New To The Essie Collection

Essie have some of my favourite polishes. With a wide selection of colours, a good formula and being accessible to most people via drugstore, it comes with good reason. I'm always finding new colours and thought i'd show you three recently purchased ones. I haven't used any of these yet so I can't tell you how they come off on the nails just yet.

Buy Me A Cameo
This bronzy metallic looks like a really nice step up from the usua nude. I think it will make a nice easy, goes with most things kind of nail colour.

Go Overboard 
In the winter months I love a darker nail. I think they go well with most things and make shorter nails look more polished in my opinion. This navy blue looks like it would be a really nice one. I don't think I have a blue of this tone yet, so I look forward to trying this one out. Also, i'm not sure why my bottle has a blue to gren ombre look going on. While it looks kinda neat in the bottle, it is actually a navy.

Summit of Style
I saw so many people showing this colour off around the Christmas/new year time and I just had to have it. A gorgeous gold glitter in different sizes that makes a nice top coat over a lot of different shades. I've seen it used alone as a really sparkly nail, though it looked like it required a lot of coats and kind of chunky, so I wil probably stick with it as a topcoat. Really looking forward to this one.

Reading Challenge

I've been trying to do more reading lately. I'm always collecting book titles to read but dont spend enough time actually doing so. I challenged myself over on goodreads in January to read ten books this year. It sounds easy but time gets away from me and next thing I know its September and i've got this big collection of books but only read three. Since I have a little more time during the day and tv is just really not interesting me lately, ive been curling up on the couch instead while Lily plays or takes a nap.

I have a ton of books im interested in reading, so I thought i'd share a few on my reading list with you. Feel free to leave me your thoughts or recommendations on what you've been reading or are looking forward to reading in the future!

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahnuik 
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Yes Please by Amy Poehler  
Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford 
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North 
Divergent by Veronica Roth 
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven 
BossyPants by Tina Fey 
Exit Papers From Paradise by Liam Card 
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler 
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green  

Lush Spacegirl Bathbomb

In a cute planet shape, Spacegirl is a purple bath bomb with redish pink sparkles on top. With popping candy, this girl whizzes around the top turning the bath water purple. The sparkles were very faint so theres no worry of coming out of the bath looking like a disco ball, and in need of a second bath.

The scent is what really drew me to this one. That fruity blackcurrent smell has got to make this one of my new favourites. Though it fizzed out pretty quick and didnt do anything super exciting or leave trails or pretty colours like I kind if hoped, the smell alone of this will have me purchasing it again. Not to mention its one of the cheaper bath bombs Lush offers.

Empties #14

Loreal Elnett Hairspray
Everyone uses and raves about this. I didnt get that wow factor from it. Its okay for daily wear if you dont want that crunchy feel and arent really trying to hold much of a style, but for real staying power this is not the hairspray for you.

Its a 10 Silk Express Conditioner
I love all Its a 10 products. The shampoo and conditioners are some of my favourites. I think the Miracle Deep Conditioner Plus Keratin works better for me, but this was still nice. I dont think id get this one again though.

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel
When you talk about lush, this is something everyone seems to love. I just dont seem to hace the same feelings. I finished another one last month and im glad their gone because while I dont mind the scent as a one time use thing like with the bubble bars, I dont think its anything special. It doesnt last on my skin either so for the price, its just not worth it to me.

La Roche-Posay Hydreane Legere 
This light hydrating moisturiser is one of my favourites. It definitely hydrates but isnt heavy on the skin and sinks in real quick. It worked great under my makeup which was great for when I was in a rush. Ive already got another because I really liked it.

Bio Oil
I dont know how many of these ive been through. I used this religiously during my pregnancy to help with stretch marks. Though it didnt prevent them (it couldnt considering I had a 10lb baby) it did help to moisturize. I do find it helps with fading the stretch marks.

Bath and Body Works Beautiful Day Fragrance Mist

Bath and Body Works have a massive range of scents; some signature and limited to each season. I rarely get a body must as they are quite large (8oz) for someone who likes to change up their scents all the time. But this scent was a nice feminine one that I kept going back to in the store and needed to take home with me.

 Its a citrusy floral scent that with top notes of apple, pear and cassis, mid of daisies, lily of the valley and peony, and dry notes of white peach and blonde woods. Its perfect for daily wear and has been a go to scent for me lately. I recommend trying this one out next time your in store.

Avene Hydrating Set

When winter comes my skin takes a 180 and becomes very dry and dehydrated. I spotted this little Aven set  around christmas time and thought it would be nice to give a go. I love trying new products but having everything boxed together specifically targeted towards what I was in need, right in front of me when I walked into the store, it seemed like an angel came down to my rescue.

Avene are targeted towards sensitive skin, which I dont necessarily have, I do have incredibly dry, dehydrated, and sore skin. The set contains almost everything you would need in a skincare regime. Included is a Micellar Water, Thermal Water, Hydrating Serum , Rich Hydrating Cream, and bonus Soothing Moisture Mask.

Avene Micellar Lotion Cleanser
This no rince cleanser has 3-in-1 benefits- cleansing, toning and makeup removal. Im not super excited about this one as I have micellar waters already and havent really been using them much lately.

Avene Thermal Spring Water 
Soothes, softens and calms the skin. Again, another product im not super excited for. Thermal waters are nice to apply over top of makeup to take the cake face look away, but overall I dont really use these too much.

Avene Optimale Soothing Hydrating Serum
This serum is said to prodive long lasting hydration and soothe dehydrated or senstive skin. It also enhances the effectiveness of any moisturizer or treatment applied over top. I was quite impressed with this and think it was once of the best things in the set. It instantly made my face feel smoothe and more hydrated. Definitely will be purchasing a full size of this once I use the sample up.

Avene Hydrance Optimale Rich Hydrating Cream
Provides prolonged hydration to the skin. The gently, creamy formula helps dry skin restore its hydrolypidic barrier and maintain moisture. I quite liked this. Its quickly become a favourite moisturizer. Even though its a rich cream it doesnt feel heavy on the skin and didnt take a long time to sink into the skin. A+ product in my eyes.

Avene Soothing Moisture Mask
Provides intensive soothing care to dehydrated, overstressed skin. It deeply penetrated the skin and in minutes leaves the skin supple soft and radiant. They dont lie about the description. This stuff actually works, and works well. The first time I used it I actually slept with it on because my face was so sore and tight. I woke up with the best feeling skin id ever had. A new favourite mask for sure.

I think this is a great set with five products I will actually use and do relly like. I wish the set came with a cleanser though. The Micellar Water could be used as a cleanser, though I would have liked a cleansing milk instead. I tend to use micellar waters more for makeup removal, but this will be nice for travel. Otherwise I was quite impressed with this set and will for sure be buying some full sizes of some of the products.

Winter Skin Saviours

The dreaded winter is here which means dry, tight, dehydrated skin. I actually went to the drugstore the other week and was looking at a skincare giftset and one of the ladies working noticed my poor dry face and was giving me some tips for what to use. Though I was already using a rich moisturiser and a mask, she pointed out that I was still using a gel cleanser. Id never thought about it, but a cleansing milk is better suited to dry skin as its less stripping, and doesnt always require being rinsed off (though I prefer to).  Ive been finishing up an Origins Make A Difference Rejuvenating Cleansing Milk sample I got a while back before trying any new ones, but I have used one from Vichy which I really liked and recommend.

With a clean face, once or twice a week I like to use a nice hydrating mask. The Antipodes Manuka Honey Mask is an old favourite, and ive been trying out the Avene Soothing Moisture Mask, which I sometimes leave on over night. Both leave my skin feeling soft and hydrated and with no tight, itchy skin to be found. I then go in with a serum. Sometimes I use Hydraluron, but recently ive been trying a sample of Avene Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum. Its targeted towards dehydrated skin, which I definitely have, and instantly makes your face feel super soft. Another product I like is the Origins Make A Difference Plus Rejuvenating Treatment. This stuff is awesome at instantly hydrating the skin. Its light and absorbs pretty quick and just just feels nice on the skin. Lastly I go in with a rich moisturizer. Lush Skin Drink is a nice one, though it can take a while to settle into the skin so I dont recommend this one if you plan to wear makeup over it. Avene Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Rich Cream is for dry to very dry skin and is my perfect cream. Even though its rich it doesnt take hours to sink itnto your skin and can be worn under makeup. I like to use this one before bed and when I wake up in the morning its like having new skin. Nothing bad to say about this one.

Lastly I make sure to hydrate my poor lips. I swear ive never had such dry lips as I have since having Lily. Thet get cracked, chapped and sore and the only two things that have been helping are Blistex Medicated Lip Treatment, and The Body Shop Lip Butters. My dog actually got ahold of my Blistex one day and the tube was bitten open and product was all over the carpet. I almost died because it was the only thing helping me. I ran out the next day for a new one because I don't think I can live without it. The Body Shop one is great when my lips arent in quite as bad a shape. And with my now moisturized skin, im ready to face the dreaded winter.