely must share and today is one such time. NEW BLOG ALERT OK, first up is a new favorite beauty blog by my friend, Sasha. She is pretty known in the book blog world as Sasha Silverfysh (the woman can easily read 20 odd books in a single month, ha), but she has recently dabbled in makeup musings and let me tell you—it has been funny and great. While the reviews have been thoroughly entertaining, everything in the Navel-gazing category is worth a read. (OK, I particularly like Don’t Hide.) THOUGHTFUL PIECES ON CONSUMPTION In line with my thoughts on consumerism and makeup spring cleaning, the post that inspired the “outing” of myself (that I took back, lol), Spring Cleaning and …

On Consumerism & Spring Cleaning

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I’ve been going back and forth on this topic for quite a while now, and have been sitting on this particular blog post for about a month. I don’t really know what to say about “it,” but I do know that I want to take part in the conversation. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on the matter of consumerism and over-consumption, all of which, at least in part, echo what I feel as a person and as a… how do I say it? Mindless drone? Sheep? Just kidding. I’m not here to berate myself for liking material things, but I do want to examine my personal habits as someone who does enjoy, in some measure, shopping, acquisitions, and beautiful things. First off: I hate to admit it, but I think this blog is a big indicator that I am a hoarder. When I was drafting this post, I felt like I wanted to “out” myself as a terrible person who collects useless things only to abandon them later. Then I backtracked and …

Nosy Beauty Vol. 28: Erin

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Nosy Beauty is back! After an unexpected hiatus, sorry guys. This week, I’ve got Erin, who I first met online because of a shared love for film photography. Ooo~ Ha-ro! My name is Erin, a catwoman already in her late 20s who likes writing for fun & money and taking pictures in black & white. I run my own webzine – Parallel Planets. I’m currently in Tokyo, Japan and I’m loving every day that I’m here. My make-up bag is very basic that if it were a real girl, you wouldn’t bother dating it. Haha. Seriously, though, my make-up process is not very scientific. As much as possible, I try to appear “comely” in 5 steps or less. STEP 1: So, before applying any make-up, I always put on Nivea Soft Cream just to moisturize my face before applying some liquid foundation – I currently use Kanebo, which is readily available here in Tokyo. STEP 2: I love wearing eyeliner. It was the first make-up which I learned how to use and I’ve been using …

Bedside Matters

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LOL the title is just a “play on words” thing for night routine. After cleansing, this is what I typically use. The heat has been so unforgiving lately, that my skin started to really freak out. I figured it was the heavy moisturizers I’d been using so I switched to a few lighter alternatives. After thoroughly taking my makeup off and sometimes toning, sometimes not, I used to use the Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Complexion Serum and Dark Spot Corrector, but as it is out of my price range right now (I mean, $125 for 0.5 oz?!), I turned to the forgotten serums and anti-aging potions in my stash right now. Sidenote: You know what’s funny? It never occurred to me to research just what peau vierge meant, and it turns out it’s French for VIRGIN SKIN. Almost spit out my drink there. Ha. My usual sequence goes like this: — A generous pump of the bareMinerals Multi-Wrinkle Repair, which I purchased quite a while ago. I like it because it’s like and …

Recent Loves

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I feel like it’s a bit too late to talk about “monthly favorites,” but I always have little products I want to talk a bit about. Here are the things I’ve been loving lately. Not exactly for an entire month, but just the ones I’ve been reaching for a lot these days. For my eyeshadow fave as of late, I’ve got a palette by NARS that I’m sure you are all familiar with, And God Created the Woman. This is such a great little palette. Recently, I’ve used this for eyebrows, eyeshadow and liner all at once. Other makeup favorites: I got the & Other Stories Eyebrow Pencil in Bouclé Greige from Laala and I’ve been using it a lot. I posted about my brow routine not long ago, and I sometimes have been using this in place of the K-Palette eyebrow marker. Another frequent easy lipstick I’ve been using a lot of lately is the THREE Velvet Lust Lipstick in 05 Love Like Heaven. The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger is steadily becoming …

Mascara Backlog

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I might have a problem. I have 5 kinds of mascara open right now (3 full-size, 2 samples), but these are the ones that I have yet to even try. I can’t seem to curb my mascara enthusiasm and buy more than I can use up in one time. Actually, no, that’s not true. I have been holding back. Imagine my “to-test” pile if I didn’t give a crap. We beauty lovers tend to over-buy stuff and hoard things we don’t need, but mascara seems to be a bit trickier since it expires fast (and it is unhygienic to ignore the expiration durations here) and you can only use it so much. I don’t know how to get the most “bang for my buck,” so to speak. What is your “problem area” when it comes to makeup? Mine is actually eyeshadow, but I’m so overwhelmed by the fact that I have so much unopened mascara! I’m so curious to see how these will fare with my lashes, but I’m also scared of germs so I’m …