Lucy Hale has been the brand ambassador for Avon for a while now and I am quite enjoying the collaboration they have. I was introduced to her when I first started watching Pretty Little Liars and I am currently re-watching the entire series on Netflix in preparation of its final 10 episodes coming soon in I think about 2 weeks? Who is A going to be?! anyone have any theories?

Anyways - I received a few of the products to experiment and try out and keep on reading below if you're interested in learning more about my thoughts!

I have been a user of LUSH haircare products for the last few years, especially the NEW Shampoo Bar - you can even read my post here back from 2 years ago. Everyone who I recommend the NEW bar to, who is suffering from hair loss whether it be from stress or from a thyroid problem, loves this. 

LUSH is re-launching its global best-selling New Shampoo Bar to encourage consumers to get behind Humane Society International's global campaign to ban cosmetic animal testing and trade. You can show your support by signing their petition at www.endanimaltesting.org. 

The shampoo bars have the organisation's #becrueltyfree message in both English and Simplified Chinese (the two most commonly used languages on social media). It is rolling out in Canada on FEb 27th online and March 27th in stores. 

More than 1 million people worldwide have signed #becrueltyfree petitions calling on their governments to ban cruel cosmetic testing on animals. or sales bans in their cosmetic laws - including the European Union, Israel, India, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and most recently Switzerland. Currently in Canada, it is still under consideration in the senate before moving to review by Members of Parliament. So please, fellow Canadians you are encouraged to contact your MP and Prime Minister to make Canada the next country to #becrueltyfree.

Onto a bit about the shapmoo bar itself, honestly it works wonders - it has helped me grow back SO much of my hair. After going to university and living in residence, the water there with the stress made CHUNKS of my hair fall out. My hair dresser saw that I was getting increasingly concerned and so she had told me about this specific shampoo bar. She had said that alot of her clients who were experiencing the same issue as me, had told her about this bar and how it helped changed their lives and she thought that maybe I could try it out as well. Let's just say since the first bar back in 2014? I've never looked back. It smells of cinnamon and cloves and is refreshing and feels a bit tingling to the scalp. You wet the bar and rub it directly onto the scalp focusing on the roots and then massage it in - I highly suggest giving it some time to saturate and sink in - so lather up the rest of your body in the mean time. 

Full disclosure, this product does dry out the ends of your hair - so make sure you get a good conditioner or hair mask to keep your hair healthy and bouncy :) I like to pair it with the Macadamia Hair Mask.

I was sent the Veganese Hair Conditioner which is made for people like me with fine hair. It is also vegan friendly! It smells like lemons (it contains lemon oil and juice which delivers glossiness to the hair) and is made with a rich agar agar gel base to soften hair. It also contains herbal rosemary and lavender to promote a healthier scalp.

You do not need alot of the conditioner, just maybe a loonie size? You should just slather it on the ends, and then wash it out. You don't actually feel it in your hair as you apply it into your ends - like that slippery feeling? so just because you do not feel it, don't think that you need more.- once you actually wash it out with water, you will feel that slippery feeling you are typically used to with conditioner.

Next up, I as sent the R& B Hair Moisturizer which is like a hair styling product. NOTE - you do NOT need a lot of this product to see its effects - one little dab, warm it on your palms and run it thorough the ends of your hair and that's it - it'll get rid of frizz and keeps it soft and shiny. This product contains avocado butter, olive, jojoba and coconut oils and candlilla wax. It smells of orange and jasmine that is quite strong, so the scent paired with all the rich oils can weigh down your hair a lot if you use too much - so make sure you only use a light dab. 

Until next time, XO - M. 

The last time I did something like this, a post featuring brand new make-up items, it received some good feedback. So I decided to do it again :) Being a beauty blogger, I am fortunate enough to get new items to test out - what better way to see how they perform, then to just use them all together.

Below features the before and after:

  

To see what my thoughts are on each item used, keep on reading below...

From left to right, we have the IDÉALIA Smoothness & Glow Energizing Cream in two formulas, dry and normal. The Dry formula is a lot more creamy, more emollient where as the normal formula is a bit more like a gel-like texture, still creamy but a more jelly like. Both of them are very moisturizing and absorbs very quickly into the skin. It has a very light fragrance of white flowers and tea that stays on the skin for a while and dissipates after about 15-20 minutes. It is formulated with blueberry rich in polyphenols and fermented black tea extract, IDÉALIA skin care gives the perfect dose of nutrients needed by the skin to combat stress and increase glow until the evening. Tests show that the cream is proven to even complexion, refine pore and smooth lines and retails for $45 each.

IDÉALIA Radiance Booster Serum is said to be infused with antioxidant citrus flavonoids, energizing adenosine and an illuminating liquorice root extract, to speed up the transformation of normal skin into smooth, glowing skin: first effects proven in 8 days. It is a clear liquid texture that is non-sticky and also absorbs into the skin immediately. Even with my oily skin this does not affect my make-up application, it does not make me extra greasy or anything. It has the same scent as the cream mentioned above. This retails for $49.95

Housed in the baby pink tube is the IDÉALIA Energizing smoothing and radiance gel-cream.  It is made for people with combination to oily skin (perfect for me), and contains a complex of natural actives to boost your skin's natural glow, even- out your complexion, pores, smoothing fine lines and gives you day long shine control. It also has an extract of fermented black tea to enhance the skin quality, while the absorbent microbeads take care of any excess sebum. I actually like to use this to mix with my Cover FX Custom Drops - it gives a beautiful tinted moisturizer look that makes my skin look natural. This is priced at $39.95

Last but not least, my favorite product of the whole collection which is the IDÉALIA Radiance Activating Night Peeling Care. Think of this as a liquid exfoliator!! It helps to get rid of excess dead cells and stimulates skin regeneration in order to bring back your natural glow - it gets rid of your dull skin! It contains 4% glycolic acid that helps to gently exfoliate the skin. This is even suitable for sensitive skin people to use everyday. Like the products mentioned above, it is infused with active extracts of fermented black tea and blueberry polyphenols, I apply this with a cotton pad every night on clean skin and I wake up looking brighter and more refreshed. You can apply a serum or night cream afterwards if you need to. This product is said to over time will help to even out dark spots and acne marks and even goes as far as to smooth out your wrinkles. It's like.. time reversal in a bottle! It retails for $39.95

Out of all the products, I highly suggest the IDÉALIA Radiance Activating Night Peeling Care out of the entire collection. 

Until next time, XO - M.

*DRUMROLL PLEASE* .... The Dior Addict Family has introduced a brand new member to it's ultra luxurious and classy family - introducing the Dior Addict Lacquer Stick. This is a new hybrid of half lacquer and half lipstick that is ultra pigmented, buttery smooth and just glides on effortlessly on the lips giving you a beautiful shine and hydration. Everything from the packaging to the way it feels and looks on the lips just screams luxury and let me just say this, I don't mind it at all!

I am so in love with the slimmer barrel of the lipstick - it fits perfectly on one swipe to the lips, the width, the slanted tip just deposits the product perfectly. 

With one sweep, it generously provides an almost liquid shine to the lip and tons of pigment. The shine is thanks to an exclusive Dior Combination of 5 ultra-light and nourishing oils as well as beeswax that guarantees long wear (said to last 6 hours).

 

The one feedback I have though with the packaging is that I wish that the name of the product was placed directly on the bullet itself - either on the handle or the end. If you had a few of these lipsticks and then you uncap them all, it's quite easy to forget which color is which unless you look them up online again (which I must say I did accidentally do this when taking photos).

The shades I received from Left to Right are: 

1. Sauvage (924) - Dark Berry

2. Turn Me Dior (877) - Raspberry Red 

3. Tease (550) - Pinkish Nude

4. Underground (420) - Beige Nude

My everyday color is definitely Underground, the perfect "my lips but better shade" that can be applied without having to even look at the mirror. However, my favorite color out of the four has got to be Turn me Dior, hands down. It's a beautiful raspberry red that is just a perfect pop of color for Spring. Pair it with a bold liner and a nude lid like my pictures below, I can go from Day to Night with ease!

I honestly 100% recommend that you purchase at least one of these lipsticks - one swipe, even delivery and a high concentration of color that looks glossy and hydrated on your lips. It doesn't sink int o your lips and is just perfect. 

Until next time, XO - M.

QUO has been on a roll with their new releases this Spring - I had recently wrote about a post a few weeks ago, that you can find here - I was quite a fan of that line, so if you're interested in how the products are for this collection, and if you want to see what's housed in these gorgeous quartz like cases, then just keep on reading.

I had attended an event for Dermablend near the end of last year (yes I know I am quite late to review this post, but I swear I have a good reason) when they launched in Canada. I had attended the blogger/media preview and was even skin matched to the foundation color by an artist, however I don't know why but when I came home - the color was about 2 shades darker. I think that it was because the event was quite dark, so perhaps the lighting threw it off. Anyways - after my recent trip to the Dominican, I did become a few shades darker and knew that it was the perfect time to try this product out. 

Dermablend, is a brand of make-up that focuses on camouflaging any of your skincare concerns - if you take a look at their videos, they surprisingly cover any pigmentation issues or even tattoos with different formulas to their products - cream, liquid etc. As you can see from the pictures below, with a very thin layer of the Smooth Liquid Camo Foundation, it worked to cover any imperfections on the skin - the darkness around the chin, the eyes and smoothed out the canvas. 

  

In the pictures above, you have the bare face, a face with just the liquid foundation and then a full face of make-up afterwards - the tutorial for that make-up look can be found here if you're interested. 

My opinion of the product is that it does feel heavier than the regular ones I'm used to my foundations feeling light on weightless on the skin. This one, I really felt like there was a layer of something on my face and I got about 3 hours of wear from it before my T-zone started to get very oily to which I then just used tissue to blot off. This product offers medium coverage to begin with and is buildable to a full coverage foundation. It photographs BEAUTIFULLY though I must say - it gives you an airbrushed look to your skin - I did not use any photoshop or photo editing in the pictures above to the skin - I just simply adjusted the contrast a bit as the light was washing out the picture.

They have also introduced the below cleanser for the face, it's called the Long Wear Make-up Remover. This is a cream-like cleanser that does not foam up when used on the skin. The way I use this is I like to massage it onto my face and then wipe off with a face cloth or tissue. It works very well to remove any stubborn make-up and does not have any fragrance to it. It leave your skin hydrated and clean. I do however also like to follow up with a second wash with a gentle face-wash only because I just want to do a double cleanse to ensure everything is off, and personally I still enjoy the feeling of something that lathers and foams on my face. 

   

Until next time, XO -M.

After coming back from Dominican for my short getaway, I have to say I got pretty badly sun burnt in the one day of sun I got. Usually, when you're in the tropics and it rains, you get 10 minutes of hard downfall, and then the sun is out, however the entire first day was a complete drab. It rained non stop, it was windy and being that I was only there for 4 days, I was a tad worried! Second day, it was cloudy but the sun peeked through a few times (at least no rain!). Third day was GORGEOUS, not a cloud in the sky and it was just wonderful - my friend and I went to the ocean, we hung out at the pool and just spent most of the day outdoors. I guess I just didn't realize how badly the sun was damaging my body/skin as I was constantly in the water with the light breeze I didn't feel it. Well, after the longest intro (oops) I swear there's a moral to the story! That which is I was peeling BADLY. 

By the time I came back on the fourth day, I was really feeling the skin damage and I needed something to cool my sun burn and I remembered that I had the Avon Skin so Soft Aqua Express products that were sent to me earlier to review - PERFECT! Let's see how it went! To start, these smell beautiful, a very light citrus scent and contains wintermint oil.

I was sent the 1) Body Milk Body Spray - 350ml - $10 and 2) Moisturizing Gel - 200ml - $10.

 

The Moisturizing Gel is just as it says, it is a gel formula as you can see in the top swatch from the picture below. It contains a time-release formula that is said to boost the skin's moisture by 143%, leaving the skin feeling cool and refreshed. I really do agree that it feels refreshed - especially on my warm burnt (peeling) skin... so attractive, sorry! It completely calmed my skin down and I applied it twice a day. It absorbed very quickly and didn't ruin any clothing - especially if I put it on before bed. It wasn't tacky or heavy - wonderful!!  I really enjoyed the lightweight feeling of the product. 

The Body Milk Spray is a refreshing spray-on moisturizer that is quickly absorbed to smooth and soften your skin.  Even though it says it's a milk spray, it does come out in a very thin "milk-like" consistency that absorbs quickly to the skin and hydrates you. I wish that the container was a bit better though, when I had moisturizer on my hands, the wide container didn't allow for any grip, so sometimes it was hard to press down on the spray while holding on firmly to the product. I ended up having to put it on the counter, and pump down and spray it on the palm of my hand and apply it all over the body. To avoid this from happening I suggest that you pre-spray this all over the body first, before rubbing it all over. I do however believe that this product is worth it - at $10 it is an amazing steal and this will last a long time. This does not leave a tackiness on the skin and just sinks in immediately leaving no trace of it - your skin just feels very smooth and plump afterwards.

  

Overall, my thoughts is that you should buy it, if I had to recommend one over the other I have to say it's hard - the gel offers a deeper hydration as it is a bit thicker in its gel formulation and the spray is wonderful and lighter, it just needs maybe some grooves on the side of the bottle for the grip (however the product is still amazing). 

Until next time, XO - M. 

*this product was sent for my review and consideration, all opinions are of my own.

L'Oreal Paris Skin Expert Paris introduces Hydra Genius, a brand new line that features three new liquid-based moisturizers made for oily, normal-to-dry and extra-dry skin. It is inspired by Korean skincare and is formulated with Aloe Water and Hyaluronic Acid - both ingredients that provides you with continuous hydration, it lasts all day and feels lightweight on your skin and absorbs quickly.

 

 

Lastly, in the range they have the Comforting Balm Liquid for Extra Dry Skin. As the name suggests, this is a richer and thicker formula and is perfect for those who need that extra TLC. This was a bit too heavy for me, so I will be passing it onto a friend, but honestly when I applied this to my hand, it didn't feel heavy, it was light weight and it worked well to saturate my hand. I think that for you dry skin girls, especially since it's so cold right now it'll be great for you! 

These products have a suggested retail price of $23.99 and are currently available at mass market retailers, drugstores across Canada and on amazon.ca

Which product are you looking to try in the line? I'd love to hear from you!