New Hair = New Hair Faves

Hello world!

As some of you may know, I recently just cut my hair, which means styling it has become a completely different task! It took me about three years to grow my hair out super long, and cutting my hair was kind of an impulsive move, so I'm still adjusting.

My main reason for cutting my hair was because it was just so dead. All throughout high school, I was obsessed with dyeing, bleaching, and just torturing my hair in general haha. I dyed my hair nine times in one year once! I had my ombré in for almost a year, and the bleached part of my hair was just so dry. It had been bleached over several times from the random times I've put blonde in my hair, and I just decided enough was enough. It was so bad that I could hear my hair break when I brushed through it, so ultimately I feel like I made the right decision. That doesn't mean I don't still miss my hair though! haha :(

As a result of this big change, I've been on the hunt to find ways to style my hair, and I've been using a whole different array of products now, so I thought it would be a fun and helpful post for anyone who has cut their hair recently, or if you just want to pick up any of the products I've talked about!

From the left to the right:

Garnier Fructis: Damage Eraser Strength Reconstructing Butter ($5)

As I said before, my main reason for my haircut was for it's health, so I've been on the hunt for deep conditioners! This is a super affordable deep conditioner that you substitute for you normal conditioner whenever you want to strengthen your hair. I use it about twice a week. While I don't think it is AMAZING, it does leave my hair feeling nice and soft after a shower, which I appreciate. You can get it as cheap as $5, and it has a thick formula that really saturates your hair, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a cheap way to hydrate your hair! I wouldn't say it works miracles, but it is a great drugstore product. This is actually my second tub, so I would I enjoy it!

Flower Crowns: Pink - American Eagle, White - Aldo

I know that these are seen EVERYWHERE now, but there's definitely a reason for that! These are just such an easy way to make your hair look put together, and they're just so pretty! I have always been a huge fan of florals, and an even bigger fan of being lazy with my hair so when I want to look a little more dressed up, I just throw this on. I have to admit these are a little intimidating to wear, so I recommend starting off with a headband that has smaller flowers, like the white one that I got from Aldo. It is much easier to wear than my pink one, and I don't feel like I need to keep looking in the mirror to check if I need to readjust it.

Here's me in my flow crown from Aldo!

TRESemmé - Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray &

Curling Wand

I have been trying my best to stay away from heat to take care of my hair, but I feel like my short hair looks best when it's curled, so when I want to look more presentable, I give in and use my hair wand haha. I have no idea what brand mine is because I got it from Winners, but it's a 1-inch barrel and creates nice loose curls that are easy to wear, and lasts for a few days. I think 1-inch hair wands create the nicest waves because they're not small like ringlets, but they're not too big that they look odd. I ALWAYS make sure to give my hair a good spray of heat protectant, and TRESemmé does the job! I also love that the nozzle sprays out product like a mist, so it doesn't feel like you're soaking your hair right before you apply to heat to it.

Dove: Refresh + Care Invigorating Dry Shampoo

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this stuff! My friend Kate recommended it to me, and I am so glad she did! This is a dry shampoo that helps to really build volume, as well as helping to keep your hair looking fresh between washes. I used to use TRESemmé's dry shampoo, but I hated the overwhelming smell and the white powder it left behind, as I have dark hair. But Dove's dry shampoo has a clear formula, and a really pleasant smell! I love to spray this onto the roots of my hair and shaking my hair a bit when it's in day-old curls because it just brings my hair back to life. It's really inexpensive as well, you can get it for around $4, which is an absolute steal!

Marc Anthony: Oil of Morocco Argan Oil

Hair oil from any brand is an absolute must, whether your hair is long, short, curly, or straight. I have such frizzy hair and using a few drops of this stuff on the ends of my hair prevents me like looking like Monica from friends in Barbados! I also love rubbing a few drops of this Moroccan oil onto the ends of my hair before bed, so it can really soak in. 

Salldy's Beauty Supply: Wide Tooth Comb

I've had this comb for years, and it's the only thing I use to tame my hair. It is so much less harmful and harsh than using a paddle brush, and it's only like $2 or $3, so ditch that hair-breaking-brush and pick up a comb! It may take a little longer to brush through, but it helps keep that frizz away.

I really hope this post and my mini review of each product was helpful. I am still trying to find my way through this new hair journey I'm on while I try my best to keep my hair as healthy as possible! I have always been in a love-hate relationship with my hair, but ultimately I want to avoid looking like I have hay on my head!

Any tips for styling short hair or healthy hair care in general? Please leave me a comment down below!

Lots of love,

Rachel xxxx

May Flowers

Hello world!

The weather is warming up again and the sun has been shining so much lately! My best friend Hibah suggested that we visit High Park in the west end of Toronto. It is best known for its beautiful cherry blossom trees, and it was the perfect backdrop for plenty of spring-themed photo sessions for the two of us. 

It was really unfortunate that only one of the trees was in full bloom, because the park would have been absolutely stunning! However, the terribly harsh winter that Toronto experienced the last couple of months and the extremely late entrance into spring made it so that the rest of the trees weren't able to bloom properly. Hopefully later on in the year they will catch up with the single one in the park!

I thought it would nice to share some pictures that we took, just as a fun post and a way to show case the best of Toronto!

Kimono: Forever 21 // White crop top: Forever 21 // Flower necklace: Forever 21

Black high-low skirt: American Eagle // Black Lace Shoes: TOMS

Handbag: H&M

Cherry blossoms are absolutely BEAUTIFUL, aren't they?

The website to High Park can be found here. It is definitely worth the visit, just a walk away from High Park subway station!

There is even a website dedicated to beautiful cherry blossoms in High Park which can be found here.

Hibah and I absolutely LOVE just walking around Toronto, exploring different parts of the city and all it has to offer. We visited the Ripley's Aquarium the second day it was even open! I think it's so worth it to discover all your city has to offer, you never know when you could end up finding such a beautiful spot to take photos!

What about you? What parts of your city do you think deserve more attention? Do you enjoy exploring different areas where you live?

Lots of love,

Rachel xxxx

Disclaimer: All photos are mine and were taken with my own camera. The camera I used is the Sony Cybershot DSC-H200.

P.S. I didn't realize that I named this post "April Flowers" accidentally until later on, which is why the url to this post is confusing, haha! This is all a learning process. (:

Prom!

Hello world!

It's PRAHHHHM season! I thought it would be a fun post to write, as I was a high school senior just last year, so it's fresh memory in my mind.

I was lucky enough to go to two proms during my senior year, and they were both great in different ways. The first one was the prom at the high school I attended at the time, and most of my closest friends were all girls, so it was very much a typical "get a million pictures with each other and drag our dates along, take a 15 minute limo ride to a place we could've driven to, and cry about our hair the whole time" kind of night haha. Looking back on it now, I enjoyed the typical-ness of the night, because it made me feel like I just did a rite of passage as a senior LOL.

The second prom was the with high school I went to for a year in my hometown. It was more fun for me because it was one big catch up with my closest guy friends from home, and I had already gone through the whole typical prom night of stress over things like pictures and flowers the week before haha. I found that I was way more relaxed because I wasn't worrying over all that stuff and how I looked so it was just automatically more fun. My "date" (WEIRDEST term haha) Imaad is one of my best friends so that also took lots of pressure off. I feel like going with a group of friends is more fun because it's so chill. Also, I did my own hair and makeup for the second prom and I liked it much better.

 I wore the same dress to both proms, and to be honest I wasn't in love with it, but it served it's job, and Imaad did such a wonderful job of matching his shiny silver suit to mine (bless him) so that was really nice for pictures hahahaha. Here's what we looked like:

The thing I learned most from going to two proms is that you'll always have more fun when you're just relaxing.
Overall, I enjoyed both nights, the second a little more than the first, and I'm glad I went :)
I know a lot of people stress over it and worry about their dress and hair and if they bought their date a nice corsage, but at the end of the day, it's just a party with fancy clothing,
and parties are for having fun!

//

ENJOY YOURSELF.

Prom isn't meant to be a night where you should be stressed out about shoes or hair or your date. It's a big party, a "rite of passage" in high school, something you mock and love at the same time. Some time from now, it'll just be a story you tell your university friends or your kids, so make sure your story is a good (or at least bareable) one, not one that starts with "ugh".

RELAX.

Your hair looks fine. Your dress is beautiful. It's okay if your date's shade of blue isn't the same. In the end, you're gonna look through all 437 pictures you took that night and you're only gonna choose one for your profile picture ;).

TRUST YOURSELF.
When I say this, I'm 100% talking about makeup/hair LOL.
If you can do your own makeup and the hairstyle you want on your own (provided you practiced a few times before!), save yourself that $30 hair appointment and just do it yourself. No one knows the look you envisioned for yourself the way you do. Alternatively, ask an aunt or cousin who you know can do your hair/makeup for you. Don't waste your money unless you absolutely need to.
I'm definitely speaking from experience, because at the first prom, I paid someone else to do my hair and I wasn't very pleased. When I did everything myself at the second prom, I felt a lot better about it!

BRING THE ESSENTIALS.

You bought a clutch for a reason! Here is a list of the things I think are important to have with you, and of course if you have room, feel free to bring more:

CELLPHONE: Of course! Not only is it always good to have with you for emergencies and to communicate if you're meeting up with people at a certain spot for pictures before prom, most people have smart phones now, which means it doubles as a camera! Obviously this doesn't replace the nice fancy camera to take pictures in a park or to take the high resolution group photos you want, but it's always fun to snap a quick selfie in your limo or inside the venue.
Similarly, if you have a small hand held camera, bring it! There's no harm in taking as many photos as possible, and you may bump into someone you didn't get a photo with before, so it's good to be prepared!

LIP PRODUCT: Whatever you put on your lips that night, whether it's a soft pink lip gloss, or a red lipstick, bring it with you. You're gonna have a long night, and you don't want to end up with faded red lipstick, especially after you've eaten. Chances are, you'll be taking pictures ALL night, even after the nice fancy ones, so be sure you have the ability to touch up every once in awhile.

MONEY/CHANGE: You don't need to bring your whole wallet obviously, and you shouldn't. But make sure you have some change or a few small bills just in case. If for some reason you need to take a cab because you don't have a designated driver or something, you should always be prepared.

HAIR TIES/BOBBY PINS: Be prepared for hair malfunctions! It could be windy outside when you're taking pictures, or your hair could be in your way when dancing, so you should definitely have a back-up plan. You didn't spend all that time for it to fall apart!

OPTIONAL:

EYELASH GLUE: Obviously this only applies if you wear fake lashes. I did, because I like to on fancy occasions. During the second prom, my lashes started to fall off. They had never done it before, so I thought nothing of it. After like, an hour of getting to the venue, they did LOL, and it took all my eye makeup with it. I felt so stupid haha, so if you plan on wearing fake lashes, do NOT make the same mistake as me! They come in such small tubes, so it's a good idea just to bring one along.

CONCEALER: Definitely not something you absolutely need, but if you happen to have that one really obvious dark scar left by a pimple or a red zit, it doesn't hurt just to dot a little concealer on right before pictures! If you have no room, it's definitely not needed, but you'll be taking a lot of pictures!

As you can see, everything fit, and there was still room for any other things you want to bring!

MOST OF ALL, have fun! It's a party, and one of the last times you'll be with your graduating class! Smile a lot, take tons of pictures, dance the night away (even if the DJ is terrible!), and enjoy it :)

Lots of love,
Rachel xxxx

Spring Cleaning - New Makeup Storage

Hey world!

I've been very M.I.A. lately, and for that I apologize! I just finished my first year of university, so exams and moving out of residence has been taking up so much of my time, and I have been feeling super disorganized!
I am a big believer that having a de-cluttered space just makes you feel a little more relaxed and put together, and that's what I've been trying to do. Even though I am a pretty messy person overall, I've been trying my best to get organized so I can try to accomplish all I want on this summer break. I am slowly getting my life (moderately) together, and naturally, the first thing I wanted to organize was my makeup, haha.

I used to keep all of my makeup in a big makeup case, but it was getting hard to deal with. I would have to dig through everything just to find an eyeliner, my palettes were sitting all over my room, and it just took my way longer to do my makeup than I felt it should. I decided enough was enough, and started looking for alternatives.

I was at Target, and I came across a bunch of makeup storage units. They were on sale, so it was a perfect match! I got this one for just over $30, and I think it was a worthy investment. I wish I could tell you what brand this is, but I'm not entirely sure :( They are located on the very bottom shelf of the section where all the makeup bags are in general.
The one I got is grey because I wanted a neutral colour, but there were patterned ones with stripes and animal print if that's more your taste!

As you can see, there are 4 little shelves. When expanded like in the picture below, you can access all of them easily, and there is a bottom section for bigger items.

I organized my makeup in sections.

On the left side, the two shelves hold my eye and lip items, because they all tend to come in a tube form. The top left shelf holds my eyeliners, primers, mascaras, and two of my Maybelline 24 Colour Tattoos (cream eyeshadows), which I am absolutely obsessed with!

The bottom left shelf holds lipsticks, lip balms, lip crayons, etc. Unfortunately I couldn't fit all of my lip products in the shelf because it isn't as tall as I'd hoped, but I keep my most used items, and I can always rotate the products.

On the right shelves, I keep my face/complexion items. On the top right shelf, I have all my mini bottles of primer, liquid highlighters, and two powder cheek products that come in circular form, which is a baked highlighter and a blush. I also have a small bottle of Urban Decay's Setting Spray.

The bottom right shelf carries more face items. My Urban Decay Primer Potion is there because it wouldn't fit on the left side haha :( I have my NARSissist Palette hidden underneath, a L'oreal concealer, and my e.l.f. cheek palettes with bronzers and blushes.

In the very bottom section I keep my big palettes and foundations. I keep them there because the bottom of the makeup storage unit is pretty deep so I can stack items on top of each other. On the right side, I have a big e.l.f. palette hidden underneath everything, my Naked Palette, my Divergent palette which I've written a blog post on before, and a bunch of small eyeshadow palettes from drugstore brands like Rimmel and Covergirl. I also keep my Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder at the bottom because it doesn't in the shelves haha. On the other side, I keep my foundations and bb creams.

I genuinely think these makeup storage units with shelves are a great way to organize makeup without breaking the bank or having to clear extra space in a drawer somewhere. Organizing everything into sections has made my life so much easier, and now it doesn't take me 10 minutes just to find one item!

How about you? How do you store your makeup? Any tips on organization and DIY makeup storage?

Lots of love,
Rachel xxxx