New year, new me! That’s what everybody are saying at the beginning of each year, right? And then we all end up dropping our resolutions after a few weeks. Maybe we’re doing it wrong. Maybe we’re not setting the right goals. Let’s just all decide to be happier. At the end of the day, this is what really matter.

I wrote down 5 things I want to do this year that will make me happier. Okay, some of them I started in the last months of 2016, but still. I think all of those are positive things, some small and some bigger, that can really make life better.

There’s also a Free Printable Calendar at the end of the article, if it’s something you’re interested in!


Declutter

I have so much stuff. My apartment is filled with useless things I don’t even like and I don’t even know why I keep those things. The overflow makes it way harder to keep anything clean and I have to admit that, even if it’s still decent, sometime my apartment cleanliness is not up to my standards. I’ve known for a long time that I had to get rid of a lot of things, but kept pushing the inevitable to later. Late last year I’ve listened to Mari Kondo’s book and even if I did not agree with her on most points, it still inspired me to declutter my home. I started that weekend and got rid of a full trash bag of things I did not need. I was a great first step! But the one thing that kept holding me back is that I have lot of things that are still good and that I’d like to give away to charity BUT I don’t have a car to take it there, which makes things difficult. After a bit of research I found that there is a few organisms in Montreal you can call and they will come pick up your donations. Amazing! Problem solved! So I’m scheduling a whole weekend with my boyfriend later this month where we’ll go through everything and hopefully we’ll eliminate all those things we don’t need.


Get into something new

I’ve been thinking over the last few months about getting into cocktails and building my mini bar. I’m not much of a drinker, but somehow I think mixology looks very chic and interesting. I started buying a few pieces I really like (and I received a rose gold shaker for Christmas. It’s so pretty!) but will take my time to get things I really like. For me, this year, it’s mixology, but it can be learning more about coffee or tea, getting into baking or painting or learn about the french revolution. Finding a new hobby that might turn into a passion this year is a sure way to make those 12 months more interesting.


Banish negative thoughts

“I’m not good enough”, “It looks great, but it’s not for me, I could never do/wear that”. Really? No, I don’t think so. We are all capable of greatness and the faster we understand it the faster we’ll be able to get what we want out of life. I know, it’s a process and total self-confidence can’t just happen overnight. I’m certainly not there yet, but I’m really starting to think “Why not me? I can totally do that” rather than “I could never reach this goal”. The less you think negative the less you’ll feel negative, right? Well, this year, let’s all make a conscious effort to think and act in a positive way. Let’s be nice to one another too. We all deserve to be happy.


Take a break to figure out what you really want in life

Because knowing what you actually want it the best way to get there. It’s the best way to know what to do to achieve it. Life goes by fast and the first thing you’ll know it’s going to be mid-september and you won’t be any closer to that thing you thought about at the beginning of the year. Take some time off, pick up a pen and a sheet of paper. Write down what you want to achieve, your goals and dreams. From there it’s time to make plans to make sure those things really happen.


Just do it

It’s good to write down what you want. But if you never act on it, you end up at the same place you started at. There’s that one project I’ve been thinking about for years. I remember thinking about it back when I first met my boyfriend. We’ve been together for over five years now, and that project never saw the light of day. I was so scared of things not working out that I just didn’t do anything, which, in the end is worse than not succeeding, because you don’t even get experiences out of it. I’m not going to talk too much about that project right now, because you’ll hear all about it next week. That’s right, I finally decided to go for it. I’ve been working on it for the last months and after years of just thinking about it, it’s all going to actually start next week. And you know what? Maybe I will fail. Maybe it won’t be all I thought it would be, but it doesn’t matter, at least I’m trying. (but to be honest, I’m pretty hopeful everything will be fine)


So there it is. The five things I’m confidently saying I will do to make 2017 the best year so far.

What do you think? Any of these you’ll try out, or are already doing?

You can download the Free Printable Calendar over HERE!

I've been so tired this last week. I feel like I had appointment on top of appointment for the last months and I just want it to stop so I can have some time to relax.

I had to take Astrid, my cat, to the vet because she needed to have a tooth removed. Even if it wasn't as much of a big deal as Augustus, my other cat, surgery last year, I was still worried, but everything went fine.

So, yeah, I needed an evening to myself to relax.

BVSpas Sugar Scrub in Grapefruit
This felt so good on my skin. It scrubs really well, but yet is not too abrasive. The smell is amazing and really fresh which makes it perfect for those hot summer days. My skin now feels really smooth and it didn't dried it out. It is made with Safflower Seed Oil, Olive Oil and Jojoba Oil, so this is obviously why my skin feels so good!

The BodyShop Warming Mineal Mask
I bought this one recently and I am really happy with it. It smells good. The fact that it is heating really makes me feel like it actually works at cleaning my pores.

BVSpas Body Butter in Grapefruit*
It is thick, moisturizing and smells amazing. It is basically all I want from a body butter. With ingredients like Cocoa Seed Butter, Shea Butter and Sunflower Oil, its moisturizing capabilities, to me, compares to the body shop body butters, which I think is amazing.

Bath&Body Works Candle in Watermelon Lemonade
What is a long bath without burning a candles? I especially love this one. It smells like watermelon bubble gum and takes me back to my childhood.


InténsivEyes Cucumber Under-Eyes Pad
I love these eye sheet mask. It feels fresh and let my under eye feel really soft.

I feel much better now and I am ready to start this new week and be as productive as I can be.

I don't know about you, but I'm always trying to be a little more healthy. Most times I fail and end up eating a giant slice of pizza. Or five. But at least I'm trying, right?

Over the years, I realized that as much as I try, I'm always going to not be so healthy all the time. I mean, don't make me choose between a bag of baby carrots and a bag of ketchup chips for my late night snack. Chances are, the carrots won't leave the fridge in a while.

But there are a lot of little things I can do to be overall healthier. Here are the five good habits I'm, at least trying, to get into.

DRINK MORE WATER
I'm not just saying this because I made a blog post about it a couple of months back. I'm still struggling with this. Some days I have no problem and end up wanting to have more water. Other days, I only drink half the amount of water I need.

WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERYDAY
Guilty. I bough sunscreen this year and so far I'm pretty good at wearing it… On sunny days. But to be honest, before, I just would not wear it at all. I don't really get sunburn, so I though I did not need it. But even if there is no sign of sun damage, does not mean there is no damage.

PREP FOOD AHEAD
Simply for the fact that if I have a salad already prepped in my fridge, I will eat it and won't be as tempted to make some french fries. That is one I need to work on. I did that on one week and ended up making too much food. And I don't want to waste food just so I could eat more healthy. But basically, what I will try this week is chopping some lettuce and veggies, cook some quinoa and prep some other tasty things to add to the dish. And at lunch time I will just have to take veggies, quinoa, some dressing and nuts or cheese and it will be done quickly and it will be healthy.

EXERCISE MORE
This one was obvious, wasn't it? The one thing we always say we will do… But rarely do for the long run (see what I did there?). I know I can't plan to do a two hours run very morning. That just won't happen. But Right now I'm planning a 10 minutes workout to do most morning. That is more realistic. And maybe I will do it for a month, and then stop for three weeks, and then try again. But I hope eventually I will actually make a habit out of working out.

TURN OFF THE TECH
This one is more about being mentally healthy, because this is as important. Sometimes I wake up and go straight to my phone or computer. And most of the time, if you have to do it, it's fine. But turning it all off from time to time actually feels really, really good. I did that a few times over the last months. I didn't open all the tech before mid afternoon and I had time to do so many things in my day. I felt so happy.

I don't have it all figured out. Obviously. But I felt like sharing some things I'm trying to do to have a more healthy life.

Please share your good habits in the comments!

I like simple make up routines for busy or lazy mornings. Or for morning when I want to look pretty, but don't feel like doing anything crazy complicated aka more than one eye-shadow.

…What a weird smile I have on this one…

L'Oréal True Match Lumi in n1-2 Classic Ivory
The first stop of this make up routine is foundation. I heard good things about the original True Match foundation, but decided to go with this one as I thought it would suit my dry skin better. To be honest, it was not love at first use, but my skin was quite dry the first time I used it. Then I tried it with a damp sponge and my first impression changed. Up to now, every time I used it with a brush, things were looking really dry, though. But it does give a nice glow, as the name would suggest.

Becca Dual Coverage Compact Concealer in Latte
I like this one, because it has two sides, one extra coverage, and one medium coverage. The extra is really full coverage, with is good.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Mirage
Who doesn't like Tarte blushes? I feel like I hear about it everywhere (OK, mainly on blogs and youtube). This is the only one I own and it came in a set of two deluxe samples. I really love the color, which is a toned down peachy-pink. It's the perfect subtle color, when in doubt, this is always what I go for. I think it might be limited edition, because I can't find the color anywhere on their website.

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown
Another product everybody talks about. I had a very hard time doing my brow before I tried this product. It took me a couple time to figure out the best way to use it, but it works. The only downside, it came broken. I can still use it, but if I try to flip it over to use the spooly, the product falls.

Maybelline The Colossal Cat Eye Mascara
It's not my favorite mascara by any means. I just try to get through it. It's not completely bad either, overall a pretty average mascara.

What are your staples when you do your make up? What step are you not willing to skip?

Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out my hair. It was curly a couple of years ago, not it almost is completely straight. I don't know what is up with that. All I know is these products are working for me right now.

Dry shampoo is a staple in my hair care. I definitely don't wash my hair every day. Not only does it keep hair looking fresh, but it also adds volume, which is something I am naturally lacking. Right now I am enjoying the herbal essence one, compared to most dry shampoo I tried in the past, this one does not leave your hair with that white cast.

I was one of these people who though shampoo didn't make much of a difference, but I guess I was just not using the right ones. Since I started using the Dove nutritive solutions shampoo and conditioner, which are moisturizing, I really start to see a difference. My hair looked much smoother and overall more healthy.

Texurizing spray is a recent addition to my hair routine. And it's even better since I chopper half of my hair off. It's a nice way to add grip to the hair and, well, texture. It's that kind of that is not necessary, but always nice to add.

Argan oil is something I've been using for years. I feel like it's the only thing that have been able to keep the frizz at bay, and with good reason, argan oil is amazing. If you haven't read it yet, I have a whole blog post that explain why argan oil is so good for you.

So these are my most used hair products. What are your favorite hair care?

I love beauty oils, for hair, body or face. As for face oils, it pretty much completly taken the place of moisturizers.

The two first oils I'll talk about I both got as sample over the holidays. It's Caudalie Divine Oil and the Josie Maran 100% Pure Light Argan Oil. I alternately use both of them the same way. I put them on in the morning after cleansing my face. I've been using them for about a month now and my skin really seams more glowy. The Josie Maran one have no sent whatsoever, as the Caudalie one have a semi-strong sent. I never used any of their other product, but somehow I feel like it's their signature sent (?).

I remember Bio Oil being all the rage back when I started watching YouTube Beauty videos. And for good reasons. It seams to have fallen into oblivion since then. I stumble upon it this summer at the drugstore and remembered how much I used to love it and decided I would give it an other go. I was not disappointed, it cleared my face of unwanted blemishes. Now that the weather is cold, I tend to gravitate more around moisturizing products, but I still use it once in a while when I have problematic skin. Also, it is said to be anti-aging, and since I discovered little wrinkles around my eyes yesterday (why, oh why?!), that is not a bad thing.

I like to use the Evoluderm Huile de Beauté à l'Amande Douce (sweet almond oil) as a night time moisturizer. It's a little more thick in texture than the Josie Maran or Caudalie ones. I apply a thick layer on my face and go to bed, and it really does the trick.

The last oil of the five is no other than tea three oil from the BodyShop. I use it as a spot treatment, of course. But I also used it in the past mixed with either a night time moisturizer.

These are my top 5 face oils. Have you tried any of these before? What is your favorite oil? Leave a comment bellow, I would love the read what you have to say!

If you read my lips care & story a few weeks back, you may know that my lips have been in a bad state for most of the year, but as lately been much better. This not only means that it feels better, but also that I can finally wear lipstick again. So I thought I would show you the fives ones I am the most excited to wear right now.

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede in 005 Muse

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in 12 

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic

L'Oréal Paris Infallible Lipstick in 737 Persistent Plum

Jordana lipstick in 064 Holiday Red

What lipstick shades are you excited to use right now? What do you suggest I try next?