Top 10: Wishlist Items

I've had quite the busy weekend so today's post might be a little bit different from the norm; instead of reviewing products I've tried I'm going to share with you my top 10 items I would purchase if I had an unlimited budget, they shipped to Canada or other obstacles that keep them from within my reach didn't exist. This is totally a shopping list as well FYI as I will most likely cave and buy these things as funds become available.

1. Emma Hardie Amazing Face Cleansing Balm

I have seen so many bloggers talk about how amazing this stuff is and I've been dying to try it; you can get it here for $59.50 with free international shipping so it's not a budget breaker and it's definitely something I will be trying in the very near future but I've got to work my way through some of the cleansers I've already got in my skin care cupboard, there's just no more room for anything new! 

2. Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules

With a price point of $121.50 here and no shipping to Canada this fragrance seems determined to elude me! I am a bit of a perfume hoarder, I'll admit it. I've loved perfume since my mum bought me my first bottle of Calvin Klein's Obsession for Her (found here for $75 +$10 S&H) when I was 14 -it's still one of my favourite fragrances - and my collection has grown uncontrollably since. So when I heard of a perfume that blended my love of fragrance with science (also a total science nerd) I kind of freaked out and do what I do best, googled the shit out of it! 

"Escentric Molecules' Molecule 01 is created solely from the aroma-chemical Iso E Super, traditionally a perfume basenote that adds allure to a scent, which works as more of an effect than a fragrance. The scent has a subtle, velvety, woody note which will meld with your natural pheromones, vanish, then re-surface after some time, making it totally individual and personalised to the wearer. You will rarely smell this fragrance on yourself, Molecule 01 perfume is more about the effect it has on others."

UGH!!! I need this in my life clearly. I could write a Top 10: Wishlist Items on just fragrances alone I'm sure so for this particular fragrance to make the cut clearly I'm willing to sell a kidney or something to get my hands on this stuff.

3. Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist

A mineral water mist inspired by the first recorded perfume original created for the Queen of Hungary during the 14th century?! You heard me; a facial mist inspired by the first known perfume, need I say more? With orange blossom, rose and sage water this stuff smells divine and is supposed to make your skin look phenomenal but with a price point of $86 here I'm having a hard time convincing my budget I need to replace my $10 Avene Thermal Water Spray that I still enjoy. I'm saving this one for when I've had a particularly rough day and need some skin care retail therapy, because a fancy mist can't make you feel anything but special.

4. Costes Scented Candle

Scented candles are right up there with things I love and go through like they're water and when one has a review describing it as "Sexy, mysterious, sensual, addictive, vintage class, unique." It definitely grabs your attention; with notes of Black Musk, Bitter Orange Skin, Rum, Mahogany and Paprika this isn't your run of the mill scented candle. It is the signature scent of the Costes Hotel in Paris, France; if you haven't heard of this hotel follow the link to see how elegeant and refined it is, this scent captures the image of the hotel without a doubt. It can be found here for $93 with free international shipping.

5. Astrid & Miyu Secret Box Subscription

                                      Photo courtesy of: brushupandmakeup.blogspot.ca/

So Ipsy Glam Bags and Birchbox Supscriptions are pretty cool but as a gal that has issues picking out jewelry that I'll actually wear I love the look of the Astrid & Miyu subscription boxes. It's  £39 + FREE UK & EU Delivery for a subscription and they send you out a box with three handpicked pieces of jewelry that were chosen for you based off a style survey you complete when you sign up and you get a box three times a year. They currently only ship to the UK and the EU but if you're lucky enough to live there you can find out more here.

6. Therapie Himalyan Detox Salts

"A blissful cocktail of therapeutic Himalayan mineral salts, powdered Amethyst & essential oils of Lemongrass, Juniper & Geranium; these pink crystals work to balance pH levels & positive/negative ions, to help the body establish equilibrium. The Amethyst has a high mineral content, to heal & clarify problematic skin whilst counteracting the electro-magnetic energy we absorb from modern day gizmos. Add to this blood purifying & anti-inflammatory properties & discover that heaven is a bath soak." Enough said. You can find them here for $69.

  7. Oskia Rose De Mai Massage Candle

We've already established I love scented candles and who doesn't love a massage? While $64 for a candle does seem pretty steep it's a wonderfully scented candle that turns into a nourishing hydrating body oil, seems pretty rad to me. Even if you don't have someone to give you a good old fashion back rub sometimes just massaging in a nice rich oil to your dry skin is enough to make you feel like a million bucks. This can be found here. 

8. Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil

I have so many issues falling asleep at night there's not enough sheep in the world for me to count. I've seen numerous people talking about this and how they're nearly passing out in their bath tubs they're so relaxed, combine that with how luxurious a bath oil feels I need to give this a try! It can be found here for $73.

9. Cattier MASQUE ARGILE ROSE & MASQUE ARGILE JAUNE

I tried so hard to find these whilst in Paris (ask the boyfriend who I had trained to spot the green pharmacy crosses from a mile away) but could not find anywhere in store and can't seem to find anywhere online to order them. The pink clay mask is supposed to be amazing for sensitive skin and the yellow for dry, I have both of those and love clay masks only seems like a perfect fit! I now have someone in France willing to ship me anything I'm looking for so I may see if he can find these and I'll report back to you guys!

10. Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint

I am all about avoiding foundation now that I've got my skin to a place that I'm happy with it I want to show that bad boy off! So when I heard this mentioned in a couple YouTube videos my interest was peaked so I hopped on CultBeauty to see what they had to say... "A light, water-resistant foundation to unify skintone, a luminiser that re-creates the dewiness of 18 year old skin, SPF 20, anti-ageing anti-oxidents and a fragrance-free moisturiser to keep your face looking and feeling great all day, that also works on hyper-sensitive skins. " So what you're saying is I pretty much need this to live?! You can find it for $55 here.

These are some of the things I've been lusting after for the last little while, let me know what's on your wishlist, chances are I'll feel the need to add it onto my forever growing list! If you've tried some of these items or know where I can find them online (that'll ship to Canada - I swear we're not a postal vortex!) let me know.

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The Process: Night Time Skincare Routine

It should come as no shock to you by now that my evening skin care routine is more than just a simple two step cleanse and moisturize; it is a bit of a ritual for me. I love the process of thoroughly cleansing and hydrating my skin before bed and I'm not just talking about my face, I moisturize right down to my toes before climbing into bed. While the products I use are constantly changing here is a look at what I'm using right now, some products I've been using for months others I've just added into the routine in the last couple weeks.

The Process:

Step 1: Shu Uemura Anti-Oxi Skin Refining Anti-Dullness Cleansing Oil I've been using cleansing oils as a gentle way to remove my make up at night for several months now but I stumbled upon this particular one at Sephora a couple weeks ago and snagged a sample. I've been using it daily for about a week now and when my sample ran out last night I knew I'd have to splurge and buy one. I say splurge but it's only $44 so it's actually quite economically priced. With dry hands and a dry face take 3-4 pumps of the oil and gently smooth it over your face, wet face to emulsify oil and gently scrub away your make up and then rinse! This one is great because not only does it smell amazing but it contains Moringa and Green Tea extracts to remove environmental pollutants from your skin and promote a bright clear complexion. 

Step 2: Bioderma Micellar Solution I bought into all the hype of this product while I was over in the UK and I now understand why it's such a cult favourite because I've used it every single day for the last three months and can't imagine my life without it. A little too dramatic? Maybe, but this stuff is the bomb! I use it mainly as the second step of my evening routine to make sure that if I missed any make up the first time around it's gone now, but when I used to work at the bar and get home at 4am exhausted I really didn't feel like scrubbing my face so I'd splash some on a cotton pad and lay in bed and remove my make up as I was already on my way to sleep, not the greatest I know but at least it's better than nothing! I also love that they have a sensitive skin line because my dry skin freaks out with anything too abrasive.

Step 3: MAC's Lightful Marine Bright Cleanser Now that all that gunk is off my face I can properly cleanse it. I love this cleanser and have for a while now, I mentioned it in my January Favourite's post so I won't go too much into it here, but I'm still in love and you can click the link above to find out why!

Step 4: Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray I discovered this during my pre-Paris french skin care googling spree and managed to find it here at home and it's quickly become a staple; I have a large can on my vanity and small ones in my gym bag and purse. I took this with me when I flew and it was a great refresher during my 9 hour plane ride, I also keep one stashed in my gym bag to refresh my skin after a heavy lifting session. I use this morning and night during my skin care routine because somewhere along the lines I once heard someone say your creams absorb better when your skin is damp, whether or not that's true it feels great and my super dry skin loves it!

Step 5: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate This is one of the newer additions to my nightly routine, I was looking for a serum and saw this particular one pop up in quite a few blogs. I went into the Kiehl's store to take a better look at it and the girls there were beyond helpful. Telling me all about this specific product, offered me a couple of samples to try it first (it should be noted as you only use 3 drops a night one sample pack will last you like two weeks!!) to make sure my sensitive skin didn't freak out. After the first night I woke up in the morning and I'd couldn't believe what a difference one night made; I mean seriously, there was bursts of light and a chorus of angels singing from my face, well not really but pretty damn close! 

Step 6: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado When I was chatting with the girls at Kiehl's they recommended giving the Midnight Recovery Serum a couple minutes to sink in before applying your night time face cream so in the meantime I like to dot on my eye cream. I was using L'Occitane En Provence's Imortelle Precious Eye Balm and quite liked it as it didn't irritate my sensitive eye but it wasn't quite as hydrating as I'd like so when I finished my tub the other day I figured I'd try something new for my scaly eyelids (gross right?!). I've only got a little sample of this Avocado eye cream right now and this is night two of using it and I quite enjoy it so far, but a few tips from the girls at Kiehl's on application: 1. only use a very small amount. 2. Warm it up between two fingers before applying. 3. Lightly pat it onto your ocular bone, don't rub it it! I like this cream because it's a nice thick texture that absorbs well, I'll keep you posted on whether or not it fixes my crocodile eyes.

Step 7: Bath and Body Works Lavender Chamomile Sleep Aromatherapy Body Lotion After my face is taken care of I make sure to slather a decent amount of this on the rest of my body to keep it hydrated over night, I also find the scent quite relaxing which helps my restless mind calm down and get ready for bed.

Step 8:NUXE Reve De Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream (Night) So you've listened to me sing the praises of the Nuxe Reve De Miel lip balm for ages (totally not done singing them yet!) and I tried the day cream and loved it but was unable to find the night cream anywhere in Canada (until recently YAY BAY! Thanks for having my dry prairie girl's back this winter, see link above to order yours!) so I stocked up while in France and it's amazing! I'm having a hard time putting it away to try out some of the other night creams I bought. It is super moisturizing, not at all irritating and delivers a powerful punch of over night moisture.

Step 9:Reve De Miel Lip Balm Told you I wasn't done singing it's praises yet! Before bed I exfoliated with my DIY lip scrub that you can find the recipe to here and then apply a generous layer of lip balm. This stuff is seriously so good that when I wake up 8 hours later there's still some left keeping my lips soft!

Step 10: The Body Shop's Africa Honey and Beeswax Hand and Foot Butter and last but not least keeping my feet from becoming scaly monsters is Essie Button to the rescue with her recommendation of this amazing foot lotion. It's not pictured above because unfortunately I'm all out but will be running to the store to replenish my stocks soon!!!

Step 11: This one is a once a week treat for my dry skin. In place of step 8 I will apply a thin layer of Glam Glow's Thirsy Mud and leave it on overnight for some intense hydration. This stuff smells amazing, probably due to the fact it's packed full of raw honey, ginger root and coconut; it leaves my skin feeling super soft and looking great in the morning, I wish I could bathe in this stuff!

This may seem a bit excessive but I love my skin care and my skin has never looked so great in my life! I also love the ritual of it and find it a quite relaxing way to wind down before bed after a hectic day. What are some of your guys' favourite night time skin treats, let me know in the comments below!!

Monthly Favourites: February 2014

February; what an eventful month you've been! My boyfriend has moved to the States, which while not as close as I would like at least we're on the same continent now! I got a wee little promotion at work which is why my schedule has become easier to stick to the two a week posting schedule and my sister hosted the most badass DIY Harry Potter Birthday party for my nephew that turned 8; I helped out and was referred to as Mrs. Professor Snape all afternoon which I wasn't too upset by. You can see pictures of my sisters handiwork below. And yes, that is me teaching a spells class to a room full of kids...

Now on to the beauty!!

Skincare

February was a month of discovering new favourites and falling in love with old ones all over again!

Delarom Revitality Cream: This little wonder was one of the items I stockpiled during my trip to Paris, I've been using it for about six weeks now and it's amazing, let's just say NO MORE FOREHEAD WRINKLE! If you'd like to know more about why I love this product so much you can read my recent review of it here.

Etude House Missing U Handcream in Peach Panda: Ok, let's be real here, I only bought this hand cream because of how adorable the packaging is, but can you blame me?! Look at how cute it is!!! The cream itself was alright, great scent and doesn't leave your hands with a greasy residue but not nearly moisturizing enough if you have scaly dry hands like me. So why then did I love it so much? Because of the way the packaging is designed you can easily refill the panda when you've used up all the cream, so once I was out of the hand cream from Etude House I cleaned it out and refilled it with the Body Shop's Vineyard Peach Body Butter.

Clarisonic: I've had my Clarisonic Mia for about a year now and I love it. I know some people that use them daily whenever they cleanse their skin but my sensitive little skin just can't take that. When it was oilier and more acne prone that's exactly what I used to do and it worked wonders for me, but when my skin made the massive switch from oily and acne prone to dry and sensitive using it that much caused me to break out like crazy, so I stopped using. This month I reintroduced it to my skin care regime, only using it 2-3 times a week, when my skin was feeling dull or I had a lot of make up on and I just wanted to feel like my skin could breath again and I'm really happy I kept it around instead of giving into the urge to toss it when my face started to freak out; some times less really is more!

Hair Care

Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Overnight Ultimate Hair Healer: Fleur had mentioned this product in one of her favourites videos so when I was in London I had to pick it up and give it a go; it is truly worthy of the name Ultimate Hair Healer! The last night before my weekly shampoo I coat my hair in this and then throw it up into a bun; first let me point out that there is no messy residue left on your pillow from this which is awesome and after shampooing and conditioning as usual in the morning my hair was so unbelievably soft and shiny. When this runs out I'm going to have to get one of my friends in the UK to hit up Boots for me!

Charles Worthington Strength and Repair Pro-Heat Repair Milk: I picked this up at the same time as the overnight mask above because Boots had them on offer and I love this stuff! It works as a heat protectant for blow drying and straightening so you don't need to use two products- it leaves your hair super shiny and soft and I found it also gave a little added volume to my limp locks. I haven't been able to find anywhere online where I can get the Charles Worthington Spa at Home collection so if you know let me know in the comments below!

Difiaba Luminessence Shine Mist in Hibiscus Formula:  I bought a whole bunch of stuff from this collection online (ie. eBay) about a year ago and absolutely loved everything except for this, to me it was a let down, I felt like it left my hair looking greasy instead of shiny. After watching a YouTube video, can't remember who, about dry shampoo and shine sprays I tried spraying it into my brush and then running the brush through my hair as opposed to spraying it directly into my hair and what a world of difference that makes! I absolutely adore this now, its a combination of aromatherapy and hair care in one. The smell is incredible but not so strong as to be offensive, everything else in the collection also has this wonderful scent and my hair always looks so shiny and healthy when I use it. It pairs great with dry shampoo to bring back some shine instead of the "I didn't wash my hair this morning, or yesterday morning and coated it in powder instead" dull hair look I was previously sporting.

Beauty

L'Oreal's Mega Volume Miss Manga Mascara:  I picked this up in Boots back in January because the mascara I'd been using was finished and this one was new and on offer; it boasts uncontrollable volume and it does not leave you disappointed. The wand has a 360 degree flexible cone brush that makes it super easy to apply to even the teensiest lower lashes.

Skin Food Good Afternoon BB Cream in Peach Green Tea: When BB Creams first became popular in North America I steered clear because I had super oily acne prone skin and was busy applying full coverage mattifying foundation with a spackle, the thought of a more natural looking finish with a built in moisturizer was blasphemy to me. So when I started ordering Asian cosmetics and received billions of little samples of different BB Creams I figured maybe it was time to give them a try. I tried 12, yes 12, different samples and this one was my favourite; now that I have dry skin the moisturizing properties of a BB cream aren't up to par with what my skin needs so this one is nice in that the green tea provides oil control so I can layer over my normal cream without looking shiny and it gives great natural coverage.

MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish in Perfect Topping: I'm obsessed. Some days I feel like bathing in this and get a little carried away and suddenly what started out as a highlight has moved onto my collar bones and shoulders because I just can't be shimmery enough! This is a gorgeous rose gold colour that came out with the Fantasy of Flowers collection, I swatched it in a previous post that you can see here.

Random Bits and Bobs

Nigel the Dachshund Necklace from Cat-a-Cake Creations: I stumbled into a cute little boutique shop in Brighton and immediately fell in love with this necklace. I've previously owned two little dachshund and they're probably one of my favourite breeds and will always have a soft spot in my heart so when I saw this necklace I knew I needed it in my life, plus the cute little description that reads " Nigel is one cute little sausage dog looking for a loving home! He has 3 beautiful stars engraved on his back. He loves walks on the beach and dislikes Justin Beiber."stole my heart. While I was paying for the necklace I got a change to meet Nigel the cute little sausage the necklace was modeled after and I heard the heart warming story of how he was given as a 30th birthday gift to cheer up the designer who was a little upset about turning 30. You can find Nigel and many other cute designs here. That adorable little Jammie Dodgers necklace is next on my list!

Tea of the Month:  I was going to give it to Wanderlust Green Tea by Yumchaa Tea but since I already mentioned it in my What's in My Bag post I thought that I would give it to Choconut Oolong by David's Tea because it's like dessert in a cup and I've been indulging all month long!

Blog of the Month: She's quickly become one of my favourite blogger/vloggers, could it be that it's because she's a Canadian living in England with fantastic taste in beauty and skin care.... most likely. That or because she's freaking adorable. Check out Essiebutton here and on YouTube here.

Let me know what you guys were loving this month in the comments below!

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.