SKINCARE Favorites 2020 - What to do when our skin is stressed out?

This year had been a heck of a ride - from getting my PayPal hacked to receiving spoof/phishing emails, getting impersonated online, dealing with Instagram/social media scammers and finally an enforcement notice from Adsense! I guess I have seen all kinds of stress that a blogger can imagine! Oh yes and the pandemic we are all living in, is an all encompassing stressor which has exposed how misinformation, fear and panic affects our society and changes consumer behaviour across the globe. Until last year, I was keen on recycling and questioned every bit of plastic or non-paper packaging for my beauty products but this year disposables were on my mind. Using alcohol sanitizers, when I always use non alcoholic ones (yes that is a thing, in case you are wondering :D) and what the heck is the difference between the microorganisms they can kill?! 

In all this uncertainty and anxiety my skin suffered the most. I would workout on most days, go for a run, talk to my friends and family and above all, sanitize everything with wipes and disinfectant sprays often exposing my hands and face to irritants and abrasive chemicals. I also washed myself everyday - because COVID misinformation was/is real! After returning home from groceries, dental appointment, workout routine or even after just a walk around the neighbourhood, I felt the need to shower with an aim for removing any germs that might have been caught in my pores, my hair or anywhere on my body!!! 

My skin suffered this abuse and it did not like it - it reacted! This post is about all the skincare products, I used throughout 2020 and how my skin went through phases of healing, irritation, pores to being poreless and finally at a happy place. 

THE BODY SHOP 25 Days of the Enchanted Deluxe Advent Calendar Review - What's inside and Photos

The Body Shop has released the ultimate advent calendar any beauty lover would love to receive! And the best part is that each item in this advent calendar is individually packaged in a beautiful box with a message to help us reconnect with nature. It's like opening a new present each day, which is what the holidays are all about - presents and sparkles!

I love gifts that I can actually use and enjoy and this advent calendar is full with deliciously fragrant beauty products, ranging from makeup to skincare to bodycare; there is something for everyone. 

Full details on what's inside and more in today's blog!

L'OCCITANE Verbena Exfoliating Sugars, Icy Body Gel and Hair Mist Review

Hey guys!

I was feeling a little down the whole day, so decided to freshen up in the bath using L'occitane Verbena products. The citrusy, lime scent is very refreshing and feels like summer every time I use it. After a 20 minute soak, I exfoliate with the Verbena sugar scrub and it leaves my skin so smooth and soft. I decided to share my full thoughts on this collection with you all today, so keep reading... 

L'OCCITANE Lavender Foaming Bath Review

L'occitane's body care products are my all time favorite and they are in a constant rotation all year round. My favorite is their Shea Butter products because they work beautifully for my dry skin. I love baths and you might have already seen this Lavender Foaming Bath a million times on my Instagram and that's purely because I love it so much. 

Every time I soak in with the L'occitane Lavender Foaming Bath I feel so relaxed - its creamy bubbles not just cleanse but also hydrate my skin which feels very soft after a bath. Love the heavenly lavender scent which is actually a lot better than my garden lavender or any of the essential oils I own. I always keep dried lavender flowers in my bath because of its calming effects on me and also a lavender essential oil roll-on that I rub on my wrist before bed. This is the perfect bath before bed, or just about anytime of the day when I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Working from home really does take its toll on me and its the little things like this that makes it a bit more bearable. 

L'OCCITANE MELTING BUTTER in Shea Butter and Wonderful Jasmine Review

These melting butters are sent from heavens!!

They nourish my winter skin like nothing I have ever used before. I love the L'occitane Intensive Hand Balm which contains 25% shea butter and I still use that everyday but the new Melting Butters are much more nourishing and they work wonderfully on hands, knees, heels and anywhere else, I want to protect and soften skin. I have seen a noticeable improvement on my cuticles and heels, which otherwise were cracked no matter what I applied or how much I exfoliated! 

I love the scent in L'occitane's Shea Butter and absolutely enjoy the new Jasmine scent. These body butters look like a whipped cream in the jar that literally melts on skin and when massaged for a little while, it absorbs completely!! 

More on this very important winter beauty essential in today's blog...

ELIZABETH ARDEN Eight Hour Cream - All Over Miracle Oil, Skin Protectant and Lip Repair Balm Review

Today I will share with you the iconic Eight Hour Cream collection from Elizabeth Arden. This legendary skincare line dates back to the 1930s and has been a huge success because of how well it performs. They can be used from head to toe for a variety of skin issues and I have literally healed my cuticles, heels and dryness on knees and elbows with these products. My absolute favorite is the All-Over Miracle Oil which is light enough to be used on face and basically anywhere I would like to heal, protect and lock in moisture. When my skin was healing from acne, I had noticeable dry patches on my face and this helped my skin recover.
I quickly became a fan of these products and I can't wait to share more about these cult favorite skincare products from Elizabeth Arden with you.
For review and how I use each of these, keep on reading...

L'OCCITANE Holiday Sets - Advent Calendar and Crackers Collection Review

Today I will reveal what is inside  L'occitane's Advent Calendar and the Crackers Collection. I thoroughly enjoyed opening these up and finding delightful good sized minis inside. Most of the minis are just over an ounce in volume, so there is a lot of product in here. No wonder these boxes are heavy and everything smells amazing! Even the boxes smell like the gardens of Provence and the little surprises inside will definitely please everyone.

The Advent Calendar features 24 minis - one for each day leading up to Christmas and the Crackers Collection features a trio of crackers, each containing three minis. They make such adorable stocking stuffers.

Neal's Yard Remedies Bee Lovely Body Butter Review

The Bee Lovely Body Butter from Neal's Yard Remedies is not only an essential for nourishing dry skin, it also instills a feeling of hyyge. The coziness from the scent of honey and orange and the warmth of massaging it all over is so relaxing and an experience I truly enjoy. Its the little pleasures of life that satiate us, makes us happier and that feeling amplifies when this product helps in saving the bees.
I love that I need just a small amount of body butter to cover my arms or legs after a bath. And that soothing warm scent of honey and oranges is just what I seek on these cold autumn days.
Bee Lovely Body Butter is made with organic honey and orange oil and is free from mineral oils, synthetic fragrances or colors.
More on this in today's review...

Dr Teal's Pink Himalayan Foaming Bath Review

My favorite way to unwind and relax is a soothing warm bath especially on a Friday night and sometimes when my muscles are sore after a gym class. I rejoice keeping my eyes shut, soaking all the goodness of essential oils and letting go of everything harmful. Its like yoga for me - pampering my mind, soul and body to 20 minutes of stillness. I feel so blessed to able to take baths without any disturbances as my kids have grown up a little bit. They are four and six years old but now they understand, that they can have more fun doing their own activities than chasing me around the house. It wasn't an easy journey to reach this point and even today I have to tell my kids to not ask me for anything until I get out of the bathroom. Yes. They listen. Hallelujah!

Last year the only gift I wanted on Mother's Day was a peaceful bath without having them around my bath tub looking at me or begging to jump in the tub or doing all kinds of things to force me out of it. And this year, I could actually take pictures of a bath foam, in my bathroom, and write a blog about it on a weekend! Unreal!

Dr Teal's bath salts and foams are everyone's favorite, especially mine because they are so soothing, gentle on skin and great for my sensitive skin. Today I am sharing this new product from Dr Teal's. Its called the Pink Himalayan Foaming Bath - Restore & Replenish with Pure Epsom Salt an Essential Oils.  

Dr Teal's Pink Himalayan Foaming Bath

VICHY Ideal Body AQUA SORBET Review

I have been so busy shopping for and planning my visit to Palm Springs next month. As you know, I live in Calgary and the weather allows me to wear my knits till late March (may be next month too, who knows..) and it's quite awkward to be looking for summer clothes at this time of the year, especially something that is 100% cotton! I can not even imagine how hot the desert would be, but I am hoping it's bearable for an Albertan. And because I like to be a bit high maintenance even when I am on a vacation, I like to pack up my favorite beauty products and take them along with me.
This deliciously scented, quick drying body lotion from Vichy is already in a little travel bottle and in my handbag because I love how quickly it dries up on skin and leaves it utterly smooth and supple. It's enriched with hyaluronic acid, which is my favorite ingredient. I wish I could bathe in it. Not only is it fantastic for adding moisture to skin, since it can hold 1000 times its weight in water, it also makes a great anti aging ingredient. I love using this after a bath and I keep it in my handbag to apply on my arms or feet. Sometimes, I look at my arms in the middle of the day, and I could see flakes of skin, so I quickly apply this and it does the job.

BIODERMA Atoderm Gel, Atoderm PP and Atoderm Lips - Review

Today I am sharing some of the products from the Atoderm product range from Bioderma. These products are designed for very dry to atopic sensitive skin (yeayy!) and are hypoallergenic and paraben free. I am so impressed by each of these that I could not resist sharing them all with you. I have normal-dry skin which gets sensitive and dry during the colder months. The dry weather in Calgary just adds to that and I often suffer from eczema. I was super cautious this year so thankfully the back of my neck and shoulders are free from eczema this time. 

These Bioderma Atoderm products are so gentle yet they soothe and protect skin, without the harsh chemicals.   

L'OCCITANE Hand Cream Delights for the Holidays

Isn't this just perfect?! 4 mini hand creams in a cute little box <3 L'Occitane has such cute holiday stuff!! I love all their products but their hand creams is what I use all the time. 

L'Occitane Hand Cream delights features four 10ml tubes of hand creams in Delightful Rose, Pivoine Flora, Shea Butter and Almond Delicious. I have always wanted to try the almond line from Lo'ccitane and now I am planning to get it in a full size.

NOURISH Vita-Boost and Phyto-Active Body Cream Review

Nourish skincare products suit me so much, there is not one product, that I have tried and not loved. This organic, paraben-free and cruelty-free line of skincare products not only deliver but are formulated with high quality ingredients. Today I am sharing two of the body creams by Nourish, one from the 'Radiance' range called the Phyto-Active Body Cream and another, from the 'Balance' range, which is the Vita-Boost Body Cream.

  

Vegan Beauty Products from FarleyCo Beauty featuring Real Techniques and Montagne Jeunesse

There are few products that I have loved time and time again such as these amazing ones by +realtechniques and +Montagne Jeunesse ! I am so excited to share these vegan friendly and cruelty free products available at +FarleycoBeauty Canada . 

I have always enjoyed Real Techniques brushes and sponge and the Powder Brush is no surprise. Its big and fluffy. The Goji Berry Body Smoothie by Montagne Jeunesse is just a routine purchase. Love, love, love Montagne Juenesse face masks and body smoothies <3 <3 

All of this is available at FarleyCo Beauty online and at select retailers across Canada.

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy Bath Bomb and Poppy Seed Scrub Review

Sensual. Seductive. Euphoric. Indulgent.

This limited edition Smoky Poppy collection from The Body Shop, quite literally blew me away with the strong, heavy, earthy yet feminine scent that lasts all day. The poppy seeds are sourced from Ankara, Turkey. 

I tried the new bath bombs and the poppy seed scrub and I wanted to share them as a recommendation for Valentine's Day gifts. I would love to receive more of these products as gift. Hahaha. It totally is indulgent.

The Body Shop Smoky Poppy Bath Bombs and Poppy Seed Scrub 

CAUDALIE Spa Favorites Set Review

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I wanted to give you guys a quick pick-me-up gift idea - from Sephora. Its the Caudalie Spa Favorites Gift Set. It retails for C$35 and makes a great gift for anyone you love or for yourself (like, I did).
This set is a great value for what you get. It includes 4 full sized products - truly a $67 value!
Its an incredible price, if you want a non greasy, high quality hand and foot cream and a lip balm that actually stays on and a great surprise - the Beauty Elixir!

CAUDALIE Spa Favorites Set

L'Occitane Beautiful Hands Trio - Gift Set Review and Photos

Hii,

On a chilly day, like today, it totally makes sense to talk about hand creams. As much as I love to keep my hands moisturized, I am constantly doing something, that requires me to wash my hands or use a hand sanitizer - having dry hands is inevitable.
Its kind of a struggle to keep my hands moisturized and make sure the oily residue, from hand cream, absorbs quickly, so it won't transfer to my keyboard, as I type, or any other surfaces.

I hate oily hands. And I hate oily hand prints even more. It disgusts me to see my oily finger tips on my drawers, from a distance...well..
So who makes the best hand cream, that moisturizes without the oily residue? My one word answer would be "L'Occitane"...

L'Occitane Beautiful Hands Trio - Vanilla Bouquet, Rose Heart, Zesty Lime

Gardener's Dream by Aroma Crystal Skincare Products Review and Photos

A few days ago, I shared some of my bath and body care products from Gardener's Dream and today, I am sharing the skincare stuff that I have been enjoying a lot lately. If I had a favorites of the month post, it would feature all of these products! They are chemical free, cruelty free and paraben free and contain essential oils of lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint and more. These products are not only for moisturizing but have healing properties for several indications. Lets find out more about these aromatherapy products..