I Must Have Seasonal Affective Disorder

There has only been one thought going through my head lately... WHEN. WILL. WINTER. END??? Mother Nature must have some sort of apocalyptic vendetta with humanity because I look outside and think, "Someone up there must really hate the world right now."

I don't know what it's like in other parts of the northern hemisphere, but Canada is absolutely dreadful. I can't, for the life of me, remember a time when winter was so bad. We have had snowstorm after snowstorm after snowstorm. It'll creep up to -10 some days, and I think "SPRIIING!!?" and then there's a snowstorm but a day later.

Don't even get me started on Canadians who get downright patriotic over this arctic cold. "It's nothing us Canadians aren't used to, eh!" they'll say, Tim Hortons mugs in-hand. With the Winter Olympics in full swing it's like all the patriotic Canucks emerge from their igloos and I'm just here like, when's the next flight to Australia, because I am so done. And all Instagrams of the "beautiful winter snow"? It's not beautiful, it's evil.

I love being Canadian but I am SO ready to retire these mittens :(

It genuinely sucks the life out of me to get up in the morning knowing that I have to brave the awful and terrible outdoors. Not only that, but it's as if I'm drained of all motivation and affect. God bless my short-lived effort to eat healthy this year, because making nutritious meals is the last thing on my mind these days. All I want is to curl up into my warm bed with Netflix and chocolate cake. And going to the gym? Don't mind if I don't. Seriously, it's a miracle if I step foot in that place.

School, work, and internship are just as lousy. I feel like time has been going by extra slowly this winter and my devotion to these commitments is dwindling every day. I'll sit at my desk at internship, reply to emails, and then stare at the clock for 15 minutes until I realize I should probably be productive.

Next week I'm going to Florida, and I should be happy about it, but I can't get over the fact that I'm only going for three days and will probably have to drive back from the New York airport in the middle of a snowstorm. I've been trying to plan every possible second of those pathetic 72 hours of sunshine to maximize happiness and optimism, but it's been tough. Also, the Tuesday I get back will be one of the most nerve-wrecking days of my semesters since my major project is due. So, yay, I guess.

Anyway, I really felt the need to write this post because ranting to my friends about the weather has become ultra redundant. Thanks for listening. Let's pray for sunny days ahead.

Fall/Winter Bold Lip Picks

Hey everyone! I felt like showing you guys a few lipsticks that I would wear in the fall/winter months, so here they are. I have one plum-purple color and two red-based ones.

Here are the swatches. I'll go through the formulations and colors individually but this gives you a really good idea in terms of color comparison. 

So the first lipstick I have is this Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in the shade Vivid Violet. This one applies incredibly smoothly and can be built up for a really dramatic look. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that this formulation seriously clings to any dry skin you have on your lips (you can see a few spots in the photos above). BUT, if you use a scrub and a balm before application, it doesn't really matter.

I feel like these photos make it look a little more fuschia but I can assure you that it is a very deep plum color (as you can see if you look at the photo in the top left corner of the bullet). Lately, I've been wearing this to school dabbed on very lightly and then smoothed out with clear lip balm. The effect is really subtle and pretty.

Okay, so, now I have the Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet and, admittedly I wasn't too crazy about this color at first. If you can recall that far back, I even included it in my "products I regret buying" post. To be honest, I really didn't expect the color to be so dark (which doesn't translate well in the photo, but if you scroll up to the swatch, you'll understand). It's an almost-brown lip color and even though it's considered a "butter" this can be seriously built up. This is also the glossiest of my three picks. I think I'd save this color for more of a night out.

Last but not least, I have the infamous Russian Red by MAC. This is one of MAC's matte finishes which makes it very unique from the other two. The reason it's so used up is because my mom and I both use it (she more than I, lol!). I have to say that it applied really nicely and I would quickly like to mention that MAC lipsticks are not overrated in the slightest. They cling to the lips like it's meant to be. I suggest using a lip liner, applying with a thin brush, or lining the edges with concealer to give it that crisp finish. Also, it's a blue-based red meaning the undertones are not orangey or brownish, so it'll make your teeth look super white :)

Here's a (low quality) photo of myself wearing Russian Red last fall with some lip gloss overtop (can't remember which one!).