Coming to this blog in March!

Hi everyone, I’ve been thinking about making a few changes to my blog, diversifying here and there as well as sprucing up the layout. If all goes well, this is what you can expect in March…

 

• A new blog layout!
• Blog Hop! ( I’ve been seeing a number of these and I would love to get involved)
• Guest posts (there are so many good bloggers out there, even persons without blogs who I think deserved to be featured)
• Blogging Schedule (Finally, it’s about time I did this and not be so sporadic about posting, I owe that much to you).

Now get down to the nitty gritty details…

I don’t know if you may have realised the subtle changes, but I’ve been tweaking the layout, adding new pages, removing older ones, as well as addign a blog button. By the time this post is up, the new blog logo and background should be up. (I will definitely miss this chevron one though). I still have a ways to go with the layout as I want to add social media buttons in the sidebar so that I can completely remove them from the top navigation.

I’ve been thinking of participating in Blog Hops as I’ve seen on other blogs. It’s a great way to find new blogs and gain exposure! Still looking into hops to join, but if you know a good few please do suggest, and add my blog button in the sidebar, to your blog if you’d like to as well!  I’ll be leaving a space open for blog buttons from other writers.

I might have finally settled on a blogging scheduled. This is still tentative as I am still a student and soemtimes school must come first, but I will try to schedule posts ahead of time if there be a need to.
I will be trying to post at least 3 times a week*. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the occasional Guest Post on Thursdays.

Reviews /Beauty Chit Chat/ Hauls- Monday
Fashion/DIY/ Make up Look- Wednesday
Guest Posts- Thursday
Aspiration diaries (goals for the week)/ Random post- Saturday

Hopefully the changes are good and well appreciated. If you have anymore suggestions for improvements, just leave a comment.

*Schedule is subject to change at my discretion.

Girlfriend’s Expo on a PLANE! (Picture loaded)

Hey all! This year the Girlfriend’s Expo (February 2nd -3rd) was held at the Barbados Concorde Experience. It’s a beautiful setting for the the showcase, however, it is a bit too tiny for so many people. As a volunteer, it felt like if my head was spinning on Sunday around 3:00 p.m when the flood gates of people started to flow in from all over Barbados.



MUDC booth was always packed!



Just half of the majestic Concorde

Let me start over with day 1, Saturday was nice and some what breezy until the later hours or the show (around 4:00 pm) when more performances were happening on the main stage. Despite the great shows and the even better turn out, I still missed the Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, (Sherbourne Conference Centre, for those of us who don’t care about the politically-correct name).
The flow of persons around the stage was frustating, but at least the other areas of the exhibit where more easily accessible. Well except for the make up and hair booths of course.



The crowd was subject to what was happening on stage as well as the delicious treats prepared by Chef Damien (mentioned later in this post).Yum!

Yes we posed with propellers, because we’re awesome 🙂

Brydens Stokes had a mini hair store, with demonstrations, new products as well as special show prices, and of course SAMPLES! I have a bagful, as usual :). It’s not often that you get samples in Barbados, especially of hair products, so seize the opportunity while you can. Make up Doll Cosmetics, Barbados Beauty, Bio-Beauty, Colour Coded, Jolie lipsticks and Neutrogena were also in attendance. With MUDC being one of the most busy of the booths there. I tried so many times to buy one of their new lip tars, or at least see them, but they were always so full. They even sold out of the shade that I wanted, a lilac on the 1st day.

Look at the vibrance of those colours (this is Vanessa’s hand btw)

I went over to Colour Coded, where I bought a stippling brush (#955) from Bdellium tools. I’ve always wanted a brush like this, but I wasn’t sure if I would find one here. I had also read some rave reviews on Bdellium tools, and when I saw the brush I jumped. It was $22BDS,and I hope it lives up to the hype. The price actually isn’t that bad though, I may just buy another brush from them.



Excuse the quality, I took this with my tablet a few days afterwards

I went to just about every booth I could when I wasn’t busy fulfilling my volunteer duties. There was free HIV/AIDS rapid testing also. It was good to see that the Ministry of Health’s booth was so well-attended.

On the final day, I tried to just get as many samples as I could , as I am in the market for a new deep conditioner and a leave-in moisturiser. That was harder than I thought as Sunday was just about the busiest especially around the time I came in. Ashley and I got the time to take some pictures in the Mini Cooper, just for fun.

On the closing day I played with colour for my make up.

in the Mini cooper with Ashley!

I tried to take advantage of the deals they were having on some products in the Brydens Stokes “store” and bought make up remover wipes for $8 :). As well as 6 bags of pink and white marshmallows and a huge bag of blick licorice Twizzlers, which I love! You never see black liquorice here…

Closer look at my make up.. though it’s a good few hours old.

On the note of food, I loved that the volunteers were catered for by such great chefs. The food from Caribbean Villa Chefs was exceptional, despite the couple hiccups we had at first. I would definitely recommend them for those of of you planning a special event. Also there was also a number of pastry shops. “Do it Sweet Cakes & Treats” by Chef Damien Mason had amazing treats. Chocolate cake soaked in Baileys= WIN. Plus their White Cholocolate Strawberry Champagne truffles were divine! There booth was so full, I still haven’t gotten the chance to buy anything. But I at least have their business card. There was also a local wine maker who made Rum Creme in orginial and chocolate. It was so lovely, as well as another wine I tried at another booth, the name is yet to be remembered, hahaha. It was a red wine with Dulce in the title though.

Finally I toured the Concorde, very briefly. It was the last tour for the day and it was very rushed, but I still took as many pictures as possible! All in all it was a good event, definitely well attended. I would probably do it again!

Tyrell being my guide along the Concorde

Pond’s Wet Cleansing Towelettes Review

I’m always in search of a good make up remover wipe for those nights when I don’t feel like going through all the steps. Typically, I wear mascara and fix my brows everyday, but when I go out, I wear a lot more make up and after a long night, I just want to come home and sleep, so I was looking for something that would clean off everything and not cost too much, since I am a student.

 
I found these make up wipes in Collins for $8.20BDS, and you get 15 wipes with are about the size of my face, or slightly bigger. They come in a resealable package so that the wipes stay moist, and there was a fairly pointless box thing around it, that could have been left off. But I do think that it had some info about the product on it.

The wipes are a quilted texture, which makes it practically grab the make up off your face. It takes me one wipe to get all of my face make up off, that is foundation, eye shadows, blush, brows, even false lashes. The wipes are not extremely wet, but it is sufficiently moist, and they are relatively soft.
I didn’t have any problems with the texture or the formula  irritating my face.

 

After you use the wipe you don’t get that annoying greasy residue and it literally feels like you have washed your face. However, my only peeve with this wipe is the smell. I hate the smell! It reminds me of cleaning fluid, keeps like I’m using a disinfectant wipe on my face. Normally I like the smell of Lysol, but not this close to my face. There is another of these wipes in a white and yellow package, but those cost a bit more. Hopefully those ones smell better than this.

The Verdict:
Pros:

• Large wipes
• Works well to remove make up
• Sufficiently moist
• Affordable

Cons:

• Only 15 in a package (no larger size)
• Scent reminds me of disinfectant or chemical cleaner
• Could be pricey if you wear make up everyday

The Raw Sugar:
Since I don’t often wear a full face a make up, these wipes shold last me a while, but for persons who wear everyday and want to use wipes to remove their make up, this would barely last a month. You would have to buy more than one pack, but considering the low price, it’s not took much out of your pocket for a great wipe.

Where you can find it: Collins Pharmacy (Barbados), Supermarkets (Cherish), Beauty Stores (Caribbean Queen)
Drugstores (USA)

EOS Lip balm-Smooth Sphere | Review

IThis product has been raved about all over YouTube and the blog-o-sphere, and now I finally have tried it. But is it worth the hype?

EOS stands for Evolution of Smooth and is the company has some very innovative packaging. When I take this out of my bag (as I can’t keep it in my pocket), people usually stare and wonder what it is. A classmate of mine actually stared at me like I was nuts, it was hilarious. Anyway, I definitely give them huge thumbs up for the cute packaging and the way you can apply the balm, that is with your mouth closed instead of that weird open mouth thing us ladies do.

The lip balm that I have is a part of the limited edition Alice in wonderland collaboration with Disney, and is the flavour “Blueberry Potion”. I love the scent and taste of this lip product and apparently, the ingredients are natural and organic (i.e. good for you and none of the commercial nasties), not that it makes a huge difference to me, I’m studying Science and exposed to chemicals on a weekly basis.

It’s a colourless fomula that leaves a slight gloss on the lips and it feels very lightweight. On first application, it takes quite a bit of rubbing to warm up the product, but it smooths on very easily after the initial uses. It is a moisturing lip balm, but it’s just not as good as my Maybelline Baby lips, nor as long lasting, but the sweet taste does linger. However, the scent dissipates pretty fast. Maybe it doesn’t last as long because the Baby Lips is thicker though.

My lips are smooth, but not as smooth as I would like. I still am experincing some dryness around the corners, which makes me go back to my favourite, the Baby Lips. I think I wuld have liked this more, if I hadn’t tried the Maybelline first, but alas Maybelline has stolen my love.

Also I realised since there is no SPF in this one, that my lips have been looking quite dark and dismal.. 😦

The Verdict:
Pros:

• Good amount of product
• Moisture in one or two swipes
• Tastes yummy
• Gives a bit of sheen
• Lips are relatively smooth
• Cute, innovative packaging
• Twist-off lid
• Ingredients are 95% organic and 100% natural

Cons:

• Packaging though bright and fun may not suit all ages
• Bulky for stroage (too big for pockets)
• Not the most moisturising lip balm there is
• Not available in Barbados
• Limited Edition flavour

The Raw Sugar:
I would repurchase this simply for the novelty of the packaging and the taste. It’s not the most moisturising lip balm, but it is fun. Not worth the all hype about being the best, just is cute and “organic”. I love my Baby Lips more, but maybe the other lip balms they have are better, since some are medicated, others had sunscreen, etc.

Where you can find it: EOS website
Drugstores (USA)

Aspiration Diaries #3

Hi everyone, I apologise that I haven’t been able to give you an update on last week’s goals or post new ones since the beginning of this week, as it has been quite hectic. So hectic in fact that it’s already Friday and strangely enough, I’m not excited. Btw, I’m going to be changing the title of these posts to Aspiration Diaries, I’ll be giving a summary of how the previous week’s goals went, things I need to work on and finally the next week’s goals.

Tracking back to last week’s goals, I feel very accomplished as I have been successful in completely a number of things *happy dance*. As you might have noticed, there were new posts this week and I have a ton more new ones scheduled to be posted. I have edited almost all ofmy pictures (watermark, resizing, exposure) and I just have one more set to be done, those will be on my post about Girlfriends Expo 2013. That may be posted by Saturday.

I also got up my DIY lip scrub tutorial which you can see here, in time for Valentine’s day along with its blog post.

I was also able to spend some time on Organic Chemistry, although this week’s assignment was a bit last minute, but no fault of mine at least. I will definitely be ready for next week’s assignment, however I’m not all sure that I will be ready for the test this Monday. Sigh definitely need to run through a couple of things but I’m about half way in the revision at least.
As for the research project, I’ve been reading articles and more are being added with methods I may use along with background information. I think I may have 3 or 4 more articles to read. Then i can hopefully start my introduction.

I was also able to save a bit, granted being at schoo for longer hours than you intend seems to be the chief culprit for expenditure (buying snacks to study with etc). I will conttinue to work kn it, perhaps buying snacks at the supermarket, rather than campus and storing them in my locker.

I have been so busy that I hadn’t the chance to post pictures to my Instagram, but I will get on those pictures I have skipped ASAP! You csn follow me here.

Finally moving onto my goals for next week:

1. Record, edit and post my announcement video for my channel.
2. Keep blog posts consistent (maybe twice a week at least).
3. Try to study more for Bio-organic and Medicinal Chemistry.
4. Continue to save (exploit the supermarket, campus food is pricey)
5. Try out more make up looks and post pictures to blog.
6. Remember to post on Instagram for my February challenge.

American Apparel Nail Lacquer "Lipstick" & "Hunter"

Hey all! Today I’ll be showing you some quick swatches of two nail polishes that I recently recieved. These are the American Apparel Nail lacquers in the colours “Lipstick” and “hunter”. Usually when you hear the name of a company known for selling clothes and then cosmetics, people think that it’s junky but surprisingly, these nail polishes are very good quality.

Being kind of lazy, I just swatched them on one nail each, but the colour that you see in the bottle in definitely what you get on your nails. Lipstick only required one good coat, but I did 2 thin ones because I’m prone to smudging my nails, while Hunter would need 2 – 3 coats.

Mind you, these polishes stain your nails, I hadn’t the chance to remove them right away and did I regret it, at least it was just 2 days. Be sure to use base coat so that you avoid that.

 

Lipstick is a true red, not too pink, not too orange and would make the perfect lip colour HAHA. Hunter reminds me of pine tree leaves, that awesome dark green. Oh I love the smell of Christmas trees. If only this nail polish smelt like pine…I had some trouble taking good shots of Hunter, and I probably will re-take them.

 

I don’t remember the nail polish having a very strong smell, so that’s always a plus with nail polish. I would love to try more of these polishes. The colours on the American Apparel website are so pretty.  

Revlon Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie

You probably have seen in one on the hauls on my YouTube last year, that I got a Revlon lip butter in “Candy Apple”, which is a gorgeus warm-toned red. Recently I’ve acqured another from a giveaway I won, in Raspberry Pie, which looks as yummy and pretty as it sounds.

The packaging on these lip products are very sleek and they do not look at all cheap. I also love the viewing window for the colour and how the lid is a similar colour to the lip product. Sadly, being the clutz that I am, I had the hardest time opening it at first and got lip butter all over the cover haha.

The formula is very good, a nice smooth even colour when you’re applying it to your lips. No patchiness, and very moisturising for a lip colour. As the name suggests, it’s like butter, but beware in tropical, warm places this can melt in storage. I have found my older one melted a bit in my cosmetics bag.

The colour is a cool-toned pink with makes my teeth look whiter than they really are. They chose the best name for this shade, as it does remind me of a raspberry. This lip product leaves a nice sheen to the lips, and isn’t sticky, but is a tad heavy. You can defintely tell that you are wearing it on your lips. I wouldn’t add a gloss over it, it’s great as is, and the colour pay-off is surprising. You only need to do one swipe to get medium coverage and it is buildable.

 

After eating, drinking and talking (a lot), the sheen obviously doesn’t not stay, but the colour stains your lips. I wore this on the first day of the Girlfriend’s Expo this year and it lasted for about 6 hours, that is with me reapplying just lip balm to me lips occasionally because my lips tend to dry out once exposed. I was very impressed!

The Verdict:Pros:

• Great colour pay-off
• Good amount of product
• Gives a nice sheen to lips
• Lasts about 6 hours (on me)
• Stains lips (this colour)
• Moisturising for a lip colour (still not as moisturising as a lip balm, obviously)
• Chic packaging

Cons:

• Hard to open on first use (or maybe that was just me)
• Pricey in Barbados ($20BDS+) and never on special 😦

The Raw Sugar:
I love the the lip butters, especially this colour. I want to try the lilac one next, if not Creme Brulee that I have seen tons rave about. OR the Relvon Lip Balm Stains. However those as like $25BDS….and on a student budget, I can’t see myself getting that anytime soon. But this product is definitely worth purchasing if you want to tip toe into wearing lipstick, or just moving away from nude lips as you can build the colour intensity and it feels a bit like lip balm.

Where you can find it: Cave Shepherd (Barbados)
Drugstores (USA)

10 Valentine’s Day Questions Tag!

Happy Valentine’s Day! I was reading through my blog subscriptions today and I found this tag on Elle & Blair.com ! Yay, I was a bit lost to what to post along with a quick Vday greeting.

1. What is your favorite Valentines Day treat?
Mmmm… I’m not very picky, annd I definitely feel bad accepting extravagant gifts. So If you buy me a box of Converstional hearts, or even a cupcake, I’d be happy.

2. Sweethearts or chocolate covered strawberries?
Sweethearts!!!

3. What was your favourite Valentines day memory?
Last year, my boyfriend Tyrell surprised me (well technically, he told me that he was going to but I didn’t believe him) with some beautiful carnations, and a gift basket with all the trimmings. 🙂 He actually brought the flowers to my lab, I was so shocked and just didn’t know what to do. I had to tell him to put them in my locker.. how anti-climatic I know haha. But I loved them. They lasted for a few weeks, I still have the petals saved and the Baby’s Breath that was in the arrangement. I actually got him Chocolate truffles (he loves chocolate) and I made him cupcakes. He loved that, I don’t know if I would ever be able to give him as great a memory as he gave me though.

4. What movie would you rather watch on Valentine’s Day: Pretty Woman or You’ve Got Mail?
Both, I dont I’ve seen either.

5. What celeb would you not mind having as your Valentine?
Channing Tatum. Nuff said.

6. What would you do on your perfect Valentine’s date?
Hmm, I just like to relax really. School is pretty stressful, so just chilling at home, eating pop corn, not necessarily a movie, but cuddling for sure.

7. Red or pink lips on Valentines Day?
Pink, I’m still getting into red lips and they’re still a bit intimidating.

8. What is your ideal Valentine’s Day date outfit?
Well it depends on if I’m going on a dinner date or just staying in. If I were to go to dinner, I would probably wear a knee length strapless dress, I love a sweetheart neckline. And comfortable heels (if that isn’t an oxymoron), or ballet flats. If I was going to be relaxing, just some nice jeans, and a cute T-shirt. Depending on the temperature outside, I may add a coat or hoodie.

9. Homemade or store-bought gifts?
Homemade!

10. Would you wear your hair up or hair down for a date night?
I like my hair up and out of the way if I want to comfy, but I know my boyfriend likes it down. I think it looks nice down too.

Hope you enjoyed this tag and feel free to do it and post a link!

Giveaway haul!

Hey all! I was lucky enough to win the Pretty (Squared) giveaway for Christmas! I was so happy and grateful to have won, they are two sisters who share a blog. AND they are extremely nice! Go check out their blog, they give some really informative reviews and tons of great posts!

I’ve never won anything that I’ve entered online, so I was super stokedwhen I got the email. A lot of the products in this giveaway, had been raved about my other bloggers and beauty gurus, and I had always wanted the chance to try them out. To see what all the hype was about, you know?

I’ll probably do full reviews on a some of them and mini reviews on others. The prize pack included:

• American Apparel Nail lacquers in “Lipstick” and “Hunter”
• Wet N Wild Trio in “I’m Getting Sunburned” and “Don’t Steal My Thunder”
• EOS lip Sphere in “Blueberry Potion” (LE collaboartion with Disney)
• Revlon Lipbutter in “Raspberry Pie”
• Target make up bag FILLED with samples (YAY!)
• Snowflake ornament (very cute and glittery indeed)

If you didn’t know, I love samples and it’s not often that you can get samples in Barbados, unless you buy somethign and even so, it depends where you buy. So if they had just sent me a make up bag of samples I would have been very excited and grateful. HOWEVER, I got even more than that! I’ve always hear so much hype about the EOS lip spheres and the Wet N Wild Eyeshadows and finally I own some!

Lately I’ve been testing out the EOS lip sphere, so stay tuned for a full review on it. Also I’ve been using the Wet N Wild trio in “I’m Getting Sunburned”, during the day since it’s more neutral than the “Don’t Steal My Thunder”. I have been posting pictures to my Instagram of my daily face make up, so hit me up on there if you would like to see what I’m up to. (It’s taken over from my twitter, which has been harder to post pics on, from my tablet.) Finally I’ve been really liking my new lip butter, I previously had the “Candy Apple Red” one, but this is a nice shade also.

Thank you again Mackenzie and Miranda!!

DIY Lip Scrub for the softest most kissable lips!

With Valentines day on the horizon, us ladies want to have the softest most kissable lips for our significant other.  During the colder windier months, the environment takes a toll on your lips.  Applying lip balm frequently may remedy the problem for a short time,  but sometimes lips need a bit of exfoliation to allow them to absorb moisture more effectively.  Today I’m going to show you a simple do-it-yourself lips scrub that isn’t expensive and all of the ingredients are probably  in your cupboards.  The texture of my scrub is more of a liquid, especially since the sugar settled to the bottom, which I didn’t like, so I added in more brown sugar a day after. The best part about this scrub is that it’s edible!

Source

The lemon juice give a bit of a sour taste and citric acid is supposed to be a natural exfoliant. Remember, the more juice you use the more your sugar will dissolve, so add more sugar to suit. I like to mix the sugar because I find that brown sugar alone does not get everything exfoliated, but with the smaller granulated crystals, you get a lot more work done with less product. Honey is a hmuectant so it helps with keeping things moist, a good substitute for honey is golden syrup.

As you all also know by now I love coconut oil over olive oil and thus I used it in my scrub, but feel free to use olive oil. I went with measurement in teaspons and eye-balled the rest. I wasn’t being very specific and you really don’t need to be.

What you will need:

2 parts Coconut oil or Olive oil

1/2 of lemon/lime

2 – 3 parts Brown sugar

1 – 2 parts Granulated sugar

1 part Golden syrup, or honey or any liquid sweetener

Instructions:

1. Mix the brown and white sugar together in a bowl.
2. In another bowl (or cup), combine the cocnut oil (I used 2 capfuls), half of a lemon, and a teaspoon of Lyons Golden syrup.
3. Add your liquid mixture to your sugar and mix until well combined.
4. If your product is too liquid, then add more brown sugar, if it is too stiff, add more liquid (either oil or juice).
5. Store your scrub in an airtight container, or use right away to exfoliate dry lips.

Finished results! Yes silly face. I’m wearing Maybelline Baby lips and LORAC Lotsa lip plumping gloss in Foxy.

Video tutorial: