EOTD: Neutral look

Here is my first EOTD! I'm still trying to figure out how to take better pictures of the look. The lighting is always too bright or too dark and I can never get it just right. Anyone have any suggestions?
Anyway, I did a neutral eye with browns and grey. I usually wear this on the weekends when I want something natural.
Here's the look:

Close up:


Products used:
MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot as a base
NYX Sahara + Facefront Cosmetics Beijing Beat all over the lid
MAC Coquette in the crease
MAC Espresso in the outer corner and under lower lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil: Zero on upper lashline and smudged out

Summer Internship update!

So it's official! I've been selected for the summer internship in Japan. I'm so excited!! But... the down side is, I found out that the other intern doesn't speak any Japanese, despite the fact that the application requirements stated "functional proficiency" in Japanese. So... I'm a bit worried about that, but I'm still looking forward to it. I'm still now sure when I'm leaving, but it'll most likely be at the end of May. It'll be in Matsuyama for about 3 months...so basically the entire summer. It's also paid which is a huge plus! Anyway, just wanted to share the exciting news!

Summer Internship!!

So I'm finally done with midterms! These past 2 weeks have been crazy busy! But I do have some exciting news. So about a month ago a professor of mine passed out fliers informing us about a summer internship in Matsuyama this summer. It's 80-90 days long and a paid internship. I have known about this since my freshman year in college and always wanted to apply, but I didn't think I would get in, so I opted not to. About a week ago she encouraged people to submit applications because they hadn't received that many, so I talked with her after class and she said I would be a good candidate. I only had 2 days to finish the application, so I did and turned it in right before the deadline.
This past Wednesday I had an interview, and I got a call Thursday morning telling me that I had been nominated as a candidate for this internship. Unfortunately the decision isn't finalized yet, and I still have to submit letters of recommendation and a lot of other paperwork, but I think there's a good chance I will go back this summer. I'm scrambling to turn in everything by next Wednesday, so wish me luck :)

Facefront Cosmetics Mini Haul

So this is my second time placing an order with Facefront Cosmetics (http://facefrontcosmetics.com/). I saw they were having a 30% off sale so I bought a couple of eye shadows. I purchased from Facefront before with no problems, but I must say their customer service sucks! I just have to rant because it took almost a month for me to get my order.
I placed my order Feb.7th and just got it today, March 3rd. After about a week went by without any shipping confirmation email, I used the contact form on their website to try to figure out what was going on. I must've filled out that form and sent them emails a least 10 times with no response. Finally about 10 days ago I get a response saying they were really sorry no one had gotten back to me. They said my order was shipped and they would re-send the shipping confirmation (which I still never received!). My March 1st I still had not received a shipping confirmation or a package. I finally got the package today and according to the postmark, it was shipped on the 28th, not on the 23rd like their email said.
I'm really disappointed to see this lack of customer service because I really like Facefront's products. But after this experience I don't think I'll be buying anything from them again. I was looking forward to their Atlantic Avenue collection which was supposed to be out on the 12th, but the website still hasn't been updated. Oh well, they apparently have new owners so maybe it's taking a long time to get things up and running again. Has anyone else been experiencing this with Facefront?


Anyway...on to the mini haul! I only bought 2 eye shadows; I got their Fresh Ink Eye Shadow in Glazed Pear and Paint Me Perfect Lose Pigment in Aqua Marina. I used glazed pear today and I really love the color. It's a beautiful golden nude color and the texture is amazing. I've yet to try out Aqua Marina, but I swatched it and it's so pigmented.

Swatches (no base, natural light)
Glazed Pear/Aqua Marina (natural light)

Taken under sunlight:
Overall Thoughts
I really like Facefront's eye shadows. They're really pigmented and very smooth and bendable. But I probably wouldn't buy from them again because of their bad customer service.

Tsunami Warning :(

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for Hawaii. The warning follows a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck central Chile. The warning center said a tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along coastlines of all Hawaii islands. It said urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property.

Sirens will be going off in about 10 minutes! I hope everything will be alright. Stay safe everyone.

Edit: The tsunami warning has been canceled. Thank god everyone is alright :)

現実逃避

Sometimes I wish life was this simple. もうちょっと我慢できれば．．．

Sigma Makeup Beauty on the go Fun Colors Kit: Review

Sigma Makeup (http://sigmamakeup.com/index.html) had a Valentines day sale a couple of weeks ago. After reading a ton of reviews, I finally decided to get the Fun Colors palette. It was $27 on sale ($36 regular price) which included 4 eye shadows, 1 empty palette, and a free travel sized 217 brush. Shipping was $6 priority mail and I got the package within a week of placing the order.
The Fun Colors kit included 4 colors: Sweet Virginia, I've Got The Blues, Playing With Fire and Sweet Lady Jane. Also, these eye shadows are huge! Each contains 4 grams (compared to 1.5 grams from MAC) so I think these will last forever. Each shadow comes in an individual case, which you can pop out and place into the empty quad. I like how the names of each color are visible from the back of the quad.

Swatches (no base, natural light)
Sweet Virginia (greyish purple), Playing with Fire (golden-copper), I've Got The Blues (deep blue), Sweet Lady Jane (dark green)


Overall Thoughts
I must say I'm impressed with the quality of these shadows. The texture is very soft and blends easily with other shadows. These shadows are very pigmented, but I don't like all the shimmer. There are no matte shadows, and I don't think any of the other kits have mattes either. I personally prefer satin/pearl eye shadows over glittery ones. I got fallout with these shadows, but it's not nearly as bad as Urban Decay. I think if you tap off excess shadow and use a good primer, fallout should be minimal. I really wish this palette had at least one matte shade, but other than that, I think this was a really good deal for the amount of product you get.
Overall I'm quite pleased with this set and I love the SS217 blending brush that came with it. I'm not sure if I would purchase anymore makeup from Sigma in the future (the other kits have mostly neutral shades, but I will consider getting the brush sets), but I'm happy with this purchase.