SKINCARE | East 29th Valia Cleanser and Verse Lotion Mist

Purchased by me

It has been far too long since I have featured this lovely Vancouver-based brand on the blog, but if you have not tried East 29th's Vital Serum, you and your skin are missing out! Since being introduced to the product via East 29th owner, Victoria Ferguson, I have gone through 4 bottles of it and absolutely do not plan on stopping! For a little while, this was their only product, but then came the Valia Cleanser and Verse Lotion Mist which I am finally going to review today!

HOBBIES | February Pixyls Projects

 

Purchased by me. Affiliate links.

I probably Pixyl more than I blog at this point mainly because it is a passive and meditative activity I can do when my brain is dead after work. I love Pixyling before bed with a cozy beauty or minimalist YouTube video from JenLuv or Simple Happy Zen. Every month, Pixyls has a little contest where everyone can submit, through the Discord channel, a photo or video of their completed Pixyls and win 250 Pix points.The points count towards various discount levels of 5% (500 points), 10% (1000 points), 15% (1500 points) or 20% (2000 points). I generally hold out for 2000 as it makes the most sense to me, but I also probably buy more than I should! This photo above was my February submission and as you can tell it was cat-themed!

NAILS | Wintery Glitter #CBBxManiMonday

One press sample

I had originally intended on spending my Sunday doing some blogging, but I ended up going through my craft bins and doing some organizing which took about 5 hours! It was incredibly tiring and then I always get leg cramps because there is a lot squatting, kneeling and just being on the floor sorting through things. I still have a few things to sort through, but bit by bit I will hopefully be able to reduce just the amount of STUFF I have in my house!

HAIR | BKIND Moisture and Nourish Hair Mask #CanadianSummer

 

Press sample

I was trying to feature mainly Canadian brands last month as it was Canada Day on July 1st, but I didn't have time to feature all the brands I wanted to so I am turning this into #CanadianSummer to keep the love going! Today we are featuring once more Quebec-based BKIND (see my previous BKIND review here) and their Moisture and Nourish Hair Mask! 

LIFESTYLE | Sticker by Number Art with Pixyls (Another Instagram Ad I Fell For)

If you follow me on Instagram, you might be aware of a new hobby that I got into late last year called Pixyls. This is a fairly new Canadian company founded by Rachel Curwen and it was recommended to me as an Instagram ad! I was intrigued and looked into it right away and was even more convinced to try it when I saw that Pixyls was based out of Ontario!

SKINCARE | Skoah Hydradew Mask #CanadianJuly

Purchased by me

Founded here in Vancouver, BC I have not posted about Skoah since 2014 and it's mainly because I worked there and had a bit of a negative experience at head office where I worked, but now that I have had 10+ years of hindsight and life experience, it's mostly in the past and I feel comfortable sharing about this brand again. It also just goes to show how good the Hydradew Mask is that I have felt the need to come out of "hibernation" to let you all know just how good this mask is!  

SKINCARE | BKIND Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm #CanadianJuly

Press sample

I have been raving about Quebec-based brand BKIND and their nail polishes for the last few weeks of CBBxManiMondays and now we are moving into their skincare! I know that single product reviews are sooo 10 years ago, but you know what? I find that doing a mixture of both round-ups and single product posts keeps me more organized and helps me remember better what I have talked about with all of you here! Sometimes certain products deserve a conversation of their own and since we are featuring Canadian brands this month, BKIND is gettin' their own post!

HAIR | AG Care Vita C Collection (Smells Like Vanilla & Oranges!) #CanadianJuly

Press samples

For the first time in awhile, this is a haircare review where I have found the products made a noticeable difference to my hair and scalp! I was about to review the AG Care Vita C Collection anyway, but now that this month is all about Canadian brands, it kind of works out that this awesome brand was founded right here in North Vancouver, BC by husband and wife team, John and Lotte Davis, with all products being made in Canada! Their daughter Mackenzie Davis is also a great actress! I first noticed her as the cool new Terminator and then I really liked her in the movie The Happiest Season! She probably always has the healthiest hair ever! 

SKINCARE | NENA Skincare Glacial Micellar Water and Overnight Lip Mask

 

Press samples

Last November, one of my favourite local skincare brands, NENA Skincare launched two brand new products that were the perfect additions to their ever-growing collection! I have featured NENA a lot on the blog because not only do I love the products, but I love their commitment to sustainability, respect for nature and their partnership with the Homlaco people to harvest the Glacial Oceanic Clay used in all of their products.

SHEET MASK | Di Morelli Hydrating Face Mask

Press sample

This week's sheet mask is from Vancouver-based brand Di Morelli created by Dr. Morrell who founded the Medical Rejuvenation Centre in 1999. I am most familiar with their Vitamin C Serum for Face and Eyes as years ago, it was one of the few vitamin C serums that was potent yet gentle enough to be used around the eyes. A couple of months ago, I discovered Di Morelli had sheet masks so HAD to give them a go!

HAIR | Carina Organics Citrus Shampoo and Sweet Pea Conditioner

 

Purchased by me

Local love has been a focus of mine since the pandemic started and though I have shopped from Sephora and other American sites here and there, I have tried my best to keep it local (also I don't like the exchange rate!) and more importantly to products and brands that I truly enjoy. Carina Organics was started in North Vancouver back in 1972 and is still family-owned and run! Their claim to fame, at least when I first heard of them, is their shampoos and conditioners which are pH-balanced, vegan, cruelty-free, safe in rivers, lakes and oceans AND made with ingredients sourced locally! It really doesn't get better than that!

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 | Girly Bits Le Freak #CBBxManiMonday

Going to the Backstreet Boys concert on Saturday night seriously screwed up my blogging and overall life schedule (even though it was AMAZING and seriously a dream come true to go!) because I was just exhausted after the concert was over! I had to work the next day and I honestly don't remember how I was even able to get up in the morning. On top of that, my ears were RINGING for about two days and I was so worried that I was going to have to live with tinnitus for the rest of my life and have to listen to white noise 24/7 in order to not go insane! Thankfully, my hearing came back on Monday and all was well, but I did not have a manicure prepared until today, but now that I do, isn't it purrrdy? 

PR samples