Stila Lip Glaze Review

Hey peeps~

So...after Christmas comes Boxing Day and come Boxing Day...my wallet suffers from an extreme attack of overspending...I'm not proud of this, but I do have a ton of cool goodies now that I can play with. I picked up some Stila lip glazes from Sephora since they were on sale (you already know I can't resist makeup that's good quality but cheap @w@) and now I have a review for you!

They came in two little packs of three. The blue one is called the Foliage set and the brown one is the Harvest set. Foliage contains slightly pinker colors while Harvest has browns and neutrals. They were 12 CAD each which is a bargain! A single full sized lip glaze (0.08 fl. oz) goes for 29 CAD; though mini, these sets give you 0.05 fl. oz which isn't too bad and is convenient for carrying around in your bag.

(From left to right)

Harvest Set Colors: Vanilla, Orchard, Spice

Foliage Set Colors: Delicate, Loganberry, Fawn

So the pros of this product is that it has extremely good lasting power, pretty good pigmentation pay off, cute packaging, and doesn't feel too sticky on the lips. A lot of lip glosses (and most other lip products) wear off very easily and we find ourselves reapplying them the most often. This product will last through eating and drinking, but of course it's not going to stay put 100%. Other than that, it takes a very long time for the glaze to completely disappear from your mouth and smells lightly of cranberries (to me anyway!),Yum! Pigmentation is solid, you could wear it alone to give your lips some color or over a lipstick color for added shine and dimension. I've tried both methods and  in my opinion, it works better worn by itself.

Cons now...at first I thought the applicator and turning clicker pen was a pretty good idea but when you first start to use this product, you have to turn the bottom knob a million times before any product is dispensed out the top! Even after that I find myself having trouble judging how much to turn to squeeze the right amount of lip glaze out. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet but so far, it's kind of a pain. I'm also worried that this product will run out really fast. With only 0.05 fl. oz, I'm not too sure how long I could use them for before they run dry, we'll have to see!

Would I recommend this product? It's pretty cute and looks nice on the lips. There might be better stuff out there that's easier to apply and lasts longer but if you're a Stila fan and haven't tried their lip glazes yet. Yoda would say: Try them you must!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Sephora Collection Color Daze Blockbuster 2012 Review

WAHHH SO MANY COLORS~!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

That was my first reaction when I saw this massive cube of makeup. I got a coupon for being a Beauty Insider Member for 15 dollars off any 50 dollar purchase at Sephora and I thought: I HAVE TO USE THIS. Sephora never has sales and I'm a sucker for deals...especially deals on makeup! Call it an early Christmas for myself~

Sephora does one of these blockbusters each year. I've only been into makeup for a year but I've heard from people that Sephora is shrinking them each year and not decreasing the price. That's not cool but I'm pretty happy with the amount and variety of products in it. There's 148 different lovelies in the set with 3 luminizers, 6 eye top coats, 12 cream eyeliners, 64 eyeshadows, 6 lip top coats, 48 lip glosses, 6 lip, eye, and cheek creams and 3 blushes and a mirror too. That's a heck of a lot of stuff for 60 bucks! The quality of everything is pretty darn good; eyeshadows and lip glosses are all pigmented very well while blushes and luminizers give the perfect flush or highlight to my face. I have the smaller version of this that is shaped like a shopping bag and I was very impressed with that already; having this is like having a giant version of something I already love. 

Although it's amazing it's not perfect. I would prefer more eye stuff and less lip glosses. I tend to wear lip glosses on the go and re-apply it the most often out of any makeup item. Since this cube is so big, it's hard to carry around with you and the plastic isn't exactly the sturdiest material. If it falls it's going to break! Portability is an issue and opening the box is a little inconvenient. You flip open the top and pull out the sides like stacked shelves that are attached to each other. It can be difficult to pull them out but it's not a major problem. I'd advise anyone who loves colorful makeup to try this out for sure. It's great for experimenting with color, learning how to apply your makeup better and seeing what works for you. It has neutral colors but for those of you who like to stick with neutrals only, you may not end up using all of it and are better off spending money on a different palette.

Final verdict is it's worth the money, it's an excellent makeup palette for beginners to seasoned experts. I love sitting in front of it and trying on all the pretty things and am absolutely sure you will too!

Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

The Halfway Point

Whoo! I don't think I've ever studied so hard in my whole life! It's finals time and boy I am beat...

I have 4 finals this semester, so far I've finished my chemistry and calculus exams. Two more to go! The upcoming ones are physics and biology...hopefully they're not too difficult but I have to get my butt moving if I want to pass let alone do well. I've found this semester to be especially challenging since I've jumped from an arts major to sciences. I knew it would be tough but I didn't think it'd be this tough! There's way more work than in my old major and those lucky ducks...a lot of my friends that are still in arts are already on semester break *grumble grumble*...I still have 5 days to go!

In other news, I've dyed my hair again and cut it short! When I went to the barbers I paid only for a haircut but because my hair was in such horrid condition and knotted all over, they HAD to wash it and HAD to condition and pamper it before snipping it off...the barber's wife literally spent half an hour trying to brush out all the kinks in my hair but to no avail...my mane was just too wild to tame. The barber used a special razor to cut it all off and he put all the cut hair in front of me as if to tell me not to treat my hair this badly EVER AGAIN. No promises I won't do more coloring in the future but I definitely don't want to struggle with Hagrid hair anymore. When it grows out again I want dip dyed ends that I can style...short hair is very difficult to work with, the most I can do is mess it up with my hands...no braids, no buns, no nothing! Hair care is much easier now, just wash and go. No hours of brushing~

A tiny little thing I'm actually ECSTATIC ABOUT...I found a lip color that will not make me look weird as heck! I went to MAC to try and find a good red lipstick but no good...for a while I've been hunting for a good red but I shall look no further because low and behold, A Million Kisses has saved me!

This lip tint is AMAZINGLY pigmented...I kid you not, one swipe of the finger (or lip brush) and BAM! Lips of foxy red! Here's a pic of before I got meh hair did and with the lip tint on. I love it, my current obsession!...also it smells like rose and candy, a big plus for me since I love perfumey things!

Well tonight I've done next to no studying but tomorrow is going to be another fun filled day of note taking, reviewing and getting ready for the big tests! Thanks for reading my peeps~!

Ciao for now~! <3

Learning Guitar

 Hello chaps! I recently got a guitar as a super early Christmas present from my parents and I'm in love with it! I don't think my fingertips have ever been more sore but music is such a big outlet for destressing at the end of a long day. I love to express myself in music be it singing, playing piano, guitar, clarinet, or even tapping out the beat of a song. 

I've named my guitar Caramellita Windsor...weird name I know. It was just going to be Windsor but my friend told me guitars must have female names so I named her after her caramel color. 

Ain't she a beauty?

(By the way my room is a horrendous mess...I don't think I've ever had an immaculate room but I do clean it when I can't walk in it without stepping on something)

So first thing's first, learning chords! I printed out a simple chord sheet with "campfire chords" to start me off.  I've also been spending a lot of time on http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/
They seriously have a ton of chords and tabs for thousands upon thousands of songs! So far I've practiced songs like The Scientist - Coldplay, The A-Team - Ed Sheeran, and I'm Yours - Jason Mraz (Not just I'm Yours, I'm a HUGEEEE Mraz fan so I've tried to play many more of his songs)

Jason Mraz is such an inspiration to me. He's one of the reasons I wanted to learn guitar! It's been 2 weeks since I got Caramellita but I feel like I'm making fast progress! I practice nearly everyday for 2 hours (way to neglect my studies!) and I love every moment of it! Music is my passion, I think I'd be truly happy if I could sing or play instruments all day everyday. 

I've even taken Caramellita to my granny's care home to practice while I visit her. She seems to enjoy playing guitar too! She strums the strings while I make the chords. It makes me happy to see music give her a a smile. Once I get better I want to play at coffee shops. Even if I don't make much money it'd be a fun past time and I'd LOVE doing it! One of my dreams is to make music for people. Even if only one person listens, as long as they enjoy it I'm more than satisfied!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Review

I know I'm probably the last beauty blogger in the world to do a review on Urban Decay's Primer Potion but it is a pretty good product and deserves a review, there's always new people getting into makeup and if my review can help them I'll be happy!    

The Original Urban Decay Primer Potion 

This product is really really hyped up. Crazy hyped up...everyone seems to know about it even if they don't know what a primer is! It's meant to be used on the eyelids to help any eye shadow stay vibrant and last all day. People with oily eyelids tend to love it but quite honestly it's not the best primer on the market.

It's basically a tube of silicone that's supposed to help your makeup stay put and not crease for 24 hours. Though it does hold on to eyeshadow much better than if you had used eyeshadow without primer, I still find that at the end of the day my makeup still travels onto my lower eyelids and I still crease! So the promise that for 24 hours your eye makeup won't budge isn't true.

Vibrancy wise it doesn't make a huge difference whether I use primer or not before shadow. Eyeshadow with UD primer potion and without are about the same in saturation and color. Again, nothing special.

The packaging is pretty cute though, the genie bottle top is especially adorable but I do have some qualms about it never closing completely. No matter how many times you try to turn it shut it will keep on turning and only click. The product doesn't dry out though thankfully, even with a clicky lid.

All in all I'm not super impressed by it but people that have lids that are less oily than mine may find it a godsend for staying power.

Just my opinions on it, I would love to hear yours if you've tried it!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

What I've Been Up To

Yay for candy and costumes! Well...kind of, let's have a bit of a life update shall we? It was Halloween yesterday and my costume this year was a french maid! I tried to take this picture myself and stretched my arms as far away as possible to TRY and get my apron and most of my costume in it....no good, short armed lady right here! I didn't go to no party, I didn't stuff my face with candy...yeah, I'm lame eh? I liked being dressed up though, Halloween is a good excuse to have some wardrobe fun~ I was a little disappointed with the lack of Halloween spirit at my university though...almost nobody dressed up! I heard a girl remark that she had only seen two costumes on campus the whole day...*sigh*, at my old campus everyone and I mean EVERYONE dressed up for Halloween! Well nobody is going to crush my Halloween spirit!

I've also downloaded and finished this visual novel game today, it's called The Second Reproduction, SOOOO GOOODDD! Thank you SOO MUCH Ryan for referring me to it~ <3

*drool........* my lovely Lezette, he is such a gentleman! I really wish there were still chivalrous knights out there~~~~ *the wishes of a lonely woman*

I should have done some homework today but instead I just played this visual novel, there are two other routes with good and bad endings for each guy. Looks like I'll be trying those game paths really soon kekeke...I find it hard to believe I'll like either of the other guys more though since Lezette is like MY DREAM GUY!!!! WAHHH!!!! *being an annoying fan girl*

Gaming-wise I'm also nearly done Skyward Sword! I think I'm in the last temple and seriously, Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword are neck in neck for the best Zelda game I've ever played. Playing it has rekindled my love for Legend of Zelda games and I think at semester end, I'll be replaying all of the Zelda games I own and maybe even trying to finish Majora's Mask. Majora's Mask is tough! It's timed and timed games stress me out...you only got three days to save the world! *cue Justin Timberlake and Madonna!....okay nobody understands my jokes XD* 

I also ordered a pair of Tri-force earrings off a website called www.Sanshee.com
They look amazing! $20 bucks is a little steep for some gold colored triangles but I'm super excited for these babies to arrive!

For school, midterms seem to be coming at me in endless waves, there's also a strike going on on campus so many classes end up being cancelled. Good news? Not really but the extra free time is welcome~ I recently had a math midterm which I think I did alright on, the next midterm I'll be having is for physics. I'm scared to have it since I did miserably on the first midterm for that class (yes we have two midterms for physics...*sigh).

This post seems very hackneyed but it's just a blurb of what's happening in my life right now XD
I've also been employed at the best place in the world!

LUSH!!!!!! 

I worked there last year as a seasonal sales assistant, I loved it~being surrounded by all the yummy scented goodness and happy people really boosted my mood~ I hope this year I have just as much fun and am able to contribute to the store~

Thanks for reading this little snapshot of my life~! Ciao for now~! <3

Beauty Tips for Those Who Want to Save a Dollar

For those of us who want to look gorgeous but don't want to blow a ton of money on expensive skin care and beauty products, here are ten little corner cutters to still look fabulous but keep your wallet full and happy~

1) Get a good night's sleep

One of the main reasons we wear makeup is to look less tired (well...if you're working or in post secondary school anyway!) I've come to the conclusion that we really can't fake awake. Sure we can look awake with a little makeup but we just might fall asleep at the desk without enough shut eye at night. So instead of getting that concealer for those dark circles just try to get to bed early. It's better for your health and good for your bank account too.

2) Buy products that are versatile

Eyeshadows don't have to JUST be eyeshadows...lipsticks don't have to JUST be lipsticks! When you buy a product you don't have to use it only as one thing. Try using a bronzer as eyeshadow sometime to get a natural and shimmery look on your eyes or use a little bit of lipstick to dab on your cheeks and even out into a nice blush.

3) DIY eye treatments are cheap and effective

There are so many products on the market these these that promise to reduce eye bags but you don't need to spend a lot to look awake! Some homemade remedies include using two wet teabags and placing them on your eyes for ten minutes, using cold spoons, or even potato slices! Works like a dream and costs next to nothing!

4) Use Vaseline for EVERYTHING!

I'm serious, Vaseline is like the most amazing beauty product ever created! This multipurpose cream can be used to moisturize hair, perk up eyelashes, get rid of tired eyes etc. As a warning though don't put too much Vaseline in your hair, it'll weight it down and be difficult to wash out!

5) Use gift wrappings for oil control

If you have oily skin like me I like to take the tissue paper from gift and cut them into little squares! They work amazingly as blotting paper so you'll never need to spend your money on brand name ones!

6)Baby oil or shampoo will remove your makeup

No need to spend tons of money on makeup wipes every couple months, just get a big old bottle of baby oil/ shampoo and it works well to take off your makeup! It's gentle enough for baby scalp and skin and will definitely be kind to your face.

7) Sugar scrubs for cellulite removal and baby soft skin

You really don't need to invest in expensive skin exfoliating treatments. Use coarse sugars and add a little tiny bit of olive oil to the mix (the sugar will not dissolve in it) then use it to scrub yourself smooth! You'll feel like a velvet rose~

8)Natural nail cure...olive oil!

I used to have an obscene obsession with nail polish (and...I still kind of do >w>...). After painting them so often that they started to yellow and crack I needed to give them some TLC. I soaked my nails in olive oil for a couple minutes every day then washed it off with warm water and soap. Hand cream as then applied afterwards...after a couple days my nails were already starting to feel less brittle! Nail polish and nail polish remover really dries out your nails and the olive oil made them hydrated and glossy once more!

9) Toothbrushes aren't just for teeth...your lips will love them too~

Seriously, you can use them to make your lips super soft and smooth! Sometimes we get those little lip goobies or skin coming off of them that makes your pout not look perfect. Take a toothbrush and gently brush them in small circles to get rid of any dead skin. Rinse your mouth and lips then apply a light coat of lip balm. Apart from getting rid of the dead skin you also stir up the blood in your lips and make them a little more red than usual, yay for natural lip color!

10)Exercise, drink lots of water and eat well!

The number one and most important (and also cheapest) method to stay beautiful (and not to mention healthy!) is to exercise enough and to eat properly and drink lots of water! Natural beauty is the greatest kind of beauty, take care of your body and it will take care of you. With an hour exercise everyday, lots of fruits and veggies in your diet and about 2 liters or so of water to drink per day, you'll look and feel fabulous in no time!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Designing a Logo!

I am a lucky girl because I was commissioned by a friend to do a logo for the SVABC! That stands for Specialty Vehicles Association of British Columbia! I was pretty surprised when I was asked to do this but I was happy to do the design for the club! The education from my old design program would not go to waste!

It took a lot longer to do than I imagined, there's so much editing, tweaking and brainstorming involved, especially for clever logos. When you look at a logo like the Starbucks siren or the silver apple from Apple, you must think wow that must have been easy to do! Not so, there's always a lot of work put into a good logo that makes it memorable, to point and versatile for printing on many different surfaces.

At the start I was thinking of putting a silhouette of an old fashioned looking car on top of the capital letters in the abbreviated version of the association name. The old logo had blue and yellow as its main color scheme so I kept the blue. This first design was turned down though because it didn't represent the SVABC that well. Most people there had cars that weren't from the era where they looked like top hats so I had to go back to the drawing board (or Adobe Illustrator ahem)

The next thing I came up with was this little gem here

I wanted to play around with the idea of a speed gauge, The "v" wasn't quite centered enough to look like it was part of the gauge arrows though and it was still a little too modern. The SVABC was enthusiastic about older automobiles so I had to somehow "vintagefy" it...what I Came up with next was a little more "vintage"

okay maybe that was an understatement...it looks like a hotel logo but it really takes its form inspired from the old logo. There wasn't anything car related in it so I took up the speed gauge idea again and came up with this

Still a little too modern so I tweaked it with some numbers and a different gauge design

                 

This design was chose to be the final and official logo for the SVABC!

It was a long process with many revisions. It was fun though and I got some experience in design! Good resume addition too hehehe~

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Thanksgiving Weekend! Plans, Aspirations and Life Update!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! For those of you in the States you might think I'm crazy but I am from Canada and we do have our Thanksgiving in October instead of November...so...yeah!

I'm not sure my family will have a turkey dinner (we almost never have turkey for Thanksgiving) and instead we may just make a traditional Chinese food for dinner instead. A big feast but minus all the tryptophan! Turkey is pretty yummy I think, but I don't like Turkey stuffing. I'm not crazy! It just doesn't appeal to my palate is all.

So apart from stuffing my mouth with delicious Thanksgiving dinner I've gone to my friend's house to have a guitar 101 lesson! As you may well know I'm in university pursuing a degree in Biology right not but it is not going well. I got my first math midterm back and only received a C+ on it. I was absolutely gutted and today was the Physics midterm too... although I probably passed, I definitely did not do a stellar job on it...nooo goodbye high GPA! I'm also starting to realize I don't like science as much as I thought. The worth of a biology undergraduate degree is not very high and I can't really find work with it when I graduate. All the  calculations that the sciences demand is very strenuous on me and I am once again thrown into uncertainty about careers and what I want to do for the rest of my life. Maybe next semester I'll take off to do some soul searching. I know one thing for sure. My dream job involves music, I want to sing for people, I could play an instrument all day and love it! It's hard conforming to such a structured program like science when I am more of a creative person. It's just my parents except greatness from me in sciences, they wanted me to be a doctor when I was young and they still want to push me towards medical work now. I've made it blatantly clear I have no intention of doing anything medical but maybe I'll have to one day. Survive before you can thrive. Don't mix hobbies with work. That's what they always tell me.

One thing I really want to do is learn some guitar and compose some good songs then sing at a coffee house or something like that. I don't really expect to get famous but I think just doing that, making music for everyone for the rest of my days would be amazing. Of course this decision can't be a rash one and I hate dabbling around so much, wasting my parents money on schooling or tools that won't help me prepare for my career but the alternative is I take something I dislike, stick to it and work at a job I hate for 40 or more years of my life. I want to be happy, I want to make other people happy. Music is the way I want to do it!

Speaking of music, I have started learning a lot of new songs on piano including How Deep is your Love by the Beegees, Arrietty's Theme from the Movie The Secret World of Arrietty, and Erik Satie's Gymnopedie 1. I am absolutely in love with Erik Satie's work! It's very simple but sounds gorgeous! Like dream music! A  singer from Wales called Charlotte Church sung a version of it named "From my First Moment" and I've been raping the replay button on my phone 

Also here's some art I've done in the last little while!

Just had hot pot and it was delicious~! <3 

Food is the way to my heart~~~~...but I'm getting fat so a goal is to hit the gym at least thrice this week! Let's see how that goes! 

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Once again...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

The Body Shop's Sweet Lemon Shower Gel Review

This shower gel is absolutely amazing! I can't rave about it enough! The Body Shop makes some amazing products and their shower gels are definitely one of the top things I recommend from the store! The Sweet Lemon shower gel smells so deliciously yummy and cleans very well, it also lasts a long time and the price is fair for the amount you get! I believe I spent 10 CAD on a 750ml bottle when The Body Shop was having their mother of all sales event (it happens after Christmas every year). It's been 8 or 9 months since I began using it and it's still very full! I don' use it everyday but pretty regularly anyway.

To get the best effect from the shower gel, you should probably pump it once or twice into a pouf and scrub yourself with it. The pouf helps the shower gel foam much much more than if you just pumped it into your hand and lathered the gel by itself. The pump dispenses only a little product at a time but let me tell you a little goes a long way when you use a loofah! The scent isn't too strong but is very citrus but at the same time sweet like a piece of lemon candy! It wakes you up in the morning and also refreshes the body for the day ahead!

Something you can feel good about after using it is that the honey in the the shower gel is community fair trade honey meaning the Ethiopian beekeepers that sell the honey to The Body Shop get paid a fair amount for the honey they produce so that they have sufficient funds to keep doing sustainable bee keeping. Many areas in the world use sweat shops to produce products for cheap labor. It makes me cringe to think my sweater was made by an 8 year old boy in China that gets paid 50 cents for a 12 hour day. I can feel less guilty about loving this shower gel because of that!

Just a short little review for you guys for now...I'm blogging to break from studying for midterms!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Jason Mraz Concert! Tour is a Four Letter Word!

My favorite singer of all time came to my city and performed on his Tour is a Four Letter Word World Tour! Who could it be? None other than Jason Mraz!!!! I'd never been to a concert before that and thus, this amazing man has taken away my concert virginity! Hell yeah and no one better to to it than him! 

I was so excited to see Mr.A-Z! I bought the tickets in April or some time around that and I had been telling everybody since April that I was going to see him. My family started to get fed up with me always reminding them about it but HEY! I WAS SO EXCITED! A couple hours before the concert I was bouncing up and down everywhere! I couldn't stop smiling and I do believe my face is frozen in a smile even now! My awesome friend Jimmie came along with me. He had wanted to see Jason when he was still in Busan, Korea but luckily he didn't so we got to see the concert in Vancouver together!

I had brought my camera planning to take a million bajillion pictures but I had forgotten the SD card for the camera at home! NOOOO!!!!! I was lucky again though because Jimmie brought two cameras so I was able to be snap happy all throughout the show! I painted my face and legs with the LOVE shapes from Mraz's newest album, Love is a Four Letter Word.

Yes that's a poo on my shirt...it's supposed to be a joke! Since Mraz loves to scat, scat is another word for poo...you see where I'm going with this...

Jimmie and I had dinner before getting into the concert hall, sushi and sashimi on rice! It was just some stuff we bought from the local asian supermarket but it was delicious none the less (I guess I thought i t was extra yummy since I was hungry!) I stuffed my face lightning fast because I really wanted to get into the stadium! I didn't really need to though since there was a little over half an hour before the show would start anyway. We got it and surprise surprise! My friends Joao and Jackie were there too to see the show! Joao kept asking me to come to the floor seats with him but obviously I couldn't do that or I'd get kicked out! Jimmie and I had bought tickets for seats in the middle of the arena.

Christina Perri opened for Jason Mraz...I had never really cared for her music (well the one I song I knew from her: Jar of Hearts) but after seeing her live I must say I'm a changed woman! I'm definitely going to check out her other songs, she's very pretty too! Jason didn't even get on the stage until 8:30ish but WOW he was amazing! I knew almost every song! There were only two I didn't recognize but I sang along with them anyway!

Serious eargasm man...what I would give to see another of his concerts <3 <3 <3

The one song I REALLY wanted to hear him sing live was Geek in the Pink (my blog is aptly named after that song!) He wasn't able to but that's alright, I was spellbound anyway...it was marvelous...just breath taking! His band was amazing too! They all seemed to have so much fun together when performing, what I would give to live my life singing my heart out for other people! Even if the audience is small!

I was sad it had to end so quickly...it was actually a pretty length concert but I just love Jason Mraz so much and it was a bittersweet goodbye. I bought a poster and a t-shirt (the one in the middle is the one i got) to remember it by...I swear I'll never wash that shirt O_O...I'll wear it everyday and never ever take it off...even to shower...

...just kidding!

The poster is on my wall now and when I get grumpy from studying now I just look up at it and smile, remembering that amazing concert I went to.

 

I'm even more in love with Jason Mraz than before and I really doubt anyone will ever trump him at first place in my favorite artists of all time list! Jason will always be my hero and I'll never lose that fan girl in me because of him~

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! 

The Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash Review

I have very oily skin. I mean I'm stilling getting pimples now and I had hoped to be rid of them by the time I grew out of puberty!...*sigh*....but that's not the case...The natural oiliness of my skin tends to give me spots and I have had enough! The solution: Tea Tree Facial Wash from the Body Shop to save me from my blemish ridden face! 

With organic community trade tea tree oil, this face wash feels cooling and tingly on the skin. It doesn't lather much so when I use it I squeeze a small amount onto a cleansing cloth to get it foaming a bit more. Apparently less foam is good because foam and bubbles in soap usually come from something called sodium laureth sulfate which can be carcinogenic for humans! Don't worry I'm pretty sure this face wash will not give you cancer since it doesn't have very much of it at all. It smells a little like mint candy and is quite a good wake up call in the morning when you use it to wash your face, ahhh stimulating!

As for my pimples, it hasn't done wonders for it, I still get them on my chin but that could be from hormonal issues. It is very clarifying though and leaves your face feeling squeaky clean after a good scrub! It's not going to break the bank either at 11 CAD. I got it a bit cheaper even because of a friend working at The Body Shop kekeke~

Overall I do recommend this product, it makes my face feel clean at the end of the day and wakes me up in the morning too! The price for it is fair and it does its job relatively well. If you're trying to fight oily skin this will help but if you need a zit zapping product it doesn't work as well as I had hoped.

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~!

Life Update: What I've Been Up To

My blogs are being published less and less frequently these days because of gosh darn school! Look at all the scary books I have to read for my classes! I'm in my fourth semester at university and I've also decided to change my major! I'm doing biology right now and I really do love the natural world and all the organisms that inhabit it. Learning about them is invigorating! Sciences can be scary but I have to admit, beyond all the homework and calculations I have to do, it's pretty darn fun and extremely interesting! I don't think my eyes have ever been more tired than now but there's still 12 weeks of the semester left! Hopefully my sanity can survive that long and my eyes don't fall out!  

So school's all fine and dandy but quite a few events have popped up since my last life update, I've been commissioned for art and a logo! As some of you might know, I am a member of deviantART and I post some stuff I draw or paint up regularly...a girl commissioned me to draw this little angel for her! She still has to pay me for it but she seemed to really like it so that makes me happy too. I've also been hired to design a logo for the SVABC (Specialty Vehicles Association of British Columbia) but there's still a lot of work to do! Once the tweaking and polishing is all done I'll write a blog documenting the process of logo design! Here's how far I am along right now, perhaps the "v" should be more centered in the speed dial image...*brainstorming*

Speaking of art, I've also been working on this piece of art for the past few days (when I'm positively sick of doing chemistry problems!)

Yes she is nude...but her private bits are covered! To be honest I sketched out this girl when I was in high school art class but I finished the line art and started to color it just this last week. At least I'm finishing what I started right?

Progress so far...pretty good! The hair, water and grass could use a little more dimension, so I'm going to work with different tones of color and when it's finished, I'll post it on deviantART along with the art that's already up there (Here's my deviantART account if you'\re curious: http://melody-in-the-air.deviantart.com/)

Anyway I have an online chemistry assignment due tonight that's insanely hard to do! Good thing I've enlisted a friend to help me with the work, hopefully things don't go awry and I can finish that beast of homework before the deadline! Then after...I don't care I'm treating myself to an Indian buffet, my waistline can just shush! 

Some goals for the next week or so...I MUST VACUUM...my room looks like a bomb hit it and then a tornado came by too! Must clean clean clean! I also want to be caught up with all my schoolwork, there's so much stuff to do I fear that soon I'll fall behind! Wish me luck!

I'm not happy about all the work but it'll be worth it in the end, I'll try my hardest! Back to work!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now!

Ten Reasons Why I Love to Clean!

Many people treat cleaning as a chore. It's a time consuming task that never seems to be finished because a week after you clean, entropy takes over and things get dusty or disorganized again. I can definitely see why many people would dislike it but there are so many good things that can come from a good sanitizing of the home! Here are ten reasons why:

1) You discover things you have forgotten about long ago
Often times when I am cleaning I happen upon old paraphernalia that has escaped my mind. Memories are evoked when I see that Christmas card from years ago, flipping through school work projects I had kept because I was proud of them, little nick knacks from past vacations, pictures of younger days and more. It creates a warm feeling of nostalgia and it makes me happy to relive those memories.

2) It's a good break from studying!
If you are or have ever been a student, you've probably decided to tidy your room in the middle of a study session! It's a great way to be productive even if you're procrastinating on the academic side of things. It makes me feel a little less guilty about starting a paper last minute because I did put my time to good use in some way.

3) A clear room reflects a clear mind
When I try to do anything in my room, be it studying, reading, gaming, drawing or something else, if the place is a mess, I find it terribly hard to concentrate! In the middle of reading I may notice out of the corner of my eye the pile of clothes on the floor or the mountain of paper and books on my desk. This takes my concentration away from the task at hand and makes it extremely hard to focus! A messy room makes me feel like I can't think clearly. Writing an essay in a disorganized space makes me feel a little claustrophobic and my mind is a whirl of thoughts like: "urghhh I can't concentrate in such a messy place!", I am clearly not thinking of my essay! Once the space is clean, I have a sharp mind that can focus on anything that I need to!

4) You get a good work out!
Believe it or not, vacuuming, wiping floors, and lifting heavy objects in the process of cleaning can make you break out in a sweat! At the end of a cleaning session I am sometimes panting and sweating because I had to work vigorously to unclutter the place! Hitting the gym can cost money, why not kill two birds with one stone and get your exercise while you make your living space spotless at the same time.

4) Learning to be selective, becoming a better decision maker
This sounds weird right? But it's not as weird as you may think! In many first-world countries people have more than we need. We tend to accumulate things that clutter up homes. When faced with the decision of what to throw out or give away, it can be tough to part with something we've had for many years but never use. I personally found it difficult to give away my old baby clothes just because I've had them for so long and it made me think about my childhood. In the end I did give them away to the needy and it didn't hurt to donate them as much as I thought it would. Learning to keep what you need and discard what you don't is an important skill that also applies to many other areas in your life.

5) Being able to help the less fortunate
I swear I'm not making this one up! After a good cleaning session (this relates to point 4) you may find things that you have no use for anymore...but other people may need that item! Many of the things I no longer need I donate to charities because after all, one man's trash is another's treasure! It makes you feel warm and fuzzy knowing that what you have will help someone else.

6) It's calming for the mind and soul, you can be creative!
Cleaning is not a mindless task but it's not a brain busting exercise like studying. I treat it like a ritual where you do not need to concentrate on any one thing and you can let your mind wander as you clean. Who knows, you may suddenly think up an amazing poem while dusting the mantle of your fireplace and win a literary prize! Even if that doesn't happen cleaning is a great stress reliever, a calm mind is always nice to have.

7) You save money when cleaning!
Oh no! Looks like we don't have anymore lined paper and need to buy some more! A week after you buy some you decide to clean the house and bam! There's a whole stack of lined paper tucked into the nook of your closet! When we find that we've run out of something it's good to give the house a good clean, you may think you need to buy more of something but it could turn out you have a lot of that item hidden somewhere! It could also happen that you find other purposes for old items you thought were useless and in such a way, we save a lot of money. There's no need to buy news things when we already have them or have discovered new uses for them!

8) Sudden visitors don't embarrass you anymore
You're in your room that hasn't been vacuumed in months, there are giant dust bunnies watching you from under your unmade bed and suddenly, you hear the doorbell ring and it's that insanely cute guy you've kinda been getting to know better! You let him in and he sees your room...and yikes! His face turns grey and he makes a face at the smelly half eaten pizza from two nights ago. Now that situation is one none of us want to be in I'm sure so that's why it's so great to have a clean room! Even if it's not the man of your dreams, if it's just the delivery man or your best friend, be kind and greet them with a clean home that's welcoming to both you and them.

9) It's good for your health!
You will be getting a work out from cleaning but it's also very good for you to live in a dust free, mold free and germ free environment. Those nasties could get you sick, if you spend a little time each day making sure that the table tops are wiped after each meal and wipe the condensation off the windows when it forms, you can prevent mold and germs from building up on those surfaces. They are potential illnesses waiting to attack! Living in a hygienic and clean environment means less sick days!

10) You have a clean living space now and won't trip over things anymore!
Apart from removing the fire hazard in your home, apart from getting rid of that huge duffle bag in the doorway that you always trip over at night you now have a clean living space you can dance and jump around in without knocking anything over! You've accomplished something and you've beat entropy in the battle for a clean home! It feels good to accomplish something, it feels even better to have a clear path to your bed, the home is no longer a field of toe-stubbing landmines! Enjoy the feeling of that accomplishment! Perhaps you'll be able to keep the second law of thermodynamics from messing up your room again by keeping organized every day~

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~!

A Review: Harajuku Lovers Perfume in Love

I'm not much of a perfume wearer but I do have a couple of them that were gifts from friends and family. This particular perfume, Love from Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls Perfume collection, is probably the one I wear the most out of the handful I have.

Something I love about these little babies is that the bottles are so darn cute! There are only 5 different fragrances in the collection but each of the girl toppers on the bottle look different, have different outfits and different hair styles too! I have this girl with bathing suit attire, sunglasses and adorable bun-like hair but other bottles of Love may have girls with long hair, short hair, winter clothes, lolita clothes, different shoes, different colors etc etc! It's incredibly adorable and the scent of Love is very sweet. To me it smells fruity with a hint of floral goodness. The official description of the scent is: 

"It opens with notes of bergamot, pink pomelo, peach, and bamboo leaf. The heart reveals water peony, silky notes of rose, jasmine sambac, nectarine blossom, white narcissus, and Egyptian jasmine, while the base follows with ylang-ylang petals, creamy vanilla orchid, sensual musk and light woods accords"

A very elaborate description for a tiny little perfume like this! The lasting power of the perfume is pretty good, it'll stay on the skin for maybe a couple hours and eventually become just a light aroma of sweetness wherever sprayed. I do not like however, the size of the perfume! It's tiny! Even though I have a mini size (10ml) the full size ones are also quite sparing. The majority of the bottle is just the girl shaped topper. It's not too expensive a perfume, mine was 20 CAD or so but there are other cheaper and more generous options out there. 

In summary I would recommend this perfume, it's girly, sweet and a great scent to wear in the Spring or Summer seasons! The little bottle is also a great decorating piece, I'm going to find it hard to recycle it when it's finished!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3

Shop till You Drop!

Today is Labor Day and it also happens to be the last day of freedom I have before I have to get back to school! I'm thinking of changing majors to biology or even go into nursing so I have to take a butt-load of  science and math courses next semester. It's going to fry my brain and push me to the limit but it must be done! As one of the nice nurses at my grandmother's care home likes to say: " Everything that's worth while requires effort".

I had breakfast with my family at a Chinese restaurant this morning and grandma came along too! We're always worried that the solid foods they serve there may upset her stomach but thankfully she didn't feel sick after and the food was quite delicious, a welcome change to the food they serve at the care home. The planning for the day's events were a bit messy though, we had to have breakfast, go drop off my granny back at the care home and meet my friend all before 11:30am and we definitely could not do it! When I brought it up to my dad he seemed angry, I think he thought I was blaming him but that is not the case! In any case, he still seems mad and it's 5 in the afternoon now...maybe he'll cool off soon. 

I met up with my buddy Hanna an hour later than originally planned (I told her I'd be late, not to fret!) and we took transit to Value Village. There are so many cool things there! It's a thrift shop that carries everything from board games to Halloween costumes, from used clothes to old VHS movies. We weren't really looking for anything in particular, perhaps to do some early costume shopping for Halloween but I was unable to find anything. I did find a hat shaped like a turkey and as tempting as it was, I did not purchase it.

The two things I did get were a gingham print top and the first book in the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan. 

The top was a real bargain! 4.99 CAD for this cutie pie! It's a little tight around the top but I'm treating that as incentive to lose weight. Must go to the gym more often...must!

Hanna is a huge fan of this series and so I thought I'd get it to see what the fuss was about! I'm pretty excited to read it! My schooling may interfere with reading novels often but it's nice to read a bit before bed.

Hanna got a green tunic dress that could be used for a Link costume (he's the hero in the Legend of Zelda series); there were also fairy wings on sale there, perhaps I could have bought them and dressed up as his fairy, Navi!

We were quite hungry afterwards and walked to the mall to grab lunch. Mmmm New York Fries poutine! I think I've only had poutine once before and today's was delicious! Maybe I ordered a size too big though, I felt like a human watermelon afterwards!

We went to Sephora to take advantage of more cheap TokiDoki makeup products. Hanna got a black mascara and a perfume while I caved in and bought one more Roulette Lip gloss Trio.

The colors included are Bruttino, Lion Pappa, and Adieu. I tried the Prisma glosses they sell and they're pigmentation is nearly undetectable but the roulette trios are different. I have a roulette with the color Mozzarella and the pigmentation is phenomenal! Finally! A red lip I can wear with pink hair and not look like a clown! I'm looking forward to wearing colors from this new roulette too, the shades are quite dark and I hope the pigmentation matches the level of Mozzarella's!

I also purchased a dry shampoo because I only plan to bleach and dye my hair once more before I go back to black. Perhaps after that I'll stick with dip dye to save my scalp the torture of bleaching or just let my natural hair grow out again. Until then I want to preserve the pink for as long as possible! That means not washing my hair everyday and being careful with heating tools like straighteners. 

I got theTresemme volumizing dry shampoo for fine/ oily hair. Hopefully it works! It wasn't too pricey, about 6 CAD a can! Going to use it tonight and I may review on my blog too.

We went to a couple more stores and when we were all shopped out (because we were hurting inside from overspending) we went home. Super fun day! My wallet is aching from its losses but I am happy with the lovely things I got~! I'm a tad more relaxed for school now as well. Hopefully I'll have enough time to update my blog every once in a while with impending exams and studying on the horizon!

Thanks for reading and ciao for now~! <3