Shows I’ve Been Watching

August 15, 2018
Hi Everyone!

Here are some shows I’ve been watching lately. I think that a lot of shows I’ve watched should’ve been mini series because how many times can things repeat? For example, How to Get Away With Murder, The 100, The Last Ship, etc.

If you read my post on Movies & Shows – Faves of 2017 & Most Anticipated for 2018, you’ll know that I had a list of shows to watch:
- The Crown
- Big Little Lies
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- The Alienist
- Altered Carbon
- Dark
- Travelers
- The Good Doctor
- Tell Me A Story
I have watched 6 of the shows on the list since that last post and I saw the first episode of The Good Doctor; I just haven’t gotten around to finishing the first season.

*This post was updated in April 2020

The Crown – 3 seasons aired

STATUS: RENEWED

I have yet to start the third season starring Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Big Little Lies – 2 seasons aired

STATUS: ENDED

I can see how Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard won all those awards, but I don’t know if I liked this that much. I ended up watching the second season. I liked the first season better.

The Handmaid’s Tale – 3 seasons aired

STATUS: RENEWED

I thought the first season was the best season.

The Alienist – 1 season

STATUS: COMPLETED (A sequel series was ordered and it will be based on the follow-up novel. The first season wrapped everything up because I think they were originally planning only one season).

It was an interesting mini series, but I was expecting more from it.

Altered Carbon – 2 season aired

STATUS: UP IN THE AIR (not renewed, not cancelled yet)

The first season was good, it has an interesting concept. It was renewed for a second season with Anthony Mackie, but I haven’t watched it yet.

Westworld – 3rd season currently airing

STATUS: AIRING

I’m going to be honest, I was a bit confused while watching the second season. I’m going to rewatch it before I see the third season.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – 7th season currently airing

STATUS: RENEWED FOR 8th

I was late to the game. I started watching it when it was on the 5th or 6th season.

12 Monkeys – 4 seasons

STATUS: ENDED

I really like time travel elements in shows and movies. I wish there were more shows that had time travel that are well-executed and have good actors. I wouldn’t say this show has AMAZING acting in it, but it’s one of the few time travel ones that has a good plot and decent acting.

The Bold Type – 4th season currently airing; on a mid-season break

STATUS: RENEWED

I really love this show.

Shows that wrapped up this season:

Quantico – 3 seasons

I think the first season was the best season. The original showrunner was replaced in the third season and it really changed the series. In the first two seasons, there were plots that lasted for the whole season. In the third season, they changed it to episodic plots and then had an arc for the last few episodes. The show was cancelled after they had filmed the end of the season, so you don’t really get closure.

The Originals – 5 seasons

I was disappointed by the 5th season and the series finale. I won’t be watching the spinoff, Legacies.

Shades of Blue – 3 seasons

I didn’t really like the ending of this show.

12 Monkeys – 4 seasons

I enjoyed this show.

Once Upon A Time – 7 seasons

This should’ve ended a while ago, but they definitely should’ve ended the show after the sixth season when most of the main characters left.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – 4 seasons

While I love Tina Fey, both this show and 30 Rock were both not my cup of tea.

Shows that I think should end after next season. As much as I like these shows, they’ve run for too long:
- Criminal Minds – 15 seasons (ended)
- The 100 – 6 seasons aired (7th will be the last, airing soon)
- Agents of SHIELD – 6 seasons aired (7th will be the last)
- How to Get Away with Murder- 6 seasons (ending)
- Arrow- 8 seasons (ended)
- 13 Reasons Why – 3 seasons aired (4th will be the last) – I didn’t watch the 3rd season
Shows I stopped watching:
- Suits – ended after 9 seasons
  - I stopped watching after season 3
- New Girl – ended after 7 seasons
  - I didn’t watch the last two seasons
Shows that are ending this season (2018/2019 season):
- The Big Bang Theory – ending after 12 seasons
- iZombie – ending after 5 seasons
- Jane the Virgin – ending after 5 seasons
- The Last Ship – ending after 5 seasons
- Game of Thrones – ending after 8 seasons
What shows have you been watching?

Love,
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First Impressions with The Ordinary Serum Foundation

February 11, 2018

Hi Everyone!

Like every other beauty enthusiast, I wanted to try The Ordinary’s Foundation, but I waited a bit to read reviews and see which one I’d prefer: Coverage or Serum.Both foundations come in 21 shades. The Serum Foundation is described as a “Lightweight Pigment Suspension System with Moderate Coverage” while the Coverage Foundation is described as a “High-Spreadability Pigment Suspension System with High Coverage.” The foundations come in a plastic bottle with a pump. The pump is matte black which is kind of harder to keep clean than non-matte pumps, but who can complain when it’s less than $10 for the foundation. They also have a glass dropper you can purchase separately if you prefer.

After swatching both, I decided on the Serum Foundation because it’s more lightweight and not as thick. I prefer lightweight foundations especially since my face has been relatively clear recently. I used to prefer medium to full coverage matte foundations, but I think now I prefer sheer to medium coverage with a natural or radiant finish.

Serum Foundation in 2.0N – I decided to get the shade 2.0 N (Light Medium Neutral). Usually for foundations that have different shades for each undertone, I’m either yellow or neutral. I think that neutral suits me better because yellow can sometimes be a bit too yellow. They were sold out of 2.0 N at Hudson’s Bay (they had plenty of stock at the Queen Street location, but, of course they’re sold out of my shade…just my luck). My sister was able to pick it up at the Abnormal Beauty Company store downtown.

Serum Foundations are lightweight medium-coverage formulations available in a comprehensive shade range across 21 shades. These foundations offer moderate coverage that looks natural with a very lightweight serum feel. They are very low in viscosity and are dispensed with the supplied pump.

I apply the foundation after using a sponge or my fingers since it’s so liquid. If you read my First Impressions Review on the Buffet serum, you saw that I applied this on top of the Buffet and it started to pill when I used my fingers. So, if you use Buffet, keep that in mind when applying this foundation- it didn’t pill when I used a sponge.

Wearability

To test the foundation, I didn’t powder my t-zone to see how well it held up. It set to a nice, smooth finish. It started breaking up and getting shiny after the 2nd hour on my chin and around and on my nose. My skin isn’t very oily, so if you do have oily skin, you should definitely powder your t-zone.

Number and Letter Meanings for the Shades

The shades range from very fair to deep: very fair to light (1.0-1.2), light medium to medium (2.0-2.1), medium dark to deep (3.0-3.3). Each shade is followed by a letter to indicate the undertone: Neutral (N), Pink (P), Yellow (Y), Red (R). They also have three shades that have a second letter: Silver (S) indicates silver highlights, and Gold (G) indicates gold highlights. For example NS listed below is Neutral undertones with Silver highlights and YG is Yellow undertones with Gold highlights. The S and G shades “use natural-looking and exceptionally fine dispersions of metallic effect pigments for added highlight,” and the description on The Ordinary’s website says they plan to “introduce individual enhancers and highlighters in the near future to customize all shades.”

Shade Range

	N	P	Y	R	NS	YG
1.0 Very Fair	x	x			x
1.1 Fair	x	x
1.2 Light	x	x	x			x
2.0 Light Medium	x	x				x
2.1 Medium		x	x
3.0 Medium Dark			x	x
3.1 Dark			x	x
3.2 Deep	x			x
3.3 Very Deep	x

RATING: 4/5

I love that it comes in a pump and it’s super affordable. It covered up redness around my nose and chin really well. I think I would prefer a foundation that gives a more luminous finish, but I can always add something to it to give it a pop (check out my beauty hack using the white/silver ‘concealer’ from the Coastal Scents Eclipse Palette). You definitely can’t go wrong with this foundation’s price.

Love,

Let’s go to Mauritius!

December 8, 2016

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t been posting very much in the last month, but we were preparing for our trip to Mauritius where my sister tied the knot at the Hotel Sofitel Mauritius L’Impérial Resort & Spa! My parents and I didn’t stay for very long in Mauritius, but the beaches were absolutely beautiful! As Canadians, we definitely weren’t used to the heat especially since it is summer in Mauritius- even their winter time is warmer than Canadian summers, so you can imagine how hot it was for us. Thus, the reason for our short stay of one week (technically, it was 5 days when you take into account the two full days of travelling there and back).

The Sofitel was paradise, as soon as we walked in, we were blown away (see photos below). They definitely made the right choice in picking the Sofitel for their beach wedding. Especially since they basically chose the venue based on pictures. You know how you look at pictures and then you go somewhere and it’s not what you imagined (in a bad way)? Well, the Sofitel’s pictures did not do it justice; it was even more beautiful in person than the pictures.

For the first half of our trip, we stayed at Le Méridien Ile Maurice (pictures below), which was beautiful as well, but obviously not as breathtaking as the Sofitel (since Le Méridien is a 4-star hotel and Sofitel a 5-star). Regardless, the view of the water was equally breathtaking at both resorts. Each day, we got a buffet breakfast, the danishes and croissants were to die for, as well as the salted butter from Australia. For the three days we had breakfast at Le Méridien, I had the potatoes (which they served differently each day- potato wedges, fried potatoes with onions, sliced potatoes with chives). My parents said that the banana croissants were also tasty. At breakfast, they served oatmeal, omelettes, pancake crepes, congee, fruit, etc. One day, they even served noodles with meatballs (I’m not used to eating breakfast so that was way too heavy for me at 8 in the morning). We decided not to get dinner each night since we didn’t know if we’d be eating out or not. I would highly suggest getting breakfast and dinner included because the buffet was very expensive at dinner time. Since you probably want to be back at your resort before dark, you’ll be back in time for dinner anyway.

It gets very dark in Mauritius- it started getting dark around 7pm and our resort was pitch black by 8pm. Their streets are very different from Canada and they don’t have street lamps, so the only source of light is coming from the car. I’d say it’s best to be back by your resort earlier than later if you have rented your own car.

I didn’t get to tan very much because we arrived a few days before the wedding and I didn’t want to get a sunburn. The day after the wedding, we went on the beach, but it started to get a bit cloudy by the afternoon. I may have gotten a slight tan, but it’s not super noticeable, the most tanned parts of my body are my feet. Don’t forget to slather than sunblock on! I used SPF 110 and SPF 60 (face). Also, make sure to bring insect spray especially if you’re going to the botanical gardens or seven coloured sands! In the travel guide, it says that insect spray is expensive there, so make sure you pack some in your suitcase! We didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, but I brought back about 10 bug bites (all on my legs).

We heard that the lychee jam was delicious, but didn’t have time to try it in Mauritius, so we bought some at the airport and have yet to sample it.

I’m still recovering from the time change, so I will slowly be uploading some pictures and writing more posts on the wedding and our trip, so stay tuned for more!

Love,

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