HAUL | August BeautyBox Five

Are you telling me I managed to post an August beautybox post in August!? I wouldn't believe you.

Sooo... last month I had cancelled my subscription to Beautybox Five because I wasn't happy with the July box and I just didn't have the millions of dollars to spend on beauty boxes. But somehow this month, I received another one??? Regardless, here's my haul post for it! As usual, not getting into details because I'm going to be posting a full review of this box.

 I received:

• Be A Bombshell Eyeshadow in Always a Bridesmaid ($14.00)
• Swissco Nail File ($1.50)
• H2O Plus Aquafirm + Micro-Collagen Moisturizer ($50.00/1.7oz)
• Bask Heavenly Silk Daily Skin Lotion ($19.98/22oz)
• Nubar Nail Lacquer in Faded Jeans ($8/0.5oz)

Did you get the same box? What's your take?

Ada xx

NOTW Thursdays | Colourblock

I was on Tumblr last week scrolling as per usual, when I cam upon a gooorgeous image of nails. If I can recall correctly, the tops were gold and the rest were an off-white. Unfortunately I can't find the image again so you'll just have to imagine.

Anyways, I got super inspired and decided to do my own rendition! The nails were fairly easy to do, just a little bit tricky. I painted on two layers of the Wet Cement and let them dry for as long as I dared. Next I took a piece of tape and put it over top my nail where the cuticles are. I actually put too much 'cause there should be less grey showing, especially on the thumbs but oh well. I then made sure to smooth down the edge of the tape and then I went ahead and painted on Bahamian Escape on the ends. It applied really well so I only needed one layer. I messed up the first thumb cause the grey wasn't quite dry yet and so the tape took off a chunk of it so I had to carefully fill it in. Also, I let the blue dry, so when I peeled it off, it lifted what was on the nail a bit (if that makes sense?)

If you're planning on doing these kinds of nails, a) make sure you have time on your hands, b) make sure the base colour coat is dry (try running your nails under the coldest tap setting), and c) make sure to peel off the tape while the top colour coat is still wet.

I'm definitely planning on doing these nails again in different colours!

Ada xx

LIFESTYLE | Mint & Thunderstorms

What a beautiful day! Pouring rain and lots of thunder, I think I'm in heaven. I'm definitely one of those people that flourishes when it's a dark, gloomy, rainy day. My poor Azor, alas, is not. He's very scared of thunder and whines and scratches at things, trying to hide away, no matter how much we try to tell him it's ok. It's never ok to him.

Anywaaaays, about a week ago my coworker Mickey gave me a baggie with around 7 mint roots because her garden is overgrowing and she needed to clear some away. I love mint so much and I find it such a versatile herb for cooking and drinking - I'll mostly be making tea with it, but I know my mom will love to cook with it. While in Dollarama, I spotted a super cute flower pot and I just had to have it. They had various colours but this was my favourite one, plus it was ony $3! With some help from my dad, we planted the roots in 3 different pots (two big ones we keep outside). I watered them and cared for them and I feel like a mint momma now. Can't wait until the babies grow!

What's your favourite herb? Do you grow any at home?

Ada xx

HAUL | FTB Beauty

Hello, hello! It's a good day for a haul day, don'tcha think?

I have been in dire need of a new face powder brush considering the old ELF one I was using was in horrible condition and the bristles were really not nice to my face. I did do some research on which brand to try out and I was going to order from Sigma, but I think their shipping was horrendous and I didn't wanna put myself through that. I'm a big Real Techniques fan, owning around 9 or 10 of their brushes, so I figured what's one more to add? I tried to find the original website I used to order the first few but apparently it's gone, so I had to go on the Real Techniques website and find another retailer. Good thing the other website disappeared because I really found a gem of a place this time. It's called ftbbeauty.ca and they have a small, but really great selection of various beauty brands, and they're located in Toronto so shipping was super quick, easy and inexpensive! I've already used the brush for a few weeks and I love it so much! It is soooo soft, totally incomparable to the old Elf one, and really gives a great finish to my skin. I paid $11 for the brush.

After doing a bit of browsing, I was extremely happy to see they sell Seche nail lacquers. I have been wanting the Seche Vite for forever and couldn't find a close enough retailer or a reliable ebay seller. And the best part? It was $2 cheaper than usual selling price. I was also surprised to find it comes in a much bigger bottle than usual. A regular Essie polish is 13.5mL whereas the Seche Vite is 14.8mL and I only paid $8 for it! If you'd like a full review, please let me know!

I did some more searching and was pleasantly surprised they sell some NYX products. NYX is usually a hit or miss brand for me - I really like their lip products, but their eyeshadows don't really do it for me. I've been wanting to try their Lip Creams, but unfortunately FTB doesn't sell them, but they do sell their Matte Lipsticks, so I decided to try one of them. I did some research and looked at various swatches and I decided to go for a colour I don't usually buy: an orange with red undertones. This one is called Indie Flick and I paid $6.50 for it. I'm a little bit on the fence about the colour because it is so different from ones I'm used to, I think I need to wear it a bit more to get used to it.

Lastly, I decided to pick out two ELF products. When I first started using makeup, I wore a lot of ELF products because they were cheap and good for beginners, but as I got older, I found their quality poor and wanted to move on to bigger and better things. But, that was when they only had one collection, the Professional basic ones. Then they began releasing new ones and people started talking highly about a few of their products for a while. I never really had a chance to pick any up, and when I did, they'd usually be way overpriced in store. I was surprised to find FTB had a few, so I decided to get the Studio HD Blush in the colour Diva and their Studio Mascara & Shadow Shield, both were $4 each. If you'd like a review on either of these products, please let me know and I'd be happy to oblige!

My total, including tax (free shipping), came to: $37.86. I think I got a pretty great deal! I'm definitely planning on ordering from them again soon.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think?

Ada xx

Lifestyle | New Theme!

I have spent the last 3 days mixing and matching and cutting and pasting until I finally came up with a new theme! I have made everything myself, from the header to the background. I also went with an Arial font because I felt like the Courier was a bit difficult to read.

Ok, I'm done! Hope you all like it!

Ada xx

NOTW Thursday | Pretty in Pink

Yay, an NOTW actually on time! I think this will work out just fine. SO, this week I decided I wanted to jump back to the 90s and go for something pretty and pink and slightly metallic. Yes, I know the movie is from the 80s but shhh. Also, the D has changed to a W because I change my nail polish weekly so it wouldn't make sense to call it a Nail of the Day.

As you can see by the mess on my nails, I went for 3 different polishes and ended up applying a lot of layers. With base and top cop, each nail ended up being 7 layers total. I don't think I've ever had that much polish on my nails.

So I started out with Nailtini's Frappe which ended up being two layers. I love this colour SO MUCH, it's probably one of my top favourites. The colour is a creamy very light pink that adds a healthy look to your nails if you want something nude but not a total naked nail. The consistency is on the thicker side but really great. I love the brand and am definitely planning on splurging on a few other polishes of theirs.

Next came the fourth and fifth layers which were done with Essie's Anniversary Gala. To be completely honest, I don't like this nail polish very much, mostly because it's very transparent and thin in consistency so you'd probably need more than 7 layers to get a sure colour. But, I do really like how it looks overtop Frappe. It reminds me of clothing worn in the 90s, those funky duochrome metallics. You can't see it in the pictures, but there is a greenish sheen to them in the light.

Lastly, I went over my ring fingers with Sally Hansen's Strobe Light. This is one of my most favourite nail polishes but unfortunately I cracked the lid and it'd dried out a bit and become really goopy and thick.

My last layer was the top coat by Seche Vite.

Ada xx

TAG | Liebster Award!

Hi everyone! So I just found out the lovely Harian (littlecoldcoffee) has nominated me for the Liebster Award and I was too excited so I'm getting to it right away!

1. Why did you start blogging?

I've always had a love for beauty and fashion and I've always wanted to share it with other people. Blogging is such a wonderful medium for people who are interested in knowing more. When I started my Youtube account, I never had a blog and then only got one because I needed to post everything I mentioned in the video somehow, right? But I soon found how much I enjoyed blogging and began looking forward to making that new post.

2. Who is your role model?

At the moment I have 5: the Olsen twins, Hilary Duff, Lauren Conrad and Miranda Kerr. I always go back to these five beautiful women because they are strong, independent women who know exactly what they want and go for it. The Olsen twins have made their own empires; they were childhood stars and could easily be in any movie, but instead chose to get into fashion and have killed it. Lizzie McGuire was the show when I was a little girl, and seeing Hilary now is just amazing. She's become this amazing woman. Lauren Conrad, I think, is an amazing role model for both young girls and older girls. I remember she was asked "What's your favourite position?" and she answered "CEO". To me, that says everything. She's not about The Hills and all its petty drama anymore, she left it to become her own person. And lastly, Miranda Kerr - she is probably one of my most favourite people out there. Not only is she modeling the right way (healthy eating, exercise etc), she has a beautiful family and her own skincare line. I don't know how she does it or even if she sleeps, but she manages to balance this crazy life and I really admire her for it.

3. What are your top 3 best beauty items?

Brow gel, mascara and a lip product. I think every girl is beautiful naturally, so they need to show it off whenever they can! I think using the basic 3 really brightens a girl's natural beauty without looking overdone.

4. What are you favourite beauty brands?

Benefit, MAC, Madison Street Beauty, Quo and Revlon.

5. When is your favourite fashion season?

Fall! Always Fall, no matter the question. The colour changes, the colder weather, the scarves and PUMPKINS. Fall is the season of layers and it's right between being cool and warm so you can rock that shorter skirt with a knit scarf.

6. If you could have any fashion related item in the world right now what would it be?

Hmm probably a Prada bag. Once at the restaurant this girl came in for a wedding and she wore 4 simple things: a beautiful dress, a pair of heels, a beige trench coat and a gorgeous Prada bag. I never saw anyone look so put together but so simple at the same time. I instantly fell in love with the bag but unfortunately could never afford the couple thousand it costs.

7. What your favourite book or magazine?

I never read magazines, mostly because I don't support what they stand for. My favourite book is definitely A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, along with the other 2 trilogies books. The book is about love, friendship, magic, betrayal and fighting the greater evil within and without.

8. Who or what is your inspiration?

You know, I always find inspiration at randoms times. As a writer, even the way someone looks at another will inspire me enough. When it comes to fashion or beauty, looking through blogs or various looks really helps get the inspiration train flowing.

9. What's your dream/ life goal?

To become an actress, be it small TV show or big movie, I don't care. I just want to be on screen and doing what I love to do. Also, to become a mother. I've always wanted a big family so I'm willing to go up to 12 kids if I can!

10. Where is the favourite place you've visited?

Unfortunately I haven't been able to visit many places, I've never even left North America! But, from the places I've been to in the USA, I'd have to say NYC and Boston. Those cities are just so beautiful that I never wanted to leave! I remember driving down Times Square and just seeing all the lights and brightness and was just in complete awe. Unfortunately the trip did not last very long and we mostly stayed in New Jersey so I didn't see much of the city. I've been dying to go back! Boston was just this beautiful and old city that had many hidden twists and turns. There was one street we parked on and it looked like it was filled with town houses but were only shops. There was a beautiful hat shop and a jewelry shops and everything else!

11. What's your travel essentials?

On the rare occasion that I do travel (for a week or more), I always bring my makeup and hair products (of course), a blow dryer, a book or two (or my Kobo), purse, maybe some knitting, my camera, phone, a blanket, my pillows, and other basic things you can't live without!

The people I nominate are:

1. Laura - http://www.lisforladybird.com/
2. Maya - http://spiderleglashes.blogspot.co.uk/
3. Eloise - http://simplynaturale.blogspot.ca/

4. Madeline Rose - http://ring-a-roundarosey.blogspot.ca/

5. Bryanellen - http://bryanyellen.blogspot.ca/

6. Dhara - http://dharapatelio.blogspot.ca/

7. Natassa - http://novembrebeaute.blogspot.ca/

8. Vanessa - http://circleofchaos.blogspot.ca/

9. Angela - http://floral-teaparty.blogspot.ca/

10. Nicola - http://www.nicolakatemakeup.com/

11. Phoebe - http://www.northoflondonblog.com/

The questions I'm asking are:

1. What is your favourite thing about a blog?

2. What is your favourite beauty item?

3. If you have to choose one beauty brand to only use, what would it be?

4. What do you think is the Fall 2013 must-have fashion item?

5. What is it about beauty that you love?

6. Favourite childhood memory?

7. Who is your role model?

8. If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?

9. Why did you start getting into fashion/makeup?

10. If you could travel to one place in the world, where would you go?

11. Are you experimental with your makeup or do you stick to one look that works and use that?

Thanks so much for reading!

Ada xx