Nature Republic is probably my favorite Korean skincare brand. It's affordable, accessible to me (there are stores on Oahu), and most of the products I've tried from the brand have worked out really well for me. 

I was on the hunt last summer for a moisturizer that would suit my oily skin in hot weather. The shop staff suggested I try the Super Aqua Max Fresh Watery Cream. It is created to "cut the grease while also providing rich hydration to keep the skin firm, radiant and oil-free all throughout the day."

What it contains:

Kona Hawaii's 914m deep ocean water "which instantly hydrates, releasing steady amounts of moisture." It also contains MD101 Polynesian Lagoon Water "which replenishes dehydrated skin, provides intense hydration and provides nutrients." 

What it doesn't contain:

Formaldehyde, TEA, Triclosan, Propylene Glycol, Coal Tar, Formaldehyde-releasers, MIT, Phthalates, Dye, Alcohol, Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sulfates, PEG, Talc, Mineral Oil, Silicones

This particular product is recommended for oily skin as it balances pH. In the store I paid around $16.00. The packaging itself is very sturdy plastic with good weight, and it is pretty adorable with its transparent swirled lid.

At first glance, it really reminded me of the ultra popular Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream. The texture is a mix between a gel and a cream, and it absorbs into the skin very, very quickly and becomes almost watery. 

Finding the right bra has always been difficult for me. I have a difficult boob shape to fit, but I'm sure that most women out there have a thing or two to say about their own boobs. I don't know any woman that enjoys shopping for bras. It is always a chore, always something that we put off, so we end up wearing the same ratty bra for years because it's the only one that fits right. 

What is ThirdLove?

ThirdLove is a service that takes the stress out of finding a bra that fits you. It has created bras designed around actual women's sizes. They have created their own Breast Shape Dictionary to help you find what type of breasts you have to better find a bra just for you. Their cup sizes range from AA all the way to K cup, with half sizes for A, B and C cups! 

How it works: 

To get started, you answer questions about your breast shape and the current bra size you're wearing. You also answer questions about what your problem areas are, like straps slipping, and gapping in the cups, for example. After you answer those questions, it tells you if you've been wearing the right bra size or the wrong one, and shows you a bra of theirs that it recommends. Once you choose a bra, you place your order. The bra is free to try for 30 days. All you pay for is shipping ($2.99 to Hawaii), and the bra comes relatively quickly, I think within two weeks! If you like the bra, keep it, and they just charge you the price of the bra after 30 days is up. If the bra doesn't work for you and you didn't take off the tag and wear it, I believe it is used again as a bra for others to try. If the tags are removed, or it was returned after the 30 days, the bra is then donated. How cool is that?

My Experience: 

The bra that was recommended for me was the 24/7 Classic T-Shirt Bra. It's a very simple bra, which is fine by me. I just need something functional. This bra is supposed to help my gapping problem, and straps slipping. When I tried it on, though, I still had a gapping problem, so the bra didn't look right under my clothes. What a disappointment! I also did not like that the band wasn't very thick. It was a two-prong, whereas I prefer 3-prong. But what I did like is how comfortable that dang bra was. The fabric was really soft, it didn't dig into me, the band fit perfectly, and the straps didn't budge. I think if I had actually worn it for a day, the straps probably wouldn't have fallen down at all. 

So, since the bra didn't fit, I put it back in the box and processed a return. It asks why you are returning it, and if you had any comments about it. I basically selected that it didn't fit right, and there was still boob gapping. I got a very prompt reply to my return process from a fit stylist who saw what my issues were, and suggested another bra to try. If I wanted to just return, I could do that, too. I decided to give it another try. This time, they recommended the 24/7™ Classic Contour Plunge Bra. This bra is SO DANG CUTE! I really, really hoped that this bra would work. But, alas, the boob gapping was even worse than the bra before! But again, it was extremely comfortable and I was very bummed that it didn't work. I processed my return again, and this time they didn't recommend another bra. I sent it off in the mail and my adventure was complete. 

Final Thoughts: 

The bras themselves feel amazing and are great quality. The prices are about as much as you'd pay at Nordstrom, Macy's or Victoria's Secret. I think if you have no idea about your boobs and have never been fitted before, this service is a good starting point. The down side is, you can't grab a bunch of bras to try on at once like you could in a store. If it doesn't fit, you have to send it back and try another one, one at a time.  

I appreciate what ThirdLove is trying to do, and I'm glad that it works out well for some women. But women's bodies are all so different that there are definitely going to be some women that these bras won't work out for, like me. And that's totally okay. I will just stick to what I know, and keep purchasing the same bra that I've been wearing for the past 10 years and hope that they never discontinue it. 

Christmas is always a terrible time to look at Sephora. I always tell myself I'm going to get things for my friends, and that's it. But I can never leave that website without getting something for myself. Or getting something for a friend and deciding that I'm going to use it for myself. This year, it was the Huda Beauty Contour and Strobe lip set that called my name. 

I've been wanting to try Huda's lip products for a long time, and when I saw this set I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try three products at once. First off, look at this container it comes in. How cute is that? Second, this set was $20. Not bad! You get a full-sized lip liner, and a mini liquid lipstick and lip strobe.

This set comes in five different colors, and I chose Muse/Angelic. I figured I could use the matte liquid lipstick during the day and jazz it up in the evenings with the lip strobe. Day to play! The main reason I went for this color, though, is because of the lip strobe. It is SO pretty!

This is actually really terrible lighting. But you can see how pretty the gloss is!

On the lips, the matte lipstick is a really pretty dusty pink/nude color. It's creamy, opaque, and goes on smooth. It dries down matte and is very long lasting! It also doesn't make my lips feel dry, which makes it a winner in my book. 

But when you really wanna take the look up a notch, top it with the lip strobe. It transforms into a deeper dusty pink with a duo chrome sheen. MAN that lip topper is pretty! 

The lip topper is really sticky and if you're not into gloss, you're probably not going to like it. It really transforms the plain look of the liquid lipstick, though. I get compliments just about every time I wear the lip topper! And it's not so intense that you couldn't wear it during the daytime or even at work. 

Overall, I think this makes a great gift, and it's a great place to start if you've been wanting to try some Huda Beauty lip products. For only $20, you really can't go wrong!

Midnight Bear Breads has been open since 2015 and is owned by Ursa Swift (I see what you did there) and Evan McAfee, who have been selling their creations at local farmer's markets since 2012. They utilize organic ingredients, traditional techniques and European equipment, which would definitely explain when I felt like I walked right into a boulangerie! They also use 100% local produce from Kauai farmers and 100% organic non-GMO flour. 

I confess, the only pastry I have tried is the macadamia nut cinnamon roll. I've gone to this bakery more than once, but I've only tried this one. I look at the other pastries; I see them in the window. They all call to me, too, but I cannot resist the siren call of the mac nut cinnamon roll. 

Besides pastries and breads, Midnight Bear Bakery also has tartines (open-faced sandwiches), paninis and pizzas (you can check out the whole menu here). They also do daily specials! One morning I had the croissant special, which had egg, cheese (brie? Gruyere? I'm not sure) and macadamia nut pesto. It was amazing. The croissant is huge, super flaky, and the cheese was so gooey, and I loved everything about it. 

Recently I had a panini special, which had prosciutto, cheese (again, not sure which. I want to say gruyere) and arugula on sourdough, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was so good. 

Midnight Bear Breads

3830 Hanapepe Rd.

Hanapepe, Hi 96716

Phone: (808)346-4949

E-mail: midnightbearbreads[@]gmail.com

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things and I'm feeling inspired again. I've wanted to tackle turquoise nails for a while, but I never had the right color to do it with. I happened to be browsing the nail section of Walmart, and there it was...the right shade. Instant inspiration! 

My ring finger looks impressive, but it was just a sticker that I had from a set I picked up in Japan forever ago. Ain't nobody got time to lay down those stones individually! But it looks impressive, doesn't it? 😂

Look At Me Hydrogel Aloe Vera Eye Patch ($5.99)

These eye patches contain aloe extract to help brighten up the dark circles under your eyes, reduce puffiness, and reduce fine lines. I haven't used these yet as I don't really have a dark circle/puffiness problem. Considering gifting them. I have tried the green tea blackhead removers from this brand, though, and I really liked those. 

A hand cream that is going to go with the rest of my hand creams, which I will get to as I work my way down the line. This one contains orchid, shea and baobab seed oil to smooth rough hands. 

This gel mask pack contains hyaluronic acid to hydrate and plump and lock in moisture, and activated charcoal to absorb excess sebum, soothe skin and minimize the appearance of pores. It had a strong chemical smell, but it felt nice on. I still looked oily at the end of the day, though, so I'm not quite sure how great it really is at absorbing excess sebum. 

This is a fun tool that you can use on those scrape-off masks. It's soft silicone, so it will retain its shape but not be harsh on the skin when you use it to scrape. 

I feel like things like samples shouldn't be included in subscription boxes. I felt a little robbed when I saw this in there; I subscribe to this box because I want full sized products. I did use this entire thing, but I can't really say if it was any good or not and I'm not sure if I would purchase any of these products. 

Overall this box was just okay. I don't mind getting hand creams because I use them all the time, but I don't want samples in a box that I am paying for full sized items. What are your thoughts?

I was lucky enough to be sent the PÜR Cosmetics Quick Pro Glitters Eye Polish in exchange for an honest review! 

I was sent four shades: Namaslay, Queenie, Lust, and OMG. There are five shades in the collection, the fifth one being a charcoal color called Midnight Diamond. On the website, the entire five piece set can be purchased for $39.00, but is valued at $93.00. Each bottle breaks down to being just under $8.00 each.

The website describes this product as "a high-pigment and high-glamour glitter eye shadow with a built-in primer that lasts without creasing or fading." It is a 3-in-1 formula that can be used as a primer, eye shadow base, and top coat. I love versatility! This product is also formulated without: 

As you can see, the bottles are tiny. There is 0.2 oz of product in each bottle. To give you a better visual (I'm a visual person), a single MAC eye shadow is .04 oz. But these are great if you want to try out a few shades without committing to buying full sized versions of the shadows. 

The product itself is very, very pretty. Look at these swatches! There is intense glitter and shimmer, and the colors are pigmented. 

I let the product dry for a minute, and then did what I call a "swipe test." I wanted to see how much the product budged. granted, I could have given it a bit more drying time. But I think it was good to see how much it dried in a minute because, let's face it, sometimes we don't have the time to let things fully dry. After around a minute, there is quite a bit of smudging, as you can see. The website says to let the product set for two minutes before adding on lashes, so I'm assuming it takes about two minutes to fully dry down. And I think the amount of product you put on would also affect the drying time. 

Kitten Karma definitely has a bigger glam factor as that chunky glitter really gives it that dramatic sparkle. Namaslay still has a sparkle, but in a much subtler way. 

The shimmer is really very subtle, and I think it was perfect for work. Or, if you're having a lazy day, you could just throw on a thin layer and it would still look pretty impressive! The shadow did not budge all day, and it stayed on there until the end of the day. And that's saying a lot, because look at how oily my face is in these pics! And it still didn't budge. 

The next test was to put on some powder eye shadow and use the product as a topper. 

Look how pretty that is! It's my fault that I didn't blend it out well enough, but when my eyes are open you can't really tell. lol I still kept it pretty thin, but I was a little more heavy handed than the first time. I think using it as an eye topper really brings some glam to the look. There isn't super chunky glitter in it, so I think because of that, it's a really good product for daytime looks. And as you can see, even with a thicker layer, there's no creasing. 

I wanted to REALLY glam it up with this product, so the third time I tried it, I laid it on pretty heavy. 

What I really like about this product is that it's versatile; you can use the product alone, as a topper, you can use it thinly, or you can really glam it up. I also like that it doesn't have big chunky pieces of glitter. That way, I can use it in the daytime, or at work, and still look appropriate. In that sense, that adds to its versatility. It also doesn't crease, and even if you have oily skin like me, the product stays put. 

What I don't like is the applicator. It's basically a spatula, and it makes putting the product on difficult. If that applicator was slanted just slightly, it would make the application process less of a pain in the butt. I found that I kept getting product on my lashes, and I feel like if it was slanted I could have avoided that. There are larger versions of this product that come in a pot, so you don't have to worry about an applicator. But those versions don't come in the shades offered in this set (from what I've seen on the website, anyway). 

So let's break it down: 

Pros:

Overall, I really like this product. I like that I can wear it more than one way, and I like that it works well with my oily skin and doesn't crease or budge. I also like that it's a better value than the Stila Glitter and Glow shadows. They're about the same price, but you get more product with the Eye Polish shadows. There are additional sets that you can purchase: the Eye Polish Glitters 5-Piece Kit  and the Royalty 5-Piece Eye Polish Collection, a collaboration with Angel Merino, aka @mac_daddyy.  If you're thinking about giving these a try, I would definitely do it! 

Let's talk about some products that I finished recently. Some of these are products that I buy over and over, while others aren't. 

Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water

First off, what is micellar water? Micellar water contains micelle molecules. When clustered together, these molecules lift dirt and impurities from the skin, supposedly without drying it out. That is why it is able to be used as a facial cleanser and makeup remover in one. 

I love three things about this product. 1. It really, really removes the makeup. I use this especially for my stubborn makeup, like mascara and eye lash glue. Just saturate a cotton pad and leave it on your eye for a few seconds and bam. Makeup gone. 2. I love that I don't have to wash my face off after I use it. Unlike other liquid makeup removers, or even tissue removers, my skin feels refreshed after use. I don't have to wash my face off like I do with other removers. And 3. It does not sting. I have sensitive skin and often find that makeup removers sting my skin. But not this one! 

Do I recommend it?

Yes, I do! It costs around $7.00, you can find it at CVS, Walmart, K-Mart, Target, anywhere. And they also come in small travel sizes! You can easily throw it in your purse, suitcase, or keep it in your desk at work. 

Tsaio Camellia Face Wash

I received this in one of my Beauteque boxes as one of the only face washes I ever received from them. This product contains camellia oleifera leaf extract, which is a great source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. I never used this face wash as a first cleanser, but I don't think that it would have been able to get rid of heavy makeup. It did a decent job as a second cleanser, though, but I found that my skin felt a bit dry after using it. I liked that it didn't leave a squeaky clean feeling on my skin, and it had a pleasant scent. I won't be going out of my way to purchase another one, though. 

Do I recommend it?

It's a decent product, but at $16.99 you can get a La Roche Posay face wash for that price! I wouldn't purchase it again unless the price went down. 

CosRx Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

Don't mind how dirty the bottle looks. I had a concealer malfunction and it just got on everything. Anyhow, I love love love this product. I'm on bottle number three right now. The first time I used this product, I noticed an overnight difference in the oil production of my skin. It was a visible change. I currently use it in the mornings and as a second cleanser on the days I wear heavy makeup. It leaves my face feeling very clean with no squeakiness, it reduces my sebum production, and it helped in clearing up my acne the first time I used it.

Do I recommend it?

I probably recommend this product more than any product I've used and liked. If you have oily skin, this is the product for you. It's also really affordable; you can get it online for anywhere between $7.00 - $10.00. You can even get it on Amazon!

Nature Republic Hand and Nature Hand Cream

I love the Nature Republic hand creams because they are small and fit in my purse and I can keep them anywhere. In my car, at my work desk, my computer desk, anywhere. And they come in a bagillion different scents with really cute packaging. They're great to use after I wash my hands to keep them from feeling too dry. 

Do I recommend it?

Yes! A lot of the time these are on special in-store and you can get a two-for-one deal or something similar. They're anywhere from $5.00 - $10.00 a pop, depending on where you purchase them and if they're special edition. Don't use these expecting long lasting moisture, though. 

I haven't really been feeling the motivation to do nails very much lately, either. I've been switching back to regular nail polish because I'm too lazy to deal with taking off gel polish. And it also makes it easier to do more nail designs, if I feel so inclined. So, let's start with my Halloween nails!

My second Christmas manicure I went back to gels because I wanted to do a wreath. I also decided to try out a matte rose pattern. I drew a rose in gel and sprinkled it with acrylic powder. It looked really cool but it got dirty quickly. I also messed up the design because i tried to top coat it, but it ruined the design, so I went over it again with gel and acrylic powder and it just ended up fat and ugly. Can't even tell its a rose pattern. Oh, well. At least I know what to do next time!

And just to further illustrate how not into doing my nails I have been lately, I did a third Christmas manicure and didn't even take a proper picture of it. But it was red, and my ring finger looked like a peppermint.