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.