NOTD Round-Up + Update

Long time no see.
It’s been a difficult couple months for me, but I’m moving back to Vancouver in a couple weeks and will start posting again.
I thought moving to a different city would make everything better for me, but I realized that Vancouver wasn’t the problem, it was me.
I need to start being positive; this blog really helps.
Thank you so much whoever is still here, I love you.

Anyway, I’ve done tons of nail art lately, so I thought I’d show you.

'Pandamonium Pink' + 'Spring Romance' - OPI; 'Mint Candy Apple' - Essie

'What's With The Cattitude?' + 'Spring Romance' - OPI

'Greenwich Village' + 'Glow Up All Ready!' - OPI

'Suzi Says Feng Shui' - OPI; 'Chubby Cheeks' - Essie

'Vodka And Caviar' + 'You Don't Know Jacques' + 'You Lucertainly Look Marvelous' - OPI; 'Little Brown Dress' + 'Merino Cool' - Essie; 'Ruby Red SLippers' - Deborah Lippmann

Love.

"Don't say that it's easy, the hardest part is leaving."

So, the five of you reading this have probably wondered where I've been the past month.

Am I on a grand adventure? Starting my life over? Facing my fears?

Well, yeah, kinda.

I've moved to Toronto for film school, if you'll recall this post.

I tend not to get too personal on this blog, and I won't, but it hasn't been an easy month. I may have made a mistake coming out here and pursuing film. I don't know.

That's really the basis of it, I don't know.

I've been out of it this past month, and emotionally I couldn't deal with much. So this blog? Kind of fell off the list of priorities.

But I have fun doing this, and maybe it'll bring some normalcy into a routine that is completely foreign.

Plus I've bought lots of clothes and nail polish since I've been here, despite my budget not allowing it. I'm sad, I can buy what I want.

So I'm back, along with Outfits Of The Day, Nails Of The Day, and MixCassettes.

I'm going to stop doing GleeTips; it's hard to be gleeful when you currently feel lost.

Thank you for still reading, and I'll see you soon.

QuestionOfTheDay;

What do you do when you feel lost? When you need an answer?

Or let's be shallow; what nail polish are you wearing right now? I'm loving Essie's 'Little Brown Dress'.

Love.

OOTD; Blind Friend Date

Top from Primark; Blazer by Only; Jean cutoffs from American Eagle;

Lace tights from H&M; Toque from H&M; Clutch from H&M;

Shoes from Aldo; Necklaces by Pyrrha; Bracelet by Chan Luu;

Rings from H&M/Topshop/Mimi & Marge/The Richmond Night market/My mom;

'Colour So Hot It Berns'; 'Foxy';

By OPI and China Glaze

A few weeks ago, my manager mentioned that at our store’s Burnaby location another girl was going to the same university as me in September. Different program, but still, another Vancouver girl at the same school.
She gave her my number and, after some semi-awkward texting, I bit the bullet and invited her out for coffee.
A blind friend date, if you will.

I’m the type of person that either I click with you, or I have absolutely no idea how to talk to you. So this meet-up could have potentially been one of my worst ideas ever.
Luckily it was not.
She was super cool and really chill. We’re actually staying in the same building next year too, so I’ll at least know someone.

Anyway, for the outfit I went all out hipster; I need practice for Toronto.


Not the best picture, but I thought it looked cool.
Nails Of The Day are a combination of ‘Colour So Hot It Berns’ by OPI, and ‘Foxy’ by China Glaze on the ring fingers.
It’s an OK look, not as cool as my last one. They’re both good colours though; I wasn’t blown away by either, but I’m glad to have them in my collection and I’ll defiantly wear them both often.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What are you thinking of the Fall nail polish collections? Love or hate? Or just like them OK?


Love.

OOTD; Couldn't Pick A Favourite 'Arrested Deveolpement' Quote

Top from H&M; Jean cutoffs from American Eagle; Tights form American Apparel;

Hat from Urban Outfitters; Clutch from H&M; Bracelets by Humanity/Club Monaco;

Necklaces from Pyrrah/Topshop/my mom; RayBans; Converse;

'Waters Edge'; 'You Don't Know Jacques';

By L'Oreal Paris and OPI

I hate my hair right now, thus my hipster fedora, which I bought two years ago at the height of the fedora phase.

This was taken last week after I went to get sushi with a friend.
She goes to Emily Carr, and was wearing a bright blue pencil skirt, so together we were quite the pair. Then we went back to my house and discussed life and nail polish, then watched two episodes of Arrested Development, which she’d never watched before. Needless to say she’s downloading all three seasons now.


I’ve started mixing gold and silver together lately; the middle necklace, the jade eye, was my stand by forever. My mom gave it to me one Valentine’s Day and I believe it brings me luck and love.
But now I mostly wear my Pyrrha seals, which are silver. Dilemma.

When I was in New York I bought the clock charm at Topshop, hoping I could pair it with my jade eye.
I’ve always been a ‘don’t mix your metals’ type of person, but that’s a bit outdated, isn’t it? I mean, I would never waer an earring and necklace set together, why hold on to another old jewellery rule?

Anyway, I like how those three necklaces look together.
It’s time to start getting crazy.


I really love the nails I had that week. It’s ‘Waters Edge’ by L’Oreal Paris, and ‘You Don’t Know Jacques’ by OPI.
I decided not to do alternating, but two and two fingers. My mom hated it, but I think it looked really cool and modern.

Getting my hair cut tomorrow! I’m so nervous. I know that’s a stupid thing to be nervous about, but I freak out every time I get my hair cut.
I’m too lame.


Love.

NOTD; "I'm afraid I just blue myself."

'What's With The Cattitude?'; 'Catch Me In Your Net';

Both by OPI

‘Arrested Development’, anyone?

Sorry for the awful photos; lots of work and limited sunlight equals shaky camera handling.
Basically, I painted one hand ‘What’s With The Cattitude?’ and the other ‘Catch Me In Your Net’. I thought it looked cool; my mom grimaced when she saw it and my sister told me I looked stupid.

But I think this could be my new thing.

I am probably going to buy a few polishes from China Glaze’s Vintage Vixen and OPI’s Swiss collections respectively. I mean, I will if they’re out yet in Canada.
And by a few I mean probably eight or nine in total.


Love.

NOTD; Warm (Pride?) Nails

'Need Sunglasses?'; 'The It Colour'; 'Atomic Orange';

'Vodka And Caviar'; 'Koala Bear-y';

All by OPI

My boss freaked out when she saw my nails.
This is the boss who tells me I’m ‘unique and funny’ AKA weird. But she was into this.

I liked it OK; I only kept it for two days, since there was something else I wanted to try nail-wise.

I know I should have kept these for pride, which is this weekend, but it’s not like I’ll be celebrating since I’m working Thursday to Sunday. Sigh.

Oh well. Next year.

QuestionOfTheDay;
All Laquered Up has posted swatches of the first half of OPI's new Swiss Collection.
Thoughts?


Love.

NOTD; Sparkles And Boring Black

'Black Onyx'; 'Mad As A Hatter';

Both by OPI

There was no thought behind this manicure other than
“’Mad As A Hatter’ and a black creme would look good together.”

Then I painted random nails on each hand so it wouldn’t match. As a mad hatter should.
(Totally didn’t realise that I painted me ‘peace’ and ‘rock on’ fingers until it was time to take photos. Oh man.)


Love.

NOTD; The First Installment Of Crazy Nails

'Pandamonium Pink'; 'Done Out In Deco'; 'What's With The Cattitude?';
'Who The Shrek Are You?'; 'Gargantuan Green Grape';

All by OPI

And so it begins.
The other day I pledged that for the rest of the summer, I was not going to do simple one colour manicures. No, my friend, it’s time for me to get creative.

I like how this turned out, but I should have used a pale yellow instead of ‘Who the Shrek Are You?’.
Sadly, I do not own one.

My other news? I will no longer be on the cusp of eye disease!


My mom and I bought matching Ray-Bans (She got black, I got tortoise shell), in her attempt to make me care about my ocular health. They’re like the ones I previously wore, but less oversized and more functional.

So basically I’m even more hipster than I was before.

And in the coming weeks I will become steadily more hipster; I’m getting new, bigger glasses. I’ve had the ones I wear since ninth grade, and it’s pretty much time. But I still have the same prescription, so I can still wear my black ones.
The new ones are YSL, and either tortoise shell or ‘walnut’, which is basically wood grain, but cooler than that sounds. I haven’t decided on what colour I want yet.

QuestionOfTheDay;
Do you think glasses are attractive on yourself, on others, etc. ?
I kind of do on others and a little bit myself, though I plan to get Lasik as soon as possible. I know how annoying they are, so I can’t look at someone and be think that they’re so much better off with glasses.
I think they’re good for casual looks, but you can’t really wear elaborate eye shadow or dangly earrings with them.


Love.

OOTD; It's Too Hot For Me To Come Up WIth A Title. Sorry.

Skirt from H&M; Tank top from H&M; Tights from American Apparel;
Bracelets by Chan Luu and Humanity; Ring and studs by Mimi And Marge; Earrings by Alexis Bittar;

Necklace by Pyrrha; Sunglasses from Urban Outfitters; Shoes from Aldo;

'Vodka And Caviar' nail polish by OPI;

A slightly fancier average work outfit, but I tried to tough it up with my Pyrrha seal and shoes.
This is the first day I wore my new $30 dollar sale shoes. They’re awful quality, the silver was scratched and the leather creased after two wears, but they were too rock and roll too pass up. And I’m not someone who get’s super bothered when my clothing isn’t perfect.

Not much to report, honestly; I’ve been to a few parties and diners celebrating my friends who have returned from university, I’m halfway though Pokemon Heart Gold, and I was left home alone for two nights for the first time ever (I know, I’m nineteen, but my mom’s super protective about these things, and this time my younger sister wasn’t with me).

My family went to a wedding out in rural B.C., but I stayed behind, partly so that Elsie didn’t have to go to the kennel, partly because I didn’t want to ask for time off work, and mostly because I just didn’t want to go.
I worked both days anyway, so I was barely home. Except I only slept two hours one night (I can’t sleep in the heat) so I guess that makes up for it.



I really like red nail polish now; this is ‘Vodka And Caviar’ from OPI’s Russian collection. I was actually trying to buy ‘A Oui Bit Of Red’, but I couldn’t find it in the salon, and this looked like a good enough dupe.

Obviously this picture was taken before my ‘I’m going to paint my nails different colours for the rest of the summer’ revelation.
Stay tuned for many gradients, mixing of finishes, and sometimes I’m just going to paint my nails ten different colours and see where that gets me.

Another nail update; you may have noticed that my nails aren’t long anymore. That’s because they’re all broken.
I did two courses of OPI’s Nail Envy, then decided my nails were Superman and that I didn’t need the stuff anymore.
Obviously, I was wrong, and they’re their most broken in probably a year.
Fear not though, I bought a new bottle of Nail Envy ($20 v_v) and hopefully I’ll be able to grow long nails again.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What are you going to bust out this summer, clothing/cosmetic-wise?
Mine’s my nails obviously, and shorts with tights, but I do that every summer.
Reply in the comments! <3



Love.

OOTD; Typical Summer Work Attire

Tank top from H&M; Skirt from Zara; Toque from H&M;

Tights from American Apparel; Necklaces by Pyrrha; Flats from Aldo;

'Pandamonium Pink' nail polish by OPI;

Even in the summer, toques and black tights reign supreme.

I probably show so much bra at work. Oh well.

QuestionOfTheDay;

What do you think of nail art/crazy coloured nails?

I was going to post this earlier but Fuck Yeah Pretty Nails distracted me. I think at times it can look trashy, but the girls on this tumblr do it amazingly. Especially her.

My goal for this summer is to paint my nails different colours. As in on one hand.

So no more colour manicures for me.

Love.

OOTD; Inventory Whilst Looking Kind Of Hipster

Grey sweater from H&M (worn as a dress); Black leather jacket from New Look; Black tights from American Apparel;

Grey toque from H&M; Leopard sunglasses from Urban Outfitters; Bracelet from Club Monaco;

Rings from H&M and Rings Eclectic; Necklace by Pyrrha;

Pyramid and rose studs by Mimi And Marge; Black flats from Aldo; Black men's laptop bag from H&M;

'Waters Edge' nail polish By L'Oreal Paris;

Boring outfit, but that’s what I came up with at 5:30 in the morning; the store I work for had to do its semi-annual inventory, and I was chosen to participate. It wasn’t bad; all I had to do was count stuff, and that’s pretty much it.
Afterwards, a co-worker and myself had coffee and talked about life, work, and the future. It was actually pretty deep, but I’m known to spill my guts in the local coffee establishment.

I know I haven’t been posting lately; I worked eight days in a row last week (which is illegal, but no one stopped me) and had the intentions of writing a bunch or articles over the weekend, which I had off.
Friday after work I came home to some bad news, and Saturday was spent in bed, then telling myself not to be a loser, to get up and deal with problems instead of running away.

I’m not sure if my problem is solved, but I’m going to stop moping.
No one likes negativity.

One thing this past weekend taught me was that every once in awhile, someone will come through for you.
“Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”
That’s what my dad told me Friday night, and Monday morning he did. We used to fight, we used to yell, but when it comes down to it, he’s there for me.

Anyway, not to get too deep and in your face, so let’s get to some nails of the day.

I know. I bought drugstore nail polish. Two bottles even.
I absent-mindedly wandered into Shoppers last week and noticed a display of L’Oreal Paris nail polishes, and the one I’m wearing, ‘Waters Edge’, immediately caught my eye.
It’s that hipster colour that everyone’s been wearing, that shade that OPI won’t seem to create. So I had to look into alternative methods, mainly L’Oreal Paris.

I also bough ‘High Tide’ because it was so weird; I kind of shimmering pale blue/grey. It’ll look awful on, but it was too strange not to buy.
There was also a bright blue that was really pretty, but it looked too much like ‘What’s With The Cattitude?’ by OPI and I couldn’t justify it.

Onto more materialism; I have a mini jewellery haul!


My Pyrrha seal finally came!!!
This is the one I’ve wanted for forever but the store didn’t have it in stock. Then I learned I could special order it.
It’s the swan, which represents “A lover of poetry and learning, someone who enjoys the beautiful things in life”.
I showed my co-workers and they all agreed it was very me. I take that as a complement.

I also bought these La Vie Parissienne earrings in gold.


I want to start wearing more gold jewellery, even though I recognize that I look better in silver. It’s hard; everything I own is silver save four necklaces and a couple rings. Which sounds like a lot, but for me it isn’t.

QuestionOfTheDay;
Share a time that someone came through for you, melted your heart, made you smile, etc. More of a statement really, but you know. Pus it in the comments.



Love.

MovieRave; Exit Through The Giftshop

I don’t force my friends to see these little independent and foreign film with me; they just know it’s easier to go see it than argue with me, plus I’m usually right (Except for ‘The White Ribbon’. I’m sorry, Sara). Case in point I scoffed at the idea of seeing ‘Robin Hood’ and wanted to go see the documentary ‘Exit Through The Giftshop’, the first film by street artist Banksy.

I got my way. But my friends really enjoyed the film, so all’s well that ends well. And they got popcorn out of it.


The film is taglined as ‘The incredible true story of how the world's greatest Street Art movie was never made’, and follows a man named Thierry Guetta. Guetta, a Frenchman who moved to L.A., has one passion in life: filming absolutely everything. He falls in with a new up and coming art movement called ‘street art’ and film the artists responsible under the guise of him making a documentary.

He films and becomes friends with the infamous Banksy, and Banksy decides to turn the cameras on Guetta and his foray into the art form he loves so much.

This movie is hilarious; documentaries are often serious, and dark, but the subject matter of ‘Exit Through The Giftshop’ is art. How can you take art seriously?

The film shows the highs of art, new artists being creative and making a difference, and the lows, rich socialites and collectors spending millions of dollars on something they view to be ‘the next big thing’, all the while being completely tongue in cheek.

If you want to add another layer to the film, many critics are saying it’s not a documentary; is ‘Exit Through The Giftshop’ an honest look at an eccentric Frenchman’s life, or just another Banksy hoax? It is Banksy, after all.


Basically, the film delves into what constitutes as an artist (“Thierry broke all the rules. But there aren’t supposed to be any rules in art.”), while remaining entertaining throughout.


Love.

Haul; Silver And Fakeness

Mimi And Marge Silver Pyramid Studs; Mimi And Marge Silver Ring; Wrap Bracelet from Club Monaco (Total Chan Luu knockoff);

What I bought before I dalinaced off to New York City. The pyramid studs have replaced my spike ones, and I have two in one ear and one in the other, since my coworker bought them two pairs and gave me one <3

Expect more fake Chan Luu's; it makes me a bad person, I know, but for $34.00? I can't not, I just can't.

Love.

OOTD; West Vancouver + DS Ramblings

Tank top from H&M; Black blazer by Only; Black leggings from American Apparel;

Pyramid Studs by Mimi And Marge; Earrings by Alexis Bittar; Neckalces by Alexis Bittar and Pyrrah;

Bracelets by Chan Luu and Humanity; Black flats from Aldo;

Long time no OOTD. Time to remedy that.
I wore this to work in the company I work for’s West Vancouver location. So I had to look classy on the outside and dead on the inside to fit in, naturally. Jaykay, I don’t hate you, West Van.

I chickened out in buying a Nintendo DS this day. By the time I post this, hopefully I will have bought one.
I didn’t know how expensive they were; I assumed that since they’d been out for a while they’d be about $80 or something, but alas, it’s like $120 - $140. Plus then I have to buy Pokemon Heart Gold, obviously.
I think I’ll justify it by saying that I need it for the many plane rides between Vancouver and Toronto that I am about to experience.

I’ll be working a lot at the West Vancouver location, which I actually don’t mind; I love the girls there and I like going to a new environment. It’s almost like a vacation, but it’s still work, if that makes any sense.

Oh, and do you love the hipsterness of the tank top? I bought it, then announced the next day to my coworkers that I’d bought the most hipster top in life.
They did not disagree.


Nails of the day was another gradient, which elicited many complements from my customers, as well as a woman stroking my hand. So uncomfortable
I used ‘Done Out In Deco’, ‘Parlez-Vous OPI?’, and the famed ‘Lincoln Park After Midnight’ all by OPI. I decided to leave out my other sparkly purples and keep it all creams to give it some kind of consistency.

Hopefully I’ll get some MovieRaves up soon, since there’s a couple that you need to see.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What colour DS should I get?


Love.

P.S. ‘True Blood’ starts soon. So fucking excited, I can’t even…

NYC; Recap

So I’ve had a busy two weeks; I meant to write a bit about my trip to New York City, but upon arriving at YVR and consequently Vancouver, I learned I was working the next five days in a row.
I never do that. Unless it’s Christmas, which it’s not.
Not that I minded tons, but being on your feet for eight hours (and one six hour) days makes it hard to concentrate when you collapse when you get home. I need to get insoles or something.
Regardless, I have a ‘weekend’ (two days off in a row), and said New York write-up is here.

~

We left Tuesday, May 18th in the night; the flight wasn’t until past ten, but we always do the North American ‘come three plus hours early’ thing.
I love how deserted YVR is at night, but I kind of love airports in general. Maybe they represent adventure, maybe it’s the abundance of Starbucks and that reminds me of home. Anyway, love those airports.

We flew Cathay Pacific Airlines, which I love. Basically, they go from Hong Kong to Vancouver to New York to Vancouver to Hong Kong and so on and so forth. Apparently there’s money in that route.
There are TVs, adequate food, and the flight attendants are always nice. I watched ‘Nowhere Boy’, which isn’t even out in Vancouver yet. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more without the two kids screaming in Chinese behind me.

Sidenote; That was the third flight in a row I had kids behind me. It’s like the airlines find the person who can’t stand children the most (me) and put kids behind them.

We arrived in New York at about seven in the morning, but couldn’t check in until about three. Figured.
My sister was dressed in her airlines best in a shirt she usually sleeps in, Lulu Lemon pants, and no make-up. She knew we probably wouldn’t get the rooms until the afternoon, but she was willing to take the chance of an early check in.

Tired and oily from the make-up from the night before, we decided to go on the harbour tour, then a walk on Madison Avenue in which I saw Courtney Love, and then our rooms were ready. I then slept, which was so sweet.
My sister woke me up many hours later and said ‘It’s time for dinner!’ and I groggily walked with my family to Becco, and amazing Italian restaurtant, and my favourite of the trip. Basically, they have a prix fixe where you get salad and three pastas. They even volunteered to make mine vegetarian without me asking, which was incredibly sweet.
Sidenote; New Yorkers are super into Canadians, I found. The harbour tour guy asked us ‘Washington or Canada?’ when he found out we were from Vancouver, and yelled ‘Au revoir, les Canadienes!’ after us when we left the boat. The waiter at Becco literally yelled “Oh my god!’ when he found out we were form Canada, and was all excited to talk to us about it. It was all really sweet.

The next day we went to the MoMA and saw 'The Artist Is Present', and saw ‘West Side Story’ on Broadway; I wasn’t impressed by the play. The actors hadn’t been chosen for their singing voices, and I felt it was kind of flat. But after the play, at Joe Allan’s restaurant, I had the most memorable New York experience.

I met Michael Emerson aka Ben from ‘Lost’.

Joe Allan’s was super packed; the waitress lead us to our seats, and sat us down. When I looked up he was directly across from me at the bar with a friend, and my jaw dropped. I whispered to my mom and dad and debated talking to him. Finally, I mustered up the courage, plus I actually did have to get up and go to the bathroom, and decide to talk to him.
I just put my hand on his arm, since he was turned away from me, and said
“I just wanted to tell you that I love ‘Lost’, and that Ben is my favourite character.”
He shook my hand and said
“That’s very sweet thank you for telling me that.”
Then he turned around and smiled at my sister.

I was shaking, which is so embarrassing because I’m not a celebrity obsessed person. But he’s my favourite character on my favourite show, and that was huge.
Oh, and guess who else was in the restaurant. Jorge Garcia, who plays Hurley on ‘Lost’. Michael Emerson said goodbye to him as he was leaving, and since we were leaving at the same time as him, he said goodbye to us. My dad told him to not spoil the finale for us and he laughed. Then we all left and my night had been made.

Friday we shopped and I went to the Alexis Bittar boutique in Soho, but didn’t buy anything. Then I went to Topshop and bought a top, some rings, and a necklace. Spoiler alert, that’s all I bought this trip; last time I went to New York I didn’t buy much either. I don’t know why. London was more of a shopping town for me.

The next day was more bus tours and me wandering around SoHo by myself and being asked for direnction by tourists who thought I was a New Yorker (!!!) and meeting Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family. We were just passing on Greene St. and I called
“I love Modern Family!”
And he smiled and said ‘thank you’.

That night we saw the amazing ‘American Idiot’; you need to see this play. I was blown away.
My dad was in charge of buying tickets when we were in New York, and I’m so happy he picked ‘American Idiot’; if you know the CD, if you like Green Day, or even if you grew up in the nougties you will love this play.
It takes the story of the rock opera described in the album ‘American Idiot’, adds to it, and brings it to visualization. Plus the actors were defiantly chosen for their singing ability (I’m looking at you, Stark Sands and Tony Vincent).
I loved it.

On the last day we had a leisurely breakfast, went to the Museum of Natural History, and at the last minute, and at the assistance of my sister, purchased tickets to ‘Rock Of Ages’, our third Broadway show.
My parent loved it more than ‘American Idiot’; I didn’t, but I was thoroughly entertained by it, even thought Constantine Maroulis was in LA for the American Idol finale and his understudy was performing his roll.
Basically, I think any red blooded male should see this play; it’s a comedic look at 80’s rockers making it in LA in, obviously, the 1980’s. They gave us fake lighters that lit up to sway at the ballads, which was an awesome touch.

Then it was off to JFK, which looks so ghetto compared to YVR, but what airport doesn’t?
Another celebrity sighting: my sister met and took a picture with Nick Jonas in the airport, and he smiled at me. He was so sweet; he was obviously exhausted, but he took two pictures with my sister. He didn’t have any bodyguards around him, which I thought was odd, but my sister was the only who asked for a picture that I saw.
She freaked out for over an hour afterwards, with shaking and everything. And she doesn’t even like the Jonas Brothers.

Then it was home to Vancouver with a crying baby on the flight. But it wasn’t behind me, so that’s OK.
We got home at about one in the morning and went to sleep.
Then we watched the ‘Lost’ finale the next morning, and now my life has no meaning.
But I had fun in New York.

~

More posts to come this week, now that I have time to write. Expect new nail polish, a small haul, and my musing on whether or not I buy a Nintendo DS within the next week.


Love.

NOTD + Haul; Cattitude And Rings

C’est ‘What’s With The Cattitude?’ from OPI’s Shrek Forever After collection (I’m assuming its Puss’ polish). It’s a light blue that doesn’t delve into neon, nor pastel. It’s a happy medium, and I love it.
I also bought ‘Who The Shrek Are You?’ but forgot to take pictures of it. I’ll defs where it again though; it’s so weird. It’s the type of polish that gets both “OMG, I love your nails!” and disapproving double takes.

H&M have been having a jewellery sale; buy two pieces of ladies jewellery and get one free, so I bought these three rings.


And I’ve been wearing the black stone with my Rings Eclectic one.


Too much? I don’t think so.

I actually need to do another haul soon; I’ve bought a silver ring and silver pyramid studs (!!!) from Mimi & Marge, and a fake Chan Luu wrap bracelet from Club Monaco.

But don’t worry, I’ll be wearing all of them soon, because tonight I leave for New York City.
It’s my family’s annual summer vacation, and NYC was chosen this year.
So when I don’t tweet or blog for a week, you know I’m not dead.
Expect a huge haul, and maybe even some new Alexis Bittar?

QuestionOfTheDay;
What do you think about flying?
I’m personally not a fan; I get motion sickness really easily. I’ve downloaded six new albums to keep me company though, and I think the airline we’re using has TVs. Having said all this, I love airports; maybe they represent adventure for me, or maybe it’s because YVR is legit. Seriously, nicest airport I’ve ever been too.
If you don’t like flying, how do you relax?

See you in a week <3


Love.

MovieRave; The Secret In Their Eyes

This has been long overdue; a couple weeks ago I went to see the film that won ‘Best Foreign Film’ at this year’s Oscars, Argentina’s ‘The Secret In Their Eyes’.


The story is set in Buenos Aires in 1999, but flashes back to the 1970s; Benjamín Esposito is a retired justice official who is writing a novel about a specific case he worked on dealing with the rape and murder of a young girl.
He visits his old boss and the husband of the young woman and tries to make sense of the thirty year old case, and come to terms with his love for his boss.

In the flashbacks, we see Esposito unsatisfied with the two construction workers being tried for the rape and murder, and he knows that they are only being used as a scapegoat. As he gets to know the young woman’s husband, he begins to look through her life and sees within old photographs that one of the women’s old friends doesn’t look right in the eyes.


That’s an awful summary, I know, but there’s no way to say anything without spoiling the entire movie.
I will say this; you need to see it.

So many scenes tugged at the heartstrings; Morales, the husband, waiting at the train station everyday to find his wife’s killer, the turning over of the photographs, ‘TE MO’ becoming ‘TE AMO’ because, remember, the ‘a’ on the typewriter never worked.

Despite the heart warming moments, the end is plain disturbing, yet a relief, if that makes any sense.


I know this is a lacklustre review, but there are so many twists and surprises in this film that any resemblance of a synopsis would be covered in spoilers.

One more reason to see this film?
You’ll never guess the ending. I promise you.


Love.

FOTD; Violetta Lips

Face

Almay Nearly Naked Foundation in Buff

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light

MAC Powder Blush in Harmony

MAC Eyeshadow is Phloof! (Highlight)

Brows

Anastacia Brow Duo in Ebony

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Clear

Eyes

Covergirl Lashblast Length Mascara in Black

MAC Eyeshadow in Phloof! (Browbone and inner corner, not on the lid)

Sephora Nano Eye Pencil in White

Lips

NYX Lip Pencil in Fuschia

MAC Lipstick in Violetta

Despite the way it looks in the tube, ‘Violetta’ is not a scary colour, I promise you.

I love the look of almost naked eyes but with an incredibly bold lip.
I don’t think it’s too much for day, obviously, since I wore this to work.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What do you think of white eyeliner on the waterline? I have the one from Sephora, just because I wanted to try it out. I’m on the fence; I think it worked with this look, but most of the time it looks so fake. Thoughts?

Love.

OOTD + MovieRave; Kick Ass

Grey sweater from H&M; Nude skirt from Zara; Black tights from American Apparel;

Black beret from H&M; Necklace by Pyrrah; Bracelets by Humanity and Chan Luu;

Rainbow studs by Juicy Couture; Ankle boots from Spring; 'A Oui Bit Of Red' nail polish by OPI;

I was unsure about adding the beret to this look, but it was just too plain without it.
I felt very French shop girl in this outfit, which is appropriate since I’m a Canadian shop girl.

Since I felt so French, this polish was a good choice. It's 'A Oui Bit Of Red' from OPI's France collection, naturally.

When I get the opening shift I’m off at six, so I usually call someone to see if they want to get dinner or see a movie.
Unfortunately, no one wanted to see ‘Chloe’, so ‘Kick Ass’ was chosen instead.

SideNote; Did you know that at Scotiabank theatres you get a free medium drink and popcorn with your admission?
Totally didn’t know that and bought tons of food at T And T. Oh well. Now I just have lots of strawberry Pockey. Which is never a bad thing.

Anyway, ‘Kick Ass’.


Loved it. And I totally didn’t think I would.
I wasn’t sure what to expect; some trailers billed it as a comedy, others as an adventure. ‘Kick Ass’ was both, but with twists of drama thrown in.

The film’s about a geeky high school kid who decides to ‘fight crime’ in New York. One of his victories is put on Youtube and he becomes an overnight sensation, and life’s awesome. Until he realizes that there are real bad guys (with guns) out there, along with something even scarier, real super heroes.


One of the things I really liked about the plot was how they didn’t portray Kick Ass, or Dave, as invincible or an anything more than the average teenager. He can’t kill anyone, he doesn’t have any weapons, but he can get stabbed. A lot of superhero movies fail because the hero immediately becomes invincible, but ‘Kick Ass’ succeeds because we watch him struggle to fight crime.

If that doesn’t convince you, see this movie for the cinematography; it was shot beautifully. The camera angles mirror a comic book (which the movie is based on), and during fight scenes we are able to see exactly what the character sees, including every punch thrown their way.
Need another reason? The soundtrack. Listen to the theme. I love Mika.


The cast is pretty solid, complete with a creepy Nick Cage and thirteen year old Chloe Moritz, who I really hope we see more of. The main guy was cute (almost too cute to be a social outcast, Hollywood) and McLovin was in it. I find his so endearing. Don't know why.

Basically? See this movie; it was comedic, dark, colourful, and action packed. And that’s coming form someone who hates action movies.



Love.

P.S. LOL at me trying to find a good place to take pictures in my house. Having said that, I like the ceiling of my basement, and the floor of my kitchen. Very nice for some dimension, or a head ache.

Haul; NYX

I’ve heard tons about NYX Cosmetics through the Youtube beauty community.
The verdict? Some of the best drugstore quality products out there.

I can only think of one grocery store that supplies NYX, and last week I happened to stumble in.
I ended up spending $35. So much for saving.
Anyway, $35 bought me four lip liners and a ten shadow palette. Not bad.


Coral, Pinky, Fuschia, Rose

What attracted me to NYX were the lip liners; they come in more colours than most luxury brands. In fact, this longing for NYX happened after asking a MAC artist which lip liner to buy for Vegas Volt lipstick, and having her tell me that “MAC doesn’t really make a lip liner for that shade.”
Well, bam, I found one.

Coral pencil is on the left, with MAC’s Vegas Volt on the right.
So if Coral fits Vegas Volt, I imagined I could match my other odd lipsticks.

Pinky pencil is on the left, then MAC’s Show Orchid.
I love this. Finally a pencil that suits my favourite shade of all time, Show Orchid.

Fuschia pencil is on the left, MAC’s Violetta is on the right.
Unfortunately, these aren’t a perfect match; Fuchsia is too pink. But they’re close enough, and they do look good together when blended.
I know it looks the same as Pinky, but I promise you it's a bit more purple/dark.

Rose pencil is on the left, MAC’s Viva Glam Lady Gaga in the middle, and MAC’s Angel on the right.
I bought Rose to match the majority of my pink lipstick.

I personally love these; though they’re not as smooth as a MAC pencil, they are a great deal at $4.99 per gram, versus MAC pencils at $15.50 per 1.45g.
I’d rather spend money on the lipstick itself than the liner.

Next I bought NYX’s Champagne And Caviar eyeshadow palette at the recommendation of a friend.

(Ha, you can see my dream catcher in the mirror’s reflection.)
It's a neutral palette, with a mix of matte shades and some slightly shimmery ones.

This type of thing is perfect for me; if I do eyeshadow, I either go full out with MAC’s Humid and Beauty Marked shadows, or I just do a neutral eye.
This from now on is going to be my go-to palette for eyeshadow.

You will need a primer for these shadows, I use Urban Decay Primer Potion, but they stayed on a full work day. The colour faded a bit in the crease, but even MAC shadows do that at times.

Again, I wouldn’t call them MAC quality, as they’re not as smooth or pigmented, but they are much better than anything Covergirl or Revlon is offering.
The only gripe I have is that the palette itself is really hard to open. Am I just weak?

Anyway, I’m happy I bought all this NYX. And I hear their false lashes are really good too.

QuestionOfTheDay;
Have you ever used NYX? What did you think?

Disclaimer: I bought this with my own hard-earned $35. Nothing was sent to me, and everything written is my opinion.


Love.