Tony Moly's Pikachu Mini Cushion Blusher in 02 and 03

★★★★★ out of 5

Price: $8 (on sale right now)

Why did I pick this product?
I mean... look at the packaging. How adorable is that? Plus, I was in search of a cushion blush.

Where to buy it?
I bought it at a Tony Moly store while I was in Korea. However you can purchase it on YesStyle.com.

Description:
01, aka Pink Fantasy, is a very light pink shade that would look good on very fair and cool skin tones. (not pictured here because didn't purchase) 02, aka Rose Coral, is a rosy shade that would probably look best on people with cool skin tones. 03, aka Peach Orange, is a peachy shade that would compliment people with warm skin tones. 

02 - Rose Coral

03 - Peach Orange

Pros:
- Cute, sturdy packaging
- Good amount of product
- Good color pay-off
- Fruity scent 

Cons:
- Packaging might be too bulky for some

Bottomline: I love it. I use it daily because I prefer cushion blushes to powder blushes. Cushion blushes tend to blend better on my skin because I have pretty dry skin. Putting powder blushes on my face accentuates the dryness even more for me. This blush gives me a healthy glow on my cheeks and helps me achieve a dewy, fresh look - perfect for the summer or spring. The blush doesn't leave you feeling sticky and it blends well into the skin. It's very buildable as well. I personally like to keep my cheeks looking natural and slightly flushed, but it's possible to make it bolder by patting on more product. Below are pictures of it on my forearm. 

natural light vs flash (03 top and 02 bottom)

Speak of patting, the cushion is so cute. It looks like a pokeball (whoever thought of this packaging - give that person a raise). 

If you can get your hands on these, I would recommend buying them! I wish I would've stocked up on these. I might be biased because I love Pokemon/Pikachu, however I genuinely believe this is a quality product. There's good color payoff. It comes with a mirror, cushion, and a good amount of product at an affordable price. And once again, look at the packaging.

Decor for Bridal Shower

These were designed for a bridal shower. The bridesmaids wanted a bible verses on cards to be handed out. Also a illustration to be given as a gift to the bride. 

Amethyst-Inspired Makeup Look

• PRODUCTS USED •
→ maybelline's baby face primer
→ nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer in st. moritz
→ maybelline's age rewind concealer in light pale
→ too faced shadow insurance candlelight free eyeshadow primer
→ etude house aloha! palette (no longer available)
→ colourpop's eyeshadow in bae
→ kat von d's ink! liner in trooper
→ maybelline's the falsies mascara in very black
→ anastasia brow powder duo in brunette/dark brown
→ the bronzer in tarte's park avenue princess palette
→ colourpop's highlighter in spoon
→ colourpop's lip matte color in viper

• connect with me on instagram ➥ hongryalice

Soft & Romantic Valentine's Day Look

• PRODUCTS USED •
→ nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer in st. moritz
→ maybelline's age rewind concealer in light pale
→ anastasia brow powder duo in brunette/dark brown
→ too faced shadow insurance candlelight free eyeshadow primer
→ anastasia modern renaissance palette
→ kat von d's ink! liner in trooper
→ maybelline the falsies in very black
→ clinique chubby stick sculpting contour
→ laura mercier matte radiance baked powder in highlighter-01
→ the blush in tarte's park avenue princess palette
→ victoria secret perfect lipstick in it girl

• connect with me on instagram ➥ hongryalice

UVa Final Thesis Show - #NOFILTER, 2014

As an artist in a fast-paced, constantly changing society, I've always been intrigued by how different modes of social media and the media affect society and our values. By putting modern topics and technology, like social media and advertisements, up against old paintings, like Nighthawks, Starry Night, and Birth of Venus, I want to emphasize the stark differences between what was valued in the past compared to now. I want to accomplish this in a witty, entertaining matter, which is why I purposely picked out the ridiculous aspects of social media to apply to the old paintings. I chose popular works of art that most people are familiar with so they can immediately connect the old context with the new context that I am trying to bring to the painting. My personal favorite part of this exhibition is the Instagram piece.

Raw video of exhibition: https://vimeo.com/96150361

Documentation video of exhibition: https://vimeo.com/96150360

4 day Itinerary in Iceland | Day 4 - Blue Lagoon

Day Four | Blue Lagoon + Departure

6 am | Eat Breakfast

8 am - 1 pm | Relax at the Blue Lagoon

Transportation: Grayline picked us up from our place and dropped us off at Blue Lagoon. It takes about an hour to get to Blue Lagoon from Reykjavik. Then it takes around 20 minutes from Blue Lagoon to get to the airport - so make sure you plan accordingly!

Prior to entering the pools, you need to shower completely naked. Americans are probably not used to it but many people just walk around in the nude in the locker rooms. Don't be weird about it and let it loose. Also, make sure to leave plenty of conditioner in your hair. The silica tends to dry out your hair. I didn't have this problem because I lathered a lot of conditioner onto my hair prior to entering the pools.

Eunice and I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the trip. We purposely planned it at the end of the trip because we wanted to leave Iceland well rested and relaxed after a packed schedule. We ended up getting the "Comfort" ticket, which included a towel, silica mask, one drink, algae mask, and entrance to the Blue Lagoon. The difference between the silica mask and algae mask was their end effect. The silica mask tightens and deep cleanses your skin, while the algae mask moisturizes and nurtures your skin. Our skins felt really nice afterwards! I think I wouldn't mind going again because I enjoyed it a lot... however it is pretty expensive for people who still need to pay off student loans. Maybe I'll come back in the future after making some cha-ching.

3:30 pm | Departure

And now, the end is near and so I close the final curtain~ Needless to say, I was really sad to leave this place and I didn't want to believe it was happening. I wanted to stay and keep chasing after waterfalls. However I had to leave. I ended up buy a bunch of Icelandic chocolate bars for my family members. #noregrets I still have one in my room - saving it for a special day.

Click Here to Go Back to Overview of Itinerary

4 Day Itinerary in Iceland | Day 3 - Southern Iceland + Glacier Hike

Day Three | Southern Iceland + Glacier Hiking

8 am - 10 pm | Southern Iceland Tour with Reykjavik Excursions

1st stop: Skogafoss

The sound of the water crashing at the bottom was pretty frightening. Make sure to wear a waterproof jacket! There are stairs to the right of the waterfall, where you can climb up and see the waterfall from a different perspective. We didn't get to go up because we were given 15 minutes at this waterfall. ):

2nd stop: Skaftafell National Park + Glacier Hiking

The fish was very juicy and tender. It came with malt vinegar and tartar sauce. It tasted good but not good enough to cost $22. Other than the expensive food truck and confusion, the glacier hike was really cool!

Our guide, August, from Icelandic Mountain Guides was great. I would've tipped him but I was not carrying any cash on me. (sorry, August) Apparently Batman and Interstellar were filmed here. If you guys have the money and time, you should check out one of their glacier hikes! They are a separate company from Reykjavik Excursions so you can book a tour with them independently. August taught us about the glaciers and even chipped off a piece of ice for us.

3rd stop: Dinner in Vik, a small town in Southern Iceland

I didn't end up taking a lot of photos here. Reykjavik Excursions really rushed us... they gave us 30 minutes to order and eat our food. The line was long because locals and everyone on the tour bus were trying to get food during dinner time. We were just glad that the food was cheap, compared to the expensive fish & chips we had earlier that day.

4th stop: Seljalandsfoss

This is the famous waterfall that you can walk behind of. We were able to walk behind it and, let me tell yall, it was so cool. I was so sad to leave so soon... );

Iceland is still SOOOO beautiful. I would recommend renting a car and driving down along Southern Iceland so that you can take as much time at each site. It's really a lot to take in and worth looking at.

Click Here for Day Four

4 day Itinerary in Iceland | Day 2 - Golden Circle

Day Two | The Golden Circle

7 am | Eat Breakfast

We grabbed these yogurts from Bonus because I heard they were good and popular in Iceland. I tried the vanilla, peach, and strawberry flavor. My personal favorite was strawberry. The texture is in between greek yogurt and regular Yoplait yogurt.

7:45 am to 4 pm | The Golden Circle Tour with Grayline

1st stop: Random place with beautiful mountains

As Eunice and I were dozing off, our tour guide directed our attention to the majestic landscape. Every where I turned, it looked like a picture from National Geographic. It was super cold and windy that day. I should've worn something thicker than a fleece and windbreaker from Nike.

2nd stop: Thingvellir National Park

We had about 45 minutes to the explore the whole park. I didn't think it was enough time because the park is pretty big. You can see silfra fissure here, which is a crack between the North American and Eurasian continents. So basically you're in the middle. There's a small waterfall in the way back of the park, however we decided to skip it because gullfoss was next.

3rd stop: Gullfoss - Waterfall

Gullfoss aka the Golden Waterfalls was massive. It looked like the water was racing down staircases, made of rocks and mountains. Make sure to wear something waterproof because there is a lot of mist here. Our tour bus stopped here for lunch as well. It's really pricy and not that filling. So, it may be wise to pack your lunch (but you can't eat it in the cafeteria - from what I remember). 

4th stop: Strokkur Geysir

This picture definitely doesn't do it justice. I just chose this picture because I thought it was cool to see how blue the water was. The water can get up to 80-100 degrees celsius so you don't want to touch it... unless you want to burn off your arm/finger/leg. It goes off every 3-5 minutes and the height of the explosion varies. We were given 45 minutes here as well and I felt like I had adequate amount of time to see and explore this place.

5th stop: Old/New Icelandic Churches + Icelandic Horses

This stop showed us the difference between old and new Icelandic churches. Our tour guide explained that Iceland used to be polytheistic but converted to Christianity. Inside the white church (newer church), there were mosaics of Jesus Christ.

Our tour guide told us that this was a volcano. Now I can say I saw a volcano. Take that off the bucket list. I loved how the two horses were peacefully grazing near the possibly active volcano with no care in the world. 

Unlike horses from America, Icelandic horses were stockier and bushier. Their hair is unkempt and thick - probably because of the cold weather. 

5 pm | Nap + Dinner at KEX Hostel

By the time we came back from the tour, we were so tired from walking around and jetlag. We took a "nap" for about 3 hours. We were planning on trying out a place called Icelandic Fish & Chips because I heard they were good and I wanted to try their sauces made of Skyr yogurt. However we woke up around 9 pm and it was too late. We decided to try out KEX hostel because it's one of Reykjavik's popular hostels and they often have live shows, performed by local bands. Luckily, we were able to enjoy a group's performance. Unfortunately I don't know the same of the band but they were good!

We both got the Spicy "freedom burger," which cost around 2490 ISK. It suit our American tastebuds because it was meaty, juicy, salty, and filling. I would definitely eat it again if I went back to Iceland.

Just walking around this place made me feel like I was walking inside of a hipster's paradise. From beers that I've never heard of to mismatched furniture, it was really cute and quirky. I recommend just stopping by and checking out the interior. I warn you though. At night it can get really crowded and rowdy. Most of the younger generation seem to hang out here. My friend and I found a semi-quiet corner and met a lovely lady, who was a local. She told us cool stories about Iceland and a few anecdotes about her own personal life. Be brave and try striking up a conversation with the locals. They are really nice!

10 pm | Crepes at Eldur & Is

Reykjavik did not have a lot of dessert places but when we found one, they knew how to make desserts. This nutella crepe with strawberries and bananas hit the spot. Valdis and Eldur & Is were two of the few dessert places we found that were open as late as 11 pm!

11 pm | Solfar Sculpture

Solfar aka the Sun Voyager is a famous sculpture in Reykjavik. It's really pretty when the sun hits the metal at a certain angle. It was worth walking to it and just admiring its size and design. Here is the wiki page if you want to read more about it.

Click Here for Day Three