Five things that I wish I knew about Lash extensions

I know I'm totally getting annoying talking about my lash extension experience.... But I really miss them! Currently.. saving money is the goal. So things will have to be sacrificed. There is a lot that I wish I knew before I became so addicted.

Sally Hansen Beautifier Collection by Complete Salon Manicure

My next few posts are REALLY going to have a self-care theme. Mostly because I've been severally lacking. I know.. I know! I totally need to do better but with daylight saving time here. I see more opportunity to do better.... Starting with my nails!

Thankfully I have the Sally Hansen Beautifier Collection by 

Complete Salon Manicure ($7.97 CAN) collection to get me started.

GUEST POST: Three Gym routines that you should start doing in 2018

Get it right and get it tight! 2018 is your year to step up your fitness game. If you're new to the gym, or if you're an avid gym attendee check out my 3 suggested gym routines you should start doing in 2018! For more fitness routines and for some fitness motivation be sure to follow my instagram account @simplyeseeri. Now let's workout!

Maybelline- Total Temptation Makeup Collection + PICS

As I state almost every day(tears), I have given up wearing lash extensions until 2019. I’ve pretty much been wearing them straight on and off since the middle of 2015 (when I got married). 

I’m not gonna lie I miss how easy and effortless it was getting ready in the morning or having to attend an event was. I hardly had to do anything. I'd fix my brows, eyeliner, find good lip colour and I was set. But personally.... it all comes down to having to spend quite a few dollars a month. Which ends up being $1000+. I could go on a vacation with all that cash! 

Anyways back to the point, I have been on the hunt for a good mascara for a while! One brand that always is on top of the drugstore lash game is ALWAYS Maybelline. If I’ve ever been in bind "lash wise" I was always able to go to Shopper's Drug Mart -find a Maybelline mascara that works. 

Today's mascara of the day is from their Total Temptation Collection-Total Temptation Mascara ($7.96 CAN Walmart). First off !!!! Let me say this brush is REALLY really nice! I know for a while we could not get away from seeing plastic bristles on every mascara wand. Which I’m still a fan of but nothing beats a good old-fashioned bristles.

NYX liquid suede Brown girl friendly swatches

As a woman of colour, finding a good nude used to be the biggest hassle. People would either give me a colour that was extremely light or unflattering for my skin tone. Or I would get a colour that is too dark and did not complement me. One brand which has been making awesome browns lip colours for all skin tones is NYX. Plus you can find it at your local drugstore! You do not have to make a special online order or wait till IMATS to get what you want anymore. All you have to do is hit up Shoppers Drug Mart to test out some samples or find great Canadian beauty blog (like myself) which for the swatches and names that you should look out for.

BITE BEAUTY Agave three-step lip regimen

I’m putting it ALL out there.... this is the driest winter EVER! I literally have a humidifier going off 24/7 but I’m still having some lip issues. When I practice "good" lip care, honestly everything is perfect. But when I’m having an off day-everything goes LEFT.
But finally I have three products that do the job!

You always have to ask yourself what’s your main goal with EVERY beauty product. Mine is kissable and presentable lips. Okay forget kissable.... Presentable is key right now! I want to be able to wear my matte liquid lipsticks without any peeling! I want to be able to carry on a conversation without wondering if the person is staring at my lips! I know not alone out here! I’m so happy that I had opportunity to try out some extremely popular products from Bite Beauty. I actually shared the products on Instagram and had a reader tell me that she’s been trying to get her hands on all three products for a while but it’s always sold out at Sephora.

Let me show you all the three-step series that currently keeping my lips hydrated!

Blogger Basics: Three Quick Basic SEO Checklist Questions

I hope that you guys are loving my blogger basics posts. I think that I'm going to start doing them every two months. I got a really good response to the first one: Three basic video/photography tips that you should know. On Instagram, I asked what should be the next topic. One topic that kept on coming up was SEO. It's probably one of the most valuable tools that MOST bloggers don't use.

Guest Post: Aura Mugler Eau De Parfum

Last month, I attended the latest fragrance launch by the Mugler brand called Aura Mugler. The event space was transformed into a serene forest escape. There were stations setup throughout the venue that invited attendees to try out Aura Mugler, it's associated products, have faux tattoos of the bottle applied and even have your makeup touched up! It was a great event that allowed attendees to immerse themselves into the scent.

Smashbox Bawse Deep Red: Always on Liquid Lipstick & Swatch

This statement is going to be weird to some people... but as a woman of colour I was very afraid of red lipsticks. I remember when I was experimenting and my mom used to tell me that those were not her favourite colours on me. If I listened to her I would’ve probably stopped wearing them but you know my social media family out there always told me that it looked great!
So I continued to try more colours.

Let me start off by saying liquid lipsticks over traditional lipsticks any day. This was my first time trying anything from Smashbox in a while (like 2010).

So I was excited to try out the Always on liquid lipstick in Bawse ($28.00 CAN) ** (which I received in a goodie bag from a blog event in 2017).

Fashion: Seasonal Transition Pieces

I hope that you guys of all recovered from the holiday madness. I’m trying my best to get better from a cold (sad face). I have a question for you! How do you transition your clothes to be workable for all seasons? For example, you’re not going to wear a skirt in -40 below weather... Yes that was actually the weather here two weeks ago. Canadian problems!

Here are four key pieces everyone should have in their closet

Long Kimono Dusters

These are literally something that I wear 24/7- 365 days. They’re comfortable and can be found almost anywhere. You can get them in a variety of sleeve types! I have no sleeves, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves and of course long sleeved. You can easily dress it up by wearing your favourite little black dress or even a one-piece jumper. Appropriate for all seasons! Check out Nordstrom for some unique pattern pieces like this one.

My Spiced Life Contributor: Eseeri

It's 2018, time for a new contributor on the blog. I love having contributors because:

 -It exposes you all to new people. 

-Helps me share more content.

- Fun to see a new prospective!

Eseeri is a Canadian beauty and lifestyle blogger. She's been blogging for a few years about all things related to beauty, health and fitness, and travel. Her passion for developing lifestyle content stems from her drive of being the best version of herself and she encourages her readers to do the same by sharing helpful tips on travel, and healthy lifestyle habits. 

In her downtime she loves traveling, reading inspirational books, connecting with friends, scouring social media for inspiration, recording YouTube videos and of course shopping!

MySpicedLife: Best of 2017 Beauty

I truly cannot believe how quickly 2017 has come and gone.
I’m not sure if it was the best year beauty wise but I did find some gems along the way.
Please let me know if you have tried any of these products below!

All of these products deserve the "MySpicedLife: Best of 2017" stamp of approval. 

High End Skin Care: Is It Worth the Splurge?

“Good” skin comes at a cost – no surprises there. Skincare is one of those things where we have so many options and hacks to help get us to that flawless face. At the same time, it can also get confusing when trying to figure out what is worth the splurge.

The general consensus is that for the following items (providing you have no major skin care concerns), you can scale back and save on as they contain the same basic ingredients that will still get you the results you need:
 Cleansers
 Toners
 Day moisturizers with SPF
 Lip balms
 Eye creams

When it comes to serums, night creams and face masks, we should expect to spend a few more dollars as these products are meant to penetrate deeper into the skin and are packed with highly concentrated ingredients that target your skincare concerns right at the source. I decided to put this to the test with a few pricey products. Although I am a skincare fanatic, I was skeptical on whether these products would be worth the spend.

Let’s find out!

Protect Your Blog + Be Stay Cyber safe on your social media accounts

On this day in 2014, I woke up to write and discovered my blog was gone! A bit of a back story, someone tried to hack my blogger account. So as a precaution, blogger put my account on hold. I had to jump through hoops to get it back... That day I vowed to upgrade my passwords and become more conscious what I post online.

There are 4 tips to keep you cyber safe as an influencer.

Holiday: Gift sharing + Stocking stuffers for you and others

One of the best things about Holiday makeup?? 

You get to sample a little bit of everything. 

Which is good but what if you find a great set that doesn't have everything you want. 

My solution...

Go halvies with someone & share the love. 

Yes.. Halvies is totally a real word. I have a great example in packaging sometimes there is like 12 lipstick shades and only six of them will work for me which means of the other six won’t. I can either regift them as stocking stuffers or since I won’t have seas with someone we can totally spell split up the colours that work for me and the colours that work for her so that everybody’s a winner. 

Quo Liquid Lipstick Bar ($20) can be found at Shopper's Drug Mart.

Is Double Cleansing for you?

After a good girls night or a fun date night to muster up the energy to take off your make up is non-existent. In my younger days, I do remember nights not taking off my make up. Please don’t judge me! Thankfully, I had amazing skin that time so it did not impact me.

There are many ways to fully get your make up off which unfortunately do take up time... but honestly it’s worth it. One thing, I will never give up on is make up wipes. But I'm going to be honest, that there are some wipes that do not fully do the job in one wipe. Those CHEAP ones that are ALWAYS on SALE! Stay away from them. Most of the time, those cheaper wipes only get off the first layer of make up. What about your sunscreen, primer, moisturizer or serum? There is still residue left over. Don't leave me- wet a rag and wipe your face.

So here is where double cleansing comes into play...