Birthday Weekend

Last Friday was my birthday! Hurrayyyy~~ •*¨*•.¸¸♪✧

It was a busy weekend with family and my boyfriend. My nana took me out to lunch and I basically spent the whole of Thursday with her, which was nice. 

There's a tradition in my family where whoever's birthday it is becomes the queen/king for the day and the rest of the family members are 'servants' haha. So my little brother Owen catered to me for most of the day (which included copious amounts of gaming lol.. I'm a benevolent queen haha~) and my mom made me a delicious breakfast!

My dad also went into Toronto to pick up my birthday present! A Canon Rebel T3i (or 600D in Europe). The model's about a year old, but I remember my dad looking at it when it first came out.. I've been coveting that camera for a while now haha. It's really nice!

Some quick snapshots:

I have a long way to go before I can take proper photos without the use of the automated settings haha;;
I really love it though.

I also played a lot of the Guild Wars 2 beta event this weekend! So far I absolutely love it♥ I love how you can roam the world and team up with random strangers without any formalities. It flows really well. I think it's going to be a great online community!

I made a human elementalist and a norn hunter :3

Gage made a Zangief look-alike haha.

See you later♥

Etude House Cookie Blusher in Grapefruit Jelly

Happy birthday to me! ─=≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ

This came in the mail while I was away at school, but I've been wearing this a lot recently!
This is the Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher in #6 Grapefruit Jelly.

The packaging is plastic, but I don't mind very much. It's in the shape of a bubble and fits nicely in my hand. I also love the puff it comes with. It's not the best applicator out there but it's cute and handy if you're on the go. It's super girly which is pretty cute too. I love Korean packaging ♥

These Lovely Cookie Blushers come in a good amount of shades, ranging from sugary pink to orange. Overall I'd say these suit fairer skin types. The pigmentation is pretty sheer, but the texture is incredibly smooth and light. It doesn't have much of a smell. This shade in particular seems well suited for spring!

For the novelty of the packaging and my love for Etude House, it might be worth it for you to check these cuties out. ✧*。

LUSH Green Bubble Bar Review

This is one of two LUSH products that I picked up before moving out of residence: a bubble bar called 'GREEN'. It kinda looks like a macaron. It has a really fresh scent and it's super moisturizing so I thought I'd pick it up. 

I also liked how you can just twist the two halves and have enough for two bathes, rather than trying to cut the product.

There's shea butter in the middle.

You're supposed to crumple the product in your hand under running water for it to start dissolving and creating bubbles. It was kinda sad to break it I admit..

Just half of it makes so much bubbles! And the water turns into a milky green colour which I thought was cool. You can also faintly smell the scent. After the bath I noticed that my skin felt a lot smoother, but it wasn't anything too drastic. I'm excited to use the rest of GREEN and the other bubble bar I got!

If you want to try something new, then a bubble bar is a fun way to go. I'm definitely gonna try out more!

Lancôme L'absolu Nu #101 Review

The first of many reviews to come from my recent haul!
This is the lipstick I ended up purchasing after that MAC fiasco. It's also my first Lancôme product. I feel like Lancôme is one of those brands that you see your mom buying from when you're younger.. I feel so grown up haha.

I wanted something rather natural looking that enhanced the look of my lips, rather than masking or changing the colour completely.

First of all I LOVE the design of the lipstick. The packaging is really mature, yet feminine, and sleek. There are also small magnets, so it makes a satisfying 'click' when you close it. That means I don't have to worry about the lid falling off in my purse!

This is in the shade Corail Evanescent. It's a very cute coral/pink shade that's super creamy. It has a very subtle sparkle but you can hardly see it. It just provides a very subtle boost for your lips.

These are a couple swatches of the colour. You can get it fairly pigmented if you really apply it, but I'm more likely to just put one or two swipes on my lips for a quick boost of colour. It's good to know that you can build up the colour though. I have to mention that, to me, the colour looks more like a true coral in real life. I feel the photos make the product appear more on the pink/red side..

I know I'm gonna get some use out of this! If you're looking for a nice shade for spring, or you're in need of a nice all around shade that you can wear to work, then I recommend this one! It's not super long-wearing, but it's creamy enough not to dry out your lips.

See you soon!

Sephora + LUSH + MAC (?) + etc. HAUL

So.... I splurged ;A; A lot of my makeup is running out/expiring so I went to MAC and Sephora before going home this week. We don't have a MAC store in my hometown so I was excited to try them out. (I usually buy my makeup from Shoppers Drug Mart orz. I was overwhelmed by the department store feeling lol)
If you follow my Twitter then you probably know that I'm not too happy with MAC right now lmao.

A quick snapshot of only some of the things that I got (I'll explain why later)

I got so many samples form Sephora for signing up with their beauty insider thing... I love samples ♥. Especially that Prada eau de toilette.. that's a pretty large sample! :O

The MAC lipstick I originally purchased though got switched out... misplaced... whatever.... with another shade somehow. Instead of a light, nude-ish shade they gave me this:

As you can see, the above colour is nothing what I described lmao ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ

But honestly what the hell? How do you mess up which shade of lipstick you bring to the counter when they all have names? XD What happened was this lady was helping me pick out a shade and then when I decided she went and pulled out on of the boxes from the drawer, brought it up to the counter herself and then asked me to wait in queue to be checked out. Forgetting the name of the product I chose, it was silly of me to just trust someone to pick out the right shade.

Effectively I had to go back to the mall the next day and return it, which put me in a sour mood and left a sour impression on MAC for me. The representative was also a bit sarcastic as well, which didn't make it any better. I used the money from returning it to spend at Sephora. So there. D:

Because I had to go back to the mall to return that lipstick, I then decided to check out Sephora once more to get a different lipstick. (I ended up with a Lancome one which I love)

I also decided to get a couple of the cheaper bubble bars from LUSH, which I can use when I go back home. (LUSH is another store we don't have there huhu)

Expect many reviews in the future ヾ(。◣∀◢。)ノ

Vassen Bambi Queen Green Review

Here are the first of two pairs of Vassen Bambi lenses I received from PinkyParadise!

First, the info:
Diameter: 14.5mm
Water Content: 42%
Base Curve: 8.6mm
Type: 1 Year disposal

These are meant to look like the popular Princess Mimi Bambi series from Geo. But instead of being 15mm it's only 14.5mm! I really liked this since I think 15mm would look way too big on me. I'm happy with 14.5mm for now.

The colour is really light with a gold inner ring and a very bold limbal ring. It reminds me of a very juicy fruit haha

I think these could blend really well if you have light brown eyes! For lighter eyes, it covers up your natural colour fairly well :)

Inside with flash. <3
The colour reminds me of a green apple or a lush forest. If they aren't a very natural green, but they aren't too crazy either. A nice pop of colour.

Overall:
Colour is 5/5 (shows up wonderfully in photos)
Design is 4.5/5 (not nudy, not too dramatic, juuust right)
Size is 5/5 (Perfect for me!)
Comfort is 3.75/5 (Had to use eyedrops every now and then, but overall they were okay)

Stay tuned for when I review the brown version of these lenses! ─=≡Σ((( つ•̀ω•́)つ

11Questions

I got tagged by Sachie to do this tag!


     RULES

• You must post eleven things about yourself on your blogs.

• You have to answer the questions the tagger has set for you

• And also, create eleven for the people you tag to answer

• Then choose eleven people and link them in your post.

• You legitimately have to tag and NO tags back

     MY 11 QUIRKS

1. I read into people a lot. A LOT. I like to think that I'm psychic sometimes のヮの;
2. I have a weird habit of biting my cuticles when I'm stressed or in deep thought.
3. When I listen to a song, I immediately create music videos in my head, even if I don't understand the lyrics.
4. I can't stand anything related to ghosts, violence towards children or women, torture or kidnappers without having nightmares for months (๑°口°๑) I don't watch scary movies.
5. I eat everything on my plate one at a time. Hot to cold.
6. I'm very sensitive to what I believe others think of me.
7. When I'm nervous I tend to laugh easily (it's so awkward lol)
8. When I meet people for the first time I'm usually really quiet. People tell me I'm a little standoffish. (For some reason this doesn't happen at conventions lol;;)
9. I've always wanted to play the violin.
10. Apparently I gesture a lot when I speak.
11. I find it easier to talk to guys. Girls intimidate me (๑°口°๑)

    QUESTIONS TAIMU <3 <3 <3

1. What is your all time favourite food or dish?
   I could eat pasta forever. And sweet potatoes! And grapes! And pineapple! And...!
   
2. Where were you born, and have you moved often?
   I haven't moved away from my home town except to go away for school.
   
3. Favourite makeup or beauty product?
   I love mascara but my recent love has been BB cream! One day I'll find the perfect one for me <3
   
   
4.  If you could live in any fictional universe (from cartoons, anime, TV shows etc), which would you choose and why?
   THE POKEMON WORLD. FOR. SURE. It kills me how I can't go on my own adventure. My favourite pokemon since forever have been Raichu and Growlithe. We would be such great partners! I tried to get my dog to participate but he'll have none of it. ;A;
   
   
5. Do you have a celebrity crush? Who?
   I don't really have any questions.. would Dodger from TheGameStation count? She might not be a celebrity lmao. Maybe Alodia Gosiengfiao haha.
   
   
6. What is your favourite season?
   Spring! It's so full of life and colour. You can shed all those nasty winter clothes and actually breathe some fresh air! The sky also turns blue for the first time in forever which is nice. I get headaches form grey skies D:
   
   
7.  Is there a song, movie, book etc that holds a special certain meaning to you? Tell us about it!
   Disney movies like the Little Mermaid and Pocahontas are dear to me because I grew up watching them. We had them on VHS and I would force my parents to watch them all the time lmao.
   
   
8. Your favourite piece of clothing? (If you can, include a photo!)
   
   This is my favourite ring!
   
   
9. Three biggest fears or phobias?
   Kidnappers, torture, the dark, evil spirits, zombie apocalypse, boo-scares (HATETHOSE) and deep water especially. I don't like to go swimming in lakes.
   
   
10. Where is one place you want to travel to?
    TOO MANY CHOICES. Give me Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, ...... any would be fine. <3
    
    
11. What is one of the things you really want to do before you die?
    Go overseas.

All my usual people have already been tagged! So I invite you to try it out! (Please link me back)

Here are my questions for you!:

1. What is your earliest memory?
2. If you could be a mutant (think XMEN), what would your mutation be?
3. If you could go back to the past, what would you tell yourself?
4. What do you wish to be invented sometime in the future? (like a gadget)
5. If you could be a fruit, which one would you be?
6. If you could only wear one beauty related product (makeup or otherwise) which would it be? You too guys. ;D
7. What would be your ideal first date?
8. If the zombie apocalypse happened when you wake up tomorrow, what would be your course of action?!
9. If you could choose any character (from movies, shows, books, games etc.) to be your mentor, who would it be and why?
10. Are there any skills you'd like to improve on?
11. What are the 3 greatest things about you?

Vassen Bambi Queen Green and Brown GET + Easter

Hurray! I found my camera charger! It was at home.. but now I can post higher res photos. (thank god)

So a while back I received my order from Pinky Paradise! They had many sales in February and one of the ones I caught was the Vassen Bambi series they brought into their store! They're supposed to be similar to the Geo Princess Mimi series, but instead of 15mm they're 14.5mm!
I think 14.5mm is big enough for me so far, I haven't felt the need to go any larger yet. I've been coveting the Geo Bambi series for so long, so now I can try a smaller equivalent! I wish Geo made this series different sizes..

So this is what I received from Pinky Paradise:

...and a lovely shot of my desk lol;;


As you can see, I got both the green and the brown lenses from Vassen's Bambi series. I also got two pairs of cute lens cases to match! As a bonus, Pinky Paradise also sent me some surprise gifts: Some under eye masks and a a velcro hair... holder thing! (It looks so weird, can't wait to try it out!)

I'll be posting a review on these lenses soon, so please stay tuned! (ಡ౪ಡ)

I also wanted to share with you a photo of a wig that I'm a little disappointed about. I don't usually get screwed by eBay often, but I was let down by this wig:

This was supposed to be my Senjougahara Hitagi wig for Anime North, however I might try selling it after getting another one (I'll probably sell it super cheap just cause). It has black and purple strands, which look fine in the sunlight but it just isn't the colour I wanted. I haven't cut or styled it, just swept the bangs to one side for a reference photo.
Oh well. (๑¯△¯๑)

Last weekend was also Easter! I went home and decorated eggs with my friend Asuka and my family!

We got these cool q-tips that had ink in the tube. When you cracked one end, the ink would flow to the other and coat the cotton. It was really handy for dotting!

And I'll end this post with a couple silly photos of my dog Bosley haha~

Almost Free!

Sorry there's been a lack of responses! I'll pot more reviews and things soon! (Also some cosplay updates hoho!) I'm going home this weekend to get my camera charger, so the image quality will greatly increase thankfully! (〃∇〃)

These last couple of weeks have been a bit crazy! I had two essays due at the same time, one that was for critical thinking and one for my Chaucer course 。°(°´Д｀°)°。I've never written anything for critical thinking (it was a logic course) so I was really stressed about it because the style of writing is really different than a literary essay!! I'm no stranger to essays since I'm an English major. Thankfully it was short-- only 6 pages.

The Chaucer essay was 18 pages though.. I basically had to spend a few weekends in the library in order to do enough research. I kind of like it though because the library is always so peaceful and I like the feeling of holding old books lol

I also had an exam today for my Chaucer class, but I think that one went fairly well. I would of liked to have had more time to study for it though. Oh well.

It's a weird feeling though, I was so stressed during the regular semester that it's actually a relief to only have exams to think about now.

Good luck on your tests everyone! Remember that the school year's almost over! (ง •̀_•́)ง