NAILS | Mattify Me with Flakie #CBBxManiMonday

I slept like a zombie last night so forgive me if this post is a bit short! I had waking dreams non-stop and I kept thinking it was time to get up even though I had the day off so by the time my alarm went off at 8am, I was in no mood to get anything done. I have been mildly productive today in terms of getting some groceries and small house clean up done. I also took some time to call he customer service line for a really old Mutual Fund account that my parents had set up for me while I was in high school as I had obviously forgotten the password. Now, I'm looking forward to an afternoon nap which I see as SUCH a luxury so I will take full advantage of it when I can!

Press samples 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Vitamin Masks

Whenever I see a new sheet mask from the Sephora Collection, I HAVE to try it no matter what. In the past, there have been some serious duds, but also some notable positives and while I wouldn't put the Sephora masks at the top of my list, they perform solidly in my top 20 favourite sheet masks as they smell pleasant, have decent results and some of the most attractive packaging! During the VIB Rouge sale, I went wild with my skincare and haircare and spotted a new trio of masks with a focus on some skin-loving vitamins and knew I would need to add these to my #100DaysofSheetMasks challenge! 

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Urban Decay Stoned Vibes Eyeshadow Palette with Makeup Look and Swatches

This palette stole my heart right from the photos on Instagram, but I wanted to see how these gorgeous bejeweled shades swatched and performed on the eye and I was not disappointed! I don't buy a lot of Urban Decay palettes anymore because I have quite a few through press samples and blogging, but I couldn't wait for this one! I ended up getting another one this month through PR, but the fact that I actually purchased my original Stoned Vibes palette with Shoppers points made me feel less sad about unnecessarily having to spend $68! Don't worry, I will be making sure my extra palette makes it into the hands of one fortunate reader soon so stay tuned!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Moody Dots #CBBxManiMonday

This is the last day I will have set weekends off as the retail sector heads into holiday hours. I haven't worked a set schedule in just over 10 years and with the smaller team that we have had, we all have been working the exact same days as we are only open 5 days/week which has been nice! Now, we move into being open 6 days for those who plan on shopping in person, but I really don't know how busy it will be this year. I have never been a fan of shopping in person anywhere, but this year with multiple provinces in lockdown because of rising COVID cases, the wisest thing really is to STAY INSIDE. Most cases are coming from friends and family gatherings so STOP! Hopefully, 2021 will be better with the vaccine, but honestly, I will probably keep wearing a mask until Kingdom come because this is the longest I have gone without even having a hint of a cold! No runny nose, sniffles NOTHING and we are closing in on 2 years now! 

Press samples

SHEET MASK | NENA Skincare Rejuvenating and Moisturizing Masks

Last week I had NENA nails and today I am relaxing with two of NENA's sheet masks! Made with Glacial Marine Extract, an extract from NENA's key ingredient of pure Canadian Glacial Clay and sourced right along the coast of BC! For now, these masks are only available as a gift with purchase, but hopefully they will be available for purchase in the future. So, how did a sheet mask with clay in its essence feel on my skin? Not like what I was expecting I'll tell ya that!

Press samples

BODY | 5 Hand Creams (This Really Could be 20 With What's Happening Now!)

Hand creams have had a whole new meaning for all of us this year as the constant hand washing has reached skin-cracking levels. Combined with the first fall/winter season living in a pandemic, I'm sure we are all guzzling hand creams at record levels. When I was off work and just staying home, I didn't need to wash my hands as often, but now that I am out and back at work interacting with co-workers and clients, I am hand-washing my hands between clients, whenever I touch merchandise or when I use the phone or shared cash wrap area. We are provided with gloves, but I feel like gloves provide people with a false sense of security which leads to a higher incidence of cross-contamination. I have literally seen someone rub their eyes WITH GLOVES ON. What is the point then?! Regardless, my hands have been suffering as I am sure many of yours have been and though I only have five hand creams here, I can now think of so many more nice ones I can add to this list!  

Press samples provided

NAILS | Inspired by a NENA Sheet Mask #CBBxManiMonday

Here we are at Monday again and halfway through November! I have been keeping track of my spending and my paychecks on a spreadsheet as a way to stay accountable this year especially now that I am aggressively trying to save more should we ever go through another lockdown and though I am spending a lot more on bath bombs...it is on Canadian-made ones and I feel a lot better supporting a small business than a large corporate company. In the spirit of supporting local and small businesses, I recently placed an order for some hand sanitizer sprays with Vancouver-based company NENA because they smell so damn good and leave my hands feeling soft. I bought enough ($30+ CDN) to qualify for their gift with purchase which were set of their Rejuvenating and Moisturizing Sheet Masks and in addition to their skin-loving potential, I also saw the potential for some nail art! 

Some polishes are press samples

SHEET MASK | Food Story Collection: Pomegranate, Blueberry, Banana, Kiwi, Pineapple Masks

Focusing on trying as many sheet masks as possible from Korean beauty brand Soo'Ae this past September was a truly fun experience with one of the more fun collections being the Food Story Collection! 

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Kora Organics: The Brightening Routine

We have all been bombarded with the "natural" products craze the last five years and it shows no signs of slowing down. Honestly, I love the beauty of plant-based products interwoven with synthetic ingredients so I will always be a fan of combining the two, but I have grown wary of jumping on board too quickly when a new "organic" or plant-centric brand emerges let alone one created by a celebrity or influencer. I've just become a bit jaded with all of these fast-growing Instagram brands with people blindly buying into the "natural" marketing jargon. Initially, this is how I felt about KORA Organics. 

Press samples

NAILS | Cirque Colors Sol (Temperature Sensitive) #CBBxManiMonday

One of my favourite indie brands that I don't have enough of is Cirque Colors. It's not the most widely available brand to find in Canada and though Ontario-based Harlow & Co has a good selection, when I went on the hunt for some thermal polishes, almost all the ones I wanted were sold out so I ended up going straight to the Cirque site and purchasing four polishes there which you will see over the coming weeks! 

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Dr. Jart All That Contours Hydrogel Expansion Stretch Mask

I think we are all breathing a bit of a sigh of relief now that Biden has been declared the 46th President of the United States. I am curious to see what Trump and his cronies do over the next couple of months until he needs to "hand over the keys" as the theories on how they could erode democracy are pretty scary. I will admit that even as a Canadian, I have been sleeping fitfully the last few days and this morning I woke up the same time as I would usually get up for work and just couldn't get back to bed as my mind started racing with things to do for the day. I ended up taking a bunch of photos for the blog and Instagram and then full down a YouTube rabbit hole of Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau, Joe Biden and John McCain speeches until lunch.

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Garnier BIO Collection - ECO CERT Skincare From the Drugstore?

It is the day after the US Elections and Trump is still a contender if you can believe it. I wrote a sad post like this in 2016 when he shocked everyone by winning and now it's 2020 and it's so much more disappointing because the vote is SO CLOSE. Even if Biden wins, it means that 50% of the USA think Trump is a good leader which is even more scary so though I rarely speak out about politics, this is such a no brainer that if there are readers, friends and followers who no longer wish to support me because I do not support Trump, I welcome the unfollowing! I haven't been able to stop watching the news since 8am today and I think my brain would like the short break so let's shift over to my home away from home - skincare. Namely the Garnier BIO line which is ecocertified, vegan, affordable and available at the drugstore!

Press samples

MAKEUP | Natasha Denona Chromium Liquid Eyeshadows in Scarab, Ultraviolet and Infra Nude

Today is a scary day in the US and though we are all going to be on the edge of our seats for probably the next couple of months, let's take it in stride, get through Christmas without COVID and take the remainder of 2020 day by day. I have to go through some clothing as Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver has just resumed clothing donations and I came across a few things during Lockdown in April that needed new homes so will get to that later today (I have vacation days today and tomorrow). While on vacation, I do this scary thing where I have time to check out what's new in beauty and then BUY IT! This is what happened with the Natasha Denona Chromium Eyeshadows back in August and I still can't stop raving about them!

NAILS | Gold Flakie Meets Bright Blue And It Is Magical! #CBBxManiMonday

This month's theme for #CBBxManiMonday is "Whatever November" meaning that we can paint on our hands whatever our hearts desire whether it'd be something truly gloomy, holographic or cheery AF! This was a combination I had been wanting to do in JULY so better late than never, right? 

Ella + Mila was purchased by me and Holo Taco was a gift 

SHEET MASK | Soo'Ae Unicorn Glow Hologram Mask

How did we get to November 1st?! I don't even know how we got here, but we've been living and breathing COVID for 8 months now and just when I thought masking would never be a regular part of my life, it is. So much of our routines have changed now because of the pandemic and I will admit that although I feel relatively "pre-COVID" in my day-to-day, every couple of minutes throughout the day (which is a lot when you think about it) I am reminded of our situation whether it's when I "mask up" for work, see my husband working from home every day, or witness my glossy and cream lipsticks going to waste from disuse. The latter has cut down my makeup purchases an INSANE amount since only long-lasting matte liquid lipsticks work for my day-to-day so I guess that's a good thing!

Purchased by me