Chatty Tuesdays | June 30, 2015

June Favs!

I can't believe another month has come and gone- hello July! June has been such a crazy whilrwin of a month as per usual. June seems to be a transition month, when camps open, school ends, summer begins etc. It never fails to amaze me how fast it really does go by. The plus side to the end of the month is always favourites posts! I am a huge sucker for favourites posts- they are my favourite- so here is mine! I hope you enjoy :)

Beauty

My first beauty favourite is the L'Oreal Glam Bronze duo in 101 Harmonie Blondes. To be honest, I haven't been using the bronzer side as I'm still in love with the Bourgeois Delice de Poudre, but the highlight in this duo is absolutely stunning! It has a really subtle shimmer that seems to suit my skin very well. I think this is going to be my go to highlighter for a while to come!

I love Real Techniques brushes- as most people do- but I have found myself really reaching for these two a lot (and loving them). The one on the left is the contour brush which is amazing for its intended purpose but also for setting under eye concealer. The brush on the right is the buffing brush which has actually replaced my beauty blender for blending out my under eye concealer.

Ballet Sippers from Essie has definitely been my go to colour for June- I've had this on my nails almost all month! It's a gorgeous pale pink that is very aptly named as it really does resemble the colour of ballet slippers.

Hair

Throughout June I have really been enjoying wearing hair bows and scrunchies to get my hair up off my neck on the hot days while still looking cute and feminine.

I like to change my shampoo and conditioner every season. I always go for a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner as my hair is always on the drier side, but I like to change up my scents- I like warm scents like vanilla for winter and fall, and more fresh scents for spring and summer. This shampoo and conditioner combo is extremely moisturizing and smells great! I will definitely be repurchasing these.

Fashion

Are college shirts even considered fashion?? Ha ha ha. I am just so excited to finally be on the path to a promising future. I have been wearing these shirts around my house all month (I don't have the guts to wear sweats in public) and have been loving them! Not only do they remind me of how freaking excited I am for September, but they are also really soft and good quality.

I have noticed this month that I have been utilizing a lot of my cardigans. It's the time of the year that gets hot during the day but still quite brisk and cool in the mornings and evenings. Cardigans have been the perfect solution for making an outfit work all day. I can dress for the warm summer weather and then throw on or bring a cardigan with me and be comfortable all day.

I've always been one for a flashy watch- yes the Michael Kors type with bling and rose gold etc. But when I saw this watch in Sears I was really surprised how drawn I was to it. It's so simple and understated- I have been wearing it almost everyday and loving it so much. 

Books/Good Reads

I can't believe I never knew that this was originally a novel before this month! Something Borrowed has been one of my favourite films since I first saw it in the 10th grade. It's one of those movies that I can watch over and over again and it can still make me laugh and cry every time. This book is infinitely better than the movie- and that's saying ALOT.

Mind Body Green is one of my favourite sites to follow for amazing articles. The article 5 Thoughts To Stop Thinking If You Want A Better Life is and old one but still \one that I really loved this month as I think it's really accurate and it helped me to look within myself to realize that, yes I am thinking these awful thoughts and I really shouldn't be. 

Love, Krista is a blog I follow on Bloglovin'. At the beginning of this month she wrote this blog post- An Esthetician's Beauty Hacks: Nails- and it has helped me tremendously. I'm someone who loves having a good manicure but isn't the best at nail painting and doesn't want to pay the price for a professional job. Krista uses items that you would have just lying around your home to create a flawless french tip. She also has a bit in there about how to find your perfect nail shape, and another little bit about how Vaseline can help with getting a flawless manicure. This article is favourited on my laptop and I refer to it often!

Entertainment 

I was listening to music on YouTube when autoplay sent me to the cover of Love Me Like You Do by Gabby and Hobbie (mentioned in my May favourites). Gabriella Lindley (Gabby) has since become one of those YouTubers that I HAVE to watch.





 Her main channel videos are amazing but I think she really shines in her vlogs... she is absolutely hilarious and one of those girls that you envy but also really relate to and want to be best friends with. Love her. 

Besides being possibly the most stunning person on the face of the Earth, KathleenLights is a makeup/skin/beauty genius. I absolutely love every single one of her videos. She does a lot of tutorials and reviews but not in the typical beauty guru way (which to me is quite dull), instead she is really funny and brutally honest which I love!

This album is my everything (get it? Ha ha ha). My Everything by Ariana Grande is one musical masterpiece after another. 

I have been a huge Adele fan since she released her album 19. This song is a bonus track on 21 and one I have been absolutely loving. It is called Hiding My Heart. Do give it a listen as it's one of those songs that really grabs you and holds your attention throughout every note.
 *The Craig Colton cover is well worth a listen as well!*

Sorry ShayTards, SacconeJolys are my new favourite vlogging family- an Irish family that lives in London. The 2 children are absolutely stunning and adorable, Jonathan is the husband and he is absolutely hilarious, and Anna, the matriarch, is everything I could ever dream to be as a mother. They are such a wonderful family and I always look forward to their daily vlogs!

Technology

I have never spent so much money in one month. That being said these items are required for the college program I'm going to be attending in September. The camera I purchased is the Nikon D7100 with 3 lenses (50mm, 18mm-55mm, and 70mm-300mm). I have really been enjoying playing around with the camera and learning how to shoot on manual settings. It's challenging but I'm so excited to finally own a DSLR as I do want to be a photographer in the future. 
My Macbook is the 13in Pro and also required for my program. I'm writing this post on it now and I'm obsessed. It's so user friendly, I love that every function has a quick keyboard short cut and it's just so beautiful! Definitely not disappointed what so ever.

I have a really hard time finding over the ear headphones that fit my puny head and aren't from the kids section. These headphones by Sony are small enough that they don't slide around and fall off my head- I have really been loving them!

I can't believe I haven't discovered this app before this month! PS Express is a God send to photo editing a la mobile phone. Seriously, download it!

Random

I'm a sucker for organization so having pens of a multitude of colours has really been amazing for me. I can assign each pen colour a purpose in my day planner (work, appointments, bills, events, etc) and everything looks clean and organized.

Speaking of my day planner, here it is! I got this from Dollarama actually and I use it everyday. It's small enough to fit in my purse but big enough that the pages never look crowded even on a busy week.

And here concludes all the things I have really been loving this past month. I'm so excited to move into July and enjoy this summer completely and fully! Please do let me know what you have been loving this month!

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

Make Me Up Monday | June 29, 2015

My Hygiene Routine

I really love posts like this- there's something really reassuring to know that my routine is similar to someone else's and it's also really informative to know better ways of doing things! 

Morning

To start off in the morning I will hop into the shower and wash my body with my Aveeno daily moisturizing body wash. This legitimately takes me less than 2 minutes as all I do is hop in, wash my body really quickly, and hop out.

After washing my body I will get out of the shower and begin my skin care routine. The morning is super simple- I use my Clinique bar soap to wash my face. 

Then apply my Clinique daily moisturizing gel and eye cream. 

To follow up I will brush my teeth using Crest Pro-Health toothpaste.

After I'm finished up that bit of my morning I will go to my bedroom, brush my hair and apply argan oil.

I will then apply the Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion to my hands, elbows, and legs.

For deodorant I use Lady Speed Stick in invisible. It smells great, doesn't need to be reapplied, and doesn't leave white marks on clothes.

To finish, I usually will use a body mist or light perfume. I've been loving the two body fantasy scents for everyday during these warm months, the two One Direction scents for evenings, and the vanilla scent by The Body Shop I reserve for fall and winter.

Evening

At night, I use the Clinique cleansing milk with a damp flannel to remove my makeup. 

I then use the Clinique bar soap and a konjac sponge to gently cleanse and exfoliate. 

I follow up with the Clinique moisturizing gel and eye cream.

Of course I brush my teeth before bed and, again, I use the Crest Pro-Health toothpaste.

Twice Per Week

Twice a week I will take a long shower where I will wash my hair using the Dove moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. 

I will also exfoliate my body using a loofah and my regular Aveeno daily moisturizing body wash.

During this time I take care of all my shaving needs using any 5 blade razor that the drug store had on sale when I needed one- I'm not picky about razors along as their 5 blade. I use my Aveeno body wash when shaving as it also doubles as a shaving gel.

This shower time is also when I choose to pumice my feet to keep them nice and smooth. 

After I get out of the shower I moisturize my whole body including my feet using the Aveeno body lotion and then add Vaseline on top of that only on my feet just to lock all that moisture in.

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge | June 28, 2015

10. List 5 Things You Like About You

*These photos are all my own, if you use them please do give me credit for them. My watermark program is on my old laptop and I didn't get a chance to transfer it yet.*

Can I just say how genuinely difficult this was? I feel like we never take the time to really appreciate what is likeable within ourselves. Personally, I find myself comparing who I am to other people quite a lot, I wish I didn't but I do- I think everyone does. This weeks challenge allowed me to be grateful for myself, and I think that's invaluable.

1. My optimism: I like that I can wake up every morning and just feel in my gut that everything will be okay and that no matter what happens I will have an amazing day. It seems like no matter what obstacle comes my way I can always keep a positive outlook.

 2. I am really driven and ambitious: I think for a lot of people intrinsic motivation is hard to find. Luckily for me, I am a really driven person and I don't have to rely on outside motivators to achieve my goals.

3. It's really easy for me to be happy for other people: This photo is from fathers day- I made brunch for the whole family. I like that even if a celebration isn't for me, I get really excited. I like celebrating other people's achievements and milestones, but I also get really happy for others when nice little things happen in their lives. I think being able to be happy for other people can be hard for some as jealousy comes into play but I really like that it's just in my nature to be happy about everything that happens for everyone. 

4. My creativity: Ever since I was young I've had a huge passion for the arts- photography, DIY, music, painting, etc- and I am so grateful that I am a creative person. I couldn't imagine working my life away in a 9-5 desk job.

5. I am comfortable with who I am: It's taken me a long time to get to this place, but I really am comfortable with myself. I know I'm a dork, I know I'm an introvert, I know I'm a nerd. I know all these things and I am comfortable with being these things and I really like that about myself. It's so much easier to live life when you're okay with who you are.

Thanks for reading, xo, Katelyn