Olive Oil: Beauty Essential

I love using seemingly unconventional things I have lying around the house for skin care routines, I mean, if I can just use something in my kitchen, how awesome is that and not have to buy something else??


So I stared using extra virgin olive oil to remove my eye makeup, my eye makeup remover was getting low and I realized how convenient it was for travelling so I started to look for other eye makeup removers to replace it. Then I came across this little amazing device.

1. It's super soft
2. It gets the job done! It's great for removing mascara and it gets off all my eyeshadow/liner in a pinch, I haven't used it yet for waterproof mascara but I'll update once I have.
3. You already have it (probably)

So, this is officially my eye makeup remover source, and I've managed to avoid funny looks since I tend to go to bed after people and I'm living in a house now, NOT an apartment, so you know, it's a different level of the house that I go to. And my fiance must just be really non-observant, because I had the olive oil sitting on the bathroom counter for a week back at our apartment and he didn't say anything, boys.

So it's an eye makeup remover....what about the rest of my face?

 

Oh yeah, I started using it on the rest of my face.

 

Basically, it's the first step of my routine, I just put a little bit on a folded tissue, take off my eye makeup remover and then turn the tissue around put a little bit more on and take off the makeup on my cheeks and forehead (not the oily parts of my face!) and then I cleanse, tone, and moisturize.

 

It is seriously doing WONDERS. I don't know if it's the olive oil or the toner or a combination of both, but I'm going to give credit to both since I've had a love-hate relationship with toner and this keeps my skin non-blotchy and really nice looking, plus I use them on different parts of my face so I think each can credit separately.

 

Anyways, if you're prone to breakouts, this is probably a BAD idea, but if you're not too prone, like me, this has done wonders for keeping my skin soft and smooth.

 

Just another home remedy from a 21-year old. But this seems like something your grandma would have done...

 

"My First Triathlon" - An Experience of the 2011 Point Grey Triathlon

Hey abandoned blog! How are you??


I started training on June 10th and did my first short triathlon (0.4k/11k/5k) on July 17th, approximately 5 weeks later.  My post-race reaction was disappointment in myself, I didn't get nearly the time I wanted to and I just felt like I'd been kicked in the teeth because of how poorly I did.  In hindsight, I learned some important lessons that I'd like to share with you now:


1. You can't avoid hills forever - trust me, when I started biking, I wanted to, I was extremely out of shape and there's one tall hill before I get home that made me hate my life everytime I had to go to it.  But can you imagine my bitterness when I discovered my race bike course had about 5K of gradual incline?  I decided about 1/4 of the way through the incline that I was going to take some dynamite to every hill in the world and everything would look like Saskatchewan.


3 weeks later: Hills and I aren't mortal enemies anymore! There's a street that kind of leads to the "big" pool in my area from my house that's slightly hilly, so I did that one a few times and the third time I did, I averaged 20.2K/hr for about 5K, which considering usually my average is more around 10K for hills, I will take that with bells on!  I also learned that hills make your calf muscles crazy awesome!


2. If you want to be able to run 5K well, you have to be able to run more than 5K easily  - I knew this, I'd heard it, I believed it, but did I practice it? No! Not even the slightest, my runs were usually between 3-4K.  I still have a hate/love feeling towards running because it's the one sport that doesn't make me feel good about myself.  Biking, I can feel like I'm on top of the world.  Swimming, I can feel like life really is this simple.  Running? Running makes my feet hurt, I move slow so it's hard to feel like I'm really getting anywhere.


3 weeks later: Honestly, I had one of the most de-motivating runs about two weeks ago and I've been focusing on swimming/biking ever since.  I'm not a good runner, one day I will be, but right now, I'm focusing on the part of the sport that I'm loving.


3.  It really is an accomplishment just to start/finish - I didn't really feel this after my poor race, but it's true, most people in the world haven't done a triathlon so you really should feel proud of yourself for pushing yourself to be there.  It really is an accomplishment

3 weeks later: The further I get away from the race, the more "I don't hate myself" feeling I have towards my first tri.  Honestly, it's a start, and I learned an important lesson about hills, and now I can settle into training and focusing on the part of it I love.

Sale Alert: Shopper's Rimmel products

I'm not going to dedicate posts unless I find a sale that's worth it. Truth is, any time you walk into any drug store, you'll see at least 5 sales...but it's up to you to decide if the sale actually has enticed you to buy.


This one is totally worth it.

Shopper's Drug Mart has Rimmel products for $2.99!! 

Not all Rimmel producs, like foundations and mascaras, are included in this, but there's a lot

• Lipsticks (Kiss & Stay and a few other kinds) (down from $9.99!)
• Some lipglosses.
• Eye shadow quads/trios/individuals (I just picked up a nice yellow "sunshine")
• Pencil eyeliner 
• Pencil eyebrow liner.

Trust me ladies, it's worth it!
I picked up:

• 4 Kiss & Stay (I've never tried them before!)
• 2 Lipsticks
• 1 Eyeshadow
• 3 Lipglosses (one wasn't on sale, oh well!)

 All for less than $30? Yes please! 

Shopping List: For The Office

The Shopping List: A new feature for my blog for a shopping list for items for a certain occasion/part of your life.

THE OFFICE: Where your appearance matters.

Clothing

1. A good black suit -- pants or skirt (your choice, I find skirts much more wearable), this will look great for...
1. Wearing as a set
2. Wearing each piece individually with another
2. A good other-colored suit
1. Gray
2. Brown
3. Navy
4. Pinstripe
3. 3 individual jackets/blazers
4. 4 Bottoms (Skirts or Pants, you decide!)
1. Gray
2. Black x2
3. Brown
5. Good quality dress shirts (think Brooks Brothers)
1. White
2. Blue
3. Black
4. Another fun color (Twilight Blue?! YES PLEASE)
6. Good quality blouses

Shoes

1. Black pumps
2. Beige pumps

Accessories

1. Keep it simple! Think: studs, pearls, simple necklaces, don't think: chunky bracelets, dangly earrings.

What to avoid....

1. Low cut anything
2. Brand Labels showing (it's a tell tale sign you shouldn't wear it to the office)

Makeup: A guide for the recently addicted

I'd say my Makeup addiction started about 6 months ago, possibly from watching a collection video on youtube and suddenly I was hooked...there was so much more I needed. Now makeup, I think, is one of the easiest things to spend money on.


1) There are, literally, thousands it seems of different shades/finishes for each item (eye shadow, lipstick/gloss/stain, eyeliners, blushes, bronzers..)
2) There can be crazy good sales at drugstores it seems (I picked up Maybelline Dream Mousse Foundation for $5! I had to buy 2!)...and that's difficult to resist when you're starting up your collection.
3) You can justify spending lots of money on said sales because you get so much.
4) You can justify spending money on higher quality items, because the quality is better.


Then comes the day, that you're looking at your collection and realizing that you shouldn't allow yourself to buy anymore "neutrals" because you have 2 full pre-made palettes as well as 10 individual pots....as well as a 15 palette you made yourself....and you want new blush but you already have 7 and you don't even use them all.


What's a girl to do?


Focus. I think this is the best thing to do when you're starting out a makeup collection if you don't want your wallet to run away with you. Focus.


Look at one thing: I need eye shadows, I need lipsticks, I need lipglosses (FYI, I totally need lipglosses), I need brushes.  I think this is the best thing to do because if you focus on one thing at a time, it won't suddenly amass into a pile of things you're not sure if you want.


XOXO,
I'm off to buy lipglosses.

A Young Canadian Worker Bee

So, I've been completely neglecting this blog. The truth is, I've been busy, I got married! I moved (twice)! I went on vacation, I completed school and I started the Canadian Securities Course...and I got a new job. So this blog will probably take a little bit of a professional twist... I have a unique perspective: I'm 22, married, working (I guess it isn't that unique).




I've noticed that being young actually seems like quite the disadvantage in a work place
1) Some people don't take you seriously (not my own team, but other people on the floor...) or assume they can take advantage of you:
  Example: I was at the copier grabbing a few things I had printed off and a new person to the floor asked me if I could copy some things for him, I just stared in wonder and the branch administrator who was right beside me, said that she would. I had no idea what to say, I don't work for you!
Remedy: Just be the best worker you can be! That's the best way to earn respect in my opinion :)


2) People don't genuinely wish you happy birthday.
Remedy: Know that they're jealous that you're so young. I don't know about you, but I'm not upset when someone's jealous of me.




XOXO

Popular Summer Makeup Trends

I'm talking about the things that are so in this season, and more than just the standards like "big lashes" (I saw one beauty report report this and I'm sorry, but isn't big bold lashes ALWAYS in ;) It's why we feel naked without mascara!)

Colour Wise:

• Corals (It's such a go-to summer color and there are so many pretty eyes/blushes/lips coming out this summer. Sources: MAC Cosmetics To-The-Beach has a couple cute looks (released May 27, 2010), NYX has some cute ones, and I like Maybelline's Dream Matte Mouse Blush)
• Purples (Like lilacs, this is mainly because of Alice in Wonderland, and lilacs are totally doable for day looks but then you can go darker for night time. Sources: NYX, Urban Decay, Micabella, MAC Cosmetics)
• Yellows (I'm seeing a lot of yellow looks this season, it's a great way to brighten up your eyes on the inner lid! Sources: Annabelle, NYX Pearl Mania Pigments)
• Coppers (As a middle, outer lid color, crease or eye liner or a fun (doable) lip! NYX Pearl Mania)

EYES:

• I'm seeing a lot less smokey eye, and a lot more fun combinations with fading on the lid!
• Metallics (Looks or just eye liner, I'm in love with golds, coppers, and bronzes)

LIPS:

• The one look I'm seeing consistently is a lot of pale pinks (like MAC's Viva Glam Gaga)
• Fierce reds (look for Tom Ford's new line to satisfy your needs.)