My Life: October/November 2012

Hello, dear readers,

As promised, here is an update on my life since the last time I wrote. As I mentioned at the beginning of this month, in my previous post, November has indeed been my busiest month. Let me start off with October, however, since I entirely skipped over it here on When Life Hands You Lipstick. Essentially, I accepted a bid for Delta Delta Delta sorority [technically a fraternity] in September and spent October going to meetings for it before being initiated. It was in October that I was assigned my "big," or big sister. Because I don't want to give away the name of the college I attend, nor do I want to invade the privacy of my big, I have cropped the following photos from the day the new members found out who their big sisters were:

Super awkward camera phone photo shot from above.

Wow, my face looks extra shiny! This is from the photo in which
 the "littles" sat in the front and our "bigs" sat behind us.

Beyond that, October was a bit of a blur. The only exception is Halloween. I went to visit two of my friends at one of their universities, and we all dressed up and had a good time catching up. I meant to go as Audrey Hepburn, despite the fact that I didn't have the right style of dress or correct jewelry. I ended up wearing my friend's dress and necklace, but my hair wouldn't stay up. I really didn't end up looking like anyone in particular, but one of girl guessed who I was. Can I count that as a success?

Once again, I'm cropping out my friends. I'm sure they'd be ok with me showing them, but I just want to be sure. Here is my failed Halloween costume:

I tried.

On to November, my most stressful month so far. By the way, I had never considered joining a sorority before coming to this college. I'm not into the whole stereotypical sorority scene, in which girls are judged by their appearance and what clothes they wear. I know not every sorority is like that at big colleges, but the Greek scene at my tiny campus is way smaller and much less like that. Of course, it is a group of around 30 girls, so there's bound to be some annoying aspects, but I'm glad I joined. It's a great way to meet people and get involved, regardless.

Ramble over. I was initiated into Tri Delta at the beginning of November, and then we immediately had a philanthropy event to promote and run. Then we had a Founder's Day brunch with the same university I visited on Halloween. It was fairly laid back, and I was surprised with an award for academics.

Now we're working on recruitment practice for formal rush in the spring. I went through informal recruitment, in which transfer students and upperclassmen can join. It's much more casual. It's funny preparing to bring new girls in when I just became an official member a few weeks ago. Here's a picture of me from initiation. It was in the morning, at the end of a weekend retreat. I cheated and didn't wash my makeup off the night before, because we're not supposed to wear makeup for the ceremony. I didn't want to look completely dead, but most of it came off anyway:

This is a photo of my "family," which consists of my big sister and
 my aunt [the one with her arm around me]. I don't quite
 get how that works. Note that I am nearly as white as the dress.

I realize this post has mostly centered around my sorority, but that's what keeps me the busiest outside of school itself. I also had multiple midterms, and I always have a paper to write or multiple chapters to read. I was just assigned a paper yesterday, and I have a group project now! 

On a more relaxing note, I did very much enjoy my Thanksgiving break. I turned 21 on Thanksgiving, and had a lovely evening with my family. I went out for Black Friday shopping [at 10 p.m. that night! Poor workers!] with friends. I didn't buy anything, nor did I have a great desire to, but I wanted to take advantage of the time I had to see my friends. They took me out for my birthday the next night, which was quite fun. The rest of break consisted of the weekend, which was delightful as well. I got some holiday shopping in, including gifts for a Secret Santa exchange in Tri Delta. Now I'm back at school, and I'll be busy with sorority events, choir rehearsals, a concert, schoolwork, and finals until winter break!

Just so you know, this isn't meant to be an "Esther's Excuses for Not Blogging" post, but rather me talking to you about where I've been. I have fun writing these posts.

I hope that those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. had a lovely holiday and that everyone is excited for the upcoming holiday season! I'm going to have to remember to bring my camera home for winter break, which starts in mid-December, so that I can actually take pictures of things that I want to write about.

Until then, I will try to squeeze in a post or two if I can. No promises, unfortunately. I hope your week is going well! 

xEsther

25 Questions Beauty Tag

Hello dear readers,

Wow! I managed to skip an entire month. November is quite possibly busier for me than October, so I'm doing this tag while I have time. I found this 25 Beauty Questions Tag on Beauty in Balance, and I thought it would be a fun way to return to the blogosphere without taking up too much time.

And the questions are...

1. Do you apply your foundation with a brush, sponge, or fingers?

I generally apply it with my fingers, since I find it easy to blend liquid foundation that way. I do, however, own a foundation brush which I prefer to use when I mix foundations or foundation and moisturizer.

2. Do you apply your eyeshadow from light to dark? or dark to light?

I don't use eyeshadow, mostly because I don't have the patience to learn how to do it well.

3. Do you prime your eyes?

As I said, I don't wear eyeshadow. Instead, I cover up the darkness on my eyelids with concealer. I guess that's irrelevant.

4. Concealer first, or after foundation?

Concealer after foundation, because otherwise I would mess up the concealer by blending foundation over it. This way I can use less concealer as well.

5. Go for manicures, or manicure yourself?

I do them myself. I did enjoy the one time I got a manicure, but I prefer to do my own.

6. Exfoliate lips, face or both?

I exfoliate my face once or twice a week when I'm at home by adding baking soda to my facial cleanser. For my lips, I exfoliate with a damp washcloth or Q-tip.

7. On average, how long does it take you to do your makeup?

It can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. It only takes 15 minutes or so when I decide to spend extra time perfecting my skin and/or mixing my own lip colors. 

8. Do you wear makeup everyday and everywhere?

I don't wear makeup if I don't have any plans for the day. If I'm staying in and doing homework, exercising, going to the grocery store, or with my family on a break, I don't wear it. Generally I wear it at least 6 days out of the week.

9. What release are you most excited about? (Makeup)

I’m not sure what specific releases are coming up in the makeup world, but I always like to see the holiday collections and sets from various brands. I am excited about the Skyfall collection from OPI, though I doubt I'll get anything from it.

10. What’s your weakness? Shoes, purses, clothes, jewelry, eyeshadow, lipstick or other?

Lipstick is definitely number one on that list based on how many I have, but I also have a weakness for shoes and purses.

11. Do you whiten your teeth?

No.

12. Wax eyebrows, or pluck?

I don't really do anything to mine, but I'll pluck a stray hair if there is one.

13. What do you use to contour?

I don't actually contour. I'm so pale that I don't think I'd be able to find a color to contour with if I wanted to.

14. False lashes, or natural?

Natural. Unless they're for a costume, false lashes creep me out.

15. Favorite makeup brand?

I haven't tried enough different makeup items from each brand to be able to pick a favorite.

16. Liquid eyeliner, pencil or gel?

I've only ever tried pencil.

17. Lipstick, lipgloss or chapstick?

Lipstick, without a doubt.

18. Pigments, pressed or cream eyeshadow?

If I were to wear any, I would choose pressed eyeshadow. It seems easiest to work with.

19. If you had to wear only one thing, excluding foundation; what would it be?

Lipstick. It instantly brightens up my complexion and adds color to my pale skin.

20. Favorite color?

I'm going to answer this generally and not related to makeup: I would have to say aqua and variations of it.

21. Favorite color combination?

If this is referring to eyeshadow, I'm not really sure. I personally would just wear neutrals.

22. Natural? or Dramatic? (Eye Makeup)

Hypothetically, I would choose natural for myself.

23. Do you care more for quality or name brand?

Quality.

24. Do you enjoy using face masks? If so which ones?

I don’t really use masks at the moment. When I do want to use one, I just go for pure honey. I enjoy using it because it feels refreshing.

25. What is your current addiction? (example: lipsticks, eyeshadows, earrings..)

Lipsticks are always my addiction, but I'm addicted to researching concealers and foundations for future consideration.


That's all for the 25 Beauty Questions Tag. As always, if you're interested in filling this out on your own blog or in the comments, please do. I love reading them. The last tag I filled out was the 14 Fun Facts About Me. I will be doing a post soon explaining my absence, and I should have at least a couple of photos in that one. 

I hope you had a phenomenal October and a fabulous Halloween if you chose to celebrate it!

Until next time...

xEsther