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

New Shoes

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I went shopping downtown, and though the main purpose of the trip was finding presents for the holidays, I did manage to find a new pair of boots as well. I've just been in such a shopping mood lately!

ELYTA Ankle Boots - ALDO

I bought these boots at ALDO yesterday, on sale for $39.98. The boots have a slight heel, about an inch and a half or so. They also came in black, and a green-brown colour.

These boots are incredibly comfortable, and I think they will go with practically any outfit. I am very pleased with them!

I also did manage to find some Christmas presents yesterday! I was hoping to find some cute, cheap decorations for my dorm room, but I'm still looking. I'll keep you all updated!

I hope you all had lovely weekends!

-Hannah

What I'm Listening To

I DID IT AGAIN, I'm sorry! I promise to be more consistent!

I've discovered SO many good artists this month and felt I should share. Here are a couple of my favourites!

The Head and the Heart. Suuuuch beautiful music. My friend introduced me to them a little while back, and sent me an earlier EP, and I instantly fell in love with their music. If you enjoy really gentle acoustic/indie, I'd highly recommend giving their songs a listen.

 Smallpools. Earlier this month I attended a Walk The Moon concert (which was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, and I was going to add them to this list too but I think I've already mentioned them a couple of times already) and these guys were one of the opening bands. Super interesting sound, and very enjoyable to listen to live. Upbeat and lively.

The 1975. I've been listening to them for a while now, actually, but have yet to get their CD or any of their EP's. I really, REALLY want to see them live, though, I think they would be absolutely incredible. Again, more lively and energetic, with lots of great vocals and fantastic drum beats.

So there is a little preview of some of the music I've been immersing myself in this past little while! Uni has been so busy but I do try to make time for music.

I hope you all have lovely weeks, and I'll talk to you again soon (I promise!)

-Hannah