Hits & Misses

When you're in the habit of trying new things you're bound to discover some real gems, but not without bumping into a couple of duds along the way; I'm always a sucker for recommendations from other bloggers and for the cute mini versions of popular products that you'll find when you're queuing to pay at the shops.

Photo courtesy of: www.soapandglory.com

Product Name: Soap and Glory Trick & Treatment Concealer

Love: I loved that the one colour took the guess work out of figuring out what colour to buy (although this could prove tricky for others no doubt) and that it had a full coverage but easily blendable formula.

Hate: The formula was quite dry for an under eye concealer, considering under eye skin tends to be a bit drier and delicate than the rest of the face, I found that after a couple of hours it wasn't just settling into fine lines but it was also flaking right off my face.

Overall Rating: Miss.

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads

Love: N/A

Hate: TMI WARNING! So I get really bad ingrown hairs in my bikini area, I'm talking really bad. Waxing is no fun, shaving is even worse and due to some tattoos laser is completely out of the question so when I heard great things about these I was so excited to have possibly found the solution to all my problems, alas that was not to be. I bought the smaller 10 to try them out and found they made absolutely no difference for me whatsoever, so for now I'm still on the hunt for a good in grown hairs solution, if you've got one let me know!

Overall Rating: Miss.

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Love: FINALLY! An under eye concealer that actually works for me! Full coverage and so creamy and hydrating it doesn't crease or flake, no one has asked if I'm tired since I've picked up this bad boy which is massively impressive thanks to some sketchy genetics.

Hate: I mean the $32 price tag is less than desirable but since it's taken me so long to find an under eye concealer that does the job, I'm not about to complain.

Overall Rating: Huge Hit!

Photo courtesy of: www.sephora.com

Product Name: Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder

Love: N/A

Hate:  So I went into Sephora looking for a new dry shampoo and the girls there were ranting and raving about the new Bumble and Bumble one and while the $31 price tag was significantly higher than the $8 I usually pay for my Batiste dry shampoo, I've loved everything of Bumble and Bumble's I've tried in the past so I figured I'd give it a try. It's the absolute worse. Fails as a dry shampoo - I started with just a little bit, did nothing, so I gradually added more and eventually wound up with a greasy mess full of powder. It added no volume, if anything it weighed my hair down, extremely unimpressed with this product.

Overall Rating: Massive Miss!

Photo courtesy of: www.firstaidbeauty.com

Product Name: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

Love: I've been putting off trying this for ages because I have so many hand creams and none of them seem to help my dry, itchy alligator hands, but I finally caved and bought this a couple weeks ago and I'm so in love! It's super hydrating without being greasy and has made the scaly rash on the backs of my hands disappear, thank god!

Hate: That I didn't try this sooner.

Overall Rating: Hit!

Photo courtesy of: www.ebay.com

Product Name: Tarte Maracuja Oil &Tarte Maracuja C-Brightner Eye Treatment

Love:  I picked up the mini set of these from Sephora because well, miniature and Tarte, need I say more? The Maracuja oil has since replaced my normal facial oil in the morning and I love it so much because it's super hydrating but sinks into the skin quickly so it doesn't affect the wear of your foundation.

Hate: Unfortunately the extreme amounts of Vitamin C in the C-Brighter Eye Treatment severely irritated my sensitive eyes so I can't attest to whether or not it really helps with dark circles but if you're a sensitive sort like me proceed with caution.

Overall Rating: I chucked the C-Brighter in the bin but went and bought the large Marajuca Oil, so a little hit and a little miss.

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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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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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