Five Things, Right Now.

Hey there, been a while since I've done one of these (or a post in general!) so let's hope this makes up for my disappearing!

Loving..

OPI's Katy Perry Crackle Polish - 10.99 +taxes

Or just crackle polish in general. I don't know why, but when I started seeing this two months ago, it really had no significance to me, i just thought 'oh that's cool' and moved on with my life. Then, last week for some reason I suddenly CRAVED IT.. and promptly ran out to Trade Secrets on my lunch to go buy and use it. It's pretty good, not exactly what I thought it was, but I still like it a bunch. Also, I'm excited for OPI to come out with a full rainbow of crackle polish colours next month. Though for those who can't wait, China Glaze has their own crackle line, already available in a whole bunch of colours which you can check out here.For those who don't know, 'crackle polish' is a nail laquer that goes on soild over another polish, but cracks into little pieces revealing the nail colour underneath and creating a two-tone effect.
Quick Tip: to get bigger 'crackle' chunks, glob the polish on thicker.

Turquoise Hair - $10 and up

Okay, kind of an odd thing to have here seeing as you can't exactly run out and buy it (well technically.. you can, but it's not a product!) buuut it still makes the cut. Long story short, the colour students at my school have started dying their hair all sorts of gorgeous colours and one in particular has the prettiest turquoise hair I've ever seen. So to bring this full circle, right now I'm loving coloured hair. Spring is here (even though it's still snowing in Toronto) so why not try something new to freshen up? Splat Hair Color is still my go-to brand (but has become increasingly hard to find in Canada), but I have found new love with the N' Rage, and Raw Color brands from Hot Topic. Yaki extensions work super well too if you aren't ready for a colour commitment and can't quite afford human hair. Plus they easily blend in with your hair's natural texture, and can be dyed or styled with hot tools. (Just please whatever you do, don't go out to Hot Topic and buy those tacky non-matching-you-hair-not-even-close plastic clip-in strands, they REALLY don't work for anyone, and yaki hair is pretty much the same price for a lot more.)

Head Bands

Bows, sequins, prints, glitter, etc. I'm completely crazy about them right now. It seems like every time I go out looking for things I can use for my photo shoot models I end up finding a headpiece that I fall in love with.. for myself. I bought a polka dot bow band from a small boutique in Kensington Market called Twylite. And then the other day I bought some gold sequin trim from a local fabric shop and ended up making one of those 'hippy bands' out of that. Headbands are super cute, and a great way to further accessorize, or even change your look around. Even better than that, you don't need to spend a ton for them, just combine what you already have, or add a clip or a flower to a skinnier band and you're done.

Makeup Inspiration

I know we all have our own ways of doing things, and looks we like to wear on a frequent basis, but after a while things start to get old... fast. Recently I've been looking around at new artists and techniques for all sorts of different makeup looks to broaden my spectrum, or at the very least give me some fresh ideas. Right now, I can't help but love the eye shadow techniques I've been finding all across the web, starting out with this facebook page from a local(ish) fellow makeup artist. Her blending is perfect, and she has some really interesting and diverse looks that I suggest you check out Empress Makeup by Melissa.

Nautical Themed Things

So seeing as my birthday just passed, I felt the need to go out and splurge what little money I had. One of my biggest loves in life has always been pin-up and burlesque, specifically when sailor themed. So I decided to buy a striped captain's hat from a local thrift shop. Also, one of the newer (well not quite new, but not sold out yet) collections from Betsey Johnson is all about nautical bliss, incorporating stripes, navy blue, sparrows, anchors, crabs, sail boats, and captain's wheels (as well as a sailor monkey) into some lovely jewelry pieces. She also released a more nautical like of clothing, as did Joe Fresh just recently.

Lip Do's and Lip Don'ts

Just to start things off on a semi-positive note, school has been going well, I can't believe I'm almost done the beauty/ fashion portion of the program! That being said, I wanted to share something I've been working on with you that I'm super proud of!

(The two sides of my business card.. in case you couldn't tell)

Anyway, been trying out a ton of different makeups and so without further adue, let's talk about lips!

It's come to my attention that out generation (25 and under) really aren't too picky when it comes to two of the most important features of our face! Seriously, we do so much with our lips on a daily basis, I mean they're right there in the middle of our faces (not like eyebrows, which you can easily cover with fringe), that there really is no good reason to not make them look their best!

One thing I've been loving for the last couple months is lipstick (Pink Nouveau from MAC, to be specific, my FAVOURITE, I'm a little obsessed with this colour as of late). So I thought it was pretty strange a little under two months ago when I started realizing how many girls don't wear it.. ever. We definitely have a gloss epidemic on our hands, which isn't bad at all, just strange. I mean women (and men) have been wearing the stuff for hundreds of years, so why are we suddenly colour-phobic?

Lipstick, just like most other makeup is a great way to express your mood, personality, etc. Lip colour is also one of the most primal forms of attraction, and conveyance of such um 'desires' to potential mates.

Colour Key

burgundy - stern, aggressive

red - sexy, seductive

pink - playful, flirty

pale pink - innocent, pure

peach - fun, spunky

nude - "not interested"

Though you really may be opposed to the idea of something on your lips (I know I was at first), lip colours are something I feel like everyone should try from time to time. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, we associate lipstick with going through our mom's purses, and thus feeling older or something? Maybe it was just the push of the '90s that gave us this need to go with only gloss. Or perhaps it's just the fact that the market is pushing new innovations in makeup that allow us to never have to wear lipstick again.  Either way, maybe finding that daily colour that gives you an extra little bounce in your step, to something nice on occasion, might be enough to sway you to try something new.

Which brings me to my next point (along to trying 'something new' lines,) unfortunately try I did. I was helping my mom try to find one of her lipsticks that we later found out had been retired, when I decided to try a new colour of my own. After hearing a whole slew of great things about the Revlon Colour Stay lipsticks, I bought their colour '011 Stormy Pink'. Now I'm not going to say it was a bad product, because it wasn't. I actually really did like the colour, it's pretty similar to my MAC lipstick actually. I just find that their lips colours go on a lot sheerer than MAC, Dior, or Makeup Forever's, which is only frustrating for me because I really like brighter, bolder colours. However it is a good starter though if you're not used to having anything there. Some other options for those who want to give a little colour a chance are lip stains, which can range in price from $6 (CDN+taxes) from 'Joe Fresh' to over $30 (CDN+taxes) for the 'Givenchy' lip stain magic marker at Sephora.

Anyway, there's my bit on lips.. though on a side note, if you are going to give lipstick a try, your best bet is to do it with a liner. Lip liners make your colour last so much longer, and give you a better edge just in case your hand gets a little jittery while re-applying. Though you can pretty much find any colour everywhere, for those in Canada, I'm going to advise you go check out your local Shoppers Drugmart, the 'AnnaBelle' brand tends to go on sale fairly regularly, while still providing an excellent product. When using lip liner, start out by lining the inside of your mid upper lip, NOT going outside of the natural lipline. After finising the 'cupid's bow', draw up from the outer corners to connect the line, and follow the same idea for the bottom lip. First and formost, please use the same colours for the lip liner and lip stick, not matching isn't cute.