Memories of 2013

2013 is out and here comes 2014! Here are  a few of my favourite memories from 2013...

In January we brought home an adorable little Chocolate Lab puppy into our family. We also have a Yellow Lab and an Airedale and they instantly warmed up to our little Lily (lily pad thai for an extra nickname). She's crazy, hyper, and causes a ruckus but she has made my heart beat that little bit faster with how much I love her! She's much bigger then in the photos below now as she just turned one. I was a part time student from January - April so we were able to spend lots of time together...bonding of course.

Blurry photo but I can't resist that face!

From February - April I was mostly just in school, working two jobs, and taking care of the little pup.

In May I went to work at a kids summer camp I attended as a camper for 9 years and now have been a staff at for 4. It is the most amazing place and I love spending my summer months there completely disconnected from the world (aka no internet). This year I was lucky enough to go in May instead of in July as I got my steel toe work boots on and picked up a hammer and other tools I clearly can't remember the names of. I was there early to help build new cabins & fix up the camp from the winter months. The photo below was taken during a camp dance at the end of a two week camper session where you dress up all silly and dance, dance, DANCE. The best part of the dances are when you see the youngest campers who are usually age 7 or 8 making new friends and dancing all crazy. Also do note that I'm dressed as a princess...as you do.

Also this summer I was able to celebrate my one year anniversary with my amazzzzzing boyfriend. We celebrated by going zip lining and taking several photos on a disposable camera which I have yet to get developed, I am so excited to see all of them!

At the end of the summer I got my first haircut in over a year! As you can see from the camp dance photo above and the photo below, I had long, long, long wavy hair. It was so nice to get my hair chopped off, have a new style and fresh ends. I love haircuts and I'm lucky that I don't get nervous or anxious going to them because I know that it's just hair and it'll grow back. I do miss it sometimes but then I see Rebecca's hair and instantly want to go shorter as I just LOVE her hair! The photo below where I am wearing the striped shirt, is sitting in my car after just stepping out of the hair dressers and I wanted to send a photo straight away to my boyfriend. Since then I don't think I have really taken many photos of my hair...weird! Also I'm sporting a deep tan from being outside with the campers all day everyday, sunscreen was my best friend those four months.

During September and October I started making some more YouTube videos which you can watch here. I love just talking about what I love most (being makeup of course) and editing the videos. I've had so much fun making them so if you do have time I would really appreciate it if you could go on over to my channel and give them a watch or a subscribe if you enjoy them!

Early November my mom and I flew down to NYC for the weekend of my 20th birthday and spent 4 days at every Sephora possible and having such an amazing time. I have talked about my trip several times but I truly fell in love with NYC. I love the bright lights, crazy drivers, and the New Yorkers who have such a strong love for their city. My mom and I got our make up done daily by MUA in stores and we always walked out feeling so glam. I had posted a video here on all the beauty items I bought while I was there if you'd like to have a peek!

Beautiful flowers outside our hotel in NYC

Of course a wonderful memory from 2013 for me would be starting this blog which I had dreamed (literally) of doing for SO long. I had read Kate & Rebecca's blogs for ages and was always so inspired to start one myself but the nerves would get to me and I would hold off on going to the blogger website and clicking join. When I did and purchased a blog template it was such an exciting moment and I have enjoyed writing every single post since. I wanted to thank you for reading my new little blog and I hope you will stick with me throughout 2014!

Sorry for the iPhone camera quality on the majority of these photos but just capturing memories as they come! Hope you all had a wonderful 2013, and here's to 2014!

What were some of your 2013 memories?

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Memories of 2013

2013 Beauty Favourites

Source for photo

As 2013 is on its way out I figured it would be a wonderful time for me to fill you all in on my 2013 beauty favourites. I found this slightly difficult to narrow down my yearly favourite products because I have bought things recently (cue Naked 3 and several things from NYC) that I have completely fallen in love with, but I didn't want to add things that I haven't truly loved over the past calendar year.

Face: Although I do have slightly spotty skin at the moment, I adore the more natural and sheerer coverage of foundations. This past year I've been constantly reaching for my Revlon Nearly Naked foundation as well as Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. Both are light coverage that gives me the base I love and both last a long time on my skin. I've never been much of a concealer gal, but when I do need the extra coverage in some spots I definitely have chosen the Jouer Age Repairing Concealer. It has excellent coverage and doesn't get that cakey look. To powder between my brows, forehead, nose and chin I have hit pan on my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. It really does keep my shine at bay and it is so fine that it's great for touch-ups during the day. To add some colour to my cheeks I have fallen completely in love with the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Babydoll for a flush of pink. I'm not much of a bronzer girl because I find that I'm just too pale and most bronzers end up looking either muddy or orange on me, so blush is the way to go! Lastly for my face, in 2013 I went through THREE bottles of the MAC Fix+ for setting my makeup and getting rid of any powdery look. It's also great for spraying on eye brushes to get a more pigmented colour or for using shadows as liners. 

Eyes: MAC Painterly Paint Pot has been my most reached for base for my eyes this past year. I absolutely love it! The nude shade evens out my lids and it makes my shadows last longer and appear more vibrant - a must have! My MAC Palette has been filled! During 2013 I really wanted to depot all of my MAC shadows and get them into a palette but they were sold out of the single palette, so I went for the duo. I found myself reaching for this all the time and I was so happy when it was finally filled with 15 of my favourite shadows. Some shadows in particular that I love are Blanc Type, All That Glitters, Sable, Satin Taupe, Wedge and Mulled Cider. If you would like to see all the shadows that are in my palette with swatches do let me know in the comments! My lashes seem to really get along with the L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara although I have found that even with a new tube the mascara can get a little clumpy on the brush, I just make sure to go over them with a plastic mascara wand to get out any clumps. For liner I have really loved my L'oreal Infallible Super Slim liner for a thin line and a small flick to finish off my eyes.

Lips: Lipstick is something that I luuuurve, it really polishes off any makeup look and can make you appear much more put together then you may be feeling. As much as I love a bright lip, during the year on a daily basis I was mostly after a "My Lips But Better" shade. Here I have 3 that I think are perfect. I do own 6 MAC lipsticks which to some people isn't many, but it's the perfect amount for me to be able to get much use out of each and every one. My most reached for MAC lipstick though is definitely Syrup as it is a muted down mauve that is just so easy to wear. Next we have the most glamorous lippy out of my favourite 3, this is YSL Nude Beige. I did do a whole review of this lipstick here so you can read more about it there! Lastly we have a lip stain, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey is a perfect shade for daily wear and lasts HOURS.

Brushes: I wanted to include some of my favourite brushes that I've been using over the past year. In general the Real Techniques brushes have blown me away, we can only get a few here where I live but the two collections I have are wonderful! I just photographed two of my favourites just to show you - the Buffing Brush and the Multi Task Brush! For eyes my two favourite brushes have both been by MAC. The 217 for the perfect blending or outer V application, and the 239 brush for packing on colour onto my lid. 

Those are my 2013 favourites! What are yours?

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2013 Beauty Favourites

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - Tutorial

I just posted on my youtube channel for a tutorial for the brand new Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, I am so in love with this palette and I just can't stop wearing it! In the video I show how I like to wear these shadows and which ones are my current favourites!

I have had troubles with my Nikon D5100 since I bought it January of 2013 trying to find the perfect setting to film with, and you will probably notice in this video... I have still yet to find that perfect setting! I find that when I have uploaded into iMovie everything looks great, bright, and just how I want it. THEN once I have uploaded from iMovie directly into YouTube everything changes! It goes much darker and slightly grey...if anyone has any idea what I should do to change that, please let me know! I don't have many people watching my videos (which is fine because I just have fun making them!) so I don't want to invest tons of money into lighting just yet. Therefore, please do let me know if you have any ideas!


Hope you enjoy the tutorial!

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - Tutorial

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

I know everyone and their mothers twice removed cousin has raved about this beautiful palette, but it's just too stunning to not write a post about it! Here are my thoughts on the newest Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette:

Personally I think this is the most romantic palette UD has released, I don't own the second palette but I do own the original which I absolutely love. I do believe that the third is incredibly different then the first and second, which is why I felt perfectly fine spending the $62.00 on it. This palette is all rose toned which will look stunning on hazel & green eyes, I have brown eyes and find that the pink tones are very flattering none the less. 

The packaging is very similar to the second Naked as it is in a tin and has a lock shut - perfect for traveling. It has a large mirror and comes with a double ended eyeshadow brush, one end is a packing on eyeshadow brush, and the other is a blending brush perfect for in the outer corner or in the crease. Naked 3 comes with 12 eye shadows which comes to around $6.00 an eyeshadow for a total of $62.00 - pretty reasonable price if you ask me!

Now on to the colours!

As you can see the first six eye shadows are quite light and day time wearable where as the final six are more dark and smokey. There are three matte shades and 8 shimmer and 1 more "glittery" shade which I don't think I will get much use of. 

Strange - Pale matte smooth cream - perfect for brow bone or inner corner

Dust - Baby pink shimmer with glitter - perfect to be applied in the center of the lid just be careful of fall out as it is very glittery

Burnout - Smooth & silky peachy pink - I love wearing this all over my lid

Limit - Pale matte dust rose - works great in the crease as a transition shade

Buzz - Highly pigmented metallic rose with slight glitter -very wearable!

Trick - Beautiful rose gold - lovely in the inner corner or under lower lashes

Nooner - Pinky Mauve matte - again works so well in the crease or outer corner to deepen up a day time look

Liar - Cool toned shimmery purple with a pink undertone - incredibly pigmented and so beautiful

Factory - Pinky brown with fine shimmer - love applying this in the outer corner

Mugshot - Metallic taupe with stunning shimmer - no complaints!

Darkside - Deepened taupe with very fine shimmer - very pigmented

Blackheart - Black with red & purple microshimmer - the perfect shade for smoking up your eye makeup

Urban Decay Naked Palettes always have such huge hypes to them, but honestly they are so worth it! Blogs and YT channels will probably be over flowing with reviews of this romantic palette until about mid January I'd imagine, but it is just so stunning!

I was able to order mine before it was sold out and also before it had hit the Sephora shelves, and I recommend picking one up for yourself! I think that this palette would also be stunning for a bride or bridesmaid. 

What are your favourite ways to wear this palette? Leave a comment below and let me know (rhyming yahoo!)! I'm always interested to know new ways of wearing these beautiful rose toned shadows.

Have you picked yours up yet?

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Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelée - Poppy Paradise

It's been a day over a week since my last post, and I blame my stressful exam schedule on that! After this coming Wednesday though I'll be on Christmas break and I have so many blog posts and YT Videos planned! Yippie.

I have been eyeing the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee ($29.00) for ages now, I loved the idea of a gel blush that is natural and long wearing. Whenever I went into Sephora I would swatch all the shades on the back of my hand and I just loved how smooth and water-like they were, so I just had to add another blush to my collection.

The shade I picked up is Poppy Paradise. It is a very bright hot pink in the sturdy glass jar, but blends out so softly and wearable. Personally I like to apply my blush a little further back then the average spot, being the apples of the cheeks. I like to apply mine directly on my cheek bone and higher up just so I can get some more shape to my face. I definitely think that this product is a stain because it lasts AGES on my skin! I will apply it in the morning around 6:30 am and when I get home from my day at 5:00 or 6:00 pm it will still be sitting right where I placed it many hours earlier. In the photo below where you can see it on my cheeks, you can also see how it had stained my ring finger which I used to dot in on my cheeks and used my middle finger to blend it out. I also like the application of using my finger more then I do a stippling brush. I find the colour to be such a natural flush that I find myself reaching for this almost everyday! It really does brighten up your face, especially if you're feeling extra tired that day.

Although it is 50% Coconut Water & Vitamin E rich Argan Oil I didn't necessarily find it super moisturizing, but that doesn't bother me too much as I really do love the product. I did try them on my lips to see if they would have the same lasting power on my lips (aka a lipstain) and I will admit that they made my lips feel very dry, but I don't even think they were targeted as a lip & cheek stain, so again that doesn't bother me!

I can't wait to try more shades of these, I would love to own them all! Do give them a try!


What are your current favourite blushers?

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Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelée - Poppy Paradise