April Photo-A-Day Days 5-8

Hello Lovelies! Long time no post!


Well, I suppose considering that my usual "long time no post" greetings are a month spaced, this isn't actually that long.


As I had announced in my last post, I took a mini-hiatus for the Easter weekend, as I was away from home and therefore not able to post anything. But, now I'm back, and I've got 4 photos from over the weekend for you! (Aren't you so excited!)


Here we go...


April 5: Tiny

At the time when this picture was taken, this peeled Cutie orange was the tiniest thing I had near me at the time. It really is tiny! And cute, which, I suppose is why they call them "Cuties." They taste AMAZING, and I have been taking them in my lunch to work for a while now. They're super easy to peel, too, so that's kind of nice. I'm going to stop rambling on about little bitty oranges now - particularly considering this is a beauty and fashion blog (supposedly).

April 6: Lunch

Lunch on Saturday was eaten at probably the coolest restaurant I've ever been to - Crépes à Go Go in Toronto (check them out on Facebook). The restaurant was quite small in size, but the food (again with the food?!) is big on taste, despite its simplicity. The crépes are also not served in the way that you would traditionally think - there are no plates here. Your order is actually served to you in a paper bag, which the waiter will tear open for you when he hands it to you. I will give a word of warning, though, these crépes are definitely fresh - they are about a thousand degrees when you first touch them, I swear! Anyway, this place also had an in-house made variation on a lemonade. My dining companion and I tentatively ordered a small bottle. They were out of small bottles - so we cringed and ordered the large bottle in it's place. We collectively take our cringe back - the Limonana (that's what this amazing brew is called) was AMAZING! The concoction is a mixture of filtered water, mint juice, lemon juice, and evaporated cane juice. The result is a sort-of lemonade that is equal parts palate cleansing and thirst-quenching. It makes an impeccable dance partner to the crépes served in this little café, and I urge all of you to, if you are in the Toronto area, seek out Chef Véronique and her créperie, and try something. Sit inside or outside, and just watch how the place works. That is totally my favourite part - just sitting there and listening to the staff shout back and forth in French to one another is really fun, and adds an authentic French atmosphere to the café. Anyway, if you're around Toronto, go try it out! Believe me, it's awesome.


April 7: Shadow

This is my cousin's cat. Her name is Shadow. Clever, no?



April 8: Inside Your Wallet

Well, the inside of my wallet isn't that exciting, I'm afraid. I do like the wallet itself, though. It was a major bargain from a Claire's store near me - I think when I bought it it was about $5. It's also silver faux-leather with some type of alligator-ish embossing. I like it. Anyway, it doesn't have a great deal in it, aside from a vast number of membership cards and some change. Oh, and coupons. I am apparently an old lady inside - I can't stop clipping coupons. Thankfully, not so much that I am a candidate for the TLC show "Extreme Couponing." That would be... well... extreme.


Anyway, I need a break from typing all of this - I'll get back to you on days 9 and 10 tomorrow (hopefully). I've been at this big guy for hours!




I hope you are all having a lovely day or night, and I shall speak to you soon!


xoxo,


-A.

April Photo-A-Day: Part 2!

Hi Loves!

Well, time for the next instalment of my April Photo-A-Day challenge!

I didn't quite get around to posting yesterday, so we've got days 3 and 4 today.

Day 3 - Mail

This is a photo of the mailbox on the outside of my house. The mail goes in (obviously) and it says "MAIL" right on it. I considered taking a picture of my actual mail, but I was afraid of the crazies and decided not to post my address all over the internet. Generally not a good idea, wouldn't you agree?

And Day 4 (today!) is Someone Who Makes You Happy

I couldn't choose. I had to pick two of the people who make me the happiest in the world. These two girls are my best friends - have been since I was very small. These two, between the pair of them, are always there to make me smile if I'm upset, or to share in my happiness when things go right. I like to think I do the same for them. I love them both to the moon and back, and I wouldn't give them up for anything. Having them in my life makes me happy every single day, regardless of what's going on. They are my inner glitter. <3

Anyway, I'll stop sapping at you for now. I'll be back with more pictures after the Easter long weekend! I'll be away from my laptop from Thursday night til Sunday night, so between then, I won't be posting. I shall miss all of you, though!

xoxo,

-A.

April Photo-A-Day Challenge!

Photo

Hi Girls!

I have been trying very hard to think of a way that I can blog every day, and recently, I came across the April Photo-A-Day Challenge! I have seen these challenges done before, and I thought it would be cool to try it out on my blog, instead of on twitter (not that I have anything against twitter, I just need more than 140 characters to be able to get my point across, as I am sure you have realized.)

So, I decided to go for it! Here is what the challenge entails:

Keep your fingers crossed, darlings! I am starting out with this today, because I did not have time yesterday to put up April 1st's photo. That said, please do not count on a photo every day, as there will be days where I am too busy, or too exhausted to even consider blogging (despite that it is not the most strenuous occupation in the world), and until I get some cash, don't count on amazing quality photos, either, I'm afraid - my blackberry camera is going to just have to cut it for all of us for the time being (I wish it was better quality too, I assure you)! 

So, here are the photos from yesterday and today!

April 1st: Your Reflection

Please pardon the fact that my bathroom mirror is really quite dusty. I need to clean it, apparently. Perhaps this is the other good thing about this challenge, it will show me when/where I need to clean things in my house.

April 2nd: Colour

In this case, I took a picture of the most brightly coloured thing I had close by - my laptop! It's a plain white macbook… when you don't have a hot pink hard plastic cover on it… with matching hot pink silicone keyboard cover. I adore it. The cover keeps my laptop (also absolutely my baby) safe and sound, as well as being completely adorable!

Anyway, I shall speak to you again as soon as possible - Hopefully tomorrow for April 3rd's photo - Mail!

xoxo,

-A.

Makeup Shakeup #1

Hey girls!

This is going to be a new, "recurring" thing on this blog - once in a while (because, as we all know, this blog does not seem to run on any semblance of a schedule), I am going to write a little post about what I am using to do my makeup in the mornings. There are going to be weeks where I don't actually post one of these "makeup shakeup" posts (thanks to Gemma at Gemsmaquillage for the concept!), because I won't change what I'm doing very drastically from day to day. Obviously I'm not going to do an entirely new post when I change bronzers, or blushes alone. I'll only repost when a number of things are switched up. I seem to have quite a bit of makeup, so I'm trying very hard to use some of what I have up before I invest in any more.

Lately, I have been going for quite a simple, "barely there" makeup look - part of this is because my office isn't the kind of place to wear neon eyeshadows, and partly because I'm usually getting ready at about 6:30 in the morning, and I am only half-awake doing this. It's got to be zombie-proof!

So, here's all that I've been using of late:

Even with all of these products, I am able to get ready for work in about 20 minutes, which, for someone who used to take about an hour at it, is actually a feat! 

The image I took excludes things like my moisturizer, which I will always use before makeup, so I don't really count it as makeup, it's in my general "skincare" category (If you do want to know which moisturizer I use, I'll be more than happy to review it, as I love it!). It also excludes any brushes or other tools that I use, as those are also not makeup! :P

Anyway, what I do have in there are things that I've been using on the regular for the past week or so. There will be a list after I'm through rambling away here about how and why I do my makeup in the morning of all of the products I've been using recently. There are 22 products in total, but some it takes about 20 seconds to use and then I'm through with that one and on to the next! That's my justification, anyway.

So, to the meat of the subject! Every morning, before I go to work (or before I reveal my face to the general world around me), I do a full face of makeup. Not only is this to cover any minor imperfections (acne, scarring, etc.) on my part, but also to stop me from terrifying anyone who might see me (ie. small children, the elderly, anyone who is afraid of zombies). I seem to have an assortment of things that are "wrong" with my skin lately. I do not know why, but it's acting up really badly these last few weeks. I went from having really dry, literally flaky skin, to half-oily and literally acne riddled skin. Concealer has been my best friend, lately, and the Erase Paste you see is nearly empty, and it makes me sad. 

I also recently bought the Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten, which I had been searching for in stores near me for I can't tell you how long! I was trying to be very good and not purchase it online, because I hate having to deal with shipping costs, and the fact that often times my packages get stuck in customs (I had one stuck in for nearly a month once), which then winds up costing more money. On a typical bestie-date with my friend, we wandered into Sephora. My lucky day! This was the last one in the shade I had so coveted left in the store. I was/am ridiculously pleased that I was able to pick it up. It functions a lot like the Mac Paint Pots, or now the Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo Shadows (try saying that five times fast). I've never tried paint pots to know how they stand up, but I know the Maybelline ones work quite nicely for me, they just don't seem to have a colour close to this champagne-gold. I wear it under eyeshadow. I've been trying to "shop my collection" to find a colour close enough to the actual kitten colour that I don't have to actually shell out the money for the real shade (Thank heavens for Temptalia's Dupe List, let me tell you!). I've found a few that work, so in an effort to reduce the physical size of the things I have to handle in the mornings, I have been using the lighter of the two shades in my NARS Silk Road duo. It's a tick more yellow than the smudge pot is, but it still looks nice. I may try using Mac's Naked Lunch over it next…

Anyway,  I've also really been into cream blushes lately. Unfortunately, I seem to only have three to choose from, and one of the colours doesn't suit the spring/summer season. Bummer. I'm using the (possibly discontinued) Maybelline Dream Mousse blush in peach satin, because it gives a really pretty flush without looking like I have six inches of makeup caked on my face. It also blends really nicely, which I like. I'm going to be sad if they've discontinued these in favour of the new Dream Bouncy blushes. I've actually been using this type of blush (not this exact pot) since high school. I've repurchased them several times over! 

Anyway, I've pretty well run out of things to say, and I don't want to get into reviewing every product on the list, so, that said, here's the list of things I've been using every day:

1. Benefit Eye Bright Pencil

2. Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

3. NARS eyeshadow in Abyssinia

4. Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Pencil in 0L (it's black)

5. Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Ave Princess (sample sized)

6. Benefit Erase Paste in Shade 2

7. Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara (Blackest Black)

8. Mac Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

9. Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

10. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Roller

11. Urban Decay All-Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

12. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese

13. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (regular shade)

14. Mac Lipstick (shade may vary - this one is in "Chatterbox")

15. Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in #20 Peach Satin

16. Urban Decay Skyscraper Multi-Benefit Mascara

17. Skin 79 Super + BB Cream

18. NARS eyeshadow duo in Silk Road

19. NARS eyeshadow in Cyprus

20. Tarte ReCreate Primer (Sample Sized)

21. NARS Multiple in Copacabana

22. Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

That's it! If you have any recommendations of products I need to try, especially if those products are cream blushes, please do let me know! 

Hope you're all having an excellent day!

xoxo,

-A. 

I Love My...

I Love My... Tiny Bag!!

Okay… so I only bought this bag yesterday afternoon, but I'm obsessed with it!

Here's why…

1) It's TINY. When I say tiny, I don't mean like "oh, this is smaller than the giant bag I'm used to carrying around." I mean, this thing barely (BARELY!) fits my coach clutch, blackberry, and my keys. With those three items in the bag, there is no room for an EOS lip balm. There is probably room for a single lipstick tube, or a normal-sized Mac Lipglass. But that is all. I am honestly thinking I should probably find a microscopic wallet to go in there so I have room for my iPod… which is also tiny… (it's the newest iPod Nano model) I think I may have a minor "tiny stuff" addiction…

2) It is SUCH a bright yellow! Seriously - it reminds me of a yellow highlighter. I love the smack of neon it gives an outfit (I say smack because that's kind of what it does to your eyeballs; I happen to firmly believe that it is utterly impossible for any shade of neon to simply "pop" - that it is neon automatically indicates that it really does slap you across the face)  - it's so obnoxiously bright that it actually goes with quite a lot of colours, in my opinion.

3) I love the shape of this bag - it's a sturdy little rectangle, that holds it's shape regardless of how much I try and shove into it. It stands up on its own when it's empty, but it isn't uncomfortable when you wear it across the body.

4) The strap. I love that it's kind of belt-inspired. The length is adjustable - it can be a cross-body bag (the length I am using now), or you can shorten the strap and just wear it on one shoulder. In my mind, that almost makes it like having several bags in one, cute little package.

5) It is not a gigantic tote or hobo. I am definitely that person that got used to wearing a gigantic bag that weighs about 10 pounds - this is not only bad for the health of my bag and shoulders, but is also extremely frustrating, as in the bottom of one of my many "pits" as my mother calls them (because they are seemingly endless holes where things go in, but never go out… which is rather more like a black hole than a pit, but you get the idea), is always the nondescript thing that I am looking for - whether that is my phone, or my wallet, I ALWAYS end up dumping out my entire bag to find SOMETHING. Not with this little baby! Obviously since it is a struggle to fit more than 3 things in it, I will not have any trouble locating my stuff. That, I am always good with.

I bought my little yellow love at Old Navy. It is currently on sale, and comes in a few other colours, to my knowledge. If you can't find one at your local Old Navy, here are some other options for you! (I didn't cap the price, but I have some for every budget.)

Bags: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8