June favourites!

Here are my favourite things from the month of June!

Beauty:

My number one favourite new product this month is my Loreal Majic Nude Foundation.  I had been putting off buying it because it is quite expensive ($19-$20 Canadian) for a drugstore foundation, and I just didn't need a new one.  When London Drugs had all Loreal foundations for $11.99 I took advantage and picked this up.  I loved it instantly.  It is a very thin consistency so it blends out really quickly and easily, but it also provides a really good medium coverage that looks really natural.  It tranforms into a powder finish when it sets so it gives a really beautiful finish to the skin.  It gives the coverage of a liquid with the lightweight feel and look of a powder.  Perfect for spring and summer!  I only wish it had SPF protection (that would make it worth the almost $20 price tag!)

My other beauty favourites have all been lipsticks, so watch for a post all about my most loved and hated lip products soon!

Parenting:

This month I have to write about something that has been one of my favourite parenting, beauty, and food products for quite a while, but I use it so often and in so many different ways that I always forget about it!  This miracle multi-purpose product is Cold-pressed Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.  I get mine in a huge tub from costco which stays in my kitchen.  Then I scoop some of it into containers that I keep in my own room and in P's room.  I use this stuff numerous times a day.  I'll stick to its parenting purposes for today, but it also has so many health benefits when used in cooking or as a beauty product.  Google it people!!

P sucks her thumb as she falls asleep, so she often gets sores on her lips and thumbs from this habit.  I apply coconut oil to her lips and thumbs a few times a day and the sores clear right up.  This stuff is perfect because it doesn't matter  if she ends up ingesting it .  For that reason I cant use polysporin or anything like that as it is being applied to spots that will inevitably end up in her mouth.

Once I started using coconut oil for that specific purpose and seeing how well it worked, I started trying it for other things as well.  Low and behold, it works great on cuts and scrapes before you put on a band-aid because of its anti-bacterial and anti-fingal properties. It is great for bug bites for the same reason, and it even soothes and heals diaper rash!  It is perfect as an all-over moisturizer for dry skin (which D suffers from terrribly).

I also use it a ton in baking and cooking because of its health benefits, but I'll write more about that in a future post.  If you don't already have some of this miracle oil in your house, you should consider getting some as soon as possible.  I just keep on discovering its wonderful qualities and uses!  

Cooking and Food:

Cooking: This month I have been inspired by a tall stack of cookbooks that I picked up at my local library.  I love food reading, and I am always interested in cookbooks written by celebrity chefs or cookbooks all about a certain country I am interested in at any given time.  My local library has a ton of cookbooks, and I bet yours does too.  For free!!  Check it out if you're a frugal food lover like me.

Food: This month I stopped drinking coffee to see if it would help me feel better, since I had been ill.  It didn't :( but I did find that I started sleeping better and those terrible headaches I'd been getting went away (the ones that used to start a few hours after I forgot to drink my coffee...).  So, I didn't start up again.  Instead I started making a cup of herbal tea in the morning, and my favourite is the Presidents Choice brand Chocolatey Chai herbal tea.  It smells so good, and with a little splash of milk it satisfies my craving for something hot in the morning.  Also satisfies my craving for something dessert-ish in the evening. Ok, the stuff is delicious any time of day. Its cheap too. Bonus!

Random Stuff:

I have, of course, been watching TV and reading books this month.  I have not, unfortunately, come across anything so wonderful that I feel the need to recommend it here today.  If I'm gonna call it a favourite, it has to be pretty great. 

Not so Frugal Friday?!? New Sephora in my City!

Today was an exciting and historic day in my city, Regina Saskatchewan, because we finally have a Sephora!!  It opened this morning and my sister-in-law and I were among the first to enter.  Now, it may come as a surprise for a makeup nerd like myself, but before this morning I had never been in a Sephora. I had ordered online, and my husband (saint that he is) would stop in to the Saskatoon location for me once in a while to pick up this or that if he was there for work.  Needless to day, it blew my mind.  I had been looking forward to this date with my sis-in-law ever since we found out Sephora was coming to Regina, and we had a blast.

I spent more money than I intended, and I cant even claim to have gotten good deals, as all we received was a measly and somewhat useless makeup bag (I mean, what makeup nerd doesn't already have way more of those than we already need??).  Still, it was a deeply rewarding and satisfying shopping trip on which I was able to swatch a ton of stuff I had been very curious about, and purchase some things I had long been waiting to own.

Among my purchases were a bite lipstick pencil, a Sephora cream lip stain, another Sephora lipstick, a Nars creamy concealer, a sample of Josie Maran coconut watercolour cheek stain, a Formula X for Sephora nailpolish, and a Beauty Blender solid brush cleaner.

My instant favourite is the Sephora cream lip stain in colour 01 red, which I put on as soon as I got home, and it lasted through lunch, the afternoon, and snacks eaten on the go while out at some community events.  I have been searching for the perfect red lipstick, and I have definitely found it!

Stay tuned for more reviews in future monthly favourites posts!

Perfect Red Lipstick!

March Favourites!!

Here are my favourite things from the month of March!

Beauty:

Lips: NYX butter gloss
These glosses are so creamy and comfortable and not at all sticky. They have just enough pigmentation to be worn on their own, and they look casual and easy with just enough colour.  Here are the colours I have:
Peach cobbler: a very wearable peachy orange, perfect for the springy orange lip trend
Vanilla Cream Pie: a rosy pink shade that is super feminine and perfect for a "no makeup" makeup day
Tiramisu: The perfect nude.  I love to wear this when I'm wearing a colourful eye look and want to keep the rest of my face neutral.
I get these from London Drugs because they so often have great sales on their NYX products.  Target also has some NYX products.

Nails: Essie nail lacquer  in chinchilly
I have been wearing this a ton on my fingernails.  It is the perfect grey shade, goes with everything.

Skincare:  Tarte's marajuca C-brightener eye cream
This is a total splurge for me, but so worth it.  I got a sample in a gift set I received for Christmas and it just ran out.  I could not help ordering a full sized one from the Tarte website.  Since I started using this stuff about 2 months ago, I have noticed a huge difference in my undereye area.  My fine lines have been noticeably reduced and I use far less concealer because this stuff has actually helped fade away my dark circles.  It is pricey but you barely have to use any (my 0.08 ounce sample lasted two months, even using it daily) This stuff is literally so amazing.  If you sign up on their website for their email notifications, you will get a coupon code for 20% off.  Free shipping in Canada after $75 and watch for deals too, cuz I got a free lipstick as a promotion with my order.  

Parenting:

Stickers :  P and D are really into stickers right now, and I have been using them a ton this month to keep them entertained with a quick and creative activity.  My smartest moment was when I threw a few sheets of stickers into my bag on our way out for a restaurant dinner one evening.  While just plain crayons would have kept them busy for a mere ten minutes before they started trying to eat them, the stickers added that extra interest! They stuck them all over their paper place mats, then moved them around and stuck them on themselves and on me and Suneil.  This entertained them the entire time we were waiting for our food (25 minutes or so).
Tip: To ensure this play activity is 100% independent, remove the part of the sheet that frames all of the actual stickers. This makes it much easier for toddlers to get at the stickers on their own without help.

Summer Infant video baby monitor:  We have had this monitor since the twins were born and have always found it had great value to us.  We could check on the kids at any time of night through the camera, and sooth an upset child from the comfort of our own bed simply by speaking to them through the monitor and watching to make sure they were soothed and falling back asleep.  Never has it given us more peace of mind though, as it has this month when we changed P and D's cribs into toddler beds.  We went into D's room one afternoon to find that during his "nap" he had made a pile on his new bed of all of the items from his entire closet and everything out of all of the drawers of his dresser (including the top ones ... how did he get up that high?? ... moment of panic!!).  We immediately moved the camera from P's room into D's room so that we could watch him and be sure he was safe and not performing impossible feats of baby climbing. We were also able to intervene a few times with what Suneil refers to as "the voice of God" (really just one of us, lol) saying "No Darshan, get back in bed".  He stopped with his reorganizing antics after a few days.  What a relief! 

Tresemme Split Remedy leave-in conditioning spray:  This stuff has transformed stresssful evening battles into relaxed evening routine.  P's hair is getting so long and it is so difficult to comb through after her bath.  She also wakes up every morning with a tangled rat's nest on the back of her head from moving around on her pillow.  I use a few sprays of this stuff on her wet hair after her bath and the comb just runs through her hair without problem.  I also use it on her dry hair in the mornings.  I spray a few sprays directly onto the problem (rat's nest!) area, and it makes brushing it our much less painful for both of us.  
I use this stuff in my own hair too and it really helps with frizz without making my hair greasy.  LOVE!

Cooking:

I have been loving my new cookbook, Jamie Oliver's Save with Jamie.  It is packed with recipes that use super cheap ingredients, but they are so delicious, and still simple enough to make quickly on a weeknight.  My favourite thing about this book is that it has a ton of vegetarian recipes, and so far my family has loved everything we've tried.  I love Jamie Oliver and this cookbook is another hit for me.

I have also been trying quite a few recipes from some of my favourite foodie youtubers, the guys at Sorted Food.  All four of them are so cute and their videos are hilarious!! I also love their recipes because they are adventurous and interesting, but still use simple ingredients and techniques that I can do at home.  Check them out on their youtube channel or on their website, sortedfood.com

Random Stuff:

Television: I am so sad that the season is over, but my absolute favourite TV show in March was AMC's The Walking Dead.  Zombies are not usually my style, but I am so addicted to all of the characters in this show.  I cant get enough.  I even found all of the comics and read them all!  I am also really loving ABC's Modern Family.  When Suneil and I watch this, we literally end up laughing the entire time!  All of the characters are so funny and endearing and I find the hilarious situations they end up in extremely relate-able.  

People:   I cant seem to stop watching the adorable family vlogs on youtube from Its Judy's life (youtube channel).  They just had twin girls and watching them just reminds me of super happy times when P and D were newborns.  They have another adorable daughter too.  Benji is so funny and Judy is just a real everyday mom.  I enjoy them all so much.

Books: A few weeks ago when I was teaching a grade 8 class I discovered the book Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  I began reading it aloud to the students and I got so into it that when I got home I just had to download it for my Kobo.  It is a four book series.  I am on the second book. Each book follows a different character but they all take place at the same time, during a world crisis ... Great page turners, check them out!