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Beauty Tips I Wish I Knew at 15

March 21, 2015

Hello fellow readers!

Ah, beauty tips. I love beauty tips and tricks, especially those that simplify a beauty routine or can improve the way you look and feel. Today, I’m taking it back a few steps and talking about 15 year old me. Fifteen year old me had just started to get into makeup and enjoyed countless hours pouring over the pages of Seventeen magazine (There were more teen magazines, but that was my favourite).

A bit embarassing... but here is fifteen year old me — A bit embarassing… but here is fifteen year old me on a good hair day LOL!

From Seventeen magazine, I read on a lot of tips but being so young, the words of wisdom that were shared with me were often tossed away or easily forgotten. Unless it was a major life-changing life hack, I didn’t really think much of it.

I’ve come a long way since then and am in my twenties now =) For privacy reasons, I don’t want to disclose my exact age here but trust me when I say, I’ve had my fair share of beauty mistakes! I thought of my top five and albeit embarrassing, I’d still love to share them with you all today so that hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes as I did at fifteen.

Here are some beauty tips I wish I knew at 15:

Drink lots of water.

Back in high school, I barely drank ANY water. Looking back, I’m not even sure how I survived because these days, I get headaches when I don’t feel hydrated enough. I remember bringing those plastic water bottles to school, and getting home only to see that only 2 sips had been taken the whole school day. Shudder…

These days, part of my daily routine is to drink a full glass of water when I wake up. I do this because it refreshes my body and also so I don’t start off my day with a possible headache due to dehydration.

In the beauty sense, think of drinking water as an internal moisturizer! Your skin is properly quenched from the inside out, which will radiant healthy and fresh looking skin on the outside. Without water, your skin becomes dehydrated and can start to look dull.

There are tons of moisturizers and makeup products that can instantly perk up your skin, but that is only skin deep. Drinking fresh water is very important if you want lasting results and great skin!

Combat pimples before they form.

Puberty was not kind to me. Puberty was especially not kind to my poor skin, and I started noticing that my skin type was always prone to breakouts and oiliness. My skin has gotten a lot better over the years, but I wouldn’t say I have perfect skin as I’ve mentioned numerous times on my blog.

One thing I used to do was spot treatments on pimples after I broke out. Now, when I feel a pimple forming, I apply either toothpaste (it really works) or spot treat Amie deep cleansing mask before going to sleep. Most of the time, the newly formed pimple will have disappeared or have shrunk. Of course, not every single pimple that you try this method on will work, but it’s better having one pimple than five =)

Here are some words to live by, not just beauty related: If you see a problem, try to combat it before it gets even worse. Apply this to your skincare regime and your breakouts won’t be as bad.

The miracle of face primers.

I don’t even know where to start with face primers, I wish I started using them sooner! Now, I don’t know what I would do without a face primer.

My face makeup has improved drastically since I incorporated the use of face primers into my makeup process. My absolute favourite is The Face Shop’s oil cut pore balm followed by the infamous Porefessional by Benefit. I like TFS one more because it’s a lot cheaper and comes with a lot more product for under $20, the Porefessional is a bit pricey for me.

Using an effective and good face primer will smooth out the look of your skin, and make it last longer as well. Yes, foundation can do that as well but when you do both together, they are an unstoppable team. Then, add a setting powder and your foundation will be flawless for hours =)

Importance of finding the right foundation shade.

Left: Correct colour Right: Incorrect colour, unless my skin got darker?

Back in high school, I didn’t really care that much about finding the right foundation shade. I would just eyeball a bottle of foundation, and just hope that it matched. It also doesn’t really help that my washroom lighting isn’t the best. I just realized a few months ago, when I dug out an old foundation I used (right side). I was horrified at the shade because it was obviously too light for my face, or maybe my skin just got darker over the years?

I’m sure a lot of us do this by accident, I’ve sure seen it on people when I go out! I understand – we’re in a rush, and just want to quickly grab something off the shelf that works, who cares about the detail? This is why I recommend never buying foundation in a hurry.

Not sure what foundation shade is right for you? I discovered mine through Sephora colour IQ. If you’ve never heard of it, you go to any Sephora store where a rep will take three pictures of your skin with a small device. From there, you can also customize it by skin type, ingredients, and coverage type. That was how I found my Urban Decay Naked foundation, which remains to be my favourite foundation to this day.

Avoid mini eyebrow razor blades.

Why do I even still have these?! I should just chuck them out.

Eyebrow razor blades are the devil in the beauty world. At least to me, anyways. There was a brief period of time where I relied on these things because of how insanely cheap, convenient and fast it was to shape your eyebrows.

I stopped using them a couple of years ago because I hated the way my eyebrows grew out after I used it. Since you are just shaving the hair that is above the skin, it will grow back really quickly. To make things worse, it grows back very stubbly and rough! No bueno =(

*Warning- graphic blurb * Oh yeah, once the cap of the blade was stuck, so I had to pull really hard to get the cap off. It came off really suddenly after I applied a lot of force, and I sliced my thumb really badly. The cut was so deep that I thought I had to get stitches, it was so painful. That was seven years ago and I still have the stupid scar on my thumb. That incident literally scarred me for life and I’m very wary of these devilish eyebrow razors. UGH.The scar has gotten a lot smaller over the past 7 years, it used to be a lot deeper and extended out longer. =( You might not really be able to see it in the picture, you can open the photo in a separate window to see it better if you want.

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Well, those are the top 5 beauty tips I wish I knew at 15. What are some tips that you would love to give your younger self? Share them with me in the comments down below!

Thanks for reading!

Carmen

Estee Lauder Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event (Part 1/2!)

September 1, 2014

Hi readers!

Two weeks ago, I was invited to Estee Lauder’s Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event. It was a lovely afternoon spent learning many new facts about the Estee Lauder brand and meeting other people with the same passion for beauty!

This two-part post is going to be more focused on the event itself rather than a review of all the products. I will try to write reviews of the complementary products that I received in the coming months!

There were staff from Estee Lauder, as well as the PR company that invited me to attend this event. Staff from both parties were really welcoming and made us feel comfortable. In particular, I had a great conversation with the makeup artist on-site, Fiona! Props to great and kind service from both ends, I was very impressed.
We were first greeted by breakfast platters, and a variety of different drinks!
Some of the products Estee Lauder has lined up for the upcoming season! Our host told us that each one of those eyeshadow palettes were inspired by the pictures behind them. I really enjoyed all the shades and palettes that were there, as well as the packaging of the eyeshadows.

The palettes had either a lipstick or nail polish shade that complimented the colours in the palette. Furthermore, the lipstick packaging is actually magnetic, so no need to worry about not putting on the cap all the way by accident and ruining the whole tube.

Moving on, the picture at the top left is a closeup of one of the new eyeshadow palettes. It was my favourite, since I loooove golden and champagne tones. At the top right, is a preview of a new line released by Estee Lauder called AERIN.

I believe it might be launched already by the time my post comes out, but the line is created by Estee Lauder’s granddaughter, Aerin Lauder. The AERIN line is more youthful, simple and neutral, as Aerin herself prefers simplistic makeup.

The bottom left picture shows the night repair lotion, day lotion, and BB cream. Last but not least, the one at the bottom right is their new cream, made with the natural antioxidant benefits of the lovely pomegrante fruit. Like the AERIN perfumes, it smelled absolutely lovely and was my guest’s favourite product that day.

Anyways, that’s it to the first part! The second part will include a revolutionary foundation brush, gold infused foundation, and a makeover! Keep posted and thanks for reading!

-Carmen

GUEST POST: Cactus Club Cafe (North Burnaby)

August 31, 2014

Intro: My boyfriend and I were at dinner last night, when I suddenly had the idea for him to do a guest post on my blog! We brought up the idea from time to time but never actually went with it. I thought it would be fun to give him the chance to write about our food adventures this time. That’s it from me (Carmen) now, here is the review of Cactus Club in the eyes and tastebuds of the boyfriend!
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Hi everybody! It’s pretty exciting to finally be writing the long talked-about guest post. I’m not a writer like Carmen is so my apologies ahead of time. It’s been a busy week for Carmen because of her new internship position, and that along with a bunch of other events happening during the week means that we haven’t had the chance to spend a night just to ourselves. So on a Saturday where neither of us had to work, we finally spent a day together. After a long day spent downtown, including a trip to the Aritzia warehouse sale (post on the haul coming soon!), I decided on going to the Cactus Club Cafe for dinner. Out of all the other similar restaurants (ie. Milestones, JOEY, etc.), Cactus Club Cafe was one of the ones that I still had yet to try. This location is nestled in a busy stretch along Lougheed Highway that also includes a White Spot, Boston Pizza, JOEY Burnaby, and a Browns Social House.

Walking inside, the first thing you notice is it looks really fancy. Carmen mentioned, “it looks way fancier than the exterior would suggest.” The interior consists of wood and glass for decor, which gives it a modern feel. They have a few big screen TVs for those looking to enjoy a game while they drink and dine. We were seated right away by the hostess and told the drink specials that night; $5 Cactus Blonde Ale or $1 off Signature Sangria. Carmen ended up ordering the Signature Sangria. It was made with fresh strawberries and raspberries, zinfandel wine, apricot brandy, sprite, and a splash of bellini. Carmen thought it was really good. The fresh strawberries and raspberries add a lot of fruity flavour that compliments the zinfandel well, and the bellini layered on top added a nice sweetness that went well with the apricot brandy.

We ordered the ceviche as our starter. It consisted of raw steelhead trout, prawns, minced red onions, mint, cilantro, thai basil, lime, and nuoc cham sauce served with tortilla chips. The last time we had ceviche was at Tap and Barrel, and I overdid the lime juice in the ceviche. This time, I was warned not to add too much. The sauce mixes well with the herbs, and the fish and shrimp, cut to the perfect size for dipping, created a dish that was fresh and very flavourful. It is definitely worth trying.

For our entrees, Carmen went with what she had the last time she went to the Cactus Club Cafe: the grilled tuna club. It consists of rare-seared albacore tuna, tarragon tartar sauce, bacon, cilantro, and pickled ginger on a ciabatta bun, served with a side of fries. While she found it good the last time she had it, she thought this time there was too much pickled ginger and tartar sauce that overpowered the taste of the tuna. The fries are your standard fries, but I liked how none of them were soggy. I tried a few bites and loved the grilled taste of the tuna, but I agree that the tartar sauce was a little too much. (See review of Cactus Club Coal Harbour here)

For my entree, I settled on the short rib sandwich. It consisted of beef short rib, caramelized onions, and emmental cheese on toasted sourdough bread with au jus dipping sauce, served with a side of yam fries. The short rib was cooked very tender, and the emmental cheese went well with the beef because of it’s milder flavour. The au jus sauce adds a lot of flavour to the sandwich and some extra moisture to the already tender short rib. The yam fries here were delicious, and crispy as well. No mushy ones to be found. I would definitely order the short rib sandwich again if I was back and looking for something familiar to order.

We were both stuffed by the end of our meal, so we have no dessert thoughts to share. Throughout the night we were looked after very well by our server, and both of us agreed that the service here is excellent. In terms of comparing it to the other similar type restaurants, I thought that the Cactus Club Cafe was definitely on par with the rest. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the Cactus Club though as there was lots of booth seating, and the dim lighting made the quiet night to ourselves all the more private.

So that’s all to this post. I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts on the Cactus Club Cafe in Burnaby. As I mentioned above, stay tuned for Carmen’s post on her haul at the Aritzia warehouse sale!

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Hope everyone enjoyed the guest post! Perhaps he should write more guest posts in the future? 🙂

Summer 2014 Favourite Moisturizers

August 30, 2014

This idea came to me suddenly a hour ago, and I am in the mood to write tonight 🙂 I have had a busy week and wasn’t able to blog as much as I hoped, but I’m glad I have this long weekend to wind down and take some time to myself. Lately, my skin has been quite dry so I have been relying on my lotions a lot. I have developed a devotion to certain lotions and wanted to share them with you today! Some of these are second or third time purchases that I have been using for a long time, while others I have just started to love. Let’s get started!
These are the main moisturizers I use in my daily routine. Anyone have the same products and love them as much as I do? 😀 When my skin gets dry, it also gets really itchy at the same time, so all of these have been amazing at getting rid of the itch and quenching my skin (well, apart from the lip moisturizers haha). Let’s divide these moisturizers into separate categories and go into further detail with each!

BODY
1) St. Ives Daily Hydration Body Lotion: Out of all my current favourite moisturizers, I would not have expected to like it as much as I do. My mom bought this as opposed to our usual Vaseline body moisturizer, and I didn’t really think much about it. But I love how fast absorbing and non greasy it is. This lotion also has a very neutral but clean and crisp scent to it that I think would be suitable for males as well.
2) The Body Shop Body Whip in Mango: I’m not too sure why they changed their brand of body lotions to body whip, it kinda sounds strange to me. Anyways, I am in love with the smell of this lotion, as with most Body Shop scents. Again, this moisturizer is very absorbent and leaves my body smelling like mangoes. It’s also very lightweight, and a little goes a long way. I alternate between the two, and honestly, it just depends on which room I’m in when I feel like my skin is getting dry. The St. Ives lotion is stored in our washroom, while TBS one is in my room.

Face

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream: You guys, I have fallen in love with this facial moisturizer. I recently just finished my first jar, and wasn’t planning on buying another one because I love trying new products. However, as I was in between facial creams, I realized how much I missed this one. Initially, there is a cooling sensation when you apply this, which is great first thing in the morning as it wakes you up. Secondly, it does a great job at combating oil and making sure your face does not dry out the whole day. This lotion is best suited for those people like me who have combination skin type.

Hands:
Crabtree & Evelyn Pomegranate Body Lotion: I also received this as a gift two years ago, but never actually used it because I had a lot of other lotions to use and I didn’t want to “waste” this product as I know that it is pricier than most lotions I buy. Anyways, I started to use it two weeks ago and I really like it. It t has a mix of fruity and floral notes which I loooove. The scent lasts on your skin the whole day, even after washing your hands! This is actually a body lotion, but I treat it like a hand lotion because of the size.
Lips:
1) Vaseline: If you don’t know how amazing Vaseline is, this classic video of supermodel/ex-talk show host Tyra Banks going absolutely crazy on her studio audience can explain its wonders. I remember watching this on TV as a pre-teen and not being able to find words to describe her crazy and hilarious sudden outburst on Vaseline. OH MY GOD I just re-watched this video and was almost dying of laughter.
2) EOS Lip balm: I used this a lot back in high school, but I stopped cause I didn’t like the sphere design and dust kept getting trapped inside. I still don’t like the sphere design because it’s not practical, but you have to admit that it does look pretty cool aesthetically speaking. I have the melon one, and I love the smell and taste of it. The EOS balm keeps my lips hydrated longer than most lip balms I have used (apart from Vaseline of course).

Well, there you have it! I love all of these moisturizers for a variety of reasons, from their lightweight, non greasy formulas to their fantastic scent. Which moisturizers are YOUR favourite? Let me know in the comments down below 🙂

-Carmen

Trees Organic Coffee House

April 8, 2014

While walking through Gastown one sunny afternoon after class, my classmates and I noticed this cute little coffee shop in one of the heritage, brick Gastown buildings.

We decided to pop in to talk about our class project. Originally, I wasn’t planning on getting any pastries, but I was sold after seeing their pastry case. We ended up sitting at a table near the window, where the window shelves were made into a seat, filled with pillows!

Here is the till, there was also self serve lemon water on the side. The workers were also really friendly and attentive, gladly answering questions that I had about their pastries.
The selection of sugary, fattening, and indulgent goodness. From what I saw in the case, I would assume that their specialty is the cheesecake.

They also had some small paninis and lunch items on the top two shelves. Curious to see which pastry I got?! Well, after debating for a bit.. I decided on getting…
The vegan banana oat power bar $3! Okay, to some of you, that might sound really gross since it’s so healthy. But I was really curious to try it because I didn’t feel like indulging in a cheesecake or brownie that day, and I love bananas!

I asked for them to warm it up, which they put in the microwave. This bar was decent- there were a LOT of seeds in it. The worker told me that this bar was made out of banana puree, seeds, nuts, and oats. At one point, I started feeling like a bird because it was so seedy. Apart from the seedie-ness, I enjoyed the taste of the bar. It was very filling and guilt-free.
Apart from the bird-seed loaf (Haha, just kidding it was actually pretty good), I ordered an americano. I forgot the price but it was around $3? The espresso was smooth, and not that bitter.

All in all, I enjoyed my quick visit to Trees. The only negative thing would be the sketchy washroom which was located in the basement. You had to walk through this sketchy hallway to the elevator, and once you arrived, it was very quiet and dingy. The washroom was shared by other merchants in that building. There was a funky smell to it as well. Apart from the washrooms, I would definitely come here again if I was studying in this area (but who wants to study in Gastown when there are so many local clothing stores?!).

-Carmen