SKINCARE | Farm X Super Greens Double Cleanse Routine

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I feel like I have been doing the double cleanse since the beginning of time, but it has only been since 2015! Cleansing oils were REALLY big at this time in the North American market and I remember being at Sephora and just being overwhelmed by everyone coming out with their own cleansing oil, but I never got around to trying a BALM until years later. I have my moods when it comes to oils vs. balms and sometimes it's just really satisfying to plunge into the buttery goodness of a balm and then doubly satisfying when you get to work it into your skin and massage all the crap of the day off into a melty emulsion!

MAKEUP | Avon x fmg GLO KOLOR Collection

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As I have gotten older, I have definitely moved over into more of the skincare side of beauty vs. the makeup even though I still love makeup, but maybe I'm not as experimental as I used to be. Nowadays, I don't often get excited about makeup, but when I saw the packaging of the new fmg GLO KOLOR collection I couldn't help getting excited about trying out the products! A collection that is all about no fuss beauty and making sure the skin is prepped and at its best, these hydrating and priming products feel like skincare, but can be friends with your makeup and I LOVE THAT.

HAIR | Elastine Propolithera Damage Repair Collection

 

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When it comes to bees, I think we can all agree that it is fantastic to see honey and propolis have such a presence in our beauty products and if I could have my own bees to take care, I think I would because these little critters are amazing! I have used propolis products in skincare and only once in haircare, in the form of the Gisou thermal spray, so using it in a full haircare routine was something new to me. I knew propolis was wonderful for the skin, but what about the hair? 

SKINCARE | Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Travel Kit for Dry and Sensitive Skin

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Maybe it's a combination of the weather and getting ever closer to 40, but I have really been noticing how dry my skin has been since the start of the Fall season whether it's the inside of my nose, my hands or my face. Usually a sheet mask helps significantly, but as of late even my tried and true "sheet mask moisture providers" have needed a little bit of a boost. Thankfully, I have discovered some gloriously moisturizing products this season with Korean skincare brand Physiogel with my initial introduction to the brand being their sheet mask which I loved! 

SHEET MASK | Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Cream Mask

Purchased by me

I did not mean to take such a long break from the blog this past week, but I was still playing catch up at work and was coming home feeling just spent from the day! This upcoming week is going to be a busy one with our new Chaumet boutique opening, but I would like to be as in control of this week and really the month of December as possible! Maybe that should be my mental hashtag for the month, #TakingControlOfDecember and I will try to do something every day this month to stay present as I also try to survive retail during the holidays since it always ends up being a bit of a gong show leading up to Christmas!

HAIR | Chi Essentials Keratin and Bonding Collection

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It has been ages since I have reviewed some haircare as it is actually one of my favourite categories of beauty to test out after skincare! I try to test out new things every month, but with September being #SampleSeptember, I focused on using up my little deluxe haircare sizes and then October just got too busy, but for the past month or so, I have been using Chi Essentials Keratin and Bonding Collection and have had a hard time giving it up to move on to another brand!

BODY | Veilment Hemp Seed Oil Collection

 

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Here I am takin' care of my body once again! I don't know what prompted my sudden interest in body products. Perhaps it has been my ongoing beauty clean out (it has been 4 consecutive Sundays in a row now!) or the fact that I am determined to get rid of my strawberry legs (does anyone else have those?)! The latest bodycare I have been using is from the brand Veilment from Fruits & Passion which I'm sure more of you are familiar with. I primarily use their Cucina products in the kitchen so Veilment was completely new to me and is now carried through Avon.

MAKEUP | fmg Ink High-Gloss Lacquers

 

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I have been wearing lipstick again to work! Albeit, it's matte lipstick so that it lasts all day as we are still masking during store hours, but I have been tentatively taking it off when I am at my desk or on my own. I am prepared for things to change once the Fall/Winter season hits as we might be on to a different letter of the Greek alphabet for the next variant! 

MAKEUP | Avon TPSY Collection

Products provided by PR

Hello Makeup, my old friend. That's swhat goes through my head whenever I start to put together a full face of makeup and though I am still tip-toeing back into a real daily makeup routine, I have started wearing tinted moisturizer as foundation and lipstick almost everyday! If you are slowly opening up to the world of makeup again or just enjoy the easy glow of Korean style makeup, Avon TPSY is the newest in achieving a quick pop of colour and of course glowy skin!

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!

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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!

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MAKEUP | VDL Expert Color Primer for Eyes with Swatches and Wear Test

As evidenced by my lack of makeup posts this past year, it is obvious I am not wearing much makeup these days. I actually think I made more of an effort to wear a full face of makeup when I was stuck inside during Quarantine because it made me feel more productive, but now that I am back to the grind of things I have become a mostly lazy girl with my routine on work days wearing various shades of neutral brown shadows. One thing that I always need to use though is an eye primer since the eyes are now the ONLY window into the soul and I need to make sure my eye makeup doesn't look like the "morning after" when it has only been four hours! Queue the primer specialists - Korean beauty brand VDL!

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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! 

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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!

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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!

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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! 

 

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MAKEUP | Avon Glimmershadow Liquid Eyeshadows with Swatches and Makeup Looks

Well, it looks like the only makeup products you will see reviewed on the blog here are eyeshadows because my work face right now is ONLY about the eyes! It's interesting how all of us suddenly have very different routines now depending on how COVID has affected our jobs and daily lives. If your job has moved you to being at home, makeup is either non-existent or there to keep you presentable or just feeling good. If you work outside like me and have to wear a mask everyday, you can still wear all of the makeup you want, but I think eventually the focus ends up being on the upper half of your face! I never used to wear undereye concealer, but now that a face mask stops right underneath my eyes and allows one's eye to zero in on that area, I make the effort in the mornings to make sure I look perky there! I have actually been using the Avon Cashmere Concealer because it is so lightweight and blendable. Once I'm done with the colour correcting, I can move on to the eyeshadow which for the last 2 weeks has been the Avon Glimmershadow Liquid Eyeshadows!

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MAKEUP | Avon x The Face Shop Ink Tattoo Lip Tints

In this time of mask-wearing, I find that people are either wearing less or MORE makeup. I think it all comes down to your occupation and whether you are on your own or customer facing as you obviously wouldn't be wearing a mask if you are spending most of your time at home. I have been especially focused on lips as I still like wear some sort of colour as my natural lip colour is quite pale. While I have been wearing a number matte liquid lipsticks, for mornings where I am in a rush or just don't feel like taking the time to painstakingly outline my lips (let's face it, a liquid lipstick takes TIME to apply!), a longwearing lip tint has also been working for me. When it comes to lip tints, the Korean beauty world is really where it's at as tints are standard in their makeup looks whether it'd be casual or dressy. Avon and The Face Shop have been really killin' it with the products they have partnered up on and released so here are the Ink Tattoo Lip Tints!

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MAKEUP | Avon Cashmere Complexion Longwear Foundation and Concealer

Nothing excites me more now than a fresh bottle of foundation to try out. I didn't always used to be this way with the first foundation review only appearing on Cosmetic Proof in 2013 because that is when I first used foundation EVER! Up until then, it was Asian BB creams or the Pur Minerals 4 in 1 Pressed Mineral Foundation because it was powder and easy to blend. Liquid foundations would freak me out because I was convinced they would be cakey, but over the years I have found that by taking care of the "canvas underneath", most foundations get a fair chance and give me a good idea of how they wear and look throughout the day.

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MAKEUP | Avon Glimmerkiss Liquid Lipsticks with Lip Swatches

It seems silly to think that it is very possible that no one outside of my home will ever see my lips again as they will probably be covered up at work and shopping with a mask, but I have to keep thinking positively and have faith that one day we will be able to show our full faces again. I guess for those of you who are able to work from home and take Zoom calls, then you might be able to get all glammed up and show off some sparkly lips with the new Avon Glimmerkiss Liquid Lipsticks! It's possible I may have grabbed one of these and baked with it on just to feel fancy because these guys pack a punch without feeling heavy. You can even eat your baked goods without the lipsticks budging as that has now become a VERY important requirement for me!

 PR gifted