Beauty or Nah: Holy Grail Mascara

Hello beauty lovers! In case you may not know me, I am a huge mascara junkie. I’m always wearing a lot of mascara and trying out new products, in search of my holy, go-to mascara. Recently, I tested the L’Oreal Paris Telescopic Mascara.

Long Story Short: The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was another library pick up. After seeing many recommendations for it in my local bookstores, when I saw it while at the library, I knew that it was time. And now that I’ve finished, I desperately need to own a copy for myself.

Fashion Soup For the Sartorial Soul: Saturated Summer #6 (Pink)

I used to have a strong love/hate relationship with the pink (let it be noted that this does not include the singer of the same name). Thanks to an unnecessary and baseless gender norm, most barbies, games, clothes and books that were marketed specifically towards girls managed to incorporate this stereotypically feminine hue in some fashion. When I finally became old enough to know better, I rejected the color –– along with its clichés –– and proudly flaunted my affinity to (literally) cooler, “boy” colors like blue and green (because I was so “quirky” and “different” –– and totally not like the “other” girls).

Anime At Its Finest: Blast of Tempest

“Everything happens for a reason. The daily tragedies and misfortunes are all meaningful events, leading toward an ideal conclusion. With that in mind, there probably isn’t really any meaningless misfortune.” –Fuwa Aika

What Was I Thinking?: Billboard #1s of My Youth

What Was I Thinking? is a column which attempts to retrace the musical past of Glenn Jackson, a Bay Area-based writer, critic, and genuine music nerd. As the column is done in conjunction with Sunset Media Wave—a San Francisco-based program for teen bloggers—it seems only fitting that this particular corner of the internet be used as a means to explore my (that is, Glenn Jackson’s) own teenage musical past…for better or worse. With that in mind, the third installment of What Was I Thinking? will take a look at the Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 charts from 2001 – 2004, specifically taking a long hard look at what were ultimately deemed the #1 hits from each year I spent as a bespectacled high school student.

Fashion Soup for the Sartorial Soul: Saturated Summer #5 (Orange)

Orange you glad I didn’t begin “Saturated Summer” with a overdone pun on this week’s color? Okay maybe I spoke too soon, but hey –– my strong suit is writing, not foreshadowing! To be quite honest, I suspected that orange was going to be the most difficult post to complete. But surprisingly, here we were in week five with a fully finished photo set (I even had extras to choose from!). Despite my past abhorrence of warm tones and colors (if you follow my Instagram, you know what I mean), I actually enjoyed collecting these images! This installment made me realize that while I may loathe some aspects of this hue –– I blame my pesky allergy to the citrus fruit of the same name –– orange also defines so many things I love. Take for example my favorite fruit –– peaches –– or salmon, my ultimately favorite protein (everyone ranks their preferred meats, right?). Hell, even my most binged watched TV obsession, Orange Is the New Black, includes this color. So I suppose I have to thank this series for breaking me out of my petty partiality to the cooler tones of life. And while you may never see me turn up the temperature on any of my future pictures on social media, lets just all enjoy this change of pace while it lasts.

Here’s the Dish: Taking on Barista in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

As some of you may or may not know, I embarked on a trip to Matagalpa, Nicaragua for 19 days at the beginning of June through a program called Global Glimpse. I initially feared that I would be separated from my beloved coffee shops during my trip, but I quickly recuperated when I found out there was a coffee shop a block away from the hostel I was staying at.

G.I.F.T : The Second Installment – Unwholly (with recap on the first installment – Unwind)

I’d like to make this out for those of you who are safe and sound in the comfort of your families and not going AWOL from the cops (you lucky son of a dog)

Tap Away: Introduction

Mobile game development is a complicated topic and staring at gigantic blocks of code doesn’t really help. We all know that the technology industry is growing by the day and will probably continue to expand. The demand for developers is high, so it is never too early to learn how to program. In Tap Away, I will show step-by-step the process of making a mobile game, the easy way. You will see what is really going on behind the curtain of game design and more importantly, learn to program.