I have a confession to make — I am obsessed with Special K. No, not the cereal, but the other products they have released on the market.
I have never done the Special K challenge, but eating their products has become a daily regime for me. No, I am not being sponsored, compensated, or anything else for writing about them today, I’m just doing this post because I wanted to share my opinions on their products.
Credit: specialk.ca
It pretty much all started with their crisps bars, which come in a variety of different flavours (Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar, and Chocolate). I wanted to start cutting calories but I have a huge sweet tooth, so when I discovered these, and the fact that they are 100 calories for two crisps (one package), I was sold.
So I cut out cookies, but what about chips? I was browsing the aisles of Wal-Mart one day probably a year ago now, and discovered the Special K Cracker Chips, which were new in Canada. I bought a box of the sour cream and onion and have been hooked ever since. For the cracker chips, it’s 80 calories for 18 chips, which is a better and healthier ratio than standard potato chips.
Credit: Specialk.ca
My newest discoveries have been their Morning Shakes (known as the Special K Protein Shakes in the U.S. ), which come in a package of four, 190 calories in a bottle and 18 grams of protein, and their breakfast sandwiches (calories depend on the sandwich but the ones I get are less than 200 calories). Most days I have a shake in the morning which surprisingly tides me over until lunch.
For a snack, I’ll have some vanilla yogurt topped with their granola.
As you can see, Special K products (though not their cereal) have become my daily staples. Here is usually what my meal plans consist of during the week (weekends are a little more “fatty”).
Breakfast: Special K Morning Shake (come in chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry- I’ve tried chocolate and vanilla, both are great!), contains 10g of protein, 12 essential nutrients and 190 calories per serving.
Alternate breakfast option: Special K Morning Flatbread Sandwich, 170-240 calories depending on the flavour: Egg with Vegetables & Pepper Jack Cheese; Egg & Sausage; and Egg, Ham & Pepper Jack Cheese. These come frozen, two to a box (I wish they came as four to a box), and you microwave it for 90 seconds.
Lunch: Depends of the week. Some weeks I’ll have a salad, others I’ll have a wrap with turkey, hummus, and lettuce. I’ll have the Special K Cracker Chips as a side (I have to watch myself though, I can easily eat the whole box).
Snack: Special K Flavour Crisp (my faves right now the warm brown sugar or chocolate) accompanied by a Tassimo coffee or water. Sometimes I’ll skip the bar and just have a banana.
Dinner: Whatever’s on the menu at home.
Dessert: Vanilla yogurt topped with Special K Low-Fat Granola and blueberries.
As you can see my day is filled with Special K. I wasn’t contacted by Kellogg’s to do this post, I’m solely doing it because I love their products and I hope this can help others out there who are frustrated with their eating habits and are looking for some healthier, low-calorie options. By making the switch to these products I have found that I have been able to maintain my weight and even lose a few pounds (it’s the weekends and order-in pizza that kills me).
Anyways, if you want to try out their products now is definitely the time to do so! If you collect PIN codes on specialty marked boxes of some of their products and then enter them online at the Special K Canada site, you can get a free New Balance Lightning Dry Tank Top. I sent in my codes on the weekend so I’ll be expecting my tank in six to eight weeks. Last year they had a similar offer but for a yoga mat and I still use the mat (pictured in the above photos), it’s pretty good quality too. To get the PIN codes you have too look for the boxes that mention the offer. It also has to be certain combos of the products. For example, I used two packages of the crisps and then one of the granola. Check out their website for more information.
They can be quite expensive to buy, so always look for a sale (I find that Wal-Mart usually has the best prices, although Safeway often runs sales on the crisps, like four for $10, so $2.50 with the club card). I will usually buy at least two boxes of the cracker chips and crisps when I run out because I love them so much and go through them like water.
If you want to save some money on their Morning Shakes (which can be expensive if bought full price), new granola bars (I haven’t tried these yet), and the new flavours of their Cracker Chips, visit websaver.ca for your coupons.
Let me know if you love Special K products as much as I do!
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Old-Hollywood glamour is seems to be on trend this season as a few brands have been releasing products inspired by the era.
I received a sample of Lancome’s Hypnose Star mascara with Lancome’s Gift with Purchase at Sears Canada a month ago and thought I would give it a try since I ran out of my beloved YSL Faux Cils Shocking mascara. I have tried Lancome Hypnose and Hypnose Drama and have loved both of them, for some reason I have never been tempted to buy a full bottle even though they are some of the best mascaras I have ever used (these really turn up the volume). Hypnose Star is no different.
From Sephora:
This mascara dresses lashes in intense volume, unfolding a new vision of glamour inspired by Betty Boop and top model Daria Werbowy. The formula’s “black-diamond effect” imparts a glossy gel-like finish. The dual-action brush has a flat side for optimizing product deposit at the lash line while the rounded side separates, defines, and lengthens.
You may have seen the packaging for this mascara in store, it comes in a black tube, like it’s other Hypnose counterparts, however, it has glitter up the side which really makes it stand out. The marketing materials for this product also feature Betty Boop, as it’s inspired by the cartoon bombshell.
The wand is different from anything I have tried. It’s a triangular wand, so wider at the base and thins out as it gets to the top. It’s flat on two sides and then round on the other so you can really get in there and coat your lashes.
So does it work? Here are my results.
Here I am with no mascara and no curled lashes.
Here is one coat. Note that I curled my lashes on my left eye before applying the mascara. My right eye is just my natural lash with the mascara.
Here is two coats. My lashes on my right eye tend to hold mascara better for some reason, and again, this was the eye that I didn’t use an eyelash curler on.
As you can see from the photos, this mascara works. There is definite length, separation, and volume, all three things I look for in a mascara. Lancome releases a new Hypnose every year or so it seems like, and every time I try one of their new formulas they just keep getting better and better.
I will be using up my sample bottle until it’s dry and then I have a sample of Benefit’s They’re Real! to get through. Would I repurchase this? I might. I have been sampling a lot of mascaras recently and they all seem to impress me. I knew this would be great because it’s part of their Hypnose line, so if you are a fan of Lancome’s mascaras already, I would for sure give this one a try.
Have you tried Lancome Hypnose Star mascara? What were your thoughts?
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When it comes to false lashes, I love the look of them, but I get quite lazy in applying them. The ones I have were quite old so I figured it was time to upgrade. Now, being a Katy Perry fan (I love her makeup) I thought I would give her line of lashes by Eylure a try.
The collection consists of two parts, self-adhesive ones and ones that you glue on. I picked up two pairs of the regular ones, and one pair of the self adhesive (I actually didn’t realize they were self adhesive until after I bought them.
The lashes comes in a pretty big box that features her face and cute patterns. Each design has a different box.
The ones I picked up are:
Oh, Honey!, which is a full false lash with a wispy effect that is perfect to wear either day or night. This one, to me, is the most natural-looking one.
Cool Kitty, a glamourous full lash with manicured tips.
Darling, a self-adhesive lash that has a spiky effect to it, so it alternates between long and short.
There are two more in the regular line that I chose to skip out on – Sweetie Pie, which is a very natural-looking lash, and Oh, My!, which is the fullest and boldest of the bunch. This lash is two lashes layered, I believe.
Cool Kitty applied.
Oh, Honey! applied
Darling applied.
Although I like them all, my favourite from the three I tried was Oh, Honey! because I feel like they are the most natural looking and wispy.
All three come with a little booklet, and the two regular ones come with a sticker, as well as lash adhesive (which I haven’t tried). The self-adhesive one comes with an additional self-adhesive band. I did give the whole band thing a try and it was really sticky, however, I just wasn’t comfortable knowing that it could fall off after a long period of time, so I peeled the band off and just use them the old-fashioned way, with lash glue.
These are a bit pricey compared to the Ardell lashes. I got mine in the United States, where I bought two of them at Claire’s ($8.50 each, I got a buy one, get one half off promo), and the third one at Trade Secrets for $6.99. I believe they also sell them at Ulta. In Canada I was told they were at Shopper’s Drug Mart, however, when I asked, the sales lady said they got them in once and they sold out right away. I would check Claire’s in Canada if you are interested in them.
Although they are nice lashes, there isn’t really anything special about them. If you are a huge Katy Perry fan, then maybe stock up, but if you compare these to Ardell’s, there isn’t much of a difference, other than the price.
Have you tried the Katy Perry by Eylure lashes? What were your thoughts?
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