March Favourites | 2015

It's monthly favourites time once again! Today I have my March favourites to share with you! March was a bittersweet month for me. Some things came to an end like the Target I worked at closing down and Glee having its series finale, but I also have some new and exciting things in the works too! I'm so glad it's spring now, though it has been cold lately. Hopefully by the time I write my next monthly favourites post we will have had some nice weather! Anyway, onto the favourites!

MAC x Toledo Ripe Peach Blush Ombré / I know, this is a limited edition product, but I really did get quite a lot of wear out of this blush this past month! It's a beautiful peachy pink shade that gives the cheeks a nice healthy glow. I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it over the spring and summer!

Colourpop Super Shock Shadows in La La and Desert / I finally got around to trying out the Colourpop shadows this month and the formula really is as good as everyone says it is! The two shades I got are both light, warm toned golden browns (one metallic, one satin), but they make for lovely everyday eyeshadow colours.

H&M Gold Bar Pendant Necklace / I've wanted a bar pendant necklace for a little while and I spotted this beauty at H&M this month for only $5.95! I've worn it quite a few times this month and I really love it! I hope to find a similar necklace in silver to wear on days I wear silver jewelry!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge / I love this sponge. I've gone through a couple of them because they do stain and get a bit grubby looking, but they work so nicely at applying foundation! Lately I've been opting for a more moisturized and glowy complexion, rather than heavy and matte as I wore during the winter months, and this sponge helps me achieve that look!

Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Marvelous Mauve / Apparently this is a highly sought-after lip product at the moment and I'm so glad I have it in my collection. I found this at Sephora at the end of February and managed to scoop up the last one in the store. Since then I haven't seen it in stock at any Sephora I've been to, so I'm lucky I got it when I did! It's a gorgeous neutral mauvey pink shade on the lips and it seriously lasts all day long. I now have 3 shades from this range and I'd love to get more!

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Bellissima / I've had this lipstick for quite a while actually (I hauled it last June) but I always thought it was too light of a lip colour for me. Well, I tried it on again this month and ended up loving how it looked! I even included it in my most recent Get Ready With Me video since I find it to be a beautiful colour for spring!

Sephora Formula X in Thrilling / I'm still on a nude polish kick, and I gave this one a try this month and really loved it. The formula and application were fantastic, and it also lasted over a week on my nails with very minimal chipping (and I was working with my hands quite a bit)! I'm so "thrilled" with this polish (see what I did there? ;) haha!).

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven / One of my goals this year was to read 1 book a month. Well, this was supposed to be my February book but I didn't end up finishing it until mid-March (whoops!). I did really enjoy this book though! It's said to be comparable to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor & Park (two books I enjoyed as well) and I can see the similarities in the book styles for sure. I'd say if you like YA fiction to give this one a read! It's also being made into a movie apparently so I'm excited for that!

Those are my favourites from March! What products have you been enjoying the past month?

9 Books to Read in 2015

One of my goals for 2015 is to read (at least) 12 books. I love reading and I often buy books throughout the year but I don't take the time to actually read them enough. In 2014 I added quite a few books I'm really excited about to my bookshelf and I look forward to reading them this year! I plan on reading one book a month, or more if I can! Here are 9 books I want to read at some point this year!

Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes - This is the book I'm currently reading and I'm loving it so far! It's a non fiction book written by beauty journalist Sali Hughes covering all things beauty. I've already learned so many helpful tips from what to do at a beauty counter, to all things skincare, to what foundation works best for my skin type. I'm only about a quarter of the way through the book so far but I can already tell it's a must-read for anyone into beauty or for anyone who wants to learn more about beauty!

Looking for Alaska by John Green - I have already read this book a couple of times but recently the 10th Anniversary Edition of the book came out and it has a beautiful new cover as well as 50 pages of bonus content that weren't in the original book. I really want to give this book another read and see what those extra 50 pages hold! (I believe there are some "deleted scenes" as well as a Q&A with John Green!)

Firecracker by David Iserson - I picked this book up on a whim sometime last year because the cover design caught my eye. As a graphic designer I could spend hours upon hours in book stores looking at all the different cover designs (so yes, I do judge books by their covers a lot of the time). I read the back of the book and it said it was written by one of the writers of the TV show New Girl. I really love New Girl and I really enjoy the comedy and writing of that show so I figured this would be a fun book to read!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I feel like everyone has read this book by now but I haven't yet! I saw the movie when it was in theatres and I really enjoyed it and wanted to know what happened next so I picked up a box set of If I Stay and the sequel, Where She Went. I really look forward to reading this to see what I think of it compared to the movie, and I look forward to seeing what the sequel brings as well!

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner - This is a book I picked up quite recently. I picked it up off the shelf because the cover seemed interesting and once I read the summary of it, it seemed like something I would enjoy reading. This book is about a beauty vlogger whose sister passes away. It deals with how she handles the loss while in the "public" eye of her audience. It seems like an interesting read since I watch so many beauty vloggers!

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - I got this book the same day I got Can't Look Away because there was a buy 1 get 1 50% off deal! This book is said to be "The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park" which are two of my favourite novels so I really hope I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed those two! Its summary says it's a "heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die". This book only came out in the first week of this year and apparently it's set to be a movie as well!

Landline by Rainbow Rowell - Over the past couple of years, two of my favourite books have been Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, both by Rainbow Rowell. I love the style that she writes and I can't wait to read this one. The cover is really nicely illustrated as well!

Refinery29 Style Stalking - This book is kind of more a coffee table book full of gorgeous photos of street style fashion. It goes over personal style and different trends in fashion. I really want to be more adventurous with the clothes I wear and I feel like this book will give me some great inspiration.

Grace's Guide by Grace Helbig - I've had this book since it came out sometime last year (I even went to one of Grace's book signings!) but for some reason I haven't gotten around to reading it! I've read the first couple of chapters but that's about it. For those living under a rock, Grace Helbig is a comedic YouTuber who is soon to have her own TV show on E! I've been subscribed to Grace's channel for quite some time and from what I've read of this book so far, it really captures how hilarious and down to earth she is.

Well, there is my current to-read list for the year! I really hope I get through these all and more over the next year and I'm genuinely excited to reading each and every one of them.

What books do you want to read this year? Any recommendations for me?

Also, add me on GoodReads if you have one!

Small Haul! (B+BW, Chapters, OPI)

Here's a quick haul from last week when I went to the mall! I got this stuff a couple of days before Mother's Day and one of these things is what I gave to my mom! Here's what I got:

Bath & Body Works Candles - Espresso Bar and Caribbean Escape // Bath & Body Works was having an amazing 3 for $30 sale for Mothers Day on their 3-wick candles so my friend and I split and got some! I got 2 candles in the scents Espresso Bar and Caribbean Escape. Espresso Bar is described as "Stop and savour the aromas of roasted espresso beans and sweet vanilla froth like the Italians, who never take their coffee "to go"." I'm not a coffee drinker but I love the smell of it and when I burn this candle it makes my house smell like a Starbucks! The other scent I got is Caribbean Escape, which is one of my favourite B&BW scents. I have a small 4oz. version of this candle but I thought I'd pick up a 3-wick one for when the small one runs out. This scent is described as "Dive into this blend of tropical melon, raspberry nectar and lemon mellowed by creamy coconut milk and raw sugarcane for a fragrant and exotic escape." It's so tropical and fruity and sweet smelling, I love it!

OPI If You Moust, You Moust // While I was at the mall I stopped by Trade Secrets (as I always do) to see if they had any nail polish on sale. Luckily, they did! They had a small table of 50% off OPI polishes so I picked up this one from last year's Vintage Minnie Mouse collection! It's the perfect creamy medium pink!

Custom Lettering of the 40s and 50s // As some of you probably know, I'm a graphic design student and I love typography. When I was in Chapters I found this book showing tons of beautiful lettering from the 40s and 50s! It was normally priced at $50 but it was on sale for only $12.99! I couldn't believe it so I obviously had to buy it!

Mug // I bought this mug at Chapters for my mom for Mother's Day! She saw it a few months ago when we were shopping together and she really liked it so I got it for her! It has a lowercase 'b' on one side and an uppercase 'B' on the other side! (My mom's name is Barb) She was really surprised I got it and was very happy :)!

Book Wishlist

Lately I've really wanted to buy some more books! Right now my book shelf is mostly filled with only 2 authors, so I want to expand my collection and read some books by some different authors! I also want some more design books since they're always a great source of inspiration! I've put together this book wishlist of some books that I've been wanting lately!

1. Typography Sketchbooks by Steven Heller & Lita Talarico // I've had my eye on this book for quite a while. I'm a big typography and hand lettering nerd, and this book is full of those things. It's basically a look into the sketchbooks of different graphic designers!

2. Typography 32 by Type Directors Club // I've only had a quick peek into this book once on a trip to Chapters, but I really liked what I saw inside. It's the latest Typography Annual put together by the Type Directors Club. The book features different categories as well including books, magazines, corporate identity, posters, and more!

3. Just My Type by Simon Garfield // Seeing a theme here yet? This book is supposed to be a fantastic read for any graphic designer or anyone interested in typography. From what I understand it's about the history of type, as well as little mysteries of type. It seems like something that would be a really interesting read!

4. Every Day by David Levithan // A book not about typography! This is a novel by David Levithan that's about someone named "A" who wakes up in a different body every single day, but is always in love with the same girl. I think it seems like a really unique love story! I've also read Will Grayson, Will Grayson that was written by Levithan in collaboration with my favourite author, John Green, and that book is one of my favourites!

5. I Heart Stationery by Charlotte Rivers // This is a book all about stationery and paper crafts! It includes chapters on hand illustration, screen printing, letterpress, paper cutting, and more! As a graphic design student and someone who enjoys crafts, I think I'd really like this book!

6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl // I recently saw the movie that was based on this book and even though I didn't think I would like it much, I surprisingly really enjoyed it! I have heard that the book series is better than the movie though, so now I want to read the books!

Have you read any of these books? What's your favourite book?