I'm Not a Runner

I originally wrote the majority of this for a friend but considering that it has a fair amount of information that could actually be useful to anyone else, I decided to share some of it. Please keep in mind that I started the program back in October so I have some other notes about the program and gear intended for another post).

To start with, I've had bad knees since I was a teenager. I don't really know what brought it about, but the pain would arrive in waves so I never really got into sports much. I remembered that I really liked running when I was younger, but my knees and ankles gave out really quickly. It wasn't a matter of strength because the pain was different. Sure, I could walk through the pain, but I couldn't "run" past it. I couldn't do much except for put on a brace and keep going. So when I decided to try to start running, this wasn't a decision made lightly nor could I view it as a real commitment. After all, at any point my knees could give out and create a resting state for a while. I could always pick it up again, but committing was different. 

Making the leap to running or even jogging was a long stretch for me. For the longest time I eyed runDisney from afar. For a while I tried running with my boyfriend and our housemate but my knee acted up so I had to stop. That doesn't mean I can't dream. Anyhow, in my attempts to find another activity in between yoga (I use Hulu, Chromecast to project from Do Yoga With Me, 42 Yogis, Yoga with Adrienne, Yoga with Adriene, and the hopes that one day I'll be disciplined enough to make it into a studio), I needed something else. I had been taking the dog for extra walks throughout the day, but I still needed something. After checking a few subreddits, that led me to the Couch to 5K (or C25K, for short) program.

• http://www.reddit.com/r/running
• http://www.reddit.com/r/C25K
• http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness

I did as much research as I could which included checking with others about how they manage pain with running, specifically focusing on knee issues. Preparing is a weird kind of beast because I wasn't just preparing for running. I was preparing for the inevitable bad feelings that would surface when I started running. I get really depressed when I do any kind of exercise (yes, weird, I know, but not unlike me either). I was hesitant about the first run but the first week seems pretty short (here's the training schedule and visual of the schedule). 

The next step was sneakers (or running shoes) so I checked around on Groupon and Woot for deals. Sadly most of them that were available didn't quite suite my tastes. You might able be snag a pair that you like on either site so I encourage you to check there. As for myself, I ended up getting the Merrell Women's All Out Fuse Trail Running Shoe which came out to just under $70. While I waited for those to arrive, I started looking into the C25K apps. There are a lot out there and I'm picky about apps. So I downloaded a few, ran them for a bit, but settled on C25K - 5K Trainer FREE for my first two runs (I ended up getting the Pro version shortly after). I had the headphones already along with my mp3 player, my phone with the app, and then when I went out for my first run (without my mp3 player), I realized how clunky it was all going to be. I decided to get this sports armband, nix the mp3 player and just use my phone with the Spotify and C25K app. 

I still get knee pains so a friend of mine suggested that I run with my cloth brace on those days that I think it will hurt. So far that has only happened on one day and it worked out okay. 

So I guess the last thing to mention is running clothes. Because apparently running clothes isn't quite the same as yoga clothes which has more flexibility. I have a few pieces from Nike (a running tank, mesh shirt, and pants), but I got a few more items from Old Navy. I don't know why but Old Navy's sports bras have been way better to me than Nike's. I ended up picking out a few more things from ON.

About the depression while I run (and not my regular old depression), the program is in such short intervals that it forces me to pay attention at this point so my mind can't drift which is great. Week 5 and onward worries me though. When the stretches of running become longer and my mind will inevitably drift. But I'll worry about that then. Does it mean I'll see Week 9? I don't know, but at least I tried and that's what matters. So if you're on the fence about giving it a shot, no matter what the reason is, I'd say that you should try, even if that's all you can tell yourself. But the attempt is worth it. 

Storing Makeup

Somewhere in between my Hello Waffle and Darling Girl Halloween shopping binge, I realized that I hadn't gone through my stash and tried to organize it in a cohesive manner in a while. As of now, a lot of my makeup is scattered between a few bags so there wasn't an easy way to assess it all quickly. Now a month ago I had assessed the way I stored my makeup and figured it would come down to two options:

1. I convert a space into a vanity of some sort and use a drawer system. The best thing I could find to emulate this would be a hardware storage for parts and then I could figure out how the other pieces (such as brushes or other tools) would fit in. 
2. Get a new train kit to store everything I had.

Both have their limitations -- the first option is limited on space and the other was out of my price range. I shelved the idea for a bit till the binge occurred because I quickly realized that if I can't access my makeup to make purchasing decisions, then there would be a problem. So the quickest solution was to look around the house and sure enough, I found a decent solution.

A while ago when my boyfriend and I visited Disney World, he purchased the Disney Wonderland Tea Boxed Assortment for me because we both love tea and the box is beautiful. The only problem was that the dividers took up a fair amount of space so if I left them in, they couldn't all fit. If I took them out, then items would slide around. The solution was adorable but not practical for storage. 

I checked around for alternative solutions that could knock around a bit were it in storage. After seeing a few pictures of storage alternatives on /r/indiemakeupandmore, I figured I could give those photograph storage bins a shot. If not, we have plenty of Legos that could be put in there instead. I decided to go with a small version to see if it would actually work so I got the IRIS Photo and Craft Keeper.

The bin comes with six 4" x 6" cases inside. Unfortunately, for a lot of the eyeshadow pots I have, I can't store them on their side so that I can see their colour so that means I needed to split up each of them by colour. I opted to put them in upside down since I'm storing the larger container on it's end (pictured below).

Above is my collection of the reds, pinks, and oranges. Of the ones that are in there, only the small Darling Girl pots and Hello Waffle eyeshadows can be stored on their side which means that there isn't too much room to spare. On the bright side, which this seems naturally limiting, there are 5 more containers to sort it all out. If you have a larger collection then going up in size may be the best option. 

I definitely did wish that I could go back to just using my tea box but for now this method would be best since it's sturdy for storage whereas the tea box would be best for display and everyday use. But hey, who knows how my collection will evolve. Especially since there's always more makeup to be had. 

Darling Girl Cosmetics, Part 1

A little over a week ago, I received my large Darling Girl Cosmetics order. Unfortunately due to a variety of things, I wasn't able to get to swatching but I started today! The last time I ordered from Darling Girl was about a year ago and I ended up giving away most of my makeup to a close friend who wanted to get into cosmetology. As a result, I ended up splurging a bit to rebuild my collection. In doing so, I had to analyze how I was going to store them all which I'll get into a bit later. I forgot to take pictures when I first unwrapped them so here's a quick look of what is in store. 

All of the white caps are from Darling Girl. Yep, a lot.

For the first set of swatches, I grabbed the reds, pinks, oranges, golds, and silvers. I guess in my frenzy I forgot to purchase anything yellow. :) As we go through all the swatches, I will be using Dreamworld Hermetica Eye of Ra Eye as the primer. Please remember that you can click to enlarge the photos. 

Outdoor Light

Indoor Light

I grabbed the eyeshadows from different collections so some of these also include The Black Collection and Who Ya Gonna Call. Also note that Hello Fall was the gift with purchase for the week that I ordered. Now while I was swatching these, the last 4 didn't look like they were very much present when I was in a dimly lit area. They really stood out once I got into natural light which you can see set them apart. As I was swatching, I really liked The Safety Dance, but looking back on the swatches, I'm pretty impressed by Obviously a Wig, Sex on Fire, and Hello Fall. 

Moving on to what I thought were the golds and silvers, I ran into issues rather quickly due to how glittery they were. In general a lot of these were pretty difficult to swatch without trying to pack as much pigment into the area as best I could. They just didn't want to stick to my skin, even with the primer. 

Outdoor Light

Indoor Light

A lot of these hail from the Who Ya Gonna Call collection and Impervious at the end was a sample that was included. I had high hopes for That's a Big Twinkie, There is No Dana, and Tragic Death of Mr. Stay Puft. Overall I like them but they were very hard to brush on so you might even be able to see each brush stroke. Again, this may be do the the glittery nature and perhaps a different type of primer would be better with this set. Nonetheless, the colours that really impressed me was The Apocalypse There is No Dana. I rather like Impervious but I will admit, I wasn't sure what colour it was supposed to be till it was on my skin because in the bag it looked like blue and brown. 

I've still got the blues, greens, and purples to finish swatching so hopefully I'll get to that soon. Darling Girl Cosmetics are available for purchase for $2.50-$5.90 depending on the size. Seeing as this is my second huge order and the first was happily donated to a budding cosmetologist, you can imagine that I really enjoy these products. I do think that if you're going to go down the rabbit hole of duochrome or glitter eyeshadows, you do need to have the right primer  though. Luckily, Darling Girl carries 3 types. :)

The Powers of a Primer

Items used were purchased or received complimentary.

Last week when I swatched a few eyeshadows, I was amazed at how far the Dreamworld Hermetica Eye of Ra Eye Dew took the eyeshadows. Now it's not that I hadn't tried eyeshadow primers in the past -- I tried the Urban Decay Primer Potion and it didn't seem to help the eyeshadows much. Actually if memory served correct, it worked similarly to a regular facial primer so for a while I was just disappointed with eyeshadows and primers altogether because I felt as though my combination of skin tone and undertones had a way of undoing the colour. Not one to give up hope entirely, I heard that Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy and Darling Girl's Glitter Glue were the Holy Grails of glittery eyeshadow. So I sprang for Darling Girl's Glitter Glue and while preparing for it's arrival I figured I should go through my stash to sort out all my makeup. Go figure, in my stash was another primer from Dreamworld Hermetica and so I started swatching with that.

If you're wondering why I went into this elongated explanation of my discovery of how I got around to finally realizing what everyone else realized, keep in mind that there was a part of me that resigned myself to never pulling off one of those amazing smoking eye looks. 

To test the powers of a good primer I decided to reswatch my Sugarpill eyeshadows because I use them more often. 

From left to right: Stella, Love+, Tako, and
Bulletproof with no primer.

From left to right: Stella, Love+, Tako, and
Bulletproof over a regular primer.

From left to right: Bulletproof, Love+, and Tako
over the Eye of Ra Eye Dew 

I sort of mixed up the colours when I swatched them again -- I no longer have Stella because I gave that to a friend. However you can see the difference immediately. The colours pop SO MUCH and really have better coverage overall with the help of the primer. So if you're like me and have a really hard time with getting eyeshadows to show, I'd highly recommend looking into different primers specific to eyeshadows or glittery eyeshadows in particular.

I haven't gotten around to trying out Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy and Darling Girl's Glitter Glue just yet but they are on my radar. You can purchase each of these through the brand's website.

• Darling Girl's Glitter Glue, $6.75
• Dreamworld Hermetica Eye of Ra Eye Dew, $5.39
• Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, $7

Thoughts about Wisdom Panel

On July 19, 2014, my boyfriend and I adopted a very adorable, quiet, and shy dog from Animal Care and Control. She was around 6 months old at the time and while we waited for her to be spayed, we picked out the name Cinders for her. Now on Cinders' paperwork she was listed as a mix of Labrador Retriever and Australian Kelpie. After her surgery was completed and were told that we could come pick her up, we asked the ACC for all their notes on her. In her notes, someone wrote down that they suspected that she was actually a Taiwanese Mountain dog (alternatively Formosan dog). 

Upon getting her home we realized that not knowing her background might be a problem just for logistics purposes. What type of dog she is didn't really matter much to us, but knowing her predisposition, temperament, and potential growth was important for planning for her future. On heels of my boyfriend and I both taking 23andMe DNA tests, we figured that we should give Cinders a DNA test too.

There was a big problem though. If in fact Cinders was a Formosan, it wasn't part of any DNA test available on the market. So we figured it would still be worth the plunge if we could find out anything at all about her background. My boyfriend went ahead and ordered the Wisdom Panel 2.0 test. I wish I had taken pictures of the tests but I hadn't expected that I would be writing about it at the time so I did. The test is very simply two long swabs which you rub against their gumline, you then let them air dry, and then package and mail it off. It was fairly simple and we had it in the mailbox that night. 

It was a long anxious wait to find out what her results were. The lab did let us know when they received it and when they were processing it however I spent everyday checking the website for results. Finally the results came in and we were so happy to have pieces of her history. There are large chunks that are missing which are assuming has to do with an unidentified breed (perhaps Formosan?) but knowing the rest does help to project Cinder's growth especially because she was only about 7 or 8 months old at the time that we did the test with her. 

The Report

The report comes in at a whopping 10 pages but filled with lots of diagrams and information that is useful. Right off the first page we have a snapshot of our results and it turns out of the identified breeds that they do test against, Cinders is a mix of Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Rottweiler!

The following pages thereafter explain traits of Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Rottweiler separately and points out key traits that we might see Cinders exhibiting. One of my other favourite pages is "Other Possible Mixed Breed Signatures," which I've included below. 

Armed with the information regarding her background, we knew what we could expect in terms of temperament and disposition. It wasn't too dissimilar from what we already knew. What did throw us for a loop was her projected weight because a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is estimated at a height of 13 - 16 inches and weight of 23 - 46 pounds. Compare that to a Rottweiler which has a height of 23 - 27 inches and a weight of 72 - 132 pounds which is a huge variance. Luckily page seven of this document clearly states that her adult weight is predicted to be between 45 - 70 pounds. 

The Wisdom Panel 2.0 test was definitely worth it even at about $70. Sure, it would be nice to find out for sure if she's a Formosan dog and what that means for her future but having even a slight bit of details helps us understand her at times. If you find yourself in the situation that you adopt a dog and don't have much information about their background, I would definitely recommend opting for a DNA test if you can. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna Palette

Items used were gifts or received complimentary.

My experience with Anastasia Beverly Hills prior to this palette had been somewhat limited. A few months ago I got myself the stencils which have been an amazing addition to my collection. I had no idea that the line included makeup so the first time I heard about the Tamanna and Maya Mia palettes piqued my attention. After much internal debate, I told myself that once my no-buy was over, I would probably treat myself to the Tamanna palette. Fast forward to a few weeks later and my friend Laura surprised me with a gift -- the Tamanna palette. She read the reviews and knew my struggles with eyeshadow and figured it would be a great fit for me. 

From the moment I received, I loved the packaging. Upon inspecting each shade of the eyeshadow, I figured that the problematic ones would most likely be Fresh, Gilded, and Custom but that was before I started swatching.

My initial swatches weren't great since I did them but you can easily draw some conclusions for yourself. Each of the colours directly align to how you see them in the palette. This first attempt to swatch was over CoverFX SPF 30 Protection Primer which is my standard primer. To confirm my suspicions, all the ones that I thought would be difficult on my skin held true (translation: I was right about Fresh, Gilded, and Custom not showing up well on my skin.

I wasn't quite content with how the images turned out and furthermore I figured that I should try to actually use an eyeshadow primer instead. So today I went back and tried each eyeshadow over Dreamworld Hermetica Eye of Ra Eye Dew.

Taking a look at the top row, which is Fresh, Blush, Venezia, Gilded, and Custom and you'll notice that now with an appropriate eyeshadow primer, those colours pop giving them a whole new dimension that a regular primer just can't do. 

In the second set we're seeing Sangria, Bengal, Chocolate, China Rose, and Noir. Again, another amazing performance for getting these colours to really stand out. What absolutely amazes me is Noir because that is the shade of black that I have long coveted. When Laura gifted this palette to me, she mentioned that Noir is perfect for using as an eyeliner and I can definitely see that.

I knew I wanted this palette but being able to swatch it made me love it even more. I will highly recommend that you have an eyeshadow primer to go along with this palette to get those colours to really shine.

The  Tamanna Palette is available for purchase from Ulta, Sephora, and Anastasia Beverly Hills for $29. 

MAC Colour 4 Eyeshadow Quad

Items used were gifts or received complimentary.

Have I mentioned how awesome my family is? Well, if not, they are. Earlier this year on a trip to Florida to visit some relatives, my cousin gifted me the MAC Colour 4 Eyeshadow Quad. Now I will admit that I'm not that familiar with MAC makeup in general since I started using indie products, but I was definitely in love with the selection in this palette. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this new and never touched before quad was circa 2010 and it seems to work well with me. 

In this quad we'll be looking at Manila Paper, Flip, Aztec Brick, and Creole Beauty. I used the Dreamworld Hermetica Eye of Ra Eye Dew which is tacky and is available for purchase for $5.39. Ellie did send me this primer a while ago but due to some issues I experienced at the time, I hadn't gotten around to really putting it to use. With that being said, this is actually my first time giving this eye primer a whirl but I am pretty impressed with it. 

About the eye shadows, I did have a hard time getting the colour to pack in and I'm not sure if that's because of the primer or the eyeshadows themselves. With that being said, the colour was magnificent as you'll see below. 

I was pretty impressed with how all the colours came out. Creole Beauty was a bit too light and hard to capture on me but overall, 3 out of 4 isn't too bad. Plus I imagine that I can find other ways of really accentuating the last colour. 

The takeaway is that this is great palette overall. The problem is that yes, it was in an older run and attempts to actually find it has been slim (which I didn't realize till after I started writing this). So thank you to Alisha for providing this very awesome quad from MAC and to Ellie of Dreamworld Hermetica for the primer.

e.l.f. & Disney Good vs. Evil Brush Collection

I've been axiously awaiting my orders from Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics and Darling Girl Cosmetics while trying to sustain my no-buy mode. The Autumn collections are usually my favourite, especially Halloween collections, so this has been trying for me.

Nonetheless, during a frozen yogurt run turned "let's get ice cream sandwiches" from a new local shop, my boyfriend and I decided to stop into Walgreens. While there, go figure that they had the brush collection in stock. E.l.f. and Disney seemed to have teamed up quite a bit this year releasing their Ariel and Snow White collections. Joining the lineup is Aurora and Maleficent in the "Good vs. Evil" collection. (Supposedly there might be a return of the villains which is in time for Halloween and purportedly Jasmine is thereafter). 

Anyhow, though I've found items here and there from each collection, this was definitely the one for me. If you're familiar with e.l.f. brushes, then you might have heard that their Studio line of brushes are highly rated. I myself have the e.l.f. Studio 11 Piece Brush Collection along with a few EcoTools and I find it hard to stray from either. When I saw these, I figured I had to give them a shot.

When I first looked at them, I did note that they were much smaller than others I had seen. Luckily, I am specifically look for medium sized brushes to fill a specific niche that is lacking in my current collection. The case itself seems somewhat flimsy but I don't care that much. It's cute enough and serves it's purpose. The brushes are all incredibly soft which makes them seem similar in nature to the regular Studio line. 

In this collection you get the following brushes: Blush, Powder, Foundation, and Eyeshadow. What I figured I do is find the corresponding brush in the Studio line for comparison purposes. The reason for this was to figure out whether this would be in addition to my current lineup of brushes or if they were a direct replacement for some brushes.

Blush Brush

Powder Brush

Foundation Brush

Eyeshadow Brush

The Blush Brush with the Studio version on the left and the Good vs. Evil version on the right. As you can see, they actually have different shapes altogether. This worked out perfectly for me because my angled Blush Brush from a different company started falling apart which only left me with my e.l.f. version which is more of a dome.

The Powder Brush with the Studio version on left and the Good vs. Evil version on the right. Totally different brushes so they can be put to completely different use.

The Foundation Brush with the Good vs. Evil version on the left and a Studio variant on the right. In the Studio version, there isn't a direct Foundation equivalent so the Studio version is labelled as "Angled" so there are obvious differences.

Finally the Eyeshadow Brush with the Studio version variant on the left and the Good vs. Evil version on the right. The Studio line brush is labelled and as a "C" brush however they are both pretty similar. This seems to be the only brushes that directly overlap and quite frankly, it's not too shabby to have a similar one in the eyeshadow category. 

This collection is available at Walgreens for $9.99 or Drugstore.com for $10. Worth it? Totally. Well, unless it's not your thing. 

FizzButter Haul

Over at the Plum Eyeliner, I've probably mentioned my love of bath items. Just in case I haven't, consider yourself as notified. The problem that I face is that I do have skin that can be rather dry so finding products that won't exacerbate that can be difficult at times. Back in 2012, I tried a bath bomb from FizzButter and now they are preferred online retailer to stock up on bath items. From my last batch, these are the last survivors.

Sandalwood Vanilla and Vanilla Butter & Pineapple

I always save my favourites for last! Unfortunately the last time I ordered I had missed the seasonal scents boat but I made sure to grab them this time.

The unboxing! FizzButter is really good about the packaging of these bath bombs. At the top of the box was a note stating that they slipped in some extra goodies due to the delayed shipping.

In total I ordered 16 bath bombs and 2 of their Cupcake Bath Bombs which are the ones in the bag at the back. The extra goodies that they slipped in was a sample size of the bubble cake and their body frosting. 

Since I tend to hoard bath bombs, I thnk it goes without saying that I do love these. If you're a fan of seasonal scents, I'd highly recommend picking up a few now. Their seasonal scents are:  Pecan Pie Assault, Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin Latte, Spicy Cider, and Vanilla Butter & Pineapple. FizzButter sells their bath bombs at $3.99 each. The Cupcake Bath Bomb, which yes, isn't fully pictured here but is gorgeous costs $3.79 each. 

Quarterly: NYE03

The Quarterly box by Bill Nye was the first Quarterly box that I felt compelled to subscribe to. As a result, even though it does seem a bit geared toward the younger crowd, I still continue to indulge in each box that I've received. Back in August, I received a notification from Quarterly stating that they were working to "secure the final (and exclusive) item for Bill’s box and it is expected to ship early September" so it ended up arriving not too long after the MSA01 box. 

The Bill Nye boxes are science oriented with the mission of helping you to change the world. This particular box focuses on putting a "different spin on climate awareness" which resulted in curated items that show you how to harness nature.

The paper work for the Nye boxes usually come with a link that leads to a video in which he explains each item of the box. This particular version seems to be missing that but that's not to say you can't understand each item in relation to the theme.

Enclosed in the box is a Windmill Generator which is a project, a solar LED lamp from Little Sun, and a custom coaster drawn by Bill Nye which is themed "United States through the years." In the paperwork, they explain that there are 3 more coasters in this series that will be in the subsequent mailings. 

Of course, the Little Sun is currently sitting on my window sill waiting to charge and the coaster is right on my desk already. I'm intrigued to know what the rest of the coasters in the series look like especially since it will take 3 more boxes to complete the set. Bill Nye's curated boxes are available for purchase at Quarterly for $50.