Although I’ve been out of school now for five years (holy moly, time flies), I’ll always hold onto those university and college days.
My favourite age has to be hands-down when I was 19. I had my girl crew, there were three of us, we all went to high school together and although we weren’t close back then, for some reason we reconnected when we were 18, and by the time we were 19 we were pretty much inseparable. Seriously, we would hang out pretty much everyday. Whether it was at one girl’s pool, or shopping trips, or just plain chilling at one of our houses, we were like those three best friends you see in the movies.
The summer of my 19th year was a blast. I took spring courses at the University of Winnipeg and remember busing home, with my iPod original (you know, the one with the wheel? #retro) listening to hipster “I listened to them before they were famous” music and late 2000s hip hop (Shorty got them Apple Bottom jeans…). All that was on my mind was the excitement for getting ready for the night, pregame, and hitting the club with my squad (we always went to the same nightclub every Friday night, the bouncers even knew us we were there so much).
It was like that every weekend until about July when I got excited to travel to Israel for two weeks. I had a mix of emotions; I’ve never been outside North America before, I was going to a country that for centuries has been torn by war, and pretty much all you see on CNN were the bad things that plagued the land known by many Jews around the world, including myself, as home.
After a summer full of pool parties, club nights, weeknight deck hang outs and more, I embarked on my first overseas trip (one of the most amazing, eye-opening trips I’ve ever been on), with my squad seeing me off at the airport, signs and all.
Although I’m not as close with those two girls anymore, I’ll never forget that summer. In fact whenever I hear Nelly Furtado’s Promiscuous Girl and have a Dirty Hooker shot, it transports me back, eight years ago to those carefree days when life’s biggest problems were getting that essay done in time and what outfit I would wear that upcoming Friday night.
Sour Puss is proud to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, in celebration of squads everywhere. For every unique (and tasteful) picture or video you post on Instagram or Twitter of you and your crew, tag #Squad & @SourPussCA and we’ll donate $1 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada! Instagram: @sourpussca Facebook: facebook.com/sourpuss
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Corby Spirit and Wine via Mode Media Canada. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Corby Spirit and Wine.
Are you ready to head back to school?
Besides school supplies, new clothes, and new shoes, new makeup should also be on your list of items you just need to get for this new school year. And, just like all those other supplies that are on your list, the cost of cosmetics can also add up fast. Luckily, Benefit has got you, boo ;).
If you’ve been in Sephora recently, you may have noticed three new exclusive-to-Sephora sets, one for face, one for bronzing, and one for lashes.
Do the Hoola (C$44) includes five mini products, all perfect for getting you that perfect bronze glow (just because you’re going to school doesn’t mean you can’t head back all bronzed). In addition to their famed Hoola bronzer, the kit also includes an exclusive preview sample of the Dew the Hoola liquid bronzer. Also included is:
- Ultra Plush Lipgloss in hoola 0.22 oz
- They’re Real! Mascara 0.1 oz
- Hoola 0.1 oz
- Benebalm 0.05 oz
The second set, Operation Pore-Proof (C$44) is a priming “instant porefection complexion” kit that minimizes the appearance of pores and combats shine. It also includes a mini of Shy Beam, a matte highlighter (oxymoron much?), which is an exclusive preview to Sephora. Also included:
- the POREfessional (0.25 oz)
- the POREfessional: Agent Zero Shine (0.05 oz)
- the POREfessional: License to Blot (0.05 oz)
- Dr. Feelgood (0.28 oz)
I have a previous version of the Hoola set and always found that these kits are amazing value for what you get. Both of them are unfortunately out of stock currently on Sephora.ca, but I’ve seen them in store. The third set is based around the They’re Real! line, which includes minis of their They’re Real mascara (in both black and brown), They’re Real! liner, and the makeup remover.
Benefit just gets me every time they release new products, as the packaging is just so amazing and cute. I love the book-like packaging of these sets, making them perfect to gift, either for someone else or yourself. Plus, they look so cute just stacked on your vanity. Between the two, Operation Pore-Proof would probably be the one that would get the most wear, since who doesn’t need a little pore-minimizer and shine control sometimes, but Do the Hoola is also fab. I have a lot of products from that particular set already in my collection, but I was excited to try out the liquid version of Hoola, which I’ve used as both a liquid bronzer, as well as mixed into a too-light-for-right-now foundation. Can’t wait for the full size to launch, I’m thinking probably next year.
I would definitely add these kits to your back-to-school shopping list.
Are you a fan of Benefit’s kits?
Please note, product sent by PR, all opinions are my own.
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What would you choose to do if you were given a car for the day, plus a prepaid Visa? Well, my best friend and I were tasked with that very question late last week as we got the opportunity to explore Manitoba, cruise around in the new Ford Focus 1.0L, and capture it all on social media (Follow me! Snapchat – apopofcolour; Instagram – shayna_apopofcolour, Twitter – @shaynawiwierski).
It was basically the best day-and-a-half ever. We picked up the car Wednesday night and then Thursday after work the activities began. It actually ended up being perfect timing since my bestie was having her birthday party that Friday night anyways, so in true beauty blogger fashion, we chose to spend the two days filled with beauty-related activities.
Our first activity was a stop at SkyZone, the indoor trampoline park, for the Skyfitness class, an hour-long fitness class that had us jumping around and doing tons of cardio and strength-training activities. We both were new to the class but had a blast training in such a unique way (who wouldn’t love jumping around on a trampoline for an hour?!).
After Skyzone, we picked up another friend and my boyfriend and headed out to Lockport, Manitoba, a rural municipality about 28 kilometres north of Winnipeg, for burgers, hotdogs and poutine at the Half Moon Drive-In, a Lockport institution, and then ice-cream at Skinner’s, also a landmark diner in the small town.
Friday was the day we were most excited for. It started off with my friend picking me up nice and early, since she drives manual, and then headed to Fort Whyte Alive for a nutritious breakfast at the Buffalo Stone Cafe, which is the only lake-side (albeit a small one) restaurant located in the city of Winnipeg that I know of.
After Fort Whyte, we hopped back into the Ford and made our way downtown to The Fort Garry Hotel to get pedicures at Ten Spa. Ten Spa is my ultimate relaxation getaway and is always a treat, so when I was told we can do basically anything, that was the first thing on my list.
We spent a few hours taking advantage of all the amenities, including their relaxing steam room, experiential shower, and yummy goodies (unfortunately we missed out on the hummus – they bring it out at 2 p,m.) before taking our place in the pedicure chairs for the next hour and a half. I chose a cute purple polish and my friend chose her usually pink shade, both by Deborah Lippmann.
After Ten Spa, we raced (aka drove the speed limit) over to Bob and Page salon on Academy Road to get blowouts for the night’s activities. Bob and Page is currently the only salon in Winnipeg (at the time of this post) to offer a blowout bar menu, which is something that we usually take part in in other cities. There’s nothing like the feeling of getting your hair washed, dried and styled all by someone else.
Since my friend’s appointment was 15 minutes before mine, I popped into Jenna Rae Cakes, which is directly next door, to get some sweet treats to munch on during our appointments.
Since we had some time to kill after getting our hair done, we just had to visit Polo Park Mall to go to Sephora to pick up some lush Velour lashes for the night. My friend actually rented a room at the Alt Hotel, so after dropping off the car we made our way over there to get ready and then ate dinner the The Merchant Kitchen.
I was a bit sad I didn’t the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Ford Focus (since the car we were given to test drive was a manual transmission), but I had a lot of fun in the passenger seat. The redesigned Ford Focus 1.0L delivers a new exterior design, a completely revised interior, and advanced new technologies for improved comfort and safety. The Focus offers driver-assist technologies, including a standard rear-view camera, along with available lane-keeping system and Blind Spot Information System. The 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is also great for fuel efficiency.
Although I didn’t get the opportunity to drive it, I could take in all the features. The media console screen was a tad smaller than what I’m used to in my car, but it offered all the same features that I usually use, including the rear-view camera when you put the car into reverse, as well as the driver-assist technology that helps making parking easier, and the in-car voice-activated system to make calls. Something different for us was the Auto Start-Stop feature, which automatically shuts down the engine when the vehicle has stopped. When the feature shuts down the engine, the climate control fan, audio system, and headlamps will continue to function as normal. Honestly, it brought back memories of driving a hybrid vehicle.
We cannot think Ford Canada enough for the best two days ever. My friend and I have the exact same car (same colour and everything), so it was nice getting to cruise around in a different vehicle and exploring all that our city has to offer.
Have you tried the new Ford Focus?
Please note, I was gifted a Visa gift card to pay for this excursion, as well as the use of a car to travel around in. All opinions are my own.
Also, don’t forget to enter my P&G Beauty back-to-school beauty giveaway. Ends tonight!
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