Reading is something that I've always loved, and when the fall season rolls around I'm always that much more excited to sit down and read in the evenings. There is no doubt that I'm a mood reader, and fall is my favorite season. I wanted to jump back into blogging with a few Indigenous reads, if you're new to my blog I am Indigenous and I'm always on the lookout for new Indigenous reads. I make a conscious effort to seek out new authors or new-to-me books, and I found some great reads this year. This post includes fiction reads, but you can find some great non-fiction reads on my blog as well. Let's dive in:

 

 Sigma beauty recently released a new collection called the “Ambiance Collection” a “sizzling sun-inspired collection.” This collection consisted of an eyeshadow palette, highlighter palette, five makeup brushes set with a beauty bag, and two lip glosses. The Sigma Ambiance palette was an immediate buy for me. I’m a neutral lover and the shades in this palette really caught my attention. I did not pick up any of the other products in the collection but they do look beautiful to me.

If you’re in Canada Sigma Beauty can be purchased through The Bay and they had this palette a few days before Sigma officially released the collection. As a Canadian, it was nice to order a product locally rather than pay customs or wait for it to come available here. Thank you to Sigma and The Bay for making this happen. As soon as I opened the palette, I knew this would be a perfect palette for me. The shades are absolutely stunning and I really like Sigma’s eyeshadow formula. I also own their Cor De Rosa palette which I have still not reviewed but I will soon. The Ambiance palette has a nice range of tones and textures; the mattes are so easy to blend and build and the shimmers are gorgeous. I’m someone who prefers both mattes and shimmers, I struggle to create all matte looks. This is a palette that inspires me and I keep grabbing for this one. 

Goodreads Description:

Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team of investigators are called into the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montréal and yet a world away. Jane Neal, a long-time resident of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more but Gamache smells something foul this holiday season…and is soon certain that Jane died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

With this award-winning first novel, Louise Penny introduces an engaging hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces--and this series--with power, ingenuity, and charm.

It's been awhile since a Morphe palette caught my eye but I couldn't resist the Pretty in Peach palette. I really do enjoy 9 pan palettes, I prefer a small curated palette rather than a huge palette that's hard to store and a bitt overwhelming with similar shades. I picked up this palette through Sephora Canada for 16$. This palette is great for summer and I really do love the shades. 

Tarte has some of my favourite palettes and products. They're not talked about as much in the Youtube beauty community, but Tarte still has my heart. This 6 pan palette really caught my attention on the Sephora Canada site, and it actually reminded me of the Natasha Denona Camel palette which has been on my wishlist for a while. I can't say if the shades are dupes for each other, I really don't think they are but the packaging and shades reminded me of that palette. I've really come to appreciate a nicely curated smaller palette. This 6 pan palette has the perfect amount of shades where I can create a full look, and I have options with this palette. This is a great palette when I don't want to overthink a look, I can grab this and get my makeup done quickly. 

 

Viseart Cosmetics has really caught my attention this year and their palettes have really become staples in my everyday collection. This Minxette Etendu is a beautiful bronze warm palette. If you like a one-and-done palette that has all the shades you need to create a look, you will love this palette. It has a cream matte, a shimmery inner corner and it has a deep brown to darken up the outer corner. This would also make a great travel palette since you won’t need to grab a different palette to complete the look. I also have the Natasha Denona Bronze palette and I like them both. The Minxette still stands on its own and I like the range of shades. When I use the bronze palette, I have to pull in a different palette to complete a look. The Minxette has a lot of depth to the shadows and the mattes blend beautifully. 

 

Goodreads Description:

The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history—in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. 

Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other. In the process, King refashions old stories about historical events and figures, takes a sideways look at film and pop culture, relates his own complex experiences with activism, and articulates a deep and revolutionary understanding of the cumulative effects of ever-shifting laws and treaties on Native peoples and lands. 

This is a book both timeless and timely, burnished with anger but tempered by wit, and ultimately a hard-won offering of hope -- a sometimes inconvenient, but nonetheless indispensable account for all of us, Indian and non-Indian alike, seeking to understand how we might tell a new story for the future

 

Have you heard of a low buy/no-buy year? This is something that I came across on Youtube, and I recently read a book by Cait Flanders called The Year of Less and I'm really intrigued. The idea is to really pay attention to your shopping habits and try to spend less. Before purchasing the next thing you've decided you need, take a step back and see if you have something similar or might change your mind about the item. I've done spending freezes before, and it really helped to reset my brain from impulse purchasing. The longest I've gone was 30 days. I am an impulse shopper, especially when it comes to makeup and beauty items. At the same time, I also get overwhelmed by stuff and love to declutter and give away items I'm not using. I want to end this cycle and be a more conscious consumer. 

 

Book Description:

In this powerhouse of a novel, Kristin Hannah explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—children, careers, bills, chores—even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then a deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defence attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a soldier, she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-coloured version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own—for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honour, and ultimately, hope.

Book Description:

One of my favourite parts of blogging is the journaling aspect for me. I love to go back and revisit my more personal posts. I wanted to bring back my life update type posts. Yes, I'm working from home and life has slowed down quite a bit but at the end of the day, life is still happening. This morning was freezing, taking my son to school. It was -27 degrees celsius, and you know it's cold when the snow under your feet is crunching as you walk. If you live in a cold climate, you know exactly what I'm talking about. This cold is sticking around for a few more days, I believe. 

My January Boxycharm arrived, and I'm excited to share my box with you. Boxycharm is a monthly subscription box, and they do ship to Canada. They have different levels of boxes, and I'm subscribed to the base box. As a Canadian, I pay 5 dollars extra for shipping, and it comes to 30$ US per month. I like the variety of items I receive, the value of each box and I'm able to try brands that I normally wouldn't try. This month I'm mostly excited to try the Ciate London Velvet Eyeshadow palette. This month's theme for the box was Fresh Start. Let's get into what was in my box. 

 

The Urban Decay Naked Honey palette launched in 2020 and comes with 12 matte, metallic and shimmer golden neutral shades. This palette consists of "classic golds, warm ambers, and rich chocolate browns." and was inspired by 70's glam. While this palette is not vegan, it is paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, and cruelty-free. The included brush is vegan and cruelty-free and really is a decent brush for eyeshadow application. It is housed in sturdy plastic packaging and it has a nice mirror as well. 

 

Beakey sponges came to my attention at the beginning of the pandemic when I needed sponges, but I wasn't going into stores to pick up any products. I hear a few things about these sponges and decided it was time to try them. I ordered them from Amazon, and at the time I had to wait a few weeks because Amazon was prioritizing what items they were shipping out. My initial impressions were that the sponges were a nice size and expanded nicely. I've been testing them for months and decided it was time to review them. 

 

The Morphe 9V Vintage Rose palette is a 9 pan palette that consists of dusty rose shades. I love these type of shades, and I picked this palette up quite a few months ago. During the beginning of the pandemic, I started working from home and didn't wear much makeup. I have a backlog of makeup I need to review and test out. This palette is a favourite of mine, I think Morphe did a great job with the formula and the shade selection. If I compare this with their previous 9 pan palettes, I do think the formula has been improved. 

 

 

The Natasha Denona Peak palette was included in my November 2020 Boxycharm base box. This palette is a Boxycharm exclusive but you may be able to find it around on the web. This palette is a 5 pan palette "featuring Natasha's essential everyday warm-toned eye pigments that she mixes and matches from her favourite palette." These shades are not new to the Natasha Denona lineup, they've actually been taken from the Biba, Safari and Sunrise palette. The shades are (Aya, Jasper, Thorn, Amhara, Shine) from left to right. 

I picked up the Morphe X Madison Beer palette through Sephora Canada and was excited to try a new Morphe palette because it had been months since I purchased any new makeup. For much of the summer, I didn't bother wearing eyeshadow. The product description claims to be "a palette that contains soft neutrals and rose-gold hues, Madison's musts for any occasion." I will admit I had no clue who Madison was, but I liked the look of this palette and picked it up for 28$. Madison is actually a singer-songwriter and this collection also contains and brush set, lip gloss and other products. I am only reviewing the eyeshadow palette, I did not pick up anything else in the collection. 

We are 8 days in 2021 and it’s been an interesting 8 days. Canada has our highest numbers of Covid-19 cases being reported and our day to day lives are different. My husband is back to work, I am working from home, and my son was in virtual school this week. We were juggling all the schedules this week, but it’s working and we’re doing okay. My son’s school is reopening for in-person learning next week, and I have a mix of emotions. I know the kids prefer to be in class, they learn better in class, and virtual school for a 7-year-old is tough. I do wish our numbers were lower though. I’m scared, we live in a scary world right now. Before the break, we still had zero cases reported for the school and I really pray that we stay safe.

My province has implemented a curfew that will begin this weekend, this will not really change our day to day lives since we’re home by 8 pm anyway. I see a lot of people are upset but we really need people to understand that gathering in homes is not acceptable, we need our numbers to come down- our hospitals are overloaded.  I really believe this should have been implemented during the holidays, it has been reported that 48% of people still gathered during the holidays. The people who are upset about the 8pm curfew, I want to ask, “where were you going anyway?” We’re supposed to stay home.