I love Pat McGrath’s brand. My mother gifted me her Mothership II: Sublime Palette as a New Year treat. The packaging is very weighted, unique, and luxurious. I love the shimmer and iridescent quality of the shadows. This palette is super pricey and I would not recommend it unless you really wanted it. I personally think MAC eyeshadow looks just as shimmery. However, if you really want to indulge and join the wave, I say go for it. I do feel special every time I use this product. The shadows have little fallout and the colors are gorgeous in person. ❤
Reading Hack
I’m a History MA graduate student and it took me about four months to learn how to perform like a “History MA graduate student.” One important performance lesson I learned is the art of graduate school reading. I had no clue that it required so much tact. I wondered how people got so much reading done so quickly (hint they didn’t). Before learning this reading hack, I felt intellectually inferior. My sense of imposter syndrome reached a new high.
But boy, oh boy — I had an ah-ha moment when my professor taught my class ‘the trick.’
Book reviews, book reviews, book reviews! And strategic reading!!! It is more effective to read some info about the author, historiography (in my case) i.e. a book review or two, the introduction and the conclusion and a bit of each chapter in between (preferably all of the chapters assigned). Then to try an muscle through books cover to cover.
Reading in order, cover to cover is a style of reading best left for leisure rather than class. ❤
La Creme Beaute Review
I bought luxury skin care from La Creme Beaute! I purchased the Bee Venom face cream and Glow. I also ordered Bee Venom face cream for my mother as a surprise gift. Both of our orders came with five samples. I was blown away by this because the samples are very sizable, especially the eye cream. I think I have enough product to use for a month or so. I also loved that they included a handwritten thank you note.
I think personal touches and attention to detail add to a feeling of luxury. I’ve found that expensive products can be just as hit or miss as less pricey items, sometimes the customer service and professionalism is lacking even though there’s a high sticker price. But this shopping experience was different. It only took about a week to deliver to both Ireland and the USA.
I’ve used my products and samples for five days now and I’ll need to continue to use them before I rave about results. But so far, I love the botanical scent of the rose face cream. I like mixing products like using Glow with L’occitane Aqua face cream. My skin looks very hydrated. I’ll keep using and post an update. I recommend this brand.
February is a month for self-love and self-care. ❤
Grad School Stress
Solo studying
Grad school is stressful but in a different way than undergrad. I think it’s easy to feel directionless in graduate school because there is less emphasis placed on advising and not much student “hand-holding.”
In my case, the typical graduate school stress was coupled with the stress of living abroad on my own. I grew two grey hairs at 22! I’ve learned to just take it day by day and go easy on myself. This past semester’s workload felt lighter than undergrad but I know this situation won’t last long. The workload is two-fold this upcoming semester and the deadline for my dissertation nears closer and closer.
Still, I’m super excited to embark on a fresh start come next semester and get closer to the finish line to finish this MA. I hope to continue to practice self-care and better manage my studying time. My favorite self-care practice as of yet is getting facials and manicures when I can. ❤
Box Braids – Third Time’s the Charm
I’ve gotten box braids with extensions done three times now. The first time I got the style installed was in North Carolina. The stylist made the braids skinnier than I anticipated and used *gasp* 20 packets of hair!
I loved the results of this first experience. The hair was not too itchy and the quality of it was nice. The braiding process hurt because of the weight of the style. Plus, it made falling asleep comfortably an impossibility. I took a bunch of Advil to push through during the styling and afterward.
I probably will only do such an extravagant style again for a special occasion. It took about 6 hours for the stylist to finish my hair. She charged $350+ for the style and did not provide the hair. The hair totaled to around $80-$100. (I can try and search for her contact info if anyone is interested)
I disliked how frizzy the front of my hair became when I first got box braids. I think the thick parting made my hair frizziness more noticeable. I took the braids out a few days short of a month later on.
The second time around I flew to London to get box braids. I went to Natural Gloe Hair & Beauty. Address: 14 Northfield AvenueW13 9RJ
www.Naturalgloe.com
I highly recommend the salon, the owner was incredibly professional. Two stylists — the owner and her assistant worked on my hair at once and finished in 4 hours. The salon provided the hair. At my request, they washed it pre-styling for me because my scalp is sensitive to the chemicals put on synthetic hair.
I had a nightmare braiding experience in 2017 that taught me this, I had to take out my $300+ braids the night after getting them done because my scalp burned and itched horribly. 😦
The style only amounted to around 120-150 euros. I was super happy with how much lighter the hair was but I preferred the softer quality of the hair I used in my first box braiding experience.
I just recently got box braids done again a third time in a thinner style. The stylist only used three packets of the high-quality hair that I purchased called “RastAfri – Freed’m-Triple-Braid”. Though I was unhappy about my stylist’s professionalism, I am pleased with the results. I hope that this time once the braids get frizzier it will look less obvious and more purposeful, akin to Zoe Kravitz’s skinny box braids look. ❤
Surprise Gift 🎉
I’ve received L’Occitane Aqua gel face wash and lotion as a gift. I’ve used these products for a few days now and can confirm they’re fantastic! The face cream feels like a splash of water on the skin. I’m thankful to have the face wash gel in my skin care regimen because its gentle. Given that most of my face washes have a scrub element and are drying for the skin if they’re overused. I think both of the products make a wonderful gift, especially the face lotion because the packaging is pretty. The lid is silver and the jar is made of glass.
Another go-to product I realized I forgot to mention in my last post is the Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment. I love this bad boy because it dries down pimples super quickly. I need to buy a new one ASAP. ❤
Favorite Skin Care Products
I love skincare! It’s the one thing I always feel a-okay spending a bunch of money on. I have pictured above some of my most used products.
Sokoglam is my most frequented online Korean skin care store. The Triple C Lightning Liquid is the only product I’ve used that completely gets rid of pigmentation. Its better than pricer products like the pictured nearly empty Caudalie’s Vinoperfect Radiance Serum.
The Vinoperfect Radiance Serum brightened my skin but did nothing for pimple marks. I do not plan on repurchasing that serum, but I enjoyed using it.
I think a better overall face brightening product is the Kiehl’s Turmeric and Cranberry Seed mask. It sounds dramatic, but I cannot imagine life without this product. A little of it goes a long way; one container lasts me like 4 months. I love Kiehl’s products hence why so many are pictured above. 🙈
The Kiehl’s pore mask (pictured on the far right) minimizes pores very effectively. I like that there is a lot of product to work with within one container.
The pollution mask is fantastic because it makes my skin appear softer and the smell is pleasant. I think it’s an affordable (college or grad student budget) luxuriating skin care product.
I’ve heard so much hype about the Kiehl’s Avocado Eye Cream that I decided to try it out and switch from Origins Ginzing eye cream. I think it’s better than Ginzing because it more easily melts into the skin. I used to have issues with white eye product sitting on my face after trying to tap the product in.
The last product pictured in the leftmost corner box is the Kiehl’s day face lotion with SPF. This day lotion makes the skin appear radiant, it’s very thick and best suited for winter.
The last two products to talk about are pictured in the middle image: L’Occitane Perfecting Mattifying Fluid and Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate. First of all, the best night skin care product of all time is Midnight Recovery (Kanye voice). It diminishes pores and makes my skin appear supple.
I also really love the Perfecting Mattifying Fluid as an alternative lightweight day cream. My only complaint is that it takes like five pumps to get enough lotion for my face and the bottle is small. I think this product is very pricey because it takes so much of it to get the job done. But I do notice a difference in my skin. I’ve noticed this product makes my face look like I’m wearing makeup when I’m not. Also, with makeup, it creates an airbrushed look.
During my first semester of graduate school, my skin broke out. My skin’s texture began to look patchy. I typically use Sokoglam lemon pads to even out my skin’s texture but not even that method worked.
I am back in the U.S. on break from school. I have begun using Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial and my skin is much clearer.
Next product I want to test out and share with my mom is La crème Beautè bee venom. I have to confess I only want it because model Devon Carlson uses it and her skin is flawless. I think the product is an investment but it’ll be worth it. Plus the reviews are stellar! ❤
