Pinterest: Beyond Pinning.

Hello!

Many of you likely have a Pinterest account.  If you do not, I highly suggest that you get one! My friend Sarah introduced me to Pinterest about a year ago.  Pinterest is a photo/website sharing social media site that allows users to "pin" or save images and save them onto "boards".  These "boards" can be organized based on various themes.  Common themes include things such as, "wedding ideas", "fitness ideas", "recipes to try", and "fashion".  Or my personal favourite, "cats". Everyone needs a cats board.  The pins that are saved to each board are usually an image and if you click on the image, it will bring you to the original location of the pin.  Pinterest serves as your own personal library of ideas and web pages to refer to in the future, without saving random files all over your computer. It is kind of hard to explain and its true awesomeness is not captured by my above description. Go now! Sign up! 

My purpose for today's blog post is not to advertise Pinterest. I do love Pinterest, but what I really want to talk about is my Pinterest behaviour.  I have spent countless hours (possibly even more time than Facebook) on Pinterest pinning over 800 pins onto my themed boards.  I think "wow" what a great idea. I'll totally do that!!! THEN I NEVER DO IT. This is my Pinterest behaviour. I assume this Pinterest behaviour is likely common, so I thought I would make a goal to actually do three things I have pinned on my Pinterest account.  I am starting with a small number to ensure my initial goal is achievable and to encourage myself to do more things I've pinned.  Hopefully this will inspire fellow Pinterest users to actually do some of the things you have pinned!

Number 1: I have a board titled "yummy treats". I have yet to make any of the delicious recipes I have pinned.  In terms of my waistline, this is probably good behaviour....but it reflects how useless Pinterest is and how much time I have wasted if I don't actually do the things I pin!

I WILL MAKE ONE RECIPE FROM MY "YUMMY TREATS" BOARD.

Recipe Chosen: Cherry Salad

My mom makes a similar version of this salad, but I thought I would see how this one compares.  I also chose a fairly fool proof recipe.  My reason for this is because I did not want to try something really difficult, fail and then resent Pinterest for the rest of my days... This salad uses cherry pie filing, mini marshmallows, cool whip, crushed pineapple and other goodness.

Number 2: I have a board called "Makeup Looks".  I have an astonishing amount of pins and as readers will know, am an avid makeup collector.  I wear makeup on a daily basis and love to experiment with different looks.  So why haven't I done any of the looks I've pinned? I have no idea! BAD PINTEREST BEHAVIOUR I TELL YA!

I WILL RECREATE ONE LOOK FROM MY "MAKEUP LOOKS" BOARD.

Look Chosen: Vibrant Eye Look Using Urban Decay Vice Palette

I like this look because it is bold, but very pretty and feminine.  I am also intrigued by this look because it uses eyeshadows from the Urban Decay Vice Palette.  I recently purchased this palette from Sephora.com and have yet to use the very bright blue included in the palette and have been unsure how to use it.  This look uses the colour as a base to achieve the rich purpley blue colour on the lid.  I also love how this look makes brown eyes pop (I have brown eyes).  I also like looks like these because it shows us that blue eyeshadow can be classy and pretty and doesn't have to make us look like extras in an 80s workout video.

Number 3: I WILL MAKE A CRAFT FROM MY "VALENTINE'S DAY" BOARD.

Craft Chosen: Footprint Valentine

How cute is this??? During Valentine's Day, I will be doing a practicum in a grade 3 class.  I have been looking for good Valentine's day themed activities and I think students would LOVE this.  I will have to carefully plan out the logistics of what paint to use in the classroom and the proper protocol for notifying parents that they will be putting paint on their feet! It will likely make a huge mess in the classroom, but huge messes make for the best art lessons! I think this would be a great Valentine that my students could give to their parents or a friend.  I would like to make my own version of it, so that I have a sample for students to refer to.

So there you have it! The three things I plan to actually do from Pinterest. What is the timeframe of this challenge you ask? Oh you didn't ask that? Well I'm telling you anyway. The time frame will be my Xmas holiday! I have until January 3rd to complete these pins and report the results on this blog.  I've given myself a couple of weeks because I will be away for a few days during the holidays.  Wish me luck!

Smooth as a Baby's Bottom.

Hello! Long time no post! I won't bore you with a list of excuses for my absence. School was busy this semester...nuff said. I am now on Christmas holidays and am happy to be back to blogging. The topic of this post is smooth, chapped free lips! For an unpleasant period of around 4 months, I endured very painful, dry, chapped, flaking lips! The last time I experienced this way waaaaaay back- many many winters ago! I noticed it when I arrived home from visiting my sister in Ontario.  I thought it was a result of the airplane ride, or possibly the use of a product I may have been allergic to. When I returned home, however, the lip condition did not go away. I tried literally everything I could think of! It was an unpleasant time because I love lip gloss and lipstick and nearly every product I owned could not be used because my lips were literally peeling off my face.


Here is a photo showing how red and swollen my lips were.  A few months ago, they were even so dry that they were cracking and bleeding. This particular photo was taken on a slightly less awful day, but still gives you the idea of what I was experiencing.

I consulted health professionals. The very helpful pharmacists told me to buy lip balms. Well heck! Those people and their fancy book learnin' are so gosh darn smart! I never woulda thunk that!....please. So left to my own devices, I tried the following products:

 Body Shop Lip Butter: This used to moisturize my lips, but during this lip condition it did not help. It clung to the flakes on my lips and left a really gross residue.

EOS Lip Balm: This is sad for me to write about because I love the shape and scents of these cute lip balms.  I used to love wearing these. During the past four months these did not provide my lips moisture and even caused them to feel even drier! These left my mouth feeling very sore and red.  Even now that my lips have healed and are nearly back to their original condition, these still leave my lips feeling dry.

Nivea Lip Balm: This lip balm would work for a very brief amount of time.  It would provide some relief and would keep my lips feeling somewhat moist for about half an hour.  Then it would be absorbed and my lips would be in pain again.  It did not reduce the hideous red ring around my lips either.

 Polysporin Daily Lip Care: Getting more desperate, I purchased this lip balm.  I bet during normal circumstances, this lip balm would be lovely. It is VERY creamy. It melts on your lips.  The tube does not last very long because it melts rather quickly. Do not leave this one in your car or in your pocket for a long time! It provided temporary relief but absorbed into my lips very quickly.  It did not heal the chapped lips. Regular polysporin also did not work...if you were wondering.

Hydrocortisone Cream: My sister recommended that I try this.  It can be used for minor skin irritations and skin allergies.  I thought this was my saviour! It reduced the redness, helped with the dry flakes, helped the swelling go down and provided some moisture.  This worked for a long time. Then, about a month ago it seemed as though my lips had become immune to this cream and it stopped working. It would help with the flakes and the redness, but my skin felt very tight and sore after it had been applied.

 Burt's Bees Lip Balm: Provided minor relief, much like the Nivea lip products.

Vaseline Moisturizer: Yep. I tried stuff that wasn't even for my lips! This provided temporary relief, but did not provide moisture as its name indicates. Likely because it isn't intended for your lips...sigh.

Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment: Can I start off by saying how much I loathe the word "ointment"? Despite having to purchase something labelled ointment, this was fantastic! (for a long time). It was minty and really helped with the pain, dry skin and reduced the swelling. I was ecstatic and thought I had found my cure! It, like some of the other products that appeared to work, stopped working after long use.

Dejected and tired of what the drugstores had to offer, I visited Sephora.com and read some reviews of different lip care products.  I quickly got it in my mind that more $$$ must equal better results! I came across the lip scrub section and many reviews of the Fresh Lip Scrub were very positive.  Many of the reviews indicated that it helped exfoliate and remove dry skin, and helped provide moisture.  I was intrigued by this product.  I knew that an exfoliator would be good to get rid of the flakes, but I was unsure if I would find a lip scrub that would also provide the moisture my chapped lips need.  I also feared that an exfoliator might irritate my very sore lips further.  I went ahead and purchased the Fresh lip scrub.  It was roughly $30.  I was going to be REALLY pissed if this didn't work since $30 is a lot of $$$ for a lip product.

As it indicates on the lip scrub, it gently exfoliates and conditions! This product did get rid of the dry skin and left my lips feeling moist.  It did not irritate my lips and left my lips feeling soft and pain free! A little of this product goes a very long way! It took me a long time to place the smell.  I finally figured it out though.  It smells like iced tea mix.  I am certain that this product could probably be made at home for a fraction of the cost, but I have found something that works for me and do not want to mess with it!  I have been using this for a few weeks and have been very impressed.  I used it about every other day.  I will probably use it less once my lips return to their original condition.

My other saviour is none other than Carmex Lip Balm.

The packaging isn't flashy and the scent is boring (nothing appealing like most fruity lip balms).  Carmex lip balms kind of remind me of the type of lip balms you would find on your grandma's vanity. There is a reason Carmex is so popular and why it has been around so long. Paired with my lip scrub, it does the job! This keeps my lips moist for a long time and its slightly minty feel is very soothing.  It is the perfect consistency.  It has a smooth texture, but isn't so moist that it simply evaporates when applied to the lips.  I have used up nearly half of the tin over the past month.  I will be re-purchasing this once it is empty!

Below is a photo taken today.  As you will see, my lips are looking much better! I haven't had the dreaded red ring around my lips and they have not flaked in weeks. I am feeling much more confident and am pain free! So, if you suffer from dry, chapped lips, my advice is to try many products! Eventually, you will find your perfect cure.  While this experiment was costly due to the amount of products I tried, I do not feel it was wasted as every one of the products was used up in its entirety.  I went through a lot of lip balm! What caused this lip tantrum? No idea...stress? allergy? 

Thanks for visiting! Happy holidays! xoxox

Tassimo: A Review

I purchased a Tassimo Single Cup Home Brewing System just under two weeks ago. My model is known as the Tassimo-T20 which I believe is the most basic model and has the lowest price tag. I've seen these sold from $70- $100. I think this model was slighty more (In the $150 range) when it first came out. I purchased mine from Real Canadian Superstore for $80 (I was choked because the day before I purchased it, it was on sale for $70).

Here is the box that it came in. It didn't come with anything except for the machine itself and some user guides with basic instructions and safety info in them. I felt that for $80, it should've came with some freebie t-discs (T-discs are the discs that you put into the machine that tell it what to make). It does come with a product code on the bottom of the machine which you can register online to receive 2 free packages. I have yet to do that because I'm lazy and want free stuff NOW. I do need to remember to do that though...

This is the machine outside of the box. Pay no attention to the glass, pieces of packaging from the Tassimo box and butter knife covered in margarine :) It is pretty compact and smaller than most coffee machines. It does not take up much counter space at all which is great!  This model is very simple to use and has very few buttons to contend with. It has a power on/off switch and a button which you press when you want it to brew something, or when you want the machine to give you more water in your cup after something has brewed. This is a nice feature, particulary when brewing drinks that use strong espresso.  I find it very simple to use and my only complaints about the machine are very minor.

Pros:
- easy to use
- doesn't take up much space
- easy to clean
- I enjoy that it only makes one cup at a time
- no coffee grounds!
- makes specialty drinks (lattes, hot chocolate, macchiatos, etc)
- T-discs are easy to store, do not need to be refrigerated and are available in most chain stores
- I have enjoyed the taste of all of the t-discs I have tried. Some I like more than others, but I have yet to try a truly yucky one! :)
- It isn't extremely noisey and it brews a cup of coffee (even if there is a two step process in about two minutes).

Cons
-The t-discs are PRICEY. The t-disc packages usually make 8 cups of coffee and cost about $6-$12 a package (depending on the type of t-disc). However, it works out to being about 1-1.50 a cup and that is a lot cheaper than buying specialty drinks at Starbucks!
- There isn't a huge selection of t-discs to choose from (at least not in my stores). I have noticed that there are some on the Tassimo website which my stores do not appear to carry. I hope more options are introduced in the Tassimo line in the coming year(s).
- I find that sometimes the latte or steamed milk t-discs tend to be a bit messy when removing them from the t-disc tray. Clean-up simply requires a quick wipe and isn't a huge deal, but sometimes I have had hot milk drip out of the t-disc onto my skin.

As you see, I have identified many more pros than cons. So far, I really enjoy the Tassimo! I like that it is basically a robot barista. It is a pretty neat piece of technology. Simply place in your desired t-disc and the machine reads the barcode on the t-disc. The barcode tells the machine what type of drink is to be made and what water levels it requires. Pretty nifty!

I thought I would share my thoughts on the specific t-discs that I have tried.

These are the first four that I bought when I purchased the Tassimo machine. I picked up Cadbury Chocolate Milk (2 step process; chocolate syrup and steamed milk), Nabob French Vanilla (one step process), Caramel Macchiato (two step process; caramel espresso and latte milk), and Americano coffee (one step process).

I have also tried (but do not have a photo of):
-Skinny Latte (two step process; espresso and skim milk)
- cappucino (two step process; espresso and cappucino milk)
- Chai Tea Latte (two step process; milk and chai tea)

Cadbury Chocolate Milk :I enjoyed this one but probably wouldn't purchase again. It has a great true hot cocoa taste and is much less artificial tasting than most hot cocoa powders. At $7 it is pretty pricey to be a regular purchase when a large tin of hot cocoa powder can be purchased for a fraction of that cost. It is nice for a treat though.

Caramel Macchiato: I LOVE this one and would definitely re-purchase. You can really taste the caramel flavouring and it is nice and frothy and just yumtastic! It is very similar to the caramel macchiato that you would purchase at Starbucks.

Nabob French Vanilla: This is a nice rich cup of coffee with a wonderful french vanilla taste to it. Would definitely repurchase.

Americano: I enjoyed this one, but it is very potent. I probably wouldn't repurchase it. I did enjoy the forthy topping it makes though!

Skinny latte: Love this and would definitely repurchase. This drink is only 35 calories and tastes very similar to Starbucks.

Cappucino: This was lovely, but I didn't really notice much of a difference between it and the latte. For that reason, I probably wouldn't purchase again because my store didn't have a skinny cappucino version. I'd rather just buy the latte package and have the option of skim milk.

Chai Tea Latte: This is by far my favorite. Lovely flavour and sooo yummy!! I have purchased this one twice as both me and my boyfriend enjoy this one. We have both picked it as our favourite so far!

Overall, I really enjoy this machine and it has made early mornings slightly more tolerable!

Ontario Fashion Haul!

My previous post featured a few things that I picked up during my Ontario trip that were beauty related. Now I would like to dedicate a post to the clothing that I picked up. I tried to choose things that were unlike anything that I already have in my closet and I tried to pick things that I felt were unique and not in the stores around where I live. I did not come back with piles and piles of items and this was actually a relief. I had JUST done all the de-cluttering and did not want to have an over-run closet again.

This first top is a flowy poncho style top that I got from Forever 21. I LOVED the back detailing, the mint colour and the flowy material. This is really comfortable, but still chic!

Here is a close-up of the top. I can't remember exactly how much I paid for this. I believe it was in the $10-13 range.

Next up is my new polka dot dress. This is a cotton dress. This was purchased at Forever 21 as well for about $15. This is SO comfy and stretchy. I paired this with high heels, a cardigan and leggings for my work outfit today.

This is a cardigan from Old Navy which I love. This was purchased for $22. It is really soft, flattering and I love the coral/orange colour.

Here is a close up of the cardigan to give you a better idea of the colour. I have received compliments on this cardigan and think it is very appropriate for my upcoming teaching practicum.

Next is a plain black tee from H&M. I purchased this on sale for $7!! I love picking up basics and I enjoyed this black tee's elegant lace detailing at the top of the shirt and the cute pocket on the chest. I think the details of this shirt make the basic black tee a bit more dressy and interesting.

Here is a closer look at this top.

Next is one of my favourite items that I purchased. This is a top from H&M that was also only $7. I love the bird print. This top is really flowy and so comfy!

A closer look at my beloved bird top!

I loved this top the moment I laid eyes on it. It is a beautiful pink lace and very flattering. I love that this cardigan is long and a baggier fit, but is still dressy enough for teaching. This was purchased at Forever 21 for about $15.

 

 

This isn't anything super exciting, but I loved the colour and I love good layering pieces. This was purchased at Forever 21 for about $8.

 

 

This was my favorite purchase of the entire trip (well aside from my first bowl of icecream at Baskin Robins :)) This lululemon scuba hoodie was purchased for $110 at Lululemon. I absolutely LOVE it. It fits beautifully and is even more comfy than the first Lulu hoodie I purchased a couple years ago. The newer Lulu hoodies are longer, have an even softer interior and are just overall fabulous. This was my most pricey purchase of the trip, but well worth it! I'm actually secretly wishing summer away so that I can bust this out for fall weather.

 

So you've now taken a look at my fashion haul and my messy bedroom. Hope you enjoyed!

 

xoxoxo

 

Nicole

Ontario Beauty Haul!

I am back in BC after spending a week in Ontario with my sister and brother in law. I had such a wonderful time and I feel much more positive and ready to take on the rest of August and the approaching school year. It was great to spend some quality girl time with my sister.  I am pretty bummed it is all over though. I had looked forward to the trip for so long and now it is all over like Christmas. At least I have a tonne of trip photos to look through and great new beauty products to play with! As I did buy quite a few items, I have decided to make one blog post for beauty items and a separate post for fashion items.

Surprisingly, I only bought 5 beauty items. I tried to only buy things I really loved on this trip as I have been on a major de-cluttering kick. I also knew that I would have to get rid of one beauty item for every item purchased (I have been good about keeping up with this- I've talked about this in previous posts).  I visited Sephora and MAC at Eaton Centre in Toronto and thoroughly enjoyed both stores. I had never visited a MAC or Sephora in person before as there are no MAC's or Sephoras anywhere near me.

So what did I buy? Let's start with Sephora.

If you recall my shopping list, I included Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. I did end up picking it up in the shade "black". This is a tiny mascara that has a tiny wand. So far I've really been enjoying this for both my top and bottom lashes.

This was also on my shopping list: The Urban Decay Smoked Palette! Both my sister and I purchased this palette. It was one of the things I was most excited to purchase.

The palette comes with a sample of Urban Decay Primer Potion and a Look Book. This look book has several eyeshadow looks with detailed steps of how to achieve the look. Usually the looks that come with palettes are pretty simple and boring, but these I may actually test out.

Here are the shades! Super pretty, pigmented and so easy to blend! I have only used this palette once so far and I am already impressed. My sister has been enjoying hers as well.

This is the look I came up with today using the Smoked Palette. I am happy with how the look turned out :)
That was everything I picked up from Sephora..On to MAC...

This is an amplified cream lipstick in Vegas Volt! I LOVE this colour. It is a bright coral/orange/pink. It looks fantastic on and is moisturizing and long wearing! This was also on my shopping list. I now own a MAC lipstick and am super thrilled about it!

Next up is this Mineralize Skin Finish in "Earthshine". I had wanted to pick up a MSF, but I didn't know what shade. I chose this because it is soooo stunning! It is a plum with gold and pink. Super unique and unlike anything I have. I wanted this to wear as a blush/highlighter. Upon swatching it, I have discovered that it can also be used as an eyeshadow. Honestly, this MSF is just fun to stare at!

Finally, I picked up this shadow in "Parfait Amour". I loved this shade when I swatched it. It wasn't on my shopping list, but it was a must-have when I saw it. It is a purple/pink/blue tri-chrome. I've heard people say duo chrome, but never tri chrome...if it isn't a term, it is now! I love how this shade looks so different depending on how the light is hitting it. It looks pretty on the eyes and makes my brown eyes pop! Very pleased with it.

So that is the five items I picked up! I'm very pleased with the items and stayed within my beauty budget for the trip.  As I have stated in previous posts, every time I purchase a beauty product, I must discard something from my collection. This is to ensure that my collection does not grow out of control and to ensure that I am actually using everything.

So what did I throw away? Sadly, it was really easy to pick things so that means I still have way too much crap laying around.

I really have no excuse for keeping this...AT ALL. The formula of this concealer palette is just bizarre. It is REALLY greasy. I think I've only attempted to use this once. Most of the colours do not suit my skin tone and I've never been a fan of the whole green/yellow concealer craze. So honestly, only one of these is even remotely useful shade-wise. The little brush is useless...really hard and scratchy. This concealer kit is called "Nobody's Perfect Concealer Palette" and is by Hard Candy. I was suckered in with the cute packaging...don't judge.

I am pretty sad to see this go actually. This is a Revlon eyeshadow trio. The shades are really quite pretty and faily pigmented. I used this A LOT back in the day. You will see that I have created large dents in the shadows. There isn't anything majorly wrong with this, but I have moved on to other things and no longer use it. I also find it difficult to use the gold and the plum because they are so narrow. These have been discontinued, but they were decent quality. I haven't used it for years and it needs to go.

This I purchased not that long ago. I think about a year ago. It is a quad from Claire's. The pigmentation is actually quite nice. I never use it though and have shades similar to these in other things. I also do not like how the Claire's packaging appears. It looks cheap.

This is a Revlon Molten Metal liquid eyeshadow. I've had it since grade 11. I don't even need to explain why it needs to go.

There is nothing wrong with this product at all. It was actually quite a nice foundation for the price. Two reasons why I am throwing this away. A: The shade is slightly too light for me. I probably should have bought one shade darker. B: Most importantly...I DO NOT WEAR FOUNDATION. WHY DO I HAVE THIS? It is such a shame to throw away this much product, but there is no sense keeping something I do not use.

So there it is folks. That is what I picked up in Toronto in terms of beauty related items. Like I said, I will be posting a fashion haul shortly. I got everything that was on my shopping list for beauty products. I hope you enjoyed the haul!

Xoxoxo

Nicole

Beauty Addict Packin' Light

I'm leaving for my Ontario trip in one week! Hard to believe how quickly July has gone by. I have begun to think about what I want to pack for my trip. Partly to save myself some stress the night before I leave and partly because I truly enjoy picking out my beauty products that I will bring along with me. It helps me to see what products I truly love and consider to be "can't leave without" products.  My goal for packing is to pack REALLY light. I'm only bringing a purse and one large suitcase. I want to keep the suitcase fairly empty so that I have lots of room for whatever I end up buying.

 All of my makeup fits into this Quo bag that I received as a gift for purchasing quo brushes at Shoppers Drug Mart. I have used this bag quite a lot since I've received it. I like how compact it is and I like that it is both long enough and wide enough to fit most makeup products. For some weekend trips to my hometown this has also doubled as a brush holder since it is so long enough for brushes. For this trip, I will be using my Sigma Dry and Shape to hold my brushes. I do not have them included in this blog as they are dirty and need to be washed before I leave.

This is a side profile of the makeup carrying case. As you will see, it hardly takes up any space. In yet, it is holding quite a lot of stuff!

See? It holds a lot of stuff. I also told myself that this actually had to be able to close. I had to downsize and take out a few items the first time I attempted picking out my items.

So what all is in the bag? First up: my face products. I must be the lightest packer among beauty addicts when it comes to face products. I don't wear foundation so that didn't need to be packed. I also didn't want to bring tonnes of face products because it is very hot and humid in Ontario and I don't want makeup melting off my face. I have been wearing minimal makeup this summer as I have a bit more colour on my face from the sun. Pictured here I have my Garnier Anti Dark Circle Roller. I love this and can't be anywhere without it. It is one of the few things that doesn't fall into the fine lines under my eyes. It covers my dark circles (mine aren't severe) and makes me look slightly more awake. I also have my NYX concealer in a jar for blemishes. Finally, I have my Maybelline face powder which I sometimes use as a powder foundation. I also use it to reduce the redness around my nose and to take care of any oil issues. I really love this powder and have had it for ages. It is one of the few face powders that doesn't make my skin look powdery.

I'm only bringing two blushes. This one is from Essence Cosmetics and is in the shade "Secret It Girl". I chose this peach blush because I find that peach blushes go with nearly any eye look. I wanted to bring blushes that were versatile to cut down on the number of things I needed to pack.

This is my Hard Candy Baked Blush in "honeymoon". I love this blush and wear it often. It also doubles as a highlighter because it is quite shimmery. This product can also be used on the eyes as a highlight as well. I love multi-use products!

On to eye stuff. This is a sample size of Urban Decay Primer Potion that came with my Book of Shadows IV. I am determined to use up all of my sample primers.  I  used up the one that my sister game me ages ago and I used up another one that came with my Naked palette. Until I opened this one, I had been using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Palladio Herbal Eyeshadow Primer and an ELF Primer. Normally I would argue that all of these primers perform about the same, but I have noticed that Urban Decay is the clear winner in the summer time. I've noticed my makeup has been holding up a lot better in the hot weather since opening this tube.

 For eyeliners I'm bringing two Urban Decay 24/7 liners. These were part of a kit which came with 5 deluxe sample size liners. They are about half the size of a regular liner. I have used these two shades a lot, so they have been sharpened quite a few times. One liner is a black called "zero" and the other is a rich dark brown called "demolition". I find these liners to be pretty smudge proof and long wearing. They are also ultra creamy and easy to use on the water line.

This is a re-discovered favourite. Lisa gave me this mascara as part of a makeup swap that we did last year.  (Yes I keep makeup forever). This is the Wet n Wild Mega Plump mascara in "black". I had used it a few times and enjoyed it and then stashed it away because I'd bought other mascaras. I have been using this mascara all of July and LOVE it. I think it is one of those mascaras that is just average upon first use and then becomes wonderful as the formula dries a bit. This one also doesn't flake or smear on me. I have tried to pick items that will withstand hot, humid weather.

On to eyeshadows. I can't leave anywhere without my favourite two eyeshadows of all time: MAC Phloof (best inner corner colour EVER...no seriously. If you don't have this you need it.) and Satin Taupe (best taupe ever invented and can be worn so many different ways. It was an xmas gift from Lisa).

For a cream shadow, I have chosen Tarte Emphaseyes Clay Shadow Stick in "champagne". These shadow sticks are seriously amazing and I NEVER use them. I bought a set of 6 of these for a really great price from QVC last year. I don't know why I never use them. They are long wearing, do not crease and come in really beautiful shades. This week I am going to incorporate them into some looks and plan to use this one while on my trip. I wanted to bring a few other colours, but some of the colour families were similar to things I had already packed.

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadows. I now consider these must-haves at all times as I've used them a lot this summer. The shades I've chosen to bring are "Hour-glass Beige" (pretty beige/champagne colour), "Burning Black" (gorgeous black/burgundy shade), "Sahara Treasure" (a nice golden taupe- you can never leave the house with less than five taupes), and "Flashback Silver" (a beautiful silver with a lilac undertone).

 For palettes, I have chosen two Sleek Cosmetics palettes. I love these because they are SO compact and hold 12 colours each. This one is in "Au Naturelle". I love the neutral colour scheme here. I have been wearing a lot more neutrals these days. I'm not sure if it is because my makeup tastes are changing or if I find neutrals to make for quicker eye looks in the mornings when I have very little time.

The second Sleek Palette is the "Storm" Palette. This has mainly neutrals again, as well as a few colours. I may only take one of these palettes, I haven't decided.

For lip products I am going very minimal. I have chosen a L'oreal Colour Riche Balm in "Caring Coral". I have chosen this because peachy coral lips tend to go with many eye looks. This colour is also very sheer, moisturizing and has SPF 15.  I have chosen a Revlon Lip Butter in "Cupcake", which is a bright blue-based pink.  Finally, I have a Smashbox lip gloss in "Radiant". I love layering this gloss over "Cupcake". It has been one of my favourite lip combos this summer. Usually I just wear one lip product, but I really love this combination.

That is all of the makeup products I will be taking on my trip. The only makeup related items that can't fit in this bag are my makeup remover wipes and my brushes.

Next I thought I'd start thinking about toiletries. I figured I would have to buy a few travel sized items for this journey. I was ecstatic when I found this kit at Walmart. All of these items (minus the hand sanitiser- I added that in) were $4.98. This was a much cheaper option than buying the items separately. This bag is very compact and contains nearly everything I need.

It contains a razor. A decent one too! This is a schick razor with four blades and smells like raspberries :). It should be perfect for the week.

It contains a fold up toothbrush. This is pretty neat and saves a lot of space. The pink portion comes off and can be snapped on the other side to be the handle of the toothbrush. The bristles are really soft too.

This is the only product I didn't really need but I'm kind of weird about breaking up sets. This is just a moisturizer. I do tend to get dry feet though so this will be nice to have on hand if I need it.

This is a vanilla body wash. Such a great little compact size and I love vanilla scents. I'm happy that I won't have to lug around a large body wash.

A tiny toothpaste. I didn't want to have to buy another tube and this amount is perfect. I hope it tastes ok! I can't raid my own stash in the bathroom or my boyfriend will have nothing to use while I'm away.

A half sized deodorant! Love the scent of this and this particular brand is one I buy often anyway. This size, again, saves space!

Small shampoo and conditioner. These are slightly bigger than you find in a hotel room. The scent is really nice and I'm excited to try out dove hair care products. I am happy that I do not have to lug around big shampoo bottles.

This hand sanitiser was not in the kit. I added it. It smells great and I think you should always have hand sanitiser where ever you go. Who knows what germs Ontario has :)  I may put that in my purse since it is under 100ml.

I highly recommend purchasing one of these kits. I've seen that at Walmart and Superstore here in Canada.  I have noticed there are different versions and there are usually some options for different scents and products. This basically has everything I need for toiletries except I need to bring floss, sunscreen, a heat protectant spray for my hair and my Moroccan oil for my hair.

Together, these two small bags contain all of my makeup and nearly all of my toiletries.  I think I've done pretty well for packing light so far!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and that I'm not the only one that is this neurotic about packing. I hope this may have given you some ideas for ways to pack light.

Until next time...

xoxox

Nicole