Big Life Changes

My life has had a significant change.

My father passed away almost two weeks ago now.

He passed away on November 28th from complications of stage four lung cancer. My mother told me the next morning, on my birthday of all days.

Since I am the only child he associates with I was the one who had to take care of his arrangements. It isn't something that I ever assumed I'd be doing at the age of 32.

Oddly enough, things have been easier than I imagined. I have a feeling that it won't truly hit me until I get his ashes home to me, when I get the death certificate. I have been very preoccupied trying to get everything done and tell the people who need to know that he's gone.

I worry that one day I'll forget what his voice sounds like, his laugh or the way he smelled.

I'm sad that my children will never get the chance to meet their grandfather, and that they will be like me growing up thinking that people only have a grandmother.

I am comforted by the fact that he isn't in pain anymore, that he's with his family as he was the last surviving sibling.

Cherish your family. Tell them you love them. Spend time with them. You never know when they won't be there anymore.


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Lost Posts: Etude House Surprise Essence Concealer

(This is yet another "lost post" that has been sitting in my drafts for a very long time. I did have to retake some pictures since the product pictures were taken on my old burner phone and looked horrifying.)

Of all of the things I got from my Etude House haul last week, I am the most in love with the Surprise Essence concealer. 

Detox Blues

The last few days have been hell in a handbasket.

My doctor discovered that the blood pressure problems I was having was directly related to the Effexor I was taking, so she decided to discontinue it. I am ok with that mainly because I'm not depressed, I'm just an anxious little weirdo.

Effexor is an SNRI, a drug that helps block the re-absorption of serotonin and norepinephrine. This creates a physical dependency. Of course, when you build a physical dependency that means when you decide to stop taking it you will go through withdrawal, even though the doctors will call it discontinuation syndrome.

The symptoms vary from person to person in severity, but they generally involve flu like symptoms.

My doc discovered the bp thing last week and decided to put me on a lower dose of Effexor to taper me off, because you can't just stop taking it because of the physical dependency you develop. I was on 75mg a day, which is moderately low. Some people I've seen on three times that. To taper off, she was supposed to send me a scrip for 37.5mg.

That scrip didn't arrive at my pharmacy.

Lost Posts: Summer of Samples Week 1 Summary

(I went into my drafts section, and OMG I have so many posts I never shared! Here we go, Petite Feet: The Lost Posts)


I made it through the first week of my sampling!  Here's the roundup.

June 27

🌛 Last night's sample: History of Whoo All in One cream. 🌛 

First off, I love this brand so much. I wish I could afford it on a regular basis! #brokegirlproblems! 

Just like the last cream of theirs that I used, I was not at all disappointed with the moisture payoff. If you have very oily skin or live in a humid climate like I do, you may want to skip this for day use. 

It almost had the texture of petroleum jelly in my opinion, until you apply it. It went on very smooth and didn't feel greasy. My skin felt like it had gotten an extra boost of moisture that my normal night creams just don't provide 

Smell is mildly medicinal, but not at all unpleasant.

Best part? No breakouts this morning! Heavier creams generally cause at least one breakout, especially when Aunt Flo is due in town, but I woke up this morning with plumper skin minus the breakouts. Win! 

Will I purchase? Maybe if i had the extra money. For now I will stick to what I can afford 😅

June 28

🌛 Last night was all about Etude House🌛 

I already love the Baking Powder Crunch Pore Scrub, so I had great feelings going into the cleansing foam. I used it with my Etude face brush not expecting it to have the same grit as the scrub. It foams yet exfoliates very nicely. I felt clean yet not dried out. Definitely want the full size! 

Even though it's been out a while, I haven't tried the Moistful Collagen products mainly because I feared they would be too heavy. I couldn't have been more wrong! The essence is thin all while leaving the skin feeling moisturized without the weight. Same with the cream. It's got more of a gel texture in my opinion. It's light and smells ahhhmazing. I didn't feel like I had a million products on my face even after I'd finished my full routine. 

Etude never disappoints me ❤️❤️ Total toot!

June 29

🌛 Tonight's sample is the Tony Moly Panda's Dream White Magic Cream 🌛 

If you're looking for an instant white to even out your skin tone then this is it. It's got a very light and whipped texture and a lovely smell, even though the scent is rather strong. 

I found that this went on smooth but didn't absorb very well at all. It took some work to get it to blend into my skin.

This cream completely lacks moisture, which is good if you put makeup on over it. I personally found it extremely drying, which made my nose area even oilier in the end as it tried to overcompensate for the dryness. 

Would I buy this? Probably not. I've seen lots of hype around this and I just didn't think it was worth it. I have a second pouch that I'll try again later to make sure it's not just my skin being ornery. 

Have you used this and had better results?

June 30

🌛 Last night was all about Tatcha, another brand I'm absolutely crazy about🌛 

The indigo soothing rice enzyme powder lived up to all of the expectations I had based on my use of their other rice powders. It gently exfoliates while soothing thanks to the indigo. Bonus points for being blue! My skin felt clean without being irritated or dried out, which usually happens after I exfoliate. 

Ok, the luminous deep hydration firming serum... It's so damn beautiful. I sat there like a big dork and watched it sparkle in the light before I actually used it. I found it to feel rather heavy even though it's a very light serum. My dry spots drank it in, but my oilier spots rebelled. It is definitely best used in smaller quantities. 

I finished off with the ageless enriching renewal cream because I'm addicted to moisture. It smells like the other creams I've used from the brand, and felt like it went from cream to oil as I put it on. Very smooth, very moisturizing. It is a bit heavy so a little goes a long way. 

I'm not sure if using all of these together was a good idea since its the middle of summer and I did start to sweat it off not long after, but this morning my skin felt amazing and only had one or two breakouts - all hormonal thank blob. My skin really dug the combo of soothing and super moisture shot. 

What are your favorite Tatcha products! (I'm soooo addicted to their rice powders and lippies ❤️❤️❤️)

July 1

🌛 Tonight's sample fare: Guérisson 9complex essence and cream🌛 

I know I've talked about this before, but I really love it. 

The essence made my skin soooo happy. My dry areas drank it in, my oily areas drank it in, overall a very happy face! It is very light and moisture packed. It also smells deliciously citrusy mixed with floral. 

I can sing lots of praises of the cream, too. Creamy and goes on smooth, smells heavenly, and perfectly compliments the essence. I can only imagine what my skin would do if I used the whole line! 

This is definitely a tootie toot toot!

For those of you who don't already, follow my instagram for more of these micro-reviews! I'd love to have you as a part of the fam ❤️

(In the coming days I'll be putting out more of these lost posts. It's fun reading them and reliving the feelings I had when I posted them!)

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Correxiko Week 2

One more week and I have had excellent success with my Correxiko Close Up nail supplements. 

My nails feel incredibly strong, something they have never been, and I can see visible growth! It's definitely much more than I would get without any kind of vitamin. 

Now I can also notice a bit of hair growth, only because of my greys (gasp!) that need to be covered. 

So let's take a quick trip down memory lane to see the starter image and last week before we see this new round of magic. 

And now on October 15th, with my ratchet self done nails because #brokegirlstyle

fat fingers!!

I think the most drastic results are on my pointer and middle fingers. The nail on my ring finger has never been a fast grower, neither has my pinky nail on that hand. The one on my other hand looks like a coke nail...

Not too shabby for two weeks, huh? 

I'm insanely pleased thus far and wonder what sort of results we will be seeing next week!

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Fuck. Cancer.

Two days ago I had some pretty devastating news thrown onto my lap: my father was dying from stage 4 lung cancer and his doctors wanted me to give permission to discontinue care and to keep him comfortable for him to die naturally. 

I'm only 31 years old. I am barely able to take care of myself and all day Monday I spent the day talking to doctors on the phone and giving consent to different things that is essentially ensuring my father is going to die within the next week. 

Every time the phone rings I dread it. 

I'm terrified that the next call will be the call. 

Cherish the time you have with your loved ones. You never know when that time is going to come to an end. 

Correxiko Week 1

I've been testing another nail supplement over the last week and I have to say I'm now a believer. 

This is my starting point on September 30th:

And now 10 days later

Ignore the fact that I suck at painting my nails and clock that growth! In one week! 

I'm normally not one to gush so quickly over a product but I think I may have found my holy grail for nail supplements. These results are something I can actually see and measure which makes it even more amazing to me. 

My nails also feel substantially stronger than they were before, and I haven't seen not even one peelie. 

I'll post more about the product after I've finished my bottle, but I'll post another progress pic next week. Just know I'm completely blown away. 

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Changes

This is just a quick update to let everyone know that things are looking up!

I've switched medications and so far it really seems to be working for me as far as my anxiety.

I have loads more energy, I'm not constantly hungry (yay!), and I actually have motivation to get things done. I even started my FAFSA process today so I can get back into school! Who knows, maybe this is what I needed this entire time.

More posts coming soon from products I've tested recently!

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Review: 1004 Laboratory 100% From Nature Acai Berry 90 Protecting Ampoule

Before I discovered Korean skincare, ampoules and essences were a complete mystery to me. 

Thanks to the company 0.8L, I've had the opportunity to try several different ampoules, all of which I have reviewed on my Insta. For those who don't follow me there, I've decided to share the reviews here as well, and expand on them a bit since we only get a week of testing before we have to review for 0.8L. 

This beautiful ampoule is the 1004 Laboratory Acai Berry 90 Protecting Ampoule. 

Pokemon Go Pic Dump

My bf and I have been playing the hell out of Pokemon Go, and I love to snap pics as Pokemon pop up so now I have a buttload of pictures to share :D

More pics under the cut!

Week In Pictures, July 3-10 2016

I really like documenting things with pictures, so I'm going to start posting my week in pictures!

I didn't do much of anything for Instagram reviews this week because it's been an oddly busy week.

I did manage to get a review of this Camu-Camu White Day Milk from DHC done. Not a fan.

Summer of Samples

I know, the summer is half way over, but I have decided to challenge myself.

I have a TON of samples from all of my orders over the last year and I need to use them before they go bad. 

This is what I started with

In a bid to get more organized, I took them out of the pouch I'd been keeping them in and put them into this little box, separated by skincare on the left and makeup on the right. 

Organized?

I'm doing all of these reviews on Insta, so if you want to catch the latest mini-reviews I do follow me there. You can find a link in the side bar ^^ 

After I post them there, I'm going to be posting them here as a week in review type thing. 

Look for this week's Summer of Samples week in review on Sunday!

I'm crazy excited to be doing this and working my way through all of these samples. Maybe I'll discover some new favorites along the way. 

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June in Pictures

I'ts already almost July and I'm still sitting here wondering where most of the summer has gone. 

Where has the year gone?? 

I've been a total blog slacker lately, mostly because I've been microblogging on Instagram! If you don't follow me there you should ^^ I'm currently doing a series where I'm working through my samples stash and doing mini-reviews. Who knows, maybe you'll see something you like? 

Since I've become a bit of a camera whore, I wanna try something a little different and share my month in pictures!

New Etude Play Nail: Hand Made Jam

I swear, every time I go onto their site, they have something new that makes me want to buy it!

This time Etude House released more nail colors, which are totally my speed. I've discovered that their nail colors last a fairly long time for me. They are a low price but the quality doesn't waver. 

This new set is called Hand Made Jam. 

This collection seems to be a decent combo of both pastels that make me think of tea time and richer colors that make me think of fall (that was when we ate the preserves we made in the summer!). 

Under the cut are the images of the collection from the Korean website. 

Latest Etude House Haul and Impressions

I can't believe I forgot to share my latest haul with you! 

It wasn't the biggest haul in the world, just a lot of odds and ends that I wanted to add to my order to get free shipping (it's so expensive to ship from Korea to the US!) because I was hell bent on getting the new Pink Cherry Blossom collection. I missed out on the perfume (wah!) but I did manage to get the set that had the body spray and lotion in addition to the Play 101 pencils. 

This is the set together. 

Update: My Rebelling Body

My body has been rebelling like crazy. It makes me wonder why all of my systems can't all just work together in peaceful harmony so I can live life like a regular human being. 

Nope. 

I would like to be able to go do things again without getting sick. 

But my body is more like the cute little Old El Paso girl: 

Just subtract the celebration.

I've had this terrible toothache for weeks now. The tooth is abscessed and I've done my best to care for it like I know how, because this isn't my first time having an abscessed tooth. At this point, since my teeth are genetically weak, it's nothing new. 

Enter a bone spur on the other side opposite the aching tooth. 

That little fucker, the size of a grain of sand, coming out through my gums from a ten year old extraction made life hell all over for a good month. 

I did lose ten pounds, so I can't be too pissed. 

It also made me have to beg my uncle for opiates because I don't have dental insurance. I have damn good health coverage, just nothing for my chompers. 

So I have an abscess that I can do nothing about other than pray that it doesn't get any worse because I don't have $3000 to pay for a root canal and crown. 

Don't let anyone lie to you - being a full time blogger doesn't come with a ton of money. 

Spring 2016 Favorites

This spring has been pretty amazing for beauty finds for me. It's tax season, or hood Christmas as my boyfriend calls it, so he decided to spoil me a little bit.

He let me order from Jolse and Etude House to get some things that I've been lusting over for a while.

I think I've posted everything from my hauls, and each order has had some great products but these are my favorites. 

Hair

I found this Silk Scarf Hair Treatment when I was looking for a hair treatment from Etude House. In their hair dyes they include a little packet of hair treatment - it's not available on the website. I'm not sure if it's been discontinued or if they just don't carry it anymore. It smells like frangipani and gave me mad memories of childhood and getting those cheap bath sets from my family at Christmas. 

In comparison, the hair treatment is much thicker. It is more like a deep conditioner. Silk Scarf has a thinner texture that is in between regular hair conditioner and a serum. Like the treatment this has a very floral scent, I just can't place what flower. 

After washing and conditioning, put this in for three to five minutes and rinse. Perfect healthy looking hair is the result. 

I generally do this about once a week. 

I got this from the Etude House Global site for around $11.

Etude House Haul + Tatcha Sunrise Lipstick

I've started to run out of things that I need, so was time to reorder necessities!

That led to a little Etude House haul, plus a fantastic gift from my boyfriend.

First, let's have a little story time!

Apparently the USPS isn't tracking packages from Korea anymore here in the US. Once it's left Korea, the package is completely under the radar until it reaches you, or until you get pissed off and call the post office and have them track it for you.

I placed this order on January 27th. I knew it would take a few days to get shipped, and it could end up getting caught in the hustle and bustle of the Seollal, which I figured was the case when the last I could track it was on the 5th via Korea Post. 

Then nada on the USPS tracking, even when it showed it had made it out of Korea.

Then there was panic.

I broke down and called the post office and it had been in the States for days, and arrived the next day. Apparently it takes a detour to Moscow before hitting New York. I wonder if they take the same route for items going to the west coast of the US. 

Moral of the story is if you order a package from Korea and cannot track it in the US, don't panic and call your post office and they will track it down for you. All you have to do is provide them with the tracking number.

Vonnie Is Excited: Etude House Berry Delicious Collection

Etude House has really made this spring a happy one for me by releasing a strawberry themed collection.

The Berry Delicious collection has just been released in the past week or so. There was a special box released, a collab between Etude House and margarin fingers that sold out on Korea Depart with the quickness. I was so pissed when I missed it. To see that, and some amazing swatches, check out this amazing blog post.

I had been lusting after it since it popped up on Etude House's Korean website, from the images I'd seen from people living in Korea who got their hands on it, and the previews.

So a few nights ago (the 3rd) I went on their global site, thinking that maybe the products would be available to the international audience directly from Etude House (I'm picky about getting my Etude stuff from other sources). I was over the moon to see the products listed, but absolutely crushed when each item had these dreadful words printed underneath them: out of stock.

Reenactment of the moment.  

Not Dead, Not Fully Alive

Hey, loves!

I just wanted to take a few minutes to let everyone know I'm not dead. 

Life has been very hectic lately. My bestie and her daughter have been staying with me for the last few weeks, then she ended up being stuck in the hospital so I've been taking care of things for her in her absence. 

To top it off, illness after illness has rolled through my house and I've taken the brunt of the worst of it like I always do. Then we have the lovely migraines that won't go away. Looks like I may end up in the hospital if they don't ease up!

Buuuutttt now I have insurance!

For the first time in my life I have health insurance and I am so happy I don't know what to do with myself, other than schedule all of the checkups that I've needed but couldn't afford. Starting in February I am heading to my PC doc and getting a full workup started. Now that I have insurance my costs for everything will go down significantly so I can afford the specialists that I truly need, and get back on the road to health.

I have some reviews I need to post, as well as some really amazing pictures I've taken lately. I just need my head to cooperate long enough for me to get that done. 

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