Sephora Haul

Sephora Haul

Hey guys! I wanted to let you know the latest products I bought from Sephora! This has really become one of my favourite stores lately and I wanted to share with you some cool products I bought.

First of all I got a bronzer from my favourite makeup brand, Too Faced, called Caribbean in a Compact – Snow Bunny. This bronzer has four colors in it – white, dark brown, pink and beigey-bronze. This bronzer is really great if you have fair skin because it’s not too dark at all. This cost about $37 but I was returning a product (Clinique set I will tell you more about) that was $39 so it kinda worked out even. I have been using it a lot lately and love the gold shimmer look I get from it. If you want a darker bronzer I would recommend Too Faced’s Sun Bunny. I use my big bronzer brush from Ecotools to apply this.

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml%3B$sessionid$RFEJIAMBBNGTQCV0KRTQIGQ;jsessionid=RFEJIAMBBNGTQCV0KRTQIGQ?id=P110409

I purchased the Clinique Acne Solutions Kit, which is “a skincare routine to cleanse, treat, and hydrate acne-prone skin.” This set comes with a cleansing foam face wash, clarifying lotion, spot treatment gel, and a moisturizer and came in a cute carrying case. This kit was a massive disappointment for me unfortunately. I used it for about a week and developed dry scaly itchy patches all over my jawline that eventually spread to my neck and cheeks. I am still getting rid of the last of it. This is a product I ended up returning to Sephora. I know other people online had the same complaint and they suggested either stopping use of the moisturizer or clarifying lotion but I didn’t want to spend any longer experimenting with it after seeing what it had done to my skin. I had been using the clinique liquid facial soap for oily skin, clarifying lotion for type 3 and dramatically different moisturizing gel and that’s what I have gone back to using. I was excited about this product but it ended up being just way too harsh for my skin. If you really want to try a Clinique Acne Solutions product I would recommend maybe getting trying a combination of the cleansing foam, spot healing gel and adding in a clearing concealer.

I had been interested in purchasing a lipstick or some type of product with color. After contemplating on a color for quite awhile, I decided on Sephora Collection Lip Attitude – Star in the shade extravagant dahlia which is a bright pink shimmer. This product is not just a drying lipstick – it is a combination of a lipstick and a lipgloss. I like to put on a lipbalm first so my lips aren’t dried out and cracked through the lipstick.

Because of my dry scalp, I am very picky about what shampoos I can use. I read that John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette shampoo has very harsh chemicals and is very drying for you, so I knew I wanted to stop using that. I had been using more Bumble and Bumble products so I chose their Seaweed Shampoo to try. I searched shampoos that were healthy for the scalp and this and the Tonic Shampoo came up. A girl at Sephora told me that the tonic shampoo works really well but it smells incredibly strongly of tea tree oil, which is a great ingredient for your scalp but I don’t like the smell of. I have still been using my Body Shop Banana conditioner with it. I like this shampoo but I don’t know if it is that much better than using the Body Shop Banana shampoo – I may purchase that for next time just because I go through shampoo so fast that one that is $20+ is a big expense. After I get out of the shower I use Bumble and Bumble Prep. I may slowly add some more Bumble and Bumble products to my collection because I think it’s a really good brand.

One trip to Sephora I found an Aquolina Pink Sugar set – one of my favourite scents – with a full size eau de toilette, a body lotion and a shower gel for only $25 – this is an amazing deal since just the eau de toilette is normally nearly $50. I don’t think they have this package anymore because it is not available on the website. I was glad I was able to pick it up when I did, although I have yet to use the shower gel and body lotion, it’s nice to be able to coordinate all your scented products.

Although I didn’t want to use the Bumble and Bumble Tonic Shampoo, I did purchase the Bumble and Bumble Tonic Lotion. This comes in a little spray bottle and before bed I will spray it right on the dry parts of my scalp so I can treat it and then wash it out in the morning.

I got a shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath from Philosophy that smells AMAZING! It is called Sugar Sprinkles Funnel Cake and it is pink and sparkly and gorgeous! It lathers up awesomely, looks sparkly but the sparkles don’t stay on, and is very moisturizing. The one qualm I have about it is that the scent doesn’t last after your shower, but it does smell awesome while you are showering. I wish that they made this in a lotion as well so you could lengthen the amount of time the scent lasted. They have a couple other funnel cake flavours – fruity berry and chocolate lemon which I thought were alright but I didn’t like as much. You can get all 3 in a set though if you really like them. The only other product this sugar sprinkles funnel cake scent comes in is a lip shine.

The other latest products I bought from Sephora were Benefit Coralista and Boyfriend Pulse Point Oil, which I have talked about in previous blogs. That ends it with my Sephora haul! What have you bought from Sephora?

Summer Haul Part 4 - Final

While at Sephora I came across a scent that I really hadn’t planned on purchasing – Boyfriend by Kate Walsh. The last perfume I had been using was Pink Sugar by Aquolina, which is a really sweet cotton candy scent. Boyfriend is definitely more of an older, sophisticated scent which I felt like trying as I have graduated from university and moving on to a new stage in my life. I came across it because I was looking for Pink Sugar in a rollerball and in the rollerball section they were out of it but I smelled Boyfriend and really liked it. A rollerball is a great way to sample a scent. Because I was trying it for the first time, I didn’t really want to make an investment in the full eau de toilette. How Kate Walsh (Addison from Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice) designed this scent was supposed to “capture the scent of a guy on a girl: a man’s cologne mixed with perfume” and that’s definitely what it seems to smell like. According to Sephora, the notes include dark plum, myrrh, night blooming jasmine, benzoin tears, skin musk, golden amber and vanilla woods. They describe the style as sensual, vanilla and amber. Usually I like scents that are fruity or clean but I love that this scent is so different from anything else I’ve tried. I love that it’s in a rollerball because I can throw it in my purse and not have to worry about it leaking, and I can apply it in the car without spraying it and having everyone else in the car smell like it (lol an issue with my boyfriend!).

I purchased the coralista blush from Benefit. I had been using my baked on blush from The Body Shop but it is very pink and this one is more of a coral shade so I think it is more natural. It looks amazing and even the container is gorgeous! The only quams I have are that the brush it comes with sheds quite a bit, but you could always just use your own blush brush.

So those were a sampling of some of the products I bought this summer! Tons of fun new products out there, and there were tons of great sales! What did you buy this summer?

Summer Haul Part 3 - Pink and Sephora

I went to Pink not too long ago and I was super excited to go because I hadn’t been for so long. I really like the bags that they have there. I have a really big gray one with polka dots that I put all my clothes in to travel, and I have a pink leopard print one for all my ‘getting ready’ stuff. I picked up a pink zip-up tote for my sister, which she has been using as a diaper bag. I also got a cross-body bag:

http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265563474750&c=Page&cid=1311125461086&pagename=vsdWrapperhttp://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265563474750&c=Page&cid=1311125461086&pagename=vsdWrapper

This one is not the exact bag I have, and although I recently bought it I don’t see it on the website. It is similar to these ones but it has a zip-up top and an extra zip-up section in the front. I really like it because if I am going out and only want to take maybe my wallet and cell phone. It is so much lighter and you don’t have to carry it or constantly readjust it on your shoulder so I am very happy I got it.

I had purchased the Aquolina pink sugar hair perfume awhile ago and wanted to get the rollerball so I had a portable one to put in my purse. Unfortunately when I was in Sephora they had none in stock, so I ended up getting the eau de toilette instead. Love this scent, so sugary and delicious, great scent for summer!

One of my favourite purchases this summer was definitely the Urban Decay Naked Palette. I had heard so many rave reviews and hadn’t planned in advance on buying it but wanted a new palette. I have two palettes I had gotten for Christmas but after having been dropped a number of times they were falling apart and a lot of my favourite colors had been pretty used up. But after I had decided to buy it, they didn’t have any in either (this was when I went to get my pink sugar rollerball, so they must have been really low on stock at the time). Next time I was in, I asked the girl who worked there if she knew when they’d be getting them in stock. I ended up totally lucking out because although there was a waiting list of forty, they had just received about sixty so I got one before they were even put on the shelves. Before that they had only been getting six or seven at a time so they could never keep them in stock. If you haven’t heard of this palette, it has twelve eyeshadows in shimmery neutral colors, although there are a few darker ones as well. I wanted a palette that was mainly neutral because I don’t go to dark with my eyeshadow, so to me any palette with mainly dark shadows would be a waste. It comes with an eyeshadow brush and a mini Urban Decay primer potion. This is such an AMAZING palette! Gorgeous colors, super pigmented so you don’t have to keep layered on coats.

Summer Haul Part 2 - Lush and Too Faced Brow Kit

This summer I went to Lush for my very first time. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but there are no locations that are close by. I didn’t buy anything at the first Lush I went to because to be honest I was a bit overwhelmed. I didn’t know much about the products or how they worked so I just took a quick peek. After getting home, I visited their website and took a better look at which products interested me. The first thing I got when I went next was Rock Star Soap. This soap smells like vanilla candy – it is kind of a cotton candy-ish smell and it smells delicious! I really love the color of it as well - pretty pink! Normally I’m not into bar soaps because I find them very drying but this one I find doesn’t do that. You can get them to cut off a piece of whatever size you like so the price can vary. The second thing I got was the Comforter Bubble Bar. This one is described as bringing a real sense of comfort just like a comforter would. This has sweet blackcurrents, cypress oil and cassis absolute. It smells fruity but like a ‘dark raspberry’ kind of scent. You crumble some off into the tub under running water and it bubbles right up. It actually does a really good job at bubbling, much better than I expected. You can use as much or as little of it per bath as you would like. It turns the water a pinky-purply color too.

I had been thinking for awhile about using a brow powder to define my brows, and I found that my favourite makeup company, Too Faced, makes a brow kit. This is a palette with a bunch of items inside that really helps you get your brows looking great. First, it has illustrations at the top that explain step-by-step how to use each item. This is helpful so you know exactly what products to use and in what order to use them. It has 3 different stencils, which you hold up to your brows and fill in to determine where to tweeze and which areas to grow in (the kit comes with tweezers, actually pretty decent ones – for some reason I thought they wouldn’t be very good but they are really good. There is two brow powders, Blonde and Brunette. The blonde one is kind of a grey-brown color and the brunette one is very dark brown. Although my brows are dark, I can mainly use the blonde color, and I just add in a little extra brunette powder to use it up and to darken them a bit. Next, it has a setting wax to hold everything in place. It comes with a little pencil to get some extra definition – I find that I don’t really need it that much, but if your brows are really sparse and you want to add a bit more shape to them it’s great to have. This is a brown color. Lastly, there is a pink highlighting powder. It’s more of a cream than a powder, which other people have complained about but I really like it because it gives it a thickness and staying power. The kit itself was something like $41 but I find it’s definitely worth it because by the time you add up the individual items it gets pricey. Also, some of those items are hard to find on their own, and to have them in their own convenient box is really nice. I love the finished look of my brows after using this kit so I am very glad I bought this.

Summer Haul Part 1 - Books and the Body Shop

Summer Haul

Hey guys!

So I wanted to do a massive summer haul because I’ve went shopping pretty much weekly since summer officially started. I’ll try to give you a good idea of what the product is and where you can find it! If I have already mentioned a product in a previous blog I’ll skip it.

I’ve bought a few books from Coles or Chapters this summer – Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti, Seventeen’s Ultimate Guide to Style, and Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares. Unfortunately, I have yet to read ANY of these books so although they all look great I will have to wait to give you a review on them! I just finished Stay by Deb Caletti, a book I bought not too long ago and it was amazing! It is about a girl who is in hiding with her dad from her obsessive boyfriend and it is such a good, gripping read. I definitely recommend it, all of her books are fantastic. You can check out her website at www.debcaletti.com.

I’ve spent some time at The Body Shop and it’s really been one of my favourite stores lately. I am obsessed with the mango and sweet lemon lip butters. They are great lip balms that smell nice without being overwhelming and they moisturize really well. I've stocked up on a few so I can store them in some different places so I never have to worry about having dry lips. Normally I don't like a lip balm or gloss where I have to apply with my finger but these ones are not too bad.

I bought a blush from the Body Shop called baked on blush in the shade 01 petal (it comes in two different shades and this one is brighter). This is my absolute favourite blush right now, it is a super flattering color. I swirl together both the pink and the highlight color. I use the blusher brush from The Body Shop as well to apply. I bought a primer from there as well called ‘Matte It’ which is a mattifying primer. They also have a moisturizing primer if you have drier skin. I use this primer as my very first makeup step (after I moisturize).

Stay tuned for part 2!

Skincare Routine

Hey everyone!

I wanted to fill you in on what I am currently using for my skincare routine - actually most of these are fairly recent as I have changed a lot from even when I wrote my face wash post.

The face wash I am using now is Clinique Liquid Facial Soap from Sephora. It's specifically designed for oily skin and it has a good clean feeling without leaving it tight. It doesn't have an overly strong scent and lathers up a bit but is not as thick of a lather as the Clean and Clear face wash I'd been using. Because my skin tends to get pretty oily in the summer, I've been finding this nice to use.

A few times a week I use Clean and Clear's morning burst facial scrub in the shower, but morning and night I use Clinique's Clarifying Lotion 3 which is actually a liquid exfoliator, something I had never used before. I think it's worth the money to spend a bit extra on the Clinique line because it's specially designed for combination-oily skin which most drugstore products are not. I always wash my face before I exfoliate because I want my skin to be clean first. I use both the face wash and clean and clear scrub in the shower in the morning and then I use the clinique clarifying lotion when I get out (that's the first thing I do after my shower). Apparently if you use this line for just a couple weeks every day it cuts down on your oil production.

For a moisturizer I use Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel - I think I have mentioned this in other posts. I use this every morning and night and I am in love with it! It is the perfect moisturizer for someone with combination-oily skin. Definitely all time favorite and I have tried quite a lot of different ones. I tried Nivea ones that I bought at Shoppers and they were way too rich and I broke out like crazy.

I use Clean and Clear Invisible Blemish Treatment for any pimples before I moisturize and it is amazing. I stopped using it for 2 weeks and noticed that I was getting bad breakouts and when I started using it again my skin got much better.

I use a Balea eye roller from Shoppers to help with dark circles. I think most eye rollers are quite similar to each other - I don't have eye puffiness but I want it to help with dark circles. I use this morning and night - not sure how much of a difference it makes but it feels really nice.

Those are basically all of the products I use on a regular basis for my skincare routine. Hope this was informative! Thanks!

What's in my purse?

Hey guys!

I have been meaning to do this blog for a while. I have seen it done on YouTube so many times (I would love to do it on there but I do not really have a camera to use unfortunately!). The bag I am currently using is one I picked up from my workplace – unfortunately I can’t show a pic of it but it is a fairly large turquoise handbag and I’ll try to explain as best as I can!

I tend to have a lot in my purse because I like to be prepared for no matter what. So here is a list of the current things I have in my bag and why I have them there!

- Nivea lip balm – I am going through a phase right now where I can’t stand lip glosses so I always have a ton of balms stored everywhere – this is a balm that my boyfriend has too as it is unscented and has no color. Nothing is worse than being stuck out somewhere with chapped lips and nothing to help!

- Mini Britney Spears circus fantasy perfume – if I am heading out somewhere and want to smell nice

- Pepto bismol – for upset stomach L

- Cell phone charger – I am traveling right now and will need to charge my phone

- Sephora bamboo charcoal blotting papers – to soak up mid-day oil

- Bear Paws – for if I am stuck out somewhere and need a snack

- Mint from last time we went out to dinner

- ID holder from Icing – bought it to use for next time I go to a buck and doe as you can just put your ID, cash and tickets in there

- Black Suzy Shier change purse – I like to keep change separate from my wallet so I have one bag I can just grab out to pay

- Ticket stub from Horrible Bosses

- Little pack of Kleenex

- Bath and Body Works coconut lime verbena anti-bacterial hand lotion – I hate the smell of hand sanitizer but this lotion does not smell like alcohol at all, plus it moisturizes your hands and makes them smell good

- Nivea dry confidence 24 hour deodorant

- Crest samples – I got these sent from Shoppers – little flosses, toothpaste and mouthwash samples

- Dove Go Fresh Body Mist Revive (pomegranate and lemon verbena scent) – if I just want a light scent, I wear this especially if I’ve been at the gym

- Notepad and pen – for writing things down on the go – super helpful to have

- Bath and Body Works nail file

- Purple croc print wallet from Bentley’s – receipts (especially my ones from BBW that give me $10 off!), and all my store cards and debit card and all that fun stuff! I won’t go into detail about which ones I have though

- Birthday cards – I have about 6 friends who have had birthdays that I have not seen yet and need to give to them!

- Girl stuff lol

- Finally I have a little polka dot bag that I got from work too that I put all my little stuff in and these are all things that are helpful to have with you – halls cough candies, band aids, lens cleaner for my glasses and sunglasses, Secret Cocoa Butter Kiss body splash, excel mints, Vicks vapo inhaler, a matchbook of bobby pins from Claire`s, Life Oil Absorbing sheets and a 10 pack of Tylenol

PhPhoto credit: http://www.interestingbuys.co.uk/buy/handbags/?_pge=0&_rec=54 (this is not my purse but it is somewhat close and very similar in color)

P

That is all that I have in my purse at the moment. Other items I tend to have are a lotion from Bath and Body Works and a book or magazine to read, but lately I have been bringing a second bag full of car stuff for if we take a trip somewhere.

Face Wash

Hey guys,

In this blog I’m going to talk about the current cleanser I’m using which is Clean and Clear Morning Burst. I will admit I haven’t tried a ton of different face washes – I have recently tried some new samples from Sephora but I haven’t found anything worth switching over to. My skin is combination veering on the oily side, so if you have the same skin type I would definitely give this a try. I believe it says on the bottle that it is recommended for any skin type though. I think it’s super important to figure out exactly what skin type you have so you are able to treat your skin conditions.

Something that is great about this product is that it is fairly cheap to buy and you can pick it up in drugstores. As much as I love Sephora, sometimes when I pick up products it is frustrating because I have to drive an hour to the closest one. I usually get this at Shopper’s Drug Mart and I try to stock up when they put their Clean and Clear products on sale.

This product is a gel cleanser which is real ideal to use for oily skin – if you have drier skin you’re going to want to use a cream cleanser. It helps to remove any extra oil without making it tight and dry. I use it twice a day, morning and night. In the morning I use it in the shower – I use one pump on my Sephora scrublet, spending more time on oily areas on my T-zone. It helps me to feel really clean and get a fresh start in the morning, and I use it to remove my makeup at night. If you don’t have access to a Sephora, you can use the L’Oreal Paris scrublet that comes with their face wash – I haven’t used it but it looks to be about the same.

Because this has a citrusy scent it is great for using in the morning to wake you up and get your revved up. It has tiny little granules inside it that help get rid of oil and dead skin cells.

The scrub I use is clean and clear morning burst facial scrub, which is meant to be used everyday. For awhile I was using it everyday but I’ve cut down on that amount just so I don’t irritate my skin. This scrub is basically designed for all skin types, and it is kinda similar to the face wash but it has bigger and coarser granules. I like this product because it’s something that’s easy to go out and buy at the drugstore, and I really like the clean and clear morning burst line. The scrub I would only use in the morning when I do it, but the face wash I do morning and night.

At night I use my eye makeup remover as my very first step because it’s an oily product and that way I can wash all the oil off afterwards. When I wash my face I make sure to do my neck and ears too because I do makeup on them as well. I spend extra time on my oily zones, specifically my t-zone to try to get it really clean.

For awhile I had been using Clean and Clear astringent afterwards but I recently bought Clinique’s Clarifying Lotion 3 which is a “gentle, oil-free exfoliating lotion for combination and oily skin.” The great thing about Clinique is that their products are specifically designed for various skin types. I haven’t bought the Clinique step 1 face wash but I may end up trying it out in the future. I use a cotton pad and swipe it over my face and neck and it’s supposed to get rid of oily and dead skin cells, so I’m going to keep this up for awhile and see if it helps.

Finally, the moisturizer I am currently using is Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. This moisturizer is AMAZING! I have tried quite a few different face lotions out and it’s been kind of a tough journey to find one that moisturizes without being too strong for my oily skin. I tried a Nivea one that made me completely break out because it was way too rich. Word of advice – I got this product at Sephora and you have to make sure you get the dramatically different moisturizing GEL and not the LOTION unless you have dry skin. This gel is amazing at giving my skin enough moisture without making it oily at all. I would totally recommend this to everyone with combination/oily skin and I’m sure the lotion is just as great for those with dry skin. I bought a 1.7 oz tube at Sephora for $15 to try it out but will definitely be buying another one when I run out.

The Besties!

The Besties!

Hey guys! These are my favourite beauty products ATM. These are just a list of products that I find work for me based on my skin type, coloring, all that stuff. So here we go!

*I have provided links for as much as I can so you can get a better idea of what the product I'm talking about looks like, the price and all that fun stuff!

Foundation: The foundation I am currently using, and have used for awhile is L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation in N1 Soft Ivory. It is not the longest lasting product I have ever used but it goes on smoothly, has pretty decent coverage and comes in a great variety of colors. Maybelline’s 24-Hour Super Stay foundation is awesome at lasting a long time but the lightest color is too beige for me, but it’s a really good foundation itself. EDIT: I recently purchased Sephora Collection foundation and was so disappointed by it! It slides off the oilier areas of my face and builds up in the dry areas, and it is kind of a weird color. I thought I liked it when I tried it on in the store but the day after I purchased it I put it on and didn’t. The girls on the Sephora message board have suggested Makeup Forever Mat Velvet and Mattifying Foundation and Clinique Superbalanced Makeup so I may try one of those next time I go to Sephora.

http://www.lorealparis.ca/cosmetics/face/true-match-super-blendable/soft-ivory-n1.aspx - website for L'Oreal Paris True Match foundation

Bronzer: Hands down, Bonne Bell Blend and Glow. Such a great product. It has four different shades of bronzer, one which is more of a highliter. I mix them all together when I apply them. This is a great powder bronzer. What else do you guys think is a good bronzer because I am definitely open to trying new ones!

http://www.bonnebell.com/products.php?id=23

Lip Gloss: Always on the hunt for the perfect lip gloss. My favourite right now is actually called My Favorite Lip Balm by C.O. Bigelow at Bath and Body Works. It is basically a hybrid between a balm and a gloss and it does not have a strong scent at all which is a plus. I used to use Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush lip glosses (from La Senza) for a long time but they are pretty sticky which sucks when you are outside and your hair gets stuck in them – they do have cute colors though.

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4004124

Mascara: CoverGirl Lash Blast – leaps and bounds above the others I have tried! Lash Blast Fusion is my favourite – it is a great thickening mascara. I always pick the darkest black shade it comes in, and I always buy a waterproof version. Great mascara. It makes your lashes look great and full – it’s a drugstore mascara so you can usually get it for a really decent price. And you don’t have to pile on a ton for it to look good. My vote for worst mascara – Maybelline Falsies – ugh.... turned my lashes into a clumpy mess! The first mascara I have ever thrown right into the trash shortly after I bought it. I try different mascaras sometimes though because I replace mine every 3 months so I am open to trying new products.

http://www.covergirl.com/lashblast-fusion-water-resistant-mascara

Blow Dry Product: John Frieda Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray. This product is amazing – it is a detangler, a UV spray, a moisturizer, and a heat protector. I use this when I get out of the shower and I have towel dried my hair so I can brush through it and so that it’s prepared for heat styling. If I could only use one hair product it would be this one.

http://www.johnfrieda.ca/en-CA/ProductDetail/Hair-Care/Frizz-Ease/Daily-Nourishment-Leave-In-Conditioning-Spray

Shampoo and Conditioner: John Frieda Root Awakening – as you can tell, I love John Frieda hair products. I initially picked out this shampoo because it was designed to hydrate your scalp, and I have a really dry scalp so I felt this would help. It has a tingly feeling when you wash your hair and it smells like the shampoo they use at the hair dressers. It is a bit expensive for a drugstore shampoo but Shoppers Drug Mart often has it on sale for half price so I try to stock up then. John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette and John Frieda’s Luxurious Volume are great too. I also recently bought The Body Shop’s Banana Conditioner and it smells delicious. I alternate each shower between using John Frieda and The Body Shop conditioners and once a week I swap in my deep conditioner from the last hair dye I used.

http://www.johnfrieda.ca/en-CA/ProductDetail/Hair-Care/Root-Awakening/Strength-Restoring-Shampoo

http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/hair-care-products/natural-conditioner/banana-conditioner.aspx

Straightening Product: John Frieda 3-Day Straight. This is a spray you can spray on your hair before blowdrying and flat-ironing it to keep it straight for longer. My hair gets greasy so I wash it every day, but I do like using this spray when I straighten my hair to make sure it gets as straight as it can. Another product for getting straight silky hair that is amazing is John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum – nothing else even compares to this! Put it on when your hair is wet and your hair will feel really silky and smooth after.

http://www.johnfrieda.ca/en-CA/ProductDetail/Hair-Care/Frizz-Ease/3-Day-Straight-Semi-Permanent-Styling-Spray

http://www.johnfrieda.ca/en-CA/ProductDetail/Hair-Care/Frizz-Ease/Hair-Serum-Extra-Strength-Formula

Hairspray: I’m not too picky about hairsprays – I am using Herbal Essences right now, and I also use Got 2 B Sometimes. I don’t use hairspray that much unless I am going out for the night and need to make sure my style stays through the night. I’m pretty open to using whatever.

Face Scrub: Clean and Clear Morning Burst Facial Scrub – has a great smell, makes your face super soft, and gets rid of any dead skin cells – I was using this every morning but I’ve cut down on it just so my skin doesn’t get too irritated. I use it in the shower with a scrublet from Sephora. There are a lot of other really good drugstore face scrubs out there as well so don’t feel you have to splurge for a really expensive one.

http://www.cleanandclear.ca/en/prod_details.asp?productid=54

Face Wash: Clean and Clear Morning Burst Facial Wash – this one has lemon and caffeine in it, smells soooo good and is great for waking you up in the morning – I use it morning and night for washing away excess oil and removing makeup, works great for my skin type J In the morning I use it in the shower with my Sephora scrublet, making sure to spend extra time rubbing it into my t-zone.

http://www.cleanandclear.ca/en/prod_details.asp?productid=29

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P262041&categoryId=S3000&shouldPaginate=true

Moisturizer: Clean and Clear Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer – at first I was hesitant to use a moisturizer at all during the day because I have combination skin but this one doesn’t make my skin all oily, it stops the tightness you get after washing your face, and helps your makeup go on really smoothly. I use a more intense moisturizer for night.

*Can't find a link for this one so not sure if they even still make this - which is sad because it is a great moisturizer!

Lotion: I have so many really good smelling lotions that I love right now! At the moment it’s Bath and Body Work’s Signature Coconut, which was a discontinued scent that they brought back just for the semi-annual sale. Kinda bums me out because I know I’ll get attached to it and then never be able to buy it again! It is an amazing summer scent – just super tropically. Bath and Body Works Coconut Pineapple, Carried Away and Dark Kiss, and Victoria’s Secret Wild and Breezy and Fresh and Clean are my other favourites right now. They are all really good at moisturizing and they all smell so good I have trouble deciding which one to wear in the morning!

http://www.cheapcoconutbodybutterlowprice.co.cc/shopping-Bath_Body_Works_Signature_Collection-B00420MWL4 - this is a link to the discontinued product I was mentioning

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4191845&cp=4090259.4090258.4090270.4418550&cm_sp=IM-_-Lotions+%26+Creams-_-Body+Lotions - link to Bath and Body Works lotions (I notice there are two new ones on there I have yet to smell! so excited!!)

http://www.victoriassecret.com/pink/beauty Victoria's Secret Pink lotions and perfumes

Self-Tanner: Still on the search for the perfect one! I like Jergens and Banana Boat though (noticed on BB's website that they don't make the one I use anymore :(

Perfume/Body Mist: Britney Spears Fantasy is my signature scent. I have worn it for years, and it will probably always be my favourite. I do sometimes just spray a body mist instead, such as Bath and Body Works Hawaii Coconut or Carried Away depending on what I’m doing and how heavy of a scent I want that day.

http://www.britneyspearsbeauty.com/

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10752341&cp=4090259.4090258.4090280.4430465.4191851

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10752335&cp=4090259.4090258.4090280.4430465.4191851

Body Wash: The Body Shop Mango shower gel is amazing smelling, and so moisturizing! When you use a loofah with it, it lathers up like crazy... another thing I may use is a shower gel of a scent I have in a lotion from Bath and Body Works such as Carried Away or Dark Kiss, to try to layer my scents.

http://www.thebodyshop.ca/en/bath-products/shower-gel/bath-mango-shower-gel.aspx

Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails are products I have tons of – I recently counted and I have 45 nail polishes. I have tried Essie, China Glaze and OPI but I still feel Sally Hansen polishes are superior – they last way longer without chipping and dry super fast when you put them on, lessening the chance that you will smudge them as they dry. They had a massive sale on them at Wal-Mart not too long ago and were super duper cheap – like $2 something for the x-treme wear and $4 something for the Insta-dri ones.

http://www.sallyhansen.com/products/nails/nail-color/insta-dri%E2%84%A2-fast-dry-nail-color

Bath and Body Works Product Review

Hey guys!

These are some products I have used from Bath and Body Works and what I thought of them!

ü Coconut Pineapple Shower Gel – Just bought this product, I find all their shower gels to basically be around the same quality, but this is one of my favourite scents so I like having it in a shower gel as well

ü Carried Away Shower Gel – I use this one pretty regularly, Carried Away smells like raspberry, jasmine and vanilla, an amazing scent, lathers up really well

ü Dark Kiss Shower Gel – basically same as the ones above, smells really good and works really well!

ü Carried Away Fragrance Mist – about a compromise between an all-over body mist and a full-on perfume, this is a scent I use pretty regularly

ü Hawaii Coconut Fragrance Mist – a nice tropically fragrance, I love the scent of coconut, but this one isn’t super strong, I like the new coconut line a bit better

ü Victoria’s Secret Pink All-Over Body Mist Fresh and Clean – I didn’t actually get this from Bath and Body Works but this product is on their website so they must sell it at some BBW. For a long time I was obsessed with this scent! It smells like apples and lily and it is basically what it says it is – a simple, fresh, clean scent that smells amazing, and it is light enough that you can use it all over!

ü Victoria’s Secret Pink All-Over Body Mist Wild and Breezy – I have been using this post-shower all over on a daily basis, it is a tropical scent, I think something like flowers and guava off the top of my head, a fairly new scent they have gotten, they got 3 tropical scents and this one was my favorite

ü Bali Mango Creamy Body Scrub – a pretty good scrub, I love mango shower products, a pretty gritty exfoliant, actually like this a lot better than The Body Shop’s Mango Body Scrub

ü Carried Away Bubble Bath – LOVE THIS!! Doesn’t bubble up like crazy but it has an amazing scent, so relaxing!

ü Mango Margarita Deep Cleansing Hand Soap – just a basic hand soap that smells great, definitely nice to pick up when they are on sale or if you need extra products to reach a certain amount (i.e. to get $10 off $30).

ü Vanilla Pistachio Deep Cleansing Hand Soap – same as above

ü Pink Loofah – really awesome, I like to stock up on these as they are only like $3, actually saves you money as you need to use less body wash, because it will lather up more

ü Coconut Pineapple Body Lotion – my addiction right now! Smells EXACTLY like pina colada – I keep this in my purse and reapply throughout the day when my hands get dry or when I want a fresh scent

ü Coconut Mango Body Lotion – great new scent that’s out at the moment, didn’t love it at first as I thought they were kind of weird together, but it’s definitely growing on me and I’m starting to really like it

ü Coconut Passionfruit Body Lotion – fantastic scent! Smells so good, one I wear most days

ü Bali Mango Body Lotion – one that’s been discontinued recently, I was more into this before the coconut scents came out, not a bad scent though

ü Dark Kiss Body Lotion – love love love, this is a scent I enjoy wearing on nights out as it smells fancier and more sophisticated than the coconut and tropical scents, I would recommend going to the store and smelling it as it is hard to describe the scent

ü C.O. Bigelow Mentha Cinnamint Lip Shine – not a bad lip gloss, but I overdid it and got really sick of the minty taste, definitely needed to take a break!

ü C.O. Bigelow My Favorite Lip Balm – this one totally is! I have mentioned it in previous posts so I won’t go on too much about it!

The Body Shop Haul

A couple of weeks ago I went to the grand opening of the Body Shop at Conestoga Mall. I was super excited as it is one of my favourite stores and they had amazing discounts (not sure if they still do, but the deals were unbelievable when I was there). When I walked in, I was greeted by an employee who told me that they had a buy 2 get one free, buy three get two free... deal, and they had a special deal that if you bought a reusable bag for $5 you would get 30% off everything in the bag.

The Body Shop is one of my favourite places to shop for beauty products because they are great quality products, great smelling scents, and are very consistent. I like Bath and Body Works as well, but they rotate their scents a lot so sometimes you find a favourite and it gets discontinued. The Body Shop has classic body butter scents like Strawberry, Coconut and Mango, which will probably still be around 15 years from now.

The first product I picked up was strawberry body polish. This works as both a body wash and body scrub. I have been using it as a scrub with an exfoliating cloth from The Body Shop as well. If you like the strawberry body butter, you will probably like this product as well. It is a good scrub because it is not too gritty but still does a great job at exfoliating. This was $18 for 200 ml.

I had been looking for a good highlighter for a while and I found one there that is called Radiant Highlighter – it comes in one shade a light frosty pink and it looks awesome to use on your brow bone, under your eyes and anywhere else you want to highlight. It’s a big size compared to other highlighters I have been looking at such as Benefit’s High Beam, and was only $14, which is not too bad – a lot better than $30+, which is how much high beam costs.

The next thing I found was banana conditioner. I had to pick this up because it smells AMAZING! It actually smells exactly like the banana penicillin medicine they give out for strep throat. I love products that make my hair smell good. I am a lot fussier with shampoo but I decided to try the conditioner and I am very glad that I did. It ended up being free because I paid for the other two products.

They also had a deal on that you could get their store discount card, regularly $10 for free – I think this card saves you 10% off all your purchases for a year. I also got with it a sample kit that would have been $10. It had a Buriti baby body butter, which I gave to my sister for my eight-month-old niece. It also came with a men’s maca root energetic face protector, which I gave to my boyfriend to use. Next, there was a Tea Tree Skin Exfoliating wash, which my sister had been contemplating buying so I gave her that one. There was a Vitamin E face cream that I have yet to use, a white musk eau de toilette that I have not tried yet either, a coupon for $5 off my next $25 purchase, and a free makeover where you can get a free eye makeup remover too! I spent $5 on the bag, which I have used several times since then, so I saved $9.60, and with my 10% off card, I saved an extra $2.74. I ended up spending $27.87 and SAVING over $38! I cannot even remember a time before saving much more than I spent somewhere. The girls working there were nice, helped me pick things out, and helped me to get the best deal possible.

My favourite Body Shop products

· Mango and Strawberry body butters, shower gels and body scrubs/polishes

· Peppermint foot products

Audrey Hepburn

Was watching a video about the lovely Audrey Hepburn. Who are your style icons?

Getting ready for a night out

Hey,

So this blog is all about how I get ready to go for a night out – whether it is a party, buck and doe, or just to the movies, I like to spend some extra time getting ready/freshening up my look from whatever else I was doing earlier in the day. What exactly I do depends on how much time I have before I have to leave. I have a playlist on my computer of fun music that I put on as I get ready.

I try to make sure to eat healthy during the day and get in some exercise if I can.

If I have time, I will shower, but if not I will just skip that because then it would take a long time to dry and straighten my hair. I shampoo my hair twice, and leave in conditioner while I get everything else done – wash my face, use both a face and body scrub to get super smooth skin, shave, and use body wash. The body wash I am currently using is from the Body Shop, it is strawberry scented, and I put it on a loofah. I always make sure to exfoliate so that my skin is smooth and that I can get rid of any dead skin cells. I finish by rinsing out all of the conditioner in my hair.

When I get out of the shower, I use a body mist everywhere. It is important that if you do this you use a spray that says all-over body mist or something equivalent. If you use a perfume or eau de toilette it will be way too strong of a scent. I use a Clean and Clear astringent on any oily areas to try to clean that up. Next, I apply Neutrogena Oil-Free Lotion designed for combination skin. Even if you have oily skin, it is important to apply a moisturizer so that your makeup goes on smoothly and your skin is nice and hydrated. My favourite body lotion now is from Victoria’s Secret Pink Aloha Wild and Breezy – it smells like guava and passionflower. I also like Victoria Secret Pink Fresh and Clean (fresh apple and lily) and Bath and Body Works Carried Away (raspberry, jasmine and vanilla). Adding a lotion in addition to your perfume helps your scent to stay longer. I moisturize my face with Clean and Clear Finishes Pore Minimizing Moisturizer. I use Dove Ultimate Go Fresh Revive Deodorant and I switch up my perfume sometimes. Britney Spears Fantasy is my all time favourite; I also like Circus Fantasy, BBW Carried Away and Katy Perry’s Purr. Lastly, I use John Frieda Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray. This works as a detangler, a moisturizer, and a heat protectant. I spray this all over my hair and detangle with a boar bristle brush. I clip up the front with a big claw clip from Sally Beauty Supply (you can buy big packs of them there).

Once I have done all this, the next thing I move onto is doing my makeup. I start with a primer – Too Faced Primed and Poreless is the current one I am using. I apply this all over my face to get a nice smooth base and to help my face from being too oily. Next step is foundation – I use L’Oreal Paris True Match. I would recommend going a little bit easy on your foundation because otherwise if your face gets oily it can turn into a bit of a mess. Next I use concealer (L’Oreal Paris Infallible 16 hour in fair/light) to cover up any blemishes and dark circles especially. These two steps are what I spend the most time on as I like having a full coverage base. Once I put these on, I use Make Up For Ever HD Mist and Fix spray to cement it in place. I finish my base with a pressed powder (Cover Girl). I use the puff it comes with and then I go over it again with a big fluffy brush.

Next thing I do is apply blush. I use either Maybelline New York or a blush that comes in a palette I have. I like to go a bit darker for my blush at night or for a special occasion than I would during the day. I tend to stick with powder for the rest of my products (blush, bronzer, eyeshadow) because having combination skin would make cream products slide right off if I know I’m going to be out for a long time. I use Bonne Bell Blend and Glow bronzer on my cheeks, forehead, and nose mainly but I will do it all over my face.

Now onto my eyes. I make sure when I put on my concealer I apply it on my eyelids to use a base for my eyeshadow. Even for night, I do not use shades that are too dark because I find it makes my eyes look much smaller and it smudges and emphasizes my dark circles. This is the same reason I never use eyeliner. I will use mainly the same shades I mentioned in my work makeup blog – champagne shimmer highlight, pink or light bronze on the lids, and a chocolate brown in the outer corners of the crease. I may go a big heavier with the colors then I would for work though. I definitely finish my eyes with a few coats of waterproof mascara. Because I do not wear eyeliner, I put on more mascara to really emphasize my eyes. Finally, I add some lip gloss – right now, I have been wearing My Favourite Lip Balm by C.O. Bigelow from Bath and Body Works. Lately I cannot stand any lip glosses that have a strong flavour/taste because you reapply it so many times that I just find the taste sickening. So this one does not have a super strong scent, which is nice.

I will not go too much into how I do my hair. I like to straighten it when I have something nice to go to, and I will usually use John Frieda’s 3-Day Straight spray, blow-dry with a boar bristle paddle brush. I am impatient about straightening my hair so I will often get my sister to help me out with it, or at least to do the back. I use John Frieda shine spray and finish it with some hair spray as well.

Now it used to be I would get ready to go out, be happy with my hair and makeup but after being out for awhile I would end up with the inevitable makeup smudges and hair messes. This does not have to happen! You can do some things when you are out to stop this.

The first and maybe most important thing I would say is take it easy on the drinks. If you walk into a party, bar, wherever and spend the night guzzling down as many vodkas/beers/whatever you are drinking, as fast as you can, do not be surprised when you look like a hot mess by the end of the night! What I like to do when I go out is to drink rum and orange juice (I have issues with vodka) and once I finish a drink I alternate that with one that is just plain orange juice. You are still free to drink but it works out to not so many drinks so you feel better in the morning and save yourself some money as well. As well, if you are in an area that is hot and crowded, if possible go out and get some fresh air when you can. It helps to cool you down, and keeping your body temperature lower will help you from getting a bright red face and smudgy eye makeup.

If I am wearing my hair down, I will bring a hair elastic so I can put my hair up if I get hot, or if it is not very straight anymore.

If you are able to bring at least a little clutch there are a few lifesaver products you can bring. Most important is blotting papers. You can get these at the drugstore, one of my favourites is Clean and Clear – they are little blue sheets that will soak up oil without ruining your makeup. You can even just slip a couple of sheets in your pocket without having to worry about bringing a separate bag. If you do bring a bag, I would throw a pressed powder in there too because that will help blot up any oil. Hand lotion is a great multi-use product. A scented one will make you smell better, it helps to moisturize any dry spots, you can use a tiny bit to fix up any uneven areas in your foundation, it can be used as a highlighter for your cheeks, and you can use it for hair flyaways. Bath and Body Works always has cute and great smelling samples that are easy to throw in your purse. Finally, I put in my pocket whatever lip gloss I am wearing that night.

Sample Products to Bring for a Night Out

· Clean and Clear Oil-Blotting Sheets

· Roller ball perfume

· L’Oreal Paris Infallible 16 hour concealer

· Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss

· Cover Girl Pressed Powder

· Bath and Body Works lotion

A few last notes – when you get home, make sure to drink lots of water. Alcohol dehydrates you, which is not a pretty look for your skin. Drinking lots of water will also help you to feel better the next day. A multi-vitamin such as One a Day gummies will help you to get in the essential vitamins you need – alcohol also interferes with vitamin absorption. No matter how tired you are, you need to remove your makeup. Leaving on eye makeup such as mascara can cause eye infections and heavy foundation can clog your pores and cause you to break out. At the very least, keep a pack of cleaning wipes (most companies who make face cleansers also make cleaning wipes) next to your bed and you can quickly wipe off your face before you fall asleep.

That is how I get ready for a night out! What products are your go-to products? How do you keep your hair and makeup fresh throughout the night?