Rags to Riches

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Foundation Swatches and Review after Using it for a Year

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 18:12:00 +0000

When these first came out, I absolutely loved them and my little collection grew possibly because I was living in the states when they came out & they are much more affordable down there. It can range from $15-$20 in Canada vs $10-$15 in the states and they often have BOGO type promos so you can easily pick these guys up for less $10 in the US. Yeah living in Canada sucks for the wallet some times. These are medium - high coverage which was great for my acne ridden skin and I feel that it looks better and better throughout the day. It almost becomes skin like the longer you wear it and I want to look natural despite wearing makeup to achieve that look. I find it's best to apply with your hands first and then finish with a beauty blender or a brush.

As you can see early tan matches my skin the best however I kept buying other shapes of getting a perfect match. Such is the quest for the perfect foundation. So I have these big tubs of 320 Warm Golden & 330 True Beige that I've been using for contour in hopes of finishing them in about 10 years. I don't like to waste money since I do enough of that with my shopping. I find 340 Caramel is my perfect contour shade & would repurchase. For overall foundation I think I am falling out of love with these guys because I can't seem to find that perfect match. I think once the summer is here & I have a tan, early tan will come back into my rotation.

The one con that I see lots of people complain about is the packaging and I would have to agree. These guys come in heavy glass jars but what I do is move them into little sample jars which make them perfect for travelling and going through those security checks. I almost prefer these over liquid for travelling because the whipped like consistency ensures they never really fall out of the jar.

From left to right, 320 Warm Gold, 330 True Beige, 320 Natural Tan, 340 Caramel, 400 Early Tan

I am addicted to StarBucks and here's how I make it a little more affordable

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:51:00 +0000

I am not much of a coffee drinker. But I love me my lattes. Recently I was listening to the Bro-rista Coffee Culture podcast from the Stuff Mom Never Told ladies and it was totally on the money, for me at least. I don't like straight coffee or espresso or whatnot but I love my sugar syrup ladden drinks from starbucks. I guess that makes me a girl? My absolute favorite would be a Creme Brulee Latte that I've only ever seen on the menu in Starbucks Japan but the Caramel Brulee Latte that they have in North America during the holidays comes in a close second. My regular go to drink is their Cinnamon Dolce Latte, tall with non-fat milk and no whip cream.

I have a starbucks lattee almost every work day (Mon-Fri) and how do I rationalize spending $4.15/day on coffee when I can spend half of that at Timmies? I buy discounted gift cards online to pay for my purchases bringing the average cost of that latte down to ~$3.60. I am a member of the my starbucks rewards program where every 12 drinks you buy gets you a free one. Based on my buying habbits, that brings the cost of my latte down to ~$3.25. I check my starbucks app to see if there are any promo codes out there I can take advantage of. Finally I walk to work almost every single day which would be a little over $5 every day I would spend on transportation. That last part is just me telling myself what I need to so I can sleep better at night but hey $3.25 isn't so bad. There was a time when I was even ordering short drinks so it would work out to be slightly cheaper but now that I am working, I get the talls. I am movin' on up as they say...

Halloween nails

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 23:33:00 +0000

I love Halloween! It's fun to not have any inhibitions for one day. I tried out the second skull makeup youtube video and it went well. Not quite as good as the video but I was happy enough with it. See below for the Halloween nails I am sporting this Halloween.

Skull Makeup

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 19:23:00 +0000

I am planning on being a skeleton for Halloween and I have the following youtube videos bookmarked for them. They are popular but not the first results that show up when you look up skull makeup so I thought it was worth the share. I am leaning towards trying to combine the second and third looks.

Conair Curl Secret - Does this scare any one else?

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 03:22:00 +0000

Beauty and technology are going way too fast for me. I saw the Curlsecret being demoed this on CityTVs Cityline demoed and that was when I truly felt old. I thought I was young and hip and with it. Clearly not because I had no idea this product existed and even more it scared me. Each time the models hair disappeared in the apparatus, I was scared that it would be eaten and not come out alive.

The idea is your hair gets wound up in the device and it gets curled in there. Good in that you just let it do it's thing and no need to wear gloves and all those other pesky things that comes with curling wands. But as somebody that's gotten her hair tangled and ripped in Conairs Instyler, I feel like this is another one that would do the same. I think it would work best for people with silky hair and not those with thick curly hair AKA me.

Cheap last minute kids halloween costume

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 23:26:00 +0000

I was at walmart doing some grocery shopping (yes I love the supercenter one stop shopping formats) when I decided I would check out the Halloween section to see if there was any non slutty costumes I could find for Halloween. On the way there, I happened across this little boys hoodie which I think would work well for a kids Halloween costume. It wasn't even in their Halloween section! It's a regular hoodie. If they had an adults version, I would have bought one for regular wear. They also had a blue shark version and another animal with hors but I can't quite remember. It's a little hard to see but those eyes stand up and are 3D.

I actually bought the super extra large one as a backup Halloween costume for myself. Yes I was able to squeeze into it though it's pretty uncomfortable in the armpits

Easy peasy oven roasted sweet potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 22:55:00 +0000

I love sweet potato fries at restaurants and have tried making them at home without much success till now! They always came out a little on the mushy side and not as crispy as I like. Leaving me to buying them at restaurants and fast food joints to satisfy my craving.

What did I do differently this time? I cut them into smaller squares and made sure they were spread out in one layer on the baking tray even if it meant having to two batches in the oven.

First up, I bought some sweet potatoes at the local Asian grocery store only to cut in and be surprised that it wasn't an yellowy/orange color as I was used to. Google to the rescue confirmed it was still a sweet potato...possibly a yam? That's right, google wasn't quite conclusive on what it was. With a little hesitation, I figured I already had bought it so I might as well cook it. I cut it into little squares as seen below, tossed it in some olive oil, salt & pepper.

Then, I spread it in two trays with enough left over for another tray. I made sure not to crowd the tray though it may look like it's crowded below. Note that there is only one layer without more potatoes overlapping each other.

I forgot to take pictures of the end result. Also, I munched through them pretty fast along with my family but it was crispy and delicious. I ate most of them alone sauceless, that's how good it was. I also enjoyed a glass of wine with it :D

Dollarama finds

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:17:00 +0000

If it's not already a past time of yours, it should be because you never know what you might find. First up is this magnifying mirror x2 with this amazing border. I am debating painting the frame black but am going to hold off till we have a permanent place because I don't know what my long term makeup décor will be. Second up is Nicole OPI nail polish is hard-kourt fashionista for $3. Considering these easily retail for $10+, it was a no brainer. Also there which I am not sure about was a nail stamping kit. For $3, I figured it was a cheap way to try it out.

$3 Mirror that looks more expensive that is

Nail stamping kit and Nicole by OPI nail polish, $3 each

NOTD - Wet N Wild Fergie - A024 - Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:25:00 +0000

I bought this during my trip to California for $5. I can't say I've seen it in Toronto but doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Things are just so much easier to find in the states and not to mention cheaper. It looks like it's a black nail polish with specks of glitter however once you put it on, you realize it is a clear nail polish with little black and gold flecks. What you see below is 4 coats! I loved it at first but then felt a little weird as the day on. I think I am going to do this again but on top of an orange nail polish for Halloween. How amazing would that look?

4 coats in

different lighting

looks so pretty in the bottle

with flash

Cheap Thrills

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 21:39:00 +0000

Went to the local Salvation Army on the way to visiting my parents and picked up a few things. I love the one that's by my parents because I don't think I've ever walked out of there empty handed. There are always one or 2 unique things I pick up. I have a shopping problem and it's a good way to satisfy the need to shop without going broke.

First up is this top for $6 which looks plain jane but check out the back. That's what I am talking about....

This purse is something I can use for special occasions or as a regular day to day purse seeing as how it still has straps. This cost me a whopping $3.

Le Chateau Dress that I can wear to weddings or with a cardigan and leggings in the winter. $6

Winter jacket that was half off for $10. I like that there's a belt to cinch the waist because I have big hips, I find if my waist is not cinched, then I look like a big blob.

Finally, miscellaneous yarn ranging from $1-$2. I want to knit a scarf again but don't want to spend $20 buying yarn from the store. For that price, I might as well just buy a scarf from the store.

Total spent: $33.95. Not too shabby.

I heart California

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 21:15:00 +0000

I am sure people that live there can complain about the not so warm temperatures and the heavy winds but as a Canadian from up north where I've already turned on my heater at night, California this time of year was amaze-balls.

First off shopping is amazing. I stopped by the local CVS and bought my Revlon Whipped Foundation for $10 ($14 with a $4 off coupon) which is pretty darn amazing considering Shoppers has them for $19.99 at regular price. Even with the sale, I wouldn't be able to get it for the same price as in the US.

Here are some pictures from the trip....

First off, did you know that they have ipads at the pearson airport waiting area! You can even order food on there and have it delivered to your table! Pretty darn sweet.

Next up is the view from our brunch spot, Schooner or Later.

This was our sweet ride for the weekend. I've always wanted a mini cooper for a car.

However, the inside took a little getting used to. I didn't like that the control for the window was not on the windows as expected!

This was the sweet view from our resort. See that? Yup, that's the beach within walking distance!

Last was a stop at the Rubys Diner at the end of the Balboa Pier. Had a nice apple pie a la mode while we enjoyed the view.

NOTD --> First time doing an accent nail

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 03:36:00 +0000

Well folks, I did it! I tried out a subtle accent nail and I like the look! I think I like it because it's very subtle and a good way to ease into it without being overwhelmed by one nail looking drastically different than the rest. Accent nail virgin no more!

I had to do two coats of L'Oreals The Sparklicious 803 to get the effect on the right. I wonder if I can just buy glitter from Michaels and achieve the same thing. I don't like that I can't control the placement of the shapes. There's the control freak in me coming out.

Off to Cailfornia for the weekend! Yay! Here's hoping the mani survives the weekend.

October goals

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 18:34:00 +0000

Goal setting is supposed to somehow make you more productive in life or so they say. I would actually have to agree because I remember when I would do my monthly spending budget on here and I would for the most part follow it.

So here is what I am trying to achieve for this month.

JOB --> Apply to at least 2 jobs a day (including the weekend) which means I need to apply to at least 62 (31 days x 2) jobs this month.
With that new nail polish post yesterday, I want to try out new things with my nails. I want to take better care of it. I have started becoming a bit of a slob because I think, hey you don't have a job, who are you getting pretty for. Seriously, I am now wearing a tank top with holes in it!
Reach out to at least one person and say hi. I am bad @ keeping in touch and want to improve in this area.
Keep spending on clothes to a min --> only allowed $50! Eeek....not sure I can do this considering I am itching for a new winter coat but I shall try.

L'oreal The Sparklicious Top Coat

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 17:12:00 +0000

This beauty right here was bought at Rexall for $5. I haven't bought a new nail polish in a while seeing as how I am jobless but I couldn't resist at that price and how pretty it was. I did do a quick swatch on my nail and found it wore thin as in only two sparkles made it onto my nail. If you look at that picture of my thumb below, you will see that only two sparkles made it on with one coat. It is definitely something I see myself applying several coats of to get to my desired level of sparkliness.

I've always wanted to try that accent nail trend that everybody is rocking but I haven't been brave enough to do it. I think with this, it is subtle enough for me to try.

I heart Aziz Ansari

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:32:00 +0000

I love Aziz Ansari. I think he's hilarious and I bought tickets for his show this past Friday at the Sony Center in Toronto. He did new material which was pretty exciting because we have seen his old bit but you could tell it was new material as it was a little rough around the edges. He stuttered over some of his material but it was still pretty darn hilarious. I wish he didn't focus so much on relationships and did other observations as well. & what happened to his cousin!?

This picture right here is form my camera....If you've ever seen his show, you know he does a bit where he lets the audience take as many pictures of him as they want before he tells them to put it away.

Jobless and a little frustrated

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:04:00 +0000

I did this amazing thing last year --> Took a year off and moved to the US to be with the hubby and now we're back. I figured I am young, if there's a time to do this, this is it. I thought when I came back, I would have no problem finding a job. After all, I have experience, am smart and have a few networks. Well let me tell you it's not panning out as expected. I've applied to over a 100 jobs in the span of 2 months with only 2 call backs from companies. The first one didn't pan out....I knew that during the interview, I didn't answer the questions well. But I had one last week and I thought I knocked it out of the park. Seriously looking back, there is nothing I would have done differently and I was expecting that they would call me back yesterday but nothing :( I seriously never wear my emotions on my sleeve but I cried yesterday because I felt worthless. I seriously spent hours just lying in bed wallowing and watching hours of beauty youtube videos.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my year off but now I am feeling depressed and getting discouraged. I know the answer is to not be discouraged and just keep on trucking but man it's hard. My goal is to at least apply to 2 jobs a day and spend time catering my cover letter and resume to the job but wondering if I just need to fire them out instead with a generic cover letter and resume. I've also been told I need to network and I've networked with everybody I can. & plus I am not that kind of social person!!! So I've exhausted my network and don't know where else to go besides applying online.

/end bitchy jobless rant.

My negative GymPact experience - Stay Away

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:10:00 +0000

If you know me then you know I am a sucker for making a little beer money on the side. So when I learned about GymPact I figured I had nothing to loose and everything to gain by signing up. The idea behind GymPact is you essentially make a bet that you are going to workout X number of days of the week and each day you don't make it, you loose out on $5 or more and each day you make it, you gain from all the others that don't make it out there (their website says typically $0.30/workout). Sure that's nothing but I figured it would add up and plus I don't have to do anything extra since I already work out. Plus they emphasized on their website that they had runkeeper integration so I figured sweet since I walk so much now that we don't have a car there's no way I am going to miss my weekly pact. I typically walk an hour almost daily!

Well it's all great in theory but here is my experience with GymPact. First week is apparently a try out week where you figure out the kinks of gympact and give 'er a try. This would be great if I had known it was a try out week. No where did it indicate this on the website. I had to google and that's what the interwebs told me. So can you imagine here I am doing my workouts for the week and nothing is really changing in my profile. So anyways now it's on to week 2 and I am still doing my work outs regularly except for whatever reason my runkeeper isn't syncing with GymPact properly. I send them an email to try and find out what's going on and nada. I send a follow up email and still nada. I eventually was able to get it to sync on the 3rd device I tried. But get this, I get a notification saying my runkeeper workout didn't count with no explanation why even though it met all the criteria on the website. And the worst part was I couldn't log another workout for the day to compensate. Thankfully I set my pact to working out 6 days a week so my 1 day buffer was taken. I sent an email to GymPact asking them why my runkeeper workout didn't count and are you surprised that there wasn't a response? Well week 2 is over and now we're onto week 3! Except no indication of any money being earned. Another email off to GymPact saying if I don't hear from them soon I would cancel my account. My email it seems fell on deaf ears. And well I did what I said I would do which was try to cancel my account. Their website doesn't let you cancel your account but it does let you take a break from your pact so that's what I did.

So if you're thinking of joining GymPact, NAY I say. If you google, you'll find plenty of others complain about their lack of customer service. However when you miss a workout, they are quick to debit that $5 from your credit card right away. No thank you.

UPDATE - where have I been and all that jazz

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:55:00 +0000

Well I haven't posted for what looks like over half a year. What has happened? Life I guess. Here is a quick summary what has happened over the last half a year when I did not post. Changed jobs, got married, changed jobs again, moved to another country! and quit my job.

So yeah a lot. Now I am living the life of susie home maker for a few months before we move back to Toronto and I must say that I am rather enjoying life. I feel like I have almost a clean slate with lots of time to reflect and take it easy before entering real world again.

Will I post regularly? Unsure but I do have a fair bit of time on my hands so only time will tell....

Settling into a routine

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 22 May 2012 01:50:00 +0000

In the past 2 weeks, I feel like a gazillion things have changed in my life. Safe to say my eating/workout habits got pushed to the side. But now that things are streamlining again, I was able to spend the day on me. I love sundays/'day before work' days where I often don't go out and do the following.

Making lunch to take to work
Doing my nails
Pampering my hair (protein & moisture treatment)
Washing my makeup brushes
Laundry
Working it out (unfortunately I went to the gym after it closed & drove home right after. Apparently holiday hours didn't click for me

I like to stay in and enjoy just vegging and taking care of me!

Making strides

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:50:00 +0000

I used to run daily about five years ago. I wanted to loose weight and didn't know much about fitness so I would do as much cardio as I could. My knees would hurt every day but I kept doing it. Eventually I got too busy with school and stopped. Now I am older and wiser. I try and do 1 session of cardio and 1 session of weights a week if I can manage it. Some weeks I do more, others I do less but I try not to beat myeslf up over it. I do curse myself when I am trying to do something after a long break and I find it hard because I've already lost the strength I worked hard to get.

Yesterday, I ran on the treadmill since it was still a little cold out there and was able to do 12 mins @ 6.5 & 18 mins @ 7 and the usual 5min warmup and 5 min cool down. Considering I would 'run' @ 5 before and think I was doing well for myself, I am happy with my little accomplishment.

Calming my skin down

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:51:00 +0000

I've been using dermatologist prescribed Tactuo gel which is Canadas version of the Epiduo gel for about half a year nightly on top of lotion. I figured after half a year, I could now transition to using it first and then putting the lotion on after.

Since I stopped taking my anti biotics, I've been seeing breakouts again though not quite at the level if I wasn't using the Tactuo gel. I figured if I transitioned to using the Tactuo gel first, it would be more effective. Well it could be more effective but boy was my face not ready for it. My face is a red mess right now after about a week of using it first. I am trying to calm it down without completely stopping the Tactuo gel because I felt like it was helping my acne. I am also holding off on trying my new foundations till my skin calms down. Cross your fingers for me...

MAC face & body woes

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:08:00 +0000

I wrote earlier that I purchased a few new foundations to try out. I don't think face & body is going to make the cut. It has good buildable coverage but you really need to build it. And I think I am aggravating my face with all the 'building' I am doing. Being on Tactuo has made my face extra sensitive and my face has been extra red this past week. On top of that, I look like a super oil slick by the end of the day. I want to try it a few more times before returning it but my impressions after a week of use is this isn't for me.

I am also a little nervous about returning a used product to MAC. I did ask before I purchased it and they told me it wouldn't be a problem returning the product w/in 30days if it didn't work for me but I've never done this before. I feel a little guilty returning something that I used but I don't want to force myself to use something that isn't working for me.

Tips for the gym

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:07:00 +0000

I am all for cute outfits @ the gym. I shamelessly admit I have spent more than I should at Lulu but please do not wear pants that show your asscrack. It's one thing when you squat and your ass shows, it's another thing when you start running or do any sort of movement and your pants start drooping & your ass shows. Worse is when you decide to be at the front of the class and everybody behind you is subjected to it.

Yup, that's my little rant...

More skinny cravings

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:07:00 +0000

I don't normally shop at Zara. While I've always liked their clothing, for some reason I always thought it was pricey and wouldn't bother going in there. Yesterday I was at The Eaton Center with time to kill before meeting a friend and went in. I was surprised at how reasonably priced they were. Not quite H&M but probably cheaper than Banana Republic.

While roaming the store, they added to my skinny jeans/pants wants that I am looking for this summer. They had a pair of leggings with two zippers on them similar to the F21 post below but not in my size :( I liked it so much that I stopped by Fairview on my way home to see if they had it but no luck there as well. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Here are a few other things that caught my eye....

If only I was ballsy enough to wear white pants

Wish this came in the material as the white pants so I could wear it to work

ANTM British Invasion

noreply@blogger.com (Rags2Riches) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:30:00 +0000

It's a little embarrassing but yes, I still watch Americas Next Top Model. I actually tried watching an episode earlier this season but couldn't sit through the whole episode. I thought I finally kicked the habbit but like a true addict, I caught myself watching another episode. They were at Toronto's Fashion Week so it was pretty interesting to watch and recognize places. i.e. their photo shoot was in the Distillery District....In true Tyra style, the shoot was tacky as ever with maple leafs stuck over their naughty bits with maple syrup poured over them. Really who still takes this show seriously?