- - Lomography | Simple Use Reloadable Film Camera Review (Lomochrome Purple Edition) - -

Today I'm back with another Lomography-related post!

This post will be a two-in-one: a review of Lomography's Simple Use Camera and a brief review of the Lomochrome Purple film stock.

If you've been following me on Instagram, you'll know that a couple of months ago I acquired the Minolta SR-T 101, an analogue camera that shoots 35mm film. I have since tried different kinds of film stock (rolls of film) and am always keeping an eye out for more!

Even before getting the Minolta, I knew that one film stock I really wanted to try was the Lomochrome Purple. Lomochrome Purple is Lomography's homage to Kodak Aerochrome and EIR, two iconic infrared films. Like its predecessors, Lomochrome Purple distorts the colours of reality but it does this by painting your photographs in purple hues (see photos below).

- - Lomography | Lomo'Instant (Song's Palette) Review - -

2020 was a rough and isolating year for many of us. Ironically, it was also the year when I was able to make a number of meaningful new connections with people. What I started doing in 2020 that I had never done before was participating in polaroid exchanges with individuals all over the world who were passionate about instant photography.

I was able to identify early on that my favourite photographs were the ones that had a vignette effect (ie. a darkened perimeter). These photographs stood out to me because they had a different feel/mood than the photos I had been shooting with my Instax Mini 9.

For example, take a look at these photos:

- - Fujifilm | Instax Square SQ6 Unboxing : Taylor Swift Edition - -

Happy weekend!

This will be a bit of a long read but I hope you enjoy it. 😊

The first time I heard "Look What You Made Me Do" I thought it was an interesting song. At that point (2017) it had been a while since Taylor Swift released music (or had been seen in the public eye) and her new sound was very different from what I had previously heard from her on the radio. But I loved it.

As I started eventually listening to the Reputation tracks on YouTube (all of which I really liked), I also noticed a series of "The Making Of..." videos. These were intimate videos (all shot with TS's phone from the looks of it) which showed the writing and recording process that Taylor Swift had gone through in making her new album.

To me these videos were a huge game-changer because: A) I had never before seen a singer take their fans into their world that much, and B) it was really cool to see parts of the songwriting process. I started looking at other interviews and videos where Taylor Swift talked about the songwriting process and this made me really respect her as a singer, writer, and as a storyteller.

Read more after the jump:

- - Hasbro | Bob Ross Monopoly Review - -

Happy Friday!

Today I'm back with another interesting version of Monopoly! The edition I'm reviewing today features artwork from one of the most iconic American painters and television personalities - Bob Ross.

Unlike Monopoly for Millennials, the Bob Ross Monopoly was a lot tougher to track down. This edition came out last year in August in the US and it took a few weeks to appear in Canada. When it finally did, the online stores where it was available charged quite a bit for it (e.g. $70+ on Amazon), and the online stores where the prices were reasonable (e.g. $39 at Game Shack) were sold out of it. I never did end up finding this Monopoly edition in any of the brick and mortar game stores I checked.

Ultimately, I ended up waiting it out a bit and purchasing this edition on Amazon.

Read on after the jump:

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Rainbow - -

Happy Friday!

Today I'm continuing the Instax Mini Film series with my favourite Instax film - Rainbow!

The Rainbow film includes 10 sheets with a vibrant, gradient border. The gradation of the colours (as you see below) is circular / continuous and (at least in my experience) each film pack can start at any point in the pattern.

More after the jump!

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Airmail - -

Happy Monday and hello again!

A number of changes (and lots of ups and downs) have occurred at my end since my last post, so that's why I haven't been too active on this blog. Fortunately, I am working towards getting back into a routine. Given my offline work schedule, I don't think I'll be able to continue publishing posts three times a week, but hopefully I can work out a regular schedule once there is a little more certainty at my end. Thank you for your understanding and continuing support!

Today, I wanted to put up a few photos taken with the Airmail Instax Mini Film.

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Stained Glass - -

Happy Tuesday!

Today I'm back with a very brief post about the Stained Glass Instax mini film. The name for this film is very interesting. When I think of stained glass, I think of intricately designed windows...not coloured squares equally spaced out. It is what it is though. 😅

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Macaron - -

Ah, the Macaron mini film. 😍

As soon as I started purchasing coloured/patterned mini film, I knew that I wanted to try the Macaron version. The one thing that really held me back was the price. Whereas most Instax mini films will fall in the $13-$18 CAD range (when they're reasonably priced), for some reason the Macaron film is typically at least $22.

I ultimately purchased two packs of this film from AliExpress, so the price ended up being about $13 per box (after taxes). If you can wait about a month for your purchase then sometimes AliExpress is really the way to go!

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Sky Blue - -

Happy Friday!

Today (and for the next few posts) I'll be shifting focus back to a few Instax mini film reviews. For this post, I wanted to take a look at the Sky Blue Instax mini film. This film holds a special place in my heart because after getting used to operating my Instax Mini 9 camera, this was the first non-white film that I tried.

- - Hasbro | Monopoly for Millennials Review - -

One of the board games I was able to convince my family to play during the quarantine was Hasbro's Monopoly for Millennials. This game came out late 2018, and although I'm not a board game (or Monopoly) collector, I loved the light-hearted jabs at millennials (I'm a millennial myself), so I went ahead and purchased the game. Yes, take my money, Hasbro!

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Chinese Festival - -

Sometimes when you spend long enough flipping through the pages of AliExpress you can find some really unique items. That's what happened to me one day when I stumbled across an Instax mini film that I had never seen before. The film above was such a rare find that last year when I purchased it there was only one seller selling it. As of right now, I see three sellers (one, two, three) with this film on AliExpress.

I can't find an official name for this film pack anywhere, but one of the sellers I linked above refers to this film as "Chinese Festival" so I figure that's what I will call it too.

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Black - -

Happy Friday!

For the next few posts I will be focusing on more Instax mini film reviews. These will be relatively short posts (or at least that's the plan) in which I will share a few photos that I have taken over the past couple of years with different kinds of Instax Mini Film. All the Instax photos in these posts have been taken with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 camera.

Today, I wanted to take a look at the Black Instax Mini Film.

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review: Bloom (Urban Outfitters) - -

Hello again!

I hope that all of you are safe, healthy, and keeping busy during this crazy time.

The first half of the year was really busy for me and, even though Toronto has been under quarantine since mid-March, it's only now that I am finding some free time to turn my focus back to this blog. I have a few post ideas in mind so hopefully I can see those through in the coming weeks!

Today I wanted to make a quick post to show you one of my favourite Instax Mini Films - Bloom!

Take a look after the break below:

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Shiny Star - -

Another Wednesday, another post!

I recently started a new series of reviews in which I showcase different kinds of Instax Mini Film. All of the instant mini film I feature in these posts has been tested out with a Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 camera. Last week, I talked about the Instax Mini Comic Film; this week, I'm continuing the series with a look at the Instax Mini Shiny Star Film. Check out the full review right after the jump!

- - Fujifilm | Instax Mini Film Review : Comic - -

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

At the beginning of this year, I talked about how I would like to review different kinds of Fujifilm Instax mini film in the coming months. While these posts are a chance for me to talk about the different Instax film designs - what I liked about them and what I didn't like - this will mostly be my opportunity to show you guys a few of the photos that I took. These posts will typically be fairly short since I end up giving away a lot of the photos that I take with my Instax Mini 9 camera.

Check out the first installment in this Instax Mini Film series right after the jump!

- - Teacup Tuesday | Week 6 - -

Hey friends! Happy 1st of September! Amazing how time flies, no?

Today I'm continuing my series of Teacup Tuesday posts with another collection of loose tea from DAVIDsTEA. This time around the collection is called Old Timey Treats, which is a pretty sweet (Ha! Get it?) name for such a collection.  :)

Let's jump right into it!

- - THEFACESHOP | Lip Tint Stick Review - -

Hey guys!

Definitely a shorter post today! A couple of weeks ago I got my package from the RoseRoseShop which included three Lip Tint Sticks from THEFACESHOP.

Now this isn't a new product - the original Lip Tint Stick was part of the "Lovely Me:Ex" line a while back but it is now discontinued. If you were a fan of the lip tint fret not because the product is back and the only thing that is different about it is the packaging. I'm not sure if the repackaged version will ever make its way into Canada, but you can definitely find these tints at THEFACESHOP locations in the US.

How did I hear about these tints? A co-worker of mine raves about this product all the time, so I decided to place an order and see if it was worth all the excitement.

Read more after the jump :)

- - L'Occitane | Haul | Part 1 - -

Hey everyone!

Today I am back with another "haul" post. This time around it's an official full-size haul rather than a mini one. I'm actually not sure what constitutes a full-size haul, but there seem to be enough products in the photo above to consider this as one.

Last week I went shopping at L'Occitane en Provence ("L'Occitane" for short) at a major mall near me. I rarely shop at L'Occitane since it's a pricey brand, but I absolutely adore their products!

I will tell you more after the jump. :)

- - Teacup Tuesday | Week 5 - -

I hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday!

I am back today with another Teacup Tuesday post in which I'll go over the DAVIDsTEA Summer Collection with you.

Shall we jump right into it? :)

- - Petit Vour | Mystery Box Review - -

Hey friends!

Just over a week ago Petit Vour, the vegan beauty subscription box, released a mystery box. I put up a note about it on my Facebook page, but the box sold out pretty quickly. Luckily, I was able to snatch one up and hopefully some of you were able to as well!

I have been looking at Petit Vour for a while now. It seems like a pretty great subscription box and besides, what's not to love about cruelty-free cosmetics? Well...the price. Living in Canada, the subscription cost per month is $23 USD (roughly $30 CAD). This seems a bit much for a variety of products that I might not love. In any case, that's why I enjoy mystery boxes - they give you a feel for a subscription without the commitment!

The mystery box cost me $32.99 USD ($25 + $7.99 for shipping) or $44.20 CAD. Petit Vour said that the box was supposed to contain old favourites and have a value of $75-80. I have seen my favourite hair care brand, EVOLVh, featured in some of the old Petit Vour boxes, so I was really hoping to get that. I didn't end up getting anything from EVOLVh, but I do think that I got a good variety of products anyway.

I'll tell you more after the jump!