Winter Skin Essentials

Come winter time, my skin always tends to get quite dry. I typically have combination skin and around this time of year I start to notice that my skin becomes quite patchy and my makeup starts to sit weirdly on my skin. For those with dry or combination skin like myself, these two products will work beautifully and help to combat that dry winter air.

- Lush Ocean Salt is a great exfoliant, I tend to use this one more on my body than my face but it works great for both. This has become a staple in my shower, it keeps my arms feeling soft and because of the added citrus it actually works well to help with any discolouration as well, particularly in the underarm area.

- Body Shop Aqua Boost Sorbet this has quickly become a firm staple in my everyday skin care routine. It provides optimal moisture all day while keeping your skin matte, avoiding that greasy look many moisturizers tend to leave behind. 

Christmas Wish List

As we're nearing the end of the first week of December, our phones are starting to buzz with calls from every family member asking what we have on our Christmas lists. Every year I seem to be less and less prepared for these phone calls, and while there are several things I lust over throughout the year I can never seem to think of anything to ask for for Christmas. I remember as a child I would have my list ready by November 1st mind you, the first two items were always puppy and pony (the order of preference interchanged each year). This year, I've managed to put together a list. It mostly consists of things I've put off buying for myself throughout the year. 

This year I'm wishing for:

- Arthur Elgort: The Big Picture | This book looks amazing, I'm a big fan of Arthur Elgort's work so this would be an amazing gift to receive.
- Topshop Velvet Crossbody | I love the deep forest green colour, I don't have anything like it!

- Canon EF 50mm | This lens was made for bloggers, let's be real.

- Lush "It's Christmas Deer" tin | Lush's wrapped gifts never fail
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette | This palette is absolutely gorgeous, there's just nothing comparable on the market.

- Kat Von D "Vampira" | This colour is always sold out, it's a stunning deep red perfect for this time of year. 

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

Holiday Polish Picks

I absolutely love this time of year and the rich colours we get to bring out and play around with. My go-to's for the holiday season are always reds and metallics. The deep reds are a great fall-to-Christmas colour and the metallics are great through the New Year. Nothing better than adding a little extra festive touch with your polish!

Here are some of my favourites for this year (left to right):

- L'Oreal Because You're Worth It | an opaque rich gold

- Butter London Chancer | the perfect Christmass glitter red

- H&M #501 | a gorgeous deep red

- Essie Buy Me a Cameo | beautiful rose gold/copper

What are your favourite polishes this time of year?

Lush Holiday Goodies

Come Winter, nothing beats the cold like a nice warm bath. As per usual, Lush has out done themselves again with their Holiday range. There are so many new additions alongside the annual return of some of their Christmas classics. I tried to contain myself this round, because let's be honest this won't be the only batch of holiday goodies I'll be picking up from them this year. 

- Stardust: This bathbomb is a new addition to Lush's Christmas range, it has strong hints of vanilla and rosewood. I used it after I shot for this post and it was incredibly moisturizing and relaxing.

- The Magic of Christmas: This bubble bar is another new addition to the Christmas range. I absolutely love these bubble wands, and find they last much longer than the regular bubble bars. This truly makes your bath smell like your swimming in a tub of Christmas, with the strong cinnamon and clove scents. I also used this after I shot for this post, and although it is quite glittery it all seems to fade within the first use and there was next to no cleanup. It adds a nice golden colour to your bath as well.

- Yog Nog: This bathbomb is another new addition to the Christmas range. This has to be my favourite scent of the range it has such a rich, smooth toffee scent it smells absolutely delicious. This bathbomb also has soymilk and shea butter, perfect for keeping your skin smooth and soft this winter.

- Luxury Lush Pud: This bathbomb is making a return to the Christmas range this year. With the perfectly relaxing hints of lavender it's no wonder it's made it's way back into the range. 

Have you picked anything up from the Lush Christmas range this year?

The Brow Necessities

Sonia Kashuk Brow Brush | Anastasia Brow Wiz "Ebony" | Anastasia Clear Brow Gel | Tweezerman Tweezers | Benefit Gimme Brow "Medium/Deep"

Recently I've dabbled into the daunting craft of filling in my eyebrows. I have rather thick brows as it is but I just wanted a little filler for some sparse areas at the front of my brows. I've always struggled to find a brow pencil that didn't give me horrible sharpie brows. As I have black hair, finding a diluted black pencil has been quite the struggle. I thought I'd give Anastasia's Brow Wiz a try as I have been devoted to their Clear Brow Gel for years, and I couldn't be happier. It's become a part of my daily routine and I'm starting to question how I've gone without it for so long!

If I don't have time to fill them in I swap the brow wiz- clear gel combo for a few quick swipes of Benefit's Gimme Brow. It gives them a darkened tint and does a fair job at filling in any sparse areas for a quick on the go solution. 

Finally, for standard brow maintenance I couldn't live without my brush and tweezers. I can't tell you how many sets of these tweezers I have floating around the house, they are yet to be beat! If you're looking for a good pair of tweezers, I highly recommend Tweezerman. I never have to deal with the fuss of breaking hairs with these.

Rave | Nars Soulshine Blush Palette

During the Christmas shopping season, I was in Sephora grabbing a few gifts when I saw the Nars Soulshine Palette. One thing led to another and next thing you knew I was leaving Sephora with a cheeky new purchase for myself. I couldn't help it, it's just such a gorgeous palette! This palette comes with three blush tones: a shimmery golden apricot, a deep rose, and a gorgeous coral with gold overlay. The neatest part about this palette is the formatting. NARS is actually embossed in the powder with a gorgeous gold shimmer that when swirled all together adds that perfect highlighted touch to your cheeks. This palette is sizable enough that you are able to use each blush shade individually or all together. I find that the pigmentation when swirled together is quite bold, so I opt for a duo fiber brush (I use the MAC 187).  Each shade is gorgeous on it's own but when combined you achieve such a unique, beautiful colour.

I am absolutely obsessed with this palette at the moment and truthfully, I haven't reached for any other blush since this found its way into my collection! If I had to name a negative, my only "complaint" would be that the gold embossing seems to only be at the initial surface level. However, as you can tell by the pictures above, the gold shimmer more or less mixes itself into the other shades the more you use it. Because of the richness and variety amongst the shades, I would say this blush is suitable for just about every skin tone!

What is your go-to blush at the moment?

Nightime Skin Care Routine | Winter

Come Winter time, my skin tends to be victimized by the harsh Canadian weather. I typically have combination skin, but my skin tends to really dry out in the Winter. To prevent my skin from drying out I've started to heavily moisturize right before bed. This gives my skin the chance to hydrate overnight and provides a nice smooth surface to apply my makeup in the morning - nobody likes the look of foundation over flaky skin. This is the 3 step system I've found to work best for me this Winter, I would definitely recommend each of these products in a heartbeat!

1. Bioderma Créaline Lait - This summer, a friend of mine visited France and was kind enough to bring this back for me. I have been (impatiently) waiting for Winter to roll around so I could finally test it out. So far, I absolutely love it. I prefer using this at night just so I can give my skin a chance to hydrate overnight. This is a creamier formulation compared to the regular H20 formula, providing a little extra moisture for your skin - an absolute must for the Winter months!

2. Bioderma H20 - This will forever be a staple in my skincare routine. Despite recently switching out for the Lait formula as my main cleanser/makeup remover before bed, I still find that I reach for this to remove my eye makeup. It's not necessary, the Lait can sufficiently remove any and all makeup, I have just personally found this to be gentler on the eyes and a little easier to get my mascara off with.

3. Bioderma Hydrabio Serum - After getting a baby sample size with my bottle of H20, I thought I'd give this a try. After 3 straight days of squeezing the life out of the sample bottle, my skin felt baby soft. That has never been the case for my skin, I actually enjoy moisturizing now, simply because I can actually see a great difference in my skin! My skin hasn't been this hydrated in as long as I can remember. It is hydrating enough to use at night and light weight enough to use before I apply my makeup in the morning. It is a very concentrated serum that allows for maximum hydration while still keeping a light weight formulation - to put it in simpler words, it's everything I've ever wanted in a moisturizer.

What are you using to treat your skin this winter?