EXPERIENCE | Hudson’s Bay Richmond Shiseido VIP Facial Time Defying Massage Experience

Back in October, I had raved about the newly revamped Hudson’s Bay re-opening in Richmond Centre (here) that had plenty to offer in terms of exclusive brands, products and services. The Shiseido beauty counter is like no other as it is only the 10th of its kind in Canada with a 55” interactive multi-touch “Discovery Centre” that allows clients to explore products and imagery from Shiseido’s 141 year history. I had no idea it was such a distinguished brand!

NAIL ART | Gettin’ Squiggly with Mary Kay at Play Hail to the Nails Mini Nail Lacquer Trio

I had briefly talked about the Mary Kay at Play Hail to the Nails Trio*(18.00 CDN) over the holidays as the perfect little stocking stuffer for the nail polish lover in your family and now I get to show it to you in action!

ROUND UP | Winter Must Haves!

I was prepared for Winter this year. I knew it was coming and I made sure I was adequately prepared with the appropriate supplies. Winter is when my skin starts to complain and practically screech for moisture. All I do is give in with a couple of these current face and body favourites(!)

Philosophy | The Microexfoliating Treatment*

I will have a more detailed review of this coming soon, but one thing I’ve noticed people don’t like doing when they start seeing dry patches on their skin is EXFOLIATING. A lot of the time, dry patches can be eliminated by just giving your skin a good exfoliation treatment.

This is a two step treatment that is done just once a week. The first step is to apply a small amount of the vitamin C peptide crystals which is a very coarse scrub that you massage on dry skin for about 60s. The second step is known as the “activating gel” which contains lactic and salicylic acid and causes a small amount of foaming and heat to be released. Lactic acid is a fruit-based chemical exfoliator while the salicylic acid cleans out pores. Try it out for yourself in Sephora on your hands. You will see a difference right away! Your skin will be brighter and smoother!

Lypsyl | Intensive Lip Balm*

This is a petroleum-based product similar to Vaseline, but not quite as thick. I know there is a lot of controversy over these types of products, but if you have SUPER dry, itchy lips relief is the only thing that will matter to you. I just want something to seal in the moisture. I get dry patches on my lips thanks to stress at times and I NEED this stuff. There is also camphor and menthol to give a cooling effect as well as tea tree and jojoba oil which allows the consistency to be more “spreadable” than that of Vaseline.

First Aid Beauty | Ultra Repair Cream

This miracle cream can be used from head to toe and is incredibly affordable at $35 for a 6oz jar! When I started getting random dry patches on my cheeks, I started using this moisturizer on my face. While the consistency isn’t incredibly thick, its whipped texture gets absorbed slowly over about an hour. This is also recommended for those with eczema and is gentle enough to use on BABIES! Dry patches don’t stand a chance when I’ve got this at hand.

Crabtree & Evelyn | La Source Nail & Cuticle Therapy

Nail care. I am usually pretty good about taking care of my nails, but I tend to forget about cuticle cream because it never gets dry enough in Vancouver to have ragged cuticles. That being said, I have been enjoying this particular cuticle treatment because it leans more towards a moisturizer than an oil or a balm. I also love the targeted nozzle that lets me get right where I want. It also smells pretty darn good.

Yardley London | Oatmeal & Almond Naturally Moisturizing Bath Bar*

I love citrus smelling soaps and I made the mistake of purchasing one from Lush that was a little TOO clarifying to the point of drying. These Yardley London moisture bars are SLS-free and gently exfoliate while soothing with oatmeal. I also love the scent of almonds so this bar of soap was such a winner in the shower for me.

What are your absolute winter must-haves that you cannot live without?

SUBSCRIPTION BOX | TOM Box - The Monthly Period Box (Yes, You Read That Right!)

There is a subscription box for EVERYTHING right now from beauty to crafts to even ones for your own pets! I shouldn’t have been too surprised when I saw a monthly menstrual cycle box, but there was/is a small part of me that still says, “really?” What’s interesting is that around that Time of the Month (TOM) I make my monthly trip to London Drugs and pick up what are seemingly random items only to realize that I have picked up pads, chocolate, chips and nail polish.

The idea of the TOMBox* is to have these “supplies” anticipated for and have them show up at your doorstep ready for your cravings! Unfortunately, I just saw that this box is unavailable to Canadians…sorry us!

The homepage is a little cheesy with Christina Aguilera lyrics at the ready.

CBB GUEST POST | Trysh from Prairie Beauty Love Shares Her Beauty Resolutions for 2015!

Everyone welcome Trysh from Prairie Beauty Love!

 

 
Hello! This is Trysh from Prairie Beauty Love and I'm really excited to be Guest Posting here today about my Beauty Resolutions for 2015! Admittedly, I'm about as good as keeping resolutions as anyone - Read: Terrible - but this is a great time of year to really put a focus on those things that you've wanted to do for a long time and just haven't. When it comes to beauty, there are always things that I know I should be doing, but knowing and doing are two different animals. Here's my brief list of things I want to focus on this year in Beauty!

1. Be As Aware Of What I Put In My Body As On My Face
It's really easy to default to thinking that skin, hair and body care is all about the creams, lotions, oils and cosmetics that you put on it, but at the end of the day so much of it is really about nutrition and what you put into your body. I try to eat healthy and drink a lot of water, but in 2015 I really want to put a focus on nourishing my body from the inside out. I plan on drinking more water, especially since I do need to counteract my coffee addiction, as well as really putting a focus on including large amounts of healthy fruits and vegetables in my diet and taking my vitamins in a little less of a fairweather fashion than I generally have been in recent years. Of course, there's also the flip side of the coin where I should cut down on coffee and curb my sweet tooth, but that'll come in time.

2. Focus On Natural Products
This really started in 2014 as me and my boyfriend started really focusing on using natural products around the house and in the shower. I don't think I'll be able to make a complete transition into all natural, because I have so many products that I absolutely love that don't fit into that category, but where I can I'm making the switch and I plan to keep that up for the rest of 2015 and beyond. So far I've switched my toothpaste, deodorant, and body washes and have brought some new natural makeup products into the mix, and I plan to really expand that this year.

3. Be Diligent About My Skincare Routine
You know those nights when bedtime comes and all the energy you can muster to take care of your skin is to quickly take your makeup off with a wipe and hit the pillow? I definitely know those nights, as well as the ones where even the makeup wipe gets ignored and I commit the cardinal sin of going to bed with makeup on. I've noticed that I can actually see the issues that doing that gives my skin, within a couple of days my pores are clogged and I get some little breakouts, so in 2015 I'm going to try to be better about committing to a nightly routine that includes: Double cleansing (cleansing oil or balm followed by a traditional cream, liquid, gel, etc. cleanser), Toner, Serum, Moisturizer, Eye Cream. It can feel like a lot of steps, especially after a long day, but when I'm diligent about it I always find that my skin is clearer, brighter, and just overall easier to deal with. Worth it.

4. More Frequent Brush Care
I feel like this one of those things that most of us don't admit to, but are absolutely guilty of. I don't wash my brushes often enough. Bobbi Brown says that concealer and foundation brushes should be washed once a week, eye brushes twice a month, and other brushes at least once a month. I am not doing as Bobbi says, but I'd like to be better. We all know that a build-up of bacteria on our brushes is bad for our skin, but sometimes when faced with the task of washing a huge collection of brushes it just seems like a better plan to have a snack, watch Netflix, and leave the brushes for another day. Not in 2015! In 2015, my goal is to wash my brushes as often as Bobbi Brown says I should... because she knows her stuff, right?

5. Nail Care!!!!!
My nails have been a mess recently and I know it's all my own fault - with a little bit of help from the bitter cold of a Canadian winter. I know that I need to take better care of my nails, so I have a plan this year to give my hands what they need. First, I'm going to always wear gloves when I wash the dishes. I know this should be a no brainer, but sometimes gloves are just a pain and I skip them. Not this year. Next, I'm going to try to use more gentle nail polish remover when I can, leaving acetone completely out of the mix unless I'm dealing with chunky glitter, and try to take change my nail polish less frequently. Finally, I'm going to be diligent about caring for my cuticles and applying hand cream during those dry days in my office and after I wash my hands. All of these things are  very doable... I just have to do them.

So there you have it, my 5 Beauty Resolutions for 2015. What are your resolutions this year?

Thanks again to Jayne for having me here for this guest post! 

Thank you Trysh for sharing what your beauty resolutions will be for 2015! I know that I am also guilty of not washing my makeup brushes as frequently as I should be so I will be doing what Bobbi Brown says as well!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

EYELASH REVIEW | Femme Fatale Designer Lashes in Femme Fatales

For those of you that have been following my foray into makeup looks, you will know that I recently started incorporating false lashes into my FOTDs. They are still an incredible challenge for me to use, but I just LOVE how transformative they can be. I feel like when I put lashes on, I go from “zero to hero” which no mascara can do. There are varying levels of quality when it comes to lashes with mink being the creme of the crop (so I’ve heard). I have never used or even touched mink lashes until now!