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L’oreal Voxbox Review

There are so many drug store cosmetics to choose from, and L’oreal has been a tested and true brand for me. Not everyone enjoys the high end boutique brands and some even find amazing dupes.

dupe2

d(y)o͞op/

verb & noun
verb: dupe; 3rd person present: dupes; past tense: duped; past participle: duped; gerund or present participle: duping; noun: dupe; plural noun: dupes
  1. short for duplicate, especially in photography.

As a matter of fact, the first mascara I tried was the L’oreal Voluminous mascara. This mascara has always been my go to when I’m on a budget and need the look/quality of a more expensive brand.

voluminous mascara

Pros

– It doesn’t flake off from your lashes
– I usually get perfect wear from this mascara up to 10 hours
–  Full lashes effect
– I can use it up till the 3rd month (it’s a general rule of thumb to throw out your mascara after 3 months of use)
But truth is I use it well after and only throw it out if it’s done or if I’ve lost track of how old it really is, I do the smell test. Smells bad, then throw it out.
– Affordable price

Cons

It’s really rare that I come across a product that I have zero problems with. So, basically I love this mascara!

loreal la palette review
I had this one L’oreal solo shade in matte black. When all of my girls would come over to get ready before going out, we would all use it to create amazing smokey eyes. I think I had all the girls hooked on it. At that time there was no other highly pigmented matte black (that I knew of I guess). I’m into the softer shades now so I wouldn’t know if the quality of their matte black has changed. By the way, to put things into perception, those were the days of the beige/gold packaging for their shadows.

L’Oreal La Palette Eye Shadow – Nude 01

 

Pros

– 10 colours in one palette
– Pigmented and build-able
– Shades you can wear everyday

Cons

– The brush included in the palette is average quality. Not stiff enough to build on colour nor that great for blending
– The colours are too similar to the la palette in nudes 2

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loreal eye liners

Above, the last two products from the right are eye liners. Liquid and pencil. If you ask me, I prefer liquid on the top of my lid and pencil for the bottom. This liquid liner is amaze-balls! I love the ultra fine tip. Out of curiosity I wanted to see if I could write with it and effortlessly I could:

loreal review
I can’t do that with any other affordably priced liquid liner. So that says a lot to me about the quality of the brush. Now I can get right to the edge of my lash line for that solid natural look or use it to create a perfect swoop for a half cat eye. The things you can do with a really good brush!

What I love the most about the pencil eyeliner is that its smooth and creamy. On the other end there’s a smudger and sharpener. Which means, you can create different looks with this one eye liner. Super skinny fine lines (sharpen it), sultry and smudged (use the smudger). Again, zero cons for both products.

Let’s talk about the brow liner. The L’oreal stylist definer brow liner in brunette. I’m not a huge fan of it. The first time I used it, it was dry and broke off. The other thing I don’t like about this liner is that it’s a retractable pencil. I think the retractable thing has to go altogether. In my experience all retractables dry up so quickly and break even faster.

loreal brow liner

Have you tried any of these products? How was your experience? By the way, I received these products complimentary via influenster for testing purposes.

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save your staples

We all have that go to t-shirt, pants, shoes and even purse. Whatever your staples may be, you want them to last forever! I’ve teamed up with ThirdLove, a San Francisco company who specialize in under garments to bring you staple saving tips from them and some of my own.

Top 10 Tips To Save Your Staples

1. Bra Care:

taking care of your bras

  • If you don’t hand wash them, then always machine wash with the gentle/delicate cycle.
  • Don’t mix your whites with colours.

2. Underwear:

taking care of your underwear

3. Wear an apron:

bf8c3b9bc76cae3c18c93e4bcc6eb1b6 If you’re stepping into the kitchen to cook, you’ll want to wear an apron to protect your clothes. Anything could happen when you’re cooking. For an example, the oil you might be cooking with could splash onto your clothes. Or how about baking. I know when I’m baking I somehow always get flour on me. So do your clothes some justice and wear an apron.

4. Denim:

This goes for all your favourite denim clothes. Jean, jean jackets, denim dresses etc. I have a question for YOU my readers. I have a pair of jeans that no matter how many times I wash them they still bleed blue. What up with that? I’m too scared to wear them now, especially since I have camel colour leather seats in my car. Have you experienced this before? And if you did, what did you do to fix it?

taking care of your jeans

5. Sew:

Learn basic sewing and fix any minor mishaps in your clothing. It’s a great skill to have. I can’t even begin to count how many times one of my favourite jackets or shirts lost a button and I saved it to sew back. Now, you might know how to sew, and just never find the time to actually do it. Like me. In that case, that shirt or jacket wasn’t your favourite after all.

6. Bleach? Forget about it. 

Bleach has the power to wear out your clothes real quick. So use bleach only when you really have too.

7. Read the labels:

I guess this one is kind of obvious. If you read the labels of your clothes then of course they’ll last longer. Different fabrics and types of clothing need different degrees of care. Even though it sounds tedious, it’s a good habit to get into.

8. Handbags:

It’s always so much fun cleaning out handbags. I always find almost everything I was looking for in them.

#SaveYourStaples

9. Hang dry:

Hang your clothes to dry. I’m guilty of not purchasing a drying rack for years. Okay, we did have one, once upon a time and it fell apart. I never got around to replacing it. Our new laundry room has a window and lots of folding and organizing space. Yay! So I finally got one and have the perfect spot for it, by the window of course. Lots of fresh air to dry our favourite staples. Make sure to keep clothing separated so they dry faster and have good air circulation. You can also invest in a space saving drying rack for smaller rooms, like this one:

space saving drying rack

 

10. Don’t wash clean clothes:

I know you must be eager to add more to your laundry, but please don’t. You may not realize but that t-shirt you took off today and threw into your dirty laundry basket, wasn’t dirty. If it looks clean, doesn’t smell and the only flaw is its wrinkles, then don’t wash it. Some dryers have a refresh feature, where you can throw in clothes that have zero stains and a few wrinkles. My samsung dryer sprays clothes with a little water and then goes through the usual drying process. It’s an awesome feature!

Do you have any tips on how you save your staples? P.S Use promo code STAPLES for 15% off your entire order until the end of 2016!

 

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catelli supergreens

I put the Catelli SuperGreens pasta to the taste test with my boys, mother in law and my mom. They loved it!

So what was this amazing recipe that I put together? It’s very simple and involves lots of vegetables and for the meat lovers in your family you can add chicken/beef as you wish. The name of the pasta is exactly that, super green. It’s all-natural made with spinach, zucchini, broccoli, parsley and kale! Okay so I know the pasta itself was already packed with veggies but I just couldn’t help it but add more. You can never have enough vegetables! At least I think so!

veggie dinner

I chopped up all of the vegetables while I had the Catelli SuperGreens pasta boiling. I’ve only tried a green pasta once before and it was pretty good. However, I did notice that it had a higher amount of sodium in it. Which brings me to why Catelli SuperGreens is so much better! Catelli SuperGreens is low in sodium and fat.

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I like to keep my veggies chunky in pasta. It gives it that hearty meal look. I know mushrooms cook a lot faster than zucchini, so you can saute the mushrooms separately or put them altogether and cook on low-medium heat. I used my favourite, the gourmet collection spice blend as a dressing for the chopped vegetables and cooked with olive oil.

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catelli supergreens recipe

 

Vegetables to saute
Yellow zucchini
Green zucchini
Cremini mushrooms

Chicken
Marinade chicken overnight or 30 minutes – 1 hour. I used 1 tablespoon of yogurt, 1/4 tsp chilli powder, half a lemon and 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic for the marinade. I then chopped the chicken breast into cubes and cooked.

Avocado
At the end when you’re about to serve the dinner add sliced avocado to the side.

For the sauce I just used a store bought rosée that had cheese in it.

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catelli

catelli pasta

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#StandTogether is about recognizing our diversity, embracing our differences, and coming together in solidarity to prevent bullying.

I remember every single person who bullied me. Those are memories that are hard to forget. The sad part about majority reason of why children get bullied is that it’s because the person doing the bullying doesn’t know any better. Mostly they’re afraid of what they don’t know, or don’t understand.

Long story short, once upon a time I wore a hijab. Although I went to a very multicultural elementary school downtown Toronto, there were a few children who just didn’t understand why I wore it, didn’t want to learn and just felt better by calling me and my friends names, physically abusing us and just making our lives miserable. It went on for months until we stood up to the bullies. We didn’t want it to come down to fighting back, but it did. After that day, that was the end of it. Or so I thought.

First year of high school, I remember someone in Science class asking if I was bald underneath. Stupid question because I unfortunately never wore my hijab perfectly covering my hair. The worse part was that the Science teacher responded with ” …is it true? Are you all bald underneath?” Like what the —?? At that time because of all the bullying I had been through prior to high school, that comment meant nothing to me. I was numb to bullying and just answered the question with a mundane “No.” 

#DidYouKnow 70% of reported bullying is because they either look or act differently? (race, weight, height, clothing, and any physical, religious and sexual differences.)

No one should be bullied and schools should have more programs that help students being bullied and help everyone understand the importance of why bullying is wrong. In elementary school when I addressed the bullying that happened to our vice principle, he created a mediation program. Where volunteers were given whistles/school bells and would walk around at recess time keeping the peace. If they found a situation where someone was being bullied we would blow the whistle or school bell and teachers would come take over. Proud to say my friends and I were the first people at our elementary school to be a part of it.

What I love about this campaign is that the money is to go towards educating students to understand that we are all the same. The same people but in different bodies. Check out this video. 

Open your mind. 

#standtogether

So why the funky green socks? They’re to represent that we are all unique and this is what makes us amazing individuals! You can purchase these socks at YoSox on Queen Street, or onlineFor every pair of socks purchased, Yo Sox will donate a portion of the proceeds to Canadian Safe School Network to help fund new anti-bullying programs for youth and to promote wellness.

Teachers/School Professionals: Here’s the link to some #StandTogether Educational Resources to add valuable lessons about bullying, diversity, and kindness into your classroom!

You can donate to the Canadian Safe School Network, here.

 

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colette toronto

Just before Easter Colette was decorated with cute easter eggs, bunnies and let’s just stop and appreciate that awesome chalkboard art. Their holiday decor is on point. Also, they have feature drinks that they change according to the season or for different holidays.

The feature drink at the time I went was the Maple Fog Latte. I typically drink an earl gray with two milks and two sugars. Yup, double it up. London Fogs are my favourite. So imagine how happy I was to know this drink was made with an Earl Gray base.

toronto coffee shops

I love this place and the interior is dreamy! Clean and chic. Very Parisian. I can’t wait to have brunch here next time!

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toronto collette

 

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mistura review

Oh the world of beauty products! This is my Mistura make up haul and mini review of the products that I’ve tried. Above you’ll see the four products,starting from the top left, quad eye shadow palette, pressed powder, concealer/corrector and their plump and glow lip gloss.

MISTURA MAKE-UP

The plump and glow gloss actually reminds me of a favourite gloss I had years ago. The dermaglow lip gloss that also had plumping properties. The plump and glow isn’t sticky and actually leaves your lips feeling hydrated. Comes in 3 different colours. This is the gloss in Gwen:

plump and glow

plump and glow

mistura eyeshadow

The Bella Seta Eye Shadow Quad in Fashionista retail for $39.49. The eyeshadow colours can be worn during the day or evening depending on how you mix them up. The lightest colour can go all over the lid and the darker colours along your lashline for a subtle daytime look. Evening, the options are endless. Go smokey with all three dark shades. Check out how I wore the shadows:

mistura eyes

The shadows aren’t super pigmented but you can get a stronger vibrant colour by using an eyeshadow base.

mistura makeup

mistura powder

This is the 6-in-one beauty solution compact. It only comes in one colour because of its exclusive miracle match colour blend technology. This technology allows for this product to suit any skin tone. So for those who want one product that they can use to contour, bronze, apply as blush, eye shadow, or cover blemishes/rosacea and colour for lips.

colour corrector concealer

This concealer ($37.99) went on very smoothly and is perfect for medium coverage purposes. It has a very light feeling, feels like powder even though when it’s going on it has a cream-ish texture. Also has a light scent. I love that the coverage is buildable and the bonus is that it has antioxidants, coconut oil and shea butter. Food for your skin 😉

Have you tried any Mistura products?

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Essie nail polishes have the cutest and creative names for their nail colours! Speaking of cute names. The colours I received were wicked (the darker colour), demure vix (the lighter one), along with an essie base and top coat.

essie nail polish

essie nail polish

Using a base and top coat really makes a difference in terms of how long the manicure lasts. Much longer than doing the essie nail colour on its own.

essienailedit

 

STEP 1: Apply essie base coat
DRY
STEP 2: Apply tape to half your nail. Vertical or horizontally.
STEP 3: Apply nail polish to non taped side.
STEP 4: Apply second colour.
STEP 5: Add essie drying drops.

Here’s the how to video:

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary for testing purposes.

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garnier nutrisse

What do you get with two boxes of Garnier Nutrisse hair dye?

garnier nutrisse blue black

Ultra vibrant colour and soft hair! I’m really impressed with this hair dye. I’ve dyed my hair for years, black, brown then black again. Every time I dyed my hair, results were dry, crunchy and the colour barely lasted through the month.

This time with Garnier Nutrisse, during the application process I noticed there was absolutely no ‘chemical like’ smell coming from the dye. Other brands have really strong ammonia-like smells.So strong that I can’t even leave the washroom without having to hear my husband complain about the stench. The ultimate test of course was to walk by him with it in my hair. No reaction from him what so ever.

garnier nutrisse blue black

The colour lasts a lot longer than other brands. No sign of whites. Also, during the application process I dropped the dye bottle on the floor. No product fell out!

  • Vibrant colour
  • Soft hair
  • No mess process
  • No ammonia smell
  • Long lasting colour

Definitely my new go to brand for hair colour!

garnier hair dye

toronto beauty blogger hum jk

 

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Scarborough Town Center is one of my favourite malls to shop at. For the longest time they had almost all of my favourite stores, until recently now they have them all! They just had their grand opening for *drum roll please* ZARA! Yup. They now have Zara at STC. They have a men, women and a children section and amazing selections that you won’t want to leave without buying something. Most of my favourite clothes are from Zara and not just from Toronto but from my travels as well! It’s actually the largest Zara in the east GTA! Now let’s gush over this purse I bought from Zara. It’s edgy and the detail on the strap makes it really stand out. 

zara purse 2016

For the grand opening there was an awesome installation placed in the mall beside Zara for people to interact with. Different booths within a bigger booth to get your creative juices flowing for selfies and ootd’s (outfit of the day). If you post your picture from the installation or your zara outfit on social media before April 3rd you’ll have a chance to win a $500 Zara shopping spree! Oh all the things I could buy!

SCARBOROUGH TOWN CENTER

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the grand opening but Maria from BestDayBlogger was there and she got some awesome pictures and coverage from the grand opening! I visited the installation over the weekend with Maria and we had so much fun vlogging and taking pictures! The installation was created by Kastor and Pollux, a full service digital and experiences agency. They created this 200 sq ft booth with mirrors, plants, furry seating areas and 3-dimensional objects on the walls. On their website they describe this installation as:  “a dream to any content-hungry/Instagram-obsessed millennial..” and it’s SO true! We are living in a very visual generation at the moment and we yearn for quirky, fun or minimal looking scenes. Some just want to enjoy it and others want to enjoy AND go nuts with taking pictures! 

HumJK and Bestdayblogger

toronto fashion blogger

SCARBOROUGH TOWN CENTER

On that note, when shopping at STC if you’re looking for some ideas on where you can take your OOTD pictures, try looking for:

DO 

– Any wall that has no writing, no ads, just colour. It can be any colour, but if you find a white wall or a coloured wall that compliments your outfit, then even better! 
– The hallway before you get to the washroom is perfect for a discreet ootd pic
– Inside Sephora at the beauty station mirrors (the lighting is fantastic!)

DON’TS

– No washroom selfies. Just don’t. 
– Inside stores. They most likely won’t let you and it’s not very visually appealing 
– In front of a store ad
– In a busy food court
– With mall security (Just kidding!)

It would be pretty awesome if STC did a different installation every month. I could see a lot of people checking it out and using the mall hashtag to promote. I also wish this installation was there for a longer period. I would’ve totally went back to take more pictures!

 

toronto blogger

So let’s talk about my outfit. Casual but funky. I love lace and leather. I took it to the next level by adding my favourite zipper t shirt. If you didn’t notice in the above pictures, it’s literally a spiraling zipper down the center of my shirt. Share your OOTD’s with hashtag #STCDresscode and @ShopSTC might even repost!

kastor and pollux

*All photos were taken by the talented Maria! BestDayBlogger

 

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Have you heard about the new reverse wash collection by TRESemmé?

tresemme reverse wash

Story time…

In about two months I dyed my hair three times so far and unfortunately the hair dye I used wasn’t so gentle on my hair. Going from brunette to black at home isn’t so easy, especially when you have long hair. I thought I could do it with one not realizing how long my hair had really gotten. It’s usually in a bun so baby D doesn’t pull it. So anyways, I tried one box and yeah.. huge fail. I had so many brown strands of hair left. I went back and did another box and got it all covered. Within a week it looked really dull, no shine..so I did it again with a different brand and still not I’m not at the shade of black I’d like to have. To be continued…

After using the TRESemmé reverse wash system for 2 weeks I can confidently say that it has transformed my hair to be as close to the healthy locks they were before I ever started dying my hair. It’s not the thickest mane I’ve had, but dang has it come close. When they say volume, they don’t lie. See for yourself… here’s a picture of my freshly washed hair, just blow dried it with no product in it:

beauty-full volume tresemme

[Tweet “Reverse wash your #hair. Condition, then Shampoo with @TRESemme”]

So much beauty-full volume! I love it! I can’t stand flat hair unless I part it down the middle, so you can imagine how ecstatic I was with these results. If you’re wondering what the before hair looked like you can refer to basically any of my instagram or blog posts before this one. 😉

How it works

It’s a reverse wash. So traditionally you would use your Shampoo first and then your conditioner. But with this system you use the Conditioner first. You must be thinking “whaaatt?! No thanks.”. But hold on, this TRESemmé reverse wash system is the only reverse wash out there. At least as far as I know. I wouldn’t try the reverse thing with other brands. It would probably be a waste.

STEP ONE

step 1 reverse wash

As all conditioners do, this one softens your hair and preps it for the volume it’s about to gain before you shampoo. It’s formulated with a combination of Fleximax™ volumizers and fibre polishing actives. It also binds to the cuticle to protect your hair during the washing process. Some of us wash our hair a little too.. agressively than others. Be gentle and think massage or better yet, think about the last time you had your hair washed at the salon and how they massaged your hair, scalp and mimic that.

STEP TWO

step 2 tresemme reverse wash

After conditioning your hair, naturally there’s some weight added on. Second step is to wash away the weight with the shampoo. This is also formulated with Fleximax™ volumizers. It helps to control static by infusing your hair with volume and leaving it perfectly prepped for styling.

I haven’t tried the maximizer yet because alone with the shampoo/conditioner I already had amazing volume. I can’t imagine if I use the maximizer what kind of results I’ll get! So what do you think, will you try this new system?

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