Crow Coasters From East Vancouver Artist Donal Hebner
My sister gifted me these coaster during our annual “sissy’s Christmas”. My sister Steph and I get together every year a few weeks before the Christmas crazy-ness and have dinner and drinks and exchange gifts. Vancouver has a flock of hundreds of crows that spend their days on the West side of the city, near the beaches of Spanish Banks and the University of British Columbia. In the day they can feed on mussels and berries and whatever else they scavenge along the coast. At twilight, they make their pilgrimage across the city back to Burnaby Mountain (to the East) where they nest and spend the night. I’m lucky enough to live in their flight path and love watching them fill sky every evening as they fly home. The kitties love it too! These coasters are very Vancouver.
LED Light Mask
The benefits of LED light on the skin has been known for many years. Spas back in the 60’s were already using them on clients; Red light for boosting collagen and smoothing fine lines. Green light for brightening and erasing sun damage. The Blue light kills bacteria under the skin, a wonderful support for acne prone skin. It’s so great we can now use LED light at home. I’ve used my LED mask for almost a year now. Not only is it a relaxing ritual I do (of laying down under the warm light, eyes closed listening to a guided visualization on Youtube) but I can definitely say that it does something. My skin is plump, bright and smooth after my sessions. I use it 5 days a week. Don’t forget a good layer of Hyaluronic Acid on your skin afterward.
Makeup Eraser
Do you have sensitive skin?. Are you allergic to a lot of beauty products?. Do you prefer a more natural approach to skincare? Then the Makeup Eraser is for you! This ultra soft cloth is like magic. I can’t quite figure out how it works. It’s a super soft fleecy type cloth that only needs a bit of warm water to erase all your makeup; even water proof mascara! It’s Witchcraft I say. I was a little skeptic and did an experiment a few nights ago. Since I alway do a double cleanse on my skin every night anyway, I first used the Makeup Eraser then took a cotton round with a bit of Bioderma and swiped that over my face expecting a lot of makeup to still be on my skin. I was shocked when the round came out clean.
Saltspring Candle Co. SITKA Candle
Saltspring is a small island off the coast of Vancouver that makes up part of the Gulf Islands. It’s a community known for it’s resident artists, farmers, homemade Cider brewers and the Saltspring Candle Company. When I saw them at my local London Drugs recently I had to scoop up my favourite scent: Sitka. It smells like one of my favourite things in the entire world: taking a slow deep breath while walking in a forest of Red Cedars. If you’re a treehugger like I am, you will love this scent.
Lucky’s Doughnuts On Main Street
A good friend of ours recently showed up for a visit with a couple of Peanut Butter and Jelly Doughnuts from a shop on Main Street. Now I don’t EVER buy desserts or sweets at home. I saved it for breakfast as I’d just gotten in from my Christmas celebration with my sister and we’d already had a big dinner, drinks and even a holiday drink at Starbucks so I was done with my sugar quota for the day. OMG these are SO good. If you live in Vancouver and even if you eat healthy…just go. Life is short. Eat a Lucky’s doughnut. https://49thcafe.com/
ISH Cosmetics 12 Days Of Glam Advent Calendar
I love me a good beauty advent calendar and am so happy that someone thought of releasing these a few years back. Now you can find them everywhere from Harrods London to Charlotte Tilbury to ISH and filled with Skincare, Bodycare , Candles and Makeup. For $19 I got 12 days of bronzers, lipsticks, highlighters and eyeshadow. Fun!
Vegan Amaretto Sour Recipe
Anytime I’m out and want a cocktail that is sweet (and won’t make me drunk after 3 sips) I order an Amaretto Sour. If you know how sours are made then you’ll know they are made with egg whites. Now, what does one Amaretto Sour lover do who is also trying to go Vegan? Some genius figured out that by using aquafaba (basically the water that comes inside the can of chickpeas), you can create the same consistency of egg whites without compromising the flavour whatsoever. This is my recipe for Vegan Sours – you can do a bourbon, amaretto or whisky sour with aquafaba.
You’ll Need:
3/4 oz Agave nectar
1/2 oz Lemon juice, Fresh
Baking & Spices
1 Nutmeg, whole
1 drop Bitters, Orange
2 oz Bourbon or Amaretto or Whisky
0.5 oz Aquafaba (from canned chickpeas)
To Make:
Combine all ingredients, except nutmeg, in a cocktail shaker
Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds
Strain over ice into an old fashioned glass
Garnish with an orange slice and shaved nutmeg
L’occitane Hand Soaps For Cleaning Your Beauty Blender
While I was staying at the Four Seasons last week and while I was doing my makeup for dinner, I was looking for a way to clean my Beauty Blenders as I like them cleaned after every use. There was a little hand soap by L’occitane En Provence so I opened it and swiped my wet beauty blender overtop and rinsed it. It came out completely clean which made me very happy. Then I remembered the new Christmas gift pack Beauty Blender has inspired by gemstones and each blender comes with a little bar soap in the shape of a stone (emerald, sapphire, ruby) to wash your sponge after using it. Well this is the exact thing so I brought the soap home with me and have it in a dish next to my bathroom sink. Now I do my makeup, swipe it over the bar and rinse them clean. So easy and they smell like delicious almond soap once dry.
Winter Jazz Tunes During Massage, Relaxing At Home Or At Work
There’s something about Jazz (which I don’t normally like honestly) that evokes that Holiday feeling in me. Maybe because I’ve heard it played in the Mall while shopping or on many of my favourite Christmas movies but I’ve been listening to a lot of Jazz this season; while I cook, in the office and while I get my weekly massage. This is my favourite playlist. I hope you like it.
Kate Sommerville Goats Milk Cleanser
Another product for sensitive skin. Kate Sommerville created the majority of her skincare line based around the fact that she grew up suffering from severe Eczema. One of the things that helped her greatly were the baths her mother would draw for her using luke warm water and goatsmilk. I received a full sized bottle of her famous Goats Milk cleanser and am in love. I usually gravitate toward foaming cleansers because of my naturally very oily skin but this cleanser is so lovely. The scent is gentle and natural and it melts makeup off without scrubbing or tugging at your skin. If you enjoy a cream cleanser, a little goes a long way with this one. You’ll love it.
Thanks for much for joining me. This MIGHT be my last faves for 2019. What are you loving? drop me a line.
Until next time.
Love,
Jennifer