"There is no legitimacy other than that of the people."

 -from a statement prepared by the Egyptian Army.

The news of dictator Hosni Mubarak stepping down in Egypt, was great news to wake up to this morning! So much has been written, reported and discussed about the popular uprisings/movements in North African and Arabian countries during the past few weeks, it has been a lot to keep up with. Lives have been lost, thousands have been injured, but protesters were resilient in their determination to escape the throws of their authoritarian leader-impostors.

In a piece written on January 31st, Professor Tariq Ramadan shared two important points that resonated with me greatly. He said, "From our vantage point in the West, our obligation is to follow closely and lend our support to popular movements in Africa, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia as they reject dictatorship and repression and seek to live free. It is our moral duty."

And later, pointed out that the "Time has come to stand up for the principles of justice and liberty, of true democracy and respect for peoples rather than pay only lip-service to democratization and popular outrage while political systems remain hermetically sealed and collaboration with dictatorial regimes has become an open secret." He's really hit the nail on its head here.

The coming months will be trying for the incoming government and the Egyptian people. May God guide the Egyptians, Tunisians and all other oppressed people in their quest for liberty, sound leadership and a restoration of order. Ameen.

*For further reading, here is a heartfelt message to Egyptians, an interesting backgrounder on Suleiman, and an article discussing what might be next for Egypt. More to come!

In the meantime, check out this video by a few North American artists on the Egyptian plight! Here are some other songs to listen to as well!



I wonder which country may be next....?

REVIEWED: e.l.f. Studio Tinted Moisturizer

Some time back, I purchased the e.l.f. Studio Tinted Moisturizer for $1.50 CDN (hooray for e.l.f. coupons!) in the shades Nude & Sand. And even more recently, I purchased a second bottle in Sand because I didn't want to run out unexpectedly! I find e.l.f products are either a hit or a miss. This tinted moisturizer definitely falls into the former category! In fact, I have recently decided to change my face makeup routine because of it! In the hope of finding more natural looking face makeup, I'm glad to have stumbled on this TM.

In Sand.

Farewell, Friday Night Lights...

Just finished watching the series finale of Friday Night Lights and I have to say, I am quite sad to see it go. After 5 short seasons, the show's wrap up was very satisfying. They tied up all the right loose ends and having seen many a series end, I can say that this one was definitely one of the better ones.

This show contained everything you could desire from a great television show--a solid plot and storyline, genuine and sincere acting, major character growth, romances, bromances...the works!

From coach's relationship with his wife, to Smash and Vince's struggles, to Matt and Landry's bromance, to Buddy's insane energy, the show took you on an emotional rollercoaster and never failed to impress (except on the rare occasion!). Such memorable characters. Bien fait.

One of the best damn shows of all time.

You'll be missed.

DIY Beauty: Cutting your Own Hair

Like most girls (and probably some guys!), I have had some horrendous experiences at the hair salon! The few times I have received nice haircuts, it has always been at great expense. At the moment, I find myself at a point where I would like to add some shape to my hair, but am unwilling to pay a huge sum of money to achieve this result. So, in search of some cost-effective tips, I decided to head to Youtube to learn how to cut my own hair.

I have trimmed my own hair before, and have also cut my own bangs and side fringe in the past- so I'm not afraid to get messy and take a few chances. After all, it's not as if most hair stylists (in my experience) could do that much better than myself.

I'm feeling inspired by the possibility that I'll surprise myself with my haircutting abilities and that I may very well have found a solution to my hair cutting issues once and for all. The prospect of learning how to cut hair does excite me quite a bit!

I recently purchased some haircutting tools including shears, thinning shears, as well as a comb razor. I'm planning to purchase a folding hair razor for my side fringe, from Sally Beauty Supply, before I embark on this adventure though! Altogether, I think these tools should make this process a lot more complete.

So what I have done is collected what I think are the best youtube videos on women's diy haircutting. With each video, I have included my own ideas about what I feel might be good/bad/useful from each one. So let's get started!

Beauty Video Finds!

I've been spending quite a bit of time recently on the 'How-To/Style' section of Youtube! And below are some of my finds. This first video has some good suggestions on how to avoid a cakey appearance while applying foundation. There are an incredible amount of make-up how-to videos online, but I think this British fellow has a pretty solid understanding about make-up application, etc.