Manolo Blognik

Oh Sephora and your samples. You get me every time. Benefit's They're Real! Mascara is the bomb.com. NO clumping, ever! (even day 2 when I don't wash it off) and they make my lashes uber long. And none of those dreaded "tickies". Please excuse the bangs here, they were new.

I had mentioned before  that I did not fully enjoy a China Glaze top coat (love their base coat though). So why I decided to buy another is anyone's guess. Maybe the name fooled me? Patent Leather Top Coat. Sounded too cool not to get, right? Like the last one, it did it's job but it takes way to long to dry so I end up with imprints. No good.

My hair is one of my favourite parts about me, thus I invest a lot of time and money into it. When you only wash your hair once a week, you might as well make it worth it. My new favourite shampoo: Prosys Organic Shampoo. I love it because it is a cream, meaning it is more nourishing. My hair doesn't feel like it was stripped of everything it once knew and loved. It lathers a tad but is able to make its way around my head. It smells really good! That is always a bonus. Conditioner/ leave-in/Hair Mask: Chi Nourish Intense It really does leave me hair feeling great, no matter which way I use it. Sometimes when I want my hair curly I will wet my hair, skip shampoo and just conditioner and it is light enough to create nourished but not heavy curls. This also smells good. Not a conventional smell, but more spicy, like most Chi products.                                                         

We all know the benefits of exercise. But my problem is always I either get bored or don't want to shell out the money for classes to spice things up. I have solved these problems. Freeloading! Oakley had a summer series, O-Active , where every week we got to try a new exercise for, wait for it, FREE! It was lots of fun and ignited motivation in me to do more. Not only did I enjoy the social aspect of exercising (hard to do during my 5am solo gym session), but I enjoyed getting out there and trying new things. Here are some of the fun things we did! Fitwall! Trampoline Aerobics Lululemon has a lot of community workshops and last week I attended their Runs ablazin' circuit run to celebrate the time change. SO HARD. Every location has different events and next week I am excited to go to their Barreworks event. Last, but definetly not least, Nike has a Nike Training Club . 3 times a week they have different ambassadors leading a very intense workout. L

PCOS is an asshole. And I am not the only one who thinks so. This week I have (finally!) been diagnosed with PCOS . After a few years of varying symptoms and issues I narrowed it down myself then found a naturopathic doctor who specializes in it to help me on my journey. I had skin tags at a very young age. "Old blood" periods even when they were regular. Cramps so bad I would puke. On the pill, off the pill. Seasonal depression. What I thought had bad digestion. Mood swings. Bad knees since my teens now my hips (despite having thunder thighs of muscle), black hairs on my tummy, etc etc. OH and my mother and sister have been diagnosed. 6 months ago I had 2 episodes of cysts bursting. Basically, period cramps X 1000 and nausea so bad a bath can't help (a bath and my cocktail of pills help my cramps, actually a hot bath is a remedy almost anything). I have been so relieved and happy I could cry. The more information I read the more I learn how affected I really h

After buying that YSL lipstick I have become a woman obsessed with luxury lipsticks... bad, bad, bad. I only have one pair of lips! I fell like with these types of things no justification is needed. Life is short, buy the lipstick. Without further ado, I'll start with Shiseido, in RD 325, since she joined the family first. I saw it on a friend and became obsessed with this matte red. It looked so rich and creamy on her. But, with great disappointment, I find it doesn't look as pigmented on me. I still enjoy it and wear it often, but it isn't the show stopper I was hoping for.   Dior Blazing Red was on the wishlist for about a month before she made it home. I love, love, love it. Glides on smooth and is really rich. It is perfect for dipping into the orange trend, but can still be used as a classic for years to come. I thought it was a bit more orange when I bought it, but am happy for what it actually is.

It shouldn't surprise you by now that I have tried a million different mascaras (takes me a while to become a die hard fan of something. Always searching for bigger & better). This is it. I am done searching. I do not even remember how I stumbled upon this mascara but I will never wander. I used to have the problem of "tickies" (when my eyelashes would touch my eyelids and leave marks below my brow bone) and no matter what I tried nothing worked.This mascara not only has cured me of the tickies, but done so while elongating my lashes into long, evenly spaced fans of spectacular. Have I conveyed my excitement yet?

I am not trying to claim that I am someone who is super healthy. But I try, that is the main thing, right? You have probably heard about meal prep a number of times. Especially from your crazy healthy friends who are sooo annoying with their preaching. I won't preach. Just tell you another couple reasons why it is so great. SAVES TIME! I got grocery shopping once a week and that is it. I look on Pinterest for the recipes I want to cook, make a list and go! Then I spend my Sunday cooking up lunches, dinners and snacks and am done for the week. DONE. It feels so great to be able to go out and do whatever I want after work and not have to worry about making lunch for the next day. Or when you come home exhausted, dinner is ready and waiting! SAVES MONEY! One shopping trip. Keep within your budget and then you do not have to worry about unexpected trips to the grocery store or have to buy lunches some days because you were too lazy to make food the night before. SAVES CALORI

Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of any of these stick on polishes to begin with. Now that we got that out of the way. Essie is one of the worst I have tried. Sally Hanson is #1, those are basically fool proof. Hard. But I feel like they are easy to fix. O.P.I was ok and then wayyy at the bottom you will find Essie. I gave them a fair chance. I tried more than once. Sally Hanson feels more like putting nail polish on, Essie is like actually putting a sticker on your nail. Trying to fit it to your nail that isn't exactly like their cutout (whose is!?) was so hard. I left the house with them on, less than satisfied, only to find they lifted and got sooo gross throughout the day. Thankfully, they sent out free samples so I didn't have to purchase them :).

I decided I needed  a signature lip colour for spring/summer 2013. After very little research I went on my merry way to Sephora. I had a good idea of what would look good on and what I wanted so it was not too overwhelming. I had heard good things about Yves Saint Laurent, so it was basically between them, Nars and Shiseido. I choose.... Rose Paris #27 Such a great lipstick - goes on great, stays on for a long time (almost stains your lips) and it tastes good! Love love love it and will be buying more YSL lipsticks in the future. Have to start thinking about my fall/winter colour!