I recently bought some false lashes from Holika Holika (a Korean beauty store). I have to say that getting natural ones made such a big difference! I bought ones at Forever21 and the bands weren’t flexible and the lashes looked unnatural. The ones I got this time were great- although you couldn’t tell a huge difference with them on, it added volume and a little bit of length to my lashes. In pictures, it was hardly noticeable, but in person, you could tell it added a bit of length if you compare one side with no lashes. Here’s a picture of what they look like in the packaging:
They were $4 and I figured that a Korean store would have lashes that would look better with Asian eyes because I don’t want the super long ones that look fake, but I just want to add a bit of length and volume, which these did. The band size of these lashes were so much more comfortable than the other ones. I think I would prefer the individual lashes or the accent lashes (where you put them at the outer edge of your eye) because I felt the band poking me in the eye even after I cut them to size. I think I will have to cut them a little more so that it doesn’t do this. I have the Shu Uemura lash adhesive from my sister.
So, there is my updated review on false lashes. It’s best to get the lashes that are more suited for your natural lashes. If you’re going for a natural look, the wispy ones are good, but if you’re going for a glam look, then you can get the super long ones to add length to your lashes. I have to say my opinion has greatly changed with the new set of lashes, and although I wouldn’t do it everyday like some people, I would consider getting false lashes for special occasions.
Update: April 21, 2017
Like I said above, the Holika Holika ones don’t really add anything to my lashes. My lashes are full, but not long. So the natural ones pictured above would be good if you want a natural look and have sparse lashes. I’ve tried the Ardell lashes, I went with the Natural Multipack 110 (4 sets). I think if I bought new ones, I’d get the accent ones or one of the glamour styles instead of the natural ones.
RATING: 4/5
I give it a 4/5 because they are super natural and flexible, but they didn’t add any length to my lashes. They’d be good for anyone whose lashes are sparse (mine are fairly full, so I need length more than volume).
I just splurged and bought a Chi hair straightener from The Bay, I got the hot pink 1 inch Tourmaline Ceramic hair straightener. I don’t love hot pink, but it was a better price than the Chi Air from Shoppers, which is about $119. From the picture on The Bay’s website, it looks like there is a display and buttons on the side, but it does not have either and I also did not receive the Silk Keratin Infusion like it said, but oh well. It looks like the Chi Original, the on/off button is on the inside and has an LED light. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a lock, but that’s okay because I can just put something around it for when I store it. I just quickly tested it out and OMG, it goes through my hair so smoothly…something that my Toni and Guy straightener does not do. The Toni and Guy one straightens smoothly but when I’m flipping the iron to curl my hair, it just doesn’t run as smoothly as the Chi. I was a little disappointed to find that it didn’t have a display or temperature controls…but I guess it’s what I get for the price I paid. The Chi straighteners with displays and temperature controls are more expensive than $99 CAD. I have no complaints so far- I’ve only used it for about five minutes to test out how well it curls and straightens my hair. I’ll keep you guys updated on any complaints/cons about the iron if they come up.
The Toni and Guy ionic hair straightener I have is from Shoppers. It has a display and you can adjust the temperature and the ion levels. I’m not really sure what adjusting the ionic levels does, and I never really cared to look it up, but there are three levels. The straightener can also be locked and has an LED display. What always drives me crazy for this straightener is the fact that the buttons are on the top and when I’m curling my hair, my hand is always adjusting the temperature and ion level as I spin the iron. This is one of the reasons I wanted to get a new one with controls on the side or the inside.
RATING: 3/5
I give it a 3/5 because it doesn’t have a lock to keep it closed and you can’t adjust the temperature. But I like that it’s super smooth and my hair doesn’t get caught on the plates or edges. I would definitely purchase a different CHI straightener that has all the features I want: lock and buttons to adjust temperature.
Originally, I bought an Infiniti Premier Conair 1 inch wet to dry straightener. It was $49 at Shoppers, I tested it out, but didn’t like it. It has dial on the side to adjust the temperature which was a plus. The smell of the plates was terrible and the top plate had a dip in it that tugged at my hair. It straightened okay, but the smell was too much for me. So I will be returning this one…next time I know to splurge instead of save on hair straighteners.
It’s almost prom season! Most ladies will probably be looking for their prom dresses or have already found one. It’s been a number of years since my prom, but I’d like to share my experience at prom. I wish I could say that I danced the night away, but it’s not like the movies or tv shows you watch. Especially since Canadian proms are different from American ones- we don’t have a prom court where we vote for Prom King and Queen. Maybe other schools in Canada do, but ours didn’t.
Prom is a rite of passage for finishing high school, so even if I don’t sound like I enjoyed it, I had fun with my friends and got to dress up. It may not seem like it, but prom is expensive. You spend hundreds of dollars for one night. Now, I know what you’re thinking…a wedding is the same, you spend thousands of dollars for one night too, but at least at your wedding, you’re the centre of attention. At prom, you just get mixed in with the rest of your classmates. For my prom, I think I spent about $500-700…or rather, my parents spent $500-700. Thanks mom and dad! I’m sure other people spent a lot more. Some people spend that much on their dress. The following is a list of costs that I racked up for my prom:
Category
Cost
Dress
$380
Shoes
$30
Accessories
$30
Hair and makeup
$0
Mani/pedi
$15
Prom ticket
$100
Limo
$45
Total
$600
I bought my dress from BCBG MaxAzria. I had a hard time finding shoes. I wanted silver ones. I would’ve spent more if I could find a pair that I liked, but I found an okay pair for $30. I already owned the earrings I wore, but I bought a silver clutch. I did my own hair and did eye makeup with some concealer (this was before I used foundation). The limousine was $45 per person with a group of 14. Our school held an after party on a boat. I didn’t attend and I can’t remember how much it was (maybe $20-50). My date chose not to wear a jacket, so I didn’t get a boutonniere for him. He let me order the corsage (for which he paid me back, that cost about $12-15) so I could choose what I wanted.
The Dress
The search for the prom dress took a while, I dragged my mom to multiple stores for two months. Originally I got a black tulle strapless dress from Mendocino, but it was a bit loose and I was afraid it would fall down. Also, after some thinking, it wasn’t really my style. I think I started getting desperate and settled for it. I ended up returning it.
We even went to a bridal store and considered getting a custom one, but by the time I started looking, there wouldn’t have been enough time to order one. So we went everywhere else. I first saw the one at BCBG and I liked it, but wasn’t absolutely in love with it, so we kept looking. After a few weeks, we couldn’t find anything and it was cutting closer to prom, so we went back to BCBG and I bought the dress.
In the past few years, it’s become more popular for girls to choose long dresses. For our prom, more of the ladies opted for short/tea length dresses. Only a handful had long ones. I used to think I was too petite for long dresses and they’d make me look shorter. Now I love maxi dresses, especially after wearing a long bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding (check it out here!). You just need to know how to accessorize and flatter your shape.
I wish I accessorized with a necklace. Since my dress was strapless, my shoulders and neck were pretty bare. The selfie below is from when I recreated my makeup look. Surprisingly, I didn’t take any full-length solo shots at prom. The selfie is a better quality than cropping a pic with my friends.
Back when I was in high school, promposals weren’t a huge thing like they are today. Originally I was going to just go with my group of friends, but it seemed like most of them were getting prom dates. Plus, I thought it’d be nice to have a prom date anyway, so I asked a fellow classmate. I asked him on MSN- I’ve always been more outgoing when communicating with people online. I tend to open up more to people because I’m more of a writer than a talker. Plus, I was shy and didn’t know if I would get rejected or not. I remember I was talking to my friend and asked if I should ask him or not…she said to go for it, so I did. Either way, I would’ve been going with my friends, so it didn’t really matter if he said no. One day during English class, my classmates and I were chatting about prom and I found out that my prospective date wasn’t planning to go to prom. Later that day, I asked him if he would go to prom with me. I told him that I understand if he didn’t want to go. It was close to the day and he’d be shelling out $100 for a ticket and other expenses. To my surprise, he said yes! My closest friends knew I invited him and when we got to prom, I think some people were kind of surprised that we showed up together. We weren’t in the same friend group and we were probably only seen talking about schoolwork by our classmates. We had multiple classes together and we would chat on MSN.
The Day
On prom day, my friends and I went to get manicures and pedicures. I’m very ticklish, so I just got a manicure. I’ve always had the fear that I would be getting a pedicure and accidentally kick the lady in the face from being too ticklish.
Everyone came to my house to get ready together and take pictures. I don’t have a pool like most prom pictures include, but we took pictures on my front lawn and porch which was good enough for us. My friends plus dates were a group of 9. I think it was an awkward number to have, we either had too many for a smaller one or not enough for a bigger one. So we asked another group of friends who lived close by to share a limo with us.
Our prom was at the Design Exchange– it was really nice and the food was okay (chicken, potatoes and veggies). I think I was the only one to finish my plate- I was hungry after the hair and makeup prep. We didn’t really dance that much at our prom, but we mingled with other friends and took lots of pictures. We got the professional prom date picture that everyone takes.
After Party
The school rented a boat for our after party. A lot of people went to the after party, but two of my friends and I decided not to attend. We had a sleepover instead. We watched some movies and played games. I think we had more fun than if we had gone to the after party. Some of my friends went. I remember they quickly got changed and rushed over to get to the dock on time. Parties aren’t my thing and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the water with a bunch of drunk classmates.
It wasn’t like proms you see in movies like She’s All That and Never Been Kissed (lol those are really old references) but I still enjoyed myself because I was with my friends. So if you’re on the fence about going, I think it’s something that everyone should experience, even if it’s not what you expect!
Did you go to your prom? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Love
The Day
On prom day, my friends and I went to get manicures and pedicures. I’m very ticklish, so I just got a manicure. I’ve always had the fear that I would be getting a pedicure and accidentally kick the lady in the face from being too ticklish.
Everyone came to my house to get ready together and take pictures. I don’t have a pool like most prom pictures include, but we took pictures on my front lawn and porch which was good enough for us. My friends plus dates were a group of 9. I think it was an awkward number to have, we either had too many for a smaller one or not enough for a bigger one. So we asked another group of friends who lived close by to share a limo with us.
Our prom was at the Design Exchange– it was really nice and the food was okay (chicken, potatoes and veggies). I think I was the only one to finish my plate- I was hungry after the hair and makeup prep. We didn’t really dance that much at our prom, but we mingled with other friends and took lots of pictures. We got the professional prom date picture that everyone takes.
After Party
The school rented a boat for our after party. A lot of people went to the after party, but two of my friends and I decided not to attend. We had a sleepover instead. We watched some movies and played games. I think we had more fun than if we had gone to the after party. Some of my friends went. I remember they quickly got changed and rushed over to get to the dock on time. Parties aren’t my thing and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of the water with a bunch of drunk classmates.
It wasn’t like proms you see in movies like She’s All That and Never Been Kissed (lol those are really old references) but I still enjoyed myself because I was with my friends. So if you’re on the fence about going, I think it’s something that everyone should experience, even if it’s not what you expect!
Did you go to your prom? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Back in January, after my older sister got engaged, I started looking on Pinterest and websites for bridesmaid dresses. I say ‘started’ even though I probably had tons of dresses pinned already. I mean I started to seriously browse the dresses now. I probably looked at each site about 10 times, hoping I might find a dress I had overlooked. I think I scrolled through thousands of dresses. Since I am the only bridesmaid (Maid of Honour) for the wedding, my sister let me choose whatever dress I wanted in whatever style and colour. Obviously, I asked her what she liked when I tried the dresses on, but we have very similar styles. I knew I wanted a blue dress (I was thinking of a cobalt blue since baby blue would wash me out and dark would be too hot in the sun). The wedding is a destination beach wedding in Mauritius, so I wanted something flirty, flowy and breathable – chiffon. In the back of my mind, I was sort of looking for other dresses that would work for the reception we would have in Toronto. Since the wedding is in Mauritius in the summer time and then the reception in Toronto would be in the winter, I considered getting two dresses because a summery, bright blue dress would look out of place during the winter. I looked at dresses by Vera Wang, Alfred Angelo, Watters, Bill Levkoff, Hayley Paige, Bari Jay, etc.
I absolutely loved some dresses in the pictures online, but sometimes it doesn’t look as good in person as it does in the picture. We went to a local bridal shop to search for dresses. I didn’t think it would be so quick, but since I had been looking for a few months by that time and knew what style I wanted, it was easy to find dresses we both liked. I tried on about 7 dresses at the store and we took pictures to show our parents. I also sent the pics to my friends to get their opinions, but I think we had already chosen which ones we liked. Of course, the sample dresses they had were sizes 10 or bigger, so hopefully the dresses fit well because the consultant has to estimate your size based on your measurements. There’s tons of time between now and the wedding, but I figured it’s better to get it now just in case adjustments need to be made or we need to re-order for whatever reason.
Originally, I hadn’t considered getting a full length dress because I’m petite and the fact that it would be hot in Mauritius. I tried on a dress that my sister suggested and we both really liked it. The plum-purple dress pictured above was one of the styles I saw online. They only had the full length version, so I tried it to see if I liked it.
I ended up choosing the full length dress that my sis chose for the wedding and a short tea length dress for the Toronto reception. I know what you’re thinking…it would make more sense to wear the long one here and the short one there, but the neckline of the long one is more summery and it’s lightweight. It works out anyway because my grandma and aunts liked the short dress better than the long one and they won’t be able to attend the wedding in Mauritius.
Full length After Six chiffon dress with a mock halter neckline in sapphire (style 6704)
Tea-length Alfred Angelo chiffon V-neck dress in viola (style 7359S)
The colours of the dresses on the websites don’t accurately represent what they look like in person- they’re much more vibrant in person.
If you’re a bridesmaid, don’t forget about the price for alterations (if needed) on top of the dress price. The After Six dress was about $300 and the Alfred Angelo was about $225. It was less than $100 for both dresses to be altered. I only got the length adjusted on the full length dress and I got the straps adjusted on the tea-length one because it was a bit low for me.
Don’t forget to have the right undergarments! I bought a bustier which was almost $200 and some seamless underwear ($20-30). Luckily, you can wear those again, so they’re an investment. I bought a bustier because I was worried a strapless bra would keep slipping and I also noticed a bit of a tummy when I was wearing the full-length dress. Since I was concerned about the bra situation, I decided to get a bustier to solve both problems – stays in place and sucks in the tummy. I bought an off-white bustier from a local boutique and I bought some Knixwear seamless underwear (read my review) so I didn’t get any visible panty lines!
UPDATE FROM AFTER THE WEDDING: in Mauritius, I think they tend to wear full-length dresses at weddings. My brother-in-law’s sisters and mom were wearing full-length dresses.
If you want an easy dinner that you can just throw in the oven, this is a great recipe. It’s simple, you only need five ingredients:
store-bought chicken
focaccia bread or any bread that’s crusty (we use ACE focaccia, and we’ve tried ciabatta, but focaccia is the best)
mozzarella cheese
parmesan cheese
Classico basil pesto
Cut the focaccia into pieces, our focaccia is fairly thick so we cut it horizontally like a sandwich into three pieces (depending on how crusty or soft you like it, you can cut it thick or thin). Shred the chicken and mix with the pesto and parmesan cheese. Spread the chicken and pesto mixture evenly onto the bread and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350ºF for about 7-10 minutes until the cheese is melted (if you like the bread soft, take it out earlier- as soon as the cheese melts).
I just splurged and bought a Chi hair straightener from The Bay, I got the hot pink 1 inch Tourmaline Ceramic hair straightener. I don’t love hot pink, but it was a better price than the Chi Air from Shoppers, which is about $119. From the picture on The Bay’s website, it looks like there is a display and buttons on the side, but it does not have either and I also did not receive the Silk Keratin Infusion like it said, but oh well. It looks like the Chi Original, the on/off button is on the inside and has an LED light. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a lock, but that’s okay because I can just put something around it for when I store it. I just quickly tested it out and OMG, it goes through my hair so smoothly…something that my Toni and Guy straightener does not do. The Toni and Guy one straightens smoothly but when I’m flipping the iron to curl my hair, it just doesn’t run as smoothly as the Chi. I was a little disappointed to find that it didn’t have a display or temperature controls…but I guess it’s what I get for the price I paid. The Chi straighteners with displays and temperature controls are more expensive than $99 CAD. I have no complaints so far- I’ve only used it for about five minutes to test out how well it curls and straightens my hair. I’ll keep you guys updated on any complaints/cons about the iron if they come up.
