Spring pop

pring is finally here! It's just starting to warm up where I am, but not nearly fast enough. I still see snow in some areas of the city :-/

Today was the first day that I was able to open up the windows in my house to let some air in. It felt so nice! It's been so drab and cold this Winter that I needed to get my Spring/Summer fix by running out getting the new-ish Maybelline ColorSensational Vivid lipsticks. They are super bright and the colours are just amazing- perfect for Spring. I picked these up at Walmart last week and although they were listed for just over $7CAD, I got them for a little over $5CAD each. They must have been on sale. I'm not sure if they are still on sale as I visited a Walmart a few days ago and they didn't have a special price on it. I still think they are worth it as they are super pigmented and the formulation is great.

The 3 colours that I got were #865 Fuchsia Flash, #870 Shocking Coral and #900 Hot Plum.
I actually saw Bella's review on them here and fell in love how these lippies looked on her.

Here is Fuchsia Flash.
As soon as I saw it it reminded me of MAC's Candy Yum Yum. 

Here they are side-by-side. Pretty similar, no?

Left is Maybelline's Fuchsia Flash and right is MAC's Candy Yum Yum.
I would say the formulation of the Maybelline one is a little more glossy while Candy Yum Yum
is a matte.

This is Shocking Coral.
When I first saw the colour I thought it looked similar to MAC's Archie's Girls Collection
lipstick in Betty Bright.

Here they are side-by-side. When I saw them side-by-side they didn't look that similar…

The 3rd swatch is Shocking Coral. I wanted to swatch Betty Bright, but I actually haven't
even used it yet. I'm debating whether to sell it or not. I feel like I just bought Betty Bright
just because of the packaging. I'm weird like that…

Lastly, this is Hot Plum.
This was Bella's favourite out of the ones she got so I knew I had to pick this up.
It, again, reminded me vaguely of another MAC's Archie's Girls Collection lipstick in
Daddy's Little Girl.

Here they are side-by-side.
I would say Hot Plum leans a little more on the magenta side.

Here is Hot Plum swatched (far right).
I took these all in daylight with no flash.

Let's get Real

leeza from Stylist & Literate talked about these brushes being available for us Canucks at Walmart. I've wanted these brushes ever since I first heard about them watching beauty videos on YouTube. So last Saturday, while I was out running errands, I drove around several Walmarts looking for them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the Core Collection (shown above). I saw several of the Travel Collection, but I wasn't interested in those ones because I have lots of brushes similar to those. I was most interested in the contour brush and the buffing brush in the Core Collection. Finally, I was able to get these brushes at a Walmart near where I live (I should have gone to that location first!) and they had several of these on display. I got this set for $18.97CAD.

Here is the back of the package. 

I love the brush handles.
I was a little skeptical on the quality of the bristles as the brush set is pretty cheap, but
I was surprised how soft they were. 

As an added bonus the set came with a travel case. 

The draw string on the travel case can be tightened so make a stand for the brushes.
What a clever idea!

See how it stands up so that the brushes stand upright?

I can't stop looking at these brushes. They are so pretty.
I want to pick up the individual brushes (with the pink handles) later on, but I don't believe
they are available at Walmart. I think I will have to order it online at Amazon…

The front side of the buffing brush.

And the back.
These brushes are multi-purpose so I'm sure you can use this brush to apply liquid
foundation, apply blush, bronzer, etc.

Look how dense the buffing brush is. I'm going to be using this to set my liquid foundation
with powder.

My favourite brush in the set- the contour brush. I don't have a domed brush this size
so I'm super excited about this brush.

Here's the back.

The bristles on the buffing brush.

The foundation brush. I find this brush too small to apply liquid foundation. Plus, I don't
like these flat brushes to apply foundation. I prefer the flat-top kabuki-style brushes to
apply foundation. I plan on using this to apply concealer under my eyes.

The back.

Here's how the bristles look.

Lastly, the detailer brush. I think it's meant to spot conceal, but Aleeza mentioned you can
use this as a lipstick brush. Good idea!

Here's the back.

And the bristles.

Aleeza has a more detailed blog post on these brushes as well as a YouTube video so you should definitely check it out if you're interested.

Have an open mind

o sane fashionista would ever step foot in the Crocs store. My co-worker and I would always joke that we would never buy anything from there. Well, never say never, because guess who bought something at the Crocs store? None other than me, myself and I. I actually went in to buy my mom a pair of Crocs. While I was browsing I came across these Wellies and I couldn't believe how cute they were and how cheap they were! I ended up leaving the store with a pair of Crocs sandals for my mom and a pair of Wellies for me.

My whole family is obsessed with Crocs. My younger sister works at a hospital and she swears by them because they are so comfortable. I guess she doesn't mind because she is in scrubs all day. This is actually my 2nd pair of Crocs. I bought my first pair back in 2011 because I was suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. So even though this is technically my 2nd pair I don't count the first one because it was purely for health reasons.

The store had a army green pair (the one I got) and a black pair. I got these last week
so you may still be able to get it on sale like me. I also see that they are on sale online.

I got it on sale for $39.99 + $5 off (because I spent more than $50).
I normally wear a size 6 in shoes, but they didn't have a 6 so I got a size 7. It is a little
big on me, but once I wear thick socks I think it should be ok.

I love how light-weight they are and that they have a rubber grip at the bottom.
The fabric detail up top can also be removed and washed, I think.

Here's how it looks on.
I have Hunters Wellies and these are much more light-weight. I also love how they don't
look like your typical Crocs.

The side view.

So my lesson for you all? Don't judge a book by its cover. I'm now going to keep an
open mind before banning a brand altogether.

Inspiration wall

his May will mark our 4th year living in our house. I still can't believe how quickly time passed. Even though 4 years seems like a long time I'm still in the process of decorating our house. I want to take my time because I want it to look perfect. Also, it takes time to find the perfect piece for each room. I don't want it to look cookie cutter or haphazardly put together. 

Now that I'm home on maternity leave I'm constantly looking at all the spaces in my house and thinking of what I can do to make it better. There's still so much I have to do for my home office, but I've been looking at the wall behind my computer desk. It's been blank for a while now and I keep looking at it when I'm working on my computer. I was thinking of doing some sort of polka dot, washi tape DIY project behind it (you can see what I'm talking about on my Pinterest home office board), but then I decided against it. Then, I came across a cool print that I got from a photographer through work and decided to frame it. It's actually the backside of his photography print. I loved the 'A' and how graphic it was and thought it would look so neat in a frame. That gave me an idea to put up some sort of art wall behind my computer. I may add to the vignette later on, but I'm liking how it's looking. Now, when I look up from my computer screen I can see my vignette and it will put a little smile on my face :-)

Here's my computer desk. It's the white Parsons desk from West Elm. It's a little cluttered,
but I like having cute and pretty things around me for inspiration.
I still have to do something about the little cubby beside my desk. It is ugly, but it
stores all my junk and my huge printer. I may paint it a white to match my desk…

Some of my pretties- my Shim and Sons fabric bulletin board and pencil cup (that I use
to display my money plant or Lunaria Annua); my lovelydesign address file;
my Teatro Verde flower vase that I use for my pens and pencils; a ceramic plate that
my son made at daycare; and my staple-less stapler that I got from Paper-Ya in Vancouver.

Since the colour for 2013 is supposed to be an emerald green I changed my screen
saver to a green. It's a turquoise green, but still…

I love my heart mouse pad.

And my pride and joy- my Phillippe Starck Louis Ghost Chair as my office chair.

Here is the wall behind my computer before I put the artwork up. It's so… plain and boring.

Now with my little artwork it looks a bit more visually interesting.

I didn't want to put anything in a frame as it could look too done up.
I used washi tape to stick the other pieces.
The illustration of me was done by an illustrator I commissioned for the magazine I work
for. I had an extra sherpa proof from my printer so I used that to hang it on my wall.
The hot pink print is a print I got with my Kate Spade watch. I've been meaning to put
it up somewhere in my house because it is super cute, but didn't get a chance to… until now.

Another view.

I get a lot of promos from illustrators and photographers through work and I always store the ones that I like just in case. It always comes in handy when I'm hanging artwork up and I need an original piece.