bumble and bumble repair blow dry

Fall Sephora Sale Edit

I legitimately have spent enough money at Sephora to maintain my VIB Rouge status from these biannual — or sometimes more frequently if we’re lucky — savings events the last three years. Starting today, October 30th, VIB Rouge members will have access to 20% off until November 9th. Beginning November 3rd, VIB members will have access to 15% off until the 9th as well and beginning November 5th, any Beauty Insider member will have access to 10% off until the 9th as well. The code is HOLIDAYFUN and can be used as many times as one desires. Here are some products I’m interested in or would suggest you think about:

Briogeo Detox + Restore Kit ft. Scalp Scrub Shampoo + Don’t Despair Repair Hair Mask ($67 CDN | 2×236 mLs)

The Briogeo Don’t Despair Repair Hair Mask might actually be my holy grail deep conditioner and those aren’t words I use lightly. This kit also comes with a full sized deep conditioner along with their scalp scrub shampoo for only a little bit more than the price of the deep conditioner alone. The mask is lightweight, silicone-free and contains a myriad of oils, biotin and some hydrolyzed proteins. It always leaves my wavy curls bouncier, clumpier and moisturized — the slip is also out of this world fantastic. The scalp scrub shampoo is a more recent discovery of mine and I enjoy using it as well — and it’s expensive so this kit is appealing. It doesn’t contain sulfates but it has more deep cleansing surfactants than I would usually use, leaves my sensitive scalp feeling soothed and refreshed and my hair not dried out. I’m usually against essential oils but I love the peppermint when I’m in need of clarifying.

Briogeo Merry Multi-Masking Kit ft. Don’t Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Honey Bear Hair Mask ($46 CDN | 1×236 mLs, 2×59 mL)

Because the very thought of running out of the cult-favourite hair mask gives me feelings of anxiety and because I’ve wanted to foray into their other mask offerings, I picked up this set during the Friends and Family Sale. I must say that for the price of the full-size classic deep conditioner — and a full sized product — this holiday kit provides excellent value. It has a full sized honey rendition of the classic mask that I’ve always wanted to try and two smaller tubes of the classic Don’t Despair, Repair and the new protein-free Be Gentle Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfood Mask.

Bumble & Bumble Repair Blow Dry ($38 CDN | 150 mL)

While the most heat I’ve used on my hair in a year has been a diffuser, I would still recommend this leave-in cream for those of you who blow dry or flat iron slash curl your hair. It contains silicones to smooth out the hair and, lock out humidity and protect the hair from heat damage — but I never experienced build up using a sulfate-free shampoo either. It doesn’t provide loads of hold but leaves the hair smooth, shiny, moisturized and super-soft. It’s a particularly great cream to use while blow-drying even wavy-curly hair into a smoother style.

Briogeo Curl Charisma Chia + Flax Seed Coil Custard ($34 CDN | 177 mL)

I’ve always been a curl cream kind of girl and that hasn’t changed since I’ve started or restarted the curly girl method. However, I’ve been struggling with finding the right one to help my waves and curls clump and form nice curls — especially since that whole Devacurl debacle began and I can no longer recommend their creams. Despite this being marketed as a custard and for way tighter textures, it’s an excellent medium to rich textured cream with light-medium hold. It’s silicone-free but contains castor seed oil, fatty alcohols, shea butter, hydrolyzed proteins and amino acids, glycerin and plant oils. I tend to pair it with a gel but I don’t have to and I actually don’t have to use much product in my thirsty, high-porosity waves and curls.

The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm ($12.99 CDN | 150 mL)

I’m borderline fanatical about using a balm or oil cleanser to dissolve sunscreen and makeup thoroughly with ease and minimal disruption to my admittedly fragile skin barrier — and this is one I’ve had my eye on. I’m not even sure if it’ll be eligible for a discount but I’m not sure I care. It’s fragrance-free, in tube packaging and contains sweet almond oil and oat kernel oil, along with soothing oat extract. It’s no frills but I’ve heard amazing things.

Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer ($43 CDN | 150 mL)

This milky toner and moisturizer hybrid might seem boring as sin but it’s been a love of mine since I discovered it. It has a thick milky toner-lotion consistency that adds loads of hydration, soothing action and can function as a toner for drier skin types or a liquid moisturizer for the more sebum-blessed. It has an incredibly short and simple ingredient list: glycerin, meadow foam seed oil, vitamin e and tea extract. I’ve found it helps with hydration, protecting and repairing the skin barrier and leaves the skin luminous.

Viseart Aperol Spritz Eyeshadow Palette ($55 CDN | 12g)

This warm peachy-coral toned neutral palette is among my best makeup purchases of 2020. Ever since I bought it, it’s been my daily go-to palette; it’s easy, simple and has all of the shades I find myself reaching for on a daily basis. I love the variety of finishes and just how easy the drier formula shadows are to work with. I’m enjoying this edit format of Viseart’s palettes, as you get the versatility of one of the larger palettes and a variety of finishes. I would highly recommend Viseart shadows in general, but this format is my specific pick.

Huda Beauty Mercury Retrograde Eyeshadow Palette ($88 CDN | 16.72g)

This is actually a pick in my current small cart for the sale. A close friend of mine absolutely raves about the Huda Beauty shadows — I’ve never tried before — and in particular, this palette. I like the combination of some neutral shades in a variety of finishes, along with some pops of colour. Some of the colours are a bit outside of my comfort zone but I’m excited to play with the blues and purples — both shades are notoriously difficult to formulate but I’ve heard great things about these versions.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Face Palette – Sculpture ($105 CDN | 8.4g)

Those who have been long time readers of my little old blog here and those who I’ve waxed poetically about makeup to in real life will be aware of my love for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder formula. I have a bunch of the blushes — which I absolutely love –, a highlighter — that I’m not in love with — and a semi-shattered palette of the original powders but I’ve held off on buying the larger palettes they tend to release each year. The large palettes are very expensive, kind of impractical — I mean, I don’t always reach for large face palettes in my day-to-day makeup life — and are worse value for money than buying the original individual products but I’m happy with this one that I bought in the Friends & Family Sale. It features the powders in Diffused Light and Dim Light — which are the two shades I’d be most likely to use anyway, a pretty champagne highlighter, Glistening Strobe Light, two blushes in Mood Exposure and Vibrant Flush and Natural Bronze Light. The powders are some of my favourites as a powder-disliking gal on the fairer end of the spectrum.

Will you be buying anything in the sale?
Maggie, x.

Some Recent Acquisitions

I don’t know about you but I’m always picking up a thing or two even when I wouldn’t consider myself really shopping for anything beauty, even though I’m you’re average broke university student. A few days ago, I was reading the lovely fellow Canadian, Sandra’s blog, and came across her “New In” post and after enjoying it immensely, I was struck with inspiration to do something similar on my blog that would allow me to jot down some brief thoughts on recently acquired products without going overboard and generally insane about it.

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Pureology Strength Cure Sulfate-Free Shampoo & Condition ($30/each): I’m a massive fan of Pureology in general and I may have had an inkling that I would receive this set in my Easter basket courtesy of my mother, but alas, I went for this repairing formula although I don’t have particularly damaged hair because I find my hair responds well to protein and theoreticaly a more protein heavy formula would be less heavy but equally as nourishing on my relatively fine but very dry and tangly hair. The shampoo is concentrated, producing an appealing lather without stripping the hair or irritating my sensitive scalp but unlike some of Pureology’s other formulas, it does contain some silicone – amodimethicone, so at least it does not build up on the hair – and doesn’t smell like the most amazing thing ever. Both the shampoo and conditioner have this slightly medicinal, slightly floral scent that doesn’t quite compete with some of their greater scents. The conditioner impressed me hugely, being extremely concentrated with a nice thick texture that didn’t feel heavy on the hair but had the best slip for detangling. It too contains amodimethicone but I’m not one to complain because I like the slip – another concern is that it contains some isopropyl alcohol to make the the behentronium chloride easier to integrate into the formula as a conditioner but as its a solution of sorts, the concentration is fairly low and there is that fact that the hair is dead.

Bumble & Bumble Repair Blow Dry ($17/37): Bumble & Bumble is one of those brands that I consistently want to try products from despite the fact that they are very expensive, their products don’t exactly have the most unique ingredients and I tend to have a hit and miss relationship with – but I’m pleased to report that although I’ve only used this product a few times, it has definitely wowed me. It’s a dimethicone based serum-cream hybrid that has all of the benefits of the silicone – heat protection and that delightful slip – without the usual disadvantages – adding unpleasant weight to the hair and tending to just dilute the rest of the formula. I don’t have damaged hair but its curly so I tend to enjoy products that are, so my love for it isn’t necessarily related to its purpose here; I adore how its concentrated and has an amazing amount of control for a minimal amount of product whilst maintaining volume in the hair. For instance, I used this to blow dry my hair straight and it had some volume and stayed straight-ish for an impressive length of time and felt silky in the best way possible.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte ($37): So when I strolled into Sephora and actually found this peach-tinged rose lipstick in stock, I finally went for it and gave in to the hype of the expensive lipstick. The formula is amazing, hydrating majorly long wearing, especially for something that fades so evenly and has a nourishing texture. I appear to have a number of similar shades but it is a gorgeous everyday my-lips-but-rosier shade.

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle in Renew & Refresh ($22.50): I needed another scented candle like I need another whole in my head but when my friend offered to split the buy-one-get-one offer with me, I couldn’t resist picking up this relaxed scent. It’s one of those scents that fills up the room but doesn’t read as bothersome or overwhelming – so if you’re into that heavy headache-inducing kind of strong throw this isn’t for you. It smells exactly as it’s intended to, like warm jasmine with a hint of that airy mint. I’m quite enjoying burning it at this extremely stressful time of the year.

What have you picked up lately?
Maggie, x.