My Drugstore Beauty Faves

I've been using a LOT of beauty products bought from stores like London Drugs and Superstore lately (mostly makeup) and I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you. These items will not break the bank AND they work!

How To Protect Your Hair in the Winter

Beanie be gone!

As I was putting lotion on my extremely dry, chapped hands the other day (they honestly felt like sandpaper) it amazed me just how dehydrated my skin can get during the winter. And then I got to thinking - does the same thing happen to our hair? And what can be done to protect it from the harsh climate? So I asked my talented colourist Shanda Watson (who's responsible for my silky blonde locks!) from my salon Ponytails + Horseshoes and here's what she had to say:

Blo Dry Bar

I'm baaack! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I want to wish you a very Happy New Year! Over the holidays I was invited to experience my very first blow-out at Blo Edmonton downtown. Blo Dry Bars are dedicated to blow-drying and styling the hair, with locations all over North America and Asia. For only $35.00 you can have your hair washed, blow-dried and styled within minutes. The morning of my appointment I made sure to let my hair dry naturally so I would have a good "before" photo. (Kind of looks like I have a perm from the '80's hey? I never wear my hair like this!) When I met with Stacey, the stylist who would be doing my blow-out, she handed me a menu of different styles to choose from and I picked the "Holly Would": "Fun and flirty with curl and bounce." I loved the end result and got a lot of compliments on my hair when I went out that night for dinner with friends. I'll definitely be going back to Blo Bar Edmonton for a wash and style in between my cut and color appointments at Ponytails + Horseshoes. For that price, who can resist? Here are some pics from inside the "bar":

*all photos taken by me, except the second last one which is from the edmonton journal

Right now, all Blo Bars are offering a special deal:

Products I'm Loving Right Now

It's been awhile since I've done a "product post" so I thought I'd share with you some of my favorites I've been using lately.

Kiehl's Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro-Dermabrasion - Micro-Dermabrasion at a spa or dermatologist's office is quite expensive so I use this once or twice a week instead. It's very abrasive (just like real micro-dermabrasion) but it leaves my skin feeling smoother and looking clearer. And very red! But the redness goes away overnight, thank goodness.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps - My friend recommended this body lotion to me. It's for extremely dry skin, which I have, especially in the winter. This lotion is very moisturizing and easy to apply all over. Love it.

fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Cream - I went into Sephora a couple of weeks ago and asked for a very moisturizing eye cream to use during the winter and the woman that was helping me recommended this. It's super-hydrating. I use it at night and in the morning I use Algenist's Eye Renewal Balm. (I wrote about that eye cream here.)

Kerastase Masque Force Architecte - A hair mask I use once a week and it helps to replenish and strengthen my mop. Great to use in between hair appointments.

What products are you loving lately? 

So I think it would be insensitive of me to not acknowledge what happened over the weekend with the Sandy Hook tragedy so I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the survivors, and the community. I can't imagine how hard this must be for them. What is this world coming to? Just a couple of days before the incident, the bank a friend of ours was working at was robbed, he called the police and the gunman was shot down when he wouldn't drop his weapon. This will affect our friend for the rest of his life, just like Sandy Hook has forever changed the world and the innocence of those helpless children. It's so very sad. Americans need more gun control and easier access to affordable, quality mental health care for those that clearly need it (and for their families) so that a tragedy like this can be prevented in the future. And they need our prayers. Lots and lots of prayers.

Instantaneous

L-R from top to bottom: my hair styled by Ponytails + Horseshoes, outfit options for Fashion Week

delicious vegetarian chilli I made, my new ring from The Bay by Material Girl

special delivery (Kitty!), my friend Sandra's baby in a snowbank ; ) Can't stop laughing at this pic!

$10 dress I bought at H & M, Tim Horton's donuts from a vendor at work

It's official. I am addicted to instagram! You can follow me at @mariealamode. These are some pics from the past week. Have a GREAT weekend!

Botox for Hair: Fiberceutic Treatment

A couple of weeks ago while on a shoot I was styling, the hairstylist Cristina took my damaged and fried hair in her hands and said "now what are we going to do with this?!" I didn't think it was that bad but yeah, it was that bad. Blow drying and straightening my naturally curly hair every day had left it frizzy, dull and dry with a ton of breakage. Cristina suggested I come into her salon Ponytails + Horseshoes for a fiberceutic treatment. Fiber-what? I'd never heard of it before.

So what is it?? It's a fiber-filling in-salon procedure for very damaged hair. (Like mine!) It reconstructs and strengthens to protect it against further damage. After shampooing, a hair-filling serum is applied with a syringe applicator in a zig-zag motion, targeting areas where it's needed most. It seeps into the compromised areas of hair where it then solidifies when coming into contact with water. It's quite similar to the process of applying resin to fibreglass! A masque (which is optional but recommended to extend the life of the treatment) is then massaged into the scalp and in about 5 minutes, once the fiberceutic has cured, hair can be rinsed and styled as usual. My locks drank this stuff up!

This treatment left my hair feeling soft, smooth and strong. It's been five days since I visited the salon and it still feels healthy. I'm going to get another one during the Christmas break.

The cost for a fiberceutic treatment varies. Ponytails + Horseshoes charges $30.00 when combined with a color or cut or $40 alone. Combined with the masque it's $65.00. The treatment usually lasts around 10 washes and the number of recommended applications depends upon how damaged one's hair is. The more damage, the more treatments are going to be required.

I highly recommend a fiberceutic treatment for those of you who have very damaged hair and need to repair and revitalize your locks. It can be expensive but it really works! You can also have it done in between haircuts if you're trying to grow your hair out, like me. Have any of you had one before?

I hope you all had a great weekend! Don't forget to enter my Canadian Papyrus Gift Package Giveaway here!

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It's What I Like

a perfect red lip

faux fur and cuffs

effortless-looking style

a single braid

ankle boots!

 fisherman sweater and white jeans in the winter

a pair of glasses used as an accessory

wrist candy

red lips (again!)

 a cat hoodie! i really want to buy one for Kitty but she would HATE IT! 
i'd end up with scratches and bite marks on every part of my body trying to get her into one.

photos via:  jak & jil, the haute pursuit, columbine, models off duty, 5 inch and up, after DRK, Bruno Dayan, fashion me now, caroline gault , this is why i'm broke

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Now That's Some Hair

 

KOSA  Beauty Editorial

photographer: decker + kutic

via

  I'm trying to grow my hair out long and these photos are my inspiration ; ).

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I Want to Know....

Would you wear this stick and tassel thingy in your hair out in public? While browsing through one of my  favorite online shopping sites Asos, I came across this decorative cat toy hair accessory that had me puzzled. My first reaction was, "Oh my Gawd, who would wear that in 'real life'??" Besides Lady Gaga and beautiful Asian women dressed in traditional Japanese or Chinese garb in which case would be fitting and look gorgeous in their hair. But then I thought, wait a minute, maybe this is a crazy fashion trend I knew nothing about. But even then I don't think I could pull it off. Nor would I want to; it's just not my style. Plus my crazy cat would probably destroy my head trying to play with it. What do you think about it?

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Beauty and the Pleats at LUX

blouse - Etzio, trousers - Cassis, wedges - Marc Fisher (from Winners), bag and bracelet - H & M

Last Sunday I was invited to attend “Beauty and the Pleats,” a silent auction fundraiser benefiting Edmonton’s Suit Yourself at LUX Beauty Boutique and this is what I wore. These trousers are the most comfortable pair of pants I own. I've waited all winter to be able to wear them again!

Suit Yourself is a local charitable organization that collects quality clothing and accessories through donations and distributes them to low-income, disadvantaged women who are seeking employment and/or entering the workforce. When I first heard about the event I thought, “Wow, what a great idea!” and I was so happy to attend and support the community. The afternoon was filled with fun make-up demo’s and mini-seminars, yummy cupcakes from Crave, mimosa’s and bellini’s (mmmm bellini’s), swag bags and of course an amazing silent auction. People could bid on gift baskets full of fabulous cosmetics and the hottest skincare and hair care products that LUX carries in their store. (Scroll down to see what I took home with me!) Also, if you brought in any used toiletries you received $10.00 worth of LUX bucks!

This is inside the store. I was in beauty HEAVEN!

Many of the products you thought you had to buy online if you live in Canada you can actually buy at LUX.

 

LUX beauties Sarah Lorentz and owner Jennifer Grimm in the courtyard of the silent auction held outside. It was a wee bit windy!

Swag bags and prizes for the guests!

These two baskets are what I walked out with. (Note: some of the samples you see in the boxes are what I received in my Swag bag, I wanted to include them in the picture.) I'm not sure I should tell you how much I bid to win all this deliciousness but I will say it was under $120.00 total. Can you believe that??

Close up

Closeup #2. I went for this gift basket because of the "Seriously Dark Circles" cream that was in it ; ) I'm praying it works so I won't look like the grim reaper who has to wear pounds of concealer on her face everyday. I really can't believe all of the amazing products I got. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning looking at all of this stuff! Needless to say I had a great time at Beauty and the Pleats and was so happy to hear that $3000.00 was raised for Suit Yourself in just a few hours : ).

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WCFW Day 5: Fantasy Hair & Makeup, Collections + a Life Update

Hair and Makeup by Cora Whitford (and yes, those are real piercings!)

Western Canada Fashion Week's impressive Salon Showcase on Sunday was followed by a night of Fantasy Hair & Make-up, an exciting performance by Firefly Theatre and beautiful new collections by Elise Truong and Natasha Lazarovic on Monday.

Cora Whitford showed off her amazing hair and makeup skills with her dark, avant-garde show. The models reminded me of characters you would see in a Tim Burton film. A very sexy Tim Burton film! Rated X.

Entry in the Fantasy Hair & Makeup Competition

Winners for the Fantasy Hair Competition: 3rd place - Olivia Tascone, 2nd place - Lindsay DeChamplain, 1st place - Rebecka Pichoch. Fantasy Makeup Competition: 3rd place - Cora Whitford (red creation), 2nd place - Cora Whitford (black creation), 1st place - Kim Peterson. Congratulations to all!

Three aerialists from Firefly Theatre took the stage after intermission to perform a breathtaking number that wowed the audience.

The cutest corsets I ever did see. From Sweet Carousel Corsetry & Apparel by Elise Truong. These models were saucy, sassy and full of personality which was a nice change compared to the stone-faced models that usually rock the runway.

My favorite show so far: Temna Fialka's "Malena" collection by Natasha Lazarovic. Inspired by her Romanian and Ukrainian heritage, Natasha captivated the audience with her gorgeously detailed, colorful, ethnic dresses and her creative and unique headpieces.

Kassandra, who won tickets to WCFW via my Twitter contest, and her husband Aaron at the show, sitting front row. How cute are they??

Life Update: The past few days have been a whirlwind! As you know, I've been covering Western Canada Fashion Week and if I'm not working, sleeping or eating I'm madly downloading photos and blogging! I've been extremely busy but I'm having such an amazing experience so far watching all the shows, speaking with the designers, meeting and befriending other bloggers and being submerged in all things fashion which I absolutely love! I hope to catch up on your blogs once fashion week ends and I have more spare time. I also hope to post my one-year blog anniversary giveaway within the next few days so stay tuned for that!

I hope you're all having a good week so far!

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