I can't believe it.

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in almost a month? What is wrong with me? :( It makes me sad that the number of blog posts I've done over the past few years have been dwindling down. I love reading my old blog posts so I'll be sure to make an effort to blog more! Ahhhgkjfgfh. I've lost my motivation to make videos and blot posts since I've moved home. My parents think that making videos is stupid and often say that I'm wasting my time so I haven't had the determination to make content like I did when I was living at university. I'll try harder though since there are some big things coming up!

So, here are some things that happened in the month of April.

1. Bleached my eyebrows. Now this wouldn't be really take notable except this was my first time doing it. First mistake - BLEACHING MY EYEBROWS. Second mistake - DOING IT MYSELF. Ugh. I have a mild case of trichotillomania meaning I when I get stressed compulsive urge to pull at my eyebrow hairs. It started last year during first year exam season. I used to have really thick eyebrows but because of my trich, they thinned out dramatically.

I just wanted to dye them a medium brown to match my hair colour since my eyebrows are black and I felt like they were a little strong? Especially for my pale winter skin. My eyebrows grow out blonde and then turn black. Bleaching my already thinned out eyebrows turned the roots white. It turned out patchy SO I LEFT THE BLEACH ON LONGER AND MY EYEBROWS TURNED GINGER. It was terrible. I had to heavily pencil in my eyebrows so they looked somewhat less stupid.

I started using this Rimmel Lash Acceleration which has really helped my brows grow back to normal (Took about 2 weeks). It's a great product - applies like a gel. Helped my poor eyebrows grow back thicker as well!

2. Finished my final projects for second year of university! I pushed all of my communications courses to my first semester meaning I had 6 courses... So this semester, I only had 4 courses! :D That meant I only had one exam, but three projects. I got really good marks, better than expected! Still waiting for the email back from Leeds though.... :'\


3. DISCOVERED FIRE EMBLEM.
Ooooohhh myyy goddDDD THIS GAME. It's amazing. Probably my new favourite game series ever! It's a shipper's paradise, since a great part of the game relies on establishing relationships with the other characters, marrying people off, and introducing their children characters into the game! I originally decided to try out the demo after seeing PJ post this picture on his instagram. I was like "Oh, I finished Layton a while ago and haven't really been playing my 3DS... Let's try a new game!" I think the demo is still available on 3DS, so if you have a 3DS, definitely try it!

I'm also planning to do a Fire Emblem cosplay! I'm currently working on my Sumia cosplay - progress photos will be up soon! :D

4. Moved out of my student housing... I'm going to miss this place! :( [old photo, disregard my old watermark] Still waiting to hear back from Leeds... I hope everything is okay, I've been building up my future British year abroad far too much to have them reject me now!! Uwwwaaahhh,

Anyway yey! Updates soon, I promise! <3

haircare / skincare

A few people have asked if I could make a post on the current products that I use on my hair!

Probably because of my fabulous hairflip intros haha~ I thought I might as well just couple it with some skincare products. (Mainly because the lighting in the bathroom was quite nice and I wanted to take photos.)

TRESemmé Naturals Shampoo - It has less sulfates (which is always good) and helps smooth out frizzies (I haven't cut my hair in forever so it gets huuuuuuge after showering, so anything to help smooth out/flatten my hair is great!)
Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask - holy grail product - makes my hair smell AMAZING! Also smooths, detangles and moisturises.
Royal Spa Conditioner - I've been using it forever since my mom uses Royal Spa hair products religiously. I don't even know where you can get this stuff because she orders it through her friend or something? Anyway it also smells amazing and makes my hair feel super soft.

 Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser - skin is currently quite acne-prone (this always happens around exam/final project time, ughggdjkfghdjkfghkjg)
Olay ProX Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser - smells kinda weird but feels nice on the skin - fairly light exfoliator.
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash - Smells really nice, I like to use it when my skin isn't acne-prone!

As for tools...
Tosowoong Pore Brush - the most amazing pore brush ever. It has so many super soft bristles and lathers up face wash so nicely!
Olay ProX exfoliating cleansing brush - I use this when my skin gets a bit more dry, to get rid of the dry skin on my face. (Happens quite often during the winter, especially since winter seems to be dragging on!)

Let me know if there are any other reviews you would like to see~

an update of sorts

Hello everyone! I'm back! 

I love blogging but I always seem to get distracted and go on month long blogging breaks. It's like I can only focus on one thing - either blogging or youtube - at one time. I need to update this blog more regularly since I see it as a kind of diary! I love reading back on old posts so I think it makes more sense that I post more often for myself.

First of the turning points is.....

I got my nomination for exchange! 

I'm so so so happy! I was so worried since everybody I had spoken to got their email and I was the last one, I was stressing out so hard! I was convinced that I was rejected... It's funny because I was at a club meeting, sitting at the table constantly hitting refresh on Gmail on my phone, when suddenly the email arrived. I let out this weird cry/sigh which startled the other group members. (They were all like !!!! wtf just happened!?) My friend leaned forward to see my email (because they all thought I was rejected after hearing that weird cry) and saw that I was accepted, and then everyone congratulated me!

It's only conditional though, I still have to be approved by Leeds in order to go next year (I won't know for sure until May so there's still a chance I could be rejected but I really hope I can go!!  (*´・ｖ・)). I'm beyond excited! The information session made all of us (exchange students) super excited, I can't wait to go abroad and spend a year in England!

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Last weekend, I went to the TIFF Lightbox (theatre where they show films from the Toronto International Film Festival) to watch From Up On Poppy Hill. It's the most recent film from Studio Ghibli, and it's directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki! I loved this movie, it was so lovely, and the art was beautiful as always. Studio Ghibli really knows how to make a film that touches your heartstrings, and makes you think about how beautiful life can be. ヽ(；▽；)ノ It was my first time watching a film in the TIFF theatres. They show lots of film festival selections, no Hollywood stuff.

Oh yeah, before going to the theatres, we stopped off at Eatons for lunch. I love the food court, it looks so much nicer after they renovated it! So many cool food options, but I always end up getting noodles... (they were damn good noodles though!!) 

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Speaking of foreign films, I recently watched a Norwegian movie called Få meg på, for faen or "Turn Me On, Dammit." I actually found the trailer while lurking around Youtube and decided to give it a go! I love foreign films - the different styles of shooting and quirky storylines are really refreshing. I feel like I'm losing the desire to watch Hollywood films since they all seem so cookie-cutter and predictable. But maybe that's just my wannabe hipster attitude. :P

It actually has a really high rating on Rottentomatoes (93%), and it's totally evident in the film. It's so wonderful. Definitely one of my new favourites. 

In Skoddeheimen, Norway, 15-year-old Alma is consumed by her hormones and fantasies that range from sweetly romantic images of Artur, the boyfriend she yearns for, to daydreams about practically everybody she lays eyes on. 

 The movie has quite mature themes, but I love it so much, I feel a really strong attachment to Alma even though I can't really relate to what she goes through in the movie. But I suppose that's what a strong storyline and good acting does.

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Took these photos when I took the photos for my last post.

Ohhhh mannnn I love that blurry effect! I borrowed the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens! Although I've had my T3i for over a year now, I still don't know much about camera lenses. I only use my basic kit lens (18-55) for videos so it was really nice to just play around with a new lens for these photos. I want to save up for a new lens for when I go abroad so I can take nicer photos! :D

I also made this video two weeks ago! I really like doing animated storytelling. I'm thinking in my next video, I'll mix vlog with some of this style! Recently I've been getting too obsessed with my stats/subscriber growth which is kind of bad, because I find myself getting too emotionally invested when my subscriber rate drops. I told myself I won't check my stats that often and I'll continue making weekly videos because their fun! If more people like my content, they'll watch. If not, then no big deal! :D

I think that's everything for now! See y'all later~  ☆