One Year Later (ish)

Hi! It is scary to realize that though I've been somewhat active on Instagram, it has been nearly a year since I posted here. A year ago, I was still stressing out about planning a wedding. A year ago, I had never traveled overseas before. A year ago, passing my CFE for CPA sounded like a far-off goal. A year ago, I was still wondering if I could own a home in Vancouver's insane real estate market. And today: I'm married after being with this dude for almost 12 years; I'm itching to go back to Japan; I'm still scared as hell about writing my CFE, though I'm much closer to it; I'm writing this post from my office/makeup room in my condo.

Bunny swarm at Okunoshima, Hiroshima prefecture

And yet when I look at my second-to-last post, from February 2017, it echoes what I was planning to say here about the future of this blog!

It's still my creative outlet, and I still have so many post ideas always percolating. It is starting to shift more and more away from being strictly a beauty blog to a more personal, "lifestyle" blog, though. Things you'll expect to see this year: a series of wedding planning diaries/tips posts, more fashion nail art, and any other random stuff I manage to churn out. And one way or another, I'm clearing my photo backlog, dammit--it goes back to 2013! Whether that means just finally letting go and deleting stuff that isn't relevant or up to my standards anymore, or being a little kinder to myself and posting something without obsessing over it for hours. Although I might not be able to post so often, and (to fellow bloggers) I might not be able to keep up with my blog roll very well at times, I hope you'll keep reading. Thank you! ♥

Basically, a lot has changed for me in the past year, but I see that deep-down I'm still the perfectionist-procrastinator I've always been lolol. Those things up there are absolutely still true. I underestimated all the life things I had going on in 2017, and honestly once I fall off the blogging wagon, it's very hard to get back into the habit. I recently had to reformat my computer, and in the process of reviewing all my files, let go of a lot of old crappy photos in my backlog and was also re-invigorated by all the potential content I had, just waiting to be posted. I still need to work on being kinder to myself, putting myself and my content out there with more confidence, but I'll get there. Thank you again for reading. ♥

Yes, I still have wedding posts planned

Looking back & looking forward

February is a little late to be getting all retrospective about the year behind us, but by now I'm sure you are all well aware of the kind of posting schedule I keep >:D

And what better nail polish to include in a post about 2017 than my closest match to Pantone Greenery, 2017's colour of the year? Clinique Hula Skirt is from the 2013 summer collection and a close match to the grassy, yellow-toned Greenery. Buuuut from writing this post, I just found out Clinique no longer sells their nail polish line?? :( Which is a total shame, because I was going to talk about how this polish is so smooth, easy to use, and relatively long wearing. (The matching Clinique base/top coat sucks as a top coat and takes forever to dry though, hence all the smudges.)

2016 was a big year for me - it was the year I started an awesome, new, challenging job and took a big step towards my career goals; it was the year bf and I decided to get married, after being engaged for literally years; it was the year we finally moved in together. So you can see why things have been a little quieter around here lately. After not posting for a few months, I thought about whether I wanted to continue this blog. I started it 7 (!!!!) years ago on Tumblr as a creative outlet and have met so many wonderful people, had amazing opportunities, and made some lifelong friends.

Anyway, I decided I'm not ready to part with it yet! It's still my creative outlet, and I still have so many post ideas always percolating. It is starting to shift more and more away from being strictly a beauty blog to a more personal, "lifestyle" blog, though. Things you'll expect to see this year: a series of wedding planning diaries/tips posts, more fashion nail art, and any other random stuff I manage to churn out. And one way or another, I'm clearing my photo backlog, dammit--it goes back to 2013! Whether that means just finally letting go and deleting stuff that isn't relevant or up to my standards anymore, or being a little kinder to myself and posting something without obsessing over it for hours. Although I might not be able to post so often, and (to fellow bloggers) I might not be able to keep up with my blog roll very well at times, I hope you'll keep reading. Thank you! ♥

Empties #5

It's been a while since my last empties post (or any kind of post at all, sorry T___T)

I know some people do a monthly empties post, but I basically just throw stuff into an empty David's Tea bag, and when it starts overflowing then I'm like yep, time to post about empties lolol. Depending on what new press samples I'm getting, it can take a very long while for me to get through even some of my favourite products! If I had to sum up the products in this post, it'd be "staple products". These are products I'm reaching for on a daily basis; the bare necessities (tea, hand cream, mascara, lip balm, etc) that I need to get through a day.

Our lineup this time:

Eucerin Calming Creme - I used this up really quick when I got an eczema flareup on my hands. The colloidal oatmeal is calming on the skin, and the mineral oil helps lock in the moisture barrier. I would slather this all over my hands and then put on some white cotton gloves to really seal the deal. Since then, I've discovered Eucerin Eczema Care cream, which I prefer a little more--it seems more hydrating and soothing since it's formulated specifically for eczema.

Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies - in a previous post, I said I liked Nature's Bounty's non-gummy supplement but wanted to try the gummies next, because who can say no to gummies? Unfortunately I finished the bottle and felt I got better results in terms of reducing hair fallout with the non-gummy multivitamin. Of course I don't have hard evidence of this, I'm just guessing it was some kind of synergistic effect of the biotin + vitamins/minerals that the non-gummy version has.

Lorna Vanderhaeghe GLA Borage Oil - I had a chance conversation with a nutritionist/naturopath about my eczema last summer, and she recommended, among other things, taking this specific brand of borage oil. I ended up not really looking into her other suggestions because the borage oil pills worked so well for me. At the time, I had been frustrated that the eczema around my mouth was "inactive" (not cracked, severely dry, or weeping) but still dry and red no matter what I did. I was genuinely so surprised at the improvement and how the redness went away within a week or so of taking this.  I've experimented with other, less expensive brands of borage oil and still get good results too. If you also have eczema, I can't promise that you'll have similar results, but I'm so much happier with the condition of my eczema now.

Bridesmaid Makeup: product breakdown and a little advice

I haven't had a makeup post for a few weeks now and thought it was about time for another one. I've been fighting an eczema flare-up on my face (not a great look tbh), so I had to dig back into my backlog for this one.

Last year I had the special honour of being a part of MizzJ's wedding as a bridesmaid. Sheila and I opted to do our own makeup, and despite me being absolute shit at putting on falsies, I have to say that we made a pretty good looking wedding party ;)

I can't remember if this picture was taken before or after the bridal party serenaded the room with Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love To You...

This was my first time as a bridesmaid, so I was really worried about the possibility of the professional photos turning out badly because of my makeup, or my makeup looking out of place compared to the bride's professionally-done makeup. Thankfully I think I did an okay job. Of course I didn't have time to take photos for this post on the day of the wedding, so I recreated the (simple) look a few weeks later at home.

Us girls stayed hydrated and ate well for the days leading up to the wedding. We all planned activities with a lot of sun exposure like swimming and hiking for after the wedding, in case we got sunburned or tanned significantly. We also got the rowdy girls' night out stuff out of the way long before Hawaii, so we were bright-eyed and well-rested for the morning of the wedding.

Commodity Juicery

I recently took up an invitation from Commodity Juicery here in Vancouver for a menu tasting to check out their assortment of vegan juices, smoothies, and food options. The bright, cute little shop in the Riley Park neighbourhood on Fraser has seating for just 5-6 people--most of the space is taken up by their open prep/kitchen area, and a majorly impressive giant juicing machine.

I invited my brother and SIL along for company and to gather extra feedback. Although we all enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, none of us specifically seek to "eat healthy" or "clean", so I knew this would be an interesting experience.

The fridge was full of fresh lemons and limes, which I may or may not have co-opted to stage this photo :P

So why drink juice? I did a little research and came across what I feel are impartial articles (here, here, and here) i.e. not trying to sell you some brand of juicer or blender. TL;DR: it's a way to get vitamins and minerals, which some believe are absorbed more readily because your body doesn't need to break down solid stuff to get to it--this doesn't necessarily mean juices are healthier than eating whole foods though. You do, however, miss out on the dietary fibre and "filling" feeling that consuming fruits/veg whole or in a smoothie would provide. The other thing to be careful of is that juices made entirely from fruits have a lot of sugar in them. (Almost all of Commodity's juices contain a veg component, so no worries there!)

Juices are $10 CAD / 16 oz and all made in-house with the giant juicing machine. The machine uses cold-pressing (squishing all the juice out of fruits and veg) rather than blending and straining the juice out. It's explained to us that the heat generated from using centrifugal force can deteriorate some nutrients, which is why Commodity uses only cold-pressing techniques. Mylks ($12) are also available; the term seems to be a catch-all for all liquids made from nuts, such as cashews or almonds. I tried a sample of the almond mylk that's used in the Cheeky Monkey smoothie and was surprised at the very neutral taste.

Gift Guide: Men: personal care + extras

A foreword: I struggled a bit with putting together a "gift guide for men" because I didn't want to make a list of gendered suggestions of so-called "man things" like gadgets or gaming or sporty stuff. That's why this guide is shorter and mostly about personal care products that are tailored towards mens' specific skin care needs. Of course, if you are not a man and want to indulge in a fancy shaving brush or cologne marketed towards men, go ahead and do you. (If you don't want to gift your dude grooming stuff, see this post instead for gaming and home goods that anybody can enjoy.)

image sources: L'Occitane, Sephora, Nordstrom, Frank & Oak

Cologne is kind of a standard men's gift, I know. But this is one I really like, and is approved by bf too: L'Occitane Cèdre & Oranger Eau de Toilette ($85 CAD). (Side note: should I just call him by his name and new readers just assume it's my partner? Should he get some kind of code name? Mr. Judo perhaps? :P Anyway.) The citrusy and woody scent--owing to the main notes of orange and cedar wood, plus a little pine--is fresh and clean. It's a great everyday fragrance and easy to wear. FYI although it's not available online, I've also seen gift sets in store with the full-sized eau de toilette packaged with matching shaving cream and shower gel.

Fancy up his morning routine with the Balsem Grooming Essentials Kit ($85 CAD). It covers all the basics: moisturizer, shampoo, and shave cream in minimalist packaging, plus a handy dopp bag to keep it all in--perfect for toting along when your guy is staying over for the weekend. If you want to upgrade just one part of his routine, these items as well as hair styling products are available for $24-28 separately. The team at Balsem sent over a few items to try, and so far bf really likes the shaving cream, which he says is much better than his usual drugstore shaving cream.

Want to make his daily shave a luxurious ritual? Check out The Art of Shaving 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave Kit ($170.50 CAD), which has everything (except the razor) to do just that in four steps: pre-shave oil, shaving cream, a badger shaving brush, and after-shave balm. The "Starter Kit" version is cheaper, but the brush looks different--I suspect it's not as good quality as the Pure Badger Shaving Brush available in the kit above, and also sold separately at $85.25 CAD.

Foreo made a special version of their silicone facial brush in the Foreo LUNA For Men ($229 CAD). This man-specific model has "broader silicone touch-points" to tackle the thicker skin men often have. It promises a better shave in addition to leaving skin feeling cleaner and smoother than ever. Foreo LUNA is often thought of as a gentler Clarisonic, and would be a good option even for those with sensitive skin. I bought bf a konjac sponge that he likes a lot, and this would be a super-super-upgrade!

lululemon Kung Fu Pants ($98 CAD), guys. I am being so Vancouver for including this, but hear me out. There is no man or woman alive that doesn't love to throw on a pair of sweatpants once in a while (or always, no judgment here.) But, sweats are not all made alike. Kung Fu Pants are warm, comfy, well-made, and have an awesome name. Bonus: they come in regular and tall lengths, and lululemon does free hemming so that they are just the right length and won't look as sloppy or casual as regular baggy sweatpants. If it helps at all to ease the hurt of buying $100 sweatpants, keep in mind that their products are backed by a quality guarantee of something like two years, so they will take back any items with a quality defect. (Note: please don't be that person and abuse this policy. Abuse of a generous return policy is probably what ruined Sephora returns for the rest of us.)

American Eagle Touchpoint Gloves (~$17 CAD) is such a departure from the price point of the rest of the products in this guide, but would be a neat stocking stuffer. This is one of those gifts that I consider practical but cool: the touchpoint fingertips keep hands from freezing but still allow full use of a phone or tablet--ideal for when he's sitting in his car waiting for it to warm up, or standing in line for the bus in the cold. There are lots of options for touchpoint gloves available, but I picked these because American Eagle is in pretty much every mall in Canada and the US, and I have a pair of the women's version so I can attest that the touchpoint works perfectly. Reviews say the men's gloves run quite big, so if his hands are on the slender side, try the women's instead.


That's all for my gift guide series this Christmas! I hope it helped and gave you a few ideas. What are you getting for the men in your life? (For the record, I got bf a TriggerPoint GRID Foam Roller, as well as some tools and materials to nurture his newfound bracelet-making hobby. I can talk about this freely because he doesn't read my blog LOL.)

2015 Gift Guide:
Beauty
Home, Gaming, DIY Ideas
Men

Gift Guide: home, gaming, DIY ideas

With beauty out of the way, let's talk about other fun stuff. Again, this is mostly a giant list of things I personally think are pretty cool, so if you need gift ideas for any tea-loving, gaming, homebodies in your life, you're in the right place!

Tea lovers

Image sources: David's Tea, Bodum

Of course I'm going to have a whole section dedicated to tea.

David's Tea makes tea so fun and accessible whether you're young, old, new to tea, or a little further along. They have tonnnssss of gift sets right now for all sorts of tea lovers, but I managed to pick out a few favourites: the adorable Penguin Tea Party Nordic Mug ($23 CAD) and the Tea Of The Month kit ($26 CAD), which includes a nice assortment of teas.

To make more than a single serving of tea, I have a Bodum Chambord French Press ($55 CAD for 17oz), well-built and meant for coffee but works great for tea: tea leaves get plenty of room to open up and release flavour, and the mesh filters out even teeny, finicky tea leaves like rooibos. But I just found out about the Bodum Chambord Tea Pot ($40 CAD) and it looks really cool. You get the roominess of the French Press, but with the option to remove the tea leaves when it's done brewing.

Gift Guide: Beauty

Alternate title: "Angela browses the Sephora website and picks out things she would like" LOL.

I'm featuring a lot of gift sets here, because this is the time of year when brands put together tons of cute mini sizes and value gift sets to capture some of your holiday spending. All gift sets (with one exception) mentioned here contain products and sizes well worth the purchase price. I feel like I've covered a fairly broad price range ($12-80 CAD), so I hope this gives you some good gift ideas--either for the makeup lovers in your life, or for yourself!

image sources: Sephora, Scarlet & Julia

Bite Beauty Mix and Mingle Lip Duo ($17 CAD) is a great way to introduce someone to a brand known fantastic lip products, or to add to a fanatic's existing collection! Pictured above is the Pomegranate/Palomino duo. I bought one of these duos for myself last year (Violet/Palomino) and love it; I can throw it in my bag and get double the colour options in one small size.

Have a friend that loves cutesy accessories? Tony Moly Panda's Dream White Hand Cream ($12 CAD) is too adorable for words. Plus, with a formula that includes shea butter as second on the ingredients list (!!!), this hand cream is both super cute and super hydrating. I also love Tony Moly's delicious-smelling fruity hand creams, like this one in Peach ($12 CAD). Vancouverites, you can also find both of these at the Tony Moly store in Aberdeen Centre and the beauty section of H-Mart on Robson.

For something that's a little more elegant, L'Occitane's collection of 30 ml hand creams ($12 CAD) is an easy stocking stuffer choice. The shea butter-based hand creams come in a variety of scents to please anybody, from romantic florals (Pivoine Flora, Cherry Blossom) to bright and fresh (Citrus Verbena).

I often think of gifts as a way to treat people to things they would like, but wouldn't treat themselves to otherwise. Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Balm ($17 CAD) is a perfect example of indulgence. With an ingredients list that includes shea butter, beeswax, honey, rosehip seed oil, and sweet almond oil, keeping lips hydrated becomes a little bit more luxurious.

Annabelle TwistUp Lipstick Crayons ($9.95 CAD) are hydrating, come in a wide range of shades and coverages, and have an affordable drugstore pricetag, so what's not to love? They're a great option for the lipstick lover in your life--the reds are absolutely stunning, by the way. Check out my summary post for swatches and recommendations.

LUSH Golden Wonder Bath Bomb ($6.95 CAD) would be a special treat for people that love a nice soak. This holiday-only confection has a secret centre filled with stars, golden lustre, and turquoise colouring (the folks at LUSH Robson call it "mermaid water"!)

Fall: White Jeggings

So I've been sitting on this post for a while and realized I really need to get this out, before there's snow on the ground!

I've wanted white jeggings/skinny jeans for a while and scooped up a Mavi pair on sale. Finding white jeggings in my budget that fit me well has been tricky--the thin material + white means some pairs I've tried on are slightly see-through, but these Mavis are pretty opaque.

Originally I was planning to wear them with a pair of colour-blocked stilettos, but I couldn't find them! So I wore them with my Reebok Skyscape Harmony flats--they're like Toms, but with a neoprene-like upper, and more cushiony and durable if you ask me. This is the more "honest" representation of my style anyway, because I'm rarely in heels haha.

Fall Favourites Tag

I first saw this tag on Tracy's blog, but wasn't planning to do it because I just didn't have good answers lol. Then I saw that Larie had subbed out favourite fall movie (???) for favourite nail polish and I was like YES I am on board with this. All spellings of "favorite" have been Canadian-ized :P

1. Favourite fall candle
I seem to collect candles instead of burning them... (I'm bad at handling lighters and matches.) The closest "fall" candle I have is BBW's London Calling, a tea- and lemon-scented one that I obviously had to have when it came out last year.

2. Favourite fall lip colour

Sephora Rouge Cream in Crush / MAC Fashion Revival / Annabelle TwistUp in Royale / Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Shameless

The short answer: vampy, with a red-based purple lean to it. Long answer: Annabelle TwistUp in Royale was sent to me in a PR package at a time when my eczema was really bad and I was feeling down about the way my lips had become discoloured as a result of battling it. Royale totally worked with my blue-tinged lips and an obsession was born. Since then, I've picked up a few more (Sephora Crush and MAC Fashion Revival swatch almost identically, btw) but that's the one that got the ball rolling. The stronger blue tones in Revlon Shameless almost puts it out of my comfort zone, but I recently wore it all day (work and then to a media thing) and I felt boss.

From Summer

Right now I am probably doing some frantic last-minute packing before I'm off to Hawaii! Since we'll be very well into fall by the time I'm back, best to share some random snapshots about my summer now before the weather gets even cooler.

I went to the beach. I haven't been to any of the beaches at Stanley Park in years. I can't remember the last time I had my toes in the sand or waded in the ocean. It was a gorgeous day and the sea breeze made a disgustingly hot day way better.

Bf wearing my floppy white sun hat. I can almost hear myself badgering him about sun protection now.

This was a trail leading from our crappy parking spot to the beach. Looking back at the photos now makes me feel bad for not getting out and appreciating how beautiful Vancouver is.

Lazy summer wear

Hello, new favourite summer find: lululemon's Salty Swim dress is intended as a swim cover up, but I took one look at its low armholes and drapey, criss-cross back, and thought, yup I am going to live in you this summer. It was on sale when I picked it up and it's not available anymore though (sorry!)

It's so lightweight and breezy. I'm wearing an aerie bikini top underneath since the low cut of the arm holes and back exposes quite a bit of whatever I choose to wear underneath. It works out anyway; I wear bikini tops a lot in the summer instead of proper bras because sweating in a bra feels super gross.

This is my lazy person's summer outfit; I am a lazy person. Most of the time I don't even do up the buckles on the straps of my sandals--I just let them flap around while I walk. I'm going to Hawaii in October and will probably be throwing this dress/hat/bikini/bag on a lot, both on and off the beach.

By the way, tons of blackberries along that path in the park. A lot of them were out of reach (too high up/too deep into the prickly bushes) or guarded by spiders (it's a miracle I didn't run away crying). I am bad at picking blackberries and most of the ones I picked were sour D:

It's almost the end of August! Go to the beach, go swimming at the lake, do all the things you promised yourself you'd do before the weather cools down!

Japanese snack subscription: May Okashi Box

A few months ago I suddenly got the idea in my head that I really wanted to try a snack box subscription. Makeup subscription boxes are kinda meh for me--how many different ones are available now anyway? I'm very picky and struggle with the size of my stash as it is, so those kinds of subscriptions never held any allure for me. But food? Oh yes.

After some researching, I settled on the box from Okashi Connection ($22 USD). My reasons for going with the Okashi Box: free shipping because I hate paying for shipping; roughly a pound of snacks in every box; and a promised focus on snacks that are seasonal or hard to find outside Japan (being in Vancouver, we have access to a lot of Asian goodies, so I don't want just any green tea Pocky I can pick up at T&T.) FYI this post is totally not sponsored, nor was the box provided for consideration; I thought this would be a fun (pic-heavy!) break from beauty :>

The boxes are shipped out of Japan, so it took about 3 weeks for it to arrive. I roped MizzJ into splitting the box with me, so it took even longer for us to try everything since we needed a free day to get together. This is everything that came in the May box! They seem to usually put together a mix of savoury and sweet snacks. Not pictured, but the box came with a piece of paper that gives information about each snack so you're not going in totally blind, given that the packaging is all in Japanese.

Pear Shokorantan: kind of like toffee squares, with nuts, chocolate, and pear. Liked them and the pear taste was surprisingly distinct!

Game of Thrones Exhibit (2014)

Yesterday's Game of Thrones season premiere (don't tell me anything, I haven't watched it yet!) reminded me that I went to the touring exhibit last year when it came to Vancouver and that I still hadn't posted the photos yet. Dammit, brain! Okay well here they are, and it is rather pic-heavy. We waited seven hours to get into this exhibit. Yes, seven hours. So yeah I took a lot of pictures to make it worth my wait. The exhibit had real props and costumes from the series on display (although I remember that most of Cersei's wardrobe was missing because production needed it back for filming.) It was really amazing to see the level of detail and craftsmanship that went into every little thing. As someone that used to study fashion and garment construction, the costumes were especially incredible to see up close and in person. I usually don't post super large photos and then size down, but I've done this for some of the photos so that you can click through and see all the details.

Props from the other side of the wall: the Dragonglass daggers and Wildling gear

Costumes - left: Jon Snow / right: Ygitte

The wait to get into this exhibit was unbelievable. The way the system worked was to show up at the PNE and claim a pass that allowed you access to the exhibit at a certain time, starting from time slots early in the day to evening. Bf and I showed up at 10:30, half an hour after the PNE had opened, and were shocked to find that they were already handing out passes for 5pm. (Only half an hour later and we overheard that they were all out for the day!) We had parked at a friend's house which was a 30-40 min walk away, and decided it was pointless to walk back to the car, do something else, and then come back and walk over again. I had foolishly planned that seeing the exhibit would take only a few hours, but since we got such a late slot, we ended up hanging out at the PNE allllll damn day. Came back to the outside of the exhibit building at 3:30ish to line up outside, got in and then waited in another line inside. Once we got through that line and into the actual exhibit, there were lines for special parts of the exhibit, like the iron throne and the virtual reality feature. The whole thing was just a nesting doll of queuing up. I get that it's a really popular show but holy that was a long day.

And now, a special guest

Hello! It was all quiet last week here while I was busy cramming diligently studying for exams. I am still struggling with a massive sleep debt, so for today, enjoy some photos of bf's cat, Tuff Guy. I will have skin care and nail posts later this week :>

It's been a while since his last appearance on my blog. Bf and I were testing out our new-ish telephoto lens on him. He's such a handsome cat but clearly a little camera shy.

Despite how he looks in this photo, he is so sweet. He flops over readily for belly rubs and purrs like nobody's business. (Also, he seems to have figured out I spoil him with the milk more than everybody else. He beelines for me when he wants some.)

Steveston in January

One grey, late January afternoon, I set out with MizzJ and Sheila to photograph Steveston with my shiny new telephoto lens. Steveston is a small community in Metro Vancouver with a history as a fishing and canning village. The quaint, small village vibe and fresh seafood sold on the docks has made it pretty touristy, but overcast, cold weather on that day probably kept a lot of would-be visitors away.

Birthday dinner: FOTD + noms

Hello hello! I didn't mean to neglect posting for basically 2 weeks, but a breakout of eczema on my face and hands, plus a four-hour final exam to study for really put the blog low on the priority list. I'm back to share a FOTD and photos from my birthday dinner with bf last month.

I rarely do FOTDs anymore because it's such a hassle to edit out the eczema, but I'm so hairstyling-inept that when I curl my hair, it must be documented. I busted out all my favourite fancypants makeup for this look: Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Foundation in Sand Beige, Guerlain Météorites Perles in Teint Beige 02, and Becca Lowlight Sculpting Perfector. Brows are a combination of MAC eyeshadow in Concrete and Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown. I haven't worn eyeshadow in forever but I used my trusty MAC palette with Gleam and Naked Lunch, plus Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Intense Clove. Blush is Clinique Cheek Pop in Peach Pop, and the lipstick is Annabelle TwistUp in Red Carpet, a perfect bright red for celebrating.

Crafty: Excel gum donut

I love the Excel Gum commercials. The cartoon donut, garlic, onion, and coffee make bad breath look pretty adorable. My brother and I especially love the donut--he's just so derpy and sweet (literally and figuratively!) Since I've started getting more into crochet, I promised to crochet him the little guy.

Here's one of the commercials, and the one I used as a reference when deciding proportion and how to construct the arms and legs.

Here he is! He came out pretty well if I do say so myself, although the colours are a bit off because I just used the closest matching yarn I had stashed. The icing has photographed as this eye-searing neon magenta, but the colour is more like a brightened pink (Loops & Threads Impeccable in Arbor Rose).

Crafty: Squishy brioche cowl

Hello! Today's post is something a little bit different--it's my first crafty post on the blog, finally! I've been knitting off and on for about 8 years and wanted to share a recent project that is one of my prettiest to date. It's a rather pic-heavy post, hope you enjoy!

Right side / wrong side

This striped brioche cowl is one of the squishiest and coziest things I've ever made. I used Purl Bee's two-colour brioche cowl pattern as a guide, but brioche is a well-known stitch for making a gorgeously lush fabric with more squish and dimension that your standard stockinette stitch. The left side of the photo is the "right side" of the cowl, which features the cream yarn more prominently, but I actually prefer the "wrong side" (right photo) because it just looks so much more interesting.

Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards 2014 Vancouver Cocktail

Today's post is a real multitasker: nails, makeup, and outfit all rolled into one! Last month I attended a cocktail event celebrating the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) at the gorgeous Fairmont Pacific Rim. CAFA is all about recognizing achievements in the Canadian fashion industry, including stylists, designers, photographers, and models. Canada has so much fantastic talent; it was a great opportunity for me to do a little homework and learn about some homegrown designers I hadn't known before. I wanted to do a nail design inspired by the work of one of CAFA's 2014 winners and ended up really loving the Womenswear Designer of the Year, Jeremy Laing. Here's the inspiration, from the SS 2014 show:

source: Jeremy Laing website

I translated it into a white-on-beige windowpane look using Nails Inc Basil Street, OPI Alpine Snow, and nail tape. I had never done such an elaborate tape mani before and it was honestly a frigging pain in the ass. You can see I had a lot of trouble on the ring and middle fingers, where the tape took off some of my base colour Basil Street and/or left an uneven edge on the white polish I painted over top. I love that Basil Street is my perfect nude: it covers the whites (tips) of my nails and gives the illusion that I did the windowpane directly on top of my bare nails. I ended up being surprised by how cool and chic it looked, and I got a lot of compliments on it too. If you would like to try this look yourself, I have a tutorial coming soon! I started writing some quick tips on how to do this look here, but it became so long that I'm just going to turn it into a separate post .__."