contessa chocolate review & false lash preview

I know I've been a little AWOL this past week, and I had had all these plans to post up these various food and outing reviews from last week, when a friend was visiting. Blame the lazy-crazy spiral of the unemployed. :X But yes, it's been a bit of one of those "lost weeks". . .

Last week though, from Sunday Sept. 23 to Wednesday Sept. 26, I hosted my advisor from South Korea. He helped me out a lot while I was doing my Fulbright research project, inviting me into his popular music class, getting me tickets to festivals/tapings and taking me along to indie shows aroung Hongdae; aside from it being nice to see him, I really wanted to help him out and return the favor a little. Luckily my parents weren't opposed to a visitor, and he was able to stay with us after his conference in Irvine.

So you can expect a little Umami Burger review coming up, as well as a snapshot view of the music shops in Echo Park we checked out. But for now, I only have two mini treats for you:

Contessa Chocolate Collection Review

Someone gifted us with this pretty little box of chocolate truffles from Contessa, a small chocolatier located in Pasadena. When I opened the little company card to read the description inside, I saw the words "dark chocolate," no mention of any other concentrations, and was pretty instantly convinced this was my kind of box of chocolates.

Luckily the box came with two of each kind. Otherwise this would have quickly become a house of chocolate truffle contention.

From left to right: Lavender, Rose, Liquor?, Salted Caramel

All of them were good (what else would you expect from crafted dark chocolate?). The flavors in the flowery truffles were definitely present, a little strong but not at all unpleasant. It was enough to make the perfumey flavors stand out from the chocolate, but not overpowering. 

I couldn't place the flavor of the one rolled in crushed nuts. I thought there might be a light touch of alcohol in it. Mostly, I noticed that it was really smooth and buttery, with a hint of a bright note.

My favorite, though, was the salted caramel! That was kind of a surprise, because I'm usually not much of a caramel fan at all. I generally find it too sickly sweet and dislike the way it cleaves to my molars. But this caramel wasn't hard but viscous, and its sweetness was tempered by the salted flavor as well as the depth of the dark chocolate. Together, it all made for an addictive little bite. (So you can imagine my dismay when I woke up the next morning to find the other one gone! T_T)

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False Lash Preview

I wrote a few weeks ago about my tester lashes from model21 and my subsequent jubilation. It took me a little while to get to them though, mainly because I didn't have any eyelash glue! I had asked a coworker previously what lash adhesive she used and/or recommended, and she told me about the brand, Duo. She also recommended buying from Sephora, because they offer the 0.5 oz size at ~$8 (most other places only carry the 0.25 oz size, which is already around $6).

After calling to make sure they had it in stock, I finally got to Sephora last Friday and bought my tube of Duo eyelash glue! I got it in black, which is the box with red and white packaging.

And thennn . . . I tried putting on false lashes for the first time! BE WARNED - that eyelash glue comes out like water! I thought it would have that Elmer's consistency, but this stuff is fluid. So basically, the first time I aimed to spread a little adhesive on the rim of my false lashes, I ended up with blurps of gray matter all over my fingers.

Had to trim off bits at the ends
to fit my eyes! Left me with
a couple of nice flutters.

For my first time, I tried on the
Model21 lashes in 63, probably
the most natural style out of
the ones provided in the
sampler box.

After that though, it was pretty easy! A lot easier than I had feared, actually. Having gotten control of the glue tube, I spread a little along the edge of the lashes, waited a couple of seconds, then stuck my face really close to the mirror and stuck that sucker on my lid! 

(I took a tip from Jen @frmheadtotoe, who has said that you don't really have to wait for the glue to get all tacky.)

Right side success!!! I felt pretty victorious. I was anticipating a lot more difficulty. And then I got to the left side. I have since learned that I'm much better at applying on the right side compared to the left. Suffice it to say, this being the first time, the left side came out a little wonky. Luckily the unevenness wasn't too obvious and I could still go out in public.

  

Honestly, it was a fun experience, but I did feel a little silly and dubious trying on false lashes for the first time. So my expressions kind of fell along this range:

Mostly just this face though. Hello, left-side wonk.

That's it for now! Since trying them on for the first time last Friday, I also tried layering lashes (wearing two pairs at the same time, another tip thanks to Jen) the next day, and just yesterday I finally got to trying on all the different pairs and taking pictures just for the review. That way whoever's interested can get an idea of what each pair looks like on its own, especially on Asian eyes. Look out for that some time next week! Oh! I also bought my DIY ombre hair supplies a couple of days ago, so I may be documenting that this weekend as well.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend :) I plan on attending a Korean baby's 돌잔치 / doljanchi party and checking out the Pasadena Antiquarian Book & Paper Fair on Saturday. What are your first-weekend-of-October plans?

Attempt #1: Using UD Vegan Palette for the First Time

When one suddenly finds oneself without a job, one also finds oneself with a lot of time to do things one didn't bother to before. Like spending more than 5 minutes putting on makeup every morning. ("Morning.")

Now, I don't know if experimenting with eye makeup is a great trade for a steady job, but I did learn a few things in attempting to make this makeup post.

One, taking good makeup pictures is hard. Like, really really hard. 

And two, taking makeup pictures is a-w-k-w-a-r-d!! Especially when you move beyond taking them and start trying to edit them. All those isolated eyes together... how to keep from being creeeeepy TT_TT

Anyway, in the end it's all about fun, right? Even if you can't quite call something a success. I tried out three to four of the colors from the palette (minx, urb, gunmetal + half baked), and in the end they all sort of melded together into this olive smoky eye. That's probably because I'm a finger makeup painter - maybe to pack on the color you really need to use brushes?

Used the top three and bottom right shades.

Used NYX Noir Liquid Black Liner
for top lid line.

on mah face.

I've also learned that there's a reason successful makeup bloggers usually post around holiday themes or celebrity imitation looks. They give you a real goal to aim for and they're usually stronger in style and colors, making for better photos. (Plus, you kind of have an excuse for looking a little outrageous. Blame the holiday/pop culture reference!)

In the end, this ended up being just as much an experiment in taking makeup pictures and putting together a makeup blog post as it was in actually putting on the makeup. At least now I know that the Vegan Palette colors blend very well together, and I have a recipe for an everyday subtle smoky eye. 

Another thing to note, which you may have heard of already, is that most Urban Decay colors tend to have some glitter in them. This added a pearlescent sheen which highlights wherever it hits the eye, usually toward the center. It's not a bad thing, but it did make me realize how glittery most cosmetics are. I also have and used this marbled blush from the Body Shop and these cream highlighting pots from Korea, all are shimmery!


Anyway, I felt it was kind of a waste to just leave all those other eyeball pictures at the wayside. So I constructed a little something.

...Ready to be kind of freaked out? Don't say I didn't warn you.

I present to you the Outtake Tree!

arrived! model 21 tester lashes

What's better than receiving packages in the mail? Receiving something that came for freeeee!

So the story goes - when I was in Korea, I kind of got obsessed with eyelash extensions. Okay, maybe not exactly obsessed. For the year that I lived there, I only got them done two or three times. But I reeeally liked them, so much that I bought a kit with all the supplies to do it yourself through Gmarket, South Korea's eBay/Amazon. (Note: I do not recommend doing them on yourself. It is possible, but not recommended.)

It depends on your eye shape and the placement of features for how much of a difference lashes make for you. For me, with my hidden Asian creases and more close-set eyes, they add a defining quality with a little cats-eye effect at the corners that balance out my features. Thus the hard to resist indulgence!

After coming back to America, I've toyed with the idea of trying out falsies to get the same effect as extensions without having to pay the U.S. price. I did a little research and the best deal I found, thanks to frmheadtotoe, was Model 21 lashes. They sell a box of 10 pairs for ~$8, lowest price. (It used to be less than $8, but they raised their prices a bit in the past year. Still a good price though!) Aside from their reasonable prices, I really liked how the lashes were not made in China. You can call me a little prejudiced, and I don't know if Vietnam is all that much better, but I have my theories :x

Model 21 lashes has a deal where if you buy 3 boxes, you get free shipping, and with 4 boxes you also get an additional box free. So I've been tempted and toying with the idea of purchasing for a while. But how to know if they actually fit my eyes??

Enter in some more internet lurking: About a week and a half ago, I was checking up their site and saw/half-remembered that they have a review program. If you host a blog, any blog amateur or established, you can contact them for a free box of tester lashes. As long as you agree to do a review for them, they'll mail you a box of lashes with five different types to try out. Score!

Thanks to this new little baby here (pets emilie-who fondly), I was eligible and shot them a quick little email. They responded in no time at all, and I received my box of lashes this past Monday! Continue scrolling to see the five different styles included in the box of Model 21 tester lashes:

lashes lashes lashes!!!

All laid out. The side of the box has the style numbers marked to help you keep track of what is what. 

The style I'm most excited to try out!
63 is a natural criss-cross look that's not too long for my eyes. I may have to layer to get the thickness I want though.

Once I buy myself some eyelash adhesive, I'll be trying these out and posting up a review with pictures!   Maybe a different look per day, if I can wake up early enough. Any recommendations on good eyelash glue brands?