Beauty Haul | Rose Rose Shop Korean Cosmetics

17:59 Anonymous 2 Comments

I happened across roseroseshop.com when I was searching for a vendor selling the A'Pieu Silk Light Skin Ampoule Foundation. I was really excited to discover the foundation was being sold for only USD$4.44 where as on ibuybeauti.com it was retailing for USD$17.02. I then continued to explore the site for other goodies.

According to their website, roseroseshop is based in Korea and they began as an eBay seller. The site currently sells a pretty extensive variety of Korean cosmetic and skincare products. Although the products I purchased were cheaper than many other sites specializing in Korean beauty products, I still like to cross reference different sites as my own due diligence to find the best prices. Note that individual products (not brands) can be discounted at any time so your shopping cart total can fluctuate if you wait and see over a few days. 

Roseroseshop also offers the option of buying some of their products in bulk which is convenient for stocking up on favourites, or if you were placing a group order as the prices per item are often cheaper this way. This is especially good for sheet masks as an example. However, do make sure to read the descriptions carefully so you aren't inadvertently purchasing 10 eyebrow pencils like I almost did lol

Unfortunately the site doesn't offer an option for free shipping. Instead your shipping is calculated based on the destination and the weight of your package. My total for this purchase was approximately USD$44 and shipping came out to be about USD$12. When you go to check out, there is the option of generating the expected shipping cost and so I would recommend using this tool to maximize your order until you're just under the next price tier.


It took 6 days for them to ship out my order and another 8 days for the package to arrive. Considering how these items are coming from Korea, waiting 2 weeks is pretty good as I usually expect such parcels to take at least 3-4 weeks. Although a tracking number was provided, the shipping site that Rose Rose Shop directs you to is entirely in Korean. :S

Each item came individually wrapped in a double layer of bubble wrap which I appreciated because it shows they took the time and care. They also included several free samples including a sheet mask which I was pleasantly surprised to find. <3


I ended up ordering the following items with this batch:


Price: USD $4.44
I was drawn to this foundation initially because it was advertised as a lightweight foundation with a semi-matte finish. In particular, Bubbly Color wrote a blog post (which you can read here: http://bubbly-color.blogspot.com/2014/05/apieu-silk-light-skin-ampoule.html) demonstrating its high coverage and I was instantly sold.

This foundation only has two shades and I chose No. 23, the darker of the two.

Price: USD$ 16.67
As one of Banila Co.'s best sellers, this primer has been on my list for quite some time as I'm always on the search for something that will help prolong the makeup on my oily T-zone.

Price: USD$2.17
In the past few months I've switched from using powder to fill in my brows to eyebrow crayons. I've come to prefer the precision, and definition a crayon provides. Up until now I've been using The Face Shop's Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow in the number 02 Dark Brown but it's coming down to the end of its life after roughly 4 months of use and I thought this would be a good replacement.

I ordered 3 (for back up lol) in the No. 05 Brown, which seemed like a good natural brown that wouldn't look too harsh based off the color chart provided in the product description.

Price: USD$4.81
I've almost run out of my Maybelline's Face Studio Master Conceal and so it was time to either repurchase or find a replacement. I had heard for quite some time that this Skinfood concealer in particular was a cult favourite. Based on the reviews I've read for this product I'm excited to try it and hopefully it lives up to the hype for me.

I picked this up in the shade #02 Salmon Beige. 


Price: USD$4.09
Missha recently launched this concealer and judging from the early reviews it seemed fairly promising. I like that it comes in a squeeze tube which I find more hygenic than the Skinfood's Salmon concealer pot.

The Missha concealer also comes in two shades and I chose the darker of the two, No. 23.

Again, note that all the listed prices were at time of purchase but because of the frequent sales, these prices may be slightly different today. Overall, my experience with Rose Rose Shop has been very good and I will be returning for future purchases. Once I've been able to properly experiment and test these products out their more in depth reviews will be posted!

Beauty Review | Sonia Kashuk | Perfecting Transparent Mattifying Primer

23:14 Anonymous 0 Comments

I bought this on a whim when CT and I were splurging at Target during our stay in Houston. We were mostly on the lookout for American products we couldn't buy back home and this was one of my pick ups lol The only primer I've ever used is the Loreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base which mattifies upon application but I still get oily within 2 hours so I'm on the look out for other options.

Book Review: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

20:25 Anonymous 0 Comments

Jenny Han doesn't seem to expect her readers to keep up between the first and second book because I'm extremely skeptical Lara Jean would never think Genvieve was the hot tub video culprit: 

"Sure we haven't talked much the last few years, but Gen was always loyal to her friends." (pg. 56) 

How was she being loyal to you when you thought she dropped you as a friend because you weren't cool enough to hang with anymore? Clearly she hasn't been your friend in a long time so what's your excuse for her now? Lara Jean has even said before that Gen scares her, and Chris reminds us again of what happened to Jamila Singh as if Lara Jean wasn't the first person to bring it up to the audience. I mean you have to be at least a little suspicious when you've seen Gen fanning the flames this entire time. It's inconsistent for Lara Jean to build up Gen as the typical high school mean girl and yet be so doubtful. As Stormy says, "What's the fun in anything if there aren't a few roadblocks to spice things up?" (289) but does it have to be at the expense of our main character looking so clueless?


Gen and Lara Jean eventually confront each other one last time in the bathroom and Lara Jean seems to have the memory of a goldfish. She demands: "What did I ever do to you? Why do you hate me so much?" (330) Like wtf Lara Jean, Gen already explained in Book 1 that she was pissed at you for kissing Peter back in 7th grade. No wonder Gen's being a massive witch with a "b", you can't even keep up with the plot. Regardless, the Genevieve issue is never truly resolved. Gen makes it clear they can never be friends again but her parents are still having marital problems, so won't she continue using Peter as a crutch? Lara Jean might feel she can't begrudge Gen the one person she can rely on but is it really okay for her to continue manipulating Peter? Although she may not be harassing the couple anymore (thanks to Peter's threat), she still wants to stick it to Lara Jean that Peter is her's first and foremost emotionally:

"He knows exactly what kind of person I am. And you know what? He still loves me more than he'll ever like you." (pg. 64)

I'll admit I did tear up reading this. When Lara Jean and Peter broke up, I wasn't expecting it and there was definitely a sense of finality that made me think holy crap they did it! At face value it seemed like Lara Jean was over reacting but Peter secretly skipping his game for Gen breaks the camel's back because once again these two have awful communication. Lara Jean has a number of insecurities, particularly with regards to Gen, which she never discusses with Peter:

What I really want to say is Peter will always pick Lara Jean over Genevieve. But I can't say that. Of course I can't. I don't know a ton about dating or guys, but I do know that jealous insecurity is a real turn off. (pg. 41) 

Lara Jean would rather not rock the boat and maintain Peter's perception of her ("See, that's what I mean, Lara Jean. That's why I like you. You just get it." (104)) than have peace of mind in this relationship. I said so in my Book 1 post that Lara Jean can't let her issues with Peter fester and eventually we see it leads to the blow up that breaks them. Unnecessary drama is unnecessary.


Peter isn't entirely without fault either. He plays a dangerous game allowing himself to be caught up in both Gen's and Lara Jean's expectations of him. It was a betrayal (not necessarily a cheating one) for Peter to try to protect Gen after all the harm she has done. Although we can better empathize with Gen, she's self-destructive and toxic to the people around her and it's not fair for Peter and Lara Jean to foot the bill on this one.

I'm also convinced that Lara Jean is just stupid. There's no way she's taking Honors and AP classes when she pulls out this nonsense:

My whole body feels tight and stiff. No girl wants to hear what he just said. No girl. A girl wants to get a boy crazy and worked up - isn't that part of being in love? (pg. 104)

Lara Jean needs to get over herself. What Peter just said went WAY over her head and you know when most people misunderstand something they ask for clarification right? No? Just me? Hell, Lara Jean could've even went to Margot and asked her for her opinion on the situation because I can at least depend on Margot to give her sister's head a shake.

I therefore agree wholeheartedly with Kitty when she spits out that Lara Jean doesn't deserve Peter, and she doesn't deserve John Ambrose McClaren either. John is definitely too good of a guy: he's smart, dashing, thoughtful; just a total gentleman. I also loved how honest he was with his feelings (thank God someone in this book is). He was even understanding that Lara Jean still had feelings for Peter and was willing to bow out gracefully (for the plot!). Considering how they've handled their relationship and with Gen still hovering on the side, I'm happy for Peter x Lara Jean but the idea of John x Lara Jean is more optimistic to me.

Random Observations:
+ God bless Kitty for telling it how it is

+ Someone like him would never be content staying at home and watching a movie on the couch. This is Peter Kavinsky we're talking about, after all. - didn't he stay home from a football game to help you bake in Book 1?

+ Don't get too serious to where things can't go back. Be in love with Peter if you want, but be careful with your heart. - and it's this mindset which has kept Lara Jean afraid from committing to anything. Margot take your angst over Josh someplace else.

+ Despite all her good intentions, that guidance counselor approaching Lara Jean in the hallway was hella judgey

+ We didn't have sex! We are brisket! 

+ "There's only one girl I want to see in an Amish bikini."

+ At first I hesitated at peanut butter, what with allergies and all, but then I remembered that old people don't have as many food allergies. - because screw you old people Imma bake what I want!

+ She laughs a husky laugh, the sexy kind that only smokers or people with colds get to have. - I didn't know emphysema could be sexy.

Skincare Review: Neutrogena Hydroboost Water Gel

21:47 Anonymous 0 Comments

I first saw this product in YouTuber Charmaine Dulak's makeup tutorials and I was intrigued because she said it was good for those with oily skin types. When I went searching for this product at my local drugstores I couldn't find it, and so I picked this up at CVS when I was in the Texas this past May. I later found out that the product is actually marketed under different names in Canada and in the States:

USA Version: Neutrogenia Hydroboost Water Gel
Canada Version: Neutrogenia Hydroboost Gel Cream

Hopefully that clears up the confusion for others like me!

Skincare Review: The Face Shop's The Therapy Collection

22:21 Anonymous 14 Comments

I have combination skin - an oily T-zone with the occasional dry patches scattered about my cheeks and forehead. My skin, however, started to get ridiculously dry this past winter. No matter what products I used or how much I exfoliated nothing seemed to alleviate the perpetual dryness. The worse was when I was in Boston back in March where my skin was practically reptilian, it was so dry and scaly. When I came across The Therapy collection from The Face Shop, it has since been the most effective thing I've tried in restoring my skin.

You know how your nose can get really flaky from blowing it so much during a cold? Once I recovered from a recent cold, I strictly used this set after exfoliating and within 2 days the skin around my nose was back to normal. This stuff really works for me and it works fast.

I first purchased this set at the end of April when our local The Face Shop was having a Mother's Day sale. I haven't tried many products from The Face Shop before but I had heard they're more known for their skincare than their makeup products so I was open to checking this set out. My mom was encouraging me too as the SA said she used this line and my mom was sold based on how nice and smooth the girl's skin was haha




Basic Info:
+ acts as a toner and an essence
+ claims to even out rough and flaky skin

Ingredients:
+  may be found at The Face Shop site:
https://thefaceshop-america.com/en/skin-care/skin-type/mature/the-therapy-traitement-tonique-essentiel

Packaging: 
+ frosted glass container
+ pump 

Texture:
+ watery but more viscous than your typical liquid toner


Application:
+ pump some product onto a cotton pad and wipe across face starting from the middle outwards
+ I prefer taking about 1.5 pumps and applying directly to the cheeks and forehead to avoid wasting product via the cotton pads
+ lightly pat into the skin to absorb
+ readily absorbs within seconds

Thoughts:
+ I like that this is a 2-1 toner where it acts as an essence as well
+ doesn't smart or leave my skin feeling dehydrated but rather softens it slightly
+ doesn't leave a sticky, greasy finish
+ product has not broken me out
+ would recommend giving it about 30 seconds to dry down after you pat it in before moving onto the next step



Basic Info:
+ rejuvenates skin via moisturizing
+ claims the oil drop processing method helps improve skin condition

Ingredients:
+ may be found at The Face Shop site:
https://thefaceshop-america.com/en/the-therapy-oil-drop-anti-aging-serum

Packaging:
+ hard plastic container
+ pump
+ rubber plunger at the bottom which propels the product up

Texture: 
+ thick clear gel with orange oil drops dispersed throughout  


Application:
+ apply after toner
+ there isn't a lot of product so try to be conservative - a little goes a long way
+ pump allows for easy control so I squeeze out about half a pea size which I apply to my forehead and around each eye as the eyes are one of the first areas to show signs of fatigue
+ I'll also add a bit more to the dry patches on my cheeks

Thoughts:
+ I'm only 21 and many SAs have told me that prevention is really important even at my age...but if this serum wasn't included in the set I likely wouldn't have bothered to buy it
+ I've mostly been put off by such serums because they're so damn expensive but I do want to take care of my skin for the future
+ in terms of anti-aging serums, this is at a cheaper price for the amount you get
+ whenever I apply this product to my dry patches it also helps to alleviate the dryness more effectively and for longer I feel



Basic Info: 
+ helps to make rough, uneven skin feeling supple and moisturized


Ingredients:
+ may be found at The Face Shop website here:
https://thefaceshop-america.com/en/the-therapy-essential-formula-emulsion

Packaging:
+ frosted glass container
+ pump

Texture:
+ feels like a light lotion
+ not a heavy duty, thick, creamy type

 
Application:
+ usually 1 full pump is enough for my entire face but you can apply as needed
+ takes a few minutes for the product to dry down

Thoughts:
+ sometimes after the product has dried down I'll pump out an extra small amount to reapply to my cheeks which are most dry
+ leaves a slightly greasy finish that isn't sticky
+ if you have any particularly dry or sensitive areas, this may sting a little in the first few minutes of application 
+ in the mornings my face definitely feels more supple and bouncy after using all three products

So far this line has served me exceedingly well and despite using it fairly regularly the past three months, I've only used about 10% of the toner and emulsion, and 20% of the anti-aging serum. I can tell that this will last me for quite some time, and for the price it really can't be beat. I'm glad that The Face Shop is fairly price conscientious as it seems to be directed towards the teen demographic, and I'd like to continue to try their other products.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Coming to Netflix 2016

22:21 Anonymous 0 Comments

Disclaimer: I was prepping a post about Netflix's new trailer for their adaption of the A Series of Unfortunate Events series when I recently found out that the above trailer which has since garnered over 2.5 million views as of  July 10, 2015 is in fact fan-made! Just saying, this fan was incredibly thorough.


Holy crap I am so excited! I had heard rumors earlier that Netflix was preparing to make an adaptation of the A Series of Unfortunate Events series but to see that things are truly taking motion is heartening.

I have a lot of confidence in Netflix (so far I'm enjoying Orange is the New Black), more so than I did of Paramount and their 2004 movie version which was a huge let down even for 11 year old Katherina. These books, along with Harry Potter, defined my childhood and despite the movie being geared towards my demographic at the time, I found it childish and contrived with it's cheap jabs for a series witty with black humor.

Judging from this trailer alone, the tone seems quirky, but eery at the same time. I wouldn't even mind if this adaptation revels in the ridiculous similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel (2012) movie which was absolute eye candy. Although I'm apprehensive that Netflix's version is being tagged as live action family-entertainment, I really hope they don't simmer it down in favor of perceived marketability. Better yet if the adaption was tailored to people like me who grew up with the books and are now grown adults. Or is that too selfish lol?

Some gems which I and many others online picked out from the trailer:
+ the record playing at the beginning is by The Gothic Archies who's second studio album, The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events, was loosely based on the 13 books

+ the sugar bowl placed on a bookshelf

+ the plastic model of a snake along with what appears to be jaws of snake skin - alluding to Book 2

+ Violet's ribbon

+ Violet and Count Olaf's marriage certificate

+ a Daily Punctilio newspaper page with the headlines "Baudelaire Tragic Fire"

+ tickets to "The Marvelous Marriage" by Al Funcoot

+ a jar of the Medusoid Mycelium

+ beside the jar is a photo of the Quagmire triplets

+ a concierge hat from the Hotel Denouement

+ the key to Room 237

+ a bust with Olaf`s getup from when he disguised himself as Shirley in The Miserable Mill

+ a blueprint of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill

+ Advanced Ocular Science which Violet used to free Klaus in Book 4 as well as The Paltryville Constitution are stacked on top of each other

+ a VFD crow

+ Mr. Poe`s glasses on a stack of books including How to Start Fires and Main Street by Lewis which is a novel about a young woman moving to a small town and losing everything she loves, and is often criticized for being too bleak to enjoy

+ plates of Puttanesca spaghetti which the Baudelaires learned to make at Justice Strauss` home

+ a Lake Lachrymose Leech

+ the VFD eye scattered throughout

Book Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

13:58 Anonymous 1 Comments

Reading To All the Boys I've Loved Before reminded me of Yonghwa and Seohyun's time on the Korean reality TV show, We Got Married (WGM). When WGM first announced Yongseo as their newest make-believe couple, there were grumblings that someone like Yonghwa (who was perceived as the bad boy rocker type) was being paired with the reserved, and upstanding Seohyun from Girls' Generation. During their one year tenure on the program, Yonghwa was surprisingly thoughtful of Seohyun's comfort levels as she had never dated before and was extremely awkward when meeting new people, particularly boys. I loved Yonghwa for his patience and persistence in getting her to open up to him - which Seohyun herself acknowledged. Yongseo were the first to personify for me the sweet innocence of first love, and it wasn't until now that I found a book that did the same.



Lara Jean Song is a 16 year old high school student who has been writing love letters to her old crushes for years. These letters allow her to say goodbye to her feelings and find closure before she packs them away, never to be opened again. Until one day her letters go missing, only for Lara Jean to discover they've been mailed to all her past loves.

Youtuber, Yulin Kuang, made a short adaptation of the book that I really liked:


This is Lara Jean's coming of age story as she attempts to assume Margot's role in the family while navigating her first (real?) relationship, but she does so with little grace. It was frustrating to see Lara Jean recognize her limitations (previously masked by the good will of others), but be too proud to help herself. I don't understand why she refused to use the GPS on her first lone excursion when she's self-admittedly bad with directions and terrified of driving alone. In trying to be self-reliant, Lara Jean only managed to appear misguided.

Following her car accident, she goes through the following thought process:

They'll both probably agree that I have no business driving around town unsupervised, and maybe they're right. Driving a car is a lot of responsibility. Maybe I'm not ready for it yet. Maybe I'll never be ready. Maybe even when I'm old, my sisters or my dad will have to drive me around, because that's how useless I am. (pg. 33)

Her self-deprecation is extremely irritating. Granted, anyone would be shaken after being in a motor vehicle accident, but Lara Jean gives up on driving so easily I'm amazed she managed to get her license in the first place. Even 12 year old Margot following their mom's DEATH was able to get her act together better than present day Lara Jean. Throughout the book, Lara Jean repeatedly asserts that with Margot off to college she needs to be there for Kitty just as Margot has always been there for them. And yet she claims:

After Mommy died, we all had to realign ourselves. Everybody had new roles. Margot and I were no longer locked in battle because we both understood that Kitty was ours to take care of now. (pg. 341)

Lara Jean is delusional because it's evident once Margot leaves that Lara Jean has never been self sufficient. Indeed even she believes wholeheartedly in her own incompetence. It's annoying and unfortunate that this is the frame of mind which Lara Jean directs her life: anything unfamiliar or difficult is a responsibility she feels ill-equipped for and undeserving of.

This is especially apparent when it comes to matters of the heart. Lara Jean hopes to also be someone's number one choice some day, but she conversely finds the responsibility of another person's heart burdensome. I remember back in grade 7 when I had a crush on this boy Frederick*. His older brother came up to me at the Christmas dance and said: "Hey are you Katherina? Because my brother Frederick has a crush on you." Right at that moment, I saw Frederick turn the corner and walk towards us. As soon as he saw his brother and I talking though, Frederick swiftly turned the way he came and scurried away LOL. Frederick and I never got together, in fact we were too shy to speak to each other again after that moment.


Whenever I tell this story people are often perplexed at why I was scared to pursue a relationship with someone who I knew returned my feelings. Some try to use my religion or my parents to explain it for themselves but it was neither of those things. Rather it's very true what Lara Jean says: it's paralyzing when you have a real person, with expectations and wants, in front of you. Lara Jean has quietly been pining after one boy or another, but she has never had them return her feelings at the same time. As such, she's abruptly at a loss when confronted by Peter who wants to be more than her make-believe boyfriend. Love is scary not just because it's a responsibility, but because you also have to leave yourself vulnerable enough to trust someone with the responsibility of your heart:

I think I see the difference now, between loving someone from afar and loving someone up close. When you see them up close, you see the real them, but they also get to see the real you. (pg. 354)

Regardless of Margot's reservations, I was smitten by Peter Kavinsky who was the saving grace of this book. For all the preconceived notions of Peter, he proved himself to be silly, charming, and thoughtful of Lara Jean and her family - all while being amusingly self-assured.


Just as Yonghwa was with Seohyun, Peter is furthermore cognizant that Lara Jean is fairly sheltered, and not just with regards to her love life. As Peter introduces her into his life, he coaxes her to expand her reach beyond her home life, while helping her be more independent, and self-confident (eg. when he encourages her to negotiate for herself at the estate sale). Peter recognizes that Lara Jean needs to be challenged to take chances and to speak for herself. I think more importantly this illustrates how he also believes she has that potential to rise up to those challenges. 


Although they may have initially been nothing more than arm candy for each other, Peter progressively tries to incorporate her into his life and have her meet his loved ones. He even takes the initiative to have her family get to know him, despite Lara Jean's impression that their arrangement would just be at-school. The approval of their friends and family helps to affirm their feelings for each other.


Despite all his experience, Peter has indeed only ever dated one girl. And when it comes to Lara Jean he's endearingly clueless:

Peter blinks, and he looks so young all of a sudden. "I don't understand you girls, I think I have you figured out, and then....and then...And then I don't know". (pg. 313)

This may be so as Lara Jean is "quirkier" than any girl he's known, and he's unsure at how to approach her to have her respond to him. It's adorable to see the normally self-assured Peter Kavinsky fumble when it comes to this one girl. My only real objection with their relationship is how awful their communication is and how petty they both can be as a result of it (Lara Jean especially). When Peter misses their study date, Lara Jean reflects on how she witnessed Peter and Genevieve having a personal moment outside the girl's locker room:

They didn't see me, but I saw them. They were just talking, but with Genevieve it's never just anything. She put her hand on his arm; he brushed her hair out of eyes. I may only be a fake girlfriend, but that's not nothing. (pg. 216)

First of all, Lara Jean does not have the right to feel possessive over Peter when they agreed their set up was a ruse from the start. After purposefully calling Josh to give her a ride to school as revenge, she even contemplates that "Maybe he wasn't with Genevieve and now I've just done a very petty thing out of spite." (217) No really? Lara Jean is of course developing feelings for Peter which she has yet to fully acknowledge, but even so she should have been up front with Peter and asked him what the deal was with him and Gen instead of bottling it up and taking it out on him.


Peter is no better as he is vague as hell when he says "She needed me." and "I don't expect you to understand." when Lara Jean finally does confront him. Please, if you have any feelings for Lara Jean then give her the common courtesy to at least try and help her understand. Peter feels obligated to protect Gen's privacy which is fair but you can't expect to keep Lara Jean in the dark while you stay chummy with a girl who's emotionally manipulating you. Even simply letting Lara Jean know every time he was seeing Gen would at least be more reassuring than actively hiding it from her.

What was even more infuriating was seeing Lara Jean ignore Peter's "Can we talk?" text after the ski trip and for the next few days she waits expectantly for him to text her back. Um, hello??? He already texted you, you fool, now it's YOUR turn to reply back. And yet she has the audacity to be indignant when he shows up at the family's Christmas Recital:

So now he wants to talk. Well, too late. "We don't have anything to talk about." (pg. 336)

If you're going to be upset with Peter at least be consistent! He didn't only just want to talk now, he's been trying to talk to you ever since the fiasco at the ski trip. But you purposefully didn't sit with him on the bus, and you ignored his text. As far as I can tell, he's the only one making any effort to resolve this mess between the two of you. I admire Peter for rising above the pettiness to try and reach out to her despite being hurt that Lara Jean doubted his character enough to believe he was encouraging the rumors.

Lara Jean likes to blame Peter's obliviousness to try and justify her aggravation but I really don't understand people who expect their partner to be freaking mind readers. Some things just aren't intuitive. Some times we hurt people without meaning to, but that doesn't mean we can't try to listen and adapt. Lara Jean should know by now that Peter IS capable of this (eg. when he promises be on time in the morning) and she too needs to extend Peter the same respect and explain her feelings.

At the back drop to their love story, Jenny Han also addresses the theme of change and how we respond to it. Like Margot, my older sisters also moved away for school. During that time we drifted, partly because of the age gap but more so because of the distance. With time, my family and I adjusted to them being gone and what Lara Jean said resonated with me:

When someone's been gone a long time, at first you save up all the things you want to tell them. You try to keep track of everything in your head. But it's like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand: all the little bits slip out of your hands, and then you're just clutching air and grit. That's why you can't save it all up like that.

Because by the time you finally see each other, you're catching up only on the big things, because it's too much bother to tell about the little things. But the little things are what make up life. (pg. 294)

Now that I'm older, my sisters and I can relate to each other much more, but I also feel sentimental of the years we lost because we didn't talk as often as we could have. Margot and Lara Jean's relationship is tested throughout the novel; not only because of the distance but because of their individual choices: Lara Jean dating Peter and Margot having sex with Josh (despite the pact the sisters made to wait until marriage). Both decisions are in a sense betrayals of the ideals the sisters have come to know and cherish about each other. Lara Jean expresses this explicitly when she discovers Josh's letter to Margot:

It's like everything I thought I knew is the opposite. I thought I knew exactly who my sister was, but it turns out I don't know anything. (pg. 182)

Margot has been a constant in Lara Jean's life, and Lara Jean is understandably jolted by the reality that her sister is growing up and making her own decisions. Comparatively, life hasn't changed so much for Lara Jean in her mind. It can be shocking to realize and difficult to accept that the people around you are changing while you've been comfortable with the way things have always been. Margot similarly expresses the loneliness of this realization when she says "But then I left and it's like you didn't need me as much as I thought...I needed you, Lara Jean." (347) The girls reconcile with the understanding that despite all the changes that have happened, Margot's reassurance at the beginning of the book still rings true: "We're the Song girls forever, remember?" (22)


Despite its faults - of which are almost entirely on the main character - I appreciated this cute, fluffy read for addressing and approaching its themes in the way that it did. I identified with the book in many ways, and the familiarity of it was refreshing. I'm happy to have at least found an author who seems to have experienced and understood the same feelings about growing up as I have and chose to write about those experiences. 

I'll leave you now with Yongseo's performance of Banmal Song - A Song for First Time Lovers:

Random Observations:
+ According to Margot, Peter supposedly isn't very smart at school, and yet if he's sitting in front of Lara Jean in class then that means he's taking AP Chemistry? How?

+ Also, Peter randomly calling Lara Jean and when she asks how he got her number he tells her "Don't worry about it." Yes, because that's not creepy at all.

+ When Peter asks her what dog she wants, Kitty replies: "An Akita. Red fur with a cinnamon-bun tail. Or a German shepherd I can train to be a seeing-eye dog." "But you're not blind." "But I could be one day."

+ I swooned so hard when Peter asked Lara Jean if she was okay when they were kissing in the hot tub. Good to see Peter watching out for Lara Jean.

+ "He definitely likes her," Kitty agrees, her mouth full. "He...he looks at you a lot, Lara Jean. When you're not paying attention. He looks at you, to see if you're having a good time."

*Name was changed to protect the individual's identity.