HOLIDAY | The Body Shop's 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar + GIVEAWAY!

This post is a collaboration with The Body Shop.

Oh God, oh God, it's my first holiday post of the year and I don't know how many of you are like me where you have an incredible love/hate relationship with Christmas. I LOVED it as a kid and though I never grew up with Santa (my parents were very pragmatic and told my sister and I right away who was doing the gift-giving!) my sister and I would sleep in front of the tree in sleeping bags and wake up at the crack of dawn to open gifts with our parents.

One thing that I always loved growing up were the chocolate advent calendars. I could never wait to eat just one chocolate each day and often reached Dec. 25th by Dec.10th, but honestly telling a kid to eat just one tiny piece of chocolate a day is ludicrous! The same rules apply when telling grown women to wait to open each day of the now popular beauty-themed advent calendars! This year The Body Shop is all about games so many of their holiday gift sets have little daily challenges in addition to the products themselves. The real bonus is that every gift set purchased goes towards helping the charity International Alert, which helps create a safe place for refugee children to play with the Peace Play Project.

MAKEUP | Shu Uemura Ambush Collection Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks with Lip Swatches

I feel like it has been a long time since I have played with makeup properly and though the Shu Uemura Ambush Collection was a summer release, I still find myself using the Rouge Unlimited lipstick shades because they are all quite easy to wear - even the matte orange!

NAILS | Inspired by Lip Balm #ManiMonday

It dawned on me the other day how cute the design was on the new EOS Visibly Soft Lip Balms and ever since Chickadvisor sent me these two little balls of delight to review, I have been captivated by their stripiness! I have been out of the nail art game for most of this month with the beginnings of the holiday season already kicking my ass and I have a feeling I am only going to be more tired as the weeks go by. I'm going to try and eat healthier for the month of December as it is a tough time to eat well as Christmas chocolate becomes a daily occurrence.

SKINCARE | Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser (But It's So Much More!)

Remember a long time ago when I said I would review my entire Tata Harper collection? Well, it has been almost a year since my last Tata Harper review so apologies for that! At this point, the brand has grown so much since I started using the products, but it is still one of those brands that not everyone has tried mainly due to the hefty price point. While I would never push anyone to purchase luxury green beauty, incorporating healthier skincare has done wonders for my skin so I hope it does for any of you as well!

My second favourite Tata Harper product (after the Resurfacing Mask) is the Regenerating Cleanser (125mL/$104 CDN)** because like the Resurfacing Mask, it is like the everything product. It is SO MUCH MORE than just a cleanser! Not only does it cleanse the skin, but acts as both a chemical and physical exfoliant using natural BHAs (willow bark extract) and pomegranate enzymes and perfectly round apricot seed powder. It can even be used as a mask when your skin is feeling congested as it contains pink clay from France! The first time I used it at Tata's Farm, the instant brightening effect and the citrus scent was intoxicating and I was grateful that it was good for daily use!

BATH & BODY | Avon "Fall for Moisture" A Box

It's getting to that time of the year where alligator legs and peeling cuticles are all the rage and hydration and moisture your best friends. Avon's Fall for Moisture A Box Collection* features body and hand care products that will ensure your skin never sees a dry patch ever again! 

KBEAUTY | OOZOO Bear Water Bang Hydrating Mask

I am always on the lookout for interesting sheet masks and amazingly enough, I have found a good chunk of them at my local Miniso! There is always something different and most recently I came across KBeauty company, The Oozoo. The letters are actually an acronym, but like a lot of Korean things that get translated into English, it doesn't make a lot of sense, BUT it's still fun to say. 

           

BATH & BODY | Avalon Organics Favourites + GIVEAWAY!

Some companies have been doing the green thing for awhile and are REALLY good at it, but when you first get introduced to a brand, it can be hard to know where to start when all of the products seem amazing. Avalon Organics are vegan (with the exception of four beeswax lip balms) and certified organic with their products being plant-based and soothing with essential oils and aromatherapy botanicals for specific skin types. I have found a couple of must-haves that are an absolute must-share and maybe perhaps we can give some of these products away? Hmm?

NAILS | Picture Polish Hercynia Swatch #ManiMonday

Hello, it's me. I feel like I have been really quiet on here, but I did give a bit of a warning on Instagram stories last week that I would be virtually MIA because of some work things that have pretty much left me having to nap when I get home from work. I get home from work around 7:30pm so it really isn't the best idea to nap, but I just feel like such a zombie. I have my weekend now which is proving to be busy (in a good way), but we can't miss out on ManiMonday, right? 

NAILS | Sexy, Sultry and Red with Maxus Nails

I don't often wear red polish on its own, but when I do, I make it count! A new-to-me-brand called Maxus Nails reached out to me recently and after having a look at what they were all about, I was excited to feature them here and of course wear their polishes! Created by Dasha Minina, Maxus polishes are 11-free with a formula that is built to strengthen nails. What this brand is very well-known for are its nail treatments, two of which I enjoyed using and will be talking about later, but for today let's just gaze at this beautiful juicy red creme of a polish!

BATH & BODY | The Ultimate Pamper Night In with The Body Shop Spa of the World

It's getting to that time of the year, when my brain starts to feel like it's on fire with things to do, people to see and of course the holiday season of work. I work in luxury retail so not only are people buying, but they are hopefully buying a lot since Q3 is singlehandedly the biggest quarter of the fiscal year. I am on the management side of the equation so not only do I need to be in great mental and physical shape but I need to be there for my staff as well so going into work with a good head on my shoulders is important. I am often rushing in the mornings so I try to take extra time at night to make sure I take care of myself whether it'd be with a great meal or treating myself to some bath and body TLC. Like most women, I love body products and I have most recently been enjoying a number of Spa of the World products from The Body Shop that I hope will calm your minds, smooth your skin and just make you feel 100% better!

NAILS | Mani "Meowday"

Having gone to preview the new CND Glacial Illusion Collection and gotten a manicure last week, I actually haven't done my nails MYSELF in almost 2 weeks so I was itching to get my hands on them again. I have recently suffered some major nail breaks which was partly the reason for my lack of nail art, but my babies are growing and hopefully they will be long enough for pretty nail art come December!

Today's manicure is piggybacking on the manicure I received last week using two coats of CND Vinylux Mystic Slate* as a base followed by one coat of the dark blue creme Winter Nights* both of which are from the new Glacial Illusion collection. The fun part was of course the cat design which was created using these cat cyclone nail vinyls from TwinkledT! These were created in collaboration with YouTuber Simplynailogical who we know loves her cats and holos. These vinyls were uber easy to use and as a finishing touch, I added a few silver glequins from Born Pretty to jazz things up. I waited a solid 15 minutes for things to dry as not to smear the kitties and applied the super shiny CND Weekly Top Coat.

The CND Glacial Illusion Collection is available now.

HAIR | ISA Professional Digital Titanium Flat Iron Hair Straightener

Ooh, it has been ages since I have reviewed a hair tool! I got my first flat iron in my first year of university back in 2001 and I remember being so amazed that there was something out there that was able to tame my coarse, frizzy hair. I don't know why my high school self never thought to look for a solution, but maybe it was because I felt embarrassed asking my parents for money to buy one. Once I started working, my relationship with flat irons began and after going through a number of relatively inexpensive ones (under $100), I started looking at salon-worthy ones since I was using a flat iron a couple of times a week. While the final result of most flat irons look relatively similar, there are small details during the actual ironing process that can make the styling experience much more efficient and pleasant with my number one issue being TIME. The ISA Professional Digital Titanium Flat Iron* ($129.00 CDN) has extra long plates which means that more hair can be straightened during a single pass = less styling time!

SKINCARE | *NEW* b.liv Age Eraser Youth Preserving Bio-Cellulose Mask

You guys know I love a good sheet mask and when you make it a bio-cellulose sheet mask, life is pretty much complete. While I had mainly positive things to say about my last b.liv sheet mask (here), the one thing that I didn't like was the tackiness of the essence that lingered for almost an hour. Tackiness is pretty common for MOST sheet masks, but it is still something my skin has not gotten used to. The neweset innovations from b.liv are a series of bio-cellulose masks aimed at: hydration, soothing and anti-aging with today's review being all about the b.liv Age Eraser Youth Preserving Bio-Cellulose Mask* ($35.00 USD)!

KOREAN BEAUTY | Wish Formula C450 Bubble Peeling Pad (The Chemical Peel for the BODY!)

I love a good chemical peel for the face and have always toyed with the idea of using peels for my body. I used to use the Philosophy Microdelivery Triple Acid Peel Pads for my face as well as my hands, elbows and knees. Basically the rougher areas of my body, but because these peel pads were so expensive (I believe they are close to $100), I didn't keep up beyond the one pack. Every week or so, I go down the rabbit hole of Korean beauty and about a year ago, I came across a company called Wish Formula that had some veeerrry "skin"-teresting products! I was especially interested in their peels and decided to place an order with Rose Rose Shop for the Body Bubble Peeling Pad as this was kind of a weird product which meant I had to buy it!  

NAILS | Mary Kay Fall Nail Lacquers #ManiMonday

I try hard not to do too many vampy looking manicures during the Fall season and I was grateful for October to kind of break up the monotony and give a bit of colour to the manicures I had planned, but that's not to say that I don't appreciate a good set of Fall purples like these limited edition lacquers from the Mary Kay Fall makeup collection!

MAKEUP | Rouge Dior Double Rouge Lipsticks with Lip Swatches

I love being curious about makeup products because the majority of the time, it's either the same products in different shades or textures or in new packaging. When I first started seeing photos of the Rouge Dior Double Rouge contour lipsticks I just didn't understand or know what to expect. The product blurb states that these limited edition beauties come in 8 shades and combine a matte finish outer ring with a metallic lipstick core that will give lips a subtle ombre look. This ombre look makes the lips appear more voluminous and sculpted. I have played around with Korean style ombre lips before and have dabbed a frosty eyeshadow in the middle of my lips maybe once, but to have a lipstick do it for me would be pretty cool! 

SKINCARE | Kalleis Cosmetics - Made in Italy and New to Canada!

It is pretty clear that I am a serious skincare lover and I was recently introduced to Italian brand, Kalleis, at the end of August and have been using a couple of their products for the last two months. Founded in 2008 in the city of Vicenza by Maria "Carla" Cattaneo and her husband Gianfranco Baldo, the word Kalleis comes from a blend  of the words "kalos" and "eleis" meaning "beautiful" and "olive". Extra virgin olive oil is at the heart of the formulations for each Kalleis product which historically was used to soothe and in combating the signs of aging.

While most of the ingredients used by Kalleis are plant-based, the brand does not shy away from technology and using what scientific innovations have emerged in the world of skincare to ensure that their products are effective as well. I have been using a couple of products over the last two months now and I think I have a pretty good idea of what has been working for me and hopefully some of you!