Piano Cover - Stay by Rihanna

So the other day I woke up at 5:45, looked at my phone for a little while, and before I knew it it was 7:30. I tried to get back to sleep but there was no hope, so I got up; even though I'd only had about 4 hours of sleep. But I felt very motivated and creative, so I showered and got dressed and sat down at our piano.

Now, I have played instruments my whole life; the trumpet, cello, guitar, piano, singing, flute… I could go on. Although I know how to read music and what the notes are on the piano I wouldn't consider myself a "pianist" by any means. But I like to play around every once in a while.

After watching a few videos on youtube I decided to learn to play Stay by Rihanna.

The song actually proved to be quite easy and before long I had it basically down pat. So I thought I should record myself playing it, why not right? I don't take myself too seriously when it comes to performing. I know I'm not amazing at singing but I think I'm at least not tone deaf.

So here it is: my cover of Stay by Rihanna on the piano. This was probably the 20th take because I kept messing up. I did mess up a few times in this one but they were so minor and I was so frustrated by this point I just wanted to get through the song lol. I wish I hadn't already deleted all the other versions of this so that I could make a blooper video! It would have been hilarious.

I should also say that the piano is flat and desperately needs to be tuned and that the middle C is missing. But! I did my best. Hope you enjoy! :)

Stay fabulous and remember to always be your own hero x

Instagram: @beyourownhero_

Twitter: @britbyars

Tumblr: beyourownhero.

Youtube Channel: Brittany Byars

Hair School! - Blanche Macdonald

Bonjour!

I have some amazing news! As of last week I have been accepted into the Professional Hair Program at Blanche Macdonald in downtown Vancouver!! I am absolutely over the moon. The program starts at the beginning of January 2015 and takes a year to complete, so by January 2016 I will be a fully credited hairdresser and able to get started right away!

Everything has happened so fast. Just a few weeks ago I started working at Jax & King Salon as an assistant and started thinking about hair school options. After a bit of research I quickly realized that Blanche Macdonald was the perfect school for me, so I requested to get more information. I was set up with an administrations councilor and she helped me get my application in and I was accepted right away! One day I was deciding what my next step was going to be in life and the next I'm the newest student at Blanche Macdonald, I couldn't believe it.

So now the plan is to work til the end of October, go on my 2 week holiday to Belize with my mum, and when I fly back into Vancouver in November I will hopefully be able to move into a new apartment! And then I will have about 2 months to start work and get all set up before I start classes... That is, if everything goes according to plan.

I am so excited to be going to Blanche Macdonald, I have heard and read only good things about the hair program. It is most well known for the fashion design and marketing programs, as well as makeup - which is how I heard about the school in the first place. The fact that the school kind of centers around all things fashion is exactly why I knew it would be the right fit for me. I wanted an education that went beyond the basic cut, colour and blow dry. I wanted a place where my creative side could shine through and I could get experience and exposure to photoshoots and runways and event styling and things like that. So from what I've seen and read Blanche Macdonald will deliver all those things and more!

If you would like more information about the school and the hair program I will provide some links below.

I can't wait to start class in January and keep all of you up to date on the exciting things I'm learning and doing!

Until then stay fabulous and remember to be your own hero x

Blanche Macdonald Website

Hair Program

Instagram: @beyourownhero_

Twitter: @britbyars

Tumblr: beyourownhero.

Youtube Channel: Brittany Byars

** all images included in this post are from the Blanche Macdonald website listed above

Sigma Dupe Brushes - Jessup

I don't know about you but I absolutely can not purchase anything without watching reviews about it on youtube first. My latest buy: a 10 set of Sigma dupe brushes by the brand Jessup!

My holy grail Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki brush is absolutely trashed, due to my laziness with washing it. And then when I finally do get around to washing it it has so much makeup packed into it that I have to be really rough which results in the hairs getting warped and shedding. So, alas, it is time to count my losses, throw it away and learn from my mistakes.

Since I bought my F80 brush a year ago for about $18 including tax and shipping and handling they have increased their price to $24! Now, I'm not broke, but I'm definitely not in a position to be paying $24 on a single brush right now, especially when I wanted to get more than one this time.

So to youtube I went! I started off by watching video reviews about tmart.com brushes because I thought I wanted to buy one of those 24 brush sets that comes in the nice pouch and what not for like $20-$25. But after a little bit of searching I stumbled upon Sigma brush dupes on ebay!

I watched a few more videos and did a bit of price comparison and finally settled on a set of 10 face brushes, 5 large kabukies and 5 smaller ones for US$16.80 free shipping and handling from China.

I absolutely love the white and gold combination. But there are tons of other colours like black, pink, blue, purple and in gold and silver. They're gonna take about 3 weeks to get here but I can't wait!! ALL of the videos I watched on youtube gave them very positive reviews.

Stay tuned for an update when they finally get here. I think I will do an unpacking/first impression video!

Remember to be your own hero and always stay fabulous!

Brittany xoxo

Link to the brushes I bought on ebay

Best Youtube review video

Instagram: @beyourownhero_

Twitter: @britbyars

Tumblr: beyourownhero.

Youtube Channel: Brittany Byars