Three Places on my Travel Bucket List

November 12, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

Travel is something that is very important to me. There are so many places all over the world that I dream of visiting. I’ve never made a formal travel bucket list, as I honestly think I could fill a book, but I thought I would chat about three of the places I have my eye on. I’m going to exclude Paris, France from this list as I’ll be going there in late December. If the trip wasn’t booked then it would have definitely been on this list. So, let’s chat a bit about three places that are pretty close to the top of my list!

London, England

England in general is a place I’ve always wanted to go. Given my half British roots, it’s only natural that I’d want to explore the country that my grandparents came from. Additionally, I’ve always been fascinated by British pop culture so that as well brings it high up on my list of places I’d want to go. I’d want to explore more than just London, but that’s a start! Continue reading →

Favourite Hair Products

November 11, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

I very seldom talk about hair here as it is an area that I am pretty unskilled in. My hair routine is pretty simple: wavy, straight or up in either a bun or a ponytail. Sometimes, a braid. Anyways, with that said, I do have some favourite hair products so in keeping with my National Blog Posting Month Challenge madness, I thought I’d share them with you today. Side note – I’m pretty darn impressed I’ve been keeping up with this despite getting sick on day one! Thank goodness I was prepared, that’s all I’ve got to say! Anyways, let’s take a look at three of my favourite hair products!

Marc Anthony | Hydrating Coconut Oil & Shea Butter Curl Cream

My hair is naturally curly/wavy so this is by far the most essential product to my hair routine. On most days I just throw a bit of the Marc Anthony Hydrating Coconut Oil & Shea Butter Curl Cream and let it air dry. This helps tame frizz, defines my natural curls and overall makes my hair feel healthier! I can’t say enough great things about this product! Continue reading →

Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara

November 10, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 8 Comments

Urban Decay is by far one of my favourite brands, so when I saw they had released a new mascara, my interest was definitely captured. However, I don’t usually purchase many high end mascaras as there are so many great drug store ones so I didn’t immediately jump on board. When I saw that the Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara was part of the Sephora Favourites Lashstash as one of the full sized products it sealed the deal on that purchase. The Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara promises to “[deliver] a lengthening, perfectly fanned-out look with extreme volume for longer, thicker-looking lashes”. Let’s see how it delivered on this promise!

First off, the packaging is quite sleek. It is a shiny duo-chrome tube that is really quite eye-catching. The brush has tiny hooks to grab each lash and apply the product to ensure no lash is missed. I quite like the size of it, it isn’t too big or too small. It worked well for both the top and bottom lashes. Continue reading →

BioBelle #Decadence Sheet Mask

November 9, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

As you may know, my birthday recently passed, so I thought there was no better time to treat myself to the BioBelle #Decadence Sheet Mask that I purchased on one of my trips to Ulta during the summer. I don’t really eat cupcakes at all so I thought it would be fitting to try the face mask version instead! The BioBelle #Decadence Sheet Mask aims to hydrate and vitalize the skin. The chocolate is high in anti-oxidants which softens the skin and helps hydrate it. The acai berry both helps retain moisture and fights off the line-causing free radicals. Continue reading →

Blue Lipstick: Confidence in a Tube?

November 8, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 6 Comments

Blue lipstick – I have to admit it is something I never thought I would wear in a million years. The thought just seemed so foreign to me. I’m no stranger to purple lipstick but blue just seemed so “out there” so I never really gave much thought to it. However every time I saw a photo online of someone else wearing it I started to become more and more intrigued. I don’t recall how it came up but my bestie and I ended up chatting about this and decided we needed to have a “blue lipstick night”. The plan was simple, wear a blue lipstick and go downtown.

As the night grew closer I acquired my weapon of choice – NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in the shade Jet Set. I was a bit nervous about the idea of wearing blue lipstick out as I haven’t really ever seen anyone else wearing it when I’ve gone out in the past. But, we were in this together! Continue reading →

Palette Spotlight: Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette

November 7, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 9 Comments

In continuation with NaBloPoMo I thought it would be fun to dedicate Tuesday’s this month to a different palette. Considering I am a palette junkie this in a little dive into my collection. I’ve been thinking about doing this for awhile as I’ve been asked to do a post (or posts) on it. If all goes well, I’ll continue to work through my ever-growing collection until I hit the end (is there ever an end?!). To start off though, I’ll go through ones that I’m pretty sure I haven’t done a dedicated post on in the past. So, today I’m starting off with the Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette. I picked this beauty up in August but haven’t previously featured it on the blog.

The Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette is a transformer palette that can be used on the eyes, lips and face. It definitely holds true to being multipurpose as I have used it in all three ways so far. While it isn’t truly holographic (why do brands so loosely use this term?!), all four shades have a beautiful shift to them. They all look nearly white in the pan, but when they catch the light their true pigmentation shines through. Continue reading →

The Birthday Tag

November 6, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 17 Comments

I had planned on doing a Mani Monday post today but since I’ve been sick I wasn’t really motivated to paint my nails. However, as today is my birthday I thought I’d do the birthday tag instead!

1.) When is your birthday?

Today (November 6th)

  2.) How old are you turning? (Or if your birthday recently passed, how old did you turn?)

I turn 28 today!

3.) What was you’re favourite present that you’ve ever received?

To be honest – nothing really sticks out in my mind. I’m sure I’ve received lots of great presents over the years though. Nothing really beats a nice night out for dinner with my husband though 😊 Continue reading →

4 Things That Improve My Well-Being

November 5, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 7 Comments

As part of the National Blog Posting Month Challenge (NaBloPoMo) that I’ve undertaken this month, I thought I’d dedicate Sunday’s to something a bit different and do some lifestyle posts. Today I’d like to share four things that improve my well-being. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and working on myself this past year. Through this I’ve been able to isolate four things that boost my overall happiness and health.

Yoga

Photo by Cedric Lim from Pexels

I had been doing yoga sporadically for about two years but over the last year I have adopted it as part of my regular routine. For the most part, I’ve been pretty good about going two times a week (excluding the summer as somehow those sunny days create a giant roadblock to the gym, who knew?!). My favourite type of yoga class is hot vinyasa. In a vinyasa class movement is coordinated with your breath to flow from one pose to the next. It’s a bit more of a challenging yoga class which I love and the hot environment makes it even more enjoyable. I always feel so refreshed and recharged afterwards. Not that these items are in any particular order, but I truly believe that regular yoga has been the biggest catalyst to improve my well-being this year. Continue reading →

Top 3 Vampy Lipsticks

November 4, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

Vampy lipsticks are such a staple in my makeup collection. While I definitely wear them all year round, I am definitely more drawn to them during the colder months of the year. Today I thought I would share with you three of my current favourite vampy lipsticks in my collection. These are all liquid lipsticks as I find that type of formula generally packs more of a pigmented punch and are far easier to apply. Those are two factors I find very important in a dark lipstick.

Anastasia Beverly Hills | Liquid Lipstick in Heathers

Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in the shade Heathers was one of the first vampy lipsticks that I added to my collection. It definitely adds a lot of drama to any makeup look I’ve worn it with. I really enjoy the formula of this one, I have previously reviewed the Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick so you can find out more about it if you’re curious! It’s a beautiful brown/oxblood shade. Continue reading →

Garnier SkinActive Moisture Bomb Sheet Mask

November 3, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

Masks have become a recent staple in my skincare routine, particularly sheet masks. They are quick and simple and make minimal mess. When I was recently sent a few Garnier skincare products to try, I was most excited to try out the Garnier SkinActive Moisture Bomb Sheet Mask. It promises to make your skin softer and more radiant by deeply moisturizing.

The first thing that I noticed about the Garnier SkinActive Moisture Bomb Sheet Mask is that it is by-far the best fitting face mask I have ever tried. It felt like it fit my face like a glove. Since it fit so well it felt comfortable for the entire time it was on my face. I wore this mask for about fifteen minutes. Continue reading →