July Ipsy Bag - Review & Update

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing super well!

I wanted to update and share with all of you my review on the July Ipsy bag (First impressions blog post here).

1. Red EARTH Brighten Concentrate Oil with Kakadu Plum

I've used this product by itself and I've also mixed it into my daily moisturizer. I usually let out just one drop. I think this product does an okay job at brightening my face. I've applied it on no makeup days when I wanted to combat dull skin and I've also used it underneath makeup. I don't see a significant difference in terms of brightening.

Overall rating: 2.5/5

2. CIATE LONDON Watermelon Burst Hydrating Primer

I was super excited to have a primer inside of my Ipsy bag in July. I think this primer's texture differs from the other primers I've tried. This one when it comes out of the tube is super runny and almost watery. I don't think that this product does a good job at hydrating my skin nor does it give me glowy skin like it said it would.

Overall rating: 2/5

3. FEEL Mindful Palo Santo Soothing Mask

Ever since I started using Summer Fridays masks (blog posts here and here), I haven't found a reason or desire to try any other face masks. When I found this mask inside my Ipsy bag, I was intrigued. I love the smell of this mask, it's such a calming scent and the packaging is super cute. In terms of soothing my skin, I don't think it does such. I honestly think I've been spoiled by Summer Fridays' insane formula and results that I don't think there are any other face masks that can compare. 

Overall rating: 1.5/5

4. LA BEAUTE FATALE COSMETICS Brow Fixx Tint & Shaper in Dark Brunette

I've actually been reaching for this brow tint instead of my NYX one. I like this colour more than my NYX one. I like that this one is more natural looking. In terms of this being described as water-resistant and won't budge, I don't think that's entirely true. It's not like a solvent that prevents it from moving and I've definitely seen it smudged. 

Overall rating: 3/5

5. PACIFICA Bronzer Blush Duo

The blush in this duo is awesome. I think that it provides a natural look. The bronzer however, I don't really use as much, I don't think that it appears on my skin as well as it could. But, this blush has been part of my makeup routine.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

July's Ipsy bag didn't have anything that blew me away. Thank you for reading! I hope this helps y'all and provides some insight!

With love & light,

C

August Ipsy Bag 2019

Considering how long it took for my July Ipsy bag to come in (blog post here), I was pleasantly surprised to see that my August Ipsy bag has arrived!
This month's Ipsy bag was a reminder that we are transitioning from summer to fall. The August Ipsy bag colour is definitely more up my alley, it's a nice green that is going to be a big colour for fall this year! Plus, it's roomier than the July bag.

What's inside this month's Ipsy bag?
1. HUDA BEAUTY Lip Contour in Trophy Wife
I've never tried a HUDA BEAUTY product before and this was the only brand that I was familiar with in this month's bag. This product is said to be a waterproof lip pencil that glides on to help shape your lips, stop lipstick from feathering and extend the wear or your colour. It's a rosewood hue that will suit all skin tones.
2. BIORACE Pore Purifying Spirulina & Tea Tree Clay Mask
This clay mask is infused with nutrient-rich spirulina to help maintain clear skin and clarifying tea tree for a cooling sensation that's refreshing on a hot, humid day. The pearl extract also helps with brightening.
3. INC.REDIBLE Jelly Shot Lip Quencher in Ex Revenge
The information card says that this product contains 24K gold specks and a flower set into it! I immediately unwrapped the product to see! It's a clear lip balm and you see the gold specks and the flower is sooo small lmao, I couldn't even tell that it was a flower. This product is rich in moisture and the avocado oil, rice brand oil and vitamin E work to hydrate and repair dry or cracked lips. This will help matte lip colours to get lips flake-free and if you dab it on top of lip colours and stains, it will help make them last. 
4. NAILS INC Nail Polish in Feelings Feelings
This is a pretty, pearlescent peach shade. The information card said that it's super glossy, long-lasting and the ergonomically designed brush makes it easy to apply.
5. SUVA BEAUTY Eyeshadow in Coriander
This eyeshadow is easy to apply, opaque and water-resistant. A golden pearl shade with a cream/powder hybrid formula.

Thanks for reading and I hope you guys have a great week.

With love & light,

C

Ipsy Bag July 2019 - First Impression

Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well! A little surprise came in the mail for me yesterday, my Ipsy bag!
As one of my graduation gifts (graduation post here) and knowing my love for makeup and skincare, my cousin got me an Ipsy bag subscription! My cousin actually forgot to cancel this subscription so I'll be getting another Ipsy bag some time soon, haha! 😜
So this is the July 2019 Ipsy bag, but I got it in August and I'm pretty sure he subscribed to it some time in June... So there definitely was a delay, so be cautious about that. 
The pouch that stored all the beauty products is so cute, so summery and I love that I'll definitely be able to use it again for my own personal needs. Inside the bag were 5 products and I've personally only heard about 2 out of the 5 brands. I like that there's a little information card about each product and how to use them.

1. RED EARTH Brighten Concentrate Oil with Kakadu Plum
My current skincare routine is so simple and has been working well for me so I'm kind of hesitant to include new products. I'm currently not using any face oils, but this one is said to be packed with vitamin-C, Kakadu plum, macadamia oil and coconut oil to leave your skin refreshed and rejuvenated. None of my products promote brightening so I'm excited to try this one out.
2. CIATE LONDON Watermelon Burst Hydrating Primer
I was super excited to see that a primer was included in my Ipsy bag since I rant out of the one I was using. This one by CIATE LONDON is said to hydrate, refresh and prep your skin for makeup. It'll boost your glow and help your makeup last longer. The scent 😍
3. FEEL Mindful Palo Santo Soothing Mask
So I actually tried this mask. The soothing description compelled me to try it because whew I really needed it lmao. I really like the smell of this mask. It said to apply a thick layer, but I guess I applied too thin of a layer. I wasn't blown away by this mask like I was with my favourite Summer Fridays masks (blog post here and here). I definitely will try this again and the packaging is so cute. This mask is infused with "energy clearing" palo santo essential oil, adaptogenic mushrooms, lavender and chamomile to help soothe and calm sensitive skin.
4. LA BEAUTE FATALE COSMETICS Brow Fixx Tint & Shaper in Dark Brunette
This product says that it contains a water-resistant formula that won't budge. I'm currently using the NYX brow tint and I've never tried any other brand's brow tint, so I'm looking forward to testing this one.
5. PACIFICA Bronzer Blush Duo
Out of all of the brands in my Ipsy bag, this is the one that I'm most familiar with. I've never tried any of their products before. I've also never used blush before! I really love how there's a compact mirror on the back of this product, so it'd be perfect to toss in your purse and for touch ups throughout the day.

So many goodies to play with! I remember when Michelle Phan made a video launching Ipsy and wanting to try it but for some reason not thinking it was available in Canada and now I have one! I think that this is an awesome subscription for $10 a month for 5 sample sized products. Anyways, that's all for now!

With love & light,

C

My Trip to Hong Kong - Disneyland, Macau and More!

When my family and I booked our trip to the Philippines (blog post here), we knew that we wanted to take a side trip too. My cousins have been to Hong Kong before and connected us with a travel agent and we thought, let's do it! We booked our trip for 4 days and 3 nights at Panda Hotel. 

Day 1 Highlights
From Manila to Hong Kong, the flight was about 2 hours. When we got to our hotel it was around lunch time so that was our first venture. Panda Hotel's location is more local than it is touristy. It was honestly pretty difficult to order food because of the language barrier so if I could redo this trip, I'd research nearby places and plan more diligently. Day 1 was spent unwinding from our travels but Panda Hotel has this shuttle bus service that takes you to Tsim Sha Tsui for free!

Day 2 Highlights
The next day we started our morning exploring more of Hong Kong. We went to Aberdeen Fishing Village and had a boat tour. Also on the itinerary were going to the Golden Bauhinia Square, a jewelry manufacturer and a souvenir shop. At the jewelry manufacturer, the sales people were very pushy and almost invasive. Once they saw you eyeing something or browsing, they will stick with you and not leave you alone lmao. Finally we got to the part I looked forward to the most, DISNEYLAND! I've never been to any Disney park before so my childhood dreams came true. It was honestly so magical, I felt my happiest at Disney. I heard Hong Kong Disneyland was not as crowded as the Disney parks in America yess! I fully understand why it's called the happiest place in the world. 


Day 3 Highlights
We started our day early and our coach bus took us to the ferry boat that takes you to Macau. The ride was about an hour and oh my goodness, bring your gravol! Thank God the boat had free wifi because it helped me distract myself from all the motion. We were in Macau until about 2pm and then went back to our hotel. I heard that Macau was beautiful at night. I think that we spent the rest of the day exploring areas near our hotel, and I finally got to squeeze in a workout at the hotel's gym. 

Day 4 Highlights
Our final day. My cousin and I woke up, went to the gym and then utilized the hotel's pool! Check-out was at I think 11am but our flight wasn't until around 10pm. Luckily, we were able to leave our baggages at the hotel concierge and with the travel agency, we had a coach bus picking us up at I think around 7pm from the hotel to take us to the airport. We explored more of the area around us. Panda Hotel has like a mall built into it on a separate floor so we were hanging out there and at the Starbucks we frequently visited during our stay at Panda Hotel.  
I'm so grateful we got to experience a different culture. I can't wait for my next adventure. 

With love & light,

C

My Trip to the Philippines

Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well. So I didn't get right back into blogging once I finished school because I went to the Philippines and Hong Kong in May.
When my family and I booked this trip back in August 2018 the timing sounded perfect for the upcoming school year. My cousin was going to get married in September, I was going to graduate from university (blog post here) and all the little adventures in between. I haven't been on a vacation in soooo long and I spent all of my summers prior working and going to school. Basically, this vacation was long awaited.
I'm so thankful I got to explore more of the motherland, reunite with my family and make more memories.

Week 1 Highlights
The day after our arrival was my cousins' salon opening. They opened their 3rd location and we celebrated the only way we know how, with lots of food. It was a full house during opening day so if you're ever in Lipa City or Batangas City, check them out here! I've been to the Philippines before but my past trips never included the touristy things that I finally got to experience during this trip. We went to Mall of Asia (MoA) in Manila for the first time and also spent some time exploring SM by the Bay, which is like a little amusement park. My little nephew wanted to ride the bumper cars where I broke a nail (it hasn't even been a week and it broke 😩). Honestly, I wasn't really in a shopping mood but now I wish I bought some Filipino makeup brands to play with (and review)! I was really excited that my mom got to celebrate Mother's Day with her sisters and nieces that she doesn't get to see often. We spent Mother's Day at Laiya Beach which we've been to before but we stayed at a different resort last time.

Week 2 Highlights
We went to Alabang Town Center in Manila, another shopping mall. It was pretty here too. Another opportunity to buy Filipino makeup brands, ugh I swear my cousin bought makeup here. 
Anyways, I got to attend another wedding! My cousin and his now wife said that their wedding was going to be super simple and nothing extravagant. But nonetheless, I love weddings and it was beautiful to see my cousin marry the love of his life. 
The next day we traveled 3 hours to Pico de Loro - Beach and Country Club. It was hands down the nicest beach and pool I've ever swam at. I loved how private and clean the beach was. We stayed there for only one night, which most definitely was not enough; I would go back in a heartbeat.

Week 3 Highlights
During this week we spent 4 days in Hong Kong! Read more about it here!
When we arrived back in Manila from Hong Kong it was 12AM and my cousins picked us up. During the ride home, one of my cousins offered to take us to another tourist spot I wanted to visit, Venice Grand Canal Mall. So the adventure was literally nonstop, because we left at 11AM that same day. I literally wanted to go to this mall just to ride the gondola lmao. I went during the day; I could only imagine the gondola ride at night 😍

Week 4 Highlights
Week 4 was a lot of family time. At the end of this week we went to Tagaytay. We arrived at around lunch time and ate at a restaurant with the most scenic view of Taal Volcano. After lunch we spent the rest of the day at Sky Ranch, an amusement part with probably the biggest ferris wheel I've ever seen. To close our Tagaytay visit, we ate dinner at Kenny Rogers Roasters.

Week 5 Highlights

Our final week 😔. This week was spent with an extra emphasis on family and buying last minute souvenirs (pasalubong!) to bring back home to Canada. One of the nights was spent at a bar which my cousin's band plays for. The last night was spent celebrating my sister's birthday in advance. It was so cute, the kids had a "surprise" performance for my sister, my grandpa and my aunt each bought her a cake, ugh it was a great last night. 

This entire vacation was amazing. I'm itching to go back, literally we've already talked about the next Philippines vacation lol. This blog post was unexpectedly long lmao, if you made it to the end, I appreciate it, thank you 💜

With love & light,

C

Graduation Day

Hey guys, it's been awhile. 

Update: I GRADUATED FROM UNIVERSITY! I am finally done school and oh my goodness does it feel good. This was probably the most stressful and challenging time of my life. Seriously, there were so many moments during my four years in uni where I thought I wasn't going to make it. In the end, it was so worth it, the tassel was definitely worth the hassle lol. It still doesn't feel real that I am done school, maybe it'll hit me when I wake up in September and don't have to go to school. 

The time building up to graduation, I've honestly been feeling kind of meh and like this accomplishment of mine wasn't a big deal. It may be because I feel so uncertain about my life right now and I hate it. I feel confused, lost and scared about my life post graduation. When I compare myself to other graduates who seem to have their life figured out while I'm still trying to figure my sh*t out. STILL! I thought I was going to have every aspect of my life figured out after graduation. When I type this now it sounds so silly. 

We're only in our 20's y'all, it's going to be ok.

I may not be where I thought I was going to be but that hasn't stopped me to continue and keep trying. Although I've experienced some of my lowest points throughout university and am currently feeling low right now, I have also learned about the extent of my will. And I know I undermined my graduation but I am so damn proud of myself for making it this far despite the hardships and earning my degree.

If you are a fellow graduate, CONGRATULATIONS! I am learning how to embrace the uncertainty and the adventures and most importantly, being kinder to myself, and I hope you are too. 

With love & light,

C