• sonia roselli water balm

    July 2018 Faves

    Hi Everyone!

    I’ve decided that I will be adding other things to my monthly favourites posts; I’ll add food/drinks, clothing and entertainment!

    Here are this month’s beauty faves:

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    The BCL Spa Sugar Scrub Lavender + Mint and BCL Spa Dead Sea Salt Soak Lavender + Mint are amazing. Both have made my skin feel so soft and the lavender + mint scent is fresh and clean. The sugar scrub is fine and not too coarse on the skin, and it dissolved in a warm bath. The sea salt soak was so relaxing. I don’t know what it is about bath salts, but they always make the bathwater feel silky. I would definitely recommend picking up the spa set if you’re into at-home pampering! I was lucky enough to receive the 4-piece set in a giveaway I won from @DannyCoHair.

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    Sonia Roselli Water Balm (read my review) is amazing and I can’t wait to try more of her products! It’s a multi-use product and it feels so good on the skin. I use it as a moisturizer and primer.

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    I’ve really been liking the Tarte Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit. Sadly, I need to declutter it because it’s drying out. But I really liked the shade and the feel of it. Sometimes, I would top it with some gloss, which would lighten the shade a bit. This is the shade Birthday Suit, the mini that everyone got from Sephora for their birthday gift last year.

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    I went to Indie Expo Canada and I picked up a holo nail polish called The Deep End by Colors by Llarowe. It’s described as a vivid turquoise based multi chrome that shifts from turquoise to green to blue to purple to pink with added holo sparkle. I really wanted a blue-turquoise mermaid-y nail polish and The Deep End was my fave of the turquoise holo nail polishes at the Indie Expo. I swatched them on a nail wheel (as you can see above); one coat on the left and two coats on the right. I love that it’s holographic, so it doesn’t have chunks in it and therefore the nails feel nice and smooth. I love glitter nail polish, but I don’t like that you can feel the texture of the sparkles until you apply a top coat and even then, sometimes it still feels a bit bumpy.

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    I tried Meghan Markle’s zucchini bolognese recipe. I had seen it on Buzzfeed and it sounded interesting, so I thought I’d give it a try. They call it a ‘bolognese’ because you cook the zucchini for 4 hours (similar to slow-cooking a bolognese sauce). I thought it was pretty good, but I think I would prefer if the zucchini still had some crunch and kept it’s shape. I like the recipe and would use it again, but instead cook the zucchini for a portion of the time. Also, I’m a girl who likes to eat meat, so I would probably have some roast chicken on the side or even add some into the pasta.

    I’ve been enjoying the President’s Choice Blue Menu Pink Grapefruit Sparkling Water, it’s refreshing and it has no calories, no sugar and no sodium. I don’t usually like flavoured water, but this one I don’t mind. It’s great if you want something carbonated, but don’t want to drink pop.

    What were your faves this month?

    Love,

    jen

  • Topbox | July 2016

    Hi Everyone!

    I got my first Topbox in the mail and enough time has passed that everyone should have received theirs, so I wouldn’t be ruining what’s inside for anyone. Topbox sends a spoiler alert email anyway saying what’s inside the box, but since Canada Post was possibly going on strike and the delivery of the boxes may have been delayed, Topbox was sweet enough to include a bonus item as a thank you for waiting. I must say, the container that the makeup comes in is so cute. I even like the pattern. As soon as I opened the box, I could smell the hand cream’s scent.

    The contents of July’s box were:

    • The Face Shop Character Face mask (Pig-moisturizing)
    • Be Delectable Ultra Nourishing Hand Cream (coconut and cream)
    • Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
    • Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (Sea Buckthorn Berry- Obliphica)
    • Starlooks Gem Pencil Eyeliner (GP5B- Ultra Turquoise)

    I’ve used TheFaceShop’s character face masks (pig- moisturizing) before, so that one wasn’t a big deal for me. They’re moisturizing and my face feels soft after using them.

    The hand cream has shea butter, coconut oil and aloe vera. I’ve used shea butter hand cream before and I find that it smells really nice in the bottle, but once I use it, it smells different. Maybe because my body oils and chemicals are changing the smell, or it’s just how it smells once it’s outside of the bottle, but either way, it always smells nicer in the bottle.

    I’ve heard of the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, but I never pay more than $15 for mascara because I would prefer to have multiple mascaras for different uses (lengthening, volumizing, etc.) than only have one mascara. Since I usually stick to drug store brand mascaras like Maybelline and L’Oreal, this mascara was a treat for me, even if it is a travel size one. I compared it with another mascara I have (right now, I actually have about 6 mascaras and most of them were free- I got them from Sephora promos and Beauty Insider points). I believe I used Make Up For Ever’s Smoky Extravagant mascara on one eye and the Better Than Sex Mascara on the other. What a difference! I liked the Too Faced Mascara much better because 1) it didn’t look clumpy 2) my lashes felt super soft 3) When I used my finger to feel the lashes, no mascara came off on my finger (it did for the Make Up For Ever mascara). I probably wouldn’t splurge on the Too Faced mascara, but I definitely see why people love it.

    This was my first time trying dry shampoo, so I read up on how to use it. I absolutely love the smell of the shampoo and the little can it came in is adorable. It’s great for travelling and you want to freshen up a bit after a long drive or something. Given the normal price tag, I would never buy it, but, similar to the Too Faced mascara, I see why it’s popular.

    I got a bonus eyeliner in ultra turquoise. It has a bit of sparkle to it. It’s really pretty on and great for a night out. It’s not waterproof, so the colour smudges easily, but the sparkles stay on your skin. I was cleaning the swatch off my hand and the colour smudged off easily, but the sparkles went all over my hand where I had rubbed it off. There’s still a few sparkles that I missed with the soap on my wrist right now.

    I can’t wait to see what’s in next month’s box!

    What beauty subscription boxes have you tried?

    Love,

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