New Year's Eve Nail Beauty

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to a house party, a night club, a banquet hall or a bar you want to look your best on New Year’s Eve. You can count on the fact that hundreds of pictures will be taken and posted all over Facebook, that if you bought your dress at Le Chateau at least 1 or 2 other girls will have the same one and that almost everyone one will have some sort of sparkle, shimmer or sequin on.

It’s one of the only times of year where people will go all out and bust out the sparkly top or sequence blazer – the holidays are a reason for us to buy some piece of sequin/sparkle/shimmer for our wardrobe and wear it only once or twice. I myself own a sequined vest – it was worn once in late November of last year to my dear friends Lisa’s Birthday Party – but other than that my friend Shannon has had more use out of it then I have.

Not only are sparkle and sequin not wearable during all the seasons but they are not easy to pull off. When done correctly it can be an amazing piece of fashion art BUT when paired with a pair of light blue jeans and a red lace top – well how do I put this delicately…it ends up being trash!

With this being said…I say let’s save our money, save some people some embarrassment and save our already over pack closets from things we will only wear once – because let’s face it if you wore it last year around the holiday season you will not wear it this year…and if you do – well trust me even though you think we don’t remember it, we do – no one forgets these outfits, good or bad!

So what is the best way to incorporate some sparkle and shine into our New Year’s Outfit? NAIL POLISH!!! I know most of you love to have your red or black nails for NYE but hey why not step out of your shell and spice it up a little?! OPI has the best range of nail polish colours on the market. They have new lines coming out all the time and also always carry a wide range of classic colours. They have a metallic shades, shimmery shades and sparkly shades to cover any outfit for NYE! No matter how simple, classic or over the top your outfit for NYE is you can find a shade to pull your whole look together.

Here are some of my favourite OPI colours to spice up your NYE…

Lip Love

What girl doesn’t love lip gloss…I myself love, love, love it and have a collection of well over 50 to prove it. But out of all of the lip glosses I have there are only a few tried tested and true...


In no particular order…

The Gloss – C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint/Breath Freshener

Where to Buy – Bath & Body Works

Price - $7.50 or Buy 2 get one free

Details – Comes in a wide range of colours…Bare Mint, Pink Mint, Plum Mint, Violet Mint, Magenta Mint, Coral Mint and Ginger Mint. The formula is smooth and non-sticky with a great mint smell and taste that freshens your breath with every lick of the lips. These lip glosses provide the perfect amount of natural colour and work great over a lip stick.

My Favourite – Ginger Mint and Coral Mint

***New Organic Lip Tint Line now available***

The Gloss – NARS

Where to Buy – Holt Renfrew and Sephora
Price - $24.00
Details – NARS may be a little more expensive but its worth every penny! They have high shine and high pigments with a wide range of colours. The colours are either sheer, creamy or semi sheer. It has a wand applicator which I prefer to a brush and smells and tastes like good makeup should…like nothing but good makeup. They have so many great colours that are let’s say “out of the box” that you are sure to stand out. While you may not fill your makeup bag full of every colour I would say that having at least one in your perfect shade is within the budget.
My Favourite – Turkish Delight (one of their cult classics)
***Exclusive colour (which I can’t wait to try) is Bloodwork – perfect for the holiday season***

The Gloss - Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss

Where to Buy – Victoria Secret and La Senza

Price - $7.50

Details – With 21 shades in the Beauty Rush Lip Gloss line you’re covered no matter what your skin tone/colour preference. They taste and smell great, long lasting and they have that good sticky feel without being too sticky.

My Favourite – A Slice of Heaven and More Mimosa
***Can usually find these glosses for 2 for $12 or 5 for $20***

The Gloss - Philosophy Lip Shine

Where to Buy – Sephora

Price - $13.00

Details – The whole Philosophy line is amazing – it’s loved by celebrities as well as dermatologists (its eye cream has even made it onto Oprah’s Favourite Things). The best thing about this gloss is that it’s made with Sunflower Oil and Vitamin E so it smooth’s and hydrates your lips but also provides the perfect amount of colour.

My Favourite – Bubble Gum and Red Velvet Cake

***Bubble Gum is a limited edition gloss – it’s the perfect girly pink, get it while you can***

The Gloss – Kiehls #1 Balm

Where to Buy – Kiehls Stores (Queen Street, Yonge Street and Yorkdale)

Price - $12.00

Details – Made with Cotton Seed Oil this blam helps to hydrate and sooth lips and also protect against the harsh winds and cold of winter.It also contains Octinoxate which is a popular chemical sunscreen ingredient to help protect from the sun – making this balm perfect for all seasons. It comes in a range of flavours like Mango, Raspberry and Pear just to name a few and trust me they taste true to their fruit. Kiehls #1 Balm is their number one seller and was created in 1969 – anything that’s been around for that long has to be good!

My Favourite – Pear
***The unflavoured lip balm is the number one seller and is just as great as the flavoured ones***

XO MK

XO MK

Home Made Beauty

Christmas is just around the corner and I am broke and I am sure most of you can relate. So I figured what better time to share one of my money saving beauty tips wither everyone.


MK’s Homemade Highlighter

What you need…

Face cream – use your usual day cream. A day cream will work better then a night cream because its much lighter and usually water based.
Lose eye shadow dusts – I am sure you have an old eye shadow dust (or a whole tower of them) that you never finished or just don’t really use lying around. Colours - Light, medium or dark gold’s, coppers, bisques, peaches, light pinks and a shimmer white (any colour that is natural to skin).
Small empty pot/tub – maybe a lip gloss that’s pretty much finished, or an old eye shadow pot – if you don’t have one you can buy them at the dollar store.

Directions…

-Squeeze about a quarter of an ounce (give or take) of moisturizer into the pot/tub
-Slowly start to add in the loose eye shadow dust a bit at a time – don’t use your fingers as you will waste too much of the product, use a small spoon or even the end of a makeup brush. Start with the colour you want to be most dominant, I would suggest a medium gold.
-Add the other colours that you want (use less then you used for the base colour)
-Mix the colours and cream together with a small makeup brush – make sure all shadow partials are mixed well into the cream.
-Test the colour on your hand…and add more colours accordingly. If you have found the perfect colour but feel like the consistency is too runny/thin add some translucent face powder or a small amount of baby powder. If you feel like the consistency is too thick then add a small amount of cream and stir adding more if needed.
-Place the pot in the fridge for a few hours to set.

***Tip -The consistence should be the same as a cream eye shadow/blush or slightly thinner. Nothing thicker as it will cake on top of your foundation***

Where to apply…

Apply the highlighter using your fingers after you have applied all other makeup. Apply to the upper area of your cheek bones up around the outer eye area and color bone.

Highlighters can be worn in all seasons, with a full face of makeup or a clean face with minimal makeup.



Enjoy MK

Love Your Hair

You know the way your hair looks and feels after you leave the hairdresser – super shiny and smooth, and even if you buy the same shampoo and conditioner they used at the salon your hair still doesn’t look or feel the same. Well now your hair can look and feel like that all the time…One little bottle of Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum will have you loving your hair like you just stepped out of the salon. I have only been using this product for a few weeks but can honestly say that I will never be without it. I used it about 2 or 3 times a week (once or twice during the week and always once on the weekend). You can use it when letting your hair air dry or when styling as it has a non-greasy formula, you can even add one drop to the ends of your hair after its been dried/styles and it still won’t be greasy. I almost can't believe that I did my hair myself after using the Argan Oil - its so soft, sleek and shiny that I can't stop touching it.

To use warm up 3 – 5 drops in your hands and apply evenly to towel dried hair – concentrating on your ends. Brush through and either leave to air dry or style. What makes the product so great is not just that fact that it delivers the results it claims but it contains organic ingredients, is not tested on animals, has no artificially fragrances and is completely vegan and is recommended for all hair types. So no matter what your hair type or personal convictions this product is for you…and can be purchased at your local Sephora.

XOXO MK

Beauty on the inside - Do your part

I was shopping in Yorkdale this past weekend and went into the Body Shop to get my mom a hand butter and some scented oils for Christmas. When I went up to the cash the lady checking me out asked me all the usual upselling questions (wrapping, if I wanted a lip butter, etc…) and then mentioned their latest campaign… $5.00 for a reusable shopping bag that comes with 4 coupons - one for each week of December, the first a Mango Body Wash (full size) that you get right away. With all of the proceeds going towards the organizations they have partnered with for their Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign.


There is probably at least one person on your list that would want something from the body shop and if not I am sure there is something in there you wouldn't mind having for yourself. So get to your closest mall and pick up one of these bags, the bag itself is worth $5 and then you get 4 free gifts but the best part of this is that you are donating to a great cause.

Sex trafficking is the 3rd largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world and it’s something that is happening right here at home, in Canada and the United Sates. So stop in a store and do your part. Also please visit the Body Shop Website linked to this post to sign the petition.

XOXO MK