Pantene Nutrient Blends Deep Detox And Renew Shampoo and Conditioner

Loving the whole Pantene Nutrient Blends collection, but I really love the Deep Detox and Renew collection which has detoxifying charcoal with helps get your hair super clean. I kind of even like this shampoo and conditioner better than the Moisture Renew one with Rose Water. I loved the scent of that one but this one cleans your hair a bit better and I need that in my life. Or I mean that my hair does.

The scent of this collection is fresh and almost minty and clean. There’s a minute amount of charcoal in the shampoo and conditioner and I appreciate that the conditioner is silicone-free because it doesn’t weigh down my hair at all.

This is definitely one of my favourite collections I’ve tried this year. Find it at your drugstore. $10.99 each.

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Vasanti Brighten Up! Review

Alright my beauties, if you’re from Toronto, then you are no doubt familiar with Vasanti Cosmetics.  It’s a line of high quality makeup that caters specifically to South Asian women.  That means that their foundation shades are golden, and they carry lots of brightly coloured blushes, shadows, and lipsticks so that they show up on all skin colours!

But they also have skincare!

The Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator is similar to the Kate Somerville Exfolikate except way more gentle, so those of you who have sensitive skin can use it!

The basis is the same – an acidic cream that has scrubby bits in it so that you get rid of old skin and let the enzymes penetrate so that you help more exfoliation along.  When I used it, I felt just a tiny bit of tingling, but since I wasn’t leaving this on my skin, I wasn’t too concerned.  I just washed it off, and was left with really smooth and clear skin.  The enzymes in this give it a leg up on most other exfoliators, and you’ll find that it works much better than any of those.

You can purchase this online for $34 or at some Shoppers Drug Mart locations!

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Favourite Sunscreens for Your Face

Just some of my favs.

Neutrogena_Ultra_Sheer_waterlight

1. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Water-Light Daily Face Sunscreen SPF 60. ($15) This sunscreen has an extremely watery and light feel that makes it melt into skin and have an almost-matte finish. It’s perfect under makeup, on its own, and for all parts of your body, even though the small bottle means that it’s specifically formulated for use on your face.

lancaster sun beauty care

2. Lancaster Sun Beauty Care SPF 30. This is one of the few sunscreens that the men in our lives love too. Colorless, it absorbs into your skin and provides invisible protection.


la roche posay ultra fluid sunscreen3. La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra Fluid Lotion.  We love the watery sunscreens because they go on so easily.  This one blends into skin super quick.

 vichy ultra-fluid sunscreen

4.  Vichy Capital Soleil Ultra-Fluid Sun Protection.  This formula is fast-drying which means that it’s probably the quickest and easiest to put on from all the ones we’ve reviewed.

We’re going to be using sunscreen all year round, so stay tuned for more sunscreen reviews.

Also check out last year’s list of our sunscreen reviews – some of them are still going strong!

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Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Sunscreen SPF 60 Review

You can see from the picture that I’ve used this sunscreen a lot – in fact, this bottle is almost done.  This Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face sunscreen in SPF 60 sunscreen gives you really excellent sun protection – but it’s very thick and creamy so be prepared to really have it on your skin.  You might not feel like wearing this one everyday – they say that it’s non-greasy, but I wouldn’t call it matte.  It doesn’t look greasy, but it definitely feels very creamy.  I don’t love it… but I don’t hate it either!  I reach for this one when I know I’m going to have a long day in the sun!

It’s a very long-wearing sunscreen that doesn’t disappear easily – it also comes in an SPF 45, and SPF 100+ version (or I’ve seen it as SPF 110), and if you want something a bit lighter but that still wears well, then the SPF 30 is for you.  If you are more no-nonsense about sunscreen, then the SPF 60 or 110 is better.

You can get it online for $13.97 – in fact, this is a very easy to find sunscreen and you can often find it on sale!

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A Foot Mask That Works Better Than a Pedicure

Thank you Skin Republic for making these Foot Peel masks which are basically a pedicure in a mask – actually, they’re better – and CHEAPER – than a pedicure because they do a better job and last longer!

The Foot Peel mask (some of you may have heard of the “Baby Feet” mask that you can get on Amazon) basically is a baggie that has really strong chemical exfoliant in it.  You put the baggies on your feet and let the exfoliant do its job for 60-90 minutes.  7 days later, the skin on your feet starts to peel of in an intense way and you can let it fall off on its own, or help it along with a washcloth or any kind of scrubbie.  The amount of skin that comes off is so much more than what they get to at the salon.  For example, during a pedicure, they might get to my callouses, but they never exfoliate the base of my feet because I’m too ticklish.  Now, all that comes off on its own after using the Foot Peel Mask.  It’s amazing.

The mask takes 7 days to work, it takes a few days for the dead skin to be completely off and during that process, you probably don’t want to wear open-toed shoes – it’s pretty gross to look at.  But once it’s done, your feet are soft and smooth for a few weeks, especially if you keep up your moisturizing.

Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid are the main ingredients, and I don’t have sensitive skin and I didn’t experience any tingling or burning when I used these.  It’s a hassle to keep the booties on for 90 minutes but I did it while I was watching a movie, so the time went by pretty fast.  It’s totally worth it and I’m going to keep these on hand and do them on a regular basis because the results are totally worth it.

The Skin Republic mask is just $16.  Get them from Amazon

 

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Kate Somerville Exfolikate Review

First up is the highly hyped Kate Somerville Exfolikate exfoliating treatment.

I’ll start by saying that this is not for anyone with sensitive skin, because even with my hardy oily skin, I felt major tingling (slight burning) when I applied this for the first time, and I took that to mean that it was working.

The treatment is made up of a creamy base with grains mixed with lactic acids and fruit enzymes.  To apply, you rub this on to your skin, taking care of surface dead skin, and then let the product sit on your skin for a few seconds longer so that the enzymes and the acids can do their work.  It’s the lactic acid that really does the burning and penetrates the skin to give you major results.  There’s a good reason that Kate Somerville is known for this product, and that’s because it really does work.

After one use, you will see a lightening of major sun spots and discolouration, and I like to use this once a week to keep my skin really clear.  The product is green and it turns clear as it dries, letting you know when you can wash it off.

As I said, if you have sensitive skin you probably don’t want to use this product as it will leave you really red.  Also, you should follow the directions and leave this on your skin for the recommended 2 minutes or so and then wash off.  Only if you are able to handle that should you leave this on your skin for any longer, and when I did, I did notice some redness to my skin.

This does also come in a gentle version which is recommended for those with sensitive skin.

At $110, yes, this is on the pricy side, but it’s at par with other department store product prices.  The one upside to Exfolikate, however, is that you will notice major results and this has active ingredients that produce those results so I feel that in this case the $110 is completely worth it.

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Up Your Mask Game this Summer

There’s no filter that can possibly make a mask selfie look good and so I haven’t been posting any mask-wearing selfies, but I’ve been adding masks to my daily regimen and it’s making such a difference.  

Masks are like boot camps for your skin.  They have the ability to triage any emerging skin issues and help your skin look its best.  For me, masks generally fall into two categories: hydrating or detoxifying.  A good hydrating mask can make your skin look more plump, and a good detoxifying mask can head off any breakouts by pulling excess oil out of skin for good.  It’s a good idea to have both in your skincare regimen and use them as you see fit.  

summer face masks

Here are three new masks for you to try. 

1. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery PowerFoil Mask. This is the coolest new mask out there and deserves all the hype that it’s getting.  The mask has a typical serum-soaked fabric mask that you then cover over with a foil mask (that’s included) to lock in the moisture and prevent the serum from evaporating into the air.  As you leave the mask on your face, the foil helps it gently heat up and lets the serum soak into your skin. Like most cloth masks, once the ten minutes is up, you take the mask off, and rub the excess serum into your skin.  I used the mask once and noticed my skin was so much more hydrated and healthy-looking after using it.  

Besides the obvious and noticeably hydrating benefits, this mask contains antioxidants that can help ward off future damage to the skin so using this mask will actually help your skin look better int he long run, especially if you use the Advanced Night Repair serum on a regular basis too.

Pick it up at Estee Lauder counters.

2. Clinique City Block Purifying Charcoal Clay Mask + Scrub.  This mask and scrub is formulated especially for combination skin which has a tendency to look dull and greasy, especially after any time in the sun and heat.  The kaolin clay in this mask is excellent for absorbing oil and it also contains bamboo charcoal which you scrub into the skin as you wash the mask away.  The mask goes on dark grey and fades to a pale blue within five minutes, conveniently telling you that it’s time to wash it off. The result is noticeably more clear and fresh skin – if you have problematic skin in the summer, then this is the mask that’s going to get you through it. 

3. Fresh Rose Face Mask.  This is my favourite mask to use for a pick-me-up because its gel base is super refreshing and the combination of rosewater, glycerine, and cucumber extract just makes my skin look healthy.  It’s for all skin types so if you’re new to the world of masks this is the one to get you back into a routine. 

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Sunscreen Lineup

Here’s my sunscreen lineup for the summer.  These are just the ones that I keep upstairs, partly because they’re the ones that I was testing but also because they’re ones that I like to use on my face.

I have a separate collection near the front door and everyone chooses their favourite and applies it. The ones near the front door are also ones that I don’t mind sharing.  The Neutrogena Bright Boost above is a fav, so I’m keeping that in the bathroom.

What’s your sunscreen routine in the summer?

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Liquid Eyeliner Tutorials

I got a request yesterday to do a video on how to apply liquid eyeliner – and I’m going to make a new video soon, because I’m trying a new eyeliner, but I’ve made a few how-to’s and I thought I would link them all in one place.

This first one uses Tom Ford Liquid Eyeliner, but I want to emphasize that you do NOT need an $80 to get good results.

http://www.instagram.com/p/CAvEXMaBsCu/

I used a drugstore eyeliner in a different format for this video.

http://www.instagram.com/tv/B_-6VNfpyrw/

And finally, you can use a cream eyeshadow as an eyeliner too. Kind of like a cream gel eyeliner.

http://www.instagram.com/p/CAQtJT-pzrY/

Enjoy!

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Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel

By now, you’ve seen me use this eyebrow gel in one of my many tutorials and videos, so you know that I love it and use it daily.  This Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow+ was the original fiber gel that was on the market, and I’ve actually used it for years.  It came before the Boy Brow that everyone is using these days and is almost the same.

What’s great about it is that it adds volume to your brows without making them look too filled in or fake. It also comes in 12 colors which is more than most brow products come in. I found this to be pretty impressive.  There’s even a grey for people who have grey brows.

I’m using that in the color for her but I could probably even go up to a 4.5 or a five and it would match my eyebrows perfectly.

Find it at Sephora or online for $32. 

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