Sick + DIY exfoliator

I'm missed a day ALREADY! hahaha. I came down with the cold. My brother gave everyone in my family his cold, so now were just a sick family. hahaha

I hate being sick. My throat hurts, my nose is stuffed, and now i'm coughing. It's difficult to sleep, and i'm blowing my nose every few minute! Interestingly enough, my boyfriend told me that there is a flu outbreak - and lot of people are sick - where i live.

here's a cute picture i found online


Since i'm sick, and feeling pretty much like _ _ _ _. I decided to give my face some therapy. I have ran out of exfoliators for a while now, and can never seem to remember to buy a new one. Is there any that anyone would like to recommend? I'm looking to try something new.

Anywas, my skin felt dull, and flakey, so i decided to make an exfoliator. Basically, i used sugar, honey, and a bit of water, & a pinch of lime juice.

Sugar - is good to exfoliate the dead skin, because of it's texture
Honey - is good at hydrating, and softening the skin
Lime - is a natural acid that exfoliates the skin
Water - is used to partially dilute the acid, so it won't be too harsh on the skin

(about 1:1 ratio for lime and water)

I just mixed it all together, to get a somewhat thick consistency (depends on your preference, a watery consistency is fine too) & rubbed it in circular motion all over my face, and rinsed. I make enough just for a one time use, because i don't believe in storing these.



My face feels soft, clean, smooth & it didn't cost me much. There are many DIY tutorials out there that you can also follow. They are nice when you don't have the product atm, and it's super cheap & effective.

Note: please excuse the laack of pictures. I'm too out of it to bother with the camera at the moment.

New Monitor

Got a new monitor today. My old one couldn't keep up. The screen would turn off after i turn it on. It won't start working until 10 minutes. I know it's time for a new mointor - My old gateway one has served me well (probabably like 7-8 years) Since my dad got one for his home entertainment, but doesn't really need it, i exchanged it and paid a little more for myself. hahaha.

Welcome the Samsung SyncMaster 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor (B2030) - Black to the new family. The price is budget friendly, and i like the rounded edges. :D



At the moment, my boyfriend is hooking the tv tuner that he got from his laptop several years ago (but never used) so that i can have cable on my monitor. AWESOME! LOL. I'll even have a remote control !

Aside from this, i'm currently designing my room. Lots of new furniture, a whole new look. Can't wait to show you guys!

Take care, & thanks for still reading my blog

Mac Prolong Wear Concealer + Mac 252 Concealer Brush

Yesterday, while i was at masonville to pick up something for my boyfriend, i decided to drop by Mac, since i haven't been there for ages! I was browsing around, and realized that they have launched a new line of products: the Prolong wear Concealer & Foundations

At the moment, i don't really need a foundation, but i did need a good under eye concealer! I have tried quite a few brands out there, but was never really satified. They were either to thick, cakey, dry, provide insuffient converage, OR disappeared after a few hours. The last concealer i picked up was the Mac Studio Finish Concealer, after seeing a few youtubers rave about it - but i found it was wayy to thick and cakey (especially for your delicate eyes), even though it provided excellent coverage.

So i thought, what the heck, i might as well give this Prolong Wear concealer a try, since i was in need of a better concealer for under eyes specifically (especially since school started , i might as well prepare myself).

This is the Concealer. I'm in NC20. it's $20.00 CAD. I would say this is Medium Coverage

More coverage then the MAC Select MoistureCoverage, less then the Mac Studio Finish


What really caught my eye was the fact that its in a bottle with a pump. I like that idea, because its very sanitary, but the downfall is you may be wasting more product.



What i like about it now that i've used it this morning is:

-how it blends very nicely into my skin
-it doesn't look cakey
-adequate coverage
-lasts about 6hrs +
-in a pump form
-the actually pump is pretty good, you should be able to control the amount coming out

What i don't like about this product is:
-the shade selection

In general, i find it difficult to find the right shade of concealer from Mac. I feel like there is a white cast after applying the concealer. I wish it had more of a salmon tone, but the next shade up from Nc20, is just way too dark.

Overall, i do like this concealer so far - i think if you have average undereye bags, this would be nice, but if you have really dark circles, you may want to try something else, as this would not be enough coverage. I like how my skin doesn't look cakey with this on.





The second item i got was the Mac 252 Concealer. For the longest time, i didn't want to buy a concealer brush, because i thought it's a waste, and i didn't think it would make much of a difference, but i was SOO proven WRONG!

All these years, i've been applying concealer with my ring finger, and i was never satisfied with the concealer, because it never completely covered my dark circles unless i packed it on - (hence, why i'm always on the search for a good conealer!) But when i was at MAC that day, I told the sales associate i wanted to buy a brush, and she recommend this brush to me.

The Mac 252 Large Shader brush, or Concealer brush



It will probbaly be the best and most useful brush i've ever invested my money into, because i ALWAYS use concealer - its like a necessity! PLUS, it's also an eyeshadow shader brush! Its multi functional!

The bristles are densed, and soft. They pick up and pack on all of the product. THe way i've been applying concealer before, was actually removing some of it with my ring finger! This brush is perfect for liquid concealers, because it's big enough that the hair will be partially wet and partially dry, making the application & blending very smooth. When the brush is completely drenched with concealer, you would actually be removing some of the concealer while blending! (which is why i didn't purchase the Mac 242)



I'm absolutely in love with this brush, it's worth every darn penny.

Moral of the story: a good concealer brush is just as, if not more important then a good concealer. It really makes all the difference!

$ Textbooks $

Whenever the school year rolls around, i fear many things. First, the homework load, the lack of sleep, caffine, and the long travelling distance, but of all this, i dread buying textbooks the most.



Each year, textbooks always seem to add up. There are ALWAYS new editions of the SAME textbook being published and sold (all they do is really add a few new paragraphs on a few pages in the new addition) & sadly that's how they are making money off of us constantly. Even if your lucky to find that you don't need the new edition and manage to snatch yourself a used book at the used bookstore it's still very expensive!

Sadly this year, my university bookstore decided to buyout the "USED bookstore" and jacked up all the prices of used textbooks from that store. Hence, instead of having a range of low and high prices for the same book, they are now all the same jacked up price. The reason i say this is, because used books at that Bookstore is always 80-90$,(i rather get a nice pair of jeans) never below that.

BUT, here is the goodnews that's putting a smile on my face. I've been able to sell almost all of my last year books + one from my first year!!! YAY!! I was NOT ABLE to sell ANY of my textbooks from first year, because new editions all came out, so i was stuck with $800+ worth of books on my bookshelf collecting DUST! That'd like excess inventory that can not get sold. How sad :( But - i'm super lucky this year to have sold almost all my books from last year. After calculating, i will be making approx. $400 backs on my textbook! I just want to splurge it, but the sad truth is it's just there to fund part of my textbooks this year.

I sold my textbooks through kijiji ( an "ebay" that is local ) if anyone was wondering, it's awesome. Best tip i'd give is, make sure you update your ad after a while, and make sure u do it during the first week of school, because that's when a lot of students are searching high and low for books. Asking friends to pass the word around is also very helpful. Oh and definitely try to get to know upper year students in the same program, because chances are they will have textbooks that you'd want next year & being friends - you'll get nice hookups (but ofcourse don't be their friends for just that reason, hahah) Good luck selling your textbooks!

That's the highlight for today. I'm a happy student - for now.

Does anyone actualy collect their textbooks? I have a friend that does, and i thought it's the strangest thing yet.