Posts

Showing posts from 2015

24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep By: Jonathan Crary (Book Review)

Image
Hi everyone so this is my last book review for this year. So here I have Jonathan Crary's 24/7 novel that was a required book to read for my last humanities class for college. I never would have picked up a book like this but I am super happy that I had to read it for class. In all honesty it puts things into perspective. Crary talks about the 24/7 system that has over taken everyone's lives. And that sleep is the last barrier against Capitalism. He tries to show us the differences that have changed our society due to Capitalism trying to take over our lives. The first thing he talks about is sleep. Sleep is a natural human occurrence. However, for the past hundred years, we have been sleeping less and less. Today we are actually willing to sacrifice our sleep to finish up last minute work, homework, assignments or even for entertainment. And SHIT it is so true. It is really bad that the sleep we need to function properly we are willingly sacrificing. Whether it is by

My Fav New Obsession!!! #1 (Flash Tattoos/Metallic Tattoos)

Image
Hey guys so I've been thinking of doing this little series on my blog of my favorite new obsession that has currently piqued my interest. It can be absolutely anything. Plus why would I want to limit myself? If any of you have been following since I've first started my blog or have looked through my posts you will see that I write about a variety of things. So first off, what are metallic or flash tattoos? Well here is an example of it below. These tattoos have been quite trendy over the summer and especially during coachella and music festivals. But this trend has not died out or at least for me it hasn't.  I absolutely love wearing these flash tattoos because I do want to get a tattoo but wearing these definitely helped me decide where and what I would like to get. Plus I just love having them on my hands. I don't know what it is about it but I just love having them where I can see them.  There are ones that you can put around your wrists, ankles, neck,

Amie Matte Finish Moisturizer (Review)

Image
Hello everyone! Here I am with another review. So here I have a moisturiser from Amie skincare. This is a Morning dew matte-finish moisturiser that is meant to control oiliness and shine while also hydrating and softening the skin. I received a sample of the moisturiser in my May glam bag from Ipsy. Which if all of you don't know Ipsy is a monthly subscription service that for $10 or $14.95 US for us Canadians a month you will receive 4-5 beauty product ranging from sample size to full-sized products. If you would like to find more information you can find them  here.   Now the full sized product of the moisturiser costs about $9.90 which you can find on their website or you can check them out  here.  So the sample that I have is worth about $1 so not much but yet it is a product that is good. I'll explain why but first I'll explain the proper way to use it. How To Use: Before applying it you first has to clean or cleanse your face. Afterwards, you apply it smooth

Straight A At Stanford And On To Harvard By: Peter Rogers MD (Book Review)

Image
*Disclaimer* I received this book to review. I usually don't read books like this but it is a great way to expand my horizons. I am happy I did receive this book because I wouldn't read something like this otherwise. I usually stick with teenage/young adult fantasy supernatural fictional books but I do have to step away from my comfort zone to really grow intellectually.  This book is essentially filled with lots of study tips/ tricks, thinking strategies, memorization techniques, and Mr. Peter Roger himself talks a lot about his own experiences. This book is relatively long but the chapters are short. Mr, Roger writes about his experience of being the worst student in his class at Standford and eventually turned it all around and became the best student in his classes and then went to Harvard and accomplished the same thing with getting 99% on his board exams.  He gives a lot of great advice about how to succeed in your classes but I feel this book would benefi

Ipsy Glam Bag September 2015 (First Impression)

Image
So...This is really late of me but better late than never, right? Gosh that sounded bad even to me. There is no excuse as to why I haven't done this first impressions for this September glam bag but please forgive me! So Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that for $10 a month or for us Canadians $14.95 American you can receive 4-5 beauty products that range from samples to full sized products. If you guys want to check it out you can  click here. So for this month's bag the theme is face fashion. Love the concept but I don't think it was well executed. I thought I would have received more face products because that is the theme for September's glam bag but as you can see from the icture below that is far from what I got. Ipsy Nyx EyeShadow Trio: So this is eye shadow trio from Nyx is exclusive to Ipsy. It's "called" IpsyNyx01 which makes me believe that their will probably be more made for Ipsy. But focusing on what is important, these colo

Altchek Dermatologist MD DePuff Eye Pads (Review)

Image
Hello everyone! So today I will be reviewing Alchek DePuff eye pads. First off I would like to say that I received two sets of eye pads in my June Ipsy glam bag. I actually wrote a first impression of that month's glam bag and if you would like to read it you can  click here.  If all of you don't know Ipsy is a  monthly beauty subscription service that for $10 US or around $20 for us Canadians you will be able to receive 4-5 products ranging from samples to full-sized products. If you would like to check out Ipsy you can  click here. What does it do? The DePuff eye pads is to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and puffiness while also hydrating the sensitive and fragile skin under the eyes. This product is made in Korea and I don't know if you are aware of this but Korea is known for their skin care products. Have you ever seen pictures of Korean women who supposedly are 50 but actually look 25? Yeah those women definitely know how to take care of their skin. I

Formula X (Power Source) Nail Polish Review

Image
I received this product in my June Ipsy glam bag. If you don't know Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that for $10 a month you can receive 4-beauty products that can be sample sized all the way to full sized. However, if you live in Canada like I do it will cost you $14.95 American dollars. Obviously, the value of your bag will be at a higher than what you paid for. I received this sample sized nail polish from Formula X in power source. As you can see from the picture below power source is a bright somewhat dark pink. Yeah, guys I get that's an oxymoron but there is not other way for me to describe the color. Or as Sephora puts it a hot coral. The sample I have contains 4 ml of product or 0.13 fl oz. This sample is worth about $4-5. However, a full sized nail polish from Formula X would cost $13. Right now Sephora is having a sale and Formula X nail polish is on sale for $6 if you want to check it out you can  click here.  This link will directly lead you to the exact c

bellápierre Gel eyeliner (Ebony) Review

Image
I received this gel eyeliner in my May Ipsy glam bag. If you don't know Ipsy is a beauty subscription service where you can pay $10 a month if you live in the states, however, if you live in Canada like I do you would have to pay $14.95 American dollars. If you would like to check them out you can click here. Basic Info: I received a full size version of bellápierre's gel eye liner in Ebony which retails for $14.99 and is 1.8 grams. This gel liner is a creamy, preservative-free eyeliner pencil formulated with pure 100% minerals, natural waxes and antioxidants. Opinion: First off I have to say that this is an amazing gel eyeliner! It has great pigmentation as you can see from the picture below. On the top left part of the picture I have swatches of this eyeliner. The swatch on the left shows just how pigmented this eyeliner can get. I did layer the swatch by two to three times. The swatch on the right is just one swipe of the liner so you can build the color. It glides on

Shark Lake (Movie Review)

Image
Shark Lake features the great Dolph Lundgren, Sarah Lane, and Lily Brooks O'Briant. This movie was actually released earlier this month and I actually got a chance to watch it. Surprising, right? I haven't done a movie review in a long time if you don't count the collective Hunger Games review that I did on the three movies released so far (fiy I cannot wait for the last movie). If you want to take a look at my review on the Hunger Games movies you can  click here. This movie follows a black market exotic dealer named Clint (Dolph Lundgren) however, one bad run in with the best cop in Lake Tahoe Meredith Hendricks (Sarah Lane) Clint is sent right to prison for five years and his daughter (Lily Brooks O'Briant) is left in custody with detective Hendricks. The one problem is that during the car chase that sent Clint to prison, he crashed his truck into the town lake and an exotic animal that he was transporting escaped into the lake. Now I think we all know where this

Ipsy Glam Bag August 2015 (First Impression)

Image
Yeah I'm late on my first impressions for August's glam bag. Honestly, I did not film a video of myself unbagging it but that's because I haven't really felt like filming videos anymore. I've been quite taken with my blog and other writing ventures. So first impression videos are going to have to take a backseat. So for the month of August the theme is prep school. Okay concept but it is cliche. If all of you don't know Ipsy is a beauty subscription service that for $10 you can receive 4-5 beauty products that are either full-sized or deluxe-sized. It delivers both in the States and Canada. The only problem for us Candians is that it actually costs us $20 Canadian. But nonetheless you always get products that are worth more than the $20 or $10 that you paid for. If you want to subscribe you can  click here . August Glam Bag: The bag actually matches the skirt of Michelle Phan. The bag reminds me of Cruella de vil from 101 Dalmatians. I do like the openin

Deadly Messengers By: Susan May (Book Review)

Image
((I received this book from the author to review. I am in no way being compensated for my review)) This is the story of Kendall Jennings a freelance writer suddenly turned reporter having a hard time keeping up with her bills. In her quaint low crime city mass murders are occurring and she is the go to reporter for the job. The problem is that the killers are not killers. If anything they are go-lucky people with a loving environment. Except they all have one connection. Would Kendall be able to find out what that connection is? Add that in with a past that still affects her present. Can Kendall continue writing these massacres without bringing up her troubling past? You'll have to read to find out. I usually have a hard time reading e-books which is the form that I received this book in. I have a hard time reading them because I'm old school and I love holding a book in my hands instead of my phone. I liked Kendall because she is a character we can all relate to. She

Turning 19! 2015

Image
On the fifth I celebrated my 19th birthday. Luckily enough my birthday fell on a Saturday so I got to celebrate the day of. What I decided to do was spend the day with my family (mom and sister) and spend the night at a bar with my friends.  It was a wonderful and eye opening day. I got a bunch of happy birthday messages and some from people I didn't expect any from. It was an eye opener because I actually got to see how people would act with me. Some shocked me, some were really kind, one person truly showed me their colors and not in a good way. I had so much fun spending time with my mom and sister. Before leaving to start the day my mom made us breakfast and then we headed out into Montreal. Once in Montreal we went to Starbucks and I got my birthday treat which was soooo good. I'm actually going to be writing a review on the drink so stay tuned for that! Next we headed out to IKEA where I got a Alex 5 drawer unit in chocolate brown. And no I obviously didn

Binge Watching The Hunger Games

Image
I never was into The Hunger Games and all the hype and excitement of the movies. The first time I ever heard of The Hunger Games was about a few years ago and I kept receiving recommendations to read the series. And I read the description of the first book and I thought to myself this story sounds horrible. Obviously I didn't read the series so when I heard it was being produced as a film franchise I could not have cared less. Everyone at school was talking about it and I'm in the corner not paying mind to it. So here I am years after the first movie was released and guess what was on TV last week? Yup you guessed right. The Hunger Games was on and I only got the chance to watch part of it because that day I was busy.  Believe it or not I actually really loved the scenes that I got to watch. So earlier this week I watched all three movies. Whoa weird transition, right? I was simply drawn in by the movies and the plot.  I do have to admit I have a girl crush on Jennifer

Briogeo Rosarco Milk Reparative leave-in conditioning spray (Review)

Image
I received this small bottle of Briogeo's conditioning spray in my May Ipsy glam bag. It is the first product that I've ever owned from this company and let me tell you all that it did not disappoint. This product is meant to nourish, repair and renew hair which does exactly that. This product also protects from heat damage, breakage and protects from UV exposure. It is also made with rosehip, argan, and coconut oils. I did get a sample version of the product as you can see from the picture below. The bottle contains 30 ml and it is worth about $5. As you can tell this brand is not cheap at all but their products do contain good ingredients and actually does do what it claims.  This product is amazing for dry hair and I realized it is also good for colored hair. I do have part of my hair dyed blonde and I noticed that area was getting dry and weak and using this definitely has helped loads. It leaves my hair looking shiny and conditioned. Plus it smells incredible! What

Signs From Above By: Doreen and Charles Virtue (Book Review)

Image
This book is about helping the reader recognize and understand the signs from angels, archangels, guardian angels and loved ones who have passed away. Many signs that are sent to us sometimes we do not even realize are signs from above and this book helps to identify them and also understand them. It is broken up into chapters and each chapter goes into detail on various signs such as; clouds, feathers, music, coins, and even number sequences. At the back of the book there are a few pages filled with prayers that you can use to help you in a particular aspect of your life. Especially, concerning love, health, employment, protection and so much more.  This book has been more than a blessing to me. It has truly helped me open my eyes to all the signs that have been sent to me that I didn't realize were signs. Many people would find me believing in angels ridiculous and would simply tell me that angels do not exist. Well how can you say something does not exist if you've ne

Ipsy July 2015 Glam Bag (First Impression)

Image
So for July's glam bag the theme is Summer Lovin'. Anyone else immediately thinking about Grease's  song  Summer day's? If you guys don't know Ipsy is a subscription service where every month you get a makeup bag filled with sample/deluxe/full sized products from various companies. For all of you guys in the States it costs only $10.00 while us folks here in Canada, once you convert it to Canadian dollars it costs around $20.00. Quite frankly, I've only had this subscription service for 3 months and already I love it. Yes, I did not like last month's bag you can click here if you want to read my first impression. But at the end of the day I am getting products that are of a higher value than the actual amount I paid for the subscription. Who can be upset with that?  If you want to subscribe to Ipsy you can  click here My overall impression of the bag is that there are a bunch of different high end products that I know I will absolutely fall in lov

Buxom Dealer's Choice: Hold the line Eyeliner and Full-Bodied Lip Gloss(Review)

Image
So I`m back with a review on some Buxom makeup products. These are the first Buxom products that I own and I'm actually proud of that. I got this a long time ago when I visited Sephora which is the most beautiful mystical land in the entire world! And I'm not even joking. Now onto the reviews!!!!! Mini Hold the Line Waterproof eyeliner (Call Me): So first off I am writing about the eyeliner and to be honest with all of you it's not the worst eyeliner I've ever owned/worn but it's not the best either. Not by a long shot. It's kind of one of those in between. It did have some nice pigmentation and was creamy enough that I didn't feel that I was ripping off my eyelid. However, what I did not like which I'm pretty sure all of us don't like is that it smudged quite a bit. Not too much that I started to look like a raccoon but enough that it bothered me. So yes I am happy with this product I just wish it would have been smudge proof.  Full Bodied Li

Ipsy June Glam Bag (First Impression)

Image
Hey guys, So I received my June Glam Blag a few weeks ago and I thought that I should share with all of you my first impression on the products. . You might see some excitement on my face, you may not. And of course I had to add a photo, it is right below. And for the month of June the theme was Swim into Beauty. My overall impression of everything that I received is that I wasn't satisfied with what I got. Granted most of the products I received are from brands that I have never tried before but still last month`s glam bag was better. If you guys want to check it out, you can click  here  for it. Also, I have to pay $20 Canadian for my Ipsy bag since I'm in Canada which is why I was disappointed with the products because they were all sample/deluxe sized. If you want to subscribe to Ipsy or want to check it out you can  click here. June Glam bag: For this month I didn't really like the makeup bag because it didn't really fit with the theme. It was blac

Sophie's World: The history of Philosophy By: Jostein Gaarder (Book Review)

Image
This story takes place in a village in Norway. The story follows the protagonist fourteen year old Sophie Amundsen. Sophie finds two questions in the mailbox. "Who are you?" And "Where does the world come from?" Both of these questions lead Sophie on a philosophical journey of a lifetime.  What I liked about this story was that it included everything that you would need to know before entering college; religion, history, philosophy, psychology, and all the incredible minds that we are currently studying (more specifically I'm studying).  I found this book was really helpful in understanding some of the greatest philosophers to have ever lived.  If I would have read this book before starting college all the classes that I had such as; English, ancient philosophy, medieval civilizations, intro to psychology, and critical thinking would have been a lot easier.   The characters were believable and at one point in this story there is supposedly a mirro

The Dimitrakos Proposition By: Lynne Graham (Book Review)

Image
***I received this book to review and I am not being compensated. These are my own thoughts and opinions.****** This story takes place in the city of London and follows Acheron Dimitrakos who is a Greek (obviously) billionaire business tycoon and has a playboy streak. We are also introduced to Tabby Glover a spirited, strong willed, independent woman who does not take any crap from nobody. My kind of gal if you ask me.  Both Acheron and Tabby need something from each other. Tabby needs billionaire Acheron to support her adoption claim to Amber, Acheron's cousin's small child. Acheron suggests after much deliberation; marriage to make all of Tabby's problems disappear. But what Tabby doesn't know is that he will be benefitting from the marriage as well. Instead of losing 50% of his company to his father's wife and step children, Acheron will have to find a wife before the end of the year. They both get on each other's nerves but somehow make the arra

Garnier Clean Refreshing Remover (Review)

Image
I bought this Garnier product on the go because I had no more makeup remover wipes. WHAT???? Yeah I know, I, Amanda had no more makeup remover wipes. And I'm still shocked when I think about it. I was at the grocery store that conveniently had a cosmetics section similar to Walmart. I needed to buy some wipes but since I was far from where I buy my usual wipes I thought why not try different ones? So I bought them thinking that I would like. I have other Garnier beauty products that I absolutely love so why not try their makeup remover wipes?  ***Not Cruelty-free👎*** See I thought I was being logical with this purchase but boy was I wrong. I hate them. I absolutely hate them!!!! I HATE THEM!!!!!!!! The first thing I hate about them and I didn't realize how off the combination would be; is the smell. Think about it; peppermint and grape extract? Who thought in their right minds that this combination would be good? Maybe they weren't in their right mind.  Seco

Insidious: Chapter 3 (Movie Review)

Image
(Will Contain Spoilers) This is the third movie in the Insidious movie franchise and this movie is basically going back to where everything started. This movie is set during the time before the two other movies occurred. And we are getting a look into the past and seeing where Elise first met her team and is also giving us an explanation as to how and why this other female spirit from the further is after her.  Going into this I didn't have much of an expectation because typically the franchise progressively grows worse the more movies are being added on but this one was a nice surprise! It had quite a few jumps scares, it expended on Elise's background and had a new take on the Insidious world.  Quinn is a young girl trying to get in contact with her mother who has passed, however, instead of her mother Quinn has a demon that attaches itself to her and tries to steal her soul. When she crosses the street there is this old man in a mask waving to her, essentially, distr