My Morning Skincare Routine

The past week has been hectic with my return to school. Of course, no matter how busy I get, I always make sure to follow through with my skincare routine.

After splashing some cold water on my face to wake up, I follow with a cooling toner like Biotherm's Biosource. The toning lotion feels refreshing while cleansing your skin of the previous evening's skincare.

To add hydration and prevent fine lines, I use H2O Eye Oasis. It's more of a gel consistency which feels great on the eyes in the morning.

I recently started using La Roche Posay's Effaclar K after hearing great things and being a hardcore fan of Effaclar Duo. Haven't formulated a full opinion on it but I'm sure you'll hear all about it soon in a future post!

For years on and off, I've been using Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream as my face moisturizer. It hydrates your skin for the entire day but never makes oily skin oilier. Just trust me, this is the only moisturizer you will ever need, no matter your skin type, so buy it in the large size. It doesn't look that big in this picture but I swear it's huge. Bigger than the size of my fists even , and I have large hands.

I'll be honest now, I don't remember to apply sunscreen most of the time... But when I do (usually once a week), Shiseido's Sun Protection Lotion is always the sunscreen of my choice. The best part of it is how thin and light it feels on the skin. Now if only I remember to use it more often...

Not really sure if Soap & Glory's A Great Kisser lip balm counts as "skincare" but nonetheless, I love it! Besides smelling like Georgia peaches, it moisturizes your lips and stays on! It has a slight nude pink tint that's barely noticeable but still really nice. I can't say enough good things about this lip balm.

Tuesday Tunes: #2

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With the amount of energetic Top 40 music I listen to on a daily basis in the car, it's nice to hear some laid back music to change things up. Most of these are old favourites from years back, but some are more recent finds through Spotify. Did I mention I finally have Spotify?! (We just got it here in Canada) Here are some of my favourites for blog writing, relaxing, or contemporary dancing.

5 Things: Beach Wave Products

I am in love with wavy Lauren Conrad like hair. Problem is, I'm quite lazy when it comes to my hair and am not the biggest fan of using heat. In a previous post, I mentioned my collection of wave enhancing products so here they are.

1. Aussie Sprunch Hairspray (6/10)
With a slightly stickier consistency, the product gives a hairspray like hold. Using scrunching motions, it  gives you a slight beachy like texture. However, using too much will leave hair crunchy, but not using enough will leave hair in its original state. The spray head needs to be rinsed after each use to avoid clogging.

2. Lush Sea Spray (4/10)
Adds texture but more of a "dirty" texture. A more thorough review here

3. Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Scrunching Gel (7/10)
Long story short, I saw Blair Fowler (juicystar07) and Ingrid (missglamorazzi) use this in a tutorial years ago. It worked for them so I assumed it would for me as well. My favourite way to use this is to apply a dollar coin amount in 80% dry hair and braid my hair into one long french braid. It's the only way this product works for me actually, but it doesn't give the most long lasting hold.

4. Garnier De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray (8/10)
My newest and favourite of the five. Paired with a hairdryer or left in a french braid/bun overnight, this product gives the best hold. It also doesn't hurt that this product smells incredible (very fruity). Only downside with this is it makes your hair look a bit drier.

5. Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Spray Gel (5/10)
While this product isn't sticky, it does make your hair slightly clumpy. Again, another Missglamorazzi induced product from that same "Beachy Hair" tutorial. It adds a bit of shape for the first five minutes, then your hair remains being flat.

Any favourite wave enhancing beach hair products to add to my evergrowing list? :)

My Everyday Makeup: Back to Basics

It's funny how my everyday makeup reflects where I am in my life. Back in junior year of high school 3-4 years ago, I would always be sporting a super smokey eye à la Kardashians. I was extremely insecure about my acne prone skin, feeling the need to coat my skin in a super thick layer of foundation and a ton of eyeshadow so everyone would focus on my eyes, not my skin.

Face: Let's start with the base. I often just use an under-eye concealer and a bit of powder on a day-to-day basis. Currently, I'm using Benefit's Erase Paste to conceal; nothing fabulous but it does the job. When I do use a base, it's often a mix of the Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Gogi and the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 5.5. At first, I wasn't totally sold on Luminous Silk because the finish was a bit too glowy for me. When mixed in with Nars Sheer Glow, this has become my favourite combination as it forms the perfect colour and finish for my skin. To brighten my under eye, I add a tiny bit of Benefit High Beam to the inner quarter beneath my eye.

Cheek: I'm not a cheek person so let's skip to eyes!

Eyes: Usually, this section would be filled with a jazillion different products. Recently, I've been keeping it simple with just MAC's Rubenesque Paint Pot and Silk Teddy (from Too Faced's Natural Eyes Palette) all over the lid. Then, I add a thin line of liquid eyeliner (Loreal Lineur Intense Brush Tip) with a barely there flick and a few coats of Illegal Length mascara from Maybelline (one of my faves).

Lips: I love a good tinted lip balm and Soap & Glory's A Good Kisser in Juicy Peach is no exception. This lip balm hydrates your lips, adds a lovely pinky-nude glossy finish, and smells like a peach farm! I've been obsessed ever since I got it.

Yes, a lot of products for a natural look. If you made it this far, congrats! I truly mean it.

The Best Concealer Brush You May Already Own!

Available in every Naked Palette, this doubled ended brush by Urban Decay consists of its shadow brush on one end, and crease brush on the other. The brush hairs are of a synthetic material making it not so ideal for powder eyeshadow, but amazing for creamy products like concealer. To apply my under eye concealer, I use the shadow side to apply the product, and then the crease side to blend. After blending with the crease side, you are left with perfectly applied concealer that's never cakey. 

What's your favourite way of using this brush?

The Little White Dress

With the summer slowly coming to an end, I finally found my perfect summer dress! It's white lace, doubled layered for no see-throughness, and slightly ruffled at the bottom. The dress also has a low open back which I'm not showing because, between you and me, I was not wearing the right bra for this dress. It's currently on sale at Aritzia for $29.99 here and I am positive I will get a ton of wear out of this. When it's not hailing of course (zero exaggeration).