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Friday, March 30, 2012

Organize the way you Make up!

For the longest time I was getting ready every day on the floor, basically in the dark or at best crappy lighting. I knew I had to do something about it but just never got around to it. That was until I stumbled upon msTapioca. She had built a vanity of her own and I loved the idea. Very simple and basic yet quite functional. Here is the link to her post:

msTapioca diy ikea makeup vanity

So here is the very embarrassing before photo of my ``vanity``

This was pretty much how it went down for the past few years. Prior to that it was me with all my junk on the tiny bathroom counter hovering over my sink.

TADA! So much better! I purchased the same shelf (Ekby Gruvan shelf) and legs (Vika Curry legs) as msTapioca but in black. I just got a different mirror than hers. My mirror is the Ekne Mirror.  Everything is from Ikea.

I also purchased this Vasen Vase from Ikea for $1.99 and filled it up with glass beads from Michaels. I use this as a makeup brush holder. I got this idea when I went over to a friend's house and thought it was neat and pretty. One of my first ever posts was Cats Love Makeup Brushes, where i discovered my cat liked to lick and play with my makeup brushes. This was mostly in part because I kept my brushes in a very low and accessible area and displayed them in a way that said "come eat me!". That was when I was living at home. Now I live on my own and have a new kitty of my own and found he did the same thing! So this new brush holder helps to keep it away from kitty's mouth. He still finds a way there but it's not as appealing to him anymore.

I got this mini shelf container from Dollarama. I put all my little odds and ends like bobby pins and elastics in here to keep it neat and organized. I used to always have to hunt for hair elastics and bobby pins. No more!

This is the Godmorgon box with compartments, perfect for holding all your makeup. This is seriously the bombest most illest organizer i've ever had for makeup lol. I put all the makeup I use most often in here and it seriously makes me life a lot easier. No more digging for stuff and it looks nice and neat too. Best investment EVER!

I just wanted to give props to msTapioca again for posting this brilliant idea, it's seriously made my life a little bit happier. I still have to work on better lighting but that's another task for another day. Check out her blog everyone because she's got a lot more neat ideas as well!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Babylips? More like Chappylips

Thoroughly disappointed.
Most products can just sell themselves. When I first saw Maybelline Babylips, ToysRUs immediately popped into my mind. I think the lettering is similar or something which is what threw me off. But upon closer inspection I saw their claims :

"Clinically proven to make lips 82% visibly less dry, 94% less rough, 77% more supple, and 77% better looking after just four weeks of use! It's clinical care for baby soft lips."  -Maybelline

I've also read a few reviews on this product and so many people were raving about it. 
Also if you purchased two of them at Shoppers, you got 2500 optimum points. So I quickly nabbed the Cherry Me and Pink Punch.
Maybelline Baby Lips
Verdict: 

  • very moisturizing initially but over time lips become very dry and flaky
  • nice light tinted balm, great for when you want a little colour but don't want to wear full on lipstick
  • lots of product, shouldn't run out too soon
Result:  7/10

This product does not live up to it's outlandish claims, so I was very disappointed. My lips would become dry after some time (probably within an hour or two) and when I would apply more, it looked horrible because my lips were flaky from the initial application. On the other hand I like that it has a light tint, so I find myself using it a lot, only because I have nothing else on hand. This product has triggered a new quest for me to find the perfect moisturizing lip tint.  

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Nail Lacquer Session #1


L to R: 568 Metallic Purple, 550 Purple Heart, 603 Rusty, 597 Miss Minty
It's been awhile since I've been able to wear nail polish on my fingernails. For the longest time I worked in a restaurant and then in a spa.  Now that i'm at a job where I polish on my nails is not an issue....I've gone a little overboard. I love polish and being so deprived for so long I got a little eager beaver-ish. I purchased a few lacquers from Gosh for the first time, they were on sale for about $5 each. I must say for a $5 polish these babies are pretty good. 

Verdict
  • great coverage and pigment
  • easy application 
  • lasts about 3 days before it starts chipping, and even then it does not chip very much, maybe 1 or 2 nail tips

Metallic Purple: A little too frosty for my taste
Rusty: Had a surprising shimmer to it and had amazing application
Purple Heart: My favourite out of all four. The colour was amazing! In dim lighting it almost looks green, regular lighting it's purple and in very bright lighting it looks black. Interesting polish.
Miss Minty: Your typical mint green polish for Spring 2012. Nice creamy colour and looks nice with a glossy finish or with a matte top coat as well.

Last weekend I went into the Urban Outfitters on Queen St. in Toronto and found a wicked deal! I got this nail polish set for sale $4.99, regular price $24.99!
Stay tuned for the post on these bad boys!

Friday, March 16, 2012

My day at Toronto Fashion Week

On Wednesday, Mar 14 I jumped on a greyhound bus for the first time in years to embark on my mini journey to Toronto fashion week. This was a voyage I had done on a regular basis during my college years but since moving back home and finding all my basic necessities locally, my Toronto busing trips had gone from frequent to zilch.
I've never gone to fashion week and I saw the opportunity to volunteer so I went for it. This was my only shift and luckily the weather was super nice. Spring has come to Southern Ontario very very early!
I was in the Studio Room for most of the day and I got to help set up and organize for two shows for the day.

The first was for Eva Chen, a Vancouver based designer. Luckily I got to sit in for the show and I had a pretty good seat, I sat at the front right where the models would be entering.Chen used a lot of blush and grey and I loved the colour combo. Below is my favourite look of the show. I just think she looks like a super romantic bratty princess!
Eva Chen Fall '12

The second show was for Cara Cheung, a Toronto based designer. I believe this was her first runway show and wow I was really impressed. She's pretty young and new to the scene and I think she's going to do great things. For this show I didn't get to sit but got stuck squatting in the back so I didn't get a good view but I still thought it was really well done. If I had to describe Cheung's show I would say "futuristic party girl". I love how structured yet elegant her looks were. I was seriously impressed. I want I want! Below is my favourite look of the show and I believe it was also her final dress. I also loved how the models' hair was styled. They all had long soft curls and one side of their head was plaited. Everything was well put together!
Cara Cheung Fall '12

We were explicitly told not to take pictures and being the good obedient girl I am.....I didn't. At one point when we were organizing the swag bags I was very tempted to take a picture of myself with all the fabulous bags....but I was quickly whisked away to another task.
That was my day at fashion week! It totally inspired me to start volunteering more for big events, maybe I'll hit up TIFF this year. Next year I will definitely make an effort to make it for more than one day for fashion week!

Monday, March 12, 2012

The real world awaits you....but you can't ignore the fantasy world either

Oh man, i've been totally slacking in regards to blogging but for good reason.
1) Yes, I do have a day job, well it's actually more like a night job because I work until midnight which means I don't wake up until around 1 some days.
2) I am taking online courses to complete the program I started when I was 18 and never finished......don't ask me how long ago that was.
3) And I have a wedding to plan which is happening in a very short two months! AAAAKK!

I've been pretty successful at blogging at least once a week, but in the world of the Internet once a week might as well be never. So now that i've finished one of my online courses and won't be starting my next one for at least a month, possibly two, I hope to blog more frequently. I'm aiming for twice a week! Cheer me on guys!

This post wasn't really about anything special, just a post to let you know i'm a real person and I got stuff to do lol

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dream High a chance to Fly High!

Okay, okay! I am a streamer addict, guilty as charged. Now that megavideo`s down it`s made my life a living hell. I am like THIS close to sacrificing something in order to pay the exorbitant amount of $$$ for some cable up in here. Thank god for South Korea! After a long hiatus i`ve caved and started watching K dramas again.

Totally after watching Boys before Flowers (the Japanese version, not Korean version) it ruined all other dramas there after for me it was THAT good! SOOOOO GOOOD! But last year a friend of mine had suggested I watch Dream High and I loved it, so when I saw that the second season had come out I had to watch it too.
Everybody gotta stop knocking Dream High 2. Okay, I know it`s not the original cast but get over it. Boo hoo! But seriously it`s just as good but in its own way.
Dream High 2 Cast
Teenage angst, pop idols, singing, dancing, love triangles and squares oh my! And just like every other Kdrama you`ve got your stereotypical characters. The main girl, Shin Hae Sung, is this poor, stupid blubbering idiot that everybody feels bad for. You`ve got Rian, the bitch that is just blatantly rude for no apparent reason. Jin Yoo Jin is the bad boy that can`t help but have a sweet spot for sad girls in need. Then there`s JB the pretty boy that comes off as cocky but is just really insecure with himself. And of course you`ve got your secondary characters for comic relief and distractions. Mix them altogether and you`ve got a hell of a drama. The thing I really like about this drama though is that it is not so predictable and linear as your usual Kdramas. There`s a lot of plot twists and you`re constantly changing who you`re rooting for.

One thing you can't deny is how great Park Ji-Yeon of T-Ara, playing Rian, looks. I love her elongated eyeliner and her long, soft wispy hair. Even though she plays the nasty bitch, she does it so well especially with this look. She's always sporting a headband with either a tiara or spikes fastened on, and these crazy nail art designs.

The one thing that bothers me though is how she's always wearing this fierce eyeliner. Whether she's going to sleep, waking up or sick in the hospital. I guess it's all apart of her character. Super divas can never look bad, right?



Here is my take on Rian's elongated eyeliner look. I also love the pink lips that look like they were just overly bitten. I used Smashbox O-Plump to achieve that natural bitten pink lips.













Sources:
Rian Tumblr Image
www.allkpop.com

Check out Catalina's (CL2425) tutorial on how to achieve elongated eyes in the video link below.