Guest Post: DIY Face Mask

Hey ladies! Today's post is going to be a guest post, by Michelle Pino. Michelle is the Manager at Skana Spa in Upstate New York, and she contacted me last week about submitting a post for my blog. At Skana, Michelle and her team are all about easy, natural solutions to skincare. Below you will find Michelle's post, along with a easy face mask recipe.

I tried out the recipe myself, substituting honey for the oil, and I was really impressed. Besides the smell (I learned that I hate tomatoes on my face), this mask left my skin feeling smooth, and looking great. I would definitely try it again in the future.

What are your thoughts on DIY skincare? Leave me a comment with your thoughts below.

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Get Fresh Skin This Canada Day!
Are you looking for a fresh, new skin treatment? Does your skin need a little brightening without using harsh chemicals? Does your skin feel dull and rough? Do you need that energizing summer glow to get your Canada Day holiday started. Make your skin as sparkling as the firework-dotted sky with an all-natural skin mask that is made from ingredients that are good for your body. You can eat everything that goes into this fresh, raw skin mask, and you can make just enough for one face or several. Hold a girl's night at your house, and celebrate the holiday with this natural face mask recipe. Just in time for Canada Day! The below recipe is inspired by the experts of Skana Spa part of New York resort, Turning Stone:

 

Red & White Skin Brightening Face Mask
Ingredients:
10 raspberries, more or less
1/4 of a fresh tomato
1 teaspoon of apricot kernel oil
2 drops of sweet orange essential oil (optional) 

Directions:

• First, put all of the fruit into a blender and pulse the blender for about 10 seconds. You want the fruit to blend smoothly and the chunks to disappear.
  
• Then, pour the mixture into a small bowl. Add the apricot kernel and the sweet orange oil. Stir the mixture together until all the ingredients are mixed.
  
• Place a warm wash cloth on your skin to open your pores. Leave the wash cloth on for about 30 seconds.
  
• Next, put the face mask on your skin and let it set for twenty minutes.

 

• Wash off the mask with cool water, and follow with your favourite moisturizer.

With regular use, you will begin to see your skin brighten naturally. This is an all-natural recipe, so you can feel good about putting healthy ingredients on your skin instead of chemicals. The combination of raspberries and tomatoes give your skin a healthy dose of antioxidants that help to reduce fine lines and inflammation. Raspberries and tomatoes also are super fruits that are high in Vitamin C and boost collagen formation. They protect your cells as well.  In addition, tomatoes have the anti-inflammatory antioxidant lycopene, which reduces skin redness and blotchiness with regular use. Tomatoes also naturally remove dirt and oil from your skin.

Guest Post on BeautyFull Lacquer

Hey ladies! Today's post is going to be over on a fellow Canadian blog called BeautyFull Lacquer. This amazing nail polish blog is written by Alyssa, a fellow blogger I met recently in a Facebook makeup enthusiast group.

Alyssa is one of the nicest and friendliest people I've ever met, and I have no doubt that if we lived in the same city we could become great friends. Alyssa was recently looking for bloggers to guest post for her and I jumped at the chance, because I follow her blog religiously. What I didn't know is that Alyssa followed me back, as well, and was super excited for me to guest post.

If you would like to see the nail art look I created with the polishes below, then head on over to her blog and check it out. I would love to hear any feedback about the look and what you thought of my guest post, either in a comment here or on Alyssa's post. I cant wait for Alyssa to one day guest post on my blog!

Hauling for Charity

Hey ladies! I know I just posted a haul not too long ago, but this was an unexpected haul I just had to share. When I went to Shoppers a few nights ago to pick up a few essential items I walked through the Beauty Boutique to see if they had any good GWPs. To my surprise a saw a table of Mystery Grab bags for $5 each.

I ended up paying at the boutique counter and asked the sales woman about them. She said that all of the proceeds of each bag went to the Dragon Boat Races which, in my city, goes towards Breast Cancer research. I decided to get two to support the cause, and try my luck at what I would get. When I handed them to the sales woman she exclaimed that I had picked the one with the full size perfume. I got so excited of course, and found out that the contents of the bags were from brands in the boutique not the drugstore section...so of course, I had to buy all of the other bags on the table.

I ended up buying six bags, and paid $30, no tax. I kind of felt guilty for spending more on beauty products this month. But when I really think about it, I gave $30 to a worthy charity and cause, and I just happened to get some samples in return. I would give money freely to this type of charity so getting these products was just a bonus.

I am so happy I decided to pick up all 6 bags, as I received a plethora of different brands and products to try out. I am not sure if all Shoppers do this sort of thing, as this was the first time I have seen something like it, but I would definitely check out your stores.

Total Spent: $30

Total Value of all 6 bags: $317.80

 

NOTD & Review: Rainbow Honey Pinkie Promise

Recently, I have been introduced to a new nail polish brand called Rainbow Honey. I received a full size polish in the colour Pinkie Promise in my May Wantable Box. Seeing as I had never heard of this brand before I wanted to research a bit about them, and here is what I found.

 

"Rainbow Honey was born out of a love for colour and a penchant for creativity. To create Rainbow Honey, Dee, its founder and Chief Designer, brought together her background in the sciences and her experience in the fashion industry, resulting in unique, colourful and well-formulated custom blended nail lacquers.

 

Our products are designed and made in the United States of America, always free of Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Dibutyl Phthalate (the “big 3”), and with ingredients that have never been tested on animals.

 

Our love for colour drives our passion for great and beautiful products, outstanding design, extreme attention to detail, and superb customer service. These values are at the core of everything we do.

 

The Rainbow Honey brand has already received rave reviews from customers all over the U.S. as well as Canada, Australia, Singapore, U.K., France, and continues to reach new audiences every day."

 

Pinkie Promise is part of the Equestria Collection, and comes in both a 15mL and 7mL bottle. The bottles retail for $10 and $5 respectively, and based on the quality of this polish I firmly believe that they are worth every penny. Pinkie Promise  is described as a "fun and shimmery pink base filled with hex and tinsel glitter in magenta, light blue, and gold - this polish calls for a party!"

It took only two coats for this polish to be completely opaque, and it lasted about four days before I had some tip wear and minor chipping. This polish was also true to its description, it really was like a party on my nails. Like I said in my review of my Wantable Box, it is like a unicorn puked all over my nails...or Ke$ha, we all know she loves her glitter.

 

The only negative I had with this polish was that the bottle got goopy really quick while I was painting my nails. The polish dries fairly quickly, and all of the glitter clogs up the opening of the bottle. I had to clean it before I closed it, or the polish would have dried and sealed the bottle. Other than that though I was extremely happy with this polish, and would not hesitate to purchase more in the future.

 

If you are interested in trying out Rainbow Honey polishes they are launching a new collection soon and have a good promo going on right now. All US & Canadian customers will receive a FREE polish and FREE shipping on all orders over $50.

 

 

Disclaimer: Products were purchased by me for personal use. I was not required to review this product, nor am I being compensated for it. All opinions and thoughts are completely honest and my own. Information in italics is sited straight from Rainbow Honey's website and I take no credit for it.



Spring & Summer Haulin'

Hey Ladies! Today will be a quick post showing you some of the things I have hauled in the past week. I went shopping at the mall twice. Once with the BF and once with my Mom. I picked up a few products to get ready for the Summer season, and a few things I thought looked cool that I wanted to try out and review on here. It seems that shopping now is less about necessity, and more about what I can buy to show on here. #bbloggerproblems

My first stop was at Bath & Body Works to check out their Semi-Annual Sale. I was a little underwhelmed by the selection and the sales. However, I picked up a few things and spent just under $35.

I needed a new Body Scrub, so picked up the Malibu Glowing Body Scrub. This smells so good and was only $3.15. I also fell in love with the smell of the Exotic Coconut Shower Gel, so in the bag it went for $3.50. I also picked up a couple Leaves Scentportables and one in Passion Flower, for $1.50 each.

I thought this lip gloss set look neat. They are colour changing glosses, something I've never tried before. These three glosses came to $8.25.

I himed and hawed about this set, but eventually caved and bought it. My justification is that it was a good price, $11 for all three glosses, and there are 5 different colour combinations.

At Winners, I picked up this Marcelle set on sale for $8. I bought it for the clutch mostly, because it will go perfectly with the dress I am wearing for a wedding in July. The makeup was just a bonus. I will most likely use the purple eye shadows for my makeup at the wedding as well. Not sure how much use I will get out of the glitter liner though.

At Dollarama I picked up these two RE:NU by JOICO hair serum sets. For $3 a piece I couldn't pass them up. I can't wait to give these a try and report back on my thoughts and results.

Me and the BF went to Globo to get him some new work shoes, and I fell in love with this purse. I have been looking for a Spring/Summer purse, and loved the mix of colours on this one. This is a bigger purse, not as big as a tote bag, but almost there. I always carry so much stuff with me, so I need a bigger bag. I can see the white leather getting dirty quickly, so I'm going to have to invest in some leather cleaner. For $30 though, I thought this bag was a steal!

And lastly, I picked up the new edition of Nail It! Magazine. This is a nail polish magazine that debuted about 6 months ago. There are always great tutorials, and nail art ideas in here, and I definitely recommend it for any nail polish enthusiast.

NOTD: On a Holographic Trip

After seeing Wet n Wild's polish On a Trip  all over YouTube I knew I had to make it part of my collection. Purple is my favourite colour, and I love a glossy cream polish. This polish was gorgeous on its own, but I thought I would kick it up a notch by adding some glitter. Specifically, I wanted to use the BA STAR Holographic Glitter that I reviewed a few weeks ago. The glitter is not something I will use on my eyes all that often, and I couldn't wait to try it on my nails.

I simply painted two coats of On a Trip then put on my top coat. Once that was dry, I taped off part of my nails and added another layer of of top coat. While it was still wet I dipped my finger into the pot of glitter. I tapped off the excess glitter and them added a top coat over the glitter, and removed the tape. I was so happy with how it turned out, and cant wait to try it out again. The process was fairly messy but totally worth it.

On the nails the glitter doesn't look quite as holographic, but it is still super glittery, which makes me happy. On a Trip is opaque in two coats and such a gorgeous purple. In pictures it tends to photograph more on the blue side, so I added a blurry picture of just the purple on my nails that is more true to its actual colour.

June 2013 Ipsy Glam Bag

So, I finally got on the Ipsy bandwagon! A while back I thought of joining, but the bags weren't that good so I kept waiting. Since January every bag has been amazing, and when I saw that this month everyone would be getting a full size NYX blush, I finally caved and subscribed.

Ipsy sends out better brands, and sample sizes compared to other boxes. Plus, they send a higher percentage of makeup compared to their competition, something that I really like. I had signed up for boxes like Glymm and Glossybox hoping to get makeup and ended up being disappointed because I received more skin and hair care products.

Overall, I am super impressed with Ipsy and will continue to be a subscriber for the next few months, at least, to test out their service. If you are interested in signing up for Ipsy I would love if you would use my referral link! By using my link it will make me eligible for a free gift, while supplies last.

Starlooks Lip Liner in Tipsy

I am so excited that I received this colour. It is the perfect colour for Summer. I am really surprised by the pigmentation and formula of this product. The swatch was just two swipes of the lip liner, two very light swipes. This pencil is very creamy and pigmented. I think this alone with some gloss will produce the perfect coral lip.

NYX Cream Blush in Natural

At first I was kind of disappointed by this blush. I'm not the biggest fan of cream blushes(because I don't know how to apply them), and the colour in the pan looks kind of boring. When swatched however, this blush is beautiful! The texture is very glossy and reminds more of a lip product than cheek product, but it blends out perfectly. It will give me a natural flush.

Cailyn Gel Liner in Iron

I am sooooo excited for this liner! My favourite kind of liner is a gel or cream formula, and lately I have been loving grey liner. This gunmetal grey liner will define my lash line, but it wont be as harsh as black liner can sometimes look. I cannot wait to try this out!

 J.Cat Eyelashes

This is the product I like the least in this bag. My lashes naturally look like fake lashes, so I have no use for these. I will most likely give these away to a friend.

J.Cat Sparkling Cream Palette

This isn't a product I will use on a daily basis, especially seeing as it is not safe for use on or around the eyes. It reminds me of the cream glitter eye shadows I reviewed from BA Star a few months ago. The colours in this palette are really nice, and for me they swatched nicely with only a little bit of product. I have read that some other girls have had trouble getting good swatches. Seeing as these can only be used as body glitter, I will have to save this for Halloween, or it may just go into the garbage...I haven't decided yet.

For $15 I was more than happy with the value of the products I received. I give this bag a 3.5/5 because I really don't have much use for the lashes or glitter palette.

What did you receive in your Glam Bag this month? Were you happy with the product selection?



NOTD: My 1st Stamping Experience

Lately it seems that I've been doing a lot of manicure firsts. I bought some stamping plates from Dollarama a few months back, and have just gotten around to using them. I just never have time to attempt nail art or stamping. And I'm lazy, so I don't want to have to wait until the bottom polish dries before I can get stamp happy.

For this manicure I used a base coat, then two coats of Zoya Wednesday. For the stamping I decided on a silver flower on my ring finger. For the flower I used Colour Club On The Rocks. Just so you ladies know, Colour Club polishes work really well for stamping. The ones I have are very opaque, in one coat, which is what you want when stamping.

The medium teal of Wednesday and the metallic silver of On The Rocks look so good together, and I cant wait to try out a different stamping design with these two colours in the future. The stamping process was easier than I expected, and I think I did pretty well for my first time.

11 Tag I'm It!

Quite a few months ago I was tagged by Nikki @ Confessions of a Makeup Addict to complete this "get to know me" type tag. I had written out the post and put in my blog binder, but I kind of forgot about it. When I was cleaning out my binder recently, I found it, and thought I would do the post now.

The rules of this tag are that you answer the 11 questions from your tagger, choose 11 new questions for the people you tag, and link back to the blogger who tagged you. So, thank you Nikki for tagging me! And sorry it took so long to do this post. I would definitely recommend you go check out Nikki's blog. It is amazing! The link is at the top of the post.

Nikki's Questions for Me

1. If you could have any job in the world, what would you choose?

I would be a book editor/publisher. I have always loved reading and would love to be paid to read, review, and edit for a living. This job isn't unattainable, I could go to school for it if I moved to Toronto, but my life is here and I really do not want to move to Toronto, nor could I afford it.

2. Who is your fashion icon?

I don't really have a fashion icon. I wear what I like and what I can afford. I normally buy clothes and outfits I see on mannequins in my favourite stores.

3. Who is your favourite band?

My all time favourite band has always been and will always be The Backstreet Boys (don't laugh (: ), but I also really like Maroon 5, Daughtry, and Nickleback (again...don't laugh lol).

4. What one cosmetic product could you not leave the house without?

I could not leave the house without making sure my MAC Blot Powder and my Nivea Lip Balm are in my purse. I can't leave the house without, at least, wearing concealer and mascara.

5. What is your Holy Grail item?

My Holy Grail item is the Marcelle Essentials Oil Free Makeup Remover Lotion. I will never use anything else ever, unless Marcelle discontinues it, and I am forced to! This is the best makeup remover I have ever used!

6. What is your favourite lipstick?

I don't have an all time favourite, but I do really enjoy MAC Angel & Dish It Up. As well as, Maybelline's Colour Whispers in Rose of Attraction and Pin It Up Peach.

7. Do you have any pets?

Yes, I have a black cat named Sloan. He is my cuddle muffin, although he hates cuddling, and me, when I force him too lol.

8. Any tattoos or piercings?

I have my ears pierced, but never really wear earrings anymore.

9. Who is your biggest inspiration?

My parents inspire me a lot! My mom is a cancer survivor and one of the strongest people I know. I hope one day I can be as strong as her. My dad is the most reliable and giving person I know. I hope that they are as proud to be my parents as I am to be their daughter.

10. Why do you love blogging?

Blogging gives me a creative outlet. It was really something I started just to give myself something to do, keep busy, and have some social interaction. Now it is still that, but I do it because I love it and the community it has brought me into.

11. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I would live right where I am because that is where my family, most of my friends, and the love of my life it. Anywhere else would take me away from them and that would be terrible.

Me & Brian (my BF) Not the most glamorous picture, but camping doesn't require makeup.

My Questions for You

1. What's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
2. What is your favourite song right now?
3. If you could have dinner with any 1 person, dead, alive, or imaginary, who would it be and why?
4. What is you favourite drugstore makeup brand?
5. Would you buy cosmetics/nail polish from Dollarama?
6. What is the last book you read? What did you think of it?
7. What was the last movie you saw?
8. Who is your current celebrity crush?
9. Why did you start blogging?
10. If you could only buy one brand of makeup for the rest of your life which one would you buy?
11. What is one product you couldn't live without?
Bonus Question: What blog do you always look forward to new posts from?

I tag anyone who wants to participate to do this tag. If you answer my questions, leave me a link in the comments so I can see your answers.

 

 

NOTD: My 1st Jelly Sandwich Manicure

I'm not sure if jelly sandwich manicures are still "in", but I'm used to being the last girl at the trend party, so here is my attempt at it. To complete this manicure you need a jelly polish that is sheer, even after a few coats, for the bread. And a glitter polish for the filling. I chose to use Zoya's Loretta and a unnamed Cynthia Rowley polish that I used in a past nail of the day. If you would like to see that firework inspired manicure click here!

I started with a base coat, let that dry, and then put down one coat of Loretta. After I let that dry for a few minutes, I put a fair amount of glitter down on each nail. Again, once that dried I put two more coats of Loretta on top. Loretta is a extremely sheer, light, milky pink. It would be perfect for a French manicure, and it worked fairly well for this manicure. I could still see the white tips of my nails underneath, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. With a top coat I had no chipping for about 4-5 days, and by that time I was bored with the look and moved on to a new colour.

What do you think of the jelly sandwich look?

Colours of the Rainbow Tag!

I first saw this tag going around YouTube a few weeks ago, and knew that I wanted to get in on this tag action. No one specifically tagged me, but MissGlamorazzi did say that she tagged anyone watching her video so I'm taking that as I was. :)

I am going to tag a few specific people, however, if you are reading this and want to do this tag go ahead! Leave me you link in the comments, so that I can see your colourful picks!

Gen @ Beautiful Onyx & Mick

Cheryl @ The Creative Me and My McG

Sabina @ Beauty Blogs and More

Helen @ Beauty Delights

Jayne @ Cosmetic Proof

Aleksandra @ Plumpish Beauty

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Cherry Tart

I've always been wary about wearing a red lip. I'm afraid that the colour will bleed and I'll have it all over my face or all over my teeth. This was my first red lip product and it has been love ever since. This lip butter is very pigmented, I only need one layer for adequate colour payoff. It is moisturizing, especially when you put on a few layers, and the colour just intensifies with each swipe. It is a bright and vibrant red that can be worn everyday. Lately, I have been wearing this paired with black eyeliner and mascara, for a minimal, yet classic look.

Covergirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara

This has been my go to mascara since I started wearing makeup, years and years ago. Although I have tried many others, I always seem to go back to this one. The brush separates my lashes and makes it so each lash is coated from root to tip. The formula isn't overly wet so application is easy. After using this I am always left with a perfect fan of lashes.

Cake Beauty Lemon Cupcake Shampoo, Shower Gel, and Bubble Bath

I can't tell you how much I love this shower gel! It is citrusy, and sugary, with a hint of vanilla. It awakens the senses and leaves me feeling clean, and smelling great. It reminds me of Bath & Body Works Shower Gel in Lemon Vanilla. It lathers extremely well and leaves the skin clean, but not dry. I feel moisturized after using this, and rarely need to use extra cream after. The smell lingers on my skin for a little while after which is something I really like in my shower gels. I want to try and find a lotion that smells like this so that I can layer. At first I was kind of skeptical about this product because most lemon shower gels smell like Lemon Pledge to me. But this is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.

M. Asam Vino Gold Magic Fini

I couldn't really find a green product in my collection other than this one. I received this sample in a past Glymm bag, when they were still in business. I put off using it for the longest time, because it looks so dark and I'm always the palest shade when it comes to foundations. I've been using it for about a month now and only used half the pot. This feels like a primer when it goes on, but melts into your skin like a BB cream. It gives me light, even coverage, that on most days is enough. When I need more coverage I use this as a base and layer foundation on top. I am going to be really sad when this sample is empty. I would be willing to splurge on this product though, that's how much I love it.

Nivea Aqua Effect Refreshing Toner - Normal Skin

This is my Holy Grail toner. I was using Clean&Clear for the longest time, but found it so drying. This toner leaves me skin feeling clean, refreshed, and not dry. It smells really good too. I use this at night after I cleanse my skin, and in the morning to remove any excess oils. I have combination skin, but this toner for normal skin has been working so I am going to be sticking with it for now. I may switch to the one for combination skin in the future, however, I will continue to use Nivea for my toner needs from now on.

Marcelle Essentials Oil Free Eye Make-up Remover Lotion

Another Holy Grail product here! I love love love this stuff! It is so gentle on the eyes so I don't need a separate remover for face and eyes. It removes cream eye shadows, and waterproof mascara like a dream. There is no scent which I like and a little goes a long way. I really like that it says it is oil free and it really is. Most other makeup removers I've used that say oil free leave some sort of residue on my face, but not this one. I don't feel like I need to wash my face again after using this.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

I didn't really have a violet or purple product I've really been loving right now. But I have been using this primer everyday, so in the tag it goes. I bought this because it is so hyped up in the beauty community. I can say it is worth the hype. My eyeshadow has never looked better and it stays on all day without fading or creasing. I bought the little sample bottle in case I didn't like it, but next time I go shopping in the USofA I am going to splurge and pick up the full size.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey

I got on the bandwagon with this hyped up product as well. This stain is that "my lips but better" shade for me and I use it almost everyday. The pencil shape allows for easy application, and the twist up bottom eliminates the hassle of having to sharpen it. Honey is a dusty rose, light pink shade, that is mildly glossy. I usually put a gloss on top a few hours later when the initial glossiness is gone and just the stain is left. I will repurchase this stain again and again.


Hopefully you enjoyed reading this tag. I would love to see your picks, so leave a comment to your posts below. Have you tried any of my favourite colourful products? If so, what are your thoughts on them?