Noxzema Girls Really DO Get Noticed!

Lately, my skin's been rebelling.

I mean, seriously rebelling with a capital R....There have been some extra pimples in odd spots (around my forehead and ears???) and even inflammed blackheads (on my chin) which never normally happen to me. As much as I want to blame it on the weather, I know it's because I've been trying so many different skin care products.



I was in Shoppers Drug Mart about two weeks ago buying stamps and walked down the skin care aisle on my way to the post office. I stopped in front of the Noxzema section and stared at the products for a while. Now, I'll be honest, I've never tried this product line before though I've read many rave reviews about their creams. I picked up The Original Deep Cleansing Cream and, of course, bought it.


When I got home, I washed my face immediately. I rinsed my face and applied the cream right away, prior to patting dry. (It smells like Vicks VapoRub by the way.) Instantly, my skin started to tingle in an odd clean sort of way. I rubbed my fingers around in circles on my skin for about 5 minutes and then went to rinse off. Once clean, my skin glowed and felt even softer than it ever had before.


I've been using it every night for the past two weeks and not only have all my blemish issues disappeared BUT the scaring and redness is actually going away. I've actually found my new cleanser and will never be using anything else.


It definitely pays to go back to basics!!!

Lovin' the Bronze

I am completely mad for bronze eyeshadow.

Seriously, every store I go to I instantly beeline for the shadows and grab anything bronze. I think I'm into bronze for a few different reasons: First, I love the smoky eye look but had to find a different color other than black SINCE you can't wear dark colors to the office and still look professional. (It's really not appropriate.) Second, you can wear all your beautiful pink glosses and lipsticks with bronze lids. Last but not least, you don't look too overdone. (For some reason, Allan LOVES it when I wear little or no makeup so wearing bronze on my lids is like my compromise.)

Being the connoisseur of bronze that I am, here's a great list of shadows:

1) LORAC Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio in Superstar. This is the expensive one of the bunch ($33 CAN) but, man, is it worth it!! Three different colors that can be blended together to make the perfect bronze shade. They are extremely highly-pigmented and long-lasting on your lid. This is, quite possibly, one of the prettiest trios I have ever purchased.

2) Urban Decay Stardust Eye Shadow in Diamond Dog. This is a nice brown glittery color that goes on silky smooth but actually stays on the lid. I find with a lot of glitter shadows the sparkley bits fall onto your face during application but this product doesn't do that. Not too shabby for a medium priced shadow ($22 CAN)

3) Wet 'N' Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow in Nutty. This is, by far, my favorite of the three bronze shadows. Why you ask??? Could it be the fact that it only cost $1.99? Maybe. Or could it be that once applied it stays on all day? Fact is the shadow is highly-pigmented, has a very smooth texture and the color is absolutely perfect with my skin tone. I picked up three more of this color whenever I see it, just so I'll never run out.

4) COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers in Bedazzled Biscotti. This color is great for a base. Apply to lids, all the way up to eyebrow bone, prior to adding your favorite bronze shade. The color is similar to a light latte and has a subtle sparkle. ($4.99 CAN)

All in all, try out the bronze shadows and give your eyes a different look. Plus, this color really is a nice alternative to black.

Blackheads??? Email Q & A

Woohoo....my very first email question! Thanks Stephanie for sending this my way!!!

Hey Christina

I've been reading your blog for a bit now and am really liking it. Question, though, about blackheads.  Can you actually prevent blackheads and do products like Biore Pore Strips really work?

-Stephanie M., Vancouver

Hey Stephanie!!

This is a really really really good question because a lot of people suffer from blackheads. For those that don't have them (you lucky people you) blackheads are a form of non-inflammatory acne and are formed when your pores get clogged. (A lot of dermatologists say that blackheads are the first stage of acne, forming before bacteria invades the pores, which in turn results in infection and inflammation...AKA a pimple.) Blackheads occur when your skin produces an abundance of oil and that oil gets clogged in your pores. When the oil is oxidized, it turns black in color.

Blackhead prevention is similar to that of pimple/blemish prevention. Drink lots of water, clean your skin every night prior to bed, try to wear less make-up, don't scrub your face too often and don't use products with excess oil. Let's say, though, that you do all of these things and you're still getting blackheads. This is when you have to take different, more drastic, measures like extraction or pore strips.

Pore strips are nice because they are inexpensive and don't cause too much discomfort. Biore's brand is a really great deal, easy to find and fairly easy to use. Problem is they will not work on everyone. Some people's blackheads are far deeper in the pore than others SO the strips may pull out some but not all. Extractions (physically removing the blackhead yourself) are the only way to remove the blackhead if it is deep down in the pore.

Extractions are pretty painful (I'm not going to lie) since you have to get the gunk out of a small pore. BUT once it's done, you have a clean pore again. If you are going to do an extraction follow these tips...

1. Steam, ladies, steam. I can't stress this enough. Take a steam-filled shower, hold your head over a bowl of hot water, or lay a towel over your face for 10 minutes. It'e extremely important to open the pore and loosen the blackhead before poking at it.

2. Choose the method that's best for you and your skin. Whether it's rubbing a towel on your face to remove them, using an orange stick or a flat blackhead remover tool, or taking two cotton balls (one for each finger) and press the skin GENTLY around the blackhead, choose the one that's going to cause the least amount of discomfort.

After you're finished extracting, leave the skin alone. Rinse in cool water to close the pore and wait before applying anything else to the skin as you don't want to re-clog the pores. Here is a great article for home-made blackhead remedies... http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Blackheads-(Various-Methods)

**NOTE: I used to get extractions done with my facials though a lot of places no longer offer this service anymore. If this is something of interest to you, I'd recommend finding a spa that offers this method and have them do it. Because I'm so fair, my skin becomes red and scars very easily so I found it best for me to have a professional perform the extractions.

What have you all tried? Anything that has worked exceptionally well?

Definitely Diggin Rimmel's Mascara

It's official. I'm completely biased.

The fact that Rimmel London has signed on Zooey Deschanel as their "new face" is making me want to purchase Rimmel a bit more frequently. She is literally my female actress crush! Oh, and plus she's married to the lead singer of one of my all-time favorite bands SO you can see why this bias thing is occurring.

On one of my shopping endeavors, about a month ago, I picked up Rimmel London's NEW Lash Accelerator Mascara but never thought to try it until after I'd completed the RapidLash. Reason being was this mascara is also designed to stimulate and promote natural lash growth. The product's advertisements say that "overtime, the unique Grow-Lash Complex

strengthens, nourishes and renews lashes to promote natural lash growth for up to 117% longer looking lashes after 30 days".

I have been using the product for about a week now and am genuinely impressed. Not because my lashes are so long they touch my forehead BUT because the mascara is quite good. It goes on smooth, dark and definitely does extend lashes to make the appear full and long. My one comment is you have to "double-dip". (I despise a mascara wand that doesn't fully coat one eye. You have to dip the wand in to coat the upper lashes and then dip again to coat the bottom.....yes, I'm EXTREMELY nit-picky.)

Because it's only been a week, I'm not noticing a change, whatsoever, to my lash length. Now, having said this, I just completed the RapidLash Serum and because of this I honestly think another lash growth product won't work for me at this time. I still love the product though because for under $10 you can have a product that actually works.

NOTE: If someone has tried it for the full month, I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

It's Pounding....

I have to apologize for not posting anything in the past couple days. I have had a killer headache that's lasted just over three days now. I've tried advil, tylenol and essential oils, yet none of these seem to be working.

Anyway, I wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about you all AND I am currently concocting some great posts for when I can actually stare at a computer and not go blind.....

OH....if anyone has a brilliant remedy, please, oh please share.....

xo