Beauty, Daily

Beauty Buys I’m Loving Right Now

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Dior abricot nail cream

Dior-ApricotMy cuticles are the only reason I like to go to the nail salon. They always seem to peel, crack or look nasty. The first time I used this product, is when the new Dior free standing store opened up in my local mall. When I opened the product in store, I was all ‘Eww, weird‘. But then the sales associate sucked me in and suggested that I only apply this at night to let it sink in. It’s not sticky, but more in between a grimey feeling (gosh I’m describing it terribly) and semi-sticky. But you wake up with hydrated cuticles for the full-day! Even throughout washing your hands. Unheard of around my dry scaly hands (I’ve been told by a guy once I have lizard-hands). A must-buy! [Dior Abricot Nail Cream]

Lancôme Juicy Shaker

A hydrating product and perfecting timing with their release right before summer hits. If you’re looking for more colour to your lips, I’d suggest the deeper tones of Juicy Shakers as they’re not as pigmented as one may think. But they do nourish the lips and act like a balm to the lips, leaving it with a glossy finish turned into a stain. The product itself will only last about an hour or two on, so be sure to cart it along in your purse and reapply throughout the day. [Lancôme Juicy Shaker]

Philosophy Whipped Body Cream

Amazing-GraceThis will come as no surprise, as any time I talk about anything beauty related Philosophy plays a major part in the role of my skincare regimen. On my birthday Mr. Spiffykerms took me to Ulta (so we could buy more sunscreen!) and he picked me up another tub of my favourite whipped body butter. It has the most soft delicate scent to it, and reminds me of my wedding day (although, I wore the Living Grace scent on my wedding day). But still! [philosophy amazing grace]

HABIT Nail polish

Habit-Polish-on-nailsEither my nails are painted a nude/white shade, or they’re jet black/darkest as dark can be. This one is a super dark shade of brown. I spotted the Habit brand of polishes first at Lou + Grey in Santana Row. [Habit Nail polish*]

AHAVA hand cream

AhavaI had been using AHAVA hand creams when I lived in Canada, and I went through tubes and tubes of them at work. I even got a couple of my old co-workers hooked on the one original scent. I never did look into buying any more once moving to California, but luckily I’m re-stocked up now as the brand sent some more scents to try out. They’re just as fantastic as the original (also shown). They don’t leave your hands greasy feeling at all, and they seem to last throughout 1 handwash which, hey, is rare! Lovin’ it. [Ahava hand cream*]

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine

YSL-LipsticksI’m all about the lip products that feel hydrating on the lips and I don’t mind reapplying. Like the Burberry Kisses lipstick I reviewed, this has been getting a lot of use and is constantly in my purse, ready for reapplying. Plus, look at that packaging. Unreal. The rouge volupte shine shade I’ve been rocking lately is in the colour 09 Nude in Private. [YSL Rouge Volupte Shine]

Burberry Cashmere Concealer

Burberry-concealerI purchased this during the Sephora sale back in April and have been using it quite a bit. Due to the porcelain shade I purchased, it has this gorgeous brightening effect on my under eye area and it doesn’t crease throughout the day. [Burberry Cashmere Concealer]

Burberry Eyebrow Definer

Burberry-eyebrow-definerDon’t get me wrong, I still love my Hourglass Arch Brow + Dior Universal Brow combo on my eyebrows, but having one solid product is better than two getting the same job done! See my review on it here which includes before/after photos. It’s great! [Burberry Eyebrow Definer]

Tom Ford Bronzer

Tom-Ford-bronzerLate night Sephora shopping kills me. But it all paid off, because I am loving this gorgeous Tom Ford bronzer in 02 Terra. Luckily it’s in between a cool-toned contour shade, and a nice warm bronze shade to warm up the skin. I apply this to the outer areas of my face (okay, basically everywhere since I love looking tan!) and down the nose too for a little sunkissed look. [Tom Ford Bronzer]

Dare you tell me your recent buys and subconsciously persuade me into buying some of your new favourite items? Hehe!

Disclaimer: * = products were sent for review. Opinions are my own, since I would’ve bought it with my own money anyway!

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Beauty, Daily

3 products to prep skin for self-tanner

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I have been self-tanning for 5 years, and I especially go ham with the tanner during the warm months. I usually opt for once a week, and it’s almost always on a Sunday evening to prep myself for the rest of the week. I feel like I need some sort of routine and schedule in place in order to keep doing the things around the house that I need to get done. Sundays are for relaxing, then self tanning. Monday is the day to get shiz done. Washing the bed sheets, the towels, the clothes, the grocery shop, the cleaning of the two bathrooms. That sort of thing. But I still create a list of what I need to do each day, because I love that satisfaction of scratching something off a to-do list. Who’s with me?

If you’ve watched my Snapchat last week, you would’ve seen me excitedly rip open a box of Rituals body products. I reached out to them in the first place, because I’ve heard great things about them — what I didn’t realize was that they also sell makeup. I lost one casualty there (a peachy blush, which looked SO pretty) but we’ll talk about the makeup in another post.

Prepping my skin for self-tanning is key for a flawless self-tan application.

  • Hop in the shower and let the warm water soak into your skin for a few minutes
  • Shave your legs and whatever else. Use a nice sharp razor for this! I don’t usually shave when I have my self tanner on for the week (because luckily my hair grows really slow. Side-note: I went to a spa last year and she suggested I didn’t do the leg/foot massage thing because the oils would irritate my freshly shaven skin. I was like: “Lady. I haven’t shaved in days!“)
  • I like to double-team the exfoliator-game. I use a scrubby mitt along with a gritty body scrub as it works better with the mitt than just a regular body wash, then go to town all over your body. Not forgetting hands, toes, neck and under arms!
  • After all that’s done, hope out of the shower and moisturize the most dry parts of your body. For me, that’s feet, knees, elbows and hands.

RitualsRituals Sakura Body Scrub
It’s important to use a body scrub, as it helps prevent ingrown hairs, and really exfoliate any dead skin cells. I’m not sure if I forget what a sugar scrub acts like on my skin, but I’m pretty happy with the turn out after hopping out of the shower. I ended up exfoliating my skin before shaving, so you’d think the scrub would wash away and with the razor over my legs, it’d dry out. I love how soft and glowy my skin looks prior to self-tanning! It’s a gorgeous smelling product with scents of cherry blossom and organic rice (what?… I’m not sure what organic rice smells like) but I do love the scent and it’s not overpowering.

AhavaAHAVA rich body butter has the perfect amount of thickness. I always reach for a body butter when applying self-tanner since it doesn’t soak in as quickly as body lotion. That way the self-tanner almost acts as a gradual tanner and doesn’t apply as much to these areas. You want to make it look natural, not as if you’ve applied a tint to the skin! The scent I have in the AHAVA body butter is lemon & sage. It’s definitely not a scent I would ever reach for (it was sent to me from a PR company), because if there are a couple of scent I really dislike, it’s lemon, vanilla or anything food-related. Usually those scents are people’s favourites. But I prefer to reach for something more natural and clean smelling. Lemon and Sage smells like something I’d clean my house with, or reminds me of a fresh smelling kitchen. Lol! I’ll use it up though, I love the texture of it, and it doesn’t irritate my skin.

If you want to see how I self-tan and see before/after photos, go to this blog post!

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Beauty, Daily, Photos, Reviews

Hand Creams I’m Currently Using

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I love hand creams. Wait, I should rephrase that. I need to love hand creams because throughout my entire life, I’ve had cold, scaly dry man-hands. I’ve been called lizard hands by someone in the past. I can see why they said that. Painted a pretty picture for you, didn’t I?

I always have hand creams in various places of our home, my car, and my purse. Needless to say, I don’t always apply it. I really should.

Here are a few not necessarily top picks that I’ve been using since moving to California, where my hands are still going to continue being dry. That’s okay. I’ve learned to live with it, no matter how far away, or close I am, to an ocean.

4 hand creams I’m currently using

Must-have-hand-creams

Caudalíe

This hand cream is pretty great when and is the most reached-for cream on this list. I’ve purchased more than a handful of tubes of these creams. It’s the most lightweight feeling of the four shown above. I’ll definitely keep buying this. $19CDN // $15USD at Sephora.

Bobbi Brown Extra

A little luxury to my collection, I’ve recently added this one to my assortment of hand creams. The Bobbi Brown counter at Macy’s lured me in. Had no idea Bobbi made hand cream. I tried it out, loved the way it made my hands feel. Then left without purchasing. Thinking about it constantly the next few days, I popped into Sephora to see if they sold any, which they didn’t. A few days later I headed back to Macy’s and asked for it. Luckily they had some in stock. It flies off the shelves, apparently. I don’t really know why. It’s $31. It’s expensive. It just seems like a regular hand cream, just in some fancy name brand packaging. It’s nice though. I’d repurchase it. However, I’m going to use this sparingly because it was so costly. I want to enjoy it. Would I recommend it? Only if you’re a hand-cream addict like myself. $31USD at Macys.

 World Market Hand Cream

Ok. I have no idea who makes this since there’s a bunch of names spewed all over the packaging. I bought it at World Market, thus the title. It feels, not greasy but quite silky once applied. After a few minutes, it evaporates and keeps my hands from feeling dehydrated and gives it a healthy look. Comes in a variety of scents, but I love anything citrus so the Grapefruit & Tangerine went in my shopping basket immediately after I smelled it. $4.99USD at World Market.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

I’m not the biggest fan of the scent with this product. But it’s bearable. I’ve heard a lot of great things with this brand healing eczema prone skin, and I received a sample of this a long time ago. I only just found it in my hand-cream stash so I thought I’d keep it around to try it out. Not sure I’ll purchase it in full-size when I like other hand creams better. $15CDN // $12USD at Sephora.

Honourable mentions

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula

As much as I still dislike to admit it, Mothers are always right. The top pick I recommend to anyone who wants a non-greasy formula, that is incredibly powerful and keeps your hands moisturized after many hand-washes, is still Neutrogena Norwegian Formula. It’s like a thick ointment-like consistency and is scent-free. It’s just so hard to rub in, especially when your hands are really dry or chapped. A lot of my climbing friends back in Newfoundland still use this product. I haven’t looked for it here in the USA yet, but I presume it’s readily available at any drug store. Read more about my rave reviews on it from 2012. $7.99CDN on Well.ca // $5.29USD at ULTA.

Ahava hand cream

I never thought I’d be able to find it again. It was whisked off the shelves in Ontario, Canada. I went through 3 or 4 tubes of this. Hands down, my #1 splurge for a hand cream. It has the most spa-like smelling hand cream I’ve ever tried. When I had an office and I applied it, my old co-workers walked down the hallway, asking who sprayed on perfume, or who smelled so good. It was always my hand cream. Not one person who tried it, didn’t like it. I bought it for my boss before I left work to head down to the states here. I was surprised to find it at ULTA. For the Canadians who’d like to try it, you can get it for  $22CDN on Well.ca // $21USD at ULTA.

Everything was purchased by me.

What are your favourite hand creams?

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