achateax

Hello! It's that time of the month again... where the most grabbed for products makes it into the monthly favorites post! :) I was suppose to have this up before September ended... but school and other things got in the way, and thus the lateness of this post.  But without further adieu... lets get to it!

For my September favorites, I have a mix of things; makeup, perfume(s) and accessories/bracelets? Yep, I had on some kind of small armparty everyday. My makeup was quite minimal; it didn't even look like I had makeup on... but that was my plan : p

Lately my face has been spotty, either due to a bad diet, or "that time" of the month.  Usually it's the latter.  And when they appear, I don't have a skincare line/routine that I use to combat these breakouts, so I decided to try out the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Trail Kit to prevent and help heal my breakouts.

I've never heard of Smorgasburg until lately.  It's been a buzz on the interwebs because of the ramen burger, so that piqued my interest.  Not only that, I was pretty intrigued by the different types of food vendors that would be at these Smorgasburg locations, both of which are located in Brooklyn.  I went to the Williamsburg location which had 100 vendors compared to the Smorgasburg at DUMBO with 75 vendors. 

I didn't take much pictures because I was all focused on eating, and also waiting on line for the ramen burger took away most of my time, so I couldn't let my remaining time go to waste after that 2.5 hour wait for the ramen burger.  But I did manage to take a few pictures... so hopefully the following shots will be worth it! :)

mint candy apple - essie, tart with a heart - butter london

Finally able to give myself a manicure.  Quite appropriate for the weather in NYC currently, with the 90 degree weather for the rest of the week into the weekend!  Totally screams SUMMER! 

The easiest way to spruce up your mani is to do an accent nail, either with a glittery topcoat, or a different color that compliments your main nail color.  There are many possibilities for nail designs... it's endless!

I'm glad I decided to pick up this light trench coat from Forever 21.  I find myself grabbing this coat when the mornings are a bit chilly for just a cardigan.  It's lightweight and adds a bit of warmth when you need it.

trench; f21 | shirt; f21 | jeggings; Aeropostale

shirt; forever 21

I never really gave Essie that much thought when it comes to buying nail polish.  I always went for the "okay" cheap ones from the drugstore, like Revlon, Loreal, Sally Hansen, and others.  But when my friend told me about a nail supply store around her house that sold Essie for half the price... I decided to check it out and get a few colors to try out to see what all the hype was about.

The three colors I picked up were Merino Cool, Sand Tropez, and Mint Candy Apple (the most talked about color ever).

Merino Cool, Sand Tropez, Mint Candy Apple

this is pretty embarrassing, but this is usually how i dress.

striped sweater from Zara

OOTD for a dreary day.

This came as a surprise/moment of scramble for me when I saw that my credit card was charged for a January box while I was in China.  I freaked out for a bit, but after logging on, I noticed that I was just simply on a monthly subscription that just needed to be canceled.  After figuring that out, I said "The heck with it! Another GlossyBox wouldn't hurt."  Thus the arrival of the Man Repeller x GlossyBox collaboration in my mailbox.

The Man Repeller x GlossyBox 2013

I recently went to China for a short trip, just to visit some relatives and because my parents had a longing to go back to see their homeland.  It was quite a trip, filled with sightseeing, food adventures, and the experience of being in another country was just surreal.  I had a great time in China, but I wished I took more photos.  I spent most of my time... eating and just having fun in general, that I've forgotten to take out my camera to capture some photos.  A bummer, but hopefully in the near future I'll be able to go again, and really capture those memories!

I apologize for the lack of updates! Coming back from a short vacation and jumping right into Chinese New Year and a new semester at school was very hectic, hence no time to update this blog!

Soon, I'll write up a few posts on my experience in China and some of the damage I did in China and at duty free in the airport/airplane, and also a surprise package from Glossybox that I recieved (forgot to cancel my monthly subcription, and thus ended up with a January box.  Not complaining though... Man Repeller x Glossybox is an awesome box!)

But first, some snapshots of my Chinese New Year Eve dinner, along with some candid shots of decorations around my house.

Samples! The more, the merrier.

I can never resist signing up for samples of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, just about anything that has a sample that I can try out.  It's a great way to try out products before taking the plunge and buying the full size if you like it.

Most of the samples that I've accumulated are from random links that I've found, and some from the Target sample bags (which unfortunately is discontinued now).

Do you gals/guys like signing up/receiving free samples of things?

Hi all!

I'm going to be going abroad for a short trip with my family to visit some relatives.  I'll be gone for three weeks or so, so I won't be updating as much as I want to (drafting posts and such), so please bear with me!

In the mean time, I have one filler post coming up soon.  Hopefully that will be satisfying for now.

So, see you all soon!