Taking Time To Take Care

After reading this recent Into The Gloss post, I got to thinking about how I balance things out. It seems, as a Libra (haw haw), a constant theme in my life is trying to find a balance between everything. The weekends especially are a time of polarities for me, because one Friday night I'll be out until 4 A.M. overindulging, and the next, like last night, I'll find myself sorting laundry, cleaning, and finding ways to relax in between.

Last night I drew a bath as hot as I could stand, grabbed the book I'm currently reading (Margaret Atwood's collection of short stories, Dancing Girls [I highly recommend]), and got to taking care of myself.

One of my favourite ways to indulge, even when I don't necessarily have the time to really sit and luxuriate, has been using Davines hair products. I swear, these products have saved my hair, or at the very least the texture of it. When I started college, my health took a major hit and as a result a lot of my hair fell out, and the texture totally changed. My former mermaid-esque waves hung straight and couldn't hold a curl no matter how hard I tried, and it felt like straw to the touch. After a lot of changes -- moving out of my miserable apartment, changing my diet, and just reducing my stress in general -- my hair started to grow back to normal, but it still wasn't 100% perfect. Then I started using Davines, and I noticed a major change. I no longer needed to add curls to my hair with hot tools, if I just left my hair to air dry, it would dry into beautiful waves thanks to the gentle nudge the Davines products was giving it. So I'm a major Davines convert, and I will talk and talk about them to anyone who will listen. My favourites are their OI Shampoo and OI Conditioner. Both smell amazing, are sulfate-free, and leave your hair feeling so soft and nourished. I also love the Absolute Beautifying Potion for smoothing any frizziness once my hair is dry - bonus is that it has the same scent as the OI Shampoo and Conditioner thanks to the roucou oil which is a main ingredient in all three products. Last night I washed with the shampoo and then worked the conditioner into my hair, focusing on the ends, and let it sit for about 15 minutes while I also took care of my face.

Favourites. From left: Davines OI Shampoo and Conditioner, Davines Absolute Beautifying Potion, LUSH Mask Of Magnaminty, Kosmea Rosehip Oil.

For my skin, I applied LUSH's Mask of Magnaminty to my face and sunburned shoulders (the cooling mint feels amazing for this purpose). After this has been left to dry, it doubles as an exfoliating scrub before you rinse off. To make sure my skin stayed soft and moisturized afterwards, I applied a few drops of Kosmea's Rosehip Oil. It's so gentle and yet it really sinks into skin and gives you the most amazing, nourished glow.

It doesn't hurt that it's pretty to look at too.

Another integral part of my relaxation routine involves burning candles, particularly Diptyque's Patchouli scent. It smells incredible and I think it's quickly becoming my new favourite, next to their Feu de Bois.

Now that it's Saturday, I plan on spending the night eating tacos, painting my nails and getting caught up on The Knick. I hope that whatever you plan to do this long weekend, you figure out a way to relax at some point.

xoHannah

Hi Everybody! Hi Dr. Nick!

I know, I keep disappearing. It seems like every post I write is just me apologizing for my absence, but so it goes when you have three jobs and are a full-time student. My brain is on fire pretty much all of the time, but in a good way, not a burn-y way.

So, what have I been up to? Well, the first really big piece of news is that I am now a columnist for FLARE magazine.

Silly ol' me in the September 2012 issue of FLARE.

This is exciting and crazy and crazy-exciting for me! As someone who has been writing in this blog since 2008, and writing for online media for over a year, to finally be writing for a print publication really feels like a culmination of all the passion and hard work I've put forward. It is crazy to me that my writing and my face is in a magazine that you can pick up at the supermarket (if you live in Canada, that is), a magazine that I have been reading for years and years, poring over the pages as a beauty- and fashion-obsessed tween. I feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity in my life and it just gives me more motivation to keep going and creating and doing what I love!

In addition to the print articles every month, there's also video tutorials that correspond with each look. Check out September's here and hear/see me be a dork.

In other really not as exciting news, I got an iPhone. So naturally, I also got instagram. I don't know how to link to my account on there, but my username is hannahejo. Here's a sampling of some photos.

 

I'm also done my Summer semester and so I have a bit of time off, so I'm headed to New York this week to shop, eat, and see many of my lovely friends. I am looking forward to finally enjoying my Summer vacation and living it up in my favourite city.

Oh, and if I have one piece of advice to you all for the remainder of Summer, read some Joan Didion. Play It As It Lays is a perfect hot Summer day read (literally, you'll be so engrossed you may finish in a few hours), perfect for the last few balmy weeks we have left and some introspection. I'm also making my way through both The Year Of Magical Thinking and Slouching Towards Bethlehem. I love this woman's brain and she is inspiring me to start writing "creatively" again. I use that term loosely, as I feel my creative impulses run wild with my work, but perhaps I meant ... fiction? Prose? I just want to create some characters in addition to the fun world of beauty writing. ;)

Love you all who continue to read this thing and hope you're having a great Summer.

xoHannah

THESE LAST FEW WEEKS ...

Sorry for my absence! The past few weeks of my life have been absolute madness. The first semester of my life as a college student has come to an end and to relax and celebrate, I'll be heading to L.A. tomorrow morning! I'm so excited. It's my first time visiting the West Coast and I am really looking forward to experiencing the bizarre-o world that is Los Angeles, Hollywood, and all that jazz. I'm also really looking forward to all the Mexican food. Ay yi yi, I love Mexican food more than anything ... ANYWAY. The point is that I've been very busy finishing up with school and writing, as usual, for xoJane and RookieMag. So right now I'm sitting here, painting my nails and trying to catch my breath and have a bit of relaxation before I head off across North America.

So yeah, let's catch up. Here are some recent articles of note I've written that you may want to check out:

* Mod Eye Make-Up In Like Five Minutes

* Painted Flower (easy daisy manicure)

* How To Give Yourself a Manicure (creepy cool DIY nails)

* OBSESSED WITH: Charlotte Gainsbourg-esque Beauty

* Have Leftover Easter Candy? Then You've Got Spring Beauty Inspiration

I've also been recapping Mad Men for xoJane, you can read everything so far here.

A few weeks ago the weather picked up amazingly (as I've wrote about previously) and I got to break out some of my Summer clothes. The weather has since gone back to chilly, rainy, and boring but eh, here are the photos anyway!

One day after class I went home and changed into one of my favourite dresses (vintage, from Courage My Love in Kensington Market, here in Toronto) and met my boyfriend for some Strongbow on a patio. It was such a lovely day and I can't wait for the weather to pick up like that again. Plus, I know it's going to be gorgeous in L.A. so ... whatever!

Here's a favourite vintage bag of mine. It's so bright and poppy and very in line with the current Rookie theme, I'd say. Those Gap flats are a favourite too, super comfy.

I have a fairly hard time passing a used book store and not buying anything, and I bought these four books that night. I'm going to bring Dead Babies (what an awful name, haha) on the plane as I think it will be a breezy read.

One day I headed out to have some (more) cider in the park, it was so gorgeous outside. Spotted top and high-waisted jeans both from Sirens awhile back. Ray-Ban sunglasses.

I found this ring at Forever 21, and I love it. If you find any cheap-o rings you love at stores like Forever 21 and H&M, after you buy them apply a coat or two of clear nail polish and let dry before wearing. Then they won't change colour or turn your fingers green! It works amazingly.

A few weeks ago I found myself at Snack Bar with my boyfriend. I'd already been previously and fell in love with the restaurant's concept of small, snack-sized yet gourmet food, and an absolute "no cutlery" policy. The food is delicious, made with care, and it's easy to try a variety of things even with a small budget. I'm hooked.

First we ordered the Smorgasboard, which had prosciutto and sausage (for my meat-eating boyfriend), I ate the crostini, onion puree, cheese and pickled cauliflower. So good. I'm getting hungry looking over these photos!

Next, I ordered the wild mushroom toasts. I'm obsessed with mushrooms, I find them to be delicious, and these toasts were too. Mixed wild mushrooms picked by the chef, onions, herbs, all on crispy buttered bread. I want to recreate this at home because it seems so easy yet it's so delicious and comfort-food-y.

I followed that up with the mini lobster roll, which was warm with a creamy sauce and crisp veggies inside, with a side of deliciously rich lobster bisque in a cup. Argh, my mouth is watering. :(

Dessert was spicy-sweet Mexican hot chocolate and crispy-creamy mini cannolis (only $2 a pop!)

Basically, I need to get back to Snack Bar soon, and if you live in the city and haven't been yet - go! The menu does change frequently though, so don't expect everything above to be available, but expect deliciousness.

To conclude, enjoy this crappy camera-phone photo of some of the make-up I'm packing for L.A. As you can see, I'm thinking BRIGHT.

Now, tell me what's been going on with you! I'm eager to hear.

xoHannah

A Shrine To Pink

Earlier I mentioned that I was building a shrine to the colour pink in my bedroom, on the top shelf of my bookcase. It's not finished, and maybe it never will be and it will just keep evolving, but I thought I'd snap some photos and show off some of its details. So, here you go:

King Bunny sitting on his throne (which is actually a bookend), a glass cupcake cake dome holds an Eiffel Tower magnet that lost its magnetic back so now it's just sitting there, looking pretty, a pink beribboned Dior box with a tiny bottle of Miss Dior Cherie inside, all in front of different things, like a very old birthday postcard sent to me for my last birthday from the awesome folks at A Beautiful Life, plus above that is a gold-toned, almost metallic postcard with pink roses on it. I love collecting postcards, the antique markets I frequent always have some great ones. In the background is a 1960's Playboy I thought fit in wonderfully, I love the Playmate's bunny tiara.

L-R: previously mentioned Eiffel Tower under glass and Dior box, with a pink, garden-y smelling candle behind it, also a glass bud vase from IKEA, Valley of the Dolls, a pink ceramic smaller IKEA vase with a cardboard powder compact from probably the 50s or 60s, Essie polish, a Cake candle from their Barbie collection from a few years ago (smells like lemon cake, mm), a crystal chunk bought at Brooklyn Charm in Williamsburg, a Donna Parker book (my mom used to read these when she was little), atop that is a "get well" card with a cute little flowery illustrated girl. There's also the rose picture frame with an illustration inside of a girl dreaming about cupid, in front of a copy of the My Fair Lady soundtrack record. Whew.

I also decided to snap some of my other shelves, since they're all sort of colour themed too.

The Monkees Go Mod (R.I.P., Davy. The porpoise is laughing, goodbye, goodbye), my Tree of Life stub (so glad I got to see this on the big screen), a strange little Snoopy-esque figurine from my boyfriend, Marc Jacobs' original perfume, so pure and clean and gardenia-full. Plus lots of books and Lulas. I really need to get around to reading that Joan Crawford advice book. I've skimmed, it's wacky.

My black and blue shelf. Playboy mint tin, the Kills ticket stub, silver swan ring holder, Laduree box from the NYC flagship with a candle in a tin on top (taken from the bathroom at the Jane hotel on the night of the xoJane.com launch party last May), Margot Frank on her first day of school, Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless. Funny to see Flowers in the Attic sandwiched between more, er, esteemed writers. I never said I was classy!

Some of my Penguins, beaten up. More Playboy tins. My favourite chunky gold necklace, $5 from an antique market.

I've actually run out of room on my bookshelf. Which is bad because I buy at least one new book a week, oops. The latest ones, both pretty beaten up but that makes me like 'em more.

My bedside table. Always full of incense ash, covered in candle wax. Bird piggy bank and a tiny glass bird, the latter from JUNK in Brooklyn. The TinTin postcard found a home. That Breakfast at Tiffany's poster reminds me of home, it adorned the wall in front of my bed for years and years. I bought it at MoMA on my first or second ever trip to New York, I can't remember.

Today was the first really warm, really beautiful day of the year. I headed to a cafe nearby and had my regular, the veggie sandwich with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms, capers and provolone on a fresh baked bun, and a side of beet and orange salad which was delicious and simple and I think I'll have to make for a patio party sometime this Summer.

Well, that's the world around me right now, pretty much. Otherwise I'm just in class, or watching Freaks and Geeks with my boyfriend. What are you all up to?

xoHannah