HOLIDAY | Sephora Collection Hits and Misses

Every holiday season Sephora releases their own themed collection (with a cute winter mascot) with this year being a frosted winter wonderland party featuring an active chubby little penguin. There were a lot of great value sets with my favourites always being the masks and advent calendars although this year I was both very excited and greatly disappointed and I think you will understand why!

Sephora Collection Holiday Collection Review
 PR samples

NAILS | Ringing in 2020 with the Pantone Colour of the Year! #CBBxManiMonday

I realize that I have featured a number of blue manicure this month which just goes to show how much I love blue, BUT today's blue manicure is in celebration of the Pantone colour of the year for 2020 - Classic Blue! Whether it's polish, eyeshadow or pen colour, I have always loved blue and though it's not exactly a casual colour to wear, I love wearing it on my nails because it's like I can still have a party on my nails and look professional everywhere else!  

Bio Sculpture Gemini Nail Polish in Havana Nights
 PR samples

SHEET MASK | Double Dare OMG! Red + Snail Mask

Merry Christmas all! I always debate whether to post anything on Christmas Day and for the couple of times I have, the next question is always what to post because by the 25th, we have been inundated with gift sets, holiday releases and gift guides since September! If I have learned anything over the last two years, it's that "when it doubt, throw on a sheet mask" which for today is bright red and jolly like Santa! It's not often that non-Korean brands impress me and I don't even know when I started looking into Los Angeles brand Double Dare, but once I saw realized the giant OMG! headbands and the red snail masks I had been seeing on Instagram were from this brand, I knew that both of these products would eventually make their way onto my head and face!

Double Dare OMG Red Snail Sheet Mask Review
 Purchased by me

NAILS | Santa Claus Might Not Be Coming' To Town? #CBBxManiMonday

I'm going to bring it up again - how the hell is it Dec.23rd?? How are we here now? I always feel like the Holidays creep up on me and I never have time to adjust and now that I have been LIVING it, I feel like it's going by really fast. Honestly, as much as this is a season to be joyful, I hate the fact that it's so busy everywhere you go. Malls, transit, supermarkets, the street you name it! My only safe haven is home so I secretly cannot wait for the silence that comes with January 1st. Whether it's because people are hung over or sleeping off a long night, I just look forward to the silence of the that first day of 2020. 

Santa Falling Chimney Nail Art
 PR samples

SKINCARE | Lano Face Base Jet Set Trio

The holidays are a great time to try new brands because of the GIFT SETS! With the amount of beauty I have in my possession, minis now work really well for me because now I'm experiencing things going bad before I've even finished them which really sucks. One of the brands that I still think of as relatively new to Sephora is Australian brand Lano. This Sydney-based brand uses an "exclusive ultra medical grade lanolin" (3x more pure than medical grade lanolin) which is a natural wax that comes from sheep's wool. Lanolin keeps their wool dry and protected all year round and is an ultra moisture reservoir. So, fun story, I can attest to this moisture as I helped sheer a sheep when I was a kid (you know Outdoor School) and my hands were so soft after touching the wool! That's because of the lanolin! (Yeah, that's what kids in Canada do. Help sheer sheep as part of a school trip.) Now, while I was more familar with Lano for their Lanolips products, I didn't know that they did skincare until recently when I saw this little travel kit which included a: cleanser, mask and day cream all in these cute little retro-style tubes just screaming to be opened and tried!

Lano Face Base Jet Set Trio
 PR samples

BATH | Just a Fraction of the Lush Christmas Collection

It's a shame I didn't make it to the Lush store before I shot these photos because what started out as a fraction of products sent by PR has become a more "well-rounded" collection via "Jayne going to the mall on her lunch break" as of yesterday afternoon! I just couldn't resist and I don't think I am alone when I say that the Lush Christmas Collection is always a tough one to resist whether it's for yourself or for gifts! This year did not disappoint so let's dive right into bath bomb bubbly goodness!

Lush Christmas Collection
 PR samples featured

NAILS | Essie Tied & Blue

Doing my nails twice in one week is such a luxury you have no idea and it's not like I did them at a reasonable hour at all unless 11pm is what you would consider reasonable when you have to work the next morning. I seem to be liking blue polishes this holiday season which works out because I love blue and green polishes! I find them so interesting and whenever there is glitter or holo in them they get even more interesting! Essie generally does a solid creme and what I call "core glitter polishes" meaning a good gold, silver or pink glitter to layer on top of one of their classic cremes, but every once in awhile they do something interesting - like this year's Winter 2019 collection!

Essie Tied and Blue Swatch
 Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Getting to Know KBeauty Brand Purito

Truth be told, when North America started getting on the "clean beauty" bandwagon and declaring products as "paraben-free" and "free of harsh chemicals" (the latter phrase I despise, but for the sake of this post I will use it) this wasn't all that new to the Korean beauty world. Most of the kbeauty products I was using 10 years ago were already paraben-free as well as had a focus on plant-based ingredients like ginseng, cica, rice and other herbs. Purito is exactly this PLUS being 100% EWG green level certified, cruelty-free, using only recycled packaging (not as pretty, but that means more money goes into the actual product) and not having added fragrance which I find HUGE in the world of kbeauty because they really love their scents!

Purito Product Review

 PR samples

NAILS | The Invasion of the Gingerbread Men #CBBxManiMonday

For the first time in awhile, I have done my nails BEFORE the actual Monday of ManiMonday! This week has been busy, but I have been surprisingly productive both at work and on the blog. I blogged a whopping 5x last week which has been unheard of since I went on staycation in September and managed to meal plan, not have to buy a single lunch or dinner outside on top of working a very hectic holiday work schedule. Mind you, I managed to acquire a two day tension headache somewhere in the midst of all this, but then I remembered that drinking water is my friend which has been quite helpful as getting sick is the LAST thing I want now that I am so close to not just surviving this month, but kicking its ass too!

Gingerbread Man Nail Art
 PR samples

SHEET MASK | 23 Years Old Inthera Silfitting Petit Mask


I used a few weird masks during the #100DaysofSheetMasks Challenge, but none quite as strange as this mask from Korean beauty brand 23 Years Old. If you haven't heard of the brand before, don't feel too badly because I had not heard of it either until I dove into sheet masks because they do some pretty interesting ones plus a cool modelling mask which I will try soon! The brand believes that "we are at our most attractive and youthful in our 20s" and strive to make products that keep skin looking young and healthy. Though this brand ethos sounds incredibly insulting to someone like me who is closer to 40, I understand what they mean in that my skin was at its smoothest and bounciest in my mid 20s. Though 23 Years Old has a number of sheet masks, the Inthera Silfitting Petit Mask (I still don't understand the name of it...) is the weirdest sheet mask I have ever tried!

Purchased by me

NAILS | OPI x Hello Kitty Holiday Glitter Gradient

Woohoo, I am four for four blog posts this week! This year is the lowest number of blog posts I have ever written since starting Cosmetic Proof in 2011. Call it fatigue, the year of "The Instagram" or just an overwhelming amount of beauty stuff to talk about, but I have had a rough time sticking to my goal of 20 blog posts of month. In the last 6 months, I have allowed myself to dial it back a bit to rest or enjoy my evenings watching Netflix or spending it with my husband. I have also started to do less blogging-related things on my two days off especially when it comes to makeup looks which I am a bit sad about because there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a look come together. I don't know what 2020 will be like, but I know I will still be around talking to you, talking to myself and just putting it out there. As you can tell, this post isn't just about the nail polish although we should probably address what's on my nails a little bit before I go completely off the deep end!

Pink Glitter Gradient
 PR samples

HAIR | Marc Anthony Nourishing Hemp Oil Collection

Never thought I'd be using cannabis in my hair, but here we are with the newest haircare collection from Marc Anthony featuring the nourishing properties of cannabis sativa oil! Obviously, this collection won't get you high, but you and your hair will feel pretttyy good by the end of all four products!

Marc Anthony Nourishing Hemp Oil Collection
PR samples

SKINCARE | Taking Care of Winter Skin with Caudalie

This post is sponsored by Beautysense.ca

Winter isn't just coming anymore, it is here and so is some of the driest skin I have ever experienced in a long time. Maybe it's getting older and partially the weather, but all I know is that I have had to step up my skincare game in order to keep skin moisture levels and radiance at their peak! I was first introduced to French brand Caudalie more than eight years through the Glymm subscription box and over the years, I have gotten the chance to experience their products in some amazing ways and discovered absolute must-have products like their refreshing Beauty Elixir, Grape Water and Vinoperfect Radiance Serum! They were also one of the first luxury plant-based brands I knew of who were eco-conscious and focused on anti-aging concerns using plant-based anti-oxidant rich polyphenols.

Caudalie Skincare Review

NAILS | O Christmas Tree #CBBxManiMonday

I know that in my last ManiMonday post, I couldn't believe it was the end of 2019 and now I'm going to say that this has felt like the longest week! I had a headache that lasted 5 days, which got worse in front of a computer, and I have been feeling like there is no TIME to finish things up for the year! I am determined to not let the flurry of the holidays and deadlines rule me, but it is TOUGH to do because everyone else is trying to get things done before the year is up and it can be hard to ignore that kind of stress. Even at my dentist check up on Friday, there were people trying to book one last cleaning in because their benefits would cover it, but the receptionist kept saying that they were so booked! I will just continue to plug along here as this is Christmas #8 on the blog and though I have never been one to go crazy with holiday gift guides or posts, I do like me some holiday nails! 

Christmas Tree Nail Art

Some polishes are PR samples

NAILS | Snowflakes #CBBxManiMonday

It's December holy crap. It's the last month of this friggin' DECADE and I know that it's going to be over in a flash! A lot of people have said to me that 2019 was not their year and that they just want to move on to 2020, but this WAS my year at least according to the Lunar calendar (I am a Pig in the Year of the Pig) and while it was a good first half, this latter half has been rough. If you were really superstitious you would say it's because I never wore "something red" as you are supposed to do in your year to ward off bad luck. Then again, I also know another Pig who wore red all year and has had a crap year too so it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. Anyway, apologies for the lateness of this ManiMonday post as I have been suffering from a headache that has made me nauseous every time I have sat down in front of a computer so after some painkillers, a massage, a nap and tea here I am finally sitting down!


PR samples

SHEET MASKS | Freeman Beauty Sheet Masks for Every Skin Need!

My memories of the Freeman Beauty brand are of the massive tubes of peel-off masks that I truly thought I would get through! Their masks were always so affordable that as a teenager, my allowance really went a long way and now that I have moved towards sheet masks, Freeman has created a whole line of Beauty Infusion masks to accompany me into this new obsession of my life with prices ranging from just $2.99 to $4.99! All masks are free from parabens and sulfates and focus on plant-based ingredients.

Freeman Beauty Sheet Mask Review

PR samples indicated with a *

NAILS | Just a Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

As I mentioned in my Instagram post for these nails, I felt a little guilty about posting them because in reality my nails were really naked in preparation for a CND event I had yesterday. I hadn't painted my nails for #CBBxManiMonday yet as of Sunday night and it seemed like such a waste to paint them only to have them removed less than 12 hours later. Luckily I had this dreary grey polish from Essie to share with you and stay on theme with this month's "Emo November" where we wear all of our vampy Fall nail polishes!



PR sample

MAKEUP | Mary Kay Fall 2019 Collection with Makeup Look

I can't believe I used to be able to do makeup looks every week AND blog about them while working full-time. I have been run off my feet probably the whole year at this point always playing catch up and while I used to have a bit of energy to blog at night, I haven't been able to do so in months. Though I wear makeup everyday for work and a full face of it at that, I haven't really played with a full makeup look since I was on staycation back in September. I don't think that's going to change a whole lot for the remainder of the year as things just keep getting busier and I am now overcapacity at work so if anything, like many bloggers, it's possible you will see less of me because I will be sleeping!

Mary Kay Fall 2019 Collection


 * denotes PR samples

NAILS | Picture Polish Karma #CBBxManiMonday

Only a true friend would take a risk and get me nail polish as a gift because lemme tell ya, I have A LOT of them. More than any human being should have and I really should go through them again, but I tend to swatch everything and the fumes really get to you when you are doing it in a small office! Anyway, the brave soul who actually got me this polish was Jaime from Girl Loves Gloss (more specifically her husband!) and I thought it was so sweet that she actually went through my blog scrolling to make sure I never featured this shade and noted that Picture Polish was a brand I really loved!


This polish was a gift from a friend!

SHEET MASK | Rodial Vit C Energising Face Mask #100DaysofSheetMasks

The Vitamin C craze is far from over and though I don't normally look to sheet masks for my daily dose (I prefer serums or treatments), I can't say no to a Vitamin C sheet mask! Or any sheet mask now really! I don't know when I became enamoured with Rodial, but it was probably in my early blogging days when I read a whackload of British beauty blogs and because Rodial is from London, it made sense that this brand was frequently featured. Once it made its way to Canada via Shoppers, the first thing I tried was the Dragon's Blood Mask and quite enjoyed it! Now, Rodial has a dedicated Vit C collection complete with an Energising Face Mask (I guess I will spell it the British way!) that promises to rejuvenate, illuminate with vitamin C, vitamin B3, hyaluronic acid and a mixture of amino acids. Mmmm, sounds delish!

Rodial Vit C Energizing Face Mask

PR sample

MAKEUP | Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation

While I can safely say I have tried almost every type of product from Charlotte Tilbury from lips to eyes to skin, I had yet to try ANY of her foundations until the new Airbrush Flawless Foundation. Even my husband took the time to tell me about this post he saw on Reddit about "the new Charlotte Tilbury foundation that covers up rosacea" so it's definitely a foundation that is makin' the rounds! 

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation Review

PR sample

NAILS | Remembrance Day #CBBxManiMonday

For those of you enjoying the long weekend, I hope you are taking it easy and relaxing. I rarely get all three days off, but I am happy with having Sunday and today off which is nice. I have a pressure headache that I woke up with so I will be trying to avoid the ibuprofen and continuing with the errands I need to run today as I did nothing yesterday, but enjoy an awesome girls day out with Jaime! We actually scheduled an improptu meetup at around midnight the night before because there was a CND x Swarovski event downtown that we both were planning on attending and it turned into a day of Sephora, Purdy's chocolates and poutine! Not a bad way to spend a Sunday if you ask me, but while I was at Swarovski, I ended up getting my nails done with one of the shades from CND's new Crystal Alchemy Collection!

Remembrance Day Nail Art

Some polishes gifted

GIVEAWAY | Win a NENA Skincare Routine!

Last month, I raved about the Canadian brand NENA Skincare (review) and was impressed with everything from ingredients, their stance on sustainability and their commitment to making sure their ecological footprint was at a minimum. This local BC brand is one you need to try and get to know so they have kindly offered one Cosmetic Proof reader a chance to try out FULL SIZES of the entire glacial clay routine so be sure to enter using the Rafflecopter form below!



GOOD LUCK!


TERMS OF GIVEAWAY


  • Open to NORTH AMERICA ONLY
  • Giveaway ends on November 14th, 2019 at 11:59pm PST
  • The winner will have 48 hours to reply once they are contacted
  • Do not follow only to unfollow because that's just rude and it makes Hugo and Harper VERY unhappy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

HAIR | SNP Overnight Hair Mask in Strengthens and Restores

I feel the urge to say thank you to anyone who is still reading this space as even I am finding it hard to find time to read the blogs of some of my favourite bloggers nowadays which makes me sad because I feel like I don't READ as much anymore. I have been trying to do my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I have only hit my goal of 30 books once - back in 2011 I think. That's a loooong time ago and now I am struggling just to read my second book of the year. SO SAD! The one constant I have had going on in my life is masks of all kinds and back in May I focused on masks that had nothing to do with the face and had everything to do with all the other parts of the body with one of the more effective masks being the SNP Overnight Hair Mask*!

SNP Overnight Hair Mask in Strengthens and Restores

PR sample

NAILS | Cult Nails "I Got Distracted" Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

The CBB ManiMonday girls and I decided to do a bit of a palette cleanse after the Halloween nail art to gear up for next weeks theme of "Emo November" where we pretty much use just vampy fall shades, which I am not always a fan of, but every once in awhile it's nice to be a little moody in the nail area. I'm sort of writing this in a bit a funk as I am trying to focus on the positives in life, but man, can people be mean! With the sun shining today and lots to do both with the blog and in real life, there is plenty to keep me busy starting off with what has turned out to be a swatch of the now defunct company Cult Nails in the shade "I Got Distracted"!

Cult Nails "I Got Distracted" Swatch

Purchased by me a looooong time ago

SHEET MASK | Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Sheet Mask #100DaysofSheetMasks

Oh, the lovely Tatcha. This was one of the first truly beautiful skincare brands I came across when I first started blogging and in 2011, Tatcha was still relatively new to the skincare scene having only launched just two years prior. Their philosophy, packaging and products were new to the North American market and to this day, though they have some stiff competition in skincare, I still find the whole Tatcha experience to be quite Zen and almost romantic from opening up the packaging to using the product. While there are a few Tatcha products I enjoy, today's feature is all about the Luminous Dewy Skin Sheet Mask!


Purchased by me

NAILS | Halloween Skittles #CBBxManiMonday

Well, Halloween is upon us and though this is normally my favourite time of year this month has been a whirlwind purely due to my day job being not very fun. Let's just say that I wish people could just go to work and work? There is only so much gossiping I can do in a day and it literally serves no purpose than to create a toxic work environment. Anyway, I have been enjoying my week off and I am sad that I have to go back this week, but here's to things getting better from now on! 



Some polishes are PR samples

SHEET MASK | Patchology x Kim Chi Collaboration with Selfies #100DaysofSheetMasks

The brand Patchology is one of the coolest mask brands I have come across with their focus beginning over 10 years ago with patch technology for the medical field. Now, Patchology has peels, eye and lip gels, mud masks and of course, some very hydrating mud masks! Then, they did one of the coolest sheet mask collaborations I have seen by partnering up with Kim Chi of Ru Paul's Drag Race and featuring 4 of her top beauty looks with the designs being some of the most complex I have seen for a printed mask!


Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Avon Soft Matte Liquid Lip with Swatches

I know matte lipsticks aren't everyone's cup of tea and it took me a long time to get onboard, but now I am there and I will wear anything from nude to bright red to purple so let's say hello to the new Avon Soft Matte Liquid Lips! These lipsticks come in 8 pigmented shades that feel weightless and featherlight and contain poppy seed oil and vitamin E for comfort. This non-drying formula is supposed to last for hours on end while still looking fabulous until the very end of the day so let's see how they performed!

Avon Soft Matte Liquid Lip Review

PR samples

GIVEAWAY | Live Clean Fresh Water Collection

It's Halloween so instead of tricks, let's do some treats! I realize that last October I also did a Live Clean Fresh Water giveaway so obviously I must like this particular collection! This year there is a new deodorant to add which I have reviewed (here) and of course many other goodies to enjoy!


PR samples

NAILS | Not All Monsters are Scary! #CBBxManiMonday

I was up a little too late doing these nails - 2am to be exact and not because they took a particularly long time to paint, but because I started to once again organize my beauty stash after not touching it since my staycation ended in the middle of September. Everything is literally frozen in time from the makeup wipes I had on hand for swatching to the microfibre cloth I had to wipe everything down so that it looked perfect for donating or giving away. I have a bit of time coming up that I took off to celebrate our anniversary so in addition to spending some quality time with my husband, I will also be using that time to reconnect with my beauty space. For today's manicure, Monsters Inc. nails are something I have been wanting to do for years so this is nail art bucket list item CHECKED!



PR samples

SKINCARE | NENA Skincare: Powered by Canadian Glacial Oceanic Clay

I first got acquainted with NENA Skincare from a Shop and Shout campaign where I had the chance to try out their internationally beauty-acclaimed Clay Mask as well as their Cleansing Cream. NENA is based right here in Vancouver with all products made in Canada. What sets this brand apart from others in the natural beauty space is their use of sustainably harvested glacial oceanic clay from Northern British Columbia. This clay has been and is still used for centuries among the Homalco First Nations tribe for medicinal and wellness purposes. It is even ingested to boost the immune system! NENA also works in partnership with the Homlaco people to harvest and use this clay which I was glad to hear about because there have been so many wrongs done to First Nations communities that are slowly being healed so partnerships like these are steps in the right direction. Glacial oceanic clay is constantly being refreshed by the ocean and is only available for harvest ONCE a year under strict Canadian environmental regulations and NENA does this harvesting with ZERO ecological footprint!

NENA Skincare: Powered by Canadian Glacial Clay

PR samples

SHEET MASK | 7th Heaven Animal Face Masks #100DaysofSheetMasks

I am definitely struggling with content across all platforms this month and not because I feel uninspired or down, but I have just been feeling really tired and especially since last week's LDBeauty event, I just haven't caught up to life yet. Work has been making me grumpy and it's just one of those weeks where I feel completely alone. I guess I still have my fun sheet masks though so we will cut to much happier things with the new 7th Heaven Animal Sheet Masks! Coming in three prints, the kitten, tiger and panda is guaranteed to make anyone smile and as always these masks are made with the same vegetarian-friendly ingredients!

7th Heaven Animal Face Mask Review

PR samples

NAILS | Halloween or Hayfever Eyeballs? #CBBxManiMonday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and ate lots of great food. Though we rarely do turkey, my husband and I try to do something a little bit special every Thanksgiving since it's usually just the two of us. This year, I decided to try a very North American dish of...casserole! A post from The Food Network popped up on my feed last week with Trisha Yearwood (she always does great looking comfort food) and a Broccoli Chicken Casserole that was super easy to make in the end. It tasted so good, but I'm sure it was because there was so much mayo, cheese and sour cream in there that there wasn't much to NOT like! It was very decadent and then we topped it all off with apple pie and vanilla ice cream! Needless to say, the holiday weight gain has begun!

Halloween Eyeball Nail Art

PR samples

MAKEUP | NYX Bare with Me Collection

OMG, I didn't intend on being away from this space for as long as this, but hopefully some of you caught that I was still alive and on Instagram especially with my Story feed being filled with beauty goodness from the #LDBeauty event this week! Lots of fun things coming soon from so many brands including NYX! Though I received the newest Bare With Me Collection from Chickadvisor, it was showcased during the LDBeauty event and it is a stark contrast to their more adventurous products! Their Cosmic Lips glosses were one of my favourite releases and ever since then I haven't really come back to NYX even though I know they have incredibly solid products. Their Jumbo Eye Pencils and their Slide On Eyeliners are fantastic and were the first few makeup products I ever talked about on the blog so I feel like I have reconnected with an old friend when I gave this new collection a go!

NYX Bare with Me Collection

PR samples provided by Chickadvisor 

NAILS | Pretty & Polished Candy Corn #CBBxManiMonday

This is definitely a first as my ManiMonday is coming out on a Wednesday, but work has been extra crazy and I am now finally finished working seven days in a row which rarely happens, but had to this time as I am currently on my way to the LDBeauty event! I have been fortunate to be able to attend this media event for the last 5 years and it's always a fun time. This week's manicure also uses an untried thermal indie polish from the now defunct Pretty & Polished as well as some very Halloweeny nail vinyls!


Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Fashion Angels Selfie Trio #100DaysofSheetMasks

Some sheet masks are just about being ridiculous and taking selfies so when I saw the #BestSelfie Fashion Angels sheet mask on Renee's blog earlier this year, I marched my ass over to Indigo.ca and found not just one, but two other printed masks that were calling my name! I mean, even the packaging is made to look like a phone complete with home button! How could I resist?!

Fashion Angels Sheet Masks

Purchased by me

NAILS | Dotted Abstract Nail Art #CBBxManiMonday

Here we are on the last day of September and though I am just shocked at how quickly this month has passed, I am really excited for October because...HALLOWEEN! I am excited for the manicure and the crazy sheet masks I have planned! Today's #CBBxManiMonday is about the clash of two brights once again - blue and pink! As you can tell, I have REALLY been into abstract nail art as of late so I wanted to give it one more go before we start doing the creepy, crawly manicures!

Dotted Abstract Nail Art

PR samples featured

MAKEUP | Physician's Formula Butter Highlighters, Bronzers and Blush

I know I'm getting to this a little late, but better late than never, right? The CBB brand of the month is Physician's Formula and though I had SO MUCH planned for this while I was on vacation, time got the better of me once I started my cleaning of the Beauty Vault so I chose my favourite PF face products for now and then I will have one more on their lip products next month!  

Physician's Formula Review

PR samples featured

NAILS | Pretty & Polished Clouds in My Coffee #UntriedThursdays

My two week staycation was amazing and it's not that I took the time off to relax, but with my husband gone, it gave me just over a week to declutter and make a mess without worrying about disturbing him since he has asthma and the dust can really upset his lungs. I also needed to use HIS desk as extra space to lay out everything for my decluttering so it really did work out. I still have a lot left to do, but I made a massive dent and gave away so much stuff that I can finally see the floor of my office as well as other surfaces! One area that I have not even touched because I know how long it will take to do is decluttering NAIL POLISH. When I first started blogging, indie nail polish was in its heyday so I have A TON of beautiful indie nail polishes from a number of brands that now cease to exist. I don't want to just give them away without trying them first so I am going to attempt TWO manicures a week - #CBBxManiMonday and #UntriedThursdays!

Pretty & Polished Clouds in My Coffee Swatch

Purchased by me SO LONG AGO

SHEET MASK | 7th Heaven Detox with a Bubble, Charcoal Tonic and Peel Off Clay (?!) Masks

I think we have all seen 7th Heaven (formerly Montagne Jeunesse) masks at the drugstore and for the last 30 years, this company has brought us cruelty-free and vegetarian masks that peel and bubble. Now, that I have been blogging for almost a decade, I like to look back at past posts to see how often I have featured brands that have been around and when it comes to 7th Heaven, it turns out I have had nothing but positive things to say about them since 2012! No, not all of their masks have necessarily worked for me, but have you seen how MANY masks they have? I mean, my God, if one doesn't work there are three others that will! 

7th Heaven Mask Review

Two masks are PR samples

MAKEUP | Lancome Monsieur Big Heart-Shaped Eyeshadow Palette

I realize as I am writing this that the last makeup look I did on here was also pink. I guess I'm just feeling girly this month, granted the Huda Neon Obsessions Palette is a bit more of an adventurous pink compared to today's romantically feminine palette! The Lancome Monsieur Big Heart-Shaped Eyeshadow Palette is a limited edition palette filled with 12 rosy and neutral shades encased in a metallic pink heart. Totally collectable, right?

Lancome Monsieur Big Heart-Shaped Eyeshadow Palette

PR sample

NAILS | Celebrating the First Day of Fall with a "Grey"- dient #CBBxManiMonday

OMGGGG. I love how I went from feeling totally on the ball with life and blogging while on vacation and now I am so zapped of energy that I feel like I never took two glorious weeks off to begin with! Oddly enough, I was tired of cleaning my beauty space for 5-6 hours a day so I was actually quite excited to head back into work and by Day 2 I was pretty much done. Not to say, I don't enjoy the challenges of my job and honestly I feel like I can stretch my brain in a different way there than in this blogging space. With that being said, I will be honest here in that I had prepared this manicure well in advance as I wasn't sure how coming back to work would hit me. The next thing I need to be honest about is that I only remember ONE colour I used because I didn't write anything down...

Gradient Nail Art

PR samples featured

SHEET MASK | 15Twenty The Royal Treatment Collection

I was not expecting to be away from here for the entire week! I went back to work this past Tuesday after a lovely 2 week staycation which was so nice to have. With a new kitten in the house, it was good to be around for her and to monitor how things progressed with Harper and Hugo which as of right now are fairly good with a few little fights here and there. Harper is small, but she has definitely helped with mourning Hemingway as they are similar, but also very different so I feel like we see a little part of him everyday. Now, I had fully intended on swarming the blog with many many sheet masks posts especially since September's CBB theme is "Masks", but now that my body is remembering how tiring work is, I think I will be back to my normal snail pace starting with a series of masks that I started using back in May from a brand called 15Twenty Beauty

15Twenty The Royal Treatment Collection

PR samples

NAILS | Dotted Blue Gradient #CBBxManiMonday

It has rained for five days straight in Vancouver and I have had to wear socks and pants in the house. Fall is coming and though I do enjoy cooler weather, the constant rain has been a dreary reminder of what's to come over the next couple of months. Today is also the last day of my glorious staycation which has been VERY productive in terms of finally gaining some traction in purging my beauty room! I have literally been cleaning out the space every day for the last 7 days averaging about 5-6 hours/day and have filled one of our recycling bins outside to the max with old press releases and packaging and have donated NINE medium sized Aritzia bags of beauty products to friends, family, co-workers and neighbours! I still have yet to tackle my nail polish collection and that is something I will not be able to complete this week, but I am hoping that by the end of the month, I will have created some space! Then, the exciting part of getting a new desk and new storage can happen once I know what I am working with!  



Some PR products used

MAKEUP | Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2 with Lip Swatches

I love Charlotte Tilbury makeup just as much as the next girl and though I am fortunate enough to receive the occasional press package here and there, I do buy a fair amount of CT product on my own especially when I need to restock on my dry sheet masks! When the original Hot Lips launched back in 2016 (review), I was psyched to get my hands on them and bought a few more after enjoying the formula and shades quite a bit. Now, there are 11 brand new shades with two formulas coming in 5 collectable cases! Oh, and the cases are refillable!



Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips 2 Review

PR samples

GIVEAWAY | All Your Hair Needs Taken Care of this Fall with Live Clean!

We are closing in on Fall which means a revamp of all things beauty like me feeling the urge to go from a glossy to a matte lip, bright to darker nails and more moisture EVERYWHERE! While I generally try to keep my hair fairly hydrated all year round, I pay extra attention in the Fall and Winter season with switching to more moisturizing shampoos and oils, oil, oils! Now, do I have a treat for you! 

Live Clean Shampoo and Conditioner

PR samples

SHEET MASK | Kocostar Lemon Sliced Mask #100DaysofSheetMasks

Ok, I am cheating a little bit as this was a mask that I wore for last year's #100DaysofSheetMasks challenge, but I am determined to empty out my "Masks Unblogged" folder by the end of 2019! I was a bit overzealous last year in thinking that I could pump out 100 sheet mask reviews, but better yet that EVERY mask deserved a dedicated blog post. Some masks are just pretty to look at on the outside, but then when I try it there is nothing in particular that makes it different from another plain white sheet mask that you have seen before. With Kocostar though, the packaging is cute, but then you NEED to know what these slices look like on the skin! I have already reviewed the salad portion of their mask slices series (cucumber and tomato) so it's time for some fruit!

Kocostar Lemon Sliced Mask Review

Purchased by me

NAILS | Going Abstract Again #CBBxManiMonday

I used to think that I could never pull off an abstract manicure and when I started seeing more and more of the minimalist/geometric style manicures being showcased by big brands and other nail artists, I still wasn't sure if I had the creativity to design something and I still don't! I'm not a particularly creative person so I really do need to go through Pinterest or Instagram to get some ideas and today's manicure is from the feed of one of my favourite nail artists @thehangedit. I have also really been loving the shades from the new CND Treasured Moments collection so this manicure gave me a chance to use them again!

Nude Abstract Nail Art

PR samples featured

SKINCARE | KBeauty Routine with Seoul Sundays

It seemed only fitting to talk about Vancouver-based Korean beauty e-tailer Seoul Sundays on a Sunday! Launching earlier this year, this is a curated set of products by some lovely ladies who, like many of us, have run through the gamut of skincare and have a fairly good idea of products that work. When it comes to Kbeauty, technology and products tend to be more advanced and have fancier mode of actions than North American skincare. If anything, by the time something hits North America (remember BB cream?), it has already been done and revamped a thousand times over in Asia. Though the Seoul Sundays product listing isn't extensive, the products that ARE there are all ones that have been tested out personally by the staff themselves and the products I did recognize I KNEW were excellent! You will often see the products in action on the company's Instagram Stories making what you might be buying more relatable to your own skincare routine.

Korean Beauty Routine

PR samples