May Favorites 2014 + Life + Music

I've been really complacent with blog posts lately, huh? Hahaha I guess I just really got into the rhythm of making videos :P I'm honestly not going to  go into the details of all the stuff I showed you in this May Favorites video because I feel like I'm just ridiculously talkative most of the time in my videos :P

So if you guy have any questions with the items above, feel free to ask them below -- I'll definitely get back to you! :3 BTW, if you're looking for where to find those What's Your Flavor Shirts you can find more info here (http://goo.gl/eyjPDr)

Now that I have an outlet for creativity in the form of videos and getting back into my art, I can actually use my blog more for talking about life and you know, what's really been going on haha.

So it's finally June and everybody's on their way back to school. It got me wondering whether or not I should try doing a Back to School Video. Although that'll probably come out pretty late considering I have yet to film it ahaha.

On the same note, I'm also on the way back to work. After a month or two-month-long break from labwork I feel rusty so I need get back into the rhythm. In case you guys I wondering, yes I've graduated, but I still have some labwork and research that I need to tie the ends on. Hopefully if I try hard enough all that research might actually pay off ;)

Meanwhile, this blog will finally become what it's supposed to be -- a stress reliever instead of a stress additive. I hope you guys don't mind me talking much about this stuff :P If not, you can always just skip these introspective and life-themed posts in favor of the ones you like.

ALSO! I've really been getting back into making playlists lately. Granted, they may not be as organized and themed as my previous Mixtape Mondays, but I'll definitely be sharing more with you guys soon so look forward to that!

And if you haven't already seen, I recently did an unboxing video of my recent Etude House package, so if you're interested go check that out!


I'll definitely have more cohesive and planned out blogposts soon guys, so look forward to that!

Ada, signing out!

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UPDATES: Where have I been!?!?!?!?!?

Whooo~! Hey guys! It's been ages, hasn't it? Almost a year if I'm not mistaken. I'm not even sure if most of you still remember me.

If yes, then booyah! Thanks for staying tuned. If not, then I'm just gonna have to regain your readership.

So the big question -- where have I been, and what have I been doing??? Well, it's a pretty long story. You can choose to hear about it in my shrill annoying voice or read more about it below.

This past year has been a huge year for me. I was on my senior year of college for my Bachelor of Science degree on Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. I had to maintain my grades to keep up my standing to graduate Magna Cum Laude, not to mention there was just a butt-load of thesis work to do. At least all that work was worth it -- I won Best Thesis :))

Oh, over-photoshop GradPics -- We all have them LOL

Setting aside my hobbies and blogging for a while was part of the sacrifices I had to make to get where I am now. I'm happy to say that I am now a contributing factor to our county's unemployed population! HOORAH! All kidding, aside,I plan on applying for an instructor position at my home institute before pursuing my Master's Degree abroad. I'm pretty much PhD-bound, but hey, a lot can change :P

In addition to that, one of the reasons I've been gone is because of moving. I can't say this was a really recent change, but it just took a pretty long time for me to get settled into my new home. I have this pretty new pad -- is that what kids these days call it? A pad? A hood? Whatever. New room practically = new life and new habits and a lot of getting used to.

You've probably seen some of my room from my old instagram photos and backdrops of hauls and other product shots. But I've really only gotten around to decorating and setting things in order recently. You can see most of my room in the video above, but just to show you what I mean, here's my current study-table setup.

Ugh, I know -- it's a work in progress. I have a lot of DIY things planned for my room and hopefully I can transform it into my dream room by the end of the summer. I'll be taking you guys along for the ride during this transformation and hopefully I'll have some tips and updates to share with you guys soon.

Something else that's new? I got myself a new laptop! A faster processor and more RAM means I can finally do more videos for you guys! I've really been meaning to do more videos but it was just such a hassle when processing time took 2-4 hours. Now it only takes me 5-20 minutes depending on the length and editing.

On that note, I also have a NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL associated with my Google+ account. So if you can, please do SUBSCRIBE! I'll be posting a lot more often now that I'm able to ;)

I've also updated my twitter to @all_ada_love - just a heads up ;) go follow me if you wish. I don't post much, but I'll definitely try to :P

I'll also try to vary my posts more these days. I realized that I may have alienated a lot of my older audience because I wanted SEO or more views. I don't want to peg my blog as just a beauty blog so I'll try to bring back some of my old-school posts to regain my status as a blog that's about "ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN". Look forward to more music posts, ramblings, DIY, tutorials and personal posts.

That's pretty much it! I have a tutorial and review coming up, so keep tuned for that. I also have a giveaway planned so keep you ears peeled!

That's it for now!

Ada, signing out!

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HUGE Collective Haul! -- U.S. Makeup Swap + Beauty Bar + Korea Haul + New Vanity Setup

Hey guys! I really haven't been able to post much, so as you can imagine, a lot of stuff has been backed up that I really want to blog about!

In addition to my huge Etude House Pink Artiste haul from a while back, I've accumulated a whole lot of other stuff from makeup swaps, general shopping trips and my Korea Trip.

I can't possibly review them all so I guess I'd just share what I got with you and let you do the picking as to what you'd like me to review :) If you see anything you'd like me to review feel free to drop a comment! :)

So first up is a huge haul from my makeup swap with the wonderful Amanda from RiceySupreme (youtube: ahyedizzy). 

This haul is singularly responsible for my recent addiction to lipsticks. I've never been a lipstick junkie before, but I've been more open to exploring different colors after this haul. I'm particularly in love with the Wet n' Wild Lipsticks she sent me, especially the one in Bare it All. It's my favorite nude lipstick thus far!

I've also discovered one of my HG BB Creams from this haul. I never thought I'd fall in love with a U.S.-made BB Cream, but here I am totally in love with my Flower BB Cream in BB2. It's a perfectly yellow-toned BB Cream that's completely matte and ridiculously long lasting! It's perfect for the humid climate here in the Philippines and definitely works wonders on oily skin :)

Another favorite from this haul is the L'oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Matte Shadow Duo in 807 Poppy. The colors are ridiculously pigmented without being powdery and they remind me of Banana and Nutella! It's my go-to neutral eyeshadow duo and I wear it almost everyday haha.

Needless to say, everything from the swap was extra extra special, but these were the ones that totally caught my eye :)

Next up, one of my smaller hauls. I had to stock up on my essentials before my Korea Trip so I got two of my fave products in the world. The K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner was on sale so I just had to get it. It's my HG eyeliner and literally lasts the entire day (even longer). How do I know this? Let's just say a day-trip to Myeongdong and an overnight stay at the Airport put this eyeliner to the ultimate test ahaha. The same goes with the FairyDrops Platinum Mascara Water Proof Type.

And now, probably the largest haul is from my trip to Korea. I probably would've bought more, but baggage and time constraints really limited what I could get. It's a shame really, since practically all the cosmetic shops were on sale when I went there.

The amount of samples the shops in Korea give out is ridiculous. I actually have more samples than photographed above but I set them aside for giveaway purposes *wink wink*.

I don't have a lot of individual pictures of each thing I bought becuase I haven't had the time to schedule a product shoot yet, but the things that I'm totally in love with as of now are the Precious Mineral Any Cushion, the Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in BE103, the Dear Girls Tint and Lip Balm in RD301, Rosy Tint Lips in #7 and the TheFaceShop Daily Beauty Tools Eye Lashes.

Feel free to request reviews as you feel necessary! :)

Korea is also definitely a fashion haven. I couldn't NOT come home with a few things. Plus they were surprisingly cheap! I love the fact that South Korea takes pride in their clothing being made in authentically in Korea! The make is amazing, and because they make clothes primarily for the domestic market (not for export) the price is very very reasonable, especially around college areas!

I couldn't resist getting some cute socks! Just 1000 Won each pair (~1$).

Not to mention these ridiculously adorable Big Bang socks >_<

There were also an abundance of affordable skater skirts of extremely good quality for 5000 Won each!

I was a bit of a cheapskate when I was in Korea because I wouldn't dare buy anything more than 10,000 Won (~10$). All these tops, tights and skirts are 10,000 Won or less (most are 5000 Won), with a few exceptions. I'm such a bargain shopper ahaha.

One thing I did splurge on is a new bag and a pair of cute sneaker wedges. Can you believe the bag is only 15,000 Won??? It's extremely durable, really good quality and the leather trimmings are legit. The shoes were a bit pricey but I wasn't in the mood to bargain, so meh ahaha.

And last but not least, I have new makeup organizers c/o the wonderful Miss Bella PH. I totally love their new Bella Box and Bella Tray. They are invaluable additions to my growing vanity area ahaha.

You Jelly?

Feel free to drop me any questions and requests! I have more exciting posts to come!

Ada, signing out!

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Movie Screening Updates: Identity Thief

So hey guys! Those of you who've been keeping track of me on Facebook know that I've been dealing with a 38-39 degree fever for the past few days. Initially they discounted the chance of Dengue and gave me broad spectrum antibiotics and my fever started going down, but upon further inspection it might be that the antibiotics only helped with an existing superinfection on top of what may actually be Dengue Fever. Ugh. Horrid. I'm feeling better but I have intense bouts of muscle pain and on-again-off-again fevers which are sort of like a rollercoaster except not as fun haha.

I thought I'd just give you guys an update x_x. Sorry to be a downer.

So that this post won't be too depressing, and because this is also semi work related, I thought I'd give a shoutout to the awesome people at United International Pictures who've been inviting me to all these awesome movie screenings lately. I actually went to see G.I. JOE: Retaliation and Oblivion a while back but wasn't properly able to make a post about them due to busy schedules and the onset of my horrible fever.

So some of my new readers don't know but in addition to blogging about beauty products, I also attend the occasional advanced press movie screenings here in the Philippines. The next movie up this May (although it's pretty late since it was originally released last year) is Identity Thief.

At first glance I thought this was going to be one of those guy-cross-dressing-in-a-fat-suit movies (Thank goodness it isn't), and judging by the trailer, it's one hilarious movie with fast-paced humor and some shallow action thrown in between. I loved TED and Horrible Bosses was right up my alley with the satirical office humor, so this one seems just as promising.

Yehp, pretty hilarious if you ask me. You can read the full synopsis after the theatrical posters below.

Unlimited funds have allowed Diana (Melissa McCarthy) to live it up on the outskirts of Miami, where the queen of retail buys whatever strikes her fancy. There's only one glitch: The ID she's using to finance these sprees reads "Sandy Bigelow Patterson"... and it belongs to an accounts rep (Jason Bateman) who lives halfway across the U.S. With only one week to hunt down the con artist before his world implodes, the real Sandy Bigelow Patterson heads south to confront the woman with an all-access pass to his life. And as he attempts to bribe, coax and wrangle her the 2,000 miles to Denver, one easy target will discover just how tough it is to get your name back.

Lol, using a fake identity to go on the largest shopping spree of your life seems awesome. You know, if it weren't illegal and all haha. I wonder if I could pull that off? LOL I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Either way, I know this post is a lot different from my usual posts but this is also part of my side job hahaha. Think of it as a bonus. I know some of the movie buffs out there will totally love this :P You can also look forward to screenings and sneak peeks of much more anticipated movies soon - Despicable Me 2, Iron Man 3 and Fast and Furious just to name a few.

This was also a chance for me to post a few things without having to do some work-heavy product shoots and makeup application because I probably won't be able to handle eyeliner with my shakey 39-degree fever hands x_x It's tough just typing this all down hahaha.

Thanks for reading guys! Hopefully I get better soon. I do not want to spend my 1-week vacation bedridden and sad D: Stay beautiful!

Also, if you haven't already, don't forget to join my Thank You Giveaway! 3 sets of prizes at stake!

Ada, signing out.

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Friday Finds: Infinitea

Ho-hum. It's been a while since I've done one of these. Truthfully, this should have been posted a while back, but laziness, busy schedules and general lack of motivation were stumbling blocks in its progress. That aside, I feel rather down and under today, so I thought I'd skip my usual long reviews and go for a chill food post.

If I'm not mistaken, my last posts like this were on Crazy Katsu and Tea.ology, both of which are establishments easily accessible from my university. Along those lines, I found a pleasant surprise along the street of affordable cuisine, Maginhawa, Teachers' Village. When taking a trip to Katipunan for my favorite milk tea at Tea.ology, I usually settle for one at Moonleaf. 'Lo and behold, just a few buildings after their larger establishment, a new tea shop sprung out of the ground nearby. Seriously, the milk tea industry is overkill.

That being said, I was up for some adventure and said, 'why not?' and thus, I discovered Infinitea. *Cue endless puns with the word 'tea' in them*

Corny names aside, we managed to catch the Infinitea at its soft opening at Maginhawa as one of their first few customers. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of tea shops that think a lot about their menu and interior and Infinitea does a good job of doing just that.

The counter is very open and bathed in the sunlight from the wide windows, making it a pretty refreshing place to sit around and do nothing - or work, whatever floats your boat.

The interior, while not as inspired and well-conceptualized as that of Tea.ology's still caters quite well to its audience with numerous seats, both indoors and outdoors (for those who still insist on smoking, despite how much it ruins the tea experience, ohwell). It was funny because the soft opening was fresh out of christmas and yet they still managed to sneak up a bit of Christmas spirit towards the dwindling of December (when this post was supposed to be up). That's the thing about the Philippines - we have the longest holiday season ever.

These drinks, for instance, are from what I know holiday specials, but I'm pretty sure you can still order them from their regular menu, which might I say is surprisingly extensive and inspired.

Click to enlarge for full menu

 There's definitely room for adventure at Infinitea with Milk Teas, Frappes, Iced Teas, Fruit Teas, Hot Drinks, Juices, Coolers and uniquely flavored Sodas to choose from. So really, the name of this place is quite appropriate - You have an infinite amount of choice (figuratively of course).

Despite that, I am a conservative tea-drinker at the most, and usually stick to what I know unless provoked. If you've read my last tea escapade post, you'll know how much I adore strawberry milk tea, especially from Tea.ology. I've tried other variants, such as that of Cha Dao's but I was surprised at how different it was, being more sour than sweet.

Infinitea reaches a compromise with such cases by offering both as choices (again, bravo). My order, Strawberry Milk Tea is basically, strawberry-flavored milk tea. Simple. But Infinitea also offers Strawberry Bliss Milk Tea, which is apparently Strawberry milk tea with fruit syrup, thus accounting for the sour, yogurt-y taste. They have this toss-up with a lot of their flavors, letting you pick what you want and how you want it.

My friend ordered a Blueberry Milk Tea, which felt more like a banana milk tea when the sweetness of the pearls dragged on your tongue haha.

Their tea isn't what I could call the best in the world, but it's definitely worth checking out if you're up for variety. The service is good and the kuya that served us was such a sweetheart for letting us take pictures.

If you have time, why not pay them a visit and like their page as well? A little change is welcome once in a while, and Infinitea is definitely one of those options.

Ada, signing out.

Liebster Award and Giveaway Alert!

Whoo! I'm been so busy lately haha. I've actually been trying to schedule a number of posts and some of them I've started, but haven't actually finished. Blame it on school and the massive amount of post-December-break exams I have lol.

But because I thought my blog would feel empty without anything to post this Friday, I thought I'd take some chill time out and answer a tag in response to an award from the lovely Patty Grace Kelly. I've actually done this award once before, but it is nevertheless flattering to have been tagged again, so what the heck, why not?

The logo's changed from the last time I did this tag, but I'm sure the concept still remains:

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

The Meaning; Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The mechanics are pretty much the same:

1. Tell 11 things about yourself
2. Answer those 11 questions which you get asked of from the blogger who nominated you.
3. Post 11 questions you want to know from the bloggers you want to nominate for the Liebster Blog Award.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers whose followers are less than 200.
5. Get in contact with those 11 bloggers to let them know that you have nominated them.


So to avoid redundancy, you can refer to my last post for the 11 things about myself. But because the last liebster award had a totally different set of questions, I thought I'd answer this one with questions from Patty herself :)


1. What is your ultimate aim you want to achieve in your life? 
I have high hopes that I can develop a drug or even elucidate a drug target that will help mankind in some way -- be it a contribution to the cure for cancer or possibly vaccines for already existing diseases -- just something that I know will help out the world in some way. It's the least that I can do with my background in the field of Molecular Biology. But also more than that I want to have a family and be a good mother. And on a more shallow note, probably live in Japan for a while lol.

2. Do you have special plans for this year 2013? 
2013, 2013, 2013. The only special plans I have this year is for the long slew of movies ahead. Have you seen the list?

3. Why do you write your blog? 
I do it mostly because I have hobbies that don't necessarily coincide with my field as well as the interests of my family and friends, so I have to have some outlet to vent out my a) fangirl feelings, b) passion for fashion and beauty, c) acquired musical tastes, d) nerdy fanspasms on movies.

4. Would you love to live in another city/country?
LOL. I accidentally answered this on the first question, but yeah. I'd love to live in Tokyo, Japan. My dream university for my MS and PhD is also there (2nd is Australia and then 3rd England).

5. What was your most beautiful moment when being an infant? 
Lol, I honestly don't know. I remember being carried around a lot. And given chocolate milk instead of just plain milk. My infant days were shallow and happy, I'm guessing.

6. Dress or Jeans? 
Dress. I find it easier to shop for dresses than for jeans. Because of my short stature, I can rarely find Jeans that fit me perfectly.

7. Love or Career? 
Career. Actually, we were asked to rank God, Academics/Career, Friends, Family and Lovelife in one of our interviews. Right now my ranking stands as so:

 God, Family, Friends, Academics/Career, Lovelife.

Lol I am such a loveless person.

8. What is your routine to get rid off the (daily) stress? 

I actually play Poupee Girl to pass the time, as well as draw, watch music videos and sleep lol. BTW, if you have a poupee, feel free to add me. And if you don't sign up here!

9. What is your favorite candy?
I love sour candies - sour tape, Nerds, sour jellybeans, Sour Patch Kids. Anything sour :)

10. Do you remember your first EP?
I'm not entirely sure what EP stands for but if by EP you mean extended play album, my first was by Aaron Carter ahahaha. FOR SHAME.

11. What is the last book you read?
This is awkward haha. I actually finished reading a required novel for one of my classes -- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's a dystopian alternate history novel wherein the entire U.S. government is overthrown in favor of a Theocratic Regime which belittles the worth of women and segregates them into utalitarian classes. It has very many feminist themes, but it also serves as a cautionary tale to people who envision a utopia but implement means which compromise the freedom and liberty of a class. LOL Literary Critique Mod ON.

So Now I'm supposed to post 11 questions, but because I'm lazy, I'll just lift them from my last post.

My 11 questions for the ones who do this tag:
1) What were your resolutions this year?
2) Have you stuck with them 'til now? (I hope so, since it hasn't even been 2 weeks yet)
3) What type of music do you listen to?
4) What are you most looking forward to right now?
5) What parts of the world have you traveled to/would like to travel to?
6) Name one person who has been a big inspiration to you as of lately. You may expound.
7) Where do you see yourself in 5 years, assuming the world does not end in 2012.
8) Are you a hipster? If you are, how hipster are you?
9) If you were a Pokemon, what Pokemon would you be and why?
10) Name one thing you would like to do/complete before you die.
11) If you had a million dollars (USD) what would you do with it? Feel free to have fun with this questions, don't be bound by morality or the world's problems. This is all about YOU.

I honestly have no idea who to nominate at the moment, so I'll update this post when I have more time to canvas for nominees. I know so few people with less than 200 followers, so I'll really have to search this time. Don't worry, I'm the type of person who lets you know on your blog if you've been nominated so you'll know. Alternatively, you can just take this award and notify me on the comments below so I can link you on this blogpost for more traffic on your blog if you please :)

EDIT: So I scoured through recent comments on my blog from people with blogs (less than 200 followers or a little bit over) I think deserve a little love. I still don't have 11, but hey, I tried LOL.

Jing-Jing

Keyti

Wanny

JunJun

Vanessa

Leuphold

Zy

Your Name Here

Your Name Here

Your Name Here

Your Name Here

Check these guys out! Thanks again Patty! :)

---

So now that that's over with, I thought I'd share yet another Giveaway Alert! This time from Emi from http://emi-doll.blogspot.com.

She's giving away One (1) 100$ Gift Card to http://www.speciallens.com/ and Five (5) 40$ Gift Cards to http://www.speciallens.com/

To learn about the giveaway,
CLICK HERE AND JOIN NOW! 
In other news, I was supposed to go to the Advance Screening of Les Miserables in my country last Wednesday but it was cancelled because of technical difficulties and instead postponed to Monday. So expect another commentary and review on that soon!

Ada, signing out!

Resolutions: Heck yeah.

Lol it's about time I got this post over with. I always hate doing posts like these because I tend to look back at them and realize what a slob I've been after having resolved to change or actually get something done. I'll be honest, most times I write resolutions, I always end up failing and hating myself afterwards, but heck, I still keep doing them because what else is there to aspire for? Resolutions keep me going in the hopes that someday I'll actually amount to something LOL.

But just so I don't get complacent, I thought I'd amp my resolutions up with the help of a trusty new 2013 YEAR PLANNER~!

"Less worry, more sleep. Less words, more action." That's going to be my motto for this year, conveniently provided to me by this nifty planner I got from Fully Booked a while back. You can probably tell  why I was so drawn to it. Isn't it just the loveliest shade of teal/cyan/#00b8ca?

Nothing better to kick start the year than a planner that tells you that Everything is possible and the braille characters for "POSSIBLE" strewn conveniently all over the pages.

This planner was pretty much up my alley from the moment I picked it up and opened it to the first page which read: "Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified."

That is exactly the pep talk I need to get my crap straight this year hahaha.

The planner itself is pretty pro-active with pages to get your short-term, long-term and legacy goals straight, as well as space to write daily goals, achievements, priorities, and schedules. Plus it's pretty easy on the eyes with its simplistic yet captivating typography and layout. (I'm a sucker for typography and layout). It even comes with a nifty little pocket and a garterized strap to keep the pages in place.

My brother bought me a set of pens from MUJI and I decided to use them specifically to fill this planner in. Hopefully it'll keep me more organized this year, and if it doesn't, at least I have a pretty little scrap/note/sketchbook to show for it haha.

I wasn't able to take a picture of the Goal Pages which help you prioritize your goals for the year, but I pretty much filled it in with stuff along the lines of:

1) STUDY MORE

2) BLOG MORE

3) SAVE MORE

4) PRACTICE YOUR JAPANESE

and a million other microactions which sort of lead up to those 4 main things.

I'll be graduating on 2014 and there is only so much time left to get myself ready for the rest of my life. Ideally, I'll be applying for an internship in the summer, and by graduation I'll be set for a scholarship for my masters in Japan/Australia/U.K. (I have obviously not decided).

I AM PUMPED.

In between that I'll enjoy blogging about my fashion and makeup escapades, as well as probably go on more fangirl excursions within the year. Apparently 2PM, SUJU and CNBlue have concerts lined up in the Philippines this year, so YAY!

So while that's yet to happen, I can enjoy my newest addition to the sickeningly cute stuff I lug around in my bag (along with my 3-year-old wallet and my Kimmidoll Collection notebook).

Oh yeah, and because this blog has been desperately lacking some of my art lately, why not have a doodle I made a few weeks back? Hahaha. It's amazing what boredom can do to you :P Yay for small-diameter sign pens and intricate detail! I should probably dig around for this and color it in some day lol.

Well, that's probably all the organization and resolution I can muster up for now. Hopefully I can see everything through and I can make proper use of this planner. And by that I mean 'hopefully I don't just scribble on it incessantly whilst procrastinating whatever productive work I should be doing'.

Tata for now! I hope everyone else keeps to their new year's resolutions, and if they don't, at least I'll have some company hahaha.

Ada, signing out.

New Year!!!

Hey guys! Sorry about not being able to follow up properly with my other Year-End Review Post. I've decided not to push through with it because in all honesty, I'm enjoying my time with my family right now and I guess I deserve a little break of my own too right? Hahaha

I have a lot of things to blog about, and I'm so damn excited about starting the New Year right!

I have the KCON to talk about, where I got the awesome chance to meet and greet F.CUZ, and even get a hug from KAN hahaha. I won a lot of free stuff as well from my blogging, so expect some really exciting giveaways (skincare + a SIGNED CD GIVEAWAY!) Super duper happy about this.

I also have a few reviews, LOTDs, FOTDs and hair posts lined up, so you can definitely look forward to that! Just rest assured that I haven't forgotten about this blog and about my awesome readers!

Thanks for making my 2012 so awesome and special, and please continue to show your support this coming 2013!

For all your trouble, here, have some F.CUZ (I'll follow with a proper KCON post within the week, hopefully)

Aren't they just beautiful?

Have fun guys! Until I blog again!

Ada, signing out.

Year End Review: Hits and Misses

Ah, so it has come to this. Half a year of work and here I am, still alive and kicking. I booted up this blog back in June and since then I've had quite a few hits and misses with my posts. One good thing that came out of this is that I've finally developed a fine-tuned blogging tempo, so I've managed to maintain some measure of regularity. That being said, not all of my posts are a hit, and many of them are misses.

So to honor the failures, as well as the glory this year has brought me as a blogger, here are this blog's top 5 Hits and Misses for the year of 2012~ Enjoy!

The Hits

1.  Earworm: 2NE1 - I love You
Posted on July 7 || 11210 page views

By far my most popular post of the year, my review (or rather incomprehensible fangirl flailing) over the music video, music and fashion of 2NE1's I Love You somehow came up on top of the list with a staggering amount of views. I'm pretty sure recurring searches of 'Dara's new hair' or 'Dara's shaved head' were what made this post as popular as it was but there were also a few searches on the extravagant nail art and styling that the girls are so well known for. With this video being one of the most stylish this year, it's no wonder it has thousands of pageviews ahead of the rest of my posts. Read more about it here...

2. Art Post: The World Ends With You
Posted on August 29 || 2692 pageviews

One rather unexpected post to hit the top with search occurrences was my art post on one of my favorite DS games ever, The World Ends With You. In this post I present the above picture of my fanart (along with the uncolored version) of Neku and Shiki, two of my favorite characters in the game. I'm not the best artist in the world, but I'm really happy this post is out there grabbing some attention :) Read more about it here...

3. Wishlist: Avengers Inspired Fashion
Posted on June 24 || 1966 pageviews

With the awesomeness that is The Avengers hitting the screens early this year, it's no wonder one of my more popular posts comes with the words 'Avengers-inspired'. Most of this post's popularity however is attributed to the wonderful styling found at character-inspired-fashion.tumblr.com so if you guys are looking for similar posts, why not check them out? Read more about it here...

4. Jdramas, Sprout and Grouplove
Posted on July 10 || 1540 pageviews

Haha, one of my more shameful obsessions last year was with this Japanese Drama, Sprout, and the awesome soundtrack that came with it. The combination of Chinen Yuri, Jesse Lewis, a whole slew of Johnny's talents and the awesome backtracks from Grouplove probably brought most of the audience to this post. Ah, the power of music and hot Japanese boys running topless on a beach lol. Read more about it here...

5. Review: Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever
Posted on November 23 || 1075 Pageviews

And one of my prouder achievements as a beauty blogger, especially with this review just being posted a month ago is my review on Etude House's Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Stick, and for good reason! It's an awesome product which still serves me well up to now. Read more about it here...

Of course not all my posts were as popular, or as well received as these. At the same time, I'll admit, I post some of the weirdest crap sometimes, and a lot of times I go a little bit overboard. Here are the top 5 Misses, not necessarily because they have low view counts, but for one reason or another haha.

The Misses (but not really)

1. OMGWTFBBQ
Posted on June 2; For the first post

Need I say more?

Yeah this marks my return to the blogosphere with what I consider to be my first real post in my formal blogging career hahaha. It leaves a lot to be desired IMO, and I think I was partially on crack while writing this haha. Not to mention I post a few videos of my horrible singing where I'm about ten pounds heavier than I am now. OH GOD WHY. Don't Read more about it here...

2. Discussion: Japan and Copyright Law
Posted on June 23; For the threat that wasn't really a threat

One of the things I'm most passionate about in life is the circulation of free information. So when something threatens that, especially if Japanese media is involved, I get all bat-crap-crazy. Unfortunately for me though, while I was making such a huge fuss over this, nothing really changed and the world moved on, because apparently the law didn't exactly make streaming pirated videos illegal, just the permanent downloading of them into your PC hahaha. What a dud. Don't Read more about it here...

3. I WON A SIGNED CD.
Posted June 12; For the most overwhelming achievement with a rather underwhelming response

This was honestly probably my greatest achievement last year, aside from the time when I was able to stay in the same hotel on the same floor as one of my favorite Japanese boybands ever and greet them every night when they came back and every morning when they left hahaha.

This CD I got from a giveaway/contest by some of my favorite youtubers, Simon and Martina. I wasn't expecting to win at all when I joined this giveaway, but lo and behold, MY SIGNED CD FROM SISTAR! Unfortunately, not very many were as excited as I was haha. It's like that awkward moment when you're bouncing around the room in a giddy fit and the people around you are just staring blankly into space haha. Well, that's life. Don't Read more about it here...

4. Experimenting
Posted July 15; For Noobish Photoshop and Makeup Skills

At the start of my transition into incorporating makeup and beauty posts into this blog, let's just say I was quite awkward with the camera and abused a few photoshop filters here and there hahaha. Just looking at this picture makes me cringe. Don't Read more about it here...

5. Sembreak Goal #2 Getting My Licence 
Posted October 22; For a thing that never happened

And one of my biggest fails this year ever. Saying that I'd get my driver's licence by sembreak and not actually doing it haha. I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON LOL. I've known how to drive this baby for ages and I can't even do it becaue I'm too lazy to go to the LTO (our version of the DMV). Damnit. By next year I should be driving and completely mobile! *resolute* Don't Read more about it here...

Haha. So that wraps up my blog's hits and misses for this year. Coming up will be a year end review of all the awesome fashion, food and music this blog has come to offer, as well as a special mention to one of the little guys who's made this blog a little more fun to read.

See you soon!
Ada, Signing out.