March, 2014 - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy March 8, 2014

Where to Shop – Target x Sarah Stevenson Collaboration

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a good Target collaboration! Who doesn’t love designer clothes at cheap prices? Crazy rich people I guess. Since I’m not one of those people, I get excited for these type of launches.

Sarah Stevenson won the Toronto Fashion Incubator New Labels contest last year, which earned her this collaboration opportunity with Target. The collection will be carried in most stores across the country beginning on March 23rd, and the 15 piece collection ranges from $24.99 to $59.99.

Here are my two favourites that I’ll be purchasing here:

The full look book is below – enjoy!

Roxymandy March 4, 2014

The blossom x bkr Beauty Water Challenge!

Do you drink enough water every day? My personal answer is a resounding no! I have tried and tried but I usually lose track of how much I have already drank and have just assumed it’s enough for the day, or I pretend that my Starbucks order has enough water in it to hydrate me.

This is bad.

I need to make a change, and now I’ve been challenged to do so! And I’m not talking about a New Year’s resolution kind of challenge, because those are always broken. Toronto’s own blossom lounge and bkr have teamed up to challenge 10 beauty and fashion bloggers to take on a 30 day challenge of drinking 2.5 litres of water per day. The result? Well I guess you will have to wait and find out! Water is the key to incredible skin, so part of my challenge is to terrify you with an au natural before photo, and throughout my challenge I will update you with how my skin is progressing with the new hydration I’m providing it.

What are the possible side effects? Multiple bathroom breaks. Multiple. But other then that, why not challenge yourself with something that can only do you some good?

Plus, how cute are these bottles? I know that when I need to be motivated, something cute will always help things along. This water bottle is more of an outfit accessory than the tupperware-like creature I was using/not using previously. Plus the glass bottle is covered in soft silicone as well, so when I’m running around and accidentally drop it, it my not be the huge disaster that it could be! Celebs like Emily Rossum, Alessandra Ambrosio, January Jones, Gisele Bundchen, Malin Akerman, Jessica Alba and Amanda Seyfried have all been spotted with a blk waterbottle too, so why not you?

So my journey begins! In the meantime, have you checked out blossom lounge before? Shop online at www.blossomlounge.com, or in person in Unionville at 157 Main Street, unit 102, or in the Distillery District at 24 Tank House Lane, Suite 101.

Are you ready for this? Here is my before photo! Stay tuned for my challenge updates!

Roxymandy March 3, 2014

My Experience with the NuFace Facial Treatment at Masion Blanc Day Spa

The other morning I was feeling a little depressed with all of this cold weather and my severe lack of Vitamin D. I tried to remedy the situation with a little online spring shopping, but I still felt a little blah. I thought what I needed was a spa visit to boost my morale.

I intended on booking a scalp massage, which I had heard was a bit of a life-changing 30 minutes. Based on my self-prescribed winter depression I felt like I needed a little extra something so I randomly chose a facial to try as well. I’m not really a facial girl. What I mean by that is there are some people who swear by and have a facial done on a regular schedule. I am one of those other people who usually books a facial once every couple of years. It’s just never high on my priority list. I chose what was called a SkinFit Facial without really knowing what that meant! I saw that it was dubbed “Pilates for your face” and I immediately thought, crap, was I supposed to be working out my face this whole time too? So in order to catch up on some lost time, I booked this facial and a scalp massage at Maison Blanc Day Spa in Whitby.

Maison Blanc is one of my go-to places for manicures and pedicures, so I knew I would be in good hands (literally) for my massage and facial. My facial began with an exfoliation (this was much-needed – I always forget to do this, and it’s so important), and then I was ready for the NuFACE portion of the SkinFit facial. NuFACE uses microcurrent and LED light which is a low-level, soft wave therapy. The device has two prongs which are gently run along your face, and the soft waves help to firm, tone and lift your skin. We started at a medium level, and I could not feel the waves at all. It just felt like someone was running something soft across my face. This is what had me a little skeptical – if I couldn’t feel this thing working, then was it really working? I did feel a bit of a tingle the closer the facialist was to my eye area, but it was nothing that I would say hurt or even annoyed me at all. She worked on my forehead and brow area, and below my cheek bones. My facialist explained that for best results this should be done a couple times a week, but for a pick-me-up this can be done periodically like I was doing.

My service was completed with a deep hydrating treatment and a powerful antioxidant protection, and then a hydrating mast was put on while I enjoyed my scalp massage. Can I just tell you how amazing a scalp massage is? Why don’t we do this more often?! I always think to treat myself I will get a massage, but what about my poor neglected head! I am always pulling on my hair – blow-drying it, styling it, straightening it, curling it, or spraying it down with something – it obviously needs a bit of TLC. The massage was amazing! It made me so relaxed I got a little sleepy. I thought that having the scalp massage and the facial was the perfect combo.

As for the results with the NuFACE system, I really wish I thought to take a before and after picture! I didn’t expect to blog about this, but after seeing and feeling the results I was pretty impressed and knew I had to share! There was a significant difference in how my cheekbones looked, and above my brows. I just looked much fresher, and things seemed a bit more lifted. I don’t usually do a lot of anti-aging treatments, and I really just thought this would be fun, but it’s definitely something I would do again. It really made me look like a had a weekend full of sleep and relaxation, and it only took about 30 minutes to achieve it! I think I would do this again before a special event or a wedding, because the results truly lasted a couple days, and it really made my face look refreshed and healthy. The next morning my face wasn’t sore, but it did feel like I had done some sort of workout on it the day before. It felt like it had been massaged, and it was actually a good feeling.

Maison Blanc actually sells the NuFACE system at their spa for home use. The SkinFit Facial was $50, and you can just have your brow area done for $15. You can add this to any service for $30, which is what I opted for.

You can learn more about the NuFACE system at www. mynuface.com, or to try it out visit Maison Blanc Day Spa in Whitby at www.maisonblancdayspa.com