Working at Starbucks

So, two and a half years ago, I became a barista. Approximately two years ago, I quit.

I’ve never sat down and written about my experience there, so here goes it. I remember having applied to Starbucks during every annual round of my adolescent job-hunting experience. It wasn’t until 2015, after I’d worked for two food-related employers, that I got a call back. I sat down and had an interview with the store manager at a Starbucks very close to my house. I remember when I recounted the experience to my boyfriend, he’d said that 15 minutes for an interview was short – that half an hour to an hour was more usual. I totally get that now, however, I don’t think I had much to say nor ask then, and likewise with them. Two weeks passed, and I stopped expecting anything from them – but I was called by another nearby Starbucks and I seemed to understand that I would have an interview with a different manager, since the manager at the Starbucks close to my house wanted to hire me. It was pretty snappy. I think they just want a second opinion on whether I was sane and presentable. Glad to think I am.

Green apron time.

Training was… confusing. A bunch of recipes on cards were thrown at me, and I studied them like I was in school. I was grateful for the bit of on-the-floor training I got (as well as the free drinks and one food item per day), but it felt quick. I walked onto the floor for the first time after training not knowing exactly what was what, but after a few weeks, everything felt engrained. And hey, I was memorizing people’s names and drinks! That one dude that always ordered a triple espresso iced, with 1.5 pumps white mocha and 1.5 pumps caramel, breve on top. The lady who wanted an Americano with four shots, two long and two regular. The man who wanted a simple decaf non-fat latte in a personal cup. The nuances and specifics. It becomes second-nature, and there’s a certain pride that comes with knowing that you know what is expected, and beyond. I remember thinking it was ridiculous that memorizing specific people’s regular orders seemed like part of the job. But it just happens with a little effort. It becomes a game. Not a fun game, but a game.

Pretended to graphic-design with the chalkboard displays.

The next six months were a blur of waking up at 2:45am, likely getting off at noon or before, blazing hot summer sun, the shriek of the milk frother, and hectic Frappuccino-crafting. Oh, gosh. The morning rushes that would occur daily, and the Frappy hours that I got to take part of after I learned how to do mid and closing shifts. You really learn that a routine is important, you have to move quickly and consistently, and double-check to make sure you’re creating the correct drink. (There's so much room for error if you interpret a CH as a CM for a cup code.) Opening shifts were so early, but half an hour is killed by restocking and setting everything up in the pastry case, by arranging them nicely and half-heating up the sandwiches that get thrown out at the end of the day.

Even landed a partner of the quarter award, woot.

I was a youngin’ when I was working there, but definitely not the youngest. I was freshly twenty-years-old, while working alongside with both older folk and high-schoolers. I think it felt strange not being the youngest, because that’s what I was used to. But as long as everyone is doing their job and cooperating, nothing really feels different. It was definitely a job I see as looking back at and thinking, “That is a good young person’s first job.” You learn that you have to learn to keep up. You learn to deal with people. I always say it, but you deal with plenty of people, and their attitudes. But I am grateful for that, because that is something I have to do to this day. If somebody yells at you for getting their drink wrong, it ain’t personal, dawg. If an old retired lady shows you pictures of her gardening hobbies, it’s cute and endearing.

I'll miss getting this for free!

And so, I completed my life-long wish to become a barista. Just kidding. It was fun to make drinks and experiment with recipes. Makes you kind of feel like a creator and you can become one with the espresso machine. It was also fun to drink coffee, but I also learned an unlimited supply of caffeine makes me crash and cranky like no other. But I'll still have it now and again, at times when I walk into a Starbucks and feel like I have an inkling of an idea about what goes on behind the Marzocco. 

G&G Shinny Grey (Puffy 3 Tone) Circle Lens Review

I ordered the G&G Shinny Grey circle lenses, otherwise known as Puffy 3 Tones, during the free shipping promo at Pinky Paradise. They took around 3 weeks to arrive, which is how long I expected international orders to take anyway, and it was worth it for free shipping.

I wanted these for my cosplay with a character with blue eyes, but I thought grey would be more natural and still give the light- and cool-coloured effect. I originally wanted the EOS New Adult Grey lenses, but the site did not have any plano lenses left.

What was in the package: the lenses, a purple elephant case (cute!), and a velcro hair ribbon. I didn't get that last time, so that was neat!

The lens in solution.

Left: natural eye. Right: w/ Shinny Greys.

I opted for plano (-0.00) lenses to attempt to eliminate the dizziness I felt in the previous lenses I tried. It's a shame I can't use them to see better, but I have not felt dizzy with these lenses yet! They are comfortable to wear, and I don't feel them anymore than regular contacts.

The color of these are very pretty and opaque - the natural eye color does not bleed through at all. The Shinny Greys have more of a yellow color near the iris, which makes it somewhat more natural-looking and is a nice effect. At 14.5 mm, there is slight, but not too crazy, enlargement, which I think is perfect.

These lenses were definitely a worth it purchase, and I look forward to using them for cosplay looks!

Dueba DM23 Brown Circle Lens Review

After over three years of wanting circle lens, I have finally realized that I have a form of financial purchasing capability with a debit card, and bought some while I'm down here. (Written when I was in Florida.) I wanted to get a natural-looking brown lens with some light tones, and after much fun searching through blog reviews and pictures (over the course of those years too lol), I decided on the Dueba/Barbie DM23 Brown with a prescription of -1.75 from Pinky Paradise. Being my first time, I wanted to order from a reliable website, and I've heard good things about it.

I ordered with an express form of shipping (not wanting to risk being sent the lenses after I no longer resided in the apartment address I gave), and it came pretty quickly, a week later. One of the most exciting packages I've ever gotten after years of anticipation, haha. I finally have circle lenses!

The lenses in the bottles they arrived in + the free macaron case! ft. my DCP bathroom

The lens in solution.

Left: natural eye. Right: w/ DM 23's on.

The diameter of these are 14.5 mm. Enlargement is present, and borders on fairly natural. The color was darker than I expected, and is extremely natural. The darker outer ring blends into the center color and the eye quite well.

In terms of comfort, as expected, the lenses didn't feel the same as my regular contacts, and I could feel the lenses especially when I blinked. But after insertion and a couple minutes, I barely feel them. I can see out of these just like my regular contacts, which is convenient. However, I did feel dizzy while and after wearing them. I believe it's due to the prescription, despite it being my exact optometrist-prescribed prescription level, because I don't believe it's due to the clear area of the contact being too small, and if I were to do it again, I would probably order these plano. 

These are overall nice circle lenses, although I wish they didn't make me dizzy. I hope to find a lighter brown circle lens with a more distinct outer ring in the future!

Younique Moonstruck 3D Fiber Lashes Mascara Review

At my place of volunteering, I was offered to be sold 3D mascara by Younique. My seller and at least one other person here wore it, and their lashes always looked awesome. If someone who's selling a product regularly uses it themselves and the results are great, I thought it was worth a try. So I got one before I had to bid them adieu, which was $30.

It comes in this sturdy packaging, similar to an eyeglass case.

The two wands - top: transplanting gel, bottom: fibers.

The application process has a few simple steps:

After curling my lashes, and applying my regular waterproof mascara, I start using the 3D mascara. This isn't necessary in some cases, but I find it gives me better results.

Step 1: Swipe on the transplanting gel just like regular mascara, from root to tip, top and bottom lashes. Without giving it much time to dry, move onto the next step.

Step 2: Quickly apply the fibers, swiping this wand just like mascara. Remove any clumps.

Step 3: Apply the transplanting gel once more, and you're done!

Left: curled lashes with nothing on them. Right: after my normal 2-mascara routine.

After applying the 3D mascara on top of my regular mascara. Taken right after curling and application so you can see the length difference. My lashes always tend to droop down, so they look milder after a bit for me.

You can see for yourself from the pictures that this adds a good deal of length, and quite easily, too. This works soo well for my bottom lashes, which don't seem to very affected by any amount of regular mascara. On my quest to making my lashes look more visible, I'm very happy that I was introduced to this and the effect these has on my lashes.

Tiny bits of fibers tend to stray off onto my undereye area throughout the day, but nothing too noticable. The mascara is just as easy to remove as it was prior with my other mascaras, using makeup wipes.

Pretty easy to use, remove, and it works on my stubborn lashes. This mascara rocks!

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Review

After deciding the previous concealer I'd bought wasn't cutting it for me, back to Sephora I went on the hunt for something else. After consulting an employee about finding a concealer that closely matched my skin tone, I was led to the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. It was $29, and I got it in the shade Custard.

The concealer tube and a creamy swatch.

Before and after concealer.

The coverage of this is great. Enough to cover my dark undereyes and brighten them, and to hide blemishes with ease. The formulation is actually creamy, and a little bit goes a long way. The applicator is a little sponge tip like that of lip gloss, which can be unsanitary with reinsertion into the bottle after skin contact, but I try to keep it clean by swatching a bit of this onto my hand and dabbing a makeup brush onto that from there.

It's lasting power is quite great, especially on the undereye area. It looks as good as it did when I applied it for a long dang time. It can fade over blemishes over a few hours, like all concealers I've tried, but with the packaging being so handy, it's easy to carry this around to re-apply when needed.

This is my favorite concealer I've ever tried, and I will definitely re-purchase this whenever I run out!

Amazing Cosmetics Concealer Review

After being in dire need of a new concealer, I got the Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer To Go at Sephora, for $28. They didn't have any other Amazing Cosmetics products, and after asking a Sephora employee, he directed me to the small checkout goodies and was nice enough to open the packages for me to try out. There were very limited colors, but the shade Medium Golden was the closest to my skin tone.

The concealer and a swatch. Which became a puddle.

Before and after concealer.

In certain lighting, this can look fine. This was my impression in-store after trying it out. The coverage is quite strong, and spreads out well. In my particular case, the color would look more orange in certain lighting over time. However, I've had that problem with another concealer, but that was not where my biggest issue with this lay. After a few hours, my under eye would look oily and cakey, like the concealer had conglomerated into little bits. It would fade over blemishes quickly as well. The consistency of this was quite oily/watery to begin with, and could come out separated, which probably contributed to that.

Maybe this product will work better on different skin types, and tones for sure, but for me, this product was not worth the hype nor price, unfortunately.

I Got My Ears Pierced At Claire's/Icing

...when I was 19 years old. I was never allowed to get my ears pierced when I was younger, despite my desire to wear earrings. I'd used clip-ons when I was in grade school, but the kinds back then hurt (they seem to be better now) and the variety was limited.

I was walking around an outlet mall in Orlando, during my last month of living there, with the idea of getting my ears pierced floating around. I'd watched a baby and a small girl gotten theirs done at Claire's. After a bit more window-shopping, I ended up at the Icing by Claire's shop, and decided to do the deed.

My piercer was my age, and was nice. I picked out gold studs, with small pearls on them. She used a piercing gun (which is not as safe as a needle, but there were no other piercing shops I had access to at the time), and it was quick and nearly painless - just a prick, like a doctor's needle. No blood or lasting pain.

Ta-dah! Quite like them. 

I got the care instructions and the cleaning solution, which I had to use 3x a day. One of things I was most scared about piercings was getting infections or scarring, and it's been completely fine. It was around $50, and I was quite happy with the experience, although one of the piercing's placement was lower than the other, and knowing it would bother me forever, I took it out for a day to let it heal and I decided to have it taken out and redone back home (needle, much more pain, blood).

I'm at the point where I can change out the studs now, and I'm excited to try out new earrings that I've only been able to eye before!