Summer’s Here (soon): Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine

So we’re all mentally prepared for summer, but it’s just not here yet… but, we can prepare for the summer thanks to Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau so Fresh Sunshine, the summer version of the original Daisy fragrance.

Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine

The scent has fruity and floral notes: Strawberry, Apple Blossom, Pink Grapefruit, Jasmine Petals, Day Lily, Rose, Violet Leaf, White Oak Moss, Amber Wood.  Unfortunately, you don’t smell a lot of the Oak Moss, but the Amber comes through and the opening note of apple blossom is fresh and only slightly fruity.  If you’re already a Daisy wearer, this will be a nice variation but still leave you true to the original Daisy scent.

Available at The Bay, Sears, Holt Renfrew, Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, Sephora, Jean Coutu and London Drugs. Beginning in March 2013 for a limited time only.

$85 for 75ml.

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Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate

midnightrecoveryFriends, I think I’ve mentioned once or twice that I’m a new mom… well, newish at this point, and I gotta tell you that my child sleeps like a baby… which basically means that she doesn’t.  So five months in and the lack of sleep is starting to show on my skin.  I can cover up dark circles like the best of them, but what to do about that loss of glow?

Turns out that there’s an answer out there, and it doesn’t involve any drastic measures.  Basically, Kiehl’s sent me and Cheryl their Midnight Recovery Complex, and I figured that since I’m up at midnight every night, this would be the thing for me to try.

It’s a super-light blend of essential oils that are rich in moisture and Omega 6’s so they can replenish depleted skin.  The scent, like all Kiehl’s products, is amaaaazing.  The lavender stands out and is so calming and relaxing, and I’m convinced that the scent also had an effect on my skin one way or another.

Long story short, though I already have oily skin, I smoothed this oil on to my skin every night before bed, and yes, I woke up with radiant and more luminous skin.  It just had that glow.  It looked fresh, despite the fact that sleep patterns haven’t really changed.

The one or two drops I use on my skin absorbed quickly and the serum almost felt like a dry oil going on.  I didn’t have greasy skin thanks to this oil, and it just left my skin comfortably moisturized.  You might also be interested in reading Cheryl’s review of it here.

Check out Kiehls.ca for stores across Canada or shop online. $48.

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The Nioxin Challenge

If you have thin or thinning hair, and want to do something about that, the premiere line on the market to help you is Nioxin. Having experienced some post-baby hair loss (that seemed to be beyond normal!) I just had to try the line especially after I heard that it now had lines that made it perfect for coloured hair.

Nioxin Systems

The new Systems 3 and 6 (one for thinning fine hair, and the other for thinning medium to coarse hair) are enriched with Glyco Shield which helps protect hair colour while still delivering the Nioxin treatment.  All the systems contain a shampoo, conditioner, and spray-on leave-in scalp treatment.  Each part of the system is essential: the shampoo cleanses the scalp so that hair follicles can push hair up easily.  The refreshing peppermint invigorates the scalp and helps promote hair growth.  The conditioner maintains moisture balance and ensures that hair is conditioned.  The leave-in treatment provides SPF, and essential vitamins and anti-oxidants, again promoting good hair growth and protecting it as well.

Upon receiving the system, my only concern was that the bottle of conditioner was half the size of the bottle of shampoo!  This is a major problem as I have longer hair and I need more conditioner.  I ran out of the conditioner within a couple of weeks of getting the system, and continued to use the shampoo and leave-in treatment but a different conditioner (in this case Ojon).

I’ve used this system consistently for a month (I was using System #3), and though I haven’t noticed a major thickening of hair, I do have to say that my hair fall has slowed dramatically.  Now, I will say that this could be for a number of reasons.  I’ve been on vacation for the entire month of using this system and eating really well so maybe that has helped slow the hair fall.  The hair fall could also have been just a stage in my own development and perhaps that stage has come to an end.  I knew that the hair fall was going to end eventually, and that cycle might have just finished.  I did have consistent hair fall for about 2 months, which seems to be a long time. All that aside, I’m not going to mess with something if it’s working.  I’m going to continue to use what’s left of the system in the hopes that my hair fall doesn’t come back.  But I’m also going to try to take better care of myself and maybe that’s the best prescription.

As it happens, my sister tried Nioxin for a year and a half and had the same results that I did – the thinning out stopped, but it didn’t make any hair grow back. It was progress though, and that’s why she kept on using it. A good friend of mine has also been using it for two years because his stylist suggested it to him, and he had the same conclusions, which is why he continues to use it.

To find out if Nioxin is for you, check out their website.

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OPI Matte Top Coat

…is seriously the most major thing to hit my nails this season. If you haven’t been a matte nail polish girl in the past, all that is about to change.

OPI Matte Top Coat

The trouble with most matte polishes is that they chip super easily making your nails look like a mess on day two. You can’t use a traditional top coat on them because that just takes away the matte finish, so it’s a challenge to keep the matte polish on your nails.

But now, OPI’s Matte Top Coat means that you can essentially turn any colour nail polish into an eggshell finished one, and have the polish last on your nails without any chipping or scratching for at least 5 days.

This new matte is anything but boring or one-dimensional. An application of moisturizer adds a sheen to the nails, and the matte effect looks great on already low-key neutrals or on a summer bright colour.

OPI Matte Top Coat is available at Professional Salons and Spas across Canada for $10.95 CAN.

Posted in Spring 2013 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Essie Resort 2013

Even though Essie is known for clean nails and a nice mature aesthetic, I feel as if recently, they’ve really been excelling at trend colours and those that are bright and flirty.  For the most part, their formulations are so smooth and I love that they do more creams than shimmers, because I’m a cream kind of girl…

So this resort collection is totally inspired by… resorts!

Think aqua waters, clean coral accessories, lush green foliage, the mauve summery clothing.

Essie Resort

 

The colours (from left to right) are:

come here!—outrageous nearly neon coral

first timer—fresh newbie green

in the cab-ana—self-assured aqua azure

under where?—wildly flirtatious orchid

My favourite colour is by far the Come Here!  It really is nearly neon… check it out for yourself:

I found that it went on a little streaky but I applied it with a heavy hand and two coats seemed to cover up streaks.

Come Here!

Under Where? is super pretty and perfect for the summer.

Essie Under Where?

First Timer and In the Cab-ana are the more fun colours, but I didn’t really feel that they were me…

Here’s First Timer

Essie First Timer

 

And In the Cab-ana:

Essie In the Cabana

The collection is out this April.

Posted in Spring 2013 | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Kate Moss for Rimmel London Velvet Touch Lipsticks

Rimmel velvet touch lipsticksI’m kicking all my other lipsticks to the curb because I’ve found a new favourite – it’s the brand new Rimmel London Kate Moss Lipsticks in a new velvet touch formula. These are long-wearing but not completely drying on the lips. You know them from the other Kate Moss collection because they come in the brilliant red tubes (the old collection was housed in black tubes).

I am a huge fan of these new lipsticks. They are heavily pigmented, long-wearing, literally velvet-like to the touch, and come in lovely everyday wearable colours. The finish is almost matte – I say almost because there does seem to be some moisture, some movement, to the finish, but it is basically matte. Because it’s not a true matte, the lipstick is easy to apply with a great deal of coverage in just one swipe. I actually like wearing these on top of a lip balm because I did find them to be slightly drying, but not so drying that I’m averse to touch-ups throughout the day.

The colour selection for these lippies is great – there is a nice range of nudes, neutrals, and bright colours so you’ll be sure to find something that really works for you.

Pick them up in drugstores for $7.49.

Posted in Spring 2013 | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Garnier Olia

Last week I dyed my hair with the new Garnier Olia, which is supposed to be more gentle for your hair because it’s ammonia free and made up of a 60% oil blend.

Garnier OliaI’ve tried an oil-based hair colour before by L’Oreal Professionnel (L’Oreal is L’Oreal Professionnel and Garnier’s parent company) and it’s pretty awesome, so I was interested in trying this at-home version.

Right when I mixed together the developer and colour, I could see the difference – the result was a super creamy mixture that looked like lightly-whipped cream. It was definitely not the slightly watery or gel-like mix that usually results from at-home hair colour.

Because the mixture was thick, it was really easy to apply because it wasn’t drippy. The 20 minutes it took to set went by in a flash because the dye doesn’t smell like ammonia and instead has a slightly fruity scent that’s light.

The end result was great – but not that different from other at-home hair dyes that I’ve tried. I had full coverage of all greys, and the colour was completely consistent. After washing out the dye, my hair was soft and smooth and super shiny.

So is it worth it to switch to Olia? I think that if the dye actually is more gentle on your hair, then absolutely.

Get Olia for $12.49 at drugstores.

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OPI 2013: Inspired by Oz

This season’s OPI Soft Shades collection is inspired by the upcoming release of Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful, and really the collection itself is a gorgeous one.

OPI Soft Shades 2013

The colours above (from left to right) are: Lights of Emerald City, I Theodora You, Which is Witch, Glints of Glinda, When Monkeys Fly, and Don’t Burst My Bubble.

With 3 shades of pale lacquer and 3 accent shades, the collection offers lots of collectors and nail polish lovers. There’s also a new shade of their Sand polish called What Wizardry Is This, which is the surprise hit of this collection.

The base of What Wizardry of this is bronze, and the sand is a dark brown. In some lights it looks like you have actual wet sand on your nails, and in other lights it looks like you’ve got a special matte glitter on your nails. This colour is understated pretty which makes it awesome for everyday and any occasion. I used just a base coat and no top coat with it, and I had barely any chips in a week.

What Wizardry is This

Check out my swatch of When Monkeys Fly layered on top of Lancome’s Peach Melodie.

When Monkeys Fly on Peach Melodie

I’m usually not a glitter girl, but I really love When Monkeys Fly because there are so many different sizes of glitter in the polish. I put on 2 coats to get the effect you see above. I really wish that the base had shine in it and could double as a top coat because that would cut down on the amount of polish I have to apply. When Monkeys Fly comes in a clear base, but it doesn’t dry shiny enough and I put my own SpaRitual topcoat to seal everything in. I also found that the extra large pieces of glitter didn’t stick that well on my nail (they wouldn’t lay flat), and so they are more apt to fall off by getting stuck in something.

I had much better luck with Lights of Emerald City and got tons of compliments when I put it on top of Don’t Burst My Bubble.

OPI Don't Burst My Bubble and LIghts of Emerald City

Lights of Emerald City is the prettiest top coat. It has iridescent and white squares and just enough seem to stick to your nails when you apply it.

Glints of Glinda is a beige that looks completely natural.  I put Which is Witch? on top – it’s got silver iridescent glitter in it which took my nails from ordinary to extraordinary in one coat (see below).

Which is Witch on top of Glints of Glinda

 

I Theodora You is a natural pink – I put it on top of a nude nail polish so that I would get more coverage and I really liked how clean and pretty this looked.

I Theodora You

 

The entire collection is available this March at salons. Nail polishes are $10.95 each.

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Dior Cherie Bow…

This is possibly the cutest makeup item to come out this season. If there’s a makeup lover you need to get a gift for, this would definitely be it.

Dior Cherie Bow

At $82, the Dior Cherie Bow palettes feature 3 shadows, black cream liner, and a vibrant pink gloss. The packaging it sturdy and the compact closes with a satisfying snap.

Dior Cherie Grey in Rose Poudre

My only beef is with the black liner which is smudgy and not of the long-wear variety, but the beautiful packaging and the versatile shadows mean that this limited edition compact is still vanity worthy.

Dior Cherie Grey in Rose Perle

Available this spring at Dior counters in two colours: Rose Poudre (the first image), and Rose Perle (second image).

Posted in Spring 2013 | Tagged | 6 Comments

New – See by Chloe the Fragrance

See by ChloeNew to stores this month is the See by Chloe scent, a hipper younger version from big sister brand Chloe.   If Chloe is meant for the over-30 section, then See by Chloe is for anyone younger.  It’s supposed to be a lighter and more fun fragrance, and I’ll just say that it definitely doesn’t smell like a classic the way that the Chloe scent does.

Think fast fashion when you think of this scent – it’s hip now but you might not like it even 5 years from now.

Like most “young” fragrances, this one has fruity top notes – apple mixed with bergamot.  You’ll smell the latter just for a moment, with the ripe sweetness of the apple really coming through more.  The dry down is made of Jasmin, Ylang, Vanilla, Musk, with the Vanilla not being too sweet.

I definitely liked the dry down of this scent, but overall it was a little too sweet for my liking.

You can pick up this scent at Sephora, Murale, The Bay, Sears, and Shoppers Drug Mart.

50ml is $85, and a 30ml for $55 is available exclusively at Sephora.

 

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