About the Blog

20 something Canadian blogger with a love of the little things in life.


Connect with Me

Image Map


Categories

Image Map


Archives



Credit

Theme design by Ella Street.

About

My name is Mikayla! I'm a 22 year old University Graduate with a passion for all things beauty. I stumbled into the online beauty community a year ago and have been obsessed with youtube videos and blogs ever since. After watching hundreds of videos over the past year I figured it was about time I joined the community and posted my own thoughts in my own little space. I'm also recently graduated, unemployed and headed for college in September.

I really enjoy all things beauty, and I really like telling my friends what I think about products so writing them down just felt natural. To me, make up isn't something that you wear to make yourself look prettier, it's something you do on yourself for yourself. It has the power to give you strength to tackle a rough day, the courage to find your inner confidence and sparkle like every girl is meant too.

Other than beauty, I love fashion. Beauty and Fashion are the keys to my heart, along with a great deal. I'm all about a decent deal, and budget shopping is my favourite.

I can't wait to start this journey with the internet and all of you!

Disclaimer

Just a general disclaimer:

I am not a professional makeup artist, I am completely self taught, any posts on beauty products are purely personal opinion and should not be taken as fact.

Beauty items shown on this blog are purchased by myself, or as a gift from family members.

Any and all reviews on products are based on my opinions alone.

Tag Week: Beauty Blogger Tag!

Sunday 27 April 2014

I was scrolling google looking for some tags or something so you could get to know me better. I thought I would do a whole week of Tags that are popular on the internet, or had been. A simple google search of "Beauty Blogger Tags" and I found this one, originally on Beauty Broadcast blog by Emily! This tag is a little old, I believe Emily posted it just over a year ago. But anyways here it goes:

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?
My hair is naturally curly, frizzy and thick. When I was really young it was very blonde and very curly. When I was about 12 it would dry into more wavy hair.. (Which right now I would kill for). I got a perm when I was 13 (my mom convinced me!!) and it in some weird way triggered my curls again.. and now 9 years later it is still ridiculously curly..

This is my hair without product and air dried.
2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon? 
I actually no longer dye my hair. My hair has gone through a lot, I used to dye it new colours (nothing crazy) every 6-8 weeks! My parents would only let me dye my hair on the condition that I went to a salon (they trusted hairstylists more than me) When I went to University my dad told me he was no longer going to support my hair dying habit, and I being a student could not afford the upkeep of touching up my roots every couple of weeks. My hair goes pretty fast so this is almost a requirement. I got my parents to agree to let me dye it once, a dark brown, 1 shade away from black to cover all the hair dye I had in it.. and then once more with highlights closer to my natural hair colour once the coverup faded. And thus my journey to dye free hair began. 

3. Do you wear the same style everyday or do you change it? 
I usually try to do something different with my hair, since I only wash it a couple of times a week I do get a lot of freedom, especially with the texture and curls in my hair. I typically follow a routine or naturally curly, amping up some of the curls with a curling wand and then straight if my hair will allow it. Honestly, most mornings I wake up and decide if my hair curled nice enough while I slept or not and that effects how I do my hair. By 4 o'clock though I can almost guarantee that my hair will be in a ponytail or a topknot. 

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon? 
Up until about a month ago I worked at Tim Horton's where wearing nail polish was not allowed (you are pouring coffee and making peoples food) so I opted to do my own manis if I was going to paint my nails. It honestly rarely happened, I don't like to waste and painting my nails for 2 days did not seem like a fun time. I paint my own toe nails in the winter and usually in the summer I will get one pedi from a salon just to feel pampered. 

5. How often do you change your nail polish? 
I like buying nail polish and changing it up once a week or so, and if I am going to spend the money on something professional I will wear it until it's a chipped mess. Because of my previous job, like I answered in the last question, I wasn't able to wear a lot of nail polish, but now that I'm unemployed.. (only upside is nail polish wearing!!) I'm changing my nails at least once a week.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?
I paint my toes year round. I really hate socks, even in the winter, they constrict my toes and it weirds me out, so in the winter I love having a pop of colour in the winter. In the summer obviously flip flops look great with your nails painted.. so I have to do it then too.

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup? 
To do a complete, everyday style makeup look I can get my whole face done in under 20 minutes (4am wake ups for Tim Horton's really helped me perfect it). If I'm doing my makeup for a special occasion it takes me closer to half an hour probably. I put a lot of consideration into my makeup if it is for a special occasion and I will probably have it already figured it out and tried it out once or twice. That really eliminates the hassle and the trial and error on the day of.

8. What do you do first face or eyes? 
If I am working with pigments of colours that I know have a lot of fall out I will start with my eyes. If I am just getting ready and using something simple, like my Naked Palette I start with my face for a nice even canvas, as well as being able to more accurately set up my under eyes and around my eyes for eyeshadow.

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need?
Collecting makeup is something I enjoy, but I typically start off a shopping trip buying what I need. I keep a list in my phone of things I need a backup of, or something I am running out of. Under that list I keep my wishlist. I buy things off my wishlist if I am shopping and it is on sale or if I am feeling like a pick me up or something. Usually I buy what I need, I could try to justify needing everything in my collection if I really had too.
Here is just the beginning to my list/wishlist
10.How often do you wear false eyelashes?
I never really wear false eyelashes. I'm scared of them actually. When I was skating I had to wear some for one show that I did and they didn't fit properly and were waaay too long, since then I've almost been traumatized. I guess I always just thought that false eyelashes were supposed to look fake, or that since I prefer a more natural look they would just look too obviously fake on me. Until very recently I didn't even own false eyelashes, I bought a pair of the Katy Perry ones in Sweetie Pie. They are a more natural look and I'm excited to try them. 

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?
No way. Most days at the very least I am wearing some BB cream and concealer. I don't typically wear foundation on a regular basis because of my freckles, I fear looking too coated in makeup, even with the lightest coverage of foundation my freckles look lighter. I prefer lighter casual makeup that looks natural compared to a full face, but that is just a personal preference. 
This is a typical makeup day for me

12. Do you wear makeup when you're home alone or with your family? 
It depends on the occasion. If I am home with family just hanging out or have a day where I'm not going anywhere I won't put makeup on. Usually I'm in a routine now to wake up and put a little on just incase I decide to go somewhere. If I have family coming over for a dinner or a family event yes I wear makeup, but only a little bit. 

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?
Absolutely. I like to give my skin a break and let it breathe, so I usually have a day or two of the week where I don't generally use anything. I am a little self conscious of how plain my eyes look without at least mascara on (I am very fair, and my eyelashes are quite blonde). But I still am okay with leaving the house 100% makeup free. 

14. How many high-end products do you have?
I have not counted just how many high-end products I have in my collection. The majority of my high-end products have been gifts from family for my birthday or christmas. I'm all about the best deal, and if I can find something of similar quality for a cheaper price I will buy that typically. I have purchased myself a MAC quad and MAC Viva Glam V lipstick. I can easily say that the majority of my collection is drugstore not high-end. 

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you're getting dressed?
I love dressing to how I feel. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I stay in bed until the nearest 5 or 10 number (it's this weird thing I have with time) and consider what I should wear for the day. If I wake up one morning feeling bubbly and more colourful then I would obviously gravitate to something more colourful or bubbly. If I am sick, I stick to yoga pants or leggings and a casual  sweater. I also consider what I will be doing for the day, going to work for the school when I did required more professional attire, if I was working both jobs I needed to consider walking to my other job, if I'm going shopping I need something comfy and casual and also easy to take on and off etc. If it is for a special occasion it is picked out days (most likely weeks) in advance. 

16. How often do you change your handbag? 
I've been using the same one since Christmas.. Is that an answer? I like neutral bags that look good with anything. In the summer, if I am going out or something, or it is really hot out I opt for a cross-body bag, but throw whatever I need from my purse into that and then take it out. 

17. What time do you wake up or go to sleep?
When I'm in school I stick to a general routine of 10-11 bedtime and 6-7 wake up. This does change depending on if I have a lot of assignments to do, if I am working or if I have something else to do during the morning etc. Since I am on summer holidays, and in-between programs I stay up until closer to midnight and wake up around 8-10. 

18. How often or when do you workout?
As of tomorrow, I will be following Blogilates Beginner Workout Calendar which will have me be working out I think 6 days a week. I plan on working out in the morning, right when I wakeup so that once I am done I feel productive, as well, I can get ready for the day without worrying about sweating or procrastinating later. 

19. Left handed or Right handed?
I am right handed and completely useless with my left hand. 

20. How tall are you?
I am 5'7.5" (that .5 really matters!!)

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?
In Canada, English and French are both official languages. I am obviously fluent in English, I used to be fluent in French as well, as I got older I lost my proficiency in French. I still understand it really well, I just have more difficulty translating from English to French really quick. So to the rest of the world, I guess I speak a foreign language, but here I am bilingual in both official languages. (In other words, someone else make this decision for me!?)

22. How many pets do you have?
I currently live with my grandparents who have 1 dog named Brandy. So I say she is my pet by association. 


23. How often are you on blogger?
Since I just started this blog, and have been working on setting it up I am on it just about every day right now. As I get it started I hope to be posting fairly regularly. 

24. Do you read comments on other blogs?
Absolutely. A blogger can post their views on a product, but the comments are where the actual discussion takes place. I love seeing other peoples thoughts on a product I am considering trying, or a product I am not sure of that I already own. The comments section on blogs is gold for this perfect type of community, where other ways to apply a product etc can be shared. 

25. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?
I try too. If I'm scrolling through blogs and see reviews on something I was interested in, where the blogger says that the product was not the best for them but maybe more like my skin type etc. I keep note of them. Also if it is a higher end product and they give it a really good review I for sure keep it in mind. 

26. How did you come up with your blog name?
Originally my blog name was mikaylaaas which is my username for a lot of my social media accounts. I didn't like it for a blog name for some reason and spent a lot of time thinking of a new one. Finally I settled on a variation of "Southern Bell" but because Canada is a northern country I wanted northernbelle (belle in french means beauty or pretty) but that was taken. So I thought of synonyms for belle, that translated to pretty in french and joli was one of them. And with that Northern Joli was born. 

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?
I use the Cannon Elph HS 300, it's blue.  I like it, it takes good quality photos for what I currently need. I also use my iPhone 4 to take pictures and usually edit them on iPhoto on my MacBook Pro. 

28. How often do you clean your house?
My grandparents have their own routine for cleaning their house. Most things are done daily, I sweep every couple of days, but common things like dishes are done every day. I tidy my bedroom every day, I can't be productive if I have a messy room. The beauty space my sister and I are creating in the basement will also be a tidy-every-day thing. We clean the bathroom we share once a week. 

29. What's your favourite colour?
Surprisingly Purple. My bedroom is blue, grey and red. I used to own a lot of Pink, but purple has always had my heart. 

30. Do you swear? 
Not often. 

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day? 
It's Game of Thrones night! I'm watching GOT and then I will probably fold my laundry, watch some Gossip Girl on Netflix and find a tag for tomorrow. 

<3 
M

Labels: , , , , ,


blog comments powered by Disqus



◄ OLDER ENTRIES | RECENT ENTRIES ►