August Favorites | Ms Pam Blam

Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-powder - I rediscovered this dry shampoo when I was traveling at the end of July. I traveled for the first time with only carry on luggage....I had to try and cut my liquids way down so I decided to travel with this dry shampoo. It's amazing! The powder just gives your hair a refreshed look plus adds volume which is great. I had some great hair days while traveling!

Sephora Eye Masks - I've tried several different eye masks and I keep coming back to the Sephora collection. They have some great eye masks that just refresh and hydrate your under eye. I try to use these about once a week, my favorites are Orchid, Pearl, Rose and Avocado.

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil - This product was in my Current Skincare Routine I posted back in December and it's still in my skincare routine. I love using this oil at night, seriously my skin has never looked better. I wont use this every night, I alternate between this oil and Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil.  

Sephora Instant Moisturizer - Another product that was in my Current Skincare Routine and I'm still currently using is the Sephora brand moisturizer. I honestly still haven't found anything better than this stuff. It hydrates my dry skin and leaves my skin primed and ready for makeup in the morning.

L'Oreal Infallible Pro Flow Foundation - I've heard everyone rave about this foundation. It's been described as a dewy and radiant foundation, perfect for dry skin....well anytime I hear the word dewy I know I HAVE to give the foundation a try. I love this foundation, it gives me the perfect summer dewy skin glow that my dry skin craves. I've mixing this with my BB cream so I have some SPF and I've been wearing this all summer.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - This is always a must have in my makeup bag. This is my go to setting spray and it works great with the L'Oreal foundation. Most dewy skin foundations don't last long so I like to use a setting spray to lock in my foundation and make it last all day long.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer - This has been talked about a lot on my blog, it is still my go to concealer. This stuff covers whatever you need covered and stays in place all day without being too dry.

Mac Prep and Prime (Radiant Rose) - Over top of my concealer I've been wearing the Mac prep and prime in radiant rose. This is a great highlighter under the eyes just to brighten everything up and make you look more awake. Best liquid highlighter I've used for the under eye area.

Let me know in the comments below what your favorites where for August!!!

Fitness Update | Blam Bombshell Fitness

 15 days to go!!! I can't believe my last fitness update was almost a month ago....where has the time gone?

As the end of July I was down in Nashville attending Beachbodys Summit Conference - it was incredible! The weather cooperated and was very hot - our hotel was about a 20min walk away from the conference so we decided to walk to and from the conference everyday. By the time we got there we were dripping in sweat - neither my husband or I were used to that kind of heat.

Regardless we got to attend some great workshops that educated us more about the business, we got to meet some amazing coaches from the team AND we got to attend some awesome workouts.

 If you follow me on any of my social media accounts (Snapchat [mspamblam], Instagram, Facebook) it might have looked like I was down there for a really fun vacation....but nope it was for expanding my business. I honestly came back with over 30 pages of notes and some great new ideas for Blam Bombshell Fitness! I am really looking forward to running some more fitness groups and see how the rest of the year plays out.

It was great because even though I was down there for business we were able to attend workouts held by Beachbody so I never missed a beat with my workouts.

However, when I got home...it was all business. I sat down and wrote out my last and final month of training before my qualification race to make team Canada for worlds in 2017. I decided to kick things off with one last final round of 21 Day Fix EXTREME. I planned it out so I would end my program one week before my race - I like to tapper off before my race and let my body recover. Today marks day 13/21 - I am so proud of myself for NEVER missing a single day....plus I've lost 5 pounds so I really can't complain.

Not going to lie it hasn't been easy. Not only am I doing 21 Day Fix EXTREME but I am have to get in my running and biking workouts. Some days I'm workouting for over 3 hours just to get all my workouts in - other days, like a rest day, just consists of a 21 Day Fix EXTREME workout and I've made sure that something easy like yoga falls onto those days.

Making my own training program has been tough to find that balance of training hard to make me faster&stronger but still allowing me active rest days to let my body recover.

Unfortunately last Saturday when doing some running/biking training and transition training I hyper extended my knee....yes again with my knee. I do have an old knee injury that keeps creeping back into my life. As I was practicing jumping on and off my bike at transition I came down a little too hard on my knee.

Transition is defiantly one of my weakest parts of the race. There are some athletes that just fly through transition...it's defiantly a good place to break away if you are caught up in a pack of people.

On race day it's going to be very important for me to get through transition quickly if I'm with a pack of people during the run because the bike is draft legal. That means if I can stay with a pack of people we can actually help draft each other on the bike so all of us don't have to work as hard as we would if we were on our own.

My transitions have defiantly been getting better but I sure am glade I still have 15 more days to practice. I honestly haven't practiced transition since my last worlds competition in 2013 - oh well they must have that saying "it's just like riding a bike" for a reason.

I have to say I've been putting in a TON of work into  my training and it's really rewarding when people actual start to see the results pay off. Yesterday I was out biking hills and running intervals....my husband has been a good sport and has kept me company on a few of my training sessions. Yesterday he gave me the biggest complement and said my hill climbing was getting so much better he couldn't keep up with me AND  my running had improved dramatically withing the past 2 weeks. Normally he can out sprint me but yesterday I was out sprinting him & my dad....and lets be honest my dad has been training and raced more triathlons than me this year- he even did another half Ironman in early July so he's in good shape.

So what's in store for me these final few days? I have another week and a half of hard training and then I will begin to tapper off. I'll be finishing my 21 Day Fix EXTREME program next Saturday and then I will probably be backing off of home workouts until after the race. I will keep Pilates and yoga from 21 Day Fix EXTREME in my training rotation as active recovery but that's about it.

The most important thing for me right now is get my knee back to 100% and stay injury free on these final few days.

Don't forget to follow me on my other social media platforms - Snapchat [mspamblam] is the best place to find me if you want to know what I'm up to on a day to day basic.

Also remember to hit that subscribe button if you want to be notified when I post my next fitness update.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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.

Fitness Update | Blam Bombshell Fitness

Work, family, life, working out....how do you balance it all?

Over the past few months I have been training for a qualifying duathlon race that will put me back onto team Canada and allow me to compete at the 2017 World Duathlon Championships. My training has been a constant roller coaster fill with serveral set backs. 

My training might seem very different from most duathlets. As a Beachbody coach I strongly believe and has seen amazing results with these programs when it comes to increasing my fitness and leg strength running/biking. Because of this I use a combination of Beachbody programs, interval running, long distance running and biking to train for my duathlon.

 But how do you balance it all? In spring I left my job and became a full time Beachbody coach, which has been a dream come true and blessing....but as I have found out very quickly that working from home is no piece of cake. I'm easily distracted and still somehow manager to run out of time in my day without getting a workout in.

In addition to that this is our first summer in our new house...what does that mean? So many house projects I've lost count. Because we decided to build our first home nothing is completed on the exterior of our home. That means everything from landscaping, fence building, deck painting, ect had to be completed. My husband and I have been very busy in our yard every single day trying to accomplish these tasks - it's been taking up most of our time.

With that being said I am still pushing forward and training like mad! I only have about 42 days left until qualifying! Crazy....my summer has just flown by.

My plan for the next 42 days - be as organized as possible. In order to keep myself on track I'm having to keep myself accountable. That means making a very strict schedule and making myself stick to it! My schedule includes when I'm going to workout, shower, work my at home business, clean, spend time with my family, ect. It means no more slacking off and getting down to business! This next 42 days is really going to test myself to see how bad do I really want this? 

I truly believe that if you want something bad enough you will find a way to make it happen.

I know that balancing it all is so difficult. Trust me I've been there this summer. Trying to jungle home projects, working from home, family, working out, ect....things have slipped through the cracks. I haven't been happy about it but sometimes these things happen.  

 So what's the plan for this upcoming week? Well I'm just coming back from a knee injury...nothing major I just had a fluke accident where I twisted my knee running home night. I've gave it a weekend off and now I'm back training without missing a beat!

This upcoming week I'm planning on doing a Beachbody workouts every single day....time to step it up! I'll be running three times this week - one interval run with 400m intervals, one tempo run and one long run. Plus I'll be going out twice on my bike. One time will be 1min intervals with high cadence for one hour and the second time will be a long ride that will take about one and a half hours for endurance.

The week after that will be a similar training schedule except instead of running 400m intervals I will be running 200m intervals....I have to say I love shorter intervals, it means I get to fly and running a super fast pace! I have to admit I have a soft spot for sprinting since I was a track and field sprinter from grade 6-12.

Wish me luck and make sure you hit that subscribe button if you want to be notified when I post my next fitness update!

Thanks so much for stopping by

Product Empties July 2016

One n Only Argan Oil Hydrating Mask - This hair mask is a pass for me, I was looking for something that was going to help hydrate my blonde hair after coloring it....this wasn't it. This mask didn't make my hair feel any different whether I used it or not.

Loreal Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold Hairspray - This is my favorite hairspray and I have already repurchased another can. This has been my favorite hairspray for a few years now. It's flexible so you can brush out your hair style. It's flexible and easy to work with plus it doesn't leave the crunchy feeling in your hair - personally I hate that feeling.

Sephora Instant Moisturizer - This is about my third jar I've gone through, great moisturizer! I've noticed on Sephora's website they have changed the packaging so I'm interesting in seeing if they have changed the formula as well.

I love...Vanilla & Ice Cream Bubble Bath & Shower Creme - I did a give away back in February that included this bubble bath. Honestly this is my favorite bubble I've found so far. It smells great and leaves your skin feeling soft when you get out of the tub.

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray - I can't even count how many of these I've gone through...I want to say about six. This is the best makeup setting spray that I have tried. It really makes a difference in helping my makeup last all day long. I highly recommend it especially in the summer when you find your makeup melts off on hot days.

Palmer's Moisturizing Body Oil - This was sent to me by Palmer to review a few of their products. Recently I've switched from using body lotion to body oils after my showers. I find that body oils hydrate my skin more and it feels so soft after using them. Boyd lotions tend to make my skin feel sticky instead of soft. This was a great body oil but I have't repurchased it again as I am testing out some other body oils at the moment.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - As you can see I've got two of these in my empties. I love this face spray! It has a great mist and feels very refreshing on the skin. I like to use this mist before and after applying powder. It helps the powder to melt into your skin and make your makeup look airbrushed. Highly recommend for anyone with dry skin.

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume - This is my favorite drugstore mascara. It gives tons of volume and never leaves your lashes looking clumpy.

Benefit Gimme Brow - This has been a great brow gel, however, I know that Benefit just repackaged all their brow products so I'm interested in seeing if the new package has the same formula. I've just order a new brow gel so I will be testing this out soon.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer - This is my one and only must have concealer. I haven't found a better concealer for under my eyes. This stuff stays in place all day, never creases and covers my dark circles.

Chanel Le Volume De Chanel - I bought this mascara for my wedding last year...it is very expensive and hard to buy where I live. I've been trying to find a dupe for this for a year now and I've found nothing that even comes close. I think I have to break down and just buy another one because this stuff was truly amazing. It gives you so much volume! The formula is very buildable and easy to work with. Even though it was expensive it is well worth the money.

Caudalie Makeup Remover Cleansing Water - This is a pass for me, I really disliked this makeup remover I found I had to use a lot in order for it to work. I went through the product very quickly, it's really not worth your money.

Loreal Pro Keratin Refill - This is another hair mask pass for me. This hair mask actually dried out my hair and left it feeling like straw...definitely a pass for me.