Beauty Tuesday: My Summer Beauty Essentials

Hello everybody!

Welcome back to another Beauty Tuesday!

So during the summer (and the rest of the year), I like to keep my makeup pretty light. Here are my summer beauty essentials:

Primer! Super important since I sweat... a lot during the summer. This helps keep my face from blinding everyone with its shine. I usually only use the Neutrogena one, but if I'm going to be taking a lot of pictures, I like to add on the Benefit one.

Concealer! Just to hide the blemishes. Honestly, summer is way to hot to be wearing foundation. Minimal coverage is all I need. 

Powder! To keep the shine away too! 

Setting spray! Just to keep my makeup from melting off my face....

As you can see, my makeup products are very well loved. (Sorry about their condition)

So what are you beauty essentials?

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

Music Monday: She's Kinda Hot by 5 Second of Summer

Hello everybody!
Welcome to another Music Monday post! This week features 5 Seconds of Summer and their new single "She's Kinda Hot."
Honestly, I was like what?? to the title when they first announced it. So much for "She Looks So Perfect." 

So I like this song because it's really catchy and I love the lyrics.
The lyrics are basically saying, it's okay that you're different and you're not doing what other people want you to do.

My favorite lyrics are:
When you've got bigger plans that no one else understands
You've got a shot though

and:

They say we're losers and we're alright with that
We are the leaders of the not coming back's
But we're alright though
Yeah, we're alright though
We are the kings and the queens of the new broken scene
Yeah, we're alright though

So that's it for now. Leave a comment with what you're favorite song is right now!

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!
~Claudia

Fashion Friday: Forever 21 Haul

Hello everybody!

Welcome to the first Fashion Friday!

Recently, I went to Forever 21 (my all time favorite store) and bought a few things.

So I got a pair of leggings, which I desperately needed.

I also got two plaid shirts... because you can't have too many plaid shirts. Honestly, I love plaid shirts, I won't ever have enough. 

This is a gym tank top. I got it because I'm trying to start working out more.... (probably won't happen??) But buying pretty work out clothes will probably, maybe, motivate me to work out more... just so I can wear the clothes.

And lastly, I got a denim jacket... because it's a wardrobe staple. I have another denim jacket in my closet, but it's a lighter wash. (Basically, I buy the same things, but in different colors/washes).

That's all for now. I can't wait for my next shopping trip!

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

Random Thursday: Review of Murphy's Law of Love | Taiwanese Drama

Hello everyone!

So today I'm going to do something I've never done before: review a drama. I don't usually watch Asian dramas, but my sister recommended me this Taiwanese drama, so I decided to try it out.

Murphy's Law of Love 莫非：這就是愛情

Summary:

Murphy's Law means anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Guan Xiao-tong has been cursed with Murphy's Law all her life. Every time her attainable desires are within reach, they somehow escape her grasp at the last moment. After her boyfriend dumps her and breaks her heart, Xiao-tong decides to use her psychiatry expertise to help others with love at an online matchmaking service. Soon a divorce firm opens across the street from her office, threatening the matchmaking service. The divorce firm's owner, Ji Jia-wei, thinks Xiao-tong's theory and love advice is idiotic while she thinks he is a cold hearted person who doesn't believe in love and only started his business so others can be like him. But since Xiao-tong is cursed with Murphy's Law, Jia-wei whom she has no interest in starts falling for her when she unknowingly starts to melt his ice-cold heart.

Okay, first, I'm going to introduce the characters:

Guan Xiao-tong (played by Ivelyn Lee)

(Just a side note: I've only watched one other drama, and Ivelyn Lee just happened to be the lead in that one too! I didn't even know that until I started watching this drama.)

Xiao-tong is such a cute character. Everything she does, all the noises she makes, is so freaking cute! She's the most caring person, ever. She always puts everyone's feelings before hers and cares about other people so much. It frustrates me sometimes because when Jia-wei breaks a promise, she gets upset. But she doesn't let him know that. She always say, "I'm fine" so she doesn't hurt his feelings. He kind of has a legitimate excuse each time, but she never tells him when she's upset. Sometimes I'm just like, "Oh my god! Just tell him!!" She doesn't have the courage to tell people what she thinks or what she's really feeling and she uses Murphy's Law as an excuse for everything that happens to her.

Ji Jia-wei (played by Danson Tang)

Honestly, I love him so much. He's so cute! He just has these intense eyes and when he smirks... *swoon* Personality wise, he's a closed person who hides his pain and misery. Whenever something bad happens to him, he closes up. That makes his friends and family worry about him and makes them think he can't handle certain things. But with Xiao-tong, he opens up a bit. He seems to be the one in charge in their relationship. Sometimes I feel like he's really rude. He'll say "come here" or "Come to my house tomorrow morning. I want breakfast." With his friends, he's kind of rude too. He's the CEO of his company and their boss, so he bosses them around. He also gets jealous very easily. It's really funny. 

He Zhi-yu (played by Jenna Wang) 

Zhi-yu is Jia-wei's model, aspiring actress, ex-girlfriend who left without saying goodbye a year ago after rejecting his marriage proposal. She comes back, expecting everything to be the same, only to find out that Jia-wei is with Xiao-tong. Jia-wei still holds a grudge against her, but despite that, she tries to win Jia-wei back. In the beginning I didn't really like her (because she was trying to steal Jia-wei), but I grew to love her. She's such a strong and determined person, even after everything she's been through. She has a strong personality and, according to Jia-wei's friends, wore the pants in the relationship with Jia-wei. 

Xiang Zi-Yan (played by Jolin Chien)

I'm sorry.... but I hate him. He's literally the perfect boyfriend, but I still hate him. He cares about Xiao-tong so much and is always there for her when Jia-wei fails her. He's always there to pick up the pieces. When he realizes Xiao-tong has feelings for Jia-wei, he backs off a bit (but ends up pursuing her). Not to mention, he's a world famous chef and owns a fancy restaurant. He's a bit stalker-ish. He took a picture of Xiao-tong when she was at university and recognized her years later. Honestly, I'm sure he'd be a great boyfriend... but every time I see him I'm like "GO AWAY!!"

Xiao-tong and Jia-wei's relationship

They are the cutest couple ever! They start off as enemies since they work at rival companies. Xiao-tong works at a matchmaking company while Jia-wei owns a divorce firm. Eventually they get together and they're so awkward together. Once, they just sat on Jia-wei's couch twiddling their thumbs, not even talking to each other. But they still do the cutest things together... I need to stop before I go full on fangirling.

There is so much character growth with these two. At the end, I'm just like a proud mom. My babies have all grown up *tear*

Okay, let's talk plot. Nothing super major really happens. By that I mean, nothing the veers off the get together - break up - get back together plot line. There's one major thing (other than the breakup that always happens) that happens, but that gets fixed in about two-three episodes. So no major shockers in this one. 

It's the little things that happen that make this drama so funny. The small interactions between the characters are the best! Especially Jia-wei's friends. Omg, I died when one of his friends compared Jia-wei to Gandalf and Xiao-tong to a hobbit. 

Once again, I need to stop before I have a major breakdown over the drama being over. Seriously, there's a 9.5 out of 10 chance I'm going to rewatch this drama... really soon.... like right now soon....

Anyway... this is a hella cute drama.. so go watch it! Also, the soundtrack is beautiful, even though they're mainly sad love songs... I still love it!

Rating: 10 / 10

Characters: 4 / 4

Plot: 1.5 / 2

Soundtrack: 2 / 2

Cuteness level: infinity / 2

Recommend? YES! ABSOLUTELY!

If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments! I only have 2 requirements for my dramas:

1. Mandrin

2. Hot male lead (seriously...)

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

What I Ate Wednesday: A Typical Day At Home

Hello everybody!

Welcome to the first What I Ate Wednesday! Jut thought you should know that I'm a vegetarian (no meat, no fish, but I still eat eggs and dairy). I also didn't take pictures of any drinks because I usually only drink water....

So for breakfast, I had a multi-grain toast with eggs and avocados on top. This is probably one of my favorite breakfasts because it fills me up even though it looks so little (and it's so yummy!).

Then for lunch, I had this vegetarian pizza from Trader Joe's. I had a fourth of the whole pizza. This was my first time eating this pizza. I thought it was pretty good. More vegetables than I would usually have on my pizza though, lol.

Around 3, I got a bit hungry, so I had a snack. I ate Macrons from Trader Joe's. I ate the pistachio and salted caramel ones.

Then for dinner, I had noodles with a peanut butter and black sesame sauce and broccoli. 

That's all I ate! I know I called this a "typical day" but I don't eat pizza everyday (just putting that out there). Being an Asian America, I eat a lot of noodles and rice at home, so noodles are pretty typical. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I eat. If you have any suggestions of good foods to try, leave them in the comments!

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

Beauty Tuesday: Mini Summer Haul

Hello everybody!

Welcome to the first Beauty Tuesday! So basically, I went to Walgreens and picked up a few things. It's a really small haul.

I decided to get two new mascaras because my old ones were running out. 

Maybelline Lash Sensation x

Mayblline Volum' Express Pumped Up! Colossal x

Neutrogena Makeup Wipes x

So, I've opened them already and used them a few times. So far, I think the mascaras are okay. I prefer my old ones (Maybelline the Falsies and Mega Plush). 

I like the wipes. They're good for days I'm too tired/lazy to properly take off my makeup.

That's actually all I got, haha. 

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you soon!

~Claudia

Music Monday: Drag Me Down by One Direction

Hello everybody!

Welcome to the first Music Monday and the first of my August posts. Seriously... where did July go? One more month of summer vacation left :(

Anyway... let's get on with this post.

So, of course, I just had to put One Direction's new single in today's post because, let's be real, it's pretty darn good. Not to mention, it's their most successful single yet, considering they did no promo for it at all. Ha, Zayn who? (jk, come back Zayn baby)

There's no YouTube link, but here's the Spotify link x
They've come a long way from their first album. While this song is not really pop (like their first album), it still makes you want to get up and dance. Honestly, every time it comes up on the radio, I just have to blast it and sing to it (loudly and badly... oops, sorry whoever's driving).
The vocals are beautiful! Each of them make the song special. Even without Zayn, it's still perfect. 
And the lyrics! First of all, the metaphors: fire for a heart... river for a soul
My favorite is:
All my life you stood by me
When no one else was ever behind me
All these lights, they can't blind me
With your love nobody can drag me down

And then Louis' nobody, nobody

Ahhh, I just love this song so much right now! It's been on repeat since it came out.

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you .... TOMORROW!
~Claudia