NAILS | The Neon Dotticure #CBBxManiMonday

I don't often get a lot of Mondays off and I have mixed feelings about it because on the one hand I can sit back and watch everyone else go crazy Monday morning, BUT that means my email inbox will be very full when I go back on Tuesday! I do work with a good management team so nothing will blow up or anything, but because I have now made it a point of NOT checking my work emails on days off, that means I still have to clean out my inbox since I only have 500MB of space in it (CRAZY!).

Today's CBB ManiMonday theme is "Neon" and though I don't own a whackload of neon shades, I own enough to create a few basic traditional summer manicures because even though I have always said that nail polish colours know no season, I do feel a bit out of place wearing a neon manicure in November. 

PR samples

SUNSCREEN | Stay Protected this Summer with Attitude Suncare! #SuncreenSunday

As I have gotten older, I have come to realize that looking youthful comes down to some very basic products and practices like staying hydrated, sleeping well, reducing the amount of stress in your life, a great skincare routine (my favourite part!) and staying out of the sun. Sure, a little bit of vitamin D is great, but ultimately wearing sunscreen has been my way of ensuring my skin looks its best! If I need some colour, bronzer and self tanner are my friends, but I will admit that I have come to embrace my natural skin tone and not bother most of the time.

In the midst of the green beauty movement, we now have some really amazing mineral sunscreens as options and after reviewing some bath and body products from vegan and EWG verified brand ATTITUDE last summer, I was excited to see a selection of suncare products from the brand at London Drugs back in June. I was most excited to see if this mineral sunscreen would be just as comfortable to wear as my "light as air" chemical suncreen favourites!

PR samples

KBEAUTY | It's Skin Sesame Street Elmo Mask Special Edition

I am so disappointed that I didn't know about this collection when it originally launched in the Fall of 2016. I have had a hard time finding blogs in English featuring Korean makeup and beauty products  so I have been relying heavily on visiting my favourite Korean etailers and Instagram to keep up. The It's Skin Sesame Street collaboration was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of It's Skin as well as it's launch in Singapore and not only were these sheet masks released, but a whackload of other products which were so cute I am sure I would have bought them all! 

NAILS | Neurons Revisited

Six years ago, I was a crazy person and participated in the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge with two very dear nail blogging friends and did these neuron nails as inspired by the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I feel like my photography and nail art skills have improved in the last couple of years (and hopefully KEEP improving with every passing year!) and wanted to give neuron nail art another go for old time's sake. I don't know if this came out any better than before, but at least I didn't take my photo in the dark! Before I started using a ring light for nail photos, I used to take my photos RIGHT after I did my nails at night just in case I ruined the design before I could take photos in daylight. I only wish I had gotten a ring light years ago and saved myself the stress!

Some PR samples featured

KBEAUTY | VDL Lumilayer Primer Fresh (I Get Why People Like It So Much!)

I am usually on top of my Korean beauty product game, but fell short when it came to new to Canada brand VDL ("Vivid Desires come to Life"). I had not heard of the now 6 year old brand until they came to Canada and after doing a bit of research, VDL is a brand for the "modern young woman pursuing her boldest dreams and desires". I would like to think that's me? Though there will be a standalone flagship boutique in Toronto this summer, VDL is now carried at The Face Shop at select locations in BC and I was graciously invited by the VDL team to get a rundown of the brand and its bestsellers at the Pacific Centre location!

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SKINCARE | GLAMGLOW My Little Pony (Pink) #Glittermask Gravitymud Firming Treatment

Earlier this year, I fell for the GLAMGLOW glitter train with the #Glittermask and then when the limited edition My Little Pony #Glittermasks came out I was literally trembling with which of the three colours to get! I had said in my previous review that I liked this mask mainly for skintertainment purposes though it did make my skin look brighter upon removal and that I wouldn't buy it again, but I didn't say I wouldn't buy it if it was a different colour! Ah, the joys of being a consumer.  

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NAILS | Finding Dory and Nemo #CBBxManiMonday

Happy Monday everyone! It is my half weekend today which means catching up with both blog and house things that never seem to end. Between the hours my husband and I work, the apartment is always a cross between clean and crazy as by the time we get home, we have zero energy to clean (I can't imagine being a parent!) and on our days off you want to do things you enjoy instead of clean. I once read that your place should always be a 10 minute clean away from company and though I tried so hard to keep to that, for the last 3 years, it has been near impossible.

Today's nails are titled as such because this manicure didn't work out as planned. The CBB theme we had going was "Sea Creatures" and though I had a few ideas in mind, I finally settled on Nemo and Dory. I loved both Finding Nemo and Finding Dory so nails in their honor seemed like a fun activity.

Some PR samples featured

MAKEUP | Misting, Setting and Refreshing with Pixi Beauty

Now, that we officially have our summer heat wave I have been misting whenever I get the chance and after spraying myself enough times, I feel like a bit of a "spray connoisseur" and we all know that not all mists are created equally so let's get to what I loved and maybe feel should be improved upon when it comes to these Pixi Beauty Mists! 

PR samples

KBEAUTY | Holika Holika Gold Caviar Foil Mask

This week has felt incredibly tiring mainly because I am not used to getting up at 6am for work and coming home 11 hours later. I am a night owl so even trying to force myself to sleep earlier means falling asleep at 1am. I had my new crown put in on Tuesday with no freezing (I just hate how long it takes for the effects to wear off) and trotted off to work right away so that I could have my day off later this week FULLY to myself. Today was a hellish day at work with a VERY rushed inventory that had all of us in at 7:45am until 7pm! We were all total zombies by the end and by the time I left work, I wanted to eat, sleep and vomit all at the same time. It was just a FANTASTIC feeling.

I know I have been taking my sheet mask game VERY seriously this last month and this week I have really found myself looking forward to the pamper time. Even though I have a schedule in place for which sheet masks to wear on each day in my bullet journal (for realz), I deviated from the plan this week because I REALLLLY wanted to try the Holika Holika Gold Foil Mask ($5 USD)!

HAIR | Matrix Professional Total Results Re-Bond Collection + Giveaway!

July is always an exciting month for my little blog because I tend to save a lot of my giveaways for the month of my birthday! It's just a month-long celebration that I think everyone should be a part of! I didn't think all of you would love the sheet mask giveaway as much as you did and it's definitely going to be something I will do again!

Other than skincare, I seem to spend a lot of time on my hair. The colour-treated aspect has turned me into a bit of hair product fiend and since my hair is so sensitive to product I can't use anything that will kill it which believe it or not, hasn't been hard to do! For the last month I have been using the Matrix Professional Total Results Re-Bond line and it has definitely been working wonders!

PR samples

NAILS | A Touch of Gold #CBBxManiMonday

I got VERY little done today with regards to the blog and ended up going to Homesense instead to get a pot and a new cutting board. I was so tired waking up and then I got obsessed with logging my sheet masks into an Excel spreadsheet which has taken 2 hours so far and I am nowhere near to being done yet. It's actually a super fun organizational product that will make a nice little mask database for me! This week's CBB theme is "Gold Accents" and because this was such an open-ended theme, I decided to give nail vinyls with a gradient another go after falling in love with the mermaid scale gradient I did a few weeks ago. 

PR samples

SKINCARE | belif Aqua Bomb Sheet Mask with Melfie

Ever since I went through my sheet masks last week and discovered that I had enough to mask a small army, I decided enough was enough. I needed to take my sheet masking MUCH more seriously! It looks like I mask every night, but I really only started masking 4-5 times a week last month when I realized that many of my sheet masks were close to expiring (I use mine well passed the expiration date with no issues). I also started keeping track of Empties last month which gave me even more motivation to devour my sheet masks and truly make them a part of my skincare routine. I used to think sheet masking was for the leisure life, but even just using gel eye patches in the mornings while getting ready has been helpful in mentally getting ready for the day in addition to some bonus skincare!

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EXPERIENCE | Visiting Steveston and My Much Cooler Momma!

As some of you know, I took a staycation last week to celebrate my birthday on Canada Day and do some major cleanup of the Beauty Room. I also had a crown done which made me very grumpy as even today my gums are still sore from the procedure. In addition to all of the things I HAD to do, I also decided it was time for my husband and I to take a day out in Steveston, Richmond which is where TV show "Once Upon a Time" and the new Power Rangers movie were shot (FYI!). I don't often visit Richmond as I despise driving in the area and by transit, Steveston is exactly 1.5 hours of Seabus, Skytrain and Bus. It's a trek, but we had one goal in mind and that was to finally visit my mom's store - Steve's Board & Apparel Shop! 

NAILS | Marimekko x Clinique Inspired #CBBxManiMonday

It feels like only yesterday that I was typing up my Canada Day ManiMonday and now we are FULL ON into July which seems ridiculously fast! Earlier this evening I had this sudden pang of "Oh God, holiday collections will be showcased in August!" The summer is just so short and I feel like I have so much planned and so little time to do it in -like finding the perfect lounge chair for the balcony or trying to find time to go to the beach! My body has not seen a bikini in 2 seasons now because I've just been either busy at work or busy at home. I am hoping that this year will be different!

This week's CBBxManiMonday theme is "Inspired by Packaging" and I immediately thought of the packaging from the Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss in the shade Juicy Apple* which is part of the Marimekko x Clinique collaboration!

PR samples, Affiliate links

LIPS | DECIEM Abnomaly Petrowhat? Lip and Skin Ointment #CanadianBeautyMonth

Deciem is one of those companies that both scares and excites me because of its focus on innovation. There are constantly new products coming out as well as new formulations of existing products. I also get scared that products I have come to love will be swapped out for newer ones, but so far my heart hasn't been broken yet. While I am fully aware of the social media situation that has been happening with Brandon and Deciem, that is not what this post is about. I think their products are unique and refreshing so I will continue to use and feature them for anyone who is interested!

FAVOURITES | My Current Top 7 Lip Balms

I have forgotten how much fun it is to do round-ups! They are quite liberating and let's face it guys, do you REALLY want to read a WHOLE post about one little lip balm? Unless the lip balm is glittery, bubbles or changes colour, I dunno if I'd even be that interested in writing the damn post! Originally, I had just five lip balms to share with you, but I couldn't decide on just five. Since the beauty world likes odd numbers for favourites (hello numbers 1, 5, 11 or 13!) I have upped the number of favourite lip balms to lucky number seven!

Some PR samples featured

NAILS | Picture Polish Imperial Swatch

Now that I have been so focus on CBBxManiMondays, I haven't really gone back to just swatches of cool polishes that I have in my nail polish collection, but since I am on vacation I will spoil myself with doing my nails 3x in one week! I hesitated though because a big reason for my taking vacation is to massively clean and declutter the beauty room which has now bled over into the bedroom and living room. I just really want my life back so I'm slowing down a bit on accepting press samples and really working on blogging about what I think is interesting to me (and you!) and hasn't been talked about to death. You will notice that while I talk about brands, I don't talk about brands like Benefit, Too Faced or even Urban Decay even though I actively use their products. I figure you guys have seen swatches, reviews and enough talk about them that you don't need to hear more. Or do you? Anyway, I digress so let's get back to the matter at "hand" - the polish!

SKINCARE | Plant Powered Graydon Skincare #CanadianBeautyMonth

I like detailed skincare routines because I like trying new things in addition to the basic skincare ABCs of: cleaner, toner, serum and moisturizer, but there is something refreshing about no nonsense skincare where the ingredients are minimal, clean and effective. Graydon was one of those sexy, minimalist green skincare brands that had been on my radar to try last year, but skincare is now one of those things that I am careful about purchasing because I don't want it to go bad before I have gotten to it! Especially with green beauty, preservatives are at a low so they are really best used fresh. When Graydon reached out to me a few months ago to let me try a few things, I was for one, thrilled and two, selective about what I chose as I wanted the items to be things that I could build an actual routine around. After 7 weeks of use, I am not surprised that the brand and products lived up to my expectations and have gotten me interested in trying MUCH more!

PR samples

SKINCARE | Nannette de Gaspe Restorative Techstile Masque for the Eyes #CanadianBeautyMonth

I know these are such a luxurious purchase, but I seriously get such a kick out of these Nannette de Gaspe dry sheet masks! There aren't a large number of reviews on these masks other than magazine reviews, which let's face it, will never really list the cons of a product so slowly but surely, you will have reviews of each mask that come for every part of the body (I'm all about the ass, so the TUSH one should be coming soon!). So far we have done the face (review), mouth (review) and now we have les yeux or the EYES!  

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NAILS | Canada Day #CBBxManiMonday

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday! I had a pretty chill day starting off with my birthday coffee from Starbucks, getting my 35 Sheet Mask Giveaway going and then preparing for birthday dinner with my mom and sister. I am also in vacation this week which really isn't going to be all that relaxing considering I decided to take some time off just to organize the beauty room and go through PR things that are so old now that it's not worth blogging about them. I have shown you guys the beauty room before and right now it's spilling over to our living room and bedroom which my husband is NOT a fan of so I need to blog, get rid of shit, and slow down for the next month or two. Then again, holiday stuff has been sent to my door in August so...

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GIVEAWAY | Happy Birthday to Me! #35SheetMaskGiveaway

Today is my 35th birthday! The day where I officially say I am in my mid-30s and start moving closer to 40 and where every ache and pain actually COULD be something, but I'm also at a point in my life where I feel confident in what I have learned and who I have become. Sure, there will always need to be some improvements because that's just called living, but overall I don't feel the same uncertainty I did when I was in my 20s. I feel more settled in life and the things I'm not happy with, I feel more empowered to fix and be proactive about.

I have celebrated a total of 7 birthdays here and now for my 8th birthday it only seems fitting that I celebrate this semi-milestone with what I love most - sheet masks and giving them to a loyal Cosmetic Proof reader! I don't just have one, not two, not three, but a whopping 35 SHEET MASKS valued at $155 to give away so make sure to enter below on the Rafflecopter form and head to my Instagram page for bonus entries!