So outrageous! Sephora releases a Jem and the Holograms collection

Title

Sephora recently released a totally outrageous collection this past month.

In celebration of the movie revival of ’80s cartoon Jem and the Holograms, Sephora put out a four-piece limited-edition collection to coincide with the film. Jem and the Holograms was before my time (it ran from 1984 to 1988 – I was born in ’88 FYI…), but I’ve been familiar with the franchise since Holt Renfrew put out a LE doll a few years back.  Unlike the Sephora collection, which has been quite successful online (three of the four items are currently sold out), the live-action film bombed, making only $2 million at the box office, with a budget of $5 million (yikes!).

Anyways, unlike the film (which I didn’t see, but would have gone to see before it got pulled – oh hay Netflix…), this collection is quite the winner. As I mentioned, I’m not familiar with the series (my boyfriend is, he was super excited to see Jem and the Holograms stuff on my makeup counter), but this collection is top notch. From the packaging to the colours, Sephora nailed it on the head with this one.

Items Lip products

The collection consists of a 24-shade eyeshadow palette (C$49), consisting of nude and outrageous shades in matte, shimmer and glitter shades; a dual compact mirror (C$23), which always seem to sell quick at Sephora (remember the Disney collections?); a bright pink lipstick (C$20) reminiscent of the iconic ’80s pop look; and a five-shade liquid lip set (C$31) consisting of a bright pink, deep purple, nude, shimmery baby pink, and a garnet shade.

My favourite items are definitely the eyeshadow palette and lip set.  All the colours in the lip set are very opaque, except for the purple, which unfortunately was quite patchy.  Very disappointing since that was the colour I was looking forward to the most.

Lips swatches

As for the shadows, all the ones I tried went on great. For $49, this is a great value set to add to your collection, considering the vast array of shades and the formulation of the shadows. Plus, the black glitter and hot pink packaging makes this collection hard to resist (I’m such a sucker for cute packaging!).

Anyways, in honour of this truly outrageous collection, here’s a purple smoky look that will have you rocking out.

final 2 steps
1. Lay down an eyeshadow primer, then grabbing Mrs. Bailey, a shimmery orange, apply that to your crease lightly, acting as a transition shade.

2. With Shana (hey, almost like my name!), a deep purple glitter, and a flat brush, pack this on your lid area up to the crease.

3. Using a fluffy crease brush, work 1980’s, a shimmery purple, into your crease to blend everything out.

4. With Starlight, a matte white, apply this on your brow bone to highlight.

5. Curl your lashes and apply mascara. After, apply some falsies to add some drama to the lashes. I used Kiss EZ Lashes (love these!).

6. Using 1980’s again, work that along your lower lash line and then apply a nude liner to your waterline to open up the eye area. For the inner corner of your eye, apply a silver, such as Hologram (the silver beside Starlight). Apply some mascara to your bottom lashes to finish up.

7. To complete the face, apply your foundation (I used NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, Make Up For Ever 5-Color Camouflage kit for the concealer, the Smashbox Contour Kit for my contour and a berry blush from Tarte).

8. To finish the lips, I used Fashion and Fame liquid lipstick, the shimmery pink nude on top of foundation-covered lips.

Final 1

The great thing about these products is that there are so many shades in the collection. I’m a huge fan of hot pink lipstick, but I also love baby pinks.  I’m obsessed with nude eyeshadows, but I like to sport fun colours every now and then as well.  All of which is in this collection.

I’m not sure if this collection is still available in stores, but if you see the eyeshadow palette or lip set, grab them!

Have you picked up any items from the Jem and the Holograms from Sephora?

Please note, product sent by PR, all opinions are my own.

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Ready for an escape: A week with the 2016 Ford Explorer

Ford title

Almost a month ago I moved for the first time in my life.

I bought my condo two years ago, preconstruction. Since then, it’s been tons of waiting, lots of drive bys, and a whole ton of saving.  On October 26, 2015 I finally got the keys to my new place.  I know now what people mean when they say that moving is stressful.

Lots of packing, cleaning, throwing things out, buying stuff (well, that’s not stressful), coordinating…  the point is, it’s a lot. I was lucky that I got my movers paid for (courtesy of my condo company), however, there were some items that weren’t yet in for my moving date, like my dresser.

At the beginning of the month, I got the opportunity to test drive the brand-new 2016 Ford Explorer for a week. Not only did I have a huge car (something I’m not used to with my Honda Civic), but it also was perfect timing, since I had a few more bigger items to move, which my Civic isn’t large enough for. As luck would have it, dresser just so happened to come in that same week.

For those of you not familiar with the Ford Explorer, it’s a big car. In fact, it’s America’s best-selling SUV for 25 straight years.  And after driving the beast, I can see why.

The new 2016 Ford Explorer is filled with smart technology, an available 2.3-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine, and a high-end Platinum model, which combines the performance of the popular Explorer Sport with new levels of comfort and craftsmanship. I’m not sure which model I got to test drive, but it had all the bells and whistles of a higher-end car.

Front Back

The Ford Explorer was introduced in 1990 as a 1991 model and featured generous interior space, which it certainly still does. I can talk about all the fancy car things it includes, but since this is a lifestyle and beauty blog, I’ll get down to the things that really matter.

The Ford Explorer has a fabulous sound system. This model had satellite radio, so I was mostly jamming to Hits 1, but the Bluetooth system was top notch. You can also utilize the navigation, and my favourite feature of the entertainment screen (that’s what it’s called, right?) was the front camera.  My car has a back camera and a camera when you put on your right signals, but I’ve never experienced a front camera before (which detests left- and right-hand lane markings. In fact, a vibration in the steering wheel alerts the driver if the vehicle begins to drift out of the lane). The cameras also have washers, which if you live in Winnipeg, is a such a smart idea (I had to stop my car today to manually rub my camera screen cause I couldn’t see anything #firstworldproblems). Also, it seems safety is first of mind, since there was one instance where I got a little too close to the car in front of me and red lights started appearing on the windshield (super fancy!). It also makes a noise if you get too close to something (which I feel has been standard in some Ford vehicles for a while now). The car also features smart-charging USB ports located in the front and rear of the vehicle which are able to charge smart devices up to two times faster than conventional ports.

Another wow factor would be the active park assist with perpendicular park assist, park-out assist and semi-automatic parallel parking. I’ve always wanted to try this since I’ve been skeptical about it (and I’m a self-professed parallel parking pro) since this feature came out a few years back. My boyfriend and I tried it at the park and after a while of getting it to work, it finally kicked in, which was pretty cool (the steering wheel moves and the car prompts you to put the car in reverse or forward motion). It was working great, but then we noticed it detected perpendicular parking as opposed to parallel, so I shut it off. We tried doing it again, but it wouldn’t kick in.  Not a huge deal since I’m pretty good at parallel parking, but still a cool feature to have and try out.

Grill Woods

Now I saved the best feature for last.

Guys, it has a heated steering wheel.  A heated steering wheel. Not a huge deal to many, but when you’re driving and it’s -40 C outside, that heated steering is really going to make a difference.  Even in the brisk fall weather, hopping in the Explorer and having that warm steering wheel to wrap my hands around felt really nice.

Anyways, back to my original point with this point. The dresser.

My dresser luckily arrived the week I had the Explorer, and instead of paying the $85 delivery charge we opted to just pick up the thing since the car is so huge.  It has two rows of seats in the back, both of which can fold down making the back quite flat (certainly flat enough to fit a dresser comfortably – and I’m not talking about an IKEA set-it-up-yourself dresser; this thing came fully built). Since I had such a large car, I also went to my office to grab my faux Barcelona Chair from London Drugs to bring back to my condo. It was a breeze fitting that chair in there wholly; I didn’t even have to take it apart.

Overall, I loved my week with the Ford Explorer. I didn’t really try out a lot of the features, I mostly just drove it.  I also had a two-day business trip in Kelowna, and left the same time as my brother and mom who were going to LA. So instead of taking multiple cars or cabs, we packed everything in the Explorer and there was still TONS of room for the three of us and my boyfriend, who was the driver.

Chase Me and the dogs

You can find out more info about the 2016 Ford Explorer here.  Stop by your nearest Ford dealership and definitely take it for a test drive. Don’t forget to turn on that steering wheel heater too ;).

Have you tried the 2016 Ford Explorer?  What kind of car do you drive?

Also, don’t forget to enter my Aveda Institute giveaway!

Please note, I received no compensation for this post aside from the car for a week. All opinions are my own.

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Made here, worn here: Canada Goose opens second factory in Winnipeg

Title I still remember the first time I ever saw the Canada Goose logo.

It was probably 2010 or 2011 and I was in Montreal visiting one of my best friends who went to school there. Everywhere we went I saw this really cool logo that stuck out on the left arm of every jacket. They were everywhere. So after some asking around, I finally got to the bottom of it. They were Canada Goose jackets.  Not only were they so recognizable and eye-catching, but lo and behold, they were actually quite warm.  Actually, they’re known as the warmest jackets on the planet.

Fast-forward five years and I can still say that my Chilliwack parka (the bomber style) is still in amazing condition and gets me through the brutal Winnipeg winters, season after season.  In fact, the only good thing about -40C weather is the fact that I can don the thing when I go outside.  I’ve been a huge advocate for the coats since I bought mine and although they are pricey (the Chilliwack currently retails for C$645 – I paid less a little less than $400 for it so many years ago), they are well worth the money. As I tell people, everything else will be frozen except for what the jacket is covering. Wearing one is like being inside; you don’t get cold.

Since Winnipeg is affectionally known as “Winterpeg”, it’s a no-brainer that one of their factories is located here in the city (they also have two in Toronto, one of which opened last January). Canada Goose is known for being made in Canada.  They don’t outsource to other countries in order to keep the brand authentic. Although it makes for a higher retail price and a demand that far surpasses the supply (they’ve had a 4,000% increase over the past decade), it also provides authenticity to the whole product.

Workers Fur In boxes Percentage Sewing

I was invited yesterday to the official opening of their second Winnipeg factory (catch all the excitement still on Snapchat – apopofcolour), located on Mountain Avenue. In attendance was the Minister of Jobs and the Economy Kevin Chief and the CEO of Canada Goose, Dani Reiss, whose grandfather founded the company 58 years ago.

It was my first time ever being in a garment factory, and although Winnipeg is known for its garment industry, it’s usually something no one would really have access to unless you’re in the industry. There was a long row of workers working on next year’s Trillium parkas (their best seller), which takes three hours to make and 105 steps per jacket.

The world-class facility currently has 80 workers but Reiss hopes to double that by March, with a further goal of 364 people by the end of March 2017. The hiring is being done in partnership with the Manitoba Government, who help train the workers and develop their skills.  Minister Chief said that part of the success of Canada Goose is that once the workers are trained and staffed with the company, they typically stay with the company.

Cutting ribbon Signing Signed parka Signing parka

After the press conference was over and the ribbon was cut, Reiss, Chief, and the staff present at the factory all signed a red Trillium parka to commemorate the event. Us media were invited to walk around, snap photos, and chat with Reiss, who spoke very highly and passionately about Winnipeg (it’s only natural they would make the world’s warmest jackets in one of the coldest places in the nation).  We chatted about why their products are made here in Winnipeg (an historic main hub, and not to mention the support from the government has been phenomenal), but also what it means to him to have such a successful brand.

With Dani Reiss

“It feels great. We are one of few Canadian companies that export the brand. Not just the products, but the country of Canada itself,” said Reiss. “We are a 58-year-old company that in the past 15 years has made its mark.”

I would say so too.

Do you own a Canada Goose parka?

Please note, I did not receive any sort of compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Also, don’t forget to enter my Aveda giveaway! Win a cut, colours, makeup application and dry shampoo from the Aveda Institute.

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