TAG || The Common White Girl Tag

No explanation needed! Check the description on youtube for the questions if you want to do the tag too! =)

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Fall Favourites || September - November 2015

In which I talk about my favourite things in makeup, fashion, tech, music, and drinks from September through November... including rambling on about my favourite Starbucks drink of the moment for more than a whole minute... =P

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HAUL || PAX Prime, Torrid, Charlotte Russe, Target, Starbucks

Check out all the free swag I got from PAX, as well as the various things I bought both at the convention and at Bellis Fair and Northgate Mall!

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Vlog || PAX Prime & Pike Place Market

Checking out and play testing new games, food, exploring pike place market and the first Starbucks, etc. Enjoy!

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|| Recent Favourites || Dec 2014 - Jan 2015 || {video}

More favourites...? MOAR FAVOURITES!! >_>

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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.

***

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!

September 2013 Favourites

I really had very few favourites last month, and just as many non-beauty favorutes as beauty ones, but I think that’s okay! So without further ado, here are my September favourites:

Bold Lips, especially Hang Up by MAC

Although I really need a lip liner for this colour, as it’s so dark it is easy to put on messily and it feathers pretty easily. That said, I love the dark look. I’ve also been loving other bold and bright colours lately, including my other MAC lipstick (Impassioned) and also my Revlon Balm Stain in Sweetheart. But mostly Hang Up.

MAC Soft and Gentle

It took me a while to start playing with this. I was a little scared of looking like a glitter bomb, but I love love love the look of this on my cheekbones! At first, I felt like I had to have a blush and contour on, but lately I’ve been loving just wearing this a highlight with my Milk Chocolate Soliel bronzer as a light contour.

Skin 79 Pink BB Cream

Although I haven’t used  this a lot, the few times that I have tried it, it worked fantastic. It’s an odd colour and texture, and almost looks a little grey when I squirt it onto my hand, but once it’s buffed into my skin, it matches my face pretty well, it covers flaws without being unnatural, and it holds my face powder (especially my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Silky Beige, which is basically my perfect colour) without looking heavy or cakey. I’ve also worn it without powder once, and it my surprise, it set surprisingly well and quickly, and lasted a long time.

ELF Essential Tone Correcting Concealer in Ivory

I’ve had this for a while now, but I’ve recently been using this on my under eyes, and I really like it. I have to make sure I set it with powder really well, because I find it doesn’t dry very well, but it does help to brighten up my eyes and make my entire look seem cleaner and more flawless.

Non-Beauty Favourites:

“Wake Me Up” by Avicii:

Image from soundisstyle.com

My current workout song. I have the entire “True” album by Avicii now, which is good, since I won’t have to over-do one 4 minute song for a 30 minute treadmill session! That said, “Wake Me Up” is a fantastic song; I love how it’s a cool mix of Country singing and techno/dance music, and it’s so happy and dance-y! I wish there was more country-techno music in the world! (Click here to watch the music video!)

Dystopian Teen Series:

I’m just finishing up “The Selection” by Kiera Cass, but I also read “Delirium” this past month, and I took the entire series worth of books for the Selection and Delirium series’ out of the library, though I haven’t got around to them yet. Oh! And the Divergent movie is coming out, as well as Catching Fire…! It’s a great time to be into these books! =)

Cranberry Ginger Ale:

I maybe have talked about this last year when this was last a thing, but I never had the Canada Dry brand version before! It’s even better than the PC brand, since it tastes like there’s actially cranberry juice in it (there is), and it’s just soooo gooood!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes:

Mmmm… I know this is everyone’s favourite (or should be), so I won’t really go on about it. Honestly, if you haven’t and you like yourself, try this. You will love it. Or else. (Also, isn’t my new mug super cool? =P)

***

And that’s all for this last month! Let me know what your favourites were during the month of September! Thanks for reading!

Seattle/PAX Haul and Free Swag (Extremely photo-heavy)

I apologize in advance for how packed with images this post is, but I bought and acquired a lot of stuff on this trip that I want to share with you guys!

Day 1: Bellis Fair Mall

As you can see above, I went to Victoria’s Secret (this is all you’re going to see of those purchases, sorry), Torrid, and Hot Topic. I also bought stuff at Target, Wet Seal, and looked around Kohls.

Above is my Target haul. I was pretty excited about this because the prices were pretty awesome, and they had a fair bit of stuff I wanted. Unfortunately, they only have 3 kinds of ELF Studio brushes, and only one ELF setting powder left, which had already been opened. They also only had 2 colours of the Revlon Lip Balm Stains left, one orange, and one a dark dark red. However, I did pick up:

• ELF Studio Powder Brush = $3
• ELF Studio Contour Shadow Brush = $3 (yay for ELF stuff without the Canadian shipping charges!)
• Out the Door topcoat = $4.99 (to compare it to Seche)
• Revlon polish in “Posh” = $3.99
• Maybelline Falsies Waterproof in Black Drama = $5.94 (way cheaper than Canada)

Below is the only thing I purchased from Hot Topic, and proof that I am an awesome sister. My younger sister is obsessed with One Direction, so I bought her this shirt. I was really disappointed that I didn’t find anything I wanted there, though. I wish Bellis Fair’s Hot Topic was bigger. (Shirt = $20.50)

Above are my Wet Seal purchases. The shirts were on Buy on Get one for a Penny. The pink sequin tank top was $13.99, so both cost me only $14.00! The second shirt would have been another $12.99 without the special. The glasses were only $3.00, but I’m wishing I’d tried them out longer before buying, because they are too light to stay put, which is really annoying.

Below are the jeans that I bought from Torrid. They were on clearance, for 30% off the lowest tag price. Originally, these were $60 jeans, but I got them for $21! They are super soft, and very stretchy, so they are also really comfortable and body hugging. Love! If there had been more styles or colours on sale, I probably would have bought a few pairs.

Day 2: PAX Swag

Aside from food, I didn’t buy much the first day of PAX itself. However, here s a look at all the free stuff I got!

Click to view larger

And here are some close-ups:

Above: a Magic the Gathering colouring book and crayons, coupons, game codes, a lollipop, and part of one of those papercraft type characters. And my PAX badge.

Below: More game codes, a free adorable game poster from SpryFox, the PAX guide, a Batman comic, Nintendo Power magazine, and the actually really pretty Magic the Gathering bag.

A close-up of the terribly designed (read: ugly) PAX guide book:

A close-up of my Magic bag!:

The ugly but extremely useful World of Tanks bag. I got this at the beginning of the day. It was great for packing stuff around because the straps were long enough to carry it like a purse, and it was massive and sturdy!

As for my purchases, I mainly bought food to bring back, that I can’t get in Canada:

The cherry Coke I’m just obsessed with. The cream soda is like drinking vanilla flavoured happiness, and chocolate bar is one of two American chocolate bars I’ve never tried. I also got a 100 Grand, which I ate before I got to take the picture. The chocolate chip cookie dough Pop Tarts are an obsession which started last year at PAX, when I originally discovered these. I would be immensely happy if these were available in Canada =P:

I forgot to keep the receipts, but the Cherry coke was $3.99 a box (and I got a second box for my family), the pop  tarts were less than 4, the cream soda was about 1.50 (this is my second bottle), and the chocolate bars were 2 for $1.

I did make one other purchase, since there is a Walgreens on the walk back to our hotel from PAX. I was pretty disappointed with the size of their makeup section, however, since I know a few bloggers and vloggers who buy a lot of their makeup at Walgreens. They had 4 colours of the Lip Balm Stains, but only one that really appealed. I had been hoping for a more neutral colour, but I got Sweetheart, which is a gorgeous bright pink:

I really like these. They have a not-too-sweet minty smell and tingle, are fairly moisturizing, and the colour lasts pretty well. I don’t remember how much this one cost because I lost the receipt, but I think it was around 9 dollars.

Day 3: More PAX Swag, and a purchase

I didn’t get nearly as much the second day. Partly because I’d got a lot of it first day, and partly because my boyfriend and I waited in line to actually play Phantasy Star Online 2, which took longer than just wandering around. I don’t really regret going for only 2 days, because I feel like I saw everything I wanted to see, except for Hank Green’s performance during Wil Wheaton’s panel on Sunday… which I couldn’t have gone to without a Sunday pass… x_x . Anyways here’s what I got:

Above: a Phantasy Star mouse pad, more game ads and codes, another deck of Magic cards, another Magic colouring book and box of crayons, a cute pin, a unicorn pin, and a DC Universe lanyard.

Below: the T shirt I bought as souvenir of this year’s PAX. Instead of a PAX 2012 shirt, which looks almost identical to my last year’s PAX 2011 shirt, I got this awesome Department of Defence Against the Dark Arts shirt for $20!

And, although this wasn’t a purchase, this was definitely one of—if not the number one—coolest things that happened to me. First, we met Hank Green (one of the vlogbrothers, as mentioned above) on the escalator into PAX. We only got to see him for about 10 seconds, and he was in a different escalator, so I couldn’t get a picture, but it was very cool. Second day, though, we found him on the 6th floor:

This is a terrible picture of me, but I guess I can be okay with that. I may have been too happy and excited, but yes =D

Day 4: Northgate Mall

We started the last day by going to Sephora (we’d gone before, but they’d been out of the blush and setting spray I wanted), where I picked up the Benefit Coralista blush. Then we headed to Pike Place Market, and went to the original Starbucks location, however, I neglected to take a picture of my vanilla coffee Frappuccino, and I didn’t buy any of the merchandise, because $10 for a mug seems wrong to me. Anyways, we ended up having some extra time to kill before dinner, so we headed to Northgate Mall, where I’d noticed they had an Ulta on the drive past on the first day. Yes, I finally got to go to Ulta!

• Coralista Blush (from Sephora) = $28
• All Nighter Spray = $29
• Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain in Honey = $8.99

The brush that is included is actually really nice and soft, but possibly an awkward shape for putting on blush. I’ll probably not end up using it, but I’ll keep it.

As mentioned above, I got another Revlon Balm Stain at Ulta. I was a little upset that I had bought the bright one when I got to Ulta, but I hadn’t known that I would get to go, so I guess I shouldn’t worry about it. What was really disappointing was that I was running out of money by this point, and though they had two colours that I really wanted, and they were on buy one get one half price, I couldn’t take advantage of that discount! So I decided on this one. I can’t remember the name of the other colour, but it was slightly darker than this one and a little bit more purple. At least it was proven that I needed that extra $4.50 for dinner, since I spent every last penny of my American money on dinner that night at Olive Garden!

I was a little disappointed about getting the All Nighter spray at Ulta rather than Sephora at first, since I wouldn’t get my points for the purchase. However, my boyfriend had promised he’d buy it for me, and I didn’t want to make him spend $6 more to get it in Canada just so I could get points, and I was also just kinda happy to finally find it! Also, I was way less unhappy when my friend pointed out that since I was spending more than $25 on Urban Decay products, I would also get a small tube of Primer Potion!

Since this is such a long post already, I’m not going to go into reviews on any of the makeup I got, but I will post something about at least some of the products after I use them a bit. So if there is anything here you want me to talk more about, make sure you let me know in the comments! I hope you all had a fun long weekend and are enjoying your first week back at school!