Over the past two or three months I have been holding myself back by avoiding lip products whenever I bypass a makeup counter. That task becomes nearly impossible when I find myself floating around MAC Cosmetics stores. Still, I think I behaved fairly well! *Pats self on back* Out of the 10 or so visits I have made at the mall, I've only walked out with 4 MAC lipsticks total. I thought that these 4 new loves would be enough to show in a small and quick post. MAC lipsticks have always been one of my top favorite makeup items in my collection. From its soft creamy formula to its delicious vanilla scent, these darlings can do you no wrong. Not to mention, MAC lipsticks were one of the first makeup products I bought back in the day so it was a bit nostalgic when I held one of these tubes. My collection is growing slowly, but surely growing. Out of the these 4 lipsticks, there are two that I am completely thrill to add to my stash, but 2 that I tend to stray from.





Colors swatched from left to right: Twig, Vegas Volt, Viva Glam Nicki, and Sunny Seoul.

• Twig (Satin) is a terrible shade for my skin tone. I have no idea what I was thinking when I walked out of MAC with this color, but whenever I wear it, the shade tends to lean more browny-nude than the rose nude that is seen in the bullet. I was hoping that this would fit me moreso during the summer season when I am more tan. Right now, I am as pale as a ghost so wearing this just darkens my complexion to an ashy-tone yellow which is quite unflattering. Overall though, as any MAC lipstick, this went on beautifully. Product Rating: 3.5/5

• Vegas Volt (Amplified) is an orange-toned red that reminds me of the orange-trend that Korean actresses were so into last summer. I think it's an extremely fun color to wear for Spring and I've actually been wearing it out whenever I have on my more natural makeup days. This really makes your face vibrant and gives it a little needed color to a bland face. Product Rating: 4/5

• Viva Glam Nicki (Satin) is so so so bold that I am too chicken to wear it out in public. Like Twig, the formula is very nice. I find myself really starting to become a big fan of MAC's satin formula after using these two. Ignore how messy I put this lipstick on in the picture... It almost looks like I colored out of the lines, lol. As it is such an intensely pigmented lipstick, be sure to apply it with a lip brush instead of straight from the tube. Product Rating: 4/5

• Sunny Seoul (Cremesheen) is probably my must have and go-to for the past two weeks or so. I love this color as it is quite sheer, but very buildable. It is a great color to wear for the spring and summer time as it is a light pink which is a safe color to wear for any occasion. Product Rating: 5/5

There's primarily two reasons why I love New York so much:

1. Food
2. Atmosphere

When you combine these two things together in one place it might as well be heaven. As mentioned in my previous post, Andrew (Brian's friend) had made a promise to the both of us that he would take us out to a flea food market later that evening (click here to read previous post). Hearing that, we were half ecstatic, but also half worried at the same time because we couldn't even bear to imagine how in the world would we be able to stomach even MORE food. Regardless, an experience is an experience so we decided to mentally (and stomach-ally) prepare ourselves for the feast...

There's really not much I can say about the Smorgasburg food market besides that it actually happens every Saturday at Williamsburg during the Fall and Spring time. They have over 100 vendors that sells and display their top picks from their restaurants. Not only is this a great way to really introduce and market their products out to the public, they make quite a bit of money from being a part of this flea food market as well. I believe Andrew said that a few of the vendors DO raise the prices of the dish that they sell at the festival so you might be paying more than what it's actually selling for at the local restaurant. Regardless, it's the experience that matters, right? Most of the food prices ranged between the $3-$10 mark so it wasn't TOO overly priced, but portion wise it's almost like a "deluxe sample" of the actual dish.

Anyways, I'm going to stop yapping away now and let my photos do the work for me. You've been warned... Lots of goody fatness coming your way!




The festival is held outside and you can enjoy the sights of the city while gorging on your food. Please ignore how dark these photos are... It was actually very cloudy and gloomy that Saturday evening (a storm was coming...).

Last weekend I spent my time at a lovely neighborhood up in Brooklyn, New York. Brian and I stayed with one of his old high school friend, Andrew, who lived in the Greenpoint area of the city (or as he liked to call it, the "old Polish farts" neighborhood due to the extensive amounts of the older Polish generation living there). We mainly slept at Andrew's place and for the most part walked to Williamsburg for our adventures. Williamsburg is an up-and-coming area of Brooklyn, according to Andrew, because of all the hip and trendy individuals that are starting to migrate to this neighborhood to live. This was one of the first time I have ever visited Brooklyn and it won't be my last.








The first thing you'll note about this part of the city is that it is completely modern. Not that New York City itself is bland, but there really are a lot of colors in Brooklyn. From the festive wall arts, to its' distinctly artistic individuals--this neighborhood does not fail to impress. When I walked around Williamsburg I was utterly in shock at the amount of young people that caroused pass me. I swear, the oldest person I walked by had to be atleast... 35 years old, if anything. With such a shockingly vibrant atmosphere it is no doubt that the dwellers are a bit more "expressive" than what I was used to back in D.C.

Brian and I arrived late Friday night and went for a little "eatery" experience with Andrew. Andrew practically dragged us around Williamsburg at 11 PM at night to atleast 3 different restaurants so we could test out the famous dishes that each of them are known for. Unfortunately I was so tired from the 5 hour drive up to New York that I didn't want to lug my camera around hence no photos were taken. The restaurants we stopped by were: The Meatball Shop, Crif Dogs, and Oasis. It was a hefty night for my tummy to handle, but a delicious one! My favorite definitely had to be The Meatball Shop which I will find myself visiting again next time when I am back up there.

The morning of Saturday we stopped by a local bar called Raizes and not to drink of course, but to grab breakfast. This place seriously had one of the best pancakes I have ever tried.








After breakfast was done, Andrew left Brian and I alone to explore Brooklyn, but made us a promise that he will take us to the Smorgasburg Flea Food Market later that afternoon. We knew that spending time with Andrew only meant getting fatter by the minute so we were sort of ecstatic to give our tummy a break... lol. Andrew does Muay Thai so you can imagine the shape that he is in to be able to down several hefty meals per day. Unfortunately, both Brian and I rarely exercise (well, actually, I rarely exercise, LOL) so we felt rather sluggish after breakfast. We decided that the best way to get our exercise in before going to the flea food market was to walk around Williamsburg and truly see the sights. Not enough can be said about the atmosphere that is Brooklyn. It definitely has that "down-to-earth" vibe that you won't get if you lived in the city.

For lunch we decided to play light and grabbed some juice at Grass Roots. I opted for something healthier--organic green juice filled with celery, romaine,cucumber, parsley, spinach, kale, and a dash of apple to sweeten.










This is the end of the part one of my Brooklyn trip! Part two will be filled with tons of unhealthy delicious snacking at Smorgasburg! :) You've been forewarned!

I am a self-proclaimed smell-aholic. Yes, I am one of those freaks that loves lingering next to the washing machine after doing my laundry and sniffing the hell out of my newly washed clothes. There's something very oddly calming about taking a good whiff of a delightful scent. I just basically have a nose of a dog... -_-. Anyways, I recently took a small trip to Saks Fifth Avenue the other day and spotted the Jo Malone counter. Rather, my nose actually smelt something beautiful and I suddenly felt my body float and then it drifting towards the spot that just happened to be that counter.

The two scents I picked up: Blackberry & Bay and English Pear & Freesia.





Now Jo Malone was never on my hit list until these past 2-3 months. It's either I've been watching too much Youtube or I've just been craving to add more diverse scents into my collection (perhaps a little bit both). My current perfume collection centers around rather floral and sweet scents (example: Marc Jacobs' Honey or Chanel's Chance) so I thought a change was very very necessary. Both of these colognes (not for men only, FYI) are brilliantly blended in certain notes that work so well together to create one of the best fruity scents to have graced my nostrils. I decided to go for something rather fruity because I do not have anything like these two beauties in my life. It's also a plus that these bottles are not over the top like a few perfume designs. These would be great centerpieces as decorations for your bookshelf if you are going for a minimalistic approach. Based on the Jo Malone's website, these are the cologne descriptions:

• English Pear & Freesia - The essence of autumn. The sensuous freshness of just-ripe pears is wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias, and mellowed by amber, patchouli and woods. Luscious and go…
• Notes: King William pear, freesia, and patchouli (no idea what the hell this is!)
• Blackberry & Bay - Childhood memories of blackberry picking...A burst of deep, tart blackberry juice, blending with the freshness of just-gathered bay and brambly woods. Vibrant and verdant.
• Notes: Blackberry, bay leaves, and cedarwood