Be nice to Sephora cashiers

Oh Sunday you are the best. And this Sunday in particular was especially sweet. I had an extremely busy Friday and Saturday, where I literally did not stop all day or night, until the wee hours. So when Sunday rolled around, when I had the day off, I was very much looking forward to it. I had a few errands to run and one of them happened to be a stop at…. You guessed it. Sephora. I had received an email about a week ago informing me that they were surprising their VIB members by giving them 15% off their purchases this weekend. Of course I didn’t need anything, but when has that stopped me from venturing over there. You know, just to look. I actually surprised myself by how little I ended up choosing. Usually I have quite the “reputation” when it comes to sales. I literally said out loud to myself as I was parking my vehicle at the mall, “Well, let's go make it rain”.

Selfie Sunday

 I circled the store a few times, looking at every section, thinking there must be something new and cool I don’t have and that I want. TooFaced had their new Melted Metal Liquid Lipsticks out and I couldn’t wait to swatch them all. I ended up choosing the shade “Dream House”. Tarte had a new limited edition palette out and it was beautiful. Gorgeous neutral eyeshadows with two blushes and a bronzer. And it was a great price to boot. ($50).

Empower Flower Amazonian Clay Collector's Palette

 

Well, after making sure no stone was left unturned, I went to the checkout to pay for my purchases and was instantly saddened when my favourite blue-eyeshadowed boy wasn’t working. (See The Last Supper post for further details on this.) The girl who rang me through however, was awesome. She immediately complimented me on my lipstick, asking which one I was wearing and commenting on how pretty it was. Good old Wet N Wild, you never cease to amaze me. I told her I got it because of Kaitlyn Bristowe, which led to her telling me how much she loves her too, and about a friend of hers that used to work with her. We chatted about makeup and The Bachelor as I paid, and she gave me some amazing goodies in my bag. She generously gave me a Sephora brand makeup bag AND a gorgeous full sized Bite lipstick to try, both completely free. (Kaitlyn wears Bite as well). She was telling me about the Bite brand and about how it was started by a Canadian woman, which is definitely something I can get behind. It definitely pays to be friendly to staff members who work at makeup stores like Sephora or Shoppers since they are the ones who have access to all the fun stuff like gift with purchases and samples. I am thrilled about her generosity and I can’t wait to try the lipstick.

On another note, THANK YOU for reading my blog! I am blown away by the amount of “views” I have gotten, and I would love to hear from you! I have a spot on the top right hand side where you can email me. Thank you again for showing interest in my blog. I am having the time of my life with it!

Ain't nobody fresher than my clique (continued)

“I’m really worried about Mischa Barton”.

These words slowly poured into my soul, coating every inch, making me feel something strangely familiar…. Like I was home. I was a girl of about nineteen, young and impressionable. At the time this sentence was spoken I was at work and chatting with my manager as she filled me in on the day’s events, prepping me to take on the evening shift when she left for the day. I was entering my third or fourth month of my employment and Michele was already proving herself to be my favourite boss I ever had. Hilarious, kind, sassy and beautiful, she would epitomize the term “Woman who takes no s***”. I thoroughly enjoyed our brief chats while we did our crossover “meetings”. Up till then, we kept it pretty simple. She knew about my boyfriend at the time who bought me Britney Spears perfume and who was a “little too nice”. I knew about her new home she and her husband had purchased and about her nemesis, Chocolate Bar Stealer. But it was this statement about a troubled young starlet from the popular at the time TV show “The O.C” that changed our relationship forever. Incredulously, I looked at her and murmured “Me too”. It was then that our souls clicked, and we instantly would be forever bonded. We became extremely close, sharing personal anecdotes, some hysterically funny and some darker. We gossiped constantly, mostly about celebrities both A-List and obscure, however occasionally someone known simply as “Uncle” would make an appearance in our discussions. I have told her my deepest, darkest thoughts and she knows me better than most. I have never felt judged by her, not even when I told her I watched “Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” or when I confided in her in the front corner of the fragrance section I suspected I was pregnant with my son. We have been close friends for almost 10 years, and we will be for many more.

And Mischa Barton, if you are reading this, Michele and I both hope you’re doing well.

When did you first start wearing makeup?

I always wanted makeup. I wanted those little “Tinkerbell” kits when I was little and I had this Barbie head that I could put makeup on and do her hair. We shared. I started wearing blue eyeshadow and clear lipgloss from Maybelline that came in a little rollerball when I was about eleven and a half. It was the height of glamour.

What is your favourite overall brand of makeup?

I’m going to have to say L’Oreal. Several of my staples come from the brand and I always repurchase.

Where is your favourite place to shop for beauty products?

Shoppers! I’m there every day so it’s super convenient!

Who is your biggest beauty inspiration?

Besides yourself… I follow Tati on YouTube and I love everything she does. She likes high and low end and she’s just looking for the best. That’s what I try to do.

If you could go shopping with anyone, who would it be?

Probably Oprah.

What is your one favourite all-time TV show?

Breaking Bad

What is your “Happy Place”?

A Friday night in the summer on my deck with a laptop, wine and a “Real Housewives” of anywhere. It’s like a warm bath for my brain.

What is your favourite makeup product you have bought in 2015?

A Dior lipgloss that feels fancy. It’s so pretty. I don’t even love the gloss I just love the packaging. I have problems.

What is your signature look?

Pink cheeks, berry lips and a bit of eye makeup. I really like bright glossy lips in pink or berry.

Favourite colour?

In makeup? Pink. Almost all shades. In other stuff, bright blue.

Any bad beauty habits?

Okay. I’m going to be real honest. I thought about this for a while and this is terrible! I was going to say something like, “I don’t always apply sunscreen”. But the truth is I always lick the little brush that I use to apply brow powder! WHO IS GOING TO READ THIS??

Dream job?

I would love to be a talk show host. Or a professional talk show guest. That would be amazing.

Lastly, what are 3 things you would bring with you to a desert island?

Sunscreen. Cause I’d probably literally die without it. A giant box of wine. And a book. I think I’d be fine until the wine ran out, in a day or two.

By the way, I love this. It feels like I’m being interviewed for US Weekly. Another aspiration.

Marshalls haul

Winners strikes again.

 

Actually, let’s get something right. It wasn’t technically Winners, rather Marshalls, an almost identical store. In fact it the two stores are owned by the same company, so I’m not quite sure why they both exist simultaneously. But, they do. I have had extremely good luck with Marshalls ever since it opened last year in my city. I don’t go there very often, as it isn’t near my house and to be honest, I forget about it probably because I am trolling the aisles of Winners so much. But, every time I have gone, I have usually come away with great finds. Probably the greatest ever Marshalls find for me has been a pair of Diesel jeans for my son I found IN HIS SIZE last year. I couldn’t speak I was so excited and he still wears them to this day. They are completely intact and still look brand new. I’d say I got my money’s worth.

 

On a sporadic solo trip to the city on my lunch hour one day this week, I found some pretty great things.

 

A second pair of Fidelity jeans and they were $18. I was doing mental backflips all the way to the till. I actually wanted a pair of black jeans and I can’t wait to wear these.

 

A fitted denim shirt/jacket type thing from Levi’s. I will admit I have not worn Levi’s since I was probably 10 years old, but when I tried this on it fit like a glove and felt so nice. I will be rocking this over maxi dresses for sure this summer. Maybe even wearing it as a shirt with my black Fidelity jeans, buttoned up and with a big statement necklace. I love a good denim shirt. On a sidenote, the price tag from the Levi’s store said $68…. I paid $19.99. Score!

 

This laidback, loose fitting beachy type top from Billabong isn’t normally something that would catch my eye. I actually did a triple take when I was sorting through tops on the rack when I found this. I went to pass it by, then stopped, then went to pass it by again, and then stopped again. I decided to try it on “just to see”. I actually liked how it looked and felt when I did try it on in the fitting room, and decided to add it to my purchases. I am keeping the tags on it for now though, and being a TJX member I do have 30 days to decide whether or not this has a permanent home in my closet.

 

 

As I lined up to check out, this notebook caught my eye. Since starting this blog, I have been very organized with my plans and ideas. I have a planner that I have been using for not just the blog, but for my life, and I also carry a little notebook in my bag with me every day specifically so I can jot down ideas I may have when they come to me. I could not put down this beautiful notebook though, and I am sure I will find use for it right away. And it was only $5, so I thought that was a great price for a good quality notebook such as this one.

 

All in all, my total for a pair of designer label jeans, a denim jacket, a sweater and a notebook was $60. Another successful trip to Marshalls!

Lovely lips

Wanted to share a few fun lipstick looks this week. Yesterday I busted out the TooFaced Melted Liquified Longwear lipstick in Melted Sugar. I REALLY like it. It goes on so nicely, like a lipgloss tube. The colour pigmentation is insane as well. Smells nice, looks nice, wears nicely…. So it covers all bases. The Melted Sugar shade is QUITE nude on its own…. Almost too nude. So I put a little of my MAC Saint Germain lipgloss on top and it turned out perfectly. That is basically my signature lipcolour ; I love a good nude pink lip.

Just-got-to-work-and-it's-too-early selfie

 

 

Wet N Wild made an appearance today. I chose Cherry Picking (a bright deep magenta colour) because my outfit today was quite neutral-toned. I actually wore my hair in a casual ponytail for part of the day and my glasses as well, making my entire look very casual and laidback. When I have casual days such as today, I like to throw a little unexpected pop of colour in the mix. So as I was leaving my house this morning, I grabbed Cherry Picking to apply when I got to work. I can’t say enough good things about this lipstick. I am a superfan. I applied it ONCE today. It lasted, smudge-free and not budging an inch, all through my work day, lunch included. Obsessed doesn’t begin to cover it.

What a loser

 

 

Music of the week

There aren’t too many moments in my day where music isn’t on. I have music playing from the moment I drag myself out of bed in the morning, on the drive to work, all throughout my day in my office and all evening when I get home. Dancing has long been a passion of mine from basically birth so I always have to have music on. My music taste is all over the place as well. I like a few very different genres. I thought I would randomly write about some songs I have been loving over the past week.

 

Take Your Time - Sam Hunt

 

I will admit I have swooned to this song. The lyrics are so up my alley.

 

Say You Do - Dierks Bentley

 

Another great one from Dierks. I was obsessed with him over 10 years ago when he had his first hit “What was I thinkin’” and I would listen to Cisn religiously and dance around my bedroom in my parents house whenever it would come on. I saw him at Craven last summer and he was my highlight. I also may or may not have cry-sung this in my car in the Sobeys parking lot on my lunchbreak today. But that is neither here nor there.

 

Elastic Heart - Sia

 

 

The lyrics of this song hauntingly describe me to a T. Obsessed.

 

Sun Daze - Florida Georgia Line

 

An older one from them but ever since the weather got warmer outside last week I have been jamming out to it a lot. I can’t wait to roadtrip to Sylvan Lake with Maegen this summer and blast this from the car.

 

Ayo - Chris Brown and Tyga

I don’t even want to admit I love this song, mostly because Chris Brown is the human equivalent of a cold sore. The lyrics are terrible but IT IS SO DANG CATCHY.

 

 

If anyone needs me I will be crying in the shower singing “Say You Do” until further notice.

The Last Supper (not really)

Makeup. Food. Wine.

 

Earlier this year Natalie and I spent an amazing evening experiencing all three. In that order. For Christmas we were generously given The Keg giftcards from our boss. Every year we usually go for a lavish dinner together where we order food like we are Arabian Sheik’s, no expense spared. Picture Tony Soprano in Las Vegas throwing money at cocktail waitresses and slot machines, without a single care in the world and that is the two of us, loudly announcing upon our arrival that “We would like the Mafia both and we would like it now, garcon.” (This actually happens, not even kidding.)

 

We call it The Last Supper.

 

One frigid January day, plans were formed for that evening. Plans that included going to…. Sephora.  IN OUR DEFENSE…. We both received giftcards for Christmas AND Natalie needed something AND I needed something AND I will ride this justification horse till the horse don’t ride no more. Anyways…. We ended up making plans to go makeup shopping and then cap the evening off with our yearly Last Supper at The Keg. To say I was excited was an understatement. All of my favourite things with my favourite person? BYE. I couldn’t even stand it. Natalie gave me strict instruction to STAY IN MY HOUSE when she called me to tell me she was on her way to pick me up. (I have a habit of walking out to the main road to meet her when she picks me up for wine nights like some Lady of the Night, mostly because I am always excited to see her and even more so that I am always hungry.) Those instructions lasted until the first commercial break of “Jenny loves Donny” (I can’t. Even.) and then I was out roaming the streets like a Jehovah recruiter anxiously awaiting her arrival. She began scolding me laughingly when I literally dove into her vehicle but I pretended not to hear her over the sounds of old school Usher blasting out of the speakers. (We heart Usher). We arrived at the mall and then basically stampeded to Sephora. I think we started out walking but as we got closer our pace started to resemble a victim of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Breathless with excitement (yeah, that was it, had nothing to do with my cardio level) I burst into the store, ready to get my shop on. After a quick huddle to discuss our gameplan (“We’ll look at everything first, and then go back and choose things, and then go around a third time to make sure we saw everything.”) we set off. After a good hour and a half of leisurely wandering around playing with everything, we had settled on our purchases. Natalie had the Urban Decay 24 hour eyeliner in Oil Slick (a jet black shade) and some repurchases of the Ole Henricksen skincare line which she uses. Quite a modest haul. Mine? Not so much. I hadn’t bought anything from Sephora in a very long time before this trip. Makeup is a very slippery slope with me. Once I start buying things…. I have zero self -control. It’s all over. So I purposely stayed far away from Sephora for a loooong time prior to this. Like an ex-boyfriend you just can’t quit. Well, if I thought I had “matured” and gained more of a “responsible shopping attitude” during the time I stayed away from Sephora I was sadly mistaken. It was Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran getting back together for the sixth time all up in there. I slowly rounded the store, putting everything I liked into my basket, with the assumption “I’d decide later what I was actually getting”. Hilarity. I chose a beautiful Buxom palette from their Christmas collection (It was on sale!) and one from Tarte too. (It was also on sale!) Natalie is obsessed with her Too Faced Boudoir eyeshadow palette and raves about it constantly so while I was examining the Too Faced section I had to add that to my pile. I had also heard from Beauty Gurus on Youtube so much about the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette. I played around with the display product they had and swatched the colours on the back of my hand. They were all so beautiful, I couldn’t resist it. Their newest launch, the Semi -Sweet Chocolate Bar palette, was displayed proudly beside the original Chocolate Bar palette. I immediately started swatching all the beautiful, slightly more vibrant shades and fell in love. But I couldn’t justify getting both. There was just no way. There just wasn’t. Just wasn’t. Wasn’t. As I circled the store for the third and final lap (this was supposed to be the trip where I put back things I don’t really need… which would be everything) I realized I was having a debate in my head about getting all five palettes. It was very one-sided. I stood in line at the check-out, still under the impression I would be leaving at least two things behind. “I really shouldn’t. I don’t need any of this. I should just spend what my giftcard is for and be done with it. I don’t need five fricken’ palettes, Bri. You are certifiable. You are leaving some with the cashier, you know that right? That’s final”. I was summoned to the till and the only clear thought in my head was this.

 

“F*** it”.

 

I gave my basket to the Filipino boy sporting sparkly blue eyeshadow, eyelash extensions and bronzer and watched him work himself up into near orgasm as he rang through my products.  “Oooh you are getting the Chocolate Bar palette? AND THE SEMI-SWEET??? GIRL YOU CRAZY!!! OH MY GOD YOU ARE GETTING THE BOUDOIR PALETTE TOO? IF THIS DOESN’T BUMP YOU UP TO VIB LEVEL I DON’T KNOW WHAT WILL”. It was love at first sight between us. He could not believe that I was getting all five and had started sweating over all the excitement. Well, after all that hard work of shopping behind us, Natalie and I headed to The Keg in anticipation of the spread that would lay before us. We had settled into our usual table in the lounge when our server appeared, smiling welcomingly and bearing menus for us to ponder over and ready to answer any questions we may have.

 

Wasn’t that adorable.

 

As she started to give her welcoming speech, we saved her the trouble, Robert Baratheon (GOT) style. “Bring us food and drink, Wench, and be quick about it”. We rattled off our lengthy order without batting an eye as our server had to put down the menus on our table not so we could view them, but so she could write our demands down. Our meals arrived in the perfect time it took to have a bellini or two with our appetizers (which arrived immediately, and there was more than two….) and we proceeded to consume our body weight in steak dinner. The service was impeccable, the food was even more so, and another successful calorie-laden night at The Keg was complete. Best part? It didn’t cost us a dime. Gotta love giftcards.

 

I’m already looking forward to our next Last Supper. Maybe even a pre-trip to Sephora. Hopefully complete with my new favourite cashier.

Buxom Dolly's High Roller palette






Tarte Tres Chic Park Ave Princess Contour palette

TooFaced Boudoir Eyes palette

 

 

 

 

TooFaced Chocolate Bar and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palettes

 

 



Security blanket

Whenever I talk about my “everyday lipgloss bag” I am usually met with incredulous stares and the inevitable question of “What is that?!”.  I lug around a sizeable makeup bag filled with lipsticks and lipglosses of similar colour every day in my bag. A few other products have found their way into my pouch over time, and it is absolutely my security blanket. I have a sense of panic when I have accidentally left it at work once or twice and I never go anywhere without it. I thought I would do a post showing the contents of it, as reading about this sort of thing generally thrills me. (I’m weird, I know).

 

I ordered this particular makeup bag from Forever 21 during an Extra 50% off sale items sale. (AKA Bri’s Superbowl). It ended up costing me about $1.50. I never expected it to last as long as it has, and it has been about a year and a half that I’ve been using it. This thing has been through the mill, and it still looks and feels new. It is the perfect size to fit all my everyday lipcolours.

 

MAC lipglosses in (from bottom) Snob, Saint Germain and Underage

I will start off with my most used items. These three lipglosses from MAC are the things I find myself reaching for most often. By now you have read about how much I love MAC lipgloss in Snob. I also have Saint Germain (a more pigmented pink shade) and Underage (a very pale peach).

 



 

The newest additions to the bag are from Urban Decay. I got the Sheer Revolution lipstick in Sheer Obsessed and the Naked lipgloss in Lovechild. I really like the Sheer Revolution lipstick. I really don’t like the Naked lipgloss. More on that later.

 

A few more MAC lip products that reside here are the Patent Polish Lip pencil in Innocent (basically a gloss stick and the colour is a pale pink shade) MAC lipstick in Pretty Please (my all-time favourite MAC lipstick, my signature lip colour of a light pale pink) and a lipstick from a past summer collection in Naturally Eccentric. (I rarely use that one, the shade is so light nude you look like a corpse when applying it on it’s own).

 

One of my favourite lip products of all time is my Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Candeur. It is amazing and I am obsessed with it (Sheer shimmery light pink colour). I bought the Dior Addict gloss in Fastes from the spring 2015 collection about 2 months ago. It is a super sparkly pink colour (Are we noticing a trend yet??) and although I think it’s beautiful, it’s almost too sparkly. Is that even a thing in my world? I guess so.

 

I added the Nars lipgloss in Turkish Delight to my everyday stash when I rediscovered it not too long ago. I am not as in love with it as I used to be, so I don’t wear it every single day. But it’s still been fun to rediscover. I also got the Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover for free from Sephora about a few years ago with my beauty insider points. It’s another gloss stick and I don’t wear it very often since it is a deeper rose pink colour. But every time I do, I really like it and make a mental note to check out the other shades of this particular lip gloss stick next time I am in Sephora. I never remember, and it’s probably for the best.

 

The Smashbox lipstick in Pout is on its last legs and I am so close to finishing it. I also received the NYX Butter Gloss in Éclair in my Ipsy bag a few months ago (I will explain Ipsy later) and I have been loving it. Super creamy non sticky lipgloss in a sheer pink shade.

 

Good old Blistex chapstick (gold standard) and a Bourjois 3D Max lipgloss in #68 (rose sparkly lipgloss my friend Michele gave to me) round out my lip products.

 

I keep a tube of the MAC In Extreme Dimension mascara in here since I often apply my mascara when I get to the office and for some unknown reason I found the remnants of a MAC eyeliner in Smolder (a grey-ish black) at the bottom of the bag. It has seen better days and I don’t even know how it got in there in the first place.

 

I keep some travel sized perfume products in here as well, as I love perfume and I love to smell good. Victoria’s Secret perfume in Basic Instinct has long been a favourite of mine. I have a few rollerballs of my all-time favourite perfume Givenchy Very Irresistible in here as well. I threw a Britney Spears Fantasy travel fragrance bottle and a sample of the Victoria’s Secret fragrance Bombshell in my bag as well because I like variety and I have quite a few to use up. My trusty Travelo fragrance spray bottle is always in here as well but I can’t remember exactly what perfume I have in here now. I think it’s Juicy Couture but I don’t know for sure. Oh well.

 

I have a little pocket compact mirror I ordered from Forever 21 (pretty sure it was $1) and my Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter as always. I also have a little pocket sized hand sanitizer from Christmas in the Candy Cane scent.

 

Randomly, I have a ton of bobby pins and hair elastics strewn about at the very bottom because apparently I am terrified of possibly ever being without both.

 

So I guess what I can take away from this is that if I ever find myself stranded with just the contents of my everyday lipgloss bag, if there is ever a pink lipgloss shortage I should be good till 2025.