Travel Visuals: Denver

We were only in Denver for 2 days but wow, we loved it so much. I knew nothing about Denver so I had no expectations. One thing that we had to get used to was the altitude, Denver is over 5000 ft above sea level. We didn't feel it coming up because the train was pressurised but as soon as we got off, both Bella and I were hit harddddd.  To put things into perspective - Melbourne is like 80 ft above sea level LOL.
We stayed in a really adorable AirBnB there, our hosts were lovely girls and they gave us a bunch of recommendations for food and things to do. Since we only had 2 full days there, we knew we wanted to spend one day just mooching around and the other, possibly visit the foothills of the mountains. So the first day, we explored the main part of town and shopped up a storm. The second day, we joined a Gray Line tour of the Denver Mountain Parks. We visited the Red Rocks Amphitheater which is a naturally formed open-air music venue. I was sad that we couldn't catch a concert there because it's seriously beautiful! So many music legends have played there too. The tour also took us to the Buffalo Bill Musuem. I had no idea who Buffalo Bill was but growing up in Australia, I'm sure we are all familiar with BUBBLEGUM Bill:

That moment when I realised that he's based on this legend of the Wild West, my mind was blown. Point is - Buffalo Bill was a truly accomplished and progressive man, and the museum full of amazing artifacts and interesting things. Here are some facts I learnt about him that I HAVE to share:
♡ He earned his nickname because he was the ultimate buffalo slayer. One time he hunted 4000+ buffalos in the span of 18 months
♡ When he realised that buffalos were hunted to near-extinction, he pushed for the their conservation
♡ His family was always anti-slavery even in the 1800s, his dad was actually stabbed for speaking against slavery! Cool guy
♡ He had a "Wild West" entertainment show that toured around the US then went on to tour internationally to the UK and Europe.
♡ His show featured performances from American Indian, Mexican, Arab and Turkic riders demonstrating different riding, herding, roping and shooting skills.
♡ He fought the American Indians during the civil war but after the war he became a well-respected friend to many Native Indians tribes. He was gifted numerous headdresses from various chiefs as a sign of high regard
♡ He performed for Queen Victoria, had tea with Oscar Wilde and met the Pope at the time
♡ He supported womens' rights
♡ He is buried at Lookout Mountain (where the museum is located) and from there you can apparently see 7 states!

I had such an all round good time in Denver. Thanks to our host's recommendations, every meal we had was delicious. Bella and I absolutely loved this brunch joint called Snooze AM so we went there both days. They were famous for their eggs and delicious pancakes.

I know this was a bit random but I hope this was a fun read for you nevertheless and that you enjoyed finding out a little about Buffalo Bill :P

chloé

What's In My Bag? Flight Edition

I've been flying since the age of 3. The first time I flew by myself as an unaccompanied minor, I was 6 years old and I flew from Hong Kong to Auckland. Since then I've had the opportunity to travel to many cities and countries so you think I'd get the hang of packing by now. I hate packing though, the only thing worse than packing is unpacking. I always put it off for as long as possible and this often means that I don't sleep the night prior to a flight. Not a bad thing considering I need all the help I can get to sleep on planes. 

I almost always take a backpack as my carry-on, I don't like using shoulder bags when the contents are slightly on the heavy side. The one I have is from American Apparel, I bought it about 2 years ago and the second day I wore it, a waiter spilt soy sauce on it! It's been stained every since and I've finally covered it up with an adorable iron-on patch from Rosehound Apparel. I try to not overpack and only take things that I must have with me or things I know I'll need during the flight. 

Travel Visuals: California Zephyr

Kremmling, Colorado

From San Francisco, our next stop was Chicago. When we were planning our trip, it seemed silly to cross the country and miss everything in between so Bella and I went an unconventional route and decided to take an AMTRAK instead of flying. The California Zephyr is a 51 hour train journey that crosses 7 states - California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. 

Seeing as the train ride was so long, we rode the Zephyr from Emeryville (near SF) to Denver and got a sleeper carriage (30 hour ride). We got off and spent a couple of days in Denver before resuming our journey to Chicago in coach (another 20 hour ride). 

Travel Visuals: San Francisco

Charming San Francisco, this was such a memorable week. Every day spent in this gorgeous city was jam-packed, we managed to fit so much in! This was my second time in SF but it felt like a completely new experience as we did a lot of things that I didn't get to do the first time. It was so nice to be able to get around the city by public transport and walking after being in two car cities (LA and Merced/Yosemite). We were spoilt for good company and good food here. I was very excited about this part of our trip; my cousin lives in Oakland and I never get to see her obviously because she lives halfway across the world. Despite only having previously met her on 2 occasions (now, 3), we've been extremely close since our first meeting and our reunion was something I looked forward to for months. I was really glad that she got to meet my best friend Bella too, since both these lovely ladies are such important parts of my life.

Seriously, every time I put together another one of these travel posts, I am reminded of just how amazing this holiday was. I'm happy that I can share it on this little corner of mine on the internet.

Travel Visuals: Yosemite

I'm pretty slow at getting these travel posts up but I do want to share them all with you eventually and be able to look back on them.
We stayed in Merced for 3 nights in the most comfortable Airbnb with the sweetest host. We rented a cute little Ford hatchback which I drove up to Yosemite National Park and back on both days as Bella doesn't have her license (2.5 hours each way). I didn't have an international license and this was my first time driving on the opposite side of the road but renting a car was surprisingly easy (hella expensive though).
Our short 2 days spent at Yosemite was nothing short of wonderful and extraordinary. I was amazed by how untouched everything seemed and I couldn't get enough of how refreshing the clean crisp air felt in my lungs. I felt so alive and in touch with the endless beauty surrounding us. I honestly could have easily spent a week there, this was definitely high up there in my top favourite experiences of my trip. I could go on forever but I'll let the pictures speak for itself. Sit back, relax, scroll down and take in the wonder ~

Travel Visuals: LA

Los Angeles was the first leg of my US trip and it's funny, I didn't think I liked it very much at the time that I was there but coming back to LA at the end of my trip to fly home and looking at these photos now, I have a newfound appreciation for Cali and all its palm trees.

HK + US Trip Haul

These were the goodies that I managed to accumulate on my 7 weeks away from home... I love a good haul post just as much as anyone, they're some of my favourite posts to read but oh man, the guilt is so real when it is your own haul, especially one this big ^_^' Honestly, it could have been worse. Who am I kidding, I'm just saying that to make myself feel better. But seriously, you don't know what I'm capable of - If I REALLY put my mind to it, I could have done a whole lot more damage. (See, I feel better already)
Our dollar was so weak at the time I exchanged my money (and still is), it was actually heartbreaking. I tried my hardest to get products that weren't as readily available in Australia or things that were considerably cheaper but even then, a few cheeky purchases made their way into my luggage. Let's be real, I reached VIB status pretty quickly. It was hilarious when I did because the girl serving me at the counter kept shouting "I APPRECIATE YOU!" at me over and over and I was just like uhh thanks..? It was really confusing and embarrassing coz she wouldn't stop and there was a huge line behind me. This Sephora status also meant that I got to pick up a lot of these things during the 20% off VIB sale though.

SooOoOooo 6 palettes as well as a bunch of single eyeshadows were probably a bit of an overkill on the eyeshadow front but I didn't really plan on buying 4 Morphe palettes. That literally happened on our last day in LA - we had already packed and checked out of our hotel. We needed to kill time before our flight and this was my idea of killing time - to visit the Morphe store.
Safe to say, I am definitely on an eyeshadow ban now which is sad because I really want to try out Makeup Geek eyeshadows T_T. Maybe when I get a job, that can be my reward. I will say now though, I am making an exception for the Too Faced Bon Bons palette when it hits Aussie shores in March so don't berate me for that. This is also the part where I confess that I ordered ONE Colourpop eyeshadow with my friend when she put in an order last week. Ok I promise that's it.
I realised last year that I hardly owned any bright or colourful eyeshadows. Everything I had was on the safe and neutral side. I hope that with these additions, I can try and be a little more adventurous/creative with my makeup looks and perhaps I will document them here.

Looking back now, I kind of wish I picked up more skincare products. I think part of the reason I didn't is because I am really happy with my skincare routine at the moment and I don't really want to disrupt that.
I probably won't get around to reviewing every last item but I will definitely try and throw up some reviews and keep you guys updated with how I'm liking everything through other posts such as favorites, empties etc. Sorry if this post seemed really rambley, I'm high on makeup.

Let me know if there are any particular products that you want me to review or do a post on first :) 

And while I am asking:

What would you like to see more posts of in 2016 on Status Chlo? 

chloé

Travel Visuals: Hong Kong

Hey everyone! Feels so good to be blogging again and for the first time in 2016. I hope everyone had wonderful festivities with their family and friends over the last couple of weeks.  I was very happy to be home for the holidays after an incredible but exhausting 6 week trek around the U.S.

As an adult, I've never really gone so far away for so long and the trip definitely exceeded all expectations. I also feel that I have a newfound motivation for what this year might bring and the challenges that I may face. It's a really nice feeling to not be afraid but to be excited for the next stage in my life.

I want to share some of my favourite photos from my trip but since I was away for so long, I will break them up into each of the cities I had the pleasure of visiting. First stop: Hong Kong. 

Preparing for America Part #3

I really wanted to get a few posts queued before my trip but as always, I left myself with hardly any time to get everything ready so I'm currently blogging on my phone in Hong Kong which I must say is a first! So please excuse my iPhone photos or any issues with alignment and post formatting :3 

For my final installment of my America series, I'm going to share the beauty and skincare bits that I'm bringing with me on my trip and how I am organising it.

Preparing for America Part #2

Finally gave my blog the face lift it has been needing. I spent all day yesterday doing it and I'm so happy with the result! I hope you guys like the new layout c:

On this second instalment of my travel series, I will be sharing some of the things I have bought for my America trip (a semi-haul I guess), staring with this Travel Journal. I am a serious agenda/diary type of girl, I love stickers, highlighters, checklists, countdowns, the lot. I am obsessed with my Moleskin diary and we have a monthly calendar at home that I nag my family to fill out so we can be aware of each other's activities at all times. I just love to have everything I need to do and all important dates written down where I can visualise it on a week to week basis.

Preparing for America Part #1

I thought I would do something a bit different on here and share a series of posts before I leave, about my preparation for my 6 week trip to the U.S with my best friend, Isabella. This is the first BIG trip I've planned by myself without my parents and it's actually been an very enjoyable process so far! I've done small trips around Asia but never more than a week and usually I have a travel agent plan my flights/hotels/etc.

This time, Bella and I are visiting quite a few cities across the massive country so we've done a lot of research, budgeting and comparing different travel options - money vs. time, as well as accommodation options.

This is pretty much our trip as we have planned so far:

Los Angeles - Yosemite - San Francisco - Denver/Breckenridge - Chicago - New York - Boston - New York - Los Angeles - Melbourne

Beauty Essentials In My Bag

Hong Kong + Trip Haul (Pic Heavy)

Alrighty, last of my travel posts. I have to seriously apologise...I feel so at home in HK, i can never be bothered to take my camera out LOL. During my 2 week stay in HK, i literally brought my camera out with me 3 times. BAD BLOGGER! so here's a mix of photos from my camera, my iPhone and my instagram.

Heart & Seoul: Last Day + Seoul Haul

Our flight on our last day was in the afternoon so early in the morning we went to get my grandma some ginseng and herbal medicine for her health ^^ I bought my skirt on the second day around Ewha Womans University c: 

My grandpa and I

 Mummy and I

So in love with my iridescent oxfords. They were surprisingly so comfortable to walk in! I wore them the entire day for the last 2 days in Seoul and my feet were more than fine.

On the spotless train, we were really lucky because we had pretty good weather on this trip c:

The market we went to was called Gyeongdong Market and it is just a street market selling all sorts of medicinal herbs and ginseng.

At the station itself, there were a lot of 'traditional medicine' displays

My mum and my aunty picked out the ginsengs and some other herbs. I know nothing about Ginseng but thought i should take a photo anyway and this is it LOL.

Had the most amazing froyo before returning back to the hotel for check out. It was Green Apple, Pineapple and Strawberry flavored yogurt topped with kiwi fruit, mochi, and crunchy cookie crumble. Mochi is officially my favorite froyo topping EVER!

Back at the hotel. Hilarious story: We decided to stay at Lotte World mainly for Charlie. On the first night, he was extremely afraid of these Raccoon characters and he wasn't the only one, i was pretty freaked out. We stayed on the character floor so everything from the wallpaper to the bedsheets to the clocks to the couches to the carpet to the door to the soap to the shower cap, etc (you get the idea) had these characters all over them. We tried switching rooms on the first day coz Charlie was just bawling his eyes out but the hotel was booked out so we had to stay. He eventually warmed up to them especially after visiting Lotte World and this was him on the last day right before we had to check out ^

 There was a scenic lift at the hotel and Charlie and i went on it before boarding our airport bus and heading back to HK. How cute is this hat that my dad bought for Charlie, the little monster.

Snapped this while waiting to board

Annnnnnnd finally - the haul. This feels like nothing considering i was expecting to spend most of the money i saved up for this Asia trip in Seoul. 

 This is a close up of the skirt i bought and wore on the last day c: It's so adorable

The make up haul. Found some really decent products that i've been loving! Can't wait to do all the reviews and share them with you guys c:

All the samples i received! It was actually crazy the amount of samples they gave, it seemed really excessive especially when i got a bunch of samples for buying one small thing haha.

Shamless Selfies. Overall, i found Seoul to be a little overrated for shopping however i really did enjoy just seeing different parts of Seoul, all the yummy soups/food and spending time with the family c: I'm really hoping to save up enough to go to Japan early next year, that's somewhere i've always wanted to go and i'm sure i'll love! :3 

=('.')=

chloé