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Review of Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream

Review of Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream

 

 

I was so excited when my first Influencer Laneige VoxBox arrived a couple weeks ago! I was totally new to the Laneige beauty line, and with the cooler fall weather my skin has been in need of some serious hydration. I was lucky enough to receive the Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream to test and review, and I was excited to see the results of the product!

Sephora carries Laneige products online, and soon you will be able to find them in-store as well in Canada.

What was this product supposed to do?

It’s a gel cream that immerses skin in moisture for 24 hours. My skin has completely dried out since the weather has been a bit chillier, so I was excited to see how this cream would work.

The cream is formulated without parabens and phthalates, it’s dermatologist tested, and Laneige does not test ingredients or products on animals.

Laneige Laboratories harness a skin-perfecting mineral water clinically proven to hydrate, protect and revitalize individual skin types in their products.

At first glance the container itself is a soothing blue that pretty much screams hydration based on looks alone. The cream is very lightweight, and is scented. It smells really good to me – I suppose it would depend on who was using it if they liked that it was scented or not, but I thought it had a great scent!

 

 

Review of Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream
 

 

A little goes a long way with this product, and I feel like it will last quite a long time. It’s very lightweight, and since it’s a gel cream it does feel a little wet when you apply it, but I found it dried nicely. I was worried about wearing it under makeup, but it didn’t make my skin oily at all. My makeup stayed in place, and the cream did a great job of keeping my skin hydrated.

 

 

Review of Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream
 

 

I have noticed my chin and around my eyebrows getting a little dry lately, but from the first day I applied this gel cream that problem seemed solved! The dry skin was gone, and I was very happy with the moisture this cream provided.

Personally I like to apply it first thing in the morning, and at night after I washed my face, so it’s hard to determine if it moisturized for 24 hours, but I can attest that it kept my skin moisturized as long as I wore it.
 

 

Review of Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream

 

 

With the weather only getting colder, I am looking forward to trying out more of the Laneige group of products in the future.

For more information visit the Laneige website here, and shop the brand on Sephora’s website here.

 

 

Mandy Furnis

 

 

Fall Layering with a Light Jacket

Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 

Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 

Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove
 

 

Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 
Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 

Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 
Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 
Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 

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Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 
Fall layering with a light jacket sparkleshinylove

 

 

Jacket: Winners, similar here and here | Faux Leather Trainers: H&M | Black Skinny Jeans: H&M

 

 

Transitioning into fall for me means lots of sweaters and light jackets. The mornings are cold, but the afternoons warm up and I’m usually sweating to death, so layering is key. One of my favourite trends from last year was leather accents, and I’ve added another jacket to my wardrobe with this in mind.

This jacket is great for cool mornings in the fall, or chilly evenings with light clothing underneath. In the winter I find I go to a lot of events where I sometimes end up keeping my jacket on, so one like this made of light-weight materials is perfect. I can wear this jacket as my outfit itself (I could totally wear pyjamas underneath), and because it so light I won’t be suffering from heat stroke underneath it.

For only $49.99 at Winners, this jacket was a no-brainer. It’s stylish, trendy for fall, and the perfect price point! How often do you find a great jacket like this that is the same price of a sweater?

I’ll be looking for more lightweight jackets to add to my wardrobe as the season goes on, especially ones with a leather embellishment.

 

 

Mandy Furnis

 

 

The Horizon Trend with Graham & Brown

Graham & Brown Horizon Trend

 

 

This month, as a Graham & Brown Ambassador, I’ve created a mood board with the Horizon trend in mind.

Horizon is the fluid movement of design, the sense that something special is about to happen; forecasting your hopes and dreams for your interior. This trend is all about introducing tranquil tones, adding waves of subtle colour and luxury textures to your home,” – The Horizon Trend

This trend inspires design with how nature and surrounding sights from travel can influence home decor.

In our home we are always planning our next travel adventure, and in the winter I am planning on heading to New York City for a weekend getaway. With this trip in mind, I’ve created a room centred around the city.

I have been to New York City quite a few times already, and some of the Graham and Brown decor items bring back memories of past trips to NYC.

In our home we tend to include items from our world travels, or bring in a theme from countries we have visited, but so far no room in our home reflects my love of New York City. My mood board reflects my design inspiration for a new room in my home.

Something as simple as this Checker Black wallpaper reminds me of the modern design normally found in NYC highrises.

 

 

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More obvious New York City touches include this New York City-themed pillow which includes it’s famous landscapes and streets.
 

 
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This Brooklin Bridge Structure wall art has one of the more iconic landmarks of NYC in monochrome to continue with the theme and landscape of the city.

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I really thought the industrial look of this Cogsworth clock followed the scheme of the room, and reminded me of exposed brick lofts and apartments with an unfinished look in the city.

 

 

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I think my love of New York City and the design landscape there is reflected with much of what I have found at Graham & Brown. I’m inspired to redecorate now!

 

 

Mandy Furnis

 

 

Creating a Fall Centrepiece with DIY Painted Pumpkins

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

Fall is absolutely my favourite time of year! I love decorating my home for the season, and this year I decided to get crafty.

I wanted to get started early on my table decor for Thangsgiving, and I thought it would be an easy project to paint my own pumpkins.

I have seen lots of painted pumpkins in stores, and I thought it would be fun to do it myself!

I could have used real pumpkins, but I decided I may want to use these pumpkins again next year so I bought some fake ones.

I picked up some paint from the dollar store, and also paint brushes, and a couple fake pumpkins which were only a dollar. I also stopped at Michael’s craft store to grab a couple mason jars to paint, and a couple more fake pumpkins. Michael’s happened to have their pumpkins for 50% off which was great.

Even though the Michael’s pumpkins were already black and white, I painted them anyway to match the others.

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

The mason jars were easy to paint, and with a few coats of gold they looked great! They are perfect candle holders for my centrepiece.

I didn’t use a pattern for any of the pumpkins, and did everything free-hand. It was fun to just paint for a while – it was actually kind of relaxing!

Once my pumpkins had dried I added some fall-coloured candles and a couple of my favourite acorn decor items I previously owned, and I had the burlap table runner I made for my Thanksgiving dinner last year to finish it off.

I completed the whole project for under $30, and I think it looks pretty great! Hopefully this project inspires you to create your own fall decor items.

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove
 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove
 

 

DIY Painted Pumpkins sparkleshinylove

 

 

Mandy Furnis

 

 

My Visit to the Benefit Boutique + My First Ever Eyebrow Wax!

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 

Can you believe I had never had my eyebrows done before my visit to the Benefit Boutique in Toronto?

I can’t believe it myself! My eyebrows have ways been an afterthought for me, so I just never bothered having them shaped by a beautician.

I had heard about the opening of the Benefit Boutique in Toronto, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to check out the boutique, and have my eyebrows shaped and waxed for the first time.

Making an appointment was easy – I could have called but they also had an online booking system which was great!

The boutique is located on Yonge Street in Toronto, and it was recomended on the site that I arrive 10 minutes before my appointment to hang out and try out their makeup.

The boutique was exactly as cute as I expected! Everything was pretty, pink, and there was makeup everywhere!

The girls working there were so lovely – it felt like I was just hanging out and chatting with my girlfriends.

As for my eyebrows, the expert who worked on mine did a “mapping” on my face for me to show me where my brows should be. Unsurprisingly I have been over plucking. She easily waxed my brows (it hurt, but we were chatting so I was distracted!), and I was left with a great new brow shape, and a plan to grow my brows to where they should be over the next 5 months.

Once I was finished with the waxing, she touched up my makeup, and I was all done!

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 
My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 
My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 
My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 
My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 
My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove

 

 

Once I got home I took a photo of my eyebrows – what do you think? I think they look great! They finally have a great shape to them. I’m excited to keep going back to make sure they say on-point.

 

 

My visit to the Benefit Boutique Toronto sparkleshinylove
 

 

The boutique was a great spot to test out all of the Benefit Cosmetics products, and the boutique offers a full range of beauty services.

They also allow you to book the whole boutique for a party! Champagne, friends, and pampering? Sign me up!

For more information on the Benefit Boutique in Toronto, visit them here.

The Benefit Boutique is located at 2614 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4P 2J4, (416) 440-2769.

 

 

Mandy Furnis