Boxing Day(s) Haul!

On Boxing Day, I ventured out to the mall for what may have been the first time ever! I’ve been to other stores downtown on Boxing Day, but nothing as normal and insane as a mall, so you could say it was a bit of an adventure.

Anyways, I started out at Target, which mostly let me down... there were lots of great sales on clothes, but nothing that really caught my eye. And the only thing I really wanted—a rose gold-esque watch—wasn’t on sale at all, so I skipped it. For now.

I also checked out Sephora, which was insane, but none of their deals really enticed me. I wanted to look in American Eagle, since I had my gift card, but it was so busy I couldn’t walk, so I skipped it and went to Bath and Body Works, where I spent the first of my money. I also spent some money at London Drugs and Claire’s, and my boyfriend paid for me to get a pair of shoes at Spring.

London Drugs:

I only got one thing of any interest at LD, but it was nearly half off, so I had to pick it up:

This is just a replacement for my current brow pencil (the same one), which has less than a centimetre of product left. This was $3.99 before tax.

Claire’s:

Claire’s had 75% off all of their holiday/Christmas items, as well as a sale on their clearance items, so I had to pick up a couple things.

This giant pack of candy-flavoured lip balms was originally $12, so I got it for $3... I may never need lipbalm again. Even if I only ever use the vanilla, caramel, and chocolate ones, this won’t be a waste.

I also got these adorable snowman earrings, which were impossible to photograph nicely. They were originally a ridiculous $5, but were down to $1.25 thanks to the sale!

This was on clearance for about $3.50, and I thought it was adorable... probably because I love anything studded and shiny. I was hoping that it could act as a clutch, but only if I don’t want to carry anything that isn’t cards. I’d definitely need pockets to use this as a clutch, for my phone and maybe my lipstick. Still, it’ll be a good back-up wallet if all else fails.

Bath and Body Works:

I was really sad when I didn’t manage to get one of the Pumpkin Pecan Waffle candles before the winter candles came in this year, so imagine my pleasant surprise when i found these there on Boxing Day. They had the mason jar size as well, but I wasn’t sure how much of a sale they were on, so I only got the mini-size candle. Mmm!!

I already have one of this candle, but I’ve been too scared to burn it thus far, since I didn’t want to use it up, so I was really happy to find a stack of them on 50% off, and almost bought two more, but managed to reign myself back to one.

Spring:

These beautiful things were a boxing day present from David. It’s a bit of a tradition almost for him to get me something pretty during the sales, and even though he was sleeping/working at the time, I ventured out on my own to get these wonderful sparkly heels. I was wearing them for an hour or so the other night to start breaking them in a bit, and I literally kept getting distracted by how gorgeous they are! I also love that they aren’t 4 inches high, so I can actually walk in them without hating them 5 minutes later! These were originally $40, but ended up coming to $32 after taxes! They are absolutely going to be my New Years shoes, and I may try to wear they as often as i can get away with it.

Look at them sparkle under my Christmas lights, though!

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Day Two

On the 27th, I went out with my friend Brit for a few hours so she could shop what was left of the sales, and so I could get a start on my American Eagle gift card! (Also, I hadn’t seen her since about a week before Chrsitmas, I think, so it was nice to see her again as well!)

Chapters:

I only got a couple of things at Chapters, since they were super discounted. One of which I needed more than the other.

This adorable little pouch was onlty $2.50, so I couldn’t really pass it up. It should probably be a pencil or makeup bag, but I have a strong urge to use it as a quirky clutch... We shall see.

My computer has 4 usb ports already, but I have a lot of stuff to plug in: mouse, speakers, charging cables for my phone, tablet, ipod, and sometimes my DS, as well as my SD card reader... which you may have noticed is more than 4 things. This was only $5, down from almost $13, so I thought it was a good deal, and also pretty adorable and minimalistic.

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I did also pick up a couple of things from American Eagle while out with Brit, but I want to do a separate post for my American Eagle haul, since I haven’t used up the whole gift card yet. That will be up a bit later. My next post, however, will probably be either my “2013 Favourites” or my “New Year’s Eve Makeup.”

Thanks for reading!

What I got for Christmas!

Hello lovelies! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Boxing Day. I just wanted to show you what I got this year from my boyfriend, friends, and family this year for Christmas, so I hope you all enjoy these types of posts as much as I do.

Let’s start with my presents from my boyfriend…

This year I didn’t get surprise presents from him, but I did get some pretty great (and expensive) presents from him this year.

1. Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS digital camera:

I already have a digital camera, but this one is supposed to be really good for filming, and does full 1080p videos. My boyfriend wanted to get this for me because I guess I frequently talk about how I would like to do YouTube videos… So now I kinda have to! The plan is to do my filming at his house, since my room is so amazingly dark and cramped. I’m not sure when I’m going to start making my videos, but yes… It should be coming.

2.Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense in 36:

This insanely bright pink lipstick is just amazing! It smells really strongly of the classic lipstick scent, but it is really pigmented and lasts a pretty good time. Also, its identical to a colour from the Urban Decay Revolutions lipsticks, and 3 dollars less money.

3. Naked Basics Palette

To begin with, I wanted the Lorac Pro Palette, but it sold out yet again by the time I got around to trying to get it, but then I realised, with David’s help, that if what I really wanted was matte colours, then this was actually more like what I needed. Also, this palette is really nice, especially for how boring it looks. Its super useful either mixed with some sparkly shadows, or for a full matte look.

And then two of my friends also got me presents. From my friend Brittany got me a bulldog puppy calendar, since they’re my absolute favourite dog breed:

And also a small sized Evergreen candle from Bath and Body Works, which smells exactly like a Christmas tree! So good.

My other friend, Jeff, got me a couple of nail polishes from Forever 21. I’m not sure if he knew these ones were textured polishes, or if he just got them because someone told him they were made in teh same place as a big expensive brand, but either way, polishes are always welcome. These ones are very spring colours, and a topcoat mostly de-texturizes the polishes:

Swatches:

And now onto my presents from my family! Here’s an overview:

From my little sister, I got a Game of Thrones blanket that I’ve been wanting for a while:

And here’s a look at the blanket’s pattern. Sorry for the terrible picture quality, but low-light and my phone camera doesn’t play nice:

From my parents I got this shawl thing. It’s sooo soft and warm. Not sure I’ll ever get myself out of the house in it, but I love it for inside at least!

I didn’t really take individual pictures of everything else, just some close-ups. I figured photographing and posting every single thing individually would take ages and just be wayyyy too long!

1. The Little Mermaid DVD – The Little Mermaid was my favourite movie as a little kid, and my VHS version is so destroyed that it skips and has lines in it, and its faded… and since this was rereleased recently I wanted to make sure that I got a fresh copy that would last me much longer than my poor VHS.

2. Scratch tickets – I really need to remember to cash this in. I only won 2 bucks, but still!

3. American Eagle gift card – I got a $100 gift card, as well as a couple $10 off $30 coupons, so I’m splitting up my purchases a little bit to get the most out of this card!

4. brush/comb set

5. hair ties – I swear I never need to buy hair ties, since I always get seem to get some for Christmas!

1. trouser socks – basically dark-coloured nylon-esque socks. Odd, but still useful.

2. Kahlua chocolate – perfection in chocolate form.

3. bailey’s chocolate – not quite as good…

4. cotton pads – always useful!

5. eos lipbalm – my first one. This is the pomegranate raspberry one. I really like the formula, but I wish it was in an easier to use shape… like the conventional tube.

6. pure acetone – like the cotton pads, always useful.

7. LA Splach nail polish set – who doesn’t need more nail polishes? This is a really nice set of shimmers and glitters. Most of these are really thick and have nice coverage. Some could easily be worn in one coat (all the swatches below are one coat), but are perfectly opaque in two.

And here’s the swatches for the LA Splash polishes (and the forever 21 polish I mention later):

1. Peppermint Mocha Via – these are literally perfect. You have to make them with hot milk instead of water, but it tastes exactly like the store-bought version.

2. Pumpkin Spice Via – not as good as the in store version, but still a very tasty cinnamon-y coffee.

3. PC Candy Cane hot chocolate – I had this last year too, but this stuff is so fantastic!

4. Baken-ets – these are the weirdest things. Basically, they’re pork rinds with the fat somehow mostly baked (fried?) out of them. They are not pork/bacon flavoured… no, they are literally pork rinds. And unfortunately really tasty. As unclassy as they sound…

5. Mint Lindor – Not a massive fan of dark chocolate, but these are still really good.

6. Russell Stovers S’mores

7. Two boxes of Stash decaf Pumpkin Spice tea – this and the next one are two of the most amazing things in the world. I’ve been getting them for Christmas for a few years now, and I nurse the box through the whole year. This year my mom got two of each, so I can drink it even more! xD

8. Two boxes of Stash Holiday Chai tea – also, these are only available during the holiday season… laaaaame.

9. Pot of Gold chocolates – who doesn’t love these?

1. Vanilla body spray – classic and wonderful. Looks like a fake of the B&BW one, but this is way better than their warm vanilla sugar, or whatever it’s called.

2. Secret deodorant

3. Batiste dry shampoo – I’ve actually wanted to try this out for a while now, and this little mini bottle will be perfect to give it a go. This is the tropical scent, if you’re wondering, and basically smells like Hawaiian Tropics sunscreen.

4. umbrella – a necessity especially around here.

5. Forever 21 grey polish with glitter and a clear topcoat – the glitter one is really pretty. See the swatch above with the LA Splash swatches, if you didn’t notice it before.

6. three tanktops – basic, thin, comfortable, and perfect for layering.

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And that’s everything! If there’s anything you want me to talk more about let me know in the comments,a and also tell me some of the cool stuff you got for Christmas (or link me to your own blogpost/video). I will be posting—eventually—my collective haul of what I got with my $100 gift card to American Eagle, as well. That’ll probably be in the New Year, however, since I have a few more posts to go up first.

Thanks for reading, and check back soon for my Boxing Day haul!

Christmas Tag!

I found this tag on nikmakeupjunkie.com, and decided it would be fun to do it myself! And I figured it would be very fitting for it to go up Christmas Day!

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?
The decorations and presents, both giving and getting, and shopping for them.

Do you have an advent calendar?
Yep, a Lindor one!

What time of the year do you start your Christmas shopping?
Around the beginning of December, or at least I’ll start thinking about it thenish... not great for ordering online!

When do you start decorating for Christmas?
Whenever my parents decide it’s time. It’s not really up to me. I’d probably decorate December 1st, if I had my way. As it is, though, we didn’t get out tree all decorated until December 16th! x_x

Real or fake tree?
Real!

Handmade or bought Christmas cards?
Bought, I’m way too lazy. Even then, I don’t buy Christmas cards...

Giving or receiving presents?
If I could only get one, receiving... Though I would miss the present shopping...

Do you open your presents in the morning or evening?
In the morning. And I open presents with my friends sometime after Christmas, usually. Sometimes New Years Eve.

What's your favourite Christmas song?
Blink-182’s “I Won’t Be Home for Christmas,” if you’ll accept that... otherwise Jingle Bell Rock

What is your favourite Christmas film?
“Love, Actually,” or, for a more conventional/traditional choice, then “The Year Without A Santa Claus.”

What is your favourite makeup look for the festive season?
Glitter! Nothing too dark or smoky for Christmas, and then super smoky and glittery for New Year’s. For the rest of the time, dark lips! This is about the best time of the year for makeup!

Christmas day fashion
As a little kid I used to put on a dress to open presents and stuff, but now if I do anything other than rolling outta bed, I’ll put my hair in a ponytail and grab slippers and a bra... =P. Unless something terrible happens, I don’t leave the house on Christmas.

What is your favourite Christmas food?
Crunchy turkey skin and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy.

What's your favourite Christmas memory?
I have plenty, hard to choose.

You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?
That’s next to impossible... PSL, salted caramel mocha/hot chocolate, gingerbread latte, or any of my regular drinks (coffee, vanilla latte, etc.)... I really just love coffee.

What Are Your Favourite Christmas Colors?
Green, red, and sparkly white.

What's your favourite color scheme for decorating the tree?
Pff! No colour scheme, unless whateverthefuckIwant is a colour scheme. Just put the ornaments on the tree! I like coloured lights and silver garlands.

What's your traditional Sunday dinner?
Just in general? No tradition.

What is your favourite Christmas drink?
Coffee or chai.

What is your favourite Christmas smell?
The Christmas tree! (and winter B&BW candles).

Have you ever built a gingerbread house?
Yes, but it was always a waste, because I hated eating them.

Do you have any festive recipes for food or drink you limit solely to the Christmas season to share?
I usually make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas, but rarely ever other times in the year. Other than that, not really.

Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
Eggnog. Especially with coffee. Or rum. Oooor maybe both?

Are you on the Naughty list or the Nice list?
Nice? Depends how you define things, I guess.

What's the one thing you really want to get from Santa this Christmas?
Naked 3?

Who is your favourite person to buy presents for?
My sister. I always have more ideas for her than I can feasibly buy. It’s thus convenient that she has a birthday only a couple weeks before Christmas.

What is the weirdest gift you have ever received?
Not sure... I’ve got some pretty great gifts, but as for weird? That’s difficult... A roll of bubble wrap? >_>

If You Could Only Buy One Person a Present This Year Who Would It Be?
Probably David.

Have you ever had a White Christmas?
I think technically, but it is so rare here.

Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope

Where do you usually spend Christmas eve and day?
My (aka my family’s) house.

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And that’s all the questions! I tag all of you to do this as well. Leave me a link in the comments if you do this, or if you already did!

Merry Christmas! I hope each of you has (or had) an awesome Christmas, whether you celebrate it or not!

Christmas Makeup Tutorial/Inspiration

With only a couple more days until Christmas (3, to be exact), I thought it would be fun to do a festive, Christmas-y makeup look. I don’t have step-by-step pictures for you, but this look is very simple to recreate, and I will give you a list of the products I used, and a quick description!

To start off, here’s the look:

Sorry this first one is so washed out… For some reason the camera decided my skin was pure white for this shot! I swear the rest will be better…

And a close up of the eye makeup:

Obviously, if you have similar colours, you can use whatever products you have at hand, but here’s what I used:

Lancome Color Ideal Foundation:

I honestly don’t think they make this foundation anymore, but I still have this and its still fine, especially since it has a pump so my fingers have never been in it. Anyways, I used this with my flat-top Real Techniques Buffing Brush in a thin coat all over my face. Followed by:

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer in Fair:

Under my eyes and in a triangle on either side of my nose to highlight the center of my face. I don’t have much in the way of dark circles, but this helps my makeup to look more flawless, and I feel like it—and the powder of top of it—help to keep my eyeliner in place. Next, I used my:

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Sandstorm:

Over my foundation and concealer to set and mattify everything, and to make sure it says in place all day. Next, I took my

ELF Eyebrow Kit in Light:

I used an Angled liner brush from Morphe with the gel side first to shape and darken my brows, followed by the powder to set the gel and fill in sparse areas. I like to do my brows first because then I don’t over do it on my eyes, and that way I don’t forget. After that, I used my:

Urban Decay Primer Potion:

To prime my eyes to make sure my makeup lasted, of course. Then I topped the primer with:

Urban Decay eyeshadow in W.O.S. (from the Naked Basics palette):

You haven’t seen the Naked Basics palette on my blog yet, I don’t think, but you will soon. Anyways, I just wanted to use a shadow that was basically the same colour as my skin to make sure my eyelids looked matte, clean, and bright, since I have thin eyelids. Also, I find that my eyelids are just oily enough to make my eyeliner transfer if I don’t wear it over eyeshadow, so this helped with that as well. Next, I used:

Wet’n’Wild H2O Proof Liquid Liner in Black:

To line my upper lash line and to create a wing, followed by:

Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Liner in Neon Green:

After drawing on the wing in the black liner, I traced just above that line with the green glitter liner. I had to do 2 thin coats to make it look this glittery and bright, but I really love how it came out. Next, of course, I added:

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner Pencil in Zero:

To line my lower waterline. (If you find that liner in your water line tends to slide from the outer corners down into weird smudges, like mine loves to do, I would suggest using an angled brush and a matte black eyeshadow and press that into the edge of your liner, just below your lower lashes. I find that helps to prevent some of the smudging, if not all, and keeps my makeup looking cleaner, longer.) And to finish up my eyes, I added:

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Mascara in Black:

To make sure I had eyelashes! I used about three coats of this mascara, since I find it goes on fairly thin. The upside of this formula is that I don’t find it really ever creates clumps, even after three coats. But the downside is that I have to do three coats to make my lashes look how I want them to. I’m pretty meh on this mascara. I don’t hate it by a long shot, but I wouldn’t choose it again.

If you wanted even more drama, you could definitely add some falsies, but for this look I stuck to just the mascara.

Now that the eyes are done, there are just two more steps to this look:

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft And Gentle:

I used my Morphe fan brush and swiped this along the tops of my cheekbones, the bridge of my nose, my cupid’s bow, and just under my eyebrows. I love this highlight, but if you use it, make sure to use the tiniest amount, since it is insanely shimmery! I just swipe my brush into the product lightly, tap it off, and that is more than enough for me to highlight everywhere I want to do so!

Finally to finish off my look I added:

Sephora Lip Attitude Lipstick in Chic:

Green and red is such a Christmassy combination, so to complete this look I figured a classic red lip was in order. This is my favourite red lipstick, but I’m not sure if it’s still available. It’s Sephora’s own brand, and the colour is Chic… unless it’s C27. Either way it’s gorgeous and I love it, but any classic-red lipstick will do!

And that’s all! Spritz with a makeup setting spray to make sure it lasts all day long (I use Urban Decay’s All-Nighter), and you’re good to go.

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This look is really simple, so I think it would be good for just about anywhere that you might want to wear it! You could also, substitute the green liner for gold or silver glitter for a slightly different look, but I really love the green and red together, since it looks so subtly Christmassy. Or maybe it’s not that subtle. *shrugs* I wore this out shopping at the mall today, but I think it would also be great for Christmas parties, Christmas dinner, or maybe even as a simple New Year’s Eve look!

Anyway, I hope you liked this or took some kind of inspiration from it for yourself.

Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas!