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

Lay Off The Paint

Source

Hello, dear readers,

In case you haven't read this post, you may not know that I recently downsized my nail polish collection from 84 to somewhere around 50 polishes. Granted, this came from about eleven years of collecting, but a great deal of these polishes were recent acquisitions. With my somewhere-around-50 nail polishes in mind, I bounced on over to a beauty supply store with a friend for, big surprise, discounted high-end nail polish! Once inside, my friend, whose collection is slightly less than half of mine, justifiably scoured the shelves for colors she didn't have. What did I do? I looked for new shades of polish, and suddenly had a revelation: There was not a single shade I liked that I didn't already have!

Sure, my polishes may not have been the same brand, maybe not exactly a perfect match, but when it came down to making a decision, I just couldn't validate a purchase. I also learned that I tend to go through phases with nail polish, sometimes liking only blues; sometimes pinks and reds; and currently aqua, turquoise, and Tiffany blue colors. I realized that I have some manifestation of every one of these colors.

Based on this experience, I made a decision: I'm not buying any more nail polish for a good, long while. And so, dear readers, begins my self-imposed nail polish-buying ban.

Think about it:  Have you ever used up a single polish? Is it really necessary to own 80 nail polishes? Fifty?

Is it really important to have every shade of ballet pink or metallic gold?

The answer, I think we can agree, is no.

But it sure is nice.

xEsther

Taking Home Tiffany: A Well Deserved Treat

Hello, dear readers, 

If you've read my I'm a Survivor post a little while back, you will know all about the wonderfully thrilling and stimulating job I have this summer as an intern in the Finance Department at my suburb's official building [that's as specific as I'd like to get].

I was finally rewarded at the end of this past week: It was payday! I was paid quite nicely for the first two weeks of work. Ironically enough, all of that money went into the bank, but I still decided to get myself a little treat. A well deserved treat, if I may add. 

You see, as it turns out, I have most of the money my parents sent me off with at the beginning of the school year. They gave me a bit more on school breaks, and, seeing as I'm not the kind of girl to really ever spend money on myself, I still have quite a bit left, as well as some extra from selling back textbooks.

Being the genius I am, I've of course been carrying it around with me not knowing how much I have. So payday money goes into the bank, and a small amount of university money goes to treating myself.

If you wear nail polish at all, you'll probably know about the color For Audrey by China Glaze. Ever since I heard about it from YouTube videos and blogs, I knew that I'd have to get it for myself someday. There are a few reasons:

1. It's a beautiful blue color.

2. It's Tiffany blue.

3. It reminds me of my trip to NYC, one of my favorite cities.

4. I love Audrey Hepburn.

5. I love the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.

6. My mom wanted me to get it because "If you can't have Tiffany [jewelry], you can wear it on your nails."

That's reason enough for me. I was going to go to Ulta to pick it up, but a quick search online told me they don't carry that color. However, there's a Sally Beauty Supply near me that does! My mom and I went today so that I could pick it up, and I found it right away. If you don't have a Sally Beauty Supply near you, you can pick this color up online here for $5.99. If you live in the U.K., you can get it here for

£7.50.  As far as I know, the Sally's in the U.K. does not carry this color. I also saw pretty pink color on the discount table [as if I need another pink] that didn't look quite like anything I own. It's Finger Paints Nail Color in Rose Patina, and you can find it here if you live in the U.S. for $1.99. Here are some badly lit pictures. I promise I will get my camera up and running as soon as I'm able! I have to find it first.

On my nails currently is Rush nail polish in Girlie. I got this years ago in a goodie bag from my cousin's birthday party, so I have no idea if it's still available. I doubt it is. It was a fun purchase and I can't wait to wear some Tiffany blue in a few days.

Yesterday I was at Jewel Osco with my mom and I needed to find some leave-in conditioner/detangler spray for when I finish my current one, mentioned here, which they don't seem to carry in most mainstream brands. I was left to pick up the Pantene Pro-V Fine Hair Solutions Detangler. As you may know, my hair is anything from fine, but the only other ones I could find were baby leave-in conditioners that smelled way too strongly of fruit and Aussie Hair Insurance. After my mishap with Aussie shampoo, also mentioned here, I won't buy from the brand, no matter how many good reviews there are.

I was left with no choice but to pick this up.

Today at Sally's, however, my mom discovered that many of the brands there carry leave-in sprays, so that's where I'll be headed the next time I need a new one. I think I should be set for quite a while though.

So those were my little treats of the weekend, bought by me, for me.

To the little indulgences of life!

xEsther

Shopping!

Hello everyone,

If you read my post on Beautypedia, concealer, and tinted moisturizers, you will know that I was looking at a few specific products to help cover up imperfections and give a more flawless finish to my face without a cakey look. I wanted something effective but still light enough so that I didn't feel like I was wearing a heavy sheet over my face.

I decided on the CG Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisturizer in the end, about $6 at my local Target, also pictured in the earlier post, in the color Fair to Light. I have to say I'm very satisfied with it. I use it over my regular moisturizer, mentioned here and here. It gives me extra sun protection with SPF 15 in a mineral form, and I find that it deposits just enough sheer coverage to even out the redness in my skin and correct the tone enough to allow for slightly less concealer over discolorations. 

Which brings me onto my next subject: concealer. I didn't end up getting either of the concealers mentioned  here because I didn't get a chance to go to Wal-Mart to pick up Hardy Candy's Glamoflauge, and my Target didn't stock the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector. I settled on the e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer in Light Beige, the lightest color available at my Target. I haven't checked to see if there are other colors online, but this seemed more suitable than either of the undereye concealers I currently use, and it was not a powder, a consistency I find makes my skin appear flaky and dull.

 Image from http://www.maltasupermarket.com/health-beauty.html?dir=desc&order=position&p=4

I have not tried this yet, nor read any reviews [shocker, I know!]. It was $1 so I figured I couldn't go wrong trying it out, whether or not it actually works well. 

While at Target I also needed a base coat/top coat, as I am running out due to painting my nails once or twice a week. I prefer getting the double duty nail polishes because I  really don't find it crucial to buy a separate base and top coat. I'm not picky and so I snatched up the Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine Clear Nail Protector.

Image from http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=wet+n+wild+wild+shine+clear+nail+protector&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=3205744626813247825&sa=X&ei=TGmCTY6ONdSWtwfvteHKBA&ved=0CDwQ8gIwAg#

I'm assuming it's meant to be worn as a top coat, but I have no qualms using it as a base coat as well. It was also just $1.

My best friend was searching for a tinted moisturizer, but was tentative about the Cover Girl product I like so much. She has light skin as well, but quite noticeably darker than mine [as are most people]. She couldn't decide between the Fair to Light and Light to Medium so she ended up with a different brand altogether. She chose the e.l.f. Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20, and I believe she got it in the shade Nude. This product was $3 at Target.

Image from http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/face/tinted_moisturizer/tinted_moisturizer_spf_20

I'll have to find out what she thinks of it once she tries it, and, of course I'll let you know!

Happy makeup wearing!

xEsther