My Top 10 Favourite Beauty Products

10) The Body Shop's Coconut Lip Butter

I love coconut! So when The Body Shop came out with a lip butter based on their popular body butter, I rushed to the store to pick some up.  This isn't your normal lip balm - it's not greasy or shiny or sticky.  It really is body butter for your lips and comes with the same staying and moisturizing power.  And another additional perk - no "perfumey" coconut fragrance!

9) Boots No. 7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick

Don't be fooled by the name, this isn't just for covering blemishes! I discovered this product while living in England and I was thrilled to see that Shoppers Drug Mart carries it as well.  This concealer provides great coverage that rivals the expensive department store brands.  It goes on smooth and creamy for easy blending and works wonders on those under-eye bags!

8) Cake Satin Sugar Hair & Body Refreshing Powder

This is a travel necessity, especially if you're going on a trans-continental flight with no chance to grab a quick shower.  This dry shampoo is great for de-greasing your hair, restoring volume, and it also doubles as a body powder.  And since it's a powder, you can bring it on the plane to freshen up during your flight!  Available in both light and dark hues.

7) Rocky Mountain Soap Company's Bamboo Soap Pouch

This was recommended to me by a friend of mine.  This handy little drawstring pouch holds your soap and exfoliates your skin at the same time.  The bamboo fabric may feel quite rough to the touch, but once you add the lather from the soap, it's great! A quick and easy way to exfoliate your body.

6) The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector



This is one of my seasonal staples...as in "my-hands-are-so-dry-in-the-winter-they-crack-and-bleed".  I only use this when I need extreme rehydration of my hands as it can be a bit on the greasy side otherwise.  The scent may not appeal to everyone, but this stuff works wonders on dry, weathered hands!

5) Bare Minerals Make-Up

Yet another friend recommendation.  I don't wear foundation because I find it to be thick, pasty and just not natural-looking.  However, this stuff actually gives you the coverage of a foundation with the lightness of a powder.  It's made of all natural minerals, so no chemicals, dyes or perfumes.  I also successfully covered a horrible racoon-eye tan with their Warmth powder! It's now part of my daily beauty routine.

4) Kiss Me Mascara

I don't often wear mascara; but when I do, it's this stuff! Kiss Me mascara is unique in that it actually forms little tubes of mascara around each individual eye lash.  No make-up remover is required either - just apply water and gently pull the little tubes off of your lashes.

3) Aussie 3 Minute Miracle

I have been using this hair conditioner since I was a teenager. This is great for when your hair needs a moisture boost - after a hot sunny day or swimming in the pool.  It leaves your hair soft and tangle-free and has an AMAZING scent!

2) Clarins Hand & Nail Treatment Cream



Another product I discovered while living in London and have since incorporated into my supply of "beauty staples".  This lotion is non-greasy and is quickly absorbed by the skin, leaving hands silky smooth.  It's a bit on the expensive side for a hand cream, but a little goes a long way.

And the #1 product on my list...

1) Dermologica Daily Microfoliant

No word of a lie, this is the best facial exfoliant I have ever come across!! After just one use, your skin will feel as soft as a baby's bottom! The product comes in powder form, which you then mix with water to create a paste.  The only downside to this product is the whopping $72 price tag! To be more economical, use only when needed or once a week.



Tea Time!

While shopping with a friend of mine today in West Edmonton Mall, we stumbled upon an adorable little shop that we had never seen before.  I was immediately drawn in by the teal signage and the rows upon rows of stainless steel cylinders which lined the shelves.  I had to go in and see what this store had to offer.

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photo courtesy of www.davidstea.com

Inside each of those silver canisters was a unique and intoxicating blend of tea that I had never before encountered. With names like "Gunpowder Taffy", "Jumpy Monkey", "Opposites Attract" and "Pink", it became obvious that this wasn't your Grandma's tea shop!

After smelling about 30 different blends of tea, I had to narrow my selections down. I ended up taking home the "Cherry Blossom", "Pina Colada" and "Jessie's Tea" - which is a blend of lavender, rooibos, coconut and corn flower. 

Here's a small sampling of some of their tea blends:

Read my Lips - Black tea with vanilla, mint, chocolate, peppercorns and little red candy lips.

Cherry Blossom - White tea, green tea, cherries, coconut and pink rose petals.

Bear Trap - Blackcurrents, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and lemon verbena.

Chocolate Mint Maté - Chocolate, mint, rooibos and yerba maté.

If you love tea, or know someone who does, I HIGHLY recommend that you check this place out! Not only do they carry a wide variety of aromatic teas, but each one in itself is a work of herbal art! Plus they are a Canadian company.

You can find their Edmonton location in the upper level of West Edmonton Mall near the Waterpark. Or, you can check out their website at www.davidstea.com and order online or find a location nearest you.

I ♥ Starbucks!

If you're one of my Facebook friends, then this post actually isn't news to you.

Since last week, I have been floating around on Cloud 9 because I saw this at my local Starbucks:

These beautiful little desserts are available at all Starbucks locations and they come in Chocolate, Vanilla Bean and (my personal favourite) Red Velvet.

Unfortunately they only sell them until Valentine's Day, so get your hands on some while you still can. Although I will warn you: they're highly addictive! And then Starbucks goes and stops selling them, thus putting you through withdrawl. You spend the entire year trying to find a comporable Red Velvet cupcake, only none of them seem to compare to the foodgasm that you got when you first tried the Starbucks ones...or maybe it's just me. :o)

To "Glow" or Not to "Glow"

While I love make-up and beauty products, the truth is that in my day-to-day life, I really don't wear a lot of make-up. Some concealer, eyeliner and lipstick and I'm out the door.  If I'm in a real hurry or I'm supposed to be "roughing" it while camping, I sacrifice all the other stuff...except for my lipstick.

You see, I feel that without lipstick my face is washed out and pale. I was always jealous of the girls who could just throw on some lipgloss and look great. To attempt this while still getting some color in my lips, I have tried a few items: lip tints, lip stains, etc. and had complaints about each one.

Recently I heard about Dior's "Lip Glow".  It's basically a lip gloss that claims to "...respond to the color chemistry of your lips to create a shade that is uniquely yours."  It also provides protection from the sun with SPF 10.

So I went down to Sephora and doled out a whopping $35 just to try this thing!

My first impression was: "Oooh! Pretty packaging!" Okay, seriously. It's a colorless, fragrance-free lip gloss. And after wearing it for 2 days straight, I can say that it's probably one of the longest lasting lip glosses I've ever used. It lasted all day without my needing to reapply. It also kept my lips well hydrated, even through eating and drinking.

As for the claim that it "creates a shade that is uniquely yours", I didn't find this at all. It does add a natural-looking color to your lips, however I didn't think that it was "unique" to my "color chemistry". It did allow me to leave the house without lipstick on, which was a refreshing change.  I also found that adding a bit of clear gloss on top really complimented the Lip Glow.

All in all, I think Dior's Lip Glow is a great product that I would love to use regularly... if it weren't for the $35 price tag! I will keep an eye on how quickly I go through a tube of this stuff and pending the results of that test, it may become a staple to my everyday routine.

Bump What ??

By now I'm sure that most of you have heard of these new things called Bumpits. Basically they are "volumizing hair inserts" which, after a short stint in the Infomercial World, are now available at a retail store near you.

I saw these on a recent trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond and decided to give them a try.

The box includes a styling guide, one Hollywood Bumpit, one Large  Bumpit and one Mini Bumpit as well as a teasing comb. They are available in Black, Brunette, Medium Blond and Light Blond.

Here's how it works:

1) Part your hair at the crown and tease your hair slightly - I have fine hair, and so I found that I had to tease it quite a bit to get the Bumpit to grip my hair. Also grab more hair than you think otherwise you won't be able to cover the Bumpit.

2) Firmly place the Bumpit behind your part line - It helps if you wiggle the Bumpit back and forth to help it grip your hair better.

3) Pull hair over the Bumpit to cover - This isn't as easy as it sounds. First of all, I found that it's actually quite hard to completely cover the Bumpit. You may have to move hair around and hairspray the heck out of it just to make sure that it's completely covered.

4) Pull in ends and finish with a bobby pin - This is the "basic" Bumpit look. However you can also throw on a headband or make a ponytail. There are other ideas in the instruction guide.

Here's an example of the Mini Bumpit, which is designed for your bangs:

So, what did I think of Bumpits??

Well, they do what they're supposed to - provide volume to your hair. The first time I tried these, I was not happy with the results at all. However, my second attempt was a lot faster and cleaner. I think it takes some experimentation in order to determine how much hair to grab and how much teasing you need to do for your hair type.

I was actually surprised that the Bumpit stayed in, even when I head-banged my way to a headache to try and knock it loose. I think that if your Bumpit falls out, then you didn't put it in correctly - either you didn't tease your hair enough or you didn't use enough hair spray. That being said however, I did find the Hollywood Bumpit (the largest they offer) to be less secure in my hair than the other two. The sheer size of it meant that I could really feel gravity pulling it down, even though it wasn't going anywhere. I also didn't like how I could constantly feel it on my head. I even started dipping my chin down for the first little while as if I needed to try to balance the Bumpit on my head. The Hollywood Bumpit was also even harder to cover up than the other two.

All in all, I didn't regret the $10 I paid for Bumpits. But I probably wouldn't have paid much more than that for it, and I probably won't use the Hollywood Bumpit. While it is quick and easy to do (once you get the hang of it), I just don't like the idea of teasing the hell out of my hair. So I probably wouldn't use this daily. Plus I think that Bumpits is a "for now" thing - as in, "five years from now, this thing will be outdated". But for $10, I'll ride that trend train.

In Edmonton, Bumpits are available from Icing by Claire's for $14 or Bed, Bath & Beyond for $10.

i [heart] iPhone Apps

Hello. My name is Xina and I am addicted to my iPhone. It's the first thing I check when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I do before I go to bed at night. I always have it with me, even if that means I'm just sitting on the couch, watching TV.  I recognize that I have a serious problem and that I probably should get help...

But when there are so many cool apps for the iPhone, it's REALLY hard to, well, not play with it.

So I decided to blog about some of my favorite apps that I've come across:

iZen Garden Lite - This app is actually pretty simple: you place some rocks and fountains in some sand and use a rake to make patterns. You can change the color and shape of the rocks, the color of the sand, and the depth of the rake strokes. You can also choose between mellow-sounding wind bells or a rain storm as a background sound. And the best part? You just shake your iPhone to start all over again!

Koi Pond - This app is along the same lines as the iZen Garden, except this involves colorful Koi fish swimming in a pond. You can change the color of the water and the number of fish and lily pads. You can also choose from wind, rain, crickets and thunderstorm sounds. What I especially love about this app is that you can "interact" with the fish. If you tap the screen, you scare the fish away. And if you leave your finger on the screen for long enough, the fish come and "nuzzle" your finger (activating the vibrate feature in your iPhone).

 

Gratitude Journal - This has to be one of my favorite apps available. The idea is that you find 5 things a day that you are grateful for. The app itself has a great layout and is very pretty. You can also rate your day on a scale of 1-5 stars and add a photo to your daily entry.  Once you have completed your daily entry, you also get an inspirational quote. Plus you get a cute little Buddah-like icon on your iPhone.

 

Grande Getter - This app will find your nearest Starbucks based on your current location.  It will also utilize the map function to give you directions on how to get there.  I find this very useful on business trips when I just need to get my fix!

 

 

Paper Toss & Paper Toss: World Tour -  I love this game! (And so do my 4 and 2 year old nieces!) You basically flick a ball of paper into a wastepaper basket from various distances. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's more challenging than you think.

The new "World Tour" edition is also pretty cool.  The only real difference is that each level takes place in a different country.

 

I'm always on the look-out for some cool new apps, so if you have a favorite, let me know!

My Awesome New Discovery

I, Xina, am a beauty junkie. I have an extensive collection of lip glosses and eyeshadows dating back to who-knows-when. Not to say that I still use them, but I just can't bring myself to part with them either.

Being a beauty junkie, I'm always willing to try the newest thing and spend money on more products that I don't need. But this product is different - I think it's a must-have.

It's Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Basically what it does is it prevents your eyeshadow from creasing whlie also giving your shadow more vibrant and longer lasting color. I picked some up at Sephora for $17 and it did everything it was supposed to. I won't wear shadow without it. (And it comes in such a cute little bottle!)