March Favorites 2016

 March was a great month for me! I've finally be able to kick my February cold and fell normal again. A lot happen in March that kept me busy, In about mid March I decided to make a big change and go from my dark brown hair to medium blonde! Because of that change I discovered some new hair products, one makeup product and one skincare product. All of which I feel in LOVE with.

First off I discovered the One 'N Only Argain Oil fro Sally's Beauty. This is a 12 in 1 daily treatment to help repair and strengthen your hair. After stripping my hair to go blonde it was very damaged. I needed something to put moisture back into my hair and make it strong again. Just using this oil in one week I noticed a BIG difference. This is a great oil for extremely dry and damaged hair. 

I noticed that since going blonde I have been using more oil which weights down my hair. I was looking for something to give my hair some life back. I picked up the Kendra Dry Texture Spray from Chatters. This is great for giving my hair back some life and texture to style it but still allow me to use my oil treatments.

It's no secret....many people are starting to avoid washing their hair everyday, It' supposed to be better for your scalp and allow for your natural hair oils to stay in your hair and make it healthier. I can't go everyday without washing my hair so I've now discovered dry shampoos. Because I had dark brown hair I need a dry shampoo that didn't leave a white cast....a lot I didn't like tinted shampoos because I find it would get on my hands and get all over the place! On the other hand I've tried some dry shampoos that make my hair felling more dirty....yuck! I really disliked this felling. I picked up the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo, this is amazing! By far it's my favorite shampoo, it make my hair feel clean, fresh, and soft. Then I use Pureology Fresh Approach Dry Condition that I use the the mid shaft and ends. It just allows me to run a brush through my second day hair and refresh the bottom bits of my hair that got tussled while I was sleeping. This by far is the best second and third day combo I've been able to find.

This is a new foundation I've tried in March, this is the Becca Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme. This is a great foundation for dry skin, it blends so well, sits on the skin and looks natural. Plus I love that it lasts all workday and gives me really full coverage. This gets a big thumbs up from me...it might be my new holly grail foundation.

Finally is a skincare product. This at first looked very odd and I wasn't sure if I would like this, but all I needed to do was to try it once and I was hooked. This is the Boscia Charcoal Pure Pudding Intensive Wash Off Treatment. It's an interesting mask that is a swirl of white and black charcoal, I Snapchat [mspamblam] when I first bought it and showed the cool design it has when you first get it. I noticed that after I use this mask my foundation goes on flawlessly the next day! My skin felt amazing and it just looked better (even when I had no makeup on). Right now I've been using this about once and week and my skin is LOVING it.

What did you discover in the month of March? I would love to know what products you've been loving, please leave them in the comments below.

Shakeology Giveaway | Thanks For Your Support

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!

Just my way of saying thank you for supporting my Facebook Page.

Lately my Facebook page has been growing so fast and I've been getting a ton of love & support. I wanted to show my appreciation back by giving away one bag of Chocolate Shakeology.

What's Shakeology? Check out my Shakeology Blog Post for more details on this product.

This giveaway will be run through Rafflecopter and the entry form can be found below. The rules are simple follow my Facebook page and you have a change to win!

Giveaway Details

This contest will run from March 22-April 15 (midnight). The winner will be announced on my Facebook page April 15th!

This giveaway is for Canada & USA residents only, valued at $155.95 

The winner will be contact April 15th and I will be sending out the prize directly to the winner.

If you have any questions about the giveaway please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

GOOD LUCK!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Product Empties March 2016 | Skincare Empties

 My trash is getting full!!! Time to bust out another products empties. I noticed that a lot of my product empties was skincare this past month...which means it's been a very expensive month of repurchasing new skincare items. I feel like the old I get the more and more I want to invest in my skin and keep it healthy and glowing.

Fist up is a shampoo from Sephora, this is the Texas Tea shampoo and conditioner. This is advertised as a voluminous product but I found it really weighted down my hair. As you can see I didn't even use the product up fully, there is still a little left in the bottom. I couldn't wait to get rid of this shampoo and move onto something new.

Next up is a drugstore body oil, this one is Neutrogena Body Oil. I really enjoy putting body oils in my bath and this is one that I've gone through many, many bottles of. It has a great smell and the price is very reasonable. Right now I haven't repurchased another one because I'm using up my Palmer's Moisturizing Body Oil.

This is by far my favorite eye cream I've tried so far. This is the Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24, it is a pretty thick cream but it's gotten rid of all my fine lines and wrinkles I was starting to get under my eyes. I use this twice a day and in pretty generous portions. It's on the pricey side but definitely worth the money. I've already repurchased another one.

Before I discovered the Shiseido eye cream I was using the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Eye Cream. This is also a good eye cream but it is a little more light weight. Great if you're in your early 20's. I haven't repurchased this product since discovering the Shiseido eye cream.

Another Shiseido product, this is the Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24 Night Cream. This is a very moisturizing night cream and I've gone through 2 of these. However, I wont be repurchasing this because I've been testing out some new night oils that I like a lot better for my dry skin.

Speaking of oils, this is the CoverFX Customer Infusion Drops. This is a great face oil to either mix into your moisturizing or foundation. I typically like to add this to my moisturizer during the day when my skin is feeling extra dry. It's a great oil and I will have one in my daily routine I'm trying to use up.

It's been a long time since I've had Estee Lauder skincare products in my routine. When I started to invest into my skincare everything used to be Estee Lauder. Then I branched out and found that there were other amazing products beside Estee Lauder and I really haven't gone back to this brand. I deiced to give one of their eye makeup removers a shot but to be honest I was really disappointed with it. First off this doesn't remove mascara very well and I found it didn't last very long. I have since moved onto something else.

This product has shown up in several empties posts. This is my favorite deodorant and I've been wearing it for years. I work out A LOT so having a good deodorant is very important to me. I can't even count how may of these I've gone through. I've already repurchased a replacement.

On a whim I decided to try some Sephora skincare products. Sephora skincare products are very reasonably priced and surprising work great! I switched my day time moisturizer to the Sephora Instant Moisturizer and I honestly don't want to try anything else. This is great for really dry skin and makeup goes over top of this moisturizing effortlessly. I've already bought a replacement for my skincare routine.

Another Sephora skincare product and another love of mine. This is the Sephora Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying, I use this either as a spot treatment or as a full on mask.  This product isn't acually empty there is still some left but it's dried up so I've bought a new one to replace it. This mask is so affordable and I've had it almost a year! Great value for your dollar and works amazing. My skin has been so clear since I gave up using drugstore masks and switched to this one.

You may have seen this product in a previous empties post as well. This is the Neostrata Lash Enhancer Serum, another great product but very expensive. This makes your lashes look thicker and longer but it's also a product you have to continually use or you'll loose the thickness and volume.

Finally I used up all my Shiseido Wrinkle Resist 24 Eye Masks. This is the very first eye mask I've ever tried and loved them! You get 12 eye masks in this set which I though was very reasonable and I've already repurchased another pack. I found that this really moisturized and smoothed out my under eyes. I typically use them when I'm doing a face mask so about once a week I would use these. 

That's it for my empties. What products did you use up this month?

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update Week 7 | 2016 Goal Races

Set yourself up for success!

When 2016 rolled around I set 9 goals...some life, fitness, work and personal related goals all mixed together. One of those goals was to run a marathon.

If you've been subscribed to my blog you have seen my week 1, week 2, week 3&4, week 5 and week 6 updates. I was committed to train and run the Calgary marathon at the end of May. I was on an 18 week training program and things were going really well until the beginning of February when I got really sick.

I was off training for a very long time, at first I was so exhausted and sick I couldn't get out of bed. Then when I thought I was better enough to start training again my doctor said no running. Even when  my chest infection cleared up I had a really nasty cough that lingered around for a month.

Finally last weekend I was convinced that I was ready to make a comeback! I felt pretty weak but at least I was getting my training done. Then I got a reality check on Saturday when it was time for my long run. In my week 6 update I mentioned that I was supposed to run 16km but because I had missed so many long run I only made it 5km and my chest was really feeling it.

Taking a look at where I am, where I should be, and how much time I have left to train for my marathon I've had to make a very difficult decision.....I won't be racing in the Calgary marathon as planned.

This was a very tough decision for me to make but it's not worth continuing down a road when I know I'm not going to be ready. I've ran marathons in the past so this isn't new for me. I know it takes hard work and dedication...you really can't miss any of your long runs or it's very tough to get back on track. I've taken a look back at my old training log....yes I keep training logs...I was MUCH further ahead by week 7 than were I am now.

Even though I'm disappointed I've decided the best thing to do is try NOT to dwell on it and move on. I've put together a new training plan (fingers crossed this time I don't sick anymore this year). Another goal of mine is to qualify for Canada's ITU World Duathlon team. I made this team back in 2012 and competed in the 2013 World Duathlon Championships....it was an amazing experience.

The qualifying race will be held here in Edmonton Sept 3/4 weekend.

I've made a new training program that combines interval training, Beachbody programs, road biking and mini races through the summer to get prepared for the qualifying race! I have 25 weeks to train which is more than enough time to get ready.

Even though I'm feel a little discouraged for abandoning my marathon goal this year I'm trying to move forward to get myself pumped up for my new training plan!

I'll continue to post weekly updates here on my blog throughout my training so make and you can also head over to my "Follow Me" tab to find all my social media accounts.

Happy fitness Friday!

Palmer's Products Review

In the month of February I pulled out these products that Palmer's sent be a few months ago. If you've been following me on my social media accounts you will know that I've been pretty sick for the past month. During that month my entire skincare routine went completely out of the window. I was looking through my closet to find something that would help hydrate my dry skin. 

When I'm sick I love to take baths. I pulled out the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil to add a little moisture while I was in the bath. This stuff is great! I would add it into my bath along with a bubble bath. The oil didn't have a smell which was great because the bubble bath did. I don't like when there are competing scents. I instantly felt moisturized when I stepped out of the bath, I didn't even add anything extra to my skin. I noticed that because I was dehydrated from being sick my skin got a little itchy. After taking a bath with this oil I had instant relief! You can also apply this body oil directly to your skin as a moisturizer after a shower or bath.

The 24 Moisturizing Lotion was pretty good. I couldn't actually find a lot of information online about this lotion but it was really rich and creamy. My skin did feel moisturized after using it but I actually preferred the oil products more than the lotion.

Finally Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Smoothing Oil For Dry, Itchy Skin...probably out of the three this was my favorite. I really wasn't sure what to do with this oil at first. Then I read that you can use oil after your shower for instantly smooth skin. After I'm finished shower I turn off the water but stay in the shower. I spray this all over and then pat dry with a towel. WOW! What a difference. I don't think I will ever go back to using lotion. I love that I don't have that sticky lotion feeling and I'm instantly dry with smooth skin. I can get dressed right away without having to let lotion sit and sink into my skin. 

You can check out these products and more at the Palmer's website. 

Have you tried any of Palmer's products? What did you think?

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update Week 6 | Making A Comeback?

Is it a comeback? If you haven't caught up on my weekly training updates please go check out week 5 blog post....life has been a little crazy these past 6 weeks and training has NOT gone as planned. 

I posted last Saturday on my social media that I was making a comeback. I woke up early just to head out on my long run which I was DETERMINED to complete. My training program called for a 16km run, but if you've been following me you'll know I've been very sick with a chest infection and I've missed my last 3 long runs.

Unfortunately I only made it to 5km...my lungs were really feeling it! This is just my personal opinion but I feel that yes it is good to push your body, but only to a certain point. I know that 16km was a very unrealistic for my Saturday run but I have to say I was disappointed with only getting in 5km.

The rest of the week went pretty well. I completed all my Beachbody workouts at home so I can mark that down as a WIN. I'm really feeling so much stronger since I've started combining Beachbody with my marathon training. Plus it gives my legs a rest from just running, running, running every single day.

The rest of my runs during the week were pretty slow. My goal recently has been just to finish my workouts - without killing myself. I didn't do anything spectacular this week but I got it done.

That's pretty much it for this week! Sorry it wasn't anything too crazy exciting but slowly I am making a comeback.

Please check back next week for my week 7 update! Thanks for stopping by