no mini doughnuts here

I love shopping at Beautymark because they always have great gift ideas, beautiful jewellery, fashion items and of course, I love their beauty selection! They stock makeup lines that are not readily available anywhere else (ie. Paula Dorf, Kevin Aucoin, etc), and they have a great variety of luxurious spa products, hair and skincare lines (for men and women). 

For me, with summer (hopefully) coming, I'm all about convenience and looking natural when it comes to my makeup. Easy peasy is what I want and with an ILIA lip crayon in Karma Chameleon, that's what you get. It's a lip liner and lipstick in one, it's organic and it's so handy, because you can throw it into your bag and touch up anytime with one swipe. I also love the bright coral-red colour of this lip crayon and I think it will be perfect for summer.

The second item I bought was the Celestrial Powder in Candlelight, a highligher powder by Kevin Aucoin. I swatched this on my hand and the texture is so silky and creamy like butter! It just glides on and sinks into the skin, giving you that "lit from within" glow.

 

With my purchase, I got to spin the raffle wheel for a surprise gift and got this Dermalogica sample set. I'm always looking for new skincare items to keep my skin in tiptop condition so I'm excited to try this set out and see the results. This is also a great travel size kit to bring with me on trips. 

 

mo' money, mo' problems

But no brows, no problem!
 
They say that the eyes are the windows to your soul, so by simple association the eyebrows are the frames for those windows. All makeup artists (or at least the ones that I've spoken with) say that the eyebrows provide lift, accentuate the eyes and complete your face.

I've been trying to grow out my eyebrows after a bad threading experience a few years ago that left my brows thin, sparse and therefore non-existent on my face. With the help of some Clinique brow powder, I've made them look somewhat normal and that's pretty much all I do for my brow routine everyday. However, that's changed after today's visit to Sephora and meeting the Anastasia sales rep, whose name has completely left my mind (I want to say Emily but I'm not 100% sure). After 5 minutes of working her magic, my brows looked full, defined but still natural and not overly dramatic. Also, as luck would have it, Anastasia had the "No Brows, No Problem" kit that was perfect for me: it contains a brow enhancing serum advanced, Brow Whiz in Medium Ash and clear brow gel to keep the brows looking nice and groomed.

I'm excited to use the brow enhancing serum advance as part of my brow routine. While I'm not expecting any miracles with this product, if there is any brow growth, no matter how minute, I'll be a happy camper. The instructions recommend using the product twice a day for eight weeks. Eh, eight weeks might seem kinda long but I've been waiting years for my brows to grow back, so eight weeks isn't a big deal for me.

Let's see how well this works...

a little bit of Prada

It's my birthday, it's the long weekend and it's Prada. Unboxing pictures below to show off my new bag in all it's leathery glory:

It's the medium saffiano leather tote with double handles in the the colour Glicine. I believe it's a limited edition colour for the Spring/Summer 2013 season. It's my new favourite :)

And now I'm on a shopping ban for 2 months...  o_O

And the Coolest Canadian Award goes to...

Chris Hadfield for his amazing version of David Bowie's song, Space Oddity. This is EPIC.

feeling light blue

My new scent for the summer. Sephora describes this perfume as "surprising and colored: the liveliness of Sicilian citron, the happiness of Granny Smith apple, the spontaneity of bluebells. Feminine and resolute: the intensity of jasmine, the freshness of bamboo, the charm of white rose. Deep and true: the character of cedarwood, the fullness of amber, the embrace of musk."

The notes are: Sicilian citron, bluebell, Granny Smith apple, jasmine sambac, bamboo, white rose, cedarwood, amber, musk.

I don't really smell Granny Smith apple or bamboo, but I do smell the musk, cedarwood and rose. It seems to be more "deep and true" than "surprising and colored" if we're using Sephora's description. But I do find it's a lovely light scent for the summer and I will be wearing this as long as the sun is still shining.