HAIR | 5 Heat Protectants I Use Everytime I Style My Hair

I never thought about how much I use heat protectant until I looked around and saw just how many bottles of the stuff I had and just how empty most of them alllmost were (I'm terrible at sticking to one)! If you have coloured hair, you will understand just how important using a heat protectant can be as it keeps colour in your hair for longer, but in general protects hair from damage from heat styling tools and UV light. A lot of protectants also hydrate, add shine and help to improve hair texture so even if you don't have coloured hair, this isn't a bad product to add to your haircare routine! 

Kerastase and Rene Furterer products are PR. Rest purchased by me.

HAIR | Oils for Shine, Hydration and Protection

I didn't understand who would ever need a hair oil until I became a blonde. Not only do hair oils make my hair look healthier, but it also helps protect it from heat styling and UV damage. They are almost like a liquid helmet and once I realized how necessary they were to my haircare routine, I went from high-maintenance to hair-maintenance achievement level SUPREME! 

Some PR samples featured

HAIR | I'm So Blue

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

It feels like forever ago since I decided to colour my hair dark blue, but it has been another harrowing hair experience I can tell you that! Going this shade of blue has probably been the easiest to maintain out of the blonde, oilslick and blue/green. With blonde, I eventually looked brassy, oilslick was probably next easiest to maintain as my hair didn't look awful at the end of 8 weeks, blue/green was probably the worst as the green turned muddy even with colour protecting shampoos and treatments.

After much Instagramming and Pinteresting, my Hair God JT, from Civello Robson, and I decided that a darker blue would look great at the beginning and at the end of the summer and we were right! It's actually looking fairly tame now, but allow me to take you on my hair story starting with the very first day at the salon!

HAIR | My Mermaid Hair Journey with Aveda and Civello Robson

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

January 20th was a momentous and memorable day. It was almost liberating in a way because I finally decided to do something truly adventurous with my hair! I was afraid those closest to me would think I was about to leave my husband or something equally "mid-life crises" because drastic changes are often the result of emotional upheaval. Not the case with me at all! Rainbow hair has been dominating our Instagram feeds for a few years now and you see people of all ages, colours and creeds sporting blue, pink or purple balayages. I personally love the contrast of seeing my mermaid hair with business attire and over the last few months have come to the conclusion that coloured hair can be taken seriously and it all comes down to how you style it and most importantly, OWNING it!

HAIR | Aveda Visit #8 and Getting Oil Slick Hair with Civello Robson

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

I normally don't like having an entire post with just pictures of me, but this is the story of hair which is closely attached to my head so we can't escape it. Originally, I had an appointment booked in September at the Aveda Institute in Vancouver, but ended up having to re-book for mid-November at the newly-minted Civello Robson (formerly Aveda Tonic). This was my first time at a full service Aveda salon and I paid careful attention to how other clients were treated and the service was consistently excellent!

My hair has been in the blonde family for a year now and the whole point of being an Aveda Ambassador is to show YOU what these colourists are truly capable of so this time around I decided to go for "oil slick hair" and get rid of the blonde completely! I have been wanting actual colour in my hair, but knowing that black hair does not want to retain colour, I figured purple and blue would last longer than pastel shades. After a consultation with super stylist JT two weeks beforehand, I was in the chair!  

EXPERIENCE | AVEDA Session #7 Even More Blonde!"

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

My last appointment with Aveda was early this summer where I asked to go a little more blonde. As much as I enjoyed the darker hair, summer was all about being glowy and going a little bit more blonde was something I was craving. I also thought I would share my last experience with you because next month I will be a different colour...multiple perhaps...you only live once, right?

EXPERIENCE | Aveda Session #6 Going a Little More Blonde and Appointments for Clean Water

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

I am not the most adventurous person and those rare times where I HAVE done something "wild" have involved either a breakup or massive life moment of introspection. Going blonde marked a career change and right now I'm feeling like somewhere in the middle so at my last appointment at Aveda with Rita, who brought up the idea of going lavender(!), I asked to keep the light brown, but add some blonde bits throughout my hair just to bring back some of that brightness. Let's face it, I probably will go back to blonde eventually as I can only pull it off for so long before I'm too old.

EXPERIENCE | Aveda Sessions #4 & #5 - Going from Blonde to Brunette!

Back in December of 2015, I went in for my monthly colour appointment at the Aveda Institute and was expecting my regular blonde balayage to be toned up. For the first time, I had a student, Kayden, which wasn't a bad thing, but the process did take a little longer because the cut and colour had to be approved by a teacher and it was also a SUPER busy day at the school! My hair was in desperate need of a tone up as my blonde was looking quite warm and brassy so I asked for a slightly darker hair colour that would wear better over the coming weeks as I washed my hair. What ended up happening was far more dramatic than I was expecting, but ended up being a good thing!

EVENT | Aveda Sessions #3 Botanical Therapy Treatment + GIVEAWAY!

I am an Aveda Vancouver Ambassador. All treatments are complimentary.

After going ash blonde during my last Aveda Institute visit four weeks ago, I have since learned that even with cutting down my hair washing to twice a week and using purple hair products, blonde can lose its brightness fairly quickly. For my third session with Aveda, my appointment was with Advanced Grad, Tatiana, who greeted me with a huge smile as well as a lovely head of hair!

We chatted about what we felt my hair needed and in addition to a tone-up, I mentioned my hair was feeling excessively dry. Tatiana immediately recommended the Botanical Therapy Treatment (starting at $40 CDN)) that is only available in salons as each treatment is curated to your particular hair needs. I will start this post by saying I am completely sold on whatever magical properties this BTT contains! I swear that I now have magical fairy hair.

In addition to the BTT, I also got my blonde toned up and kept the ash blonde I had done last month. What I found absolutely amazing about the BTT was that unlike other conditioning treatments that last all of a few days, this treatment lasts EIGHT FREAKIN' WEEKS! The treatment itself is a proprietary mix of essential oils and what I refer to as Aveda Fair Dust which I'm sure is an incredibly concentrated mix of conditioning ingredients. It is sprayed on (see empty bottle above) and takes just FIVE minutes to work. It is then rinsed out and right away, my hair felt plump and thick.

I thought the feeling wouldn't last, but it has been almost a month and my hair feels almost like before I started colouring it! I can curl my hair with a flat iron without having to oil it up to give the iron something to glide on! The BTT seems to have formed a protective layer around each strand of hair preventing both moisture-loss and further external damage. It is truly amazing how weeks later, my hair is still benefitting from this treatment.

I can't keep this Aveda fun all to myself so as an early Christmas present, the Aveda Institute is offering the magical Botanical Therapy Treatment to one Cosmetic Proof reader!

Terms of the Giveaway

• Valid for Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto Aveda Institute locations
• Giveaway ends on November 30th, 2015 at 11:59pm
• The winner will have 48 hours to reply once they are contacted
• Do not follow only to unfollow (I have a VERY good memory!)
  
  
  GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

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EXPERIENCE | Aveda Canada Revisited - Getting Highlights and Going "Ash Blond"

At the end of July, I announced that I had become an Aveda Institute Vancouver Ambassador which, in all honesty, is something I feel more comfortable doing as going blond has given me a whole new appreciation for hair care. Between my skin and hair care regimes, I probably appear somewhat vain because I seem to spending immeasurable amounts of time on just the top part of my body! What I can truly say though is that having hair I love has made me feel so much more confident. Yes, inner beauty is more important, but this post is all about the HAIR.

After having a haircut and styling session last month (read all about it here!),I decided it was time to let Aveda do something about my summer blond that was getting a little too orange for me. I was greeted by the lovely Amy who got me settled and all cozy with a very FAT September issue of Vogue and a cup of Aveda's herbal tea. Amy then asked me a simple question,"What do you love and what do you dislike about your hair right now?" The answer was easy. I wanted the orange and brassiness taken out and possibly a darker hue for the Fall season. What I loved? I loved the length of my hair and the way the balayage was growing in so what Amy and I decided on was to tone the blond and add some low lights to give my hair some "refinement". 

EXPERIENCE | Aveda Canada Institute Tour, Haircut & Review in Photos

Earlier this month I was invited to be an Aveda Institute Vancouver Ambassador which I did not hesitate to say “yes” to as I have been a long time user of their Rosemary Mint Shampoo and the “shampure” scent of the Hand Relief Moisturizing Hand Cream is just to DIE FOR. The first order of business was a hair appointment and tour of the Aveda Institute in Vancouver located on Water Street in the ever eclectic Gastown in downtown Vancouver. It is tourist season so this area was bustling with activity on the day of my appointment. For those unfamiliar with the Gastown area, this is the City’s oldest neighbourhood and has been designated a national historic site. There are loads of fun eats, treats and little boutiques that both visitors and locals enjoy regularly throughout the year.

May | 2013 Favourites

May was a bit funny for me with favourites because I was under so much stress that my lips started to completely freak out and became itchy, red and numb which meant living off Vaseline as I couldn’t wear anything else! So, while my lips were undergoing some much needed TLC, I focused on products for everywhere else instead!

March 2013 Aveda Prive Topbox

This Topbox was a bit of a surprise as I received my tracking info yesterday as well as my box! I am fairly happy with the Aveda Prive Box although I keep forgetting how small the samples really are. I have been wanting to try more Aveda products so seeing the number of products in this month’s Topbox pushed me to opt for this one instead of the regular Topbox.

The Aveda box came wrapped in green leafy paper.

November 2012 Empties!

With November favourites come November empties, so let’s get this empties party started shall we?! I wasn’t too good about the full sized products, but I did get through my samples which always gives me a nice boost of “you can do it!”

Bath and Body

It’s Time for Sample Sundays!

I am procrastinating making an insurance claim for my car until Monday morning  by sharing with you a routine that I have been doing since May of this year. Every other Sunday, I take the time to go through my samples and pick out a few that I want to try out for the next two weeks. It’s actually such a fun process because it feels so much like shopping! Seeing all of those lovely beauty samples together gets me so giddy! This little ritual is also how I produce a lot of my empties. It’s almost like Project 10 Pan, but for samples and with a higher product turnover which makes it MUCH more interesting. So, what’s on the Sample Sunday menu today?

1. MaskerAide Hydrating Sheet Mask (1 mask)

2. Befine Single Serve Warming Clay Mask (14g)

3. Nesura Pore Deep Charcoal Strip for Nose Care (1 strip)

4. Etude House Black Charcoal Chin Pack (1 strip)

5. Biore Nose Strip (1 strip)

6. Nume Hydro Punch Shampoo (20mL)

7. Nume Hydro Punch Conditioner (20mL)

8. Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo (10mL)

9. Aveda Invati Thickening Conditioner (10mL)

10. Vitamine & Sea Perfect Skin Solution

12. Lancome High Resolution Triple Action Anti-Wrinkly Cream (15g)

13. Dior Capture Totale Multi-Perfection Concentrated Serum (1.5mL)

14. B. Kamins Maple Body Lotion (12mL)

15. B.Kamins Lip Balm (4mL)

16. Lift & Firm Rejeuvenating Day Cream (5mL)

17. Lift &Firm Deep Remodeling Night Cream (5mL)

18. Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzyme Face Rejeuvenator (12g)

19. CK Shock Eau de Toilette Spray (1.2mL)

Wish me luck!

October 2012 Topbox

This month’s Topbox was probably the first for a lot of people who had signed up for the infamous waitlist months ago, but I have to say that this month’s was probably the first that I was not too thrilled with which I hate saying! There was a good selection of brands in this month’s box and there was actually a product that I was about to buy online, but the arrival of this month’s Topbox stopped me just in time!

August Luvs

As much as I love doing August favourites, it also means that Fall is approaching and to be honest, I think I’m ready for Fall and cozying up with a blanket on cold nights. Another reason I know Fall is coming? Yoshi has been sleeping outside on the patio at night, but slept on our bed last night for the first time in two months and stretched to his full sausage length. We barely had any room to sleep! My favourites for the month have been products that I have been constantly reaching for so here we go!