The Thinking Woman's Beauty & Cosmetics Podcast :: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
I have not been beauty blogging over the summer, but I am hoping I can get back into the swing of it for this year. If you want to read what I’ve been up to in my personal life, check out my personal blog here.
I have been buying products like mad and have lots to review over the coming months.
Kerry Anne is busy working on her Master’s degree in counselling psychology. I am so proud of her!
Keep reading! Thanks.
The La Vie en Rose Muse figure corrective bras are a new post-mastectomy collection inspired by the beauty of all women.
La Vie en Rose’s philanthropic organization The Rose of Hope Foundation has been passionately involved in raising breast cancer awareness and supporting research.
La Vie en Rose is proud to offer post-mastectomy women a chance to regain their confidence by feeling beautiful and looking great. We believe in beauty for all women.
The project commenced with one of our clients who, after undergoing a double mastectomy, approached us about designing an empowering and desirable lingerie line for post-mastecomy women. Since her passing, we have reached out and continued to work with the ladies of Two Abreast, Montreal’s Survivor Dragon Boat Team, who volunteered their time to help us fit the entire collection.
The La Vie en Rose Muse corrective bras exude femininity, fashion and functionality.
As one of the most innovative figure corrective bras out there, the La Vie en Rose Muse line provides optimal comfort and functionality without compromising the beauty and femininity of a truly fabulous bra. A fashionable alternative for breast cancer survivors, but also for women looking to rebalance their bust.
Seeking excellence in this new adventure, we sought the professional advice of surgeons.
Certain insurance companies provide coverage for post-surgical bras.
The La Vie en Rose Muse corrective bras come in beautiful French-inspired lace and microfiber, available with or without an underwire – the choice is yours.
These specially designed bras can be paired with any of our coordinating lingerie collection, so you can always find a feminine and fashionable ensemble.
Available sizes: 34B, 34C, 34D, 36B, 36C, 36D, 36DD, 38B, 38C, 38D, 38DD
Available colors: White, black, crystal blue and floral print
Retail price: $59.95
Official nationwide launch of the La Vie en Rose Muse figure corrective bras collection mid-September 2010 in over thirty boutiques and online at lavieenrose.com.
On December 15, 2010, Vancouver’s “Beauty Night” celebrates its ten-year anniversary! Beauty Night builds self-esteem and changes lives by providing make-overs and life skill lessons for marginalized women on Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. In 10 years, Beauty Night has given over 11,000 life-makeovers to vulnerable women and youth who live in poverty, and experience violence, homelessness and sometimes debilitating illnesses.
To celebrate, Ilus Elu has created a vegan lipstick for the Beauty Night Society. Nine dollars from each lipstick sale goes to Beauty Night. The more money raised, the more women and youth can reached.
Buy one for yourself. Buy one for any woman you care about.
Order HERE.
I can vouch personally for the efforts of Beauty Night. I am friends with Caroline MacGillivray, Beauty Night’s Founder and Executive Director.
Caroline MacGillivray is the National Executive Director and founder of Beauty Night Society. MacGillivray, a Gastown Actor’s Studio Graduate, believes that healthy self-esteem can be fostered through entertaining and interactive educational programming. Now in its tenth year, Beauty Night has given over 11,000 life-makeovers to women who live in poverty. By guiding and inspiring others to embrace the concept that education can be enjoyable, Caroline has affected the lives of thousands. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed: she is honoured to be a Flare Volunteer Award recipient, Spirit of the Crane Gold Community Award recipient, and a five-time YWCA Woman of Distinction Nominee. Caroline is also known as the host and producer of Sexy in Vancity Radio on 101.9FM CITR (Wednesday Nights at 10pm).
Together we can make a difference.
If you know me, you know I LOVE BEES! I have a big bee tattoo on my lower back. Yes, I know some think tattoos in that area are “tramp stamps”, but I’m NOT A TRAMP so I think it’s just sexy. I am currently researching a new bee tattoo for my arm. Don’t tell my Dad.
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For years I’ve been buying Burt’s Bees products. They are all fabulous, especially the lip balms.
This April, Burt’s Bees celebrates Earth Day with a nod to none other than their namesake and co-founder, Burt Shavitz. Burt is no newcomer to the green movement. The beard and spirit behind the earth-friendly company participated in the first Earth Day celebration four decades ago and has been living lightly on the planet ever since. Burt has brought his love and respect for the natural world into the everyday practices of Burt’s Bees for 25 years, and now he’s encouraging everyone to “Find Their Burt” by discovering the earth-friendly potential in each of us.
At FindYourBurt.com, guests are invited into Burt’s world and asked to discover for themselves pieces of Burt’s simple, nature-loving persona and practices through an augmented reality experience. An uploaded picture or webcam view of yourself is transformed or “Burtified” according to your eco-motives. Whether it’s recycling the newspaper, refilling a water bottle, or using solar power, the Burt possibilities are endless and so are the ways to love the Earth. Check it out!
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I recently discovered a source for online bee body products called Beecology! My favourite product is the Totally Hip Hemp Soap.
Each Beecology product has a code on it, and customers are invited to go to Sweet Year: Charitable Giving to donate an amount equal to 10% of the purchase price to the charity of their choice. This is such a cool idea!
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Facts about bees:
(Burnaby, BC, Canada): Educate a girl. Teach a village. Change a nation. Three powerful objectives established by AG Hair Cosmetics to help change the future of African girls. The mission of AG’s SCHOOL: girls Project is to provide education to young girls in impoverished African countries and give them the tools they need to make a difference.
“Educating women is one the fastest, most effective ways of promoting economic development and the key to ending poverty and injustice in underdeveloped countries,” says Lotte Davis, AG’s CEO and Co-Founder. “As the co-founder of a business in a female-dominated industry, I’ve always known the difference women can make, but it wasn’t until I met these women and heard their stories that I fully understood the enormous change women are capable of.”
Motivated by this very powerful fact, last year AG partnered with salons and distributors to raise $250,000 and as such, dramatically improved the learning and living conditions for 250 girls at the Atanga Girls School in Uganda.
This year, under the AG Foundation Women Leading Change, the company will renovate its third school for girls, the Ganze Girls School in Kenya. Through the sale of its 2nd annual School:girls pack, AG will again donate $6 of every pack sold to facilitating improvements in the school in the form of four new classrooms, three new science labs, a dormitory, library, two washing facilities and a dining hall. Currently, the school has just three dilapidated classrooms and two latrines for over 300 girls.
The pack, featuring AG’s tech two protein-enriched shampoo and condi- tioner light protein-enriched conditioner will be available in salons across North America on May 1, 2010 for $19.99.
Use. Love. Repeat. It’s a philosophy AG Hair Cosmetics’ customers have been following since 1989, and for good reason. Founded by Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year John and Lotte Davis, AG is one of the leading manufacturers of salon hair care products in Canada and is sold in more than 11,000 salons internationally. You can find AG’s more than 45 products in salons by visiting aghaircosmetics.com.
Today I had the pleasure of attending a PR event for Mark’s Work Wearhouse.
When I think of Mark’s, I usually think of functional t-shirts, jeans, and steel-toe boots. The words trendy or sexy do not come to mind.
Today, however, I was impressed with some of the new offerings they have in store for spring. The company is clearly putting a lot of thought into their lines, and are now offering more modern stylish clothes, all at the same high quality we have come to expect from Mark’s products.
I got a chance to try on a bunch of clothes with my friend, Raul. We had a blast!
Highlights include the CURVTECH tanks with built-in adjustable bras, Quad Comfort shoes in stylish and comfortable styles for everyone, and my favourite item was the Womens MODERN FIT boyfriend jeans.
I am looking forward to getting myself some white dress shirts for work this fall. They come in a variety of cuts and best of all are designed in a Never Iron “Perfectly Pressed” fabric:
KEY FEATURES
A crisp look straight from the dryer that resists wrinkling all day long
No ironing required and no seam puckering
Patented wrinkle free technology using a post cure process—this process allows the garment to retain sharp creases for the life of the garment
Bonding tape is inserted to fabric panels that make up the seam—the result is a strong, permanent bond along the seam that eliminates differential shrinkages between the thread and fabric
Oh, and did I mention I got a great spring trench coat?
If you have not been into a Mark’s store recently, now is a great time to go back and see if there is anything for you. Grab a bunch of clothes and just try them on. Mix and match! It is so much fun. The prices are all reasonable, and the clothes offer a full money-back guarantee if anything goes wrong (shrinkage etc).
Love it! SteamCream has so many good things about it, I had to make a list for you:
1. it is multi-purpose: use on hand, face, body
2. it comes in tins! same cream, many designs, all environmental and re-usable!
3. it is portable! the screw-on lid will not spill in your handbag.
4. the smell is amazing!
5. it is vegan, for those who care about that sort of thing.
6. Make in the UK
7. Available in Canada at Murale (I purchased it with my Shopper’s Optimum Points!)
8. for $20 CDN, you get a high quality product.
Why “STEAM?”
Steam has been recognised for its benefits to skincare for centuries. Which is why we put pure, unrefined steam directly into our cream.
The result is a soft, luxuriant and glossy cream. STEAMCREAM breaks down immediately on contact with the skin to disperse each ingredient directly to the areas they’re designed to benefit.
How the steam process works.
The power and energy produced by bubbling steam melts and fuses the ingredients together at a speed that defies most traditional cream-making methods.
The force and intensity allow the ingredients to emulsify instantly, producing this beautifully textured light and glossy cream.
The emulsion is held together very loosely and gently, allowing the cream to break down immediately on contact with the skin for maximum benefit.
STEAMCREAM refreshes areas of the skin that other creams find hard to reach.
In most creams, the emulsifying process is what holds the ingredients tightly together. It can also stop creams breaking down.
Because of this, each ingredient struggles to enter the skin individually. It stays as a blend, moisturising the skin’s surface yet preventing its real benefits from reaching deep into the skin’s molecular structure.
STEAMCREAM creates a cream that forms a gentle and loose emulsion. This looseness allows each ingredient to break back down to its purest form, penetrating the skin where needed.
The orange flower water, oatmeal infusion and glycerine hydrate and moisturise deep into the skin. The almond and organic jojoba oils combine with cocoa butter to seal in their goodness, softening the skin’s surface.
The process is topped off with a fragrance created from a natural blend of pure essential oils selected for their toning, soothing and healing qualities.
Love it!
Sephora has a fabulous offering for summer sun protection. For $25 you get a $95 value pack of 12 sample size products:
The Sun Safe Kit contains:
– 0.14 oz Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15
– 0.23 oz DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew UV Moisturizer SPF 15
– 0.10 oz Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 in Lemon and Chamomile
– 0.25 oz Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Lotion SPF 30
– 0.16 oz Kate Somerville Protect SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen
– 0.27 oz Clarins Delectable Self Tanning Mousse SPF 15
– 0.16 oz Cover FX BritePrep FX Brightening Foundation Primer & Photo-Aging Defense SPF 50
– 0.34 oz Bliss Best of Skintentions Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
– 0.23 oz Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 60 PA+++
– 0.25 oz Ole Henriksen Herbal Day Cream SPF 15
– 0.25 oz Smashbox Photo Finish UVA/UVB SPF 15
– 0.02 oz Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Multi-tasking Face SPF 20 in Summer Bisque
– Pink Sephora makeup bag
– 2 x single-use UVSunSense UV monitoring bracelets
I plan to pick up this kit as a way to try new products and also make sun safety a little funner.
Harmful sun rays (both UVA and UVB) can cause irregularities which could lead to skin cancer. Once fall hits and our tan slowly fade, we notice newborn moles that never existed before!
The good news is that such moles are easily removed, and easily detected. A few pointers to avoid potentially harmful irregularities are to use sunscreen on a daily basis (even on a rainy day) and to check your body on a monthly basis to monitor changes. Taking these simple precautionary measures may reap significant benefits.
If you’re curious as to how to monitor changes on your skin, follow the ABCD rule to determine which moles may need to be evaluated by an expert.
Asymmetry
Border Irregularity
Color Changes
Diameters Bigger than 5 Millimeters
If you notice changes or are skeptical about an irregular mole, it’s best to seek a dermatologist for an expert opinion. If a harmful mole is discovered, it can be removed on the spot. (source: Dr. Kenneth Beer, MD, dermatology)
Euphoria is about sexiness, fantasy, and being captivating. Sexy and sensual, euphoria speaks to the woman who has the urge to break free from everyday life – to provocatively be part of an exciting world filled with pleasure, surprise, and temptation. Her fragrance is a contrast between exotic fruits and seductive florals, for a rich, creamy, seductive signature.
Notes:
Pomegranate, Persimmon, Green Notes, Black Orchid, Lotus Blossom, Champaca Flower, Liquid Amber, Mahogany Wood, Black Violet, Cream Accord.
Style:
Confident. Sexy. Chic.
One entry per email! Good Luck!
I recently got a new haircut: short with small bangs at the front. Instead of ironing the waves straight like I usually do, I have been working with my natural curl and getting a great look with a new product available at Sephora: frizz(pronounced “no frizz”) by Living Proof. Specifically I am using the “No Frizz Wave Shaping, Curl Defining, Shaping Cream.” What a mouthful, but that is exactly what this product does.
I am most impressed by how effective, yet light, this product is. It holds my waves all day, and they do not get frizzy. At the same time, my hair does not get greasy, which is a real problem for me. I need to wash my hair every day to keep it clean.
After doing a little research, I discovered that this product contains an ingredient called PolyfluoroEster, instead of the silicone in most anti-frizz products.
How It Works:
PolyfluoroEster is a breakthrough ingredient that allows for control over hair’s surface energy and roughness. PolyfluoroEster, because if its small size, creates a weightless shield on the hair to prevent moisture flux in and out, and coats the cuticles to reduce the friction between fibers. Living Proof has taken PolyfluoroEster and formulated a collection consisting of six styling treatments and three hair care products that work to virtually eliminate frizz.
No Frizz even had some benefits Living Proof didn’t anticipate. Repeated use actually improves the hair’s own ability to resist humidity changes, so No Frizz works even better the longer you use it. And due to its low surface energy, the technology repels most other materials like water and oils, translating into a non-greasy coating that doesn’t attract dirt and other particulates. No Frizz is actually more repellent to dirt and particles than natural hair; as a result, you can actually go longer between shampoos.
Best of all, you can get a sample made-up at Sephora for free and try it before you buy it. I recommend you do. I LOVE it!
There are multiple other “frizz” styling products in the line, including products specifically for “course hair.”