Goop G. Day Morning Essentials for the New Year
Happy new year! Again! As it’s still January, I can’t help but be reflective but also think about what this year is going to bring. As much as New Year’s Resolutions will be a thing of the past, I can’t help but challenge myself to do better. I should go to sleep earlier, wake up earlier, not procrastinate. Some things never change, I guess. But also want to think about 2018 and how it ended because it informs some of the trends (backlashes) that we’re already seeing.
I want to share with you the magic of G. Day Morning Essentials. G. Day is created by goop – a brand that fully supports the term “clean” and “clean eating” like I do. Lately, I’ve been using G.Day Ginger + Ashwagandha Energy Body Wash ($45) and G.Day Black Pepper + Rose Hip Energy Body Oil ($84), and together they combine revitalizing aromatherapy with ingredients that take care of your skin.
As the names suggest, the Ginger + Ashwagandha Energy Body Wash and the Black Pepper + Rose Hip oil smells kind of spicy. Not in a foodie spicy Indian food kind of way spicy, but they smell as if you’re walking through a spice field. It’s a refreshing scent that’s different but in a good way. Where most revitalizing products smell citrusy, these smell like they belong in a kitchen. The scents are meant to refresh your mind and they do. They’re transporting in a way traditional body products might not be.
I love the Black Pepper + Rose Hip body oil – it is super moisturizing in a way that dry oils are not. The oil actually has a base of Rose Hip Oil where traditional body oils would only use it in trace amounts. It also has jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, almond oil, and a host of extracts to help nourish the skin. The oil is emollient and seals in moisture. I use it on my body right out of the shower, and let it absorb before I get dressed. The bottle I have has lasted me over a month, despite the fact that I use it daily and even let my kids rub it on themselves. It’s a smell that everyone enjoys using with ingredients that are good for everyone.
You can find G. Day online at goop.com.
Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil Review
Even though we are loyal to our Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil , there are times when a new oil comes our way and we just have to try it out.
Boscia’s Makeup breakup Cool Cleansing Oil is one of those, and really, how could we not try it? It has “cool” in its name and that’s due to the peppermint and eucalyptus in the formula. Indeed, the minty oil does give you a bit of a pep at the end of your day as you smooth it on to dry skin to emulsify and rinse off makeup. You wash your face and wonder “why didn’t I do this sooner so that I’ve have some energy left for the end of my day?”
Like other cleansing oils, you apply this on dry skin (as we said before) and then add water so that the oil turns into a lotion and washes right off. Unlike other oils, this one leaves a bit of a residue on your skin which is no good.
However, if you’re like me, you wash with a soapy cleanser afterward anyway so the residue might not bother you. If you have dry skin or dryer than usual skin, or usually take off makeup with cold cream, then this will not bother you either.
All in all, the oil takes makeup off without any pulling and tugging on your skin, and it’s also going to help you avoid that tight dry feeling that sometimes results from taking off makeup, and that’s important.
Pick it up at Sephora, $42.
HBC Les Essentiels Mascara Review Video
Another mascara review for you guys… and what I do when I get a mascara that I don’t love.
http://www.instagram.com/tv/B7L9txIhq2B/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Posted in Search for the Perfect Mascara
Tagged HBC, Hudson's Bay, IGTV, Instagram, Mascara, Review
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Fragrance Friday: Citizen Queen by Juliette Has a Gun
Over a year ago, I wrote about a fragrance brand called Juliette Has a Gun. In Canada, available exclusively at Holt Renfrew, the brand was started by Romano Ricci, Nina Ricci’s grandson. It offered a pair of fragrances, both variations on the rose scent – one was dark and spicy while the other was sweeter and more suited for daytime. Beautifully blended with bottom notes that were as fresh as the top notes, the line is for those who want something unusual but pretty.
And now there’s a new addition called Citizen Queen, and this one was designed by Ricci himself. It’s one of those fragrances where I can’t put a finger on any of the notes.
The perfume at first smells very much like a chypre and is smooth and warm, but dries to a more powdery finish. There’s amber in the scent too but it’s not a sweet amber that we’ve been seeing in other lines, and the fragrance still smells wonderfully fresh.
I liked this a lot at first sniff and after using it all the time, it has become one of my favourites. You can pick it up this fall and the hefty silver bottle is the perfect addition of gothic charm to your vanity. My favourite thing about it is the look on the faces of my friends when they ask me what perfume I’m wearing. I love answering: Juliette Has a Gun.
$135.
From the Archives: Lancome Poudre Elephant
This is Lancome’s Poudre Elephant from the Maharani Jewels Collection, this is your chance. The powder came with a gold sheen on top, which looked really pretty on the skin. Unfortunately, once you’ve swirled your brush in it twice, the gold is gone, and you’re looking at what’s left.
This makes a really pretty bronzer/blush and the touch of red is lovely. It’s also easy to avoid the red all-together, which is what I’d suggest if you’re using the bronzer all over your face.
Kerastase Serum Oleo-Relax
I’ve already written about Kerastase’s styling products – I’ve loved all the ones I’ve tried, and I really think that this is one line that you can’t go wrong with.
Most recently, I’ve been using their Serum Oleo-Relax, which is the less-intensive of the hair serums they offer.
Right off the bat, I noticed that there was something different about this. It was less greasy and more liquidy than most of the other serums that I had used and it sank into my hair really easily. The liquidy texture meant that it was hard for me to apply too much and that I could easily apply it all over.
I put this into wet hair and found that when my hair was dry, it looked more conditioned and was less frizz-prone for the rest of the day. It’s one of those serums that’s basically fool-proof and seems to have been designed to use at home with stellar results.
$48 at salons and online.
Kevin Murphy Shimmer.Shine Spray
Currently using the Kevin Murphy Shimmer.Shine spray right now instead of my usual perfume, because it smells so good, and unlike perfume, it actually lasts and lasts. This spray is light on the shimmer but high on the shine.
Besides having gold shimmer in it, this spray is like a lot of other shine sprays that are out there. It’s a mixture of dry oil and alcohol so it dries almost immediately after your spray it in your hair, leaving behind the bit of dry oil that makes your hair look nice and shiny. What makes this better than other shine sprays out there, is that it smells so good. Like good expensive perfume and not coconut oil or vanilla.
Kevin Murphy says that you can spray this into damp hair before styling or on to dry hair. I use other styling products in my wet hair, so I find that I don’t need this and I like after my hair is styled and dry to stop any frizz and just leave my hair more shiny. It doesn’t weigh my hair down which is nice, but honestly I love how it smells so much that I would figure out a way to use this in my routine no matter what. Right now, it’s 4 sprays on dry hair. Thinking I’m going to move that up to 6 because it smells so good.
Pick it up in salons.
Lano Tinted Balm Trio
This lip balm trio is on sale right now – $34 at Sephora instead of $43.
Australian brand Lanolips is going to be the most talked about brand of the year – their 101 Treatment, and balms are cushiony and hydrating and perfect for cold and dry weather.
The trio has three tinted balms that are easy to wear. I really didn’t find any of these that I didn’t like or couldn’t wear on top of lipstick or on their own. They have no scent or flavour so they stay on your lips, hydrate, and make them emollient.
Ingredients are:
Lanolin*, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter*, Ricinus Communic Seed Oil*, Beeswax*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil*,Tocopherol (Vit E), (Nat) Aroma*, Prunus Amygdalus (Sweet Almond) Dulcis Oil*, Cocos (Coconut) Nucifera Oil* +/- Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydroxystearic Acid , Mica (CI77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red 28 Lake (45410), Red 33 Lake (17200), Yellow 5 Lake (19140), Red 6 (15850), Iron Oxides (CI77491).
No petroleum in the ingredient list!
Available at Sephora.
Marcelle Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes
By Rachel Longo-Tosoian
Getting my make off when I come home from work or right before bed can sometimes be a hassle if I do not have the right tools for the job.
I had never heard of Marcelle before using this product, and I must say that I was impressed with the Gentle Make-up Remover for Sensitive Eyes. The bottle reads, “Removes waterproof and long wearing make-up” so obviously, I needed to try it.
The first time I used the product, I failed to read the back of the bottle (always do this), and I did not notice that the liquid inside was separated (much like when you mix oil and water.) I went to use the product and nothing happened. So ladies (and gentlemen), always read the instructions! The second time around I noticed that the liquid was separated and gave it a hardy shake; excellent, everything mixed perfectly. I applied the product to a cotton pad and away I went.
I do not have sensitive eyes, but liked this product more than the Marcelle Oil-Free Eye Make-Up Remover Lotion. Actually, I found that this one did not remove any of my make-up, no matter how hard I scrubbed at my eyes.
It did not look like much of my mascara was coming off, but in the end, everything was gone. I even ran my fingers over my eyelashes just to be sure. I really liked using this product because it does not take a lot to remove the make-up and I did not have to rub and scrub away at my eyes as I have in the past with other products.
$14.99.