Category Archives: Vacation

Fitness Friday: Staying Active on Vacation

April 10, 2015Fitness, Miscellaneous, VacationChelle

I’m at the tail end of a week long stay in Panama City Beach, Florida, where I’ve been partaking in plenty of eating and drinking, loads of sunbathing, sticking my toes in the ocean and overall just sitting around on my duff a lot. It’s been fabulous, and I’m sure I’m overdoing it on my caloric intake, but I am doing my best to at least stay somewhat active.

Over the last year, I’ve made it a point to find a race to do while on vacation so that I could take part in a fun event, stay active and (more than likely) see a new area that I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. Running is phenomenal for this! While not everyone is gungho on racing, running is still one of the easiest activities there is to do. All you need is some running shoes and (if you’re female) a sportsbra and you’re good to go. I wasn’t able to lockdown a race while in Panama City, but I did make it a point to head out for two separate runs.

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5k run along Thomas Drive in Panama City, Florida

My first run out was rather bracing. Having come from a “just above freezing” Toronto to a 21C degree early morning temperature with 100% humidity Florida… well… my lungs were dying. I had intended to do 8k or so, but could barely manage 5. But hey, it’s a start right?

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11k loop around the lagoon, Panama City, Florida

My next run was far more ambitious. Thursday morning I woke up determined to do a full loop around the lagoon – an 11k jaunt, once again in 100% humidity. Since I was out of my element, I kept my pace incredibly slow. I also brought along cash so I could buy some water at a gas station at the halfway point and that really helped me out. So while my pace was nothing to write home about, I still managed to crank out 11k and see some vistas that I otherwise wouldn’t have explored. And I sure did look like a tomato by the end of it!

I have managed to go to the gym at the resort as well, but aside from doing a few dumbbell exercises, I really haven’t gone over the top. It’s mostly just been nice to keep up with some minimal lifting while away so that I don’t feel like I’m going back to square one once I get back.

So what am I getting at? Well, number one is that running is a fantastic way to stay active and explore new areas on vacation. Number two, that it requires very little in terms of equipment and can be done in almost any weather conditions outside. Maybe consider bringing your running shoes the next time you leave for vacation!

Travel Makeup Bag – Panama City, Florida

April 3, 2015Miscellaneous, VacationAnastasia, Astor, Benefit, Catrice, essence, Hard Candy, MAC, Make Up For Ever, NARS, Revlon, Too Faced, Urban DecayChelle

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I’m heading down to Panama City, Florida for spring break today and despite this being a week-long beach vacation, I still feel the need to pack some makeup. While I definitely won’t be wearing makeup on the beach (cuz, ew gross), I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to check out some bars or go shopping and I’ll definitely want to play around with my face then!

I’ve packed everything into my usual makeup bag from MAC. This was a limited edition bag that came out with the Give Me Liberty of London collection in 2010. Because the outside of the bag is a plastic-type substance, this thing really never gets dirty (although inside is a completely different story). The bag’s not enormous, but it’ll fit enough products to satisfy me for a week.

Despite loving the Too Faced Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette to pieces (even moreso than the original), I never get the chance to use it as much as I would like to because I feel like I’m eternally reaching for something either more vibrant, or something to use up, or something new that I just bought. The good thing with a vacation is that if you commit to bringing one palette, you are definitely not going to have the choice to try something different out. And really, I love this thing!

Three blushes for eight days… makes sense, right?

This is so overkill. Who needs three blushes for an eight day vacation?

MAC Ripe Peach, essence Pinky Flow, Revlon Coral Reef

But I mean… how could I not bring two ombre blushes with me? MAC‘s Ripe Peach is the colour of eternal summer to me, essence‘s Pinky Flow ombre will more than likely actually be the most flattering shade on my face and I still felt the need to bring along Revlon‘s Coral Reef cream blush just to have some extra variety. I’m sure that, in the end, I’ll maybe use ONE of these. But… options man, options.

Astor Feeling Feline, MAC Barbecue, MAC Relentlessly Red

They’re all different! I swear!

First up is Catrice‘s Feeling Feline which is a lovely coral shade with a balm-like texture. I’ll likely end up wearing this one the most since it’s an easy one to wear on the go. MAC‘s Barbecue is for some added variety since it’s more orange-toned. And MAC‘s Relentlessly Red is because I refuse to be separated from “MY SHADE”. I am also bringing MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips, but I completely forgot to photograph it.

Benefit Watts Up is actually my favourite highlighter, but I only ever think to use it when I go on vacation because of the small sample size I have. This product gives me the most incredible sheen (and, if you read Vibrant, Vivacious, Veracious Beauty Blog, I almost always gasp in awe when Jen uses this on her cheeks).

The bronzer is a deep dive into my darker bronzers for the season. Since I’ll be (hopefully) getting some sun through all the sunscreen I’ll be applying, I pulled out Hard Candy‘s Hula Hula bronzer because it’s one of my darker, more reflective bronzers. It’s shot through with gold shimmer, so in my eyes that makes it perfect for the beach.

Top to bottom: Catrice liquid liner in Dating Joe Black, NARS Primer, Urban Decay Black Velvet liner, Urban Decay primer, Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara, Anastasia Brow Whiz

The usual suspects here. The Catrice liner because it’s pen style and matte black (although not waterproof), two primers (Urban Decay, NARS) because my eyelids are creasy little fuckers, a black pencil liner for the waterline/tightlining, my now beloved Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara and finally, the Anastasia Brow Whiz. I opted for the Brow Whiz instead of my usual Dipbrow because I don’t want to fuss with a pot on vacation and I figured less strong brows would probably suit me a bit more in the sun.

Things I decided to skip:

Foundation. I have no idea how much sun I’ll get so colour matching would be a nightmare. And really… I just don’t need it. It’s fun to play with, but it’s a step that I don’t feel is totally required.
False lashes. Primarily because I ran out of lash glue…

Posts will continue throughout the week I’m gone as I have them pre-written and post-dated so I hope you enjoy those! If you’re curious to see vacation photos while I’m gone, feel free to take a gander at me over on Instagram (@mu_your_mind)

Travel Makeup Bag: Christmas 2014

December 17, 2014Makeup, Miscellaneous, VacationAnastasia, Benefit, Boots No7, Bourjois, Duo, Elizabeth Mott, Femme Fatale, Makeup Geek, Manhattan, Tarte, Too Faced, Wet n WildChelle

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It’s that time of the year again! I’m packing up shop and heading to Ottawa for the holidays this year. As I’m writing this, Toronto is awash in rain, rain and more rain. I’ve had enough of it – gimme some snow!

I’m hoping Ottawa is inundated with snow and I can get out to the mountains (which are larger than Toronto’s Blue Mountain mole hill) and snowboard. Lately it feels like I’m the only person who likes snow in this city. When you grow up in Ottawa, you kind of just learned to live with it I suppose. Since I now live and work in Toronto, I feel like everyone here hates the snow. It’s pretty clear the city hates it too because it sure as hell has no idea what to do when it snows. Snow tires? Hah no. Ploughing? Hah no. Wear appropriate clothing? Haaaaaahaha… No.

So anyway. I’m going to Ottawa. And here’s the makeup I’m bringing.

This year I gave up on on trying to figure out which pre-packaged palette to bring and instead opted for the Makeup Geek Z-palette I’ve put together over the last year or so. I usually (very sadly) default to neutrals on vacation just because it’s easy, but there’s a chance I’ll be meeting up with Kalyn and goddamn I am not showing up to meet that woman wearing neutrals. As everyone else has said… these shadows are phenomenal.

Easy one here! Last year’s holiday palette from Tarte has four blushes and a bronzer and it’s in super slim packaging. This has become my “go to” for taking with me to travel since it’s such a no brainer.

Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla and Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51 Light Vanilla

Neither of these colours match my skin tone right now, but I think they will if I mix them together. Boots No7 Instant Radiance Foundation in Cool Vanilla is slightly too dark and the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in 51 Light Vanilla is too pale. I’m sure they’ll work out together somehow, I’ll just have to tweak the ratio a bit.

This is if I even wear foundation though. I hate the stuff really – it makes my skin itch and feel uncomfortable, but it looks soooo much better in pictures when I use it. I also like to put it on if I know I’m going to be out for a very brief period… that way I get to come home and wipe it all off. Stupid gunk.

Too Faced Melted Berry and Wet n Wild 910D/Red Velvet

Too Faced Melted lipsticks are forever in my heart, so I’m not going anywhere without one of them. Melted Berry has been ma jam lately, so that’s in the mix. And since it is Christmas after all, I’ve decided to sashay away from MAC‘s Russian Red for a while and use Wet n Wild‘s 910D/Red Velvet. It’s bright and more luminous, and I suddenly feel the need to be slightly electrifying with my lip colour.

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False lashes are mandatory celebratory wear for me so I’m bringing along my current favourites: Femme Fatale lashes in Catwalk.

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And lumped together are my potted products. I’m going risky and bringing only my Manhattan Eyeshadow Base. I say risky because I usually bring two primers to MAKE SURE nothing freaking moves on my eyelids, but this one seems to have been holding steady lately so Imma give it a shot. Tarte‘s gel liner is my current black liner staple (and I’m somewhat close to finishing it). And lastly, is Anastasia‘s Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde cuz without it I only have half-brows and that’s not a good look on anyone.

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Last up are some randoms. I keep meaning to use Elizabeth Mott Tints & Sass because it’s a great “I’ve been outdoors in the cold” shade and it’ll double as a lipstain. I’ve also got a mini size of Benefit‘s concealer I want to try out(not that I ever wear concealer…) and Watts Up because that highlight is amazing. For mascara, I’ve got Benefit‘sThey’re Real and some Duo lash adhesive for my falsies.

I’m also a dumbass because I forgot to include some vitals that aren’t pictured. They are:

MAC Prep + Prime for lips
Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
And whatever lipbalm I grab on my way out the door.

C’est tout! What are you guys up to for the holiday season?

Fitness Friday – LCC – Internationaler Babenbergerlauf 10K

October 10, 2014Fitness, Running, VacationRacingChelle

Another race while on vacation! This time in Vienna, Austria. This was the original race I intended to run while on vacation in Europe in September. It was the only one I could find close to Prague that was a reasonable enough driving distance away. Originally, I hadn’t signed up for the half marathon, so this was to be my only race while on vacation.

I didn’t know much about this race other than that it had an exceptionally long name I didn’t understand (Babenbergerlauf), it was a 10k race and it was in Vienna, roughly a 4 hour drive from Prague. A friend from Germany (an ex, actually) had offered to drive to Prague, pick me up, and then drive us both to Vienna where we could do the race together. Always up for a fun adventure and a challenge, I definitely wanted to do this. It was my last weekend in Europe before I flew home to Toronto so I really wanted to squeak this last race in.

The Babenbergerlauf 10K is a varying distance run (there’s a 5k, 15k and half marathon track that sets off at the same as the 10k we were doing) that has very, VERY few people in it. The 10K we did actually only had 40 people in it! Definitely the smallest race I’ve ever done and had some of the fittest people I’ve ever seen running this thing. Seriously, I think I was the heaviest one there.

The race takes place on a paved path through one of central Vienna’s parks. It’s right beside the Ernst-Happel Stadium, a huge soccer venue.

I had been kind of hoping that the path would be through a shady area of the park, but a lot of the run turned out to be in the incredibly bright sun. The forecast had also under-predicted the temperature at 14 degrees and instead it turned out to be an almost blazing 22 degree day.

So the deal with this race is that I had stipulated to Nilo was that, given all things equal, a man should be 10% faster than a female. A (somewhat healthy) competition got started then between us, but it quickly deteriorated into him saying “well I hope I just beat you”.

😐

(I’ll also point that he’s an entire foot taller than me, too.)

Anyway, I didn’t know how well I was going to do. This was a race done at the very tail end of my vacation. I had already run a half marathon the week before and I had been eating and drinking like it was going out of style (because really, what ELSE do you do on vacation?!). Realistically, I knew I couldn’t beat my previous fastest 10k time (55:14), but I had small fledgling hope that I’d find some burst of inspiration during the race and bust out at a 50 minute 10k (baaaaaaaaahahahah yeah no).

Found this on the event’s Google+ page, I’m famous!

So we set off and it was fine. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember a whole lot of the run. It kind of comes to me in waves, my thought process being:

<1k: Okay, Imma beat him. Imma beat him! *goes fast*
2-4k: Why am I doing this? This is stupid, you’ve been on vacation for a week or more, what are you trying to prove? *goes slower*
4k: God it’s hot out here, where the hell are the water stations?
4.2k: Oh man, that sun is REALLY shining down on me.
4.4k: WHERE. ARE. THE. WATER. STATIONS.
4.8k: EESH there’s the water station, why the heck wasn’t there one sooner??? *grabs two glasses and gulps them down*
Perpetual thought throughout the entire race: Why are there so many chestnuts on the ground? This isn’t safe! I’m going to roll my ankle!
5-6k: Halfway there, this thing is almost done really.
6-9k: WHYYYYYYYYYY AM I DOING THISSSSSSSSSS? (seriously, this whole chunk is a blur)
10k: I’m done! THAT WAS AWESOME! Let’s go again!

In the end, Nilo beat me which I entirely expected. I finished in 56:24 which is the same finish time I had for that entirely downhill 10k in Toronto in April so I’m pretty pleased about that. Nilo finished in 54:07 which is a solid two minutes faster than me… but still wasn’t 10% quicker! (So really, I think I won this challenge!)