Island Kine: Feather earrings, headbands, necklaces

Hello Everyone,

Feathers and more feathers everywhere!!!

I just had an early dinner today with my friend Samantha who is very artistic and crafty. She has started making her own feather earrings two months ago and her business is taking off. I am so proud of her. It's kinda interesting how we met.... she used to work at MAC and I would always go to her to buy my products.... that tells you how much I love makeup.

During our dinner, I asked her how she got inspired to start this business. She said her mom always make her costumes with exotic feathers for her Polynesian dance performances and to keep her memory alive, she wants to continue creating beautiful feather works through the jewelry pieces that I will be showing you below.

Remember: All the pieces that she designed are handcrafted, unique, and one of a kind.

Her company is called Island Kine. You can find this on Facebook with all her contact information. I enjoy supporting small family businesses and people who are passionate in what they do.

I want to show you who the creator is behind these beautiful pieces.

If you like her products, please "like" her business on FB.

The feathers that she use are soft, not like the ones from Claire's. I learned something new today from her about the different types of feathers that she uses such as saddle, hackle, and pheasant.

The price of her earrings range from $10- $60 depending on how complicated it is and the quality of the feathers. Here are some of the her work:

Love these colors!

Nice mix of metal and feather

Here are them on:

This is an earring with a necklace together. How creative is this?!!!!

I also bought two pairs of feather earrings from her and I told her I want another pair with FALL colors.
Here are the two earrings I got:

You can wear it different ways. This is one way:

and here is the other way: If you want it longer, you can hook the other earring on the chain together with the other one

Second pair are my white angel wings

She also makes feather hippie headbands too!

I can't wait to get my FALL color feather earrings.

Have a nice night!

<3 <3 <3

OOTD: Black and Gray Maxi Dress

Hello Everyone,

I know it's back to school for most people and summer season is almost over, but I do want to take advantage of the nice, hot summer days before fall/winter comes along. Most of you know that fall/winter are my FAVORITE time of the year because it's all about layering. Anyways, recently I have been obsessing over maxi dresses.

Here is one of my favorite from Go-Jeans (Black and Gray Maxi Dress) - XS ($39.00)

Even though I am only 5'1" I still like to wear long dresses. It's NOT TRUE that long dresses only looks good on tall people. 

If you are petite like me, make sure you get a dress that is form fitting to make your body look elongated.  

With a simple dress, I love to add a statement jewelry

The turtle pendant jewelry is from Forever 21: $5.80

With this outfit, I have on my military style jacket from Rich and Skinny. This was the jacket I was talking about getting from my previous blog and I finally got it on sale!!! The jacket has a stretchable material that makes it really comfortable to wear. My go-to jacket for summer and fall.

Then for shoes, I bought this 2 years ago from Victoria's Secret by Colin Stuart
They are comfortable, but after wearing them for 3 hours, the thong starts to rub between your big toe and your second toe which can cause a bit of irritation around that area.

For my hair,  I used a flat iron to straighten the back and for the front, I flipped some of my bangs outward to create a soft wave.

My turtle necklace

Here is the outfit on:

Luvsugarcookie's Business Cards!!!

Hello Everyone,

I am super excited that my business cards have finally arrived. They look great just the way I pictured it. I ordered the cards through an online website called moo.com. Trust me, these cards are one of the best quality I have seen. The boxes that they come in are very sturdy and can be carried around in your bag.

I don't know if this is visible enough to be seen here, but when you open the box, there are two dividers. One is labeled "mine" and the other one is labeled "theirs." How cute is that?

(Sorry, the lighting is so bad today)

Down below is a small description about the company. I like that the company uses paper from sustainable forests and recyclable materials.

So, I told myself if I am going to order some business cards, I want it to be special. To order a business card, there is a lot of thought process to it because you need to decide on the type of paper stock you want, color, border, round or sharp corners, simple or complex, it all represents who you are. I know for sure I want to keep the card simple but at the same time to show off some of my work.

For the front, I want a white background and to have my information look very clean and readable. My card is made from Moo Classic Paper. It is a heavy card with a silky finish and round corners.
Photographer: Ryan Chua
Model: Maxime Kumler

The cards look so much better than the pictures I am able to display on here.

For the back, I just want another makeup work that I have done recently so I went with a darker and smokey eye look.
Photographer: Ryan Chua
Model: Danielle Lo

So, for those who are looking for nice quality cards, this is a website to check out. It is a bit expensive than other sites, but order a few and see how you like it. I personally feel the card says a lot about a person and the type of work they put in.

Have a great weekend!

<3 <3 <3

August Birchbox Review

Hello Everyone,

My birchbox is here!!! No special designs on the box this time.

Sometimes little things like this just brightens up my day. For the month of August it is all about beauty innovations. Their definition of innovation are products that will help solve a lot of the common beauty issues. My definition of innovation is to be able to try the latest beauty products out there..... I was a bit disappointed with what's in my box, so I went online to check out what other products were part of the August birchbox that I didn't get. I saw so many nice products on their website for August such as the Anastasia Line Erasing Cream, Jouer moisturizing lip gloss, Stila eyshadow pans in compact, etc.. =(

At first I wasn't too excited to try the products I got, but once I did try some of the products in there... I start to like it more.

Here is what I have in my birchbox:
Pangea Organics- Cleanser for combination to oily skin. It's nice that they know I have combination to oily skin..... I think that was one of the questions that I put down when I first signed up.
I've used other products from this line before and they all have been great. Most of their products are all-natural so it doesn't make me feel like I am putting a lot of chemicals on my face.

It contains "Australian wild plum, willow herbs, yucca extracts, and a drizzle of honey to boost the antibacterial power." The only thing that I would say about this is it is very fragrant so if you are a person who doesn't like scents, then this is not for you.

Wei Tibetan Chrysanthemum Correcting Eye Treatment Pads
This helps diminish the appearance of puffiness and makes your eyes look well-rested.
Taking care of the most sensitive skin on your face which is around the eyes is very important because that is where you can give away your age. It contains Tibetan chrysanthemum, soy, raspberry, green tea leaf extracts, seaweed, and peppermint.
My take on this is it's definitely a luxury item to have, but I don't think I will be buying unless I have the money. I can see this being a good present for my mom.

What's inside this little package?

More goodies to try.

Carol's Daughter- Monoi Repairing Hair Mask. This product helps revive dull or dry strands which I have a lot of. Come to think..... I haven't had a haircut since the last time I blogged about it. It was in March.... 6 months ago!!!! That is why I need this hair mask. After using this sample size hair mask, I can feel how soft my hair is and I miss that feeling. Another thing I really like about this product is it makes your hair smell really good. Even after 2 days, my hair still smells good. Most scents from shampoos/conditioners only last about a day at the most. Why couldn't this be cheaper? I would use it again if it wasn't for the price. LOVE it!

The next thing in the box is the Blinc eyeliner. "Brush it on.... Slide it off!" really is true. Most mascaras come off messy even if you wipe it off twice it is still there. I have tested this eyeliner out for a day and I don't feel like it fade, smudge, or flake. However, I prefer a felt tip over a brush. The one that comes in this sample is a brush and I feel like it grabs a lot of products which takes longer to dry. But once it dries, it's great and so so easy to take off. I am hoping to find a drugstore product that does the same.

The last thing in this box is a Twistband Hair Tie. I can always use more hair ties because I lose them so fast. The material of this hair tie is soft, but other than that it's ok. It's supposed to look good in your hair and on your wrist because of the extra knot. What I gravitate to is the soft elastic material, not the necessarily the knot.... it doesn't make a difference to me.

Well, that's it for my August Birchbox.
Now, waiting for my September birchbox to come.

<3 <3 <3

OOTN: Purple Floral Dress with Laguna Blue Venetian Glass Bib Necklace

Hello Everyone,

My outfit of the night for the project ethos SF is simple and vibrant. I was in a phase of wanting to wear something colorful. As I open my closet, the first thing that popped out is the pretty purple dress and that was the end of story.

The purple floral dress is from Forever 21: $19.80 (comes with the belt)

Even though the dress is colorful on its on, I want more color!!! Yeah, like I said, I was feeling colorful that night. Sometimes it's not good to overdo it, but not tonight. I paired the dress with this beautiful laguna blue Venetian glass bib necklace from Angelica D'Marco. Her jewelries are so unique and make big statement. $36

Then I finished this outfit with a nice navy blue blazer from Heritage 81: $28.90. Blazers are a must have essential in your closet. It is very versatile and be worn to work, casually, or for a nice evening out.

With this jacket, I like the fold up sleeves to show off the polka dot linings on the inside. I always pay attention to details and that is what helps me make my decision to buy or not.

For shoes, I went very casual with just some comfortable black leather pumps from Ann Taylor. I am a bit embarrass to show them because they are not in great condition due to so much wear and tear.

For my hair, I just quickly curl them with a curling rod and brushed them through with my fingers.

Here is the outfit on:

Night!
<3 <3 <3