November Faves!

Here we go again with another round of monthly favourites! Prep yourselves, there's quite a lot this month... You've been warned.

Like always, we're starting with face products, and I've been loving my NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. Because the weather has been going down to the negatives and my face is getting quite dry, this foundation has been working wonders! It's lightweight and buildable, which definitely helps to hide a few of my facial sins here and there. In all honesty, a little bit goes a long way with this foundation hence, the price is pretty worth it. I've been finishing that off with the Maybelline FIT face powder that I have fallen in love with once again - not to say that it has dethroned my Rimmel Stay Matte powder. To add a nice flush of colour, I've been reaching for my MAC blush in Ocean City from the Proenza Schouler collection last spring. Let's just take a moment to look at how pretty that ombre effect it has... *drool*...

 For eyes I've been keeping it quite neutral most days with MAC's Woodwinked and Brun, and completing the look with my MAC fluidline in Dark Majesty. I never saw myself as one to wear black liner cause I love my browns, but Dark Majesty is just so beautiful, I couldn't not. It's part of MAC's new Heirloom collection (which is definitely worth checking out!) and it's this shimmery, grey-black that is gorgeous! The shimmer isn't so in-your-face, so it's still workable for everyday looks.

My absolute favourite discovery would have to be the Flower Zoom to Ultimate Mascara! I gotta say, this mascara has dethroned the Covergirl Clump Crusher for me. I love how you can actually twist the wand to make it thicker, so it's very versatile in terms of the lash looks you prefer.

Because I have been rocking the nude eye look lately, I've been adding colour with my lipstick choices! This month I've loved MAC's Heavenly Hybrid (a bright purple, LE from the Fantasy of Flowers collection), NARS Scarlet Empress (a dark, blue-red that on occasion pulls a bit purple), MAC's Frank N Furter (deep berry, LE from the RHPS collection) and MAC's Pander Me (a dark peachy nude with a matte finish). 

What did I say? I promised I would get out of that red-phase I went through with last month's lippie faves, and I must say, I almost did a good job! You can't blame me - it's the season of dark lips! 

With nails I've been loving the pinky/mauve nudes, and I've been trying out the new L'Oreal Collection Privee lacquers in Liya's Nude and Julianne's Nude. And of course, because a little sparkle never hurt anyone, I've been loving MAC's Just Jewels (from the Heirloom collection). If you can get your hands on Just Jewels, I suggest you get it NOW! It's got the perfect amount of shimmer without being too overly girly, and I swear, it looks good on everyone (well, based on all the photos on Instagram I've seen!)

 Now, I've saved the best for last. The Mask of Magnaminty face/body mask from Lush! This has been a lifesaver! How I had gone on with my life without it, I don't know. But I'm so glad I've got it now. Thank you to the sales assistant who suggested this baby to me! As the name suggests, it is minty so it definitely has that tingly and cooling feel whenever I put it on my face. It's got honey, vanilla and aduki beans (for exfoliating) as well so it's the perfect way to deep cleanse your face without breaking the bank (a small tub is about $13, and a little bit goes a long way!). I've tried so many other face masks and I gotta say, this is the BEST one I've come across. I've been using it once a week, and as sad as it sounds, it's something I look forward to. Update: I've been using it three times a week now because it's just so darn amazing! It's so soothing and refreshing, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who needs a pick-me-up every week.

I did purchase the self-preserving one, meaning that I don't have to store it in the fridge to keep it fresh - I believe the ones that aren't self-preserving only last a week or so, so if you want to get your money's worth, definitely go for this one. 

My non-beauty faves!

 Candles don't count as beauty right? I mean, I've seen a few people here and there place them under that category, but whatever. I've been loving this Spiced Cider 3-wick candle from Bath and Body Works. I've never been one to like apple scents, but this one just smells heavenly! I've actually had this candle for about a year now and just never got round to burning it until now. Not sure if it's available this season, and if not, they need to bring it back soon!

 On my lazy days, you can find me wearing these Old Navy thermal leggings which I think are the comfiest things ever! I bought these two last year, and GOD, I love them. Not only do they keep your legs warm but the print is so cute, how could you resist? I'm definitely hoping to get another pair or two sometime soon - that is how much I love them. If I had the guts to wear these out, I would cause I could live in these. No joke.

As for munchies? Tim Horton's pretzel bagel FTW! Anytime I walk into a Tim's, I gotta get this. If like me, you love pretzels, you HAVE TO TRY this out if you haven't already. I like mine with plain cream cheese (and of course, a dark roast double double) and mhmm... hunger satisfied. So so good! If you've got a Tims anywhere near you, go have one! Such a treat... 

Now, I've always been a fan of the Jonas Brothers (I admittedly did enjoy watching Camp Rock and Camp Rock: Final Jam), so no surprise that Nick Jonas' Jealous is another thing I've been loving this month. It's constantly been on repeat, and yes, part of my morning playlist. The beat is just so darn catchy and his voice? Me oh my, shmexy! Other beats I've been listening to from his self-titled album are Numb (ft. Angel Haze) [which yes, is pretty similar to Katy Perry's Dark Horse, I KNOW] and Avalanche (ft. Demi Lovato) - shocker! - but Jealous has to be hands down my favourite. And if you haven't heard the gospel version of this single yet, you MUST. 

What have been your favourite discoveries this month?

Happy discovering!

Shop the Neighbourhood

 As if Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren't enough, Shop the Neighbourhood is coming over to Ottawa to serve as a buffer between the two and encourage people to shop - local this time round.

Just a quick round-up of what it is, Shop the Neighbourhood is an initiative started by Yellow Media Ltd. (a.k.a. Yellow Pages) to support local businesses in Canada. On the day of the event, participating local businesses have exclusive deals to encourage residents to drop by and discover what their neighbourhood has to offer! The program launched November last year in Toronto, and this year, they extended the program to Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Ottawa.
Update: Over 8000 businesses nationwide participated in the event! Woop woop! Let's shop local more often!

You can check out a little more about the initiative here - and a bit of shameless self-promotion here, I wrote about it for a local community paper that you can check out here! 

  That being said, I definitely checked it out and man, I never realized just how much of a deal they were going to make out of it! ByWard Market definitely went all out (granted, most of the stores there did participate in the event) and there were yellow balloons, banners, people walking around with yellow shopping bags and scarves pretty much everywhere I looked.

I definitely took advantage and popped into a few shops here and there, even ones I had never heard of before. And man, there are quite a lot of them. I love the concept of events like this, and I think these need to happen more often! Shopping local is a great way to not only support small-medium sized businesses but it also offers you a great chance to see what is readily available to you a few steps out from your home. Plus, it's an awesome opportunity for anyone to explore their neighbourhood more!

I'm all for seeing what else stores along Bank Street and ByWard Market have to offer!

Do you shop local often?

Happy discovering!

Black Friday's when the damage is done...

 Oh dear...

In the spirit of Black Friday, I went down to Rideau Centre today and well, I did a little damage. But oh, how could I not? Such awesome deals were going on in seriously every shop (I don't remember it being this awesome last year) and I just got sucked in. Damn. 

I'd been wanting a good, sturdy faux leather jacket for quite a while now, and when better to snag one than Black Friday? I walked into the Aeropostale store and made a bee-line towards this one from the Bethany Mota collection. I'd actually seen this one from my previous trips, but always stayed away from it because, uhm, it was $73. As much as I loved the quilted sleeves, I didn't think it was worth shelling out almost $100. But low and behold, today? I got it for $20. OH EM GEE. BARGAIN. How could I say no? 

My first stop: Sephora. Every year they've got these $12 deals (in the U.S. it's only $10, lucky bums) and this year the range was pretty kickass. I'll be honest, I was trolling the internet for about three days trying to get a sneak peek at what would be in store today! Uber happy I was able to get my hands on the stuff I wanted, and really proud that I didn't purchase anymore make-up (not to say I wasn't tempted)! Hah! I've been really into fragrances and skincare recently, so I snagged up the TOCCA Beaty set (two hand creams and mini rollerballs), boscia pore-purifying duo (mask and blotting paper) and my, absolute favourite, the NEST fragrance mini-rollerball trio!!! Why settle for one fragrance when you can get three?

And instead of the standard paper bags I got this cute tote bag (which was also given out during the VIB/Rouge sale), so all in all, I think I got a pretty good deal. I believe these exclusive babies are still available online, so go snatch them up while you still can!

I also managed to head over to Forever 21 early enough and they were still handing out their little 'Black Friday mystery' scratch cards for a little surprise discount! And as much as I hate to admit it, I took advantage of that damn discount. *sigh*

I didn't just shop for myself and of course I picked up a few bits for my parents. So in some cases, my purchases were justified. Maybe. 

Thank goodness Black Friday only happens once a year, because I swear, I don't think my mind (and feet) could take another round. That being said, Boxing Day is just around the corner...

Did you manage to get any good deals today?

Ottawa: ByWard Market Adventures #2

I wasn't kidding when I said that there were more of these posts to come! There's so much to see over at the Byward area that I don't know how long it would take me to discover the whole place given my schedule! But I swear, I will find the time to get down there with my camera and do some more exploring - hopefully before the snow graces us with its presence!

Schnazy ride eh? Perfect ride for the summer times, but perhaps a skip for the coming cold!

One particular weekend, ByWard Market was celebrating Harvest Festival! This was the first I'd attended in the few years I've been here, and man have I been missing out. Even though I only caught the last day, I had such a blast with all the entertainment, food and just mingling with people!

There was a COP = Clown on Patrol roaming around, making balloon animals for little kids! I was so tempted to ask for one but managed to hold myself back... but now I kinda wish I did. Who doesn't want a balloon animal?

They also had horse-drawn carriage rides going on, as well as free Haunted Walk tours!

The main highlight for me would hands-down have to be the Alpine-themed entertainment they had going on! I'd never seen anything like it, and I gotta say, as humourous as I found most of it, it was pretty kickass! Props to them as well for going all out with the costumes! Absolutely gorgeous. You can check out the little Instagram video I took with a few seconds of each of the performances here!

This kid was just too adorable, walking up to these instruments and looking down the holes! My heart melted...

Despite the cold, the entertainment and company was definitely worth it! Granted, this post doesn't quite capture it (I'll be honest, I was mainly down here for work purposes hence the lack of anymore photos) but I promise the next few ones will be better! I'm looking forward to what else ByWard has to offer, especially with the holidays just around the corner! Uber psyched!

In the meantime, 

Happy discovering!