NAILS | A Neon Gradient Means "HELLO SUMMER"! #ManiMonday

My weekend started yesterday and man was it a hot one! I am fine with a hot day, but add in humidity and I'm like "NO". I know that I shave said there are no specific seasons for nail polish shades, but I feel like neons are really a summer thing. It's something about how they look against a tan and just glow in sunshine!

BODY | Hair Removal with Avon Skin So Soft Fresh and Smooth

Oh, the woes of body hair. I am blessed to not have very much to begin with and if anything, as I have gotten older I am having to shave less as my hair growth is fairly slow. Ever since I got laser hair removal on my underarms and bikini area (review), I am making my way through hair removal products at a snail's pace, but now that it's summer and shorts and dresses are pretty much the norm I feel the need to be prepared at ALL TIMES. I realized the other day that I was headed out in a short skirt with legs that had been unshaven for weeks. No, you couldn't see anything from far away, but what if I got that spot on the bus where the sun shone like a beacon on my thighs?! Needless to say, I have definitely been more on the ball with my hairier bits ever since the weather took a turn for the mid 20s!

Avon packages are some of the most amusing ones because I honestly never know what might be in each one. One day it's a scratching board for my cat, the next candles and then of course beauty and fashion. Early last month, Avon launched a couple of new hair removal products from the Skin So Soft line called Fresh and Smooth that I had to try right away! As a teenager, I was always fascinated by hair removal and didn't shave my legs with an actual razor until I was 14. On a church missions trip to Mexico. Using water from a relatively clean toilet with two other girls, legs propped up on the edge of the bowl with one of the older girls teaching me how to angle my razor around my knees and shins. It was a real bonding moment that I will never forget.  

SKINCARE | Blend & Boost - Super Science-y Algorithm-Determined Customizable Skincare

Back in March, I received an invitation to attend the launch of fully customizable skincare brand called Blend & Boost. I have A LOT of skincare on my plate because I love it so much, but I have slowed down in what I choose to review and learn more about because frankly, innovation and novelty are getting harder to discover. I understand that it gets hard for brands to pump out new skincare products every season, but as much as I adore skincare, there really is a lot of "noise" that you need to filter through to find something different.

NAILS | Gradients, Glitter and Cats #ManiMonday

I had this feeling of total dread this morning not just because it was Monday, but because I KNEW my day was going to be an unproductive gong show based on a few things that had been brewing on Friday and Saturday. Do you guys ever dress the OPPOSITE of the way you feel? Today's nail art is exactly that. With all of the craziness of today, I would look down at my nails and see these cats with their paws raised, ready to pounce. It honestly just made me smile. Obviously, I adore cats, but there is something about having them on your nails that pushes that love to a whole other level!

FATHER'S DAY | The Perfect Shave Kit with Anthony

I'm allowed to squeeze in one more Father's Day related post right? In my Sephora days, I was always one of the reps that because of being blogger, I knew more about products than the brand reps themselves and had the opportunity to try most of the products people were curious about. When clients would come and ask for comparisons between eye creams of five different brands, there weren't many brand reps who could honestly say that they had tried all five! It made me a better seller and allowed me to really connect blogging to the real world. It's something I really miss and maybe one day I will get a chance to do that sort of thing again.

One brand that I ALWAYS showed to men or women shopping for men was Anthony as it was one of the few luxury beauty brands that catered to men. Skincare knows no boundaries when it comes to gender, but men often prefer succinct and straightforward packaging. If a women purchases a product for a man, she wants to get him something that he isn't afraid to use or ashamed to display on the bathroom counter. In addition to some serious skincare (vitamin C and anti-aging peptide serums) that is appealing to even ME, Anthony also has some really nice shave products with built-in skincare benefits. If you are trying to find both a useful AND luxurious gift for a man in your life, but can't quite decide what, the Anthony Perfect Shave Kit* ($77.00 CDN) features full sizes of all your shaving essentials. Again, these are not travel sizes, but full sizes of product giving this kit a value $121 if the products had been purchased separately!

FATHER'S DAY | Lush Treats for Dads, Hubs and Bros

I will be honest that I did not realize it was Father's Day this weekend until Friday night. I had taken these photos 3 weeks ago thinking I had oodles of time to talk about them and then bam, this week I worked four 10 hour days in a row and I found myself falling asleep the minute I came home! Thankfully, both my husband and I have been testing out these Lush Father's Day treats the last couple of weeks because let's face it, what's mine is his and what's his is mine!