The first of many Holiday Gift Guides | Beauty Lovers

Ah, the first of many Holiday Gift Guides comin’ atcha from all those blogs you read.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m on top of the Christmas shopping this year and I probably have one or two things left to pick up, and then I’m DONE. Donezo! No stressing! To be honest, I don’t really care for much of anything (for myself) this year for Christmas. It’s definitely going to be different without my Dad around, and then celebrating Christmas in a brand new home. But that doesn’t mean Christmas traditions won’t carry on. My Mom and I still plan on driving over to our neighbours house on Christmas morning in our PJs hangin’ with the Wade-o’sss. That’s one of the things I definitely look forward to when I’m home in Newfoundland. Not only that, my Mom’s new place will be closer to my in-law’s place — not that St. John’s is big by any means, but… hey, it’ll be closer none-the-less.

Jumping into a Holiday Gift Guide now for the beauty lovers. So many sets are available at Sephora and other stores, it’s a great time to pick them up and gift-away. Here are some goodies I’ve been picking up for people, PR brands have sent over (will be marked so you’ll know) and products that I’ve purchased from the Sephora 20% VIB sale.

Philosophy

Philosophy Pure GracePure Grace Foaming Bath and Shower Gel| $44CDN/$38USD I took advantage of the Sephora VIB sale and picked up a huge bottle with a pump, of the Pure Grace Foaming Bath and Shower Gel for in-shower. The ‘regular’ 160z philosophy bottles tend to last me for a few months so I would say that this huge 32oz will last me ages. Plus not to mention the scent is amazing — and looks nice in the shower, ha!

philosophy hope in a jar
Hope in a Jar moisturizer| $79CDN/$69USD Hope In A Jar: My go-to daily facial moisturizer for over four years. I haven’t found anything else that I love as much as this moisturizer. They now have 2 different variations of the hope in a jar, I prefer the original as opposed to the renewed hope in a jar which is a bit different in consistency and I feel like it doesn’t give me as much dew/glow to the skin as the original. OG if you will, ha!

Fresh
Fresh Beauty sets will be available in December at Sephora! 

FreshZodiac Oval Soap Collection| $18CDN/$15USD Although these soaps are expensive perhaps you can pick it up for one of those friends or family members that enjoy the thought of receiving a product they can use that is astrology related. There are 12 zodiac themed soaps with four iconic scents in classy and sleek packaging. I’m a Taurus, and kinda dig reading about what my sign says about me on the Fresh website. The zodiac oval soap collection is for a limited time only, so make sure you pick up those products before it’s too late!

Mini Mask SpaMini mask spa| $115CDN/$93USD It’s time to indulge your skin this Christmas, as gorgeous as it looks, it’s just as effective too. Don’t let the travel-friendly sizes of these masks fool you into thinking it won’t last long, you get FOUR masks, and a little truly does go a long way. Inside the box you’ll receive travel-sized items of 5 of the bestselling masks: Sugar Face Polish, Rose Face Mask, Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask, Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask, and the Umbrian Clay Purifying Mask. Each product obviously does different things for your skin. Separate them and gift them individually, keep them for yourself so you can multi-mask for your specific needs, or give this gift-set to one! (Very generous of you! lol). It’s up to you.

Fresh Rose skincare ritualsRose skincare rituals: daily essentials| $78CDN/$67USD Pamper your skin, have a girls-night-in, or gift these to one of your besties. I guarantee they’ll thank you for months on end! This is a collection of Fresh skin care favourites that cleanse, mask, and moisturize.

Burt’s Bees
Burt’s Bee’s Holiday Gift Collection has everything for under $25.00 — which are now available as of November in leading drug stores, grocery stores and mass retailers.

Bit-Of-Burts-BeesA bit of Burt’s Bees| $5.49CDN/$4.99USD This is a classic lip balm and hand salve duo. Perfect for anyone who loves Burt’s Bees products and wants to keep their hands and lips moisturized. I know just the perfect person for this gift set!

Hive-FavouritesHive Favourites| $5.49CDN/$4.99USD A great little gift for a stocking-stuffer, or to a co-worker. The gift pack contains a tube of classic Beeswax Lip Balm and a tube of Milk and Honey Body Lotion. The lotion has blends of milk, honey, coconut and grape seed oils, giving it a gorgeous scent that isn’t greasy once applied — in fact it absorbs really quickly into the skin.

Face-EssentialsFace Essentials| $22.99CDN/$14.99USD This kit contains 4 of Burt’s Bees popular products with white tea cleansing facial towelettes, soap bark and chamomile deep cleansing cream, a peach and willow bark deep pore scrub, and the coconut and pear moisturizing lip balm. And it’s already gift-able in the limited edition packaging!

ColourPop x Hello Kitty
The new limited edition and cruelty free collection of cosmetics launched exclusively at ColourPop just in time for Hello Kitty’s birthday which was on November 1!

ColourPop-x-Hello-KittyLippie Stix| $5USD Why did I wait so long to try out ColourPop?! They collaborated with Hello Kitty to launch this adorable limited edition collection. I tried my first lippie stix and I need to do a full-review on these. It seriously felt like nothing on my lips, but the colour intensity was unreal and it lasted hours without smuding or budging. Whoa. I also have a few extras of these (plus some extra gloss) so I’ll be doing another giveaway coming soon!

ColourPop Ultra Glossy Lip, Metallic Lip + Satin Lip| $6USD These are so inexpensive, and with a gorgeous formula. Stay tuned for a giveaway and a video about these soon!

Dior

Dior jelly sleeping maskHydra Life Jelly Sleeping Mask| $85CDN/$69USD Come winter your skin is bound to get drier, I know mine is. I’ve gone through the travel-sized pods of something similar from Dior (the Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask Capsules), and found my oily/dehydrated skin felt instantly more hydrated and moisturized in the morning. I went into Bloomingdales in San Francisco last week and the lady at the Dior counter suggested I pick up the sleeping mask since it would suit my skin needs better. And so, I did. Boy it’s fantastic.

Dior HydraHydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask Capsules| $55CDN/$42USD Okay, because I mentioned it above I wanted to include it in this gift guide. A little indulgent, yes, but well worth the money! Each pod is individually sealed, and can last up to three ‘masks’. I used it as an overnight mask to reap all the benefits but it can also be washed off as a regular mask if you wanted. I brought it along with me on so many trips this past summer (Oregon for instance!). I LOVE how it made my skin feel in the a.m.

M·A·C

MAC-Nutcracker-collectionNutcracker Sweet Eye Compacts| $39.50USD. I purchased my first holiday eyeshadow kit from M·A·C back in 2009. I honestly still have the palette for keepsake purposes, but M·A·C eyeshadows are undoubtedly one of the best out there. These easy to wear neutrals from the nutcracker collection are simply gorgeous. It also comes with a dual-ended travel sized brush for easy application. Pair this on top of my favourite eyeshadow primer, the M·A·C paints (I have the one in bare canvas).

Nutcracker Sweet Nude Mineralized Kit| $39.50USD. The products aren’t shown in the photo above (only the makeup bag) because I wanted to do another individual post about the M·A·C Nutcracker collection! Get excited, I love how this one is designed!

Shop the products I talked about, below!

Disclaimer: These products were sent for review: Hello Kitty + ColourPop, MAC, Bit Of Burt’s Bees, and the Fresh Beauty items.

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Get Ready With Me: Valentines Day

Get-Ready-With-Me-VdayThe second Beauty Talk Tuesday is a ‘get ready with me’ for Valentines Day post using a few of my favourite beauty products, along with some new ones that I am currently trying out. Whether you’re staying in with the girls, or going out on a date night, this Valentines Day look is for the woman that prefers subtle makeup. Mainly because I do not know how to do a smokey eye, and I prefer to look more natural than done up. Step by step, I will guide you on how to create this look, using products from philosophy, Dior, bareMinerals and a few others.

Let me know if you like the styling of the photos, and I’ll continue to take them this way. Lets jump into the makeup:Vday-Skincare

1. Dior Capture Totale Le Sérum: My skin is dehydrated so I apply a serum before any other products to lock in moisture.
2. philosophy miracle worker eye cream: A thicker silicone type eye cream, perfect for making the concealer glide on. Using my ring fingers I apply using a dabbing motion, not wiping in order to protect the delicate under eye area.
3. philosophy renewed hope in a jar: I am testing out this new formulation of hope in a jar. It has a lighter consistency than the regular version, it’s excellent for normal skin, but I still prefer the original.

Vday-Makeup1. bareMinerals Complexion Rescue (shades Ginger + Natural): This tinted hydrating gel cream is a brand new product out by bareMinerals. It provides a light to medium coverage, and I prefer mixing the two colours together to achieve a shade that matches my skin perfectly.
2. Cle de Peau concealer (in Beige): Applying concealer in a triangle under the eye immediately brightens the area up. Again, using a tapping motion with the ring finger not only protects the eye area, but keeps the product where you applied it, so it doesn’t smear your foundation.
3. Diorskin Nude Air Tan Powder: Bronzer is my favourite way to make my skin look like its been sun-kissed. I apply the colour to my forehead, temples, under the cheekbones, under the jaw line and on my nose then blend out any harsh lines with my foundation brush.
4. Dior Cheek & Lipglow: I thought this was a silly product when I first received it to review. But once applied, it creates a natural flush to the cheeks. I have been reaching for this on a daily basis over my cream blushes.

Vday-EyeMakeup1. Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel: This is an oldie but a goodie. I have dense brows as it is, but I like to reach for this when I am feeling a bit daring. I am not used to filling in my eyebrows, but I like to keep them manicured looking.
2. bareMinerals Lasting Line in Classic Cream: Using this flesh coloured eye pencil, I line my waterline to make my eyes appear wide awake and fresh faced.
3. Dior Backstage Eye Prime in 002: This product is well loved. An eye primer prevents your eye shadows from creasing, mutes out any veins or lines on your eyelid, and allows eye shadow to apply in its true colour.
4. Dior Kingdom Of Colours in House Of Pinks: Using each colour I created an everyday soft pink look with this neutral eye shadow palette.

Vday-Eyes-Lips-Nails1. Diorshow Kohl in black: A thin line of eyeliner is an excellent way to accentuate your eyelashes, and make them look fuller.
2. Tweezerman eye lash curler + bareMinerals Lash Domination mascara: You cannot finish a makeup tutorial and not make your lashes stand out. Lash Domination is a lengthening mascara with a plastic wand, so I didn’t see too much volumizing.
3. bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Dream Big: I think I have found my favourite nude lipstick. I felt confident wearing this all day long, and found myself applying it as soon as I noticed it wearing off.
4. bareMinerals Cream Glaze Lip Topcoat: A clear gloss to add some more attention to the lips. This lip gloss was a bit smelly, so I would use my Buxom or other bareMinerals gloss next time.
5. Dior Vernis in Glory and Top Coat in Blossoming: Painting my nails pink for Valentines day! I used only one coat of Glory, that’s how amazing the Dior formulation is. Then for an accent nail I used the playful confetti-like colour.

The final look!Valentines-Look

 Disclaimer: Dior & bareMinerals products were sent for review. I never receive paid compensation for a blog post. Opinions are my own. 

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How we get ready for house guests

House-Guest-PrepWe had our first house guest a few months ago, when The Guy’s best friend came down on his work trip, but he stayed at our place a little less than 12 hours. After that I thought it was time for another few house guests to make their arrival to California.

I facebook’ed my two sister-in-law’s (The Guy’s sisters), and asked them when they were planning to come visit us. Last time we saw his younger sister, was at our wedding. The last time I saw his other sister was when I was home in Newfoundland.

To my surprise, they both booked flights, and were here in California at the same time.

Needless to say, I wanted to have the house in presentable shape, as The Guy and I tend to drop things on the floor instead of putting them away. I spent one full day organizing our main floor, rearranging a few things, deep cleaning the kitchens, and took the vacuum to the floors. Our house is a little bare at the moment with little artwork on the walls, but it feels a lot more spacious after I moved a few furniture pieces around.

I’d show you our guest room, except it’s not exactly a guest room. The Guy has taken over that room for all his bike stuff, so it’s not as decorated as I’d like, whatsoever.

Preparing-for-house-guestsAfter a flight or long haul, I know that I love to just take a long shower/bath and simply relax. I like our guests to feel at home, or at the very least feel relaxed like they’re at a spa or hotel. Regarding the bathroom, I like to give them our spare bathroom and make it feel very hotel/spa like. I bought a few towels at World Market, and I already had the striped towels from Pottery Barn a few years ago. They were all freshly washed and folded like you’d see at hotel, all fancy like.

Guest-basketI gathered a few more goodies at World Market — we don’t have a store like that, that I know of in Canada. It’s one of my favourites around here, and it doesn’t help that it’s almost across the street from me. Inside the basket is a hand towel, a few face clothes, a candle, hand cream, body wash. Then I picked up some disposable razors from Daiso and added them to the basket. All topped with a few chocolate truffles.

Face-masks-for-guestsSince I love spoiling people, I couldn’t help but add a few more touches to the basket and towel. I added a few mini makeup items (cuticle oil, nail file, perfume, lipstick, and mascara) for the girls, and some face masks on top of the fresh towels.

House-Guest-Prep-2Adding a new hand soap was something I wanted to do, too. That was bought at TJ Maxx.

philosophy-shower-goodiesThe shower had a few travel sized items that I snagged at a hotel a few months ago. The cleaning lady and I shared a little bonding experience over the philosophy goodies, and she hooked me up big time. Now, I save them for our guests, ha!

A fresh and clean bathroom all to yourself as a house guest is pretty sweet, isn’t it? I’m so glad they both managed to book trips down to see The Guy and I. I’ll do a recap on what we did throughout the little while they were here, in the next few posts.

Krista and Shauna, I miss you both already!

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