Ultrabland

I'm sure everyone remembers when the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm made its rounds on Youtube. However, I seemed to get the vibe that while everyone loved it, it wasn't a product they were ready to purchase for themselves. Cleansing balms are generally very expensive, even Lisa Eldridge says she only used her Eve Lom balm once a week. And yet despite their price tag, Caroline Hirrons and everyone else down the skin care ladder, praise their benefits. I was intrigued by cleansing balms initially, especially because it seemed that there weren't many on the Canadian market: Clinique and the Eve Lom (if you want to order it from Sephora). But, when Caroline mention the Ultrabland, I knew I had found the affordable cleansing balm that would fit into my regime.

Korean Beauty Haul

Ever since I'd heard of Asian skincare, I've been intrigued and fascinated. The idea that everyone follows such a complicated routine, the fact the products and ingredients are so different to what is sold here in Canada and most important the price range of the products. I had tried sheet masks before but this time I wanted to experiment with different products. I'd been seeing Memebox come up quite a bit recently as a Korean beauty box that delivered to the States. One of the things that really stood out were these super affordable serums, each with their own active ingredient. They weren't complicated and claiming to do a million things but one main ingredient. It kind of reminded me of Skininc where you can custom make yourself a serum based on active ingredients just like these. I was sold immediately and that prompted an order with Yes Style.

Peanut Butter Granola

After Reading Week I decided to make it a priority for me to have more variety in my lunches. Lunch is by far my least favourite meal of the day. I find it tedious to make *cough* sandwiches *cough* and I find I get bored of things quite quickly. However, one day picking up an overpriced parfait on campus, I realized just what to do with the leftover oats and honey and peanut butter I had sitting in my cupboard.

February Wrap-Up

First of all, I am going to begin with a small apology. I have been so bogged down with work ever since I cam back from Reading Week and my projects seem to be forever piling up. This pattern might continue through to April but I promise after graduation (Oh God!) that I will have lots of time on my hands to dedicate to sticking to my uploading schedule.

Now for a very late February wrap-up...
This month, as was the trend, I decided to read fantasy novels. Despite my love for Harry Potter, I've never been a real fantasy enthusiast (in terms of adult books) but I loved fantasy a child. To be honest I've always been put off by the covers and having to search in a different section of the book store, but since reading/watching Game of Thrones, I've decided to put my prejudices aside  and I'm glad I did.

2015 Oscar Predictions

While the Oscars are on tonight, I will be on a bus, heading back from Reading Week, in what I'm hoping won't be be too snowy conditions. But, even though I won't be able to watch them until tomorrow, that didn't stop me from trying to watch all the Oscar movies I could, to make my predictions.

The Body Shop Sweet Almond Oil Nail Polish Remover

Nail polish remover isn't something I've ever considered paying more than $5 on and even then I would just buy whatever was on sale. Since deciding last year that I wanted to introduce more natural and ethically sourced products into my regime, I still hadn't explored the aisles of The Body Shop. I was super intrigued by their nail polish remover and how it contained almond oil to nourish cuticles.

Target Liquidation Haul

It's been a sad time for us Canadians, losing Target and now the niche between Walmart and a proper department store (even Sears is on its way out). But there is always a silver lining and the silver lining here is a liquidation sale! Actually things got a little bit sadder considering the lack of real deals, I mean 10% kitchen products...that's pretty standard in department stores, I mean those are the kinda saving you get with a Student Pricing Card or one of those Target debit cards which I'm sure all the owners are now regretting. But lo and behold, cosmetics were 30% and that even had my mother rushing out to Target.

Makeup Removing

Everyone raves about micellaire water and bi-phase eye makeup remover, but which makeup remover do you really need and what s best for what? While I haven't tried every option on the market, I think I have a good idea of what product works best for what and hopefully that can give you a good idea of what product you need.

Snacking Healthier with Four925

Last week, on the day of the snowstorm, I just could not shake the craving of something salty. Thankfully by the late afternoon the snow stopped blowing and I decided to go to my last class of the day. On the way home I stopped at my favourite convenience store which caters to the student demographic, carrying more organic, fair trade and healthy options for snacks as well as groceries. After getting my maple bacon Kettle Chips (not the healthiest choice) home, I devoured them while watching Downton Abbey and proceeded to feel disgustingly boated, all night long. Usually when I go grocery shopping I will buy a chocolate bar and for my daily snack, break off one row and have that. It sometimes works when I'm at school all day or running around being busy, but when I'm at home sat in front my laptop, I neeeeed something to keep my hands busy. I realized that night that I wanted to change how I snacked.

Body Shop Haul

As I promised in my empties post, there will be many hauls coming. I can be so frugal and so having to buy everything all at once really stresses me out. As such, my hauls will probably just be coming in small doses.

January 2015 Reading Wrap-Up

This month I didn't get up to too much reading but when I did sit down to read, I read a lot. The books for January were all quite diverse and it made it a little more refreshing from all the Thomas Cromwell that happened in December. Additionally, I want to take part in Fantastical February so that will be a month of all one genre.

Empties #1

This summer I decided I was going to stop buying skincare every time I decide that my skin needs something different. Consequently, all my skincare is beginning to run out at the same time. Before xmas, my toner ran out and I promptly bought the Keihl's Ultra Facial Toner and since my new skincare additions, my skin has feeling amazing. So stay tuned to lots of empties and hauls in the weeks to come.

Salted White-Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

As of last exam period I have had the most intense craving for white chocolate.  And, I'm not afraid to admit that on Monday night after working on a STATA assignment, I came home, crawled into bed and ate an entire Lindt white chocolate bar. #NoRegrets If you too love white chocolate then these cookies are a great option. However, as with all recipes I write (when they don't turn out perfectly) I will give you my critiques, so please read the entire post before you start baking and if you make any alterations, please let me know how it turned out!

Skate Canada Nationals 2015

One of my new year's resolutions was to spend more time watching figure skating. While I complained and complained about CBC's coverage, what better way to make sure I don't miss any of the action by going to one of events myself. The first time I ever visited Kingston, Skate Canada International, a Grand Prix event, was being held and I got to see one of favourite skaters Javier Fernandez live (this is of course prior to him being a regular medalist). This year Kingston was hosting Canadian Nationals and I thought what a better way to end my time in Kingston by going to see it.

Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil

Since I received a sample of this oil from Sephora last winter this has quickly become one of my favourite skincare products. The primary ingredient, Tsubaki Oil has supposedly belonged to Japanese beauty rituals for centuries. It cost 57.00 CAD for a 1.7 oz bottle (I'm more of a metric girl but it really is a lot for your money).

If You Liked Downton Abbey...

During the summer I dived head-first into Downton Abbey. However, season three left me a wreck and I felt I could not go on. Recently I've started watching it from the beginning and realized my favourite part of the show was during the Great War. What triggered me into rewatching Downton was a book my mother had recommended to me ages ago and I felt that I ought to make some Canadian recommendations to those like my mother and I, who love a good wartime romance.

Present You vs. Future You

It may surprise you to know that I didn't need to style this photo. In fact everything cluttering my desk is only for one course. I'm not even a messy person but sometimes the work piles up a little to high. This pile also lead to a revelation this weekend that I need to really consider what makes me happy in the short term and what makes me happy in the long run.

Smokey Romantic Eye Look

Lately I've been wearing very little makeup. Normally I have "busy" days with lots of class and errands, where I tend to wear more makeup but this term my schedule is very spread out and with lost of time in the library I've mostly been wearing concealer, eye liner and mascara (during a Canadian winter you don't need blush!). Today, I'm going to be hanging out with friends and going to dinner so I thought I would be a bit more ambitious. I decided to create a pinky-smokey eye and keep the rest of my face very neutral so I don't look too done up.

December 2014 Wrap Up

Christmas Beauty Products 2014

If you read my new years resolutions, you'll know that one of my goals is to focus on skincare rather than make-up. I kept this in mind when I wrote my Christmas list. I think sometimes when you read beauty blogs you think you need every neutral palette that looks beautiful (I mean those are all shades you're going to use right!?) etc. but I find when I take a step back I should only really be buying new makeup products as I run out or to fill in a gap. So I made my beauty list small and precise.

New Year, New Me

(photo from stylecaster)

Warning: this post contains the biggest blogger new years cliche. I'm not the type of person to make new years resolutions because they just don't always work. I'm sure each of us has tons of reasons from they're hard to come up with, hard t follow through, hard to start etc. For those of you making them (or any goals) I wanted to recommend an app I used to use and wanted to get back into called Everest, but it no longer exists according to their website. Essentially it breaks down your goals into things that you can do on a monthly, weekly, daily basis to reach your goals. E.g. if you want to be tidier a daily goal could be to wipe down the kitchen counters or make your bed and a weekly goal could be to vacuum or clean the bathroom. The app then lets you check off the things you've completed. I'm sure there are other apps out there and this wouldn't even be difficult to replicate using an agenda.

This year is incridibly important to me as it marks the end of my institutional education and the beginning of the the rest of my life: learning from experience and learning as a professional. Here are my goals for 2015 and what I hope to continue and change going into the new year.