5 beauty crimes

Kaye tagged me, so here are my 5 beauty crimes.

1. I sometimes do dark eyes and dark lips. I don't really see it as a crime either but apparently everyone says so...

2. I curl my lashes before and after I apply mascara. Yes yes, I know. It's not good for my lashes, they can break off etc. But I just can't help it.

3. I don't apply body lotion after I shower. I don't like having all that goop in my palms and having to smear it all over my body. I know I should since there's a lot of calcium in the tap water here in Denmark and it's not good for either skin or hair. I'm just too lazy! I think I apply body lotion to my legs once every two months or something.

4. This doesn't count anymore really... but I used to bite my nails. I was the worst nail biter. The bitter stuff you apply to your nails to prevent further biting? Well, I just kept biting through that. Luckily I just stopped by myself, half a decade ago.

5. I can mix and match all sorts, and I mean ALL sorts of colors on my lids. I don't really see this as a beauty crime either but according to some magazines, certain colors just don't match. I disagree, I think that those limits and that kind of mindset should be pushed. There shouldn't be any rules when it comes to make-up. Just to have fun with it.

Now, let me see...I tag:

Arashi
Nic nic
Viannee
Liz
Aradani

Sorry if you've already been tagged. If that's the case, please look away from this :)

Here is a Swedish song that have been playing on repeat in my head the last couple of days. It is so sweet and gets me all relaxed and happy almost instantly. I love this song!

Lisa Ekdal, singing: Vem Vet (who knows)

Japanese...

Apparently this is how you do when you eat sushi in Japan.




Better pay attention to etiquette!! LOL

And look! We've all been fooled by those Japanese, dang! They sure had me for a while...



Hope you enjoyed!

What happened today...

Well, after I took the bus to go to the Japanese embassy yesterday, in vain, since my contact wrote: Tuesday, March 26th and I'd rather be safe than sorry I of course went again today.

Turns out the other applicants were from Copenhagen university so they're more specialized in the language, whereas since I was from Copenhagen business school hadn't read Japanese poems, classical literature or went in-depth with the grammar. I was nervous that the others might have an advantage when it came to the language but when we went out for lunch it turned out that the test had been equally hard for them as well. And trust me, it was DIFFICULT with a capital D! For a couple of the questions I could narrow it down from 4 to 2 since it was multiple choice but then I had to go with either my gut feeling or go with the tried and tested "eenie meenie minie mo!" Yes, don't worry I didn't count out loud, that would probably have given the others a good laugh!

After lunch we had the interview. I was expecting it to be in Japanese so when 1 of the 3 interviewers said that I should introduce myself in English it threw me off but hey, I thought that the preliminary rounds of the interview might be in English and then we would switch to Japanese. I was so thrown off that I forgot some words...in English! Gahd and I'm supposed to be more fluent in English than I am in Japanese. Well, after a while of talking, he broke it off, thanked me and told me that I would be hearing from them in the next week. My jaw kinda dropped on the spot. Well, if I had known it was in English then I, of course would have been so much more swift. Dang! Well...

No need to worry more about that, just keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for next week to come...

Happy Easter everyone!

Hi lovelies,

Just wanted to wish you all a happy easter. I will be... working -_- and preparing for a test and interview at the Japanese embassy on Tuesday. You see, I applied for a scholarship called: Monbukagakusho and they will provide tuition and living for an entire year. Very nice deal. Only thing is they only give out 1 of those each year in the entire kingdom of Denmark. The competition will be fierce and I'm not sure how I will do on the test. I'm more nervous about the interview really. What if they ask me something I can't answer and I'll sit there with my jaw dropped, looking stupid??

Argh! Well, wish me luck! (I'll certainly need it!)

Weather...

Two days ago I wake up to a sun that's shining only to be replaced by, and I kid you not people, awhole day and evening of blizzard! What's going on? I mean we ARE in the middle of March, right?

Yesterday it only snowed for an hour or so in the evening but the bad thing is that due to this sudden change of weather my skin has become dry. I notice it on my body, my hands especially but there are some dry patches on my face as well. A few patches on my forehead and cheek. Also that annoying area above your upper lip, under and around your nose. That area is flaking like I've never seen before! I had to go out today so I put on serum, moisturizer and added concealer and foundation. I just think that the concealer made the flakiness even more evident.

Anyone else experience this? I'm going to exfoliate and do a moisture mask tonight but if it doesn't help, then I'm out of ideas. Anyone have any ideas? I'd take a picture and show you but as my camera seems to be hiding from me at the moment I guess there will be none of that. -_-

Danish musicvideos

So, I was thinking about introducing you guys to the language danish and what better way to do it than music? I present to you, two danish rap music videos. You might not get the content but it's fun to listen to.
L.O.C and the song: Få din flask' på. Get your bottle on...or something like that. I dunno how to translate it.



L.O.C, Jokeren and Niarn. The song is called Gravøl which can be translated as Wake




LOC and Jokeren are two of the "better" rappers that Denmark can boast about. Enjoy!

Timeline part II

This is my 11th birthday if I remember correctly. We're having birthday cake and my sister is next to me. I felt like continuing with a preteen picture before moving on to the teen years.

This is a picture of my maternal grandparents taken about 20 years ago. My grandfather is the coolest, most patient, wise and understanding person I know. It's funny seeing this picture and remembering how "young" they looked as opposed to today. We were taking a walk in a park and my aunt snapped this picture. They're so adorable!

Ah yes... a teenager with short hair. I started gaining weight as a teenager. Mostly because of insecurities and teasing. I was slim as a kid but it changed when I was 12-13 years old. There weren't a lot of asians at my school at that time and I didn't feel like I could relate to anyone with Danish backgrounds.

Oh boy... a full figure shot. You can see here that I was a big girl. LOL Anyone remember those hats that were, oh so modern back then?? Well, to continue on. There weren't any rolemodels of color or anyone on billboards, ads and commercials. Cosmetics sold were aimed towards girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. I felt that was the standard of beauty and therefore felt that I wasn't good enough. I didn't feel pretty or slim and that resulted in more bingeing. Not good!

Ah! This is a self-shot of my grandfather and me in our garden. I'm nearsighted and had to wear glasses. Yup, glasses, overweight kid all these factors did not help with the teasing. I always felt comfortable at home and especially around my grandfather. He is so kind and always knew what to say to make me feel better.

This is another shot of me in our garden. It was taken in May I think, the flowers were blooming and the weather was nice. I was in high school back then so I think I must've been around 16 years old on this pic.

I think I'm around 18 here. You can see on the roundness of my face that my weight was still up there. This is also around the time I started trying to look good and wearing more make-up. This was also the time where I let my hair grow out so it became loong and like any normal teenager I wanted to be pretty. Gahd, my brows where really overplucked here!

If you look closely, you can see a scar over my right eyebrow on my forehead. This happened when I was 2 and was balancing on the edge of the sandbox at my kindergarten. I fell and got this scar.

This picture was taken just a few years ago, in the beginning of my twenties when I visited my sister who is studying in Beijing. It was in the month of May, it was HOT (you may have guessed by looking at my sweatdrenched face) and we had gone to the Beijing Zoo where we were looking at pandas. I had become more aware of my weight issues here and started eating more healthily.

This is me just months ago.
I've started working out and eating more healthy here. I didn't realize how important exercise and a healthy diet was until a few years ago. Well, you know what they say, better late than never. Wish me luck with my diet! I'll post pictures once I've lost enough for me to be satisfied. Say... 4 months from now? It's good to have a goal and to pressure one self. I'll update with pictures of my new self when June comes. =D

Timeline

I was going through a few photo albums of mine earlier so I decided to post some of them here so you can see the timeline and a few family members.

This is my mom. I don't know how old she is here... but I'm guessing early twenties. I like the bohemian feel of this picture here. As you can see she's a beautiful woman, so I have a lot to live up to. Everyone tells me that I look like my dad and... well to honest, he's not that great-looking. He can be VERY charming when he wants to. I just wish that I looked more like my mom... *sigh* -_-;

This is me, just a few months old. Gahd! Not looking too bright here, LOL! A bit cross-eyed, tongue sticking out and messy hair. That's how I roll, baby!

Alright, this is me on my mom's arm in my dad's old restaurant. She looks so beautiful in that cheong-sam!

Here I am in my sailor uniform, having my very first portraits taken. I must've been around 2 years old in this pic. If you look closely, you can see that my smile is crooked, BIG time! This is due to some nerves in one side of my face not fully functioning. My mom took me to the doctors but there wasn't anything he could do.

Here I'm a little over two years old. You can REALLY see my crooked smile here. What I like about the pictures taken of me when I was a kid is that I have no idea what's going on. I just smile like a dork. Now, I tend to pose somewhat when there's a picture being taken.

I must've been around 4-5 years old here. This is me and my paternal grandmother. And yes, I like pandas!

This is all for now. Next part will be the horrible teenage years, GASP!

I miss you...

I was reading another blog when all these memories just came flooding back.

About 6 years ago my grandmother passed away. Two years prior to that, my family and I went to see a "fortuneteller" who lived in a small house in the mountains in Taiwan. She was deaf on one ear and had lost the use of her opposite arm. I've never been a huge believer and the things she said could've been said by any one of my friends. Right before I left I remembered something and asked about my grandparents (my two maternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother) She asked me to write down their birthdates and then she lowered her hand under the table and started counting.

When she finally looked up she had a glum look on her face and said: One of your grandparents will pass away within two years. I looked at her, very confused and thought: "What on earth?!? I looked down thinking to myself, is she for real? Then I asked her if she could tell me who it was. She quickly shook her head and said no and that she had already revealed too much. The only reason she did this was because she could see that it would help me.

I somehow forgot about those words but I remember spending more time with my grandparents and not procrastinate or spend more time on myself like I used to. When my paternal grandmother passed away 1 1/2 years after I had met the fortuneteller on the mountain, I didn't realize that until 6 months after. I didn't get to see her a last time before she died because I had to work and I really regret that. Of course I helped out with preparations and the funeral but by then it was already too late. Of me and my two younger siblings, I was the one who was closest to her and her death affected me the most. We were so close in many ways and sometimes I think she was the only one in my family who could really understand me.

Then a few months after the funeral, I dreamed of her and in that dream she was so beautiful and just as tall as me (she was short in real life) and I had my hand in her arm and we were walking together. There was a glow about her. I rested my head on her shoulder and just whispered: I miss you SO much and the tears came rolling down. She just looked at me and smiled her little smile and said: I know! I woke up right after that, my pillow wet with tears and I couldn't for the life of me stop crying. I went on a good 20 minutes after that, trying to be as quiet about it as possible so that I wouldn't wake anyone.

Even before the last tears rolled down over my cheeks, there was this calm and peace that came over me and I felt so happy and relieved. Maybe it was a fragment of my imagination but I'd like to think that it was my grandmother who came to me in a dream so I could say goodbye. That's when I got the closure I needed. It still hurts when I think about it but the pain is more bearable now. It will get better, it will just take some time. I still miss her so much and I always will...

*Sigh* -_-;

I seriously think that most of my teachers are sadists. Why? Well, somehow they managed to make next week the week of handing in assignments and essays.

I have two assignments to hand in for Monday (so buh-bye to all fun and games this weekend) furthermore, I have a rather large essay to hand in on Friday and it's about Asian economic organization and competitiveness. *even bigger sigh* the hard part is doing research and finding and industry I can write about. But wait, there's more! On top of all that I have 2 Japanese assesment tests on Monday. Yay! I can't wait for the weekend to begin! It's gonna be fun I tell ya!

I'm seriously considering introducing my teachers to the world of SM so that they can have an outlet somewhere else than on us students. Question is....how to do it. Mmmh... Well, if you have any ideas, please share! =D

Washing and drying your hair

Don't wash your hair everyday, the natural oils are actually good for your scalp. I wash it twice a week and twice a month I use a hair treatment or mask. I have pretty decent hair and I use tons of money and time to take care of it, a few hairdressers have told me that I have some of the healthiest hair they've ever seen.

So here are a few tips of how I do: I always shampoo twice, the first time make sure you rub the shampoo in with a flat hand and then rinse, the second time, all the dirt is gone and you can really lather up the foam and this time use your fingers (and nails if you wish) and massage your scalp all the way through, leave it like that for 1minute and rinse out all the shampoo. When you use conditioner make sure to apply it in the lengths of your hair and not the scalp, otherwise it will not be able to breathe and your hair will feel greasy. When you're all done with hair and body, then turn on the cold water and let it run through your hair and body as well. This is a serious wake-up call to your body and it closes down the cuticles of the hair that have been opened when you washed it with lukewarm water. Never ever use hot water, it's damaging to your hair and it's too harsh for your skin, making skin dry and hair more vulnerable.

When you step out of the shower and dry your hair, you should pat it dry or use very soft and gentle movements. That way you don't pull it so much and cause breakage. Wet hair can stretch and is alot more susceptible to cuticle damage and breakage. You should therefore be expecially careful with wet hair. Make sure it's not too wet when you blowdry it. Let it airdry for a while making sure it's semi-dry before you whip out the blowdryer. If possible then let your hair airdry instead of blowdrying. I know that in order to style hair, there's usually the involvement of heating tools. When you blowdry it, use medium/low heat and always use a heat protection product in your hair before you blowdry/curl/straighten. A serum also does the job and again apply it in your palms, rub them together and apply it in the lenghts of the hair, not the scalp. After you're done blowdrying, turn the heat off completely and use cold air and go through entire hair again, focusing on hair around the face.

Another thing, I take vitamin supplements daily and there are these vitamins especially targeted for improving your hair, skin and nails. It would be a good idea to take them also eating healthy is also the key to having great hair. Some people use a hair treatment once a week, others twice a week, some once amonth, it's about looking at your hair and see if it needs it. Each persons hair has different needs. Hope this helps!

The best loose powder I've ever tried!

This is by far the best loose powder I've ever tried and believe me, I've tried many! Upon application with powder brush it just... disappears and forms a veil over skin that that makes it look luminous and almost perfect. The powder is from T. Leclerc and I have it in the shade: Banane and it is perfect for light/medium asian skintones.

My skin has never looked this good. I'm saving this powder for special occasions, don't want to use powder every day since foundation is already enough but for goingg out a dab of this powder will make me feel and look good.

I can't really say anything bad about it, only thing for you to do is to try it!

I will upload pictures soon and am also working on reviews of the different foundations I've tried and can recommend.

I jumped on the blogwagon as well...

Ah, I'm actually a bit excited about this. This is the first time I've made a blog...ever! How stone age-y can one be?!?

I guess I'll be writing about different things such as, what's going on in, school, work, friends, make-up, food and well...just life in general.

For those of you who know me through ABB, expect to see a whole new side of me! Muahahaha (evil laugh in case you were wondering) Just kidding .... or am I?? =D

Hope to see more of you and hopefully I haven't scared you away...