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

Roxymandy October 9, 2014

Halloween Costumes and Decor from Winners and Homesense

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!

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!

Roxymandy October 8, 2014

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

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.

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

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!

Roxymandy October 8, 2014

The Toronto Lifestyle Market at the Gladstone Hotel

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

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.

Roxymandy October 6, 2014

Fun Fall Jewlery Trends You Can Totally Pull Off

I think I have more accessories than I do clothes, which means I have a ridiculous amount of accessories! Sometimes costume jewelry, shoes, bags and scarves feel more like an investment than a purchase because you can wear a necklace over and over again, while that favourite sweater has a quicker expiry date.

There are always those wacky trends for clothing that you are not sure you can pull off, but lately I feel like jewelry trends have been getting bolder as well. Earring trends change all the time, but the ear cuff is a new one for me! This is why I am a consumer and not a designer – who would have thought of an ear cuff? I love it, but it’s totally not in my realm of thinking.

I’ve rounded up a few of my favourite choices of some of the trends this fall – stackable rings, earrings and cuffs, and layered necklaces. And just because I really liked it, I added this cute initial ring below as well – how awesome is this? And a totally out-there set of earrings from Zara had to be added below as well.