MAKEUP | Pixi On-the-Glow Blush with Swatches

It has been more than a year since I have featured any form of cheek product here and when I did some digging, the last time I reviewed a blush was back in April 2020 when I was at home on lockdown and off work! For the most part, I haven't really been wearing blush at all as it seems a shame to put it on in the morning only to have it rub off with my face mask that I need to wear starting from 9am to 6pm. Maybe I need to use a new setting spray and/or a sticky primer, but blush has certainly not been a priority in the last year. However, that doesn't mean I have stopped admiring the pretty blush products that get released and when I saw the cuteness of the new Pixi Beauty On-the-Glow Blushes, I couldn't resist getting some photos and swatches done!

Press samples

NAILS | Cadillacquer Redrum Thermal Polish with Scary Spiders #CBBxManiMonday

I promised I was going to take it easy yesterday and I think I achieved that! I woke up a little late (9:45am) after having gone to bed at around 1am the night before and took the morning reallllly slow. My TMJ has been acting up so I woke up with a bit of headache and the left side of my jaw felt a bit swollen so part of the reason for my just taking it easy for the day was just because I was feeling grumpy from the discomfort. I ended up watching Beetlejuice for the first time while I had lunch (remember when movies were only 1.5 hours long?) and quite enjoyed it which then led to a short walk in around the neighbourhood with my husband just to get the legs moving. It was raining, but at this time in Vancouver it's sort of a given that the weather will be like this.

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Holler and Glow Get Lit and Hangover SOS Masks

I am attempting to make life a little more interesting this month by wearing mostly printed masks in honour of Halloween! I have had to take a bit of a break from sheet masks the last week or so as I started getting some weird dry patches on my chin. My skin does not misbehave very often so when it does, I take my skincare back to basics and just use cleanser, toner and a very bland moisturizer. In this case, I stuck to a rosewater toner and Teaology Happy Balm until things cleared up which they finally did yesterday. This means, more printed masks as of tonight!

Gifted from a friend

NAILS | Picture Polish "Alice" Swatch and Weekly Catch Up

In my last weekly nail catch up post, I said "I'm going to be super busy next week so might not do one of these" and now one month later here I am! My days off never lined up with blogging and I always needed to do house things instead, but this week I had the gift of three days off IN A ROW just by chance so here we are with a whopping 4th blog post this week! 

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Selfless by Hyram Mandelic Acid and Rice Bran Gentle Exfoliating Serum

What's this? Yet, ANOTHER beauty influencer with their own cosmetic line? While I understand why these partnerships are done, I honestly roll my eyes with each one of these influencer launches especially when it comes to skincare as a lot of the time, I don't truly believe that these people understand what they are promoting and historically speaking, tend to promote whichever brand gives the nicest brand trips, prettiest press packages or pays the most for sponsored content. When it came to Selfless by Hyram, I hesitated. I did watch Hyram quite a bit before his brand launch as he was fairly critical of supposed holy grail products and brands that all of the other influencers seemed to love. Overall, I do find him to be a fairly educated consumer who has not fallen victim to the "clean" or "green" movement and tends to avoid using those terms as well. The name of the brand made me cringe a little bit having the word "selfless" in there kind of seems to say the opposite like when someone says they themselves are generous. It just doesn't sit well. Nevertheless, because of the decent price point and the ingredients in Hyram's products, I decided to dip a toe in (I have been very good about not buying much skincare over the last two years) and purchase my favourite part of a skincare routine - a chemical exfoliant in the form of the Mandelic Acid and Rice Bran Gentle Exfoliating Serum.

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cadillacquer Halloween 2021 Crepuscule Thermal Nail Polish (With a Spooky Surprise!) #CBBxManiMonday

How is everyone feeling today? I have been moving at what feels like the pace of a sloth and trying to not feel guilty about taking it easy. We had Thanksgiving dinner just the two of us, but we still made quite a bit of food plus I decided we needed some dessert and baked a vanilla cake with homemade icing using one of the Jenny Can Cooks recipes and it turned out very yummy! I didn't have time to prepare my Halloween nails so I ended up painting AFTER dinner at midnight. Not ideal, but because I had today off as well, I figured I could afford to stay up and sleep in. I "slept in" until 9am because the guilt of not being all that productive yesterday jolted me awake. Also, as an adult, I find it very hard to sleep in past 9am. Even without an alarm, my body just wants to get up so I look forward to being 80 years old and puttering around at 6am!  

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Mad Beauty Disney with Minnie Mouse and Princess Jasmine

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! My work is actually closed on Sunday and Monday which is great since we all get a nice little weekend where we know that nothing is happening at the store and there isn't this sense of FOMO. I have been wanting to try Mad Beauty sheet masks as over the years they have come out with some very cute printed sheet masks with Disney themes. They are not easily available though and the only place online I have seen them is on Amazon.com, but then a few weeks ago, while visiting a friend in Coquitlam we them on a little beauty excursion to Wal-mart! They only had two so just for the sake of trying them, I had to grab 'em!

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Lip Care with Three Ships Beauty

Last year, I made it a point to purchase skincare more wisely and purchase Canadian if I could. I made a list of brands I wanted to try and instead of buying everything at once I wanted to pace myself and use up what I had so that products wouldn't be sitting around unused (and unloved). One Toronto-based brand that caught my eye was thanks to an episode of Dragon's Den for Three Ships Beauty. Founded by two women, Laura and Connie sought to create 100% natural skincare that was results-driven, effective and at an affordable price point. Now, over the years the word "natural" has meant less and less to me, but "results" still perk my interest. Three Ships also has a fairly comprehensive glossary of the ingredients they use and why which I very much appreciate! Though today's review is just for their newest lip products, I did purchase a couple of cleansers and toners so I will review those later on!   

Press samples

NAILS | Coronavirus Halloween Nail Art #CBBxManiMonday

I love Halloween nail art, but after 10 years of doing nail art here, I'm starting to feel like I am just repeating the same things over and over again so I thought I would try something new this week and go with a new thing that has scared us all - COVID-19! Yes, you will still see some of the traditional Halloween things like pumpkins, monsters and blood, but hopefully inspiration will strike and I can find a new way to reinvent these timeless classics!

Some polishes are press samples and are indicated with a *

SHEET MASK | Steambase Black Sugar Intensive Recovery Mask

I didn't realize I had taken a week long absence from the blog until I realized it was Friday (my 10 year blogaversary) and I hadn't posted anything since CBBxManiMonday! I guess I am still recovering a little bit from the week before and I have just been wanting to take a bit more time for myself. Lately, I have taken on Diamond Painting as a new hobby! It's like paint-by-numbers, but with these little coloured studs or "diamonds" that are individually placed onto a sticky canvas. Kills your neck, back and eyes so make sure you do small sections and have plenty of light!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Autumn Owl Nail Art #CBBxManiMonday

Now, these are nails I actually give a *hoot* about! I said in my previous nail post that I have let the hand-drawn element of my nail art die a little bit just because I've been too tired for probably a year now to sit down for hours just to do one hand, but last night I wanted to draw again! One animal that I have seen for Fall that I have been too scared to attempt was the owl. Though my owls looked "a little high" as my husband said, I think they turned out alright considering! I tried to stick to solely nail polish instead of acrylic paint, but I feel that the owls would have turned out better had I used a more workable medium like acrylic paint. Either way, it was good to get my paintbrush dirty again with some drawing!

Press samples used

SHEET MASK | Neostrata Pure Hyaluronic Acid Biocellulose Mask

I took the last few days off as I had a bout of food poisoning that started early Wednesday morning last week followed by Inventory at work on Thursday/Friday and then ended with me having to come home from work early on Friday as the bathroom and I were just becoming too close of friends...I magically became better on Saturday morning as if nothing had happened so I think I just needed a bit of rest as classically food poisoning is 24 hours (two other people who were with me also got sick, but recovered much faster). Pre-pandemic Jayne would have continued to push to get blog posts and Instagram content out, but now I am much more okay with just coming and going in this space, though I still like to have at least 10 blog posts just for my own personal goal.

Press sample

NAILS | Fall Leaves #CBBxManiMonday

Hope everyone got out there to vote in Canada today! I was originally going to get this done with advanced voting last week, but I was too tired after work and then with Hugo's surgery happening on the 13th I was just too mentally preoccupied. I also didn't really know who to vote for...I usually have a pretty good idea of what platform I agree with, but I was waffling. Today I knew what to do so my husband and I walked to the polls and enjoyed some decent weather as the polling station that was assigned to us was like 20 blocks away!

Polish purchased by me. Water decals are press samples.

SHEET MASK | Vivlas Luxury Prestige, Premium Rose and Special Platinum Foil Masks

We've all hoarded a perfectly pristine lipstick or face product with beautiful embossing on it and I feel like that's what I did with these Vivlas Cosmetics foil masks that I picked up in 2018 from a little Kbeauty store on St. Catherine's. I understand that I have a slight problem when it comes hobbies and perhaps I have an addictive personality so back in 2018, when my love for sheet masks was at an all-time high I went CRAZY one afternoon at this place. They had a great selection and I probably dropped about $200 there just on sheet masks alone! Among my glorious haul were these masks from Vivlas, a brand I had not heard of at the time, and to this day have not seen much of. I actually don't think they do sheet masks anymore based on their Instagram page, but the packaging and fun looks of these masks was something I wanted to share with you all!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Quo Beauty XTreme FX in "Happy Go Lucky" and Weekly Catch Up

Not much has been happening this week as I took off the first three days to take care of my kitty Hugo and his dental surgery. I wanted to be there to drive him to the vet and pick him up that day as well as be around the next day should anything happen. Thankfully, our furry boo survived with flying colours or as the vet put it "had a very boring surgery just the way I like it"! Hugo had one tooth removed due to something called tooth resorption where the body starts to break down the tooth from within. Apparently it's pretty common and anywhere from 20%-60% of cats aged 5 and older will experience it. Luckily he only had the one tooth removed as sometimes they discover more issues once the cat is under anesthesia. I do try my best to brush both of my cats teeth almost every day, but I'm usually only able to get the top teeth and not the bottom which is where Hugo's bad tooth was. He was pretty grateful to be home and a bit loopy for a few hours. Watching him bump into things and walk with his back legs all wonky was funny to my husband, but a little sad for me to watch! Hugo ended up just chilling in his carrier until he felt better enough to emerge around midnight where he started to beg for food and ATE which was great! He's now pretty much back to normal! 

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Avon x fmg Limited Edition Colors of Love Collection

This is not the first time I have said this, but I have had a really hard time wearing makeup when I don't have to. Maybe it's my new lazy makeup routine for work that has caused this or maybe it's my new outlook on blogging (Don't feel like it? Then, don't!), but I have found it more challenging to get mentally revved up for a full makeup look on days off. Last week, I suddenly felt like looking pretty around the house and just testing myself to see if I still knew how to blend in foundation and in doing so, I realized that the top half of my face is slightly more tanned than the bottom half that has been covered! I feel like I am on my way to something akin to a goggle tan! Despite this, I was still able to capture some of that golden sunkissed glow with the now not so new, fmg Colors of LOVE collection!

Press samples provided

NAILS | Bi-Colour Fall #CBBxManiMonday

I am a ball of nerves today as my kitty Hugo heads in for dental surgery. I know this type of thing is fairly routine, but I always feel so badly bringing my cats to the vet in general and then having him need to go under and deal with the post-op pain just makes me feel so sorry for him. He just needs one tooth extracted as I noticed last year that it was red and bleeding in the gum area, but he also needs a cleaning. He only just turned 7 so he's a young guy and will probably be fine, but still I can't help worrying! 

Bio Sculpture "Ornamented Arch" sent as press sample

SHEET MASK | Leaders in Solution Daily Wonders Masks

I am back with another Leaders in Solution #SheetMaskSunday this time with masks from their Daily Wonders collection! I don't really understand why this series of masks is called "Daily Wonders", but what caught my attention were the amusing, almost judgemental names of each of the masks! They are marketed as "mood masks" so whatever your skin is feeling, there is a mask for it which fits with my general skincare philosophy that parts of your routine can change based on your skin's temperament for the day. We're not always in happy moods every day and I believe the same is true for our skin so I like the idea of a sheet masks with the same basic formula with a few tweaks to match the mood.

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cirque Colors Game Over and Weekly Catch Up

Well, hello there! I think I will use these nail swatch posts as a guise to do more of a journal entry where I talk all about the "hot goss" in my life. Riiiight, as if there is much adventure going on in my life right now! I am still one of those people who isn't going out much though I did recently venture out to a friend's place to hang out for the day and she was the first person I had visited outside of my work bubble since the start of the pandemic! I'm not normally a social person so the pandemic has definitely fed into my natural desire to be alone and lemme tell ya, I have been eating it up! I have always found my day job socially quite draining so having all of my free time to decompress the last 18 months has truly felt so good. I still get tired, but I am nowhere near the level of mental exhaustion I used to be at. I also have a new outlook on blogging, Instagram and PR which has calmed me down when it comes to always posting, always blogging, always trying to get product and running around like a madwoman trying to do it all!  

Purchased by me

SKINCARE | Antipodes Baptise H20 Ultra Hydrating Water Gel and Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream

When it comes to my skincare routine, I am very much a serum girl. That is the step I focus on and generally spend the most money on as that is where ingredients are most concentrated. Without a serum in your routine, you will never get the targeted results you want especially when you get older. As a result, I constantly swap out my moisturizers depending on what sheet mask I have used that night or how my skin is feeling first thing in the morning. It is rare that I stick with the same day/night moisturizer unless I am reviewing something so when I opened up these jars of day and night moisturizer from Antipodes to try, I expected to just say "Oh, these are nice" and then move on to something else once I got bored or had something new land on my desk. What ended up happening was a true love affair where I would hungrily look at these two products and apply them slowly and methodically "American Psycho" style. The fact that I have not talked about a moisturizer on Cosmetic Proof for one year and have not given a dedicated review to a singular moisturizer in THREE years speaks volumes to just how much I have been enjoying both these creams!

Press samples provided

NAILS | Not Quite Ready to Say Hello to Fall Shades #CBBxManiMonday

I swear this was totally going to be a Fall-themed manicure, but I blame the discovery of this matte glitter! Why did Sephora stop making their own house brand of nail polish?! It was so good! First, there was Sephora by OPI which was so good and then came Formula X which I adored. Great shades, formulas and really funky matte glitter like this! 

One polish gifted and the other purchased by me

SHEET MASK | 23 Years Old Cocoon Gold Silky Mask

Going back to the beginnings of my sheet mask obsession, the 23 Years Old Cocoon Gold Silky Mask was one of the first brands AND masks to pop up as "must try" on my radar as at the time it was one of the few masks I had seen made of a super silky and thin material. Even just reading the name of the mask and the words "cocoon" and "silky" - you immediately want this on your face!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cirque Colors Electric Daisy Swatch and Life Chat

As I write this, it is Sept.1st and I know I am not alone when I say that for some reason, this year's arrival of Sept.1st feels so much faster and more surreal than last year! Last year, we were still trying to adjust to life in a pandemic and with work, I was just trying to keep an open mind about an ever-changing environment. This year, we have vaccines, the introduction of vaccine passports, continued mask-wearing which means I have a a good idea of what life is going to be like until 2022. Maybe the summer seems to have gone by more quickly because it all started with a weeklong incredibly uncomfortable heatwave (without an A/C) and then only after that did I realize comfortable summer temperatures should be enjoyed to their fullest! 

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Clarins Frozen Summer Makeup Collection

I have been sitting on this review for longer than I have wanted to solely because I wanted to get my face on and show you a full makeup look with everything, but let's face it. Summer is almost over and the days I have off are spent enjoying the sunshine, reading a book or puttering around the house so putting on a full face of makeup is something I don't want to do on my days off. What I can say is that I have been using almost everything in the Clarins Frozen Makeup Collection along with a few of their new skincare products from the My Clarins line and really enjoying them! I hadn't used Clarins in a long time and it felt nice to come home to a beauty brand staple. I know you want to see more photo spam as the packaging for this year's collection was just screaming "Happy Summer!" so let's get to it!

 

Press samples 

NAILS | Feathers #CBBxManiMonday

I decided to take it really easy this week because I have been wanting to wear this delicious glowing shade green as a final salute to our neon/brights theme this summer and also because I have been a little bit busy after work the last week leaving not much time for nails. With my husband being away, I've been trying to get as much housework done as I can so that I can have full days to relax on my days off. The other night, I decided to cram in laundry, dinner and for some reason unclogging the shower drain into the 3 hours before I needed to start winding down for bed and boy was I exhausted afterwards! You people with children, I don't know where you find the energy, but hats off to all of you! 

Purchased by me

SHEET MASK | VT Tofu Probiotic Mask

If there is a sheet mask with a food-related reference, I'm going to wear it plain and simple! I've always been very attracted to the idea of food and skincare and the notion that if it's good enough for your skin, it's good enough to eat (although I know this is VERY bad idea 99% of the time!). When I worked for Tata Harper, she often said that her products were good enough to eat and they even did it as a Christmas marketing promotion where everyone was passing around product to spread on toast! Tofu was always a very important food in my Asian household and one that I have recently rediscovered as a protein alternative when I don't feel like eating meat. We've been trying to do more vegetarian throughout the week, but unfortunately my husband is not a huge fan of this soybean derivative so I am left on my own when it comes to my tofu food adventures including the discovery of this VT Tofu Probiotics Mask at our local T&T!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Bright Blue with a Tinge of Gold #CBBxManiMonday

 I looked back at a few manicures over the weeks and it's evident that I really like this blue and gold combination! Last week I wore the new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Neons collection for my ManiMonday and I fell in love with the glittery blue polish "Chill Out" and knew I needed to wear it in its full glory on my nails and not just as nail art!

Some polishes are PR

SHEET MASK | Berrisom Oops Soda Bubble Mask

I remember when bubble masks were all the rage a few years ago and even though I don't use them quite as often as before, every once in awhile I like the amusement of tingly bubbles all over my face plus the bonus effect of refreshed skin! The Berrisom Soda Bubble Mask is one of only two bubble masks I have tried to date that aren't charcoal-based or black in colour, but still promises revitalized and brighter skin!

Purchased through my FaceTory subscription

SKINCARE | The Clarins Sunscreen Collection

 

Is it too late for me to talk about sunscreens? Never! Just when I thought Vancouver was going to be done with the heat, we got slapped with one more heat wave last week! Now, we are back to our somewhat wet and gloomy weather, but that's ok because the air quality was getting pretty bad and parts of BC were literally on fire so hopefully Northern BC gets some relief soon. As always, I get a little sunscreen crazy every year trying new textures and brands and with the last year and half focusing more on skincare, I have found myself devouring different sunscreens as it has literally been the last thing I put on my face as my makeup routine no longer involves foundation or other face makeup. Sigh, how the pandemic has changed things! 

Press samples provided

NAILS | Neon Tips #CBBxManiMonday

How are we now halfway through August?! I feel like other than the unprecedented heat, this summer has been a gloriously lazy one. I felt quite a bit busier during the summer last year as I had just gone back to work and clients started buying again. I feel like I had a lot more energy just in trying to actively keep a positive attitude as the world was still not quite back yet from the pandemic. In Vancouver it feels pretty much normal now with just the mask wearing and ever since finding the brand hmnkind for face masks, I barely notice I am wearing anything because they are so comfortable!  

Press samples

SHEET MASK | Getting to Know Loops Beauty

I discovered Loops Beauty while exploring the "sheet mask" hashtag on Instagram earlier this year and what caught my eye about these hydrogel masks were the fun colours they came in as well as the brightly coloured packaging. The Creative Director is also none other than model/actress Emily Ratajkowski, best known to me as the topless dancing girl from Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" music video. Not like this fact should have any influence on your decision to try the brand, but it was an interesting side note. I am a sheet mask fan first and foremost so even though celebrity skincare brands generally make me do an eyeroll, I wanted to still try out the masks because they looked cool!  

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cadillacquer Flora (Thermal) Nail Polish

I will keep this short and sweet as it is a lovely 34 degrees Celsius here in Vancouver and again without air conditioning, it's a rough temperature to handle. For once, I am so happy to be working because I can escape the heat and live in AC for 10 hours of the day! I am currently typing with a frozen dishcloth between my thighs as I have learned from the last heat dome in June that cooling the thighs helps lower overall body temperature! That and putting a frozen towel on my head has helped GREATLY in keeping me sane as I am quite the grump in the heat! 

Purchased by me

HAIR | Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Collection

I desperately need to get my hair cut and coloured again, but it's a process I both love and dread because of how far I have to drive to see my stylist and how much it costs to have done! Yes, I know I could go and do some research and try someone new for probably half the price (I pay around $650), but when you have a stylist who knows your hair and YOU for 4 years, it's a formula you don't want to mess with. I last got my hair balayaged and cut last November so I'm due for getting my hair done very soon! I try to go about every 8 months or so which makes the price tag seem not quite as bad when you divide it over the year, but I still have a small heart attack whenever I pay my bill! With that in mind, you can understand why I am constantly finding ways to protect my colour especially in the summer from the blazing sun which is why I was really looking forward to using the Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Collection! 

Press samples provided

NAILS | Summer Abstract #CBBxManiMonday

I am hoping to be a bit better about the blogging this week as I inadvertently took a bit of a week long break last week because I was far more interested in watching hours of the Olympics every night! No one at my work watches which I find crazy and I am glad that my husband also enjoys watching everything because I was definitely captivated by the introduction of sport climbing this year!

Products purchased by me

SHEET MASK | H&M Biocellulose and Hydrogel Hydrating and Energizing Sheet Masks

Did you know H&M had sheet masks? I did not until I was exchanging a few things some time last year and got caught at the infamous checkout counter where a number of sheet masks and beauty items were displayed with the purpose of distracting me and making me spend more money! Well, it worked and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of the masks!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Blue and Gold #CBBxManiMonday

I have been finding it difficult to sit down and blog the last week or so. I don't really have any posts I am itching to write and though many beauty bloggers go through a burnout, I feel like it's more about wanting to enjoy the summer, read my books and just chill overall before September whirls around. Now, we are officially in August and I see some people already thinking about their Halloween decorations?! I mean, let's slow it down and enjoy ourselves a little bit!

Polishes purchased by me

SHEET MASK | Dr. Jart Cryo Rubber with Moisturizing Hyaluronic Acid

I was kind of obsessed with Dr.Jart's iconic rubber masks when they first came out a few years ago and it took me awhile to try them because they were almost $20 each, but in the end they were well worth the price! Last year, while we were in the throes of Lockdown, Dr. Jart stepped up their rubber masks by coming out with the Cryo Rubber masks! While still very similar to its predecessor in terms of hydration and soothing redness, these new masks promise to deliver a cooling effect and lower the skin temperature down to as low as 12 degrees Fahrenheit! 

Purchased by me

NAILS | Nerd Lacquer Resolutionary Swatch (and Chat)

I don't normally like to post similar types of posts back to back on the blog, but I just haven't felt the urge to sit in front of a screen at night and have been opting to do LEGO or watch the Tokyo 2020 Olympics! Who has been watching? I always love the Olympics and we downloaded CBC Gem so for the first time, we can watch ANY sport we want from judo to rugby to the MUCH broadcasted swimming! I've also been enjoying rowing and seeing the Canadian Women's Eight win gold was so exciting!

Purchased by me eons ago

NAILS | Inspired by the Clarins Frozen Summer Eyeshadow Palette #CBBxManiMonday

While some may look to nature for inspiration, beauty packaging holds so much potential for nail art inspiration and has been incredibly fun to create and when I saw the new Clarins Frozen collection, I picked up this eyeshadow palette, looked at it and knew it had to somehow end up on my nails. For the first time in awhile, I did my nails ahead of time mainly because I got my second vaccine shot on Sunday morning and I wanted to be prepared "in case I went down"! While I could be fine, I also could be very much NOT fine! I have today off as well and I am prepared to hunker down and sit in front of Netfllix should my condition go South!

 

Polishes purchased by me. Clarins Eyeshadow Palette is a PR sample.

SHEET MASK | Blooming Cell Pink Peel 2-Step Mask

I have said before that I adore multi-step masks as I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck with my sheet mask purchase and as much I prepare my skin beforehand, there is nothing like having everything I need all in one piece of packaging. The multiple steps can range from an eye cream to a cleanser to a peel so I have to make sure I pay attention to what each little section of the packaging says so I don't accidentally "do a step" on my own that isn't part of the package. Today's #SheetMaskSunday is one that I will remember for a long time because it was fantastic!

Purchased via my Facetory subscription

LIFESTYLE | hmnkind Antibacterial Performance Face Masks

In total, I have reviewed three face masks and raved about a couple more on my Instagram stories, but now I can totally say that I have found my "face mask boos" and I will never go back to anything else! It took me awhile to find these perfect face masks, but unlike the other masks I have reviewed, these hmnkind Antibacterial Performance Face Masks check every single box. I don't have to tweak or fiddle with them and even my co-workers have purchased them for themselves and their families! These masks are so unlike the other fabric masks I have been wearing that now that we are alllllmost seeing the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, I feel like I will almost miss wearing these and I am here to tell you all why!

Purchased by me

NAILS | Cadillacquer Eivor (Thermal) Nail Polish

This post is essentially nail porn as it has been a long time since I have discovered a new nail polish brand and a new nail polish store to shop from that is based in Canada! Indie polishes have come a long way from when I first started this little blog and though I pulled away from indie polishes once I started moving more into skincare, my love for them has been recently renewed while going through my stash. After reading a haul post on Renee's blog featuring some products from Ottawa-based NailStuff, I went to the website to peruse specifically thermal polishes. Lo and behold, there were A LOT with one brand in particular making some polishes with dramatic colour changes - Cadillacquer!

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | New Mary Kay Summer 2021 Collection

This is the first summer specific beauty collection I have featured here and it feels kind of nice! As I write this, it is a GORGEOUS and sunny day in Vancouver with the temperatures sitting at a comfortable 26 degrees complete with light breeze. Nothing like being in a heat dome AT ALL! My reward for finishing this post will be to sit on the patio with my new book "Midnight Library" in my sundress, hat and sunscreen (of course!), but for now let's dive into some new summer products from Mary Kay!

PR samples

NAILS | Waves of Blue #CBBxManiMonday

I have had the song "Waves of Blue" by Canadian artists Majid Jordan on repeat for the last week and when I was rounding summer coloured polishes to feature, seeing this trio of shades together made me think of the song I played for 30 minutes straight the other day in the car! I have been having the most chill two days off, reading my book and most importantly, enjoying the summer sunshine. My husband and I made turkey enchiladas last night and then went for an evening walk around the neighbourhood which we try to do a few times a week for some exercise. He goes for runs, but I am not the best when it comes to working out. I know what it takes to commit to exercising and I readily admit that I am not willing to put in the commitment even though I know it will improve my life substantially. Thankfully I eat well, but the exercise factor is definitely the one thing I KNOW I need to do, but don't feel motivated enough to do. Judge me all you want, I know I am a flawed individual!

Some polishes are PR samples

SHEET MASK | MasqueBar Massage Point Moisturizing Sheet Mask

I love a good face massage, but in a sheet mask? The Masque Bar Massage Point Sheet Mask contains perfectly round little nubbins on the sheet mask itself to stimulate circulation and pressure points on the face. Crazy, right? It also contains moisturizing hyaluronic acid, tea tree oil and willowbark extract to refresh and tone the skin. I have always had good luck with Masque Bar and this type of sheet mask seemed unusual so let's find out how it did with my skin!

Press sample provided

LIFESTYLE | Recent Places of Joy

The format of this post is a little different as this is almost like a photo dump of photos that I had taken for Instagram Stories of things I have been enjoying over the last couple of months. While beauty blogging is still a massive part of my life, makeup is still very secondary, even tertiary to other "hobbies" I have discovered. I think once I get my second dose and we don't need to wear masks at work anymore (still mandatory for my work and that is fine by me), my love for full face makeup will come back, but I doubt it will be at the same level as it was pre-pandemic. While I am still setting aside my dollars as much as I can, I am allowing myself some fun purchases that have brought me much joy and have found ways to make my day job kind of exciting!

NAILS | Nerd Lacquer Pinin' for the Fjords Swatch

What I love about Instagram is for is that it is a great place to share nail swatches as sometimes writing a whole blog post about a single colour seems a bit overkill. When I initially started in the blogging world, nails were the only thing I talked about and as there was no Instagram, this was my only place to share a pretty polish I happened to be wearing. Sometimes though, it does feel nice to chat a little bit and that's when it is nice to bring back the single colour nail polish swatch posts with the bonus of a life update!

Purchased by me in 2012! 

BODY | Avon Anew Vitamin C Collection

We are so used to seeing and using vitamin C products for the face, but I don't think I've ever really looked at vitamin C products for the body so when Avon released a collection of vitamin C products promising radiance for the rest of my body I thought it was perfect as who does not want to be as radiant as an orange this summer!

Press samples

NAILS | Neon Geodes #CBBxManiMonday

Well, I survived my first week back at work after a vacation and truth be told, it was actually very quiet so I didn't feel like I was drowning the first few days. I managed to get all caught up and even get ahead a bit for this week over the weekend so I am in good shape! I have really been enjoying this summer, trying to read outside on my days off and go for walks. Even doing laundry and letting it air dry outside in the sun feels like summer to me and I love it. Doing bright summer manicures also makes me feel so happy so I will do my best to keep you all entertained with pretty nails and positive vibes!

Some PR samples featured

SHEET MASK | Dr. Belmeur Mild Derma Sheet Mask Collection

Over here at Cosmetic Proof HQ, we really like Dr. Belmeur sheet masks! Found at The Face Shop, the Dr. Belmeur masks are generally a little bit more expensive than "The Solutions" masks, but they are very much worth the extra dollars. I picked up a couple of masks a few years ago at The Face Shop location in Metrotown and finally gave them all a shot over the last few weeks and honestly, even though they all had different skin purposes, the results on my skin were fairly similar so I won't be delving into too much detail for each as it starts to get a bit repetitive!

Purchased by me