Online Shopping Wishlist

Hey everyone! It's Thuuursday. And as I've spent the last hour or so browsing stores online instead of studying, I thought I'd share some of my finds with you!

Wishlist. by thelightningboltscar featuring hair styling tools

1. Sedu Pro Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Flat Iron. I've been wanting a new flat iron for a while now, yet want to do lots of research and such before I decide on one! I've heard amazing things about this Sedu flat iron.
2. Iced Coffee Date Wedges from Modcloth. These shoes are so cute. A pair of wedges like these are just what I need for the spring and summer!
3. Food Stylista Dress from Modcloth. I absolutely adore Modcloth's selection of dresses. One day, after I've accumulated a decent amount of money, I feel I must go on a Modcloth dress buying spree.
4. Warm Palette from Coastal Scents. So. Many. Colours. Plus it's on sale right now! That must be a sign!
5. Tortoise Shades from Satterday. A new pair of sunglasses is high on my list right now, and this pair is adorable. Definitely keeping my eyes open for a similar pair when I next go shopping.

There is my wishlist! SO many cute things available right now. What are some online stores you enjoy perusing?

-Hannah

So It's Monday

Hello everyone! We find ourselves at the beginning of another week!

I had an amazing weekend - my boyfriend visited me here at university for a while and it was absolutely perfect. But now back to the homework and assignments and lectures!

And next weekend, I get to go home and see my family! I'm so looking forward to it. I love it here at uni, of course, but I do miss the folks back home.

For this week, though, I'm going to concentrate on getting the most out of what I do. I'm going to study hard, be creative, live as fully as I can. Because I think that's important for being happy. Instead of waiting for something in the future, make the most of the now. 

Live for today. Life is as grand as you make it. 

So, while I do look forward immensely to spending time at home this coming weekend, I'm going to try and make this week the best one yet!

-Hannah

Dorm Room Excitement

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday!

I recently did a full dorm room clean up and got myself a ficus. Pretty cool, I know! (Only somewhat sarcastic here, I'm actually really excited about the ficus)

Our ficus' name is Alex and he's a pretty rad ficus

Why a ficus of all plants, you may ask? I personally hadn't even heard of ficuses until my mother, an avid gardener, told me they make ideal indoor plants because they require minimal watering, are well-suited to indoor sun conditions, and are very easy to maintain.

It's been here for a little less than a week and is already improving the general feel and liveliness of my dorm room. It may also help that I cleaned, and my room is now organized as well. Hopefully it stays neat!

-Hannah

Updo of the Day

Happy Saturday!

Today I was experimenting a little bit with my hair and decided to share the end result with you!

Not anything spectacular by any means, but it was easy and quick. Simply twirling the front bits of hair back and securing with a clip, then making a side braid. The bow accessory I used was from Forever 21, for around $4.00, I believe. I've had it for years and barely ever use it, and just unearthed it today and decided to show it off again!

I also had fun with my makeup today, on a side note. Going for light makeup today - 

Eyeshadow: RIMMEL London Quad Eyeshadow #018

Lipstick: REVLON ColorStay in Ultimate Suede

And now I'm off to enjoy my Saturday! I hope you are all having lovely weekends xx

-Hannah

My First RED LIPSTICK

Happy Thursday!

I just recently purchased Revlon's matte balm (not technically a lipstick, but hey, I'm counting it) and decided to share this excitement with you!

I put it on this morning before going downtown - about three or so hours ago - and the colour is still incredibly vibrant. It applies easily, almost like a marker would, with a pointed crayon-shaped tip. 

I bought mine for $9.99 at London Drugs

The shade I bought is Standout. The matte balm came in a variety of colours, from corals to bright pinks to deep plums. I'll definitely be expanding my selection!

-Hannah

Well, It's Wednesday

Wednesday! Top of the hill! The weekend is in sight!

Not that the weekend will be any less stressful... homework, my friends. So much homework.

But that's another day's worry. Today it's Wednesday, I have a break between classes, and I decided to share some of my thoughts.

From weheartit.com

This point in the week is always a bit of a challenge. I mean, Mondays tend to suck for very obvious reasons - just had this nice and relaxed weekend, now back to work, ugh - but it's in the middle of the week that you're losing energy, motivation, and determination. The weekend, though actually pretty close, feels so far away.

And sometimes, you're stuck in a perpetual state of Wednesday-ness. Day after day, week after week, and you feel like you're going nowhere. It happens to all of us. It sucks. And it'll pass, though it may not feel like it. That weekend will come.

To many metaphors? Kay, I'll stop.

What I'm getting at is that everything will be okay. As the quote above says (one of my favourite pictures and quotes - Les Mis is utterly amazing), it'll all end well. You'll be okay! It's hard to realize and even harder to keep your chin up until you reach the other side, but the other side is there, and it's waiting for you, and it's everything you hoped it would be and more.

On that rather intense note, I do hope you're all having lovely weeks, and that your Wednesdays are treating you well. The weekend is in sight!
-Hannah

Back to School I Go

I have officially completed my first week back at university! Hooray!

It's been an amazing week. I'm getting back into the routine of university and the term is off to a fantastic start. I'm even adhering to my new year resolutions so far!

Taken at the ferry terminal as we waited for our sailing to
bring us back to the mainland

Between last Sunday when I returned to campus and today - a week - I worked out five times. I'm really enjoying keeping active and how accomplished I am feeling, and will totally be working out lots in the coming weeks so I really get into the habit of being active! 

I also got new workout shorts yesterday, for sale at Sport Chek. New athletic clothing is something I'm always excited about!

Orange & purple (looking a bit blue in this light) Adidas shorts

Along with being more active, I'm trying to get into the habit of eating healthier. Besides eating way WAY too much caramel corn yesterday, I've been decent with it! And I can already feel a difference - so much more energy. My body is happy with the few small changes I've been making, such as no more fried food, more fruits and vegetables, and decreasing drastically on sugar consumption.

I also have learned and continue to practice filling in my eyebrows. It feels so exciting to be able to enhance the shape of them, make them as bold as I like or keep it low key, and generally just play around with finding what works best on my face. Such fun! I'll be doing an eyebrow post one of these days for sure.

I'm feeling super satisfied with how this week went, and I hope my next weeks are even better. I hope your 2014's are off to a great start!

-Hannah

2013 Favourites

Hi everyone! As we are now just beginning what will hopefully be an amazing 2014, I decided to gaze back on 2013 and share some of my favourite cosmetics and hair products of the year. Here we go!

COSMETICS.

CLINIQUE Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel: I absolutely adore this moisturizer. For my tending-towards-oily skin, it's really fantastic at keeping my face matte throughout the day, due to the fact it is a light gel, not a cream. I highly recommend Clinique's moisturizer line!

ALMAY Clear Complexion Liquid Makeup: The best liquid foundation I have ever owned (also one of the first, but I am so in love with it, I can't imagine using anything else). This foundation provides even, smooth coverage that lasts all day. Love it.

COVERGIRL Lash Blast Volume: I am so thrilled with this mascara! Affordable, and makes my eyelashes look longer and fuller.

ALMAY Brow-defining Pencil: This is the first brow pencil I bought for myself, only a couple of weeks ago, and so far, it's working extremely well for me! This plus an angled brush and I'm good to go, it's wonderful. It looks natural and stays on for as long as I need it to!

ANNABELLE Smoothliner in Metal Daze: As it says on the pencil, hypo-allergenic, long-lasting, and waterproof. One of my absolute favourite pencil eyeliners! The colour I have is Metal Daze - it comes out as a lovely almost sparkly black. I definitely plan on getting my hands on more colours!

HAIR PRODUCTS.

TRESEMME Thermal Creations: This "heat tamer spray" is a dream. It offers heat protection for temperatures up to 230 degrees Celsius. I personally use it for blow drying, since that's really all I do along the lines of heat to my hair nowadays, but I'm sure it would work wonderfully for flat ironing or curling too. It leaves my hair feeling soft and smooth. Just a spritz on the hair right before you apply heat! Plus, it smells amazing. 

GARNIER Pure Clean Smoothing Cream: This cream understands my hair. No heaviness, no stickiness, just 98% naturally-derived goodness. I put it on my curly hair when it's damp and it locks in smooth, bouncy curls without any fuss at all. Seriously wonderful.

- - - - -

There is a handful of some of my favourite products of 2013! I so look forward to this coming year of testing out more products and discovering what works for me. 2014, here we come!

What are some of your 2013 favourites?

-Hannah

New Year.

Happy holidays, everyone! I hope you've all had an absolute blast. Now, of course, back to all the silly responsibilities.

I see a lot of the "New Year, new me" posts in my internet wanderings, and with that naturally comes the "let's be honest, I'm not eating any healthier" posts too. I think I'm sitting right in the middle of these two. I don't think I have the determination to craft a whole new me, and besides, I really do like the way my life is going at the moment. But I do think there are always ways to improve one's life, and this year I'm feeling a real motivation to do so. Here's a break down.

1. Eat healthier. For real, though. My first semester at university was a whirlwind of frantic studying and eating my feelings. Now that I've got a better idea of what to expect going into second semester, I feel I can really concentrate on keeping healthy.
2. Keep active. An active lifestyle has always been important to me, but in the last while I've really been neglecting it. Back to the gym I go!
3. Put more effort into how I look. This does seem rather shallow, now that I look at it... But I swear, it's not meant to be! I think that for me personally, good hair and nice outfits and rad makeup aid in making me feel more confident. And confidence is something I really do struggle with. (Plus I really want to learn how to contour. It looks so great!)

That is about it. I decided to keep it simple, keep it short. I feel as though if I can make it a habit, and part of my lifestyle, to do these three things, I'll be better off in the long-run. It'll be challenging, certainly. But what things that are worthwhile aren't challenging?

What are your New Year resolutions?

-Hannah