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.

NAILS | Trojan Condom Valentine's Day Nail Art

I have done somewhat risque nails in the past (middle fingers, sperm...) and granted I hold back because I am afraid to offend someone, a brand or a client at work. Obviously, I know there are boundaries, but this Valentine's Day I wanted something cute, funny as well as applicable! I will continue with the hearts over the next week, but we all know that sex is ALSO a part of Valentine's Day and though this day is usually not about casual hook-ups, it's still important to remember that condoms are the way to go if you want to protect yourselves against unplanned pregnancies and STDs!

Trojan condoms are fairly well-known and had a fun logo so they were definitely my brand of choice! Of course, I had to do some taping because "they're ribbed for her pleasure" ;-)

MAKEUP LOOK | Vampy Valentine's Day with the Clarins Pretty Night 5 Colour Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

It's that time of year where I get to buy chocolates for myself again ;-) My husband and I have never been one for Valentine's Day and after more than a decade of being together, he leaves the chocolate buying to me. We still go out for dinner though, maybe not on Valentine's Day itself since that's for "new" couples, but definitely to a movie or to dinner some time during the week to avoid the rush. Last year, I showcased a classic red lip for my Valentine's Day makeup look (here), but this year I swapped that out for something a little more vampy as well as pulled in some Fall eyeshadow shades from Clarins to complete the look.

The Clarins Pretty Night 5 Colour Eyeshadow Palette* ($39.00 CDN) is composed of 5 shades guaranteed to highlight and captivate eyes of any shade. There was a Pretty Day palette as well that leaned more towards taupes and warm browns while Pretty Night contains shades leaning more towards a smoky eye. While I am aware that this is a palette from last Fall, Clarins has similar eyeshadows readily available in their current collection (here) that can be used to recreate the look.

MAKEUP TOOLS | Limited Edition SEPHORA PRO Hakuho-do Fan Cheek Brush (Ougi)

For someone who loves makeup, I am still a bit lost when it comes to the world of makeup brushes. I have learned some of the basic things to look for in a good brush such as one that doesn't have hair fallout as well as deposits product evenly onto the skin, but I have certainly never been one to care all that much about the fine details of what goes into creating a makeup brush. Now, that blogging has given me the push to play with makeup more, I find myself asking for brushes with VERY SPECIFIC purposes and wonder if I am crazy. I used to think spending $20 on a brush was ridiculous and now I am spending $50. I have even been tempted to spend $100 "if necessary"!

Luckily (?) there are collaborations like the one with SEPHORA PRO and the Hakuho-do brush craftsmen of Japan to satisfy my quest for brush purpose as well as wow me with 200 year old traditional brush-making techniques that are nothing short of impressive. Over the holidays, I received my first hakuho-do + SEPHORA PRO brush in the form of the Fan Cheek Brush* ($50.00 CDN) and wondered if I would fall in love with it. Well, lemme tell ya...

SKINCARE | Tata Harper Luminous Definition in "Very Bronzing" and "Very Illuminating" Review and Makeup Look

Last month I promised to review every single product from Tata Harper since I happen to HAVE EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT (post). This is hands-down one of my favourite product lines and working for them only made me love them more. I felt a bit weird reviewing their products when I was their brand ambassador, but now that I am back to being a consumer I feel like the bias has certainly lessened. Let me say that I only left Tata Harper because the travel was a bit much for me and I wanted a job that kept me more grounded. Literally. I have extremely fond memories of my time with Tata Harper (she was the one that taught me how to give mini facials!) and it gave me some amazing life experiences that I will never forget!

I received quite a bit of gratis as a brand ambassador, but I am actually going to start with two products that I recently purchased at Murale during a redemption event: Tata Harper Luminous Definition in Very Bronzing (5.5g/$48.00 CDN) and Very Illuminating (5.5g/$48.00 CDN).

NAILS | #ManiMonday Valentine's Day with the OPI Hello Kitty Collection!

I'm Asian so OBVIOUSLY I have to love Hello Kitty, right? Well, I have to say that it wasn't until my 20s that my girl HK really made her way into my life. I am selective about what I own that is branded Hello Kitty so you won't catch me cleaning my place with a Hello Kitty vacuum cleaner or cooking with a Hello Kitty rice cooker! A nail polish collaboration though? Hell, yes. The newly released Hello Kitty Collection from nail polish greats OPI will have you "kawaii-ing" until the cows come home! Every shade in the collection is perfectly Sanrio in every way and though there are some shades you will probably have, there are a few that had me squealing!