Clinique Opens First Standalone Store in North America...in Richmond!

Here on the West Coast, we are rarely treated to the first of anything. Toronto, if Canada at all, is usually the first to be treated to new store openings, product launches, and other excitement. But, it seems lately, things have changed! Clinique just opened their very first standalone store in North America...right here in Richmond! The brand new location is location in CF Richmond Centre, and it truly is one-of-a-kind. This store will have exclusive products, interactive technologies, expert services, special events and more. Not to mention, it's beautifully set up to display their cult-favourite products, and all ready to test!

I'll admit - it had been a long time since I've used Clinique products. (Way back in my high school days, I had a lipstick and a few other products - all in their signature Clinique green packaging.) So after coming home from the store's launch event with some brand new Clinique products...I was pretty excited to give them a try! Keep scrolling below for a peek at the ones that really caught my attention (and to learn an awesome highlighting trick!).

Clinique Cheek Pop in Rosy Pop

I love a gorgeous blush. If I'm being honest, I have a blush I bought from Ladurée in Paris that has the most stunning design on it...but I'm always too afraid of ruining it! Great news: I've actually used this Clinique Cheek Pop blush a few times now, and it doesn't look used at all! I was expecting the powder to go everywhere and for the flower to loose its clear shape, but it hasn't. So relieved! And the blush has just a slight shimmer to it that is so sweet.

Clinique Moisture Surge & Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight

I am super excited to share an awesome highlighting trick with you, using these two products! I learned this from the Clinique experts who were on-hand at the Clinique CF Richmond launch, and I can't wait to rock this look all summer long!

Take a pea-sized amount of the Clinique Moisture Surge 72 Hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator and put in on the back of your hand. Then take the Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight and rub into the Moisture Surge. You'll end up creating a gel highlight that you can then dab along your cheekbones, for an extra dewy finish! Not to mention, it feels so moisturizing and refreshing on the skin. A great plus for the summertime.

Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss in Watermelon Pop

Bold, glossy lips are definitely back! I must say, I'm a big matte lipstick fan, so the whole lip gloss thing has never been a favourite of mine, but I was surprised how much I liked this one. The colour is really vibrant, and the gloss isn't as sticky as I expected (for a gloss).

Marimekko x Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss in Juicy Apple

Now, this lip gloss definitely surprised me. When I went to apply it, based on the bottle, I was definitely expecting a vibrant red gloss - similar to the boldness of the Watermelon Pop gloss you saw above. Nope! It was waaaay more transparent. BUT, I am absolutely in love with it. It has a naturally-enhanced-lips look that I can't get enough of, with just a hint of colour. Again, the formula isn't sticky, and actually feels quite moisturizing on the lips.

Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Sweet Pop

With a lipstick this creamy and comfortable, my matte lipstick days might just be over! I already fell in love with the adorably small lipstick cases, but then the formula really drove it home. This lipstick feels so comfortable and moisturizing on the lips, and actually stays that way all day long. NO drying out. Plus, this pink shade Sweet Pop is so pretty. I also tested a few other shades at the event that I really liked: especially Melon Pop. It was such a gorgeous orange shade for summer!

That's all for today, folks! Are you big fans of Clinique? What's your all-time favourite product?

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Love Roses? You've Got to Try This All-Natural Beauty Brand

I've always loved roses. Not necessarily in the usual sense though, like a bouquet of roses. More like the scent of roses, and the taste of food or drink with rose in it. We actually have a bottle of rose water in our fridge, which I plan to use for some rose-infused cocktails this spring. And over the last couple of weeks, I've been infusing rose into my beauty routine too!

Turns out, if you love rose, Dr. Hauschka Cosmetics is definitely your brand. All of the products you'll see below are packed with rose petals, wild rose hips, and rose petal wax! The best part? The roses are grown naturally and organically in their own garden in Germany. Believe it or not, the roses are still hand-picked from their garden. And all of their cosmetics are NATRUE Certified (which apparently has quite a rigorous certification process). Keep on reading below to learn more about why you're going to love this all-natural brand!

Before I had the chance to try the products, I wondered what they would actually feel and smell like: how would the rose really come across in these products? Well let me tell you, the smell is fantastic. Using the Dr. Hauschka Facial Toner and Rose Day Cream in the morning, my face smells like a lovely rose garden! Not just like a fresh rose...it seriously smells like a garden! It's actually such a wonderful scent

The Facial Toner is simply sprayed all over your face, and then lightly patted into the skin. It doesn't feel as tightening as most toners I've tried - definitely more comfortable. And the Rose Day Cream has a really nice, thick creamy formula. You actually need to apply a bit of pressure to really spread the cream across your face, and it really is quite thick, but I loved the feeling. My face has been very dry lately, so the thick cream felt so moisturizing and pampering on my skin. It's probably the rose scent that also makes it feel so pamering: after all, it smells like something you would use at a spa!

Now, I do love skincare, but what I love more than skincare is makeup. And here the really cool part: even Dr. Hauschka's makeup is infused with rose as well! Their Sheer Lipstick has a less intense rose smell, and has just a very very sheer wash of colour. I was expecting more colour to be honest, but I was actually pleasantly surprised how much I liked the look. It's very much a 'your lips but better' colour. It's going to be perfect for summer, when you want to keep your makeup look simple. Here, I'm wearing the shade Rosanna.

If lip gloss is more your thing though, they have an all-natural Lip Gloss as well, although it doesn't have rose. But again, the colour just has enough of a hint of colour to give your lips an enhanced look, without appearing too overly thick and glossy. I've used this gloss a few times now, and it really is very moisturizing on the lips. The shade here is Raspberry, a nice light, baby pink.

I find that good all-natural mascaras are a bit hit-or-miss. It's hard to find one that truly gives me the kind of lash volume that I want. I didn't find that this one gave me crazy volume either, BUT....if you hate mascara that clumps (and really, who doesn't?) then you are going LOVE this mascara! It is literally impossible to get it clumpy. I applied at least 10 layers and had absolutely zero clumping. It was actually pretty amazing - I can't think of another mascara I have that's that good at not clumping. Lashes are perfectly defined, and the formula feels very nourishing, as opposed to crumbly. And guess what? More rose! Dr. Hauschka's Volume Mascara has rose petal wax as one of the ingredients, which is what helps to nourish your lashes.

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

How to Avoid 'Tech Neck'

If you're reading this post from your phone or tablet right now, well, I think you're going to want to keep on reading....

I don't always love feeling like I'm attached to my smartphone, but with so much work being done that way now, and the need to be engaging regularly on social media as part of this blog (while I do love it most of the time), it definitely isn't the best for our health, in more ways than one. Especially our posture. All it takes is one look around while on a street corner or on a bus to realize that everyone is face down, neck craned, looking at their phone. It's not hard to imagine what that could do to your neck in the long term. In fact, apparently dermatologists are saying that the constant neck bending to look at our screens is leading to sagging skin, dropping jowls, and a distinct crease above the clavicle. And they're calling it: 'tech neck'.

Time to start thinking about a long term solution (that doesn't involve 'no cell phone'...because let's be honest, that's not going to happen).

Jouviance recently sent over a bottle of their Contour+ Neck Sculpting Gel Concentrate, and I think it might just be the answer to the long term smartphone-wielding problem. The paraben-free gel concentrate is meant to sculpt, rejuvenate, and regenerate the jawline, neck and décolleté. The Liftonin-Xpert infused in the formula aims to improve skin firmness and elasticity, and visibly reduce the appearance of deep wrinkles. Basically, this gel was formulated to tighten and contour your V-shape.

Now, up until this point, I've never been worried about wrinkles and aging. Partially because I'm still in my 20's, but also because aging is just something that's never really bothered me (yet). But, as I edge towards my 30's, I do start to think about at least incorporating a few anti-aging products into my routine. After all, I might as well be proactive about it. So while I don't expect to see miraculous and immediate results now, I'm adding Jouviance Contour+ to my nightly routine...so that hopefully years from now, it'll help keep that 'tech neck' at bay!

How do you feel about aging? Are you terrified, or couldn't care less? Does the fact that your smartphone habits might be prematurely aging your skin worry you enough to put away your smartphone? I'm curious to know what you think!

How to apply Jouviance Contour+:

1. Cleanse skin
2. Warm the gel concentrate between your fingers
3. Apply to the base of your décolleté and massage in an upward motion towards the neck and jawline, finishing behind the ears. Apply lightly with your fingers - the first time, I was pressing too hard on my neck and choked a bit! Oops.
4. Repeat upward motion until the gel is full absorbed

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Avocado for Breakfast...and For Your Hair!

I've jumped on the avocado train like every other good Millennial. When I was a kid, I never liked it - or at least, never thought I would like it. Man, did I miss out! Now I eat avocado toast for breakfast most days, and eat guacamole like a fiend. When Garnier's new Fructis Hair Treats with Avocado Extract arrived in the mail, I was all over it! Woohoo, more avocado!!

The new Fructis Hair Treats are Garnier's first 98% naturally derived hair masks, that are enriched with super fruits (yum - they sure smell fruity!) and can be used 3 different ways, to smoothen, strengthen, repair, revive colour and nourish your hair:

1. As a hair mask. After shampoo, apply to your wet hair and leave on for 1 minute. Then rinse.
2. A a conditioner. After shampoo, apply to your hair from root to tip. Then rinse.
3. As a leave-in. Apply to your damp hair to control frizz for super smooth hair! 

I decided to use it as a leave-in conditioner, since I've never actually used one before. I've always figured they would make my super fine hair heavy and greasy. But I figured hey, let's give it a try! So I hopped in the shower, did my usual shampoo and then conditioner routine, then hopped out of the shower, towel dried my hair, and then applied the Hair Treats. I first applied to my fingers and then ran them through my hair.

Well, obviously the Hair Treats with Avocado gave me a craving for...you guessed it, avocado! So I whipped up some avocado toast to munch on while my hair partially air dried. Then I used my hair dryer to finish it off. My hair felt fantastic and smelled oh-so-good! Like waaay better than just after a regular shower. That was definitely one of the benefits of using the Hair Treats as a leave-in. And of course, the other benefit being that my hair was nice and smooth. As you may have noticed in my outfit photos lately, my hair has been way more frizzy than normal (thanks for nothing, winter). So I have a feeling I'm going to be turning to this as a daily solution!

Are you avocado obsessed too? You've go to give this a try!

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Disclaimer: GlamSense provided the product in this post for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.