Two words: retail therapy.



School has been ripping me apart. In the span of 3 days, I've pulled 2 all-nighters but I'm surprisingly still going strong. I have nobody to thank but God for keeping me resilient and healthy this stressful period. One thing that hasn't been on my side is my skin. I have this huge pimple right in the center of my face, on my nose, and I don't know how to feel about it haha.

I'm not one to care about pimples - they come and they go - but this one has been very persistent and it's pretty noticeable.



Why am I rambling about my pimple on a ColourPop Haul blog post. (Pull yourself together, Nic.)

I've been eyeballing ColourPop for quite some time and somewhere near the end of 2017, I decided to go in for the kill. My wallet was the victim.



Besides taxing school work and my pimple, I've been thinking a lot about beauty and makeup as well. Not the products but the idea of dolling up and looking good with the aid of beauty products.

I won't be rambling so much about how girls do makeup to impress guys - because I think it's been established and reiterated several times already that (most) girls put on makeup for themselves - because it's fun or because it makes us feel good.

YES, PLEASE!

Pressed Powder Shadow Palette

Seeing that this palette made it to the Nylon Beauty Hit List 2017, I felt that if I were to get any palette from ColourPop - this should be it. I love the warm colours so much and it has a good number of matte shades and shimmer shades. They're super smooth and blend really easily.

COOKIE

Lippie Stix

I've been on the hunt for a good nude lipstick for a long time and I'm glad to say that the search is over. We did it, fam. I found my match. We're in a serious relationship now.

UP AND AWAY

Lip Bundle

The main lip product I wanted to get was Love Bug because I tried it once when a really great friend of mine let me. And I was shook. I rarely wear red lips because I feel like I can't seem to find the right shade of red for me but Love Bug was right up my alley. I'm prepared to wear more bold lip looks this year, woohoo!

GNOMIE

Loose Highlighter

I'm not very sure how to use a loose highlighter but I'm really excited to try this out! It's super glittery and shimmery so if you about that glow-to-the-gods kind of life, you should give this a shot.

RUNNING IN ORBITS

Supernova Shadow

I got this in hopes to get a glossy lids kind of look and although it's not going to give me the look I was trying to achieve, I ain't complainin'. This has a iridescent metallic sheen which looks gorgeous when light hits it. Can't wait to experiment different looks with this product.

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/59/bc/0a/59bc0afe5d192f87d105fed27f02d793.jpg

I think the new year is the perfect time to review the past and look forward into the future. Not to say that it's bad to do that throughout the year - just saying that the perfect time, in my opinion, would be at the end of the year/start of the year.

Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/l0MYCKMCJFO8xfJUA/source.gif 

2017 was a year full of changes and new experiences. In retrospect, I'd say it was a pretty decent year. I was hurled out of my comfort zone (which was terrible) but without that, I wouldn't have grown.

I haven't blogged in a while too so I think I should round up the year in a nutshell to put us all on the same page.

2017 highlights:

• Turned legal!
• Joined polytechnic
• Made a lot of friends!
• Better than expected GPA
• Started eating eggs, dairy and fish again (no other meat) 
• Experienced a breakup 

and more...

I did manage to hit some of my goals I set for myself last year. If you look back at my Bye 2016, Hello 2017 post, these are the things I'll want to continue for this year:

• Don't push emotions to the side; accept them, deal with them and then let them go (I'll definitely have to write an extended post on this topic)
• Smooth skin, nice hair, take care of personal hygiene
• Wear nice lingerie, it's empowering!!!!!
• Say 'No' when I mean to (I'd say I'm doing well in this aspect so far in 2018)

2018 goals:

• Have only 1 non-vegan meal a day; the rest of the day I will be vegan!!! (I'm honestly really digging the vegan vibes and miss feeling more at peace, if that makes sense)
• Wake up at 7am or earlier every day 
• Be independent, self-sufficient and self-motivated!!
• Know my worth and believe that:

• Know that being admired for being good-looking is like congratulating a person for their face. Remember that being appreciated for my personality/character is so much more meaningful. This applies when I'm complimenting others as well. Dr Yang says it best:

• Drink more water, use water bottle (tried to do this in 2017, didn't really work out)
• Get fit and reach a certain weight by my birthday
• Focus on studies and get a good GPA
• Being more self-aware - pen down my thoughts
• Start writing more poetry again (I have a highlight story of my poetry on my Instagram)
• Be minimalistic (tried this in 2017, didn't succeed so I'm persisting and giving it another shot this year)
• Save money!!!
• Trust God more and let Him be in control
• Be more confident with myself and my looks/body
• Was thinking about doing YouTube again but I really don't think I have the luxury of time - will see how it goes :)
• Bake more vegan goodies
• Cook and prepare my own meals more
• Blog more (about veganism, vegan food, reflections, studies etc.)