Karen!

My past week and a half

2012-02-01T05:10:00.000-05:00

Hey! How've you all been doing?

I'm back in Toronto now.

I've spent the past week and half with Dale when he flew in to see me and it was so nice to be with him.

Here are some of the things we did together on our trip :)

Dale stayed with me for a few days in Toronto.

One of the things we wanted to do was to visit the Obika Mozzarella Bar in downtown Toronto.

Dale first took me to the Obika Mozzarella Bar in New York City - that was back in December and I wrote about our NYC trip here. We really enjoyed the spontaneous dinner we had there in NYC so when we found out they have a downtown Toronto location, we wanted to check it out together. I really like the quiet atmosphere in the restaurant after the work crowd has left and the food is fantastic.

We highly recommend Obika.

After Dale spent a few days in Toronto we drove just South of the border for some good old USA shopping. We stopped at a few wineries in the Niagara On The Lake Region on our way to the USA including what is becoming our favourite winery, Peninsula Ridge. That's a picture I took from the parking lot of Peninsula Ridge Winery. It was snowing that day and it was beautiful the way the snow had fallen everywhere.

Dale & I checked out a couple of wineries we hadn't been to before including the Stratus Winery. Neither of us had heard of Stratus before but that's because as we found out that they don't sell their wines at the LCBO. Anyways, what's special about Stratus is that Dale is not an ice wine drinker (he leans towards dry whites), but after a tasting both of us really fell for their Reisling Ice wine. It is sooo good! Ice Wine is so often linked to Inniskillin that I just wanted to write about this one that we found. Dale thinks the Stratus Reisling Ice Wine has given him a new appreciate for ice wines. That should mean something!

In addition to shopping in the States, Dale took me skiing at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, New York. It's a great resort for beginner skiers like myself and it was a really nice way to spend some time outdoors.

This might look familiar to you since I wrote about our stay here at the Sheraton On The Falls hotel in Niagara Falls back in December. This is the view from our hotel living room.

The American Falls to the left and the Canadian horseshoe shaped Falls to the right.

You can see the some ice forming in this close up of the American Falls

Looking out our hotel room to the left of the Falls is the Rainbow Bridge.
I'm taking the picture on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. But if you cross the Rainbow Bridge you'll arrive at USA Customs and pass into Niagara Falls USA.

Niagara Falls hosts Canada's longest running firework series. Every Friday evening at 9:00 pm there are fireworks over the Falls and we had a great view of them from the balcony of our hotel room.

Dale took me to a really nice dinner in Niagara Falls at the Rainbow Room by Massimo Capra. There aren't many nice places to dine at in Niagara Falls so it was a treat to share a great dinner together.

It was so nice to get away from the city and to spend time with Dale this past week and a half. He plans on flying back in three weeks so I'm very much looking forward to that ;)

How was your month of January?
What are you looking forward to?

Review: Bee By The Sea Body Cream

2012-01-16T07:50:00.000-05:00

Here's one moisturizer I'm not fond of: Bee By The Sea Sea Buckhorn and Honey Body Cream

Price: $25.95 CDN

My friend Dale picked this body cream up for me at Angel's Gate Winery

There wasn't a tester bottle around (not a good sign) and I really wasn't interested in this body cream....but my friend insisted on getting it for me and beat me to the cash register for it.

Overall rating: Not Good.

The scent is somewhat of honey but it has a slightly unpleasant undertone smell to it.
It's not very thick for a body cream and when it's applied to the skin, it actually spreads like a watery lotion. It wasn't moisturizing enough for me and it doesn't stand a chance in terms of moisturizing power when I compare it to my HG Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion.
While I appreciate the thought as a gift, there was nothing I liked about this body cream and it's long gone in the garbage.

What was the last product that didn't work for you?

Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub & Detoxifying Clay Mask

2012-01-13T01:38:00.000-05:00

Quite some time ago I was given a gift certificate to WaySpa by my friend Carl.
I used the gift card to get a few Thann Spa Products from a local spa, Summerhill Spa.

I hadn't heard of Thann products before, but I was looking to get some face masks since I love mini at-home spas and the Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub sounded really nice....and so I ended up using my whole gift card on Thann products

Thann products are all-natural skincare products that are Asian-Inspired from Thailand.

These are the five Thann spa products I got:
Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub
Thann Detoxifying Face Mask
Thann Rice Extract Moisturizing Cream
Thann Rice Bran Cleansing Oil
Thann Shiso Facial Cleanser

Of the five Thann skincare products, I am reviewing two of the masks first.

My first review is for the Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub

I love the Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub.

The texture is a bit thick and creamy which I love since I do leave it on as a mask for 10-15 minutes after I gently exfoliate. Oat extract, centella extract, marshmallow extract and rice bran oil are just some of the ingredients in the mask that I can let nourish and calm my skin while I leave it on for several minutes.

The scrub is really gentle on my sensitive skin and the exfoliating beads are just the right size. I really like the scent, which doesn't smell like oatmeal but instead smells a bit like a fragrance (even though there's no fragrance added).

If you're looking for a great all-natural face scrub that also doubles up as a mask, I highly suggest the Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub.

*******

The second face mask I've been using from this brand is the Thann Detoxifying Face Mask

I love a good clay mask and my Thann Detoxifying Face Mask is probably the best clay mask I've used.

Both the Thann Oatmeal Face Scrub and this Thann Detoxifying Face Mask are from Thann's Rice Collection. Neither of the masks were drying to my skin. With that being said I find that every clay mask I've used has left my skin feeling a bit more taut than I like. Some people like the skin tightening feeling they get after using a clay mask (Dale loves that about the St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask), but I could do without that feeling. Even though I always moisturize after using a face mask, I don't want to feel the need to relieve my skin's tightness right after washing a clay mask off my face by slathering moisturizer on immediately. So a major thing I love about the Thann Detoxifying Face Mask is that it doesn't feel like it dehydates my skin after I wash it off.

I also love the very thick texture of the Thann Detoxifying Face Mask. Despite the texture it spreads really nicely across the skin.

The scent is really light and it kind of reminds of Earl Grey tea. I like the scent.

If you're looking for a really nice clay mask that doesn't dry out your skin, I highly suggest the Thann Detoxifying Face Mask.

*******

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I love the packaging of both the Thann Face Masks!
The frosted glass jars are heavy, thick and durable. It has a nice luxury feel and appeal to it.

Have you used any Thann Skincare products?

Do you have any favourite spa products?

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow in Cyber Green

2012-01-06T08:59:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start! :)

One eyeshadow that my friend Dale got for me almost two months ago is this Estee Lauder Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow in "Cyber Green"

I swatched the colour at an Estee Lauder counter in Nordstrom during one of our trips to the States and I loved it! I've been using it almost everyday since. Too bad it's part of a limited edition collection - I'm sure it would sell well in their permanent line since when Dale bought this for me it was the last one of this colour in that store.

Oh, don't let the name fool you if you're purchasing this eyeshadow colour online. The colour "Cyber Green" is like a smokey black with an ever-so-slight green/gold metallic sheen running through it and some gold glitter specks. It's perfect for a smokey eye or even as an eyeliner

Same swatch of the Estee Lauder Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow in "Cyber Green" in two different lightings: swatch seen in sunlight (left) and swatch seen indoors (right)

Are there any new products that you've been loving lately?

Do you have any plans for this weekend?

Jos A. Bank

2011-12-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you've been having a Wonderful Holidays so far :)

So, I asked in a previous post if anyone was interested in seeing some of Dale's future hauls and I got a few positive responses. Well my parents, my younger sister and I went for a quick trip across the border today to the Walden Galleria Shopping Mall in Buffalo NY. And as my family and I walked past Dale's favourite clothing store, Jos A. Bank, I pointed it out to my family. We all saw this sign in front of the store and laughed:

BUY 1 GET 6 FREE! (6?!!!)

My Dad was laughing and said, "You should take a picture of the sign and show it to Dale."

So I took this picture on my iPhone :) I think Dale got a chuckle when I emailed it to him.

Anyways, if you're looking for nice menswear in the States, check out Jos A. Bank. You can get some great deals if there's a good sale going on. Dale usually walks out of the store with several items - I'll have to show you some of his future haul stuff!

What are your favourite clothing stores?

How is your Holidays coming along? :)

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays :)

2011-12-24T18:26:00.000-05:00

Here's to wishing all my lovely readers a Very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays :)

I'm with my family for the next few days, which is what I really love about the Holidays.
Here's a few pictures of our beautiful Christmas Tree ;)

Reviews: Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser & Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

2011-12-23T12:12:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh I discovered my new favourite face cleanser!!!
Do you know how difficult it's been for me to find my HG face cleanser?!

Okay, so I have a couple of reviews on face cleansers.

First off is my current favourite face cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

This cleanser came with my Clarisonic Plus 3-Speed Gift Set that Dale bought for me.
I can't Thank Dale enough for it either :) If weren't for the Clarisonic Plus 3-Speed that he bought for me, I don't think I would have discovered my new favourite face cleanser

So what do I love about the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser?
Pretty much everything!

the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser smells like cucumbers. I don't love the scent, but it's not like I detest the scent either.
the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is non-foaming. I'm so use to using either an oil based cleanser (such as the MAC Cleanse Off Oil which I reviewed here) or a heavy foaming face cleanser (like my Estee Lauder Face Cleansers) in order to wash off my makeup, so I really didn't think the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser would remove most of my makeup. I was surprisingly wrong! This cleanser seriously removes ALL of my makeup - it completely removes both my eye and face makeup. In case you don't have a clue on how I do my makeup, I go all out with my glamourous makeup and a lot of the makeup products I use are long wearing and waterproof. So this is definitely a first for me to have all my makeup removed from a non-foaming face cleanser
On top of that, the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is super gentle - it's "tear free"!! Like I said earlier, I thought I always had to depend on oil based cleansers or heavy foaming (often skin drying) face cleansers to remove my makeup. But not with the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. It reminds me of my staple Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser in terms of texture, how it's non-foaming and how gentle it is. Just like the tube says, the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is safe to use around the eye area. There is absolutely no stinging sensation whatsoever if you get some of this cleanser in your eyes or if you even open your eyes part way while washing your face with this cleanser all over. Now that's pretty amazing for me. Like, how can this stuff remove all my makeup so well, not be oily and be so gentle instead? Idunno, but it is.
the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser doesn't dry my skin out like a lot of heavy foaming face cleansers I've used. I still apply serum and moisturizer on right after, but I don't feel that my skin is tight like it does with a lot of other cleansers.

So, can you tell that I'm so happy to discover this amazing face cleanser? LOL

It's perfect for travel too because now I don't have to lug around a separate makeup remover + a cleanser. This baby does both very well!!

Now I just hope that they don't ever discontinue this face cleanser! Coz you know, sometimes companies have funny ways about discontinuing great products....

******

The second face cleanser I'm reviewing is the Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser.
This cleanser also came with my Clarisonic Plus 3-Speed Gift Set that Dale bought for me.

Overall this Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser was nothing special at all. Yes it is gentle...but not as gentle as the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Like, if I get some of the Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser into my eyes it burns unlike the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser which is super gentle.
Both the Clarisonic and Fresh face cleansers are non-foaming so they are similar in that sense. But only the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser removes all of my makeup. The Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser didn't seem to remove much makeup at all and it was slightly more drying on my skin.

While I don't recommend the Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser I highly recommend trying out the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. You can purchase the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser at Sephora and Sephora is pretty good at giving out samples if you ask for one :)

Yay! One of the gifts that Dale gave to me was a gift card to Sephora!!
So now you know one of the items that I'll be repurchasing for sure :)
Awww you're the best Dale. Thank You so much for everything.

Have you tried either of these face cleansers?

What is your favourite face cleanser?

Madame Madeline Shipping Review

2011-12-22T22:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture to sum up a bit of frustration I had last week when my parcel from Madame Madeline arrived.

First of all, I'm really happy and fortunate that Dale placed a large order for me through Madame Madeline for my favourite false lashes. And I really have to Thank Dale for that :)

However, I had requested twice (maybe three times?) from Dale that he chose regular standard shipping for the purchase. I wanted him to chose the cheapest shipping method since that is always the shipping option I chose when I have ordered through Madame Madeline and I haven't had a problem before. Plus I didn't want Dale to fork out more money than he had to for shipping. But just so you know, Dale doesn't always listen to me! Hmph!

Dale ended up paying extra for a faster shipping method. I know he was trying to be kind by shipping it faster to me, but he should have listened!

Anyways, Dale placed the order with Madame Madeline on December 5th and paid $22.00 CDN for the UPS Standard (Insured) Shipping. It indicated that it would take 6-7 business days to arrive - and sure enough arrived a full week later on December 12th. That's fine but I honestly don't think the UPS shipping was any faster than regular standard shipping.

Now, the problem I had was that there were brokerage fees due in order to pick up my parcel - the brokerage fees cost more than the shipping at $23.29 CDN. Honestly?! Dale paid for the brokerage fees, but it still upset me!

So, what is the lesson here?

Do what I advise you to do!!! (just kidding! Well, okay, maybe this applies to Dale :P)

If you place an order with Madame Madeline, just pay for the cheapest shipping method. The extra money you pay for UPS shipping is not going to get your parcel to you any much faster and don't be surprised if you have to fork out even more money for brokerage fees when you pick up your parcel.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects LE in Plaid About You

2011-12-22T02:32:00.001-05:00

Remember how I recently reviewed the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips?
You may read my review here.

Well, I saw online that there were some limited edition styles for their Winter 2011 Collection.
Dale, the sweetheart he is, picked these up for me along with numerous other styles and extras from Shoppers Drug Mart

These are the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in "Plaid About You"

This is my favourite style out of the five limited edition patterns from their Winter Collection
I absolutely love a nice simple black and red plaid pattern

It's really pretty!
But as much as I really like these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips, they won't replace my real love for airbrushed acrylic nails...such as my Broadway Fashion Diva Nails as seen in my blog post here. That's because airbrushed nails always look more polished and flawless

Will you be sporting a special Holiday manicure?

Vacation Pictures: New York City

2011-12-21T04:17:00.000-05:00

Dale's has flown back home to Calgary... and I'm missing him :(

It's always so nice to spend time with someone that you really care about.

Pssst! Fly back out East soon Dale!!!

*****

I'm really so fortunate that I got to spend my 27th Birthday with Dale in New York City.

He took me there this past weekend from Thursday December 15th to Sunday December 18th.

I just really enjoyed being away with him for a few days :)

Here are a few of our recent vacation pictures:

Of course we had to check out Rockefeller Center and the famous Christmas Tree there!

This was the main reason Dale wanted to take me to New York City, because out of all the times he's been to NYC he hasn't seen the Christmas Tree in person. Plus, we figured it would be a great idea to visit a big city like New York to see some of the best Christmas lights

I'm so glad we were able to see the Christmas Tree in person together for the first time Dale :)

Did you know that the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a tradition for over 75 years?

It looks beautiful in person, but do try to get there on a weekday like Dale & I did to avoid the large crowds!

I loved the Christmas lights on some of the stores along Madison Avenue!

The gold glitter mohawk on the Diesel store didn't show up too well in the picture but that's the store to the far left, the store in the middle of the picture with the lights and big bow on it is Tommy Hilfiger and the store to the right of that with the belt buckle lights is Fendi

The large suspended lighted snowflake in the middle of the intersection was neat :)

Now, this is a little interesting because as Dale and I went into the Macy's in NYC we saw the sign indicating that it's The World's Largest Store (maybe you can see the sign through the tree branches on the left?). You know, Macy's is pretty reliable so Dale & I totally believed it. But I just googled it and apparently a department store called Shinsegae in South Korea holds the title of The World's Largest Store. So, what's with the false ad Macy's?!

Did you know what the largest store in the world was before I mentioned this?

Despite the false advertising, I still enjoy going to Macy's.

One of the neat things about the Macy's store in NYC were the old style escalators on the first few floors. I honestly do not recall being on wooden escalators like this.

Have you seen old style escalators like this before?

Another Christmas tree at the skating rink at Bryant Park

Radio City Music Hall looked really pretty with the lights and brightly lit Christmas Tree :)

And right along 6th Avenue across from Radio City Music Hall were some neat displays of life sized Christmas ornaments. Here I am in front of a couple of them :)

And of course, before we left NYC we checked out a small part of Central Park.

As I mentioned in my blog post here back in May this year when Dale first took me to NYC, my favourite part of the city is Central Park.

The backdrop of the city buildings is very pretty behind the skating rink, don't you think?

One of the ways we celebrated my 27th Birthday was Dale took me to see the Broadway musical Rock of Ages! This was my outfit for the musical last Friday night.

We had amazing seats front row centre and it was entertaining. Dale loved the musical since the music was totally his type of songs. I should note that the one downside to the Broadway was the $22 USD beers. Yes, $22 for a freakin' beer! Good thing we drank before the show ;)

Dale had a ton of gifts for me when he came to my condo a week and a half ago!

But a couple of gifts he surprised me with on my actual Birthday last Friday included these gorgeous Swarosvki Lightning Bracelets.

Dale knew I was going to wear a red dress to the musical that night, so he went out and bought me these Swarovski Lightning bracelets in silver and red so that I would wear them to match my outfit ;) He's soo sweet (and fashionable!)

And, Dale also surprised me with this stunning Swarovski Chic Purple Blue Ring!

The pictures don't capture the beauty of the ring at all...it's so pretty and it really stands out beautifully. I absolutely love it.

And Dale also bought me this sexy black leather bomber from Danier as part of my Birthday gift.

The leather on this bomber is sooo soft! I love this jacket and it's my first black leather jacket.

Because I loved the style and feel of this jacket so much, Dale actually bought me the same jacket in a bold red colour as part of my Christmas present ;) I'm seriously spoiled rotten from Dale!!

Thank You sooo much Dale for everything you've done for me the past week and a half we were together. It was so memorable as it always is with you. And I'm so happy I we got to spend my 27th Birthday together xx

*****

Well, what can I say?

I had an absolutely wonderful week and a half with Dale and I'm sooo fortunate to have such a great person in my life. He has such a good heart and he's really been there for me during the past two years we've known each other.

How have you been the past couple of weeks?

Have you been enjoying the Christmas Holiday Lights in your city?

Morning View

2011-12-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

It was so nice to wake up to this in the morning ;)

And I'm lucky I get to wake up to this tomorrow morning before we head back to Toronto

Our hotel suite living room at the Sheraton On The Falls

Looking out our hotel living room windows....a gorgeous view of Niagara Falls

The American Falls

And the gorgeous Canadian Falls

Have you been to Niagara Falls before?

Which waterfalls have you seen?

Outfits this past weekend: Sheesha & The Nutcracker Ballet

2011-12-12T03:00:00.000-05:00

Hey! How was your weekend? :)

I've been having a great time with Dale the past few days.

One of the things we did together in the past couple of days was smoke sheesha.
It was Dale's first time and I think he quite liked it!
We went to Cafe Le Monde, which I mentioned previously here.

The colouring is a bit off in this picture, but I love my Cheetah Boyfriend Blazer that Dale bought for me from Dynamite. The real colour of the blazer actually looks like this:

I've really been into blazers lately since they're an easy way to polish up a casual looking outfit.
Do you wear blazers often?

******

I took Dale to his first ballet performance a few months ago to see the Alice in Wonderland Ballet here in Toronto. I've been to ballets before and really enjoyed it so I wanted to do something new for Dale. He really enjoyed the performance :) So this past Saturday as part of my Birthday present, he took me to see The Nutcracker Ballet. That was really sweet because I remember my older sister Carol took me and my younger sister Jennifer to see The Nutcracker Ballet years ago when I was a lot younger.

This was my outfit for the The Nutcracker Ballet:

Dress is from a small store called New York New York in Pittsburgh PA that I mentioned here

Pantyhose is from Sirens

Rhinestone Half Flap Bag and Necklace is from Guess by Marciano

High Heels from Steve Madden

Watch is from Micheal Kors

Rings are from Swarovski

The coat that I wore on top of my outfit is from Bebe

Sooo, I'm absolutely in LOVE with the accessories that I wore that night. I really have to Thank Dale for my entire outfit including accessories ;) Thank You sooo much Dale!

I've gotten so many compliments on my Marciano Rhinestone Bib Necklace

Dale bought me this necklace about a month ago and I've been constantly reaching to wear it including on Saturday to the ballet

Left & middle picture: a couple of places I've worn the Marciano rhinestone necklace in the past month

Right: my FOTD this past Saturday with the Marciano rhinestone necklace on

This is the closeup of the gorgeous necklace that I can't stop wearing :)

Here's a closeup of one of the two Swarovski rings I wore on Saturday night.
This is the Swarovski Chic Multi Red Ring
This is such a gorgeous ring! Omigosh...Dale surprised me with this ring back in August when he took me to Maui ;)

Holy Moly!
This Swarovski People Ring is insanely gorgeous - it's a beautiful piece of art on its own!!
Dale bought this ring for me at the Swarvoski store in the Mississauga Square One shopping mall a couple of months ago. We were told in the store that this Swarovski People Ring was part of a travelling limited collection - i.e. the jewelry pieces in this collection were only available for a couple of weeks in Ontario, and the collection was travelling across Canada so it was only available for a limited time in any given province.

So this was the second statement ring I wore on Saturday night to the ballet.

(I'm totally behind in showing my hauls by the way, but I think I'll do a Swarovski Haul post soon!)

Closeup of my outfit Saturday night to see The Nutcracker Ballet - you can better see my accessories in this picture ;)

Our tickets and program booklet from Saturday night's ballet.

Synopsis of Act I of The Nutcracker Ballet

Synopsis of Act II of The Nutcracker Ballet

I wish I had pictures of the ballet to show you because there were some very beautiful parts, but we can't take pictures during the performance
It was so beautiful to see The Nutcracker Ballet with Dale, and I feel so lucky that Dale treated me out to a wonderful evening. It brought back some fond memories when my older sister Carol had first taken me :)

I should mention that Dale & I actually enjoyed the Alice in Wonderland Ballet more than The Nutcracker Ballet. I mean, we agree that The Nutcracker Ballet is very well done...it's a great performance to see at least once and it really gets you into the Holiday spirit :) But we both found that with the Alice in Wonderland Ballet, the dancing was more fun and "in character". Not to mention that Dale & I both agreed that the stage changes in general were more impressive in the Alice in Wonderland Ballet. Unfortunately the Alice in Wonderland Ballet was only showing in Toronto for a couple of short weeks and it had moved on. So if you get a chance to see the Alice in Wonderland Ballet, I highly recommend it!

Have you been to any ballet performances?

******

Since I've gotten a number of requests for outfit posts, here's another outfit picture from this past weekend

I wore this outfit to meet Dale's aunt this past Saturday morning
It was really nice to meet another family member of Dale's :)
Thank You for taking me to meet your Aunt, Dale!

The top that I was wearing was my Marciano Loreta Corset that Dale bought for me a couple of months ago

What can I say? I think we both love a sexy animal print ;)

With my outfit above I was also wearing this Marciano Abstract Cocktail Ring that Dale surprised me with last month :) You know I love statement rings like this!

******

So I've been having a great time with Dale the past few days :)
Right now we're just across the border in Buffalo NY and Niagara Falls just to get away and relax for a few days. Then this Thursday Dale is flying me to New York City for the weekend to celebrate my Birthday ;) Ahhh! I'm sooo excited and so happy! I'm seriously such a lucky girl ;)

Oh, I wanted to give a shout-out to Raylena who is a fellow blogger that's so sweet! She sent me a really kind email about how she did a recent FOTD post here, which was inspired by me :) Awww, it made my day! Thank You so much Raylena! I loved hearing from you Hun x

Of course, I extend my welcome to any of you to say hi to me!
I'd love to hear from any of you either through email or through the Disqus commenting system on my blog. And if you ever see me in person walking around or something, pleaseee don't be shy to say hi LOL I'm not trying to imply that I'm well known because I'm absolutely not, but it's happened before that someone recognized me much earlier on when my blog was relatively new (and it was caught on video here actually, but nobody came forward to say it was them in the video unfortunately).

Let me know how you've been and what you've been up to lately! :)

Review: Claire's Bling Nail Stickers

2011-12-08T15:51:00.000-05:00

Here's a review on another nail appliqué

These are Claire's Bling Nail Stickers

Since I'm drawn to anything with rhinestones on them I of course grabbed these when I first saw them. Dale actually bought these for me in the store - I really appreciate it Dale!

These are the simple and straightforward instructions

These nail stickers look amazing in the packaging, don't they?

Yeah, well let me tell you that they look a heck of a lot better in the packaging than on my nails :(

This is the back of the rhinestone stickers which is the part that adheres to your nail.
It really is just a simple sticker adhesive, unlike the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips that I previously reviewed here. The Sally Hansen ones are not sticky in the sense of a conventional sticker like these rhinestone nail stickers from Claire's. It's a bit difficult to explain but the Sally Hansen Nail Strips adhere sooo well once they're placed on your nails, whereas the Claire's nail stickers don't adhere nearly as well and they can be easily lifted off.

I was hesitant on posting these pictures of my Claire's Nail Stickers manicure. It looks horrendous! Ugh! I wanted to remove them right after putting them on. Don't they look awful?!

They looked so great in the packaging that I actually waited a while before I used them. But they turned out ugly!! LOL I definitely won't be repurchasing.

Ughhh awful!!!

Even when Dale first saw my nails he said, "What's that on your nails?!" when usually he's complimenting me on my manicure! He says it looked cheap and well...not nice (we're honest with one another so he wasn't trying to be rude or anything). Needless to say, this mani won't be staying on long!

*****

So, what are my complaints with Claire Bling Nail Stickers?

*There are not enough sizes in the package and the sizing is quite narrow. I don't consider myself to have wide fingernails either and I always find perfect sized acrylic nails to fit me when I buy fake nails. So these strips are definitely on the narrow side.

*I really liked how I could file off the excess part of the nail strips when I was using the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. It was very easy to use the nail file they provided for both my left hand and right hand. Well, it's a different story with Claire's Nail Bling Stickers. You have to trim off the excess part of the nail strips instead of easily filling them off. Since I'm right handed, it was actually a bit of a task to trim the excess nail strips properly off of the fingers on my right hand. Especially since I wanted to trim them in such a way that it wouldn't disrupt the rhinestone pattern.

*These nail stickers do not adhere well. It is totally the opposite of the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips which adhered extremely well to my nails. So because Claire's Nail Stickers do not adhere all that well, the corners easily lift off your nail. Even after two layers of top coat, some of the sticker's edges are slightly lifted. On top of that, when I used the top coat it muted out some of the shine from the rhinestones. Very disappointing.

*This is probably due to the choice of colour, but the nail appliqués do not stand out very well on my nails. I thought they would sparkle and shine from across the room. Nope. And that nail polish top coat certainly didn't help either!

*****

I really do not recommend Claire's Bling Nail Stickers and I certainly will not be repurchasing.

It's too bad because I love rhinestones.

Soooo I have a suggestion for Sally Hansen! Since I really like the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips, I think it'd be great if they came out with a design that had rhinestones all over!

Wouldn't that be nice?!

Review: Sally Hansen Salon Effects in "370 Booty Camp"

2011-12-08T04:46:00.001-05:00

How has the month of December been going for you?!
I still can't believe we're a week into December already! Time flies when you're having fun ;)

Sooo, Dale is flying into Toronto later this afternoon to spend some time with me :)
We haven't seen each other for a couple of weeks so I'm really looking forward to seeing him.
Since we had a blast in Niagara Falls a couple of weeks ago, Dale is taking me back there this weekend. Then we get back to Toronto for a day before he flies us out to New York City for my Birthday next week! Ahhhh! I can't wait! We're both excited to see the Famous Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, to see Rock of Ages together (Dale's first time at a musical in NYC!), to explore NYC during the Holiday Season and to just relax and be with one another. So that's what's new with me :) I have lots to look forward to! Let me know what you've been looking forward to!

Okay now....onto my review!

*****

It was my first time trying out the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips last week.
Dale picked these up for me in the colour "370 Booty Camp" - Thank You Dale!

After applying the first two nails, I got the hang of it really quickly. They are very easy to apply.

On the packaging it said they last up to 10 days of wear and they really did last that long with barely any chipping at all! My nail polish always chips after 3-4 days no matter what band of nail polish and top coat I've used. But these Sally Hansen Salon Effects really outperform!

Since these nail strips are made with real nail polish, I applied a top coat on them just as I would with any other nail polish.

The Sally Hansen website says there are 24 nail strip designs on the market. Out of the 24, there's only a few that I really like enough to purchase. I don't have any complaints about them at all and I actually really like the concept of these nail strips. I just wish they had more variety with intricate/unique styles.
But with that being said, I'm really happy with these Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips and will definitely repurchase!

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Strips?
What manicure do you have on now?

In Pittsburgh with Bob Seger

2011-12-03T19:52:00.000-05:00

Just reminiscing about two weeks ago today, Saturday November 19th, when Dale took me to see Bob Seger perform at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA

Thank you sooo much Dale for the awesome tickets and for taking me with you! :)

This was what I wore to the concert

Oh yes, pre-drinks in our room at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel with College Football on TV!
Notice how Dale angled the TV so that when he the took pictures, he didn't miss any of his football haha

Top
Material Girl Studded Blazer
Forever21 Plain Black Cotton Tank Top (I slashed the back of my tank top to give it some edge)

Bottom
Material Girl Sequined Animal Print Skirt

Shoes
Guess by Marciano Black Suede Thigh High Boots

Accessories
Guess by Marciano Valerie Fringe and Chain Necklace
Guess by Marciano Abstract Cocktail Ring
Bebe Soft Chain Headband

*****

Dale is a huge Bob Seger fan. Oh yeah, that good ol' rock n roll.
Actually, the first time I heard of Bob Seger is when Dale asked me earlier this year if I'd like to join him for the concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It was a really nice experience to see Seger in concert in Atlantic City. But I wasn't familiar with his songs at the time and I was totally sober at the concert so it was just that - a really nice experience.

BUT in Pittsburgh, some of Seger's songs had grown on me since and with the pre-drinks I had with Dale, I had an awesome time!!! Haha at least from what Dale & I can remember since we both couldn't remember certain parts of the night that next morning. Oh well, that's what some of the greatest times are like! I'd do it all over again Dale! :)

Okay, I know we weren't suppose to take any pictures during the concert but I snuck in a few. I had asked a security guard about it and he said that the "no picture policy" was requested by Bob Seger himself. Dude! Really?!

Oh well, forgive me Bob for taking a few snapshots of you! I didn't take any pictures of you at all earlier this year when I saw you in concert and this time around I just wanted a few for memories!

Here are some of the pictures I took from the concert that night:

Ahhh! Bob Seger!!!!
He still knows how to put on a great show at age 66! Way to go!

We Love You Bob!!! (especially Dale does!)
You're a Legend!!!

My favourite song from Bob Seger is Hollywood Nights!

It has a great beat and the lyrics are meaningful. It's too bad that Bob Seger doesn't have an official music video for his song Hollywood Nights. So this was the best youtube video (this is someone else's video) I could find that had the whole song playing.

Let me know what you think of the song if you listen to it!

Are you a Bob Seger fan?!

Who are some of your favourite music artists?

Great Alternative to the My Beauty Diary Masks

2011-12-02T00:41:00.000-05:00

Remember how those My Beauty Diary Masks were quite popular for awhile? (are they still talked about?)
Well I wasn't a huge fan of them when I gave them a try - I wrote a review here.

Since Dale spoils me with luxury skincare items, I recently got a sample of this Shiseido Pop-Up Mask.
I think these Shiseido Pop-Up Masks are a great alternative to the My Beauty Diary Mask

What I love about these masks is that you get to apply your own softener, toner, vitamin water etc, to your mask! Yay! So it's like being able to personalize your mask to your skincare needs.
Plus, it's neat that they're compact because that means they take up very little room (great for travel!)

It just so happened that I also had a sample of the Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Resist 24 Balancing Softener Enriched. So for my first pop-up mask I used this softener.

This is what the Shiseido Pop-Up Mask looks like once it's opened.
Unlike one of the My Beauty Diary Masks that I bought, nobody will have any problems with the eye holes being too small with this mask!

Have you heard of the Shiseido Pop-Up Mask before?
Or have you tried any of the My Beauty Diary Mask before?

Misikko Parcel! :)

2011-11-29T20:20:00.001-05:00

Yay!!!

I'm ecstatic that I got sent a parcel from Misikko to review their highly highly rated HANA Professional Flat Iron 1.5"

It's amazing how Misikko takes the time to not only package everything perfectly (nothing was out of place when I opened my parcel), but they always include generous extras AND did you notice that they colour coordinate everything?!

Misikko really goes the extra mile at presenting their parcels in such a lovely way.
That's really excellent customer service and I've always had such pleasant representatives to converse with, whenever I had questions or concerns.

Here is what came along in my parcel from Misikko

Awww, a really cute sleep mask was included in my parcel :)
This is great to stuff in my purse when I'm travelling so I can catch some shut eye on fights

My parcel also included a beautiful set of decorative lilac roses :)
That's really so thoughtful and I love how everything was colour coordinated in my parcel - lilac, white and black.

Ooo a hair brush! It's really neat how it was packaged in a nice satin pouch too :)

I think I'm going to review the Ulta Round Hair Brush that came in my first package from Misikko.
It is a great round brush! You may read about my first parcel from Misikko here.

I love the travel size Hand Sanitizer that Misikko included in this parcel - it's perfect for my purse or even in the car. Hand Sanitizer comes in handy when you least expect it!
The satin pouch containing the hand sanitizer also came with a few nail files. I like to use these nail files just before I glue on any acrylic nails since freshly filed nails help the acrylic nails adhere better.

Awww, some ELF makeup products were included in my parcel as well!
I got a full sized ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Camila and I also got a full sized ELF Hypershine Lipgloss in Fairy. I love their textures and consistency - I can see why Allure Magazine gave both of these products the Editor's Choice Award :) They're both gorgeous colours by the way!

This is a really nice touch to include a lovely welcome card.
The card entitles me to a complimentary 2.0 oz HANA Shine Shield as well as a great discount on any future purchase of HANA salon styling tools :) This will certainly come into good use especially with the Holidays around the corner!

Omigosh! I'm sooo happy my parcel included a complimentary 2.0 oz HANA Shine Shield!
I absolutely love this hair serum.
I wrote a review on the HANA Shine Shield which you may read here.

After so many years (like, over a decade) of using various hair serums, I really know a great one apart from a good one. I thought my CHI Silk Infusion was the best until I started using the HANA Shine Shield. Once I finish my CHI Silk Infusion, I will be heading over to Misikko's website to purchase their biggest bottle of HANA Shine Shield :)

A pretty heat proof pouch that comes free with any purchase of their hair styling tools

This is the free heat proof mat that comes with all your flat iron purchases through Misikko.

A nice sleek drawstring bag to store my HANA goodies in :)

A lovely heat resistant storage bag for my new flat iron!

Ahhhh! This is my new HANA Professional Flat Iron 1.5"!!!
It is made by a Korean brand called HANA.
You can purchase it exclusively online through Misikko's website.

I'm extremely impressed with the couple of salon quality products I have used from HANA.
The HANA Shine Shield is the best shine serum I have ever used and I have used sooo many over the years. And, the one styling tool I have from HANA is the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer which is amazing!! I wrote up a review for the hair dryer here. Anyways, I seriously cannot stop using my hair dryer LOL I always try to give myself 5 minutes with my hair dryer before heading out the door because it really makes my hair look and feel that much better. And having great hair just completes any look.

Because I've been so thrilled with the HANA salon styling tools, I really excited about my flat iron :)
I've heard that it's one of the best flat iron on the market, but I promise to review it for you soon since I've been using it for the past couple of weeks. All I know is, if it's anything like my HANAair Professional Hair Dryer, then I'll probably fall in love with it LOL If you're shopping for hairdryers, definitely check out my review here.

I highly recommend Misikko's website if you're looking for any salon styling products or salon styling tools. Their customer service is amazing and I'm really blown away with how generous Misikko is to all of their customers. It definitely sets their company apart from any other company I've purchased from.

Have you used any hair products or styling tools by HANA?
What do you do for your hair to style it?

OOTN & FOTD

2011-11-27T16:57:00.001-05:00

How is your weekend coming along?! :)

I hope you're enjoying yourselves.

I haven't done an outfit and face of the day post in some time and since I recently got requested to post more pictures of myself, I thought I would do one. And for those that have asked, I'm sorry but I do not have a Facebook account nor Twitter account at the moment. If I decide to activate either of those social networks, I'll make a post here on my blog :)

Top: Black Sequin Tank Top from Charlotte Russe

Tuxedo Blazer from Charlotte Russe

Bottoms: Glam Ultra Skinny Denim from Charlotte Russe

Heels: Dollhouse branded platforms purchased from DSW

Accessories: Tortoise shell watch from Michael Kors (you can see close ups of my watch here)

Necklace from Guess by Marciano

Scarf was given to me by Mom & Dad

Purse by Co-Lab by Christopher Kon purchased from Town Shoes (you can see close ups of my purse here)

Thanks so much for my whole outfit Dale. I miss you lots! Can't wait to see you next week x

I used my brand new HANA Professional Flat Iron to get my hair looking this lovely ;)
Stayed tuned for my upcoming review on my hair straightener!

So that was my outfit and look yesterday night on Saturday when a friend and I went to Earl's Restaurant ;)

Winner of My Memories Software Giveaway :)

2011-11-24T00:44:00.001-05:00

Hey!!! How are you all doing?!
I hope you're all doing very well :)

I just want to Thank the few people who entered my giveaway for the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software. And I also want to thank LIz for giving me this great opportunity to try out the terrific software and to share it with one of my lovely fellow bloggers ;)

Sooo....Dale has chose Dana as the winner of this giveaway!
Yay! Congratulations Dana!

I've been quite busy lately and hope to catch up with you!

Let me know how you've been doing :)

Giveaway! My Memories Suite 2.0 Digital Scrapbooking Software

2011-11-10T02:39:00.001-05:00

Here's your chance to win a copy of the award winning My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software (version 2.0)!!

The software is valued at $39.97 USD. It is ready to download and use right away :)

Please check out my review on the software here so you can see some examples of what you can do with the software. Also, you can get more information on the software itself from the My Memories website here.

For this contest, the one lucky winner will NOT be chosen randomly - the winner will be chosen based on their answer to my question (see below). Since I might be biased to certain readers I have gotten to know over time, I am going to let Dale be the sole person to choose the best answer.

Here are the Giveaway Details:

(1) Please be a follower of my blog through Google Friend Connect

AND

(2) Leave a comment on this post answering this question: "Why do you want to win this Digital Scrapbooking software?"

Dale will be looking over the answers himself and he will choose the best answer as the winner

***the contest is open Internationally World-Wide, however the software is only available in English

***the software is both PC and MAC compatible. Please refer to the manufacturer's website here for more details on computer requirements.

***the contest closes at midnight on Tuesday November 22nd, 2011.

Good luck!

Dale's looking forward to reading your contest entry :)

P.S: Thank you for all the contest entries!
I will NOT be posting any of the entries until the contest closes so that all the answers are original and not based on comparison.

Review: My Memories Suite 2.0 Digital Scrapbooking Software

2011-11-08T19:21:00.000-05:00

Yay! I was given a chance to review an award winning software program which allows you to do digital scrapbooking. The software program is called My Memories.
You can make scrapbooks, photobooks, cards and gifts all by using this software.
I actually had a lot of fun using this software - and this was my first time doing any kind of scrapbooking too! Stay tuned because I have a giveaway coming up for one free copy of My Memories Suite Software, so you can have a chance to explore the fun software :)

*****

The downloading of the software onto my MacBook Pro was really straightforward and easy :)
Everything I downloaded from My Memories was both PC and Mac compatible.
When you make a purchase for any of the software or add-ons (i.e. templates) from My Memories, you immediately get sent an email with detailed instructions and appropriate links on how to download what you purchased. I think the follow up email with instructions is a great idea.

There are a number of design templates and special effects that are included in the software, which is great. But there's even more designer templates/kits that you can download for free from their website here

Here are a few of the fun (and free!) designer templates that I used. I downloaded these free designer templates straight from their online Free Kit here:

I really liked how this picture turned out! I wish I knew how to make this into my new blog header.
It took me only a couple of minutes to download the template and literally seconds to upload/resize my picture into the frame. The template I used is the Autumn Rose Quick Page, which you can download for free here

Nicceeee ;)

You can even make you own calendars with ~~sexy male strippers~~ any picture you desire ;)
For this picture I used a combination of a textured paper option included in the software as well as the Quick Calendar 2011/2012 template which you can download for free here

Note: you have the option of printing out pages of your calendar at home or you can have it ordered online and shipped to you. So, if you're going to have a more ~~x-rated~~ personalized calendar made, it would work well if you had some good quality paper and printer at home.

Another neat thing you can do with the software is make your own personalized Christmas gift tags :)
The Holiday Season is right around the corner so this can certainly come in handy
I made these gift tags by using the Classic Red Gift Tags template (which I downloaded for free here) and I added some images I found on google as well as a few additional embellishments that were included in the software.
What I love about these gift tags is that you can personalize them as much as you want (for example, you can put a picture of you & your friend on a gift tag you make for them). If you have a colour printer with nice printing paper, you can make the tags look really nice and leave a memorable impression.

Keeping with the Holiday Theme, here's a fun recipe I found online here for a Christmas Eggnog Recipe :)
I used the Coffee Time Quick Page template which you can download for free here straight from the My Memories website. I thought this template is such a nice way to display a recipe - don't you think?

The template I used for this picture is the Vine Overlay, which I downloaded also for free here.
The pictures are actually some of the lovely jewelry that Dale had bought for me in the past while.
I'm looooong due for a haul post!
Anyways, wouldn't this scrapbooking template be great for sprucing up a haul blog post?!
I think so!

Remember those grade school Family Tree projects that you may have been assigned to do?
Well I remember those *sigh* Don't get me wrong, they're fun to do but only if you or one of your family members know you're family tree. My family tree was always kinda sparse because I guess we lost track with such a huge extended family LOL
Anyways, if you're in school or you have any young kids/nieces/nephews/etc that have a Family Tree school project coming up, this template looks great presentation wise and they're bound to get an A+ if they fill it out :)
This template is the Roots and Branches Quick Sampler Page which you may download for free here.

Scrapbooking your vacation pictures can be really fun :) It's a nice way to reflect on some great times and to organize some of your favourite pictures at the same time.
I still haven't done any blog posts about my trip to Nassau Bahamas that Dale took me two months ago in September! I can't wait to share more pictures with you in upcoming posts when I have a bit more spare time on my hands....but for now, here is a quick sample of the very memorable trip Dale & I went on. I created the picture above using the Sea Breeze Frame (you can download it for free here) along with word art and textured paper effects which come with the software.

So, what you think?!

Do you like some of the designs I came up with by using this software?

To be honest, I had a lot more fun using My Memories Suite software than I thought I would.

I'm just not the type of person that typically makes scrapbooks, nor do I do anything to enhance my pictures. I simply just take pictures and file them away in basic folders in my external hard drive.

So I'm really impressed with how much fun I had using this software. I can't imagine how much fun it would be for you if you love to scrapbook or if you have a fun, creative outlet for presenting pictures.

There are sooo many possibilities when you use My Memories Suite Scrapbooking Software. I mean, within a short amount of time while playing around with the basics, I've came up with a new fun blog header (well, I wish I knew how make it fit in my blog header but that's a different story), made a hot page out of a calendar, personalized Christmas tags, found an easy way to spruce up my future haul posts on blogger, a neat family tree you can use for school projects and presented a few recent vacation pictures in a beautiful format! You can do so much more including making videos & multimedia and adding music or narration to your albums, just to name a few. In its simplest form, the software is great for even just sprucing up pictures for your website or blog :)

Another point I want to make is that I'm not computer savvy by any means! I actually thought I would be putting off playing with the software for a couple of more weeks because I thought I was going to be slightly stressed out using this software LOL But you know what? I was wrong. It was a lot of fun! And because it was fun I actually spent more time using the software than I thought I would. So that's a very good indicator that this software is great - I can see how its award winning.

******

One tip I wanted to post was how to find the templates/kits that I downloaded for free. This was the only difficulty I had with the software so I thought I would mention it.
So basically, once you download the kit of your choice, if you saved it under the default file of My Memories, open up your software program. This is what my screen looks like when I open my software.

To find the kits that you downloaded, look over to the Control Panel on the left sidebar.
Click on Embellishments and then click the box Add (with the flower icon).
This will bring up a new window allowing you to choose various embellishments. Click the first category labelled 1-Designer Embellishments and your templates/kits that you downloaded should be there if you saved it under the default file like I did. I hope this helps anyone who ran into the same problem as I did LOL

Another point I wanted to note is that although I used free templates/kits in my blog post, the My Memories website does offer a greater selection of more intricate or elaborate designs which can be purchase online through the My Memories online store here.

******

If you really liked some of the creative things I made by using basic, free/included features on this software program, check out other reviews. The My Memories Suite Software is also highly rated on Amazon.com here. After reading reviews, if you decide you'd like to purchase the software, I wanted to share a promo code
Here is a $10.00 off promo code if you'd like to purchase My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software, Version 2.0:

STMMMS72436

To use the promo code, go directly to the company website here. The retail value is $39.97 USD, but with the promo code it's $29.97 USD. And you can opt to download it right away which is very convenient and straightforward. Or, you can have it shipped to you if you live in North America.

******

In the meantime, stay tuned for my next post where I'll give you details on how you can win a free copy of My Memories Suite Software. I'll be picking one lucky winner :)

Have you heard of My Memories Suite Software before?
Do you like scrapbooking or finding creative ways to organize and present your pictures?

Burt's Bees Pore-Refining Mask with French Green Clay

2011-10-31T23:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend and if you're out tonight, I hope you're having fun ;)

******

Sooo, I love a good clay mask.

I try to use a clay mask twice a week in rotation with a good face exoliator twice a week as well.
On top of that I use a face cleanser each day and I use my Clarisonic on my face about twice a week.

One clay mask I have really enjoyed using is this Burt's Pore-Refining Mask with French Clay.

Dale got this for me at one of the beauty supply stores at the Walden Galleria in Buffalo.

Now, a huge downfall with this product is that it is not easy to find in stores!
I have been looking everywhere for this when I ran out and even Dale was sweet enough to try looking for it too out in Calgary - but neither of us have found it. It's not even on the Burt's Bees website :S
So I think you may only be able to get this mask in the States....and, because this product is not on their website and I haven't been able to purchase another one since, I even suspect it might be discontinued

Have you seen this Burt's Bees Clay Mask around?

The neat thing about this clay mask is that it's in a powder form.
So you make your own mixture of the clay mask by mixing it with liquids. The box suggested a few different liquids you could mix the powder with depending on your skin type.

I actually mix my clay mask with toner since I read a very helpful review on Makeupalley advising that using a toner draws out more impurities from the skin than using water.

Ingredients List.

It comes with a neat spatula which really helps scoop out the fine powder prior to mixing

This is what the powdered clay looks like - it's very fine in consistency.
You can make the paste as thin or thick as you like. Although I found the paste I made was always on the thin side even though I would scoop out generous amounts. For example, the clay mask was nowhere as thick in consistency as the St.Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask (which I reviewed some time ago here).

So what do I like most about the Burt's Bees Pore-Refining Mask with French Clay?
I mainly drawn to it because it's 100% Natural. Also I like how I'm able to mix the fine powdered clay with whatever base I chose to, depending on my skin needs.

Do you use a clay mask or any type of facial mask regularly?
Which are your favourites?
Have you heard of or seen this Burt's Bees Clay Mask before?

Special Delivery

2011-10-29T18:48:00.000-04:00

How's your weekend coming along?

I've been having a great weekend at my parent's place :)

But I do miss Dale. He's coming out in exactly two weeks today on November 12th - yayyy!

Anyways, I was just thinking of Dale and I wanted to share a few of the beautiful gifts he surprised me with in the mail while we were apart (he lives a 3.5 hour flight away from me for those who were wondering)

Do you remember how I had a write my course test just before Thanksgiving Weekend earlier this month? Well, I was pretty stressed out about it. Dale was such a sweetheart and sent me this lovely floral arrangement to my parent's house for me (I was visiting my parents that weekend) on Saturday October 1st. It really helped cheer me up :)

Awww, it's so nice to have words of encouragement from someone you really care about ;)

Thank you soooo much for the lovely floral arrangement Dale. It really helped cheer me up that weekend. Knowing I have your support has always been a tremendous amount of help to me xx

Sooo....now that I've passed my test, I have to start preparing for interviews!!!
That's the next big step for me and I've been pretty busy doing that.
I'll share with you guys in one of my blog posts coming up what Dale surprised me with for passing my test as a congratulatory gift :)

******

Okay I know it's been oh, almost two months since I moved into my new condo. I still have a few more boxes to unpack since I've been pretty busy with studying for my test and now preparing for interviews. Also, since early September Dale has taken me away on two separate vacations (he took me to Pittsburgh and Nassau Bahamas, which I still have to post about and then we did the Fall Foliage trip which I already talked a bit about). So I haven't been able to unpack everything from my move - but most of the important stuff is all unpacked :) That's something I have to work on in the meanwhile

I wanted to do a belated post on some of the lovely gifts Dale sent to me during the weekend I moved into my new condo. He sent me two lovely flower arrangements just before my movers came over on September 3rd (you may read about that here). And then a few days later on Tuesday September 6th, Dale sent me two very large house warming baskets - awwww. I really can't believe how many gifts Dale had sent to me as a housewarming present. He's always finding ways to cheer me up and make the tough times easier on me. Thank you for always being there for me Dale. I can't wait to see you in two weeks

I keep all your notes to me Dale!

Wow! This was one of the two lovely gift baskets that Dale sent to my new condo

It was filled with so many snacks and treats!

A neat large salad bowl with matching salad tossing fork and spoon

Some of the treats!

More treats!

Ice tea mix!

And a really neat bamboo chopping board which has come in handy a number of times since!

******

And this was the second large gift basket Dale had sent that day on September 6th ;)

Omigosh - more Tashodi spa gifts!!!

Tashodi is a Toronto-based company that specializes in fair trade organic bath and skincare products.
I really enjoyed a number of their products because Dale had actually bought me this very same Tashodi spa set from Baskits back in May. I had taken more close up pictures of the spa products in my previous post so to avoid being redundant you may read that post here.

Thank you sooo much for all these wonderful gifts you sent to me Dale! You really leave me speechless sometimes!

I'm really looking forward to Dale's visit in two weeks today.
Is there something you're looking forward to in the next couple of weeks?

If you're going out to celebrate tonight for Halloween, have a great time and keep safe! x

Review: MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe

2011-10-28T23:49:00.000-04:00

Wow! Did any of you watch Game 7 in the World Series?! St. Louis played a great game.
I'm sooo fortunate that the first live baseball game I went to was last year in June when Dale flew me to Kansas City to see two baseball games between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. You may read about my Kansas City trip here. I haven't seen the Texas Rangers play live, so I had a bit of a soft spot for the Cardinals ;) It was nice to see them win the World Series this year! Congratulations St. Louis!! :)
Congrats on winning your bet Dale! It was so nice to see St. Louis play on TV knowing that I had seen them live with you. Thank you so much for taking me on that trip - it was the beginning of so many other wonderful trips you've taken me on :)

*****

Okay, so onto my review!

For the longest time I didn't think twice about the importance of my eyebrow pencil....I seriously used whatever I had around - a brown eyeshadow, a brown eyeliner...etc. That is, until I bought myself the MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe

You can see how much I love this eyebrow pencil, eh? LOL

This pencil has been in a my makeup bag for about a year now. Sure it got banged up and the plastic cover is cracked big time....but I LOVE this eyebrow pencil. I use it everyday and I will absolutely repurchase it when I'm done. The shade "taupe" matches me really well. I also love how the colour applies (not too light and not too dark either) and it's long lasting (it stays on throughout the day). Also, notice how much of the pencil is still left after I've used it for one full year pretty much everyday. So it's totally worth the $18.00 CDN price tag if you ask me.

Here is swatch of the MAC Impeccable Brow Pencil in the colour Taupe.

Like I said, I didn't really think much about eyebrow pencils at all for the longest time until I bought this one. I've loved it so much that I've decided to write a review on it :)

I highly recommend it!

Do you use any makeup products to fill in your eyebrows with? If so, which one(s)?

MISIKKO REVIEW: HANAair Professional Hair Dryer

2011-10-27T12:36:00.000-04:00

Healthy, beautiful and well styled hair certainly helps you look fabulous :)

And it's important to invest in the right tools to help you achieve that look

Misikko is an online store that offers salon grade hair styling tools such as the Chi Hair Straightener and this HANAair Professional Hair Dryer.

This is the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer

It's Misikko's premiere hair dryer and one of their store's top selling products

What makes the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer salon grade?

Well it was produced by Hana Salon to ensure top salon performance.

The look of the hair dryer is exceptionally stylish and sleek because it's actually the industry's first Italian design inspired hair dryer.

It is also a Ceramic Tourmaline hair dryer. This means that the heating element is ceramic, not plastic or metal which you would find in cheap hair dryers at a lot of major department stores. The plastic or metal heating elements on cheap hair dryers cause water to literally boil off your hair with uneven intense heat. That sounds pretty bad doesn't it?! On top of that, the harmful heat energy releases positive ions that opens the cuticles on your hair shaft - so your hair becomes brittle, dry, frizzy and unhealthy over time :(

With the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer, the ceramic heater uses the most advanced far infrared ionic heat. And the hair dryer operates on Titanium Oxide Technology. Basically, this means the heat is radiant and penetrates the hair shaft safely instead of drying hair from the outside in. It produces negatively charged ions which traps moisture in your hair (what you want!) to eliminate frizz and to give the hair more body - all while maintaining healthy hair. And, since this HANA hair dryer is infused with pure tourmaline crystals, it makes the ceramic heating more gentle and safer - ceramic space heaters do not catch fire the way metal ones are prone to (eek!). This makes the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer the highest in quality and performance. It's simply the best blow dryer I have used and so many other customers have agreed also

So, knowing this comparison between a $20 plastic hair dryer and a $200 professional salon grade hair dryer, hopefully it will help you decide between your needs and budget, and which is right for you.
I agree that salon grade hair styling tools are not cheap at first - they are an investment that will more than pay off in the end. Consider how often you blow dry your hair and how many years a good salon hair dryer lasts (the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer comes with a free 2 year warranty when you order through Misikko). If you chose a cheaper $20 hair dryer, consider how much money you will spend on deep conditioners and other hair products to try to counteract the damage that was caused from all your blow drying from the cheap hair dryer - this amount is probably higher than you think.

You've gotta love the settings on this hair dryer - do you see the three buttons?

The first round button is for cold air, which is perfect for setting your finished hair style

The top switch (middle of handle) is for airflow options: High Airflow (II), Low Airflow (I) and the power button (OFF)

The bottom switch gives you more setting options: High Heat Setting (II), Medium Heat Setting (I) and Low Heat Setting (OFF)

The great thing about the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer is that when you activate an airflow or even a setting option, the change is almost immediate. For example, it takes mere seconds to go from the hottest heat to cold air coming out if you press the cold shot button.

How much power does the HANA hair dryer have?

The HANAair Blow Dryer is a very powerful hair dryer. It operates at 2,300 watts.

Because of this, it is so much easier for me to achieve hair with great body and volume (isn't that what every girl wants?!).

The powerful air flow that comes out of the fiberglass concentrator attachment also gives me better control over my hair styling and sets my styled hair much better :)

What are some of the other features I love about this hair dryer?

Another thing I really love about the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer is the beautiful scratch resistant outer shell to make it more durable. And the blow dryer has a black metallico finish, which makes it really easy to clean (perfect for just easily wiping off any hair styling products that might have transferred onto the blow dryer)

Plus, on both sides of the blow dyer there are cylindrical rubber stoppers built-in. So you can lay your blow dyer on a slick counter top surface without worrying it will slip off the counter top, drop on your floor and possibly get damaged or break :S

Both the scratch resistant and built-in rubber stoppers have been great features to have.

The HANAair Professional Hair Dryer is also really well thought out in terms of ergonomic design. It is gyroscopically balanced for easier handling and I can attest to that! My hands and arms often get tired from gripping a blow dryer and holding it up for too long if I'm styling my hair. But this is the best blow dryer for handling - my hands do not feel tired after usage even though this quality hair dryer has a good weight to it.

Another feature I really like about the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer is that the filter on the back of the blow dryer does not need to be replaced (this is the reason the filter cap is not removable). So a little less maintenance is always something nice to hear :)

The next thing, which I really think makes the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer one of the best blow dryers on the market, is the added safety feature on it.

This is the power plug for the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer - it is a ground fault circuit interrupter plug. The thing is, I have seen so many salon grade styling tools that do not have this type of safety power plug - instead they have the basic electrical plug.

Why do I love this added safety feature on the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer ?

Well the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) is designed to prevent accidents leading to electrocution or severe electrical shock! It is extremely well thought out to have this GFCI plug on the blow dryer because the blow dryer is often used in the bathroom and it can easily come into contact with water accidentally. Also, if there's any leakage of electrical current outside of the regular path of flow, the GFCI plug is able to detect that difference in current leakage which then trips the breaker and avoids serious electrical danger. So this is a wise safety mechanism to have.

Another important feature I wanted to point out is the electrical power cord for the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer. To the left of the picture you can see that the power cord of the HANA blow dryer is much thicker and much better insulated than a traditional electrical cord as shown to the right of the picture for comparison. I see that as an added safety bonus and a practical thing. It helps prevent the insulation on the electrical cord from damage due to constant bending, folding and storage of the wires in a certain way.

When I purchase good quality products, I always look at which country the product is made in. I say that because for example, I don't think products made in China are of good quality at all - in fact I personally think that products made in China are cheap in quality and are not meant to last long. So I wanted to point out that the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer is made in Korea. I believe Korea has great standards for their beauty products in particular so I was very happy to know this fact :) This may or may not affect your buying decision, but it certainly would for me.

So, can you tell that I absolutely LOVE my HANAair Professional Hair Dryer? :)

It is such a high quality hair styling tool. I absolutely recommend it as a great investment purchase for maintaining beautifully styled hair. I haven't come across another salon grade blow dryer that has topped my HANAair Professional Hair Dryer

Have you invested in any salon grade hair styling tools?