New Hairstyle

So I created a cute new hairstyle today. I was trying to do something else, but I really liked how this turned out. It incorporates two of this fall's hair trends: braids and blunt bangs (fringe). I'll try to find time for a tutorial, though you may be able to figure it out by just looking at it:















Basically, you do a french braid from the left side of the head to the bottom right, then tie off the end, twist it under, and pull it through the braid. Pin it in place with some bobby pins and you're done! (I styled the bangs by flat ironing them and brushing them into place.)

Tamagoyaki

Alright. A BIG request that I get is for tamago. So I've finally put together a tutorial on how to make tamagoyaki, the kind of eggs that you see at the sushi bars. There will be more cooking tutorials to come, so keep checking in, or follow this blog to get updates.

Here, you see me make the traditional version, with a rectangular pan. You can use a regular circular pan, but it won't quite look the same.

Things you'll need:
a pan (buy one here)
oil for the pan (with optional brush)
4 eggs
mixing bowl
1 Tbls. mirin: sweet rice wine
~1/4 tsp salt
~ 1 tsp soy sauce (amount depends on your taste)
1/2 cup water
dashi stock (called hondashi, see picture on right)

The great thing about tamagoyaki is that you can add ingredients between the layers to make omelets. Below is one of my bento boxes with a spinach tamagoyaki:


Doesn't that make you hungry? Well, I hope you give this recipe a try. Check out the video, and if you need assistance, there's a chat box on the right side of this blog! Till next time: TTFN!

Bright Eyes: How to look like you rested well, even if you didn't

So, sometimes we just don't get enough sleep. Maybe we were up studying, maybe updating our blog, maybe partying, maybe you just couldn't sleep. Everyone has their reasons. So you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and realize you look terrible. You also just remembered that today you're supposed to meet with your boss, or you have class with that cute guy, or you're meeting your boyfriend's parents. First impression is everything. Well, here is a makeup look that will brighten the eye area without looking over-the-top. This is not a dramatic look. You can make it dramatic if you add more makeup, but as it's presented here, it's meant to look natural.

OK, so first off, always begin with a good skin care regimen. You need a clean slate. Since you're waking up in the morning, you should have already washed you face last night, but you need to wash it in the morning too. A freshly washed face will have a fresher appearance. I use Exuviance products. I love them. A skin care regimen should include the following:

• Cleanser: I have an antibacterial cleanser that I use at night to kill any bacteria that may infect my pores while I sleep. I have a gentle, almost lotion-like cleanser for the morning to add extra moisture to my skin to give it a supple feel. When cleansing, start with WARM water, not HOT. The warm water will open your pores and allow the cleanser to do it's job. After rinsing off your cleanser, make a final rinse in cool water. This will close your pores back up and closed pores create a smoother skin surface.
  

• Toner: This adds moisture to your face underneath the moisturizer and tones the skin. For best results, apply it while your face is still damp from towel blotting to hold in more moisture.

• Moisturizer: Again, you should have 2: one for night and one for day. The daytime should have SPF protection. The nightime one should have plenty of restorative elements like amino acids, polyhydroxy acids, etc.

• Eye Cream: Regular moisturizre is too heavy for the delicate area under your eyes. I use an uplifting formula to help reduce puffiness and wrinkles.

• I have a few other skin care items that I use only occasionally: blemish medication, anti-wrinkle serum, a peel-off mask to exfoliate and a bionic tonice to awaken the skin.

Now that that's established, the next step is foundation. Foundation will even out the skin tone and give your skin a velvety-smooth appearance. All my makeup is mineral makeup from either Bare Minerals or Everyday Minerals. Use what you prefer. Apply foundation all over the face.

I then take a mixture of a lighter foundation (one shade lighter than my real foundation) and mix it with a highlighting powder and apply it under the eyes. This really brightens that area up. I don't make it a habit of buying two shades of foundation, however, Everyday Minerals offers free samples of their makeup, so I ordered a sample size of a lighter foundation, since I won't use it that much.

Now for blush. For a flushed, rested look, I use a nice rosy color with just a little light-carrying shimmer. This will also lighten the face. Apply to the apples of your cheeks and blend out. You'll begin to see a healthy glow.

The eyes are the most important part of this look. It's the first thing people notice. Eyes are the window to the soul. To brighten up the eyes and make them look wide open, I use a white eye shadow and apply it to the wet of the eye on the lower lid. Do this carefully! Eyes are delicate. You could use eyeliner, but I like the effect of the powder because some of it will fall between the lashes and make a glow under and behind the bottom lashes that adds a little more reflection. I also like to highlight the brow bones. The lid color can be anything you want.

I then apply a finishing powder to set everything in place and give it that flawless look. Do this before applying mascara. Otherwise, you'll end up with white dust stuck to your lashes.

Apply mascara. I use black. Start at the base of the lashes and wiggle left and right as you move to the tip of the lashes. Cover the bottom lashes well. The more pronounced your bottom lashes are, the more wide-eyed you will look.

Lastly, apply some lip gloss in a natural color and your good to go!

Enjoy your refreshed look! My philosophy is "fake it till you feel it!"

How to fake a bob

This video was a request from a friend of mine. I know that sometimes I just want a different look, and so I'm often tempted to cut my hair. But then I don't want to go through the pain of growing back out. With the help of Johnny Lavoy from Ford Models, I've found out how to get the best of both worlds! Enjoy!!!

Anime Hair

So, I was watching one of reiberry's youtube videos, and she has this adorable hairstyle. I decided I wanted to try it, but I couldn't figure out how to make the buns big enough with such a small amount of hair. So I was searching pursebuzz's youtube videos and found a tutorial. I think it turned out really cute. Too bad I missed out on this years anime convention. It was this past weekend. Maybe I'll get brave enough to wear it too school. I think it turned out well.

For those of you who don't know who Reiberry is, she has alot of great tutorials and tips on the web. I have a link to her blog. Pursebuzz is the same, great hairstyles and great makeup tips. Check them out!

Artist's Log

I am a HUGE lover of Prismacolor. One thing I say to anyone who's serious about doing art, even if it's only for personal pleasure, buy the good stuff! And Prismacolor qualifies as "the good stuff."

I've had the 120 set of the think art pencils for years, since high school. I love them! I even have 12 discontinued colors, plus the 24 newly released colors. That's alot of pencils, and they are a dream to use. However, one problem I always had was doing detail. The thick art pencils have very soft leads, which makes them great for blending, but not so great when your looking for a point. So, I heard that these Verithin pencils are just the compliment to your set. So I ordered some from Cheap Joe's Art Supply online. After they arrived, I sat down to use them. I took the black pencil and sharpened it to a point and attempted to do some detail work. Well, my honest opinion is that I'd rather repeatedly sharpen the soft ones again and again than use the verithins. Maybe I'm just not used to them, but they don't flow well for me. I'll keep trying and hopefully I'll get the hang of it. Here's the pic that I drew:

Winter's coming. Protect your face from dry cold (and dry heat indoors)

I purchased (from Ichiban Kan), a facial mask of royal jelly a while back. It's called the Sana Ho-Jun-Ki Essence Facial Mask. So what you do is wash your face. Then take the pouch with a cloth mask in it covered in royal jelly, and open it very carefully, otherwise you'll spill royal jelly. You then place the mask on your face, and leave it on for 10-20 mins. I like to lie down during this time. The coolness of the mask is very relaxing. After you remove the mask, you put on toner and moisturizer and eye cream, as should be your skin care routine.


The first time I tried this mask, I didn't like it. My face felt like it was always sweaty, but that was the humid summer. Now, as the air is cooling, skin needs an extra pick me up. The great thing about this mask is that you feel the benefits for days. Even after multiple washings (day and night) the skin still feels supple, smooth, and well moisturized. It really feels alot like a baby's face.

For those who don't know, royal jelly is fed to the bees that are meant to become queens. Other bee larva eat it too, but larva destined to become queen are fed royal jelly exclusivley. Now, why in the world do I want bee food on my face? Well, it contains tons of amino acids, fatty acids, and water. All the things the skin loves to soak up to maintain a healthy glow. I encourage you to try this product for yourself. Especially if you have dry skin.

cooking quick

So I got back from the lab at 9:30 this evening, and I was hungry. So here's a tip to all of you who need/want to cook, but don't have time for long elaborate meals: Being a Filipino household, RICE is a huge part of our diet. So, we always have cooked rice laying around in the fridge. Fried rice is one of the fastest, yummiest, and semi-healthy foods you can cook. How to make it quick though? Well, at my favorite online store www.ichibankanusa.com, they sell Nagatanien fried rice mixes: Shrimp (shown below), crab, salmon, etc. They have super easy instructions, and if you just add some frozen mixed veggies, you'll have dinner in 10 minutes, and enough to pack for lunch the next day! And it tastes great too!

Intro

Hello. So I've decided to follow the rest of my generation and start a blog. Why? Well, I often get questions from friends and family, and it dawned on me: Why not share my experiences with others? I know I've benefited from other people's wisdom. Maybe someone will benefit from mine. So what kind of knowledge am I talking about? Well, for instance: "Colleen, your lunches are so cute! How do you make those bear-shaped eggs? They are too cute!" or "How did you do that hairstyle?" or "How did you make that rice ball?" or "How did you do your makeup?" and other such stuff. Hence the name of the blog: Realm of Random Ramblings. I'll talk about anything, or maybe nothing. And why "REALM" you say? Well, it has to do with my current last name, and my maiden name, both of which relate to royalty. No, I'm not royalty, but the origins of my two last names are royal...so anyhow. I guess the first thing I will do is fulfill my friend Tracy's request on "How did you do your hair? It's driving me crazy!!!" So, that'll be up on Youtube and linked here as soon as I do it. Alright then, I guess that's it for now...TTFN!