11/01/2025

No Crease, No Chaos, Just Melt...Melt-It Liquid Eyeshadow & Base

There's something quietly transformative about blending out a liquid eyeshadow and having it settle onto your lids in a soft-focus, dinmensional, blurred finish that looks as if you'd spent more time and brushes on your look than you did. Those are the exact results I get with Melt Cosmetics' Melt-It Liquid Eyeshadow & Base.

The gradient color of the exterior packaging and the quality of the paper stock show that extra care and attention to detail I’ve come to love from the brand.

The product features a paddle-shaped applicator-ideal for controlled placement and blending.

Melt Cosmetics’ Melt-It Liquid Eyeshadow & Base is a light, creamy liquid that melts (pun inadvertently intended) onto the lids in either a semi-matte or semi-pearl finish.

I own all six shades (because restraint is for other people), and ever since they were released, I’ve been obsessed.

From left to right: Ultra white, Vanilla, Fresh, Nudist, Double Shot, Nightswim.

Ultra White – A semi-matte crisp white.

Vanilla – A semi-pearl peachy nude.

Fresh – A semi-pearl rich apricot beige.

Nudist – A semi-matte ambered warm brown.

Double Shot – A semi-matte cool-toned espresso brown.

Nightswim – A semi-matte moody black.

As the name suggests, Melt-It is equal parts eyeshadow and eyeshadow base, which means you can wear it solo for an effortless yet defined wash of color, or layer it under powder shadows to amp things up.

I’ve worn these liquid shadows on their own, as a primer, to highlight, and to define-and each shade behaves the same: smooth application with plenty of playtime before it sets, leaving a blurred, flattering dry-down that doesn’t crease, flake, or fade even after extended wear.

A little truly goes a long way. My main go-to method is to wipe the excess off the spatula applicator on the lip of the tube, apply a small amount at the base of my lashes, and blend out with the pads of my pinky finger-repeating several times until I get the desired opacity-then finishing off with my ring finger or a brush for a final blend above the crease.

I’ve had the Melt-It Liquid Eyeshadow & Base for well over a year now, and they’ve become a true mainstay product for me. They were the only eyeshadows I took with me when I visited the States for six weeks this past summer-which should tell you everything. When I want a quick, minimal-effort application, or when I'm going for a more lip-focused look but don’t want to neglect my eyes, I reach for them.

Reliable, Seamless, and Simplistically transformative, the Melt-It Liquid Eyeshadow & Base doesn't require an entire cosmetic strategy to look intentional.

10/31/2025

And I Can't Help But Love You So...Zoya Spencer Nail Lacquer

Do you ever wonder whom or what Zoya's nail polishes are named after? I, for one, have always been curious.

For instance, the nail polish I’m featuring and wore two days ago is Spencer. Some of the first names that come to mind are the Spencer Davis Group, Spencer Tracy, and the late Princess Diana’s surname, Spencer. There are so many possibilities.

Now, onto the polish itself. Spencer is a neutral camel cream with just a touch of warmth-a gorgeous, toasty, almost mannequin-nail shade that’s just a bit deeper than my skin tone. I especially love wearing it in autumn, when the slightly warmer hue feels cozy and perfectly seasonal.

As for the formula, Zoya doesn’t disappoint. It glides on smoothly without any streaking and gives full coverage in just two coats.

For those who love a polish that’s both subtle and sophisticated, Spencer definitely delivers.

10/30/2025

Creepy Critters...Goose Creek Candle

Among my entire candle collection, my Halloween candles are the most sacred. I adore their thematic labels and dark, sometimes evocative scents. Every year, I struggle with how to treat them—do I keep them pristine and untouched, just to admire on the shelf? Do I burn them sparingly, trying to make them last forever? Or do I let them burn all the way through, accepting their timely demise?

Although their coloring is different, the figure on the right of the label above, wearing an oversized wolf mask, always reminds me of a character from the Killing the Dance segment of the horror anthology 10/31. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know who I mean.

I picked up Goose Creek’s Creepy Critters back in 2021. Not exactly a standout, it has its own character. The scent notes—bonfire embers, fluffy marshmallows, sugared cream, and woods. During the season, I’ll give it a burn (or two) when I’m in a “gather around the campfire with tasty treats” kind of mood. When burning, it gives off a smoky, woodsy scent with a warm marshmallow note. Not only could I smell it in my living room, I could detect it as I walked into the other rooms of my apartment as well.

As it was getting dark, I took a photo of the candle to better showcase the giant cratered moon, the stretched-out barren tree branches, and the bats in spended midair against the jar’s glowing luminary effect.

I’m obsessed with my Halloween candles, but my collection is so massive—and continues to grow—that I’ve decided it’s finally time to go through more of them. I’ll likely begin with the ones that aren’t my favorites, or the ones I have backups of, just to make a little room. One way I’ve found to still keep them feeling like a part of my collection, to memorialize them even after they’re gone, is to catalog them here on the blog and on Instagram. That way, I can look back and remember each one—their Halloween-themed labels and scents.

10/29/2025

You'll Join Us Someday...Garden Path Lacquers

Over the Garden Wall is a must-watch every October. With candle-lit evenings filling the room with autumnal fragrances-an amuse-bouche for the spooky season before I delve into darker fare.

There’s something hauntingly familiar and comforting in the animated miniseries-where the atmosphere is steeped in childish whimsy and eerie old tales, and every pumpkin seems to be watching.

Garden Path Lacquers’ You’ll Join Us Someday is inspired by the second episode of the series, Hard Times at the Huskin’ Bee (one of my favorite episodes). The polish’s namesake-instantly, I hear Enoch’s foreboding voice echoing that ominous and unsettling promise.

A clear base laden with black, iridescent red and orange flakes, red/orange/gold UCC flakes, and holographic microflakes, this polish evokes the rustic harvest festival, pumpkin-costumed townsfolk, and the disturbed earth of the fields. The formula entrances with its smooth, even application. You’ll Join Us Someday is playful yet eerie-a delicate balance of mischief and suspense that perfectly captures the mood behind both the episode and the polish.

Wearing You’ll Join Us Someday feels like stepping into The Unknown itself-flickering candlelight against carved pumpkin faces, and whispered tales that linger in the shadows.

4/13/2025

Another Egg-cuse For Chocolate...Kringle Candle Chocolate Eggs

The custom of giving and enjoying chocolate at Easter dates back to centuries ago, when Christian Europeans started exchanging eggs as symbols of renewal during the Lent season.

Since childhood, my favorite Easter chocolate treat has always been Cadbury's Mini Eggs. It’s a tradition I look forward to every year, but this year, I’ve decided to give them up for Lent.

While I might not have my beloved Mini Eggs, Kringle Candle’s Chocolate Eggs has definitely filled the void. With top notes of Chocolate Brownies, mid notes of Frosted Batter, and a base of Vanilla and Chocolate Chips, within 30 minutes of burning, this decadent powerhouse of a candle fills every corner of my apartment with the mouthwatering aroma of fudgy brownie batter. Chocolate Eggs is so pervasive that even after the candle’s been put out, the rich chocolatey scent lingers for hours-maybe even longer-only intensifying my cravings for Mini Eggs.

Chocolate Eggs is the perfect way to bring a little Easter indulgence into my home, even if it's just in scent form. Here’s to finding joy in the small things-and maybe next year, I'll get my Mini Eggs fix.

4/12/2025

Speckles Galore! Fancy Gloss White Speckled Egg Nail Lacquer

You might not think twice about a few spots on an eggshell-I know I didn’t. But I just learned that speckling can actually reveal quite a bit about what was going on when the egg was formed-whether it’s too much calcium, a bit of stress, or just a small glitch in the process.

Given my newfound knowledge, of course I felt compelled to paint my nails with Fancy Gloss’s White Speckled Egg.

Glossy top coat.

White Speckled Egg has a crisp white base, scattered with tiny black flakes, just like its namesake.

Matte top coat.

The polish looks great with either a glossy or matte top coat, but personally, I lean more toward the matte-it adds something extra to the finished appearance on the nails.

So what about you-glossy or matte? Which finish wins in your book?

4/12/2025

You Got To Lick it...Urban Decay Body Powders

Last year on Instagram, I started a makeup purge series (view here). Although, I've been using makeup, and deciding what I was keeping or purging, I never actually posted about it here-or updated on the gram, for that matter.

Life, right?

I was in the states for a month, from December to January, helping clean out my parents' house. In my closet, buried like treasure-I found these Urban Decay flavored body powders. At the time, I wasn't ready to part with them . You know how nostalgia makes it hard to let things go? Well, today's the day. We're doing this.

For the uninitiated: Urban Decay introduced their Flavored Body Powders, later called Sparkling Lickable Body Powders (my sister loved these) in the early 2000s and discontinued them around the 2010s. These powders were part shimmer, part perfume, part edible treat (?). Housed in colorful little tassled boxes with plush leopard-print powder puffs, they came in an array of flavors like Cake, Cocoa, Cherry Lemonade, and more-all designed to add a scented, tasty shimmer to your skin.

Now, I must confess: off the nine powders I own, I've never actually worn one. I have an affinity for tassles, a love for collection boxes, and these products smelled exactly like their intended scents. Once I purchased one, the collector in my just kept going.

Here are the body powders I own with their oh so obvious descriptions:

Caramel: a rich caramel with a warm golden shimmer.

Red Hot: a spicy red hot cinnamon candy with reddish-pink shimmer.

Marshmallow: a sweet marshmallow with a silver shimmer.

Honey: a sweet honey with golden shimmer.

Gingersnap: a spicy, gingere cookie with a golden bronze shimmer.

Peppermint: a cool peppermint with Pale pink shimmer.

Blackberry: a luscious blackberry with a lilac shimmer.

Gimlet: a zesty lime with a pale mint shimmer.

Champagne: champagne with a light beige powder with gold and silver shimmer.

Now, here's where things got chaotic-instant regret in an explosion of shimmer. When I opened Marshmallow, it was like mushroom cloud of sparkling-powder everywhere: on my hands, clothes, sofa, coffee table, and even my laptop. I couldn't help but inhaled some, and believe it or not, after all these years, it still tasted like marshmallow.

In the past and now, I've mostly only worn black. I couldn't imagine wearing these on any part of my body-not even a little. There would be a trail of glitter on every surface I touched. While they never served their intended purpose, I did enjoy seeing them sparkle on my dresser.

*purged

3/31/2025

All Things Are Subject to Decay...

In 1996, Urban Decay made its debut on the beauty scene with the introduction of 10 lipsticks alongside 12 nail polishes. Both products featured bold and edgy colors with names just as daring as the shades themselves, perfectly capturing the brand’s rebellious and fun aesthetic.

Unfortunately, I no longer have my favorite shades (some of the few polishes I’ve actually finished), but I do have a few Urban Decays in my collection, and one day, they’ll make an appearance on the blog.

Channeling the edgy spirit of the beauty brand's iconic ’90s polishes, Rogue Lacquer pays homage with their moody, nostalgic shade—Urban Decay.

Urban Decay has a blackened brown base with purple, magenta, and orange flakes, along with a subtle flash of gold glass flakes.

Rogue Lacquer’s Urban Decay feels like a perfect tribute to the brand's bold spirit of the '90s while still remaining modern. Here's to more nostalgic polish moments ahead!

*kept

3/18/2025

Irish I had a Shamrock Shake right now!

Did you know the delectable minty vanilla beverage made its debut back in 1967 by McDonald's franchisee Harold Rosen? Since then, it’s become a March/St. Patrick’s Day staple for all to enjoy.

This year, I’ve decided to try to recreate the magic at home and make my version of a Shamrock Shake.

After perusing several homemade recipes online, here’s my tweaked version:

Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla ice cream
¾ cup whole milk
¼ to ½ teaspoon mint extract (not peppermint extract!)
4–5 drops green food coloring (or to your color preference)
Whipped cream and a cherry for topping
Green sparkling sugar (for extra celebratory fun)

Instructions:

Blend the ice cream, milk, mint extract, and food coloring until smooth.
Pour into a glass and top with whipped cream and a cherry.
Enjoy immediately!

The shake was very easy to make, delicious, and definitely satisfied my craving. While it’s not exactly the same as McDonald’s version, it came pretty close, and after a few more attempts, I think I can perfect it.

3/18/2025

Sitting out on the Paddy O' with my Shamrock Shake

Not only am I seasonal with my makeup, nail polish, clothes, perfumes, and candles—I also love switching up other things in my everyday life, like my iPhone case. I change it based on the season and holidays, so naturally, when I saw a Shamrock Shake-inspired case, I had to have it. The pale minty green background, with the Shamrock Shake drinks topped with whipped cream and a cherry, is just too cute. It’s the perfect festive touch for March—especially since, as I mentioned in my last post, I can’t get the Shamrock Shake, that delicious minty vanilla St. Patrick’s Day treat, in Tokyo.

I purchase all my iPhone cases from Redbubble. Each seller offers various case styles and models. The case style I always go for is the tough one for the iPhone SE 2020 model, and I’ve had this particular case since February 2022. I’m not a complete klutz, but I do drop my phone from time to time, and this case has protected it from any damage.

By the way, am I the only one who doesn’t like the larger iPhones? I like the size of the SE 2020—it’s easy to slip into my pocket. Also, I’m just not a phone person. I have it with me when I’m out and about, but when I’m home, it’s usually somewhere across the room, often misplaced, until I ask Aki (or someone else) to call it. So, I’m perfectly content with the iPhone SE 2020. And, I’m not ashamed to admit this: I need the home button.

I’m all about embracing the seasonal changes in everything—even down to my iPhone case. It’s these li
ttle details that bring some extra fun and personality to everyday life.