Recently... & A Few Changes

First thing first, I'm the realist... just kidding! (But I do think of that every time someone uses that line).  But on to the business: I changed the name of the blog!  I knew I wasn't exactly happy with what I had before and I finally thought of one that I like better.  I thought it suited me a bit better since I do have a science background.

Next, I finally caved and purchased a layout on etsy.  For the longest time, I was stubborn and wanted everything on this blog to be my creation, including the layout.  Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to create a layout that I am satisfied with all by myself for a long time.  So for now, I am happy supporting others who can make my blog look 100x better than it was before.

And then there's the a month of silence.  Especially since I just stated that I just took an unexpected break a few weeks before.  I really don't have any explanation of it.  I have been making a list of things I can blog about, but I start to feel trapped whenever I only think of beauty things to talk about.  I don't really have a clear direction of where I want to take this blog to, but I know I don't want to only talk about beauty things.  Another thing that unmotivates me is that I'm not proud of my pictures.  I've been doing some reading on how I can improve my pictures but I don't have the camera for it, and I don't have the lighting in my house for it.  But I know like with anything in life, I have to start somewhere and improve as I go.  So for now, please bare with me as I experiment around with my pictures.

Now, here's to hopefully a better organized schedule on my part.

Fall Nail Polish Picks

I never realized this until recently, but a good amount of my friends associate me with painted nails.  Apparently something seems off to them when I don't have my nails painted.  I will admit I am a huge fan of nail polish; it's definitely my second weakness after lip products!

I have a relatively large collection of nail polishes compared to a normal person, and after going through some of my more recent purchases, I have picked out some nail polishes I am excited to rock this Fall/Winter season!

During the Fall/Winter seasons, a lot of people tend to wear the darker shades.  Some of my favorite darker shades to wear are deep red, deep teal, mauvey brown, black and berry.

These are the shades that I have purchased within the past few months that I am excited to rock the next few months!

Sally Hansen - Slick Black

Revlon - Bordeaux

Wet 'N Wild - Distressed to Impress

Wet 'N Wild - So Berry On Trend

Revlon - Autumn Spice

Formula X - Black Hole

L'oreal - Haute Couture Red

Julep - Angela

What are some of your favorite shades to wear on your nails during the Fall/Winter seasons?


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Monthly Wishlist: November 2014

Another month and another small list of things I've been lusting over.  This month I decided to include things other than makeup.

Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac ($195).  I've been lusting this bag for the past year or so already.  I honestly think it's just a bit over-hyped from youtube beauty gurus, but it is pretty!  I think white with gold hardware would look gorgeous, but I'm scared the white leather will end up being stained from my pants.  Black with gold hardware is the next best option for me, but I doubt I'll be getting this anytime soon.

Mac Lipstick in Plumful ($16).  I swear this all started with a picture on tumblr.  I saw a picture on tumblr, and went on a crazy search to figure out what the shade was.  I don't own any Mac lipsticks but this will definitely be my first one when I decide to get one in the future.

Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion Lip Stain ($14). This lusting started way back in the beginning of the year when Tati did a sephora haul on her youtube channel.  She picked one of these up, raved about it, and I've been lusting since then.  I've swatched it at Sephora before and it definitely does stain my hands.  I think I haven't picked this up mainly because it's so pigmented and I don't usually wear pigmented lip products yet.

Foreo Luna Mini ($139). This was raved by April from AprilAthena7 a while ago.  I do think this is an awesome alternative to the famous Clarisonic.  With Clarisonic, you'll need to replace the brush head about 3-4 times a year and each brush head cost $20+.  That is over $50 worth of upkeep per year to use the Clarisonic!  Now with the Foreo Luna Mini, you buy this and you don't need to replace anything.

What are some of the products you guys have been lusting over lately?

Unboxing | Target Fall 2014 Beauty Box

Today's post is a bit late (time wise, since I like to try to post in the mornings and topic wise, since I received this box a few weeks ago), but it's better late than never right?  Today I will be doing an unboxing of the Target Fall 2014 Beauty Box.

This box was $7 with free shipping.  One of the main reasons why I purchased this box was for the L'oreal hairspray since the sample size of this definitely cost more than $7 at the drugstore.  Unlike the Walmart Beauty Box, there is only one version of this box.  Everyone received the same items, just with different shade of the L'oreal lip gloss.  To my knowledge, everyone received the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in the shade Milk.

The box came with an outer sleeve with the Target logos all over it.  After you remove the sleeve, you are left with this sturdy white box.  The products inside of the box are wrapped in a red tissue paper.

So the products in the Target Fall 2014 Beauty Box are:

• L'oreal Elnett Satin hairspray 
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
• Laneige BB Cushion sample
• L'oreal lipgloss in Blushing Harmony
• Fekkai Blowout Dry Shampoo 

Honestly I think Walmart's beauty box was a bit better than the Target one.  We received more products and it was cheaper.  But I do believe the products we received in the Target box were worth a lot more than the products we received in the Walmart box.  I am honestly looking forward to using the hairspray and the dry shampoo.  I am glad I received the shade of lipgloss that I did not have yet.  I already have Laneige's BB Cushion in full size (in light) but I am excited to see if the other two shades will be a better match for me.  As for NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil, I might gift it to someone since I don't wear eyeshadows myself so it will be of no use for me.

I am excited to see if both Target and Walmart will have their beauty boxes again for winter (I believe Walmart will be having one but not sure about Target).  I can't wait to see what products will be included for the winter boxes!

Did you guys get a chance to order Target's beauty box?  

Monthly Mission - November 2014

Happy November!  This post is about half a month late because of my little hiatus the second half of October.  Sorry!  For those who don't know, Monthly Mission is where I talk about five things I want to accomplish/work on throughout the month along with five products I want to focus on/use more of.  So I will talk about this month's goals and products before I go over how I did with my goals last month.

Here are my five missions for November:

1. Wake up earlier.  I really want to start waking up earlier, even if it's just a few minutes, so that I can get one or two things done in the morning.  I've noticed that when I get things done in the morning, I feel more accomplished throughout the day.
2. Start using up products.  I've been buying things and not really using them at all.  I want to start using up products so that I can justify buying new things when I finish using my products up or something.  I really want to make it a point to use the products daily I've chosen to focus on this month.
3. Get Christmas shopping done.  I am usually a last minute shopper so I can't wait to start planning and looking for deals/shopping earlier.  I don't think I'll get things for everyone on my list, but I hope to make a good dent in it by the beginning of December.
4. Eat breakfast.  Simple and easy but I don't do it.  I have a very bad habit of not eating breakfast.  I really need to break this habit.
5. Plan posts ahead.  I think one of the reasons why I ended up feeling unmotivated and took a hiatus at the end of last month was because of my lack of planning.  I hope I can plan and organize posts for the next few months so that when it comes time to write the post, I've already done most of the thinking.

And now onto the five products I want to focus on:

1. Jergens BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream.  This was in September's list and I'll be honest, I barely used it five days back then.  I want to start using it daily since I have a Christmas party to attend in the beginning of December.  I want to be able to wear a dress and have my legs looking nice.
2. Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil.  I've been using this as a moisturizer and a little goes a long way.  I have another sample of this, and a super size of this that I purchased a while ago.  Hopefully I can use this up soon and start on my other things.
3. EOS lip balm in Strawberry Sorbet.  This has got to be used up soon.  I've been working on this lip balm for the longest time and it just refuses to get used up!  I've just started seeing the pink plastic in the middle of the balm recently so I know the end is near!
4. Beauty Rush lip balm in Colada Love.  Another product that has got to be used up soon.  I've had it for a little too long, and this particular product has been discontinued from VS's beauty range for over a year now.  This is a really good MLBB (my lips but better) product but I don't like the fact that it includes glitter in there too.
5. Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Lotion.  I have a lot of hand creams at home and this is one of the ones that are almost done.  Hopefully with continuous usage throughout the month, I can finish it up soon!

Now onto last month's missions.  I believe I accomplished about half of the missions I set out for.  I didn't do well with the new blogging schedule; I just could not get myself to post up every Tuesdays and Fridays and I did not remember to write down highlights for the whole month.  

The decluttering goal was half achieved.  I did not get rid of a product for every product I brought in, that goal will probably appear sometime next year, but I did manage to get rid of 10 products last month.  Instead I've decided to get rid of 10 products each month so that I won't end up hoarding everything.

The two goals I did achieve were drinking more water and keeping track of my spending.  I ended up drinking a cup more water a day by switching out my water bottle I used.  My old bottle could only hold 24oz, which is 3 cups, while my new bottle could hold 32oz, or 4 cups.  I know that's not nearly as much as I should be drinking, but I'm slowly getting there.

Out of the five products last month, I used the deodorant a lot more than I used the other products.  The eye cream and the body sprays were used a bit more than I would have used if I wasn't consciously trying to use it.  Unfortunately I did not use the body butter or the body wash.

Like I said last month, hopefully November will be a better month with my missions and using my products.

Do you guys make goals for yourself to accomplish monthly?  If so, what are some of your goals for November?

Collective Haul: October 2014

So, this post is about a week late because I wanted to have this up as the last post of October.  But life got to me.  Anyways, let's see what products I hauled during October.

Unfortunately I didn't keep my receipts organized so I don't really have the prices of these items anymore... actually I do but I'm just too lazy to go dig through my pile of receipts.  I've also grouped them into different categories.

Face Products:

• St. Ives Oatmeal Facial Scrub.  I'm currently using this and I love it.  Bought this for a backup since I had some St. Ives coupons.  Love it and would recommend it to everyone.
• St. Ives Green Tea Scrub.  I used this as a daily scrub a few years ago but it broke me out like crazy.  Since then I haven't really used scrubs but I'm more educated now and I know not to scrub my face everyday.
• Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream.  Bought this because it was 40% off at Rite Aid.  Lame reason, I know.
• Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser.  I've always wanted to use this but was afraid if I purchased the big size, I wouldn't end up liking it.  Now this small size is such a great way to test it out!

Hair Products:

• Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Moroccan Sleek Oil Treatment.  Currently using it and I like it.  It was on sale at CVS so I purchased a back up of it.
• Lush No Drought dry shampoo.  This is the first item I purchased/tried from Lush.  So far I'm liking it.  I will most likely blog about my experience in the Lush store, along with a review of this in the future.
• Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum.  On sale at CVS, and I've been wanting to try it for a while to compare it with the oil treatment.

Nail Products:

• Wet 'N Wild Megalast polishes in So Berry On Trend & Distressed to Impress.  It was on sale and I really like that berry shade.  I'm currently obsessed with anything berry!

Skincare Product:

• Yes to Coconut Hydrate & Restore Head-to-Toe Restoring Balm.  Saw a review on nouveaucheap's blog a while back and I've been on the lookout since then.  Finally found it at Bed, Bath and Beyond!  It works wonders on my cuticles!

Lip Products:

• Vaseline Rosy Lip lip therapy.  Purchased it on a whim.... It's an interesting texture!
• NYC City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color in Gramercy Park Plum.  The result of 40% off sales.  And its plum/berry shade!
• Neutrogena MoistureSmooth color stick in Rich Raisin.  Another result of 40% off.  And also emilynoel83 raved about this shade over and over again so I've been wanting to try it out.
• L'oreal Glossy Balm in Petite Plum.  I'm sure you've noticed a trend. 40% off and plum/berry shade!
• Palmer's Lip Butter in Sheer Berry Tint.  Impulse purchase.  Saw it, and was curious about it.  Not a big fan of it the two times I've tried it so far... :(

Eye Products:

• L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza.  I LOVE the original butterfly mascara so I was excited about this... I purchased two because Walgreen was having a BOGO50% sale... Those darn sales!
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze.  I've been wanting to wear a wash of color on my eyelid and I've heard everyone and their mothers rave about this.

What are some of the things you have been buying lately?  Also, have you tried any of the products I've purchased?

Monthly Declutter: October 2014

I accidentally took an unexpected break from blogging the last few weeks.  I have no excuses but I just felt uninspired when I have time to sit down and blog and felt like I was just meeting some blog post quota.  Anyways, I have a few blog posts to catch up on that I missed in October, so I will get on with them before I move on to November posts.

I've noticed that I tend to buy things a lot more often than I get rid of them.  Recently I've been feeling like I've been hoarding a lot of my things so I want to start a monthly series where I declutter 10 things a month.  It was really easy to find 10 things to get rid of this month, but I'm sure it'll get harder as the months go on.  Hopefully this will help me live a more minimalist lifestyle that I hope to achieve in the future.

So here are the things I'll be decluttering for the month of October:

Up&Up Multipurpose Solution.  I have not worn contacts on a regular basis for the past two years so this solution is definitely long expired.  I have no need for contacts solution and definitely don't want to use expired solutions for my eyes either.
Bon Bon Brand Nail Polish.  A friend of mine gave this to me as she was decluttering a few years ago.  I gave it to my sister, who gave it back to me.   This is an old nail polish and I don't feel like dealing with the thick and goopy formula, so out it goes.
Old panty & pair of socks.  I have a bunch of panties that are old; I got a bunch before I enter college, so I'm slowly going through them now and tossing any out that have holes in them and slowly replacing them with sexier VS ones.  I somehow manage to always get holes on the heels of my socks, and this one is no exception.  Seeing as I have many other socks in my closet, I will be tossing this one out.
Small bottle of VS Sweet Daydream.  Way back when Victoria's Secret was still selling the Sweet Daydream scent, my sister and I bought one, but we both enjoyed it.  So I decided to purchase a smaller bottle and take it with me to college.  Unfortunately, the bottle was cheap (from Daiso) and the plastic scent is now mixed with the actual body spray.  Not a pleasant scent to wear at all.
Travel size St. Ive's Apricot Scrub.  I purchased this so many years ago, I can't believe I kept it this long.  Unfortunately I read that the actual apricot seed in the scrub is really damaging to your skin so I honestly haven't used anything that harsh for my skin.  I prefer St. Ive's Oatmeal, Green Tea, and their Grapefruit scrubs better.
Clinique lipgloss, ELF lip balm, Ulta Cream products (x2).  A handful of old and unwanted lip products.  I think I'll have a bunch of old lip products to declutter in the future.  These particular ones are either really old (Ulta ones), not a big fan of the texture (ELF) or the scent (Clinique).

Hopefully I'll be able to go through my belongings each month and declutter them little by little so that I'll only have products that I really love and enjoy.

Swatch: Julie G's Gelato in Venice

A few months ago, I had the chance to go to Rite Aid and saw a bunch of Julie G nail polishes and kind of went crazy over them.  This is kind of like a review/swatch of the first Julie G polish that I tried, in Gelato in Venice.   The pictures in this post were taken under artificial light.

Gelato in Venice is one of the first shades recommended by Dani from CoffeeBreakwithDani on youtube. I will admit, I went back and watched that video before I headed out to Rite Aid and kept her recommendation in mind as I was browsing the selection. Jesse's Girl's website described Gelato in Venice as a "mint green creme."

I will admit, this polish is such a gorgeous color. I remembered the first night I put it on, I could not stop staring at my nails. I don't remember falling in love with a nail polish shade as much as I fell in love with this one! It is a really pretty light mint green and I was really surprised at how well the color complimented my skin tone! I've tried Essie's Mint Candy Apple, which is another minty green shade, but it looked terrible on me! I think one of the main difference between Julie G's Gelato in Venice and Essie's Mint Candy Apple is that Gelato in Venice has a warmer tone while Mint Candy Apple, from other people's swatches, looks like it has a cooler, blue undertone, which my guess is why it looked horrible on me.

I love the fact that Gelato in Venice is a creme polish. It applied on my nails like a dream! One coat was opaque enough for most of my nails, and I applied two coats for some of my nails that I accidentally applied unevenly. I would say you definitely can get away with only applying one thicker coat and reach full opacity. The polish does not apply on streaky or unevenly, unless you really messed up while applying it. I actually have no idea how long the polish can wear without any help from base/top coats. I usually apply a top coat to all my manicures out of habit.

I did notice that Gelato in Venice reminds me of Elf's Mint Cream nail polish. I haven't done and side by side swatch yet, but they do look pretty similar in the bottles. You can be sure I will be doing a comparison on these two polishes soon!

I've heard so much rave about Julie G polishes and after trying this polish, I can honestly see why people love it! Julie G's nail polish line has a wide range of variety from creme to glitter to texture finishes. I've purchased several creme polishes along with one glitter and will be trying them over time! If all of Julie G's polishes are as wonderful as Gelato in Venice, I am pretty sure my nail polish collection will have a lot of Julie G's polishes soon.

Have you guys tried any Julie G polishes before?  If so, what are your favorites?

Monthly Wishlist: October 2014

Its that time of the month where I get to show you guys what I've been itching to get my hands on.  Most of the items in this month's wish list are from the holiday collections and/or value sets.  I think those are such an awesome way to expose yourself to products from expensive brands that I would normally not buy.

Anyways, onto this month's wish list products:

Empties: Lippies Edition

I know I just posted a products empties a few weeks back but I've managed to collect a handful of lip products over the years.  This will definitely be my one and only post like this, since I don't use products up fast enough, let alone a bunch of lip products!

Swatch: Revlon's Parfumerie in Wintermint

I have over a hundred different nail polishes in my collection and I thought I could gradually do a swatch vault of collection over time so that those who want to see how certain nail polish swatches can just look it up.  The first nail polish swatch I have for you guys is Wintermint from Revlon's Parfumerie polish line.

Unboxing: Memebox Special #9 Skincare Box

I have to admit, I've had this Memebox sitting in my room for the past two months and haven't really touched the products in it because I wanted to do this post.  I thought about not doing this post several times since this is an older box, but I really enjoy reading about Memebox unboxing and seeing what people received in different boxes.  I like to use the unboxing as a reference for what they might include in the future boxes.

If you don't know what Memebox is, it is a subscription box filled with Korean makeup/skincare goodies.  Unlike the subscription boxes in the US, Memebox is not a monthly subscription box.  They've been coming out with a new box almost every single day, sometimes multiple new boxes in a day, and you can chose to buy or pass on a box, depending on your preferences.  There are so many different boxes available at one time, but the more popular ones get sold out pretty quickly.  These boxes range in prices from $18 up to $39.  From looking through other people's unboxing pictures, I've noticed that you get a lot of full size items in these boxes and some samples.

Now let's see what's inside the skincare box I received back in July.

Monthly Mission - October 2014

Happy October!  Last month I started a monthly series, Monthly Mission, where I talk about five things I want to accomplish/work on throughout the month, along with five products I want to focus on/use more.  So I will talk about this month's missions and products before I go over how I did with my goals last month.

Here are my five missions for October:

Empties: Vol. 1

Product empties are one of my favorite topics to watch on youtube and read on blogs.  It feels so motivating to read about how other people can use up so many products so quickly!  I've finally saved enough products to do an empties post, along with a short review of each of the products!

Walmart Fall 2014 Beauty Box

Earlier this month, Nouveau Cheap posted on her blog that Walmart is coming out with a seasonal subscription box service.  The box itself was free, but shipping was $5.  I thought that was a great deal since the promotional picture for the box included a full size Secret Clinical Strength deodorant which is definitely worth more than $5.

Things You Might Forget for College

Last week I talked about some things that you might not need for college.  This week, I will be talking about some things you might forget to pack for college.  Since most people are busy packing extra underwear, school supplies, etc, here are some things that you will most likely need some time during the school year.

So while you are packing for school, don't forget these items!

1. Cash.  This is simple but always have some cash on you!  You might not need to carry it with you all the time on campus, but it's useful when you do need it.  Its really helpful when you're going out with friends and are splitting the bill.  Also helpful if you don't want your parents to know where you are spending your money at!  
2. Formal, Semi-formal, party outfits.  These outfits are very important to have around, even though you might not wear them at all during the school year.  It's nice to have a formal attire in case you need to interview for a job or some position.  Semi-formal attires are good to have around for fraternity or sorority recruitment events.  Party outfits... I think that's self explanatory.  
3. Water Heater/Boiler.  Perfect for quick tea, or instant ramen.  I loved having one around and its helped me prepared so many fast instant noodle meals!
4. Over the Door Hook.  The hook is quite a space saver.  It'll help you organize some things in your room because you now have a place to hang up worn clothes and/or jackets.  I personally don't like to hang my worn clothes back into the closet, so its helpful to hang them on the over the door hook.
5. Umbrella and Winter Coats.  Even though school starts at the end of summer, there is still a chance of random rain showers or cold spell before winter actually approaches.  Its really helpful to have an umbrella and a coat when just in case something like this happens.

So what are some of the items you think are necessary that some people might forget to bring?

Monthly Wishlist: September 2014

I am always lusting over things I don't have and my wish list is over a mile long.  I thought I would share some of it every month.  Sooo... here are the items in my wish list for September 2014:

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask.  This product has been raved by every other youtuber and blogger.  I honestly don't know anything about this product besides that its pretty thick and makes a great overnight lip treatment.  I've heard the metal packaging can be difficult to deal with as well.  Currently I believe you can only get this at Sephora for $26.  I don't think I will be getting this for a while because I have a product that I love for my overnight lip treatment and I am happy with it.  If I ever feel fancy and find myself with a spare $30, I will pick it up; but until then, I won't be losing sleep over wanting this product.

Too Faced La Creme Lipsticks.  I swear I've heard almost every youtuber I've subscribed to rave about Too Faced La Creme lipsticks.  I honestly didn't really care for it since the price tag of $22 is a bit steep for me.  However, there are some shades I've been lusting and I wouldn't mind trying them out when I have a bit more disposable cash on hand.  Some of the shades I've been lusting over are: Sweet Maple, Divine Wine, Bumbleberry, Loganberry, and Teddy Berry. 

Sephora Collection Kiss Me Balm.  I remembered seeing this on musingofamuse's post and after seeing her swatch of the shade Soda Pop, I knew that had to be in my possession one of these days.  I believe eleventhgorgeous also featured these in one of their sephora haul videos a few months ago.  You can find these for $8 at sephora and I have a strong feeling Soda Pop will be mine within the next year or so.

Too Faced Melted Berry.  Holy cow!  This particular shade was literally love at first swatch for me!  Last week I had some spare time so I roamed around Ulta swatching things, like usual.  For some reason I ended up at the Too Faced counter and decided to swatch their Melted lipsticks.  I remembered being disappointed that I didn't like any of their original shades but this time I came across the new shade Melted Berry.  I don't follow high end makeup brands as closely as I follow drugstore brands, since I can't afford the high end brands as easily, so I wasn't aware Too Faced came out with new shades to their melted lipstick line.  (I thought the new shades were limited edition shades for the Holidays...)  Anyways, I came across Melted Berry and decided to sheer out the color for my swatch and fell in love with the shade!  I probably would have purchased it that day if they had it on the shelves, but luckily for my wallet, they didn't.  I will say I am most likely purchasing this during sephora's VIB sale later on this year and I can't wait to sport it during the holiday season.  I honestly think $21 is a pretty good deal, especially for me since I will only wear a sheer layer of it so it should last me quite a while.

These are the products I've been lusting over, some longer than the others.  I didn't think my first wish list would be all lip products, but it just happened this way.  I honestly can't wait to have some of these in my hands to play with in the future.

Have you tried any of these items before?  And what are some of the things you've been lusting on?

Things You Might Not Need For College

Some people, like myself, tend to overpack for everything.  When I packed for college I ended up bringing almost a full mini-van of things, half of which I didn't even end up using or needing.  So I figured I can put together a list of things that you might be able to get away without, especially your first or second year of college.

So here are some things you might not need for college...

1. Car.  I can say from personal experience, you definitely don't need a car to survive college.  Without a car, you don't have to worry about money expenses that comes with owning a car: car insurance, parking permit and gas.  You also don't have to worry about giving rides to your friends, finding parking spots, and worrying about someone breaking into your car.  I will admit there are perks of having a car at your disposable, but you can get around by making friends who have cars.
2. Printer.  I definitely love having my printer with me at school but once again, there are ways to get around without a printer.  At my alma mater, all the computer science and engineering students get free, unlimited printing from the department.  I'm pretty sure it is like that at most schools with certain degree.  If you happened to be the unlucky few that aren't privileged, you can make friends who are the chosen ones.  Also in some schools, the dorms provide a limited amount of free printing pages per semester for the students.  For my sister, her dorms provided her with about 200 pages of printing per semester and I always encouraged her to use those pages up before using our printer (partially so that I can keep our laserjet printer at home for a bit longer).
3. Refrigerator.  Chances are high that if it's your first two years, you won't be doing much cooking.  Heck, you probably won't even have access to a kitchen so you won't have to worry about having groceries.  The only time you might need a refrigerator is when you have some leftovers but you can always temporarily store that in a friend's mini-fridge or in a communal fridge.  
4. Microwave.  Microwaves are such a handy tool for college.  You can make a handful of meals using microwave, but you definitely can live without one.  My sister's school does not allow her to have a personal microwave in her room, so I know you can survive without one.  Instead the school provided a communal microwave to each dorm for the students to use.  It can be a bit inconvenient, but you will survive.
5. Bookshelf.  I actually didn't realize how helpful bookshelves are until I didn't have one.  I found it really useful to have a place to store all my books and binders when I'm not using them, rather than transferring them from my desk to my chair to my bed.  Now even though it's useful, you don't need your own bookshelf.  Most schools would provide you one somewhere in the room; during my college years, I had a bookshelf in my room for my freshman and sophomore year.  I brought my own for my remaining years, but that might be because I lived in an on-campus apartment.  
6. *Bonus* Textbooks.  This one is a bit controversial but I believe you don't need a textbook for every single one of your class.  There are some classes where you can get away without buying a textbook, but there are others where you will need one.  For instance, if you're taking a math class and your professor assigns homework problems from the textbook, it would be a great idea to get your own book.  You can most likely borrow a textbook from your school library for several hours but if you are going to be using it often, it is better to just have your own copy.  On the other hand, I had a Microbiology course where the professor would tell us what our required readings from the textbook was.  For each midterm, she would assign several pages of reading to do from the book and she will include some questions specific to the reading.  So for that class, I would go to the library to xerox those pages to read before a midterm and read it before a midterm.

So what are some things that you might have overpacked for college?

Overplayed Songs on the Radio - Vol. 1

I love listening to the radio whenever I'm in the car, mainly to and from work or some weekend hangouts.  During my drives, I usually listen to 3-4 different stations that are popular around the area.  I love the songs that are on the radio (the top whatever songs on the itunes) and I love some of the DJs on the air too.  Recently I've noticed that there are some songs that all the stations play every other five songs OR all the stations play the song at the same time.  These songs are great when they first came out but I have grown tired of these songs because the radio stations have played it so much.  Whenever these songs come on the radio, I tend to change the radio station to avoid hearing these songs.

Please don't take this the wrong way; I loved these songs when I first heard them but after hearing it for the millionth time, I am definitely tired of hearing these songs now.

Katy Perry - Dark Horse
Disclosure - Latch
Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong
Magic! - Rude

These songs have been on the radio for a while now and I can't wait until more new songs come out on the radio.  I am noticing that there is a new batch of songs that the radio stations are starting to overplay so I'm sure I'll be talking about those songs soon.

What are some of the songs you guys are tired of hearing recently?

College Tips

September is here and most people are heading back to school, if they're not back yet.  My sister started last week but I know most public schools in California don't start until early October this year!  So I thought I can share some of my tips for surviving college, the academic side for now, since I've been through it myself and I feel like I'm going through it again with my sister currently.

So here are some of my tips for college...

1. Attend classes.  I know this may seem straightforward, but there are people who don't attend classes (and I was one of them once upon a time...).  Attend your lectures because you are paying your professors to teach you things and to explain concepts to you that might be too hard to learn yourself!  Depending on the subject, your professor might take attendance and have that be part of your final grade!  If not, professors sometimes will hint at what topics will be covered in the upcoming midterms, or even cover materials that are not included in their powerpoint presentations.  So it is very helpful to attend your classes!  Plus, do you know how much money you are wasting when you skip ONE lecture?  
2. Office hours.  While I was in school, one of the tips I kept hearing from my relatives was to attend office hours.  And when my sister first started college, one of the first things I told her was to attend office hours.  Office hours are a great way to interact with the professor in a smaller group setting.  If you don't understand certain things they went over in a lecture, they'll be happy to go over it in more details with you in office hours.  Sometimes professors will hold study groups during their office hours to help you prepare for their upcoming exam.  Its also a great way for professors to put faces to the names they see on their roosters and the test scores.  Attending office hours can only benefit you; at the end of the semester when they are calculating your final grade, they might boost up your grade in your favor if they see that you've attended office hours and put in a lot of effort in their class.
3. Strategic schedule.  Know what kind of time frames you prefer and try to schedule your classes around that.  Personally I love to have my classes in the morning/early afternoon and labs in the afternoon so I have my nights free.  If you have trouble waking up in the morning, then schedule your classes in the afternoon so that you won't have trouble waking up for the classes.  Also it is good to know if you prefer breaks in-between your classes or if you like having back to back classes.  I personally enjoyed back to back classes so that I won't have some random gap in my day where it's too short for me to go back to my room but too long for me to just bum around on campus with nothing to do.  Choose class times that will be the most efficient for your productivity. 
4. Pick the right load.  Do not spread yourself too thinly.  From personal experience, I would suggest to everyone that they only take two "hardcore" classes at a time.  Chances are you will be taking up to four classes per quarter/semester and out of those four, I would suggest that two of them should be an easy A/B classes where you don't have to spend the majority of your time studying for those classes.  You want to focus your time on your classes that are going towards your major, since they will most likely be more challenging.  I know this might not always work out in your favor, but try not to take too many hard classes at once.  It will only burn you out faster and damage your gpa in the long run.

Hope everyone has a great school year ahead and if you have any helpful tips, please leave them down below!

Monthly Mission - September 2014

Happy September!  Holy cow, three quarters of the year already passed by and the holiday season is just around the corner!  Each month I want to start having five little monthly goals/missions that I want to work on, along with five products that I want to focus on using.  I figured this would be a good way to improve myself each month and a good way to incorporate something new into my daily routine.

So without further blabbering, here are my five missions for September 2014:

1. 30 Day Challenge.  More specifically, 30 day abs challenge.  I started something like this back in April but I didn't finish all 30 days.  I believe back then I got up to day 24 or something and I stopped.  Recently, I've been feeling a bit bloated, and I've noticed that my eating habits have changed (I've been eating out a lot more and eating random junk food in-between meals). I really want to tone my abs area, and if I get abs, that'll be a bonus!  I'll be combining two different challenges (abs challenge & beach body challenge) since I noticed that when I did the abs challenge by itself, I did not see any sort of results until after 20+ days.  This time, I am hoping that by combining these two I'll get to see the results faster, making the challenges a bit more rewarding.
2. Read one book a month.  I really enjoy reading but lately I've noticed that I haven't made time to sit down and open a book.  Recently, I started listening to various audiobooks and I found that it is a lot easier to just listen to audiobook as I'm going about my day rather than finding time to sit down and read.  This month I want to make some time to read a physical book along with listening to different audiobooks.
3. Take vitamins daily.  I have a bad habit of not taking vitamins daily.  I think it is starting to affect me because I feel like I don't have enough energy to carry me through my whole day.  I have the pack of gummy multi-vitamins from Costco and I haven't really touched it in a long time.  Hopefully this will start a habit of taking daily vitamins for the rest of my life (or is it a wishful thinking..?)
4. Make lists and schedules.  I think I have a lot of random thoughts in my head and I need to dump it all out somewhere.  I've read somewhere that some people take certain amount of time in their days and have a little brain dump session.  I think that can be beneficial to me to get everything on paper so that I'm not constantly afraid of forgetting to do something or forgetting some new ideas.
5. Blog schedule.  I want to into the habit of incorporating blogging into my routine.  And in order to do that, I really need to start setting strict schedule to myself and start planning ahead of time for me to achieve what I want to achieve with this blog.  Hopefully this month will allow me to get into the swing of things.

And now the five products I want to focus on this month:

1. Clean & Clear Moisturizer.  I've had this moisturizer for a while now and I need to start using this more now that I finished using up my Garnier gel moisturizer.  
2. L'oreal Lash Out Mascara.  This was so hyped up when it first came out a few months ago and I totally jumped on the bandwagon and fell in love with this mascara!  It is definitely my favorite mascara I've tried so far and I want to use this up so I can try some other ones I've purchased recently.  (plus, I have a few backup that I got a while back)
3. Elf Liquid Lipstick in Perfect Pink.  When I first bought this shade, I was a bit scared that the pink would be too blue based for my skin tone but I was decently surprised to find that I like how it looks on me.  The formula is a bit sticky but it does leave a nice sheer tint on my lips.  I don't think it's pigmented enough to be called a liquid lipstick but it is a decent lip gloss for $1.
4. EOS Lip Balm in Strawberry Sorbet.  This lip balm just won't quit!  I've been trying to use this up for the past several months and I can't wait to use it all up!  I don't remember taking this long with my first EOS lip balm but I am slowly getting through it.
5. Jergen BB Body Cream.  Another item that was hyped up in the beauty world, and I fell victim to the bandwagon.  I will say it has a nice scent to it and it does leave my legs nice and soft.  I don't think it leaves my legs looking magical but it does make a good daily moisturizer for my legs.

So these are my goals/mission for the month of September.  I hope to accomplish these and make these into habits to help me with my every day life.  

Sooo, what are some of your goals for this month and how do you plan to accomplish them?

Welcome

Welcome to The Girl Who Meeps!  I'm the girl, and I love to meep!  (That was very cheesy of me)  I've been wanting to blog for a while now and I finally thought of a name that I am happy with.  I've been wanting something that'll describe me, as this blog will be documenting different aspects of my life, and I can honestly say it took me several weeks for me to think of this.  Now that I've thought of the name, all there is left is to post things on here, which is definitely easier said than done.

I've been thinking a lot about what to post, how often I want to post, and what time I want to post and I can say I'm finally happy with a schedule that I've worked up with.  Currently, I'm planning to post twice a week, most likely on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and will work up my way on the number of posts per week as I get more comfortable with this.  I also plan to post about almost everything, from beauty to skincare, from random rants to random lifestyle posts -literally any and everything I want to talk about!

I hope to grow this blog and as time passes, I hope I will get a chance to improve my writing, along with my photography, photo editing, and web designing skills.  Let's see where this journey takes us, shall we?