The Process: My Morning Skin Care Routine

So a couple of weeks ago I had a request to share my skin care routine, I started off with my evening skin care routine which might seem a little odd but washing my face at the end of the day is one of my favourite things in life, I look forward to it as soon as I leave work. So today I thought I would bring you my morning routine!

The Process:

In the Shower...

Step 1: MAC's Lightful Cleanser I should seriously have stocks in this products or something for the amount I talk about it, but seriously this stuff is the bomb! Perfect for a nice refreshing morning cleanse and works wonderfully with my Clarisonic. You can read more about it here, here and here, told you I am kinda obsessed...

Step 1.5: Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub My boyfriend used to tease me that if you wanted to sell something to a Canadian all you had to do was make it smell/taste like Maple Syrup; clearly Soap and Glory caught on to this tactic because I AM HOOKED! I picked this up on offer at Boots back in January and while I've got a bazillion tubs/tubes/bottles/bars of shower stuff on the go this is one of my favourites. A nice thick scrub that smells just like maple syrup and leaves your skin soft and smooth.

Step 2: MAC's Lightful Softening Lotion Here's another old favourite you guys are probably used to hearing my rave on and on about. I love this particularly in the morning because when you splash some on a cotton pad and run it over your face it removes dry skin instantly making the texture of your skin softer and easier to apply make up to. You can read more about it on my blog here and here.

Step 3: Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray I absolutely adore using this spray before applying serums or moisturizers, I find it really opens up the pores and allows what you apply afterwards to really sink in. This is another one that has gotten quite a bit of publicity on my blog you may have seen it here, here and here. Clearly with that much love you might be surprised to hear that once I finish this can I am actually going to be trying a new spray, what blasphemy right?! I've finally given in and ordered the Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist that was on my Wishlist.

Step 4: Finally some new products you haven't heard me ramble on about yet!! In the palm of my hand I like to mix a little bit of the Kiehl's Powerful Strength Line- Reducing Serum (I've also added this into my evening skin care routine as well) with 2 drops of Fresh's Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil and massage that into the face and neck, you want to let it sit for a couple minutes to really absorb before applying any moisturizer. 

Step 5: While my serum/oil concoction in sinking in I like to apply my eye cream, Caudalie's Vinosource S.O.S Morning Eye Rescue. I have super sensitive eyes; sensitive to eye creams, if I have a minor food allergy my eyes are the first thing to swell up, they're just a pain in the butt. Not only does this not irritate my eyes at all but it also helps bring down my puffy eyes after someone has fed me mushrooms when I told them I was allergic... but that's another story! This stuff is also hydrating without leaving a sticky residue that will interfere with eye make up.

Step 5.5: I like to prep my lips by applying a nice thick layer of NUXE Reve de Miel Baume Levres Ultra-Nourrissant Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm so that they're soft and moisturized come time to apply lip products.

Step 6: While letting my face soak up all the good stuff I've just slathered it in I like to move onto moisturizing the rest of the skin on my body, right now I'm loving The Body Shop's Coconut Body Butter (It's on sale 50% in stores and online so now would be the perfect time to stock up on body butters!!) I've grown up using The Body Shop's Body Butters on and off since I was probably ten and I just keep coming back to them; amazing texture, wonderful fragrances and they really do hydrate all day long! I'm particularly obsessed with anything coconut right now because it reminds me of summer and well, I live in the land of endless winter, seriously - it's still snowing...

Step 7: I've usually got pretty good skin but around the same time every month a couple nasty little spots decide to creep up on my face, last week I went to Murale in search of an answer to my problems. Having dry, sensitive skin makes blemish spot treatments pretty tricky but she suggested Blemish Gel 5% by B.Kamins, this is the first thing I've tried from this Canadian skin care brand and I'm loving it! It dries up the blemish without drying out your skin and can even be worn under make up, every girl needs to have this on hand!

Step 8: This is usually the part of the morning where I would go stuff my face with delicious breakfast but for the sake of this post let's just skip on to the next bit. Moisturizers! I'm still using and still loving my Delarom Revitality Cream (I even dedicated a whole post to it here if you want to read about the vanishing forehead wrinkle) and considering I've been using it for three months now it makes the $107 price tag a little easier to swallow, but with the pile of creams I brought back from Paris I still have to work my way through it'll be a little while before I'm replacing this bad boy after it finally runs out.

Step 9: This is a more optional step but on the mornings I've got some extra time or I really feel like pampering myself I like to massage some Nuxe Huile de Prodigieuse into my appendages, it just feels so luxurious and smells fantastic. This is clearly another one of my favourites, you can read more about it on my blog here, here and here.

Not quite as extensive as my evening routine but pretty dang close! What are some of your guys' favourite products and is there something you think I would love? Let me know in the comments, clearly I love to try new things!

Brand Focus: Etude House

Brand Focus: Etude House!

You've probably noticed me mention a brand by the name of Etude House in some of my previous posts, they're a Korean cosmetics and skin care company that I am absolutely in love with. After meeting the most adorable Korean girl at a work function last weekend and gushing about Korean cosmetics for a while I realized that this company is a bit of a hidden gem here in North America; they deliver quality products, adorable packaging and all for quite an inexpensive price tag. I figured it's high time I let you all in on the secret!

Lipsticks

Etoinette Crystal Shine Lipsticks in PPK002 and PPk003 - First of all; how freaking cute are the bullets they're in?! This was another purchase made strictly for the adorable packaging; the lipsticks themselves are a really nice creamy texture with medium colour pay off (I'll post swatches down below) but look quite vibrant when paired with a liner of similar tone, due to the creamy consistency they're not at all drying on my poor parched lippies.($5 + free S&H on eBay)

Dear My Blooming Lips Talk in PPk005 - I absolutely love the formulation of this one; lightweight and hydrating and it almost seems to flex with your lips so you don't get any feathering. I find it has medium to buildable colour pay off and is quite long wearing, not to mention this colour is amazing!! ($8 + free S&H on eBay)

Look at My Lips in #03 Celeb Pop Pink- This was a surprise favourite for me, I didn't think I'd love it as much as I do. It has a medium colour pay off, is super hydrating and feels like you're not wearing a thing! And this colour is amazing; kind of a coral pink colour! ($6.50 + free S&H on eBay)

Lipglosses

Dear My Enamel Gloss in EPK001 - This was the first lip product I purchased from Etude House and clearly you can tell by my collection it had a great impact on me! Similar in colour to MAC's Pink Nouveau, no sticky texture and a great strawberry scent, I'm in love with this! Click here to see why it's a staple in my bag and here to see what makes it such a beauty bargain! ($5 + free S&H on eBay)

Dear Darling Tints in Vampire Red and Real Red - The verdict is still out on how I feel about these, some days I love them and some days I'm not quite sold. What I love about these is they have an amazing cherry fragrance and great staying power with a bit of a stain effect to them, what I'm not sold on is the whole idea of lip tints in the first place. They're quite a thin texture which is what I'm not sure I like but they're not at all sticky or tacky which is nice. I find the Real Red shade to be a bit more wearable as the Vampire Red is quite a dark shade to be so sheer, might look great paired over top of a red lipstick to give it some extra staying power... ($4.50 +free S&H on eBay)

Color Lips-Fit in Magical Fit Pink - I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I ordered this but what I got was not at all what I wasn't expecting, am I making any sense yet? I thought this would be a gloss (you're probably asking why it's under the gloss category if it isn't in fact a gloss and the answer to that is: because I felt like it!) but it is more like a liquid lipstick. I was never really in love with the concept of liquid lipstick (I'd never tried them but hey, I fear change!) but this has sparked an interest. It has the same wonderfully shaped applicator that gives effortless application, it gives amazing colour pay off and my favourite part: it dries matte! It's a matte liquid lipstick that isn't drying on your lips and super comfortable to wear!!! Yes you read that right, such a thing exists and I'm sharing it with you my friends! ($8.50 + free S&H on eBay)

Purse Essentials

I featured both of these products in my What's in My Bag post so you can go check them out there but I will leave the prices for them down below!

Missing U Hand Cream in Peach Panda - $6 + free S&H on eBay; since my What's in My Bag post I've actually fallen in love with the lotion that it came with, initially it wasn't hydrating enough for my dry hands but now that we're out of the depths of winter it's great for an on the go refresher. I've also recently purchased the Pink Dolphin, Fairy Penguin and Harp Seal varieties of this because they're so stinking cute!

Kissful Lip Care Lip Scrub - $6.50 + free S&H on eBay

Sheet Masks

I Need U Alphabet Sheet Mask Set - I featured these on my Sheet Masks 101 post and since then have been gradually working my way through the alphabet and still very much in love with these! $42 + free S&H for the 27 piece set.

BB Cream

Precious Mineral BB Cream Cotton Fit in #2 Light Beige - This was the BB cream that got me into BB creams, I got a sample of it in one of my many Etude House purchases (now I totally get why they load you up with samples!!) and figured I'd give it a go and was hooked. I love that it comes in a squeeze tube so that nothing is wasted and it also has a pump to distribute the perfect amount to cover your whole face. Anti-Wrinkle, Brightening, SPF30, Whitening, and Anti-Darkening, this stuff made my skin glow like nothing else and felt like a thin veil of powder sitting lightly on my face as opposed to a thick cream, the only reason I switched brands was it was sold out when I ran out. $5.50 + free S&H on eBay.

Cleansers

This is a review on a couple of cleanser samples I got (they're big enough to get 3-4 uses out of each packet) and why I didn't buy full size versions of either of them.

Milky You One Step Cleansing Foam - This was a nice lightweight cleanser that worked into a great lather, was gentle on my sensitive skin and made for a great morning cleanse. Now why didn't I buy the full size version? I have quite dry skin and I found my face feeling tight right after cleansing, very tight, if you were normal to oily I think this would be a great choice for you but it was a little too astringent for my dry skin.

Baking Powder Deep Cleansing Foam - This cleanser is quite a bit heavier than the Milky You one, it goes on almost like a paste if your face isn't damp enough (rookie mistake) but lathers up quite nicely once you work a little water in. It has a bit of a gritty texture, I'm assuming that's the baking soda in it, that's a  great exfoliator as my skin was super soft and radiant after using it but is a bit too abrasive for every day use on my sensitive skin. It has a light citrus scent and it really feels like the baking soda opens your pores and scrubs them out (I had a mental image of the Scrubbing Bubbles television ad whilst washing my face). I received two samples of this and tried one a couple of weeks ago and really disliked it but after wearing a full face of make up all day I give it another try and was really pleased with the results. I may have to add this to my evening routine a couple nights a week on those make up heavy days, if you have oily skin this might make a great daily cleanser for you!

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Cheat Sheet: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Sheet Masks

Cheat Sheets: Sheet Masks 101

Sheet masks! One of my all time favourite beauty products and the skin care snowflake that turned into a full fledged avalanche. It all started when a friend posted a picture on her Instagram of some sheet masks she'd picked up at a local Asian supermarket, this led to questions which lead to googling which lead to heading down to the supermarket to get my hot little paws on the Dermal Collagen sheet masks which I've mentioned briefly here as one of my favourite budget friendly beauty products. I was going to start by giving you a run down of some common ingredients but I think my first mask set covers all the bases so let's get the ball rolling!

Etude House I Need You Alphabet Sheet Masks

This collection is wonderful because it contains a mask for every letter of the alphabet (and a wee little heart) each letter represents a key ingredient. I'll give you a quick list below of each ingredient and its benefit, this will prove helpful later on as you'll see certain ingredients are always popping up!

A - Aloe (soothing relief)

B- Bulgarian Rose (brightening)

C- Collagen (firming)

D - Dandelion (revitalizing)

E - Elder Flower (soothing & moisturizing)

F - Fig (purifying)

G - Green Tea (moisture & relief)

H - Hylaronic Acid (richly moisturizing)

I - Imortelle (energizing & nourishing)

J - Job's Tears (revitalizing & smoothing)

K- Korean Ginseng (revitalizing & nourishing)

L - Lemon (tone clarifying)

M - Mango (nourishing &firming)

N - Noni (revitalizing)

O - Olive (deep moisture)

P - Pomegranate (smooth elasticity)

Q - Q10 (tightening & firming)

R - Royal Jelly (smooth hydration)

S - Shea Butter (richly nourishing)

T - Tea Tree (trouble care)

U - Unpolished Rice (firming & nourishing)

V - Vitamin Complex (radiating skin)

W - White Pearl (bright complexion)

X - Xyitol Forest (clean moisture)

Y - Yogurt Strawberry (soft & moist)

Z - Zucchini (nourishing & moisturizing)

<3 - Heart - Five Berry Complex (antioxidant) 

So far I have tried the Olive, Q10, Heart and Yogurt masks and have really loved them all. The pouches have lots of collagen serum in them, you could almost make a second mask out of all the left over serum in the pouch...or scoop it out with your fingers and smear it all over your face like I do... The serum isn't sticky like some sheet mask serums I've encountered, it sinks in fairly quickly - I usually do these in the evening before bed so I don't know how long it usually takes but there's no residue on my pillow! - and my skin the next morning is always very soft and supple. 

Dermal Collagen Sheet Masks

These were the first brand of sheet mask I tried and really got me addicted to skin care; remember how I've said a million times I love instant gratification? These guys fill that need to se results NOW for me, especially the royal jelly one. If you want to read a bit more on these you can check out this post where I gush to my hearts content about these skin saving little beauties.

My Beauty Diary Sheet Masks

Apple Polyphenol Mask  

for oil control and pore constricting

I by no means have oily skin, I'm quite the opposite actually, but I do have some enlarged pores that like to laugh in my face as I apply my make up every morning. I use this mask probably once a week (twice if I can find the time) to help with my enlarged pores, and while it is also for oil control it is not at all drying. I find that if I work this into my normal nightly skin care routine after cleansing and before moisturizing not only do I see some shrinkage in my pores but I have super soft and smooth skin! 

Chocolate Truffle Mask

for moisturizing and softening

These were my second delve into sheet masks and for obvious reasons; chocolate and skin care in one?! Before we get into this let me just say - slather your body in cold press extra virgin coconut oil, pop one of these babies on and lay back and enjoy smelling like a macaroon cookie! These masks are phenomenal, now a word about usage: they say to leave the mask on for 20 minutes, I say to leave the mask on for a MINIMUM of 20 minutes. There is so much extra serumy goodness in the packet that these sheets are highly saturated with moisturizing and softening magic. The first time I used one I fell asleep on the couch watching a movie and it was probably on my face for a good four hour before I woke up, that's not something I would recommend doing as peeling a dry sheet off your face is kinda gross but dang did my skin look good!

2- Step Europe Clarifying Pack

Step 1: Black Rose Brightening Mask

Step 2: Rose Honey Refining Gel

for brightening and clarifying

A 2-step mask was a whole new ball game I stumbled into and one I'm not 100% sold on (but I am like 98% sold on it...) The idea is the mask helps brighten your complexion while the serum refines and clarifies. Let's start with step 1; this mask is intended for a minimum of 30 minutes use which is a little bit longer than all the other My Beauty Diary masks. I did it while enjoying a bubble bath so I could just lay back and enjoy my tea (pro-tip: use a straw to drink beverages while wearing a sheet mask or you'll get mask in your tea and tea in your mask!) without having to worry about faffing with a mask for 30 minutes. Like all other MBD sheet masks there is lots of serum in the packet which is always nice. After the 30 minutes were up I removed the mask and then dabbed the extra serum into my skin like usual. After step 1 I was in love my skin felt and looked great!

Step 2 is where I lose that 2% of love. Because there was so much extra serum in the mask your skin is already a little dewy and then you have to apply a thick gel over top. The gel is supposed to be left on to absorb, my issue was that two hours later after my bath the gel had still not absorbed into my skin. I was headed to bed and didn't mind the extra gel on my face as I was going to sleep but it did leave a bit of an oily residue on my pillow that I was not a fan of.

My final thoughts on this mask are I love that it is a gentle enough clarifying mask that I can use it on my dry sensitive skin without having any sort of reaction to it. I did wish that the gel absorbed more quickly instead of just sitting on the surface of my skin but I will most likely be using this mask again, now I just know to put old pillow cases on my pillows before going to bed after this 2-step mask!

Intensive Double Vitamin C Eye Mask

for brightening of the eye area

First a word of caution to anyone who like me may have super sensitive skin, especially around the eyes, these may not be for you! The first time I used these I followed the recommended 15 minutes of usage and because I have such sensitive skin I had a mild reaction aka super dry, itchy and flaky. Since then I have been able to use them twice a week for 5 minutes and have been fine and can see the difference in the brightening. That being said I gifted some to a girl friend who has skin of steel and she uses them every other day and has seen massive improvements in her dark under eye circles, so these little eye masks do pack quite a punch but be warned the concentrated vitamin c can be quite irritating if you're a delicate flower like myself!

Dark Circle Intensive Care Eye Mask

for lightening of under eye discolouration

I tried this formulation of eye mask after the Double Vitamin C above so I've only been using them at 5 minutes a piece right from the get go so there was no sensitivities to these ones but I would still heed my warning from above. I love the results I've gotten from these masks but would recommend investing in some good quality eye cream as these can be a little drying on the under eye skin. My two favourites, and two on the only ones my temperamental eye skin will let anywhere near them are the Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Morning Eye Rescue and the L'Occitane En Provence Imortelle Precious Eye Balm.

Face Q Sheet Masks

 Red Pomegranate + CoQ10 Mask

After discovering that the reason the french are famous for their beautiful skin and amazing skin care is in part due to their understanding of prevention in place of trying to reverse damage I was all into preventing my skin from premature aging which lead me into an all engulfing google rampage into Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 for short, which helps combat cellular damage that causes wrinkles and aging of the skin. There's a nifty little article here that breaks down the science of it into easy to understand terms for those of us that don't enjoy trying to pick through all the science jargon.

Back to the masks! So when I was in the supermarket and saw that not only did one of my favourite sheet mask brands carry a mask containing CoQ10 but that it was on offer I had to scoop it up. While I'm still in my 20's and my skin hasn't started to deteriorate yet this mask is definitely a staple for me and as I grow older I will be investing in many more products containing CoQ10. For now this mask provides a nice punch of prevention and leaves my skin feeling and looking great!

If you have made it all the way to the end you must really be a sheet mask connoisseur as well and will be pleased to know that I will be including several of these mask in my giveaway box. We're only 11 likes away on Facebook before I host my first giveaway contest so if you're not already following the blog over there check it out, there will be a link below! 

Do you guys have some favourite sheet masks that I absolutely need to try, if so let me know in the comments below!

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What's My Age Again? Delarom Revitality Cream Review

I've been told all my life I seem quite mature for my age and I've always taken it as a compliment, until a couple of months ago I spotted it; this silent evil lurking in the dark behind foundation and under my moisturizer. It appeared in the shadows of the night one evening and installed itself on my forehead: yes, my very first wrinkle!! Ok, so maybe I'm being a little over dramatic, I'm not about to rush out and get botox - if that's your jam groovy but it's just not for me - and almost everyone I've asked says they have no idea what I'm talking about but I think they're just too nice to tell me I've been frowning too much lately - I blame my Kia of Death for that! I always thought crows feet or laugh lines were cute because they show you've spent your life smiling, but a giant forehead wrinkle at 22 was not my idea of aging gracefully.

Fast forward two months later to my romantic Paris getaway with the man, he's now standing patiently outside the pharmacy while I point at my forehead in despair to the girl behind the counter. She must get this a lot because she calmly held my hand, sat me down and got down to business. I should state I've always be wary of these creams that claim to cure wrinkles so I was a little anxious to invest some of my hard earned money into something I didn't totally believe in, but hey, if she said whatever crazy french voodoo in this bottle would work I wanted to believe her. After some discussion about my skin, my lifestyle and the end result I wanted we settled on Delarom Revitality Cream. It was more than I'd ever invested in any skin care item before but that forehead wrinkle had me in a "no fucks given" mood, pardon my french.

You may have noticed the funky new background in this photo, I got kinda bored of taking pictures on a white background, especially when the packaging is also white. So the painting in the background is by a talented local artist by the name of Bradley Gobeil, I chose it because this moisturizer totally makes me feel like fist pumping to infinity and beyond. If you like this picture check out the rest of his work on Instagram.

I was trying to figure out the best way to dish on this cream with out spending all day screaming "look at my forehead" to a bunch of people who can't see through a computer screen and since I didn't really think it would work I have no "before" photo to compare the two images for you guys, so let me give you a good ol' fashioned pro's and con's list and then leave it up to you guys to decide whether or not you want to take the plunge!

Con's:

• It is definitely a little bit more on the pricey side; I can't remember what I paid for it in Paris but this website has it listed for $107 which seems to be the average after a quick google search.
• Not super hydrating; this would be great if you had normal to oily skin but for someone like myself with dry skin I had to do some tweaking to make it work aka mix a little bit of my regular moisturizer with it on drier days. But now that we're out of the death grips of -30 weather I have been wearing it just on it's own for the last couple of weeks and it's been great!
• Not immediate results; clearly with any real "fix" it takes time to work it's voodoo but I'm a results driven person so it took some effort not to give up on it after a week of no noticeable change but around the 4 week mark is where I noticed drastic improvement.

Pro's:

• NO MORE FREAKING FOREHEAD WRINKLE!!!! And I mean none, unless I make that horrid frowny face that I'm sure gave me the wrinkles in the first place, I am back to looking like the fresh faced 21 year old I was before I bought a cursed death trap for a vehicle.
• It has an amazing smell; I can't place it but it's super light almost "clean" scent.
• The texture is great; not too runny or too thick and goopy. Not at all greasy and my make up applies wonderfully over top of it.
• Aside from the wrinkle disappearing, my skin looks great; it's tight and radiant, my pores are small, I haven't had more than a single spot for a "break out"

This is the first and so far only product I have tried from Delarom but I can see a bright future for our relationship if their other products are this wonderful!

Have you tried any Delarom Products before? What are your favourite "anti- aging" tricks and products? I'd love to hear in the comments below.