Make Up 101

I'm that girl who is kinda bad at being a girl. Make up and especially eye shadow techniques are totally over my head. While on vacation, last month, my make up savvy friend showed me the ropes.

I learned to make a "wing" using eye liner. I learned using Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper. For me a thinner wing looks best with my dark features. My friend had me practice on my hand. Applying light pressure and then increasing the pressure as you get to the outside edge of the eye creates a wing. I always thought it would really be hard, but I did it perfectly the first time.

My friend shared that you should exfoliate and moisturize your lips before putting on lip color. This helps to make the color last; it works so well!

I found my new favorite polish, Ciate, Monte Carlo on this trip too. It's a bright, glittery polish. I initially used it with a white base and a fuchsia accent finger. I've actually been searching for the polish since I tried it. I just found and ordered some this week.

My friend also opened me up to the joys of highlighter. My friend gave me Benefit, High Beam. Essentially, it helps illuminate your eye area. Here's how is should be applied (thanks, Pinterest).

I also got to try Tarte Lipsurgence Skintuitive Lip Gloss. It is really neat, according to Sephora, "This skintuitive energy shade joins tarte’s LipSurgence lip glosses for a bright lip look in your own unique shade of pink. Infused with the same pH-adjusting skintuitive technology that made tarte’s LipSurgence skintuitive lip tint a bestseller, this lip gloss is infused with rich antioxidant plant extracts that assist with smoothing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while delivering intense hydration and your own complexion-enhancing shade a pink in a sweet vanilla, glossy finish." It's different for each person which is really cool! It was a bright, cheery red on me. :) This is going on my Christmas list.

I was also introduced to Tarte's Glamazon 12-hour lip stick in Inspired. Since I learned all about eye shadow, I needed a lip color so I could better balance my look. I love this soft pink, it's perfect for everyday and especially when I'm doing a heavier eye.

My friend also introduced to me my new favorite mascara, I normally hate the stuff because it clumps, but Make Up Forever mascara in smoky extravagant is a dream. It has a unique, cone-shaped brush tip and NO clumping. It's nice and smooth.

As you can see, I learned a lot and am still experimenting. It's been a lot of fun! Next up? Figuring out contour maps. ;)

Readers from 56 Countries

I'm constantly surprised by the reach on my blog. I've had readers in 56 countries! As of July, it was 39; talk about growth! This was mainly from my blog on how to remove scuffs from tennis shoes being picked up by several international blogs. It was so cool to see hundreds of new readers a day. I'm working to keep these new readers engaged while maintaining a busy work and school schedule.

Welcome new readers are from these 16 countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia, Andorra, Denmark, Bulgaria, Sweden, Philippines, Belgium, Moldova, Algeria, Singapore, Greece, Estonia, Portugal, Kenya, and Croatia!

I've previously had readers from these 39 countries: Macedonia, United Arab Emirates, Cayman Islands, Ireland, Latvia, Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, China, Serbia, Netherlands, Venezuela, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Mongolia, France, Israel, Czech Republic, South Korea, Romania, Spain, India, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Canada, Cameroon, Slovakia, Hong Kong, and obviously the United States.

Readers, what do you most enjoy reading from me? I want to better engage you. Funny stories, how to tips, recipes, travel recaps, movie/music reviews, life stories, etc.?

My First Real Sephora Experience

While on my vacation in Virginia, I had my first real experience with Sephora. I've always been intimidated by the store and make up in general. My friend that I was visiting is an eye makeup guru, so I got lots of help. The 15 minute Sephora eye shadow class was overwhelming for a girl who generally just wears concealer and foundation every day. On a good make up day I wore eye liner, curled my lashes, and put on lip glass. I had a lot to learn, but I wanted to get better at eye make up.

First off, I loved the Urban Decay eye shadow primer, Minor Sin. I seldom wore eye shadow because I didn't know what I was doing and I hated the crease in my eye shadow that always appeared before noon and made it looked like you hadn't even tried. Even though I'm cheap, I had to get the primer. I'm happy to report that 98% of the time it doesn't crease! Here's they looked they created for me.

Next time, I'll go lighter on the liner wing.

My friend also helped me build a great palette of 6 eye shadows from Buxom: Posh Purple, Backstage Pass (darkish blue), Schmooze (tealish), Cool Cavier (a rich, medium gray), Pure Platinum (a fun sparkly silver), and Diamond Darling (a shimmer-y white). Every day of my vacation after my Sephora trip, my friend guided my through the world of eye shadow.

I finished off the trip with 2 Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencils in: Psychedelic Sister (a fun purple) and Sabbath (a medium blue). They are so smooth, I love them!

I'm definitely having a lot of fun experimenting with all my new items!

DC Nightlife: Adams Morgan

My friend and I wanted to check out the nightlife in DC, but our only night to go out was a Monday. A friend suggested the area of Dupont Circle, but said that since we were going out on a Monday, we should try the Adams Morgan area. We did and the area as a whole was pretty dead by the time we made it out around midnight. We really wanted to go out dancing, but weren't left many options. The most happening place looked to be, Madame's Organ. If I'd had any other option, I would've left immediately.

My thoughts on Madame's Organ: The place is dimly lit and looks like it should be condemned. The stairs are rickety. Three odd levels. Floor one: main bar, restaurant seating, and stage. Floor two: pool table, dangerous balcony, dance floor, and DJ booth. Not sure if you can call that small of a space a dance floor. The DJ wasn't very good and only a few, drunk people were dancing intermittently. The DJ was annoyed with my song suggestions (Pitbull and JLo) which were major improvements on what she was playing. She through a fit when I suggested the song, "Cheerleader." Apparently she prefers to not have an audience. The music was way too loud, the bartender couldn't hear my friend's drink order. The drinks were watered down. The 3rd floor had a weird rooftop bar and subpar/dirty bathrooms. A soul band played on the first floor and was pretty good. Left disappointed in the lack of dancing.

I'm planning to head back to DC and try out the nightlife again; hopefully at Dupont Circle next time.

My First Uber Experience

While on vacation in Washington DC last month, my friend and I used Uber for the first time. It was pretty easy to get setup using the app. I downloaded it, entered my credit card info, and that was it. Things to know: 1) you can see the cost estimate for your trip ahead of time, 2) you can't book your trip ahead (just when you're ready to be picked up), 3) there's no cash exchange (they charge your credit card), 4) they show you a photo of the driver and the vehicle description.

Once we put in the call for our driver, it took roughly 5 minutes for him to arrive. Our first driver looked scary. My theory is that if I don't think I could kill the person, I don't feel safe. Now would I actually kill them? No, but I think of it that way. So, we cancelled our first driver. The next one looked nice. Uber also gives you a confirmation code for the driver, to confirm that they're indeed a legit Uber driver. Also, Uber drivers display an Uber decal on their car window.

Our driver, Imron already knew where we were going since we entered that information into the app when setting up a ride. He was very nice and talkative. His car was clean and we felt at ease with him quickly. He gave us info on the area we were going to. We learned about his life and that he plans to start flipping houses full time soon. Felt like we were riding with a friend. I'm now generally more comfortable with the idea of Uber vs. a regular taxi for the most part.

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Lastly, our fare was really reasonable.I would not hesitate to book another Uber ride in the future.