sparkleshinylove - A lifestyle blog for girls who love a little sparkle!

Roxymandy June 4, 2015

I’m Trying Out RapidLash And You Can Too! Enter to Win!

You already know I’m lash-obsessed based on how many reviews of mascara I post on the blog. What would make my life (and my make up remover’s life) so much easier would be having long and thick lashes without having to emphasize them with mascara.

For the next couple months I am trying out RapidLash – it’s an eyelash and eyebrow enhancing serum that boosts the look of your lashes and brows. Anything that promotes the overall health of my eyelashes sounds good to me!

I am so excited to give this product a try and see what it does to my lashes.

It’s ophthalmologist and dermatologist tested, safe for contact lens wearers, free of fragrance and paraben’s, and is not tested on animals.

It seems easy to use as well – it’s only to be applied once a day and results for lashes can occur in just 4-6 weeks. It contains something called Hextein 1 Complex which works to strengthen, lengthen, hydrate, nourish and simulate lash and brow hair.

I found my own RapidLash at Shoppers Drug Mart, front and centre at the Beauty Boutique. It was almost sold out, and the sales associate told me she uses it herself and loves it.

I will be giving updates on how things go with this product over the next couple months, but until then would you like to try out RapidLash for yourself?

Enter below to win your own full-size sample of RapidLash (retail value of $59.95) – it’s easy to enter and win!

If you do win, please let me know your results as well! I would love to know what your thoughts are.

The contest is open to residents of Canada (including Quebec), and after the contest closes the winner can expect their prize in approximately 4-6 weeks. You can enter to win amongst some of the other Canadian blogs participating, but please note that you can only win from one participating blog giving away this prize. The contest starts on June 4, 2015 at 12:00am and ends on June 18, 2015 at 12:00am. One winner will randomly selected via Rafflecopter.

Stay tuned for more updates on my experience with RapidLash, and in the meantime check out what all the hype is about at www.RapidLashCanada.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I am part of the RapidLash campaign with Influence Central and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Roxymandy June 3, 2015

Chipotle’s Grow Book + A Simple Guacamole Recipe!

My toddler is getting to the age when just playing is not enough – now he is interested in doing little projects and activities. I find myself scanning Pinterest and looking for online resources to find fun activities to keep him busy!

Last week I received a great activity in the mail from Chipotle Mexican Grill, which was a saviour because I had a crazy week with hardly a moment to spare. When I get things in the mail, it pretty much always makes me happy (unless it’s my credit card bill because I have to hide it ASAP from the husband!).

My son and I received a Grow Book – it was loaded with all kinds of puzzles, recipes and activities. The main focus was learning about sustainable ingredients.

My son coloured all over the book, used all of the stickers inside, and I read to him about vegetables. He had no idea that vegetables were grown in the ground so there were probably about 30 “why?” questions which stemmed from that, but at least he learned a lot along the way.

The book came with some tomato seeds that he planted all by himself which he loved! He has been watering his tomato seeds every day since.

A few recipe cards came as well, so I tried the guacamole recipe for dinner. It was simple, and very good!

Ingredients:
2 Haas Avocados
2 TSP of Fresh Lime Juice
2 TBSP of Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
1/4 Red Onion (finely chopped)
1/2 Jalapeno (finely chopped) – I skipped this ingredient because my son was going to eat it!
1?4 TSP of Salt

Instructions:
Cut the avocado in half. Separate and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Add in lime juice and salt. Mash with a fork. Fold in the remaining ingredients.

We received some lovely vouchers for Chipotle in the mail as well! My love for Chipotle is pretty huge. I LOVE Mexican food. I could eat it pretty much every day. My picky eater husband (did you notice I didn’t say “my picky eater toddler” but my husband instead?!) is not a cilantro lover, so when I force him to eat Mexican with me it’s near impossible to please him because cilantro is pretty much in everything. So when I am heading to Yorkdale, or to the Shops at Don Mills on my own, I love stopping in for food at one of those Chipotle locations.

This weekend we made the trip to the Shops at Don Mills for some shopping, and since I did have those vouchers, and since I do love Chipotle, we all went there for lunch. I hadn’t taken my son before, and I actually had no idea they had kids meals! My son had a quesadilla, nachos (he could have had fruit if he wanted), an apple juice and rice. My husband and I each got the Steak Burrito Bowl, which is one of my favourite things on the menu. Cilantro was obviously in the bowl so I asked him what he thought, and he said it was really good, so he wasn’t overwhelmed by the cilantro. Overall the meal was a success! I got to shop, and eat at one of my favourite places – lucky girl.

Overall the Grow Book from Chipotle Mexican Grill worked out great and we enjoyed the fun activities it had to offer!

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

Roxymandy June 3, 2015

Peasant Dresses for Summer

I love wearing summer dresses! I am that crazy girl who wears skirts in the winter, and summer dresses when it’s still spring and chilly. One of my favourite styles for this summer is the peasant dress. It’s a good thing I love them, because they are everywhere. My favourites are usually white, but I am pretty much impartial and would buy any colour.

My embroidered peasant dress is from Forever 21 and you can find it here. Check out some of my other favourite peasant dresses for summer below!

Zara Emroidered Bib Front Dress

Zara Long Embroidered Dress

Mango Floral Print Dress

Revolve Peasant Dress

Cold Shoulder Peasant Dress

Ralph Lauren Square Neck Peasant Dress

Roxymandy June 2, 2015

Fab Finds from ILY Couture

Online shopping is my jam. Shopping in general is obviously my jam, but I love ordering online. It’s so convenient to click a few times, and have something arrive at your door. Not to mention it doesn’t seem to harm my bank account if there is no debit machine in sight. Hubby, if your reading this, I’m just kidding. I swear.

I’ve trolled the Ily Couture Instagram for months now, and I decided to give them a try and order a few of my favourites from their online store.

This year they have launched some really cute pineapple t-shirts and tanks. I’m a lover of pineapples, so I was so excited to order one of their Pineapple Solo Racer Tank’s.

Shipping to Canada wasn’t very expensive, and my order arrived about a week and a half after placing it.

The fit was perfect, and I love this tank! It retails for $38.

I had always wanted the Weekend – Eco Grey Sweatshirt, and finally it’s mine. This sweatshirt is soooo comfy! It looked like a small fit, and I wanted to wear it off the shoulder so I bought a large, and it fit perfectly. It retails for $58. The only drawback? I can only wear it on the weekend. Well, I think I should be able to wear it on days off from work too since technically a holiday can be a start to a weekend. I just really love the sweatshirt, so any excuse to wear it!

It was perfect for going out to brunch this weekend, and it was so cozy!

I pretty much adore everything else from ILY Couture, so I will be shopping with them again in the future for sure! If you haven’t checked them out before, you have to see what they offer. Head over to www.ILYCOUTURE.com to see what I’m talking about!

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.

Best Summer Blue

A dress so nice, I bought it twice!

Perfect for a Wedding

Knit Set Love

I’m Trying Out RapidLash And You Can Too! Enter to Win!

Chipotle’s Grow Book + A Simple Guacamole Recipe!

Peasant Dresses for Summer

Fab Finds from ILY Couture

Spa at the Four Seasons Toronto