If you were to ask me what some of my favourite beauty brands are, CoverGirl would place high on that list.
Okay, so I’ll be honest, when I first started blogging, I always thought of CoverGirl to be more – and for a lack of a better word – “mom makeup”. I felt like the brand really was geared more towards mature women and was a staple brand if you want to start your makeup collection. Then, about a year or two into blogging, back when they were first owned by P&G Beauty, the brand, alongside other P&G brands, invited me to an event in Toronto for a new influencer program they were launching. This trip was my first-ever blogger trip and ever since then, the brand has become something much more to me than just makeup. Since that time, they have graciously flown me to Toronto for a few more events, they’ve given me concert tickets to former CoverGirl Pink’s concert in Winnipeg and tickets and a meet and greet to current CoverGirl Katy Perry’s concert a few years ago. Even last year, they invited me back to Toronto for the Canadian launch of their new rebrand and I was one of few bloggers from outside Toronto that they actually did this for. CoverGirl to me isn’t just a brand or a line of makeup products, it’s a friend. It’s a company that has helped me grow as a blogger and influencer and has graciously cheered me on every step of the way.
Anyways, so when I found out that they were opening their first flagship location here in New York City back in November 2018, it instantly made the list of things I just had to check out while I’m here in the city.
The CoverGirl flagship location is located at 719 7th Avenue, right in Time’s Square. The two-storey store features the whole line-up of CoverGirl products, as well as store-exclusive merchandise and Instagrammable installations. Truthfully, the store was pretty much everything I thought it would be and more. I’m quite familiar with CoverGirl’s products, but if you were interested in trying out a certain mascara, they have tons of testers and swatching spoolies that are geared to each individual mascara which is so cool and unique. They also have these computer stands where you can virtually try on makeup to see if a certain colour will look good on you.
My favourite part of the store was definitely the merchandise, which included everything from sports bras and yoga pants to hoodies, water bottles, phone cases, and more. In fact, it took pretty much everything in me to not buy one of each item. As for the makeup, I was told that every item that CoverGirl produces is available in the store, so there isn’t anything there that is exclusive to that location (makeup wise at least) but it makes it super easy to try everything on. Plus, they have every shade, which can be difficult to come across depending on the store you are at (for example, a lot of stores I have been to don’t have all 40 shades of TruBlend Matte Made).
The store also offers makeovers, which comes in handy if you’re wanting to try out a ton of products or if you want your makeup done before a Broadway show. I actually got my makeup done by one of their artists and she used some new products that were currently only available in the U.S. for now, so it was really neat to try out stuff that I couldn’t get my hands on back in Canada (like the CoverGirl Exhibitionist Liquid Glitter Shadows).
If you’re planning a trip to NYC, I would definitely make the CoverGirl store in Time’s Square a destination to check out. It’s in such a touristy location as well that it makes it really simple to pop in and play around. It’s been such a pleasure to watch the brand evolve over the years and come out with products that rival their luxury counterparts. Although it definitely appeals to a more younger generation right now, there are still so many products that work for every skin tone, no matter what age you are.
Just like how I have evolved over the years, so has CoverGirl. Gone are the days of “easy, breezy” and in are the moments of “I am what I makeup” because they have truly embodied their new saying. Whether it’s a new innovative product, an expanded shade range for every skintone, or an amazing new store which lets you get up close and personal with the brand.
Keep doing you, CoverGirl.
Have you been to the CoverGirl flagship store in NYC?
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Fake it ’til you make it, am I right?
Okay, so you guys know I love self tanner and without it I would be pale as a ghost pretty much all the time year round (I get a little tan in the summer, but I’m talking a minimal amount of colour).
Although self tanners have definitely evolved over the years in terms of scent, they still kind of have that musty self-tanner smell which can be kinda gross to inhale while you’re sleeping or carrying on your business during the day. I recently chatted about St. Tropez’s Purity Self Tanning products, and if you liked that scent then I’m sure you’ll love their new Marshmallow one as well.
Available in their Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, the Whipped Marshmallow scent leaves your body smelling sugary sweet and much more pleasant than their usual formula (although the OG version has definitely evolved over the years).
This special-edition formula comes in a kit with their tanning glove, allowing you to apply it flawlessly. Other than the candy shop smell (which includes moisturizing marshmallow extract), it’s pretty much the same as their 10-day tan, which is a lightweight mousse which tailors to your individual skin tone for a natural and healthy-looking tan that lasts for 10 days.
This self tanner will give you a medium golden tan which is totally buildable the more you apply it. It’s quick drying and fairly non-sticky (it is sticky when you apply it but after a while it does dry down). St. Tropez says you can shower after four to eight hours, but I like to usually apply it before bed and then rinse off in the morning for maximum results. The formula is vegan friendly and made with 100 per cent naturally derived tanning active.
Overall, if you love the original bronzing mouse then you’ll definitely like this one since it smells much better and is such a joy to apply. Definitely look out for it in drugstores and give it a try, you’ll be wanting to apply it s’more! (Totally lame, but I just had to!).
Do you use St. Tropez’s bronzing mousse?
Please note, products sent by PR. All opinions are my own.
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You guys know I work out a lot.
I’ll usually hit some sort of fitness class anywhere from three to seven times a week. With working out comes having my hair tied back and with tape-in extensions that can get a little difficult.
I’ve had my Philocaly Tape-In extensions since October 2018 and I absolutely love having hair extensions since it adds major volume and a little bit of length into my natural hair.The only annoying thing about tapes is that when you put your hair up they tend to show. At first I made more effort into hiding them, but when you work out as much as I do, all that effort goes out the window real fast and I just stopped caring. With that being said, I also couldn’t do certain hairstyles like wearing my hair half up.
Anyways, when I saw that my fave hair extensions brand, Philocaly Hair, came out with hand-tied extensions, I was instantly intrigued.
In case you aren’t familiar with Philocaly (you can read my original post here), they are a hair extension company based out of Saskatchewan that provides Russian single-donor remy hair. So why Russian compared to the usual Asian or Indian hair you ask? If you are caucasian like me, hair from a Russian person will be a better match for my natural hair texture compared to thicker, coarser hair like Asian or Indian. It’s also single donor, meaning that your set of hair will come from the same person, not a mix of people.
Anyways, when I got my hair done this past June I made the switch to their new hand-tied extensions to see what all the hype was about and to see if I would like them more than tapes.
Okay, so how the hand tieds work is you purchase a number of wefts, which is a row of hair that is sewn together at the top. The stylist then adds beads onto your natural hair that is connected by a string and then they sew the wefts of hair onto the beads.
I get my hair done at Fifth Hair Lounge & Beauty Bar in Winnipeg, who are actually certified in Philocaly Hair’s method (Amanda did my colour and Alison did my extensions). The brand sent over 12 wefts in total (they range in price from C$69 to C$82 and Fifth ended up using six of the wefts in my hair. The application process for the hand tieds is definitely more time consuming since there is more work involved, so be prepared to spend at least two hours in the chair for the application.
I have two rows in my hair, with two wefts on the bottom row and then four on the top. If you were to just look at where they were placed on my head though, one is near the nape of my neck and the second is about halfway up. We could have added a third row, but since my hair is pretty long to begin with, we thought that two rows would cut it. Plus, it’s nice that I can freely touch the top of my scalp and not get my hands tangled in the tape ins.
Okay, so now that I’ve had them in for a month it’s given me a pretty good idea of the wear of the extensions. These are more comfortable to wear (they did have that normal tightness when they were first installed, but nothing too different from the tapes) but I do find they are a little more high maintenance. Since it’s essentially held in by a string I’m very conscious when washing and styling the hair since I don’t want the thread to break. Also, compared to tapes, with the hand tieds, if they do break then you’ll have to go back to the salon, whereas if a tape fell out, I had the extra adhesives so I could stick it right back in.
I was told by the ladies at Fifth that these will last longer since typically for tapes the part that wears out is the tape part that holds the hair in. Since these are hand tied, they said that they could last years. They also mentioned that I could go longer before getting them moved up, up to even 12 weeks. I feel like that is a long time to go without moving them up, but only time will tell. For the tapes I would get them moved up every six to eight weeks.
One thing I do love about these though is they are more comfortable to wear and when you wear your hair up you wouldn’t even know I have extensions in. So which method do I prefer more? Hard to say. I love the hand tieds but I do feel like I need to be more careful and gentle, whereas with the tapes I didn’t have that issue. Overall though, I would go with the hand tieds since you purchase them by weft (make sure you go to your stylist for a consult!) and they are definitely more versatile and will last you longer overall.
Do you wear hair extensions? What method is your favourite?
Please note, products provided by PR. All opinions are my own.
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