Buffer Festival

Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover Review

Ever since I started wearing makeup, I've been using makeup removing wipes to take off my makeup at night. Recently, though, I decided to try out a makeup removing solution, and I picked the Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes.

Overall, I'm pleased with it's performance. Bellow, you can see the cotton pads I used, and how long it took to get my face clean. Finally, after three rounds the makeup was fully off my face. The main downfall of this product is that it literally feels like rubbing baby oil on your face. It's that same sticky oily feeling.

Despite those complaints, I still feel that this makeup remover is of decent quality. It's probably not the best option, but, I'm obviously going to use it anyway.

Anyway, that's all for this product. I would probably have to give it 3/5 stars. If you're cheap like me, it's a good option, but other than that, meh. 

Revlon ColorStay Foundation Review

Back in the summer I went a little crazy with foundation buying, and this was one of the three that I bought. Only recently did I start trying it out, so I thought I would do a review for it. 

My first impressions of the foundation were very poor. It had very light coverage, and was a very liquidy formulation. I suppose my view was a bit skewed because all I have been using recently is the Covergirl Whipped Cream Foundation, which is very thick and very full coverage. 

After using the foundation a little more, it started to grow on me. It does take quite a bit of product to get the coverage that I like, but once its on, it doesn't feel heavy or sticky. 

Overall, I would recommend the foundation if you like a light wearing foundation, and don't need very full coverage. That being said, paired with a concealer and a powder, it gives moderate coverage. 

-no makeup, freshly washed face- 

-only Revlon Colorstay Foundation- 

You're Such A Budapast by OPI

My nail of the moment is You're Such A Budapest by OPI. This is a gorgeous bluey lavender colour that is lovely for summer, and fall as well, because of it's cool undertone. Overall, this is a lovely polish, I've been wearing it for almost a week and a half now, and I don't have any wear or chips. It has a smooth creamy finish. Great product, overall!

Sephora Haul!

So I went a little bit crazy at Sephora... but it was worth it, right? Well, we soon shall see. Here's just a quick haul for now, but, if you're interested in reviews or swatches for any of these, let me know, and I'll make a post about that as well. ...Actually I probably will even if no one requests it. But anyway. Enjoy drooling over the beauty of these new products... I know I did, anyway! 

Hope you enjoyed!

Ottawa

My family just arrived home from our trip to Ottawa. Overall it was a very standard touristy trip, so I don't have much to say about it. But, I took a couple nice photos that I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

First Impressions: L'oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain

I recently purchased this lip gloss from L'oreal, in the shade Rose On and On. This is definitely a Youtube community favourite, so I decided to try it for myself.

Often, popular products with other beauty gurus are hit and miss for me, but this product was definitely a hit. It has luscious colour pay off and is extremely moisturizing, especially for a lip gloss.

The applicator is also quite nice, it holds the gloss very well, and applies it very evenly. 

As you can see in this swatch, it's quite sheer unless you build it up, but on lips (that are already pink- because duh, lips) it has a nicer colour pay off. Also, there is a very subtle hint of shimmer, but nothing unmanageable. 

Like I said, on the lips, it's more vibrant. 

So, those are my thoughts on the L'oreal shine stains so far. Bear in mind, I've only tried one shade, and have worn it a select few times, so there is room for my opinions to change. Let me know in the comments if you'e tried any of the shine stains and what your thoughts are! 

As always, thanks for reading,

First Impressions: Covergirl Whipped Creme Foundation

So I recently purchased this new foundation by Covergirl, and I tried it today for the first time. My impression of it so far, is overall, very positive.

It really does feel like whipped creme when you first feel it, though it's actually quite a lot thicker than actual whipped creme, once you apply it. This doesn't really bother me though. It's very very viscous, but I think that's what contributes to it's amazing full coverage finish. I was very impressed by how full coverage it was for a drugstore foundation, and it felt really nice on the skin as well. Also, it looked so pretty! Haha

So, for my application I used a standard foundation brush, as well as a stippling brush to buff it out.

After a bit of blending, but admittedly not all that much, this foundation goes on very nicely, this was the final look. (Below my foundation is a bit of the Covergirl concealer stick as well as Benefit's Lemon Aid under my eyes. I have not applied powder yet, though)

As promised by the product's claims, you do end up with a very matte finish, which is very nice. This means that powder application can be minimal and limited to just the T-zone, for me anyway. This is awesome because it means you won't have such a cakey look, and you get to save on usage of your face powder!

So, those are my impressions so far of Covergirl's new whipped creme foundation, I'm a huge fan of it so far, and I can definitely see myself using this as my everyday foundation, especially into the fall and winter. If you've tried it, let me know what you think!

Argo by China Glaze

Ignore my terrible nail painting job. I'm working on it. 

So I recently picked up this nail polish at a salon in the mall when I was out running errands. I wasn't originally looking for a shade like this; but this one caught my eye and I really wanted to try it out, so, obviously, I bought it. It reminded me of that one polish from Butter London that everyone was obsessing over last winter- whose name escapes me, but anyway. 

Being used to Revlon and Essie, I was very impressed by how this Chine Glaze polish went on. Here I have two coats; though I could've got by with one, and a topcoat. I love the brush, its very thick and wide and perfect for quick and accurate application. The formula of this polish was also very nice; it wasn't too viscous, but it also wasn't super thin. It was perfect for smooth application. 

All in all, I'd give this product 5/5 stars. Also, the colour is wonderful for the fall! 

One Direction

So, as previously stated many a time on this blog, I recently went to see One Direction in concert. It was a pretty good time.

The show started (after much waiting through commercials played on the jumbo-tron) with Five Seconds of Summer, a new boy band from Australia. They have a very Jonas Brothers circa A Little Bit Longer sound about them. They were decent enough, but honestly, I have enough bands to fan girl over, so I'm not in the market to pick up another one. But I appreciated them none the less.

Finally, after more and more waiting, the main attraction hit the stage and AHHH HARRY WAS SO CUTE and AAHH LOOK AT NIALL DID YOU SEE THAT but mostly just AHHHHH.

That concert was so unbelievably loud. I have been to many a boy band concert but I don't think I have ever attended one so loud. I mean, usually fans at least make an effort to listen instead of scream the entire time, but, whatever. It was a good show.

One of the most impressive parts of the concert was the set. They had these amazingly huge screen backdrops to the stage which played either live clips of the boys, or really nice typography of lyrics, or animated backgrounds. For example, the London sky line, or the boys as cartoon super heroes! It was really cool.

Life is Busy

Real life is hard. Mostly because it's busy.

These past few weeks I haven't been able to blog at all, because I've been overwhelmed with work and church commitments, not to mention my bustling social life (haha) and I just, I've let you all down, I know. 

At the beginning of this month, I promised that I would blog every single day. Quickly that degraded to only week days, and then soon, never at all. I've done quite a few things since I've seen you last, such as see One Direction in concert, see the Jonas Brothers in concert and buy a few new nail polishes. Yes, those are the things of note that I've managed to do. Everything else has been either work, church or boyfriend related. Well, I did try roller derby, that's something. But anyway, the point is, I have been quite busy. 

I also have not been able to fulfill my Youtube duties that I assigned myself, missing two History Minute Mondays and one Fashion Friday. I plan to resume my Friday videos this week and hopefully get a Monday filmed for next week, the week I am away on vacation. Yeah, I know right? One more thing that gets in the way of getting things done. I think I might post a couple features on things that I've done in the past few days just to keep a nice record of my summer, but we'll see. I have a lot of other online catching up to do this evening. 

Tomorrow, after working in the morning, I'm spending the day with Dan, which I am quite excited about. Maybe I'll have something to say about that later. 

Anyway, I think that's all for now. Hopefully I will get back to you soon and hopefully you will forgive me for neglecting to fulfill my online duties as Youtuber and blogger.

Until then,

Katie

Camping

I believe the verdict is in. I am terrible at blogging everyday. In my defence, I have been quite busy. For example, this past weekend, I went camping.

So on Friday evening myself, my boyfriend and our five friends stuffed ourselves into a van and headed west, to the beach. We camped at Point Farms provincial park, on Lake Huron, and it was a grand old time.

End of VBS

So, once again this tiring week of summer vacation comes to and end. Like last year, I led the music and drama portion of vacation Bible school, and I'd say it was as effective as any other year. I missed working with my youth pastor and sponsor, but the person I did get to work with was great as well. All in all, though, I'm glad to be done. This week has been absolutely crazy, between bible school and then three different meetings for work, and just working in general. I'm tired.

I don't get much of a break though, this weekend I'm working Saturday and Sunday, plus I have to work Saturday night (filming a promo video for an event happening at the fair this year- which, admittedly, is pretty cool. But I am very busy none the less).

What's keeping me going is the promise that firstly, Sunday afternoon will be free time to spend with my boyfriend, and that Monday, I will be able to sleep in. And then, once 11AM Monday morning comes around, it will be back to working on fair stuff. Or, depending on the e-mails I receive this weekend, a meeting might be happening earlier than that. I think this whole summer job is giving me a lot of adult experience. Like, I guess what I'm thinking is I really hope that my future job isn't quite this stressful and full of conflict etc.

Anyway, I must be off. This evening is the weekend program for bible school and I need to be out the door in the next ten minutes. Either way, I will be seeing you again tomorrow, hopefully sometime between waitressing and professional film making. I'm sure I'll make time.

Until then, DFTBA
-Katie

Cute Preschoolers

Hello again, blogosphere. It has been a crazy busy week. It's only the fourth day of BEDJ, and I'm already struggling to find time to write. For instance, right now I'm typing this on the Blogger app on my phone, while on the way to vacation bible school.

All week long, I've been leading music and skits with the kids, which has been pretty fun. My appreciation for parents has definitely grown anyway. 

Some of the preschoolers though are just the cutest things I've ever seen. One boy in particular, named Samuel, is very energetic and when I first met him, he said, "Hi! I'm Samuel! S-A-M-U-E-L!" He was just so proud to be able to spell his name. It was adorable. Another girl, during craft time, told me that she wanted to be an artist when she grew up, upon me telling her that her drawing was beautiful. She said that she did lots of painting and that once, she made a painting of her kitties and the sunset. Another time, during games after a crawling race, she acknowledged that she came in last, but she "never gived up" the entire time. I almost cried it was so cute. 

So, all in all, the week has been pretty busy, between VBS, meetings for work and family and church events, I haven't been home much. Thankfully, though, the time I have been at home has been relatively productive. I've managed to release three videos this week on YouTube, which is my goal for every week this summer. We'll see if I can keep it up. 

So I think that's all I have time for today. DFTBA and I'll see you tomorrow. 

-Katie

Collapsible Lung

So, yesterday, 2nd July, Relient K released their newest album Collapsible Lung, and to say that I'm happy with it would be an understatement. It's everything that I love about Relient K and more.

If I had any critique for this album it would be that I wish Matt Theissen would have done more writing. He is a brilliant lyricist and I think we're really missing out on some great lyrics because he wasn't the main writer on a lot of the songs.

A lot of people are upset about the lack of Christian themes in this album. They're right, we don't get any songs like "Getting Into You" or even "Hope For Every Fallen Man" but, just as many bloggers before me have already pointed out; everyone goes through seasons in their Christian walk. No one is in perfect communion with Jesus all of the time, let's be real. I think this album really represents a time in their lives that they fell short of that relationship. Lost Boy is a perfect example of this, "wandering, wondering" and being a 'stray." These words are very representative of that whole feeling of being lost or far from God. And I would argue that Relient K displaying their real relationships and not some unreal fabricated models of perfection is far more "Christian" than trying to be the perfect role models. Because that's not what their job is, as artists. They're not supposed to show everyone what a perfect relationship with God is, they're role is to express their own feelings that others might relate to. And I think they're done that perfectly.

So, overall, I'd say this album deserves an 8/10. The lyrics could be better, and the style isn't exactly classic RK, but it's great none the less. Buy the album, is what I'm saying.

Or, if you only want a couple songs, my initial recommendations are the title track, Lost Boy, and PTL- Don't Blink is pretty great too.

Those are my only thoughts for today, kids. Don't forget to be awesome.
-Katie

~summer stats~
nail colour: turquoise & caicos (esse)
money spent: 0
subscribers: 28

2 JULY

Yes, it is, in fact, the second day of July. And how many blog posts have I made so far this month? Zip. 
In my defence, yesterday was busy for me. I spent my morning volunteering at vacation bible school, and my afternoon, uhm, editing my Tumblr theme. And editing some videos too! 

I've made some great strides in my process of making my Youtube channel, like, a regular thing. I've devised a couple series that I plan to post weekly, one for Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Obviously, this is a huge commitment, so we'll see how it goes.  

Recently I've been really into checking out new content on Youtube. I love watching other content creators with low subscriber counts, and they're all so talented! They definitely deserve a larger audience, but I'm happy to support them none the less. I'd love to be able to make some more friends on Youtube, too. It's great to have a community of mutual subscribers who all support each other in their content creation. I think that's something that was much more prominent on Youtube in it's early years, and has since faded away with the rise of corporation on Youtube. But that doesn't mean it has to end! I always love to see networks of video makers communicating, no matter how small the group might be. 

Anyway, those are all my thoughts on the internet for today. I should get back to editing my Wednesday video, as well as getting some other work done for the day. I'll be back tomorrow with another BEDJ post. 

Best Wishes,
Katie

~summer stats~
nail colour of the day: turquoise & caicos (Esse)
money spent so far this summer: zero (y)
subscribers: 28 

The Apple Store & Film Premieres

So I've been feeling lately like I should write another blog post. So, that I shall do.

You know, I really appreciate the service the Apple store has to offer; they sell very expensive products, but the service they offer (at least to people with a warranty) is great. Not only have I received a full replacement in the past, but they have also fixed hardware problems on site. Like they did today. My USB ports weren't working (some internal hardware error) and Mr Apple Genius took it back through the tall aluminum doors and fixed it right up for me- in less than 20 minutes no less, for the entire trip. I was pleased.

Also today, other than my trip to the Apple store, I attended a film premiere, which was very exciting. So, my school has a film class, which a couple of my friends were in, and for an end of year project, the entire class worked together to create a half-hourish film. And it was pretty great. Especially for the class having completed it within a very short time. I was impressed anyway.

Soo, it's summer now. School is over. Despite having two jobs and multiple volunteer commitments this summer, I still feel obligated to try to post on my blog more often, and also to make more Youtube videos. I have a couple ideas for new series and such, so I'd really like to start that. I just need some motivation (and time).

I suppose that's all I have to write about. No social justice issue or current event this time. Just my boring old life. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Best Wishes,
Katie

Anti-Chivalry; Pro-Equality

If chivalry is dead, good riddance.

It is my continuing belief that I, as a woman, should not be treated "like a lady," but rather, as an equal. Many people will discount this idea as being unappreciative or "in a feminist rage," - but I digress.

Firstly, I think it's important to realize that I have nothing against generosity; of course not. I don't think there is anything wrong with a man offering to pay for dinner, and a woman accepting that offer. That being said, I see no difference in a woman offering to pay for dinner, and a man accepting that offer. The idea is not taking on your masculine and feminine duties, but rather, just being a decent human being. Generosity and gracious acceptance need not be gendered characteristics. In the same way, I don't think there is anything inherently anti-feminist in, for example, a man opening a door for a woman; though I think if there is some cultural expectation in the man doing so, then it is.

Secondly, it is important to note the reason why I think the traditional idea of chivalry is bad. Many people will question "what do you have against is? isn't it a good thing? don't you want to be treated well by men?" These people lack a basic understanding of the implications of chivalry. See, someone who is being treated "like a lady" is inherently not being treated like an equal. The idea of treating a woman "right" has implications like "protecting her" and "providing for her" etc. These can be limiting. For example, in the past, ladies would be "protected" from the harsh world of politics. I think we all know where this is going. Women were sheltered from issues like that (that they could've been helping to solve UGH) and of course, this is a form of inequality. Like my mother has often said "if women expect to vote; they can't expect to be treated like princesses." And why would we want to be? Equality is the ultimate aim; not superiority.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that generosity is not the problem, it's the inequality of expectations. So, when you see me accepting my boyfriend's offer to pay for dinner, it's not because I think it's his role, it's because I'm always happy to accept generosity (and because I'm broke).

Five Reasons You Don't Actually Wish You Were Born in the 1950s

So recently I have heard a staggering number of teenager girls lamenting the fact that they were born in the late nineties, rather than the late forties. Often, these girls will talk wistfully about the nice clothes, the tradition of chivalry, and the actuality of school dances. They of course will wish against all hope that these things were still alive today, totally ignorant of the reality of this time period (for women particularly.) So, to rid anyone of these impossible desires, I decided to compile a list of the top five reasons you actually wouldn't want to have lived in the 1950s. Here it goes.

1) Equal-Opportunity Was Non-Existant
Despite the fact that the quote "we hold these truths to be self evident" was common cultural knowledge by this time, there was still no resemblance of equality- between races, or between genders. For the sake of this point, I'll focus on genders. Women were house wives and mothers- that was it. There were no career-moms, let alone single women with high professional positions. This is all without even considering the social state of equality, which was also barely a glimmer of hope in the feminists' of the time's dreams. So, all in all, it's fairly obvious that women did not nearly have the opportunities they have today (which, unfortunately are still limited- but that's for another post). This by itself would not be worth a trade for pretty dresses and polite boys- and there are four more points to go.

2) Racial Inequity
Again, extremely obvious. I can't imagine someone wishing to live in a time that was even more racist than the one we currently live in; which is pretty racist (socially, anyway). Fun fact: the Jim Crowe laws were not overruled until 1965.

3) Feminine Hygiene
Not a commonly discussed topic, but one that I like to bring up in these conversations because of how shockingly easy it is to convince someone of their utter wrongness through merely it's mention. Let's be realistic, the stories I've heard from my own mother, whose teenagehood existed within the 1980s, about the state of feminine hygiene products at the time makes me shudder- I don't even want to think about how my grandma and her contemporaries had to deal with "mother nature." Also: pointy-bras. I think that about sums it up.

4) The Internet Did Not Exist
I think it's quite obvious that we all love our cell phones and readily available wifi; so living during the advent of television might be a little tough for some of us. Living during a time where information is so readily available and equality is for everyone (mostly) - not jut white, middle to upper class men, it's hard to imagine life as any kind of minority in the 1950s. Also, as a side note- who wants to live through the Cold War? That's just a little too nerve-wracking for me.

5) You Wouldn't Have Got To See The Beatles In Concert Anyway
Well, maybe you would have. I certainly would not have, though. Also, anyone who thinks "everything was so much less expensive then!" does simply not understand the concept of inflation. As another side note, often people express their frustration with how "out in the the open" everyone is now about their problems, and how they long for the days of secrecy and formality. I fundamentally disagree with this idea. It is so important to realize that the reason for our improvements in formally taboo areas like mental health and women's health and domestic abuse is that people are open about their problems. Honesty is not a bad thing at all; people who need help should seek help, not be encouraged to keep things to themselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to hate on the 1950s, I do not have a secret agenda against this decade, I just feel that it is important for people to be informed about our culture, what we shouldn't take for granted (but we do) and what we need to continue to work on progressing. As the old adage goes, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Or until you've magically been transported to the 1950s.

Until next time,
Katie

History of the Boy Band

So this is an article I wrote for my school newspaper a while back. I really enjoyed the topic and thought the piece turned out pretty well so, naturally, I thought I'd share it on the internet! So, without further ado, a brief history of the boy band! 

             The boy band is one of the most famous archetypes of western pop culture in the twentieth century. From The Beatles to The Backstreet Boys, boy bands have made a huge impact on our society over the years. Their music, (sometimes painful,) and their fans (always painful) define them as the trend-setting, scream-inducing young boys that they are.

            These boys have been a huge influence on youth since the early 1960’s making teen girls squeal at their very sight, and annoying, and baffling teen boys, until their fifteen minutes are up.

            The influences that boy bands have on society have changed over the years, as well as their longevity and quality of music, but a few things have stayed the same. Surprisingly, the differences between the fan girls of the 1960s and the ones that exist today, (i.e myself) are minimal. Consequently, the boy bands, despite the change in trends do remain relatively similar. To fully understand this, we need to go back to the beginning. The point in time when the boy band climbed out of the primordial ooze and began it’s evolution into the billion dollar industry it is today. This journey began in a city in northern England, where a young John Lennon suggested the idea of starting a band to his friends. After several years and a few rejections, (such as the infamous one from Decca records) The Beatles were formed and became the most popular musicians in the world. These four lads from Liverpool drew young girls from all around, their popularity sky-rocketing, re-creating the buzz that Elvis once did, and re-introducing the world to the fan girl. Ever since this historic time period, the hype around boy bands has been labelled Beatlemaina, after the legendary band, and the craziness they brought about.

            The next time this mania hit the world was in the early 1970s when singing and dancing groups such as the Jackson 5, The Partridge Family and The Bay City Rollers took the eyes off The Mother Country and the invasion of boy bands that hailed from there, and onto the talent that America yielded. These groups became fabulously popular, all thanks to the hoards of teenage girls that loved them.

Bands throughout the following decades were met with the same teenage enthusiasm, which only grew stronger through the popularity of television and eventually, the internet. Pop acts such as Menudo, N`Sync, and The Backstreet Boys were next to follow in the long line of teen idols.

With their catchy tunes and cute hair-dos, these boys made teen hearts melt -and records sell- thus marking the point in time where boy bands turned into a billion-dollar industry.

Since then our society has been graced with the presence of musical artists such as The Jonas Brothers, Cody Simpson, Justin Bieber, and most recently, the modern British Invasion that includes the likes of Ed Sheeran, JLS and One Direction.

Throughout the past half century though fashions have changed and music styles have evolved, the dedication of the fans has been constant, and so has the ability of the boy bands to make their fans swoon (and buy concert tickets).

So what have we learned from this history lesson? That cute boys, hyper-emotional teenage girls, a catchy tune, and clever management is the recipe for a whole lot of influence, and even more money. 

Social Justice Sundays

So I've always been very passionate about social justice, feminism and all that fun stuff, especially since becoming more educated via the internet. I've found recently that people, in general are not as informed as I would've assumed, so I thought it would be useful to start this little series: Social Justice Sundays. It is my goal in these videos to talk about issues on a very basic, introductory level, to inform people about them. I wish that I would've found a resource like this when I first became active on Tumblr, it would have spared me a lot of embarrassment (because of my own uninformed jerky-ness) because a lot of my knowledge grew because of assumptions I had to make about what the bloggers were talking about (they liked to discuss more advanced topics than I chose too). So, since I myself do not have nearly a vast enough knowledge to teach or discuss some of those higher level issues, I decided to stick to the basics, hopefully to inform people who have just been introduced to this whole internet social justice thing, so that they can quickly and efficiently move on to reading higher level, more complicated material, like the blogs that I currently enjoy.
So, here if the first episode of Social Justice Sundays: Gender Roles. I hope you find it informative and at least somewhat enjoyable.



Best Wishes,
Katie