Sweet & Pink Valentine's (or Galentine's) Day Makeup

We're just days away from Valentine's Day, so I'm pulling out all my pretty pink makeup for today's look! I think most people's Valentine's plans seem to be more on the low-key side, so rather than a dramatic look, I thought I'd create something more wearable that would work for a casual date night or a Galentine's celebration! All the details are below, just keep on scrolling!

I've been looking for an opportunity to test run the new CoverGirl Exhibitionist mascara, so this turned out to be the perfect time. You know I'm a big mascara junkie, and CoverGirl was the first mascara (the old pinky-red 'Professional' bottle) I fell in love with. So I usually have pretty high hopes when they launch something new. Oddly enough though, when I gave this one a quick test, I felt a bit underwhelmed. It didn't really seem to add much volume (which is important for me). I ended up putting the cap back on and leaving it untouched for a couple of weeks. BUT...when I reopened the mascara to give it another shot with this Valentine's look, I found the formula was actually great! Lots of length and volume. Sometimes I do find some mascaras need some time to 'sit' after opening for the first time before they're good to go. This seems to be the case with the Exhibitionist. If you're patient, it's definitely worth the wait! No clumping, no flaking, no smudging all day, just beautiful lashes. Perfect for Valentine's Day. PS. In case you haven't heard...CoverGirl is now cruelty-free, and Leaping Bunny certified!!

I also want to make sure to mention the eyeliner I used for this look, as it's been a looooong time since I gave a new eyeliner a shot. I'm very picky, and have stuck to my usual waterproof Annabelle Exaggerate Eye Liner for years now. I haven't had the best experience with marker-type liners in the past. They just always seem to be dried out and tug on the eyelid as I apply. But not this baby! The Makeup Revolution Renaissance Flick Eyeliner is fabulous. At least after a couple weeks of use, it hasn't dried out at all, and doesn't pull as I draw my usual cat-eye. The black colour is intense, and stays on all day with no smuding - even though it's not waterproof, like my usual liner.

The other product I really wanted to feature in this look is the Annabelle Chrome Single Eyeshadow in Chromium (you can find it at London Drugs). I absolutely love this formulation. I picked up the shade Mercury a couple years back, which makes a simple yet gorgeous metallic smokey eye. The shade Chromium is a nice subtle, shimmery light pink, which is equally as gorgeous. The texture of these shadows is creamy (despite them looking more like a powder in the package). I just apply them to my lids using my finger to dab on the pigment.

Lastly, it's all about the lips! Rimmel's Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick is one of my favourite matte lipstick formulations, and the shade Rose & Shine is such a lovely shade of pink for this Valentine's Day look. It has a nice light scent (reminds me of the Rimmel lip glosses I had as a kid), and it feels so comfortable and not at all drying on the lips.

Oh I lied - one more thing!! I wanted to give my nails a little TLC, using Essie's new Treat Love & Colour Strengthener in the shade Sheers to You. Rather than a regular clear strengthener, this one has such a pretty subtle pink shimmer to it. It's nice and low maintenance because it's still so sheer, but it also stayed on quite well throughout the week. It's a great way to show your nails some love.

I've also linked to the rest of the products I've used for this pretty pink look - foundation, contour, etc. so you can find all of those below!

Happy Valentine's Day! xo

~ Britta

2018 Drugstore Beauty Favourites

I get pretty passionate when I'm talking about my favourite beauty products with my friends. Like I get really excited. I love trying new products, sussing out the best-of-the-best. And when I tell my friends all about the amazing products I've discovered, they always say I need to get the word out to more people about these cool products. So...here it is! I've teamed up with London Drugs, and one of my favourite London Drugs Beauty Experts, Sara, to share with you our curated list of our 2018 drugstore beauty favourites.

Learn about them all in the video here, and keep reading below for more of my thoughts on these awesome beauty products!

La Roche-Posay Serozinc (available at London Drugs)

This is one of the coolest products I've tried this year. I always wondered how people who use oil-blotting sheets did so without ruining their makeup. Well, there wasn't really a solution for that - until now! The La Roche-Posay Serozinc is an aerosol version of oil-blotting sheets, and does a great job of controlling oil on-the-go. Now, I don't have super oily skin, but I do find that by the end of the day my skin does look and feel a bit oily. And when I sprayed this on my face throughout the day, it definitely kept that at bay!

St. Tropez Self Tan Express Sheet Mask  (available at London Drugs)

Ok, so not a ton I can say about this product because my pale face is a little too afraid to try it, but it looked fantastic on Sara (who you'll see in the video above)! She looked like she just got back from Mexico! And I know she's a huge fan of St. Tropez' other self tanning products as well.

I have tried St. Tropez' tanning mousse before, and was actually really surprised how natural it looked on my skin - while giving me some good colour. So maybe there's hope for me yet!

Makeup Revolution Liquid Highlighters  (available at London Drugs)

I should start by saying that I've been using Makeup Revolution highlighters ever since London Drugs started selling them. I first fell in love with their Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights. And I've been wearing that ever since. It has this beautiful golden glow to it that is really bold. And it's so recognizable that I've literally guessed someone else who was using it!

So needless to say I was pretty sure I was going to love their Liquid Highlighters, and I absolutely do. Starlight is the perfect shade for my skintone, and gives this beautiful shimmery glow. As Sara mentions in the video, the formula is made up of a very fine shimmer, as opposed to chunky glitter, which gives a more refined look. I also loved Sara's tip to try mixing the highlighter in with my Lancome Teint Idole foundation: it worked amazingly! You can see in the video, my skin is glowing all-over, without looking like a disco ball.

Lavido Alert Eye Cream  (available at London Drugs)

Well folks, as someone who is not a morning person, I was definitely drawn to this cream. Anything that promises to make my eyes look more alert in the morning!! Lavido is a really awesome new brand that is exclusive to London Drugs, and hails from Israel. It's natural and organic, which is a huge bonus. It has a lot of 'no's': no petroleum, no silicones, no parabens, no animal testing, no synthetic dyes...the list goes on. It's also gluten-free, vegan and recyclable!

This cream helps to brighten, moisturize and reduce puffiness around the eye area, and is formulated with plant-based hyaluronic acid (which I've very much come to love), cold-pressed avocado (yassss) and pomegranate seed oils and citrus extracts.

Prim + Proper Nail Lacquers  (available at London Drugs)

If you've watched the video above, you know I am totally and completely obsessed with Prim + Proper Nail Lacquer. You can find them exclusively at London Drugs, and let me tell you, I legitimately love these more than any other nail polish I own. They just apply so beautifully, and stay on so well. The brush is the perfect thickness for a quick and smooth application, and the formula is just the right consistency. With the darker/brighter colours, I can usually get away with just one coat! What's not to love?? Did I mention they're chip-free too? And I mean actually chip-free (that means a lot coming from me). Oh - and they're 7-free (free of bad things like Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, Fromaldehyde, Fromaldehyde resin, Camphor, TPHP and Xylene). Win.

The shade Bloody Freezing is the perfect shade for fall - I love a good burgundy red this time of year!

Neutrogena Light Therapy Mask  (available at London Drugs)

When we were choosing the products to be featured in this video, I knew exactly who I wanted to test out this Light Therapy Mask from Neutrogena. My fellow Beauty Expert Sara has mentioned skin issues to me in the past, so I knew if someone would truly be able to report back on if it worked well, she would. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't sure it would really work, but only a week later, Sara came back to me, over the moon at the results she'd had after using the mask! I was pretty surprised, since most people say it takes a few weeks to see visible results. But the proof was there: her skin looked awesome!!

I know Neutrogena also has a stick version of the Light Therapy Mask, which can be used for more targeted treatment. Since my breakouts tend to be pretty isolated, I think that would be the better option for my skin - I'll let you know how it goes once I give it a try!

Weleda Skin Food Cream  (available at London Drugs)

I love when London Drugs gets in cool cult-favourite products I haven't had a chance to try yet! I'd heard about Weleda's Skin Food Cream before, but this year was the first time I was able to try it. It smells so good - a very natural straight-from-the-garden smell to it. And the texture is very rich, and feels comfortable on the hands, and not at all greasy. If your hands feel chapped this winter, this is a definite must-have.

It's hard not to love the Weleda brand as a whole, too. They're certified natural by NATRUE (which from everything I hear, is not an easy certification to achieve), meaning they have high standards of quality relating to sustainable production processes and environmentally friendly practices.

Derma-E Microdermabrasion Scrub (available at London Drugs)

I love a good scrub. And since I can't afford to treat myself to a microdermabrasion service at a salon on the regular....this scrub from Derma-E is a great alternative! The scrub particles are actually so fine, that you can't even see them when you open the packaging - it just looks 

And the best part? This brand is eco-friendly!! They're 100% vegan and cruelty-free, and don't contain parabens, sodium lauryl sulfates, petrolatum, mineral oil, artificial colours, gluten, soy or GMO's. And beyond product ingredients, Derma-E also makes big strides to lessen their impact on the environment with conservation efforts. Their packaging components are recyclable, and they make a point of offsetting 100% of their electricity usage with wind energy!

Happy Beautifying! xo

~ Britta

Breaking a Beauty Myth: Red/Pink Eyeshadow

Fashion and beauty have always seemed to have a lot of rules...but rules are made to be broken aren't they? You've probably heard someone tell you that you shouldn't wear pink or red eyeshadows because they'll make your eyes look puffy and swollen. I did - and I just never really questioned it. But is it actually true? When the new Rimmel Crimson Edition Palette landed at my door, I realized it would be the perfect time to put this 'rule' to the test and find out if it's a myth...or not.

I actually had a sneak peek at this Crimson Edition Palette at the London Drugs Beauty Preview Event in Whistler recently (more on that to come in a post soon!), and was impressed by the swatches, so I knew this would be a fun palette to play around with.

First of all - I love how Rimmel styled their new launches: in an 80's style boombox! How cute?? Perfectly fitting, with these 80's style colours! The pink Crimson palette? Definitely a nod to that retro flair. To be quite honest, I've never been a fan of 80's style (that hair...yikes!!), but I was so intrigued by the pink shadows, gorgeous blushes, and satiny liquid lipsticks, that I was ready to jump right in!

While I was really excited to try to put that pink eyeshadow myth to the test, I was also a bit apprehensive. I'm really not very skilled when it comes to eyeshadows. I just don't wear them all the time, and the idea of trying to create a look from scratch with colours I don't usually wear was definitely intimidating. But you know what I learned? You gotta just blend, blend, blend! It really does fix everything.

As I started to test out the shadows, I was quite honestly immediately impressed. I've used other drugstore palettes before, and they usually aren't very pigmented, and are pretty crumbly and leave quite a bit of fall-out. Instead, these shadows were incredibly pigmented, and had very little crumble and fall-out. I was actually blown away by the pigmentation. It barely took any shadow to deliver quite a nice bit of colour to my lids. Score!

Here's which shadows I ended up using, and how:

1. I put the lightest shade on the far left along my brow bone. I was amazed how pigmented it was, and just how shimmery it was! I find these 'highlight' shades in palettes never end up looking very good on my skintone. But this one rocked!! Such a pretty pinky highlight.
2. I took the 6th shade from the left, a berry/wine shade, and applied to my crease around to the outer corners of my eyes. You don't need much powder - it's so pigmented! Not to worry, it blends out easily. I also took this colour along my bottom lash line.
3. I applied the 3rd shade from the right, a deeper red-y/brown shade to the outer v. Then I also blended it into my lower lashline.
4. My favourite part...I used that beautiful glittery pink 5th shade from the right and applied that to the centre of my lids, and blended out.
5. I went back to that gorgeous highlight shade on the far left, and used my finger to apply to the inner corners of my eyes.

Rimmel also has 4 new blushes: the MAXI Blushes! 3 are matte - in a deep berry, light orange, and mauvey pink. The fourth is the only shimmery blush in the collection, and is such a pretty shade! For this look, I thought the mauvey pink (Colour 003) would be a good fit - and also the best choice for my skin tone. For the full 80's effect of course I could have blended it up to my temple (aka 'draping'), but I opted to blend it into my cheekbones only. 

Lastly, you know I love a good lippie! Now, I'm still a matte girl at heart, but I gotta say, these Rimmel Stay Satin Liquid Lipsticks had a beautiful finish: just a bit of shine, but not as much as a gloss. They dry down into a really comfortable lightly satin lip colour. I was immediately drawn to the shade 'Have a Cow' for this look. I love a good red wine lip colour. My only issue is that they did bleed a bit, when wearing without a lip liner (I'm used to not needing a lip liner with my matte lipsticks). So I'll need to use my NYX Wonder Stick with them in future to keep them from bleeding (especially the darker shades).

I'm so happy with how the whole look turned out! I don't see any puffy, swollen eyes here, do you?? I think we can officially put that myth to bed. I'm ready to take on a new beauty risk now. What shall it be next?

You can find all the products I used to create this pink/berry look at your local London Drugs - my go-to for drugstore makeup!

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided complimentary of Rimmel Canada, for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

The All-In-One Product to Hydrate Your Whole Body This Summer

As soon as summertime rolls around, I'm always ready to start adding coconut to pretty much everything: from food to beauty! In fact, I had to buy new shampoo and conditioner last week, and I couldn't help but try new brand Inecto (a natural brand I found at London Drugs), which has coconut oil in it. It smells fantastic, and my hair feels great!

Well, as it turns out, just after I picked those up, a package arrived in the mail from Jouviance...with their new Coconut Melting Balm inside! And, since I can never have enough coconut, I was pretty pumped about the coconut candle they sent as well. Yum, it smells as good as the Melting Balm.

The Jouviance Coconut Melting Balm consists of 100% natural coconut oil. In fact, it's made of 50% cold pressed, non-hydrogenated, non deodorized coconut oil, and 50% coconut oil of first pressure and deodorized by steam (it's high quality - that's what I'm getting at, and organic too).

The main benefit to coconut oil is its hydrating properties as an emollient, but it's also anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. But when it comes to dry skin, hair and face this time of year, being out in the sun more, I was definitely most interested in the hydration benefits. But here's why this Melting Balm is really so cool: it's multi-purpose! And who doesn't love that? Here's all the ways it can be used:

Body Moisturizer

All you need is a super small amount to hydrate your entire body with the Melting Balm. My tip: I like to apply my moisturizer on damp skin, after I've shaved, for maximum moisture retention.

The Coconut Melting Balm also helps with your skin's healing process, meaning it's a good bet if you've got a sun burn or other irritation. And I know I'm going to have a sunburn at some point this summer, unfortunately. At least I'll have this at the ready. Also - because it's anti-inflammatory, it works great after shaving (while skin is still damp, as I mentioned above).

Baby Butter

Now this isn't something I was able to test on (no babies in sight here), but Jouviance recommends applying it all over your baby's body by massaging gently into the skin.

Belly Balm

Again, no personal experience on this one, but you can also use the Melting Balm on your belly during pregnancy to reduce skin itching and prevent the appearance of stretch marks. Seems like it's worth a try!

Lip Moisturizer

Now I thought this is one of the coolest uses of the Melting Balm! Often, moisturizers are made for the body, and the body only. So it's great to have one that's safe to use on the lips as well. Jouviance recommends applying to your lips when they're feeling dry, especially after sun exposure. When I read that, I knew I was going to get lots of use out of this stuff! I've been riding my bike in the sun almost daily, and applying this really helps to heal and protect my lips afterwards. Applying it as a lip mask at night also works really well. It's nice and light on the lips, not at all sticky or tacky, so you honestly forget it's there. And then you wake up to perfectly hydrated lips the next morning!

Hydrating Night Mask

This is one of my favourite uses of the Melting Balm. Before bed, take a pea-sized amount, rub between your hands to warm it up, and then apply all over your face. You just leave it on overnight and wash off in the morning. It hydrates so well! Especially on the dry patches on my cheeks right now. At first, I was a bit hesitant to smear the balm all over, for fear of it feeling too oily, but it really does melt right into the skin nicely (they don't call it Melting Balm for nothing!).

Hair Serum

In the summer, my hair usually gets pretty dry and brittle from being in the sun. Especially because my hair is already so thin. You can also apply the Melting Balm to your hair to help hydrate your strands and add shine! I appreciated that they offer directions for both thick and fine hair, because my first thought was 'woah - but this is going to weigh down my hair'! For fine hair, Jouviance suggests you start with a very small amount of Melting Balm, to ensure your hair doesn't get greasy. Erring on the side of caution, I took essentially half a pea-sized amount, and that worked well to hydrate my brittle ends, without making it greasy.

You can also use the Melting Balm as a hair mask before shampooing. Just apply a small amount (I used less than the directed quarter size amount) to your dry hair, avoiding the scalp. Then, you just put your hair in a bun and leave in for half an hour. You can apparently leave it in overnight, too, but I haven't tried that yet. Then you just shampoo and rinse! I actually liked this technique better than the hair serum, as I liked having it soak in over the half hour, but then being able to rinse it out afterwards. My hair felt so soft and not at all brittle afterwards!

And that's all folks! Anyone else on a coconut kick right now? (I ask as I eat my coconut berry smoothie bowl...)

Happy Hydrating! xo

~ Britta