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! 

HAIR | Olaplex Haircare Routine with No.3, No.4, No.5 and the Volumizing Dry Mist

 

Press samples

How many of you remember screaming when Olaplex No.3 was finally accessible to us normal people?! I had only used Olaplex products when getting my hair done in the salon and the No.3 Hair Perfector was all I heard about! So far, No.3 is the only Olaplex product I have used and I have been happily testing three others to see how my hair responds for the last couple of weeks. Spoiler alert - I have found both a must-have as well as a "this isn't working for me and I need to give it away" product! 

HAIR | Gisou Honey Infused Haircare Set

Purchased by me

Ah, trendy haircare. Sometimes I hate myself for giving into the hype of certain brands and Gisou ("hair" in Farsi) was one of them. I think Negin Mirsalehi is gorgeous (at least according to her Instagram page) and has deliciously looking healthy hair (again, according to her Instagram page) while also having an attractive story of how her family has been raising bees for 6 generations with Negin herself being a beekeeper! All of the Gisou products contain honey from the Mirsalehi beehives which is quite interesting, but I can't help but approach this luxury haircare line with a grain of salt because Negin's image is so incredibly curated (like many) that it's hard to know what's real anymore, but curiosity got the best of me and when the opportunity came for me to try sample sizes of all of Gisou's bestsellers, I thought "Why the hell not?"

HAIR | BC Bonacure Time Restore Collection by Schwarzkopf

Press samples

As I approach turning 40 this July, I feel like suddenly I have officially turned the corner into "mature" skincare, haircare, bodycare, you name it - it needs care now! I still have yet to have major grey hair issues, but I have the few that pop up from time to time that I gracefully yank out and no more do NOT grow back in their place! While I have been using "mature skincare" aka very hydrating products for a few years now, I haven't really thought about mature haircare. I generally use products for dry and colour-treated hair, so I thought the newly revamped BC Bonacure Time Restore collection would be perfect for me or so I thought... 

HAIR | Elastine Propolithera Damage Repair Collection

 

Press samples

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? 

HAIR | Getting to Know Voir Haircare (Made in Canada!)

Purchased by me

I first took note of Voir when I saw it grace @thestoryofmar's Instagram a number of times. When it comes to a good product/brand, Marion is one of the few I trust! Initially, the packaging caught my eye and then when I realized Voir was Canadian, I was even more intrigued as there are not that many Canadian haircare companies. I made in vow in 2020 to support more Canadian brands so this is when I made my first purchase!

HAIR | Sebastian Dark Oil Collection

I have been reviewing this Sebastian Dark Oil Collection for FAR longer than I normally would because honestly, I am having a hard time moving on.  Why you ask? Well, it's because this collection of products have been so damn awesome! In fact, even though I graciously received the products below as press samples, I ended up buying the Dark Oil Hair Oil from Chatters over the weekend because I wanted MORE of this collection!

Press samples

HAIR | Soo'AE Honey Avocado and Sooth Tea Tee Rosemary Hair Masks #LunarFebruary

I have always been a very devoted hair mask user as I am actually quite terrified of what my hair will look and feel like without the help of some extra dimethicones! After doing some beauty organization the last few weeks, I have come to realize that with my focus being less on makeup, I have now zeroed in on other parts of my body and my hair has been a big one! 

Purchased by me

HAIR | Joico Defy Damage Collection

It has been forever since we have chatted about shampoos, conditioners and masks so we need to change that since I am obsessed with my hair! I would say that after skincare, I have an overwhelmingly obscene number of hair care products and I secretly think that I get my hair coloured just so I can justify the "supporting" hair products. I do enjoy being blonde and after switching my colour around for a few years, I have found a happy place with a warm balayage that lasts me around 8 months before feeling like I need a colour refresh with JT at Civello on South Granville. Yes, JT is a colour genius and knows how to blend the blonde so that it lasts, but I have to do my part when it comes to home care and that means constant heat and UV protection as well as hydrating masks. The Joico Defy Damage collection protects all hair types from heat styling, UV exposure and environmental exposure preventing frizz, breakage and dullness. Well, sign me up!

Press samples

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

HAIR | 5 Hair Masks

I had planned on so much blog content for this month as I had vacation time scheduled the last two weeks of this month, but then came COVID-19 and me being called back into work to hold down the fort so it looks like this month is going to be a weird one for everyone. Now, don't think me insensitive for NOT talking about what's going on in the world, but I don't think I want to read more about COVID-19 than I should. I get my daily dose from Dr. Bonnie Henry and will continue to do my best to stay at home when not at work and get from Point A to B with as little extraneous contact as possible, but we all need a bit of a break sometimes so for the next few minutes, we are going to think about our hair!

 The only product I have purchased is the OLAPLEX

HAIR | Marc Anthony Nourishing Hemp Oil Collection

Never thought I'd be using cannabis in my hair, but here we are with the newest haircare collection from Marc Anthony featuring the nourishing properties of cannabis sativa oil! Obviously, this collection won't get you high, but you and your hair will feel pretttyy good by the end of all four products!

PR samples

HAIR | SNP Overnight Hair Mask in Strengthens and Restores

I feel the urge to say thank you to anyone who is still reading this space as even I am finding it hard to find time to read the blogs of some of my favourite bloggers nowadays which makes me sad because I feel like I don't READ as much anymore. I have been trying to do my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I have only hit my goal of 30 books once - back in 2011 I think. That's a loooong time ago and now I am struggling just to read my second book of the year. SO SAD! The one constant I have had going on in my life is masks of all kinds and back in May I focused on masks that had nothing to do with the face and had everything to do with all the other parts of the body with one of the more effective masks being the SNP Overnight Hair Mask*!

PR sample

HAIR | Masking with Marc Anthony

Not only are sheet masks important to me, but hair masks are something I cannot live without! I use a hair mask twice a week and there are dire consequences if I don't! My hair just looks and feels so lackluster that I don't take the risk anymore. While I generally focus on hydration masks, I have been getting more and more into masks that also focus on volume and cleansing the scalp without drying out the rest of my hair (Christophe Robin mask I am talking to YOU!). While I do enjoy salon level hair care products, I have had some great luck with higher end drugstore brands one of which is a long time love of mine - Marc Anthony! 

PR samples

MASK | Truly Organic Rainbows in Mirrors, Star Fruit and the Star Kisser Jelly Lip Plumping Mask

On any given day, I'm masking some part of my body and though it is mostly my face, I also enjoy finding new masks for my hair and lips! When I was on my girls shopping day in March, I stopped in Nordstrom to look at some shoes and on the way out, a clean beauty pop-up caught my eye because it had a number of US-based brands that I had only seen online like Rael, Clove and Hallow and Truly Organic. I had seen so many colourful, millennial-bait style posts on Instagram for Truly Organic from glitter lip masks to unicorn body butters that I had to see what the big deal was! Was it all just for show? Or were the products actually effective in addition to being so cute that I hated myself for wanting everything?!

Purchased by me

HAIR | The Body Shop Shea Butter Collection

Almost 2 months ago to the day, I attended the launch of some new products for The Body Shop's Shea Butter Collection at CF Pacific Centre downtown and even made an exfoliating lip scrub to take home all by 8:45am (gotta love morning events)! The Shea Butter range is not a new one, but over the last few years The Body Shop has revamped packaging, added new products and more importantly, raised awareness for ethical wage compensation, community trade ingredients, animal testing and transparency within the global supply chain. All of us were able to see the women in Ghana make this very shea butter I'm using as well as how these job opportunities have given these women their independence. Here I was being all grumpy about having to go to work after the event and then I hear these women talk about how proud they are to finally be able to provide for their families instead of relying on their husbands and I shut right up!

PR samples

HAIR | Klorane Mango Collection #MangoRitual

All I can say is Klorane should make mango desserts to go with this collection because ALL OF IT smelled good enough to eat! Known for their plant-based formulas with 96% of the ingredients coming from natural sources, Klorane's new Mango Collection is for dry and dehydrated hair which is probably everyone's hair right now since we are in the middle of winter. Vancouver even got a taste of below freezing weather last week and my hair was ever thankful that I had a nourishing line like this one to keep it soft and touchable instead of crunchy and scary. 

PR samples

HAIR | Garnier Fructis 1 Minute Hair Treats

Not only have I been sheet masking like a demon, but I have also been hair masking every time I wash my hair! While I understand the importance of hair masking at least once a week when you have coloured or damaged hair, I have noticed that a lot of hair masks require 10-20 minutes to penetrate the hair shaft to really make any sort of difference. I prefer to do all of my hair masking in the shower and I can never find enough to do while waiting plus I hate wasting running water like that so when I saw that the Garnier Fructis Hair Treats were just ONE MINUTE I was sold just on the luxury of TIME!

PR samples

HAIR | John Frieda Beach Blonde Series Review

My very first question about the John Frieda Beach Blonde line was whether I needed to be blonde to see any benefits and of course the answer is no! It says right on the packaging that this is perfect for brunettes as well! You can figure out from my question that I have been sitting on this review for awhile because I ended up going blonde over the summer and never needed to wonder anymore! Released last year, the Beach Blonde line consists of the: Cool Dip Purifying Shampoo*, Smooth Seas Detangling Conditioner*, Kelp Help Deep Conditioning Masque* and Sea Waves Salt Spray*.

HAIR | Lisap Ultimate Straight Fluid & Moisture Rich Smoothing Mask Review

I've been fighting frizz since 1995 which is also when puberty hit so I blame the hormones. My hair is quite coarse naturally and without any help, I feel like there is a constant halo of frizz hovering just above my actual hair. I think of it as my own personal ozone layer so when someone tells me that there is a product that will tame frizz without loss of volume AND contains botanicals that are GOOD for my hair, I say okay! Let's get it on!

Lisap is based and manufactured in Milan, Italy with 60 years of haircare experience. When it comes to nice hair, I feel like the Italians always have such shiny, thick heads of hair so I feel I can trust them. Lisap has an extensive product line, but as my concern was getting frizz-free and smooth hair, I decided to stick with keeping my hair hydrated with Lisap's ULTIMATE Collection. Formulated with a "Kerasil complex", hydrolyzed keratin and ceramide A2, hair is strengthened leaving it silky and under control. We shall see!