MAKEUP | Dior Forever Glow Star Filter

Purchased by me

One thing I have rediscovered this year with Dior is their complexion products. While trying to use up my old Dior foundations from years ago, I realized that some of the nicest face products I have in my collection are indeed from Dior which led me to purchase the new(ish) Forever Glow Star Filter.

HAIR | Going Vibrant Violet!

 

So, I did a bit of a thing last week. After being blonde for the last four years, I suddenly felt the urge to change up my hair. Drastically! I went a bit darker last year by opting for "mushroom blonde" and after seeing an Instagram post on Toby Does Hair (he did my hair last year) for "Vibrant Violet"in July, I immediately felt the need to have this hair! 

NAILS | OPI Scorpio Seduction Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Press sample

The theme for this week is supposed to be "Brights", but I have a good reason for going somewhat vampy for today and that is because my nails and fingers are dyed purple from getting my hair dyed purple last Thursday. Basically everytime I run my hands through my hair or blow dry, I am still getting purple on my hands and nails so I figured it was easier just to pick a nail polish colour that matched my hair until the dye stopped leaching!

SHEET MASK | Pixi Aftersun Soothing Infusion Sheet Mask

 

Press sample

I honestly have no idea where this last week went, but all I can say is that summer is ending too quickly and that even though I have enjoyed it, I still can't believe I haven't gotten a chance to do all the things I wanted to do. I think a big part of it was that there were a number of weeks where it was REALLY hot and humid so when the conditions are like that, you kind of just want to be lazy and not do too many house things. 

NAILS | Cirque Colors Mushroom Kingdom Thermal Swatch #CBBxManiMonday

Purchased by me

I had a super busy weekend where I think for two of those days I didn't even have nail polish on because I couldn't decide on what polish to wear! I had booked some time off on Saturday for a friend's BBQ and then I went to the Vancouver Gem Show on Sunday. Monday I also happened to have off and went to afternoon tea at Holts Cafe with a friend so all in all, my days off have been filled with many GOOD things, but it just leaves less time for blogging because I often end up napping after any social activity!

SHEET MASK | JM Solution x Pokemon Stamp In Allantoin Mask

Purchased by me 

I can never resist a printed mask let alone a POKEMON printed mask! JM Solution is nailing it with these collaborations so when I saw that Oceanbuy.ca had a few of the Pokemon masks, I "got 'em all!"

SKINCARE | Paula's Choice Summer SPF Heroes

Press samples

Truthfully, I wanted to have a sunscreen post up for you all the way back in June, but as we are supposed to be wearing sunscreen year round, I guess sunscreen is applicable from January to December! Paula's Choice recently added to their SPF family and I had the extreme pleasure of testing two of them which have turned out to be two of the nicest sunscreen formulations to have graced my face!

NAILS | China Pattern-Inspired #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

August is going by WAY too quickly for me as I am not quite ready to think about Back to School season (even though I haven't been a student for over 10 years!). It's amazing how Back to School will forever stick with you long into your adult years. One thing I have been seeing A LOT of this summer is the blue floral print on white on dresses and bags and thought I would try it out on my nails!

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Purifying and Clarifying Mask

 

Purchased by me

I have had a really nice three day weekend having worked the Stat Holiday earlier this week and it has truly been SO nice. I feel like even though it's the summer, I have been workin' real hard and I'm trying to enjoy some of the summer before we head into Fall and then inevitably CHRISTMAS. It really creeps up on you and especially in the world of retail, we start thinking of the holiday season in September! It has been nice to catch up on some house and blog things and while I have been busy at home, I am a true homebody so I love it.

NAILS | OPI Brown to Earth Swatch

 

Happy weekend! I am writing this live which almost NEVER happens because it is Saturday and in the world of retail, I so rarely get this day off as it is often the busiest. This will be a bit brief as I sadly only have this one photo of OPI Brown to Earth, which the most perfect shade of dark chocolate. I bring this out quite often during the Fall months as it is such a cozy brown that works with a lot of Fall designs.

This weekend I am feeling a little bummed out with some things going on at work that are beyond my control, but will affect myself and the team in the end. I am in this mental state of re-evaluation which does not feel good, but I have some options to proceed with which might make me feel better. I am just feeling horrifically undervalued at this point and I realize that I have to do what is best for me even if it means other people aren't happy. If I have learned anything this year is that the only people who watch out for me are myself and my husband. It will be an interesting year and while I feel I have the mental capacity to handle it, I just know that it will be unpleasant. I am just hoping to clear my head this weekend and be somewhat productive in other areas of my life in the hopes of feeling better for the upcoming future.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will see you all later!

MAKEUP | Perricone MD No Makeup Lip Oil with Swatches

Press samples

Lip oils are ALL the rage now and though I tell myself that the six I have are enough, I still find myself adding to my collection as I discover new textures, colours and my weakness - scents! Though these were press samples, I could not help but get overly excited for the Perricone MD No Makeup Lip Oils as I still remember when the No Makeup series launched and it was still somewhat novel for a true skincare brand to get into the makeup game.

NAILS | Man, It's a Hot One! #CBBxManiMonday

Press samples

I feel like I can relax now that I have worked a whole week without my other manager. I feel like I can never get any of my client stuff done when I am alone because the team tends to need support that is now falling solely on my instead of divided between the two of us. We used to have a Floor Manager dedicated to helping the sales team, but she left recently and so we are having to recalibrate our energy and resources. I think what makes me sad about our current team is that two senior members of the team always need help AND refuse to help others or give them terrible or wrong answers so the rest of the team has been forced to rely on us for proper guidance. I always live in fear whenever a new hire starts because they just don't know who to trust and you can't be the crazy manager who says negative things about their own staff. I'm not in charge of hiring or firing so sometimes I also feel like I am just working with the cards I've been dealt. Anyway, somehow I managed to find it in me to put on some nail polish yesterday ONLY because I know how much better I feel whenever I have fresh nails!

BEAUTY | July Ipsy Glam Bag "Passport to Glow"

 

Purchased by me

July is over and we are now halfway through the summer which is CRAZY! My July Ipsy Glam Bag actually arrived pretty quickly and even arrived a full week before the other girl in my building received hers LOL! This month's bag was not bad with some new products that I have been experimenting with and enjoying. Let's get into it!

SHEET MASK | Kocostar Waffle Mask in Ice Cream, Honey and Strawberry

Purchased by me

It is the long weekend and while I worked yesterday and will work the holiday Monday, it still feels like I get to benefit from this extra long weekend as well as Monday is a short day, late start and overall more chill than regular days. I also start working 4 days/week this month in order to use up some vacation days and have a better work/life balance. If only I could continue that schedule, but in the world of retail that just isn't realistic!

NAILS | OPI Feelin' Capricorny Swatch #MidWeekMani

Press sample

My week of stress is almost over! Actually, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be even though it did have its share of client issues (of course, never my fault). For some reason, I was just in this headspace of truly believing that I could make everything better and that "nothing was beyond my abilities". It was a great feeling and I hope happens to me more often than not!