Dior Rouge Dior for Fall - Nouvelle Femme, Continental and Unique*

Being able to see the full range of colors that come out during a seasonal line gives me an inside looking into how brand's make color choice. For Fall, Dior has launched some new shades in their Rouge Dior* ($42CDN, 0.12oz) line and Nouvelle Femme, Continental and Unique is such a nice, though safe, capsule of Fall shades.

Testing Out Luxury Hair Products (ft Shu Uemura Art of Hair*)

I'm not always convinced that luxury items are necessarily worth it and I'm not convinced that using oils in my hair is always a good idea. When I've used some hair products with oils, my hair is weighed down and greasy by the end of the day and adding on a luxury price...well, that seems like a risk to me. But testing out some of Shu Uemura Art of Hair products (Cleansing Oil Shampoo - Gentle Radiance Cleanser, Ample Anora Volumizing Light Foam, Essence Absolue Nourishing Oil-in Cream)* has shown me that oils can be done right and that oh man...luxury hair products can be so nice.

PSA: The Only Empties that Matter

I'm not saying that other empties don't matter, but the glory derived from the emptied bottles of shampoo, body lotion and cleanser pales in comparison to the unicorn magic glow that comes from finishing a makeup product. There is a still a special place in my heart that will rah-rah for you, as you make your way through everyday products but I think we can all agree, that the largest collective cheer (alongside gasps of admiration) come when we witness a finished lipstick or a finished eyeshadow.

Getting David used to Color

*Press Samples

Have you seen that Fall burgundy eye/cheek/lip look circulating around the internets? Something like this or this. I'm really loving that look and its purple, black and other dark color varieties. I also have been loving the latest lip products coming out from Estee Lauder and when I saw their matte collection, I had to try them, especially since the lipstick colors was so curated around Fall shades, to the dismay of David.

The Best Swatches...

The best swatch photos are perfectly clear, evenly lit, accurately depicted and labelled. Arm swatches should be thick and tidy.Full face in context photos should be provided. Full face swatch photos also are perfectly clear, evenly lit, and accurately depicted and labelled. The best swatch photos are hard to do.

Moving Up in the World (Ft Sally Hansen Rags to Riches Polish)

Seeing the Fall 2015 Complete Salon Manicure Sally Hansen's Rags to Riches* ($9.50CDN) dry down to this vampy wine shade made me think about how people move up in the world.

1) luck

2) tenacity and sheer force of will

Sometimes, in either situation, there may be some dead bodies involved.

The Jury on Aromatherapy

*Press Sample

Have I already mentioned that I've been a little bit more stressed than usual lately? Sometimes I dislike stating that I'm 'stressed' because that word comes so easily and I fear misuse or overuse of it. Regardless, lately I've been a little more tense than usual with the moving and the purging and the job hunting etc that I've attempting different methods of relaxation. Add that onto the need to purge some of my bath products and that has meant a bit more baths than normal in the ABZ household.

Self Medicating my Heels

For a time, let's called it Summer, there was an excessive amount of public sandal wearing and during the season, I saw more than a few gross and dirty soles walking down the streets over top leather footbeds. Unfortunately, my own heels were as dry, gross, and skin cracked as the next gal and in my best attempts to self medicate my transgressions, I've been using two heel solutions lately.

Starting a New Skin Routine

*Press Sample

I didn't want to take back a whole regime of half empty skin care bottles so I recycled what remained of my more than half used products in Toronto and started a completely new regime when I came back. It was about time I dove into these Vichy products since they've been sitting here for months!

Dior Fluid Eyeshadows*

*Press Sample

Trying new things can be frightening or exhilarating. For example, when David taught me how to ride a bike (that one time) both him and I didn't realize how afraid I actually was about learning. Every time I got on and pedalled, I maintained a pained grimaced face while emitting a panicked low whine until the bike stopped. Trying to turn was also a traumatic experience.  Half my brain was scared to the point of paralysis while the other half was very excited I could turn. All the while, I was verbalizing "keep pedalling, keep pedalling!!!! Don't stop, don't stop!!!" and started softly crying when I completed my first circle around the gravelled area we were on. I am possibly the noisiest biker learner in history.

The Big Purge

Coming back home was a forced opportunity to go through all the belongings in my 28 years of living and to start giving most away. After reading that Magic Tidying Up book, I put some of the principles into action with my clothes, books, personal memorabilia and finally makeup. 

Washing my Face Incorrectly

I've been washing my own face for probably a good two decades now and I'm pretty sure I'm a pro-league face washer but I was struck recently by the fact that I might have been doing it wrong all this time. 

When I Receive a Package I... (ft Mark Cosmetics)

*Press sample

...want to dive right in. A lot of bloggers will resist and wait until photos are taken but when I receive more than a few things in one package, my immediate impulse is to swatch all the things. 

I dividePR packages into two categories: the companies that 'auto' send the latest of the season, and the companies where I am allowed to choose one or two items to be delivered. Either way I'm fortune to have these relationship but when I receive an 'auto' delivered package I want to touch and feel and try everything all at once because there are so many to play with. The most recent package from Avon came with a number of Mark cosmetic items and I was quite pleased with a number of the releases.

A Time and Place for Salt

*Press sample

Some chef's say you should season between every step of cooking while others may only season near the end. More often that not, salt is the seasoning of choice and I have on hand table and sea and am not afraid to brine, crust, or just slightly top an ingredient in salt. But I have learned the hard way, that there is a place and time for salt.

Banana Avocado Chocolate Pudding

In an effort to make "at least its' better than" type desserts (the concept of a "healthy dessert" is a bit of lie in my opinion), I stumbled across the concept of the Banana Avocado Chocolate Pudding. The addition of avocado into a pudding made me curious and I had the ingredients on hand so I quickly whipped this up in 5 minutes.