Beauty, Daily

Dior Holiday 2015 Lipsticks

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Christian-Dior-StateGoldLipHoooboy beauty friends. Step back a bit here today, and look at that Christmas delight with that golden hour of sunlight shining down on those beauts. I’ve recently discovered an even better time of day to shoot my beauty photos up on the landing of our staircase. They don’t be callin’ it golden hour for nothin.

Skiis-and-DiorDior’s Holiday 2015 collection is so very appropriately named State of Gold. Put two and two together, and you have yourself a bombshell collection. Does it sound like I’m patting myself on the back? Because I kind of am. I love the way these turned out, so simply and so wintery. That Target $1 aisle sucked me in once again (that’s where the adorable mini old school skii’s are from). #RIPTargetCanada

Let’s get on with it, shall we?
Diorific-Mat-Lipsticks

4-Mat-Lipsticks-DiorThe kiss of velvet. Diorific mat colours from the State of Gold are Dior’s first easy-wearing matte lipsticks. They are meant to apply seamlessly to the lips — not a tugging motion like most matte colours. These four colours are a graceful palette to suit any mood that strikes your fancy, but still keeping that elegance in check. It is Dior afterall.

Diorific-Mat-FacinateDiorific Mat 580 Facinate

Diorific Mat RadieuseDiorific Mat 430 Radieuse

Diorific-Mat-Fantastique‎Diorific Mat 770 Fantastique

Ha! Sometimes it’s so awkward taking photos of yourself with the self-timer on your camera. I mean, is that me smizing and smiling at the same time? Rule breaker!

Diorific-Mat-FabuleuseDiorific Mat 750 Fabuleuse

Pretty sure I’m going to be rocking the Fabeleuse Christmas red colour next weekend at my husband’s work Christmas party. What colour stands out to you the most, and which one would you wear if you owned all four lipsticks? In the bullets the two colours Facinate and Radieuse look different, but on my lips not so much. Side note, isn’t that the fanciest name for a tube of lipstick? I recently found out that they’re called bullets. Huh, I like it. I don’t like guns though, so don’t get that in your head.

How do they feel on the lips? Considering they’re marketed as a mat velvet and promises to deliver a long wearing finish yet comfortable wearing (which I admit, they are). They’re also quite hydrating on the lips. I often can tell right off the bat if a lip product will keep me from wearing it out in public. Drying lips aren’t cool. I mean why make a drying lip product in 2015 now anyways, am I right? Dior always gets it right.

Now I know you might not have the patience to keep scrolling up and comparing the colours, so I’ve swatched them on my hand for your ease. Aren’t I nice! Ignore the hives popping up though please ‘n thanks!

Diorific-Mat-swatchesL-R: Facinate,Radieuse, Fantastique, Fabuleuse

4-Dior-lipsticksCould you tell I got a little carried away taking tons of photos of Dior’s beautiful Holiday collection? I think I’m a gold-fan at heart. The packaging is enchanting, and the colours are timeless yet festive and perfect for the Holidays.

Mat-Dior

Diorific Mat lipsticks are now available in stores + online for $38USD. Snatch’em up fast, because I bet they’ll be gone really soon!

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Daily, Spiffykerms Holiday Gift Guide 2015

Holiday Gift Guide: the In-Laws

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In-LawsOnto my second instalment of the Spiffykerms Holiday Gift Guide 2015! My gift guides will be coming out fast and furious the next few weeks. I have a lot of ideas to share. Today, we’re talking ‘n thinking about gifts for your in-laws.

I actually find it quite easy to shop for my in-laws, since they all have similar taste to me, or so we tell one another when we all go shopping together. I grew up with one older brother, so I never had much girl-time with any female siblings…because duh I was the only female! Lol.

I lucked into having three sister-in-laws upon marriages happening. My brother is married to an Irish woman, and my husband has two sisters. I honestly feel like they could all be my sisters. I love hanging out with each of them one-on-one and having that special bond with the three of them.

My parents-in-laws are awesome too. My Mother-In-Law bakes like no other. Her cheesecakes are to die for, I always said they were like “restaurant quality” and could definitely open up her own bake-shop if she wanted. I am craving a chocolate cheesecake from her now! Good thing we are heading home for Christmas.

My Father-in-law (FIL) and I share a general interest in rocks together. I grew up with a neighbour who was a geologist, and that neighbour and I always chatted about rocks. I even thought about going into geology! Obviously I don’t know as much as my FIL about geology (he has a large collection of incredible pieces and takes good care of them all), but I love having that similar interest with him. Did you guys know I used to have a rock collection? Like a legitimate one – rocks from all over the world. I ended up gifting it to my nephew when he turned 7 or 8, because he too, shows an interest in it. Even had this homemade box to keep them all labelled separately and in their own little cube so to speak.

Alright, let’s get into those holiday gift ideas! (Some items in this post were sent for review. Opinions are my own!) 

PIL-gift1

PIL-gift2For the parents-in-laws
Yes! Two photos for the parents-in-laws. Luckily my husbands parents are fairly easy to buy for, come Christmas time. Last time I was in Newfoundland, I ended up giving my Mother-In-Law Dior + Bioderma products and she seemed to really enjoy it! Plus, I usually like to think that whatever I like, in general — a lot of other people would too, no? I mean, who doesn’t want to try out Love With Food (an organic + all natural snacking monthly subscription box) to arrive on their door step each month? And another unique gift idea I love is to incorporate their pets (or Alfie, their grand-pet in this case, hee hee!) and have a CaseApp skin on their ipad? Don’t forget about liquid resistant placemats for the pets at home too, that one’s from JC Penny. Or cute festive Owl pillows (how cute is the one with the Santa hat?!) I also love giving luxury skincare items that people may or may not have heard of before, both Aesop and Antipodes are fantastic brands.

Products shown in first photo for parents-in-laws: 

Products shown in second photo for parents-in-laws: 

BIL-HolidayFor your brother-in-laws:
Because I feel like a lot of guys don’t necessarily take care of their hair until someone steps in. For instance, I had no idea my husband didn’t use conditioner until I asked him about it! Sheesh, take care of your boys here ladies and gents. The scent of the kelp & mint duo is unreal, kind of reminds me of something from Aveda,if you know that scent. Mmm-mmm, music to my ears. The hand wash is also gorgeous smelling and I feel like it would look really great in a bachelor’s kitchen, or bathroom to fancy and pretty things up a bit. Plus I feel like foaming hand washes last a lot longer than the regular ones. Anyone else feel that way? And tell me more about those iHome headphones I’m hearing you say! They’re wireless. They’re bluetooth. They’ll love you forever for getting that for them, and thinking you spent a lot more than you actually did.

That box of Boardwalk Food Company Craft Beer Snack Mix (shown: pretzel in rosemary sea salt) is such an awesome idea. And so easy to make for a dude’s party. I guarantee they’ve never seen something like this before. You can make them in 30 minutes… WITH BEER. Gah! Genius.

You guys know I love that Juniper Ridge brand, which I included in my previous gift guide, heehee! And let’s talk about practcal gifts here. Those AllerEase pillow protectors. I know, I know. You’re thinking its’ a strange gift. It kinda is, I agree, but aren’t a lot of guys super practical? I know for sure my husband, brother and father are. They want something they know they will use. And who KNOWS how old their pillows are. Eeeehhhhw.

Products shown for brother-in-laws: 

Delsey-LuggageIf you’re feeling extra generous or happen to have a bigger wallet than I, you could always give the gift of a luxury suitcase. This one is from Delsey, and it’s the 19″ Chatelet carry-on spinner trolly. I’ll be talking more about it in depth in a future blog post, so stay tuned for that too!

SIL-Holiday

For the sister-in-laws:
Although three of them are quite different from one another, I can guarantee that my three sister-in-law’s would love any (or multiple) gifts of the above shown, especially something by bareMinerals because I took my SIL there a few weeks ago (see!!). I would have loved to include these adorable bunny slippers from ardene, or even a clothing piece. One of my sister-in-laws cycles as much as her brother/my husband does. So keep in mind what their interests are, and branch out from there.

Products shown for sister-in-laws: 

The three gift guides shown above (sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, and parents-in-laws) are all somewhat gender neutral and could be used/given to either male or females. I mean, man-buns…hello? They need hair ties and hair spray. Some dude’s are totally into nail polish too you know. And I know the Sephora male employees know how to contour better than I ever will. Plus, this is to give you some ideas and what brands to keep an eye out for while shopping this Christmas (or which ever holiday you celebrate).

 

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Daily

Weekend vibes + dirty diapers

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Comin’ atcha for a weekend recap, on a Tuesday.

So, this morning I ended up putting on a pair of jeans, socks, a long sleeved top, and then my new Superdry hoody overtop. My husband looks over at me and says “all those layers?!“. Clearly I’ve become accustomed to the weather here in California and I hate that! I cant get over the fact that I am putting on two layers of long sleeves at 18°C (64°F – I had to google that one, because I’m forever thinking in Celcius and probably always will). So yes, I am wearing a lot of layers and can you believe I have downfilled slippers on and my fingers are cold?

Here’s the sight of me right now, as  you read this, what I am wearing right now. Ridiculous! This weather is like St. John’s summertime. Am I right?slippers-and-hoody

Getting back to the weekend recap, I wanted to tell you another funny story about babysitting. You guys probably already know that my neighbour and I, with our two small dogs, and her little-big baby, walk around our housing complex almost every night, and sometimes multiple times per day when she was on maternity leave. I filmed a YouTube video telling you about that time I was changing his diaper when he was just weeks old. The little feller was – not even kidding you – laughing at ME, changing HIS diaper. Because I could tell he had no idea what I was doing.

Well folks, I looked after (the now 7 month old) baby once again. This time, it was for a couple of hours and the little guy was at my house. Baby and I chilled out for the entire day as my neighbours … guess what?…. MOVED OUT of their apartment. Shame on them for not being my neighbour any more, haha. I gotta give them credit, they picked a house 3 miles from ours, so at least we can still visit one another without technically driving to a completely different city. I’m still sad about it though.

baby legThe little guy is more interactive and fun to be around now, because he can sit up, clap, laugh… and boy oh boy even though he can’t crawl yet he can still move around the room! Guess that’s why you can never leave babies unattended. I’m happy my neighbour although my husband and I not being parents yet, still trust us to leave their baby with us. A humble brag, but I think it’s because I have a lot of patience, plus I’ve been around the lil’ fart since my neighbour announced her pregnancy to me.

When she dropped off her baby, she told me he already had a dirty diaper cleaned once already. Awesome — no dirty diapers while he’s over at my house.

BARMP.

WRONG.

During that same hour she dropped him off, he had a stinky surprise. In my head I ask myself: How long do I let him toot for? How do I know he’s “done”? Oh, trust me you guys— you will know. And forewarning, open the windows before changing the diaper. And because he is a boy, you need to be careful while changing him: pee can launch far. I had to text my neighbour after everything was done, apologizing for the amount of wet wipes I used.

I think the baby does this on purpose, because he knows I don’t know what I’m at. He knows he’ll get a kick out of me. He laughed the entire time too, silly fella. Preparing me for motherhood, I swear. Luckily the hours flew by, as I fed him three times, with a nap (for him) in between the gigs and the reels.

By the time my neighbours had finished moving their everything’s into their new spot, it was only mid-afternoon and like I stated the time flew, but it crawled at the same time. I was ready to crack out the wine and cheese as soon as he left haha! wine-glass-cheersI’ve been waiting to use my fancy new cheeseboard (it’s the Lyna Marble and Wood Cheese Dome from O.co), and Sunday night was it. It was a wine and cheese for two — so the multiple wine bottles in the background were just for props to make the cheeseboard look nice. Hey, bloggers gotta blog.

cheeseboard

cheesex2

I had saved two macaron’s from an event I went to earlier last week and the cheese was from The Cheese Shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, when we went the weekend prior, on a spontaneous trip to Monterey + Carmel + Big Sur. Blog post for that coming soon too by the way.

Cheeseboard-from-OverstockIsn’t it the fanciest cheeseboard you laid your eyes on lately? I kinda want to put apples or lemons in it for the time being when I’m not using it for its purpose. I keep it out on the kitchen island at all times. I also think it’d be fantastic for doing flat-lays for beauty product shots with some sprigs of pine surrounding it. Right?!

What did you guys get up to this past weekend?

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