On August 9th I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people in the beauty and photography industry. Shoppers Drug Marts Beauty Boutiques are doing a special campaign called Be Bold with Beauty from Aug 12th – Sept 8th. This campaign welcomes customers into Beauty Boutiques to choose their new bold make-up look, consult with the beauticians and learn about the products being used to create the new look.
A beauty boutique make-up artist did the metallic look on me. Definitely something new for me. I usually go really dark on eyeliner and mascara. This look was light on the eyes, but popped with metallic eye shadow and more bold on the lips and cheeks. Especially for to my skin tone.
Be Bold with Beauty
Legendary Metallic Make-up
Expert makeup artist and beautyBOUTIQUE™ by Shoppers Drug Mart spokesperson, Simone Otis; (whom I had the pleasure of meeting) says, “People aren’t always used to matching lips with eyes, however to achieve this look both lips and lids have a metallic finish”.
I then got to sit down with one other blogger/influencer with celebrity make-up artist Joyce Bonelli. We talked about bold beauty and her favourite products. She always does 3 bold things to create a bold beauty look. Her favourite liquid eye liner is by Stila and bronzer or can be used for contour is hoola by Benefit. She was really down town earth and super friendly. Of course after our chat we took some selfies.
Don’t forget: Follow @ShoppersDrugMartOfficial on Instagram and share your bold look using #MyBold for a chance to win a $1,000 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card.
Her below shout out on Instagram thanking everyone just melted my heart!
Check out the other Bold Beauty looks you can try at a Beauty Boutique near you:
Last month I was a guest on My Lip Addiction’s podcast. I always wondered if I should get into that realm of reaching people all around the world with my voice. Especially since I’m a shy person. Yes, for those of you who don’t know me on a personal level. I’m a shy person. I have my days where I get…brave and venture out of my shell, figuratively speaking of course. Then I have other days where I’m flamboyant AF and the only way to bring me down is to call me out on my crazy loud behavior. Sorry not sorry.
The Podcast Life & Getting Over My Shyness
Just like everything else that’s digital in our world today, creating and managing podcasts is not easy. There’s a lot of technical, brainstorming and creativity that goes into it. Just like blogging. Anyone could write a post and call it out on Instagram. But what about everything else in between and behind the scenes of it all. I tip my hat toCat Forsleywho can do it all!
Cat Forsley is a beauty blogger at My Lip Addiction and has a strong background in music and arts. She also writes about fashion, wellness and of course is the host of an awesome podcast. I had the pleasure of being a guest on her podcast and it was a great experience! I normally shy away from doing YouTube videos (I’ve done some awkward videos)or anything that has to do with people seeing or hearing me but I’ve been getting over that lately. A part of it is just self realization and then another part is the company you keep. Talk to those who lift your spirit. Someone whose in the same industry as you are.
My hair has literally gone from thick to thin and thick again in the last 4 years. I am loving my hair right now! It’s been through so much but its finally at a place where I love it. Pregnancy and post pregnancy can really take a toll on the health of your hair. This month I was invited to Medulla & Co, a hair salon in Yorkville, to discuss KerMax hair products.
KerMax Hair Event
I had a chance to sit with Dr. Michael Carozza, a naturopathic doctor and the beautiful Grego Minot. She’s a Canadian TV personality, and many of you will recognize her from the show The Real Housewives of Toronto. She is even more sweeter and beautiful in person. For those of you who missed my instagram story for that day, she spoke about her hair experience after pregnancy. She also talked about how KerMax hair products are working for her. Giving her healthy and fuller hair. Especially after losing so much after having her baby.
After our talk about the product I was treated to an amazing blow out with the KerMax products. I love how light my hair felt with the product in it. Most of the time when I use hair products to do blow outs or to style my hair, I’m left with either sticky or heavy feeling hair. Happy to say, not with KerMax products.
One of the questions I asked Dr. Michael was about the sodium laureth sulfate in some of the products. Over the years I’ve been doing research on best practices to keep hair healthy and what kind of ingredients to stay away from. Some articles and research say that sulfates is something to avoid in your hair and parabens. However, some also say that it’s just a lathering agent and it has no harsh effects on the health of your hair. Dr. Michael made a good point that if I were to use this product and it had no lathering agent, would I have thought it was still cleaning my hair or would I be skeptical of it? So true! I definitely need my shampoo and conditioner to lather up.
I love that the KerMax products have no parabens and they have products you can use while styling your hair. The Volumizing Shampoo ($24.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart)has a combination of peptide amino acids and concentrated organic pea sprouts to help fine, thinning hair appear fuller and thicker. The Volumizing Conditioner won’t clog scalp or weigh hair down. It also improves detangling to prevent hair thinning caused by brushing.
The Styling Mousse ($24.99) adds body and strengthens damaged hair, while giving your hair an ultimate volume boost.
There are two treatment products in the KerMax hair line. The Essential Day Foam and the Thickening Hair Serum ($49.99 each). These products are formulated with KerGro 3X-a™. A biocomplex of fruit stem cells, peptide amino acids and botanical extracts. I’m going to start using these products and will report back on the results. Follow along on Instagram for updates!
Ever since we moved into our new house my husband and I have had our own washrooms. This has been the best thing ever! Maybe every couples dream come true. We have our own washroom space, I get lots of counter space and don’t need to worry about finding all those tiny little shaved hairs in my our sink. One thing we happily did share, was a blow dryer. Although his blow dryer sucks, I worked with it and never did any styling with it. Now I have my very own blow dryer and it’s amazing! It’s the new Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer.
This blow dryer uses nanoe technology to dry your hair without actually drying it out. For as long as I can remember whenever I’d blow dry my hair, the end result would be dry, frizzy hair. Then, if I put like a smoothing product in my hair to fight back the frizz, I’d lose the volume and my hair would fall flat.
The new Panansonic nanoe hair dryer takes moisture from the air (so cool) and creates tiny, moisture-rich particles that are small enough to penetrate your hair with moisture. The results with this nanoe technology are incredible. So I put it to the ultimate test. I dared to wash my hair and not use conditioner. Dried my hair with the new Panasonic nanoe hair dryer and success! My hair had zero frizz, was super shiny and actually had a healthy bounce to it. This is my first time using a non-ion based hair dryer. Switching to nanoe has been the best thing to happen to my hair in a very long time!
I take this with me to all of my sleep overs, at the in-laws or to my moms house. And I’m definitely taking it on all of our trips moving forward. It’s travel friendly with the folding feature it has, and it’s super light. I also love how when in use, it’s not loud compared to my old hair dryers. I take a lot of late night showers, after my children have fallen asleep. So the noise factor is really important to me. In the past I would actually avoid styling my hair, just so they wouldn’t wake up from the sound of me using the blow dryer.
There are 3 settings. High, low and cool. Some of my own tips: The high setting is great to be used on thicker, coarser hair for maximum drying power. Low is better to be used on thinner, fragile hair. The cool setting, which I know for a fact many people don’t use is actually best to use to seal the hair cuticle. Once your hair is approx. 80% dry, switch to the cool setting. At this point in the drying process you just need the cool setting to complete drying and it’ll protect your hair from being over dried.
[Tweet “Your hair should be 65 percent dry before you start to blowdry w/ a brush. @PanasonicCanada #beautytips”]
It’s less damaging to your hair if you towel dry your hair first and then blow dry it. I also use my fingers to dry the roots before I use a brush. Also if you’re looking for a smoother finish then don’t forget to use the attachment nozzle this blow dryer comes with. It ensures you get targeted heat.
This is my first time trying Hard Candy make-up. Hard Candy products are sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Walmart.ca. I shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week, if not more. Whenever I’m out of any of my make-up I first check Wal-Mart to see what they have that can replace my product. All of these products are reasonably priced. Last I checked at Wal-Mart all of these products seem to be priced at under $10.
Keep an eye out next time you’re at Wal-Mart for the below Hard Candy Summer 2017 collection:
Hard Candy Sheer Envy Color Correct Perfecting Powder This powder helps those with redness, dull skin and any other colour correcting concerns. I don’t have any redness concerns ever since my acne cleared up years ago. It’s a natural brightener due to the orange/yellow tones in this powder. I’ve used it after foundation all over my face to set my make-up and then later in the day I touched up my make-up by applying this to my cheekbones as a highlighter. You can also use it to mattify your make-up throughout the day if you have oily skin. Swirl your powder or kubuki brush all over the colours and apply to the face. I love how smooth the finish is and no unnecessary shimmers or sparkles. Especially if you’re going for a more natural look. Another product for skin redness concerns that will help camouflage the redness is the green color corrector that comes with a sponge applicator top.
One of the first make-up products I usually run out of is my liquid or pencil eye liner. I love this Hard Candy marker eye liner because of the control you have to create a thin or thick line. The other side of the same pencil holds a khol eyeliner. Great for creating a smokey look as well.
Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous Kajal Supreme Eyeliner Duo
Pencil on the left, Liquid on the right
The Hard Candy Lip Artiste Lip Contouring Wand is a dual ended product, made to contour and highlight your lips. The highlight (seen above) is perfect to achieve the illusion of bigger lips by applying it to the center of the lips.
This highlighter, Hard Candy Sheer Envy Prismatic Highlighter , has a pearl finish and when I set it, it looked a lot nicer with a more natural highlight look. They also have a new banana powder for baking. I went out and bought that one to see how it compares to a Sephora brand I have. Stay tuned for the comparison most likely up on my Insta Stories.
Have you tried Hard Candy beauty products before? Which one(s)?
Disclaimer: The products are PR samples for review purposes. Opinions are my own.
Have you ever tried Life Brand products? You can find them at Shoppers Drug Mart in the beauty section of the store. Some of you may already know, but I first job at 16, was at Shoppers Drug Mart in cosmetics. I applied for a cashier role and my luck they were looking for someone in cosmetics and were ready to train me. Over the years I attended seminars, classes, did tests and learnt so much about the cosmetics industry. I am forever grateful to this day for that first job opportunity that got me where I am today. Thank you Frances.
Quick Spa Treatment at Home with Life Brand Skincare
I’ve seen Life Brand grow for over a decade in terms of the products they’ve come out with and the quality of it has always been amazing. It just gets better and better over the years. When you enter a Shoppers Drug Mart, look for the Life Brand masks section. It is usually at the end of an aisle and has all the sheet/no sheet masks. Rows of it! One for every skin type and need. I’ve used so many of them before, so the ones in the images I gave to my best friend to try. She just had a baby so I thought, I’ve brought stuff for the baby, but mama needs some loving too.
Multi-masking is a great way to cater to different problem areas. Dry cheeks, oily forehead and dull skin. Buy a packet for each of those areas, apply it and anything extra left over I usually put it a ziplock bag to use in a few days. These single use masks are affordable and a great opportunity to try different ones without breaking the bank. These masks vary in prices between $1.99-$4.99. (And this is why I’ve tried almost all of them!)
Whenever I go to my mom’s house, as soon as I get there I like to freshen up by washing my face and changing my clothes. Especially if I’ve come over from a long day of walking outdoors. She always keeps the Life Brand charcoal cleanser($6.99) in her guest washroom. I absolutely love it! Every time I use it I always tell myself I need to buy it for me to use at home and I always forget. Actually, I remembered one time and checked at a Shoppers Drug Mart and it was sold out.
Putting it on my to do list because it’s so awesome! Leaves your skin glowing, feeling clean and over time you’ll see less blackheads/whiteheads. I had never trip the nose and face strips before, because I can count how many blackheads I have. Like one or two. I tried this one and so much better than other brands I’ve tried before from magazine samplings etc. This one leaves that area brighter and you can actually see the stuff stripped out! A box of only nose strips is $8.99 and one with face strips as well is $13.99.
Spa Pedicure treatment at home:
This foot mask is incredible! Inside this packet there’s another packet that holds the magic liquid that will transform your feet into baby soft skin and two plastic bag like socks. You pour the liquid into each sock and you keep it on for 20 minutes. After washing my feet, I didn’t notice anything really. Then I read the packet and it said wait to see results between 3-7 days and to repeat after 2-3 weeks. So I waited. And OMG. On the 3rd day I had dead skin coming off my feet from places I never even knew that it was dead skin waiting to be shed. It transformed my feet into butter soft feet, better than any pedicure I’ve ever gotten. I actually went out and bought more packets. For my mom, mother in law, husband and more for myself. This is a MUST TRY! It’s only $4.99.
For years I struggled with acne and had the worse kind. I tried so many different products and formulations. The one ingredient that worked the best was benzoyl peroxide and Life Brand’s new Clear Action Active Anti-Acne Treatment Kit has it! It’s only $19.99 and has everything you need to get started on your new anti-acne routine.
Here’s your chance to WIN a treatment kit + a Life Brand charcoal pack on Twitter:
I had the pleasure of attending the Murale beauty event, where I got to see everything that’s coming soon and on the spotlight for Fall 2017! Yes, preparation for Fall 2017 in the beauty world has come! In case you missed my Instagram story from that day I’m sharing the story here:
Murale FALL 2017 Beauty Products
June 2017
Rodial
This brand has a product called Bee Venom Micro Sting Patches available exclusively at Murale. It’s $110/4×2 patches.
It’s made with pure hyaluronic acid (the good stuff) infused with bee venom. These patches include 350 microneedles in each patch! Whoa. My face is tingling just thinking about what it would do to my skin. The bee venom plumps and smoothes the skin and improves your skin texture. They also have a Bee Venom Body Gel for $78 – 200 ml. I haven’t tried anything from this brand yet. Available exclusively at Murale.
The Organic Pharmacy
Lots of new products in this brand! The ones that stand out to me is the Carrot Butter – $99/75 ml. It’s a creamy cleanser for all skin types that gets rid of everything dirty on your face, including make-up. It has sheabutter,cocoa butter, calendula (awesome stuff), rosemary, chamomile, st johns wort, vitamin E and carrot of course!
Jasmine Night Conditioner – $70/50 ml is something I received to try. I can’t wait to try this! Stay tuned to my insta story for when I try it and what my first thoughts are about this. It’s a soothing facial mist that you apply at night. It repairs your skin while you sleep. It has jasmine to hydrate and improve radiance, glycolic acid to increase cell turnover and reduce discolouration, retinol to reduce wrinkles and boost collage production and vitamin c. Great for battling those fine lines and wrinkles. (My tip: With this product you have to ensure you use SPF during the day. And I say this from my own experience of using glycolic acid and retinol in the past. Those ingredients don’t suit everyone and everyone’s skin reacts differently. So do a patch test before you apply it all over the face.) Available exclusively at Murale.
July 2017
skyn ICELAND
You may have noticed my insta story of me using these gel masks before for the eyes and the face. Well, they have a Hydro Cool Firming Neck Gels – $45/4 gels. This neck gel is amazing for restoring the elasticity in your skin, diminishing horizontal lines on your neck and any dark spots. In August, they have a winter rehab kit where you can try a face oil, eye pen, cream, face wash and 2 hydro cool firming eye gels (my favourite). $50.
August 2017
Velour
I forever have ran from falsies. I just don’t feel comfortable in them and I suck at applying them to myself. Until I met velour. I tried these lashes on at the event and felt like they weren’t even on me! Now that’s my kind of lashes. They have a wicked new lash adhesive coming out that is going to change the lash glue game forever! $18/10 ml. Also, Too Easy Lash Applicator – $26 . These two are on my must have list!
Nia (not into aging)
I am super stoked to try there new Sunday Detox Whipped Clay Peel-Off Mask – $39/121 g. It has my favourite mask ingredient,white kaolin clay. Also the bamboo charcoal powder mousse works together with the kaolin to draw out dirt from the pores. You let it dry, then peel it off. Also reduces the appearance of blackheads. Available exclusively at Murale.
September 2017
Foreo
The Espada – $199 device cleats and heals acne blemishes with LED blue-light to penetrate below the skins surface.
Easy to use, clean your face, aim to spot, treat and repeat up to 4 times.
EVE LOM
Have you tried there cream cleanser? It comes with a cloth and has a luxurious cleansing process.
They have a new Gel Balm Cleanser $72/100ml that will be travel and shower friendly! Comes out like a gel, when massaged into wet skin it turns into a milky texture. Keeps your skin moisturized for up to 12 hours!
Cream CleanserCream Cleanser
Lipstick Queen
This has got to be the first in the beauty industry, a black blush! It turns sheer berry on your cheeks and activates to different tones on all skin tones and types. Has natural oils, vitamin e and shea butter. Black Lace Rabbit Blush $33
Also, watch out for their nude lipstick collection. $32
Nuxe
This new anti-aging eye cream has passionflower and hyaluronic acid that smoothes and illuminates the area. It also helps with puffiness and wrinkles. Nuxe is a great brand ive tried before. Nuxellence Eye Care $57/15 ml.
October 2017
Phyto
I’m so excited about this brand! It’s a Canadian brand and owned by Patrick Ales. Goes way back to 1966 when he invented the blow-dry. Click here for his story. He’s got amazing hair, moustache and beard probably due to using his own products. 😉 They have a line called Phytodensia coming soon, it has a plumping shampoo $30 / 200 ml, Plumping Mask (I can’t wait to try it!) $54 / 175 ml and a plumping serum $48 / 30 ml (want it!). All of these products have my favourite ingredient, hyaluronic acid.
Have you ever been in a LUSH store? Some of my favourite things about LUSH cosmetics are that all of their products are cruelty free, handmade and the awesome packaging. Not only are their products handmade but even the furniture in their stores is reclaimed wood, made by LUSH employees. The signs are all handwritten too. If I find a product I truly love, and know that it works, I add it to my mental list of great gift ideas!
If you were to ask me, what is the one product that you absolutely must try from LUSH for the face, it would be hands down this mask:
LUSH Mask of Magnaminty: Minty, gritty and tingly goodness.
LUSH Cosmetics: What You Should Try & Great Gift Ideas!
Whenever I find a mask that I love, I start sharing it within my tight friends circle, family and my husband of course. I love that he’s a little more adventurous than the average joe when it comes to beauty products. All it takes is a micro speech about how great kaolin is for your skin and the benefits of a mask, and he’s down like james brown to try the mask with me.
After trying this a bit more than a couple of times, I can confidently say, yes; it’s all true:
– Cleansing without being harsh or abrasive
– Exfoliates without any redness aftermath
– Soothes and moisturizes
It’s also stated on the packaging that it can be used for body as well. But personally, I’m going to savor it, and only use it on my face. I gifted this mask to three of my friends as part of their birthday present and I’ve only gotten positive feedback.
Ocean salt has been a scrub that I’ve used over the years. At checkout one day while purchasing some bath bombs, I asked if they could give me a sample of their favourite product. It happened to be Ocean Salt. Don’t be shy, if there’s a product you’re curious about, check if they have a sample. You never know, you may stumble upon a new favourite!
When used on the face, I use a small amount. Dime to nickle size, because of the serious exfoliation you get from this product. For body, go nuts! Especially after the winter season when you need a serious scrub down, this is your go to scrub at LUSH. It’s the perfect mix of fine and coarse sea salt.
Ocean Salt – Face & Body Scrub
The good stuff:
– seaweed
– avocado butter
– lime oil
– coconut oil
During my pregnancy this moisturizer was my super hero for dry skin. LUSH doesn’t really sell this hand and body lotion directly for a pregnant women’s itchy dry belly, but it worked for me! It may or may not work for you, but I loved the fresh banana’s scent and the cooling sensation of the lotion. Bonus, it’s all natural ingredients that you’re applying to your skin during pregnancy.
The jersey bounce shampoo is only being used by him. (Husband) He loves it! There’s also a shampoo in the form of a soap bar. I’ve actually used it as a body soap bar and realized it would be great to pack when travelling! Use it as a shampoo and body soap bar.
He’s also using the breath of fresh air toner water and I’ve been secretly using it too!
They had me at aloe vera. (see above image) Aloe vera is high in vitamins, has healing properties and excellent for hydrating the skin.
Estée Lauder is an old favourite line of mine. There are a handful of items I’ve used in this line that I always keep going back too. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with these 3 estee lauder skincare favourites:
Let’s shine the spotlight on these three skincare products that have been tried, tested and true! Being a beauty blogger, I get to try a lot of make up and skincare products. For an honest review of a product, I feel it’s fair to try the product for months, when you actually start to see results or in some cases none. I’ve got one empty, one almost and third still got a few weeks worth to go.
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
Intensive Recovery Ampoules
This oil comes in a glass jar with individual capsules. Having the oil in individual capsules take’s the guessing out of the actual amount you need. One capsule is perfect for your entire face and neck. It definitely doesn’t sit oily on the skin. Absorbs quickly and has no shine. Price: $135
60 capsules
True story: I gave a capsule to my sister to try when she was sleeping over. She had just took her make-up off and was complaining about how tight and dry her skin felt. The next morning she couldn’t stop raving about how great the product was, and how nice her skin felt. Yup. Just with one use. I’ve noticed my skin is a lot more even, less shading below my lips and overall even skin tone + radiance.
Estee Lauder ‘Revitalizing Supreme’ Global Anti-Aging Creme
I finished this cream real quick! So light and beautiful. Absolutely loved this cream and never forgot to apply it as I usually do. My skin was always hydrated, make-up went on beautifully and only to find out today that it’s been replaced. However, I did some quick research and it’s the same name but with additional good stuff. It’s called Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-AgingCell Power Crème and looks like the additional ingredient is Moringa Extract. Moringa Extract comes from the Moringa tree and has a whole slew of benefits for the skin. Well known as an anti-oxidant rich leaf. Price: $94 for 1.70 oz.
Revitalizing Supreme+ Global Anti-Aging Wake Up Balm
This balm is the perfect amount of moisture for the entire day. Although I feel that it has the texture of a lotion, rather than a balm, and you’ll also notice there’s a touch of shimmer. Looks like mica. The shimmer is great for wearing under make-up, as it gives you that instant glow. Some people relate anti-aging creams with heavy texture creams that weigh down on your skin. This Global Anti-Aging line is the complete opposite. This wake-up balm also includes plant stem cell extract. I use it only in the morning but you can use at any time of the day/night for an instant boost of radiance. Price: $73.65 (sale)
Have you ever tried Estee Lauder skin care products before? What were your favourites?
I’ve been on the hunt for a really good lip pencil. I’ve tried so many brands and I couldn’t say I had a favourite one until now! Can you imagine, 10+ years of being a beauty advisor, VIB member at Sephora and not one lip pencil to be my go to. So cray!
Of course I was a bit skeptical before I tried BITE beauty’s new lip pencil. I thought, okay, here we go. Just another lip pencil. I was so very wrong. This lip pencil ($20, shop here) is my new found make-up love. I’m obsessed! It’s everything I ever wanted in a lip pencil. Soft, creamy, super pigmented and easy to sharpen.
In a nut shell, if you haven’t heard of BITE Beauty before, it’s a Canadian brand with their head office being in Toronto. Their lip products are highly pigmented made with hydrating formulas and are infused with food-grade ingredients.
The Nude Effect
Influenster sent out BITE beauty’s #TheLipPencil to 2500 Canadian Bloggers complimentary to try. On a side note, I always give my honest opinion on products that I receive complimentary and if it’s sponsored the brand is aware my honesty to my readers comes first. Having said that, as soon as I tried the nude combination I was in LOVE! I haven’t found a favourite nude and this is 100% it!
The packaging has a nice smooth finish and feels soft. One of my biggest pet peeves with lip pencils and lipsticks is when the lids come off in your purse! Worse, you put your hand in to grab something and get it all over the purse and yourself. The packaging on these products is perfect. Simple and practical.
I rarely wear lipstick colours that are this dark, but who doesn’t love to play with make-up? This colour gives off a more vampy look for those who have a lighter skin tone. The quality of the lip pencil is superb, ultra-creamy and super pigmented. Excited to swatch other colour options (40+ shades) from BITE beauty’s lipstick collection and lip pencil line (22 shades).
Check out the Toronto BITE Beauty’s lip lab to make your own custom colour!
One of the first make-up products I usually run out of is my liquid or pencil eye liner. I love this Hard Candy marker eye liner because of the control you have to create a thin or thick line. The other side of the same pencil holds a khol eyeliner. Great for creating a smokey look as well.
These masks vary in prices between $1.99-$4.99. (And this is why I’ve tried almost all of them!)
Here’s your chance to WIN a treatment kit + a Life Brand charcoal pack on Twitter:
BITE Beauty Lipstick: 
