Mini Sephora Haul⎪NARS, URBAN DECAY, KAT VON D

I caved. I went and got a Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade "Custard", after trying to make "Vanilla" work. Though "Vanilla" does a great job in instant brightening, it sometimes feels a bit too much, like I've overdone my makeup. I prefer the more subtle, less Kim-K, highlighting. Hence, I went for custard which is a more yellow-tone shade. I love their concealer because they do not budge! Sometimes it almost feels waterproof in how it maintains its grip all throughout the day, in the summer too! 

I'm out of liquid eyeliners. I've used up all the ones I had, and I've been missing the precise en pointe liner-look. I've tried the Kat Von D Tattoo eyeliner my sister had. Loved it, but I kept to what I had just to finish what I had first. Then, when time was due, I headed straight for this one. It reminds me of the Korean-type eyeliners-- precise, intense, and fine-brushed.

Then, I've been eyeing the Urban Decay's velvet 24/7 eyeliners for quite some time. I refrained because I have enough 24/7 eyeliners to finish up. Still, something about that intense velvety finish always drew me in. After refraining myself from buying them, I was passing by Sephora's infamous sample line, and voila! They had three of the exact shades I wanted to try from their velvet line!! Perversion, Sabbath, and Smoke. That dark navy blue though... seriously beautiful. If I had green or blue eyes, I'd wear this shade all the time!

I have to say, I've been using these products ever since I got them. I threw away the Sephora receipt because I knew I'd be keeping them all :)

Leave a Comment concealer, eyeliners, haul, kat von d, liquid eyeliner, Nars, sephora, Urban Decay

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THE NAKED 3.

I finally got around to trying the Urban Decay's famous Naked 3 palette out. I have the first and second palette, so I expected just as amazing things from their third palette. I was happy to know the palette would be full of shades never seen before. It's also new in that it is full of these feminine rosy shades. I always loved the idea of trying out rosy pink shades on the eyes, but was scared to. With the hopes that Urban Decay would do it right again, I invested in this beautiful palette.

So, here is what I think about this palette. It definitely is full of beautiful shades, shades that I previously didn't have. They are all creamy, pigmented, and dimensional. Especially the darker shades, when you swatch them you can see pearls of different colors reflecting. The first six shades are much obviously pinky than the next six shades. I personally have been loving the shades: burnout, dust, limit, buzz, and liar. They have been most versatile to work with on an everyday basis. 

However, the palette is less "everyday" for me than the other two Naked palettes. Out in the sunlight, the pink really comes through and sometimes I don't feel as comfortable in them as I would if I were wearing the more neutral brown-taupe kinds of shades you find in the other palettes. In general, these shades don't complement my skin tone very well. 

I won't say that this palette is necessarily a must-have kind of palette. But if you want a palette that is feminine and new, then this would be a great palette to invest in. You are getting twelve shades, mixed with matte and glitter shades. Like the other Naked palettes, you can play around with the colors so much.

Here are the swatches of the first six shades from the lightest to the right. I love that the lightest shade is a matte shade, so that you can use it on the brow bone without looking too overdone. From left to right: strange, dust, burnout, limit, buzz, and trick.

Here are the next six shades, the darker ones. Names are Nooner, Liar, Factor, Mugshot, Darkside, and Blackheart. Let me just say that the darkest shade looks really beautiful! It is the brown with almost purple-pink specks, mixed with golden specks all in one!

So here are all twelve shades decorating my two forearms! How do you love them? I would personally love to see a neutrals palette from Urban Decay that works with green/emerald shades! I do hope Urban Decay continues with these successful Naked palettes. What do you say UD, how about a green-tone Naked palette for the fourth edition? :)

In general, it's a cool and new palette but if you're looking to save money and wanting a more workable palette, I'd suggest the Naked 1 palette instead. I still haven't really found a way to make the combinations of colors work perfectly for my skin tone. 

Leave a Comment eye palette, Naked, naked 3, Urban Decay

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Best of 2013.

I am spending the day before New Years at home, relaxing and cleaning my room. I thought I'd spend a few hours in the morning to film my Best of 2013 Beauty Favorites video while I could, so that I can post the video by tonight. Filming a video takes longer than one would think, and editing it is just a whole heck of a chore! But now that I've got it done, I feel I can concentrate more on finishing this day with a more reflective note.



As always, it's pretty difficult to pick and choose "the favorites" of the entire year. I am one of those people that buy something after much research and review-reading. Once I decide to keep it in my collection, that means I love it. To choose the best from all the ones I love is seriously difficult. So, I just gravitated towards picking the ones I "used" the most instead.

I divided it up between skincare and makeup bits. Watch the entire video here:


I realize that there are so many products that I love but couldn't mention. I also realized that in the video, I forget to talk about two things that are actually right there! That's what happens, I guess, when you just wing things through. The first one is a hand cream: Rose of Bulgaria Hand Cream and the other is Nars Laguna Bronzer.

I also want to do a special mention to NEOM Candles because I enjoyed them so much this year. Although I wanted to stock up when I went to London, I just couldn't find them anywhere in the department stores I visited. I may have to just order it online! But really, NEOM candles have been just amazing and I highly recommend them as well.

On a final note, I wish everyone a Happy New Year! 2013 has been one heck of a year. Thank you to all my subscribers, readers, and followers. I truly appreciate all of your feedback! I hope to continue blogging next year with better content and format on both my blogs and Youtube channel.

I hope all of you the best in 2014 :)

Leave a Comment benefit, bioderma, bourjois, ciate, deborah lippmann, diptyque, essie, estee lauder, favorites, hourglass, jo malone, laura mercier, life update, lifestyle, mario badescu, Naked, Nars, new years, rimmel, Urban Decay

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Life Update #4 . Life in Instagram Pictures

Sorry I've been away for so long! It was FINALS week, and it's been a stressful and tough month but it's all over now and in celebration, I thought I'd give you a little update on what's been going on. Also, wanted to give you a little heads-up on what to expect on my blog from now 'till the end of the year. Can you even believe it's almost the end of the year?! Yikes.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some bits of my life. First, it's been 95% of this no doubt:

Of course, I made sure to put on a lovely candle by Diptyque so that I can ease into studying. I took the "study 'till I die" method the last year and came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to study that way. That's why I gave myself more pamper time and relaxing time than before. By pampering, I also mean eating delicious things like:

A delicious well-brewed vanilla cappuccino is an instant wake-me-up! It's my favorite drink, and I get my little heart-drawn coffees from either Starbucks or SweetLeaf :)

And, of course the sweeties that bring a source of jolliness into life. These brownies and blondies are SO GOOD. They are from a company called "Fat Witch", and I highly recommend y'all try it out! I am a brownie mania, and so when I see a company get it right, it makes me happy! I recommend the original Fat Witch Brownie. It always seems to be sold out when I try to get them... That's the only downfall.

 And yes. Eggs Benedict. Delish, delisssh, delicious! Just look at it, won't you? I recommend the one at Cafe Henri for one of the bests I've tried :)

And before I knew it, it was Christmas season. I still haven't got a proper tree up in the living room, but I did put one up in my study room. It's small, and I can't find any fairy lights! Grr. So, it's just there with its bobbles and not much glamor to it, but it'll have to do for now. You can read my blog post from last Christmas season and the tree I decorated here. I also had to take a picture of these alleys/streets that sell freshly cut fraser firs! Goodness, how christmasy they made me feel :)

Oh, and never forget candles for the holiday! Candles are just 100x better in the winter, and 10000x better during the holidays. I've been liking the sweet and cozy kinds, like Bath & Body Works' "Marshmallow Fireside" and their "Winter" scents.

And because I'm a beauty girl, and I love makeup so much, I did make some recent purchases that I'm excited to blog about. Also, if you didn't know, I'm a huge Catbird fan and recently they had a crazy 4-hour flash sale of one of their new ring: Black Onyx Teardrop Ring. 50% off. That's just crazy, and of course I bought and by far, it's actually my favorite ring from all the gzillion rings I've acquired over the past few years. I love it THAT much.

And, yes. I did jump in the crazy for the Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay. They just go home run on these palettes, don't they?

So, that's pretty much my life update. You can follow me on Instagram username: EtherealEllie. I love the feedback I get on Instagram :) Here's me dwindling in peace after the finals were over! #PEACE

And for further exciting news I want to share! *drum roll**********

I am leaving for Europe tomorrow! I am planning to go to London and Paris for two weeks, and I just can't wait. I've been counting down the days, minutes, and seconds for this very day and I can't express just how happy I am to be going to the UK and France. I've been to both countries before, and did stay mainly around the cities, but I just never get tired of them. Nope! I'm also visiting Strasbourg for a day or two. *THRILLED*

I would love it if anyone had recommendations of places to go, things to eat, and whatever! I'm all open to recommendations :) I've been stalking my favorite UK bloggers for places to go eat and visit. If any of my followers are from UK or France, let me know! And I will definitely be picking up GOODIES (as in BEAUTY PRODUCTS) while my stay there. I'm going to try to blog every moment I have in Europe. Look out for nice pictures (and VIDEOS on Youtube) *hopefully*!

Leave a Comment bathandbodyworks, candles, catbird, catbirdnyc, christmas, coffee, england, food, france, holiday, life update, lifestyle, Naked, naked 3, travel, Urban Decay

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Feb Faves!

I really am sick of this dreary winter! I want Spring to bloom right now. So, in preparation for the coming season, I decided to combine some of my February favorites along with some Spring makeup. Now, I realized after I took a picture and filmed a video that I forgot all about lipsticks!!! But, I felt way too lazy to redo everything from scratch so... the lippies will need a rest for this post :( 

Anyway, let me move on. All of these have been featured on my blog before, besides maybe that Diptyque Oyedo eau de toilette. I've used up almost all of it already and I'm getting very nervous for fear I'll run out before I restock! It's such a beautiful beautiful beautiful fruity and citrus scent that instantly brings you to a hill of fruits and Spring. It's beautiful and I have commenting people about this oh-so-fresh fragrance all the time!

On that note, another really Spring makeup is my Burberry blush in Peony! It is the perfect pink yet natural glow. Usually, pinks that bright and light stand out on my skin tone but this one just makes you look like you have this natural pink glow! Love it so very much (as well as the gorgeous packaging). 

Then, since it's all about looking AWAKE! and ALIVE! for the Spring season, I thought a highlighter was only appropriate. This Benefit Watts-up highlighter is life-changingly perfect. Put it on the tops of your cheeks, down your nose, and under your brows. You'll look so young, healthy, and fresh. The glow is just addicting. 

For the warmer seasons, a smooth and clean mascara would be nice, wouldn't it? The Giorgio Armani lengthening mascara is just the best for that. No flakes, no drying, yet perfectly wet and smooth. It does the job amazingly! 

If you want a bit of a something-something, maybe a tinted moisturizer might help? This Works' Perfect Look Skin Miracle, which is a tinted moisturizer, is the perfect primer. It moisturizes and preps the skin for foundation. The tint is bit of a bronze, but for me, the color is practically invisible. But maybe if you are pale and want something-something for Spring, this would be great! 

Next is the one and only Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover foundation. This stuff is really something. If you are looking to cover up everything, this is it. It isn't too matte, nor is it very glowy. It's somewhere right between, which is great. It lasts REALLY LONG. The consistency is surprisingly watery that dries quickly on your skin, feeling intact all day long! The coverage is flawless and on top of that, it can be BUILDABLE. Whoa. 

I use my favorite foundation brush from Real Techniques (Expert Face brush) to apply these high coverage foundations. Why? Because this brush makes the foundation last longer and it gives the perfect finish. I used to be obsessed with the Stippling brush, then the Buffing... but now, it's this stuff right here. LOVE IT.

Lazy people, you may not want to go about putting on an eyeshadow. Maybe you want to achieve a "minimal" look? Well, still maybe you need something for a pop on the eye. Well, this 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil from Urban Decay is great for that. It's a creamy pencil that works like gel, and dries and stays on forever. When you first apply it, it is so super creamy that if you take a smudging brush (MAC 219) and smudge it gently all along your eyelids, you can achieve a softened yet defined eye! Love them so much.

But say you do want eyeshadows! Well, Urban Decay has some great shades for that. I chose the Naked 2 because it is currently what I'm obsessing over but also, since they are mostly cool-toned, it can help give the face a COOL fresh look. There are pinky shades that might look good for the Spring as well!

Finally, for nails, you know... it's the Butter London "Tea with the Queen". Perfect perfect nude. I will probably have a bottle of this until the day I die. This color just does not go wrong. Days when I want my fingers to look long, chic, and feminine? Well, this is the answer :)

So yep! This is my Winter to Spring, transitional makeup products. What are some products that are helping you transitioned between the color to warm?

Leave a Comment benefit, burberry, butter, diptyque, estee lauder, giorgio armani, naked 2, oyedo, peony, Real Techniques, this works, Urban Decay, watts up

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a School Gal's Beauty Essentials

This post is something special and something real. As a student (grad/prof.), time is essential and trying to look decent when you're on the go or out-&-about for 12+ hours, is pretty difficult. I'm going to tell you though how I try to look decent when I'm not around all my makeup collection and I don't have much time on my hands. These aren't necessarily what I'd take with me say on my nights out, or to a date, or etc., Rather, this is especially focused on what a School Girl would carry! 

These are ready-to-go products. I have a Renu eyedrop/eye solution for my dry contact lens (especially if you're wearing them all day long!). I also have a fast seeping hand lotion from This Works (an easily trustworthy brand). Next, I have a lip treatment from Nuxe for the harsh winter days. I like to pack on this thick paste and melt them between my lips and voila! They are healed! I also carry around one eyeliner pencil from Urban Decay, their 24/7 glide-on eye pencil. This is for the just-in-case situations where I want my eyes to look more defined (due to eye makeup fading away by the 8th hour). I also bring along a setting brush from Real Techniques to use with my MAC Studio Fix foundation that I use as a touch-up powder. I love this duo. The powder is light but a pretty full coverage. Although it has a sponge, I want to keep the bacteria from piling on the product itself. Also, I don't want to look cakey so I use brush to give a airbrush and natural visage. Next I carry two lip color products. One is the Clinique chubby stick that is so easy to put on and look fresh/nice in! It's a really functional pick-me-up lipstick that also moisturizes. But just in case, for the days you want to look a bit nicer, I carry around an actual full-on lipstick. Currently, I'm back into my NARS Roman Holiday! Finally, I have with me a Travelo perfume bottle where I keep my favorite perfume. I have three of these and I switch around which fragrance to carry around that day. It's a super pick-me-up ritual I think!

Leave a Comment clinique, lifestyle, MAC, Nars, nuxe, Real Techniques, this works, travelo, Urban Decay

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NAKED 2 by URBAN DECAY

I finally got my hands on the Naked 2 palette ($50). Too late on the ride you say? Well, at least I got on the ride! I was hesitant about it because I still had the original/first Naked palette and I had a lot left to use. But recently, I had hit pan on Half-baked, seriously the all-time most beautiful gold shimmer eyeshadow ever! Then, I went on a whole journey of considering several cream eyeshadows to try out. On my trip to Sephora today, I tried about four different brands of cream eyeshadows... all were just  meh. Then, I hopped over to Urban Decay and took a good look at Naked 2. I realized that the palette had my much needed Half-baked and I also realized how beautiful the shades were. I took the liberty to swatching what I thought were the prettiest of them all, and whoa. Who needs cream eyeshadows when these powdered ones glide on smoother than cream, deliver better than paint, and blend like powder? Nuh-uh. I immediately picked this palette up. I didn't think any swatching was necessary for this blogpost because I mean come on, who hasn't seen tons of reviews on this palette already?

Without flash. 

 My favorite shades so far are (all) YDK, Bootycall, Chopper, Pistol, Busted, Blackout... hmm... I think I'm mentioning them all. I really do like them all. I love that the black shade is matte. Oh, and the brush! If you've watched my last favorites (of 2012) video, you'll see that I use a double-ended Jemma Kidd brush for my Naked 1 palette. It fits perfectly into the palette too. I was more than pleased to see their own fine double-ended brush already given in the palette. One side is a denser kind, and the other side is a fluffy one good for buffing and blending! It also comes with a nude colored lip gloss that I find neutral and nice, a good little bonus for the whole package!

3 comments eye palette, eyeshadow, eyeshadow palette, Naked, naked 2, naked 2 palette, naked palette, sephora, Urban Decay

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2012 Beauty Favorites!

2013 is in full-swing, supposedly. I, however, lose all grasp of time between the end of one year and the start of another. It's one party after another, and endless holiday eating that an understanding of time is broken down. Still, 2013 is here and I took some time to think about what I loved most in 2012. It was actually quite easy to pick and choose. Although I absolutely LOVE all that's in my makeup collection, if I had to choose something that stood out most to me the past year, it would have to be these. Some are new discoveries and some are old classic favorites!

I have featured...

• Bioderma Crealine H20
• Diptyque Eau Duelle
• This Works Perfect Look Skin Miracle
• Origins Rescue Mask
• Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation
• Nars Sheer Glow
• Stila Perfecting Concealer
• Urban Decay Naked Palette
• Estee Lauder Bronze Sands Palette
• NuMe Arganic Oil
• Benefit Coralista
• Tarte Exposed
• Mario Badescu Bee Pollen Night Cream
• Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream
• Giorgio Armani Mascara
• Butter La Moss
• Butter British Racing Green
• Sally Hansen InstaDry
• Burberry Copper Lip Mist
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye pencil

Sorry that the video was cut off short. I guess my camera decided I was talking a bit too much and just shut down :( Anyway, thankfully I got to my final product so that was good. I hope you enjoyed it and tell me what some of your top 2012 beauty products were down below :)

2 comments benefit, bioderma, burberry, butter, diptyque, estee lauder, giogio armani, laura mercier, mario badescu, Nars, NuMe, origins, sally hansen, stila, taste, this works, Urban Decay

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Holiday Makeup!

I know I promised a holiday look, but I missed the chance to upload a LOTD post before Christmas. However, we still have New Years don't we? So, I brought in my friend this time to do a very amateurish makeup tutorial. She was brave enough to be in front of a camera with very minimal makeup in the beginning. I certainly couldn't brave that challenge! The tutorial isn't a real tutorial because I skipped a few steps. For example, there is no step for foundation, mascara, and blush.

The reason is because she came with a tinted moisturizer and a bit of blush on her cheeks. Although most of that was gone by the time we filmed this, you can see a bit of makeup still on her face. So, I didn't bother to start with a foundation. I started with the eyes using the Estee Lauder Bronze Sands Palette.  I wanted to make a shiny eye look for the holidays. I used the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in black on her waterline. Then I took a 219 MAC brush and smudged it all along the eyes, then winged it out slightly at the end. For the brows, I used the Perfekt Brow Perfection Gel to just give her already full brows a little bit more shape and definition!

Red Lip Look

Then I went to conceal areas she needed coverage with Stila Perfecting Concealer: under the eyes, forehead, chin, and around the nose. Her skin doesn't have spots or too many blemishes so this was a breeze! Then, it was time for the lips.

Nude Look

I used NARS Honolulu Honey for the first look. I fell in love with the color, seeing how well it worked on the skin and the color payoff! It was really creamy and the nude is just the perfect shade. Make sure, as I was telling my friend, you color in your lips all the way and a little bit out of the lip line. That's because people naturally have a darker lip line than the inside lip color. If you miss out covering that lipline with a nude, then it'll look like you have a dark lipliner on, and... it just wouldn't work!

Then I tried using the MAC Rebel lipstick for the second look. It is rather a dark red/plum. After applying a few coats, I thought she'd look better with a brighter red so I went for the NARS lipgloss in Mexican Rose. Mexican Rose is a beautiful red-pink shade that lasts... FOREVER. If you're looking for a long-lasting lipstick/gloss, this is the one. Anyway, it was just the color I was looking for!


Excuse the horrendous lighting in the room, and the unprofessional editing skills. Still, I hope this was something fun and new for my blog. Hope you enjoyed :)

Leave a Comment Asian, christmas, concealer, eyeliner, holiday, MAC, Nars, perfekt, stila, Urban Decay

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Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencils

Sephora recently had 20% off for "Friends and Family". I took advantage of that once-in-a-bloom-moon discount code to buy this much wanted Urban Decay "Ocho Loco" eyeliner set. Honestly, I don't need all the colors in here but hear me on this. The price of this original price of about $200 was selling for about $55! Let's be honest here. Isn't this a total bargain? 8 full size eyeliners with a sharpener? Worth it.

More so because Urban Decay gets very respectable reviews. I wanted an eyeliner pencil for awhile. Again, much like my dilemma with the liquid eyeliner, I was again hesitant about which eyeliner pencil to buy. I find eye pencils are so hard to work with unless they are extra sharp, or unless you instead to tidy them by smudging them! Also, although you can with liquid eyeliners, pencil eyeliners are honestly better for the lower waterline. Again, because I wanted it to stay on the waterline, I needed it to be long-lasting.

The set comes with a matte jet black eyeliner. The other seven colors are sparkly. When I first took the black one and swatched it, I was surprised with how smoothly, thickly, and fully it ran across my skin. I had literally just placed it on my skin when it just glided it away. It is super creamy and soft, with full on pigmentation. Although I honestly am one that doesn't have smudgy eyes near the end of the day because somehow eye makeup lasts on me, I still will say that I do think this is very long-lasting.

I began to try other colors and although I'm not sure how often I'll get to where these colors, they are all so impressive and beautiful. I especially love "Hustle" for my lower waterline. It gives a softer look than black. Some pop of color here and there would also be very nice according to the look you want and such!

Overall, I agree with the 5/5 rating people have given them (on Sephora's website!)! Oh, and I forgot to mention! This is only and exclusively ONLINE. You cannot get this deal in stores so if you like the deal, find it online at www.sephora.com

Leave a Comment eye pencil, eyeliner, glide-on eye pencil, ocho loco, pencil eyeliner, sephora, Urban Decay

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