Five on Friday - July 29, 2022 ~ Terra Moons Celestial Equinox Quad, Kiko Milano Mood Boost Radiant Blush in Perfect Mauve, Kiko Milano Fruit Explosion Eyeshadow Palette in Rose Alchemy, Fenty Beauty Resting Peach Face Cream Blush & Mini Gloss Bomb Cream, and Kiko Milano Winter Sales Eyeshadow Palette 03 Sunset Time

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a good week - I've been computer-less enjoying a week at the cabin with all the family! 

Since I'm away, I'm skipping a life update for my Five on Friday post (and will save my update for next Friday!) and instead I'm sharing and swatching 5 palettes that I've been keeping in my collection for a while and totally missed getting reviews up on them in a timely fashion! 

ONE 

Terra Moons Cosmetics UO Exclusive Celestial Eyeshadow Set ~ $24.00 CAN. Eyeshadow set by Terra Moons Cosmetics for Urban Outfitters, featuring four pressed pans of shades inspired by the celestial elements. 

This was an exclusive set for Urban Decay - they've previously had a couple of sets with them and they were little sets of pre-existing shades, so when I found out they were all brand new, I knew I had to pick them up! The shadows are stunning and the Harvest Moon shade even made my Favourites one month last year. I have played with them, but didn't get a review in time, so now this set isn't available, but I always like to have swatches saved in case these things do come back! 

Monthly Beauty & Book Haul ~ July 2022

I'm switching up my Monthly Haul posts a little bit this year, because I'm actually *trying* to stick to a bit of a budget! I've been going a little crazy on the beauty and books front, so I just want to be a little more thoughtful in my purchases. So. I'm trying to keep my beauty and book purchases to $200 a month - we'll see! 

I do always love my Monthly Haul posts - it's a good way to keep track of everything that I picked up each month. I don't always blog about everything I pick up (I try to), but if you ever spot anything in here that you really want me to talk about, let me know! 

XO Treatment Room Order ~ $74.55 CAN. If you've been around here for a while, you know this is my hands down holy grail Vitamin C serum. I use it every day and I will only use one other brand (Paula's Choice), so naturally I just finished one of each of those, so here's my backup. This is $89, so I had a little bit of a balance in my paypal so I saved a little bit this time around! 

Five on Friday - July 22, 2022 ~ Summer Books, Calgary Stampede, DIY Sam's Study, July Declutter, and Costco Boba!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a great week - it's been a little long here, but we are heading to the cabin tomorrow for a week long family vacation and I'm exited for it (it will be both crazy and relaxing! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

I'm not much of a planner for my reading, but each month I try and stick to a little bit of a reading "theme". We are well in to July, so I thought share some "Summer" themed books that are perfect to read right now - I have a mix of older and newer books! 

Belif - Aqua Bomb Brightening Vitamin C Cream

Okay, it's been months since I've done a dedicated skincare post and I'm a little shocked - I will pick them back up. (I've been a little more steady in my routine for the sake of my skin, so I am trying new products less frequently and making sure what I'm using is working for me!)

This product was received as a PR sample - this post contains an affiliate link

Belif Aqua Bomb Brightening Vitamin C Cream ~ $56.00 CAN. A lightweight cream born from the Aqua Bomb DNA with added vitamins C and E plus four types of hyaluronic acid for visibly bright, glowing skin.

I tried the original Belif Aqua Bomb so long ago (actually back in 2016 before it was even readily available in Canada - I had to special order it back then!) and I really enjoyed it. It was a lovely gel texture and my skin loved it! 

Manicure Monday - Neon Mix Tape 90's Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really busy and a little all over the place; but, here we are and I'm glad I have lovely nail wraps when I need a quick mani! 

The Bio Sculpture polish was received as a PR sample

It's July and the #CBBxManiMonday group is doing "Summer" themed nails for the month and I'm here for the bright and fun nails for the season! So I'm sticking with neons like last week and I'm loving how bright these Bio Sculpture Live Life Loudly polishes and they are perfect for Summer! 

Quarterly Beauty Empties ~ April - June 2022

Monthly Empties posts were getting a little overwhelming - they were a lot to write and keep notes about. I've decided to still talk about empties, but only makeup products and skincare products (no more body, hair, nail or personal care products!) It was just getting too much, but I still want to share my thoughts on products I've used up! 

Some of these products were received as PR samples - this post contains affiliate links

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Gel in Dark Brown ~ $12.00 CAN for mini size shown here (full size is $24.00 CAN). A highly-pigmented brow gel with a long-lasting, waterproof formula for creating fuller-looking, defined brows—like Dipbrow Pomade in a gel form.

I had a pretty instant love affair with this brow gel - it just adds so much colour and hold to my brows. It's a product that you actually only need to use the tiniest amount of product to use properly! It's a super long wearing formula and pretty weather proof! This has been such a game-changer for my brows so it's my go to! 

Repurchase: Yes! 

Unboxing BellBees Mystery Box!

It's been a little since I've jumped in and bought a mystery box; but, I love BellBees - they are a lovely curated shop with great selection of fantastic Asian Beauty brands! They are Canadian and Women owned! 

I purchased this box on my own

Because they have such a great selection of brands, I couldn't resist when they released Mystery Boxes for purchase - Standard for $50, Medium for $75 and Large for $100. (Since I've been on a stricter beauty budget, I've been mostly saving my money to know exactly what I'm purchasing, but the brands and the surprise aspect pulled me in!) I picked up the middle size so that I could get in on free shipping too and it came within the week! 

Five on Friday - July 15, 2022 ~ Trickster Series Review, My Garden in Bloom, June 2022 Scratch Monthly Mani Kit, July Little Passports Subscription, and Seed Crackers

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all have a good week! Mine was nice and normal around here! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

I'm so excited to share not only a book review today, but a whole series review - the Trickster Series by Eden Robinson! The books are Son A Trickster, Trickster Drift, and Return of the Trickster. I think sometimes these book get wrongfully shelved as young adult fantasy books, and they are pretty true adult books (they start to get a little graphic in the last couple, but even the first one starts with some pretty heavy material); also, I would call these contemporary fiction (which is what they are labelled as) with a fantastical twist. 

Summer 2022 - The Jilly Box Subscription Unboxing

I'm a big fan of Jillian Harris, so when she announced that she was starting a subscription box, I was so excited! The box started with the Winter 2019 box and sadly, I was not one of the lucky originals who won a subscription spot, so I sign up every season and hope to get picked for a lottery spot! 

I purchased this box - this post contains affiliate links

The Jilly Box is a quarterly seasonal subscription box - the products within the box include some of Jillian’s (and Team Jilly’s!) favourite items (and brands) from home decor, fashion, bath and beauty, health and wellness, accessories perfect for each season. Some of the items included will be custom designed exclusively for the Jilly Box. The Jilly Box really focuses on including products from small, local businesses while being ethically sourced and inclusive. They also focus on reducing plastic waste and packaging - the big boxes can be turned inside out and reused! Also, they try to include Canadian, woman owned brands, and this box also includes 3 LGBTQ+, BIPOC and Minority owned brands! 

Monthly Beauty & Book Haul ~ June 2022

I'm switching up my Monthly Haul posts a little bit this year, because I'm actually *trying* to stick to a bit of a budget! I've been going a little crazy on the beauty and books front, so I just want to be a little more thoughtful in my purchases. So. I'm trying to keep my beauty and book purchases to $200 a month - we'll see! 

I do always love my Monthly Haul posts - it's a good way to keep track of everything that I picked up each month. I don't always blog about everything I pick up (I try to), but if you ever spot anything in here that you really want me to talk about, let me know! 

Shoppers Haul ~ $11.58 CAN. Okay, what better summarizes my haul posts up - I can get books and beauty at Shoppers! Okay, I went in for mascara and ended up with a whole body line from a new Shoppers Brand, Truly, some lip balm, a dry shampoo, and a couple of Summer books! 

Manicure Monday - Neon Bright Diagonal Negative Space Nails

Happy Mani Monday everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend! 

The BioSculpture polishes were received as PR samples

I missed last week - whoops! Usually, I have my nails prepped while I am away, but I was enjoying some time with my family and didn't bring anything to do my nails with! 

Five on Saturday - July 9, 2022 ~ Calgary Stampede, Penticton Trip, Wine Haul, Crown and Thieves Dinner, Minions: The Rise of Gru Movie

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you all had a good week - we got back from Penticton this week and my little guy has been sick for the past few days, so it's been a little crazy! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

I went to Sneak Peek night at the Calgary Stampede this year - it's been two years since I've been so it was so fun to go! We did all the rides, ate a grilled cheese donut and had a fun night! (I will share more pictures on my instagram soon!) We managed to miss a tornado warning, hail and rain and ended up with a really good night! 

Monthly Beauty Favourites - June 2022

Here's a look at what I've been loving this past month:

The JVN and Cheekbone product were received in exchange for a review - this post contains affiliate links

I used to always have pick 5 products each month for my Monthly Favourites, but that is one thing I'm changing this year - whatever I'm loving, I will share whether it's 2 or 10 products!

Monthly Reading Wrap-up - June 2022 and Mid-year Book Freakout Tag

This year I thought I would share a little more of all my books and I thought the best way to do that would be if I wrapped up my reads of each month, so I can share mini reviews on all the books I've gone through! 

It could be a big range from 2 to 10 books depending on how much I read, but I figure I can share a little synopsis and quick thoughts on each book. I will still be doing more in depth reviews on books that really capture me! 

Wake The Bones and Cat's Cradle were received as review copies - this post contains affiliate links

So, in June I read 9 books - a mix of genres from young adult horror to adult fantasy. I love most genres, and I really want to keep my reads diversified this year - I think I have been doing a great job of that so far! Also, I've been trying to read a mix of old and new books, which I've done a good job at so far this year, but this month was only new books (the oldest was published in 2020), so I think I will try and make up for that by reading mostly older books in July! I read 6 audio books, 1 physical books and 2 e-books this month! 

Five on Friday - July 1, 2022 ~ Wine Tasting, Winners Dress Find, June Beauty Declutter, Zoo Day and a Sunscreen Haul

Happy Friday everyone and Happy Canada Day! I hope you all had a great week - we've been out in Penticton since Tuesday and it's been lovely! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post - this post contains affiliate links

We started out our trip with a little bit of wine tasting - we went to Okanagan Falls and went to Noble Ridge, Blasted Church and a few smaller places too. Such a fun day! 

This picture was taken at Noble Ridge - it's a gorgeous place with a little view of Vaseux Lake and it's so pretty!