Blemish Treatment That Works!

I must say I don't have acne prone skin and thankfully I never have. But once a month I'll always get a few pimples and always in the most visible spots...of course. As a teenager I've learned that piling on makeup just makes it worst.  On my quest to treat these little invaders, I've gone through countless "blemish" products, that either kind of work or just don't. Well, this pink little bottle of goodness does it's job and does it well! Indie Lee's Blemish Lotion is just perfect!

Why I love it: 

- With 8 ingredients it's 100% natural which is one of the most important things for me when it comes to skin care. (All the ingredients are basically natural antiseptics, some with drying properties and others have nourishing and repairing properties)

- It's an over night treatment that only take seconds to apply

- It reduces redness and inflammation

Disclaimer: This product does not get rid of pimples overnight...I don't believe any product does. But it DOES help the healing process and reduces the amount of days of having to deal with a visible and painful intruder. 

How to use it:

Make sure to let the bottle sit in an area that is doesn't get moved too much because the alcohol and pink paste are meant to separate. If it does end up mixing just wait for the product to settle. After it's separated dip a cotton swab into the sediment and apply on to affected areas. I like to do it overnight and let it do it's job, or you can let it sit for a few hours if your at home and then wash it off. 

"Where do I get it?!"

You can get it online at www.indielee.com OR I got mine at The Detox Market in Toronto which is where I discovered this wonderful skin care company!

Cosmania The Must Beauty Boutique to Visit in Amsterdam

During my amazing stay in wondrous Amsterdam, I was told by my housemate to visit her favourite beauty store Cosmania on a beautiful narrow street called Herenstraat filled with unique boutiques.
Following her advice I biked my way over to the Jordaan District(my favourite) where there is a new generation of occupants: artists, students and young entrepreneurs.

Entering Cosmania you automatically feel a sense of comfort, as you clearly see all the products displayed in a minimalistic and simplistic manner. Brands are separately displayed together on wooden selves with testers on the bottom. The front of the store mostly caters to hair and body products, then as you walk farther into the store it fazes into skin care and makeup. The modern feel of the boutique is accompanied by cool house music playing in the background.

A beautiful detail I love about this boutique is that because it caters to both women and men it has a unisex feel to it, so men, want to pick up something nice for yourself or your lady? Don't hesitate to head on in.

A little bit about Cosmania...

The creators of Cosmania, Marije Hoff and Marcel Dekker call themselves "self-confessed cosmaniacs".  A clearly charismatic team Marije and Marcel have a passion for foreign products, beauty, photography, design and fashion which is clearly displayed in their beautiful boutique.  Having years of big companies under their belt such as L' Oreal, Lancome, Biotherm and Oillily the two decided to embark on their own private cosmetic company that caters to both women and men that have a love for beautiful beauty brands. Starting out as an online store celebrating their 4th year, the boutique in Herenstraat has now been open for a year and a half.

I had the honour of meeting with one of the creators, Marcel. Speaking with Marcel was a pleasure as he told me about his and Marije's background and about combining their passions, fashion with cosmetics. As well as bringing international beauty brands to Dutch consumers with affordable pricing.

Myself with one of the founders Marcel

Cosmania carries beautiful, special and affordable international products that you can mostly only find in Cosmania. I love that their products have quality and integrity keeping with the brand's philosophy. With plans of expanding throughout Holland, Marcel gave me some very good tips about being an entrepreneur. Follow your passion, follow a business plan, REVISE the business plan and most importantly stay consistent!

This is defiantly a must visit store for all beauty lovers....

Here are a few of my favourite products from Cosmania:

Inglot Makeup

Korres Fig Body Butter

John Masters Organics Hair Products

If you are ever in Amsterdam, be sure to visit this wonderful store!

Beauty Monday: 5 Beauty Tools I......

 I actually got tagged on Instagram to to post about 5 Beauty Tools I... and thought this would make the perfect Beauty Monday post. As I haven't posted in a while (tons as happened/changed) so I'm getting back on track! Woohoo! Enjoy!

1. Beauty product I can't live without: Annabelle's Brow Pencil and Benefit's Gimme Brow are two product I can't live without! Brows frame your eye and help shape your face. They can make you look put together when your rushing out of the house or don't feel like doing much with your face that day. Early call times consist of shaping my brows with Annabelle's pencil and filling in with some Gimme Brow! 
2. Makeup item I will splurge on: This is more a beauty tool rather than makeup, I will splurge on brushes and I will splurge a lot. I believe that having the right tools makes all the difference with application, blending & execution. l admit I'm more of a brush addict that product addict, especially when it comes to my kit. 
3. Product(s) I travel with: To things I always toss in my purse & ALWAYS have with me wherever I go is my lip balm & Arbonne's Skin Conditioning Oil. My skin gets very dry during travel so having these two conditioning products for me is a must. Recently, popped into Kielh's and was curious to try  out their lip balm as I was running out. It has a lot of natural oils & vitamins , but the only thing I don't like is that the main ingredient is petrolatum (vaseline), for myself it does the trick but because of the petrolatum I wouldn't purchase it again. Arbonne's Skin Conditioning Oil is great cause it's tiny and goes a long way and doesn't leave your hands greasy but moisturized. Perfect for our dry Canadian winters!
4. Beauty Tool I Can't live without: I probably could but choose not too. After purchasing the Mini Beautyblenders for my kit I got my own. Just makes blending so much easier and faster underneath the eyes. So why not? And it's TINY barely takes up any space in your makeup bag!
5. Beauty product I normally don't buy: Would be bronzer....Seriously I don't, I always use it for my contour but somehow I always end up getting one from someone else or a freebie (YAY!) Also, because I only use it underneath my cheekbones it lasts me FOREVER! I do really like M.A.C's Bronzing Powder because even though it's undertone is orange, the pigmentation isn't as strong so it's real easy to get it looking like a shadow as opposed to an orange streak under your cheeks. *Less is more people*

Missing Your Summer Glow? No Problem!

Just wanted to shed some light on one of my daily essentials! I'm all about the glow, ESPECIALLY in the winter when our skin tends to loose it's lustre.

A little goes a long way with this Argan Oil base product. Squirt a droplet & distribute over to your three fingers, then tap away on your cheeckbones as a highlighter. Gold is usually best of olive/tan skin, but because this product is so sheer it perfectly blends into all skin colours. Not to mention, it also keeps your cheeks hydrated throughout the day! Josie Maran's Argan Illuminizer is perfect for easing into spring without feeling pale.

Post Gym Essentials

I'm the type of girl that loves to workout midday. Because of my freelance schedule that usually a possibility, if it isn't...then I get my butt into the gym in the evening. 

But anyways for those of you finding yourself choosing between the gym and something else because you know you will have to look good for it? After having these essentials in your gym bag, choose no more! Look fresh after the gym without carrying your whole makeup bag!

These are a few of my favourites. 

GOSH Fresh Up! Dry shampoo, spray it into your roots & bangs if you've got them. Run your fingers through your roots to make sure all the product is spread out. You'll notice your hair go back to it's original state of voluminous & no sign of grease to be found!

This next one I find to be a GENIUS, it's roll on perfume! I'm very picky with perfume senses, I don't like anything too sweet or strong. The one I'm currently carrying is Torry Burch's perfume. It's perfect and the packaging is pretty too!

All natural Bite Lush Lip Wipes are wipes I cannot live without! These beauties truly get your intense lip colour right off in just ONE swipe. I love wearing intense lip colours but obviously at the gym, it looks ridiculous and wiping with a dry Kleenex just leaves your lips in a stained mess. Then when your done at the gym and want to reapply your lip colour it'll look fresh again.

Last but not least is Arbonne's FC5 Mattifying Powder. Great after the gym because it soaks up oils and because it's light green (green cancels out red) it tones down your red face from all that running and lifting! ;)

This is what I carry with me to the gym and it keeps me looking and feeling fresh!

Nomadic Beauty