Beauty November 6, 2018

8 Fall Beauty Must Haves

As soon as the first leaf falls and there’s a chill in the air my beauty routine switches from Summer to Fall. Bring out the new beauty care. Makeup to moisturizers, everything my skin needs to be ready for Fall and for an easier transition later into the Winter. Jumping right into it, here are some of my Fall Beauty Favourites you’ll find either at Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, Sephora or Wal-Mart:

8 Fall Beauty MUST HAVEs

Fresh Beauty

Black Tea Kombucha Facial Treatment Essense – $85
I apply this to the face, no cotton pad, right after washing my face. Benefits include age-delay powered by kombucha. It protects your skin with antioxidants, enhances luminosity, softens the look of fine lines, and replenishes moisture.
Fresh Vitamin C Antioxidant Glow Face Mist – $54
I use this as a make-up setter or to just freshen up. This is an alcohol-free, multi-vitamin face mist, antioxidant protection and gives you an instant glow!

Urban Decay eyeshadow palette

3. Born to Run Eyeshadow Palette – $59
This palette features of-the-moment shades ranging from jewel tones and modern neutrals to colourful shades.
The pigment is amazing and a lot these tones are amazing for Fall.

Pixi

4. PIXIGLOW Cake – $28
Comes in 2 beautiful shades. Gildedbare Glow and PinkChampagne Glow. Looks natural with the perfect amount of glow.

5. PIXI Lashlift 188 – $18
A 2 in 1 mascara that has a larger wand for volume and a finer precision wand to coat every one of your +188 lashes. Together, the brushes create volume, length and curl for an eye-opening effect and the ultimate false-lash look!

KORRES

I have been using this cleanser for a while now and I love it! It doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight and dry. It’s perfect for this colder Fall/Winter weather. This cream cleanser is giving my skin life! *Wild Rose Foaming Cream Cleanser is a gentle cleanser for the face & eyes to remove impurities, make-up, mascara and environmental pollutants without dehydrating the skin. Enriched with Wild Rose Oil, a natural source of vitamin C, which absorbs 1,000% more than pure ascorbic acid, the cleanser refreshes the skin, maintaining its normal pH levels while leaving it silky, soft and supple.
*shoppersdrugmart.ca
6. Wild Rose Foaming Cream Cleanser – $32

BENEFIT COSMETICS

7. Brow Contour Pro 4-in-1 defining and highlighting brow pencil – $42

I love that this one pencil has different colours to use and a highlight pencil all in one retractable pen. The pencil itself is also really skinny, so the precision on it is perfect for making soft lines that mimic the look of actual hairs. I’ve been using this for over a month now and the quality of the pencil is a 10/10. It hasn’t broken off or dried out making it difficult for colour to transfer over. Both situations have happened to me before with competitor retractable pencils.

PALMERS

8. Palmers Cocoa Body Lotion
$5.78 at Wal-Mart Canada

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion is a rich, creamy lotion made from pure Cocoa Butter enriched with Vitamin E, this classic product is an advanced moisturizer that softens, smooths and relieves skin.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick This innovative product is the portable version of the “original solid formula” Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula and has all the benefits of pure Cocoa Butter enriched with Vitamin E; vital for smoothing dry or damaged skin. This pocket-size stick is ideal to help relieve rough, dry areas, marks and blemishes on the face and body. Also may be used to moisturize and soothe dry, cracked, chapped lips.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Jar The original classic moisturizer; this unique “solid” formula contains the highest concentration of Cocoa Butter, making it the perfect choice to soften, smooth and relieve rough, dry skin. Containing pure Cocoa Butter enriched with Vitamin E, this cult classic is an excellent all-over-body moisturizer and after tanning butter. Smoothes and blends marks, scars and stretch marks, leaving your body feeling silky soft and smooth.

Series October 15, 2018

Toronto Blogger Chronicles [Part 2] – Two Events in One Day

Dear Diary,

I had a vision that I would update this series a lot more often than months later. But let me explain why it has been since June 18th since I last wrote about my blogging journey. It has been BUSY! I am being grateful for every nanosecond of it because it has been an amazing experience. It’s not the entrepreneurship I always had in mind for myself but that’s okay. This is a lot more fun! A lot has happened since June. I’ll sum it up for you:

– I did a lot of full days of content creation. Like that one day of foodie IG stories – one at an event and the other was a collab. I love photographing food! This was so much fun.
– I launched a new website for GNC
– I was a part of the Laura Mercier x The Kit campaign. They brought me into the studio and did a video shoot of me getting ready with Laura Mercier products. I got featured on The Kit site and tried many Laura Mercier products. I was so humbled to receive this opportunity alongside some of my favourite make-up artists.

TIFF 2018 ESSENTIALS LOUNGE [TORONTO EVENTS]

I had the pleasure of attending the TIFF 2018 Essentials Lounge. Where you guessed it; you could find all of the essentials needed to survive TIFF 2018! There were so many of my favourite brands represented here and even learnt something new about a brand’s history that blew me away. Here’s a quick recap of all the essentials for TIFF that I’ve tested during and since TIFF week and can vouch as must-haves.

GLAMGLOW

When you’re missing the usual beauty sleep and not drinking enough water, or just randomly in need of a face detox, this mask is a quick pick me up for your skin! I love that this mask is actually designed for both men and women. The packaging is also inviting for both. I am legitimately at this moment using the GlamGlow mask, and I love how it instantly makes your skin feel fresh! I’ve put my skin through a lot this week and I really needed to pull out all of that congestion. This super mud has activated X charcoal in it, along with an absorbent carbon to attract toxins and dirt from the deepest and toughest areas. I just washed my face, and right away I see my pores are less visible, skin is brighter and feels smoother. Ah! I love it! Retail: $75.00 (Sephora or Shoppers Drug Mart)

For those long days with little to none moments to touch up or re-do your make-up, you need something long-lasting. This Smashbox foundation has a 15-hour stay and it’s hydrating so perfect for the colder months in Toronto when the wind sucks the hydration out of your skin. Studio Skin 15 Hour Hydrating Foundation is at Sephora for $46.00.

TIFF 2018 ESSENTIALS LOUNGE

KEDS FOR TIFF

I’ve been wearing my classic leather Keds non-stop! They’re so comfortable and this is the company I’ve been telling you all about and how blown away I am with their history. Okay, first of all, did you know that they actually go all out to make their shoes for women. They make sure that every shoe will be comfortable to wear and don’t use a “unisex template”. It’s only specific to women. I remember when I bought my first pair of Keds, that it hugged my feet like no other shoe. Also, had no idea they were founded in 1916! As you all know, I’m a fact nerd so I was amazed that they’re 102 years old. They also have A LOT of women in their upper management across all of their head offices.

I have the classic leather champion sneaker in white and I LOVE it. If there’s a shoe that will go with any of your outfits, it’s this way. It retails for about $70.00 and will honestly be your favourite go-to kicks.

DESIGN.ME HAIR

I’ve been using a lot of their products for a while now. One of my favourites is the puff me and the hairspray with the ability to control the spray from light to high. They have some awesome new products! A dry shampoo in a generous size. Not the usual skinny bottles.

QUICKIE.ME DRY SHAMPOO: The Quickie.ME Dry Shampoo Spray comes with two options; one forBlonde & Pastel tones and one for Brunette & Darker tones. In addition to the spray, Design.ME Hair is also launching the all-new Quickie.ME Dry Shampoo Foam, ideal for use as a hair refresher. Retails for $22.00.

Beauty June 22, 2018

June Beauty Favourites – Laura Mercier, Givenchy Beauty and more

It’s the official first day of Summer and June is coming to an end! I’m getting an early start on sharing my June beauty favourites with you guys and I hope we share the love for these products. And if we don’t, that’s okay too. Having said that, I have been having the worse breakout from using a new foundation from MAC that I just can’t stop using. I don’t know if it’s my guilt of having it go to waste or if I just have too much of easy access to it in my makeup bag. I need to move it out of arms reach. Currently, I am using a mix of Maybelline concealer and Dermablend foundation, so I’ll be reporting back to you on the effects of those ones on my skin.

June Beauty Favourites – Laura Mercier,
Givenchy Beauty and more

Le Rouge Lipstick by Givenchy Beauty – This lipstick oozes of luxury. In a leather case, with a floral print: taking this one out in public is like flashing a pretty accessory. LOVE it! Rich pigment goes on semi-matte and retails for $44.
Rouge Interdit Vinyl Color Enhancing Lipstick – This lipstick is formulated with black rose oil that gives you a plumping effect and intense colour. I love that it goes on so smooth, it just feels like second skin. Retails for $41.

Toronto Blogger Chronicles [Part 1] – First Blogger Brunch

Dear Diary,

I wish I had kept a real-time diary of the first day I actually started to feel like a “blogger”. What does that even mean? Like, I guess getting a bunch of stuff in the mail, having a handful of video and photo equipment, when I actually got paid for my work/hobby… these are just some of the things that made me feel like: “okay, this is my title.”

Let me first say, “Hi, welcome to my Toronto Blogger Chronicles diary.” Just a messy free form of me writing out my thoughts, as raw as it can be. So if I have any grammatical errors here, and if it grinds your gears, let me know in the comments below and I’ll make sure to edit it, just for you Mr/Mrs Fancy Pants.

So my first blogger event that I went to was actually in 2017. This was a big year for me. It was my second maternity leave and it was a lot easier than the first one. I knew what was up and I was able to focus A LOT on my blogging -career. Yeah, I think I’ll call it my career now. It feels a little weird to say that though because I think of it more as a hobby. Let’s put a pin on what to call it. It’ll come to me.

blogger wittner shoes — Rose Gold Heels – Wittner Canada

The first handful of events, I would go to and converse with a few people and then leave as soon as possible because my all-time shyness would kick in. Believe it or not, I’m not a social person, with strangers. But if I’m in my comfort zone with my friends, I’d like to think I’m super social. But I’ll let my friends tell you that.

Toronto Blogger Chronicles [Day 1] – First
Blogger Brunch

The game changer for my shyness was when I went to a bloggers brunch. It was at a place I was really looking forward to going, but I knew no one there. Oh, and I was also pregnant. Very pregnant. I stepped into this place and to my surprise, there were two extremely friendly bloggers who signaled for me to come over to them. I got super nervous because I knew who they were. The “popular bloggers”. They introduced themselves confidently and immersed me into their “popular circle” by introducing me to their friends and then we even sat together and made jokes and conversation as if we knew each other for years. So you can imagine, I was sitting there, hearts in my eyes, thinking, wow. God bless you guys. I also made a mental note, that if I were to ever get to that point in my blogging ~~career~~ journey, then I would never change how kind, real and friendly I was. Talk to everyone, not get cliquey. Which now takes me to some of the other experiences I had in 2017.

Butter Baker in Toronto

Have you heard? The Canadian company, Butter Baker just opened in Toronto. They have an amazing selection of sweet and savory pastries. Croissants, brioche, and danishes. They make their baked goods by using classic French confectionary cookery techniques. Everything is made with local ingredients including fresh herbs and free-run eggs, which makes me so happy because that’s all we use at home. Free-run eggs are important to us in our household. I can actually taste the difference.

Butter Baker in Toronto

I had the pleasure of trying their baked goods. (See below for the review of my favourites)

Strawberry Matcha Danish

Croissant base, Uji matcha vanilla custard, house-made fresh strawberry jam and topped with freshly sliced strawberries. All-Butter Baker products are made with natural ingredients including free-run eggs, real flour and dairy without added artificial flavours or preservatives. (Contains dairy, nuts, and gluten.)

THOUGHTS: Flaky, sweet and love the fresh fruit.

Pear Tart

This tart is made with a half of a caramelized pear, free-run egg, Madagascar vanilla pastry crème, apricot glaze and a flaky puff pastry.

THOUGHTS: I’m usually not a fan of fruit in baked goods but these are too good to pass. Beautiful presentation and the taste is so good!

These cakes are so good! The Strawberry and Lime cake were light and the perfect amount of sweetness.

Butter Baker is located in the heart of downtown Toronto, 120 Dundas Street West. Very close to the Eaton center.

Hours:
MON – FRI : 8 AM – 8 PM
SAT : 9 M – 8 PM
SUN : 9 AM – 6 PM

Nail May 14, 2018

Toronto Nail Salon – TIPS Nail Bar on the West Side

Finally, a nail bar that I love, close to home! Tips Nail Bar at Dundas and Dovercourt. When I do get my nails done, I prefer intricate nail art and shellac. I haven’t done artificial nails in over a decade. As I got older it made less sense, especially because I use my hands a lot and artificial nails would get in the way of me doing just normal everyday tasks.

The first time I went to this salon I got shellac nails done with a dotted pattern. (Everyone commented on the pattern I chose, saying how much they loved it.) I got the pattern from their Instagram page, which is an awesome lookbook for designs if you don’t know what you want.

My nail polish did not chip until the end of 3 weeks since I had them done! The interior of this salon is minimalistic. Very clean interior and they don’t only do nails.

The services at Tips Nail Bar are:

Manicures
Pedicures
Brow Services
Dermalogica Facials

Be sure to also check out their ‘Mani-Cam’. It’s a camera built inside the wall. You place your hand inside this box in the wall, that is lit like a diva ring light. You take the picture and email it to yourself. Super cool! I’m really excited to go back and know that I’ll be in the experts’ hands. My favourite nail experts at this location are, Melissa (whose done my nails many many times) and Ashley who is also very talented!

Toronto Nail Salon – TIPS Nail Bar on the West Side

Beauty April 27, 2018

NEW by Quo and ORLY at Shoppers Drug Mart – 2018 Spring Collections

As the weather starts to get warmer I am reminded that the new season is coming and with that means new make-up and new fashion! If you haven’t seen what’s new with Quo and ORLY nail polish at a shoppers drug mart near you, then you’ve come to the right place.

Spring 2018 Limited Edition Collection for Quo:

quo eyeshadow palette — **$18.00 Eye Shadow Palette**

Quo Metallic Eye Liner – $12.00
There are three beautiful colours to choose from. This long-wearing metallic eyeliner is creamy and not drying at all.

The Toronto YAYOI KUSAMA: INFINITY MIRRORS Exhibit with Shiseido

The Yayoi Kusama exhibit in Toronto is at the Art Gallery of Ontario, also known as the AGO. If you haven’t seen this exhibit yet, I highly recommend you get on the list to go. I had the privilege of attending this event privately where we also got extra time at each art experience. My favourite sponsor of this event is Shiseido. I have lots of favourites by Shiseido that I’ve been using for years, but one of the newest is this gel cream that moisturizes my skin beautifully.

The Toronto YAYOI KUSAMA: INFINITY MIRRORS Exhibit with Shiseido – #infinitekusama

Just a couple of days before going to Japan for two weeks, the Yayoi Kusama event couldn’t have come at a better time. It was like everything was lining up for a prep to fall back into deep love for the real beauty of Japan, its people. Will I go back to Japan? Yes. Many times, God willing.
Here are some pictures from the event. Enjoy 🙂

Beauty March 1, 2018

What Makes Eudermine Revitalizing Essense by Shiseido So Different

Eudermine Revitalizing Essense by Shiseido

The first Eudermine Revitalizing Essense was sold in 1897 and has been selling in stores ever since! That alone says a lot about a brand and a product. When I first picked up this bottle and read the name. I thought Eudermine was a Japanese word. But it’s actually not! It’s a combination of two Greek words. Eu meaning good, and derma meaning skin.

I love how delicate the formulation feels on my skin and the bottle is very beautiful! I did an unboxing on it on my Instagram stories and saved it to my beauty highlights. Definitely, check it out! It has a very light scent, so perfect for those who don’t like to wear anything heavy on their skin or that has strong scents. The scent of the Eudermine Revitalizing Essence is described as rain-washed peonies.

what does the Eudermine do?

This softening lotion delivers immediate moisture to your skin while strengthening your skins natural processes to stay moisturized. What’s really cool, is that it even responds to changes in climate to keep the skin’s moisture level constant regardless of the location or time of year. Even better, it’s delicate enough for any skin type.

toronto blogger

8 Fall Beauty Must Haves