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!

Ghosts of Beauty Products Past

Ghosts of Beauty Products Past

I'm a self processed YouTube addict; every morning whilst getting ready for work I've got the new videos from my subscriptions playing on my laptop on the edge of my vanity while I do my make up. One of my favourite types of video is the empties videos because thats when you get a real proper review, after you've squeezed the last drop from the tube; so here are the remnants of some products that I've squeezed every last drop out of!

Hair Care

Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam - I worked at an Aveda salon many moons ago and this is a product that's stuck with me ever since. A light weight styling mousse that adds volume and bounce to your hair; apply it to the roots wet or dry and then style as normal. I've never achieved the type of volume I get when I use this on my damp hair and dry it upside down, there's just not taming that volume! If there's no Aveda salon or store nearby you can get your hands on it here and while you're there try some of their awesome shampoos, I feel like I'm at the spa when I use the Rosemary Mint hair products!

Batiste Dry Shampoo - This is one of those items that I've seen popping up all over beauty blogs for the last year or so and I couldn't understand the hype behind some powder. so when my usual dry shampoo ran out I decided to give this a try instead. I can't place my finger on why I love it so much but I've tried several others after I finished this can - anywhere from drugstore to salon brands - and none of them did anything for me, I ended up giving up and purchasing another can of this and I won't stray away again. I've been trying desperately to get my hands on the tinted version for dark hair but even the original white isn't too bad on my black hair! Check out this video about dry shampoo by one of my favourite vloggers.

Skin Care

MAC's Lightful Marine Bright Cleanser & Softening Lotion - So you've heard me mention this duo a couple of times and I'm still very much in love, I've already replaced these. There was a two day period where I was without my softening lotion and I felt like my world was unraveling. I won't go into too much detail but you can read more about these here.

Avene Thermal Spring Water - This first cropped up in the blog here and then may have made an appearance here so it's no wonder I've got one empty can and I'm already almost finished another. This stuff is a perfect step between cleansing and moisturizing, wonderful to keep your skin feeling fresh on a long plane ride, refreshing on a hot day and dang it just feels good all around! 

 Body Oils  

Nuxe Huile de Prodigieuse - This was the star of my very first proper blog post here and I've been using it religiously ever since. I finished this 50 ml bottle and I'm already more than half way through a 125ml I picked up in Paris. I add this to my bath water, spritz it in my hair to tame frizz and slather it all over my body right out of the shower, I love the way it smells and how glowy it leaves my skin looking. They've made a perfume of the same fragrance that I got a little bottle of in a box set with the 125ml bottle and the mini gold Huile de Prodigieuse pictured above.

Nuxe Huile de Prodigieuse Gold - I was interested in trying this variety of my already favourite body oil so when I saw it in a box set with a large format of the original (the 125ml bottle comes with a spray pump that is so handy!) and a small bottle of the perfume that I was also keen on trying, I figured it was as good a time as any to give it a go. I love the sun kissed shimmer that this gives the skin but I am a little sad that the fragrance isn't as apparent as the original and it's a drier formula, I layered it on my arms and chest over top of the original Huile de Prodigieuse to compensate for that. I have not yet replaced this but come summer I think I'll find myself reaching for it again.

Beauty

I'm not one to finish cosmetics very often since I'm always trying new things, in fact it's probably taken six months to accumulate these few in my Back2MAC bag (if you don't know what Back2MAC is: save your empty plastic and glass containers and when you've got 6 you can exchange them for a free lipstick, lipglass or eyeshadow. Who doesn't love free stuff?!) 

MAC Something Special Cream Blush - I was a little skeptical of cream blush when I received this as a gift for christmas (2011 - told you it took forever for me to finish things!) and it fell to the bottom of my make up drawer in favour of other blushes. But one day after finishing a blush and being too broke to replace it I found myself reaching for this peachy cream and I fell in love! Takes a little getting used to but once you do you'll be hard pressed to go back to powders; wonderful colour pay off and they wear FOREVER! I'm a true convert...

MAC Eye Brow Pencil in Strut - I usually use powders to fill in my brows but I found myself drawn towards this brow pencil quite a bit during my stint as a brunette, I love the definition it lends to my sparse brows and then I use a powder to soften the overall look.

MAC Lashes in #20 and #4 - I've got a friend that is renowned for stacking 20's and 4's to give the perfect natural, flirty, dramatic lash that so many women crave, thus this combination has been dubbed the "Lindsey Lash" in my circle of friends. #4's are a natural length wispy lash mainly used to add volume and #20's are corner lashes that add a bit of drama so these two work amazingly together, try it, you'll thank me!

Bits and Bobs

Jojoba Oil- This is another one of those versatile oils that's taking the world by storm; I love it for my skin, my hair, my nails, everything! I mainly use this before I shower, yes you heard me, before. I found that this winter my skin was taking a beating and my acupuncturist suggested something I'd never really even thought of. I exfoliate with a body brush like this one and massage jojoba oil into my skin before hopping in the shower and my skin's never been softer and here's why: the oil protects your skin from the hot water which will normally strip it of it's natural oils especially when we crank the heat like we tend to do in the winter AND the heat of the water will open your pores allowing your skin to better absorb the oil. You get out of the shower with soft non-greasy feeling skin and none one would guess you've spent all winter in Alberta...

Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner - After hearing a couple people talk about this magical blue liquid (not that you can tell what colour it is from the empty bottle...) I had to give it a go myself and picked up a small bottle here. First let me explain why it caught my eye: 1. It actually kills 99.9% of bacteria that the bristles of our brushes play host to. 2. It leaves your brushes smelling like vanilla. 3. It will get ANYTHING out of your brushes. Anything. On that last note let me offer you a word of caution, this stuff is seriously strong and not to be taken lightly. If you're forgetful like me, set a timer when you put your brushes to soak in this cleanser. I forgot about my brushes (for like an hour...oops!) and the bristles sucked the cleanser all the way up into the handle and when I went to rinse my beloved MAC #168 all the hair came out in one clump, this stuff means business.

Bath and Body Works Wall Flower in Frosted Cupcake - I'm a fat kid at heart who loves smelly things, clearly I was going to love this. I'm a huge fan of the wall flowers because I find they have a wonderful variety of fragrances and last for a decent amount of time before needing to be replaced. I never find that I can smell them but it must be due to the fact I smell it every day as whenever I have guests over they always tell me it smells like I've just been baking. I will also be blaming my cupcake addiction on smelling this in my sleep every night...

Have you tried any of these products, if you have what did you think? Are there any products that you think I would love? Let me know in the comments below!

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Brighton. Beauty. Bliss. - A Collection of Favourites from January 2014

Wow! January has been crazy for sure; I started this lovely little blog you're currently reading, worked my butt off, went on vacation and fell even further into my skin care addiction! I've always loved monthly favourites on other blogs because you just know you're going to find some treasures, so here is a small collection of my essentials, why I love them and why I just can't get enough of them!

Let's start with why most of you are here; skincare!

MAC's Lightful Marine Bright Cleanser and Softening Lotion

These two aren't just January favourites I've been using and loving on these guys for a while now; I tried the entire Lightful collection including the essence and the moisture creme and to be honest I really liked the entire line. With continued use I saw an increase in the overall clarity of my skin, old scars from blemishes have drastically lightened in colour, it's reduced the frequency of spots cropping up and left my skin glowing. I traded out the essence and moisturizer for other products but the cleanser and softening lotion have become a permanent fixture. The cleanser leaves your skin squeaky clean, I will say though that if you are normal to dry definitely make sure you're using a moisturizer as I do find my skin tends to feel a bit tight after cleansing. As for the softening lotion I use it religiously myself and put it on every client that sits down in my chair, it's a liquid moisturizer that softens the skin and removes dead surface cells giving you instant gratification! You can feel an improvement in texture after a single use!!

Rocky Mountain Soap Company Body Butter

Not only are the winters in Alberta murder on your skins moisture barrier but if you're like me you're constantly having to wash your hands, apply hand sanitizer and your hands wind up all dry, cracked and beyond painful. This body butter was my absolute SAVIOUR this winter. I got the unscented version as my hands were so bad they stung if you even looked at them the wrong way. The little twist up bars are super convenient for stashing in your hand bag, night stand, even the glove box of your car; I will say though I got more than one strange look while applying this in public as it does look like you're smearing deodorant all over your hands. I love the body butter for my elbows, the backs of my hands and any other super dry spots that creep up but I did find it left a little bit of an oily residue on my palms that I did not like.

Sanoflore Nourishing Honey Smooth Hand and Nail Cream

Now this is a more recent addiction; my lovely boyfriend took me to Paris for a weekend a couple weeks ago and waited patiently while I went skin care crazy in the pharmacies, I fell in love with the Sanoflore brand and I'm a complete sucker for anything with honey so when I saw this I had to give it a try! I swear this is the hand cream of the gods; it is so moisturizing, has an incredible scent that isn't overpowering but lingers on for hours. My co-workers have dubbed it "hand crack" because I use it non-stop and won't stop talking about how amazing it is, seriously, if you can get your little hands on some, DO IT, you'll thank me later. On another note; if you're in France, walk into a pharmacy and ask for help, the ladies that work there know their products inside and out and will help you find things you didn't even know you needed. I was trying to explain this to the customs officer in London when he saw €300 worth of skin care from a two day trip...

Now on to a quick note about what's been keeping my tresses happy this month...

While in London I was in Boots on one of many shopping trips and saw the Tangle Teezer I've heard so much about and decided to give it a go, let's just say this thing is a miracle worker. I am able to brush my damaged, fragile hair wet  without any breakage and it seems to just slide through the knots effortlessly which has made brushing my hair enjoyable as opposed to bracing myself for the battle of the scalp that I've come to associate brushing my hair with for the last two decades.

The other favourite is something you'll recognize from here which is the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse which I'm sure you're sick of hearing me talk about by now so let me just say this - put a couple drops in your palms and run it through wet hair, or use it to finish styling your hair to tame fly aways and make dry crispy ends looks so much healthier. Give it a go and let me know what you think in the comments below!

And finally for a couple of my staple beauty picks as this is a beauty blog after all...

 Urban Decay Anti-Aging Eyeshadow Primer Potion

I've had the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion for ages now and I don't know why I wasn't using it! I bought it at Sephora a life time ago and it's just been sitting in my make up bag collecting dust. Well, at the end of December I decided to give it another chance and I've never looked back. I get so many compliments on my eye make up, especially how smooth and flawless some of the chunkier, sparkly shadows appear when worn over this, and hey, anything with anti-aging benefits is a winner in my book!

 MAC's Double Happiness Cremesheen Glass

Let me just start with saying that the co-worker that brought this into my life has forever changed my life, this is the perfect lipgloss; I know that's a bold statement to make. It looks great over a wide variety of lipsticks and liners but looks amazing on it's on when you don't have the time or energy to perfectly sculpt your lips. Go here and get yourself one now. Heck while you're at it get one of every cremesheen glass, they all rock. It's like lipstick and lip gloss had a baby and it's not a huge sticky disaster!

And now for a few odds and ends that I just couldn't get enough of this month...

 Brighton, England 

Forget Disneyland, Brighton is the happiest place on Earth! From cute independent boutiques, to thrift shops and kitschy little tea rooms; this little seaside town is a must do if you're in England. It's under an hour from London by train and makes for an amazing afternoon of wandering in and out of the historic lanes, shopping and games in the arcade on the pier. With all the fun you'll be having you'll probably work up quite the appetite, in which case I highly recommend heading to the Black Lion Pub for some food, with an extensive menu and lots of vegetarian friendly options this place makes for the perfect end to a perfect afternoon before you grab the train back to London.

A Quick List of Bits and Bobs You Can't Live Without:

•  Coffe Cake Tea from David's Tea - served with Stevia and a splash of Almond Milk and you'll feel like you're having dessert before breakfast!
• Downton Abbey - a British period drama that when paired with the tea listed above makes for the perfect lazy afternoon
• Intellectulights - hands down some of the best candles I've ever owned

Blog of the Month: Fleur de Force whom I absolutely adore and you can find her super cute vlogs here 

Have you tried any of these things? What did you think? What are some of your must haves? Let me know in the comments below!

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

After finding out the boyfriend had booked us a surprise trip to Paris in a couple weeks I fell into the black hole of googling French skin care; several items kept popping up on every blog I came across, ask anyone who knows me, I've been beyond excited to get my hot little hands on some of this liquid gold. Whilst counting down the days to Paris, and hording all the skincare trying to get my face ready for the streets of Paris, I was in Sephora picking up Ren's Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask(watch for a review in the next couple days!!) and whilst standing in line pursuing all the little goodies near the till my eyes fell onto a golden little bottle I've been dreaming of for weeks! Nuxe's Huile Prodigieuse was just sitting there calling my name!

As soon as I got into my car I cracked the seal, put a couple drops of heaven into my hand and ran my fingers through the ends of my parched hair! First I would like to mention the scent; its a really light aromatic smell with hints of floral without being overwhelming and obtrusive and yet has warm undertones, I can't quite place a finger on any specific familiar fragrances within it but the overall smell is a delicate inviting one. It has a light weight texture, not sticky and heavy like some other oils I've tried. Six hours after applying it to the ends of my hair I find my hair feels soft, still smells fantastic and is not at all greasy - although I would avoid applying it to the scalp as I feel it might get a bit greasy and unmanageable. So far I've put the oil in my hair, smoothed it all over my body after a bath and mixed it into my night cream. It absorbs into the skin quickly leaving your skin soft and dewy but not at all 
greasy. I found it instantly brightened my face and I'm excited to see what continued use has to offer.

Aside from how amazing this product smells and feels the ingredients are of 97.8% natural origin whish is definitely something to get excited about in the day and age when in comes to skin care with ingredients lists that barely fit on the packaging.

 I found my 50ml bottle at Sephora for $26, they also had the Huile Prodigieuse with shimmer dry oil that would look amazing in your hair and on your skin giving you that almost sun-kissed shimmer, I'll being going back for it shortly! If you haven't tried any french skin care yet this is an amazing introduction; it's simple, sophisticated and the results speak for themselves.