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Empties 2023
I’m back after months of giving nothing lol I have empties for the first quarter of the year which consists of only skincare really. I have a bunch of stuff I’m trying to use up right now so hopefully my next empties I’ll have made some progress. Recently I started using different skincare apps like WIMJ, INCID, EWG, SkinCarisma and SkinSort to look at the ingredients in my products and to find what actually works and what’s best for my skin. So a few of these I found don’t actually do much and won’t be repurchasing.
Perricone MD High Potency Classic Nutritive Cleanser
Probably my favorite cleanser I’ve used. Usually I double cleanse, first with a solid oil cleanser from Lush and then I use this as my second cleanser and I’ve been doing that for a couple of years. I think this is my 3rd or 4th repurchase? I didn’t buy another this time around though because I thought I’d try something different, so instead I’ve been using the Biosssance Squalane + Elderberry Nourishing Jelly Cleanser. So far I think I still like the Perricone one more. My face feels so much cleaner afterward.
Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb
This is an okay moisturizer, I thought I was buying a different water-based one when I originally got it so it’s not the one I was expecting. It’s a decent moisturizer but nothing amazing. For the price there are better that do more.
Murad Nutrient-Charged Water Gel
This used to be one of my favorite moisturizers that I’ve actually repurchased a couple times. It’s still one of my favorites and I love the texture of it but it’s just a little pricey to always be stocking up on.
Perricone MD Hypoallergenic Nourishing Moisturizer
Another favorite of mine that I love the texture of. I think it’s a great overall moisturizer for sensitive skin however it is just a little up there in price.
Perricone MD Hyaluronic Intensive Moisturizer
If you haven’t noticed I’m a pretty big fan of Perricone lol. I have no complaints about this moisturizer either aside from the price. I think if you can afford it it’s definitely worth it, they get the job done and your skin will feel great. I usually get my products at TJMaxx bc it’s a little cheaper sometimes.
Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid & Niacinamide Serum
Initially, I didn’t like either of these because I didn’t like the tackiness it left but after some trial and error, I realized I just wasn’t waiting long enough for my skincare to dry down before using them. I use the hyaluronic acid in the morning and the niacinamide at night and am currently on my second bottle of both so far. I ended up getting the 75ml bottles of both when I repurchased bc why not lol
Keils Ultra Facial Cream
Not my favorite. It’s a decent moisturizer but there are others that just feel better and can do more. I enjoy more lightweight moisturizers. I just don’t like it at all lol. I’m also just moving away from Kiel’s products in general. I think they add a lot of extra ingredients and scents that aren’t necessarily useful. I’m trying to use up the rest of my avocado eye cream just so I can finally toss it lol.
Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture For Eyes
I’m on my second little tub of this and I do enjoy it a lot but I think it’s discontinued? Or it’s been revamped and the packaging has changed and I just can’t find it. I bought 2 a while ago at TJMaxx and when I got home to search for ingredients and stuff I realized I couldn’t find this exact one lol. I like it but wouldn’t recommend you bother scouring the internet for it.
Farmacy Honey Halo Ultra-Hydrating Ceramide Moisturizer
I had this mini and also have a full-size of this moisturizer and I do enjoy using it but also not one of my favorites to use. I love the texture and it feels nice on the skin but I don’t feel like it does much for my skin other than just moisturizing. It claims to be anti-aging but I don’t see that at all. Unless you’re getting a deal on it I don’t think it’s worth the price.
Dermilogica Daily Microfoliant
I loveee this. I heard a lot about this via tiktok and thought I’d give it a try so I bought a mini and ended up going through it pretty quickly. I use it after I double cleanse in the shower and my skin always feels so good after. I changed up my skincare pretty drastically recently and added this in it and I think it’s helped a lot honestly. I have the full-sized version that I keep in my shower now. It’s a bit pricey but I think it’s worth it.
Drunk Elephant Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser
I hate the smell. Will not be repurchasing lol. I think it’s great that it’s vegan and sustainable, that’s the only thing that would make me repurchase if there wasn’t any other balms that I enjoyed more lol.
Shiseido Clear Sunscreen Stick SPF 50+
I really enjoy this sunscreen, I’m just really sad it’s tiny and $30 lol. It doesn’t leave me oily like some other stick sunscreens I have and it’s super convenient and can just throw it in my bag. I think it’s probably one of my favorite stick sunscreens but for now I don’t think I’ll be repurchasing.
Banila Co Clean It Zero 3-in-1 Cleansing Balm
I bought a tester with a trio of the minis on yesstyle and I think they’re okay. A full-size jar is $19 (I also happen to have a jumbo size bc think it was on sale? and I have to go through that one too) which seems pretty expensive to me tbh. Lately, I’ve been using Elf’s Holy Hydration balm and I love the smell of that one more.
Vaseline Lip Therapy
All time favorite 1000/10 I can’t go anywhere without one. This is probably my 5th empty tub but thought I’d add it in here to share the love bc I think they’re great lol.
That’s all I got for now. I have a life update post coming up soon from a trip I went on but I’m being lazy about it since there’s some pictures I have to edit. Til next time!
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
The Smiths // I know it’s over ♫
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Travel Diaries: San Simeon + Big Sur + Monterey
It’s been some time since I’ve posted, got caught up in finals and got lazy. I have bunch of stuff that I’ve been wanting to share though, the first being the couple trips that I’ve gone on the past few months. The most notable being our little road trip up north to Monterey. Our trip was basically San Simeon > Big Sur > Monterey. The weather was perfect and the drive there was surprisingly easy? We didn’t catch any kind of traffic coming or going. I got a little sling bag from CalPak (in green) and it’s probably one of my favorite bags now. It’s so nifty lol and it fits my camera and giant 16mm lens perfects among other things. The only reason I hate taking that lens anywhere is because it’s so bulky and conspicuous so I end up opting for another lens or one of my film cameras. But so happy I got to use it this time around ᵔᴥᵔ
For planning this trip I used Notion to manage and organize our itinerary for the first time and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s both aesthetically pleasing and helps keep things in one place lol For anyone curious on what it looks like here it is below, there’s still a lot of little changes I want to make but I haven’t been motivated enough.
I was most excited to stay in Big Sur for this trip because I had another chance to take some astro shots. As usual I hated how they came out lol but gotta keep practicing. I think I’m fiddling with my camera settings less now when I’m out taking pictures so I’m quite proud about that. I got around to editing some photos from the trip and they came out decent if I do say so myself. I’m going to Valle de Guadalupe in May for one of my good friends birthday and I’m excited because I want to try editing my photos differently. I have a vision in mind and I’m hoping I can execute it how I’m imagining. Here’s a lil batch of photos I took and edited the other day. All were taken with my Sigma 16mm 1.4 except the a couple of them that were taken on my Sony 35mm 1.8. I didn’t noticed until after the trip but there was something on my Sony lens the whole time?? You can kinda see it on the top right of the second photo, like a little worm. I haven’t gotten around to investigating what it is bc it’s a hassle but at least it isn’t too noticeable.
I didn’t get to take pictures of all the food we ate (which was a lot) with my camera bc I always forgot but I do have some cruddy phone pictures of everything else lol. Mostly of Hearst Castle, which was our second stop after Slovang. For the life of me I cannot remember the names of anywhere that we ate at, I’m making a mental note to keep track of everything our next trip lol. But the whole time we just yelped whatever was around us. However one thing I do remember is Old Man’s Fishermen’s Grotto bc the clam chowder is *chefs kiss* was gonna buy some to take how but it wouldn’t be the same lol. Will be going back just for the chowder. And the server there was this funny old man that talked a lot lol.
I actually really enjoyed Monterey, I don’t think I’d mind living there. It’s low-key but still has nice busy spots too. This year I made a little promise to myself that we’d travel somewhere or have a mini road trip at least once a month this year and I think we’re doin pretty good so far. I think that’ll be all for now. I’ll probably do another life update post bc got a lot of other random stuff to share, also I have a 2022 empties post I need to make too 🙂
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
Paramore // all I wanted ♫
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casual life update 04 + CASA NORI
My last fall semester has finally started. I’ve been dreading it bc I knew one of the classes required group work which is horrible for me. And I’m still so bitter it’s on campus this semester. It’s an hour commute for me, I’ll be spending almost $200 a month on gas alone. Ridiculous. I don’t even know if my lil car can handing a full semester of back and forth like that :/ there’s def gonna be some absences lol
But before all that we decided to go on a mini road trip, there’s really nothing around san diego that’s not a ridiculous drive that’s not desert. So we ended up going to Palm Springs again. It was HOOOOOOT. We drove the back way, which took a little longer but it was more scenic. It was like a line we crossed where we just suddenly started to feel the heat lol (my ac is broken (╥_╥)) I was driving down this single lane windy ass mountain road and it was so dark so I was driving slower and there was and the car behind me was on my ass the entire time. I was still going 50! Which was still too fast for me lol I can’t really see well at night and forgot my glasses lol. But he finally passed me and honked at me, like wth. And then the other truck behind me was on my ass and it ended up being a UPS truck and he went and passed me too lol I’m no old lady when I’m driving but god damn they were flying down the mountain like how’re you even making those turns lol But anyway we mad it to the hotel alive so it worked out.
We went the weekend of Splash House and I debated if we should buy tickets but I’m so glad we didn’t. I would have been complaining the whole time lol. Mostly just hung out and ate. The one day I decided to go to the pool this old lady fell and busted a tooth so they made everyone leave the pool area lol. But it was fine bc the pool water was so hotttt. I was so excited expecting it to be nice and refreshing but the water was legit like 80 degrees, it was miserable.
I also went through a mini hair crisis in the last couple weeks. I thought I could bleach it myself and everything be okay.. Was wrong :< it actually didn’t turn out too bad, I did 2 bleaches since the first round wasn’t at all even and was still dark, then the second round my hair came out VERY yellow. I thought it was light enough to go grey, so I toned it and spoiler alert it was in fact not light enough (༎ຶ￢༎ຶ) it was such an ugly color after that. So I ended up just going to the place where I always get my hair done lol. It’s a little too red rn for my liking, I was thinking more orange. I go back in a couple months so I think I’m gonna ask if it’s possible to go lighter and more tangeriney orange.
Rounds 1 & 2, and then the horrendous muddy blonde green my toner turned it to below :c Horrendous lol
Here’s the inspo for the look that I was going for, she’s irisloveunicorns on youtube. I feel like what I have rn is pretty similar, but I guess I just didn’t realize how much red is in there, and its meh to me rn.
I’m not really used to seeing myself with it still lol. I’ve only ever gone blonde so any other color is still weird for me. But I don’t mind it. It’s def hair that I need to have my makeup done or else I feel it washes me out a little lol. But overall I think I like it? Went out this weekend and realized it looks way orange in natural light so idk I’m conflicted, it’s such a complex color lol.
But went to a new place yesterday called Casa Nori, its a little sushi place in eastlake and I liked it a lot. The drinks were STRONG. Like the bartender was out to get us strong. I got a tamarindo margarita which was fine, and then I got their chamango margarita and I swear it was just straight tequila lol. I could feel it in my stomach if I drank more I was gonna get sick lol No fun tipsy for me just sick lol. So I couldn’t finish it, but I like it a lot still. They also have a huge menu, I def wanna go back and try something else. Their yakisoba and fried rice looked really good.
On another note, I’m so disappointed in blackpinks comeback (◞‸◟；) YG did the girls dirty, AGAIN. The visuals are so stunning it’s such a waste to give them such a shitty song. It’s tolerable up until the ratatataaa part and then I have to skip lol I get they’re trying to give them that ~edgy~ vibe but ugh. But it is what it is. I think I might see them when they come to LA in November I think? I’ve also been listening to Chungha (I always have) but a lot more lately, and been listening to her old stuff. I love the house/vogueing type sound she always uses it suits her so well.
I’ve also finally installed Genshin on my MacBook today as a way to avoid doing school work. Idk how to use the keyboard/mouse it’s so hard. It’s like when I found out people actually play on their phone/ipad. It’s literally so hard, like how. I think I’m just gonna link my controller for when I’m home in bed and too lazy to set up my ps5 lol. But now I can just check in and do dailies rq when I’m at school bc it makes my phone so hot after a few minutes. The game is so massive now.
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
Chung Ha // bother me ♫
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casual life update 03
Hii~ ❀‿❀ Tis been a while.
I’ve been pretty busy this past month. I ended up getting an offer for the job I interviewed for last month, and day 3 on the job I tested positive for covid so I’ve been out the past 10 days (╥_╥) It’s an on-call position so I don’t get any benefits and I’m no longer part of the union like I had before. So of course right when I transfer and lose everything and start a new job is when I get sick for the first time in like 5 years lol
I go back to work tomorrow and I’m nervous. I’m going to be floating to different clinics so I won’t know anyone each time & am shy ๏̯͡๏ The first clinic I went to was literally 5 minutes from my house and everyone was really nice, so I’m hoping the other clinics have a similar atmosphere lol. Since I’ve been out the last 10 days, I’ve been doing a lot of drawing, reading and gaming lol. I started listening to a new podcast called Morbid. I guess it’s a little reminiscent of MFM, but I like that they have more spooky stuff in their episodes. I also started/finished a couple otome games on the switch. I started Ayakashi: Romance Reborn, which I actually originally played on my phone a while back until I found out it was on the switch lol Story line is okay, but the characters are beautiful so 10/10 for that lol. I finally got to the point where I can choose my route so I think I’ll be done soon :> I also completed The Charming Empire, which I enjoyed. The route I went ended with the normal ending, which was kinda tragic?? Lol. I think I’ll replay some other routes soon to see the different endings.
Current games in progress:
Gakuen Club; I don’t really like the story line/characters for this one so it’s taking me a while to finish.
Café Enchanté; Another one where I can’t really get into the storyline. The art is pretty though so I’ll bear through it.
To Be Played:
This is mostly just a list for myself but half of these are here bc I hear they have an amazing story line, or simply bc hot lol.
Code: Realize Guardian of Rebirth
Collar X Malice
Steam Prison
Olympia Soiree
From here on the artwork looks amazing but also not sure if its in the US shop;
Ikemen Sengoku Toki wo Kakeru Koi Aratanaru Deai
Koroshiya to Strawberry Plus
Kamigami no Asobi Unite Edition
Hakuoki Shinkai Reimeiroku [Limited Edition]
Shiro to Kuro no Alice
Hakuoki Shinkai Tsukikage no Sho
Mojyutsukai to Ojisama
Reinedesfleurs
I also actually finished 2 books! Back to back. It’s the first time I’ve started and finished a book in one sitting in a while. My smooth brain feels accomplished. The books I read last week were:
- The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward;
This book was a rollercoaster from start to finish lol. It’s written in several povs which I actually thought was done incredibly well. I was very surprised at the second character pov that was introduced & wasn’t entirely sure what direction the book was going lol. It took me a minute to put some things together. I think it could be categorized as a psychological thriller/murder mystery so if that’s your jam I’d recommend. I think it took me 5ish hours? to finish it so it’s not too time consuming.
2. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn;
This was 🤌 The childhood trauma x unhinged women combo is just ugh. So good. I don’t want to spoil bc I read it not having any idea what it was about and it was a pleasant experience. It explores toxic maternal bonds & how women/young girls are treated/expected to behave and their relationship with men. I noticed on Goodreads some people were recommending trigger warnings so, the razor blade on the cover is self explanatory. Cutting is discussed throughout the book and is significant to the mc. Some of the other TWs mentioned were murder and abuse, but it is a murder/psych mystery novel so I would not recommend if that is a general issue for you. I don’t think it’s particularly explicit, but I think some parts will potentially make you feel uncomfortable. It’s really dark with well written and disturbing characters. It’s honestly an amazing story and I actually loved the ending. I’ve never read/watched Gone Girl (same author) but I guess it has a similar feel. So if you liked Gone Girl maybe you’d like Sharp Objects? She also wrote a book called Dark Places that I think I’m gonna read next, apparently it is just as vile so I’m excited lol. If you have any good psych/thriller book recs pls tell me! I want to read 12 books this year, 10 more to go. I have a looong tbr list already but more recs never hurt lol. If you guys wanna take a look at all my tbr and other lists you can check my Goodreads here :>
I’ve also been doing a lot of reorganizing. I donated 3 trash bags worth of clothes and shoes, and I just did this the beginning of the year ◔_◔ I’m trying not to be such a clothes hoarder. I bought a lot of new clothes for work so I needed space. And of course, I am still on my journey of having a fully sustainable wardrobe and transitioning towards slow fashion so I’ve spent a lot of monies this month buying quality clothes ಥ_ಥ but it’s worth the investment. Is what I keep telling myself.
But anyway, bc I’ve had to rearrange and make space I put together a giant shelf/wardrobe thing yesterday. Took a couple hours and my legs are bruised from being on the floor lol But I’m happy with how everything turned out. It’s pretty sturdy and overall decent quality and happens to match one of my other shelves in my room. And I actually ended up having excess shelf space now so that’s nice.
On another note the tension between me and anime lashes have been stroooong. It started a while back with a post @wink.bar made and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Pony Syndrome and Michelle Vu have also made tutorials the past couple years on applying individual lashes to get the look as well. I finally got some motivation and bought a bunch of wispy lash sets & individual lashes. I don’t have the heart to cut up any of the lashes from my current collection :< I tried, couldn’t do it lol. So instead impulse bought a shit ton of new ones for cheaps on Amazon. I bought both the sets and individuals bc in the mornings before work I don’t always want to deal with gluing on a bunch of separate lashes. I have to wake up early now so meh lol. I think the sets are really cute and aren’t too crazy for work. I wore a pair today and they were cute. It’s been a while since I’ve worn lashes. I’ve had extensions a few times over the years but I always come back to falsies lol. Also, excuse the ugly photos I forgot to change the focal length so it’s not completely in focus :< I couldn’t see very well taking an aerial shot lol.
But that about sums up everything I’ve been doin lately. I’m sad bloglovin is still down so I can’t really keep up with all the other blogs I follow :< Their site has been funky like, all year I think. Hopefully they fix it soon.
I’ll also try to link everything that I mentioned as well. That’s all for now :>
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
Ozuna // el farsante ♫
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casual life update 02
It’s already June!! Its been a wild month for me. Everything past this point I’ll try and keep in sequential order but as I write more things pop in my brain and end up going on tangents so bear with me. First event, I got an interview for a position I applied to a while back. Its an on-call position in another department, and I got a call Friday saying that HR should be calling me with the details but I haven’t heard anything.. Apparently my last day for my current position is set up for 07/11, how do I have a last day set up but haven’t officially been offered the new position?? Wild. But here’s my outfit I chose to wear. Much regrets bc it was soooo hot this day.
On another note I’ve managed to finish and start roughly 10 different mangas since summer started. Honorable mentions include :
[completed] Tara no gohoubi , Wake up sleeping beauty (ohayou ibarahime), Houkago koishita, Short cake cake
[started & caught up] A sign of affection, My lv999 love for yamada-kun, and yet you are so sweet, namida usagi seifuku mo kataomoi, Aoba-kun ni kikitai koto
A sign of affection is actually really cute I can’t wait until it’s finished so I can binge the rest. I’m waiting for more chapters of dazzled by you, boku no hero and black clover to come out so I can read everything at once as well. Life is rough for us bingers :c Which reminds me I also finished this season of Stranger Things and I’m surprised the second half is coming out so soon, excited I don’t have to wait another however many years lol. I’ve also burned through 5 seasons of Ghost Hunters this past week.
Went wine tasting last Sunday out in Ramona to relax. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult to find wineries down here that serve good charcuterie boards?? The ones we had in Temecula were so good I wish places down here had similar (╥_╥) but at least they had flat bread lol.
Yesterday I finally got my cousin to get her earlobes pierced and figured since I was there I should get one too lol. Every time I go in I hope that when I get pierced it’ll have that same crunchy sound from when I got my tragus’ but alas :< this was did not. I also realized after that I got it in the wrong place. I went in intending to get a daith but when I was showing him where I wanting it on my ear it must’ve looked like I was pointing towards the forward helix area instead lol. I planned on getting both eventually so it’s not a big deal but I just thought it was funny bc idk how I didn’t notice when I was confirming the placement. Am ashamed (◡︵◡) Waffles (the piercer) posted a picture on the shops ig. I went to him when I got my septum and he’s really nice and helpful. I used to go to Apogee in OB but they’re such assholes lol. I’ve never gone and not felt like a nuisance :p but they have really nice jewelry and they’re sourced from San Diego I believe? But now I just go to Waffles lol.
Later this same day we stopped by Lush bc I’m trying to use more package free products, and I also needed to restock on their naked cleansing balms but they discontinued my favorite ones (༎ຶ￢༎ຶ) I’m devastated. They were sooooo good, one was jade roller and I can’t remember the other one but it was green and had Hmong beans. I opted for one of the ones they replaced it with and I hate it already. It’s not that it’s bad but I’ve decided to just be a brat about it bc it’s not the one I want lmao. I also got a shampoo bar and a massage bar that feels sooo nice. I got Each Peach? It’s a bit citrusy and makes my arms feel nice and juicy after lol.
As if I haven’t already been hyper fixating on enough random things this past month, I also got back into Neopets lol. I have 5 accounts total bc I like to collect painted pets n stuff. I have access to 4 and the last in my og account I put a ticket in to try and get into again bc I have a pet on there I really want :< I found out you can have up to 20 pets per account now?? which is insane. Back in my day it was only 4 and then increased to 5 w/ premium lol. I haaaate the way they ‘updated’ the site, its made it ugly and hard to navigate. You can’t even get to specific parts of the site anymore bc they’re missing links to necessary pages. And it’s really frustrating rn bc I guess adobe discontinued flash? Or something. So now all the games and other random things on the site are completely unusable. So now idk how to even make neopoints with the whole 5 games I’m able to play lol but I made my userlookup all cute n such and transferred some of my pets to my main account so it’s ok :<
Last but not least, PROOF DROPPED BABIEEEEEEE. My album is being delivered tomorrow, which is super annoying. Idk how it got shipped out so late, defeats the whole purpose of pre-order but its fine. I can’t wait to hold itttttt. Also this reminds me I got my MEMORIES OF 2019 dvd & 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO dvd came in :> I’m so excited to watch the memories of 2019 bc it has the day of the rose bowl concert that I went to so I can relive it :’) I bought the BTS Dynamite cd/DVD player specifically so I can watch it on my MacBook lol.
Anyway if you’ve made it this far ty ily and have a good week~
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
BTS // run bts ♫
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MAY TATTOOS PT2 & CASUAL LIFE UPDATE
Got my second tattoo this month as another birthday gift to myself hehe. My birthday was on the 15th but I ended up having to work all day. For the first time in years I went to a different artist, it felt like I was cheating :< I’ve been looking for a good anime tattoo artist but there aren’t as many here in San Diego. The one I originally wanted to go to rarely has his books open bc he’s so busy. I went to @nikkixjames at Yokai House bc my cousin happened to come across their ig and felt like he was the one lol. I actually really liked their shop. It’s cute and feels like you’re at a friends house, and they’re all lil otakus it’s amazing lol. It’s also the first time I’ve never heard kpop played casually that’s not in an asian store/market or outside of my home lol. I was dying bc they played Mirotic by TVXQ and Lies by BB and I was like (✧ω✧) it surprised me. The oldies lol And a lot of Jay Park and anime intros lol. I know I’ve mentioned in my previous post but I’ve been wanting a portrait tattoo of Kyo for over a decade and I’m sooooo stoked. I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better he nailed it. (ㅅ´ ˘ `)♡
Right after we finished, he really just looks so good I’m so pleased ∩(︶▽︶)∩ I really felt bad for him bc it really issue much line work lol We spent a total of 4.5ish hours I think? Which I was expecting about 4-5 hours. Everyone kept asking if it was a tough spot to get tattoo and it didn’t really hurt more than any other places lol Felt about the same, it wasn’t too bad. Like I mentioned in my last post getting tattooed isn’t particularly painful for me regardless of the location (dips are the exception those are a bummer) but the wiping sucks lol. And also I usually never keep the tegaderm on, I usually take it off and shower right when I get home or the same night. I was really tired that day and didn’t take it off until night time the following day and it ended up really irritating my skin (last photo) and it stayed like that for about 5 days :< I know my skin and I kneeew I should have taken it off when I got home but I was lazy lol. It’s better now, I had to make sure I scrubbed off all the stickies which was annoying.
This was Junji’s inspo for his Kyo portrait. He wore it during some concerts but it’s also from Sukekiyo’s MV for 12時20分金輪際 . I love all his completely unhinged avant-garde looks he comes up with. One in the guys in the shop said it reminded him of the movie The Nun from The Conjuring universe lol And my friend said it reminded her of Lady Gaga? But that’s fine I love The Conjuring and Lady Gaga is chill so no complaints lmao.
From Jung Ito’s Twisted Visions art book.
On another note, I’ve also semi-successfully finished finals. I didn’t pass the one class I needed to, so now I have to retake in next month during summer. Was really looking forward to finally not having a summer/winter class for the first time but whatever. I’m mad at myself but I just really have no choice but to pass the summer course which I think is only 6 weeks. But I’m familiar with the prof. so I should be okay. I also developed my film last week and I think they’re soooo overexposed TT I’m so sad lol. I hope a few of them are decent, I won’t find out until I upload and edit on my laptop since I’m scanning digitally. Not actually scanning but just taking photos of the negs and uploading those but idk what to call that without it sounding funky lol. But just look at this mess (⇀‸↼‶) Tragic.
Fingers crossed for ONE good shot, I beg. Anyway, to tie things up I’m just gonna drop these cute pictures of Kaya I took the other day, enjoy ╰(*´︶`*)╯
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
WOODS // different ♫
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QUICK APRIL RECAP
I just realized I never posted about my mini roadtrip LA. Originally my cousin and I had planned to go up to LA for the Academy museum bc they have a Studio Ghibli exhibit that we really wanted to go to and ends at the end of summer. In the end it turned out to be a little family trip with 2 of my aunts coming as well which was fun. I’m sooo sad that photos were prohibited in the Ghibli exhibit :c but basically it was a lot of concept art and paintings from Miyazaki. The whole exhibit was beautiful and I’m seriously so upset pictures weren’t allowed lol. We were there maybe like an hour max bc we didn’t really care about the other film stuff. I was hoping I’d find one of his art books in the gift shop but they didn’t have what I was looking for. I ended up getting this really cute My Neighbor Totoro lunch bag lol. On our way back home we had planned to stop by Ranchos Los Cerritos because they have a garden with blooming wisterias. But I guess we got there too late in the season bc there weren’t very many ( ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥) but it was still pretty. The hard a large back garden and an old adobe house made into a museum. We were originally unsure if we were able to go in bc a wedding ceremony was being set up lol.
I was debating if I should take my film or mirrorless camera this day and ended taking my Sony for the sake of simplicity. I finally got around to uploading and editing the photos I took that day and I kinda like how some of them turned out. It’s the first that time I’ve edited anything since getting my new MacBook. I’m hoping to start exploring and trying out some street photography in the future, but in the meantime here’s a few photos from this day. I used CodyBlue’s and THAT ICELANDIC GUY’s Lightroom presets to edit most the photos. Don’t forget to check out my ig for more about my day bc we went to some cute shops n stuff too :>
shot on a Sony a6600 w/ a sigma 16mm f/1.4 《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
Groove Theory // tell me ♫
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MAY TATTOOS & BLOG CHANGE
Hii. Just a little life update from this month. You might notice a few changes about my blog and it’s because I transferred my domain and am no longer on blogger! I’m a little sad bc bloggers the OG but it’s just not doing what I need it to do anymore and I was always having issues with simple things. I switched to WordPress and have this new theme for my site that’s very similar to my old one but a little different. I’m still gonna keep my blogger site active for memories but this is my primary one officially. I’m a little sad bc the resolution and post format on my old posts are a little funky since I imported all my content but that’s fine. I’m still learning how to navigate things and the posting format is way different from what I’m used to. There are just so many widgets and in-post widgets that I can use that I’ve never seen before. I feel like an old person learning how to use the internet lol. I’m also still not sure how to change photo size in post lol. But I think going forwards my content will be better :>
I also finally got around to getting a couple of tattoos that I’ve been wanting for years as a little birthday present to myself. I got the ouroboros snake tattooed around my knee and will be getting a portrait of Kyo from Dir en grey that was drawn by Junji Ito in a couple of weeks. The snake represents the nature of life, the cycle of destruction & rebirth etc. and it also is the name of one of my favorite albums by Dir en grey. I’ve also been wanting a portrait of Kyo since like middle school?? But finding a good portrait artist and a style I wanted was difficult. When I was at Barnes & Noble a while back I was looking through Junji Ito’s artbook Twisted Visions and saw 2 portraits of Kyo that he drew and my soul left my body I was so happy. (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ) I love Ito’s art so much and thinking about it it makes sense that Kyo would be his muse for this part of his art book him being the very avant-gard man he is lol.
The first of the two that I got done this month was the ouroboros. I went to Carlos @ Flying Panther Tattoo. He’s done most of my stuff and every new piece I get I always think “okay THIS one is my favorite lol.
Process summed up in 6 photos My appt was at 1230 and after placing the stencil and stuff starting tattooing at 1ish and finished around 330? It was a tough piece I’m always so impressed with Carlos he truly is an amazing artist.
The next day, surprised how puffy and red it still was lol usually my skin settles a little quicker. Everyone was saying how bad it was gonna hurt being on/near my knee (I don’t ever think the pain is that bad in general) and I think overall I’d give it a 1/5 on the pain-o-meter lol 1.5 max afterward when it gets wiped down, my least favorite part. Getting my septum pierced hurt more lol I’ll do an update on it when I get the junji tattoo since it’ll probably be mostly healed by then.
Also absolutely no one asked but since I talked about the album here are some of my favorite songs lol Also surprisingly Carlos knew who I was talking about when I mentioned why I was getting the snake. Apparently, his brother also likes Dir en grey, so you should too ´･ᴗ･`
Favorite songs~
- Vinushka
- Ware, Yami Tote ･･･
- Inconvenient Ideal
- Taguro
- GLASS SKIN & DOZING GREEN come in tied for me
Basically, the whole album but these are my favorites that I think are just iconic out of their discography.
I have finals next week so everyone keep me in their thoughts & prayers bc I’m not sure if I’ll pass my econ 303 class TT If I pass I only have to take one class next semester and I graduate. My moms already planning a birthday/graduation trip for us to go on and I’ll be so sad if we plan it and I end up being behind on my classes and my graduation date gets pushed back (´∩｀。) stressed. Anyway that’s all from me for now :>
edit: okay I reaaaally like how much I’m able to do in-post. I’m able to add so much more and all the little widgets and stuff is so cool lol. A big upgrade from lil ole blogger.
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
DeVita // show me ♫
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TRAVEL DIARIES: FALLBROOK
Been busy with midterms and studying for finals but wanted to share a recent trip I haven’t gotten around to posting about. Last month I took a little mini vaca for spring break and headed an hour or so north to Fallbrook, and stayed at this cute lil airbnb with a barn door as the main entrance lol. It was cozy and super quiet, except when trying to sleep. Apparently the neighbors down the street have a bunch of peacocks that make insane noises at 2am? I woke up in a panic the first night because it was so loud and I didn’t know what it was at first lol. Had a rough time sleeping our stay there bc of that stupid bird. The paintings in the living room area also looked like titans running around and it was all I could think about whenever I looked at it lol. My main goal for the trip was to get some astro shots, since our previous trips there was either too much light pollution or there was a full moon so it was too bright but I FINALLY was able to get some shots that night. I hated how they came out just bc I feel like the composition is weird. There was no open space where trees or cable lines weren’t in the shot, so I had to settle and work with what I had :/ I think it came out decent for my first try but also hate it just because it’s not perfect and exactly what I want lol but next time for sure will be better. Ideally further out and in an open space where I can get a photo of the milky way. I think next trip will be Anza Borrego?
We went on a mission to go to a little zoo(?) if you could call it that. It was like a petting zoo but with a zebra lol. It took us almost an hour just to get there and it was only a 20 min drive from us. The main road was blocked off and we got sent back to do a full circle about to the back way where the only entrance was blocked off so we circled around for a while to find some other entrance and finally just called the place to see how people were getting there. They just told us to drive past the do not pass sign lol Apparently that was all we had to do and it was just there for funsies. It was annoying and I was ready to just drive back to the airbnb. But I’m glad we made it and got to touch some cute cows lol. We also spent some time in Temecula for wine tasting afterward (ㅅ´ ˘ `) I might have said this before but I’m on a mission to find a wine that I really like. We ended up at Falkner winery and had the best charcuterie board with the best truffle cheese?? We had a couple charcuterie boards during our stay and I think this one might have been my favorite that I’ve had just in general. I just wish they had more meats 🙁 then it would have been *chefs kiss* it was a fun little getaway weekend though.
I probably won’t be on again for the next couple of weeks until finals are over, so don’t forget to head over to my instagram to check out my photo dumps from my Fallbrook weekend 🙂 AND ALSO, I just wanted to say I’m super excited for BTS’ comeback June 10. I can’t wait 🙁 I was super depressed I didn’t get to see them when they were in Vegas, I was soooo close to buying a ticket and going by myself but decided to wait until their next tour. I have slight regrets but it’s fine, I just keep telling myself I’ve seen them twice already and am just being selfish TT Hopefully I can get good seats during the next preorder. I’m stressed just thinking about it (ד ྊ ד ) I’m so proud of them and excited to see how far they go. Til next time!
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
RM // everythingoes. ♫
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Del Mar: Van Gough Exhibit + Understory + Cucina Enoteca
I bought some tickets to the Van Gough exhibit since it’ll be ending soon. I liked it a lot but I feel it was definitely overpriced lol. The first half is about his life and aspirations and the second half is a large room that projects his art and is constantly changing. The transitions were really neat and were very pretty when they used flowers from his paintings. I brought my Nikon f3 this day so I’m praying everything I shot comes out well ●︿● We finished everything a little earlier than expected and needed something to do since our dinner reservations weren’t until a couple hours later.
We ended up at Understory for some drinks. It’s right in the middle of this upstairs area with a bunch of little food places surrounding it. It kind of reminds me of Liberty Station’s public market area. When you sit at a tablet there’s a little QR code and you can order from any of the surrounding shops and they’ll bring it to you at the bar ≧◡≦ I forget from which place but we ordered some poke nachos and calamari. The nachos definitely needed more fish 🙁 it was disproportionate to the number of wonton chips there were lol. The calamari was calarmari. Nothin bad to say about it. The sauce they gave us to use with it was bbq sauce? Or tasted a lot like it which I thought was interesting. It went well together though. I really liked this place lol. Want to go back again when I have more time.
Cucina Enoteca $$
Later that evening I had booked a reservation for Cucina Enoteca. Originally I wanted to go there bc of their wine selection. I’m on the hunt for a good wine that I like and won’t give me a major headache. Their menu was a bit small but the food was good and they were super quick with bringing everything out. Our reservation was at 430 which is right when they reopen for the evening, so it wasn’t too busy at the time. The pasta was a bit too molto al dente for me though lol. But the lemon ricotta was they had with it was so good. The inside is really cute too. There are two sections on the inside, the first is what you initially walk into, which has a little bar area and a giant long table. They have a little curtain of stringed horses following the length of the stairs from the ceiling which apparently is supposed to be a small homage to the Del Mar race tracks. Apparently, the only way you can order from the happy hour menu is if you’re sitting in that section. The other section is more intimate with smaller tables with little cushions and pillows lined along the walls for seats instead of booths. It’s a little on the pricey side but overall it’s cute for a nice dinner date and would recommend going at least once.
《 ▸ 》c u r r e n t l y p l a y i n g :
La Sonora Dinamita // A Mover La Colita ♫
