Christmas & Boxing Day Haul 2013

Hey everyone! Happy belated Christmas to all those who celebrate :) I hope you all had a great holiday.  I thought I'd mix in my Boxing Day purchases with my Christmas gifts considering most of what I got was purchased with gift cards haha.

My friends and I always do a gift exchange over the holidays, and this year I received a little Occitane gift set containing all the products on the left of the photo above. Included were mini versions of their Almond Shower Oil (which I've been wanting to try for so long!), Jasmin & Bergamote body milk, Pivoine Flora shower gel, two different sizes of their hand cream, Lavender bubble bath, Anti-aging "Immortelle" cream, and Extra gentle soap.

I also got the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush scrub and body butter which smells SO GOOD. The scent is sweet lime. Can't wait to start using them.

My dad got me a new hair straightener which I didn't really need but appreciate anyway. My current one is starting to get a little crusty and this one looks really high-tech, so I'm happy with it.

My little brother got me two Bath & Body Works candles, Cinnamon & Clove Buds, and Eucalyptus Mint.

My mom got me the amazing red YSL lipstick that I've been wanting. I know it's redundant, but it must be said: THE PACKAGING is incredible. My dad got me a MAC giftcard so I picked up "Instigator" from their new Punk Couture collection along with Night Moth lip liner. It's insanely dark but I love it.

I also got a new Sephora Formula X nail polish in "Boom". It has baby blue flecks that cluster when you apply the nail polish. It seems really cool so I'll try it out soon and post a review.

On Boxing Day I picked up the Laura Mercier Artist Eyes palette. I knew I needed this palette after seeing it on Makeup and Beauty Blog. She mentions that the eyeshadows are easy to over-blend, but I don't foresee that being a problem. I thought the look she created was phenomenal. I also got two of the Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes eyeshadow sticks which were on offer 2 for $12.

My mom also got me the Diptyque Noisetier candle. It's a very crisp spa-like scent, perfect for when you're taking a bath I think :)

My cousin got me this awesome red beanie that I've been wearing every day since Christmas so far. I haven't worn a hat in so long that I forgot how cozy they are. I also got many gift cards including ones for The Bay, Sephora and Mac.

Not pictures above are this amazing oversize knit sweater from Top Shop that I got for 50% off on Boxing Day, as well as a Boogie Board that my mom thought would be cute to get me.

That's it! I'm really pleased with my gifts and am so thankful for all of them. Happy holidays!

Christmas Wishlist 2013: Non-Beauty

Hey everyone! I thought I'd whip up a part 2 of my Christmas list to give you all some ideas for gifts to buy family/friends. Enjoy!

Canon DSLR: To be honest, I don't care which version, as long as it shoots in 1080p. I also don't care if it's secondhand. I just really want a nice DSLR for blogging and school purposes.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones: This exact model is kinda pricey, but I love the way it looks with the brown padding. This could also be a good gift for a man you need to buy for. But really, any noise cancelling headphones work. Just don't buy me Beats because I'm not Justin Bieber.

Jockery mini Portable iPhone charger: Anyone who has an iPhone (or phone that uses a USB charger) could find this handy. This one is relatively small and lightweight, and is good for a full charge. Super useful.

Macbook Pro decal: There are some really beautiful and inexpensive Macbook decals on Etsy. I chose this one because it would compliment by blue Incase quite nicely. My second choice are these Mickey Mouse hands, so cute!

Photojojo Lens Set: This is kind of geeky, but these Photojojo external iPhone lenses look soo nice. Perfect for any Instagram-obsessed person in your life!

Minecraft: Sometimes the 12 year-old boy in me emerges and I feel the need to play something like Minecraft. Unfortunately I feel like a big nerd paying $26.95 for a computer game so I've never hit "purchase"! Please, Santa?

Ikea wooden hangers: I intend on doing a full closet overhaul in my new room, and the first step are these wooden hangers from Ikea. Eight hangers for $5.99 is the cheapest I've seen them. Also I feel like anyone who uses wooden hangers really has their life together... Or is that just me?

Reclaimed wood tray: I'm obsessed with anything wooden (see above), and these reclaimed wood trays are just calling my name. I would probably use them as shelving instead of trays. For $16.41 on Etsy they seem really affordable too!

Neom or Diptyque candle: I think it's time to expand my candle collection beyond Bath & Body Works. A luxury candle for Christmas would be amazing. They sell these at Holt Renfrew, but I'm not sure which scent I'd want, so a gift card works too ;)

Simple silver ring: I've been wearing my high school grad ring for four years now and it's really time I upgrade. Nothing too fancy - something simple that won't tarnish works. I love the braid detail on this one.

Prescription Ray Ban sunglasses: I'd rather not be blinded when I'm driving so a pair of prescription sunglasses has become incredibly necessary.

Contacts: It's not that I don't love my glasses, but sometimes I'd like to have the option of wearing contacts - like to the gym, nights out, etc.

Crest Whitestrips: The last time I got my teeth whitened was at the end of high school and I feel like I need a refresher. These "gentle" Crest Whitestrips should to the trick.

Spa gift card: I don't care where, I don't care how expensive or inexpensive, I just really need a massage and a pedicure. Santa, help a girl out.

Topshop/The Bay gift card: So TopShop recently opened near my house and I've been meaning to check it out. A gift card would be lovely!

Sephora/Mac gift card: You can never go wrong with new makeup, as you might have guessed from part 1 of my wishlist.

And that's it! Hope you got some ideas :)

Christmas Wishlist 2013: Beauty

I'll just go ahead and say it: I have an irrationally long Christmas list this year. We can just regard this list as a compilation of things I wanted to buy this year but was too poor to afford. Here it goes!

The eyeshadow palette I bought for myself this year is the Urban Decay Vice Palette, but I've also been lusting after Urban Decay Naked3, the Lorac Pro Palette, and the Laura Mercier Artist Eyes Palette. All neutral, but all extra lovely.

My blush pick for this year's list is Mac "Gingerly" because I've been searching for that perfect orange-coral shade. My concealer/foundation pick is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. My highlighter pick is the Hourglass "Ambient Light" Palette - because all the online reviews have successfully convinced me that I need this.

I've singlehandedly decided that I need a YSL lipstick in my life, so I'm going for a classic red called "Red Muse". My MAC lipstick pick for this list is "Fixed on Drama", a rich wine retromatte. For good measure, I'm throwing in the elf lip exfoliator, because why not?

For the sheer fact that I've never owned a "high-end" mascara that wasn't a sample, I've included: Benefit "They're Real" (all-time best mascara that I have like 3 used samples of), Tarte "Lights, Camera, Flashes", and Clinique "Bottom Lash" mascara, simply because "bottom lash mascara" seems like a superfluous purchase, but works great as a gift.

Ideally I would like one of every type of the Sephora Formula X nail polishes, but I've included "Boom" for list purposes. Zoya "Payton" looks sooo nice. Want. I'm in need of a good matte top coat so I've chosen the OPI one.

FINALLY, Pharmaprix has begun to stock the Sugar Crush line of Soap & Glory products, so naturally I'm after the Body Buttercream and the Body Scrub. Lush "Lovely Jubblies" (a "breast firming cream"...lol) has been on my wishlist for forever, so it's about time I get my hands on it.

Every year I like to refresh my brush collection in some way or another, so this year I'm asking for the MAC 138 which I'll use for highlighter, the Real Techniques eyeshadow brush set, and the Sigma E65 which I'll use for gel liner.

And, surprise, this is not the end of my list! I'll have a part 2 coming up which will feature my non-beauty items :)