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8 Ways to Save Your Skin With Arden Eight Hour® Cream Skincare

ARDEN 8 HOUR

I’ve been using Elizabeth Arden’s 8 hour cream for over a decade now. It’s my go-to skincare product for when I have any kinds of cuts, needing accelerated healing, skin irritations, and super dry lips. I’ve been so excited that Elizabeth Arden has extended their 8 hour family over the years!

In a Nutshell:

1. FACE

The Eight hour® cream has been used to protect and soothe the skin since the 1930s. It comes in its original form or fragrance-free. What’s in it? Petrolatum, a skin soothing beta-hydroxy and vitamin E. The fact that it has won multiple awards says a lot for itself too. From my own experience, when I’ve burnt myself (super minor), cut, irritated flaming hot lips- one of my go to’s is the original Eight hour® cream. Results are always seen on the same day. Which to this day still blows my mind!

2. HAND MASK: 

You can use the original Eight hour® cream for this, or the Eight hour® hand treatment. This fast absorbing gel cream, is perfect for working hands that can’t deal with those greasy hand creams. This one absorbs into the skin in seconds and keeps even the driest hands moisturized up to 8 hours. Which is why I’d do this hand mask overnight for best results. Apply all over hands, cuticles, and nails for deep conditioning. Then wrap your hands in a warm towel for 10 minutes. Remove towel after 10 minutes and just sleep.

Eight hour® cream

3. FOOT MASK:

To use as a foot mask, you can use the Eight hour® cream intensive body treatment, the original, or even both! Layer the original Eight hour® cream first and then apply the body treatment over it. Apply all over your foot. From the heels to the toes. Put on clean cotton socks and leave on overnight.

READ MORE ABOUT ELIZABETH ARDEN PRODUCTS

4. GLOSSY HIGHLIGHT/MOISTURE:

Picture this, you want that natural glow, no fancy highlighter, shimmer stuff. Dab some Eight hour® cream on the bow of your lips, bridge of your nose, collarbone or wherever the light naturally hits.

5. EVERYDAY LIP BALM

This everyday lip balm is amazing especially during the winter! From the harsh climate changes, frigid temperatures to the dry office/home heat. Our lips take a serious beating. I love the touch of mint in this lip balm.

6. GOODBYE FLYAWAY HAIRS AND DRY ENDS

Take the Eight hour® cream and apply it those fried ends. It sucks after straightening your hair in between haircuts when you have that little rat tail of hair left that never seems to get conditioned. It just needs to get cut, but what to do? Apply some Eight hour® cream to those ends. Dab on. Also perfect for taming baby hairs and flyaway hairs. We all have those! There’s also an All-over Miracle Oil for face, body, and hair. It dries very quickly and I love the smell!

miracle oil elizabeth arden

7. PROTECTION FROM WIND BURN

To protect your skin from windburn during the winter time, or when traveling to a cold destination; you need to pack the Eight hour® cream. Yes. There’s such a thing. Googled define windburn:

wind·burn
ˈwindbərn/
noun
reddening and soreness of the skin caused by prolonged exposure to the wind.
8. DEFINE YOUR BROWS
No more unruly eyebrows.  Apply as needed to tame your brows or to add a healthy sheen.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

bloggers brunch

During my early years as a blogger, I wondered what it would be like to sit among other like-minded individuals in the blogging world. So here I am, this year, with lots of breakfast, lunch/brunch and dinners with other bloggers and I gotta say, what an awesome experience! Some bloggers are very different in person from what I actually thought they’d be like according to their posts and online voice. And others, like the below crew, are exactly the same offline as they present themselves online. When they’re exactly the same, I have to admit I get such a feel-good feeling. It’s wonderful to see that realness and authenticity come to life. So here’s what happens during brunch with bloggers:

Bloggers – Left to right: YesMissyCat Forsley Dianas Healthy Living
Maggie Adhami – ME – Shoeteasetoronto bloggers

What Happens During Brunch With Bloggers

Last month I met up with some amazing bloggers for brunch, in downtown Toronto. You might recognize them(see above). First, there are the quick intros and then the “omg that’s you!” chit-chat. And then lots of talk about blogging. Everything from how to editing, favourites applications, google analytics and SEO – (I’m drooling!) brands and events. I love talking tech! Plugins and what works for us and what doesn’t. If there is one takeaway you should get from this post, it would be “together we are stronger”. As similar as we may seem for content creation and voices; we all still have our own style, community, and our own niche experiences/opinions.

blogger brunch toronto

I love how bloggers bounce ideas off each other and the best part is when the food comes out, it comes out altogether so we can take flat lays, single shots and just pictures galore without anyone getting upset. Because we all get it! It’s a no judge zone and at that moment while taking pictures we are all pulling in the same energy and are alike. That is the very moment everyone really comes together. When we’re in our natural blogging element. Brunch with bloggers is not only about food, but getting to know the beautiful individuals I love to follow online and getting to know them at a much more realistic level.

outfit of the day toronto
Leather crop top – Zara
outfit of the day toronto
Bomber Jacket – Dynamite/Garage Clothing Outlet at Dixie Mall

 

 

Breakfast of champions!🤤 @joebirdto also does take out. What did you have for breakfast today? 😊

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Here’s what I wore to the brunch. I have been looking for a pleated winter skirt for so long! Now that I’ve found it, I want to wear it as much as possible! I found this skirt online at Aritizia and it was on sale for $80. Linked it and some others:

ONE TWO – THREE

aritzia jude skirt

Matched the grey tone with a color block grey purse from Zara. Sorta similar: ONE TWOTHREE

BRUNCH WITH BLOGGERS
Boots – Steve Madden

brunch with bloggers

 

holidays at shoppers drug mart

It’s that time of the year when to give is beautiful. This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a holiday event at Vaughan Mills shopping center as a Fragrance expert. I took people who attended (open to public) through a fragrance experience that peaked all of their senses! All fragrances I spoke about are available at Shoppers Drug Mart’s beauty boutiques.  In case you missed this event, don’t worry! The next one is happening at the Eaton Center, Dec 2nd and 3rd from mall opening to close hours.

 

to give

To Give Is Beautiful – Shoppers Drug Mart – beautyBOUTIQUE

So here’s what went down: You’re greeted by some beautiful ladies, who go through a summary of the experience you’ll have. Then directed to the fragrance station. Here I asked people what fragrances they were most drawn too. Based on their answer that gave me an idea of which ones I should start off with showing. We discussed different scents, notes in the fragrance and before testing the fragrance some tips on how to best apply it. In a nut shell, beautyBOUTIQUE wants Canadians to step into the holidays with this year’s must-haves in fragrance from beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart.

beauty boutique

beauty boutique event

Based on their fragrance choice there was a mocktail to match!

mocktails

mocktail

While enjoying their mocktails; they waited their turn to get a make-up application.

complimentary make up application

Once done with their make-up, everyone received a gift that had a make-up bag, a Christmas tree beauty blender and a 20x points + $10 gift card to be used at beauty boutiques.

There was also this super fun glitter wall that everyone took pictures in front. The lovely beautyBOUTIQUE ladies were taking polaroids of those who got their make-up done.

to give is beautiful - shoppers drug martTo give is beautiful

Those who made a purchase at the beauty boutique that day could bring it to the calligraphy station. To receive a tree ornament customized, 3 deluxe samples, $10 gift card – all beautiful wrapped in a silver box. Check out Mandy on Instagram who was doing beautiful calligraphy. Here.

So lock it in your calendars, the next event is happening at the Eaton Center, Dec 2nd and 3rd from mall opening to close hours. If you post your images or videos online, be sure to use the hashtag #ToGiveIsBeautiful.

This blog post was sponsored by beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart but the opinions are all my own.

beautyboutique

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Velour Lashes is a Toronto based beauty brand that makes (in my opinion) the best luxury faux lashes! I had the pleasure of attending their very first pop up shop at the Eaton Center via Sephora. This pop up’s main goal was to “inspire lash confidence”. It did the trick for me, that’s for sure. A pro at applying falsies on others but terrible at doing my own. Finally a product I’m confident in applying to myself. Naturally I have long eyelashes and with mascara I can get them even longer and thicker. But the look I get with falsies doesn’t compare. You can see the difference in my pictures especially when I go full glam on my eyes. 

velour lashes

Velour Lashes REVIEW + Live in Lashes EVENT [BEAUTY]

At the event, we were lucky to watch a make-up demo done by celebrity make-up artist Patrick Ta. He walked us through a live make up tutorial where he explained each step to create the look and the products used. As he did the make up tutorial, he took questions from the audience. Questions like how he likes working with celebrities like Jenner and Khloe Kardashian. As he applied the Velour Lashes to the model, he said:

“I love using these lashes on clients because it adds dimension to the eyes but is comfortable enough for everyday wear.”
– Patrick Ta, Makeup Artist

 

To be honest, he’s so absolutely right! Coming from someone who use to wear lashes once or twice a year, I’ve worn my Velour lashes already more than a handful of times, because they’re so easy to put on and feel super comfortable. The strip where you apply the glue is thin and flexible so it adheres to the skin  as close as possible which I guess is why it feels so light.

I highly recommend getting the too easy lash applicator tool. I would be lost without it when applying lashes. The angled grip helps to get the lashes on perfectly. It retails for $27.00 CAD. Most of the lashes are in the $30 something price point and come  in mink, silk or you can customize your own. Shop here.

At the lash make over station was where I had the pleasure of getting velour faux lashes put on me by Mable Lee. She is the founder of Velour and she is so awesome! She first tested a few different lashes against my last line to see which one would look best and to see if it needed to be cut and fixed. Not surprised, but the lash fit my eye ball and needed no adjustments. Which is one of the many reasons why I love these lashes.

One of the lashes I’ve been wearing on repeat is “dolled up”:

velour lashes

I talked to Mabel Lee about how she enjoys being a young entrepreneur, marriage, children and her favourite lashes. She is really down to earth and full of energy! Here’s here advice to women out there who are trying to become entrepreneurs:
If you take care of your lashes you can get up to 70x wear for a pair. Check out the below image for tips and don’t forget to save it on pinterest!

3 tips and tricks to applying false lashes

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bold with beauty

On August 9th I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people in the beauty and photography industry. Shoppers Drug Marts Beauty Boutiques are doing a special campaign called Be Bold with Beauty from Aug 12th – Sept 8th. This campaign welcomes customers into Beauty Boutiques to choose their new bold make-up look, consult with the beauticians and learn about the products being used to create the new look.

A beauty boutique make-up artist did the metallic look on me. Definitely something new for me. I usually go really dark on eyeliner and mascara. This look was light on the eyes, but popped with metallic eye shadow and more bold on the lips and cheeks. Especially for to my skin tone.

Be Bold with Beauty

Legendary Metallic Make-up
Metallic-Eye-and-Lip-Gold bold with beauty

Expert makeup artist and beautyBOUTIQUE™ by Shoppers Drug Mart spokesperson, Simone Otis; (whom I had the pleasure of meeting) says, “People aren’t always used to matching lips with eyes, however to achieve this look both lips and lids have a metallic finish”.

The main product used for this look was Smashbox Be Legendary Liquid Lipstick in Haterade.

 

After having my make-up done, celebrity photographer George Pimentel captured my new bold look:

bold with beauty

READ MORE: ALL ABOUT BEAUTY ON HUMJK.COM

I then got to sit down with one other blogger/influencer with celebrity make-up artist Joyce Bonelli. We talked about bold beauty and her favourite products. She always does 3 bold things to create a bold beauty look. Her favourite liquid eye liner is by Stila and bronzer or can be used for contour is hoola by Benefit. She was really down town earth and super friendly. Of course after our chat we took some selfies.

joyce bonelli

Don’t forget: Follow @ShoppersDrugMartOfficial on Instagram and share your bold look using #MyBold for a chance to win a $1,000 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her below shout out on Instagram thanking everyone just melted my heart!

Check out the other Bold Beauty looks you can try at a Beauty Boutique near you:

be bold shoppers drug mart

 

 

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Last month I was a guest on My Lip Addiction’s podcast. I always wondered if I should get into that realm of reaching people all around the world with my voice. Especially since I’m a shy person. Yes, for those of you who don’t know me on a personal level. I’m a shy person. I have my days where I get…brave and venture out of my shell, figuratively speaking of course. Then I have other days where I’m flamboyant AF and the only way to bring me down is to call me out on my crazy loud behavior. Sorry not sorry. 

My lip addiction blog

The Podcast Life & Getting Over My Shyness

Just like everything else that’s digital in our world today, creating and managing podcasts is not easy. There’s a lot of technical, brainstorming and creativity that goes into it. Just like blogging. Anyone could write a post and call it out on Instagram. But what about everything else in between and behind the scenes of it all. I tip my hat to Cat Forsley who can do it all!

Cat Forsley is a beauty blogger at My Lip Addiction and has a strong background in music and arts. She also writes about fashion, wellness and of course is the host of an awesome podcast. I had the pleasure of being a guest on her podcast and it was a great experience! I normally shy away from doing YouTube videos (I’ve done some awkward videos) or anything that has to do with people seeing or hearing me but I’ve been getting over that lately. A part of it is just self realization and then another part is the company you keep. Talk to those who lift your spirit. Someone whose in the same industry as you are.

cat forsley

Here are the links to the podcast episode:

iTunes
Google play
Buzzsprout
Stitcher

 

 

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Ever since we moved into our new house my husband and I have had our own washrooms. This has been the best thing ever! Maybe every couples dream come true. We have our own washroom space, I get lots of counter space and don’t need to worry about finding all those tiny little shaved hairs in my our sink. One thing we happily did share, was a blow dryer. Although his blow dryer sucks, I worked with it and never did any styling with it. Now I have my very own blow dryer and it’s amazing! It’s the new Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer.

panasonic hair dryer

This blow dryer uses nanoe technology to dry your hair without actually drying it out. For as long as I can remember whenever I’d blow dry my hair, the end result would be dry, frizzy hair. Then, if I put like a smoothing product in my hair to fight back the frizz, I’d lose the volume and my hair would fall flat.

Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer – Goodbye Frizz, Hello Shine

The new Panansonic nanoe hair dryer takes moisture from the air (so cool) and creates tiny, moisture-rich particles that are small enough to penetrate your hair with moisture. 
The results with this nanoe technology are incredible. So I put it to the ultimate test. I dared to wash my hair and not use conditioner. Dried my hair with the new Panasonic nanoe hair dryer and success! My hair had zero frizz, was super shiny and actually had a healthy bounce to it. This is my first time using a non-ion based hair dryer. Switching to nanoe has been the best thing to happen to my hair in a very long time!

I take this with me to all of my sleep overs, at the in-laws or to my moms house. And I’m definitely taking it on all of our trips moving forward. It’s travel friendly with the folding feature it has, and it’s super light. I also love how when in use, it’s not loud compared to my old hair dryers. I take a lot of late night showers, after my children have fallen asleep. So the noise factor is really important to me. In the past I would actually avoid styling my hair, just so they wouldn’t wake up from the sound of me using the blow dryer.

READ MORE ABOUT HAIR PRODUCTS

There are 3 settings. High, low and cool. Some of my own tips: The high setting is great to be used on thicker, coarser hair for maximum drying power. Low is better to be used on thinner, fragile hair. The cool setting, which I know for a fact many people don’t use is actually best to use to seal the hair cuticle. Once your hair is approx. 80% dry, switch to the cool setting. At this point in the drying process you just need the cool setting to complete drying and it’ll protect your hair from being over dried.

 

[Tweet “Your hair should be 65 percent dry before you start to blowdry w/ a brush. @PanasonicCanada #beautytips”]

It’s less damaging to your hair if you towel dry your hair first and then blow dry it. I also use my fingers to dry the roots before I use a brush. Also if you’re looking for a smoother finish then don’t forget to use the attachment nozzle this blow dryer comes with. It ensures you get targeted heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve been on the hunt for a really good lip pencil. I’ve tried so many brands and I couldn’t say I had a favourite one until now! Can you imagine, 10+ years of being a beauty advisor, VIB member at Sephora and not one lip pencil to be my go to. So cray!

Of course I was a bit skeptical before I tried BITE beauty’s new lip pencil. I thought, okay, here we go. Just another lip pencil. I was so very wrong. This lip pencil ($20, shop here) is my new found make-up love. I’m obsessed! It’s everything I ever wanted in a lip pencil. Soft, creamy, super pigmented and easy to sharpen.

In a nut shell, if you haven’t heard of BITE Beauty before, it’s a Canadian brand with their head office being in Toronto. Their lip products are highly pigmented made with hydrating formulas and are infused with food-grade ingredients.

The Nude Effect

BITE BEAUTY #THELIPPENCIL

Influenster sent out BITE beauty’s #TheLipPencil to 2500 Canadian Bloggers complimentary to try. On a side note, I always give my honest opinion on products that I receive complimentary and if it’s sponsored the brand is aware my honesty to my readers comes first. Having said that, as soon as I tried the nude combination I was in LOVE!  I haven’t found a favourite nude and this is 100% it!

honeycomb bite lipstick and beige nude lip pencil
BITE Beauty Lipstick: Honeycomb
#TheLipPencil: 020 Beige Nude

The packaging has a nice smooth finish and feels soft. One of my biggest pet peeves with lip pencils and lipsticks is when the lids come off in your purse! Worse, you put your hand in to grab something and get it all over the purse and yourself. The packaging on these products is perfect. Simple and practical.

044 The Lip Pencil BITE BeautyBITE Beauty Lipstick: Whiskey
#TheLipPencil: 044 Rich Mahogany

The Darkside
bite beauty #thelippencil

#TheLipPencil

I rarely wear lipstick colours that are this dark, but who doesn’t love to play with make-up? This colour gives off a more vampy look for those who have a lighter skin tone. The quality of the lip pencil is superb, ultra-creamy and super pigmented. Excited to swatch other colour options (40+ shades) from BITE beauty’s lipstick collection and lip pencil line (22 shades).

Check out the Toronto BITE Beauty’s lip lab to make your own custom colour!

Have you tried BITE beauty yet?

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5 ways to relax on valentines day

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m going to steer away from the Valentines Day ootd’s, gift ideas etc posts and bring to you these quick ways to relax. Because let’s remember, valentines day isn’t just about loving others or others loving you, but also about loving yourself. Taking care of you and making yourself happy.

It’s so easy to say; relax, but not so easy to actually get into that mood. Especially if you’re all about that busy life, doing multiple things at once, wear a gazillion hats and fear taking a break because you could be really checking something off your to do list. Well, honestly, take that damn break! We get so riled up in our crazy busy lives that we often forget to take time for ourselves. So here’s my fool proof 5 quick ways to relax, and please.. I want you to try at least one and tell me how wonderful it felt.

 

LUSH BATH BOMBS

lush bath bomb

Omagosh. They’re so pretty, smell amazing and get you into the tub. I don’t know about you, but I can’t find the time to just lay in the tub thinking of sweet nothings. It’s shower, out and go.

But taking that time to go to the store, pick out your selection of bath bombs, smell them, feel them.. really look forward to each one, really does enhance that relaxing experience you’ll want to go for. That initial drop in the tub and watching it turn your tub water into all sorts of pretty colours… oh and the aroma… ugh. Don’t get me started on the aroma. Take that scent in. Deep breaths my friend. I have a handful sitting in a basket in my bathroom. And when the time is right, and I totally need that getaway, I pick one of my LUSH bath bombs and I’m checking out of life, travelling to my bath bomb oasis.

 

MASKSrelax on valentines day

I’ve built up a collection of masks for all kinds of days. Just for fun, treatment and troubled skin masks. What I love about masks is that I don’t need to dedicate a whole lot of time to doing one. You can even put one on and continue doing whatever it is you need to do. Well I wouldn’t go outside with it on. Let’s not scare the neighbours, okay? If you want deep relaxation, you can apply your mask, cut a few cucumber slices and apply it to your closed eye lids and maybe eat a few and just lay there. Do absolutely nothing for 15-30 minutes depending on how long you need to keep your mask on.

MEDITATION/PRAYER

Make time to collect yourself. Whether it’s meditating or prayer, make that time every day to stop and collect your thoughts, release negativity and bring in all the goodness that the world has to offer. I know, it may sound a little crazy to some of you, but it doesn’t hurt to try right?

REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT

Did you know repetitive motions such as running a brush through your hair (try for a 100 strokes), washing dishes or even folding clothes can help you relax? Even with a dishwasher at home, I actually enjoy sometimes washing dishes. I may not be drawn to doing it at first, but once I get started, I just can’t stop. If you go for the 100 strokes of brushing your hair, it’ll help with stimulating healthy hair growth and shinier hair. Especially if you use a bristle brush.

ART

Not everyone’s cup of tea, but art can really help you wind down. I like to have at least one project ongoing that involves me painting or getting crafty. At the moment I have two that I’m almost done. I guess that’s why those adult colouring books are pretty popular now.

It’s all about setting the ambiance. You can do all of these quick ways to relax methods but creating that environment of soft background music, or absolute silence, turning yourself off and submerging yourself into relaxation is key here.

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