Nails of the Week: Pink and Gold

Last week has been quite busy with work! I think I am nearing my point of exhaustion and am in need of a vacation! Crazy thing is that I just came back from a vacation one month ago. I am probably just taking on way too much at work with this pilot program... Well, gotta do what I gotta do!

Here are the nails that I was rocking last week. 

I wanted something feminine this week. Something feminine and something spring/summery!

Top: Reverse french manicure
Bottom: Wannabe studs using gold nail polish

I hope you enjoy :)


<3<3<3

Sunnies Haul for a Sunshine Day

Aloha! 

It's about time I bought some new sunnies! I broke two of my favorites and just couldn't find anything half as amazing to replace them. Read about their tragic deaths here.

Last Friday, I went to a Marshalls two blocks from work and came across these two sunnies. They are similar to one of my favorite sunnies that broke. The new ones aren't as dark as I prefer, but I do really like the fit.

This pair is by Betsy Johnson. It was only $9.99. It has gun metal colored pyramid studs on each  temple. It has one little pink heart on the very tip.

I love the bug-eye look as you can see. I do wish it was tinted darker. Although it looks like you can't see my eyes, in face-to-face, you can. I prefer when you can't see my eyes. #mysterious or #hiding

This brand is called Marilyn Monroe. I'm not sure why but I am positive she didn't have a sunglasses line. This pair was also $9.99. The frame is a dark brown tortoise shell. It has a brassy colored metallic detailing with a blend of raised dots and subtle gold crystals. 
That little squiggle by the hinge is a replica of her autograph.

This is a behind-the-scenes shot of a selfie. I took this picture with my computer, not my phone. I title this photo  "My poor imitation of the Marilyn Monroe pout." 
I love how poor lighting makes me look tanned. YESSSSS

I snapped this shot and played around with the summer filter on one of my iPhone apps. I really like how it turned out.

The summery-ness of this photo made me happy and the first song that came to mind was "Sunshine Day."  Enjoy <3

<3<3<3

Birthday Nails and Birthday SWEETS

Aloha! I mentioned in my previous post that there was a good chance I was going to change my nails. And I did! I kept my left hand the same and changed my right hand. I turned my nails into a festive birthday extravaganza!! 

(Confetti, balloons, cupcake, candles, and a green bow tie for my emerald birthstone)

The madness - I mixed colors and cleaned tools along the way 

I used my nail kit that I bought online on Amazon. It cost me only $1.57 and it came with free shipping! The only caveat was that shipping time would take 17 - 28 days as it was shipping from Hong Kong. To my delight, it came way sooner than expected. 

To continue with the birthday theme, it was a festive day at work! In our weekly Thursday meeting, we celebrated my birthday! My closest coworkers pitched in to buy me cronuts! Awww. I also received flowers and a cream puff....it was a sugar fest! I've been drinking water all day to dilute all that sugar running through my bloodstream. Haha :)

Hands down, the BEST cream puff I have ever had. There was caramel or butterscotch inside with the custard. mmHmm. And it wasn't too sweet so that was a major plus!

Excuse my partially eaten cronut. I ate it during the meeting, but didn't finish it because I wanted to save my appetite for our monthly staff luncheon.

Top left is coconut. Top right is blueberry and blackberry. The one I munched on was maple bacon. And that little triangle is a lemon poppy seed scone. They spoil me at work!

Tomorrow is my actual birthday. A few of my coworkers are taking me out to eat at Lemonade in Larchmont Village. Good company and good food are all I could ever ask for :) and rumor has it, they're making me wear a tiara ;)

Looks like 28 is going to be a sweet year for me ;)

<3<3<3

Nails of the Week: Birthday Exploration

It's my birthday week! :D Here are the nails I'm rocking this week...but stay tuned! I might change it up before the week ends (I'm thinking cupcakes?). Stay tuned!

Top: Left hand. The "cracked" look came about after seeing an Instavid on it. 

Here are the steps: 

1) Put on your base color (I used blue)

2) In a cup of water, add a few drops of a different color polish (I used pink)

3) Add a few spritz of hair spray

4) Submerge your nail

5) With a toothpick, gather all the excess polish

6) Lift your finger

Bottom: Right hand. I bought a nail tool kit on Amazon for $1.57 with free shipping. The caveat is that it took 17 - 28 days to arrive from Hong Kong. Very worth the wait! My design is flowers...pretty messy but this was my first time using a detailed brush. I definitely need to practice!

<3<3<3

Review: Lorac Island TANtalizer

(Photo credit: hsn.com)

I'm of Filipino decent which typically means natural tanning comes easy for me. By natural tanning, I mean just doing my daily activities: walking outside, driving, errands. I do have a small percentage of Irish/German blood which runs so strong in my mom's side of the family. Because of this, my siblings' (along with my mother, of course) natural base skin is pretty pale and pasty (it's in my blood and I'm proud of it!).

Ever since I was diagnosed with Lupus nearly 4 years ago, I have been avoiding the sun when possible. In a nutshell, Lupus is an autoimmune disorder in which my body cannot distinguish between good cells and bad cells so it destroys both. When you kill the good cells of the body, it's only natural for the person to get all kinds of sick. Lupus patients are sensitive to the sun's rays so we must wear sunblock and stay out of the sun if possible. Some are more sensitive than others. I try not to test my limits...anyways, I went on an educational tangent there, but hey! Awareness is important. Read my Lupus story here.

Ever since 2010, I've been pretty fair especially in winter. Loved ones and friends would tease me and call me "Casper the Ghost." All loving tease of course, but still... My legs are quite blinding!

Over the past few years, I've been self-tanning for summer just so I don't look so ghostly amidst my fellow bronzed Angelenos. In the last year, I stopped caring about being fair and haven't tanned in 1.5 years.

Not too recently, I came across the LORAC Island TANtalizer Creamy Body Oil - Bronze Glow. This is NOT a self tanner. It's is a temporary (one time only) body bronzing makeup. I went to a makeup party (a friend of a friend had a woman who sold makeup come by) and found this LORAC product. It retails for about $30. It was on sale for $12 so I thought, why not? 

Mind you, I'm not new to tanning products so I know how to apply them. This LORAC product was awful!!

CONS: Very very very streaky! It was so orange and way shimmery!! I know it's more of a body makeup than a tanner, but still....I don't think anyone who wants a nice bronze color wants to walk around like a disco ball. 

PROS: Not your typical tanner smell. The scent was similar to cocoa butter which I'm not a fan of, but I could tolerate it.

I actually wish I bought this from Ulta or something so that I could actually return it and get a full refund. Awful awful awful.

Was it just me? I'm not sure.

Have any of you tried this product? What are your thoughts?

<3<3<3

Hustle Oh Hustle

(credit: somewhere online?)

This has been my work mantra/ethic lately. And it's part of the reason why I've disappeared for a little bit.

Work has been crazy busy this month! 

I, along with another coworker, was asked to spearhead a pilot program at a major Los Angeles hospital for the month of May. This program carried additional duties that needed to be fulfilled on top of my original duties. As you can imagine, it has been a stressful, exhausting, but so-worth-it month!

There are several factors that motivate me to work hard: 1) to be a better me both professionally and personally, 2) to make my team, my bosses, and my employer proud, 3) I love the work that I do and take utmost pride in it, and 4) I want to be known as someone who has made a positive impact in the community

So I hustle and hustle. Dreams don't come true just waiting by the phone. You have to get out there and work for it.

May has been and will continue to be a challenging month, physically and mentally, but it's all worth the chaos, exhaustion, and stress.

The benefits of this program will reach and impact many lives for the better. And that is what keeps me on the hustle.

<3<3<3

OOTD: Birthday Week!

It's official! My birthday week is here :) I will be 28 on May 23 :) Time flies. Sometimes it feels like I just turned 21. Wow, can we rewind time, please? Life is passing by way too fast!

May is filled with a long list of birthdays. Ben's birthday is on the 22nd. My mom's, my good friend, and my best friend's brother's birthday is on the 24th. My best friend's birthday is the 31st. My sorority little sister's is on the 30th.  It's non-stop celebration in May :)

Last night, I took Ben out for his birthday dinner to Malbec Argentinian Cuisine in Pasadena, CA. It's a very nice and elegant place where you would need a reservation on a Saturday night. I don't go to places like this often, but for special occasions, we all deserve a treat ;)

Here's what I wore:

I wore this maxi dress that I bought on CLEARANCE (yay!) at JC Penny two years ago. It is by Ruby Rox. 

Pink blazer is from Marshalls. I bought it for $4.99. What a steal!

I had my H&M green sunglasses. I know they don't really match, but I broke 2 of my black sunnies a while ago and I haven't found any that I've liked. The deaths of those sunnies were traumatic!! One was slammed in my car door and the other got caught onto something and I yanked it way too hard...and that is why I don't buy expensive sunnies.

My purse is the Merona Ostrich Flap Crossbody from Target. I love it! It was also used in the Nickelodeon TV show Instant Mom. My purse hit the small screen! HEHE :)

(Left: Instant Mom. Right: Me)

  

My earrings are from Forever 21. Black center stone with gold all around with crystals within in the gold. 

Necklace is also from Forever 21.

My Style & Co watch is gold from Macy's. 

My bracelet is a brown shiny jade from Chinatown.

My flip flops are from Mossimo from Target. They were $12.99. Nine West sells this exact style for $40. Who got the better bargain? I DID. These flip flops are black and gold and they match my earrings!

My nails as you can see are confused. The colors and designs are different on each hand and on each foot. I recently purchased this nail tool set so I was playing around with it.

Our food!

I ordered the rib eye. I'm not a heavy meat eater so when I eat something like this, I have to prepare myself. Vegetarian pre- and post-heavy meat meal. It was really good though :)

Ben ordered the skirt steak. He loved it as well :)

Funny Story:
During my meal, I was getting so hot. I did not understand why. I look around and noticed the restaurant started to become full so I figured it was just body heat. I ended up taking off my pink blazer and putting it on the back of my chair. I  was seated by a marble counter with a glass window. At the end of my meal, I realized that behind that glass window was the bread toaster! HAHA. Explains my heat flashes throughout my meal.

But that's not all! Before we left, I went to the ladies room to wash my hands. I came back, grabbed my blazer and left. When we arrived to the dessert shop, I got out of the car and saw a brown cloth on my chair. I was so confused.

I had accidentally stolen the napkin from the snazzy restaurant. I must have grabbed it along with my blazer. OOPS. Sorry, Malbec!!

Well, I guess I shall consider it a birthday present from the restaurant? -__- 


<3<3<3