SKINCARE | Getting “Fillumed” with Indeed Labs Volumizing Moisturizer and Serum! #IndeedLabsxCBB

Exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, Canadian skincare company Indeed Labs has been on my skin radar for about 2 years. From the straightforward, attractive packaging to incredibly reasonable pricing for what looks to be some cutting edge skin technology, getting “fillumed” sounded like an awesome skin weekend! With the goal to get rid of marketing jargon and focus on skincare that delivers nothing but real results at a cost-friendly price, Indeed Labs sounded like a company I NEEDED to get to know. With a couple of well-loved products in its assortment, like Nanoblur and the Hydraluron series, already it seemed like the right time to launch not just one, but TWO other must-have products! Launched this September, the fillume Volumizing Duo focuses on those whose main skin concerns are loss of volume and elasticity. The word “fillume” almost makes sense now that I know what the line is intended to do!   

Indeed Labs Fillume Nanoblur Reviews

BATH & BODY | Lush Love Fall 2015 with New Shower Jellies and Scrubs!

I think no matter how old I get, I will always be excited whenever new products from Lush get released. The sight of those black jars makes me want to hop into the shower or rediscover the joys of taking a bath. As Lush is our CBB Brand of the Month and I have yet to talk about Lush this month, even though I have been devouring their products like a madwoman, here are a couple of products I have been loving!

Lush Fall 2015 Review

SUBSCRIPTION BOX | November Vancity Box Review

After October's raving review (here) of the Vancity Box, I was more than delighted to be given the opportunity to review November's box as well especially now that we are into the holiday season trying to get gift ideas for our loved ones (or ourselves!). As I mentioned in my previous review, this is a purely artisanal subscription box that is filled with goods made by local companies and there were definitely some familiar favourites this month!


NAILS | Triple Coral Glitter Gradient #EssenceGelNails

The Essence Gel Nail Polish launch has been invigorating for me in many ways because I don't think I have done THIS many nail art posts in a very long time. For those that have been following me since I started blogging in 2011, I began as a nail art bloggers and would never have dreamed that I would be showing you all more than my talons. I probably take nail polish far too seriously, but I love pushing myself and trying new things. FOTDs are fun too, but sometimes I feel like there are only so many ways you can change your canvas aka your face. With nails, every time I take off my current design the slate truly is blank and can be transformed into ANYTHING.

I decided to finish of the month with a classic nail art design that is so fast and easy to do, but always looks amazing at the end - the glitter gradient!
 

LIPS | Arbonne Intelligence Lip Treatment Review

Every morning before I apply any lipstick or lipgloss, I either apply a very minimal layer of chapstick or primer to make sure that my lip colour has a smooth surface to "hug" and because they feel so soothed. Primers have become my lip pacifier of sorts and with how often I use them, adding in skincare benefits? Mega bonus. The latest in lipcare comes in the form of the Arbonne Intelligence Lip Treatment* ($46.00 CDN) which contains a proprietary ingredient called Phytinol - blend of alfalfa, chicory extracts and retinoids that work to smooth skin texture. This treatment not only serves as a lip primer, but also improves overall lip volume.
 

SKINCARE | Gettin' Oiled Up with New Lipidol Skincare Oils!

From the makers of the cult healing oil Bio-Oil, come six new skincare oils for the face and body from Lipidol! We are now seeing how amazing oils are for the skin and that even oily skin types should embrace the fact that oils are good! The can both lift dirt and makeup from the skin and prevent stripping of the skin's natural oils. Lipidol combines this plus the healing aspect that Bio-Oil was so well-known for. Each skincare oil contains anti-flammatory ingredients like chamomile as well as essential oils shown to have functional skincare benefits. Sounds amazing, right? What's even more amazing is that nothing in the collection is more than $8.97. Crazy!


EVENT | Aveda Sessions #3 Botanical Therapy Treatment + GIVEAWAY!

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

After going ash blonde during my last Aveda Institute visit four weeks ago, I have since learned that even with cutting down my hair washing to twice a week and using purple hair products, blonde can lose its brightness fairly quickly. For my third session with Aveda, my appointment was with Advanced Grad, Tatiana, who greeted me with a huge smile as well as a lovely head of hair!

We chatted about what we felt my hair needed and in addition to a tone-up, I mentioned my hair was feeling excessively dry. Tatiana immediately recommended the Botanical Therapy Treatment (starting at $40 CDN)) that is only available in salons as each treatment is curated to your particular hair needs. I will start this post by saying I am completely sold on whatever magical properties this BTT contains! I swear that I now have magical fairy hair.


In addition to the BTT, I also got my blonde toned up and kept the ash blonde I had done last month. What I found absolutely amazing about the BTT was that unlike other conditioning treatments that last all of a few days, this treatment lasts EIGHT FREAKIN' WEEKS! The treatment itself is a proprietary mix of essential oils and what I refer to as Aveda Fair Dust which I'm sure is an incredibly concentrated mix of conditioning ingredients. It is sprayed on (see empty bottle above) and takes just FIVE minutes to work. It is then rinsed out and right away, my hair felt plump and thick.

I thought the feeling wouldn't last, but it has been almost a month and my hair feels almost like before I started colouring it! I can curl my hair with a flat iron without having to oil it up to give the iron something to glide on! The BTT seems to have formed a protective layer around each strand of hair preventing both moisture-loss and further external damage. It is truly amazing how weeks later, my hair is still benefitting from this treatment.



I can't keep this Aveda fun all to myself so as an early Christmas present, the Aveda Institute is offering the magical Botanical Therapy Treatment to one Cosmetic Proof reader!


Terms of the Giveaway

  • Valid for Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto Aveda Institute locations
  • Giveaway ends on November 30th, 2015 at 11:59pm
  • The winner will have 48 hours to reply once they are contacted
  • Do not follow only to unfollow (I have a VERY good memory!)

    GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!


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NAILS | Dotticure Time with #EssenceGelNails

I am having a blast with the new Essence Gel Nail Polishes and this month I am putting these polishes to the test to see how resilient they really are. As we speak, I have had the below dotticure on my nails since Friday night and there is very minimal chipping. The right hand has two chips and the left one. Though I don't work with rocks, I do use my hands a lot, sometimes in He-Man sort of ways so nail polish usually will start to really chip at this point in the week. My nails still look pretty fabulous and I am totally feeling this dotticure!


MAKEUP LOOK | Fall Freshness with Guerlain KissKiss RoseLip and Rose Aux Joues Tendre Blush Review & Swatches

I absolutely love the inspiration behind this season's Guerlain Bloom of Rose Collection as it revolves around a 19th century discovery of a liquid tint that was gently dabbed onto the lips and cheeks. In 1918, Guerlain launched Roselip, which was the first solid lip colour to be sold in a jar and now the story continues with a collection that embodies natural shades to maintain a beautiful healthy glow - just like a rose. To pull away from all of the smoky Fall eyes I've been doing, I decided to channel the fresh faced makeup looks from Korea using the new KissKiss RoseLip Hydrating & Plumping Tinted Lip Balm* ($41.00 CDN) and Rose Aux Joues Tender Blush* ($57.00 CDN).


FRAGRANCE | SO…? COUTURE ft. SO…? PARIS, SO…? LONDON, SO…? NYC & SO…? RIO EDT

If you love fragrances, whether it'd be for the bottles or for the scent, you can understand how hard it is to choose JUST ONE sometimes especially when there is a collection to be had! What I love about So...Fragrance? is that you can indeed have them all because of how incredibly affordable the fragrances are. I found a few favourites in my previous reviews, but with the release of the new So...? Couture range I may have to make room amongst my 80 displayed fragrance bottles for: So...Paris?* (50mL/$9.99 CDN each)So...London?*So...NYC?* and So...Rio?*    



MAKEUP | SEPHORA Collection Ultimate Oil in Gel Lipstick Remover Review

A long-wearing lipstick is one the first things we all want, but one of the caveats is always "How many centuries is it going to take to remove this bad boy?" I've tried lip scrubs which can hurt if you are incredibly gungho, oil-based makeup removers which work, but can leave your lips tasting funny and makeup wipes, which can both leave a funny taste and make my lips burn. In my desperation for trying something new, I picked up the SEPHORA Ultimate Oil in Gel Lipstick Remover (15mL/$8.00 CDN) as it was fairly inexpensive for a Sephora product and I hoped the gel would reduce the amount of irritation I was experiencing on my lips.


SKINCARE | *Guest Post* Avon Clear Skin Blemish Clearing Overnight Treatment Review

As a beauty blogger, I want to review EVERYTHING that comes my way, but sometimes products just aren’t for my skin type or colouring. Normally, I would have just given these products away, but this time around I sought help from a beauty loving girlfriend of mine whom I met in my computer science classes and also has a biology background like myself. I trusted that she would give you guys the same unbiased reviews as well as a bit of sass. Everyone, please welcome the lovely Jessie!
Introduction 
In my teen years, I was lucky enough to not be plagued by any acne. But started in my early 20's, my forehead became a hotbed for acne. I tried various masks, exfoliators and spot treatments, but nothing seemed to be very effective. Until a month ago, I could count the number of days that I had no acne on one hand. So what changed this past month? I started using the Avon Blemish Clearing Overnight Treatment*! Before I pronounce it the greatest $6.49 CDN you will ever spend for blemish-free skin, let's look at how I got there.


NAILS | "Living in the Green" with the *NEW* Essence Cosmetics Gel Nail Polishes

I have always been a fan of the quality of Essence Cosmetics nail polishes considering the "hefty" price tag of $2 per bottle! I've never had a single qualm regarding the formula so I couldn't imagine how much better it could really get! How wrong I was! Essence has just stepped up their nail game by reformulating their polishes to give extra shine and durability with the new Gel Nail Polishes! The shine was apparent within the first coat and a part of me felt tempted to go wild and NOT even bother with a top coat because the nail polish finish was just so damn shiny.  


NAILS | Mary Kay Fall Nail Lacquer in Polished Pearls and Berry Stylish

It has been a long time since I have just swatched for you all, but never fear, there is also some failed nail art at the bottom that I am DETERMINED to get perfect, but decided to share how this attempt went! In addition to some city chic eye colours from Mary Kay (here) and making everyone in your house smell amazing (here), your nails are also about to join the fun with three new limited edition nail lacquer shades in: Polished Pearls* ($10.00 CDN each), Berry Stylish* an Gallery Grey*.

Polished Pearls is not my favourite type of nail polish finish as I prefer the smooth finish of a creme as opposed to a pearl. Nevertheless, two coats and opacity was reached!


HAIR | Lisap Ultimate Straight Fluid & Moisture Rich Smoothing Mask Review

I've been fighting frizz since 1995 which is also when puberty hit so I blame the hormones. My hair is quite coarse naturally and without any help, I feel like there is a constant halo of frizz hovering just above my actual hair. I think of it as my own personal ozone layer so when someone tells me that there is a product that will tame frizz without loss of volume AND contains botanicals that are GOOD for my hair, I say okay! Let's get it on!

Lisap is based and manufactured in Milan, Italy with 60 years of haircare experience. When it comes to nice hair, I feel like the Italians always have such shiny, thick heads of hair so I feel I can trust them. Lisap has an extensive product line, but as my concern was getting frizz-free and smooth hair, I decided to stick with keeping my hair hydrated with Lisap's ULTIMATE Collection. Formulated with a "Kerasil complex", hydrolyzed keratin and ceramide A2, hair is strengthened leaving it silky and under control. We shall see!


BATH & BODY | Experience Fall with Mary Kay's Limited Edition Cityscape Collection

This Fall, Mary Kay released a number of limited edition bath and body products that not only looked chic and cool to display in my shower and dresser, but was totally up my alley in terms of scent. The fragrances this season were inspired by the Phantomia Orchid which I can only assume is incredibly sophisticated and elegant. Yes, a flower can be all that!


FASHION | JORD Cora Automatic Watch in Koa and Rose Gold Review

For the last year, we've seen certain watch brands grace the Instagram and blog accounts of our favourite fashion and lifestyle bloggers and though I am not a fashion blogger I do love clothes and accessories in addition to beauty products. For those of you that remember, I have experience with fine jewelry and watches owning six quartz Swiss ETA movement watches of my own. One thing I could never find in quite the right style for my wrist was an automatic women's watch. There was a TAG women's Carrera I was eyeing, but it still wasn't quite right so why not try a style that is completely different? JORD Wood Watches is exactly that. With bracelets and casing made of handcrafted wood in only the finest grain, JORD offers both mens and womens watches in both quartz (battery-operated) and automatic (no battery) movements. With styles ranging from classic dial colours to more fashion forward colours like turquoise and purple, there is a little something for everyone.



NAILS | Remembrance Day Poppy Nail Art #Lest WeForget

This will not be a political post nor is this nail art meant to lower the importance of Remembrance Day or Veteran's Day if you're in the US. I have not done such a tribute in the last few years, but this year felt fitting as I am already hearing Christmas music in stores...seems kind of wrong and I'm not even all that patriotic! 


SKINCARE | Juice Beauty Green Apple Age Defy Solutions Kit Review

Ever since I was introduced to Trade Secrets as an ambassador last year, I have been perusing their online selection for their fairly extensive collection of natural skincare options. Juice Beauty is a California-based natural skincare company with a large number of their ingredients being certified organic. While there are still synthetic ingredients present in their products, there are of course no parabens, propylene or butylene glycol, petroleum, sulphates, PEGs, phthalates, TEA, DEA, GMOs, silicones (YES!), artificial dyes or fragrance. Out of all the Juice Beauty products, the Green Apple line was the one that suited by current skincare concerns, but I wasn't sure what to purchase. Thankfully there was a trial Green Apply Age Defy* ($51.40 CDN) kit that gave me the opportunity to dip my toe (face?) into the best of the Green Apple line.

MAKEUP LOOK | Falling in Love with Mary Kay's Eye Color Palette in Metro Modern with Swatches

One of my favourite things about every Mary Kay collection is the Eye Color Palettes because the shadows are buttery and deliciously pigmented. The colours are almost always beautifully coordinated for the season and can make any woman feel like she knows what's she's doing when it comes to putting together a cohesive eye look (see my past reviews here). For this Fall 2015 season, Mary Kay has put together a colour collection inspired by the metropolitan shades of a big city. This year, the Eye Color Palettes come in two shades: City Sophisticate* ($26.00 CDN) and Metro Modern* ($26.00 CDN). Since I have really been digging the smoky eye lately, I chose to showcase Metro Modern and who can say no to that gorgeous shimmery chocolate brown!



BEAUTY BOX | July Glossybox Review (Better Late Than Never?)

Call it OCD, but I need to go in order! The summer just sort of vanished and I was still in denial that cold weather was finally here until I was forced to take out my Aritzia winter coat (you all know that Talula one that is like a Vancouver rite of passage) and wear a wool scarf! July's Glossybox wasn't really a summer-themed one, but I found it to be somewhat disappointing as I wasn't too thrilled with the product assortment. Nevertheless, there was one shining star for me in this box which I will highlight with much excitement further down.

EVENT | Sears Beauty Event + GIVEAWAY!

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of being invited to the Sears Canada Beauty Event which in all honesty, was a bit of a surprise as we don't often hear about Sears too much on the beauty scene so I was interested to see what changes were coming! The closest Sears to me is the one at Capilano Mall in North Vancouver, which might be somewhat foreign to some of you as I had a couple of people (including my own husband) ask me where it was. It's a fairly chill mall, but one that I go to when I feel like shopping at my own pace and having more one on one service.

Tickets for the event were $10 with $2 of each ticket sale going towards Look Good Feel Better and the remaining $8 towards any cosmetic purchase made at the event. Though the event was from 12-9pm, I showed up just before the hors d'oeuvres arrived at around 3pm as I had a birthday dinner to attend afterwards so I got the opportunity to get a full tour of the beauty department as well as have a chat with the Sears GM.

NAILS | Nothing but Nude with OPI-Tiramisu for Two

Though I have the complete OPI Venice Collection to share with you, you all know that I have never been a fan of marathon swatch sessions. I applaud those who do because they are a TON of work! I did it once just with four shades and thought I was going to lose my mind! I thought I would kick off the collection withthe shade Tiramisu for Two* which is a light creamy nude that was shiny all on its own and took two coats for opacity. I then dotted on some OPI Infinite Shine - We're in Black* to give the manicure some a little extra chic.



The OPI Venice Collection is available now.

SKINCARE | Laneige Water Bank Serum Review #LovingLaneige

Starting now, I am going to make it a point to talk more about Korean cosmetics on Cosmetic Proof because I have a crap ton of stuff in my personal arsenal that I haven't had a chance to talk about and I have been using Korean beauty products for years! Created by Amore Pacific, the largest cosmetics company in South Korea, Laneige is practically a Korean beauty staple and is one of the more well-known brands in the North American market. Until now, Laneige was only available in select shops in Vancouver and more readily on Ebay and Korean cosmetics sites, but as of September Sephora Canada is now stocking Laneige including favourites like the Water Sleeping Mask!
 



MAKEUP LOOK | Lise Watier EYEvolution Eyeshadow Quartet Review with Swatches

I am the worst. I am about to talk about something that you cannot purchase anymore because I was too busy trying to squeeze in some Halloween looks for you all! I know that the Lise Watier EYEvolution collection has been featured a few times throughout the blogosphere months ago, but I only got to play with this collection in September and though that sounds like plenty of time, those of you who have day jobs, kids and such will know how time can just slip away! Nevertheless, Lise Watier always wows me when it comes to their lip and eye products, so today it is all about the limited edition EYEvolution Eyeshadow Quartet* ($37 CDN) in all its beauty!


FRAGRANCE | Memories of Orange Creamsicle with the Demeter Fragrance Library #CBBScentMemory

Last year, the CBB and the Demeter Fragrance Library made some beautiful music together with the Christmas Scent Memory collaboration (read all about my memory here) so you can imagine how excited we all were to work together once more. It isn't often that a beauty product allows you to do some introspection (I mean, when was the last time your eyeliner made you think about your relationship with your mother?). Ever since my first experience with Demeter fragrances, I sit on the edge of my seat wondering what they'll think of next! This year's scents brought me back to childhood as well as allowed me to make new "scent memories" by layering some scent memories from Demeter's own CEO!