Mini Haul

Lately, I have been trying to save, but clearly this strategy is not working. This is the bad thing about where I work, I ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS end up buying things, and I try and justify the purchases by stating that, "but they were on sale." BUT in my defence, everything that I did buy was on sale for about 50% off, and come on, thats a pretty good discount, if I do say so myself. Maybelline was having a sale on a majority of their mascaras, their turbo voluming boosting line their great lash line, all for only$4.99. My favorite mascara of all time is the Falsies, so I just had to pick that up and I heard really good things about the One by One mascara, so I bought that as well to see if I do like it.  As for the hair styling products, they were all on sale for less than $5, the most being the Got 2b crazysleek hair conditioning, which was $3.99. Since I cut my hair short, I've had to use hair styling products everyday, from heat protectants to hair spray.

Product Review: Almay Smart Shade Blush

I had really high hopes about this particular blush, but I was sadly disappointed. During the summer I was looking for an alternative to the regular powder blush, as I wanted my blush to last all day and to be sweat proof, regardless of the heat. I really wanted to try a good cream blush but when I was at work I saw that this blush was on sale for about half price $5, as it regularly retails for about $10, so I picked it up in the shade 030 berry. There are three different shades in total, pink, natural and berry. The blush claims to match your natural skin tone when blended, which supposedly activates the micro beads to blend into your skin and give you a healthy natural flush to your face.

When I first squeezed the product out of the tube it was not what I was expecting. First the red colour tint came then the dusty pink micro beads followed. So then I shook it a little bit hoping for the product to mix in the tube, but nope, still the same gloopy mess.

Then I proceeded to apply the blush using my fingers. It blended out  really easily BUT the colour was so sheer that it disappeared on my face. I applied a second layer of the blush and a berry shade did start to appear. Even though it is easy to blend, to does take a little practise to get used to because if you don't blend it out properly it will leave darker red spots in the places that it was not blended.

Overall, I do not think that this blush lives up to what it claims. The concept of it the blush is intriguing, which is what sparked my curiosity about this product, but I will not be repurchasing it. I was determined to find a use for the blush, as I don't like to waste the products I buy and use it up. To give it some credit, I decided to use it as a base for my regular blush, and to my surprise it does work as a base, but adding an extra step to getting ready everyday in the morning isn't really worth it. I do enjoy the packaging, as it comes in a 15ml squeeze tube, which allows for squeezing out the right amount of product without wasting much and is an easy alternative for blush touch ups during the day. I would give this blush a 2.5/5.



A rainy day and essay writing

It is currently 2:37pm right now and I am stuck at home is my sweats working on my last essay of the summer semester. Not only am I stuck at home, but the weather is terrible right now, it’s raining =(. Do you ever have one of those days where you can't seem to sit still and everything in your room seems to intrigue you and you put off essay writing to go fidget with something, or go downstairs to look for food? Well that is the situation I’m currently in, I can’t seem to get into the rhythm of writing my essay and its due tomorrow! Well, I’d say I’m 80% done, which is I guess why I’m slacking off at the moment. I just finished one of my essays yesterday and I feel like I want to take a break, so this is why I’m writing on my blog—to get away from essay writing for a moment. Lol

I’m so happy that my last day of summer school is tomorrow, but next comes the much dreaded exams. Then right after exams, my next year of school starts. BUT it is my last year of university and I must say, I’m very happy its almost done. July has been a very busy month for me, filled with writing essays for my 4 classes and work. Now that its August, it doesn’t seem to get any easier, this month is compiled of essay writing and studying for exams. My last exam is on August 26^th, then I’m worry free until September 13^th, yay! It sucks that I took such a heavy load for summer school, 4 courses, but at the same time I’m happy I took 4 courses because it leaves the course load light for my last year.

I’m supposed to go grocery shopping at Wal Mart with my brother soon, at least it will get me out of the house for awhile lol. And possibly while I’m there I shall check out the cosmetics section. Possibly, Maybe? Who am I kidding, of course I’m going to end up browsing through that section. Plus I do need a new mascara, the one that I have now has dried up and is all clumpy and flakes off. And I'm also on the look out for a nice pastel pink nail polish, but I have not found any yet.

I’m sorry for such a short, random and uninteresting blog full of rambling; it was my resort to take a break from essay writing for while.

A Day of Buttons and Paper

Today my boyfriend and I went downtown specifically for the purpose of going to a store called the Paper Place. We were waiting for a street car to come, but it was taking forever. It was so hot and we were both holding a hot coffee because I was cravings soy chai latte from Starbucks. We did not want to just stand there and bake in the sun, so we decided to walk since it was only about a 20 minute walk- but felt like forever in the heat. We were walking along Queen street and passed by a store called Buttons and Fabric and I was immediately intrigued. I remember I had stumbled across a 'do it yourself' YouTube video about turning cute vintage looking buttons into earrings and I just had to go in.  We walked into this cute little store and it was buttons galore. They had buttons from cute little pineapples to vintage looking ones( just what I was hoping they had). I was just so excited to be in there looking at the thousands of buttons. Surprisingly my boyfriend enjoyed himself too. He would say," hey honey, these look really cool", actually a majority of the buttons I got were picked out by him. All of the buttons were so cute and cheap, I got 8 pairs of earrings and two sailor anchor thingys for $5.52, $5.52! the prices of the buttons were about 40 to 50 cents each. I am currently enjoying anything that is related to the sailor theme, so I got two pairs sailorish buttons. I feel like such a nerd saying that I had a lot of fun in that store lol and I plan on going again, I felt like buying the whole store! I also managed to find a store which had the earring backings that I needed to make the buttons into earrings, I got 50 backings for $2.20.

 Im really excited to make the earrings, I still have to buy the glue to glue the backings to the buttons. After, we  finally got to The Paper Store and everything in there was so cute and pretty, I’ve never seen so much pretty paper! I went there because I wanted to make my own personalized cards and envelopes with pretty designs, as weird as that sounds lol. I got a pack of 10 cards and envelopes for $9.95 and I also got paper with designs on it, each was $1.50 each but when you buy 5 you get the 6^th one free.

By the time we were done at The Paper Store it was around 4 and I was starving! I hadn't really eaten much before we left because I woke up super late and I had to shower and get ready. By the time I was done my boyfriend called and said he was on his way to my house... We ate at a restaurant called the Golden Elephant? (I think) it was a cozy little Thai restaurant.  By the end of the day our feet were killing and we were so full, we did so much walking and it did not help that it was soooo hot out. Regardless of my feet that felt like they wanted to fall off, I had a really enjoyable day. I really can’t wait to get started on making the earrings and the envelopes. Until next time…

Short vs. Long Hair

For practically my whole life I have had long hair, but about 3 months ago I decided to chop it all off. Ok, not all of it, but a considerable amout. I was getting a bit bored of my long hair and thought about getting a cute bob haircut. My long hair was very stubborn when it came to styling, it only wanted to do one thing - lay flat on my head. Since my hair is so thick it took forever to curl, sometimes it would take about an hour and a half. So one day I was talking to by boyfriend about cutting my hair, and he told me to go for it, and I did. I do have to admit that I am starting to miss my long hair :( I never realized how much effort went into maintaining short hair, I thought that it would be easier to take care of than long hair. I was wrong. I have naturally thick straight hair, so all I did when I got out of the shower was either let it air dry or blow dry it if I was in a rush. When it comes to my short hair and styling it I have to use two different types of brushes and blow dryer to style. Also second day hair looks terrible if i dont style it, which means that I have to wake up earlier to style my hair.

It has been three months since I cut my hair, but I am dreading the awkward growing out phase, the in between where it’s too long to look like a cute bob and too short to tie it in a pony tail. But overall, I'm really glad that I decided to cut my hair. I have had long hair for as long as I could remember and the change was nice. For now I am growing out my hair but debating if I should cut it again next summer.

The Pros and Cons of Short Hair

PROS:

• Its really pretty and light weight for the summer months
• Uses les shampoo and conditioner( hair products in general) which equals less money spent
• Healthier hair - no split ends
• A drastic change from long hair
• Does not make your neck all hot and sweaty in summer
• More of a sophisticated look
• No annoying bangs or strands of hair in your face

CONS

• Makes you really miss your long hair
• Styling takes forever
• Limited hair styles (can't curl, braid, ponytail)
• The awkward growing out phase

These are pictures of my hair before and after my hair cut. Unfortunately, I can't really find a decent picture of me with my long hair. Oh, I also changed the colour of my hair. I dyed it from a brown to a reddish colour. I currently really like the colour of my hair and I might stick with it for awhile. Until next time...

=)

My First Post!

Hey everyone!

So, by seeing the title of this post, this is my first one, and I'm really excited about it. Right now the layout of my blog is still in progress, still trying to get a hang of html and all that.

I'd like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Cathrina (weird, I know), but most people call me Trina. I'm a 21 years old and currently attending school, double majoring in History and Political Science. I am am currently in summer school, which is my third year. Starting this September, it will be my last year in university. I am both excited and nervous about my last year as I'm not too sure what I plan on doing after, maybe go through more schooling? It's really scary being forced to grow up so fast :(. It seems as if it was just yesterday I was starting my first day of university. As for my hobbies, I love to read. I plan on reading 1000 books before I die (any good book suggestions?), sadly I have only read about 80, not even close to my goal. I love to spend time with my family, friends and boyfriend. Oh and my guilty pleasure is I LOVE to shop, which is an expensive hobby. BUT, lately I haven't been too bad, as I am a student on a budget.

I was actually really nervous to start up a blog, wondering if people would actually read or let alone care about what I have to say lol. I talked to by boyfriend about it, and he told me to go for it. So thanks to my wonderful boyfriend, the first thing I did this morning was set up this blog. As to having a specific thing to talk about on this blog, there isnt one. I intened to blab on about anything that comes to my mind or things that interest me, which could be from makeup, fashion, or just things that happen to me throughout my day. Until next time...

=)