I love braids!

rowing my hair is literally taking me forever, but I'm insistent on growing it out to try out all these cool braids that I've been seeing on celebrities. I made a mistake of getting my hair layered long time ago so it's impossible for me to do any kind of braid. Right now my hair is almost down to the middle of my back, but because of the layers I still can't do any braids. Sigh.

Anyways, I thought I would share with you a few of my favourite braids.

Leona Lewis

Fish tail braid + Lauren Conrad side braid = ♥

I actually tried to recreate this style for my younger sister's wedding last spring, but again, my hair was not long enough. It didn't turn out quite right.

Amanda Seyfried

I like how loose and wavy this braid is. Almost like a mermaid...

And the queen of all braids... Diane Kruger

I love how she finished off her braid in this simple look. It probably is difficult to create though...

This one is not a full-on braid, but I love how bohemian it looks. She's so gorgeous here...

This one is a braid bun.

I love her fish tail braids here.

Love it here too! More loose and messy though.

This one is a modern take on the milk maid braid. She used bobby pins I think. So chic!

MAC 2011 Surf Baby! haul + other beauty extras ;-)

s some of you may know, I've only recently been into MAC beauty products. Considering how much I LOVE anything beauty related I can't believe I never really took an interest to MAC. Actually I was into it while I was in high school, but only their nail polishes. I never really had any other MAC products. I've been following their limited edition collections recently and even though they come out with new ones practically every single month I just can't stay away! When I heard about the Surf Baby! Collection which is this year's version of last year's To The Beach Collection I knew I wanted to check it out as soon as it hit stores. I only got one product in last year's To The Beach Collection and I regretted not getting any more. I got the Lazy Day lipstick and I am absolutely in love with that lipstick! I wish I got a back-up... Anyways, I didn't go too crazy with the purchases, but I picked up 3 things.

And here they are...

I got 'Swell Baby' which is a mid-tone gray. It's a satin finish. Out of all the colours (there was a white shadow with gold shimmer, a mustard gold colour, a reddish brown colour, and a turquoise/teal colour) I was most interested in this one. I think it'll look nice with my skin tone. Plus, I'm obsessed with gray. I know people are going crazy over the turquoise/teal one- Surf USA, but at my age I really can't pull off crazy eyeshadows like that anymore... It was beautiful though.

And here's a swatch. Sorry about the poor lighting. I took this close to midnight.

And here it is with flash. I know it doesn't look that intense, but I'm hoping to use it as an all-over lid colour so I didn't want a really dark gray.

I know Christine from Temptalia wasn't too crazy over this Cheek Powder called My Paradise, but I couldn't resist not getting this. It's so pretty and when I swatched it at the store I quite liked the pigmentation.

The gold hibiscus pattern is an overlay, but I don't care. The coral blush is quite nice on its own.

And here's a swatch of the 3 colours. The one of the far left is the swatch with the gold and coral mixed together. The one beside it is just the coral swatch. And the one beside that is the gold one swatched on its own.

With flash. As you can see, the gold and the coral mixed together is a completely different colour. It's a beautiful peachy gold.

This one is called Hibiscus. I wasn't interested in any of the other lipsticks. I think this one is going to be the big seller anyways in this collection. It's a beautiful coral red. It's a deeper version of Viva Glam Cyndi. I wore this the day I bought it and numerous people commented that they liked my makeup that day. That's always a plus!

Here's a swatch of the lipstick on the far right.

And with flash. If you're afraid of trying red lipstick, but want to try a bolder shade I think this one is perfect. It's not as bold as a true red lipstick, and it's a perfect shade for spring/summer.

So that's all I got from the collection. I could have gotten more, but I recently went on a clothing shopping spree so I didn't want to go too crazy...

Today I had a day off from work and I got a chance to stop by an Asian mall. I've been dying to go to one recently because I've been obsessed with Asian skincare products. They had several beauty stores in the mall and the first one I went into I bought a mascara. I bought the Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On (wow, what a name!) Mascara. This mascara has a cult following in Asia and I knew I had to try it out. Now, they have several different formulas for the Majolica Majorca mascaras, but I didn't know any better so I just bought whatever I saw. The one I got is the volumizing mascara, but there's also a lengthening one and many others. I wish I got the lengthening one, but oh well...

I don't suffer from the typical Asian lashes- the short, stick-straight, barely-there lashes, but I still love trying out different mascaras that will lengthen my lashes. I will keep you guys posted how I feel about this particular one.

Enough blabbering, on to the stuff I got:

I didn't have a whole ton of time at the mall (I had a restless baby with me!) so I wasn't really able to browse in the stores. I went in with a mission and I bought things rather quickly and left. From left to right: Majolica Majorca mascara, Nyx Round Lipsticks, Moroccan Oil.

The mascara is actually quite small. I think the packaging is really cute. I paid $25CAD for the mascara. A little steep, but again, I didn't have a whole ton of time to check out other stores to see if I can find a cheaper price.

The wand is so different from my Makeup Forever Smoky Lash. It's a plastic wand and quite puny looking. I'm kind of skeptical what it can do, but I've been looking at reviews online all afternoon and it's gotten great reviews. We shall see...

I already have a bottle of this that I'm almost out of. This small bottle lasted me for over 3 months. I got this for just under $15CAD. This stuff is amazing! I have coarse, thick hair and when I use this my hair feels so soft and shiny.

I know this (and even the last product) is not an Asian product, but when I saw a store carrying the whole line of Nyx products I had to get a few lipsticks. We here in Canada don't have Nyx at the drugstore. Well, actually they sell it at Pharma Plus, but only a tiny range. They don't even carry the round lipsticks. Well, this little store at the Asian mall had it and I got Strawberry Milk (which was on my wish list for a looooong time) and Narcissus.

This is Narcissus. It's a lot more brighter and pinker in person.

This one is Strawberry Milk. It's showing up more nude, but it's actually a baby pink.

Narcissus on the left and Strawberry Milk on the right. Both have no shimmer. Maybe a little sheen.

I was amazed how creamy the texture was.

Here it is with flash.

I'm hoping to go back to these stores soon so I can pick up a few more products.

I hope you guys all have a great weekend!

That time of the month...

'm not talking about that time of the month, but rather the time to change things up around my house. I get these frequent spurts of inspiration to 'pretty-fy' my house when I go to a well-decorated house or see something in a magazine. On Friday while I was visiting my sister I was so inspired by her place. I've been to her place in the past, but I always forget how nice her place is. She doesn't spend a lot of money on things, but everything she does have looks really expensive. And trust me, she doesn't spend a lot. Most of the stuff she got were from HomeSense , Ikea, Craigslist, or clearance items at stores. The thing I liked about her place was how homey and lived-in it looked. I love spaces where it looks comfortable and warm.

One of my favourite thing in her house was her big vase filled with hydrangeas. They were fake flowers, but they looked so real and so pretty that I wanted to do the same at my house. She had filled it with white hydrangeas and filled the bottom of her vase with glass beads.

I had some free time in the afternoon today so I rushed over to Michaels to pick up some fake stems. Of course, I love my real flowers, but I love how with these you could have it forever and you would never have to worry about it dying. I picked up a bluish/gray variety of hydrangeas because they didn't look cheap and obviously fake. I bought 5 stems, but I think I could have used 2 more. However, each stem was $11.99 so I ended up spending quite a bit. I guess I'll go pick more up later... I also bought 2 bags of river rocks. They were about $2.49 each, but I think I could have bought 2 more bags. The vase I bought was huge so 2 bags barely covered the bottom.

I bought the vase at HomeSense and it was a steal at $19.99. I also picked up a few more things while I was there...

I saw this rustic looking bird cage at HomeSense and I couldn't resist getting it. I wanted something visually interesting on top of my credenza with some height and I thought this was perfect for it. It was also a bargain at $39.99! I think the regular price was $80.

Here's my birdcage from far-away.

I decided to reset my dining table setting with my new finds.

I put my vase of flowers in the middle on top of my table runner. It's quite dramatic there now. It has more of a presence since it is so big.

I also picked up 2 throw pillows for my banquette seating. I've been looking for pillows for a while now, but they are so expensive! These ones were 2 for $39.99. It has the pattern on the front and the backside is a flat, mustard colour with a different texture. It looks really expensive, but it wasn't.

Here is a quick snapshot I took of my new dining area.

My next project is wallpapering! I brought home a few wallpaper samples that were left-over from a shoot. I'm trying to figure out what to wallpaper, but I've never done it before. I'll let you guys know how that goes.

Haul (clothing + accessories)

know I'm a few weeks overdue, but I decided to finally show you guys a few things I picked up while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Nothing crazy, but I just love scoring good deals. I went outlet shopping in Washington with my sister-in-law and we hit up Seattle Premium Outlet, Norstrom Rack (near Alderwood Mall), and Alderwood Mall. I've been to Seattle Premium Outlet a couple of years ago, but that time I went with the husband. Let me just say that he is NOT a fun person to go shopping with. Whenever I go into a store he will tell me that he will be waiting outside. That drives me crazy because it makes my shopping experience not fun at all. Who likes feeling rushed when they are shopping??? This time around I was glad that I got to go with my sister-in-law. Her style is a bit different from mine, but nonetheless we had so much fun. She was shopping for bikinis and sun dresses for her trip to Jamaica and I was shopping more for comfortable, yet stylist clothes.

Here's what I picked up at Seattle Premium Outlet:

Banana Republic

I've been looking for a white wrap top for a long time. I think it looks so crisp and polished with dark wash jeans. I was elated when I found out that this top was 60% off. I ended up getting it for $20. Isn't that crazy???


Some people say Asians shouldn't wear yellow because of their yellow undertones, but I love wearing yellow! This top is a bit wrinkled, but it's so cute on. I love the fluttery sleeves. I think I got this for $20-$30?


I love this black skirt. It goes just above my knee and I love the waist detail- how it dips down to a slight point in the middle. It's very flattering on. Here's an OOTD photo I took of me wearing the skirt last week.




J Crew


I still haven't worn this headband yet. It's been raining every day so I don't feel like wearing this yet. It's super cute though!

I just love this coral peach belt. It looks great with skinny jeans and even to wear over a cardigan. A perfect Spring/Summer accessory.

Nordstrom Rack

I've been wanting a watch for a long time and almost bought a rose gold Michael Kors watch during Christmas, but I knew I couldn't pass this Anne Klein watch up when I saw it. It was a great deal at $25! It's a lot smaller than the Michael Kors watch that everyone has, but I like it. It's simple and classic.



I also picked up a pair of J Brand skinny jeans. I love finding great deals and this one was a steal at $50. I just love shopping in the States... I wore these jeans today. They are becoming one of my favourite jeans to wear.



Nordstrom


My sister-in-law urged me to buy this Bobeau sweater. She bought one in taupe and she said it was like wearing a blanket without looking like you do. I'm glad I got it because it was on sale for $40. I wish I got it in other colours...
Here's a couple of photos of me wearing the sweater. Trust me, it looks much better in person.



The rest of the stuff were stuff I picked up in Vancouver

H & M


I don't know what it is with me and flowers, but I'm obsessed! These hair pins are so cute. I wore it this past Sunday and I loved it.



I love this floral scarf. I get a ton of compliments every time I wear it. It was a steal at $15.
I've worn this scarf numerous times already. See below!

And... these are the Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner that I got in Aberdeen Centre. I tried it a few times and I like it, but my go-to liquid eyeliner is still the Sephora brand eyeliner. It's AMAZING! It's the blackest eyeliner I've ever tried and it dries instantly. If you haven't tried it you must. The only negative thing about that is that you need a steady hand. It's not very forgiving because the black is so intense.

On another note, I wanted to show you guys my beautiful Hermes scarf that I picked up at an Hermes sample sale 2 weeks ago.

The photos don't do this scarf justice! It's just gorgeous. I should have picked up more, but even with the 50% discount it was still $220... Next time I go I will pick up more.

Apparently there are thousands of ways to tie a scarf. I'm trying out different techniques.

I wore this scarf a couple of days ago just draped casually around my neck.

Well, that's it! Sorry for the photo heavy post, but I've bee so busy at work that I haven't had time to update.