Where have I been for the past... forever?

It feels like forever since I've last blogged anything of actual substance (the last review I wrote was in November 2012!). Does anyone still read this blog? I've fell out of touch with the blogging world around the end of 2010 and have only been sporadically posting over the past 3 years. Throughout that time I kept telling myself that I would try and pick it up again, but just couldn't find the time, inspiration, or motivation... but right now I have all three of those things! So I'm trying to start up my blogging hobby once again :)

So what have I been up to over my 3 year semi-hiatus?

I was finishing college at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
I graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art!

I co-bought a house and moved out of my parent's.
Currently living happily with my Mr. Right :)

I have been growing my business, Kawaii x Couture Decoden.
I moved from Etsy to Storenvy and launched our official website in December 2012

I'm working with my Dad at our family business, Tanimoto Dharma Designs.
Many changes at the office & we're coming out with new and exciting products!

I'm doing freelance graphic/web design on the side & working on my own design projects.

I'll also be returning to UH Hilo to work at the Graphics Media Dept. as a designer there too.

I'm an avid Instagrammer and Yelp-er!

I've developed a renewed love for food! Love looking for new places to eat & review.

I'm trying to be more "fashionable" :P

I've started expanding my wardrobe and trying out new styles with my hair.

I'm continuing my body modification process.
Lobes at 5/8" and 18 piercings, looking into tattoos, subdermal implants & scarification next.

And that's majority of what I've been up to lately :)

I started out this blog intending it for it to be makeup/beauty-related, but now I'm at a point in my life where makeup is no longer my biggest passion. I still love it but I rarely play around with new eyeshadow or lipstick like I used to. 

So now I'm planning to use this blog to write about more topics than just makeup -- beauty, art, AND life. Day-to-day events, interesting things I learn, artists that inspire me, new things to try, DIY creativity, etc. Basically all the stuff that makes me tick! So hopefully I'll be able to keep it up :)

Love Packages & Giveaway Prize ♥ + Some Life Stuff

Hey everyone! I feel like I haven't posted in ages. Just wanted to share some packages I got in the mail recently!

First, from the super sweet Pinky (gawd, I love her name!) of Sunnii's Adventures in Wonderland! She is SO sweet, thoughtful, and generous! She surprised me with this package as a "just because" love pack :) Thank you SO much, Pinky love! ^__^ She knew I'd been wanting to try Missha products (can't wait to try the BB cream!), and included lots of other goodies too hehe ♥

Candies! Which are, of course, gone already :)
I love love love those marshmallow candies.

Super cute teacup spoon! How dainty and adorable!


Thank you, Pinky! ♥

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I also got a love pack from the lovely miss Chee! Thank you so much girl! :)


I was wondering what those little white things were lol!
I actually did think they were candy XD

NYX Runway Collection 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Champagne and Caviar!!! I love love all these shades! Perfect neutrals for my everyday look. The shadows are buttery smooth and super pigmented ♥

Criss cross style falsies! Been wanting to try this kind for awhile now :D


This Cure gel sounds promising :)

Thank you Chee! ♥

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I also won Rai (Glam Morena)'s My Pretty Pink Box giveaway awhile back. I got the package in last week:

Lots of samples! I am so happy with the NYX loose pigment. It is SO vibrant purple and just lovely ♥ I'm also looking forward to trying the Derma Pro samples :)

Thank you lovely ladies! ♥

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Hope everyone's been good. I've got a lot of reviews lined up for the next few days. And oh gosh, can't believe school is starting next week! I'm actually kind of excited lol. I've been bored most of the summer so I think going back to school will be a good change of pace. I also have some exciting (well, for me at least) news to share...

I got a (semi-dream) job :)

I've actually been working since last Thursday, but didn't want to post about it right away so I had some time to adjust and wouldn't jinx myself or anything :P It all started with my mom urging me to drop off my resume at my Uni's Graphics Department (will be referring to as "Graphics" for short) -- my parents know some of the people working there so they thought it would be a great opportunity for me to possibly work there. And it turned out that their current student worker was leaving near the end of summer. I figured there was not much chance that I would get the job since I'm an underclassman and I'd still have to apply for the position when school started. But I dropped off my resume anyway.

The next week, I got a call from Graphics that they could hire me immediately. I was floored! Apparently, they were going through some kind of grant-funded Summer Youth Employment Program that would give better job opportunities to students. So I had to go to an orientation the next day. However, in the end, they decided not to go with the program because I wouldn't get paid as much through the program vs through the University (ironically, the program was supposed to guarantee that you get paid more). So amazingly, I somehow landed this prime position in the perfect location without even having to formally apply for the job X__x Words cannot express how grateful I am for this opportunity and I will definitely be making the most of it and working and learning as much as I can :)

So anywho, I've been working at the Graphics Department for 6 days so far and will continue to work there until... who knows! It would be great to continue working there even after I finish college! So... my official title is "Graphics Design and Layout Assistant" -- It feels almost surreal because not too long ago, I finally came to a conclusion about what I wanted to do for a career. I still want to dabble in cosmetology and esthetics eventually, but my main goal was to become a Graphic Designer. I really want to design brochures, magazine ads, flyers, posters, etc. -- and I'm gaining the experience to do that in the future; right now. I'm currently working on small projects, but I hope to move on to bigger ones eventually :)

So the real funny/coincidental thing was... my horoscope. I'm not really big on that kind of thing because while I do find them entertaining; I feel like if you read it ahead of time, you tend to immediately attribute anything that happens to you; to your horoscope. But when I got my iTouch, I downloaded the horoscope app anyway, just for shits n giggles, and I check it out every now and then. It just so happened that that week, my horoscope was something along the lines of "an opportunity will come up that seems too good to miss... yada yada yada" Haha! It really struck me as so weird and wonderful.... Horoscopes can be uncannily accurate sometimes~ :)

This makes me sad :(

This is another one of those "being real" posts.
Sorry for the crappy picture, crappy makeup. This was like ~4 years ago...
And this is how my eyelashes used to look like:

Yes, those were my real eyelashes. :(

I touched upon this subject a few times but never really elaborated on it.

My dad always told me when I was younger, I had the longest eyelashes of any asian he'd ever seen. Believe it or not, I did have super long eyelashes. They were stick-straight.. nothing that couldn't be fixed with an eyelash curler though.

But ever since I was little, I've had this nasty habit of just yanking them out when I'm bored/stressed. Anyone else do this? Apparently this is called Trichotillomania. Now doesn't that sound scary. It sucks. They used to grow back quickly but not anymore. So I went through several phases of having lots of eyelashes, and then having almost none. Atm, I'm in the "almost none" phase. So that's why I use falsies in the majority of my EOTDs.

I've been interested in Latisse, but Idk.
It'll probably end up causing eye cancer or some shit.



Anybody tried this stuff?

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Sad news....

Hey all... My family and I are left with heavy hearts and deep sadness, as my grandma passed away tonight.

I know that everyone has probably heard things like this countless times before, but I just want to say... Cherish every moment and memory you have with your loved ones... don't wait to tell them just how much you love and appreciate them. Life is short, love is unbending, and no one knows what could happen next. -Brandy

Make sure you let those whom you hold most dear,
know just how precious they are to you.

I love you Granny, & I'll miss you.

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Re-organization

I feel so productive lol. Majorly cleaned and re-organized my whole room, including my makeup station and closet (: So here's what it looks like now~ got a little organizer drawer to hold more of my things so they're not all over the place :D

Half my closet; added a rolling organizer drawer

The other half of my closet; threw in my hoodies & jeans, shoes, and finally found a use for my penguin mat xD

Also, got this idea from Mai which has been floating around the blogosphere...
What would you like to know about me?
You can ask anything you want :P... what my fav beauty products are, what it's like to live in Hawaii, what my shoe size is O_o hehe xD if I get enough questions, I'll do a collective post answering all of them (;

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No cam, handwriting analysis, FOTD

UGH! I have been sneezing and coughing for the past 7 or so hours... my eyes are watering and my nose is running AND I'm going between cold/hot with a headache. I'm hoping this is allergies and I'm not sick!!

Anyways, my camera is off to the mainland to get fixed since the flash doesn't work :P So I won't be able to take pictures or do reviews for... who knows how long lol xD BOO! :( I do have my cell phone cam tho it takes okay pics :P (see below). Cruised it at Honda today for a little while.

(click pics to biggify... you can see my freckles look closely xD)






















And here's my quick FOTD to show you how the iQQU is going... It definitly makes my complexion and tone look a lot better and smoother but I'm still waiting for it to lighten my freckles~ You really only need a little little bit to cover your whole face... less than pea size. So far, I'm liking the results. I'm not wearing any foundation in this FOTD, besides for powder under my eyes!!

[Face]

• iQQU Advance Sunscreen

[Eyes]

• Lancome eyeshadow quad (thank you Krystal!)
  - "Bikini Golden" all over lid
  - "Honeymoon" highlight below brow
  - "Guest List" on lid
  - "Dill" in outer-V
• NYX felt tip liner pen in Dark Brown
• Rimmel Exaggerate black eyeliner
• Physician's Formula eyebrow pencil in Dark Brown
• ELF eyebrow Treat and Tame in Dark
• Sephora eyebrow palette #2
• NYX jar concealer in Beige
• EDM pressed powder in Fairly light Golden under eyes
• Geo Angel Brown circle lenses

[Lips]

• EDM Natural lipgloss in Lemon Spice
• EDM Natural lipgloss in Siesta
• Avon Colortrend rollerball lipgloss in Watermelon

Also, here's something fun for you guys to do (: I did this awhile ago but I forgot what the results were so I decided to do it again :D It's really fun you should try it! (click the link at the bottom)! The results are pretty accurate too hehe.




The results of your analysis say:
You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
This one is spot on!
You are a social person who likes to talk and meet others.
I suppose I am (on blogger atleast :P)? Although I'm more of a private/reserved person in real life now.
You are affectionate, passionate, expressive, and future-oriented.
This one is also spot on (most of the time, unless I'm in a bad mood :P)

You are not very reserved, impatient, self-confident and fond of action.
This one is half-half. I am not very self-confident and fond of action however I am reserved and impatient.

You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others.
This is true... I don't really depend on the opinions of others, but I do take them into account.

What does your handwriting say about YOU?

Oh and please do my POLL (: I'm interested to see what you lovelies are interested in!~ Thank you!!

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