Love, Life & Beauty After Fifty

I was one of the lucky ladies chosen to review the new Nude by Nature line here in Canada through Chick Advisor Included in my package were: 1) Nude by Nature Radiant Loose Powder Foundation 2) Nude by Nature Perfecting Primer 3) Nude by Nature Mineral Brush #11 Let's get down to the review: 1) Nude by Nature Radiant Loose Powder Foundation I have previously used powder mineral foundations and was excited to try the Nude by Nature one. The powder comes in a nice clear tub with an interesting mesh sifter. It was hard to pick a color without actually seeing the powders in person but the color I chose matched my skin tone closely enough. That's where the good ends. My main priorities for a mineral powder makeup is that gives my skin a healthy look and they do not look cakey. Unfortunately this one failed. Nude by Nature made my mature skin look really bad, it seemed to accentuate lines and wrinkles I did not know that I had. I looked like I aged a few years i...

I love my Beauty Blender ... I really do ... It is my preferred method of applying foundation or BB Creams. Enter the L'Oreal Blend Artist Infallible Foundation Blender - which I saw in the beauty section at WalMart.  It was half the price 😮 I was intrigued so I decided to buy it and give it a whirl. The next morning, I excitedly opened the package.  The sponge was, dare I say, even softer than my beloved Beauty Blender.   I ran the sponge under the faucet.  First thing I noticed is that it soaked up a lot more water (and I do mean a lot more) than the Beauty Blender.   After squeezing out as much water as I could, I went to work applying my BB Cream.  I must say, it applied the BB Cream wonderfully - and the sponge felt oh so soft on my skin. For the next week, I put aside my Beauty Blender and used the L'Oreal sponge exclusively.   Pros: - about 1/2 the price of the Beauty Blender - incredibly soft on the...

I ordered this online from Sephora and when the package arrived, I was a bit shocked at the small size of the packaging. For $10 CDN I was expecting something larger - the package was smaller than my hand 😕 Saying that, I do like how the mask is packaged. It was very easy to open and squeeze out, and because of the screw on cap, it seals back up nicely. I love masks, but hate having to dig into a jar to get out the mask.  The resealable packaging is really smart and the nozzle makes it perfect to get out the right amount As for the mask itself, it had a nice, pleasant scent, was non-irritating and didn't dry my skin out. The one I chose was the detoxifying and oxygenating as my skin had been a bit congested over the last couple of weeks. I applied the mask by squeezing a bit onto a flat foundation brush which worked well to spread the mask on my face. I let it sit for 15 minutes, then removed it with warm water. It removed quite easily and my skin felt great after. It doesn...

Save your money ... I purchased the new Veet Sensitive Precision Styler in hopes of taming my unruly brows.  I first tried trimming my brows and while it did do a good job of trimming them, when it came time to shape the brows, it really was useless as the blade (even as small as it is) doesn't work well on curved areas.  Major fail ... Sadly I ended up just plucking as I usually do. I did try the larger blade side on my baby fine facial hairs, as well as my upper lip and it did work well for those areas, but you can easily shave your face with a plain razor, so save your money. Would I recommend the Veet Sensitive Precision Styler? If all you are looking for is something to shave your face - minus shaping your brows - then it does well for that task, but as I said earlier, save your money and just use a regular razor.  It definitely does not work for shaping your brows, but does work for trimming - something else you can do with an eyebrow comb and a pair of s...

A few months ago, I looked in the mirror and saw some grandmotherly-looking woman looking back at me. Yikes! Where did she come from? I realized that it was probably too late, but I decided I wouldn't go down without a fight. I wanted a good Retinol Serum for my sensitive, post-menopausal skin that is also prone to breakouts and after doing much research online, I came across Paula's Choice Resist Intensive Wrinkle Repair Retinol Serum and thought I'd give it a try. The serum feels greasy going on, but when combined with a good moisturizer, it does eventually soak into the skin.  Because I have sensitive skin, I have only been using this once a week at night.   And because I've only been using it once a week, I haven't really noticed my dark spots or wrinkles disappearing, but my skin does seem to feel and look better a few days after using the serum.   I will be increasing my use of this serum to every other evening to see if more frequent use will help...

I have been using the Arbonne RE9 line for a while now and absolutely love this cleanser. It is on the pricey side, but you only use a pea size amount to clean your entire face. I should mention that I rarely wear a full face of make-up so a bottle lasts me a couple months using just at night. According to the Arbonne website, youthful-looking skin starts with clean skin. This pearlescent crème formula creates a light foam to gently wash away makeup and impurities. With an added plant-derived moisturizer, you can bet on starting your day with a refreshed, hydrated canvas. The formula contains a few interesting ingredients, such as plant extracts and vitamins that can be beneficial as anti-irritants for the skin. The scent of this cleanser is a lovely citrus and it cleanses my skin nicely and leaves my skin feeling so soft and hydrated after use. Would I recommend Arbonne's RE9 Advanced Regenerating Toner? I really like this cleanser.  Yes it is a bit on...

I was never one to use toners in my daily skincare routine, however, when I started using the Arbonne RE9 line, I thought I'd give it a try. According to the Arbonne website, a quick misting of this antioxidant-rich, pH-balanced toner refreshes skin and prepares it for the next step — firming and lifting skin’s appearance. Arbonne's instructions say to spray directly on the face, but to me, this seems a bit odd as with most toners you are to pour them onto a cotton pad and wipe your face. After trying the spray thing (which didn't work for me), I started spraying it onto a cotton pad and wiping my face which seemed to go much better. The toner has a fruity, but also slightly chemical scent, but it is still quite pleasant and does disappear almost instantly once absorbed into the skin. It removes any leftover make-up that the Arbonne cleanser didn't. Would I recommend Arbonne's RE9 Advanced Regenerating Toner? Overall I think it isn't hurting my skin....

I have been eyeing the Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics palette for some time and finally decided to bite the bullet and pick one up. The palette contains 12 matte eyeshadows in a variety of cool and warm neutral shades. I've always liked Urban Decay eyeshadows and I did like the color range provided in this palette. Upon application, they are well pigmented, however I found the lighter shades to be a bit chalky while the other shades didn’t give me that problem.  As for longevity,I found the shadows lasted all day and didn't seem to fade or turn muddy (yay).   Would I recommend the UD Naked Ultimate Basics Palette? Overall I think this is a pretty good matte palette for those of us who either don't want to, or can't wear shimmery eyeshadow shades.  While the majority of the shades have great pigment, my only wish is for the lighter shades to be a bit less chalky. My rating :  3.5 out of 5 * This is not a sponsored blog. All opinions are genuine...

What is it? FabFitFun is a seasonal lifestyle, wellness, fitness and fashion subscription box. 4x a year you will be sent a seasonal box. Each box is limited edition and contains $200+ (US) in retail value. Boxes are shipped in March, June, September, and December. What is included? All of the boxes contain 7-10 full sized items worth $200+, Members are able to choose add-ons from some of the most-loved products from past boxes and some new things that can be included with your box order (discounted up to 70% off!). You have to be a FabFitFun member in order to select add-ons, and they are only available for a limited time prior to billing. As an annual subscriber, you will have the opportunity to customize your FabFitFun box before it ships. You will be able to personalize certain items in the box such as what color of a certain item you'd like to receive based on the options that season. Annual Members also enjoy early shipping. This means boxes are shipped within 7-10 bu...

This foundation has gotten a lot of buzz on social media and I finally broke down to try it out to see what the hype was all about, and see if it truly is a very natural medium to full coverage foundation. The idea behind this foundation is your skin is supposed to look perfect, like you were born that way. I picked this up in Ivory which online was indicated as fair with neutral-to-golden undertones.  This is an oil free foundation infused with coconut water and there are 18 shades to choose from. After prepping and priming my face as usual, I dotted the foundation on my face and used my beauty blender sponge to blend the foundation onto my skin.  The first thing I noticed was that the Ivory (which is my normal color) was a bit too yellow for my skin tone and a little of this foundation goes a long way.  It was easy to blend and did look more natural than other foundations I have tried. I did have to powder the foundation (I used my Two Faced Primed and Porele...

In January of this year (2017), Chick Advisor launched a new premium membership which offered some additional perks for members who subscribed over the free Chick Advisor membership. For a one-time fee ($60 CDN), Premium members receive over $190 worth of beauty products plus a cute custom ChickAdvisor makeup bag, exclusive perks and from time to time, online offers from Canadian e-retailers. I subscribed on the 17th of March and waited patiently for my welcome bag to ship at the end of March.  Sadly by the end of April I still had not received it so sent off a quick message to Chick Advisor support.  Within a few days I received a reply from Jennifer Andrews who is the campaign manager for Chick Advisor, to let me know the packages were late going out but I should receive it soon as they were waiting for extra goodies to be included in the boxes. I was so very excited when I went to the mailbox on Wednesdat (May 3) and discovered my Welcome package/bag had arrived....

I've been using these wipes for a few months now and can say I am absolutely in love with the product. These Cleansing Cloths are said to deep clean, provide essential hydration, and illuminate the complexion in one easy step. Each quilted cloth instantly sweeps away dirt, oil, and makeup, purifying pores and delivering natural radiance. The uplifting citrus scent invigorates skin and brightens the spirits and instantly, the complexion is fresh and moisturized with a healthy-looking Ole Glow™. First thing I noticed is definitely aren't makeup removing wipes.  They do remove some makeup but do not remove all makeup. Instead, I use these every morning to wake up and cleanse my skin. They don't irritate either my sensitive skin or my eyes and after a few weeks of use, I've actually noticed my dark spots are fading. With vitamin c and jojoba seed oil, they make my skin feel lovely, and they smell delicious - like an orange creamsicle! There is truly something fabul...