Fall 2023 - The Jilly Box Subscription Box 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 on my own - 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, as well as Bipoc and LGBTQ owned brands as well. 

Manicure Monday - Bright Summer Neon Colour Block Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend! 

These polishes were received as PR samples

Can we believe Summer vacation time is dwindling down?! We are on the last week here before school starts after the long weekend! So, for the last bright, Summer manicure - I had to go all in! 

Five on Friday - August 25, 2023 ~ A Grandmother Begins The Story Book Review, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem, Cineplex Clubhouse Theatre, Pumpkin Spice Latte Time, and Ahsoka

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a great week! Things have started to wind down here for us and we haven't been super crazy, which is great! 

ONE 

The book was received as a PR sample - this post contains affiliate links

Always happy to share my thoughts on more books here - today I'm sharing my review for A Grandmother Begins The Story by Michelle Porter. I have read a previous book by Michelle Porter, and one thing I really enjoy is her unique writing style - this was written in short quick chapters (we're talking one to five pages max) in alternating perspectives throughout the book. It followed five generations of women in the same family, all going through a unique difficult time, including some estrangement and trauma. The story unfolds as we watch these women attempt to reconnect and rebuild their family connection, however difficult it may be. We also get a few chapters from buffalo, pets and a car as well to keep the story unique with everyone having a distinct voice.

Getting My Barbie Hair On With Pink Conair Tools

This is the season of Barbie and I love that we are all full on embracing out inner Barbies and having fun with it! Personally, you know I love all things PINK around here (hence the See The World in PINK title!)

I received these products as PR samples

So naturally, when I received a package from Conair with a bunch of pink hair tools to create our own Barbie hair styles! 

Skin Proud - New Face Melt and Icicle Review

I'm always excited for skincare reviews here - I know they have slowed down a little bit over the past year, but I'm just trying to be thoughtful and not use too many products at once (so there is no waste and I can use a product up as well as so it's nice and gentle on my skin!)

I received these products as PR samples

I'm so excited to try out Skin Proud - I love their messaging! Skin Proud is all about embracing our skin - no retouching to any of their photos and they are actively campaigning to have retouching banned in the beauty community. You know we don't retouch here - I will always show makeup and skincare on my skin as is so you can see how it actually looks on a real person. They also have 100% vegan formulas and nothing is tested on animals. 

Manicure Monday - Ombre Mermaid Nails

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all had a good weekend! We were nice and busy again as our typical Summer weekends have been! 

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

Water themed nails are always perfect for Summertime - I've been doing a lot of bright nails, but I really wanted to do something water themed this week. Have you guys seen the pool nails going around? I love them - I don't use gel polish so I got searching for other similar nails! 

Five on Friday - August 18, 2023 ~ Weekend at the Cabin, Marble Canyon, Day in Radium, Amazon Home and Clothing Finds

Happy Friday - I hope you all had a great week! Mine was nice and normal - we are done our Summer holidays now, so it's time to get back to normal life! 

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

We went to the cabin last weekend, and it was just us which was so great and relaxing! We caught fish, made s'mores, read books, and enjoyed our time! 

VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Masks For All Night Repair

It feels like it's been a minute since I've done a mask review, but I've been making sure that even through a crazy busy Summer, I've taken some time for self care in there! 

This is a sponsored post - I was compensated for this post

I'm really excited for today's post - I've previously worked with VIICode back in 2015 and loved their eye masks, so when they approached me recently for a sponsored post, I was really excited to use and share my thoughts again! 

Manicure Monday - Sally Hansen Concrete Jungle Xtreme Wear Collection

Happy Manicure Monday! Bear with me, this may be a bit longer than my typical mani posts because I have some thoughts! I was so excited when Sally Hansen announced that they were releasing a new Xtreme Wear collection (it was my most favourite polish line, but they haven't released new polishes in so long I thought they forgot about the line!)

I purchased everything in this post

So, when Sally Hansen announced this new collection, they also announced that they reformulated the Xtreme Wear line to be 100% vegan - I love that. Unfortunately, for me the reformulation just didn't work. This line used to be opaque in two coats and a perfect wear polish - now it's a quite thin formula, this needed at least three coats, but I found they just didn't layer as nicely. 

Five on Friday - August 11, 2023 ~ Fourth Wing Book Review, Barbie: A Cultural Icon Exhibit, Regrub Barbie Shake, Joe Fresh x Jillian Harris Dress and The Hidden Gem Small Business Finds

Happy Friday everyone - hope you all had a good week! We are off to the cabin again for the weekend, so a busy short week at work! 

ONE 

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

I heard so many good things about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros that naturally I had to jump on this bandwagon too and I really enjoyed this! 4.5 stars. This is an adult fantasy where we are introduced to our main character, Violet as she is getting ready to go in to a high stakes war college, she has been studying to become a scribe, but because her Mother is a high-profile Dragon Rider, she insists her daughter follow in her foot-steps. The setting is a high-stakes, often brutal and violent place with everyone competing to eventually get chosen by a dragon. When they are selected, they also manifest a power in themselves that can only be called forward through their dragon. 

ColourPop Bronzer, Blush and Lite Stix - Beach Babe Cheek Stix Set

It's no secret I've really been getting in to cream products over the past couple of years; but mostly blushes, so as I see more launches that include bronzers and highlighters, I have to check them out (especially at affordable ColourPop prices!)

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

ColourPop Beach Babe Cheek Stix Set ~ $26.00 US. Let’s hit the beach. The perfect trio for fair-light skintones.

When these launched, ColourPop launched bronzers, blush and highlighter stix individually for $10 US each, or came out with 5 different sets ranging from light to deep skintones if you are interested in trying all three products, you can save a little bit of money! 

Manicure Monday - Scratch Party Wraps

Happy Manicure Monday - I hope you all have had a great weekend! Mine was great - busy, this is a long weekend here so I'm hoping to have a relaxing day! 

I purchased everything in this post

For July and August, the #CBBxManiMonday group is doing bright and Summery nails - I've been doing Barbie nails for the past three weeks, so I'm finally doing something new this week! 

Monthly Beauty and Book Haul - July 2023

Last year I set a monthly beauty and books budget at $200 per month and I really stuck to it! I am trying to be thoughtful in my purchases, so this has been holding me accountable for being reasonable with my spending. Since it worked so well last year, I'm really trying to do the same thing this year! 

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! 

I purchased everything in this post

ColourPop Haul ~ $115.39 CAN. ColourPop had an amazing sale going on this past month so I picked up a few things - I swatched the 4 shadow palettes and duochrome polish, you can see them all swatched here and I'm working my way through trying them all! But, what I was really excited about was the Colour Stix and I will have a review soon! 

Five on Friday - August 4, 2023 ~ The Seven Year Slip Book Review, July Month of Vegetarian and Pescatarian Food, Fairmont Trip, Thrifting in Invermere, and the Barbie Movie

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a great week! We got back from holidays and then jumped right in a busy week! 

ONE 

The Good Food meals were received in exchange for a post - this post contains affiliate links

I'm always going to be excited to share books I love on here and I've read some great ones this Summer - my next 4.5 star read is The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. I've been a big fan of Ashley Poston, but as she's stepped in to adult romance, I've loved her books even more - she's got a really approachable writing style and this built up so well. It is set both in the present day as well as seven years in the past. 

Monthly Reads - July 2023

I hope you all are enjoying all the book reviews, since it's just another hobby of mine, it's not going anywhere! I loved doing the Monthly Wrap-up last year to share mini reviews on all the books I've read each month! 

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! 

Where Echoes Die was received as an e-arc - this post contains affiliate links

So, in July I read 8 books (my smallest month so far because I was away from home a lot) - still a mix of genres from Romantasy to YA Mystery. 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, so I'm working on that! I read 4 physical books, 2 audiobooks, and 2 e-books. 

Here's a quick look at all the books I read in the past month: 

Monthly Beauty Favourites - July 2023

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

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

Pat McGrath Labs Divine Blush Legendary Glow Colour Balm Blush in Paradise Peony ~ $40.00 CAN. A multifunctional marvel that imparts a nourishing burst of radiance to lips and cheeks. This versatile formula suits a variety of skin tones, ensuring the perfect touch of color every time. Infused with hydrating actives, this must-have balm creates a glass-skin effect.

I looove this blush - you can see it in a try-on on me here! This is described as a "gel-like texture" with a buildable formula - it's a non-sticky, non-greasy, glow-boosting formula that gives a natural flush with a dewy finish of color on the cheeks! This is a super creamy soft formula and it goes on super smooth - just swipe on and blend out. It's great because it can be blended out for a really light flush or built up for a bright amount of colour - I've used this with a tiny powder blush over top as well and it's great every where! 

Manicure Monday - Barbie Pink Tip Nails

Happy Manicure Monday everyone - hope you all had a good weekend! I finally got to see the Barbie movie after a week of being out of away and I loved it! 

I purchased everything in this post

I picked up a few of these OPI x Barbie polishes and you bet I'm sharing them for a few weeks while it's barbie season - the hot pink is perfect for the Bright Summer nails the #CBBxManiMonday group are doing for the months of July and August!