Apparel For the Spirit

Hey guys, I know it has been forever! Between getting a new puppy, interviewing for full time jobs since I am graduating in the fall and finishing up my last term at school I haven't had very much free time whatsoever. I wanted to bring you something different today so I decided to a long overdue post for a clothing company I love. I'm usually not one to blog about fashion but this brand has a new line thats on pre order right now and I want to share it with you. This is not a sponsored post. I am not getting paid to say any of this and everything I'm writing is 100% honest.

Yeshua Apparel  is a clothing line that combines fashion with a spiritual and inspirational twist. Currently the new collection has tees for men and plenty of one of a kind gorgeous accessories for women. It's a Canadian clothing brand that I personally own clothing from and I wanted to share it with all of you. The clothing is all amazing quality. I have had mine for months, wearing them all the time and they still look as if they are in perfect condition/brand new. I highly recommend purchasing from this brand because I know first hand the quality and customer service that you will receive. As well, the Canadian in me is always looking to support local companies over huge corporations. I almost forgot to mention that they ship to Canada and the U.S for various prices (the max being $12) and internationally for a flat rate of $17 unless you go over $175. These are really great prices because shipping from Canada is extraordinarily expensive.

The prices of the tees are $65. They're great v necks and I think so many different men would like/want to wear them. The quality is spot on as mentioned before and I think this easily could become the favourite t shirt in the dresser.

For women's accessories Yeshua Apparel features 2 different brands:
T Squared by Tami Eshed 
Yeshua Apparel is the first online store to actually sell the products from this brand. They are all handmade, with a silver chain and depending on the type you get they will be gold or silver. Due to the high quality of all the materials prices range anywhere from $78+.
I have 2 favourites from this line:

 This is called Trapeze - the photos a bit dark but it's the best I could do for you guys.

These are the Geometric Earrings which are to die for. I love clean and straight shapes for my earrings and these are beautiful.


eF by Efrat Ezuz 
They  again are the first online story to sell the jewellery from this brand. The studio for the brand is located in Israel and therefore, not something you would be able to find elsewhere around here. They sell scarves as well as intricate jewellery that you don't see everyday here. I'll attach some photos of my favourites below.
Below is the necklace the Pixxie:

Definitely a very cool statement necklace that will have so many people commenting. I like how this line is really unique and different so if you're the person who hates having the same accessories as everyone else definitely check this collection out.

I hope you guys check out the brand to see if theres anything that catches your interest. I love the new collection so much I wanted to share it with you since the pre-order sale has been going on. For the quality you get and the uniqueness of products I believe the prices are extremely fair. If you check out the website let me know in the comments below on what you think of the brand and which is your personal favourite!

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser Line Review

I'm part of the website called Influenster, and this month one of the Canadian boxes that was sent out was a mystery box of haircase from a L'oreal brand. They gave unnamed bottles of shampoo, conditioner and a split end serum. A week later after you checked in your box, you received the entire full sized collection of that brand line. It turned out to be Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser. I wanted to give this review to you after I tried it multiple different ways and consistently. So a little background on my hair: it is colour treated ( I do blonde highlights all over my entire head), thick, I have lots of split ends, it usually gets frizzy and lots of static this time of year, but my hair has the tendency to get really oily by the next day.  Right off the bat I can tell you I only liked 2/4 of these products. You can go here to learn about the line and what Garnier says it is supposed to do if you're interested.

I have a difficult time with shampoo and conditioner (currently only will use Kevin Murphy) and this line just did not do it for me.  My hair felt so dry after when using the shampoo and conditioner in combination together. It got so frizzy and it was a disaster. I tried it multiple different times and I still always got the same result. A shampoo meant for damage erasing should not be drying and so I'm not sure if it was just my hair type that didn't agree with it or others have experienced this as well. I've never had good luck with Garnier shampoos or conditioners and this was no exception. It didn't work for my hair type but it may work for yours because haircare is such a personal preference. I'm not sure about the actual price because I can't find it online but I'm estimating between $5-7 for each.

Next, I'll discuss the 2 products I really enjoyed. The mask I found a good consistency and it hydrated my hair without making it greasy. I didn't need that much product to coat my hair and I let it sit for about 5 minutes. It made the shampoo work a little better cause I replaced the conditioner with the mask. Although I do think it works better with my Kevin Murphy or Aveda shampoos because those work better for my hair. I highly recommend this mask which is called a strength reconstructing butter, so far it's the best lower priced hair mask I've tried. I also loved the Split end serum. As mentioned before my hair is seeing a ton of these and I have noticed a bit of a difference in the number of split ends I have. It makes my ends feel extremely soft and not greasy, as it is a really light weight serum. These both also smell great and I'm really glad I got to test these out because I probably would never have picked these up on my own.

Overall this collection was hit and miss but I found some really awesome affordable products to implement into my haircare routine! Have any of you tried out this collection and if you have what are your thoughts on the products?

Skincare Wish: Estee Lauder Idealist

I was browsing the Estee Lauder booth at The Bay with my mom over my school break and I saw this Idealist serum (check out the website for more reviews and some of the promises it makes). As you all know, I am so fair that all acne scarring is very noticeable and I get red in my cheeks. I use the Kiehl's dark spot serum for my scarring but this sounds interesting because it's meant for redness, acne scars, dark spots, sun spots and discolorations. It's more expensive than Kiehls ($72.50-135 CAD depending on the size of the bottle) but it promises to do more. My mom uses a lot of Lauder products and she loves them, as well I adore their Perfectly Clean exfoliating face wash and toner. It's an oil free serum (perfect for my oily skin), non-acnegenic, dermatologist tested and it's meant to make your skin brighter and more even over time. It sounds like my skin will love it. Don't you just hate when you find a product you really want to try but it costs more than you have to spend? I am always looking for a new product to even me out so that I don't feel like I have to always wear concealer to cover my dark spots and redness. Being so fair, any flaws on my face, small or big, look magnified. I've heard really amazing things about this serum and I'm planning on getting a sample when I go pick up my Double Wear Foundation. I always like to see how my skin reacts to a new product after a few uses because I am so sensitive and acne prone.

Have you tried this serum before? What did you think? What's your favourite serum for evening out skincare?

Blue Corn 3 in 1 Deep Cleansing Scrub Mask

I know I've been gone for a few days too many but I've had a busy and stressful time with my sick doggy. I've come back with a review for The Body Shop's blue corn mask that I mentioned I got earlier in a haul. I've used this before twice in a week to see if it was maybe too deep cleansing but I find with my oily skin it's perfect. It does not dry me out, if you have more normal to dry skin I would only suggest maybe maximum using this once a week. It's a chunky mask that goes on wet and dries hard in about 15 minutes. When you wash it off you can choose to either barely scrub the chunky bits in, or if you need some serious exfoliation you can rub harder. After I wash it off my skin feels so cleansed and soft, I always follow it with a toner, serum and moisturizer at night even though it says its a 3 in 1 and moisturizers too. My skin doesn't feel tight which it sometimes can after deep cleansing masks. I've recommended it to a few friends and have let some of them try it and I've heard really good feedback from people with different skin types than me. I think it could work for a ton of people, you just have to figure out the best way to use it for your skin.

Have any of you tried this mask? What are your favourite The Body Shop masks?

Formula 10.0.6 Wish List

I've only recently heard about this brand and have not been able to find it most places in Canada. I've seen maybe 3 products at random Rexall Pharmacies and on the website it says there are some at Pharma Plus'. You can go to the website here and it lets you pick a country. The shipping to Canada is ridiculous, $15 so I probably won't buy anything online. I'll just keep my eye out for the brand in select stores near me. There are less products available within Canada but the few that caught my eye were:

Down to the pore: 

Blackhead clearing strips, I'm not a fan of the biore ones but I've heard good things about these ones.

Plus anything with Tea Tree in it has me sold.

 

Overnight Success- Overnight Spot Minimizing Patches:

This sounds super interesting to me - I've never used patch format for a spot treatment

Deep Down Detox Mask:

I've heard good things about the detox mask, it smells like oranges, and every clay based mask I have the urge to try. I'm a mask junkie.

No Time to Shine Mud Mask:

I have oily skin and this looks promising. 

The prices online for these marks are $5.99 but with the price of shipping I'm a little unhappy. I think the prices at the pharmacies were around $8 for a mask. Should have picked up what I could when I had the chance.

Have you tried any products from this brand before? What did you think?

Girl Meets Pearl Highlighter

I got a deluxe sized sample of this highlighter from my Benefit Advent Calendar. It's a pink based highlighter and it's gorgeous. I've been testing it out in various ways and wanted to let you know the way I love wearing it. I tried it overtop of my foundation and blush but I found it didn't give me the glow I wanted. I love to use it overtop of my primer but under my foundation. Even when my foundation blends out overtop it, it doesn't fade away. Doing it this way makes it look like you're glowy from within almost (lame I know) and not shiny like a disco ball. It didn't accentuate my pores or make me look oily which is nice. It lasted all night with my primer and foundation so I'm wondering if that also helps it last because when put overtop of powder I found it to fade easily. This is a gorgeous highlighter and definitely my favourite one to use because it lasts long and doesn't make me look crazy shiny. The full size retails for $36 CAD and is in a twist up bottle. The packaging is adorable and so is the name. Highly recommend this product!!

Have you ever tried this highlighter before? What's your favourite way of applying cream highlights?

Clarisonic Update 1+ Month Later

I have now had my Clarisonic for over a month and I have to say I haven't seen my skin this clear in forever. I currently have no active breakouts anywhere on my face. It's all just previous cysts, acne spots healing over and being red/dry. I switched to using the Fresh Soy Cleanser on it which I think works really well and I find it doesn't make my skin feel tight after like other types do. Now that my skin is all cleared I'm cutting back on the amount of times a week I use the Clarisonic. I'm trying to do 1-2 times as a deep cleaning method rather than every night. I will probably always do a deep cleansing mask on the night I use my Clarisonic so that I know I'm getting the best results possibly when I do it. My skins overall appearance looks so great, I'm not as red anymore in my cheeks and my acne scarring is improving. The scarring improving is probably attributed to this exfoliation as well as consistent daily use of my Kiehl's dark spot correcting serum (awesome stuff). My makeup sits better now that I'm using this and I just feel like my skin doesn't feel as congested. I highly recommend everyone who has issues with blackheads and breakouts go spend the money on this... Better investment to spend on the tool than to spend even more money trying out various different acne regimens that don't end up even working.

Have you tried the Clarisonic? What are the best products you have ever used with it?