SHEET MASK | Merbliss Wedding Dress Ruby Ultra Vitalizing Micro Fiber Mask

I had high hopes for having more posts of Asian brands for Lunar February, but the last two weeks at work have been kicking my ass and I ended up opting for sleep in place of blog posts which I've realized is ALWAYS a good idea. I had voiced on my Instagram yesterday my frustrations with working in retail as people often feel they can say whatever they want to complete strangers without considering the fact that they are real people or my favourite from yesterday was when a woman thought she could lie her way into receiving a discount and eventually got caught for "embellishing" a few things. She ended up leaving and then coming back and buying at full price so ha. Anyway, despite all that has been keeping me busy, I have continued on with my sheet masking and I *think* I'm going to do something crazy that I have wanted to for awhile and that is to attempt to sheet mask for 365 DAYS straight! We shall see what happens!

Purchased by me

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!

Press samples

SHEET MASK | Dr. Belmeur Cica Peptide Intensive Face Mask #LunarFebruary

Has your skin been super dry lately? I couldn't tell at first if it was the retinol I started using over a month ago, but my hands and the inside of my nose have been dry to the point of getting nosebleeds which I NEVER get so I have been trying to amp up my moisture levels on all fronts! I'm just going to  come right out and say it - this Dr.Belmeur Cica Peptide Mask is AWESOME and now I get to tell you why!

Press sample

MAKEUP | VDL x Pantone Classic Blue Collection 2020

Yes, I know that we have now moved on to two new Pantone colours, but I much prefer Classic Blue to Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. I also may have lost track of time and thought it was still 2020 when I took all of my photos for this launch, but the VDL x Pantone collaboration for 2020 was just too pretty to not talk about. Blue is one of my favourite colours especially in this particular shade! 

 

Press samples 

NAILS | Valentine's Day 2021 #CBBxManiMonday

Yes, I know it's February 15th and Valentine's Day is over, but it seemed a shame to not have done any Valentine's Day-themed nails so here they are! I came across a screenshot of a Cutepolish tutorial in my Google search for some ideas as she often "borrows" from other nail polish bloggers without giving credit so I won't bother linking her video. I think in this particular video she has her collaborators doing the design so it's not her specifically anymore, but I have read enough about her in my early blogging days taking ideas from smaller bloggers, having those smaller bloggers fight back only to be attacked by her followers. I don't think it's hard to give credit to where you originally saw a design and though it's hard to call anything original now, I think you should do your best so if you Google "Valentine's Day Nail Art", a screenshot of her video will pop up should you wish to use it. The only thing I changed is making the pinky nail a leopard print nail. 

Press samples 

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!

Press samples

SKINCARE | 23 Years Old Aqua Bab Modeling Mask #LunarFebruary

Now, that I sheet mask every day, I have been massively neglecting my other potted masks, but #LunarFebruary has forced me to re-evaluate my stash (something I try to do once a month) and discover gems that had been hiding...behind other skincare gems...starting with the renowned Korean skincare brand 23 Years Old! After trying a couple of their sheet masks, I starting reading some REALLY good things about their Aqua Bab Modeling Mask and picked up a package of 4 when I saw them on sale at T&T!

Purchased by me

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!  

Press samples

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

I am back with another wonderful mask from Korean skincare brand A by Bom, a brand I feel deserves more attention than it gets! There is an elegance to their sheet masks and I always feel like I'm doing something EXTRA special when I use one of their masks. When it comes to multi-step masks, they are one of the ones I look forward most to using and believe it or not, when it comes to the world of printed sheet masks, I feel like I look like a million bucks when I wear one of theirs!

Purchased by me

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!  

Purchased by me

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! 

Press samples

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! 

JINSoon polish purchased by me. Sally Hansen polishes are press samples.