101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 46->42

YAY I am back from my Fifty Shades vacation! I feel like I have been gone for such a long time but it really hasn't been that long which is weird. I loved Seattle and Portland so much! I also got to meet E L James!! She was so nice! I will make a haul and experience video soon! Check out my YouTube channel for some of my vlogs from my vacation! I got three days posted so far. Here is a sneak peak of one of my many Seattle pictures!

View from Kerry Park

46) Use a shimmer eye shadow to compliment a bold matte lip. 

I always do this! Usually it happens if I have a dark lip going on such as a red or dark purple. I find the shimmery eye shadow adds life into your eyes.

45) To revive curls mid-day, "Take a very small amount of pomade and put it in the palms of your hands. Rub them together. Next gently smooth the pomade over your curls and scrunch just a little bit" - Eugene Davis, celebrity hair stylist

This sounds like an amazing tip to use! I have yet to find the perfect pomade for my hair. Since my hair is so long, my curls can get straight pretty fast. That is why I like to use a curl activating spray before I curl my hair and them spray tons of hairspray afterwards.

44) "Your should always go to a hair-removal specialist, where waxing, laser etc. is their main business - don't go to a nail salon for a wax" - Cindy Barshop, Completely Bare and Bravo's RHONYC

When I get my brows threaded I go to a small salon right by my house. Literally all the do is men's haircuts, waxing and threading. Mostly threading. I use to go to Donato Salon and Spa to get my brows waxed but it was getting way to expensive (around $23). Now I just pay $4 ($5 with tip) to get my brows threaded. BEST DEAL EVER!!!

43) "A little silvery-blue eyeliner on the lower lid is very flirty" - Dimitri James, makeup artist, author and creator of Skinn Cosmetics

I have never tried this before but I do have an eyeliner where I can try this out. I have a feeling it will bring out the white on your eyeballs and illuminate them at the same time.

42) "Use your concealer as a base on your eyelids" - Melissa Silver, Maybelline makeup artist

I see that a lot of makeup artists use this especially if they are a drugstore brand. Since they don't carry eye primers in their line, they will use a concealer. I never tried this tip before because I do got two eye primers. But if I do ever run out, I know what to use then!

American Airlines Rant!!!

For those of you don't know by now. I am still not on my flight to Seattle. I was suppose to be on a flight leaving Toronto at 6:05am to Chicago then transferring to Seattle. But since I am going on passes, it means I am on standby. That means anyone who does buy a ticket will have more priority than me and Shawn do. We basically take the seats that can't be filled on any given flight. All the flights that we planned to take were all filled. So instead of taking that flight we planned, me and Shawn are taking a flight in the afternoon to Dallas then transferring to Seattle. I also found out last night that American Airlines is on a strife right now which means they will be cancelling a lot of their flights. This week alone they have cancelled around 300 of their flights this week and will be cancelling more as the weeks go by. Talk about amazing timing I have for a trip. I really hope I can get there and back safely. Wish us luck!!!

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 51->47

AHHHH!! I can't believe tomorrow is my trip to Seattle!! It seems like yesterday I was just planning this trip! My flight leaves really early tomorrow morning so I need to get up at 3am (my flight leaves at 6:05am). Not looking forward to that but that is why I woke up early today in hopes I will get tired by tonight. I have so much today! I have to paint my nails, wash my hair, pack (this will take a few hours), upload a video, write a blog post (doing it now!) AND watch The X Factor and Glee!!! I hope by the end of this day, I will be passed out in my bed until 3am.

If you want to know what I will be doing in Seattle/Portland, read my blog post about my Fifty Shades of Grey Inspired Vacation.

Now time for some beauty tips!!

51) "I always think that less is more, there's a point where you look in the mirror and say 'Is this too much?' and if you even have that inclination then it usually is." Kim Catrall, Sex and the City

I usually have this problem when I apply my lip colour. I think my makeup looks good with the lip colour but as soon as I put it on, I wipe it off. Sometimes I think I should put on my lip colour first then do the rest of my makeup. Do any of you girls do this?

50) When applying bronzer, "first start by applying it around the perimeter of your face and follow with a light dusting on your forehead, nose and chin" - Mally Roncal, Mally Beauty

I think this tip is if you want a sunkissed bronzed look. I use bronzer to contour my face. However this tip can be used on those days in the summer where you have a really good tan going on. That hardly ever happens to me but one day, I will be tan enough to do this!

49) To get curls when you have straight hair, use the following, "a volumizer or volume thickening agent, a curl enhancing product, light holding finishing spray" Vicktor Stevenson, Hair Stylist

I use two of the products listed! The curl enhancing product I use is Tresemme Thermal Creations Curl Activator Spray (no longer available in Canada). The light holding finishing spray I use is Paul Mitchell ExpressStyle Hot Off The Press. This also acts as a heat protectant.

48) "Foundation should never be heavy" - Aura Schwartz, makeup artist

I totally agree with this. To prevent this from happening, apply your foundation with a damp sponge or a brush. Start off with a small amount. If you need more coverage, apply another thin layer.

47) "The right red [lipstick] will light up your hair, eyes and skin immediately, the wrong one will not." - Poppy Kind, Lipstick Queen

Like I have said before, I am still looking for the perfect red lipstick. I saw in ItsJudyTime videos, that she is wearing a certain red lipstick from L'Oreal and I want to buy it! Her teeth look so white in the video! It is L'Oreal Infallible Le Rouge in Refined Ruby.

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 56->52

Last night I had trouble sleeping because I was getting too excited for my Seattle trip. I was thinking about outfits I should wear and whether or not if I should vlog from the moment I wake up. I think it would be fun since most of my vlogs are of me outside my house. Would you be interested in seeing a vlog from the moment I wake up? I obviously won't be vlogging every bit of my routine but the significant parts. Our flight leaves on Friday morning around 6am so I have to be at the airport by 4am. You will definitely be seeing me at my best.....NOT! I also would like to give a birthday shout out to the hottest bachelor out there....Arie Luyendyk Jr. Who else remembers him from Emily's season of The Bachelorette? He is my fave!!! I would have so taken him into the fantasy suite. He turns 31 today!!! =D

56) Winter can be especially hard on your hair leaving it extra dry. Eugene Davis, celebrity hair stylist suggests using an Avocado Oil Hair Mask.

Even when it's not even winter, I like to put in a leave-in conditioner on my hair. I have a variety of them such as It's A 10 Miracle Leave-In Product, Avon Advance Techniques Dry Ends Serum and Moroccan Oil Treatment.

55) If you don't have nail polish remover, apply clear polish over and then wipe off. It will remove old polish. 

I never tried this trick before but it does sound interesting! I do have a tendency to peel off my nail polish. I know it's a bad habit but it saves me from using too much nail polish remover. Do you do this as well or is it just me?

54) During the summer, wear chapstick or lip gloss with SPF.

Obviously it is important to wear SPF on your lips. Your lips can get sunburned too! I have a chapstick that I got for free in Downtown Toroto and it has an SPF 25. I save this for the summer months! As for lip gloss with SPF, I know ELF Cosmetics has a wide range of lip glosses/ lip balms with SPF for cheap!

53) To add volume to clean or unwashed hair, use a dry shampoo spray. 

Using a dry shampoo is a great alternative to using hairspray when teasing your hair for more volume. The oils by your roots tend to leave the hair weighed down so it's great to have a dry shampoo to absorb the excess oils.

52) Change your beauty routine for Spring/Summer months. Your skin needs less coverage during the spring so you can swap the heavy products for the lighter ones. 

The only thing that changes really for me is the colours. I don't wear foundation so I don't need to worry about switching coverage for my skin. I go for lighter colours in the spring/summer and darker colours for the fall/winter. 

Has this ever happened to you?

For those of you who do follow my Goodreads account, you know that I am currently reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. I got this book quite a long time ago. I think it was anytime between 2008 to 2010. I was in university at the time. I saw the movie and decided it was a good idea to read the book. For the longest time I thought I lost the book because I could not find it anywhere in my huge area of stuff from university. But I finally found it! It was bookmarked with only just 20 pages read. I thought I have read a lot more than that but I guess I didn't. So I started to read it from the beginning again and now I know why I stopped. It was so boring!! I am on about to start Chapter 5 in the novel and I am struggling to stay interested. What do you do when this happens to you?

My copy of the novel

I then thought it would be a good idea for me to look up trailers on YouTube for Revolutionary Road in hopes that it would get me interested. It did a bit but not enough to want me to continue the book. I might have to rent the DVD or download the movie to get me back into it again. I personally think the book was more written for married couples or for an older audience. Maybe that is why it's so difficult for me to keep interested. Also the fact that the book is based in the 1950s...

Here is a synopsis of the novel (taken from Chapters online website):

In the hopeful 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler appear to be a model couple: bright, beautiful, talented, with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank''s job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is about to crumble.With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 61->57

I can't believe in exactly one week from now, I will be on a plane to Seattle! I have planned this trip for over a month now and I cannot wait to be in Seattle!!! AHHHHH!! I will be going for 6 days and will be returning on the 25th. I have already done a lot of prep work for my trip such as getting some travel sized bottles and printing maps and itineraries. I also got a chance to watch The X-Factor Season Premiere last night. I had no idea that I would cry during the episode. It was crazy! Below I have attached the audition that made me cry for a good 5 minutes.

61) Try to avoid washing your hair everyday. Constant shampooing leaves hair dry and your scalp will create more oils to compensate for the loss of moisture.

I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. I wash my hair every other day or sometimes one extra day if my hair is curly/wavy or not oily enough for a hair wash. If my hair ever gets oily on a day where I don't wash my hair, I use a dry shampoo, curl my hair, or put it in a nice high ponytail.

60) Always use a moisturizer with SPF in the morning. Even in the winter!

The current moisturizer I am using does have SPF and I only use it in the mornings. I do have another moisturizer that I use at night that does not have an SPF.

59) "Go for a trim every 6-8 weeks to ensure you have no damaged ends making your hair look unhealthy" - Nick Arrojo, Arrojo Studio

I am terrible at this. I never do this because I don't have the finances to keep doing this. If I knew how to cut my own hair, I would so be doing this!!

58) Remember, clean brushes to fight against potential bacteria and breakouts!

I am assuming they mean make-up brushes? I clean my brushes at least once a month. It's a chore that I do not like to do but it has to be done. I have many make-up brushes so I can last a long time without washing my brushes. I wash my face brushes more often than I clean my eye brushes.

57) Clean out your makeup bag at least once a year to get rid of old products that may be expired or no longer use. 

I do this at the end of winter and the beginning of fall. I am transitioning my colour selection to fit the spring/summer and fall/winter season. This is the best thing for me to do because I know I will be switching things out so I can fit new colours in and see what needs to be thrown out.

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 66->62

In a little over a week, I will be in Seattle!! I am so excited!! I made a list of things I need to get together to get ready for my trip. Tonight I am going to go out with Shawn to get some travel-sized bottles for some of my beauty products and some travel-sized shampoo and conditioner. I hear the weather is cool in Seattle right now so I need to make sure I pack some long sleeved clothing and maybe even a light coat. I really hope it doesn't rain while I am there. I will need to pack my umbrella then.

Now onto the beauty tips!!

66) "Too much bronzer is a nightmare for pale skin" - Jason Ascher, resident beauty expert for Barneys New York. Opt for an illuminating cream or light powder to get a glow.

I would say I have fair to medium skin. When I do use bronzer, I usually use it to contour my fair. I use to use it as an all over glow but then I realized it didn't work out well for my skin tone. So instead I use a beauty powder such as the ones from MAC.

65) Pick a sulfate-free shampoo, as sulfates can be harsh and drying on the hair cuticle. 

Ever since I discovered buying shampoo and conditioner at Winners, I have been using sulfate-free shampoo. It makes my hair feel more hydrated and not as dull as it was before. Drugstores now offer a variety of sulfate-free shampoos so you don't need to to go to the high end salons to find one.

64) If you have greasy hair, avoid directly conditioning roots and condition from your ear down to ends. 

When I am in the shower, I put my conditioner all over my hair. But once I am out of the shower, I put my my leave-in conditioner on the ends of my hair. I find that since I can rinse out the conditioner in the shower, I won't have a problem with getting greasy hair throughout the day.

63) "When you wear a red lip it's important that it stays exactly where you put it. Using a long wearing lip pencil to create the perfect shape and a lip color are key to having a perfect red lip." - Kristofer Buckle, celebrity makeup artist

I find this tip is true for any dark lip colour. With any of my dark lipstick colours, I make sure I have a lip pencil that matches it. Or I would have a nude lip liner that would go with any lip colour.

62) To make volume last all day, avoid running your fingers through hair. "Oil from your hands can weigh down your roots leaving your hair flat at the end of the day" - Tatum Neill, Arrojo Studio

I have a very bad habit of doing this. That only happens when I am having a bad hair day. That is why on bad hair days, I tend to tie up my hair and/or put a headband on. This prevents me from touching my hair throughout the day.

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 71->67

Yay!! The week is almost over!! Tonight is the MTV Video Music Awards?? Who is watching?? I know I am! I watch it every year even though I am 24. I am pretty sure I will keep watching it even when I am a grandma.

Now onto the beauty tips =D

71) The antihistamines in allergy medicine dry out the skin, so skip heavy foundation during allergy season. Instead, use a tinted moisturizer.

I never knew this! I tend to use allergy medication in the late summer and early fall. I can feel it already! My nose running and or my eyes are watering. I will make sure to apply extra moisturizer!

70) To make curls last, make sure hair is completely dry before you begin with the curling iron.

I don't know anyone who would curl their hair when their hair is still wet. I tend to curl my hair on day two hair as compared to do it the day I wash my hair. I find that my curls tend to hold better.

69) To make a zit go away faster, don't pick at it. The bacteria on your fingers will create more redness.

I have such a bad habit of popping pimples!! Even before they start to grow in its full form, I squeeze it! It is a really bad habit of mine. I need to stop!! I wonder if I use hand sanitizer before will make a difference? Probably not.

68) Use an exfoliator to get rid of dead skin but limit yourself to 2-3 times a week so you don't dry out your skin.

I don't exfoiliate my skin as often as I am suppose to. But when I do want to exfoliate my skin, I use my Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream (the rinse-off formula). It works well because it is not too rough on the skin and it has little tiny beads in it that exfoliates yours skin. The beads are quite fine so you can't see it through the cream but you can feel it on your skin.

67) Always wash your makeup before bed. "That morning-after look has never been a good one, for anyone" - Rachel Adler, beauty director Beautyhigh.com

It is very important to do this because leaving makeup on your face can lead to breakouts! I always remove my makeup before going to bed. I do sometimes take naps throughout the day and I sometimes leave my makeup on during those naps. I'm usually not wearing a lot of makeup at that point but I should not be napping with it on! Even if you are really lazy, you can always use a makeup wipe to remove your makeup! Consider leaving a pack of makeup wipes in your bedside table so you don't have to make that long trip to the washroom.

101 Beauty Tips Every Girl Should Know: Tips 76->72

I hope everyone had a relaxing long Labour Day weekend!! I for sure had a relaxing one. I went to the Burlington Ribfest and to a family birthday party. Nothing too crazy! I wanted to share with you my current nails right now that are inspired by Lady Gaga new debut perfume called FAME.

Now onto the beauty tips!!

76) Sunscreens that claim to provide "all-day protection" and "water resistance" are not reliable; don't be fooled by these claims and reapply all sunscreens at least every two to three hours.

I always reapply my body sunscreen every few hours. I mostly do this if I know I will be spending the entire day outside like if I were at the pool or the beach. As for my face, my moisturizer does have SPF in it but I do reapply face sunscreen throughout the day using my Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral Powder with SPF 45. I even sometimes put this on my body if I don't want to feel greasy with sunscreen lotion.

75) When self-tanning, use a tanner with a guide color. "It will give you instant color before the effect and it will show you exactly where you put the color and where you may have missed" - Sinead Norenius, Founder of Beautisol

I personally do not self tan but I can imagine that it would be easier to have a guide colour so you can see where you have applied the tanner. No one likes a streaky tan! I have seen it on girls before....not a good look.

74) "If you're afraid of red lipstick, I love putting it on and then blotting it off to wear it as more of a stain." - Pat McGrath, makeup artist

I definitely do this during the daytime when I don't want really red lips. I sometimes even just tap the lipstick on to my lips instead of swiping it across my lips like I normally would.

73) For the summer months, you don't want to be caked down in foundation so try a tinted moisturizer instead.

I normally don't wear foundation but when I do need extra coverage I do use a tinted moisturizer. My favourite one is the Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15. I wear this in Shade 1. They currently have this product now with SPF 20. I also find that BB creams would also be another great alternative to regular foundation. It has many more benefits than a tinted moisturizer and will combat any oiliness that you might have throughout the day.

72) Use blotting papers to manage oil and shine in your T-Zone "which are also great for cleaning up around the eyes" - Rebecca Restrepo, makeup artist

I always carry blotting papers with my in my purse. I am currently using the Nurturing Force blotting papers that I got at IMATS. I love them because you can take as little or as much as you want, depending on the amount of oil you have on your face. I have them in Aromatic Rose. The blotting papers are coloured the same way as the packaging which is really cute in my opinion!