NEW BLOG!

For those followers who still check up here, you can now follow me at The Average Blonde!
http://theaverageblonde.blogspot.com or click here to be redirected!

D&G never ceases to amaze me

can we please just take a moment and admire these gorgeous floral print playsuits from the d&g spring 2011 ready to wear collection?

i know, i know. the show is long over. and this collection is now what some would consider "old news". but i mean, these are gorgeous and they didn't catch my eye until i saw the far left one in an issue of seventeen magazine. one will run you around 300$ but at this degree of hotness, i think it's worth every single penny. with summer coming to a close, i know i'm so late on this, but i couldn't help myself. plus maybe you can find one out there on sale. *sigh* give me all three and i'll be one happy girl. what are your thoughts? 

feeling the burn

sorry for the lack of posts, i've really been focusing on getting fit! i'm starting to work out 5-6 days a week for 1-2 hours each day. i've really been lacking in the fitness department and decided i needed to kick it into high gear!

what my workout consists of:

• i usually try to run for around 30-45 minutes. cardio is a huge part of working out and it really gets your blood flowing and your heart racing. plus, it feels great. there is nothing better (in my eyes) than running if you've had a bad day or if you're angry. it's a great way to get all of the frustration out. that and maybe a boxing class haha!
• after i'm done with my run, i like to target certain parts of my body. this is usually done on some sort of machine or with plain old weights. it's either my upper body or my legs. i like to alternate. you should never do the same workout over and over. your muscles do have a memory and they remember all the working out you do. it also tends to get boring, doing the same old routine. switch it up!
• next up is my abdominals. i spend a whole lot of time on my abdominals. crunches. planks and various other exercises. 
• lastly, is some form of a cool down. i'll row. bike. or simply just stretch it out. always stretch when you're done working out. your body will thank you later.  

i'm not trying to lose a crazy amount of weight but i am trying to lose some. i think if i don't get healthier now, my habits will forever be horrible. no more late night chip runs! 

friday: interior inspiration

{kotilo}

loving the whole netural apartment look. the white walls with the gray furniture. a pop of colour has been added by using the cushions and paintings. the amount of light that these rooms have to offer is amazing. big windows are a must on my list. another thing i love from this apartment, is the lights. in the top two you see a small hint of the chandelier. in the bottom, it's the orb light. looks like something out of ikea!

unleash your inner foxiness with hard candy

i've been madly in love with hard candy for a while now. ever since i had tried out their matte-ly in love nail polish and noticed the price didn't break the bank. now i think i've almost purchased every single thing in the collection. by far one of my favourite make up brands. plus, it's super easy to come by - wal-mart! fox in a box are blush/bronzer duos that claim to "unleash the foxiness in you". i definitely feel my foxiness is unleashed after using this potent duos!

the packages are around 2 inches by 2 inches and they are packed full of the most amazing blush duo's you will ever try. these actually have surpassed my NARS orgasm blush in my make up bag. and let me tell you, it takes quite the blush to do that!

i picked up one that has a coral blush (skinny dipping) and a more matte, less shimmer-y bronzer and more recently, i picked up truth or dare which is a light pink and a sparkly bronze. if you're going for drama, skinny dipping is your duo. for a more natural, everyday look, you should play with truth or dare.

the packaging is super cute (i've never failed to be disappointed with hard candy and their packaging!). both have magnetic lids that close. they kind of don't work for a little while since the box is cardboard and you do need to almost, work it in so it will shut. rest assured, it does not take long. the boxes are sturdy and are great for travel. they are compact and can fit anywhere. they do come with a small brush, which i do recommend discarding when you purchase. just use a normal brush blush. but if you don't have access to that, feel free to keep the brush that is supplied. 

skinny dipping can be compared to benefit's 10. actually, it is the same but cheaper (and better quality in my eyes). the pink is sheer and natural. you need to apply a fair bit to get a pink colour. but that's how i like my blush. the bronze adds some nice shimmer and when mixed, everything falls into place perfectly. 

skinny dipping is a gorgeous coral colour with a less shimmery bronze. hard candy knocks it out of the water with this one. the coral is stunning and highly pigmented. one sweep of your brush over the product and you have a cheek filled with to die for summer colour. 

overall, i can say that i really do love these products. both are amazing. ahhhh-maaaa-zing. an a +++ in my books. reasonably priced (7$ for one), you can't go wrong. if you have a wal-mart near you (where isn't there a wal-mart now-a-days?), walk run and pick up hard candy's fox in a box. 

cupcake cravings

i had a huge craving attack me today. i needed cupcakes. the thing i love about cupcake bakeries is how they have select flavours on certain days. of course the first thing i did was research my local cupcakery to see what they had baking today. i narrowed it down to four flavours that sounded like they were must haves. going clockwise from the top left: carrot cake, salted caramel, coconut and banana!

how delicious do they look? i just want to shove them all into my mouth at once. i'm really looking forward to chowing down on the salted caramel and coconut cakes, they really catch my eye! cupcakes for the win!

three new polishes + i'm back

so, i've finally caved and moved back onto blogspot (for a little while at least). i really want to further my career as blogger and i don't think that tumblr can do that for me. i'm also not a fan of all of the drama that tumblr can bring. it really is a bit of a pain. but nevertheless, i'm going to be posting here for a little while. see if i can get back into the blogging grove. thank you to my followers who have continued to follow this blog although it hasn't been active. 

i'll be posting my daily musings here along with my makeup and beauty reviews (the platform is so much better for that!). you can also find alot of my photography. which i kindly ask that you do not remove from this site. if you scroll down and read the disclaimer you will see a nice note for all of you to read. if you're coming here from tumblr, don't you dare repost my photos. i will find you :)

but anyways, i picked up this three pack of revlon polishes the other day and i love all three. the green is my favourite. you only need one coat and your whole nail is covered!

new look and i'm coming back!

in a few days once i get all of the little issues sorted out. expect a new blog and a new look!

hit the beach with mac surfbaby

in my time off from blogging, i couldn't stay away from the makeup counter. when surfbaby was released by mac, i was right there waiting to purchase some of the things from the line. so far, i've picked up a suntint lipgloss and a bronzing powder. they are both amazing and well worth my money. the collection is quite large, consisting of a variety of different products.

the collection in it's entirety is very large, but the bigger the better. i really wish i bought everything ... 

the pressed bronzer in gold go lightly was my first purchase a while back. i loved the packaging and the design of the compact. when i opened it, i didn't want to use it because it looked so nice! those cute little MAC imprints on the bronzer were amazing. needless to say, i did eventually try it and fell in love with the colour. i'm super pale and hate using a bronzer that over powers my face. this one did quite the opposite. it complimented my fair skin. the matte shade that had no shiny things in it was just what i was looking for. it's also a great bronzer due to the fact that you don't need to use alot. a little bit, goes a long way. 

my second purchase from the collection was the suntints lip gloss. these tubes are filled with sheer glosses that contain spf 20. it can't be surfbaby without the sunscreen! the one i purchased was called pink tinge and is a sheer pink with a little bit of shine. 

the product is great. applying it is easy and it isn't sticky in the slightest. it doesn't really have a taste, but i find you can taste a little bit of sunscreen. it isn't bad, i actually find it quite nice. it's also not sticky, meaning it won't make your lips all gooey. one downfall is the size. the tube seems quite small for the price i paid (around 20 dollars canadian). slowly, as i'm using it (which really has not been alot), i'm finding that there isn't much product inside the tube. overall, the product is lovely, but i feel a bit scammed with the amount that i've received. 

if you haven't purchased anything from MAC in a while, do so now. this collection won't leave you disappointed. i find it being a bit natural and not too far out in left field (unlike the quite cute collection, pastel eyeshadows anyone?). four stars out of five. 

bath and body works haul

sorry this is so late everyone. life has been busy right now and managing two blogs got the best of me. no worries though, i'll try my best to get back into the groove.

first up, i purchased three of bath and body works body sprays. i've never really been a huge body spray person mostly because i find them all crappy, but when i smelled these, i fell in love.

• if you need an escape to the tropics, try the coconut pineapple scent. the man who worked at the store sprayed a bit on my wrist and i felt like i needed to grab a pina colada and head to the beach. i find it more coconut-y than pineapple-y, but you can definitely get hints of both. it's a nice combination and like i said, reminds me of the tropics. 
• secret wonderland is a a deeper more luscious scent. bath and body works describes it as having strawberry, goji berries and raspberries as it's top notes, gardenia petals, jasmine and peach nectar as it's middle notes and coconut musk, creamy vanilla, sandalwood and white amber as the base notes. the strawberry is definitely noticeable when you first spray it, followed by the gardenia and vanilla. 
• lastly, dancing waters smells of that fresh rain. it has scents of watermelon, spearmint, peony, bamboo leaf and so on. the scents are really all over the map but in the end they mesh nicely together. 

being as in love with the coconut pineapple scent that i was, i snatched up the body wash that complimented the spray. it's rich in vitamin e and contains aloe so it really does make your skin soft. if you're looking for a body wash with a long lasting scent, i'd recommend this for you. it's scent is strong enough that it won't wear off ten minutes after washing. needless to say, the bottle is nearly already half gone. 

next up, i tested out the coconut mango body scrub. it was amazing. once again, the smell was intoxicating and took me away to the tropics. it has super fine walnut shells that exfoliate your skin as you wash. you can feel them as you scrub the stuff all over you. it seems that they really do their job. if you're having issues with dead/dry skin, try to use this and see if it will help you out. this product also has coconut milk in it, which is a super skin softener. 

all in all, i was impressed with all my buy's and am already in need of another bath and body works shopping trip. in case you were wondering, all these marvellous products only cost me 40 dollars canadian. what a steal! and also, sorry for the massive hiatus, things got a little bit busy!

smellin' delicious

i'm super sorry for the lack of posts. life kind of caught up to me and blogging was one of the last things that was on my mind. i went to wal-mart a few days back to pick up some snacks and found myself in the bead/string aisle. with me, you can tell it's summer when my bracelets are stacked up my arms. i bought a ball of hemp twine to make some new bracelets and keep me going all summer. i've already started making them. the one on my right wrist is super cute. i've actually gotten lots of compliments on it.

and more recently, i went to bath and body works. today they had a deal where everything in the store was 20 percent off and their signiture line and collections were buy 3, get 2 free. so of course, i capitalized on that. this was just one of my favourite things that i bought. it's a body spray called dancing waters and my goodness does it smell nice. i will post more photos tomorrow after i'm able to get outside and take them in some sunshine. the weather has been super rainy and i hate taking photos in my house, the lighting is horrible.

once again, sorry for the lack of updating. hopefully this post is a little filler until tomorrow.

i feel like such a nut for not posting like i should be, once this weekend is over, i'll be back to normal :)

computer virus

sorry for the lack of posts. i came down with a sinus infection sunday night and have really been trying to kick it. today was the first day this week i've been able to leave the house. eesh. well my weekend was pretty calm. on sunday, i drove to a floral showcase to take some pictures of flowers. it was a horribly rainy day and everything was wet, but personally, i love the way raindrops look on flowers.

there were a few large magnolia trees outside of the greenhouse that were just screaming my name. i hate how all of the leaves had already fallen off and there were few left. there were some of the one's that were somewhat in tact.

when i finally ventured inside the showcase, i was greeted with a warm tropical heat. there were so many tropical plants that i had never seen before. this little yellow one caught my eye. i can't quite remember the name but it was definitely unique. i love flowers and probably could have spent hours in this exhibit just looking at all of the different flowers from all over the world.

i finally got the opportunity to pull out my surfboard/skimboard wax and things. i love the way sex wax smells. it has this super pungent coconut smell. one thing i don't let phase me when it comes to surfing/skimboarding, is the fact that i don't live anywhere near an ocean.

edit: i really do apologize for the lack of posts. my computer came down with a virus and they had to wipe everything. thank goodness i still have all my pictures, videos and documents. and i'm glad blogger has an autosave mode, i really didn't feel like writing this all out again!

what's your skin type?

 i'm pretty sure that i'm the queen of combination skin. sometimes my skin is super dry and sometimes it's super oily. over the past few years i've put together a pretty solid collection of products that (i know from experience) work well together. 

if you have oily and/or acne prone skin: 

• lush's ocean salt is great to clear up some of those unwanted pimples. it also has salt in it which is a drying agent and will make your skin less oily. be careful to not over use it though, or your skin might become irritated.
• lush's cupcake face mask is a thick, chocolate scented mud mask that you can apply all over your face or just on those problem areas. it decreases pimple size and even says on the carton "great for teenage skin". teenage skin being the skin you associate with the teen years; oily and acne prone. 
• arbonne makeup primer has acne fighting ingredients in it. put this on before you put on your makeup. it will help to absorb excess oils and keep you shine free. 
• mac studio fix is one product that i always keep in my purse. if you're feeling oily, simply pull this out and use the applicator provided to blot your skin until the oil has disappeared.
• rimmel hide the blemish concealer i find myself turning to on those days when nothing seems to be hiding a pimple. it's great because it's in a stick and is super easy to blend. it also won't run you a large amount of money. 
• almay clear complexion makeup is specially formulated for oily skin. it contains salicylic acid which will help fight acne while you wear it. it's the one foundation that doesn't make my skin oily while i'm wearing it.
  

if you have dry skin:

• maybelline mineral power powder foundation is my go-to coverup for those super dry days. i know it sounds strange. "why use a powder foundation for dry skin? why not liquid?" well, i find that when i use a normal liquid foundation, the dry skin is even more noticeable. when the foundation goes on wet it is fine, but as it begins to dry, the dry skin becomes more noticeable. whereas with this powder foundation, it's already dry and i don't have to worry about my skin becoming even more dry. i'd recommend that you try this method.
• almay line smoothing makeup really quenches your skin's thirst. on dry days, i'll use this around my eye area. it smooths those lines and moisturizes the dry spots. i however, wouldn't use this on my whole face. 
• last but not least, my favourite product. spectro's hydra care lotion for dry skin. every day i put this on my face underneath my makeup, focusing on the really dry spots. if you have dry skin, this will be the product to help you get rid of it. it really does work and is specially made for your face. if you end up buying one product out of the ones i've mentioned today, make sure that it is this one!

stay soft

countless times people have grabbed my hands and told me "your hands are so soft, how do you do it?" and i tell them, "i moisturize". it really is something that i believe in. there are so many different types of moisturizers out there and it is impossible that you won't find one that you love. 

someone recently asked me what kind of products i use to keep my skin nice and soft:

• vaseline cocoa butter deep conditioning lotion: i mostly use this gem on my hands, neck and elbows. this isn't the typical vaseline. it has such a nice scent and is made with cocoa butter. i'd recommend this to someone who has really extreme dry skin. the vaseline will soften you up. my skin literally drinks this stuff up.
  
• the body shop brazil nut body butter: my most recent body butter buy, and potentially my new favourite. i've never used anything brazil nut before, but i've heard excellent things about them. the lady at the store told me that this was for those pesky areas that always get dry. i find myself using it on my knees, elbows, behind my knees. i also use this on my lower back and thighs. one thing i usually find with body butter is that it leaves you feeling greasy. this one definitely didn't leave me with that feeling. just make sure you let your skin soak it up before you do anything. it doesn't take long, a few minutes.
  
• i love coconut & cream and i love strawberries & milkshake: they're supposed to be body butters but i see them as more like body whips. the product is a lovely whipped lotion with a smell that is to die for. i find myself sometimes drooling over the coconut & cream one. i use these all over my body, mostly my legs, arms and torso. along with putting this on before i go to bed, i usually use it in the morning before i go out. the smell is so strong and delicious you can skip the perfume.
  
• the body shop coconut shimmer body lotion: not really a shimmer, i felt like ke$ha after i put this on. a great daytime lotion. i don't recommend this for your hands. if you're going out, try putting some on your arms, legs and your neck area. it will leave you smelling nice, looking shimmery and feeling soft.

the last product included in the image above is by calgon. it's my favourite body spray and is from the hawaiian ginger line. it's my go to light scent. i keep it in my locker, gym bag and purse and don't go anywhere without it.

review: sally hansen's jade jump

i bought this polish a little while back and i think i posted a photo of it before. well, i finally decided to wear it. after a week and a half of using a product by sally hansen that makes your nails grow longer and your cuticles much nicer, i finally am satisfied with the way my finger nails are looking. i think my cuticles look so much better than they did before! 

currently, my nails are painted jade jump from the sally hansen spring 2011 collection. you can find this colour at your local drugstore for around 5$. the colour is a minty green that has hints of blue. it could be comparable to the colour of tropical waters near the shoreline.

the colour took me away to a tropical place. it kind of seems out of place for a spring collection. now that i see it on my nails, i feel like i should be in the tropics.

the one thing i love about sally hansen's insta-dri polish is the brush size. it is a fairly wide brush which makes applying the polish mess free. with one stroke, your nail is virtually all covered.

another bonus to this polish is it's fast drying time. it takes literally a minute for the polish to set. i like to be careful and wait a bit longer than that. just in case something isn't dry yet.

the polish has a fairly good wear time. it lasted me a week and only had minor chips. one thing however, is this colour does turn your nails yellow. i removed it and noticed that my nails were tinted a bit. this can be easily fixed by applying a base coat before using the colour.

for a 5$ drugstore polish i can say that i'm very happy with this purchase. i've always been a fan of sally hansen products and think this is just another one of their great polishes. so what are you waiting for? go out and buy it!

cherry blossoms, chocolate fix and peaceful places

what was i doing while blogspot was down for 20 hours? weeping? actually, i was eating away my sorrows with these delicious treats. the magnum double caramel ice cream bars. they were 7.19$ for a package of 3. a little bit on the pricey side but, after all, these are "luxury" ice cream bars. needless to say, i got a little nervous when i noticed that one of my posts was missing. all that was going through my mind was "really? i have to write that all over again!"

on thursday, i found myself at a virtually untouched dock area that i found. there was no one there and it was super quiet. i wish i had brought a lawn chair and had set up camp. nothing sounds better than sitting lakeside with a good book and a tall glass of iced tea. i was even tempted to just sit and fish. i'm such an outdoorsy girl. i can't wait until camping season. nothing appeals to me more than fishing all day then going back to the tent and sleeping on the rock hard ground.

all of the trees are in bloom, so that also added to the beauty of my drive. i'm planning on going to the botanical gardens this weekend to take some more shots of the gorgeous spring flowers. cherry blossoms are by far my favourite. their scent isn't really that strong but they look amazing. there was a tree in my front yard and my camera was practically begging me to take photos.

speaking of taking photos, i've been getting loads of questions on how i shoot my flower photos (and photos in general). here are a few of my tips and tricks that i live by:

• always shoot in natural light. it is your best friend. whenever you have to use the flash, the quality of the photo decreases. unless you have a lot of equipment to decrease the glare and things, you should really try to shoot in natural lighting.
• pick a time to take your pictures and always take them during that time. for me, it's around 1-2 in the afternoon when the sun is nice and high. 
• if you aren't sure what you're doing, don't mess around with the settings on your camera. take a basic photo in no flash mode (or preferably, macro mode if you have the option) then edit it using a photo editing program.
• always edit your photos. rarely, will you have a stunning photo that comes straight out of camera. even if it's just upping the contrast or adding a little sharpness here and there. it makes a world of difference. 
• lastly, try using actions if you have photoshop. they are downloadable colouring things. all you have to do is push a button and watch as the action plays out and colours your image. you can find them on deviantart or just by googleing "photoshop actions".

they call me the "tea lady"

it's the truth: all of my friends have dubbed me the "tea lady". i'm an avid collector and i like to think of myself as a tea connoisseur. queen elizabeth, you can invite me over anyday. my addiction started around a year ago when i first discovered the canadian tea store teaopia. they sell loose leaf teas from all over the world. i think i own about half of their stock. 

a recent tea i picked up is called "organic simply mango". it wasn't cheap, totaling out to 14$ for 0.050 kg's. it was worth every penny though. it has an amazing mango peachy flavour to it and tastes amazing over ice. i've never really collected much, the occasional hockey card, a few collectible magazines. i'm proud to say that i am a tea lady. now if only i could buy those cath kidston tins to store it all in.

birthday cake pops

i decided to try and tackle bakeralla.com's cake pop recipe. i changed up a few things and hoped that they would work. the original recipe was for red velvet, and i used white. also my grocery store didn't have the proper chocolate for dipping so i bought white chocolate chips instead. let me tell you now, if you do decide to try this recipe, do not use chocolate chips. you will need:

• whatever flavour of boxed cake mix you like
• vegetable oil, eggs and water/milk (ingredients for the cake mix)
• one can of cream cheese frosting
• candy wafers (i used chocolate chips, don't use them)

firstly, follow all the instructions on the cake mix box. bake your cake and let it cool entirely. when cool, crumble the cake into a large bowl. make sure they are fine crumbles like what you (mostly) see above. once this is done, add the whole can of icing and mix well. use your hands, you can't be afraid to get a little dirty. mix until you can successfully roll the cake mix into a ball. 

roll the mixture into little balls. you should be able to make around 40 cake balls. set them out on a tray. the tray doesn't need to be greased or anything and it doesn't matter how far apart they are. put them in the fridge for the entire night, or if you're like me and super impatient, a few hours. to speed this process up, try placing them in the freezer. 

this is where i went wrong. do not use chocolate chips to coat your cake balls. the chocolate is too thick and is not dippable. also, do not try to add things to the chocolate to make it more wet. this will just stop the chocolate from hardening. roll the balls in the coating. what i did, since i was unable to roll, was used a knife and spread the chocolate. let the coating harden and add sprinkles if you like.

they taste delicious, they just don't really look all the greatest. this was my first time making them and the way i see it is that for next time, i know what i did wrong and how to fix it. if you do decide to make these, store them in an air lock container; fridge or not, doesn't matter.

may: happy things

my happy things for the month of may:

• starbucks half price frappucino days - between the hours of 3 and 6 (maybe 5, can't remember) you get your frap. half price. needless to say, you can find me at my neighborhood starbucks every day, from 3 to 6.
• bright lights and fresh colours - i'd kill to have a balcony like that one up there. my newest obsession is bright bedrooms. i plan on re-doing mine over the summer. i'll definitely be investing in a better light, more candles and some sort of potted plant. maybe 10 potted plants. 
• fields of tulips - i'm dying to visit keukenhof, holland for the amazing tulips they have. i just want to run through there and pick them. i'd kill to be a florist in the netherlands. 
• munich - it's not really my home, but i consider it my home, away from home. i felt like a local when i was there. i plan on going back in the near future. i can't hold out any longer.