Beauty Vixen: 2024

It is the new year, which means it is time for a recap of my Fall and the first two weeks of winter.

My Last recap was for Aug - Oct, so this one is going to cover November and December.

November. I can't remember anything at all. This sounds terrible. The reality is I was trying to finish up school and that took more focus than I really had.

Here are the big things that happened.

The hubs and I went to the US on Remembrance Day to do some shopping. He was in the process of transitioning jobs and was using up his vacation days. I wanted to go to Target and Trader Joe's. We got a lot of stuff and I spent a lot of money for a person who hasn't worked in almost a year. But, it was well worth it, I am still hoarding candy and other food we got. I do love that we went in peak Pumpkin Spice and the start of Gingerbread season.

Since getting access to Shippsy (affiliate link), I haven't been as eager to go to Target, as I can now cheaply order from them.

We went to the Drive-In one last time to see The Wild Robot and Venom: Last Dance. We always have a good time, and I get to cuddle Bradley there.

We also went to the movie theatre to see Gladiator II.

A friend and I went to the Sheshedo warehouse sale and we waited an hour to get inside. I picked up a fair amount of Nars products there.

Shortly after I went to the Lisa Sale with my mother. Lines are back, even on weekday mornings, so that was unexpected. I got some of those glossy Revlon lipsticks that got discontinued right after they went viral the other year and a bunch of Nars liquid lipsticks.

That was my not-too-exciting month.

December was a bit more exciting. I finished school. I really studied for my exams and I applied to graduate with High Honours (woot).

Sterling got this great cardboard gingerbread house from Dollarama. He has been very happy.

After that I got to celebrate my brother's birthday and then a week later 3 family Christmases. It was exhausting but fantastic.

I made family members these hot chocolates with freeze-dried marshmallows as a gift. They all loved it.

I got a record player for Christmas from the Hubs, so I went and picked up some used vinyl around town. I am still trying to figure out a good way of getting records without them costing me $50-75 each.

I've also been driving a lot. I drive the hubs to and from work twice a week. Which has been great. I need to get on the highway though, because I have until the spring to take my final test.

So that was my end of the year, not too exciting, but I did finish school. I hope you all had a great holiday season.

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I decided for 2024 to yet again do a movie-watching challenge. This was my fourth year doing a challenge, and I am super happy I finished it. I challenged myself to watch 75 movies I had never seen before. I did this after two years of failing to watch a select number of new movies and new-to-me documentaries, so I decided to combine the two tasks. I succeeded but by the skin of my teeth. So let's break down what I watched in 2024 and what I plan on doing for 2025.

I managed to watch exactly 75 films this year, most of which happened in the second half of the year.

First off, we went to the drive-in again!

I love the drive-in, and I will never stop loving the drive-in. We get to see two movies and it cost less than $30 for both of us, it is such a deal. We get to bring Bradley along and eat great food. I also get to wear pyjamas! It is all lots of fun. I do prefer spring and fall shows because the sunsets earlier and we don't tend to fall asleep during the second movie as much.

This year we saw Kung Fu Panda 4 with Ghostbusters Frozen Kingdom at the start of April then Inside Out 2 with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in July. We didn't go back until November when we saw The Wild Robot and Venom: The Last Dance. By far the earliest and latest we have gone to see movies there.

In theatres, we saw quite a few films and with the expectation of Twisters, we saw all of them at an independent theatre, Imagin Cinemas. We love it there because they are cheap ($11 movies and $8 matinee) and they have huge reclining chairs.

We saw Dune 2, Deadpool and Wolverine, Twisters, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Alien Romulus, Transformers One, and Gladiator 2 in the theatre this year. I must say it was nice to just go to the movies a lot this year, it reminded me a lot of when we were dating.

I went yet again to Drunken Cinema with my pal Melissa to see Scream movies. This time it was the Sequils, Scream 2 and Scream 5. We really love this series and have now officially seen all the films in the series at the Drunken Cinema experience. I do feel the first time we did Scream 2 the opening scene was so much fun live, but this time there were a lot of newbies and it was surprisingly less lively. It truly is a meta moment to be waving around a glow stick and screaming while a Ghost Face runs around you while you watch that opening scene.

I watched a bunch of bad movies, just in the hopes of watching something new that I had not watched before, which actually made me a bit sad.

Which brings me to my goals for 2025.

I plan on watching 52 new movies this year. That makes it one a week, a realistic goal that I will not struggle to get to by the end of the year. I also plan on making a list of classic movies I still need to watch and make an actual effort to watch them this year (yes, I finally watched Citizen Kane this past year, so at least I can cross that one off the list).

Follow along with me on my Letterboxd this year and see how well I do at meeting this year's goal.

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The holiday season is here, and with that comes the gift-buying season. I think we all have many people we need to buy gifts for this year, and it can be a bit daunting. So I have decided to showcase a few items that I really am enjoying as gifts this year.

Tea Runners Christmas Gift Subscription*

If you know me, you know I love tea. Tea Runners offers a fantastic subscription service that delivers four unique teas monthly. It's perfect as a self-love gift, but they also have Christmas Gift Subscriptions where the recipient can choose their preferred teas.

On Christmas morning, the recipient receives a notification along with a note from the sender and the option to select their preferred box: Original Teabox, Black Teabox (a selection of 4 different teas), Herbal Teabox (all herbal, rooibos, peppermints, honeybush, chamomile teas), or Pure Teabox (this is just straight teas no flavours or blends in it).

Each box includes four different types of tea tailored to the theme, that they get to fully customize, with 20-30 grams of tea per pouch, providing enough tea for 30-40 cups. The box also comes with a pack of 10 filters. The receiver can customize their delivery schedule, pause or skip shipments, and even change their address. Making it great for anyone who may not drink tea as fast as me.

The sender can choose to send 1 box ($29), 3 boxes($79), 4 boxes ($104), 6 boxes ($149), or even 12 ($288) boxes subscription. I just ordered a box of their Pure Teabox for my mother-in-law for Christmas morning since she lives in the Yukon and we can't see her on Christmas morning.

I think this is such a great gift! I really love Tea Runners' quality and their unique seasonal varieties. You can check out a review I did in 2022 here.

Quo Holiday Gifts

Quo always has great beauty gift ideas. I love how they always seem to have the best trendy ideas. From their Crackers that have lip gloss in them, to brush sets at a great price, they always have great gifts.

This year I could not resist their Reusable Forehead and Under-Eye Pad Set ($28). It comes with a reusable forehead mask and a set of reusable eye masks. As well as a mini rose quartz roller and a mini eye massager. All in a tin to store it.

I also grabbed their Hand Cream Collection ($15), which has 5 different scented versions of their hand cream. It has Shea Butter, Vanilla, Dragon Fruit, Avocado and Blueberry. I think these make great gifts as a set, but also broken up into little stocking stuffers or add-ons is really nice, and at $3 a cream, a great price.

Dr Teal's Holiday Collection Tin Set ($19.99)

Every year I pick myself up a Dr. Teal's gift set. This year I got this cute trio set. It has three of its best-selling scents in a mini Epsom Salt Soak and Mini Foaming Bath. It is a great break-apart gift, but also a great way to try out 3 different scents for just $19.99.

This year features Relax & Relief (eucalyptus and spearmint), Melatonin (lavender and melatonin) and Soothe 7 Sleep (lavender), all wrapped up in a reusable tin.

There are also since-scented sets for $9.99 out there, but I think this is a much better value.

Charlotte Tilbury Mini Iconic Hollywood Lipstick Trio Set ($44)

I love good lipstick, and this might be my favourite little set in a while. It features 3 of Charlotte Tilbury's lipsticks, in a mini size. Now I find most sets with minis from her brand have Pillow Talk or some variation of it, so it was really nice to find this set that did not have Pillow Talk in it, mainly because I have more than one already.

The set has 3 1.5 g Mini lipsticks, Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick in Hollywood Vixen (classic, bright blue-red), K.I.S.S.I.N.G Satin Shine Lipstick in 90s Pink (warm rosewood pink), and K.I.S.S.I.N.G Satin Shine Lipstick in Icon Baby (warm nude baby pink).

All three shades look great, I love the retro Hollywood glam look they are going for. Hollywood Vixen is just stunning and the main reason I got the set.

Clarins Iconic Lip Oils Collection ($84)

I love Clarins' lip oil, they are great for dry cold winter months. This set is the perfect gift to give to someone who also loves the brand, lip oils or just likes to treat themselves.

The set has two full-size and two mini of Clarins iconic lip oils. Honey and Pitaya in full size (7 ml) and Raspberry and Strawberry in mini size (1.4 ml).

It is a great value set because $40.

Byoma Barrier Boosting Heroes Set ($30)

BYOMA is a great brand that really focuses on boosting the skin barrier. I have tried a few products and have had great success so far.

They have a holiday set which features five of their products and a bag. For the price, this is a great way to introduce someone to the brand at a bargain price.

The Kit Includes 15ml Hydrating Serum, 15ml Gel Cream, 15ml Rich Cream, 5ml Eye Gel, 20ml Jelly Cleanser, and a bag. I picked mine up at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Masque Bar Pretty Animalz Merry Masking Set ($10)

Masque Bar makes great masks, and their Pretty Animalz line is quite popular.

This set has four winter-themed animal masks, Moose, Polar Bear, Reindeer, and Penguin.

This set is great for any sheet mask lover in your life. I am personally going to break the setup in so that I can give some to each of my nieces, I know they are going to love them.

Wet n Wild Hello Kitty Collection

Wet n Wild has a bunch of adorable Hello Kitty items out right now to celebrate her 50th anniversary.

There are so many great items out there, Hello Kitty-shaped mirrors, a mascara and lash curler set, but I picked up the Hello Kitty Brush Set ($25) and a Hello Kitty Ombre Blush ($12).

I know my nieces love Hello Kitty and so do many adults. Wet n Wild consistently had fantastic brushes at a great value. I figured they would make a great gift for anyone who is looking for brushes in their lives. Also, the blush was just too cute to pass up.

Dove Pepper Mint Bark Products
I saw a display for Dove's new limited edition holiday scents and fell in love with the Pepper Mint Bark. Available in Body wash, hand wash and body scrub, I picked up all three.

It smells like what the holiday peppermint bark ice cream would smell like if you turned it into a body product.

There is also a sugar cookie sprinkle version, but as a mint and chocolate lover, I picked the peppermint up. Think they would make great stocking stuffers. My only wish is that they made a body lotion or body butter because I am in love.

There is my gift guide for 2024. I personally think I picked out some good things, many of which I am honestly keeping for myself, which is how much I like the items. I do think they will make great gifts. Happy Holidays!

* denotes a product was sent for review. All the other products were bought with my own money. Some links are affiliate links, where I could earn a small commission from a sale. I appreciate your support.

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Hi Everyone, I haven't done a recap in a long time. It has gotten out of hand now and, frankly, a little intimidating. I am going to try to recap the last few months with some of the highlights, and I just hope it isn't too long.

August:

August was a lot of schoolwork. My semester was wrapping up, and I had a huge group project to do that involved a lot of work. It was terrible because group projects should not exist for online college. It is terrible. Anyway, that took up a ton of my time, as did swimming and family get-togethers (also involving pools).

We attended Scarborough Rib Fest. It was tasty, and we always loved to go.

I also needed a new computer, mine was from 2011, so I got a Mac Mini. One big bonus of being a student is the Apple student discount. I hate that my version didn't have any front ports or an SD slot (I know, they aren't a thing anymore), so I got this base for it that looks great. It also has a slot for an SSD if I want to add one.

September:

September brought my birthday, a new school semester, and one last pool get-together.

My aunt and I went to Stratford to see four plays. We always have a great time, and I really enjoyed it there.

The hubs and I also did some eating along Yonge St. in North York, there was a food fest.

October:

October brought my mother-in-law from the Yukon for a visit. She stayed with my sister-in-law for a bit and then with us. We drove out to visit a few times while she was with the SIN and even took her to Hamilton to buy Quilting supplies and a dinner at Victoria's Steak and Seafood.

We all got a prefix, and I have to say, as someone who doesn't like steak, it was really good.

Since I was in school on my own schedule, I decided to take her around town while she was with us. One thing she wanted to see was the Quilts Made in Canada exhibit at the ROM. She had a great time and learned a lot about the history of quilts in Canada.

I attended a Drunkin Cinema at the Revue Theatre with my friend Melissa. They were showing Scream 2 and Scream 6, the sequels. We have now gone 6 times and seen all the movies in the franchise. I really loved seeing Scream 2 the first time there. It was a real meta moment with the opening scene, this time, it just wasn't as lively, but we had a great time.

I wish there was some more excitement going on, I mean, we had a gas leak. It was resolved in a few hours. Bradley got a Boo Basket, his nickname is Boo.

OH, I started to drive. I have been trying to actually learn to drive for about 7 years now. It has been slow and awkward. While my mother-in-law was here, I took the car to drive us places. I then just started taking it whenever driving the hubs to and from work on those days. It has been great; my confidence is high, and I really enjoy the freedom I now have.

Here are some random pet pics of Sterling and Bradley to round out the post. I hope you all have had a wonderful last few months.

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