Hawaii (Five-0) 2016 and a few other things

Greetings and welcome back to a seemingly estranged blog.

Well, estranged no more.

Hopefully.

During this slight (forgive the understatedness - newest addition to the Oxford dictionary in two thousand and never) hiatus from the world of blogging, I realised that I really don't do much with my time off anymore, and reading through my old posts brought about a certain nostalgia. Basically, I miss reading about past Michelle's adventures and unless I've put effort into cementing memories, they basically fade into nothingness. Basically, my memory has declined significantly over the last 12-18 months and it's pretty scary to think just how bad I am at remembering things - especially important things. Basically, I don't think I really need any excuses.

Basically, I'm getting old.

I miss writing. I miss putting my brain through a little mental torture trying to write something cohesive that was a somewhat accurate description of my life events.

January Drugstore/Budget Haul

Merely a preview because I am a complete numnut.

Best Album of 2013

Greetings from home!

I only just got back from Sydney and I'm already blogging. One of my 2014 resolutions was to blog more (and when I say blog, I mean blog - if y'know what I mean) and I'm trying to make a habit out of it. Can I just say that I think the weather god/being/whatevarghhhhh.. really hates me.

In 2012, my Sydney/Melbourne trip was burdened by rain and 10 degree Celcius days.

(Also, that the temperature rose immediately to the high 20s the day I left.)

In 2013, I went to Korea during winter (as if that wasn't going to be cold enough already?!).. and it was the coldest winter they'd had in like a decade or something.

(I'm totally making that up, but it adds to the effect.)

(Can I also add that it has rained every single time I've been away from home?)

(And at home, too.)

So basically, everyone and everything hates me. This is what I have concluded, with my two-decade-old, full-of-wisdom-and-lack-of-naivety brain.

Hmph. I'm going to lock myself in a room.

Cynicism aside. I haven't written anything in a while, which is why this post seems like it deserves a spot in my 2010 archives and is overly angsty.

Now - where was I?

My favourite album of 2013: Pine Trails by Satellite Stories - hands down. An honourable mention must go to Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper.. but my heart lies with the former.

Actually, a month ago, I didn't even know who Satellite Stories were. I just happened to come across them during one of my MV trawling sessions and haven't looked back since. Satellite Stories is a Finnish band comprising four members. And they have fantastic music. If I had to compare them to some other sounds, I'd say.. Two Door Cinema Club, New Navy and Last Dinosaurs. Indie rock has definitely become my thing.

You know how most albums have their "make it" songs and then some "break it" songs? Well, Pine Trails is 100% make it. Absolutely no sign of break it, anywhere. About half of the songs have acoustic versions, and usually I end up loving those more than the originals, but I must say, the balance is absolutely remarkable. If I ever had to marry an album, this would be it. They're definitely among my favourite bands of all time and tickets will be purchased if they ever tour in Australia (hint, hint?).

These are my favourite songs from the album:



(The acoustic version of Lights Go Low is also fabulous)




Please, give them a listen. If any of you like music which is even remotely similar to my taste, you may end up loving them too.

Tracklist and album info available on: Itunes | SoundCloud | Facebook

In short, I am completely and absolutely in love.

In. Love.

(It was a close call between Pine Trails and An Awesome Wave - alt-J.. except the latter was released in 2012. Oops.)

And that's it for me! Lots of love x

Pre-Sydney Mini Haul

I'm going to take a minute to discuss the weather in Brisbane right now.

Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous.

The air conditioning on the bus did not suffice. Also, the bus on the way home had a broken air conditioner. Obviously I have the best luck in all the land.

When I got home, I thought I'd take an early shower to cool off a bit. Let's just say I had my shower set to the coldest temperature and it was still too hot, and now I've just hit a wall. Maybe I have heatstroke or something.

But then again, maybe not. I probably wouldn't be able to type anything out.

I bought a few things today before I went to Sydney. I really wanted a new non-exfoliating cleanser for rotation (because the scrub is too harsh) and the NARS foundation pump (even though my current one is on its last legs) for the other unopened bottle I have. I also wanted to find a chartreuse nail polish.

And bought I did.

Travel Beauty Staples '14: January

So even before I start this post, I must apologise for a lapse in memory - I totally forgot mascara.

What a rookie error. My bad.

"Seriously, Michelle?!" you may be thinking.

Seriously.

I apologise.

With that aside, I decided to make a post about the most important products I'd take when travelling. Maybe because I'm going to Sydney.. TOMORROW. Goodness gracious, time has passed.

Obviously this is not everything that I'd take on a plane (I've left out accessories - brushes being the most important, followed by nightly skincare), but if there were only a few things I could take travelling with me, this is what I would pack.

Plus the mascara.

In my defence, I probably (at least subconsciously) left it out because I haven't found a mascara that I love.

My justification suffices.

Here we go.

*Disclaimer: this is a post on the general products I would take, rather than reviews on each, because I am both lazy and tired.. and it would take much too long.

Produits Fini: 2013

If you know me at all, you will know that I am absolutely compulsive when it comes to beauty products, and I'm one of those people who will open my purchases as soon as my foot steps into the door. And it happens so often, which is the main reason why I can never finish any sort of product.

Ever.

And that is not a half-hearted, but a strong, definitive, confident 'ever'. There is no sense of exaggeration in the slightest. That's not how I roll.

Looking back on 2013, I've started to realise that I actually only have one face and with my current collection, it will take approximately 94385798475 or so years to finish everything.

Such is life.

Take it or leave it.

Mostly take.

But a little leave.

Alas, there are 3 that are either completely dried and shrivelled, or pretty well on the way to that stage. "Only three?!" you may be thinking. Oh, you are mistaken. For me to be dedicated enough to finish just one is almost a miracle.

I'm getting there.

Favourite Products for 2013!

Can you believe it's been months since I've last updated? More unbelievably though, it's amongst the last few days of the year. As in, 2013 is almost over.. in a matter of days.

AND I've finished second year, passed it and moving onto third year (AKA death year) already.

Because I can't.

And just when I thought things couldn't have been any weirder, I finished my 4 week rural placement a few weeks ago. It's gone so fast.. and it's now past Christmas. I really cannot believe it.

I thought I would fit at least one more post in before 2014 and present to you my favourite products for the year. I was originally going to make it 10, but then I totally lost count and probably couldn't have brought the number down anyway. I actually haven't counted how many I chose, so it may be a little awkward if it turns out to be less than 10.

NTS: sleep more. I'm sitting here yawning out of my mind, and my brain is just about to fall asleep.

August lips

Firstly, I'd like to apologise (yet again) for the lack of updates.

I don't know how long this lack of bother is going to last.

(Probably indefinitely.)

Secondly, I just want to share that Kimbra is officially taking fashion tips from yours truly.

Just kidding. But seriously.

If only you knew how mean she really is... You'd know that I'm not allowed to these glasses, right? Yeah! Two years ago she [Kimbra] told me these glasses were her thing and I wasn't allowed to wear them anymore. And then for Chinese New Year my parents got this pair of really expensive gold rimmed sunglasses and I had to pretend like I didn't even like them and... it was so sad. And you know she cheats on Aaron? Yes, every Thursday he thinks she's doing SAT prep but really she's hooking up with Shane Oman in the projection room above the auditorium! I never told anybody that because I am such a good friend!*

*Although inspired in part by a true incident, the aforementioned story is fictional and does not depict any actual event.

Thirdly, I'm in Vietnam for my brother's wedding (which happened last weekend). It was a beautiful event, with emphasis on the HOT. I was in a full length, full thickness áo dài and bore the whole brunt of the heat. There was a really cute guy wearing FuLLy InDiE clothes and tassled loafers. Ugh. Probably 10 or so years too old for me. Ah well. Never hurts to look, does it?

Lastly, this post actually has a purpose. Showing you my favourite lip products for.. August!

And it's now.. (not even September) October! Another totally timely post brought to you by me.

Favourite Eyebrow Pencil and Powder

Hi, hey, hello everyone!

Time flies. The last time I logged into blogspot was before I left for uni.. and that was about 4 weeks ago. We're now going into week 3 of semester 2 and I don't think I want to be scaring people, but it's almost 25% through.

And I have 3 assignments already.

What joy.

Anyway, the main purpose of this post was not to rant about how much I'm enjoying this semester. It was to post about my eyebrow products.

So, without further ado, I present to you my daily brow routine! Well.. I haven't posted about the brush or concealer, just the pencil and powder.

Dove Foaming Make Up Remover

Not long ago, I decided to take the plunge and buy a proper makeup remover because my method of just cleansing my face several times was time-inefficient and just wrong.

It didn't help that my face looked like a prune afterwards.

After a while, moisturising seemed futile as well. So, during one of my many Priceline visits (I think it's probably one of my favourite stores in the entire world) I did the unthinkable. Well, not really, but it adds effect.

I love it. I think it's one of those products that you can just keep repurchasing and repurchasing. For $10.50, I think it'll last me a while, although probably not that long considering I do wear make up quite often.

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten

It's been an extremely long week. I was at the AMSA (Australian Medical Students Association) convention on the Gold Coast. It was such a hectic week, but the best week of my life. Really, it was.

However.

All actions have consequences. I have been unofficially diagnosed with conventionitis (yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is actually a thing) and PCD (post-convention depression). Both are legitimate diagnoses. Promise.

Anyway, shortly before I left, I got this little beauty in the mail.

The bottom line? I love it.

But please excuse while I have my usual banter. I really hope that it's not too overwhelming and redundant for you all.

Where do I even start? My mind is a mess and my sickness is taking over my own capacity to think. Euck. Luckily I'm still on holidays. Man, that'd suck. Imagine that. Having convention and then uni straight after.

I don't even want to think about that.

Shu Uemura Liquid Eyeliner Pen

Today, I share with you my current and HG eyeliner. If there were only one product I had to take with me from home, this would be it.

But not really.

Why? Because I don't need to. The finish is flawless, there is no smudging, it's quite water (and scrub) resistant and the packaging is excellent. Oh, and it's refillable, so it's also extremely practical and in the long term, pretty economic I'd say.

Shu Uemura products are known for their quality, and this is no different. My first purchase back in 2007 was a pair of false eyelashes and the glue, and they lasted brilliantly, until someone came over to my house and decided to (accidentally) rip them.

That was, indeed, a very sad moment.

I have always been an avid fan of liquid eyeliners. I guess I haven't hopped on the gel eyeliner bandwagon.. yet. As far as I'm concerned, liquid eyeliner is my liquid gold. Maybe in the future, when I'm bothered enough to buy a proper brush and the MAC Fluid Liner or BB Long-Wear Gel Liner, I'll think otherwise, but I'm still at the experimental stage.

Truth?

I just can't be bothered. I've hardly enough time to maintain a blog, let alone time enough to do most things that I want to do.

All excuses aside.

This is a freaking awesome eyeliner.

Product Talk & Giveaway: Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Daily Clear Wash (and Mask!)

This post is brought to you by Nuffnang Product Talk.

Designed for women who work hard and play hard, the new wash and scrub contains fruit extracts known for their skin conditioning properties, delicate enough to be used as part of a daily skin care routine.

It contains avocado extracts and vitamin E, glycerine for hydration, as well as pomegranate fruit extract, an anti-oxidant known to help keep skin looking  and feeling healthy.

Codeword: giveaway. Keep reading.

LookFantastic haul #1: Kerastase with a Bare touch

Firstly, I am finally back home in Brisbane! Secondly, my dad gave me a call about 2 days ago saying that there were approximately four packages waiting for me at home.

Hold up.

How do you approximate four packages? There are either four, or not four. No in-betweens.

To my delight, upon walking into a house I have not seen for 3 weeks, there were indeed exactly four. Exactement. I ordered a new fan for my laptop because it was absolutely killing me with this horrendous sound. Honestly, I couldn't even localise it when I first heard it and after reading a few forums, I was panicking in angst because it could have been coming from the right side. Right side = hard drive.

Right side. Catastrophe. Right side. $2000 that I do not currently have.

Thankfully, I opened up my baby (and almost killed my hand in the process, escaping with a mere but foul swoop of the aluminium with one of the screwdrivers) and discovered that it was the fan. Thank goodness.

Left side. Sécurité.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I almost stripped the head on one of the unibody screws trying to detach the fan in case it was a piece of dust or something caught in the fan. No luck. Doesn't help that I was trying to unscrew a torx screw with a phillips.. that was even too small for the casing screws. I should have just left it right there and then, but I had to continue and almost single-handedly destroyed my laptop in one night. Magnifique. Anyway, the point of the story is that you should always buy the right sized screwdrivers if you want to unscrew a.. screw. That's a lot of screws. So, $6.00 and a new fan later, my laptop is in perfect working order.

Oh, right. LookFantastic. Whoops.

Being a bleacher, I'm constantly on the lookout for hair products that aren't going to make my hair feel like absolute death. Basically I want the facade of "healthy" looking hair without letting everyone know that I've indeed murdered it already.

(And I have.)

I've been tossing up whether I should take the plunge and delve into the depths of Kérastase. I've heard mucha glory about their products and even though I'm in the possession of, I still have not, to this day, put a drop of any of their products to my head. All dramatising aside, I ripped open the box last night and was pleased to see that everything was packaged so nicely. It looks like I bought a lot, lot more than I actually did. I really like the site - I was reading a few reviews on their shipment times, but honestly it's not much of a problem for me even if shipping is a tad slow. Unless I'm tight for time (which I am never, might I add, when it comes to online therapy), so long as there is a package that arrives on my doorstep sometime, I am pleased.

And here we have it.

MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

Greetings everyone!

Exams have been over for a week and I have had a (I think) well-deserved break so far. I had a pseudo-weekend in Cairns with le boyf and came back on Wednesday. I didn't even think to take photos.. and I mean it didn't help that I only just found my SD card about an hour ago. That's how out of it I was. I say it's a pseudo-weekend because it wasn't really the weekend, but it was still 2 days. I sort of realised that it was our one month anniversary that day.. man, I suck. Anyway, the weather was magnifique and it was so good to get out.

As a small aside, I'm going home tomorrow and I'm super excited to see everyone! Time flies. Seriously. I remember leaving home at the beginning of the semester, and already it's been one week out of six of my holidays.. just gone.

Anyway, I thought I might introduce one of my everyday products: MAC's Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder. Personally, I find it a bit annoying and after it's finished I will definitely be moving onto pressed powder. It's just that when I'm on the go, it's a hassle opening the container to an explosion of powder when it's moved around in my makeup bag or whatever. Not ideal. Overall though, it's pretty good, although the only other powder I have to compare it to is one from Natio. I want to try Urban Decay's finish powder so it's definitely on my list of next purchases.

To be honest, I didn't ever think of finishing powder as a necessity but once you go MAC, you can never go back. Kidding. I just wanted to put a rhyme in there. But seriously. I don't think I could ever put on foundation again without setting it with some sort of finishing powder. I'm the type of person who has fairly dry skin, but I still opt for oil-free foundations because I absolutely hate my skin feeling really dewy, moist and just.. gross. That's my opinion anyway. I will do anything in my pow(d)er to attain a matte finish. That's just how I roll. I just like the way it feels.

An update on the last 24 hours

Aside: I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamt that someone from uni got cut to pieces by her parents and then they did it to themselves. Somehow, my friend came back to life. It was so weird.

In order to make up for the past 3 months of absence, I have decided to make my re-entrance during the most impractical time within the academic year. My level of care ain't happening right now, let me tell you.

But before I start, I'd just like to say that my 4mL sample of Tom Ford Champaca Absolute arrived this morning and I can smell it from here. It's so delicious and I'm so tempted to start spraying myself, but I'm refraining and using it as a reward instead.

I know this post is a little overdue, but I'm guessing it's before exams for most people. Oh well. Point taken. A common question I get asked is how to focus study. Basically, how do I revise the main points while making sure I cover everything?

I like to divide my learning up into two phases: concepts and detail.

Look at your learning objectives. You'll be given an overview of things you have to cover, and those are probably the bare basics that you'll be looking into for each week. Make sure you can answer all of those objectives because the bulk of the exam will be based on them. There's no point in trying to go into insane amounts of detail if you don't have to. I mean sure it's interesting and it might be something to come back to, but you probably can't afford to spend so much of your efforts/brain capacity trying to shove a new bit of information that isn't that relevant (to your exams).

The learning objectives are keys because most questions will stem from them. If you have tutes, look at those too. This isn't for university exclusively - high school has learning objectives and in fact, they're probably a lot more structured than those given to you post-high school. Ugh. I want to be back in high school, where pretty much everything is done. Sure you get freedom, but at the same time, you're subjected to about 10 times the amount of content. Literally I learn an entire term's content (equivalent at a high school level) in 2 weeks. Sometimes even less. It always acts as a constant reminder of how much more I could have done in high school.

ANYWAY, that's totally besides the point.

In terms of answering the learning objectives, what you want to do is skim over them briefly and just try to form a very brief mental answer, to give yourself an idea of whether you know at least something about what it's asking. Interpret the question. Then you can focus your learning while you look over your notes. You might come across something and say to yourself, "Oh yeah, I remember seeing that in the learning objectives". Big light bulb. Have the learning objectives next to you. Mine are always at the top of my notes, so I just take a photo on my phone to keep them in sight. It saves having to scroll up to the top of the document every time I finish answering an objective.

It's also always really helpful to know what you covered in each week of every subject. That way, you can pinpoint the major concepts behind each week. And there will always be a major concept or idea. Drill those principles into yourself, and then you've laid the foundations needed to build upon it. If you get the major principle, then you can build your detail on that because you actually understand the bare fundamentals going on in that week. Just pinpoint the major concepts underlying in each week. It's usually outlined in the learning objectives anyway. I mean, even in a subject as seemingly non-conceptual as musculoskeletal anatomy, there are still major concepts in there. Like.. muscle is attached to bone. If you pull on muscles, bones will move and it depends on the placement of the muscle as to HOW the bone moves. That's that major principle in almost every week of what I learnt. If you take those bare basics away, then it makes learning a lot more relevant and understandable.

You always want to be reading over your notes. Now that you've looked over the objectives, see what else you've been taught that could be tested. This is the key behind doing well in multiple choice. Because it requires (mostly) no thinking (except if you have bulk calculations to do.. eugh..) and if you see an answer that you recall seeing in your notes, then it's most probably right. This is where you don't really need to dedicate it to memory, but seeing it will stimulate your memory enough. It's amazing what memory recall can do.

Then you want to consolidate. Having done all this work, you're obviously going to have strengths and weaknesses. Write down your weaknesses and just revise the content again. There's no harm in having done more study than less during this week because it's going to be over with in a week or two anyway. You might as well give it 100%, rather than 40% and then regret. For the most part, you get 1 or 2 chances to pass the subject. That's it. Try hard now and then you don't have to worry about it.

If it helps, try making yourself concept maps. Like, if you get one thing, it'll lead to another, and another and another and another and eventually things make sense because it flows. That's mostly how I remember things. I try to group things into logical events.

Hope this helps!

Again, good luck everyone. :)

In which I dedicate this post to SWOTVAC

And again, I am alive.

It seems almost surreal as to just how quickly time passes. One minute you're excited to see your friends and fellow doomraiders after having not seen anyone for 3 months, and literally the next moment you're up to your neck in work and you still can't see anyone. It's amazing how quickly that excitement completely diminishes into but a remnant of memory. Well for me at least, I wonder why I ever had any twang of excitement about starting to study again in the first place. No? Am I the only one who feels like my brain cells have lost capacity to learn over the holidays?

It's exceptionally hard to strike that balance. How do you keep your mind educationally active during that long holiday? My answer right now is to be thankful that you never have to put up with the sheer amount of stress you're subject to during that dreaded week of each semester - SWOTVAC.

Hold up. Just wait one second there. Let's just evaluate that very acronym: study without teaching vacation.

Did someone say vacation?

Non. My definition of vacation generally encapsulates feelings of joy, stresslessness, happiness - pretty much anything that points in the direction of happiness. So while I'm clearly in need to stress less by reducing my workload, I have a couple of tips to perhaps lessen the load. And it's (99%) guilt free! While you're in your pursuit of procrastination, you're actually learning a few ways to maximise your efficiency this week.

My skincare routine

Hello, friends.

I'm not going to lie and say that I've been totally faithful in my attempts to provide a constantly updated blog. Before we proceed any further, I would like to take the time to apologise for any expectations you had of me, like.. at all.

Major caveat: reliability is not my middle name.

It's terrible, because I need to work on that. Majorly. Anyway, I'm taking this opportunity to alert you to my existence and announce that my life is still directed here, on Earth. We are all beautiful aliens. You must forgive my.. specialness (for lack of a better word). I have been out and about since 7am this morning, and my brain's usage has just about reached its peak limit.

Today, I learned about the electrophysiology of the heart. How exciting! But seriously. I really love cardiovascular medicine. Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found my calling. It clicks. The heart clicks, even if it's not supposed to (path, anyone?). I'm just on the same page as the heart. My heart is so happy that I understand it. It's happy.

That brings me to the end of my day.

And the beginning of the actual post.. begins.

As an introduction, I'd like to admit that prior to this year, I was never a moisturiser person. I swore by cleanser, but never moisturiser. In retrospect, I could not have picked a worse product to neglect. Moisturiser is wonderful.

Now toner, that's a different story. Ugh. Toner.

Cleaning Brushes

I was going to combine my previous post on brushes with this one on how to clean them, but I decided against it because it was just too long. Plus, it makes me look like I'm posting more frequently. Definitely a win-win situation.

First and foremost, you must must must must must must must MUST clean your brushes. It's most important with your liquid/cream products, like liquid foundation, concealer and cream blushes because they're the most moist to begin with, and if you pair that with a nice, dense brush, you've got a really nice habitat for bacterial colonisation. And you're going to be wiping that all over your face. All. Over. Doesn't that sound lovely?

Good brushes are an investment. Most of the time, a very expensive investment, so please look after them. Many high quality brushes will maintain their brand new-ness for years if you care for them properly. Years and years.

I try to clean my brushes every time I use them. Like most people, I use two methods to clean my brushes: spot cleaning and deep cleaning. I spot clean every day, which takes literally about 15-20 seconds per brush. Once a week, I deep clean my brushes so that they're product free, which preserves the original condition of the brushes as much as possible.

For spot cleaning, I use the MAC brush cleanser. It's $20 from Myer/David Jones/MAC in Australia. It's about half the price for all you Americans. If make up were the same price here as America, Australia would be perfect. Clothes too.

My Current Brushes

It's been a little while. Actually, I'm totally exhausted right now because I've had mentor training all day and had to wake up at 7:30. The wake up was definitely far from pleasant, but the fact that I saw some familiar faces made it worth it, somewhat. I'm trying to convince myself of that, anyway. I had a weird dream. I was eating really big raspberries, or mulberries or some sort of berries with room-temperature milk. In another dream, I was in Korea negotiating the price of ribbons. Like, those bows that you put in your hair. It was like 4 for $15 and then I decided to look on eBay and it was around $10 for 25. Then my alarm went off. Charming.

So today I'm here to show you a few brushes that I have. I only use about 4, but my collection will increase as I find good and reasonably priced ones along the way. There are some on the way to my bathroom up here, but obviously I don't have them yet, so these will have to do for demonstration.

I brought some of my makeup up North and I thought I might just show you how I've organised it. It was a rushed job, but I've made things sort of easy to locate and I'm lazy so I'll deal with it later.