Batting a Lash

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June 16, 2013

Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil Swatches

I adore Essences liners, I really do! In fact I have six of their Long Lasting Eye Pencils. They are incredibly smooth and retractible.

Top to bottom: 01 black fever, 12 have a green, 16 coolest chic, 02 hot chocolate, 15 bling bling and 05 c'est la via.!

left to right: 01 black fever 12 have a green, 16 coolest chic, 02 hot chocolate, 15 bling bling and 05 c'est la via!.

Overall these are some amazing pencils, I find them pretty darn creamy, the metallic ones go on really smooth. The colour options are great too. The retail for $2.49 which means they are a steal.

These maybe are the most reached for liners in my collection.

June 15, 2013

Avon Glow 2-in-1 Eye Pencil Swatches

I recently got two of the new Avon Glow 2-in-1 Eye Pencils. I now have Beach Beauty and Coral Crush.

Coral Crush on the top and Beach Beauty on the bottom

I got Coral Crush about 2 months ago and just got Beach Beauty last week. Coral Crush has a pinky coral shade (similar to Mac's Expensive Pink Shadow) and a bronze shade on the other end. Beach Beauty has a minty light green on one end a light pink shimmer on the other side.

Beach beauty on top (top two swatches) and Coral Crush on the bottom (lower two swatches).

I was expecting a darker green with the Beach Beauty, but I am actually really liking the minty shade. All the shadows are incredibly smooth. I love to use them a base for my eyeshadows.

June 12, 2013

SITAMAA Spa in Toronto - Brow Experience

Once upon a time there was a teenaged girl who had unruly brows, she plucked them and plucked them until one day several years later she started to get them waxed a spas. Years passed again and one day she was no longer happy with her now thin brows and she decided to stop going to the spas and let her brows grow in. Today her brows are grown in nicely and it took a long time, but she had no clue how to shape them or what shade they should be with her brightly coloured red hair. What was she to do? SITAMAA Spa came to the rescue!

Ok so as you might have been able to figure out that girl was me and to further elaborate on my history of brow here goes. I had thick thick brows and I am fairly sure I would resemble the Frieda Kahlo if I never started to pluck at such and early age. Sadly I now have bare spots and the inability to grow in thick brows without waiting an extremely long period of time.

If this wasn't bad enough, I've had some bad experiences where I've ended up with comma eyebrows or just plain thin thin brows.

So I haven't been to a spa in ages. My dear friend Meredith (from Et Tu and You ) told me she loves SITMAA and told me to give them a try.

I am so glad I did!!

SITAMAA has a very lengthy process to doing eyebrows, which is 100% worth it. They call it SITAMAA Exclusive Brow and Eye Treatment.

A consult reassured me that I was getting what was best for me and my brows. We talked about what I wanted done, the look I was going for, what works with my face shape and current brows. We also discussed what I was currently doing (she got it spot on by the way, I pluck the left first and go a little nuts and then too tired for my right side to do much of anything).

Another part of the consult was what was going to be done and what I felt comfortable with.

At SITAMAA they use threading, but I having had a bad experience with threading preferred wax. So we made a great compromise, waxing followed by threading to get the details and any stray hairs.

Then an Aveda eye treatment would be performed while my brows were tinted to just the right shade. Since my hair is extremely vibrant right now we decided that a darker almost (but not quite) black shade would be best to bring out the contrast in my hair and keep my face from being washed out.

The tinting also helps lighter hairs that might not be seen pop out more and complete the look. I really thought I had bare patches, but really the hairs were just blond...no more patches.

The end result were brows that were expertly shaped for my face and I didn't have to fill in my brows for a month and a half while my eyes felt refreshed and rejuvenated from the treatment.

See how perfect my brows are? I love them.

SITAMAA Day Spa can be found in the Manulife Centre in Toronto (55 Bloor St West).
They can also be found on Their Website, Twitter and Facebook.

June 10, 2013

Weekend Hauling

I partook in some retail therapy this weekend. I ended up getting quite a bit of stuff.

First off was David's Tea. Now I've got a whole cabinet filled with tea, why I wanted more is beyond me (the hubby has threatened me and I am now on a tea shopping ban).

I finally got a tea infuser, these babies are amazing for people who just want a cup of tea. Right now at David's tea if you buy a steeper you get a card that gives you 15% off purchases of 100g or more all summer long.

I wanted the Mango Fruit Punch tea but they were completely out of it, so I got 100g of the Goji Pop tea. I am not sad I got it at all, it really packs a punch and I like that a lot.

Next up was Bath and Body Works, It seems my boycott is over since I feel in love with two of these scents. I am going away this week and thought of not having a nice spray to bring with was killing me. I picked up travel body sprays of Capri Seaside Citrus (I've got a full size already), Rome Honeysuckle Amore, and Beautiful day. I also got a mini Beautiful day perfume spray. I really love the Capri and Beautiful day scents. I don't know what it is but I cannot get enough of them and the both actually mix well together.

I then went to Bulk Barn and got some more tea (I have a problem here). I love David's Tea's Mamma Mia and Starbucks Passion tea but they cost so much and just taste predominately of Hibiscus that I've decided to take some cost cutting measures. I got 3 Crown Rose-hip and Hibiscus Flowers tea before and I am in love. It is so tart and cranberry like I cannot get enough. 20 bags only cost $1.29 at my Bulk Barn so I grabbed 2 and thought I would also give the Fruit Mix a try. I cannot stress enough, if hibiscus is what you are after give this tea a try.

Finally I went to Forever 21 I saw this nail set and had to get it. I am fairly sure I am going to give it away, but I still think it is really neat.

I also went to Old Navy and Costa Blanca, to see what I got there please watch my video below.

June 03, 2013

Hair Care Oils That Won't Break The Bank

Finding the right hair oil for you can be quite the challenge. I've gathered a few that I adore and while I'm at it, they don't cost a whole lot.

1. L'oreal EverSleek Precious Oil Treatment:

EverSleek Precious Oil Treatment with Argan Oil from Morocco is infused with argan oil, sunflower oil and olive oil to heal, banish frizz and protect. This cocktail of natural oils instantly penetrates hair to condition and seal in smoothness. Hair is left sleek and shiny, without feeling weighed down or coated. -lorealparisusa.com

Promising to not just coat your hair, but to infuse it and over time reduce frizz and increase shine, this new oil is fantastic. The argan oil softens and adds shine, the sunflower oil smoothes and the olive oil penetrates and conditions. I've already become quite the fan. It smells lovely and seems to work the magic it describes. Best of all, it wont break the bank. Retails for $14.99

2. The Body Shop Beautifying Oils:

LOOK GREAT, FEEL GOOD WITH OUR BEAUTIFYING OILS. USE ON BODY, HAIR AND FACE. OUR BEAUTIFYING OILS PROVIDE AN INSTANT MOISTURE AND GORGEOUS SHINE FROM HEAD TO TOE. - thebodyshop.ca

These babies smell amazing. I love to use them on my skin but they are amazing for your hair too. The Body Shop suggests using it before washing your hair as a mask or into damp hair after being washed to tame it and add shine. Either way your hair is going to look and smell amazing. Regular price $14.00.

3. Marc Anthony Oil Of Morocco - Argan Oil Treatment

Daily, lightweight oil for strong, glossy, frizz-free hair. Whether your hair is curly, straight, thick or thin, this Argan Oil Treatment will become a daily staple in your beauty regimen. No matter what your style, your hair will always look its best when it is strong, healthy looking and shiny. -marcanthony.com

They recommend using a few pumps on damp hair and if your hair is really dry putting some in your hair every night. Personally I use it every night before bed. This is my just 'shy of being a serum' oil, so I often mix it with a pump of serum if I am putting it on wet hair. Usually sold for $10.99.

L'oreal Paris Precious Oils Nutri-Sleek

The 1st universal treatment for your hair enriched with a rare blend of 6 precious flower oils. It can be used before shampoo as a mask, before styling or as an extraordinary finishing touch. It nourishes and protects hair, brilliantly shines and amazingly softens. Overall, sublime smoothing care for sumptuous hair with a silky finish. - lorealparis.ca

If you love a good thin hair oil, this is for you. I mean thin, because the constancy of it and the Colour Radiance oils are definitely lighter then the traditional oils, but I love that, and I bet you will too. They don't grease up your hair, they leave it light and the oils get absorbed quickly, which is nice too. Retails for $9.99.

L'oreal Paris Precious Oils Colour Radiance

The 1st universal treatment for your hair enriched with a rare blend of 6 precious flower oils. It can be used before shampoo as a mask, before styling or as an extraordinary finishing touch. It nourishes hair and protects colour, brilliantly shines and amazingly softens. Overall, sublime colour care for a luminous finish. -lorealparis.ca

This oil I reviewed a while back, and 8 months after I started using it, I am just about done my first bottle. There is so much in here I just end up using it all the time. I love loading my hair up with it before washing (like a mask). As well when my hair feels really damaged it is great to just apply several times in the day. As I said in my previous review, I threw out my Moroccan oil because I loved this so much more. Retails for $9.99.

Here is one oil I hated!!!

Live Clean Exotic Nectar Argan Oil

Exotic Nectar Oil Treatment is a light-weight treatment that restores natural shine and lustre making hair silky and shiny without feeling greasy. - live-clean.com

ICK! That is all I have to say about this product. When I first started to use hair oils I thought I would try this one out, it was pretty cheap and I knew where to buy it. It was like a watery gel, nothing oily about it. It just made my hair feel sticky and icky. ...eww. Just thinking of it makes me mad. I did not like this one at all.

May 31, 2013

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Mask Giveaway

FarleyCo has given me a great opportunity to hold a giveaway! I am giving away three of the new Montagne Jeunesse Clay Face Masks and a headband to one lucky reader.
Enter below, and if you haven't yet, please check out my recent post about these amazing new products here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

May 27, 2013

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Face Masks

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to attend an event for the launch of Montagne Jeunesse's latest line of face masks, Clay Spa Masks. The event was hosted by their lovely distributor here in Canada, Farley Co at the Vault at 1 King West.

The Vault!

I got to learn about all the products Farley Co distributes here and about the new line of products Montagne Jeunesse is launching.

A typical Montagne Jeunesse display

Styli-Style products

EcoTools

Inecto Pure Coconut Cleansing Facial Wipes

the legendary Batiste dry shampoo

Now on to the new products...

These masks combine the classic Clay mask concept with the modern Bamboo sheet mask concept. Making them extremely efficient, quick at what they do with very little mess.

Glacial Clay with cloudberries, red grape and glacial clay, this mask delivers anti-oxidants that soothe the skin and provide free radical defence while cooling, rehydrating and cleaning pores deep down. This is the Sensational Skin Clean Mask.

Dead Sea Clay Spa with seaweed, kelp and Dead Sea salt and mud it is packed with vitamins and minerals to keep skin nourished and moisturized while regenerating skin cells and helping with anti-aging. The Dead Sea's salt rich mud helps heal and draw out impurities while cleaning out blocked pores. This is the Extraordinary Cleansing Experience Mask.

Red Earth Clay Spa with pomegranate, cinnamon and mediterranean clay this mask helps heal and protect skin with an anti-oxidant rich formula that has anti-bacterial properties. The mediterranean clay helps detox the skin by getting deep down and drawing out excess oil and impurities. This is the Unbelievable Deep Cleanse Mask.

These masks are in stores now and retail for $2.49 each.

Additional great facts about ALL Montagne Jeunesse products: