My love for CeraVe products is pretty much unparalleled at this point. They're one of those brands that I always have multiple products from in my rotation and I'm always - always - excited to try something new from the brand because at this point I just know it'll be good. So, of course, I was super, super excited to hear that they were releasing the CeraVe Hydrating Serum with Hyaluronic Acid*. I mean... obviously. Hyaluronic acid is another staple in my routine, so to be able to marry this particular ingredient with my favorite brand was a thrill. But how did it work out for me?

Sometimes when I see pretty looking polishes in the dollarstore, I really just can't help but to want to try them out and see how they perform, especially when it comes to nail art. Recently, I saw these really pretty pastel shades at my local Dollar Tree and was immediately inspired to see how the green and purple shades would work in a gradient. Ultimately, I think they actually performed really, really well. 

Though they aren't something that has been in my collection in recent years, I have a really, really special place in my heart from fragrances from Fruits & Passion. Weirdly enough it's because 20 years ago now (how am I this old??) my first love wore an aftershave from F&P and I fell so completely in love with the scent of it that I've always held onto that affection for their scents. So, of course, I was really excited to open a box from Avon and find Fruits & Passion Kate Eau De Toilette* and I couldn't wait to get it on my skin and in my nose holes. 

There are a few nail products that I always end up busting out during the summer that generally end up tucked away the rest of the year and now that we're firmly into the hottest time of the year (seriously, I don't know about where you're at, but here in Winnipeg we've basically been melting for the past week...) I'm going full summer on my nails. For today's nail art look, I went with a long time favorite stamping plate, a couple of bold summer shades, and one of my personal favorite nail art techniques - the smoosh! 

Lately, I've been doing a thing whenever I hear or see that there are going to be new cleansing balms launching in Canadian stores... I stalk them. Seriously, we have so few options on shelves here and they're something that I use every day and love immensely that I just absolutely can't wait to get my hands on them. Such was definitely the case with the Indeed Labs Watermelon Melting Balm, which I had to go to four Shoppers Drug Mart locations to finally get my hands on. I've actually been using this for a couple of months now and I'm really excited to share my review!

Keep reading for more!

I feel like despite and even because of  the fact that 2020 is a hornet's nest - a murder hornet's nest? - of messed up, a lot of us are feeling extra proud to be Canadian this Canada Day. No, it isn't because we're perfect or don't have huge, overwhelming problems like the rest of the world - we do! But I feel like, as Canadian's, many of us have really come together through all of the eruptions surrounding the pandemic and the long-overdue mainstream acknowledgment of privilege and systemic inequality and that gives me hope. No, we aren't perfect and we as a country have a to acknowledge and deal with some pretty profound issues, but I still feel incredibly proud to be Canadian this Canada Day because I feel confident that we as a people have come together to face the issues that we've been hit with this year.

Hey guys! It's our last week of June's Nail Art Roulette for #CBBxManiMonday and this week my pairing was a Black & White/Nude colour story and a Minimalist theme. Considering I have a tendency to take a more everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of approach to my nails, this was outside of my comfort zone but I found that I really loved the results within the parameters of keeping it monochrome and simple. Also... I always forget just how much I love a dotticure!

I have to be really honest here... I've actually been meaning to review the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50 PA++++ for almost a year now. Last summer, when my cousin's wife's parents were coming to visit Canada from Japan, they were kind enough to bring me a tube of this sunscreen that I had been DYING to try for ages but had yet to pull the trigger on. 

The reason that I really wanted to get my hands on this is pretty simple - it's one of the most talked about and widely lovely Japanese sunscreens that I'd seen and I really, really wanted to try a Japanese sunscreen. Why, you ask? Well, it's pretty simple. Here in Canada, as well as the US, our options for chemical filters are limited and, in my opinion, pretty outdated. Because sunscreen is treated like an OTC drug rather than a cosmetic, it has much stricter regulation and it really isn't easy to get new filters approved. For me, finding a chemical sunscreen option here in Canada is pretty difficult because the more common filters tend to cause irritation and break outs in my skin, so I tend to just stick to mineral sunscreens. Mineral sunscreens, though they do offer broad spectrum protection without irritation, can be tricky formulawise as well and can be an absolute nightmare for people of colour due to their strong white cast. Seriously, sunscreen is a bit of a minefield for me, which is why there aren't a lot that really stick in my collection. 

Like I said, I've been using this for nearly a year now (almost exactly, actually) so I've definitely put it rigorously to the test and am ready to give my review. Keep reading for more!

Of all of the pairings that I ended up with for this month's #CBBxManiMonday nail art roulette type of theme, I really did think when I landed on "Neon" and "Gradient" that it would be super easy... and it turned out that I struggled with this one quite a lot and actually tried a few different things that just didn't work at all, but in the end I'm super happy with what came out of it. Granted, it's not at all what I thought I was going to end up with when I started, but a lot of times that's what happens when I'm doing nail art, so I'm hardly surprised.