Tag Archives: tips
January 16, 2012 Mascara feeling extra clumpy? This could be why (and how to fix it!)
Last week when I went to put on mascara (the Rimmel Volume Accelerator, to be exact), I was horrified to find that it was super clumpy! I’d never had a problem with it before, so I was perplexed as to why. I came to the conclusion that since I was back home in Canada and my parents keep the house absolutely frigid (it’s ok, we just put on extra sweaters), it could be affecting my mascara! So I ran the tube under hot water for about a minute, and that fixed the problem right away! I think it went on even more smoothly than before, so I might even do this every time before I put it on now. I’d never thought about the effect of temperature on makeup products before, but it totally makes sense. Hope this little trick comes in handy the next time you have problems with clumpy mascara!
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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
September 10, 2011 TIFAS: Lessons about quitting
I have a confessions to make: I almost quit my research internship in Vienna the summer after my sophomore year. I was about a month into it, and there were many reasons I wasn’t happy with the job. One particular Saturday morning (yes, I had to work weekends – one of the reasons), a co-worker took over the lab where I was supposed to work in without looking at the sign-up sheet. At the moment, it was just the last straw for me, and I broke down, took off, crying the whole way on the tram back to my dorm. Back in my room, I cried and cried. I hit my pillow in anger and frustration. I was so upset that I took out my contract and saw that that day was the last day I could quit. And I seriously considered it.
I opened up a Word document and wrote down all the reasons why I hated my internship and wanted to quit.
It had a shocking 20 items and took up the whole page. As I stared at it, tears still running down my face, I wondered what more reason I needed to leave this job. But I was always the indecisive one, so I hesitated. And when I calmed down a little more, I called my parents and Yufei and told them that I wanted to quit. I was pretty sure that none of them thought I was serious, that I was just having a bad day and would move on. So then I did what I always do when I’m uncertain: I researched the topic online. And the overwhelming opinion was that you shouldn’t quit an internship, especially in the middle of it. At this point, I was starting to doubt myself. The practical questions started to pop up: what would I do for the rest of the summer? Would I have to leave Vienna and go home? What would the other interns think of me? What about the travel plans Yufei and I already made for after my internship? Who’s going to finish my project? And so on and so forth.
In the end, I got so tired that I just went to bed. So I didn’t end up quitting, and I’m so glad I didn’t. And here’s why:
- Things did get better at work
- My final project presentation went great and I won a prize at the symposium
- I got to have some awesome experiences travelling in Europe
- My PI ended up writing me recommendation letters for future internships
- Even though my project ended up being pretty successful, I’ve come to realize that research really, really isn’t the thing for me
- And most importantly, the experience taught me that I have the ability to overcome anything. I still have the file “Why I hate my internship and want to quit” on my computer, and all of those things on it still hold true. But now I know that if I got through such a difficult and miserable time, I can get through anything.
I’m not trying to tell you to never quit. Heck, giving up is probably harder than holding on. But there are some takeaways from my story:
1. Never make big decisions when you’re extremely emotional. I’m so glad I didn’t let my emotions get the best of me and make a rash decision to quit. Take some time to calm down and regain your ability to think rationally before making the decision.
2. Think through the consequences of quitting. And not just the consequences you would face, but also how it would affect others. Not only in the present time, but also down the road. Think about the things you could be losing if you quit.
3. Talk it out and write it out. Talking with my loved ones and writing that list really allowed me to vent a lot of my anger. Your friends and family might offer a fresh perspective on things too.
These lessons about quitting apply no matter if you’re thinking about quitting a job, leaving a relationship, giving up on a career path, or changing a major. So think carefully before you decide to give up on something, especially something big, even if it doesn’t seem big at the time. But of course, if after careful consideration, you come to the conclusion that it really is time to move on, then at least you can be assured that you’ve thought it through and made the right choice.
Tags: confessions, internship, research, science, tifas, tips, vienna
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September 1, 2011 TIFAS: Study or intern abroad if you have the chance
Welcome to the first edition of Take it from a Senior!
What’s the overwhelming number one regret people have in college? Not studying abroad! Don’t believe me? Just ask around. It’s a fact. So if you have the chance to study abroad, go for it!
Going abroad can be a wonderful opportunity for learning and growing. Maybe you’ve always wanted to live by yourself in a completely new place. Maybe you’ve been itching to practice the foreign language that you’ve been studying for years in the classroom. Whatever the reason, if the thought has crossed your mind at all and if you have the means, do it. Sure, there may be things that hold you back, like not wanting to leave your friends, or a relationship, but honestly, it will be worth it, and if those relationships you have at home are strong and true, a semester or year away won’t hurt at all. You get to experience a different culture, travel around, make new friends, all while in college and earning credits. What’s there not to like?
But what if you have a demanding major and don’t have the time to study abroad? This is what happened to me. With a major, a concentration, the pre-health requirements, and the Core, my schedule was packed every single semester. But you know what? I still found time to go abroad – in the summer! A lot of students don’t realize that there are tons of opportunities to take summer classes, do internships, or get summer jobs in a different country. You just have to look. I went to Vienna for 2 months after my sophomore year to do a research internship, and despite some challenges, it was one of the best things I did during college. I have another friend who went to Australia in the summer to do research on the platypus! How cool is that? So opportunities for going abroad during the summer definitely exist, and they are worth looking into.
So there you go. Take it from a senior: don’t let this become one of your college regrets – go abroad!
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August 24, 2011 New weekly feature: Take it from a senior (TIFAS)
So school is starting again soon, and for me, this will be my last year at Columbia. Yes, I’m going to be a senior! It’s hard to believe that just 3 years ago, I was an excited freshman in NYC, eager to embark on this journey called college. Back then, I had no idea of the kind of things I would learn, the experiences I would have, the people I would meet… But looking back, I think I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons and realized a lot of hard truths. I’m not claiming to know it all now, because trust me, I am still trying to figure life out, but my experiences in the past 3 years have taught me so much. So I’ve decided to create a new weekly feature on my blog this year called Take it from a senior (TIFAS), where I will share the little nuggets of wisdom and advice from my own personal experience. I hope that this will serve both as a reminder for myself of how far I’ve come and all the obstacles I’ve overcome, as well as useful advice to those readers who are just starting college or are in the middle of it. Look for the first post next week!
August 22, 2011 Eyeliner for Asian eyes
This is the long-awaited follow-up post to my previous post on make-up for Asian eyelashes! A couple of readers wanted to know how I do eyeliner and eye shadow, so here it goes for eyeliner. I guess this isn’t really specifically targeted at Asian eyes, but as someone who does have Asian eyes this is how I do things.
Ok, so first let’s talk about the actual eyeliner pens/pencils. Here are a few that I use the most:
I’ll just go over them now and talk about how I use them later.
The first 2 are the CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner. I’ve only ever used the plum and black color, and they are very different. The black goes on a lot smoother and darker but also smudges very easily, and the plum is more subtle and doesn’t smudge as much. And you don’t have to sharpen these – big plus!
The third one down is my favorite liner ever – it’s by MAC but I got it in China. It’s a liquid liner pen. It looks and feels like a very fine felt tipped pen and it’s so easy to use. I believe it’s the Penultimate Eye Liner, but I’d have to try it and see if it’s the same. I love liquid liner pens because they create precise, sharp looking lines and don’t smudge!
The fourth one is one I recently bought – the Waterproof Eyeliner Pen from e.l.f. It’s another liquid liner pen since my MAC one is starting to run out and I’m looking for a replacement. This one works pretty well, the tip is not as high quality (it’s a little harder and rougher) and the color saturation can be a little “eh”, but for only $1 and tons of colors it’s a pretty good deal!
The last one is also from e.l.f., the Shimmer Eyeliner Pencil. They come in all sorts of pretty colors and are soft and go on easily (but also a little bit smudgey). And you have to sharpen which I hate. But they are very pretty and sparkly.
Ok! So now this is how I actually do my eyeliner for just an everyday look. I feel a little silly posting this because it’s so simple. I usually line my top lash line with a pen liner, going right along the lash line from the inner corner to the outer corner of the eye. I always, always, do a mini cat-eye at the outer corner, by extending the line up and out just a little bit. Here I used the MAC liner pen.
What about the bottom lash line? If I’m lazy or short on time, I usually do nothing. But if I feel like doing a little extra, I take a softer pencil liner in a lighter color and line the bottom lash line from the outer corner and extending about 2/3 of the way in. Here I used the CoverGirl in plum.
And that’s it! Here’s another look:
Notice how the top and bottom lines don’t actually meet, which makes for a very simple, subtle look you can wear everyday.
And then you can do variations of this look by using different liners and colors. For example, using the e.l.f. shimmer liner on the bottom creates a really cute and playful look, and using any smudgeable pencil liner on the top can make thing less harsh and softer.
If you want something a little more dramatic, here’s something I’ve figured out how to do just recently. Using a combination of black liquid pen liner and a softer pencil liner, I’ve lined the top of the lash line from corner to corner, and the bottom 2/3 as before. But I’ve extended both lines and joined them together at the outer corner of the eye and again did a small cat-eye.
This will make your eyes look much bigger and brighter and this heavier look is perfect for nighttime!
This look is also great for glasses since I find that they wash out your make-up. What do you think?
I’m no beauty expert by any means, but I hope this was somewhat helpful! And keep experimenting because each person is unique and you never know what looks good on you until you try it.
May 29, 2011 Summer business casual attire
When I read the e-mail from my internship coordinator saying that the dress code for orientation was business casual, I almost panicked. Did I even pack anything that would be appropriate? I’d left all of my dress pants in New York, and I brought with me mostly casual summer clothing. So I looked through my suitcase and put together 3 outfits that I hope will be okay.
1.
I think this is my favourite. I’m wearing a black cap-sleeve blouse from Delia’s, a black and white floral skirt I got in China, and black heels from Payless.
2.
This one I think is a bit too much on the casual side… white shirt from China, navy and white floral shirt from Banana Republic, and black flats from Payless. I could throw my black blazer on top of it but really I think the weather would be too hot for that.
3.
Pink button-down by Larry Levine, grey pants from Forever 21, and black heels from Payless. I feel iffy about this because the shirt is a bit too big and the pants are almost jeans (and they are skinny), but I think it will work.
I can probably put together a few more outfits with nicer tops + cardigans, but bottoms are still an issue. Anyways, what do you think? And I want to know how you dress business casual for hot weather! I’d love some new ideas!
P.S.: Leaving tomorrow bright and early! Nashville you better get ready for me!
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