John Cho look-alike?

Hiya guys! You guys doing alright? I'm kind of okay, if you're wondering... just excited that I'll be going back home to Indonesia for christmas later on the 13th of December. I'm going alone though, my brother is staying in London for a project. Maybe I'll stay behind next year, it's getting cold nowadays.

So, just now I was in a live music workshop organised by the live music society that my friends (H & M, as well as another called V) are in. I was curious about the society so I decided to tag along, and I'm not disappointed. Because it's a workshop, we did vocal warm-ups, harmonisation and such. Some people step up to sing something they prepared and then we gave our opinions about it. It was really helpful, I mostly kept to myself because it was my first time but I really enjoyed it. There was this girl who sang Eponine's On My Own and she was AMAZING! After she sang the pianist (the organiser for the workshop) gave his opinion and some of the participants did as well, about emotions or how the interpretation of the lyrics and things. It was out of my depth, but hey I'm learning as I go along. The same girl told us that she's going to go for an audition, I really do hope she get the part, she's amazing. Her presence is a bit of like a 'BOOM' thing, so I hope she does great in her audition.

And one thing that amazes me, as you can see from my title, is that there is this guy who really looks like John Cho it's not funny. I kept trying to get a clear look at him from the corner of my eyes and my brain keep telling me that he really really looks like John Cho, it's like his doppelgänger. I have my suspicion that he might really be John Cho, but there is no way he'll be in a workshop like this... right? Still, it was mind-blowing to see how similar this guy is. I forgot his name when he introduced himself... was he even there when we started introducing ourself? The guy left early though, so that's it.

This live music workshop is really amazing, but the piano guy said this is the last free workshop. Next time we'll be charged £3 for members and £5 for non-members. If there is a workshop each week, I'll be broke. But I really like this live music society, especially considering the gig they have in UCL's Print Room Cafe before the workshop. I think I'll join them, I'll talk to my friends because they haven't even paid the memberships themselves.

What is my life

So, just wanting to tell you guys a story that happened to me on Monday and then today that relates to each other. It starts with something that I have been hiding from all my friends and family, which is the fact that I own a soundcloud account and I used to upload covers. For your information, I did that because I was bored and covering songs were in at that time and I feel like doing it.

Let me give you a rough dialogue of what happened on Monday. This happened on the morning class (9-11am) and we were having a 10-minute break. My friends who were sitting at both of my sides started talking to each other, which is why I leaned back so they could talk. This is what they talked about while I was trying to not fall asleep in the morning.
A    : "Hey, H! Did you know that there's someone named Janet on Soundcloud?"
H    : "Really?"
Me  : (I was trying to act cool, but my heart did skipped a beat. I ignored them thinking that I really shouldn't flatter myself)
A    : "I heard she's a student in UCL as well!"
H    : "Oh yeah, I heard of her!"
Me  : "... fuck" (this is when I realised I'm doomed)
A    : "Her first song was a korean song, wasn't it? And she also sung blackbird!"
H    : "It was good, wasn't it?"
Me  : "..."
Me  : "H-how did you?! HOW?!"
Me  : "Oh fuck it. fuck fuck fuck fuck. That was supposed to be a secret!"
H    : "Why didn't you tell us? It was from last year, since our foundation year! How could you, we've been friends for a year and you didn't tell me about it then!"
Me  : (mind blown, too much thoughts running through, face is heating up)

So basically... they asked me why I never talked about it. Of course I never talked about it, it was embarrassing and was part of my life that I rather bury forever until my death.

And then earlier today...
M   : "Hey, did you receive an email about the workshop for the live music society?"
H    : *goes through her email, joked about how the guy who sends the email might not want her to join because her performance was bad but finally found the email* "Is this one it?"
Me : "The live music society sounds nice, it looks fun... I might be interested, do they still let people join at this time?"
H    : "You should join! You should! You sing!"
Me : "Ssh!"
M   : *she's giving me the stink eye here* "You sing? You sing!? I'll kill you for this!"
H   : "She does, she has a soundcloud!"
Me : *desperately trying to hush H*
M  : "Soundcloud?! I'll kill you, you never told me!"
H   : "She does, it's nice! She sung A Thousand Years!"
M  : "I like that song! Next time we'll do a duet with me on the piano and you singing!"
Me : "No... nonononononononononono"

That's it. My life has officially turned haywire. My secret is out, I am doomed.

Watching The Imitation Game

I'll be watching The Imitation Game with my friends this Friday night. I have to confess that even though I am looking forward to it, I'm not very much keen on going to the cinema because I always feel anxious whenever I am inside the studio. When all lights are off, all I wanted to do is move and not watch the film. This might be anxiety but I just don't feel good sitting too long inside a dark room with lots of people and just sit there doing nothing but watch a film play on the big screen. My fretting isn't going to do me any good, but at least I'm going to meet my friends from when I went to the stage door of Martin Freeman's Richard III play.

I'll probably say my rating of the film and what happened to me when I'm inside. So no spoilers here, because I probably wouldn't want to think about the film anymore because I seethed at the way people think at that time. I still think it's unfair for Alan Turing, poor guy. And also... I'm a bit grumpy about Benedict Cumberbatch because I'm just tired of seeing him everywhere at this point.

My life is dedicated for Martin Freeman, that's that. Also Julie Andrews, Pink, Maggie Smith, Amanda Abbington, Simon Pegg and some other people whom I am not remembering.

Aaaaaaanyways, expect something new to be added here on Saturday!

[Edit 15/11/2014 10:50am]

Well, I did say you're going to see me sooner or later updating this post.
One thing that I must tell you who are going to watch it: brace your hearts, keep tissues on hand. This movie is not for the weak hearted, but I really recommend you watch it if you want to know the tension of war. It's pretty heavy at the end, because of the tension and a really sensitive issue at that time period (homophobia).
One more thing: don't watch it alone. Seriously, if you're going to cry like I did at the end, you'll need hugs. I thank thee friends for hugging me when they saw my tear-stricken, whimpering and sobbing self.

The movie was amazing and the tension was just too much to handle. The tension came from the characters because they're in war and running out of time. Then as the story unfolds, the tension seeps into those who watched the film. In the end I still thought it was unfair to see what had happened to Alan Turing so my heart broke and I cried.

Alan Turing has become someone I give my heart too, it's a shame I've never heard of him until I know about this film. He should be in text books, not just someone who only people studying Computer Science or other computer department knows!

May Alan rest in peace, knowing that he is not forgotten and his legacy still going strong.

Rating: 9/10 
I dub this film as a tear-jerker. I'm voting for this film in the oscar, definitely.
(I'm no professional rater, I don't often go to see films that often, which is never)

So... University.

Well, if you're not interested in my university life, you best turn away now...

To say the truth, my university life is not what I expected. Which is partly because they decided to make us do new subjects, one of them Integrated Engineering where students from different engineering disciplines work together in groups. Usually other universities will start doing laboratories since their first year, but currently in UCL they say that the laboratory is 'being refurbished'. My mentor, a second year student, told me that she's still has her laboratory class and we're supposed to use the same lab... Confused.

My friends has been complaining about the Design and Professional Skills class, because they didn't take our attendance (before they realised a lot of us usually skipped the class and told us they'll be monitoring the attendance). In this class they're teaching us about teamwork, leadership, engineering design, presentation and other things needed for our future professional career. I was trying to be neutral, but it does get boring when the lesson in particular is not very interesting and the teacher is not very engaging.

Now, for maths class. I shouldn't say anything more because most of us might have the same opinion on maths, but I only have one 2-hour lecture and one 2-hour tutorial a week. It's pretty packed... especially when in a lecture there's 300+ students in a room. Each subject, which is mostly taught in more than a week in normal situation, is cramped into a 2-hour lecture. That's a lot to take in in 2 hours. Then there's the business of using MATLAB, they expect us to try the MATLAB on our own or go to one of the MATLAB optional lectures or the help desk. I don't know if they've been using MATLAB for a while or it's new, it's just scary.

Okay, that's it for today.

See y'all later!

Honeypie Minerals #2

My order has finally arrived! *throws confetti*
After placing an order Monday night (3rd Nov), the order was dispatched on 5th Nov... and it arrives just this morning 11 Nov at 11am. It took a while, was a bit worried because I didn't get any dispatched email, but they have arrived! I wonder if Royal Mail is having difficulties...

I've talked about Honeypie Minerals in my previous post. Now I could finally talk about them! I was lucky the package arrived before my shower (hey, I have an afternoon class, don't look at me like that), so I could try it out right away after showering. I've never tried any mineral foundation prior to this one, so I couldn't compare it to anything else.

So, let's talk about the packaging. When I open the mail, the corrector's jar's lid was a bit loose and I was worried but lo behold inside there was a sticker blocking the sifter holes so nothing came out *Phew*. The jar is transparent and the lid is black in colour with the brand name's sticker on it. Not an extravagant packing, very simple, which is a plus for me. The powder and foundation jar also have stickers on them to prevent spillage, another plus.

Now, for the foundation itself, I bought it in the shade Golden Fair. I kind of had a hard time trying to get it out through the shifter (am I doing it the right way?), but when I could finally try it on with my expert face brush, I'm certainly not disappointed. When I look at the mirror, the shade looks a bit pale but there's the window behind me so it might be just the light. My face feels smooth as you could expect after putting on powder, it feels powdery. The cover certainly rivals their liquid counterpart (it does for me). If you're looking for a light foundation, mineral is a way to go. Unfortunately, I could see the little patches I have (I should have wore my moisturiser better). Still, this is a good change for me because I either use BB cream or liquid foundation. Thumbs up!

I also bought the pearlescent powder and green corrector, but I didn't had enough time to wear them properly because I was rushing to campus for lunch before class. Another thing to look forward to then! Just for info: the pearlescent powder can be used for highlighting, setting and giving a bit of a shimmer to your makeup. The green corrector is for redness, blemishes, rosacea, broken capillaries, scars and imperfection.
[edit 12/12/2014] Just tried the green corrector, my impression was: wow, it really does work. When I put on the corrector on, at first it was a bit pale in colour before I started blending them in. The spots on my cheeks were covered, although I think I put on too much. The content of my jar somehow isn't very powdery and I need to shake them (I need to be very careful about this) to break them back to their powder state.

Now... should I try their blusher? I have the Asian flush when it's warm though, that's why I never came close to a blusher, but they're so tempting. As for eyeshadows... I kind of gave up on them. Bronzer? Hmm.

Repurchase? YES PLEASE!! This is certainly a good value for money.
I read from Organic Makeup Artist that they sell refills... how do you buy the refills?

Have I been converted to mineral foundation? Probably. Might be. Yes? It's just there are so many liquid foundation in the drugstores I frequent that it became very tempting, but I'm saving and I always use one at a time so I'm good with what I have now. Mineral foundation is good for my skin, I have to drill that to my mind who likes to wander elsewhere. And it's cruelty-free, who doesn't like cruelty-free things? Shame on you if you say you don't like cruelty-free things.

I should research more on mineral foundation, these will be my life(skin)saver.

Something There That Wasn't There Before [Inner Monologue]

As you know, I am an international student studying in London.
I've been to London 3 time before entering university: when I was still in elementary school, holiday after graduating middle school and then last year for my foundation programme.

Surely I have had experienced culture shock that mellowed with time. My most memorable culture shock was seeing couples kissing in public, it was a strange thing for me... and embarrassing. Then I was shocked by how there's no bidet in the toilet and how people could just flush white tissue paper into the toilet. It was mind-boggling for me there at that time, and it still is when I came back here after a holiday back home to Indonesia.

One thing that seemed to suddenly came to light for me ever since I went abroad to study was how often the word equality/racism seem to came up. Sure there are lots of people from many background here in London and hey, I might have thought racist thoughts when I first saw people I don't know because I've never seen these people before, where are they from, how come they're here? I don't even know how you can even stop someone from being racist because I thought that's what their perspectives are in their whole life. It's a very strange and scary thing to realise that what you've known your whole life is something that is actually socially unacceptable.

Gender equality, equality in general, I am still trying to wrap my thoughts around this because nobody had never explained it to me thoroughly which is why I still have blanks in my head concerning this issue. I've come to realise about this from the posts on Tumblr, about the Ferguson and other police killings. It's scary, it's like you've suddenly realised that the places that you think gives other people freedom to express themselves are actually... not that free.

I've heard people calling names to each other (I am chinese in heritage so back home there might be Indonesian people who would call names to us, it often happens and it's very disheartening and devastating).

I'm just so confused. I don't even know if I said it right in this post, everything in confusing because there's no end to it. I'm sure making people realise that this is wrong helps, but what will happen to those who think that what we thought is wrong and opposes (on gender equality, for instance)?

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? That's my biggest question.

One (quite) isolated girl who just turned 20, who is trying to grasp the concept of whatever is happening.

... I'm ranting here, don't mind me my head hurts

Rimmel Wake Me Up Liquid Foundation

So today(tonight), I will be reviewing the only liquid foundation I have which is the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation.

Let me tell you a story about how I decided to buy this foundation. Basically, I was trying to find a good high street/drugstore foundation which wouldn't make me kill my wallet because I need to save the money, as per usual. I rummage through the internet, found Zoe's video and then Tanya's video and some others and it became a tie between Rimmel's Wake Me Up and Rimmel's Match Perfection. And then I stupidly search more because I thought knowing more never hurts and found Rimmel's Lasting Finish, Bourjois Healthy Mix and L'Oreal's True Match. There was just too much to choose from and I couldn't afford buying so many and after thinking that I needed something that made me look fresher I decided on the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation.

The shade I bought is 010 Light Porcelain, which is the lightest in the range and too light for me. I just recently realised that I have a warm undertone and Light Porcelain is definitely not for me, but I still use them because although I look pale after applying it, I still look pretty fine not long afterwards as long as I didn't take any photos at night with flash which would in turn make me look like I'm sick (I could always use it for Halloween though, that's a plus). My aunt has been telling me I look fresh when she knew I'm using this foundation, so despite the wrong shade, I look alright.

As for the packaging, they came in a really cute orange-capped glass(?) bottle with a plastic pump. Pumps made it easier for people to take out the specific amount they needed without the product going everywhere and it is more hygienic as well. Yay for pumps!

For coverage, I would say it gives a medium to full cover when I use one pump of the product. It covers the red spots I have and filled my bigger pores when I use my makeup brush (it looks kind of scary when I look up close at my bathroom mirror). I think you should be cautious with dry patches because it does tend to show them when you stare at your mirror.

How long does it last? It lasts me a whole day when I don't do strenuous activities, and it's winter so no sun for me to sweat. It does tend to make me look a bit shiny after a long couple of hours, so touch-ups with powder/dabbing tissues on your face/blotting paper might be in order.

This foundation is priced at £8.99, I bought it at Superdrug for £5.99 when it was on sale. Superdrug is having their 3 for 2 promo right now so if you're interested you might want to get it now, or when Superdrug is having a sale on specific product. Or somewhere you found cheaper, you name it.

So, would I repurchase it? Yes, but in different shade ^w^

(this post is in line for more edits, such as the swatches and photos of me when I'm wearing it)

(if you think I needed to add more, please do comment because I'm new with blogging and what I should say in a review blog)

Honeypie Minerals #1

Hi guys! As you can see I am updating the blog very very VERY rarely by this point.
I just had my birthday last Tuesday (Nov 4th), yipee!

Just wanting to recount what I've been doing in this week, as this is my reading/study week aka a week break where I can sleep as long as I want and do nothing else or go take a look around/shopping. So I did those things: sleep, shop, walk. Anyways, let's get back to business.

Recently, I've been wondering about dimethicone-free/silicone-free stuff. After browsing about what dimethicone is and what they do to the skin, I decided to look for things which are silicone-free which proves to be very difficult nowadays. Then because I've been hearing that mineral/loose-powder foundation is good for acne prone skin (and free of any silicone ingredient), I'm looking for one that is affordable and good for sensitive skin. As usual I know nothing about this and laid my eyes upon Bare Minerals because I know the blogger/youtuber Zoe (Zoella) likes it at one point. Sadly it's kind of out of my budget, pricing at £25 a jar (8g). Bobbi Brown's is even more expensive at £29 a jar (6g).

Then somehow someway I found this company, Honeypie Minerals.

Let me put their story in:

With a childhood upbringing in the rural countryside of Essex England, Claudia grew to love the simplicity of life and appreciate the beauty of all things natural. After many years of suffering from the woes of acne, break-outs, oily skin and scarring she began her quest to produce pure and healthy mineral cosmetics. Claudia started hand-crafting beautiful mineral make-up for herself, with amazing results. Soon enough her sister, mother, grandmother and friends were all wearing the natural minerals and Honeypie Minerals was born.

Isn't she amazing? It's always cool to see that someone made something inspired by their own condition that could also help other people. Hand-crafted! I don't think anything could ever beat something hand-crafted. Their ingredients are 100% natural, free from all those things that made your skin have breakouts and have long term damage on the skin.

Our products are 100% natural and FREE-FROM bismuth, talc, starch, rice, harsh chemicals, parabens, artificial colour, fragrance, paraffin, petroleum, oil, animal derived products, parabens, preservatives, alcohol, fillers, lanolin, or any other synthetic ingredients that have no nutritional benefit for your skin and can cause long term damaging impact on your skin, health and the world. Our ethically-sourced ingredients are of the highest quality and cruelty-free.

I always worry about my skin because sometimes I just couldn't understand what's going on. These will be perfect for me (and my wallet)! I haven't received my order just yet (I ordered this on Monday night, am a bit worried now), but hopefully it'll be here soon. When it gets here, I'll post another blog on them.

• contain no harsh, synthetic chemicals, parabens or additives 
• are gentle on the skin and allow your pores to breathe 
• have healing, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties
• are perfect for all skin types, including sensitive, acne-prone and oily
• minimise the appearance of pores and absorb excess oil- contain natural protection against everyday UV-light exposure
• give you a fresh-faced glow of beautifully radiant skin
• are cruelty-free and not tested on animals. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans

More goodness to fuss over! They have 18 shades in total, but if they don't have yours (you can buy a sample of foundation/blusher/eyeshadow/corrector for just 49p) you can contact them to tell them what shade you wanted for your foundation/blusher/eyeshadow for £5 more! If you're not sure about them, they have customer reviews placed on their web and some of the beauty bloggers who uses their product so you can explore.

Honeypie Minerals Products
Foundation: £11.99 (10g)
Blusher: £5.99 (5g)
Corrector: £5.99 (3g)
Eyeshadow: £4.99 (1g)
Pearlescent Powder (highlighter): £4.99 (1g)
Sunkissed Bronzer: £5.99 (5g)

They also sell their products in kits:
Honeypie minerals kit (brushes+foundation+highlighter+blush+eyeshadow): £49.99
Smokey/neutral/eco collection: £10.99
Purple-smoke collection: £12.99

Their ingredients:
Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Zinc Oxide (CI77497). May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Ultramarines (CI 77007).

MICA:

• has anti-inflammatory and calming properties
• protects against free radicals
• non-comedogenic (does not block pores)
• provides a beautiful finish, with a healthy radiant glow
• minimizes the appearance of pores and fine lines by reflecting light
• smoothes and refines the texture of skin, leaving it appearing smoother and brighter
• is hypoallergenic
• helps calm the erythema (redness of the skin)

ZINC OXIDE:

• is very calming to the skin, great for those with sensitive,
• acne-prone, or rosacea-prone skin
• provides enhanced coverage and a matte finish
• is non-irritating
• has healing properties
• is a skin protectant
• provides natural sunscreen protection
• non-comedogenic (does not block pores)

TITANIUM DIOXIDE:

• provides enhanced coverage and a matte finish
• is non-irritating
• has healing properties
• is a skin protectant
• provides natural sunscreen protection 
• non-comedogenic (does not block pores)  

IRON OXIDES:  

• pigments that provide the shade and colouring required for great coverage
• are anti-microbial (inhibit the growth of micro-organisms such as bacteria)

GO AND CHECK THEM OUT PEOPLE!