Sorry for the lack of updates — it’s been another crazy week! I promise I’ll write more later, but for now, I must be off…because I’m going to Montréal this weekend for my sister’s bachelorette party!
(image source)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I left one very important item off my Samsung Galaxy Note II review. (And as soon as I finish writing this, I will be updating the review with a link to this post!) And that is Prey — an open-source software that lets you track (and potentially recover) your stolen laptop, cell phone, or tablet.
I know there exist tons of anti-theft software in the market today. What makes Prey stand out from the rest is that it is powerful, versatile, and FREE (for up to 3 devices).
Here’s what happened when I reported my cell phone as missing. I immediately received an email alerting me that it was marked as missing, and within minutes, I received a follow-up message with a link to this missing device report:
As you can see, what Prey does is to turn on your phone’s GPS — if not already enabled — and locate your device via Google Maps. (I have blurred out my location above for privacy purposes.) It also tells you the IP address of the network that your phone is on (also concealed in the screenshot above), and…
Did you notice the picture of the ceiling fan?
Yep, you’re correct — Prey took a picture using my phone’s front-facing camera, and included it in the missing device report! This is in hopes that if my phone really was stolen, the picture would be of the person currently using the phone.
Did I mention that Prey is FREE?
I have also added my laptop to my Prey account, and feel much better for it:
You can never be too careful these days — I’m constantly hearing/reading about my friends’ gadgets getting stolen, or being left behind in random places like the backseats of cabs.
Of course, the best way to avoid these situations is to be smart about where and how you use your devices. But the next best bet is surely to have a software like Prey installed before anything like this happens.
Do you use anti-theft solutions for your mobile devices? Can you recommend other apps like Prey?
This weekend is the last that J and I will have together before his parents return to China. We decided to take full advantage of this with a dinner & theater date last night — we were finally going to watch Wicked on Broadway!
After a delicious dinner at Thalia, we made our way over to the Gershwin Theatre and handed over our tickets to the doorman. He scanned the tickets…
“I’m sorry. Please go to that gentleman at the box office and tell him these tickets are marked as fraud.”
😯
We had purchased these tickets on StubHub, which we had used for numerous other events in the past. We had never had a problem before!
The man at the box office was apologetic as well. He told us that these fake tickets from StubHub had only begun popping up in the past few weeks, and that he had dealt with 6 other parties with the same problem that night alone. He gave us instructions on what to tell StubHub to get our money back, and asked if we would still be interested in purchasing tickets for the night’s performance?
I was LIVID. I had been especially looking forward to the show, knowing that we were sitting in the orchestra section, row A.
I was ready to turn around and head home, but J made me reconsider. He pointed out that we had been planning and looking forward to our date, and that we shouldn’t let some scumbag scammer ruin the night. Plus, the tickets that the box office offered were 40% off the regular price! We would be sitting in row M, but it was still in the orchestra section and it shouldn’t make too much of a difference.
And as you can see, our seats were pretty spectacular:
I made sure to give StubHub a call as soon as I got a spare moment this morning. And what exceptional customer service! I was transferred a few times, but that was expected and each person was more apologetic than the last.
And get this.
Not only did they fully refund our purchase… (including all service and delivery fees)
They asked us how much we paid for our replacement tickets…and gave us a StubHub credit for that exact amount!
I know that we will definitely be using the credit in the future (a Knicks playoff game, perhaps? *knock on wood*), so it’s almost like we got to watch Wicked for free!
As for the show itself? I liked it a lot, but I didn’t think it was quite as omg-TERRIFIC-FABULOUS-SENSATIONAL! as my friends have made it out to be over the years. I still have yet to see a musical that can beat my all-time favorite: The Phantom of the Opera. (I’ve watched it about a dozen times!)
Ever since I discovered the Neo Natural Touch Brown circle lenses, I had been on somewhat of a circle lens craze.
This is not to say that I have been mindlessly purchasing circle lenses of every color and every design. Rather, I had a specific goal in mind: to find the most comfortable, most natural-looking lenses for my plain brown eyes.
And I think I’ve accomplished my mission!
(And they’re not the Neo Natural Touch Brown lenses!)
Since I had so much trouble researching natural-looking circle lenses — reading through hundreds of reviews, comparing how they look via the photos on various online retailers as well as beauty blogs…yet never quite being able to get a fair comparison because the photos are of different models taken with different cameras in different types of light — I’ve decided to do a round-up of the ones I have so that others who are searching for a comfortable pair of natural-looking circle lenses can have some help.
Let’s get started!
Here is a picture of all my lenses. They all have a diameter of 14.2mm with the exception of the Geo Fresh Brown, which are 14.0mm. (14.00 and 14.2mm are recommended for the most natural enlargement. Some people don’t even notice a difference!) If you click on the picture, the linked image is a HUGE 3,200 x 2,700 one so you can really zoom in and get a good look at the lenses.
I have included in the shot above the list I keep alongside my store of lenses. What I did is to mark the bottom of each lens case with a different color Sharpie, and use the same marker to write down the name of the lens on the list so that I can easily tell which is which.
I considered using a label maker instead to mark the lens cases, but I don’t have one that prints labels small enough. 😛
Anyway, I’m sure you’re dying to see what the lenses look like when worn. A fair warning: I am not a great model and my eye are not my best feature. I also piled on a crapload of makeup (shadows from my beloved Naked Palette) so that my eyes may look decent in these pictures, but I know that this may deter some people (especially those in Asia, who prefer a more natural look for eye makeup).
I also don’t do false eyelashes, because I’m a complete spaz in that area. 😥
One more thing: all these photos were taken in one sitting. Meaning, all the switching back and forth between the lenses led to some makeup smearing which I did my best to touch up but obvs couldn’t when rushing to get all the photos done before the girls wake up from their naps.
And only NOW do I see that my eyebrows look lopsided. Should’ve used some brow pencil. Doh!
But nevermind my insecurities. Let’s get going, shall we?
First up…
The Geo Fresh Browns were the very first pair of circle lenses I purchased and I really really liked them! Over the period of about a year, I wore them whenever I went out, and not one person ever noticed I was wearing colored contacts, let alone circle lenses. Only now do I notice how noticeable they are compared to other brown lenses!
I still like the little flecks of light brown they provide to my naturally dark irises. They almost make me feel like a princess. 
Look: 5/5. Like I said above, I love the light brown flecks!
Comfort: 3/5. They get dry at about the 5-hour mark. They also seem to be the thickest of the lenses I own.
Naturalness: 4/5. You can tell that I’m wearing brown colored contacts (but probably not circle lenses) under bright lights, or in the sun, if you look close.
You can read my full review of these lenses here. Short version: LOVE them. However, if I HAD to say one bad thing about these lenses, it would be that the design — the pretty swirl pattern you can see more clearly in the stock photo above — kinda disappears into my dark brown eyes. So unless you were looking really REALLY closely under bright sunlight, it just looks like I have a pair of plain brown circle lenses on.
Look: 4/5. I think these lenses would work better with those with lighter-colored eyes, or those who want to look like they’re wearing plain brown lenses with that extra je ne sais quoi. In other words, LOVELY, but just not for me.
Comfort: 5/5. They’re not kidding when they say Neo Vision lenses are the most comfortable brand of circle lenses. They’re actually THE most comfortable brand of lenses I’ve ever tried!
Naturalness: 4/5. The darkness of the lenses creates an illusion of a slightly larger effect than its actual 14.2mm.
These are my least favorite of the bunch. Not to say that they suck, but that they’re the least natural-looking. Perhaps they would work better on someone whose eyes are slightly lighter than my dark brown?
Look: 3/5. I thought that the precise pattern would be cute, but I had forgotten that nature is not always so tidy and regular.
Comfort: 5/5. They’re Neo Vision lenses. ‘Nuff said.
Naturalness: 3/5. These are definitely noticeable on me, even under your average indoor lights.
(Please note that these are different from the Grang Grang (Big) Choco lenses, which have a diameter of 15mm as opposed to 14.2mm.)
These feature my favorite design of the bunch! They are natural and pretty, and add an extra sparkle to my eyes without being obvious. The only downside is that they’re slightly less comfortable than Neo lenses. 🙁
Look: 5/5. I can’t say enough about how PRETTY they are!
Comfort: 4/5. More comfortable than the Geo Fresh Brown lenses, but not as good as Neo Vision lenses.
Naturalness: 5/5. You can’t tell I have lenses on unless you look REALLY close, under bright lights.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! The design of these Neo Extra Size Dali 2 Brown lenses is close enough to the Grang Grang Choco lenses that even when I had one in each eye, I had trouble telling them apart.
And as is the case with all Neo Vision lenses I have tried, these are SUPER comfortable, even more so than regular soft lenses!
(Don’t mind the one red eye in the picture above — these were the last lenses I put on while taking these photos and I accidentally irritated that eye because I was in a rush to get everything done before the kids woke up.)
Look: 5/5. They’re GORGEOUS! Just like the Grang Grang Choco lenses, they add an extra sparkle to my otherwise plain eyes.
Comfort: 5/5. Have I mentioned how awesome Neo Vision lenses feel? HAVE I? 😆
Naturalness: 5/5. Once again, just like the Grang Grang lenses, you can barely tell I have anything on.
I hope this roundup was helpful! I know I would have appreciated an article like this when I was on the hunt for natural-looking, comfortable circle lenses.
Take a look below. Which do you think looks the best?
From top-to-bottom:
Geo Fresh Brown
Neo Natural Touch Brown
Neo Celeb Brown
Geo Grang Grang Choco
Neo Extra Size Dali 2 Brown
Now, here’s where we get to the good stuff. 😀
Remember EyeCandy’s? The circle lens store that sponsored my last circle lens giveaway?
Well, in celebration of my finding my new favorite pair of circle lenses, they have offered to give away ANOTHER pair to one lucky winner!
There’s good news even if you don’t win. Geek in Heels readers can receive a surprise gift for placing an order at EyeCandy’s. Just enter code GEEKINHEELS at checkout to receive your free gift!
As was the case before, the winner of this giveaway will be able to choose ANY pair of lenses from the circle lens category of EyeCandy’s extensive inventory!
What’s more, since EyeCandy’s ships internationally, this giveaway is open WORLDWIDE.
To enter this giveaway, simply use the Rafflecopter widget below. Not sure how to use Rafflecopter? Watch this 52 second video for a tutorial on how to enter a giveaway using Rafflecopter. There are 7 methods of entry, with the first method (commenting on this blog post answering the question “What color lenses would you get if you win?”) being mandatory while the fourth method (Tweeting about the giveaway) can be used once per day:
This giveaway will end on Saturday, March 16th, 2013, at 12:01am EST, at which point a winner will be randomly chosen and announced here.
Please use a valid email address and/or Twitter handle so that I can contact you if you win! If the winner fails to respond within 48 hours of my contacting them, another winner will be selected.
Good luck, and thank you for entering!
A few weeks ago, I realized that the ratty old lounge pants I was donning were more than a decade old. They were stretched out, pilling, stained, and just plain ugly from age.
Luckily, Old Navy was having a huge sale, so while picking up some new PJs for Claire, I decided to get a pair of the Petite Women’s Wide-Leg Active Pants for myself.
Admittedly, they don’t look that great in the product photos.
BUT YOU GUYS.
These pants are just…amazing. They’re soooo much better-looking in person than in the pictures. The fabric is the perfect thickness, there’s just the right amount of stretch, the slight bootleg cut is flattering, and IT COMES IN PETITE AND TALL SIZES.
Additionally, these pants have pockets. POCKETS, people! I don’t know why more lounge/workout pants have pockets!
If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the 885 (as of this writing) glowing reviews!
I also love that you can dress them up or down. 😀
In case you’re wondering, I’m wearing the Petite S size.
I can’t speak for the taller ladies, but my fellow shorties can attest to the fact that it can be difficult to find nice, petite-length pants. Especially lounge/workout pants.
These aren’t exactly CHEAP at $19.50 a pop, but they’re certainly more affordable than many of your other brand-name pants. (Plus, Old Navy has sales practically every other week!)
J loves them too — he says that he likes the way my butt looks in them. 😳
I have since purchased another pair in the charcoal color, and two additional pairs in black, so that I now have two of each color.
And I only wish Old Navy made these in additional colors, because I would snatch them up in a heartbeat!
Pictures from fashion & culinary expert Luxirare‘s sushi ritual.
Mouth: salivating.
Disposition for OCD: satisfied.
Mind: blown.
A couple of weeks ago, I gathered up some information (how long I’ve been with Verizon Wireless, how much I spend per month, how I always pay my bill on time, and what other carriers are offering) and made a call to customer service.
“My current phone is DYING,” I pleaded. “I’ve taken it to the Verizon Store several times, and even performed two hard resets in the past month. I still need to restart it at least once a day to keep it running. I know I’m a few months away from my upgrade eligibility date, but is there any way you can move up that date for me?”
After some more begging (“My phone can’t even handle Candy Crush!”) and ass-kissing (“Verizon has the best network in the nation!”) and even a veiled threat (“So…how much will it be if I were to cancel my contract right now and switch to a different provider?”), a manager came on the line and voilà! I was granted an early upgrade!
(When I bragged to J about getting an early upgrade, he pouted, “What about me?” when he already has a kickass phone — an unlocked Galaxy Nexus — that is less than a year old. Still…CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 😎 After an hour on the phone with T-Mobile, I was able to get him an unlocked Nexus 4 for $50. BOOYAH!)
I had been eyeing the original Samsung Galaxy Note ever since it was released in early 2012 because I hate most soft keyboards. These days, physical keyboards only seem to accompany crappy phones; I figured a stylus would be a nice compromise. The HUGE size was attractive to my fat clumsy fingers as well.
(I’ve been noticing that the older I got, the larger I preferred my gadgets. 🙂 Has this happened to anyone else?)
So when Samsung announced the Galaxy Note II. AND that it would be available on Verizon…
It’s probably obvious by now which phone I ended up getting. (Also, the title of this post. Duh.)
Oh, Galaxy Note II, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and blah blah blah…
Who cares how the sonnet ends, because I FRICKIN LOVE THIS PHONE!!!
I will not be going on the specs nor analyzing the phone’s performance here. I trust that anyone with access to Google can easily obtain that information.
What I will be doing is to highlight my favorite features of the phone, talk about my favorite accessories, and address the biggest issue that concerns most consumers about the Note II. Continue reading »
I’ve been on a beauty kick lately.
I’m not sure why, because it’s not like I go anywhere that would require my getting decked out and putting my best face forward.
But I’ve been finding myself styling brushing my hair and putting on makeup more often. Even if it’s just a short stroll to the grocery store in my yoga pants.
So when I came across this contouring chart from famed makeup artist Jordan Liberty, I knew that I had to share it with you guys. It is THE most comprehensive — and easy-to-follow! — facial contouring chart I’ve ever seen.
The chart accompanies the contouring video below. Man, what I would’t give to have a professional makeup artist do my face every day!
And, just because I like being a tease…
I have an exciting beauty-related giveaway going live this Friday! What do you think it’ll be? What do you HOPE it’ll be?
This is the very first time that a dress — or three dresses, in this case — has made me excited about what just debuted at a major fashion show. Not only do they beautifully, gracefully convert into new dresses, all six designs are wearable and not bad-looking at all! (The third one is my fav!)
I doubt that I could pull these off though. Because in order to take full advantage of these transformative garments, you’d need to be nonchalantly doing the catwalk sashay while the dress unfurls around you. AND you’d need to be making the transforming sound effects from Transformers. And I doubt I can do both without making a complete idiot of myself.
Check out the full video of the show below!
Via io9.
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
These represent the current most popular posts (by pageview). If you would like to see a more comprehensive list, please see my Popular Posts page.
 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V. E. Schwab |
 The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson |
 The Last of Us |
|
