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.

OOTD; BBTB + The Biggest News I've Ever Received

Grey henley from H&M; Grey jeans by Cheap Monday; Leather jacket from New Look;
Aqua (That's the colour I'm calling it) scarf from Le Chateau; Ring by Alexis Bittar; Earrings by La Vie Parisienne;

Black flats from Aldo; Brown leather bag from H&M (The one I never take pictures of); 'Go On Green' nail polish by OPI (Didn't do a NOTD on it, sorry!);

BBTB stand for ‘bubble tea buddies’, just so you know.
My friend and I celebrated the end of her first year at Emily Carr by drinking bubble tea, walking in the rain, and gossiping. I had strawberry green tea if you’re curious, and it was delicious.

I’m so excited; all of my friends are getting out of university so we can finally hang out! Before it was all exams, cramming, and not being able to hang downtown after work with me.
It’s hard when you’re working, but all your friends are off at university. I mean, except for the advantage of being able to afford more than they can, but then again you always feel a bit guilty when you get Starbucks and the get Tim Hortons. But I digress…

Speaking of spending money, I’ve got a bit of a haul, including the aqua scarf pictured above (Le Chateau has dozens of colours, and all for $15!), a new pair of black flats, and some earrings I’ve been lusting over for months.

I needed a new pair of black flats, plain and simple, and these were only $45, ergo, I needed them. I like them a lot more than my other flats actually; I think it’s the pointed toe I like.
I don’t normally like flats with jeans on myself, but I think the pointy toe makes this work.

Now onto earrings!!!
I’ve always wanted these La Vie Parisienne ones, but they were pricey. Having said that, I’ve recently come into some good fortune, and decided I needed a treat. They’re super sparkly because of the Swarovski crystals, and I love the touch of pearls. Plus they’re super light.
I think I’m going to buy the gold version of these as well; I justify it with the fact that I cut my hair short, and you can finally see the earrings I’m wearing.

Now, I have an announcement. The good fortune I was talking about?
I’m going to Toronto in the fall to study film.

I can’t even describe how happy I feel; this was the university with the fashion program I couldn’t get into last year, the one that left me crushed when they waitlisted me and didn’t let me in. As upset as I was, as without a plan as I was, I discovered that fashion, though a passion of mine, probably wasn’t for me, which made me realise I need to have a career in film.
I’m nervous about moving, nervous about how much work the program will be, but I’m so excited I finally have the chance to go to university.

Oh, and to add insult/gloating rights, the university also accepted me into their journalism program. Where was all this last year?

Anyway, I’m excited to announce this on my blog, since I’ve had to keep it on the epic dl in real life; I’m not going to tell my job I’m leaving until after my family vacation in May.
So basically, I can’t tell them until June. No Facebook announcements for me.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What’s the best thing to happen to you lately?



Love.

P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, and on Blogger as well! Then you’ll know precisely when I post a new blog.
=)

NOTD; Gradient Nails

TheStory; I originally painted my nails one of my favourite colours, 'You Don't Know Jacques', but upon peering out the kitchen window and witnessing the sunlight, I decided that it wasn't going to be a very taupe week.

'Mad As A Hatter' was going to remedy that, but then I thought of a picture I'd seen in Cosmo the other day.
Alternating nails.
Some slutty girl on a red carpet somewhere had done white and black, but I had a better idea.

Gradient nails.

I don't know if I love the overall effect, regardless, I think it's fun, I'm going to keep it for the rest of the week.
It's received mixed reviews; on coworker thought it was the best thing ever, the other refused to comment, and my customers seem to like it, or at least want to talk about it ("Are those your real nails?").

Btw, I used 'Gargantuan Green Grape', 'Greenwich Village', and 'Jade Is The New Black', all by OPI.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What do you think? Love gradient nails, or hate them?



Love.

OOTD + MovieRave; 'How To Train Your Dragon'

Gray t shirt from H&M; Nude skirt from Zara;

Black tights from American Apparel; Necklace and earrings by Alexis Bittar;

Black bracelet by Humanity; Labradorite bracelet by Chan Luu;

Black flats from Aldo; 'Suzi Says Feng Shui' nail polish by OPI;

Sorry about the blah photo; I hate rushing off to work.
The outfit is a bit blah itself, but looked great when I added a light pink/nude scarf from Le Chateau, my infamous faux leather jacket, these sunglasses from Urban Outfitters, and my brown faux leather messenger bag from H&M that I’ve yet to take a picture of, but wear every day.
It was kind of ‘faux leather meets voluminous ballerina skirt’, and I was into it.

This is what I wore to work and to gallivant around Robson Street on my break.
The weather’s super weird/lovely in Vancouver now; it’s cold, like fall, but sunny enough to require sunglasses. And it’s windy. It’s like everything I love rolled into one burst of meteorology.

So I caved and bought a Chan Luu wrap bracelet.



Don’t judge, it’s a classic piece.
It’s leather with labradorite woven in between. It was a lot, but it’s one of those things I know I’m going to wear every day, and (spoiler alert) I have.

Anyways, whilst at work a friend texted me to inquire if I would like to see ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ avec herself and a friend. I have had multiple people tell me that I need to see this movie, so I agreed (even though I would have rather seen ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’).


This is my favourite movie of 2010 thus far.
You need to see it.

I think the key to this movie is that they kept it short; it’s about an hour and a half, which was perfect. Theaters are the ultimate ‘boring’ test, I think it has something to do with the fact that the chairs are uncomfortable, and it really shows which movies have competent editors and which need to rethink their career pat (I’m looking at you, ‘Alice In Wonderland’).
I was never bored for a second during ‘How To Train Your Dragon’.

Essentially the plot is the story of a young Viking (voiced by my love, Jay Baruchel) who is too small/weak/uncool to train to kill dragons, unlike the other kids in the village. He then actually meets a dragon up close, and instead of killing it discovers that dragons aren’t all that bad.


The film is really travelling along the ‘Coraline’ road of children’s movies; it’s dark.
At times it’s scary, some of the dragons (one in particular) are grotesque, and it’s not a complete happily ever after.
I don’t know if I find this movie dark because I’ve grown up and am able to recognize these elements, or if society has just added more depth to children’s movies.

Either way, ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ was adorable, scary, and visually beautiful; it’s a new kind of children’s movie, and a new type of theatre 3D experience.

QuestionOfTheDay;
What do you think of 3D movies?
Sitting in ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ really made me realise that this is the new way to watch movies. 3D is only for blockbusters and adventure movies now, but could it ever expand to dramas? In twenty years will all films be in 3D? Do you think it adds to the experience, or do you now care?



Love.

OOTD; Grandparents, Hair, And Excessive Spending

Gray top from H&M; Neutral skirt from H&M (same one from last time);

Black blazer by Only; Black tights from American Apparel;

Earrings and ring by Alexis Bittar; Necklace by Pyrrah;

Wrap bracelet by Humanity (not like you can see); Black flats from Aldo (not pictured);

'Suzi Says Feng Shui' nail polish by OPI;

So I cut my hair; it was a fucking ordeal.

The girl cut it and messed up, so i had to come back after the salon had closed and she still didn't listen to what I wanted. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I like it.

Now it's just a case of getting used to it.

This what I wore to work, then to my cousins for dinner with my grandparents, who are visiting from Alberta.

Besides the arrival of my elderly kin, I bought two (!!!) pairs of Alexis Bittar earrings.

Yeah.

The black ones I've wanted for forever, and are from his fall/winter collection, I think, and the rose gold ones just came out this spring. Let it be known that this is the most I've ever paid for jewellery (I used birthday money though, so in reality...), but I'm so trilled with them both I don't care.

You'll see my wearing them frequently, let me assure you.

As much fun as I had buying these, and I did, I'm in such a fashion slump clothes-wise; I don't know what was to wear anymore.

In high school I went from one extreme to another; in tenth grade I had bight pink hair and snakebite piercings, and wore thick black eyeliner and covered myself in skull print. Then somewhere along the line I started wearing classic red lipstick, black dresses, heels, and Chanel perfume.

I don't know when this change started, maybe with the purchase of my firs pair of heels, which I still wear, but it happened and I switched my bedazzled skull necklace for a vintage printed scarf.

Now I'm somewhere in the middle, but cutesy dresses clash with my short hair, and I'm done with the whole teenage punk look.

I need to make an inspiration board, study some magazines, and refine my style.

I hate my closet right now, and that's a horrible way to feel.

I can always take solace cosmetics, though; this weeks nail polish?

'Suzi Says Feng Shui' from OPI's Hong Kong collection. It looks a bit brighter in the bottle, so I was a little disapointed, but this and 'Jade Is The New Black' (which a coworker bought after seeing on me, bringing my total of 'having people buy nail polish because of me' to six, that I know of) have quickly become my go to colours. These get the ladies' attention; everyday someone stops me and asked what I'm wearing.

QuestionOfTheDay;

Where do you get inspiration? It doesn't have to be fashion-related; when you're creativity runs out and you stall, what inspires you to keep moving?

Love.