beauty haul: college edition

from left to right, clockwise: Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Benefit Benetint, Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Foundation, Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, NYX Blush in Mauve

I think this is my first haul post and recently I've been on a beauty kick. I have enough clothes and realized I needed to update my makeup collection before I head off to college. All of these purchases were definitely an investment for me. I was the person who just wore a tinted sunscreen, used concealer most of the time, mascara, eyeliner, and the occasionally bronzer and blush. I never thought foundation was necessary or "contouring" for that matter. Maybe it's because I've been watching countless beauty guru videos lately but I've been loving makeup. Fashion is still in my mind too but I need to hold off on buying things until I get to California, haha (speaking of, only 2 more weeks left in Chicago!).

1. Benefit Hoola Bronzer $28.00

I decided to get this bronzer after running out of my cheap E.L.F. bronzer. I needed a brown color based bronzer to use for contour and heard that hoola was a great one. I was going to get Nars Laguna but at the time it was a little pricey for me, haha. Maybe next time though! I've used this for a couple of weeks so far and I'm like it very much. I love how its not orange-based and how I can go for a subtle bronzed look or the full on bronzed look. Although a downside is that the color is quite sheer so I have to go back to get the look I want.

2. Benefit Benetint $30.00

This probably a cult favorite and everyone probably knows about this already. I've been hesitant about this but realized that this is great for those days when I'm in a hurry and need to look awake and not sick or dead (oh, the downsides of having such pale skin & dark circles). I love the color on my lips and I love how the tint on my cheeks last forever! 

3. Benefit 'Hello Flawless' Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory $36.00

I never actually thought of buying this foundation. I've been trying out samples in order to find the perfect foundation for me and haven't found one yet. When I was shopping around with Julia (visit her blog here) we decided to stop in the Benefit store. The ladies there were so sweet and asked us what we were there for. I told them I had been thinking about getting the Benetint and then she just did a whole make-over on me. She used this foundation and I absolutely fell in love! It looked super natural, with enough coverage, and brightened up my face. She finished it off with the Hello Flawless Powder and I think I'm going to go back for that. 

4. Urban Decay Naked2 Palette $50.00

Yes, the infamous Naked Palette from Urban Decay. I decided to go with this one because it had more neutral colors (like the black) than the original Naked. Everyone probably already knows about this so I don't have to "rave" about it, haha. I decided to invest in this because I didn't want to buy different eyeshadows to get the colors I wanted. This palette is perfect for me because I'm not the person to experiment with different colors for my eyeshadow. In fact, I don't usually wear eyeshadow! I love all of these neutral colors and I probably should play around with it before I leave, haha. 

5. NYX Powder Blush in Mauve $5.99

I bought this blush because I wanted a pinky and less coral blush than the ones I had (which were the Nars Laguna and MAC Peachykeen). Also, this is what Claire from HeyClaire recommends as her favorite blush. And since I absolutely love her, I had to get this. I love the color so much. It's subtle but gives your the natural flushed look which is always great. 

All of these purchases came from separate shopping occasions as I got ready for college. I really recommend all of these products because although some are pricey, I have absolutely no regrets!

xx Jenny

find me on: tumblr | twitter | @blandiorjk on instagram | bloglovin' | pintrest 

oh so lovely

There's less than a month until I move to California! I can't believe it's already towards the end of August. I think this summer went by the fastest. My high school started school today and I'm still enjoying my summer break....it's so weird to think that. Anywho, hello everyone! I've just been enjoying my summer and relaxing with friends, you know, before they all leave. It's kind of surreal that I won't be having classes with all of them this year and won't be seeing them everyday like I used to. 

I feel like I say this in every inspiration post but, my style keeps changing! But I think it's settling down...I hope, haha. I was showing my mom my Pintrest and she commented how much my style has gotten girly-er. I remember I dressed pretty boyish in middle school and elementary school. Not sure what happened between those years and now but I can't complain! I've been loving soft pinks, i.e. mauve, dark purples and dark or light greys. Anything that seems delicate and lovely, I just immediately fall in love! I want my hair to be light and delicate and braids and curls are the hairstyles I've been wearing lately. There is the occasionally blowout and that makes me feel like a goddess, haha. 

I also kind of think my hair color is making me feel more girly. I had dark dark brown hair and I dyed my hair to a light brown a couple of months ago. After that, I've been reaching for more feminine colors and wanting to look more..flirtatious? This sounds so odd! I absolutely love this hair color and could never think about going back to that dark hair color. I would love to go even lighter, but the maintenance is definitely hard for a college student like me. I'm getting my roots done soon and I can't wait to be freshly light brown again. 

As you can tell, all of my inspiration pictures from the most recent months are all aspects of girly. Somewhat flirty but yet delicate....or am I just imagining things? Don't worry, I'll be taking more adventure pictures on my journey to California. There's also going to be a loving at the moment' post coming soon! There are so many products that have made me fall in love and I've been wanting to share them with you! Please stay tuned for that post (: 

xx Jenny

find me on: tumblr | twitter | @blandiorjk on instagram | bloglovin' | pintrest

ps. I just discovered an awesome band called Phantogram and you guys should really check them out!

july favorites + relaxing day in the city

I leave for college in about a month, it's kind of crazy. I swear it was just yesterday that I graduated high school and summer started..but now it's already August! You know what that means, July favorites! Favorites this month include makeup products and an accessory. These are the products that I've basically swore by this past month.

1. Maybelline DreamLumi Touch Highlighting Concealer 

I have this concealer in Ivory. I thought about purchasing this product a couple months ago but I wasn't sure if it was going to be worth all the hype. Many beauty gurus say that this is a pretty good dupe of the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat. After I heard that, I was bought. I've wanted to buy the YSL Touche Eclat after my friend recommended it to me. Although I haven't tried the Touche Eclat, I think this highlighting concealer is a good drugstore buy in place of the high end product. It helps my dark circles immensely and dark circles are something I care deeply about.

2. Benefit They're Real Mascara

I used up my old mascara and was looking for a new mascara that I could swear by. I first wanted to get the sample size of the Benefit's They're Real mascara because I was afraid that it wouldn't do the job for me. Well now I know that after I use this little tube up, I will be buying the full size. During the summer, I tend to wear mascara and some black eye shadow as a convenient eyeliner replacement. Usually my eyes look bare but this mascara gives me the look that I'm wearing eyeliner when I'm not. The curls also stay in throughout the day and there is no clumping. 

3. Dior LipGlow Color Reviver Balm

My mom was the one who recommended me this product as a transition from lip balms to lipsticks. I told her that I didn't want to plunge into lipsticks and she said this is a good starter. It has a consistency of a lip balm but there is definitely a good enough color that makes your lips pop. I love popping this on my lips instead of lip balm because it brightens my face up. I cannot go anywhere without bringing this balm because it's just so great! I love it!

4. Nivea Raspberry Rose Kiss

I guess you could say that this month was all about the lips, haha. I've really gotten into taking better care of my lips because I tend to get pretty dry lips. After hearing beauty guru after guru talk about this lip butter, I thought I would give it a try. First off, everyone is right. The smell of this lip butter is amazing. It reminds me of a Popsicle or some sort of berry candy. Although the balm itself is a little pinky, I don't think it gives that color off on your lips. I love putting this on my lips before I go to sleep because then in the morning, my lips are moisturized and I can wear lipstick without the dry looking lips.

5. David Yurman Necklace with the Wheat Chain and Star Charm

I'm actually not quite sure what the charm is called but I know for sure that the chain is Wheat. I've been wearing this everywhere I go. I got this as a graduation gift from my mom and I absolutely love it. I love the chain and how it's not too long or short that it chokes my neck. The charm is also classy and cute. I've been wanting a necklace that goes with every outfit possible and this definitely is it. 

6. Iope Air Cushion XP Broad Spectrum SPF 50+

I have this in the color N21 (or Ice Vanilla). This product was also brought to my attention by my mom. I was looking for a good BB cream and/or foundation for a staple but I had no idea where to start. My mom said that this is the craze in Korea and I wondered why. After using this product, I see why. It's like a BB cream and sunscreen in one. It's a very interesting applicator...or whatever you would call this. It's like a compact and it comes with a pad. You flip open the tab and you see the "cushion" which is like the beauty sponges with the product. Then, with the pad, you dab it on the cushion to get the product. Afterwards, all you have to do is dab that onto your face and it'll give you that natural look. I really like this product because it's incredibly light and gives me decent coverage. 

I went to Chicago, downtown, this past Saturday and just wanted to show you what I've been up to. I went with my friends Julia (check out her blog here) and we decided to just spend a day in the city. The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was a great day. The funny thing is, I've lived in a Chicago suburb all my life but never actually took pictures of the city, not sure why. I decided today was a good day to start. 

You might be wondering why I didn't go to Lollapalooza. Well, there were many bands that I would have wanted to see but I guess I thought that there was always next year. Also, since I'll be in California, I'll probably go to Coachella this coming year and maybe even go to Lollapalooza when I come home for break. Even though we weren't at Lolla, we could hear the performances from Millennium Park. We actually decided to go to Millennium Park because we heard that Claire (HeyClaire/Claire Marshall) was going to do a meet-up. Sadly, we missed her by a couple of minutes but it was surreal that we were in the same vicinity as her!

And here's the ultimate 'tourist-y' picture of The Bean. I never knew this but "The Bean" is actually called The Cloud Gate. I think everyone should start calling it that since that's what the artist intended but you know, whatever floats your boat is fine. 

I hope you enjoyed my July favorites and a little glimpse of my weekend. What're your favorites for July?

xx Jenny

find me on: tumblr | twitter | @blandiorjk on instagram | bloglovin'