Saturday, December 15, 2012

Dupe for Butter London's Teddy Girl

So I was prancing around in Target today because I was traveling and forgot to bring an eyeliner. That's my one thing I can't do without- no eyeliner and there is NO WAY you are dragging my butt outside the house. Because I can't hide in a room all day I headed over to Target to get my favorite drugstore liner- Milani's Infinite liner in 'everlast'. Heavily armed with oversized shades I was glancing at all the drugstore polishes when I found this on the shelves:


Last night I painted my nails in Butter London's Teddy Girl. It's one of my favorite pinks! But if you look...its pretty much a perfect dupe. I'll probably need to buy it later to know for sure but here's another bloggers picture of Covergirl's Outlast Stay Brilliant polish in 'Pink-finity'


I found this picture via a Google search on justporciuncula's blog. Doesn't it make you excited for the day I can give you photos like this? So if her photo is the true color then this polish is a bit more cool toned and pinky, a la Essie's French Affair. But apparently its a great 1 coat formula. I actually hate Butter London's formula AND brush. Its skinny and goopy, a lot like Essie's. Its just easier for me to use a wider brush such as Chanel or OPI.

But I thought it was interesting that inside the bottle it looks practically the same. But lighting can play a HUGE factor in to how something looks on camera so perhaps it truly is closer to BL's Teddy Girl.  I was hesitant to buy it because its $4.99 which is hitting the OPI range and expensive for a Covergirl polish in my opinion. However if the formula really is nicer then I suppose it'd be worth it. She said 6 days no chips (which means 2 in my world hah!) and I've noticed many companies are now imitating the Chanel bottle. So has ELF if you've checked out their newer stuff. So I thought i'd share just for the curious to know :) I'll probably buy a bottle soon as my Teddy Girl is quickly drying up -____- never buying a BL polish again. Even though they have some great colors.

Take care!

Love,
Jackie

Thursday, December 13, 2012

OH HAI! New Camera soon...so more blogging?

Hi guys.

So I know. Yell. Scream at me. I am a freaking terrible blogger and I apologize for it. However...because I recently (or not so recently) surpassed the 100,000 subscriber mark this may soon change. Apparently this means I get free stuff from Youtube. YAY! Free stuff. My Chinese side rejoices.


Okay so not so free. I get a $500 gift card to an electronics shop which is better than nothing right? Although I'm tempted to buy myself tablet or a new PC, I think it is best to heed your cries and finally buy a DSLR. So this is the DSLR I'm getting- it's a Canon Rebel T3i. From my understanding most of the Youtubers have this these days. The footage is really high quality, even in low lighting which will be nice for the CRAZY amount of rain SoCal has been having. It's been raining for 4-5 days at a time, really unusual but at least we won't have all those ridiculous drought warnings and water shortages again. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to see around the bulky casing...but we'll see! Haha


So what does this mean for you? Hopefully more frequent blog posts, more frequent and higher quality videos. I think that honestly, when I first started Youtube everyone shared my video quality. Most people started off with the 1. something megapixel camera built in to their laptops. But I think where my video quality didn't bug me before where it bugs me now. So thank you guys for all your patience, I see your point and will try very hard to make sure my videos are easy to watch :) I'm also going to try to make a DIY light box so I can take some more high quality product photos to go with these new reviews! It doesn't look very hard...but I'm not always the best at DIY so we'll see LOL.

So what has been going on with me?

I'm sorry I've been so quiet. I know I've always gone so in and out of Youtube but I never wanted to identify myself as just being a Youtube personality. At $5,000 dollars a quarter on my education I couldn't focus on something that as many of you know would be transient. There are times I think about what "could have been" but I am honestly happy with the size i'm at now social media wise and really can't ask for more. I've been incredibly blessed and I'm also really happy with where I am now, so I can't say that I regret anything I've done either.

Life after school
So the economy in the United States has been difficult, as many of you may know. But thankfully I was blessed to receive a few job offers right out of school. I almost didn't believe all the news stories about high unemployment, underemployment and lost jobs but as I was applying for jobs thats kind of when it hit me. There would be 2-300 applications per position, minimum. CRAZY. I think I'm fortunate though in that as of yet, I haven't had any friends be unable to find employment. For the most part all of us also got in to the fields that we wanted, so there's a lot to be thankful for. So that has been my life: work, hot yoga, gym and more work. I tried to figure out where Youtube and my blog would fit in this as I don't work a job thats repetitive, so sometimes I need to bring things home. But I realized it was one of those take-your-own-advice times and that I needed to make time for it. So I have been setting time aside every week :) And hopefully the blog will save me on the days the sun isn't having it.

So I tried to decide, what is reasonable?
I would LIKE to have: A video every 4 days and a blog weekly
But I will...probably only be able to do a video a week and post whenever I do something interesting (which is almost never ;D) haha but I figure once I have a sweet light box and camera I can also do shorter posts here. 

This is probably the only thing that's exciting that has happened in the past few months. It was my birthday and now I'm 23, yay? We decided to have dinner at George's at the Cove in La Jolla, CA as it used to be a favorite of mine. The quality has definitely gone down...and despite the fact that we waited an hour for food I found it to be just okay. I was really sad but apparently where George's now fails to impress Eddie V's right next door now picks up. It still has the same spectacular view of La Jolla Cove though. 


This view. So serene. We had to wait by the bar as they opened the dinner area. It directly overlooks the cove so you can drink your martini as the winds from the beach gently brush against your face. Seeing everyone relax after work (or a vigorous shopping spree) was so therapeutic- definitely reminds you of the good life. It was nice to slow things down for awhile.

 I have to say this was the first year I felt *old*. I almost PANICKED. I just want so much more for myself. I think women are serial planners, we try to set dates and ages for everything we want in our lives. But everyone keeps telling me that I'm still young so I try to believe them. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have this panging voice in the back of my head that's silently freaking out every day.

So now I must ask my NorCal readers. I'll be visiting the Bay area soon- we have a ton of friends there and wanted to spend time with them before the year is over. So you have to tell me, what do I need to eat?! We'll be in the Union Square, Chinatown and Financial district area a lot so anything in those areas that's a must try please let me know!

And I have to finish this blog with some cuteness. Meet Cece! She's a two year old pom. I've known her since she fit in the palm of my hand! I hadn't seen my friends in awhile and a few of them came down from San Francisco for the weekend. As we were getting ready to go out she kept hopping in my bag and wouldn't get out -_- Not sure why. But she's cute anyway so its okay



Also here's my latest video if you haven't seen it. I decided to show my foundation routine :x Which I really like and I think gives great coverage while looking pretty natural both in real life and on camera. Enjoy!



love,
Jackie 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Two Things I've Learned in Life


Something strange that I’ve noticed about Youtube is that for some reason, people have imagined us to be role models. Not sure why this is, but let me tell you – I would never profess or pretend to have lived a perfect life or that I was a perfect person. But despite the fact that I keep my channel to very surface level things like makeup and skincare, I still get tons of messages from the younger population about the future and their happiness. I’m glad that you think I’m happy, and I must say that I’m much happier than I can remember being, but it was a long and slow journey for me. But as I’ve stumbled along life, I can really only share these two pieces of “wisdom” with you, that I think are actually true, and can apply to everyone.



1. Surround yourself with good people
Growing up my mom used to always chide me that “birds of a feather flock together”. Although I think there’s a lot of old school Asian elitism built in there, I can’t help but say that there’s a lot of truth to this statement. [Admittedly a lot of what my mother told me ended up being true- but that’s a whole ‘nother story and not one I want to admit to anytime soon lulz]

There’s a saying that you are the middle of the five people you spend the most time with. When I reflect on my own life, this has always proved to be true. When I spent time with people who were selfish, self absorbed, lazy, insatiably materialistic, etc. I was much of the same. But now that I spend a lot of time focused on my career and studies, I find that my group has unconsciously changed. It wasn’t even a conscious going of ways- we simply stopped having things in common when I didn’t want to go out partying every night of the week anymore.

I think its just natural for us to be influenced by those around us. Its very hard to be unmotivated when you’re watching everyone else around you chase their dreams, and its also hard to care when everyone around you is indifferent about their future. This isn’t to say this is a blanket statement and there aren’t exceptions to the rule- but it even applies to fitness. People who like to work out like people who work out- and it'd be harder (but not impossible) to “let go” of one’s self so to speak. Surrounding yourself with good people may not "fix" your life, but it will dispel all of the silly, self-pitying excuses you give yourself to not get the things you want.

Surrounding yourself with good people doesn’t just affect things like your career though, I truly think it greatly affects your overall happiness and well being. Happy, successful people, unlike bitter people, are eager to share their happiness and success with the people around them. I don’t think you’ll completely avoid terrible events or your own slip and falls along the way, but your chances at happiness are much higher with people who love you around you. As far as friends go, quality > quantity, always. You'll make better life choices, which will almost certainly lead to a much happier life, filled with more opportunities and good memories. 



2. Know what you want
Because the largest demographic of Youtube is the under 18 crowd, I get tons of emails daily asking about my career, how I chose it, how they should choose their major etc. Let me just tell you that I can’t tell you whether to take the solid medical field route or to try your luck at whatever your niche passion is- but one of the best things you can do is know what you want in life.

This applies to your friendships and relationships as well. It’s HARD to hit the ground running if you don’t even know where you’re running towards. And it’s even harder to be competitive with people your age who have fully immersed themselves in this career for the past 5 years- and have 5 years of solid experience in front of you.

So how do you know what you want? Some (aggravating) people seem to know what they want from the moment they come out of their mother’s womb and stick unwaveringly to it their entire life. I think the majority of us will have to stumble along- until we find what makes us happy. So how do you start “trying out” different fields? Get a volunteer job, an internship, a part-time, or even ask to shadow a doctor or whatever it is that you want to do. Jump in to that field, and it’ll help you decide if you could stick with it for life.  You could attend networking meet ups in that industry (search for these online, I promise there’s tons), or even start a blog or channel about the said topic. I also suggest that you find a mentor. Hell, even take a seemingly irrelevant-to-your-major class in college. You’ll gain experience, as well as real world knowledge that you can then apply to your career. Even if you don’t go with this said career track I promise you almost every bit of work experience you have will help build you up for your future career/job- even if they’re in different niches.


At the end of the day different things make different people happy- some need money, some need fulfillment, others need routine and security. So I could, quite frankly, never really answer any of your questions. But these are the two tips that have remained true throughout my life, and that I think will truly bring you long term happiness, and all that happy wonderful stuff. Oh. And pet puppies. That works too :) 


This is my friend's dog Kona :) she's a lab rescue- but she's INCREDIBLY timid. I worked with rescues for years and have never met a dog that was so scared. She's also not food motivated- so food and bribes aren't working. Any tips on getting her to open up? :[ I know you should take it at their pace and let them initiate the interaction but its been a few weeks now and she's still having a hard time and we really want her to be well socialized due to the owner's career and lifestyle. Any suggestions would be welcome :)


Until next time!
Jackie

Monday, June 18, 2012

Review: Canmake's Peach Cream, Butter London Teddy Girl and Etude House Jelly Pop top coat

Hi guys :)

So as you guys already know I've been a bit on a nail kick lately. I just wanted to share some swatches of the polishes and top coats I've been trying out for the past few weeks.

butter london teddy girl swatch

butter london teddy girl swatch
As far as my review of Butter London Polish "Teddy Girl" its described as a "bubblegum pink". I think of it more as a Barbie doll pink, as you can see it leans pretty strongly towards white. It takes 3 coats to become opaque. As far as chipping goes it usually lasts 2-3 days without chipping, but after that its chip city! It looks a lot better after you paint all the coats and then add a top coat. I'm not a fan of the brush or formula however. It can be a bit thick and has a skinny brush much like Essie (and I'm an OPI fan)


Canmake Peach Cream 46 Etude House Jelly Pop top coat review

So here is a picture of Canmake #46 Peach Cream polish with Etude House Jelly Pop top coat.
Canmake Peach Cream review: I LOVE the color of this polish. Its a beautiful almost jelly like coral. Its a bit lighter than Chanel's distraction, which I mentioned that I loved before! It takes 4 coats until its acceptably opaque...but if you look closely you can still see through the polish. It lasts about 3 days without chipping, but doesn't seem to chip off in huge chunks. Its also a bit annoying to apply because it can get very thick and the brush is skinny. Gorgeous color and great formula, horrendous application.

As far as the Etude house jelly pop top coat...this has to be one of my favorite top coats ever! It applies quickly and easily and is a bit thicker than seche vite...BUT it doesn't have as strong fumes and doesn't tend to thicken in the bottle as seche vite does. It has the same chip-resistance as seche vite but I will admit that I think seche vite is a tad bit shinier.

And thats all for now :)
Sorry I've been so out of touch...I've been moving, attended many friends graduations and went on a very small trip to Catalina Island recently. OH! And I've been swimming :) Which takes up a lot of time (and energy) hahaha.

PS. Please ignore the stupid horribly outdated timestamp...my camera is being stupid since I dropped it and I haven't fixed it yet -_- My apologies!

In case you want to watch my video review you guys can see it below:


I also talked about the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray, Benefit's Hervana blush and an awful top coat called "Hong Kong Girl"...yes that was really the name. Hahaha!

Take care :) 
Jackie

Monday, June 04, 2012

Babyliss Pro vs. Hot Tools curling irons

Hi guys! So I know a lot of you guys love curling your hair. I, for one, can only muster up enough energy to curl it on rare occasions but Flat Iron Experts approached me recently asking me to do a video for them. I didn't want to do yet another curling hair video (and lets admit it you can only watch so many "how to curl your hair with a flat iron" videos before you want to slap yourself) so I thought it'd be interesting to talk about some good high and low end models. I'm all for investing in your hot tools, but sometimes you just don't need something quite as expensive. 

If you curl your hair very rarely and have particularly resilient hair, then maybe a more economical curling iron will suffice! Technology has come a long way and even though I still don't like curling irons made by brands like Revlon etc I wanted to showcase some more inexpensive products that don't get quite as much love.

Conversely maybe you curl your hair all the time, and investing in a good curling iron will pay off in the long run. To make it easier to compare the two irons that I reviewed here's a chart I made below:

hot tools vs babyliss
 Hot Tools Professional Spring Curling Iron vs.  Babyliss Pro Tourmaline Ceramic Curling Iron


Links to the products mentioned:






5% off with the code: JACKIE5OFF
FIE also offers a 30 day warranty on all their items. If you don't like it, send it back!

Some FAQ:
What's the difference between ceramic vs metal (non ceramic) hot tools?

Ceramic tools emit negative ions that make your hair sleeker and shinier, they are also less damaging. They also minimize heat loss while styling hair and can help remove hair odor. They heat up faster and age much better than more inexpensive irons.

What is a ceramic tourmaline iron?

A ceramic tourmaline iron is essentially the same thing as a ceramic iron, with the exception that it has the added benefits of tourmaline. This mineral emits 6 times more negative ions than a traditional ceramic iron.


So thats it! I hope that was helpful. And this is the video if you guys didn't get a chance to see it:


I also have a contest going on where the winner will win one of the two irons! One will win the Babyliss and one will win the Hot Tools iron. Winner will be chosen in 2 weeks
To enter: You must be a subscriber. Visit Flat Iron Expert's website and choose an item you like from the site. Enter the items name as a comment and enter as many times as you like.



Thursday, May 17, 2012

Acne skincare tips

Hi everyone,

I promised I'd make an effort to blog more, so here I am :) I want to talk about skincare and acne tips today because I think having healthy skin is far more important than any makeup or foundation routine.

As I mentioned I'd give you guys an update on my Bikram yoga! I am 110% sure its helped me bring my skin back to its original state. Ever since I tried BB creams 18 months ago my skin has never been the same. To be quite honest I've harbored a bit of resentment towards Asian makeup and skincare since then. My skin tone wasn't as even and I still had a bit of scarring left. Bikram has REALLY helped, its been a long time since my mother's complimented my skin- she has a very critical eye! So I know that I'm not imagining the improvement. So here are some things that I know help to improve skin's appearance and texture.

1. Sweat- a LOT! I really think working up a sweat helps to open up congested pores. Just make sure to wash your face after and don't work out with face makeup on

2. Improve your diet- I feel like a broken record saying this but even my friends with very severe acne noticed significant improvement in the appearance and frequency of their breakouts. It can't hurt to try, and it'll help you shed stubborn belly fat and improve your hair, nails and skin.

3. Remove dairy from your diet- so this is one I don't personally follow because I have no adverse side effects from it. However a lot of people will actually break out from the hormones in dairy products.  I notice this is mostly a problem with my friends who struggle with moderate-severe acne. Try cutting out dairy products completely and see if this helps you. All the nutrients of dairy can be found in other products as well :) so its not necessary by any means

4. Clean the surfaces that touch your face. Pillow cases, cell phones etc harbor hoards of bacteria. Did you know that about 70% of cell phones have traces of fecal matter on them? I have a clear protector screen on mine and clean it every few days with hand sanitizer or windex sprayed on to a piece of paper and then rubbed on. Don't put it directly on to the device, put a small amount on paper so that you're not drenching your phone.

5. Drink lots of water! This really truly helps your skin be more vibrant and gives you great energy. It also helps you be LESS bloated. How much water should you drink a day? Don't go by the 8 cups of water rule, this is way too general. Multiply your weight in kg by .033 to find a good amount and drink more if you're particularly active.

So that's it! I'm confident that making these simple changes truly help to improve the appearance of your skin. Also remember to wear sunscreen religiously if you're acne prone, sun damage inhibits the skins ability to regenerate and encourages scarring. So wear sunscreen to help prevent scars from being too severe.

Take care and see you ladies next week :D



Friday, April 27, 2012

My Experience with Bikram Yoga


So for a long time now I've wanted to try Bikram yoga. Bikram yoga is an intensive yoga class that is 90 minutes long in a 105 degree room with 40% humidity. Let me first explain why this class (which sounds like torture) really appealed to me: it seemed to promise the “inner peace” yogis profess in their lives while simultaneously being a strenuous mental and physical exercise. One of my friends (a Corepower yoga devotee) explained to me that she really didn’t like Bikram- that it was too strict and unfriendly. There’s no talking, drinking water at will etc. People who leave early are often chastised, but honestly I like this kind of demanding workout and I’m used to there being structure in the class setting.

So why did I want to start yoga? For a lot of reasons. The first was obvious: for de-stressing and for finding “inner peace”. Lame, I know, but sometimes I have a temper that is UGLY and mean. It almost never comes out, but when it does and if you ever see it you surely won’t forget it (ask my roommates who got my car towed right before I had a final…NOT a happy camper! Lol). It doesn’t happen often or to most people, but I think I tend to pent up a lot of my frustrations and then it comes spewing out at once -_-

The next reason I wanted to try it was for the body. I don’t expect to lose a ton of weight- but I’m excited to get my sweat on! I get bloated easily- super easily. I think a lot of it stems from my IBS and being very sensitive to any food I eat. On top of the bloating I’ve started getting a lot of pain in my shoulder and upper back- I’m not a believer in pain medications of any kind. I’m hoping this will help to naturally ease some of the sharp pains I’ve been feeling near my trapezoidal muscle. Its been getting almost unbearable these past few weeks, and its made finishing my workout really hard to do. On top of that I’ve been having a lot of sleep issues. I haven’t been able to stay asleep a full night for a few months now, and I’m always tired and groggy which makes me a bit careless in day to day life.

On top of all this there are some days I want to get a bit of a workout without spending time in the gym. I loved dance because it’s the same thing over and over, but no one is ever perfect. You’re constantly improving, and I think Bikram will be much of the same.

After my First Class:
WOW. That was hot haha! My first thought walking in was “Hmm…not too bad”. When class started I realized that’s because the studio had had 30 minutes to air out and the heater and humidifier weren’t on. The heat didn’t feel intense until about 30-45 minutes in. We laid down and I felt all the blood rush to my head. An older man nearby was moaning asking when could we leave- and that was the first time the thought of leaving even seemed like an option. It made the end drag on, so now I understand the stories of why instructors are upset when people leave. That first seed of negativity can really implant itself in to your hand. It wasn’t nearly as bad until he was endlessly moaning and groaning and causing a scene. I’ve read a lot of stories about people considering leaving and having a hard time finishing, and now I understand why. It is seriously vigorous- even regulars had to take breaks at time. Me being the stubborn mule I am refused to take a break and sit down- but I hit a point where I got pretty dizzy and nervous for a second but I just told myself to calm down and keep going.

If you can, try and bring an absorbent towel for your mat. I was totally unaware that I could sweat so much. It was actually pretty disgusting. Anytime my head was upside down after the 20 minute mark I’d start not being able to see because the sweat kept getting in my eyes. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a 105 degree room with high humidity. My towel was thin enough to where it really started to get slippery- so just try for something a bit more absorbent!

I’ve realized this post is getting WAY too long…so let me list the pros and cons as I see them:

PROS:
1. It's a great workout without going to the gym- they say you can burn 800-1000 calories, but I think anywhere around the 3-500 mark is much more accurate. This would of course also depend on your weight and how hard you work
2. Your skin will look better. Look around you in class, everyone has great skin and I can’t help but think the yoga helps. You sweat so much that it really helps to de-clog your pores and I’ve noticed that even the skin on my body feels more supple
3. Inner peace…or something like that! Haha

CONS:
1.     It is HOT. I really like it now, but I’ve seen enough people nearly pass out where I think I can safely say this isn’t for everyone. They say its for everyone of all ages and skill levels, but many people (older or out of shape) tend to get pretty sick in class. If you’re mentally strong I think you’d be able to tough it out, but just be careful if you faint easily
2.     Its expensive- any class with instruction will be costly. Thankfully a lot of studios run Groupon deals so look for those in your area! Also you’ll want to buy a mat and towels, sports bras, shorts etc...it adds up pretty quickly
3.     It takes up a lot of time. The class is 90 minutes, and most studios ask that you get there 10-15 minutes before. On top of that you can’t eat heavy meals 2 hours before and you’ll absolutely need to shower after. You pretty much have to revolve your entire day around this class, so days I’m short on time I find it hard to go

UPDATE - After my second class
My second time was way easier! I agree with everyone who says the first class is the hardest. I’ve heard of Bikram being described as the “Yoga for Athletes” because of its strength training and discipline, I can’t help but agree. Also it focuses on stretching and healing- and most athletes or people that regularly work out are usually nursing some kind of injury anyway. Hopefully I’ll update you guys in the future about my shoulder pain and hopefully it’ll be much improved

Tuesday, March 13, 2012



Hi guys! A quick blog post on a cool promotion going on.
Sorry I haven't been faithfully blogging, I promise that this will change shortly ;] But as I'm in that strange *transition* phase in my life each and every day seems to be filled with surprises. Anyways I just wanted to pass this along to you ladies in case you haven't seen it.



Right now Zoya is offering a buy three, get three free deal on their blog
You can check out the offer HERE for more information
Its open from now until the end of Wednesday
I may pick up some myself :) I've been on a bit of a nail kick lately. For those of you who have never tried Zoya, it tends to get awesome reviews in the nail community! My sister (a recent nail junkie) is a huge fan of their formulas!



Also Cherry Culture is also hosting their own sale for 20% off everything in store with the code "MMM2012"
Cherry culture is a site that sells NYX, the Beauty Blender, Milani etc for very affordable prices
You can visit their site here


So thats it! Talk to you guys soon :)


xo, Jackie

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Etude House's Drawing Eye Brow Review and Swatches

So I wanted to do a few quick swatches of Etude House's Draw Eye Brow eyebrow pencils :) There are the pencils I have been using for the past few months. I've always preferred the convenience of pencil but have always found many of them way too harsh! I was waiting to get my hands on all the colors but I received these in my order with Yesstyle and as far as I can tell, they will no longer carry them. However the product is NOT discontinued and I'm sure you can find it in other places :) I doubt there would be counterfeits, as Etude house is not a high end or in high demand company. Here is the company's color chart of the product:
Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Swatches
Top to bottom: #1 Dark Brown, #2 Grey Brown, #4 Dark Grey
[In the video I am wearing #1]
You can find all the colors here, but I must warn you I've never heard of/ordered from this site. But because the product is not very expensive, once again I wouldn't expect counterfeits [but you never know!]




I explain the pros and cons of the product in the review video below, but to do a quick summary the points of the product are as follows:




Pros: Looks soft like shadow, convenient mechanical pencil, included spoolie, low price
Cons: Cap is cheap, not a fan of the spoolie either




Hope this was helpful :) If you order from the site let me know if its any good! haha and Happy Leap year?


Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Brown
The brow pencils in action! I believe i'm wearing dark brown (#1) in this =]

Until next time <3

Friday, February 17, 2012

Clear Care review and my red, irritated eyes



WARNING: This is VERY TEXT HEAVY x.x
Hi guys! I’m pretty excited to start blogging again. Honestly I’ve missed the blogger world. The community is much more intimate, and I’ve always appreciated being able to articulate my thoughts a bit better than I can in my videos. It’ll definitely be a delicate balance blogging while trying to maintain both my and my friend’s privacy, but I’m excited for the challenge and excited to be back!
So as many of you know, I haven’t been filming quite as often because of some issues with my eyes. They were enflamed, burning, dry, tearing, and light sensitive. Many of you offered your insight (a sty, ulcers and pink eye were common suggestions hehe) but I’ve actually had both eye ulcers and pink eye, and I knew whatever was going on was deeper than that. I must urge people to not be as stubborn as I am. I’ve never been a fan of medications or doctors, and as a disclaimer I must state that I am not one and so this post is purely my opinion and experience which you must take at your own risk. Anyway I think what first let me know this was different was that it would go away and then come back, it was unresponsive to antibacterial drops and my eye would go back to being okay after opening a new set of contacts
When the irritation first began I took a picture and posted it on facebook (I was trying to find some humor in it haha) and a friend recommended Clear Care to me. She told me she had been having the same problem and that it was because the contact solution she used was not thoroughly cleaning her lenses. I kind of dismissed it because generally speaking I’m not really open to change. I’ve used the same solution for 6 years. Its one of the more expensive brand names and I didn’t see why it would suddenly fail me. Then I decided to post up a video of my eye for more kicks and giggles on my Youtube and stumbled upon the following comment:
After this comment even more flooded in, all suggesting clear care saying that they had experienced the same thing.
I googled it (above and it came up without me even finishing it...which means it gets searched for often -_-) and pages and pages of hits came up talking about complications people experienced with Optifree solution and Acuvue Oasys contacts. Needles to say I was pretty convinced at this point. I headed over to Costco and bought a 2 16oz bottle pack of Clear Care. I read the instructions, and for good measure soaked my OLD lenses (that had been irritating me to see if it was the cause) three times…I put them in and BAM. No issues, no redness, no tearing, no light sensitivity. So I don’t know if allergens were being caught in my lenses or Opti Free simply doesn’t clean them well, but either way the two don’t work together in my case. I really cant thank you guys enough…I probably wouldn’t have gone until I absolutely couldn’t take it anymore. I have a pretty high pain threshold…so who knows how long that would have been -_-
For those you unfamiliar with Clear Care, it is a hydrogen peroxide solution. The case contains a metal ring that speeds up the neutralization process. Normally this would take days or even weeks to totally neutralize, but the ring speeds up the reaction so that it only takes 6 hours.
You take out your contacts (L and R are labeled) and put each on their respective side and then close the hinge over the lens. Do NOT use this solution with ANY other case. Only this case will neutralize the solution

Then you fill the container to the fill line and close it, and then you let it sit for 6 hours. THEY ARE NOT KIDDING. Do NOT put it in your eye before 6 hours, it will BURN your eye and has the potential to damage it.
Its $16.79 before Tax at Costco for two(2) 16 oz bottles of solution, 2 cases and one small travel bottle (for you Jetsetters). I just wanted to get the word out there because according to my comments this has happened to many, many of you. It sucks because opti-free has always been viewed as a superior brand name product, but I guess it goes to show that it definitely isn’t perfect. From what I saw it seems to only work adversely with the Oasys contacts, but I can’t help but say both of these products are on my forever poopoo list. That and I never noticed a huge difference between all the Acuvue contacts anyway so I don’t mind switching. I just took whatever my optometrist gave me and he’d usually switch me to whichever was the newest (wonder why =p).
So let me list the pros and cons as I see it:
CONS: I can see this being very expensive. You need to fill the container to the fill line, and the two bottles (according to people’s blogs) lasts only 5-6 weeks. I’m not sure what the volume of the container is, but an eyeball guess is that you’re using at least 4-6x the amount of solution daily. Normally that Costco pack of Opti-free that’s the same volume would last me most of the year! So quite costly indeed :/ I’ve seen some people say that they switch between this and regular solution (either every other day or Clear Care every 3 days), but I’m not so sure that I would feel comfortable doing that now considering the huge pain my eyes have been. However it would definitely cut down the cost and inconvenience if you are willing to try it.

You have to wait 6 hours to use them. They’re not kidding when they say this, you can Google a bunch of people’s stories when they mistook it for normal solution and received a most unpleasant surprise. Obviously this is a huge inconvenience! You’ll need to have some glasses on hand, but a friend suggested to me that if for whatever reason you need to wear them earlier than that to thoroughly rinse them with normal sterile saline solution…which would mean you’d need to have both on hand! I’d still be scared to do this because of all the horror stories of people hurting their eyes because they got some in their eyes, but I suppose its something to try if you’re in a pinch.
Also some people have mentioned issues with this system making contacts tear more easily, fortunately I haven't had this problem yet. But I do think its a bit cumbersome and time consuming to use...normally taking out/putting in contacts takes me a few seconds for each eye, so this does lengthen up the process. I also don’t always get 6 hours of rest every day, so Its definitely going to take some getting used to to take them out in time so they have enough time to soak.
PROS: You'll feel like you're wearing a new pair of contacts every time. Its also preservative free for those of you sensitive to them. I also like how the bottle has the same volume as other solutions but is tall and slender...which means more counter space ;D Its also fun to watch the bubbling action! haha
So thats it! As you guys can see my eyes are totally and %100 better :) It literally cleared it up right away. I hope this helps some of you guys that have been struggling as well.

love, Jackie