Tag: review

All, Beauty

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask 1

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask 2

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask opened

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask opened 2

Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy-Boosting Face Mask opened up close

Being in the thick of dreary, rainy winter days really takes its toll on me and my skin. Don’t get me wrong, I love jumping in rain puddles, seeing my breath in the mornings, and praying for snow, but my skin doesn’t appreciate the cold weather. That’s where this mask comes in as the ultimate winter pick-me-up. 

Features

  1. Comprised of orange, lemon, and clementine extracts
  2. Contains a proprietary complex of vitamins C, E, and B5, along with revitalizing minerals
  3. Contains AHA fruit acids that exfoliate and smooth skin
  4. Suitable for sensitive skin
  5. Citrus jam texture
  6. Smells incredible

I use this product twice per week, on Sundays and Wednesdays after my morning skin cleansing regime. As directed, I apply a generous amount with gentle circular motions, then leave it on my face for around 10 minutes while I catch up on some blog reading. I typically remove it with some warm water and a face towel, but I have heard a cotton pad works just as well. 

The best way I can describe how lovely this product is is to say that it leaves my skin clear, bright, and glowing, all the things I want my skin to be in winter. My complexion has also become much smoother and even, and my skin feels so healthy and soft after use and for the next few days until I use it again.  An added bonus is how amazing this product smells. The dominant smell is freshly cut oranges and clementines, but the hints of lemon give it a slightly tart scent. The combination wakes me right up in the mornings, energizing me and my skin. 

One thing that surprised me about this product the first time I used it was the thick pieces of citrus in the jam-like mask. I had initially expected a smoother texture, but the pieces actually help in exfoliating and speak to just how natural this product is. 

 This is definitely a splurge purchase at CAN $80 for the 100mL jar, but it is so worth it. 
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All, Book-To-Movie Adaptation Reviews, Books

Room Movie Adaptation Review

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Room Movie Adaptation Review

MV5BMjE4NzgzNzEwMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTMzMDE0NjE@._V1_SX214_AL_So often we go to the movies to escape reality: enter into fictional worlds of international intrigue with James Bond, dystopian action with Mad Max, and intergalactic travel with James T. Kirk and Spock. But every now and again, a movie comes along that forces us to confront the world and all of its flaws head-on. This is one such movie.

I reviewed the book Room by Emma Donohue back in September after returning from my trip to Paris. The fact that I was able to finish reading this book on a plane with babies screaming, an elderly man snoring, and this sick kid across the aisle sniffing every five seconds speaks volumes about the immersive quality of this novel.

When I found out that a movie adaptation was to be released, I was skeptical, as I know many fellow bookworms probably were. The common assumption is that the movie adaptation will not do the book justice, and will leave out crucial details, shatter peoples’ mental images of the characters, or even change the entire direction of the plot in some cases. But this movie did none of those things, probably because Emma Donohue wrote the screenplay. I love when authors do that.

This movie adaptation brilliantly captured the raw emotions of Jack and Ma invoked by their solitary life in Room, while also honing in on the beautiful naivety of Jack and the world seen through his eyes. The actors selected to play Jack and Ma were near-perfect selections. In many cases, I find there is a bothersome juxtaposition between actors and the roles they play. It’s like if Justin Bieber was picked to play Mr. Knightley in a movie adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. It’s just not what you picture. In this movie, however, the actors were talented but unembellished, which allowed me to focus entirely on the adaptation of the story, and the elements used to propel the plot forward.

This film is startlingly real, yet its dark and disturbing themes were gracefully adapted. Plus, the unique shift in perspective to that of a young child who believes that his life in an 11x11ft garden shed is as normal as anyone else’s makes the story all the more powerful, and all the more heartbreaking. Admittedly, I cried during several scenes because it is difficult to think about life in such an environment, and equally more difficult to think about the courage required to even consider escaping.

While society tends to filter what we see to only include things it thinks we will enjoy, this movie is one that needs to be seen, and what it represents needs to be talked about. I would highly recommend this movie to everyone, to people who have read the book, to people who haven’t, and to people who still have doubts about the value of a movie adaptation of a novel.

Give the movie trailer a watch below if you’d like 🙂 🙂

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Bumble and Bumble Prêt-à-Powder

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Bumble and Bumble Prêt-à-Powder

IMG_6205Good morning all!!!

With the end of November fast approaching, this heralds many test days soon to come, and many midnight study spells to prepare for them.

For me, when life gets really busy, the first thing to be kicked out of my daily routine is washing my hair. I find the whole washing, drying, and styling regime to be too time-consuming, especially when the bulk of my synapses are dedicated to information retention. And, you know, my arms get tired partway through washing my hair . . . is that just me???

I have been on the hunt for a really good dry shampoo for awhile now, and I think I’ve found my miracle product.

Features

  1. Three in one: dry shampoo, volume booster, and styler
  2. Super fine formula
  3. Works for all types of hair
  4. Can be used as a styler for freshly washed or second-or third-day-old hair
  5. Contains natural starches to enhance absorbency and add volume
  6. Contains Polysilicone-22 that absorbs oil but is invisible on hair
  7. Contains silicone, which removes oil and impurities
  8. Comes in two sizes: 0.5oz and 2oz, perfect for traveling

I have used this product on both freshly washed hair and day-old hair, and loved it thus far. After blow drying freshly washed hair, I just sprinkle some of this onto my roots and massage it onto my scalp. It gives my hair a little lift, and helps preserve that blow-dry look. I also find that doing this helps keep my hair looking cleaner in following days, so I actually end up washing my hair less. For day-old hair, the same procedure applies: just sprinkle some onto your roots and massage through hair. It comes out of the bottle as a soft, white powder, but it rubs in invisibly, so you don’t have to worry about seeing it anywhere.

For me, this is so perfect because it means I can study for as long as I think I need to, without fretting in the morning when I wake up and my hair looks way past its prime. I really like that this dry shampoo comes in a bottle instead of an aerosol can, because this way it can be recycled. And it comes in a 0.5oz travel size, making it perfect for packing on a long-haul flight to spruce your hair up a little bit.

Now, the full size is 2oz, which I was shocked about at first, because I figured it would run out super quickly, but in fact it lasts for a long time. I asked my friend about this dry shampoo, and she raved about it. Apparently her bottle has lasted her a year so far, so I expect to get quite a bit of use out of this, though maybe not quite a year. After all, exam time is yet to come.

Have you tried this dry shampoo??? What did you think of it??? Do you have a favourite dry shampoo???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush

IMG_6146For the past 6 months or so, this little cleansing brush has been my skin care go-to. I was lucky enough to be able to purchase it in a Mother’s Day box set that included the cleansing brush, and sample sizes of the cleanser, toner, and moisturizer, so I could try out the skin care line. I am a huge fan of Clinique’s Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser and this cleansing brush works so well with it, because it helps generate a good, foamy lather on your skin and deep cleans pores. I tend to skip the toner step, but I always finish off my skin care routine with Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. Since this is an investment at $99, I thought I would write an honest review for those of you out there who are considering giving it a try, or those of you on the hunt for a quick and easy way to deep clean your skin.

Features:

  1. Deep cleansing
  2. Anti-microbial
  3. Battery lasts 3 hours on one charge, perfect for traveling
  4. Effective for all skin types
  5. Two specialized brush bristle types: green for T-zone, and white for cheeks
  6. Angled brush tip to get in hard to reach places
  7. Purifies skin of oil, makeup, and dirt that may be missed when cleansing by hand
  8. Automatic shut-off
  9. Variety of brush heads for different skin care concerns
  10. Two-year warranty
  11. Charging base

How to use: 

  1. Apply cleanser to wet brush head or moistened skin.
  2. Massage brush in circular motion over cheeks for 15 seconds each using the white brush head bristles. Important: you do not need to apply pressure to your skin; the brush will deeply cleanse with a light touch.
  3. Massage brush in up and down motion in and around the T-zone for 15 seconds using the green brush head bristles.
  4. Thoroughly rinse skin and lightly pat dry with towel.
  5. Rinse the brush head after every use, and lightly pat dry.
  6. Exfoliate and moisturize skin as desired.

What I love about this product is that it is waterproof, so it can be safely used in the shower. One of my biggest struggles with cleansing is rinsing because I always end up with some cleanser residue in my hair. This way, I can cleanse first so no cleanser gets in my nice, clean hair. Plus, the entire cleansing brush is anti-microbial so no little organisms will be building a town in your brush in between uses. Also, the brush does not need to be used with Clinique cleansers, so you can use any cleanser you like. I would seriously discourage using it with any scrubs or even with cleansers with those bursting beads, because it would be too harsh on your skin.

To start, the brush should only be used once daily, either in the morning or at night to allow your skin to adjust. After a week or so of using it, you can switch over to using it twice daily, both morning and night. Do not exceed two daily uses though; it will strip your skin of essential oils and it’s a waste of cleanser.

For those of you with sensitive skin, there is a specialized brush head for you, with softer bristles for the cheeks and T-zone areas. And if acne is your primary concern, there is also a specialized brush head to combat that.

The automatic shut-off is another feature that I love about this cleansing brush. It turns off every 30 seconds so you know when to move on from your cheeks to your T-zone. It’s also really handy if, like me, you sometimes zone off while cleansing and realize the brush hasn’t even been on your face half the time . . .

I took this cleansing brush with me when I went to Paris back in August, and one charge before I packed it lasted the entire trip. The battery has such good life in it, and the charging base is a nice place to rest it on your bathroom counter.

Finally, what I love about this brush is that it removes oil, dirt, and makeup that could easily be missed when cleansing your skin by hand. This one is huge for me, because I have found that, even after using some cleansers, my skin still feels waxy and dry. While this brush and the Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser do a beautiful job with removing makeup, make sure that you rinse your brush head so you aren’t spreading the removed makeup everywhere.

All in all, I think this cleansing brush is an incredible skin care investment. It leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed, is super easy to use, and is great for traveling. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quick way to deep clean skin, at home or on-the-go.

Have you tried this cleansing brush before??? What did you think of it???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Clinique Quickliner for Lips Intense

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Clinique Quickliner for Lips Intense

IMG_6192Good morning everyone!!!

As I mentioned in my most recent Clinique Haul post, I picked up two shades of Clinique’s newly released product: the Quickliner for Lips Intense. I didn’t include my introduction to lip liner in my haul, so I would like to provide a little summary here:

*cue nostalgic piano ballad*

You see, it was 2007, and being in grade 7 I figured I should probably hop on the beauty wagon, and what better time than the present. So I pilfered a few essentials from my mother’s makeup kit (AKA the “Cave of Wonders” as it really does have everything you could ever need), such as a mascara, a lipstick, and some powder foundation. I thought I was all set, and then one day at my grandparents’ house, my darling grandmother hauled out her Avon catalogue. While flipping through the pages, I caught a glimpse of the most beautiful pink shade of lip liner, and for $5.99, I considered it an investment. Well . . . not only was the formula a bit of a letdown but my application of the product was horrendous. I somehow got it into my head that lip liner meant “draw vertical and horizontal lines on your lips and essentially make them look like cross-hatch shading gone wrong.” All I can say is that I really liked math, especially geometry, and it seemed like the logical thing to do. Upon, reflection, the name “LIP liner” should have clued me in, but hey, if they had called it “lip tracer” I think I could have figured it out and not tried to use tracing paper or anything like that.

*cut nostalgic piano ballad*

But I digress. I have been using these liners ever since I got them, and I really like them, so I wanted to give an honest review of them for those of you looking for a lip liner, or those of you who are curious to know what the product is like.

Features:

  1. Smooth application
  2. Long lasting
  3. Application over enire lip surfacelips extends wear of lipstick
  4. Non-drying formula
  5. No sharpening needed
  6. Wide selection of shades to match all major categories of lip colours

Shades:

There are 11 shades, ranging from dark browns to neutrals, to soft pinks and reds, to bolder shades. To air on the safe side, I picked up two: Intense Punch and Intense Cosmos. This way I would have all my berry hues and all my red hues covered.

Intense Punch

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Intense Cosmos

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Now just look at how fine that tip is!!! I was really happy about this, because some lip liners have wide tips, making application more difficult, especially if, like me, you prefer a thin line just surrounding your lips. However, I have occasionally been using these all over my lips before applying lipstick because it actually helps the lipstick to last longer (see, my cross-hatching mishap was not quite so far off after all).

The no sharpening feature is a huge plus for me because I find most of the sharpenable pencils end up with really pointy tips that can hurt when trying to apply them. Or they break off like a pencil crayon tip would, and you’re left with wasted liner that you can’t really use.

A big thing that I want to mention is that, while this liner has the perk of not needing to be sharpened, it is NON-RETRACTABLE. So when you go to use it, turn the grey part of the case just a little bit, enough to see a tip of liner but nothing more. If you turn out too much, there is no way to get it back into the case, and this will cause the liner to dry out, or *shudders* you might have to break a little piece off to get the lid back on. And with a $20 price tag, though it is much more affordable than other highstreet lip liners, you don’t want to go wasting any.

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Left: Intense Cosmos Right: Intense Punch

But, as you can see from my little doodle test, the liner draws a nice smooth line of varying thickness. It also doesn’t break easily or crumble. Plus here you can actually see what the colours look like, though the package colours are pretty accurate. I have worn these liners with a wide variety of red and pink shades, and they do a fabulous job keeping everything in place without being visible under even pale shades.

Have you tried these new liners yet??? What did you think of them???

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All, Book Reviews, Books

Chasers of the Light by Tyler Knott Gregson

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Chasers of the Light by Tyler Knott Gregson

IMG_6144I picked up this book from Chapters way back in spring, and even mentioned it in a book haul post, but it got stuck near the bottom of my TBR pile, and it wasn’t unearthed until about a week ago when I did a major overhaul of my bookshelf organization system.

I started reading the poems in this book yesterday afternoon, and had them finished by the end of the day they were so good. I didn’t want to put the book down, so I ended up toting it to all of my classes and reading during lectures (oops . . . ) But then this morning I picked the book up again and started re-reading them all, knowing something new would be revealed the second time.

The poems are part of what Tyler Knott Gregson calls the typewriter series, which shows his ongoing love of crafting poetry using whatever paper is at hand, and the permanence of typewriter ink. The best way I can describe these poems is that they are recordings of the poet’s stream of consciousness, yet at the same time sound as though they were crafted with such care and attention that they must have been written over long expanses of time.

IMG_6143A neat feature about this book is that it is as much a book of photography as it is a book of poetry. As you can see in the photo on the right, the poems are written on anything, such as a library book slip, or the last page of a book. The way these poems are typed on such paper fragments and photographed in this book makes them seem haphazardly, but their words ring so true and are so thought-provoking that they must have been written with gentle finger strokes on keys, and pauses in between every few words to ensure they said everything Gregson wanted them to, and hid even more in the spaces between.

Just to give you a little hint of what these poems are about, I’ve included a larger scale of the picture above so you can read two of these incredible poems. The one on the right is one of my favourites 🙂 🙂

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Have you read this book before??? What did you think???

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Top Five Fall Fragrances

by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment on Top Five Fall Fragrances

IMG_6169Good morning everyone!!!

To keep the autumn theme going, I thought I would share with you another seasonal beauty favourite of mine: fragrances.

I do not have any fragrances designated for particular seasons; rather, I like to wear some of my favourites throughout the year. Besides, most fragrances are so expensive that you want to get plenty of year-round use out of them. They also help you qualify for some brands’ bonus gifts, which are always lovely.

 

1. La petite Robe Noire by Guerlain

IMG_6157I came across this while in Paris back in August, and immediately fell in love with it. I would have purchased it in Paris, but I have a deep-rooted fear of traveling with perfumes (for anyone who has had one leak in their suitcase, you will understand why). So, when I got home, I purchased it as soon as possible, and I actually went with the eau de toilette version. Not only is it more “cost feasible,” to put it formally, but I prefer the more subdued version of the scent. With notes of black cherry, almond, berries, rose, licorice, and black tea, this is a fresh yet intoxicating scent. Aside from the fragrance itself, I adore the packaging. The heart-shaped bottle is so pretty, and the the silhouette of the little black dress is such an elegant yet modern touch. The 50mL size of this eau de toilette is about CAN $85.

2. Dolce by Dolce and Gabbana

IMG_6165As you can probably ascertain from the tiny amount that is left in the bottle, I really, really, really like this fragrance. It is a soft scent of white flowers, neroli leaves, white amaryllis, white water lily, and white daffodil, among other things. Fun fact: White amaryllis is a South African flower that was used for the first time ever in scent for this fragrance. The packaging of this fragrance is both beautiful and symbolic. The bottle itself is evocative of a vintage fragrance flacon, while the flower stopper is a tribute to Sicilian customs. The black grosgrain ribbon represents the signature white shirts and bow ties of early Dolce and Gabbana runway shows and, finally, the script of the label is a replica of the signature of Domenico Dolce’s father. This eau de parfum comes in three sizes: 0.25oz for CAN $34, 1.6oz for CAN $109, and 2.5oz for CAN $136.

3. La Vie Est Belle 

IMG_6158I came upon this fragrance in the pages of Vogue. I couldn’t figure out why the issue smelled so good, and then I found the perfume sample. After wiping the magazine page on my neck for the next few days like a right fool, I went out and purchased the fragrance. It turns out that it was actually more cost-effective to purchase the three-piece box set than just the large size of the perfume alone. Fun fact: the final formula of this perfume is the result of three years of trials and 5000 versions. Just imagine working through 5000 different versions of something before you got it how you wanted it; that is dedication. The top notes of this fragrance are blackberry and pear, with middle notes of jasmine and iris, and base notes of praline, vanilla, tonka bean, and patchouli. However, I found that some of these base notes, particularly vanilla and praline, are much more prominent than blackberry or pear, but the powdery base and fruity tier organization is still intact. This fragrance is quite heavy, and fairly long lasting, making it perfect to wear on a night out. It comes in three sizes: 0.34oz for CAN $28, 1oz for CAN $74, and 1.7oz for CAN $98.

4. Vanitas by Versace 

IMG_6160This is the second fragrance I ever purchased and, once again, I discovered it from a sample in Vogue. It is a fresh and clean scent, making it perfect for everyday wear, but it is soft enough that those around you won’t be overpowered by it. To many people, it may be more of a spring/summer fragrance, but I love getting whiffs of summer as I go about my day, especially when the days get gloomy. The predominant scents in this fragrance for me are lime, freesia, and Virginia Cedar, with some base notes of tonka bean. It comes in three sizes: 30mL, 50mL, and 100mL. I could only find the price for the 50mL size, and that is CAN $98.

5. Modern Muse Chic by Estée Lauder
IMG_6162The last of my favourite fall fragrances is Estée Lauder’s Modern Muse Chic. It is much lighter than the original version, Modern Muse, while still maintaining its striking contrast of floral and woods scents. This is a daring and slightly spicy scent, and I think the nearly-empty flacon speaks for itself about its wearability. This fragrance comes in two sizes: 1oz for CAN $68, and 1.7oz for CAN $90. I went with the 1oz size because I wanted to make sure that I liked it before I bought the larger size. Fortunately, I picked it up around Christmas time when purchasing it qualified me for one of Estée Lauder’s Christmas gift sets, which are well worth their value and come with a large case that is perfect for keeping all cosmetics and toiletries in one place when traveling.

And those are my top five fall fragrances!!!

Now it’s your turn: let me know in the comments below which fragrances are your favourites, either for the autumn season, or just in general 🙂 🙂

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Clinique Turnaround Daytime Revitalizing Moisturizer

by Literary and Lovely1 Comment on Clinique Turnaround Daytime Revitalizing Moisturizer

IMG_6085Happy Monday everyone!!!

Today I wanted to talk about one of my favourite new products: Clinique’s recently released Turnaround Daytime Revitalizing Moisturizer. As I mentioned in my recent Clinique haul and bonus post, I’ve read some raving reviews of the entire Turnaround range, but the moisturizer is the product that I thought I would use the most. Plus, I love myself a moisturizer that can be worn underneath foundation. At $45, I was hesitant to purchase this, but it coincided beautifully with Clinique’s bonus time, so I took a leap of face and just did it. And I am so glad that I did.

Features:

  1. Oil-free, so no fear of shine
  2. Lightweight
  3. Improves health and radiance of skin
  4. Can be worn alone or under makeup
  5. Gives the appearance of a bright, glowing complexion

Shades:

This moisturizer actually comes in two shades: rosy glow and golden glow. The former gives a nice pinkish radiance to skin, while the latter airs on the yellow side. Given my paper-white complexion, I opted for the rosy glow to give my skin that nice, healthy glow that it lacks once winter comes around. I can’t speak for the golden glow, but I would guess it would be better suited to more tanned complexions that would benefit from that sun-kissed glow in the cloudy winter months. However, I have read other reviews that claim the rosy glow shade delivered less-than-expected luminosity, and recommend choosing the golden glow. So who really knows??? I think it’s hit-or-miss, and depends on the degree of radiance and luminosity you are hoping for. If you are looking for KAPOW radiance, I would say go with the golden glow, but the pink is subtly pretty, so it’s a toss-up.

I’ve been using this moisturizer for about a week now, and already I have noticed that my skin feels smoother, and my little imperfections are masked, and even improved, evening out my skin tone. I have had no breakouts while using this product thanks to Clinique’s classic oil-free formulation, and it goes so well under either powder or liquid foundation. This is big for me because I always moisturize my skin before applying foundation so as to prevent it from drying out throughout the day, and I find that, in some cases, it can even aid in the application process.

The one thing I am really disappointed in that I did not initially consider before purchasing this product is that it has no sun-proof protection. It is marketed as a daytime moisturizer, but with no built-in SPF, the choice is wear sunscreen overtop of this moisturizer, completely negating any glowing effects it might have, or risk getting a sunburn. The latter for many pale people such as myself is just not an option, forcing us to leave this cream on the bathroom counter to wait for a cloudy day. Luckily Autumn is here, and Winter is right behind it, so there won’t be much need for SPF, but it is still something I wish I had thought about before. So, if you take nothing else away from this little blog post today, please remember:

*Always check the SPF, if any, of moisturizers, foundations, or any other products*

Have you tried this moisturizer before, or any of the other products in the Turnaround range??? What did you think??? And did the lack of SPF miff you as much as it miffed me???

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my 100 followers giveaway for your chance to win a Chanel Autumn 2015 lipstick of your choice and one of Time magazine’s listed 100 best English-language novels!!! Click here to find the instructions for how to enter. *The giveaway is open internationally and will close September 30, 2015 at 11:59pm*

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Bumble and Bumble Don’t Blow It (H)airstyler

by Literary and Lovely2 Comments on Bumble and Bumble Don’t Blow It (H)airstyler

IMG_6087At the beginning of every school year, I always set aside a few dollars for one back-to-school product that I think will make my early mornings easier. This term, I am lucky enough (ha, not) to have 8:30am lectures on Mondays and Thursdays. This means that I am up by 6am, and have to be out the door by 7:30am. With breakfast being a priority and crawling back into bed a regular occurrence, the allotted time for my hair sometimes gets cut short, which can lead to some less-than-attractive hair days. And then I tried this new Bumble and Bumble product.

Features:

  1. Formulated with a blend of two lightweight polymers to improve texture
  2. Plant-based conditioning blend to hydrate hair and help it dry smoothly
  3. Contains UVA and UVB filters to help protect hair against the damaging effects of heat and sun exposure
  4. Gives the air (ha, so punny) of an air style without having to deal with flyaway strands or frizziness

IMG_6088In the mornings, I just wake up, hop in the shower to give my hair a quick wash, and then throw my hair up in a towel. By the time I’m done eating breakfast my hair is towel-dried, and I just work this cream through my hair, scrunch, and I am good to go. If the whole scrunched look isn’t for you, you can also twist your hair to get that nice, soft loose curls look, which I have been sporting the past week. It’s funny because so many people at university have complimented my hair and asked what I did to get it to look the way it does. They seem to think I spent ages on it, when really, I spent the minute of working this little miracle hair cream though my hair and then giving my hair a final once over of air drying if I have the time. Also, this hair cream can be layered with other stylers, so you can get the benefits of this cream along with those of other products if you’re looking to show your hair a little more TLC.

What is really nice about this product is that it is super hydrating and thin. I was worried at first that I wouldn’t use enough for the product to work, but that it would be thick and wouldn’t go through my hair easily. Wrong and wrong. You only need to use a pea-sized amount of this cream in your hair, so just work from the roots to the ends, and it is super thin and smooth so it won’t get stuck partway and make hair look greasy in places.

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A trio of Bumble and Bumble’s Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil products I picked up in Paris because the hotel shampoo was destroying my hair. Not the best photo, but it gets the point across.

What I love about Bumble and Bumble products, besides how wonderful they are on my hair, is that the majority of them come in multiple sizes. Typically, if you want to try a new shampoo, you have to purchase a full-size bottle, which is great if it turns out you like it, but if you don’t, then you’re stuck with a 99% full bottle of shampoo that lives in your cupboard for years until it finally gets tossed in a clean out. With Bumble and Bumble products though, they are sold in at least two sizes, one for the people who know the products will work for them, and the other that are perfect for trying out various products to find the one that works best for you. These smaller sizes are also so easy to travel with because they fall well below the airport’s carry-on liquid maximum of 100mL. In some cases, these smaller sizes even come in little bundles of three, so you can sample three products from a range for the same amount as a full-size container of shampoo. Yet another reason why I love the Bumble and Bumble brand.

Have you tried this out before??? What did you think???

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my 100 followers giveaway for your chance to win a Chanel Autumn 2015 lipstick of your choice and one of Time magazine’s listed 100 best English-language novels!!! Click here to find the instructions for how to enter. *The giveaway is open internationally and will close September 30, 2015 at 11:59pm*

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All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour

by Literary and Lovely2 Comments on Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour

IMG_6054Since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to walk out of a Chanel store with a little white bag. So when I passed by the Chanel flagship store on Rue Cambon in the first arrondissement, I had to pop in and see what I could find. Goodness me things in there are pricy, but I spotted the makeup section and bolted for it.

When Chanel released their Spring 2015 collection, the model in one of the advertisements looked so stunning that I took a picture of the display and set to work creating a similar look with more affordable products. The flagship store had the exact picture above the lipstick display, and had the colour in stock, so I bought it. I think I found my new favourite shade, but not necessarily my new favourite lipstick.

Features:

  1. Non-drying
  2. Intense colour
  3. Long-lasting
  4. Velvet matte finish

Shades:

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There are 12 shades in the intense longwear collection, six of which have the velvet matte finish. The shade that was in Chanel’s Spring 2015 advertisement was 50 La Romanesque, a beautiful rich, tawny purple. I love the colour to death, but it does not stay on as well as I would like, requiring reapplication after eating and such. Also, though it is not marketed as a hydrating lipstick, it is touted as being non-drying, yet I found my lips to be dried out slightly after wearing it. Each Chanel lipstick is 32.50 €, which in Canadian dollars is approximately $45, and is quite pricy for a lipstick, but it is similar to the prices of lipsticks from other designer brands. Here though, I kind of felt like I was paying for the brand, not necessarily the quality of the product.

IMG_6055IMG_6056However, Chanel is good at giving their products classy packaging. The box is black with shiny, gold sides, while the tube is the classic Chanel black, with little white lettering at the base, and a gold top with the interlocking C’s logo.

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Something neat about Chanel lipsticks that I love is that the brand name is actually etched into the lipstick. It’s just a nice little extra that adds to the presentation of the product.

THE SHADE IS SO PRETTY!!! Did I mention it’s really pretty??? I am in love with it, and the chiseled tip makes it so easy to apply. I’m trying to keep using the tip so it doesn’t flatten out, because I don’t really know what I’ll do without it. New lipsticks spoil you, but once they get used, some lose their shape and applying them because more difficult. Hopefully this lipstick won’t be one of those.

  I have to admit though that I struggled a little with figuring out how to open the tube. It turns out you push down on the gold top, and it bounces up enough that you can grab it and pull out the lipstick tube. After that, the lipstick turns up normally. I felt quite foolish turning the case around and around looking for where the lid pulled off, or where I could twist it up. Clearly I don’t buy many designer brand cosmetics . . . 

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Have you tried any Chanel lipsticks before? What shades and formulae did you like?

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