Again, I really DID have my nails done on Monday, but I just didn't get a chance to edit the photos and write the post. I think the old me would have really pushed for staying up as late as possible to post #CBBxManiMonday for Monday, but I have found that even if I stay up and get it done, I feel awful the next morning and it just takes the fun out of blogging so if I've learned anything the last year, it's that if something doesn't feel fun anymore, you probably shouldn't do it. If you are tired, go rest and if you feel the need to vacuum and clean, then listen to your body and go do that!
SKINCARE | The New NENA Mineral Serum Made with Canadian Glacial Mineral Water
SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Mud, Bubbles, Charcoal and Primer!
HAIR | Joico Defy Damage Collection
NAILS | Hide and Seek Easter Bunny #CBBxManiMonday
Traditionally for April we would fill the month with Easter-themed manicures, but I realized that Easter Monday is the first Monday of the month which means that doing bunny and egg manicure might not be completely appropriate. So, I decided to at least do this one Easter manicure for today and then the rest of the month will just be fun Spring stuff!
SHEET MASK | Etude House 0.2 Therapy Air Mask #SheetMaskSunday
When I first started on my sheet mask journey five years ago, I wanted to review EVERYTHING and to be able to have a database of some sort to query and look back on if I ever needed to remember what I liked/disliked about a sheet mask. Now, I really only want to talk about sheet masks that stand out OR have something special about them whether that be good or bad. I have an incredible backlog of sheet mask photos going back to 2018 that I am determined to get through this year as a lot of the masks I tried back then were really cool. When I first started looking for affordable, but effective sheet masks, one of the very first masks that came up when I Googled were the Etude House 0.2mm Therapy Air Masks. Hailed as being able to deliver moisture and skin-loving ingredients all from a sheet mask that is just 0.2mm thick, these masks are still some of my all-time favourites to use and today is finally the day I give them some much deserved love!
SKINCARE | Getting to Know Malin + Goetz
NAILS | Royal and Regal #CBBxManiMonday
Let me just say that these nails started out a total disaster and what you are looking at is the "cover up" which unfortunately is not on theme with our green nails for the month, but it could not be helped! The shade underneath, Picture Polish "Family" is a beautiful sea foam green though which was what I originally had planned on featuring before I messed up my nail art. Nothing a little taping manicure couldn't save!
SHEET MASK | Soo'Ae Rose Masks: Revitalizing Rose Petal Sheet Mask and Rose Mask Duo Kit
BATH | Lush Easter Collection
I think Easter has to be my second favourite time of the year (after Christmas) when it comes to bath bomb goodies from Lush! It is specifically "eggs" that I enjoy as every year there seems to be a more and more creative way of incorporating them into "tub life". Don't get me wrong, I love bunnies too, but I always feel like eggs hold the cutest surprises hehe!
Press samples provided
NAILS | Beyond the Nail Green Thermal #CBBxManiMonday
SHEET MASK | Mediheal Bio Capsulin Love Me Mask Set (BTS Special Edition)
LIFESTYLE | My Top 5 Favourite ASMR Channels
NAILS | Ikat Velvet #CBBxManiMonday
LIFESTYLE | Evora Sequin Cotton Masks
It has now gotten to the point where I am matching my face masks to my work outfits AND classifying them as "dressy" vs "casual". Please tell me that I'm not the only one who is doing this now? It has been hard buying "off the rack" when it comes to face masks with most being too big for my face and not being adjustable. Last year I had turned to Asian online retailer Yesstyle for some face masks that hopefully fit a bit better and had interesting designs. I was not disappointed!
NAILS | Read Between the Lines #CBBxManiMonday
I am having a hard time focusing on "non-work" related things today. I keep thinking about what I need to deal with when I come back which is really frustrating since I can't DO anything until I AM back so my brain knows that worrying about this is pointless so I am trying to distract myself by working on my to-do list for the next two days. I did bake a new cake so that's something (an Apple Cake) that I am proud I tried and now it's just figuring out the blogging calendar which right now, I find pretty exciting. I love seeing what my month could potentially look like even if I always start off VERY ambitious and then have to remove stuff from the calendar due to time constraints. I use my Google Calendar to keep track of my blog and Instagram posts so it makes it easy to move things around if I need to. I started doing this at the beginning of the pandemic while I was off work and I have found it to be a really useful and satisfying tool to keep things organized.
SHEET MASK | A By BOM Ultra Night Leaf Mask #SheetMaskSunday
I am on a small 4-day staycation so I started it off on Sunday by sleeping for 10 hours. It was the first time I hadn't set an alarm for myself so just let my body do what it wanted to do. It felt really good to do although I always feel guilty whenever I sleep in past 9am. I feel like as we get older, we want to do more with our day and getting up earlier, makes me feel more accomplished at least mentally! So, it obviously isn't Sunday today, but I am a sucker for sticking to a routine and I have blogged about a sheet mask every Sunday since the pandemic started a year ago and have enjoyed doing this so here's to a #SheetMaskSunday on a Monday!
MAKEUP | The Face Shop Rouge Powder Matte Lipsticks
When these Face Shop Rouge Powder Matte Lipsticks first launched through Avon over the summer, I was fully convinced that I would wear even MORE makeup at work because I now needed some heavy duty, long-lasting products to make sure things didn't budge under my face mask, but things changed rather quickly once Fall/Winter came around. I feel like a bit of a fraud reviewing lip products other than balms, glosses and serums now, but if I don't use lipsticks in this space, I will probably never use them again for the foreseeable future so think of my lipstick posts as an ode to what I miss about life pre-pandemic!
NAILS | It's Easy Being Green #CBBxManiMonday
SHEET MASK | Merbliss Wedding Dress Ruby Ultra Vitalizing Micro Fiber Mask
NAILS | Leopard Print Hearts #CBBxManiMonday
I feel like I am cheating a bit here as I did leopard print nails on one nail for last week, but I loved it so much I wanted to do it again! We are in the last week of February before we start with our March green manicures for St. Patrick's Day and I think I might even extend the "green theme" to sheet masking and use all of sheet masks with green packaging! Though I would love to do this with makeup, I don't think I can handle green eyeshadow every day! Maybe I can aim for once a week and give my green shadows some love!
SHEET MASK | Dr. Belmeur Cica Peptide Intensive Face Mask #LunarFebruary
MAKEUP | VDL x Pantone Classic Blue Collection 2020
NAILS | Valentine's Day 2021 #CBBxManiMonday
SHEET MASK | The Face Shop Real Nature Masks: Lotus, Red Ginger, Green Tea, Potato and Aloe
The Face Shop Real Nature Sheet Masks have been serious Korean skincare staples for what feels like all of my skincare journey so for anyone starting out with sheet masking, these masks are super affordable and easy to find online and in person to purchase. There are 24 sheet masks in the Real Nature series each with a different plant extract being featured to target specific skin concerns like hydration, soothing and firming. Though I would like to eventually try all 24 of these masks, I have five to share with you today that are a great summary of what the collection is all about!
SKINCARE | 23 Years Old Aqua Bab Modeling Mask #LunarFebruary
HAIR | Raincry Advanced Hair Mists
It's the last day of my 3-day weekend and it has been pretty glorious to have this time to myself. I managed to get a whackload of chores done yesterday like the dreaded handwashing of ultra delicates, make Japanese curry and then muffins for breakfast last night. I also finally got the chance to go to the library, the bank and UPS to pick up some packages. I even squeezed in a makeup look for a future post which trust me, I was close to not doing at all and just taking a nap instead, but I knew I wouldn't have the time later this week. I feel like while I am good at multi-tasking, it can only be in a specific area so if I'm off, I focus on either house or blog things. If I'm at work, I focus solely on clients, staff, sales and whatever else needs to be done there and leave the house and blog things to a minimum as I have realized that I'm not as efficient at the latter if I'm on a work day stretch. My creativity is much lower, blog posts get really hard to write, pictures seem more difficult to take and writing captions on Instagram feels like pulling teeth!
NAILS | Inspired by Shiseido #CBBxManiMonday
I am writing this post from the comfort of my own home as I inadvertently got a long weekend due to some scheduling changes. The END of the week is going to be a bit of a gong show, but then my work is closing on Family Day (the first time ever) so I will have a bit of a break! Keeping on theme with #LunarFebruary, today's design was inspired by the iconic Japanese brand - Shiseido! Most well-known for their skincare, they also have some fantastic makeup! I have it on my list to do a little makeup look and blog post with some of their stuff but we shall see how I feel! Makeup seems to be a bit of a hassle now, but once I have it on it always makes me feel really good so hopefully I muster up the willpower on one of my days off!
Sheet Mask | A by Bom Ultra Royal Leaf Mask #LunarFebruary
HAIR | Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Cap System
I was first introduced to Briogeo in 2014 through my Ipsy subscription with the Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask and really enjoyed it! Back then, Briogeo was near impossible to find in Canada, but now that the brand is readily available at Sephora, a large chunk of my haircare is from this brand and with good reason! I love the instant results of hair masks because my colour-treated hair is so dry and I used to try to avoid using silicones, which made Briogeo a great option, but now I am more relaxed about it so whether a product has silicones or not does not matter to me as long as my hair feels and looks good! I go through hair masks quite quickly as I use one 2-3x a week and though I have my favourites, I also like mixing it up like with this conditioning hair cap system!
BATH | Lush Valentine's Day Collection 2021
It's what we've been waiting for! Well, I don't know about you, but I always look forward to what Lush has in store for their Valentine's Day collection and this year is just as sweet as every other year. I am a little sad that I didn't get one of the new releases (the Blow Me a Kiss Bubble Blower) as it was sold out when I went to my local Lush store to pick one up, but if you do happen to get one, it looks like a lot of fun!
NAILS | JINsoon Red and Pink Dotticure #CBBxManiMonday
For the month of February, our CBBxManiMonday theme will be red and pink, BUT I will also try my hardest to incorporate my month-long theme of #LunarFebruary! This is the third year I have done this and I quite enjoy it! I've never been a huge Valentine's Day person, though bath bombs are my weakness for this occasion so I make an exception with my annual Lush posts, but for those of you who don't know, #LunarFebruary is in celebration of the Lunar New Year. This is where I focus on Asian brands and products and I have a great time with it because Asian products can be quite different from North American ones! Usually my posts end up being very skincare focused because Asians LOVE their skincare, but the technology and skintertainment value is WAY UP from what you can find in the North American market. For today's post, I wanted to find an Asian nail polish brand and I actually don't have very many until I started going through my drawers and found some untrieds from Korean, vegan, 10-free nail polish brand JINsoon!
SHEET MASK | Skin7Teen 3-Step Americano Mask
MAKEUP | YSL Holiday 2020 Collection
When it comes to timing, 2020 and probably most of 2021 is going to be a bit of a mess with delays and closures being the norm now so continue to treat those of us in the retail sector with kindness because it's not our fault that we cannot get you what you want or even guarantee a delivery date like pre-COVID times. When it comes to blogging and social media, I haven't adhered very closely to a time for things because like many people, I am taking things day by day and even though I look at a calendar every day, I don't think my brain truly registers the passage of time because every weekend sort of surprises me! When it came to posting about Christmas and holiday releases, I only did three posts because I just wasn't sure what December would be like. Because of this, and the delays with Canada Post, I also did not want to request any additional PR as there would have been no guarantee that I would even get a chance to share holiday releases before the holidays which is why it was a delightful relief when the YSL Holiday 2020 Collection was sent to me in early January. All of the items are still available online so everything here is still relevant and thankfully so because the packaging is just so damn pretty!
NAILS | Inspired by Kerastase Serum Cicanuit #CBBxManiMonday
SHEET MASK | 7th Heaven 24 Hour Hydration Range
SKINCARE | An Entirely "Made in Vancouver" Skincare Routine
NAILS | Who Wants Glitter? Meeeee! #CBBxManiMonday
I can't believe my 10 day staycation is down to the last 24 hours! I managed to get quite a bit done though which was good. Harper got her FVRCP vaccine, I got the O2 sensor on my car replaced and went to the dentist for a cleaning (no cavities, yay!). I also taught myself how to use Instagram Reels because I refuse to believe that someone approaching 40 can't learn a few new tricks (even though there was a point while editing a video where I wanted to shoot someone). I don't get large chunks of time off like this often and after the first few days of just catching up with household things like vacuuming, laundry and meal planning, my brain gets creative in terms of what it wants to do for the blog and content. If you are a stay at home mom who also blogs, more power to you! If I had to do the house stuff every day and try to find time to photograph product, film and edit a reel and write a blog post, I would be exhausted 24-7 which is what I gather moms feel like!
SHEET MASK | The Creme Shop Bad Badtz Maru Detox Rocks
When I first started on this sheet mask journey in 2016, it was more to use up sheet masks that I had sitting in my stash which at the time was probably around 30 masks. Then around the time that I started really enjoying them, the North American beauty world also picked up on the joy of sheet masking and though I have long since finished my expiring stash of masks, I picked up WAY more in my gusto to review ALL OF THE SHEET MASKS. I have never thought of myself as a "go hard or go home" gal, but I can't deny that in recent years that when it has come to hobbies like nail art, sheet masks, bath bombs or most recently the banjolele, I have gone "full Boyle" (for those who watch Brooklyn 99)!
Purchased by me
MAKEUP | Phytosurgence Flash Fluorescence Cream Eyeshadows with Swatches and Look
My love affair for Canadian products and shopping local has grown ever deeper and I have the pandemic to partially "thank" (I always feel a bit weird using the words "pandemic" and "thankful" in the same sentence) for my exuberance in trying to "keep it in the family" this year. I don't want to be one of those people who get sad when local places or businesses close having invested zero effort into keeping them afloat. Now, food is one thing since we all get hungry and need to eat, but beauty is next level for me because I need absolutely NOTHING so I'm seriously investing not just money, but space in my already overflowing drawers so the products need to hit a certain level of bougieness that I have become accustomed to.
Hi, Phytosurgence...
Purchased by me
NAILS | Here Kitty, Kitty #CBBxManiMonday
SHEET MASK | Bix Beauty Skin Diary Weekly Mask Routine
MAKEUP | MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Lipsticks
NAILS | Going in Circles #CBBxManiMonday
The first #CBBxManiMonday of 2021 and the three of us were having some trouble coming up with a theme and after a bit of discussion, we realized that we were all wanting to go through some untrieds and things we hadn't had a chance to get to in 2020 so in a way our "no theme" is more like "doing things we didn't get to do last year" which is fine by me! I am still enjoying my holiday themed nail polishes, but done with holiday designs so this worked out perfectly! Also, am I the only who despises this first week back? What I hate about it is that OTHER people feel the need to get things done and put that pressure on us when really the only thing has changed is them not us! Everything that people put off last month now suddenly becomes of utmost importance come January because of whatever resolutions people have set out to accomplish. February is ok too! Or heck even Spring!
PR samples
SHEET MASK | Keep Cool and Soothe, Ocean and Shine Masks
