HOLIDAY | Shu Uemura x La Maison du Chocolat Collection

Though the Super Mario collaboration is still my favourite Shu Uemura collection, La Maison du Chocolat checks in at a pretty close second because their chocolates are SO DAMN GOOD! I am lactose-intolerant and I will eat like 10 of them without a care in the world and they don't even make me feel sick! This year's holiday collection is incredibly on point with the season of MANY chocolates (probably 200 Lindt balls and counting) and as someone who considers chocolate a food group, applying my eyeshadow from a chocolate bar palette and wearing a lipstick that smells like chocolate gets me excited to just EAT MORE CHOCOLATE!

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NAILS | Happy New Year's Eve! #CBBxManiMonday

Just like that, it is NYE and the last day of 2018. I had a decent time in 2018 and though I try not to be too sentimental about looking back, but I have overall positive feelings about 2018 and am thankful for it! Each year seems to fly by so quickly and I always wish I could have accomplished more, but such is life. One thing that I have been so happy about is having three lovely bloggers join me for #ManiMondays since Spring this year! These girls are just as crazy about nail polish and more importantly, we never let the team down. I think there have only been a handful of Mondays this year that we all didn't have our "nails on" so for me personally, I love being held accountable even if it's just for something like #ManiMondays.

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KBEAUTY | Papa Recipe Bombee Rose Gold Honey Mask #MerryMaskmas

I feel like I talk about Papa Recipe a lot and though I may not do it here on the blog, I often use my Papa Recipe Bombee Honey Mask when I need a recharge, recommend this mask 100% of the time whenever people ask me "What sheet masks do you recommend?" and have just purchased another 10 of these masks during the YesStyle Boxing Day Sale! Needless to say, my eyes were truly opened when I first tried this mask two years ago and when I read my review now, I feel like I am a little wiser after having tried just over 200 sheet masks this year! I *thought* I sheet-masked a lot two years ago, but if you had told me I would be doing it almost everyday now in addition to having done it for 100 days straight, I would have told you to GTFO!

Gifted at Cosmoprof North America from Papa Recipe

MAKEUP | Avon Iconic Lipsticks

The whole concept of the Avon lady knockin' on your front door was really how I first perceived direct marketing as a child. The thought of people coming to your door like Jehovah's Witnesses now strikes terror into the hearts of most, but back then it seemed so wholesome and convenient to have that one person who could help you with the perfect red lipstick or the perfect shade of posy pink. A couple of years ago, yours truly was an Avon consultant on the side because I wanted access to endless bottles of nail polish and though my main clients consisted of women in their 70s, whenever I would deliver their orders, they would often chat about how long they had used certain Avon products and what fond memories they had of Avon when they were younger and watching their own mothers buy from the "local Avon lady". Avon was a tradition in their households and this year's Iconic Lipsticks are inspired by just that - a rich heritage that began all the way back in 1886!

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KBEAUTY | Dr. Jart Hydration Lover Rubber Mask #MerryMaskmas

Dr. Jart has been SO HOT the last few years for first their BB Cream, which was the first product I ever tried from the brand, followed by the latest installment of sheet mask - the RUBBER MASK. When I think of rubber masks, I think of the messy modelling masks with the powder that you mix with water so for the longest time I assumed that's what these masks were. They were also not cheap at $15 a pop so I figured I would get to this mask in time, but when the Sephora VIB Rouge event rolled around, this was one of the few masks I had NOT purchased yet from Sephora (LOL) so not only did I buy Hydration Lover, but I also bought the limited edition Dr. Jart Best Of boxed set! Then I bought another one last week so needless to say, this review is going to be a positive one!

Purchased by me

HOLIDAY | Goodies from the Sephora Collection

MERRY CHRISTMAS! If you are a beauty lover, I am sure you have already shopped at Sephora three times over in the last month, but if you are still needing a few gift ideas, the Sephora Collection never disappoints and it is possible that I may have stocked up on a few of these for next year! It also may or may not have been the sheet masks LOL!

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NAILS | Let It Snow #CBBxManiMonday

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Some of you know that I work in luxury retail so these last two weeks have been VERY busy for me and our team hence the slowdown in blog output as I have been coming home late, falling asleep, waking up to shower and then going back to sleep. Life hasn't been all that exciting and to be honest I haven't had too much energy that last few days to even CARE about the pile of holiday material I haven't and probably will not talk about before the end of the year. There is no use in being sad though, so let's go ahead and just talk about these awesome snowflake nail vinyls that I used to create today's ManiMonday!

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SKINCARE | Bliss Hangover Fix Holographic Foil Sheet Mask #MerryMaskmas

Though I have many masks left to talk about this year and probably won't get through, I thought I'd chat today about a mask that seems fitting for the holidays as there will certainly be some late nights and celebratory drinking! The Bliss Hangover Fix Holographic Foil Sheet Mask claims to be a flexible foil mask that contours perfectly to the face to deliver one 30mL bottle of serum in a single treatment! This mask has probiotics in it (bifida ferment and lactococcus ferment lysate), pear extract and electrolytes to instantly cure and rebalance dull, dehydrated skin in the most visually appealing and creative way possible!  

Purchased by me

HOLIDAY | Urban Decay Elements Eyeshadow Palette with Makeup Look and Swatches

It's mid-December and you are FINALLY seeing a holiday makeup post from me! I feel like I have had my blinders on this year when it has come to reading holiday posts for fear of overspending because let's face it, Christmas has become a consumer occasion and my goal this year is to focus on the feelings behind the gifting and making sure I am helpful to clients and kind to my brothers and sisters in retail!

I haven't done a lot of looks and palette reviews this year as I have really enjoyed being makeup-free on my two days off each week so if I am going to play with a palette, it is DEFINITELY going to be one worth having and that is EXACTLY what is happening today! The newly released Urban Decay Elements Eyeshadow Palette is indeed a sight to behold if you love metallic shades!

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NAILS | Christmas Gradient Dotticure #CBBxManiMonday

I haven't done a dotticure since the beginning of October and I was just itching to do one again and though I had grander things planned for today's manicure, there was just too much to do and I didn't get a chance to start my manicure until 11pm which is when a dotticure is the ultimate solution! 

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KBEAUTY | AmorePacific Moisture Bound Intensive Serum Masque #100DaysofSheetMasks

Before we even get into the mask, let's start off this post by mentioning that THIS IS MY 2000th BLOG POST! Not that all of my posts are incredibly meaty, but well into my 7th year of blogging I have managed to stay relatively close to 20 posts a month from when I was still in school to now having a full time job and I have realized that as long as you keep talking about things that interest you whether they be the newest beauty releases, heart to hearts or endless sheet mask chatter, the content will never stop and never feel like work. It will always feel truly fun and I hope I will be able to write well into my menopausal years!

What's in store for this 2000th blog post? One of the luxurious masks from the 100 Days of Sheet Mask challenge - the AmorePacific Moisture Bound Intensive Serum Masque!

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BEAUTY TOOLS | Miniso x Pink Panther Makeup Sponges, Brushes and Puffs

Having a Miniso store so close to my work has made me a very loyal "client" of theirs as I often go there on my lunch to see what new sheet masks and beauty products they have. A large chunk of my sheet masks from brands like It's Skin, Papa Recipe and Mediheal have come from my trips to Miniso so needless to say, I LOVE this store. Earlier this year, Miniso officially partnered up with the Pink Panther for some SUPER cute beauty tools and even a sheet mask! A couple of months ago I came across these adorable makeup sponges and applicators and had to see how they measured up against the "big guys"!

Purchased by me

KBEAUTY | Ultru I'm Sorry for My Skin Black Mud Mask Tightening #100DaysofSheetMasks

BEST. CLAY. MASK. EVER. Ok, review done. We can all go home. All kidding aside though, this mask was such a surprise to me and I would not have given it a go until much later in my mask journey if wasn't for some prompting from YouTuber @sarireanna who is also a skincare addict like myself! I received the Ultru I'm Sorry for My Skin Black Mud Mask as a press sample from the June Beauteque Monthly Mask Box and thought to myself "Meh, it's clay so it'll be messy and drying for my skin". I was oh so wrong and now I have purchased two more because I am over the moon for the results!

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NAILS | Wintery Trees #CBBxManiMonday

This time of the month is what I think of as the "sweet spot" of Christmas where we still like the holiday music that is now playing in every store and there is still ample amounts of time to get things done and wrap up unfinished projects and goals before the year is out. Working in retail and especially the luxury retail sector means that reaching out to clients is the only name of the game until Dec.24th so I am waiting for the holidays to hit me like a ton of bricks around next week as it always does. Like on my wedding day, I am trying to stay "present" and calm so that I can think logically if a staff member or client has a problem as well as enjoy the season where clients shake your hands and wish you all the best for the New Year!

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KBEAUTY | Kocostar Tomato Sliced Mask #100DaysofSheetMasks

I do apologize if some of you are sick of seeing sheet mask after sheet mask. I don't know if some of you have noticed, but I try my best to never talk about the same beauty category back to back unless there is something reeeeeallly special going on and until now, I think I have only done two back to back sheet mask posts once or twice, but it's getting down to the wire and the end of 2018 and I still have so much good stuff to share! Oh, and if you haven't noticed, the amount of holiday material on Cosmetic Proof this year will be fairly minimal because I'm just TIRED. The day job and playing catch up this year has been exhausting. What you WILL be seeing here is stuff I am truly, madly, deeply loving and feel is worth having 5 hours sleep to write about starting with tomatoes on my face!

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | For Beloved One Advanced Anti-Aging Ceramide Squalane Biocellulose Mask #100DaysofSheetMasks

Almost three years ago, I tried my very first biocellulose mask when Taiwanese brand For Beloved One made their Canadian debut in select T&T supermarkets. Sheet masks were just starting to catch on in the North American market (of course nothing is REALLY cool until Sephora starts doing it right?), but biocellulose is like NOTHING else. First developed in Taiwan by For Beloved One, the actual mask itself is made of what we all keep referring to as "biocellulose fibers", but do YOU know where those fibers come from? Our lovely friends - bacteria! Specific strains of bacteria are able to ferment glucose and produce cellulose which is then purified and made into a mask! So, essentially bacterial poop! Don't let this freak you out though because biocellulose masks are not only biodegradeable, but have long been used in the medical industry for burn victims or very dry skin to seal in and enhance moisture uptake in the skin as biocellulose fibers exhibit very low toxicity. Whether you love the science behind biocellulose masks or not, once you wear one, there is no comparison to a cotton sheet mask!

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NAILS | Holly and Ivy #CBBxManiMonday

I have a very early morning so I'm going to try to keep this post as neat as possible, but from here on out, it's going to be holiday nail art and I will try to do more than just one a week like in the olden days. I am not the biggest fan of holiday nail art, but once a year it is fun to be have more focused themes and use up all the red, gold and green I have in my 2000 bottle nail polish collection! Today's mani is all about those exact colours with some simple holly and ivy that I somehow forgot how to draw midway through one of the nails so apologies for the one gimpy leaf.

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HAIR | Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo and Conditioner

In the blink of an eye, it is now December. One last month of 2018 and we are officially done! For me, I was quite excited about 2018 and need to go through my "Accomplishment Jar" to see what has happened this year because though I remember some notable things, the rest seems like a bit of a blur so I always like to go back and reflect on what I got up to throughout the year both in work, life and blogging just so I feel like I have accomplished SOMETHING. I have found the accomplishment jar to be a MUCH better strategy than the New Year's resolution one from a mental standpoint. Anyway, once again I have digressed and need to stop rambling so that we can get to my newest favourite haircare duo from new-to-my-hair brand - Giovanni!  

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