The Liebster Award.

      I am doing this now and I hope that Jennifer from +Golden Tresses, who nominated my blog in the first place knows how much I appreciate the nomination! I say that because the nomination took place months ago and I only just saw it (this is what becoming a no-reply blogger gets you; don't be me!). For anyone who still may not know what exactly a Liebster award is, it's a token of recognition that bloggers award to fellow bloggers who they think deserve more recognition. The terminology "Liebster" roughly translates to "Dearest" from German, and the guidlelines of this award are as follows:

1. You've been nominated; congratulations! Now you should thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Present 11 interesting things about yourself. Don't be shy, and don't worry that they don't seem relevant to the topic of your blog, they aren't supposed to be! If you write a traveling blog but half of your 11 facts are about music or food, it's fine!
3. At this point, the person who has presented you with the nomination should have prepared 11 questions for you to answer. Have fun with this!
4.  Now create your own set of 11 questions and nominate some of your own favorite bloggers! Please keep in mind that each nominee should be one who has less than 200 followers for their blog.
5. No 'Tag-backs'!

      And with that, I'll start my 11 interesting factoids; since I'm the only one moderating this page right now, it'll be just fact about me :).

My 11 Facts:

1. I'm going to be twenty at the end of this year; my birthday worked out so that I would be a year older than everyone in my class as a secondary school student, and more so that I'll be 21 just in time for New Year's celebration 2014. Not something extrememly relevant, just thought it interesting.
2. I can comprehend four languages, but speak only two; I speak Japanese and English, and I can understand most of the Korean and Spanish that I hear.
3. I don't have a driver's license.. This is funny to me? I don't know I just think it's funny because it hasn't stopped me from getting around!
4. I love biking and outdoors activities, but I hate the heat where I live! It's 29 Degrees or more where I live almost everyday in the summertime, so I usually only spend time indoors until the temperature drops twentry degrees, to something liveable in other words.
5. I can play the violin and guitar and I like to study digital music composition in my spare time.
6. I'm in love with everything writing and composition; I am so sloppy whenever I write but as long as I'm happy with my finished product (and this is rare) or I am able to help someone learn something new, I will continue to persue writing and composition. Journalistic composition and editorial writing are most interesting to me right now.
7. I don't like using blogger for my blog only because I don't understand the markup for the theme so I can't really change anything in it without ruining my blog's design. The original one was something that I created but because I didn't understand xml very well, I could use my design here, and that's why I keep changing it! But also I'm picky~
8. My favorite beauty product is matte eyeshadows with intense pigmentation and a grind similiar to rice enzyme powder. I really like using them wet, I just find that it makes the colors pop more against my skin tone and regardless of the color, the lack of mica to make the colors too brilliant allows me the ability to control the shimmer of my looks by adding it in on my own later on. I especially long strong, earthen or tropical floral colors, red eyeshadow is a current obsession of mine.
9. I take a long time to create content for my blog because I have not found a good balance between work, my blog, and my social life. I read every email I get and I save them when they're from individual people. If I haven't replied, it is because I just haven't had time, but i remember it everyday until I eventually can reply to it. It's ridiculous and really a bad habit, so I'm trying to get better for the sake of my blog, I want it to become a place that people enjoy visiting, and commenting on!
10. I don't like posting pictures of my face lol. I feel like the biggest narcissist in the world when I do that so I want to use other people's faces for my tutorials and FOTD posts.
11. My only aspriation in life it to live a life that I can look back on and say honestly that I'm completely satisfied with it; that doesn't mean I want to be perfect or make the best decisions, be rich and powerful or any of that noise, it just means I want to be able to look at every good and bad memory I have at the end of my life and acknowledge that they happened, that they are in my past, and that I was a better person for them.

11 Questions from Jennifer:

• Q:What type of music do you listen to? 

I listen to anything that is not country. I don't hate country, I just don't like anything I've heard so far. Kpop. I listen to Kpop also. I feel like this is important to note. My favorite group is UKISS, but my favorite vocalist is BoA.

• How did you decide you wanted to become a blogger? 

Because all my life, the one unwavering talent that I've had is writing. It's the one thing that I've never been told that I'm bad at, so I think I've clung to that notion and fostered a love for blogging in the process. 

• Q:How long have you been blogging?

For more than five years; I've had a lot of blogs, like at least 9, but I've only deleted one of them. 

• Q:If you had the chance to visit any country in the world, where would you go?

Vanuatu or Mongolia maybe.

• Q:What is your favorite movie?

The Science of Sleep. 

• Q:Do you have any pets? If so, what are their names?

I don't have any pets. 

• Q:What is your favorite perfume?

The Bulgari that was released in 2011 at year end, because it has a smooth smell to it that's almost seamless, and it reminds me of the smell of petrichor at dawn and how a  gentle breeze on such a day would waft the aroma of my neighbor's botanical garden through my partially open window, and in the moment, even as the humid air made my skin feel thickened with the mire of Summer heated, I was happy just for the indulgence; I say 'almost seamless' because I can still locate the smell of pepper and jasmine extract in the perfume. 

• Q:What is your go-to hairstyle?

Because my hair is longer than shoulder length, if I have flat ironed it, I will fold it under with pins so that it looks shorter than it is. If I have not, then I put my hair in a bun with a left-oriented part. I find that either of these styles soften the hard features of my face.

• Q:What is your full-time career?

I would have to say that I'm a publisher. It's the thing that we want to spend our lives doing that defines our career, right?

•  Q:Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Five years from now seems a blur to me; I can't say that I see a future for myself based on what I am doing right now, because it has not been something consistent and measurable. I will say that I see myself doing something new in the way that one resigns themself to the end of an adventure in one novel to begin their next journey in the world of the next book. 

• Q:What is your favorite color, and why is it your favorite?

Well, I commonly tell people that it is green, but that is because I haven't found a way to convey the idea of Viridian without explaining color theory. But yes, Viridian is my favorite color, I love that it's so close to being a calm blue and a lavish green that my eye is not really able to tell which one it is really closest to. 

11 Questions for Those Nominated:

1. What has been the best moment of your life so far?
2. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about your blog?
3. List one thing that's irksome about social media?
4. Describe one social issue that doesn't have nearly the attention it deserves?
5. What is your favorite general beauty product?
6. When shopping for beauty products, do you consider all contenders or only those with which you've got a fair amount of familiarity?
7. Describe your three favorite hobbies.
8. What do you often catch yourself thinking about before falling asleep at night?
9. What would you say is your best talent?
10. Share an embarrassing moment of yours and how you were able to move past it.
11. When it comes to mainstream media in your locality, what do you find your attention to be focused on?

And, Nominees Are..

• +RACHEL  of Tao of Poop
• +Michelle Louie of A Lovely Allure
• +Fräulein Schnee of Berries in the Snow
• +Sinead Taylor of Fashion and Beauty Tribes  
• +Anna Ho of Pretty Optimal
• Jackie of Beauty Made Simple
• +Meredith Crawley of Beauty-o-holic
• The Bizarre Chic Effect
• Diane of Diane's Vintage Zest
• Malvika of Pretty Little Things 
• +Laurie van Deventer  of Laurettie

And there you have it my lovely lads and lassies! If your name is listed above, please know that I have enjoyed reading your blog so much that I wanted to extend my gratitude to you in this way, and you've got to pay it forward :).  For those of you with any questions or would like to get in contact with me, don't hesitate to add me through +Cloudnine Kollektiv or send an email!