Valentine's Day Goodies (Way Belated.)

Long time no see! About 2 months in fact! My consistency hasn't been a strong point on this poor little blog so far, I must apologize. I am less than organized in general, but I do have a pretty good excuse this time! Adam and I have been on the house hunt for a little while now, and our search has intensified over the past few months - leading us to the purchase of our first home on March 10th! We couldn't be more excited, and I can't wait to share some snaps of our cute little home once we're settled in. Though this will remain a busy time (moving is the worst), I've taken photos for a few posts in advance so that I can blog a little bit here and there on breaks from packing. Hopefully once we're all moved and settled in I can figure out a more consistent rhythm and keep it going.

Anyway, enough about that!

Valentine's Day has long since passed, but I have been loving these pretty pink body treats so much that I just must mention them! I love Valentine's Day in general - who could hate a day that celebrates love, chocolate, and things that are heart shaped? Stick-in-the-muds, that's who! (I have a huge rant about V-day "haters" - but that's for another time..)

Lush always nails seasonal/holiday offerings on the head. Any time I'm in a mall I can't help but pop in to sniff all the things, but especially to check out what cute new thing they've brought in for whatever holiday is nearest. They are such a fun, celebratory company and I really get excited to see what they'll come up with next!

These two Valentine-y concoctions came home with me - 'Prince Charming' Shower Gel and 'Close to You' Massage Bar. Besides being a lovely shade of springy tulip pink, these products really are a treat to use!

I'm forever a fan of Lush soaps and shower gels, I just don't think there's anything better, and 'Prince Charming' is no exception. This smells like a grapefruit creamsicle - not too citrus-y, more on the sweet dessert side. This is one of the creamier formulations of shower gel that I've seen Lush offer, and it lathers up into the most lovely frothy fragrant bubbles that leave my skin feeling clean and soft.

'Close to You' is a solid bar made of silky butters and oils which melts on contact with your skin. I like these for the (not often enough) event that Adam is feeling nice enough to give me a back massage, however I get the most use out of them as solid moisturizers. I love using these right after a hot shower or bath when my skin is still warm. They melt beautifully and go a long way! The smell of this one in particular is especially indulgent - super sweet and sugary! If you love their 'Rock Star' soap, this has the same fragrance and it smells good enough to eat. (Maybe don't try it, though. I take no responsibility for you putting lotion in your mouth.)

You can still purchase 'Close to You' here. I couldn't find 'Prince Charming' online, but some stores may still have some left!

The combination of the two is truly a treat if you're a fan of sweet candy smells! 'Prince Charming', I'll gladly get 'Close to You' any day. ;)

Sample Sized: Clinique Moisture Surge Overnight Mask

Learning that iPhone photos are not the way to go for blogging! Darn!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2014 is treating you well so far. I certainly can't complain!

This is the first of a series of posts I'll be writing called "Sample Sized." Basically, I have a TON of product samples laying around just begging to be tried out. After I've used up a sample completely, I'll make a short post about it to let you know what I think!

This sample in particular has not been used up completely yet (look at me breaking my own rules already!) but it has been such a lifesaver for my skin that I couldn't wait to write about it. Before I went home to Fort Frances for the holidays, I redeemed some VIB Rouge points at Sephora for the "Most Wanted Moisture" box, which contains 4 deluxe moisturizing product samples from Clinique. The weather there was very cold and very dry, and combined with the stress I'd been experiencing leading up to holiday time, my skin had a huge freak out. I was breaking out in zits AND painful dry patches, it was like hell had manifested itself on my face! Luckily I had brought my new Clinique samples along with me, one of which was this mask.

My zit struggle is a constant, but this overnight mask really helped to calm down my dry patches. More of a thick moisturizer than a typical mask, this has a beautiful buttery texture that seems to melt into the skin. You don't rinse this mask off, instead you let it work it's magic while you sleep. It's unscented, which is great for those with sensitive skin. After using this, I wake up with visibly hydrated and smooth skin, and dry areas clear quickly. I really love this product and will be purchasing the full size once my sample runs out!


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Holiday Update.

Hello everyone! Hope you had/ are having a great holiday season! I've been really enjoying my time at home in Fort Frances, Ontario with my family.

X-mas eve was spent at my Auntie Lynn and Auntie Mary's house, where I got to see lots of family I hadn't seen in a while including my cousin Mara whom I hadn't seen since we were little!

We had a lovely X-mas, made extra special because my Grandma and Papa were able to come visit from the states this year. We had X-mas dinner at our house, and as usual we were totally spoiled with wonderful gifts!

I was lucky to get another special surprise, too - Adam showed up to X-mas dinner, and I had no idea he was coming! My mom is a locked box when it comes to keeping secrets apparently! Haha. It was our 5th X-mas and for the first time we actually got to spend some of it together, which was really nice.

Boxing Day we went over to my Auntie Wendy and Uncle Joe's house for dinner, where we stuffed ourselves with so much yummy food we nearly had to be rolled out the door! Otherwise we've been visiting at my Auntie Tanya's where my grandparents were staying, veg-ing out watching Storage Wars and The Food Network (we don't have those channels at Adam's parents house, so I'm taking it all in while I can! :P )

All in all I'm having an awesome holiday! How did you spend your holiday season? Was Santa good to you?

- Dee

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from me and my cute little bros, Curran and Ryne!

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Polished: Wet'n'Wild "Femme Trouper"

Wet'n'Wild "Femme Trouper"

After a lovely visit with my family over Thanksgiving weekend, my boyfriend and I took our usual trip to K-Mart in International Falls, Minnesota to check out what un-Canadian goods we could find. Instead of the usual suspects (pop, chips, junk food) I bee-lined for the beauty aisles. A brief power outage almost stopped me from bringing my beauty treats home, but luckily all was sorted quickly and I left grinning with a full bag in tow (sorry bank account.)

I'm not sure whether or not this colour is exclusively American, but I hadn't seen it before at home and it really caught my eye. Though my nail polish stash is...extensive, to say the least, I don't have anything quite like this so into the basket it went.

This went on my nails almost as soon as I arrived home and I was surprised to find that it was a sand-textured polish! Textured polishes are usually well-advertised but the display for this collection didn't mention texture at all, so I definitely wasn't expecting it. I'm a little disappointed that this isn't the smooth, golden-shimmery peach prettiness that I was expecting but I still really like it. The formula was normal for a textured polish, opaque in 2 coats and dried very quickly. No need for top coat - I always find that textured polishes seem to last really well on their own.

I've never seen a textured polish in a colour quite like this and it feels very unique to me. If you like the textured polish trend but aren't into the bolder colours that tend to have it, you might really like this! I got a lot of compliments on this manicure!

I bought Femme Trouper at K-mart for $3.99. I can't seem to find it on their website but I did find it on E-bay here, not sure if it ships to Canada or not though.

Review: Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light

Putting oil on my face...?! Up until recently, the very thought seemed absolutely insane to me. My skin has always fallen into the "combination/oily" category - mostly oily, with the odd dry patch, and I can't remember the last time my face was totally pimple free. Since my face is a little oil factory as it is, facial oils were never a product that interested me, let alone something I wanted to try. But after doing some research I learned that the harsh oil-sucking cleansers and astringents that I had been wielding in the battle with my skin were probably just making things worse. It makes sense - harsh cleansers can over-dry the skin, which results in sebum producing glands working overtime to replenish the lost oils. The excess sebum then sits atop the skin and may clog pores, causing acne. Then we attack again, and the cycle continues. I've been using far gentler cleansers over the past year, and this has helped things immensely, but I still haven't found my skin's ideal balance.

With this in mind, I decided to give face oils a try. I've read mostly great reviews on Josie Maran's Argan Oil infused range, especially the pure Argan Oils. On my most recent trip to Sephora I was somewhat torn between these and the Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil, but after some texture comparison I decided to take home the lighter of the Argan options - Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil Light.

The first night I used it, I got over-excited and used half a dropper full which is WAY too much. I woke up feeling rather greasy with a few new spots on my chin, cheek and forehead which had me feeling discouraged, but I decided not to dismiss it and massaged a few drops into my skin before my regular morning moisturizer. The "just a few drops" method is the key to success when it comes to this oil - I use about 4 in the morning, and maybe 5-6 in the evening if I feel I could use some extra moisture. This tiny amount goes a very long way and sinks in pretty quickly so you don't have to wait long before applying your moisturizer. I haven't had any problems wearing this under makeup, but I can see it being a bit too slippery during the warmer months and I will probably stick to night-time application during the summer. The smell is very "blah" - it kind of reminds me of cardboard, or wooden popsicle sticks, which isn't necessarily unpleasant but it is kind of weird. I feel like I would enjoy using the product more if it smelled nicer, but it's a minor thing.

This oil has only been a part of my skincare routine for about a week, but I already feel like it's a game changer for my skin. My skin feels hydrated, balanced and supple, and I've had zero new zits to report after my initial "oil-overdose." I don't feel that it leaves a "semi-matte" finish as the company claims, but I like the healthy, not overly-shiny glow it gives my skin. This oil is meant to be multipurpose and can also be used on the hair and body, so I'll definitely give it a test, but honestly I have plenty of products that serve the same purpose for those areas so I'll probably just use it as a face oil. I feel like my bottle will last me forever that way too!

If you're thinking you'd like to give it a try, but don't want to splurge on the full size, Sephora has a value set here that includes a trial size of Argan Oil Light along with some other great looking bits from Josie Maran's line!

Have you ever used a facial oil? What did you use, and what did you think?

Empties.

For my first post I thought it would be fun to talk about some products that I've finished up/emptied lately. Now, I've been hanging on to some of these for a while so there's no real time frame for this post. Lots of people post an 'empties' post monthly, but honestly I don't go through very many products in their entirety on a monthly basis so I will probably only post these every now and then once my little bin fills up!

Aveda Color Conserve Shampoo, Aveda Color Conserve Conditioner, Hask Argan Oil Healing Shine Hair Treatment, Batiste Dry Shampoo, Klorane Masque au Dattier du Desert

Hair:

Aveda Color Conserve Shampoo: A very gentle yet effective shampoo that helps keep my red from fading out. It doesn't lather overly much unless you use a good dollop of it, and I wouldn't call it deep cleansing by any means but it does the job. It contains wintergreen, which feels refreshing on the scalp (nice if you're like me and don't wash your hair often!) and it smells amazing!

Aveda Color Conserve Conditioner: Part 2 of Aveda's colour care system. This is a nice smelling conditioner that leaves my hair feeling smooth and manageable, but it isn't especially moisturizing in my opinion. Without a leave-in conditioner or hair oil applied after towel drying, my hair still feels a little rough. My hair is (very) damaged though so it needs a little extra love. Nonetheless, I do really like it and I have repurchased both this and the shampoo several times - though I have been trying out some cheaper options (stay tuned!)

Hask Argan Oil Healing Shine Hair Treatment: After reading tons of blog posts and magazine articles singing praises to hair oils, I picked this up on a whim. It was super cheap (around $2 if I remember correctly) so I wasn't expecting much, but I did really like it! Pleasantly orangey-smelling, I enjoyed using it and I found that it was comparable to some more expensive oils I've tried since. A small and painless investment if you're new to hair oils and don't want to break the bank trying them out!

Batiste Dry Shampoo in "Blush": Not my favourite scent of Batiste, but I cannot live without this stuff! My red hair colour is prone to fading with frequent hair washing, so I space out my scalp scrubbing with this. Beautifully absorbs oil, lightly volumizes and brushes out easily. Anything that lets me sleep in a little longer and does magic in a flash is a keeper in my books. I'll never stop using this!

Klorane Masque au Dattier du Desert (Desert Date Hair Mask): Since I had the ends of my hair lightened to blonde on top of having been lightened already under my red, things have been a little straw-like. I've been using this every 2 washes or so as a deep treatment in place of conditioner, and my hair feels noticeably healthier and soft. I went straight to the store for another as soon as this ran out!

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Solution Micellaire, Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes, Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub, Aveda Inner Light Concealer

Face:

Bioderma Sensibio H20 Solution Micellaire: I am CRAZY in love with this product! I have the beauty blogosphere to thank for this discovery - after reading dozens of rave reviews I finally had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I'm so glad I did - nothing removes makeup as gently and effectively as this does. A true gem, love love love!

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes: For times where carting along my Bioderma isn't practical (or I'm just too tired/lazy for my nightly face ritual) these do the trick quickly and don't dry out my skin. I brought these along with me to the Winnipeg Folk Festival this summer and they took care of my face through 5 days of sweat and sunscreen!

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub: A deliciously exfoliating lip scrub that you can lick off! I love using this before applying lipstick. It smooths out my lips and gets rid of flaky bits which in combination with a lip balm helps to prolong the amount of time before my lips start looking and feeling dry.

Aveda Inner Light Concealer in 01-Birch: A really nice, light/medium coverage concealer that blends well. It has sort of a powdery finish to it which I like, and it seems to help it last. I would love it if the coverage were just a teeny bit better for covering the odd angry zit and for mornings when my eye-bags scream "I was up until 3am!" but for everyday makeup this is pretty good.

Bath and Body Works Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Soap, Onyx Professional Remove It! Salon Formula Polish Remover, Aveda Hand Relief

Hands:

Bath and Body Works Anti-Bacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Soap in "Fresh Picked Tangerines": I love Bath and Body Works hand soaps. They look great next to the sink, they don't dry out my hands, and they come in SO many amazing scents! I'm currently well stocked for the foreseeable future but it definitely takes restraint not to bring more home every time I pop into the store for a little 'sniff sniff' session.

Onyx Professional Remove It! Salon Formula Polish Remover in "Sweet Strawberry": Nothing groundbreaking to report here, I find most polish removers to be pretty equal. This removes my nail polish effectively, and while I don't think any amount of fragrance can possibly quiet down the fumey-ness of acetone, the strawberry smell does make things a little bit more pleasant. All in all a good and necessary product for nail-painters, which I have already re-purchased.

Aveda Hand Relief: One of my favourite discoveries that came with working at an Aveda salon is this hand cream. The fragrance is natural and beautiful - light, refreshing and slightly sweet citrus with a blend of vitamins and echinacea that keeps my hands feeling hydrated for hours. We offer hand massages at work using this lotion, which is a very nice treat and a very signature Aveda experience.

The Body Shop Dewberry Shower Gel, Joe Fresh Style Fresh Grapefruit Body Scrub, Lush "The Olive Branch" Shower Gel

Body:

The Body Shop Dewberry Shower Gel: I picked a few of these up on sale for $1.99, I'm a sucker for a bargain! The smell is nice, it kind of reminds me of a rainy day for some reason - it's a little moody, if that makes any sense. I'm glad I have another one, but I'll probably switch up which scent I choose next time.

Joe Fresh Style Fresh Grapefruit Body Scrub: This has been hanging around forever! I think I just didn't like it much so it lingered a little longer than it normally would have. A friend (at the time) gave this to me as sort of a funny gift, as I had been going through a 'grapefruit scented everything' phase. The scent of this is lovely, yes, but I didn't feel like it exfoliated much at all which was pretty disappointing.

Lush "The Olive Branch" Shower Gel: I really love Lush shower gels and soaps. I think they're some of the best around. This one is a little different from the others I've tried - made of oils that you shake the bottle to combine, it's a thin, watery consistency as opposed to a true 'gel'. It lathers well though and leaves my skin feeling SO soft. I think this would be great if you have very dry or sensitive skin, as it is so super gentle and moisturizing.

Hope you enjoyed my first "real" post, there's more where this came from so please check back soon or follow me via Bloglovin/Google Friend Connect/E-mail! (links in sidebar>>)

Leave me a comment and let me know if you've tried anything I mentioned! :)

- Dee