As some of you remember, I covered my two all-time favourite mascaras in this segment back in November. At the time, I mentioned how I’d be sharing another post later on all about my go-to waterproof mascara — and as promised, here it is!
I love this mascara for a whole lot of reasons. Anyone who’s familiar with popular mascara brands will immediately recognize Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara — it ranks amongst Benefit’s They’re Real and Maybelline’s Great Lash as one of THE most iconic mascaras on the market. I haven’t purchased the original Better Than Sex formula in years, but I’ve kind of been considering giving it a try again. I used to use it all the time after hearing all the rave reviews, but I always found that it transferred around my eye area and often came out clumpy if I wasn’t careful. I’ve kind of been feeling the need to give it a second chance lately — I remember it having some flaws, but at one point it was a staple for me and I’m in the mood to give it another chance.
Anyway, back to the actual product of the week. I won’t lie, I stumbled across this product when I was searching for waterproof mascara in advance of a past vacation (which is just about the only time I buy my mascara waterproof). I only chose to buy it for two reasons — firstly, I recognized the brand and while the original Better Than Sex wasn’t like, my all-time fave mascara, I did love it at one point. Secondly, I totally fell for the packaging. Yes, I know, it’s not a reason to buy a product — but I just can’t help it! Look at those fake little water droplets. I’m obsessed.
Anyways, I do like this product for more than it’s cute packaging, I swear. What I love most about this product is the same thing I loved most about the original formula back in the day: the results are SO dramatic. As in, I ended up ditching my falsies during my trip dramatic (and if you know me, that’s COMPLETELY unheard of). Between my lash lift and this mascara, I was absolutely set. It just looked fantastic. My lashes have NEVER looked so good.
On top of that — this stuff really is waterproof. I’ve put it through a lot over the years — I’ve taken it on every single vacation I can remember since high school. Unless you like, literally take an hour long shower with it on, it barely smudges. I’m pretty sure I’ve swam with this stuff on. I love it.
If you’ve been looking for a great waterproof mascara, you can find this product online at Sephora! Hopefully for those of you with fun trips of your own planned soon, or who just need a little waterproofing in your everyday makeup, it’ll be just what you need.
And that’s all for today! Stay tuned this Sunday to read all about my current fave trends for a beach vacation (or even just summer, it’s almost just around the corner!). Otherwise, I hope you’re all having a fantastic week. We’re getting so close to the end of February — for those of you who’ve been setting monthly goals in 2020, I hope you’re close to achieving your February goals! If not, no worries — you can always take part of March to catch up (that’s my plan, at least!).
So, as many of you already know, I’ve been spending this week taking a (very much needed) vacation in Puerto Vallarta. This last month has been a bit of a rough one for me — between having the flu, my term papers, my job and just keeping up with life its been a lot. However, not only was I lucky enough to have this getaway planned (and right after my final papers were due!), but from here on out my life should be at least a LITTLE less hectic, so cheers to that!
Puerto Vallarta is a special place to me since this was actually the place I went away on my first ever vacation! To be fair, I was too young to remember it — but this is my first time coming back ever since, so it’s pretty exciting to take it all in. I also have to say, Puerto Vallarta makes a great vacation spot — its easy to access from just about anywhere in North America (which I know for a fact since my family flew in from Toronto while I flew in from Vancouver, and none of us had long or difficult travels). As well, the weather here is STUNNING — like seriously, every single day that we’ve been here has been sunny and warm, and there’s almost never a cloud in the sky. It’s insanely perfect — maybe it’s just that all the vacations I’ve taken in the last few years have been to places with variable weather, but I’m pretty blown away by this “constant sun” and “no fear of cloudiness and rain” concept.
My Last Trip To Puerto Vallarta!
As well, Puerto Vallarta has just about everything anyone on your trip could be interested in. Not only does it have the beach, the pool, the sun and all the typical things you’d want out of a beach getaway, it has a vibrant town and plenty of adventurous activities in the nearby area. Since I was here with my family and my main goal was to just chill out a little, I didn’t really take part in anything TOO adventurous — but there’s all kinds of activities ranging from zip lining, to snorkelling, to parasailing, to hiking and more. Oh, and our hotel came equipped with the biggest spa I’ve ever seen, so there’s that too.
The View From Our Hotel Room
Overall, I have to say — I’m pretty in love with it here. (Bonus points since our hotel even came with a little house cat — meet Mitzy!). I know I always say this, but I never wanna leave (or at least, I could use more than one week). But enough of that — let’s get into all the details of my little vacay!
Meet Mitzy!
Our Accommodations
Our Room at the Marriott
For this trip, we stayed at the Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa. This little resort has it all — it’s near, but not quite in town. It’s smaller and a little quiet, which I personally loved. It has a lovely, large infinity pool, it’s own private stretch of beach, multiple restaurant and bar options and a large and fantastic spa — but more on that later.
Marriott Puerto Vallarta Beach
Some of my favourite aspects of this hotel are the lovely beach and poolside chairs, the amazing hibachi restaurant, the poolside food and drink service, and the amazing little stand that makes fancy cocktails served in real coconuts. (I mean, just look at this — how much cuter does it get?)
The rooms are large and pretty comfortable — not that we’ve spent much time in them when it’s so beautiful out. There’s a good range of food options, and a VERY good range of drink options. To top it all off, our hotel comes with it’s very own cat (Mitzy!) and the view from out balcony is beyond spectacular — so overall, I’d say this place is a winner.
View From Our Room Pt. 2
Things To Do
Go On A Sunset Sail
Sunset Sail by Vallarta Adventures
So I’ll just start off by saying that no matter where I’m travelling to in the world, just about my all time favourite activity is to spend a day on a boat. Seriously, my life goal is to be able to buy a boat one day. I’ve been on plenty of boats during my travels — such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Honolulu, just to name a few — however, this one really was the best one yet. We specifically chose to do a sunset sail via Vallarta Adventures, and while boating itself is great, let me tell you — boating at sunset is better. This particular boating adventure came with all the bells and whistles too — little snack trays, music, and an open bar (!!!). The staff were beyond lovely, too. Overall, I’d say this activity was a serious 11/10, and definitely my favourite part of this trip. If you’re ever in Puerto Vallarta, you’ll seriously want to check this ride out.
Sunset Sail by Vallarta Adventures
Have A Spa Day
Marriott Spa
So, obviously, this was VERY much needed after the week I’ve had. The Marriott Puerto Vallarta Spa is unlike any spa I’ve been to before, too — it really is a whole experience. Like first of all, it’s absolutely HUGE. When you get any services done, you get full access to all their amenities as well. So, while all I really signed up for was the 80-minute Swedish Massage, I ended up getting a LOT more. We spent our day before and after enjoying everything this spa had to offer, including: a jacuzzi, a hot and cold plunge pools, a foot bath, a sauna AND a steam room — and that’s not even an exhaustive list, just the things I tried out. Overall, it was an AMAZING experience, and probably one of the most extensive and amazing spa days I have ever had (thankfully, since I needed it so much!).
Marriott Spa
Hit The Town
Me in Town, Puerto Vallarta
The town of Puerto Vallarta is so vibrant and fun — if you’re spending your time at a resort, like me, you’ll still want to take a day and go explore. The beachside town is filled with countless restaurants, bars, and a wide array of shops, which will cover all your souvenir needs. There’s also a boardwalk that stretches on for miles and miles — allowing you to explore easily. Plus, the beaches by town are gorgeous, and feature plenty of beachside bars and restaurants — which is ALWAYS a good idea.
Puerto Vallarta Boardwalk
Try A Tequila Tasting
Tequila!
This is basically a must-try if you’re in Mexico — I mean, where else would be better to try something like this? It makes for a great little afternoon activity, and it’s totally a fun experience you really can’t get anywhere else. Our hotel offered free tastings, however, with how much tequila there is in this town, you probably could try this just about anywhere. Even if you’re really not a fan of tequila, they certainly have the best tequila in the world — so it’s definitely worth a shot (or two!).
Puerto Vallarta Pier
Places To Eat (And Drink!)
Mikado
Sushi at Mikado
Maybe I’m just a sucker for Hibachi places, but this was one of my favourite places we tried on our vacation. While this restaurant was a part of the Marriot we stayed at, you can totally make a reso here even if you aren’t a guest. The restaurant features two separate areas — one Sushi, one Hibachi. While we tried both out, and the sushi WAS amazing — the Hibachi restaurant was both SO delicious and SO fun. It totally gave me throwback vibes to every birthday I ever had at Benihana as a child, so really, there was nothing not to love.
Banana Tempura at Mikado
Si Señor
Si Señor on the Beach
This bar and restaurant wasn’t just beachside — it actually had tables to sit at ON the beach (which was about everything you could ever want). We really only stopped in here for drinks, but wow were they ever good. If you go here, you HAVE to try the Palomas — maybe I’m biased since I love a good Paloma any day, but they were absolutely to die for. The drinks, the view, the beach — UGH. This place is absolutely a must-try if you’re ever in the area.
The Blue Shrimp
Arriero Style Octopus at the Blue Shrimp
This may already be obvious from the name of the restaurant, but if you LOVE shrimp, this is the place for you. It was basically all that was on the menu, and it was glorious. The appetizers were delish but the shrimp dinners (where you basically just ended up choosing which sauce and style you wanted your shrimp in) were beyond amazing. The whole restaurant had a very strong Maritimes/Canadian East Coast seafood dinner restaurant vibe, so it was also pretty nostalgic for me since I haven’t been to the east coast in years. (Have I ever mentioned that I have a farm in Prince Edward Island? I guess that’s just a story for another day!).
Portuguese Shrimp at the Blue Shrimp
And that’s it for my little getaway! I’m heading home tomorrow afternoon (or today at the time that this posts), tragically enough — I’m really not ready to leave just yet. I mean, I guess I have to head back to reality at some point, but does it need to be so soon?
Sunset Sail Tour by Vallarta Adventures
All in all, this trip was AMAZING, though, so I can’t complain. Puerto Vallarta is a stunning city with a little something for everyone and endless blue, sunny skies. Like seriously — this place had better weather than anywhere I’ve been in a while, and I couldn’t be more thankful. (I love Vancouver, but sometimes you just need a break from the rain, you know?). Puerto Vallarta even reminded me a bit of home, with the mountain and beach combination it has going on!
I hope you guys all enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you (and experiencing it!). Hopefully it inspired you to plan a little vacay of your own sometime soon — if you end up heading to Puerto Vallarta or trying out anything that I did, let me know! I’d love to hear that I inspired some ideas for some of your future travels.
As well, stay tuned next week for another — slightly different — travel post! I’m going to be sharing with you guys all my fave beach vacay style trends for this spring and summer, so stay tuned! I’ve been collecting photos of all my favourite makeup and fashion trends I’ve tried over the last week and I can’t wait to share.
Have a great week everyone, and don’t forget to take some time to relax! Even with how overwhelmed I was last week, I didn’t truly realize how stressed I had been until a few days into my getaway — so take a minute for a quick breather, a Netflix binge or some self care. It never hurts!
Much love and adios,
Meredith
Ps. Enjoy some extra bonus photos below — I had too many for one post!
Sooooooo, I’m back at it! After a couple of the most stressful weeks I’ve had in a while I’m healthy, happy, and relaxed so cheers to that!
Bear with me for any mistakes in this post — I’m writing it via mobile (which is also my reason for the little delay). I’ve been spending all my time poolside, so bear with me. I just wanted to take some time out of my (not very) busy vacation to share with you all my new fave lip balm!
When it comes to lip balm, I’m a bit of an addict. Who can say no to lip balm, right? I mean, it’s kind of a necessity. Especially during Canadian winters, when it can get particularly dry, it basically gives you a reason to buy as many lip balms as you want guilt-free. (It’s not even like I’m not using them until the end — I am! I’m just super sensitive to dry weather). Basically, what I’m getting at is that by this point in my life, I know what makes (or breaks) a good lip balm.
Ever since trying (and loving!) Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask, I’ve been dying to try more of their products, and this lip balm gave me the perfect opportunity. Since it also has their watermelon formulation, I was sure I would love it — and I wasn’t disappointed.
Not only is this lip balm ultra-hydrating, it comes with a gentle scrub exfoliant aspect that wears away after a few minutes, allowing you to keep your lips extra soft throughout the day. It’s very gentle too, which is great — it’s really easy to take lip exfoliating too far and cause damage.
What I love most though, is the gentle tint it leaves behind. K-Beauty is known for its natural, glowy style and gentle pink lip looks — like their ever-popular gentle pink lip ombré. This balm gives a perfect pink tint that looks incredible natural, it looks more like you have on a clear gloss and are otherwise au natural. I just love the luscious, glossy look it leaves behind — all while making sure your lips are soft and hydrated!
If this sounds like the step into K-Beauty you’ve been looking to try, you can check out Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Lip Pop exclusively at Sephora!
I hope you’re all having a lovely week — I know I am! Be sure to stay tuned this weekend for my post about my week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — I’m so excited to share it with you guys!
So to start off, its actually been a while since I got my first lash lift — I actually wrote this post in late November, however, I had all my next few posts already planned out until January so I decided to save it for a little later on. No worries, though — I wrote this just hours after may appointment so it was all still fresh in my mind! So, if you’ve been curious about lash lifts in the past, hopefully this answers a few of your questions!
Research First!
Something that’s important to consider before any serious beauty appointment is to look into the best, safest places to get your procedure done. This goes for all kinds of related things; such as microblading, injections, lash extensions, facials, etc. It might seem a little excessive, but since lash lifting deals with your (very sensitive) eye area, you really want a pro doing it. Better safe than sorry, am I right?
After looking into it a little, I found a nearby aesthetician who came highly rated and really only specialized in lash lifting (which was reassuring to me, since it meant she would be highly skilled and well-practiced). If you live in Vancouver, you can find her at Yumi Studios and if you’re thinking of trying this procedure out, I couldn’t recommend her more. She was extremely professional and gentle, and my lashes turned out WAY better than lash lifts usually look in photos.
The Lash Lift
The day of, I showed up sans-makeup and contacts, as recommended. If you’re getting this done, I’d also definitely suggest washing your hair and face beforehand, as you aren’t supposed to wet your lashes for the following 24-48 hours.
When I showed up at Yumi Studios (which was run out of the aesthetician’s apartment) I took in my surroundings and was impressed by the cleanliness and professional vibes from the space — which is really important to me before I trust someone with my lashes. She had me lie down and get comfortable on a bed complete with support pillows and a heating pad — which was super nice considering she told me to expect the appointment would be about two hours long.
If you’ve never heard about lash lifts before, they’re essentially little perms for your lashes with tinting to follow. They essentially make it appear as if you have the worlds longest, most healthiest lashes (and eliminate the need for mascara!). They don’t give quite as dramatic an effect as lash extensions do, but unlike lash extensions, they’re fairly low maintenance, less damaging, and they don’t look so obvious as they fall out. (Plus, I’m waaaaay too in love with false lashes to ever give up on them).
The procedure starts off with placing little rubber covers over your eyelids, and brushing your lashes up onto them. From there, several layers of different products are applied to help curl and tint your lashes. Majority of the reason it takes so long to complete is that there’s a lot of sitting around waiting for products to work their magic — as well as the time and care my aesthetician spent brushing my lashes perfectly into place.
My two biggest fears going into this were being allergic to the products, and it being uncomfortable having someone touch my eyes. However, I can safely say now I had nothing to be worried about. I do have a tendency to be really sensitive to products, so when the perm chemicals were applied to my lashes caused my lash line to tingle a little, I started to freak out a bit internally. However, this feeling was little more than a tingle (it really didn’t hurt at all), and went away after a couple of minutes. By the time I was done, my eyes were not the least bit sore, red, or swollen — I figured they would be at least a little irritated, but that was not the case. If you’re considering this for yourself, be sure to do a little research on the products your aesthetician uses beforehand if you’re sensitive/allergic to certain chemicals and materials. All the products used on my eyes today were 100% natural and vegan — however, some places use a lot harsher and unnatural chemicals to create the permed curl. However, as long as it’s a safe, clean environment and you don’t have any specific sensitivities, you should be just fine.
As for the whole part where someone had their hands around my eyes for two hours — it really wasn’t uncomfortable at all! In fact, I actually found it pretty relaxing. My aesthetician was so incredibly gentle, I never once felt any discomfort. I know people say lash lifts and extensions are no where near as uncomfortable as you’d expect — but you don’t really realize how true that is until you take the leap for yourself.
The Benefits
So, why lash lifts? They’re still a pretty new and uncommon procedure, especially compared to lash extensions or tinting. However, I have a couple reasons for choosing this specific procedure.
First off, compared to lash tinting — lash lifts have all the benefits of this procedure and more. As someone who has rather long, blond, straight lashes, a lash tint would probably help my lashes appear a little more full, but wouldn’t do much for me otherwise. Seriously, without an eyelash curler my lashes are straight as a pole — if I apply mascara without curling them first, they still hardly even appear. If you have naturally beautiful and curled lashes, tinting would likely work a lot better for you overall. I, on the other hand, never realized how long my lashes actually were until today — but I’m loving their new look!
Second of all, why not extensions? I have a few reasons for that, honestly. First of all, lash extensions are SO high maintenance. While you only have to go in for touch ups on a lash lift every 2-3 months, lash extensions more a less have to be touched up every couple weeks. As well, there’s so much extra care involved — you have to constantly brush out your lashes, avoid getting them wet, and you can’t even sleep on your stomach — which I’m incapable of not doing. Lash lifts, on the other hand, require much less maintenance — you’re supposed to brush them out occasionally over the first 48 hours, and avoid wetting them, but after that you’re good to go. It’s recommended you add serum or castor oil to your nightly routine as well — but I already did that, so its nothing additional to my current day-to-day.
Lash extensions can also be incredibly damaging to your natural lashes, unlike lifting. Basically everyone I know has or had lash extensions, but I’ve had so many friends complain or had to stop over damage to their lashes. The extensions falling out can often cause your real lashes to fall out — and potentially damage the hair follicle below. Once your lash lift is complete, your lashes will continue to fall out in their regular cycle — meaning there should be no damage done afterwards.
Finally, and to me, most importantly — you’re really not supposed to wear makeup with lash extensions. Excess water or scrubbing can cause them to fall off, which means you have to be SUPER careful if you’re removing makeup, or even washing your face. While I could maybe forgo eye makeup on a regular day with extensions, I really wouldn’t want to give up doing my eyeshadow and liner on occasion. With lash lifts, after 24 hours you’re good to go live life and apply makeup as normal — which is a huge plus for me. Does all this mean I’m never going to try lash extensions? Maybe, maybe not. But for right now, getting a lift makes to most sense for my own personal lifestyle. That being said, if you have lash extensions or are thinking of trying them, by all means go for it! However, if you’re looking for something a little lower maintenance, maybe lash lifting is exactly what you need.
The Results
Honestly, I was blown away when I looked at myself in the mirror following my procedure. I honestly couldn’t stop staring at my new lashes, as self-absorbed as that may seem. Not only did they look fantastic, they looked incredibly natural — my lashes actually appeared longer than they do with just mascara, plus there’s no clumping whatsoever. While it does lack the added volume of mascara, you can always apply it on top anyway — but the tint and spread of my lashes makes them look fuller than they ever have naturally. Overall, I was just completely blown away — I already know I’m going to go back the second my natural lashes start to grow back in.
The best part about writing this post so far in advance is that I also get to share with you how my lift lasted with time! So now lets jump ahead to the future — it’s now been a few months since my first lift, and I’m officially sold for life. Even though it doesn’t give as intense an effect as lash extensions (especially since my normal lashes are a little sparse) it definitely helps with avoiding daily makeup and just overall makes my lashes look curled and beautiful and makes me look fresh and awake. I absolutely love this treatment and I’m absolutely sure I’m going to be getting them for a loooooong time to come.
And there you have it! If you’ve been curious about lash lifting, or didn’t even know what it was previously, I hope you learned a lot from this post! (As well, if you’re located in Vancouver, be sure to check out my lash tech, Jag Sangara-Gill, she really was the best!). If you’ve been considering getting this procedure done and have more questions for me about my experience, be sure to drop a comment, message, or reach me on twitter at @lifewmeredith.
I hope you guys all had a lovely week, and have had a great start to the new year! Stay tuned for my next Favourites post coming this Thursday.
Sooooo, once again, I’m delaying my Lash Lift post. I know, and I’m sorry! At this point I’ve had it done — I just really want the time to take good photos where you can see the effects and really perfect the post for you guys. It’s a post that’s been a long time in the making, so I just want to be sure it’s the absolute best and most informative it can be!
That being said, unfortunately, I’ve still been having a crazy week (clearly…my apologies for the delayed post — again! I swear this is the last time it’s going to happen). Between having a term paper due Thursday, Poetry class assignments (also due Thursday, because of course), a crazy busy week at work (between the amount of Canucks games, Lacrosse games and UFC Fights this week, its been a little overwhelming) and getting ready for my trip to Mexico (!!!) exactly one week today — I have been overwhelmed as heck.
Since I once again had to delay the post I had planned, I figured I’d share with you a little list of ten tips on how I’ve been surviving this week! Hopefully, for those of you with crazy weeks of your own coming up, you’ll find some advice here that’ll help you get through the busy and stressful times and make it to the other side in once piece.
Get some sleep!!! It’s tempting to stay up super late to get everything done, especially when you’re on a roll. But not only will you end up regretting it the next day, but it’ll slowly start to build up and take more of a toll as time wears on — making it harder for you to keep up.
Make sure you’re eating regularly. This one may seem super obvious — but when you’re having a really long day and feel like absolute garbage and can’t quite figure out why — you probably just need to eat more. Plan ahead for days when you know you may have to delay meals (for me, this is longer work days) and stock up on some snacks. My personal fave to get through long shifts are Clif Bar’s Nut Butter and Fruit Smoothie filled granola bars — soooooo good.
Make sure you’re still keeping in touch with friends and family — you really need that support.
Set aside daily time for self-care, but don’t overdo it! Taking time to take care of yourself is a necessity — but there’s a line between what you need and just procrastinating. If you’re having a ridiculously busy week, try to limit yourself to maximum one hour a day. You can always make up for it next week if you need to! But anything more than that may just be a guise to put off important tasks. If you need good self-care ideas to formulate a structured one-hour plan, be sure to check out my list here!
Plan everything out well in advance. Even if you don’t follow the plan to a T (stuff always goes wrong — you can’t sweat it!) just having everything written down will ensure you don’t forget anything.
On that note, be sure to limit tasks that need to be done ASAP to busy weeks — everything else can be taken care of later. Even things that feel super important to you and keeping your life together, such as cleaning, meal prepping, laundry, etc., can slide for a few days if it helps you complete all your tasks on time. Just remember — it’s all about balance!
Obvious one — but stay hydrated.
If you have a lot of tasks that are going to take a while to complete, try to break them up into smaller segments and switch it up every few hours. Maybe it’s just me, but I find this really helps me avoid burning out.
Don’t overdo it on caffeine! It’s hard, I know. Sometimes during the crazy weeks it feels like that coffee is LITERALLY the only thing that’s going to help you survive the next few hours. However, if you’re already feeling kind of exhausted, you don’t want all that caffeine to impact your sleep. Even if you’re still falling asleep quickly, too much coffee can impact your quality of sleep — meaning you won’t wake up feeling refreshed and ready the next day. (If you really feel you can’t go without it, try decaf! If nothing else, hopefully the placebo effect will have you convinced it’s what you need).
Be sure to reward yourself for completing tasks. You’ve been having a rough week — you deserve it! Not only that, but rewarding yourself for checking tricky tasks off your checklist will help to incentivize you to keep going. (It’ll also help to refresh you so you don’t feel like the week is one never-ending struggle — you need breaks!). Try to stick to little rewards after each task, and try to take a whole day off after you finish everything up — you need it! Take the day to relax and catch up on all the self-care, sleep, and alone time you’ve missed since your life got so hectic.
Happy Sunday everyone, and hopefully this next week goes well for you all! (And if it DOES happen to get a little intense, at least you have a little advice that’ll help make it easier!). If you have any other advice that helps you get through the tough times, or just want to vent about the week you’re having, drop a comment below! This week is going to be a bit of an intense one, but once I make it through to the other side I get to head down to Puerto Vallarta for a week, which is making it all worth it. Be sure to stay tuned for next week’s post about my experience getting a Lash Lift (seriously this time, I promise!) as well as TWO new travel posts coming out in the following weeks.
Here’s to surviving this week — or even thriving, if you’re lucky! I hope you all achieve your goals — we’re almost halfway through February, after all!
Sincerely, Meredith 