NAILS | Lip Care with Lanolips Lemonaid Treatment and Multipurpose Superbalm

Press samples

I feel like my pile of onhand lip products keeps rotating from oil to chapstick to thick AF balm! Some days my lips are so tough that matte liquid lip colour feels as comfortable as a pair of sweatpants while other times they feel eaten alive by dryness. For the last two weeks, they have been very dry which prompted me to go through my lip stash and rediscover Lano! 

MAKEUP | Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm SPF 30 with Swatches

 

Press samples

Summer is officially here as is sunscreen season, though it is technically ALWAYS sunscreen season, there is something about experiencing actual heat that really puts you in the mood! One area that I often neglect to apply sunscreen to is my lips and though I have never been been burned on my lips, whenever I go out on walks, I try to cover them up with something as much as possible because a lip sunburn just sounds painful! Thankfully, Burt's Bees has a new tinted lip balm (yay!) that also has an SPF 30 (double yay!) and are a mineral sunscreen formulated with 19.5% zinc oxide. I have never used a tinted lip SPF product before and I thought it was cool that I would be able to look a little more dressed up yet still being protected from UV!

BODY | Veilment Hemp Seed Oil Collection

 

Press samples

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 | YSL Holiday 2020 Collection

When it comes to timing, 2020 and probably most of 2021 is going to be a bit of a mess with delays and closures being the norm now so continue to treat those of us in the retail sector with kindness because it's not our fault that we cannot get you what you want or even guarantee a delivery date like pre-COVID times. When it comes to blogging and social media, I haven't adhered very closely to a time for things because like many people, I am taking things day by day and even though I look at a calendar every day, I don't think my brain truly registers the passage of time because every weekend sort of surprises me! When it came to posting about Christmas and holiday releases, I only did three posts because I just wasn't sure what December would be like. Because of this, and the delays with Canada Post, I also did not want to request any additional PR as there would have been no guarantee that I would even get a chance to share holiday releases before the holidays which is why it was a delightful relief when the YSL Holiday 2020 Collection was sent to me in early January. All of the items are still available online so everything here is still relevant and thankfully so because the packaging is just so damn pretty!

Press samples

HOLIDAY | Mary Kay Gift Sets and Holiday Fun

Something I have been doing a lot of this year is going through my blog posts and Instagram stories at the beginning of the pandemic to see what I was thinking and my state of mind. I have also been going through blog posts from this time last year when Christmas was "as per normal" and man was I A LOT more stressed! Living the full retail holiday life, balancing dinners and outings had me really exhausted and as terrible as this year has been, this has also been the LEAST stressed I have been in probably over 10 years and it has felt FANTASTIC to let my brain veg and to not give a flying f*** about clients who come at you and forget that the pandemic has changed EVERYTHING. Still, it has been a relatively busy month and as much as I have wanted to blog more, I have been taking my nights and days off very slow and easy which is part of the reason why this Mary Kay post is coming a little later than I would like, but the items were too cute not to share with you all!

Press samples

MAKEUP | Mary Kay Intuitive pH Lip Balms

These Intuitive pH Lip Balms arrived as a beautiful care package from the Mary Kay Canada team during the height of Quarantine and I didn't use them that often until I started going out a bit more and just wanted to wear a tinted lip balm underneath my mask. It's funny how you tell yourself that it doesn't matter what you are wearing on your lips if no one is going to see them, but it totally DOES matter to me! I like knowing that my lips look perfectly blushed and pink underneath probably because I don't have the nicest natural lip colour (I am SO pale) and short of lip tattooing (I have considered it, but I am scared of the swelling and healing!), a pH activated lip balm sounded like the perfect way of hydrating my lips while giving them some much needed colour.

 PR gifted

KBEAUTY | Laneige Lip Glowy Balms

Just when I thought I was set with the lip balms I needed in life, Laneige just HAD to come out with a sister to their insanely good Lip Sleeping Mask - the new Lip Glowy Balms! Think of these as the daytime version of what we have all come to realize is one of the best, most delicious lip masks on the beauty market! 

PR samples

KBEAUTY | VDL Expert Color Lip Cube Must-Haves with Swatches

Last week I was raving about the VDL Lumilayer Primer, but I have also been enjoying some lip goodies that came highly recommended and thankfully I agree! It's always so disappointing when products are bestsellers and then you use them and you don't understand what the hype was all about. I have always been the eternal pessimist so I generally think products (and people really) are crap until proven otherwise. I am happy to report that all went well with these VDL Expert Color Lip Cubes and I hope more shades become available at The Face Shop! 

PR samples (credit given and products and shades chosen by me)

LIPS | DECIEM Abnomaly Petrowhat? Lip and Skin Ointment #CanadianBeautyMonth

Deciem is one of those companies that both scares and excites me because of its focus on innovation. There are constantly new products coming out as well as new formulations of existing products. I also get scared that products I have come to love will be swapped out for newer ones, but so far my heart hasn't been broken yet. While I am fully aware of the social media situation that has been happening with Brandon and Deciem, that is not what this post is about. I think their products are unique and refreshing so I will continue to use and feature them for anyone who is interested!

FAVOURITES | My Current Top 7 Lip Balms

I have forgotten how much fun it is to do round-ups! They are quite liberating and let's face it guys, do you REALLY want to read a WHOLE post about one little lip balm? Unless the lip balm is glittery, bubbles or changes colour, I dunno if I'd even be that interested in writing the damn post! Originally, I had just five lip balms to share with you, but I couldn't decide on just five. Since the beauty world likes odd numbers for favourites (hello numbers 1, 5, 11 or 13!) I have upped the number of favourite lip balms to lucky number seven!

Some PR samples featured

MAKEUP | Clarins Spring 2018 Collection with Swatches and Look

I know we are already getting whiffs of the Clarins Summer collection, but I thought the Spring collection was so pretty that I needed to share before we start moving into the bronzed goddess looks of the summer. What I have loved about this year's Spring collections is the dose of pink we are getting! I have chatted about the launch of Clarins SOS Primers which also launched in Spring and I am grateful that they are not going anywhere just yet, but for now let's talk about the other stuff!

PR samples, Affiliate links

MAKEUP | New Shades of Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm!

Last year, Dior came out with a more pigmented shade of their Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm in Berry and now there are more! Introducing two new finishes and new shades, these Lip Glows ($41.00 CDN) are kind of a relief to see after seasons of matte finishes and are the easiest lip products to use when you don't feel like fussing over applying lipstick, but want a little bit of hydrating colour for an MLBB look.  

BEAUTY | Lip Smacker Lip Cafe Frappe and Coca Cola Cup Lip Balms

How many of you carried around a Lip Smacker or two growing up in the 90s? I was really into matching Puma and Nike tracksuits and always had a Vanilla Lip Smacker in my trackpants pocket. It got washed one time and even then my lip balm (and pants) survived! I went through so many Vanilla Lip Smackers and refused to buy any other flavour because they were all sealed in their packages and I didn't want to risk not liking a flavour because God know that it's just WASTEFUL to have more than ONE lip product on the go! Ha! If I could tell my 10 year old self what Jayne would be like in the future!

I phased out Lip Smackers around the end of my first year of university at UBC. I had had a rough year when it came to a bad relationship, family dramas and just going through an intense first year of science that seemed so difficult I felt like switching to Arts. I guess all of this made me grow up a little bit and leave my Lip Smacker days behind...

Though Lip Smackers are still around in their classic tube, some new ones have emerged and not only do they smell warm and fuzzy, but they have the CUUUTEST packaging!  

BEAUTY | Get Lips as Smooth as Silk with the Dior Lip Sugar Scrub and Lip Glow

I never knew the importance of lip TLC until the matte lipstick entered my life. A matte lipstick is unforgiving and unrelenting when it comes to a dry lip. I even bought a SEPARATE child's toothbrush for daily lip exfoliation so that in the event I "needed" a matte lip, I would be ready. I don't know about you, but I have a lot of lip scrubs. I don't know why, but whenever there is a new flavour in brand "X" I need to have it so when I saw the Dior Lip Sugar Scrub* ($33.00 CDN) and Lip Glow* ($33.00 CDN) I just figured that one was a generic balm and the other a scrub-in-a-stick. I don't often say I like being wrong, but in this case it was pleasantly so!

MAKEUP | Limited Edition Crayola for Clinique Chubby Stick Review with Swatches

As a kid, I remember how satisfying it was to open up a fresh box of Crayola crayons and see their perfectly pointed wax tips lined up for what would eventually be hours of colouring fun (except for that one year when my baby sister who was 2 at the time broke all of them for FUN). Oddly enough, my Crayola collection has grown again with the advent of adult colouring books so seeing the Crayola for Clinique collaboration was both an ode to my childhood and to my love of makeup. Best combination EVER.

Clinique has been absolutely KILLING it with their colour cosmetics for the last couple of years and I know I can't be the only one who has fistfuls of Chubby Sticks whether it'd be for the eyes or lips! Many of you are probably familiar with the Chubby Stick Colour Balm formulation with its blend of mango and shea butter that give a moisturizing hint of colour to the lips and now there are 8 additional limited edition shades that are Crayola approved!

SKINCARE | Rodan + Fields Current Summer Essentials with the Foaming Sunless Tan and Lip Shield

I had mixed feelings reviewing Rodan + Fields on this blog, but after meeting some fairly normal R + F consultants, looking at the ingredients of the products and of course trying them out myself I figured that just like many of you, I was curious about the brand, but hesitant to approach a consultant. I am not opposed to direct marketing and I love the products of many companies that do, but I think some of us have been turned off by the more aggressive consultants so here's to talking just about the products today and hopefully finding a consultant who works best for you!

BATH & BODY | Nova Scotia Fisherman Skincare Review

Seeing as how it is the Canada Day long weekend, I thought it would be fitting to share a new-to-me as well as Canadian brand that I have been enjoying called Nova Scotia Fisherman! Can you tell which province this company is from?! I often romanticize the Maritimes and they are still on my list of places to visit before I die so whenever I get a chance to get just a little bit closer to them, I welcome it with open arms! Started by Uncles Perly and his nephew Les, Nova Scotia Fisherman makes use of one key ingredient - Nova Scotia sea kelp which is rich in vitamins and a whackload of minerals. The company itself is also one that prides itself on creating jobs for those in rural Nova Scotia as well as giving back by having a portion of EVERY sale go towards The Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Bio Beaute by NUXE | High Nutrition Hand Cream and Tinted Reparing Lip Balm Review

In my head, I had the fullest of intentions to fill the blog last week with nothing but Earth Day posts, but my work hours are now later than I am used to and when you get home at 8pm and then need to make dinner, it doesn't leave a lot of time for ENJOYABLE blogging sessions. Let's stretch out Earth Day to the end of April and call it Earth month shall we? I still have a couple more products I wanted to focus on starting with a brand that I seriously need to give more love to - Bio Beaute by NUXE! Created by president of Nuxe, Aliza Jabes, Bio Beaute by Nuxe is an ecocertified, organic generation of skincare with a focus on ingredients from the harvesting of organic fruit. I have been using a number of products over the last year and I think it's time to start sharing some reviews, results and whatnot with you!

BATH & BODY | Celebrating Valentine's Day with a Bit of a #LushCrush!

A couple of lovely Lush products showed up on my doorstep about 2 weeks ago and like most Lushies (can I call myself that now?) I had to open and smell/slather everything on right away! As always, there are a few new additions to Lush's limited edition Valentine's Day collection as well as some old classics.

HOLIDAY | Avon in My Stocking!

There are so many stocking stuffers to choose from that I'm pretty sure people have MULTIPLE stockings at this point! Yesterday, I shared on Instagram just one of many stocking stuffers available through Avon (here) and today are the rest! One thing people don't know is that Avon has a lot more than just beauty products! I myself own a lovely pair of coral shoes and a bag so don't be surprised if you see other Avon products that are outside the beauty realm in 2016!