Batiste Dry Shampoo for Medium and Brunette Hair: Review

So dry shampoo is all the rage these days eh? I wash my hair every other day or sometimes I go two days without washing because my hair (unlike my face, fortunately) doesn't get very oily, and because I recently ombred my hair, the ends are pretty damaged and I do not want them to get even dryer from excessive shampooing.
So a few weeks ago, I spotted a bunch of Batiste Dry Shampoo at Winners. I decided to pick up the one for medium and brunette hair (though I have black hair). Interestingly, the medium and brunette ones are bundled up in twos (probably by mistake), so basically I got two full sized cans for $9.99 CAD. To read my review and see what it looks like, click......

Day 18: Childhood Memory

The story of how I got my scars when I was five or six is probably my most vivid memory from childhood. We lived in an apartment complex that had a big metal gate, during the summer evenings, the adults from the building would come out and play poker together, and us kids would just run around the yard and keep each other company while our parents played. One evening, me and the other kids were climbing the gates for fun, and what do you know, I slipped and fell off into the garbage bin near it. Coincidentally, there was a large pile of glass shards in the bin that day.... I was cut in two places: my right knee cap and the inner side of my right arm. I distinctly remember my mom picking me up from the glass pile; at the time I didn't even realize that I got a cut on my knee until I saw a bulb of blood forming. I vividly remember that the frilly white socks I wore got stained with the blood running down my leg.
At the hospital, a very inexperienced young doctor messily stitched up my knee, which didn't hurt much, but the cut on my arm hurt so much that we decided to just let it be. So that's the memory I want to share. Not very funny or cute or sad, but it was very vivid, and the only time I have ever been seriously hurt.
I thought of including a picture of my scar but that's just too weird; they do look a lot better today though, I hardly ever notice them!
Anyhow, thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Show Off Mascara Fiber Formula: Review and Swatch

As I mentioned before, my favorite mascara of all time is the Fairy Drops Platinum Waterproof mascara with its awesome fiber extension formula and lasting hold. Unfortunately, it is slowly drying up (I've been using it for five months now...) and because Sasa.com, the only place where it is sold for a reasonable price, charges a hefty shipping fee unless I spend over $40, I have been hesitant to repurchase it.

Anyhow, I have been on the hunt for its replacement and that is how I came upon the Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Show Off Mascara with Fiber Formula. And man was I disappointed, to see my review and how it looks on the lashes, click......

Day 17: Favorite Photos of Me

Photo time! So I took the effort to dig out some old photos of me. I couldn't decide on which one to share so I thought I just put up a few! To see them, click......

Here is my mom and me, it seems that I was a chubby and jolly baby. 

I love this picture because I look like a boy! 

I stumbled upon this one of me with my aunt and had to share it.
Clearly, I was a hipster before it was cool.

I like this one because even when I was a little kid I loved drawing,
look at how proud I am of my artworks. 

And lastly I like to share a current photo of me (as promised). I took this one a few days ago and I don't know, it was a good day, I felt pretty that day and that doesn't happen a lot. I am taking the initiative to take more photographs of me these days as part of my goal of embracing my self-image and becoming more comfortable with how I look.

There you go, I hope you enjoyed this one, I am excited to see you guys's photos!

This picture feels a bit
redundant today......

May Topbox Subscription

This month's Topbox was a slight disappointment for me. There were no products I was initially really excited for. I don't like getting nail polish in beauty boxes because I am picky with colors, and the biggest disappointment of all is probably the Yaby eye shadow. It is hard to figure out what to do with a single shadow with no packaging, plus as lovely as the color "coco powder" was, it broke during shipping and spilled all over the other things; thankfully Topbox said they will send a replacement in my June box. To see the other items and a swatch of the lipgloss, click......

Day 16: Insecurities

For today we are suppose to talk about an obstacle we are struggling with and what we are doing to overcome it. To be honest, I think I am pretty lucky, my parents are still paying for my expenses (thank you mom and dad), I am pretty healthy, and I've got a few reliable friends that I can always turn to. The possibility of not getting into medical school is my biggest worry right now, but that surely doesn't count as an obstacle, so I guess I will talk about my insecurities.

As I mentioned in my Day 1 challenge, I was severely bullied in elementary  and high school; kids made fun of my chubbiness and my big forehead. Not a day passed by when I would not be teased or harassed; I always just shrugged it off but the damage of those years are quite deep because I still have lots of body image and self-esteem issues today.

I don't like a lot of things about my body and my face, I can list them, but it would just go on and on. I am super critical about my appearence and as a result, I am very self-conscious all the time. 
A few years back I started eating healthy and exercising on a daily basis, it gave me a big confidence boost as I lost weight and got fit. However, I reached a point where I was relying on exercise as my sole source of self-confidence. I was becoming obsessed; I would do hot yoga, run 15K, and hit the gym all in one day. If I did not get "enough" exercise, I would be overcome by guilt and shame. I finally realized that I was going overboard when I started experiencing some serious pain in my right hip and my kidneys were getting bruised from too much running (yup that's a real thing......). So I eventually eased off on exercising, cutting back to just one hour of exercise per day, and as a result my self confidence dropped quite a bit as I gained back some of the weight I lost during that period of over exercise.
So what am I doing now to make things better? I guess I am trying to change the way I view things by accepting that certain features of myself cannot be changed, and I just have to embrace them. It's a hard thing to do though because I can't simply change my thought process over night and start loving stuff about me that people teased about for years and years, but I am trying. Lately, playing around with makeup and updating this blog have been giving me a lot of confidence and visiting other bloggers and seeing the confidence and contentment they exude is making me appreciate a more diverse range of beauty. So anyways, that is what I have been struggling with; things are getting better, but it's still going to be a long time until I learn to love the way I look. 
As always, thanks reading!

April Beauty Box Five Subscription

BB5 is definitely a beauty box subscription that usually sends out products and brands not included in other beauty boxes. For $12 a month you get a good assortment of large sized samples. My only problem with BB5 is that they have been recycling the same brands over and over which can get a bit annoying when you want to test out new brands! To see what I got this month, click......

Day 15: A Day In My Life

Alright guys, brace yourselves for a not too exciting post today. I had no school so not a whole lot happened...... But I made an effort and took some pictures of stuff I did, so here you go......

7:00AM Woke up to this lovely weather...... Checked emails and blogged for a bit.

Nothing says good morning like a gloomy sky.

8:00AM Made a quinoa salad, ran out of both cucumbers and cilantro, so I improvised and threw in some baby spring mix and seaweed salad.

Threw in some toasted pecans, it's pretty good! 

9:00AM Went back to bed for a nap...... I know, my sleeping schedule is "unique".
11:00AM Woke up again, printed some stuff for school.
12:00PM Prepped for a roasted potato salad because our huge vat of mayonnaise from Costco is expiring, I do not know why my parents keep on picking up these 2L jars......

Also put in some carrot chunks, they didn't taste so good roasted.

Didn't have any onions so I chopped up two green onions.

Looks kinda messy but it was super delicious.

1:00PM From here and onward, not much happened, I did the reading for my summer class and painted my nails.

Took a manicure break from studying.

2:00PM The weather turned pretty sunny, to my surprise.

2:00PM-9:00PM Studied, surfed the net, napped, and chatted on facebook.
9:00PM Went to the gym with mom.
It is 12:37AM as I type this, I think my day was decent, I have school tomorrow so I shall wrap it up. Thanks for reading everyone, hope you have a good day!

Julep Maven May "It Girl" Box with Add-On: Review and Swatches

So I caved this month and decided not to skip my May Maven Box because the colors are just so beautiful! The Julep Maven subscription is $20 a month (you can skip or cancel) and you get at least two polishes and either a third polish or a beauty product, and in my opinion, it is a pretty good deal considering the polishes are normally $14 a pop. This month's theme was the 30s, good timing considering the "Great Gatsby" came out this month. To see more pictures and the manicure I did with the colors, click......

Day 14: Things That Make Me Happy

For today's prompt, we have to list ten things that make us happy, so here is a list of eleven things (because I am a rebel) that make me happy; they aren't in any particular order and they are just things I thought up at the top of my head, so I probably missed some other good ones.

1. Checking the Mail: This is absolutely my favorite everyday thing to do; I am the official mail checker of my household (though my mom does violate my right sometimes)! I use to subscribe to magazines and now I sometimes shop online, so the thought of a delightful package waiting for me in the mailbox literally induces butterflies in my stomach! But I mean, on most days it's just bills and flyers, but I always keep my hopes up!
2. Baking: So calming and relaxing, and it's so satisfying to see the end result.

Tiramisu I made for my mom's birthday last year.

3. Sunny days: It is pretty darn gloomy in Vancouver most of the time, so a sunny day really lifts my mood!
4. Seeing my parents laugh together: It's just sweet and endearing to see them enjoying a joke or a TV program together. I mean they fight like every other day, but it's nice to see that after so many years (22 years I believe), they can still laugh and be jolly together.
5. Painting my nails: Watching the polish go on perfectly is so therapeutic. I can do without the icky fume and the drying time, but overall I love painting my nails.
6. Food: I like eating and I like food.

A crazy look I did a few years back using loose glitter.

7. Good grades: I like to think that my education is about learning and discovery, but at the end of the day, grade is all that matters...... I wish school is more about learning and less about writing one exam after another.
8. Good friends: They are hard to come by and when they do, they make life so much better.
9. Finding good deals: I get such a sense of happiness and accomplishment when I find a nail polish or a lipstick on sale. I take pride in my deal finding skills!



10. My cat: I gave her away because of allergies but memories of her make me happy.

Look at those beautiful eyes. Also I love that tiny little black line she has on her nose. Sniff sniff, I miss you.

11. John Krasinski's rendition of "Teenage Dream" (starts at 2:13): I'll just throw this one in here, kind of an oddball but this makes my heart melt. I have a grin on my face whenever I watch it. Check it out if you love The Office of John, IT WILL MAKE YOUR DAY!

There you go, that's my list, what makes you happy?