Makeup, Lattes, and Medicine

Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder

TLDR: Love for under eye area, Flawless, Would Recommend

I am all about a deal, and I happen to not have any pressed white powders. This made it super easy to convince myself to buy this Essence's powder when Nicole from Young, Wild, and Polished mentioned it on her snapchat/in a video awhile back. I put it on my list of things to try and recently bought it at Ulta for $3.99.

The website states: "The perfect pressed powder for a shine-free look. This light-weight formula absorbs excess oil and shine for a natural and smooth complexion. Available in one transparent color for all skin types - so it's perfect when you're out and about with your girls!".

I was hesitant to use this anywhere on my face besides under my eyes as this is an area that I try to brighten, and I am not sure if it would cause white cast. For reference, my under eye area is not an extremely dry area for me. I use the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair or the Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer in Light Natural over the NYX Dark Circle Concealer in Fair every time I wear makeup. Usually, I will just set my concealer with my face powder, but, given that I want to hide dark circles, I definitely want to brighten my under eye area with a white powder.

This powder did exactly what I expected. I use my E.L.F Small Tapered Brush to apply the powder. My concealers tend to crease slightly as the day goes on, but I think this powder helped. The powder did brighten the area, and my face really did look flawless where I applied it. Be cautious of applying too much as I am not sure if it will cause flash back/ white cast in flash photography. Overall, I really like it and will be using it daily.

Premed Tip #6- Medical School Scholarships

This topic hits home a little too close as I have learned my lesson with waiting till the last minute to fill out scholarship applications. As I sit here and finish the 5th essay that is due tomorrow, I am thinking back to all my activities and how I have spent my time these past 4 years. While I wrote a couple of weeks ago on how to fill the holes in your application, I am thinking of how I did not spend enough time on things that are "scholarship" topics. I have loved all the things I have been involved in, but I have realized I did not spend enough time in the activities that can help fund my medical school education. 
This essay is geared towards what types of scholarships you will run into. At least, these are the scholarship types I have run across. 

• Community Health/ Public Health Commitment
• Underserved Commitment
• Rural Health Commitment
• Financial Need
• Commitment to Primary Care
• Military Commitment Scholarships
• Diversity Scholarships

If these scholarships are of interest to you, you need to be able to demonstrate your commitment to the topic specified, whether that be community health, rural health, etc. Look at what you are involved in and think of how these activities fit into topics like these. Also, do more research as there other scholarships out there. Scholarship due dates range from January to roughly July. Make sure to have your FAFSA turned in by October before you matriculate though and sent it to your schools! If you need help funding your medical school education, look at scholarships early and have your goals for the future in mind when you are applying.

L'Oreal Infallible Lip Paints

TLDR: Really like it in Spicy Blush. Might be an everyday product for me. Comfortable and easy to apply. Not transfer proof.

I thought it was fitting to write about something I am currently wearing and loving. I am an avid beauty guru watcher on Youtube, and I feel the community does not give enough credit to drugstore products. Don't get me wrong, I love a good high end product, but my wallet doesn't.

According to the Ulta website:
"Lacquer up lips in high-impact liquid color with L'Oreal's Infallible Lip Paints. In one stroke, the designer applicator precisely diffuses vibrant, full-coverage color to lips for comfortable wear. Available in a variety of high-impact colors, from nude to bold.

Benefits:

• Saturated with pigments
• High color impact
• Designer applicator"

I bought the L'Oreal Infallible Paint (one of their versions of a liquid lipstick) in Spicy Blush 314 at Ulta.com for $9.99, and I think the color is perfect for my paler skin tone.  These are very pigmented. The formula is not drying at all. That being said, it takes forever to dry, and I am tempted to say that it will never dry down completely, which is not typical for liquid lipsticks. The lipstick is not a stain or a true liquid lip but closer to a creamy lipstick. This does make it more comfortable to wear. You would have to fix it up during the day most likely, but it is so pretty. It smells kind of like candy. It was so easy to apply for me and doesn't dry too fast so that it is hard to get it on. I did line my lips every time I wore this product, and it seems to be relatively transfer proof on me (at least with this color) for most of the day, unless I was eating.  I am not one to reapply lip products much throughout the day so I feel this color would be for a shorter day. It is ok when it comes to food, but, like most lip products, it will transfer and fade away on the inner part of your lip, as Jaclyn Hill would call it "The Butthole Lip". While she is not my absolute favorite Youtuber, she does come up with a great name for this phenomenon with lip products. Overall, it did fulfill all of its claims so that is a plus.

I am thinking about buying another color but am unsure if any of the other available colors would look that great on my skin tone (I might get the Nude Star color).  I would recommend this to a friend if they wanted a cheap lipstick as I feel these look great and were comfortable to wear. If you want a true liquid lip, I would not recommend these.

I have included some links if you want to see more on this product. I included Tati's video because she always buys all the shades and swatches them. I also included Cassie's video because her test videos always seem honest, and she shows you how it performs throughout the day if you need another reference.

Links (none of these are affiliated with me in any way):
Ulta L'Oreal Infallible Page
Tati's Youtube Video
Cassie's Youtube Video

Update: I bought Nude Star, and I am pleasantly surprised. It is a pinker nude color and is quite flattering on my skin tone.  I did not line my lips with this color, mostly because I did not have a matching color, but it was not an issue, most likely because it is a darker color. Formula seems to be consistent with Spicy Blush.

Feature Friday: Crockpot Ranch Chicken

TLDR: Would recommend, Taste great, Awkward cook time, Not very thick sauce

As a college student with no meal plan, I wish I spent more time doing crockpot recipes. I only really started them 2 weeks ago in an effort to stop eating out so much. I usually eat chicken plus 1 carb and some salad for dinner, which made me gravitate towards doing chicken crockpot recipes. I found this recipe off of Pinterest in a set of 9 other chicken recipes. Here is the link.

I kind of hate how this recipe is for 4-5 hours in the crockpot. At the time I was picking out recipes, I did not think this would be an issue, but it is not long enough that I can leave it all day but not short enough that I can start it when I get home to eat dinner at a reasonable time. Regardless of that, I think this chicken goes well with pasta and by itself. It does not have a thick sauce, but I don't mind that. I almost think it needs more cream cheese than the recipe suggests as it is not a super creamy sauce. The chicken just falls apart when it is done and is so moist. Excellent! I will definitely be making this recipe again at some point. Clean up was easy with a Crockpot liner. It makes a lot of chicken for 1 person so I had a good amount of chicken this week. Keep that in mind if you only have 1 or 2 people eating.

In the mood for chicken, try this out!

Premed Tip #5 -Picking Schools Part 2

Part 1 of picking schools focused on how to narrow down schools to look at to have a realistic list of schools to optimize your chance of an acceptance while Part 2 focuses on picking schools that are right for you. Here we will focus on features of schools that might be important to you and what you should look at to see if schools offer what you want.

First things first, think about your goals for the future after medical school and the type of residency you would like to go into. These goals will help you decide what you want in a medical school. Here are some deciding features of schools, in my opinion, that will help you decide on schools to add to your list.

• Curriculum
• This is by far one of the most important things to look for when looking at schools as you will spend most of your time focusing on the curriculum in medical school. Do you prefer a systems based ( where they cover all the material for each system of the body at a time) curriculum or topic based (they cover all the biochemistry of the body at once for example)? Do you want a traditional 2-2 curriculum (2 years of classes and 2 years rotation) or another style? Do you want time to pick your own advance studies after the traditional rotations? There are so many small differences in curriculum between schools, so pay close attention. 
• Mission Statement
• Get to know the values of the school to see if it conflicts with your own. Some institutions will not teach certain topics (ex abortion) if it conflicts with their values. Find out what you want in your medical school education and your values and see if a school's values fit those.
• Dual Degree Programs and Second Change MD/PhD
• What kind of job do you want to have after your training? Do you want to go into health policy where a MPH would help? Are your grades and research experiences not strong enough to go directly into an MD/PhD program but still interested in an MD/PhD? These types of questions will help you determine if you want to get more than one degree during your time in medical school and help decide if a school that has/doesn't have these opportunities is a deciding factor for you. There are many dual degree programs out there so check them out!
• Volunteer Clinics
• The majority of schools have volunteer clinics, and they are great experiences to have. That being said, not all volunteer clinics are alike. Do you want a clinic that works with a specific ethnic group? A certain setting? Or will you volunteer in any? Do you want a clinic that has teaching roles for medical students? Look at what clinics the school has to see if they fit your interests.
• Required Volunteer/ Community Service Hours
• Some schools require you to get involved in the community and volunteer. While I consider this a plus, you may or may not, so check out what volunteering they offer, if they have a requirement, or if they allow you to create your own volunteering opportunity.
• Research
• Many medical students are a part of research during medical school. Does the school have research that you are interested in? Do they have summer programs for research? Do they provide a gap year during medical school for research? Do they have an honors program for research? Check it out.
• Required Research and Academic Medicine
• Some schools require you to do research and are more geared to producing students to go into academic medicine. These types of schools also typically have curriculums that also reflect this (like Harvard) but not always. Ask yourself if this where you see your career going. 
• Track Programs
• Track programs are programs that have classes and experiences that focus on certain aspects of medicine, like global health, rural medicine, women's health or health management, that run in conjunction with the curriculum. Many schools have these so see if what their requirements are and what they offer.
• Match Lists
• While many of us premeds don't truly know how to look at a match list, as they do not tell you if the students got their first choice or not, these lists will tell you if the schools produces mostly students going into specialties or into primary care. This can sway your opinion of the school.
• Location
• Location is important because you want to live somewhere where you can be happy for 4+ years. Do you want to live in a city? Rural area? Hot weather? Cold? 
• School Size
• The standard is 200 or less students per class. Do you want a small class size like 50 students or larger?
• Ranking
• I hate putting this on here, but, to some, ranking is important. The US news ranking is misleading to many as the ranking is also determined by endowment size and not necessarily how great the school is. Keep that in mind, but do you research on your schools as a top rank school might not provide exactly what you are looking for.

Favorite Valentine's Day Makeup Products

If you could not tell from my blog's colors, I adore light pink. When I think of Valentine's day makeup, I want a pink toned eye look and a nice red lip. While I will not being celebrating Valentine's day till the end of this week because my boyfriend is away on a medical school interview, this won't stop me from having some awesome themed makeup today.

I feel I have so much makeup that I could use for this occasion. Like any other "special" day, I gravitate towards my most reliable products. This post also made me realize I also use a lot of Too Faced and L'Oreal Products.

Face Products:

• Primer:  NYX Angel Veil  and NYX Pore Filler on my nose
• Foundation: L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte in 101 Classic Ivory
• Under Eye Concealer: Physicians Formula #InstaReady Concealer in Fair
• Under Eye Powder: Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder
• Spot Concealer: L.A. Girl Concealer in Classic Ivory
• Face Powder: Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Creamy Natural
• Contour: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer in Medium/Deep
• Blush: Too Faced Papa Don't Peach Brightening Blush
• Setting Spray: L'Oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray

Lip Products: ColourPop Ribbon with Lip Liner Bichette

I hope I inspired you to make your own Valentine's Day look. May you all look wonderful this Valentine's Day!


Disclaimer: Links are not affiliated with me and are directly from the specified seller. I do not make any money off of these links. They are just there for convenience for you.

Feature Friday: Edible Cookie Dough

You probably thought I was going to tell you about a recipe, and there are probably many good recipes for edible cookie dough. I, however, wanted to write about a product I found at Giant (if you don't have Giant, Giant is a typical grocery store) that has truly impressed me, edible cookie dough in a jar. Whenever I make edible cookie dough from scratch, it is usually quite good, but, sometimes, I don't want to get all the ingredients for it when I can make just regular cookies, which makes edible cookie dough in a jar handy. Ironically, the small grocery store near my college does have edible cookie dough (doesn't have my shampoo but has edible cookie dough...still bitter), but it is very expensive (about $7 for 10oz).  This made me steer clear of looking for edible cookie dough for awhile (since sophomore year to be exact). By chance this past week when I made my weekly trip to Giant, I found the Giant brand edible cookie dough near the pudding for about $4! I am in love. First, it is delicious, and second, it is so much cheaper. I highly recommend for those that need a little treat now and then but do not have the space/money/time to buy all the ingredients to make your own. They have chocolate chip cookie dough and brownie batter. I am going to try the brownie batter next time. I am sure other grocery chains have something similar near the pudding section in the refrigerated section.

This is a short and sweet post, but I thought someone might want to try something delicious that makes me happy. Happy Friday everyone!

Premed Tip # 4 - Picking Schools Part 1

This is one step of the application process I waited way too long to do. I recommend doing this right after you find out your MCAT score. If that is not possible, I would suggest at least doing this February before you submit your primary. I waited until May before I submitted my primary to do this, which made it difficult, but I got lucky that all my schools did not have requirements I couldn't fill.

For Part 1 of this topic, I wanted to address the issue of categorizing your schools so that you have breath when you are applying to schools and really optimize your chances of an acceptance. I use the categories of Safety, In Range, and Reach to categorize my schools, but I recognize that no school that is called a safety is a guarantee in any way of acceptance.

Here is the breakdown of the categories that I used:

• Safety: Your GPA is 0.2 or more greater than their average and 2 or more points above their average MCAT score
• In Range: You are within 0.2 of their average GPA and 1 within their average MCAT
• Reach: Your GPA is less than 0.2 of their average and 2 or more below their average MCAT

When you are making your list, you should have a set goal of schools you want to apply to. You can add or subtract schools as you go, but the average number of schools that an applicant applies to is 20. 60-75% of your schools should be in range schools, and you should have approximately 15% reach and 15% safety. These are general guidelines, and you should always check what else the school looks for to truly determine if it is in range for you, reach, or safety. I made a spreadsheet with all of the medical schools and color coded/deleted schools as I determined if they were in range/safety/ reach and if I wanted to apply. I took a screenshot of a small part of the spreadsheet.

Always do what you are comfortable with. Just make sure that you do not fill your list with all far reaching schools. Part 2 will cover what else you should look for when adding schools to your list.

Garnier Skin Active Clearly Brighter Argan Nut Gently Exfoliating Cleanser

TLDR: Just no, Hate the nut particles and didn't do anything for my skin 

Well, this product's name is quite the mouthful. I bought this because I was running out of my usual face wash and was looking for something new, and, perfectly, this said new on the bottle. This product claims it "gently polishes to even tone & brighten" and "smoothes & refines pores" and contains  vitamin C and a fruit acid blend with an antioxidant complex.  I have very oily acne prone skin that is also extremely sensitive and has large pores. This product seems to offer what I am looking for, which  is all well and good, but I feel like it does not necessarily accomplish what it promises.

Full Description on Back of Bottle:
"This effective, yet gentle daily exfoliating cleanser works double duty to brighten and deeply cleanse skin. A non-drying formula with finely ground, sustainably sourced Argan Nut shell, Antioxidant Vitamin C and  a Multi-Fruit Acid blend helps to refine pores, even skin tone and wash away dirt, oil & makeup in one step"

Instant Results Promised on Back of Bottle:
"Skin looks smoother, radiant with a healthy glow:

• Non-comedogenic/ won't clog pores
• Oil- free
• Dermatologist tested for safety/gentleness
• Suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin
• rinses clean "

Feature Friday: Torrid Haul

Torrid is quickly becoming my favorite brand. As a in-betweener ( between straight and plus sizes as an XL), I am usually dissatisfied with straight size brands.  I love buying my leggings and T-shirts from Torrid and have just started trying out their jeggings/jeans. Also, fun fact, they have the cutest sunglasses. They are also owned by the same company as Hot Topic so they have cute pop culture items like Hello Kitty themed items or Disney items. 

Torrid is pretty pricey unless you buy their clothes during what they call Haute Cash time or during a sale. I truly believe you should never buy from Torrid unless you can get a discount. I bought this haul of clothes during their January Haute Cash promotion. Similar to other brands like Kohl's cash, Haute Cash is when you spend a certain amount you get a certain amount off, like if you have $100 worth of merchandise you get $50 off making your total $50 +tax and shipping. The key to sales like these is to google Torrid Haute Cash with the month and year and find the codes online so you can have exactly the promotion you need. 

Unfortunately, by the time my order came in, the sale was already over before I could post about it. Have no fear though as they usually have another Haute Cash sale in March/April and other sales in between.

My Haul:
Premium Stretch Leggings- Size 2 Regular Price: $22.90 (I like to size up in this style of legging because I like them comfy, XL in Torrid is usually a Size 1)

Premium Stretch Jegging- Size 14, Regular Length Regular Price:$74.90 ( These are way too expensive regular price, I only have 2 pairs of these, but they fit so well)

Premed Tip #3- Planning Gap Year and Summer Experiences

While I am not a believer that everyone should consider a gap year, it does have its benefits for those that have "holes" in their application. Summer, gap semesters, and gap years are all perfect times to have experiences that will make you stand out and make you well-rounded.

The first step to planning these months with no classes is to find where the holes in your applications are and what will truly add to your applications. The formula that I stuck to that worked for me is:

• 2 shadowing experiences
• 1 clinical experience
• 1-2 research experiences (if you are MD/PhD, you want more involvement than this)
• 2-3 community involvement/ volunteering experiences
• 2 unique experiences to you and are uncommon for many applicants