Beauty - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy May 29, 2015

Spa at the Four Seasons Toronto

I am a girl that loves the spa, so I make a point of spending a few hours getting pampered once every couple months to recharge. I love the Four Seasons Toronto – I was there last year for the Toronto Life Most Stylish Party, and I have been to one of their fabulous charcuterie nights at d|bar on a Monday which was so much fun, and I’ve had dinner in their restaurant Café Boulud as well.

How could I have not visited their spa before? I had seen photos of what it had to offer, and I decided it was time to check it out for myself.

First of all, I loved their easy booking system. You can look at the spa menu online and see what time you can book your appointment for. I loved this – booking online really saves you the hassle of calling in and throwing around dates and times that may or may not work.

Parking is so easy at the Four Seasons Toronto because they have valet parking, plus it’s discounted if you are spending time at the spa. I planned on doing some shopping after and everything worked out great because I could park up to 4 hours for only $15. That’s a great rate for parking in Yorkville.

The staff at the Four Seasons Toronto are so friendly – from the moment they open your car door, everyone is so ready to help! The driver who took my car insisted on throwing out my empty Starbucks (I told him I could do it myself but he insisted!), then I was walked inside, and inside I was met by someone directing me to the proper elevator.

The spa itself is gorgeous! I had a tour of all the facilities including an indoor pool, private outdoor deck just for spa guests, a hot tub, steam rooms, showers, lounging areas – the place was a maze.

They had biscotti snacks and fruit-flavoured water in some of the lounge areas, all of the latest magazines to puruse, and so many different areas to relax in that I almost couldn’t decide.

I had a one hour deep tissue massage, and before my service I went to the massage waiting area which was a very zen experience. Candles were lit, the room was dark with soothing music, and the lounge beds were very comfortable.

For my massage itself I was able to sample the scents they would be using throughout the service, and I had a few choices to make. I could also choose music from a menu thay had which was a nice touch.

My massage was absolultely amazing. I was a happy girl – all of those shopping bags I’m usually carrying, plus a toddler that I lug around on a daily basis haven’t been doing good things for my back, so it was nice to relax and get pampered.

I wound down again in some of the different lounge areas before I left the spa in a significantly better mood.

If you are interested in getting pampered yourself, I highly recommend the spa at the Four Seasons Toronto! I am hoping to stay there a night this summer to see what it’s like to be a guest in the hotel since I have tried most of their other amenities and have been impressed by them.

For more details on the spa, please visit their website here.

Roxymandy May 28, 2015

Review of eos Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream in Vanilla Bliss!

To be completely honest, I never use shaving cream! It’s something I have somehow gotten away without using over the years, and if I happen upon it in a Christmas stocking or a gift bag then I give it a whirl. I am never that girl who has hairy legs in the dead of winter. I MUST have shaved legs at all times! You never know when are going to wear a short skirt – even in the winter! This little vice of mine of keeping up on my grooming makes it even more suprising that I don’t have a shaving cream that I love or need.

When I was sent the eos Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream in Vanilla Bliss, I really wanted to give it an honest try to see what all of the hype was about.

First of all – I love vanilla anything, so the Vanilla Bliss scent was a bonus! I also liked that the container had a great pump so it was easy to apply. When you are in the shower and working with razor blades, things need to be easy!

I really like that this shave cream doesn’t require water – now that is a time saver! I gave it a try and it worked well without water. In the shower was the best because the room filled with the vanilla scent which made me happy.

The shave cream claimed to moisturize for up to 24 hours, so I thought I would test this theory. I shaved one leg with just my regular razor, and my other leg using the shaving cream to see if there was a difference.

I hate to say it, but there really was a difference. One leg felt so much smoother and softer than the other – the one I used the shaving cream with. It seemed to keep moisture in for a whole day, which really surprised this girl who never uses shaving cream.

This shave cream is perfect for a girl on the go like myself! If you are headed out the door and need a quick touch up you can easily just add some eos Ultra Moisturizing Shaving Cream, do a quick shave and head out the door to whatever fabulous destination you have planned! Or if you are like me, maybe you are going no where fabulous, like just on a quick ice cream run but noticed you missed a spot on your legs – in those obsessive compulsive moments you don’t need to waste more precious moments worrying about it. Shave and go without water!

Unfortunately I now identify with those who think shaving cream is a must-have. I loved the smell, and how moisturized my legs were after shaving with it. It really impressed me, and now it’s part of my ever-growing beauty arsenal.

The eos Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream also comes in Pomegranate Raspberry and Lavender Jasmine. So if you are looking to add something to that Christmas stocking I was talking about earlier, send a couple more flavours my way please! It retails for approximately $4.50 CDN.

You can learn more about eos and their fabulous shave cream here.

Disclaimer: I was provided this product for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own.

Roxymandy May 20, 2015

Vichy ProEVEN Night Review for Chick Advisor

You have heard about my love for Vichy ProEven Advanced Daily Dark Spot Corrector, but I recently got the chance from Chick Advisor to try out Vichy ProEVEN Night as well!

This product is a little different then the ProEVEN Daily Dark Spot Corrector formula because there are a few ways to apply it to encourage results.

The first way is to use every evening as a night treatment by applying a thin layer on your cleansed face. The second way is to use it once or twice a week as a mask. This method involves cleaning your face, then applying a thick layer of the night cream and allowing it to infuse into your skin for 5 minutes before removing the excess with a cotton pad.

I decided to try both ways to see what results I would experience!

The concentration of LHA is 3 times greater in the night cream than the day cream, and it also includes Ceramide Bright and Vitamin C.

Over time the cream is meant to visibly reduce dark spots, sun spots and brown spots, and even out skin tone with improved skin texture and radiance.

I really loved the smell of this product – it was refreshing! I came out more like a gel than a cream, but went on smooth and I didn’t need a lot for coverage. Just putting it on at night was very soothing, and I didn’t wake up with oily skin the next morning.

When I used it as a mask it was very interesting because normally you would wash a mask off with water! This time around you were just to use a cotton pad or cotton ball so the night cream was still on your face. My skin felt very moisturised when doing this. It was like having a spa treatment done on my face.

Since using Vichy ProEVEN Night, my skin has felt a lot smoother. It feels light enough to be worn during the day, and it feels so good to put on!

Because I am so tired at night, I felt like it was easier to use nightly instead of twice a week for 5 minutes as a mask. My skin tone seems much lighter now, and my skin just seems to be glowing a bit more.

I didn’t notice a big difference visually on my skin when using the night cream as a mask twice a week, or nightly instead. Both methods seemed to produce great results at the same rate. I did love how my skin felt after using it as a mask, but since I am strapped for time at night I thought using it nightly was more for me.

For more information on this product, please visit their website here, or to see more Chick Advisor reviews on Vichy ProEVEN Night click here.

Roxymandy May 12, 2015

Review of Vichy ProEVEN Advanced Daily Dark Spot Corrector for Chick Advisor

I love Chick Advisor, because they let me try out some pretty amazing products. I had never used anything from Vichy before, so I was excited to give the brand a try and start using Vichy ProEVEN Advanced Daily Dark Spot Corrector.

After a hard winter, my skin is pretty blah. I’ve been lucky because I haven’t had too many major breakouts, but due to lack of sun I don’t have much color in my face.

I started using the product over a week ago, and around that time I came down with something I have never had before – pink eye! I was afraid to use a new cream in the midst of this minor health emergency, but things got a little drastic so I gave it a try. My left cheek ended up getting very red and irritated – I am not sure what it had to do with my pink eye situation, but they seemed to be linked. My face was really itchy, so I started to use the Vichy cream to see what would happen.

Basically it soothed my skin and cleared up my red itchy patches so everything returned to normal. I was very happy to see that the cream not only soothed my itchy skin, but it went from red to that blah winter left over skin color I already had going on.

Once my skin was back to normal and the pink eye had cleared up, I continued to use the product twice daily to see what else it could offer.

I applied it every morning, and every night over my cleansed skin as instructed.

It claims to target all sources of hyperpigmentation to reduce the colour, intensity, and size of dark spots.

I don’t have many dark spots, but I do have one that recently came up under my nose (ok, I’m not good at waiting for blemishes to just disappear!) that I have been using concealer on for a while now. I wasn’t sure how to lighten it up, so I specifically targeted that area, and the rest of my face to see what results would come up.

The cream absorbs quickly, and it’s not greasy at all. It actually smells pretty good too. I would apply it all over my skin, and concentrated more on my dark spot. I could wear the cream under makeup and it didn’t make it slide around at all!

Since using the cream my skintone has been much more brighter and even. I was really surprised – it sort of livened my face up a bit! That dark spot isn’t gone yet, but it’s just a little bit lighter which made me really happy.

I’ve had no breakouts since using the product, and I’ve been really happy with the results. The tone of my skin seems just a little bit brighter. It’s officially been added to my beauty arsenal!

The cream is also Hydroquinone free, Paraben-free and hypoallergenic.

The average price of this product is $48.50, but it’s a rather large tube and would last a long time because little is needed. It’s worth the price to me. To see more Chick Advisor reviews on the product, click here! To learn more about Vichy and the ProEven line, click here.

Roxymandy May 6, 2015

Review of EOS Cucumber Hand Lotion

You have probably seen the signature round eos lip glosses at some point since they are so popular, but did you know eos has also launched hand lotion as well?

I had no idea! I have many different flavours of the eos lip glosses, but I had no idea they had a hand lotion until it was sent to me last week.

What I loved right off of the bat was the container! It has a cute, stylish design, but it’s also compact at the same time. Usually when I am trying to fit things into a smaller purse, the hand cream never makes it due to space issues. In this case, I can finally bring it along with me!

The hand lotion had a cucumber fragrance, and it smelled nice and fresh! eos has two other hand lotion fragrances – Berry Blossom and French Flowers.

The lotion claims to have 24 hour moisture, and for me it proved to be very long-lasting. One evening I applied lotion, and I noticed after making dinner and washing my hands multiple times my hands were still moisturized. It was pretty surprising because usually I need to apply lotion after washing my hands – especially after a few times.

I do feel that now that I have been using it, I really need to apply less hand lotion than usual. When it came to my old hand cream I was applying it much more often – this one seems to moisturize more.

eos hand lotion is packed with nourishing shea butter, aloe, oats and antioxidants, and it is dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic, has no animal by-products, and is Paraben-free and Gluten-free.

Overall I’m a big fan of the lotion, and I will for sure be replacing it once it runs out. It smells good, moisturized well, and fits into my smallest handbags.

To learn more about eos, visit their website here!