Vodka and Soda

the life of a housewife - update

 

 

it's been about 2 weeks since becoming a housewife (of toronto) and i gotta say, i'm totally loving my time off and spent no time getting used to doing nothing.

my first week off was my 'vacation'.  yes, yes; i know i have 3 months off but i'll be keeping busy during these 3 months and i wanted to have a 'do nothing but pamper myself and fun stuff' week before i started all of my house tasks.   my vacay week was filled with blogging, relaxing, napping and putting around the house; not to mention shopping, facials, massages and pedicures.  oh the life of a housewife... it's pretty fucking awesome.

i recently blogged about my switch to an all-natural makeup line and last week, i had my facial and skin consultation at Pure + Simple; a spa that is dedicated to providing holistic skin treatments using natural and organic products.   since my skin hasn't been on its best behaviour lately and after some chats with bloggy pal, elaine, i decided to book an appointment to talk to them about my skin and possible alternatives for skin products.

 

 

when i walked into the spa, i saw rows upon rows of skin products and i felt like a giddy kid in a candy store; i'm glad i got there early so i could take some pictures and browse the products at my leisure. oh and just so you know, by the time i remembered to take a picture of the room before i messed up the bed, i was already in my underwear fumbling around with my phone camera in a very dim-lit room so i couldn't get all fancy and photographic because i was afraid the lady would walk in and see me nekkid.  

i received the super hydrating facial since my skin is dry and not only did i love the products that were used, it was an awesome and relaxing facial. although my skin looked great, it still felt a little tight but i think it was because the proper moisturizer wasn't used.  i also didn't really click with my esthetician (which is very important for me in order to trust her with her product recommendations etc), but i enjoyed the facial and the atmosphere so much that i went ahead and purchased a package of 3 facials and will just book with another esthetician.  hmmm... i wonder if that's bad form?

prior to my appointment, i researched the hell out of their products  and while i was disappointed that i didn't get the answers i wanted about my product inquires, i decided to go by my research and hauled the following products:

 

martina gebhardt black mud cream | P+S organic peppermint lip oil | P+S organic lime lip balm | P+S collagen elastin Plus | P+S rejuvenating rosehip mask | P+S calming cucumber mask | jurlique eye cream | P+S sunflower cream (sample) | P+S sensitive skin oil (sample)

 

you don't want to know how much i spent (it's ridic) but i'm excited to use everything.  after what i spent, i expect to have skin as soft and smooth as Kayla's in no time.  product reviews will soon follow.   

*****

there's a lot going on in my house right now; we hired some painters and finally, our screaming white walls are no more.  they're painting the entire bottom and top floor with amazing colors that hubs picked out and we got a steal on the quote.  it also helped that my good friend is the owner's good friend and i'm convinced (although he never told us) that he's doing this job with a very low profit margin.  

right now, i'm holed up in my media room listening to them trudge all up in my house with their boots on (!!!!).  i was raised in a house where shoes remain in the front foyer and while i understand their need to keep their shoes on (safety with ladders etc), the chinese in me cringes every time i see them trampling upstairs or leaving boot marks on my hardwood floors and it takes everything i have not to follow them around with a vaccum or mop.

next week, the shutter guy will be coming but here are some before and after shots of what our house looks like (besides being a freaking mess):

 

once everything is done, i'll be posting another update.  it's going to look so awesome i can hardly wait.

 

natural beauty - la bella donna

 

i'm in love.  my wallet also hates me.

on tuesday i went to visit my sister so i could check out her favorite make-up line, la bella donna.  in a previous post, i mentioned that i'm switching most, if not all, of my face products (skin and makeup) to all-natural alternatives and my first stop was at my sister's derm office to check out la bella donna.  

who:  created by a mother and daughter team who struggled with their own skin challenges and created la bella donna to promote and share information about the amazing benefits of all-natural makeup.

what: a complete collection of mineral-based formulas that are actually healthy for the skin.    this all natural makeup line is made from cherished mineral pigments derived from rock that (according to their brochure):

• heals, soothe, calm and do not irritate the skin
• covers, corrects, beautifies and protects
• does not clog pores
• corrects all skin challenges - acne, oily skin, rosacea, eczema, melasma, psoriasis (hmm not sure about this one but i'll see how it does with my eczema)
• balances the moisture content in the skin
• is ideal for sensitive, allergy-prone skin
• contains natural non-chemical sun protection - provides a full spectrum sun block protecting your skin from harmful UVA/UVB infrared rays
• provides superior coverage all day because of the high color pigmentation (a little goes a long way!)
• contains light refractive qualities which immediately reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles
• will not harm the body as there are no chemical ingredients which means it's safe for pregnant women

their products only contain the following:

• micronized titanium dioxide - non-chemical sunblock (SPF 20)
• iron oxides - the source of color
• bismuth oxychloride - anti-inflammatory properties
• zinc oxide - anti-inflammatory properties
• free of any FD&C dyes, oils, talc, alcohol, parabens, cornstarch, chemicals

sounds pretty good, right?

michelle, who is a RN at the derm office, helped me and man alive, i wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying to me because i couldn't stop staring at her gorgeous skin.  i'm talking about totally air-brushed skin that you only see in magazines and you couldn't even tell that she was wearing makeup.   when she told me that she only uses la bella donna products, i pretty much handed her my credit card and told her that i would buy everything she recommended (i'm a sucker for good products).  she thought i was joking but most certainly was not.

michelle was great at suggesting the products that would work well with my skin tone and what's great was that she never pushed me to buy anything.  i had 4 products i wanted to replace: bronzer, blush, loose (setting) powder and pressed powder (compact) so after trying on a few shades and playing with a few things (and falling in love with them), i hauled the following:

 

compressed mineral foundation in 'honey' | pure mineral foundation in 'umbria' | compressed mineral blush in 'tangerine' | baci moisturizing lip sheep in 'incredibly beautiful'

 

both the loose and compressed powders are actually foundation powders so it gives me a hint of color therefore, i didn't even need to buy a bronzer.  when michelle finished applying it on my face, i looked in the mirror and my skin looked so beautifully dewy and flawless i wanted to makeout with myself.

here are my two favorite products:

 

if you didn't already know, i'm a big-time lip gloss junkie.  i only own one tube of lipstick but a drawer-full of lip gloss.  when i discovered that their baci glosses are also organic, contain hyaluronic acid, vitamins and anti-oxidants, i had a tiny orgasm.  i've always had some issues finding glosses that don't feel sticky or makes my lips feel weird but this gloss is wonderfully moisturizing and has a pretty hint of pink that makes my lips look so kissable, you'll have to control yourself the next time you see me.

the picture of the blush makes it look really orange but in fact, it's a very pretty peachy/coral.  i'll probably go back and get a pinky color but for the warm weather, this is just perfect. now i can be like those models in the magazines with perfectly blushed cheeks *flicks hair back*.

so what does this mean with my existing makeup?  i sent out an email to my friends and i'm so glad thast most of it got nabbed.  gal pal, leesh, already had dibs on my NARS blush and bronzer.  what was up for grabs:  

• laura mercier loose powder (85% full!!)
• stila smudge pot in black (barely used, maybe 4 or 5 times!)
• NARS lip gloss in oasis (barely used)
• stila smudge stick in brown
• stila smudge stick in black
• NARS oasis lip gloss (barely used!)
• bobbi brown lip gloss in kir sugar (only used twice!)

seriously, it really hurts my heart to let go of all this makeup.... i don't even want to think about how much money that is but if it means it'll be better for my skin, then i have to do what i have to do.

 

do you use any all-natural makeup?  

natural beauty

 

over the next few weeks, i'll be replacing my entire skin care line with all-natural products.  since my many and recent skin mishaps, i'm totally convinced that the products i once loved, that once served me well for many years, are no longer working for me; in fact, my skin sort of hates them.  

 

in a previous post, i detailed how i've been struggling with my skin; namely tight, painful and extremely dry skin.  after slathering on tons of (my current) products, nothing gave me relief until i accidentially stumbled upon an unopened - and forgotten about - bottle of all-natural/certified organic argan oil i received for my birthday.  i thought heck, i've been putting so much other shit on my face, why the hell not?  and after discontinuing my current products and applying argan oil non-stop for 2 days, my skin did a complete 180.  gone is the redness, the irritation, the sensitivity, the red welts, the gross, scaly, hideous dry patches.  i woke up after 2 days of using this argan oil with my skin glowing and clear - something i haven't seen since this whole thing started which further confirms my decision to go with all natural products.   

and because i'm now a housewife of toronto, i spend a lot of my free time researching all-natural skin products and makeup (it's sort of my new obsession).  i found this canadian natural skin care line, exuberance, that had great reviews from every beauty blogger who tested their products and loved them.  i found the neroli oil on well.ca and ordered it immediately because it boasted lots of great things about healing senstive, dry, flaky skin  and i've been using it every night since i got it.   a product review will soon follow.

 

i also stopped using vaseline on my lips and starting using this all-natural lip balm made by Matter Company that i bought at the spring OOAK show.   since i started using it, my lips feel more moisturized and i'm not always applying lip balm like i used to.   for sunny days, i use Green Beaver lip protection SPF 15.  when i had great success with their sunscreen on my face (read: no adverse reactions), i decided to switch to their protective lip balm as well.  other sunscreen lip products either made my lips feel weird and dry or it reacted so badly but not Green Beaver's lip balm.  although it needs a bit of warming up because it feels a bit waxy at first, it works - it doesn't make my lips peel, does a very good job of keeping my lips protected and soft and most importantly, doesn't turn my lips white in a crack whore kinda way.    

 

hubs is so awesome at supporting every decision i make that he was thoughtful enough to go on a whim and buy me this facial moisturizer by Green Beaver.  i'm very picky with what i apply to my face so instead of returning it, i use it on my hands.  how many of us forget to apply sunscreen on our hands yet they're as exposed to the sun as your face (ie. driving and the sun is shining on the tops of your hands.)   i certainly don't want sun spots on my hands when i'm 45 so i slather this non-greasy, non-perfume protection before i step into the sun.  i really love this company and they're canadian to boot.  

 

my most recent purchase is a bottle of certified organic rosehip oil i got from the health food store.   while the argan oil is doing wonders for my skin, users on my trusty makeup board say that rosehip oil is best for deep hydration and great for eczema.  it's also non-comedogenic; although the argan oil hasn't given me anything but awesome skin.  don't bother spending tons of money on 'brand name' rosehip oil; i got this at healthy planet for $15 (as opposed to $50-60 at some other stores).  i'm going to give this a few days and write a review (comparing it to the argan oil) but so far, my skin loves it and it looks awesome.

 

 what all-natural products do you use?