Adios Moustache

I'm not ashamed that I have a female moustache.  No, not ashamed, but if I could wish that darn moustache away I would.  But since that's not likely to happen, I'm left with figuring how to get rid of my hairy situation on my own.  I used to get it waxed/sugared.  But it always broke me out, and by the time my skin healed, my hair would be growing back in.  arghh!!!  So for awhile I left it....and tried to convince my self that it isn't THAT bad.  And it isn't, it's just sort of annoying, like a hangnail, you know what I mean?  It's there, you try to ignore it, but it just keeps bugging you.

So, I drove to Shoppers Drug Mart and picked out 3 facial hair remover kits.

I picked these 3 products based on ads I'd seen and mentions in some of the beauty magazines that I read.

Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo.  $32.99 (CAD)  This was the priciest of the 3 products.  It's a depilatory type of product.  It is designed for fine to medium hair (which is the exact type of hair that I was trying to remove).  The box claims that there is up to 12 uses.  It comes with a skin guarding balm that you apply first over the area that you're removing hair from.  Then you apply the hair removal cream, wait 6 - 10 minutes, wipe off and you are supposed to be hair free.  Does it work?  Well not on me it didn't!  If you ever tried to light a bbq the wrong way and ended up singeing your brows, well that is exactly what you end up like with this product.  The balm protects you skin, but the hair removal cream seemed to have "burnt" off my facial hairs.  It looked and felt nasty.  For $32.99 this product was a total waste of money for me!  Strike 1.

Veet Face Ready to Use Wax Strips.  I got them on sale for $11.89.  On the box, it claims to be ideal for small and delicate facial areas like the upper lip.  Works best on short hair.  And contains vitamin E and sweet almond oil to help protect the skin.  The pack contains 6 wax packets, that you warm by rubbing it between your hands then you pull the strips apart, and you have 2 wax strips.  Plus it also comes with 3 perfect finish wipes to wipe off any extra goop, oops I mean wax off of your face.  Does it work?  These strips have a lot of wax on them and I struggled with it.  I had wax all over my mouth, thank god for the wipes, but why the hell do they only give you 3?!??!  Bottom line for me on this one, I had more wax on my face then I had hairs pulled out on the strips.  Strike 2.

Veet High Precision Facial Wax.  I got it on sale for $6.79.  This product is specifically designed for eyebrows and upper lip.  Claims to have 20 + applications.  It comes with the tube of wax, 20 wax strips and a precision stick.  You heat the tube of wax in warm/hot water.  I put hot water in a cup (but NOT boiling water) in a mug, set the tube in it and let it sit there for 1 minute.  It spreads easily and compared to the other 2 products I tried, it actually removed hairs!  You have to make sure that the wax gets warmed up enough.  I tried it once with just running warm water in the sink and letting the tube sit in the warm water for a minute and it didn't work as well.  You can actually see the hair on the strips, which for some strange reason makes me feel like I've accomplished something good.  I kind of think that it is best for fine, peach fuzz kind of hair.  If your facial hair is coarse then I don't think this wax is strong (not sure if that's the best word to use) enough to rip out that type of hair.  Bottom line:  I would use this product again.  It works (maybe not perfectly) way better then the other 2 products and it's easy to use.  And a pretty decent price too.  But in all honesty.  None of the products removes the hair like a professional wax job.  There's a reason why they are professionals.

PEI Surf Wedding

There is only on place in the entire world that I want to be during the summer, and that place is on any of the beaches, here on PEI.  I've been lucky enough to have been able to do some travelling in my lifetime, and in my humble opinion, there's just no other beach like home!

And I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only Islander who feels this way.  That's why our group of talented wedding vendors decided to create a beautiful PEI surf styled wedding.  Although PEI is not known to be a traditional "surfing" mecca (like Hawaii), PEI is well known for other types of "surfing", like windsurfing and kite surfing.

And honestly, we just love showcasing PEI as a wedding destination!


Click here to see the entire shoot on the Style Me Pretty Canada site.

The "Brides" Makeup

I wanted "Amy" (otherwise known as Emily) to have a warm, golden bronzed beach makeup, that was beachy but still sophisticated. She has gorgeous green eyes, so I used a warm golden eyeshadow (MAC All That Glitters eyeshadow) and a brown eyeliner (MAC Dipdown fluidline) to play up her eyes, and a golden bronzer to emphasize her amazing cheek bones.  I finished the look with a light coat of golden peach lip gloss by FACE Atelier.

Special thanks to all the wedding vendors who made this shoot happen!

Modern Jane Design - Jane Gallant - Event Design/Concept
Kim Roach Design - Kim Roach - Wedding Stationary & Paper Products
Rachel Peters Photography - Rachel Peters - Photography
Michelle Cudmore Makeup Artist - Michelle Cudmore - Makeup Artist
Cheryl Weeks Hairstylist - Cheryl Weeks - Hairstylist
Kiss The Bride - Jennifer Clark - Event Coordination
City View Bakehouse - Jennifer Prinz - Cake, Treats, Sweets
Love Charlie - Alisha Stephen - Custom Arm Bracelets

The Perfect Pear Bridal - Kelly Moorehead - Bride's Dress + Shoes
Dow's Menswear - Groom pants + shirt
Norton's Jewellers - Peter Norton - rings
Hearts & Flowers - Flowers
JJ Stewart's Root Beer - PEI Root Beer
The Orange Lunch Box - Food items

Nail Bling GIVEAWAY

I'm back!!!!!  What a whirlwind of a summer!   With 30 weddings, plus trying to squeeze in some family time, the summer just flew by.  I really can't believe it's September all ready!  The kids are back in school, weddings are starting to wind down, and I have time to blog and Youtube again!

So I thought a fun way to kick off the fall season would be to host a giveaway!

I'm giving away 5 Nail Bliss bling nail appliques in some fun and funky patterns, perfect for fall.

To enter just click on the options below.  Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


*  all products have been purchased by me.  One winner will be selected.

Beach Waves and Wavy Hair Are NOT The Same Thing

This is mostly a makeup blog, but every now and then I feel passionate enough about something else that I really feel the need to blog about.  And today I really feel the need to blog about beach waves.  Beach waves and glamour waves are 2 totally different things and it drives me crazy when you see pictures in magazines of these beautiful girls with beautiful glamorous waved hair and they are calling them beach waves.  They are so not beach waves!  Hello magazine people, have you ever even been to a beach?  Have you ever seen a single person at the beach whose hair looked like this pic below?  Um, the answer to that is a big fat NO!  This picture is from the Who What Wear Beauty blog, which I love that blog, but I am shaking my head at this post this morning because this is so not beach hair.  Not even close!

Now these pictures, on the other hand, are perfect examples of beach hair.  Beach hair is not soft and shiny.  It's gritty and dirty and messy and tousled and imperfectly perfect.  The best way to get beach hair is to drive to your nearest beach, go for a swim, towel off and viola!  Perfect beach waves.  If you don't live close to a beach, then spray your dry (not freshly shampooed) hair with a either a beach spray product or make one yourself (check out my DIY below).  And that is it!  Ah, it's so simple really.  Forget the blow dryers and curling irons, that just defeats the purpose.

 How to make your own beach wave spray:
Fill a spray bottle with 8 oz of water
Add 1 to 2 tsp of sea salt (not table salt)
Add 1 tsp of either coconut oil or olive oil.  This helps moisturize your locks from the drying effects of the salt
You can also add some essential oils if you'd like to add some scent to your spray.
Shake the bottle, spritz all over, scrunch your hair and you are done!

Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss

OK all you lip gloss junkies, here are some new glosses to add to your collection!  Benefit just released 6 new lip glosses that match their famous blushes and bronzer.

I purchased the Bella Bamba, Coralista, Dandelion and Sugar Bomb.  Click here if you want to see my youtube review with swatches.

My top 2 favourites are....

Katy Perry Wide Awake Makeup

One of my Youtube subscribers suggested to me that I should do a Katy Perry makeup look.  And I just happen to love Katy's new video Wide Awake, so I though it sounded like a great idea!  

For my hair I just curled it with a curling iron, but I was wishing I had the same blue/purple hue that Katy has.  Of all her funky hair colours, I like this one the best.  For the hair accessories, I went to Michael's craft store and found some pretty butterflies which I hot glue gunned bobby pins to.  Believe me, it was very simple to do.

For my makeup, you can watch the video tutorial here.

Products used:

EYES

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

MAC Patina

MAC Shroom

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Corrupt & El Dorado

Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes mascara

MAC Brow pencil in Stud

Anastasia brow powder in Med Ash

MAC #36 lashes

FACE

MUFE HD Foundation

MAC MSFN in Medium

MAC Omega eyeshadow as contour

MAC Lovecloud blush

LIPS

MAC lip pencil in Subculture

MAC Creme Cup

Bobbi Brown Crystal lip gloss

Lancome Luxe Box Giveaway

Woohoo!!!!  I't giveaway time again!!!  Who doesn't love a giveaway?

And this is such a cool giveaway!  Loose Button and Lancome Canada have created a limited edition box with deluxe Lancome beauty samples, wait for it....hand picked by Youtube beauty guru Michelle Phan!!!  I know right, how cool is that?!

I've used a lot of exclamation points in this blog post...can you tell I'm a little bit excited? lol

Ok, enough with the chit chat, contest closes in less then 1 week, so so you'd better enter now.  Good luck ;)

(Open to Canadian residents)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Makeup Birthstone Series - June

Who knew that June has 3 birthstones to represent the month?  Well, maybe all the June babies do, but I had no idea.  Pearl, alexandrite, and light amethyst.  Nice to have some options I guess.  Since I could pick from the 3 stones, I decided to create a look based on the light amethyst, which is a pale purple.  Here is what I came up with:

If you would like to watch my youtube tutorial on this look please click here.

PRODUCTS USED:

Eyes:

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream eyeshadow in Malted

Urban Decay Ecstasy

MAC Girlie

MAC Malt

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Violet Ink

Dior Show New Look mascara

MAC Brow Pencil in Lingering

Velour Lashes in TdotOhh

Face:

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation & Mat Velvet +

MAC MSF Natural in Medium

MAC Peony Petal blush

Make Up For Ever lip pencil in 15C

Pink & Gold Modern Wedding

Over the winter, an amazing group of talented PEI business women, and myself, came up with the idea of doing a modern, pink and gold styled wedding shoot.  It took months in the planning and preparing, but just less then 2 weeks ago the planned shoot took place at the home of Kendra Mills located at the Y Loft condos in Charlottetown.  

Less then 24 hours after we submitted our shoot to Style Me Pretty, we heard back from them, and they loved our shoot and wanted to publish it!  eek!!!!  I can hardly contain my excitement!  Getting published on Style Me Pretty is a pretty big deal, especially since they get over 400 submissions a day!  

Click here to check out the full article on Style Me Pretty!

The radiant "bride" for our shoot is the lovely Chelsie McInnis.  She is such a natural beauty, and I wanted her makeup to look fresh and modern.  She has adorable freckles and amazing skin, so I kept her foundation sheer by using Kett Cosmetics airbrush foundation.  Her eye makeup was light and neutral, but I added some glamour with Velour false eyelashes in Tdotohh - and they look amazing on her!  Chelsie has great lips, so I new right away I wanted to do a bold pink lipstick on her.  I used OCC lip tar in Anime, which is a bold, almost neon pink colour. 

The talented group of business women who were involved in this shoot are:

Rachel Peters Photography - Rachel Peters

Modern Jane - Jane Gallant

Kim Roach Design - Kim Roach

City View Bakehouse - Jennifer Prinz

Cheryl Weeks Hairstylist - Cheryl Weeks

Michelle Cudmore Makeup Artist - Me :)

Love Charlie - Alisha Stephen

Kiss The Bride - Jennifer Clark

A huge thanks to the wedding vendors who also provided product for this shoot:

Dow's Menswear - tux and men's shoes

The Perfect Pear Bridal - wedding dress and shoes

Heart's and Flowers - flowers

Nortons Jewellers - rings

Newman Estate Winery - wine

And of course this could not have happened without our adorable couple Chelsie McInnis and Jared Murphy.  Thank you!!!

Now here are a few of my favourite shots from the day!

This is such a Carrie Bradshaw/Sex in the City shot!  Love it!!

Hey Sailor!

Oh boy, am I tempted by the images of MAC's latest collection Hey, Sailor.  I love all things nautical, and I think I'm more in love with MAC's posters for this collection then the actual makeup in the collection.  Although in reality, as my husband and I own a sailboat and cruise and race all summer, not a single person (myself included) ever, and I mean EVER, looks this good coming off a boat.  I can only wish my hair looks this perfect post sail!  

The collection will be available in stores by May 24th.  Will you be making any purchases from this collection?

Beauty Box Smack Down Luxe vs Glymm vs Topbox vs Glossy

One of the most commonly asked questions I get is, "Which beauty box is the best?".  Now I can answer that question with conviction.  If you'd like to watch my youtube "Beauty Box Smack Down" video, you can watch it here.

Here is a quick over view of each of the companies:

                       LUXE            GLYMM            TOP         GLOSSY

$/month         $12                  $10                  $10         $15

# samples     4-5                   4-5                    4               5

free

shipping        yes                   yes                   yes          yes

online

shopping      no                     yes*                 yes            no

engages w

the local

community** yes                  no                     yes            yes

hosts

giveaways

& contest      yes                   yes***               yes           yes

rewards        yes                   yes****              yes           yes

First in

Line               yes*****            no                      no             no

deals & 

coupons     yes                     yes                    yes            no

treats          used to              used to              no              no

* this actually woks against Glymm in my opinion b/c they feature some really awesome brands on their online shopping page, yet I never seem to receive any of the awesome brands in my box.

** features local Canadian beauty bloggers and vloggers on their website.  Allows comments on their Facebook page and communicates with their subscribers

***not done as frequently as the others

**** Redeeming your points through Glymm has not been easy in my experience.  

*****First in Line allows you to reserve one product in your upcoming box based on a selection of available products.

Here is what they say about themselves on their websites:

At LOOSE BUTTON, our mission is to help consumers discover, try and purchase quality beauty products through a quality shopping experience.  The samples range from skincare and makeup to fragrance, body, and haircare. Members also get exclusive access to beauty tips, contests, and promotions with our brand partners on a monthly basis.

Every month, your GLYMM BOX will contain 3-5 luxury samples that span over several beauty categories including cosmetics, fragrance, skincare, tools, spa and body, nails and lifestyle. Glymm works to ensure that samples are luxury and deluxe sized, meaning that they offer multiple uses so that you can really see the benefits of the product over a longer period of time. Also, each sample is hand-picked in accordance to your beauty profile. We filter through the cosmetic clutter to handpick and send you products that are hot, products that work and products that are worth the splurge so that you can put your best face forward and make your life more beautiful every day.

TOPBOX:  Our mission is to surprise and delight beautiful women (we're talking to you!) every month, with a box of the top hand-picked beauty samples.  In joining this exclusive ladies club, you are signing up for 4 generous helpings of premium delight each and every month.  We cherry-pick all kinds of beauty products to help you discover brands that pour their hearts, time, and research into their products. You'll find top prestige brands, designer brands, socially responsible brands, make-up artist brands, and up-and-coming niche brands.

GLOSSYBOX - Your individualized makeup box will be tailored to your beauty profile and will be filled with all sorts of cosmetic and beauty samples from your favourite brands. Only the best makeup is included. It doesn’t matter if you are searching for the perfect mascara, shampoo and conditioner, concealer, the premiere in hair care, a miracle working anti-aging cream or super-power sunscreen, you can count on GLOSSYBOX to source these beauty treasures. We make sure you get to try the most luxurious products on the market. This decadent and indulgent experience is packed with perfume samples, concealers, foundations, skin care products and more. All of these treats are tailored to what you want and need in cosmetics and beauty, and then you get to experience them in the comfort of your own home! Stay up to date with current trends and discover new niche brands.

REWARDS SYSTEMS:

Loose Buttons -  For every 3 friends who sign up through your referral link, you'll receive one free Luxe Box

Glymm - Glymm Points that you can use at their online shop, earned through referrals, purchases on site, and when you review the products in your box. 

TopBox -  10 topbox points when you complete the feedback sheet, when you get 1000 points you get a free Topbox

Glossybox - For every product you review and for every friend that subscribes based on your recommendation, you can now earn GLOSSYDots. Once you have collected 1000 GLOSSYDots, we will send you your GLOSSYBOX for that month completely free!

HOW I RATED EACH BEAUTY BOX

I went through every box I received from each company, and each product in a given box could score up to 3 points.  One point given if it was a luxury product, another point given if it was a quality product (something I would go out and purchase with my own money) and another point given if it was a multi use sample size.  Then I added up all the box scores for the given company and got an average score.  Here is how they did:

             LUXE       GLYMM       TOP     GLOSSY

APR  5/12

MAR    11/12 8/12            15/15      11/15

FEB  12/12  N/A  11/12  13/15

JAN     14/18          10/15

DEC  16/18  9/12

NOV  12/15  10/15  12/12

OCT  12/12  12/12

SEP  12/12  8/12

AUG  7/12

JUL  8/12

overall

%           85%  69%  97%  80%

Final Thoughts:

I really tried to be as fair as possible to all the companies.  It is somewhat of an individual review/comparison because each box that I received can be quite different then what someone else receives.  And we all have different tastes when it comes to beauty products.  This is based on my experience, with the products that I received.  Someone else could have a very different opinion on their own individual experience.

But I have to say, that so far Topbox has been the best out of all the beauty boxes.  I do highly recommend them.  I hope they keep up with the same quality of products that I have seen in the past.  Glymm came out with the lowest overall score.  But as you can see, it was their inconsistency in the products they put in their boxes that gave them such a low score.  I feel like out of all the boxes Glymm needs to figure out what/who their market is.  Maybe they should be the only green beauty box out on the market, or maybe they could be the box that provides the small "indie" beauty brands type of box.  I feel like Glymm just isn't sure what kind of box it should be and that results in disappointed/unhappy subscribers.

And for only receiving 2 Glossy boxes to date, I am still really impressed with Glossy box.  They have provided 2 really good boxes with lots of full size products.  They are certainly another beauty box worth the subscription!

The Cutest Wedding Tech Accessories

If you're getting married and need an iphone case, then look no further!  Check out these adorable wedding themed cases!!!  I love them :)  You can order them on the website ideele .

 And if you aren't getting married, they have lots of other options available too.  I'm thinking about getting this gold, blinged out case ;)

Happy Shopping!