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Stila Liquid Eyeshadow Review

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

I hope you’re all recovering well from St. Paddy’s day this weekend! I know I was suffering a little bit on Monday too, BUT a Monday is one of the best days because it’s a fresh start to the week! This week I have a very busy schedule with work, paper deadlines, and other activities, but sometimes it’s nice to be really busy, as long as you can get a break from it. After #GLAMUARY – a whole month dedicated to beauty related posts, I tried to post a variety of other content to remind my followers that I don’t post explicitly ONLY beauty posts. I do have other content I like to talk about, BUT….I recently tried a new product that I wanted to review for you all.

For Christmas my roommate got me a liquid eyeshadow from Stila Cosmetics! This product has been on my wish list for a while, and I’ve considered purchasing it a couple times and just never got to it. Now that I’ve finally had a chance to play with it, and wear it a couple times I think I can give you guys an honest review. This review is not sponsored, or paid for. The product was gifted to me by a friend and all of my thoughts and opinions are my own from my personal experience using the product! I currently only have ONE liquid eyeshadow from the brand Stila Cosmetics in the shade “Smouldering Satin.” This is deeper gold/brown colour with silver reflects.

The product is meant to apply as a liquid and dry matte (similar concept to a liquid lipstick.) The purpose of using this liquid eyeshadow over just a glitter eyeshadow is to avoid any fallout. I have used this product to cut my crease AND for dramatic effects such as a gold line under my winged liner, or a gold line over top of my crease. When I cut my crease with the Stila liquid eyeshadow, I didn’t use concealer first I simply went straight in with the liquid eyeshadow and I find it to be very pigmented and has great pay off. It covered what I already had on my lid perfectly. I was expecting it to make my eyes feel heavy (if that makes sense) but it dried very light weight, and it hardly felt like I was wearing liquid eyeshadow at all. I struggled to put liquid liner on over top of the glitter though, I found it took a little finesse to get the liquid liner on and it sometimes took some glitter with it (not a crazy amount but it did happen). When I wore it underneath my liner and as a gold line above my crease I found once it dried it did NOT budge.

A single liquid eyeshadow retails for $31 CAN which I personally feel is a little over priced. BUT in saying that you don’t need to use a lot of product to achieve looks which means one liquid eyeshadow can last a long time. Overall I feel it is a good product, it does what it advertises it would do, but I personally don’t use it in everyday looks to rush out and purchase another one.

Have you used this product before? Let me know what you think in the comments section below, or on any of my social medias!

Till next time,

Lexi

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Lexi’s Peanut Butter / Banana Overnight Oats

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

Did you survive the “social media blackout” yesterday? LOL it seems like that’s all I see on my feed today is how social media wasn’t working. On the other hand, I made myself a little “bucket list” of things to do before I graduate university and yesterday I was too busy checking one of those items off my list to really pay attention to the social media blackout. But anyways…for today you might have guessed by the photo and the title that I’m sharing a recipe with you guys!

Lately I’ve been trying to get back into a routine of running and working out, so I’ve also been trying to get back into healthier breakfasts. One of my favorite things to make for breakfast is this overnight oats recipe – it’s super easy and quick to make and that’s one of the reasons I love it. I’ll make it the night before I want to eat it and in the morning it’s ready to go.

You’ll need:

Mason jar
1 ripe banana (medium)
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup coconut milk (this is what I use – any other milk product is fine)
1 tbsp peanut butter
Squirt of honey

Instructions:

This is a great way to use up those blackened/super mushy bananas. Grab one of them and smash it up with a fork, place the mashed up banana in the mason jar
Add the oats and milk to the mason jar and stir to combine
Once that is combined, add in the peanut butter and honey and stir again.
Place the lid on the mason jar and put the mixture in the fridge overnight. (This is only good for 1-2 days so I try to just make it the night before I’m going to eat it and not meal prep bulk versions of this.)
In the morning you can add toppings, for example I like to add brown sugar for sweetness and chia seeds. But for some of you the banana, honey and peanut butter might be sweet enough. Just do whatever is going to satisfy those taste buds y’all.

I have tried a couple different recipes on Pinterest for overnight oats, and this recipe is the one that I’ve remade so many times over the past year that I just had to share it. What personally stands out to me in this recipe, that’s different from the others that I’ve tried, is the use of the banana mashed up, the oats soak up the flavor of the banana as well as the milk.

I would love to hear from you guys if you try this recipe, OR if you have your own tried and true overnight oats recipe. Leave me a comment below, or on any of my social media accounts that are linked at the end of this post!

Till next time,

Lexi

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Running Tracker Apps

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend! I know mine felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. How gorgeous is the photo I chose as the feature image today?? This photo is obviously not mine, I’m not sure who to credit for this, but I think if this was my view when going for a run I’d be doing it every day twice a day LOL who’s with me? Last week I shared a blog post about Warming Up to Running Long Distance if you haven’t checked out that blog post yet, I shared some tips and tricks to help you when getting started with running as a form of cardio, losing weight, or even as a hobby. Like I mentioned in that blog post, I really enjoy running as a competition with myself, I’m always trying to better my time or lengthen the distance I run. Which is why I thought I would share my past experience with different apps that can track your runs.

First I want to talk a little bit about why an app in general can help, and then I’ll talk about the 2 apps I’ve used: the Adidas Train and Run app, and the Under Armour MapMyRun app.

I would like to note if any of my readers have a FitBit You probably don’t need to use a tracking app as they can provide similar functions! But basically an app can track how LONG you’re doing a specific activity for, for running it can track how FAR you go, it can track the CALORIES burned, it can track your SPEED – when you slowed your pace down or when you were going a bit quicker. If you’re running more than 1km it can tell you your min/km average as well. I really enjoy using the tracker because I can challenge myself to “run longer than I ran for last time” or “add .5 km.” Using these statistics and having them within my phone can help me challenge myself to do better!

The first app I ever downloaded was the Adidas Train and Run app. At first I really enjoyed using this app, I thought it was accurate and I really enjoyed the information it provided me. However, after using it a couple times I noticed some glitches with the app. It couldn’t always locate my GPS which affects the information I receive. For example, for an entire run it wasn’t tracking my GPS at all? So I wasn’t sure how far I ran…could have been the best run of my life, could have been the worst? Who knows? After that experience, I would always double check to make sure it had my GPS located but the distance of my runs would still be off? I did a run where I KNEW I ran 7km however it said I only ran 4km – quite the difference. I was getting frustrated as the entire point of using this app is to give me accurate information. I also attempted to use this app when running on an indoor track, I made sure to click the option indoor track on the app, and it not only didn’t track my distance (which I could do anyways because the indoor track is 200m per lap) but it also kept picking up and losing my GPS signal – which will interrupt your music playing to tell you it lost the GPS, and then found the GPS, and then lost it again, etc.

I clearly didn’t have a good experience with the Adidas Train and Run App so I downloaded Under Armour’s MapMyRun app. Now I’ve only used this particular app once or twice, but I found it very accurate. Its an interesting app because it offers a variety of different activities it can track (I’ve only used it for tracking running, but I thought that was an interesting feature.) I also haven’t used it while running on an indoor track so it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Adidas app for that as well. So far though, I would rank this app above the Adidas app due to my overall experience with the Adidas app. I have no complaints for the Under Armour app – yet.

Do you use any apps to help with your health/fitness? I would love to hear what you guys use – leave me a comment below or on any of my social medias!

Till next time,

Lexi

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Warming Up to Running Long Distance

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

I hope everyone’s week has been going well so far! If you missed it, I posted Tuesday’s blog post yesterday. I wrote a February Reflection and I talked about how I planned out my content for the next month. Going through my blog I realized I have a “fitness” tab but haven’t really got around to posting any fitness related content. My blog is influenced by my life and I really enjoy sharing things as I experience them and what I’m inspired by. I haven’t been to the gym in a HOT minute, and that’s probably why this category of blog posts has taken a bit of the back burner position here on LEXI unlimited.

But as the weather gets warmer I really enjoy going for runs. I’m a slightly competitive person and I use running as a way to compete with myself. I like to run longer distances, or try to beat my previous times for certain distances. But I really want to talk about warming up to running long distance. Running in general can be very harsh on your joints, which is why I want to share some tips to get into running longer distances.

I was inspired to talk about this because I used to play competitive soccer, and now I mostly just run in the nicer weather. Over the winter I don’t run as much, and even though I’m very capable of running 7-8 km, when the weather gets warmer I cannot simply bounce back into running 7-8 km runs after a 6-7 month break of not running. I thought maybe there are others out there like me that are more active in the summer, and might benefit from reading this post to keep you from hurting yourself!

If you are looking at running as a form of losing weight, this might be very important for you. If you are overweight this can cause even more pressure on your joints and it’s very important to educate yourself on how running impacts your body before simply just getting to it. Most sites and doctors recommend starting with shorter distances and working your way up! If you’ve never run before (ever) you can consider doing running intervals. Run for 2 minutes, and then walk for two minutes. If you are using this technique slowly reduce the interval of walking until you are comfortably running the distance.

A second tip I want to provide for you guys is to remember to take breaks in between runs. When you first start running you should be taking at least a one day break inbetween runs to let your body relax and prepare your bones and muscles for the next run. This will also help avoid overuse injuries!

A tip for running ANY sort of distance is to talk shorter strides. Why take more strides each minute? Because taking short, quick steps, as opposed to long, slow ones, means your feet spend less time in contact with the ground and create smaller impacts with each contact.

I hope these tips were helpful for any of you out there who needed to read this. I would love to hear what type of fitness related content (or other content) you’d like to see from me so feel free to leave me a comment below or on any of my social media accounts!

Till next time,

Lexi

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February Reflection

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

Sorry that this blog post was not up yesterday on my typical schedule of uploads. Life just gets in the way sometimes! Last month I decided to switch things up in regards to my posts about “goals.” I used to talk about the goals I’ve set for myself, but now I’ve decided to reflect on the past month and talk about the goals I’ve achieved. I like this concept a little better because like I already said…sometimes life gets in the way. I don’t want to concern myself with goals I set and didn’t achieve, I want to revel in the ones that I did achieve. Sometimes when it comes to self-growth it takes baby steps.

In my January Reflection I talked about 3 goals:

Saving money
Signing up to be a Volunteer Note Taker and
Upping my skin care game

This month, I wanted to continue with these, of course being a volunteer note taker doesn’t last for only one month it continues for the whole semester so I am still a volunteer note taker! I’m really happy I decided to do this, it provides someone else with notes they physically cannot take themselves but also I think it will be a great addition to my application for Teacher’s College in the future!

I talked about picking up extra shifts over reading week to make some extra money and I did! I’m really happy with that and I think my bank account is happy with me too lol.

I have continued to use my new oil free skin care products and every Sunday I use my pore minimizing peel mask! For this month I have also included using Crest White Strips into what I’m now calling my “Self-Care Sunday” routine. I have noticed a slight difference in my teeth and I’m hoping to continue to see results!

A second goal I set for myself in the month of February that I accomplished was to plan out my blog posts! I actually sat down one day and planned 2 months worth of blog content to post! Even though this one may not have come out on my typical posting schedule, the content was still there. I’m really excited with the growth I’ve seen in my blog and I can’t wait to see what these next few months hold.

Of course I have content planned/scheduled but I always love to hear back from you guys on what you want to see on my blog. Leave me a comment below or on any of my social media accounts to let me know what you’d like to see more of. But that’s all of my goals I had to reflect on for the month of February. I hope it inspired you to reflect and improve on your goal setting!

Till next time,

Lexi

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Important Reasons to Find A Creative Outlet

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Lexi

Hey Everyone!

It’s officially the last day of February, how are we already 2 months into 2019?? We’re getting so close to spring/summer weather and I’m literally CRAVING IT. Does anyone love the smell after it rains? I need that in my life like ASAP.

Last week I wrote a post with 20 Ways to De-Stress. Some of the options included to listen to music, to colour, to take up creative writing, to cook, just to name a few. A lot of the suggestions I provided for you guys have a creative aspect to them and I thought I would talk about why it’s important to have some sort of creative outlet. Even if you find you’re not a super stressed person, it can still be beneficial to spend time being creative.

One benefit to having a creative outlet is what I’ve already mentioned…relaxation. Having a creative outlet or hobby can elevate your mood – because it’s something fun you look forward to, and can reduce anxiety – because it allows you to express yourself or your emotions.

Having a creative outlet can actually boost your brain function. Researchers have found evidence as to how creativity affects the brain. Musicians, in particular, have been studied for the heightened connectivity between their left and right brain hemispheres. This is believed to be one of the reasons why Einstein was a genius—his mastery of the violin allowed him to effectively use both sides of his brain simultaneously!

Another benefit of getting in touch with your creative side is it’s positive effect on the immune system. Studies have looked at how music can help to restore immune system health and decreases the body’s response to inflammation. For people with existing chronic illnesses, having a creative outlet can also help in the healing process by reducing stress hormone and inflammation levels. Creative writing can benefit individuals tremendously as it allows patients to have an outlet to cope with the trauma of living with a chronic illness.

Aside from health benefits, creative outlets help you explore more of who you are as a person, what you gravitate towards and what you enjoy. Not only can you become more in touch with yourself you can also meet new people with similar interests!

I hope this post has inspired you to find a creative hobby if you didn’t have one already! I would love to hear about your favorite way to be creative, leave me a comment below or on any of my social media accounts which are always linked at the end of my blog posts!

Till next time,

Lexi

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