Travel Blogs to Inspire Your First Post-COVID Vacation!

March 21, 2021March 24, 20218 Comments

Travelling has always been something that was really important to me. Ever since I was young, I’ve always wanted to see the world, experience new cultures, and explore new places. I’m pretty fortunate — I’ve already gotten the chance to see so many different countries in my lifetime — and yet, I still can’t wait to see more.

Then, of course, 2020 happened. While I didn’t have any solid plans to travel anywhere at the time that lockdowns hit, I certainly had a trip or two in mind to celebrate graduating and enjoying my time between finishing university and setting out into the “real world”. However, the last year of being at home has given me plenty of time to reflect on the places I have been lucky enough to visit, and all the places I hope to go as soon as COVID and lockdowns have become a distant memory.

Below are all the travel blogs I’ve posted since beginning my blog nearly two years ago now — during which time I was fortunate enough to visit everywhere from my own hometown to South East Asia. Hopefully for all of you who’ve been feeling impatient to break out of your routine and go experience new things after this last year of being at home, you’ll be able to find plenty of inspiration, recommendations and ideas from my little collection of blogs in this post!

SPEND A WEEK WITH ME IN PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO!

This was the last vacation I went on pre-COVID, but it was a great one to have experienced as my last trip for a while. Puerto Vallarta makes for a great relaxing beach holiday, while also having plenty of adventurous places to visit and local areas to explore the culture.

SPEND A DAY WITH ME IN BANGKOK!

Bangkok was both the first and last stop on my trip to South East Asia, so while we didn’t see that much of Bangkok during our first few days there per se, you can get a good sense from this post of what it was like acclimating to travelling to the opposite side of the world on my first trip without my family!

THINGS TO DO (PART TWO!): BANGKOK EDITION!

The title here may be a little confusing, since I didn’t actually make a “Things To Do in Bangkok: Part One”. However, this post shares what I did in Bangkok the second time around, and how I spent the last few days of my travels in South East Asia.

THINGS TO DO: KOH PHI PHI EDITION!

Koh Phi Phi is, hands down, one of my absolute favourite places on earth. Not only is it an absolutely stunning landscape, but it’s full of great little cafes, restaurants and shops AND every single shop owner on the island owns a cat. No joke, I’ve never seen so many cats in one place in my life (which was fantastic for me, as I really love cats). I really couldn’t recommend visiting Koh Phi Phi more, I’d probably live here if I could.

SPEND A DAY WITH ME ON A BOAT CRUISE IN KOH PHI PHI!

Koh Phi Phi is a great adventure spot, and has loads of snorkelling, hiking, and all sorts of other exploring options for those of you who enjoy a little hands-on adventure. There’s SO many adventure options for all types of different comfort zones, as well — so don’t worry if you’re not looking for anything too extreme. If this sounds like your thing, check out this post to get a better sense of what it’s like to take a day trip boat tour of the island!

THINGS TO DO: CHIANG MAI EDITION!

Chiang Mai is a city in northern Thailand, and a great place to visit to be able to see some really stunning architecture and buddhist temples. It’s a really beautiful place, and visiting the Old City is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever visited.

PLACES TO EAT: CHIANG MAI EDITION!

For my foodies — there was some really great food in this city. Maybe I’m just biased, though, because Thai food is one of my all-time faves.

THINGS TO DO: SIEM REAP EDITION!

My time in Cambodia was short, but I did manage to fit in a lot of things while I was there. I really didn’t know what to expect of Siem Reap, but it really took me by surprise and ended up being one of my favourite places I’ve ever travelled to.

SPEND A DAY WITH ME AT ANGKOR WAT!

Perhaps the best-known travel destination in Cambodia, Angkor Was and the surrounding temples are really one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever experienced — they’re really different from any other temples in South East Asia as well. It’s usually packed with people, but if you go in the summer (as I did) it ends up being a lot emptier, which really made the experience more special.

THINGS TO DO: HO CHI MINH CITY EDITION!

Vietnam was one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited, and if it isn’t already on your bucket list I’d definitely recommend adding it right now. Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is absolutely full of all kinds of amazing food, history, and culture — the city itself, and the entire country of Vietnam, was really one of the most unique and interesting places I ever visited.

THINGS TO DO: NINH BINH EDITION!

Ninh Binh was a real stand out for me in terms of places I’ve visited in my life. I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone in a whole lot of ways, but it was all really rewarding at the end of the day. The town is absolutely beautiful, and there’s no shortage of beautiful places to see in the Vietnamese countryside.

SPEND A WEEKEND WITH ME IN HOI AN!

To be honest, Hoi An is definitely more of a “party” location in terms of places I visited in Vietnam — at least for me. It was crazy fun, though, and I met all kinds of people from around the world while I was staying here.

PLACES TO EAT: HANOI EDITION!

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and very different from Ho Chi Minh City. It was really interesting being able to visit both in my time in Vietnam — I loved them both so much, and for very different reasons. There’s all kinds of cool things to do and see in Hanoi, but the food in particular is to die for.

SPEND A DAY WITH ME ON A BOAT CRUISE IN HA LONG BAY!

Ha Long Bay is by far the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen in my life. Honestly, I’d give anything to go back right now. There’s all sorts of ways to see and experience it, but one of the most popular is spending time on an overnight cruise — which I have to say, I’d highly recommend.

THINGS TO DO: LUANG PRABANG EDITION!

Okay, I know I’ve pretty much said that everything on this list was my favourite thing in one way or another, but Laos was really one of the best places I’ve ever visited — and you should probably consider adding it to your bucket list, TBH.

SPEND A DAY WITH ME IN LUANG PRABANG!

A little in-depth look at one of my best days from my whole trip to South East Asia. Seriously, I couldn’t recommend Laos more.

SPEND A WEEKEND WITH ME IN TORONTO!

Does it really count as travelling to visit my own hometown? Probably not, but I’m still counting it. Plus, for those of you who’ve never been to Toronto and want to experience it as a local would — then my guide will definitely help you do that!

PLACES TO EAT: TORONTO EDITION!

For all my fellow foodies, Toronto is a must-visit. There’s just so many great options. It has a little bit of everything — as it is the most multi-cultural city in the world, after all — so no matter what you love, there’s something here for you.

SPEND A WEEKEND WITH ME IN DISNEY WORLD!

Okay…I won’t lie, I’d be pretty hesitant to be going somewhere as crowded as a theme park anytime soon. That might just be me, though. So for everyone who’s been looking forward to a Disney vacation when this is all over, feel free to check out how I spent my weekend there and all my fave things to do and see at Disney World!

SPEND THE HOLIDAYS WITH ME IN WEST PALM BEACH, USA!

This was more of a trip to visit with my family, but we still managed to squeeze in a little sight-seeing of the local area surrounding our AirBnB while we were visiting West Palm — and we spent a lot of time at the beach, too!

Do you guys have any plans in place to go travelling post-COVID? If so, I’d love to hear where you’re planning on visiting! I, personally, am not making any solid plans until I have my vaccine and the end is “officially” in sight, but in the meantime it’s fun to imagine everywhere I’ll go when we’re free to travel again. I’d love to be able to visit either Japan, Singapore, Italy or Greece (or all of the above!) but honestly I’m not even picky — I’d be happy to go on a trip anywhere at this point. I’d love to hear all of your dream travel locations, so drop a comment below and let me know where in the world you would go right now if you could choose from absolutely anywhere!

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you all have an amazing week ahead to look forward to.

Much love,

Meredith

Three Easy Steps To Mastering Any Skill

March 14, 2021March 14, 202129 Comments

Hi friends!

Happy Sunday!

This week, I wanted to discuss something that’s been at the forefront of most of our minds since about one year ago, when lockdowns began. (Crazy how it’s been pretty much exactly one year to the day now, right?). As soon as we all became locked inside with nothing to do, a sudden craze broke out across social media — and it urged us all to use our newfound free time to master new skills. Be it baking, cooking, exercising, writing, or art — suddenly everyone seemed like they were trying something new.

The whole concept, as I’ve discussed before, was a bit of a double-edged sword — on one hand, it’s always great to try new things, learn something new or push yourself like you haven’t before. On the other hand, however, there was immense pressure on social media to be using our spare time during one of the most stressful and unpredictable times of our lives to be productive. That being said — there is always benefit to learning new things. A year later on, I’m sure we’ve all seen skills that our family and friends have learned that we would love to learn to do ourselves. But how, exactly? Starting a new skill from scratch isn’t just challenging — it’s daunting as well. However, it isn’t impossible — in fact, it’s far from it. At the end of the day, you really only need three simple things to master any skill your heart desires: practice, passion, and patience. By the end of this post, I’m going to share with you exactly how you can master whichever skill it is you’ve been tempted to try — no matter your level of experience. (And of course, the most important step of all at the end of the day, no matter what skill you want to master, is just to START! Start now! There’s nothing stopping you. If you start today, you’ll just have that much more experience in a week than if you started tomorrow. Don’t worry about having it all be perfect from the get-go. You’ll get there, so just go for it.)

Practice

The first, and most obvious step, to mastering a skill is practice. Or perhaps it isn’t to most obvious — it seems so many people believe that “natural talent” is somehow key excelling at things, but that isn’t the case. Let me be clear — you do not need to be naturally talented and something to become great at it. Think of your skill as you would exercise (which works especially well if exercise is somehow related to the skill you wish to master): anyone who works out will become more fit with time. Sure, it takes a while, and perhaps we all move at different paces. Maybe some people have a bit of a head start, and maybe others don’t. However, with practice, anyone and everyone can become fit. However, no matter who you are — it takes a LOT of both time and effort to become incredibly strong and muscular. But really, the only thing stopping you from being the person who becomes super strong is how much you practice. This doesn’t mean that you should push yourself beyond healthy limits, though — what I’m trying to say is that anyone can build up a skill to the level of a master. It takes time, but there’s no need to rush — you’ll get there.

A little extra note that I’ve found really works for me as well — I find, personally, that I benefit significantly from practicing skills for, say, half an hour putting in my best effort and I do putting in four times as much time at only 50% effort. The quality of my effort, for me, matters. If I’m feeling distracted, or lazy, or trying to rush through practicing simply to finish, it doesn’t really get me anywhere — and it doesn’t show me results that I’m proud of.

Passion

The second thing you’ll need to be able to master a skill is passion. Let’s not get too deep here — I don’t mean that whatever it is you intend to learn has to be your life’s sole and absolute devotion. In fact, you’ll be able to cultivate more passion as you go. But as you start out, you simply need to be passionate enough about whatever skill you wish to learn to feel excited about it, and look forward to practicing it. Let’s say, for example, that your passion is drawing (just like me!). Ideally, if you’re looking get started as an artist, you should be excited to practice drawing and look forward to practicing it when you can. This will reflect in your life in any number of ways — looking forward to purchasing your artistic tools, getting excited about looking for reference images or drawing subjects, or feeling inspired by other’s art that you come across online. All of this passion should, hopefully, not only inspire you to practice — but to practice often. The best part of this step, at least for me personally, is that your passion and excitement grows as you see your hard work pay off. Every time I complete a drawing that I consider to be my personal best, it ignites a newfound wave of excitement to keep going and create something new.

Patience

The final step to mastering any skill is the hardest — patience. Do not feel discouraged if you don’t see results as fast as you think you’re supposed to. Learning takes time, and the path to mastering a new skill is seldom linear. Sometimes you’ll feel like you’re making huge amounts of progress, and others you’ll feel stuck in a rut. Whether you feel it or not, though, every time you dedicate yourself to practicing, you’re making progress. Slow progress is still progress. It may take months, or even years, to truly master your chosen skill — and even then, you’ll still always have more to learn. Even if you feel you had a good momentum the first few months and then stopped seeing progress, I’d encourage you not to give up — I’m sure you’re still making progress that even you can’t see. The smallest increments, with time, will get you to where you want to be. And what’s more, you never know when you may have that moment where you can feel everything fall into place; where you feel like you finally get it. If you’ve started and feel lost, that moment will come. Just keep working towards it.

Be sure not to compare yourself to others — some people may experience quick learning in the beginning, some people may take a while to get the hang of things — but the point is, is that ANYONE can master ANYTHING with proper dedication. You do not need to be naturally gifted to become great at something — in fact, most people that are started off just where you are now. The only reason, I believe, that people who are “naturally gifted” tend to excel in particular skills is that they’re motivated by their results early on that drive their passion to continue practicing — just as you will with time. Keep at it, and one day you’ll realize how far you’ve come since you started — and it’ll only drive your passion to keep going and learning more.

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking. To some extent, art has always been my thing. How do you, or even I, know whether I’m good at it because I followed these steps, or if it’s just because I’m inherently an artistic person? My evidence to show you otherwise is twofold — firstly, while I was pretty active in practicing art back in high school, after first year I pretty much gave up on art all together until after graduation (save for a couple of doodles in the margins of my notebooks). When I first started drawing again, I was no where near the level I was in high school. After just a few years of non-practice, while I didn’t have to start entirely from scratch, I had lost any so-called natural talent and had absolutely no ability to even draw a simple proportionate face. (I’d share a photo with you all of how my first few drawings looked when I was starting out, but I’m honestly too embarrassed. When I say they’re bad, I mean — they’re REALLY bad). There’s no shame in that, though — I had to start somewhere. On top of that, once my line work started to improve in quality, I still had another obstacle to beat — I wanted to learn how to use alcohol-based markers, and draw in colour (which was NOT something I had any previous experience in). Back in high school, I almost entirely drew my art in pencils, or in greyscale — I almost never used colour. I didn’t paint often, and even though I used colour pencils on occasion, it was pretty rare. Learning how to shade in colour is an entirely different skill from pencil and grayscale shading — as well, I had never tried alcohol markers before and I had no idea how to blend and use them. Honestly, it took a lot of time. While I hit a couple ruts along the way, I’ve had not one, but multiple moments where I felt things beginning to click — and those moments really revolutionized my own abilities and revived my passion to practice.

My second example, however, is much more recent; I’ve been trying my hand at digital art. Digital art is something I actually tried once (although briefly) in the past, but gave up on. This time, however, I’m going in with a little more dedication, and I’m following my own advice. When it comes to digital art, I know absolutely next to nothing. Drawing on a tablet does not come easily to me in any way, shape or form — I don’t find it intuitive, or at all similar to drawing with pencils and paper. It was really discouraging at first, honestly. I kind of ended up avoiding practicing for a month and a half, opting to continue with my marker-based art because I was so daunted by having to learn something from scratch. Even though I’ve had a slow start to it, however, I finally had a moment last week — I felt something click. It’s not like I’ve suddenly become an overnight expert (far from it in fact, I still have a long way to go), but for the first time I felt like I kind of knew what I was doing. I really lacked patience with my first few digital drawings, to be fair — I rushed through them and had quit on every single one so far partway through when I started to feel that each piece was beyond help. With a little time and effort, however, I finally created an outline that may not be perfect, but that I am proud of. I still have a long way to go — how to colour in digital art is still something I have next to no idea how to do — but I don’t have to get there right away. I’m sure one day, I’ll be able to figure it out.

I wanted to share a little bit of my own personal progress with you all, to give you a little idea of what I’m talking about (or perhaps some inspiration to get started on a skill of your own!). I, personally, love drawing cartoon style — most of my drawings are characters from my favourite TV shows and movies. These two pictures were taken six months apart: the drawing on the left (Aang from Avatar: the Last Airbender) was one of my very first that I used alcohol markers on, and the one on the right (Armin Arlert from Attack on Titan), was from a few weeks back. Neither of them are perfect, sure, and I still have a long way to go. But look at how much I’ve improved! Six months may sound like a long time to take to improve now, but it won’t feel that way if you’re constantly putting in effort and enjoying yourself, rather than counting the days. Who knows just how good I may be in another six month’s time.

As for my progress in my digital artistic endeavours, this is the outline in question (Eren Jaeger from last week’s episode of Attack on Titan). I’m still in the process of colouring it in, but as I said, I have a lot to learn and it’s taking me a while to get the hang of. However, this line work is by far the best I’ve done so far in my digital art journey, and it was the first time EVER that I felt like I kind of knew what I was doing. Once again, it’s far from perfect — but who cares! I’ll get better eventually, and frankly (especially when you compare it to absolutely any of my other attempts), I’m pretty proud of it.

I hope you’re all having a great week, and have another great week ahead of you! I won’t lie, you guys — I had no idea it was daylight savings today, and I spent a good half of my day being awfully confused. I’m not complaining, though — the days are getting longer, and we’ve had a few days here in Vancouver that have finally started to feel like spring. The last few weeks of winter are always the longest — more so this year than others — but it seems we’re finally at the end of winter, and possibly through the worst of COVID (fingers crossed). It really is starting to feel like things are finally returning to normal, and that there are better days ahead.

Until next Sunday,

Meredith

My Spring 2021 FabFitFun Unboxing!

March 7, 2021March 7, 202123 Comments

Hey friends!

It’s officially that time of the season! Spring is beginning (finally), and that means warmer weather, fresh flowers — and the start of each new season means a new FabFitFun box!

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you already know how much I love FabFitFun — they’ve introduced me to SO many of my favourite products and brands (many of which I wouldn’t have even heard of in the first place otherwise). This season’s box has been no exception — I receiving all kinds of products that I’m already loving, or can’t wait to be able to try. I could go on and on about how great it is, but I think it would be better to just break it down for you guys!

Tech Candy Clean Slate™ UV Sanitizing Bed

Since COVID began, I’ve become increasingly paranoid about germs on my phone — so when I saw this device being offered in this season’s box, I knew I had to have it. Thus far, I’ve been really cautious about germs, hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing since lockdowns began last year, but it’s kind of impossible to leave the house and not end up touching your phone once, and I just can’t shake the feeling that I’m contaminating everything I own and undoing all my hard work whoever I use my phone after I leave the house. (Maybe that’s just me being paranoid, but still). Either way, I’m looking forward to being able to simply pop my phone in this little device every time I come home from now on and being able to rest easy knowing that my phone is 100% clean and safe. (Crazy to think that a year ago, a product like this would have seemed like a silly little luxury, but now it’s something so incredibly useful!).

Alice + Olivia Reversible Bucket Hat

This bucket hat is SO cute and absolutely perfect for spring. I’m always on the hunt for new accessories — especially ones that are low-maintenance and work with a variety of outfits — since it really is the easiest and best way to elevate an outfit. Since this hat is reversible (the inside is plain white) I’m sure I’ll be able to get use out of it in a whole variety of ways. But, to be honest, I don’t even think I’ll need to reverse it — the black daisies are just so cute, and bucket hats are the perfect casual vibe for spring.

PUR Cosmetics Iconic Glow Illuminating Face & Body Dry Oil

Okay, I won’t lie, the packaging on this product had me MAJORLY confused at first. This oil comes in a glass dropper, as many oils do — but it has a metal pump on top to fill up the dropper, unlike the normal rubber tops. So, yes, as you’re probably already imagining — I did, in fact, sit around for 5+ minutes trying to pump it and figure out where the oil was supposed to come out of. Packaging aside, I’m sort of just lukewarm about this product. It’s VERY glittery, and definitely takes a while to absorb — although it does leave my skin feeling soft once it does. Maybe it’s just that I’m not crazy about body oils, but I’m just so-so on this one. I don’t hate it, I’ll totally use it — but I’m not in love with it.

SfGlow Sun’s Out, Pouts Out Lip Mask

These little lip masks are SO fun, you guys. Lip masks aren’t something I use often, and the ones I have used in the past have all been just alright — but these masks may have just sold me on the concept. I really didn’t expect much before trying them out, but they really left my (and the time) sort of dehydrated lips feeling good as new. I was a little hesitant at first, because the mask comes coated in a somewhat heavy product that has a bit of a weird consistency, but once it’s on it doesn’t feel that weird at all. You do have to have the time to sit around for 10-15 minutes with the mask on (and you obviously can’t eat, drink or sleep when you’re using it) but its the perfect time to slap on some eye masks as well and really pamper yourself before whatever you’re planning on doing that day.

M·A·C COSMETICS Powder Kiss Lipstick Duo

Receiving this product in my spring box immediately made me remember how much I miss MAC. Growing up, MAC was like, the holy grail of makeup stores for me — Sephora too, but something about MAC just felt so cool. As Sephora started getting bigger, though, MAC kind of fell behind, since obviously as Sephora carries multiple brands, they have a much wider variety of products. There’s a MAC store in downtown Vancouver that I still visit on occasion (or did, rather, pre-COVID — in fact, I actually went to MAC of the last day before lockdowns began) but overall, I don’t own as many products from their brand as I once did. These lipsticks have really reminded me of how great of a brand they are, though — they’re really amazing. They’re matte, but not TOO matte — I personally am not a huge fan of the ultra-matte liquid-lip sort of look (and if you are, this lipstick probably isn’t what you’re looking for). This lipstick, however, is matte (but more in a non-shiny way than a pure, ultra-matte way) but at the same time, is super hydrating. I’ve only tried out the pink shade so far, but it’s SO cute and honestly looks pretty natural, which I’m digging. For me, this matte lipstick is kind of the perfect matte for me — it’s super cute, and reminded me of why I loved MAC so much.

Grown Alchemist Body Cream – Mandarin, Rosemary Leaf

Something I’ve learned about FabFitFun is that the body moisturizers they gift will absolutely never do you wrong — and this moisturizer is no exception. I was already pretty excited about receiving this item, since my current moisturizer is running low and I was hoping to switch stuff up. Basically, I would have used this moisturizer even if it wasn’t totally amazing — but it absolutely is. It’s super hydrating, but it manages to avoid being to heavy, slow-absorbing or sticky — my absolute biggest pet peeves with body lotion. As well, this stuff smells FANTASTIC — mandarin and rosemary is one of my favourite fragrances, so perhaps I’m biased — but I’m obsessed with how this lotion smells. Overall, a 10/10 lotion, and FabFitFun has impressed me again.

Earth Harbor Marina Biome Brightening Ampoule

I won’t lie, I was a little nervous when I saw this product in my box — skincare is really important to me, and while I enjoy testing out new products sometimes, I don’t really like to mess around with my routine too much. However, when I tested this product out I immediately realized there was really nothing to worry about. First of all, this product has some similar ingredients to Herbivore’s Lapis Balancing Facial Oil, which I already use and love. However, this product is more directed at brightening and evening out the skin, versus Herbivore’s oil which is aimed at combatting redness and excess oil. I tried applying it in the mornings, and it’s a light enough oil that it seems it would totally work to wear under makeup, PLUS it had an immediate smoothing effect that made applying the rest of my skincare feel better than usual. On top of all of that, Earth Harbour seems like a really great brand, and one that I’d absolutely consider supporting and purchasing from in the future. All of their products are, as stated on their website, “purely natural + nontoxic + certified cruelty-free + vegan + ethical trade & sustainable ingredients (all certified organic, non-GMO and/or wildcrafted), ocean nutrients, food-grade plant-based therapeutic-grade oils, scientifically-proven botanicals, zero-waste + plastic-negative packaging with upcycled ocean waste, artisan small batches, love and island vibes”. Furthermore, they donate a portion of their profits to helping care for our oceans. I’m already kind of loving this product, so depending how it works out in the long run I may just end up purchasing other products from this brand in the future.

Saie Beauty Makeup Rounds 3 Pack

Somewhat ironically, I was about to repurchase my usual makeup cloths they other day as mine were getting a bit old, but something stopped me. Was it fate? Forgetfulness? Who knows, but either way it worked out really well. While these rounds are a little different from the types of reusable cotton rounds and makeup remover clothes I normally buy, they seem pretty neat and I’m excited to give them a try. The website states that these rounds can be used as “a light exfoliator with cleanser, as a toner pad, or as a makeup and face mask remover,” which is a lot more than my old makeup remover cloths did. I haven’t had the chance to try them out yet, however, whether it be as makeup remover rounds, toner pads or as a means of washing away face masks, I know I’ll get good use out of these.

ADD ON: Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild Glow Kit

This highlighter palette was honestly something I had always wanted back when it came out, but never got around to buying. After all, it was SO beautiful, but the colours didn’t really seem like anything I’d get the chance to wear that often. I knew they’d be high quality and all, since at the time Anastasia Beverly Hills was my fave go-to for highlighter — but the colours were a little “out there” so I was worried I would just buy it and never end up using it. However, seeing it being offered at a discount during the Add-On sale, paired with the fact that I’ve really been trying to branch out and get creative with my makeup lately, basically made it seem like the perfect time to finally add it to my collection. I’m so happy I did — I just love all of the colours included in this palette. They’re so dreamy and unique, and I know I’ll be able to get good use out of them both as a classic highlighter as well as an eyeshadow.

ADD ON: Stila Little White Lies Liquid Eye Shadow

These little liquid shadows are SO PRETTY! For those of you who haven’t tried out Stila’s Liquid eyeshadows before, I’d totally recommend it. Since I’ve already tried this product before and know that I love it, I felt safe grabbing this shadow in two colours knowing that I’ll get good use out of them. Stila liquid eyeshadows are always stunning and super pigmented, and unlike many other liquid shadows I’ve tried in the past — they don’t flake off and actually last. I’m absolutely obsessed with the colour of these shadows, as well — they both look like a similar white-silver shade, until the light hits them — and then they turn blue and pink, respectively. These shadow colours are right up my alley, so I knew I had to grab them when I saw them offered as add-ons.

ADD ON: Knesko Nanogold Repair Face Mask

I was really on the fence about adding these face masks to my box — I’ve never heard of the brand before, but honestly, my curiosity got the better of me. After all, these masks are originally four for $150 — although they were only $49 with the Add-On sale. Maybe it was a silly reason to get them, but I’ve never purchased sheet masks that were this expensive and I was excited to see what made them worth that price (or, rather, if they were even worth the price). The most expensive single use masks I’d ever used prior to now were Dr. Jart’s Cryo Rubber Masks (which are, to be fair, a favourite of mine) but even then, purchasing four would end up costing about as much as these four did DISCOUNTED. (To put it all in perspective, without the sale price, these face masks would end up costing nearly $50CAD EACH!!!). At the end of the day, though, they did sound like great masks that I’d get some good use out of, so I decided to give them a try. I’ve used one so far, and I am pretty impressed — the mask really did leave my skin feeling soft and VISIBLY lifted immediately after. I’m excited to give the rest of them a try to see how I feel about them a little better than simply a first impression, but they definitely seem to have a visible effect on your skin’s firmness. As for whether I’d cough up $50 to buy these masks regularly, though…well, perhaps not. It’s hard to say after one use, but while these masks are pretty spectacular, $50 is a LOT. I think they’re probably worth the money, however, as they do work so well. If you’re looking for a nice firming mask that actually gets the job done and have $50 to spend on a single use mask — then by all means, go for it!

So, I guess it’s official — happy spring, everyone! To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to spring a little more than normal this year. I’m kind of hoping that eliminating seasonal depression from the list of things making my life difficult right now will help get me back on top of my life (at least, compared to how February had me feeling). As well, with any luck, between the end of flu season, warmer weather and more people being vaccinated, things may finally start to return to normal. I’m kind of worried that after all this time, going back to normal is going to be a challenge, but I guess we have to start somewhere! (Plus, I’m sure I’m far from the only person feeling this way ……right? Maybe? Let me know if you’ve also got mixed feelings about returning to normal life in the comments, please! Help me feel a little less alone here!).

If you’re looking a way to celebrate the start of spring for yourself, or if the products in this post really spoke to you, be sure to check out FabFitFun for yourself — it’s not to late to grab a spring box of your very own! Personally, I couldn’t recommend it more — the value you get for your money is insane, the products are always amazing, and I’ve managed to get use out of everything I’ve received thus far. It really is the perfect little way to branch out and try new brands, get all of your lifestyle item needs at a discount, or just treat yourself!

Stay tuned for next week, when I’ll be sharing my personal 3-step plan to mastering any skill (yes, you heard that right!). I’ve been planning on writing this post out for a looooong time now, so it feels really exciting to finally share it with you all! I hope you all love it and find ways to apply it to any and all skills you’ve been hoping to perfect (especially those you’ve been inspired to try over the last year!).

Much love,

Meredith

My ColourPop x Animal Crossing Collection Unboxing!

February 28, 2021February 28, 202142 Comments

Hey friends!!!

Soooo, it’s finally happening! From the moment I saw ColourPop announce their collab with Animal Crossing, I knew this post had to happen. For those of you who live under a rock or something, Animal Crossing: New Horizons quickly became all the rage just about this time last year when lockdowns began. With our lives and busy schedules pulled seemingly out from under our feet, immersing ourselves in an adorable virtual world with all kinds of stress-free tasks to take up all of our newfound free time was the perfect way to spend lockdowns. However, my history with Animal Crossing goes back even further — back to Animal Crossing: Wild World, which was my absolute favourite video game growing up. Seriously, I was obsessed with it (and frankly, still am. The only difference now, 10+ years later is that, for better or for worse, my mom can’t limit how long I play each day).

Basically, the point is when I saw ColourPop announce they were releasing this collection, I knew it was going to be absolutely perfect for me. I decided pretty quickly that I was going to buy the whole collection when it dropped, which is something I’ve never done before (both buying a whole collection AND buying it right as it’s released). And, of course, I couldn’t just test out the whole collection without sharing it with you all! So, without further ado, here’s my first impressions of the ColourPop x Animal Crossing collab!

What a Hoot Eyeshadow Palette

Ironically, I wasn’t the only one who knew I needed this collection in my life — my sister actually ended up buying this palette for me as well. (Which is fine, as it allowed me to give away the one I originally purchased for myself to my other makeup and Animal Crossing friend Erin as a gift!). This palette is definitely the most everyday-appropriate in the set of four shadow palettes (each of which, in turn, contains four different shadows). The orangey-brown and bronzes make it a great mix of colours that can be used to create an everyday OR bold night-out look. They’re all highly pigmented and blendable, as ColourPop shadows usually are, and in particular I love the shade Meteor Shower (top-left), which looks like a normal gold shade on the surface level, but has a stunning chunky-glitter look to it when you swatch it.

5 Star Island Eyeshadow Palette

This palette is a super-cute, pink and yellow themed quad that not only has some colours that, to me and my personal makeup collection, are super unique — but I also feel that will be perfect for spring. I personally adore pink eyeshadow — it can be a tricky one because the wrong shade can end up making you look really tired — but it makes a really cute and simple every-day look when you find the right shades for you. For this palette, I’m particularly excited for the shades Isabelle and Island Designer (both on the left), as I’ve never tried out yellow eyeshadow before and the chunky pink glitter look is just so stunning.

Labelle of the Ball Eyeshadow Palette

I was particularly excited about this shadow quad, as pastel purple is one of my absolute most favourite colours — both as a colour and as an eyeshadow shade. I was a little worried, since I already own the Huda Beauty Pastel Obsessions palette in both lilac and mint green that I was going to end up with shades that were similar to shadows I already own, but the shadows in both this palette AND the Nook, Inc. mint green palette are so unique that they’re different from any other shadows I’ve seen around. I really love all the shades in this palette, but particularly the chunky iridescent purple glitter and the darker duo-chrome shades Able Sisters and Custom Design (on the left of the palette) are incredibly stunning shades unlike anything I own that I can’t wait to test out.

Nook, Inc. Eyeshadow Palette

The fourth and final shadow quad in this collection is the mint green Nook, Inc. shadow palette. While the overall look this palette gives off is a minty-green tone, each shade is really different and overall this palette looks like it’ll help me create some really cool new looks this spring. In particular, I love the shade “Made in the Shade” (top right) which took me by surprise as it didn’t look the most interesting of the bunch in the pan. As well, the glitter shade CEO (bottom left) is such a pretty colour IRL — the photos don’t really capture what a complex glitter it is.

Balloon Pop Super Shock Shadow

This collection, as well as offering the four shadow quads, also has one single super-shock shadow in a somewhat bronzey shade. The glitter in this shadow, however, is incredibly dimensional — it comes in a huge range of colours that add up to create the shadow’s overall bronze-hue. The effect of having such dimensional glitter shades in one colour gives off one of my fave effects in a shadow shade — the look that the shadow is so glittery and reflective, it’s almost like it’s wet. It just looks so beautiful and vibrant, and really creates a stunningly deep colour IRL that I can’t wait to try out and use more.

Bellionaire Glitter Gel

As you all already know, I’m kind of obsessed with ColourPop’s Gliterally Obsessed Glitter Gels. They make applying and wearing chunky glitter so EASY in a way that loose glitter just cannot ever compare to. This shade is pretty different than the Sailor Moon glitter gel I have — it isn’t as sheer, so it definitely appears a little darker on the skin. It gives off a beautiful golden colour, but it has a lot of depth, as well. Rather than just being plain gold, the glitter has a bit of a rainbow cast when the light hits it, which I think is absolutely stunning. I’m totally obsessed with ColourPop’s Glitter Gels, honestly, and I can’t wait to add even more shades to my collection.

Flower Power Pressed Powder Blush

This blush is a super cute, dusty pink shade that could honestly be flattering on just about anyone. Blush is a tough one to create a universally flattering shade in, but I feel as though no matter what your skin’s undertones are that this blush would end up looking pretty damn good. It’s very neutral and delicate — it’s pigmented, but a very light shade making it easy to work with — and it has some darker pink glitter lightly sprinkled in to give it some extra depth that I absolutely adore. Overall, I’m really happy with this shade and I can’t wait to be able to experiment with it more.

Flower Tender Pressed Powder Blush

I’m particularly excited to give this blush a proper test run, as it’s completely unlike anything I currently have in my collection. I absolutely LOVE blush — after all, contour/bronzer/blush/highlighter really is my favourite part of doing my makeup — and lately, I’ve really become enamoured with super blushy makeup looks. All the blushes I have in my collection, however, are different varieties of the same pink hue — so while switching up which shade I use definitely has an effect on the overall look, it’s nothing as dramatic as going for a different colour all together. This shade, however, is completely different from anything I own — it’s a true coral, and way more warm and orangey than anything I’ve owned in a while. Experimenting with blushes can definitely be a challenge, as they really change so much of your overall look — but I’ve been looking to branch out more in my use and repertoire of blushes lately, and this is the perfect colour to add to my collection.

Fruit Basket Lip Tint Mini Kit

Okay, these lip tints are SO. CUTE. I really didn’t know what to expect when I purchased them, as I haven’t tried anything similar from ColourPop (or any other brand, really) to give me an idea of what this product was like. After all, I’m pretty dedicated to my lipgloss collection. While I was kind of expecting these products to essentially be a lipstick, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that ColourPop’s “lip tints” are essentially VERY pigmented lip balms. Basically, they end up being a very light wash of colour on your lips, making it look like they’re almost just the colour of the lip tint naturally. The shades from the “Fruit Basket” duo are both pink-ish shades, based on Animal Crossing’s cherry and apple trees, and both colours essentially make your lips just look naturally pinker, even, and soft. I’m kind of in love with all of the lip tints I received, but I’d definitely say that this duo is the most universal of the three, and the safest bet if you were looking to try these lip tints out for yourself. However, since these kits are more of a “tint” than a lipstick, they’re really versatile and I think it would be hard to go wrong with any of the duos, honestly.

Fruit Roots Lip Tint Mini Kit

The second dup in the bunch is based off of the peach and orange trees in the Animal Crossing game universe. These are super fun, more peach and coral-based tones, that I also think would pair with the “Flower Tender” blush in a beautiful way. After being really obsessed with coral shades back in high school, I kind of avoided anything even vaguely orange-looking in makeup for years, but it really is a fun and summer colour and I’m really happy to be able to experiment with it more and add it back into my collection. These lip tints, again, aren’t crazy dark — so it’s a good way to experiment with colours I wouldn’t normally use without it being too intense. (As well, all of the lip tints smell like the fruit they represent in the game — which only makes them that much more fun and adorable!).

Pick of the Bunch Lip Tint Mini Kit

Honestly, I was a little nervous before trying these shades out — they were the one item in the collection that made me consider not buying it as a whole. Brown and neutral shade lipsticks aren’t really my thing, not only in terms of my personal style but also in terms of how well they suit me. The dark brown and neutral shades seemed like something that probably wouldn’t end up looking so great on me — in particular, the darker shade was the one that caused me the most concern. However, since it was cheaper to buy the entire collection as a package deal, I just went for it — and I’m honestly pretty happy I did. As I’ve mentioned, these lip products are more like very tinted lip moisturizers — they help make my lips feel super soft while adding a nice, sheer colour to them. There are two shades — a darker colour, based on Animal Crossing’s coconut palm trees, and a lighter shade, based on the pear trees in the game. The dark brown shade, as it turns out, didn’t end up looking like I was wearing dark brown lipstick — as well, the colour isn’t purely brown, but has some dark cherry red hues to it. As a result, it ends up looking more like a nice, dark red tint — the colour specifically reminds me of how your lips look after you eat too many cherries. I’ve actually ended up loving these shades, and I’m really glad I ended up purchasing them as they really took me by surprise and ended up being super cute and completely unlike any other shade or lip product I already have in my collection.

If you, like me, are a big enough fan of Animal Crossing to purchase this collection for that reason alone (or, you know, you saw something in this review that caught your eye), you can check out the entire collection on ColourPop’s website here! They just restocked the collab pretty recently, so most of the products are available right now. If you haven’t tried ColourPop out for yourself, I couldn’t recommend it more! Not only is their makeup pretty consistently good quality, but it’s affordable — whereas a large palette may cost anywhere from $12 to $24 — a palette of the same size would end up costing you about $50 – $100 from the average brand carried at Sephora. So if you’re looking to expand your collection and stick within your budget — ColourPop is a great place to check out.

Happy Sunday, everyone, and a very happy last day of February! Can you believe it’s actually going to be March tomorrow? I really can’t wrap my head around it, but after all — time really has no meaning anymore since COVID lockdowns began in March of last year. (I still laugh to myself when I think about how different it all seemed back then — I really thought that lockdowns would last for two weeks, or maybe three at most — and look at us now! What a weird year it’s been.). However, I’m hoping to really make the most of spring this year and set some good goals to keep me motivated, active and moving forward in order to put the last year behind me. As well, I already have some exciting posts planned for you all next month — including my Spring 2021 FabFitFun unboxing — so stay tuned!

Much love,

Meredith

100 Prompts for When You’re Suffering Writers Block!

February 21, 2021February 21, 202126 Comments

Hey y’all!

So — writers block. As bloggers, we’ve all been there. There’s absolutely nothing more frustrating than wanting to write, or trying to meet deadlines, but having absolutely no idea where to start. Since last year, when COVID hit, I started experiencing writers block WAY harder than I ever had in the past. Pre-2020, while I had rough weeks here and there, I was always able to find SOMETHING to share for each of my Sunday blog posts. However, as a lifestyle blogger, it got challenging to find inspirations when life came to a stop. Many of my posts felt straight up monotonous, and many weeks I felt as though I couldn’t come up with anything at all.

We can all agree that the frustration that writers block creates is just about the worst feeling ever. However, no matter what’s going on in your life in the moment, the reality is as a lifestyle blogger you always have a wealth of source material waiting to be tapped into. Life isn’t just what’s happening in the moment, after all — it can be past lessons learned, goals for the future, little things that make you happy or the hobbies and interests that make you who you are.

That’s why, this week, I decided to compile a list of 100 prompts for bloggers suffering writer’s block. I’ve chosen various topics, from fashion, to wellness, to budgeting or even blogging itself that pretty much covers at least one topic for every type of lifestyle blogger out there. No matter who you are and what your niche is — there’s a prompt in here that’s perfect for you. The prompts vary a little between them — some of them are more open-ended, some are meant to inspire your own fresh ideas for a post on a related topic, and some are meant to be a question that can be answered directly in a simple and concise way. However you interpret these prompts is really up to you — so I hope you enjoy reading through them and getting inspired for your future posts! Feel free to save this post for future reference, as well — so that even if you’re overflowing with ideas now, you’ll never have to worry about your creative well running dry ever again.

Media & Culture Prompts

A list of the best TV shows for when you’re in a specific mood
Music recommendations and playlists
A list of movies that would make the best movie marathons
Your take on the latest pop-culture drama
TV shows/Movies/Music everyone should check out regardless of what genres they usually stick to

Fashion & Style Prompts

Your favourite fashion trends for the upcoming season
Your fave fashion staples that never go out of style
Shoes and bags that work with any outfit
Hair accessory trends for the upcoming season that you love
Sharing your specific style and favourite clothing items & accessories

Skincare & Makeup Prompts

What are your favourite brands and why?
What is your skincare routine?
What is your everyday makeup look?
What secret tips do you have for completing your perfect makeup look?
What’s some skincare advice you’d share with beginners?

Lifestyle and Advice Prompts

How you’d plan out the perfect self care night
Your favourite ways to take a break when you’re feeling overwhelmed
Organization tips and tricks that helped you get your life/living space/time management under control
Positive mantras and affirmations you use when you’re feeling down
Activities and advice to help get out of a mental health funk

Blogging about Blogging Prompts

What did you wish you knew when you started blogging?
What are some of the best hidden resources for bloggers you know of?
What did you do that made your blog take off?
What are YOUR favourite posts to read as a blogger?
How you started to monetize your blog and grow your reach

Social Media Advice Prompts

Best locations in your city for Instagram posts
Best poses for people who hate taking photos
Best ways to utilize Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest for outreach
Best apps for perfecting your Insta pics and feed
How to best utilize Pinterest (seriously, someone please write this! I’ve been using Pinterest for over a year and I still don’t understand how it works)

School and Education Prompts

Studying hacks that have helped you ace classes
Your best advice for surviving high school/first year/university
How to handle tough situations in high school/university
How to take legible, organized notes
Your morning routine to ensure you’re ready and organized for the day (+how you wind down at night!)

Work and Careers Prompts

How did you decide what career to pursue?
Advice for people joining the workforce right now
Advice on how to be successful in your specific field
Secrets about your field the general public doesn’t know
How to perfect a resume (+anything else related to applying to jobs in your field!)

Friends and Social Situations Prompts

How to meet new people (+ especially if you’re not meeting people from school, university or work!)
How to deal with friendship drama
How to identify toxic relationships
What do you think makes someone a good friend?
What are some little things your friends do for you and each other that help you feel loved?

Love and Relationships Prompts

What was something you wish you knew before your first relationship?
What advice would you give your 16 year old self when it comes to love?
What are the best ways to prep for a first date?
What are some great date ideas for long-term couples looking to try something new?
How did you know when your partner was “the one”? (+do you believe in soulmates?)

Making It Through Bad Situations Prompts

What’s something you’ve been through in your life that was particularly challenging? What advice would you have for others facing similar situations?
What is something you knew about life when you were 16 that you learned the hard way?
What is some life advice you have for others based on what you’ve experienced in life?
What was a mistake you made in life that you learned from?
How has the last year of your life changed who you are or how you view the world?

Self-Reflection Prompts

What are some life lessons you learned that you’d like to share?
What was a toxic trait you had that you reflected on and changed?
How did you learn to break a bad habit?
How did you become your authentic self (both in person and through your online persona?)
How have you actively worked to improve yourself? What worked and what didn’t?

Cooking, Baking, and Drinks Prompts

What’s your favourite recipe?
How do you make the perfect menu (charcuterie, appies, drinks food or dessert).for hosting dinner parties?
What are the best recipes you’ve learned since lockdowns?
What are some great recipes for those with limited time/beginners/people on a budget?
What are some go-to recipes that never fail you?

Travelling & The World Prompts

What is your current travel Wishlist?
What are your favourite places you’ve ever been to?
Where are the best places for tourists to visit in your city?
Think of a location you travelled to in the past. Where would you recommend someone visiting there go?
Where are the best ways you’ve learned to travel on a budget?

Home & Decor Prompts

How did you decide how to decorate your first apartment?
How do you find your perfect design aesthetic?
Where should you start when decorating on a budget?
What are some cheap/easy decor additions to make your living space more homey?
Share your apartment decor + specific niche style!

Budgeting Prompts

What are tips they don’t teach you in school about saving money?
How did you learn to manage your savings and control your spending?
If you coupon — what are your best tips and tricks for finding the best deals?
What is your best advice for avoiding unnecessary purchases/compulsive shopping?
What are they best ways to stay stylish on a budget?

Adulting Prompts

What is something you wish you knew before entering the “real world”?
What advice would you give your 16-year-old self about practical, real-life adulting skills?
What are some secrets about being an adult that no one tells you (or admits to — even when you’re all adults!)
What are some of the best hacks you’ve discovered for handling adult life?
What is the best advice you can offer for those in their early adulthood?

Lockdown 2020/2021 Prompts

How has your life changed over the last year?
What are your favourite COVID-safe/at home ways to keep in touch with loved ones?
What are the best new hobbies for those who are looking to try something new?
What new skills and hobbies have you tried over the last year? Which ones did you like best?
What tips do you have for maintaining good mental health during bad times?

Organizational Prompts

What are your favourite hacks to keep your living space organized?
What products changed your life in terms of staying organized?
How do you go about keeping your personal space clean, even when you’re at your busiest?
How do you organize your planner and schedule your daily life?
What routines do you maintain that help you stay on top of everything?

Health and Wellness Prompts

What are your favourite quick and easy healthy recipes?
What are some great exercise routines for beginners?
How did you get started on your fitness journey? What did you wish you knew before you started?
What are some realistic ways to stay active and motivated day to day?
What are your favourite tools (ie. meditating, exercise, sleep) for mitigating stress and maintaining your health?

As always — happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you’ve all been doing well and staying safe. We’re really closing in on one year since COVID lockdowns hit now, which is absolutely insane to think about. This time last year, I was away on Mexico on vacation, life was good and I had absolutely NO idea what was about to hit me in the weeks to come. It’s been a long year, but I’m finally feeling like I’m going to make it out in one piece. How are you all feeling about the one-year anniversary of lockdowns coming up? Drop a comment below and let me know — it’s going to be an interesting and difficult time reflecting on it all, certainly. At the very least, with any luck, we’re nearing the end of the pandemic — so at least we’ll have something to celebrate sometime soon. I, personally, truly believed that lockdowns were going to last two, maybe three weeks at most — and look at us now! If I could go back a year and tell myself what was coming, there’s no way I’d ever believe it.

Much love,

Meredith