My Favourite Facial Scrub for Acne Prone Skin | All Natural

Looking for that perfect scrub that gets the job done without inflaming your already sensitive skin? I've finally found one that works wonders on my acne prone skin, and I'm excited to share my new discovery with you! Head over to Sew Crafty Angel where I guest posted and dish all about this fab all natural facial scrub (read more here)!

Let me know in the comments which scrub you are currently enjoying - I'm always on the lookout for new products to try!

Guest Post: Could Your Skincare Use a Makeover?

Audrey is a skincare nut turned blogger who’s leaving skincare in every stocking this season. She specializes in personalized skincare during the day (and bad reality TV at night.) See her bust the 5 most popular skincare myths on her blog, Vain Pursuits!

Any beauty junkie will admit the best part of beauty is experimentation. Lipsticks, shadows, liners and blushes come in every shade under the rainbow, and there’s nothing more fun than trying each one on for size. Sure, you have your go-to products for a ‘no-makeup makeup’ or ‘big night out’ look, but that doesn’t mean you won’t throw in a new product every so often to see how it works. Everyone knows that beauty is an ever-evolving process. As a skincare lover, I wish more people felt that way about their skin products too.

Trying a Shampoo Bar | Natural Hair Care

Have you tried or even heard of a shampoo bar? I haven't until just a few months ago, so I thought I would share with you how it's been working for me! Head over to Sew Crafty Angel to read all about my experience by clicking here!

My Go-To All Natural Facial Toner

Hi Beauties!

Catch me guest posting on Sew Crafty Angel this month where I share with you a new skin care product that I have discovered and that I am absolutely loving! To read the post, simply click here.

As always, thanks for reading!

My New Found Love For Lavender

Hi beauties!

Catch me guest posting this month on blog Sew Crafty Angel where I share with you my experience visiting a lavender farm as well as picking up some of their beauty products! To read the post, click here.

Have you ever visited a flower farm?

Contributing Angel | My New Favorite 100% Natural Face Wash

It's that time of the month again! Catch me guest posting on blog Sew Crafty Angel where I share with you a recent discovery that I am absolutely loving, not to mention that my skin is thanking me for. Read all about the Desert Essence Face Wash here!

Guest Post | Sip Pretty: Lemon Infused Detox Water

When life hands you a lemon, do you take it, squeeze it into a glass of water and drink daily? No? Well, you should!

I’ve gotten into a habit of beginning each morning with a glass of lemon infused detox water. It’s such a simple, healthy start to the day and the benefits of lemon are too good to ignore.

Right now, my favorite detox water is a combination of lemon + cucumber.

While lemon cleanses and purifies the blood, cucumber gently flushes out toxins and impurities from the system, making lemon + cucumber a perfect combination.

Lemons can also improve your complexion, jump start digestion, are high in Vitamin C, can relieve bloating, fight off colds, help with weight loss, increase energy… I could go on and on!

Drinking fruit-infused water is a great idea if you find the thought of plain water too boring, but know you need to up your intake. There’s no better way to stay hydrated.

To reap all of these amazing benefits, combine one sliced lemon and a sliced cucumber into a liter of water. Let infuse overnight and have a glass first thing in the morning (and throughout the day.) You’ll be well on your way to gently detoxifying your body and kick starting your digestive process.


Thanks for this wonderful tip Alicia! I have been drinking lemon water first thing in the morning for the last couple of weeks and it really is the best way to jump-start your day. I also dedicated a post on the benefits of lemon for acne scarring here and also how I use lemons to lighten my hair here.
 Have you tried fruit-infused water?
  For more beauty and lifestyle ideas, visit TheDumbbelle.com

Contributing Angel: Easy Natural Sun-Kissed Hair for Summer

Hi Ladies!

Catch me guest posting on blog Sew Crafty Angel where I share with you my secrets for achieving natural highlights in the summer. It is very easy and requires only 2 ingredients! To learn more, simply click here.

As always, thanks for reading!

Guest Post: Here Comes the Sun! Transitioning to Warm Weather with Nicole About Town

I am so honored to be the Canadian Beauty Bloggers Featured Blog of the Month (read all about it here!), and one thing that the founding members do each month is write guest posts on each other's blogs on a given theme. They invited me to take part in this month's round up, which is all about transitioning to warm weather. Today, I have fellow Canadian blogger Nicole from Nicole About Town sharing her go-to summer lip products with us. Take it away Nicole!

So like a lot of women, once the seasons begin to change and the warmer weather begins to shine through, I make some changes to my my makeup routine. The most notable of those changes is the various lip products I use.

For me, warmer weather is all about light, renewal, fresh, and soft. This translates for me into using completely different lip products than I did during the winter months. Does this mean that the colours that I wear are different? Yes, it does. But more than just the colours are different; the formulas and types of the lip products themselves are different. I tend to switch from the matte formula to a cream formula, and from lipstick to gloss.  

Now don't get me wrong, I still reach for a matte shade from time to time, and I do still wear lipstick as well, it's just that I don't reach for them nearly as often and they are no longer my 'go to' lip products.

Here are some of the formulas that become staples for me during the warmer months.

Lip Gloss - While I tend to stay away from lip gloss during the colder months, I gravitate to it during the warmer weather. I usually end up having at least three to four different shades in my makeup bag at all times. This helps me be able to make quick wardrobe changes throughout the day. You'd be surprised just how different your makeup can look just by switching up your lip gloss. I always keep a variety of shades on hand, but having a neutral, coral, pink and a deeper berry shade are always a must for me. Some of my favourite formulations are MAC's Dazzleglass, Dazzleglass Creme, Cremesheen Glass, and Illamasqua Intense Lip Gloss. Key shades for me include: Provocateur (Revlon), Fuchsia Flash (Smashbox), Bare Necessity (Dazzleglass), Ban This! (MAC), Boost (Illamasqua) and Over Indulgence (MAC).

I'm a Contributing Angel + Let's Talk Hand Creams!

Happy Monday Beauties!

My sweet friend Angel asked me if I would like to become one of her Contributing Angels (which by the way the name alone got me totally hooked) on her blog Sew Crafty Angel and of course I could not refuse! Basically, I will be guest posting on her blog once a month, and this month I decided to tackle the topic of skin care and share with you all my top 3 hand creams - I invite you stop on over there and read all about my favourite ones - it's all just a click away here! :)

Easy DIY Patriotic Face Mask: Protecting your Skin from Harmful UV Rays

Michelle Pinto works at Skana Spa in Upstate New York and she was nice enough to want to share with my readers this easy, all-natural, do-it-yourself hydrating mask recipe to keep our skin nice and moisturized in the summer. Take it away, Michelle!

Perhaps you have noticed that Summer and the change in weather can reek absolute havoc on your skin. I find it can truly be a shocking affair for my delicate dermis!  Suddenly there is more exposure to the suns UVA and UVB radiation, more sweat means more dirt and oil trapped in the pores, elevated body temperature means blood vessels are working overtime to send more blood to the surface and cool you down, then you splashing around in the pool or at the beach and strip your skin of its natural oils and moisture; next thing you know, you are a red hot mess!  

I have found that attentive skin care during the summer months really pays off. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a “summer glow”, but damage from the elements, no thank you. By the 4th of July (and for us Canadians July 1st), summer is reaching its climax.  No longer just warm, it is hot, family and friends are gathering for BBQ’s, swimming and fireworks and a lot of pictures are being taken.  I want beautiful, hydrated and glowing, soft skin at our Independence Day BBQ! Is that too much to ask? I deserve to have control over my skin at this point in the summer and so do you.

Here is a great DIY hydration mask recipe from the experts at Skana Spa of New York resort, Turning Stone with some patriotic flair that might just save the day, or maybe at least save our skin for all of those photos with family and friends at the big Patriotic Day BBQ.

Red, White & Blue Face Mask

Ingredients:

• Plain yogurt

• Honey

• Mixed berries

• Lemon juice

(source)

Guest Post: Review of Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Exposed

Hello lovelies! I have the joy of sharing with you today the very first guest post featured on this blog. It is by the beautiful Ashlee from The Makeup Wonderland. Ashlee has such great taste in beauty products, every time she writes about a product on her blog, I just want to run to the store and get every single item she mentions in her posts lol! She is super sweet, and I consider her a great, supportive blogger friend. I have definitely learned a lot from her when it comes to blogging. Without further ado, take it away Ashlee!