Monthly Makeup – Products I’m Focusing On in February

Hello everyone! Last year, I participated in two Project Pans, which not only helped me get a lot of use out of certain makeup products from my collection, but actually use up a lot of them too. While the satisfaction of completing a Project Pan outweighed the negatives of having to use the same products over and over, I simply need a break from them right now.

Instead of doing a Project Pan this year, I thought I would choose a handful of products to focus on each month. This idea comes from my friend Nicole from Pretty Ruff Life, who did her Makeup Focus posts for the entirety of last year. Unlike my Project Pan, I don’t intend on using these products every single day as I still want to get reviews out, but these products will be largely featured in my makeup and skincare routine for the month – out of 7 days of the week, I plan to use them for about 3 or 4 days. At the end of the month, I’ll do an update to see where I’m at with these products and how often I actually ended up using them throughout the month! Onwards to see what I’m focusing on in February:

 

Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes Palette

I haven’t pulled this palette out to use regularly for a few months now, so I think it’s about time I concentrate on using it. I specifically chose to focus on the Just Peachy Mattes palette in February because I thought that the month of love would be a good time to pull out this red-toned palette!

50 Movie Challenge: Movies I Watched September-December

Hello, everyone! Even though we’re almost into February (how???), today I’m sharing a post of all the movies I watched from September to December to finish off my 50 movie challenge of the year. The 50 movie challenge came from Rachael of Helpless Whilst Drying – she actually does a 100 Movie Challenge every year, but I thought that might be a bit too difficult for me and ended up challenging myself with 50 movies instead. The last time I did one of these posts, I screwed things up by posting my quarterly post at the end of August instead of the end of September. Apparently I don’t know what a quarter is even though my job revolves around quarters! Anyways, at the end of this post, I have tallied up all the movies I watched during the year.

Crazy Rich Asians – 5/5

I actually watched this movie two weeks in a row, with different groups of friends. It just so happened one was at the end of August and the other was at the beginning of September, so they got separated into different posts. Besides the fact that this finally brought to light Asian representation in Hollywood, I love how fun this was! It was just as entertaining the second time around, but the book is still better.

9 Beauty Products I Want to Try in 2019

Hi everyone! Last week, I shared a post on Nine Beauty Brands I Want to Try in 2019, and today I’m wanted to talk about nine beauty products I want to try this year. You might be wondering what the difference between the two posts are. Last post featured brands that I’ve never used before, whereas I’ve previously used the brands mentioned in this post, but have just not tried the specific products mentioned. However, as I was writing this post, I also ended up making a list of 9 more products from the brands featured in my Nine Brands I Want to Try post, so you’ll see those underneath as well. Onwards to the products!

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask – $30

I’ve wanted to try these lip masks for years. Years! Currently, I’m trying to work through 3 mini Laneige lip masks and one regular sized one – I doubt I’m going to get to the Agave lip mask this year with all of the lip masks in my collection, but I’ve wanted to try it for so long that I might as well put it on my list. I’m interested to see how it compares with the Laneige lip mask!

9 Beauty Brands I Want to Try in 2019

At the beginning of 2018, I shared a list of 9 beauty brands I wanted to try during the year. I ended up buying from 6 of the 9 brands on the list, which I think is pretty good! This year, I have a few more brands that I would like to try for the first time. I’m not saying that I’m going to buy from all of them this year; in fact, I hope for the sake of my wallet that I don’t 😂 I just wanted to share a list of brands I’ve never tested out but am interested in!

Image from Bobbi Brown

Bobbi Brown

This brand has never really interested me; it’s always felt like one of those brands that aren’t very trendy and come out with “boring” makeup. However, in the last year or so, a few of their face and lip products have really started to look appealing to me. I’m really tempted to give Bobbi Brown a go in 2019!

Project Pan Volume 2: Update #2

Hello, everyone! Today, I’m writing my final update on my second Project Pan of 2018, which I started back in July. Read on to see how far I made it with all of these products in the last six months!

From Left to Right: Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Paaarty on July 1st and December 31st

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Paaarty

Not to toot my own horn, but I am so proud of myself on this guy! This blush was part of my first Project Pan of the year, and after trying to pan this blush for the entire year, I have come SO CLOSE. You can see that there is a tiny ring left at the edges, but I would say that this is as good as finished. Can I just go ahead and call this a successful pan? We all know how difficult it is to finish blushes! I will be continuing to use this in 2019 until the pan is completely clean – but first, I am going to take a break from it to use some of my other blushes for a while!

Best of Beauty 2018: Skincare Edition

Hi everyone! On Monday, I shared Part 1 of my Best of Beauty of the year, which was all about my makeup favourites. Today is the second of my Best in Beauty of 2018, which features all about my bodycare and skincare favourites. Read on to see what I loved this year!

Hand Cream: Delectable Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream

I bought a 6 pack of these last December, and now I’m currently on my last two tubes. A lot of my blogger friends raved about these Delectable hand creams before I ever got to try them, and now I finally see why. I wash my hands a lot, so they’re always dry. They’re very affordable drugstore hand creams, and are the most hydrating lotions I’ve used in a long time. A huge plus is that these are the perfect size for the purse! A few of the scents were not my favourite, but they weren’t a dealbreaker, either. I recently bought a set of bigger tubes that I have placed on my bedside table and office desk!

 

Lip Balm: Glossier Balm Dotcom

In my makeup favourites post, I talked about how much I love the Cloud Paints. These are another hit from Glossier! My long-time favourite lip balm for the last decade has been the ones from Jack Black, and I’ve never been able to find another brand that I liked just as much. Well, I discovered this year that the Balm Dotcom gives it a run for its money! I’ve tried a few balms throughout 2018, but the Balm Dotcom was my favourite by far. I wouldn’t say that it’s better than the Jack Black, to be honest, but it’s just as good even though the formula is different. It keeps my lips moisturized for a few hours before reapplication is needed, and it’s just the right texture – not thin and greasy, but also not thick and hard to spread out either. I recently purchased the rose scent, and I’m looking forward to adding more to my collection one day.

 

Makeup Remover: Farmacy Green Clean Meltaway Cleansing Balm

I reviewed this makeup remover in the summer, and it’s still a standout for me now. For the first time in nearly a decade, I’ve found a makeup remover that has replaced my holy grail, the MAC Cleanse Off Oil. This cleansing balm has a subtle fresh scent that smells really nice. More importantly, I want my makeup removal process to be fast and effective, and this removes even the most stubborn of my makeup quickly with no trace of it left over. Massaging it into the skin feels nice too, as it feels very hydrating and turns into a nice milky texture once you add water to it. It’s the first cleansing balm I’ve ever tried, and it won’t be my last!

Runner up is the Garnier Miscellar Water, which saved me when I had eyelash extensions and couldn’t use an oil-based makeup remover. I never “believed” in miscellar waters before because anything besides oil-based remover has always been ineffective in makeup removal on me, but this was so impressive in getting makeup off my skin.

 

Serums: Hada Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Lotion

I didn’t really know how to classify this, but I guess a serum is close enough. I’ve tested out 4 different hyaluronic acids now, and this has by FAR been my favourite even though it’s the newest addition to my collection! I purchased it in Japan after reading that pretty much EVERYONE recommends this, and it lives up to the hype. It’s the most hydrating out of the four, and soaks right into the skin. It also has a nice consistency that’s not too runny but also not goopy. it’s unscented, and it doesn’t do anything weird like pill underneath other skincare or makeup. I feel like my skin has felt a lot less tight since starting to use this!

 

Facial Oil: The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane

I’ve never had much luck with facial oils until I met this one. Squalane is meant to lock in moisture, and this does just that. I apply it as the last step on my nighttime routine in order to lock in all of the hydrating properties from the other products I applied underneath. I’ve found that since using the squalane, my skin feels quenched and supple in the morning. Although it’s an oil, it doesn’t feel too greasy, and it’s also unscented, which is a big plus for a lot of skincare lovers. I reviewed this back in September here.

 

Exfoliator: Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum

I will be doing a review of all the products included in the Drunk Elephant Littles Kit in the next month or so, but all you have to know about this product is that it is so phenomenal. This is a pretty strong AHA/BHA blend, but I found this to be really gentle on my skin. No stinging, no scent, and no drying out my skin. I’ve found that I just end up with a smooth and much more radiant complexion after using this regularly.

 

Moisturizer: Herbivore Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme

Not only is the packaging and the pink cream pretty (the aesthetics is always a bonus, am I right?), but it has a light, airy texture that feels nice on the skin. Yet, this is still really moisturizing despite the lighter texture. I have dry skin and have that it has worked well for both the summer and winter so far, although as the weather continues to get colder, I’m now just starting to find it’s not enough. The scent is a bit strong, which is definitely a negative for people who don’t like fragrance in their skincare, but I personally don’t hate it. I did an in-depth review of this moisturizer here.

The runner-up in this category is the Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream. It’s a runner-up because I only started using it in December and need more time to test it, but I’m seriously loving it so far. This moisturizer is a lot thicker than the Herbivore Pink Cloud, but it doesn’t sit heavily on my skin. My skin has been drinking all of the moisture up! I will have a review of this up in the next two months.

And that is it for my roundup of 2018 favourites! What products did you love this year?

 

My 2019 Beauty Goals (& 2018 Goals Update)

Happy New Year’s, everyone! I hope you all had a most wonderful time ringing in the new year, and I hope 2019 is a happy and successful one for you all!

Last year, I shared a blog post of a few 2018 beauty goals that I wanted to achieve. Today, I’m talking about how I ended up doing on these goals, as well as share my new beauty goals for the upcoming year! I’m SO not about the “new year, new me” thing because I totally don’t believe in it – you don’t just suddenly improve on yourself and take up all of these good habits just because a new year has come – change comes slowly and at any time of the year, not just the at the beginning of a new year. Anyways, while I don’t believe in resolutions, per say, I do believe that the new year is a good time for set measurable tasks for myself.

Without further ado, here were the goals I set upon myself for 2018 and how I ended up doing on them:

Best of Beauty 2018: Makeup Edition

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope you all have a great time celebrating tonight, whether it’s going all out at a large New Year’s bash, or staying at home and chilling on the couch with some friends and some wine.

Favourites post are probably my all-time favourite types of blog posts to read from other bloggers, and today I’m sharing my own roundup of favourite beauty products of the year. Most of these are not new releases; the way I categorize my “favourite beauty products” posts is that I include things I discovered during the year, or purchased late last year and didn’t really get a chance to use them until this year. If there was a category I didn’t discover anything I loved, then I left it out of this post. I will also list runner-ups in each category if there are any. First on the agenda is my favourite beauty products of the year!

Eyeshadow: Tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pot

When I reviewed these in the spring, my overall comments on these were how stellar they are. These are ridiculously metallic and pigmented – I feel like they make my jaw drop every time I use them. The texture is slightly crumbly, but I’ve never had any problems with fallout. I only wish that there was a bigger colour selection, as most of the shades available seem to be variations of gold and bronze.

Runner ups are ColourPop Super Shock Shadows and the Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes palette. After years of wanting to try the Super Shock Shadows, I finally had a chance to test them out, and they live up to the hype. It has a really interesting bouncy texture, the pigmentation on all of the shades I tried were impressive, and the line offers a great colour selection. I reviewed them here, and I definitely highly recommend them! The Just Peachy Mattes also came high on the list because the palette ended up surprising me a lot. The palette consists of really beautiful red-based matte shades that go well together, and it’s a more wearable palette than I initially presumed. My review of the palette can be found here.

My Favourite Makeup Products for the Holidays

Hello everybody, and Happy Christmas Eve! I’m still working today, but I do hope you are all at home drinking hot chocolate, relaxing, and watching Christmas movies before getting into the madness of Christmas dinner with family! Since it is Christmas Eve, today I wanted to talk about products that are perfect for holiday gatherings. I’ve already been to two Christmas parties/dinners and have had all of these products on rotation!

Stila Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadows

You can’t do the holidays without some glitter in your makeup routine, and these Stila Glitter & Glow liquid shadows are absolutely the perfect choice. They are long-wearing and will glitter on your eyelidsd all night with no fallout!

Hong Kong Disneyland

While we were in Hong Kong last month, we carved out a day to spend in Hong Kong Disneyland. This was a bit of a last-minute decision – I love Disney so I knew before leaving for our trip that I wanted to go, but my parents weren’t hot on the idea, so it ended up being one of the “maybe” activities on our itinerary. Since it was a family trip, I didn’t want to split up from my parents to do separate things, but when we got to Hong Kong, my mom insisted that we go while they took a day to rest (because we had apparently worn them down!) Off to the Happiest Place on Earth we went!

GENERAL

The easiest way to get to Hong Kong Disneyland is by the MTR train system. Regardless of where you’re coming from, you’ll have to either take the orange (Tung Chung) or dark green (Airport Express) line, then get off at Sunny Bay station. Here, you’ll transfer to the Pink line (Disneyland Resort). This line only has one stop, which is located right outside the Disneyland grounds.

It costs $699 HKD for an adult entrance ticket to Hong Kong Disneyland and $515 HKD for kids, which roughly translates to $120 and $90 CAD, respectively. If you are planning your trip ahead of time, make sure to scope out the Disney website for deals, as they’ll often have a discount on tickets when you buy online.

This tip goes for all Disney parks: downloading the official app is highly recommended, as you’ll get to see attraction wait-times, a GPS-enabled map, and show schedules. I couldn’t survive a Disney park visit without this!