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The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill is a middle-grade fantasy novel. Every year, the youngest baby in the Protectorate is taken from their mother and left in the forest as sacrifice for the “evil” witch. Every year, the witch comes to rescue the baby that these horrible people from this village just left in the woods. Xan, the witch, nourishes these babies with starlight on her way across to forest making them healthy and strong. The people on the other side of the forest await her arrival every year, wishing to adopt the special child and give it a loving home. One year, Xan “accidentally” feeds a…
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Go Faux | False Lashes
I’ve been learning more and more about what it takes to produce a mink lash, and am not too impressed by this being passed as “cruelty-free’. While I understand the different between vegan and cruelty-free, I feel on this front they’re blurring the lines. Mink are not friendly, sociable animals. I can guarantee they are not happy sitting in their cages, and the manufacturers are not snuggling and combing them to retrieve the hairs. There are three brands in particular that I wanted to draw attention to today, while I am sure there are many more. These brands boast about their cruelty-free status all over social media, while producing mink…
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Tacky or Too Faced?
Too Faced has a new collection launching February 12th in collaboration with The Pretty Mess. The collection includes a 12 pan eyeshadow palette, a Lip Injection, 2 lip kits, a body shimmer, and a highlight. Not gonna lie, I was flabbergasted when I saw this collection for a couple of reasons: Firstly, I had no clue who The Pretty Mess was. Erika Jayne is on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and clearly has a loyal fan base, with 1.6 million followers in Instagram. Secondly, after the response on the Glow Job Glitter Mask, retailing for $52CAD, I’m surprised they went this route again, with the “shocking”, risque product names.…
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Blurred, Not Bold
This beauty trend has been trying to gain traction for almost a year but I think I’m finally ready to hop on this train. It is the blurred, blotted, soft matte, stain effect lip. Could I have possibly used any more adjectives? The first of which I saw was from my fave – ColourPop with their Ultra Blotted Lip US$6 followed by the Blur Lux Lipstick US$7. Although I am partial to ColourPop because of their affordable prices and amazing shade ranges, many other brands have released products which will give you a similar effect on the lips at a variety of price points: NYX Powder Puff Lippie Powder Lip…
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Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff is the first book in an adult fantasy series. I’m going to keep this short and sweet because it’s all it took for me to run to my library, and I think it will do the same for you. We’re following Mia Corvere who seeks revenge for the murder of her father and ruin of he family name. She attends an assassin school. There is magic involved. Need I say more? The ONE major critique I have of this book is the dang footnotes. Some are telling you more about the setting, or history of the world, while some are just snarky remarks that you may…
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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is the first in a young adult fantasy series loosely a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Originally a trilogy, now being expanded into 6 core novels and 2 novellas. Feyre is responsible for keeping her family fed since her mother’s death, and father’s injury. She’s become an excellent hunter out of necessity, while her sister’s play the damsel’s in distress. On a hunt, in the desperate months on winter, Feyre finally spots a deer, an animal that could feed her family for weeks, or trade for other necessities. She then notices a large wolf stalking the prey as well. It’s…
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The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Diviners by Libba Bray is a young adult paranormal novel. Set in 1926 New York, we’re following Evie O’Neill who’s recently been sent off to live with her strange Uncle after misbehaving. Uncle Will is a professor, who runs a creepy museum, and is obsessed with the occult. Evie has been hiding an enormous secret, her supernatural abilities that only ever get her into more trouble. However, after strange crimes begin occurring across New York, Evie uses her powers to help solve them. This book is very character driven (aka slow paced…) with a super interesting underlying plot involving supernatural powers, ghosts, and crime which made me keep reading,…
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Planning a Low-Key, At-Home Birthday Party
I still cannot wrap my head around Maxwell turning 8 years old this week! For his birthday party this year, we’re throwing him a low-key, at-home party with his closest friends and family in an effort to save money. Jeremy is scheduled for surgery Monday morning for his knee, which could mean anywhere from 1 to 8 weeks off of work. This being right after Christmas, and Max’s birthday was a bit of a shock. But, when they call with an opening – you take it! Growing up, also having a January birthday, I remember having a lot of parties at home. We did sledding parties, dance parties, sleepover parties,…
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Why You Shouldn’t Make New Year’s Resolutions
Year after year, we find ourselves persuaded into making New Year’s Resolutions. That January 1st means a clean slate; new year, new you. Year after year, we forget about them by the end of January, if not sooner. We’ve been doing it wrong! In my opinion, resolutions are too general, and not easily measurable. In 2019, I am making GOALS! Smart goals are well thought out, easily measurable, and have a specific end result. By making goals instead of resolutions, you’ll be able to set a clear path to success, and be able to track your progress throughout the year. I’d now like to share a few of my goals…
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The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson is a psychological thriller with so many twists and turns. Ted Severson meets a mysterious woman at the airport bar named Lily. He tells her about how he’s just caught his wife, Miranda, cheating on him with their contractor, and how much he wishes she were dead. He was obviously speaking under the influence but Lily takes his wishes to heart and devises a plan. This was the premise given to me, that pushed me to pick up this book. With thrillers, I like to go in knowing as little as possible. However, Goodreads has a much more detailed explanation if you needed…
