50 Unusual Questions: Part II

 

(I couldn't find a photo for this post so here's a picture of my favoritest candle ever. Shall I do a candle collection post?)

Find PART I of this post by clicking this!

26: Without looking them up, can you explain the rules of football? How about Quidditch? What do you think that says about you?

Errrr, I don’t know the rules of either so I think that says I suck at real life sports and fictional sports.

27: You’re in the car, switching channels on the radio when you hear a song that makes you go “OH SHIT, THAT’S MY JAM!” What song is it?

Anything Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, John Mayer, or Ed Sheeran.

28: Have you ever paid to see a Step Up movie? If not, how much would someone have to pay YOU to see a Step Up movie?

…AHAHA. I have paid to see a Step Up movie and I can honestly say I enjoyed the first one. To see the new one, however… Meh. I’d go if someone paid for my ticket. So like 10 bucks.

29: If you were being executed tonight, what would you choose for your last meal?

My grandmother’s homemade lasagna. Admittedly not my favorite dish of the moment, but definitely the most nostalgic.

30: Have you ever bought an item of clothing because it reminded you of something a fictional character would wear?

Can’t say I have, nope.

31: If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?

Sneak into places that cost a lot of money to be at, like award shows or film festivals. OR be a good citizen of humanity and uncover international secrets and save the world and stuff.

32: Have you ever been punched in the face?

My brother punched me in the face once because I unplugged his videogame. (But I feel like the obligatory answer to this is "One time Regina George punched me in the face once. It was awesome.")

33: How do you take your ramen noodles?

Microwaved?

34: Do you ever rehearse or plan conversations before you actually have them?

All the time and it’s a terrible habit! Like seriously, when do planned conversations ever turn out? Never.

35: How much black do you wear on a regular basis (not counting funerals)?

Depends on the season but I consciously try to avoid black.

36: Do you have any tattoos? Do you want any?

I don’t have any at the moment but I wouldn’t be opposed to a tattoo, except for the fact that I have NO clue what would be so special enough to get tattooed.

37: If someone offered you a free pet snake, would you take it? It’s not dangerous or really big or anything. They’re just moving to a place that doesn’t allow pets.

Errr, nope.

38: Do you know how to pronounce the word “pinochle”?

Like pinnacle but an ‘o’ instead of an ‘a’? (Oh god I just looked it up it’s pronounced pee-nocle.)

39: Can you think of anything more boring than birdwatching?

Sure can.

40: Are you better with numbers or words?

Words.

41: At the movies, do you stay for the credits?

Yep! I hate being rushed to leave a movie theatre, and sometimes they have extra bonus clips at the end of the credits.

42: Is morality universal or relative?

Hmm, both.

43: Let’s say you’re getting married to someone you absolutely adore. The only catch is that you met them through a Craigslist hookup ad that was supposed to be just for one night of casual sex. Would you tell your friends how you and your fiance met?

I’m a terrible liar so yeah.

44: What’s the worst name you’ve ever been called?

I’m not sure, insulting people to their face is a little too mainstream nowadays so you’ll have to ask whoever talks behind my back. I’ve been called ugly a few times when I was younger though. I wasn’t ever necessarily offended, just baffled because I guess my parents taught me manners and theirs didn’t.

45: Would you eat human flesh if it had been harvested and prepared humanely? (Say, from someone brain-dead who had marked him or herself down as an organ donor - same difference, right?)

Why would I ever desire to eat human flesh?

46: At what age did you stop believing in Santa? Alternately, if you never believed in Santa, did you ever ruin Santa for anyone else?

I believed in Santa for a really long time and in a way I still do believe in Santa.

47: Do you get along better with old people or little kids?

Little kids! Definitely little kids. I have full-on conversations with little kids because they’re the coolest.

48: If you had to choose, would you rather become a nun/monk or a drug dealer?

Nun/monk. I’m basically already one. (LOL)

49: What’s your best bodily feature, objectively speaking?

Objectively speaking? Is this not an opinion question?

50: Who is your favorite late night talk show host?

I don’t watch late night talk shows because I’m actually not that cool.

Hope you enjoyed these question-y posts and don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY I have going on right now! :)

Stars 'N' Rockets Eyeshadow Look

So apparently I'm on a roll with posting today?! I thought I'd quickly post an eyeshadow look before I head out :) I've had this MAC quad sitting in my drawer for a while and figured I'd pull it out for a change.

I was actually reminded about this quad when "icallitambrosia" on YouTube mentioned the color Stars N Rockets and I was like, "Oh! I have that color!" It's an incredibly fuschia/blue duochrome that can be used so many ways. In this look I popped it over my black liquid liner, turning it metallic blue. I used Seedy Pearl (a faint shimmery pink) as a wash, then packed Hepcat (a glittery fuschia) on the mid-outer corner, and used Beauty Marked as a crease color.

Beauty Marked is also a really original eyeshadow. It's almost black but it has flecks of red/burgundy in it that creates a really awesome, ashy effect on the lid. My lower lash line is a combination of Beauty Marked, Hepcat, and Stars N Rockets. I also used Seedy Pearl as an inner corner and browbone highlight.

Have you ever tried any of these MAC shadows? What do you think?

Also, don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY I have going on right now! :)

Nail Polish of the Day: August 18th, 2012

Hey everyone! I have a new NOTD for you guys and I thought I would finally feature a polish from my Essie collection, so here's "No More Film". This is more of a fall color but I think it's going to be really great for back-to-school.

I got this one in Essie's Resort collection that came out back in February, so if you're wondering why the bottle looks miniature, that's why! I have to admit, this isn't my favorite color in the collection and it's actually my first time wearing it, but I do really like the finish. It's super creamy and the application is very fluid.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway I have going on! http://abundanceoferica.blogspot.ca/2012/08/handmade-italian-leather-bracelets.html

EDIT (19/08/2012): I got bored of this color today and tried out "Chevron" nails for the first time. Cool no?

(Note that I digitally modified/cleaned up the rough edges of the nail art in this photo)

Handmade Italian Leather Bracelets GIVEAWAY! [CLOSED]

This giveaway is now CLOSED!

Hello everyone! I have quite the exciting news for you :) Last month I was in Italy with my mom and picked up a handful of leather bracelets as gifts for my friends. Apparently, I overestimated the amount of friends I have, and was left with these bracelets as a result. Instead of keeping them for myself, I decided to host a blog giveaway to thank my followers!

They’re both the same braided style, except one is a red-coral color, and the other is turquoise. They both have the same golden clasp and come in their original plastic packaging. I would say the retail value of these is around $8 CDN, making the entire giveaway worth $16. They originate from Italy’s Bari region, and as I said, are handmade genuine leather.

Lately, the bracelet “stacking” trend has been incredibly popular and I think these bracelets would make a great addition to your arm party. Check out this photo of my friend Shehz’s stacking:

So, if you think would like to own these two bracelets then please do enter the giveaway as I would be happy to gift these to one of my followers!

Terms & Conditions:

1) Must be 18 or over/have parental permission to enter
2) Must be following abundanceoferica.blogspot.ca via GFC (see left-hand task bar)
3) Must leave a comment on this post saying you’ve entered
4) Must be willing to provide a shipping address for the prize if won

5) OPTIONAL: For an additional SEVEN entries, follow me on Twitter @ericaeff (+2 entries), tweet about the giveaway using #abundanceofericagiveaway (+2 entries), write a blog post about the giveaway (+3 entries)

Contest runs from August 18th, 2012 until September 2nd, 2012 and a winner will be chosen during the subsequent week. Giveaway is international. Please confirm your entries via the Rafflecopter widget below!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Movie Post #2

Hey everyone! I thought today would be a good time to write up the sequel to THIS post, and review a couple more movies I've seen this summer. My goal is to be up-to-date with my reviews so I can write them more frequently/as soon as I see a new one, but I feel guilty doing that knowing I still have a bunch to write about. I also want to start talking about TV shows I've been into, but I want to finish my movies posts first. :) So without further ado...

5) Like Crazy: This movie was recommended to me by one of my friends and I'm glad I watched it. It's not a happy movie and it's not very exciting either, but it's honest and relatable. It gets a little tedious at times but it shows how easily people can fall in and out of love. Some people say it's too depressing, but I think people sometimes confuse "depressing" and "realistic". Aside from Jennifer Lawrence, I don't think there are many recognizable actors in this film, but that just adds to the relatable aspect.

Verdict: Not amazing but not terrible.

(Oh! Also, I started adding stars to the graphics on these posts in case you're too lazy to read the review/are more visual or whatnot)

6) Fight Club: I literally cannot believe I'd never seen this movie before. I guess I just figured, meh, what's so exciting about a bunch of guys fighting? But, of course, that isn't the whole story, is it? It's a little Inception-y in the sense that it has a surreal sci-fi aspect to it, but it's not intimidatingly cerebral. Anyway, I loved this one. This is the first movie of the summer that lived up to its hype for me. I'm actually reading the book now so who knows? I might have a book review coming soon. Edward Norton is gold in this and David Fincher can do no wrong by me.

Verdict: This is a good one. Undeniable.

7) Avengers: I'm a huge Marvel fan so I knew going in that I would love this film. It's just an incredibly entertaining superhero movie and honestly, there's not much else to it. There's some subtle humor in it too which is nice. A piece of advice before watching this is to make sure you've seen Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America first. It's not essential that you have, but trust me, you'll appreciate the Avengers that much more. What I liked most was the final action scene. Sometimes these can get boring but because the perspective was seven-fold, it was so much more exciting.

Verdict: A must-see for superhero lovers.

8) What To Expect When You're Expecting: This is one of those movies with multiple storylines that end up connecting in some way or another, which can be a hit-or-miss with me. What tends to happen is that I prefer one storyline over the other and get impatient when one I don't like is onscreen. So already, that's a point off for this one. All I can really say about this movie is "meh". It wasn't great. It wasn't that funny even though it tried hard.

Verdict: See it if you have nothing better to see, otherwise don't waste your time.

Products I Regret Buying

Hello everyone! I figured I would do a post on products I regret buying because I feel like it could be very helpful. My reasons for regretting buying these products range from problems regarding price, packaging, quality, and sometimes just personal preference--so just because I didn't end up liking them, doesn't mean you won't either! These are just some points to take into consideration before buying.

The first (three) products I regret buying are these American Apparel nail polishes. I have one in the color "Hunter" (a deep green), one in "California Trooper" (a really gross light tan color), and one in "L'Esprit" (a pale purple). Alright, so my problem with these nail polishes is their liquidy consistency. I find them incredibly hard to work with because they're so streaky, so you definitely need 2+ coats as well as a top coat. Also, the middle color (California Trooper), is really not what I thought it would be. It's just the most unflattering color in the world and it makes my hands look sickly, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I'm probably going to use these in an NOTD at some point because I'd like to show them to you guys.

These retail for $9 CDN each.

The Makeup Forever HD Foundation & Microperfecting Primer are probably the products I regret buying the most. For the record, I am SO against buying high-end foundation. I really can't justify the price I paid for this stuff. It's almost embarrassing. The story is that I had a Sephora giftcard and I happened to run out of my foundation so I figured I'd give these a shot. The guy at the Sephora recommended them, and I'd heard a lot of good things, so I went ahead and purchased them. Now, you might be wondering what the white bottle on the left is. As it turns out, this line doesn't have a shade in my color, meaning I had to purchase the primer as well. The primer is blue which cancels out the redness of the foundation. It made sense at the time, I guess.

What doesn't make sense, however, is how much I paid for such a low-quality product. The foundation itself is decent. Decent coverage and durability. Fine. The packaging... Not so much. When the product finally came to an end, it was just a mess. The foundation even starting coming out of the base of the lid. It was terrible. Also the cap is incredibly flimsy and it pops off easily, making this foundation super difficult to travel with.

The foundation retails for $42 CDN and the primer retails for $34 CDN totalling $76 CDN. I'm cringing.

Alright, I have a love-hate relationship with LUSH. I can't say I've ever purchased a product from there that I was absolutely dazzled with, and their Solid "Gorilla" Perfume in Karma is no different. This one basically just comes down to preference.

I was really intrigued by the idea of solid perfume so I went ahead and tested a few out before choosing Karma. Now, assuming you've ever been within a 5m radius of a Lush store, you'll know how scented the place is, so testing out perfume in there is no easy feat. I sniffed a couple before getting to this one and I just couldn't smell them, so when I got to Karma, I was like "Oh! Citrus! I can smell it!" And to be honest, it didn't smell terrible! So when I got home from my little shopping trip I pulled this out and smelled it again... DAMN was it CITRUSY. This little thing smells sooo strong, it's enough to give me a pounding migraine. It also has a certain spiciness to it, so that in addition to the citrus... Man. Not for me.

Anyway, lesson learned. Before buying perfume at Lush, put some on, leave the store, walk around, and then see if you still like it.

This retails for $10.95 CDN.

The next product I regret buying is this Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Red Velvet. To be honest, I feel bad for not liking this. It's gotten so many incredible reviews by beauty gurus it makes me feel almost guilty for not liking it! This is one is a matter of personal preference as well. As a lip butter, I didn't expect it to go on so opaque with just one swipe. But maybe the fault is on me for buying such a dark shade. My rationale was that I wanted to try out a darker lip color but not commit to the intensity of a lipstick.

I have to say, it looks pretty decent in the photos but in person it's so dark, it's almost brown. This one is entirely my fault though and maybe I'm just bitter because I haven't had the guts to wear it out yet. Oh well.

This retails for about $10 CDN at Canadian drugstores.

The next product on the list is Maybelline Great Lash mascara in the color "Blackest Black". I think my problem with this one is just that it is overhyped. It's been around for so long and magazines claim it to be the most timeless, best mascara in the history of ever. Meh. I disagree. But I guess it depends on what you look for in a mascara. My problem is the consistency--I just don't find it thick enough. I find myself brushing on 6+ coats before my lashes are how I like them. And not to say that I like that spidery clumpy look, it just takes that many coats before it even looks like I have mascara on.

This product retails for about $5.99 CDN.

My final product is the ever-talked-about Urban Decay Primer Potion in original and "Sin". I wasn't sure if I should include these on this list because I wouldn't necessarily say I regret buying them... As opposed to the other products on this list, I do still use these. I'll start by discussing the original primer potion which is in the purple bottle. I received this with the Naked palette (which I adore, by the way), and I'm just not a fan. If your eyelids are on the oilier side, applying this just feels like slapping on more oil (yum). It's very buttery and slippery and I don't actually notice any difference when I use it.

All to say, I use Sin a lot more often. I like using it when I'm applying shimmery eyeshadows because I do feel like it makes them stand out a little more (which is why I purchased the full size of this as opposed to the original one). My only problem is that you literally only need half a dab of this to prime your entire eyelid, meaning I'll have this product for the rest of my life. I guess that's a good thing considering you get your money's worth, but I feel like it's a little wasteful. I wish the Sin primer came in the same packaging as the original (Sin is a squeeze tube and the original has a wand).

This product retails full-size for $20.00 CDN. (Note: I just checked out the Sephora website for the price and look at this awesome deal: three primer potions in the "vintage" packaging for $22.00 (online only)!)

Alright so that's the end of the products I regret buying! Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed reading this/found it helpful at all :)