April 11th Haul

To celebrate the end of exams, I planned myself a big haul for today! Not everything went as expected, but I was able to find some pretty decent deals!

Everything all together! So much prettiness!

So I started the day at Target (it's new to Canada, so I was excited to see which US brands would finally be available). Since my goal for today's haul was to focus on nail polish I started in the beauty section. Was surprised to see OPI and Essie at Target (although they were both overpriced in my opinion, there was quite the selection). Then I spotted Sinful Colors, and knew I had to get Frenzy, it's beautiful purple and blue glitter, which I'm hoping looks as good on as it does in the bottle!
Then I spotted NYX (again new to Canada, and I love 2 eye shadow palettes of theirs that I own), but I didn't buy anything, the selection was limited and I wanted to move on. So all I ended up with from Target was the 1 nail polish.

From left to right: OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise, Zoya Kate, and Sinful Colors Frenzy

After that I went to Trade Secrets, there was a bin of about 40 OPI and Zoya nail polishes that said Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off, of course the first 2 colours I picked out were both not supposed to be in the bin, so I went back and found these 2: OPI Austin-tatious Turquoise and Zoya Kate. I currently don't have any turquoise-y teal colours, so this looked good and the pink looks like a neutral girly pink. Can we stop and celebrate these are my first every purchases of OPI or Zoya nail polish!!!! Yay!

Then I headed to Sephora, my purpose of going to the mall, since the VIB Chic Week started today. Yes, I was there when the doors opened. No, it wasn't crazy busy. I got my free tote and samples and I purchased Sephora by OPI Who's Spinning Tonight (on sale for $7) and the Buxom Amplified Smoky Eye which includes a mini Amplified Lash Mascara and a mini Smoky Eye Stick in 5" Stiletto. Honestly I was just looking for something cheap to buy to get the free stuff (since I went totally overboard at Sephora in December).

Sephora by OPI in Who's Spinning Tonight and Buxom Amplified Smoky Eye surrounded by free samples

Next up was Shopper's Drugmart.

From left to right: Essie Ballet Slippers, Essie As Gold As It Gets, Essie Eternal Optimist, Essie A Cut Above, Maybelline Color Show in Styled Out

Found these Essie sets for $9 each. Awesome! That's cheaper than 1 Essie polish here in Canada!! So I swooped up the 2 colour combos of those and headed to look at the discount/clearance section (after checking out the normal Essie section and finding the 2 I really wanted not there). There was actually a really good selection in the clearance spot, a bunch of Nicole by OPI for $3-$5, some of the Covergirl nail polish for $3 or so, and then I spotted this Maybelline one, with a $1 sticker on it. It's a shimmering denim blue, and for $1, how bad could it be? The saleslady didn't believe it was only a $1 and even after looking at the sticker still ran a price check. Lol.

Then I drove to Winners, to see what deals were offered in the Beauty/Skin Care section. I will say it is always chaos at Winners, but the deals I've found the last few times have been worth it (but you really have to work and search for the good items). Today I found a set of 4 Color Club mini nail polishes for $5 as well as a set of Andrea Oil-free Eye Makeup Correctors and Andrea Moisturizing Makeup Remover Pads also for $5. I've used the Andrea pads before and found them a bit greasy but effective, so I figured why not try these out? Plus the q-tip shape of the correctors looks perfect for when you make mistakes while doing your eyes.

Colours in the Color Club set from left to right: Pearl-spective, Abyss, Endless Summer, and Bright Night

My last (successful) stop was Sally's Beauty Supplies, where for all of April all nail polishes are Buy 2 Get 1 Free. So after much deliberation (sooo many pretty colours!) I wound up with 2 Orly and 1 China Glaze.

From left to right: Orly Ingenue, Orly Nite Owl, and China Glaze Recycle

Yay for hauling! What do you guys think of my haul? Any suggestions of deals in Canada? Any nail polishes I should check out?

Thanks for reading!

Fav Movies of 2012

Hey readers!
This may seem a bit late to be posting my favourite movies from 2012 were, but I wanted to watch as many movies that I was interested in before offering my opinion, and being in school means I don't get to watch as many movies as I'd like.


      10. Django Unchained: This was a surprise for me. The first Tarantino film I saw was Kill Bill Vol. 1, which I surprisingly loved (Kill Bill Vol. 2 just gets better). But I won't lie, I didn't like Pulp Fiction (why is that his most famous film?) I thought the hype around Django was similar to Pulp Fiction's hype, but I honestly really enjoyed this movie. Yes it was very long (2 hours and 45 minutes), yes there is gratuitous violence (hello! Tarantino film, duh!), but Christoph Waltz was amazing, and I loved the storyline. Definitely deserved the screenwriting Oscar and Best Supporting Actor Oscar!


      9. Argo: Another surprise, I waited to watch this until mid-July because I didn't think it was my type of movie. However, once I saw it, I actually thought it was a good movie. Definitely filled with action and suspense, interesting back story, really great supporting cast with Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Victor Garber, and Chris Messina. I definitely recommend this film for history buffs, action movie fans, or Ben Affleck fans!


      8. Silver Linings Playbook: Another film I wasn't expecting to like. This is not your typical romantic comedy or your typical Oscar-nominated film, more like the happy medium between the two. The characters are both likeable and unlikeable, the storyline builds up to a dance competition, and the acting is phenomenal (I'll admit I saw Silver Linings Playbook before Django Unchained and didn't understand how DeNiro didn't win, I now realize how wrong I was, see above). This is both a feel good movie and explores the darkness of mental illness. Definitely recommended.


      7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Definitely a surprise for me that this movie is on the list. I didn't read the book, I didn't see this movie until it was an option on a plane ride, and I honestly didn't know what to expect about the subject matter. A mature look at teenage struggles, I don't know why this movie didn't get more critical acclaim, the movie and the acting were well done. Also it really speaks to the depth of the film when I can find myself holding back tears (and maybe shedding a few) on a plane surrounded by strangers.


      6. Looper: It might be a surprise that this movie, that didn't receive critical acclaim is higher than Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook on my list. BUT...this movie was about so much more than the trailers gave it credit for. The stuff not shown in the trailers of this film is exactly what makes it a great movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt should have been nominated for his dead on portrayal of a young Bruce Willis. Emily Blunt also delivered a believable and heartbreaking performance (won't say her role - no spoilers here!). Definitely recommended to sci-fi and action fans.


      5. Pitch Perfect: Definitely the funniest movie of the year. AND it's probably my new feel good rom-com. An instant classic right up there with Bring It On, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Legally Blonde. Fantastic group dynamics and casting. I LOVE the soundtrack. Also Skylar Austin is adorable. So much better than Glee (which I am also a fan of) and so much more than Glee.


      4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Yes. I am a hardcore Lord of the Rings fan. Yes I own all the extended edition LOTR DVDs AND I have seen all the bonus materials. This movie had aspects that were a let down to me, but I still loved it and it still does rank high on my list of favourite movies from 2012. The good: Martin Freeman as Bilbo, perfect comic timing, giving both dramatic and comedic performances; the scenery, why is New Zealand so damn pretty? the music, love how songs from the book were incorporated into the movie, also the dwarf performance of The Misty Mountains gives me shivers every time. The bad: too long - this movie doesn't flow as well as the LOTR films but I understand why elements were added.


      3. Les Miserables: Saw this film on New Year's Eve, I had wanted to see the musical for some time and I was definitely impressed with this film version. Very emotional story. Acting was amazing (if I hadn't seen Lincoln I would've thought Hugh Jackman had the Oscar in the bag). Not sure why everyone complained about Russell Crowe's singing, yes he had the weakest voice in the cast, but have you seen Mamma Mia? Russell Crowe's live singing was soooo much better than Pierce Brosnan's pre-recorded and edited voice.


      2. The Dark Knight Rises: Definitely the strongest film of the Bale Batman trilogy (although Heath Ledger's performance will always the best). The plot was believable to me, and definitely had a powerful message. Also, the secondary characters made this film much more interesting: Selina Kyle, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and of course Officer Blake. This film went above and beyond all my expectations for a simple superhero action movie. But then I guess I should've expected that from Christopher Nolan.


      1. The Hunger Games: Perfect example of a film loyally following its source material (a book which I loved) while also becoming a movie that tells a story and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. I didn't know much about Jennifer Lawrence before this film (besides that she was in X-Men First Class and had been nominated for an Oscar), but she definitely did Katniss justice and portrayed both the good and bad. I eagerly await the next film!

Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Any of your favourites missing? I'm also open for suggestions for movies to watch!

Thanks for reading!

UPDATE 7/30/2013: Argo bumped The Avengers off the list!