Makeup, Lattes, and Medicine

For my own enjoyment, I want to share the knowledge I have collected as a pre-med and as a medical student while also sharing my passion for all my favorite things, like makeup and lattes.

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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Too Faced Sweet Peach Collection- Eyeshadow Palette and Blush Review

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , , , , , No comments :
TLDR: If you have the money for them they are great, I use them everyday
If I had to pick a high end makeup brand to only buy from for the rest of my life, I would buy only Too Faced. Previous to buying the Sweet Peach items, I have their Cocoa bronzer and their Peanut Butter Jelly eyeshadow palette. I bought their Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette for $49 and  their Papa Don't Peach Brightening Blush for $30 from their website, but you can also buy them from Ulta.
Eyeshadow Palette:

 I love the shades in this palette. I naturally gravitate towards warmer tones especially browns, coppers, and pink shades, which made this palette perfect. I also tend to do less dramatic looks because I am at school and work most of the time, and I was not looking for a palette that I could not grab for everyday. The colors are insanely pigmented, but I would do my eye makeup before doing my face makeup with this palette as there tends to be fall out with many of the colors. They blend very well. The smell of the palette is artificial peach, which I don't mind, but some people might not like it. There are a couple of shades that I feel I would never use because I am never brave enough to try to like the darker shades. I do think it is worth the price. I have linked Stephanie Nicole's video because she does many thorough reviews and makes sure to include all the swatches. While I do not agree with all of her opinions, I think she does produce a quality video if you want a second opinion. For me, this is one of the few eyeshadow palettes I own, and I am happy with it.
Papa Don't Peach Blush:

 I really like this blush because I usually do not wear a highlighter. It is a blush that gives you a subtle glow, and it is one that is not insanely pigmented, which makes it easier to apply in my opinion. It is a nice everyday blush. Here is Leesha's video (xsparkage) that swatches and talks about the blush.

 Overall, I use these everyday but that is what I expect from a high end product. I think these were both worth the money, but if you already have several palettes with similar shades or many blushes, I would say you can pass on these.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Feature Friday: Starbucks Cascara Latte

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , No comments :
TLDR: This tastes exactly like a vanilla latte.

 What made me try this latte is the fact that I got a Flash Pass from Twitter for a grande size Cascara Latte for $3 (FYI you can get special deals from Starbucks if you follow them on Twitter).  Given that it is a latte, I had to try it.

 The Starbuck's website states: "Inside each coffee cherry are the seeds we’ve all come to know as coffee beans. Cascara is the dried fruit of the cherry itself. It lends delicious, subtle notes of dark brown sugar and luscious maple."

 I did not taste any maple or dark brown sugar what so ever. Subtle must mean nonexistent. This tastes like a vanilla latte, and luckily, I like a vanilla latte. Overall, it did not impress me, and I would pass on it next time. I hate that I didn't like this because I am getting bored with Starbucks' drinks, but I am not going to give up just yet.

 Leave your Starbucks order in the comments below :)

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Premed Tip #2- Letters of Recommendation Timeline and What to Give Your Recommender

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , No comments :
Hopefully, I am starting this blog early enough to give enough tips and tricks as the application process goes on. I did not take a gap year so getting the materials ready for my application and letters truly started the December of my Junior year of college, but I would really recommend setting up recommenders in between December and March to give people plenty of time to write your letter. I found lining up my letters of recommendation to be the most challenging part of the process.

 First things first, most schools (not all) require 2 science related letters, humanities letter, and an outside letter (ex. from extracurriculars, job, etc). I highly recommend getting your list of schools you are applying to done early (summer before your application year, ex. summer before Junior year if you are not taking a gap year) so you know what requirements you are working with.

 I got letters from my PI from my research, one of my science professors, one of my literature professors, and one from my advisor for one of my clubs. I got all of my materials to give them done in December and asked each person through January to April. Looking back, I wish I set my list of people done earlier as I found it difficult to find the last person to write me a letter. My school also does a committee letter, and you should follow your school's timeline and deadlines for those. I would recommend for committee letter applications to get them done as soon as possible so that you are not left writing the committee application the same time as your primary.

 I gave my recommenders a packet of material that they could use as a reference for my letter. I might have gone overboard, but I figured the more information they had, the better.

 List of Materials:
  • Personal letter thanking them for writing me a letter as well as a statement on why I want to be a doctor and indirectly telling them why I am qualified to attend medical school.
  • A sample of my work from their class
  • My resume
  • My transcript
  • Instructions on how to submit their letter
  • Recommendations on how to write their letter from AMCAS (attached document was from 2016-2017 cycle so check the AMCAS website for most up to date documents)



Tuesday, January 24, 2017

My Essentials Bag

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , , No comments :
I wanted to do this post because I am so excited about the bag I found at Forever 21. I always find the best makeup/small bags there as they are so cute. I love this teddy bear bag! In the past, I have found other bags like a watermelon there. I hope it is still in stock when I post this. If not, Forever21 always has cute bags.

 The teddy bear bag costs $9.90 and is in excellent condition. So soft and bigger than expected!
I can fit everything I need for my day to day in this bag.

 Contents of my everyday essentials bag:
  • Hair Ties and Bobby Pins
  • Tissue
  • Oil Absorbing/Blotting Sheets (Pictured: Up&Up Oil-Absorbing Sheets 70ct, Purchased from Target)
  • Neosporin
  • Compact Mirror (Pictured: Knock Knock Hello Compact knockknockstuff.com, Purchased from American Eagle)
  • Makeup Wipes (Pictured: Pond's Wet Cleansing Towelettes, Purchased at Target)
  • Lens Wipes (Pictured: Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes, Purchased from Amazon)
  • Medication (Pictured: Advil, DayQuil, Benadryl) 
  • Lip Balms (Pictured: My Favorite Night Balm by CO Bigelow- Purchased from Bath and Body Works, Burt's Bees Hydrating Lip Balm with Coconut&Pear- Purchased from Target, The Tiny Acre Botanical Coconut Rose Farm Grown Lip Balm- Purchased from Etsy, I really like my lip balm)
  • Comb
  • Portable Charger (Purchased from Big Lots)
  • Lipstick (Pictured: L'Oreal Infallible Paint in Spicy Blush- Purchased from Ulta, Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip in Alyssa- Purchased from Colourpop)
  • Teddy Bear Bag (Purchased at Forever 21)



I hope this was helpful, and you enjoyed the post!

Friday, January 20, 2017

Feature Friday: Coffee Setup

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , , No comments :
As a college student, coffee has become one of my best friends. I used to hate coffee, and the closest thing to coffee I would get in high school was a caramel frappuccino (which we all know isn't coffee). 

 Today, I am an frequent user of my Vue System Keurig. It was passed down to me from my sister, and I hate the fact that there are not that many Vue pods on the market. What truly saved my coffee game was a K cup to Vue converter (the orange cup in the picture, purchased from Amazon). I have had it for almost two years, and it has never failed me.

 My current set up consists of my Keurig, a drawer for my cups, assortment of teas (a combo of my roommate's and mine), straws, and cute little containers of hot chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon. Any excess pods are stored in the cabinet above with my coffee cups. I usually get my coffee cups from places I visit, from friends, or from Zulily (gives a great bargain on pretty much everything). The mug in the picture was purchased from them, and, unfortunately, there is not a brand on the mug itself.

 Although I have this awesome set up, I am still a frequent visiter of Starbucks for my favorite chai latte or strawberry refresher, but, sometimes, I like a good old cup of coffee at home.

 Comment down below what you use to make your coffee.💖







Thursday, January 19, 2017

Premed Tip #1- General Timeline

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , , No comments :
This might be my own personal irritation with my school, but I was never able to get an answer or a general example of the timeline for the application process from my premed office that was specific for when to start working on parts of the application. This timeline worked for me, and I hope this helps you. Again, I did not take a gap year so substitute the year of study/month with what suits you (ex. if you are taking 1 gap year, where I have Junior can be Senior for you). I am going to start with when I recommend to take the MCAT and end with the general start of medical school. These are based on the 2016-2017 cycle so check AMCAS for specific dates and deadlines

 Junior Year
  1. May-August before Junior Year: Prepare for MCAT
  2. July- September: Start your personal statement and prepare your activity descriptions/most influential essays (check online for layout of primary application)
  3. August /End of Summer before Junior Year: Take MCAT
  4. September/October- Create list of schools you are applying to
  5. December: Prepare materials for letter of recommendations
  6. January: Start and finish committee letter application (Dependent on your school)
  7. December-April: Ask for letter of recommendations
  8. February-April: Take second MCAT if necessary
  9.  May: Finalize your primary application
  10. June: Submit primary application on first day
  11. July: Start and finish your secondaries
Senior Year
  1. August: Interview prep
  2. September-April: Interview Season
  3. October: First acceptances sent out and submit FAFSA
  4. January: Send updates to schools you are still waiting on/ waitlisted at
  5. February: Work on Financial Aid Applications/ Institutional Aid
  6. April: Decide what school you are attending
  7. July/August: Orientation, White Coat Ceremony, and First Day of Classes
AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) is what you will use for your application if you are applying to MD programs. They have a lot of resources on their website.

Hope this was helpful, and you liked this post!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

BHue Beauty Liquid Matte Lipsticks- First Impressions

Noel 5:00 PM , , , , , , , , , 1 comment :
TLDR: Like the formula, Some of the shades are hit or miss, Overpriced in my opinion, Enjoy wearing but would only recommend if someone is willing to pay the price for them
I bought BHue's liquid matte lipsticks because they collaborated with Thataylaa (aka Taylor) who is my favorite beauty Youtuber. I love Taylor's Foundation Friday videos and her overall personality. I feel she is an honest Youtuber and one that I could support so I had to buy her lipstick.

 I bought two shades of their lipsticks, Taylor's shade 1548 and the shade Natural Nude, both for $18. Looking back, I wish I bought the color Pretty Penny instead of Natural Nude because Natural Nude is one of the nudest nudes I have seen. I do not like Natural Nude on my skin tone at all. I usually go for a more pink tone nude so I am going to try to put a pinker lip liner under this lipstick to make it work. I like 1548 on my skin tone. It looks like a strawberry deep red color if that makes sense. I put some swatches that I swatched on my arm in natural light below for reference. Bhue also gave me a sample of their liquid matte lipstick in Poppy Red. This color is super bright red, and I am not sure what occasion I would wear this for. 

 The formula of this lipstick is nice. It is creamy in consistency and similar to the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. It does dry matte and is slightly drying but still comfortable. The first time I wore 1548 it lasted well on the lips through eating but did come off on cups that I was drinking from. I also noticed that 1548 started to bleed a little bit on my lips even though I had a lip liner underneath it. It lasted well throughout the day, but I would say it looked alright at the end of the day. Overall, I think, in the future, I would just buy the NYX lip creams instead as these will not be a Holy Grail kind of product for me, and I think they are pricy for what you are getting.

 I wanted to wear these a little more before posting a review, but I don't know how long 1548 (Taylor's shade) will be available because it is a limited edition color. If you are interested in her shade and want to try a new brand out, here is the link.



Thursday, January 12, 2017

Premed History

Noel 6:13 PM , , , , , No comments :
Hello everyone,

 Advising my fellow premed friends that are applying for the 2017-2018 cycle made me think of posting some of my tips for other premeds. I applied during the 2016-2017 cycle via AMCAS and have been accepted to 5 schools and am on 3 waitlists (all MD programs). I applied to 22 schools in total, submitted secondaries to 20 schools, received 11 interview invitations, and went on 8 interviews. I received my first acceptance on October 17th, 2 days after the first day of acceptances. I provide these numbers because, most of the time, people ask me how many schools I applied to and what to expect with interviews/acceptances. Your individual numbers are completely dependent on what you are interested in for medical schools and what are realistic expectations for schools you can be expected in. This is not an easy process, but I hope to make it easier on others and make an early acceptance obtainable through some tricks.

 Some background info about me:

 College Major: Biomedical Engineering
MCAT and GPA: I took the new MCAT twice and received the same score each time. Average score. GPA is slightly higher than average. (I will not post my score for privacy reasons, and I think stats hinders applicants ability to focus on what else can make them stand out/other aspects of the application that can get you into a school. While GPA and MCAT can be used to narrow down schools you have a higher chance of getting into, for the purposes of this blog, my stats will not impact my advise.)
No gap year
Extracurriculars: Research, Hospital Volunteering, Tutoring, Sorority Involvement, Peer Counseling, Art, Biomedical Device Design
Disclaimer** Tips and tricks are just recommendations and not an end all/be all. Also, if there are any grammar mistakes in my writing, I am sorry and please ignore them**
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