Latest Loves

Hello, you!

I wanted to take some time today and chat you through some of the makeup bits I've been particularly enjoying lately. 

Firstly, this perfume was a gift from my lovely boyfriend for Christmas. It's BonBon by Victor & Rolf. 

You can find this perfume in Canada at The Bay ($120/50ml).

As someone who didn't particularly enjoy the scent of Victor and Rolf's "Flowerbomb," I'll admit I was skeptical upon unwrapping this. The packaging is absolutely darling, and it would have been a shame if I had disliked it. Thankfully, I love the scent, and get compliments on it all the time! Despite the name, the scent is not too sweet or young for me. It's the right balance of sweet and slightly floral. I feel like it suits my personality and style, while maintaining it's age-appropriateness. And... it's obvious how much I love the stuff -- it's been less than 4 months and I'm over halfway through the bottle!

The next things I've been loving are my nail base and topcoat. I picked these up on a whim while wandering around in WalMart. I had been doing without a base or topcoat at all and was getting tired of having to paint my nails every other day because I have this thing about chipped nail polish where it drives me crazy. I cannot stand chipped nails. My nails are chipped a bit as a write this and all I want to do is take my polish off and start over. 

The thing I think I love most about the duo of Revlon's Quick Dry Base Coat and Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength Flash Topcoat is the speed of it. The base dries to a slightly tacky finish in under a minute. I have tried leaving it to dry longer, but the tacky feeling never quite goes away (believe me, I have let this sit on my nails for an hour or more just to test!). The topcoat, although not hailed as any kind of quick-dry substance, seems to set very quickly as well. I would say that it takes about 5 minutes all-told for the topcoat to set completely. Finally, even after 5 or more days of wear, my nail polish still looks pretty good. The topcoat keeps it "just had my nails done" shiny -- it almost gives a gel-like finish. As well, the white colour of the base coat is preventing my nails from getting stained with polish colours. 

As a heads up, should you decide to give this pairing a shot, I find that my BarryM, Nails Inc., and Zoya polishes last the longest, and that OPI and Essie polishes still chip within one or two days. Apparently nothing is going to stop those brands from flaking off on me like crazy. First world problems, am I right?

Next up, a cheek gel from Pixi that I managed to scout during the insane Canadian Target fail sale. I found a couple of really excellent bargains that day, and this was one of them. The shade is "neutral" and it is unfortunately showing up as darker and more red-toned on camera than it is in reality. The actual colour is more of a midtone brown-pink that I think would suit most skin tones. 

This cheek gel is amazing for those of us who are constantly rushing to put makeup on in the morning. I, for one, never have more than 30 minutes to get ready and get out the door to my transit stop. This cheek gel stops me from looking tired and lifeless. It blends easily and does not budge once it sets. You can also take your time with this product, as it doesn't dry very quickly as you dot it on your face. You can blend it with your fingers, or use a sponge. I'm loving the finish it gives when I use my BeautyBlender. I'll try it with a brush and let you know how I get along with it that way. Since it's a gel, the colour payoff is pretty sheer -- almost like a watercolour blush. It gives enough colour that you know there's something there, but not so much that you look like a clown. Don't be discouraged by the tiny package, either. A little goes a long, long way with this!! The first time I tried it, I think I squeezed enough out of the tube for 3 people. Whoops!

Next is my skin-combo of the moment. I've been loving working with my NARS Copacabana liquid illuminator, MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC20, and Body Shop Tea Tree BB Cream.

To begin with, both of these foundation shades are pretty far off my skin tone. The NC20 from Mac is too orange for my liking (despite that "C" is supposed to indicate cool-toned-ness), and the BB cream is too pale. The next shade up was too dark, so I'm choosing to mix. I combine these three products on my hand before stippling them onto my skin with my BeautyBlender (which, by the way, is the best sponge of my life). The NARS illuminator gives a gorgeous, awake-and-ready-for-anything glow to the otherwise flat effect of the foundations. I find MAC Studio Fix gives great coverage, which I like, but it comes off looking cakey and lifeless on my face. This combats that! The BB Cream from the Body Shop has Tea Tree oil, which helps keep breakouts at bay, and is a thinner, more moisturizing consistency than the Mac foundation. paired together, these two give good, medium-to-heavy coverage, which I adore, and they don't look cakey or fake, which the NARS illuminator helps with a whole lot. 

I'm curious to know if there is a foundation out there that will suit my skin... anywhere. I've had horrible luck with foundations for essentially forever, and I have always had to mix two shades to make something that really works. I feel like that's maybe a just-me thing, but I don't really know. Thoughts, please?

The final-final thing I have been adoring lately is my Benefit Roller Lash Mascara! (It's so good, it gets two pictures. Yes. That good.) This is a relatively new release, and while I don't tend to buy into the hype of products as soon as they're released, but this one caught me. I picked it up almost as soon as it came out and have been obsessed with it ever since. Given that I really never found a groove with Benefit's They're Real, I was surprised by my lack of hesitation to try this. But, the claims piqued my interest, and all of the YouTube reviews I saw were really positive, so I went for it.

This mascara claims to curl lashes and basically eliminate your eyelash curlers from your morning routine. I know what you're thinking: "Yeah, right. As if." But since I bought this, I have not used my eyelash curlers. Okay, I used them once, on one of my eyes, to see if I could see a noticeable difference when I used this mascara with and without curling my eyelashes. I couldn't. When my lashes are properly curled and I've put mascara on, you can tell that they are nearly long enough to mix in with my eyebrows. This mascara is no slouch, friend. It curls my eyelashes to the same point as my eyelash curler would have done, but without the weird contraption and occasional pinch or pull on my lid and/or lashes. There is also no eyelash dent from the curler. Your eyelashes are curled gently from the base by the mascara and the wand, and are lifted up. The curl stays all day (and even into the next day, if you forget to take your makeup off before bed, as I sometimes do), and the mascara rarely smudges. I am a consistent skeptic when it comes to non-waterproof mascaras and their lack of smudging, so I totally get it if you just rolled your eyes at me. But trust me, I have been there with the panda face when I believed a product wouldn't smudge. I've made waterproof formulas smudge. This stuff does not move until you move it with some kind of face wipe or wash. The only times it has smudged on me, are when I have used a thick undereye concealer and not had time to properly set it before doing my mascara. 

The secret to the curl seems to be the brush, which I use starting with the concave side at the base of my lashes. I wiggle the brush between my lashes to ensure the product gets right down to the lashline, and then brush upward, twisting the brush out away from my face as I go. The bristles are plastic, and on the convex side of the brush are slightly hooked to catch your lashes individually (somewhat, it can get clumpy now and then), which helps keep the curl in place all day. The formula of the mascara must contract or something to keep the curl in place, I'm not sure of the exact science behind it. Finally, the mascara itself sets quickly, and I can get away with up to three coats before it starts to look like I've put way too much on. I'm not a big fan of the clumpy spider-lash look, myself. I prefer something about halfway between major drama and "what mascara?" Anyway, I'm in love with this, and I will definitely be repurchasing when it does finally dry out or start to smell spoiled. (At present it has no scent, which is another bonus.)

So... those are the makeup bits that I've been loving lately! What are yours? What should I try next?

Lovingly Yours,

- A.

Resolutions

Hello again,

I have rather sucked at keeping this up, haven't I?

Picture From Here

Well, this is on my list of New Year's Resolutions. Among drinking more water, and not worrying so much about what other people will think, and paying more attention to my creative side, and trying to create new friendships and stimulate old ones, lies the idea of being more active on social media. That means posting more on Twitter and Instagram, rather than just idly flicking through the feeds. (Also I read somewhere that having multiple goals for a year is more effective than just having one or two, so I'm giving that a go as well.)

It also means keeping my lovely little blog up to date.

So, in the spirit of the whole "new year, new you" concept, you got a facelift (and a nice one, if I do say so myself), and a new name, which I'm much happier with, and now, you'll be getting more posts. So get ready, 2015. We're going to hit it and (hopefully) not quit it!

And would somebody please, just as insurance that I don't fall off the wagon again, yell at me if I don't post at least once per week? Seriously. Just do it. Send me angry emails or write angry comments or something.

I want to write to you all, I just get caught in the "I'll write that tomorrow" trap, and then all of a sudden it's January and I haven't written you since August.

I'm also re-doing the office in our house, so that will also create a great space for me to buckle down in. I intend to document it and I'll be posting the before/during/after photographs with a post about the whole thing on here!

What are your new years resolutions? Let me know in the comments!

All my love,

- A.

Fresh Face

Dear You,

This is just a quick note because I wanted to show you how I typically do my makeup in the mornings. If I'm in a rush, I don't usually do any eyeshadow, but just add a couple of extra coats of mascara and run out the door. I also don't typically remember to re-apply whatever lip product I've put on in the morning as the day wears on, so by the time I get to my lunch break, it's usually completely gone.

Please remember that I never once claimed to be a professional beauty... person. I am not that at all. I just like pretty things.

Anyway, as promised -- pictures!

I don't tend to like how a lot of really bright colours look on me, so I stay away from vibrantly coloured eyeshadows, and stick to more neutral tones. If I'm looking to branch out of my neutral tone comfort-zone, I'll wear a bright lip colour, because as we all know, it never lasts very long anyway.

I must say I am really enjoying having a camera in the house that is a bit higher in quality -- these pictures, which were actually "selfies" -- came out way better than I anticipated, and exponentially better than they would have with my little point-and-shoot. I'm hoping to keep doing these kinds of posts as my makeup routine changes through the seasons, and as the needs of my skin change... as long as you still want to read them!

Lovingly yours,

- A.

Routine Rattler

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Dear You,

Every so often, I find myself changing up the products in my makeup bag. Switching out what I'm using with things that are hiding away in my stash. This never happens on a particular schedule, just when I find myself getting bored, or wanting to use a certain product that maybe I have not reached for in a little while.

When I changed my routine up this time, I decided I'd take a picture of the contents of my makeup bag for you all, when it was spilled out (strategically) on my coffee table, and give you a run-down of what's on my go-to product list for the time being.

Because the only way you will be able to read what any of those products say is if you have bionic vision, here's a list of what's in the picture... somewhat in order:

• Marc Jacobs Perfection Powder in shade 300 Beige
• Bourjois Mineral Matte mousse foundation in shade 81 Tendre Ivoire
• C.O. Bigelow My Favourite Night Balm 8-Hour Overnight Recovery
• NYC Expert Last Lipstick in shade 417 Flirty
• Benefit Eye Bright pencil
• M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish in Redhead (limited edition)
• Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate
• Benefit Erase Paste in shade 2 Medium
• Wet 'N' Wild Ultimate Match foundation in shade 853A Porcelain
• M.A.C. Cream Colour Base in Pearl
• Benefit Cream Eyeshadow in Bikini-Tini
• Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in shade 103 True Ivory
• Benefit Cream Eyeshadow in Birthday Suit
• Korres Lip Gloss in shade 22 Rose
• NARS Larger Than Life lip gloss in Place Vendome
• Benefit Ooh La Lift
• Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original (Deluxe Sample size)
• The Body Shop Vitamin E Cooling BB Cream in Glowing Shade
• Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara in shade 01 Black
• M.A.C. Lipglass in shade Petite Indulgence (From a Holiday Set)
• L'Oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara in shade Violet (from the U.K.)
• Rimmel Apocalips Lip Gloss in shade Solstice
• M.A.C. Pigment in Melon
• M.A.C. Pigment in Tan
• Eyeko London Eye Do Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner Pen in shade Carbon Black
• Makeup For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in shade 0L (Black)

I obviously do not use these products every day, but as you can tell, at the moment, my focus is mostly on making sure my skin looks good -- it's been playing up a bit lately, so I'm spending most of my time in the morning making sure any blemishes are well covered so that I don't have to worry about touching-up partway through the day. 

I'm considering doing a review of a couple of the products on this list, but if there is anything specific you would like to see, please let me know!

Lovingly Yours,

- A.

Mockingbird

Dear You,

Last night, at about 12:30am, while dealing with another night's inability to sleep, I finished Marja Mills' The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee. This book has me thinking on a multitude of levels. I find myself standing, pondering things as they are, and asking questions to which there are no answers... or at least, if there are answers, I have yet to find them.

Somewhere in the prologue to Mills' book, there should be a note to readers stating that if you have not read the entirety of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird prior to commencing Mills' book, that the reader is required to close Mills' book and first read Lee's. The number of parallels drawn between the settings of the two books, and their respective characters makes Lee's book a prerequisite. Ms. Mills draws comparisons and conclusions between fiction and fact ad nauseum through her book. Frankly speaking, if you have not read To Kill a Mockingbird, you will not understand much of Mills' work, but as a result, you may not find yourself reaching for half so much gravol or pepto bismol.

With that said, I feel as though, having read Mills' work, and now having had some time to digest it, that if what Mills wrote was authorized (Harper Lee herself now contests that it was not, in fact, authorized), then it does neither harm nor good to the reputations of the Lees. I have put this book down, having finished it, and am left feeling dissatisfied in its contents. The only additional information I now know (providing that it is not fallacy in some way) that I did not previously know about Harper Lee is the occupation of her elder sister, and the names and occupations of a handful of her close friends and relatives in Monroeville, Alabama. No great truths wwere exposed. No great motivations were revealed. Perhaps that is the snoop in me, the curious girl who has loved Lee's novel since I first held it in my hands, who wanted to know more -- more about the characters, the town, the author. 

This brings me to my next question. When did it become okay, and who gave the overarching permission, for everyone in the world to know everyone else's business all of the time? 

Harper Lee seems to me to be the kind of writer who doesn't write because she desires to be famous. Harper Lee writes because she has something of value to say. When she became famous, she did what any sane person who lacked any and all desire for fame would do -- she ran from it. She has spent her entire life running from it. After the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, she never published another work... and why should she? When one book is written, rockets to the top of its class, and stays (as To Kill a Mockingbird has done) a classic worldwide for decades, what need is there to write another? As is alluded to in Ms. Mills' work, when your first work is already at the top, there is only one place for any subsequent works to go -- down. To add to that, publishing further works would only prove counter to what Ms. Lee was trying to avoid. Publishing a second novel, or even an article in a magazine or newspaper, would draw attention to herself. Why would a woman who is trying to stay out of the spotlight draw attention to herself with further publications?

Yes, she could have continued publishing under a pseudonym, but if J.K. Rowling is any indication, the lack of confidentiality in modern society means even a pseudonym is no longer good cover for an individual seeking to stay out of the spotlight. People simply cannot keep their noses out of other people's business.

I feel very similarly overall about the fact that Ms. Mills even wrote this book -- authorized or not. She begins the book by saying that she was sent to Monroeville, Alabama (Harper Lee's hometown) to write a story on the author for her newspaper. Lee had declined an offer from officials in Chicago to appear at a Chicago Library event, but had instead written a letter in support of said event.

Why wasn't the letter Ms. Lee wrote enough? Why can't people just let the woman live out her life in the way that she wants to? Why feel the need to go poking around in her hometown, digging up old friends and skeletons in her closet?

I feel very "Leave Britney Alone" about this. I mean... I write, too. I don't want to have the details of my life -- where I live, who I spend my personal time with -- broadcast all over the internet for the whole world to know. Some things are simply designed to be private. As such, I have never, nor will I ever, give you my full legal name. You see, I have a very unique name, and it would be very easy to find me once you knew what it was. I, like Harper Lee, value my privacy. I'm sure I would hide from fame, should it ever try to infiltrate my life as well.

All in all, I feel that Ms. Mills' book, while an interesting read, may not be entirely truthful, and was most certainly and unnecessary intrusion into the golden years of an author who has spent her entire life running from the spotlight. While informative, I find it also exploitative and sad.

Perplexedly Yours,

- A.