review: laneige holiday sets (divine lip duo and midnight minis)

Some brands stand out. Laneige falls into that category as far as I am concerned. Their Lip Sleeping Mask has been a lifesaver on many occasions, especially during the cold and dry winter months. Each holiday season, the brand releases different sets with popular products, and I was fortunate enough to be gifted two of them: the Divine Lip Duo and the Midnight Minis. 

#FOTD and review (joybright beauty box: happy hues)

Back in November, there was a short shopping trip across the border where a handful of items came back with me. (Like several boxes of the iconic Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes, which certainly made my holiday season delicious.) One of those items was the JoyBright by Ulta Beauty Box: Happy Hues. At the front of the Ulta store, there were a few JoyBright items, which were essentially different makeup sets for the holiday season. I debated over the different offerings, but ultimately, the happy face details won me over and the Happy Hues item was chosen as a pre-holiday treat for myself. Over the last couple of months, this beauty set has been put to the test. Here is a review (with some pros and cons) as well as a #FOTD.

review: ariana grande lovenotes perfume (pink woods)

Perfume has a way of making an ordinary day feel extra special. A little spritz here....a little spritz there...and suddenly life seems sunnier. I love scented items like candles, wall plug-ins, perfumes, room sprays, and everything in between. Since fragrances are an essential part of my day to day life, loved ones are often thoughtful enough to gift me bottles of perfume. That is what happened with the Ariana Grande LOVENOTES perfume. This collection from Ariana Grande is a bit unusual, because there are different versions available in different parts of the world. For instance, LOVENOTES has Vanilla Suede in the UK, Angels Kiss in Germany, Pink Woods in North America, and Pressed Petals in Australia. On one hand, this is a fun idea that makes each release unique to the area. On the other hand, my collection of Ariana Grande perfumes will be incomplete unless I choose to do a little online shopping. I am curious to know how the other scents compare to the one available in North America, but alas, this is not something that I can know for certain at this point. Ready to find out more about Pink Woods?

holiday highlights: winter wonderland hand cream set

Opening stockings on Christmas morning is always so thrilling. I love all of the fun little treats tucked away inside. Truth be told, the small things seem to excite me more than anything else. I remember when I was a kid, my brother and I would wake up early on Christmas morning and carefully pour over our stockings before showing off each and every item. This year, my husband and I decided to do stockings for each other and then purchase one record each to add to our collection. It made sense to cut back a bit given that we have all that we need. Everything else is just a bonus! Inside my stocking this year were all sorts of fun extras, like a cranberry scented holiday candle, Santa shaped chocolates, and lots of Turtles chocolates. Also inside? An adorable holiday themed hand cream set. The Winter Wonderland set came with three different scents. 

holiday highlights: charmed aroma and cath kidston advent caledars

Advent calendars are a special part of the holiday season. Some years, there is just a chocolate one to count down the days and other years, there is something a little more elaborate. But no matter what, I like to watch all sorts of advent unboxing videos on YouTube each year. I love the surprise of seeing what is hidden away inside! This year, my countdown to Christmas included a chocolate advent calendar, an Elf themed calendar, a Disney Princess Lego themed calendar, and a Charmed Aroma themed calendar. I was gifted the Elf, Lego, and Charmed Aroma calendars for my birthday in the fall (there is nothing I love more than receiving an advent calendar for my birthday) and was finally able to open them, day by day. However, there was another advent calendar that snuck in at the last minute when I found a discounted Cath Kidston calendar in late December. On a whim, I decided to add it to my countdown. Here is a look inside the Charmed Aroma and Cath Kidston advent calendars...

holiday highlights: beauty creations holiday wishes nude x set

Though the calendar says it is January...my heart is still somewhere in December. At the moment, my focus is on New Years Resolutions and re-establishing my regular routine, but my days are still full of classic Christmas songs and holiday specials. Decorations are still in my home. The tree is still lit. I suppose one of these days, I will have to tuck it all away for another year, but I am trying to hold onto the magic of the season for just a little while longer. That is probably the reason for all of the holiday highlights posts this week on the creation of beauty is art. There will be some reviews shared, including some advent calendar reviews and a look at some holiday themed makeup items. Today, the spotlight is on the Holiday Wishes Nude X Set from Beauty Creations. This was found at Marshalls for $9.99 CDN shortly after finding the Oh Deer Christmas Shadow and Face Palette from the brand. Since I had such a positive experience with that holiday themed release, the decision was quickly made to add the Holiday Wishes Nude X Set to my collection. It is time to take a look inside and find out how it performed...

my new planner + why i love ban.do

The best part of a new year? A new planner. Without one, my days are disorganized and all over the place. I am someone who relies on a planner to keep my brain focused and functioning. I have tried many different kinds over the years, but my favorite brand is ban.do. Unfortunately, there were a couple of years where I was unable to find products from the brand at my local Indigo...and I was unwilling to pay the extra money to ship a heavy planner to my home. I found other alternatives, and those worked well enough, but were not quite as good as the ban.do planners. So, it was downright thrilling to find a small stack of ban.do planners with different cover art at Indigo during the late summer months. (Maybe that is the secret...to shop for a planner in the summer instead of looking for one in the fall. Though this is a 17 month planner, I use it as a 12 month one. There were just no 12 month options available.) Ready to take a peek inside? Here is the 17 Month Planner from ban.do.