Category Archives: Lists
January 24, 2013 Beauty resolutions + GIVEAWAY!
Okay, so I talked about some of my new hopes and wishes for the new year, now I want to be a little bit more specific and talk about my new year’s resolutions in terms of beauty and skincare. More and more I’m starting to realize the importance of taking care of my skin, especially considering now is probably the best it’ll ever look (a bit depressing, isn’t it). Anyway, here are some of the things I’m starting to add to my routine this year.
1. Moisturize better.
This encompasses several things. A couple of years ago, I never even bothered to moisturize my face at night, only in the morning. But my skin gets quite dry overnight, so I started using the same moisturizer I use during the day (L’Oreal Active Daily Moisture Lotion, it’s discontinued but still available from Drugstore.com) at night. However, I learned recently that I need to use something different at night. Why? Because my daytime moisturizer has SPF, and it turns out that your skin needs a break from the sunscreen ingredients and it’s better to not wear it all the time. So I got a different night moisturizer (this one) and have been using it religiously.
Speaking of moisturizers with SPF, it’s important to not only use them on your face, but also your neck. So that’s what I started doing. Think about it, your neck is just as exposed to the sun and the skin there is thin and delicate, and that’s often where you see the signs of aging first. I’m also starting to use sun protection on my hands for the same reason.
2. Clean my face better.
This also includes several things. I’ve thought about getting a Clarisonic brush but I just can’t bring myself to spend that much money on it. So I got this little brush instead. It’s only $1 and I was amazed at what it can do! It’s the same type as Lindy of Bubzbeauty uses, and it works great! My face feels so smooth and I’ve been getting fewer pimples since I started using it.
Another thing I started doing is using a toner after I wash my face. I got this one since it was really cheap and 100% natural, and it’s been great. The witch hazel smell took a little getting used to but now it doesn’t bother me at all. (Also you can see how much I love Drugstore.com! It’s awesome. Try it.)
Oh! Another thing I started doing is to let my face air dry after I wash it. Not that there’s anything wrong with towel drying, but I learned that you really should only use face towels once before you need to wash it, otherwise bacteria and other gunk can build up. It’s really inconvenient and not very environmentally friendly to do that, so now I’m trying to change my routine and wash my face before I brush my teeth. By the time I’m done brushing my teeth, my face is pretty much dry. This is great in the morning especially, because the evaporating water cools my face and wakes me up!
3. Take care of my nails and make them look good!
I never even used to do my nails at all until about a year ago. Now I’m addicted! I love taking time out of the day to pamper myself and make my nails look pretty. I finally invested in some more tools and products (a good nail file, base coat, top coat, and nail polish remover) so I can do my own manicures at home. It’s a simple way to make me feel put together and polished (Ha! Bad pun, sorry) every day.
Now it’s your turn! Do you have any beauty and skincare related resolutions or tips? Share them in the comments because I want to know and also because you get a chance to win! Win what? This awesome little beauty pack! One lucky commenter will get:
2 mini bottles of nail polish from e.l.f. in black and nude
A brow kit in dark from e.l.f. (this is a personal favorite!)
NYX eyeshadow in Baby Pink Pearl
A mini bottle of 100% argan oil from Josie Maran
A booklet of highlighter paper from Mai Couture
A small can of hairspray from Sexy Hair
A white ginger massage soap bar from Portico Spa
An eyeliner brush from Soho Beauty
…And everything comes in this cute little makeup bag!
So again, the rules:
- To enter, leave a comment letting me know your beauty/skincare resolutions and/or any beauty tips and tricks.
- Make sure to leave your email when you comment so I can contact you if you win!
- Only one entry per person.
- Giveaway ends Jan. 31 at midnight PST.
- The winner will be randomly chosen the following week.
- This giveaway is for residents of the US only.
Good luck and stay beautiful! :)
Tags: beauty, giveaways, makeup, nails, resolutions, skincare
- 10 comments
- Posted under Beauty, Lists
January 5, 2013 Happy 2013!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is having a good start to the new year! I was quite busy the past 2 weeks teaching SAT classes over winter break, so I haven’t had the chance to write new blog posts. Thank goodness that’s over now (today was the last day I am going to get up at 7am in a very long time).
My Christmas and new year were great! For the first time in over 4 years, I was finally able to spend the holidays with Yufei as well as my family, so that was wonderful. Here I will are some of the photos of the various holidays events.
This was at Twitter’s annual holiday party back in mid-December. It was San Francisco-themed and the space was set up with structures and booths representing different neighborhoods and places in SF. For example, the entrance was set up like the Golden Gate Bridge, and the ramps up to the stage looked like Lombard Street. The food stations were also neighborhood-themed, like this Chinatown one, which served up dumpling, ribs, and noodle salad. I thought the whole set up was really cute and creative!
A professional photo taken at the party.
They also had a photobooth!! So much fun!
Pretty holidays lights in Pacific Heights, aka the neighborhood of mansions of epic proportions that I dream of living in some day.
SF City Hall all lit up.
Not really holiday related, but Yufei and I went to Oakland for a night on Dec. 30, and we had this amazing view of SF from our hotel window. Doesn’t it look dreamy?
In Jack London Square in Oakland.
Christmas tree in Jack London Square.
New Year’s Eve. We went down to the bay to watch the fireworks and ring in the new year.
Looking back, 2012 has been quite a year for me. In no particular order, these are some of the biggest things that happened in the past 12 months:
- I graduated magna cum laude from Columbia.
- I moved across the country to SF and began living with Yufei.
- I aced my DAT, went through the dental school application process, and got accepted to some amazing schools!
- I traveled to many new places, including the US Virgin Islands and Las Vegas.
And just for fun, I looked up my new year’s post from last year to see how I did on my resolutions for 2012. Well, here’s the verdict:
1. To lose weight and stay healthy.
Well, I think I did ok. I kind of slacked off during the middle of the year but picked it up again in the winter. Definitely still need to work on it.
2. To take control of my finances.
I think I did pretty well on this one. I opened a savings account after I got a job in SF, and I even spent a whole month without shopping online (!!!).
3. To make an effort to dress up nicely everyday.
Ugh, total fail on this after moving to SF. Like I explained in this post, there have been some obstacles to dressing nicely since the move. But yesterday one of my students said that I looked “very New York”, which was encouraging!
4. To make the most out of my last semester in college.
Achieved! My last semester in college was awesome. Wish I could go back sometimes.
5. To keep a positive outlook, no matter where life takes me.
I think I have gotten a lot better at this actually. I read this advice last year and simple as it sounds, it actually works for me.
Looking forward to 2013, there are of course things that I want to accomplish. They’re not really resolutions per se, but just things that I hope to do. Here are a few of them:
- Work out more! I finally found something that works for me so I’m going to try to keep it up.
- Travel more! Especially since I will be starting dental school in the fall and won’t really have time to travel. So before school begins there will be one epic trip and many small trips to new and exciting places.
- Learn to play the ukelele. I’ve always wanted to learn an instrument and I love the sound of the ukelele. Yufei got me one for Christmas (along with a shiny new website) so I’m going to learn to play it.
- Learn to drive and get my driver’s license. Because it’s about time and I’m tired of the nagging from Yufei and my parents.
- Save up $10k for dental school. 65% there so far.
- Start dental school, do well, and make new friends!
2013 is going to be an awesome year, I can feel it! What are some of your biggest events/accomplishments in 2012? What are you looking forward to in 2013? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
Tags: fitness, health, resolutions
April 15, 2012 How to Dress Like Robin Scherbatsky from HIMYM
I realized that many of the search terms that lead to my blog the most have to do with the style choices of a certain Robin Scherbatsky, so I decided to dedicate a post to it. Here I gathered the websites that I use to find where certain pieces worn by Robin came from, and I hope you find it helpful!
1. Worn on TV
A relatively new site that identifies stuff from Robin (and Lily) from mainly this past season (season 7). I love that they not only give you an exact match, but also similar, less expensive styles.
2. CelebStyle
Kind of the opposite of #1, this site only has stuff from older seasons. But it gives exact matches for entire outfits!
3. Coolspotters
Gives you exact product matches as well. It’s a little behind on the updating, but it might be helpful to check the page for Cobie Smulders (here) as well since sometimes they’ll have stuff on that page that’s not on the Robin one.
Search for “Cobie Smulders” or “HIMYM” in the search box and you will get quite a few posts dedicated to finding both exact matches and similar looks from Robin. You can also send in requests!
Fan-powered page for identifying clothes worn on the show (goes all the way back to season 1!). You can also post requests.
And there you have it! My secret’s out! I personally love the sites where they give you similar looks, because all the stuff they actually wear on the show are usually super pricey. Have fun dressing like Robin!
Tags: fashion, himym, style stealer, tv
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- Posted under Entertainment, Fashion, Lists
December 31, 2011 Happy New Year!
Happy New Year’s Eve!! I guess I just can’t stay away from this blog after all, haha. 2011 sure went by fast, didn’t it? How did it go for everybody? It was a pretty big year year for me: I traveled to many new places, celebrated 3 years together with Yufei, turned old enough to feel old at Forever 21, and perhaps most importantly, finally worked out a rough post-gradation plan! But 2012 is going to be even more monumental, with graduation and all that stuff. I have lots of hopes and dreams as well as worries and concerns for 2012, but most of all I’m really EXCITED to be moving on to the next stage in my life. So, new year’s resolutions? Why yes of course, I’ve got quite a few:
1. To lose weight and stay healthy. Ha, probably the most cliched of all resolutions, but it has to be made. I was super busy and stressed out last semester, and as a result didn’t work out very much and didn’t eat very well, and so as a result I gained a few pounds. My favorite pair of jeans are feeling a little too tight! This is definitely a sign that I need to lose a few. So, in the new year, I will eat healthier and exercise more. I’m taking Pilates next semester, so hopefully that’ll help!
2. To take control of my finances. Well, what little finances I have anyways. The first step is to find a new part-time job, since my current job is ending next month. And a sub-point to this resolutions:
2.a. To spend less money shopping. This is going to be really hard for me, because I love shopping and clothes and shoes and makeup and… sigh. But it’s getting to the point where it’s becoming a problem. So I’m going to give myself only $30 a month on shopping, and if I want to buy something more expensive one month, I’m going to have to give up the next month. Hopefully this is going to make me think twice about impulse buys (so guilty of this). And I’m going to purge my closet again when I get back to NYC, as well as take some of my existing clothes and shoes to the tailor/cobbler, to get more life out of them. I think it’s going to be a fun challenge to get more creative with the clothes I already have!
3. To make an effort to dress up nicely everyday. I’m already moving towards that direction, so this won’t be too hard. But I still have my off-days; I felt so yucky when I wore my sweatpants out during finals last semester that it just threw off my whole day. I feel so much more confident and productive when I look nice, even when I’m not going anywhere.
4. To make the most out of my last semester in college. Finally for one semester, all my classes genuinely interest me, and my schedule’s not too tight that I can still have fun! I’m going to enjoy my last few months at Columbia (and NYC) as much as possible.
5. To keep a positive outlook, no matter where life takes me. There’s going to be a lot of big changes in 2012, and I know that I’m going to be stressed out and worried and upset over some of them, but I want to keep in mind that no matter what happens, everything is going to be okay, life is wonderful, and I’m so lucky to be alive and surrounded by amazing family and friends.
So there you go! My resolutions for 2012! What are yours? I’ve love to hearing them!
I leave you with this lovely song from two of the most adorable and perfect human beings ever, Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Here’s to a happy, healthy, wonderful new year!
Tags: college, fashion, fitness, health, music, resolutions, shopping, videos
- 2 comments
- Posted under College, Future, Lists
September 17, 2011 TIFAS: How to take notes effectively
Alright, time for some concrete advice for this week’s Take it from a Senior. You’re in college, you go to your classes (at least for the the first few weeks), you sit there in your seat and listen (unless it’s a 9am lecture), and most likely you will be taking notes. But how should you do it? Each student has his/her own methods, but here are some general guidelines that might help you take better notes.
First things first, your note-taking strategies will depend on the type of class you’re in. Here are a few ways to take your notes and what kind of class they work best for.
1. The standard notebook. You know, the spiral-bound kind, probably with your school logo on the front. This works for pretty much anything, but if your class tend to have lots of hand-outs and such, consider #2.
2. The binder. This works great just like the notebook, but with the added bonus of organizing loose hand-outs, quizzes, old exams that are given back to you, etc. It’s an excellent way to keep all the materials for a class organized in one place.
3. The printed PowerPoint. If your prof lectures with PowerPoint presentations, I find it best to print out the slides and bring them to class with you, and take notes directly on each slide. To save paper, I suggest printing 4 slides per one side of each sheet of paper, landscape orientation (so that the slides are bigger), and print double-sided.
4. The laptop. This works great for those classes where the prof speaks faster than you can write. Or if you want to go on Facebook during class (just kidding, don’t do that). But the downside is that if the class involves complicated diagrams, formulas, or other drawings, it’s probably not the best.
5. The recorder. If your prof talks faster than you can write OR type, it might be worth it to invest in an small electronic recorder. That way, if you miss anything, you can always play it back and listen again. You can also be a true nerd and studying by listening to the lecture while riding the subway.
Alright! Now you’ve found the best way to take notes for each of your classes. Now 2 other little tips for effective note-taking:
1. Use a 4-colored pen! This might be a habit left over from my high school biology class where the teacher demanded we use only 4-colored pens, but it really does make your notes better. More colors make your diagrams clearer, your key words and important concepts stand out, and your notes prettier in general! Plus, it’s more fun.
2. Make up your own shorthand abbreviations and symbols. You won’t have time to write down every single word in class, so don’t. And don’t just stick to conventional shorthands, make up your own! Your notes are for you, after all. For instance, I use arrows a lot, for signifying one thing leading to another, one thing becoming another, or even increase/decrease with an up or down arrow.
And there you go! Now go take some awesome notes!
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- Posted under College, Lists, TIFAS
August 29, 2011 9 reasons why I’m pumped for back to school
I haven’t been this excited about back to school probably since freshman year. Why? Here are some reasons why I can’t wait to get back on campus!
1. I’m going to be a senior!
2. Last year in New York City – time to do all those things I thought I had time to do in the Big Apple!
3. New fall clothes (fall is probably my favourite season fashion-wise)!
4. New seasons of my favourite TV shows (HIMYM, The Big Bang Theory, Community), and maybe even a couple of new shows!
5. I finally (after 3 years!) have an idea of what I want to do with my life – and I’m taking the steps to work towards that. More on this later.
6. I’m planning to take up belly dancing classes!
7. A tropical trip in November (more on that when the time comes).
8. No morning classes fall semester! I will probably be studying anyway, but still, just the idea of no morning classes is nice.
9. Even though life after graduation still looks uncertain at this point, I’m looking forward to life beyond college.
And just for fun, a few things I’m definitely NOT excited about:
1. Moving in. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
2. Spending a fortune on textbooks.
3. The inevitable crazy amount of work I will need to do.
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- Posted under College, Lists
July 29, 2011 Internship – it’s over!
So, this was pretty much my final presentation for my internship. Yeah, I drew comic panels as slides :)
1. Being a doctor can mean many different things
Throughout the summer, I shadowed many different doctors in different specialties and settings. And I realized that even though they all have the title of MD, what they do every day can be vastly different.
2. Surgery is really awesome
During my internship I observed 2 kidney transplant surgeries, a laparoscopic nephrectomy, and a coronary artery bypass surgery, and all of them were so cool to watch! I still find it amazing that we have the ability to do all these things to fix our bodies.
3. And so is tissue recovery
I had the opportunity to go on a tissue recovery case and I was so glad that I got to see it. I was completely eye opening! They recovered the heart, the aortic bifuracation vessels, the bones in the arms, the bones and tendons in the legs, and the costal cartilages. Awesome anatomy lesson!
4. Kids make everything more fun
I also shadowed 2 pediatricians at a private practice and a pediatric nephrologist at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and let me tell you, it’s a totally different environment. Much more relaxed and fun!
5. The human mind is fascinating
As a Neuroscience and Behavior major, 2 of the medical specialties I was interested in were Neurology and Psychiatry. And as I expected, I saw a lot of interesting cases. For example, I saw a lady who had conversion disorder, which means that she has neurological symptoms (slurred speech, paralysis) without any neurological cause – super interesting.
6. Dentistry is actually really cool
So as I’ve mentioned before, I spent quite a lot of time shadowing a dentist during my internship. Before now, I’d never really considered dentistry as a career option for me, but as I was browsing through the VUMC directory looking for things I was interested in, I came across dentistry and thought, hey, why not? Dr. Rezk, the dentist I shadowed, and the rest of her team, turned out to be so wonderful and informative that now I’m actually starting to look into possibly becoming a dentist!
7. I’m really lucky to be healthy
After seeing so many patients who have to take 12 different medicines day, come into the hospital because of a rejection, etc, I’m starting to appreciate what a gift it really is just to be healthy. This experience has really shown me how health really is the most fundamentally important thing in your quality of life and this has inspired me to really take care of my body.
8. There is a real sense of community in medicine
I was so happy to see that everyone I met was so nice and helpful, even though I’m just an undergrad. All of the doctors, residents, fellows, and medical students I met really welcomed me with open arms and genuinely wanted to make this a good experience for me.
9. I have a lot of options than I had thought
So before this summer, I’ve been feeling kind of bleh and constricted about a career in anything science-y. Since I’ve decided that I didn’t want to do research, I felt like my only other option was to be a doctor. But this internship exposed me to many other options that I never even considered – or knew existed. I think it was the most valuable thing I got out of the internship – the feeling that I do have choices and the renewed confidence in a career in healthcare!
Tags: career, comics, internship, medicine, pre-dental, science
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- Posted under Art/Design, Future, General, Lists, Science
