Makeup Review: Sugarpill Cosmetics

SUGARPILL COSMETICS

5/5 STARS

WOW!

This stuff is amazing. Seriously.

I heard through word of mouth about how amazing this product is, and I can tell you right now, it truly lives up to the hype! Sugarpill Cosmetics is a company that sells their products online only, but don't let that sway your opinion. I'll take you through my experience with them from start to finish:

1. Online ordering: Sugarpill's website is very user friendly, simple, but most importantly, eye-catching and colourful. I ordered their new "Heart Breaker Palette", as well as their "Burning Heart Palette", "Tako" pressed eyeshadow single. Their products were extremely reasonably priced, on par or even slightly cheaper than comparable products at Sephora, etc. On orders larger than 75$, you also get free shipping!

2. My order arrived approximately 5-6 business days later. Inside the box was an explosion of pink tissue paper, my order form, hand-signed in pink, "Thanks, Christine!" (seriously - what a brilliant touch that added so much humanity to my purchase!) and the packaging.....OH THE PACKAGING!!! (see above left photo for details) the boxes that the eyeshadows came in were works of art. You also receive a FREE wicked sparkly logo sticker, a business card (also a work of art) and a black loose shadow sample. Free stuff always gains points with me!

3. In my above right picture, the colours in these boxes may remind you of a clown, which can ward people off. I assure you: these are the brightest, most highly pigmented and flattering colours I've yet to find out there. Even the orange, "Flamepoint" looks great on my pale skin!

Blendability: 4/5 - and honestly, it's probably actually a 5, my blending skills are fairly novice.
Colour: 5/5 - obviously. highly pigmented, very bright on skin.
Texture: 5/5 - not too powdery, packs on well, easy to spread, doesn't crease.
Staying Power: 5/5 - never fades!

*it should also be noted: a little goes a long way, this product will last a long time!

If I had anything that I could change, any criticise to give, it would be that I wish the yellow, "Buttercupcake" was slightly more yellow and a little less orange (I can beef up the intensity if I mix it with a bit of MAC's "Chrome Yellow" shadow) but now I'm just splitting hairs.

Check out my first experiements using the Sugarpill shadows, and see for yourself!

Shadows used: "Tako" (white), "Mochi" (light teal) and "Velocity" (bright blue)

Shadow Used: "Love +" (red)

(Sorry for the poor quality lighting/photography, it's the only shot of this look I have!)

Shadows used: "Poison Plum" (dark purple) "2am" (medium purple/pink) "Flamepoint" (orange) "Love +" (red) "Buttercupcake" (yellow) "Acidberry" (lime) "Velocity" (bright blue)

Would I recommend this brand? Abso-freaking-lutely. Even if you are more of a subtle makeup person, you can blend the colours in with neutrals for the slightest wash of colour.They are so amazing, I already placed and received my second order, for their outrageous false lashes (pictured above, style is called "Supreme") In my opinion, they are a MUST HAVE!

http://www.sugarpillshop.com/

Sweet Dealz: Subway/Canada's Wonderland

Sometimes, the best deals are just put right into your hand. Literally.

I've been casually scoping out cheap tickets to Canada's Wonderland for about a week, and suddenly it was presented to me in the form of a large Diet Coke at Subway. Check out the cup:

Guess I don't have to look any further!

Not only do you get 12$ off the price of your own admission (for the price of a large Diet Coke - which is approximately $1.85 from Subway) but you can bring up to 5 OTHER PEOPLE who will also receive the 12$ discount on your cup.

That is a collective discount of $72.00 for the price of $1.85!!!!!!!!

So, if you haven't made it out to Toronto's favourite theme park this year (I prefer the cooler days, shorter lines, and minimal crying children in September myself) you can still do it and save mega bucks!

Workout: Zombies, Run!

ZOMBIES, RUN!

3/5 STARS

When I first heard about this app you could get for your phone, I was TOTALLY entertained and enthused to try it. I have an upcoming race on September 22nd called, "Run For Your Lives", which is a 5k obstacle course, that includes "zombies" who chase you and can "damage your health" along the way. The run is fully explained in detail on their website (posted below) and I'll have a mammoth post coming for it in a few weeks. Back to this app:

The details:
-This app, which can be downloaded for IPhone (what I use), Android, and "Windows Phone", is kind of like a living video game. It tracks your speed and distance via GPS, and you complete missions by "collecting supplies" and outrunning zombie mobs.

At this point, I've completed 4 missions, outran 3 zombie mobs, and gotten eaten by 1 zombie mob.

Things I like:

-The concept of an adventure story to accompany my workouts.
-Getting outside to use it (perfect for the spring, summer, autumn months!)
-Getting to input your own songs
-Convenient timer and km metre included
-Characters have full stories/personalities
-You can choose the length of your missions
-When zombies "appear". Serious sprinting is needed to survive!

Things I would change:

-Have an option to increase or decrease the frequency of zombie attacks. I usually only get one attack per mission, and for greater interval training, would like to be forced to sprint more often.
-Runner 8 is annoying as hell. (If you try the game, you'll realize that she's supposed to be annoying. But still!)
-What exactly are the supplies for? I haven't gotten far enough to find out yet?
-Serious downside to this game is the cost. 8$ for an app??!
-Cannot be used on a treadmill

Overall, I would give this workout 3/5 STARS. Recommended? Maybe. Depends what you are looking for. It was actually the perfect app for me, since I wanted to start training for longer runs, with bursts of sprints, and be able to track my distance and time for an upcoming race. It makes workouts a lot more interesting, and keeps my attention on what I'm doing. I am even finding myself laughing out loud at the storyline at times! Is it the best workout of my life? No. You can take things at your own pace, which is sometimes a downfall for me, because I don't push myself as hard. It's kind of pricey, but that has pushed me to use it more often I guess. It's also gotten me out of the gym and running outside which is great right now because of the beautiful summer/fall weather, but it could become problematic come winter time.

Happy trails! xx
http://runforyourlives.com/overview-toronto/
https://www.zombiesrungame.com/

hair: blonde to red/brown.

Tomorrow will mark the 1 week anniversary of a huge change to my hair.

After being a medium-platinum beach blonde all my life, pictured here:

I made a huge change, going for dark red, pictured here:

As you can see, I was pretty excited.

At first, it was a major shock. I wasn't sure if I'd done the right thing, although I've been wanting to dye my hair red for quite a while now, almost 2 years. It was just so different! A million things worried me about it:

"But Christine - will this affect your market-ability with photographers?" (I've dabbled in amateur/professional modeling, and would like to continue doing it, as it's something that I love!)

"What if you just blend in now? What if you look just...boring? Has this sucked the life out of me?!?"

Which then spiraled into:

"I look like a f**king librarian. Oh s***. WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

The truth is, the more you get to know me, the more you will see how much I can amplify things by thinking too much about them.

After this mini freak out, I actually TALKED to the people I consider important in my life about it. Turns out, 99% of them think I'm crazy. In fact, many preferred the red over the blonde!

I guess I just have to get used to changes. It's a problem I have, that I can be far too "safe" in my life choices. I took this chance, and now I love it! I love my new red hair!

get to know me: fitness and health.

Ah, the constant battle for health and wellness.

I have attached a picture and story (below) detailing my journey thus far (a duplicate from my Facebook page) in fitness, happiness, and healthy eating.

as quoted from my personal Facebook account, regarding my fitness and health thus far:

"Vex. McDonalds. Gummy Worms. Sour Cream and Onion Chips. Pizza.

I’ll never forget the year I turned 20. Up until that point, I had been a confident, creative, and optimistic person. I was 110lbs all through highschool, could wear anything, and eat anything, with no consequence.

Eventually, my body just couldn’t keep up with eating and drinking anything I wanted. Within 6 months, from October 2008-May 2009, I had packed on 30lbs, shooting my weight up to 140lbs. I was mortified by my appearance, having never dreamed that this would happen to me. I started buying baggy clothing, avoiding photographs, but most of all, became really, really sad. My confident and body image were at an all time low, and stayed there for the next year as I struggled through my second year of college.

The summer of 2010 rolled around, and I was unable to stay this way any longer. I started running, eating healthy, and going to the gym. Over the course of the next two years, tried boxing, TRX, pole dance, boot camp, yoga, and was able to shed most of the weight I’d gained. But, most importantly, I’d found a level of happiness that I’d never thought was possible. That’s what I’m most proud of. I am finally proud of myself again, confident, and surrounded with positive people. It was not easy, or fast.

I’m very happy with my progress, but still not finished yet. Things can only get better from here. :)"

first!

hello!

my name is Christine.

I'm a "20-something", newly-minted redhead, living in Toronto, ON.

nice to meet you.

welcome to my blog!

This blog was born for many reasons:

1. Running and continuing a blog that I'm passionate about is on my bucket list.
2. I have a habit of being an over-poster on Facebook, especially when it comes to makeup, Groupon deals, fashion, music and pop culture geekery. I'm going to put them here instead!
3. I love to write, and I think this might help me become better at it.
4. I have too many hobbies already, why not take up another?

stick around, there's lots to come for everyone. :)

Christine xx