L'Oreal Voluminous Review

2016 has been the year where I couldn't stay loyal to a single mascara. Who I kidding this has been a reoccurring theme throughout my life! I remember months back telling myself to 'Tanya go ahead splurge on a tube of Better Then Sex'. Let me be clear by Better Then Sex I mean the Too Faced Mascara not some sort of sexual device that comes in a tube. Erotic toys aside, what I'm getting to here is I had the full intent to purchase the Too Faced and here we are talking about something else. Can you blame me Voluminous was the very first mascara that I ever tried and I craved a little walk down memory lane, so here we go.

From what I remember this mascara made my lashes long, curly and the black formula made my eyes pop. Maybe I had such fond memories my experience in the mascara world was minimal? What I'm getting to here is this definitely does not live up to the hype. The first couple of times I applied Voluminous my lashes were long, fluttery and curly. However not even two weeks into this product and I can throughly say this has gone from perfection to a hot clumpy mess.

The one thing about this mascara I like is the brush. To be honest I find it a refreshing to use a bristle brush especially one that isn't crazy big. Another thing I like about Voluminous is the price, this tube cost me just over $5.00. With that being said I cannot recommend this mascara. It comes down to there are better, less clumpy and yet affordable options out there. So while it was fun to try an old favourite my hunt for the perfect mascara still continues. 

Life Style Favourites Christmas Edition

Instead of talking about the best red lipstick or my favourite spicy holiday perfume I thought why not get a little crazy and talk lifestyle favourites? Plus I've done a post on Christmas red lipsticks (here) and on perfume (here). So today I'm talking about those little Christmas-y things that elevate your entire holiday experience.

So Delicious Coconut Eggnog

I am not vegan, nor am I lactose intolerant but I am someone who finds the thickness regular eggnog kind of gross. So when I saw this pop up at my local grocery store I had that “I like coconut milk and this that might be good” moment. I find the texture off this eggnog thinner and just generally speaking I find the flavor better. I may have went a little crazy with this because currently I have 8 bottles stacked in my pantry. You can enjoy this alone, with rum or with my next favourite…

Nespresso Limited Edition Holiday Pods

My current drink of choice is a Gingerbead Nespresso pod and a splash of coconut eggnog. In addition Nespresso has released a banana bread flavor and a pumpkin spice flavour. I wish I could pick a favourite, but to be honest I love all three. If you have a Nespresso machine I can’t recommend these festive flavour’s enough.

Scentsy and Wax’s

Recently I purchased some Christmas inspired wax bars and I have to say I have fallen in love with this wax burner all over again. Currently I love the very Christmas-y Iced Pine and the very warm scented Apple S’mores. Another personal favourite is Blueberry Cheese Cake, but proceed with caution this scent smells so yummy it may make you hungry.

Le Creuset Traditional Pot

Another food favourite, can you tell I’ve been eating a lot lately? In my opinion Christmas/winter is the best season for warm hearty meals. So when it comes to cooking soups, pasta sauces, stews and chilis nothing is better then the Le Creuset Traditional Pot. Like all Le Creuset’s this pot is easy to clean, durable, has excellent heat distribution, but the round shape lends itself better to soups and other liquid-y dishes. 

So with a pot of soup on the stove and a baby up to no good in the living room I hope each and every one of you have an excellent Christmas. Remember to be safe, eat plenty and enjoy time with family. Merry Christmas guys and thank you for your continued support over the past year. 

Paula's Choice Resist Brightening Essence Review

By this point we all know I love skin care. The process, the products and off course the end result (healthy looking skin) are the pillars to my obsession. However every now and then I feel like the industry pumps out unnecessary products. Come to think about it seems like most instagram skincare stars have 18 step routines. Each to their own, but personally I put my foot down to these outrageously long routines. I expect my skin care to perform in a streamline fashion, I expect results and without any faff, gimmicks or nonsense.

New(er) to the world of skin care products is essence's. Are the worth the extra step? or is this just another step? What do they do? What are the for? Let's just start the darn review, shall we?

I've searched, tried and tested a number of essences and I can tell you right now your not going to like my findings. Essences/lotions/softeners/emulsions are more or less serums. Texture wise emulsions are lighter and generally seem to be less concentrated. I know what your thinking 'marketing ploys' but I am here to tell you there are some great ones out there. So if you were thinking of skipping out on the world of essences I say give them a shot. I personally find the lightweight texture of an essence works wonders under a emolliant facial oil. However I can also see people reaching for an essence over serum during really hot summer days. 

As mentioned earlier I've tried a handful of essences over the past couple of months. Some were watery, while some seemed ridiculously overly priced. Out of the lot the one that stuck out for me was Paula's Resist Brightening Essence. Unlike others that only boast one active ingredient Paula's Brightening Essence features many. Some of my favourite ingredients are the addition of two different hylauronic acids. This acid helps hydrate and plump the skin giving that sought after beautiful youthful glow. The next worth mentioning ingredient is niacinamide. Along with tightening pores this anti aging vitamin also helps even out skin tone, repair fine lines and strengthen the skins surface. This essence also contains soothing licorice root, age fighting antioxidants and replenishing amino acids... What I'm getting to is theres a lot of amazing things going on here. 

So should you skip out of essence's? No! Like all skin care products it comes does to the ingredients. Personally I love Paula's Brightening Essence, its loaded with amazing ingredients and makes my skin look wonderful. Used with Clarins Blue Orchid oil(review here) the combination is perfection... So ladies I will leave you with this, give the essences a try. Remember to be mindful of ingredients and always use products that work for your skin. 

Nursery Must Haves

When it comes to babies there are certain things you can never prepare yourself for. The crying, the pooping, the sleepless nights and surprisingly just how much time you spend in your babies bedroom.  From nursing to play time I some times feel like I spend all day in Everleigh's room. So with all this time spent in my baby girls nursery I've come with my essentials. So if your a new mom or have new mom in your life here are must haves that make mom life that much more comfy.

A Footrest

If you only get one thing out of this whole post let it be this, no nursery is complete without a footrest. In the early days your up all night and having elevated feet makes everything just that much more comfortable. Now that Everleigh's older and night time feedings have nearly diminished we use the footrest as a play table... for some reason she also finds it hilarious that she can crawl underneath it. Babies, they find the strangest things funny! By all means you can spurge, however there are tons of affordable options out there. I found my woven footrest (technically they consider this a bench) at Target on sale a couple a years or so ago.

Hooks

At first I bought these decorative hooks based entirely on aesthetic. Basically it came down to I needed to fill a space and this was a cost effective way to do it. From hanging wet towels to displaying cute outfits these hooks have come extremely useful over the past 11 months. I've even used them to store my spare sweater. Further more once Everleigh is older these hooks (theres two, only one pictured) can be used for her backpack, winter coat or any pretty outfits she wants to display. I bought these pretty bird hooks at Anthropologie.

Toy Basket

Wooden toy boxes cost a small fortune, not to mention they also take up a lot of floor space. So to save on money and space I opted for a small wicker basket. This basket stores some of Everleigh's favourite stuffed animals and since the basket is small she can easily pull out whatever stuffy she chooses. Once she gets older this basket can store books, magazines, socks or a spare throw. This bargain stylish toy storage cost around $30.00 and I bought it at my local Winners store.

Little Things Storage

From baby eczema creams to diaper rash ointments it didn't take me long to realize that by the end of the day Everleigh's dresser/change table becomes a total disaster. To combat this baby induced product explosion I highly suggest purchasing some sort of storage counter storage. I am currently using a decorative bird cage to house all of her baby things. However there are tons of beautiful inexpensive options out there, check out your local Home Sense.

When we think of nursery essentials we think crib and rocking chair. While those are obvious must haves its the little things that make all the difference. Espeically a footrest... I can't stress how nice it is to have your feet up at 3:00 am in the morning. So if your pregnant or know someone who is expecting I don't think you can go wrong with gifting some of these nursery must haves. 

Guerlain Super Lips Review

Some girls like matte liquid lipsticks, while others go crazy for luxury lipsticks. I however am a self proclaimed lip balm addict. I have a selection in my car, living room, bedroom, pockets ... want the kitchen knife? It's right under my kitchen lip balm collection. So when one of my favourite cosmetic companies Guerlain released  an all new lip balm I had that 'I'm going to need that moment'. So let's just into it, because I have a a lot to get off my chest. 

Lets start off with the basics this fancy lip balms costs a staggering $35.00. According to Guerlain this lip balm "soothes in a single application so that lips are left soft, smooth and plumped". The formula features moisturizing grape seed oil and hydroxyproline (line filler). Unlike so many heavily scented high-end beauty products the scent of Super Lips is suprisingly light and citrusy. As for the packaging it's squeeze tube it hygienic and practical. 

A couple of months ago I featured this lip balm in a favourites post. Now I'm not going to say I changed my mind about this one, because I like the sparkle free formula and the citrusy scent. With that being said this product just does't scream luxury to me. The formula is mildly hydrating and despite the packaging being practical I can't shake the feeling that it feels slightly cheap. So without a doubt I will happily use this and eventually finish it. However, with some many better options out there I don't think I will repurchase. 

November Favourites

There are some months that are crazy busy, but this month has gone down as the most amount of time stayed at home. Can you blame me? The days are getting colder and shorter so my reaction is to hibernate. Because of all this time spent at home (majority of it naked faced and in my pj bottoms) I struggled to think of favourites. So I dove into my collection and got to the nitty gritty of things and asked myself what are products that I use everyday don't get much love on the blog. So with my daily essentials heavily in mind here are my monthly favourites.

MAC Eyeshadow in Patina

Patina is a brown colour with a toned down gold sheen. While other sparkly browns can pop a punch Patina is subtle and somewhat sheer. Personally I love Patina, because its easy! I simply apply this to my lids, blend through the crease and my eye makeup is done. This perfect everyday shadow doesn't get much love on the blog and it's a shame because its one of my all time favourites.

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Golden Pink

When I'm not wearing Patina I am without a doubt wearing a cream eye shadow stick. My favourite over the past few months is Bobbi's Golden Pink. Formula wise this cream eye shadow doesn't crease and applies with ease... literally you just swipe it on and pat it in with you finger.  As for the colour Golden Pink adds a flattering wash of pink (perfect for bringing out blue eyes) and the shimmery finish brings life to the eyes but at the same time doesn't make you look like a disco ball. If your mother, student, pregnant, working women or just looking for something easy I can't recommend this enough.

Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream

To be honest I haven't touched this in months. However with the weather getting colder and my skin getting drier it didn't take long before this became one of my favourites again. From the emollient texture to the long list of amazing ingredients this cream is amazing... hell I even like the vanilla citrusy scent too. If your someone who is looking for an extra dose of moisture this winter this cream is one of my all time favourites. I have a whole review here!

Acure Coconut Argan  Oil

I love oils and this drugstore find is quickly becoming one of my all time favourites. Like so many this oil can be used on hair, face, body, cuticles or anywhere you have dry skin. However my unlike others this oil dries almost instantly. That means you can slap this on quickly before getting dressed without the worrying about getting it on your clothes. I also really like the coconut scent it adds a nice tropical touch to my non-tropical everyday life.

 An affordable multi-tasking oil, check! Moisturizer, check! Easy eye products, double check! This month has to be one favourites, favourites! Come to think about it I would slot these products into the 'must have category'. Anyways ladies (and gentleman) I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did. I would love to hear what some of your favourites are in the comment section below.