April 2017 Favorites

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 - I got my very first Ordinary order in the month of April and so far I have loved every single product I've ordered from them. I've been using the Hyaluronic Acid in the morning before I put on my moisturizer and my dry skin definitely has been feeling more hydrated. 

Tarte Frxxxtion Stick - This I've also been using in the mornings before I was my face. This is a facial cleanings stick that also exfoliates your face. I love the packaging, you rub the stick on your face instead of using your hands which I love. 

Benefit Hello Flawless - I decided to try a new powder this month and I picked this one up by Benefit. It took my three different tries to get my color just right but once I did I fell in love with this powder. It's not too heavy on the skin and has a very natural finish. 

Dior Forever Foundation - I decided to pick this up after hearing Jaclyn Hill rave about this foundation in several videos. I have very similar skin to hers - dry - most of her skincare and foundations recommendations work perfectly for me. I finally used up the last of my Becca foundation and instead of repurchasing it I pick this up instead. It is very natural and has great coverage. A big plus for me is this foundation do not move on my face! I don't typically set my foundations with a lot of powder as I am on the dry side so I need a foundation that doesn't need to be set in order to stay in place. Highly recommend giving this a try for dry skin. 

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG - The Ordinary defiantly has some interesting names for their products but don't let that scare you away from trying any. This is the eye product I've been using day and night. It is defiantly the most affordable eye product I have every used but it has a different formula. This is an oil that comes in a dropper. I use one drop for each eye and honestly my under eye area has never looked better. This has decreased my fine lines and brightened up my under eye. Most eye creams I've purchased in the past have ran be about $65, this one cost me $6.70!

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Moroccan Argan Oil - This is a very similar to the Josie Maran Argan Oil. I've tried this out on both my skin and my hair and I love it. It gives me the same restuls as the Josie Maran oil but the price tag is a HUGE difference. 50ml of the Josie Maran will cost $60 compared to 30ml of The Ordinary is $6.80.

The Ordinary defiantly dominated most of my new loves this month....I should also mention that all you have to do is spend over $25 with The Ordinary and your shipping is free! I definitely plan on ordering way more products from this company and doing their own dedicated blog post. If you've tried any products from The Ordinary please feel free to leave your recommendations below. Make sure you are subscribed so you can keep up to date with all my new blog posts. 

Josie Maran Whipped Mud Mask Collection

 I purchased these mud masks back in June and since then I've been HOOKED! I featured these masks in my June Favorites and even now that we are in August they are still a favorite.

I have an obsession with face masks...I can't even tell you how many I have tried. I think that they are so relaxing and refreshing after a long day. I enjoy taking off all my makeup, putting on a mask and crawling into bed with a good book.

Some of the mud masks that I have tried in the past work wonders but leave your skin feeling dried out - for someone that already has dry skin like me, you typically try to stay away from masks like that.

These masks are so whipped and creamy, they glide onto your skin like a dream and dry in place. Honestly I feel asleep with one of these masks on for about 1 hour and when I woke up my skin felt so refreshed. Your skin feels hydrated after removing the mask - it's the best feeling ever.

These masks are designed to hydrate, detoxify, nourish, clarify, firm, and refine your skin. They are solutions for pores, loss of firmness/elasticity and dryness. Each mask is formulated with 100% Pure Argan Oil - which is something I use everyday anyway! My skin drinks argan oil up and loves the benefits.

If you are interested in trying these I highly recommend picking up the sample pack like I did. That way you get to try out all the different formations and find out which ones are your favorite.

Have you tried out this mask? Tell me what you thoughts were in the comments below.

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.

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?

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!

May 2015 Favorites

Nume Signature Hair Dryer - I've had this Nume dryer for almost 2 years. This was my first high end dryer that I've purchased, normally I just used a dryer from the drug store and refused to spend more than $20. I noticed that my hair was really getting dried out and damaged using the drug store dryers. When I switched to this one I noticed my hair was super soft and silk after blow drying my hair which NEVER happened before. I highly recommend this when I hear someone say their hair feels really dry and damaged. I purchased my hair dryer directly though the Nume site http://numeproducts.com/signature-ionic-dryer-all

Diorskin Star Foundation - I have been looking for a holy grail foundation. I've tried A LOT of foundations lately and I felt I was still constantly on the hunt. I reached out on Facebook and asked for some recommendations, I had a lot of different recommendations for foundations....after going out and spend quit a bit of money on different recommendations....this one really stood out to me. The color match is perfect which for me is really difficult, I have the color 010. The coverage is amazing and very buildable. The foundation is easily bendable and leaves an amazing finish. I've been using this for almost three weeks STRAIGHT! Next week I plan on posting an entire review just on this foundation....it might just be my first HOLY GAIN FOUNDATION. If you're interested in seeing a full review please check back next Makeup Monday. This wasn't available at my locale Sephora so I picked it up at Shoppers...sorry I don't have a link but I've also seen it at The Bay. 

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream With Super 7 Complex & Fresh Seaberry Skin Nutrition Booster - These next two favorites really go together. I have EXTREMELY dry skin, I have a tough time with foundations looking cakey on me because my skin is sooo dry. I bought the Fresh face creme back in January and it has last me a long time! This container maybe has 1 or 2 more uses out of it and then I need a new one (which I've already bought last week and I have it ready to go when I run out!). This cream is truly amazing but I find that sometimes my skin and still be a little on the dry side. I went last week to Sephora to repurchase this creme and ended up running into a Fresh rep at Sephora. He recommend picking up the Fresh Seaberry oil and mixing it into the face cream.....THIS IS SERIOUSLY A GAME CHANGER. My skin feels so hydrated and my foundation has never looked better! If you have extremely dry skin I highly recommend this combo. The face oil is on the pricey side but all you need is 1 drop per day. Both of these can be purchased at Sephora

21 Day Fix EXTREME - My workout for the month of May has been the 21 Day Fix EXTREME. I am in crunch time now for my wedding so I've been doing an advanced workout to get me ready for my wedding dress. I am seriously in love with the workout....it's tough but I've noticed a HUGE difference in my abs and arms. I'm still so concerned with my wedding dress because I've never been a fan of my arms. But slowly but surly my chicken wing arms are getting lean and toned up! These workouts have been amazing and I have been coaching a fitness group throughout the month of May doing this program, I have some great participates in my group for the month of May that have just been amazing to work with during this time. These programs can be purchased through the Beachbody website www.beachbodycoach.com/mspamblam

What have some of your monthly favorites?