I'll be away from the Internet for a month and a half. I have two posts scheduled to go out while I'm away, but I will not be making any other blog posts until I get back to Canada.

Also, I said Part 3 of that What's in my Carry-on/Suitcase series would be up a while ago, but I just never got around to doing it, with all that packing and whatnot that I had to do. I'm really sorry! I'll write and release it when I have Internet available again.

Part 2 is going to be about in-flight/carry-on essentials! I'm going on a very very long flight (15 hours, to be exact) so I'll need to be prepared, so I don't bore myself to death on inflight entertainment.

First, my iPad.

15 hours is quite the long haul flight, so I'm going to have to charge this thing to its full power, load it up beforehand with some shows/movies and download some fun games.

This one isn't an essential, but my Canon T5i is coming with me on my carry-on bag because I don't trust airports to handle delicate things in my checked in luggage. I'm also worried about theft. I once arrived at an airport with the zippers on my luggage broken, so I assume the workers were ripping suitcases open and looking inside for things of value. As a side note, I'll be bringing my EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM lenses with me on this trip. 

In addition to these two electronics, I'll be packing two Apple lightning wires with me, while its wall plugs will be going into my suitcase. 

And earphones. 

I have the Urbanears Medis Tomato earphones. These earphones are alright, but they hurt my ears after a while, so I'm still on the hunt for that perfect pair of in-ear headphones that aren't the soft rubbery style that everyone uses (those don't fit in my ears...)

Because airplane air is so drying, I will be packing a sleeping mask into my carry-on. 

My sleeping mask of choice is the Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight mask. I have a travel sized version of it, which makes the perfect size for carry-on. It also fits TSA restrictions, which is the best part. I know that people do carry sheet masks with them onto the plane, but they dry out extremely fast. Additionally, face masks are a bit of a struggle for my small(er) sized face, so I prefer to use wash-off masks instead. I will apply this the moment I get on the plane, and reapply as the flight goes on. 

Hand creams!! I have so many handcreams and because I'm bringing two bags on board, I'll have two hand creams on me.

L'Occitane makes the best handcreams ever. I think I own like four hand creams from them. I also own some other hand creams, but this one smells good. The Piroine Flora is almost finished, so I'll probably pack another hand cream into my suitcase to replace it. 

My wallet for the Hong Kong portion of the trip is my Marc Jacob Classic Q Wallet in grey. 

I might end up buying a new wallet while I'm in Hong Kong, but for now, this is the wallet I will be bringing with me. It's got a coin pouch, which makes it very useful for me, as a cash person. It's also bigger than my Michael Kors wallet, making it perfect for bills of different sizes. 

I also have a mini emergency bag that I transfer from bag to bag and inside it are bandages (for my feet or other accidents), an old eclipse case with TUMS inside, lip balm, nail clippers (that will be in my suitcase and not my carry on however...), a cuticle trimmer, travel sized contact solution, and girl necessities. 

My makeup (outlined in Part 1) also comes with me, simply because I don't want it to get damaged in my suitcase. 

Glasses case also goes with me... simply because this way I know I have my glasses with me. Sometimes I get on the plane with my contacts in, and take them off in the first hour. I have almost forgotten to pack glasses with me sometimes... #fail

Food is also important. I usually try to bring some junk food with me, so I have something to eat while I watch my movies or shows. Also because airlines usually don't provide good junk food (although Cathay is amazing with their food though! They've got Haagen Daz ice cream for dessert, omg). 

A cardigan is necessary. Planes can be cold, so something to cover my shoulder/arm is important, even if your airline provides blankets for long haul flights. 

Lastly, my passport of course. Imagine if I forgot that...

Generally I try to sleep as much as possible on flights. There's not much to do, lack of space and privacy is a concern, so I just sleep and watch movies. I try to sleep for at least half of the flight, but I don't know how well I'll fare this time, since it's my first time flying for 15 hours straight. Time to cut down on my sodium intake now!

Part 3 will be out tomorrow! 

Hey everyone,

So this is a completely different type of post from everything that I've posted before, because this one is more blog-like, and less beauty review! I'm actually leaving on a 4 month "vacation" next week, and I won't be able to post for the first month and a half because I will not have readily available internet access where I am. I say "vacation" because destination one, Hong Kong, is my second home but it's not really my home. Destination two, is my hometown but I don't live there anymore, so it's sort of a "vacation". Honestly, I don't really have a destination that is "home" anymore (but a destination that I call "school"), but that's a whole different story.

I've been scrounging YouTube for "What's in my Bag"/"What's in my Travel Bag" videos to see what kind of bags people buy/bring on vacations and what they bring inside. However, most of these people go on weekend or short trips, and as a result, they're not very useful for those of us who go on long haul trips.

So onto my bags!

This is the Rebecca Minkoff Julian backpack, in the colour Ink. I debated between the Ink and the Black, before deciding on the Ink, because everyone else has it in Black and I'd rather be unique about my bag choices. The bag shown has the fringes on it, but the one I have doesn't have that. I also believe this is sold out everywhere now.

I'm also bringing this Rebecca Minkoff Amorous Satchel in Winter Mint. 

In the past, I'd bring a Jansport backpack and then pack a smaller shoulder/sling bag into my suitcase. This year, I've decided to upgrade my backpack and then bring a satchel for work/more formal purposes. The Julian will be my main bag, as I will be bringing my DSLR around when I am not working, and I don't want it to hang around my neck or on my wrist in the humid weather. The satchel is more work appropriate and is relatively big, meaning it will fit all the crap I will inevitably chuck in there.

Makeup I will be bringing

I'm only bringing two palettes with me, as palettes can be quite chunky and take up more room than necessary. The Lorac Mega Pro palette will have my everyday boring, work-appropriate neutrals, while the Too Faced Sugar Pop Eye Palette will have some fun colours for the weekend.

The Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette has a good mixture of three lighter blushes, while the NARS Almeria blush is heavier/more pink, which will make for days where I have lighter makeup. The Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour Trio is my choice for contour product, as the stick format makes it extremely portable. 

Amazing Cosmestics' Amazing Concealer in the travel size means it is extremely portable, and as someone who only uses concealer on occasion, this size is perfect for me.

Smashbox's Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liner is my go-to eyeliner choice. It doesn't budge and is extremely pigmented. I'll probably be bringing both the black and blue with me. 

Chanel's Perfection Lumiere Velvet is the foundation I'll be using this summer. It's matte, making it perfect for humid weathers where I'll be sweating anyways... natural dewy effect. I'll probably use this for days I'm at work, and switching to a bb cushion (that I'll be buying in HK) on weekends or extremely hot days.

I'm a bit of a mascara junkie for some reason, but I'll be bringing these two for sure with me, and probably chucking the rest of my mascaras into my makeup bag anyways... I mean they'll expire soon anyways so why not

Anastasia Beverley Hill's Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde. I currently have grey/silver hair that is slowly losing colour to being something I don't even know, but it's light enough that the Blonde is perfect for me. 

I have too many lipsticks to count, but I'll definitely chuck in a red, pink, a dark burgundy, orange, and a light purple. Maybe more than one of each... lipsticks are my addiction I need to stop clearly

Lastly, for brushes, I will be bringing my Sigma Bunny set, along with some single eyeshadow brushes, a flat top kabuki, a beauty blender, a powder/setting brush (some cheap brand from Winners), and two Real Technique blush brushes.. 

So I think this is it for the makeup... At the time of writing, I haven't actually packed any of this stuff yet, so this is what I'm definitely bringing/intend to pack. 

And I'm going to stop here for today, because this is getting overwhelming, and I haven't even talked about the other stuff I'm putting in my travel bag. Part two will come out tomorrow!

My RSS haul finally came in a few weeks ago, after being shipped out to the wrong province and chasing down Canada Post. Now I have new things to test and play with, yay! So onto the first review of the haul.

This is 3W Clinic's Placenta Sleeping Pack. I was very intrigued by this when I first saw it, as I've read a few articles about women who use placentas for beauty effects and whatnot. I also got it just so I could say I have placenta on my face... #priorities.

This mask supposedly does this:
"Placenta protein makes the loosen skin smooth and firm. Also, the pomegranate extract and royal Jelly extract in this sleeping pack nourish the rough skin to make shiny and vibrant skin."

The ingredient list is as follows:

It doesn't seem like placenta itself, in its raw form, is on the ingredient list, but if I'm wrong please let me know! I don't understand scientific words very well... 

edit: The placental protrin on the ingredient list is probably the placenta. 3W Clinic misspelled protein... #awks.

The mask itself looks like this:

Very brown in the jar. It's kinda springy to the touch as well and not liquidy to the point where it would start spilling out if I turned it on an angle. It didn't move much when I was taking the photo and I was holding the jar slightly on its side. 

On my hand it looks like this. It's has a gel-like consistency and feels cool to the touch. 

This is what it looks like spread out on my hand. The brown colour disappears into a light colour. It's very sticky once spread out. 

As this is a sleeping mask, I put this on after I shower and skip my usual night routine. Because it has a gel-like consistency and it's so sticky, I sleep on my back, military position, in order not to stain my pillow case or sheets. Wake up and wash it off.

I noticed that this sleeping mask doesn't absorb fully into my skin by the time I wake up. I usually go to sleep around 1am and wake up around 10:30-11am. The first time I had applied a moderate layer and noticed that there was still a very thin layer on my face when I woke up. The second time I applied a thinner layer and it had mostly disappeared into my skin but not completely. It was still sticky where I had applied it and I could feel it washing off my skin as I washed my face. 

But this placenta sleeping mask works. I have this red pimple thing(?) on my cheek (tbh I'm not 100% sure it's a pimple as there's nothing to pop. It's just a small red bump). I used a charcoal mask and it made it smaller but it was still there and noticeable. This placenta sleeping mask has diminished its size so much. Before the bump was noticeable and raised; now it is very small and not as raised as before. My skin also feels firmer than before. 

I wish it came in a smaller size, as it'll take me forever to finish this jar. Other than that, I would definitely repurchase this. 

Also, ladies and gents with long hair. Tie up your hair and pin back all stray hairs before sleeping. I woke up and all my stray hairs were stuck to my face. 

Don't be afraid of the placenta! It's strange and sounds weird but it works!