When it comes to lipglosses, Buxom is the first brand that comes to mind.
I’ve been a fan of Buxom’s products for a while now and although their glosses are bomb, they powder products are also really fab (I’ve been using their bronzer from the Staycation Vibes collection a lot lately).
In case you aren’t familiar with Buxom, you can find it at various retailers, including Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora, and the price point is actually quite reasonable for a more higher-end brand.
I’ve always enjoyed their holiday releases, and this year is no different. The Buxom Glitz and Groove holiday collection is perfect for this season since it brings a lot of sparkle. You may not have a chance to wear that sparkly dress that you bought on sale during Black Friday, but you can easily incorporate some glitz into your makeup look.
Although there are numerous gloss sets this season (always a good idea, however, I will say that these tend to be on the stickier side, so they aren’t the most mask friendly), I really love the Make It a Double Xtrovert Mascara Kit (C$33). This kit comes with two of their full-size Xtrovert Mascara (one typically retails for C$28, so this is a steal).
The Xtrovert mascara is a volumizing and buildable mascara that has a pretty unique brush to give volume, lift, and length. The brush features an innovative X shape, which helps lashes get plump after one coat. The brush also has reservoirs that hold the optimal amount of product and won’t smudge or flake as you wear it.
This was my first time trying out their mascara and I was pleasantly surprised by how my lashes looked. I would say my lashes looked longer, darker, and thicker, which is basically all you need from a mascara.
Aside from the mascara set, there are a number of gloss kits available, which always make great gift ideas (especially for teens). The brand also sent over a couple shades from their new Babes Who Brunch Full-On Lip Plumping Lip Cream collection, which came out earlier this year as well.
This collection contains four new brunch-inspired shades in their iconic Full-On Lip Plumping range. These lip products tingle the lips, making them appear larger. They also have a pleasant minty scent to them, so I always feel like my breathe is fresh when I apply them.
Buxom sent over two of the four shades, Irish Coffee, a nude; and Frose, a baby pink, and both of these could not scream Shayna more (they are shades I gravitate to). They feature a cream finish with some major shine, which is something nice and different from my usual sparkly gloss.
I haven’t had a chance to fully dive into these and wear them a ton yet, but I love the shades and finish and I can’t wait for COVID to be done so I can start wearing lip products again and not have that feeling of them sticking to my mask.
I really love what Buxom has to offer this season, and like I said, if you are looking for something in the more low- to mid-range price point, then the brand has a ton to offer (plus the packaging is sparkly, so it totally ups the holiday factor!).
Will you be asking for anything from Buxom this holiday season?
Please note, products provided by PR. All opinions are my own.
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Okay, so this year has clearly been different from others.
A lot of things have changed since the beginning of the pandemic, and for many, their income has been dramatically decreased. When it comes to gifts, it’s the thought that counts definitely rings true, especially this year. You really don’t need to spend a gazillion dollars for a gift to make someone happy, especially since there are so many affordable options already out there.
The drugstore is a great place to start when shopping for the holidays, and whether it’s a small gift, the main gift, a stocking stuffer, of one of many gifts, there are so many affordable options available right now. Plus, since the beauty industry is huge right now, you can get so many amazing products and brands for under $20.
So if you are on the hunt for something affordable this season, don’t worry, I have you covered that in that department. Keep reading.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, bath and body is always a good idea as a gift since these are items that we all need and use.
First up is the Foamie – Shake Your Coconuts Sponge (C$18.25), which is a foaming loofah. It includes an integrated foaming cleanser that nourishes and cleans skin and can be used up to 30 times. Since this is a two-in-one product, you don’t need to use any additional soaps or body washes, making this product really fun and unique. This product is also available in other “flavours” and is a vegan formula.
For those who love taking baths, gift the Bubble T Melting Marble Oil Bath Pearls (C$12). These are similar to bath bombs, but instead when they are put into the tub the exterior melts away and infuses your water with tea-infused fragrance. These are really cute to gift to kids or teen since they are so fun and smell so nice. I have the Hibiscus & Acai Berry scent but they also come in Moroccan Mint Tea and Lemongrass & Green Tea.
You can never go wrong with a sheet mask and the 7th Heaven 24 Hour Hydration CBD-Infused sheet mask (C$4.99) is the perfect one to gift since it will help to relieve stressed-out skin.
This mask is a vegan bamboo sheet mask that is infused with a nourishing blend of vitamin E, CBD oil, and sweet almond oil to calm skin. I love the added CBD, which will help in relieving any stress your skin is experiencing.
For kids, they will love the Mika Foam Soap Spray (C$5.50), which is a fun body wash that comes in a foam format. Spray this in your hands, on a loofah, or just have fun with it in the tub with your kids. It features a mild and gentle formula and is available in a variety of different scents.
An item that is another staple are hair ties. One of my favourite hair ties are Invisibobble Slim (C$11), which is a coiled hair tie that doesn’t kink your hair. The Slim is the thinner version of their original ties and holds hair tightly, but comfortably.
I use these all the time, for working out, for sleeping, or for just getting my hair out of my face. These are available in seven different colours and come in a pack of three. They do stretch out with regular wear, however, if you put them in hot water they will shrink back to their original size.
Finally, the last item is one of my favourites this season.
If you are like me and have to take care of your facial hair weekly, then you’ll love the Finishing Touch Flawless (C$29.95). This facial razor looks like a lipstick, making it discreet, and opens up to a gold-plated head that gently removes hair. Just turn it on, sweep it across your face, and voila! No more hair. Best part is it really is painless and also features a light so you can see all the unwanted hair that has to go.
Of course this isn’t just for your face, you can use it anywhere. I have a razor that I got a few years ago that I use often and found this one quickly replaced it since it works so well. The head is also replaceable and removable (to get rid of all the hair in there) and you can get new brush heads through the Flawless site.
I love this product and I think it makes such a great gift (for those who need it; it could also be a really awkward gift hah!). I also really love the packaging since it’s so sleek (it comes in other colours as well), meaning that it’s not obvious you have a razor, whether its on your bathroom countertop or in your travel bag.
Of course, the drugstore also has so many other great gifts and typically the beauty brands also release some great sets at a wonderful price this time of the year as well. A lot of these items are available online, so if they interest you I would recommend that you order early so it gets here in time for the holidays.
Are any drugstore items on your wishlist or gift list this year?
Please note, products provided by PR. All opinions are my own.
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I get excited about a lot of beauty brands, but very rarely do I get really excited about brands I’ve never heard of before.
Since I live in a city with a large Indigenous population, learning about the different First Nations cultures and teachings has always been very interesting to me. Because of that, when I was first introduced to Cheekbone Beauty I wanted to know everything about it.
Cheekbone Beauty was started by Jennifer Harper in 2016, who currently lives in St. Catherines, Ontario. Not only is Cheekbone Beauty clean and sustainable, but they also donate 10 per cent of profit to the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (FNCFCS). There is so much to say about this brand and the formation of it, but I recommend you checking out their about me page to learn more about their founder, as well as more about what they stand for.
Anyways, as for the makeup itself, the brand is known for their various lip products, but they also have a wide range of different face items as well. Their items are high-quality, cruelty-free, and come in sustainable packaging. They also have cultural sustainability in their mandate, hiring Indigenous people and using Indigenous languages and training and development programs for their employees.
Anyways, I could go on and on about how fabulous Cheekbone Beauty is, but we are here to chat about their limited-edition Christi Belcourt Limited Edition Gift Box (C$125), which features three of their Sustain lipsticks in colours exclusive to this collection.
The lipsticks come housed in a box which features Belcourt’s The Painting is a Mirror, which aims to reflect to the viewer all the beauty that is within them. They chose this particular painting since Cheekbone’s mission is to help Indigenous youth feel seen and represented. Open up the box to reveal the three lipsticks which also feature the same painting on their packaging. There is Nuna, the perfect nude with taupe undertones; Makoc, an oxbow red; and Ooxor, a 90s-style brown. All three shades are named after land or earth in different Indigenous languages (there are over 7,000 different languages!).
These lipsticks are vegan and are free of any scents and essential oils. They are also made in small batches and poured by hand. The packaging features 85 per cent less plastic and is made from biodegradable paper (the brand also features a method on how to safely recycle the packaging on their site).
Now aside from the beautiful packaging, the lipstick shades themselves are also very stunning. I did find the formula to be on the drier side when applying them, but once the formula is warmed up by your lips, I did find them to melt on application. I absolutely love Nuna, the nude shade, which I really do find to be the most perfect nude shade since it’s not too light and not too dark. I also found that it stayed on very well (similar to a matte liquid lipstick) and it wasn’t sticky at all. I’ll definitely get the most use out of Nuna, but Makoc and Ooxor are also really stunning as well.
To top all this off, $5 from every purchase of this set goes to support Nimkii Aazhibikong, a year-round land-based language and traditional arts camp.
Each Cheekbone Beauty purchase also ships with a thank you card that you can plant to grow flowers, as well as a hot pink feather (or a vegan alternative), which you’re supposed to pass on to a person that has done something to earn your love and gratitude.
I think that this is such a wonderful gift for others or for yourself since I love everything about this set. It is on the pricier side (especially since a Sustain lipstick retails for C$32 each), but it’s such a beautiful message and I love the charity portion as well. In addition to all of this, their products are made in Canada, they are an Indigenous line, and are cruelty-free and vegan. What more could you possibly ask for? Oh yeah, good makeup, which these lipsticks definitely are (seriously, the shade Nuna is reason enough to pick this up).
You can find Cheekbone Beauty on their official site, but hoping that some major retailers discover them soon so they can be more widely recognized.
Have you tried anything from Cheekbone Beauty?
>Please note, products sent by PR. All opinions are my own.
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