Hey, everybody! Now that 6* months have gone by, it's time to do my midpoint check-in for my 2023 low buy.
Back in February, I posted my plans for my 2nd annual makeup, nail polish, and clothing low buy to help myself engage in more conscious consumption. Just as I did halfway through 2022, I'll be updating you all today on how my low buy is going, what I've purchased so far, and any miscellaneous thoughts I've had. *Note: this blog post is late -- I meant to get it out at the beginning of July to truly be a midpoint check-in, but life just happened to be lifeing harder than expected. However, I'll still only be talking about any purchases from up until the end of June.
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Editor's note: Per the Freelance Solidarity Project: "This piece was created during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist." I'm not making any money from the Instagram Reel or this blog post of course, and D*sney isn't receiving any new royalties from the music used in the Reel because of how I did the audio. Though I'm not an influencer at all (union member or not), and despite the fact that I had been planning/working on this for several months, I was unsure of whether or not I should still post this given the ongoing strike. After looking up the guidelines set out by WGA and SAG-AFTRA for entertainment journalists and having conversations with other creators and some of my followers, and especially because the guild specifically said that they're not calling for a boycott at this point in time, I felt that this was an appropriate way to still celebrate the soundtrack I've loved so much for so many years that lots of super awesome skilled people worked on -- while still acknowledging the fight for labor rights. On July 19, 2013, a legend was born.
Well, premiered -- Teen Beach Movie premiered on Disney Channel, that is. The movie tells of a modern-day teen couple that accidentally gets transported into the world of Wet Side Story: a 1960s, biker-versus-surfer version of the musical West Side Story. Unlike the original West Side Story, instead of the villain being race relations, the villain of Teen Beach Movie is the commercialization of public land (i.e. a lighthouse-dwelling scientist who wants to turn the beach that's beloved by surfer and biker alike into a beach resort). Is the conflict plausible? No. Is the acting good? Dubiously. Is the CGI even decent? Not at all. Is the wardrobe and hair/makeup period accurate? Questionable at best. But is the soundtrack absolutely banging? 100% yes. I kid you not, I listen to the soundtrack on a regular basis, and I know most of the lyrics by heart. I recently rewatched the movie with some friends, and one described my intimate familiarity with the songs as "creepy." Of course, I had to pay homage to Teen Beach Movie with a lookbook via Instagram Reel because if there's anything I love, it's dressing to a theme. Though the movie's set in the 1960s, the fashion feels like a vague mishmash of 40s to 60s ish. It's good to remember that IRL, there wasn't always the clear delineation from decade to decade like we often think it does in retrospect. However, despite the fact that a good portion of the characters' wardrobes is true vintage, I personally feel that some of the costumes look very Spirit Halloween costumey rather than historically "accurate" -- due in no small part to the hairstyling, makeup style, untucked shirts, and cut/rise/fit of the men's pants. For my outfits, I did one outfit per song, drawing inspiration from what the characters wear in that particular song. I definitely leaned more into the 1950s styling. I straight up just don't have a whole lot of 60s-style clothing, especially the leather biker stuff and tighter silhouettes. But in today's post, I'll be going outfit by outfit (AKA song by song) and how I translated the on-screen outfits to my style with what I already have in my wardrobe. If you haven’t already, watch the accompanying Instagram Reel!
I feel like I have my fall/winter style down pretty pat. Plaid trousers, corduroy pants, and turtlenecks layered under oversized knits are everyday staples for me, and I've got quite a distinct LookTM in the colder months.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the warmer months. I often joke that I am fall/winter academia and spring/summer cottagecore, but to be completely honest, that's not 100% accurate. Despite the fact that I for sure have *more* summer clothes by gross number of pieces, the truth is that my summer style is not nearly as developed as my winter style. It's been a struggle to figure out both A) simply how I want to dress, and B) how I can achieve that IRL in a way that I'm happy with and feels truly expressive of me. If I had to guess the reason for this discrepancy, I'd give two reasons:
As I've realized my own dissatisfaction, I've become determined to very consciously develop my summer style. Today, I'll be going through my inspiration and how I'm translating that inspiration into actionable steps (what items to buy, styling, etc.). Welcome to academia-retro-adventure-princess-storybook-cottgage-Hobbitcore, baby. 5/29/2023 0 Comments 8 Makeup & Fashion Creators to Follow this Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month (and Also Every Month Ever because They’re Cool)
As the best month of the year (Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month, of course) comes to a close, I want to highlight some awesome Asian creators in the makeup + fashion spaces that I personally follow and enjoy. Most grew up and live in the United States, but they come from and live in a variety of countries across the world.
Of course, this is absolutely a non-exhaustive list, and there are SO many other people I could feature. It was really tough to narrow it down! I ended up settling on 8 because 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, so I guess it's fitting haha? The first 4 are beauty accounts, and the latter 4 are fashion accounts. Otherwise, this list is ordered arbitrarily because all these people are equally fabulous. For each creator, I give:
Look out for the accompanying Instagram Reel! 5/26/2023 0 Comments Baby, I got Issues -- Or 12, Actually: Semester Outfit Recap for a Student JournalistHow does a journalist dress?
Outside of pharmacy school, my other major chunk of time is spent working on my university's ~award-winning~ student newspaper; I've held an editorial position for the past 2 years, and I'll be an editor again for this coming school year. For the duration of the spring 2023 semester, I had been documenting my outfit every publishing night (AKA pub night) since the beginning of the semester, and I made an Instagram Reel recapping said outfits. In episode 100 of the Style and Direction podcast hosted by Ethan M. Wong and Spencer Otte, the two discussed Spencer's "journalist style" and how it reflects his career. For me, I don't think my pub night fits really show that; if anything, in my role as a student journalist, my style embodies more of the "student" (in terms of my love for the academia aesthetic) and less of the "journalist." However, I still thought it'd be fun to go through what pub night entails and each night’s outfit in more detail! For every issue, I included the date, a very brief overview of the fit, the outfit details, and then any musings to go along with the overall styling of the outfit or the individual pieces. As this is a *very* long post, feel free to just scroll through the pictures and cherrypick whichever ones you find most interesting! As a little note: I erroneously mislabeled each issue number in the Reel, and I didn't notice it until after I already posted it. As this was the second semester of the school year, we published issues 13-24, NOT issues 1-12. To keep it consistent and make it easier to refer back to the Reel, I still used 1-12 in this post. Just know that for the record I am a fool and to +12 to each one. If you haven’t already, watch the Instagram Reel first!
A common style uniform of mine: turtleneck + chunky sweater + high-waisted wide leg corduroys + sneakers
Despite taking a full 18 credit hour course load, plus my bajillion student activities and outside obligations, I wear a "real" outfit practically every single day to school. Since starting college, I've very, very, very rarely ever worn athleisure to class as my #fit of the day. Some of my peers have told me how they could never get dressed up on the daily for class because it'd be too much effort, but honestly, most days, it takes me the same amount of time and effort as it would for anyone else to throw on a pair of black leggings and a hoodie. I tend to roll out of bed <20 minutes before I'm supposed to leave for class, so it's not like I'm some special person with boatloads of time to dedicate to getting dressed.
My "secret:" the quickest, easiest way to make getting ready in the morning painless while ensuring your outfit still slays is to develop outfit formulas, AKA a style uniform. With an established outfit formula/style uniform, looking nice every day for class, work, etc. is easy breezy Covergirl!!! In 2022, I made a low buy for myself to control my beauty (makeup, skincare, and nail polish) and clothing spending. After that experience, I’m instating another low buy for 2023! This time around, I’ll be focusing just on makeup, nail polish, and clothing (no skincare). Today, I’ll be going through my why, along with my rules for each category.
Can you believe we're already in 2023? Well, call me Ripley because it's here whether you believe it or not!
With the end of 2022 also comes the end of my first-ever beauty and clothing low buy. I started this in February as a way to intentionally curb my spending and be more intentional about what I buy. I posted my plans/intro post in February, and my midpoint check-in came in July. As of July, I was doing really well within my criteria, and I was actually way below my set purchasing limits. Now that we're here at the year-end (actually 11-month) finale, let's see how my makeup, skincare, nail polish, and clothing low buy actually went! Back in early February, I posted my beauty (makeup, skincare, nail polish) and clothing low buy plans for 2022. A "low buy" is an intention that some people set out -- particularly in the minimalism and project panning beauty communities, at least from what I've seen -- to try and regain control of their purchasing habits. For me, my two goals were 1) to reduce spending and 2) to be more conscious about my purchasing habits.
A reason why I published a post detailing my low buy criteria, other than for ContentTM, was to try to hold myself accountable by publicly documenting/averring my plans. Now that we are halfway through the year, I am here to check back in and let you all know how I've been doing with my low buy! Through the years, I've noticed something about myself: as I naturally flip from hobby to hobby, I don't necessarily spend less money or become more of a conscious consumer. When I drift from and subsequently spend less money on one particular hobby, I simply divert those funds to a different hobby. For the past several years, this has happened when bobbing between makeup, nail polish, and fashion. I really hope to break this habit. First of all, I'm a college student who is fortunate enough at the present moment to not need to worry about paying too my own living expenses, but that's not going to last for too much longer. Before I have too many Real Adult Responsibilities, I want to create healthy financial/consumer habits for myself that I can carry into my Real Adult Life. Second, it's just not environmentally or socially responsible. Consumerism inherently generates waste, and there will always be social repercussions because we ~live in a society~. I want to be a "conscious consumer" (whatever that actually means), and I hope to promote that on the internet and in life in general, but it's hypocritical if I myself don't necessarily do the best with intentional consumption. Yes, I find joy in my hobbies and all of the pretty things that come with those hobbies, but consumerism shouldn't be an essential aspect of that joy. My two general goals for my low buy are: In being "public" with my low buy plans, I hope that this will help me hold myself more accountable throughout the year!
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about @glowyminoI have dry skin and very dry and textured lips. I also have a medium-light skintone (somewhere in the realm of NC25-30) with strong warm yellow/olive undertones. I have a tendency to prefer a glowy, lightweight base and color cosmetics in shades of a warm undertone. Read more about me in the about page! Archives
July 2023
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