Cucumber Water for the Skin

I will admit something to you right now: I hate wearing makeup in the summer. It is hot and sticky as is, so adding more product to my face, only to see it all melt away, is  not only a waste but an annoyance.
In the summertime, I try to let my skin breathe as much as possible, switching my regular foundation for a light tinted moisturizer and loading up on the SPF!
I like to look as sun-kissed and natural as possible, but sometimes I have a sudden urge to just scrub my face to get rid of all the dirt and oil that builds up throughout the hot day.

The other day I was googling some ideas on how to get rid of blemishes and oily skin using home made recipes (i.e. inexpensive). I came across many article about using cucumbers and cucumber water on your face for nourishing your skin. Here is what I did and you can try it too:

1. Peel and slice up half a cucumber (or whole) and place into a pitcher of water
2.  Leave the pitcher of cucumbers and water in the fridge overnight for best results
3.  After at least 24 hours, take the cucumber water out of the fridge and dip a cotton ball inside the water
4. Wipe the cotton ball all over your face for a light, refreshing feel 
5.  Take two cucumber slices and place  them over your eyes for 25 minutes. 
6.  Take the same two slices and wipe them all over your face. Your skin will be fully quenched!!

The cucumbers on the eyes sounds like an outdated beauty regime, but I find it really works. Either cucumbers or teabags help reduce the look of puffiness underneath your eyes and really brightens them up.

The cucumber water made my face feel so moist and refreshed after. I am hoping to continue doing this throughout the summer. It is a nice, inexpensive way to get a fresh face glow.
Cucumber water is also really good for you to drink, keeping you hydrated and helping to clear the pores.

It was really hard to take this selfie!

This feels amazing on your skin!
 

Jilo Spa - Bradford

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like your face is just not clean enough? I experienced this last week, I just felt like no matter how many times I washed my face, it felt dirty and oily. I knew I was due for a facial so I scoured the internet to find a place in Bradford who offers such services but was disappointed when I realized most spas in Bradford close at 6!! (Not good business hours when majority of people work 9-5)!

Anyways, I came across the website of Jilo Spa, which is located in Bradford out of a lady’s home. I was skeptical at first since I wasn’t sure how good an in home spa experience would be, but out of desperation I emailed them and booked a facial for the following evening.
When I arrived at the house, I was a bit early so I waited in the salon. She had the salon done up in her basement and it felt very tranquil and relaxing.

Ambreem (the esthetician/owner) introduced herself and consulted me about any concerns I had about my skin. I told her my skin was very oily and very sensitive. She was very understanding and calming and made me feel at ease.

She was very nice and very gentle on my skin. I was very relaxed throughout the whole treatment. It felt good to have my pores open and cleaned out. She did everything that a typical regular salon would do, and I was very pleased with the work.

The best part of the facial was the mask. She put on a type of clay mask and left me to relax for about 15 minutes as the mask hardened. When she came back to wipe it off I was almost asleep!

By the time the whole facial was done, it was about 9:30pm and we started my treatment at 8pm. I was thoroughly impressed with the results of this spa. The price was very reasonable at $55 for this refreshing facial.

In addition to facials, Jilo Spa also does waxing and threading. I have been looking for someone who does threading. I prefer threading to waxing as it doesn’t cause premature wrinkles, especially around the eyes. The prices are very reasonable so I will definitely be booking for services here.
If you live in the Bradford area, I highly recommend this salon. Check it out at http://jilo.ca/Jilo/Welcome.html

Serendipity Salon - Review

This past weekend Eric and I got our engagement photos done in downtown Barrie. I had set up the shoot over a month ago, so I was really excited to have them done. We went for a winter photo theme, as we want to use the shots for our Save The Dates. We used Melyssa G Photography and couldn’t be happier with her. Her photos are amazing and she is a very sweet and fun girl. She had great ideas and made us both feel really comfortable. For the shoot I bought a giant pink balloon from Michael’s and some fun signs that I found on Etsy. Just to be different!

Since we all know the camera picks up absolutely every detail, for the shoot I decided I needed to have my hair and makeup professionally done. It took me a while to decide where I wanted to have my services done. There are only a few hair salons in Bradford, and I have only been to one before but it was ridiculously overpriced.

So last week while I was getting my laser hair removal treatment done at the Serendipity  Beauty salon in downtown Bradford, I asked my esthetician, Shannon, if they offered makeup and hair services. I wasn’t sure because I had only ever been to Serendipity for laser hair removal treatments. (Which are amazing and the prices are very fair). Shannon said they just hired a new girl, Chazz, who could probably do my hair and makeup for me on the day of the shoot. I like this salon, so I agreed to book with Chazz.

When I arrived for my appointment on Saturday morning, I was greeted by Chazz, who consulted with me on what I wanted to have done for both hair and makeup. She was very friendly, outgoing and made me feel really relaxed. We decided to go for a natural look for the makeup and add some volume and shape for my hair. The whole appointment took a few hours, but it felt like I was only there for 10 minutes. Chazz was so much fun, dancing around to 80’s pop tunes on her Ipod, and telling me fun stories from her career as a hair and makeup artist. It felt like I was just kicking back at a girlfriend’s house, sharing some laughs and doing hair and makeup.

Chazz used a nice copper shadow on my eyes. I rarely use copper because I always just go for a dark brown shadow, but the copper really made my eyes pop. She also used some light powder around my eyes  to give me a bit of a glow.
My hair was really fun and full of volume. I felt like a Barbie doll when I was all done.

I was really impressed with the service at Serendipity. It was a fun experience, and I just loved being made up by Chazz. All the photos from the session are not fully ready yet, but I will post some so you can see the work when I am done.

Both Chazz and Shannon are sweet girls and I am glad I found a good place to go to in Bradford. If you are ever in my neck of the woods, check them out!! J

Product Review: Angels on Bare Skin

It's been a rough winter (compared to the last few we've had) and my skin is just not happy with this cold air. Flaky dry skin is not an attractive look so I went to pay a visit to Lush Cosmetics for a new face scrub. As I have mentioned in posts past, I do love Lush products. Not only are they made with all natural ingredients, but they really do work and the price is worth it.

I approached the sales lady and asked what she would reccommend for my combination/sensitive skin. She showed me her table of products (I love how everything smells so lovely in this store and how all the products are laid out for you to try out/test). She showed me two options:

Angels on Bare Skin and Dark Angels. Both are exfoliants, but the Dark Angels was a bit more heavy. Since my skin is sensitive I opted to go for the regular Angels on Bare Skin.

Some of the main ingredients in Angles on Bare Skin are almonds, chamolmile blue oil, lavender oil and rose absolute. It is sold in bar form where you take a pea sized amount and mix with water before applying to your face. The lady cut me off a piece of the bar and sold it to me by weight ($5 worth) which should last me at least a month or so. I wanted to test it out before buying a bigger chunk. (Another cool thing about Lush! Getting lots of samples and testers).

I used this litte miracle concoction as soon as I got home and fell in love. My skin has never felt so soft and the exfloiant really makes my skin feel nice and clean. And another bonus--it smells amazing, like a soft chamomile tea and a hint of lavender.

Already I can tell my skin is looking a lot brighter and balanced from using this amazing scrub. I highly reccommend as it is made for all skin types.

Desperate Wax Remover

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. I have been busy running around with wedding plans. I haven't even been engaged for a month and I already have my venue booked, my dress bough, a DJ selected and photographer booked :) Not too bad if I say so myself. With my superb organization skills and obsession with timing and schedule, I think I would make a good wedding planner.
But this post isn't about weddings...it is about a new beauty trick I learned today!

For those of you who wax at home, I am sure you are aware of how annoying it can be when excess wax is left on parts of your skin. Not only does it feel gross, the residue makes it look like there is dirt on your skin! Yuck!

For waxing at home, I normally buy the Veet facial wax strips from the drugstore ($7), which comes with 12 waxing strips. I find it to be way more cost effective to wax my own upper lip at home as opposed to paying $10 each time at the salon. I will only do my eyebrows at the salon because they can shape them better than I can, and that is worth the $10 each time. But for upperlip, no way.

Anyways, the thing that always bothered me abou these Veet waxing strips is that the box comes with 12 ready to use strips but only 3 wipes. The wipes are the most important piece of the whole process because they remove all the excess wax from your face once you are done. Since they only give you 3 wipes, I am forced to reuse them. I find it very odd that they do this because the wipes are filled with aloe vera oil, so when you take them out of the packet to use, the oil dries up very quickly and the next time you want to use it, it is old and dried out and there is no oil to pick up the excess wax.
I once called in to the company to complain about this...it's kind of like the hotdog and hotdog bun conundrum....why sell a pack of 12 hotdogs, but then only sell 8 buns? Of course no one ever called me back, but maybe there is something I am missing or doing wrong. Is there a special way to keep the aloe oil locked into the wipe after every use? If you know, please let ME know too because this is beyond annoying.

So today I used the last wax strip in the box and of course my wipe was dried out and useless in getting the wax off my face. I scrubbed and scrubbed my face with all my might but no luck, all I was left with was a big red irritated face...with the dirty wax bunching together and looking like dirt. I googled how to get rid of the wax and found a forum that said baby oil would work. Unfortunately I did not have any baby oil in the house and I was getting impatient so I grabbed the next best thing: Hair Serum! Yep. Hair Serum! That's all that I had that was close enough to baby oil. I figured that since the serum is oil based, it would work in a similar fashion. To my relief, after pumping some serum onto a cotton ball and rubbing it over the wax, it all came off nice and smooth. It felt like I had just went to the salon. The hair serum I used was one I had bough at the Superstore, from Organix. The one I bought was "Pomegranate Green Tea". It's nice and light and I use it frequently for my rough and staticy hair. At least now I have another use for it....Excess Wax Remover.

Desperate times call for creative measures...and this was definately a desperate time. Having sticky wax on your skin is never fun so if you plan to wax at home make sure you have some remover on hand.

So that is my big tip of the day. Do you wax at home? What are some things you do to take the wax off?

Smart Style Salon Review

So I haven’t dyed my hair blonde in a while (I think since April), and have been adding more browns and reds back to my hair throughout the past 6 months. My hair is naturally dark brown, so any colour added onto my roots did not really turn out, while the bottoms where my blonde was absorbed the colours perfectly. My hair had am “ombre” look to it, which is still in style, but I am not too fond of it.
Ombre – when you dye your hair to make the roots darker than your tips for a “natural” and “grown out” look.

I wanted to add more red to my hair, but knew that if I used a box, the same thing would happen and my roots wouldn’t pick up any of the colour! And I didn’t want to go to a big fancy salon either just to dye my hair one colour. Where was I to go? In Bradford, where I live, most salons close at around 6pm so there weren’t many options for an after-work visit. Then one day as I was leaving Wal-Mart, I noticed they had a hair salon called “Smart Style”. I have walked by it countless times, but never really paid attention to it…until now. I stopped by and had a chat with two of the stylists working about dying my hair red.

I explained to them that I didn’t want to bleach my whole head just to get some colour, and that I wanted a deep, dark red as opposed to a bright, orange red. They were really nice and helpful and explained that in order for my roots to lighten up and pick up the colour they would have to add a “cocktail shampoo”. Now, I have never heard of a cocktail shampoo before, but it is basically a shampoo that helps take the colour out of your hair. It has some bleach in it, but nowhere near the amount used if I were getting my hair stripped. They said they would apply the cocktail shampoo in prior to adding my dye, and the shampoo process would only be $17. I was impressed with the price and relieved that I didn’t need to have my whole head bleached. Excited, I made an appointment for the following week!

When I arrived at my appointment, I wasn’t waiting (like when I go to some big fancy salons) and they took me at 6:30pm (they are open until 9pm during the week!) They did the cocktail shampoo process first which took maybe 20 minutes, then applied my red dye for half an hour. After the dye was washed out, she trimmed off my split ends and blow dried and flat ironed my coif. When everything was done, it looked amazing! My roots had totally lightened up so the dye was able to absorb properly and my hair was now all one colour. The colour was exactly what I wanted, a dark burgundy red.

The ladies recommended I purchase some colour protection shampoo and conditioner, so I bought both for $25. (Brand is Matrix). I have been using it and it works pretty well. I am trying to only wash my hair every 2 days now in hopes that the dye will last longer. Red can be a hard colour to maintain, but at least now that my roots are done, I can just start touching up with boxed dye.
All in all the appointment was 1.5 hours and I left feeling very happy. The price came to $89 (that was with my $3 coupon) plus tip.

Another bonus found at this salon - -they were selling CHI flat irons for $80! Normally they are at least $150 at other salons/stores. They didn’t have any at my location, and they were sold out at almost all the Walmart Smart Style’s I called, but thankfully I found one by my work and was able to pick that up. Now I will have smooth straight hair for the holidays.

So if you are looking for an affordable and convenient place to get your hair done, I would highly recommend your local WalMart Smart Style salon. I was impressed with the knowledge, service and work provided on my visit, and I am sure to be back again.

And the winner is....

Today is the day for the big winner of my Beauty Box Giveaway! Yay!
I went to Random.Org and had a number drawn (based on order of comments). And the lucky winner is Entry #2 – KatC!!

KatCDecember 11, 2012 6:43 PM

I want to try the macadamia repair mask, the oil is excellent

Congratulations!!! Please email me your mailing address and I will get this out to you right away J

Happy Wednesday!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Best Stocking Stuffer Ever!

I was shopping at the new Zehrs supermarket by my house last week and stumbled upon the product aisle (how did that happen I wonder!)

Anyways, on the feature display were these cute little Opaque Christmas globes with 3 mini-Vaseline petroleum jelly jars inside. Perfect for those dry, crusty winter chapped lips!

Not only does Vaseline do the trick on your lips, it is also great for removing heavy eyemakeup. And if you are wearing lipstick and just need a little shine, slap some Vaseline on and voila – perfect pout!

This cute little present is just what my lips need this holiday season. Two of the three jars were the original brand and the other was cocoa butter flavour.  And they are small enough to throw in your purse or makeup bag.

What is your winter go-to lip balm??

PS – Last day to enter my beauty box giveaway contest!! Scroll down and enter now! Winners will be announced tomorrow! Good Luck!

Model Co - Lipstick/Lipgloss Duo

This was one of my favourite finds in my Glossy Box swag bag: Model Co lipgloss/lipstick duo. I have never heard of Model Co so I went on their website to learn some more about them. The company was created by a modelling agent and is based out of Australia. Their website is very user friendly and full of bright, colourful photos. The blurb below is from their About Us section, and sounds like their products were made with me in mind!

Ideal for consumers who are time poor yet want to look and feel good. Each product cleverly combines cutting-edge creativity and technical innovation inspired by models, celebrity and the everyday women’s need for easy to use, dual-purpose cosmetics.

How perfect is that!? No muss, no fuss- Just great, innovative and convenient products for the everyday beauty. Normally I hate wearing lipstick, mostly because it dries my lips, but this duo pack is perfect because it gives you the gloss to put over for added moisture and shine. The colour is nice and neutral and I can wear it every day, all day.

The duo stick conveniently comes with a little mirror stuck on the side so you can apply and go wherever you are. I have been using it all week and would highly recommend for any ladies looking for a lipstick with style!

The colour I am using is Dusk Lipstick/Striptease Gloss. This would make a great stocking stuffer for any beauty on your Christmas list. A definite 2 thumbs up from me!!

Check out more from the amazing Model Co, here!

Tasha Pav Beauty Box Giveaway!

It’s here! My first giveaway! Hurray!
As promised, after sorting through all my free swag from the GlossyBox TO party last week, I have created my own little giveaway box for you.
Here are the contents of the beauty box giveaway:



Sorry the photo turned out so small!

 

1) Advanced Cellular Age Defense Eye Power Pads from Elizabeth Grant
     These babies are easy to use. Apply the pads under your puffy eyes and let them do their magic.

2) Skin For Life Oil Free Moisturizer with SPF30
   This is a new line that was featured at the party last week. This works great as a moisturizer, primer and illuminator all in one!

3) Vita Bath Handcream
     This was another brand featured at the party. I got to sample some of this stuff and it smells amazing! This company has been around for 25 years so they are obviously doing something right when it comes to moisturizing cream. This is their original spring green scent made with 20% shea butter.

4)  Macadamia Deep Hair Repair Mask
    I have never tried this brand before but it looks like a soft, refreshing condition for your hair. The bottle claims it is an intense repair mask and not to be used more than twice a week. Sounds exciting!

5)  Jouviance Radiance Booster and First Defense Antioxidant Emulsion
     Jouviance was also at the party last week and I really liked their natural, everyday products that are good for every skin type. Something great and simple without all the frills. Just good product. These are just two small samples.

6)  Glossybox Blush
    This sweet pink shade will look great on those pale winter days!

7)   Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizer Wipes
    Just two little wipes to wipe off some of your cosmetic products like lipstick or eyeliner.

8) Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner
   This little set is ready to nourish your scalp for a deep clean. Suds up!

9)  Twist Up Retractable Lipstick Crayon by Annabelle
   This beautiful bold red is perfect for any holiday party! This fierce colour will blow everyone away.

So there is the breakdown of the box, now it’s time to win it! All you have to do is comment on this post (via Blogger/Facebook/Twitter) and let me know what beauty product you are most excited to try from the box! Contest starts today (Tuesday December 11^th) and runs until next Tuesday December 18^th.  I will announce the winner next Wednesday December 19^th. Please note this contest is only open to Canadian residents. Thanks for reading and good luck!!

 

Glossybox Holiday Party Toronto!

Last night I had the honor of attending the official Glossybox Holiday Party for Toronto and I must say it was quite the event! If it wasn’t for my fellow blogging friend, Siobhan, I would not have heard about it so a big thank you to her for getting me invited and to Jillian at TraceyBrooke Public Relations who hosted J

The Glossybox party was held in the ever so lovely, Yorkville at the Marc Anthony salon. When I arrived, I was greeted right away at the door and was promptly checked off the guest list. I was immediately offered some bubbly pink champagne and some sweet treats at the candy buffet.
The salon was filled with fellow beauty bloggers and other media networking with each other and the beauty experts at each designated station. Among some of the companies represented at this event were Jouviance, Nicole by OPI Nails, VitaBath and Marc Anthony, just to name a few.

The coolest attraction for me at the party was the braid bar upstairs. They had 2 girls from Marc Anthony doing all sorts of braids on everyone at the party. I got mine done, it took her a few tries because my hair is so choppy with layers! But she ended up doing a twisted fishtail braid J I also got a chance to sit at the OPI Nail Bar where I got a sneak peak at some of the upcoming Spring 2013 and Selena Gomez Nicole colours. Downstairs they had a makeup station where you could get your makeup done with the Dark Shadows makeup kit (which was given to us in a few Glossy Boxes back). The girl who did my makeup was Christina, pictured below.  She was super sweet and gave me some good makeup tips…like how to add highlighter to my face properly and which brush to use for applying eyeliner.

I must admit I felt awkward arriving to the party alone, but everyone was really nice and I met some lovely people and exciting beauty reps.

Now for the best part of the party….the swag bags!! These beautiful pink bags were given to everyone in attendance. They were surprisingly heavy; I wasn’t expecting to receive so many sweet products!! In addition to the swag bag, I also received a free December Glossybox, nicely package in Christmas coloured tissue. (Again, I must give it to Glossybox, they really know how to package everything beautifully).

When I got home, after unloading my goods, I was buried in products! I decided that it was all too much for me to handle so I am going to be sharing some of these goodies with you!  I am going to be doing a giveaway in the next day or two so keep an eye out and follow me for more details!

I will also be doing some reviews on the new products I received, including the new Glam Glow  exfoliator which claims to be used by all the high end celebrities and not even available in stores yet. Apparently Sephora isn’t getting this in until next week, so this is something to be excited about! I will give you a full review on that and many more in the next few days.

Stay tuned beauties!

 

Avon Maven!

A few weeks ago I found an Avon catalogue at the edge of my driveway and took it inside for some browsing. I have never ordered from Avon before, but I have heard good things about some of their beauty products.

If you’ve ever ordered from Avon before, I am sure you probably get excited and a bit overwhelmed with all the selection they have. It’s almost like being in the drugstore, except you don’t have sales associates looking at you like an idiot when you are pacing up and down the aisles trying to make a purchasing decision.

Anyways, I needed a few items so I thought; why not try a few Avon products just to see what they are like. I felt like I was creating my own Glossy Box kit, so fun and exciting! After a couple browses through the catalogues, I finally decided on the following items:

 

Berry Berry Nice Red Lipstick – I have been looking for a nice bright red lipstick for the holiday season and when I saw the colour on the model in the catalogue I thought it looked nice and ordered that same colour she was wearing , Berry Nice. It is very bright and I like it a lot. Red lips are very classy and I can’t believe I never take the time to put on a coloured pout. It will be perfect to wear for those holidays parties coming in the next few weeks.

 

Avon Illuminating Face Perfector Primer – In the past I have used many primers – Cover FX, Smashbox, The BodyShop Mattifying Lotion and they all do a good job at prepping my face for makeup. This one is pretty good and it also has an SPF 15 in it which is a bonus. I like the way it glides on my face and gives a bit of a glow. I would definitely try this one again.

 

Hand it Over Handcream Set by Mark – With the colder weather, I find my hands get very dry and I needed some new creams. I actually bought this set of 3 by Mark to give one to my boyfriend since his hands are worse than mine, but he didn’t like the feminine scents. (Vanilla Cream, Plum Berry and Jasmine Petal)  I was impressed with the size of these creams, I was expecting them to be super small, but they are pretty decent and they smell amazing. All 3 for $8 were a great deal. They are perfect to slip into your purse.

I bought a few other items like a scarf and lip balms as well, just because I couldn’t resist.

 

The lip balms weren’t as good as I thought. The one had some colour to it, but when you apply it on, it is really cakey and dries my lips. I definitely wouldn’t buy that one again.  

 

So for those of you who have never ordered through Avon before, all you have to do is call or email the Avon sales rep who has their name and contact info tacked onto the back of the catalogue and let them know what you want to order. (It is usually someone who lives in your neighbourhood). Then, once the order is placed, the Avon representative will let you know when your order arrives and arranges for a good time to meet or drop off your products. Just note that Avon accepts cash only, so if you place an order, make sure to put the cash aside.

My cat, Felix loves when the Avon lady brings us products!

 

I received my order this past Saturday and was so excited. It reminded me of getting a Glossy Box, all my items were packaged in this nice big brown grocery bag, with my order receipt inside.

I loved opening everything up, even though I already knew what I was getting. There was even a nice little freebie in there of some body lotion and spray which was a nice surprise. Maybe it was some sort of first time customer special? Or maybe I get free stuff all the time! I will have to let you know on my next order…which will probably be real soon since I just ran out of foundation and bronzer, and Avon has an amazing deal on their foundation makeup.

Free!

 

I like Avon at this time of year because there are about 5 different catalogues in circulation right now….oh the choices!! It really is like shopping, but without all the sales pressure. There are also a lot of great deals in there right now for the Christmas season that I fully intend to take advantage of, like buy 1 get 1 or 2 for the price of one type. I will let you know when my next order comes in and I will review those items as well.

Have you ever ordered through Avon? What are some of your favourite beauty products?

Dye My Locks Please

It's Sunday night. I just dyed my hair out of a box because I am tired of making trips to the salon every month just because my colour is fading. Boy is it hard to find the right colour! I think the colour is a bit too dark, thankfully it is only a 28 wash one so it can fade a little. I love dying my own hair, it makes me feel refreshed, renewed and confident! It's truly amazing how much a hair colour can really change the way you feel and the way others perceive you.

I have dyed my hair blonde countless times and I always feel more fun and outgoing when I do. I also find I get a lot more attention and I feel like people treat me more delicately (like a teenager or little girl). When my hair is dark however, I feel like I look older and I instantly feel more mature and serious. Whether or not it is all in my head or not, I do feel like hair colour says a lot about you and your personality.

I admit that I will only ever use a boxed dye if I am doing a dark colour. Dying my own hair blonde would be a huge mistake since I do not have the right tools for toning. The thing I love most about dying my own hair at home is the conditionders that come in the box for after use. I don't know what magical ingredients they put in those things but they always makes my hair feel wonderful, bouncy and soft. My hair always looks so shiny and glossy after using it the week after my dye job. I am now on a mission to find out where I can buy these conditioners in full sized bottles. If you have any insider tips on this, please help a sister out!

Before I used to always use permanent dye when dying my own hair, but from now on I am only using the demi-permanent/28 day wash out ones. I have come up with my own list of reasons to use non-permanent dye as opposed to permanent:

USE PERMANENT IF:

• You have used the colour before
• You have stubborn grey hairs that won't stop coming back
• You know you will keep the colour for a while

USE NON-PERMANENT IF:

• You are indeceisive about which colour you want
• You want to experiment
• You want a quick, short change
• You want to freshen up the look of your hair

Dark!!

Have you ever dyed your own hair? How did it turn out?

Great Clips: Salon Review

Summer is almost over, so I thought it would be a nice time to get a little hair cut. I received these coupons in the mail the other week for this new salon across the street called "Great Clips". I googled them online, and they are an American franchise that sells itself on affordable hair care (like a First Choice Haircutters type of deal).

Anyways, I figured I would check it out since I only needed a little trim and wanted to see what my coupon for a $6.99 cut would get me. (Regular price is $14 by the way).

So I get to the salon within the first 15 minutes of opening time and it is dead. Perfect! Two ladies appear from the back room and welcome me to the salon and ask what I would like. I check their "menu" and notice that haircut, shampooing and conditioning are all seperate services. I thought this weird as most salons will have cut and style as a package deal (which always includes a wash). So I assumed the cut would come with all the above and told the lady I just wanted a cut.

She directs me to a chair and puts on my beauty cape (A.K.A the smock) and I show her a picture of the type of cut I want. She has a look at the picture on my phone and confirms that she will only be taking about an inch off.

Then, like a scene straight out of my childhood, she brings out a SPRAY BOTTLE and starts spraying my messy, dirty hair. (This was at 9am in the morning, so I did not do my hair before going to the salon). "What is this?" I wonder to myself. Since when do salons spray people's hair who are over the age of 5? So I assumed this meant no wash was included in the cut. Rats! I should have asked to make sure it was because she continued to cut away with her spray bottle and scissors.

The whole cut took probably 5 minutes. We chit chatted a bit about our weekend plans and the usual polite stranger-type awkward conversations. When she was done, she took a mirror to show me the back. I couldn't even see the cut because my hair was all ratty anyway. I just smiled and went straight to the cash register. I used my coupon and tipped the lady $2 for a grand total of $9.90 for the cut.

Once I got home from the salon, I quickly put some beach spray in my hair to turn my rat's nest into a wavy-do. I was shocked that the stylist didn't even ask if I wanted a wash and style with my cut, have they never heard of upselling or are they just that lazy/non chalant about hair?

It is now evening, and I just freshly washed my new cut hair. It feels nice and she did a good job on the cut. I guess this cut made me realize that when us ladies do go to the salon to get haircuts, we pay an arm and a leg for the wash and style part. And now I am wondering, why? Unless you have somewhere to be, what is the point of getting a wash and style when it lasts only for a day anyway? Food for thought!

So my verdict about Great Clips is this:
It is a great salon if you want a quick no-nonsense trim or cut without all the fancy extras. It really is a "get what you pay for" experience.
If you are looking for a more luxurious, spa like experience, do not go here! Pay the extra $20 and go to a more upscale salon.

Glossy Box - July 2012

It's August, and I am only getting my July Glossy Box today. I don't know why they send them at the end of the month, it bothers me that it is called a July box when July is over. Anyways. I was not that impressed with this month's box. Maybe the novelty has worn off already but I don't even care about the fancy packing anymore. At least I found use with all the empty boxes....Eric's hockey/magic cards! Success! The products are getting similar and I am running a mini stock pile in my bathroom. I feel like I am someone on Extreme Couponing, stocking up in case the world ends.

So here is what came in "this month's" box:

 

1) Zoya Nail Polish - Never heard of this name, but the colour is perfect for me. Nice and bright! On the contents card, it says it has been kissed by the sea and the sand. Whatever that means...

2) Pedix Heel Rescue Balm - Does Glossy Box have amnesia? Did they not just send me a full size of Curel foot/heel cream last month!? Now I have more product to stash away since I don't use this everyday. Although the Curel was full size, this one is not. The ingredients seem a bit more fancy than Curel - shea butter, allantoin and tea tree oil. I slabbed some on today, feels nice, but definately not worth $19.95/100 mL bottle! Thanks for the sample though!

3) John Frieda Frizz Ease Strength Serum - This is probably my most favourite item in the box. I used it just now and my hair feels soft and silky. You are supposed to apply to soaking wet hair and then style as usual. I am letting mine dry au natural sans blow dryer. I still feel a little frizz, but it feels way nicer. I was upset though because the contents card says it should be full sized 50mL, but mine was only a 24mL. FAIL!

                                                            
4) Eucerin Calming Creme - This teeny tiny 5mL bottle of moisturizer is barely enough to cover one of my legs! What is with the super small sizes this month?! Anyways, Eurcerin is supposed to prevent itchiness and redness from dry skin. One of the main ingredients is oatmeal and is supposed to keep your skin fresh for up to 24 hours. I don't think it is meant for the face, but I will use this on my arms and legs (if there is even enough for both!)

                                                              
5) Dove Softening Creme Body Wash - Besides the nail polish, this is the only full sized product I received this month. This wash claims to give me beautiful skin in just 1 week. I am going to put this to the test. Hopefully it works for sensitive skin. Recently, I have had to stop using my Bath and Bodyworks body wash since I kept breaking out. :( Usually Dove doesn't use too many perfumes in their products, so hopefully this will work nicely.

                                                     

6) Beauty So Clean Sanitizer Wipes - Did somebody order wings? Because I have 4 wetnaps available for use. Sorry, but please don't send me these types of samples. I would prefer something in a bottle or tube....but in a wetnap form? No thanks. At least put them in a box so I can organize it nicely in my bathroom. These wipes are meant to clean your makeup tools like mascara wands and lipsticks. I don't normally wipe off my makeup, I only ever clean my brushes. They included a mini catalogue of all the Beauty So Clean prodcuts you can buy which include brush cleaners. I don't think this mascara cleaner will be used by me though. What a waste. I wish they sent a brush cleaner one instead.

So that was the July box. Not too impressed. Hopefully the August box is much better.

                                                    I think my paws are too dry

At least Felix my cat liked the box this month!

Priori Perfection: The Dream Foundation/Sunscreen Combo

Today I went to the Bradford Skin Clinic just down the street from me. I have walked by this place numerous times, but was hesistant to check it out. I didn't think I had any real, serious issues with my skin, at least not enough to see a clinic about. But after feeling frustrated with all my recent breakouts and oily feeling skin, I emailed the clinic inquiring about a chemical peel.
What is a chemical peel you ask? Well, it sounds scary but they really aren't. Back in the day they used to be, but technology has advanced and they can do wonders for your face. Essentially, the peel goes beneath the surface and does a very deep clean of the pores and gets rid of dead skin. Within a few weeks of your peel, your skin will actually start to peel off and renew itself, giving you a fresh, rejuivinated look. After doing some research online, I thought this was the answer to my problems. But after my appointment today at the clinic, I am not so sure that is what I really need.

I met with the specialist, Mia who did an assessment on my skin and asked me lots of questions regarding my stress levels, my sun exposure and my skin routine.
She was very nice and honest and I appreciated all the knowledge she shared with me about the skin.

After my assessment, she said my skin was not that bad but pretty oily. She said eventually I could do a chemical peel if I really wanted, but instead reccommended switching my skin care routine.
She brought me to the back room where she cleansed my face with a deep sea facial cleanser called "Arad". Immediately I felt my skin almost "dry up" of all the oil. It was like magic. She informed me that products from the dead sea are the best things to use on your skin. You have probably seen those sales people at the mall in kiosks trying to encourage you to test out and purchase their dead sea skin products before. Mia said that most of those places do not sell real dead sea products because in order to actually go to the Dead Sea and obtain the minerals, you need a license. Very interesting. So I was assured that the products on my face were real Dead Sea products, coming from Israel (as it said right on the bottle).

Now the next product was a sunscreen/mineral foundation combo by Priori, called CoffeeBerry.  This foundation has an SPF 25 and is used mainly for sun protection. (The most important anti-aging product you can use). She applied it with a brush like any regular foundation, and I was amazed with how quickly my blemishes and imperfections blurred away. The coverage was amazing! I looked airbrushed once she was done. And of course, I was sold!  Piori is not sold in stores but through dermatologists and skin specialists (and of course online!).

I was happy I went to this consultation because I felt like I am now steered in the right direction towards better skin. It is worth checking into if you are looking for better ways at improving your skin care routine or have more serious skin issues. It was very interesting and I learned a bit more about my skin type and what it needs.

I will give an update in a couple weeks after I have used the products for a while. Oh and in case you are wondering about the cost....hopefully my boyfriend is not reading this....but the cleanser was $49 and the foundation was $60. The foundation she said will last me for a year, so that is a good investment. The cleanser is very pricy, but hopefully it will help keep my skin looking better.

PS - July Glossybox is in the mail so stay tuned for a review later this week!

Clean and Clear - Semi Under Control!

It's summer. It's hot, hazy, humid and just plain sticky. With this heat, my face can't stop sweating! (Gross!) In the past few weeks with temperatures rising to above 40 degrees, my face somehow transformed into a graveyard for blackheads and dirt, thus causing a lot of breakouts. The worst was last weekend while at an outdoor concert, my face got too much sun. The next day my whole face felt like someone stretched a piece of leather over it and more pimples started to form. The dehydration plus all the dirt and oil had taken its toll. I had to do something!

Since I am on a bit of a budget these days, I decided to forgo the expensive trip to Sephora and went to Shoppers Drug Mart instead to see what I could find for my face. This is where I sat 20 minutes in the moisturizer section looking for a facial moisturizer that had/combatted:

-SPF 15 (or higher)
-Antiaging
-Acne/Breakouts
-Sensitive skin

And could you believe, there was not ONE product that did all of these things? Sheesh! I thought we lived in a consumer's market here. Anyways, I ended up having a hard time deciding on the right one for me because not all of them did everything I wanted.

I decided to go for Clean and Clear's Dual Action Moisturizer. It's oil free (which is good for my sensitive skin) and treats and prevents pimples. I remember using this back when I was in high school and it worked wonders for me back then. It was only $8.99 for a 118mL bottle.

Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer

The downside is that there is no SPF 15 or antiwrinkle properties in this one. Oh well. I thought the current pimples on my face were more important than my non-existent wrinkles at the time. Besides, I can always use my Neutrogena SPF that I got in last month's Glossy Box after I use my moisturizer.

It's been about 5 days since I bought Clean and Clear and my face has definately improved. I love that there is salicylic acid in this moisturizer, it tingles as soon as it hits your face. And as the commercials used to always claim, that's how you know it's working!

If you are having trouble battling with breakouts this summer and are looking for a budget friendly product to help out, I would surely reccommend the Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer. Your face will see sunnier days.

Glossy Box June 2012 Reveal

Friday I received my 2^nd official Glossy Box in the mail. It was an extra exciting day because I had all my girlfriends over so they got to share in the excitement with me. And I totally convinced them to join the Glossy Box cult. They were sold before we even opened the box to reveal the contents.

The GlossyBox in full form

Nicole is excited to see read what is in the box this month

This time I took photos of the box itself, and the content card. June’s box had a summer theme to it, sunscreen, beachy hair and smooth legs here I come!

The contents card

So without further ado, let’s explore this month’s package:

1)      Gillette Venus Embrace Razor – Summer isn’t summer without smooth legs! This razor is expensive, so the content card explains. I normally just buy the Bic packs of 4 and those seem to do the job so I was curious to see how this one worked. I tried this razor yesterday and was thoroughly impressed with the results!! I don’t think my legs have ever felt this smooth before. I am in love! I hope I can get a couple uses out of this one before I have to buy refill razors. But definitely a great product! Retail value - $13.43

The Venus Embrace Razor

2)      Wella Professionals Ocean Spritz – This was exactly what I needed. A few quick spritzes of this baby and you are ready to rock. I have used other beach hair products, but this one made my hair extra bouncy and more curly than usual. It didn’t weigh my hair down and felt like I had spent the day at the beach. I included some pics of the results. It says this is sold in salons and I believe it. Great results!! As you can tell, I used almost all my products within 24 hours of receipt, because I just couldn’t wait. Retail value - $16.99

Wella Ocean Spritz

Wella Ocean Sprtiz Results

3)      Biore Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser – I recently got a sample size of this in Lou Lou magazine and thought it worked great and wanted to buy some. No need to now because they sent a full size bottle! I can’t wait to use this. It makes your skin feel clean and refreshed.  Retail value -$9.99

Biore Cleanser

4)      Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex – Now I don’t have wrinkles yet, at least I hope not! But I used this today after my shower and it felt really smooth. I am hoping I can use it as a wrinkle preventative. It came in a really small 7mL tube, so I will probably only get a few uses out of it. If you want to buy the full 50mL tube, it is $30.99.

Olay Regenerist

5)      Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen Lotion SPF 55 – Another small 14mL tube and good for a few uses. I will probably only use this on my face. I used it yesterday and It felt nice. The retail value for a 88mL tube is $15.99. I probably wouldn’t buy it though, just because the SPF is a little too high and I can get cheaper ones that work just as well for my entire body.

Neutrogena Sunscreen

6)      CoverGirl Flipstick Blendable Lip Duo – I saw this in the store the other day and wanted to try. It is a double sided lipstick with one side of colour and the other side for shimmer. I wasn’t too happy with the colour they sent – a dark brownish/bronze. It was a little too dark for my liking and made me look old when I put it on. Maybe I will give this one to my mom. I am not much of a lipstick wearer, unless I am on stage. I think I will stick to lipgloss. Retail value - $12.50.

CoverGirl Flipstick

Me wearing the FlipStick - Kind of severe

7)      Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strip – I am sure we have all used one of these before. A nice little bonus included in the box. Just one single strip which I am using right now as I write this blog. Goodbye pores!! Retail value for a box of 8 - $9.99.

Biore Strip

So that was the review of the June 2012 box. I was quite impressed with the products and can’t wait for the July box. Maybe they will send me something extra special since it’s my birthday month. One can only hope!

Did you get the June 2012 Glossy Box, if so what did you think? Or would you consider getting a Glossy Box after the first 2 reviews?