February 2017 - Month in Masks & Mask Empties!

Masking is a huge part (and probably my favorite part) of my skincare routine! I try to use all types of masks as often as possible as I find they really help moisturize and improve my skin! 

This post is a review of all the masks I use each month and mini reviews on all of them - I also consider the Month of Masks my Mask Empties post, because I do not feature my sheet masks in my monthly empties post! You can check out my past Month of Masks here! 

Here is a look at the masks I used in February:

February 3

Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask ~ full size is $225.00 (this is a sample size). The Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask offers the skin an instant youth effect. Rich in active anti-aging ingredients (Black Rose, Padina Pavonica and Alkekengi Calyx Extracts), it immediately gets to work on signs of fatigue and leaves the skin looking youthful and energized. It brings together three actions to restore a luminous complexion and re-densified skin in just 10 to 15 minutes: smoothing and plumping action, revitalizing, and softening and hydrating. Deliciously scented with Rose, this soft, creamy mask creates a moment of relaxation and pleasure.

Manicure Monday - Scratch Nail Wraps in "Shape Up"

Happy Manicure Monday!!! I had really good intentions tonight to do some fun, new nail art; however, this little baby i'm carrying around was not feeling the scent of nail polish at all! So, we went with nail wraps tonight instead! 

For this manicure I used wraps from one of my favorite wrap stores, Scratch and this style is "Shape Up"! 

Skincare Sunday - Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque Review!

Happy Sunday everyone! Today i'm featuring a detoxifying treatment mask from Dermalogica! 

Dermalogica was started in 1986 with the belief in skin health over beauty - so the line was started to improve skin health, making all products free of common ingredients and irritants that could cause breakouts. These products are backed by skincare professionals and the brand has always focused on ingredients that worked, and using simple packaging! 

Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque ~ $62.00. All-in-one treatment masque detoxifies, brightens and invigorates normal to oily skin. Activated Binchotan Charcoal powerfully adsorbs impurities while Sulfur promotes cell turnover for dramatically brighter skin. Volcanic Ash, Sea Silt, Bamboo Extract and alpha hydroxy acids further accelerate skin brightening with dual-action exfoliation. Niacinamide helps reduce congestion and calm the skin while Chilean Wild Mint helps refine pores. Formulated without artificial fragrances, colors or parabens.

Pixi Beauty - Mini Haul, First Impressions and Thoughts!!!

I was really excited last month when I found out last month that Pixi Beauty was available in Canada - exclusively sold at Shopper's Drug Mart!

Pixi Beauty was created by Petra Strand - who has over 20 years experience as a makeup artist and product developer. All Pixi products are infused with botanicals and beneficial ingredients that are meant to create a natural, radiant, "just had a good night's sleep look"! 


I went to Shopper's Drug Mart right away and picked up a few products from the brand to test out! 

Pixi Beauty offers a huge range of products - skincare to makeup, eyeshadow to masks! I wanted to mainly try products I have not yet tried before, with the exception of the Glow Tonic (which I actually picked up previously while shopping in the US!)

Five on Friday - February 24, 2017

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you had a great week - I love that this week was a short week thanks to Family Day on Monday! (why can't I always work a 4 day work week?! It's the best!)

ONE

This is my February Ipsy Bag and this is the last of my Ipsy subscription! I got my first Ipsy bag back in May 2014, so I have been subscribed for almost 3 years!!! I think next month will feel a little weird not getting an Ipsy bag in the mail. I unsubscribed because while it is a good deal every month, I just haven't been getting everything I love. Also after almost 3 years, I'm starting so see some repeats! 

Mask Wednesday - THEFACESHOP Intense Firming Mascream Sheet

It's Mask Wednesday - I'm using a Mascream Mask from The Face Shop today! 

The Face Shop Intense Firming Mascream Sheet ~ $5.00. First mask sheet with cream that feels like applying a whole jar of cream. The dense microfiber rich in cream adheres closely to the skin, providing soothing comfort. Contains an anti-aging cream.

It is formulated with marine collagen and black truffle to leave skin looking supple and improve elasticity.

Manicure Monday - Pretty in Pink!

Happy Mani Monday everyone! Even though Valentine's Day is over, I'm still feeling PINK this month (plus, Bullying Awareness Day is coming up this week) so I will keep rocking the colour all month! 

This Mani is simple, but beautiful in my opinion! I used a complimentary holographic polish on 2 accent nails for a fun touch!

Here are the products I used for this week's nails:
-pink polish - Dermelect Nail Polish in "Unscripted"
-holographic pink polish - Cupcake Polish in "Trampled By A Shopping Cart"
-Formula X nail cleanser, base coat, and top coat

February 2017 Boxycharm - Unboxing and Review

Boxycharm is a beauty subscription box for $21.00 a month + $5.00 shipping to Canada (shipping is free to the U.S.) Boxycharm sends 4 to 5 full size and luxury size beauty items. 

This subscription focuses heavily on make-up items - so that is something to keep in mind! (I personally love all the makeup though and they have sent full size palettes in the past!) While it is a little pricier than the inexpensive beauty boxes, the majority of the products are full size! 

Every subscriber generally receives the same products, but their is usually 1 or 2 items that have a few variations, so our boxes may not be identical! 

Here is a look at my February Boxycharm:

This month's theme is "Would You Be My Galentine?" - Boxycharm always includes a detailed product card explaining the items that were included in each month's subscription. 

Skincare Sunday - Acure Organics Body Lotions and Correcting Balm Reviews

Happy Skincare Sunday - this week I am featuring a few body lotions from Acure Organics. With Winter in full swing, Alberta weather is cold and dry and there is a real need for lotions that actually moisturize and hydrate your skin! 

Acure Organics is a family owned and operated business that focuses on delivering organics products at affordable prices to help steer people away from toxic chemicals. All products are free from gluten, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, harmful preservatives, and artificial colors. The products are never tested on animals. Their motto is "because it's not enough to be natural, it also has to work". 

Black Lipstick Trend - ColourPop Bull Chic Lippie Stix

Black lipstick is the hottest trend of the Winter 2016/2017 season - it was all over the runways last year! I am not always the boldest when it comes to lipstick, but this was a trend that I really wanted to try before Winter is over! 

What better way to try the trend than with an affordable lipstick from Colourpop?! 

ColourPop Lippie Stix - "Bull Chic" ~ $5.00. It's black, matte black...The perfect shade for when you party and bullshit.

I usually love the ColourPop Lippie Stix formula - and for $5, I'm really excited to see how this works in black! The ColourPop lippie stix come in different formulas - Bull Chic is described as a matte finish! 

Five on Friday - February 17, 2017

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope you all had a great week - mine was so quiet and relaxing! My husband was out of town for training, and my son went to his grandparents for a few nights since he was off school! I had plenty of time to relax and chill out this week! 

ONE

This week was obviously Valentine's Day - we are actually really quiet usually for the occasion (my husband was out of town and left me a box of chocolates!)

I haven't been feeling my tip-top shape this year being near the end of my pregnancy, so I thought I would treat myself to a nicer present! How cute is this mug?! And, these are homemade bath bombs - you know by now that I love any bath bombs! 

Mask Wednesday - Lush Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask

Happy Mask Wednesday everyone - I feel like it has been so long since I purchased a Lush Fresh Face Mask! I am so excited to try this Brazened Honey mask - I have heard really great reviews about this one! 

Lush Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask ~ $9.95. This deeply cleansing mask is full of herbs and spices used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, like ginger, fennel, cardamom and turmeric: these gorgeous ingredients stimulate and warm the skin to give you a healthy glow. At the same time, lime oil brightens, honey moisturizes and ground almonds give a thorough exfoliation, all in a deep-cleansing kaolin clay base. Slap this on to revive sluggish or congested skin.

This mask is suggested for oily or congested skin - I don't tend to have oily skin, with the exception of my t-zone some of the time. I will say, my skin does need a deep cleanse though!! 

Manicure Tuesday - Valentine's Day Hearts!

Happy Valentine's Day - my Mani will be heart-themed, so it's totally appropriate that it wasn't up yesterday!

I have surprisingly been loving pastel and more muted shades the last few weeks... that is why I used a grey base and a hot pink accent! 

Skincare Sunday - Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Eye Mask Review

Happy Skincare Sunday everyone - it's no secret around here that I love masking! Eye masks are a great way to target dark circles and rejuvenate your under eyes! 

Estee Lauder has just come out with a weekly recovery eye mask:

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrated Recovery Eye Mask ~ $14.00 (4 masks for $49.00). A revolution in repair for fresh, youthful-looking eyes. Starting tonight, rejuvenate the look and feel of your eyes after the stresses of modern life—from long days to lack of sleep, even pollution.

Instantly, your eye area feels cool and refreshed. In just 10 minutes, eyes look more rested, renewed Fine, dry lines are plumped as skin is drenched with hydration. Eyes look radiant, infused with luminous youth.

Five on Friday - February 10, 2017

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great week! I survived my appointments last weekend and have had a much quieter week since! Tonight is a girl's night get together dinner and I am looking forward to that! 

ONE

I was planning on resisting the Lush Valentine's Day goodies this year (because I have a ton of Lush goodies to get through!), buy after my latest blood work appointment, I really thought I deserved a bit of a treat! 

Mask Wednesday - Lovemore Camellia & Tourmaline Whitening Mask Review

I have a cute mask for today - it fits the Valentine's theme that has been going on a little bit here this month! 

LoveMore Camellia & Tourmaline Whitening Mask ~ $1.90. Combining 3D mask with the best whitening ingredients and tourmaline, the benefits of the mask is released to every inch of your skin! Use it for 15 minutes daily and your skin will be fair like a princess. 

How cute is this packaging?! Like a little love letter! I received this in a Mask Genie surprise pouch and it is perfect for a fun Valentine's Day mask! 

Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow Peach-Infused Highlighting Palette - Swatches and Review!

The whole Too Faced Sweet Peach collection was released mid-December, and since I can't resist anything in this line. I had to order them all right away! 

I ordered these right before I went on my Hawaiian vacation so I have not had a chance to dig in to them! I'm slowly making my way through them now! 

The whole Too Faced Sweet Peach collection smells like fuzzy peaches - it is so delicious smelling! This Sweet Peach line originally started with the Sweet Peach palette which was released back in March 2016 - you can see my full review on that palette here! 

Manicure Monday - Red Rose Nail Art!

Happy Manicure Monday everyone! So it is so snowy and crappy here in Calgary that my son's basketball practice got cancelled for this evening. On a positive note, that means I can get my nails done on a Monday! 

Whether or not I really celebrate Valentine's Day doesn't mean I can't enjoy all the pink and red and cute festive goodies that go along with the holiday! I usually do Valentine's themed nails for the whole month - this week I'm thinking Red Roses! 

Roses seem like more difficult nail art until you actually do them - then you realize that they are a lot easier than they look (just blobs with some rounded lines painted through them!) I have created a quick how-to tutorial for you to make things easier! 

Skincare Sunday - Vichy Ideal Body Spa Gel-Cream and Gel-Oil Review

Happy Sunday everyone! While shower gel may not seem like the most exciting product to talk about - I find it is a really important step in my overall skincare routine! Alberta is a dry climate, especially in the Winter time and I need to layer on moisturizers to keep my skin hydrated! 

A good shower gel with the right ingredients can be the first step in keeping skin hydrated and moisturized! Vichy has 2 good shower gel options for just that - a gel-cream base and a gel-oil base! 

January 2017 - Monthly Empties!

Another month over and it's time to look at the beauty trash I have accumulated over the month! (spoiler alert - there is a lot more than last month!!!):

Too Faced Cosmetics Born This Way Naturally Radiant Concealer in "Light Medium" ~ $32.00. An oil-free concealer that minimizes the appearance of imperfections while leaving skin with natural-looking radiance. 

I really liked this concealer - it was light, felt fresh and smelled like coconut! This made my favorites back in August (you can see that post here!) and I will say it is more of a Summer concealer. It has a bit more of a lighter, natural coverage! 
Repurchase: Yes, for this Summer! 

January 2017 - Month in Masks and Mask Empties!

Masking is a huge part (and probably my favorite part) of my skincare routine! I try to use all types of masks as often as possible as I find they really help moisturize and improve my skin! 

This post is a review of all the masks I use each month and mini reviews on all of them - I also consider the Month of Masks my Mask Empties post, because I do not feature my sheet masks in my monthly empties post! You can check out my past Month of Masks here! 

My masking has really gone down hill over the past few months - but I am really trying to pick it up again! Here is a look at the masks I used in January:

January 1
The Face Shop Real Nature Face Mask - Olive ~ $2.00. This Real Nature Face Mask leaves skin supple and smooth in an instant. Contains olive extract to provide intense hydration as it nourishes the epidermis.

I have said the same thing about The Face Shop masks - they are easily my go-to masks. They are affordable and work well. While they may not have the best fit (they are a little big on me), I still find them very manageable. This one had lots of essence and made my skin feel great! 
Repurchase: Yes 

Five on Friday - February 3, 2017

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have had a great week! 

ONE

I'm still getting my Ipsy subscription for January and February, but I just can't be bothered to write a whole post about my Glam Bag! I don't mean to sound really negative, but I'm just not excited enough about this month's bag to write a whole post, but I do still want to share a quick look at what I got! 

January 2017 - What I Bought This Month!

Hi everyone - hope you guys are okay with seeing one more end of the month wrap-up post around here! 

I love seeing people's monthly hauls or shopping lists and I wanted to join in for 2 reasons:
1. I don't always share everything that I'm purchasing and some of it gets lost and doesn't pop up here until my empties time, which could be a long ways away! It's a great way to keep track of what I'm buying! 
2. Also, while I'm not planning a no-buy or anything, I think this will help keep me in check with my beauty spending this year! When the baby comes in May, my plan is to only spend about $100 per month on beauty products, including subscriptions! 

I will only include products I have spent money on - gifts, pr samples, and freebies are always shared on posts like my Five on Friday posts! 

ColourPop Order ~ $89.68. I couldn't resist trying some of the new ColourPop pressed powder single shadows - I pretty much watched KathleenLights video and selected most of here favorites! This order just got here yesterday and I will be digging in soon and sharing a big review with you guys! I won't list all the shadows now, but I also picked up the Ultra Satin Lip in "Panda" because it looks gorgeous! Each shadow is $5 (1 was free) and the lippie was $6. They also offered free shipping over $50 which is always good! 

Red Glitter Lips - Valentine's Day Makeup!

Happy February everyone! February brings us Valentine's Day and I will be honest, the only reason I like Valentine's Day is for fun makeup looks! 

Glitter lips have been seen on the runway all of last season and I went to a Beauty Trends presentation a few months ago and red lips and glitter lips were a big focus! 

While glitter lips are not the most practical makeup - I say who cares! If you are going out for date night, why not step it up and do something bold and sexy for the occasion?! (especially if you aren't going somewhere that you are eating right away!)