NOTW - Nails of the Week

Hey everyone! So I've gotten back into the swing of painting my nails. Here's what I did this week for a quick mani for at the office. Just switched things up by painting my ring finger a different color.

Here are the products I used:
Essie - All in One Base
Essie - Chinchilly
OPI - Feelin' Hot-Hot-Hot!
Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat

Blonde to Brunette

Hey everyone! After purchasing a coupon from a site called Groupon for a hair cut I decided to dye my hair at the same time since they were having a special. I ended up choosing a semi-permanent color called chestnut; a cool brown/maroon with violet undertones.

I have to say I was hesitant at first because even though my hair has slowly been transitioning naturally from blond to brunette, I wasn't too sure how dark to go without it looking to harsh on me. With a little input from the stylist we ended up choosing the chestnut color and I have to say it was a great choice! It looks natural, I've already received plenty of compliments for the color and it just looks awesome on me haha!

Anyways, here's my new hair color!

This is what my hair looked like before!

Hair Tutorial

Hey everyone! So I helped my cousin film another tutorial for an assignment she's doing for school. The last one was a makeup tutorial and this one turned out to be a hair tutorial showing how to go from curly hair to straight hair. I was the model seeing how my hair is an unruly mess of curls 99% of the time! Choice candidate if I do say so myself!

Here's what we came up with. Let me know what you think!

Products used:
Chi straightener
Pantene Pro-v - Curly hair style heat protection & shine spray
Hair brush
Hair clips

Bloglovin

Hey everyone, so I recently discovered Bloglovin and it's a pretty interesting way to keep up to date with several blogs that you're following. Are you on it? How do you like it?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

December Favorites

Hey everyone! So I decided to make a post about what products I've been favoring so far this month. For my hair it's been a little dry and I've been curious to try the morroccan oil products. While shopping at Pharmaprix, a friend of mine pointed out the Moroccan Argan Oil saying that she really liked the difference it made with her hair. Curious about it I picked it up. And lucky for me it was on sale too! I think it was on sale for $7.99 instead of $9.99. The packaging wasn't that much of a seller for me, neither was how the product is dispensed. If you tip it over too much it will just poor out, same thing happens if you squeeze a little too hard on the bottle. Those defaults aside, I really love the smell of this product...and what it does to my hair too! I've taken to applying just this to my hair after a shower. No more mousse, hair gel, defrizzing products...nothing else! And it's amazing the difference it makes. My hair is a lot softer in texture where before it was dry and coarse and it's a really noticeable difference in the no frizz department. Also....I'm loving the healthy shiny my hair is deciding to sport. I feel like my hair FINALLY looks like those shown in the commercials. Nicely placed hair that's all shiny and soft looking. I've never had that before and now I do! And it's awesome!

Anyways...enough about my hair and it's new found awesomeness. Another item I'm liking at the moment (which I forgot I even bought a few months back when it was on liquidation at the Duty Free when we were on a trip to the States) is this Clinique Pore Minimizing Serum. I was skeptical about it because for something to help reduce the size of my pores on my nose and make the blackheads less noticeable...tough feat! And I wasn't about to put my hopes in one little tube. Well low and behold, after a few days of using the serum as directed (Twice a day after using the 3 step skin care routine - Face wash, toner and moisturizer) I've noticed that my pores are smaller and that my blackheads seem less apparent. I'm constantly doing masks and scrubs to reduce my black heads but my nose likes to be stubborn. Using the serum seems to be working and we'll see if the results change in the new few weeks. On a side note...my nose has never felt softer haha. Usually in the winter my nose and cheeks are dry but I guess the extra steps in my skin care routine are making a difference! I'm not sure how much the serum runs for but I think I picked it up for something like $9.00. Which seemed cheap at the time for a Clinique product...liquidated price or not!

Glymm - December Box

Hey everyone! So I recently subscribed to glymm.com to receive their monthly boxes and I just got my first box in the mail the other day.

For those that are new to Glymm or any other services just like them, what they do is send out boxes with deluxe (and sometimes full sized) products for a low monthly fee. The products change from month to month and you can get anything from perfumes to lip glosses and even nail polishes.

Glymm is a monthly fee of 10$ but what I liked about them over Luxe box which my sister is currently subscribed to is that the products are more beauty related, you can buy the products found in your box on their website and you can collect points. With every purchase made or friend referral you gain points that can then be put towards purchases. Just for subscribing for a year's worth of boxes (12 boxes, one for each month) I received 100 points which is redeemable for 10$. Interested in getting your own Glymm box? Then check our their website here.

When I got my Glymm box in the mail my first impression was wow because of the pink shipping box. It's the same shade as the box inside containing the products! And it's such a cute baby pink! Inside, everything was nicely wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a ribbon and the products were cozily resting on a blanket of paper shreds (That look like they've been crinkled).

The deluxe samples included in the December box were a Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream, Ahava Mineral Hand Cream, Yves Saint Laurent La Parisienne perfume, Sula Beauty natural lip gloss, Lise Watier flash lift radiance vial and a special 10$ gift card from Glymm.

Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream
The Caudalie eye cream is an anti-aging product that's supposed to help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles, dark circles and puffiness. I have yet to try it, but I've heard nothing but rave reviews about Caudalie products (My sister loved one of their lip balms...the product was pricey but the quality was amazing!)

Ahava Mineral Hand Cream
The mineral hand cream has become my new favorite hand cream of all times! First off...the floral scent is amazing and as creepy as it sounds I can't stop smelling my hands after applying it! I'm not one to usually go for floral products but this one I can't stop sniffing. It's not too over powering but it's still bam in your face! What's unique about it is that it's made with nourishing Dead Sea minerals. When applied it leaves an almost velvety smoothness to your hands and I can't get over the texture either...it's turning out to be an amazing find for this winter weather! Dry hands be gone!

Yves Saint Laurent La Parisienne
I'm not too crazy about the Yves Saint Laurent perfume. It's a nice scent but it's just not for me. It smells more like something I would associate with my mother or even my grandmother. I don't want to out right say an old ladyish smell...well I guess I just did...but then it smells pretty good too. I prefer my Chanel one! On a side note the packaging is really cute! Though I thought it was stupid how the cap comes off. It needs a bit of force to take the top off but if you do it on an angle or too much...you end up spilling the perfume. And that's not something I want to go all over the place!

Sula Beauty Lip Gloss
The Sula Beauty lip gloss comes in a really cute pink shade. I was thrown a bit by the scent of it when I first opened it. It wasn't all that pleasant, it smells like plastic and those really sweet strawberry candies (the hard ones wrapped in the red and green wrapper made to look like a real strawberry). The gloss itself applies nicely, isn't too sticky of a formula and the color is pretty cute, if not a bit too sheer for my liking. Though that might just be me being biased comparing it to my Stila lip glazes... This product was sent as the full sized version which is pretty cool. Receiving full sized products is always a nice little treat!

Lise Watier Flash Lift Radiance Vial
I think the Lise Watier flash lift radiance vial was a thrown in sample since it wasn't included on the little card that's provided in the Glymm box describing each product. It seems to be another anti-aging product...which I'm not sure if I should take offense that I received it or not. I'm not currently using any anti-aging products nor am I even looking into using any in the near future. I think I'll use my mother as a guinea pig and see if she liked the product. Maybe even give her the Caudalie sample as well...hmmm...stock stuffers perhaps?

Top 5 Stocking Stuffers

Looking for that perfect gift for a friend or a family member for Christmas this year and not too sure what to get them? Well look no further! Here's my top 5 list of stocking stuffers for this upcoming holiday!

1. Sephora by OPI Glimmer Wonderland Eighteen Piece Mini Nail Colour Set ($48 at Sephora)

This set is perfect for any girl who likes to paint her nails. There's so many colors this gift is sure to please! Not only is the packaging super adorable, but you get alot of cute nail polishes in a wide variety of colors. From neutrals to pastels and hot colors...this set is amazing!

This set contains 18 x 0.12 oz Nail Colours in:

• Dear Diary
• How Cute Is That?
• Natural Environ-mint
• It's Hippo To Be Square
• Access 24/7
• Ms. Can't Be Wrong
• Don't Feed The Hand Models
• Metro Chic
• Already Famous
• I'm With Brad
• Sample Sale
• Fiercely Fabulous
• Break A Leg-Warmer
• Bring On The Snowflakes
• Mermaid To Order
• I Don't Bite
• Eve-y On The Eyes
• Just A Little Dangerous 

2. Limited Edition Hello Kitty Noir Eyeshadow and Lip Gloss Palette ($34 at Sephora)

Okay so who doesn't love Hello Kitty? Pfft no one! And who doesn't like a really adorable makeup palette with a wide variety of shadows and lip glosses to play with? Mmhmm..that's what I thought!
This limited edition paletted is on sale now at Sephora. It's worth about $180 and is usually marked at $49 but is currently listed on sale for $34. Who doesn't love a good sale?!

This palette contains:

• 25 x 0.03 oz Eyeshadows
• 10 x 0.02 oz Lip Glosses
• Double ended makeup brush (5" long)
• Collectible Hello Kitty tin (9 x 7.5")

3. Sephora Favorites - Sephora Best Sellers Collection ($75 at Sephora)
Okay so this gift is a little bit on the pricey side, but if you're shopping for someone who will like high end brands names better than drug store brand names....then this is the gift set for them!

Everything together, this collection is valued at over $181! Crazy right! But you get the amazing Nars Illuminator in Orgasm (I have the blush version too...and it's an amazing color for a really nice flush!), Buxom's Lash Mascara which is one of my top favorite mascaras, a Stila Smudgestick (They stay on all day and are waterproof...and the pigmentation...oh god so wow!) and even an Urban Decay Primer Potion which is godly to help make your shadows stay on longer and not crease!

This set contains:

- 0.5 oz Philosophy Hope In A Jar

- 0.05 oz Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin (light shimmering champagne)

- 0.13 oz Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original (sheer nude)

- 0.5 oz Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

- 0.14 oz Sephora Collection Lipstick in The Red 04 (classic bright red)

- 1 oz Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 in Nude (light beige/ for fair to light skin tones)

- 1.1 oz Nars Illuminator in Orgasm (peachy pink with shimmer)

- 0.37 oz Buxom Lash Mascara in Blackest Black

- 0.01 oz Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in black

- 0.24 oz Marc Jacobs Daisy Rollerball

4. Lorac Bejeweled Day & Night Jewelry Box ($56 at Sephora)

I love Lorac eyeshadows for many reasons. But their quality and pigmentation are two of the best reasons why I do love them!

This palette comes in an embellished jewelry box that features two beautiful, high-shine lip glosses, a radiant bronzing powder, two eyeliners in brown and black, and two versatile eye shadow palettes for both day and night. There's alot of variety in the hues of colors to choose from and you basically have everything you'll need in one cute box to accomplish any look you're trying for! This gift is not only cute to receive but it'd make for a great accessory on anyone's dresser!

This set contains:

• 2 x 0.02 Eye Liner Pencils in dark brown and black
• 2 x 0.23 oz High-shine Lip Gloss in Rose and Peach
• 0.53 Bronzer in Bronze
• Face Palette for Day: 16 x 0.38 oz Eye Shadows plus Blush
• Face Palette for Night: 16 x 0.38 oz Eye Shadows plus Blush

5. Sephora Favorites - Lashstash Collection ($45 at Sephora)
Have a friend or family member that's picky about what goes on their face? Well I do! My sister is crazy when it comes to mascaras. She's tried so many different products that I've lost count. She wants one that holds a curl, comes in a certain color, has a certain brush etc. But while looking for that, she's not sure what she wants. Well problem solved thanks to Sephora! Now you can buy a collection box for those tricky and picky people!

Valued at over $133 this collection is great for someone who wants to try new products without having to buy a full sized version of each one!

This set contains:

• 1 oz Clinique Take The Day Off
• 0.17 oz FAIRYDROPS Scandal Queen Mascara in black
• 0.16 oz Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara in black
• 0.16 oz Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara in black
• 0.18 oz Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara in black
• 0.1 oz MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Lash in black
• 0.11 oz Josie Maran GOGO Instant Natural Volume Argan Mascara in black
• 0.16 oz Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Flawless Definition Volumizing Mascara in black
• 0.13 oz Too Faced LashGasm in black
• 0.24 oz Stila Full-Size Forever Your Curl Mascara in black
• 0.23 oz Sephora Collection Full-Size Advanced Lash Booster in black

Happy holidays to all and if you do shop for any of these at Sephora, here's to adding more points to your card while getting amazing gifts for those you love!