Retro Patriotic Starburst Nails Tutorial

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July - even if this post is almost a month late! 

Next time you do something patriotic (or you just want to cheer on the U.S. for the Olympics Games!), try out this simple manicure. 

I think it would be better if the starburst lines were coming from a different direction, but these still look interesting nonetheless.

Instructions:

1. Paint on your nails a white base to represent the white stripes in the American flag. 

2. Using a sponge, sponge on some yellow to make the white look aged. If you have a more "cream" colored white, you can use that and skip this step!

3. Cut some diagonal stripes out of tape. Don't make enough for each stripe on every nail, as you can reuse the tape a couple of times. 

4. Place around 3 diagonal strips of tape on your nail and press down to ensure they're secure. 

5. Sponge red polish onto 3 out of 4 spots available to paint. Leave one of the two middle ones bare. 

6. On the last one, sponge on a dark navy blue. Use a small sponge for precise application, but still ensure that it's slightly messy and gives a sponged effect. That's what makes it look all cool and retro! 

7. Then, put some fine or even chunky glitter on the blue stripes to mimic the stars in the flag. I used more chunky glitter that I stuck on with some top coat. 

8. Lastly, add your top coat to finish off your design and make it chip-proof! 

And that's it! Hope you liked this fun nail art tutorial. 

-H. <3 

Sophisticated Bow Nails

There's something I really like about the base color of this design. It's such a simple, yet glamourous pink color- almost nude, but not. I originally only had this color on without any nail art, but when it started chipping at the tips, I decided to cover it up with a design. 

All I did was cover the chipped areas with the black polish as a french tip and on the accent finger, I painted a bow. Later on, I did add a black tip to the accent finger because my OCD was bothered by the fact that I didn't have it there, but I did on all the other nails. 

Nail Polishes Used:

Essie - Lady Like

Sally Hansen - Black Heart

Avon - Blossom

Are there any nail designs that you're loving lately? Show me or write a comment down below! <3 I'd love to see. :) 

-H. <3 

OOTN // Outfit of The Night - Birthday Party

Remember my friend Kaitlin that gave me those nail stickers and that nail polish pen? Well she had her 16th birthday party (yayy happy birthday to her!) and we had to dress semi-formal.
Just the same day I went shopping and got a dress that I really like from Pacsun. Here are some pictures of the dress and how I wore it to her party:

I have to wear black leggings and a longer sleeved shirt for religious purposes, but I still think it turned out okay! Oh and I don't wear shoes in the house, but I wore my new H&M black flats. :) 

What an awkward picture. Uhm. Basically I just wanted to show the cute stringy/cutout details  around the arm area. 

And I tried to take a picture showing the hemline. I don't know if you can notice, but the dress has a high-low hemline that I'm loving! I've been seeing it all over the place in skirts and I'm so happy I finally have something like it! 

Here is the purse I wore - just a blue coach clutch.

I tried not to take such a disgusting picture of my ears, but these studs are just so cute! I love how simple and dainty they look. I got them at H&M. 

And lastly, a picture of the necklace that I miraculousely saved in time for the party. It was literally in so many pieces. Thank god for pliers.

So yeah - Just thought I'd show you all cause I actually made a decent outfit this time.

Thanks for reading! Adios muchachos!

-H

Reuse those Dried-Up Gel Pens!

So I was cleaning out my things and found a whole bunch of gel pens that don't work anymore. I was so sad to see that I didn't use them much or remembered about them.

To be honest, I still didn't want to throw them away- even though they didn't work. The packaging of each pen was just so pretty and colorful that I couldn't stand throwing them away.

Look at all these! Ahhh, the colors make me happy. :)

At these times, I just feel like I should he a therapist and be on Hoarding: Buried Alive cause I really seem like I have a problem.

But I'm telling you, I have good intentions for these. I decided to switch the ink tubes of ugly pens into these ones. And my gosh, they're much cuter. It only took some tape, some curled wire that you get with clicky pens (you probably don't need that if you have tape and make it into a thick coil) and the new ink tube itself.

All I did was use clear tape to stick the coil around the ink tube. The reason why I kept the coil was because it was big enough to stop the whole ink tube from falling in. I'm sure you can also just wrap the tape around the tube loosely to get a diameter similar to the coil as well.

It says "well hi there!" but the picture isn't too great to see it clearly. :\

So yeah- now I have a pretty, yet black pen to use. I might have to paint the bottom tip of it black with nail polish (in the appearance of dip dye!) to determine the color of the ink easily.

If you have gel pens that are finished, throw out the old ink tubes and bring in the new!

Hope you learned something.

:)

-H

Review// Sally Hansen No Chip Acrylic Top Coat

Here's a small tip for all of you ladies who want to paint your nails on a budget:
DO NOT GET THIS TOP COAT.
The Sally Hansen No Chip Acrylic Top Coat is one of the worst top coats I've ever used. It gives way too many bubbles and ruins a cute design. Plus, it takes forever to dry. One touch and your polish job is ruined.
I really don't recommend this, so do not buy!
I heard Essie's Good To Go, Seche Vite, and a Revlon top coat all have rave reviews on them, so I'll definitely try them out soon.
What is your favorite top coat?
-H

Free Target Summer Beauty Bag

So a while back I signed up for this free taget summer beauty bag on the Target Style page on Facebook. I doubted that I'd get a lot of anything really cool, but I mean, it's free, so why not? But gosh, I was kinda surprised still that Target gave this all for free. It must still have cost a lot considering the 1.8 million people who liked the page (well, a lot of them did it for the bag, so it's still a lot). 

^Here's a first look at the box and bag itself. I thought the packaging was pretty cool, considering I don't get printed boxes in the mail often. To be honest, I got super excited to see something FOR ME in the mail. Now, that doesn't happen too often. (Except for those super annoying college letters that advertise the school -.-). 

*ahem* So here's the bag in all it's glory. Pretty decent, right? 

Here's what I got:

• A blue patterned cosmetic bag
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunscreen - SPF 70 
• TRESemme Split Remedy 
• A small sample of Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter
• A foil sample of Aveeno Living Color Shampoo and Conditioner
• A foil sample of Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shampoo and Conditioner
• And lastly, a coupon book to use on some beauty desires.

All in all, I liked this bag. Although it didn't give too much, it still gave somethings I really liked. For example, I really liked the sunscreen. It was totally given to me at the right time because I got to use it a couple of days after when I went to Six Flags! Around 8 people used it around their arms and face and I still have some left. 

I haven't used any of the hair products yet, but I do like how the bag gave a wide variety of items to try out - from color treatment to split end remedy. (Or is that just a way to get more people to make them buy those things? Oh Target...).

I was pretty excited to use the Revlon Lip Butter sample. I've heard SO many raves about this product in the Youtube beauty community. It kind of sucks that they gave so little in the sample because I could barely cover my lips. *sigh* I guess they make this catered for only small-lipped-people. 

Oh and I plan on using the cosmetic bag either for actual makeup in my school bag or pencils and pens depending on how many colored writing utensils I buy this time around. 

As for the coupon book, the sales aren't TOO good. But I found this coupon for $3 any Revlon cosmetics item and I'm OH SO HAPPY. I can get the lip butter for $3.50 then! SCORE!!

Next time they have a free beauty bag, don't be scared to give your address to them and hit them up on that offer! Target is a reputable place and I didn't get any junk mail coming from them after that. I can't wait to use my coupon. :) 

-H

July Glambag Review

Oh my! I skipped oh so many months of posts about my MyGlam bags. If you're still interested in briefly viewing the others, I can post pictures that I took a while back.

So today when I came home, I found this in the mail. MyGlam days are always great days, ladies.

Unfortunately, I did not win the giveaway of Michelle Phan's head chain part of her Ever Eden jewelry collection through this giveaway to 10 people, but I'm still happy with what I got.

So here are the items with some information about each and what I think of them:

1. Khiehl's Ultra Oil-Free Lotion - One try of this and I knew that this is gold. You can practically feel your skin drinking up all that moisture. The best part? It's oil free. Just what I need.

2. Nume HydroPunch Hydrating Conditioner - I haven't used this product, but I'm sure it'll be great for my frizzy hair. Any hydration is good hydration for hair like mine.

3. Yes To Cucumbers On-The-Go Facial Towelettes - I believe this was added in the bag especially on the request of Bethany (YouTube Guru), as she loves em. Perfect for gently removing makeup.

4. Josie Maran Magic Marker Lip and Cheek Stain in Tango - Honestly, I was up for both products for this month. The Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Polish seemed awesome too, but I'm happy with what I got nonetheless. I've never tried lip stains before, so it was a pretty new experience. The color is a bit bright for my taste, but just a dab will do. For some reason, my lips feel more dry, so I've reasoned to add some clear hydrating balm on top to keep my lips moisturized.

5. Circus by Andrea's Choice Nail Color - I wish I had gotten the yellow color instead, but this white color (Reverso) seems brilliant for small nail art designs. You just need 2 coats for a good finish, which is pretty impressive for a white polish. It's pretty neat to see Andrea have her own line of makeup items. :)

As for the bag itself (not the contents), this is probably my least favorite out of all the months. The rainbow design is too colorful for my taste, but I'll still use it!

And that's all for this month about MyGlam- hope you like!

-H.

My Garden

Ever since we moved into our new house a couple of years ago, my dad has sparked an interest in gardening. With his stressful days at work as an engineer and a realtor as a side job, things can get really hectic. So I guess this was just a way to relax and calm down, while still being productive- similar to how I craft and paint my nails to calm myself down. It's quite nice to see all the beautiful and colorful flowers all over our house. I just love walking around outside and observing how the flowers and vegetables (we have a vegetable garden in the back) are doing. 

So while they were still fresh, I decided to take a couple of pictures of the flowers:

These are just a few out of the many we have. I made sure to snag a picture of those purple flowers on the top right corner especially for my mom since she really loves those. Unfortunately, the daisies died and the white flowers on the left-hand corner (along with some other flowers) were eaten by some invasive Japanese Beetles that are common in our neighborhood. 

You know, after some tough research about pesticides for my huge paper in my English class, I grew to be very against using harmful chemical pesticides. The other day I saw my dad spraying a whole bottle of pesticides and I felt horrible. Who knows how that's affecting the plants and other species besides the beetles? What if beneficial bugs are dying as well?

But then again, the beetles are beetles and they're killing the plants we tried to hard to grow. 

I wish we could use other alternatives- like spraying oil on the plants or something. From my research I've learned that most oils remove a neurotransmitter from bugs' bodies, causing them to spasm and die. I guess that's a better solution than using pesticides, but it's not as efficient either. 

Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts and ideas with you all. 

Have you been gardening lately? I'd love to see what you've grown. :)

-H.

Helloberry Jewelry

So for a while I've been seeing some bracelets by Helloberry featured on ThatsHeart's Instagram and Youtube. I've been seeing these styles of bracelets worn on SO many people lately. I don't blame them though- they're super cute.

Aren't they adorable? I love the huge chain attached to it. I probably wouldn't pay $15 for this though- I'd rather make it for around $3-4 max with the extra time on my hand and some jewelry/craft materials. What can I say- I'm a DIY person with little cash to splurge. 

Here's another type of bracelet made by them. I believe the lanyard is wrapped around a ball chain for this.

And lastly, one of my favorites - the Helloberry Vine necklace. The ones pictured in this is actually 3 stacked together. Normally, it is just one super long and thick chain with one row of colored beads. Each color has a unique name to them- like the navy blue one is named Katy and the light Parisian pink is named Emmeline. I really do love this one and want to try it out soon. It's so simple to make that I might even make a quick tutorial on it on the blog! 

Gosh, i want it so bad, but I can't afford to pay $28 for it. :3 

That's all for now - I was planning on uploading a huge haul post, but all the pictures are on my mom's laptop! :(

Till next time, 

-H. 

Bath and Bodyworks Semi-Annual Sale!

Every year, Bath and Bodyworks and Victoria Secret have 2 sales. One is in January and the other is in June. I decided to make use of this wonderful opportunity and purchase some items. I only really buy things from Bath and Bodyworks when they have this sale because otherwise I probably wouldn't get them.
So here's what I got:

I apologize about the "glowy" look that my camera is capturing. Normally it wouldn't be this over exposed, even with this type of light! But yes, this is the bag. I like the packaging because it captures a cute, yet simple essence.

So one of the items I picked up was this Black Raspberry Vanilla scented fragrance mist. And let's just say that I LOVE IT. The smell is fruity and sweet, yet sophisticated. And once again, the packaging/design is nice and cute. I've been using this everyday for the past week and a half and I've been really enjoying it. As you can see, the original price is $14, but with the sale it's $2.75. However, the cashier priced it wrong and had me pay $3.50. I only realized this when I got home, but I'm not going back to get a mere 75 cent refund.

The next one I purchased was this Japanese Cherry Blossom hand soap. I love Bath and Bodywork's hand soap's in general. They always smell good and work wonders. The good thing about these is that they're anti bacterial and they aren't tested on animals. My mom chose this out for herself, but if I were to chose a soap, I probably would have gotten a girlier flavor in their collection of foamy soaps. The foam is so fun to use when washing my hands! :) The price for this is originally $5, but I got it for $3.

Now this one is a Cherry Blossom shower gel. Bath and Bodywork's shower gels are the best ones I've found yet. They smell good, lather well, and keep you clean. The scent lasts quite a while on your skin, too. Plus, the cute designs on the bottle make showering a little more fun. The price is originally $11, but I got this on sale for $3. 

I got this Pink Chiffon shower gel as well. The lady at the counter said that this scent was the girliest one they had so of course I had to get it! It was the same price as the one above. It truly is very girly and flowery, but that's what I love about it!

Right before we were about to pay, I added this to the list of items to buy, so I guess it was more of an impulsive purchase. Originally I wanted to buy a candle from the Summer collection, but I couldn't pass this one up because of it's wonderful scent. The scent is light, yet floral. It's not overwhelming, so you can't get sick of it easily. 

I'm not usually a candle person, but I wanted to try this out to see how it is. That's why I got the mini one instead of the larger one that costs $3 or the largest one that costs $4. This one was $1.75.

This is my last purchase - a Sweet Pea Scentportable car fragrance. On the back, there is a clip to attach to your mirror or visor (the thing that you can attach your automatic garage door button to). This one is for my mom to put in her car. We got it once, but it was thrown away so I hope this one stays! 

That's all I got from these sales. Unfortunately, I couldn't get anything from Victoria Secret or the store's PINK line, but maybe next time I'll be able to. I'm happy with this purchase and hope to use these products well. 

So, did you get anything from these sales? I'd love to know!

- ♥ H

Finals/TV Shows

Finals are finally over. Thank God school is done though - I was getting really sick of the constant tests and stress. Like seriously... just take a look at this tumblr post I made a while ago about school:

That nagging feeling in the back of your head telling you to finally start doing that project that was assigned to you a while back. Or at least study for an upcoming test. That’s my problem. Yet still, you wait and you wait until the day before and then start freaking out because you didn’t do a thing. This crude cycle rolling over and over again until you’re finally sick of it. By that time, it’s summer and the cycle gets to start again in the fall. 

What a sick school system. 

Oh gosh. It's all so true, but now that school is done I don't care as much. I just want to space out and relax all summer. Have that feeling where you have no obligations what-so-ever that you actually forget what day it is. That feeling where all you look forward to is hang out with friends and family and eat good food all month long.

Anyways, over big breaks I have this idea to always try to start watching one new show. Last summer it was Glee and Pretty Little Liars. Later on, I even started watching New Girl. I figured PLL got a little boring after a while. I mean, it was an okay show, but I just hated how long it's taking them to find out who A is. What can I say, I'm an impatient person.
I absolutely loved New Girl. Zooey Deschanel became my new obsession for a while. She's just so cute and bubbly. Definitely a unique one out of all the other actors.
Unfortunately, because of school I just kind of went M.I.A. with the whole watching New Girl thing. The only one I kept up with barely was Glee. Hope to watch some more New Girl this summer.
Two shows that I started up recently were Legend of Korra and Vampire Diaries. Here's a post I wrote on tumblr talking about my first impression of it (sorry for the tumblr posts here, they were at the spur of the moment and I feel they can best explain it.... and I'm quite a lazy one.):

Just a show I’ve been watching recently. Been liking it so far. 

It’s not as great as Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the plot is still good. I just don’t like the characters as much as the older show. Plus, it’s kind of bothering me at the amount of 3D features they include in Legend of Korra.

{And for those of you that actually watched today’s episode: MAKO!! ♥ ♥ I wonder what’s going to happen to him and Korra cause I really suspected something but now him and that other girl are together…}

-Picture from here-

It's definitely a cartoon that's not too childish. Sure, it has to do with bending and is shown on Nickelodean, but even my uncle likes it. It's packed with action and love in the perfect combination. I'm always excited to watch these shows because they leave awesome cliff hangers as well. I seriously recommend it. It's not as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender, but still great.
The other day my friend was texting me and she said that she's going to Canada. Before the day she left, she said she was watching a couple of The Vampire Diaries episodes which got me thinking about maybe choosing that as my Summer TV show. I mean, if someone liked it, maybe I should give it a shot.

-Picture from here-

So here I am today watching 4 episodes of The Vampire Diaries at 1:25am. The series is actually not that bad so far. Every episode has something scary that poops the crap out of me though. The edgyness of the show with the focus of love has gotten me hooked. I want to watch the rest all night until I'm caught up. Too bad I have to be awake for packing tomorrow since I'm going to Canada (coincidentally regarding my friend) on Sunday. Maybe I'll watch The Vampire Diaries on my phone throughout the car ride.

Alright, we'll it's time to retire for the night. Sweet dreams, my lovelies!

Tip of the Day:

Have a small purse that you can't possibly fit all your makeup products in? Or are you going to travel, but only want to have a light load? Maybe this is just a small thing that can help you cut down: Using mascara as eyeliner!

-Photo From Here-

I used to do this at times when I didn't have my own gel liner. It works wonderfully as a liquid liner and goes on smoothly. Basically, remove your mascara wand and dip you angled brush in the dollop of mascara that is on the tip of your wand. Use as you normally would with the angled brush. 

-Photo From Here-

This is much easier than carrying around an angled brush, mascara, and a circular bottle of gel liner or a thick liquid liner container. Plus, I'd probably be taking an angled brush on vacation anyways if I'm big with darkening my eyebrows. 

Just a thought. 

Hope this helped! :)

-H ♥

Birthday Celebrations

As some of my readers may already know, I turned 16! In celebration of that, my friends and I spent some time together and went out for dinner. 


My first birthday dinner was at Moonwok with two friends the day after my birthday. It was a way to relax from AP Exams while kicking off the weekend to a good start. 

Moonwok is basically an asian restaurant. They have a really cool buffet-like option where they give you a bowl and tongs and you basically pick and choose what you want from the buffet area. There were so many options to choose from: water chestnut, snow peas, green beans, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, fat noodles, skinny noodles, white rice, brown rice, baby corn, celery, carrots, bamboo shoots, peanuts, pineapples, ginger, peas, mushrooms, and so much more! I pretty much put a little bit of everything in my bowl since I love a variety of veggies.

At the side they have a station in which you can add your sauces- I mixed those too (Korean BBQ, BBQ, Teriyaki, and Szechuan).

My friends and I had such a good time and even later we found other friends walking in the area. I realized that the two friends I went with are really the closest friends I have in my school. I never have to think twice about what I’m going to say or plan it out. I feel like that’s definitely big when it comes to friends - not having to plan out what you want to say 5 minutes ahead of time and rather just conversing to the flow.

One of the girls out of these two is moving in the summer. I don’t know how I’ll survive Junior year without her. Who will replace my sarcastic, teasing, smart, awesome buddy? No one.

~~~

Anyways, later on I went to Moonwok again a week later with another friend. She treated me this time, which was super sweet. I also had Imran come and he finally got to understand the awesomeness of that restaurant that he constantly trashed. 

While getting my food, silly me dropped the huge rice cooker lid on my thumb to create a huge gash on my finger. Luckily, it's been healing. Afterwards, we stopped by at Red Mango to pick up some delicious yogurt. 

~~~

The day after, last Saturday, I was supposed to go to a friend's birthday party and had a chance to go to the beach or Six Flags. Instead? My grandma made plans to go out to eat for my birthday. I kind of got tired of eating and all at this point. We went to Usmania Chinese. It's an Indian/Pakistani owned Chinese restaurant with a Chinese chef. It sounds weird, but it was probably tailored to those people who can only eat Zabiha halal meat (if those of you who don't know what that is, it's similar to Kosher meat). 

Coming back home from this little celebration at the restaurant, my relatives decided to give me some gifts. My grandma gave me money and my cousin gave me clothes. Now, I know this is a bit weird and all, but my aunt knows I love pasta so she got me this thing called the “Pasta Boat.”

I admit, I was genuinely excited to use the thing. Hahah. The other day I was feeling a bit hungry and decided to try it out. I put some pasta in it along with some water to the mark they tell you and put it in the microwave. After around 18 minutes, I took it out, attached the straining lid, and strained it. At first I was concerned about using it because its plastic, but it worked wonderfully. Plus, in the instructions, it shows you how to make other things- not just pasta. Rice, steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, so much!

If this lasts, I’m definitely keeping it for college when I have a dorm. It may take twice as long to cook something, but it’d be so much better than eating sandwiches everyday. 

Overall, these kind of things just remind me how fortunate I am to have all these people love for me and care for me. Thanks everyone - for an awesome, memorable sixteenth birthday. xx 

A Gift From Kaitlin

My lovely friend Kaitlin gave me a gift yesterday for my birthday which was on May 10th. Since we don't have classes together anymore, it's a little difficult to find a time to chat or anything. I finally had gotten it from her and I was ecstatic. She knows me so well! :)
I've never tried the Sally Hanson Salon Effects nail polish strips, so I'm excited to do so. The butterfly design is cute too! I'll be waiting for my nails to grow longer in order to use these.
I also got this nail art pen by the same brand. It's in the color turquoise- so pretty. I also haven't ever used a nail art pen, so it's pretty neat to me. I like how this has a felt tip rather than one that is metal and like a pen. I feel like those ones with the thin metal tip don't give clean lines at all.
When I tried this out, I found it to be a weird consistency- not exactly like normal nail polish. However, I'm sure it'll be fine with a top coat.
By the way, dont you think the packaging is absolutely adorable? I mean, it has a flower on the cap! <3

Neutral Day Makeup - What I Use

I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis - really, I don’t have time for that. Ask anyone in my school and they wouldn't believe that I'm even conscious about my appearance. However, when I do, there are some items that I would use:

1. Elizabeth Arden neutral eyeshadow and blush palette - includes Vanilla, Melon, Mahogany, Cheek Color in Bare, Cinnamon, Sungold, and Teak (in order from left to right).

2. Brushes

• Estee Lauder Powder Brush - came in a set of 4 along with some lipstick
• MyGlam Fluffy Brush - to blend out harsh lines
• MyGlam Angled Brush - to use some dark eyeshadow on my waterline or create some subtle eyeliner with eyeshadow

3. Eyeliner - I wouldn’t use all three together, but if I want a pop of color, I’d grab either of these. They’re the ones I love the best out of my colored liners. 

• (From left to right) Ulta Automatic Eye Liner - Long Lasting and Waterproof in Teal Blue
• Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Liner in Ransom
• Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush- Liquid Glitter Eye Liner in Copperhot

4. Mac Paint Pot in Painterly - used to create a neutral and clean base for my lids, while hiding visible veins - sometimes also used as a concealer of my bags are horrible.

5. AVON Waterproof Mascara in Black 

6. AVON Liquid Lip Color in Chic Mauve - I wouldn’t wear this all the time, but if my lips are super pale and needed some color, I’d use this. The only thing I don’t enjoy about it is that it has a purple-y/blue undertone. 

7. Urban Decay NAKED palette

8. CoverGirl Pressed Powder in Creamy Natural

9. Dermstore Lip Quench 

As you can see, I wouldn’t normally wear foundation or much lip color, as this is a normal day look for me. Plus,   I think foundation for a teenager like me is only suitable if I have to go somewhere extremely important - which would be like my 1st cousins wedding, you know? Anyways, I try to keep the colors fairly neutral besides the eyeliner (which I only use sometimes). 

If there are any products that you recommend for me to try (preferably skin products and mascaras), please let me know!