Plum Paper Planner Review

With only one moth left in my 2015-2016 planner it's time to do a final review. It is a Plum Paper Planner M-D-N Vertical weekly planner that started August 2015 and ends July 2016. It has the frosted plastic cover over the paper cover with my monogram and name. I added the To-Do pages in their own tab.

My planner the day I received it.

In general I love the planner, so much so that I decided to stick with Plum Paper for my 2016-2017 planner with some minor changes. I stuck with the vertical M-D-N layout, I personally cover the labels with washi and stickers but still like the three separate sections.

The added tab of To-Do pages I barely used, and I think that's because I had them in the separate tab, I probably should have gotten them dispersed throughout the planner like the note pages are. I did choose not to get them again in my upcoming planner instead opting for the fitness tracking add-on.

As for the cover, I am so glad that they changed it, this one both the plastic and card stock layers have warped and are wavy, I think the newer style will hold up better.  I also wasn't super fond of the fact that the back of the monthly tab pages was blank, which is something they have already fixed in the newer planners.

How the covers have warped

Overall I quite enjoyed my 2016-2017 planner and look forward to starting my new one. Most of the issues I had with this one were things that were fixed in the newer planners or were solved by just not getting that add-on again.

It's honestly so hard not to open up my new planner and start pre-planning in it , I've already done a pen test page and am super impressed with the new papers quality.

Until next time

~Alexandria

Going Purple? Blue? Ion Color Brilliance Brights Review?

Hello again!

I've been wanting to go a fashion colour with my hair again for quite a while but it was always a question of what colour and what brand to use.  I finally decided to go purple  and to use Arctic Fox dye. What followed was a bit of a disappointment that I managed to make work.

Nobody had the Arctic fox in stock and I was impatient, (Lesson for the day boys and girls, be patient and use the brand you actually want to use.) so I went to Sally's and picked up some Ion Color Brilliance Brights in Purple instead.

That night I gathered up my hair dying supplies and set to work.

The wine is an important part of the process

If you don't remember what I looked like here is a picture to show you what I was working with.

Of course, like everyone else in the world I always wait to lighten my hair until it is the dirtiest it has possibly been in my entire life so it looked more like this... shield your eyes, it's bad.

I know...

I bleached it, toned it, and then it was on to the dye. I purchased three tubes of Ion Color Brilliance Brights in Purple and it took two of them to cover my hair for the first round of colour. Despite my having toned my hair after bleaching it went brown toned and I was having none of that, but it was 3am and I was exhausted, so I went to bed and decided to deal with it the next day.

The next day I went back in with the remaining tube of Ion Color Brilliance Brights and about half a tube of Manic Panic in Ultra Violet that I had laying around . What I ended up with was more of a blue than a purple but I decided I liked it well enough and decided that I was done.

This is my end product.

Now on to the review on Ion Color Brilliance Brights in Violet.

I paid $6.49 per 2.05oz tube at Sally's with my member card for a total of $22 incl taxes for 6.15oz of product (for comparison the Arctic fox dye is $20 incl taxes for 8oz of product and Manic panic is $13-17 depending on where you buy it for 4oz of product).

The colour comes in a tube and I definitely recommend a tube key for getting every last bit out easily. It's thicker than Manic Panic for sure but not too difficult to work with at all, I added a teaspoon of water on the recommendation of a friend who had used other shades of the same brand.

The colour payoff wasn't amazing but I did manage to get a colour I was happy with though some of that is due to the Manic Panic judging by how it is fading.

Overall I do wish that I had have waited and gotten the Arctic fox just based on videos I have seen compared to the results I got and results I have had in the past with Manic Panic, but I can't really make any claims on Arctic Fox until I actually try it out when this shade fades.

Next time I will be going purple for sure.

See you next time,
Alex
xoxoxo

31 Days of Beauty -- Day 11

31 Days of Beauty Day 11

Favourite Eyeliner

Welcome to day 11 of 31 days of beauty. Thank you again to Priyanka over at Glamour & Giggles for coming up with this idea!

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Day 11 is Eyeliner day and we are going to talk about 3 different eyeliners. My favourite black, my favourite brown and my favourite colour. Each of these are from different brands too!

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black

For my favourite black eyeliner I would have to say it is my Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Black. This is the most pigmented black eyeliner that I have ever encountered and it sticks to my waterline like nothing else ever has. It is the blackest most intense liner I have found, and thank goodness that it's waterproof.

Pacifica natural minerals in Fringe

As for my favourite brown liner it would have to be the Pacifica natural minerals in Fringe. Now admittedly I haven't tried a tonne in the way of brown liners but I really do enjoy this one and it lasts all day on my waterline without smudging or bleeding down. It's a nice light brown and it's lovely for a neutral look.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Plushie

My favourite colour liner is Urban Decay's 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Plushie. It's a nice soft purple on the waterline but on the lid it is buildable and it is quite vibrant. I find myself reaching for this quite a bit and I actually tend to keep it in my every day makeup drawer. I use it both in neutral looks and when I am looking for a little extra oompf.

Remember that if you want a full review on any item I talk about in the 31 days of Beauty tag here feel free to ask and you shall receive. I intend to do some more reviews when I get back to my normal posting schedule next month.

I'll see you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo

31 Days of Beauty -- Day 10

31 Days of Beauty Day 10

Favourite Mascara

Welcome to day 10 of 31 days of beauty. Thank you again to Priyanka over at Glamour & Giggles for coming up with this idea!

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We've hit the double digits! We did it! And today we are going to be talking mascara. Specifically my favourite mascara!

So I am weird and I have a different favourite for my top and bottom lashes, because there are different things I am looking for out of my bottom and top lashes.

Lash Accelerator

For my bottom lashes I just want a little bit of definition and darkening and for that I have been using the same product for years Rimmel London's Lash Accelerator Mascara in 003 Extreme Black. It does the job and the wand is perfect for my lower lashes and that's all it takes to be my favourite apparently.

Lights, Camera, Lashes

Perversion

Now for the top lashes it's kind of a toss up between Urban Decay's Perversion and Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes. Really it's a combination between the two, one coat of lights, camera, lashes and then another of perversion and then my lashes are lovely and I almost feel like no falsies are required. And let's be honest, I really don't wear lashes on the daily.

Hopefully you guys are still enjoying reading these!

I'll see you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo

31 Days of Beauty -- Day 9

31 Days of Beauty Day 9

Favourite Eyeshadow

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Welcome to day 9 of 31 days of beauty. Thank you again to Priyanka over at Glamour & Giggles for coming up with this idea!

Today we are going to be talking about my favourite Palette.

This one for me was a no brainer, while some others come close, there can only be one, (10 points if you catch that reference) and that one is the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette.

There are so many looks that I can create with this and it has the nicest pops of colours. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the semi sweet palette as well. I love the highlight shades and I absolutely love the shade Salted Caramel for in the crease, I could go on forever about this palette but I do plan on doing a full review on it, as well as a comparison on it and the semi sweet when I get my hands on that one too. Safe to say this palette gets reached for all the time and it has earned it's place as my favourite.

I'll see you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo

31 Days of Beauty -- Day 8

31 Days of Beauty Day 8

Favourite Eye Shadow

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Welcome to day 8 of 31 days of beauty. Thank you again to Priyanka over at Glamour & Giggles for coming up with this idea!

Today we are going to be talking about my favourite eye shadow.

This was a really hard one for me. I love all of my shadows I really do, so I went through most of my palettes excluding the one we will be talking about tomorrow and narrowed my favourites down to two colours both from the same palette. This doesn't mean I like any of my other shadows any less and it was a seriously hard decision, thank goodness they didn't ask me to pick a favourite lipstick, hehe. So in no particular order here we go.

Last Call by Urban Decay (Ammo Palette). This is such a perfect plum-y burgundy with just the right amount of shimmer. I just love it. When I bought the Ammo palette I actually didn't see myself loving it but the first time I swatched it I knew it would be perfect and it actually sparked my love for a purple/red eye.

Sin by Urban Decay (Ammo Palette). I just, ugh, this colour is perfect. I use it in my crease and also as a highlight, I actually think that with light enough of a hand it could be used on the cheeks as a highlighter and it would be lovely.

I actually think that after I run out of these in the palette I am going to have to hunt these down in singles because I just love them that much.

I'll see you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo

31 Days of Beauty -- Day 7

31 Days of Beauty Day 7

Favourite Bronzer

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Welcome to day 7 of 31 days of beauty. Thank you again to Priyanka over at Glamour & Giggles for coming up with this idea!

Today we are going to be talking about my favourite bronzer. My current favourite is the Milk Chocolate Soleil by Too Faced.

I love this bronzer because it isn't super orange-y on my skin and also because it is a matte bronzer, I am really not a fan of shimmer in most of my products, I do tend to favour a more matte look and this bronzer definitely delivers. Of course there is also the main selling point that everyone talks about... the smell! This bronzer smells lovely, like chocolate, almost like a better than real life version of chocolate. Thankfully the smell doesn't linger around your face all day though because I could see that getting annoying, and possibly dangerous in the summer (I hate bees). Unlike the smell however the product does last all day and I am impressed with it's staying power. I love this bronzer and am torn between it and the Benefit Hoola bronzer for holy grail status. Can't I just have them both?

I'll see you next time!

Alex

xoxoxo