The second Beauty Talk Tuesday is a ‘get ready with me’ for Valentines Day post using a few of my favourite beauty products, along with some new ones that I am currently trying out. Whether you’re staying in with the girls, or going out on a date night, this Valentines Day look is for the woman that prefers subtle makeup. Mainly because I do not know how to do a smokey eye, and I prefer to look more natural than done up. Step by step, I will guide you on how to create this look, using products from philosophy, Dior, bareMinerals and a few others.
Let me know if you like the styling of the photos, and I’ll continue to take them this way. Lets jump into the makeup:
1. Dior Capture Totale Le Sérum: My skin is dehydrated so I apply a serum before any other products to lock in moisture.
2. philosophy miracle worker eye cream: A thicker silicone type eye cream, perfect for making the concealer glide on. Using my ring fingers I apply using a dabbing motion, not wiping in order to protect the delicate under eye area.
3. philosophy renewed hope in a jar: I am testing out this new formulation of hope in a jar. It has a lighter consistency than the regular version, it’s excellent for normal skin, but I still prefer the original.
1. bareMinerals Complexion Rescue (shades Ginger + Natural): This tinted hydrating gel cream is a brand new product out by bareMinerals. It provides a light to medium coverage, and I prefer mixing the two colours together to achieve a shade that matches my skin perfectly.
2. Cle de Peau concealer (in Beige): Applying concealer in a triangle under the eye immediately brightens the area up. Again, using a tapping motion with the ring finger not only protects the eye area, but keeps the product where you applied it, so it doesn’t smear your foundation.
3. Diorskin Nude Air Tan Powder: Bronzer is my favourite way to make my skin look like its been sun-kissed. I apply the colour to my forehead, temples, under the cheekbones, under the jaw line and on my nose then blend out any harsh lines with my foundation brush.
4. Dior Cheek & Lipglow: I thought this was a silly product when I first received it to review. But once applied, it creates a natural flush to the cheeks. I have been reaching for this on a daily basis over my cream blushes.
1. Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel: This is an oldie but a goodie. I have dense brows as it is, but I like to reach for this when I am feeling a bit daring. I am not used to filling in my eyebrows, but I like to keep them manicured looking.
2. bareMinerals Lasting Line in Classic Cream: Using this flesh coloured eye pencil, I line my waterline to make my eyes appear wide awake and fresh faced.
3. Dior Backstage Eye Prime in 002: This product is well loved. An eye primer prevents your eye shadows from creasing, mutes out any veins or lines on your eyelid, and allows eye shadow to apply in its true colour.
4. Dior Kingdom Of Colours in House Of Pinks: Using each colour I created an everyday soft pink look with this neutral eye shadow palette.
1. Diorshow Kohl in black: A thin line of eyeliner is an excellent way to accentuate your eyelashes, and make them look fuller.
2. Tweezerman eye lash curler + bareMinerals Lash Domination mascara: You cannot finish a makeup tutorial and not make your lashes stand out. Lash Domination is a lengthening mascara with a plastic wand, so I didn’t see too much volumizing.
3. bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Dream Big: I think I have found my favourite nude lipstick. I felt confident wearing this all day long, and found myself applying it as soon as I noticed it wearing off.
4. bareMinerals Cream Glaze Lip Topcoat: A clear gloss to add some more attention to the lips. This lip gloss was a bit smelly, so I would use my Buxom or other bareMinerals gloss next time.
5. Dior Vernis in Glory and Top Coat in Blossoming:Â Painting my nails pink for Valentines day! I used only one coat of Glory, that’s how amazing the Dior formulation is. Then for an accent nail I used the playful confetti-like colour.
The final look!
 Disclaimer: Dior & bareMinerals products were sent for review. I never receive paid compensation for a blog post. Opinions are my own.Â
When I was a child, I remember my parents sailing out of the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club in St. John’s for weekend trips along the coast. My Uncle bought a yacht in the 80s so the crew of them had an adventurous hobby for a while. My Mother, before she met my Father, once sailed across the Atlantic Ocean (against my grandmother’s will no doubt) from Newfoundland to England. That takes guts. Guts I certainly don’t have.
Fast forward twenty-odd years and I receive an e-mail from Captain Jon of 
For those that don’t know, America’s Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy event, where teams compete in match races two yachts at a time. It attracts top sailors from all around the world to join in and watch. Fun fact: the USA 76 yacht we were on was used by Team Oracle BMW during preparations for the 2003 America’s Cup. The team went on to make the Louis Vuitton challenge series final, winning 21 of 33 races, only losing to Team Alinghi from Switzerland. That team went on to win the Cup. Later that year, the team’s staged two rematches in San Francisco Bay. With more time to prepare and home water advantage, USA 76 won both. An impressive resume, no doubt. USA 76 is now retired from America’s Cup, but now holds the title of fastest charter yacht in the world.
I called my parents immediately after we reserved our spot, knowing they’d be familiar with this yacht — and wishing they were here to experience it with us. Instead, they’d have to ogle my photos at the computer from far away.
The Guy and I drove to San Francisco on Super Bowl Sunday (hey we’re Canadian, we’re hockey fans) to famous Pier 39 where USA 76 was docked. We hopped on with 6 crew and a couple of other guests and enjoyed the ride. The excursion was two and a half hours in length and it was explained to us that we’d help the crew out from time to time to hoist the sails and steer the boat. That brought back memories.
You got that right, the above photo is me as a little tom boy steering my Uncle’s yacht. Skipper Nancy. Look at the concentration on my face, so serious. Man, racing boats are nothing like my Uncle’s boat in the 80s. USA 76 is made completely of carbon fiber, so it’s extremely lightweight. Except for a few new comforts like the metal railing and a small engine for navigating away from the dock, this boat is exactly as it was raced and it shows. You are right in the middle of the action!
Joining the crew on the yacht was a day to remember. Seeing my husband look and feel relaxed, being out there felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity especially on such a famous yacht with veteran sailors. This was no champagne cruise on the Bay, this was a real sailing adventure! I want to thank Jon for reaching out and inviting us to join him and his crew on such a fun day.
You guys voted and I delivered. Another weekly feature (first one being 
Colours shown left to right: Gogo Girl, Love Sprinkles, Dream On, Decadent.
If you’re more of the subtle type yet still want to be a bit playful, try a natural nude pink polish and apply Love Sprinkles on an accent finger. As much as I despise removing glitter polish, I simply can’t stay away from them. Love Sprinkles is a gleaming top coat with tons of baby pink and white flecks of glitter and every once in a while you will get a gorgeous tiny little heart come out onto the nails.
Adding a touch of flirty to your manicure, try applying two thin coats of Gogo Girl — a gorgeous candy apple red, and as you know I am a huge fan of that one accent nail. So go ahead and apply Decadent, a dazzling red with metallic flakes to a couple of the nails.
Lastly we have a mattifed white polish for the base and the gorgeous plum Dream On painted on as triangles (I used washi tape to create the stencil on my nail). Dream On is a brilliantly induced boysenberry (with this I would suggest using three coats). When I first received these, Dream On was the one I was dying to try out first. Two coats and some of my nails looked darker than the others. While this colour has potential, it requires a lot of work. You will need to apply a top coat on this one too, as the polish looks a bit cheap (you know, dry looking) without it.