Summer Sun Protection

Well it's that time of year again! Who's excited? 

With all the fun activities that come with the sunshine and warm weather it's really important to protect our skin from the sun. I re-watched a video I seen last year about UV rays and skin and after watching it again I knew I wanted to make a post about the importance of sunscreen. Here's the video in case you wanted to check it out. It's about 3 minutes and trust me, it's pretty cool!

Did you watch it? What did you think? Crazy, hey?! 

So for those of you who don't know, there's a difference between sunblock and sunscreen 

 Sunblocks, such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, are highly effective in protecting against both UVA and UVB rays, the types of UV radiation that cause sunburn and skin cancer. Sunblocks often appear white on the skin. Sunscreens tend to be less visible on the skin and absorbs UV rays and does not reflect them 

Here's an article all about it if you're interested! 

 http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/08/07/28543.aspx

Sun screen is my ride or die. I wear it even in the winter. After years of trying different ones I found a few of my favourites and I'll share those with you later on in this post.

I'm going to cover just a few reasons why you should be wearing sun screen and it's importance so let's get right into it.

1. Sunscreen has proven to slow down the process of wrinkles and premature ageing skin.

2. Sunscreen has also been proven to decrease the growth of skin cancer.

3. Prevents sunburns and tanning -  I'm sure we all knew that. 

4. Helps even out your skin tone

5. Great for hydrating the skin.

I have three sunblocks that I use almost every day. I have one for my face and two others for my body.

So for my face I'll use Neutrogena Clear face SPF 30 

I don't know about you but I get a bit of anxiety putting new products on my face. I have pretty clear skin and would really like to keep it that way. I tried this sunblock while I was home alone one weekend and no breakouts or texture came to my face. I even put make up on over top and went outside. I had no signs of burning and it didn't make my make-up move which is just an added bonus!  I purchased this for $14 at Shoppers Drug Mart

 The next product I use is Sunbum SPF 50

First off, Yum! This smells so good to me! This product is a sunscreen and I use it all over my body if I'm going out. I've used this for years and I have no complaints expect one, I can only ever find travel sizes so I'm constantly repurchasing this at least 3 times every summer. Part of me doesn't mind because it works so well. I paid a little over $10 for mine. Give this little beauty a try. I'm sure you'l love it.

Last but of course not least we have Coola- sport SPF 30
This product is suppose to be organic but I don't care about that, yeah yeah shoot me. moving on.. This one is my go to mostly because it smells so fantastic but a little bit goes a long way which I love. I do find myself having to re-apply every other hour which isn't so bad since I do the same with my other block, I just find it wears off faster than the others but it's still my favourite! I paid $36 for this at Ulta online. Coola also has amazing lip balms and other great sun protection products. If you can, go smell a few haha you won't be disappointed. 

Alright that's it. Those are my must have sunblocks and screens. Don't forget to further protect your skin by wearing hats and keeping hydrated. Stay healthy this summer, everyone!

                                                                       Xxoo - Katie 

Holiday Gift Ideas!

Tis the season for gift giving!! for some of you that's exciting and for the rest of you, including me it's stressful. It's now crunch time to find that perfect gift for someone special and if you're anything like me, I keep putting it off and have a really hard time picking thing out especially if some one is hard to shop for or just has everything. So to not only help myself but hopefully a few of my readers I thought, "Hey! Why not write about my gift ideas!" So here I am, and here you are. I hope I can either give you gift ideas or at least inspire an idea to help you get that perfect gift just in time for the holidays. So lets get started


First things first, Lets talk gift cards. Do I like gift cards? Yes. Do I like to give them as gifts? No. Not unless I know the person really wants it or would really appreciate it. I use gift cards as a last resort and for the impossible to shop for friends but the right card given to the right person can be a great thing. They can get what they want from a store they love and everyone's happy. Sephora, Bath & Body Works, Clothing stores and department stores are all excellent examples of the cards you can purchase. Check them out!

Books! So many appreciate books it's not even funny. So what's better than buying someone a copy of your favourite book or even a trilogy that everyone is talking about. Do they have a favourite author or genre? Start looking at the books they already have and do some research. Are they a Harry Potter fan and don't have the books? Well what do you know, A gift idea! 

You can't talk about books without thinking of your favourites that turned into movies.

Just like books, the list of great movies can and will go on forever. Maybe the person your shopping for has a book that was turned into the movie but they don't have the movie yet. Is there a movie they wanted to watch but never got around to it? Or a series they absolutely LOVE!?  Maybe there is a film you just know they are going to love. Purchase it and you can watch it together! 

Scents! Who doesn't love a good smell, especially one they can wear! Pick up their favourite perfume, candle, hand cream or body care collection. I find these gifts instantly put a smile on anyone's face, especially if it's their favourite. During the holidays a lot of scent collections can be purchased so finding them will be easier than finding a parking spot at the mall! These sets can get quite luxurious too so you can either spend a lot of money or hardly any at all. It all depends on the scent. 

Clothing! I don't know about you guys but mittens, slippers and sweaters are such a favourite of mine to receive. The gift of warmth just seems so generous and nice and obviously cozy. Who doesn't like to be cozy!? My boyfriend purchased a pair of mittens for me and I LOVE them. Going outside and being warm is the greatest feeling and every time I see my mittens I'm reminded of him which means my mittens are two gifts in one! Thanks Babe! I still love them! <3

These are the mittens he got for me. SO WARM!

Now lets get crazy and get someone something they actually need. Ask them what they really need and if you can get it for them, do it. A lot of families don't have a lot of money during the holidays. Purchasing something they need can really take the stress of budgeting off their mind and we all know what it's like to worry about money and having enough to provide. This gift could be something small like a hat, boots, food, or it can be a bigger gift like paying a bill or fixing something thats been broken. The possibilities are endless when it comes to this since everyone's situation is different.

So since it's the season for giving, I encourage you all to give back to your community! Help make some Christmas hampers for families in need, Shovel some snow for your neighbours, bake some cookies for your co-workers. Do what you can to make the holidays a little brighter for someone and trust me, Your holiday will become brighter too.

Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time, I hope its beautiful. I hope your surrounded by people that love you and appreciate you and I hope you are able to sit down and smile while counting all your blessings this year has given you. 

Happy Holidays everyone! I look forward to 2016 with you all with me <3 

                        

                                             Xxoo - Katie

February Favourites!

It feels like it's been forever since I've done a favourites so I'm pretty excited about this one. I don't have many favourites this time around since February is such a busy month for me. But I gathered a few things that have been pretty staple for me and that I've really enjoyed having this month, so lets get right into it!

Beauty Favourites:

I love... strawberries and milkshake

I received this as a birthday gift this month and I've used it every single day since. It came as a 4 piece set with body butter, exfoliating shower smoothie, bubble bath/shower get and a really cute pink loofah. I've  been  loving this, especially loving the body butter. The scent is pretty mild, not empowering at all. but it does smell sweet, and creamy. I find the scent really stays on you and doesn't travel far, which i really like in case I'm around someone who is allergic to fragrance.  The formula of this body butter is just like any other butter. It's really thick and moisturizes so well which I really need this winter. What's up with this weather these days? Anyway..moving on. the bubble bath/shower gel makes some serious bubble but sadly they didn't  last long. and that's a bit of a downer for me but even thought he bubbles were gone, the scent stayed which was pretty relaxing. As for the exfoliating shower smoothie....Yum.  Super creamy texture, and there is just the right amount of exfoliating beads in every use. It smells great just like the other two products so if you happen to find this product..try it =)

Eco Pure Cocoa Butter Body Lotion 

Mmmmmm is my initial thoughts on this product. The smell alone is enough for me to repurchase this over and over again! I got this as a set with a shower gel, it smells amazing as well but i have yet to use it. but the lotion...Yum! it smells like every other cocoa butter product, so its nothing new but you'll love this is you love that scent. the formula is light and smooth and never leaves my hands greasy no mater how much i try to put on. The scent with this one travels but is also very light smelling. like most cocoa butter products, it smells natural and very warm! If you can find this product. smell it, buy it, and thank me later =)

Avon Naturals Blushing Charme Cherry Blossom body spray

I'm not one for Avon products but this is one product that I really love. I find most body sprays, no matter what brand, always smell more like alcohol than the actual scent and because of that the longevity is pretty much non existent, But for some reason Avon has managed to out do everyone else and step up their body spray game. considering the first ingredient in this is in fact alcohol, you can't tell. and the scent lasts all day. I like to spray a little in my hair so when I flip it behind me I smell the spray again, and if you know me, that would make me pretty excited haha. 

Adidas Fruity Rhythm Perfume.

So the top notes in this perfume are black current and raspberries. ( My favourite fruit)   The middle notes are cyclamen and freesia and the base note is musk which really helps balance all the  sweet notes in this perfume. I like to spray it on both sides on my neck and I can smell it all night long and through to the next day.  This is probably the cheapest perfume I own but how can you go wrong when it smells so fresh and lasts such a long time? Yup. didn't think you could!

Hard Candy Glow all the way  body and face luminizer

This product is so fun to play with. It's part of a 4 product range and each one is  infused with 24 karat gold. This particular shade is #319 Dollface. I have played around with this product for years now and honestly use it on the smallest part of my face. My cupids bow. I apply a small amount with my finger tip and blend it up towards my nose. This gives the illusion that I have big lips, and i can see it's effect instantly. then I add a little lip liner and I'm feeling like Kylie Jenner. You can apply  this to your brow bone, top of your cheeks, your arms, chest and even as an eye shadow if you really wanted to, it's a multi-use item and it works! 

Has anyone noticed a theme for  this blog post?  Very pink, red and full of fragrance...I'm loving this! 

Moving on...to more red and fragrance.. =)

Black Cherry Merlot Foaming Hand Soap Bath And Body Works

This smells like what it is, just like all bath and body works products. you can never g wrong with them. I've been loving this because it's the only soap that isn't leaving my hands dry after. like I mentioned earlier, that's been an issue for me this winter so this has been a nice addition to having more moisturized hands. and the smell is very captivating. it's rich and very true to fresh black cherries and wine, and we all know how much I like wine! Haha. Not only do I recommend this scent but pretty much every other scent from this company is a crowd pleaser so definitely check them out!

Non Beauty Favourites

Scentsy. One of my friends sells this product and pretty much every time I go over I'm smelling her collection and falling in love with a new scent every time. After a few months of carefully selecting my favourites I've narrowed it down to 3. So here they are 

Luna

So Scentsy describes this scent  as "White florals — jasmine, sweet pea, and freesia — juicy berries, and sandalwood shimmer like moonlight." I couldn't agree more. I mean if moonlight had a smell. it would be Luna. I'm a huge fan of each scent in this bar so it was no surprise that i liked it so much! If you get a chance to smell this, Do it!!

Shaka!

The moment I smelt this for the first time my first and only thought was "I need a man who smells like this!" that thought hasn't changed! haha.  Scentsy's description of this scent is "Classically cool: rich sandalwood infused with a splash of bergamot and lime."  Now, I have no clue how bergamot smells but it's gotta be good. Sandalwood is an all time favourite of mine and so is lime so this scent is a win- win for me. If you like the smell of light cologne, smell this and thank me later! 

Serene Green

This has to me my favourite out of every scent Scentsy has. It's crisp, clean, and SO fresh smelling. Scentsy's description says "Deep green lime leaves, crisp verbena, and tart citrus zest in a bright, happy fragrance." Perfect. The description is spot on. You'd think this would be a really powerful citrus smell because of the lime leaves and citrus zest but the lime leaves actually have a sweet earthy smell and verbena brightens up the entire scent. This is a must for me now and I can't wait to get my brick. rumor has it, this is getting discontinued, so hurry up and get your hands on this little beauty before it's too late! 

Music

Taylor Swift - 1989

This month I got my laptop fixed, which means that I got iTunes back! (YAY!) 
So the last album I bought before it broke was Taylor Swift 1989 and I was so crushed when i couldn't listen to it anymore. But, now that it's back, so is the music and I've been listening to her album nonstop. My favourite tracks off the album are Welcome to New York, Style, Out of the Woods, Wildest Dreams, I Know Places, Clean, and Wonderland....So pretty much the entire album. I like every song but the ones I listed are ones I've just been personally loving. So give this one a listen! There's a song for everyone! 

And last but not least.

Sam Hunt - Montevallo

So not only is Sam Hunt pretty easy to look at but his songs are super catchy! Leave the Night On is constantly playing in my mind and House Party. His voice is so nice and easy to sing with. His album came out in October last year but I never gave it a chance until now and I'm really glad I did. You can check out his songs on YouTube. Let me know what you think! =) 

Well that concludes my February Favourites! I hope you all enjoyed this post, make sure to tell me what you've been loving this month and if try any of these products let me know ow you like them! See you all in March!

xxoo - Katie