Music Mondays: Week 01

So I wanted to start a small series because it's summer and I want to do something different. Music has always been a huge part of my life - unfortunately, I can't play an instrument but listening to music always does wonders for my mood. Basically, I have a song attached to some of my favorite books, shows, and memories and I'm sure many of you can relate to that. With that in mind, I decided to do something called 'Music Mondays' where I would put out a list of some of my favorite songs that I've been listening to during the past week.

So this past week - more like this entire summer thus far - I've been loving OneRepublic. I don't know what happened but I listened to their newest album, Native, and found myself loving every single song on the album. Which, let me tell you, has never happened to me before. Then I found myself going through their older stuff and re-listening to all of the older songs. So it makes sense that my first MM would focus on songs by OneRepublic, right?

Well, here they are!

What You Wanted (Native)

All This Time (Waking Up)

Everybody Loves Me (Waking Up)

What is some of the music you've been listening to lately? 

30 Before 30

I haven't been updating this blog as much lately because  I just haven't had the best few weeks. Between term papers due pretty much every week to midterms and lab reports, this little baby has been ignored. Oops? It also may have something to do with the fact that I just haven't felt inspired enough to write in general.

Picture taken from a Wallpaper app on Android. 

But it's time to break that cycle and I want to do it with a simple post that I've been seeing a lot of lately: the 30 before 30. Basically, it's a list of 30 things that I want to do before I turn 30. I have just over 7 years to get everything in this list done but I'm determined to see it through.

1. Write (and publish) a book.

2. Graduate school. //completed

3. Tour the Warner Bros. HP studio in London.

4. Spend a month or two travelling around Europe.

5. Go back to India for at least a month and spend time with family there.

6. Get a tattoo. //completed.

7. Spend Christmas/NYE in New York City.

8. Go back to Harry Potter land (Wizarding World of HP) in Florida.

9. Get my own apartment.

10. Get a dog (or two!).

11. Take a road trip.

12. Figure my shit out -- answer the age-old "What am I doing with my life?" question.

13. Begin a clean-eating journey.

14. Complete The Happiness Project.

15. Learn HTML and Photoshop.

16. Become a better person in general.

17. Commit to something - anything - wholeheartedly.

18. Learn to appreciate the simpler things in life.

19. Constantly tell those I care about that I love them.

20. Skydive.

21. Go on the biggest roller coaster in the world - wherever that is.

22. Learn to swim.

23. Keep this blog updated consistently.

24. Learn more patience - especially with my parents.

25. Become more fit and healthy.

26. Learn to keep in touch with my friends without flaking.

27. Keep writing. Write, write, write.

28. Go to the Tomorrowland music festival. Or Osheaga. Or even Coachella.

29. Be more comfortable in my own skin and become more confident in my abilities. Let the past go.

30. Learn how to read music and eventually, learn how to play the piano.

+31. Be more happy. Discover what happiness means to me and push for it.

Do you have a 30 before 30 list? 

If not, I highly recommend you make one. Not only does it give you the chance to really look deeper into yourself but by the end, you may just realize what you give the most importance to. 

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A Love Affair with (David's) Tea

Winters in Canada are harsh - obviously. While I drink coffee like it's water during the summer, it's a different story for the winter.

In winter, I begin a love affair with tea.

I have a ridiculous amount of tea but I've realized that there are a few that I've kept near and dear to my heart. So I thought this would be a good idea to blog about.

Because why not.

My tea stash comes from David's Tea. It's the only specialized tea store that is close enough for me to walk to and I've fallen in love with how amazing all their teas are. I have yet to be disappointed by a tea I've bought from them. But here are my current favourites!

1. Gail's Organic Cold Remedy (green tea)

Sadly, this tea has been discontinued now. This was in my stock for a year now and when my throat began to go particularly scratchy, this was the tea I went to. I was really really disappointed to find out it'd been discontinued but hopefully it may make a comeback next year? David's Tea, if you're reading this, PLEASE BRING THIS BACK.

2. Coffee Cake (black tea)

Again, I don't know why this wasn't on their website. This tea was part of their Winter collection and I can't even deal with how delicious it is. I don't usually take tea with milk but this tea is absolutely phenomenal with a splash of milk. Right when you open the lid, you're hit with a very sweet and soft scent that just overwhelms your senses. Craving that coffee cake from Starbucks? Skip that dessert and drink a cup of this instead. You won't regret it. 

Promise. 

3. Lemon Creamed Honey 

This is one of the newer sweetners that I've seen at David's Tea and when I bought it, I was battling quite a nasty cold. Since I live in residence, I didn't really want to go and buy a jar of honey and lemons separately so I figured I'd try this particular product out. And I'm glad I did! It just melts so easily in your tea and you can even dunk your fingers in and eat it plain. You can definitely taste the lemon flavour quite distinctly but it's molded together with the honey so well that it's just amazing to add to your tea. Not interested in the lemon flavour? They also have cinammon creamed honey!

4. The Perfect Tea Mug 

I couldn't find the design that I have since I suspect it's been sold out on the website. It was part of thier holiday collection so I believe it may make a comeback next winter maybe! But I love these mugs. They have a stainless steel infuser that fits right into the mug so you can put your loose-leaf teas in the infuser and leave them to steep right in the mug. At $20, they are kind of expensive but if you are a tea lover, this is the one mug you need in your pantry. 

Do you have any tea favorites?

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Review: Maybelline Color Elixir

A month ago, I found out that Maybelline was finally bringing their Color Elixirs to Canada. I could not be more excited. These little babies were supposed to be a trifecta, delivering shine, pigmented application, and a balm-like texture in one. So I popped over to the closes Walmart and picked up two colors that I'd been in love with for a while.

L: Blush Essence // R: Captivating Carnation

L: Blush Essence // R: Captivating Carnation

I really like this new line by Maybelline. They do deliver on the appropriate shine and the balm-like texture. However, I don't particularly think they're the most pigmented glosses in the market. Then again, it could be because of the the shades I picked up are relatively light. I'd like to buy a deeper colored shade and test out its pigmentation though. But I do like the softness of the colors; both colors apply very subtly and give a nice, soft touch to your overall look.

The only thing that I don't like about these elixirs is that they are very sticky. I absolutely hate it when strands of my hair get stuck to my lips and for that reason, I've learnt not to wear either of these elixirs on a particularly windy day out -- at least not if my hair won't be up in a bun or a ponytail.

In every other way, I think these are pretty good though. Love the color and the shine it gives.

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts?

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Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain + Swatches

Remember when I said I've been getting a little too into lip products? Well when that started, it started with baby steps. If I'm going to try out different colors, I want to try them out with products like Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable balm stains. 

I had originally picked up the Honey shade but after falling in love with it, I decided to experiment with some of the more different shades - Crush and Smitten. One of the lipstick colors that I've always wanted to experiment with was a nice, deep wine color. Winter season is the perfect time to rock anything wine-colored: lips, nails, scarves, whatever you like! 

The Honey shade originally applies as a soft-pink, almost-mauve color and once the shimmer has faded, it turns into a really soft and subtle pink shade, which is just lovely for everyday wear. 

Crush, on the other hand, is an amazingly deep wine-colored shade that really makes a statement on your face. It pairs brilliantly with really subtle eye makeup and is great for occasions where you want a deep color but you don't want to use a lipstick. 

Smitten is a great intermediate shade between Honey and Crush. It's a deeper pink than Honey but not as deep as Crush. Again, it's particularly fantastic for everyday use and this shade you can pair with subtle eyes for a daytime look or with a nice smokey eye for a nighttime look. 

What I love about this range is that while there is originally bit of shimmer in the initial application, after a few hours, the shimmer pretty much fades away, leaving a nice matte finish on the lips. It does tend to leave residues on cups or mugs or whatever but not to the point that it's very noticeable.

The pigmentation is absolutely fantastic and since it's a balm stain, the formulation leaves your lips feeling nourished and well-moisturized. Bonus point: use these with a nice chapstick if your lips are really dry. It will make a significant difference.

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Let's Get Naked (3)

This past holiday break, I gave myself one of the best Christmas gifts: Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette. 

I was procrastinating from studying and on a whim, I decided to check Sephora's online store to see if it was in stock. It was Tuesday and it was supposed to be available in stores on Wednesday. Imagine my surprise to see it on the website a day earlier. Imagine my relief to see it in stock. Without a second thought, I ordered it right away.

At $60, it's certainly quite an investment to make but because of the neutrality of the shades and amazing quality of the palette itself, I'd say it's an investment you won't regret making. Plus, the palette lasts for a long time. I've been using one of the eyeshadows from the Naked palette to fill in my brows everyday and it's yet to make even a small dent.

The palette is absolutely amazing. As you can see, and as I've already mentioned in an earlier blog post, this palette boasts 12 brand-spankin'-new shades from Urban Decay. True to the quality of the Naked palette, each shadow is incredibly pigmented and glides on very well. 

The colors are fantastic and as you can see, the palette has a brilliant balance of shimmers and mattes and soft, everyday-use shades as well as those you can use for smoky eyes. 

L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick

L-R: Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darksite, Blackheart

Two bonuses of this palette are that it comes with a double-ended eye shadow brush and samples of all 4 of Urban Decay's primer potions: original, sin, eden, and anti-aging. Each sample claims to last for about a week's worth of use and it's a fantastic way to try out all the different formulations to see which you like the best. I know when I first bought the original primer potion, I was so overwhelmed between whether I should get sin, eden, or the original since I had no idea how all of them would look. With this, it makes your decisions easier. Plus, it's nice to try them out to see if the Urban Decay primer potions are worth the investment in the first place. 

Overall, I love this palette. I wasn't much of a fan of the Naked 2 palette but this is well worth the investment. Between this and the original Naked palette, I don't think I'll be using any other palettes that I own - at least not for regular usage. 

What do you think? Is it worth the investment?

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January ipsy Bag

Having just received my January ipsy subscription bag, I thought I'd post its contents. I'm really glad with what I got this time around. 

For those that don't know, ipsy is a monthly makeup subscription service that costs about $16/month (if shipping to Canada) or $10/month (in the US). It was started by YouTube beauty guru, Michelle Phan, and sends out about 5 products each month - some are samples and others are full-sized.

I'm actually really happy with the Willa face wipes since I just finished off my travelling makeup wipes and the Malin+Goetz lip balm. I love trying on new lip products and this one is supposed to be mojito-flavored so I'm excited to try it out. 

I really really wished I had gotten the sample of Benefit's Porefessional primer that some of the other ipsy members got instead of the Apothederm skin brightening serum. But that's neither here nor there.

Overall I'm very happy with the bag - the blue bag itself is very pretty and the perfect size to be a traveller makeup bag. I'm also really excited to use the Smooth Shadow creamy eye pencil (in Pearl) by Elizabeth Mott as a waterliner or inner eye corner highlighter and the leave-in conditioner from healthy sexy hair.

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Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

The approach of winter holidays means one thing: finals season. Finals season means another thing: all-nighters. That means chugging ridiculous amounts of coffee or energy drinks, spending all night with your head buried in a book and furiously trying away on your laptop, and of course, looking in the mirror the next morning and realizing you are staring at the zombie version of yourself.

In that instant, you need two things to make sure that nobody else can figure out the hell you've put yourself through: a nice cold shower to bring some life back into you and a nice foundation which will take away any sign of that all-nighter that is so apparent on your face.

After going through CoverGirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation during the summer and fall, I found myself in the market for a new one.

Unfortunately, I realized that the CoverGirl foundation was incredibly drying on my winter skin so I realized this was the perfect chance to try the foundation that I've heard wonderful reviews about: Rimmel's Wake Me Up.

The foundation boasts having an anti-fatigue effect and to giving a radiant glow to users. Both of these effects are apparent when you swatch a small amount of the foundation: in light, you suddenly notice that it appears to shimmer. It is this shimmer that gives off the anti-fatigue effect. 

The coverage is fantastic and it's really buildable. Overall, it's a fantastic foundation. That being said, I've noticed that it does tend to make my face shiny in the evening so I've found myself reaching for a mattifying powder after about 5-6 hours of wearing it. I do seem to recall this not being an issue when I used the Smashbox Photofinish primer so I'm going to test it out the combination again to see if that makes a difference or not. 

It's great for normal or dry skin, especially if you've found yourself pulling an all-nighter for work or school. But for oily skin? Better keep a mattifying powder or a good face primer handy. 

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Christmas Shenanigans

The 2013 holiday season was one of the best seasons I've had in a while. Usually, my parents and I spend the holiday break in Atlanta but since my mom was in India, my dad and I spent the break at home in Toronto.



This meant seeing a lot of my friends, going to Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinners, and of course, some good old shopping. Here are some of my favorite moments.

Fantastic holiday. Fantastic people. And fantastic end to 2013.

Here's to 2014.

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