BEAUTY | Get Lips as Smooth as Silk with the Dior Lip Sugar Scrub and Lip Glow

I never knew the importance of lip TLC until the matte lipstick entered my life. A matte lipstick is unforgiving and unrelenting when it comes to a dry lip. I even bought a SEPARATE child's toothbrush for daily lip exfoliation so that in the event I "needed" a matte lip, I would be ready. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of lip scrubs. I don't know why, but whenever there is a new flavour in brand "X" I need to have it so when I saw the Dior Lip Sugar Scrub* ($33.00 CDN) and Lip Glow* ($33.00 CDN) I just figured that one was a generic balm and the other a scrub-in-a-stick. I don't often say I like being wrong, but in this case it was pleasantly so!

MAKEUP LOOK | Glowing with Avon True Colors with Help From Makeup Artist Joffrey Dumas

It has been a long time since I have played around with Avon's colour cosmetics on the blog and this Spring season we have some top picks from makeup artist Joffrey Dumas. I will admit that I am not the best with keeping up with who's who on the MUA scene unless you are Charlotte Tilbury or Lisa Eldridge, but after watching Joffrey in action in a couple of makeup tutorials, he seems super sweet, charming and reminds me of a sexy version of Fez from That 70's Show with his accent!

To kick off Spring, Joffrey has chosen seven must-haves that are great staples in any makeup lover's collection that work for both day or night looks and is also a great introduction to Avon's makeup if you haven't had the pleasure of trying any items yet!

NAILS | Coral with a Touch of Grey #ManiMonday

I will keep this brief as I seem to be struggling with jet lag here in Montreal and though I have been enjoying going out and catching up with family, I have been feeling a bit nauseated and just gross at night for whatever reason. I am hoping I start feeling better soon because I am only here for the week and I feel like there is still a lot to do!

This month's CBB theme is "grey" and I was so fixated on green for St.Patrick's Day that I never even gave grey a chance. I have always loved the combination of grey and any bright colour so I thought maybe coral would be a nice little segue into Spring!

BEAUTY | 13 Travel Essentials

By the time this post goes up, I will be on flight to sunny, I mean snowy Montreal! Flying is hard for me as I get incredibly anxious whenever I have to travel so I tend to anticipate every possible need I may have including items for surviving the flight itself. I have MANY essentials, but have narrowed it down to a mere 13 items just to make this a post instead of a novel! 

NAILS | The Hungry Asian Brrr! Swatch

I have never had nail polish swatches "in the vault" EVER and then for some reason I found this one from one of my all-time favourite indie polish makers - The Hungry Asian! I picked up Brrr! from her Etsy shop a few years ago and keep meaning to swatch the 10 polishes I bought so long ago, but my inventory of untrieds just keeps growing with every season. During the Christmas holidays, I went on a bit of a bender and wore A LOT of nail polish in the space of 2 weeks. No alcohol involved, just polish because that's how I roll.

MAKEUP | Avon Oval Makeup Brushes

First there was applying makeup with squishy sponges which we are now ALL on board with and then last year I saw people applying foundation with what appeared to be large hair brushes. It looked like pure lunacy that this would be better than brushes and sponges, but after trying the new Avon Oval Makeup Brush Set* ($50.00 CDN), I can understand the hype as well as the pure fascination of how the hell these apply makeup! 

MAKEUP LOOK | Guerlain Spring Happy Rosy Glow and La Petite Robe Noire 2017 Collection

Spring is now officially here though I know in most parts of Canada, that could not be further from the truth with snowstorms and arctic weather still raging. Here in Vancouver, we have gone back to our roots of rain, but I have hope that we will see Spring soon as I am also tired of wearing rain boots with all of my work outfits. I think a lot of us have decidedly moved into Spring makeup looks and nothing says "Hai Spring!" like some Guerlain Spring goodness! 

NAILS | It's "Time" for Flowers

It is officially Spring today and what better way to start than with some flower nail art! Avon had sent me this cute Pretty Floral Stripe Watch* ($29.99 CDN) and the moment I saw it, I wanted to have my nails match it! The watch itself is super cute and fun with a silicone strap. I can totally see this being a fun accessory to pull together an outfit.

NAILS | Happy St.Patrick's Day with Revlon Parfumerie's Wintermint

I thought I was going to be spending the night at home this St.Patrick's Day because I'm old and tired, but the hubby decided that we should go out for dinner and so we did! We were both the only ones who wore green to work and a couple eating dinner across from us even complimented us as they left the restaurant! Last year, I did leprechaun nails (here), but got caught up with finishing a presentation for work so instead I went with a very straightforward manicure by bringing one of my FAVOURITE polishes from the vault - the Revlon Parfumerie Collection released 4 years ago. Not only was the pigmentation on these polishes fantastic, but when they dried, they smelled just like the colours they were named after! 

MAKEUP | Cougar Beauty 24HR Liquid Lipstick in Rioja and Mulberry Review with Swatches

Cougar Beauty is a new-to-me brand from the UK with a number of makeup, skincare, hair and teeth whitening products. I used to follow UK cosmetics quite closely when I first started blogging and I really don't know why I stopped. The UK pumps out some amazing products so I am getting back on the British bandwagon with these Cougar Beauty 24HR Liquid Lipsticks!

NAILS | Hello Spring Gradient! #ManiMonday

It is SO CLOSE to Spring officially making its way into our lives and yet most of Canada is still freezing. Vancouver has had snow in March and then the other day my windshield wiper broke off in the rain as it had been frozen before. Thankfully it was on the passenger side, but the blade flew off while I was on the highway and into the car beside me. I was so embarrassed!

Nothing signals the beginning of Spring like new colour cosmetics and Mary Kay Light, Reinvented collection is one of real beauty consisting of new spring-inspired lip oils, eyeshadow palettes and of course nail polishes! 

SKINCARE | Epic Naruko Multi Sheet Mask Review Complete with "Melfies"

Yesss, new skincare! I can never resist a new skincare brand especially an Asian one because most of the innovative new products that we have seen in North America have often been out on the Asian market for YEARS. While I am more familiar with Korean skincare, I was fascinated by a Taiwanese brand that is new to Canada called Naruko. Mainly plant-based in ingredients, Naruko has a number of different products that focus on brightening, tightening, plumping and even DNA repair. This brand felt very technical which I know not everyone enjoys, but I hope I can point out a few products that I really thought were outstanding and/or worth trying.

MAKEUP | Make Up For Ever Artist Acrylip Review with Lip Swatches in #201, #401 and #501

Make Up For Ever has released so many new and/or improved products over the last year that I feel like I will forever be talking about them! Though the Artist Shadows are still my favourite launch (I mean, I have not come across a shade I did not like and that didn't feel like butter), lipsticks have also been a massive launch this past year. Though I will be getting to the Artist Rouge lippies soon enough, I could not resist trying out the new Artist Acrylip Lip Paints* ($29.00 CDN) because I've always been a sucker for a good gloss and a cute tube!

NAILS | The Bright Matte Green Dotticure

The theme for the CBB this month is "Grey" which I will sneak in at some point with either nails or makeup, but March is also when St.Patrick's Day happens and when else am I going to find an excuse to use all of my green polishes?!

As you know, I have been working with Duri Cosmetics the last few months to bring you some nail art that has been a blast to create since zoning out with nail polish is my happy place. God help me if something were to happen to my painting hand. I should insure it like Taylor Swift does her legs! Anyway, Duri has given me plenty of artistic freedom and more importantly TIME to play with their polishes and come up with designs. They have a ton of colours in their inventory and when I said that green was going to be coming up for March, they graciously sent the loudest and brightest green polishes they had!

MAKEUP LOOK | "Office Chic" with Maison Jacynthe

I'm as office chic as I can be with my mermaid hair in today's Maison Jacynthe look! I work in a pretty conservative environment and deal with vendors who are pretty serious so in the last two months I have received comments of praise and wonderment that I have been "allowed" to get away with this. Honestly, you only live once and if you actually style "fun" coloured hair and not let it look grubby, you can wear a suit and look perfectly presentable. Obviously I don't wear blue or green lips to match as the hair is enough, but it has been interesting to see how people react!

NAILS | Green, Green and More Green! #ManiMonday

Two weeks ago, CND Canada had their seasonal event to launch their latest summer collection - Rhythm and Heat to get us thinking about sun, sand and the tropics. It's set to snow yet again in Vancouver so thoughts of warm weather might seem like cruel torture, but my favourite nail polish shades have always been the ones for summer. Neons, brights and holos are my soul and this collection has got me all hot and bothered!

SKINCARE | Acure The Magical Wonderfluff Overnight Hydrating Booster Mask

Last fall, I was introduced to the brand ACURE Organics and honestly I didn't know what made this brand so special. In the last two years, I have felt inundated with seemingly organic skincare that when I get the opportunity to try something new I really want to make sure it's something worth talking about!

ACURE is family-owned and operated having been founded by husband and wife team Kristy and Jon Guerra. In addition to having ingredients typical of green beauty products, a number of the ingredients in the more complex products are based on published clinical studies. I have never been a fan of throwing coconut oil and whatever else I can find in my kitchen into a jar and calling it "natural skincare" so I really appreciate when green beauty brands understand that consumers nowadays are looking for MORE. I found "MORE" with ACURE's The Magical Wonderfluff* - a mask that acts as a booster, moisturizer, your best friend or whatever else you need it to be.