New Video! Lunar New Year Makeup Tutorial

Hey guys!

I had a little bit of spare time on my hands so I created two very simple looks that you can wear this Chinese New Year! I even included some Malay subtitles! I hope you gain some makeup inspo for the upcoming year. And maybe I'll do an outfit inspiration video next! 新年快乐!

 

Click here to watch now!

KARA'S Disbandment

Okay, I JUST found out that my goddesses- KARA, disbanded.

NO. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! They have been going on so strong! I've been such a big fan! I love all the songs from OT5 and Mamma Mia and Cupid were amazing too! I've supported everything the group did- and now there is no longer a group. I just can't believe it.

Kara is an unforgettable group. They had worldwide hits like Lupin, Mister, and Step. They're legends in the kpop world! I literally watched so many variety shows just to see Kara.

 

Now, here's the sitch:

From the information in this article by Yonhap, I got that members Goo Hara, Park Gyuri, and Han Seungyeon left DSP Media to pursue other areas. Newest member, Heo Youngji is the only member who remains at DSP and is apparently going to pursue a solo career while with DSP.

 



 former *cries* Kara members from left to right: Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, and Goo Hara

 

Rumors have been that the trio has been searching for companies since late 2015. I'm pretty sure the separation isn't because the members have been feuding- There's probs something going down at DSP. Just about 2 months ago, April member Somin made the decision to leave the group after "long discussions". The original lineup had Kim Sunghee, who left a year after debut. And lets not forget Jiyoung and Nicole who left the group back in 2014 to pursue their solo careers. side note: "AGHHH I MISS OT5!"

 

"So what happens now?"

• Goo Hara- Hara is nowadays more active in Japan and China. And apparently the singer/actress signed an exclusive contract with KeyEast entertainment!
• Han Seungyeon- Seungyeon is now signed under Widmay Entertainment to further pursue her acting career.
• Park Gyuri- She's been rather silent with her future activities.... Hmm...

"What about Youngji?"

Youngji is still with DSP Media and is reportedly going to pursue a solo career. I know our Youngji mushroom must be going through a tough time. She just got out into the kpop world, being afraid of being overshadowed by her unnies. And now with the group disbanding must be a huge shock to even herself. So, lets give all our love to support our mushroom with her future activities!

 

KARA will always be one of my fav kpop groups ever! Every member was and is so special- I love them all for their own unique personalities. And I'll always support all former members no matter what they pursue! One thing that will never change is that I'll ALWAYS be a KAMILIA!!! <3

 

Let's take a trip down memory lane-

Original Line Up:

left to right: Gyuri, Sunghee, Nicole, Seungyeon

 

2nd Generation (OT5)

from left to right: Jiyoung, Nicole, Gyuri, Seungyeon, Hara

 

3rd Generation, Last Known Lineup:

from left to right: Youngji, Gyuri, Seungyeon, Hara

 

I'm just so shocked right now. Let's just support our goddesses with their future activities! <3









TOP 5: Winter Favs!

 

I don't know about you guys but, winter is just starting up for me. That's why I put together this blog of my fav things for the winter time!❤

DISCLAIMER: Nothing is sponsored and I'm not being paid for by any of these websites (obvi)  for my opinion- I just genuinely like these products or styles. P.S Not my Pics. Too lazy to whip out my camera and snap a few pics rn. XD


1.) Baby Lips x EOS

I don't know why but, I can't use either product on its own. I ALWAYS use the both of them together. EOS has amazing moisturizing properties so, no matter what I use it for the base. And baby lips has this gorgeous tint to it no matter what shade you use. Baby Lips does offer really good moisturizing properties as well, but I mainly use it becuz the tint isn't too bold but still gets the job well done! Plus, in the winter time you NEED to take care of your lips more than ever! The combo of these products will have you golden!

2.) Earrings!

For some odd reason I never wear earrings unless it's winter or spring. Weird right??? But, I love wearing earrings in the winter. Cuz you're going to be wearing a thick scarf or thick jacket right? I don't like wearing any big accessories in the winter since it kinda makes my outfit look bulky, but delicate earrings are my holy accessory for the winter. I found this pair of earrings here on a site called "trinitystyles". (FREE PROMO hehehe)

 Trinitystyles has a great range of Korean fashion and accessories on their site. I believe they also have a FB shop as well! I've never actually bought anything on the site, cuz it is on the pricier side but, I fell in love with everything on the site! I've only heard good reviews saying they're satisfied with their orders so, I'll definitely be checking them out soon!

3.) Body Lotion x Fuzzy Socks

Body lotion is a must need for winter. No questions. Fuzzy socks are just so kawaii and fashionable- also a must need for winter. I love B&BW hand lotions- V. Bean Noel is my fav! However, for some people it's not very good- my mom said it caused her little "goose bumps".?? But, it works for me!

And the fuzzy socks are from a brand called tutu anna. << Cute name right? But, they only have store locations in Japan, Taiwan, and China. At least that's what I got from the Taiwanese site... lol (my Chinese isn't very good :P) The Japan site gives more info- if you can't read Japanese then hahaha sorry. ( I can't read Japanese :/) But, you can always buy from sites like AliExpress.

4.) Barley Tea or Just Any Tea



I'm sorry but, I just don't like coffee. I'm a tea person all the way! #teamtea And don't judge me but, barley tea or 보리차 is my favorite all year round. You can heat it up for the winter time or add in some ice for the summer. I found Bonnie Eng's site here is really helpful for a how-to on barley tea. Plus, think of all the cute mugs you can use for drinking your tea!

5.) K-Style Winter Jackets

Princess coats,  frocks, wraps, and other similar styles are the "It Trend" for the winter time in Japan and Korea. They're very easy to match and they give off a mature and polished kind of look. I personally have one and I love it!


I hope you enjoyed this blog and let me know what your favs are for the winter time!

I Fell Down.... Literally

Do you guys feel like you aren't worth it? Like, you felt like there isn't anything in life for you to do cuz you're constantly being surrounded by people who seem to be perfect.

I have to tell you no one is perfect. As sappy as it sounds, the only difference is that some people are real good at concealing their flaws. But, not me. I suck at it.

A lot of you come to me for advice on how to gain confidence, how to be happy with life, etc. And I'm truly flattered. But, the internet can do a great job at concealing how people actually are.

In the past, I was a really bright and talkative kid. I went out for a bunch of things including cheer, basketball, and I would always be the girl that raises their  hand when I knew the answer to a question. I was incredibly sociable, I always wanted to be involved. I even went out to a few open calls for modeling and acting when I was in the 4th or 5th grade. I love both modeling and acting so much and I get so excited when companies remember me and want to recommend me for some amazing shoots til this day. But, I never go.

My parents don't think modeling and acting is the right choice for me. #actingstruggles. Especially becuz I'm pretty short. And a lot of second round callbacks require to pay some sort of fee to be in commercials and stuff. There's no way my old-fashioned Asian parents will EVER pay money just to have their daughter stand around and pose for pictures. That's how they view it.

I love the idea that you can just completely embody yourself into being someone else. Acting is an escape from your actual life- that's why I like it so much. And the fact that I lost so many opportunities really makes me sad.

Before you knew it, at around middle school I turned into a really shy, awkward, antisocial kid. I still try to be bright and happy around my friends cuz I feel that's how I naturally am. It just feels like a lot of effort to try to be happy when on the inside your not as happy as you seem.

Today was the day I decided to break out of my shell and step out of my comfort zone. I played rec softball from 5th-6th grade and I wanted to join the school's softball team. I wanted to fit in and be cool. And I think I actually was for quite awhile until the incident.

I went out for softball conditioning today. I had butterflies in my stomach- kinda like the first day of school feeling you get. I was excited too. This was my chance to make new friends and for people to really get to know me!

But damn. Conditioning was a real kick in the ass for me. I haven't ran in so long and I could barely keep up with the other girls. But nonetheless, I carried on and did everything I was told to do no matter how much it hurt. There was this one exercise we did where we had to hold the other persons legs and walk with our hands and I heard girls cheering for me! The coach even told me that I was really good with my hands. (Which is true, I've always been unusually strong with my arms in comparison to my jelly legs.) I felt proud.

But when it was the final lap for running, I gave out. It was 2 minutes until we had to leave and I couldn't continue. That's the first time EVER I gave up on a workout. I was running and my legs were starting to feel like tofu. My legs gave out and I fell. The coach looked at me like "wtf are you one the ground?" Which, made me start to cry. Everything hurt-physically and mentally. And what did the coach do? He just gave me a trashcan cuz he thought I was gonna throw up. And with all the girls looking at me like that- I wanted to throw up.

I wanted to finish and show everyone that I'm strong too! But, I guess I'm not.

The worst part was is that none of the girls asked me if I was okay. I knew some of them decently well. And the fact I have to face half the team I went to school with on Tuesday-scares me. They're gonna remember me as the weakling who cried her ass off and gave out. Knowing that, sucks.

When I fell down, my waist started to hurt a bit too. I'm sure I fell cuz I wasn't strong enough but, I remember holding on to my waist. At the end, I had to tell the coach the truth- I have scoliosis.

A lot of teens have scoliosis, it's just mine is worse in comparison to the general population. I have to wear a brace every single fucking night and I'm afraid one day I'll get so used to my brace that it'll come apart of me. I don't want that.

I gave coach the scoliosis excuse, which seems less embarrassing than not being able to keep up with the other girls. And he just says he doesn't want anyone hurt.

My mom picked me up and tears flood out. In the car, she first scolds me for being so reckless and for pushing myself so hard. She says that with my back problem I shouldn't do sports like this. But after awhile she softens, and gives me one of those ''mom talks'', which rarely happens for me.

She says everyone faces something difficult in life. No matter how gorgeous their life may seem they still have problems too! But, I just hate that my problem relates to me not being good at sports. Sports was my entire life- I take one break from it and I lose all my skills. I'm not fast, I'm smaller than the other girls.... I just don't know.

My scoliosis is one of my biggest flaws. And tonight was one of the top ten most embarrassing nights of my life.

I hate crying in public- I'm such an ugly crier. And I made a huge deal to my friends that I was going out for softball- SO STUPID. This just goes to show how unpredictable life can be.

But now, I'm incredibly lost. What do I do now? Softball was the only thing I was good at. I suck at playing the flute, I'm not very smart, I can't speak all the additional languages I know very well... So, what's left in this world for me?

My mom's probably going to prevent me from playing any running sport ever again. And I'll be confined to the house 24/7. I just feel useless. And this incident.... what if it happens again? What if I fall down again and I get hurt more badly than I did this time? What if my scoliosis prevents me from playing any sports for the rest of my life?

All I know is that when you fall down in life, you just get back up. But, that's the hard part.

I lost so much confidence today. I showed all my flaws. I'm just not good enough. I can't compete in this marathon we call life. Its so hard, and there's so many competitors that are better than me. I don't know how to keep going. Where do I start?!?

My First Visit to a Hindu Temple

Okay ah, most of you may know I'm a Christian. You can read previous blog post mentioning it here.  A few of you guys may also know my family isn't going through the best of times- Right now, I can't say what it is but, trust me. It's not good. So, my mom wanted to visit a Hindu Temple. Why? Well, if you didn't figure out we're Malaysian. To be more specific, my mom is Malaysian coming from Indian and Chinese descent. So, that means I'm 25% Malaysian-Indian. And ALL my ancestors were mainly either Buddhist, or Hindu. My mom practiced both religions before coming to the U.S. And we still celebrate Diwali, hold some Buddhist beliefs and stuff since, it's part of our culture! A lot of you devout Christians might not think it's okay-that's fine. But, my family is cool with it- probably becuz we're multi-national and we accept all kinds of cultures. Tho, if you ain't okay with it, I suggest you visit another website. :)


Sorry for intro.^^ Now let's get into the actual thing! Shall we?

Now, I visited a Buddhist temple in Malaysia when I was like nine, so I had NO IDEA what the heck I was doing and I think I just ended up playing outside in the gardens while a monk helped JUST my mom with her prayers. But, the Hindu Temple I visited was different.

There were surprisingly quite a few American people, a few Indian families too- cuz we visited on a Sunday. (Usually more people come to pray on Fridays and Saturdays). And we visited with the entire fam: dad and dongsaeng somehow came along too- and the priest was like very helpful and friendly! He lets everyone pray regardless of your religion! <<< That's how it should be!

Here's a pic of the temple we visited. Can't say which one-cuz don't want y'all stalking me! But, it's in the U.S. ;)

Disclaimer: I was too shy to take pics so, I'm basically stealing these off the internet. Not all are pics of the temple I visited! So, sorry if I use your picture without you're permission! But, I boosted the saturation and brightness tho. So, MUAHAHAHA.

Anyways, when you enter first thing you do is take off your shoes. I'm serious. They have shoe racks for you to place your shoes in at the entrance.

Kinda like the picture above.^^ Hehe, told ya so.

And then basically, we walked up a flight of stairs to a room leading to another room. Does that make sense? In the first room there was this dude behind a counter. Prayer music filled up the entire space. And you start to relax a bit. At least I did. Dongsaeng was a bit scared. The dude behind the counter turned out to be one of the main priests! He said to feel free to walk around and visit the Gods and then comeback. I was a bit confused. Umm... my ma just told you our problems, aren't you going to help? Nonetheless we did what he said. We thought the place was closed at first cuz there was barely any cars....... So, we were just glad the place was open.

So, the room that the other room led into was the room where the statues of Gods were. I think they're called murtis- and the were in these little "houses".

Dongsaeng: "Noona! Why are there soooo many Gods?"
Me: "Well, Hinduism is a religion were they believe in many different Gods."
Dongsaeng: "Oooohhh. But, why are there so many?"
Me: "Different Gods just resemble different things."
Dongsaeng: "Oh. I don't get it."

Little brothers...... He's so innocent for his age it cracks me up. XD

Anyways, below is a picture I found of the temple we visited.


Hehe. Had to cover up Uncles. ^^
Most temples I heard won't be as nice and clean as the one I visited so I'm very fortunate that I could visit this temple.

We started by praying to the center God. (I think there was suppose to be a specific order but we really didn't pay that much attention and the priest didn't object soo..)

Okay there's a few ways you can pray.
I mainly prayed in what I call the "Namaste" pose. See below. (Sorry if there's an actual term and I just butchered it)

You can also sit criss cross apple sauce and pray.


And if you're really brave you can bow on your knees. Some people even lay completely flat on their stomach!

A little while after we visited all the statues (there were more on the sides of the room) the priest showed up and led us to the main statue again. He went inside the "house" and started chanting for us. I didn't understand a thing he was saying but, it was still peaceful. He then took a bowl of flowers and had each of my family members recite our names and touch the bowl and he took the bowl to the "Lord". He also poured a bit of Holy water into our hands and let us drink. Tasted like water but.... more Holy? He began to chant more in between each event. He then took a kind of candle out in front of each of us. You wrap your hands around the light and bring it back to wrap around your head. We repeated the candle thing three times. Now, we were doing a special prayer for our family's problem. So, we got a one on one with the priest. Next time I go is probably an actual "service".

I think it's actually called a lamp tray.^^

And to finish it off the priest gave us each a banana and trail mix and said "God Bless You."

That concludes my first visit! It was very interesting and peaceful. I think we had a really good priest. My favorite thing he said was, "There is only one god in our universe, he speaks all the languages. Different people just have different ways of viewing him."<< Such a chill dude!

Okay, to answer future questions: NO. I AM NOT CONVERTING.
I was just visiting.  I think it's okay to visit every once in a while. And Hinduism is a very open and accepting religion so anyone may visit. Anyways, I guess that concludes this blog. So, yeah.
xoxo,
         Naeun
insta: simplyne19
YouTube: Naeun Lee
For business inquires ONLY: xoxo.naeun118@gmail.com