Life & Costume Construction

Time passes so quickly--it's already the third week of school! Luckily I've finalized my schedule. I'm taking 21 units this semester (5 units more than usual). I'm actually quite nervous about taking this many classes and worried that it may affect my grades negatively. However, since this is my last semester, I really wanted to take some interesting classes. I really want to choose classes that I can learn from and use in the future!

One fun class I'm taking this semester is called Costume Construction. In this class, I learn how to sew, read patterns, alter patterns, and ultimately create my own "vintage" outfit! Doesn't that sound exciting?? The first assignment is making pajamas! Although it sounds a bit cheesy, pajama shorts are relatively simple to make--perfect for the beginners~

 

This was my first time visiting the Fashion District in Los Angeles. I was a little nervous, because I've never ben there. However, it was overall a very fun experience. There were many little stores, each with lots and lots of different types of fabrics. The ones pictured above were from Michael Levine. Michael Levine is one of the bigger fabric and more organized fabric stores. They have such variety and such cute designs! I definitely want to check it out again. 

The photo on the right was my first assignment for the Costume Construction course. I learned a lot of different stitches! They weren't as different as I thought they'd be, but still, I need lots more practice because I am comfortable with sewing! Overall, the experience was fun, exciting, and new!

This is my first time working with patterns! Like I mentioned earlier, these are patterns for pajama shorts! I'm using a soft, pink knit fabric. I'm sure it end up very comfy...however, I am a little worried about how well I'll be able to make it! This is my first time, but at least it's a step in the learning the process! 

I've always wanted to learn to sew, and this is my chance! I'm super excited!

What is something that you've always wanted to learn? How do you plan on accomplishing it? <3

Long weekend extravaganza!

This past weekend was a three day weekend for (most) students! I was so happy and excited, especially since school had just started and I didn't have any work to do. So my friend decided to come visit me, and we went to Huntington Gardens and to dinner~

Huntington gardens was such a fun place to visit. Even though we arrived a little late (3pm-ish), we still were able to see a lot. We went to the Japanese, Chinese, and Australian gardens. The first two were very pretty and quite relaxing to look at. However, the Australian garden was very plain...were they still working on it? I'm not quite sure... Lastly, we stopped by the cactus garden. All the cacti were super cute, and the "baby" ones were just all the more adorable~~ hahaha. I guess I have a thing for cacti! 

If you have the chance to go, GO! It's so much fun to enjoy nature and hang out with friends! Also, Huntington has much more than just gardens--there's also many paintings you can check out.

 

  

After the trip to Huntington's, we went to SugarFish. It has the best sushi rolls and sashimi I've ever tasted! Usually I don't quite like sashimi, but this was just amazing! It didn't leave any of that icky aftertaste. The fish was very fresh and soft. It melts in your mouth~~ Unfortunately, the setting was quite dark, and I wasn't able to take any pictures...

I did, however, take pictures of food from another restaurant. It's called Alcove Café & Bakery, located in Los Angeles. The food was also very delicious and very unique. The pricing is actually pretty good for their serving size. The Blackened Salmon Sandwich, which I ordered, was $13.95 and had a huge filet of salmon and half an avocado! Quite delicious :) The last photo was my friend's seafood omelette! She liked it. hehehe.

What did you all do this past weekend? Anything fun or exciting?

Review: philosophy purity made simple cleanser

I'm sure many of you have heard about Philosophy's Purity Made Simple cleanser, right? It's been a huge hit recently and was the Best of Sephora Winner 2008! I purchased mine during Black Friday sales (so long ago!) from Sephora for $10. Good deal right? Mine is a 12 fl.oz. version (or 360 ml), but usually they are available in 3, 8, 16, 24 fl.oz.

The Purity Made Simple cleanser is supposed to "melt away dirt, oil, and makeup," in addition to tone and lightly hydrate the skin. The cleanser is made for all skin types. Unfortunately, when I purchased this product, I didn't notice that it contains parabens and imidazolidinyl urea--two ingredients that can cause irritations and allergic reactions in some people... This ingredients list seems to contradict Philosophy's claim that "purity is natural."  

 

MY OPINION

The cleanser does what it says. It's a good cleanser that helps keep my skin clean, soft, and moisturized. The scent is also very pleasant and relaxing~ It also removes sunscreen well, but unfortunately it doesn't remove make up (BB creams) quite so well. ///random insert --> this winter break, I wanted to try using make up, so I also tested this cleanser on the BB creams, but sadly, my skin didn't feel so clean afterwards. I ended up washing my face twice.../// The cleanser also doesn't keep my acne at bay.

When I'm not using makeup--which is most of the time--the cleanser seems to work well. So if you don't tend to use make up, you might like this cleanser. The good thing is that this 12 fl.oz. bottle will last a long time--my sister and I have been using this bottle for a month now and we've only used 1/3 of it. 

Overall, this cleanser is okay. Sadly it doesn't match it's reputation.

Overall rating:     

Packaging: N/A

Ease of use:     

Effectiveness:     

Ingredients:      (CosDNA)

Hygiene:     

Where to find this product?
*prices compare 8 fl.oz.
Sephora - $24.00
DrugStore - $24.00
Amazon - $21.25

Review & haul: Jolse, online Korean beauty shop

This post has been in my to-do list for while now...Sorry for the delay! Anyways, this is my first time shopping with Jolse, an online Korean beauty and cosmetics shop. It has many popular Korean brands like Etude House, Skinfood, Tonymoly, Innisfree, and Mizon. They have great reputation for their quality of service and for their pricing! Plus, they have free shipping for all purchases!!

Jolse Homepage

Jolse always has good deals, and during Black Friday (when I made my purchase >__<), there were plenty of great sales! Currently They have some 2+1 deals and 10% certain brands every week (currently Innisfree and Skinfood)! Each order also comes with so many samples! My order came with 8 samples~~

My entire Jolse order

My two purchases - snail creams! 

Order made: Nov. 27, 2014
Date shipped: Nov. 28, 2014
Date arrived: Dec. 15, 2014
(arrived 18 days after purchase)
Moreover, Jolse has great customer service. I got sort of impatient and after 15 days of waiting (13 business days), I decided to email them regarding when my order. They replied in 2 days and were very courteous~ They mentioned the date my order was shipped and told me that shipping to the US takes 10-20 business days. 

When my package arrived, the two creams were wrapped in layers of bubble wrap! The package itself came in a very sturdy boxy. My items came safely without any mishaps! Overall, my experience with Jolse was great~

Green tea matcha latte with soy milk~

Product were provided by Kiss Me Organic, but all content and opinions are based on my own experience!

Hi everyone! One of my favorite things to do first thing in the morning is to drink a cup of green tea latte! It's nice and refreshing, especially since I always wake up thirsty.

 

Isn't the color so lovely? The green is so pretty; it makes it so happy and relaxed when I drink it in the morning! Anyways, in an effort to be healthier this new year, I've been trying to avoid coffee (don't want to get addicted!) Since this oragnic matcha powder has 10 times the nutritional and antioxidant benefits than a single cup of tea and helps increase the metabolism, I felt that drinking a cup of green tea matcha latte would be a great way to start the day.

This cup of morning tea is very easy to make and requires only three ingredients! Hope you're excited!

          1/2 to 1 tsp of matcha (depending on how strong you like the green tea flavor)
          1 tsp of honey
          1 cup of unsweetened soymilk

          1. mix the matcha powder with a small amount of hot water (to help it mix better with the soy milk)
          2. heat the soymilk in the microwave for 1-1:30 minutes
          3. combine the soymilk and matcha "syrup" and stir in the honey
          4. ENJOY~

In this particular recipe, I used Kiss Me Organic's culinary grade green tea powder! I really like this brand because the powder mixes smoothly in drinks and gives a beautiful green color for baked goods! If you're interested in trying this brand, you can find it on Amazon here! If you're in the UK or in Canada, you can find the matcha powder here and here, respectively.

What's your favorite green tea flavored drink or snack?

Back at school, finish my last semester!

Hello everyone! I've arrived safely back in LA. I was so surprised by the rainy weather! Since Washington had surprisingly, good weather, I was shocked to find it rainy and gloomy in LA (that's what Washington should be like!)!

Anyways, I excited to be back at school (but not necessarily for classes). I always look forward to seeing old friends, making new friends, and first day of classes. I usually enjoy the first week of classes, but unfortunately not when midterms and projects roll around...D:

As a small celebration for first day back, I stopped by the school's cafeteria and made a blueberry-raspberry waffle and topped it will a few mini chocolate chips! hahaha, I love getting creative with my food creations.

Hope the new year is off to a great start for you all! And for those of you with school, best of luck~~ :)

Bath and Body Works lotion haul

Who doesn't like a good sale? I am absolutely obsessed with them! :) And luckily, Bath and Body Works has a great sale right now! $3 per lotion?? I'm ecstatic! hahaha. My family purchased a lot, so we can stock up for a while. My favorite scents are the holiday ones, but unfortunately I didn't get any... :( oh well. They all smell pretty nice~

 

Out of these, my favorite is the Japanese Cherry Blossom! Which scent do you like best from Bath & Body Works?