Drugstore Haul!

 On the weekend I had a chance to take advantage of a friends employee discount at a drugstore that carries some high end products (30% off? Yes please!) I restrained myself from going too crazy (because I happen to get 20% off as a mall employee at this location) and stocked up on a few items.

First up is my beloved Bioderma which came in a two pack for $30 (normally retails for around $24 in Canada) so this was a great steal. I love this cleanser and so far no other micellar water has held up to it's lofty standards (look for a review/comparison coming soon of the Avene version) This is a  great cleanser for sensitive skin.

Next up is Urban Decay's Naked Basics palette. I own both Naked and Naked2 but thanks to Essie Button I was talked into this one. Also at 30% off I couldn't resist. The packaging is compact and perfect for weekend trips. This has a guaranteed spot in my makeup bag for Japan. I also picked up another Urban Decay Potion Primer. This will be my third tube of the stuff in approximately 2 years and so far it's the only primer I've found that has worked for me... mind you I haven't tested that many.

Next up is the Urban Decay Smoked palette. This one I hemmed and hawed over because it's not practical like the Naked Basics. I had Evasion used on me when I had my makeup done at Sephora a month ago and fell in love with this palette. I figured I'd take the plunge with the extra 10% discount. This comes with a full sized perversion liner and a mini potion primer which I am so glad about, totally taking it to Japan. The salesgirl also convinced me to buy Urban Decay's grindhouse. At $12 it's not a huge investment and she really sold it to me by making the case that other sharpeners tend to chew up Urban Decay's 24/7 liners. At $23 per liner I want to make them last as long as possible so I figured this was a safe purchase.

Finally I picked up Stila's Convertible Colour in Petunia. I've eyed these a few times and my friend Christine at Starry Eyed Beauty raves about them. I texted her the night before and asked her opinion on which one to get between Lillium and Petunia and she told me to get Petunia. I've never used cream blush before so I can't wait to try this out.


This will (hopefully) be the last haul (excluding what I buy in Japan - vacations don't count) until Sephora's VIB sale in the winter. I think two palettes and a blush should tide me over until then. 

New Site Design

I didn't plan to rework the site design this morning but somehow I was inspired. I'm happy with this simple design after much tweaking and hope you guys enjoy it too.

Bad Blogger!

Image from weheartit

I have been a bad blogger for a very long time. I think I was trying to hard to do YouTube videos when I really wasn't that into it. It made me feel self conscious because I live at home and didn't want anyone to find out so I had to try and film in secret which took all the fun away from it. I've decided to focus on blogging. I'm going to try to incorporate more fashion into the blog with outfit posts (hopefully once a week) and some inspiration posts in addition to all the beauty posts readers are used to seeing. Even when school starts in September I'll be able to blog because I have gotten my schedule down to two days a week! This means I'll have more time to blog and work, which means more money, which means more goodies for me to play with!

Excitingly I leave in two weeks to go to Japan for three weeks. I'm going to be staying a suburb of Tokyo and will be teaching while I'm there. I'm so excited for this experience and I'll do some posts about packing/whats in my travel makeup bag. I'll also try to keep the blog updated with travel posts while I'm there. I'm really excited to try out some Japanese beauty products as well (Shisedo dream whip, Hakuhodo brushes, Yojiya brushes and makeup!) which I'll post a haul of when I get back.

I'm so glad to be back to blogging and thank you for your patience while I have been a negligent blogger.

Bout of Books read-a-thon 7.0

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I've been getting  a bit slower in my reading (too much of a social life) so I'm excited to challenge myself to read more next week! Are you participating? Message me on twitter (@nineteenoone) and we can cheer each other on!

Florence 2012: Climbing to the top of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

On our second day in Florence we climbed to the top of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Over 300 meters high with over 400 steps this was a huge trek for our jet lagged bodies. We woke up fairly early and started the climb around 9am so thankfully it wasn't crowded or too hot. If you want to do the same climb I'd highly recommend it but make sure you go early in the day, otherwise the lineups are just insane. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was built in the 15th century, with the dome being created by Brunelleschi who used  Roman techniques to create it.

On the way to the top you get some amazing views of the frescos at the top of church. These were created by Vasari in the 16th century and depict typical scenes found in many churches: heaven and hell. Honestly in Florence you will be INUNDATED with beautiful artwork and it all begins to blur together. It is totally ok if you don't remember all of it, try to pick out your favorite pieces and hold onto those. 

 Once you get to the top the views of the city are fantastic, this is a shot of the Santa Maria Nouvella that I took from the top. You can get a panoramic view of the city which is great early on in your trip to give you an idea of how the city is laid out.

I would not recommend this for anyone who has a fear of heights, the drop to the bottom is very far and once you start going up it is very hard to turn around. The stairs to get up are very narrow and hard to climb so make sure you're in (reasonably) good shape.

 Unfortunately at the top there is a great deal of graffiti that people have put up. Mostly banal, on occasion you do get some gems like the one above.

 There are locks at the top, so if you want to leave behind a memento I think this is a nice way to do it.

I don't look back on my time in Florence and remember all the partying we did. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun and we met some great people. Instead it's things like climbing up to the top of
the duomo that stand out in my memory.

What to wear on long haul flights

airport essentials by alysiamansfield featuring real leather handbags

Long haul flights can be a bit of a trial, so make sure you dress comfortably. I tend to start with a base of my lululemon wunderunders (you can wear any leggings though), a camisole with a built in bra (makes sleeping so much more comfortable), a cardigan or sweater (I'm fond of these TNA hoodies and these wilfred sweaters), a pair of slip on shoes (I'm loving these Toms), a bag big enough to hold my in flight essentials (Longchamp bags are great, or you can get a similar bag from ebay fro $20), and an empty water bottle is a must have so I can fill it up past security. I also make sure to pack any tech that I would be heartbroken to loose (like my cameras). 

While dressing up for a flight is great if it's under 5 hours, when you're going overnight comfort needs to be the primary concern.  

$$$ or $

Hey guys sorry for the absence the holidays were very hectic and then it was straight back to school with no rest! I need to come up with a good name for this series I'm starting on the blog where I find high end stuff and their cheaper (but just as good) counterparts! Any suggestions?

Starting off is this adorable Tory Burch Fox Stud Double Wrap Bracelet which retails for $125 (on sale for $87.50). Even on sale this is a hefty price tag for something that's more whimsy than classic. Also I'm not a huge fan of the patent and the colour choices leave something to be desired.

So I turned to my favorite website when sourcing handcrafted goods and searched for 'fox bracelet' and found this on the 4th page (Etsy tip: surf with patience, sometimes you don't find this for a while). At $18.95 this bracelet by AllAboutMyJewlery is a great alternative, plus comes in black, brown, red, blue, and orange. I'll post pictures once it arrives and let you know how the quality is.

Alysia