SIBU, Now Known as Sea Berry Therapy in Canada

Have you heard of SIBU Sea Berry Therapy? They're an American, natural and cruelty-free beauty brand. For those of you who are familiar with SIBU, they have rebranded and relaunched in Canada under the name Sea Berry Therapy. The products have remained the same, just the name has changed!

"The process by which Sea Berry is brought from the Himalayan Highlands to your shelf is nothing short of a labor of love, and it all starts with the Turkestanica Sea Berry. This tiny orange berry found only at 12,000 feet above sea level is known as the richest source of Omega-7 in the world, and has been used for more than 13 centuries because of its wealth of amazing properties, including 190 bioactive compounds." 

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I was fortunate to have been gifted two Sea Berry Therapy products to try, and spoiler alert, I LOVE them both!

"Deep yet gentle cleansing is the basis for effective facial care at every age.  This naturally antibacterial sea buckthorn face wash gently removes dirt, impurities and make-up while maintaining a healthy balance in your skin without compromising its natural protective nutrients.  Sea Berry Polishing Facial Cleanser is perfect for sensitive skin, and will leave your face fresh, clean and perfectly balanced." 

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Sea Berry Polishing Facial Cleanser has quickly become a favourite of mine. It comes in a pump (love pumps for EVERYTHING) and it really gets my face clean. It removes makeup, gets the oil and grime off, but it doesn't strip my skin. The exfoliation is mild but noticeable and it leaves my skin feeling smooth. Typically washing my face leaves my skin feeling taut and dry but not with this cleanser. I will definitely be purchasing it with my own money once this bottle is empty!

"Experience the ultimate in skin hydration.  This light, non-oily serum penetrates deep into your skin to help deeply hydrate your face and neck & eliminate flaky, dry skin. Infused with vitamins, Hyaluronic acid and Sea Berry (Sea Buckthorn) extract, this serum fortifies the skin against the aging process and helps repair damage at a cellular level."

Hydrating Serum is made with Hyaluronic Acid for deep hydration and is suitable for both oily and dry skin types alike. This lightweight serum has a pleasant scent and it absorbs so fast. My Skin feels soft and supple immediately after applying this. I find it adds a supple radiance which is always nice. If you have dry skin like I do, you will want to follow up with a moisturizer or cream. Oily skin types may find that this is all they need. Two thumbs up for this serum!

I am definitely interested in trying more from the brand so if you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

*PR samples were generously provided to me for editorial consideration. As always, all opinions are my own.

Sothys Spring/Summer Collection ~ Review + Swatches

Hello beauties! It's been a hot minute since I posted and I think an explanation is needed. I wish I had an exciting excuse (ahem reason) but I don't. I've been feeling uninspired and it's been crazy hot so I haven't worn much makeup lately. I've also done the unthinkable and have been spending more time offline - yes you read that right.  I've been enjoying the real world and sorry, not sorry. Sometimes a girls gotta stop and smell the roses, swim in all the pools and just soak up the sun (with sunscreen on, obviously).

But as they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I've missed you all. As I ease my way back into regular posting, I thought I would share a short and sweet review of Sothys Spring/Summer Collection.

Sothys Spring/Summer Collection takes inspiration from Sothys garden and the super greens trend that showcases lush nature and an invitation to freshness. Personally I don't see the connection, but I must admit I do like the shade choices!

Ombre Sothys - Eye Quartette ($68.50) contains four new complimentary shades that can be used dry or moist, separately or in harmony. Each shade is iridescent and they are easily buildable and blendable. Although I like the shades, I don't find them to be the most exciting. I really wish that there were a matte transition shade because without it, this quad just feels incomplete. The shadows are quite nice and they wear well with minimal creasing or fading which is super important.

Sothys has two lipsticks in this collection, one satin and one matte. They look very similar in swatches and in real life as well. The main difference is that Rouge Intense Sothys 235 Rouge Roseraie ($35.95) has a semi opaque, satin finish whereas Rouge Mat Sothys 330 Orange Escapade Velours ($35.95) is more opaque, kind of matte and a touch warmer. The tone difference is super subtle so I wouldn't focus too much on it. For those who aren't makeup addicted, I recommend picking your finish preference as they are so similar in colour. Both wear well and are definitely comfortable. Sothys does lipstick well. Really well. They taste good, glide on and feel so amazing plus they wear for hours.

There are a few other items in this collection that are not included in my review; The Calligraphy Eyeliner ($33.50), Sun Glow Bronzing Powder ($61.50) and a Nail Lacquer ($19). Although I haven't tried these particular items, I will say that from experience,  Sothys nail polish is quite good (review here).

Sothys Spring/Summer Collection can be found in Institute and Spas throughout Canada. To find the location nearest you, call toll-free 1-800-361-3004

*Press samples were generously provided to me for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own.

MAKE UP FOR EVER's Ultra HD Underpainting Color Correction Palette & Ultra HD Soft Light Liquid Highlighter

Colour correcting, strobing, contouring, highlighting...so many techniques involving so many products. There's no denying that the end result is worth the effort but sometimes time is an issue. In busy mornings I rely on multitasking products to speed up the process. Realistically, if I have to reach for too many different things it's just not happening. Cue MAKE UP FOR EVER's Ultra HD Underpainting Color Correction Palette.

"Each Ultra HD Underpainting Color Correction Palette was developed by MAKE UP FOR EVER’s pro artist teams and tested on a wide range of skin tones to ensure precise and undetectable color correction—ridding skin of unwanted darkness, redness, and dull areas. As with the other Ultra HD products, a signature combination of coated pigments, powders, and a blend of emollient oils provide a second skin, seamless look and feel."

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There are six palettes to choose from based on skin tone. Each palette contains 2 colour correctors to correct discoloration and imperfections. There are also 2 concealers to camouflage the colour correctors. They can be built up to medium or full coverage as desired.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Underpainting Color Correction Palette in 25 Light has become a part of my daily routine. On  days where I haven't slept much (or I slept in) I can use the light peach corrector to conceal darkness under my eyes and then cover it with the concealer. I use the lighter shade (Y215) under my eyes and the darker shade (Y245) to spot conceal. I love how they went with yellow based concealer because it suits my undertone and it helps to mask redness better than cool based ones by cancelling out redness. I haven't had any issues with creasing, but I have had some problems with it moving around on my face. To avoid that, I make sure to set it with foundation or powder - preferably both.

Glowing skin has become my obsession lately and I am LOVING the Ultra HD Soft Light Liquid Highlighter in 30. It's the most perfect golden hue and it gives all the glow without the sparkles. The only complaint I have is that it's a bit too subtle - I kind of want to bathe in it! Having said that, I can appreciate the fact that not everyone wants to blind people and it can be built up, so I guess there's not much to complain about 😜

You can find these and other fabulous MAKE UP FOR EVER products in-store and online at sephora.com

*pr samples were generously provided to me for editorial consideration. As always, all opinions are my own.

Givenchy's Couture Edition 2018

If you're looking to feast your eyes on some limited edition luxury, you've come to the right place. Behold Givenchy's Couture Edition!

This gorgeous duo is available for a short time only, so if you like what you see, I highly recommend you grab it while you can.

Givenchy has taken two of its most popular items and adorned them with LE packaging. This year, we see a vibrant floral pattern on a beautiful black background. Le Rouge Lipstick is a favourite of mine and I'm obsessed with floral patterns, so this is a match made in heaven for me.

This year's couture edition sees Le Rouge in shade N315 Framboise ($48.50) as the LE lipstick. The case is wrapped in genuine, printed leather and it can be used with other Le Rouge Lipstick, should you want to switch it up (or if you finish the lipstick but want to reuse the cap). This beautiful berry shade would look great on a wide variety of skin tones and can be worn throughout the seasons. It truly is luxury at its finest!

I'm a huge fan of Le Rouge Lipstick for so many reasons. It's very pigmented, comfortable and long wearing. Honestly, I'm sort of over liquid lips and have been reaching for comfortable lippies like this instead.

The second Couture Edition item is Prisme Libre Loose Powder in the shade N01 Mouseline Pastel ($75). This colour-correcting setting powder provides a matte yet radiant finish, while helping to camouflage slight imperfections. The shades are housed separately but combine into one when shaken.

I'm a huge fan of Prisme Libre Loose Powder, but I'd be lying if I said that I'm slightly disappointed that they chose this shade as their Couture Edition. Only because Givenchy chose the same shade for their LE Lunar New Year collection. As they say variety is the spice of life, so it would have been nice to see a different shade offered. But it's not like I won't use it so I'm not mad about it 💁

This collection is so pretty, I highly recommend you check it out. You can find Givenchy's Couture Edition in store and online at sephora.com

*pr samples were generously provided for editorial consideration. As always, all opinions are my own.

Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment ~ Review

Disclaimer: I received this product free for review, but all opinions are my own!

Acne has been a hot topic on this blog since the beginning. What causes it, how to prevent it and what to treat it are often discussed here. If you've been following me for a while, you may recall my post on Neutrogena's Light Therapy Acne Mask last year (you can find that post here ). In short (and seriously over simplified), it's a chemical free mask to treat and prevent acne. I'm quite fond of it, but sometimes I only have a single pimple and don't want to pull out the whole mask. Sometimes I want to spot treat. And now I can, with Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment.

Neutrogena recently released the Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment and it combines what I liked about the original Light Therapy Acne Mask (chemical free, easy to use, etc.) with some new improvements. One of the things that I didn't like about the original was that you needed to replace the cartridges and the batteries after 30 sessions. With this, all you need to do is replace is the battery once it dies (FYI it only takes 1 AAA battery). Not only is it less of a hassle, it's less of a burden on the environment.

Neutrogena's Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment is really easy to use. Simply wash and dry your face as usual, place over the pimple you want to treat and turn it on. Once you hear the beep, the device is now on and will run for 2 minutes. You should treat the pimple 3x a day til it's gone. The red and blue light delivers a targeted dose of acne-killing light directly into the source of the breakout.

I personally prefer this over the original Light Therapy Acne Mask because it's portable, less wasteful and easier to store. Plus when my skin has broken out lately, it has been localized, so this is a much better fit.

If you suffer from light to moderate breakouts, this is for you. If you have wider spread breakouts, then you may want to check out the Light Therapy Acne Mask.

You can find Neutrogena's Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment at Shoppers Drug Mart.

*powered by brandbacker

wet n wild perfectpout Gel Lip Liners & megalast Liquid Catsuit ~ Review + Swatches

Do you wear lip liner? I own at least a dozen, but I rarely reach for them. I find most lip liners to be too dry and cumbersome to apply. And frankly, I'm just too lazy to bother sometimes. I've been making an effort to line my lips lately, and the new wet n wild perfectpout Gel Lip Liners are making me actually want to do it.

Wet n wild claims that the perfectpout Gel Lip Liners deliver a seamless, flawless application with no tugging and no dragging. They also claim to deliver never-ending color that goes on for days. Pretty big claims for a lip liner that costs $4 pencil! So do they perform as well as they claim?

Short answer, yes!

These lip pencils are ultra creamy and pigmented. They glide across my lips with ease and absolutely no dragging. But colour that lasts for days? No way. They are definitely long wearing, but they don't last me more than 4 or 5 hours. Tops. The only downside to these is that they're almost too creamy, meaning that it could be hard to get a sharp line. Luckily, I'm not a fan of sharp lines.

Since we're talking lips, might as well talk about wet n wild's Megalast Liquid Catsuit. These liquid lips are available in quite a few shades and cost roughly $7 CAD. I have the shades Coral Corruption and Pink Really Hard. Both are stunning shades for the spring/summer. They have a doe foot applicator that has a bowl shaped reservoir to hold the lipstick and each tube holds a generous amount of lipstick. I find application fairly straightforward, although I do find that Pink Really Hard is a bit thicker and slightly harder to spread.

When first applied, megalast Liquid Catsuit appears glossy but dries down to a matte finish within a few minutes. It transfers a bit, but stays intact for the most part. It can hold its own against drinking and light eating, lasting a solid 5 hours before it starts to dry out. I find the formula a tad bit drying, and the longer I wear it the worse it gets. It will start to crumble after extended wear. It's not as bad as it sounds and a little lip prep goes a long way.  For the price, I'm not complaining.

In all honesty, I can see myself purchasing the Liquid Catsuit but not the Gel Lip Liners. It's not that I don't like them, I'm just not a huge fan of lip liners in general.

You can find these products in store at Rexall, online at well.ca and wetnwildbeauty.com

*pr samples were generously provided for editorial consideration. As always, all opinions are my own.

Wet n Wild Color Icon 10 Pan Palettes ~ Review + Swatches

I'm going to preface this by saying that I've been purposely late to the wet n wild party. Why? Let's just say I remember when wet n wild was comparable to dollar store makeup, and I refused to believe it could have changed that much. Well here I am. I can admit when I'm wrong, so here it goes. I was WRONG about wet n wild. So, so wrong!

I've been testing out a lot of wet n wild products so there will be a ton of reviews coming your way 😉 Today I'm kicking it off with the coveted Coloricon 10 Pan Palettes. There are 4 available and I currently own 3 of them - Rosé in the Air, Not a Basic Peach, and Comfort Zone.

Rosé in the Air is often compared to a very popular, prestige palette. I happen to own it, and I will be doing a dupe post for it real soon. In the meantime, let's just take a look at this beauty. There's a good mix of mattes and shimmers and the shade selection is perfect. You can go bold and daring or dial it back for the office. The mattes are buildable and blendable, but they aren't overly pigmented. You will need to build them to achieve opacity and they need to be applied over primer. Same with the shimmers, although they pack a bit more pigment. I do find that the lighter shades need to be built up more than the deeper shades.

Not a Basic Peach is my favourite of the three. There's an awesome mix of neutral and peach shades with a blue thrown in for good measure. The mattes in here are a smidgen more pigmented than Rosé in the Air, but they still need to be built up. The shimmers are pretty great and look best when applied on primer. I am currently living for the orange, coral and blue shade.

Comfort Zone is a pretty palette that's perfect for evening looks. There are more shimmers than mattes and the shade range is deeper and smokier. I love the earthy vibes and how a lot of the shades have colour shifts to them. I didn't even notice that blue had a brown shift until I swatched it (it looks so basic in the pan haha). These shades are absolutely stunning and you need them in your life!

All in all I'm pretty impressed with the quality of these palettes. They wear well and last most of the day with primer. Do they feel like high end eyeshadow? No, they don't. But you can't beat the price and the quality is pretty darn good for drugstore makeup.

You can find these palettes at Rexall, Walmart, online at well.ca and wetnwildbeauty.com



*pr samples were provided for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own.