Laziness

Hello.... long time no see hahaha! 

I felt like doing a sort of pointless post today; inspired by my sheer excitement for a package that will be arriving in the coming weeks. 

Are you ready?!?!

I have been wanting to purchase new makeup brushes for quite some time...in particular eye makeup brushes. My boyfriend asked me why I was so excited and I explained it was like an artist getting excited for new paint brushes. I am not, by any means, a makeup artist, but I do like messing around with makeup and watching copious amounts of tutorials on youtube. As an aside, I have been spending way too much on sephora.com.... post-university me has been enjoying online shopping :). After reading many reviews I decided to purchase some Zoeva brushes. I had some serious issues actually paying for them, I am not sure why Paypal kept glitching out. After 3 attempts I was finally able to pay for the brushes and they should hopefully be shipping in the next few days. 

If i am feeling like i am in a non-lazy mood I will hopefully do a post on which brushes I purchased and review them (I am no expert you have been forewarned haha). I should probably explain what has been happening in my life recently. As you know, or I think you should know, I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Genetics this past May and since then I have been serving at a local pub to save up for grad school. In addition to my serving job, I have been trying to gain counselling experience through volunteering, this is a requirement for the program I am hoping to get into this coming fall. I have been feeling really anxious lately over the entire application process and over the fear of not actually getting in. As a result of this, the last thing I have wanted to do is to write. But I do love sharing my thoughts, it is more an issue of finding the time to sit and actually type something up. 

Anyways that is all for now... you may find me posting more and more about my experiences applying for grad school in the coming months as that will be an all consuming force in my life. On a positive note, how excited are you for fall? It is my all time favourite season! A season full of layers, warm wooly sweaters and boots, what's not to love? 

Have a wonderful day friends

-A

Worst....Blogger....Ever.

Hey Beautiful people!

Sorry I have been MIA...I opted to enrol in another class post-grad to increase my chances of getting into a masters. This has completely consumed my life along with serving/being a research assistant. September should hopefully be a bit more relaxing... I will be applying for programs, back down to one job and doing a bit of volunteering on the side.

Happy July and see you in a month! .... Fingers crossed I do well in this class ;)

xx A

A quick change

I get bored of things so easily...so if you notice my blog template etc. changing all the time that's why haha. I haven't been happy with my blog layout, but i'm still new to blogger so I sort of fiddle with it every time i come on in hopes I'll be happy with one of my changes. This one I actually think I like! So yay, I think I'll keep it for awhile :).

 Simple is sometimes best. I find even my favourite colour changes quite frequently so I thought white might be a good bet (since it technically contains all colours -> science nerd :) ). 

I wish I could remember how to do HTML but it has been years so :P oh well! Anywho hope everyone is having an amazing weekend.

xx Alanna

Hello May, out with the old

Hello beautiful friends,

It's a stormy evening at home so I felt it was the perfect time to do a bit of cleaning and time for a new post as well! 

My makeup cabinet was beginning to get a bit cluttered and I realized that a lot of the makeup I had, had actually run out. So, here is a quick post of some of my used up products and what I thought of them :).

Please excuse the bad lighting.... my room is super dark even on the nicest of days :)! (the picture just looked better in black and white vs colour hehe)

Products shown from left to right : Stila - All Day Waterproof Liquid eyeliner (top), Philosophy - Hope in a Tinted Moisturizer, Tarte - Maracuja Creaseless Concealer, Revlon - Colorstay Eyeliner, Benefit - They're Real Mascara, bareMinerals - Starter Kit (Bronzer and Mineral Veil shown), Revlon - Eyelash Curler 

Okay...I'll try to keep my write-ups brief...I do love to ramble ;)! Starting off with Hope in a tinted moisturizer; this product was recommended to me because, for the most part, I have dry skin. It comes in quite a few shades which is nice, however, I found it clung to any dry patches of skin I did have. So I probably wouldn't purchase it again because flakey looking skin on my face really bugs me. Also it wasn't exactly cheap at $40 per tube. 

Next on to the Tarte Concealer, can I say LOVE?! This stuff is amazing. It's perfect for people with dry skin because it has maracuja oil in it, and like it says it's creaseless once applied. It seems expensive but I assure you that little tiny tube goes a long way as you only need a tiny bit at a time. I believe my first tube (which was a bit to light for me so I went a shade up) lasted me ~8 months. 

The Revlon eyeliner I haven't used for years to be honest. It used to be a favourite of mine until I discovered Stila. It's a crayon liner, I remember for the most part it would last all day but sometimes would smudge, but hey if you need a cheap eyeliner it's not bad at all!

The Stila liner I have purchased 4 times since discovering it a few years back. It is amazing if you like intense eyeliner. It lasts most of the day. One con I do have is I find when I curl my lashes after lining pieces of the liner come off, but no biggie just go over it again and you're good to go! 

The benefit mascara I received as a birthday present from Sephora and boy does it do what it says! I completely understand why it has such a cult following. It lengthens and separates your lashes; however, it doesn't really add any volume. I had Badgal lash before They're Real and found it did a much better job of creating extra volume. So, depending on how you want your lashes to look benefit has a great selection of mascaras. 

The bareMinerals foundation I probably wouldn't buy again. If you have almost perfect skin this is the product for you! It definitely gives you a natural non-cakey look, but I found for covering things up it didn't really help all that much. The bronzer is decent, it has a fairly red tone though. I prefer Benefit's Hula bronzer, which has a brown tone, a lot more. The mineral veil I have no complaints about, it's a great finishing powder! The brushes... are awful; they shed everywhere and the little bristles end up all over your face after use. 

Finally, the revlon eyelash curler. Honestly, I never knew the difference between a good and bad eyelash curler until I recently invested in the Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I found in comparison the revlon one missed my outer eyelashes and it took multiple squeezes of the curler to actually curl. Also, by the end of the day my eyelashes were back to their natural state. The Shu Uemura curler you still have to crimp your lashes a few times but way less than the revlon one and the curl lasts overnight for me. 

Righty-o, well that wasn't really short sorry about that haha (rambling ftw!). Hope everyone has a wonderful day, afternoon, evening, night wherever you lovelies are. Till next time :)

Ooops...I went Shopping! Clothing Haul Spring 2014

Hey All, 

Just wanted to do a haul post of what I've purchased over the past few months. Some of these items are from a month or so ago (so don't worry I didn't just go nuts in one go!) and were all purchased slowly over the last little while! I had considered doing a look-book but just haven't had the time to do so...maybe I'll do it for a few of the items, we'll see! 

Also I'm going to do a second post on makeup/beauty in the next little while so keep you're eyes peeled! For now enjoy :). 

Crop tops galore! All from Charlotte Russe and all for under $10. This was a "trying something new" thing for me and anytime I try something out of my comfort zone I never spend too much on things so charlotte russe was the perfect store for these cute tops! The top 2 have a bow back and the bottom 2 have a twisted strap, super cute! Purchased on vacation in California! 

This cute striped 3/4 length sleeve shirt from J Crew Factory. A perfect light knit for spring for ~$30. This was also a purchase while on vacation.

A comfy sweatshirt material blazer by "Black" for Saks Fifth Avenue. Again purchased on vacation from the Saks off Fifth outlet. It was originally $110 but I got it for 50% off, yay sales! 

These high-waisted jeggings by "Bulldog" from Pacsun were by one get one free, again purchased on vacation for a grand total of $50. 

On the Left: Bird Trousers from Asos $20 

On the Right: Harem Pants from Garage clothing $35

Originally I hated garage as a teenager but recently they have had some really cute things, definitely a must check out if you were like me! 

To get an idea of the Harem pants here is a picture from my instagram! They are worn high-waisted I paired mine with a top from Aritzia and a very old, faithful, cardigan from Costa Blanca (Aka it's like 6+ years old!).

Shorts from on the left side J-Crew for $25 each (from my vacation) and the brown pair on the right are high-waisted from Plenty purchased for $60 (they're sooo comfy! I can't wait for warmer weather).

These socks are genius! They're sock liners purchased from Aldo, 3 pairs for $10! They are great for converse or low boots, you can't even see them. 

Shoes from left to right: Aldo ($60), Lower East side for Payless ($35) and Converse juniors, yay for small feet! ($25 from the outlet in California) 

Back view

Left: Matt and Nat wallet from Plenty ($30)

Right: Marc by Marc Jacobs Karlie Bag from Aritiza ($288)

Echo Design Scarf from Plenty (also available from Indigo Chapters) for $40. This was a mistake purchase, always look at the price tag people! 

That's all for my purchases guys! I've clearly spent wayyyy too much money since starting to work full time; going to need to fix that. Also good news, my graduation status was finally approved, YAY! I'll have my BSc in Cell biology and Genetics formally as of May 26th :). 

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Simple Acts and a Review

Hello All!

Sorry for the delay in posts, I've been working full time with 2 jobs, volunteering on the side and we are moving; all of these things are resulting in my complete exhaustion.

But I thought I would share a little story about something that happened this monday, April 14th. While I was driving over to my boyfriends I was stopped by an elderly woman waving her hands as she crossed the road. I pulled over, a bit confused, and rolled down my window to talk to her. She explained to me that she was a bit lost and had missed a few busses and asked for my help. She also told me that she probably got lost because she can't see very well anymore. In the end I managed to help her get home safely to her retirement home and helping her out definitely made my day. :)

Okay on to the Review!

Waffles Gone Wild

So fun fact.... I am a bit obsessed with waffles. Reciently I have been heading out to restaurants just to see what they have to offer. I discovered Waffles Gone Wild via a friends instagram when she posted a picture of a delicious strawberry and ice cream covered waffle... can I say YUM!!! So that was it, I was on a mission to try this place. I mentioned it to my friend who works in the lab with me and we decided to give it a shot at lunch. 

The place is located just off of Bayswater on Broadway in Kits. It's a bit hard to see because its so teeny! When we arrived, because it was so sunny out, my friend and I decided to sit on the patio which consisted of 2 little tables. The inside, also small, had a few more tables. It is set up very much like a cute cafe that along with waffles also sells bubble tea, coffee, teas and smoothies. 

Here is a shot that I took at lunch.

I had the Ham and Cheese waffle on the bottom my friend had the apple and cheese at the top.

Never would I have thought a savoury waffle would be good! It was such a strange concept to me but boy was it delicious. The waffle had a caramelized sugar on it which created a contrast that enhanced the taste of the salty ham. Along with the waffle was a delicious salad with sweet cherry tomatoes and various lettuce drizzled with a balsamic dressing that was to die for!

Another bonus was the price! My god, the meal looks small but I was in fact full after eating. Total, since I didn't have any thing to drink, my meal came to just over 6 dollars! Insane...where can you eat out for that price these days in Vancouver other than like mcdonalds...which even then can be pricy! 

Love love! I will definitely be visiting this place again to try out the dessert waffles :). 

That's all for now :) thanks for reading <3

Kakapos

Hey all :)

I wanted to do a quick post about my all time favourite animal... the kakapo! I absolutely love these little guys :). They have been called one of New Zealand's ugliest animals, but I couldn't agree less, they are adorable!
Kakapo's are critically endangered - there are currently 126 left in the world. Thankfully they had a successful breeding season and a few eggs are still left to hatch :). These wonderful creatures are from a time when predators were not present in New Zealand and there for evolved to be flightless.  They instead run and climb. When settlers arrived in New Zealand they brought rats and cats along with them and this was detrimental to the kakapo population - cats ate the birds and rats would feast on the eggs nested on the ground.
Thankfully, a wonderful group of people, part of New Zealand's Department of Conservation, have been helping these little guys to try to increase their numbers in the wild - The Kakapo Recovery Program. This is an organization I hold close to my heart and they have made a huge difference so far and are continuing to do so.

Picture from the Kakapo Recovery's FB page. 

If you want to read more about their efforts you can check it out here. They are also on facebook and twitter.

Also check out the adorable spokes bird, Sirocco, on facebook and twitter.

I had been wanted to donate to their efforts for quite sometimes and finally had enough extra on a paycheque to do so (they take smaller donations too :) anything helps! I just wanted to do the adoption option). So I chose to adopt marama who is a very small female (I'm small and felt I could relate haha ;) ). The minimum to adopt is $100 nz, but they send you a cute package with a stuffed animal, bookmark and some stickers. I hope to one day be able to help out more be it through donation or volunteering. And, maybe one day I'll be able to see one of these beautiful creatures in person :).

An instagram picture of my adoption package

Fun fact about me: I hope to one day donate money to conserve the worlds bird species (I'm slowly donating what I can now but hope to do a lot more). Can you imagine a world without birds? I wouldn't want to live in that world. 

Out with the old, in with the older?

Here is another quick post! Throughout my teen years I was completely blessed with nearly perfect skin. I hardly ever broke out and when I did, my few spots would disappear in a flash. In came my 20s and my skin got worse. I still can't really complain...my skin is not awful by any means but, I get these super annoying, super painful, scarring, stick around for a month, under the skin cystic acne. NO FUN!

Over the past few years I've tried a few different products recommended to me by people at sephora, friends or other drug/department store employees. I'm going to go through a few products that I've finished up or that I am still currently using.

I should also explain my skin-type is a tad bazaar. I have really dry skin for the most part with patches of oil that move depending on the day. Also, I'm fairly sure my acne is hormonal, meaning it's not that my pores are clogged from the exterior what's happening to me is internal. I make sure to wash my face two times daily (therefore i am not over-washing or under), I exfoliate once a week and I moisturize after cleansing. However, I still get those super annoying cysts!

It's sort of nice to use a blog to be able to go back and read what you thought about a product before going back to repurchase it. So here we go!

Starting off with cleansers....

Clarins Daily Energizing Cleansing Gel 

That's a mouth full! I've been using this product since july after it was recommended to me by a family friend with similar skin issues. I don't really have any complaints about this product, more so it did not improve my skin nor make it worse. I think I paid about $22 for it at london drugs. It is a small container but last quite awhile! This cleanser foams up really nicely so you don't actually need to use very much of it on your skin. Also, I should mention my skin felt fairly tight after washing with it so I always had to use a fair bit of moisturizer after. 

Boscia Clear Complexion Cleanser

With a bit of a more expensive price tag, this brand (that can be purchased from sephora) claims to help balance hormones that can cause acne...or so the sales associate told me! One thing I liked about this cleanser is that it has no parabens, sulfates, or phthalates ( three things that are not good for your body!) and it was relatively natural. I paid about $31 dollars for it and it has awesome reviews on sephora.com. However, again, I did not notice any improvement in my skin and definitely had an initial purge period where I broke out with more black heads in my T-zone, not bad ones mind you. This was a cleanser I had used a few years back when I had purchased a boscia kit and I definitely feel the same way now as I did then about it. It's nothing special, it might help with someone elses skin problems but definitely did not help mine. Further, I found I needed to use a larger amount in the morning and at night in comparison to the Clarins product simply because it didn't foam up as well and I didn't feel like it was taking my make up off. 

After trying this product for a second time I think I'd rather repurchase the Clarins cleanser over boscia. 

I have recently read reviews on DERMADOCTOR's "Ain't Misbehavin' Medicated AHA/BHA Acne Cleaner" and people have claimed it's a god sent for adult cystic acne. SO! I'm definitely going to have to give it a shot!

On to my moisturizing essentials. 

Kiehl's Ulta Facial Cream 

This is a product I used back when I was in highschool and I had forgotten how much I absolutely loved it! It's not exactly cheap but not awful at all, with a price tag of $32 dollars for a 50ml container. I bought this back in october of 2013 and am just down to the bottom of the barrel now. It feels light on your skin, not oily at all and sinks in fairly quickly for a thick moisturizer. This is a product I would definitely recommend! Kiehls just recently released an intense hydrating version of this cream that I think I may have to try just to get that extra bit of moisturizing power for my super dry skin. It's also good to note this product did not make me break out anymore than I normally would so, yay! 

Stila Skincare - light source

I use this serum once daily in the morning and boy does it feel good; definitely another great product to try! It's super gentle and has anti-aging properties (nothing wrong with a little prevention!) that work to repair dark spots and scarring as well as a bunch of other great benefits! A serum is great to use before a moisturizer because it sinks in deeper helping to repair any damage you may have to your skin. It sinks in really quickly and smells awesome too! My only complaint is the price tag. I believe total I paid $61 for it including tax....online it says you can purchase it for $45, a much nicer price. Thankfully for this product one pump goes a long way! 

Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil 

I love tarte products, they feel great on your face, they're natural and this product is no exception! This is my go to night moisturizer. It's pure oil so you have to allow a bit of time for it to sink in. At first it feels a bit greasy but I assure you, oil is awesome for your skin and will not make you break out if it's pure like this product is! I purchased this after a friend of mine raved about it and said her skin has never felt better and I couldn't agree more after using it. If you have dry skin, like me, I'd definitely recommend applying a moisturizer after the oil sinks, it takes care of all those pesky dry patches. Price tag for this is about $55 dollars for 1.7 f oz of oil. It may seem like a lot but you only need about 3-4 drops daily. I got this product for my birthday back in july and have hardly made a dent in it (as you can see by the picture below).  - I have heard coconut oil is another alternative to this, however, I haven't personally tried it.

Touch ups...

Vichy Normaderm Total Mat and Hyaluspot

These are two things that I actually have not purchased yet but they are on my list of things to buy asap! I received these as samples when I was discussing my skin problems with a lady who worked at shoppers drug mart. I'll start with total mat. I believe it is meant to be a moisturizer however, it did not hydrate my skin enough. But, what it did do is seriously help my complexion. It helped keep my breakouts at bay while the acne I did have healed up slightly faster. I would definitely want to try this out for a longer period of time to see if these results are consistent or if I just got lucky. Hyaluspot is meant to be a salicylic acid spot treatment that you can keep applying daily as much as you need to. Be warned it will dry your skin out and can cause peeling on the spot you apply it to. But this stuff definitely shortened the length of time I had a spot for! I will be purchasing this one some time after my next pay cheque. 

Now that I've posted a picture of these two I can chuck out these empties, woohoo! 

Well there you have it, a short list of a few of the products I have recently used. I would be interested to know if any of you guys have tried these products and what your experiences were? Please excuse my rambling, I just got home and decided to start writing over lunch hahaha. Also, my photography is nothing special :) just some quick iphone pictures. Hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks for reading! 

Hello 2014... a bit late

Wow, I have to be the absolute worst blogger (and i've said this a few times!). I keep watching youtube videos (total addict) about these people who have been blogging for years and it makes me want to start...and yet I still can't sit down to do it! I've decided to blog mainly for my own sake, I want to keep track of things that i'm trying in my life -from stress management to makeup products.

2014 is a new year so I've decided to do a few different things to make my life better. The first thing I started was going to the gym. I'm lucky enough to have a fast metabolism but I feel like internally I'm probably not the healthiest. I don't eat that badly or anything, I just treat myself from time to time! (total fastfood lover hehe).

Another thing I really want to focus on is being mentally healthy- by that I mean being calm and happy as much as possible! I've just finished up my science degree so the school stress is gone, thankfully, but I still find myself getting stressed about little things that I really shouldn't. I also just focus in on it and get fixated so much that it's all that I think about...awful. So my new goal is to take a deep breath and remember that I am in charge of my emotions, and there is absolutely no need to get frustrated over the little things. A friend of mine posted a really cute quote on instagram - "I am in charge of my feelings and today I am choosing happiness" - this is something I want to live by. It's not fair to myself to be frustrated nor is it healthy. I also always regret my actions when I'm getting mad over little things and  it's also not fair to the people around me.

Anyways, rant over haha. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to calm myself down and just - as frozen puts it - let it go.