Beauty Talk: Arbonne L O V E

G O O D M O R N I N G L A D I E S!

OH how I’ve missed you all so very much! I hope this post finds you all well. My work life (and mom life) has definitely been interfering with my blogging life – what’s a girl to do!? In the interim, I’ve had the opportunity to test out some products since my last Beauty Talk and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you. Remember that the products shared are all worth your hard earned dollars and have been tested and have surpassed my expectations.

I had the pleasure of meeting a local Arbonne Rep, Shawna Gibb, this year to test out some of the products from the Arbonne line. I was very curious about the line and the results that I had been hearing. There were two products that stood out above the rest and I have been using them daily/weekly ever since (..and I’m on my second refill!)

CC Cream in shade ‘Light’ $45: I feel as though the online description of this product does not do it justice! They fail to really describe how creamy and smooth this cc cream is. It seriously can be applied effortlessly and this ‘light’ shade is bang on for my skin tone. It is a light coverage but easily buildable to cover the areas you want concealed. It’s great for the Winter months when you skin is super dry or in the Summer when you don’t want to look cakey. All around an excellent product.

ColorLast Hair Serum $36: Not only does this product smell incredible but it makes my hair SO smooth and manageable, all while NOT weighing it down AT ALL. Incredible right!? I know! It also dries my hair before I’m even done my makeup -this cuts my blow dryer time in half. I’m lucky enough to be able to say that I have access to hair products at cost… but when it came to paying full pop for this bad boy, I would do it over and over again – and have.

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in shade ‘Light-Medium Sand’ $31: I came across this product while researching top rated products on Sephora’s site (this is actually a late night pass time of mine – random I know!) This product came highly recommended and now I see why. It covers dark circles very well. It was a little weird at first because it’s very thick. So be sure to only use the smallest amount possible and apply it with your finger so it warms up and you can blend it in and smooth it out.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Liner $29: When I first started getting my lashes done I was very concerned about what brand of liner would be ok to use without harming my false lashes. My lash tech ranted and raved about this Stila liner and now I know why – it STAYS ALL DAY! Like when does that EVER happen?! Never! It’s not often that I find a liner (of any kind that is) that doesn’t transfer to the upper part of my eyelid half way through the day – THIS DRIVES ME NUTS! So it’s safe to say that this one definitely does not cause that problem and is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Tarte Tarteless Tease Palette $25: I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons and use another eye shadow palette other than my go to Jane Iredale one. When it comes to a palette, I want to be able to use ALL of the shades. With my green eyes, I tend to gravitate towards browns and purples. All the shades here work very nicely together. It turns out that this is my besties fave palette too and she has blue eyes, so I guess it’s great for all.

bareMinerals Broad Spectrum Multi-Tasking Face in shade ‘Well Rested’ $23: This is a miracle powder that gives the illusion that you are well rested …. count me in because I definitely AM NOT – lol. I’m so far from that, but that’s a blog post all on it’s own haha. This is my second refill on this product. It’s literally a miracle powder: dark circle here? blemish there? or just overall having a bad day? This will fix you right up! It gives you an overall Photoshop look without being powdery – make sense? It melts into your skin for an appearance of flawlessness. Sound too good to be true? Try it for yourself. Remember… Sephora has a 100% satisfaction guarantee so if you don’t love it – return it. Easy as that!

I hope you enjoyed this weeks products! If you are interested in either of the Arbonne products or anything else from the Arbonne line, be sure to contact Shawna Gibb to get all the details on placing an order (they ship right to your door!) If there’s anything else you would like to see or know, be sure to share you requests in the comments below. Have an awesome week!

My Microbladed Eyebrows with Xccessorize.me

9 / 17 / 169 / 19 / 16

^^SNAPPING SOME BEFORE PICS – PS. I NEED THIS LIGHT!

^^BEFORE

^^OUTLINE PENCILED IN

^^SO MUCH CALMER THANKS TO TRACEY!

^^ PIGMENT SETTING

^^ AFTER

Hello from the land of cosmetic tattooing!

You may be wondering what the heck I am talking about!? Or maybe you’ve seen my updates on Snapchat… I had my eyebrows tattooed!!! It sounds a little nuts right?! Well, NOT AT ALL! It’s been a GAME CHANGER for me thus far and I have no idea why I didn’t commit to the process sooner. This post is going to be a bit of a long read. I want to make sure to share the full experience with you and answer all the questions you’ve been asking over the past month – so grab a coffee and get cozy!

I wish I had a photo handy of the transition my eyebrows have taken over the years. Back in the early 2000’s, there was no such thing as a ‘selfie’ so I have nothing to share with you. I think back to my late teens where I over plucked so badly to achieve that one haired arch. This led to a set of ‘clown eyebrows’ which were fully draw in with a liquid liner. Not smart! As the years went on, I attempted to grow my own eyebrows in, but they just never came in the same.

While browsing Instagram one evening, I stumbled across the technique of ‘microbladed eyebrows’. Feather strokes that appear as though they are REAL hairs. I was SOLD! I didn’t want just anyone tattooing me, (I mean come on – it’s your face!) so I began searching locally. I found Tracey Rosman of Xccessorize.me on Instagram and I REALLY liked her work. I watched her work for months and months and decided to contact her to book in. It turned out that she was in the process of opening a brand new studio in Kelowna and I was her first client in the new space (it’s GORGEOUS btw and perfect for large group pedicure parties).

I have to admit, I was super nervous when it came time for my appointment. Which you can see in the first couple of pics lol. I’m not great in situations that I haven’t experienced before. I wasn’t nervous about the fact that it was a semi permanent tattoo because I was really confident in Tracey’s work, I was nervous about if it would hurt or not. Turns out it didn’t hurt AT ALL (felt like little scratches) thanks to the numbing cream that Tracey put on me! That made it a breeze!! I think I was also a little off because I had just smashed my phone moments prior to entering her salon – just my luck!

The appointment took just over a two hours. The first hour was the consult/ prep and the next hour was the tattooing process, pigment setting and a touch up. After the first session, my brows faded about 40% from when the pigment darkened. I have my next appointment at the end of this month for my final touch up and to finalize any tweaks that I want to make.

Tracey and I spoke in length about what to expect in the coming weeks after the procedure was complete. I was told to expect the ‘eyebrow highs and lows’. Leaving the appointment they were how I expected them. Then, in the following couple of days, they darkened dramatically. They were very intense but I LOVED them! As someone with not much to show to begin with, I had always dreamed of big bold brows, so it was a fun experience to have that look for a week before they settled. Tracey’s follows a ‘dry healing process’ so I had to make sure that I didn’t get them wet at all throughout the week.

From day two to seven they were just really dark, no redness or swelling at all. By day seven the darkness had faded and my eyebrows began to experience the peeling process. The flakes were the same colour as the pigment and as it flaked off, it revealed the feathered hair strokes underneath. I made sure that I didn’t pick at them and just let them heal on their own – but it was tempting, as I was so curious to see what remained from our session. By the tenth day, they were fully healed and looked fabulous!

You would definitely not want to book any events or large activities for the first two weeks as your brows will look a little weird. Plus, you have to stay away from heavy perspiration and the sun. Fall would be the perfect time of year to have this done!

I have my touch up booked for the end of this month. That will bring us to the eight week mark. I could have booked in at four weeks, but I just couldn’t make it work with my schedule. I will be sure to check in again once my final session is complete.

I know you’re all messaging me (very politely) asking the cost of microbladed eyebrows. The cost is $500 and it includes two sessions. My eyebrows can last up to two years (or even more) depending on care and how well my skin holds the pigment.

This procedure has HONESTLY changed my life and I recommend Xccessorize.me 100%. Just imagine being able to wake up with eyebrows ON every morning. Imagine not having to worry if they’re still there by end of day… GAME CHANGER! If you have any additional questions, be sure to reach out to Tracey Rosman for additional information and to BOOK IN. I can’t wait to see your before and after!

Photo Credit: Tara Peach Photography

Thank you to Xccessorize.me for sponsoring this post. All comments & opinions are my own.

An Evening At Diner en Blanc Okanagan 2016

8 / 19 / 168 / 20 / 16

Morning – Happy Saturday!

Among the commotion of returning to work after babes #2 (hence me being MIA from blogging for the past month as I adjust), I had the opportunity to sneak away for a couple events recently. One of them was the MUCH anticipated Diner en Blanc. This is HANDS DOWN my favorite event of the year!!!

Diner en Blanc is an all white (not cream), elegant, pop up picnic. Guests are transported by bus to a SECRET location that you don’t find out about until you are en route. You can feel the excitement build as guests get on their buses. Once you arrive, the tunes are cranked by a local dj and the set up begins. You set up your dining table, chairs, linens, decor and food and crack open the vino as the rest of the guests arrive. The event commences once all buses have arrived and all guests are set up. We all wave our white napkins as commencement of the evening.

We enjoyed our 3 course meal (on fine china of course – cause that’s how I roll ;)). If you’re looking for a more seamless experience, you can purchase dinner through the Diner en Blanc Okanagan website (I may go this route next year!).

The event goes on rain or shine and this year was a cool and windy one. We ended up looking at the forecast last minute and snagging a bunch of white umbrellas thanks to Amazon Prime and their 2 day shipping. Thank goodness, because it did sprinkle just as we arrived! As you can see from the pics below, we did have a couple issues with the umbrellas lol. By the end of the evening, the wind picked up… I was sending a snap and in the background I look, and the guys’ umbrella blew right open in the opposite direction – you had to be there – or maybe you saw it on my Snapchat (thesocialgal)?! I laughed SO loud! Who happens to catch THAT on video!!!

A bunch of you were asking about how long this event is – it’s about a 5 hour production from beginning to end. The second year I went, we bused from Kelowna all the way out to the secret location in Peachland – that was a midnight kind of night!

This was my third year attending. They’ve been going for four years now. We’ve gone to Father Pandosy, the Peachland Baseball Field and this years location: The Dolphins downtown. 1100 people attended this year and every year the numbers seems to increase! I couldn’t IMAGINE (well maybe I could!?) what it would be like to plan a party for 1100 people!!!??? I have to say that the first year that I went was my fave – it was a very close knit event with SUPER loud and killer tunes! EVERYONE was up dancing! The past couple of years have been in much larger locations and the dj always seems to be way over yonder so you can’t always hear the tunes as loud unless you go to the dance floor.

The reason I totally love this event is that you meet SO MANY new people. There’s a real sense of community. Have you ever traveled and done a day trip on a catamaran? You don’t know anyone when you begin and by the end of it, everyone’s sharing drinks and celebrating like lifelong friends – that’s what this feels like!

Dress: LuLus Glasses: Venus Eyewear

In order to attend, you have to sign up for the guest list in advance. Attendees are notified via email (and the Diner en Blanc Okanagan Facebook Page) around June. If you have never attended this event, you are grouped into the last phase but I promise … it’s worth the wait! \see what you missed here. Until Next Year- Cheers 🙂