Bumble and Bumble Thickening Volume Shampoo and Conditioner

I’ve found another favourite Bumble and Bumble shampoo and conditioner duo.  My first favourite is the Invisible Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, and I can’t get enough of the warm scent, but the Bumble and Bumble is a close second. It is perfect for when you don’t need to really add a lot of moisturizing to your hair.

What I love about the Thickening Shampoo is that it washes totally clean and lets your hair have a lot of volume.  The Thickening Condition has slip but isn’t heavy or thick itself.  It’s great for detangling fine hair and then it washes clean.

If you’ve used the iconic Bumble and Bumble Thickening Dry Spun Texture spray then you know how this smells.  Kind of fresh and dry at once.

$28 for the Thickening Shampoo, and $30 for the Thickening Conditioner.

Available online or at salons.

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Moroccanoil Treatment

Lately, as I’ve been cleaning out my beauty stash, I’ve come across a few minis of the Moroccanoil Treatment, so it’s given me a chance to try it again.

By now, most people are familiar with the treatment but maybe you’ve never tried it.

Moroccanoil was the first big brand to incorporate argan oil into its products, and launched with this original Moroccanoil treatment.  Although the ingredients are mostly silicone, there is enough argan oil in this treatment to really help smooth your hair and add some conditioning to it.  It’s nice to see the most hyped ingredient further up on the ingredient list, but the truth is that if anything has too much oils, it actually leaves your hair feeling greasy, which is not what you want.

The Moroccaoil treatment is seriously smoothing – I’ve been using it in 90% humidity and noticed a difference in my hair.  The best way to use it is on wet hair so that it distributes well.  You’ll notice a difference as your hair dries.

Moroccanoil has the most iconic smell – rich and warm, it’s almost addictive how nice this smells, and it’s nice to know that it works so well too.

You can find Moroccanoil here.

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Julia Child’s Kitchen Wisdom

I grew up watching cooking shows with my dad, and one of the ones we used to watch way back when was Julia Child’s show. She really had spark, was totally real, and had some good recipes to boot. She didn’t necessarily make anything fancy, but she made food that you actually wanted to eat and could eat at home.

I just got Julia Child’s Kitchen Wisdom and it really reminds me of the show, because it’s just simple recipes that you’ll want to have. There aren’t any pictures in the book and it’s not an expensive one, but it’s still great.

Do you know how hard it is to find a simple recipe for custard? There are a ton of them on the Internet, but the problem is that they are all different and most of them are to be used as part of a larger recipe. Well Julia has a good basic custard recipe and all the variations on it so that you can put things together yourself. The book is a great resource to have in your kitchen and would make a lovely hostess’ gift to anyone who likes to cook.

This is a classic book that you will have forever, and you can get it online for $18.

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Jo Malone Vanilla & Anise

Jo Malone fragrances are not for everyone – but they are for me, and I still remember how much I loved my first purchase, Pomegranate Noir. If I had to describe that scent, I would have to say that it does sometimes smell like slightly rotten fruit. Can you see why it’s not for everyone?

Jo-Malone-Vanilla-AniseAs it turns out, Jo Malone’s launch, Vanilla and Anise has a much more universally pleasing scent. Although the scent dossier says that it’s a modern vanilla, to me this is totally old school. The Vanilla and Anise Scent remind me of a spiced tea cake or cookies that have hints of cardamom in them. However, it does all this without being overly sweet or even the slightest bit gourmand. Like all Jo Malone scents, her skill lies in the subtlety of creating unique fragrances.

I found that this wore better than most Jo Malone Colognes and layered especially well with Grapefruit, which is a citrus with a spicy base.

$186 for 1o0mL.

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Empty Video: The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask

Just finished using The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, and I have to say that I loved the scent of it.  It smelled so luxe.  But this mask has a lot of little chunks in it which made it difficult to apply evenly, and it was super messy to wash off.  I normally take my masks off with a washcloth, but that was kind of messy, and when I took it off in the shower and that was messy too.  So just a note.  I think I like my masks smooth and without the chunks because they’re easier to put on and easier to take off.

Anyway watch the video to see.

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Waterline Eyeliners

Eyeliners that work in the waterline are notoriously difficult to find because they need to be waterproof but they also can’t smudge into your eye cream.  I’ve found one that works.

It’s the Annabelle Waterline matte kohl eyeliner and it lasts all day!

$9.49 online.

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Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Mist Sunscreen SPF 50 Review

The problem with any spray sunscreens is that you don’t know what kind of coverage you’re really getting because it’s hard to see where and how much you’re spraying.  That’s definitely what I experienced with Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Face Mist Sunscreen in SPF 50.

Now, actually, I do love the formula.  It’s clear, light and you can spray it all over your chest and neck without worrying that it’s going to leave whitish marks on your clothes.

It’s also oil-free and super easy to use.  You don’t get your hands dirty. Also, this is not a continuous spray, so it goes on just where you choose to spritz it.

I apply it after doing my skincare routine and call it a day.

Available online for $14.98.

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Beauty By Zero Hand and Nail Cream

Beauty by Zero is a new brand that’s available at Shoppers Drug Mart this fall.  From Britain, this clean beauty brand not only has skincare with ingredients you can pronounce, but they also believe in being sustainable and not being bad to the planet.  As such, all their packaging is recyclable – you just make sure that the inside is clean and you can throw the tube into the recycling bin.

I loved this hand cream because it was rich and immediately soothed my dry skin.  I also used it on my face in a pinch and it worked well relieve dryness, and I used it on my daughter and felt good that the ingredients were natural.  I know that natural isn’t always everything – trust me, I love my skincare that comes in a lab-type dropper bottle – but when you have a hand cream lying around, everyone reaches for it and this was one that I was happy to share.

$19.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart.

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Foundation Options

I’m basically always mixing foundations or switching around to find the one that has the perfect finish for my skin and the one that has the perfect colour at any given time. I guess the best way to go is just to not wear any foundation at all, but I do like a little something on my skin and so these are some that I’ve tried and have on hand.

Maybelline Tinted Primer (this was limited edition for the Gigi Hadid collection and definitely is too dark for me no matter what I mix into it).

Armani Luminous Silk. Literally weightless. This is the colour 8 which is my summer colour.

Make Up For Ever Water Blend Foundation in the colour 415 which is a bit dark and also a bit red.

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Nars Laguna Bronzer

I found this Nars Blush/Bronzer/Highlight trio that I had gotten in 2011, and I’ve been using the beautiful Laguna bronzer as my contour colour.  It has a tiny bit of shimmer in it but not so much that it looks shiny.  It just prevents the bronzer from looking flat on your skin.

The Albatross highlighter in the middle is a lovely white-gold colour that would look good on anyone’s skin, and I’m not a huge fan of the Orgasm blush.  It’s more of a highlighting blush and I think that it would only look good sparingly on top of another blush.  I prefer a matte creamy blush on myself.

But then I found another Laguna bronzer, that had clearly been reformulated.

That bronzer isn’t as pigmented and it’s not as warm as the first Laguna bronzer, but it’s still a pretty and wearable bronzer. I like the one in the trio, but I hate having the trio out if I’m not using all the colours regularly.

Nars now includes bronzers as part of a duo, and also has a matte bronzer which looks good.  You can also buy Nars bronzers as a mini which seems like the best option, because then you can try it and see if you really like it.

 

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