Royal Wedding Time!

Congratulations Will and Kate! It was such a beautiful ceremony and Kate's Alexander McQueen dress was stunning! I can see why she has been dieting for the big day - the dress nipped in at the waist and accentuated her figure in such a beautifully feminine way - you know women will be copying this dress forever! I do agree that it is remniscient of Grace Kelly's wedding dress.

Kate's dress:

Grace Kelly:

I thought it was a beautiful classic dress that was very fitting for the occasion. Also, it seems that she really did end up doing her makeup herself. She was apparently so unhappy with her engagement photo makeup that she has been taking lessons from makeup artist Arabella Preston so that she may do her makeup herself for the big day. Those lessons really paid off, because her makeup looked flawless. I want my makeup to look like that for my big day! I loved that it was a little smoky around the eyes - it really brought out her green eyes.

Also, how amazing did the Beckhams look? I love how amazing and appropriate they always look - Victoria is 5 months pregnant but manages to look simply stunning.

Can we bring hats to the states please? I loved watching all the crazy headwear at the ceremony.

I love weddings in general because I think it's simply beautiful to watch a ceremony that demonstrates love and a lifetime commitment to one's soul mate, and this one really lived up to the hype. Also, it's every little girl's dream to become a princess, and it was fascinating to watch Kate really become one!

So once again, congratulations Will and Kate!

Best Feeling in the World

The best feeling in the world is working out, working up a good dripping sweat, then showering, scrubbing down, and moisturizing with BBW Twisted Peppermint lotion.

Usually, I just scrub down with a loofah, but today I used my Philosophy Gingerbread Man scrub and it felt and smelled so divine. LOVE.

The BBW lotion is an addiction of mine - it seriously feels amazing, especially after a workout or on a hot summer day. You feel all relaxed from the workout, and the mint in the lotion leaves you feeling all tingly so that it seems like all the body heat you built up in your workout just melts away. It's a Christmas seasonal product, so I always hoard it whenever it comes out.

It always takes me forever to get my butt motivated enough to get in the gym, but I just force myself to pull on my socks and get myself in -- once I'm in, I get it going! The hardest part is always getting started but I feel so good after, it's worth it!

This is my daily routine and it feels so good that I feel like I'm pampering myself. What do you ladies do to pamper yourselves?

Tresemme Healthy Volume Shampoo Review

I was always intrigued by the Tresemme hair line because they have such cheap prices and I had heard great things about their various products from numerous bloggers. I decided to try it out for myself by getting Tresemme Healthy Volume Shampoo when I was in the market for a new shampoo.

It has a nice light floral scent that isn't too strong or obtrusive and I really like the way it makes my hair feel. It cleans my hair without drying it out (which is a problem I have with some volumizing shampoos) but also doesn't weigh my hair down at all. This is definitely going on my short list for one of my favorite shampoos!

For what it's worth, I have long Asian hair with some layers. I have an oily scalp but my ends can get pretty dry. I generally use cheap shampoos and leave my splurging for conditioners and treatments (since I feel like shampoos generally just get washed down the drain anyway, and I haven't really had AMAZING results from any expensive shampoos.)

If you are on the market for a new volumizing shampoo, I would HIGHLY recommend this.

MAC Quite Cute

My MAC Quite Cute haul arrived yesterday. I got Playing Koi lipstick and Bubble Tea plushglass. They also sent me some adorable pins along with my lip products.

The pic below shows the lipstick - the pic above actually shows a more accurate representation of the color, as it came out a bit orangey in the pic below. It's a very nude pink. I don't really like nude lips on me so I'll probably only wear it on nights out when I'm wearing quite heavy eye makeup.

I also got the Bubble Tea plushglass, and I think the pic above is fairly accurate. I love this lipglass - it tingles when you apply it, and it's a sheer nude. It doesn't wash me out because it's quite sheer and it leaves my lips looking nice and plump. I can see this quickly becoming a staple.

Did you get anything from this collection?

Sephora VIB

Don't forget, ladies, Sephora's chic week begins today!

Get 15% off your entire order with the code VIBCHIC.

As always, you get free shipping on orders $50 and over (that's the price BEFORE the discount).

What will you guys be getting? I haven't quite decided yet...

Acadiana and Barrister's Ball

Last Friday, my school had its Barrister's Ball, which is like law school prom, essentially. My bf flew in from LA for the event, and we went out for a group dinner before the event to a local DC restaurant called Acadiana. Acadiana is well known for its seafood, and I ordered the New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp after seeing that it was voted "USA Today Top 25 Dishes 2005."

Before the food came out, they gave us some biscuits with a sweet and sour sauce/butter mix. The biscuits were nothing spectacular - better than KFC but nothing to write home about. The spread was unique but didn't amaze me either.

We went with a big group, so our food took a while to come out, but the shrimp finally arrived:

I was actually quite disappointed with my dish, as the sauce was much too salty and the food just tasted oversauced. They served a small individual-sized loaf of bread with it, and I think you're supposed to use the bread to sop up some of the sauce. The bread was actually delicious on its own - very soft and tasty without being bland, but the sauce was just too salty and ruined the whole dish.

My friend's duck was much better, and my boyfriend's pork was marginally better. Overall, I'd give this restaurant a B. For the price, I think you could do much better in DC.

Acadiana

901 New York Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20001

202-408-8848

For the ball, I wore a one-shouldered navy evening gown from Ralph Lauren with a jeweled accent on the shoulder. I wore nude bejeweled sandals (not pictured) and carried a small clutch. The ball was held at DC's National Historical Society, which was a gorgeous venue.

It ended up getting REALLY crowded by the end of the night, so I didn't stay that long, but it ended up being a fun night overall.

I actually recycled this outfit the next night when my boyfriend and I went out for a fantastic meal at Adour and to watch a ballet at the Kennedy Center. I'll do another post on that night soon!

Shopaholic

The other night, I couldn't sleep and ended up doing a midnight haul on F21's website. Of course I had to get the free shipping so I got a plain white v-neck (which I shockingly don't own yet, and the following items:

I think I'll wear the dress for casual weekend brunches and shopping, and I'm hoping to wear the necklaces dressed down with some tee shirts and shorts for my summer back in LA!

Also, MAC's latest collection, Quite Cute, just launched, and I'm such a sucker for marketing that I *had* to get something from it. Honestly, I don't need ANY more nude lip products but I just ordered Playing Koi lipstick (which is a satin finish described as "creamy white peach pink") and Bubble Tea plushglass (described as a creamy pale nude). I just couldn't say no since my parents own a koi pond and I used to drink bubble tea all the time when I was in high school and college! I think it's so fun that MAC is releasing this adorable Asian-inspired collection. I would have totally bought the eyeshadows in Moshi Moshi! and Azuki Bean if they were sold as separates, but I just can't justify another e/s quad that I'll never use. I obviously don't need them but once again, I would have bought it for the names. hehhehe *shrug*

Here are some pics of the collection:

To be honest, I was also really tempted to get the pink Mineralized blush but I KNOW I don't need another blush, so I resisted (plus the fact that none of the names struck me as adorable enough hehe >_<). I am also interested in the green and lavender nail polishes, but I have not had very good luck with MAC nail polishes so I'm now on the hunt for cheaper dupes. Any recs?

Are you getting anything from the collection? MAC is currently offering a free ship code! Use socute at checkout to get free shipping!

Lush hands

Lately my hands have been so dry because of this crazy dc weather so I've been using a ton of hand cream and cuticle products. Lemony Flutter by Lush is by far my favorite. It keeps my cuticles moisturizer but sinks in so quickly! I find it much more moisturizing than the Burts Bees version and the tub is huge! I also like this much better than oils because oils leave my fingers all shiny. Definitely give this a try next time you're in lush!


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Twitter

I caved! I got a twitter and I've begun to tweet. Please follow me if you're interested in hearing more of my musings and I will follow you back as I am always looking for fellow beauty and fashion fiends~

My username is soosoobean because my Korean name is Soo and that was a nickname one of my friends gave me.

Do you twitter?