(Quadra) Island Wedding

After I wrote my final Bar Exam on Friday, I was immediately off on an 8-hour ferry/road trip to Quadra Island for a wedding. I've never been to this part of BC before but wow, is it ever beautiful!

Dress: Wilfred (Aritzia) / Wedges: Nine West (similar) / Cuff Bracelet: gift / Earrings: similar

The wedding itself was held at the family's beach front property and although the weather wasn't too great in the morning, it ended up being perfect for the ceremony and reception. There were lots of Brits in attendance, so we were greeted at the door with a delicious Pimm's cocktail (yummy!)

Then we headed down to the beach to wait for the ceremony to start. The bride was rowed in on a canoe... it seriously couldn't be more picturesque than that!

Congratulations, Val and Stu! Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your special day!

Strawberry Fields

A few weekends ago, my boyfriend and I ventured out to Langley to pick strawberries at Driediger Farms. Typically, nature and I are not the best of friends, but I do love fresh fruit. Plus, it's super cheap if you pick the berries yourself (only $1.50 a pound) and makes for a fun summer activity.

Tanktop: TNA (Aritzia) / Skirt: Lost & Found (Spank Clothing)

Fedora: Urban Outfitters (different colour) / Sunglasses: Vogue (here)

In total, we brought home almost 7 pounds of strawberries plus some fresh pie and raspberries (which you can also pick when they're in season).

And in other news, I am writing my Bar Exams this week! Seems like just yesterday I was starting the Professional Legal Training Course, and now all of a sudden it's almost August. Crazy how fast time flies. Wish me luck!!

LUSH Cosmetics Launch: Emotional Brilliance Makeup

Big things are happening for LUSH Cosmetics on July 21, 2012. This date marks the launch of their brand new makeup line, Emotional Brilliance.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the pre-launch event at LUSH's newly renovated Robson Street store, and am so excited to share some photos with you. The new store features a beautiful open-concept layout, with easily accessible products every which way. It's like being in a candy store!

And now some info on Emotional Brilliance! Long-time fans of LUSH may remember their earlier foray into makeup with the sister brand, B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful. Well, Emotional Brilliance takes the makeup experience to a whole new level by personalizing colours to your emotions. 

LUSH worked with renowned Strategic Behavioural Therapist Lady Kennedy, who specializes in taking someone from one state of mind and delivering them in another. I've always been a huge fan of personality tests (who doesn't like "learning" more about themselves?), so I was excited to try out the colour game that LUSH has come up with. Basically, you spin the wheel and choose the three colours that stand out to you in the moment.

The first colour choice symbolizes your strength or weakness; the second choice represents your subconscious need and the third choice is your talent and is what you require to achieve your subconscious need. As you can see, I picked Glamourous, Perspective, and Motivation.

The Emotional Brilliance line includes liquid lipsticks, liquid eyeliners, and cream eyeshadows in a range of gorgeous colours. There is also a translucent powder, mascara, and two skin tints.

I'm planning on doing a more comprehensive review of some of the products once my Bar Exams are over, so look for that in a few weeks!

Candy Striped

You guys got a preview of this outfit in my John Frieda Frizz-Ease Salon Tour re-cap, but here's the full look! I'm pretty obsessed with this candy striped bow blouse from J. Crew (which I scored on sale + an extra 30% off), as well as my new cat eye sunglasses. Aren't they such a fun shape? This was also my first time wearing shorts this year... these particular ones are made of silk so it's basically like wearing pyjamas a.k.a. ultimate comfort.

Blouse: J. Crew / Shorts: Wilfred (Aritzia) (similar) / Ballet Flats: Bloch (here)

Bangles: Lulu Frost for J. Crew / Sunglasses: Vogue (here)

P.S. Like my nails? Check out this post for a closer look at my mani!

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Salon Tour

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of a VIP consultation & styling session with John Frieda's Canadian Creative Consultant, Alain Larivée, who was in town with the Frizz-Ease Salon Tour.

After sitting down in the mobile salon at Granville and Dunsmuir, Alain and I decided to amp up the volume in my hair with some big curls (which you guys already know I adore).

Alain is seriously the best. I wish I lived in Montreal, where he has his own salon so he could do my hair for me all the time.

And here is the finished look (plus me looking like I'm part of a Frizz-Ease ad - haha!):

For my Canadian readers, the Frizz-Ease Salon Tour will be hitting up cities across the country this summer, offering complimentary touch-ups and product samples tailored to your specific hair needs. Check HERE for the upcoming salon locations and times.

GIVEAWAY: Julep Maven Nail Polish Box of Your Choice {CLOSED}

Some of you have probably heard about the Julep Maven Program; but for those of you that haven't, it's a monthly nail polish box subscription service (like the Birchbox/Glossybox/etc. but for nail polish). For $19.99 a month, you receive over $40 in on-trend nail polish and beauty treatments delivered straight to your door. Perfect for all us nail polish addicts!

I recently had the chance to test out last month's "IT GIRL" box, which came with this cute packaging and some toe separators for easy-to-do pedicures.

Inside were three bright and fun colours:

Lily - sizzling fuchsia creme
Daisy - bright lemon yellow creme
Sasha - fresh, canteloupe melon creme

Out of the three polishes, Sasha was my favourite because it was easy to work with and dried opaque with only two coats. Lily also only needed two coats but dried matte (a glossy top coat can solve this problem if you don't like it). Daisy was a little watery and needed more coats but is a nice colour for summer.

For this mani, I decided to use all three colours and freehand some interlocking tip shapes. Kind of reminds me of the 80s for some reason!

If you haven't tried Julep before, they are offering an amazing promo for first-time Mavens right now where you can get your first box, similar to the one I've reviewed, for only a penny (yes, $0.01!). Just enter the promo code MAVENINTRO on the Julep website.

And now for the extra fun part... one of my readers will win a Julep Maven introductory box of their choice (find out which box is perfect for you by taking this quiz). Simply complete and fill out the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends JULY 16. Good luck!

Blair-Inspired

One of the main reasons I ever watched Gossip Girl was for the fabulous fashion; and in particular, to see what my favourite character, Blair Waldorf, was wearing in every scene. This outfit combination is one of my favourite ways to wear this crested blazer and I can't help but feel a little bit "Blair" in it. The only thing that's missing is one of her signature headbands... maybe next time!

Blazer: Urban Outfitters (similar) / Dress: Primark (similar) / Tights: The Bay

Flats: Michael Kors (here) / Bracelet: Erica Anenberg (in silver)