Reviews and Other Stuff

Top Picks in Music

August 20, 2021 / OTHER STUFF / 0 comments

Hi friends! Let’s take a quick break from makeup and beauty stuff reviews. This post is for all of us, music lovers. Raise your hand if:

*You have all the music streaming apps downloaded to your phone

*You have at least one Bluetooth speaker

*Different headsets in your pocket ready to listen to music any time

I can definitely relate to all three above. If you are a music lover, you know that music is the soundtrack of your life. Imagine a life without music? It is utterly bleak. I grew up with a strong musical background. From where I came from, everybody loves music, and it is all over the streets during festivals and in my local neighborhood. Each of my family members knows how to play a musical instrument, and I learned to play the piano at a young age. I never really took many piano lessons. I just listen to the sound and try to figure out the melody. Unfortunately, I am not one for a singer. But I am a songer, LOL. I love all kinds of songs, and I have a strange ability to remember a song’s lyrics ever since I was very young. Since then, I listen to songs from all genres, paying attention to lyrics, melodies, and rhythms.

Music heals the soul, puts a smile on people’s faces, and inspires creativity. Lately, I listen to more slow, dreamy music with a mix of techno and kpop. Last year, I listened to several heavy metal bands (my favorites are: In This Moment, Halestorm, and The Pretty Reckless) during my workouts. This year, I plan to listen to songs from other countries and concentrate more on melodies.

When it comes to the songs I like, there is no definitive reason for why I like them. The lyrics may not apply to me, but it helps me to empathize what the artist is trying to convey in the music. Lyrics and melodies help me to imagine the setting of the song and the artistry behind it. That is the reason why I have a gazillion playlist for songs in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s that I like. Yes, I also listen to Chicago, Simon & Garfunkel, and even Michael Learns To Rock.

I try to keep my music gadgets as minimal as possible. I like my AirPods for working out and while taking pictures. However, I also love the portable Bluetooth speakers from Bose, especially the SoundLink Micro and the SoundLink Color. I can easily synchronize these speakers, and they produce a quality sound all throughout the house. The Bose app is very easy to use, and the speakers are water-resistant.

I wish I could share with you the lists of all the songs I like. But, there are too many of them. So, I narrowed them down to the ones I have been listening to lately. The list below is not a lot. Perhaps, I will add some more in the future posts.

Artist/Song	Part of the lyrics I like	Why I like the song
Coldplay: The Scientist	I was just guessing at numbers and figures Pulling the puzzles apart Questions of science,science and progress…	The entire lyrics and mood of the song. Also, the video is ultra-cool:-)
Grimes: Flesh Without Blood		What a catchy title for such a fun bop. I can imagine this song being played in the outer space. P.S. I love Grimes’ work ethic.
Troye Sivan: Heaven	Without losing a piece of me How do I get to heaven? Without changing a part of me How do I get to heaven? So, if I’m losing a piece of me Maybe I don’t want heaven.	A powerful song about finding oneself and learning to love it. It does not really matter what other people say. What matters is how you value yourself and how you treat others. Each of us is enough, and each of us does not really have to fit to a certain standard. Why try to be someone else when you are meant to be different? You glow!
Billie Eilish: Ocean Eyes	Burning cities and napalm skies, Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes, Careful creature made friends with time, He left her lonely with a diamond mind.	What a beautiful, relaxing, and nostalgia-inducing song about a fascination or attraction between two brilliant creatures. I am not sure though, which one is the careful type, which one is time, and which one has a diamond mind, or which one has the ocean eyes? This song is hands down on another level.
Lana del Rey: The Next Best American Record	And we were so obsessed with writing the next best American record, That we gave all we had ’til the time we got to bed, ‘Cause we knew we could…	There are so many themes in this song, but a certain part of the lyrics spells hard work to me.
Lana del Rey: Old Money	Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine Cashmere cologne and white sunshine, Red racing cars, sunset and vine…	The lyrics in this song transports me to a beautiful garden where everything is warm and sunny.
Annie: Anthonio		I do not know what to make of this song. It is very sad and mysterious, yet it is beautifully composed and has a unique tune. Also, the lyrics has a twist at the end.
BTS: Blood, Sweat, and Tears	In English: My blood, sweat, and tears My body, mind, and soul	What a very passionate song with very contrasting dance beats. It will give you mixed emotions.
BTS: Louder than Bombs	In English: You and I, we feel it together Sadness and pain It’s not a coincidence Yeah, we picked this game	Pain and success are not really that mutually exclusive. This song lights up my synesthetic brain like dynamite. What a beautifully crafted masterpiece. P.S. Suga’s rap is really great on this one.
BTS: Heartbeat	In English: I feel destiny in you, you, you, I feel destiny in me, me, me, (guccipiggy, don’t laugh at me :-))	A song about love, destiny, and the universe. I purple you all!!!

Artist/Song	Part of the lyrics I like	Why I like the song
Lauv: Bracelet	I walk down memory lane late at night, I end up losing my way every time	I love the beat of the chorus. Definitely a great song to listen to at night.
Bossa n’ Adele, Michelle Simonal: When We Were Young	You look like a movie You sound like a song My God this reminds me of when we were young, Let me photograph you in this light, In case it is the last time That we might be exactly like we were, Before we realized We were scared of getting old It made us restless	Bossa Nova and Adele? Never knew a combo of this tune would sound so good.
Bossa Nova Lite, Sofia: Águas De Março		This song is giving me an “Emily in Paris” vibe. The ultimate chill song while in a bathtub or just getting ready for going somewhere nice and fun.
Charlie Puth: Losing My Mind	I got so much to do and not enough time, Not enough time.	Is this the ultimate grad school theme song? LOL
Goo Goo Dolls: Iris	And I don’t want the world to see me, ‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand, When everything’s made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.	Forever a 90’s kid.
Lord Huron: The Night We Met	I am not the only traveler Who has not repaid his debt I’ve been searching for a trail to follow again…	This song can hit you like a truck. Not kidding.
Alan Walker: Faded	Where are you now, Atlantis?	All of us are looking for some form of Atlantis, aren’t we?
Imagine Dragons: Natural	Will the stars align? Will heaven step in, will it save us from our sin, will it? ‘Cause this house of mine stands strong	I take this as a song about resilience.
Halestorm: Amen	My God, it ain’t no sin Can I get it? Can I get an Amen?	One of my top workout songs. Amen.
Bishop Briggs: White Flag	Oh, won’t wave my white flag, no	Another favorite workout song. Be strong, darlings. Live your life.

These songs are the ones currently streaming on my playlist. Go listen to them now and tell me which one you like. What’s on your playlist?

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The Crème Shop BT21 Skincare & Makeup Review + Swatches

August 6, 2021 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hi friends! The Crème Shop recently released some BT21 skincare and makeup, and what an exciting moment for us kpop and kbeauty lovers. I, for one, is so stoked of all the colorful goodies I hauled from that trendy store. The cuteness of each product’s packaging is just on another level. You can tell from the photos of this review who my bias is and who my bias wreckers are.

Ready to see the stuff I hoarded? Keep on scrolling…

SKINCARE

Printed Essence Sheet Masks

Never have I ever: tried an overnight face mask that made such a difference in my skin’s texture. My skin felt so smooth and so moisturized after using one of these masks. No more dull and sallow skin. Any of these masks is a keeper. I especially love the one from Chim and Mang. Use this while eating chicken noodle soup while trying different filters. Ya know what I mean? (wink wink)

Mang’s Magical mask – with salicylic acid, tea tree, and niacinamide. Great for oily and acne-prone skin.
Chimmy’s Charming mask – with Vitamin C, turmeric, and niacinamide. Works overnight to improve the skin’s texture and makes blackheads/whiteheads easy to remove.
Shooky’s Shining mask – with hyaluronic acid, triple peptide, and manuka honey. Great nightly face mask.

Hydrogel Under Eye Patches – Just like the sheet masks, this one is so gel-like and will definitely improve the texture of the undereyes. You can pop this in the mini-fridge for extra coolness.

Chimmy – Rejuvenating, calming, soothing, and extremely hydrating. Stays in place even for overnight use.

Printed Pore Strips – These actually work. Each strip pulls whiteheads and blackheads, and even clogged hairs. Just add a bit of water around the nasal area, and the strip will harden, which will then adhere very well to the skin.

Lip Balms

Cutest lip balms I have ever seen. These really look like real macarons in terms of packaging, and each of the products has a distinctive yummy scent.

Koya – Açai Berry. Delicious true berry scent.
Mang – Birthday Cake. Smells like true vanilla whipped cream cake.
Chimmy – Lemon Drop. True lemon.

Cleansing Towelettes

These are some of the best makeup-removing towelettes I have ever tried. Each pack contains 20 prewet towelettes for 6 USD, and each has a very interesting scent. The towelettes remove all kinds of makeup and can remove waterproof eyeliners and mascaras.

Cooky – Rose with hyaluronic acid. Smells like Fresh’s Rose Water Toner.
Mang – Coconut Water with Raspberry. The coconut scent prevails on this one.
Chimmy – Vitamin C with Witch Hazel. True lemon.
Koya – Salicylic acid with green tea. A very clean green tea scent

MAKEUP

Lip Tints

Very interesting lip stains with peach berry candy scent. It is a very yummy and irresistible scent with a non-sticky texture. The application feels a bit of a mystery to me because it usually takes two coats to get enough coverage on my lips. Yet, after the second coat, the product leaves a waxy film that sits on top of the lips. I had to use a lip brush and my little finger to really set the product on my lips. The effect is really nice because it gives an even stain throughout the lips. The staining effect is natural and long-lasting.

Cozy Rosy (Cooky) – rose mauve (medium)
Berry Mocha Crunch (Shooky) – berry rose
Rusty Rose (Koya) – vintage brick rose

Lip + Cheek Chic Sticks

My most preferred products from this BT21 makeup release. The light colors are suitable for cheek colors, while the deep tones are perfect for the lips. A little bit goes a long way, and I love how the product glides effortlessly on the skin. The finish starts as sheen; then it will slowly set to natural.

Rose & Doze (Koya) – peachy coral.
Cherry Blossom (Chimmy) – light barbie doll pink
Rocky Road (Shooky) – brick vintage rose. What a beautiful hard-to-ignore color, like everyone’s bias wrecker 
Berry Cute (Cooky) – berry rose. Ahh, the versatile color that will work with mostly every skin tone.
Moonwalk (Mang) – beautiful, irresistible, and complicated shade. Just like Mang, it is hard to discern what is really in this color. Is it brown? Is it red? Is it berry? Or is it a mix of all three?

Sanitizing Sprays

Who does not hoard hand sanitizer nowadays? I know I am, and I am obsessed with finding hand sanitizers in different scents. These sanitizers from BT21 are now my holy grails because each bottle contains interesting scents, and each has 70% Ethanol. Each is also infused with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E. My skin does not feel dry after using any of these.

Chimmy – yuzu scented. To me, this smells like lemongrass. The scent is quite complicated and different, actually. To some, this may smell like grapefruit.
Shooky – green tea. A very light green tea scent that is almost hard to discern because I can also smell the ethanol. A clean, pleasing scent, overall.
Cooky – strawberry vanilla. This smells so sweet and delicious, making me nostalgic of my childhood memories of eating strawberry shortcake with dirty impatient fingers, lol.

Bottom line, I really really love these goodies. I think BT21 nailed these products very well. I did not expect much quality when I first got these, but I was blown away after trying the products. The face masks, the hand sanitizers, and the lip+cheek sticks have sealed the deal for me. I hope they will seal the deal for you too.

You can purchase this BT21 makeup and skincare from The Crème Shop website, click HERE, or you can

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Charlotte Tilbury Look of Love and Tinted Love Collection Review + Swatches

July 19, 2021 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Halu there! Happy warm summer days. Some of the latest Charlotte Tilbury collections are beaming with love and beauty. Their latest Look of Love palettes are gorgeous, and so are the Tinted Love Lip and Cheek Tints. These collections are well-done, and if you are not a fan of the Tilbury makeup yet, well, these might help you change your mind :-). Personally, I love all their matte revolution lipsticks, or should I say, anything “matte” from CTilbury. I also love their all-in-one face palettes because they are so convenient to use. It is like that palette where everything you need to look bee-you-ti-ful is right there in one gorgeous compact.

So, let us see what beauties we will discover in these “full of love” collections.

Look of Love Collection:

Matte Revolution Lipstick: Same formula as the famous CTilbury matte lipsticks.

Wedding Belles – Rosebud pink. This color looks a shade deeper than the Pillow Talk matte revolution lipstick. The photos and swatches shown online, both from Sephora and CTilbury’s site, do not actually capture this lipstick’s actual color. I would call this a slightly rosy, warm, medium, everyday nude lipstick. Complicated eh?

Mrs. Kisses – Golden peach. I am not sure if this shade can be truly described as a golden peach. I would say that this is more of a vintage medium rose, which has a very similar tone to the Wedding Belles shades above, especially when swatched on my arm. On the lips, and in reality, this lipstick is a shade deeper than Wedding Belles.

Instant Look in a Palette, Pretty Blushed – Gorgeous everyday palette in which you can never go wrong with each shade. This particular palette will work best for those with fair to medium skin tone. For those with very warm or deeper skin tones, the Glowing Beauty is the best option. There are seven shades in this palette: 3 for the eyes, 3 for the face, and 1 for the cheeks. I love the setting powder (No. 7) and the cheek shade, along with the highlighter (No.5 shade). For the eyeshadow, you can play and combine the shades, and they will still look good on the lids.

Tinted Love Collection:

Lip and Cheek Tint: Can be used on the lips or the cheeks, or both. The formula is very fluid and tends to set quickly. Some shades can be slightly streaky when applied to the lips. No transfer or smudging noticed. CTilbury is not kidding on the staying power of these. The colors stayed on the following day.

Santa Euphoria – Nude brown. This shade is almost non-existent on my lips but looks great on my cheeks. As a lipstick, this would be fitting for those with fair to light skintone.

Petal Pink – Soft rosebud pink. I thought this shade would also not show on my lips. But, I am surprised by how it softly shows, almost like an everyday natural rosy lip color. On the cheeks, this gives a nice healthy flush.

Bohemian Kiss – Peachy brown. I like this color a lot. It fits well for anybody with a warm medium skintone, and will probably look more like a nude shade for those with deeper complexions. I think this might be the color I will constantly use among all of the shades in the Tinted Love Lip/Cheek Tint collection, especially as a lipstick.

Tripping on Love – Cherry red. I am not exactly sure if this color can be described as cherry red. An overripe cherry red for sure, but not a bright freshly-picked cherry. Surprisingly, I love this shade a lot because this belongs to my favorite spectrum of red lipsticks — the wine reds. I recommend this in the Fall as a lipstick.

Lots of heart eyes for these Charlotte Tilbury collections. I love everything, and I highly recommend them. Having at least one of the all-in-one face palettes is a good investment. The same is true for the Lip and Cheek Tint. And if mattes are your go-tos, try any of their matte revolution lipsticks.

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