tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33427254833745258652024-03-18T04:08:30.590-04:00Messy WandsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger470125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-41441993275160231992019-12-26T16:25:00.001-05:002019-12-26T16:38:17.297-05:00Tatcha body butter, dry skin savior
Much of my taste has changed over the years, but Tatcha's Indigo Soothing Body Butter has staunchly remained my favorite body moisturizer. To illustrate: I sang its praises in this 2014 blog post; I've switched partners since but my current boyfriend also refers to it as "the nice stuff" and thinks of it as special occasion lotion.
My body is oddly attuned to the seasons, and its first Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-88352119111332365072019-12-08T14:21:00.000-05:002019-12-08T14:21:06.518-05:00Date Nights and the Makeup that Goes With ItWelp, a month since my last post has dazzled by. I've been a software engineer (!) a little over three months now, and I'm happy to report that I no longer feel the crushing imposter syndrome and anxiety I felt when I first started. I'm grateful for the many women who've paved the way before me in this industry and having the chance to participate in clubs like Women in CS, because hearing their Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-41421318731785375882019-10-27T15:27:00.000-04:002019-10-27T15:30:59.504-04:00Butterfly Makeup Tutorial Inspired by Lisa EldridgeTwo events inspired today's post: 1) Suffering from an unexplained case of milia and breakouts and need a pick-me-up, 2) Watched Lisa Eldridge's butterfly makeup tutorial. I happened to have similar products at home to recreate the look, so here we go.
I briefly considered cleaning the pans up before taking this photo, but that's just not how real life looks.
Items: Addiction Brown Toast CheekUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-9067515913326986252019-10-23T19:18:00.000-04:002019-10-23T19:18:11.804-04:00Lisa Eldridge Velvet Morning Lipstick ReviewMuch hullabaloo (how oddly spelled is that word!) has been made about Lisa Eldridge's lipsticks that they usually sell out the first day of launch. I was fortunate enough to snag a few of the pink collection and all three of the red velvets. I haven't been able to find a pocket of time to swatch and photograph Velvet Ribbon and Velvet Jazz, but thought I'd show you how the fiery, orange-red Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-7955979556472001012019-10-17T20:04:00.000-04:002019-10-17T20:04:29.079-04:00PSA: Tatcha Friends & Family Sale 2019I have two kinds of friends when it comes to skincare. The first kind is meticulous about their multi-step skincare routine and could rattle off ingredient names and its benefits off the top of their head. The second kind asks me for recommendations and purchases the same thing forevermore. I've recommended Tatcha to more people than I can count over the years, and one of the things we all look Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-1340295763555341192019-10-13T13:48:00.000-04:002019-10-13T13:49:18.458-04:00Empties, Volume 1Wow, that last month flew by quick. If you ask me what I've been doing the past month, all I can say is I wasn't vigilant enough in protecting my mental health, which was why it went by in a not particularly enjoyable whirl. In between learning new ways to be stressed at my new job, I accidentally over-scheduled myself to meet people every day for one week and was also trying to plan a vacation Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-53967270346545260442019-09-18T22:36:00.000-04:002019-09-18T22:36:24.294-04:00Distracting myself from Chanel with a little Tom FordEvery few months or so I get an irrational itch to buy something I definitely don't need, like a lipstick or blush or eyeshadow that's "missing" from my vanity (and by missing I mean it's probably 90% similar to something I already own). That urge will come down hard and remain an obsession until I inevitably pull the trigger.
At the moment, I'm consumed by the Chanel Top Coat Eyeshadow Veil Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-40067937991454563252019-09-09T10:30:00.000-04:002019-09-09T10:30:00.762-04:00Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream Review
I've had the oddest skin in the last few weeks. What was once normal/combination, perhaps even a tad oily in the summer months, became bone dry especially around my mouth. There wasn't anything I did that made it so. I was perfectly normal one day, and the next the bottom half of my face could no longer hold moisture.
The silver lining in this unfortunate turn of events is I now have the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-90773724790708533572019-09-07T11:34:00.000-04:002019-09-07T11:34:24.800-04:00Le Labo City Exclusive Gaiac 10 + Memories of the Past
Longtime readers of Messy Wands would know that I'm terrible at identifying scents. I smell a thing, but I can't describe what the thing is, not knowing the difference between the smell of cedar or oak or musk or any of the floral varietals. I've always admired perfume bloggers who seem to be able to identify different notes with precision, whereas my approach to fragrance resembles a weak Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-83422064384641866082019-09-02T14:29:00.000-04:002019-09-02T14:29:19.816-04:00Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Intense ReviewI bought the Suqqu Extra Rich Glow Cream foundation a couple weeks ago from Taiwan and frankly, I haven't been able to get it to work. I know it can be done, because the SA applied it on me and it looked great that day. Since I've returned to the US though, every attempt has been a patchy mess. This led me to wonder why I succumbed to the hype when I already own a foundation that serves me well. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-20027272265076383472019-08-30T10:30:00.000-04:002019-08-30T10:30:08.657-04:00Beauty Shopping in Taiwan, Part 2
Another place I always visit when I go back is Watson's, a local pharmacy that stocks a variety of beauty brands. I usually go there to stock up on Japanese sunscreens. My current favorite is by Skin Aqua (not pictured above), though I have a pet peeve. Skin Aqua made at least five different types of sunscreens and put them in similar looking white bottles with similar sounding names (Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-53436202411889958252019-08-24T13:06:00.001-04:002019-08-24T13:06:56.818-04:00A Fall Look with THREE and SuqquA brief interlude between cataloguing my shopping excesses to show you a look created with the products from Taiwan shopping part 1.
Repeat of the photo of the products for good measure:
The colors from top left to bottom right are: a shimmering pale gold, an auburn cream, a matte brown, a light barley. All of them pull warm. In the picture above, I used the palette traditionally. Started Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-77162538746380602062019-08-20T19:37:00.000-04:002019-08-29T20:24:00.067-04:00Beauty Shopping in Taiwan, Part 1So... remember that large suitcase I was telling you about in my travel post. True to my prediction, exactly half of it was filled with food, and the other half filled with skincare and makeup (I only brought one packing cube worth of clothes). I was doing so well with my skincare no-buy before the trip and making headway on working through some of my stash, but traveling to Asia does crazy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-11276927024565940092019-08-08T22:01:00.000-04:002019-08-08T22:01:06.066-04:00Currently: MalaysiaI'm enjoying a blissful two weeks at home in Malaysia. Such is the perils of being an immigrant that I can only visit my favorite people for such brief spurts. I went to the US for college in 2009. As I grow older, I ache with the knowledge that my time with family is fleeting because I chose to stay.
On a brighter note, if you're interested in learning more about different types of Malaysian Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-70261065538467654462019-07-31T11:48:00.000-04:002019-07-31T11:48:12.207-04:00Super Pared Down Travel Makeup
After over three months of anxious waiting, I finally got my Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which allows me to legally work in the US but equally importantly, leave the country and safely return. I have been agonizing about having all this precious free time and not being able to spend it with friends and family back home, so trust when I say I'm vibrating with anticipation to get on Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-31396430274067687002019-07-29T15:35:00.000-04:002019-07-29T15:35:02.004-04:00S'well Bottle and Tumbler - worth the hype?
Am I a child? Yes, yes I am
Nothing makes me more skeptical than an absolutely ridiculous amount of hype surrounding what is a basic ass product. I'm more likely to wonder if it's just groupthink or meticulous branding (see: Glossier, Away) versus the item actually being extraordinary. For this reason, I've never really put the S'well bottle I've owned for four years to much use, thinking it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-40794451549465397362019-07-26T12:00:00.000-04:002019-08-20T07:04:22.021-04:00Currently: almost the end of July 2019I really enjoy reading The Non Blonde's Currently roundups, so I'm going to make like imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and do one myself (sorry/thanks, Gaia)!
New Yorker, August 7 & 14, 2017 cover being a little too accurate about the MTA
Smelling...
A Diptyque Baies candle that I got for Christmas last year (thanks Darun!). A part of me is like "be more adventurous!" Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-36230323234464406632019-07-23T15:59:00.000-04:002019-07-24T18:10:41.617-04:00Every Tatcha Lipstick, Swatched
I've always had a soft spot for Tatcha because they were one of the first brands to ever support Messy Wands. Such was my love for them that I once reached out to the founder Vicky for a job, and though I've never worked for them directly, I did join the public relations agency that represented them, and happily they gave me the Tatcha account.
As you can probably guess, public relations is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-30805924804064290692019-07-22T13:42:00.000-04:002019-07-22T15:13:28.664-04:00Lisa Eldridge Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colours I've never been one for celebrity beauty lines, but when Lisa Eldridge announced that she was making lipsticks I let out a squee. I missed the first True Velvet launch and was determined not to miss the summer pink collection, and was lucky to snag three out of four shades. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, they were completely sold out in a couple days. The good news however is that Lisa will Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-41451984141063704892019-07-17T16:40:00.001-04:002019-07-17T16:42:24.465-04:00Summer Skincare Routine
Let's get the scary part out of the way. Here's how my skin looks now. On a better day, that minuscule pimple on my nose wouldn't exist, the raised bumps on my right cheek would magically disappear, and I wouldn't have two random gashes on my forehead. But it's important to acknowledge that this is still a good skin day. Impossible expectations have a way of weighing us down, let's try not to doUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-16402464693497450662019-07-15T15:55:00.000-04:002019-07-15T16:14:28.771-04:00Hello Again, Dear FriendMy last post on this blog was on the heels of a break up with someone I thought I was building a life with. At the time, I chose to be kind to myself and not spend hours in the week on an endeavor that no longer gave me joy — Messy Wands was many things to me throughout the years: fun hobby, safe harbor from an emotionally abusive relationship, a way to meet friends... Unfortunately, I became Unknownnoreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-52798440540267571372015-04-12T12:54:00.001-04:002015-04-12T12:54:11.020-04:00A Note About My AbsenceMy apologies for the radio silence. Due to some personal matters, I'm forced to take a temporary hiatus from blogging. It's unfortunate that it happened right as I was getting back in the swing of things, but as ever I am grateful for your patience and understanding and hope you will read Messy Wands again when I return.An important note: I received an email today notifying me that the Tatcha Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-58860125109870335932015-03-11T08:00:00.000-04:002015-03-11T09:39:41.604-04:00Have A Perfect Hair Day with Living Proof
Seeing beauty products day in, day out (literally. My day job is firmly ensconced in the beauty industry), it all becomes a blur, so it's only when I settled down to write my review of the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day products that I noticed the "hair feels cleaner, longer" claim on the shampoo. In this day and age of hyperbole marketing, a brand's description of a product (24 hour moisture! 10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-45709963275563637392015-03-09T22:41:00.001-04:002015-03-09T22:41:07.680-04:00Rouge Bunny Rouge Succulence of Dew Sheer Lipsticks
Sorry, I couldn't resistI didn't know something was missing in my makeup drawer stash mountain until it magically showed up in the mail. I thought many of the lipsticks I owned were already pushing the limits of innovation, especially in terms of their amazing formulas (comfort, texture etc.). After all, I'm so picky with my lip products that I refuse to wear anything that's heavy, uncomfortableUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3342725483374525865.post-81140381348312384042015-03-06T11:56:00.000-05:002015-03-07T22:00:45.937-05:00Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes
The new Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes remind me of paint by number kits. While it's not an exact science, the three-step approach does simplify the process of contouring your cheeks: darkest shade below your cheekbones, medium shade on the apples of your cheeks, and lightest shade above the cheekbones blending into the apples.
This is where I mean when I say "below the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1