i am not a shopaholic. i am helping the economy.

Have you ever gone into a store for one thing....only to come out with about five things you never planned on getting? Yeah, that happened to me a little while back. It should come as no surprise that I have added a few new things to my (ever expanding) wardrobe. Sometimes, I just can't seem to stop myself!

A friend once told me that I am an emotional shopper. No, I don't shop when things are bad in my life, but fall in love with something - and then I simply have to have it. Well, I think she is probably right. (This would certainly explain my latest purchases.) Ready to take a peek at some of the things I've fallen in love with lately? Here goes nothing!

First up? A Betsey Johnson clutch with heart studs and details. It was simply too cute to pass up. And since Betsey is my all-time favourite designer, I knew instantly that I had to have it.

Next? A super cute reindeer sweater. As you likely know from my last post, I am all about Christmas. This is my favourite time of year! That is why I have such a weakness for anything festive....this sweater included. I just love it!

This skirt is one that I cannot wait to wear. It combines comic book phrases and bright colours - but it still manages to look sleek and sophisticated on. The weather has been absolutely freezing here, so I haven't had a chance to wear this one yet. Soon, I hope!

Speaking of skirts....I love a good leather skirt. While I confess, I already have one, I picked this one up as well. Why? My other leather skirt is super poufy and voluminous. This one is far more subtle. Plus, it was on sale. Who could resist?

I have a total addiction to sweaters. With the snow piling up outside, it's more important than ever to stay cozy and warm. So, I picked up this cute sweater from Target. I just loved the colour contrast! 

I don't know about you, but I get really sick of wearing clunky boots all winter long. I came across these flats by Roxy and I just fell for them right away. They are lined on the inside, so your toes will stay warm and your feet will look cute, too!

Okay, this one was a huge splurge. Guess is always a store that I need to stay out of. I just love their clothes. They are glittery and a little sexy, too. This metallic jacket took my breath away! Even on sale, it was a little steeper than I would have liked....but I don't even care. I just love this to pieces. It is absolutely gorgeous!

Sometimes, you just find a dress that calls out to you. That is what this dress did to me. The colour, the cut...everything about it was beautiful. I love that it looks classic - but with a little bit of a modern twist. I can't wait to wear it out!

Juicy Couture outlets are always a bad place to go....or a really good place to go, depending on how you look at it. New to my wardrobe is another (super comfy) Juicy Sweatsuit in navy. Love!

Lastly, I added some new tights to my wardrobe. They were on sale at Forever 21, so I decided to go for it. I am definitely loving these fun prints and colours!

Phew! I certainly did a little more damage than anticipated. Perhaps my New Years Resolution should be to shop less next year? (Ha!)

What have you added to your wardrobe lately? Do you like these pieces?

xo Shannon

christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming up! Even though I've spent ages counting down the days (and taking care of the endless preparations for the holiday)...somehow it managed to sneak up on me. Since there is just over a week until the big day, I thought that I would share some of my holiday pictures with you.

They include a decorated gingerbread house, white hot chocolates from Second Cup, Christmas shopping, festive nails, and of course, checking out the lights in the area. Ready to take a peek into my Christmas so far? Here are a few of my favourite shots!

White Hot Chocolate and a Kinder Penguin! 

Gingerbread house built by my boyfriend...but largely decorated by me.

 Red, glittery Christmas nails!

From the first snowfall of the year! (There is tons more of it now)

Enjoying a peppermint hot chocolate.

Out Christmas shopping....giant Christmas tree!

 Knitted holiday socks. 

 Checking out some Christmas lights with my wonderful boyfriend!

My favourite person.

A gift from my favourite person - an advent calender charm bracelet! I love it!

So, there you have it! Those are some of the pictures from my holiday thus far. I'm sure that I will have plenty more to share with you after Christmas! Until then....I hope you are enjoying the holiday season as much as I am.

Are you excited for the holidays? What have you been doing to prepare?

Also - just wanted to congratulate Kari on winning the $30 Firmoo Voucher Giveaway! I hope that you enjoy it! 

xo Shannon

review: too faced joy to the girls palette

Ahh, it's that time of year again. Yes, the snow is falling outside...and the shops are full of holiday makeup palettes! If you're a makeup fanatic like I am, then there truly is nothing better than the holiday season. This is the perfect time to get some seriously amazing deals on some gorgeous limited edition sets. Plus, you can find some fabulous gifts for some of your fellow makeup lovers!

Each year, I like to splurge and buy one holiday makeup set. This year, I picked up the Too Faced Eyeshadow Palette: Joy To The Girls. I don't have a ton of stuff from Too Faced in my makeup collection, but what I have, I absolutely love. When I came across this eyeshadow palette in Sephora, I instantly fell in love with it. The colours were totally up my alley! Even better? The packaging was super cute and festive.

Ready to take a closer look? Here is the inside of the palette. It comes with fifteen eyeshadow shades, one full-sized mascara, and three makeup tutorials along the side.

 

As you can see from the picture above, there is a real range of eyeshadow shades. Most of them have some shimmer to them, but there are a few matte shades as well that are just perfect for blending. Since there are so many eyeshadow shades in this palette, I thought that I would do a little review....row by row! 

The top row features Cookie Dough, Cheers! and Prancer. (Don't you just love the Christmas themed names for the shadows? It is one of my favourite things about it!) Cookie Dough is a beautiful matte brown shade. It's a nice mid-tone that is ideal for blending out a smokey eyeshadow look. Cheers! on the other hand, is a shimmery champagne kind of colour that looks beautiful all over the lid or applied on the inner corner. Prancer is actually one of the reasons I picked up this palette - it is an ultra glittery gold shade. Stunning!

The second row has Sugar Plum, a shimmery deep purple shade that is perfect as a crease colour, Mulberry, a purplish brown colour - and one of my all-time favourites, and Snow Angel, a basic white shadow. Truthfully, there is nothing overwhelmingly special about Snow Angel...but there are a lot of other wonderful shades that more than make up for it! 

The third row starts with Powdered Sugar, which is a fairly blah cream shade. Next to it is Too-Too, which is a pretty sparkly pink, and after that is one of my favourites from this palette - Yule Log. This eyeshadow colour is a dark brown with a hint of glitter. It definitely makes an impact! I love how dramatic this shade is....just perfect for a sexy, smokey eye look. 

The fourth row features Chestnut, a medium brown shade, Twinkle, a phenomenal greenish gold with tons of sparkle (love, love, love this colour!) and Joy, an icy blue to give you that perfect Christmasy makeup look! 

And lastly, the fifth row of this Too Faced palette has Spike The Punch, Chimney, and Coal. Now, I wasn't overly impressed with Spike The Punch, to be quite honest. It was far too similar to Too-Too...except that it didn't have nearly as much of an impact. That one was a letdown. However, Chimney is a great medium grey colour and Coal is a great simple black shade.

This palette also came with the Too Faced Lashgasm Mascara. (Pictured below) I was excited to try this one out, since I have never tried a Too Faced mascara before! So, what was the verdict? Well, I am on the fence about it. I absolutely love the mascara itself. It stays put, doesn't transfer, and gives my lashes an insane amount of length. (So much length, I can't even get over it!) 

Unfortunately, the packaging itself is a total miss. I'm not all that fond of the wand itself. The bristles are quite short and small. The biggest issue though, is with the stopper. I don't know if it was just this mascara or if they're all like this, but the stopper didn't do a very good job. The result was an absolute ton of mascara getting onto the wand. Since no girl wants a gob of mascara loaded onto the wand, I have to be very careful to wipe it off the side before I use it. Such a shame!

Overall, I am a major fan of this holiday palette. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn close! I am addicted to so many of these gorgeous eyeshadow shades. It is no wonder I keep reaching for it day after day!

Have you tried this Too Faced Eyeshadow Palette? What did you think of it?

xo Shannon

face of the day featuring: steamcream

Dry skin is the worst...especially during the winter months. It can be itchy, flaky, and downright irritating. When it comes to my own skin, I unfortunately deal with dry skin on a regular basis. That is why the cold weather is especially challenging for me to deal with. I had been searching for a heavy-duty moisturizer that would really work - but I hadn't been able to find one this year. Everything I used worked for a couple of minutes and then my skin was back to feeling itchy again! Thankfully, STEAMCREAM came along.

If you haven't heard of STEAMCREAM yet, trust me, you'll want to! They offer a range of handmade moisturizers that use high-quality, natural ingredients. What makes them unique? They are fused together using a shot of steam. (Hence the name, STEAMCREAM!) The steam makes the moisturizer super lightweight yet ultra hydrating for the skin.

I was recently able to try out Thalia. (Pictured above) Right off the bat, I was struck by the gorgeous packaging. All of their products come in a uniquely designed tin with different artistic patterns and prints. So cute! Plus, I just love the way Thalia looks on my counter top. It adds the perfect pop of colour. As for the moisturizer itself, I've been using it every. single. day. Thus far, it is saving my skin from the cold temperatures outside!

The lotion itself feels really light on the skin but still has a thick, luxurious texture to it. It settles into the skin really well and leaves it moisturized throughout the day. I love how well it works - and the scent as well. It has a really light, pretty fragrance. Nothing too overpowering, but super pretty all the same. Overall, I am definitely loving this.

I used Thalia before applying my makeup for a night out and it made my skin look (and feel!) so much better. So, here is my face of the day featuring STEAMCREAM:

Other products used to create this face of the day? The Kat Von D True Romance Palette, the NARS blush in Deep Throat, and the Maybelline 10 Hour Stain Gloss in Red.

If you haven't checked out products from STEAMCREAM yet, be sure to head to their website: https://steamcream.co.uk/ There are so many cute tin designs to choose from!

Have you tried STEAMCREAM? What do you think of this face of the day?

xo Shannon

i never go out during the day without sunglasses.

I love sunglasses....a lot. I absolutely love how they can compliment an outfit or pull it all together. And when it comes to my favourite kind of sunglasses, the bigger, the better! Yes, I love super huge, dramatic frames. That's why I was so excited to receive this gorgeous pair of sunglasses from Firmoo.

As you can tell from the picture above, they are super stylish! But before I get into what I love about these sunglasses, let me tell you a little bit more about Firmoo. They offer a wide variety of fashionable - and affordable - glasses and sunglasses. Whether you need prescription glasses or just want to add a little fashionable flair to your look, they've got it all! There are tons of different styles to choose from, and they are all super gorgeous.

Are you ready for my thoughts on my gorgeous new sunglasses? Here goes! As I mentioned, I am a huge sunglasses addict. I have quite a few pairs by now....but none like these. I was immediately struck by the quality of the glasses. They weren't flimsy plastic like a lot of the other glasses I have, which was a major plus. Plus, they look amazing! I adore the combination of that burnt yellow shade on the frames and the purple lenses. It is such a fun and fashion forward contrast. Even better? The super cute bow details on the side of the glasses. I just cannot get over how great these look!

What do you think of these sunglasses?

xo Shannon

with the right colour of lipstick and a smile, i can change the world.

A little while back, I set a self-imposed ban on buying anymore lip products. Why? I have an absolute ton of them! I wanted to focus on using up the ones that I already owned, rather than buy more and more new ones. I was doing pretty well with that....until I saw the display for the new Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms. (They had a display for the gloss version of this as well, but it seemed rather sticky and goopy to me. Pass!)

I was instantly struck by the beautiful colours, the sleek packaging, and the fact that they were totally matte shades. So, I splurged on a couple of the colours. I ended up buying Elusive, which is a bold pink, and Striking, a bright red. I love the pink colour for a date night in or a fun shopping trip, while the red colour is perfect for a night out.

As for the formula, it is super creamy and has a nice amount of moisture. Also, the colour is nicely pigmented. It builds really well, so the colour can be as intense or neutral as you like! When it comes to the packaging itself - I absolutely adore it. It's essentially like a lip crayon, and the product twists up from the bottom. Super easy to use and easy to carry around with you as well.

Since adding these to my makeup collection, I've been wearing them a lot. These shades are really versatile and just plain gorgeous. Ready to see them in action?

Top: Elusive
Bottom: Striking

So, there you have it...my thoughts on these gorgeous new matte balms. Overall, I am super happy with these. Even though I broke my lip product ban, I don't regret it for a moment. I am totally obsessed with both of these colours. 

Have you tried the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balms yet? Which colour do you like best?

xo Shannon

winter is putting footsteps in the meadow.

I feel like I've been waiting so long to say this, but....it's December. Finally! In my home, Christmas is a huge deal. Not just the day of Christmas itself, but all the build up. We love watching Christmas movies together, decorating the house (even though it takes ages), going Christmas shopping, baking, and enjoying all of the fun traditions that go along with the season. So, it's no wonder that I always countdown to December, rather impatiently.

Unfortunately, not everyone I know is as into Christmas as my family. In fact, most people I know gripe: "But it's not even December, yet!" when I put on Christmas music at work or say that I want to watch Miracle on 34th Street. To those people, I can now say: yes it is! There is just something about this time of year. The snow, twinkly lights, and all of that warmth? Nothing fills my heart with so much joy.

Thus far, I have begun my Christmas shopping (not quite done, but almost!) and have been listening to the best of Bing Crosby non-stop. Even though life is crazy-busy at the moment, I am doing what I can to make time for the holidays. Sometimes, it's nice to take a moment and remember what is truly important: spending time with the people you cherish most.

Now that the holiday season is officially upon us, I thought that I would post some pictures to get you in the spirit. Here are a few of my favourites:

Are you excited for the holidays? What is your favourite part?

xo Shannon