Category Archives: Fashion

Travel Essentials for a Short Summer Getaway,

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I’m leaving next week for four days to sunny Miami. Now I am faced with a dilemma on what to pack into my makeup and toiletries bag. The goal? Natural, melt-proof and sunkissed face. Oh, and of course, get a decent tan but not burning my skin under the hot Florida sun.

So far, this is a list of what I’m bringing.

Face

  • Smashbox Photofinish Light Foundation Primer. I still haven’t run out of my sample from Sephora. So far this has made putting makeup on a breeze.
  • Maybelline Mineral Power Liquid Foundation in “Sandy Beige” mixed with The Body Shop Tinted Glow Enhancer. To get a dewy natural glow, I mix 1/2 parts liquid foundation with 1/2 parts illuminator. Using clean hands, I mix them together and spread all over my face. So fast and easy, but wakes up the face instantly. I also use left over, dried up liquid foundation from the cap as under eye concealer.
  • Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation in “Sandy Beige”. To set the liquid foundation / illuminator.
  • M.A.C Mineralize Blush in “Dainty” and “Nuance”. Because I love them both equally and I can’t be bothered to choose.
  • Lise Watier Bronzing Powder in “Havana”. A dusting of 3′s on the sides of my face for an instant sunkissed glow.
  • Blotting Sheets. A staple for summer.

Eyes and Lips

  • Urban Decay Primer Potion. I just can’t live without it. I’ll be a hot mess if I leave this behind.
  • CoverGirl LashBlast Waterproof Mascara in “Very Black”. Cheap, volumizes, lengthens, and holds a curl all day. You pretty much can’t go wrong with this. This is my new go-to mascara these days.
  • M.A.C Fluidline in “Blacktrack.” If I’m not going for a swim, I’ll put on a quick flick of my favourite gel liner to add a bit of drama.
  • Sephora Brand Flashy Liner Waterproof in “07 Flashy Copper”. Apply on the lower waterline or lashline, or inner corners for some oomph.
  • M.A.C Eyeshadow in “Expensive Pink”. This is a gorgeous awesome golden pink. Perfect with neutrals.
  • Annabelle Trio Eyeshadow in “Cream Caramel” (not pictured). In the picture instead is Smashbox’s version of the neutral trio, but Annabelle’s is cheap and does the job just fine.
  • LypSyl LypMoisturizer SPF 15. Gotta keep the lips protected too!
  • Rimmel Vinyl Lip Gloss in “Snog” and “Mmmmm!”. Both my-lips-but-better colours, in cool and warm tones. I love this lip gloss so much that I’m planning to get most of the colours in the line.

Brushes and Tools

  • Powder brush.
  • Blush brush.
  • Bronzing / Stippling brush.
  • Angled Eyeliner brush.
  • Crease Blending brush.
  • Eye Smudger brush.
  • Eyeshadow applicators.
  • Eyelash curler.
  • Waterproof eye makeup remover.

Sun Protection

  • Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 45. A must for my sun sensitive face.
  • Banana Boat Sport Dri-Blok Sunblock in SPF 30. I am in total love over this sunblock. It dries to a powder finish that makes your skin so soft to the touch.
  • After-Sun Cooling Gel. Just in case I still get burnt.

Beach bound

Yes! What I’ll be taking to the beach.

  • Oakley sunglasses. Oh the vanity. Big big sunnies to keep the bad sun rays away.
  • Joe Fresh Mix and Match 2-piece Bikini. I got these for cheap from the Real Canadian Superstore. Really cute, right? Total score!
  • My big floppy sunhat (not pictured). Got it at Wal-mart, so there’s no way I can get a picture from the intarwebz. But I won’t hold out on y’all. My hat in action below…


Aaaand that’s it! Did I forget anything?

Edited: Yes, it turns out that I did forget. I just picked up some reading material for the beach, “Remember Me?” by Sophie Kinsella. :) I’ve heard good things so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it as much as the Shopaholic books.

My First True Shoe Love.

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I have become extremely girly over the past two years, but surprisingly enough, I seemed to have ignored a lot of shoe-shopping in the past. In the past couple of months, I managed to buy three pairs: a peep-toe slingback wedge from Payless, a pair of trainers from New Balance (I highly recommend them!), and my most recent addition is the Falcoin from Nine West.

Falcoin, CDN $79.99

I fell in love with a pair when I tried them on in the mall, but of course, the floor model was the last one in my size. It’s so classy and comfortable. It has the perfect heel height for me; any higher and I’ll be walking like a penguin. I don’t know what got into me. I actually called many Nine West locations to find it. But I had no luck.

After playing phone tag over the weekend, I finally got through to their phone ordering system to get me some retail love. Guess what? It’s on its way now!

My Summer Shopping Essentials + Some Link Lovin.’

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It’s ridiculously hot and humid in Toronto these days. Because of this, I have a really strong urge to go out to the mall and buy summer items for my wardrobe.


White Jeans. This is seriously hot, hot, hot. I want one in bootcut, since pretty much nothing else will work with — to put it simply — my booty. :)


Wide Brimmed Floppy Hat. I don’t know what happened, but since my trip to Wonderland a few weeks ago, my skin has been very sensitive to any sun exposure. My face was badly burnt and itchy. With a cute hat like this, I can goof off under the sun all day.


One-piece Cutout Swimsuit or “Monokini”. Have you guys seen these around? These can go from cute to va-va-voom sexy. I’ve been working out and my pooch is not much of an issue anymore. This’ll hide my pooch whenever I decide to have some ice cream while I’m at the beach. :) Not to mention, it is nowhere as boring as one-piece bathing suits of the past.

Here I bring you my favourite links on the web this week…

Lifehacker Top 10 brings you the Top 10 Office Supply Hacks. Don’t forget to impress your boss ;) . My personal favourite — I really wish I’d known about this before — is how to get rid of permanent markings from the dry erase board.

This simple how-to video from StyleBell Blog really, really makes me want my long hair back. I’m growing out my hair to rock this style near summer’s end.

After reading Fabulously Broke In The City‘s rant on Society vs. Belly, I think I have learned to accept my little round pooch. It’s considerably smaller now compared to last summer, and I do feel that I like it soft-looking, or more ‘human.’ :) But you know, I wouldn’t turn down washboard abs if it was offered to me for free.

Joy at Makeup Junkie reviews Lise Watier’s Summer Collection called La Toscana. I’ve seen these at my local Shoppers and I am dying to get the Terre eye palette. It soon will be mine! I recently just picked up a bronzer by Lise Watier and I absolutely love it! *sigh* I’m so girly…

On a more geeky note, The Daily WTF‘s Tales from the Interview delivers another funny post. I worked in IBM for a summer position before. It is the most intensive application process, where I went through an online aptitude test after my one-on-one interview. I just couldn’t believe the elimination process described here.

Cute Overload never ceases to amaze me. A puppeh with bunneh babies? I just about fell off my chair when I saw this. This would’ve been perfect for Mother’s Day a few weeks ago. Awwhn.