TMI Tag for a BLOG RELAUNCH + REVAMP

Hello, lovely readers! I'm hopefully back from my long hiatus for as long as I can bring content to the table. School's out, and I've drawn-out some new plans for my virtual life:

• THIS blog will strictly hold lifestyle posts. Everything from favorite makeup and snacks, to recipes I try,  to treasures I find in my life and/or in my city.
• THIS blog is my newest blog. It'll house all my art and writings. I'll collect everything I can into one space, including haikus not posted to my Instagram. I'll even dig back into the archives of old Tumblr posts and the writings I've sprawled on the sides of notebooks, or on my phone's note app.
• Coming soon will be a link to the website I built that houses all the links and "about me" content you'll ever need. It'll be the main hub to navigate all my sites.

Now I know it's been awhile since I've told you guys any type of basics about myself, so here's half of the TMI tag!

1: What are you wearing? PJs currently... Getting ish DONE.

2: Ever been in love? Yeah, I have in the past.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup? Hmm, nothing too dramatic. All exes except one has made some type of neutral contact with me.

4: How tall are you? 5'1

5: How much do you weigh? About 120 lbs

6: Any tattoos? Just one along my side, but I definitely am ready for more!

7: Any piercings? Yup! Eight currently: both lobes stretched to 9/16ths (14mm), secondary lobe piercing in my right ear, a helix and conch piercing in my left ear, navel piercing, tongue web piercing, septum hole (need to get jewelry to put in it again), and a nostril piercing.

8: OTP (One True Pairing): Ahaha... I dunno!

9: Favorite show: Regular Show, Parks and Recreation, Bob's Burgers, BoJack Horseman, Hey Arnold, Regular Show, Amazing World of Gumball, Rocket Power, Rugrats, and Breaking Bad.

10: Favorite bands: White Rabbits, Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse, and Two Door Cinnema Club... off the top of my head.

11: Something you miss: Summer days.

12: Favorite song: Currently? Still Winner's I'm Him, and Exo's Overdose. Both kpop songs.

13: How old are you? 23

14: Zodiac sign: Leo

15: Quality you look for in a partner: humble

16: Favorite Quote: "The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth." - Kate Chopin, The Awakening (The first book I read that opened my eyes to the trials of being yourself and going against the grain of society)

17: Favorite actor: Um. Let's say Adrien Brody (I automatically thought of The Pianist)

18: Favorite color: black, charcoal grey, and oatmeal

19: Loud music or soft? Loud music, always.

20: Where do you go when you're sad? I'm usually confined to a notebook or keyboard when I'm sad.

21: How long does it take you to shower? About 15 minutes.

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? I'd say two hours, because it takes me a good 45 minutes just to get my motor movement going at a normal pace. Haha!

23: Ever been in a physical fight? Nope!

24: Turn on: Attentiveness

25: Turn off: Boastfulness

As I said, this is only half! The other half can be found on my newest blog, The Glass Noodle! It'll be the introduction to that blog's existence. Enjoy and please feel free to leave feedback!

See you soon and Happy New Year!

Pride Rock-Worthy Purchases

I am so serious when I say that these two items have changed the makeup game for me immensely. They deserve to be held over Pride Rock. Screw Simba.

.... So serious.

After you've tried really hard to do something right and it only comes out subpar, you feel pretty defeated, right? Well, it's the same situation with makeup. Try and try and your makeup's only "good enough." I know it just made me feel like I had no control over my face. Can I not use brushes and paints? Apparently not.

But low-and-behold, I dropped by Sephora and latched on to the first worker to acknowledge me. She sat me down and put a full face of makeup on me. The techniques she showed me should've been very obvious, but were mind-blowing "do'h!" moments all the same.

The type of brush you use makes ALL the difference. Size, shape, texture, and all. She also showed me what color I needed to cancel-out dark blemishes. It was all so helpful, and refueled the artistic side of me.

So in the midst of choking on the prices I saw at Sephora, I took my rookie butt to Target and picked up two $3 E.L.F. brushes: a small stippling brush for that airbrush foundation effect, and a small concealer brush that tapered at its tip. It helps to have more control and a better airy effect for the concealer you apply.

All I needed was foundation.

Now, all my sistas out there will know what I'm talking about when I say that it is one of the biggest hunts to find a foundation that matches our shade exactly. It's one thing to have to mix a little for when our faces tan in the summer, but just finding that initial foundation that doesn't make you look chalky or orange? That's a feat.

So I got to a point where I was mixing three or four products and just hoping for the best. Trusty Walgreens let me play around with the few darker-hued foundations they sold with their swift and easy return policy, but to no avail. I soon realized that I might've had to take the plunge and try one of Queen Latifah's foundations at Walmart. I secretly pumped damaged bottles that looked about my shade, and looked at the results in a compact mirror. In a hurry, I chose what I thought would be best.

AND IT WAS PERFECT!

The foundation above is the perfect shade, texture, etc! I love it! Actually, the photos of me on my new website and art blog have no filter, and I'm wearing that foundation. I've found Cinderella's Slipper, y'all! My color is Classic Bronze, in case you feel you might match me.

The second and last product will have a shorter story, but don't let that fool you! Its greatness deserves a novel in all honesty.

The eyeliner I currently use had started to dry out, and the brush that came with the gel liner was too risky: there was a 50-50 percent chance that I'd butcher my eyeliner due to that brush. Annoying. So I looked on YouTube and everyone swore by Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Troop. Picked it up at Sephora for $18, and thought it was a bit pricey... Until I used it.

Oh. My. Gosh.

It was everything right! It's very opaque, the brush-like tip never loses its shape, it's long-lasting (both the lifetime of the product and its daily wear), and dries as soon as it touches your lid. No more worrying about keeping your eyes closed to let the liquid dry!

It's glorious, and I think every woman with eyeliner issues should invest in it! I've heard it lasted some people six months when used everyday! Doooo iiiit!

A bit of a ramble, but I hope you enjoyed!