Beauty Vixen: around toronto

2023 Movie Round Up

By Jill Oliver-Fox Thursday, January 18, 2024 2023, 2024, around toronto, film, movies, personal, scream

2023 is done, and I thought I'd once again look at what I've been watching. I started journaling my movie-watching habits in 2021, trying to watch 'new to me' movies and I've really enjoyed it. It's made me consciously choose to watch movies that I would not normally have watched. I have watched more classic movies that I have wanted to watch for years. Plus, as an added bonus, I have been less likely to just sit around and watch half a movie I have already seen a 100 times just because it is on TV (yes, I still have cable, it is included with my condo fees).

I broke last year's movies into two categories, 50 New To Me Films in 2023 and 12 New To Me Documentaries for 2023. I tracked them in lists on Letterboxd.

50 New To Me Films in 2023

First off, my goal was 50 movies that I had never seen before, and I watched 51. 🎊 I did it! I am really happy. I think I may have watched one or two extra films but didn't log them.

I went to the movie theatre only once to see a new film and that was to see Scream 6 with my pal Melissa. We opted to go to see it at a VIP theatre so it would be 19+. Somehow this Scream was rated 14+ in Canada and we wanted to avoid teens, and as a bonus, we could order drinks. We ordered a Scream-themed drink that was soooo massive. We had a blast and I must say this was a fantastic movie, even without Sydney, and with all that is going on I am a little worried about the franchise's future.

I did go to the Drive-In four times, each time for a double feature. I have to say, I love the drive-in and am going to continue to go there as long as possible. I get two films, two people and I can bring Bradley for $28. There is no downside.

We saw Super Mario Brothers and Champions. Champions was way better than I thought it would be, if you have the chance watch it (FYI it was filmed in Winnipeg). I grew up in the 80s and 90s, which means I automatically loved the Mario movie.

We saw a double feature with The Flash and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Neither were super great, I fell asleep during the Transformers. I will say I loved seeing Keaton back as Bruce Wayne and feel robbed we will never see Batgirl.

We went back to see Barbie and Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse. Both are fantastic and I have nothing negative to say about either one.

Finally, we went and saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Blackberry (oh so much Canada in this film). I will admit I fell asleep at during Blackberry, I did catch up with the extended version on CBC though (you can watch it for free on their Gem app).

I also went and did two Drunken Cinema experiences at the Revue Cinema. These are super energetic and interactive experiences held at Toronto's oldest (and not-for-profit) theatre. They have a bunch of fun-themed showings as well as classic films, all at incredibly reasonable prices, you should check them out.

I went and saw Speed (1994) with Melissa. I may have seen this movie 3 times in the theatre in 1994 and then once in the winter of 1995 at Ontario Place Cinesphere. So, yes, I had seen it before. I will say this was the most fun I ever had watching it.

Finally, I went to a double feature there, and saw Scream (1996) and Scream (2021), once again with Melissa. This is always so fun. Seeing the first one and then the reboot together was perfect. I had only seen the reboot last Halloween at the drive-in and loved it. There is nothing like a screaming crowd and a Ghostface running around a theatre to make for a good time. With this screening, Melissa and I have seen all the movies together (all but 6 at the Drunken Cinema, and Scream (1996) twice together).

12 New to Me Documentaries for 2023

I didn't set my goals as high as 2022's 25, and still failed by one. I do think I watched one more but didn't log it, so oh well.

I really want to watch more documentaries, but they almost always are series now and it makes it harder for me.

Please give me some suggestions, because I've got no clue what to watch in this department anymore and I really enjoy them.

Goals for 2024

For this year I have decided to do things a little differently and go back to what I did for 2021, one list, but bigger. In 2021 most of my movies ended up being documentaries, which is why I put them in two different categories. This year I am ditching that and doing just one. I just can't reach those goals, so I don't care anymore. This year I am aiming for 75 movies I have not seen before. If you want to follow along, check out my list here, 75 New to Me Movies for 2024.

Follow me on Letterboxd if you like, I would love to follow you, I love seeing friends' movies and what they think of them. I hope to start writing some reviews on it.

My Trip To The Toronto Bite Lip Lab

By Jill Oliver-Fox Tuesday, November 12, 2019 around toronto, bespoke, bite, bite beauty, bite lip lab, custom lipstick, lip lab, review, toronto

Last Christmas I was lucky enough to receive a gift card for the Toronto Bite Lip Lab from a co-worker. Located at Queen St. just west of Bathurst, it is the home of Bite Cosmetics that lets you create your own custom Bite lipsticks.

I had a wonderful artist helping me named Natalya. She started by asking me if I wanted to do their Bespoke or A La Carte lip services. I discussed that my gift card was for two A La Carte lipsticks, but I wasn't sure if I should splurge on the upgrade. We decided that since I was looking for two specific colours I should get the Bespoke, so I did.

I brought along two lipsticks that I wear a lot, cost a lot and would enjoy something like them that I could use daily and feel a tad less guilty about. They were Tom Ford Boys & Girls lipsticks in the shades, Bradley and Richard, a muted warm peach-brown and rich pinky mauve respectively. Now, these Tom Fords are tiny little lipsticks that cost $44 + tax each, so I figured I would probably end up flying through them if I didn't find something similar that I liked just as much soon.

Before we began mixing, I was given some of Bite's lip scrub to scrub my lips and some of their lip mask to hydrate.

We first started with trying to get something that resembled Bradley, essentially a pinky or peach nude that would look good on my skin tone. The first thing that then happened was a cellophane sheet came out with grids on it. The artist then applies a shade from many concentrates that they have to a select number of cubes on the sheet. The colour and its amount get written down and this happens a few more times until the artist feels they have the correct mixture for your shade. They then mix them together in the middle and a small amount of your desired base (I chose satin) gets mixed in and you have a chance to try it on.

a snap of my final mixes. The shades I chose have hearts next to them. Sorry about the quality, using my cell phone camera.

I did not like the first attempt at all, which was fine, the artist and I discussed what it was I thought it needed and mixed some more shades and tried again. Surprisingly, the second shade was spot on. I just adored and decided to go with that. The process went really quickly because I wasn't trying to exactly match my existing lipstick and because I had a good idea of what I wanted it to look like. We then started with the second lipstick. I decided I wanted something more oranged nude, kind of a spicy shade. This one took three tries!

While the artist writes up my custom recipe for my lipsticks I was asked to smell some flavours and decided on which ones I would like to use for my lipsticks. I chose mint and citrus for mine.

My mixtures got made into little jars, melted and then spun in a centrifuge. Then once mixed they were poured into a mould and put on an anti-griddle (like at cold stone creamery). We then waited and I chose the names for the lipsticks. I went with B-Rad for the Bradley type lipstick (my dog Bradley's nickname is B-Rad) and Vixen for the spicer fall shade.

My lipsticks got engraved and come in the same magnetic packaging with a flat cap as Bites Multiple Sticks.

Overall I really loved the process. I got two custom lipsticks I think really suit my skin tone and because they are shades I really like I know I will use them a lot. I always find I get nudes that are too brown or too pink or heck too pale, so getting a pinky one made that suites me is one of the best things I could hope for. As for Vixen, I love that it is spicy and just a tad bit orange with makes it great for the fall.

I also got a cute little mini lip kit which has a mini scrub, lip mask and primer because I got two Bespoke lipsticks made. The lipsticks and the kit were wrapped up incredibly nice in their own boxes, bite lipstick tissue paper and a gift bag.

In the end, these cost $150 for both and the kit, making them $75 + tax each. It wasn't a cheap time, but I did get to spend close to an hour making something just for me and got two great lipsticks out of it. I would definitely do this again, in fact I plan on taking my aunt when she gets low on her favourite discontinued lipstick shade.

My finished lipsticks.