September Favourites 2015

I thought that summer flew by but it seems like autumn is going even faster, it's already October and I feel like any second now it will be winter and snowing.  I love September because the leaves start changing, the weather gets a little cooler (but not so cool that you need to break out the parkas), and most exciting it's my birthday month!  Here are some of the things I've been absolutely loving this month: 

Fuji Green Tea Body Lotion from the Body Shop: This lotion is lighter than the body butters from the Body Shop and soaks in more quickly and this smells INCREDIBLE.  I haven't gone back to TBS since I picked this up but I'm seriously tempted to by more from this range and I really hope it isn't limited time because this might be my new favourite scent.

Nutriganics Drops of Youth from The Body Shop: I also picked this up the last time I was at The Body Shop and I've been using it as a serum day and night under my moisturizer.  I was skeptical of it at first but I this has been the product that has made the most difference to my skin.  I've been having some pretty bad skin problems and this has calmed it and made my face appear smoother and has helped a lot with my breakouts.

Vitamin e oil: The acne I was getting was leaving some pretty bad scarring in it's wake so I started using pure vitamin e oil all over my face as a night cream and it has worked wonders in healing my face.  I've almost used up the whole bottle and even though it is very thick and (obviously) oil-y it hasn't caused me to break out at all; it's a big help especially as we move into the colder, dryer months and my skin gets more dehydrated.

Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation: This foundation just ticks all the boxes for me; it's medium coverage without looking cakey, it blends really well and lasts through a work shift without melting off and it's the perfect colour for me right now so I've basically just been reaching for it every time I wear makeup.

Stila Eyes are the Window palette in Soul: I treated myself to this after I got a bigger than usual paycheck this month and although I don't know a lot about eyeshadows etc. I really like all the colours in this palette, it's easy for me to apply and blend, and I've been using it almost every day that I work (because I don't wear makeup during the week if I'm only training).  It's just really pretty OK?

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser Heal & Seal Treatment: I'm going to preface this by saying that I have very dry hair especially on the ends so if you have oily hair this might not work for you.  This is a hair treatment that you put on in the shower after your condition for one minute and it's supposed to seal in your condition and repair damage.  For me this is one of the only products that actually makes my hair feel super soft these days and makes it look way healthier.

The X-Files: I started watching the X-Files on Netflix a while ago but now that it's getting darker and more autumnal outside I've been watching it so much more.  There's just something about watching a slightly creepy, dramatic show on a cool dark night that I find super cozy.  Any night that my roommates aren't home I light one of my fall candles and curl up on the couch to watch Mulder and Scully.

Winter Rescue

We've been having some really nice, warmer, weather lately and it seems like we're finally (fingers crossed) getting to the end of winter.  Although it is a little warmer it has still been ridiculously dry and my skin and hair has been suffering for it.  I feel like I've just barely gotten to a point where my hair no longer feels like straw and my hands no longer feel like they're going to crack and start bleeding (ew) so after a lot of trial and error I thought I would share what worked to save me from this horrid dry climate.

The product that has probably made the biggest difference for me lately has been the Ultra Repair Concentrate from First Aid Beauty.  This (very thick) cream can be used anywhere you have dry skin but I've been using it as a night cream for my face.  I simply slather a bunch of it on my face, go to bed, and then I wake up with smoother, healthier looking skin.  It hasn't caused me to break out at all I've actually been breaking out less and it healed up a pretty nasty acne scar almost overnight.  It's a little bit too much for an all-over day cream but you could definitely use it just where you needed it if you had dry skin around your nose or something.

A body moisturizer fave is of course the body butters from The Body Shop.  I do find them a little greasy so I don't reach for it all the time (although I have a bunch) but they are excellent for dry or scaly legs and feet. (Also if you can still manage to get your hands on a cranberry scented one I highly recommend it sooooo good)

Also at The Body Shop I picked up this mango scented Beautifying Oil.  I originally got this with my hair in mind and it does a great job of making my ends look shiny and not dry and broken although I would be careful because if you have fine hair this might weigh it down and look greasy if you use too much.  I've also used the oil on my body when I'm feeling lazy because it is much quicker to put all over than a body butter and because it's a dry oil it's not greasy and dries quite quickly (although not as moisturizing).

The Blistex Lip Medex is pure a simple a great lip balm.  I've tried many other but nothing's as good as this; it works quickly and it works well and that's really all I could ask from it.

I don't know if it's because I wear gloves to skate all the time or if it's because I work in a coffee shop and wash my hands a lot but they are always, always extremely dry.  The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector is not the most glamorous or nice smelling hand cream but it works extremely well.  Instead of having to apply hand cream constantly I can use this once and my hands will be gross and scaly no more!

We're almost there guys, it's almost spring and then it will be summer, just a few more months.  Let me know if you have any products that really work for you because I'll take all the help I can get when it comes to dry skin, I hate that feeling. 

The last and most important competition of the season for me is this week so no matter what happens next weeks post will be the review of that (fingers crossed it's an upbeat post).

May Favourites

It seems to me that May just flew by, I could have sworn that I only wrote my April favourites like last week.  I have a few beauty-type favourites and a lot of other favourites because let's be honest beauty isn't really my thing and I mostly just slap things on my person to keep my skin from flaking off and my hair from breaking apart.

Growing up I had both a pool in my backyard and a cottage on a lake and spent almost all my summer time outside so I was always very very tanned.  These days I live somewhere with slightly less summery weather and I don't have the luxury of spending all my time outside (ugh adulthood) so my first favourite is the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer (fake it 'til you make it right?).

Can be found at Shoppers DrugMart

It's just a white moisturizer, it doesn't really have any scent and it's very subtle so it's pretty much foolproof.  I put this on after my shower, even on my face, and as long as I make sure it's all rubbed in it doesn't streak, it looks natural and just gives me a subtle more bronzed look.

My next favourite is also summer related and it's the Neutrogena UltraSheer Dry-Touch Sunblock.  I like to use this for my face because it's not greasy so I won't break out especially if I use it while I'm working out.

Can be found at Shoppers

Now I know there's a lot of hype around coconut oil right now for cooking and baking as an alternative to butter and other unhealthier oils but for me it really makes the difference for my hair.  I have very dry and damaged hair but if I cover it in coconut oil overnight or for a few hours before I shower I find that my hair is softer, shinier, and all around healthier looking.  I only use it about once every week or two but that's honestly enough.

Can be found at any grocery store

This month I have also been loving coffee.  I think I've been having a cup almost every day in may.  I know Starbucks coffee can seem a little overpriced but this dark roast is honestly delish (and this is coming from someone who wasn't even a huge coffee fan at all until this year).

Can be found at Starbucks

Moving on to music.  I was absolutely obsessed with Alex & Sierra when they were on The X-Factor US and they've finally released their first song which is quickly on it's way to becoming one of my new faves. (Bonus the lyric video is super cute).

Finally my last favourite is a YouTuber called Hannah Maggs (she also has a blog linked here).  She and her husband make weekly vlogs following their daily lives and while that may not sound super interesting the editing in the videos is beautiful and they have a gorgeous little baby.  I don't watch or go out of my way to find baby vlogs but I wait with bated breath for them to upload their video every Sunday because their videos are entertaining and so pretty to look at.  Here's this week's video: 

Makes me want to start vlogging! As always feel free to leave me any suggestions or questions in the comments and let me know what you've been loving this month! See you next weekend :)

April Favourites

Once again I think I'm a beauty blogger or something.  I really like to read other people's monthly favourites posts because I'm nosy and other people's opinions really influence what I buy so I thought I would make my own contribution to the consumer world by telling you guys some of the things I've been loving in April (it's lame I know just go with it).

First up stuff that I put on my face.

Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm - The Body Shop: The Body Shop describes this as "an indulgent make-up remover for the whole face.  It gently and efficiently melts away make-up and impurities, leaving skin feeling clean, refreshed and pampered."  I've had this for a while but I only use it when I wear makeup which has been a lot more often this month since I've been training less and going out more.  I take a little bit and rub it onto my face (while it's still dry) then onto my eyes and then rinse.  It really does melt away makeup and it leaves my face looking clean but I usually wash again with a cleanser afterwards just to get any left-over makeup or impurities that might still be hanging out on my face.  I think I paid somewhere around $16 for this, and you get a lot of product, but it is currently listed on thebodyshop.ca for $9.60

Jamieson ProVitamina E Moisture-Rich Nourishing Cream: I've made a more detailed post about this product over here but basically I still love it.  It's really moisturizing and thick so it keeps my face hydrated and healthy looking and I've been using it for over a month now and it still hasn't caused me to break out or anything which was a concern that I had since it was so thick.  I found this online for $13.99 but I bought it at Shoppers Drug Mart when it was on sale and I definitely did not pay more than $10 for it.

EOS lip balm in honeydew: I know there's a lot of hype around these lip balms and if I'm being honest the product itself isn't revolutionary.  It's a good lip balm and the packaging makes it easy to apply and easier to find in a bag but what I like most about this is the smell.  It smells exactly like a lip balm that I got as a stocking stuffer from my aunt forever ago so it reminds me of good memories and my aunt so it puts me in a good mood.

These next six products on their own aren't exactly anything to rave about (although I am a big fan of the Scandal Eyes Retro Glam mascara) but when they're all put together they create a natural looking makeup look that I wore most days in April.  During the skating season I often went all or nothing when it came to makeup but when the season ended and I was spending more time in class than I was working out (for once) I started to wear makeup on a daily basis but I did need to tone down my regular night-out makeup just a tad.

The products I used were Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in light/medium, L'Oreal Paris True Match corrector in W 1-2-3 warm fair/light,  Rimmel Natural Bronzer Waterproof Bronzing Powder in 022 Sun Bronze, Revlon cream blush in 300 Coral Reef, Maybelline Color Whisper in 35 Coral Ambition and Rimmel Scandal Eyes Retro Glam mascara in 003 Extreme Black.  Together they produced a look that looks something like this (excuse my skin it wasn't necessarily nice enough to pull off just BB cream on this day):

Now onto hair.  This might seem a little weird but for my hair I've been loving using a wide toothed comb.  I've noticed since I've switched from using a brush to detangle my wet hair to a comb I've had less breakage and damage.  I also like to use this comb in the shower after I've applied conditioner (but before I've rinsed it out) because it helps to detangle my hair and also spread the conditioner to all my hair since I have a lot of it.  This comb is just a cheap plastic one I got at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Coconut Oil Hair Shine - The Body Shop: I like to use this after I've styled my hair, it helps to smooth it down a little bit and it also has a bit of shimmer in it so it makes my hair look shinier and healthier.  Coconut oil is also really good for your hair so I feel like by putting this on the ends after I use heat tools it helps to heal my hair a little bit.  Again I paid around $10 for this product but it's currently listed online for only $6.  Even though it does come in a pretty small tin you have to use so little of this product that you aren't going to have to repurchase it super often.

Olive Shower Gel - The Body Shop: This is a soap-free cleanser with cold-pressed olive oil so it is noticeably a bit more moisturizing than other Body Shop shower gels.  Mostly I just really like the scent of this.  It's a scent that I think you're either going to love or hate because it's obviously quite a bit different than their usual fruity or floral scents.  This shower gel smells almost grassy and very fresh and I just find it to be a nice change from other more traditional cleanser scents.  It is a little strong in the shower but it doesn't linger very much so you won't feel like you surrounded by an olive scented cloud all day.

My book for this month is definitely A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (the sequel to A Game of Thrones).  The first thing I wanted to do when I finished exams was dive right into this.  It's the kind of book you can kind of escape into and if you haven't read any of the series I would highly recommend it (I haven't watched the show yet so I can't tell you which one is better).

And finally I had to include my song favourite for the month because me and my cousin/roommate have been listening to this nonstop and singing and dancing to it in our kitchen (my sister is super unimpressed).  The song is She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer (don't judge me it came up on 8tracks and by the time I found out how old they all are I was already too invested).

Do you have any favourites for this month? I'm almost always looking for song and book suggestions also if there's ever anything you want me to talk about on here let me know, see you next week!

I've also updated the results and rankings page for this season. Overall Canadian and Ontario rankings haven't been released yet.

Taking Care of Myself When Sick and Jamieson ProVitamina E Review

I have slowly but surely returned to the land of the living!  Last week I started going back to training and lucky for me it was reading week at school and also a recovery week at skating so I was able to ease myself back into exercising and being out of the house.  After being sicker than I have been in years I feel like I now have some new insights into how to take care of myself when I'm sick when my mommy is far away in another province.

I think one of the hardest things for me was remembering to eat.  I was so sick that I had zero urge to get off the couch and make some food but I didn't want to lose any muscle mass so I forced myself to eat regular meals and drink lots of fluids and found that I would often feel better once I had eaten.  Another thing that made me feel marginally better was not wallowing in my own filth.  I cleaned my room, I washed my sheets, I showered on a (semi) regular basis, one night I even put on makeup and regular clothes and went to dinner with some friends (by regular clothes I mean black leggings and a sweater).

I'm trying so hard to look like I'm not dying is it working?

I think that the most important thing I learned through this horrific flu experience though was not to push myself too hard.  The one day I went back to training and school was so draining and not worth it because I felt so much worse the next day and probably delayed my recovery a bit.  Because of this I opted not to race this weekend in hopes that I will be fully recovered to skate national team trials #2 next month.

During my week from hell I did make a life changing discovery.  You might remember that I described my face as being "so dry it felt like it was going to fall off" so once I was feeling well enough to walk to the mall across the street I went on a mission to find something to repair my poor skin.  I would like to point out that this was not just a red nose but skin so dry that my eyelids were burning (I didn't even know dry eyelids was a thing that could happen).  I went to Shoppers and picked up the only face cream I saw that said it was for "dry and very dry" skin because at this point I didn't even care if I was going to break out (it also happened to be on sale, score).

I ended up with the Jamieson ProVitamina e Moisture-Rich Nourishing Cream.  It comes in a pretty big tub (compared to other face creams I have used) and doesn't look like anything fancy but oh my goodness does it work.  I used it overnight and by the next day my face looked like my normal face again!  It even helped heal up an acne scar that would normally take much longer to look that much better.  It is very thick but hasn't caused me to break out at all so I've continued to use it every night and sometimes during the day, I even wore it under makeup the last few days and didn't break out at all.  Since using this cream my face looks smoother and my skin looks healthier and I have to use so little of if that it will probably last forever.

This is about how much I used 

I will admit that where I live it is very dry as well as very cold right now so if it is warmer or damper where you are or if you have oily skin this might not be for you and I probably won't continue using it if it gets hot and humid during the summer but for right now this is the perfect product for my situation.

Bonus picture of the view out my bedroom window right now, it's just encased in ice