January 2012
4 posts
The Mystery of the Under-Eye Concealer
Okay, quick one here. I’ve mentioned before that I have protruding eyes (i.e., they stick out of my face), which means I end up with a puffy pocket cupping the bottom of my eye. Most of you will get this puffiness when you smile… like your skin is cupping itself around the bottom of your eyeball. Nice!
For me, because my eye juts out, it’s far more pronounced whether I am...
How I Built My Brush Collection: Face Edition
For the longest time, the only makeup brush I owned was a big powder one that came with some mineral foundation I bought one time. Now, I have about ten brushes dedicated to use on my face, most of which I reach for every time I decided to wear makeup. In this post I’ll tell you a bit about each brush, specifically why I bought it and what I use it for (if I still use it).
The full list...
Tell Me More About My Eyes
I’m Chinese. That, as you can imagine, informs a gigantic chunk of this post. While I do not have a monolid, my eyes are small and I do not have a prominent crease. On top of that, my eyes actually protrude forward, and I would post photos but I HATE looking at my face from the side so that might have to wait for a better day. Point is: eye makeup was a pain in the ASS for me to learn.
...
July 2011
4 posts
maudlinbone-deactivated20110801 asked: what do you do when you're not posting about makeup
Reblog if you're willing to answer anything that...
notasenator:
This is pretty much always.
Yep. Always. When I’m awake, anyway.
My Experience with Eyeliner
Eyeliner is very precious to people such as myself, who have small eyes that crave definition and attention. One of my aunts even has tattooed eyeliner onto her lash line because she basically never left home without it, so she figured a tattoo was the way to go. (And, in a queasy kind of way, it makes sense.) But as I learned, there are many ways to do this right… and many more ways to do...
What I Now Know About Contouring
As with my discovery of primer, this journey of mine added yet more vocabulary to my verbal repertoire: contouring.
I had previously seen TV commercials for a New Zealand product called 6-in-1 (pronounced “sux in wun”), and I remember the way the lady says that it can be used as 6 different makeup products, including a contour. My first and subsequent reactions to this commercial...
June 2011
7 posts
How I Learned to Read Online Reviews
There is no replacement for an in-person consultation from an experienced/qualified professional. You’ll occasionally find sales assistants that are downright unhelpful or don’t know their stuff, but the best way to figure out how helpful they are is to at least get some background on the products you’re seeking more information on. That’s where the internet comes in. It...
The First Things I Learned About Concealer
Where I had once thought foundation to be a mask under which people could hide if they didn’t like themselves, I also used to think that concealer was a mask on top of a mask. In fact, I’m pretty sure I used to believe that you didn’t need concealer unless you were an acne-prone teenager and ashamed of your acne. And why wouldn’t I think that? It’s called...
SIDEBAR: Absence from Facebook
It occurs to me that it is likely most of you found out about my last post through Facebook and that reminded me about something.
This isn’t really a message for the followers of my blog, but more for those who can see this on Facebook: I am currently on vacation in China, which means that while I can update my blog, I cannot access, view, reply to, or in any way interact with Facebook or...
How I Figured Out What the Dickens "Primer" Was
Now, I’ve mentioned the site before, but MakeupGeek did a lot of the legwork in guiding me through a phase what was basically a blind man navigating a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Through that site, I learned a lot about what the various products were and what they did and why I did or didn’t need them. Handy.
It is how I came to know about a weird thing called primer.
This is something I...
The Patrick McNamara Problem - Underneath the...
This is probably one of my favourite songs of all time. I love it to pieces. Coincidentally, his self-titled first album is now available on Amazon (edit: and iTunes!) if you are interested in picking it up, which you should, because it’s great.
What I Know About My Skin
For those of you who may not know, I have dermatitis. Specifically, I have eczema. There is a long story here that begins with 20-some years of flawless skin and then dives into 2 sudden years of the worst and most irritated skin I’ve ever seen. During this period my arms and legs were itchy, flaky and red and the skin on my breasts was… well, even worse. Put it this way: I had to wrap my...
The First Things I Learned About Foundation
Foundation to me was always this thing that “wasn’t necessary” in makeup. It was an optional extra that was the difference between someone who hated her face and loved her face. (Hence why I always used loose powder, probably.) Foundation, I used to believe, is what you used to “hide” your face. My understanding now is that it acts more as a base than a cover.
Hence...
May 2011
7 posts
What I Used to Know About Makeup
Now, even prior to this decision to try something “new,” I did possess a few token items in my cosmetics collection. The meagerness of it, as some of you will have figured out if you’ve read my previous posts, was actually a point of pride with me: “look how little I use to look this good” and all that.
Still, even in my most anti-makeup moments, I knew that on...
Why I Chose to Start With Makeup
My foray into the feminine world begins with cosmetics. There are a lot of girls out there who use it. Some of them only touch up their eyes and lips and nothing else. Others wear full faces of makeup and go all-out. Some of them do both but which one at a given time depends on the time of day or the occasion.
My own curiosity began by browsing a photographer friend’s...
What I Used to Know About Being a Girl
I didn’t used to use makeup. At all. I was raised by parents who would tell both my sister and I that we didn’t need it and we were pretty enough. I even specifically remember my father telling us that we didn’t need to “make up” for anything so why bother with makeup? And for very many years, I took that to heart… zealously. I had even, as recently as a couple...
11 May - Spatial Awareness
On the way home today I sneezed a few times in a row and walked smack-bang into a telephone pole.
Then a ute with two dudes in it drove past laughing at me.
My life comes with a tagline: “Making you feel like less of a clumsy idiot.”
02 May - Opine Outcry
On the way home today I overheard several conversations about that dude getting killed via a shot in the head. Many of these conversations were being had among young adolescents. Thing is, in the different discussions on which I dropped some eaves, there were vastly divergent stories being told… one of which involved a dispute over who actually died.
Guys, the dude’s name is was Osama...
April 2011
7 posts
28 April - Gulp
On the way home today I yawned, and a fly flew into my mouth and I accidentally swallowed it.
I should really cover my mouth when I yawn.
20 April - Reflections on a Train
On the way home today, I and five other ladies in the vicinity reached up to fix our hair at precisely the same time. The train had just pulled up to the platform, and we could see our reflections in the windows of the train.
It was reflexive; I wasn’t waiting for the train to arrive so that I could fix my hair. But you’re looking straight ahead at opposite platforms, wondering what...
On the Way Home on 18 April, 2011
On the way home today I was extremely excitable, for reasons I probably shouldn’t talk about too much here (hint: Ours is the Fury). Therefore, I wasn’t really paying attention to much of anything and wasn’t expecting to spot anything blogworthy. Then, as I was walking down the final street home, I did happen to notice something.
An older guy (mid- to late-30s) that I had...
On the Way Home on 15 April, 2011
On the way home today I was sitting on the bus that I take to get to the train (that I then take to get to a stop near home… it’s a pretty long trip). On the bus were a few young men that I identified as being international students: they were all young, none spoke English as their first language and there is an international centre nearby. Of them, one was East Asian in appearance and...
On the Way Home on 14 April, 2011
On the way home today I was minding my own business on a train, and through my iPod earphones I heard someone shouting. Out of bystander curiosity, I subtly yanked one of my earphones out and listened in.
She was a young Indigenous woman, probably in her 20s by the look of her, and she was speaking very loudly to the people around her. Various swear words were used and she did not appear to be...
On the Way Home on 8 April, 2011
Yes, this post is written in retrospect, but it did indeed prompt the start of a new style of blog. Stay with me.
On the way home today, I walked past a bus stop. Coming up the street towards me was an older woman, white, mid-40s. She appeared distraught, disoriented, and in a hurry. Her eyes were darting back and forth, and she glanced at me several times as she approached me, then when I came...
“A TCK is always leaving or being left. Relationships are short-lived. Someone is...”
– ~ Dr. David C Pollock
January 2011
1 post
The Appeal of the Internet and My Subsequent...
Now, I can’t speak for other Third Culture Kids out there, because for all I know they are far, far better at dealing with technological addiction than I am, but the internet and social networking sites like Facebook and online community forums are a pretty important aspect of my social life. Sounds sad? It is, but not in the way that you might think.
The transience of a TCK lifestyle means...
August 2010
1 post
On Being Better
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine dropped a “terrible truth bomb” (her words, not mine) in to her Facebook status. Essentially, it said this: “there’s always somebody better than you at everything you like about yourself.”
Now, I don’t have the context for this particular statement. She could have been frustrated at herself, at someone else, or just plain...
June 2010
3 posts
3 tags
Ironically, I Couldn't Think of a Clever Title for...
Communication skills. It’s one of the first things I put down in any job application, résumé/CV, or application form. When they ask for skills or strengths, BAM, “communication” is at the top every time, and I am, perhaps paradoxically to some people, not afraid to admit that I have very good communication skills. But what does this even mean? Is it a catchphrase that...
Tōne, Tóne, Tǒne, Tòne
The first week of my fieldwork placement started out rather slowly, I must admit. Research projects are all well and good, particularly when someone like me can really use the practice, but they’re pretty cut and dry and it feels like homework. (For those not in the know, my placement is focused around working with community development and support groups, but on an administrative level...
2 tags
A Fantastically Rational Dose of Self-Reflection
Have you ever had one of those moments where you look back on something that just happened and wondered how you could’ve handled it better? I’m sure we all have. Sometimes it’s that knee-jerk reaction to some sudden event and you didn’t have time to think so you just reacted… then afterwards, with some time to think, you realize that you should’ve said this and things...
May 2010
3 posts
Oh Hey I'm Going to Cut You Off Here
As mentioned in passing in a previous post, the discussions that take place in class are mired in, well, a terrible, seemingly incurable epidemic. It’s infectious, contagious, and the worst part of it is, most of the time you don’t realize you’ve got it! But it’s probably the worst condition for a social worker to have. It is the equivalent of a DJ at a popular and crowded...
Social Work Theory - The Challenge of Cultural...
This post contains an excerpt from a paper I wrote for one of my units this semester. Because it shares a great deal of what I personally view as a significant challenge in dealing with social work theory, I felt that it might be an interesting to share. I may, of course, be wrong.
In this paper, we were asked to identify some of the issues and challenges surrounding the use of theory in Social...
April 2010
3 posts
WatchIt’s cheesy as hell, but this song is pretty much my anthem for going into Social Work. Inspired by Isaac Slade’s experience working with a troubled teen, I love this song just because it reminds me of why I’m doing this degree to begin with.
“Live your life such that when you look at who you were last week, you want to...”
3 tags
Social Work Students and Their Apparent Speech...
Okay, look, I’m really not a mean person. I will admit that I am outspoken, loud, opinionated, and impatient… but I’m not mean. For the most part. Now, given this indisputable fact, I find myself wanting to stab myself in the ears whenever certain individuals in my lectures speak up.
Owing to its nature, social work naturally demands that students be able to participate in...
1 tag
The Strange Nature of Sport and Its Relevance to...
There are a lot of people out there who don’t enjoy sport. Some people don’t play them, others don’t even watch them. Fair enough; sport, as with anything else, is an interest that not everyone has to enjoy to be a decent human being. All the same, there is a very good lesson to be taken from sport that I think bears noting, and it’s not one of the obvious ones (i.e.,...
March 2010
6 posts
GameCrush: Harsh Realities
While this may seem a departure from the Social Work theme that I’m trying to establish for this blog, it’s really not. Social Work is as much about knowing yourself as it is about knowing others, and in this regard I do use this blog as a journal for self-reflection. In today’s case, it comes to an interest of mine I have always held dear: GAMING!
Reading the title, you may...
The Economics of Social Work
The idea for this post came to me about a week ago, but I’m only penning it now because it wasn’t until today that I could think of a way to express what I mean without sounding like a cold-hearted bitch. (I’m trying to say that I actually put some thought into my blogs.)
Often during our lectures, we are asked to turn to a colleague or the people beside us and have small...
Whiteness Theory
In Week 4 into my Master of Social Work, specifically my Indigenous People and Social Work class, we touched on an interesting topic. As your astute deductive skills may have guessed, it’s about whiteness!
I, for those who do not know, am not white. At least, not in appearance. I will admit to having some “white” tendencies and habits (and, let’s face it, language), but...
1 tag
Confessions of a Most Heinous Nature
1) I do not know what the A-Team is.
2) The only Muppets program I have ever watched is A Muppet Christmas Carol.
3) I have yet to finish watching Blade Runner.
4) I don’t get why Aquaman is in the Justice League.
5) I did not know who Whiplash was until the buzz about the Iron Man 2 movie came out.
6) There was once a time I drew a Crimson Dawn tattoo on my face just to be like...
“Doing nothing means you’ll do no harm, but it also means you’ll do...”
1 tag
"Legacy" is Such a Strong Word
A good friend of the family passed away last week. I didn’t hear about it until today because, well, I live far away from home and I’m very bad at keeping in touch. Okay, that’s a bit selfish; it’s probably because my father was still coming to grips with what happened and didn’t feel he wanted to update my sister and I on it until after he was feeling better.
It was...
February 2010
6 posts
2 tags
Subcultural Labels and the Silly Things They Make...
I have broached this topic before, but because of its scope it does bear revisiting.
It’s prevalent in an awful lot of cultures and across many languages, probably because it’s how we as humans make society at large easier to understand. We assign labels to groups of people. They could be political (liberal, conservative, etc) or they could be cultural (hipster, yuppie, jock, nerd,...
1 tag
A Splinter Project - LDR Insight
I have no idea what happened to my previous post on this, but it’s just occurred to me that it has vanished from the face of tumblr without so much as a goodbye, so this is a repost.
My posting frequency on this particular blog has drastically dropped, owing in large part to the creation of my new blog: LDR Insight. Because I was able to generate an awful lot of content about long distance...
2 tags
Long Distance Relationships and the Management...
After much deliberation I have decided to write at least one long-distance-relationship-related post every so often. I have, as yet, not decided how often “every so often” will be.
This, as your first post on the topic, will be a bit scathing and probably more than a little discouraging.
Now, some people seem to think that I recommend everyone give long-distance dating a try. I would...
1 tag
The Snowflake Fallacy
Trigger: FROST
I was going to write something clever for this trigger, but in the end I decided to just tell you what goes through my head every time I think of winter and, more specifically, a snowy winter.
It’s been a while since I was last enjoying hip-high snowdrifts or snowball fights or the sight of giant white phalli being erected every fifty meters because people think they are...