suuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmer

to the lady in my office building wearing a sweater dress and saying to me 'it's not THAT warm!' cause i am wearing a sleeveless dress with bare legs... OH REALLY?!

TADA! summer has arrived in toronto and everyone is the best and everything is the best and wow my mood changes when it is nice out.

FAKE TATS AND SUNSHINE!

4am

i am going to show you two collections here. even though there are quite a few images for each. they fit together well.

there is a certain melancholy which is specific to summertime. when it is so hot and the days are so long. and everything is bright and alive and we are so happy. and when sadness creeps in, which if you're like me is inevitable, it feels deeper than the sadness of wintertime. because of that very bright hot aliveness that is everywhere. how can you be sad when the world is this bursting, amazing thing?

i love this sort of confused feeling. i love the strangeness of the light when the sun is coming up too soon and you haven't yet figured out what went wrong the night before. how you got into this mindset. where the heartache came from this time. the stickiness of sunscreen residue and the burning in your eyes.

(there's less of that here. in toronto. and that makes me miss home. one of the very greatest things edmonton has is its short short summer nights.)

or. you know. something like that...

(and the shoes in both. dream.)

 {anne valérie hash resort 2013, photos courtesy of anne valérie hash by way of style.com}

 {damir doma resort 2013, photos courtesy of damir doma by way of style.com}

summer skin

it is the time to be outside by pools or in parks or at very least walking the dog through the sunny sunny valley paths. and therefore it is time for a change in skincare and stuff! it is oh so humid here in this city, and my wintertime powders won't last a second with all the damp. damn.

so here is a list of products that i've been thinking of or dreaming of or already love.

{want}

{trying}

{favourite}

and here's a breakdown of what we've got!

wants:

* essie nail polish in geranium. (confession, i do own a few essies, so it could be in the 'favourite' category, but the real want here is the awesome red-orange colour. so. there.)

* catwalk by tigi, session series salt spray. for beachy beachy salty hair. mmmmmmm.

* stila one step correction. to make the face with the even-ness of tone. for the grass-itch blotchier times.

tryings:

* physicians formula organic wear mascara. for non-toxic eyes. it isn't waterproof, which is a problem, but i'm trying it all the same cause i love the idea of not poisoning myself.

* vichy labs ultra protection sunscreen stick. to carry in one's purse.

* aveeno positively radiant daily moisturizer with spf 30. i wish nivea made something higher than an spf 15 cream, because they are my favourite for skincare. but they don't. so we'll see how this works out.

* physicians formula eye-booster eyeliner. cause again less-toxic, and summer is for more defined eyeliner as apposed to my smudgy winter eyes. and it is supposed to have some magical eyelash saving potion in.

* vichy labs 60 mexoryl sheer lotion with spf 60. because it is nice and scent-free. and says it has a 'bare skin feel' which is a nice idea.

* maybeline dream matte mousse. a change-over from my favoured mineral powder. i'm nervous about having to use sponges to apply. i haven't got the slightest idea what i'm doing.

favourites:

* covergirl outlast lipstain. i actually lost my best lipstain, which is heartbreaking. but it is still tops, even if it is gone. especially if you're like me and MEGA STRESSED by real lipstick. also. cheap! (and look! it won an award from brides. brides love it too.)

* stila convertible colour. is it a cream blush? is it lipstick? it is BOTH!!! i use it almost always for blush, though. cause again. scared of lipstick. i have it in fuschia, but i would like to get it in the above gladiola. pretty rad. it is the perfect texture and goes on easily. low stress all the way.

* benefit high-beam highlighter. because being glowy but not sparkly is key to summertime. or. anytime. really. i looooooovvvvveeee this stuff. 

THIS WAS SUPER FUN!!! i buy almost all my cosmetic-stuffs at shoppers drugmart. or if that fails me, sephora. it is pretty rare that i go anywhere else. (okay, sometimes loblaws/superstore if they've got what i need...)