raceenm – Raceen Montique

Trend Spotting : Pantsuits

Perhaps, you thought that the era of pantsuits was over, well, you thought wrong.

It’s official, pants suits are back! Yes, matching your blazer with your pants is in style again. Yass honey! Grab that pantsuit that’s tucked away at the back of your closet hun.

Celebrities have been spotted all over wearing this trend, in varying styles and colours.You can see this trend frequently on celebrities like Bella Hadid, Tracee Ellis Ross and Beyonce.

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So, where did this trend begin? Well, in 1850, Amelia Bloomer, a women’s rights activist popularized the “bloomer pant” aka the baggy pant created by Elizabeth Smith Miller. By the 20th century, women’s pants were only appropriate for “occasional dressing only”.

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By the 1920’s and 30’s celebrities dared to wear full pantsuits to movie premieres. Pants, were deemed as men’s wear. Ordinary women were fined for wearing pants. Women in the United States were barred from wearing pants on the senate floor until 1993 when the “Pantsuit Rebellion” overturned that rule.

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Today, the pantsuit is used to make a statement of power for women. It’s showing the world that women matter and we have a voice. We can now be on equal footing with men in the workplace.

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There are so many variations of pantsuits right now.There are bright colours like read, pink and yellow. The blazers are structured differently now, instead of shoulder pads there are peplum blazers, kimono blazers etc.

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Some of the blazers now have patterns like gingham, florals and checkers.

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I bought this pantsuit, a year ago from Zara. My best friend was graduating from University and I wanted to wear something sophisticated but cool. It was winter so I didn’t want to wear a dress so I chose a suit. I mean, who wants to be outside trembling in the cold? Definitely not me.

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The color of the suit is army green and it’s really light weight. You can wear it on a sunny day and not feel over heated. The pants are high waisted and the blazer has buttons on the front in case you want to button up.

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The price was reasonable and I didn’t have to break the bank. I think I purchased this suit for about $120 in total. Cheap, I know right? And people say that Zara is expensive. Haha, that’s funny.

I know, pantsuits can be tricky, you have to find the right size and make sure the pants are tailored to your liking. You can either dress it up with heels or down with sneakers.This suit makes me feel like a girl boss. It makes me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to.

Are you going to a wedding or work function this weekend? Why don’t you try something new? Try a pantsuit instead of a dress. As drake would say ,”You only live once”.

You can find similar suits Here

What sort of clothing makes you feel empowered? What style have you wanted to try but didn’t have the courage to?

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Makeup Organizer

Being organized is hard, for me. If you googled the least organized person, my name would probably come up. You know what they say, “Bad habits die hard”.

I’ve been trying to become more organized recently, and I must say, it makes my life easier.

I recently moved about 3 months ago and I didn’t really know how to organize my makeup or where to put them. I wondered if I should just leave them on my dresser? Do I put them on my washroom counter? Do I just throw them outside? These are the questions, I asked myself.

Well, I found the solution to my problem. Upon researching on Amazon, I saw these really cool plastic organizers, but I didn’t purchase them. One day, I went into the dollar store to get something and I saw similar plastic organizers, I was so happy! And the best thing is that they were so much cheaper than Amazon! Woohoo! Who doesn’t love cheap things?

Below, are some pictures of the organizers I purchased from my local Dollarama store here in Canada.

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These are little plastic drawers. I use them to store my foundations, concealers, mascaras etc. It makes my life so much easier.I don’t have to be searching all over the place to find my makeup. I have 3 of them but I’m going to purchase more.

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The top drawer is where I put all my concealers and my eyebrow gel. This is where all my Nyx concealears, NARS concealer and Rimmel London eyebrow gel are.

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Below my concealers are my Fenty Beauty match stix and shimmers. I have one for concealing, one for contouring and one for my highlighting. For my concealer I use the shade Latte, for my contouring I use the shade espresso and for my highlight I use the shade Sinamon.

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I put my foundations in the other drawers. I use Fenty Beauty, Maybelline and Loreal Infallible foundations. The drawers are clear, so it’s really easy to find everything.

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So where do I put my brushes, beauty blenders, lipsticks and setting powder? Well, I also found another little treasure in the dollar store. Here’s a picture below.

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This organizer has little pockets where I can put my lipsticks and the bigger pocket is where I put all my 10 brushes. In the middle is where I place my 4 beauty blenders, setting powder and setting spray.

I’ve probably said this a thousand times but this does make my life easier. I don’t have to be searching all over for my makeup. Everything is just there, in front of my face. The drawers are big enough to hold enough products and I love it.

You can find similar ones Here and Here

What do you use to organize your makeup?

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Releasing Negativity

Have you ever had some really negative thoughts? Thoughts like “I’m not pretty enough” or “I don’t deserve this job” or, “No one is going to love me”. Do you worry about things that you have no control over? Whether it’s self imposed or something else, negative thinking can be a big obstacle in our personal development.

It’s a struggle that each of us go through daily. Being positive, takes a lot of work but it can be achieved. Instead of doing the easy thing and drowning in negativity, why not work at being more positive?

Here are some full proof ways of releasing negative thoughts which I practice as well

Whenever you start to feel worrisome, smile – Acknowledge that your worries are just an old habit that you’re choosing to release. Negativity is a choice and by smiling you’re telling negative thoughts to leave you alone.

2. Take Deep Breaths – I have anxiety problems so this helps me to calm down. As you exhale say “I’m letting go”. Remind yourself that you don’t have to choose negative reactions any longer.

3.Focus on something else – Sometimes, when I feel a negative thought coming on, instead of wallowing I try to focus on something else. I go clean my room or read a book to keep my mind focused on something else

4. Be Grateful – Whenever I feel negative thoughts coming on I remember to be grateful. Gratefulness puts things in perspective and helps me to feel at peace. I thank God for my family, I thank God for a roof over my head etc. After doing this, I feel so much better.

5) Don’t believe what you think – When my mom got sick I had thoughts of “Oh I’m going to have schizophrenia too and I’m not going to be able to have kids because they’re going to have schizophrenia too”. I felt paralyzed by my thoughts .My manager was the one who told me “You’re not going to have schizophrenia, you’re going to live a happy life”. That really changed my mindset. Believe in yourself.

Releasing negativity isn’t easy, but, you have to start somewhere if you want to be happy.

You can start with these affirmations

I release fear and negativity, I choose to find joy in the present instead.
I choose to release fear.
I choose to have power over my thoughts.
I choose to have a more peaceful attitude everyday.

I’m not saying that, you’re going to be in a happy bubble everyday and nothing is going to affect you. If that were the case we would be probably be in heaven right now. But in the same way that happiness is a choice so is negativity.

You can choose to wallow in negativity or rise above it and release it.

Dress – I bought this dress about 3 years ago but you can find similar ones Here

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Beauty: The Product I Use for Baking my Face

Baking is a makeup technique that involves letting a setting powder sit on the face for an extended period, usually on top of concealer.

I remember the first time I saw people doing it on YouTube and I thought, “That’s ridiculous, what are they doing?”. But now, Baking is my best friend. Every time I have on makeup just know, my face is baked girl. A girl’s gotta get Baked! Hahaha.

I have oily skin, so setting sprays only make me oilier.I’ve tried several different brands, and none of them work. I’ve also tried different setting powders from ELF cosmetics,Mac cosmetics and also Nyx. These either made me look too ashy, or the powder wasn’t loose enough or it was caked all over my face. Yikes! It was a nightmare.

Luckily, for me, about a year ago I started watching Jeffree Star on YouTube. A friend told me he was the makeup Guru, of Gurus. He was applying his makeup and then he started using this setting powder and he said, “This is the best setting powder y’all”. And I saw for myself that it was really good. I researched what it was and found out that it was called RCMA No Color Powder and then I purchased it on Amazon. I love it!

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When I put this on I use a beauty blender and it doesn’t leave me looking ashy or caked.

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There’s a lot in the bottle so I don’t have to buy anymore till next year. Hahaha

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I start out by applying my foundation, then concealer, then setting powder. Yes, in that order. I need to sap up that oil baby girl. Haha.

Below are some pictures of the process

1)After applying foundation and concealer get a beauty blender and add setting powder. Don’t add too much, because you don’t want to look ashy.

2) Apply powder to your face using the beauty blender. I apply the powder where the concealer is, my T zone area. So my forehead, under eyes nose and chin. Those are the spots that usually get too oily. I let it stay on for about 5 minutes to soak up the oil while I do my eyebrows or eyelashes. I don’t dampen the beauty blender.

3) Then, I use the same beauty blender and blend out the powder after 5 minutes. Then I switch to a clean beauty blender and brush off the excess powder. Above, I was using a blue beauty blender and in this picture below I’m using a pink one.

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4) Then, I use my Quo Powder brush to brush off the rest of the powder and blend everything in.

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And this is the end result!

I’m not a beauty guru, but this is by far my favourite setting powder. I don’t like setting sprays because they make me oily so this is the best thing for me.

You can purchase the setting powder Here

What do you like using to keep your making looking less oily? Setting powder or setting spray?

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Why I like Online Shopping

Online shopping is not for everyone, maybe that’s why I like it so much. All you have to do is put your items in your shopping cart and you’re done! No hard lifting, no stress.So easy!

I’ve been shopping online now for a long time. Do I go to the mall? Yes, sometimes but I’m often disappointed.

So, why do I like it so much?

1) I can get the new arrivals before they arrive in the store – Sometimes, I’ll see something online and want to purchase it but, when I go into the store they say they haven’t received it yet. Like what? I like my clothes fresh out the warehouse you know what I’m saying?

2) You don’t have to wait in line – Have you ever been inside Zara on a Friday? Girl, you should see that line. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Who wants to spend hours in a line when you can have your clothing delivered right to your door.

3) You get to stand out – Online shopping allows you to stand out. You get the chance to wear one of a kind pieces that no one else has. Every time I wear something unique people ask me “Where did you get that from?” and I’m like “Online!’.

4) It’s easy – All you need is your credit card or visa debit and that’s it. LOL. You don’t have to spend hours walking through the mall looking for stuff. You just go online and search for what you want and BAM you purchase it and it’s delivered to your door. It’s like magic!

5) Online has what I want – Have you ever gone into the mall and couldn’t find what you wanted? Yeah, that’s me. I often go into the mall with a vision and most times the mall doesn’t have my vision. P.s. mall, can you get my vision? Hahah.

Online shopping is really convenient. A lot of my friends say that they could never do it. They ask me “So how do you know your size?”, well, from experience girl.

The first time I bought jeans online they were so tight! But over the years from going to the store and knowing what my size actually is, I now know how it works. You could say I’m a pro now, hahaha.

I only go into the mall really if I’m close by to one, or to test out makeup in Sephora.

As I said before online shopping isn’t for everyone but it works for me. I love it, it’s so easy!

Find similar Rompers Here

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Mother’s Day Adventures

My mom is my favourite person period. She is my best friend. After her many stays in the hospital and being sick I just appreciate her more you know?

This mother’s day I decided to take my mom to the Peel Art Gallery downtown Brampton, Canada. I know, weird mother’s day idea right? Well, I asked her what she wanted to do and out of all my suggestions this is what she picked. DSCN0507

My mom is a very simple woman. She likes sitting in the couch watching TV, she doesn’t really like going out much so this was a simple relaxing activity for her.

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We arrived at about 1:30 pm and were greeted by some really nice ladies. After we paid we went inside and looked around the Museum and the Art gallery.

Below are some pictures of how our day went.

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We learned so much about the history of Brampton.

We had a really good time and got a view of the courthouse in the 1860’s.

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We spent about 45 minutes inside, we toured the art gallery and viewed an old courthouse that was built in the 1860’s.

The museum wasn’t as big as the one in Toronto and there wasn’t a lot to see but my mom enjoyed herself and that’s all I care about.

What activities did you do with your Mom for Mother’s Day?.

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My Favourite Concealer

Finding the right concealer can be tough. Throughout the years, I’ve had my fair share of different brands of concealers. Some leave you looking ashy, oily or out right weird looking.

I have dark under eye circles so I like to use concealer to cover that up. I don’t want people asking me if I’m ok every second, you know what I’m saying? Girl, I know you can relate.

Recently, I found one that works well, The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. I absolutely love it!

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This concealer is EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING! Yes, believe the hype.

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I vividly remember the day I went to sephora looking for a new good concealer with my friend. I had heard some friends talking about it and decided to see what it was like.I even read the reviews online and 99% were good reviews. There was no one to help me find my shade in the store, so I said to my friend “You know what? I’ll just try them on until I find my shade”. I chose one that looked like it would suit me then I proceeded to apply it. I immediately fell in love. LOL and I’ve never been in love before. After I put it on,I asked my friend how it looked and she said, “Wow, it looks so good, and you chose the right shade too”. I was so happy.

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My shade is Biscuit. Biscuit is a medium dark natural balance of pink and yellow undertones. This covers my dark under eye circles so well and makes my face look radiant. It doesn’t crease! I like when my concealer looks bright and is a tone lighter than my skin tone so I love this.

These photos below show how I apply my concealer.

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After using my beauty blender to blend it out this is the result. Processed with VSCO with l10 preset

I love this concealer. I know, I’ve probably said this 100 times. But it’s that good.

You can shop it Here

What concealers do you use? What concealers do you absolutely love?

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