Mini Favourites Of The Month (February 2014)

I didn't seem to have many favourites for the month of February... I am a creature of habit, so doing these sorts of posts every month could prove difficult for me, which is why I don't commit myself to doing them every single month. I don't want anyone to get bored of hearing about the same products over and over. I contemplated even doing this post, which is why it's later than I usually post my favourites, because I still wanted to share the few favourites I had. Some are from previous months, but there are a few new items. There's not going to be a list this time around as per my usual posts, and most of my favourites for February are beauty/make up related.. 

Let's get to it shall we?

First, the non beauty related items:

• Pretty Little Liars Book Series
• Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core 
• Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix

I'm OBSESSED with Pretty Little Liars! (Aria and Hannah are my favs!) I didn't know the TV series was based off of books when I first started watching, but when I found out about them I just HAD to get my hands on the entire series! Unfortunately, I didn't end up buying any of the books.. Thanks to my AMAZING hubby, I now own the first 4 books and I can't wait to start collecting the rest! The books are somewhat different from the show, but if you're a fan of the TV series I definitely suggest checking out the books, I'm currently on the second book and I had a very hard time putting the first book down!

I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, and it will always hold a special place in my nerdy gamer heart! (Final Fantasy was the first RPG game I ever played and I don't think I will ever not love it!) I originally bought my PSP for the sole purpose of getting Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core when it was finally going to be released. This was a highly anticipated game for me for a long while, because it's the prequel to Final Fantasy VII (not my all time favourite, but a pretty close second)  Let me just say EPIC! I'm replaying it right now and I love it just as much as when it first came out and it definitely makes me want to replay VII again for the umpteenth time! The characters, story, graphics, video sequences, even the side quests, everything was done so beautifully, I even like the battle mode! The only complaint I would have is the camera can sometimes be a bother, you can't always rotate the camera all the way around if there's a wall or something similar in the way... Although the missions can get quite repetitive, they do offer a good way to level up and get rare items to help you progress through the main story.

I wasn't a fan of Kingdom Hearts when it first came out, I didn't think Disney could do Final Fantasy justice and it would be an unusual mix that I probably wouldn't like... Oh how wrong I was! The over all story line is great, albeit a little cheesy at times, but overall it sends a wonderful message about friendship, believing in yourself, loving and never giving up on the people in your life, and of course that good always triumphs over evil. The graphics are quite stunning in this remastered HD version and I love the Disney inspiration in the animation and character designs. It truly is different from any RPG I've ever played. I like most aspects of the battle style and over all I love the layout and game play, my complaint as with FF VII Crisis Core is the camera! It really infuriates me sometimes, but I love the game too much to give it up over the camera settings.

Favourite Accessories:

Pretty self explanatory, I got the studs from Sirens, the chain necklace from Forever 21 and the I love you necklace was a gift from my hubby, it came from Peoples Jewellers. 

Beauty Favourites:

This Organix Coconut Oil Mist was in my last favourites, and I love this Burt's Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter, it really hydrates my lips and makes them super soft!

• Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Lady Luck (A gorgeous Fuchsia chunky glitter polish) 
• NYC In A New York Minute in Moma (A glossy Fuchsia pink)
• ELF in Dazzle Diva (This polish is a stunning metallic blue/green colour with shimmer)

Makeup Favourites:

• Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara
• Victoria's Secret Epic Lash Mascara in Blacktastic
• Essence Gel Liner in Midnight In Paris
• L'Oreal Voluminous Millions Mascara in Blackest Black
• POP Beauty Eye Shadow Trio in Smokin' Hot
• Victoria's Secret Ultimate Look Eye Shadow Trio in Secret Weapon
• The Body Shop All In One Cheek Colour in Guava
• Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser

The Victoria's Secret Mascara, L'Oreal Mascara and Maybelline Baby Skin were mentioned in my last favourites post, which you can read here and the POP Beauty Eyeshadows were in my Glam Bag favourites post that can be found here.

I recently ran out of my ELF eyebrow and eyelash gloss, so I decided to go with a classic that I'm sure everyone but me has used at some point in time. This is a classic for a reason, it works marvellously! It costs a little more than the ELF version, but you get a lot more product so I'm happy with it. Plus I can't readily get ELF products where I live, I have to order them on-line and then pay for international shipping which isn't worth it for a single product...


I may have already talked about the Essence Gel Liner, but it hasn't been in a favourites post yet, so I thought I would just talk about it again here. This gel liner is water proof, so it doesn't flake or smudge off and it lasts all day long. These little pots come in a variety of different colours and I believe they are only $3.99 CAD at Shoppers Drug Mart. This colour is a very classic dark black, which is the kind I prefer. You get a ton of product for the size of the pot it comes in and a little goes a long way. It doesn't come with a brush, so if you don't have one I'd suggest either a small angled eye liner brush or a small flat eye liner brush (I use a flat one, I like it better than the angled ones.)


As I said before, I picked up the Victoria's Secret Eyeshadow on a whim, and I'm glad I did because these shadows are gorgeous! They are pigmented, soft and silky, they blend very well and they last all day. The colour combination is prefect, which I have to admit I never thought about wearing olive green eye shadow.


I briefly mentioned The Body Shop's All In One Cheek Colour when I did my Body Shop Haul. This blush is a gorgeous bright pink, there is some shimmer in it but it's hardly noticeable and you only need to apply a small amount to get the desired effect. This blush lasts much longer for me than any of the other blushes I own. It's so smooth, easily build able, it blends very well, and it has natural ingredients in it like vitamin E and marula oil. The only down side is the price, but when they're on sale I feel it's very much worth it! 

I bought 3 BH Cosmetics palettes a while ago, and they ended up being a bought it and forgot it type of situation... Until I was getting ready to go back home and I was deciding on what make up I should carry with me. I have the 3rd, 4th, and 5th edition 120 color palettes and I think the 5th is my favourite because of the colour selection. I definitely recommend these palettes if you are new to make up or starting out as a make up artist. You get quite a bit of product in each little pan, I've worn quite a few of these colours multiple times and have barely made a dent in them. BH has sales quite often, I got my palettes when they were on sale and they are also quite affordable even at regular price. I love that these shadows aren't chalky or gritty, the formula is very nice and these shadows are incredibly pigmented. They blend like a dream, there is zero fall out, they don't crease and there are endless colour combinations with 120 colours! This Warm and Natural palette is perfect for day and night looks, it works with all skin tones and there are both matte and shimmer shadows to choose from.

That's all for my February Favourites!

Until next time lovelies!

xoxoxo

My Glam Bag Favourites!

It's hard to believe it's been another three months already! Time is really flying by (I guess being busy all the time will do that to you!) I'll be featuring some of my favourite products I received from my November, December and January Glam Bags! If you haven't already joined Ipsy and would like to, check it out here


On to the items!

November

• Pixi Beauty Bronzer in Subtly Suntouched
• Be A Bombshell Lip Crayon in Hot Damn
• Starlooks Gem Pencil in Topaz
• Nailtini Nailpolish in Champagne

I don't normally wear bronzer, because of my fair skin, (The ones I've tried either make me look muddy or completely orange..) but I have been loving this Pixi, bronzer because it's so light and works perfectly with my complexion! It lasts all day, it's very silky and goes on very smoothly while giving my face a natural looking warm sun kissed glow. I would definitely recommend this is you have very fair skin like I do, and also if you like a shimmery bronzer. If you have oily or acne prone skin, this may not be for you. (The full sized product goes for about $18 USD at Target)

I have to say that I'm a little intimidated by red lips, as glamorous and chic as they are, I feel like I couldn't pull it off very well... This lip crayon however, gives me the gorgeous red lip without being too over powering and it looks lovely! I'm a fan of lip crayons, they tend to be more on the moisturizing side as opposed to some lipsticks and this one leaves sort of a stain which gives it a longer staying power. The color is so vibrant and rich, I don't even wear a gloss on top! (This lip crayon is $14 USD on their website)

I've said before that I am a fan of Starlooks, their products have yet to fail me! I love this gem pencil liner, it's been prefect for the winter, but I feel like I could wear this anytime! It's a gorgeous metallic silver blue colour, and the texture is so creamy and smooth it makes application effortless! I wore this in my water line for a pop of colour and it lasted all night! I have yet to come across a bad product from this brand, I hope to get some more Starlooks items in future bags! (The pencil comes in 6 colours and is $14 USD from Starlooks)

I love getting nail polish in my bags, especially colours that I don't already own, or wouldn't necessarily think of buying for myself. This Nailtini polish is a lovely golden champagne colour that made a perfect addition to any holiday look! The formula is great, although this colour is a little on the sheer side, so I usually use about three coats to get the desired effect. It applies very nicely and lasts any where from four days to a week. (These polishes run for $13 USD on the Tini Beauty website)

On the top left is the Starlooks pencil, next is the Pixi bronzer and on the bottom is the Be A Bombshell lip pencil.

December

• Nicka K Nailpolish in Classic Taupe
• J. Cat The Big Lip Pencil Lip Crayon in Caramel Mocha
• POP Beauty Bright Up Your Life Eyeshadow Trio in Smokin' Hot

Another nail polish, no surprise there! I've never heard of Nicka K, but I was excited to try this out none the less! I think this polish is another great colour for the holidays and also a nice neutral colour to have in general. The formula is pretty nice as well, this polish only needed two coats to get a rich taupe almost mauve look. I'd say it looks more dark brown in the bottle but when I actually wear it, it's a much lighter taupe colour... This polish lasted for about 4 days without a top coat. (This polish comes in a variety of different colours and finishes and goes for about $4.99 USD on their website)

I have to say that J.Cat hasn't been a very exciting or note worthy brand for me. I've mostly gotten false lashes from this brand and I don't ever wear them.. That being said, I really like this lip crayon! It's a nude colour instead of being more brown for me, because my lips are on the darker side. I like to pair this with a gloss, just to amp up my natural lips, it's hydrating and I don't need to use a lip balm before using it. This is prefect to wear when I sport a more dramatic or darker eye look... The only down fall to this, is that it's not a retractable pencil, so it will eventually need to be sharpened.. (J.Cat is selling this pencil for $3.99 USD and comes in 12 different colours)

POP Beauty is definitely becoming another favourite brand for me! I have 2 other items from them (which are lip products) and I was really excited to have gotten an eyeshadow trio from this brand! I love eyeshadow, I'd say it's my favourite make up product and I feel like I can never have enough! I love the packaging and these colours are gorgeous! These are prefect for a smouldering smokey eye and they make my blue eyes pop! It looks like this was only three colours from the full sized Bright Up Your Life Smokin' Hot palette, and I think they chose great complimentary colours for their sample palette.. I definitely would love to have the full sized palette (which is selling for £15.50 on POP Beauty) Unfortunately, this palette is out of stock... *sad face* I wore these shadows with my I heart stage eye primer from Essence and they lasted 12+ hours without flaking, smudging, smearing, or fading out! These are very shimmery/glittery, so if that's not your cup of tea, these may not be for you.

Far left is the J.Cat lip pencil and the other three are the POP Beauty shadows.

January

• Mica Beauty Tinted Lip Balm in Fiesta
• Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner
• Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil in Penny

I have a love/hate relationship with this Mica Beauty tinted balm... I feel like it's more of a lip stick, rather than a blam. It's pretty drying on my lips which is the thing I dislike about this product, however, I love the colour! It's stunning and wonderful and that is why it was one of my favourites. It lasts for a fairly long time, but I have to apply a lip balm before it put it on and then on top of it every so often... I'm conflicted, because it's such a rich and vibrant colour but I can't stand how dry it feels. Is this a beauty is pain kind of feeling? ha ha maybe not, but I'll continue to wear this even if it gets a little on the dry side because it looks so nice... I wouldn't consider buying the full sized product, however, because it's $30 USD.... I couldn't justify that especially for a product that while I do like it, I don't absolutely love and have to have it. (If you want to try it for yourself, you can find it here)

Sexy Hair does it again! I love this soy tri-wheat leave in conditioner, it smells like tangerines to me and it leaves my hair feeling so soft and smooth and it looks so shiny. I haven't put it's detangling promise to the test because I never brush my hair while it's wet, over all I really like this product and it keeps my hair feeling soft up to my next wash. This is perfect for anyone with dry hair and frizz, also if you have fine hair like mine that gets really tangled.. (It's currently on sale for $9.99 USD at Ulta, unfortunately they don't ship to Canada.. *extremely sad face* You can find Sexy Hair products at Target and sometimes Winners...)

Last is this gorgeous Shadow pencil from Elizabeth Mott. I used it as sort of an eye liner on top of my cat eye and in my waterline for a shimmery pop of gold. I paired it with my Be A Bombshell lip crayon for a glamorous old Hollywood kind of feel. This colour is very rich and vibrant, and it stays on all night. (They claim it's a waterproof pencil) This also is not a retractable pencil, so it'll eventually need to be sharpened.. (boo) I feel like this could also be used as a base colour, but the pencil is rather small, so I'll stick to using it for a subtle pop of colour. (This pencil comes in three colours and costs $14.99 USD from Elizabeth Mott)

Left is the pencil and right is the tinted lip balm.

That's all for this round of Glam Bag Favourites!

What are some of your favs from past bags?

Until next time lovelies!

xoxoxo

Party Time!

How's everyone's week been going? Mine has been a whirlwind of being super busy and full of craziness! Add a weird sleeping pattern and some coffee on top and that's how life has been for myself and my hubby.. We were invited to a birthday party for one of my hubby's cousins on his mom's side Saturday, so Friday night was a hectic pre party kind of night. Family was over, my hubby was on his last day of training for his new job, we had to clean and get things ready and needless to say it didn't involve a whole lot of sleep! Saturday afternoon we had to scuttle our way around to find last minute necessities, all while making sure my hubby wasn't late for his introductory flight (he'd been planning on doing one for over a year now, so I was going to make sure no matter what that he didn't miss it!) After all that, we had a horde of people all over the house getting ready, eventually my hubby made it back home (he LOVED his intro flight!) and we got ready after everyone else had left. The party was pretty nice and we had a good time. It was the first time in about a week that I actually got to spend more than 5 minutes with my hubby! (It sucks that life gets that busy, but it has to happen in order for us to get on the road to a better life and a life that we want.) 

Any who, I thought I'd share some photos from the party!

My dress is from Sears. My knit shrug is from Old Navy. My accessories are from Forever 21. My stockings are Steve Madden from Winners and my Shoes are from Payless.

My eyeshadow is from the BH Cosmetics 120 palette 5th edition

That's all for now lovelies!

xoxoxo

"Valentine's" Day...

 I'm just gonna say that I really dislike Valentine's Day and no I'm not a spiteful, can never find a date, always the third wheel, forever alone, might as well get a thousand cats now kind of person.. I'm happily married and have been for nearly 7 years and I've had a consistent Valentine  for the last almost 10 years... What I dislike about February 14th, is the pressure to get some mushy gift and show this grand display of love and affection for your spouse/partner and if you're like me, the thought of trying to find a nice gift EVERY SINGLE YEAR is beyond stressful and annoying... It's just one more gift I worry if my husband will like.. We've never treated this day as anything but normal, and while we do exchange a gift, we don't do anything extravagant. Also our gifts are usually nerdy and not related to Valentine's Day at all... Love is more than buying some candy or flowers and saying you love a person for one day, it's about all the little funny and stupid things you do together everyday that make you want to be with a person and what makes them special to you. It's about embracing them in every way including all of their flaws and loving them anyway. Today instead of buying into the whole greeting card crap, spend time with the ones you love and tell them you love them and how thankful you are to have them in your life and please do it often. Today is a gift and tomorrow is uncertain.. Single, married, in a new relationship or an old love, there is someone out there who loves you more than a box of chocolate and some cheesy singing teddy bear. Don't get caught up in all the commercialism, love who you love not just today but everyday! OK END OF RANT! ha ha!

This is what my hubby gave me

I made him a Vegeta plush, because that's his favourite DBZ character.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day, despite the fact that it's "Valentine's Day"

xoxoxo

My February Ipsy Glam Bag!

It's Glam Bag time again! I wasn't expecting my bag at all today, because I saw on Instagram that Ipsy posted about bags starting to be shipped out... Surprise Surprise right? NATURALLY I had to tear open the cute hot pink bubble mailer and see what goodies came for me this month! This month's theme is "The Look Of Love" in honour of Valentine's Day and I suppose because February is the month for love? *eye roll* My feelings for this greeting card holiday is better saved for a different post... LET'S GET TO THE GOOD STUFF! ha ha

I turned the bag inside out and personally thought it would have been cuter if it were designed this way instead...

Goodies for this month:

• Fresh Start Mask by Skyn Iceland
• J Cat Lashes (EL13)
• Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow & Base In One in Violette
• POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini Lipgloss in Fuchsia Freesia
• Zoya Nail Polish in Dot

I'm interested in trying this mask out, I feel like this winter has really done a number on my skin... Hopefully this is good and works some magic ha ha!

I'm not really a fan of falsies, I think they look beautiful but I'm pretty terrible at applying them...

The colour of this shadow is GORGEOUS! I'll have to try it alone and with a powder shadow! 

I am loving this bright colour!

I LOVE Zoya! I really love this pale pink colour as well, and I can't wait to use it!

Left is the eyeshadow and right is the lipgloss

That's all for this month's glam bag lovelies!

What goodies did you get??

xoxoxo

My Gaming Systems! (And Which One I Can't Live Without?)

I was requested to share my systems and which one is my favourite, so here it is! I wanted to make clear that I am by NO means bragging, I've been a gamer practically my entire life and I've been collecting games and systems for just as long. Most of what I have, I've had for many years and have taken exceptional care of, because I appreciate and treasure my games and systems. Which one do you think will be my favourite??  There are a couple that I used to have that I either gave away or sold, like my PS One, and my Gamecube and a Nintendo DS... I have a Virtual Boy around the house somewhere but I can't seem to find it either.. (I think it may have disappeared into the black hole that is our basement ha ha!) Also, I'm not huge on the PC game front, I am OBSESSED with the Sims, but that's pretty much it... Any way let's get to it! 

I'll start from oldest to newest:

• Game Boy Pocket (Although this one is not the original, the one I've had since I was about 8 I can't seem to find...)
• Super Nintendo
• Nintendo 64
• PS 2 (The one pictured is not my original, we've gotten a new slim one since then)
• Nintendo DS
• Wii
• PSP
• X Box
• Playstation 3
• Game Boy Color
• X Box 360
• Nintendo 3DS

If there were one system I would kill to have in my collection it would definitely be a Nintendo! I'd also like to get the Wii U and a PS 4 in the near future, but I usually wait until there's a game worthy of buying a new system, and Wii U has definitely piqued my interest! I only wish Nintendo had decided to make the new features of the Wii U compatible with the original Wii, rather than making a brand new system. I'm just glad you can play your old Wii games on the U.. PS 4 is starting to make some new and interesting games, but I feel as long as they continue to make PS 3 games, I'm in no hurry to go out and get the latest system...

My all time, take it to my grave, can't live without favourite system would have to be the Super Nintendo! I just have so many memories attached to it and there were so many amazing games released for it. Out of all the games and systems I had before I left home, the SNES is the only system I took with me in my carry on luggage when I moved to Canada! I was NOT about to part with it and wait for it to eventually get there ha ha ha! I'll have to do some favourite game posts for each platform, because I think it would be too hard for me to pick one favourite game... As far as hand held systems go, my favourite would have to be the 3DS. I'm glad they can play the original DS games as well as 3DS ones, or I'd probably have to write Nintendo an angry letter (not really but it would be pretty disappointing..) I feel like in general I'm a Nintendo girl and that probably will never change, because I started out with Nintendo and Mario so they will always have a very special place in my heart...

That's all for today lovelies!

If you game, what is your favourite system/game??

xoxoxo