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• makeup video #2

  Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 7:33AM / Standard Entry / Members only

  I made another makeup video, this time featuring some different Japanese products and a bunch of products from Too Faced. 
  
  
  
  
  Gransenbon Pore Cover Powder
  
  I got this from Takashimaya for $21.95, not cheap especially for something so small, but I patted it around my nose where my pores are most visible, and my skin looked SO smooth!  I'd save this item mostly for special occations and clients' photo shoots, especially where closeups might be involved.   
  
  
  Mascara Guard
  
  I bought a mascara guard similar to this, for when I work on clients and want to get close without poking them in the eye or accidently getting mascara on their skin.  I swear, Japanese people think of everything. 
  
  
  Komenuka Bijin Cleanser
  
  I got this cleanser from Diamond Beauty in Studio City, a high end beauty supply store that carries a lot of different brands.  I absolutely love it.  I've been experimenting with many different (expensive!) cleansers in the last few years and this one has been the best.  (My skin is sensitive so I need something gentle that won't make me break out.)  The cleanser comes in a sand-like powder form, which becomes a foam when mixed with water.  You put it on your face and the powder exfoliates your face a little before it foams up.  Each packet lasts 3-6 uses and the cup contains 30 packets. 
  
  
  I found a great eBay store that has a lot of Japanese products, based out of Temple City.  I saw some Kanebo Kate eyeshadow on there that is $10 cheaper than what I saw in a store in Alhambra!  check it out.
  
  
  
  
  

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• Mandarin class

  Friday, Sep 19, 2008 8:30AM / Standard Entry / Members only

  I started my Mandarin class this week at my local community college.  I felt so crappy -- when I got there I found out the class had started 2.5 weeks before and I had no idea, because I guess some classes start earlier than others at this school!  WTF!  Luckily the teacher will let me stay as long as I try really hard to catch up.  It sucks though because I really need to learn the bare basics!  (Yes, I could just drop the class but I've waited months for it to start, and I'd lose the money I paid for student fees and the frickin' $85 parking permit.)
  
  I know practically zero Mandarin except for a few words I tried to teach myself and some I learned from my Nintendo DS game, "My Chinese Coach," which I got a few weeks ago.  I even had a test yesterday, and I'm just hoping I got a D and not an F.  I really just wanna make it though this class... (I'm not doing it for a grade, as I'm already a graduate, but if I stay too far behind I won't ever be able to keep up.)
  
  It's kinda weird because I used to have recurring nightmares that I was back in school trying to find my first class and I was 3 hours late, couldn't find the class, couldn't find my locker, was carrying 2 tons of art supplies, lost my clothes and was only wearing a towel... and here I am.  I guess it's better to be weeks late for a class than to lose your clothes .... but argh.... I got SO MUCH cramming to do. 
  
  Not only was the test yesterday completely overwhelming but a student (non-Asian) in my class gave me some crap for being Chinese and not knowing the language!  I mean, the last place I need to get crap for not knowing Chinese is IN MY CHINESE CLASS!  Can't you see I'm trying here?  GEEZ. 
  
  GROAN.  Anyway.  My Chinese Coach is a really good game.  It's kinda hard to stick with if you don't know Mandarin at all so it's probably best for someone who knows some Mandarin or is taking a class.  I'm so glad I got that game or else I would have been 100% SCREWED.
  

  
  
  
  
  

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• Makeup Tutorial #1

  Friday, Sep 12, 2008 9:20AM / Video / Members only

  Here is a video I made of me doing my makeup, along with tips and product info.  I'm planning to do a few of these, featuring different products and tips.
  
  
  
  
  
  First of all, these Korean fake lashes by Darkness are the best I've ever tried.  The band is sturdy and curved just perfectly, so they're easy to put on and they can be reused as long as you don't accidently mangle them.  The short "kma-4" ones that I used in the video are even easier to position, comfortable to wear, and are flared at the end for kind of a retro cat-eye look. 
   
  
  
  I went to a Japanese makeup store called Takashimaya, right next to San Gabriel Square, and spent $100 on 7 items.  It's not cheap, but finally I found products that don't irritate my skin, match my skin tone perfectly and are of great quality.  It seems to me that Japanese products are refined to perfection before they are released to the public... no leaking lip gloss, no cheap crap that doesn't work, etc.  Here are two featured items:
  
  The MAKE MANIA Fullaura Eyebrow pencil is one of my favorite new finds -- it has the finest tip you'll ever find, and you don't need to sharpen it.  The color is the perfect shade of brown, which you can lighten by putting a layer of loose powder on top.
   
  
  The KISS ME Active Girl Mascara is amazing... it has little fibers in it, like tiny hairs.  I've seen models using this on the covers of Japanese magazines.  Many of us Asians (including me) barely have lashes, so this mascara really helps.
   
  
   
  
  
  
  

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• Asian contact lenses

  Wednesday, Sep 3, 2008 11:53AM / Standard Entry / Members only

  
  
  So for the last few years I've been searching for those colored contacts that Asian models wear to make their irises look bigger (also known as "circle" lenses), and I FINALLY found some on Sawtelle Blvd. (see my last post for a video) at Pixel, the photo booth place.  They were $30.  I was so excited.  Looks like from the writing on the package, these ones are from China.  At Pixel right now, the only color they have is black around the rims, and only in plano (no prescrīption). 
  
  
  
  I tried them on today and they are INSANITY.  Wow.  I never thought I could look twelve again.  I wouldn't wear them too often though.. for one, I'm lazy, two, I'm not used to wearing contacts, and three, they make my vision cloudy around the edges because I have slight astigmatism.  But otherwise, YAY, they are cool!!
  
   
  
  Here's a makeup tip:  Recently I've been putting eyeliner on the rim of my lower eyelid (just above the lash line) for that kind of smoky look, but when you wear these lenses you can't do that, it looks completely wrong because suddenly your irises are too big.  You have to line your eyes AT or even below the lash line, and you can use a white pencil on the rim, which makes the whites of your eyes look bigger.  Eyeshadow and fake lashes, for me at least, are necessary to pull this off without looking like an alien.  In these pics my lashes aren't GIGANTOR enough to really look like the Japanese Manga girls.  Those girls wear fake lashes on the top AND bottom, AND use eyelid tape.  Mang, that's a whole other entry right there.
  
  As for online stores, I found one here, but I don't know if it's legit or not. 
  
  
  
  
  

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• Sawtelle Blvd.

  Saturday, Aug 30, 2008 1:23AM / Standard Entry / Members only

  One of my favorite neighborhoods in LA is the tiny little Japanese community on Sawtelle Blvd. just north of Olympic, aka Little Osaka.  Other than Monterey Park, it's the place I most often get boba, great Asian food, and take Japanese sticker pics.  I made a video for your perusal. 
  
  
  
  
  

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