Monday, August 19, 2013

Oh, Canadia | Photos & Haul

Hello everyone! Last weekend I went on a little trip to Canada with some of my family in New York to go and visit some family I had there! I had met one part of my family living there once before because they came to visit but there was a whole slew of cousins I didn't know about until I started planning this trip. It was really great to visit and meet everyone and it was also really fun exploring Canada! Aside from the anxiety inducing flights, I had a really fun time! We went to the legislature building and it was so big that my sister, cousins and I actually got lost. My cousin also told me a little fun fact and that was that people celebrate 4/20 on the legislature lawn, completely legally. I don't know why that stuck with me, haha! We didn't do anything touristy so I got to just experience living in Canada. There was a new mall, plaza, or market to visit everyday. I did end up buying some things and filmed a haul video of the stuff I got so if you'd like to see it'll be at the bottom of this post! We spent a day at the lake tubing, and when the boat broke down in the middle of the lake we made some new friends who kindly pulled us to shore. I got to drive a truck in Canada which was terrifying because instead of mph it was kph and I thought I was speeding the whole time! Also, every summer there's a cultural festival called 'Folklrama' and we only got to see the one show, but it was awesome! OH & probably hands down the best part of my trip was getting to visit Tim Hortons. HOW CAN DOUGHNUTS BE THAT TASTY?! Haha, anyway, I thought I'd let you guys see some of the pictures of my trip. Most of them were family pictures because our parents wanted to document the 'meeting of the cousins' but I still got a few good ones to share :)

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Even Mermaids Have Shopping Problems | Houston, We Have a Problem ...

Okay, it's happening. I'm putting my wallet on lockdown. It's time for this mermaid TO STOP SHOPPING and go on a spending ban. I tried one of these a little over year ago and embarrassingly failed. Lately, my collection has grown to a nauseating amount and I find myself buying things I want but don't even need. I'm happy for about five seconds with a shiny new thing and then I'm on to the next thing I'm lusting. I can't walk into a shopping center without running to the beauty department and looking for something I may have missed the 50 other times I stared at the same aisle. It's a big problem for me that I used to joke about but I'm not sure how funny I find it anymore now that I don't have a job and my bank account always seems to be at 0. Also, when I stop buying makeup, I start treating myself to Starbucks & pounds of Chipotle. The reason I'm going on a formal spending ban and telling you all about it is because 1.) I want to document it for myself and my sanity & 2.) I want you guys to call me out on it if I'm breaking any rules wether it be on twitter, instagram, or even in a blog post. I've laid all my makeup out on my desk and there are so many things I NEEDED that I haven't even touched and now that I have them I'm like 'meh'. I don't need any new makeup. If any new collection comes out it will KILL ME, but I know deep, deep, deeeeeeeeeeeeep down that once the hype dies down I'll be able to live without it. I'm being totally for serious guys - DID YOU NOTICE THE LACK OF HAHAHA's?! 

Now for some rules because I can't NOT buy ANYTHING (was that ... was the even right?) but I'm limiting myself on things, restricting myself from a lot, and putting up small exceptions.
  • Even Mermaids Have Shopping Problems will last for 100 days starting today 08.18.13
  • No spending on any makeup. No exceptions. No if's and or butt's. It's time I start using what I have.
  • No spending on hair care, unless, I run out of shampoo/conditioner completely and/or I need a dry shampoo refill.
  • No spending on skincare, unless, I run out. I don't frequently spend on skincare because I have a set routine so I know I won't stray from what I'm already using should I run out. 
  • I'm allowed to buy TWO Cinamon Sugared Donut candles when they go on offer at Bath & Body Works for 2 for $22, BUT JUST THOSE AND THAT'S IT.
  • No spending on clothes or shoes.
  • No spending on LUSH products. If I run out of bath/body gels, completely, I'm allowed a trip to Bath & Body (so much cheaper and always on sale) to JUST buy bath/body gels.
  • No buying food whilst at school unless it's a Monday or Thursday (those are my only full days of classes) if and only if I forget a Cliff bar.
  • I'm allowed one meal and a coffee or tea when out with the man-friend/friends (this doesn't happen often, haha)
  • I'm going to buy a thermos for coffee/tea so I'm not constantly spending money on Starbucks/David's Tea when at school. Hopefully that'll encourage me to wake up a little early and make some at home.
  • BIGGEST RULE :: No letting my mom treat me to beauty purchases, whatsoever, and no unnecessary clothing purchases.. I think that's where I failed last time. Sure, I wasn't spending, but my mom was and it felt just as bad. Although I will let her buy me a cheeky Starbucks if we're shopping together ;)
That's good, yeah? A nice little sandwich of rules. It might seem like I gave myself a lot of exceptions, but I'm not going to cut myself off of essentials. Essentially (ho, ho, ho) the point of this spending ban is to show myself that NO I do not NEED that lipstick that'll never use but that color is just oh so pretty how can you pass it up?! I won't be updating every week, probably every two weeks with how I'm doing and maybe talk about some things I'm lusting after, if at all.

*breathes in* Okay, that's it. It's official. This mermaid is now officially on track to solve a severe shopping. Wish me luck, guys! I'll keep you updated :) 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

INGLOT Eyeshadows & Freedom System

Happy Thursday, everyone! Hope you're all having a fan-dabby-dosey of a week. I'm finally back from my trip to Canadia (that's not a typo, I really do call it Ca-nay-diya) It was a really great trip that I think I'm going to do a post on with some pictures for anyone who would like to see. I did manage to pick up some beauty-related things whilst I was there (some that you can't get your hands on in the US) and I think I'll have a haul of that up quite soon. In the meantime, today I'm going to share with you a fantastic brand of eyeshadows that you no doubt have already heard about, and if not woah, mama get ready. I can't even remember how I was introduced to the INGLOT brand in general, but I do know that it was love at first sight. My favorite thing about INGLOT is their Freedom System. This Freedom System lets you choose from an assortment of different sizes and styles of palettes and a gigantic array of eyeshadows - in practically any color and finish you can imagine. You get to pick and choose which palette you want and want colors go inside, which is awesome! 

Every eyeshadow I've tried or bought is extremely pigmented - one gentle touch to the powder and your finger is left opaque with color. The shadows are smooth, easy to work, and blend able. Some are really buttery to the touch like the Pearl finishes and some are a bit stiffer, but that has no indication of quality because they all perform so well! The INGLOT shadows aren't labeled by name - they are labeled by number and finish, which makes it really hard to remember them when they're stuck in your pan or even go searching for one. It's a bummer, but if you right them down on the back or on a sheet of paper it shouldn't be a problem! Now this impeccable quality must come with an impeccable price tag, yeah? NOPE! INGLOT eyeshadows are $6 for the pan and you're getting about .08 - .11 oz of product (depending on the finish)! A MAC shadow only has about .05 oz. They're super affordable and there's absolutely no skimping on quality of the shadow. You're def. not settling and you won't find yourself saying "that's amazing for a $6 shadow" They are just incredible shadows, overall!

The eyeshadows and palettes are magnetic (super strong magnets) which is great because they'll never pop out and not so great because they usually never come out after you've placed them inside, haha. There are tons of tips and tricks to pop them out of the palette, the first being that you take the magnetic edge of the palette cover and place it on any of the corners of the eyeshadow pan. That method only works on one of my pans and not the others, so I had to go searching for other ways of taking them out. You'll see people telling you to use tweezers to sort of pull them out but honestly, all that ever did was break pieces of the eyeshadow and that drove me bananas. I have a baby Swiss Army knife that's thin enough for me to squeeze between the palette and pan edge to sort of pop it out. I find that's the best method if the magnets aren't working because your palette and shadows come out unharmed. 

As for the finishes, the Shine finishes are the sheerer of the bunch but have such an amazing sheen to them. They're not glittery or shimmery, just ... shiny, haha. The Pearl finishes are the ones that have the buttery texture when you go to swatch them. Each of the shadows with the pearl finish that I own has a golden sheen sort of running through them - super rich color! I can't seem to find what DS stands for but these colors are matte shadows that have little shimmers running throughout. I was hoping they'd be matte when I bought them, but the shimmers make these colors GORGEOUS and better than what I wanted. Lastly, the Matte finish is the most self-explanatory - they are matte, but they're not chalky or powdery - like I said before, super rich in texture and pigmentation! 

PHEW, that's one heck of a review, huh? I pretty much raved about all the shadows in general so I won't go in too much on the colors I have. I've included the numbers and swatches for all them anyway, and the swatches seriously speak for themselves! I've never had such glorious swatches! (click on the picture to get a closer look) I'm always so thoroughly impressed with INGLOT eyeshadows and the fun I have with the freedom system that I'm always excited to get more! You can find INGLOT eyeshadows on their website inglotusa.com or check to see if there's a store near you. If anything you can pretty much always find them at an IMATS show! 
What do you think about the INGLOT eyeshadows and their Freedom System?

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Completely Coconuts for Revlon's Juicy Papaya

I'm on a roll with these clever-pun title posts. Although how clever are they, really? You be the judge! This is by far my most favorite that I've come up with to date, haha. Today I'm going to talk about the one and only, most coveted and sought after Lip Butter that Revlon has come out with and that is Juicy Papaya. It's not like this guy is featured on every blog but it was featured by one blogger and one vlogger and was always sold out when I went to get it, so it's got to be some wonderful stuff, yeah? I found this guy randomly in Duane Reade and practically squealed when I saw it and wasted no time snatching it from the stand (seriously, I think about 5 other lip butters fell down with it and I think they were begging me to buy them, too - I was good and resisted) Even better was that right on the stand was a little packet of coupons for $1 off any Revlon lip product. I think I jumped into the air Flash Gordon style before running to the register, haha.

Juicy Papaya is that shade you got to when you want some sheer color to make your lips look naturally juicy. I almost regret saying that because it sounds so weird but that's one of the only ways I can accurately describe it. It's a coral shade that leans a lot towards orange. It gives your lips a subtle hint of color while being moisturizing. The color fades all too quickly from my lips so I find myself reapplying this a lot, but I think it says something about this lip butter if I put the effort to reapply. I'm the kind of gal that won't reapply lipstick out of sheer laziness, haha. It glides on the lips nicely and feels nourishing for the first few minutes. Then it goes on to leave that subtle hint of color without feeling like there's anything on your lips. Would I love it to be a bit more opaque? Yes, because this color is gorgeous but to pop it on for a 'naturally juicy' (hehehe) lip look, I love it. It also goes great with some of my crazier eye looks which makes it super handy to have and it hasn't left my makeup bag since I bought it (even made it's way to Canada with me!) It's quickly beaten out the other lip butters in my collection which makes me sad for them but makes the $8 (-$1 because coupons rock) worth it!
Which Revlon Lip Butter is your favorite?

Sunday, August 11, 2013

My Makeup & Me

Today I've got a fun tag video in store for you all - the "My Makeup & Me Tag" I was tagged by the wonderfully charming Cassie who is ThriftThick on YouTube. If you have know idea who I am talking about then you are seriously missing out. She is just so relatable and hysterically funny - seriously ... she cracked open a bottle of Corona in the middle of one of her videos and I lost it! This tag was originally created by Jen from Jenluvsreviews. You might remember her as the one who was hosting the Best in Beauty competition. She created this tag for the 6th round of the contest but that doesn't mean the tag has to stop there! This is the first video I've done that I've actually been tagged to do. It was a glorious feeling! I was so happy to get to do this tag and I tagged some lovely ol' Best In Beauty veterans ;) I talk about how I got into beauty, why I started my YouTube channel, and basically what I want to get out of creating these videos for you all! I hope you guys enjoy, and as always I tag all of YOU!! (if you want to) to go ahead and do this tag! Make sure you link it to me so I can see what you had to say :)

Let me know what you think!