2014 BLOG LOVES

2014 is coming to an end and that seems as good an excuse as any to round up a list of blogs I've really enjoyed. I'll try not to gush for too long about each one, but it's going to be tough.

5 TIPS FOR FIGHTING ACNE

I don't know why everything is coming to me in fives lately. This is the third post in the past week that's been a five pointer. I'm starting to get embarrassed. Ah well, I supposed there's no harm in it. I've mentioned a few times before that I've struggled with breakouts in the past few years. It well and truly stinks because it's something that has the capacity to demolish your self esteem. The silver lining is that I've accumulated a decent amount of knowledge about how to fight these loathsome breakouts I speak of. 

THE JEMMA KIDD DEWY GLOW DUPE

I remember a few years ago Jemma Kidd's Dewy Glow Highlighter was all kinds of popular. Everyone on Youtube seemed to have one and for good reason. It was/is an amazing product. Sadly the company shut down a few years ago and the highlighter was no longer to be seen, except for every once in a while when it would pop up on Ebay for $200 or so. So I thought it might be worth mentioning the replacement that I found for our missed friend. Drum roll... it's Jouer's Highlighter.

5 THINGS I LIKE TO SEE IN A BLOG

I didn't mean for the title of this post to be so egocentric. I just couldn't think of how else to put it. I was doing my usual Bloglovin' rounds the other day and I started thinking about what really makes a difference for me when I look at a blog. Obviously good writing is essential, but when you spend fair bit of time moseying around various blogs you notice the benefits of other features. Five ideas popped into my noggin...

5 STEPS TO FOOLPROOF WINGED LINER

Winged liner can be one of the most challenging aspects of makeup. It's taken me ages to get the point that I'm at now and I'm still quite slow at applying it. Nevertheless, I'd rather be slow and get it looking right than quick and have it looking messy. With that in mind I have a system going that I think will be helpful to anyone who's starting out with winged liner or still finding it to be a struggle. You'll need 3 things: a black eyeshadow, a black gel liner and a thin angled brush.

BHA TONERS: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Salicylic acid, or BHA, can be an amazing ingredient for those of us fighting breakouts. Unlike AHAs, it has the unique ability to penetrate lipids. This means that it can actually enter the pores and disinfect and break down dead skin cells within. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect that is ideal for both rosacea sufferers and for treating particularly inflamed, red spots. You can find salicylic acid treatments in cream or gel formulas, but I quite like it in a liquid formula. It's fast and effective and it doesn't feel like another heavy layer of something to sit under your makeup. I've recently tried a couple of BHA toners and found one to be impressive and another to be far from it. I'll explain why.

1000 THANKS: BITE BEAUTY BEST BITE REMIX *GIVEAWAY*

Hello everyone! Today I hit 1000 Bloglovin' followers. As I hinted in my 100th post, I wanted to give something back to you guys for the next milestone. So here it is: The Bite Beauty Best Bite Remix Set. This set seems to be sold out everywhere, but I happened upon one in a quieter Sephora location and I thought it'd be perfect for a giveaway. Onto the gushing now.

HOLIDAY MAKEUP PICKS

It's less than two weeks until Christmas. I intend to pack in all the holiday makeup I can before then, without veering into full blown drag queen territory (not that there isn't some fun in that). After the holiday season is over I sort of run out of excuses for attempting to look glamorous while working at a health food store. There's really not much point when most of us are just thinking about which pants are least likely to expose your bum while you're lifting boxes. At any rate, here's some of what I plan to be sporting before returning to my usual casual self.

MARVELOUS NETFLIX TV PICKS

I'm a big Netflix fan. Likely most of us are here. I think it's important to support fair business models like that – ones that provide an excellent service at a reasonable price. I recently signed up for Google Play Music for that same reason. Anywho, I've done my fair share of binge watching on Netflix and I feel it has come time to share my wisdom... my glorious coach potato wisdom. I've got a few shows up my sleeve that I really enjoyed watching while I shoved nutritional yeast covered popcorn into my mouth. I think there's got to be at least one in this list that you haven't seen!

A HOLLY JOLLY LITTLE GIFT GUIDE

I'm a bit late to the gift guide game here. I was feeling hesitant to do one at all. You see all these vloggers/bloggers that go out and buy out everything in Sephora or Space NK and it's hard to measure up. That being said, I decided to do guide anyways because I do have a few things that I really treasure and I think any beauty lover would enjoy receiving. Hope you guys find something in here!

LAND OF THE FORGOTTEN GEMS

I've got a fever... and the only cure... is more makeup. Yup, that's the mentality that has got me where I am. I have a pretty big stash of makeup. Granted, it's absolutely nothing like any of those Youtube makeup storage videos where multiple Ikea Alex drawers are needed, but I realize that compared to your average Joe I have a quite a bit. I'm quite lucky in that respect. Every once in a while I pull out a product, give it a go and think daayyuumm child, how could I have forgotten about you. Well I've done that a few times recently so I thought it about time to transport you the land of the forgotten gems. OOOoooOOOoo.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LIPS

A look that I see quite often on the runway is a bold lip paired with an understated eye. Sometimes that understated eye means no product at all and sometimes it means a light wash of colour, but most importantly it means forgoing mascara. I love that kind of look because it's not about big, sexy, fluttery eyelashes and it's not about feeling conventionally pretty. There's just something interesting about it.

FINALLY CLEARING UP MY SKIN

In the past few years I've had a bit of a struggle with my skin. I've never had full blown acne, but I seemed to always have a few big, red spots going at one time. It wasn't terrible and I know some might say that that's nothing to complain about, but it was just enough of a problem that it was taking a toll on my self esteem. Additionally I tend to scar really easily, so every time I'd have a spot I'd be left with a nice patch of hyperpigmenation for ages.

NOVEMBER FAVOURITES

November was a wacky month. The struggle I've been having with anxiety has been very consuming and I've had a hard time getting posts out that I feel meet the standard of I want to achieve. It's difficult to feel creative when you're spending so much time on trying to feel normal again. At any rate, I'm slowly feeling better (though anxiety is an unpredictable thing) and I'm going to try my darnedest to produce interesting content for you guys. Anyways, enough about my enormous feelings. I'll tell you guys what I enjoyed using in the month of November.

THE CHRISTMAS PARTY LOOK

I try not too get excited about Christmas too early. Generally I wait until December actually rolls around before going nuts, but seeing as Christmas party season is about to begin, I thought I'd start the excitement a day early by showing you guys a nice festive makeup. Drama, sparkle, a red lip... I've chucked it all in the mix because this is the one time of year you get to go hog-wild with no excuse needed.

EVENING WIND DOWN

I did a post a few weeks ago about morning pick me up products. Seeing as my anxiety levels have been through the roof lately, now seems like an optimal time to go completely the other way and talk about evening wind down products. Sometimes surrounding yourself with a variety of soothing smells and pampering sensations can really help lull you into a sleepy state. Anything I can do to calm myself down in the evenings (and when I say anything I mean anything... Gilmore Girls) is incredibly valuable at the moment.

PHOTO EDITING TIPS: APPS EDITION

The great thing about using apps to edit your photos, rather than a program like Photoshop, is they do all the hard work for you. Adjustments, such as exposure or cropping, are all laid out in the most basic way possible and the filter options can instantly transform the feel of your photo. I have two apps that I alternate use of, depending on the occasion.

DIORSKIN NUDE BB CREAM

I mentioned a short while ago that one of the glorious gifts I received for my birthday was the Diorskin Nude BB Cream. I've been using it almost everyday for the past few weeks (which is record breaking for me because normally I can't stand wearing foundation) and I feel like I've gotten enough of a feel for it now to do an accurate overview.

TOP PHOTO EDITING TIPS

Every once and a while I take a photo and that's it – everything came together nicely and it's ready to go up on the blog. The majority of the time, however, it takes a lot of editing to get my photo looking how I want it to. In the past few months of blogging I've developed a few simple and effective go-tos that I know will help improve the look of my photo however it's lacking. There are loads of photo editing programs available these days (Photoshop, Elements, Gimp, etc.), but my personal favourite is Paint.net. It's basically a free, paired down, user friendly version of Photoshop. So what go-to photo adjustments have we in the lineup?

THE AFFORDABLE WATCH

In the past year I've gotten more and more into basics. Clean, simple lines always look good and pair well together. I find that my most basic items are the ones that I still want to wear years later. And with this new found love of basics has come an appreciation for paired down accessories, particularly when it comes to watches. A few years ago it was all about those Michael Kors chunky metal watches, but now I haven't been able to keep my eyes off the Daniel Wellington and Olivia Burton watches.

DEALING WITH ANXIETY

When I was about 17 I had my first panic attack. For anyone who hasn't had a panic attack it's somewhat hard to explain. Your heart starts to go a mile a minute and you're shaking like crazy. Symptoms can be different for everyone, but what seems to be unifying is this irrational feeling like you're going to die. After I had my first panic attack things started to go south. I began becoming terrified of having another panic attack and I got myself into this seemingly never-ending cycle of panic – so scared of having one that I'd push myself into having another one. It got to the point that I wouldn't go out at certain times of the day because I only felt safe at home. It was scary and I didn't have any idea what was happening to me. Years later, after taking a few university psyche courses, I realized that that was a panic disorder with the beginnings of agoraphobia.

THERE'S BEEN A BIRTHDAY

It was my birthday a week ago. While the day was odd (for completely external reasons that I'll explain to you guys at a later date), I was so happy to get to spend it with people that I love. My sisters and beloved friend (I'm looking at you Rich) all turned up unannounced in the morning, which is the best kind of way to turn up in my books, and we joined up with some other friends and spent the day together. I was lucky enough to receive some vonderfull gifts, which also included an unbelievable set of noise cancelling headphones that I am over the moon about. There won't be a shred of eardrum left when I'm done with them. But I'll stick to telling you guys about the beauty stuff!

THE 100TH POST

Today is my 100th post. I put this blog up just over six months ago now and I can't express how happy I am that I did. I don't love my job and I've never been clear about schooling. I've always felt like I was left questioning my choices while everyone else was ploughing forward with confidence. But this blog has been different. It's the one thing that I don't have any doubts about. It's a space where I get to create and I have an amazing group supporting me all the while. When I say thank you to you guys I really hope you know how much I mean it. So for the 100th post I thought it might be fun to do a roundup of my top five posts I've enjoyed doing so far. Hope you enjoy them too, and don't worry, there will be a little something for you guys come the next milestone...

ZOEVA ROSE GOLD LUXURY SET

A while ago I struck a deal with myself. It was an intense negotiation session, but myself and I came to an agreement: once I got my first Youtube video up I was allowed to buy the Zoeva Rose Gold Luxury Set. Getting a video up was (and still is) something that scares the poop out of me, so a motivator couldn't hurt. About a month ago I finally posted a video and (after no spend October was over) I went ahead and ordered a set of zee German treasure. And hooo Nelly, they arrived yesterday.

EVERYDAY HEALTHY MAKEUP

Hi guys. I'm back with another video and this one's a tutorial for a healthy, natural makeup look. I've got a few handy tips on perfecting the base and a nice peachy lip. Hope you enjoy.

10 MORE MAKEUP TIPS

A little while back I did a 10 Things I've Learned About Makeup post and, to my surprise, as I was writing the ideas were a-flowing. So I decided to store away my overflow of ideas for a second post, which I had completely forgotten about until a few days ago. So I'm bringing it back. Here's the second round of tips. 

CSS: HOW TO ADD LINES TO EITHER SIDE OF A HEADING

We're going to get a little technical today. Don't worry, not too technical... a healthy level of technical. A short while ago Brittany tweeted asking how create a heading on one's blog with lines on either side - something like what you'd see on the sidebar headings on Vivannadoesmakeup or Gh0stparties. I've wondered how to do this myself for ages and never found an answer when eugooglizing. When I saw Brittany's tweet I decided “Imma figure this biatch out once and for all.” So I went back on the hunt.

MORNING PICK ME UPS

I wish I were someone that awoke each morning bright eyed and bushy tailed. I'd love to be one of those people. They always seem so put together. Instead I wake up feeling like I've been left in the desert for days, deprived of water and then kicked in the head for good measure. Perhaps that's a slight exaggeration, but at any rate mornings are not a good time for me. So anything that helps me emerge from groggy state is much appreciated. I'm happy to say that I've found three brilliant products for the shower that help the revival process along.

LITTLE PIECES OF LUXURY

Sometimes it's nice to splash out on something that makes you feel luxurious. I don't do it a lot. I'm not someone with drawer upon drawer of high end makeup, but I do have a few pieces that make me feel kinda fancy when I crack them out. They don't always have to be super expensive (though, I'll be honest, most of mine are on the pricier side), but there's something about them that just hits the spot.

THE SOFTEST HAIR

I have beaten the crud out of my hair in the past few years. It's basically hanging on for dear life at this point. I've bleached, dyed, permed (I don't have an explanation for that one), relaxed and heat styled it to hell and back. I should be ashamed of myself. But hey, I like changing it up and I'm probably not about to stop anytime soon. So when I discovered this product combo that helps makes my hair feel somewhat like hair again I was pretty happy.

BLOGS I'VE ENJOYED RECENTLY: ROUND 3

It feels like there's a lot of love going around today I wanted to jump on in. The great thing about writing about blogs that you enjoy reading is that, not only do you get to let people know that you've noticed their awesomeness, but it also gives others an opportunity to see it too. There's so much talent out there. It needs to be mentioned! So here I go, mentioning it.

THE CLEANSER RUNDOWN

Sooo I've got a fair few cleansers on the go here. A few more than I realized. They're one of those things that I love trying out, probably because I don't tend to stray too much with any other part of my skincare routine. Since I've got such a mountain compiling, it seemed like the perfect time to do a run through of the advantages of each one. Maybe you guys will find something you fancy.

HOW TO FAKE FRECKLES - THE VIDEO

When I first started this ol' blog of mine, I did a post on how to fake freckles. I said I'd do a video tutorial at some point. It may be a tad later than intended, but here it is...

THE REAL USE FOR THERMAL WATER SPRAYS

I always looked at thermal water sprays and wondered what the point of them was. They can't possibly infuse any moisture into the skin – they're just water. And spraying an expensive can of water on my face to cool down seemed excessive. But a short while ago my lovely friend Danielle made a trip over to France and, to my surprise, decided to return with a massive loot of skincare for me (love you Dan). One of items in the loot was, you guessed it, the Avène Thermal Spring Water. And well, I was wrong.

REPURPOSING BEAUTY PRODUCTS

I recently bought a product that was way too harsh for its intended use. I can't stand wasting a full bottle of something, so it got me thinking about how else I could make use of it... and then that got me thinking of interesting ways to use other beauty products I have stashed away. Long story short, I've got some ideas of how to make use of unloved beauty products or even just get a good two for one out of a product.

KEEP THE BRONZE A-COMIN'

Summer is truly gone and the last of our glorious tans are fading. While I generally embrace my pale skin in the winter, every once in a while (usually when I've been watching one of Tanya Burr's Victoria's Secret Super Model tutorials) I feel the urge to bring some warmth back into my face. I think the most natural way of doing that is to layer up a variety of products. As always I've got a few suggestions for you guys to pick and choose from.

HELLO YOUTUBE - FAVOURITES OF THE MOMENT

Hello! I've got something different for you guys today. I've been meaning to put up a video for a long time now, but, well the nerves have got the best of me up until this point. Who am I kidding? I'm still incredibly nervous. I hope you guys enjoy the video nonetheless. I should be back soon with another video. Hopefully I'll be able to get some tutorials going soon. I just have to get a better hang of filming first.

10 WAYS TO BUILD BLOG READERSHIP

I know some people might feel like it's a faux pas to talk about building readership, but let's face it, it can be an important part of the whole blogging shebang. A lot of us dream of being able to do this as a career and having people actually reading your work is an essential and, not to mention, hugely rewarding part of that. Of course you should always write about what you love – that's what makes it a dream job – but there are a few things that I think are worth thinking about if you want to build your readership. 

THE AUTUMN LOOK

I love when fall comes around. Suddenly I've got an excuse to drink infinite cups of tea, never get out of my pyjama pants and binge watch The Killing (ah, it's so good). Okay, I was definitely doing that before anyways. Putting aside the crisp air and the beautiful mix of colours on the trees, fall means getting to have some fun with makeup. Out come the deep, sultry shades and pale skin reigns once more! Yuss. A good vampy lip and a bit of definition in the eyes is what I've gone for this time around.

THE FIRST MAC LIPSTICKS (WITH SWATCHES)

A few weeks ago something arrived in the mail. Something that would make any makeup fanatic giddy. My friends, I speak of the glorious MAC Pro Card. Hoho baby, I knew I spent thousands of dollars attending makeup school for a reason (I can't emphasize enough how much I am kidding). Now the temptation was to go absolutely nuts and buy everything I'd ever heard any blogger talk about, but I was slightly more sensible and limited myself to only three products. Two of those products happened to be lipsticks. I don't know how I've managed to go this long loving makeup and never having bought a single MAC lipstick. It seemed about time to put an end to that madness (first world problems at their finest). I'm pretty darn tootin' pleased with the two I picked.

THE BODY SHOP IS BACK

I was down to the dregs of my Ren Evercalm Cleansing Milk so I decided to place an order with The Body Shop to stock up on some more cleanser... and then somehow other things found their way into my basket too. What? Who put those there?! Anyways, most satisfyingly, the day that my Ren Cleansing Milk bestowed upon me it's final pump, the package from The Body Shop arrived. And cleansing was had once more. As well as some shampooing and spraying of good smells. So what did I get you ask? (Please ask). Well my friends, let me tell you!

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES

October is here! That makes me so excited. October means Thanksgiving (Canada... we're different here) and Thanksgiving means mushroom gravy and pumpkin pie... not together. And I think this year I may have to adopt my beloved friend Flora's tradition of binge-watching all of the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends. But before I slip into my Thanksgiving sweatpants, I first have to tell you what I enjoyed for the month of September!

HOW TO DO COME HITHER EYES

Look away Mom and Dad because today is about bringing the sexay. Nothing says sultry to me quite like a smoked out cat eye. For this kind of look it's really not about lifting or widening your eyes – no flicking your wing up. It's about drawing everything outwards and keeping it soft and smudgy. You want your eyes to look like you can barely keep them open because you're so ready for bed... only you won't be sleeping. Oh my. So how does one get this look? Follow along!

HOW TO KICK OILY SKIN IN THE NETHER BITS

I have oily skin and I'm sure anyone else with the same skin type will feel me when I say it is flinging flanging annoying. There are up sides to having oily skin. It tends to age well – less fine lines and whatnot. But for the meantime I intend to do something to keep the shine at bay. So I've got myself a little three step program that I thought I'd share with you guys.

DIY CREPE PAPER FLOWERS

When you're stuck at home sick there's only one rational thing to do: craft day! I found a couple of DIY's on Pinterest (by Craftberry Bush and Martha Stewart) on how to make crepe paper flowers. I find often times fake flowers can look pretty chunky and... you know... fake 'n' stuff. God I'm eloquent. But these crepe flowers looked really beautiful and delicate. So I thought “hey, hey big guy, let's do this.” I mostly followed Craftberry Bush's tutorial as I thought hers had a little je ne sais quoi. Actually I do know what the what was – the watercolour effect. If you're going to follow a tutorial it really should be that one, not mine, but I thought I'd take you along for the ride nonetheless.

DIY SEA SALT SPRAY FOR BEACHY HAIR

I have to say I love that effortless, beachy, I did nothing to it, but my hair looks fabulous look. Kate Hudson anyone? I think everyone would like to feel like a natural beauty and there's something about beachy waves that read that way. Sea salt spray is an awesome way to help get that look. You just spray it into damp or dry hair and your hair will dry (or re-dry) with more texture and wave. There are loads of brands doing these sprays, most notably Bumble & Bumble with their Surf Spray, but I find it hard to fork over such a large sum of money for something that's so easy to make at home. So here's a quick little DIY sea salt spray recipe for you guys:

DAY TO DAY MAKEUP

I guess I don't often show you guys my day to day makeup, other than what I mention in my monthly favourites, so I thought it might be fun to do just that for a change. I've mentioned before that I don't usually tend to go hog wild on glamourous makeup – I'm not really a eyeshadows out the wazoo kind of person – so my picks are often fairly simple.

HELLO FALL

Fall seems to be upon us now. As I was riding home yesterday on Scooty Puff Jr. (my scooter), I could smell that fall smell. Does anyone know what I mean? Somehow you can just smell the air getting more crisp and fresh. I may actually be a little late to the fall edit compared to everyone else, but we all know by now what fall means – time to vamp up the look with deeper, plumier tones. And well, gaul darnit, I have an array of suggestions for you guys that I think you might enjoy.

BLOG NAVIGATION: INCREASING YOUR VIEWS

When you've gone to all the effort of writing a good post, it kind of sucks for it to disappear off the face of your blog after a short period of time. That's unfortunately what what tends to happen without decent blog navigation. You write a post, it sits on your homepage getting views for a while and the more time that passes, the more it gets buried under a sea of posts, never to be seen again. So ideally, you want to set up a number of systems to ensure your posts are still available for people to view.

LIPSTICK AND A TEE

Is it just me or is there something inherently cool about a bold lip paired with a casual tee? It's kind of like “yeah I'm cool, but I didn't even try... I must have just accidentally rolled onto some lipstick this morning as I dragged myself out of bed. Whatever, I guess I'll keep it on.” I may not actually be that cool and casual, but I'm damn well going to try to look like it. So I recently found two new additions to zee collection that I think pair quite nicely together. The first is this excellent tee from (who'd a thunk it) Old Navy and the other is a thoroughly underrated shade from the Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick range.