Publisher: William Morrow
Released: 2015
Source: Library
Rating: Recommend, Read it!

Description:

An amazing talent makes her debut with this stylish psychological thriller—with the compelling intrigue of The Silent Wife and Turn of Mind and the white-knuckle pacing of Before I Go to Sleep —in which a woman suffering from bipolar disorder cannot remember if she murdered her friend during a breakdown.

Dana Catrell is horrified to learn she was the last person to see her neighbor Celia alive. Suffering from a devastating mania, a result of her bipolar disorder, Dana finds that there are troubling holes in her memory, including what happened on the afternoon of Celia's death. As evidence starts to point in her direction, Dana struggles to clear her name before her own demons win out.

Another week, reveals new makeup products on my radar. This week I wanted to mention 3 new makeup reveals, and one product that I sampled and now have on my wishlist. Let start with the Conceal and Define Foundation by Revolution Beauty. The Conceal and Define concealer is one of my favorite concealers, and I would like to give the foundation a try. I have a feeling that it will have a doe foot applicator similar to the concealer, and I like a quick application when getting ready in the morning. While the concealer isn't too full coverage, I expect the same from the foundation. I'm hoping for a medium, buildable, full coverage foundation. This product launches on September 5th.

The second product I wanted to mention was the Tarte Holiday Pineapple palette. It's been awhile since I purchased any Tarte products, and I thought this palette looked interesting. I love the four blushes, Tarte has some of my favorite blushes. The eyeshadow side has a variety of shades that I would wear. The palette does look bulky, shaped as a pineapple but I do think it would travel well in the sturdy package. This picture was taken from Trendmood on Instagram. Apparently, it was spotted in stores. We're about to start seeing all the holiday releases. Get ready!

The VDL Lumilayer primer is new on my wishlist. Top Box Circle offered me a sample and I gave it a try. It's too soon to recommend because it was a really small sample, but enough to peak my interest. I was only able to get one wear out of the sample, it felt really moisturizing and luminous on the skin. It gave me a healthy glow and I really liked wearing it under my foundation. I'm new to VDL but I have seen it in store at my local mall.

The last mention this week is the Jaclyn Hill Morphe Brush Collection. I wasn't interested at first, because I thought it would be sold bundled and I don't need that many new brushes. The Canadian dollar makes every thing more expensive and 215$ for the master collection wasn't in my budget. Now that I see they are being sold separately, I do have my eye on some of the eye brushes and the bronzer brush. I wonder if these are limited edition or not.

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara VS Lancome Monsieur Big Mascara

Color Correcting Illuminating Full Coverage Cream + Anti-Aging Hydrating Serum + SPF 50+ UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum Physical Sunscreen

If you've read a few of my reviews, you know I like a glowy, dewy base. I typically have normal to dry skin and I'm not really looking for high coverage. I thought I would try out the It Cosmetics CC Illumination Cream to see what all the hype was about. I was leaving for vacation, and the added SPF 50 was an added plus. I don't normally wear a daily SPF, and thought this would be a great alternative.

While I like to change up the products that I'm using on a daily basis, there are some products that I don't tend to change out often. These are the products that I don't think twice about, and grab them instinctively when doing my makeup. At the moment, these are the products that are consistently in my routine.

For a facial mist, I've been using the Garnier SkinActive Soothing Facial Mist*. I started using this while I was on vacation because it travelled better than my Pearlessence facial mist that is housed in a glass bottle. This Garnier facial mist has a nice nozzle and sprays evenly on my face. It has a slight rose scent which I do like, and normally I'm not a fan of rose scented products. It is very soothing on my dry skin, and I would repurchase. I also like to foil my shadows with this product.

Goodreads Description:

A New City A New Start. Same Old Demons.

Your flight is now boarding! Join Alex Sinclair for a life-changing, trans-Atlantic journey. London Belongs to Me is a coming-of-age story about friendship, following your dreams, and learning when to let go … and when to hang on.

Meet Alex, a recent college graduate from Tallahassee, Florida in love with London, pop culture, and comic cons. It’s not easy being twenty-one-years-old, and Alex has never been the most popular girl. She’s an outsider, a geeky fangirl … with dreams of becoming a playwright in a city she’s loved from afar, but never visited. Fleeing America after a devastating betrayal, she believes London is where she’ll be understood, where she belongs. But Alex’s past of panic attacks and broken relationships is hard to escape. When her demons team up with a jealous rival determined to destroy her new British life, Alex begins to question everything: her life-long dream, her new friends, and whether London is where she truly belongs. 

Makeup, Makeup, Makeup; new releases are constantly announced and these are the top products I wanted to mention this week.  Laura Mercier released the Translucent Loose Setting Powder Glow. I do love a nice radiant finish and thought this powder could be something that I would pick up at some point. I have dry skin and at times I do like to set my face, especially if my foundation feels tacky. This powder would take away the tackiness and still leave a radiant finish. Often, I'm hesitant to set my face because I don't want to look matte. There is also a brush that has been released with this powder, and it looks so soft. The precise cuts seems like it would be so effortless to brush the powder on your face. It's expensive, but still very unique looking.

It's really hard not to love an affordable beauty product that you love. I wanted to put together a round up of beauty companies that I know about, and most of them I've tried as well to share with readers.

Colourpop

Colourpop has a wide range of products. They were initially known for their Super Shock Shadows and have extensively grown their line of products to include; pressed eyeshadow, foundation, concealer, setting powders, blush, bronzer, highlighters and more. I like Colourpop because they have reasonable price points, and great quality products. Shipping to Canada is minimum 9.99$ but you do have to be careful about customs. It's been hit or miss for me, but it is a chance that you will have to take. If I had to recommend one thing from Colourpop, it would be their eyeshadow palettes.

Shop Miss A

Shop Miss A is the only online store that I haven't tried. They have their own line of AOA products. Since, I haven't tried them I can't fully recommend them but I do suggest that you check them out. I've heard enough about them that my interest is peaked.

The Newtrals Vs Neutrals palette really caught on a few years ago, right around the time Too Face launched their Peach palette and the Makeup Revolution palette was seen as a good alternative. I really enjoyed the Newtrals Vs Neutrals palette and was excited to purchase this version 2 palette. As I've mentioned before, the Reloaded palettes by Revolution Beauty (formerly Makeup Revolution) are very affordable and some of their most popular palettes. I ordered this Newtrals 2 palette along with the Fever (here) palette.

Rating: 5/5
Source: Personal Copy
Publisher: Dancing Cat Books
Released: 2017
Pages: 231


Goodreads Description:

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing "factories."

Thoughts:

I picked up The Marrow Thieves because it was short listed for Canada Reads 2018. I was really happy to see an Indigenous book in the selections. I've read alot of books by Native American writers but this was my first Young Adult/Dystopian/Indigenous read. I wasn't sure what I would think about it, but I went in with no expectations. I haven't been reading alot of Young Adult books lately because I don't seem to relate to them and was hesitant about this book. As I started to read this book, I was really drawn into the concept and world. Climate change has wreaked havoc on the world, and people in North American have lost the ability to dream which has led to madness. When it is discovered that Indigenous people are the only ones who still have the ability to dream, they're hunted down. Their bone marrow is harvested and used to cure those who are dreamless. It's clear that Indigenous people are not considered human, they're a commodity, they're objects- used to benefit others.

Top: Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter, Too Faced Tutti Frutti Palette. Middle: Revolution Beauty Renaissance Flick Eyeliner Bottom: Urban Decay Aphrodisiac Palette, Too Faced Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer)

Makeup Radar is going to be a new series on my blog where I talk about new makeup on my radar. This doesn't have to be new releases only, it can be just new makeup that I've discovered and want to talk to you about. I hope you like this series and I look forward to discussing these products with you.

Charlotte Tilbury has come to Sephora, and I'm excited because it has always seemed like a brand I couldn't easily get my hands on. Did you hear about it coming to Sephora? It's already on the Sephora website, and I will check my local Sephora to see if it is in store as well. This summer the Hollywood Flawless Filter (here) has been constantly talked about, and I would love to try it out. I'm all about a dewy glowy base and I love the doe foot applicator. From what I've seen this can be worn under foundation, or on the cheekbones to give you a glow.

I've seen the Maybelline Total Temptations Eyeshadow + Highlight palette around since it launched, but I didn't really think much of it. In all honesty, I don't own alot of 'drugstore' eyeshadow palettes. I own alot of affordable palettes, but not ones that I can get at the drugstore. I was provided this palette for review, and I'm happy I gave it a try. I don't think I would have tried this otherwise. These shadows were better than I expected, they're not the most pigmented shadow but they are creamy, blendable, and long lasting.

I made another purchase through Revolution Beauty formerly Makeup Revolution, and here are the products I picked out. I love hauling from this company, because the products are great and they're so affordable. Shipping to Canada doesn't take very long, and the shipping cost is not exorbitant. I would love if they would come into our drugstores and I could pick them up in store. That would be amazing.

The Zoella Splash Botanics range hit stores at the end of July and I was given an opportunity to try two products out. The Zoella Quench Me Body Sorbet and the So Soft Lip Oil. Immediately, I thought the packaging was very cute and I couldn't wait to try them out. The lip oil really intrigued me since I hadn't tried one before. I'm familiar with Zoella the Youtuber, but I never followed her or was a fan. I was curious about her beauty products and didn't want to pass on them. I didn't wait long to use the So Soft Lip Oil. It has a very nice tear drop applicator that holds a nice amount of product. Applying it to the lips feels very nice and it has a slight cherry scent that I enjoyed. I continued to use the lip oil during my vacation and really liked the texture on my lips. It wasn't sticky or bothersome, it felt smooth and glossy. I will say that I don't think it did much to hydrate my lips. It quickly wore away, and my lips would just feel bare. Typically, a lip balm would last longer and feel more hydrating which is what I expected with this oil. Maybe it was just my own expectations of what a lip oil would do. 

Top: Becca Skin Love Foundation, Morphe Jaclyn Hill Vault Collection. Middle: Cheekbone Beauty Liquid Lipsticks Bottom: Karity Rose All Day Palette, Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation

Don't you just wish you can buy every product that you have an interest in? That would be wonderful wouldn't it? In the meantime, I have to add them to a list, and keep them in mind. I'm a person who loves to try new products, I love testing them out and deciding if they work for me. I've recently been more into foundations and complexion products. I'm enjoying lightweight foundation and these are the two that I've added to my list. The Becca Skin Love Weightless Blur Foundation (here) has peaked my interest. I have never tried a Becca foundation but I have this impression that their complexion products would be amazing. It claims to have "A weightless, medium buildable coverage foundation with a velvety, natural finish that mimics the look of smooth, healthy skin" and I think I would really enjoy this. As we move into the colder months, I will probably keep my interests in a lighter foundation. I don't need alot of coverage, I'm mostly looking for an even complexion and a base. I also have the Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation (here) on my radar. It has similar claims "a natural, matte finish and medium, buildable coverage that's waterproof and sweat-resistant." I'm okay with a matte finish, as long as it doesn't feel drying on my skin. I did try the Dior Nude Skin Glowing Foundation (review here) and it has remained a favorite of mine. Both of these are available now.

First, let me tell you I'm not a skincare expert. I have normal to dry skin and don't struggle with skin issues. I am getting older, and I've been wanting to learn more about skincare in general. Recently, I started using The Body Shop's Youth Gentle Foaming Wash* and I immediately enjoyed the instant foaming of the cleanser and the soft pleasant scent you smell when applying it to your face. I wasn't sure how it would feel on the skin or if it would work for me, but I was optimistic about trying it.

This Youth Gentle Foaming wash is enriched with plant stem cells "Edelweiss from the Italian Alps, Criste marine and sea holly from the Brittany Coast and community trade organic babassu oil from Brazil." When using this face wash, you are left feeling refreshed and clean without feeling like you have gone too far and stripped your skin. It easily rinses off, and I don't feel like I have any left over residue. My skin feels hydrated and very smooth. Since using this wash, I haven't had any issues with my skin and I would continue to use it.

The Revolution Beauty Reloaded palettes are some of their more popular palettes, and they recently released a few more palettes in the range. The Fever palette was part of the initial launch of these palettes. I recently reviewed the newer Velvet Rose (Soft Glam Dupe) here. These palettes retail for 7$ US and the pigmentation and blendability in these palettes are very nice. I do prefer their Revolution Pro palettes over these Reloaded palettes for pigmentation, but the reloaded palettes can definitely give you great eye looks. For a drugstore palette, you can't go wrong. This palette reminds me of the Urban Decay Naked Heat palette. It has more shades but the overall colour story looks the same to me. If I was travelling and not wanting to chance to break my Urban Decay palette, I would pack the Fever palette. Urban Decay's palette has more pigmentation but you can achieve similar eye looks.

While on vacation, these are the three products that I couldn't live without and would pack with me on my next trip. The biggest surprise for me was the Tarte Ladies Night palette which I wasn't originally in love with. I purchased this around Christmas 2017 and thought it was an okay palette, this vacation I couldn't get enough of it. I wore it most days and loved the ease of having the face products with eye shadows in one palette.  It allowed me to put together a complete look quickly, and the shades were great for summer. The bronzer, highlighter, and blush I wore even on my "no makeup, makeup" days. The products lasted all day long, and I had no issues with the formula. I believe this was Limited Edition but if you see it available for purchase, I would recommend picking it up.

Synopsis:

Anne Morrow was the quiet daughter, the studious daughter. Her father was the US Ambassador to Mexico and she often stood outside the spotlight, and let her sister take the lead. When she returned home from college during Christmas break, she had the pleasure to meet Colonel Charles Lindberg. Lindberg was sought by everyone, he was the first aviator to succeed flying over the Atlantic and everyone wanted to be around him. Anne’s father was ecstatic to have him meet the family. Her sister was encouraged to entertain Charles for the evening, Anne was to tag along. The family was shocked to find Charles seeking out Anne. Anne herself couldn’t understand it, but she kept noticing him staring at her, and examining her. Their marriage would play out in the press, the media would follow them everywhere, and Anne Morrow Lindberg could no longer be the quiet daughter standing in the corner.

July was a bittersweet month. I went on a two week vacation to my hometown; I really needed the break and it was long overdue but I also had my Mom's funeral. She passed away in March and as a family we put off the funeral until the summer to give every one a chance to travel. For months, I've been stressing about the funeral and wondering how I will feel on that day. Now that it's done, I have a sense of relief. The day went well, the church was full and we were able to carry out my Mom's wishes. We brought her home. Being in my hometown without my Mom was hard, it felt like we left her. We were all here, and she wasn't. I missed her phone calls so much. The first time I walked into the family home- it was hard. Grief is such a hard thing to go through, and so many things have surprised me.

Before my vacation, I was feeling very overwhelmed and the break from my every day life was needed. We had beautiful weather, and spent most days outside. I didn't get a lot of blog content scheduled, but that's okay. I'll catch up when I can. I was satisfied with my content for July. I kept up with my schedule and saw a growth in numbers. I hope to continue in August. I would like to analyze my content more and see what is doing the best in terms of content. I'm very open to constructive criticism, so please leave me a comment of send an email, if you wish.