Moving Tips (aka: In which I sound like I work for Glad)

I hate moving. I mean, I really, really HATE moving. As you savvy readers may have sussed, I have a lot of crap. A lot of beauty product crap, to be sure, but my hoarding tendancies don't stop there. Books, cookware, barware, clothes, shoes... I just have a lot of stuff. So you can imagine that packing up all my crap just to schlupp it somewhere else and unpack it again is definitely on my list of least-favourite-things-to-do.

Incredibly, for someone who hates moving, I've moved an average of once a year for the past 5 years. They (the wise folks??) say that there are lessons to be had amidst adversity, so I thought I'd pass on some of the little tricks I've learned during my myriad of moves that have made life just a little bit easier.

1. Plastic wrap is your friend.
Most of us have those little cutlery organizers. A smaller subset of us have trays and mini-cubbies full of makeup. What is the point of taking out the contents of these containers to pack them up in boxes, only to have to unpack them again hours later? THERE IS NO POINT. Instead, just wrap up those suckers in plastic wrap, as though you were shrinkwrapping the damn thing. Then, chuck the whole thing in a cardboard box. When you get to your new place, just cut through the plastic, and... TADA! Your cutlery/makeup/art brushes/extensive button collection is all ready to go into its new home. Cutlery is one of those things you'll need right away after a move, and it's just such a relief to have it all ready to go, instead of sorting through a shoebox of knives and spoons.


2. Garbage bags may seem ghetto, but they are actually ghetto fabulous.
You have a lot of clothes, yes? Much of it on hangers? Along the same lines as the last tip, why take all your jackets and blouses and dresses off their hangers, only to have to re-hang them all at your new place? Instead, gather 6-10 hangers (depending on the bulk) with the clothes on them, and use masking tape to tape all the 'stems' (the straight bit just under the hook) of the hangers together.  Once that's done, just slip a garbage bag over the bundle, poking a hole at the bottom of the bag so that the hanger can go through. Basically you are fashioning yourself a big dry-cleaning bag. Tie up the ends of the bag (at the bottom of the clothes, so that nothing falls out), and you're good to go. The bagged bundles take up much less space than boxes, and once you're at your new place, all you need to do is tear away the bags and tape, and your closet is up and running. Obviously, this isn't the best idea for cross-country moves, but if your stuff will only be spending like an hour in a moving truck, this trick will do just fine.

3. Giant ziploc bags are both comical and efficient.
Have you guys seen these things? You can find them at WalMart or sometimes Canadian Tire. They are amay-to-the-zing. Exactly as advertised, these are huge-ass ziploc bags. But instead of Chex Mix or whatever, you put your neatly-folded up clothes into them. Each bag will hold about a drawer's full of clothes (depending on the size of your drawers, of course). First and foremost, gimungous bags are funny, and if you're going to make your friends help you schlepp your shit across town, you should at least also make them laugh. Secondly, unlike big bulky boxes, clear bags mean you'll see what's in each bag more quickly, without labelling. They also fit a lot better/easier into whatever nooks and crannies you find in your moving truck. And finally, once you've settled into your new place, the huge ziplocs double as laundry bags too. Genius.



4. Regular-sized ziploc bags are less hilarious, but still efficient. Like the Germans.
So, you guys know to store the nuts and bolts and screws from your dismantled furniture in a small ziploc, and to tape that bag to part of the furniture, right? Of course you do. What is it, amature hour here?




5. Mark very very clearly the box that contains the corkscrew / bottle opener.
Trust me, you may well find yourself casually hurling your umpteenth box marked "Kitchen Misc." at the wall after you've spent 30 mins searching for these objects. This also applies to a lesser degree to the shower curtain and toilet paper.





6. Throw money at the problem if you can. 
Having moved both with the help of my wonderful long-suffering friends and by hiring movers, I can tell you that the latter is like 8-bajillion times better (p < .01).  Seriously, I don't know how I can ever go back. But, if you can't, or don't want to drop the cash, be sure to cultivate as many friendships as possible with people who are easily swayed by promises of food and alcohol. (See also: making friends in grad school.)





No matter what, moving sucks. But, with these tips, hopefully your move can go a bit smoother than it might have. At the very least, you should be able to crack into that bottle of wine earlier. (Yes, I realize you haven't unpacked the box with your stemware yet. Why are you looking at me like this is a problem? Wine bottles are just like big beer bottles, after all!)

On confidence.

This is a quote from actress Gabourney Sidibe, on where she gets her confidence:

"It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear colors that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see."

I haven't seen Precious. I had no idea who Gabourney Sidibe was until I saw her at the awards shows. I still don't know anything about her, and really have no opinion of her.

Beauty is subjective, but only to a point. Excellence can be defined by many things, but I'll bet we can all roughly agree on which people excel in their fields. Talent is fairly easily recognized; you can only fake it so much. The hard truth is, we are not all model-gorgeous, we cannot all win Nobel prizes, and we aren't always going to be great at what we want to do, no matter how hard we try.

But. Does it matter? Even if the best we can be is far from the best, it is still OUR best. Shouldn't we treat ourselves with as much love and respect as we lavish on the beautiful, successful, and talented? 

So wear your 'special-occasion' outfit. Break out the company-only cutlery and stemware. Spend an extra 5 minutes perfecting your hairstyle or lipstick or whatever. Why not? You just might end up feeling lovelier, acting cleverer, being kinder. 

No one can rob you of these feelings. Only you can allow them to be taken.

Thanks, Gabourney.

Tighten Your Wallet and/or Your Belt

Hey folks! So, you know how it's all hot and sunny out? And you know how the need for caffeine strikes grad-student-bloggers who stay up way too late drinking way too much beer while watching their hockey team (who hasn't won the Stanley Cup in way too many years) let in waaayyyyy too many goals to lose yet another series ... um, where was I? Right: Coffee. Need it. And when the temperatures are on the rise, the desire for something cold, delicious, and Starbucks kicks in.

Yeah, but that lush-lookin' frap has over 300 calories, and that's WITHOUT the whip. And not that I'm one to obsess over these kinds of things, but the idea of consuming a meal's worth of calories* in one drink on a regular basis is a bit disconcerting (Grande ain't just a drink size, people). Besides, these babies are like $4-something a pop, and at my typical rate of coffee consumption, I'd go broke in no time.

So today, while standing in line at Starbucks, I pondered: I want coffee. Just like my regular brewed coffee, but... cold. How does one make hot coffee cold? With ice, you say? And what's this on the menu... "Brewed Iced Coffee"?? And it only costs a bit more than the regular coffee? How have I never thought to order this before?!?!



Even if you are a sugar freak like me, and put in 2 shots of flavoured syrup PLUS sweetener, with a dash of skim, it still all comes to just about 150 calories for the Grande size. At $2.68 for all that, I am a happy camper. A happy, caffeinated, cool-as-a-cucumber camper. Sugar-free syrup would put you at 110 calories, and if you're feeling especially frugal, you can skip the syrup and just use sweetener -- it dissolves better than sugar, and you don't really taste the "fake-sugar" aftertaste much due to the coffee-ness and cold-ness of it all.

Yes, okay, so it doesn't look as sexy as the Vanilla Frap. But pour some milk into that baby, watch it billow out in silky clouds, and tell me that it doesn't make you feel like a coffee artiste.


And since this is a beauty blog and all... in beauty-related wallet-friendly news, my favourite go-to conditioner, Thermasilk, is long gone. It's been replaced by ThermaShine in the Sunsilk line. While it's not 100% the same, it's pretty darn close (even the scent!). I just don't get excited about it in the same way though... I think the blue/lilac colour is throwing me off. I did pick up another bottle the other day when I ran out, so obviously it's good enough. And it's cheap and easily available, which is always good. (That's what she said.)




*To be honest, I can never finish one of those anyway. It's just too much -- makes me too full. Plus, they're either too cold to start, or too warm and gross and separated by the time it's liquid enough to really drink. I am a sucker for their whipped cream though!

Perfect Presents: Oral Fixation Mints

They say true beauty comes from within, and I'm pretty sure they mean "from within your mouth". Make sure your breath is as pretty as your lipgloss with the happiest mints EVER, Oral Fixation Mints.


Perfect For: Your coworker with the chronic coffee breath; your friend who's trying to quit smoking or snacking (or both!); someone with whom you are about to make out.

Why it's Perfect: So stylish and delicious, no one could be offended by receiving these. They take longer to eat than M&M's, but are sugar-free. And did I mention the stylishness and the deliciousness???

These mints come in beautiful brushed metal tins, reminiscent of cigarette cases of yore. With gorgeous designs on the tins, each one is inlaid with a delicate printed paper reflecting the theme of each flavour.





Jasmints, delicate pale lavender mints stamped with a flower design, are mild and delicious, with a hint of floral flavour. Fabulous Fruit mints are bold, fuscia, heart-stamped, and fun. They are practically like candy, and the tropical flavours sparkle on your tongue. Classical Mints come in a steel-look tin, with a liner that looks like sheet music. The treble-clef stamped mint has a strong and ... well, classic peppermint flavour, and is perfect for the fashionable man or music-lover in your life.



You might think that these lovely little boxes of happiness might cost a small bundle. But you can build your own box of 12 flavours for only $30 (plus ship). That's less than $3 a tin! For a limited time, you can get 10% off a BYOB gift purchase by entering the code "giftyourfix" at checkout (details here). And in the spirit of the season, Oral Fixation will donate 10% from each BYOB purchase to Comedy Cures.


I can't stop eating these! They are seriously delicious, and addictive enough to take the place of any vices you may be trying to rid yourself of. The tins are even cooler in person, and pulling these out of my purse actually brighten my day a little (not to mention my breath!). They'd be wonderful as stocking stuffers, or as part of a bigger gift. I can't wait to try the Mimosa mints, and the Mojito mints, and Antioximints... and oh, I just want them all! You can order online as well as see the rest of the flavours on the Oral Fixation website.



For those of you looking for a local source, I've seen their "Sugar Free Tibet" (har!) mints sold at the Royal Ontario Museum gift shop. You can contact them to find out if there are retailers near you.

Product Review: Rimmel Vinyl Lip lipgloss

I have had a most exhausting week, and it's not close to being over yet. But it seems like everyone's in the same boat. Certainly those hard-working police officers who pulled me over on my way home from work yesterday were busy. Busy writing me a ticket for slowly rolling through a stop sign, 2 blocks from my house, at 5 in the frickin' morning*.

Seriously guys, I know you have a quota or whatever, but fuck off, ok? Way to take $100+ from a poor underfunded grad student** who wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed for a couple measly hours of sleep, before having to star it all over again. The only thing that puts any justice into the situation is that I was flying down the Gardiner at like 140 KM/H earlier that night. So I guess we'll just call this one karma. But they're still assholes.


Anyway, poor Kristen over at Beauty Addict has apparently also been having a hellish time at work, and recently wrote a post about the beauty routines that are the first to go when we're frantically busy. Me? Definitely the hair. Heck, even on a good day, I'll sometimes pull it up just to get it out of my face, so when I'm unshowered and un-conditioned? A big ol' un-glamorous bun it is. And let's not even talk about the eyebrows.

But even in my sleep deprivation, I need my lipgloss. One I have been reaching for a lot lately is Rimmel's Vinyl Lip in Snog.





Snog is the perfect shade for those brainless days. It's a medium goes-with-everything mauvey pink. Slightly on the cool side, but it's pretty neutral, and has only a whisper of shimmer. Just a shade deeper than my medium pigmented lips, this has enough colour to put some signs of life back on weary faces, but not so much that you have to, you know, match it with anything.

Texture wise, this is great. Really smooth and fluid with a medium thickness, and you could probably get by without using a lipbalm underneath. Lasting power leaves a little something to be desired, but hey, it's cheap enough at about $6 CAD. The only potentially off-putting thing would be the scent. It has this insanely candyish orange scent to it, as if you'd just licked an orange sucker and stuck it under your nose. Reminds me of Vicks Vitamin C Drops, or even a Mr. Sketch marker. Not a problem for me, as I love orange candy, and rather like the smell. It fades substantially as you wear it, but if you're not a fan of scented lip products, steer clear.

A great gloss for on the go, or if you just want a pretty, natural lip look. I may even wear it to traffic court, in an attempt to charm the bastards into letting me off sans demerit points.


* Yes, I came home from work at 5am. Like I said: exhausting.

** The Finns have it right, I say. According to their formula, the police might have even ended up paying ME!

Things That Do Not Suck

Well now! I trust you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, if that's the kind of thing you and yours like to do around this time of year? Although we had our Canadian Thanksgiving way back in October, I took advantage of the occasion to have some Turducken. The only thing better than feasting on a bird at Thanksgiving? Feasting on THREE birds at once. And the only thing better than even that? OYSTER STUFFING. So yummy!


The only unfair thing is... while our friends south of the border get such marvellous things as Black Friday, I get... exams to mark. And essays. And presentations. And abstract submissions. This is going to be a crazy crazy week and a half, so I probably won't be around here much. But don't worry, I'll be back soon, and just in time to post a super-fab series on Perfect Presents, to get you all set for your holiday shopping!


Keeping with the theme of things that don't suck, I tried out a "recipe" for a white bean dip this weekend. I say "recipe" because it was mostly me throwing things together and hoping it would work, but it did, and it was super easy! Here is a photo of what it could look like, if I was a food blogger/artist:




What you'll need:

- 1 can White Kidney Beans (you could probably use any white bean, or dried beans if you want to go through all that soaking. Which I did not.)
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
- apx 3 strips of cooked bacon (I used the pre-cooked stuff, b/c this was all on a whim)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (If you don't love the bite of raw garlic, leave it out or use roasted garlic, or even garlic powder)
- 3 dashes of onion flakes
- Salt to taste

Throw all of that into a food processor, or my boyfriend's Magic Bullet in my case*, and whir until smooth. If you're trying to keep things low-fat, omit the olive oil and instead use a bit of water or chicken stock -- the point is just to thin the bean dip out a little until you get the consistency you like. And of course, you can omit the bacon if you want.

For being such a hack job, this turned out incredibly well. Really creamy and rich-tasting, but with relatively healthy ingredients, this is high fibre, high protein, and low in carbs and fat. Plus it took like, 10 minutes from start to finish**. If you have any fancy oils on hand, try blending them in for extra flavour goodness -- nutty, lemon, or cajun/tex-mex flavours would also be great. I can't wait to try this with a bottle of white truffle olive oil that I have sitting at home! Serve with pita chips, on baguette slices, crackers, or even spread on toast. By the end, you'll be just eating it by the spoonful like we were.


And finally, for things that are most definitely the opposite of sucky, the Weekly Beauty Read from the Beauty Blog Network!

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog interviews Paris Hilton and gets her top 5 beauty tips.

Bionic Beauty shares her mineral makeup look of the day: "Rockin' the Glow".

Lipsticks are Like Men: Makeup Moxie Reviews Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick.

Beauty and Fashion Tech has a list of makeup palettes that are perfect for holiday gifts.

The Muse shares her collection and reviews of Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Perfumes.

Savvy Skin covets all of Oprah's Favorite Things 2007

Temptalia reviews MAC's Metal-X Collection with swatches!

Elke reviews the ColorPro stick on eye shadow stencils, with somewhat iffy results.

Stylish Opinion finds a new 'green' beauty skincare line, "Green By Nature".

The Beauty Blog Network welcomes newest member Scandalous Beauty to it's team.

Beauty Banter muses about the hot new trend: Cat Eyes... Who is wearing it and how you can achieve the look too!

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic checks out Prescriptive's Holiday 2007 Sets

A Touch of Blusher can't live without this hand cream!

Beauty and Personality Grooming - Herbal after shampoo hair rinses

SugarShock finds a bath and shower gel that's worthy of Cleopatra.

Makeup Loves Me is seduced by sunsilk' get hairapy commercials, but not it's shampoos.

Scandalous Beauty delivers an exclusive interview with Celebrity Make-Up Artist Sam Fine!

Face Candy gets a new holiday look and reviews Marc Jacob's newest scent- Daisy.




*Good LORD does that ever sound sketchy. I promise you that link is totally SFW.
** Including the time it took to whack the blender cup in an attempt to get all the ingredients to reach the blade... stupid lying infomercials...

Not Makeup: Rememberance

A young corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces was killed while serving in Afghanistan yesterday. I did not know him, but he was very close to someone I used to be very good friends with. That friend and I had lost touch years and years ago, but her loss feels shockingly close to home. I can't even begin to imagine what she is going through.

Selfishly, I wondered: what if it had happened to me? What if it was my boyfriend, or brother, or best friend? How would I deal with losing someone so young and so full of life... someone I had looked forward to sharing my entire life with?

I don't know how I'd deal. But I do know that I was reminded today to be grateful for the amazing people in my life. Take a minute, and just forget about everything. Forget the bills, the job, the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses. And for God's sake, forget the wrinkles, the frizzy hair, and the cellulite. Because we are all perfect the way we are. We are loved, and we love, and for even just one minute a day, that is enough.

My thoughts and prayers to grieving family, and to my old friend.

Pretty girls should not smell like old-man-hair

Hi hi hi! I know I've been gone for forever, I've been back home visiting the friends and the family. Fun times!


So as you may notice, it's 4am and I need to get up at 8 and I just took the longest wee-hours bus ride ever and I'm just kinda rambling. But I did want to mention that my flight attendent had the strangest perfume ever. It was kind of powdery... kind of oily. It reminded me entirely of that pomade that old men like to put in their hair. Bryl Cream? Is that what it's called? In fact, I was convinced it was coming from Comb-over Carl sitting in the seat ahead of me, but I only smelled it whenever that particular flight attendent walked by.

Who would make such a perfume? I am entirely turned off by it, yet completely intrigued, because... well, WHY? When you can smell like posies and cookies and rainbows and feelings or whatever, why old-man hair pomade? What is the thought process behind such a creation?

So... um, yeah, if anyone knows what this perfume might be, gimme a shout and let me know, so I can google the heck out of it and discover the origins of this insanity.

In other news, the flight was most excellent. In some p < .001 kinda event, I got ALL 3 seats to myself. I totally stretched out... it was like Limo-Plane. Plus the meal was yummy, Shepherd's Pie for reals. Go Sunwing Airlines!

A little mid-week distraction

This is pretty much all over the internet by now, but I just found out about it yesterday, so here ya go:


(Probably not safe for work, depending on where you work. Nothing too bad, just some language.)






Too awesome. You can see the outakes here. Now if you'll excuse me, I too need to get my drink on. It IS Wednesday, after all.

Mwah!

Not Makeup: Cauliflower

aka: "I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing!"


You know what they say about makeup -- "a girl can't live on makeup alone"*. And so I thought I'd share this recipe for roasted cauliflower with y'all. Maybe it's old news to you, but it's just so darn tasty that I really must post it.

Cauliflower, despite its fanciful name, is not exactly the sexiest of vegetables. It doesn't have the vibrant lure of bell peppers, or the lush texture of a portabello. It is not the incredibly flavourful sweet onion, nor the straight-up vixen that is asparagus. But it has hidden potential... don't mistake cauliflower for a wall flower!

When thinly sliced and roasted, cauliflower loses its bitter edge, and takes on a crispy, golden exterior. It becomes sweeter; softer. Some have likened it to tasting like french fries, and while I wouldn't go quite that far, it is very very very good. So good, infact, that I ate an ENTIRE head, by myself last night.

You think I'm crazy, I know. But look! How can anyone resist this?





YUM! Here is the recipe:

1 Head of Cauliflower (or more!)
About 1/4 cup of good olive oil
Kosher or Sea Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

(Serves 2 as a side dish. Or 1, if you're me. It does cook down quite a bit.)

First, preheat your oven to 400F. Slice up your cauliflower into 1/4" or 1/8" thick slices. Some people just start slicing up the whole head, and others cut it into large florets first, before slicing. Do whatever feels right to you. Either way, you will end up with some large, lacey slices, and then lots of little crumbles and mini florets.

Throw the whole mess in a big bowl and toss with the olive oil to cover. You don't need a whole lot of oil, just enough to coat everything thinly. Salt and pepper to taste, being sure to get the seasoning all mixed in.

Spread the cauliflower onto a baking sheet. I use a foil lined one to help it cook more evenly, but you don't have to. They key is to get as much surface-area contact between the cauliflower and the pan as possible. This ensures the best browning and crisping. I usually do one head over a large sheet and a small sheet, but apparently 1 head is supposed to fit on one large sheet. Just try to get it in 1 layer, and you should be ok.

Pop it into the oven. One head should take about 40 mins at 400, but you really just have to watch, as I find it varies from oven to oven, and from cauliflower to cauliflower. It's done when it looks all golden and crispy -- in fact, you can even go a bit darker than what the photo above depicts. Some of the little crumbly bits will brown faster, but don't worry too much, it'll all taste good.

If you find some areas of the pan browning too fast, give everything a good stir to move stuff around. You can flip it half way through too, although I'm not very good at that part, and have omitted it successfully before.



If you haven't tried this already, you really need to! Even people who don't like cauliflower cooked other ways find themselves loving this. It is so easy, so quick, and so good. Healthy too! The recipe is ultra versatile -- you can roast other veggies prepared in similar ways (broccoli, or asparagus, or yams spring to mind), purée it to use in soups or sauces, use it as a mashed potato substitute, use other spices and seasonings... the sky's the limit!

For more delicious ideas, check out this eGullet forum thread devoted entirely to roasted cauliflower (15 pages!). I first learned about it on there, and the kind posters have lots of helpful tips and great ideas. The gorgeous photo above was shamelessly stolen from Susan in FL's post on pg. 13.


Hope everyone is having a beautiful day!


* Yes, I know, it's "love", but for me, it is the same, no?

Product Review: TheBalm Time Balm Concealer

Hello friends! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I had a fantastic one myself -- it was me and The Boy's 1 year anniversary, and it's been sort of a week-long celebration. From cooking classes to winery tours to waterparks, it's been a crazy fun weekend, albeit a very tiring one.

Fortunately, I was toting around my Time Balm Concealer throughout the festivities, and thus managed to appear bright-eyed and alert* in any incriminating photos.




Concealers really have a thankless job -- we ask them to cover up all things unsightly, and demand that they get no credit for the work by being as invisible on the skin as possible. Well, Time Balm goes one step further and promises to deliver wrinkle-fighting and anti-dark circles technology. You're supposed to even wear it in your sleep!

Well, I don't know about all that jazz -- sounds like a clever ploy to sell twice the amount of concealer to me. ("But look!", they say. "Your circles are diminished when you wake up!" This is true. This is because I still have freakin' make up on. Yeesh.)

But none of that matters much, as Time Balm is really a very good concealer. The coverage is quite opaque, about on par with my beloved Cinema Secrets concealer. However, where the Cinema Secrets glides on smoothly, you need to work at the Time Balm a bit. It can feel a bit dry and unblendable going on, but there's a few things you can do to deal with that:

1) Moisturize like mad
2) Leave the container in the bathroom while you shower (the heat makes it smoother)
3) Work at it a bit in the container before putting it on.

I find it best to use my ring finger to apply, as the heat from my skin helps the concealer go on.

Where it does have an advantage over other high-coverage concealers is its tenacity -- this is probably the longest-lasting creme concealer I've tried. After you put it on, it dries to an ever-so-slightly tacky finish, which in terms of home decor, hair style, or date choices is a very bad thing. However, in concealer-speak, it means that it's less likely to budge or smear your mascara. I can go running with this on, and if I don't go crazy swiping at my face with the towel, it'll still have coverage at the end. It even sorta-kinda survived an entire afternoon at the waterpark -- a touch-up was definitely needed, but it wasn't entirely gone either.

So, if you have a problem with disappearing concealers, give this one a try. However, if you have very dry skin, this might not work that well for you, although the tips I mentioned above do improve its workability a lot. It comes in 4 shades, with Light/Medium being my perfect match. Definitely worth a try for the $26 CAD at Sephora, and you can even get it on sale at Bombshell Bargains for $17 (plus shipping).


* Well, bright-eyed and slightly drunk in some of them, if we are being honest. It was a celebration, after all.

3 M's

Yowza it's been a long time! I'm sorry for the delay, dear readers, I'm in the throes of the 3 M's: Marking, Moving, and Makin' Whoopee. (Okay, not that last one.) (Well, not that you need to know about anyway.)

Marking is (boring) business as usual, but moving! That's new. The lovely Roomie and I have decided to leave the dank craphole that is our current appartment and quit giving our landlord slumlord any more of our hard-earned cash. Which means the past little while has been full of appartment hunting, and in my case, shopping for furniture, appliances, and general house-stuff. Because although my illogical collection of 16 zillion martini and cocktail glasses is all fine and dandy, you can't exactly fry an egg in any of them.

In addition to all this hooplah, there's lots of travel involved in the next few weeks, plus it's Roomie's birthday soon, which means bad things for posting. I haven't even had time to watch SYTYCD to see if my beloved Jessi made it through her tragic illness*. (Though CNTM has barely made it into the schedule)




Nobody rocks weird lamb ears like this girl does! Mwah!


But hang tight, dear friends! I will be back, saying alternately loving and snarky things about various products as per usual! In the meantime, I hope you are having a beautiful time out there in blog-land. Check back soon!


* Okay, so I just googled it and apparently she WAS sent home, and, according to this online petition that you bet your ass I'm going to sign, was sent home without any sort of real reason from the judges. This is deplorable. I am incensed, I say! INCENSED!

Product Review: La Senza Itec Bra

AKA: The Magic Bra

Okay, so it's not lipstick or eyeshadow, but it's girly and necessary, so I'm posting about it. I'm talkin' bras, friends. (And any gentlemen friends out there, you can go right on ahead and skip the rest of this post, because you probably don't need or want to know the intimate details of my choices in underwear.)

I'm pretty fortunate in the bra department, because I am easy to please. I don't much support, and I fall in the range of standard store sizes. Basically, if it fits reasonably well, and looks decent and isn't crazy expensive, I'm there. If there's a bit of padding for bit of boost? Even better.

Lately though, my bras have been rebelling. I bought a new Jockey strapless that looked great on the hanger and in the change room. It's one of those with rubberized inside seams to help keep it up... it felt tight, but not extremely uncomfortable or anything. I even fell asleep in it. Well, apparently "tight" when you are awake translates to "OWWWW" after a night's sleep. I woke up to raised red welts where the wire from the bra dug into my skin. It was not good. It looked like I decided to experiment with some kinda kinky bedroom activity which went haywire. Just a bad scene in general.

Plenty of jojoba oil later, the welts subsided and I was ok. Until the other bras decided to act up. I don't know if the negative experience made me more sensitive or they just decided to declare mutiny or something, but all of a sudden, everything was pinching and poking. The underwire in the front would either pinch the area, or actually poke through and jab at my chest. Mmmmm... scars are totally hot!

So, when I walked past La Senza the other day and saw they were having a store-wide sale, I had to stop in. And I'm so glad I did, because their Itec bras, which usually sell for over $40, were on sale for $16.50!

If you haven't heard about the Itec bras, La Senza claims they're the most revolutionary bras ever, or some other such hyperbolized ad copy. It's made from a single piece of odd fabric (more on that later), and promises complete comfort and seamlessness. I tried their "Wireless" version, and bought 2 on the spot.

Ladies, this is the most comfortable bra that I have ever put on. It's light weight, moves with you, and avoids the dreaded quad-boob. The lack of underwire means that there's no uncomfortable jabbing -- you don't even get those temporary "bra marks" after a long day's wear. The edges are subtly scalloped, and the band across the back is wider than average. It's lightly padded (comes in more or less padded versions too) and looks natural under clothes. In fact, I wore one of my tightest, thinnest t-shirts over it the other day and you could barely see it. Under a normal shirt, it's pretty much invisible.

The fabric is odd if you've never encountered it before. It's like a microfiber that has been made into a very thin layer of foam. It reminds me a bit of the stuff they make wetsuits out of, only thinner. It's very soft, smooth, and comfortable, just slighly neoprene-y. At the same time, this makes the bra truly lightweight. Apparently, you are supposed to hand wash these, which is kind of a pain. But certainly less of a pain than having angry red marks on your chest from stupid bras with stupid underwires.

The sales associate had no idea why they were on sale (only some styles in the line were)... she hazarded that they might be introducing new colours and thus were phasing old ones out. (A new black and a new white? Er... okay) Maybe they're re-designing some of them, or putting in the Ipex line instead*. Whatever. All I know is that they're on sale, for an undetermined amount of time, and they're going fast. The La Senza website only has the orange colour left, although the physical store had more colours. Both the "unwired" and "lace pushup" varieties are on sale.

I am so in love with these. I feel like I could work out in them if I wanted to, they feel so nice. They do have wired versions, and apparently those are WAY more comfortable than your typical underwire bra. But it doesn't matter, because I've just decided that I am so done with wires, and need to go buy more of these, stat.



* If you've tried the Ipex line from Victoria's Secret, the concept is very similar. In fact, last year, VS sued La Senza over the similar naming and marketing of the bras. Not sure how that resolved, but it doesn't matter as they've now actually acquired La Senza in a friendly takeover. (In fact, you may have seen some of the VS cosmetics being carried by La Senza as of late.) I haven't tried Ipex, so I can't say how they compare, but people on random message boards report that the La Senza Itec looks better and is cheaper, so take that for what you will.

SHOES

Yipiee, the Comments for a Cure eBay auctions are up! We've decided to split up the uber-ginormous auctions into several smaller-but-still-ginormous ones, so that lots of people can have a chance to bid. Also, not even a makeup junkie like me could use *that* much stuff! Rest assured though, each auction is still chock full of luscious goodies, so go check 'em out!

Sharon Bolton Scented Candle & Perfume Oil Retail: $70, Starting Bid $10

Nubar Nail Collections and Manicure Set Retail: $119, Starting Bid: $20

Zoya Nail Collections & Gift Basket Retail: $132, Starting Bid: $20

Gigantic Goodie Bag #1 (Bourjois Paris! Kenzo! China Glaze!) Retail: $500, Starting Bid: $50

Gigantic Goodie Bag #2 (DuWop! Alterna! More Kenzo!) Retail: $360, Current Bid: $50

Gigantic Goodie Bag #3 (Tarte! So much Tarte!) Retail $460, Current Bid $66

Gigantic Goodie Bag #4 (T3 Tourmaline Appliances! Dermacia! Max Factor!) Retail: $1040, Starting Bid: $100



In other news: Shoes. I don't usually post about this, but I'm so delighted by my recent find that I feel I should share. You see, I am a lover of strappy heels and tall boots, because, well come on! They're strappy heels and tall boots! However, with the lazy hazy days of summer arriving, sometimes you just want to throw on a pair of damn sneakers and get out of the house, ya know?

The problem is, nothing I own (other than a couple pairs of jeans) really goes with sneakers. I'm a dress-pants and flippy-skirts kinda girl. Sundresses are calling out to me. I just don't feel right wearing runners with most of my outfits, and flip flops are too casual for work.

But oh oh oh, I don't have to worry anymore! Lay your eyes on these lovlies:



These flats are perfect! Girly and cute without being too casual or athletic. I can pair these with jeans, skirts, dresses, trousers... everything! Plus they're flat, comfy, and closed-toed, which is just the ticket for days when I'm too tired/busy to deal with touching up my pedicure.

You'll never believe where I found them either: Athletes World. For reals! They were $40 for 2 pairs, so I also got these:




I'm not 100% about these ones. I half-think they're really cute, and half-think they're kind of ugly. Cugly? I'm leaning more towards the cute side though, they have this hint of a country picnic feel to them that I really like. They also come in blue with white dots (how nautical!), and cream with red/brown dots (also nice, but I was already dead set on the floral cream pair). Lots of other styles at the store too... give their website a visit if you're in the market for comfortable, good looking flats.

Much much love to these shoes! Now my feet can feel as light and carefree as the rest of my summery wardrobe!

Eat bread crusts to curl your hair

Day 3 of Comments for a Cure -- this is your last chance!! I'll donate $1 to the Canadian Cancer Society for each comment left on today's post, so please leave a comment -- I'm at 16 so far and it would be great reach my $50 goal!

I haven't been replying to comments, so as to not artifically inflate the count, but I just wanted to say a BIG THANKYOU to everyone who's commented. Your support means a lot, and I really appreciate it! Keep 'em coming!


Anyone remember this one? It was a popular saying from back in the day. Obviously, it isn't true, but who knows how many loaf-heels little girls chomped on in hopes of achieving glorious ringlets? And why are little girls so dumb as to believe such crazy things?*

Perhaps I'm being too harsh on the little girls... plenty of adults belive in the idea of eating something to enhance your appeal. I'm not talking about antioxidant and vitamin rich veggies and fruits (although we all should eat more of those anyway!). I'm not even talking about products like Tarte's Inside Out Lip Gloss, which is apparently enriched with extracts of green tea, grapeseed, lychee, vitamins, and something called Acai (whatever! They're shimmery and pretty!).

No no, my friends. I am talking about chewing gum that makes you smell pretty.




Fuwarinka gum promises to not only deliver a pleasurable chewing experience**, but also to perfume you with a rose or vanilla fragrance. Mentioned in Sephora's Blog and Now Smell This, this gum supposedly makes your skin secrete a rose scent, and the candy in the same line creates a vanilla scent.


Could this possibly work? I mean, one time my friend smelled like onions after he ate a lot of Pho, but he eats a lot of things in general, so who knows? But, according to a hilarious review at Gastronomy 101, it doesn't work. In addition to not working, it (the rose candy) also tasted pretty much disgusting. It comes in 3 flavours: Rose, Citrus (much less gross than the Rose), and Menthol-Rose (which the reviewer did not try, but sounds like some kind of novelty cigarrette to me.)

Nonetheless, I just need to try this. I have no idea how I will go about finding it, but I'm due for a trip back to the Motherland (aka: Hong Kong) this Christmas, so maybe I'll be able to track some down there!


Thanks for visiting & commenting today, and please check out the Comments for a Cure website, CaféPress Store, and leave comments for the other participating blogs too!

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* For instance, when I was little, I believed that I wanted to be a cartoon volleyball player. I practised using a blown-up grocery bag, tied tightly at the handles. It was a pretty sad scene.

** In truth, I have no idea what they promise, as I don't read Japanese. "Promising great pleasurable chewing experience!" does sound like something you'd see on a package of Japanese gum though.

Confessions

No longer just the name of an old Usher album (WHAAAT??? YEEEEAH!!) -- our favourite brainy bloggers over at The Beauty Brains tagged me in a meme -- my very first one, no less! This one lists 5 things about a blogger that were previously unknown to readers. Who knew Sara-bellum and I were addiction-twins? If I keep bugging Right Brain, will I get an invite for a home-cooked meal? And can I raid Left's CD collection?

Anyway, since I'm still working on some reviews (soon, promise!), this meme comes at a handy time. So without further ado, here are 5 Things You May Not Have Known About Me:


1. What book is currently on your nightstand?
Hm... does an unruly stack of unread journal articles count? I just finished Will Ferguson's Happiness, and have been reading Dorothy L. Sayer's Five Red Herrings for like a year -- I never get past the 2nd chapter, because I only remember that I'm reading it every couple of months, and then have to start from the beginning again. So far it's fascinating!



2. Who are your personal heroes or role models?
Oh wow. Well, my mom is pretty awesome. One also has to admire the coiffed blonde gumption that was Mary Kay Ash. She seemed like a great lady.




3. How do you relieve stress?
Shopping, she said sheepishly. Beef jerky. Going to band practice, when I did that. Singing loudly while driving down the highway also works, as does curling up with a good book or some trashy TV.






4. What music do you like?
Jazz, of course! (Emilie-Claire Barlow's new CD out June 19th! So cannot wait!) The Fratellis are also making me bop around a lot. They're Scottish and awesome.






5. What personal care product can’t you live without?
Well, there's the lip gloss, of course. And then the concealers, and foundations, and shine serums. The blog's tagline basically says it all. But lip gloss is definitely what I have most of, so I guess it wins!






And there ya go! I think how it works is that I tag someone next, so.... Meg, from Faking Good Breeding, you're it!

Happy Wednesday!

Because life is more than makeup

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Meade


How true these words ring! Think about all the pivotal changes that have occurred throughout history. Suffrage. Equal rights for minorities. Awareness of animal testing. All these things are brought to the forefront of the public's eye by dedicated, passionate people who work tirelessly to shout it from the mountain tops. They have a vision that burns bright, and they fight to make sure that their message is heard.

These people are special. But they are also regular humans -- they are parents, daughters, and sons. That guy who you always see at Starbucks may organize food drives in his spare time, and perhaps your boss spends her Sundays volunteering at the children's hospital. So if they can do it, why don't we all lend a hand?

It's easy to forget. I sure do -- I am fortunate enough to have a pretty good life, and it's terribly easy to say "Oh, I'll contribute to XYZ foundation later" and then completely forget about it. We have good intentions, it's the follow-through that's hard.

Well, the ladies of the Beauty Blog Network are making it easy to follow through! After learning that several Network members are currently fighting cancer, we decided to combine forces in an effort to raise funds and awareness for cancer research and treatment. Cancer has touched each and every one of us in some way. Those ads, while cheesy, are true: Cancer survivors are our families, our friends, and our colleagues. There are few things scarier and more sombering than finding out a loved one has been diagnosed with the disease. It can make you feel so helpless.




But we CAN help! 25 blogs from the Beauty Blog Network (including yours truly!) will be participating in Comments for a Cancer Cure from June 4th to 6th. How it works is easy: Just visit the participating blogs each of those 3 days, and post a comment on the blog. The blog editors will donate a certain amount per reader comment to the cancer charity of their choice (visit the blogs for their specific details).

For the Ebay junkies amongst us, there will be a charity auction on Ebay for a HUGE goodie basket, filled with items from Tarte, KENZO, DuWop, and Bourjois Paris, just to name a few. (I'm serious, that list is totally impressive, and it's still growing as sponsors chip in. Check it out on the website.) Some Network members are also holding their own Ebay auctions, with proceeds going to the cancer charity of their choice. And if all that ain't enough for ya, Teri from Beautiful Makeup Search has set up a wicked cool Cafe Press store filled with great merchandise emblazoned with our Comments for a Cure logo. Shirts, stuffed bears, aprons, totes... there's something for everyone, and it all looks awesome!

So what's my deal? Well, for every comment posted on the days of June 4th, 5th, and 6th on Brain Spam, I will be donating $1 to the Canadian Cancer Society. Since I am kind of a broke-ass student, I will be capping the donation at $50 (but help me reach that $50!!). To make things a little more interesting, I will also be doing a draw for this lovely t-shirt* from the Cafe Press store. So, even if there's already been 50 comments, comment anyway, because you could get a free shirt!




I can't imagine an easier way to help than this -- all you have to do is visit some blogs, and make some comments. What a great way to use those web-surfing minutes productively. Philanthropically, even!

I'll post a reminder closer to the date of the event, but in the meantime, check out the Comments for a Cancer Cure website to see a list of participating blogs, and to keep updated on the ever-growing list of products in the Ebay auction. As well, browse around on the Comments for a Cure Cafe Press Store and keep the items in mind for gift-giving, or as gifts for yourself!


* For the gentlemen readers out there: if you win, you'll get the dude's t-shirt instead. Pink is manly, especially if it's for a great cause!

Product Review: Zhen Oil Free Matte Foundation

This review was brought to you by Meg's Makeup. To see what others thought of this product, check out the reviews here!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!!!

My mom is a nice lady. She's always great with her P's and Q's, she smells nice, and children and animals like her. She let me play with her makeup and scarves when I was little. My mom's great.

Which still doesn't make it easier that she's always right. Like, how she was always telling me that I should eat more vegetables and drink more water? Score one for Mom. Or how she'd always tell me to plan out my homework so that I wouldn't have to stay up for days trying to get it done in time. Yeah, Mom's right again.

It should come as no surprise then, that Mom was also right about Chinese school. I hated Chinese school. HATED it. It was hard, and ruined half of my weekend, and I had to go to it for like 8 years. Mom would always say that it'd be useful in my future careers to know Chinese, to which I replied in my attitude-y adolescent sneer: "Duh Mom. I'm going to work in CANADA. I'll learn French instead!*"

And, because my Mom is so great, she refrains from telling me "I told you so", even though I use Chinese words in my experiments now, and things would be immensely easier if I'd paid more attention in Chinese school. (That's +3 for Mom now, if you're keeping count)

Fortunately, I did pay enough attention to know the meaning of this Chinese word scripted on the bottle of foundation that Meg sent:




"Zhen". It means "true", making Zhen Oil Free Matte Foundation very aptly named indeed. The finish and colour of this long-lasting foundation stays true even after a long work day. In fact, it basically beats up the long workday, and mops the floor with it, all the while leaving you with a perfectly velvety finish.

For such a long lasting foundation, Zhen is surprisingly light. The thin liquid goes on cool (it's water-based!) and spreads easily on the skin, but you'll have to blend fast, since it sets rather quickly. The Almond shade that I received was just about a perfect match for my light-med warm skintone, and it blended right in with just a few strokes. Coverage is on the light side of medium, although you could easily sheer it out with a damp sponge or foundation brush. It looks fantastically natural, but it can look a bit masky if you put on too much -- a little really goes a long way!

Although it has amazing tenacity at stopping oil from coming through, it doesn't look chalky or overly flat -- just a lovely matte finish. This is meant for oilier skin types, although my currently dry-ish skin has no problems with it. It does not emphasise flakes, nor does it feel dry and uncomfortable.

Zhen foundation comes in 5 shades that are especially designed for Asian women, or anyone with yellow/golden undertones. A high quality foundation with SPF 15, all for less than $18 USD? You can order this foundation and other Zhen products from the company's website (they ship to Canada, whoo hoo!) or try Amazon.com, which does not ship to Canada, but has a nifty 30% off promotion going on.


So the moral of today's post: Moms are wonderful, wise creatures that we should listen to more, and Zhen foundation truly rocks!


* Which I kind of did. Poorly. Oops, I mean mauvaisement. See?

I love maple syrup.

I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. And I take maple syrup and put a little bit in my hair when I've had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick?


Sorry for the lack of post-age this week, I've been marking like crazy and I have to go out of town this weekend. To a Maple Festival, near Ottawa! How fun! Ever had maple taffy? They pour boiled syrup on ice and roll it up. It turns into this gooey maple-lollipop thing... I can't wait! Look! Here is a picture of 2 kids I don't know, enjoying some sugary goodness:




In the meantime, didja hear that Shopper's Drug Mart will now be carrying the No. 7 line of makeup? It's a drugstore staple in the UK, a bit high-endy, but it has a lot of devotees. I didn't try any of it when I was over there (too enamoured with the Bourjois!), so I'll have to give it a shot!

Also, that Clairol ColorSeal Conditioning Gloss I fell in love with? Apparently it's here!!! I saw an ad for it in the drugstore flyer a couple of weeks ago, but haven't actually seen it on a shelf yet. I imagine I'll be able to buy it very very soon, and will subsequently waste many hours flipping my shiny hair in the mirror. Yipiee!

Have a glorious weekend!

I like food... and dreams... and whispers... and Meg's Makeup!*

Mail time is always an adventure at my house. Every once in a while, I get these delightful little packages of samples and goodies in the mail. Hilariously, these packages will often include "Glitterati" under my real name (or sometimes in place of my real name). As dear Roomie says, "The Post Office guys must think a stripper lives here". I love it!

Anyway, my secret stripper-life aside (that phrase is SO gonna come back and haunt me one day...), some of the best packages I get come from Meg's Makeup. I think in the excitement of the reviews, I forget to stress how valuable Meg's site is (regardless of whether or not they send me stuff!).




The philosophy behind the site is to get fair and unbiased reviews of higher-end items, so that consumers don't end up wasting $65 on a crappy face cream, for example. (Incidentally, I love almost everything Meg sends, so I guess I don't really save people money, but the potential is there!) A whole bunch of reviewers will share their experiences with products, and you can see the reviewer's vitals (e.g., colouring, skin type, age, etc.) right under each review.

The ladies on the board are smart, sassy, and LITERATE. My God. I know it's just the internet, but I am a language snob (well, maybe just a language geek), and so it really really bugs me to see reviews like "Haha I got dis frum my sis its great I luv it". That is not a review. It is a text message. Possibly sent by someone who has the unfortunate circumstance of suffering from both ADHD and dyslexia, I don't know. It may not be fair, but when I read something like that, I tend to assume the author is a moron unless proven otherwise. But I digress -- the point is that Meg's is full of intelligent, helpful, and honest opinions. I have discovered fantastic products and even some handy tips from the great community of makeup savvy ladies at Meg's. Plus, they've always got scrumptious contests and giveaways. Love love love!

Stay tuned next week for reviews of a foundation that stays true; the most awesome mask with which to beautify your complexion and scare friends & family; and a clever little pencil that may just save you hundreds of dollars!


*It's from Blades of Glory. G.O.B is in it! It's awesome!