beaches and books on the best coast

Today we decided to go to the beach. It was like, 4 or 5 degrees Celsius, but as far as we know, it's probably warmer than the rest of Canada right now haha. We're damn lucky to be on the West Coast, and days as beautiful as today really serve to emphasize that!

The world always manages to seems a bit brighter at the beach. Plus, today there were lots of beautiful doggies to wave hello to!! Nothing warms my heart quite like seeing doggies having fun and living their little doggie lives, other than living my life with Navneet, of course.

coat from h&m, top from h&m, jeans from american eagle, belt from my mom's closet, v necklace from h&m, sun necklace from charming charlie, 3.1 phillip lim x target bag, gloves from h&m, shoes from spring

tank top from h&m, jacket from zara, gloves from h&m, tights from costco, shoes from target

vintage leather bag from italy 

v necklace from h&m

hattie stewart gold lomin watch by triwa

We also had our first official book club meeting today, featuring Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House by Audre Lorde. Basically, they rock and you should read them and think about them, preferably with someone who likes talking about this stuff. It is 100 times better that way, we promise you.

skin care

I'm not willing to spend more than $20 per sitting on most things (food, gas, university textbooks, etc.) but skin care products are the one thing I consistently splurge on without feeling guilty. My mom instilled in me the belief that my skin was worth it ever since I was a pimple-faced preteen. I've dealt with my fair share of acne throughout my teenage years and I've tried a ton of products along the way. It only took me 7 years, but I've finally found a routine that works with my skin! I sincerely hope it doesn't take you quite as long.

Ultrabland from Lush: I must have tried at least 15 different facial cleansers on my quest for clear skin, and this is the only one that has actually worked for me. It may be because I started using it when I was 20 and my hormones were changing, but there's no way I'm gonna stop using it to test that hypothesis. Thanks to this stuff, my skin is usually blemish-free (minus finals week). This is a pretty heavy cleanser, meaning it's really moisturizing and leaves my skin feeling so, so soft. I'm probably never going to use anything else.

Enzymion from Lush: My face has always been perpetually oily. Luckily, I found this! I've been using this moisturizer for over a year now and I've noticed it has reduced my skin's overall oil production. It's not a miracle worker - I do still have oily skin, but it is something great.

Enzymion, Ultrabland

Formula 10.0.6 deep down detox ultra-cleansing mud mask from Target: 

1.) smells heavenly

2.) super easy to apply and remove, unlike some masks I've tried

3.) makes my skin noticeably more even, both in tone and texture

Neutrogena clear face sunscreen: I picked this up on a whim during a Target trip and I'm so glad I did! I swear this sunscreen actually makes my face more matte. My life is a love letter to Target.

Full of Grace serum from Lush: I picked up this little guy a couple weeks ago and I love it! A layer under my moisturizer acts as a barrier against the drying winter air. Plus, when I actually use the right amount, it doesn't make my skin feel greasy.

Honey I Washed the Kids soap from Lush: This soap!!!!!! It smells like caramel without the sickly sweet sugariness, as caramel should smell. Plus, it makes my skin way softer than any shower gel I've tried. Pro-tip: Lush has a soap BOGO sale on Boxing Day! $20 of soap will easily last you an entire year.

Honey I Washed the Kids, Full of Grace

All I gotta say is:

finals mode: go

It's been a while! Mainly because papers and midterms and now FINAL EXAMS are upon us. It's so hard to keep up with life when that happens. Here's a little something to help you get through it:

kick some academic butt from gabbypaulina on 8tracks Radio.

Go hard and good luck on your exams, folks!