Review: Makeup Wipes

Hellooooo lovelies! I've been planning this review for a prettyyyy embarassingly long time now. But that's okay I guess, because it gave me the chance to try other options.

Today we're going to be rehashing the pros and cons of MAKEUP REMOVING WIPES!

I still plan on trying more, and once i've got a couple more under my belt i'll redo this post.
But i'm not right into trying new wipes because i've pretty much found my system by now!

I've had a chance to try 4 different brands. I normally use a makeup remover wipe once every other day, if you're averaging the days I wear makeup. And yeah, i'm a bad guy, so sometimes I can't help but going to bed in my sleep. Anyways, here we go. I'll go in order from least favourite to most!

#4 Balea Cleansing Cloths   (♥♥ of ♥♥♥♥♥)
These take last place. Absolutely without a doubt. I picked these up at Shoppers for probably $2.99 I believe, they were in the travel section. I was nearly going to pick up the No7 brand wipes, but I figured hey, these are so cheap, why not try! Aaaaand the only reason I don't regret this completely, is that I know how much I dislike them haha. I actually bought 2 packages because they were so cheap, and I couldn't bear to waste the money and throw them out, so I had to use all of the two packages. It took awhile.

The packaging was very simple, which made sense since they were so cheap. Just a simple resealable flap. They had a fairly mild smell, it wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it also wasn't something i'd go crazy for. The actual wipe had a textured dot-pattern that felt soft in my hand, but aggravated my face. They were way too moist, especially when you get down to the last couple wipes. I had to take them and wring them out into the sink before I could use them. Maybe a moist wipe wouldn't be so bad for removing makeup IF THEY DIDN'T BURN LIKE THE FIRES OF ALL THINGS UNHOLY AND MISERABLE! Oh my gracious, I despised these. I swear they just like, spat venom into my eyes. Mind you, I do have sensitive eyes, but these were so terrible. This would be the worst thing about them, so I definitely had to say I would never repurchase these, nor would I recommend them.
My Opinion: I would not buy these. I suppose if you're absolutely in a bind, you can't argue with the price. But do not get your hopes up, and I doubt these would have good long term effects on your skin.

#3 Hard Candy "Take It Off" Makeup Removing Wipes  (♥♥♥ of ♥♥♥♥♥)
These ones are my latest purchase. They aren't puke worthy, but they're not my favourites. I bought them for about $4.99 at Walmart. I'm a pretty big fan of Hard Candy, they have wicked packaging that appeals to my edgy and superficial side, they're totally reasonably priced, and I can find this brand at Walmart, so it's not hard to get to.

The worst thing about these is the smell. I smell a lot of alcohol when I take these out and wipe them on my face. I get a mild burning sensation when I use them, because I need to rub at the same areas for longer than my Garnier wipes, as the removal formula wasn't the best. So for the price, I wouldn't say these are all that bad, but I wouldn't write home to Momma.
My Opinion: Pick them up if you're desperate and broke, or need high alcohol facial products.

#2 Kirkland Baby Wipes (♥♥♥ 1/2 of ♥♥♥♥♥)
These aren't really any better than the Hard Candy wipes, the only reason they get a better place on my list is because they don't have the alcohol smell. I couldn't tell you the price because we buy them bulk from Costco. I believe it's $20 for a box of like .. 12?

They are unscented, so they just smell like .. vaguely clean haha. These have a strange.. fabric-like pattern. Soft! They probably wouldn't do a good job of removing loads of foundation or eyeshadow, but since I mostly wear powder and mascara, it's not a huge deal. They don't make my skin feel greasy or slimy or burn-y, so those are all pluses.
My Opinion: If you have a baby, you can count on these being there on the day you run out of makeup wipes. But make sure you wash your face after using these if you wear full makeup.

#1 Garnier "Fresh" Makeup Removing Cleansing Cloths   (♥♥♥♥♥ of ♥♥♥♥♥)
These are the best. My affinity for these probably started in '09 when I picked up the Garnier Fresh Fluid Moisturizer, it smells so good. It doesn't have any sort of cloying smell, it just smells .. well, fresh. No other description. But yummy fresh! Like grapes and kiwis. I have seen these priced anywhere from $6.99 on sale to $10.99 in grocery stores.

These remove makeup really well, smell awesome, and make my face feel clean and moisturized. Nothing more to say because I have no complaints!
My Opinion: If you don't like smelling fresh and feeling awesome, don't buy these. Other than that, GO HARD BRO!


ALRIGHT! This was my review. I hope you got some help from this, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

FirstDayOfSchool

Yes, I dressed in my best work outfit, yes I did my makeup nicely, yes I put some amount of effort into my hair.
Come on, we all do this on the first day of school!
No?
Just me?
Meh, whatever.

It was looooong and booooring. I think the main thing I learned was just how much i've taken for granted my knowledge of computers. Everyone there was really nice, but I had to help a girl highlight and copy text. Anyway, this was the reason school was so slow today, the teacher promised it would be less so tomorrow. Then again, he did say he wasn't reading the student handbook word for word today, then proceeded to do nearly that ..

Anywho, first day of 301 days (43 weeks definitely sounded better) of the Medical Office Assistant course at Sprott Shaw Community College: Complete!
I enrolled in this course mainly because i'm lazy. JUST KIDDING, though you could say my motives are close to?
I think one of the things I crave most in life is financial stability. And since I have a child already, and a boyfriend, it kind of puts me a bit behind the starting line. I personally have a bit of gender role mentality: hubby should take out the garbage, mow the lawn, clean the garage, and be the all-around provider; wifey should stay home and keep the house sparkling, bake yummy goodies, take care of the kids, and do cute crafty things.
However, my take on gender roles does differ a bit. Hubby does a lot of the cooking. I can blame it on my disease, or what have you, but sometimes, yes, i'm downright lazy. Hubby is also expected to help me with the child when he's home, and clean up after himself. (Try telling him that and getting it to stick!)
Wifey does have bad days where she doesn't get much cleaning done, or forgets to change over the laundry. But I also believe that if hubby doesn't make enough money to support you and your children substantially, you should go to work too! I am very selfish, I admit readily, but so long as you're contributing at all, that is good. (I'm talking about myself here moreso than others. Everyone has their own ideals haha.) I only work part-time, and I hope to never have to work full-time.
Hence MOA. A relatively short course where I can get certified knowledge to secure me a pretty stable job at above minimum wage pay. And that's all I ask.


Besides all that, i've been feeling very blase lately. And not blase as in blaze, blase as in blah zay, the french word haha. Everything simply bores me! Maybe there's something wrong with me again. Help me snap out of it!

Til then! <3

OOTD!

This outfit is actually one I really like, I was happy with everything but my hair lolol.
Nothing to be done about that. Anyways, on to the deets!

On my face i'm wearing: Naked Lunch and Parfait Amour eyeshadows by MAC, and D'Lilac lipstick by Limecrime

Jacket: "Hellz" - Thrifted
Shirt: Urban Planet
Jeans:  - Below the Belt
Scarf: Handmade
Bottom Right Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Damsels - Solestruck
Top Left Shoes:  - Call It Spring (brought these for when my feet got tired)

Overall this was a very comfy outfit, but still nice enough looking to do some running around. I don't wear this jacket often enough I suppose, but that would be due to the awkward sleeve length -.- Keep meaning to hem the sleeves. It jazzes an outfit up super well though!

NewYearBleh

To be perfectly honest almost a week into 2013 and it took me til the next day to realize i'd signed the kiosk's nightly deposit with 2012 .. Didn't fix it. YOLO. (as if.)

As always, i'm continually struck by inspiration, and too blah to go for it.
Either I don't believe it will go anywhere, I don't believe i'll be any good at it, or I feel it's not worth the effort. (lazy.)
I would love to do soooo many things. I'd love to blog more. Not that anyone reads it, but in a perfect world, I suppose.

Anyways. WE'RE MOOOOVINGGG.
I absolutely hate moving. BUT I am hoping this will finally be the place we can settle in for longer than a year. (our longest stretch in one home was I believe 4 or 5 months. Ew.)
The landlords let us pick the colours for the two bedrooms and the kitchen, they had already painted the living room (a nice beige-cream-whatever colour), and the bathroom is being reno'd later on so no point in painting, oh wells. We chose a really lovely darker gray-purple for our bedroom, it looks super great, a bright and light pink for Avaline's which really makes the room pop, and a burnt-umber-like colour (orange with a hint of brown/gold ?) called Chai Spice (the name may or may not have influenced my decision slightly). I can't wait to be out of this stressful hellish environment and into a home ffs. We have a backyard, we can have pets! Yayyy! I've never had a back yard with Scott before.

Once we move, i'd like to get the printer sorted out/fixed so it actually prints proper colour, and i'd like to work on my vision board. My grammy sent me pictures of the license plate cover for the Bug I want to buy from her, it's lined with pearls! Soooo precious, and she has eyelids all ready for me to get some funny eyelashes! I do want to paint her though. Silver is one of my absolute least favourite colours for a car. Don't know why, just feels empty and non-descript for me. Maybe a lovely dark blue or purple, a simple black, or possibly pink if I just can't help myself ;)
BUT not getting ahead of myself. Grammy wants a fair amount of money from me for it (with my saving skills? HAH) and I can't even think of painting before I think of buying. I believe I need to save somewhere between 5 and $8,000, though i'm hoping I can make her lower the price for me for my birthday hahaha. I can hope, right?!
As well though, before even that, I need to get my license. Ew. Lessons soon I guess, whenever we have the extra cash. The kick in the pants is the money i'm spending on the lessons could be saved to go to the Bug. At least momma said she's give me her car when her fiance buys a new one and she gets his, and she said I could sell it for upwards of 3 grand. It is in my dreams to acquire Grammy's bug and make her my own by the end of summer time.

Blah blah blah. The dryer just went off, and Scott is for some reason text-spamming me. I guess i'll go finish the laundry, make a fresh cup of tea, and then watch some MLP til Avaline wakes up again.

xoxo!

MichaelBubleChristmas

Currently listening to Michael Buble, enjoying the christmas songs he sings, and giggling at my silly little Ursula. She's so curious when she gets out of her cage. I think I made the right choice in getting a little bunny friend <3

My child tax got back paid today, so I went out to WalMart to get some things I needed for the house, and to splurge on some Christmas decorations as a treat. I bought a medium sized pre lit christmas tree with fake snow on it. It's so pretty =] After some wicked fluffing lol goddamn was it ugly when I first took it out. Boo picked out purple glittery christmas ornaments (shatterproof thank jebus). I also got disney princess wrapping paper, yayyy =D

Actually found some boots at WalMart that I really liked, when i've been turning my nose up at every other pair i've seen otherwise, expensive or no. They must run large in sizes though, so i'll have to exchange for a 9 tomorrow. Also taking back some icicle lights that looked purely stupid, and exchanging the baby gate I got, since I didn't want one that would bolt into the wall, I don't own my home damnit =/ And I may or may not have impulse-bought a popcorn machine that looks so cool >.> But i'm regretting it, so I'll return that too. I did get proper curtains for the living room, a blender, and 2 bar stools for my island. It must be freakishly high though, because the stools are just a bit short at their highest setting. I think they're just tall enough for me, but you can't rest your elbows on the counter. Which is best anways according to etiquette, no?

I decided to order pizza today to treat myself for how much work i'd done putting the house together, and they take an hour and a half to deliver me a pizza sans the toppings I ordered. And the wrong drink. Ugh, sometimes I wish I was more of a complainer. Whatever though. Things happen, I suppose. I asked the landlord if I could rent the extra bedroom for Avaline, since I have enough money for renting it for December and January, and I should have rental subsidy in place for February. Hopefully, but we'll see.

My big meal for the last couple days was an old family recipe for Swedish Meatballs, and my favourite garlic mashed potatoes. Now if you were to look up other recipes for Swedish Meatballs, you'll get an odd assortment of meatballs that are nothing like this recipe. These are sweet and sour and savoury all at once, so mouth watering. I can't make them like my mother, but anyone who has mine still drools. Here is the gist of the recipe for the meatballs and the garlic potatoes.


Swedish Meatballs:
In a bowl, mix desired amount of ground beef (in my case turkey) with 1 egg and breadcrumbs (I also added some quick cooking oats). Don't be afraid to mash this all with your fingers, have fun! Once mixed well, take handfuls (your choice how big you want your balls to be ;) ) of the mixture and form the meatballs. Throw them between your hands a bit, and roll to form them better. Next you'll want to brown these a bit in a frying pan (i'd say medium heat), you can choose to use a tablespoon of oil or not, whether you're concerned about calories. Ground turkey is pretty juicy though.

While the balls are browning (oh this recipe is too fun to describe lol), you're going to make the sauce. In a medium sized bowl, add 1 cup of ketchup, 2-3 tablespoons of Worcesteshire sauce, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Mix this all up nice and well, the brown sugar will try to settle. Throw the balls into the sauce and get them nice and saturated in it. Then you can pour the mixture into an ungreased glass baking pan (or corningware, etc.) that isn't very deep.

Bake the meatballs at 375 degrees for 40-60 minutes (depends on the size of your balls, so make sure you check them. The sauce will saturate the centers so don't depend on colour, go by consistency. Moist and squishy, put it back in missy! Drier and crumbly, just right for the tumbly!) I would roll them around every 2 minutes just to ensure the sauce gets all over everything.


Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
This recipe can be highly dependant on your ingredients and your preferences, as well as how many people you're serving. I was just cooking for myself, but I LOVE garlic.
For this, you can use either garlic salt, garlic powder, or my favourite REAL CLOVES! If you're using a garlic substitute, you know how to make mashed potatoes, just add the garlic powder/salt to the potatoes before you mash.
For the garlic clove potatoes! Peel and cut up the desired amount of potatoes and add them to a large pot to boil. A decent rule of thumb if you're not a garlic fanatic is 1-2 cloves of garlic per potato/person, but I used 4 cloves for 1 potato hahaha. Anyways, peel your cloves, crush them, and cut them into pretty small pieces. Don't quite mince them unless you don't want them in your mash, and you just want the flavour they'll bring from boiling with your taters. Add them to the pot, boil until the potatoes can be cut with a fork, and drain. I like my garlic in my mash, so I throw it into a big mixing bowl, add a gross lump of butter and a decent splash of milk, and mix it all with my beaters. Add salt and voila! Garlic mashed potatoes that will make any man yours ;D haha not really but I haven't met someone who hasn't gone gaga for these yet.


Anyways lovelies I'm off to bed now. Back to WalMart tomorrow to correct my mistakes in shopping haha and to pick up a couple things I forgot. I keep getting more vitamins, and they almost don't fit into my cute little pink pill case anymore! D= I just need vitamin E though, and I think they're pretty small.
All of you have a fabulous night, may your dreams be filled with glitter and garlic ^.^ Wait, garlic? YES haha.

FridayTea

Let's have a moment of silence to lend support to the recovery of my beloved iPhone.
WHO FELL IN THE MOTHER EFFING TOILET OH MY EFFFFF HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN.
Currently iPhone is laying in a bed of rice, while I fervently wish for it's speedy and miraculous recovery.
This means no Instagram D= I am a little bit too interested in that app. Probably the thing I update most. Really, if you're interested in what's going on in my life, you'll get the most answers from Instagram.

So, it's a Friday morning, I threw my tea at my laptop because Fridays with PewDiePie still managed to have a damn jumpscare, and I am blogging because Boo is with her daddy. Probably going to watch the Little Mermaid later because I not-so-secretly have always wanted to be her. (Legitimately had a mermaid obsession for years.) Wah. If only I could be a Disney princess.
I should also clean up, considering when my mom was visiting the other day from Langley, she cleaned my entire house while I was at a movie with Vicky. (We saw Silent Hill Revelations. If you enjoy the games, you won't like the movie much. I can only relate it to what happened to Saw; The first movie was done fantastically, had an epic story line, made you think, just enough gore to horrify you a bit. Then the next ones were a mindless gore fest. Same thing here apparently.)

While momma was down she tried to get everything I needed to do done. Although I couldn't go for my tests because apparently I have to fast for 10 hours before them, and I have to eat shortly after waking or I get sick. Ew. Blood tests.
But she did take me to order a replacement birth certificate for Boo, so when that comes in 10 days I can apply for rental subsidy. I lost my second job, so things are really tight and i'm relying on all the familial help I can get, which totally feels shitty. As well, child tax should be coming in again this month, as I filed my taxes 2 months or more ago (I know, very late), and I received a letter end of last month saying I owed THEM 189 dollars or something. So much confuse. But it should just be taken out of my payback for not having child tax for a couple months. Not uber concerned, so long as I get it end of this month I can stop feeling so stressed. If I don't, at least I am making the exact amount to cover rent.
She also tried to help me get a green bin to recycle food waste. I agree with recycling, it's smart, but generally I won't go out of my own way to get it started myself. The city only allows one regular can of garbage to be picked up every two weeks though, and I accumulate far more than that. So I need to start splitting up my waste. The landlord was delivered one in October of 2011, but the last tenant must have taken it, so he told me to get another and take it off my rent. I also wanted a recycling bin, but you can't get them apparently. You just need to ask the garbage men for the bags. Which is silly. I did see plenty of garbage cans with the recycling bags taped to them though, so I may just get a smaller can and do the same. May as well help the environment, and myself.

I'm going to try and do two regular segments on YouTube from now on, and one random video a week (or at least every two weeks) that is beauty related. I want to share things I am passionate about and that I have experience in. So I'm going to restart my idea that I'd called the BodyMods Chronicles, which basically goes into detail explaining everything you could ask about a piercing, in under 10 minutes. I also decided that since whenever I feel like vlogging, I am in pajamas and look haggard lol, i'm going to initiate No Makeup Mondays, and that will be my vlogging day. I'll rock the jim jams, bedhead, and bare face. Most beauty gurus never show their naked face, and I think that's a little silly. Maybe because i'm a mom and have other things going on, so when i'm not going out or working, I don't want to put makeup on only to have to take it off. Besides, at the end of the day you have to take your makeup off, and you'll always look the same underneath.

I'll also try to share recipes and things i'm trying on this blog, and maybe i'll do the occasional Cooking With Barbie videos. I'm hoping to get a nice camera for Christmas, something just to take HD videos and photos for my makeup work, and YouTube of course. I'm considering doing a Reading With Barbie segment, where I start a new book every two weeks, and you can choose to read along with me or not. I'll start it by reading the first chapter aloud for my lovelies, as well as the blurb, and my anticipations for the book. At the end of the two weeks, I will read the last chapter aloud and share my impressions and opinion of the book. We'll see about that, but i'd love to include all of my favourite activities on my channel.

Here's hoping!

Chartreuse Satin

It was a grey morning. That's so typical, isn't it? My father's funeral was on a grey morning. Everything was in shades of grey, even the freshly cut grass looked devoid of colour.  And it was raining. A cool, calming drizzle. This was probably my dad's message.

"It'll be alright Katy, everything will be alright." Then he'd pull me into his arms, and stroke my forehead softly with his cool, soothing fingers.

But today he was wrong. Nothing was going to be alright. He was gone, my father, my daddy, the only person in my life that really ever loved me was dead in the ground. Those cool and gentle fingers now icy, and stiff with rigor mortis, forever resting on chartreuse satin. What the hell kind of name for a colour is chartreuse, anyway? My aunt picked it out, she said he would have liked it. She was wrong. He would've liked to be on the beach, writing cryptic messages in the sand, or reading in a cafe, a black coffee sitting half-empty on the table in front of him, an expression on his face that practically screamed troubled artist. He would've rather been anywhere but in a box, cold and dark, the joy of life no longer his.

This was what brought the tears. Not that he was dead, so much as that the world had been robbed of his magic, his energy, his voracious appetite for happiness. I had a feeling that everything would look grey to me from now on.

It had actually been sunny that day. It was beautiful, I don't remember a better day. We'd gone for ice cream, and we laid on the shore, with I watching the clouds and him reciting poetry while we enjoyed the warmth from the sun. It was only a week ago, and already it feels like 10 years have passed.