Net-A-Porter Sale

Net-A-Porter is having an awesome sale with further reductions and new reductions and reductions on reductions! (Can you tell I'm salivating?)

I got the Rebecca Taylor Dotted Denim Jacket for 50% off. I wanted some other stuff but my size seems to be selling fast. Probably for the best.

::: Nathalie

Review: Pantene Pro-V Aerosol Hairspray for Medium/Thick Hairstyles

I really wanted to like this hairspray from Pantene Pro-V's new line, which is just under $5 on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart. It promises to lock out humidity, give you all day hold and add shine. Sadly, the only thing I really liked about it was the smell.

I curl my hair every morning and hairspray is essential to my every day routine. I styled my hair as I always do and applied this hairspray throughout my 'do. What I found is that it made strands of my hair HARD. When I first started using hairspray in high school, I thought having clumps of stiff hair was normal when using these kinds of products. After using so many kinds of hairspray from different brands, I find it's only inferior products that does that to your hair.

After an 11 hour work day Nathalie and I went to see Sex and the City 2, which was as disappointing as this hairspray. Lindy West's review is probably the most hilarious review I've ever read.

Back to the hairspray.

While observing myself in the theatre washroom, I noticed that my locks were looking lackluster. The curl has begun to droop and though it wasn't raining nor very humid, my hair looked a little frizzy. I asked Nathalie what she thought and she said that my hair looked mediocre at best.
Sorry Pantene, I really like your Shampoos and Conditioners, but your new hairspray is really a flop.

Turns out that if you're not satisfied with any of their new products, Pantene will refund the cost of your purchase and double it. That's pretty cool, so props to Pantene for good customer service.

Back to Ojon,
Diana

Beachy Waves

This one's for Steph. A picture of my 'beachy waves'.

Promise I'll post a video eventually, but in the meantime here are my suggestions on how to achieve a similar hairstyle.

• Get a really good curling iron. I've bought DOZENS of curling irons and if they're cheap, they won't hold the curl and you've just wasted more money. My suggestion is to save for a hardcore one. Mine's a Babyliss Pro Curling Iron. Honestly, I've had it for over a year and I feel stupid for not buying one sooner. It holds the curl so well.
• Use the curling iron upside down and wrap your hair around the iron instead of wrapping the iron around you hair.
• Hairspray is essential. The better is it, the longer your curls will last. I've mentioned Ojon's Tunu Hairspray on more than one occasion. I've tried a lot of hairsprays and a lot just don't cut it. This one does.
• Run your fingers through your style after applying the hairspray to make it look more natural.

That's it for now. Promise I'll post a vid soon.

Doing my part for better hair everywhere,

Diana

Review: Jonathan's Finish Hold Firm Hold Hairspray

People are constantly asking me how I do my hair. I really should take a picture to show you and I know this sounds like I'm bragging, but I've honestly mastered the look of 'beachy waves'. Promise I'll post a 'how to' vid on YouTube one of these days when I'm not so busy.

In the meantime, I gotta talk to you about Jonathan's Finish Hold Firm Hold Hairspray. I can't seem to find it on their website, which leads me to believe it's discontinued (WTF is up with my luck, seriously?!)

A few months ago, Nathalie got a few samples from the Jonathan line at Holts and she went on and on about how incredible their conditioner was. For almost a year I've been using Ojon Tunu Finishing Hairspray. Though I'm a huge fan of the product itself, I'm really upset that the last three bottles I've purchased have crapped out on me halfway through due to a faulty spray nozzle. I looked it up and apparently a lot of people have a similar problem. When I saw Jonathan's Finish Hold Firm Hold Hairspray for $5.99 at StyleSense, I couldn't pass it up (along with a pair of Juicy Couture aviators, but that's another story all together). First thing I noticed is that the product is vegan, which I know is a big deal to a lot of you and of course I give props to companies that take our animal buddies into consideration.

What I noticed immediately when I started to use it is that it doesn't have a super strong smell like most 'firm hold' hairsprays (Elnett, I'm looking at you). The scent is actually quite pleasant. Also, it gives off incredible shine. I like the fact that the amount of hold is buildable and doesn't make your hair rock hard immediately. It hasn't been humid recently, but I think this stuff will hold up to the humidity. Overall, a solid product. Now I've gotta go to all the StyleSense locations in the area to make sure that I have a few bottles on hand. At just under $6 a pop, you can't really go wrong. Now I kinda wish I didn't write this cause I want 'em all to myself.

Too tired for a witty sign-off,
Diana

Lady Gaga, Alejandro

Man, isn't Lady Gaga just intriguing?

Fragrance Follies

Damn Marc Jacobs and his limited edition splash fragrances. I've been wearing his summer scent Rain for just over a year now. It's so good that I've been stopped in stores and cornered in hallways asking what perfume I wear.

But no, Marc can't keep making it. He had to release it two years in a row to tease us and now he's moved onto apple, biscotti and pomegranate splashes. Nice try, they're just not as good. Never will be.

In effort to look for a new scent that I love as much, I picked up this Vacation in a Bottle set from Michael Kors. Get this, these 7ml rollerballs were on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart for $20! Each of the fragrances was inspired by a tropical locale: Fiji, Capri, Hawaii and Bermuda. So far, Bermuda's my fav! It's light, feminine yet kind of exotic. Thing is, they all smell good and I'm sure they'd be great layered as well. And guess what, they're limited edition too. WTF. I guess it's just me. It sucks, because they really do smell amazing. Don't hesitate to pick 'em up if you see them around.

Destined to smell mediocre,
Diana

Got my mind on a Mulberry and a Mulberry on my mind

I want a Mulberry bag so much it hurts. But right now, I really don't have $1K+ to spend on accessories. WAA! So you can imagine how much I freaked out when I found out that they're doing a collabo with Target! I wonder what they're going to do? If they're are going to make amazing, affordable accessories that will quell my deep rooted (and disturbing) desire to own one of these pieces or if they'll be super disappointing (please don't be!)

After reading about it, I promptly emailed Nathalie at work and told her to take vacation time on October 20th. Then she informed me that renewing our passports would be necessary to cross the border. Crap. Guess it's true when they say that the good stuff never comes easy.



Dreaming of English Leather (wow that sounds wrong),
Diana

Photo courtesy of the Purse Blog.

Classic: brown Gucci and Wayfarers

Friday afternoon I got off work early. Picked up the bff and drove to the Yorkville Anthro. Returned stuff. Went to Gap. Returned stuff. Stopped by Holts for the sale. Bored, bored, bored. Bought Ray-Ban's to go with the new Gucci. Never thought I'd be into Wayfarers or a classic brown leather handbag. Never say never.

::: Nathalie

Call In Sick, There's a Sale at Holts!

Looks like Holt's has gotten rid of their infamous 'Now or Never' Sales. Don't fret, cause it looks like you can still pick up cool, discounted stuff at their Designer Sale on now.

Sorry I've been AWOL. I got my wisdom teeth out last week and have been a vegetable since. Percocets ain't your friend, yo.

Back from a oxycotin haze,
Diana

Guide: Summer Skin Essentials

Nathalie's Summer Skin Care

Just because we love her personal style - here's Olivia Palermo and her pretty minimal makeup.

Summer is here and with it comes the sweaty melty face from wearing a little too much makeup in the hot weather. My solution is to keep it as light and minimal as possible.

A.M. Facial Care

After washing with Neutrogena's Facial Cleansing Bar, I prep my skin with Cucumber Herbal Alcohol Free Toner. Then I dab on Abyssine eye cream, which "diminishes the look of fatigue" and doubles as a wrinkle preventive. I give this a few seconds to absorb before applying Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturized with SPF 15 in medium. I've blogged about it before- this stuff is awesome! It's replaced my M.A.C foundation and I use it year round.

Summer Makeup

Like I said, keep it light and everything will be good. My olive skin is prone to dark under eye circles and some minor discoloration so I use YSL's Touche Éclate in #2 to even out the skin tone. This concealer is pricey at $50 but it stays in place and doesn't fade, which is nice. I set everything with Korres Multivitamin Oil-free Powder in MVP3. For sunny cheeks, I use Korres Monoi Oil Bronzing Powder in Sunglow Light, which is the best bronzer I've tried. It gives a nice colour, not too orange, not too brown and stays on for hours. After applying L'Oréal's Original Voluminous mascara in Black, I curl the lashes with M.A.C's eyelash curler. Finally I finish with a tinted moisturized lip by using either Korres Lip Butters or Kiehl's Lip Gloss. When I don't care for the tinted mouth, I prefer the original Rosebud Salve.

P.M. Facial Care

Wash and tone as usual. At night I prefer Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. Then I follow with a light moisturizer - Neutrogena's Oil-Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin. I like it since it's light and doesn't have unnecessary fragrances. When my skin is feeling particularly oily, I'll use Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Masque, which nicely gets rid of the slick-fest.

::: Nathalie