Birthday Week - 25 is the new 21

6.16.13.

Sadly all birthdays must come to an end...& a new chapter in life really begins...

...but being 25 doesn't feel much different from being 24 (and under)...

There are some things to look forward to though:

1. I can rent a car--who's ready for a road trip! Also car insurance discounts??
2. Prime age for the 7 year rule ;) ...still a Puma, not quite a cougar yet HAHA.
3. People think you are mature; don't let their judgements get too far into your thoughts though!
4. Others will value you more what's inside than what's on the outside.
5. The best of life is ahead--I hear the mid-twenties are awesome!

I am so fortunate to have such wonderful family & friends who made my 25th birthday fabulous! I can't say enough thank you's to everyone who helped make this birthday so special :)

Honolulu Night Market, Kaka'ako, HI

Also stumbled across this in the Thought Catalog--which i LOVE!--6 Rules for Turning 25.

I am also loving this; it reminds me to love MY life, because it is mine & it's OK to be 25 :)

xoxo

~carlykins

Also want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my Daddy (and all of the other father's out there!)--"you're the besssssssst"! :)

Birthday Week - Ichiriki

6.15.13.

I can't tell you how special I felt today with all of the lovely messages, posts & phone calls that I received from fam & friends... Birthdays always seem like the best time to catch up with old friends that you don't get to chat with much too.

While I had to stay at work later than I expected today, this lucky gal was really looking forward to the dinner plans for the night--Ichiriki (nabe)!! YUM!

Happy Birthday to meeee!

nom nom nom

xoxo

~carlykins

Birthday Week - 25 Things I've Learned

6.14.13.

In thinking about what to write to commemorate this "milestone" in my life, I stumbled across a fabulous article by Young & Prosperous...I really liked this take on beginning a new chapter in my life.

So, I will attempt to share 25 things I've learned before (I have half an hour left!) I finally turn the quarter "mile"...just a disclaimer, some of these will be quoted as they are from Y&P....

1. Be you.
2. When one door closes, a window opens.
3. You deserve it, whatever that may be.
4. Happiness is the way.
5. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
6. Stand up for yourself.
7. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. How else are we going to grow?
8. DREAM.
9. Without risk, there is little reward.
10. Only concern yourself with the things you can control.
11. There is always an opportunity to learn something.
12. Hug, kiss, say ILY everyday to someone; it's easy to take these things for granted.
13. Karma IS a bitch, so be nice.
14. Laugh everyday--it's good for the heart, soul, body, mind...& it reduces wrinkles right?
15. Appearance is only temporary; your personality & first impression(s) last forever.
16. Save, save, save! Your future self will thank you :)
17. Confront your fears. Do one thing everyday that scares you.
18. "Happiness is the way."
19. I am a goddess. I need to worship and love myself before I can reciprocate it to others.
20. "Be the type of person you'd like to meet."
21. It's ok to JUST DANCE.
22. Mom's really are always right...as much as we/I don't want to admit it. #itoldyaso
23. Running moves you forward, but sometimes you just got to stop and smell the roses.
24. Life is good. 
25. Believe that everything happens for a reason!

I am sure there are so many other things that I've learned...but in these 30 minutes, theses were the 25 that came to mind first :) I would love to hear what you feel are the most important life lessons you've learned in your lives!

Here's a little sneak peek of a little birthday present to myself. I've always wanted one but could not convince myself to dish out the $$ for any of the colors until now! ...& my bff just purchased the Mini M.A.C.! Uber in love with this...I can't wait to use this today! Happy Birthday to me :)

M.A.C. Clutch, Rebecca Minkoff

Even Google said "Happy Birthday" :)

xoxo

~carlykins

Birthday Week - Take me back to yesteryear...

6.13.13.

Since it's Birthday Week I'm going to throw it back to when I first entered my twenty-somethings chapter of my life...

Say hello to one of my dearest and longest best friends Kimi-chan (my fabulous beauty guru friend)! She has been there for me through thick & thin and I can't wait to see where the rest of this chapter in our lives will take the both of us :)

#throwbackthursday

xoxo

~carlykins

Birthday Week - Wednesday Wisdom: Stay Ocean-minded

6.12.13.

An extremely late post on my part, but since it's Birthday Week I just got to post something!

...& I stumbled across something that I really want to live the rest of this week/month/year/infinity by...

(courtesy of Pinterest, follow me!)

I found this highly inspirational! I have also noticed that lately I've been very ocean-minded...

What words, phrases, affirmations do you live by?

xoxo

~carlykins

Birthday Week - Summer Neons

6.11.13.

This weeks How-to Tuesday will also be birthday themed!

Summer is the perfect time to play around with bold, bright & NEON colors!!

Last summer...I was dyyyyying to try out a neon make-up look and of course I also wanted to try the hair chalking craze that took the fashion world by storm...

Unfortunately, I had no clue where to start on either of these beauty ambitions so I turned to some fab Youtube beauty gurus to complete my sassy birthday look!

Elessa's "Naughty Neon" tutorial

Kandee Johnson's Hair Chalking (for dark hair!!) tutorial

....and drumroll please...

TA-DA!!

Honestly, I was a little disappointed that the hair chalking didn't work out so well--I think this works better on lighter hair and/or I needed to invest in better chalk--but Kandee's results are amazing! You can kind of see the yellow/orange/red ombre I was attempting to go for in the bottom photo; if anything my girls look so GLAMOROUS! I was VERY pleased with my neon makeup look though, which is all thanks to Elessa's tutorial--I followed most of her steps but had to substitute some of her products with my own or ones that I could find--mostly drug store finds too! Loved the way they popped without being too out there--went very with the boring black ensemble that I chose to wear haha.

See below for a list of main products used for these looks! Happy experimenting :)

xoxo

~carlykins

"Naughty Neon" Products

• Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Urban Decay Cosmetics
• Jumbo Eye Pencil, Milk, NYX
• Paint Eyeshadow Palette 01, Milani Cosmetics
• Fluidline eyeliner pot, Blacktrack, MAC
• "Cool Kitty" lashes, Katy Perry for eylure

Hair Chalking

• Soft pastels (check the label), Daler-Rowney (from Walmart); I would suggest looking for a better brand!!
• Spray bottle + water
• Flat iron or curling iron (to "seal" in color)
• Hair spray
• Heat protectant hair product
• Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty! ...or use a towel to cover your outfit.
• Just a note: for darker hair, warmer colors tend to come out better!

Birthday Week - Get Ready with Me!

6.10.13.

It's Birthday Week!

...but I thought about this too late to do any "special" posts. As such, the cleverest thing I could come up with is a "Get Ready with Me!" post for the day...sorry ladies, I'm a little too self conscious to do a vlog...yet? Haha. Still trying to convince a girlfriend of mine who is a beauty genius & local guru amongst our friends to start vlogging!!

1. (night before) Exfoliate: Ocean Salt, LUSH

2. Tone & Moisturize: Eau Rosa? & Vanishing Cream, LUSH

3. Primer: PhotoReady Perfecting Primer 001, Revlon

4. Foundation: (a) NAKED Skin, Urban Decay (b) CC Cream, Smashbox; (blend together)

5. Powder (fav ATM): Multitasker Face Powder, Milani Cosmetics

6. Eye Primer: Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Urban Decay

7. Eye Shadow (for everyday wear ATM*): Matte Eye, Too Faced

8. Eye Liner (ATM): Three Wishes Eyeliner Set, Disney & Sephora collaboration**

9. Mascara: LashBlast Volume, Very Black, Covergirl

10. Brow Liner: Fluidline, Dip Down, MAC

11. Brow Fill: Palette, "London Girl", Stila

12. Blush: Orgasm, NARS

13. Highlighter: Pearlmatte Face Powder, Veronica's Blush, Archie's Girls Collection, MAC

14. Lips (fav ATM): Lip Glow, Dior

*ATM = "at the moment"

**I usually use the MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.

At the moment I am also pooped...and this is the best I can do...I will have to finish this tomorrow :(

xoxo

~carlykins