NAILS | Cadillacquer Leilani Swatch (Thermal) #MidWeekMani

Purchased by me

It has been a few weeks since I have done one of these catch-up posts so how is everyone? After taking two weeks off to give my brain some time to recuperate from work, I dove back into my day job without skipping a beat. I would like to think that I am one of those people who still knows how to function when I go back to work after time off because from what I have seen with staff, someone people take two weeks off and then need another two weeks to remember how to perform basic skills. I also came back a little more fiery and less afraid of speaking my mind, but the main thing my therapist and I decided to focus on was starting my day with client-based activities as those tend to make me feel more productive and generally happier about my job! I haven't felt tightness in my chest for the last week which is something I have not experienced in months at work so I feel like we have definitely made some progress! 

BEAUTY | April 2024 Ipsy Glam Bag

Purchased by me

This is my FIRST review of the Ipsy Glam Bag in almost 10 years! Back then, there were a ton of subscription services and I was subscribed to probably five of them with a few brands like Glossybox and Birchbox sending me boxes to review. I was also receiving a lot more press samples so all of that combined left me overwhelmed and frankly, uninspired to review and use the products inside. I have not thought about signing up for anything since FaceTory until I took some time off at the start of this month and realized that I missed these little surprises and mini sizes of brands I haven't tried before! With the exchange rate and shipping, this box ended up costing about $27 CDN so not the cheapest, but is it worth the surprise of trying new things? Maybe! And, what's nice is that I can pause it anytime and resume with ease!  

NAILS | Purple Lilac Flowers #CBBxManiMonday

 

Press samples

Sunday was all about filing my taxes. I know, they are due in 9 days and I still hadn't done them. My dad usually does them for me, but he has been travelling so I was left to do them on my own which quite frankly, was the LAST thing I wanted to do after being at work all day. Today, I got up early, grabbed a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha and hunkered down. I got them filed by noon and then had the rest of the day to relax! 

NAILS | Spring Pastel Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples except for China Glaze Fairy Dust 

I had a fairly uneventful first week back at work after being off for two weeks which I was grateful for because no one enjoys feeling overwhelmed and rushed on their first day back at work! I always think of that episode of The Office where Michael has just come back from Jamaica and he has a steel drum and beads in his hair. He is all relaxed and smiles and the first thing an employee says to him is "My bonus cheque was smaller than you promised" and in the space of a few hours, Michael's vacation energy has been zapped from him. While this has happened to me in the past, luckily it was not this way on Monday and if anything I was pretty much left alone save for a few technical questions.

SHEET MASK | I Dew Care Let's Get Sheet Faced Sheet Mask Set

Purchased by me

I think I asked a friend to pick up this set of sheet masks from I Dew Care from Ulta before the pandemic hit. What was supposed to be a 14 day routine that I FULLY intended to review in a jiffy is now 5 years in the making, but it's only because I got distracted in between you know with the pandemic and life and all. 

HAIR | Helping my Sensitive Scalp with Mayraki

Press samples

Back in December, I was introduced to the haircare brand Mayraki and was a bit hesitant to feature the brand because the product and customer service reviews were very mixed, but I have spent so much time using and enjoying the products I was sent that it seemed a waste to not let you all know how they worked out for me so just for a moment, we are going to isolate the product from the reviews and see how they did!