Fragrance

If there’s one thing I tend to have too much of, it’s probably fragrances. I almost never leave Bath and Body Works without making a purchase... or two. You see, I love things that smell good and I love smelling good. I haven’t been to BBW in a few months though, which is probably a good thing, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying delightfully smelly things. This summer I’ve discovered the wonders of the Harajuku Lovers fragrances. 

Each bottle of perfume comes with a “doll” topper, there are five different characters in the set and each one has a unique scent. Because they are a perfume line and not a body spray line, they can make a dent in the wallet... Lucky for me there’s a such thing as Amazon and eBay where you can get cheap deals. Sooooo what did I do?

I bought two different kinds!

Both are the character, Lil' Angel, the one on the left is Wicked Style
and the one on the right is a mini original

They smell SOOOO good! 

Anyway, enough of my shopping-girly talk. I'll make this brief, and yes, again this is something in my life that gets me thinking about something related to God's awesomeness. Lez look at duh WURD:

"and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

                            Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)

God calls us to be a fragrant offering before Him and others just like He was when He sacrificed Himself to save us. When we reflect God's love we become fragrant and spiritually pleasing to others. This morning I woke up early and read John chapter 12 verse 1 through 8. The story was called "The Anointing at Bethany", which already stuck out to me because me name is Bethany. Anyway, here is the full story:

        " Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

         But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

         “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” "

I pictured myself in a modern setting of the story with me playing the role of Mary. I was pouring my new bottle of Harajuku Lovers over Jesus' feet then wiping them with my hair. But then I thought, "hmmm, Harajuku Lovers isn't that expensive for a perfume and nard was pretty freakin' expensive stuff back then. But I don't have any nard and I don't have any perfumes more expensive than this..." Immediately after that it hit me just what the whole point of the story was. 

Mary gave up a valuable earthly possession before Jesus' feet, and not just some of it, but all of it. Then she gave up herself in service for the Lord by wiping his feet with her own hair. Her act of submissiveness, selflessness, and sacrifice was fragrant, and spread throughout the whole house. People who don't have the eyes of the Lord will not understand the beauty nor the purpose of something as powerful as giving away everything we have to our Father. They will most likely try to stop us and even persecute us. In return the Father will defend our case. 

I know I have the hardest time giving up little things for God sometimes, in fact, that's usually the case all the time. It's a struggle we all have. But reflect a bit on the love story I shared from the Bible. Before we give ourselves up fully, we have to give up what hold onto to first. If Jesus were physically right here in front of me, I'm sure He'd appreciate my laptop, iPod, manga collection, Sonic the Hedgehog stuff, and, yes, my bottles of Harajuku Lovers fragrances. But what He would love even more is what I choose to do after that; give up myself. There's some food for thought. Or perfume for thought. 

Fav Beauty Products for Summer!!!

Happy summertime, my sparkly emeralds!!!!




Time to get prepped up for sunny skies and sweaty times. You can still look pretty and clean despite the extreme weather. Here are my personal favorites:

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm: $3.15

With all-natural ingredients and a subtle shine, these little tubes of wonder are what I think every female should keep in their pockets. Far better than Chapstick, Burt's Bees Lip Balm protects your lips from dehydration without feeding them any harmful chemicals. No matter how you apply it, this formula is light and smooth and gets the job done. 

E.l.f. Foundation brush:  $0.99

Applying foundation with your fingers is ok, but the "blendability" is greatly minimized and you can't get a very smooth result out of it. Plus, your fingertips are very oily and rubbing your face vigorously with them can contribute to acne. A brush, however, provides a smooth and even application. It even helps you to use less product than if you were to just use your fingers. Most makeup brushes can be quite expensive, but E.l.f. gives an inexpensive alternative that works just as well (if not better) than any other brush. I've had mine for a couple of months now, and I am very satisfied with the results.

Tip: Use a little hand soap or shampoo after every couple uses to get old foundation out of the inside of the bristles to increase the brush's longevity and to prevent gross build-up from occurring.

Neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup:  $11.99

This makeup is light, blendable, and gives me good, natural-looking coverage without me having to use much product at all! And there is no matte texture given from this; it leaves my skin feeling subtly "dewey", which is ideal for summer weather. I have pretty oily skin that can really get gross when I use facial makeup, especially when it's hot and I get all sweaty, but so far this stuff has not added any extra oiliness no matter what. It doesn't smear, which is a pleasant bonus for glasses-wearers, neither does it "disappear" over time  or when hit with sweat. It's a good deal, lasts long, and I won't use any other foundation except this one.

Tip: Use your ring finger and make small dots of foundation across the areas of your face which you want covered. I usually dot my cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead. Then take a makeup brush and swipe and blend in a diagonal direction downward, away from your face. If you are very white like I am, I would avoid applying makeup around the jawline, because that area can cause makeup to really show up and clash colors with your neck. That's usually not a natural or attractive move. 

L'oreal True Match Super-Blendable Concealer: $7.97

Concealer can be annoying to pick out because it's rare that you are actually going to get what you are promised on the bottle. Most concealers are either too thick, too rich in color, doesn't hide imperfections, doesn't blend, or just looks plain awful on any woman (from all concealers I've tried, Maybelline's Concealer sticks are the worst, in my opinion). It has been a long search, but I've finally found something that works well for me. 

Despite being kind of watery, this formula does exactly what the tube says it does: blends well. It's not heavy at all, and the finish is surprisingly very natural looking. It isn't super opaque, which may not be best for people who have bad acne, but it works beautifully with dark circles under the eyes and with hiding small imperfections. Best of all, it only takes a very thin layer of this stuff to get brighter looking skin, so this concealer will last you a good long while. The applicator to this product is unfortunately pretty pathetic, being just a floppy lip gloss brush, so be sure to get yourself a foundation or concealer brush to use with it. You'll thank me later.

Tip: When applying the concealer anywhere, scrape the brush against the side of the tube then dot or dash the area lightly and blend using a circular motion with a foundation or concealer brush. When applying under your eyes, look straight ahead (don't tilt your head), and blend, blend, blend. 

Maybelline New York LINE Stiletto ULTIMATE PRECISION Liquid Eyeliner : $5.94

The applicator is kind of like a tiny felt-tip marker, which means you can easily draw super thin lines or slap on some ultra dramatic slashes without a problem. With this stuff, you've got complete control, and that's the best part of this product. It dries quickly yet is easy to correct if you make a mistake while applying. The original formula doesn't last very long, but if you buy the water-proof version you should get a nice all-day look. 

Cover Girl's Original LashBlast: $6.99

A lot of Cover Girl's products I've found were generic and not satisfactory, but Lash Blast stands out and is definitely far from the ordinary. It's really no wonder their mascara is one of the best selling beauty products out there; it's smooth, flexible, easy to remove, and lasts for hours. There are so many different types and colors to choose from and they all work beautifully. In my opinion, Last Blast beats Maybelline's Great Lash mascara, and that stuff is pretty good, so that's saying something! It works wonders for people who have thin, blond, or tiny eyelashes by making them thick and lengthy.   

There you have it! Have a beautiful summer!

College Classes and a Refreshing Glass of Water

*Heya my green beans!*


So, just a few minutes ago, I got this book in the mail called, 1001 Things Every College Student Needs to Know. My Aunt Paula sent it to me and so far it looks very interesting. Basically it's a list of 1001 things that every college student needs to know (hence the name, haha). Here are a few random facts that I just now read:

#771. You need to know it's normal to miss Mom's cooking and to not want to be responsible for anything. It's also normal to like, you know, get over it.

#8.  You need to know that over one/third of the people who drop out of college do so because they can't handle the workload.

#342. You need to know that your professor could be an atheist, a communist, a bigot, a feminist, or a sexist. Your job is still to make your grades.

#936. You need to know two words: ramen noodles. They're dirt cheap, and with a little water, they almost become food. College students and mice have been known to live on them for years.

#390. You need to know that while we're all proud of you for reading your textbook, you now have to read it again.

#183. You need to know that just because a professor looks at you doesn't mean he's going to call on you. However, looking down at your toenails does tell him you don't know anything.

#865. You need to know your brain can perform only so long on PowerBars and Pop-Tarts before it loses the ability to produce a coherent sentence.

#112. You need to know the first semester is the hardest.

I think I love this book already! x3




Since I am going to be starting college classes this fall, I'm glad I have this motivational book alongside me. I am looking forward to it, and at the same time it's kinda stressing me out.

I'm going to be balancing working a job and doing college classes. I'm also going to be staying at home my freshman year. C'mon, lotsa fishies do that! The reason I am doing that is cuz my three best buddies and I are going to splitting rent on an apartment next year. These guys are all 17, so I want to wait for them to be graduated, etc. Also it is going to be saving me some money during the so-called "hardest" semester. The year will fly by. My senior year certainly did. :) Anyway, I am off to drink some water. It is important to stay hydrated! 

By the way, did you know it takes a loss of only 1% - 2% of your body's ideal water content to cause dehydration? Did you know that drinking ice cold water actually makes you lose weight because fat calories are burned to bring the water temperature up to internal 98.6 degrees F? 'Tis true. Water works wonders. 

And also, don't misinterpret your thirst drive as hunger.  Drink an ice-cold glass of water and wait a minute or two.  You'll find you are not as hungry as you thought. 

The Avengers, gods, and my latest thoughts on us human beings

Hey my pretties!

I am baaaack!!! (Again) You know what, ok so first things first, if I am going to be blogging again, imma gonna need y'alls support. Without it, I has no motivation, thus there will be no blog posts, and your life will have a huge hole in it and be completely pointless because my posts will no longer be satisfying that vast void in your heart. There, I said it. *I feel much better now, thank you* 

OK ok, the last thing about my blog being so important, you know, that one? The one about the void in your heart? Yeeeaaaahhhh, sounds really creepy right? Well, guess what? I have been thinking about that very subject lately, what we as humans lack in our very lives and what we tend to do to satisfy it. Remember, these are merely my opinions and ideas, this isn't meant to be a lesson or something... OK boring stuff outta the way, let's jump right in!

So for my birthday, last week my very best buddies (Claire, Emma, and Peggy) and I went to see the Avengers in theaters. Afterwards we headed over to my favorite restaurant and we talked about the movie - our favorite characters, how attractive and cool they were, our opinions on the movie in general, and the like. Our opinions were all pretty different, but overall, it seemed like we all enjoyed the movie. Personally, for the next few days, I kept on thinking about it! Mainly the characters (especially Thor and Loki, my favorites). I even started making fan art featuring Thor and Loki, brother against brother!! I liked the movie that much.

 Now, I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with the Avengers or anything, but there were a lot of positive elements 
and really powerful one-liners that are so rare in modern media, especially in movies (such as the Avengers) that manage to rake in over 100 million dollars in the box-office!! Some of those little "gold nuggets" were delightful to discover and think about, and they could even have the potential to influence and change hearts! The Avengers knows what true heroism is all about, and it expresses it with guts, and, for the most part, good clean fun. 


That being said (uh-oh spaghetti o's), there were other things that I found disturbing about the Avengers. 


No, it wasn't necessarily the movie itself that was a little creepy, it was the effect it had on a huge number of viewers. 

 Take Loki for example, here is a pale-faced green-suited extraterrestrial man who travels to planet Earth in order to take it by force and rule over it by waging war and controlling the minds of men. This character believes that humans were "made for a ruler", and he thinks that he's the one to do just that. He certainly couldn't care less what the "puny" humans could think, probably because he "talks about peace-" and yet "-kills because it's fun" (quoted from Nick Fury). 


Why do I like this character so much? It's simply because he makes a darn good and believable villain. Strong characteristics are always what I look for and admire in the media, and that's something Loki definitely has. He's also not bad-looking either.... Just saying'... So anyway, what disturbs me, however, is how much worship and adoration Loki receives from his fans! Sure it's one thing to gush over a character for his looks or even his character, but sometimes things just go too far.

 One thing I noticed on Loki's Facebook fan page (which was CLEARLY created by a fan girl) is how many females would leave comments saying things like, "invade our planet, Loki my liege," or "I was made to serve you, Loki" or "you can take control over my mind, Loki, anytime".  

o.O     O.O    0,0

Uhhh, weeeird. But that's not all! It's in YouTube, Twitter, blog posts, everywhere! First of all, he's a villain, like, a really really bad guy who would hate you no matter how much you adore him and secondly, he ain't real. Thirdly, if these fans like the actor that played that character, chances are he's not like that character all in real life, because he's being paid to put on a show. Loki's not the only one who has been guilty of this. No, even each of the good guys get far too much love and credit than they deserve.

As a Christian I believe that all humans are born with a void in their hearts, one that only God can fill, and that God has more than everything we could ever want or need, we just must learn to follow His ways and put all else aside for Him. We really are meant to serve Him, but what he has to offer isn't tyranny, death, or pain; it's love, life, and joy, and he's far more gorgeous than any human being or hot actor molded in Hollywood. Now onto my point.

Recently media has been a very effective and persuasive form of communication, so it's always sending several messages to us, whether we "take them" or not. It's becoming more "real" to us; graphics, cameras, and computer animation can accomplish things that the human eye cannot envision in the real world alone. Fictional characters and superheroes can be made and seen. When we allow these characters to get too close to us, dangerous things can happen. People make the false what they live for, what they long for, and what they desire, in this case I mean movie characters. We don't understand that God truly does accomplish the impossible, and we are so blinded by what we let into our hearts that we tend to forget who our real superhero is! I admit, I have been totally guilty of this! 

Like I said before, there's nothing wrong with liking something a whole lot, but when you start to "love" it and it replaces God in your heart, you need to check yourself. With the media, it is SO easy to do that, so next time you talk about how awesome your favorite heroes are, ask yourself, "do I give God this much credit/appreciation/attention?" And remember not just what He did for you, but what He does for you. That's something that a pale alien "god" could never accomplish.