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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