The Number 1 Nourishing Eyelash Serum? Reviewing Mavala Double Lash

<div style="text-align: justify;">The days of purchasing eyelash products which consistently abuse your lashes, making them dry, brittle and under nourished have deservedly vanished with eyelash growth and care now being the new trend within the beauty industry. This has its benefits as now our eyelashes can receive the love and care needed to flourish, but at the same time has its pitfalls as we seem to be inundated with eyelash serums which promise amazing results but 9 times out of 10 fail to make even the smallest difference. Mavala recently introduced their double lash serum which aims to improve the strength and nutrition of you lashes but does this serum lives up to its billing? To find out if it does check out our Review of Mavala Double Lash Eyelash Serum.<br /><br />What is Mavala Double Lash Growth Serum?<br /><br />Mavala Double Lash Growth Serum is an eyelash conditioner which strengthens and protects your eyelashes through its protein based formula, allowing you lashes to become healthy, long and resistant. The nutritive treatment which originates from Switzerland stimulates faster growth as well as thickening thinning lashes through a night time based regime. Its ingredients, which are all natural include multi proteins which bond splitting lashes, restoring thickness as well as Vitamin A, C and E, all beneficial to natural eyelash growth and care. Additionally, the Mavala solution is sterile and non toxic meaning that it won't irritate sensitive eyes. A full list of its ingredients are Water, Magnesium, Aluminum Silicate, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat, Xanthan Gum, Lactococcus Ferment, Glycosaminoglycans, Proline, Riboflavin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Hexamidine Diisethionate, 2-Bromo-2Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol.</div><a name='more'></a><br /><br />How Do You Apply This Treatment?<br /><br />Mavala Double Lash Growth Serum can be easily applied to your lashes by just following these simple steps.<br /><br />Make sure your eyelashes are clean and free from any eyelash products such as mascara. Then after dipping the applicator brush into the solution, brush on the Mavala product along the whole of your eyelash, making sure the entire length is covered. Repeat on other eye and leave to nourish lashes over night.<br /><br />This product is designed for nightly use over a three to four week period.<br /><br />What are the advantages of using Mavala?<br /><br />This product is truly impressive being able to effectively condition and strengthen your lashes in a couple of weeks with many noticing results after just a few days of use. It's small, compact packaging makes it convenient to put in your travel purse and take to any destination you like as well as having a cleverly designed applicator brush which allows the solution to be evenly distributed along the eyelash.<br />

The Number 1 Nourishing Eyelash Serum? Reviewing Mavala Double Lash

The days of purchasing eyelash products which consistently abuse your lashes, making them dry, brittle and under nourished have deservedly vanished with eyelash growth and care now being the new trend within the beauty industry. This has its benefits as now our eyelashes can receive the love and car…

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Bling-ah-Bling-ah-Bling

Hi everyone,<br /><br />Recently, I've come to a big fashion realization: having a nice outfit is not enough, you need to have cool accessories, too! I used to buy lots and lots of earrings, necklaces, and rings only to realize I had no outfits to wear them with. Also, I was working in a lab and it was not easy to wear jewelries as they can get in the way. Now that I am older, I am also more selective with my jewelry purchases. In order for me to bring them home, they have to be cool and unique.<br /><br />Here are a couple of rings I have. Most of them are silver, by the way. Gold looks too gaudy on me but silver goes better with my skin as I have cool undertone. See, knowing your skin tone is advantageous in jewelry purchase as well!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAu-8LHW5vvzcO5U2Yqs0wKda3jugrFtRulmvNMeJkGqwv2tCKljtV2msXcxnVQeb95BAOUWgnpL3XxnFLDXERTKvdc7kB5SRR8b8ksBpQkvNnbIC6v1tm7kEIm9A7iTJmNjUs43v-x_L/s1600/IMG_6028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAu-8LHW5vvzcO5U2Yqs0wKda3jugrFtRulmvNMeJkGqwv2tCKljtV2msXcxnVQeb95BAOUWgnpL3XxnFLDXERTKvdc7kB5SRR8b8ksBpQkvNnbIC6v1tm7kEIm9A7iTJmNjUs43v-x_L/s640/IMG_6028.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My precious!</td></tr></tbody></table> Now, I don't usually rock them out like that. I would pick one ring to wear and that's it. Each ring comes with a memory and I love them all the way they are.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsROpc82IbI7wVyJEfJGMAt0RLJzyvFCWhgIMaUzZSagkHLqpQd4jfTPYK5mXVOnEejce1eZ9eZ-SLMhCYDFq8pS9xTX74-dWg0rGsw8WLBloIsntNKsAWAM3SX6k5umMPc539mNAzF37/s1600/IMG_6029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsROpc82IbI7wVyJEfJGMAt0RLJzyvFCWhgIMaUzZSagkHLqpQd4jfTPYK5mXVOnEejce1eZ9eZ-SLMhCYDFq8pS9xTX74-dWg0rGsw8WLBloIsntNKsAWAM3SX6k5umMPc539mNAzF37/s640/IMG_6029.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(L-R): Flower ring was purchase in VN, puma ring: Tallahassee, citrine ring: a gift from Cambodia; pearl ring: from NYC, big leafy ring: my reward for writing 35K words in the 2010 NaNoWriMo</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mLzreImrPzmT2gUZZvPvrdmycnCGh_ST0KPDsj3P_eauDjBI34-5UDVEZNanrMgNlcoLBjnpgAOKL8ujzbzSpi9xexgMZlda7QoTwfwDsrqbJD2fF7UUD_Xkmihl6LdsQ6_-4nlRbBZt/s1600/IMG_6030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mLzreImrPzmT2gUZZvPvrdmycnCGh_ST0KPDsj3P_eauDjBI34-5UDVEZNanrMgNlcoLBjnpgAOKL8ujzbzSpi9xexgMZlda7QoTwfwDsrqbJD2fF7UUD_Xkmihl6LdsQ6_-4nlRbBZt/s640/IMG_6030.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same stuff, better clarity, I guess :)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAZg8IigAY_TvscsmXlxSkf2ZEjp9GWhRW57GwzZKusMYppgOfiLbQo-ktrar4HMqTAh9bnDs8wkKfwCVH-zoN1cyZQDYVHXADEX9IRqk3XlAsU2s6FuisAOsZJvmLqCpGfotBgmQuZn4/s1600/IMG_6035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAZg8IigAY_TvscsmXlxSkf2ZEjp9GWhRW57GwzZKusMYppgOfiLbQo-ktrar4HMqTAh9bnDs8wkKfwCVH-zoN1cyZQDYVHXADEX9IRqk3XlAsU2s6FuisAOsZJvmLqCpGfotBgmQuZn4/s640/IMG_6035.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The puma ring is my best purchase. It is made of silver with encrusted rubies for eyes and real diamonds for the body. I got a really good deal on it and every time I wear it, I think Belly would approve.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FdGqSRAwU8anjkH-6svOC3kbJwU8HRmW2xOgSbAuHeGAGQfqSBLYyA11kqXlWMUjyW7BlKolB1o8-oYJZ2lNX-7EHENQqG7AIP_sqdVFsCTDNgtbyZ3TySEHOwX-GUozw0Zgw56dUFhD/s1600/IMG_6036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FdGqSRAwU8anjkH-6svOC3kbJwU8HRmW2xOgSbAuHeGAGQfqSBLYyA11kqXlWMUjyW7BlKolB1o8-oYJZ2lNX-7EHENQqG7AIP_sqdVFsCTDNgtbyZ3TySEHOwX-GUozw0Zgw56dUFhD/s640/IMG_6036.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The diamonds! They are so tiny, can you see them?<br />I bought this and wore a few times before realizing a big couture house has a leopard/puma theme for their Spring/Summer collection. Apparently, I was ahead of the curve as this ring was purchased about a year before that!</td></tr></tbody></table>By the way, I forgot to mention about the jade ring in the first picture. My mom got it ages ago and I don't think she has ever worn it. It was laying around the house collecting dust until we moved last year. She was about to throw it away. In the trash. The horror!<br /><br />I stopped her and salvaged it at the last minute. It's a totally fine ring and I am sure they don't make jade rings like it anymore. Which makes it cool and unique. I can see myself dressing it down with jeans and t-shirt or dressing it up with a LBD. Either ways, it is still one cool jade ring that I got for free!<br /><br />How about you? Do you like to accessorize yourself? Please let me know in the comment section, ok?<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /> P.S: Please show your support by following my blog and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribing to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Bling-ah-Bling-ah-Bling

Hi everyone,Recently, I've come to a big fashion realization: having a nice outfit is not enough, you need to have cool accessories, too! I used to buy lots and lots of earrings, necklaces, and rings only to realize I had no outfits to wear them with. Also, I was working in a lab and it was not easy…

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Not Another Odessa Nail Polish!

Dear Fearless Readers,<br /><br />I can hear you screaming from afar, "Enough with the Odessa nail polishes already! Stop taunting us with your Vietnamese goodies! You know we can't get it!"<br /><br />Yeah girls, I know, I know. But it is so good that I would feel ashamed if I don't share. You see, this Odessa nail polish here is the best:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQXT3UM920xdGiby4j72kz5dM0Thh7S6GDYgDi0BJZCtTAoIMweS4kPCK7EbQsw6hDUhlGfmZb23MSTb0BeDgdeAsfwVbqdwIcJcJkg0q0mgMKxWoA7BdXeJrgf8sHqjjg4ZFS7mWJev2/s1600/IMG_6016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQXT3UM920xdGiby4j72kz5dM0Thh7S6GDYgDi0BJZCtTAoIMweS4kPCK7EbQsw6hDUhlGfmZb23MSTb0BeDgdeAsfwVbqdwIcJcJkg0q0mgMKxWoA7BdXeJrgf8sHqjjg4ZFS7mWJev2/s640/IMG_6016.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think it's shade number 2 in the silver capped Odessa nail polish series.<br />Personally, I call it "Lady Grey"</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpnPBgL8qBWINf-C3BYKImEUm06N1duTDIg_00r9jerl9k5SkwV8qL1bn4ug15xjSBu9RdEwggYe7Nkr5QmFaDOreXI8cL-BOUlgy9UADro8nF8AaEtVNjmPS4qKuT7eKrE5GesUwLDqp/s1600/IMG_6018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpnPBgL8qBWINf-C3BYKImEUm06N1duTDIg_00r9jerl9k5SkwV8qL1bn4ug15xjSBu9RdEwggYe7Nkr5QmFaDOreXI8cL-BOUlgy9UADro8nF8AaEtVNjmPS4qKuT7eKrE5GesUwLDqp/s640/IMG_6018.JPG" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Grey is a cream nail polish with high shine. This is the second time I wear it and like the other Odessa nps, it is durable.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8D_i3gXiMipldyh_36P7VcsLTuLVCTKKCBfcL6Akz91Fm02i1Q-nxWxPwxIHl8m0z4_ZklNm-KR-qBhwZdO_Xzs9biVQj-vkcLbrreRpsF6tJEx46zDx3HcOCACg56po17WFtFP_x9HW/s1600/IMG_6020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8D_i3gXiMipldyh_36P7VcsLTuLVCTKKCBfcL6Akz91Fm02i1Q-nxWxPwxIHl8m0z4_ZklNm-KR-qBhwZdO_Xzs9biVQj-vkcLbrreRpsF6tJEx46zDx3HcOCACg56po17WFtFP_x9HW/s640/IMG_6020.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up at the nails<br />Please forgive my goops. It's hard to pain dark colors without leaving something around the cuticles :(</td></tr></tbody></table>Since I take it in the shade, this nail polish looks grey. However, when the sun shines on it, I can see a hint of purple. Subtle but quite amazing if you ask me.<br /><br />I'm afraid I have to cut it short today. My internet has been acting weird for the last few days. I don't want it to conk out right at the moment I press publish.<br /><br />Have a lovely day, my beauties!<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /> P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Not Another Odessa Nail Polish!

Dear Fearless Readers,I can hear you screaming from afar, "Enough with the Odessa nail polishes already! Stop taunting us with your Vietnamese goodies! You know we can't get it!"Yeah girls, I know, I know. But it is so good that I would feel ashamed if I don't share. You see, this Odessa nail polish…

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Easy to Follow Steps to Make Eyelashes Grow

<div style="text-align: justify;">Thicker and longer eyelashes are considered as a unique emblem of beauty, particularly among females. Experts say that people regard curled and long lashes paired with large eyes to be the best epitome of youth. You are probably aware that youth usually signifies health and fertility, which is why many men commonly get attracted to those women who have thick and long eyelashes. Due to this, many women who have thin and short eyelashes constantly look for a product that can effectively make eyelashes grow while nursing the hope that they will look younger and much more attractive.<br /><br />First Step<br /><br />Clean and give your face with the correct amount of moisturize. Dryness around the eye area can be best prevented by using a good moisturizing cream. If needed, you might also want to use make up removers for easily getting rid of mascara or eyeliner that is hard to wash off from your face. Rinse off the residues from your lashes that were left behind by your makeup remover. It is a must that you remove any makeup on your eye area prior to sleeping since mascara can crumble and clump in your eyes during your sleep, which might cause red and itchy eyes or worse, even eye infection.</div><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Second Step<br /><br />If you want to make eyelashes grow, you can also apply some petroleum jelly. Put this on a tiny eyelash brush before gently brushing this on your eyelashes. To ensure an even growth, see to it that all your lashes are properly coated. Experts state that petroleum jelly has the ability to nourish your lashes, leaving them healthy and shiny looking. Leave this on your lashes for around 3-4 minutes before you wash and rinse off any excess lubricant.<br /><br />Third Step<br /><br />Visit your physician to discuss if you can use topical prescription medications. These are being dabbed on your upper eyelash line using a disposable applicator. It is recommended to apply this medication once only every day and applying extra just to make up for missed days of treatment is a big no-no. You only have to continue the use of the medication for as long as you desire to have full and long lashes. There are instances where patients have acquired the full results after 16 weeks of using these products, although there is a possibility that your lashes will return to their normal length once the use of the medication to make eyelashes grow has been stopped.<br />

Easy to Follow Steps to Make Eyelashes Grow

Thicker and longer eyelashes are considered as a unique emblem of beauty, particularly among females. Experts say that people regard curled and long lashes paired with large eyes to be the best epitome of youth. You are probably aware that youth usually signifies health and fertility, which is why m…

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Choke Tea, Tea Choke, Artichoke Tea

Hi everyone,<br /><br />Happy happy Monday! Recently, I've noticed how well-behaved my skin has been. Having suffered from acne since I was 12 years old, I consider this a miracle. Currently, I don't take any herbal medicines to cure my zits. However, during the past few weeks, I do drink artichoke tea and I've noticed that my skin clarity has improved. Not only that I don't have any zits, I do have a nice glow on my face.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmEprzTFXAiPl8Z1IagSsJlaSf4YpPweO2rvDAmQyGdulPTR2LOMQ8kUxiQHyLwZtKrarpZsfa1uTUZiL6Sh1ddd_z29vyG6CZn8oWEHKCoSwKXARbU7QzckaW5ovnjylKIKdnnQQJ1me/s1600/IMG_6010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOmEprzTFXAiPl8Z1IagSsJlaSf4YpPweO2rvDAmQyGdulPTR2LOMQ8kUxiQHyLwZtKrarpZsfa1uTUZiL6Sh1ddd_z29vyG6CZn8oWEHKCoSwKXARbU7QzckaW5ovnjylKIKdnnQQJ1me/s400/IMG_6010.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Packs of artichoke tea</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcOhlqTZ5ZuJauXQcBBkqgUaoVd8LZhBtJA9I93m5glkYnGNaPwYEk2pKlUwjMFzWpoOQRYfFT5U-tC8A3Efur_t0TH97cj7uATphcDQfJhQBCcJ51YCAOpRHN4q4MIF6SYIbLvCBFNEk/s1600/IMG_6014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDcOhlqTZ5ZuJauXQcBBkqgUaoVd8LZhBtJA9I93m5glkYnGNaPwYEk2pKlUwjMFzWpoOQRYfFT5U-tC8A3Efur_t0TH97cj7uATphcDQfJhQBCcJ51YCAOpRHN4q4MIF6SYIbLvCBFNEk/s400/IMG_6014.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I even got some samples from the supermarket, yay!</td></tr></tbody></table>While doing research on this topic, I realize this is a Vietnamese thing. I used to buy the artichoke flower and boil it until the cows come home only to drink the liquid and leave the good stuff behind. Back then, I didn't know the artichoke heart is edible as we Viet people don't eat it. I doubt you can get artichoke tea in the bag like mine outside of Vietnam unless you go grocery shopping at a Vietnamese grocery store.<br /><br />However, when there's a will, there's a way. <a href="http://www.therighttea.com/artichoke-tea.html">This article</a> shows you how to make an artichoke tea infusion from leaves, stems, and flowers. It also points out the benefits of artichoke tea. I drink 4 cups of artichoke tea a day and on days that I forget to drink them, I feel more irritated and less wholesome. It's strange but this tea makes me sleep really well, too.<br /><br />Skincare wise, I keep things simple: I wash my face with Pond's Pure White Deep Cleansing Facial Foam with Activated Carbon and Vitamin B3 (<a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/ponds-black-ponds.html">review here</a>) using a <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/poor-womans-clarisonic.html">facial cleansing brush</a>. At night, I use a few drops of <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/marie-louise-moistraiser-alpha-vc.html">Marie Louise moisturizing toner</a> on my face and that's it. I don't think I have ever had a simpler routine before.<br /><br />I guess every little thing makes a huge difference when combined together. The artichoke tea is one of them. It is mildly sweet by itself so no sweetener is necessary. You can drink it hot or cold. It is delicious either way.<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br />P.S: Please show your support by following my blog and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribing to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Choke Tea, Tea Choke, Artichoke Tea

Hi everyone,Happy happy Monday! Recently, I've noticed how well-behaved my skin has been. Having suffered from acne since I was 12 years old, I consider this a miracle. Currently, I don't take any herbal medicines to cure my zits. However, during the past few weeks, I do drink artichoke tea and I've…

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Fun with Bokeh

Hi everyone,<br /><br />One of the things I like to do is taking pictures. Since I bought my Canon G12, it has been easier to take better quality photos. Better pictures means less time spent on editing them. And believe me, sometimes you wish the pictures would come out the way you want since editing can only do so much.<br /><br />I always love bokeh but it was quite hard to do with my old camera. If you are not familiar with the term, bokeh is a photography technique where the objects closer to you are in focus while the ones far away are blurred. This technique gives depth to the picture and previously, I thought only D-SLRs can do it. But regular point and shoots can, too.<br /><br />It is not a difficult technique: you put your camera in manual mode, lower your F-stop to the lowest level possible (mine only goes to F 2.8 but other cameras can go all the way down to 2.0.) Then, you adjust your aperture value to get the lightning you want. After that, it's all aim, focus, shoot for you.<br /><br />Here are some pictures I took with my camera:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxmlmJfzD9A9Npd1C29ry1vWLrMTe3J4iFPd5Mf6XiBl5ITVkILSaUXUVGWxVQJTr9xtpbwE6uEuhcKEsd5vEVwzGMrUF5X2VL_Z6PG7bQb8-kadfaMbb5-UhqjAzd84RzsZYIKQbX75k/s1600/IMG_5985.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxmlmJfzD9A9Npd1C29ry1vWLrMTe3J4iFPd5Mf6XiBl5ITVkILSaUXUVGWxVQJTr9xtpbwE6uEuhcKEsd5vEVwzGMrUF5X2VL_Z6PG7bQb8-kadfaMbb5-UhqjAzd84RzsZYIKQbX75k/s400/IMG_5985.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6M2B08cNR7-AfEQIhlzOIzWAETqU32VSGq_grKsrIPPO1-_Yh5I6IyjgaPSGzMbmTV7dmj_2v5zOPB1W7o7kEcpBCqSEIIZHFkC3hKN-JaS1ErWdlZq-VLw18RLKh_S-AxkTzawlpRiku/s1600/IMG_5989.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6M2B08cNR7-AfEQIhlzOIzWAETqU32VSGq_grKsrIPPO1-_Yh5I6IyjgaPSGzMbmTV7dmj_2v5zOPB1W7o7kEcpBCqSEIIZHFkC3hKN-JaS1ErWdlZq-VLw18RLKh_S-AxkTzawlpRiku/s400/IMG_5989.JPG" width="358" /></a></div><br /> In these two pictures, the nail polish bottles are blurry while my nails had more focus: bokeh!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuacgivIC-YA61pnqBdF0FFhcIhFpNKEn4h2u7CUr60oCPUs2Nupx0P9tw3R5J5AigUqtA444eD3Zudd5HLo9-maLkAj2CO6YJdEWT279QDM6TOtRGZpqzTpjNbEKCZXZMXIyjOjOo595K/s1600/IMG_5991.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuacgivIC-YA61pnqBdF0FFhcIhFpNKEn4h2u7CUr60oCPUs2Nupx0P9tw3R5J5AigUqtA444eD3Zudd5HLo9-maLkAj2CO6YJdEWT279QDM6TOtRGZpqzTpjNbEKCZXZMXIyjOjOo595K/s640/IMG_5991.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />No matter what they say, this is not bokeh. Regardless, it's still a fun effect.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHGxM2Mq2UJq8QyJ4h84_EQ6bGNfSJkCMfA9VF9RjtRNJnEpsrAJd1HNoVOeNIYYLc5mooUVVc2ySyD922bdOGPya2zGPe9H8jp1wKHx8vv2BUu3E3_E5WbSql5eO2BbAKar92TJEP-K1/s1600/IMG_5994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHGxM2Mq2UJq8QyJ4h84_EQ6bGNfSJkCMfA9VF9RjtRNJnEpsrAJd1HNoVOeNIYYLc5mooUVVc2ySyD922bdOGPya2zGPe9H8jp1wKHx8vv2BUu3E3_E5WbSql5eO2BbAKar92TJEP-K1/s640/IMG_5994.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />But this one is. I moved my camera a little bit further away and focus it on my hand. A tiny bit up and the focus would be on the nail polish bottle to create a photo similar from the one above.<br /><br />A couple of years ago, I got my first bokeh photo. It was a lot of fun. I guess I went through a bazillion settings to get it and it was a little bit blurry. I've read a lot of books and blogs about photography but it seems like they speak a language that's not English when discussing the subject matter. If you guys know any websites that teaches photography in plain English, please let me know.<br /><br />Take care,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /> P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Fun with Bokeh

Hi everyone,One of the things I like to do is taking pictures. Since I bought my Canon G12, it has been easier to take better quality photos. Better pictures means less time spent on editing them. And believe me, sometimes you wish the pictures would come out the way you want since editing can only …

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Tag, You're It: Where the Magic Happens

Hi everyone,<br /><br />Have you wondered where I do all of my writing? Well, you don't have to do that anymore. Today's post is going to solve that problem.<br /><br />Throughout the years, I have been blogging all over the place. Since I move around a lot, my prime blogging space (PBS) is also quite mobile. Let's see:<br /><br /><ul><li><b>2008</b>: the PBS was in between the door to the closet and my bed. I had a small table and used dial-up internet back then. Yet, I was blogging fearlessly back then. Ah, the good ole days!</li><li><b>2009-beginning of 2011</b>: I moved to the new apartment where I met Belly. It was a peaceful 2-year period in my life. I had no internet so my PBS was either at some public library (wherever I could find a seat), coffee shop, or Border's. Sometimes, it was a combination of all of the above. It required a lot of planning but I was blogging quite frequently back then.</li><li><b>2011-now</b>: since coming back to Vietnam, I have moved a lot. From the old house to the rental house, I was using a 3G mobile internet device to go online and it was spotty at its best. Now that the renovation is over, I can haz good internet and it does feel good!</li></ul><div>Here is my current PBS:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqb6EY44MSzwWlHrFlvrBNACy5spseJ4ddsCrkYTWrhTy50jkLYl0r41nQ33FLlomba9vvxDQgJ7NmIWZItEh_pTKtYrqPoCizXMYIVRc_7bLzCYD18NoKxxY1zR-HSlEpQk-k7L0rBMy/s1600/IMG_5998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqb6EY44MSzwWlHrFlvrBNACy5spseJ4ddsCrkYTWrhTy50jkLYl0r41nQ33FLlomba9vvxDQgJ7NmIWZItEh_pTKtYrqPoCizXMYIVRc_7bLzCYD18NoKxxY1zR-HSlEpQk-k7L0rBMy/s640/IMG_5998.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />I do most of my writing on this table with this laptop. I don't have a desktop for myself and this is the second laptop I am using. The first one busted a fuse by the beginning of 2010 and I'm lucky I finished defending my thesis already. Otherwise, it could have been a disaster. I don't have a separate office and this is a part of my bedroom. The TV and DVD player are not a part of the MMB global blogging corporation at all (haha!) They are a part of the landscape. Notice how many DVDs I have and The Big Bang Theory DVD sets as well. I have the first 3 seasons and I want season 4.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__3Ka1MyHiSMVMhZKbc8QAwDZtSszKxTVuedFP324MnjFmvGD6OPx6vHrCH3OL5ihk5JR8mdeyRi1pYyNvPdpNc8wiiYuB08la09gKEIDpaahtQTLibCI9PEPb7mkw2rlGikZ_4gmqJMZ/s1600/IMG_6001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi__3Ka1MyHiSMVMhZKbc8QAwDZtSszKxTVuedFP324MnjFmvGD6OPx6vHrCH3OL5ihk5JR8mdeyRi1pYyNvPdpNc8wiiYuB08la09gKEIDpaahtQTLibCI9PEPb7mkw2rlGikZ_4gmqJMZ/s640/IMG_6001.JPG" width="468" /></a></div><br />This is my makeup desk/vanity table. It looks more like a desk than a vanity table to me. I barely use the stool it came with but use that ergonomic chair in the first picture instead.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNprVl7vjsVzTIsugzDYF6cCRvJFnST1Rg8JvLO9a0qRpR4ENeGZBdgmDI2FYlUdR-tR-6JBoCgZjdc3s2cpHI1csCr78g061N4Y8ZxXO9dmpg07QhgdIhHsFTSqQAcQJJXWNodshaPTPt/s1600/IMG_6002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNprVl7vjsVzTIsugzDYF6cCRvJFnST1Rg8JvLO9a0qRpR4ENeGZBdgmDI2FYlUdR-tR-6JBoCgZjdc3s2cpHI1csCr78g061N4Y8ZxXO9dmpg07QhgdIhHsFTSqQAcQJJXWNodshaPTPt/s640/IMG_6002.JPG" width="538" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br />My picture taking spot is the hub in between the sofa and the giant water bottle. Since the house is painted with pale pink, finding a spot that is pure white is quite a task. However, I am quite lucky to get this hub since (a) it is unoccupied, (b) is right outside my room, and (c) has the best lightning I can get. For the past week or two, most of the pictures I took and used in this blog came from there.<br /><br />Thank you, <a href="http://www.makeupfiles.com/2012/02/22/where-the-magic-happens-and-a-game-of-blogger-tag/#comment-64203">Trisha</a>, for inviting me to this blogging tag. Now, it's my turn to pass the torch. I'm curious of where you do your writing. You don't have to go into details like I do, I just love to write. Of course, this tag is open to everyone who wants to do it but I'm calling these bloggers out. You guys <i>have</i> to do it or else ;)<br /><br /><ul><li>The Muse from <a href="http://www.musingsofamuse.com/">Musings of a Muse</a></li><li>Christine from <a href="http://macnunu.com/">M.A.C Nunu</a></li><li>Jennifer from <a href="http://www.jennysuemakeup.com/">Jenny Sue Makeup</a></li></ul><br />That's all for today. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog. While writing this, I realized my blog and I have gone through a lot and to still be here today is a miracle.<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /> P.S: Please show your support by following me and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribing to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Tag, You're It: Where the Magic Happens

Hi everyone,Have you wondered where I do all of my writing? Well, you don't have to do that anymore. Today's post is going to solve that problem.Throughout the years, I have been blogging all over the place. Since I move around a lot, my prime blogging space (PBS) is also quite mobile. Let's see:200…

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Using Mineral Pigments to Create Lip Colors

Hi everyone,<br /><br />As you may know, I love mineral makeup. They are preservative-free and you can use them on your eyes, lips, face, and even nails. I did a tutorial on how to use pigments on your nails, please <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/video-how-to-create-unique-nail-polish.html">click here</a> to view if you haven't seen it before.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kltRUlto4HtDnGSUvHaaL1xtuSi82ILUCGcC7UVye_bn2vanDq8NrrPI1ruLXLNJMN1DNWw0lXbpDpPt7688KkOwv8DIiRoQJ-jJkXW0S1nSjvuM_SH0ixQKNJbIOUGDpzwwDjc6-s1e/s1600/IMG_3389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kltRUlto4HtDnGSUvHaaL1xtuSi82ILUCGcC7UVye_bn2vanDq8NrrPI1ruLXLNJMN1DNWw0lXbpDpPt7688KkOwv8DIiRoQJ-jJkXW0S1nSjvuM_SH0ixQKNJbIOUGDpzwwDjc6-s1e/s400/IMG_3389.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pigments back in the Formula D days. Ah, I miss them!</td></tr></tbody></table>Although a lot of people use their mineral pigments for their eyes and cheeks, they are probably not aware that these pigments can be used on their lips, too. Usually, the manufacturer would tell you if the pigment is lip-safe or not. If you are not too sure, ask! While pigments are ok to use on your eyelids as well as your skin, applying it to your lips is another story. Some pigments are not meant to be digested and when you have them on your lips, you might lick them. So, safety first, ok?<br /><br />After checking if your pigments are lip safe or not, it is fun time! Usually, mineral blushes are lip safe and the amount of pigments is less in there compared to eye shadows where they are full of pigments.<br /><br />The easiest way to use mineral pigments on your lips is to <b>dip a lip balm into your jar of pigments and glide it on your lips</b>. Yes, it's that simple! If you want a matte color, just use a waxy lip balm such as the original ChapStick. If you want more shine, use something like the <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-have-mad-love-for-nivea-essential.html">Nivea Essential Care lip balm</a>.<br /><br />The second way to use pigments on your lips is to <b>apply it with a lip gloss</b>. However, since lip gloss is a liquid, to avoid contamination, you should take a small aliquot of pigments out of the container and dip your lip gloss wand in it. Also, you can <b>mix a little bit of clear gloss with the pigments</b> to create a customize color as well.<br /><br />Last but not least, you can <b>use pigments on top of your lipstick</b> to add more dimension to the look. For example, you can pat some glittery red pigments on top of your already applied red lipstick for an extra pop. People will want to know how you get that beautiful look.<br /><br />That's all for now, folks! I hope you enjoy the tips. If you have any extra tips on how to use mineral pigments, I'd love to hear from you.<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /> P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Using Mineral Pigments to Create Lip Colors

Hi everyone,As you may know, I love mineral makeup. They are preservative-free and you can use them on your eyes, lips, face, and even nails. I did a tutorial on how to use pigments on your nails, please click here to view if you haven't seen it before.My pigments back in the Formula D days. Ah, I m…

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Can You Tell I Fell for Pastel?

Hi everyone,<br /><br />I haven't noticed I am in a pastel kick lately. Last week's nail polish was a <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/bottle-of-atp-nail-polish-with-color-of.html">pale pink</a> and this week we have a muted lavender one (I almost type "nude lavender"! It's a reflex, people! It's a reflex!) The varnish du semaine is from Odessa, which I believe is a sub-branch of ATP (cue joke again, haha.)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TAib4U2RTSyad_jWxG3ruwevctn1i6ra_pNQGcuVPxALhlX6F1fLTR0Bwblcby7m95TBfyQnPhwgrJZybEEjOwn_tD5FJ7ml9qvI1zixNNPo9J_DRMVqS1QHT2zGIdjHnBMP_o5wThwQ/s1600/IMG_5971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TAib4U2RTSyad_jWxG3ruwevctn1i6ra_pNQGcuVPxALhlX6F1fLTR0Bwblcby7m95TBfyQnPhwgrJZybEEjOwn_tD5FJ7ml9qvI1zixNNPo9J_DRMVqS1QHT2zGIdjHnBMP_o5wThwQ/s640/IMG_5971.JPG" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odessa lavender nail polish</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa46Alg4z8-a8AVRfvbMEbkQAq5S7R12RpjUkIwmER9xuxDo5x6zyETr39f72rsZsS0-pA9zIMmLEEVgTshmaq4pM46cotsFiXMk56x0XXJFvmoNgBaLPFGhezIm2YDOC2hB4OStX5QGe/s1600/IMG_5974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa46Alg4z8-a8AVRfvbMEbkQAq5S7R12RpjUkIwmER9xuxDo5x6zyETr39f72rsZsS0-pA9zIMmLEEVgTshmaq4pM46cotsFiXMk56x0XXJFvmoNgBaLPFGhezIm2YDOC2hB4OStX5QGe/s640/IMG_5974.JPG" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I applied two coats of nail polish and put a top coat to seal them off</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNois2Vdtmb1pz9pFOY7Qkm4SvsDMowoZwSEfoO_JQg9qtY2CqWb9J5rwZxmCwSEH2IY_RFRoYVCHFs27gSXUM8OwZAS5EfcGZVJWMnnleNDvwjRQebDbKQ0TCOVjGIqJ0qKOKsp0EIXCU/s1600/IMG_5977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNois2Vdtmb1pz9pFOY7Qkm4SvsDMowoZwSEfoO_JQg9qtY2CqWb9J5rwZxmCwSEH2IY_RFRoYVCHFs27gSXUM8OwZAS5EfcGZVJWMnnleNDvwjRQebDbKQ0TCOVjGIqJ0qKOKsp0EIXCU/s640/IMG_5977.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how shiny it is? I have an awesome top coat, y'all!</td></tr></tbody></table>Unlike the <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/nghia-obeauty-s019-and-that-obnoxiously.html">obnoxious pink nail polish</a> I used before, this one is not a cream. It's your regular nail polish, no more, no less. It does not shine like the aforementioned pink one but it's not dull, either. The shine is more of a satin if that makes sense to you. To me, this nail polish has some versatility due to its lack of shine: you can put a blazing top coat like I did and make it shine until the cow comes home or you can use a matte top coat to mattify it. The later one I have yet to try but I predict some chic results.<br /><br />The durability of this nail polish is the same as China Glaze: until you remove it, it will stay where you put it. As this is a cheaper Odessa nail polish, I was surprised at the durability. However, the cheaper price tag does come with a disadvantage: the brush is less stellar. I had to find a way to work around it to avoid streaks and as you can see, my finger nails are streak-free. Yay me!<br /><br />While the formula does have a fine micro-sheen, it does not show in the end. I tried applying a thin coat and a thick coat to coax out the sheen with no avail. I guess this is a ghostly sheen after all.<br /><br />Since <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-hot-nail-trends-for-2012.html">nudes and pastels</a> are in for 2012, I guess my recent obsession with them is not that off base. Usually, I don't follow trends and I wear whatever I feel like wearing. Surprisingly, I'm on-trend most of the times. The only time I did not was when black nail polishes became a rampage but that <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/fantasy-makers-nail-polish-in-black.html">was easily mitigated</a>.<br /><br />How about you? Do you love a lavender nail polish like I do? Would you give it a try?<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br />P.S: For the love of nail polish, please follow my blog and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Can You Tell I Fell for Pastel?

Hi everyone,I haven't noticed I am in a pastel kick lately. Last week's nail polish was a pale pink and this week we have a muted lavender one (I almost type "nude lavender"! It's a reflex, people! It's a reflex!) The varnish du semaine is from Odessa, which I believe is a sub-branch of ATP (cue jok…

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I Kinda Like Vedette Avocado Facial Mask

Hi everybody,<br /><br />What is my secret skincare crush? Sheet masks, of course! Although I don't do a lot of reviews on them here, secretly I am a sheet mask fanatic. I think I've used about half of the available scents/versions of My Beauty Diary thanks to the aid of my <strike>instigator</strike> friend Christine from <a href="http://macnunu.com/">M.A.C Nunu</a>. MBD is highly effective but there are a couple of fall outs: they are quite expensive and for those who do not live in an Asian community, you can have a hard time finding them.<br /><br />Although I can't get MBD in Vietnam, I've found a local brand called Vedette that's widely sold in mass markets similar to Target and Wal-Mart in the States. The formula is based on Japanese technology and the price is quite cheap (although it seems to bump up a little bit recently due to inflation.) During a recent trip to the supermarket, I found out that they had a couple of new scents and I chose two packs of avocado sheet masks. Why? Because yours truly had super dry skin at the time.<br /><br />Does it work? Is it as good as MBD? We are bound to find out.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDozh6BhBPt7EMEp06r9A0fEl3DTBOnmxcDVIgj8SrASzHAn-4X5vQ0JA9R7pSqar3LNncS2GOVfo6CcsJ1IOgTGFcYpWP4B2Rm7VDmPr2Z6DWwJbN_gp9nzg99oPL9yE9UIGN15ZAN0K/s1600/IMG_5968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDozh6BhBPt7EMEp06r9A0fEl3DTBOnmxcDVIgj8SrASzHAn-4X5vQ0JA9R7pSqar3LNncS2GOVfo6CcsJ1IOgTGFcYpWP4B2Rm7VDmPr2Z6DWwJbN_gp9nzg99oPL9yE9UIGN15ZAN0K/s640/IMG_5968.JPG" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The packaging. You'll get a single sheet mask soaked with serum inside. The total weight is 25 grams which is more than your usual MBD.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVmeywLUdo9BZ0AKD4zdQPCZb6YT8_WL-AWkv2347Q0ZmRBPkHS583TPIOSmDA8BUGKahzCiEb4F1r6LO7d5OHRm4E5jES_JrEcw1Gl1SzuRWq8fbExRpe1HFPoymJDh4wzm9GQjmyiOd/s1600/IMG_5969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVmeywLUdo9BZ0AKD4zdQPCZb6YT8_WL-AWkv2347Q0ZmRBPkHS583TPIOSmDA8BUGKahzCiEb4F1r6LO7d5OHRm4E5jES_JrEcw1Gl1SzuRWq8fbExRpe1HFPoymJDh4wzm9GQjmyiOd/s640/IMG_5969.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What they said<br />Can you spot the grammatical mistakes? There are quite a few in there :) </td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSz1daC5EbVVviDcmLB_w0W93isL2pgMViu8LpRTdbV3za17M0EZhfBBJDloWnl5uFI2gUg1iu1krMwqBZ-2Zm7iptw71QQCdpz2E0knqv3Xl1ACqPqHFhbu5JUzfz45JfmXXNnbgWJNM/s1600/IMG_5970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSz1daC5EbVVviDcmLB_w0W93isL2pgMViu8LpRTdbV3za17M0EZhfBBJDloWnl5uFI2gUg1iu1krMwqBZ-2Zm7iptw71QQCdpz2E0knqv3Xl1ACqPqHFhbu5JUzfz45JfmXXNnbgWJNM/s640/IMG_5970.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Directions and ingredient list</td></tr></tbody></table>First of all, since Vedette has both English and Vietnamese instruction, it does take away the frustration. You don't know how many times I felt like risking myself for the sake of vanity because the product has some instructions in languages I do not know. While I can Google Translate some of the languages, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are hard to type as I don't know how. Hence, the risk.<br /><br />The two times I used the avocado sheet masks, I had two different experience. The first time I used it, the serum had more viscosity in it, like what a serum should feel like. The second time around, it just felt like water: wet and drippy. On top of that, the fragrance is strong. Unlike MBD and other sheet masks I've used before where the fragrance just went away after a few minutes, this stayed on until you take off the mask.<br /><br />Despite the drippy nature, this sheet mask does contain a lot of juice. In fact, I used the mask until it felt dry, took it out, dipped it back to soak up the remaining juice, and used it again until it went completely dry. Since it was windy last night, I finished the whole process while watching a movie. Surprisingly, it was a total relaxation period as I just lay there and let the mask do its work.<br /><br />Did I tell you the mask was drippy? Oh yes, I did. However, I was surprised at how moist my skin felt during and after the process. After the sheet mask was dry, I tossed it away and slept with the dried serum on my face. In the morning, I woke up, washed my face and hello! Baby soft skin! Now, it's not as soft as when I used MBD but it was pretty close.<br /><br />If you look closely at the ingredient list, you will notice two missing ingredients: <b>hyaluronic acid</b> and <b>glycerin</b>. MBD has them and that's why their masks are legendary. While both are moisturizing agents, hyaluronic acid is a super duper swell ingredient in skincare. Why? Because it can expand up to 1000 times its size and can lift your skin layers up from the inside. If you use it long enough, it can even make your wrinkles look less noticeable. I saw some unbelievable results with hyaluronic acid before and even has one picture in this blog to show: the Twitter picture you see on the right hand column. Yup, that was my skin with hyaluronic acid. Coupled with glycerin, a sheet mask has a moisturizing power like no other. While glycerin is affordable, hyaluronic acid is not. And that's why some sheet masks are more expensive than others, kids!<br /><br />I can go all day to pick apart Vedette avocado facial mask but I am not going to do so. Why? Because I kinda like it. For the hot and humid weather that we have here, this weak and runny sheet mask does a good job moisturizing my face without making it feel too heavy. However, I do wish they add a bit of hyaluronic acid in it, though. As I have tried other varieties of Vedette before, I have to say the avocado rendition is more moisturizing than its predecessors. On top of that, Vedette never causes my skin to break out and for that, it earns some bonus brownie points in my book.<br /><br />Since I don't think you can get this outside of Vietnam, I am not going to tell you to go get it. However, you should try sheet masks once in a while. If you can get My Beauty Diary then that would be perfect. I love sheet masks very much. How about you?<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /><br /> P.S: If you like my blog, please follow and <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

I Kinda Like Vedette Avocado Facial Mask

Hi everybody,What is my secret skincare crush? Sheet masks, of course! Although I don't do a lot of reviews on them here, secretly I am a sheet mask fanatic. I think I've used about half of the available scents/versions of My Beauty Diary thanks to the aid of my instigator friend Christine from M.A.…

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Choose Only the Best Mortgage Insurance for Yourself

<div style="text-align: justify;">Life mortgage insurance is of great importance nowadays. No matter what type of insurance you might decide to choose, the important thing is to make sure you analyze it very well before actually taking the final decision. There are various important terms that should be carefully analyzed so that in the end you might not be sorry for your decision. You must choose the best mortgage insurance plan when it comes to your life.<br /><br />Fully life mortgage insurance can be deductible and this is an aspect that you must pay careful attention to whenever you decide to choose a certain insurance plan. How much you can take is determined by the date of the home loan, the quantity of the home loan and how you use the home loan profits. If all of the house mortgages fit into one or more of the following three groups at all times during the year, you can take all of the attention on those house mortgages. If any one home loan suits into more than one classification, add the debts to suit each classification to your other debts in the same classification. If one or more of the house mortgages do not fit into any of these groups, try to figure the deduction rate you can take. The money boundaries for the second and third groups apply to the best mortgage insurance deals on your main house and second house. You can choose to cure any financial obligations properly secured by your certified house as not properly secured by the property. This treatment starts with the tax year for which you decide and carries on for all later tax years. You can revoke your option only with the approval of the Inner Income Service (IRS). Otherwise, no type of option can be revoked at this stage.</div><a name='more'></a><br />You may need to cure financial obligations as not properly secured by the house if the deduction on those financial obligations is fully insurance deductible whether or not it enables house mortgage deduction. This may allow you, if the boundaries apply, more of a reduction for deduction on other financial obligations that are insurance deductible. You can choose to cure any financial obligations properly secured by your certified house as not properly secured by the property. No matter the plan you might choose, the important thing is to make sure you have chosen the best plan for you and your family.

Choose Only the Best Mortgage Insurance for Yourself

Life mortgage insurance is of great importance nowadays. No matter what type of insurance you might decide to choose, the important thing is to make sure you analyze it very well before actually taking the final decision. There are various important terms that should be carefully analyzed so that in…

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A Bottle of ATP Nail Polish with the Color of My Childhood

Hi everyone,<br /><br />First of all, here's the joke of the day:<br /><blockquote>"A bloke walks into a pub, and asks for a pint of Adenosine Triphosphate. <br />The barman says "That'll be 80p (ATP) please!" <br />(note: 100p = £1, and ATP is short for Adenosine Triphosphate)</blockquote>As a former biochemistry student, anything that has the word ATP on it would intrigue me. As a beauty blogger, nail polishes definitely get my interest. Guess what happened when I found a bottle of nail polish made by ATP? I had to buy it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnVROk0uv0YboD55bncKullv2F_ckYx2a75T9l4POJZy7Zy48wh65lV4ysbjudif1ngcD-0iooS8COd_3a5fgynsw11bpxBJnmxFop0fdCiVW076FXHiIHoXBWyvRXH0nxXVC4QG4lTkT/s1600/IMG_5964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnVROk0uv0YboD55bncKullv2F_ckYx2a75T9l4POJZy7Zy48wh65lV4ysbjudif1ngcD-0iooS8COd_3a5fgynsw11bpxBJnmxFop0fdCiVW076FXHiIHoXBWyvRXH0nxXVC4QG4lTkT/s640/IMG_5964.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />The best part about this nail polish is the color: the soft pink looks like the color of cotton candy to me. Normally, I don't wear pink nail polishes at all. The last time I wore something like this was in high school and I had to do it in hush-hush. You see, my high school had this no nail polish on your fingernails policy (although they did tolerate a clear top coat as I never got detentions while wearing top coats at all!) So, as a rebellious genius, I decided to paint my toe nails pink and since we wore closed-toe shoes, nobody but me knew my toe nails had some rad colors. However, a few close friends knew and we kept it on the down low :)<br /><br />That was such a long time ago but when I saw this cotton candy nail polish made by ATP, I had to buy it and wore the heck out of it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FoRkg9k2uqT28woRXsZsI4sBrQmfOc2jlSmFlh8WUMTw0HYOHLx-QrsxNHxdNO76S-eLIDvmwn4Tt1_PEslipDJlAwc_D1hG0ORTqJeIPYpIGQPCLzVQXKVc_4r9u0xJo3mFFzDLmYgA/s1600/IMG_5962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FoRkg9k2uqT28woRXsZsI4sBrQmfOc2jlSmFlh8WUMTw0HYOHLx-QrsxNHxdNO76S-eLIDvmwn4Tt1_PEslipDJlAwc_D1hG0ORTqJeIPYpIGQPCLzVQXKVc_4r9u0xJo3mFFzDLmYgA/s640/IMG_5962.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2h_kyoV6CH05dxwONYpgvtqW4c6XYoeo7cnVlY-9SUB4mP3d17MxGvcVA9g6qAg_5E9EqO6_WaBa8N7vOZ7tblLW4Vd8HMw6aPYbSVAqMs9itm87EbtLZpSj3zXp3AlcyrnCHLBE2ohn/s1600/IMG_5957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2h_kyoV6CH05dxwONYpgvtqW4c6XYoeo7cnVlY-9SUB4mP3d17MxGvcVA9g6qAg_5E9EqO6_WaBa8N7vOZ7tblLW4Vd8HMw6aPYbSVAqMs9itm87EbtLZpSj3zXp3AlcyrnCHLBE2ohn/s640/IMG_5957.JPG" width="528" /></a></div><br /> I did two coats of nail polish before applying a coat of quick drying top coat. This color probably is the hardest thing I have ever applied as it tends to streak. It's a miracle that my nails don't look bad on film. I guess there's a girly side of me that I don't let out. Ever since I wore this nail polish, I kept on smiling at this nice pink color.<br /><br />Durable-wise, it is as tough as nail. Today, I wanted to crack open a can with my finger nails. The job was done and the nails were not scratched. Amazing!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrHbYzi7xBLjtGIoEHefRUHpvTUnM5hQi_AEqloHefePcBUzrUIwhdyqKnLq6O9iCtwdn8CGkYNhjtmupHcEHrahcL1Oxhc9s_ePLfYnjV389oye3Lmk0YCDbdd6z679opxviq8_C1NMT/s1600/IMG_5965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrHbYzi7xBLjtGIoEHefRUHpvTUnM5hQi_AEqloHefePcBUzrUIwhdyqKnLq6O9iCtwdn8CGkYNhjtmupHcEHrahcL1Oxhc9s_ePLfYnjV389oye3Lmk0YCDbdd6z679opxviq8_C1NMT/s640/IMG_5965.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Last but not least, this is one of the few times my toe nails match my finger nails. This rarely happens as I always use two different colors on my hands and feet. However, this cotton candy color seems to be a good fit for both hands and feet.<br /><br />So yup, I got a cotton candy nail polish from ATP and it makes me happy. It also reminds me of the mischievousness I accomplished in my childhood. I guess that's a score!<br /><br />How about you? What do you think of this cotton candy color? Have you tried any similar color before?<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br />P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

A Bottle of ATP Nail Polish with the Color of My Childhood

Hi everyone,First of all, here's the joke of the day:"A bloke walks into a pub, and asks for a pint of Adenosine Triphosphate. The barman says "That'll be 80p (ATP) please!" (note: 100p = £1, and ATP is short for Adenosine Triphosphate)As a former biochemistry student, anything that has the word ATP…

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The Ghosts of Christmas Abs

Hi everyone,<br /><br />Last week, I took the whole week off because I was super busy. On top of that, I managed to lift enough weight to feel the pain in my arms. It was painful enough to steer me away from typing but I'm doing fine now.<br /><br />Lately, all I can talk about is fitness, fitness, fitness. Since the beginning of the year, I have been doing <a href="http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/hip_hop_abs.do">Hip Hop Abs</a> and well, I finished part 1 last week and just come to part 2 yesterday. Two weeks ago, I took some pictures just for fun after I worked out. To moonlight Dickens, I call them the Ghosts of Christmas Abs :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0c7w2PAedMHv3p7gCFzHL8oMsvQ4ejLcWDRKpVdLydmLLrMgAGrS6EKt2PtmaZoiwW7YouN0N15JeEuMnpQT7LXNchOel8Ke9-XyHA2G-cO6C12j6hLIoDpoIvnpY7Y0cK-HwWf4-ijBu/s1600/IMG_5950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0c7w2PAedMHv3p7gCFzHL8oMsvQ4ejLcWDRKpVdLydmLLrMgAGrS6EKt2PtmaZoiwW7YouN0N15JeEuMnpQT7LXNchOel8Ke9-XyHA2G-cO6C12j6hLIoDpoIvnpY7Y0cK-HwWf4-ijBu/s400/IMG_5950.JPG" width="206" /></a></div><br />A picture of yours truly after a nice workout from 2 weeks ago. Can you see the post-workout glow? Top by Ryka (<333 it although I could barely fit in it at the beginning of the year. Now, it fits quite nicely!) Pants by Express. It's a really really old pair of capri pants but since it's so comfortable, I'm keeping it. However, it is getting loose by the waist and I'm afraid I'll accidentally moon some people in the future.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_v7esl3XTj1KphsBzInkW2fUyTlWrTnIv7T1Z3V88WZ1P6kUbsCc44YMfzqm3qQLZ1LxNrvNDcShU6sDfMwCHSUX4u9tFl4pfQ4I-6pSgPww3OeFU5uELVWCf4o_JXcVlJJ4iHl3bRaw/s1600/abs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI_v7esl3XTj1KphsBzInkW2fUyTlWrTnIv7T1Z3V88WZ1P6kUbsCc44YMfzqm3qQLZ1LxNrvNDcShU6sDfMwCHSUX4u9tFl4pfQ4I-6pSgPww3OeFU5uELVWCf4o_JXcVlJJ4iHl3bRaw/s640/abs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The first picture on the left was clearly a dramatization. However, it closely depicted my state of abs <i>before</i> I started Hip Hop Abs, which was a keg! The picture in the middle was my abs from two weeks ago and the last picture from the right is my future abs.<br /><br />But wait...the future is now. My abs look like that in the morning, before I had any food in my body. Also, did you notice my caboose? Before, I barely got anything to show back there but now, I can see my own booties and they are beautiful and firm, too!<br /><br />I'm not kidding, y'all. Hip Hop Abs really works. Weight-wise, I lost 4 lbs without feeling like I was trying. Abs wise, I can see a huge difference. For the first time in 5 years, I fit in a pair of shorts that I bought back in 2007, wore once, and never could fit in it again until now. And guess what? It was even loose when I tried it on three weeks ago! All but a pair of jeans are loose on me now and the tops that used to be too tight fit me like gloves. But that's not it, my flexibility improves as well, which is a nice bonus.<br /><br />Hip Hop Abs is a nice program and if you follow the schedule, you will see results. Shaun T is funny and friendly in the workouts and his personality is one of the things that keeps me coming back again and again. Also, his crew are fun and flexible. If you are not experienced enough, you can follow Tania who demonstrates an easier version of the workouts. The first few times, I followed her but after week 2, I pretty much followed Shaun.<br /><br />The other thing that I love about Hip Hop Abs is Shaun T's ability to instruct throughout each workout without sounding winded at all. I could barely breathe the first time I did Total Body Burn as my sweat were dripping all over my body and into the mat bun Shaun T was working out, talking, and smiling at the same time. Unlike other fitness instructors in various workout programs I did before, Shaun T actually feels human. As I exercised along the way with him, I felt as if he was in the same room working out with me as well. He was sweating like a human being and sometimes, puffing for air at the same time. I guess these are the reasons I like him so much that I am sticking with Hip Hop Abs Ultimate Result and eventually working my way up to Insanity.<br /><br />Last but not least, I have been motivated by <a href="http://fitocracy.com/">Fitocracy</a>, an online fitness community that makes working out fun. With each workout you log in, even the most insignificant one, you earn points. Gathering enough points will give you a level up. Right now I am in level 8 and it seems endless to me. Trisha from <a href="http://makeupfiles.com/">Makeup Files</a> was the one who hooked me up and I'm glad to do the same to those who are interested in joining. Please <a href="mailto:makeupblog@gmail.com">email me</a> and I'll send you an invitation as it is invitation-base for now.<br /><br />That's all for now. And oh, by the way, Happy Valentine's Day! May you have all the love and more!<br /><br />With love,<br />Dao xoxo<br /><br /><br /> P.S: Please show me some V-Day love by subscribing and following. Thanks a lot!

The Ghosts of Christmas Abs

Hi everyone,Last week, I took the whole week off because I was super busy. On top of that, I managed to lift enough weight to feel the pain in my arms. It was painful enough to steer me away from typing but I'm doing fine now.Lately, all I can talk about is fitness, fitness, fitness. Since the begin…

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I Love Whitney

Hi everyone,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45PvaVej88lu4C4ohNJWcxklxV64rJXkNtcTx_zBHlJahA6vCO2IffMUNqepcdpRODNTJ4L1n_-kBYZAZNuQbcQOIDU10BCRxF48h23UiswBQzeCmFiX6caymrppdmusQhzjSgbg6cfuv/s1600/whitney-houston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45PvaVej88lu4C4ohNJWcxklxV64rJXkNtcTx_zBHlJahA6vCO2IffMUNqepcdpRODNTJ4L1n_-kBYZAZNuQbcQOIDU10BCRxF48h23UiswBQzeCmFiX6caymrppdmusQhzjSgbg6cfuv/s400/whitney-houston.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Whitney's gone, our singer's dead. This morning, I woke up to learn about the news while eating breakfast. All of the sudden, I felt the joy slipping away from me. Never has a singer has such an impact in my life as Whitney. In middle school, I grew up listening to her songs and those were my good years. I remember popping a cassette tape into the cassette player and did my homework while listening to her. Each side ran for about 45 minutes and my goal was to finish doing my homework after listening to both sides of the tape. It was a fail-proof method.<br /><br />Little did I know that my English was better as a result of listening to her songs. I began to emulate her and in order to do so, I had to learn how to pronounce the words correctly. During recess I found myself belting out "I Have Nothing" and "Saving All My Love for You" to my friends. Probably more torturous to them but I would never know that since they just left me alone.<br /><br />I'm glad to grow up when singers like Whitney and Mariah were popular. They made some incredible music their songs, like their personalities, are unmistakable. Once in a while, I hear a Whitney song and has goosebumps all over my body. She had such an incredible voice and emotion to match it. That kind of talent is something can only be found once in a while.<br /><br />Whitney is gone but her legacy is still here. Like Michael Jackson and many other artists, her contribution to mankind is immeasurable. I am sure we all have our favorite Whitney songs but "I Will Always Love You" is mine. Even in my darkest moment, I felt love when I listened to it.<br /><br />Rest in peace, Whitney. We love you!<br /><br /><br /><br />

I Love Whitney

Hi everyone,Whitney's gone, our singer's dead. This morning, I woke up to learn about the news while eating breakfast. All of the sudden, I felt the joy slipping away from me. Never has a singer has such an impact in my life as Whitney. In middle school, I grew up listening to her songs and those we…

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Preparing to Evacuate During Hurricane and Wildfire Season

<div style="text-align: justify;">You may have dreams of defending your homestead during hurricane and wildfire season, for the safety of your family though, it's best to evacuate when officials say to. Leaving your home doesn't mean that you have to abandon it unprotected, however. Here are some tips to give your home its best chance of survival after you and your family must evacuate.<br /><br />Hurricane and Wildfire Evacuation Tips<br /><br />Cover your windows: You can use awnings, storm shutters, or properly measured plywood to cover your windows and protect the exterior and interior of your home against hurricane damage. Before a wildfire, skip the plywood and go for something that isn't flammable.<br /><br />Fortify with sandbags: If you are concerned about water getting into your home due to flooding during a hurricane, invest in sandbags and put them around garage doors and other entryways.<br /><br />Use plastic over electronics: Cover your televisions, stereos, computers and other electronic items with plastic before a hurricane evacuation so they can avoid damage should water seep in.<br /><br />Secure lawn furniture and potted plants: Lawn furniture, birdfeeders, birdbaths, grills and potted plants can become projectiles during a hurricane and combustible flame spreaders during a wildfire. Either bring them into a covered area such as the garage or shed, or (for hurricanes) secure them before leaving.<br /><br />Fill your sinks and tubs: By filling your sinks with clean water before you leave, you can ensure that you have some water to use if water lines are turned off when you get back.<br /><br />Use all perishables: Because a hurricane or wildfire can interrupt electricity usage, it is best not to leave perishables in your refrigerator.<br /><br />Shut off gas and pilot lights: Whether facing a hurricane or wildfire evacuation, it's a good idea to shut off gas and pilot lights before you leave.<br /><br />Clear up shrubs: During a wildfire, shrubs create the perfect bridge between your home and the fire. In a hurricane, weak or small shrubs can be turned into projectiles.<br /><br />Move indoor combustible furniture away from windows: In order to help minimize the damage to your home and your neighborhood should the fire spread to your dwelling, move your combustible furniture to the middle of the room away from windows.</div><a name='more'></a><br />Grab insurance documents: Before hurricane and wildfire season, it's a good idea to check your home insurance limits and deductibles and make sure they are still appropriate for your home's rebuilding costs, contents value and your budget. Before you evacuate, make sure you grab these and other important documents.<br /><br />The time to complete insurance planning is before you must evacuate. Give us a call today to find out how you can improve the way your home insurance policy will assist you after hurricane or wildfire damage.<br /><br />Ross Shales is an owner of independent insurance agency The Lake Insurance & Financial Inc in Louisiana. The agency specializes in auto, home & renters insurance in New Orleans, Mandeville & Metairie in Louisiana. Call (866) 674-2537 today for a New Orleans Renters Insurance quote.

Preparing to Evacuate During Hurricane and Wildfire Season

You may have dreams of defending your homestead during hurricane and wildfire season, for the safety of your family though, it's best to evacuate when officials say to. Leaving your home doesn't mean that you have to abandon it unprotected, however. Here are some tips to give your home its best chan…

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Party Perfect Makeup

Hi everyone,<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><div>I just came back from the party and I have to say: it was a success! The food was delicious, the party was fun, and most importantly, my makeup was perfect! All that prep work was not wasted because not only I finished applying my makeup before the allotted time, it also came out a lot better. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures but that's fine. I intend to do a tutorial on this look anyways.</div><div><br /></div><div>With all that said, I came back with a few tips to share with y'all just in case you have an event to attend in the near future.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. Prime, prime, prime!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I don't care who told you otherwise but my secret to having a perfect makeup look is the primers. For my eyes, I use either <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/mac-paint-pots-my-pride-and-joy.html">MAC paint pots</a> (Bare Canvas or Painterly) or Urban Decay Primer Potion. Both are great to keep the shadows intact but UDPP seems to be friendlier toward nude shades. For my face, I use <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/mentholatum-acnes-oil-solution-is-my.html">Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution gel</a> and my mineral foundation does not melt at all. In fact, it looked even better than when I just applied it as the foundation got time to bond with the primer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Demi lashes rock!</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXX4XjuysleZoO3QBJsjaFhkTOeikZuQ6P0nHULaQ3zFCl8zT_qC5L5citDt_3g2aPK-0iAM8Um2aJ5KdbXv5wcTie6CTkQN0XPdk8hZYqLKWj3WnO008IlIsph7UJbxn47bHyeEnqpE9y/s1600/IMG_2923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXX4XjuysleZoO3QBJsjaFhkTOeikZuQ6P0nHULaQ3zFCl8zT_qC5L5citDt_3g2aPK-0iAM8Um2aJ5KdbXv5wcTie6CTkQN0XPdk8hZYqLKWj3WnO008IlIsph7UJbxn47bHyeEnqpE9y/s640/IMG_2923.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Actually, this pair of Shisem Mild & Smooth Touch demi lashes is awesome! Since it is not a full pair, I don't need to trim it. Also, the lashes flair out at the end to add a romantic touch to the eyes. Although I usually do not wear false lashes, going to a party justifies the need for that. The length of this pair is about the same with mine and it blends really well with my real lashes. Unless you stand really close to me, you can't tell if them lashes are mine or not. On top of that, demi lashes are more comfortable to wear than full ones. I am going to hunt for a few more pairs just in case.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. When in doubt, go with neutral eyes:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>For a while, I was all about colors, colors, colors. Of course, colors are fun and I love them. But after today, I have to rethink about that. I saw a couple of gorgeous women at the party wearing gorgeous dresses. However, they seemed to look out of place because of their over the top eye makeup. Since the makeup did not go with the outfit, it made the whole thing look tacky.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, neutral eye makeup can go with everything and if you buff the right beige on your eyes, it's going to look very romantic. Have you wonder why celebrities walk the red carpet with neutral eye makeup? It's because they know.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's all for now, folks! The tutorial is up tomorrow so stay tuned for it. I guess by now, y'all don't even need to read the tutorial to know what I did. The past few posts kinda filled in the blank already. But anyways, it's a fun look to do and I think lots of you are going to benefit out of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned!</div><div>Dao xoxo</div>

Party Perfect Makeup

Hi everyone,I just came back from the party and I have to say: it was a success! The food was delicious, the party was fun, and most importantly, my makeup was perfect! All that prep work was not wasted because not only I finished applying my makeup before the allotted time, it also came out a lot b…

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