What's in my makeup bag?

Alright, here's the scoop. I don't have much makeup. I never used to be a makeup person. 

However, there are just some things a gal needs. For work, when you have to face customers all day, for weddings, for parties, for not looking so GD pale or red-in-the-face. 

These things, I keep in my makeup bag (which I scored at Winners for $7).

 My first makeup bag to hold real makeup, and not Lip Smackers.

 Lookit!

Ok so this doesn't even fit in the bag, but I put it on in morning and I don't touch-up during the day anyway, so no biggie. I just wanted to show it because I've never had bronzer before. I didn't want to look orange, or fake, etc. BUT I LOVE IT. It looks so convincing...

My new mascara. CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion. I like! I didn't think I'd like the thicker wand with smaller bristles but it's alright! It separates lashes so much better! I just have to figure out how to keep it from poking my eyeballs.

 My favourite lip products ever. CG Natureluxe Gloss Balm in Coral and Hibiscus.

 Best. concealer. Dark circles be gone!

Ok, so this concealer was a pain in the ass to get right. As you can see in the second photo, I have shade 205 as well. I bought that one first because the cosmetics lady said that was my shade. False. I had the reverse raccoon eyes going on. You can't return this stuff once you try it. Curses!

So I went to a pharmacy in BC, and asked the lady. She gave me the darkest shade. It's perfect. I don't dab it directly under my eyes, just from the inner corner and down at a diagonal, following the dark bluey-ness. It works! I also use it as an eyeshadow primer and to cover tiny blood vessels, pimples and scars. It's creamy but doesn't smudge. 

Amazing stuff.

 

Such a classic, and yet I JUST bought some for the first time since high school. In high school I didn't want people to think/know I wore makeup. So all I did was curl my lashes and put on clear mascara. That's it. Now I use it to tame my brows and separate my bottom lashes.

Non-Makeup Essentials That Made it into the Bag:

 An old beat-up beloved mirror.

 

Pain-killing antiseptic cream (cheaper than Polysporin!). You know, for those days you get your thumb caught between a mooring chain and a boat. Amiright?

 Elastics and bobby pins. Like keys and socks, these need LoJacks.

Kind of important. These don't fit in the bag, but I only use them at home anyway. These are the three I use most often, from left to right:

1. Used for filling brows and tight-lining

2. Used for eyeshadow (but it's too big, need a more precise one)

3. For blush, bronzer and translucent powder*

*I use translucent powder when I accidently put on too much moisturizer and look ultra-greasy/shiny. Brand: Revlon PhotoReady in Shade 001.

That is all! What's in your makeup bag? What was in your makeup bag when you were in high school? Or just shout out your favourite Lip Smackers (mine was root beer)! :)

Happy Saturday! Remember, if you're in Montreal, head down to Ste-Cath!!! If you see me. say hi (and talk me out of whatever I have in hand!)

CoverGirl

Summer Sandals!

A pair of shoes from Aldo arrived on Tuesday.

When Frank saw them in the living room, he said "wow, that's like...one pair of shoes a week this summer!"

I asked him to please work out that math in his head, because I've only bought 3 pairs of shoes this summer...and one was a pair of loafers for work.

Apparently his summer starts in June, while mine starts in May. Already it didn't make sense, since the first two pairs were bought before June...

Then he proceeded to describe a few pairs of shoes I've had for over a year... O.o

Men.

So here are the two summery sandals I couldn't help but buy. You've already seen the black loafers, which are nowhere near as pretty!

Declan by Nine West

Wore these to my cousin's wedding in BC 

(thick heel helped me not sink into the grass! I win.)

 

Heister by Aldo (Ooo. Suede-y.)

Will likely wear these to my cousin's wedding in NS. Though, it's on a boat. 

Maybe I'll just wear them out afterward with my party-lovin' cousin.

I KNOW she's got something planned. :P

Someday soon I'm going to do a post on my shoe wardrobe. It should be both amazing and shameful. Not too shameful though, because I NEVER pay full price for shoes (or really, most things). So all my shoes are bargains! Huzzah.

PS Biggest street sale in Canada is happening THIS WEEKEND on Montreal's Ste-Catherine Street. I am going after work on Saturday. I will remain calm. 

But I am very excited!

Family Vacation!

I would like to state, that right before writing this post, I watched half of "Piranha". It wasn't a good idea. It was at once degrading and disturbing.

For the record, none of those girls' chests were real. None. Actually...nothing in that movie was real. Which is a comfort, but doesn't mean I won't have nightmares.

Anyway...this vacation post is so difficult. Why is it so hard to talk about a vacation? It's just one giant "ya had to be there". 

Here's an overview of Day 1: I flew from Montreal (2 hours delayed) to Toronto to meet my parents and brother who had flown from Halifax. We were all supposed to leave Toronto together to fly to Victoria. Because of my delay, I arrived after my family had already boarded. I ran as fast as I could, but I was 5 seconds too late. My mom had ran off the plane in a fit to be with me and wait for another plane with me. Ain't she nice/crazy? After some crying (on my part...I was so frustrated/mad/sad) and an hour at customer service (ugh!) we got red-eye tickets to Calgary and on standby to Vancouver that evening (which was very unlikely). We got drinks. Two each. Then felt a lot better! ;) Mom went to pee and passed by the standby flight gate. She asked. They said we were on the flight! We high-fived. We made it to Victoria at midnight and met my dad and brother. Then we all crashed at the hotel until almost noon the next day. 

The rest of the trip can be explained in pictures, and mostly pictures of boats, since that's what we saw everywhere! So here you go, a photo journal of the trip.

 Victoria

Dad's favourite part! Float-planes!

BC Legislature by day...

BC Legislature by night! Halifax should so do this...

Pretty...

 My classy brother. On our way to our cousin's weddin'!

Ha! So weird.

Me and Papa at Qualicum Beach!

 Brother and Mama at Qualicum Beach!

Errrrbody at Qualicum Beach!

 Hehe. They literally just stopped and stared. No talking.

 

 Qualicum Beach

 Victoria has water taxis! They're adorable!

 

 I think this was in Oak Bay. Reminded me of home. Or Newfoundland :P

So neat. Houses built into the rocky hillside.

I love taking photos when it's overcast.

Therefore, I love taking photos in Victoria...*sad trombone*

This is such a Maritime-y photo! Thanks Victoria for making me homesick...

You're beautiful, but this isn't my ocean. 

I'll be home in Nova Scotia in EXACTLY TWO WEEKS!!! I'm only slightly excited. :)

PS Victoria is AMAZING for gluten-free food!!! For example:

The Joint: awesome pizza place, so many GF options plus GF cakes, cookies and brownies! They were amazing. I bought a piece of cheesecake and two pieces of cake to try (not all at once!). The cheesecake had a shredded coconut base...I shall remember that.

The Noodlebox: My brother loves this place. And now, so do I. I can't even explain what they make. It's not stir-fry, it's not soup, it's somewhere in the middle. Perhaps it's Thai? Coconut milk, lemongrass, spicy stuff...anyway, you just exchange rice noodles and then die of happiness.

Macchiato: Coffee place with GF muffins and biscotti. Awesome.

Earl's: Restaurant (Bar & Grill sorta place) that has a GF menu. I never order salad...but the shrimp salad was amazing. It had strawberries in it too. Mmmm.

Can't-remember-the-name: Bistro down by the water across from Bastion Square (I think?). Very GF-aware. They fed me fish tacos. I died. Then I came back to life and ate another one. Delicious. 

That's all I can remember! Thank you Victoria for feeding my family so well! 

Have a great Thursday folks! 

Whoooo wears short shorts!

Me. To work. 

I love my job.

In this post, I will demonstrate how to dress up a $15 pair of black H&M shorts. Easy Peasy.

Behold. The casual boat-driver version of the black "hot pants": 

 Tank: Jacob

Shorts: H&M

Sandals: AE

Hat: Puma (purchased in town. Supporting local business!)

What's in my pocket you ask?

 BAM! Certification to operate this here pleasure craft.

*Name and card number smudged out* 

Now, the fancied up version of the black hot pants:

Step 1: Let out braids. Shake.

Step 2: Put on heels.

Step 3: Change into a work-inappropriate top.

 PS If you change my hair to blonde in the above photo (and fade it a bit), it is an exact match to my mom in high school. The face, the outfit, the grin, the hair. 

I am honoured.

 I decided to sneak around like a mouse. Frank did not get it. 

"Why are you walking all hunched like that? It is not beautiful."

Sigh. Humour is lost on serious fashion photographers like Frank.

 Showin' off my musk-els. And my odd 3-capped knees. What's up with that?

Cool side-effect of photo: outfit looks like a romper. Neat!

Shorts: H&M

Top: Gap

Shoes: Nine West

Sunglasses: DKNY

Ta-da! That's how you use short shorts for nice AND naughty. 

I mean...good AND evil. 

I mean...work AND play. 

There we go. 

Short shorts

Sail Me to the Moon

I am so in love with this outfit, I've worn it several times in the past couple months.

It's perfect for slightly cooler summer days, when it's still too warm for a jacket. 

Plus...the cloth peep-toe white flats are simply adorable. 

Warning: these photos get a bit silly. Frank was shouting directions, like Simon Says, and I was all over the place. Walking, skipping, jumping! Whew! Twas fun. :)

 Er. The only normal photo.

"Do I have to skip?" "Yes." ...."Ok."

 Looks more like sneaking, or walking...not so much skipping. But I was!
Or maybe I was defiantly marching. I remember that happening at some point.

 

 Lesson learned: It is hard to time jumping shots.

 Almost-perfect dismount! The crowd goes wild!

More importantly, check out that calf muscle! Whoooo-eee!

Shirt: Gap

Skirt: H&M (many many years ago)

Flats: Aldo

Belt: Jacob

Note about skirt: Mom brought this skirt back from the US for me when I was but a wee 19-year-old. Still shy about my gams, it was far too short for me to wear in public. But I kept it. I kept it in my various closets for 5 years. I only recently lengthened the hem so it is an inch or so longer. Ta-da! 

Apparently that is the length at which a skirt is deemed "appropriate" by me. 

See? Picky.

Striped tees

LUSH Review: Hair Products

What a treat you're in for today! 

I'm reviewing FOUR hair products from LUSH: Seanik and Karma Komba Solid Shampoo Bars, Jungle Solid Conditioner and BIG shampoo.  

First off, solid shampoos. If you've never heard of such a thing, solid shampoos are basically a little puck that you rub on your head to get a lather. They're great for travelling because they don't count toward your allowed liquids, they take up very little space and they won't leak! They're great for the environment because there is no plastic packaging. All of the above also applies to the solid conditioner. :) Read on! 

Karma Komba Solid Shampoo Bar

This is my newest shampoo bar, and it claims to be the "detangler" of the solid shampoos. I took it with me on vacation to BC and though I used this one only once, it definitely did reduce the time it took me to comb through my wet hair after my shower. I'm currently using up the last of my older shampoo bar (below) so I haven't tried this very many times. Overall, it smells nice and as far as I can tell, it really works! I recommend giving it a try if you have super tangly hair like me.

Seanik Solid Shampoo Bar

I have purchased and gone through two of these bars, and it is really great. It's not good for detangling, but it doesn't claim to be! I like this one mainly for the ocean-y scent. It's supposed to be good for adding volume, but I really have no idea how to measure that. I'm sure it does do something, but my hair is always up in a bun anyway, so...I'm not really playing up any volume! If you have fine, flat hair like me that you always wear down, I recommend this bar. Let me know if you see a difference in volume! Or..I could always just...not put my hair up...(the horror!)

Jungle Solid Conditioner

Alright guys, I was such a skeptic about this. Solid conditioner? But conditioner is supposed to be creamy and spread over your hair to sit and work its magic. How would this work? 
Well, I still don't know how it works, but it does. It smells like mown grass, and all you do is let it warm up in the shower while you shampoo, then you take it in your hand and just swipe it over your head, and then under the back of your hair as well (if it's long). It won't feel like anything is there, but don't worry! Just rinse it out after you've soaped, shaved, exfoliated, etc. and you'll feel that it worked. I don't see the need to go back to liquid conditioners, and I really rely on conditioner to detangle. There are also other methods for using the conditioner (check out YouTube) but I've found that this method works pretty well for me. Try it out!

BIG Shampoo

As you can see, this is a pretty small pot of shampoo. That's not all you get! This was just a sample. :P
It's a tiny little pot and I've already gotten 4 washes out of it, so that's about the amount I need for one more. I'll save it for a day I have my hair down! The deal with BIG shampoo is that it's mainly salt, so it's meant to give your hair BIG volume! I did notice a difference after using it and I may or may not buy a big tub of it. I'll have to wait until my shampoo bars are all gone before trying a new shampoo, but even if this didn't do the trick, I'd honestly buy it for smell alone. It smells DIVINE. One concern a lot of people have is that they're not sure that a shampoo made mainly of salt will lather. Well, you just have to rub a little bit vigorously between your hands until it lathers, and then rub on your hair. It will lather even more, but you really need to get it going between your hands first. I really recommend this one as something to try as it smells REALLY good and it's a pretty interesting concept. 


That's it! Have any of you tried one or more of these products? What did you think? Which should I try next!? :D


Have a great Sunday everyone, I get to SLEEP IN!!!! WOOO!!! 


Gina