April Favorites!

April went by faster than I thought. The semester ended and my favorite dramas ended. It feels like time passed before I was even able to process what was going on. Here's what I've been loving this month.

Milani Everyday Eyes Palette in 01 Must Have Naturals
I'm a big fan of the Milani Bella Eyes single eyeshadows and when I found out that they brought out palettes I needed to get my hands on them. Lately I've been loving the Must Have Naturals palette because it has all the shades you want when creating an everyday neutral eye look. The shades are every pigmented and blend easily. With a primer they last all day. I love that drugstore brands are bringing out palettes.

MAC Modesty
Modesty is a shade I've had in my lipstick collection for about a year now. It's a beautiful MLBB nude shade that doesn't get enough love from me. It's a cremesheen which means it doesn't have the best lasting power but it's creamy and doesn't overly dry out your lips. MAC calls it a muted neutral pink. It's brown with a strong pink undertone. I think it's underrated. I love this shade. I think everyone needs this in their collection.

OPI Cajun Shrimp
This is my favorite Spring/Summer red nail polish. I always crack it out during this time of year. It's an orange/coral based red. This shade reminds me of summer and Florida because I always bring it on vacation with me. It makes me look tanned when it graces my nails. I have nothing else to say besides I love it.

KDramas:
Marriage Contract 
I mentioned this drama last month but I need to mention it again now that it's over because it's just so good. I'm going to make a bold statement and call this the best drama of the year. This drama is bittersweet perfection. I don't even like melodramas but I loved this one. Every episode takes you on an emotional roller coaster. The cinematography was flawless. The OST was beautiful. I think this is Uee's best role yet. Just watch it if you haven't already.

Ms. Temper and Nam Jung Gi 
The first two episodes of this drama didn't impress me. I contemplated dropping it and didn't even keep up with it for about three weeks. People said it gets better in episode 3 and they were right. It gets better and better after each episode. I think that this is an underrated drama. It really exposes Korean business culture and depicts how hard it is for people, especially women in the corporate world. Yoon Sang Hyun will always be Oska to me but it's nice to see him in a currently airing drama.

D-Day
I was aware of this drama while it was airing but overlooked it because it's a medical drama. I was having Descendants of the Sun withdrawls (which is on my favorite dramas list) and this was recommended to me. I can see the similarities between the two dramas. D-Day is more serious. Even though the main focus is the medical aspect it has a little bit of everything: action, comedy, politics and romance. The main couple is too precious. I'm glad I watched it now and not when it aired because it would have been difficult to wait between episodes. Every episode keeps your on the edge of your seat and you just want to know more. I marathoned it in 3 days. Jung So Min did a great job with having a Busan accent and her acting was phenomenal. The entire cast was fantastic. It think it's underrated and needs more recognition. If you love DotS then you need to give this one a try. While the entire drama is based on a tragedy it has a happy ending.

TV:
Running Man

Music:
Spring Love - Eric Nam & Wendy
Without You - NCT U

Movies:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Books:
The Charm Bracelet by Viola Shipman

Sincerely, JoJo.♥

NOTD: OPI Gelato on my Mind

I love gelato. I love gelato so much that I bought a nail polish purely because it was mentioned in the name. Gelato on My Mind was part of the OPI fall 2015 Venice Collection, and that's when I bought it. The shade immediately scream Spring to me and so I wait till now to wear it. The brand describes this shade as a "deliciously sweet and icy-cool, pastel blue." I would say it's more of a duck egg blue most of the time. It has a hint of green but it's more blue than green. In sunlight it's very bright and almost neon pastel aqua blue. In other lights it looks more muted like a duck egg blue. It's a beautiful shade. It's probably not the most unique shade but the name sucked me in. I don't know why this polish is gelato's namesake because I've never seen gelato this colour, not even pistachio gelato looks like this. I have Essie's Mint Candy Apple, which I thought would be similar but it's actually slightly darker and more blue. In terms of application, you need three coats. The first coat applied streaky on half of my nails. The second coat evened out the streakiness, and the third coat made everything opaque. This shade lasted 4 days on my nails with minimal chipping. OPI polishes are $10.25 on nailpolishcanada. If you already own Essie Mint Candy Apple you don't need both, if you're a nail polish junkie then maybe you need both. If you love gelato then you might want to own Gelato on My Mind. 

I'm gonna go eat some gelato now.

Sincerely, JoJo.♥

All About That Base Coat + Top Coat

Finding the perfect base coat and top coat is a struggle; especially, for a nail polish junkie like me. I've spent years trying countless base and top coats and I never found any that I used for longer than a few months. I've been using these two products together for the past 6 months but I've been using this base coat for the past year.

The Orly Bonder Base Coat is my currently base coat of choice. I heard about it a very long time ago from Ingrid. They call it a rubberized base coat. It creates a coat over your nails that allows your nail polish to stick to it. As a result, this base coat extends the wear of the nail polish and prevents chipping. I can go three days with no chipping and the colour of the polish looks vibrant. I applies smoothly and it helps your nail colour apply easier. I also think that it prevents my nails from staining. Red, berries and blue nail polish tends to stain your nails even with a base coat. I find that I don't get staining when I use this base coat, or if I do it's not as noticeable as it would be with a regular base coat. It retails for $12.50 CAD (on nailpolishcanada).

The Essie gel setter Top Coat is my favorite top coat at the moment. Essie is my favorite nail polish brand. Until now I wasn't wowed by any of their base and top coats. The gel setter top coat dries fast. It gives your nails a shiny and glossy, almost gel-like finish, which I love. It smooths out any streakiness that your nail polish brush left on your nails. I think that this top coat works best when paired with Essie polishes but I works well with other brands. I just find that it extends the wear of essie polishes more than others. For example, when I use it with an essie polish it doesn't chip for at least 4 days, but when I use it with an OPI polish it lasts for 3 days with no chipping. The manufacturer's suggested retail price on essie.com is $10. I believe I paid around $12 for my bottle at Shoppers/Pharmaprix.

I currently pleased with these two products but nail polish junkie in me is never satisfied with sticking to the same products. I do think that these ones are really good, but there could be better ones that I haven't tried or hear of yet. It's probably because I'm very picking with my nail products. Nevertheless, this base coat and top coat are high quality products and they're definitely worth a try.

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

Beloved Blushes: Tarte Exposed

The Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Exposed is the most loved blush in my collection. I wear it 95% of the time that I'm wearing makeup. I hesitated about buying this for a long time because it looks like nothing special in the pan. When you swatch it at Sephora it doesn't leave an impression on you. My favorite beauty vloggers used to rave about this blush. Last January I finally gave in to the hype and purchased it. I'm so glad that I gave in to the hype because it's the most beautiful shade when applied to your cheeks. It's described as a nude. I would say that it's a rosy brown colour. It's matte but not flat. Even though it's matte it looks natural. It gives your cheeks a healthy flush.

You can't go wrong with this blush. It lasts all day. When I go take off my makeup at night my blush looks the same way that it did when I applied it in the morning. Tarte Exposed is the perfect everyday blush. It looks good with anything whether you're wearing the bare minimum or a full face of makeup. It has the perfect amount of pigmentation. It blends easily, which makes it perfect when you're in a rush because you know it's going to look good every time. It doesn't break me out either. I think everyone needs this in their collection. I would definitely buy more shades from this range. It's $33 CAD and you can find it at Sephora.

What's your favourite everyday blush?

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥

March Favorites!

Another month is over, and that means it's favorites time. March seems like it went by too fast. I remember it being reading week and that I got new glasses but I can't remember anything else except that it was Easter. Here's what I've been loving this past month.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
I've had this foundation in my makeup collection for a long time. I actually forgot that I owned it because I've alternated between the same foundation or tinted moisturizer: Bourjois Healthy Mix and BareMinerals Complexion Rescue for the past year. NARS Sheer Glow got pushed aside but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the bottle doesn't have a pump. Anyways, I wear the shade Mont Blanc, which is my skintone in a bottle. I compare every foundation that I buy to this shade to ensure that I'm getting a good match. I personally think that the name sheer glow is misleading because the foundation is not sheer nor is it glowy. It applies as a medium to full coverage satin finish foundation. It applies best when paired with a beauty blender (because beauty blenders make everything better) as it gives it a natural skin-like appearance. When I use this foundation with a brush it looks cakey. A downside to this foundation is that it doesn't have spf in it and as a result I don't wear it on a daily basis; however, the lack of spf means it's good for photography. I also don't wear it often because it tends to break me out on my t-zone. I put up with the breakouts because I like the finish that it gives me and it doesn't make me look oily throughout the day. I do think that it's an average foundation because my bourjois foundation gives my skin a more natural result but it's a nice foundation to have around for photographic occasions.

The Wet Brush 
I have naturally curly hair, which means a lot of tangles happen. I was always told that if you have curly hair you need to brush it with a wide tooth comb while it has conditioner in it. I was always told not to brush my hair when it's wet because it causes breakage. As a child, I always hated when my mom brushed my hair because it always hurt, the brush would get stuck in my hair à la Princess Diaries and it was alway a pain to deal with. This brush changed everything. It never pulls or tugs at my hair and it manages to painlessly get rid of all the tangles. I can brush my hair while it's wet or dry and it always feels therapeutic. No matter what your hair type buy this brush!

Contouring
I got new glasses this month and I think they look a little better on my when my cheekbones are defined. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to contouring so I  decided that drugstore products would be the way to go to experiment with this concept. Last month, I started using the L'Oréal Infalliable Pro Countour palette in Light. I like the contour shade because it's not very pigmented aka it's fool proof because you can never go too far so a noob like me can achieve a nice result. Whether you go in with a light hand or a heavy hand it's easy to blend out and ends up looking nice. It's a not too cool like it looks grey but not too warm that it looks orange. It's the perfect shade for my pale skin. I'm not a huge fan of the highlight shade because it's basically the color of my skin with some shimmer in it. I'll use it if I'm in a hurry or to set my under eye area. I've used it as eyeshadow and liked how it turned out. In the middle of the month I started using the NYX HD Blush in Taupe as a contour shade. It's more pigmented, a little cooler toned and slightly darker than the L'Oréal contour shade. I find the NYX one gives you a more defined looking face. The NYX one is matte whereas the L'Oréal one seems to be a little more on the satin side. Both are good shades for pale skin. They both serve the same purpose but if I had to pick just one I would go with the NYX but the L'Oréal one is good if you're just starting out.

MAC Velvet Teddy
I've liked this lipstick ever since I got it but lately I've been obsessed with it. It used to appear more orange on my lips. Now that I have new glasses, which are burgundy/red it looks more like a browny nude. I've developed a love for darker nude lipsticks because they actually have a color as opposed to pale nudes that can look like concealer. Velvet Teddy looks different on everybody but I would say that you need this one or a shade like it in your collection. It's a warm toned nude that looks flattering on everyone.

K-Dramas:
Mrs. Cop 2 
I loved the original Mrs. Cop and I'm glad there's a season 2. Season 2 is a different story with a complete different squad so you don't need to have watched season 1 to understand season 2. Kim Min Jong is the only cast member who's in both. While I miss the original squad, I like the new one as well. I think the original one was better than the sequel but it's nice to be able to watch the same kind of show.

Marriage Contract 
I was skeptical about watching this one because it's a melodrama and the summary says that the main female character has a brain tumor. I ended up being obsessed with this show. It's the only one I really care about at the moment. Every episode makes me cry. I'm rooting for the two main characters. I desperately want them to have a happy ending. Waiting for new episodes is pure agony. If you can only watch one kdrama watch this one.

Music:
Rez Power - Israel & New Breed
Grace to Grace - Hillsong Worship
Hymns Mashup Pt. II - Anthem Lights
Talk Love -K.Will
City Dove - Tori Kelly

Sincerely, JoJo. ♥