mitski, makeup, and a messy post in general

You know, I keep telling myself to update this more often to avoid having an absurdly long, image-heavy post, but I never seem to actually take that advice. Maybe that should've been my New Year's resolution. I specifically remember not making any since I never stick to them, but let me tell you, it quickly came down to "be financially stable" and "keep this apartment" pretty fast.

Overall, 2016 has sort of...well, sucked. I'm not going to write about all that here, however -- I save that sort of venting for my personal journals, Twitter rants, and Skype calls. Instead, I want to spotlight some of the good things lately. I'm sure no one reading this (is anyone even reading this anymore?) is interested in the money-related meltdowns and the occasional existential crisis that sums up adulthood as a 20-something in the city.

Right, so where do I start? I suppose I'll open with the most exciting news -- I went to the Noisepop show this past Wednesday night to see Mitski, one of my favorite musicians! If you haven't listened to her yet, you definitely should. 

She was brilliant, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, of course. And I got to talk to her after the show! 

   

I was definitely starstruck -- it wasn't exactly easy to piece together everything I wanted to tell her about how much it meant to me to see an Asian woman playing on stage -- but I know she understood what I was trying to get across. A few hours before the show I tweeted her something about "crying toc (tears of color)" at her show, which she found amusing enough to give a shout-out right before her last song! Needless to say, I felt like I was dreaming. 

That's just one of many side effects to listening to Mitski's songs, I suppose -- feeling that pleasant, floaty dreaminess. Am I making sense? Probably not. I'm already looking forward to seeing her perform again. It's been ages since I've been to a concert -- my last was the Courtney Love and Lana del Rey show in the late spring of 2016 -- and Mitski was the perfect choice to welcome the experience back. The next one on my list is The Last Shadow Puppets in April. Finally. Finally.

Being out that night was especially refreshing, seeing as 99% of my time spent outside is either at work, or doing grocery runs. I did have a fun night out with some friends who decided to visit a few days earlier though, and we stumbled upon one of the Chinese New Year parades downtown before having some touristy Ghirardelli treats.

Speaking of work, it's been nice so far -- I admire the people I work with, and I'm having a lot of fun managing the social media accounts. I'm hoping to get more hours soon, because it's unfortunately not enough to make rent in San Francisco, even for a tiny space. In fact, I'm back in the soul-crushing cycle that is job hunting, because I really, really don't want to lose this lovely, cozy apartment.

But! Like I said, this isn't the place for my financial breakdowns. I'm lucky that taking pretty photos of my workplace is part of my job, since it's great for dressing up this blog and my Instagram:

Being surrounded by so many adorable things for hours -- especially all the flowers and succulents -- really get me into the mood for decorating my apartment. 

Unfortunately, I don't have the money for any of that right now, so instead I try to keep the beehive (not sure if I've referred to my home as the beehive here yet, because I do on other accounts all the time) as cute, clean, and photogenic as possible. It does wonders for my mood, actually.

As I'm sure you can tell from the photos above, I've been playing around with eyeshadow a lot. Now, I've been lusting for the TooFaced Chocolate Bar palettes for ages, but not knowing shit about eyeshadow makes the price tags even more unjustifiable. I recently discovered that Makeup Revolution has chocolate bar palettes of their own, and two of them are exact dupes for the TooFaced ones -- I Heart Chocolate, which you see here, and Salted Caramel, which I should be receiving in the mail soon. And yes, their Blushing Hearts blushes are dupes of Too Faced's Sweethearts blush.

I hope one day I can have all of them to experiment with -- the shadows are buttery and pigmented, the packaging is super cute, and the price can't be beat. I wish they'd start selling Makeup Revolution products here! I know they have some at Ulta now, but as far as I can tell, I haven't seen any of their chocolate line.

Anyway! Mitski and makeup aside, here's a poorly organized list of other things I feel like I should mention:

• Since I'm looking for a second job, I'm trying to earn as much extra money as I can. I'm back to doing commissions, so if you're interested, please message me using this contact form on my porfolio. You can view my rates and styles here -- take note, though, that I will be updating them soon.
  
  
  
  
• I'm on a Kate Bishop kick lately -- here are two playlists I've put together in the past few days to cope with the (strange, unacceptable) fact that I still haven't finished reading the Hawkeye comics: SUPERHERO, and H²:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I've also added a few updates to my art portfolio. New pieces (including some commissions) will be added accordingly.
  
  
• At the moment I can't exactly prioritize working on personal projects like short stories, paintings, et cetera -- however, I have no reason to toss them aside entirely. In-between art commissions I try to draw or at least doodle some pieces to keep me warmed up, and to help ensure that I don't lose whatever creative drive I've managed to muster. I am still up for tattoo commissions, so please talk to me if you're interested! I generally keep a number of slots open for commissions if I'm announcing them on Tumblr since that's where I have the highest amount of followers, so if I'm discussing openings on other platforms, I don't usually have a slot limit.

Alright -- I think that's all I have for now. Hope to tune back in soon! Thanks for reading. 

If I had a catchy goodbye message or tagline like some of my favorite Youtube gamers and makeup experts, it'd be here, but as it turns out, I'm not quite there yet. (Did I mention, by the way, that a Youtube LP channel specializing in horror games is another plan for the future? That's not until my boyfriend moves in, though. Christ, I can't wait for the day I get to split rent costs.)

2 paragraphs, 7 photos

Plenty has changed since my last update, and I mean that in a good way. It'll take some time getting used to working -- training has been equally intimidating and interesting so far, but I'm relieved to say that I'm actually enjoying a large part of it. Already the January days of frantic job searches feel far away, and they've been replaced with learning the responsibilities associated with retail, spending time amongst pretty plants and gifts, and instagramming said plants and gifts. Funny how things turned out -- one of the first venues I reached out to and developed an interest in turned out to be the job I got after all! Turns out it really was patience -- and, okay, copious amounts of caffeine -- that got me through.

Anyway, I have a few things here and there that I've considered writing about over the past several days, but I'm a bit wiped out. Perhaps I'll write a more comprehensive update once I've settled into my new routine, or if more exciting news comes my way. But since my surroundings have been on the lovelier side of late, and I'm since always opening my camera app, I figure pictures will do the job just fine.   

news of a cheerful variety

January is (finally) coming to a close, and I'm happy to say that things are, at last, beginning to look up. 

I'm on my way to completing this round of commissions, as well as preparing for a few upcoming freelance gigs. I'm glad I devoted much of my free time this month to getting back into painting and traditional work, as the some of the work I'll be doing on the side for extra cash will involve such methods. I have a gig coming up, and as it's still in the planning stage I can't quite go into depth just yet, but to summarize it in its simplest terms: I'll be illustrating a fashion line's spring/summer collection sometime next month.

Now, saying I'll be partaking in those gigs on the side also implies one thing: the job hunt looks like it's reaching its conclusion. I've mentioned a cute gift shop in a nearby neighborhood I've expressed interest in a few entries ago and, well, after speaking with the manager, my training starts next week! 

I've got loads to learn, obviously, although I'm especially excited for managing the store's social media. This place is about as photogenic and Instagram-worthy as it gets. 

More on that soon!

Another nice life update: I finally got to spend some time with my friend Elle and her boyfriend again yesterday -- it feels like it's been ages since I've had a social outing. As is customary with seeing her, we got some bubble tea (pictured above), and I had Malaysian food for the first time! 

I've also been knee-deep in YouTube makeup videos -- or shoulder-deep, really, it's gotten to the point where I've got to watch the KathleenLights channel on a daily basis -- and I'm trying out new things. I've got approximately zero skills when it comes to eyeshadow, yet will browse the cutest palettes for hours on end, and add them to my cart, only to remove them. I've had the Sonia Kashuk matte eyeshadow palette for a few years now, although I primarily use it for eyebrows and as a rare substitute for liquid eyeliner. (The pigmentation is wonderful.) I have a Maybelline nudes palette I'm playing around with, too, before I get onto anything too fancy...or Too Faced.

Lipstick is definitely something I'm more comfortable with, however, and I finally decided to try out Colourpop's Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks. After watching hours of swatch videos, I've decided to purchase the shade Bumble. It's a lovely color to start with, as I'm unfamiliar with the matte liquid lipstick formula -- and, yeah, okay, the cute bee name obviously pulled me in.

The color is slightly more cool-toned and dustier than it looks in the tube and in these photos, but everything you've heard about the long-lasting, kiss-proof, ultra matte formula is definitely true. This doesn't come off, ever. Just make sure to exfoliate and let some lip balm sink in first, though, because when it's something this matte, it's especially drying. I've got my eyes on Avenue next.

Anyway, as things are to get busier in the next few weeks/months, I suspect they will get better, too. I'm seeing Mitski in concert next month, and I also bought tickets to The Last Shadow Puppets show in April! Finally! I never thought I'd get to see them live, ever. I might have mourned my bank account for a minute after purchasing the tickets, but only for a minute. I've already started thinking of outfits for both, although -- as it usually ends up happening with my concert attire -- I will likely just pick something else at the last minute. 

Speaking of attire, at the moment I'm ridiculously tempted to purchase the perfect replica of that 1970 Bella Freud sweater which, let's be real, I will probably end up doing.

(Look, alright, when the day comes that I can justify throwing away $500 on a sweater, chances are I'll still scout a cheaper lookalike.)

The orange/red version I recently drew Alexa in would be perfect for a Valentine's Day outfit, even though I'll likely be working that weekend, and the nature of being in a long-distance relationship basically limits outfit sharing with an equally stylish boyfriend to an exchange of pictures. To any of you who are fortunate enough to be within the same city or state as your partner: I really fucking hope you're having the time of your life, and that there are cute plans brewing for the upcoming Hallmark holiday, because being miles and miles apart is the absolute worst. 

My birthday's in May, but I'm 100% open to anyone gifting me with a flight ticket any time of year.

And on that note, I'm out! Will write soon.