Life, Makeup & Jobs - Oh My!

Hey Y'all!

Firstly, please allow me to apologize profusely for my four month hiatus. I have been busy once again with moving, doing makeup and teaching. Your girl is constantly on the go and the thought of coming home to write and publish a post was hugely daunting to me. So, clearly, I chose not to post and to take a break. However, my self-imposed (and well needed!) break has come to an end and I am back and ready to go!

I have been working in schools teaching while here in the UK which would keep anybody busy. I work mainly with special needs children which is highly rewarding but very tiring. 

I have also been honing my makeup skills by getting in practice whenever I possibly can on other people. I have so far done makeup for a friend who was getting married as well as other friends who had call for my makeup abilities. I did not get any photos of the bridal makeup I did because we were running late after hair so I did not have time. I will start documenting my progression more thoroughly moving forward and posting the photos on the blog. 

I am currently working on a review post for you all and will post it as soon as I have it ready. Until then, I will continue to post as much as possible and will post about my upcoming trip to Scotland as well. 

Until then, Toodle-loo!

- Lissa x

Where Have I Been....??

Hey Y'all!

How has everybody been doing?? I hope everybody has been doing well lately. 

Oooowweeee! It has been absolute ages since I've updated the blog and for that, I sincerely apologize. Things have been completely manic for me the past couple months with school, job hunting, being homesick and illnesses. 

I have been doing readings and assignments for school after work which have left no time to write decent reviews or posts. The last thing I want is to give you all a slap dash job of something I threw together in five minutes because that is all I could spare. I prefer to be able to sit and write out a decent post for you all. With school assignments and trying to finish up everything in time, it has been tough - to say the least. I am happy to say that I am almost finished so it has all been worth it.

On the job front, my current job is coming to an end and I have been putting my feet to the pavement and applying like a mad woman for employment within my field. It is quite difficult being in a country other than your home country and looking for work. The rules are different and if you do not learn them prior to job hunting, it can seriously impair your chances of gaining employment. I've been jumping through hoops and putting myself out there and applying to every job I have come across that is within my field of study. Rejections were to be expected but they still bruised my ego a bit. Finally, landed a few agencies so I am hoping to obtain a good position through one of those that will become permanent. *fingers crossed*

Other than job hunting, I have been extremely homesick. I have not set foot on Canadian soil since I moved to the UK and it is taking its toll now. I miss my family and my best friends. It's been quite difficult to make new friends while here because the people I have been encountering have not been all that warm and/or sociable. It's different from back home. It may also have to do with my current job and not going out enough on my part. So, here's hoping that things will change after I get back. 

I have also been sick off and on. I swear this country is kicking my ass and throwing every illness known to man my way. I have been in and out of the GP's office more times than I care to admit and have had my fair share of medication. Right now, I am better and I better stay this way. I do not think I can handle another illness before I head home. I would really like to enjoy my holiday at home.

Well, there you have it. I have been around just super busy. I have been neglectful of my poor blog which is a huge no-no. I do however, have products I would like to review that I have been accumulating. So I will have topics for you all. I will also have more hair posts to share as well as lifestyle changes.

Until then, I shall bid you all adieu.

- Lissa xx

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Hey Y'all!

I am extremely sorry about the silence for the past few weeks. I have been going crazy with school work and also getting my life sorted at the moment. I am searching for a new job while decided whether or not I want to remain in the UK for another year or head back home to Canada. Oh, and all of that is going on WHILE I am still working full-time as well. 

Juggling multiple things like that has not left me with much time to update. Let me tell you, it is tough and I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off! I do miss you all though and have some posts lined up dealing with hair, makeup and lifestyle changes (I have started a new work out routine to get into shape). 

I will do my very best to get a post up this weekend sometime. Thank you all for being so patient with me.

- Lissa xx

Illamasqua Sealing Gel [[Review]]

Hey Y'all!

Before getting to the review, I wanted to apologize for dropping the ball lately. A lot has been going on in my life at the moment and has me all over the place. I want to thank you for being so patient with me and let you know that I am working on getting out posts regularly once again.

Now, onto the review.....

Illamasqua. You all know that I am in love with their products and this one definitely does not disappoint. The sealing gel costs £12.50 and two little bottles come in each box. 

This sealing gel is absolutely amazing, people. It does what it claims to do, which is to dry quickly and keep your makeup in place for hours. I used it one night to set my liner and brows when I went out dancing. Let me tell you, I danced a ton and sweat quite a bit. I was also patting at my face to dry it throughout the night so I was worried about what I would find when I went to the bathroom to check half-way through the night. To my surprise, everything was still in place! 

When I returned home and made my way to the bathroom to wash my face, I was amazed to still see that my liner and brows had not moved or faded at all. Illamasqua has won me over once again with their sealing gel. A little goes a long way with this product and it is definitely a must have for anybody who wants long lasting makeup. I keep one at home and one in my travel kit with me. 

Definitely give this sealing gel a go. You can thank me Illamasqua later. :-)

- Miss Lissa xx

Weekend Quickie

Hey Y'all!

Just a quickie to share with you all a photo collage of my hair earlier today. I do love it when it's picked out and big!

How are you rocking your hair this weekend??

- Miss Lissa xx

Hair Quest: Flexi-rod Set

Hey Y'all!

I had received my flexi-rods that I ordered on Friday. I've been checking out videos on good ole YouTube lately on flexi-rod sets and fell in absolute lust with the look. I vowed to try it soon for myself and found a good deal on flexi-rods on Amazon. If that wasn't a sign, then I don't know what is!

I did the set on stretched hair. I had been rocking a puff then a high bun for the week. I knew that today was wash day so I decided I'd try it out for yesterday. I had an event to attend and figured if I didn't like the way it looked (or it didn't turn out well), I could easily bun it again as a quick go-to style.

I first dampened my hair with water and then added coconut oil to seal while lightly detangling. I paid special attention to the ends to ensure they would lay flat when I curled them. After detangling with the coconut oil, I put a quarter size amount of Eco Styler Gel with Argan Oil in each section and smoothed it through with a rat tail comb before curling it up. 

I forgot how much I've missed my curls when I saw how they popped when I added the gel. I was half tempted to just leave it in a big curly afro! I didn't though and continued curling my whole head with the flexi-rods. I used 26 flexi-rods in total as I did the curls a bit bigger since I knew I'd be separating the curls.

I slept with them in overnight. Actually, I don't know that what I did could be called sleeping at all. I completely forgot how absolutely uncomfortable it is to sleep with things in your hair.  I was woken up about every hour because my head was in a position that made the rods uncomfortable! At that point, I was less than thrilled to put it nicely and if  "no pain, no gain" was to be believed, I had better well look like Halle Berry in the morning! 

Sadly, they didn't all dry completely overnight so I had to sit under my portable hair dryer for 10 minutes on low to ensure the curls wouldn't completely drop by the end of the day. Once I did that, I took out the flexi-rods gently and I couldn't stop staring at the curls. They were gorgeous!

I then coated my hands with EVOO and carefully separated each curl. The result....

Ta-da! I LOVED the way my hair looked. The curls stayed in all day even through the wind and rain we had here in Londontown. 

Needless to say, I will definitely be rocking this style again but may cheat and dry them BEFORE I go to bed as I really do like my sleep. LoL.

- Miss Lissa xx

My Apologies

Hey Y'all!

Just wanted to say a quick apology for the lack of posting lately. Been hella busy with school as well as wasn't feeling too great. Now I'm back though and I shall be posting as per usual. I am currently waiting for photos to upload to add to a post dealing with hair and then I will be posting. I will also be posting more make up reviews soon as well.

Thank you all for being so patient with me. 

- Miss Lissa xx