Inglot | Trying New Things And Falling In Love

When was the last time that you had a chance to play with make-up.  Not just do your make-up, but I mean actually take some time, test out some new products, and just have fun?  Well I did just that last week.  Inglot, a Polish cosmetics company, just opened a store in Toronto near the Eatons Centre.  I meant to go to their blogger event, but I was just too busy both nights.  Instead, I picked a quiet afternoon to head over to poke around.  I think that was for the best as it really gave me a chance to get to know the products and the brand.

I was met with friendly staff, and a plethora of products and colours to dive right into.  I was immediatley drawn to their "Freedom System" which includes variously sized empty magnetic palettes.  From there you take around a magnetic board and you figure out exactly what you want to go inside it.

Shadows and brushes and lipsticks oh my!

Sorry for the lack of posts | On Vacation

Hi there!

I realize I haven't been posting as much as usual lately.  I just wanted to give everybody a little update.  I am on vacation this week in the New England area and am having a blast.  I don't frequently have access to the internet, but I have had some fun at Ulta, TJ Maxx, and Target.  I can't wait to show you what I picked up and the fantastic deals I have found.  Suffice to say Glamglow, full size, at TJ Maxx for $29.99 is not an urban legend.

Today I went to Six Flags for the very first time, and to Olive Garden, also for the first time.  Its been an amazing week so far.  Off to Cape Cod for the next few days!

I'll be back next week with loads to share.

Take care!

Canadian Brand | Rocky Mountain Soap Company

I am a total sucker for luxe, niche, local soap companies.  Over the next few months I will be reviewing some of my favourite small soap businesses.  

I first stumbled across Rocky Mountain Soap Company two years ago while I was trailing in Banff, Alberta.  I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere of the store, the smell of the soaps, and the quality of their products.  I had such a hard time narrowing down my purchase!  When I was back in Banff last fall I had to pick up a few more pieces.  While I bought some other soaps at that time, this is all I have left!

Rocky Mountain Soap Company soaps can be purchased in the Rockies, select air port gift shops, and a few speciality shops I have seen in Toronto, and of course online.  They are made on site in Alberta (Canmore, I think!) and are filled with good for you ingredients.  I have never felt "dry" after using their soaps.  These retail in the $5-$8 range.  Affordable, but not cheap.  

I would place them in a similar price category to Lush, maybe a little cheaper, but with the benefit that you are supporting a Canadian company that makes a fantastic product.  And of course the benefit that the product is really good for you.

These soaps come all wrapped up in a waxed paper that indicates the type of soap and what they are good for.

Seaweed & Spearmint | Normal Skin Face/Body

This soap smells really fresh-- you can really smell the spearmint.  I love this soap for my face, especially on days that my skin feels extra oily.  Its also a nice relaxing treat to use on my body.  I adore the way it steams up the shower.  When I had a cold the other wayI found it helped clear out my nose which was a nice bonus.

Honey, Oats & Cocoa Butter | Dry Skin - Face

I know this is a face soap but it is such a moisturizing treat to use on my whole body for a nice evening bath.  I can't get over how sweet and luxurious this soap smells and feels.  There are little flecks of oats which are nice for exfoliation.  The honey and cocoa lather up nicely to a soft creamy bubbly delight.

Avocado Facial Bar | Normal/Combination

This bar is a dedicated face bar.  I like that it clears up oil with out being overly drying.  It also has a pleasant gentle scent.  I like keeping this bar on hand for travel because sometimes transporting a konjac sponge isn't easy.

Pumpkin | Extremely Dry Skin

I'm actually not a pumpkin person....no pumpkin pie...no pumpkin spice whatever they ares... none of that for me.  However, if you like pumpkins you will probably like this super moisturizing soap.  I gifted it to a friend and am trusting her word on it.

Conclusions

Of this bunch, my favourite is the Honey, Oats & Cocoa soap because of how utterly wonderful it smells and how luxurious it feels.  Rocky Mountain Soap Company has all sorts of scents, and many other non-soap products such as body butters and bath salts.  You can check them out online here.  If you are ever in the Rockies (especially in Banff) I encourage you to pop by their store and enjoy the whole experience.  I know I will be back next time I am in town!

Deal Alert | Sephora Sale Section

Sometimes when I am bored I check out the Sephora Sale section.  When I checked it out today there were loads of new items including brush sets, Tarte cheek stains, OCC lip tars...you name it!  I've included two screen shots, but its well worth your time to go check it out!

If I was going to buy something it would be the Ole Henriksen set.  I love his products, and need some minis for travel!

Happy shopping!

To check out the Sephora Sale section click here!

In a Rush | How to do your makeup on the run

This morning was just crazy for me!  My alarm went off but I missed it, and I had two super important meetings tray meaning that I couldn't be late, and had to look good.  The only problem?  I didn't have enough time to do both this morning!

So I did what I like to think of my not-yet-patented method:  I did my foundation and blush, and then ran out the door.

When I got to my office I went to the washroom, and 5 minutes later I was ready to go.  Here's how I did it:

1) I picked up a little travel brush set at Walmart the other day.  For $9.95 I got a easy to use little pouch filled with six mini brushes.  I actually bought this for travel, but it sure came in handy this morning!  All of these brushes are eye focused, so when I travel I will also need to pack my face brushes.  But for a morning on the run? Fantastic.

2) I filled the little pouch on the left with a few key essentials:

-Hair elastics for french braids

-Urban Decay Naked Basics

-Mini mascara

-Julep eyelash curler

-Urban Decay eyeshadow primer sample

-Stila Convertible Colour in Peony (lips and cheeks)

-Urban Decay double ended eyeliner

-Smashbox nude liner

-Stila Liquid eyeliner

I was able to use the mirror from Naked Basics to see what I was doing.  I opted for a simple, blended smokey eye.  Of course, I had a lipgloss floating around my purse to bring it all together.

All packed up!  This little brush set was a life saver.  I showed one of the ladies I had lunch with and she insisted I send her the photo.  Who knew that Walmart would be so handy?  I was really happy to find that while the brushes aren't MAC quality, they do pack a good punch.  They are fluffy but stiff enough to pick up product.  The brushes have yet to shed excessively, and are pretty sturdy.  All in all, not bad for $10.  These will make travel much easier!

All packed up!

I was actually going to do a separate post just talking about what a great little find these brushes are, however since they came in super handy this morning I thought I would just toss it in here.

So to sum it up, when you are in a rush, do your foundation and blush, and toss anything else you may need in your purse and do it when you get there.  It helped that I had some shades to throw on in the morning.  If you need to you can always touch up before you go to anything important.  

I just love Walmart finds!

Essie Basecoats: Protein vs. Ridge Filling

Last week I popped in Winners to kill some time before a meeting.  Seriously, I was an hour early.  There's something to be said for being just a head of schedule, but it would have been an inconvenience to the person I was meeting with to show up a whole hour early.  Any excuse to shop, right?

You can read about my trip to Winners here.  I ended up picking up two Essie base coast for $5.99 each.  I wanted to just get one, but I couldn't figure out which one was a better for for me.

I have been trying my Julep base coat with my Essie polishes but I keep on getting chips long before I should.  I have a theory that its best to use the same brand of base/polish/top because generally they are formulated to work together.  

Essie Protein Base Coat 

Protect + helps strengthen

This base coat dries semi-matte similar to the new Julep base coat.  

Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat

Smooth + Resurface

I actually thought I had mistakenly picked up Essie Ballet Flats (my favourite French-mani pink) when I saw this translucent baby pink product.  This dries with more shine than the Protein base coat.

I painted one hand with each base coat and then applied two coats of my favourite Essie polish, Ladylike.  I decided not to use a topcoat because I wanted to see how good these base coats were, and more importantly, which one worked better.

I painted my nails on Monday night.  Both hands were perfect until Friday morning when I noticed a small chip on the Ridge Filling base coat hand. By mid-day both hands had some chips, and that evening I removed my polish.

I found I preferred the Protein base coat purely based on how much easier it was to apply, and how much easier it was to apply polish on top.  However, both products have similar staying power, and of course with a top coat would last even longer.

I think I will keep my Protein base in my manicure box, and leave the Ridge Filling base at my boyfriends.  Both are great products, and for $5.99 you can't go wrong!  

Do you have a favourite base coat?

Beauty Packing for Weekend Getaways

This weekend I took a little getaway back home to Toronto to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary.  It was really great to see my family, and of course, be back in my own bed.  I've got two more weeks of my internship before I go to Boston with the BF, and then move back to Toronto to start school and possibly my new job!

I always idealize getting on a plane with a tiny, perfectly packed piece of carry on luggage with a minimalist makeup bag of the essentials.  One of my good friends managed to do that on our last trip together and she looked just flawless.  Meanwhile I was lugging a massive bag looking miserable.  I love the idea of appearing to be such an experienced traveller that I have got it down to a science.  Alas, I never seem to achieve my goal.  

I am a chronic over packer.  I always think of "but what if"and end up packing way too much.  Umbrella? Well what if it rains? Bright blue eyeliner? You never know.  Maybe I'll go to a party! Heels that are too high for regular use?  But what if I go to the party with the blue eyeliner? This necklace because its pretty!  And this one incase the other one doesn't match! 

This year I have taken countless weekend trips and two international vacations.  With my trip to Boston fast approaching I decide to take this weekend getaway as an opportunity to pair down what makeup I pack.  I will be the first to admit, I did not do as good of a job as I would have liked, but I made significant improvement from what I usually pack for a trip.  I would say generally I pack twice as much as what I brought for the weekend.

My Makeup Bag:

My Weekend Essential Packing List:

Skin Care:

Daily Moisturizer with SPF

Night cream/oil

I recommend going to Sephora and asking for samples of your two favourite products before travelling.  Honesty is the best policy.  I generally just approach a cast member and ask for a sample for a weekend trip because I am trying to pack light.  Almost every single time they say yes. If they say no you can go to the dollar or drug store and pick up some little craft or cosmetics jars.  Packing samples saves room in your beauty bag-- especially for a weekend!

Makeup:

Face Primer

Foundation

Powder

Under eye brightener

Blush*

Bronzer*

Highlighter*

Eye Primer

Eyeshadow

Eyeliner

Eyebrow product

Mascara

Lipgloss

*These three products can be replaced by the Naked Flushed palette.  It comes in several shades each with a blush, bronzer, and highlighter.  There is a palette to suit almost every skin tone!  I caved and also brought a new cream blushI recently bought.  Next time I am going to do my best just to bring the palette.

I tend to have a foil sample or two of foundation primer to take on vacation.  I also always ask for a foundation sample before travelling, or make my own.  Together this really cuts down on packaging.

I recommend bringing a good general mascara and a neutral set of eyeshadows that can be easily built up.  For a day look I love just using Stila Kitten.  For the evening I was able to use a darker purple I brought to add some pop.

I recommend an under eye brightener for when you get off the plane.  Given I was going direct from the airport to dinner this was life saver!

Brushes/Tools:

Kabuki brush

Foundation brush

Blush brush

Bronzer brush

Eyebrow brush

All over shadow brush

Dome shadow brush

Mini eyelash curler

Compared to how I usually travel this weekend was a marked improvement!  I will even note that there were several products I did not use.

My overall tips:
-Pack samples where possible
-Pack small palettes where possible
-Reconsider the electric blue eyeliner
-If you don't wear it regularly you won't wear it on vacation

What makeup do you pack for vacation?

Happy & safe travels!