Current Beauty Favorites + Mini Reviews

Face Products

 IT Cosmetics CC + Cream Illumination SPF 50+

(My Shade: Medium)

I recently finished up my CoverGirl BB cream (will post a review later) and wanted to pick up another foundation within the lines of a BB or CC cream. During school and work days I rarely wear heavy foundation due to the humidity of Florida and the dryness of my skin (I know this sounds odd). I find that BB and CC creams provide just enough coverage for day to day use without that heavy feeling that foundation has. 

IT Cosmetics has some of the best CC creams, They have the coverage of a liquid foundation but feel like a feather has touched your skin. They are also incredibly easy to blend (I prefer to use a beauty blender sponge with this). The Illumination is the newest in their collection and what makes it different from their original formula is that this one adds a little glow to your skin as well as some hydration. It lasts very well and I have not had any trouble with it caking on my face. 

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish

in the shade Medium Plus

This is an oldie but a goodie. I was cleaning out my makeup (much needed) and found that I had some backups still in their packaging (#lifeofamakeupaddict). I remember loving and using this powder religiously in high school. It not only sets my makeup but gives it a natural finish to my skin (not too matte but still controls any shiny problem areas). Plus it also adds a little extra coverage. Sometimes I just wear concealer and this powder alone without any foundation. 

Lip Products

Bare Minerals Gen Nude Under Over Lip Liner 

in the shade On Point

I have never been a huge fan of lip liner until I found this product. For a pencil lip liner I was shocked at how creamy and smooth it is. It glided on my lips so effortlessly. The color is also pretty great. There are 5 colors in this collection and out of all of them On Point is my favorite. It is a nude terracotta with some pink undertones. I actually like to wear it all on its own. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was how difficult it was to sharpen. If you are not careful it will melt down inside the sharpener. I suggest putting it into the freezer for a little bit before sharpening. 

Milani Color Statement Lipstick

in the shade Naturally Chic

This has been my go 2 nude lip color for the past 2 months. The lipstick itself is creamy and feels nice on the lips. It doesn't over dry or flake. I find that you can wear this with or without a lip liner underneath. 

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

I come today with a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you know how much I love cooking. Over the last couple of months after some pushing from my loved ones I decided to start a FOOD BLOG!!! Yes a blog completely about food. This has been on the back of my mind for quite some time but I never had the motivation to go for it until now. So what does this mean for this blog? Well nothing really you guys will just have more to read! This blog will continue to run like before except now most of the food related posts will be over on this blog. 

With much pleasure I introduce to you The Little Asian Cook

XOXO

Si 

October/November Client Slots

Currently we have 

1

Client slot available (until November 1) and will have

2

more on available November 14

Due to our busy schedules and end of the year wrap ups we will not have any retainer slots opened until December 10 (not guaranteed at the moment, please check back December 1). 

Just a reminder if you are a business trying to contact me and I have not replied within 48 hours please DM on Twitter @TheRisingSunxo and include the email you used to contact me with. I have a software that detects malicious emails and will sent me an alert immediately. For the safety of my clients and myself I delete those emails right away. Once you DM on Twitter I will do a quick background check to verify if you are who you say you are. 

I apologize for this inconvenience but it has become a much needed precaution due to my account getting hacked a couple months ago by someone who was pretending to be a client. As of now we are only verifying through Twitter. If you do not have one you can comment on these client slot posts that I put up monthly. 

Weekly Playlist 10/28

Hey y'all! I am back with another weekly playlist for you guys. This week I have a bit of a heartbreak theme going on. I have been going through a lot and music for me is a release and a way to express my feelings without actually talking about it (although I do have a post coming up talking about what is going stay tuned...). Hope you guys enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

1.) More Than Words (Cover)

Frankie J (original by Extreme)

2.) I'll Love Again  

Lawson Bates ft. Emily Ann Roberts

Not available on this playlist due to new release, listen through Spotify & iTunes today!

3.) Over You (Cover)

Cassadee Pope (original by Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert)

4.) Be Without You

Mary J. Blige

5.) So Sick

Ne-Yo

6.) One Wish (Cover)

Tion Phipps (original by Ray J)

7.) Drinking About You

Haley & Micheals

8.) Can You Stand The Rain (Cover)

Jason Chen (original by Boyz II Men)

9.) Closer

The Chainsmokers

10.) I Hate You, I Love You

Gnash 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT (FOR BUSINESS INQUIRIES)

I have been receiving some complaints lately regarding to not responding to some business emails. I check my email multiple times a day and for all business inquiries I respond within 48 hours. If I don't respond I am either very very sick (but would still respond by the end of the week) or your email came up as malicious. I have a software and along with Google that tracks malicious emails. It will notify me immediately if that particular email has been used to commit a crime/stolen personal information. When I get these alerts for my safety and the safety of my clients I delete this email right away. My program is generally very accurate but of course every technology out there has its faults. If your email comes up malicious meaning you haven't received anything from me in more than a week and you are a legit business, please Direct Message me on Twitter @TheRisingSunxo and send me your email address and information through there. I will run a minor background check to make sure all your ducks are in a row. Thank you for your time and understanding. Looking forward to working with you guys in the future!

Xoxo,

Si 

Living with the iPhone 7 Plus: 3 week update & mini review

So if you follow me on Twitter, you already know that three weeks ago I purchased the new iPhone 7 Plus. This was kind of a spontaneous purchase for me since I like to do a lot of research before buying a new phone and with this phone I did not. I have the Verizon Edge plan which lets me lease my phone and when I pay off 50% of it I can upgrade without any additional fees (still have to pay the taxes on it). It is a pretty great program if you are like me who likes to upgrade phones quite frequently. 

I know there are a ton of reviews for the new iPhone out there, but this post was requested so ask you shall receive. I did my best to break down the new features and let you guys know if you should upgrade or not. I am a bit of a tech nerd so if I say anything that doesn't make any sense I apologize,

So I upgraded from the iPhone 6s Plus 64 GB in the color Space Grey to the iPhone 7 Plus 128 GB in Silver. Let's start with the size and color option. Once you buy a big phone it is kind of hard to go back to the smaller size so I just stayed with the Plus. In terms of storage size, Apple FINALLY got rid of their 16 GB model (WHOOP WHOOP!!!) and replaced it with a 32 GB as their starting model. The other storage sizes available are 128 GB & 256 GB. I recently combined my work phone and personal phone so the 32 GB as decent as the size is, is unfortunately not enough for me so I went with the 128 GB and so far so good (256 GB was a little unnecessary for me). 

As for the color, Space Grey is no longer an option for the new iPhones, however they did come out with two new colors Jet Black and Black. Jet Black has a shiny black finish and is really nothing new. The iPhone 3 had a very similar finish. The Black option is just a matte black. Both of the new colors are beautiful however scratch very easily and have issues with fingerprint smudging. The Jet Black is also more expensive. Personally the color wasn't a big deal for me. I just ordered what was available. 

As for the phone itself here are the major changes...

Haptic Touch:

There is no longer a physical home button. It is now just a vibration. I personally love it 

Dual Lens Camera (Plus only): 

Apple always upgrades the cameras on their phones every year but I gotta say I was super impressed with the quality of the dual lens camera especially when it came to zooming. The dual lens offers a 2x option which allows close ups but without the grittiness that zooming can cause. The picture quality is very comparable to my Nikon DSLR.

Resolution & Speed:

The pixels and images are so fricking clear and sharp. It really is just a beautiful feature. The overall functioning of the phone is faster such as opening apps, connecting to WiFi, LTE and so forth.

No Headphone Jack:

The biggest change on the new iPhones is that there is no longer a headphone jack instead it is replaced by a second speaker. I know a lot of you out there are probably not happy about this change, but we are living in the 21st century and with that comes lots of tech changes. In the future everything will probably be wireless so we might as well get on board. And for those of you out there who don't want to get on board right away no worries the phone comes with lighting cable headphones and an adapter so you can continue to use your old headphones. 

Water Resistant:

Yes, Apple has finally made their phones water resistant. This is especially good news for klutzes like me. The new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus can be submerged under 1 m of water for up to 30 minutes. Waterproofing isn't exactly new in the tech world but it is very complicated to waterproof/water resistant a phone like the iPhone due to its design and internal structure. Trust me the process can be quite difficult. So bravo Apple! This feature isn't designed so you can take your phone swimming but provides that extra safety days where you do need it. The speakers still can get slightly damaged but hey nothing is perfect and for those Android lovers out there it is the same issue with your phones too. 

There are a couple of other features but these are the only ones really worth mentioning. As far as my opinion goes, I really am impressed and happy I upgraded. It truly is a beautiful phone. I work in social media so upgrading these kind of devices is a no brainer for me however if you don't work in the media or tech industry should you upgrade?

For those of you who have the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, I don't recommend upgrading right away especially if you like your headphone jack. Take another year and wait for the iPhone 8 or even the 7s. 

For those of you who have anything before the 6s, the upgrade is worth it. There will be some new features that will take some time getting used to but overall the experience has been great. 

Cases:

As for cases, I haven't found any I particularly love. I purchased 2 of Apple's silicone cases which are my 2 go cases. I have been using them since the 6 was released. I purchased one in the color Pink Sand and one in Black. They are really nice simple cases that offer a sleek and simple design and good protection (not great but decent). They are $35 for the iPhone 7 and $39 for the 7 Plus. 

The 6s Plus cases will not fit the new plus because of the camera shape. As for the iPhone 7, the 6s cases will fit however the speaker where the old headphone jack use to be will be covered up for those of you who care. 

PINK SAND

BLACK 

Current Fashion Favs

Zara Jeggings

Zara has a bunch of different styles and washes of jeggings. The two I have been the most obsessed about are...

High Elasticity High-Waisted Jeggings $29.90

Photo Credit: Zara

These only come in black and have two simple rips by the knee. They are super soft and so comfortable to wear. The only thing I would recommend is to try these on before purchase. They tend to look a lot smaller than they are but at the same time have a nice stretch. So depending how fitted you prefer your jeggings to be, you might have to go down a size. 

Zara uses European sizes but do have the size conversions on the labels of their clothes.

For reference I am 4' 11 inches (very short I know) with the non high waisted versions, which I will talk about below, I am a size 2. However because I do have a little bit of a tummy I go up to a size 4 with these high waisted ones. I like my jeggings to be fitted but not so tight to the point where I cannot walk in them. These sizings work perfectly for me. In terms of the height, I am a very short person but these jeggings are not dramatically long and I can get away with folding them once or twice.

The non high waisted versions you can find them here. Same price, awesome product! 

Photo Credit: Zara

Me to We Cord Strap Double V Tank Top $22.95 (PacSun)

Photo Credit: PacSun

These are very similar to the tiny crop tanks you find at Brandy Melville but so much better quality. The straps are made from a sturdy cord material that lays nicely fitted on the shoulders, so you don't have to worry about it moving around. The only issue I had with these is that you do have to go a couple sizes up. I am not sure why they make it like that. When I tried on their XS I could barely fit it and when I did finally got it on it looked like a really tiny bra. These a not cropped in sense where it shows the mid section but rather it should hit just right at the hips. I personally really like the clean cut. I hate having to tuck in my tanks or having to scrunch them because I'm so short. 

Off The Shoulder Tops

I am not sure why it took me so long to jump on the off the shoulder trend. But I have been lately loving it! I think off the shoulder tops give off a sexy flirty vibe without being too slutty. You can either dress it up or down and it can be worn for many different settings and occasions. Here are some of my favorite ones.

American Eagle Soft & Sexy Off the Shoulder Shirt $29.95

Photo Credit: AE

These are so simple yet adorable! They can be paired with jeans, shorts, skirts you name it! They also are from the AE Soft & Sexy line which makes them even more amazing .Super soft and just overall really great quality. This is perfect for those simple girls out there who are just trying out this new trend. They come in a variety of soft and neutral colors that suit every skin tone.

Zara Off The Shoulder Poplin Top $49.90

Photo Credit: Zara

When you first look at this top it looks like a pillowcase and you will probably think to yourself why would anyone spend $50 on a pillowcase? Trust me this pillowcase is worth it! There is something so classy about this top that makes it so fashionable. It is also classic so it won't go out of style anytime soon. I love the fit of this top. It isn't too short or too long and can be styled in so many ways. I personally love pairing this top with a pair of dark skinny jeans and booties or distressed denim shorts w/some gold/brown strappy sandals.

Bouquet Floral Romper $82
By Band of Gypsies

Photo Credit: Revolve Clothing 

Since I live in Florida, we really don't really get a "true" fall and winter so I still have a little while to wear rompers before the "cold" weather hits. I am absolutely IN LOVE with this floral romper from Revolve Clothing (the brand is Band of Gypsies). The colors are right on point for the upcoming fall and is still thin enough that you can layer tights underneath and add a jacket on top if you are lucky enough to live in a place with all 4 seasons. This romper is a bit on the pricer side but this type of style of romper won't go out anytime soon. I personally think it is a great investment piece if you are a fan of rompers like I am. This is fairly new so it will be up on the site for awhile if you want to save up first. 

So Much Yes Black Suede Over The Knee Boots $46

Lulus.com 

Photo Credit: Lulu's

You can never go wrong with a pair of over the knee boots during the fall and winter seasons. They go with pants, shorts, skirts, dresses and so forth. Over the knee boots can get pretty pricey (ex. Stuart  Weitzman The Highland Boot). The Highland will set you back about $700+! I managed to find a pair that are similar to the The Highland Boots by Stuart Weitzman for only $46!!! You honestly cannot get better that! These have a 4 inch wrapped heel. They are pretty comfy for what they are and are true to size so don't go down or up a size.