What's in my Purse????

I love when Bloggers post a "what's in my purse" because it's a great way to get ideas on everyday essentials that you may be missing from your purse repertoire. I am posting what is in my purse today but I must warn you, after looking at the pictures, it's kinda boring. Boring to me anyways, maybe not to you! I have recently done a purse purge to keep clutter out of my life -which I hate - so that is why the pickin's a slim when it comes to my purse essentials.

With that said, let's dive in!

 From Left to Right:

My ESPRIT eye glasses: Need those from driving at night (yep, I'm old)

Guess Wallet: It's black leather and I have had it for years. The coin purse is broken though so I need to carry...

Coin purse - Catseye London: I received this as a gift and didn't think I would use it! I actually am kinda digging the coin purse separate from my regular wallet thing. It may seem like a pain but it makes things easier for carrying cash and heavy coins around.

My Emergency bottle: Ha ha, I am not a pill popper per se but I like to have Advil, Gravol and some prescription back pills on me at all times in case of a bad headache, tummy ache/sleep inducer or my back goes out on me (for those who don't know I had a disc removed from my spine a few years ago)

My beauty bag from Bath and Body Works: More on this in a jiff

A memory stick: Comes in handy!

Tide pen: A necessity for a clumsy person

C.O. Bigelow - My Favorite Night Balm x2: This IS my fav lip balm that I use all the time, not just at night. It is super moisturizing, leaves a little sheen and goopy enough to stick to your pucker with out being too goopy.

My iPhone (not shown as it was taking the picture) and a charger: Who doesn't have their smartphone with them at all times? I also need my charger with me as a safety net of sorts, what if the battery dies at a crucial moment?

Above is my current purse of choice.

So what is in the mysterious beauty bag?

 From Left to Right:

Black hair elastics: needed for those unruly hair days

Dental floss: for when you have spinach at lunch, LOL

Pink Sugar Roll On perfume: I am not a huge perfume person. I hate walking into a room and being punched in the face by someone wearing Angel or Hugo Boss. But I do really like to have a roll on perfume on hand as a subtle touch up fragrance. These are also much more inexpensive to buy than a full sized bottle  and they last a long time.

Clinique moisture surge extended thirst relief: This is a great moisturizer to carry with you as a touch up during the day. It is light and non-greasy but really moisturizes and doesn't disturb your make up. I use it under my eyes in the afternoon to keep them looking fresh.

Clinique  Different Lipstick and mascara combo: Great for touch ups!

CG TRUBlend Pressed Powder Compact: for my sometimes shiny T-Zone

Nail file, clippers and tweezers: I can't handle snagged nails, hang nails or fly away eyebrow hairs!

Eye Drops: when you work a desk job, your eyes take a beating. I keep this with me when my eyes are feeling dry at the office.

Aveda Hand Relief: Ahhh just the smell of this stuff puts me in a better mood. Great for our Canadian Winters

Jelly Lips: I have a lip balm/gloss obsession!

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer: Not my fav concealer but I keep it with me for touch ups as I have really dark circles. This product does brighten, but conceal? Not so much.

Revlon Lip Butter: In Sugar Frosting #005 and Fig Jam #030 for when I want some color.

Maybelline Baby Lips: I had heard amazing things about Baby Lips, but the moisture doesn't really last for me. I still keep it because the Pink Shock color is cute.

So there you have it! I hope you found something useful in my bag of tricks!

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How do you pick which cosmetics to buy?

*Note: This book was not sent to me to endorse in any way and I did not receive compensation. These options are my own.*

For Christmas this past year my Mom gave me a book that she saw me read in Costco one day. It's called Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun, a well known cosmetic expert. You can read more about her on her website here. This book is like an Encyclopedia for all cosmetics from face wash to lipstick, it has tons of products listed here broken down by brands and categories.

What makes this book so useful is that her ratings are based on the ingredients used in each product and also  spells out whether to product delivers on it's claims i.e. "moisturizes for 24 hours"! She will also disclosed if the product is tested on animals which if you have a soul, you will care about :)

I am a cosmetics junkie.... this is just some of what is in my purse and desk at work.

I have a ton more at home that fills a full drawer in my dresser, several plastic storage containers and about 1/2 of my cabinet in my bathroom!

In North America, we spend $7 Billion a year on cosmetics! That's mind blowing! That doesn't count plastic surgery either. I know I spend a lot of my income on beauty products and I used spare almost no expense on what I thought was a life changing product. Now that I am older I try to be more practical with my spending on beauty and this book has been an invaluable resource in that goal.

When approaching the cosmetics area of your local department store or pharmacy, it can be overwhelming! There are so many brands and products to choose from. This one moisturizes, oh but this one makes me look younger, this one has SPF and this one has sparkles on the package (how cute!). How can we possibly choose the best product at an affordable price when there are so many options? And after we have spent our hard earned money, are we going to be happy with that purchase? Well Paula is here to help you!

Paula rates products from Poor, Average, Good and Best with honesty and fairness from how they are packaged to what the ingredients do, results you can expect and their price points (huge money save here if you are slave to expensive, trendy brands). Paula also has her own line of cosmetics available on her website.

Now there will always be a matter of preference to consider. Even if Paula rates a brand with a less than Best rating, you may still love that product and see great results from it. For example, I have no idea why people love Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. It has been rated at the top of almost every magazine's" best mascaras" for decades and makeup artists claim it is a must have. I don't get it, the brush sucks and the results are "meh" in my opinion.  Paula, however rates it as Poor, finally someone sees the light!

I think it is really great to have a reference guide to arm yourself when you purchase a cosmetic of any kind. I refer to this book all the time and her website as well!

You can find Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me in any bookstore or on Amazon and it retails for approximately $26.36 CND.

I hope you'll find this post useful and next time, before to run out to drop your dollar bills on the latest and greatest in make up or wrinkle cream, do some research to get the best bang for your buck!

Melmac oxoxoxox

Dressy for a Friday

Happy rainy Friday!

Blazer: Le Chateau

Tube Top: American Eagle

Jeans: Seven for all Mankind, seen here

Necklace: Cleo

Rings and Earrings: From Mexico

Nails: Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips (more to follow!)

 Down from above

Shoes: Aldo seen here

I love getting my nails done, Acrylic, Gel, regular Mani...I love'em all! But what I don't like is the time that it takes to drive to the salon and sit there for an hour or more. It just seems to take so much time and we all don't have enough of that. So when I came across this product from Sally Hansen, I thought I would give it a try. Here's what you do:

1. Push your cuticles down 
2. File your nails 
3. Apply the gel strips & file those to the shape of your nail 
4. Apply the gel coat and place your nail under the LED light to cure
5. Wipe off the access with an alcohol pad that is provided and voila! 

Now the applying and filing of the nails with the strips can be tricky. I found some YouTube videos that were super helpful:

The Sally Hansen video from their website
This one with a review
And this one I really liked

My verdict, I loved the way they turned out, they are shinny and with the help of the videos, weren't as hard to apply as I thought. It was my first time applying these so I am sure I will get better the more I do it.
My criticisms of this product is that on the box it says "2 Easy Steps"..... ummmm no. There are several steps so the box is a little misleading.
Also not ALL of the strips will fit your nails so I would maybe try Sally's gel polish to get a better gel manicure. I already know how to apply nail polish pretty well so it will just be easier overall.
But I would use this product again!

I have the silly gown....

This is a collection of some of my favorite dresses. Some are really old school but I love them none the less. These are images that I HAVE to stop and stare at every time I see them. These women are all beautiful but these gowns give them a luminous quality that you can't get in jeans and a t-shirt. What are your favorite dresses?

Source: http://fashion-gossip-girl.blogspot.ca/2011/10/go-green.html

Source:http://onthisdayinfashion.com/?p=8474

Source:http://static.tumblr.com/h1b2r7v/PJelzyn65/scarlettsidebar.gif

 Source: http://ocdeals.ocregister.com/files/2009/05/scarlett-ohara.jpg

Source: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2013/02/rihanna-2013-grammy-awards-dress.jpg

 Source: http://cinzee.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/slide_17789_246679_huge.jpg

Source: http://photos.posh24.com/p/1108785/z/oscars/michelle_williams_yellow_vera.jpg

The Red Dress

I always saw, I always said

If I were grown and free,

I'd have a gown of reddest red

As fine as you could see,

To wear out walking, sleek and slow,

Upon a Summer day,

And there'd be one to see me so

And flip the world away.

And he would be a gallant one,

With stars behind his eyes,

And hair like metal in the sun,

And lips too warm for lies.

I always saw us, gay and good,

High honored in the town.

Now I am grown to womanhood....

I have the silly gown. 

Dorothy Parker

Shampoo? Try No Poo!

I came across this interesting tidbit on Pinterest about not washing your hair with conventional Shampoo. Rather you use baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair as they do not strip your scalp of the natural oils (sebum) it produces. As someone with long curly hair that is DRY and who only washes it every other day (I still shower everyday); I might give this a try and see how it works, click HERE to find out more.

I will let you know how it goes!

Beauty Beliefs

I don't have a TON of beauty tips or tricks. I do love to read about them on Blogs or Pinterest but I rarely do that smokey eye trick or put castor oil on my eyelashes everyday for a month to make them thicker. Nope, not enough hours in the day. My theory on beauty is you are either born with it or you aren't. So work what you have and don't worry about what you don't have. But one little beauty tip that I have to offer you is...... Coconut Oil. 

Some of you may have cooked with it or maybe have seen it in the list of ingredients of a moisturizer. But I am telling you this stuff is magic! What I mainly use it for is my hair. I have curly/wavy long hair that I get highlighted every 9-10 weeks. So that equals DRY hair that can look dull or just feel nasty if I don't care for it. I wash my hair every other day and the night before a "Hair Washing Day", I take some Coconut Oil (about a tablespoon) in my hands, rub it together (it melts almost instantly) and smooth it over my hair, especially on my ends. I leave it in all night, wash and condition the next day and after blow drying/styling, I am left with super shiny, super soft hair. It seals in all the frizzies and really helps maintain my hair health in a way that most products don't. Trust me, I have tried EVERYTHING. Plus it is natural! 

If you have hair that is naturally oily, just put it on your ends.

I also use it on my skin sometimes at night (both face and body). It reduces fine lines on my face and makes my skin very evenly soft and smooth. I have eczema on my hands so it helps with that as well. Now the reduction in fine lines is due to the skin being moisturized; Coconut Oil doesn't have wrinkle repair properties. 

Also, I really like knowing what I am putting on my skin. Your skin is your body's largest organ so it makes sense that you should be aware of what goes ON your body as it will be absorbed into YOU!

One thing about coconut oil, you should look for and buy, Extra Virgin organic coconut oil. Any other kind may have been processed. The real deal for Coconut oil should smell like coconuts and be safe for use everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean it.....it can be used as lube too! 

So there's my advice on beauty for the day.....Try this, you will be glad you did.

There are also several health benefits to using Coconut oil in your cooking. Read here for more information.

What natural products have you tried? I would love to hear from you!