Likables July 2010 ft. Lion of Ido, Inception

This will just be a collection of things that have interested me non-makeup wise through out the month of July.
 Mostly pop culture and music.

I've found this amazing band that I love and am obsessed with. They're called Lion of Ido and are based in New York City. Every single song out of their EP album is amazing and catchy and just overall makes me feel happy. I feel that I've found a great discovery and am excited for any new music they come out with. What's even better is that on their website, they've provided their EP album for free download! Don't worry it's legit. If you're interested, try it! It won't hurt because it's free. Here's the link. 
Then click on the left hand icon to download! Probably my all time favourite song of theirs is Day by Day.


Also, in terms of movies, I watched Inception and Salt recently. They were both great movies int heir own ways. I'll definitely have to watch Inception again some time because it at times got pretty confusing.
However, is it just me or does Joseph Gordon-Levitt look asian or at least partly asian. The instant I saw him on the big screen I recognized him from a movie made like 10 years ago. Does "10 things I hate about you" ring any bells? Starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles.

I'll let you decide for yourself. But I think we can all agree he's pretty darn good looking.

Can't believe summer's half-over.

Mac Help Please?

I have a question that I need to be solved by other makeup officianados in the world wide web.
Recently I bought the Quo Bronzer Brush, otherwise known as a dupe for the Mac 187 Brush.

Here's a picture above.
I've used it now and washed it. Oh yeah, and I paid around $13 + tax for it. Regularly $22 but 40% off. It is made in China.

When I used it for my liquid foundation I thought it was pretty good. It gave me more natural coverage than if I were to use my fingers but it shed a few hairs on my face which was annoying. But more or less what I expected. Also, after I washed it, it had that dreaded dead animal smell. Is seemed to also be too sparse and big, I would prefer a more closely held and concentrated brush.
I bought this in hopes of it being a good alternative to the $50 Mac 187.

So here's where your thoughts come in. Should I keep this Quo brush and make do with it, even though I'm not completely satisfied and that the Mac won't be much different? Or should I save up and/or wait for a sale (Mac Friends and Family Sale?) to buy the Mac 187 because it will be better and last longer?

Any help/advice much appreciated.Thanks!

Collective June/July Clothing Haul 2010

Here's the second part to my haul: the clothing/shoes portion

One thing I forgot to include were pictures of some new turquoise jewelery pieces I got from my mom. I'm really into turquoise these days, such a beautiful colour.

This was a tank top that I spotted in Winners for $14.99. I love the floral print, it's also really light and comfortable to wear on those hot summer days.

A nice straw hat I found in my mom's closet. 

I almost dropped dead when I found this. I was on the hunt for a feminine romper and I found this one at Winners. It was originally $16.99 but one of the straps were falling off so I got it for $12.99 which is a bargain for such a beautiful piece of clothing. It's so comfy: like wearing PJ's.

A pair of basic high waisted jean shorts from Urban Outfitters. Reduced to $10 from $54.

A purplish-grey skirt also from Urban Outfitters. ALSO reduced to $10 from $54. Love the side detailing.

Basic peachy pink skirt from Zara. Goes to the knees but nice to be pulled up to the waist with a shirt tucked in. $10.

I don't know if I talked my relationship with second hand stores, specifically Goodwill. If you have the patience and know what to look out for, sometimes you can score some really good deals. I went on a day where the whole store was 50%, which was a bonus! This time, I found two items:

This is a BCBG Maxazria black velvet jacket. Fits really nice and it is silk-lined. Something from this line would normally retail over $100. I got it for $2.25, since it was originally $5.49 minus the 50% off. OH another thing I forgot to mention is that there are no taxes at Goodwill!!!

The other thing I purchased were these really unusual pairs of shoes. I don't know the brand but they were brand new and my size. They kind of look like they belong in the Bata Shoe Museum haha. It's really cute with the bows. Bought for $4.50, half of $9.

That's all for now. I love hearing bargains that other people have found. Please share in the comments below!

Collective June/July Makeup Haul 2010

Long time no write. Cutting the crap, here is just a bunch of things that I've bought over the last couple of weeks. School finished and I felt like treating myself to a few things.
Stick around for my next post, which I hopefully will have up soon, of my collective clothing haul.

To start off: the family picture

These items were purchased at Pharma Plus, MAC, Urban Outfitters, Loblaws/Joe

Commencing with nail polishes. If you spotted out earlier, I purchased three even though I seceretly swore after purchasing OPI's Absolutely Alice that I'd take a break. No can do.

Left to write: Urban Outfitters Matte Green 7, Wet n Wild Blazed and Urban Outfitters Sparkle Purple 

Two UO polishes swatched on paper. Sucks that the glitter couldn't be captured on photo. I put on the mint green/blue for the first time today. Takes 3 coats for it to be opaque. A good dupe for China Glaze's For Audrey (which I do not own). Have yet to try the purple. Bought these for $0.99 on sale/clearance, I think they are regularly priced at $6.

This is me wearing the Wet n' Wild colour. 3 coats with Seche Vite top coat. Chips quickly and in chunks. Paid $1.99. A nice summer coral. Debated between getting this or Joe's Coral.

Splurge of the month was my first MAC brush. Wheeeee. This is the MAC 217. I was looking for a blending/crease brush and after doing some research (Makeupalley), I opted for this one. It costs $27.50 plus taxes. It is perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Painted clear nail polish over the wording so that the ink wouldn't fade. 

Size comparison to my hand. I have a relatively small hand.

At Loblaws/Joe, a Canadian supermarket, I picked up this body spray on clearance. As seen above, it is in the scent Fresh Lemon. Very rejuvenating and light. Half off of $5.

Also bought my first lip stain. It is the Joe Fresh lipstain in Sheer Pink. Paid $6 plus taxes. Long wearing, natural looking colour. Not drying if apply a lipbalm or gloss on top.

Lastly, my finds at Pharma Plus:

All three of these items were extremely well priced. The two NYC products were $1.50 each! i got their pressed powder and quad. Have yet to try the powder but the quad is very light and wearable, do not expect extreme pigmentation. The covergirl Professional volume mascara I think was on sale for $3.99, but with a coupon, I paid $2.50. I have been hearing great reviews about this, not like I need another mascara though.

You might think that including a deoderant I purchased might be random and weird but I have perfectly good intentions of mentioning this. This is my favourite and basically only deoderant I have ever used. It is the Adidas for women cotton tech yada yada. I almost had a heart attack when i heard they were discontinuing it. People must have been in a rage because they're bringing it back. Yay! It's my favourite because it's very basic and gets the job done. I have no wetness and no smell, other than the fresh scent of the deoderant itself. It also DOES NOT contain aluminum or parabens. I'd say that over 90% of deoderants today contain a high percentage of aluminum, up to in the high 20 percentile. With a little research you'll find that aluminum is potentially cancer causing. Also, have you ever gotten pit stains before? Well, I haven't. And that's because there is no aluminum. Chemistry 101: aluminum is a metal, therefore it oxidizes. The aluminum in your deoderant oxidizes and turns yellow and anything else that touches it, i.e. your clothing. I highly recommend this as it is also affordable, $4 regular price. Haha, I swear I'm not sponsored by Adidas but I truly believe in this product.

Thanks for hearing me out!

Read this and GO NOW!

This is just a quick announcement. Very important that you listen CAREFULLY. It may change your makeup lives, or not.

Did you see last week on the Sephora website of the Stila trio deal of 3 FULL sized eyeshadow for $10 US plus s+h? Including Chloe, Lame and my favourite Kitten?
It sucks that shipping to Canada would be like 7 dollars or more though.

Well, guess what? I was so surprised to see that a couple of days ago at Urban Outfitters, they SOLD the palette there! For only $12 CAD! This is an awesome deal as one shadow by Stila costs $23 CAD. But you get 3 for only $12. It's included in a cute black palette.

So if you were ever contemplating on getting this cult fave shadow, check out your local Urban Outfitters now before it's too late! Unfortunately I can't find a picture of what it looks like online but you'll have to trust me on this and check it out for yourself!

Good luck on finding it!


Coming up will be a mini collective clothing and makeup haul.