Fashion, Photos, Reviews

Bobbi Brown Cosmetics: Holiday 2012 Collection

6 Comments

 

Let’s turn down this summer heat for a while and talk about something chilly. May I remind you that there are 161 days until Christmas?

I’m one organized girl when it comes to shopping in advance for Christmas presents. I honestly start mentally shopping for my loved ones the day after Christmas. It’s not as hard (or as insane)  as you may think it is. I simply have an e-mail draft saved in my gmail account. It goes a little something like this:

Christmas 2012

  • Mom: gift idea 1, gift idea 2
  • Dad: gift idea 1, gift idea 2

Birthdays 2012

  • January xx – Dad: gift idea 1, gift idea 2
  • February xx – SIL: gift idea, gift idea 2

If it’s already purchased it’s in black. If I have yet to buy, it’s in a bold red font. It’s been a convenient way to keep track of ideas and since it’s not on a piece of paper, I cannot misplace it.

Come to think of it, I should make a Christmas wish-list for myself. Ah-ah-ah (That’s me, laughing like The Count) 

I’ve had a chance to take a sneak peek at the holiday press release from Bobbi Brown cosmetics. I already am a huge fan of Bobbi Brown products as they’ve been featured a number of months ago in my skin care, and make up routine’s — which I’ve since added more Bobbi Brown products to. I need to do an updated version of that blog post.

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2012

(click image to enlarge)

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2012

If Bobbi Brown’s eye shadows, lip glosses and brush sets are anything like her foundation or skin care, I’m all about it. The eye cream that I use is incredibly expensive, but it lasts such a long time if you use the appropriate amount. I purchased a new jar of the eye cream in February and I’m about half way through right now, and I use it morning and night. A little goes a long way. My skin is so dehydrated, it loves to be quenched with a thick eye cream like the one I linked above. My skin also looks heavenly when I use the luminous foundation. It’s not a dewy finish, but has a luminous healthy glow, as appropriately named, and lasts so well on the skin throughout the day. No wearing off in patches, on my skin at least!

Conveniently for me, Bobbi Brown cosmetics is now available through certain Sephora stores. The Eaton Centre carries Bobbi Brown, but unfortunately they do not carry my two favorite products by her; the luminous moisturizing foundation and the extra eye repair cream. Not a huge deal as my go-to place for Bobbi Brown is Holt Renfew on Bloor Street in Toronto, which carries a wide range of her products.

Will you be picking up anything from the Bobbi Brown holiday collection? I don’t think I can wait until Christmas to get a few items from this collection. As it happens, it comes out in October for all you beauty girls out there. We only have to wait… three months.  :)

Continue Reading

Health, In the Kitchen, Photos, Reviews

Guys… I get to review POPCORN!!!

6 Comments

 

My dreams have all come true, and I can now die happy. You guys, I get to review POPCORN!

Are you freaking kidding me? I’m not sure how I lucked into this little number, but I got a pretty sweet gig reviewing some Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

I’m sure many, many of you already know this about me. But when my Boyf’s traveling with work and is away for a few nights, I actually dive right into popcorn and eat it for supper. Not the most healthy meal by any means. But some days I really don’t feel like cooking and I take great advantage of not doing so when I’m home alone. I may have even overdosed on popcorn, and gotten stomach aches from eating too much of it. But I will always go back to you, Mr. Orville Redenbacher!

I’d show you my candy stash drawer at work, but sometimes my Boyfriend reads my blog and I’d be ashamed to show it ;)

Already, one bag of popcorn is missing. I couldn’t even take a photograph of loot before diving in. 4 bags of popcorn!

  • White Cheddar with Chipotle (already in my stomach)
  • White Cheddar
  • Sweet & Salty
  • Dill Pickle

I was given the choice to choose between four different palettes. Tangy, Rich, Sweet, or Zesty and went with the latter.

The Orville Redenbacher popcorn came in a huge tote bag. The canvas tote was used for our beach towels and we brought along the “missing” popcorn (White Cheddar with Chipotle) on our Canada Day trip to the beach last weekend. Note to self, do not bring your blackberry or any other device you wish to get ruined, on the beach. Boyf’s Ohio State Wallet got soaked lol. How do these things happen?!

The theme was all red, by the looks of it, hey? Check out the items I got!

  • Orville Redenbacher bags to share with friends
  • Red napkins
  • Just Call Me Orville book
  • Silly putty
  • Popcorn bowl (not shown, it was getting washed after much popcorn usage)
  • EOS Lip Balm
  • Etch-A-Sketch
  • Notepads
  • Book pen

My Boyfriend is  quite conscious of what he puts into his body and for the most part we eat fairly healthy at home. He had a bit of a concern that the popcorn had a lot of oil content in it. But he compared it to the equivalent of eating popcorn at the movie theaters (we always go back for seconds by the way). So it’s all okay in moderation right? I’ll try my best not to devour a bag per week. I need to hide them from myself.

What food are you absolutely obsessed with?

Continue Reading

Daily, Photos, Reviews

Review: The Watch Co

2 Comments

My Boyfriend makes a rare featured appearance on my blog today, and for good reason! He recently received a gorgeous watch from The Watch Co. After a lot of deliberation (more on that later) we ended up going for one of the fancy Bulova Watches.

Some beaut, hey? Looks pretty sharp when viewed up close, but never over the top. Bulova really knows how to amp up their watches to make them feel lush. The packaging and the little plush pillow all added to the luxe presentation.

Picking out the watch was a lot easier said and done. Part of the reason is because me and Boyfriend look for slightly different things. I was mostly focused on the appearance, while he was worried about the features. The Watch Co sells so many different makes and models, there is literally a million different varieties of just about everything. If it weren’t for their search function, finding the right watch would be nearly impossible.

Still, picking out a watch without being able to see it on your wrist is no easy task. First off, the pictures just don’t do the watches justice. They are so flat and plain looking, you really have to use your imagination to get an idea of what it is going to look like. Take this watch, for example. Here is a comparison of the watch online and in person. 

As you can tell from the two photos side-by-side, as with anything, buying online is always a bit difficult, but with watches, you really miss out on the lustre and the three dimensional look in the stock images. We were overjoyed to see how great the watch looked in person because we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Thankfully, the watch was just as beautiful of a piece online, as it was in person. It is probably a good idea to try and find some videos or amateur images on the internet before making such a large purchase to get a better idea of how it’s going to look on your wrist.

The Bulova Chronograph Stainless Watch fits well on the Boyfriend’s wrist here. He really enjoys wearing it and I really like the look of it on him too. What do you guys think of it?

We both thought Bulova was a good choice as they have a good reputation and are a bit less common than some of the other major brands. The Boyfriend wanted something without a battery such that it wouldn’t one day end up in the watch graveyard of watches with dead batteries he never bothered to have replaced. There are a few options here (solar, kinetic, automatic) and we settled on automatic. That means it is like an old fashioned windup watch, but it self winds as you move your wrist!  Neat right? Take it out of the box and just a few moments later you’ll see it ticking away.  The disadvantage is you have to reset the time if you ever let it wind down (a couple of days), but the advantage is it’s a watch for life!  Whenever you want it, it’s ready to go.

One other thing I think was a selling point for my Boyfriend was that you can view the insides (or the guts as I like to call it) of the watch, both through a little window in the front (a partial “skeleton” face, I think you call it) as well as when you flip it over. Again, cool to look at up close but not distracting.  He had to have a few links removed from the strap to fit his wrist, but the end result was perfect.

We were a bit nervous about the size, but this Bulova watch turned out to be perfect for his wrist.  It has a good weight to it (not too light, not too heavy), such that it feels solid but is not distracting.

You can style this watch any way you please, with a plain tee to wear it to work, or fancy things up a bit and wear it with a dress shirt. Definitely a bit dressier than sporty, but still very versatile. He’s been pretty excited ever since it came in the mail, and has been wearing it a few times per week to work. He hadn’t been wearing watches so much lately, but this one is too sharp to leave at home.  Who says you need to always check your phone to tell the time these days? I certainly have my smart phone on me constantly, but when I’m wearing a watch it’s a both a jewelry piece to accessorize an outfit, and also incredibly practical because heck — it’s a watch. You forget how convenient it is to be able to check your wrist rather than fumble for your phone.

If you can brave the many styles, shapes, and colors, The Watch Co no doubt has just what you’re looking for. They have great prices and free shipping on all orders. They have have some other beaut watches that I’ve got my eye on. Seeing as I’m an avid fan of anything to do with Fossil, I’m happy to know that they do sell them on their website as well.  I warn you, watch collecting can be addictive.  My Boyfriend wants to get a Seiko next…

 

Disclaimer: My Boyfriend and I would love to thank The Watch Co for kindly supplying this Bulova watch for review.

Continue Reading