My Fall Fashion Picks From Turquoise Boutiques

sparkleshinylove-Turquoise-canada

 

One of my favourite shopping haunts is Turquoise Boutique. My little sis worked at a couple of their locations, and introduced me to their awesomeness. Whenever I’m looking for a dress for a wedding or event I stop by one of their stores to pick something up because they ALWAYS have a dress that fits perfectly with what I had in mind. Fall is my favourite season to shop there because I love their cozy sweaters and jackets.

The Turquoise Boutique Facebook page is super active with updated stock at their locations as well so you can keep an eye on what is coming into their stores. They also run lots of contests and giveaways on their Facebook page as well, so you should become a fan here!

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

I usually shop at their Whitby location the most, but they also have locations in Bowmanville, Port Perry and Toronto.

Their staff is always super sweet and helpful with finding sizes, helping you organize your giant haul in the dressing room, and with giving honest opinions on how you look in their clothing.

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

I paid a visit to the Whitby store last week, and I spotted this awesome jacket in the window that is to die for. How perfect would this jacket look for an outdoor engagement shoot, or just for an everyday fabulous look? It’s almost out of stock so if you love it like I do, you may want to get to a store soon.

 

 

Turquoise-canada

Turquoise-canada

Turquoise has lots of new fall and winter jackets in stock right now as well. I know, you don’t want to think about the cold, or snow, or keeping warm with that whole polar vortex thing going on, but now is the time to shop for a winter jacket so you have your pick of the cutest one’s before they are gone. When you are in the middle of a blizzard trying to walk from the mall to your car, you want people to be thinking “where did she get that fabulous jacket”, and not “wow, that girl looks like a hot mess”!

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise carries a wall full of Guess handbags from their latest a lines to match the seasonal wardrobe they carry as well.

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

The sweaters they have in store right now are pretty cute and fabulous. Here are a few of my favourites. I’m loving the faux leather accents on some of these!

 

 

image

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

I obviously had a to buy one of these fab sweaters, and the one I picked had the cutest detail on the back! I styled it for a casual dinner night with friends.

 

 

sparkleshinylove-Turquoise-canada

 

 

image

 

 

Some of the other fun items in store were of course their dresses (my favourite!), and tops you could dress up or down depending on what your adventure is that day.

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

Turquoise-canada

 

 

image

 

 

There were so many items I liked, but I couldn’t take photos of them all so you will need to check out one of the locations yourself.

Turquoise Boutique Whitby is located at 143 Brock St S, Whitby, On, and to get details on the rest of their locations check out their Facebook page here.

Turquoise-canada

Easy Braided Hair Tutorials

Messy Knotted Bun with Braided Band

 

Usually around this time of year I tone my hair colour down to something warmer, I start to use more product because I’m noticing it’s getting full of static, and I’m feeling a little bored with my style in general. I usually keep my hair long, so something drastic like cutting it is out of the question, but if feel like I need to do so something more for my everyday style. I think because summer hair is so simple for me is why in the fall I start to feel this boredom – in the summer my everyday hair is either straight, in beachy waves, or tied up tight on top of my head when it’s hot outside.

I love to experiment with braids, and I’ve included some of my favourites below!

Although it would be lovely to have as much gorgeous hair as this girl has, this side braid would also look great for anyone with a medium length hair and longer! Wonder Forest includes photos and instructions on how to achieve this braid at the link below.

 

 

Bohemian-side-braid

Bohemian Side Braid

 

 

 

I love a good top knot when I just don’t feel like dealing doing my hair. For some reason I feel like the higher my knot is, the dressier it is! My new go-to has been this messy knotted bun with a braided band. It just looks a bit more romantic for fall with a cozy sweater!

 

 

Messy Knotted Bun with Braided Band

Messy Knotted Bun with Braided Band

 

 

 

The crown braid is the hardest for me for some reason. The steps don’t look very complicated, but if feel like it all ends up looking like a mess in the end. Event when messy, it still looks pretty cool. Hopefully you have better luck!

 

 

Crown-Braid

Blushing Basics Crown Braid

 

 

 

Twist Me Pretty has an awesome step-by-step guide to doing a celtic knot. This one took me lots of tries, and I had to look at the photos over and over. Once I was done I was pretty impressed with myself.

 

 

Celtic-Knot

Celtic Knot

 

 

 

Every week I use a headband braid just because it’s such an easy way to wear your hair down but look like you tried to put some effort into it. Missy Sue explains four different ways to master a different version of the headband braid at the link below.

Headband-Braids

 

 

Headband Braids

Halloween Costumes and Decor from Winners and Homesense

Halloween-Homesense-winners

 

I ended up with an unexpected problem this Halloween season – my son is scared of anything to do with Halloween! I didn’t see this coming at all. Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, so I just assumed he would be excited about it too. Turns out he’s not excited. At all.

I searched around for a costume, and found an amazing shark one at Winners. It was absolutely adorable, but I tried it on him, and he started crying. It was kind of a disaster! My next plan was to go back to Winners and see if I could find a costume that he would think was just another outfit, so he didn’t think I was dressing him up.

I found a totally awesome Ship Captain costume that was absolutely adorable. To try it on him I changed him just like I would any other day, and he started laughing at the cute medals on the shirt. Next I pulled out the gloves and hat, and he was begging me to try them on him. Success! He loves his costume, and it only cost me $24.99 at Winners. He even posed for me for a photo which meant he was pretty happy!

 

 

photo1 (2)

 

 

I saw lots of great costumes at Winners and Homesense on my hunt – Police Officer, Top Gun Pilot, Mountie….lots of costumes that were really cute!

The decor is so fun at Homesense and Winners as well! I have 5 or 6 giant boxes of Halloween decor in our basement, and the majority if it is from those two stores.

If you are having a Halloween meltdown with your toddler like I was, or are planning a Haloween bash, check out these images below of what Winners and Homesense have to offer now. Trust me, there is lot’s more to choose from in-store!

 

 

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Halloween-Homesense-winners

Halloween-Homesense-winners

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Halloween-Homesense-winners

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Halloween-Homesense-winners

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Halloween-Homesense-winners

image

Review of Olay’s Total Effects Tone Correcting Moisturizer CC Cream

image

I am totally lost when it comes to understanding the difference between CC creams, BB creams, and the latest release – DD creams. What does it all mean?!

Here is what I found out:

BB creams (beauty balms) provide facial coverage with added skin care benefits such as SPF or anti-oxidants, depending on what brand you choose. They are usually heavier and focus on moisturizing.

CC Creams are more for colour correcting so the products are meant to address issues like redness and evening out skin tones. They are normally tinted, light weight, and fast absorbing.

DD creams are for daily defence, and they are like a CC and BB cream hybrid.

I’ve started to try a few out to see what all the rage is. For the last couple months I have been using Olay’s CC Cream – Total Effects Tone Correcting Moisturizer with Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF.

What a name, right? I have been using the light to medium shade.

image

It combines a daily anti-aging moisturizer, SPF 15 sunscreen and sheer tint for younger-looking skin.

Like other Olay Total Effects products, it advertises that it fights the seven signs of aging which are :

Line minimization: Reduces the appearance of fine wrinkles
Nourishing moisturization: For a radiant, healthy-looking glow
Subtle lifting: Hydrates for firmer skin appearance
Brightening: Improves skin surface dullness
Improved texture: Smoothes and evens skin texture
Pore refinement: Minimizes the appearance of pores
Tone enhancement: Balances color and reduces the appearance of age spots

image

I first started using this cream under my makeup. This did not work for me! I liked the cream a lot because it was lightweight, but I thought it was too heavy to use with foundation. I felt my makeup slide off later in the day – my face was getting a little oily.

Finally I found the perfect use for it – make up free days. At the beach was the best – I would put on my SPF, then add the CC cream for added SPF and to even out my skin tone. It worked great!

At this time of year I’m using it on the weekend when running errands and I don’t need a full face of makeup. It’s a great moisturizer too.

I think it was too much when layering under makeup, but on it’s own it’s awesome. Under my SPF was great as well, but that sunscreen is my favourite because it absorbs so quickly.

I’m not sure if I’m fighting those seven signs of aging with it, but out of the seven it has been brightening my skin when I wear it, moisturizing, and minimizing my facial lines (at least hiding them) when I’m wearing it. I don’t think it’s fixing those seven signs of aging since I’m not wearing it every day to see results and have it work it’s magic, but it’s certainly working to cover them up!

The Toronto Lifestyle Market at the Gladstone Hotel

toronto-lifestyle-market-logo

The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto is hosting the Toronto Lifestyle Market starting today until October 12th.

Not only will a number of brands be selling their goods at the market, but there will also be nightly events. So shopping and partying – sounds fun to me!

The retail market will host lots of different brands including:

Bohten
PKG
Felony Case
Marshall Artist
Daniel Wellington
Triwa
Skultuna
Publish
Daily News Project
All Day Apparel
Classified Apparel
Vitaly
Matiere
The Baitshop
The Escape Movement

Toronto-Lifestyle-Market

Local talent will be performing in the evening, and there will be food, drinks, and the shopping even lasts into the night as well.

The Gladstone Hotel is a fun place to eat and drink on a regular night, so the event would for sure be worth going to.

To attend the evening events you need to RSVP here, but during the day it is open to the public! More details on the event can be found on their website here.