Friday, April 30, 2021

Five on Friday - April 30, 2021 ~ Vaccinated, April Owlcrate Box, April Scratch Monthly Mani Kit, Star Wars Baking & Birthday, and Mango Beer!

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great week - can you believe we are already on the last day of April?! Where has the time gone?!

ONE 

I got my first dose of my vaccine this week! I signed up right when I was eligible - my husband and I became eligible due to working in a congregate living placement. We got the Pfizer and honestly, I'm terrified of needles and it was easy. My arm was pretty sore the next day, but no other symptoms. And, good timing too - Alberta recored the highest daily count ever and I just want to see the end of my pandemic. 

TWO 

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

I just received my April Owlcrate subscription and this month's theme is "Ruthless Rivals" - each month the book Owlcrate includes is signed by the author and comes with a note from the author as well. They often have special edition covers just for the box, and they seem to include a lot of exclusive items just for Owlcrate, which is so fun! As a bookworm, I have been loving this subscription!  (And, I'm happy that shipping was so quick this month, I feel like it's been slow for so long, that this was a welcome change!)

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Monthly Beauty Favourites - April 2021

Here's a look at what I was loving in April:

Monthly Beauty Favourites - April 2021
The Paula's Choice was received as PR and the Cheekbone was received for a product campaign - this post contains affiliate links

This month is rare because I do not often talk about hair products (my hair is pretty plain and flat so it always take something extra special to make me excited about hair!) and then I have lots of skincare with just a little touch makeup too! 

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Manicure Tuesday - Pacifica Beauty Plant Magic Polish & BioGlitter Translucent Topper Polish

Happy Manicure Tuesday! I hope you all had a good weekend - I'm a day late because I've been busy with my little guy's birthday this weekend, so I'm coming with a really simple Mani Tuesday! 

Manicure Tuesday - Pacifica Beauty Plant Magic Polish & BioGlitter Translucent Topper Polish
I purchased both polishes

So I thought I would try out a couple of Pacifica Beauty polishes that I picked up recently that I've been wanting to try with an ombre glitter! 

Monday, April 26, 2021

April Shop My Stash ~ Coral Pink Makeup Look

Coral and pinks are some of favourite colours to play with on my eyes, and it's been a little while since I've done a full face of makeup so I grabbed my favourite shades and just played! 

April Shop My Stash ~ Coral Pink Makeup Look
The Hard Candy and Rodial were received as PR samples - this post contains affiliate links 

I love how bright and pretty this turned out - the corals and pinks are just giving me all the Spring and Summer vibes (as it's still snowing here in Calgary today)! 

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Five on Saturday ~ Vaccines, Spring 2021 Samplesource, Elliott is 4, Shadow and Bone Netflix and Backyard Swing

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you all had a good week - I took Monday and Friday off this week, so it was refreshing to have some extra time to myself during the week! 

ONE 

This past week my husband and I became eligible for our vaccines based on our jobs, so we are all booked in for Tuesday afternoon! I'm afraid of needles, so am a little bit worried, but, I'm actually happy to get one to assist in getting us all through this pandemic safely! 

TWO 

Samplesource is a free box for anyone

I just got my Spring 2021 Samplesource box and it came with lots of goodies - I always get a dry shampoo and toothpaste and they are great for travel, whenever that may be! Plus, this one came with lots of good snacks and drinks to try (and always something for the cats!) Plus, there is quite a few coupons for free products, so I will have to use those too! 

Thursday, April 22, 2021

7th Heaven Superfood Avocado, Rice Protein, and Turmeric Bamboo Biodegradable Sheet Masks

Happy Earth Day! I always like to use this time to reflect that even though I'm very consumeristic, I do like to be conscious in my purchasing and do what I can for this lovely planet of ours! 

7th Heaven Superfood Avocado, Rice Protein, and Turmeric Bamboo Biodegradable Sheet Masks
I received these masks as PR samples

Calgary has a great, city-wide composting program, so whenever I see products are biodegradable and compostable, I'm always super excited! I can have my skincare and make sure that my products are being composted (then every Summer, I pickup free compost from the city and add it to my garden). 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Project Pan 21 in 2021 ~ Update #2

I really enjoyed working on a project pan last, it really made me enjoy using up older products in my collection, so I was excited to start a new project pan in 2021 - I am hoping to use up or hit pan on 21 products in 2021! I will again, be focusing on all makeup products as I am pretty good about working through my skincare products. 

Project Pan 21 in 2021 ~ Update #2
The Rodial brow product was received as PR - this post contains affiliate links

I started the project off with the first 10 products and will treat this like a rolling project - once I reach my goal, I will add a new product to the mix! On my first update, I reached my goal on 1 product, so only 20 more to go! 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Skoah Retinol Concentrate + $10 off Coupon!

It's been a little while since I've talked about Skoah on the blog; but, it's still a brand I love! So, when they contacted me asking if I'd like to try their new release, I was very excited! 

Skoah Retinol Concentrate + $10 off Coupon!
This product was sent in exchange for a review - this post contains a referral link

I have tried quite a few of Skoah's product line and I really enjoyed their masks, so when I found out the new product launch was a retinol, I was very excited! 

Monday, April 19, 2021

Manicure Monday - Daisy Dotticure Nails

Happy Mani Monday! Hope you all had a good weekend! 

Manicure Monday - Daisy Dotticure Nails
I purchased all the polishes myself - this post contains affiliate links

For the month of March, the CBBxManiMonday group is doing Spring nails and I'm still waiting for real Spring to happen! Spring in Calgary this weekend meant 19 degrees on Saturday and snowing on Sunday - it's all over the place and chances are you will be over or underdressed on any given day! 

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Five on Sunday - April 18, 2021 ~ April TBR List, Airfryer, Vintage Disney Games, Tupperware Order, and 9 Years!

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you all had a good week! It's been a little crazy here - ours school are going back online for a couple of weeks here, so we are still taking a big step back. Also, I worked a 16 hour shift at work yesterday and it kicked my ass, so I'm taking it easy this weekend!

ONE 

The books were received as review copies - this post contains affiliate links

Time to share my TBR list for the month - I've been feeling a little dejected lately (nothing crazy, we are all over a year in a pandemic and it's just hard to keep a super positive attitude all the time), so I've rounded up some newer memoirs of people over-coming difficulties or obstacles, so I thought that it would be nice have something uplifting or positive to read for the month! I always try and plan my reading with themes; but, honestly, I usually manage to stick to the theme for most of the month, then I grab something I'm in the mood for, which is usually different!

Friday, April 16, 2021

Lush Kitchen Subscription Box ~ Vol. 11 April 2021

 I've made it pretty clear here that I'm a big Lushie, so naturally I was very excited last year when Lush Kitchen announced that they were starting a subscription box, of course I ordered it right away and the first box was in May! It is a little pricey with the conversion to Canada; but, I've only been getting it every couple of months, so I consider it a fun subscription box splurge! 

Lush Kitchen Subscription Box ~ Vol. 11 April 2021
I purchased this box on my own

The Lush Kitchen Subscription box is a monthly subscription box full of exclusive Lush Labs goodies made exclusively for the box - every month subscribers vote on the monthly menu of products that they would or would not like to see in the box, so you can help pick what is included in the box! Also, all of the products included in each box will be vegan. 

Thursday, April 15, 2021

I Tried The Makeup Revolution "I Heart Revolution x Disney Fairytale Books Belle" Products So You Don't Have To...

Alright, you might know by now that I'm a total sucker for packaging and for Disney makeup collabs, so naturally I just had to pick a couple of products from the Makeup Revolution's I Heart Revolution x Disney Fairytale Books collection! 

I Tried The Makeup Revolution "I Heart Revolution x Disney Fairytale Books Belle" Products So You Don't Have To...
I purchased these products

But, like all fairytales, there has to be a dark part and these products are it - mind you, I only tried the highlighter and lip topper, but I would not recommend trying anything else in this line based on my experience with these products (and my experience overall with Makeup Revolution has been pretty up and down). 

Monday, April 12, 2021

Manicure Monday - "Negative Space" Squiggly Line French Mani

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

Manicure Monday - "Negative Space" Squiggly Line French Mani
The OPI polishes were received as PR samples

I've been loving this Spring trend of colour pastel french-manicure-with-a-twist nails and some of the fun negative-space-squiggly-nails that I've been seeing everywhere, so I decided to combine the two for this week's mani! I'm really happy with how these turned out (even though I have no idea what to actually call this manicure!) 

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Quarterly Reading Wrap-up - January to March 2021

I hope you all have been enjoying the addition of extra book content on my blog (and if you aren't, tough shit - it's not going anywhere!) Ha, I'm kidding, but really I know books on a beauty blog may not be everyone's cup of tea, but besides makeup, it's one of my favourite hobbies! 

Quarterly Reading Wrap-up - January to March 2021
Some of the books talked about were received as review copies - this post contains affiliate links

So, I thought I'd have a little fun and talk about the books I've read in the first quarter of this year - there were 33 of them! (My goal was to read at least 60 books through the whole year and I feel like I'm going to crush that!) So, I will share some stats as well as the Best and the Worst of the lot! 

Friday, April 9, 2021

Five on Friday - April 9, 2021 ~ Easter, Cabin Weekend, Used Books, Cupshe Bathing Suits, and Climbing Dome

Happy Friday everyone - I hope you all had a good week! Alberta had to move back in Stage 1 of our re-opening plans this week because our covid cases were getting high again, so I know I'm at the point of fatigue and would just like it to be over! (But, I'm up soon for vaccines based on work, so I feel like at least that's a little light at the end of the tunnel!)

ONE 

I purchased everything in this post

While I know "travelling" is a big no-no right now, we are very lucky to have a family cabin that we were able to go to safely this past weekend for the long weekend and it was exactly what I needed. We bring everything in with us and it's so quiet and beautiful - honestly, so relaxing, I was able to read 2.5 books over the weekend! 

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

New Cheekbone Beauty Sustain Lipsticks in Haki & Aina

If you've been around here for a while, you've already heard me rave about Cheekbone Beauty, but, if you are now, welcome - I love Cheekbone Beauty!  

Cheekbone Beauty is an indigenous female owned Canadian brand and they are working towards their brand being-carbon neutral. Their goal is to lead by example and be a fully waste free company by 2023! The owner, Jenn Harper's story is pretty inspiring about overcome a struggle with alcoholism and Cheekbone Beauty is all about inspiring and helping indigenous youth - Cheekbone Beauty gives back to indigenous education initiatives in Canada.  

New Cheekbone Beauty Sustain Lipsticks in Haki & Aina
I was provided the lipsticks for review and compensated to create a video for their release - this post contains a referral link

I joined their Warrior program (which is available to all consumers, not just bloggers!) and was so excited when they contacted me to try out some new shades to their Sustain Lipstick line (the Sustain Lipstick in Keyah was one of my Top 10 Makeup Favourites of 2020 - I love the gentle, easy to wear formula).

Monday, April 5, 2021

Manicure Monday - Easter Dinosaur Eggs Nails & Revlon Ultra HD Snap polish!

Happy Easter Monday everyone! Sorry, I'm getting this up a little late in the day - we were away distancing at the cabin for the weekend and it was such a nice relaxing getaway! 

Manicure Monday - Easter Dinosaur Eggs Nails & Revlon Ultra HD Snap polish!
The OPI polishes were received as PR samples

We are all dinosaur geeks around here, my oldest son is 16 and still wants to be a palaeontologist and this weekend, my littlest one also asked if he could be one too! So, clearly we all love our dinosaurs, so isn't it perfect to find a few little dinosaurs in my Easter Eggs?! 

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Monthly Beauty Haul - March 2021

I always love these haul posts - it's a way to keep track of everything that I picked up every 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! 

Last year, I got a little crazy about trying to stick to a crazy budget and this year I'm just going to buy what I want and try and be reasonable about my purchases! 

(Also, I'm only sharing what I received every month now since I'm not trying to stick to a crazy budget, so some things I ordered in February will show up in my March haul now, ect!)

Monthly Beauty Haul - March 2021
I purchased everything in this post

Sephora Order ~ $50.40 CAN. I was so excited to see Danessa Myricks in Sephora now, so naturally I had to pick up a foil multi-use products! I can't wait to use this! I also picked up a new set of the Ciate nail stickers and I can't wait to use them. The Kate Somerville was a free sample! 

Friday, April 2, 2021

Five on Friday - April 2, 2021 ~ Monthly Makeup Baskets, March Scratch Monthly Mani Kit, Skin Care For Your Soul Book Review, and Declutter

Happy Friday everyone! And, happy April - I keep saying this every month, but where did that month go?! We are on our way to the cabin for a very isolated, socially distanced Easter, so I'm looking forward to some relaxing time! 

ONE 

The Skin Care For Your Soul Book was sent in exchange for a review - this post contains affiliate links

I have been keeping up my Monthly Makeup Baskets throughout this pandemic; but, I am finding it a little hard to use everything in a single month as I am wearing masks all the time. So, for now, I am going to do bi-monthly baskets just so I can get a little more use out of the products that I'm using!