The Delectable Everything Balm

Cake Everything BalmI absolutely love products that have multiple uses, because they make it so easy to pack my purse!  If that sounds like you too then you have to get your hands on Cake’s Delectable Everything Balm ($16).  Made up of castor seed oil, shea butter, and waxes, this balm has a smooth petroleum jelly like consistency but without any actual mineral oil in it.  It’s hydrating and smoothing but you can even use it on the ends of your hair to smooth them down.  It works on chapped lips, helps soften skin around minor cuts and bruises, and even hydrates enough to get rid of pesky hang nails.  

The packaging is great too – a handy little pump that dispenses just enough product so that you don’t have to dip your fingers into it.  

You can find Delectable products at drugstores.

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New Marc Jacobs Irresistible Beauty: Exclusive Canada Set

marc jacobs canada setThe new Marc Jacobs Irresistible Beauty: Exclusive Canada Set is on my Sephora want list right now.

Packaged in a patent pouch, this set includes a Enamored Hi-Shine Gloss Lip Lacquer in Allow Me (rosy shimmer), a Petite Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Ro(cocoa) (golden brown), and a Petite O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara in Blacquer.

I love the colours offered in the set, and I love that there’s something exclusive to Canada!  It’s not a lot that that happens, but I’m so glad that it has!

Pick it up from Sephora for $38.  It’s new.  It’s limited edition.  It’s exclusive.

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Your Solution to CVI

This post contains sponsored content.

Now that the weather is warmer, chances are that you’re showing a little more leg – in fact, 83% of Canadian women say that the appearance of their legs is important to them, and so it’s always nice to be able to share solutions that can impact the health of your legs for the better.  

CVI – or Chronic Venus Insufficiency – is a condition that’s characterized by swollen legs, the appearance of varicose veins, and heavy painful-feeling legs.  Many women who have the condition don’t even realize it!  The symptoms are caused by the impairment of blood flow in the legs, so that blood pools in the lower limbs causing for some pain, swelling, heaviness, tiredness, and varicose veins.  It’s not a pretty condition and it feels terrible too!

The condition can be caused by long periods of sitting or standing, lack of exercise, wearing tight clothing, and wearing high-heeled shoes.  

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There is an over-the-counter remedy available, called Antistax.  Antistax is a herbal medicine
 that alleviates the symptoms of CVI and can be found in the supplements section of your local pharmacy.

If you’ve been experiencing the symptoms of CVI, see a doctor to find out if Antistax might be a remedy for you – and visit Antistax.ca to find out more.

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Stila re-Launches their Stay All Day Foundation

TBH, I’m going for more natural beauty these days and so a face full of foundation just doesn’t appeal to me, but I am a fan of Stay All Day Foundation for the days (or nights) when you want better coverage and more of a done look.  

Stila Stay All Day Foundation openThe new packaging on this foundation gem is amazing – so good that I actually think that all foundations should be packaged this way.

It’s a pump dispenser that lets out foundation in a little well that you can dip your fingers or foundation brush into.  The entire package is air tight so there’s not going to be any gunky foundation any time soon, and you’ll be able to use the dispenser to get every last bit of foundation out of the bottle and not have any left. 

The formula is very natural and not powdery considering this is a long-lasting foundation.  It goes on medium/light and blends into skin easily and then really sets.  You can get water on your face, sweat, oiliness, and this foundation won’t be going anywhere.  

There are 10 colours to choose from – I got Honey, which went on lighter than I thought it would but because it’s not full coverage, it still covered nicely without looking too obvious.  If you can, try these on to find your right shade – they seem to be on the lighter side and mine didn’t oxidize as I wore it.  That’s a good thing! What I love about Stila foundations is that the colours are natural looking without being ashy or too peach.  There are lots of good options for those of us with warmer skin tones.

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, beautyBOUTIQUE.ca, Sephora and Sephora.ca for $52.

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New Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue Eye and Cheek Palette

This is the 5000th post on CanadianBeauty.com!!!  I can’t believe it!  Thanks for coming along on this ride with me!Stila Perfect Me Perfect Hue PalettesYes, I am loving these large square Stila palettes, and joining my Correct and Perfect palette is the Perfect Me Perfect Hue Eye and Cheek palette in light/medium.  Both palettes are good quality (plastic with a tightly snapping lid) and have a huge mirror inside.  Most days, I do my makeup holding the mirror near a window, so these have basically become essentials!  

I love the Perfect Me Perfect Hue palette because it’s a blend of mostly matte shades – there’s just one glitzy shimmer shadow in the whole bunch which is really reflective of where eye makeup has come to.  We’ve done lots of shimmer and glitter, but people are realizing how much you can do with just matte shadows – they’re more forgiving to eye wrinkles and are perfect for use in the crease because they’re less prone to creasing since they’re on the dry side. 

FullSizeRenderThis palette has two matte blushes which are also perfect because I think many of us are done with blushes that have shimmer in them.  They don’t look at all natural (if that’s the look you’re going for) and with the strobing craze in full swing, many of use have a plethora of highlighting products at our fingertips anyways so we can use those to add shimmer if and when we want.  My palette has a bright pink blush and a neutral rose shade as well.  The bright pink is surprisingly easy to wear – Stila pigments are sheer enough that the colours work with your skin tones instead of covering them up – thus, the warmth of my skin shows through this blush colour to create a shade that works for me.  

The base shade in the eyeshadow is the largest pan which makes sense because it’s the easiest one to wear so may get used lots.  The highlight shade (the smaller light colour) is a satin finish so it gives a natural highlight instead of a frosty finish.  My favourite is the shimmer shade, and I love the copper brown colour in this palette.  It gives just the right about of ooph and is easy to wear with any makeup look.

I actually found that I could have gone for the medium/tanpalette instead of the light/medium, and when you’re looking at these, you may find that more than one palette would work with your colouring.  The final decision for me was based on the blush shades – I find that I gravitate towards pink blushes and I preferred the colours in the light/medium palette. 

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, beautyBOUTIQUE.ca, Sephora and Sephora.ca for $51.

Posted in Summer 2016 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

New Vichy Ideal Body Spa Showers

In-shower body treatments are the new way to take care of yourself.  Not only can you get clean but increasingly, you can hydrate, self-tan, and exfoliate all without turning the hot water off.

I’m definitely more of a shower person myself – sitting in a bath just doesn’t appeal to me much.  I’d love it if I had the time, but after a bath I’m always wanting to take a shower anyway, so there’s no point in taking twice the time.

Vichy Spa Shower GelsThe latest addition to my shower is these Vichy Ideal Body Spa Showers – they come in a Gel-Oil and Gel-Cream formula, and while one looks milkier in colour than the other, the truth is that both of these are extremely hydrating shower gels that feel super smooth on the skin.  They leave skin more hydrated than the typical shower gel and have a soft floral clean scent.

I have The Body Shop and Morroccanoil soaps in my shower, but I’m reaching for these spa showers instead because they don’t feel as drying on my perpetually dry skin. For the record, I’m still following up with my regular moisturizer, but on the days when I’m not into it, I don’t have to worry about my skin being over dry from the shower.

$16.95 each on Vichy.ca or at Shoppers Drug Mart.

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New OPI Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection

OPI Alice Through the Looking GlassIf you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve been checking out a few colours from the Alice Through the Looking Glass collection from OPI.  The collection is a take off from the Disney movie that launched this weekend and features lots of bright colours mixed with some quirky dark additions to make for an eclectic collection.

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One of my favourite colours ended up being this blue – “the i’s have it” – which got me so many compliments in real life.  It’s such an on-trend summery colour that still seems to be slightly difficult to find.  This colour went on so smoothly and looked amazing on my nails – people even asked me if it was a gel polish!  It was super shiny when topped with my OPI Infinite Shine top coat and lasted a full week without any chipping.

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It’s supposed to be a powdery blue, but it’s brighter than I thought it would be, especially in natural light.

IMG_1655OPI has also released a special shade in this collection – it comes in what would be a collector’s edition box. IMG_1656

The shade itself – What Time Isn’t It – didn’t seem that special to me.  It’s a dark grey with silver slivers… It chipped easily on me and I didn’t love it as much.

All the colours are available as GelColors as well.

Here are all the shades:

Through the Looking Glass colours

Colours are $12.50 each and the special edition colour is $18.75.

 

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Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

Truth: most days I’m reaching for this Neutrogena gel-cream for sun protection but because since it’s almost out, I’m looking for another light yet moisturizing sunscreen and Aveeno’s Absolutely Ageless Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 is it.

Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Daily Moisturizer SPF 30Encased in a sophisticated pump bottle, this is a hydrating but lightweight cream that has stabilized SPF 30 to provide good daytime sun protection.  It’s not at all greasy, and doesn’t leave any tell-tale sunscreen cast or shine on the skin, but disappears, makes skin feel comfortable, and preps it for makeup.

I love that it absorbs so easily and the blackberry scent is delicious.

Now, I’m not sure about the “anti-aging” nature of the sunscreen – it’s not something I’m really invested in, but I do know that protecting my face from the sun on the regular will help defy aging, and so that’s what I’m using this daily moisturizer for.

Pick it up at drugstores now.

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Vitamin C Serum That Smells Good From Obagi

Have you ever opened a vitamin C serum only to find that it smells so bizarrely weird that you don’t even want to apply it on your skin?

Yeah, me too, but I usually push on in the hopes of achieving better skin.

But if you use the Obagi Professional-C Serum you don’t have to compromise.  This serum smells vaguely citrusy and sweet with a scent that noticeably masks the original vitamin C scent but smells good too.  I’ve reviewed this serum before (in 2011), but I’ve since used other serums and loved coming back to this one because it smells so good!

Obagi professional C Serum

You also get, of course, the benefits of the Vitamin C – whether you get this serum in the 10%, 15% or 20% version.  Your skin will be clearer, brighter, and better able to defend itself against free-radical damage, leading to clearer and brighter skin in the long run.  Use it morning or night, and always use sunscreen to preserve the gains in clarity your skin makes.

This serum feels slightly oily going on, but absorbs into your skin in a few minutes.  It is a moisturizing base for vitamin C without being heavy or difficult to use.

I’m using the 15% version and although I noticed the benefits of using it, I didn’t experience any side-effects.  No tingling or burning, and no dryness either.  I’m ready for 20%!

Pick up Obagi products at medi-spas.

 

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Wishlist item: Kevyn Aucoin Neo Bronzer

Kevyn Aucoin Neo BronzerKevyn Aucoin’s Neo Bronzer is a just-launched item that has a blush, bronzer and highlighter in one continuous palette.  I’m loving the transition from bronzer to blush to highlight because you can choose the depth of colour you want depending on your skin tone.  This would be perfect to take on vacation with you when you know that your skin tone could be changing.  It also seems like the perfect palette to use throughout the warmer months when you might go back and forth depending on the look you’re wearing or the amount of time you’re spending out of doors (even though you’re going to be wearing sunscreen, right?!).  

It’s available at Sephora for $82.  Worth it?  

What items are on your wishlist for the summer?

Posted in Spring 2016 | Tagged , | Leave a comment