March Favourites

My ferocactus and jade succulent

Kelsey and I enjoyed shopping at the Ottawa Vintage and Antique Show

This March was a pretty great month for me in general. It's under 3 months until the wedding (the invitations are going out), every once in a while it gets warm, I squatted 180lbs (and rarely have back pain!!), and have read lots of books.

The  wedding invitations going into the mailbox!

Returning from the gym in SHORTS!!

BEAUTY
My last beauty post mentioned my new foundation, Smashbox's Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Hydrating Foundation. I have been loving it. It might be slightly too pink for me, so I hope that's not a bad sign for finding a summer shade (and I will need to, for the wedding). I don't have to re-powder during the day unless I accidentally got food on my face and wipe away makeup.

Last spring I bought Hourglass' Ambient Lighting Blush in "Diffused Heat." I've been using it pretty frequently in the past year, but during March I especially loved how much light it brings to my face because of the gold running through it. It has really great payoff, I don't need to touch the brush to the pan too much. I use the Sephora Pro Airbrush #55 for blush.

Essie "Cute as a Button"
from iheartpolish.wordpress.com

My favourite nailpolishes for March are a little odd in comparison. I love my Essie "Cute as a Button," OPI's "Uh oh, roll down the window," and "Here Today, Aragorn Tomorrow."

OPI "Here Today, Aragorn Tomorrow"

The bright pink is great for making me feel like it's actually warm outside. The OPI polishes aren't very opaque, but I'm okay with multiple layers because I found them at Dollarama for $3 each. Obviously because they're kinda hideous, so they didn't sell in store.

OPI "Uh Oh Roll Down the Window"

The Essie polish is really great for spring, and I get compliments when I wear it. I'm not normally a pink-lover, but I always get happier when I see that colour in my bin.

I've kept my makeup look pretty similar this year so far, just changing up if I want a strong contour, or a darker smokey eye. Since I'm trying to remind myself I have absolutely no money and need to use what I own, I've had fun finding different ways to use my eye shadow pallettes, like my Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. I wish I could say I have a favourite lip product this month, but my lips were dry a lot of the time, and then I had a cold sore, so I didn't want to wreck that product with the herpes virus.

I have been hunting for a white rabbit cookie jar, and Mom found me one at an Apple Annie's in California.
It goes well with her chicken cookie jar.

SKINCARE
Since I'm allergic to everything, I almost never change skincare. However, since I've been using my Benefit They're Real Mascara, I've needed to use waterproof eye makeup remover far more frequently. I absolutely LOVE my Body Shop Chamomile Waterproof Makeup Remover. I have regular QUO round cotton pads, and a bit of the liquid on it removes all my eye makeup, one side per eye. It's very gentle, so even when I do have itchy eyes or a little rash on my eyelid, it doesn't affect that or make it worse.
Every once in a while, if I've gotten sick, haven't slept enough, or am stressed, I get... cold sores. I've always hated them, and used to try to hide them, or pick at the scabs, which made it take way longer to heal. Last year I found a natural antiseptic cream from Holista, which has Vitamin E (for healing) and Tea Tree Oil (to disinfect). One and a half days of applying this to my cold sore, and the sore was gone! I just needed to moisturize afterward to heal the scab. #ChefRecommends

One weekend, Ryan, Deanna, and Nic came home to Ottawa. I baked a strawberry rhubarb pie, and it was phe-no-me-nal.

ENTERTAINMENT
Mom and Dad were away in California for two weeks, so I needed TV on to keep me company. When there wasn't anything awesome on TV (like Bride shows on TLC) I put on Friends on Netflix. That was an awesome decision. I forgot how much that show actually makes me laugh out loud. I used a lot of our internet bandwidth watching it.

Some of my favourite books for March were the "Scene of the Climb" by Kate E. Dyer-Seeley, which is about a recent journalism grad who ends up working at an adventure magazine, and "Eco-holic Body: Your Ultimate Earth-Friendly Guide to Living Healthy and Looking Good" by Adria Vasil which introduced me to some awesome eco-friendly beauty brands I'd love to try out.

New Makeup: Smashbox and Rimmel Apocalips

My previous foundation was Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum Gel formulation, and I loved it. It wasn't terribly long-wearing, but it was great on my sensitive skin. When I went to repurchase, my Shoppers didn't have any unopened 52 Vanillas. That was gross. A very helpful clerk directed me to Smashbox's Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Hydrating Foundation.
Surprisingly, I was matched at their lightest, "1.1."
The colour match is really good.
At first I wasn't too sure about this foundation. It seems to be a thicker consistency than my Bourjois, but I need 3 pumps instead of 2. I'm also not sure if I'm just trying harder to buff the foundation in (with a Real Techniques face brush) or if I'm finally learning how to apply foundation to last longer.
The foundation hasn't broken me out, which is awesome, and I haven't noticed a distinct smell.
Things to test: if it's actually "sweat and humidity resistant," and just how "transfer-proof" it is. I definitely transfer if I blow my nose within ten minutes of applying it.

The second new product is my Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Foundation Primer. I mentioned to the clerk that I was disappointed with my Benefit Porefessional Primer. She agreed that she's never really had success with that one, and it's more for minimizing pores rather than extending foundation life. (I have a great problem where my foundation is gone by lunchtime, so that's a waste of money and time applying.) She gave me a sample of the Hydrating Primer.
At first I thought it was stupid. The first week it didn't do anything to help my foundation last longer, which made me also not be impressed with the foundation that claims to last 15 hours.
Wednesday night I was watching a YouTube tutorial where the woman spent a lot longer rubbing the primer in, and I realized I was using too much primer, and not properly.
My makeup on Friday? Flawless.
I had been hoping I wouldn't like it, since the primer is $42, but it's great. I'm not sure if I'll love it for the summer since my face isn't as dry then, but I'll keep y'all posted if I purchase a full tube.

I have been on a quest to find a long-lasting match for my Nars "Funny Face" lipstick to go on as a base for my wedding. I did lots of research on drugstore lip laquers and stains, and finally purchased Rimmel London's Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Apocaliptic.
It matches the fuschia lipstick perfectly!
Rimmel makes no claim that it lasts forever, but the lipstick lasted through an entire shift at work (where I don't get to touch up other than after food--and it wasn't necessary!). I'm only able to wear balms and lipstick that I know will not budge because I don't have a mirror to check if I've suddenly smudged my face around.
First Impression: A little drying after... 8 hours of wear, but still looks fresh and doesn't bleed out of the lines. The colour looks great on me now while I'm pale, and since "Funny Face" is great in the summer, this should be fine for the wedding!