SHEET MASK | Merbliss Wedding Dress Intense Hydration Mask

The Merbliss Wedding Dress series is another cult collection of masks that have long been sheet mask favourites in the Kbeauty community. When you first start researching sheet masks, Merbliss is a brand you will see over and over again as they have some GOOD masks! The Wedding Dress series is based on the idea that on your wedding day, you obviously want the most luminous, bright and hydrated skin you can possibly get and how are you going to do that? With a Merbliss sheet mask of course!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Sally Hansen Miracle Gel "Under the Tree" Swatch #MidWeekMani

Today was an unexpected sick day as both my husband and I started feeling a little under the weather with headaches and for me, a mild sore throat and dry cough. Unfortunately, these are all symptoms of the very contagious Omicron variant so we have both decided to stay in for a week. The line ups are so long to get tested that since our symptoms are so mild and the wait time for results is now 48 hours, we figured that by the time we know for certain we have what we think we have, we will probably be on the mend. We have our meals delivered via Chef's Plate so at least dinners are taken care of and we have enough snacks to make it through. Even the cats have everything they need so we don't even need to go out for them! The only thing we REALLY need is a 9V battery because our smoke detector decided to do its super annoying "I'm dying chirp" at 4am which freaked out the cats for hours. I found Harper in some random corner of the apartment and she didn't even eat until much later in the afternoon. So, for now we don't have a functioning smoke detector until Monday when we can leave the house!

Press sample

MAKEUP | Cheekbone Beauty SUSTAIN Liquid Lipstick, New Brow Gel and Limited Edition Gold Body Shimmer

It has been a snowy week here in Vancouver with a 20cm dumping of snow happening last night, but I happened to request today off so I got to stay at home! I only had to go out to return a library book and pick up some cat food so other than that, it was very much an indoor day. Last month, I received an unexpected package from Cheekbone Beauty with some of their new releases that I wanted to share as this is a brand I admire and respect for what they stand for and the actions they take to achieve what they say they will do! They are now in Sephora which is amazing, but I still prefer shopping from their site directly. Cheekbone Beauty has done SO MANY things to ensure their products are kind to people, animals and the Earth (read more about their sustainability practices here) with their packaging having changed a little bit from my last review to reflect these new and improved policies while still making sure the product feels and looks luxe! 

Press samples

NAILS | Purple Holo Taping Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

It's the first set of nails for 2022! I was seriously at a loss for what to do even though our theme is "Purple and Blue" as an hommage to this year's Pantone colour of the year "Very Peri" which is kind of a purply-blue. These are two of my most favourite shades to wear so I think I was just lacking in inspiration for what to do, but then I saw this super pretty HOLO gradient from @hannahroxit and I knew I'd found my muse!

Some press samples

SHEET MASK | TSAIO Girls on Period Masks in Joyce and Jenny (Yes, You Read That Right...)

This was definitely one of the stranger flatlays I have ever created as I found myself rummaging through all of my feminine hygiene products hoping that I could create something aesthically pleasing. For some reason, most period products are brightly coloured and/or very pink. Maybe this is to combat the fact that most of us don't look forward to our periods (at least I don't). I think the only time I did was when I was a 12 year old girl waiting to get her period like the other "more developed" girls in my class. I happened to get mine on Christmas Eve on the way to church so I will NEVER forget when I got mine! Since then, I dread that time of the month mainly because of the cramps, headaches and general fogginess. I usually get a headache for 3 days and cramps for about the same amount of time. I am very much still a pad girl, so I alter my work wardrobe so I'm more comfortable and the pad doesn't show. I have tried tampons, but I just never got on with them even though everyone tells me that my life will improve 1000% if I do hence this flatlay of no tampons and all pads and pantyliners. Amongst all of this period paraphernalia, who would have thought there were sheet masks that don't even bother hiding the fact that these are for those with "an off colour" complexion while having your period?

Purchased by me

LIFESTYLE | Looking Back at 2021 (It Was Kind of a Crazy One)

I often refer back to my previous year's post for 2020 just to see where my head was at and now a year later, I feel like not a lot has changed AND that the world has changed. When I wrote my post last year, there was no vaccine for me yet and now after two doses and a booster to come, I don't feel quite as afraid, but now we have the Omicron variant to deal with. I think at some point, no matter how careful I am I will probably catch it as this variant seems to be much more infectious, but thankfully survivable for most. This past year has been somewhat dystopian in feel with the world being divided over vaccinations, vaccine passports and government mandates and I am thankful that most of my friends and family are fairly rational people.