Latinx representation

Study finds films lag significantly in Latino representation

Latina women in films are all maids, immigrants (undocumented or not), gang girls or cholas, spicy and tempestuous, Jennifer Lopez, or all of the above. I'm trying to think of a Latina in movies I could relate to. America Ferrera has come close; she played Carmen in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but her story was not my story. I have yet to watch Real Women Have Curves, but it's on my list.

Representation matters. Ask me why I, a white, blue-eyed, brown-haired girl, never really saw any character I identified with. (Maybe I would feel differently if I had watched Gilmore Girls. Alexis Bledel is a white Argentinian with blue eyes and brown hair and her character loved books. But her character was white.) Ask me why I saw America Ferrera's awkward bespectacled face as Ugly Betty and immediately placed the TV show in the #1 slot in my heart. Ask me why her Mexican apron-wearing, cooking dad and prettier, more popular sister felt so familiar. Ask me why I latched on to Jane the Virgin, with her love of books and dreams of being a writer and the specter of religion haunting her desires. When Jane and her mom and her abuela sang feliz cumpleaños to her son, harmonizing, I burst into tears. My family does that. I had never seen anything on television so close to my personal experiences. I feel uncomfortable when, in TV shows and movies, second and third generation Latinx Americans speak in English to their parents and grandparents while they speak to them in Spanish. I do that to my dad without knowing, and it makes me feel guilty.

Depending on your interpretation, Latinxs have been here since before the United States claimed its independence. J.Lo goes to the gym every day, but she cannot carry us all on her shoulders. Nor should she.

Websites I used to do a lot of shopping at until they turned out to be owned by evil entities

1. Forever 21 (sweatshop labor, Christian hypocrisy)
2. Modcloth (owned by Walmart)
3. Amazon (human rights abuses)
4. H&M (sweatshop labor)
5. Wayfair (made money by selling furniture to the concentration camps where ICE dumps the people they kidnapped)
6. In N Out (gave money to the Republican party in the California elections)
7. I still shop there occasionally but JC Penney's, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Macy's have all been racist to employees/customers of color at one point or another
8. I cancelled my UCLA Visa because it was facilitated by a bank that funded pipelines, and have not signed up for Ulta or Barnes & Noble credit cards for the same reason.

Book reviews: June and July

The only book I read in June was Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, which was a reread. I watched the Amazon Prime series (booo. I used my mom's account), read the book, then watched it again. It's so good; I really recommend it even if you don't watch the show. For those of you who don't know, it's about the looming apocalypse and the angel and demon who become friends while trying to make the world better/worse, attempting to stop it. This is difficult because they lost the antichrist, and their respective sides definitely want the apocalypse to happen. There's also a witch and many prophecies. It does get rather close to being too sacrilegious for yours truly, but the humor and relationships make up for it. I felt the show was a perfect adaptation of the book, due in no small part to Neil Gaiman's influence and work as a show runner. 4.5/5 stars, keeping obviously.


On Sunday I went to Savers and bought like $40 worth of books. They have a buy 4, get 1 free deal which gets me almost every time. I started reading books from my haul pretty much immediately, starting with Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson, which is about a magic contest hosted by a wizard who needs to find a witch to marry. Ibbotson wrote the suspiciously Harry Potter-esque The Secret of Platform 13 (it was written long before HP), which I read a few years ago, and her writing is very good. It's that rather old-fashioned British fantasy children's lit that I like so much, very Dahl-esque. I noted there was another "orphan boy who at first was presumed to be ordinary but is actually More" character. I definitely recommend this if you like/don't mind reading about witches and wizards (they're written for a child audience). 4/5 stars, but I'll be giving this one away



The next book I read from my Savers haul was Girl in Hyacinth Blue, which is a series of interconnected short stories about the different people who own a possible Vermeer painting throughout the centuries, and what it means to them and how it affects them and their lives. Quite sad, but very good writing. It turns out I had read the first story before, which is about a math professor who kept the painting a secret in order to keep people from finding out his father was a Nazi who acquired the painting by looting a Jewish home. I think I read that in high school or college. My favorite (i.e. least sad) story was the one about the Rococo-era rich lady who had to sell the painting without its authenticity papers in order to flee her cheating/cheated husband, thus ensuring future owners were unsure it was a real Vermeer. I love the Rococo era, and the despair and hardship the other characters went through was not present in this story because the lady was rich. I did some googling, and the painting is not real (just like I'd assumed). However, an artist painted it, and you can read about it in his blog post. It's lovely, although rather different than I imagined it. 3.5/5 stars, giving away.

My perfumes: rollerballs and purse sprays

I mentioned in my previous post in this series that I was inspired to write about my perfumes after watching KathleenLights' perfume collection video. However, I own too much perfume to put it all in one post, so I decided to write about my full-sized perfumes first, and then write this post about my rollerballs and purse sprays. These are a longish glass tube, usually the circumference of a dime or less, that look like this. Mini rollerballs are roughly the same diameter, but a much shorter cylinder. The reason I have so many is because many of them were free gifts with purchase, plus rollerballs and purse sprays are much cheaper than full-sized perfume bottles.

Coty Exclamation Blush - This is the OG. A cousin of my mom's gave me this little perfume bottle for my 10th birthday. I LOVED it. As a nod to the name, the bottle is shaped like a fat exclamation mark, with the bottle as the point and the cap as the top part of the !. The bottle is frosted glass, and it made me feel so grown up. I still have it, although it has definitely gone bad. I remember it smelling girly and baby powder-y. I put this in the purse sprays category because it's too small to be full-sized.

Vera Wang Princess - I have already written at great length about my love of this perfume. I use the rollerball a lot and it has somehow not gone bad (it's pretty old but not as old as the big spray). I also have a mini rollerball that I take in my traveling makeup bag, but the ball part is broken.

I bought this trio of Clinique Happy rollerballs that came with three Pop Lip Colour lipsticks in a cute tin box.  I love the tin but I keep forgetting to use these perfumes.

Clinique Happy - This is one of my favorite perfumes of all time. This citrus perfume smells like oranges and high school to me. Instant summer and instant happiness. My mom and sister and I used to shop at the high-end makeup counters at Macy's when they had their free gifts with purchase promotions, and we got a lot of good makeup and perfume deluxe samples that way. I loved that tiny bottle, which had an orange plastic cap. I now have a purse spray tube and a small rectangular bottle. I should start using this again now that it's spring.

Clinique Happy Heart - This was in the set with Happy and Happy in Bloom, both as mini perfume bottles and as the purse sprays I have now. This smells much more floral than Happy, but it's definitely related. Now that I think about it, I had the mini bottle of Happy Heart, while my sister had the mini bottle of Happy (we shared stuff all the time though). Happy Heart's cap was flamingo pink.

Clinique Happy in Bloom - I think this one is a newer scent? This is the third purse spray in the Clinique perfume set. This smells like Happy but with more floral. I honestly cannot tell the difference between this and Happy Heart.

I bought this set of Clean small rollerball perfumes from Ulta for $10. Tbh I wouldn't really recommend them. I hardly wear them, as they are all rather odd scents.

Clean Air - I like this one the best, I think, but I can't really describe it.

Clean Rain - I have no idea why but this smells almost exactly like Clinique Happy, despite not having any citrus notes whatsoever. So weird.

Clean Skin - This one smells like flowery baby powder, the kind old ladies use in their toilette.

Clean Blossom - This also smells like old lady flowery baby powder, but with more floral. This is probably the closest one to regular perfume.

Clean Warm Cotton - this smells exactly like laundry detergent. Disgusting. I'm trying to sell it on eBay but no one wants to buy it.

I bought this trio of Tocca purse sprays from Sephora. Tocca perfumes are so lovely and feminine. Unfortunately Tocca makes me think of toca, which is the Spanish word for touch, which is odd for perfumes.

Tocca Giulietta - smells a little bit like fancy floral soap, with amber underneath. Sweet and feminine.

Tocca Stella - haven't tried this one yet but I'm sure it smells amazing.

Tocca Florence - idk why but this smells exactly like jasmine despite not having that ingredient.

I have almost all of the Pacifica rollerball perfumes, not counting their more expensive crystal ones. They all smell amazing and have gorgeous packaging. Most of them have a little heart on the inside of the flap you pull up to open the box that says "you are so beautiful", which I think is very sweet. These are my most-used fragrances, because I am afraid to use too much perfume and rollerballs give you the perfect amount. Plus you can just grab one and swipe it on. 

Pacifica Sugared Amber Dreams - I bought this because it has little unicorns all over it. The scent sounded delicious, and it does smell like frosting, but unfortunately it's cloying and doesn't last very long. At least the packaging is cute.

Pacifica French Lilac - This smells so good, exactly like lilacs. The packaging box is really cute; it's lilac-colored with little lilac flowers all over it. This is one of my most-used rollerballs.

Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava - This smells so delicious! So summery and fruity and yummy. I'm Latina so I love guayaba-flavored/scented things. Love this one for summer.

Pacifica Persian Rose - This smells exactly like you're burying your nose in a rose. (I'm a poet and I wasn't even aware!) Gorgeous scent. I also use this one a lot.

Pacifica Island Vanilla - This scent is nearly indistinguishable from Sugared Amber Dreams. It is a tad less cloying, and is more vanilla-y, but that's it.

Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom - This one smells delicious, like a lemon dessert. I love that it's citrus but doesn't rely on orange or grapefruit. There should be more lemon perfumes! Whenever I see this perfume, this song starts playing in my head. I like this one for spring and summer.

Pacifica Tuscan Blood Orange - This one also smells delicious, like a real orange instead of a perfume orange, if that makes sense. I like references to Tuscany and Italy because I lived there for a month, and I love oranges because I'm from the IE.

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia - This smells exactly like gardenia blossoms, heady and gorgeous. Love this one for spring.

Disney Snow White Wishing Well - This rollerball came in a really cute cardboard tube package that is illustrated in a Snow White style, and the frosted glass tube has gorgeous SW designs as well. I bought it because Snow White is my secondary Disney Princess (I'm very pale and have dark brown hair), plus the packaging is so cute. It has a tiny gold apple charm. It smells like very sweet artificial apple.

Disney Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Beauty - This is the same kind of rollerball and packaging as above, but of course with B&tB packaging. It has a tiny bronze mirror charm, like the enchanted mirror in the movie. Cute rose packaging as well. It surprisingly does not smell much at all like rose; it's a sweet slightly floral scent. Belle is my primary Disney Princess, in case you were wondering.

Kensie - this is a medium-sized purse spray that I got from an Ipsy or Boxycharm box. I haven't tried it yet.

Demeter Perfume Oil in Paperback - I had to buy this one because it's supposed to smell like a paperback book. It kind of does? It smells cozy and comforting. I have to smell this again. Unfortunately it's very oily on the outside of the bottle for some reason. This is a mini squared rollerball.

Nest Black Tulip - This one smells nice, although not as floral as one would think. The packaging for all the Nest fragrances are sumptuous illustrations of flowers and plants, very pretty. Mini squared rollerball.

Nest Indigo - This one smells really good, a bit heady. Mini squared rollerball.

Blossom Honey Jasmine - I bought this perfume oil rollerball because it has dried flowers floating in the bottle and it looks really cute. It smells sweet, more like candy than flowers. 

Addison & Gates Fleur d'Osmanthus - I got this as a bridesmaids gift from my future sister-in-law. The packaging is very reminiscent of Art Deco and stained glass windows, especially the ones from the Beauty and the Beast castle, with lots of roses. It's a floral perfume and it smells really nice, kind of musky and feminine.

Carolina Herrera Good Girl - I think this is the original Good Girl perfume. This perfume is so sexy and smells amazing. The rollerball was a free gift with purchase and came in a velvet slip cover.

Indignities suffered by bridesmaids

thank God I didn't have to deal with wearing an ugly bridesmaid gown on top of everything else

I have just finished being a bridesmaid for the third and probably final time, as all of my siblings and close friends are married, and I am currently hunched over my keyboard at work, makeup-less and haggard, nursing pain in my shoulders, arms, and back for some reason, and thinking about all the awful things I had to endure yesterday as a bridesmaid.

Groomsmen have to spend a lot of money to rent a tuxedo or a 2-3 piece suit, and those can get hot during warm weddings, but their misery is nothing compared to ours. I have gone to hell and back.

My brother got married on a mountain, and it rained throughout. I was wet, cold, and shivering for most of the event, except for when I was seated in the reception tent next to a heater set to full blast. That's that I was wearing leggings under my dress. My sister could not, as her dress had a slit in it. When we were carted to and from the bridal suite on golf carts by the event staff (greatly appreciated and vastly better than walking in our heels), we were splashed by the falling rain and the water on the ground, and the ups and downs of the cart route meant we were in constant fear of falling off of it. Once my sister (also a bridesmaid) and I sat in the back seat, and the rain dripped off the roof at the center in a fairly solid stream, which my sister tried to deflect with an umbrella, but the stream just ran off the umbrella into my lap. I almost didn't notice due to how cold it was. It was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit at that point. Both entering and departing the golf cart soaked my long dress's hem, and I spent the entire wedding with about 3-6 inches of my dress hem wet. The rain frizzed my hair. At one point we had to take bridal party photos next to the barn the ceremony took place in, and the rain ran off the roof and down my back into my bridesmaid gown. I had to change my position for the picture and the rain hit my shoulder and ran down my chest into the front of my gown. At no point were we allowed to wear our coats during the picture taking. It was anywhere from 50 to 38 degrees that day, and you could see people's breath. One girl already had a cold; no allowances were made for her.

 My sister was married only a couple of miles from our brother's venue on the same mountain, a few days later than yesterday's wedding date (albeit six years before), and it was very bright and sunny. I got a sunburn on my back and shoulders, and the bridesmaid gown's straps left a pale, prominent crisscross pattern on my lobster back.

In the last wedding I was in, my other brother's, I wore these elegant high heels in my perfect nude shade. I forgot to bring flats, so I had to stay in them during the entire wedding, and my toes were numb for a month. I specifically spent several weeks looking for comfortable nude high-heeled sandals for this wedding, determined not to experience that level of discomfort again. The new shoes I bought were light tan high-heeled sandals by Naturalizer, a very good brand specializing in comfortable shoes. They have a medium-height heel with a 1-2 cm thickness at the front part of the shoe in order to alleviate the height of the heel, a sturdy construction with a padded insole. They hurt my feet anyway. I do think it is important to get high heels that will support and cushion your feet as much as comfortable, but human beings are not meant to wear high heels for hours on end, and that is sadly expected of women at formal functions. For my sister's wedding, we wore flats with a small stacked wedge heel. They still hurt my feet. Also uncomfortable: shapewear.

There have been myriad articles written about the expected tasks of bridesmaids, who must pay upwards of $100 for their bridesmaid dresses, as well as shoes and other accessories, as well as pay for travel expenses and presents for both the wedding and the bachelorette party (which they often plan, and for which there can be an entrance fee, depending on where it is held). Buying a bridesmaid dress from a wedding clothing retailer sucks because they're $100-200+, and being given a swatch of fabric and told to find a dress that matches that color sucks because you spend hours scouring the racks at discount and department stores, and it gives you a slight PWSD (post wedding stress disorder) for months afterwards, causing you to twitch every time you see a dress on the rack that could have been a possible bridesmaids dress for months afterwards. I paid $75 plus tip for a shampoo, haircut (trim) and blowout. I am very lucky in that my mother paid for my manicure and pedicure and my bridesmaid dress for every sibling's wedding that I have been in. Some bridesmaids are expected to pay for a professional hairdresser and/or makeup artist to beautify them for the wedding.

No one has written about the awkwardness of sharing a small room or cabin with several other women one does not know very well, having to change and be in various states of undress in front of near-strangers, and politely maneuvering about the most coveted spots (mirrors and bathrooms) to change and do one's makeup in. It is worst if you are a sister of the groom and all the other girls are close friends of the bride and therefore naturally cliquish, or if you are a friend of the bride and all the other girls are related to her/him and/or each other, and naturally close. I usually belong to the former group, and in these instances I have thanked my lucky stars that I have a sister to share the awkwardness with. I have no idea what I would have done with myself had I not had my sister to talk to during both of my brothers' weddings. Some girls are friendlier than others, and the bride is usually too busy to be the intermediary.

Every time I have a bachelorette party to go to, I go to Victoria's Secret because I know of no other place to purchase lingerie. For some reason I feel that it is kind of embarrassing and tacky to buy lingerie at a department store (you are not immune to propaganda, etc.). Every time I purchase lingerie at Victoria's Secret, I have to lie down: one bra and one panty costs nearly as much as my car insurance monthly payment. (Worth googling: "victoria's secret prison labor" and "victoria's secret slave labor".) It is egregious. Not to mention, Victoria's Secret stores are extremely garish, loud, overtly sexual, and confusing to navigate. They are also embarrassing for anyone who has any sense of propriety, has been discouraged from thinking about sex/taught to see sex in a negative light due to a conservative religious upbringing, or is uncomfortable with sexuality in general. Unfortunately, I am all of these. I always buy a matching bra and panty because then I can cling to the belief that they will be worn as normal underclothing and not for sex. What, is that weird? This whole thing is weird, buddy. Where have you been?

It strikes me that being a bridesmaid is a perfect example of femininity in this society: very dressed up, made up, and feminine, but still doing a lot of unpaid labor, both physical and emotional, yet expected to look and act perfectly, with the goal of fulfilling some oft-maligned female position, all out of love.

Anyway, here is a bullet point list of other, more specific to me indignities that I have suffered as a bridesmaid or maid of honor:

• had to share the position of maid of honor with another girl (it's the bride's choice! But it still hurt a little)
• was extremely indignant at the other maid of honor when she got married later on and didn't have two maids of honor for fear of hurting her sister's feelings. There is no justice in life.
• another girl planned the bachelorette party for the bride (admittedly much better than I ever could have) even though I was the maid of honor
• was once excluded from a bachelorette party even though I was a bridesmaid
• looked and looked for a dress to wear as a bridesmaid in a specific color that was impossible to find on the rack, broke down and bought the dress at full price from David's Bridal, then learned another bridesmaid found her David's Bridal dress at a thrift store for a few dollars
• had to sit at the traditional long bridal party table between/next to people I did not know very well 
• had to dance at the reception as a means to encouraging wedding guests to dance. They just looked on, and I was exposed as the bad, zumba-inspired dancer that I really am
• was paired with the shortest groomsman (I'm rather tall)
• was paired with groomsmen who had little to no interest in talking to me (one even ignored me during the entire event)
• was paired with a groomsman who dropped my arm the second he was able to, like I had cooties or something
• all the groomsmen who are not related to me have girlfriends or are married (it's not their fault but I still feel a little affronted)
• tbh, movies and pop culture have put it in my head that bridesmaids frequently find romantic prospects at a wedding, whether it is with a groomsman or with a wedding guest, and this has never ever happened to me, not even once
• having to deal with the thought that the only reason I'm a bridesmaid is because I'm related to the bride/groom, and I don't have any friends
• being the tallest bridesmaid
• being the oldest bridesmaid
• being the fattest bridesmaid
• being the most single bridesmaid
• being the fattest, oldest, tallest, most single bridesmaid
• was never given the chance to be a bridesmaid in the first place

Despite all this complaining, I really do love being a bridesmaid. Being a bridesmaid is almost better than being a wedding guest, because you get to feel special and important, and it creates a faux friend group for you to be a part of. Also I love getting to be in professional photoshoots for mostly free. I love weddings; I love love. Weddings are so lovely and exciting, and I love being a part of them and of someone's special day.

Book review: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

eating disorder tw, also spoilers

Can you believe it took me this long to read Bridget Jones's Diary? I did just barely buy it from the thrift store on Wednesday of last week, and read it yesterday! Aren't you proud of me?  I think this is the OG modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Amazon summary:

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, "How's your love life?" with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult and learn to program the VCR. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, Bridget Jones's Diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. 

This book felt like a grown-up version of the Georgia Nicholson books (Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, etc.), another series of English girl dating diary-style books. Bridget has the same desperation, the same despondent belief that she is fat and ugly, the same tight group of friends with their own relationship problems, and nearly the same naivety towards men as Georgia, and the latter is fourteen. What's different is that Bridget's anxieties are of the 30-something "I'm going to die alone/men are trash" variety, her friend group includes a Gay Best Friend, and her negative body image veers towards an eating disorder. Adult women are supposed to eat between 1600 and 2400 calories a day, yet Bridget aims for 700 daily calories, and beats herself up if she eats 1200. She frequently calls herself fatphobic names, has a photographic memory of how many calories every kind of food has (this is remarkable because she can't remember her times table or anything else having to do with numbers), and once flees an attempted tryst with a younger man because he presses down on her stomach and says "squashy" in a non-negative way (weird, but not mean). Bridget also strongly reminds me of the Shopaholic series' main character, due to how much I wanted to shake her (they're so annoying and need to grow up!!).

I also would not say Bridget is self aware, as the book summary does. She's way too hard on herself in the looks department and thinks she's fat even though she's not, while she doesn't realize how hard she's making her own life. She also deflates whenever anyone is mean or overbearing, and doesn't know how to set boundaries with people. I was similarly boy-obsessed, despairing when they ignored me, and certain I was fat and always trying to diet in my twenties, but Bridget's in her thirties and is acting like a 19 year old.

In short, Bridget bears no resemblance to Lizzy Bennet. Lizzy would have stood up to the fatphobic catty model-types and said something witty and biting to them. Lizzy wouldn't have slept with her boss even though she knew he didn't want to be in a relationship (Bridget did call him out a few times, but was still really gullible). Lizzy wouldn't have cared what weight or size she was. Lizzy wouldn't have fretted over men or dying alone. Lizzy wouldn't have put up with many of Bridget's so-called "friends"' behavior, and she would have handled the Smug Marrieds' nosy questions better, possibly even making them feel they had behaved badly. She also doesn't have any banter with Darcy. Bridget is a disappointment in that sense. You have to see this book as a completely different work than Pride & Prejudice.

Mark Darcy was handled pretty well, I thought. I was surprised to see that his and Bridget's relationship wasn't the typical "hate to love"/wits clashing kind of dynamic that you often see. Bridget's and Mark's family friends keep trying to push them together, but Bridget thinks Mark is a dork, and Mark thinks she's attractive but that she's not into him. They obviously get together in the end, although you don't really know why. Bridget is so immature and has so many neuroses and low self esteem that you're not sure what Mark sees in her, apart from his comment that he was tired of dating airbrushed, plastic women and wanted someone real. You also get the feeling Bridget gets with Mark mainly because she likes the attention and doesn't want to be single anymore. Her finally having a boyfriend is the triumph, not their being in love. To be honest, this book dwelt way too much on the Wickham character, Bridget's boss, than on Mark Darcy.

I thought it was a stroke of genius that the Mrs. Bennet and Lydia characters were compounded into one, Bridget's mum. She gets a midlife crisis and a Portuguese lover, to Bridget's horror, and the scandal Darcy has to help with is a timeshare scam. I thought she was pretty well-written: self-involved, self-absorbed, selfish, obsessed with fixing Bridget up with somebody, totally embarrassing. I also thought Bridget was way too much of a doormat with her, always doing what she wanted.

The other characters are nearly unrecognizable to their P&P counterparts, or nonexistent. Bridget's dad is a racist cuckhold who weeps and mopes about when his wife leaves him (he always calls the Portuguese lover a w*p when railing against him). Mr. Bennet would have been like, good riddance if his wife left him. Mary Bennet's part may have been played by Bridget's man-hating (but not a lesbian) friend? I already mentioned that Bridget's hot but flaky boss was the Wickham character, but he also had a dash of Mr. Collins, in the sense that he married someone else and it blindsided Bridget.

I know I've been ragging on this book a lot, and deservedly so, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. I read this at the end of a very long day, and it was the perfect read for that. I'd recommend this book if you want to read all of the Jane Austen retellings or if you like chick lit, especially British chick lit, and have a high tolerance for romcom Single Girl shenanigans.

I want to read the other books, but will get them from the library rather than buying them. I'd also like to see the movies.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: May 12
From: thrift store
Format: paperback
Status: idk, probably giving away

My perfumes: full-sized

I just watched YouTuber KathleenLights' perfumes video, where she lists and describes all of the perfumes she currently has, and it inspired me to do the same. I will be sticking to just the full-sized perfumes that I have in this post, as Kathleen stuck to her full-sized perfumes in her vlog.

Vera Wang Princess - As a teen, I spotted this perfume in a magazine's spring giveaways calendar and instantly knew I wanted to win it more than I wanted anything else.  I sent the magazine an entry email, begging them to choose me for the giveaway. My pleas must have worked, as I won it! Sadly, the perfume has gone bad, despite my keeping it in my fridge for the last 2 years, but I still have it. The bottle is shaped like a heart-cut jewel, the cap is a gold crown inset with purple stones, and the perfume is lilac-colored. It even comes with a removable, wearable ring! No perfume more *me* has ever existed. This is my favorite perfume ever, due mostly to the packaging. It also smelled very nice, with notes of flowers I like and chocolate. There have been several other Princess perfumes with different themes, but I haven't ever felt motivated to try them out (the pink one with the silver crown cap comes closest). I may repurchase VW Princess if I come across it in Marshall's or something for a good price.



Animale Chaleur d'Animale - This was a gift from one of my uncles and aunts when I was in high school. The smell was a good mix of citrus, floral and metallic, and it made me feel grown up. The cylindrical bottle has a giraffe-spotted cap and an attached metal manacle with a short dangling chain, due to its animal theme (I think the name means Animal Heat). Probably not the most appropriate for a young girl, but oh well. I think I still have this but should find out how to get rid of it, since it's gone bad. I believe this perfume has been discontinued.



J. Del Pozo Halloween - This is a medium-sized perfume that was part of a gift set that my uncles had given my grandma. It's purple, so I got it when she passed away. I don't know what happened to the lotion and body wash, but I don't use perfumed stuff like that anyway. This is floral and very cloying. It's in my house somewhere; I last used it to spray down my doorway in hopes that would keep bugs from coming into my house. I'm not sure why it's called Halloween; there's nothing Halloween-y about it. I'm going to get rid of it since I'm pretty sure it's gone bad. I think this perfume is discontinued as well.



Cartier Baiser Vole - My dad gave me this perfume. It was a perfume that my grandmother's older sisters wore, and she would "borrow" it from them as a girl. My grandaunt had asked my dad to buy this for her and the bottle arrived after he left for Mexico, so he bought another in person and gave the online purchased perfume to my sister, then bought me one as well so we could both have this nostalgic family perfume. The bottle is very classy and rounded, but unfortunately this perfume just smells metallic on me. I still use it every so often when I want to wear something that is fancy and clean but not floral or citrusy. There are a thousand versions of this but I think I have the original one. The name means "stolen kiss", which, hello, consent.



Clinique My Happy: Cocoa and Cashmere - I think these are supposed to be spinoffs of Clinique's iconic Happy (my favorite Clinique scent). I got this one because it was purple and I wanted to get a free gift with purchase. It smells nice but is not really the type of scent I like (and unfortunately it doesn't smell like chocolate). I need to try this more. I do like the bottle, very slim and elegant and a lovely shade of purple. It feels small for the price, but perfume is expensive so it probably technically isn't.



Bebe Bebe Starlet - I bought this one at Marshall's because the bottle is purple and shaped like a heart, my perfume weakness. It's cute and smells nice and was a decent price. I have 3 other Bebe heart perfumes, the mini versions that came as a trio. The star charm on mine doesn't have rhinestones. I think this perfume is technically discontinued as well, due to Bebe being a very 2000s brand.



Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Twinkle - Few other perfumes after VW Princess have made my heart beat the way this and its purple sisters did. As I am not made of money, I couldn't buy them all, so I chose this one because the bottle is the cutest (I had a coupon code). It smells really nice, although if I spray it at close range on my arm it smells like cat pee, at least initially. But I think the cat pee smell is avoided if I spray, delay, walk away. Does anyone know why all of the Daisy perfumes have such similar names? It's confusing. This perfume was limited edition so it's no longer available through Ulta or Sephora or even the Marc Jacobs website, sniff.


Yves Rocher Apricot - I completely forgot about this one because I keep in the fridge to keep it from going bad, as it's such a season-specific scent. This is a really nice smelling apricot perfume that was a gift from my aunt a few years back. It's such a great summery scent, and it's from a natural brand. Unfortunately this perfume is discontinued.

Types of skincare routines I have

The ideal, super long skincare routine where it's the night before but at least an hour before my bedtime, so I can take as long as I want without cutting into my sleeping hours

1. Remove eye makeup with 1-2 Almay Oil-Free Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Pads
2. Remove face makeup by either washing with my Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil, or by using e.l.f. micellar water and a cotton round
3. Wash face with Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
4. Tone with this knockoff of Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 that I found at the dollar store, or with First Aid Beauty's Facial Radiance Pads. ALTERNATIVE: face mask
5. Apply Neogen Dermatology White Truffle Serum in Oil Drop that I got from a free gift with purchase set all over my face, neck and chest except for my eyelids since I got a blocked pore there once after using it there (I skip this step if I used a moisturizing face mask)
6. Roll this overpriced jade roller that squeaks all over my face as directed to help the serum soak into my face
7. Apply eye cream to undereye areas and eyelids. Currently I'm using a sample of Clinique's Pep Start Eye cream
8. Apply face moisturizer. Currently I'm using a sample of First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Cream on my face, and CeraVe's Moisurizing Cream for normal to dry skin on my neck and chest 
9. I've started using Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion on my pimples, but I'm not sure where it fits in this skincare routine
10. Apply Rimmel lash serum

The usual skincare routine that I do like 10-15 minutes before bed

1. Remove eye makeup with the Almay eye makeup remover pads. If I've only worn eyeliner that day, use the 2 sides of 1 pad, 1 for each eye. (Skip this step if it's 10 minutes before bed)
2. Remove face (and eye) makeup with face/makeup wipes. Currently using Pacifica Rose Water Makeup Removing Wipes. 
3. Wash face with the Neutrogena ultra gentle hydrating cleanser. 
4. Apply eye cream.
5. Apply face cream to face, neck and chest. 
6. Carefully wipe moisturizer from pimples and apply drying lotion.

The skincare routine I do if I have 5 minutes before bed

1. Remove all makeup with makeup remover wipe.
2. Wash face with face wash
3. Apply eye cream.
4. Apply moisturizer.

The skincare routine I do if I have 1 minute before bed

1. Face wipe
2. Rinse face with water
3. Eye cream
4. Moisturizer

The skincare routine I do if I haven't put on any makeup or sunscreen that day

• Nothing, or, just moisturizer and eye cream

The skincare routine I do when I'm staying the night at my parents' house

1. Remove eye makeup with baby oil and 1-2 cotton rounds
2. Remove face makeup with No7 makeup remover and a cotton round
3. Wash face with Clinique facial soap bar
4. Apply Neutrogena Eye Cream
5. Apply face moisturizer. Currently it's Clinique Pep-Start Hydroblur Moisturizer

The skincare routine I do when I'm traveling

1. Try to remove eye makeup with e.l.f. eye makeup wipes that I have to dampen with water because they've dried out. Give up.
2. Remove makeup etc. from face with makeup wipes
3. Wash face using face wash sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag
4. Apply eye cream from the sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag
5. Apply moisturizer from the sample packet I've brought in my toiletries bag