Signature Scent

I love perfume and wear it almost everyday and have been meaning to do this post for months! I have gone through many scents since my teen years. For a long time I wore Ralf by Ralf Lauren, then it was Adrienne Vittadini Capri which I absolutely loved. My brother gave it to me for Christmas one year and when I finished the bottle I couldn't find it anywhere in Toronto. I decided to buy it from Amazon earlier this year and was so disappointed. It smelled like crap on me and this is a perfume I used to get compliments on all the time!? Anyways, right now I have Flora by Gucci, Clinique Happy Heart and Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb sitting on my bathroom shelf. I really don't wear Flora that much. It's really strong and is for more formal outings. I wear Happy Heart almost everyday and would call this my signature scent. I love its light, floral, fresh scent which isn't overpowering. It has a hint of mandarin in it so if you like citrus scents you many like it. It's way lighter that the Clinique Happy in terms of citrus. I am also really liking Flowerbomb these days. I got a free sample at Sephora and am so happy it landed in my hands. I think I'll actually purchase a full size bottle one day. I find picking a perfume to be very difficult since there are so many on the market. I love Sephora since you can get good size samples in tiny spray bottles there. It's a great way to explore all the different scents.

What are you wearing/what's your signature scent?

Lately ...

The yummy zucchini and mushroom pizza we made on Good Friday

We started that day off by making some banana cinnamon pancakes. Delicious!

Onion dyed easter eggs

Finally bought the foundation and make up sponge I've had on

my list for say 4 months now

Spotted some deer when out for a drive with the fam

Finally finished making our wine cork place card holders!

Happy Weekend :) 

(too bad it's not another long one)

~B

Skin Issues/Beauty Regimen Transition - Clarisonic Review

Lately, I have been doing through a huge transition in my skin/beauty regimen which has been kinda scary for me. I know, sound silly but let me explain ... I had acne as a teen and after trying many things I decided to try Proactive in my early twenties. Early twenties!?! Man, that made me feel old! Anyways, a friend recommended Proactiv to me and it has worked great. So great that I've been using it for over 5 years and basically feel dependent on it. I tried to get off of it at least once in the past but went back to using it because I started to notice some small breakouts and was worried I would never again have the smooth skin Proactiv had helped me achieve. The reason why I want to minimize my use of the product is because it dries out my skin and now that I'm 28 I know that drying the skin is a definite no no that I should be avoiding! 

So here I am a few years later trying to make this transition again. This time I've been a trooper and have been in the transition phase for almost 1.5 months now.  I am still using Proactive once per day since I figured that would be better and easier on my skin than stopping it altogether. I am breaking out a bit and have also been using Clarisonic after a few friends recommended it. It really does help clean the skin and I feel more confident that my makeup is being removed properly. So far I'm happy with the results but we'll see what happens in the future. 

Have any of you used Clarisonic and/or gone through a similar transition in your beauty regimen? How did it go? It seems so simple but it's so hard!

Let's hope I can make it through this time ... sigh.

~B

bareMinerals Matte Powder Foundation

This Friday is my 28th birthday. This year I actually remembered to stop by Sephora for my free bday present (thanks for the reminder Izzy). I have been wanting to try the Sugar lip balms but have not wanted to spend the money so yippee! I also treated myself to bareMinerals Powder Foundation. My friend Anne recommended it for it's buildable coverage and smooth finish, which I am loving. A plus it that it has SPF in it. Try it!

smashbox photo finish foundation primer

I recently discovered this smashbox photo finish foundation primer. My friend Anne who btw is absolutely beautiful, is awesome at doing makeup and also has many beauty tips and secrets under her belt suggested I try it this past weekend. I bought it on Monday and have been using it since. It helped my concealer and foundation stay on longer and creates a smooth finish. A plus is that it's oil free. Smashbox makes several variations of the primer including one with SPF. I am not very knowledgeable or adventurous when it comes to beauty products and makeup and I always stick to products I like. I have discovered many great products from friends so thanks Anne! 

That hair! OR Is it no hair at all?

Check out this girl spotted in NYC. I saw this pic on The Satorialist earlier today and the first thing I noticed was her beauty and HER HAIR! Or is it really that she has barely any hair at all (which I find quite liberating and fresh)? I realize that I haven't said anything on the blog about my hair but it's been quite the journey. I went from having hair exactly like this as a child in Nigeria to having braids when I came to Canada, straightened hair in high school and university then braids for a short while AND THEN I did what I wanted to do for a long time AND cut it all off!!! Well, not all of it I guess. I now have a short afro which I completely love. My hair now takes like 5 mins to do and I feel like myself again, not trying to be like everyone else with long straight hair. For some reason (well I know exactly why) I thought that was beauty. That I had to fit in. Well, I'm about to turn 28 and am finally growing into my own lol! I'm about 6 feet tall so there really isn't any fitting in for me, is there? I love my new style and hair and know that one day I will go even shorter. Some wonderful women in my life have even suggested that I do this!!! I love the simplicity of this girl's look and think that her short hair really lets her beauty shine through. SO inspiring!

Okay that's all for now about hair ... will definitely be coming back to this topic!

DIY: Vanilla Sugar Body Scrub

When I was in Miami we went to the spa. The girls and I had a massage and pampered ourselves for a whole day, relaxing by the pool, eating good food and shopping. I truly believe that self-care is important and I try to take care of myself as much as possible, whether this means exercising, getting a massage and/or doing the occasional bath and face mask at home. A couple of my friends did body scrubs at the spa and someone gave me the wonderful idea of making my own body scrub. We all know how much I love DIY projects, so of course I jumped at the idea :) 

I adapted this recipe for a vanilla sugar body scrub. Here's what I did:

Mix 

1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar

1cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups Turbinado (raw) sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

Although the recipe calls for raw and white sugar, I decided to mix in some brown sugar to make it a little more gentle (with the intention of also using it on my face). Raw sugar is very coarse, so I you choose to substitute the brown sugar for more raw sugar the scrub may be too rough on your face. You can also play around with how much vanilla and honey you choose to add. Keep in mind that there will be a slight olive oil smell since this is a natural scrub. 

I am excited to use my first homemade scrub. Even more exciting and fun will be giving the second one to a friend :) 

How do you pamper yourself?

Long Weekender

So happy I have a four day weekend! I started it off by continuing my Mexican food obsession on Thursday evening. The bf and I went to Playa Cabana which is my fave place for Mexican in Toronto. Playa Cabana has been around for 10 months now and is getting a lot of attention because the food is sooo good! Since you need to reserve about two weeks in advance to get a table we usually sit at the bar. Go check it out if you live in T.O.

mmmm fish tacos!

Today has been a nice, sunny day. I started it off with a long walk and brunch. I enjoyed today because I was able to get some boring tasks done (e.g., my taxes) and fit in some time for relaxation. I want to forget the chores part and focus on the relaxation part which included reading, catching up on episodes of New Girl and painting my nails.

You've probably guessed that I love the colour lilac. Since it's Easter this weekend and pastel colours are everywhere I had the urge to paint my nails with this fun, calming colour. I used Essie's lilacism and added some sparkle for a special touch. What do you think?

I have also been enjoying using this beverage dispenser which I have been filling with cucumber flavoured water. I can't wait to use it for lemonade :)

Another update is that we finally got up our chandelier a few weeks ago and are both loving it. Lighting can make such a big difference in any space.

I hope today has been a relaxing day for you and that you had some time for self-care.
Happy long weekend!

Bright Lips for Spring

My fave spring beauty trend is bright, fun lips. I usually wear coral lipstick for spring and summer and am excited to try out pink this season! I have never sported bright pink lipstick before so I am going to go for it.

1/2/3

Check out the two bright lip colours I picked up (one in bright pink and the other orange):

M.A.C. Amplified Creme Lipstick in Impassioned and Morange
Here I am with my bright pink lips (please excuse this goofy pic and the bad lighting. I realize this is the first photo of myself on the blog ;)

  What do you think?

Inside My March Topbox

My first Topbox finally arrived! You're probably wondering what the big deal is but I waited months to get a subscription. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Topbox, it's a Canadian company that sends you four beauty products each month for $10. It's a great way to try new brands and products. Brands have included Stila, Nars and Deborah Lippmann. I love the surprise of not knowing what's in each box. Topbox makes me feel like every month is my birthday! 

This Week in Nails: Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe

Before I say anything about Deborah Lippmann I want to point out that my cousins Isabel from Walk of Fashion and Maria from Orchard Bloom introduced me to this line. The colours are fun to wear and it's hard to get bored of them. I especially enjoy layering the silver sparkles over other nail polishes.  I think you can say I quite enjoy them and am near the point of obsession. Check out my collection:

Across The Universe, Today Was a Fairytale, Money Now Sleep Later and Good Girl Gone Bad 

This week's colour is "Across the Universe." It's fun and can be worn day or night. It's a mix of blue and green sparkles and works best when worn over a dark blue polish. I used O.P.I.'s Yoga-Ta Get This Blue. What do you think?