Small Haul!

I recently posted a video on my YouTube channel about some recent purchases that I've made. I've tried a lot of the products since filming and wanted to go over some of my thoughts and opinions!

From Target:

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara: Like I had said in the video, I still like the size of the wand itself, however, the bendy elbow it has is kind of annoying. I feel like it takes me longer to coat my lashes the way I like with this feature. The formulation is alright, although, after a number of hours of wear, I find it starting to flake. All in all, not my fav, I give it a C.

Maybelline Baby Lips Crystal Kiss: This is nothing really to write home about. It is a decent lip moisturizer, however, it provides no colour or sparkle. It is just a lip pick me up, which I do appreciate. I give this product a B+ for a lip balm.

Sonia Kashuk: Brushes in #130 and #121. The #130 is a large face kabuki brush and I love it for powder foundation like my Kat Von D Lock-It powder foundation. I give it an A. The #121 brush is perfect for buffing out under eye concealer. For this purpose, I give it an A+.

From SocialEyes:

Lash Glue: I love love love love this product. I've used it several times since filming, and it is the best lash glue that I have ever used. I love the mode of application, the formulation, the incredibly short dry time. It is an A++ in my books and I can't imagine using any other lash glue. I'm a fan.

Siren Lashes: Super fun and full on lashes. Very dense and bold. Great for a night out, but not recommended for day-time wear. They are a little stiff, especially at the base. If you aren't comfortable with that, you can always chop in two or three and apply separately. I give these lashes a B+.

Minx: Flirty wispy lashes that are perfect for day-time or subtle night-time looks. The criss-cross pattern is super fun and makes a great impact for volume without so much weight. Despite the light-weight, I found the band inflexible which was a little disappointing. I give these a B.

Glamorous: These lashes are really long and wispy with spaces between clusters of lash making a round doll-eyed look. I haven't worn these bad boys yet, because the length intimidates me. No rating just yet.

From Makeup Geek:

Cocoa Bear: Red-toned medium brown. Great in the outer V. I've only used it once, and will reserve judgement at this time.

Creme Brulee: Beautiful neutral medium-light brown. Perfect for deepening crease. Love this and use it almost everyday. I give it an A.

Purely Naked: This is my fav shadow that I purchased from the regular line. It is a neutral beige and just a few shades darker than my skin tone. I use this everyday for my transition colour in my crease. It is beautiful and so easy to blend. Love it. I give it an A+.

Shimma Shimma: Good pay off, fun to add to centre of lid for a shimmering lift to the eye. I need to use it a little more before I give it an official grade.

Peach Smoothie: Pale yellow based orange. I find this one the most dusty or chalky of all of them, however, it can transfer decent pay off to the lids. It just makes a bit of a mess when picking up the colour with a brush. I'm liking this one as well, just not in love with it. I give it a B-.

Grandstand: Part of the foiled eye shadow line. Very light reflective and beautiful, however, I have not yet used it in a look yet so I will reserve judgement at this time.

In the Spotlight: Part of the foiled eye shadow line. Absolutely gorgeous. I love this colour the most out of all of purchased. I highly recommend it. It comes off as a light pink champagne with amazing light reflection. It gets an A+.


You can check out my video here.

Cheers,
Sara x0

Clipless Curling Wand: Is There a Cheaper Alternative?

Hello loves,

So, I am getting much more into styling my hair over the past year. As I have mentioned, I purchased the NuMe Curl Jam set for the clipless curling wand in three different sized barrels. Prior to purchasing this, when I wanted to curl my hair I used the incredibly inexpensive Conair Instant Heat 3/4 inch standard curling iron ($10 if that at Walmart). When the clipless trend came about, I just wrapped my hair over the barrel and clip and seemed to achieve the same results.

I wanted to test these two products, side by side, to see if the clipless wands are worth the hype, and if NuMe wands are worth the price tag.

Findings:
1) The NuMe wand was much faster at curling my hair (9 mins vs. Conair's 14 mins)

2) The NuMe wand left my hair noticeably more shiny.

3) The Conair iron left my hair easier to fluff

4) I burnt my finger twice with the NuMe, and zero times with the Conair. (The NuMe does come with a glove which I always neglect).

5) I hesitantly say I prefer the look of the curls from the Conair (though, they look extremely similar)

Conclusion:

I appreciate the speed of the NuMe and how it felt in my hand versus the Conair. However, if we are simply judging based on the final look, I would recommend saving your money and picking up the Conair.

Thanks for your time and for checking out my video here. 

Cheers,
Sara x0

Meet My Husband, Alan!

Good day!

(How awesome is this caricature of us? This is care of the amazingly talented man behind Cann's Cartoons, and you can reach him for hire at cannscartoons@gmail.com. )

My husband sat down and filmed a video with me! This is his first ever time filming a video for YouTube, and was very nervous before hand because he thought that he would end up looking like a goof- which he totally is so I don't really see the problem! We filmed the Mr and Mrs tag which even included props that I masterfully crafted moments before we sat down to film. We had a lot of fun and I think that I've convinced him to maybe participate a little more on my channel- so be encouraging! 

We found this video idea from the Sacconejoly's on YouTube. You can find the inspiration video here.

If you have any questions for us or Alan in particular, leave a comment and I will have him answer. Or if it deserves its own video, I may be able to make that happen as well. Thank you for your time and for watching our video found here. 

Cheers, 

Sara & Alan x0

GRWM

Hey guys!

I filmed another get ready with me and posted it to my YouTube channel! This is a simple yet polished look that I do when I have to look put together, but want to look fairly natural. Great for school, work, or appointments.

List of products that I used:
MAC Prep + Prime Natural Radiance primers
Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Serum- Gel Foundation
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural powder
Stila Smudge Stick eye liner in Damsel
Smashbox self adjusting powder foundation in Dark D1-D2
Kat Von D Immortal Lash Mascara
MAC Chromographic Pencil in NC15/NW20
Anastasia Beverly Hills eyebrow pencil
MAC powder blush in Mocha
MAC Pro Longwear lipcreme in To The Future
NYX Pump it Up Lip Plumper in Kim

If you have any questions about this look, or suggestions for future looks, please comment me below!

Cheers,
Sara x0

Adult Braces: Update 4!

Progress! 

I finally feel as though we have solved my over crowded smile! We are 18 months into the game and I am seeing the results of all of the work from the past year and a half. Such an exciting time. 

Here is a comparison of me prior to upper brackets, and now!

You may have noticed that I am now wearing two sets of elastics. One set is to act somewhat like that past appliance (distilizer), and the other is working on the same old problem of bringing down my fangs hehe. A better picture of the elastics below.

You may we wondering, how many steps have you had so far? I was also curious and wanted to make a list:

1) Bottom teeth got brackets and wire right away (to correct a small gap and to just perfect as best as possible

2) Top teeth got a palate expander (the absolute worst appliance, hands down)

3) Palate expander was removed and then a distilizer was placed to try and bring front teeth backwards and bring down canines.

4) Canines didn't shift quickly as liked, so bottom wire was taken off brackets, a "permanent" retainer was placed behind bottom teeth to prevent shifting. 

5) Distilizer removed and upper teeth got a fixed appliance for rotated molars (feels very similar to palate expander)

6) Upper teeth got brackets and wire- still wearing elastics like with the distilizer to bring down canines. 

7) Upper teeth's bracket wire replaced with a heavy wire with hooks to allow for second set of elastics acting like distilizer to bring teeth backwards.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Also, check out my YouTube video dedicated to this latest update here.

Cheers, 
Sara x0

Battle of the Flat Irons!

NuMe vs. CHI

I  just posted a video on my YouTube channel where I compared the results (not the specs) of my trusty old CHI flat iron versus my new NuMe flat iron from the Curl Jam set. 

I've had my CHI for about 8 years. I've tried many before and many after owning my CHI, but absolutely nothing compared to it. It straightened my hair quickly, and kept it straight. I used this thing almost to death (I had to bring it back to life more than once). It isn't exactly safe in its current state, so I looked into finding a replacement. 

I ended up purchasing the NuMe Curl Jam set during their holiday sale. It includes a clipless curling wand with three different sized barrels, and a flat iron. I went on the site to pick out a curling wand, but thought since the deal was so great, I might as well take this chance to try out a new flat iron. 

Let me tell you, I was very skeptical. YouTube and Instagram seem to be flooded with NuMe sponsored ads (or videos). Just so it's clear, I am in no way affiliated with NuMe. I am a customer who needed a new flat iron and took advantage of a sale. When a company inundates YouTube with sponsored videos, I grow skeptical of the product. I don't immediately fall into the hype, I always have to try and do research. In this case, the best research was to try out the iron on my own hair. 

So that is what I did. I split my hair down the middle and straightened half of my head with my trusty yet tired CHI, and compared it to the new popular NuMe. I was shocked with the results.

The NuMe wand left my hair, shinier, smoother, sleeker and straighter. It was even quicker too! I took me 8-9  minutes to straighten half of my hair with the NuMe, and a little over 12 minutes for the CHI. 

I am sold. I love my new NuMe flat iron, and will now be retiring my good old faithful CHI. RIP.

Check out my video here.

Cheers, 
Sara x0

My Wedding Planning Experience & Adivce

I really and truly feel like I need to get into the wedding planning/organizing industry. No, not because I think that my wedding was particularly beautiful, but because it was 100% exactly what I wanted. What makes that so impressive, is that I had NO idea what I wanted! Let me explain..

I was never the girl who grew up dreaming about my wedding day. The most I ever really thought about it was, I wonder what my husband will look like.. Whose face will I be waking up to every morning? 

As I got older and started dating, I started to believe that I didn't want to get married. That maybe I didn't even believe in the idea of it all. It seems like such a big fuss over what? Publicly announcing that you wont cheat on that person, and that you want to be with them forever? I knew from a young age that as people age, they change and are shaped by their experiences. I worried, what if you grew apart, which just seems so possible. 

I met Alan and we started dating 6 months later. I still held these same beliefs. I told him that I wouldn't even entertain the idea of engagement unless I knew the guy for at least 5 years. I told Alan that I wasn't sure of marriage. He calmly understood my feelings and persisted through my bouts of anxiety when things felt too serious. I started to change. I started to realize that I wanted more out of our relationship and I couldn't imagine myself without him. I ended up even being the one to lay on the engagement pressure. He wanted to marry me, but we weren't there financially, he was in between jobs, but I thought that I would have been happy to run to a court house and not tell anyone (I shamefully always wanted a big beautiful rock, which Alan knew and wanted to give to me).

Alan proposed, 5 years exactly from the day that we met. Next came.... compromise. Ideally, I wanted to have a fun trip to Vegas and party with close friends and get hitched. Easy, breezy. No fussing with family drama and making it a fun, no stress, memorable occasion. 

Most guys would love this idea, right? Not Alan. He thought this was incredibly tacky (has seem too many movies) and really wanted to invite his whole family to his wedding. He has a small family. He has his parents and sister and that's everyone in Canada. He has aunts and uncles and cousins overseas, and the only time they get together is for weddings and funerals. This was very important to him to have them there on his wedding day. This really, really sucked for me. Not because I didn't want to meet them, but because it would open my chaotic family flood gate. 

I'm not going to say it was easy. And it sure didn't happen over night. But we talked about our options, bought books full of ideas, read online and asked family and friends. All signs kept pointing to a local wedding with close family and friends. This irritated me, and I found myself terrified. Then I realized, I needed to figure out what about this scared me. I was afraid of having a tacky, typical, fake wedding. Ahh.. there is was. FAKE. For too much of my life, I had to suffer in silence while I was in situations that I shouldn't have had to be in, I put up with being treated so poorly and was expected to accept it and wear a smile on my face. I watched fake people with their fake possessions show off to their fake friends. For what? It was meaningless and empty, and so much of my life was filled with this. I wasn't going to continue the cycle, that isn't my life. I needed to set that fear aside, and figure out what was important to me?

1) I want to be cool as a cucumber the day of the wedding. I don't want to be stressing about details or worrying if Person A is at Location X at such and such a time. No. I wanted to be in the moment and enjoy my time with my bridesmaids before I walk down the aisle and the whirlwind of the following events took over. 

2) All parents needed to be treated equal. We are both from separated parents which is a juggling act. I wanted everyone to participate at the level that they wanted, but also, no one noticeably more so than anyone else.

3) I wanted to my Grandmas to feel important, special, and loved. 

4) I wanted every detail to be genuine. 

5) I wanted it to be very personal. I wanted it to scream Sara and Alan. So many weddings are so generic, it could be for any bride or groom. Ours was to be no denying, ours. 

These items were my ingredients for my wedding. Everything I did, I kept these in mind. This really helped me focus of positivity. With these I know that every decision I made, I would be happy at the end of the day, so long as it met these 5 criteria. 

Alan and I also developed an unspoken (well, kinda spoken) rule: This day is about the TWO of us and no one else. Outside influence (and guilt trips) can be hard. I recommend recruiting a mediator of some sort if dealing with this. Honestly, stick to your guns or else you will develop resentment and have an overall shitty time. 

My last tidbit of advice is this, I asked myself "Why do you want to get married?" My answers were: A. Because I want to celebrate the beginning of the next stage in my life by declaring in front of family and friends that I found someone that I want to spend the rest of my life with (vows) B. We want the legal rights (sign the documents). In preparation of potential drama, I rehearsed with myself, am I still saying my vows? Am I still signing the documents? Then that is ultimately all that matters. Everything else is extra. 

Happy planning, and congratulations!

-Sara x0

Hooch's Mama!

I realized that I have yet to share with you a part of my family, my bunny named Hooch! Ain't she pretty?

Facts:

What type of bunny is she?

She is a female Netherland Dwarf rabbit

How old is she?

She is almost 2 years old!

How old was she when you acquired her?

She was about 3 months old.

How did you acquire her?

My husband and I purchased her from a pet shop. Since then, I learned about a local rabbit rescue which I've done some fundraising for and would strongly advicate that you adopt instead of buy. I know my next fur ball will be a rescue :)

Why a bunny?

I remember watching HRHcollection on Youtube when she talked about her pet rabbit who lived in her home and just romped around and I thought that was amazing. My family had a rabbit when I was younger, but I think I was honestly too young to appreciate her. I started looking into rabbit care and checking out pet stores to oooh and aawww over the cute fluffy guys. I eventually talked my husband into getting one of our own!

What's with her name?

Alan and I didn't even think about names before we picked her up. We kind of wanted to go look, and see if we fell in love with a bunny and hoped that the name would come to us. We named her on the way home. "Hooch" comes from a character in our favourite TV show Scrubs. Hooch is a minor character only in a few episodes, but everyone knows that "Hooch is crazy". It just made sense and we kept it, hehe. Most people think shes a boy because of the name. 

Is she indoor/outdoor? Is she free range or caged?

Hooch is an indoor bunny. She has free range of our home office. I call it her room instead of the office, anyway. In there, she has a cage which she finds comfort in, however, the door is never closed on her. In there is her litter box, her food and water dish and a little loft where she can hide if she wants to. We let her out of her room daily for exercise and to explore. When she is out and about in our condo, she is also free. Only our bedroom and closets are off limits to her. She mastered the hardwood floors and loves to chill under the coffee table in the living room. 

If you have any more questions about Hooch, or rabbit care in general please leave a comment below! I love talking about bunnies <3 font="">

Get Ready With Me

Hello all!

I posted a video on my YouTube channel on my go-to everyday makeup look. Here are a list of the products shown:

MAC Prep + Prime Natural Radiance
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in shade 52
NARS radiant creamy concealer in Vanilla
RCMA Vincent Kehoe #11 palette
NARS translucent light reflecting setting powder
MAC eye shadow in Ricepaper
Smashbox self adjusting powder foundation in Dark D1-D2
Kat Von D tatto liner in Trooper
Kat Von D immortal lash in Puro Amor
Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz in Taupe
NYX butter gloss in creme brulee

You can view the video here!


Hope you enjoy!

Cheers,
Sara x0