Beauty

7 Beauty Hacks While Getting Your Beauty Sleep

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Let’s give your body some extra help while getting your beauty sleep. Here are seven beauty hacks for you to wake up with a fresh glow in the a.m.. While I definitely don’t invest my entire evening pampering myself each night, I reach for these products when my skin is parched or in need of a boost, as I know they’ll work when I need them to.

REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP| purity by philosophy
You’ve heard it before, and I’m reminding you again. Removing your makeup plays a major role on how your skin will look the next day. I tend to use makeup remover towelettes then go in with my purity by Philosophy cleanser for that second/deep cleanse.

Exfoliate| Clarisonic Smart Profile*
You guessed it, I use the Smart Profile and add a small dollop of purity by Philosophy cleanser and go to town on my face. If I’m using this in the shower, and over my body I’ll use the same product because I hoard this purity cleanser and have backups any time there is a 20% off Sephora sale. Clarisonic’s Smart Profile is new-to-me, and a fantastic product to exfoliate and cleanse with. My Clarisonic Mia 2 bit the bullet last year and wouldn’t hold a charge any more, so I’m pretty stoked to have a new one! This one is a #GiftFromClarisonic

Apply an overnight masque| Aveda Tulasāra wedding masque* | Dior Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask Capsules 
While getting that beauty sleep, your skin is working to repair itself and an overnight masque is there to help you out. This brand new mask from Aveda is unreal. I wake up with glowy, smooth and healthy looking skin in the mornings, without looking greasy. If you want to really splurge, buy the Dior Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask Capsules. They’re fantastic to drop into an overnight bag and you get at least 2-3 uses out of each pod.

Protect your under eyes| Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair | Aveda Tulasāra eye masque
Personally I apply under eye cream twice a day, especially during the winter months for extra hydration, as under the eye area is one of the first places to show signs of aging. While I enjoy the consistency and the effects of Aveda Tulsãra nothing will compare to my Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair Cream. If you’re waking up in the a.m. with puffy under eyes perhaps omit the eye cream at night altogether. Although you could be applying it improperly and too close to your eyes. Remember to apply eye cream using your ring finger along the orbital bone, and not on the eyelids or right under the eyes. If placing too close to the eye, the product travels upwards (with body temperature) and irritates your eyes.

Moisturize your body/hands/feet| L’Occitane Shea Butter hand cream* | Dior Abricot nail cream
Applying moisturizer will keep your skin looking its best when you wake up. I love applying a gorgeous thick moisturizer on my feet in the winter, pop my tooties in the socks overnight and wake up with the smoothest skin. For my dry cuticles on both my hands and feet, I love using my Dior nail abricot cream. I’ve talked about it many times before, it’s best applied at night due to its consistency, but I swear it’ll look manicure-fresh. It does that special somethin’-somethin’ to ’em that I love. As for my hands, I have been really loving shea butter hand cream and L’Occitane does it best.

Silk Pillowcase| From Amazon/eBay!
Although I’m pretty sure ours are satin and not silk. Kinda the same, right? I bought fancy slippery pillowcases for my husband and I at the start of 2016, and both of us has noticed a significant difference on how our hair looks in the morning. One, definitely a lot less breakage overtime, since your hair glides across the pillowcase. Wish it would stop my hair from separating from my crown though, makin’ me look like a balding old dude in the a.m. though!

Keep your makeup brushes clean| purity by philosophy
When you wake up in the a.m. with fresh, glowy revived skin, you don’t want to apply makeup using a cruddy old makeup brush – so keep those clean and free of bacteria! I clean mine with my purity cleanser as it’s nice and gentle.

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Disclaimer: Products marked with * were sent for review. I appreciate you reading and helping support my blog which allows me to work with PR companies and brands. 

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Beauty

Products I’ve Used Up

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Prouct-Empties-headerWelcome back for another Beauty Talk Tuesday. Today I’m going to show you the beauty products I have used up recently or what I’ll be throwing away even if they’re not completely empty. This is where things get real. It’s where I tell you if products are worth the hype, or simply don’t waste your money on. It takes me ages to finish a product up completely, so this type of post will probably be going up semi-annually.

Let’s jump right on in.

Miracle-WorkerPhilosophy Miracle Worker eye cream: It will take me 6-8 months to finish an eye cream when applying it each morning. Miracle Worker was first introduced to me when I went to Toronto for a philosophy event at Sephora, and I was hooked on the consistency as soon as I felt it. This will continue to be a staple in my makeup bag, as I’ve alrady gone through 2-3 tubes of this in the past. I do like to take breaks from products and switch them up, as I have more than one favourite of certain products. Right now I’m using my other #1 eye cream, the Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Repair, which is a completely different in texture, weight, and feel to the under eyes. Miracle Worker is more of a silicone feel, and Extra Eye Repair is more hydrating and sinks into the skin.

Jouer-BronzerJouer Bronzer: After using up two of these bronzers I have finally decided to go on and try something else. I apply bronzer heavily to my skin, year round due to personal preference — I like the healthy glow year round. I would continue to buy it again, it’s not too gray or orange and it lasted me a good 7 months. Unfortunately my local Nordstrom doesn’t sell this brand, so I have to order it on Amazon, or on the Jouer website.

Equate-wipes Equate-wipes-bonusEquate Makeup Remover Wipes: I’m going to lump these two facial wipes in with one another. The more blue packaged one is what I had been using regularly to remove my makeup, so I picked up a similar 2-pack when it was on sale. Out of the blue, the only thing that I had changed in my routine was using the whiter package set of wipes and the next morning I woke up with swollen puffy eyes. I’m not sure what happened with these since I had last used them, but they do not work with my skin any longer. 3 for 3, I tried them (all within a few weeks of each other because I wanted to clarify it was this and not another product). Sure enough, every time I used one of the two wipes above, puffy, flakey and sore under eyes the next morning. Not a nice sight! These are going straight to the garbage. I’m disappointed because I kept repurchasing the blue package one’s above, without fail — now they irritate my skin.

Dior-diorshowDior Diorshow Mascara: One of the most fantastic (yet expensive) mascaras I have for volumizing and lengthening your eyelashes. I prefer a drier mascara formula and this one is fantastic. I’ve gone through countless Diorshow mascaras, and I’ll continue to buy this product.

principessa-dry-shampooPrincipessa Beauty Dry Shampoo: I first found out about this coloured dry shampoo powder when I received it in a beauty subscription box a number of years ago. It was a small sample sized tin at the time, and I love enough to purchase this 4oz full sized tin for $24 at The Bay in Canada. You only need a light sprinkling of this to soak up any oil in your hair, and the tin has lasted me for 2 full years. I panicked when I ran out of it down here in the USA, but luckily found it on Amazon and what do you know — this product is Canadian-made in Vancouver! Represent! :)

purity-made-simplePhilosophy Purity Made Simple: Saving the best product for last. I can’t count how many times I have purchased the purity facial cleanser. This product will never leave my sink side, and if I have less than a quarter left in the bottle, I’ve already stocked up on the product at the store. I will never go without this, it’s gentle enough on the eyes (never stings) and removes all of my makeup. Occasionally I’ll use my Clarisonic Mia 2 with this to get a nice deep clean.

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Beauty, Daily, Fitness, Health, Photos, Reviews

After workout routine

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Products marked with an ‘*’ asterisk were sent for review. Opinions are my own.

Comin’ atcha from the weekend. It’s pretty rare I actually sit down and blog on the weekends so I thought I’d put another post together. Many bloggers talk about their workout routine but what do you guys do after you workout?climbing

Do you like my green Lululemon Wunder Under’s? I bought them back in May. Come to think of it, I should have bought them in black too (they do have a dark charcoal). If only I had known they would be my go-to workout pant for climbing and yoga. I haven’t sweated in them profusely so I can’t be a judge on how well they wick away sweat. I would imagine since they are cotton, it wouldn’t that nice on the skin after a big ol’ run.

You guys know I’m always on the go, whether it be gallivanting out on a hike with my friend, hitting up the climbing gym for a boulder sesh’ or relaxing and doing some kinda painful yin yoga practice which conveniently is available at the climbing gym. I wear make up to the gym. Do I apply directly before I go? No, but I do my make up after I get a shower each morning. I like looking put together and not as though I had 3 hours of sleep (which I have you know, that I get plenty of sleep — but me going sans make up makes me look a little rough for wear). So I thought I’d put together some of my favourite products to use and ways to get comfy when you’re home after a workout.

iced-coffee

hair-ties

putting-hair-up

snacks

Walking-Alfie

neutrogena-wipes

neutrogena-wash

Grab an Iced Coffee: I don’t pop by every time. However, often I’ll be craving an iced coffee after I go for a climb. By luck, I found this one spot and will often splurge on a three dollar vanilla iced coffee. The people who own the spot are so friendly and always compliment me! They know how to keep a customer, hey? Although they put far too much ice and not enough iced coffee, it’s one of the best places I’ve found.

Take Alfie for a Walk: As soon as I get home I know my little buddy has to go out for a piddle. Once I walk in the door I grab his harness and off we go.

Put my hair up: You know how some people need to remove their bras the second they walk in the door? I’m not one of those at all (since… y’know: I.B.T.C and all), I’m one of the people who need to put her hair up as she steps in the door. Anyone else? I grab a hair tie and put that hair in a messy topknot. I get all that hair out of my face and secured with a lululemon headband.

Have a snack: Whether it be a handful of nuts, some plantain chips or an apple — something needs to go in my belly as soon as I get home otherwise… hangry.

Add the layers: I’ll almost always put on my grey H&M hoody once I get in the house.

Blast the music: We don’t have a cable TV here at the house, so instead I opt for some tunes on an internet radio station and blast the music. It’s either a Songza play list, or Audio Box Live (from Montreal, Canada!).

Take my makeup off: These Neutrogena Cleansing Towelettes* wipes are reserved for right after a workout when I’m super sweaty and need to cleanse my face immediately after coming home. I received these to try and I remembered why I wasn’t the hugest fan — while they’re great on the face, they sting my eyes. Up & Up are my usual go-to wipes which is much better on my wallet. I can continue using the Neutrogena one’s, I just can’t use them around my eye area. They both remove all the make up and don’t leave any slick residue on my face. The worst. Lazy girls tip — keep make up wipes on the night stand because some days you’re too tired to do the nightly make up removing regime. If I’m cleansing my face and not using wipes, purity by philosophy has been my number one cleanser to break down any make up I have on. This is safe enough to use around the eyes and doesn’t leave my skin feeling sucked dry of moisture. That my friends, is why I have been using it since 2011.

Wash the body: If I feel like taking a shower after a climb or yoga sesh, which let’s be honest — isn’t always. I hop in and lather up my loofa with the philosophy body wash. Currently I’m using Love Sweet Love, it smells super girly, I love it. Never once have I used this for anything but body wash (you can use it as shampoo or pour some into a bath), I have a couple of these philosophy bottles stacked in my bathroom ready to use.  If I want something  more citrus-y, I use the Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash in Pink Grapefruit*. The tiny beads in the body wash is supposed to fight acne. While I don’t have any and I think this is probably geared more towards teens than someone in their thirties, I’d absolutely buy this again, especially now that I’m on a stricter budget and can’t afford the $30 philosophy body washes every time. Isn’t it funny I love a good pink grapefruit scent but feel ill if I taste the real thing? It doesn’t make sense. Why you so bitter, grapefruit? You smell and look so tasty.

Alright, that’s it. My after workout routine from grabbing an iced coffee or some food, putting my hair up and either removing all my make up or hopping in the shower.

What do you usually do after your workouts?

What time of day do you workout?

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