Review: Disney Collection A Whole New World Roller Ball

From Sephora's website:
Enchanting as magic itself, this alluring blend of exotic flowers and rich, warm woods is fit for a diamond in the rough. Empowering and seductive, this tempting fragrance will allow you to be the master of your own destiny. So go ahead, make your own magic. 
Notes: Carnation, Orange Blossom, Mandarin, Gardenia, Mimosa, Musky Accord, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Amber, Benzoin.

I picked this scent up on a whim one day while I was at Sephora. I've been trying not to buy new fragrances until I use up some of the ones I already have but I make exceptions for roller balls because they're perfect for traveling and tend to be under the $30 mark.  I'm not normally a floral scent person but this one intrigued me. This is the only item from the Disney collections that I have bought, they just haven't piqued my interest.

The bottle is pretty; fuchsia gradient with gold details and the words make your own magic embossed on the side. I like that sentiment, the idea of being in charge of your own destiny and not leaving it up to chance.

For the most part I don't like floral fragrances because the tend to be too big. They overpower the person wearing them. This could be largely because people tend to spray floral fragrances liberally which therefore results in a headache whenever I'm around them. Because this is in a roller ball version it stays close to the skin which I much prefer to being a walking talking garden that assaults people with scent. The sandalwood and vanilla mellow out the floral notes and bring them down to a pleasant (to my nose at least) level. 

This is going into my bag to come with me to Japan. I'm not sure what other fragrances I'll bring with me but I'll be sure to keep you updated!

FOTD # 1

I thought I'd share something different with you today. This is a look I wore to go for lunch with friends, it's simple and pretty. I used my Stila Convertible colour in Peony for the first time and I really like it. I have yet to perfect the art of applying cream blushes but I'm working on it.

I love the eyes on this look, simple and bronze. I've started to mix my Naked and Naked 2 palettes to create some looks, in this one I used Chopper from the Naked 2 palette with Buck and Darkhorse form the Naked palette. I love doing bronze looks in the summer because they really make my green eyes pop.

Products used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Naked Palette
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero
Maybelline Falsies Flared in Blackest Black
Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation in I20
Benefit Boi-ing concealer in 01
Nars Laguna Bronzer
Stila Convertible Colour in Peony
Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamond
Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple

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.