Nourish your skin

I wanted to take a moment and let you know about a couple super nourishing products your skin will love you for. I used to think that by adding a heavy face creme, I would be creating an oily face and risk getting blemishes. But we all know now that having balanced skin is all about – you guessed it – balance. Its about PH balance and how you really need to make sure your skin is getting the moisture it needs after cleansing.

Mama Pacha Nourishing skin creme which is a perfect weight to use all year long, is a great night time skin creme. Mama Pacha is all natural and hand made.

Check them out here : http://www.mamapacha.ca

With ingredients like avocado oil, calendula,coconut oil, aloe vera gel, beeswax and vitamin E.

Because of these amazing ingredients, this is a perfect creme to take with you on hot vacations to help your skin recover at night after harsh exposure to the sun (even with sunscreen).

This product is cruelty free, but can’t be listed as a vegan product because beeswax is an ingredient. There are some vegans that will use it, but others that won’t.

The creator of Mama Pacha writes a great blog post about her use of beeswax and the benefits of the ingredient.

Beeswax

The second product that I have recently started using is castor oil. This can be found at Vita Health stores for 10.99. %100 pure Caster oil is expeller-pressed from the seed of Ricinus communis.

This product is Vegan and does not test on animals. Caster oil has been used for years and is considered by many to be one of the finest naturally sourced skin emollients available today.

What are Emollients ?

“Emollients are non-cosmetic moisturisers which come in the form of creams, ointments, lotions and gels. Emollients help skin to feel more comfortable and less itchy. They keep the skin moist and flexible, helping to prevent cracks.”

Sourced from the National Eczema Society website.

Caster oil has been known to help with hair growth and softer hair. You can add a bit to your shampoo before washing. You can also take a clean mascara brush and brush it onto your eyelashes to promote hair growth. You can even put it on your eyebrows.

Hope you enjoy these products as much I do.

-Jenn

Wedding Wednesdays – Saying yes to the dress part 2

Day 2 of dress shopping brought me to Kleinfeld. I knew Kleinfeld’s didn’t carry Inbal Dror or Gahlia Lahav, but they did have another very well known Israeli dress designer Pnina Tornai.

When we walked into the salon on the top floor of the Bay in downtown Toronto (Queen Street & Young), we were immediately met by a beautifully white entry way with the word Kleinfeld spelled out across the wall. After confirming my appointment, we were served cute little Kleinfeld water bottles. I met my very excited and consultant, my support team were sat in the dress lounge area, and away we went.

The treatment we received was very different from the quaint boutique we came from with the very expensive designer dresses. It was apparent Kleinfeld wanted to give you a very enjoyable experience no matter what the outcome.

When I first started looking for a dress, I didn’t have a style in mind, but after a day and a half of shopping, my style was starting to shine through. It was clear that I had expensive taste, and I was really having trouble meeting my price point with the amount of detail I wanted in a dress.

I found myself again trying to please my support team, who were also trying to make me happy. Coupled with a TON of emotions, I could tell the day wasn’t going to end smoothly.

Somehow, after trying on numerous styles, the dresses started to get bigger, and more expensive and I began to become disheartened.

At one point I had on a $15,000 Pnina Tornai dress. While extremely beautiful, was not right for me.

Photo shown of the 15,000 (before taxes and alterations) Pnina Tornai strapless,Swarovski detailed, built-in corset satin dress with layered tooling.

After an hour long appointment, and a lot of tired and emotional people. I was about to leave the salon empty handed. With no other scheduled dress appointments, this would be the end of my ‘say yes to the dress experience’ WITHOUT A DRESS!

As I was leaving, my aunt and mom tried diligently to squeeze in another appointment, as we were determined to find the dress that weekend. We left unsure if this was possible, and waited for a call from Kleinfeld later that day to either confirm or deny a 2nd chance at finding the dress in their salon.

My group and I slowly walked across the street to the Eaton Centre to grab a bite at the food court. We all sat quietly waiting for someone else to speak. We were all disheartened…

Finally, a phone call came in. My wedding dress consultant decided to come in on her day off to help me find the dress!

There was still hope!

Thankfully, because of the news, my group was able to turn our frowns upside down and enjoy a theatre show ‘wicked’ later that night.

As the morning approached, I could feel myself get nervous. It was now or never for me to find my wedding dress. Even though my group tried to assure me that I would find a dress in Winnipeg if this didn’t work out… It was not something I wanted to hear.

We meet my consultant in the front entrance of Keinfeld first thing on Saturday morning. She has now had a chance to really get to know my style and what I was looking for. She greeted me with a smile, and said

” I think I found you the one”

The night before, after we left the salon empty handed, a new shipment of dresses arrived. My consultant looked through every new arrival to see if anything could be a perfect match when she found a dress FULL of detail and Lace and sparkle, all of the things I wanted. Not to full, not to plain.
She had it waiting for me in the dressing room. I took one look at it, and immediately went to grab my mom. I wasn’t even going to try it on if the price wasn’t right. At just the top of our budget, I wanted to make sure that with alterations included, this would be ok. My mom smiled, and said it would be just fine, and urged me to put it on.

I slipped it on and was eager to get out and show my friends and family.

It just felt right.

I never really believed people when they said “when you know you know”
I kinda thought that was silly. But come to think of it, its exactly how I felt when I met Adam. After a week or so of dating, I just knew I didn’t want him not to be in my life.
Maybe that was the feeling I felt when everything suddenly seemed perfect in that moment. I had my best friends growing up travel across Canada just to be with me and have some fun picking out a dress, My Aunt and Cousin, soon-to-be sister in law and my amazing Mother all around me – just to make me happy. This was the moment I chose a dress that I knew I would feel amazing in, Adam would love to see me in, and an experience I would never forget.

I said yes to my Spring 2015 Eve of Milady, Swarofski detailed, 4 layered, corset structured dress in an off white, with a satin mocha layered silk underlay.

 

Thanks for reading

-Jenn

 

He asked…and I said yes !

July 16/2014..After already spending two days in Banff with a couple of friends, we all decided to drive out to Lake Louis. It was amazing and beautiful. Especially when he walked me to the front of the lake on top of a rock platform and reminded me of his promise he made to me 3 years ago….which was “I’m going to marry you in 3 years tops”

A special moment caught on camera. Adam asked me to Marry him and I said yes

#Makeupmonday

Last night I attended my Christmas staff party. After recently going grey, I thought a perfect colour match for my eyes would be purple sticking with the cooler tones. Again mixing Kat Von D lipsticks together (Vampira & lovecraft) to create a more subtle purple.

Follow Kat Von D Beauty on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/katvondbeauty/

For my face I used tart BB tinted treatment 12-hour primer. Layered with tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour full coverage foundation. Once my full face was covered and even, I used tarte sculptor paired with Josie Maran Creamy Concealer Crayon to create my facial highlights.

http://www.sephora.com/amazonian-clay-12-hour-full-coverage-foundation-spf-15-P302918?skuId=1419779

I don’t think I’ve talked about Josie Maran enough. This brand represents everything I believe in. Its literally beauty with a concious and you can feel very good about supporting it.

Josie Maran, while protecting the environment and producing products with a conscious also believes in women empowerment.

Check out all of the good things they are doing to help inspire change in the developing world.

http://www.josiemaran.com/imagine/

Josie Maran produces products that are :

-Organic
-No synthetic fragrance
-Natural ingredients
-Cruelty-Free
-Paraben free
-Recyclable

       

Happy shopping my friends!

Oh Canada! #becrueltyfree

Great news for Canada as they join the global #becrueltyfree movement. Earlier this week Canada introduced the cruelty free cosmetics act. If senate bill s-214 cruelty free cosmetics act is passed they would be joining countries and nations like the European Union, Norway, Israel, India , New Zealand , Turkey and Brazil.

Check out the press release to read more on this amazing news :

• http://www.cbj.ca/canada-joins-global-becrueltyfree-movement-with-introduction-of-cruelty-free-cosmetics-act/#

2015 Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are right around the corner!

I’ve taken some time to prepare you a list of gift options for the make-up, animal loving person in your life.

Gifts under 50$

1. Buxom – Don’t miss a beat Full-On Lip Polish Collection ($40)
   I have sampled and tried, and am very pleased. Buxom does a great job of making your lips look and feel more plump. They have great colours for neutral pink tones and some nice, rich and bold cherry colours. This is definitely a great holiday gift set for a great price.
2. Urban Decay – Perversion Mascara set ($26)
   This is my favourite Mascara out there right now. Its smooth and soft to apply and provides a very full thick look. This set also includes a primer. So if you like your lashes very dark and full, this is a perfect gift set for you.
3. Tarte – The Slenderizer Bamboo Contour Brush ($42)
   Sustainably made with bamboo and synthetic bristles.
   This is an amazing brush perfect for blending in your contour colours. Its a high quality brush that has softer bristles on one side and buffer on the other to smooth out any harsh lines when blending.
4. Urban Decay – Delirious Travel-Size Set of 5 ($39)
   The only way I can describe this travel set of eye pencils is electric. The colours included in this set is a lot of fun and would be great for a holiday party look. This gift is easy and fun that most people would love. Urban Decay’s eye pencils are super slick and bold when applied. I highly recommend this brand for eye pencils.
5. Tarte – The sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer ($29)
   This is something I use almost everyday to do a full face of make-up. The colour is great for a variety of skin tones, just need to blend. This item pairs up perfectly with the above Slenderizer Bamboo Contour Brush.

Gifts Over $50

1.  Urban Decay – Gwen Stefani Eyehadow Palette ($70)
   Well, I think this set speaks for itself. Its FULL of amazing shades from neutrals to super rich colours to allow you to really play around with and transition from day to night. I think eye shadow palettes are the way to go. They give you tons of options and a few colours that will force you out of your comfort zone. Once you’ve nailed down a few shades you can’t live without, then I recommend buying a larger singular package, but other than that, an eye shadow palette are a perfect mix of fun shades to play with. It also makes a fantastic gift option.
2. BITE – Discovery Set ($59)
   If you are new to BITE, this is a perfect set of all of the best the brand has to offer. An 8 piece set of their best selling products. Including an agave lip mask (which is awesome) so your lips are perfect and smooth before you apply your lip shade. this set also includes a set of lip wipes. You will be so grateful to have those wipes when trying to remove super high pigment shades off your face.
3. Kat Von D – Shade and Light Contour Palette ($55)
   Kat Von D has been contouring and shading perfect tattoos for years. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s made her make-up line perfect for an artist. She loves a MATTE look. If you want a Matte complexion and want to create some depth and definition while sculpting your full coverage look, I highly recommend this Contour Palette.
4. NARS – Steven Klein Collaboration One Shocking Moment Cheek Palette ($92)
   This set includes 3 contouring shades, 3 cheek shades and a bronzer. NARS is known for its high quality and high fashion looks. This set is higher in price range, but a great gift for someone who wants high quality make-up to play with.
5. Hourglass – Ambient Lighting Palette ($95)
   This has got to be one of my favourite sets. The ambient lighting from hourglass is extremely smooth when applied. It gives illuminating glow to your face, cheeks and highlighting areas for contouring. This is probably one of the best blush and highlighting sets out there. Hourglass produces high quality make-up.

Go Bold or Go Home

A bold lip colour is a great way to maximize your look for the holidays. I have always loved the look of a red lip and feel like there is a special red for everyone, you just have to trust yourself and go for it. Don’t be shy, be confident.  But with bold lips being so on trend there is so many more colours to choose from other than red. In this post I’m going to give you 3 amazing companies that are cruelty-free and full of amazing bold lip colour palates for the daring make-up look you want to try out for your holiday party.

The first company – OCC – Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. This company is not only cruelty free, but 100% vegan.

Before I discuss this amazing company, I do want to touch on the difference between cruelty-free and Vegan cosmetics.

In Cosmetics, animal bi-products are used often (along with lots of harsh chemicals and toxins as I briefly touched on in my ‘what’s in your products’ post. As a cosmetics company you can be Vegan & Cruelty-Free, or just Cruelty-free. I haven’t seen a Vegan Cosmetic company that DOES test on animals so lets hope that this oxymoron doesn’t exist.

Albumen. Often used in anti wrinkle creams as its beleived to clear 
In eggs, milk, muscles, blood, and many vegetable tissues and fluids. In cosmetics, albumen is usually derived from egg whites and used as a coagulating agent. May cause allergic reaction. In cakes, cookies, candies, etc. Egg whites sometimes used in “clearing” wines. Derivative: Albumin.

Animal Hair. Often used in make-up brushes.
In some blankets, mattresses, brushes, furniture, etc.
Alternatives: vegetable and synthetic fibers.

Carotene. Provitamin A. Beta Carotene. 
A pigment found in many animal tissues and in all plants. When used as an additive, typically derived from plant sources. Used as a coloring in cosmetics and in the manufacture of vitamin A.

Just to name a few.

So if you want to steer clear of animal bi-products, you will be safe sticking with OCC.
OCC was founded in New York City in 2004 by makeup artist David Klasfeld. This company truly delivers on bringing you amazing colours. Check them out : http://occmakeup.com/

I have had the chance to test out the Lip tar test tube collection (with red and blue to create your own shade of purple) This is a great option for a make-up artist.

Photo is of me in the BELLADONNA- Ultra violet shade. The lip tar lasts long and does not smudge easily.

Remember with a bold lip, you are going to want to take your time and apply carefully to make sure you have a clean line and no bleeding of the colour beyond your lip line. I would recommend applying lip liner to keep the colour in.

The next Company that delivers on BOLD colours is Lime Crime: https://www.limecrime.com/

Along with being full of amazing colours, this company is also Vegan & Cruelty-Free.
I haven’t had the chance to test out their products as you can only order on-line, but I look forward to trying it out in the future.

Last, but not least is Urban Decay. Again, I am pleased to write that this company is not only cruelty-free, but 100% Vegan.

I absolutely love this company for its bold colours and bold character. Despite being purchased by L’Oreal in 2013. The company has stayed true to its word and has continued to manufacture their products with a moral compass.

Thanks for reading

-Jenn

Make-up Monday

Full coverage foundation has always been a tricky product to figure out. If you aren’t used to wearing make-up, but want a super clear completion or ‘porcelain face’ you often have to practice getting used to the feeling of a thicker foundation. Now, once you’ve found ‘the one’ not to thick, not to thin and covers everything, it can be hard to switch or try anything else. Which is exactly what I was faced with when my favourite cosmetic company had been sold to a larger company and moved their manufacturing to China.

Luckily in June of 2014, Animal advocates celebrated following the announcement that the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) stopped requiring tests for ordinary cosmetics, including make-up, skin, hair and nail care products and fragrances that are produced in the country and will instead allow manufacturers to choose available alternatives to conduct risk assessments.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/its-official-china-ends-mandatory-animal-testing-for-cosmetics.html#ixzz3sLvGzgU4

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing your research however because there is always fine print in the rules and regulations. A good resource is  Peta’s list of cruelty free cosmetics that is updated frequently. As well as leapingbunny.org

You can also watch for these logos on the back of the label.

Photo sited from : http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/cruelty-free-bunny-logo/

Check out crueltyfreekitty.com. This blogger is amazing and has lots of great reads and info. Hopefully, in due time I can get my blog up to that level.

So we started talking about full coverage foundation, and I’m going to tell you about a couple foundations that I absolutely love!

First product is Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation Mattifying Oil Free.

Available at Sephora.

This foundation goes on very lightly and smoothly and creates a matte look. You have to put it fast before it becomes powder which can sometimes be a problem. Because it changes to powder, you feel like your wearing nothing which is fantastic.
The only reason this is not my number 1 choice is because :

1. If you are oily in anyway, the foundation can crack in those areas.
2. The price point. 1 30ml bottle of this amazing product will run you about 70$ before tax.

To solve problem #1, I tried the black bottle which is a fluid version that doesn’t turn to powder to prevent the blotching.

To solve problem #2, I searched for a more affordable full coverage foundation.

So that lead me to Tarte cosmetics. This lovely line of cosmetics is Vegan friendly, cruelty free and formulated without : parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium laurel sulfate and gluten.

They have a foundation called Amazonian Clay. This is a 12 hour full coverage foundation. It doesn’t have a light feeling like hour glass, but is very soft and doesn’t take a long time to adjust to the feeling.

This product is perfect for all skin types and truly covers completely. Its everything the name suggests.

This product saves you a few dollars running you approximately $50 per 50ml.

After a little primer and some light contouring, this is the result of a full coverage face (my face 😉 )

Once I get a bit better taking my own photos, You will be able to get a better idea of what these products can look like.

Thanks for reading !

-Jenn

Wedding Wednesdays

Aside from the what where and whens. the next most important decision is picking the wedding dress.

I had such an amazing and emotional time picking a dress. I knew what I was going to wear the day I married the love of my life was going to be important to me, but I had no idea the type of emotions I would experience.

My mom, maid of honour, soon-to-be sister in law, best friend growing up, Aunt and little cousin all travelled with me to Toronto. I spend a good amount of time in Toronto in my early 20s and I knew it would be a beautiful place to find a dress. It was also an excuse for a much needed vacation to one of my favourite cities in Canada.

We book an early flight out of Winnipeg…like super early. So you could say we were tired. We checked into our hotel and immediately proceeded to my first dress appointment. This was the first mistake of the trip. This brings us to DAY #1 of Wedding Dress Shopping.

Let me just say, you really shouldn’t be tired when going to try dresses with a bunch of your besties.

1. You are emotional already

2. Now you’ve added being tired to being emotional

3. You just fricken travelled across Canada with the expectation to find “the one” over a short weekend.

Now this sounds like I am preparing you for a horrible ending and a recipe for disaster, which may be misleading (the disaster is day #2). The truth is, I did put a lot of pressure on myself to find the one in a short period of time and my group could feel the pressure too. But I also spent months (actually years, but don’t tell my husband) obsessing over a particular Israeli Designer. It also happens to be one of the reasons I went to Toronto in the first place, because there were few stores in North America that even carried the designer dresses I loved and frankly, travelling to Israel was just not in the budget.

When you obsess over a dress, something that you need to make sure is the budget. With a designer ‘Couture’ dress, you have to be prepared for the price point they offer.

Now I like to think of myself as rational when it comes to spending. I think of myself as reasonable and humble with my fortunate wedding dress opportunity my family gave me. But, when you obsess over something, and your emotional being rational didn’t seem to exist on day 1.

Here it is, the designer I had travelled so far for and a dress I actually loved. The only problem is… Its just too damn expensive.

I also so badly wanted to please everyone that was experiencing this with me. Not good. When I wasn’t getting the reaction I expected from the crowd (who was also eager to please me right back) I felt hopeless. Here I travelled all this way, with a group of my favourite, in the designer dress I loved and the room is silent. Along with a string of problems that set this appointment up for failure, It was just day #1.

Maybe Kleinfeild (day #2 appointment) was where my dress was?

Ultimately, we left the store with high hopes for the next appointment, but in my heart, I felt disappointed. I had put this designer on a pedestal and we are leaving empty handed…

Enjoy some pics of some designer Inbal Dror and Galia Lahav dresses I had the privilege to try on, and stay tuned for next Wedding Wednesday post that brings us to Day #2 of REALLY HIGH EXPECTATIONS : )