Love Letters and Lace

Note: I received these items complimentary from Influenster and BITE Beauty for review purposes. As always, all opinions are 100% honest and my own!  Okay, real talk for a second. Lip pencils have never been my go-to makeup item. I've tried so hard to get into using lip pencils, but I really couldn't. Either they were too stiff and dragged on my lips, or I just found they didn't last and did nothing. So I was definitely intrigued to try out BITE Beauty's Lip Pencils. Could this be the product I've been looking for? I've heard such amazing things about their Amuse Bouche lipsticks, so I had high hopes that I would find similar quality in these pencils. From the first initial swatch of these, there's one thing I noticed that I've never experienced with any other lip pencils: these things are damn creamy. They apply so smoothly, it's essentially like they've repackaged a creamy lipstick into a pencil format. This does unfortunately mean tha

It's time for another empties roundup! I haven't used up too many products in the past little while, so I may start doing these posts on a quarterly basis, however I do have a TON of samples I need to test out, so let me know if you'd like to see me do a big review of samples I try! Lets get into it! Rimmel 'Stay Matte' Pressed Powder : It took me ages to get through this powder, but I can honestly say its one of the best I've ever used. It's super afforable and keeps your makeup matte and in place all day. Too Faced 'Better Than Sex' Mascara : It seems I always have one of these in my empties posts, likely because it's my holy grail mascara. I've done a full review on this mascara in the past, you can read that here , but in brief, it lengthens, volumizes, and makes my lashes look unlike anything any other mascara can do. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara: I have a full review of this mascara on my blog as well, which you can re

Too Faced 'Sweet Peach' Palette I initially wasn't going to review this palette since it's been out for a while now and everyone and their grandma has it and has reviewed it, but after seeing how much love I've gotten on my pictures of it on Instagram , I figured it would be worth a mention. I lusted after this palette from it's initial release last year, but I wasn't able to snag it, something I regretted for a loooong time. So you can imagine how excited I was when Too Faced brought it back. I was giddy like a little kid on Christmas morning. I picked it up on Boxing Day and I've been using it in every single eye look I've done since then, no exaggeration. I know the hype around this palette has been immense, but I think it's with good reason. Besides the fact that it's super pretty and smells like peach candy, the shadows are very pigmented, smooth and blend fantastically. What I really love about this palette is that (when I

I normally know exactly how I feel about a book once I've read it; either I like it or I don't. This book however has left me so conflicted. I could not stop reading it, but it was also so dark, bleak and at times disturbing that I didn't want to be. The story is of a girl named Anna, who descibes herself as living in a soap bubble. She encounters and begins to get to know a boy at her school named Abel, known as the "Polish Peddler", since he sells drugs. Besides being a drug dealer, he is also the older brother of a little girl named Micha, to whom he is a parental figure and a story teller. The big fairy tale that he tells Micha (and Anna) throughout the book parallels the real life happenings in their lives. The themes of the book are similar to the setting in which the story takes place: cold, dark, almost uncomfortable. Almost excessively so. The characters themselves, in my opinion, are quite ambiguous, in the sense that you can't even really tel

Hi everyone!  I know I've been gone for a while, I promise I haven't forgotten about this blog! I'm amidst my final exams at the moment so I'm focusing hard on that! However I just wanted to just quickly share this video because I thought it was amazing. I love Kristen Bell and she is definitely one of my role models. It is so important to have an open dialogue about mental illness. There is no shame in feeling these feelings and you should not feel afraid to seek help. I think it's so important to have these kind of talks with your children and let them understand that it's completely okay to get help and not to be afraid of that. I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! xo

It makes me sad when I hear people disregarding taking for granted hating or wanting to change their bodies Don't you see how beautiful you are? What a miracle you are? All these cells combining to form tissues, combining to form organs, working together in systems All so seamlessly and tirelessly How your brain is capable of such creative and inspiring things How your heart continues to beat, even while you sleep even when you run so hard you think it might leap out of your chest even when you're so broken hearted, you feel as though the pieces will never fit together again Do you not see your uniqueness How not one individual is exactly like you Those stretch marks Those freckles Those scars and bruises and little hairs Those things you despise so much Are just some of the things that make you, you You probably don't know How your eyes sparkle when you smile And that your smile is so warm and inviting Or that your laughter contagious An

Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a bit of an obsession. I kind of have a huge love for pugs. While I'm a huge dog lover and any dog really would make me incredibly happy, I do have a bit of a soft spot for Pugs. So today I thought my weekly Pinterest picks would reflect my love for them and hopefully any fellow Pug lovers amongst you all will enjoy! Follow me on Pinterest here

Hey everyone! So this will be a very quick little post since I desperately need to get back to studying but I'm starting to feel more in that warm fuzzy Holiday mood and I thought I'd share a few of the things that make me happy this time of year when I'm feeling down. I'm honestly so grateful for how amazing my friends are to me. Even though it's pretty much the busiest time of year for us all, they still manage to be there for me when I need them most and I appreciate it beyond belief. It makes everything so much better when I'm feeling down. On a less serious note, here are the other things making my down days a bit better; Sweet hot chocolate with a mountain of marshmallows Candy canes! Wrapping gifts with music on in the background How pretty the twinkling lights of the tree are when its dark The gorgeous Christmas displays in the windows of stores Warm blankets fresh out of the dryer Someone holding you when you don't fe

  Hello there! Welcome to the beginning of a brand new month and also the first day of Blogmas! No better way to start a new month than to share what I loved throughout last month! I haven't done a favourites post is quite a while and there was a lot of new products I tried (and loved) during the month of November! So here we go.... 1) Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Copenhagen' Anyone who knows me knows I've been on the hunt for the perfect autumnal dark red lip colour. Seriously, I think I own about 8 wine-coloured lipsticks that I bought, tried a few times and liked, but ultimately were not exactly what I was looking for. Well I can finally say that I've found it. The perfect dark wine/berry lip. I also totally adore Nyx's Soft Matte Lip Cream formulations (seriously, if you haven't tried them, definitely pick one up! They have tons of different colours and they're incredible) 2) Benefit Erase Paste An oldie but I goodie. I used to be in lo

Oh yes! It's getting close to that time of year again! The holidays are truly one of my favourite times of the year. Yes, I may be one of those people who start listening to Christmas music in November and plan out my holiday shopping/decorating/baking weeks in advance. And yes, my family is the kind who put up their Christmas tree on December 1st. For all of you who aren't quite in the holiday spirit yet (and those of you like me who are TOTALLY in the holiday spirit) I thought I'd share a collection of photos that just might get you a bit more in the mood to get excited about the holidays!! Are you excited for the holidays? Tell me about it in the comments! xo

Every couple has a Honeymoon phase. You know what I'm talking about. When you first start dating and everything is perfect. You love everything about your significant other. They don't have flaws, simply little quirks you can live with and can even find cute. Everything is smiles and happiness and kisses. You want to spend every minute with them and just a few hours without them feels like a lifetime. Just thinking about them makes your heart race. You don't get mad or annoyed or sad with anything they do. Everything is just sunshine and roses. Evidently, this phase does not last forever. Some couples have a longer honeymoon phase than others, but eventually the glorious light in which you see your significant other dims a bit. I don't mean this in a bad way at all. What I'm saying is this: eventually, not everything they do will be "cute" to you. Some things they do will annoy you. You will argue. The excitement of this new relationship has worn off.

Hey everyone, I was thinking a lot about this today and I felt like I needed to write a bit about it. This may be an unpopular opinion of mine, or maybe many people agree with me and I've just never heard their side of the argument. But today, I wanted to talk about that ever so popular saying/belief/whatever that you must love yourself before you can love anyone else. And I want to talk about what I think this is complete bullshit. Keep in mind that this is my own opinion, and perhaps I'm totally misinterpreting it. As a young woman in the 21st century, I think I speak for many others when I say that truly loving yourself is not as easy as it sounds. We are so hell bent on believing that we are flawed, chasing this idea of what is "perfect" that we are never completely satisfied without ourselves. I think it would be very rare to find someone who can genuinely tell you that they love who they are 100%. I, like many others, are working every day to begin to love

I made a post like this a few days ago about the best things about being single. But of course, as a girl in a relationship myself, I had to make a post like this for those of you who are in a relationship. Cause it is pretty awesome. 1) You always have a cuddle buddy How great is it to always have someone to cuddle up with on the couch with a nice cozy blanket and a movie? Or someone to cuddle in bed with at night. Yeah, its pretty great. Especially now that its starting to get chilly out, I really do appreciate my boyfriend letting me be a heat leech. Warm winter cuddles > everything. 2) Having someone you can tell everything to There are some things you just can't tell to your friends. Your significant other is that person you can tell everything to, good or bad, and will always love you in the end. They know you better than you know yourself and you love them for it. 3) Someone to come home to after a long day After a long stressful day at work, school or wherever

This will be kind of a different kind of post. When I imagined creating a blog, I imagined it as a space where I could share whatever I was interested or felt like talking about. A mix between a scrapbook and a diary of sorts. And while thus far the majority of my posts have been more broad and general; recipes, fashion and advice, this one is going to be a bit more personal. If that's not something you're into reading, feel free to skip over this and come back soon (I'll be posting some recipes and more weekly Pinterest picks soon!). A teacher of mine mentioned something last week that stuck to me for the past few days and I really wanted to write about it, to maybe just gather my thoughts. She mentioned how a nurse working on the floor I'm currently doing my clinical in had said that she prefers working with men. Why? Because if you get in an argument with a man, you'll argue and then everything will go back to normal. There's that tense moment where you h

1. Mutual Trust This one is huge. You both trust each other no matter what. Now this doesn't mean you go in blindly trusting their every word and believe they can do no wrong. It means you've earned each others trust and respect each other enough not to mess with that. 2. You communicate This one is also very important. Nowadays we talk a lot, but communicating is different. You don't need to be constantly talking 24/7. But when it comes to important things, it's discussed. When one of you is upset, unsure, anxious, worried, etc. about something, especially if its something about your relationship, you let them know. You discuss it with maturity. This is always something you can work on because a relationship with good communication is a happier relationship. No one is a mind reader. 3. You support each other You support each others dreams and hobbies. You help them out when you're needed and cheer from the sidelines when you're not. You listen to them

As someone who suffers from anxiety and is currently in a long term relationship, I can tell you that it can be difficult at times. We have good days and bad days, our bad days just tend to be a bit worse than others'. I'm incredibly fortunate to have someone who is so supportive and makes me feel safe and loved in times when I feel anything but that. I also know what it's like to be on the other end of this dynamic; how to be there and support someone who is feeling anxious and vulnerable. So if you're dating someone who is dealing with anxiety, here are a few tips that I've found really important to remember and will ultimately bring your relationship closer. 1) Reassurance I often worry that my anxiety will become a hindrance to my relationship, and may become a source of resentment. But a little reassurance can go a long way. "I'm here for you", "I love you no matter what", "I care about you and want to help you feel better.

Before going on vacation this summer I decided that instead of painting my nails at home, I'd treat myself to a Shellac manicure at a salon. I've never had a Shellac manicure done before, so I guess you could say that I'm behind in the times, but I finally got around to it and I honestly fell in love. So is it worth it? If you ask me, I'd say yes. It's not without downsides, but I think that the pro's grossly outweigh the con's. My nails tend to break very easily, even when I coat them with hardener, so I usually keep them somewhat short. With the shellac, my nails were so strong, and as promised, 2 weeks later and not a single chip or scratch in the polish. My nails grew out beautifully and I was so so sad to have to remove it. I would have definitely gotten more reapplied, however I can't have anything on my nails during the semester (the joys of clinicals!) Basically, it makes your nails stonger, grow out nicer, the colour looks stunning (an

Anxiety has affected my life in so many ways. I'm still learning to live with it, but it's not always easy. Especially when you're in a relationship. As much as I wish it didn't, and it could always be sunshine and happiness all day long, my anxiety has definitely affected my relationship with my boyfriend. I'm incredibly lucky that he is so patient and supportive, but I also worry that one day he'll get tired of putting up with me; is it possible to have anxiety about your anxiety? I guess it is. I think that's the thing a lot of people don't realize about anxiety disorders. It's not cute; it's not feeling shy and nervous once in a while, its not blushing and giggling and looking at your feet when someone talks to you. Its crippling fear, or just a constant nag in your head just constantly putting you on edge, upsetting you, scaring you. And it affects every aspect of your life, even those that make you happy. As horrible as I probably ju

In case anyone needed a little cheering up today... you're welcome! We're babysitting this little princess for a few weeks and I'm so in love. xo

                      I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately pinning tons of amazing summer fashion (and trying to resist heading straight to the mall to buy it all!). I thought I would share some of the stuff I've been loving lately and hopefully give some of you some ideas if you're looking for some inspiration to update your summer wardrobe. (You can follow me here on Pinterest to stay updated with the stuff I'm loving!)     Stripes, bold colours and aztec pattens have been so huge for me this summer. I'm also loving anything flowy; be it skirts, dresses or loose shorts. Feel free to look at My Dream Closet Pinterest board for more inspiration! Besides, though it might seems a bit late in the game for Summer fashion, right now is probably the best time to shop for summer clothes (hello, summer clearance sales, anyone??) What have you been loving in fashion this summer? Let me kno