Monthly Favourites: April 2014

April was a good month for discovering new treasures even though I tried to reign in my spending habits, it seemed I finished off a lot of products I had been using regularly and moved onto to something new that I'd squirreled away.

Skincare

I finished off my Delarom Revitality Cream earlier this month so I reached for the Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentrate that's been sitting in my skin care drawer since Paris back in January. This is the perfect spring cream because it's lightweight while still super hydrating AND it doubles as a primer, no wonder all the beauty bloggers call it their holy grail.

Tarte's Maracuja Oil has bumped Fresh's Seaberry Moisturizing Facial Oil from my morning regime to my evening regime as Tarte's oil is more readily absorbed and lightweight than Fresh's making it the perfect base for a flawless foundation application.

First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Cream this stuff is seriously amazing. I picked it up from Sephora on a whim (again, I just can't say no to miniature products!!) and it's the only thing preventing my hands from falling apart right now. For some reason at the change of every season the backs of my hands breakout into a dry, itchy, painful rash (it's seriously gross, and I put my hands in peoples faces for a living!!Eek!) after only a couple days of using this the rash dissipated into a massive dry patch and then a few days later was gone altogether, after lingering around for almost 3 weeks prior to using this cream.

Make Up

I was super excited to try Jouer's Matte Moisture Tint after seeing Estee talk about it in her videos for what seemed like months I ordered it (in the colour Linen if you're curious) as well as the Luminizing Moisture Tint (which I for some reason ordered a colour WAY too dark and looked like an Oompa Loompa, I have no idea what I was thinking when I ordered it...) and I've been wearing the matte moisture tint every day since it arrived. It gives great coverage without being too heavy, the added SPF is really nice and it's a natural matte which I always find much more flattering than a full on matte. It can be worn on it's own for a nice glow or you can set it with a light powder if you're looking for a more matte finish, I find the coverage so great I rarely need concealer.

My other staple this month isn't new to me but the use for it is and it's a life saver! You've probably heard all about the MAC Prep + Prime Highlighters and how they're great for a natural matte highlight, blah, blah, blah. But do you know what they're really awesome for? Colour correcting, especially if you've got dark purple circles under your eyes! A light bit of the Bright Forecast highlighter applied will counteract the purple so that when you apply your concealer afterwards you get an even better coverage! The colour you use will depend largely on the undertone in your under eye circles and your skin tone, but for a fair gal like myself with purple bags this is the best trick ever!

Fragrance

Bittersweet No.83 from Tokyo Milk's Dark Femme Fatale Collection is the best chocolate scent ever, usually artificial chocolate smells just that, artificial. This has a rich dark cocoa base that gives you a dark chocolate scent without the cheap alcohol smell that many others are full of. I've been using this every day for probably three weeks now, so so very in love.

Life's Bits and Bobs

Life: Got away to Columbia, MD for a couple days to see the boy and had a wonderful time playing tourist in Washington, DC.

Tea of the Month: Midsummer Night's Dream by David's Tea, the only way to describe it is it tastes like love, try it and you'll understand. To the lovely gal at the David's in the Toronto airport that introduced me to this tea and dried my tears during a missed flight and boyfriend missing sadness induced meltdown, thank you for everything and for dealing with my crazy like a pro.

Book of the Month: Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon clearly when I saw a book with Downton Abbey in the title at Costco last month I had to pick it up, what can I say, I'm obsessed. What I didn't expect was what I got from this book, a non-fiction written by the current Countess of Carnarvon from the archives of Highclere Castle (what is Downton Abbey in the show) as well as first hand stories from those who knew the family well. Sometimes the true stories in this book are even more dramatic than those fictional events in the television program! And the Countess' writing style just makes the book so easy to devour.

Netflix Obsession of the Month: Well considering they put the third season of Downton Abbey up that was binged watched clearly and then keeping with the current trend of British period dramas I seem to be enjoying I also watched Mr. Selfridge which was based off the real life events of Harry Selfridge the American the founded London's Selfridge Department Store. 

Blogger/ Vlogger of the Month: I couldn't pick just one this month but I figured since they were friends it could count as one, right? Lily Pebbles who you can also find on YouTube here, and her lovely friend Vivianna from Vivianna Does Makeup who is also on YouTube.

What were you lovelies loving this month?

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What's Oil the Fuss About?

Oh man that was a punny title! I hope we can still be friends after that, but seriously, I LOVE beauty oils. Whenever friends or family ask me what the biggest change I've made to my skin care routine is it has to be oils and serums, but so many people don't know about the majesty of oils or if they do they're terrified about putting an oil on their skin for fear of breaking out, so I'm here to dispel that fear for you!

Cleansing Oils

Let's start with the oils that most people would be a little more open to since you're going to rinse them off and not sleep with it on your face overnight. I love cleansing oils because I'm lazy and hate spending forever taking my make up off at the end of the day, with a little bit of cleansing oil the job takes seconds, even waterproof eye makeup comes off without a fuss, simply pump a little bit oil into your hands, massage it onto your dry face and then wipe away or rinse clean.

Past: MAC's Cleanse Off Oil/ Tranquil was the very first cleansing oil I used, a nice basic cleansing oil with some added botanical oils to soothe sensitive and redness prone skin. I found it did a great job of removing my makeup without being astringent but it didn't really do anything else for me.

Present: Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil this is my new favourite as it does everything that the MAC cleansing oil did but with the added bonus of brightening my dull complexion by removing and protecting against environmental pollution that can dull the skin.

To Try: The Body Shop's Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil a couple of my favourite beauty bloggers have been singing the praises of this particular cleansing oil lately and with a price point of only $16 it definitely makes it the most budget friendly of the bunch, so it's high on my list of products to try once my current cleansing oil is through.

Body Oils

Still on the side of least scary oils we have the body oils, a great way to hydrate your skin before and after a shower (a little oil massaged into your skin 30 minutes before a shower will do wonders for dry skin!)

Past: Nuxe's Huil de Prodigieuse I first picked this up back in January and am already on my third bottle I love this stuff so much, it's a dry oil meaning it leaves your skin soft but not sticky which is a total plus! I use this stuff after my shower every morning.

Present: Caudalie Divine Oil I picked up the little $10 bottle of this at Sephora the other day because I can't resist anything miniature, I like that this seems to be slightly more hydrating than the Nuxe oil but I'm not a fan of the slightly greasy residue that it leaves on my skin, this would be best used before a shower or before bed, a little too sticky for every day use for me.

To Try: Aromatherapy Associates Relax Body and Massage Oil I am a bath junkie, there's nothing a like more than slipping into a hot bath full of LUSH products at the end of a hectic day to unwind, now if I had a body oil designed to soothe the mind what could be better? I've heard great reviews about the relaxing properties of this oil and the simple act of massaging oil into your skin is quite soothing; this gem is in my current Cult Beauty order that's somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean right now... (sidenote: if you're hesitant about ordering from Cult Beauty let me just tell you now that they are probably the best online store I've ordered from in a LONG time, free shipping that doesn't take months to get here and their returns department is probably the nicest, most accommodating and punctual return department I've ever encountered! So good in fact I sent them a card saying just that...)

Hair Oils

Hair oils are still fairly new to myself as usually I just slap some coconut oil on my hair before bed and call it a night but I got these samples and decided to give it a go; these are merely first impressions as I haven't been able to make the samples last longer than one application.

Agave Healing Oil Treatment I got this sample in my Birchbox a little while ago and finally decided to give it a try; it's designed to be used on dry or damp hair pre-styling, as my hair tends to get greasy I figured I'd use it pre-bed that way if it made my hair gross I cold wash my hair in the morning. The smell of this stuff was AMAZING, it didn't make my hair greasy or heavy but I also didn't notice it do anything all too special for my hair either. First impression: Didn't hate it but didn't love it.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil this was another hair oil that was just ok for me, maybe I'm just not a hair oil person? It tamed fly aways and made my hair shiny as claimed but I found my Difiaba Luminessence Shine Mist did the exact same thing but was lighter on my hair. First impression: meh.

Face Oils

Now this here is my jam, I freaking love face oils so let me get into this!

I'm always a little skeptical when a cosmetics company branches out into skincare but Tarte hit the nail on the head with their Maracuja Oil; it's lightweight and absorbs so quickly that I can use it in the morning under my make up and it won't affect my foundation application and it delivers that little bit of something extra to leave my skin looking soft, hydrated and supple. Also, how adorable is that packaging?!

In the evening is where I go a little bit buck wild with my Full of Grace, Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil concoction; I've already talked about this trio in a fair amount of detail so if you're keen you can read more about them here and here.

To Try: 

If you're oily: you can help limit sebum production in oily skin by using a face oil regularly; here are some to try! Bosica Tsubaki Beauty Oil, Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil or Kate Somerville Dilo Oil.

For first signs of aging: Midnight Recovery Concentrate, Nude ProGenius Treatment Oil or Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum.

Do you guys have any favourite oils? Let me know in the comments section below!

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All About Orange!

While Radiant Orchid is supposed to be the colour of the year; Spring 2014 seems to be all about the orange, and I'm totally ok with that. I remember the day orange make up was a terrifying prospect for me but Lady Danger lipstick by MAC was still red enough that it wasn't orange (who was I kidding, it's totally orange) and from there it was all down hill, so I for one am super excited to see more and more companies and designers embracing the orange trend this spring.

Top 5 Orange Picks:

MAC's Powder Blush in Modern Mandarin

theBalm's How 'Bout Them Apples? in Crisp

Zoya Nail Polish in Arizona

Mac's Lipstick in Vegas Volt

Butter London Nail Lacquer in Trout Pout

I also registered for my first ever Tough Mudder event that will be happening this September; aside from being a badass mental and physical challenge it is also a fundraiser for The Wounded Warrior Project which helps care for injured servicemen. Right now there is a big emphasis on treating PTSD, as someone with many friends in active service who have completed several tours I know what the face of PTSD looks like, it looks just like me and you, you can't see it and so often it goes untreated with deadly consequences. If you'd like to make a contribution THIS is my donation page for the event, and it will be linked at the bottom of all my posts as "Tough Mudder" until September. 

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My Fragrance Affair

It's no secret I have a fragrance obsession, at this point I guess it's almost on the verge of a hoarding problem so I figured I would show you guys what I've stocked up on, and talk a little bit about the science of perfume (yeah, I'm a nerd, get over it!)

I first got into perfume at a really young age because my older sister was always wearing Calvin Klein's Obsession and being the little sister I wanted to be just like her, so I pestered my mum for years to let me wear perfume (sneaking into my sisters room to use hers as well, shh....) and finally for Christmas one year, I was about 13 I think, I opened my very own bottle of Obsession and it's all been down hill from there...

The Layers of a Fragrance

Let's talk a little bit about the science of perfume so my fragrancy jargon isn't lost on you; a perfume is fundamentally made up of three layers:

Top Notes: These are usually what you smell first and make up the majority of the scent, they're usually quite strong but tend to recede after about 10-15 minutes.

Middle Notes: After the top notes have gracefully bowed out this is when you'll really begin to smell the middle notes (or heart notes as I've heard them called and we all know I love every thing heart related!) These acts like a transition from the top notes to the base notes, not quite as strong as a top note but instead of fading away all together they tend to melt into the base notes.

Base Notes: This is the foundation of your fragrance, long after the others have faded away the loyal base note still lingers on.

The Body Sprays

Body sprays are a nice addition to your fragrance collection because they allow you to layer your fragrances without adding so much perfume that you get a headache. They're also a great way to freshen up your scent on the go and usually a much more budget friendly option.

• VS Vanilla Lace - Top notes of Vanilla & a base of Musk
• VS Love Spell - Top notes of Cherry Blossom & a base of Peach
• VS Amber Romance - Top notes of Amber & a base note of crème anglaise
• B&BW Snow Kissed Berry - Top notes of Juniper and Cranberry & base notes of Amber  and White Musk
• VS Passionate Kisses - Top notes of Cherry & a base of Vanilla, Amber and Musk
• B&BW Dark Kiss - Top notes: Bergamot, Incense, Mirabelle Plum, Black Raspberry, mid notes: Amber, Burgundy Rose, Geranium, Peony, base notes: Dark Vanilla Bean, Labdanum, Vetiver, Balsam and Musk
• VS Ravishing Love - Top notes of Blackberry, a heart of lilac and base notes of aloe and chamomile 

I tend to stock up on my body sprays whenever Victoria's Secret or Bath & Body Works has a sale one...

The Little Guys

These wee perfumes I picked up from Victoria's Secret ages ago and they're perfect to keep in your purse or for traveling, they provide more of a scent pay off than a body spray but still not quite as much as some of the more high end perfumes and are still very budget friendly.

• Love Spell - Top notes of Cherry Blossom & a base note Peach
• Secret Craving - Top notes of Black currant & a base note of Vanilla
• Coconut Passion - Top notes of Coconut, mid notes of Lily of the Valley and base notes of Vanilla
• Amber Romance - Top notes of Amber & a base note of crème anglaise

The Fresh Scents

• Vera Wang's Princess - Top notes of Water Lily, Apple, Mandarin and Apricot, heart notes of Guava, Tuberose and Cacao with a base of Vanilla, Amber and Wood. (This particular treasure made my March Favourite's List)
• Katy Perry's Meow - Top notes of tangerine, pear, jasmine and gardenia, heart of honeysuckle, lily of the valley and orange blossom with a rich base of amber, vanilla, sandalwood and musk.
• B&BW Midnight Pomegranate - Top notes of Pomegranate, Citrus, Dewberry, Anise, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, heart of  Blackberry, Jasmine, Raspberry, paired with a Base of Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tobacco and Patchouli.
• Betsey Johnson by Betsey Johnson - Opening with Top notes of grapefruit, pear, black currant and tangerine, a heart of freesia, lily of the valley and red apple, while the base finishes with cedarwood, sandalwood, praline, amber and musks.

The Warm Scents

• Fragonard's Fleur de Vanille - Opens with fresh vanilla flower, melts into a heart of vanilla, ylang-ylang, heliotrope and rose and finishes with a cozy base of chocolate, cacao and musk. (I've also been using and abusing this fragrance so much lately it landed a spot along side Princess last month)
• Calvin Klein's Obsession - Top notes are composed of mandarin orange, vanilla, peach, basil, bergamot and lemon; the heart is rich with coriander, sandalwood, orange blossom, jasmine, oakmoss, cedar and rose; and the base notes are amber, musk, civet, vanilla, vetiver and incense.
• Katy Perry's Purr - top notes of peach, apple, gardenia and bamboo with the heart of jasmine, freesia and Bulgarian rose and the base of vanilla orchid, sandalwood, white amber, coconut and musk.
• Tokyo Milk Dark's Bittersweet - A very prominent top note of cacao, a creamy heart of cake flour and osmanthus, finishing with a base of musk.
• B&BW Dark Kiss - Top notes: Bergamot, Incense, Mirabelle Plum, Black Raspberry, mid notes: Amber, Burgundy Rose, Geranium, Peony, base notes: Dark Vanilla Bean, Labdanum, Vetiver, Sensual Balsam, Musks
• Nuxe's Prodigieux Le Parfum - Top notes are orange blossom, bergamot, mandarin orange and orange; middle notes are rose, magnolia and gardenia; base notes are vanilla, coconut milk and pebbles.
• Tokyo Milk Dark's Tainted Love - Top notes of orchid and tea with a base of sandalwood and vanilla.

One of my favourite fragrance websites is Fragrantica; it lists the notes, reviews, where you can purchase it and recommends other fragrances you may like based on a particular perfume.

What are some of your guys' favourite fragrances you think I should check out?

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In Flight Pamper Session

Being in a long distance relationship means you are usually subjected to long haul flights more often than most and anyone that flies knows how much of a toll the recirculated cabin air can take on your skin and hair if you're stuck in your seat for hours on end. Since there's not much else you can do on a plane aside from back to back movie marathons you might as well make that time work for you and get some good quality pampering in!

I always like to have a good quality face wipe on hand to refresh myself when I'm feeling tired and grimy from 8+ hours of traveling. I've tried several brands and the First Aid Beauty Gentle Cleansing Wipes get my vote! They're gentle enough you can use them to remove eye make up but they're still strong enough to get off that mascara and liner; I also keep a pack in my gym bag for a quick refresh after a good work out!

I am all about serums and facial oils especially when things are getting dry but liquids can be a tricky thing to take in cabin so LUSH's Full of Grace is the perfect product for the job; a solid moisturizing bar that melts when warmed between your palms and can then be massaged into you skin to add a quick punch of easily absorbed moisture to your parched face. I also take a little chunk of Fresh Farmacy Cleanser that way near the end of the flight I can just nip to the toilet and give my face a proper wash; just lather the warm, massage your face and then use a muslin cloth to remove so that you don't have to worry about trying to wash your face in a teeny airplane loo.

If it's a long haul flight I like to do as much pampering as possible to make the time fly by I usually have some of my My Beauty Diary Dark Circles Eye Masks in my bag that I can pop on for a couple minutes because let's face it, no one looks well rested after 8+ hours of flying. I usually have my sleep mask handy that I can slide down over the masks so I don't look like a major weirdo and I'll usually listen to music and just relax for 15 minutes or so while these bad boys do their job.

After I remove the eye masks I massage any extra serum left on my skin into my ocular bone and add a little bit of the Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado to keep the delicate eye skin hydrated for the long haul; when using this I found the best way to apply is to pick up a TINY bit with your ring finger and massage it between your two rings fingers for a couple seconds first to warm it up and then tap it into the ocular bone as opposed to rubbing it, works like a dream!

I mix up my own leave-in hair treatment for the flight using 1 vial of Difiaba Luminessence Hydrating Serum mixed with equal parts of water in a travel sized spray bottle and just mist it through my ends to keep my hair from drying out. I love the Difiaba serum as it smells wonderful and leaves my hair shiny and hydrated.

The last step before I struggle for the rest of the flight trying to sleep (before eventually giving up and reading for the next several hours) is to add an overnight hydrating mask; I love Glam Glow's Thirsty Mud for this purpose because it smells amazing and when I rinse my face in the morning my skin looks like I never stepped foot on an airplane! I usually decant a little bit of this into a sample cup so that I don't have to faff about with the big pot of it in my carry on.

Clearly I use my flights as an excuse to get in some much needed pampering, I find it makes the flights go by faster and I feel relaxed and refreshed when I step off the plane, even if I didn't get a wink of sleep!

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Top Ten Beauty Products On the Fly!

As you are reading this I probably have JUST touched down in Baltimore, MD after what can only be explained as an epic pinballesque plane ride across North America and as I am spending the next four days on a mini vacay visiting the boy I figured it was only suiting that the next couple of posts be about beauty on the go.

This is my top ten 'must haves' that were the first items packed into my make up bag, if you guys would like a full view into what made it into my make up kit and skin care stash for this trip let me know and I'll be sure to post some photos on instagram for you guys!

Top 5 Skin Care Products

I'm super lazy when it comes to taking my make up off at the end of the day which is why I can't go anywhere without my Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil. You just massage it into your skin and it removes everything including waterproof eye make up and then you rinse it away, or if I'm SUPER lazy I use a damp muslin cloth to just wipe it off.

Considering this is my third tube of Lightful Cleanser by MAC I think it's safe to say I'm not going to leave this behind. You can read more about why I love this particular cleanser here. I always love trying new things and considering I've been reaching for this stuff over and over again for the past six months it must be pretty freaking awesome.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate is pretty much liquid gold, even if I don't get a full 8 hours of sleep my skin always looks like it has! You can read about my initial response to this skin care voodoo here.

The only thing drier than the skin on my face is my scaly alligator legs so clearly I'm not about to go off gallivanting without my Body Shop Body Butter, right now I'm obsessed with the Chocomania scent because, well, chocolate.

Ok so the last one isn't really skin care but I won't tell if you won't tell! I can't go on vacation without at least one fragrance. As you may have seen in my March Favourites I've been loving my Fragonard Fleur de Vanille perfume because the combination of warm rich chocolate and vanilla tones is perfectly balanced by softer, fresher tones like ylang ylang and rose making it the perfect transition scent for spring!

Top 5 Make Up Products

Ok so this might be a little bit of a cheat but it is technically only one item and that is my personalized 15 eyeshadow pallet from MAC. This is perfect for traveling because while it's predominantly neutral shadows there's enough variety in the pallet that I can create a completely different look every single day.

Jouer's Matte Moisture Tint has cut down the time it takes me to get ready in the morning by quite a bit; for a tinted moisturizer it has pretty good coverage meaning I can usually forgo concealer except for maybe a bit under my tired eyes and because it dries matte I usually skip the powder too. That pretty much makes it a no-brainer for traveling since you can save space in your make up bag and cut down on time getting ready before you head out to explore and the added SPF is always nice too!

Have I mentioned how much I love Essie Button yet in this blog post? No? Ok well this girl can seriously recommend no wrong! Aside from recommending the above tinted moisturizer I also picked up the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12- Hour Blush in "Glisten" after listening to her rave on about them and it's the perfect spring colour; it's peachy with a teeny bit of shimmer and just makes you look fresh.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't use my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and if I'm taking 15 eyeshadows with me I better take a primer too!

And due to the sheer ease of application, one of my new Patentpolish Lip Pencils by MAC in the shade "Teen Dream" has also made it's way into my make up bag. It's the perfect traveling lip product because you can easily apply without a mirror, it's not sticky so you don't have to worry about your hair getting stuck to your lips if it's a windy spring day and let's face it, I'm obsessed with oranges right now anyways!

What are some of your favourite things to take when you find yourself adventure bound?

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MAC's Patent Polish Lip Pencils

Chubby sticks have been taking the make up world by storm lately; Clinque has the Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes and the Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm, Tarte has had the LipSurgence Lip Tint or some variation of it, for YEARS and the list just continues for brands launching their version of the chubby stick and now it's MAC's turn.

I've never been a huge lover of Chubby sticks, don't know why but I never really hopped on the chubby stick bandwagon so I didn't have too high of hopes when MAC announced it was releasing it's own version of the chubby stick, the Patentpolish Lip Pencil. The website describes them as "The colour and shine of a gloss, the precision of a lip pencil - now in one colour stick. M•A•C Patentpolish Lip Pencil instantly achieves a luscious shine with a single swipe. Effortless twist-up keeps application clean and simple, with no need to sharpen."which sounds pretty good to me but I've been let down by website claims before...

The line consists of twelve different shades that cover all the bases; soft and natural, bold 

and flirty, pretty corals for spring days and more sultry tones for the evenings.Now I was pleasantly surprised by these, Fearless was the first shade I got and I loved it because it was a nice bright pop of colour but still very wearable - I've since Picked up Go For Girlie (a bright coral pink), Revved Up (a peachy nude) and Teen Dream (a bright orange- not pictured since I left at work, boo!); these lip pencils did not dry my lips out like some of the lipsticks and delivered the shine of a gloss without being at all sticky. I found the wear time on them to be mediocre at best but because they're so easy to reapply (in other words I could do this walking without a mirror) I didn't mind that I needed to touch them up a little more often.

I really enjoy these pencils and have already made a shopping list of the next couple of colours I want to pick up; I'm glad MAC finally joined the chubby stick party even if they were a little late to get the invite because these are definitely worth the wait!

This is what Teen Dream looks like on!

You can find them online here for $24 and they just hit counters in North America on April 4th if you want to pick up a couple for yourself as well!

The winner of the March Giveaway was.... drum roll please! Kelsey Anderson, you should have received an e-mail with some questions to help me personalize your box of goodies, if you haven't seen it yet make sure to check your spam box! Everyone else, thank you for entering and supporting my passion and keep your eyes out, there is only more giveaways to come!