BEAUTY | Make Your Makeup Stay in Place with Youthforia Pregame Primer and Setting Spray

Purchased by me

I say above that these are purchased by me only because at the time, these were the only Youthforia Pregame Primer and Setting Spray in my house, but since that time I have been fortunate enough to receive two more of each product through PR that I have unboxed on Instagram which I could not be happier about as I'm pretty sure I am going to finish both products quite soon!

NAILS | Puffy Clouds with a Chance of Glitter #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples except for China Glaze Fairy Dust

I have a busy week this week as on top of working Tues-Sat (I don't know how you "5 days of work in a row" people do it), I will be attending a black tie dinner on Wednesday night. It's one of those "we need to mingle big time" dinners so even though I work the next morning, I need to make sure that I take some time for myself to take it slow and decompress after the event or I'm sure I will be a grumpy boo the next day. Hopefully these nails last through the week as I don't know how much I will want to re-do them once the work day starts kicking my ass. 

SHEET MASK | It's Skin Power 10 Formula Gf and Ye

 

Gf purchased by me and Ye is a press sample

Is it just me, or has April felt like the longest month ever? I feel like I have been living it through multiple seasonal changes! Maybe it's because I was going through much mental strife at the start of the month that had me feeling like the days were longer than they should have been. I haven't been crazy busy at work, but busy enough that I am never idling my way through the day. I haven't been on top of my sheet mask game either and I am not sure why. I am usually not opposed to sheet masking late at night, but in the last few weeks, I've just felt too tired to take out the additional 20 minutes to sheet mask. This past week, I've felt a fraction more motivated and reached into my "to review" pile of masks and pulled out these two iconic ones from Korean brand "It's Skin"!

NAILS | Cadillacquer Leilani Swatch (Thermal) #MidWeekMani

Purchased by me

It has been a few weeks since I have done one of these catch-up posts so how is everyone? After taking two weeks off to give my brain some time to recuperate from work, I dove back into my day job without skipping a beat. I would like to think that I am one of those people who still knows how to function when I go back to work after time off because from what I have seen with staff, someone people take two weeks off and then need another two weeks to remember how to perform basic skills. I also came back a little more fiery and less afraid of speaking my mind, but the main thing my therapist and I decided to focus on was starting my day with client-based activities as those tend to make me feel more productive and generally happier about my job! I haven't felt tightness in my chest for the last week which is something I have not experienced in months at work so I feel like we have definitely made some progress! 

BEAUTY | April 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

This is my FIRST review of the Ipsy Glam Bag in almost 10 years! Back then, there were a ton of subscription services and I was subscribed to probably five of them with a few brands like Glossybox and Birchbox sending me boxes to review. I was also receiving a lot more press samples so all of that combined left me overwhelmed and frankly, uninspired to review and use the products inside. I have not thought about signing up for anything since FaceTory until I took some time off at the start of this month and realized that I missed these little surprises and mini sizes of brands I haven't tried before! With the exchange rate and shipping, this box ended up costing about $27 CDN so not the cheapest, but is it worth the surprise of trying new things? Maybe! And, what's nice is that I can pause it anytime and resume with ease!  

NAILS | Purple Lilac Flowers #CBBxManiMonday

 

Press samples

Sunday was all about filing my taxes. I know, they are due in 9 days and I still hadn't done them. My dad usually does them for me, but he has been travelling so I was left to do them on my own which quite frankly, was the LAST thing I wanted to do after being at work all day. Today, I got up early, grabbed a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha and hunkered down. I got them filed by noon and then had the rest of the day to relax! 

NAILS | Spring Pastel Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples except for China Glaze Fairy Dust 

I had a fairly uneventful first week back at work after being off for two weeks which I was grateful for because no one enjoys feeling overwhelmed and rushed on their first day back at work! I always think of that episode of The Office where Michael has just come back from Jamaica and he has a steel drum and beads in his hair. He is all relaxed and smiles and the first thing an employee says to him is "My bonus cheque was smaller than you promised" and in the space of a few hours, Michael's vacation energy has been zapped from him. While this has happened to me in the past, luckily it was not this way on Monday and if anything I was pretty much left alone save for a few technical questions.

SHEET MASK | I Dew Care Let's Get Sheet Faced Sheet Mask Set

Purchased by me

I think I asked a friend to pick up this set of sheet masks from I Dew Care from Ulta before the pandemic hit. What was supposed to be a 14 day routine that I FULLY intended to review in a jiffy is now 5 years in the making, but it's only because I got distracted in between you know with the pandemic and life and all. 

HAIR | Helping my Sensitive Scalp with Mayraki

Press samples

Back in December, I was introduced to the haircare brand Mayraki and was a bit hesitant to feature the brand because the product and customer service reviews were very mixed, but I have spent so much time using and enjoying the products I was sent that it seemed a waste to not let you all know how they worked out for me so just for a moment, we are going to isolate the product from the reviews and see how they did!

NAILS | Morgan Taylor Lace is More Collection #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

It's not often that I get to feature a new to me nail polish brand here so it is with great pleasure that I bring to you Morgan Taylor! I have seen Morgan Taylor only through a select number of Canadian retailers, but I was recently given the opportunity to try out their new Lace is More Collection for Spring and I could not have been more delighted with the quality!

SHEET MASK | Lush Queen Bee Sheet Mask (Both Amazing and Horrifying At The Same Time!)

 

Purchased by me

Last week, my friend Gerry and I did our yearly shopping/catch up event where we allow ourselves to splurge a bit after going on a low buy after the Holidays. The shopping area changes from year to year, but this year we felt like staying Downtown near everything. Our first stop was Lush in Pacific Centre as I had 10 black tubs to return (5 for Gerry and 5 for me) so that we could each pick up a new Fresh Face Mask (I picked up the Enzymatic Cleanser) as well as oogle some other goodies!

MAKEUP | NYX Cosmetics Duck Plump High Pigment Lip Gloss

Purchased by me

Some of you may have seen the marketing for the new NYX Cosmetics Duck Plump High Pigment Lip Gloss and I will say now that it had nothing to do with my decision to pick them up! If you haven't seen anything, it involved many men thinking that they could use this product to plump up their own genitalia. WHERE this marketing idea came from, I have no idea since literal humour like this is often seen as a bit cheap, but hey, it got everyone talking!

NAILS | OPI Nail Envy Powerful Pink #MidWeekMani

Press samples 

So, I just started therapy regularly to deal with work things and had a productive therapy session today where we had a little breakthrough on how I process negative thoughts and it gave me some hope for the future. I went to my first session last August which I was nervous about, but found it helpful AND I found a therapist I liked all on my first try! I went for another session in October to work through some fears about my flight to Paris and then didn't really think about booking with her again until last month when things at work started to escalate. After seeing her two weeks in a row, I think I like the regularity of having someone who isn't in my close circle check in on me and where I can sort of start over on a blank slate. 

HAIR | Olaplex Treatment Shine by the Drop Event at is. Salon

Gifted service

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting is. Salon in Yaletown to experience their Olaplex Treatment. This is an add-on treatment to any service you may be receiving and it promises to repair and leave your hair super soft and shiny through a couple of hair washes!

NAILS | Simple Easter Nail Art #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

I feel like the long weekend kind of crept up on me and I never realized it was the Easter weekend! A lot has been happening in my life and though I am legitimately scared for my mental state the next few months, at least I feel like I have some resources in my back pocket to rely on.