Monday, June 29, 2015

June 2015 Favorites

June has been a very excited and busy month for me!! I'm less than 2 weeks away from my wedding which means I've been very busy preparing and trying out beauty products to finalize my makeup look (which I will be doing myself). During this time I have discovered new favorites and pulled out some oldies as well. Here are my June favorites:

Josie Margan Argan Oil Hair Serum - I've got this back in April and it looks like I've barley used ANY of this product. I was just using the regular Josie Margan argan oil for my hair but I deiced when I ran out to try something new. I use this when I get out of the shower on damp hair and after I style to give me a smooth polished look. It great! My hair feels so soft and conditioned every time i use this. Also I dye my hair myself at home and if you mix 10 drops of this stuff in with your hair dye you can actually treat you hair while your dying it!! I've noticed a big chance, my hair used to feel very dried out for about a week after I dyed my hair, but not anymore. After I dye my hair is sooo soft it feels like I just did a hair mask.

Lancome Hydra Intense Hydrating Gel Mask - I've really gotten into masks lately and this is just one that I'm loving. I use this in the shower, its a gel mask that just makes your skin feel hydrated. I have really dry skin so anything that helps hydrate it is a plus in my book.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I've heard of this prodcut a few times on YouTube but have never tried it. I was shopping at Sephora when this cause my eye is the isle of doom (the checkout isle that has all the mini samples). I decided to give it a try but wasn't sure even what to do with it, I actually had to look up online when I got home. I found something that said to spray this overtop of your foundation before powder to give you a flawless look. Normally that would seem CRAZY to me! I would never thing of pulling a liquid on my skin before powder...but I have to say it works! It locks in the foundation before doing powder and makes you skin look glowing and radiant. I also felt that it lasted a lot longer than if I were to just do powder. Big thumbs up in my eyes and something I am looking forward to using on my wedding day to help my makeup last all day and into the night.

Fresh Rose Rose Face Mask - This is just a baby sample size that I got at Sephora for redeeming 100 points. I really wanted to try this mask for a  long time now and I must say this is another good one. I put this one 10min before I get in the shower and then wash it off. My skin feels amazing after and I've noticed that when I consistently use masks my makeup application goes on a lot smoother.

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder + BeautyBlender - This might seem like an odd combination but this will make you skin look flawless!!! I saw Kandee Johnson on YouTube do this trick and I now do this everyday. This is the mini powder ( I don't use a lot so I decided not to purchase the big size) the small travel size comes with a puff....which I don't use. I've also tried a bunch of different powder brushes with this powder but nothing does the job like the BeautyBlender. Get your BeuatyBlender wet and tap some of the powder into the lid. Then take your damp BeautyBlender and pick up some of the product in the lid and apply it to your face in a patting motion. Your makeup will last all day, it wont look caskey and it will look flawless!! This is another thumbs up and something that I will be using on my wedding day.

That's it for my favorites this month. What have your favorites been?


Monday, June 22, 2015

Product Empties June 2015


Epsom Salt - I love these salts for my bath...which is why i buy such large containers. This is a must for bath time and I've already repurchased more

Vanilla Bubbling Body Bath - another must have for bath time. This is great to mix with the Epsom salt to make an amazing bath time experience

Calgon Ageless Bath Nourishing Mild Bath - this is another bath product, this bath product is infused with vitamin E, collagen and pearl powder. This is a milk bath that is for softer skin. When I use this in my bath I find I don't have to lotion after my bath because my skin is very silky smooth

Calgon Ageless Bath Renewing Bath Pearls - yes another bath product! We've been having a ton a baths lately in our house. This product isn't as great as some other bath products that I've tried.

Dove Deep moisture hydration body wash - not my favorite body wash but it does leave your skin feeling soft. I'm trying something new that I think I like a little better....still on that hunt for my holly grail body wash

Neutrogena body emulsion concentrated lotion - I bought this product by mistake, I went to repurchase another Neutrogena lotion and picked this one up by mistake. Its not as great as the other one

Nivea Gel Cellulite Gel - another gimmicky product. I was hoping this would help the cellulite on my legs but unfortunately it did absolutely nothing

Tarte clean slate timeless smoothing primer - this is just a sample I got from Sephora and it has been an amazing primer! I picked up another one during the VIB Rouge sale

Christian Dior Creme De Rose - This is about my 5th tube of this product. It is just amazing! IT is on the pricey side but it's a great product. I'm trying out some new lip products that are a little cheaper to try and save some money....still undecided on how I feel about the new products

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill - best mascara ever! This packaging isn't the greatest because I find it doesn't close all the way. I think it dried out really quickly because of this. I just repurchased this maraca in the waterproof formula and I noticed that the packaging has changed which is awesome! They seemed to fix this problem so I'm hoping my new tube lasts longer



Monday, June 15, 2015

NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette - Review & Swatches

 I have been waiting to get my hands on this palette for a few months now! Ever since I saw MakeupByTiffanyD do a review on this in April, I knew I wanted to pick this up! I don't own any other contour palettes because I haven't heard great things from pale girls. I have extremely pale skin, I needed a palette that had highlight shades that were light enough to show up and contour shades that weren't too dark.

Now I was a little on the fence about buying this palette because a few people had described the colors as chalky. I don't agree with that at all. The color pay off is AMAZING! I wouldn't expect this for a drugstore brand. The quality is very high end and each shade is butter smooth. You do have to tap off the excess on your brush but I do that with any highlight/contour product anyway. You do have to be careful doing your contour...if you're pale don't go overboard on the color!

This palette gives you everything you need as far as highlighting and contour go. I don't use any other product to do my makeup! I don't use every single shade in the palette but when I show you the swatches I'll go through what they can each be used for.
 This palette comes with 4 lighter shades that you can use for highlighting and 4 darker shades that can be used for contouring. These shades don't have names or number so for the purpose of this blog post I have assigned them numbers so you know which ones I am talking about.
 1) This is a very white frosted shade. It is great for highlighting and I like to mix the color with #4

2) This is a matte cream shad. I like to use this for setting concealer that I have used on my face and down the center of my nose.

3) This is a yellow or banana shade, this is great for setting concealer under your eyes

4) This is a peach frosted shade. It is great for highlighting and again I mi this with color #1
Shades 5-8 are all bronze shades. There is a great variety for contouring and bronzing. I like to use a mixture of  5&7. Depending on your coloring and complexion you can create and combine any of these shades to get your perfect contour! 

I highly recommend picking up this palette. It was a little difficult to find, I got mine at London Drugs (I had to order it online because the stores closets to me didn't' have it in stock) the price was $27. 

Let me know in the comments if you've tried this palette and what your thoughts are.





Friday, June 12, 2015

How to Boost Your Metabolism

Naturally as we get older our metabolism will start to slow down. The average women will gain 1.5 pounds per year during her adult life. This can up to an extra 40 pounds by her 50's!

By eating metabolism boosting foods and following the path, you'll sleep better, have more energy, feel firmer, and notice your clothes are looser in as little as 2 weeks. Here's how:

1. EAT ENOUGH 
You need to cut calories to lose weight. But going too low or starving yourself will NOT work in your favorer. When you eat less than you need for basic biological function (about 1,200 calories for most women), your body throws the brakes on your metabolism.

2. REV UP IN THE MORNING 
Eating breakfast will jump-starts metabolism and keeps energy high all day. Women who skip this meal are 4 1/2 times as likely to be obese. If nothing else, grab a yogurt. Or try oatmeal made with fat-free milk and topped with nuts for an essential protein boost.

3. DRINK COFFEE OR TEA 
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so your daily java jolts can rev your metabolism 5 to 8%—about 98 to 174 calories a day. A cup of brewed tea can raise your metabolism by 12%.

4. FIGHT FAT WITH FIBER 
Fiber can rev your fat burn by as much as 30%. Studies find that women who eat the most fiber in foods gain the least weight over time. Aim for about 25 g a day—the amount in about three servings each of fruits and vegetables.

5. BUY THE BIG BOTTLE 
Drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that's 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily—enough to shed 5 pounds in a year. The increase may come from the work it takes to heat the water to body temperature.


Monday, June 8, 2015

Dior - Diorskin Star Foundation



What can I say? I think I've finally found my holly grail foundation. First off I have VERY dry skin so I look for foundations that are more moisturizing and dewy. I stay clear of anything that says matte! I've been experimenting with different foundations, mixing foundations together to try to find something that would look amazing on my skin.

Finally I asked for some recommendations from the Canadian Beauty Blogger Community and after getting a TON of recommendations, buying foundations and returning them disappointed I came across this foundation.

I knew after the first use that I LOVED this foundation. I use it with a primer....which I use with all foundations. It lasts the whole day when I set it with powder which is a plus for me. It looks amazing in photos! My skin looks absolutely flawless.

The coverage is medium, it evens out my skin tone but still allows some of my freckles to show through making it look natural. It does have a bit of a sent to it but it doesn't bother me and you can't smell it when you're wearing the foundation.

Usually I have trouble matching a foundation that will work for my neck & face. Surprisingly this one does! I have it in the color 010 which is the lightest color. It covers up the redness on my face but still matches my neck which is more of a yellow under tone.

I picked this foundation up at Shoppers for $48CAD, I also saw it at The Bay at the Dior counter. Sorry but unless you are in the USA this isn't available at Sephora.

If you have really dry skin and are having trouble finding a foundation that works for you I HIGHLY recommend trying this out, its well worth the money!