A Virtual Walk Through Charleston, SC

Hello everyone! So if you read my post from a while ago, you would have noticed that I spent a few days in Charleston. Aside from the temperatures being in the mid 90's, it was absolutely lovely and I want to go back so much. Here's a few of the highlights of the trip, including some cool pictures of the classic houses of Charleston. 

We stayed at the Belmond Charleston Place which is right in the heart of old Charleston. It is absolutely stunning with good classic vibe but still modern and nice. It also has a nice pool, and a wonderful spa that we took full advantage of.

The weather was hot but near the coast, there was a park where there were multiple fountains to dip your feet in cool water. The view is also amazing with tons of benches and a beautiful place just to take a seat and enjoy the outdoors, plus the views of sailboats, forts, and ships in port. 

Walking through the old neighborhoods of colorful houses with beautiful colonial architecture was absolutely a highlight. Cobbled streets and beautiful rose bushes just added to the feeling of being back in time. 

And finally, the shopping from modern stores to the antique district, where little treasures await, to finding restaurants off the beaten path was a huge goal of ours. Our favorite restaurant was probably Sermet's Downtown, which offered classic southern/Mediterranean food, and also Bocci's Italian Restaurant which offered homemade classics. 

College Life Week 1

So the college life has started. I've had most all my classes, gotten annoyed with my floor but at the same time met some incredible floors, had some of that classic college fun, and also have slept a total of 16 hours in a day. So far I've had a pretty typical experience, other than potential of classes being cancelled due to a hurricane and the fact that I have a single room on the 12th floor. 

I've decided to just add a few things I've learned that if anyone is going into this experience you can check out. 

One is that it doesn't matter if you are or are not the partier. If you are, use your time wisely. Don't be going out every night. You are going to college for an education, and that should still be your priority with how much you spend. If you're not a partier, don't worry because there are always so much to do, that you can find that you never have to be alone or bored. 

Another is that you'll come to realize that there are so many more little things that you'll find you have to do that take up a lot of time. Whether it's laundry, sending a letter, or school stuff including tutoring or studying, it'll take up time. Don't get overwhelmed, because eventually it'll become a routine that becomes easy, just as it did at home. 

Lastly, try to do as much as you can without overwhelming yourself. While I'm doing volunteer work, some marine clubs, and hanging out with my friends, I still have a balance of enjoying my own time and enjoying all that college has to offer me.

Good luck, and have a great time!

Oh the Places You'll Go…

I've been thinking about this post for a long time, especially now since I'm packing to head to Charleston, South Carolina soon. I absolutely love traveling, and it's a passion of mine to travel to new places and experience different things. So far, I've been lucky enough to visit about 14 states, 9 different countries, and the numbers get to keep growing. 

So what's the point of all this?

Pick a place in your mind where it would be your dream to go. Currently, mine would be Australia/New Zealand. It is my absolute dream to be able to travel there. Now save money. Start young, and keep saving money for this certain place in your head. Don't cheat and say that TV would be better or something else, because from my experience, a trip of a lifetime is just that. The memories will last a lifetime. I think there is so much to learn from traveling, and so much that can come out of it that it is absolutely worth the wait. I wish you the best of luck in your travels, and I hope that your dream place can become a reality!

…And 1 "Do" Hair Product

Um, holy crap. This stuff is good. And I mean gooood. Okay weirdness over. The Living Proof No Frizz Humidity Shield is some really good stuff. As far as luxury hair care, the travel size (above) is $14, and the full size is $22 which is not a bad price for the amount of product. You spray this stuff on dry, already styled hair, and take a comb or your hand and just smooth down the fly-aways and watch them instantly disappear. It's sooo good! I have extremely frizzy hair, and this is probably the best and most long lasting product I've used in the lovely humidity. I highly recommend this product if you don't already have it (I am a little late to jump on the bandwagon myself). 

2 "Don't" Hair Products…

I am a sufferer from very dry ends in my hair, and a very oily scalp. It becomes quite difficult finding hair products that will nourish my ends but don't make my scalp an oil slick that I need to wash twice a day. Yes, I just put the product on the ends but sometimes I seriously think hair products can travel on their own. 

Anyway, these guys were actually good products. From what I could tell, they were doing what they were supposed to be doing. The Lush H'suan Wen Hua (pronunciation is per your interpretation) is a mask that I would put on during a shower and wash off at the end, then shampoo normally. Unfortunately, I could only use this guy once because the smell was absolutely horrific. It was so incredibly strong, and I think I may have even gagged once from it. I smelled it in the store but even then I didn't realize how strong the smell was. Not to mention, it expires in less than a year. That smell with a very steep price of $21 and that expiration date? No thanks. 

R&B from Lush was not that much different. At $23, it did last longer than the other one, and I could tolerate the smell without feeling like I needed to throw up. However, it was still a very particular smell that I didn't like and there's so many better (and cheaper) (and better smelling) products to put in the ends of your hair to moisturize it. Overall, just not worth it. 

Of course, these are my opinions and you could end up absolutely loving the smells of these. Your best bet is to give it a good sniff in the store and see if you can really tolerate it for that long, because they both linger. I really wish they did have better smells because they were pretty good products! Such a disappointing "don't"!

Sephora Birthday Review

It's that time of year again (although for many of you it's probably past that time) where I review the sephora birthday gift. This years brand was Nars and let me tell you it didn't disappoint. 

Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien: This lovely pencil is a pinky nude "my lips but better" kind of color. It's got a sheen to it but its definitely not a gloss, just a like you licked your lips. I like the color, it's a very unique one, but the formula itself is so-so. It's very similar to tarte lipsurgance, but comes off on everything and isn't quite as moisturizing. 

Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella: Staying power!! This pencil is a very finicky one to get on, because it's so bright and matte. Just use a precise hand and follow the contour of the lip. Otherwise, I love everything about it. Hours of wear, and my lips don't feel dry, and the color is just slightly darker than a firetruck red which I think is very elegant. I would very much recommend this one! Just be careful because like the satin, it can come off on things fairly easy. My favorite of the set!

Larger than Life Longwear Pencil Eyeliner: (only for rouge members) This is a very nice (twist up… yay for no sharpening) black eyeliner that is up there with the rest of them. Even though it says long wear, the staying power isn't fantastic, but it's very easy to use and not at all smudgy compared to other eyeliners I've tried. With a little eye base, I'd say that this is pretty good!

Overall I'd say better than last year in terms of products and quality. I do really like the lip pencils and they are a nice little travel thing or just everyday wear. You can find the kit here. Can't wait to see whats for next year!

The Top Things I've Learned in High School

I keep trying to tell myself I'm done with high school but it hasn't quite hit yet, even though my graduation was nearly two weeks ago. I've compiled a few things that I think are most important that I've learned from both my perspective and my parents perspective:

Talk to people: Whether that's getting help from a teacher, making friends, or talking to a counselor I found that talking to people and having a mutual understanding is very important. People want you to be successful. 

A bad grade doesn't necessarily mean its "bad": I constantly hear the "Crap I got a D my parents are going to kill me." But my parents and I had the understanding that as long as the long term grades were better, than short term grades that don't matter as much aren't bad. 

Enjoy it: I sometimes thought that I skipped out on the fun experiences of high school and focused too much on the work and stress. I wish I got involved more, and even spent more of my time on after school activities than I did on worrying about getting stuff done. 

These are the three best things I can think to say in a very generalized category. If you're going into high school or already there, or even a parent wondering about a child, I hope this helps!