Category: brands

Thursday Favourites: January 30th

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Hey y’all!

So first off, my apologies for having this post ready for you all a day late — I’m still recovering a little from my bout of the flu, and I’ve had a lot of schoolwork assigned this week so unfortunately that took priority. But it’s all good now — and better late than never, right?

Today, I wanted to share with you all another product I was introduced to through FabFitFun and absolutely fell in love with — the Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair. As many of you know, caring for my hair has been a huge struggle for me over the last few years. Back in 2015, I decided to go blonde, and while I don’t regret it one bit it definitely made looking after my hair and avoiding damage a huge challenge. Even now, while I’ve returned to my natural brunette colour, I still have residual damage from my dyed-over bleached ends.

Over the years, I tested out so many products to prevent damage to my hair I almost feel like I’m a bit of an expert now. I tried more masks, sprays, creams and conditioners than I can even count. There was definitely a bit of a learning curve involved — discovering there was more products out there than 10-minute hair masks, noticing how some products worked much better than more for others — and most importantly, realizing that leave-in products should NOT be leaving my hair feeling sticky, heavy, and gross.

For a while, I avoided leave-in products for this very reason. It honestly seemed like most of them were more likely to leave residue behind in my hair than actually fix any problems. To be completely honest — I’m not even sure I would have ever tried a product like this one if FabFitFun hadn’t introduced me to it (but I’m so, so glad they did!).

What really makes this product work is how light it is. It’s not really a cream, or even a gel — its a consistency I’ve never come across before. It’s uber-lightweight and almost seems as though the base is made of water — so as soon as you smooth it over your damp strands, it blends right in.

Honestly, I was blown away by the results the first time I ever used this product — it left my hair so unbelievably smooth and soft. I hadn’t had my hair look so shiny and healthy in YEARS. With time, I’ve only grown more sold on it, too. While I received this product in a Fall 2019 FabFitFun box, to this day I had yet to have this product leave my hair feeling greasy, sticky, or negatively effected in any way. There’s been a couple of occasions where I’ve poured some out before blow drying and thought to myself “whoa, that is DEFINITELY too much product”, and yet I still haven’t had any classic leave-in products results. While so many other leave-in products in the past may have helped with the downside of leaving my hair covered in residue or just otherwise feeling a little nasty — this product has all of the benefits, and so far no downsides.

Does this sound like the hair product you’ve been dying to try? Check it out on Aveda’s website here!

Happy last day of January, everyone! I hope you all had a great month and managed to achieve your goals. I’m personally beyond excited for February — I have a lot of big plans that I can’t wait to put into action! What are your February goals? Drop a comment below and let me know!

Xo,

Meredith

Sephora Haul: January Edition!

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Hey y’all!

Sooooo, I know I promised a post on my Lash Lift this week, but unfortunately on Tuesday I came down with a terrible case of the flu and I’m still recovering. I really wanted to ensure that I had bomb before and after pics for you guys — and since I’m due for a new lift, it seemed apt to post after I got them done again. So be sure to stay tuned for that post, which I’ll be sharing on Sunday the 9th instead! As well, apologies for posting this post late as well — this flu has really taken a toll on me and I haven’t had much energy to put towards anything at all this week.

However, just the other week I went to Sephora with my friend Erin and did a little haul — and I’ve decided to share with you guys! I’m really excited about all the products I got as almost all of them are new for me — and most of them I’ve been dying to try out for a while. So, without further ado, here’s a look at what I got!

New Nude Eyeshadow Palette by Huda Beauty

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, I don’t even have to tell you how much I love Huda Beauty’s eyeshadow palettes. I already own a number of her Obsessions palettes and many of them are some of my all-time favourites when it comes to eyeshadow. I’ve had my eye on this palette for a while — it just looks perfect for something that could be used to create everything from an everyday look to something much more dramatic. I’ve only gotten to test it out once, but it’s safe to say I’m already in love — these shadows live up to the Obsessions quality and blend seamlessly to create an elegant, stunning look. (Plus, it even comes with its own mini concealer for eyeshadow use!).

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

Carli Bybel Palette by Anastasia Beverly Hills

I’ve really been dying to expand my eyeshadow collection lately — I’ve been using many of the same palettes for years now and it’s just about getting to be time to replace them. Eye makeup used to be my favourite aspect of doing my makeup, and certainly my forte when it came to skill — but in the last few years, I’ve kind of dropped the ball on practicing and my skills have taken a hit because of it. This palette, hopefully, will help me get back into the game. I’ve been dying to try more ABH palettes ever since I received the Modern Renaissance palette as a gift a while back. While I still have a few more I’m dying to try (helloooo, Norvina and Soft Glam palette!) this palette is enough to satisfy my ABH palette obsession for the time being.

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

Watermelon Glow Mask by Glow Recipe

As some of you may remember, I listed Glow Recipe as one of the brands I wanted to try in 2020 — and just a few weeks in, I’ve already had my chance!

I’ve been seeing this mask EVERYWHERE for what seems like months now — seriously, it feels like it’s being featured somewhere new everyday. I’ve only used it once so far, but I can confirm there’s a reason for it — this mask is MAGIC. I opted to use it as a wash off mask for my first use since my skin tends to air a little on the sensitive side, but after just ten minutes of wear my skin felt brand new. This mask gently resurfaced my skin, and left it feeling soft, glowy and fresh. SPOILER ALERT — I’m saving all the details since I’ll totally be doing a Thursday Favourites post on this mask sometime soon.

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask by Glow Recipe

Surprise, surprise — another Glow Recipe product (I couldn’t resist!). While I haven’t gotten the chance to try this product out yet (I’m still finishing up my last eye cream) I do have a lot of hope for this one. I’ve yet to find the perfect eye cream that tackles all my concerns — which is difficult, considering my under-eye area is one of my biggest insecurities. However, this retinol cream promises to de-puff AND alleviate dark circles, unlike many other creams that only promise one or the other. While it does kinda sound too good to be true, after the results from Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Mask, I definitely have my hopes up!

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

Coco Rose Coconut Oil Body Polish by Herbivore Botanicals

Okay, so y’all already know that the Herbivore Crushed Amethyst Body Polish has been my absolute go-to for months now — I’ve featured it in countless posts, and I do promise it’ll be getting a Thursday Favourites post of it’s own very soon. So, when I arrived at Sephora and found they were out of stock, I was a little crushed (no pun intended) — until I decided to give this product a go. I think it’ll be interesting to run a direct comparison on these products so I can share their similarities and differences with you all! While it would be a hard sell to get me to switch permanently from the Amethyst Body Polish — who knows? My sister uses this scrub, and she absolutely loves it.

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

Beauty Elixir by Caudalie

Ah, a classic. I could go into depth with everything I love about this product, what makes it so convenient and easy, all the benefits it packs for your pores, and why it’s been a staple in my skincare line up for years now — or I could just direct you to my post from last week where I did exactly that. Seriously though, give it a read — this stuff is the bomb.

Look like something you’d love? Be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

And that’s it for my little haul! I’m so excited to give all of these products a go — so many of them are new to my collection and items I’ve been dying to get my hands on for so long. If you’ve tried and loved (or maybe didn’t!) any of these products, or have been wanting to give them a go for yourself, drop a comment below! I love hearing your feedback — it really means a lot to me when you all take the time to read and comment on my posts, plus I always learn so much from what you guys have to say!

And that’s all for this week! Happy Sunday, y’all — the last week of January is coming up, so let’s make it count! Have you reached your January goals, or do you still have a ways to go? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t fret — I definitely didn’t quite get there this month — but we’re only still 1/12th of the way through the year, and we still have plenty of time to make up for it!

Xo,

Meredith

Thursday Favourites: January 23rd

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DryBar Prep Rally Spray

Hey guys!

This Thursday I’m going to be covering a product that is still relatively new to me — which only speaks to how quickly I’ve fallen in love with it. While I only received the Dry Bar Prep Rally Spray in my Winter FabFitFun box only two months ago, I already know that I’m going to be repurchasing this product as soon as I use it up.

Before receiving this product in my box, I’d been searching for a long (like, seriously long) time for a good, go-to heat protectant spray. For the longest time my go-to was the Pureology Colour Fanatic Beautifier Spray — my hairdresser sold it to me, and I really didn’t know enough about hair products to know if I even liked it or not. While it certainly was a good product — in retrospect it became heavy and sticky quickly just by spraying in the tiniest bit too much. However, upon switching to a Vancouver hairdresser Pureology became increasingly harder to find (a huge struggle, since it literally used to be the only brand I used on my hair). Ever since then, I’ve just been switching around from one heat protectant to the next, never really settling on something long term.

I was just finishing up a sample bottle of Bumble&Bumble’s Thickening Spray (which was actually pretty good) when I received this bottle. And while the Bumble&Bumble spray was good — this one was better. I believe the hallmark of a good heat protectant is that once your hair is all dried and styled, it should be as if you never sprayed any in at all. There shouldn’t be any stiffness, greasiness, heaviness or stickiness to your hair — but there also shouldn’t be any heat damage whatsoever. Dry Bar’s Prep Rally spray, so far, has met all of these requirements.

Not only does this spray smell fantastic, it’s nice and light too — once you’ve dried your hair, there’s no evidence or feeling you ever sprayed it in to begin with. Really, the only evidence I’ve been using it at all is that my hair remains undamaged since I’ve started using it. While I’ve used products in the past as heat protectants that I felt didn’t leave behind much of a residue — this one really seems as though nothing remains behind at all. My hair just feels like smooth, shiny, soft and healthy hair — as if it were au natural.

Does this sound like the heat protectant you’ve been needing in your life? Be sure to check out DryBar’s Prep Rally Prime & Prep Detangler at Sephora here!

I hope you’re all having an amazing week — we’re just about one week out from the end of January, so be sure to hustle towards achieving all of your monthly goals! Personally, I’m having a bit of a rough week — I came down with the flu on Tuesday and it’s really been taking a toll on me. If you guys have any tried-and-true flu remedies, I’d love to hear them! Drop a comment and let me know what makes you feel better quickly when you’re sick. I have a long week ahead of me — especially considering that I’ve had to take two days to recover already — so I have a lot of catching up to do, on top of next weeks tasks. Wish me luck!

Xo,

Meredith

Thursday Favourites: January 9th

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Ouai’s Treatment Masque

Hey y’all! Happy Thursday!

Growing up, I honestly never paid much attention to my own hair. I never straightened or curled it, I didn’t choose shampoos based on my hairs needs, and with exception of a brief period in time where I regularly used moroccan oil, I really didn’t add any other products to my hair.

However, as time went on, I began to experiment one product in my hair regularly: hair dye. During high school and my early years in university, all I wanted to do was dye my hair all kinds of colours. My mom wasn’t much of a fan, so I wasn’t allowed to go to crazy — I was mostly limited to colourful streaks (I usually went for purple or red). However, university rolled around and with my newfound freedom came that classic eighteen year old need to do something a little crazy. However, I still to this day haven’t been able to commit to a single tattoo idea (even though I really do want one) and the concept of box dye scared me, so, I went to Lush and bought some henna. (As I’ve discussed before, DO NOT BUY THIS WITHOUT DOING RESEARCH FIRST. You can’t dye your hair again until all the henna dyed hair has grown out and has been cut off. If you have no intention of dyeing your hair otherwise for the next year or so, by all means go for it! Just make sure you consider what you may want in the future and do a little research first.)

However, it wasn’t until I started dyeing my hair blonde that I really realized the importance of caring for my hair. While I loved being blonde, bleaching your hair can be a super damaging process (especially when your hair is as dark as mine is). For the first few months, my hair was always frizzy and dry — and suddenly I was thrown into the world of hair care and hair masks.

Over the years, I’ve used many masks and treatments — some I loved, others I didn’t. While I’ve eventually had to give up on certain brands simply because their products were too hard to find or repurchase, I’ve finally found what actually might be the PERFECT mask — and, I can just get it at Sephora!

As many of you guys already know, Ouai has quickly been becoming one of my favourite brands for hair and body products since I first received their Leave-In Conditioner in a FabFitFun box. In fact, this has already been the fourth time I’ve featured Ouai in a Favourites Post — isn’t that crazy? (If you want to hear which of their other products I’m obsessed with, be sure to check them out here!).

Similarly to their Scalp and Body Scrub, I was introduced to the Ouai Treatment Masque in one of Sephora’s sample boxes — but I just recently purchased this full-sized and I couldn’t be happier with it. First of all, this product is INCREDIBLY thick and luxurious without being heavy or greasy. Honestly, I don’t know how they’ve done it, but not once have I ever used this and felt like my hair felt weighed down after drying it out. While it is super creamy in texture and hydrating in nature, it doesn’t add excess weight your hair doesn’t need — which keeps it looking voluminous and healthy.

Second of all, I have noticed a HUGE difference in the shine and health of my hair since I started using this product. My hair, no joke, is probably the softest it’s ever felt in it’s life. Since my hair still has bleach damage near the ends, I used to struggle a lot with my ends drying out if I went too long without washing my hair. This mask has completely changed that — my dry, frizzy ends are nothing more than a memory now. (Which makes my life a lot easier, honestly, since if I have to swing a dry shampoo day it makes my hair look and feel a lot less gross overall.)

If this sounds like the hair mask you’ve been desperately needing in your life, be sure to check it out at Sephora here!

I hope you’re all having a lovely week and are still soaking up all that post-new years motivation! I, for one, have been having one of the most productive weeks I’ve had in a while — fingers crossed I can keep up this energy for all of 2020!

Don’t forget to stay tuned for my first holiday vacation post this weekend — I can’t wait to share my trip with you all! Over the next two Sunday’s I’ll be sharing both my trip to West Palm Beach and Disney World, Florida with you guys, so get excited to read all about it!

Xo,

Meredith

Thursday Favourites: January 2nd

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Dr Jart+ Rubber Lover Masks

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and amazing New Years! 2020 is finally here, so it’s time to getting planning and setting goals to make sure this year is a good one. I love New Years so much because it feel like a fresh start and really helps re-energize me towards setting new goals. Plus, now that it’s 2020, its not just a new year but a whole new decade! Make sure to start it all off on the right foot and stay tuned for my new post coming this Sunday on how to make the perfect (and maintainable!) New Years Resolution.

But enough about that, let’s get into today’s content! I recently discussed the Shake and Shot masks by Dr Jart+, but today I wanted to discuss one of their face masks that I love EVEN MORE. I’m all about starting the new year off on the right foot, and part of that is making sure my skin is clear and healthy to kick off 2020. That’s why I recently invested in a couple of my all-time favourite single-use masks — the Dr. Jart+ Lover Rubber face masks!

These rubber face masks became super trendy a while back as well — but for good reason. The rubber is just a cover for the ampoule that you apply underneath. It really allows it to absorb completely so you can reap 100% of the benefits of the product. No joke, I’ve never had any sort of mask give me as immediate results as this one. As soon as you take it off, your skin looks brand new. I’m always sure to invest in these before big events or whenever I need to look my best, because I know I can count on them to completely rejuvenate my skin.

Another amazing part about these masks is that the rubber mask aspect, unlike many other sheet masks, comes in two parts. I find this helps it fit to your face a lot better, and keeps it from making a mess of the mask or wasting product. As well, the ampoule solution is a thick, creamy consistency so you don’t have to worry about it dripping off underneath.

This mask is certainly a bit of a commitment — it’s a little pricey for a single-use mask, and requires about 30-40 minutes (which is a lot longer than other sheet masks). However, its completely worth it. If I had to only use one face mask for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Seriously, if your skin is really in need of some freshening up, don’t let the price deter you — it really is worth every cent.

If you’re wondering how this mask differs from the Shake and Shot products, I’d personally say this mask has better results. While the Shake and Shot has more formulas (it has six, compared to Rubber Lover’s four formulas), this mask packs a lot more punch and does more for my skin. As well, the Shake and Shot masks are formulated to solidify — meaning they peel off and leave your skin clear and smooth immediately. As the Rubber Lover masks are formulated with a potent ampoule serum, they leave behind product (similar to other sheet masks) to be absorbed after the masks’s removal. I do love the Shake and Shot masks dearly — I tend to go for them when I’m looking for something fun and quick, or for formulas that the Rubber Lover doesn’t provide. They still have an immediate effect and show some serious results — but definitely work differently from the Rubber Lovers (which I tend to go for when I’m really ready to settle in for some serious, immediate results). As well, I particularly love the Clear Skin Lover Rubber mask — a formula not offered in the Shake and Shot — for immediately clearing up my complexion. (Seriously, try it for yourself! Nothing has ever cleared up my skin as much as this mask. It’s unreal.)

I bought a couple of these masks recently so I could prepare my skin for my vacation (posts on that coming soon, I promise!) and also to start off the new year with fresh, glowing skin. Maybe I’m a little superstitious, but I’ve always been a firm believer that having a good start to the new year is vital to how well your year goes overall.

If your skin’s been looking a little worse for wear following this holiday season, be sure to check out the Rubber Lover masks at Sephora! This mask comes in four formulas: Hydration Lover, Clear Skin, Bright Lover and Firm Lover.

Happy New Year, everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and are gearing up to have your best year yet! Stay tuned for this Sunday’s post for the perfect, maintainable New Years Resolution if you really want to start off 2020 in the best possible way.

Much love,

Meredith