random reviews

Fact - I am a sucker for good commercials. Fact - I go through beauty phases, and I am currently in the "I want my skin to glow like a halo!" phase. Is it any wonder, then, that when I saw this commercial last week I desperately wanted to go out and buy the cleanser right then and there?

I managed to restrain myself (I *am* on a budget you know) but I just couldn't get it out of my head. I'm not kidding - I literally thought about that silly cleanser all week long! Last night, I finally made my way down to London Drugs and "invested" in the Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Cleanser, the Morning Burst Glow Moisturizer with SPF 15 and the Makeup Dissolving Foaming Cleanser.

I have to admit that I was never a big fan of Clean & Clear. It was *the* brand to be using in high school but I always preferred the cheap coconut-scented products from Wal Mart. My sister swears by their Daily Pore Cleanser and has been using it for years but I always just assumed their products were for acne-prone skin and my skin is tends to be dry, not oily. For this reason, I was a little hesitant to splurge on Clean & Clear products but I'm so glad I did!

I'm only on Day 2 of using my new goodies but I'm already hooked. I LOVE the smell of the Morning Burst cleanser - oh my gosh, it smells like heaven! No joke. And it leaves my skin feeling all soft and silky. ♥ LOVE ♥ I'm also quite a big fan of the makeup dissolving foaming cleanser. I used this one by L'Oreal in the past and it's really great too but it's way more convenient to have the cleanser come out as foam straight into your hands than it is to have to pour liquid cleanser onto a face cloth. Less laundry makes me happy! I also want to mention that I got the dissolving makeup remover in my eyes several times while washing last night, and it doesn't sting or hurt at all.

I know this is a bit of a random post, but I just get so excited when I find fun products and I wanted to share.

What does your skin care regimen consist of?

xo

And the award goes to

If you're a makeup junkie like me - and yes, I've become quite the makeup junkie since moving to Vancouver - then you're probably aware that it's award time in the cosmetics industry. In Style magazine just released its 2010 Best Beauty Buys list and so did Allure Magazine. So, just for fun, I thought I'd give you all a peek into my makeup bag and let you know which products won my votes! :)

Best Makeup Bag:

Harajuku Lovers Solid Clutch Makeup Bag, $22 at Sephora

Best Mascara:

Quo Miraculous Lash, $20 only at Shopper's Drugmart

Best Powder Blush:

Maybelline Mineral Power Blush in Original Rose, approx. $8 at any pharmacy

Best Eyeshadow:

MAC Eyeshadow (all colors), $18 at MAC stores

Best Facial Cleanser:

Derma E Papaya & Soy Milk Foaming Facial Cleanser, $20 at Fabove

Best Facial Moisturizer:

Jergens Natural Glow Revitalizing Moisturizer, $10 at any pharmacy

Best Lipstick:

Maybelline Moisture Extreme in "Born with It", approx. $6 at any pharmacy

Best Hair Styling Product:

Sebastian Trilliant Thermal Shimmer, $17 at Fabove

Best Kept Beauty Secret:

Parnevu Tea Tree Leave-In Conditioner, $10 at Shoppers Drugmart

I hope you're all having a beautiful (pardon the pun!) week! Tomorrow night I'll be getting all dolled up and going somewhere special, so stay tuned!

xoxo

The girl wears lipstick

I bought lipstick today. Maybelline Moisture Extreme in "Nude Blush" to be exact. The last time I purchased lipstick, I was twelve and on a cosmetics shopping spree with my Nana (a retired makeup artist and cosmetician). She told me that every girl needed red lipstick, so I bought one. I never wore it, though. I found lipstick (any color, any shade) made me look old, so for years my makeup bag was full of glosses and scented lip balms, but no lipstick. Just that one bottle of red Revlon lipstick from 1998 that I never wore and eventually threw out because it started to smell funny. I didn't even wear lipstick to prom, and EVERYBODY wears lipstick to prom.

Today, one of my co-workers was touching up her makeup at her desk and she asked me if I had any lipstick she could borrow. (Note to readers: that's a stupid thing to ask a girl with bronchitis. Don't try that at home.) I told her I didn't wear lipstick and she asked why.

The conversation went something like this:

"I tried it when I was twelve and it made me look old."

"Well, lipstick wasn't made for twelve year olds."

"Yeah but ..."

"Yeah but what? You're a grown up now. You should give it a second chance."

So after work, I went to London Drugs and bought lipstick. And then I skipped home like a giddy school girl and ran into my bathroom and tried it on. And you know what? It didn't make me look old. It didn't make me look like Cindy Crawford, either, but it did make me look a little more sophisticated and polished. As I puckered my lips together in front of the mirror, I decided that I kind of liked lipstick after all.

Just one more thing to add to the list of discoveries I'm making about the woman I'm becoming living here by the sea.

-xox-