This blog is about to change

Okay, maybe not drastically change. Let me start from the beginning, and give you guys a life update of sorts.

As you guys know (I think), I moved back home to Houston after some issues with Japanese grad school and being rejected for a job in Japan, etc. Originally, I was going to wait a year, work from my hometown, and get my TEFL certificate before I tried to apply for a job in South Korea. 

Yeah, that's not how it happened.

I have a couple of friends who all of a sudden popped up with teaching jobs in Korea, and I decided "screw this, I'm going to apply without the certificate". I signed up for a recruiting agency, and within a couple of weeks, I was successfully placed in a teaching position at a private school in Busan, South Korea. As per usual with EFL jobs in South Korea, I get a decent check, a rent free apartment and healthcare, and I couldn't be more excited or grateful. I ship off on April 30th to start a new life, which is where the blog change comes in.

If you know nothing else about South Korea, then know this: there ain't no makeup for Black girls in South Korea. It's a homogeneous country, granted, so all foundations, concealers, blushes, lipsticks, etc are geared to the Korean woman. That's understandable; I'm not one of those women who will go to a homogeneous country and bitch and moan because they don't have products available in my shade; unlike the United States, they don't have a market for those things. But, with that being said, I won't be able to buy many things while I'm living there, with the exception of skin care, (some) hair products, and non-complexion based makeup (e.g. eyeliner, mascara, maybe lip gloss). I will gladly post about these things, but my blog and my YouTube channel, if I ever decided to do it consistently, will be limited on content. So, I decided for the blog at least, to incorporate my experience living in South Korea, and giving information about social and racial encounters, what "hair masks" work for natural hair, where to find plus sized clothing, etc. The other day I was googling for blogs about Black girls in South Korea, and found maybe two actual blogs; everyone else just wants to vlog about it, and I'm not a vlogger by a long shot. I figured I could use this small platform to provide information to girls like me, who need the information but don't necessarily want to watch a video about it. So! That's the update! Also, here's a look for you, just because I haven't posted in forever.

FACE:

Primer:

• NYX Angel Veil Primer on the right cheek and my nose
• H&M Mattifying Primer on the left cheek and my forehead
• Both set with the ELF HD Powder

 Concealer:

• E.L.F. Orange Concealer Stick under the Makeup Revolution Conceal + Define Concealer in C13 on my mouth and the shadows on my cheek
• Kiss New York Extreme Camouflage Cream in Rich Beige under my eyes.

Foundation: CoverGirl Queen Collection All Day Flawless 3-in-1 Foundation in Q825 Golden Honey

• Applied with a fake version of the Farsali Rose Gold Elixir, and enhanced by the Wet N Wild Hello Halo Liquid Highlighter in Goddess Glow under my eyes, and Go With The Glow on my forehead and chin.

Face Powder: Makeup Revolution Terra Cotta Baking Powder

Under Eye Setting Powder: Ben Nye Dolce Powder

BROWS:

Outline: ColourPop Brow Pencil in Black 'n Brown

Filler: E.L.F. Brow Kit in Dark

Browbone Highlight: ColourPop No Filter Concealer in Deep Golden

 

EYES:

Primer: Makeup Revolution Conceal + Define Concealer in C13, set with the Ben Nye Dolce Powder

Shadows:

• Transition: Admire and Passion, in the Bad Habit Aphrodite Palette
• Lid: Eclipse, in the Bad Habit Solstice Palette, on the inner and outer corners, with Chefchaouen, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan II Palette on the center, topped with Surreal, in the Bad Habit Dreamstate Palette
• Lower Lash Line: Passion, in the Bad Habit Aphrodite Palette
• Inner Corner: Blur and Muse, in the Bad Habit Dreamstate Palette

 

Eyeliner: Wet 'N Wild ProLine Graphic Marker Eyeliner
Mascara: Ruby Kisses Very Sexy Mascara on the bottom lashes

Lashes: Kiss Lash Couture 5th Avenue Lashes in Lavish

CONTOUR:

Ruby Kisses 3D Contour Palette in Medium Dark

HIGHLIGHT:

Nude Beach and Tan Lines, in the Bad Habit Oasis Highlighting Kit

BLUSH:

Yara, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan Blush Palette Vol II

LIPS:

Milani Amore Shine Lip Gloss in Tenderness

Okay, that's enough rambling for today. I hope that something will suit you in the posts to come, and I look forward to taking you along on this new journey!

x Ashlan

I'm late for Mardi Gras too?! (starring Juvia's Place)

I could've sworn that Mardi Gras was in March sometime.

To be fair, I never really get the opportunity to celebrate Mardi Gras. The only memories I have of Mardi Gras are childhood ones, which involved eating King cake and being paranoid about accidentally swallowing the baby Jesus, and going to New Orleans with my half Cajun, half Southern family and walking down Bourbon Street (in the daytime, of course), eating beignets in the French Quarter, walking through the winter wonderland of the Fairmont Hotel, and finding the most hilariously lewd necklaces and T-Shirts in the souvenir shops. I haven't stepped foot in New Orleans in almost twenty years, so it's pretty natural for me to have no idea of when Mardi Gras is, but I might have to rectify that before I make any plans to move out of the country. Either way, I digress; don't be mad at me. Here's a look!

And some over exposed Snapchat-filtered pictures

I'm late as hell for Mardi Gras but I'm in love with this look! I was worried it would be too gaudy and I got a little intimidated around the time I started applied the first green, but it came out so much better than I could have imagined! Here's the details:

FACE:

Primer:

• Wet 'N Wild PhotoFocus Matte Face Primer on my T-Zone
• Mac Prep + Prime

 Concealer:

• E.L.F. Orange Concealer Stick under the Tarte Shape Tape in Deep on my mouth and the shadows on my cheek, and the Shape Tape paired with the Wet N Wild PhotoFocus Concealer in Medium/Deep Tan under my eyes.

Foundation: CoverGirl Queen Collection All Day Flawless 3-in-1 Foundation in Q825 Golden Honey

• Applied with a fake version of the Farsali Rose Gold Elixir, and enhanced by the Wet N Wild Hello Halo Liquid Highlighter in Goddess Glow under my eyes, and Go With The Glow on my forehead and chin.

Face Powder: Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Sienna (which, I've realized, makes my face too dark yay! What am I gonna do?!)

Under Eye Setting Powder: Maybelline Fit Me! Loose Setting Powder in Deep

BROWS:

Outline: ColourPop Brow Pencil in Black 'n Brown

Filler: E.L.F. Brow Kit in Dark

Browbone Highlight: L.A. Girl HD Pro Concealer in Toffee

 

EYES:

Primer: L.A. Girl HD Pro Concealer in Toffee

Shadows:

• Transition: Fulani, in the Juvia's Place The Masquerade Palette, topped with the purple shade in the Juvia's Place The Zulu Palette, and a little bit of Haze, in the Bad Habit Beauty Aura Palette on the very edges
• Lid: Makeda, in the Juvia's Place The Masquerade Palette
• Lower Lash Line: Mali, in the Juvia's Place The Masquerade Palette, with Ecstasy, in the Bad Habit Beauty Aura Palette on top of the outer third, and the green shimmer shade in The Zulu Palette on top of the inner third, all kind of smoked out by Egypt, in the Juvia's Place The Nubian II Palette
• Inner Corner: Nairobi, in the Juvia's Place The Nubian II Palette

 

Eyeliner: Wet 'N Wild ProLine Graphic Marker Eyeliner with the Kat Von D Tattoo Eyeliner in Trooper to start out that dramatic ass wing
Mascara: Ruby Kisses Very Sexy Mascara on the bottom lashes

Lashes: Kiss Lash Couture Faux Mink Lashes in Boudoir

CONTOUR:

Ruby Kisses 3D Contour Palette in Medium Dark

HIGHLIGHT:

Casablanca, in the Juvia's Place The Masquerade palette, topped with Nairobi, in the Juvia's Place The Nubian II Palette, with a little bit of Aziza, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan II Palette on top just to be extra

BLUSH:

Yara, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan Blush Palette Vol II

LIPS:

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in London

Moral of the story is, when you need a really good colorful look (and apparently a bomb ass multifaceted highlight), Juvia's Place will never steer you wrong. Honestly I don't know why I have highlighters anymore; this highlight completely blew my mind! I've also realized that I've been spoiled by Fix+. I thought that my Kiss NY spray was booty in comparison to Fix+ and my Milani spray, but after using my Milani spray on this look, I realize that, in comparison to Fix+, it's booty too. So now I've been sucked into the void of having to spend $26 on a setting spray, or $12 on the minis. I think I can work with that some kind of way. Thanks for reading!

x Ashlan

Happy belated Valentine's Day?

This is embarrassing.

I said that I was going to do a Valentine's Day post on Valentine's Day; I had done a look in advance and everything. And yet here we are, four days later, you shaking your head at me, me looking pitiful. I'm supposed to be doing better in 2018.

I think the problem is that I did the look in advance for ahem reasons (which is funny because I didn't even use the look for what I wanted to use it for anyway) so there was no urgent need to do the blog post. I should've done the blog post that same day and just saved it, but it's neither here nor there now. 

See, for your forgiveness, I was supposed to give you two looks with details, but I seem to have deleted the details for one of the looks I had done, and therefore can't post it because I haven't the slightest idea of what I used. I'm gonna deactivate this blog after this post.

 

This look still has the whole pinky Valentine's Day-esque vibe going on, so maybe that's not too bad? I don't know; this is a train wreck.

FACE:

Primer:

• Wet 'N Wild PhotoFocus Matte Face Primer on my T-Zone
• Nicka K New York Ultra Smoothing Makeup Primer

 Concealer:

• E.L.F. Orange Concealer Stick under the Tarte Shape Tape in Deep on my mouth, and the Shape Tape paired with the Wet N Wild PhotoFocus Concealer in Medium/Deep Tan under my eyes.

Foundation: CoverGirl Queen Collection All Day Flawless 3-in-1 Foundation in Q825 Golden Honey

• Applied with a fake version of the Farsali Rose Gold Elixir, and enhanced by the Wet N Wild Hello Halo Liquid Highlighter in Goddess Glow under my eyes, and Go With The Glow on my forehead and chin.

Face Powder: Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Sienna

Under Eye Setting Powder: Maybelline Fit Me! Loose Setting Powder in Medium Deep

 

BROWS:

Outline: ColourPop Brow Pencil in Black 'n Brown

Filler: E.L.F. Brow Kit in Dark

Browbone Highlight: L.A. Girl HD Pro Concealer in Toffee

 

EYES:

Primer: L.A. Girl HD Pro Concealer in Toffee

Shadows:

• Transition: Warmth, in the Bad Habit Inferno Palette
• Crease: Hot Spot and Smolder, in the Bad Habit Inferno Palette
• Lid: Burn, in the Bad Habit Inferno Palette, with Ahora, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan II Palette on top
• Lower Lash Line: Hot Spot and Smolder, in the Bad Habit Inferno Palette
• Inner Corner: Marrakesh, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan II Palette

 

Eyeliner: Wet 'N Wild ProLine Graphic Marker Eyeliner
Mascara: Ruby Kisses Very Sexy Mascara on the bottom lashes

Lashes: E.L.F. Luxe Lash Kit in Winged & Polished

 

CONTOUR:

Ruby Kisses 3D Contour Palette in Medium Dark

 

HIGHLIGHT:

Tan Lines, in the Bad Habit Oasis Highlight Kit, with Marrakesh, in the Juvia's Place The Saharan II Palette on top

 

BLUSH:

Milani Baked Blush in Rose d'Oro

 
LIPS:

Nicka K New York Lip Gloss in Chocolate Cosmos to act as a liner of sorts (I couldn't find my liner), paired with the Milani Amore Shine Lip Gloss in Foxy Sexy

Honestly I'm surprised you stuck around this long to read the end of this post, but I thank you for it anyway. I promise to be more put together and ready in my next post, which will hopefully be soon!

x Ashlan