Let’s Make Some Noise and Welcome 2015 with the Loudest Bath Bombs from LUSH!

It’s New Year’s Eve ya’ll and Lush has got some of the brightest, loudest products to help ring in the new year! 

There is nothing like a brilliant fireworks display that signals a fresh start, but we all can’t afford fanciful pyrotechnics, so why not have a little show in your tub? With the Sparkler*($5.95 CDN) and Northern Lights*($6.95 CDN) and their colourful, crackling, scented explosions of Rose Jam and jasmine and ylang ylang, this duo will light up the night! You can see that Northern Lights even has little stars that pepper your bathwater. Adorable!

Or how about makin’ some actual noise during your NYE party with the reusable Drummers Drumming Bubble Bar*($9.95 CDN) which has actual bells attached to its strawberry-scented bubbly goodness. I don’t have to tell you all that this smells AMAZING.

Of course no celebration is complete with a good, hearty drink that will leave you feeling cozy and satisfied like with one of my Holiday favourites – Hot Toddy Shower Gel*($9.95 CDN) scented with spicy cinnamon and ginger.  

Have a SAFE, fun-filled night everyone! I’ll see you next year!

MAKEUP LOOK | Essence “How to Make Nude Eyes” Makeup Box Look, Review and Swatches

When it comes to the holidays, there never seems to be enough time to do anything! It’s a constant rush to get things done and although I usually wear a little bit of makeup to run errands, I’ve been relying on nothing more than moisturizer lately. When I think about the extra time to get “face-ready”, I just shrug my shoulders and say “screw it”. With New Year’s parties just around the corner, I was imagining a 2 hour prep time to get glammed up, but the look I have on today took less than 10 minutes to create!

You can never go wrong with a nude eyeshadow look which is why Essence has kept it simple with the “How to Make Nude Eyes” Makeup Box*($9.99 CDN) with six eyeshadow shades that can take you from day to night in no time flat!

What’s In My Stocking? | Mary Kay Winter Wishes Collection

Let the season of indulgence continue! I never did stockings growing up, but now that I have seen what marvellous things go INTO stockings, I knew this was a tradition that needed to happen ASAP once I moved out on my own. This holiday season, Mary Kay came out with a number of stocking stuffer-friendly options so perhaps you found the limited edition Winter Wishes Shimmeriffic Shower Gel and Body Lotion Set*($27.00CDN) in your stocking or under the tree this year?

DEMETER HOLIDAY COLLECTION | Log Cabin, Fireplace and Christmas Tree (So Realistic, Who Needs the Real Thing?!)

Talk about the perfect time to share some more of Demeter Fragrance Library’s holiday scents! This year’s Holiday Collector’s Edition* ($45.00 USD) centers around the perfect Holiday weekend: a Log Cabin with a Fireplace while gazing at twinkling Christmas Tree.

GIFT IDEA | “Celebrate” the Holidays with Golden Goodies from LUSH!

The holidays and New Year’s are NON-STOP when it comes to being in a celebratory mood. Whether we are celebrating Christmas, time with friends and family or Sephora’s latest sale, the festivities are never-ending and sooner or later the clinking of glasses brings us all closer together. Whatever your alcoholic vice may be (like a classic girl, I love anything fizzy and fruity), Lush has the perfect package for bringing some of those holiday festivities into the tub with the Golden Wonder Gift Set* ($19.95 CDN) which contains: the holiday favourite Celebrate Hand and Body Lotion, Gold FUN and the newest and most AMAZING bath bomb, the Golden Wonder!

LIPS | The Perfect Holiday Red with Guerlain’s Gloss D’Enfer in #920 Rouge Parade

A good lookin’ red never goes out of style whether it’d be a dress, nail polish or lipstick. Looking back, I rarely review lip products on their own because I love being able to put them to the test and show you how they really look on an entire face. There are so many colours I have loved in isolation, but I generally like seeing both a swatch and how it looks on someone overall. With the case of my Guerlain Holiday Look (here), I was so impressed with the Gloss D’Enfer in #920 Rouge Parade* ($33 CDN) that I felt it needed a bit of a spotlight for this holiday season.

DEMETER HOLIDAY COLLECTION| Scent Memory with Candy Cane Truffle Cologne Spray

I haven’t talked about Demeter fragrances in awhile (review) mainly because I bought so much the first time I purchased that I am, unsurprisingly, STILL working through them all!

Demeter has an uncanny ability to capture so much more than scent. Fragrance is all about capturing an emotion, feeling or memory. This month, as our featured brand, the CBB and a few other bloggers from the network aren’t just reviewing Demeter holiday fragrances. We’re sharing a scent memory: partly beauty and partly personal so you can get to know us a little better and truly understand what each fragrance embodies.

The scent of Candy Cane Truffle* is peppermint at first and then chocolate at the end. I don’t know how Demeter was able to do it, but I guess that’s why I am reviewing instead of creating! I was scared that I would smell like toothpaste or a mint, but the “truffle” part truly makes this a wearable scent.

I grew up in a Christian household so Christmas was always celebrated, but being overseas Chinese meant that we had our own take on Christmas traditions. For instance, I’ve always known that there was no Santa so I always knew to go straight to the source (my parents) to let them know what I wanted for Christmas!

Candy Cane Truffle doesn’t take me back to my childhood though. It takes me back to 10 years ago when I was a university student because the presence of candy canes meant the end of December exams! When it came to decorating the tree, it was never done until my exams were over because it was a “job” that I hoarded all to myself! Once my last exam was written, I would go out, purchase a box of fresh candy canes from London Drugs and spend the day decorating the tree in my PJs. Smelling Candy Cane Truffle takes me back to this stress-free period of my life where exams were really the only thing to worry about, my family was still intact and life felt lighter. I’m not saying life isn’t great now, but there were definitely fewer things to worry about then. To this day, I love peppermint-scented ANYTHING because of the comfort of this particular memory.

What is your scent memory?

GIFT IDEA | Your Neighbourhood Nail Addict Will Love the MICRO Nail

I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of filing my nails. I love the process of painting, but any prep work is less than appealing to me. I have tons of those 4-in-1 buffers that guarantee smooth and shiny nails, but do you think I enjoy using them? Not really. I’ll buff my nails if there are some serious ridges, but other than that, I can’t be bothered.

Remember how much I raved about the MICRO Pedi in the summer (review)? Say hello to the MICRO Nail ($59.99 CDN)*, an electric nail polisher that buffs and shines your nails in literally seconds! Each MICRO Nail comes with two patented rollers: the MICRO Smooth and the MICRO Shine rotating 360 degrees and up to 1800 times/minute.

Nail Art | Christmas with Snoopy and the OPI Peanuts Collection

I found it a bit odd that the OPI Peanuts Collection was a Halloween release as I certainly do not associate Snoopy and the Peanuts crew with it. Christmas on the other hand? For sure! Watching Charlie Brown is just as necessary as watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” (which I’ve only watched once because it makes me TOO contemplative). I felt a little strange just painting my nails all yellow with OPI – Good Grief!*, so I decided to add a little Snoopy too.

Makeup Look | Get Holiday Glam with Guerlain’s New Petrouchka Palette!

This holiday season, spoil yourself just a little with Guerlain’s Petrouchka Eye and Blush Palette ($95 CDN)* or put it right at the top of your Christmas list at least! Sure this palette screams “holiday” with it’s gold and red packaging, but the eyeshadows and blushes inside are perfectly paired for anytime of the year.

Event | Lush Holiday 2014 and Pacific Centre Opening

Every retailer “does” Christmas, but there is always something about Lush that signals the holidays have arrived. I feel like this goes beyond being a beauty blogger. Some fads are just in my head, but I feel like everyone loves Christmas at Lush and cannot wait for annual favourites like Snow Fairy and Hot Toddy to grace the shelves once more.  A few weeks ago, Lush held their holiday festivities at the newly-opened Pacific Centre location. Things were in full swing by the time I arrived!

Mary Kay Little Gifts Holiday Scents | Hand Cream and Lip Balm Set

I know that some of you may have seen the Mary Kay Little Gifts Hand Creams ($13 CDN) in Vanilla Berry* and Vanilla Mint* back in the summer, but I was NOT ready to talk about holiday scents until at least Daylight Savings. I mean, come on! That being said, it is now officially the beginning of December and I finally feel like it’s acceptable to use holiday-scented products. For you Satin Hands fans, these two hand creams are identical in formula with the only difference being scent. Why reformulate something that already works, right?

My favourite of these two scents is definitely the Vanilla Mint! I tend to favour mint because it just smells so refreshing, but that’s not to say the Vanilla Berry isn’t good. Vanilla Berry is lightly berry-scented so you can still pick up the hints of vanilla.