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.
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.
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.
What do you get with two boxes of Garnier Nutrisse hair dye?
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.
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!
Have you heard about the new reverse wash collection by TRESemmé?
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:
[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
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
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?
If you haven’t heard already, the makers of the famous beautyblender…..”you know that pink sponge that looks like an egg?” are coming out with a new product called Liner.Designer this March 2016! I love the beautyblender. I truly believe it makes a huge difference applying your foundation with a damp sponge vs a dry one. Love the shape as well.
So let’s talk about the Liner.Designer. It’s suppose to get you the perfect eyeliner look with no mistakes. It comes in a small case with a mirror and has three different sides you can use. One side is straight, one round short and another curvy edge. It reminds me of a guitar pick. Which I have tons of sitting in my guitar bag at home. After seeing this I’m considering taking one of them and placing it in my make-up bag. Why not?
These are the eyeliner looks you can achieve with the liner.designer. Pretty cool. However, I think it isn’t worth $16. You can save yourself $16 and use hacks like a guitar pick, paper or tape.
So if you have money to blow, go for it. Otherwise you can easily get the above results with things you probably already have at home.
You may have seen bloggers or stars using some kind of light therapy. Usually at a spa or skin specialists office. Well, good news! You can now do it at home! I know there were some smaller versions of something like this, but I have never seen a full face light therapy mask to use at home. I remember the first time I really got interested in light therapy was when I saw Jessica Alba’s instagram post:
I follow Dani Song (Blogger/Entrepreneur) on snapchat and for the longest time she ended her stories with a light therapy session, and then I got really curious! Waahh!! I can do this at home?!
Dani Song w/ illuMask
I did my research and found illumask! Which by the way, at the moment their not selling on their website because their coming out with something NEW! I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
What is it?
A really cool plastic mask with little LED lights (pink: acne/red: anti-aging) to clear up your acne or fix signs of aging for $1 per use!
How do I use it?
Prepare your skin by cleansing it first. You put it on and press the start button on the attached remote. A 15 minute session will begin. Easy peezy! The hard part is sitting for 15 minutes but it’s the best for those who have trouble unwinding after a busy day. Each mask comes with a 30 days use. Also taking the mask off early doesn’t mean those lost minutes will add up to your next days session. They’ll be gone. So do the full 15 mins. It shuts off automatically after 15 mins, so don’t worry about falling asleep with it on. Once your done apply your regular moisturizer.
How does it work and is it safe?
Yes it’s safe. The light emission is similar to what you get from your LED tv according to teen vogue author Dan Koday. The red light helps stimulate rejuvenation and blue acts as a bacteria-fighter.
I was really looking forward to using the anti-aging mask since the acne one didn’t apply to my skin type. However, I read details that the illuMask has not been tested for use while pregnant or breastfeeding and to use it at your own discretion. Womp womp. I’m BF’ing so I immediately put it to the test on more mature skin, my mom. She’s used the full 30 days and I must say her skin looks great! After 15 days I noticed her face was a lot more radiant and she says from one use her skin felt softer. She’s definitely continuing her light therapy routine and I’m looking forward to using it as well, when I can.
My teenage brother used the acne one. Yes, guys can use this too! He has the usual teenage mayhem on his face and within a week I could see his face clear up and acne scars get much lighter! I wish I had this when I had acne. Because he’s a teenager I had to remind him to use it, but after a while he actually got into it.
Get creative with your illuMask and draw on it or place stickers like Dani Song did!
Here’s your chance to WIN! Yaassss you can win of these masks! I’m giving away two. One for acne and one for anti-aging! Just fill out the below rafflecopter and GOOD LUCK! P.S This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
Two NYX events, one NYX store and a Rexall with a NYX section. Here’s my story…
Photo by // Photagonist.caPhotos by // Photagonist.ca
I was excited to be invited to the #NYXINTHESIX event at the East Room. So many top Toronto influencers that I recognized right away and some when I went through the hashtag #NYXINTHESIX on IG, at home… was like ohhhh yeaaaa. It was a perfect night for roof top shinanigans, photo booth fun, great music, bits and bites. So here are some pictures from this great event organized by Lotus Leaf.
Photos by // Photagonist.caPhotos by // Photagonist.ca
There was a time when you could only buy NYX products from a Rexall store, who by the way only have “some” products from the line and never have the ones that everyone is raving about, in stock. Hmph. But now not only can you shop online, go to Rexall if you must, you can shop at an actual NYX store! I’ve collected a lot of their products so here’s my mini haul with some swatches! (YouTube NYX review coming soon)
NYX HAUL
The packaging colour of these mascaras don’t lie. They really arebright!
Colour Mascara in Blue & Perfect Pear
I tried this lash primer and I have medium length lashes. The fibers in this primer made my lashes thicker and longer, giving the illusion of falsies! See for yourself (below image)
I used this under my make up to moisturize and I didn’t have to use as much concealer as it had some coverage as well. There are no strong scents from this Beauty Balm.
NYX Soft Matte Lip cream Tres Leches (Left) Stockholm (Right)
I love these Soft Matte Lip creams. The texture of a lipstick but look of a pigmented gloss. The colour sets really nicely with a promised “matte” look. Although these colours look almost identical in their packaging, in reality Tres Leches is more on the pink side, where Stockholm is more beige/nude.
NYX liquid illuminator sunbeam
I was a bit disappointed with this one. I was expecting a natural looking highlighter but this is almost sparkly. Too heavy for a daytime look. To be honest probably wouldn’t wear it at night either. It’s just too sparkly/bright for my liking.
Intense Butter Top to bottom (Banana Split & Funnel Delight) and Soft Matte lip cream in red (Monte Carlo)
Punk Heart (left) & Smoke & Mirrors (Right)
The eye shadows are somewhat pigmented but will definitely need to build these shadows when doing a smokey eye look.
Matte Lipstick Nude (right) Perfect Red (middle) and High Voltage Lipstick in Rockstar
So if you have olive skin tone then the matte lipstick in nude is not for you. Way too pale. The other two colours are gorgeous and go on pigmented. That’s it! In case you didn’t already know there’s a store at Square One and downtown on Queen Street. Enjoy shopping and let me know your NYX faves!
I was invited to a VIP dinner in October to celebrate the launch of Givenchys’ newest perfume: Live Irresistible! I love this scent and the bottle is simply gorgeous! 😍 I have some of the other Givenchy perfumes like hot couture. So the shape and size of the bottle I’m familiar with.
Held at the Arcadian Lofts downtown, our awesome host was Dave Lackie. I live tweeted the event, so those of you who follow me on Twitter or snapchat got to see exactly how beautiful the dinner was. This was also a great opportunity to meet other bloggers like Maria from best day blogger. She also vlogged about the event, watch here.
Appetizers and dinner was catered by O&B, so you can imagine the food was delicious! The fragrance is now available at The Bay or Shoppers Drug Mart.
Givenchy Live Irresistible
Spray too much perfume? Alcohol or witch hazel dabbed on the wrist will remove excess fragrance. — dave lackie (@davelackie) November 9, 2015
The Scent: Top notes: pineapple and rose petal Heart notes: roses and pepper Base notes: amber and musk A live Twitter feed was fitting for a dinner with so many social media influencers in one room! It was definitely challenging to network and then live tweet the event but I think I managed to find a balance. Patrick Reynolds from Cityline was at the dinner interviewing guests and in the above picture, Dave Lackie. Decor had touches of rose and pink!
If you have normal to combination skin then you’ve probably multi-masked. Multi-masking was trending awhile ago and some people thought it was a new thing but it’s a method that has been around for a long time.
Multi-masking is using multiple masks on different parts of your face at the same time. Which creates your very own customized facial.
Not everyone is blessed with perfect skin tone and type. And let’s get real, just like different parts of our bodies need specific workout routines, different parts of our face need different masks. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common challenges on different parts of your face:
Oily – Most people get oily around or on their nose. Or the T-zone (forehead, nose) For these oily areas or anywhere else use clay or charcoal masks. Great for sucking up all the excess sebum. Sucking up is probably not the right terminology, but you know what I mean.
Dry – You could get dry anywhere really. Not to be mistaken with dehydrated. Dry skin go for a cream moisture mask, dehydrated tight skin go for a mask with ingredients like hyaluronic acid.
Uneven skin tone – Uneven skin tone is another challenge found mostly around the lips, laugh lines or cheeks. Slather on the radiance mask in these areas. Vitamin C, Turmeric, Glycolic are just a few of the ingredients to look for.
Masks I use:
LANEIGE WATER SLEEPING MASK
Priced at $30 CDN, which is not cheap but reasonable for a really good hydrating mask, you can have soft, glowing skin. (sorry, not sorry for sounding like an infomercial) I’m not gonna lie but what really got me excited was that it’s made in Korea 🙂 I love Korean beauty products and have so many from my trip to Korea! I can’t wait to share that beauty haul with you. This is my first overnight mask and it was a little weird at first. It felt great to apply but when it first starts to dry on your face it feels a little bit sticky. As soon as it has dried you don’t feel it at all. I actually forgot about it in the morning. But you wash it off in the morning and BAM you got brand new glowing skin hehe. The scent is a combination of rose, sandalwood and orange flower. It also has chestnut extracts that are known for hydrating your skin and apricot extract that exfoliates and brightens your skin.
MISSHA BLACK GHASSOUL This is a great mask for pore cleaning and tightening. You can definitely feel the mask tightening on your skin almost instantly! It also has a cool feeling when first applied to your skin (as most clay masks do). If you have oily skin this is amazing for your skin as it controls sebum by getting rid of any excess sebum on the surface or first/second layer of your skin. You may not want to keep this mask on too long if you don’t have oily skin as it may reverse effects. It could leave your skin feeling too tight and feeling dehydrated. I love the price point for this mask, it’s only $13 CDN and it’s paraben, talc, fragrance and mineral oil free.
LANCOME – Pure Empreinte Masque Purifying Mineral Mask with White Clay
I’ve been using this mask on repeat for years. It has been my go to clay mask for those massive unicorn horn looking pimples I use to get years ago and now for the little baby ones. I rarely use this mask all over my face. I usually just use it on the spot or area I need it the most and leave it on overnight. But when multi-masking I take it off as recommended with the other masks I’m wearing. This mask is a little more on the expensive side, as it does belong to the luxury family. It’s approximately $42 CDN but totally worth it. This is different from the Black Ghassoul because it has white kaolin clay which is more gentle on the skin. It doesn’t totally remove the skins natural oils (great for dry/sensitive skin).
CAUDALIE – Glycolic Peel Some people read the word peel and they get scared. I use to be one of them. However, nothing tobe scared of because there are so many different types of peels. Some are more gentle than others. This peel has a lot of powerful ingredients (papaya enzymes, glycolic acid & viniferine) because it works as a 2 in 1 treatment. Not only does it tighten pores, reduce oils like a mask but it renews your skin and diminishes dark spots to give you a more even complexion. This peel is also on the more expensive side for $39 CDN. So far I’ve recommended it to my sisters and friends and they’ve all told me it’s definitely worth it and they noticed new flawless skin after just a few uses.
Guerlain launched a new fragrance which you can name yourself.
Guerlain Mon Exclusif has no name.
You get letters in the fragrance box so you can give your own name to the perfume or at the event we had a chance to get it engraved! I think the no name idea is brilliant! Gives the customer the feel of the perfume being their own. Putting your name, or the name of your choice on such a luxurious bottle feels… well..real pish posh.
I absolutely adore Guerlain. It’s luxurious and their makeup to skincare smells amazing. Guerlain has some affordable products in their make-up section. I’d say very similar to Dior or YSL. But I doubt either of them have an absolutely amazing cream that costs approx. $500! That’s a story for a different post.
The fragrance is described as a gourmand, with fougere accords of fresh fern, oriental notes, lavender, soft sandalwood, caramel, salted butter, coumarin and vanilla. They had me at salted butter!
If you haven’t been to the Guerlain boutique on bloor then you’re missing out on a luxurious experience. The staff is very welcoming and the products are exquisite! For the launch of Mon Exclusif, Elle Magazine had their readers invited to a day of make-up makeovers, snacks and more! Oh and this lovely bag with some of my fave Guerlain products 😉
My favourite products here are orchidee imperiale, the gel cream and the meteorites base. Both are such beautiful products.
I’ve been using the gel cream everyday and it’s almost finished. My skin feels extremely soft and hydrated. I love gel creams because their not heavy, especially if you wear make-up. The base is just perfect. Light to the touch and brings a natural light to your face. The little pearls are also beautiful to look at. I haven’t tried the eau de beaute yet, but I’m certain the other two will make it to my favourites video.
I love the packaging! It has a faux snake skin feel to the top and gold siding. I love that it’s in a compact shape, which only means that it won’t take up too much room when travelling and a better mirror shape.
What’s inside the palette:
This Tarte Showstopper Clay palette has six eye shadows and three cheek options. The champagne pink is really shimmery so I advise you to not use it on your brow bones and sparingly on the cheekbones. Unless you’re going for a strobe light look. The blush (fame) is one of my favourite colours for blushes. Especially for olive skin tones it gives you a natural looking glow. Pinks and reds tend to be too harsh for everyday.
The eye shadow colours are great for everyday, however if you’re hoping for the colour to be true once applied to your eyes, then you’ll need to use an eye shadow primer for the lighter shades. The darker colours were actually pretty good on their own. Without primer this is what the shades look like:
Price:
$46.00 CDN – A little pricey for my liking but with everything you’re getting in this one palette wonder, it’s worth it.
If you haven’t heard already, the makers of the famous beautyblender….
These are the eyeliner looks you can achieve with the liner.designer. Pretty cool. However, I think it isn’t worth $16. You can save yourself $16 and use hacks like a guitar pick, paper or tape.
Photos by // Photagonist.ca
Decor had touches of rose and pink! 
