Makeup Brush Wish List!

I need some more quality makeup brushes in my life.
I have quite a few RealTechniques brushes and I love them to death.  Then I have an EcoTools brush, I think it's a shadow brush...I actually have no idea.

Anyways, I'm cheap but want quality brushes so I'm going to have to compromise eventually.

 Do you sense a theme here?
I love rose gold and copper.
Sorry for the poor quality picture, but the top left brush is the E35 tapered blending brush from Sigma in copper.  To the right is a rose gold brush set from BH Cosmetics.  Below that is a tapered kabuki brush from Sigma which I'm highly interested in for concealer.  To the left is the rose gold Zoeva face brush set (I'm in love and drool over this daily) I would also like the eye brush set in rose gold, but this is my first choice.  I might buy myself a birthday present...
Lastly is from the new RealTechniques Bold Metals collection (shown is the tapered blush brush).

What are some of your favorite brushes?
Recommendations are welcome!

Positive

Hello Lovelies!
I just finished an amazing book, seriously five minutes ago I finished it and decided I needed to blog about it now.

"Positive" a memoir by Paige Rawl with Ali Benjamin.

Paige Rawl is born with HIV and this is her story.
I was so furious while I read parts of this book because while it's not just about HIV, it's also about bullying.  Bullying is one thing that fires me up, I can't stand it.
I can't stand when adults don't listen to kids or brush it off they when tell them they're being bullied. 
Paige's story blows my mind at how ignorant people can be and I amazed with the strength this girl has.  Incredible.

I was bullied off and on growing up, but nothing to this extreme.

I highly recommend this book and if you notice someone being bullied, chat with them, sit with them, do something so they don't feel alone, because it's a terrible feeling.
If you know someone with a disease or anything different about them, take the time to know what is actually going and learning about it.

I am 26 years, 10 months and 22 days old

Well Gang,
I'm sneaking closer and closer to being 27, soon my birthday will be here and I will be in my late twenties.
I have a thing about age and getting older if you're a new reader.

I'm almost 27 and have yet to live on my own, how terrible is that?
I never went to college and lived in a dorm, never rented a crappy little apartment where I lived off of ramen, never shared a too-small suite with a boyfriend I would fight with all the time. I'm using movie and book characters here.

I just haven't experience any of that and do I regret it sometimes? You bet I do.
Right now I share a bedroom with Boyfriend in his parents house.  While it's nice and we save money, I've been really feeling lately that I need my own space.

My bedroom at my parent's house is cluttered to the max and is a storage unit for all my furniture and appliances.

I talked to my mom the other day about buying a house and she thinks it's a good idea, but am I ready for that commitment and really have no extra money? Goodbye makeup spending hobby...

I remember when I was in elementary school my best friend Kelsey and I would dream about our fantastic grown up lives.  Living in a cool city, having lots of money to do whatever we wanted and lots of friends.  That's not how it is.

I'm 26 years, 10 months and 22 days old and it's time I take action and start doing more.

Can you tell I'm having a pity party while I've been home sick?

Let's Talk About Frank

Meet Frank:

He likes you naked and dirty.

Frank is a coffee body scrub!  Perfect for me as I am a coffee lover.
I find two handfuls of this scrub is a sufficient amount for your entire body.
I use it on my problem areas first, my upper arms (where I tend to get bumps) and my thighs, then I continue on to the rest of my body including my face.

Frank claims to scrub away dry skin and help with cellulite and stretch marks.

I have used this scrub a total of three times now and even my boyfriend has used it.
I think we are both in love with Frank.

I find my skin so soft after, my arm bumps are getting better (but usually any scrub fixes that problem).
I think the fact that this is a coffee scrub had me sold instantly.

I would highly recommend this for anyone looking for a body scrub, it is fantastic.
It does leave some residue in the shower/bathtub after, as I found out later when Boyfriend asked me if I drank my coffee in the shower that morning.

I bought the original 200g Frank for $15.95 (Canadian) for myself and the peppermint version for $16.95 for a gift for my Mom, and then shipping was free.

Check it out: http://frankbody.ca/

This is not a sponsored post, Frank was purchased by me out of curiosity and I'm genuinely in love with him.

2014 Beauty Favorites!

I've decided that every morning should be like this one.
Getting up early, eating breakfast, drinking many cups of coffee and blogging.

We're only two weeks into January but I feel a bit late on my 2014 Beauty Favorites. And I know I was supposed to blog on Monday but Sunday was busy and yesterday was a strange shift where I didn't get home until almost seven.  Excuses, excuses!

Moving on!
Here are my most loved beauty favorites of 2014.  And there are a lot.

I only recently bought the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette back in the early fall, but I have been loving it to bits for the all the holiday parties I've attended.  And I wear the highlight (middle shade) every day to work. 
Oh Maybelline, I do love your concealers the best.  I only tried one new concealer this year because I can't seem to leave my Maybelline Anti-Aging concealer alone.
I splurged on make up this year.

The TooFaced Chocolate Bar Palette, I didn't know you could love an eyeshadow palette this much.  I've been getting into eyeshadow a lot more recently, you know the whole blending thing, and I just love all the neutral colors in this palette!  I've been tempted to get the semi-sweet chocolate one, but that blue color in it is throwing me off.
Next on the far left is a L'oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Coconut shake, I just really like using this as a base or on it's own with winged liner. 

That mysterious black tube that you can't read the label on is the Dior Addict-It Lash mascara, I just got this in December and I've already pushed all my other mascaras aside for this one.  I like a drier formula and this has it and the brush is spiky and perfect for me....ah, love.
Amope, I just received this at Christmas from my parents and it's one of my favorite gifts.  I hate dry, calloused feet.  I am a true Pisces and care about my feet immensely.  So I use this little foot file thing about twice a week and it's like magic.
The Shu-uemera Eyelash curler, where have you been all my life?  This curls your lashes like no other eye lash curler I have ever tried.  It's expensive for what it is, but it lives up to the hype.
L'oreal Lumi Primer, if you like dewy skin this is definitely one for you.  Honestly, I hated this product when I first bought it, it separated and I didn't use it for a few weeks.  But my skin was looking dull and I decided to give it a go.  I gave the product a shake to see if that would help the whole separating thing and it did.  It's not sparkly and it just gives a natural glow under your makeup.

Starting from the top left in this picture are Essie nail polishes in "Recessionista" and "Bahama Mama" , very similar dark burgundy shades and they are my most reached for colors.
Under is the perfume Alien by Thierry Mugley, I just can't...I love my Prada Candy perfume but a new scent that smells divine? Sorry Prada, I won't be reaching for you for awhile.
TooFaced Shadow Insurance, I love this for canceling out the veins on my eyelids and it does pretty well at keeping my eyeshadow in place.
This was the year I decided to fork out the twenty seven dollars for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (in dark brown)..well I actually bought two, one in chocolate as well.  I don't know what I was doing with my brows before these.  I find it's so perfect for natural looking brows. I don't know what I would do without this.
Salon Grafix Play it Big hairspray, I love my L'oreal Elnett hairspray the most, but this Salon Grafix one was on sale and it works, the smell isn't over powering and I find my curls last quite a long time with it.
The Braun Silk7 epilator, I bought this bad boy in the summer after reading a review on a blog.  Let me tell you that this thing kind of hurts the first few times you use it.  If you don't know what an epilator is it's basically a bunch of tweezers spinning around really fast pulling out your body hair.  I refuse to use this on my legs anymore as I received tons of ingrown hairs from in, but this works amazing on the under arm area.  I use it 2-3 times a week and I find I don't get that ugly dark shadow under my arms anymore that I was so subconscious about.
Last but not least, I had to add a candle because I am a candle hoarder. 
Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar, I've always loved this one but this past year my anxiety was so bad and this was the best candle to relax me.  I'm always stocked up on this one.

A few extra favorites that aren't pictured are:
Maybelline Baby Lips, I can always rely on this to keep my lips moisturized while I'm at work.
Lush Magnaminty Face Mask, this makes my skin so soft and has pushed all my other face masks aside.
For a good eye makeup remover I keep going back to the Neutrogena Oil Free Makeup Remover.
And lastly, a blush.  Benefit's Rockateur, I'm scared I'm going to hit pan on this soon!

What were your favorites of 2014? Have any new favorites for 2015 yet?

Have a great week!

My Health & Fitness Journey

Once upon a time I used to be a health and fitness freak.
Once upon a time was almost 3 years ago now.

I would really like to get back to my old ways of being healthy and fit, just feeling comfortable in my own skin.
I used to restrict myself with what I ate.  I never restricted my calories, but I did aim for 1500-2000/day.  But there are things I wouldn't touch like ice-cream or milk (mostly because it causes me severe bloating due to the whole lactose thing), I only ate chocolate if it was dark and even that was rare.  It was also when I decided to take my coffee black (one of the best decisions I ever made)

First, a back story.
The Summer of 2006 I gained over 10lbs.  I knew I ate bad on vacation that year, I just didn't think I ate that much.
I became depressed, didn't have a job and slept past noon everyday.
2008 I had constant panic attacks and didn't know why.
A trip to the doctor and a blood test declared I had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, a precursor to the Hypothyroidism I was diagnosed with in 2009.
Hypothyroidism explained the depression, the weight gain and the fatigue I was feeling.
I was given a medication that I now take for the rest of my life to balance my thyroid.

It took up to three months to notice the results of the medication and was I ever happy.  I had motivation, I lost the weight, I had energy!

December 2010- Stress was high in our household when my Dad broke his leg.  I was working 6 days a week and not taking care of myself.
I survived off of bananas, Coke Zero and Pixi Stix.
I became the most thin I had been in a long time.  I knew something was wrong with me.  I liked the feeling of thin but I didn't like how I had gotten there.

The new year began and I was ready to be healthy.  I quit eating fast food/eating out all together.  I gave up soda.  I ate tons of fish and chicken, vegetables, fruit.  Breakfast was my biggest meals and all my meals were planned out.  I ate 6 times a day and was drinking lots of water.  I worked my way up to working out 5 days a week.  I also used the MyFitnessPal app to keep track of everything, and that was definitely one of the biggest things in keeping my routine.
This went on for a full year.
I felt so amazing and was so happy in my body.  I want that feeling again.

After a good run in 2012.

January 2012- I went off birth control as it was driving my hormones crazy.  By June I was feeling fantastic! I was healthy, fit, off those dumb (so I thought) pills.  I had never been so confident.  I started teaching myself yoga and was just on top of the world.

Feeling so good in a dress to go out dancing!

Fun fact: this is the night I ran into my current boyfriend.

I guess around September 2012 is when I started slacking more and more on my routine.
November, it was gone completely.

May 2014- I had a wrist injury and really couldn't work out.
It wasn't until August that I could do anything.  I entered into a physio program where I went for 4 hours a day to gym. I was fit again!  But after that ended in October I went back to my old ways.

The only routine thing about my diet now is breakfast, and even then I slack on weekends.
I don't even work out now.
I'm tired all the time, but I blame that on working a sporadic schedule.

It's a new year and everyone wants to start out on a diet, going to the gym or trying some kind of fad thing.

I just want healthy and happy me back.


First off, no more junk food.
Secondly I will start with the yoga again and slowly work my way back to the weights.

This is going to be a tough journey, but I know I can do it as I've done it before.

Do you have any health and fitness goals?

A Few Favorites

Good morning Lovelies!
I had intended for today's post to be my past to present (none) health and fitness journey, but the post ended up being way too long and I also felt like I went way out of my comfort zone.  So it will end up being a two maybe three part post, soon.

For today I will share some recent favorites with you!
This is not a beauty favorites today, but you can expect one of those soon. 
Today are some book and movie favorites.  If you can't find me scouring stores for new beauty products to try or reading blogs, you can find me curled up with a book or laying in bed watching a movie.

First off "Alice in Zombieland" by Gena Showalter.
Surprisingly Boyfriend was the one who got me into this series.  Christmas 2013 he bought me the first book and I was impressed.  An ass-kicking zombie slayer chick surrounded by hot boys? I'm in! But it's not all zombies throughout the trilogy. There is heart ache, love triangles and don't forget the bad guys (not just the zombies).  I'm on the last book now and I just can't put it down.

Another read I enjoyed last year was more light hearted.  "A Little Something Different" by Sandy Hall.  A love story with different points of view, including a squirrel.  How could I not read it?  Definitely enjoyable and something to make you laugh when you're having a bad day.

I can only think of two movies I watched last year.  One being the fan favorite "Catching Fire" and I guess the other would be a fan favorite too, "The Lego Movie".
Total opposites.  I enjoyed "Catching Fire" much more than "The Hunger Games". I've read the books but the first movie just felt a lot slower and while still interesting, the second movie just did it for me. 

"Everything is awesome!"  Boyfriend and I just can't stop singing this song.  It makes us smile and the movie is just hilarious.  We're both Lego lovers (played with it today actually)  yet we had both never seen this movie until just a few days ago.
We've watched it twice.

I have 5 more books to read and quite a few movies I'd like to see, so expect another one of these at some point!

Enjoy your Monday, see ya on Hump Day!

2015- The Year of Moving Out

It's 2015!
I have to admit to you that we fell asleep at eleven last night. We woke up at eleven thirty, so just in time.
Today is the day I make a few goals for the year, some of them are silly but they are my goals.

1. Stop going out for coffee so much; make coffee at home. (Money saver)

2. Spend less on makeup (yeah, right)

3. Blog more.  This is a big one for me and one that I really want to work at.  I would like to post more videos to my youtube channel as well, but blogging is my main goal.  I'm going to post every Monday and Wednesday and work up to a third day, or just change the schedule all together.

4. Make a girlfriend.  I have no girlfriends in town.  The one I talk to the most lives in Wisconsin. I'm in B.C. 

5. Move into a space of our own.  Boyfriend and I will have been together for two and a half years come February.  We talked about moving out together at the end of 2012 (when we first started dating), but that was kind of soon. I've lived with him at his parent's house since the end of 2012.  We looked on craigslist all last year for a place to live and just nothing popped out at us.  We've decided this is the year. This bedroom is getting too small for us.  We'd like to buy a house, but houses are expensive.

6. The most difficult goal? Be neater.  I am a messy person.  Always have been.  My room as a child was rarely clean, as an adult it got better....but now it's just a disaster.  My room at my parent's house hold all my appliances, my bed, furniture etc.  It's quite disgusting to walk into.   I am also terrible for leaving dirty dishes around.  My breakfast dishes will sit for days, piling up.  I like to think that when we move out this will get better.
We can only hope...

7. Start eating healthy again.  This is a whole blog post on it's own.
I was a health nut from 2010 to 2012.  I was so restricted on how I would eat (zero chocolate/icecream/cookies)  but I would eat lots. I was strict on my exercise (the time I would do it and for how long).  If only I could go back to that...I was so happy.
2014 was the year of unhealthy eating for me.  While I don't partake in fast food eating (Tim Horton's rarely, Opa once a month and pizza now and then...) I ate out a lot.  We love our sushi and wings.  I also found myself skipping out on dinner quite a lot.  I hate sleeping on a heavy stomach.  I'm weird.  I like big breakfasts, light filling lunches, and healthy dinners (with the occasional roast beef on Sundays) and I'm not a big meat person. 
Anyways! Number 7, start meal planning.  Breakfasts are easy, I eat the same thing every day.
I like salads for lunches.  The past month I would buy a (really good) pre-made salad for every day of the week.  That adds up.  So this morning I went out and bought lettuce, chicken, dressing and I have cheese at home (I like cheese on salad) and I will make salads for the next few days so I can just grab and go.  At least that's the plan.
[expect a whole post about my diet and exercise (past and present) soon because this was fun.]

Those are the goals for this year.
I think that some of them are realistic, the coffee, make up and girlfriend ones? Not so much.

What are your goals for the year or even just the month of January?