Sunday, May 8, 2011

favourite thing #3: Vasanti eyeshadows

I could have easily discussed Vasanti Cosmetics as a whole, but the eyeshadows are so wonderful that I wanted to comment on them separately. As their website (http://vasanticosmetics.com/ca/) states, this company was "founded by three Canadian women, Vasanti recognizes that women have different needs when it comes to their makeup and have embraced an attitude of inclusivity in developing light-weight, easy-to-use products for all women. From highly pigmented shades to sheer washes of colour, from porcelain foundation to rich warm hues, our colours and formulas beautifully suit all skin types and tones. Vasanti Cosmetics aims to encourage women to celebrate and enhance their natural beauty."

That last statement rings true to the eyeshadows - I first bought the shimmery deep brown shade called "Madrid" back in early March, right before my first trip to the city itself! At the time I bought it, I thought that this was definitely my new favourite eye shadow! Having enjoyed it so much, I noticed that they went on sale at Pharma Plus (probably for Mother's Day) and proceeded to purchase the golden peachy pink tone "Paris" (a city I have visited) and the deep pink shimmer "Tokyo" (a city I have not yet visited!).

I am super impressed with the quality of the shadows as they do not feel too 'powdery' and do not appear too shimmery. All of the colours also look great on my darker skintone, and I'm sure it will complement others, as well. I can honestly say that these shadows are even better than much pricier brands, such as Urban Decay and Smashbox (which I think are totally overrated - UD Naked Pallette, anyone? [I know I may have just committed cosmetic junkie blasphemy by that last statement, but that's how dissatisfied with that product I was])

Overall, a must try! :)


image: http://vasanticosmetics.com/ca/

Saturday, June 19, 2010

favourite thing #2: tea



A cup of tea supposedly "solves everything." I don't know how true that is, but I know that when I'm feeling cold, sluggish, or just plain tired, nothing beats wrapping my hands around a warm 'cuppa' (of?) English Breakfast.

At home, it's usually some Ceylon (aka Sri Lankan) variant of black tea with milk and a lil bit of sugar. When I'm out, I opt for the steeped tea from Tim Horton's - 2 milk:1 sugar ratio (I fume when they give me the reverse) - but for special occasions (aka pay day), I go for Starbucks' vanilla rooibos tea latte. It is the most delicious combination of an herbal tea and milk I have come across thus far (and at $4 for a grande, it better be good :P). I once tried to cut costs by making my own tea latte by adding milk to the vanilla rooibos herbal tea (about $2) - BAD idea!

Some day, possibly when I retire from whatever it is I plan on doing from now to age 60-ish, I would love to own a tea shop. I visited one in Paris, about 4 years ago, and fell in love with the atmosphere of such a place. It's not as urban or modern as your regular coffee shop, but still refined and welcoming in its own way. In addition to serving a variety of teas, I would have tea cakes and cookies made with almonds, lavender, lemon and ginger, to name a few ingredients, and maybe even some topped off with real flower buds!

And there you have it, another favourite item of mine. As that crazy old witch lady from the Bugs Bunny Cartoon once said, I enjoy: "a cup of tea...a cookie and you-hoo!"

"You" know who you are ;)

Monday, December 14, 2009

favourite thing # 1: Blogs

I don't know when it happened, but I have become intrigued by blogs. I especially enjoy those that review beauty products I am curious to try and those that feature recipes with yummy ingredients. They make for a great escape from reading about philosophical hermeneutics (...which I am currently struggling to implement into my Master's thesis project...), and make a wonderful complement to the Entertainment Weekly articles' comments sections I so greatly enjoy perusing to see if someone else agreed with me that Adriana's eyeshadow was absolutely stunning on last night's episode of 90210 - which has VASTLY improved since last season ...

...Anyway, I digress. This is basically a lifestyle blog, calling attention to some of my favourite things, hence the title of this enterprise...

It may even serve as a potential wish list for good friends of mine to see...brown paper packaging is entirely optional :D

Cheers!