Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog: April 2014

30 April, 2014

Weekly Poll: Cactaceae, Dreams, and How to Succeed in Business

Happy end-of-the-month, everybody! Has April 2014 been everything you could have hoped for and more?


Today's poll post will probably be sort of weird because it was inspired by a bout of inner conflict. Do you ever have moments when you wake up and basically realize that you have no idea why the hell you're doing what you're doing? It happens to me sometimes. (And no, that's not the poll question.)

I think this is probably a natural symptom of getting older. When you're really young it seems like every single insane idea you have about the shape your life could take is actually a possibility. Time goes by and you forget about some of those things, but then occasionally you'll wake up from a dream in a cold sweat and be like "OH MY GOD, I NEVER FINISHED THAT COMIC STRIP ABOUT THE ANTHROPOMORPHIC CACTUS!!!" Or whatever. That's been my experience, at least.

Anyway, all this contemplation led me to think of this week's poll question...

If you had to start your own small business (or side business) right now, what would it be? It doesn't have to be realistic. Bonus points if you can come up with a name for it.


Putting aside the obvious choice of Freelance Astronaut Agency, I think it would be really interesting to develop and design games. Of course I have really mediocre artistic skills and basically no programming skills, so I don't think that's actually going to happen. Since this is a fantasy anyway, I guess I might as well make my business a hybrid games design/Elvis impersonator training school/bespoke nut milk bag business, because why not? I'm still not sure what I'd name such a venture, but it would probably have to do with cacti. If I dreamt about a cactus then why shouldn't it be representative of my Dreams?

PS The supple succulent pictured above is Cleistocactus Winteri, in case anyone was wondering. I took the photo at Kew Gardens in London, in case anyone wants to feast their eyes upon the same cactus I once spent an afternoon pondering.

29 April, 2014

Review: LANEIGE Multi Cleanser (now available at Target)

Affiliate Links Press Sample

Are there any avid double-cleansers out there reading? If so, this post may be of interest to you.

LANEIGE Multi Cleanser ingredients

For those not familiar with the process, double cleansing basically just means using two cleansers (usually one oil-based and one foamy or milky cleanser) to better remove makeup, sunscreen, and excess face grime at the end of the day. Since double cleansing is a very common concept amongst Korean brands, I was intrigued when I read the product description for the LANIEGE Multi Cleanser, which suggests that this product can effectively remove makeup in one go.

Want to know if it works? Let's find out...

25 April, 2014

Indie Friday: Darling Clandestine #3 - Scents of Summer

Bought It

Insert "I can't believe it's already Friday"cliché here. But really, where did this week go?

3 Darling Clandestine fragrance oils bitsy bitsies vials Carny Wedding, Harpy, and BĂȘte Noire.

For this week's Indie Friday I thought I'd talk about a few of the "summer" scents that just popped up in the Darling Clandestine shop. I realize I've been talking a lot about indie perfumes lately, but since some of them are seasonal or limited edition I wanted to mention them while you can still buy them. Makes sense, right?

23 April, 2014

Weekly Poll: What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

It's Wednesday and I'm eating cold, leftover soup for lunch. That seems appropriate somehow. Which brings me to my question of the week...


Do you know how to cook? If so, what's the dish you're most confident in making? If not, what do you wish you could make easily?


I know how to make a lot of different stuff, but one thing that never seems to fail is lentil soup - I've yet to meet a single person who didn't like it. Not that exciting, but a crowd-pleaser for sure. This was on my mind because I was showing my boyfriend how I make it yesterday - his somehow came out a totally different color than mine usually does, but it still tasted good, so high fives for him.

If I had to choose something I didn't already know how to make, I'd say an angel food cake without eggs. For a long time I didn't think that was possible, but then I read this blog post about making meringue with flax - mind blown.

18 April, 2014

Indie Friday: Nic Cage Fragrance Oil + a story (sort of)

Bought It

Today's Indie Friday post is going to be short and sweet, or more accurately, short and manly. Unlike Nicolas Cage, who stands at a reasonably statuesque six feet.


I bought the Nic Cage Raking Leaves On A Brisk October Afternoon fragrance oil (by OHWTO) that you see above ages ago, forgot I had it for a while, then recently rediscovered it in my pile of smelly treasures. Whether or not you like Nic Cage (or memes involving Nic Cage) this is actually a nice fragrance, so I thought I'd write a little bit about it.

16 April, 2014

Weekly Poll: Nailed It

Happy Wednesday everybody! Hope your week is going well so far, and that if you've been having cold rain showers (like we did yesterday here) they haven't been ruining too many of your spring flowers.


Today's question is for anyone who has ever worn nail polish and is fairly simple:

What's on your nails right now? Or if they're bare, what do you wish was on them?

My nails are not bare thanks to a heavily chipped application of ELF "Raspberry Sorbet" polish, but I'm thinking I ought to repaint them later tonight. Maybe with the color I just got in my Birchbox.

How about you? What are your nail realities and/or fantasies?

15 April, 2014

Review: TONYMOLY Backstage Gel Eyeliner (black)

Affiliate Links Bought It

I have a confession to make: I own a gazillion eyeliners, but 90% of the time I just use the same one (Wet n Wild black Megaliner, in case anyone's curious). My favorite eyeliner has remained as such for a long time because it's cheap and very pigmented, but there is one little problem - it's not waterproof. Not a big deal for everyday wear, but I'm still searching for an awesome waterproof black eyeliner to wear whilst scuba diving. (Or going out in the rain. You guess which scenario is more accurate.)


I read some good reviews of TonyMoly Backstage Gel liner around Ye Olde Internette, so I decided to give the black one try and test it's scubabilities. Will it survive a deep sea dive (in my kitchen sink)? Keep reading to find out...

14 April, 2014

My Weird Wishlist: Beauty... IN SPACE!!!

Affiliate Links

Happy OH CRAP TAXES ARE DUE day, everyone! Will you be getting a refund? I'm getting a small one so naturally I've started to think about all the interesting things I could purchase with it.


Today I thought I'd share a few interesting beauty items I've come across recently that all have something in common: They're out of this world! Get it? Har har. (Someone stop me now, please. Think of the children.) Do you have a tax refund burning a hole in your virtual pocket too? Well, here are some spending suggestions for you. You're welcome.

11 April, 2014

Indie Friday: Ginger's Wild Handmade Soaps

PR Sample

Happy weekend, everybody! For this week's Indie Friday, I'm pleased to be featuring some bathtime treats from a company based right here in Brooklyn: Ginger's Wild!

ginger's wild soap co. etsy

10 April, 2014

Crazy Rumors Lip Balm Review + Cheap Deal Scenarios

Affiliate Links PR Samples

OK lip balm addicts, listen up. This post is for you. Today I'll be sharing a couple of mini reviews of Crazy Rumors' awesome lip balm (reg. $3.49-$4.99 each), plus a couple of deal scenarios so you can stock up on the cheap. Why is it awesome, you ask? Well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out!


08 April, 2014

Review: LANEIGE Water Bank Serum & Water Bank Moisture Cream

Affiliate Links PR Samples

I was excited when I found out that the LANEIGE Water Bank Serum (aka "essence") and Moisture Cream were to be among the products hitting the shelves at Target, because I had previously purchased them from Korea and really liked them. I never reviewed them though because... I don't know why, actually. How about we do that today?

Review of LANEIGE Water Bank Serum/Essence and LANEIGE Water Bank Moisture Cream

04 April, 2014

BRB - Here are some amusements in the meantime

I have to go out of town and I'm not sure if I'll have reliable internet access where I'm going, so this space will be quiet for the next couple of days. Also, my LANEIGE giveaway ends tomorrow night at the stroke of midnight, so don't forget to get those final bonus entries in! I'll be picking the winner when I get back on Sunday or Monday.

This creepy giraffe lives in my neighborhood. Why does he have a tophat?!

I know my absence will leave an ENORMOUS void in your internet lives (cough), so here are a few amusing things I think you should look at in the meantime:


Conan O'Brien Becomes A Mary Kay Beauty Consultant
I'm sure all the independent beauty consultants/beauty bloggers out there could learn a lot from this video.

DOGE2048
Did you get addicted to 2048, but find yourself wishing that there was a version with more Shiba Inus? Well here ya go.

Metal Cats - Hardcore Metal Musicians Pose With Their Cats
Exactly what it sounds like. Awesome photo series.

What's on the menu?
A collection of digitized historical menus from the New York Public Library.

Why You Should Never, Ever, Ever Get A Tattoo (but Having a Baby is Fine)
A piece for anyone whose parents have ever hassled them about contemplating a tattoo, then turned around and said "WHERE'S MY GRANDCHILD?!"


See y'all later.

02 April, 2014

Review: Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer

Affiliate Links Bought It

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer, you sneaky trickster. I'm sure a lot of you out there reading have already seen this since it was one of the picks for the March Ipsy bag. I've seen mixed reviews of this product, but I think it might actually be my favorite thing from the bag. Why? Because REASONS. OK, I'll elaborate a bit.

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer review