Buffer Festival

On the weekend of November 8-10th, Toronto hosted the first annual Buffer Festival, a Youtube film festival show casing content from creators hailing form San Fransico to London and back again. I had the privilege of attending this event on Saturday November 9th. I left for the conference around 7:10AM and use multiple means of public transit before finally arriving at the TIFF LightBox in downtown Toronto to receive my lanyard and tickets.

The first stop of the morning was a 9:00 showing of Youtube sensation Charlie McDonnell's work- including short films and comedy sketches. This event was hosted by Michael Aranda and Charlie himself, in which they discussed the production of the videos, as well as Charlie's experience as a "famous" Youtuber. Shortly after this screening, a meet and greet was held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre, where fans of the British Youtube star could meet Charlie and have their photo taken with him. After waiting in line for just over an hour, I had the privilege of meeting Charlie and taking a photo with him. The experience wasn't exactly what I was expecting. After having been watching Charlie's videos loyally since about 2006, I was expecting to be a bit star struck when meeting him, but what I actually experienced was more similar to catching up with an old friend. Youtube is such a unique form of media. Unlike film or television, when one watches a Youtube video, there is a real sense of relationship and conversation, and with social media websites like Twitter and Tumblr, the relationship between creator and fans can become even more real.

After stopping for a short chat and a photo with Charlie, I moved on to the next screening of the day, which was a screening of short films and discussion on their production, with, once again, Charlie McDonnell, and Khyan Mansly, two prominent short film creators on Youtube.

Later on in the evening, I attended my final event for the day, which was a seminar called "Fandom Factor" with Alex Carpenter and Jimmy Wong, which discussed the effect that fandoms had on content creation on Youtube. (A note for those who aren't internet obsessed: fandom = fanbase, or the community that surrounds a certain book or film series, i.e. the Harry Potter fandom.) This was definitely my favourite event of the day as it was very intimate, being held in the small Maple Leaf Theatre in the basement of the CN Tower, and very informative. After the seminar was over, I had a chance to talk with and once again, get a picture with one of my favourite Youtubers, Alex Carpenter. I had a similar experience as I did with Charlie: I wasn't scared, or star struck, it didn't even feel like the first time I had met Alex, and I could tell from the excited conversations and the hugs and greetings from other fans, I wasn't alone in this feeling. Youtube content creators build such a special relationship with their audience, through their videos, through responding to comments and tweets and e-mails, so much so that the more appropriate term for fans and viewers might be rather, friends.

At the end of the day I found myself walking down the damp Toronto streets at dusk, toward the bus that would eventually take me home, reflecting on the amazing community that Youtube has become. Since the community's inception in early 2006 to how far it has come now, in 2013, the same values remain: creativity, and relationship building. Although Youtube continues to grow and become more of an industry than a community, my main hope is that next year, I can return to Buffer Festival and make the same comments about the events that I attended and the people that I met as I did this year... And I have a strange confidence that I will be.

Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover Review

Ever since I started wearing makeup, I've been using makeup removing wipes to take off my makeup at night. Recently, though, I decided to try out a makeup removing solution, and I picked the Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes.

Overall, I'm pleased with it's performance. Bellow, you can see the cotton pads I used, and how long it took to get my face clean. Finally, after three rounds the makeup was fully off my face. The main downfall of this product is that it literally feels like rubbing baby oil on your face. It's that same sticky oily feeling.

Despite those complaints, I still feel that this makeup remover is of decent quality. It's probably not the best option, but, I'm obviously going to use it anyway.

Anyway, that's all for this product. I would probably have to give it 3/5 stars. If you're cheap like me, it's a good option, but other than that, meh. 

Revlon ColorStay Foundation Review

Back in the summer I went a little crazy with foundation buying, and this was one of the three that I bought. Only recently did I start trying it out, so I thought I would do a review for it. 

My first impressions of the foundation were very poor. It had very light coverage, and was a very liquidy formulation. I suppose my view was a bit skewed because all I have been using recently is the Covergirl Whipped Cream Foundation, which is very thick and very full coverage. 

After using the foundation a little more, it started to grow on me. It does take quite a bit of product to get the coverage that I like, but once its on, it doesn't feel heavy or sticky. 

Overall, I would recommend the foundation if you like a light wearing foundation, and don't need very full coverage. That being said, paired with a concealer and a powder, it gives moderate coverage. 

-no makeup, freshly washed face- 

-only Revlon Colorstay Foundation- 

You're Such A Budapast by OPI

My nail of the moment is You're Such A Budapest by OPI. This is a gorgeous bluey lavender colour that is lovely for summer, and fall as well, because of it's cool undertone. Overall, this is a lovely polish, I've been wearing it for almost a week and a half now, and I don't have any wear or chips. It has a smooth creamy finish. Great product, overall!

Sephora Haul!

So I went a little bit crazy at Sephora... but it was worth it, right? Well, we soon shall see. Here's just a quick haul for now, but, if you're interested in reviews or swatches for any of these, let me know, and I'll make a post about that as well. ...Actually I probably will even if no one requests it. But anyway. Enjoy drooling over the beauty of these new products... I know I did, anyway! 

Hope you enjoyed!

Ottawa

My family just arrived home from our trip to Ottawa. Overall it was a very standard touristy trip, so I don't have much to say about it. But, I took a couple nice photos that I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

First Impressions: L'oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain

I recently purchased this lip gloss from L'oreal, in the shade Rose On and On. This is definitely a Youtube community favourite, so I decided to try it for myself.

Often, popular products with other beauty gurus are hit and miss for me, but this product was definitely a hit. It has luscious colour pay off and is extremely moisturizing, especially for a lip gloss.

The applicator is also quite nice, it holds the gloss very well, and applies it very evenly. 

As you can see in this swatch, it's quite sheer unless you build it up, but on lips (that are already pink- because duh, lips) it has a nicer colour pay off. Also, there is a very subtle hint of shimmer, but nothing unmanageable. 

Like I said, on the lips, it's more vibrant. 

So, those are my thoughts on the L'oreal shine stains so far. Bear in mind, I've only tried one shade, and have worn it a select few times, so there is room for my opinions to change. Let me know in the comments if you'e tried any of the shine stains and what your thoughts are! 

As always, thanks for reading,

First Impressions: Covergirl Whipped Creme Foundation

So I recently purchased this new foundation by Covergirl, and I tried it today for the first time. My impression of it so far, is overall, very positive.

It really does feel like whipped creme when you first feel it, though it's actually quite a lot thicker than actual whipped creme, once you apply it. This doesn't really bother me though. It's very very viscous, but I think that's what contributes to it's amazing full coverage finish. I was very impressed by how full coverage it was for a drugstore foundation, and it felt really nice on the skin as well. Also, it looked so pretty! Haha

So, for my application I used a standard foundation brush, as well as a stippling brush to buff it out.

After a bit of blending, but admittedly not all that much, this foundation goes on very nicely, this was the final look. (Below my foundation is a bit of the Covergirl concealer stick as well as Benefit's Lemon Aid under my eyes. I have not applied powder yet, though)

As promised by the product's claims, you do end up with a very matte finish, which is very nice. This means that powder application can be minimal and limited to just the T-zone, for me anyway. This is awesome because it means you won't have such a cakey look, and you get to save on usage of your face powder!

So, those are my impressions so far of Covergirl's new whipped creme foundation, I'm a huge fan of it so far, and I can definitely see myself using this as my everyday foundation, especially into the fall and winter. If you've tried it, let me know what you think!

Argo by China Glaze

Ignore my terrible nail painting job. I'm working on it. 

So I recently picked up this nail polish at a salon in the mall when I was out running errands. I wasn't originally looking for a shade like this; but this one caught my eye and I really wanted to try it out, so, obviously, I bought it. It reminded me of that one polish from Butter London that everyone was obsessing over last winter- whose name escapes me, but anyway. 

Being used to Revlon and Essie, I was very impressed by how this Chine Glaze polish went on. Here I have two coats; though I could've got by with one, and a topcoat. I love the brush, its very thick and wide and perfect for quick and accurate application. The formula of this polish was also very nice; it wasn't too viscous, but it also wasn't super thin. It was perfect for smooth application. 

All in all, I'd give this product 5/5 stars. Also, the colour is wonderful for the fall!