Beauty

09.28.18

Following a Dream to Paris – The Long Way

We went to the Louis Vuitton Time Capsule in Toronto to celebrate the anniversary of Louis Vuitton coming to Canada! What I loved about this more than all the beautiful items was the story behind Louis Vuitton’s journey to success. He left his small hometown at 13 years old and set out for Paris. It took him over two years to get there are he worked to earn money and accommodations and then traveled a little farther. Finally making it to Paris and becoming a boxer’s apprentice at age 16. He then opened his own boxing business and then introduced luggage – as they say – the rest is history.

Here is what I love about this. He followed a dream. From that dream he set goals, took action, and created a magnificent legacy. What is most wonderful about the story of Louis Vuitton though, isn’t that he set out to become a famous luggage and handbag designer, but that he followed his dream of going to Paris, and from there found something he was good at and enjoyed and it resulted in a brand with more than a century of history. I believe this occurred because of his passion – that’s what built a legacy that still exists today.

You don’t have to enjoy Louis Vuitton to appreciate his journey and the effort he put into succeeding. There are stories like this from many facets of the world. What I love is when people discover their passion and they pursue it. It creates magic. This story is inspiring because it reminds us that even if we have to walk over 300 miles to achieving what we want, it’s possible.

Anything can be possible with some creativity, imaginative thinking, and the willingness to say “this is what I want” and to then go about doing it!

09.21.18

Kleinfeld Experience

I’m changing it up today and sharing a very special moment.

About five minutes after I got engaged my mum said to me, “So, when are we going to KLEINFELD’S?!’ We love to watch Say Yes To The Dress together, and so when it was my turn to be bride it was something we both were so excited about. So here’s the play-by-play of our days at Kleinfeld Bridal.

We went to Kleinfeld’s in Manhattan and we got a last minute appointment. When we arrived we checked into the waiting room and then after about 5 minutes Diane, the consultant, came out and started calling “Stevie!”. We then proceeded to the famous gray sofas and chatted all about what my wedding was going to be like and my “bridal vision”.

After that we strolled around the salon oohing and aching over Pnina’s and Hailey Paige’s designs. Diane pulled three dreamy gowns of varying styles for me to try, each of which was beautiful. I followed her back to the dressing rooms and we began the whirl of tulle, taffeta, lace, and sparkles!

It was truly a whirlwind. The hour and a half appointment felt like 5 minutes and an eternity all at the same time.

I ended up trying on three dresses (I know, just three!) the first one was almost all lace details, but it had long sleeves and as soon as I came out to the main salon we knew it wasn’t the one. Which was a little concerning, because it was the one I had been thinking of! But then I put on the second dress. As soon as I came out the dressing room door people in the hall were telling me “this is your dress!” and then when I saw my mum and she saw me, I think we both knew at that moment – it was the one.

They were filming an episode of Say Yes To The Dress so we got the whole experience of what being on the show is like, but without the pressure! I’ll share my fitting experience in another post, but to summarize – Kleinfeld is where bridal dreams come true. They act like every girl is truly a princess and they treat your day as if it’s the only one they are thinking about.

06.29.18

Kintsugi

I heard about Kintsugi several years ago. I love Kintsugi…and let me tell you why.

I’ve heard people refer to themselves as broken. Which always makes me sad because people are not broken. They may need help, they may have shortcomings, but that’s just imperfect perfection. It does NOT mean you’re broken…it means you’re HUMAN!

I think people call a heart broken when it aches, but it’s actually more like the pain you feel when you really hurt yourself and the pain is so intense it doesn’t register right away. It’s a slow rising brutal ache. But it’s not a break.

Your spirit can’t be broken. It can be changed. You might feel broken. But it’s really kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of golden repair. If a bowl breaks it is repaired with a gold filing to bind the pieces back together. This is you. When something “breaks” you your spirit has the magic of kintsugi inside and it can fill you with gold too. Youll be even more than you were before, you have new golden magic sewn into your story.

So you can carry your “broken pieces” around with you cradling them in your arms forevermore or you can let your self love and your spirit do what it does naturally; take your experiences and spin them into gold to add to your being.

The pain is just the opening where the golden light gets in.

05.03.18

Travel Skincare: 5 Favorites

I’ve recently changed my focus. I’m now into skincare. But not just any skincare, travel skincare! Or TRAVEL FRIENDLY I should say. I was focused on makeup and finding the greenest and most pure (for makeup). Now however, thanks to newly becoming a low-key FANGIRL of The Skinny Confidential, I’m into ALL kinds of skincare. I have always been very good at having a morning and evening routine comprised of a clean face and then a great moisturizer or serum. Now though, I have a wedding coming up (MY OWN) and I want the most dewy, fresh, well rested, looking skin I can achieve!

However, I have some particular needs because of how much I travel. So I’m going to share with you my new favorite 5 travel skincare items!

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

I bought this because it said “sleeping mask” and who hasn’t woken up with dry lips before…ESPECIALLY IN A HOTEL. After the decision to purchase I found out that Laneige is one of those “cult beauty” products that people just love. It’s not hard to see why, because it just does so much for your lips! You have to be religious about using it every night, but I swear my lips are fuller. It’s also a god send to carry on the plane with you because it’s like a moisture locking barrier that insulates your lips!

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

This night cream combined with my nightly serum has made the texture of my skin so soft. The story behind the Drunk Elephant brand is fun too and has to do with ingredients. You can read that here. I also love how hygienic the dispensing of this product is. You press down on the top and it squeezes out, instead of having to stick your fingers into the jar.

Avene

I just bought this a few days ago and I’m already loving it. It’s a french skincare product so of course it’s fabulous, but it literally melts makeup away. WATERPROOF EYELINER? buh bye. I don’t LOVE the smell, it smells very clean, but I can get past that for how well it does it’s job.

Suntegrity 5-in-1 Natural Moisturising Face Sunscreen

I have the full body sunscreen of this as well and I just adore both. Traditional sunscreen has MULTIPLE ingredient that are considered toxic, and this product was designed to be as green and pure as possible. It’s also tinted so it’s a great light foundation!

Glow Recipe Watermelon Pink Juice

THIS SMELLS SO GOOD. If you like watermelons, which I do. But it also is such a great daily moisturizer! I put it on in the morning before all my makeup and it hydrates my skin, smells amazing, and helps my makeup sit even better on my skin. I also love the design of this product, it’s beautiful to have sitting out on your vanity.

If you enjoyed this travel skincare guide Into The Gloss has a similar guide you can find here!

Those are the five products I’m loving and have been taking with me on all my travels lately. What skincare secrets do you have?! Share with me in the comments!

01.02.18

Skating into 2018

I did try my best to be stylish while we went skating on the becoming-famous Arrowhead Park skating trail! However, it’s hard to think of style at -25 celsius. Hence the hat, puffy coat, attractive snow pants, puffy mittens, and generally insulated look.

skating skating

It has been such a nice holiday break filled with fun and activities and this one might have been my favorite! We got all bundled up and headed out to experience the wonders of the Canadian winter. It was -25 when I woke up, but by noon it had “warmed up” to -14 so we convinced ourselves that we would be moving and therefore wouldn’t be cold. With five layers, two pairs of pants, and two sets of mittens on; this turned out to be true!

skating skating

We had a grand time skating through the forest and it felt so magical and new to not be skating in a rink inside, but to instead be surrounded by tree covered with fresh snow. It felt very much like being in Narnia. Just as we were finishing up it started softly snowing! It really couldn’t have been a more picturesque day. As we were preparing to leave I started to feel the cold again, but the whole time we were skating I didn’t feel it at all.

skating skating skating

I loved starting the new year with this new activity. It embodied the sense of happiness and adventure that I hope this whole year holds. Skating and being in a forest was just so much fun. They had other activities too, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and hiking, but none of it even seemed closed to as fun as the skating! It was a perfect way to start 2018, and I already am looking forward to going again. What did you do to celebrate the new year?

11.16.17

Sleek and Shine City

It’s a changing time of year. Luckily I’ve got Garnier new Sleek and Shine to help convince my hair to act like it’s normal self!

The season’s changing, the landscape is changing, the weather is changing, schedule’s are changing, and my hair is changing its behavior! Every year around this time my hair decides to change it up and starts acting totally different than the way it behaves all summer. But I tried some new things and I’m feeling this Sleek and Shine line.

Sleek and shine

Part of the confusion for my hair is that we turn the heat on and the house suddenly gets a lot drier than normal. Not just any heat either, but wood stoves. Which are SO cozy and warm but also SUPER drying; we lose any humidity in the air inside! So to combat the changing climate I changed up my hair routine and started using Garnier Sleek and Shine!

Sleek and shine

I also started “rinsing and repeating” which I know almost every shampoo bottle says, but I finally started doing it and love the difference! I also started using a styling spray to prep my hair and between that and a double shampoo my hair is back to it’s bouncy, behaving self! Now I’ve got my hair back under control and just in time for all the holiday pictures.

Sleek and shine

The kind of pictures you take while decorating and gathering with friends! Speaking of decorating, we started decorating one of our trees a few days ago and it also happened to be the day that I finally mastered my new hair care routine! So naturally I decide it was the perfect moment to capture my hair behaving AND holiday decorating! Two of my favorite things!

I’m changing it up today and sharing a very special moment.

It was truly a whirlwind. The hour and a half appointment felt like 5 minutes and an eternity all at the same time.

I heard about Kintsugi several years ago. I love Kintsugi…and let me tell you why.

I did try my best to be stylish while we went skating on the becoming-famous Arrowhead Park skating trail! However, it’s hard to think of style at -25 celsius. Hence the hat, puffy coat, attractive snow pants, puffy mittens, and generally insulated look.

It’s a changing time of year. Luckily I’ve got Garnier new Sleek and Shine to help convince my hair to act like it’s normal self!

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