National Palace Museum, Taipei, Part V (故宮)

Still more photos from the National Palace Museum (故宮)! We're almost through, folks. Almost.

These are of metal-crafts in a religious context, in this case, Buddhism.

Top row: Mahakala ("beyond time/death," Daheitian or Daikokuten, 大黑天), the ultimate form of Shiva and consort of Kali. 

Bottom row: Virudhaka Lokapala, ("he who causes to grow," Zeng Zhang Tianwang or Zocho-ten, 增長天王), one of the Four Heavenly Kings, namely the Heavenly King of the South.

Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Creme

Finally opened my Sephora Beauty Insider Birthday GWP from 2016. Better late than never, right? ^.^" It's actually a nice travel-sized kit with two minis of Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Blacquer and Le Marc Lip Creme in 216 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

National Palace Museum, Taipei, Part IV (故宮)

Even more photos from the National Palace Museum (故宮), this time of the ceramic and calligraphy collections. Click to zoom.

Tarte LipSurgence Comparison Swatches

By now I've amassed a bunch of these Tarte LipSurgence lip pencils, and so here are a bunch of comparison swatches for all the colors I currently have. I've passed on many to family and friends, and at the time of writing, I've passed on a few more and kept only those I actually reach for. 

Anyway, enjoy the photos! I did my best to group them first by line: Lip Cremes, Lip Lusters, Lip Stains, and Lip Tints (so many!), then alphabetically by color name (with few exceptions below where I goofed), and finally by in color families as best I could. I'd have to say the Lip Tints are my favorites because they're shimmer-free and translucent, if not transparent, then the Lip Cremes because they're mostly shimmer-free but are inconsistent in translucency. The Lip Lusters are pretty, but as translucent as they are they're also loaded with shimmers.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash. Clickable = zoomable.

- Lip Tints in Elite, Enchanted, and Joy.

Taipei Tianhou Temple (臺北天后宮)

As J., hubby, and I were leaving Fong Da Coffee (蜂大咖啡), we spotted an interesting sight right across the street: Taipei Tianhou Temple (臺北天后宮), she of the many names, one of which you'll probably recognize: Mazu (媽祖).

Much like Taiwan City God Temple (臺灣城皇廟), what really drew our attention was the neat sight of the temple snuggling in between two neighborhood buildings. 

National Palace Museum, Taipei, Part III (故宮)

More photos from the National Palace Museum (故宮). These are from the jade collection.

TL;DR: jades were tools first before they became jewelries. From a practical stand point, it makes sense. We use diamonds as tools now too. Other than in a social setting blinging others into blindness, diamonds are set into gold cutting and carving machines, for example. They are rocks, after all.
 

Taiwan City God Temple (臺灣城皇廟)

On the way to Sanmin (三民) Book Co. store, we walked by Taiwan City God Temple (臺灣城皇廟) and decided to cross the street for a quick peek.

Tarte LipSurgence Part VII

Here are the Tarte LipSurgence from the same order as the two Total Lip Service sets. The colors I got are Lip Luster Delighted and Lip Tints in Joy, Lust, Moody, and Spirited. There's also a Skintuitive Lip Tint Energy Noir from a different order with a few SmolderEyes, which I'll review later after a good trial.

Lip Luster Delighted and Lip Tints in Joy, Lust, Moody, and Spirited. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Skintuitive Lip Tint Energy Noir

Taipei Eats - Ximending area Part III (西門町)

After a failed attempt to visit the National Palace Museum, we took J. to Ximending (西門町) for her to try Yu's Almond Tofu (于記杏仁豆腐). Yup, even a typhoon couldn't stop us from getting some delicious almond shaved ice and as you can see, we weren't the only ones there.

Tarte Total Lip Service Lip Essentials

During a recent Tarte sale with extra 30% off, I picked up two sets of Total Lip Service Lip Essentials in Berry and Wine along with several more LipSurgence pencils, which I'll review next.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.