M U S I C // Lights | Little Machines Tour

I've listened to lights for at least 5-6 years now. I think the last time I saw her was in 2009, or maybe 2010. It was 2010! I just looked it up. She toured with Owl City and so I had intended to see Owl City but I ended up being super pumped about Lights. I loved The Listening. It was my first introduction to electro-pop and it was such a new genre for me I was so entranced by it. Anyway, I remember waiting in line for that tour at the Nokia theater since about 2pm. I was probably the 6th or 7th person in line. Mind you this was my first attempt to wait for the front of the stage, so I was totally new at it. The worse part about doing this is the waiting. Some people live for this but personally I'd rather go when I feel like it or buy seats to enjoy the show. She was fantastic but during this era of her life, she sang really nasal-y. like almost not real. I'm not sure if that's what she was going for during that time since the songs were more electronic sounding rather than using organic instruments, so that could be why. She definitely could sing normally so I was confused as to why she did that. Either way she sounded good. She was going through the set as she normally did and then some asshole yelled "Valerie!" Something switched in her and she literally walked off the stage after the last song. It was awkward and I didn't know if she had finished her set.

Fast forward a couple years later, I got into 'Toes' and 'Banner', but the Siberia album didn't really stick with me. Until now. Plus every time I went to check whether she was playing, I had literally missed her playing in LA by a few days. I actually got into the Little Machines album and then started going back to the Siberia album. There are some songs I like, but I'd have to say Little Machines is by far her best work. It's beautiful and honest, and it just makes you feel so dang good. So seeing this album in tour was a must for me. This is my second time seeing her, and I must say it seems like she's in a much better place in her life and she's so much more lively. Well at least compared to the last time I saw her. Anyway, I think her singing got better and her stage presence is magnetic. I think it's best to see your favorite musicians in little venues. It's definitely more intimate and she can actually see you from the stage. She had quite a few conversations with the crowd and someone was able to give her a gift. (I mean they do it at Gaga shows, but they have to throw it on stage and run the risk of getting kicked out.) So that was awesome to see. I literally missed touching her hand because I wanted to get it on film. Geez. and then I didn't even capture her in front of me. Sad day. But it was a great show so I guess I can't complain!

Check out my video of her performance.



Buy album: Little Machines

B E A U T Y // I just discovered I have 'Hooded Eyes'

So I recently discovered what my eyebrow shape is called. For those who knew and didn't tell me, shame on you. For those who didn't know either, it's okay! We can work through this together!

I've been doing a bunch of research on what hooded eyes were, these particular videos stuck out to me. I feel a little bit better knowing that this isn't only an asian trait and that other races have this eye feature as well. 

Everything she says in this video, I'm like omg I'm doing it all wrong. I wonder if my eyes look droopy or bad. I've been misled my whole life thinking that shimmery eyeshadow was the way to go. I mean recently I've liked matte eyeshadow because I feel it's more sophisticated but now I realize it would have helped my eye look a lot. I seriously just want to throw out all my make-up because I think there are only a few of them that are actually matte. 

I liked what Wayne said about lifting the eye with the "straight line" trick. I think I might have over done mine but at least in this thumbnail picture there's shimmery eyeshadow on the "mobile lid" with darker/matte shades creating the straight line. I would argue that this eye is not as 'hooded' but it could also just be the make up? I have no idea! So many options that I didn't know were possible before! I gave this technique a go and don't know how I feel about it. I might have done it wrong but who knows? 

In the end, it really doesn't matter how your make up looks, as long as it makes you feel good and you feel confident rocking it. Just thought I'd let you know. :)

C L I M B // Tips for your first time Bouldering outdoors!

I've gone bouldering in Hanger 19 and have done "rock climbing" on those climbing walls they have at like festivals and stuff. Truthfully, I have no upper arm strength and do everything I can to build it, but this sport requires a full body workout. No joke. I didn't rely on my legs as much as I should have and forced myself to use my upper body because I was scared shitless of falling and bleeding. I absolutely hate injuries (cuts/scrapes/bruises/you name it) so choosing to partake in this sport outside was less of my brighter ideas. I love the idea of being outdoors and would absolutely do it again. I just need to get over the fear of falling and trust that my body is strong.

It's really hard to get past the idea of being a cramped ass shoe. I don't know how people do it. I originally brought sneakers to go hiking but realistically I would have been happy in sandals. Then again we went during the summer in 100+ weather so of course that sounds like a better idea. I'm sure when Climbing Season comes I'll be more prepared. I love the cold and being able to do this during this season sounds so appealing to me.

Tips:
1. Use whole body.
2. Trust your feet.
3. Use chalk (I have an abnormal fear of chalk so getting past this is a struggle for me).
4. Don't be ashamed to use the vb and v0 climbs. That's all I did all day.
5. If you don't get it the first time, try it again.
6. CUT YOUR FINGER NAILS AND TOE NAILS. (the scraping sounds kill me when I hear it and your feet are gonna be squished into a tiny shoe.
7. Wear movable clothing, but not too lose. Thick sweat pants would probably not help you in this situation.
8. Wear hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen! Protect your eyes and skin!
9. Buy a guide book. It would be pretty silly to not know where your going and helpful to know which routes to climb.
10. Climb in the shade when possible, especially during the summer.
11. HYDRATE
12. Protein up!
13. YOU SHOULD HAVE A CRASH PAD! Dang that sucker really helped me out. We only had one, so I'm sure having multiple would be beneficial.
14. Don't be arrogant. No matter how good you think you are, you need someone to spot you and you should always use that crash pad.
15. Take off climbing shoes between climbs. Your feet will thank you later.
16. Be that awesome person and take pictures for someone else and hopefully they will return the favor.

H A I R // Wigs versus Hair Dye | PowderRoomD Review

I've recently invested in buying wigs since I constantly dye my hair and I thought my hair might fry out so I'll probably need to buy wigs anyway. I bought a Mint and Pink one.

Photo Courtesy of PowderRoomD

Photo Courtesy of PowderRoomD

Now that I own them, I feel there's another host of things you need to do to prep your hair just to wear a wig. I feel like I might as well just dye my hair again (which I planned to anyway). I definitely feel like I can only wear certain wigs during certain hair phases. For instance, right now my roots are going out, so clearly my black hairs are showing. I bought a wig with black roots so it's easier to blend it in with my own hair. I also bought a pink wig without black roots, so I'll probably have to bleach my hair so it doesn't show underneath.

I've also read you have to buy wig tape/glue so your wig stays in place. So I'll probably have to purchase that as well is multiple wig caps because apparently they get stretched out and you'll have to replace it. So whoopee. I know, I'm so enthusiastic these days. I feel I have to work harder to style them cause I think I look funny in them. They are beautiful pieces and I guess it'll just take practice to get used to wearing them and styling them but hopefully it will work out because these babies were expensive! I think this particular pink wig I bought is quite heavy. Unfortunately they don't part as well as I thought they would and I look super funny with the hair being blown back. I should have requested a side part so it looked more natural, but I was already putting out a lot of money just to buy the wig, so I figured I'd suck it up and just get it as is. I'll figure it out eventually. :)

Obviously you get the benefit of not having to retouch the color or washing it (although I think you can wash wigs). So the fading colors is not an issue. I love that I can constantly change my hair color so I like dying my hair because I can do whatever I want with it. But I think having the wig is great too so that way I have perfect hair whenever I want. So I guess it's really a matter of preference.

I bought my wigs from http://www.powderroomd.com and I've also considered buying them from this guy on Instagram https://instagram.com/jamesthegemini/.
PowderRoomD had a sale so I bought those wigs on impulse so it's really a matter of shopping around to get what you want. Good luck!

Must haves for wearing wigs:

L I V I N G // Being a New Homeowner is Hard

Holy geez it's been over a week since I last posted! I was hoping to do a blog every other day, but I guess this will have to do.

The topic today is being a new homeowner. I never imagined owning my own home or getting into this until I was in my 30s, but here I am still in my 20s and I'm experiencing what it's like to own a new home and going through all the issues that a homeowner might encounter. And I don't even actually own the home. I just hear of the struggles.

Rent/Mortgage Payment: Geez louise. Living in California, finding an affordable place to stay is nearly impossible for someone my age. First off, the minimum wage cannot even allow you to afford a new home, let alone rent for an apartment. I have family who live in other states that can afford buying their own home that would allow them to live in a place without having other people renting the rooms to lower the cost of rent with minimum wage to sustain them. Even with a full-time job in Vegas, you literally have to live pay check to paycheck unless you have a roommate or money saved up to invest in a down payment and stashed up for upcoming payments.

Utilities: I've never really paid my own bills, except for my credit card so knowing I'll have to pay for electricity, gas, water, trash, etc. is overwhelming. I haven't even received my bills yet, but I've literally been doing every precaution I can to help conserve energy/water. I hardly ever get my AC lower than 79 degrees. I tend to stay downstairs where it's cooler (since heat travels up), thus uses less AC. My current place has less square footage to it covers a lot of ground fairly quickly and cools down fast as well. I try to stay in darker parts of the home to keep cool and so far it's working for me. I've literally taken old boiled water and reused it for washing my hands. I know it sounds so cheap but I think you'll understand my weird habits.

Security: I think with every location, you'll be wary of your surroundings. I've just installed a home security system and I have no idea if the cost I invested was worth the money. $54.99/mo for an alarm system seems a bit pricey and I don't know how to go about lowering it since it's on a five year agreement. Brilliant right? And that was to lock in the price which supposedly other competitors will raise their prices by 5%. Who knows. These are sales people we're dealing with.

Internet: I just got the internet installed and it's such a relief to have it. I don't plan on buying cable because majority of the things I watch are through the internet except for Pretty Little Liars and I'm sure I could buy that through amazon or wait for it to come on Netflix. Cheap right? Whatever, I don't care. It's pretty pricey out in Vegas since the competitors aren't out here and it's a developing area. Like wtf is that. $80 for internet. Sheesh. I think it's like $50 in Cali but I guess it's a tradeoff since the homes are cheaper out here.

So far those are the things I've encountered and I'm sure there are more to come. The actual bills haven't come in yet, so I'm bracing myself for those actual costs. Hopefully it won't be too strenuous.

T R A V A L // 2 (and a half) Reasons Why you should check out Disneyland's 60th Birthday

1. The new shows are awesome!

I didn't get to see the firework show but I've been told that it was good as well. But between Paint the Night and the World of Color show, I would say Paint the Night should be seen over World of Color. Personally, I like the original World of Color the most be that seriously pulls my heartstrings but this definitely has some appeal as well. Paint the Night is so beautiful and the song choice fits perfectly. I absolutely love the Electrical Light Parade so this definitely pays homage to it and might even outshine the original. The only thing that was really weird for me was Belle's massive dress which they tried to imitate from the Blue Fairy float in the Electrical Parade. They could have done without that because it looked weird and I simply just didn't like it. But everything else was awesome and beautiful! The second show is a lot easier to get seating, so I'd advise going to the second one.

2. It's a once in a life time event!

Yeah I get that Disneyland will always be there, but the specifics of it will never exist again (at least to my knowledge). I don't know if they'll keep the Paint the Night Parade past this year or what will become of it. I would image that they would still use at least the parade because of the amount of engineering and physical pieces that go into a parade rather than a firework show or World of Color. If anything, World of Color, Paint the Night, and the fireworks show are the only things need to be seen and that's all that really matters. The Diamond decorations look pretty cheap look compared to their Halloween/Christmas decorations, like it was the last thing they did when preparing for the Diamond celebration. However, there is constantly new merchandise coming out but I am not sure whether once it's sold out they will replace it. So my tip for most things I buy, if you see something you like, buy it then. You never know if it will be there when you come back.

I really felt like this had 3 reasons but as I'm writing this blog entry, this only came up to two. Well hopefully this gives you enough inventive to check it out and if not find someone who can get you in (employees who work there).

Aside from that, the distinctions between Disneyland and CA Adventure have never been more apparent. I guess this is because this was the first time I actually went to CA Adventure and saw the amount of alcoholic availability there was across the park. I'm not sure if alcohol is served at Mad Tea Party before the shows start, but it's available there as well as Cove Bar and Down in Pacific Wharf. Obviously most of the 60th decorations are in Disneyland since it is celebrating Disneyland but there seemed to be an absence of decorations. If you want to escape the Disneyland crowd, head over to CA Adventure.

B E A U T Y // Urban Decay | 24/7 Glide On Lip Pencil Primer Review

This product claims "Get primed and ready for action. Urban Decay's long-lasting, waterproof liner glides on smoothly to prime AND define—for long-lasting lip color and clean lines. Smooch. Pout. Smack. Nibble. Lick. 24/7 stays put through everything (yes, EVERYTHING) you do. When you use this liner to fill in your lips completely, it primes them for lipstick or gloss, grabbing on to color to help it last. 

Next, finish the bad girl beautiful look with a sample of Urban Decay's brand new Revolution High-Color Lipgloss—insanely intense color with high shine. The high-coverage, ultra-pigmented formula lays down all the color you crave in one coat. 

This lippie is also laced with Hilurlip™, which defines and hydrates lips while making them look plumper and fuller." (Source: Ipsy).

No I did not get what the product claims above. I had worn the primer with a different brand of lipstick, although I don't think that should effect the longevity of the primer. I used Rimmel London after applying the Lip Primer, and yup, it still came off after eating (and it says it'll stay put through everything....). I'll give this product another try but I doubt I would actually go out to buy it because it didn't work for that one instance I try it. Check out the video below where I did an actual test.