BB Cream in the Winter?

My winter skin's saviour, Garnier BB Cream

There seems to be an an unwritten rule when it comes to BB Cream and Foundation: Use your BB Cream in the summer and regular foundation in the Fall/Winter. While I do understand the rationale behind this (BB cream has lighter coverage and usually built in SPF, making it ideal for summer) I had a bit of an epiphany today. Why am I using foundation on my already dry winter skin, when I could be using a BB cream which is far more hydrating thus making it a better choice!

So I decided to put my theory to the test today when doing my makeup. I was definitely right when it came to hydration. The problem I've been having lately with my foundations making my already dry skin look worse was gone. In fact, hours later my face is still looking hydrated which would have been far from the case if I had used foundation. I should also add that I'm not talking about a particular brand of foundation here. I've tried many, but nothing seems to give me enough hydration this time of the year.

I only have one complaint, and that is the shade of the BB Cream. They tend to not have as many shade choices as foundation, so the light/medium was a bit dark for me. I can see this being a problem for some people because although I am pale at the moment, I'm still far from being alabaster white. But other than that, I am officially hooked on using my BB Cream again!

White and Gold

Another week, another variation of Christmas-y nails! I love white in the winter, and adore the combination of white and gold. So it made perfect sense to combine the two. I was inspired by the lovely Anna Saccone-Joly, who did a similar nail look last week.

I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in White-On, and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Wedding Glitters for the accent nail.

xx Nicole

Christmas Nails

My nails have been the standard 'some shade of dark polish' since September, so I decided it was time to give them a Christmas-y touch!

I started by applying OPI's Ridge Filler Base coat to my nails. They tend to be rather dry/flakey this time of year, so this creates a smoooth base for the polish. Next I applied two coats of Nicole by OPI's Keeping Up With Santa polish. As an accent, I added Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme wear Nail Color in Strobe light to my ring finger.To Finish, I added OPI's Top Coat to the other nails. I love how festive this is; it's a nice change from the traditional red Christmas manicure!

xx Nicole

Copper Chic

Maybelline Eyestudio in Copper Chic

Over the weekend, I was browsing through the makeup section at the drugstore. I came across this gorgeous palette, and knew I had to get it. I've been on the hunt for some new autumnal eyeshadow shades for a while now, and these fit the bill perfectly!

 The palette consists of a champagne highlight, a rose gold, a truer gold and a dark bronze/plum color. Worn alone or together, these are all fantastic and very wearable shades.

This was my first time trying any of the Maybelline Eyestudio shadows, and so far I'm impressed! All four colors have great pigmantation, and from what I can tell so far wear really well. I know I'll be getting lots of wear out of this palette, especially with the holidays coming up!

Pamper Evening

Pamper Evening Essential - Leaves from Bath and Body Works

You've had a long stressfull day. Everything seemed to go wrong and you find yourself needing to unwind. How to do it? My favorite way is by treating myself to a pamper evening! What is a pamper evening you may be asking? An evening devoted to treating yourself in respect to beauty and just in general!

The first thing I love to do it run a hot bath. Make sure there's a candle or two, and you have a glass of your favorite beverage (whether that's an adult beverage or not is up to you) nearby. Now's the time to throw in some bubble bath, or a bath bomb. Something to make it smell amazing and your skin feeling silky smooth. I also generally put a face and/or hair mask on while lying in the bath as well.

My Favorite Brand for Drugstore Masks - Freeman

Once I've had a good soak and am feeling relaxed, I move on to stage two of the evening. I like to take some time to give myself a mani/pedi. Then I end the eveing in bed with cozy pajamas, a good book, and a cup of tea. By the end of the evening, I find all my worries have slipped away and my mind is clear!

Next time you're in need of some relaxation, give this a try! You won't be disappointed :)

Blonde to Brunette

I've been a blonde for the last 2.5 or so years of my life. I started with highlights, and eventually opted to dye my hair blonde all over. I'm the type of person who tend to get bored of their hair fairly quickly, so it was most definitely time for a change!

I decided to go with a medium warm brunette shade. In another month or so I'm planning to go darker, but I  didn't want too drastic of a change since I was going from a white blonde shade. That is the first big piece of advice I would give to someone going from blonde to brunette : Go with a lighter shade than you might initially think. It's going to seem darker to you after having light hair, and that way you can avoid the "OMG IT'S BLACK" freak out that too many girls go through. It's easy to darker, but to make it lighter again can be a huge hassle; not to mention super damaging to your hair!

If you're wanting to do this, I highly recommend going to see a professional as it's a lot more complicated than most people think to go from blonde to brunette. But because I know that's not always possible (or if you're the type that likes to do things for themselves) I thought I would run you through what my stylist did!**

All brunettes have some red undertones to them. Some have more than others, which is where you get the variation in shades eg. Warm vs ashy. When you bleach your hair, you're removing all these tones from your hair. So it only makes sense that when you go dark again, you would therefore need to put these tones back into the hair. So we started by adding a red shade into my hair, letting in stay in for about 30 minutes. After that it was rinsed out and shampooed, but not conditioned.

Adding red tones back into the hair

Next we added a neutral brown shade, and repeated the process. I great tip I learnt? Make sure you comb the colour through your hair! This is going to make sure it is evenly distributed and no areas have been missed.

Once the last colour had been rinsed out and she hair shampooed, a cuticle sealer was put onto my hair and I left it on for about 2 hours (while watching the Grey's season premier ;) ). This helps to lock the colour into the hair, making it last longer and preventing any fading. You basically want to leave this on your hair for as long as possible. To finish I just rinsed that out. The cuticle sealer is really conditioning, so you don't need to worry about washing or conditioning the hair after using it.

The last tip I learnt is to not wash the hair after dying it. You want to wait 48-72 hours before washing after you've initially dyed it. This gain helps to ensure the colour is really locked into your hair, preventing fading!

And that's all there is too it! I'll make sure to do an update once I've gone darker. I hope some of you found this helpful, and let me know in the comments if you have any questions :)

**I am not a professional, this is just my explaination of what my stylist did to my hair. Everyone is different, so results might not be the same on your hair!

Bath and Body Works Fall Preview!

I adore fall; it is by far my favorite season. I love the colors, smells, activities and pumpkin spice lattes! Although we still have over a month of summer left, I've found myself dreaming lately more and more about what's to come. So on a recent trip into Bath and Body works, it was my delight to find that they've began releasing some of their fall merchandise!

I needed to pick up some hand sanitizer, so I ended up getting the I love cinnamon buns and I love pumpkin scents. They're also having a promotion right now. With any of their combo deals (3 for $5, 3 for $10 etc) you can purchase their adorable pumpkin candle (pictured above) for only $6. It's regularly $15, so I couldn't resist picking one up!

Product Rave: Conair hot sticks

The back of my 50's-60's inspired hair yesterday

After I took out all the pins - Crazy curls!

Like most girls with straight hair, I love having curls. I also adore vintage anything. Put the two together and you have some of my all time favorite hair styles!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have my hair done in a 50's-60's style (pictured above). What was used to create the curls? Conair hot sticks!

Conair Hot Sticks, image from amazon.ca

They are the same idea as hot rollers; flexible plastic 'sticks' which are placed in the base and are heated. You then curl the hair around them, and attach the ends together to secure. All together it takes about 20 minutes.

I have to say, I was impressed with how well these curled my hair! It created more and longer lasting curls than I've ever been able to create. The best part? The price! For about $12, you too can be creating your own fabulous vintage hairstyles in no time!

My Thoughts on Choosing a New Hair Color

I think it's safe to say I know a thing or two about hair color. Since I first started coloring my hair about 10 years ago, I've been just about every natural(ish) color under the sun. Not every color looked good, and some even looked downright horrendous (a certain purple-y color I attempted to pull off in grade 8 comes to mind). So how do you know which colors are going to work for you, and which are not?

I've put together a few tips for people in these situations:

-They say you should only go two shades either lighter or darker than your natural shade. For some people this is true, but it's not always the case.

-If you want to dramatically change your color that's great, but ease into it! Start by adding highlights (or low-lights if going darker) into your hair. Gradually add more and more with each salon visit until you've reached the desired result!

-Take care of your color treated hair! Example: A bottle blonde who makes sure their hair is healthy and toned correctly is always going to look better than someone with a head of yellow straw for hair.

-If your not sure you can pull off a shade, ask for a professional's opinion!

-Remember that eyebrows play a huge difference in how natural your hair color looks! Consider getting them tinted if making a drastic change in your color. Or in some situations, you can just use an eyebrow pencil to add color to your brows. This is especially great for bottle redheads.

-If you're dying your hair at home, use professional products! You can get these very inexpensively at stores like Sally's Beauty Supplies. They are so much better for your hair, and will produce a much better result than boxed colors.

First Ever Drugstore Haul Video is Up!

I just posted a my first Drugstore Haul Video on my You Tube channel! To watch, click Here!