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Roxymandy June 7, 2014

Benefit’s Big Beautiful Eyes

I hate it when you buy an eyeshadow palette and there are colours you absolutely won’t use in it! Then when you run out of the colours you like, you end up throwing out makeup that is unused, or you end up using those colours you didn’t like in the first place because they are all you are left with.

I made in to the bottom of my last palette so I went looking for a new one this week. What I chose was Benefit’s Big Beautiful Eyes palette.

The kit includes Boi-ing Concealer which I have never used before. I was a little worried this would be the one thing I wouldn’t use, but I’m obsessed with it! The concealer blends perfectly, and it stays on all day. Normally I need to do a touch up towards the end of the day, but the Boi-ing doesn’t budge. I need a whole bottle of this stuff!

There’s an alabaster pink eye shadow (which is a little shimmery) for highlighting or applying as a base. It’s a very natural colour, and the shimmer is only slight so it can be worn easily during the day.

For the crease of the eye there is a very natural cocoa eye shadow that is very complimentary. Just using the Boi-ing, the alabaster pink shadow, and the cocoa eyeshadow is perfect for day wear! The final shadow colour is a deep brown shadow, and I use this for a bit of depth to the outer corner of my eyes when I’m going out for dinner or drinks. It’s a little dark for daytime use.

I am pretty obsessed with this palette right now! If Benefit ever stops making it I will first throw a temper-tantrum, then buy a whole bunch of them on Ebay while I can, and then I will buy all of these shadows and the Boi-ing separately and make my own palette!

If you are looking for a natural eye palette, I recommend this one for sure! It retails for $32.99.

Roxymandy June 4, 2014

Babiators Review

As most of you know, I love shopping for my toddler. It’s so fun to dress him up while I can because someday he is going to actually tell me what he wants to wear, and stop being ok with me choosing his outfits. I’m sure I only have a couple good years left (tear) before I lose my stylist privileges with him.

When I saw Babiators for the first time, I knew I had to get a pair for London. Not only are they stylish sunglasses, but they have some pretty impressive claims. They have impact and shatter-resistant lenses, comfortable rubber frames, 100% UVA and UVB protection, and they are guaranteed against loss or breakage for one year. I know, that last one got me too – if a child’s Babiators are lost or broken within one year of purchase, Babiators will replace them. It all sounds too good to be true, right?

I decided to try out a pair of Babiators on London for a week to see how he liked them. I knew this might be a tough trial since I am really not good at making London try anything he doesn’t want to. He’s been a little….stubborn lately!

When his Babiators arrived, I made a big deal about it to get him excited. It worked because when I opened the box and showed him his new pair of Go Time Green Babiators, he grabbed them out of my hands and went running. I was really worried he would break these glasses before he even got to wear them. Of course the first thing he did was hide inside his circus tent (currently situated in my living room – I’m not sure Style at Home Magazine would approve) and then he proceeded to launch the sunglasses out the front of the tent! I went to grab them before him and realized quickly that I needn’t of worried because his Babiators were made from very flexible rubber, so they were completely fine. This became a bit of an issue throughout the week which tried out his new sunglasses – because they are made from such light and flexible rubber, when you throw them they really fly! London figured this out rather quickly.

Our first excursion in his new glasses was to the court outside our house and in the backyard to see how he liked wearing them. He was pretty excited to wear them, and no matter how much running around he did, they didn’t fall off. Babiator’s come in two sizes – Junior which fits most children ages 6 months to 3 years, and Classic which fit most children from ages 3 to 7+ years. London’s Go Time Green Babiators were size Junior, and seemed to fit perfectly.

Once we were in the backyard London remembered how far these glasses would fly, so he threw them around quite a bit, but I wasn’t too worried because of the material they are made from, and I also had had that nice guarantee so if he lost them I could have them replaced!

Over the week we tried as many toddler-friendly “extreme” activities as possible to test these Babiators out! We went to the park and played on the jungle gym, went for walks, we went to the beach, and we even went for a boat ride. The one thing that I absolutely loved is that these glasses never fell off. They seemed to be glued to his head! It was amazing because even when he was playing with other kids and getting bumped and knocked over, the Babiators still stayed on.

On our day at the beach and boat London had his sunglasses on non-stop for 6 hours. We literally couldn’t get these sunglasses off of him. He took a short nap in the car, and when he woke up he didn’t even take the sunglasses off. I was sure he might have been uncomfortable sleeping in them so he would want to throw them off when he woke up, but that wasn’t the case. That is when I knew they were truly comfortable glasses.

I was very impressed with these sunglasses, and I love all of the colours and styles they sell. I will definitely get a few more pairs to match some of his outfits. It’s awesome to find a product that is not only stylish, but is also a safer option for your child compared to other products. In the past I have been buying my son cute sunglasses, but I know the UVA and UVB protection was not as high as these Babiators, so it’s a nice bonus that they are also safe! And yes, these are the sort of lines I feed my husband, showcasing how my purchases are all about safety for our son, and I usually leave out the part about how adorable they are!

Original Babiators (which is what we tried this week) retail for $19.99 USD while Polarized Babiators are $45.00 USD on the Babiators website which you can find here. Two Toronto stores where you can also buy them are Mini Mioche and Whistle Kids.

This week I am giving away a set of Original Babiators to one lucky reader! There are two ways to enter – the first is to comment below this post and say “I want to win a pair of Babiators!”, or the second way is via my Instagram page found here, and to enter you must follow my Instagram (or already be a follower) and post below my contest photo saying “I want to win a pair of Babiators!”.

This contest begins on Wednesday, June 4th, 2014 at 9:00am EST, and runs until Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 at 9:00am EST. You have one week to win! The winner will be randomly selected from all of the entry’s on the website, and on my Instagram page. You can enter once on the website and once on the Instagram page for a total of two entries.

Good luck to everyone to enters!

Roxymandy June 2, 2014

Target Collaboration with Joseph Altuzarra – Fall 2014

Target has recently announced it’s latest collaboration with Joseph Altuzarra will hit stores on September 14th, 2014.

I love a good Target collaboration! Designer clothing, shoes and accessories at a discount are never a bad thing.

Courtesy of Target

Famous fans of Joseph Altuzarra include Cameron Diaz, Rihanna, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman.

Kate Bosworth – Kevin Mazur Wire Image

Rashida-Jones – Sefanie Keenan Wire Image

Brooklyn Decker – Vivien Killilea Wire Image

Joseph Altuzarra’s designs tend to look easy to wear, but have an air of French sophistication. It will be very interesting to see what this line for Target will look like. There will be more than 30 items, ranging in price from $17.99 to $89.99 for apparel, and from $29.99 to $79.99 for shoes and accessories.

Similar to the Peter Pilotto launch, this online will be sold in most Target store in the US and Canada, along with an edited assortment available on NET-A-PORTER.COM

“As a designer, I believe firmly in the transformative power of fashion. It has the ability to not only change how you look, but also how you feel,” said Joseph Altuzarra, the brand’s designer and creative director. “I’ve admired the elegance that Target brings to fast fashion. By working together on this capsule collection, we hope to instill a sense of power, confidence and beauty in women everywhere.”

To learn more about the collaboration as information becomes available, check out Target’s information page on the launch found here.

Roxymandy May 30, 2014

What I Tried This Week – Schwarzkopf Professional Smooth Perfect Smoothing Cream

This past week was the perfect one to try out a new product on my hair. The weather was hot, cold, windy, rainy and even humid – the full gauntlet of hair challenges.

My hair has a natural curl which I try to hide every day with a blow-out and the use of my hair straightener. Humidity and rain are my hair’s worst enemies, but really anything can ruin it! Sound frustrating? Welcome to my world.

This week I tested out part of the Schwarzkopf Professional BC Hair Therapy line. There are six options for all hair types, and the one I chose to try was the Smooth Perfect Smoothing Cream.

It says right on the front of the bottle that it’s for unmanageable hair, which sounds sounds like it accurately describes my hair!

I washed my hair as usual, and once I was ready to blow dry I applied the Smooth Perfect Smoothing Cream to my hair. It smells nice and fresh which was a bonus, but it was also very light weight. My hair didn’t feel greasy at all, which tends to happen with products I apply to my hair.

Right after my blow-dry my hair was actually very smooth. I normally have a lot if fly-away strands until I use my straightener, but before I straightened it my hair already seemed done.

The next morning it rained, so here was a true test! As a prepared girl I was obviously armed with an umbrella and a cute hooded jacket, but sometimes that’s not enough. The Smooth Perfect actually kept my hair in line! I was very impressed. My hair stayed styled all day!

The humidity later in the week was pretty surprising with it being spring! Humidity is the worst because the only way you can hide from it is to stay inside. Since that’s not always possible, products like this are required. The Smooth Perfect Smoothing Cream did not disappoint. It was weird because the cream didn’t feel like it weighed my hair down, but somehow it didn’t get frizzy in the humidity.

The Smooth Perfect Smoothing Cream also claims to restore structure and tame frizz for up to four days. I wash my hair every other day, so I didn’t test if it would last that long, but I didn’t have any build-up in my hair when using it that often throughout the week. The Smoothing Cream claims to nourish and discipline coarse or unruly hair with Cell Perfector Technology, and I can confirm it definitely handled my unruly hair.

The other options in this new Schwarzkopf Professional line include Moisture Kick, Repair Rescue, Color Freeze, Volume Boost and Time Restore.

If you have unruly hair like mine then maybe you should give it a try! It’s definitely a part my hair ritual after this week.

Roxymandy May 29, 2014

Why Aren’t You Shopping with Ebates?

Do you use Ebates? If the answer is yes, I’m ok with you not reading any further. If you have no idea what Ebates is, then you have no choice but to read on and thank me later!

Ebates is an online shopping site which pays you commission for shopping through them. It sounds way too simple, but I’ve tested it myself and it works!

Ebates is paid a commission by retail stores for having you enter their site through their website, and you earn a cut of that commission. I was very skeptical about this at first. I decided to try it out on a small purchase last year to see how it worked, and I’ve been using it ever since.

To use the service you must create a user name and password on the website (www.ebates.com in the US, and www.ebates.ca in Canada). Once you have that you are ready to go!

You would then use the search tab or drop down menu on the website to find the store you want to shop at. Once you enter or click on the store you want, Ebates also lists for you all of the online coupon codes and promotions the retail store is offering right now. This is my favourite part! If you select one of the coupon codes or deals, you are taken to the store’s website, and upon check out that code is already entered for you as you are making your payment!

Each store offers you a different commission. Sometimes there is a promotion for a retail store which has a larger commission than usual, which is listed on the Ebates website.

Ebates issues payments 4 times per year, and your total is always visible in your account, and the date of being paid is listed as well. You can choose to receive a cheque in the mail (this is what I do) or to receive it via Paypal.

Like I said before, I was skeptical my first time so I didn’t expect anything from the process, but I was very excited to see my cheque in the mail! I told myself I would use it to pay back some of my purchases, but I think I just used it to buy more stuff. Don’t judge – you will probably do the same.

To give you an example of what sort of money you would receive back from Ebates, my purchase of $50.55 at Old Navy last week gave me a commission of $2.02. That may not seem like a lot, but let me remind you that if you shopped Old Navy in store, or not through Ebates you would not get anything back! I was also able to use an online coupon code they provided me as well.

The hardest part about Ebates is remembering to go though their website. Sometimes I am just browsing online and accidentally make a purchase without thinking about Ebates. You have to remember to log onto their website first to gain any commission.

If you do any online shopping at all, Ebates is the way to go to earn back money on your purchases. It’s almost like getting paid to shop! At least that is what I tell my husband.

You can check out Ebates here!