Museum of Science and Industry

mini Sears tower

It's been a while since I've been touristy in Chicago. I should do it more often, this little trip was fun. These are photos from January 31st.

Kending

Before we made our way to Kending, we went to the bride's wedding banquet, Frank's father's hometown, wandered around a mall in Kaohsiung, and stopped by a man-made wetland. Kending was lovely; the weather was cool, the deserted beaches were gorgeous, and there's nothing like breathing in mountain air. Fair warning, this post is very photo heavy~

Akira Chicago for Vertigo #HEALPI

Back in November of last year, Ginseng Nightlife collaborated in an event at Vertigo Sky Lounge to help raise funds for Haiyan relief in the Philippines. Akira Chicago hosted a fashion show and I got to be one of the models. It was kind of thrilling, anxiety-inducing, and a lot of the time I was very bored. I'm glad to have had the experience though!

Taipei / Taichung

Taipei 101

We spent a night in Taipei to go to the groom's side of the wedding banquet and did a little sightseeing there as well. The Taipei 101 skyscraper has such nice architecture, but the inside was rather useless for us.. All the stores were very high-end and luxury brands. I should've gotten at least a souvenir from the shop though.

Nicki Valentine

modelesque? keke, almost looks like sunshine

I haven't really loved a Naked palette until the recent third one. Maybe it's because I tend to shy away from neutral makeup most of the time, but I always felt like a lot of the colors from the first two Nakeds weren't very flattering on me. Don't get me wrong, the eyeshadows themselves are great, but I'd try an eye look and just feel sullen, old, and disappointed in myself. Perhaps in actuality I just haven't mastered a subtle neutral look I'd be pleased with. Anyway, I can't remember when I've felt compelled to only use one palette for all the eye makeup at one time; I surprised myself.

Maokong

The first city we visited in Taiwan was Maokong from the Taipei train station. We rode the gondola, went to the zoo, and had delicious tea-infused foods.

Frankfurt

I got excited from catching that bird within the frame

Lego Lufthansa Boeing

Frank and I flew to Taiwan in January, and on the way there, we had a few layovers. First was in Frankfurt, then Hong Kong. We explored downtown Frankfurt a bit, and only ate at the Hong Kong airport. During the entire trip, I never changed out the 35mm lens, so all the wider shots are from Frank's camera, if you can tell. I really enjoy traveling despite how exhausting it is. Just as a heads up, travel diary posts will have little to no makeup involved in their photo sets~