This is a little late in the writing, but a couple of weeks ago I was invited to a special beauty blogger event for CoverFX, a Canadian cosmetics company.

After snacking on some delicious appetizers and mini cupcakes, the creators of the brand took us through a bit of the company history and a demonstration of the product line.

In case you didn’t know, CoverFX was founded at Sunnybrook Hospital here in Ontario 25 years ago to help people with skin conditions (vitiligo, port wine stains, birthmarks, scars, rosacea, etc.). It was a line of clinical-grade foundations and powders that could cover almost anything and could be used anywhere on the body with great lasting coverage.

For someone like me with rosacea and acne to cover up, this product was actually recommended to me many years ago by my doctor. It goes on thick and covers up the redness and blemishes while nourishing the skin. It is sweat-proof, water resistant, and many of the formulas contain SPF as well.

At the event we were shown their newest product innovation, The Big Cover Up 3-step starter kit.

After we figured out which colour category we fell into (I’m C for cool pink!) we got to fiddle around with the testers and try it all out for ourselves.

I was honoured to have Lee Graff, co-creator of the brand do my face! She did it so quick and easily and I looked really dewy and fresh after!

The kit is actually really easy to use. I am really impressed that all the tools you need come in it; a lot of makeup “kits” usually require something extra like the brush or primer to do a great application. I was surprised to find that almost everything I needed came in the single kit, and for a decent price, too!

$79 gets you:

• Skinprep FX Nourishing Foundation Primer and Anti-Aging Serum
• Cover FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation (3 shades)
• Setting FX Translucent Setting Powder
• Foundation Brush with pointed tip
• How-to Instructional DVD featuring Lee Graff

A couple of days after the event, I used my gratis kit and did my face before work. Now I’m not going to lie… Lee Graff did an infinitely better job than I did! But she’s a pro that has been doing camouflage for years so I would expect nothing less!

I followed the instructions on the package and applied the three shades of foundation to my face going from light to medium to dark. I was a little scared of the dark shade at first because it’s SO DARK. But once you blend it in at the edges of your face, it really helps your features pop!

Overall I was pleased with the application and staying power of CoverFX. I used the primer and foundation brush provided to apply the base, then used the setting powder (alas! You will need your own powder brush for this!) and my own bronzer to finish the look. It stayed on well throughout the day (unfortunately I touch my face a lot out of habit so I would know!) and covered up the redness from rosacea on my cheeks.

One thing I will comment on is that it did feel a little bit heavy, and somewhat dewy or moist on my face all day. I don’t know if this is because the formula is different from what I am used to (I use mineral powders normally) or if I didn’t use enough setting powder. It might just be a personal thing but I wasn’t too keen on it.

I think I’m going to practice a bit more with my kit and see if I can get the contouring and highlighting that Lee showed me down pat. I’m considering using this for my photoshoot this weekend because I know it will cover everything and stay on between all my wardrobe changes!

Now I’m not a pro beauty blogger or makeup artist, but I looooovve makeup and would definitely recommend this product out of the many I have tried! It was easy to use and provided great coverage and you don’t have to work magic to get a great look. Perfect for the gal who just needs something a little nicer, or if you have a birthmark, scar, etc. to cover up. You can check out their site for more information on the other CoverFX products available.

Woooeeee!!!

It has been a seriously busy past few weeks (months) for me! Flitting around from place to place not only have my weekends been booked solid (and still are!) but even my weeknights have been filled with an assortment of obligations.

I want to give a shout out to some of my blogger laydeez whom I have met up with (in some cases multiple times!) this month:

• FB
• Asian Pear
• Arianne
• Melanie

They gave me an awesome time and introduced me to some seriously good eats! I’ve had delish Mexican, Japanese, French pastries, pho, Neapolitan pizza and Portuguese treats with these gals. Truly a worldly experience. And a waist-altering one :S

Last week I hosted a successful plus-size clothing swap with the fatshionista! Community (which I managed to actually post about!); went to the Dove Men+Care launch (buy some for your man), a ChickAdvisor party (Hi ladies!); and this week I’ve been busy with work, my good friend’s birthday (we ate French food!) and planning for my friend Squeaky’s arrival.

Squeaky has had a rough time of things lately, so we decided she should come and visit me for a totally deluxe girl’s weekend. She’s even decided to fly in in style rather than suffer the long train ride.

Tomorrow I am taking her to the Shizen Spa (apparently one of Toronto’s only 5-star spas—we’ll see!) to start the weekend off with a bang.

Introducing the Spa Review Series

Full disclosure here: I’m doing a  spa review series for the blog now (since I am a seasoned spa-veteran!) and Shizen has graciously provided me with a gift certificate for this weekend.

I will be doing an in-depth review of their facilities, customer service, ambiance, and overall experience from a regular client’s perspective.

I love to spa. I do it regularly at different locations in the GTA, so you can rest assured that I know what I’m talking about! After my experience I’ll report back with full details, as well as whether it met my expectations.

Next in the spa series I will also be reviewing the Stillwater Spa at the Hyatt, and Enza Day Spa. (Contact me if you would like to arrange a review of your spa)

I definitely think I deserve a break like this! While I DID get a massage this week (I hurt my shoulder) I haven’t really had a moment to relax, truly relax since Christmas. Squeaky and I are really looking forward to our weekend together—we haven’t seen each other since last year when we went to Las Vegas (and had that bizarre Mr. Darcy moment some of my long-time readers will remember. Champagne + strawberries, anyone?) so this weekend will be a real treat.

The best part is that we don’t really have to stick too closely to a budget… out of all my friends she is probably the best at managing her money and told me she’s willing to spend this weekend! Yippee!! Only problem is, it’s ME that has the budget, this time! D’oh!

So I’m trying to think of things we can do in Toronto that are fun, luxurious and not TOO expensive. The spa will be a great start, and I think we’re going to go out dancing in the evening. I’m making a fancy lasagna for dinner one night and we’ve got tickets for Yuk Yuk’s this weekend as well. I was also thinking of taking her to MoRoCo for some sipping chocolate…but it’s so expensive!

Anyone have any ideas of what we could do this weekend? I’m willing to spend if it’s a fun activity, but the cheaper, the better!

Ever been to a clothing swap?

I just went to my first one ever and had a great experience! I teamed up with some fellow GTA fatshionistas from the fatshionista (plus-size fashion) community and we organized a mid-winter swap on Sunday.

I think it went pretty well! We started with a brunch for the organizers beforehand, followed by the swap proper.

The normal fatshionista! swap location downtown Toronto was undergoing some changes, so this time it was held at a plus-size consignment shop in Vaughan. What a perfect place to hold one! They provided us with space to dump our stuff, beverages, mirrors and changerooms, plus we all received a discount on any of their inventory. In the end they also had first dibs on the leftover clothing. Anything that would sell they took, and the remainders were donated to a women’s shelter.

I didn’t have a ton of stuff to contribute, but a few of my tops and skirts were snapped up lickety split that day. It made me feel good to know that they were going to someone who would love and care for them the way I did!

Some women brought absolute MOUNDS of clothing to donate. It was truly spectacular.

Overall it was a really great experience. I met some new friends, got to parade around in all sorts of clothes and be paid compliments and of course no one can deny the thrill of the hunt! There’s nothing quite like finding an amazing dress or pair of jeans that fit you like a dream and are FREE!

I really lucked out at this particular swap, and I can’t wait for the next! I’ll be posting some photos of the things I got, but until then here is a list of what I came home with:

• 1 pair dark wash jeans that make my ass look great
• 4 gorgeous vintage dresses that highlighted all my assets. I finally understand why women love vintage so much! Vintage clothes really beautify the female form!
• 1 nice Nygard summer suit set, with skirt
• 1 denim skirt
• 3 Torrid vintage-inspired dresses
• A few miscellaneous tops

I’m really stoked about all the dresses I got. They’re ones that you can’t get in Canada and they look SO GOOD. I will totally be doing outfit posts

I was hoping to find some shoes as well, but most of the selection there was for the bigger sizes so I didn’t get anything. My mom actually came with me to this event and while she didn’t get quite as much as I did I know she got some nice things for her upcoming trip to Mexico. She came home with me for dinner after the swap and we modeled all of our new clothes for each other.

I’m really glad that I participated in this. It helped me clear out some of my older stuff (which I had been meaning to do) and I met some awesome gals while I was there. I will totally hang out with them again!

I love the idea of a swap… and I got out of this one without spending a dime! Can you believe that? I’m really pleased with myself. I’ve had the “shopping itch” for the past couple of weeks, but couldn’t justify spending any money right now (it’s been an expensive few months!) so this swap satisfied my urges while keeping me frugal!

I’ve been exposed to more fashion and I hope to keep incorporating more of it into my life, and I’ll also be doing some photo shoots in the spring with the photographer that came to our event. Yes, my friends! Ginger is going to be a model!

Vogue with me now!

LOL

it’s just to help her beef up her portfolio, but it will be a lot of fun for me! I get to dress up, get my hair and makeup done and pretend I’m someone else for the day.  Plus I’ll be helping create art

So, THAT is how I spent my Sunday! I still have to report on the rest of my activities, and do that dang shoe post *glares at Pear & Melanie* but keep your eyes peeled for a quick Clothing Swap FAQ!

You asked for it… here’s what I wore to the xmas party last night:

As you can see, I am not only short on mirrors in my apartment, but I also take horrible photos past 11pm! But this is all you’re gonna get since I don’t think I could wrangle myself into that outfit again any time soon!

The party went well, the food was nice and most people dressed up. I had a decent time, though the fact that I am an outsider (or possible an Outlier if I think positively) really shines at this kind of stuff. After a while I felt like I wasn’t even visible at the party, so I went home around 11.

It was a Tuesday anyway. Who books a holiday party on a Tuesday???

Hopefully I can get this post up on Fatshionista… let’s see if they approve it!

Also, thanks FB for editing the photo for me!

We have our staff xmas party later tonight, but I’ve been wearing most of my outfit since this morning.

I’m kind of regretting it.

While my outfit is cute and chic, it is a royal pain to get in and out of! I’ve been holding my pee like a mofo all day to try and limit my trips to the loo! It’s too much work! (and one of my brand new nylons has a hole already! *cries*)

So what am I wearing that is causing me so much grief? Well I’ll tell you.

I’m wearing a cute little black skirt with a (tasteful) lime-green silk top that I have belted with a wide black belt.

Ok, sounds harmless enough.

Unfortunately my body blubber has exponentially increased since last year, and nothing is sitting right! So out comes the shapewear.

I am wearing my panties, then my thigh-butt-tummy shapewear that I pull up to my boobs, then nylons over that, skirt over that, shirt over the skirt, and a belt around my middle to finish it off!

To get nekked I have to remove SIX pieces of clothing just to pee! What have I gotten myself into!?!?

Needless to say I will be eating and drinking lightly all evening.

If I can get a decent photo of the outfit tonight, perhaps I will post it. It’s not very Christmas-y, but at least its dressier than my normal jeans & t-shirt at work. Plus I brought out the serious bling to wear tonight.

Well, I’m off to apply my signature red lips (my avatar ain’t lyin’!). Toodles!

Around this time of year I start to think about my skin again. How can I keep it soft and comfortable throughout the cold, dry winter?

Winter is pretty harsh on your skin. Whether you spend time outdoors and get wind chapped skin, or spend your time inside with the dry dry heat of the furnace, your skin takes a beating.

Winter is particularly bad for me. I have sensitive skin to begin with, and the changes between cold and hot make it worse. I often get very dry, tender skin that is itchy and flakes. Sometimes it even starts to crack in certain areas, and I develop eczema (characterized by rough, red patches).

So how do I combat dryness and keep my skin soft and happy-glowy?

I’ll share my tips with you!

Drink up! It is super-important to keep hydrated during the winter. The dry heat in our homes & offices leaches moisture from our skin. Ditch the coffee and sodas and opt for water or an herbal tea to stay hydrated throughout the day. I think everyone knows by now that great skin starts from the inside out, and that H20 is one of the building blocks.

Modify your shower habits. If you shower frequently and/or with hot water, you’re damaging your skin. Your skin requires certain levels of oil & sebum to hang around to protect itself. If you shower everyday you’re stripping away your skin’s natural protection. Try showering less frequently (if possible & realistic) during the winter, and turn the water to lukewarm instead of hot. While you’re in there, you might as well…

Exfoliate! Now this may sound a little contradictory to what I just said, but if you’re going for smooth, soft skin this step is a big one! Use a gentle exfoliation method, whether a body scrub, loofa, pouf or cloth with moisturizing bodywash you want to help your skin slough off the dead cells. This will help restore brightness as well as help the top layer of your skin to absorb the moisture from your body wash & lotion (I’ve been using the new Dove Deep Moisture bodywash with NutriumMoisture and it seems to help keep my skin soft!)

Moisturize! After you have gently toweled off your skin you should apply a healthy dose of lotion or oil to your skin while it is still a little damp. The exfoliation has prepped your skin and this application of moisturizer will sink in better, and also trap the leftover moisture in your skin. The type of lotion you use is up to you. You may want a lighter lotion if you shower in the morning, and a richer one in the evening when your body has more time to absorb it. Don’t forget to give some lovin’ to your face, feet & hands! (I’ve been using the new Vaseline Sheer Infusion with Stratys-3. I like the Botanical scented one!)

Protect & defend! Stay away from rough fabrics and harsh detergents; these will irritate your skin and can potentially cause a rash or other unpleasant reaction. I personally cannot wear anything wool, nor anything washed in Tide detergent (too harsh!). When washing your hands, try and use a soap with added lotion, and stay away from antibacterial soaps (unless you’re around immune-suppressed people, etc.). Not only are antibacterial soaps hard on your skin & very drying, they also contain triclosan, a chemical that has been linked to cancer and builds up in our environments with use.

“Triclosan is linked to liver and inhalation toxicity, and low levels of triclosan may disrupt thyroid function. Wastewater treatment does not remove all of the chemical, which means it ends up in our lakes, rivers and water sources. That’s especially unfortunate since triclosan is very toxic to aquatic life.”

Plain soap and water (with proper handwashing technique) has the same proven effectiveness in removing bacteria and icky stuff as antibacterial soap does.

These are the things that help me get through the winter; all the tips I have accumulated over the years from various doctors, dermatologists, estheticians and beauty gurus. Of course you should do what is right for your body and skin, and consult with your doctor if you have any concerns.

The skin is your biggest organ in your body–it’s important to take care of it!

There’s no way I could fit all of my tips & tricks into this one post, so if you have any questions or want to know how I do something in particular, feel free to leave a comment and I will reply!

It puts the lotion on it’s skin or it gets the hose again!

I just had to share with you the awesomeness that is my feet:

Don't mess with these babies

I went to my favourite spa that happens to be South African this weekend for a charity function. A couple of tickets got you a polish change so I opted for their signature look and let the girl “go wild”!

I think all my pedicures will be this awesome from now on. I’ve got to find those little nailpolishes with the fine tips so I can do this at home!

Next time I’m going with jaguar spots

This morning I paid a visit to my dermatologist for my monthly checkup.

Bloodwork was good, skin was good, everything was good!

It’s been 4 months and my skin is pretty much clear. There was only 1 tiny spot on my cheek that I know will go away once I put a special cream on it tonight, and assuming I don’t pick at it.

The things that have been bothering me the most lately about being on Accutane are actually taking the pills themselves (ugh I get tired of taking them!), the dryness I am experiencing (my eyes and lips are always super dry) and also my inability to heal well while on this drug.

Yeah, that part’s a bit scary, isn’t it? One of the side effects of Accutane is that it really reduces your ability to heal in general. You can’t wax anything while you’re on it, and you can’t have any kind of surgery for a year or two afterwards. I didn’t realize it would get that extreme.

I had what I thought was a bug bite on my chest and I scratched at it. I know I shouldn’t have, but it was itchy! Anyway it became one of those ugly red things, kinda crusty and such. That part was normal. What wasn’t normal is that it just sat with a weird white scab type thing for ages, and just didn’t heal.

It was painful if I tried to pick at it, and looked like a little red crater filled with white–strangely it was not pus as I had feared.

At first I thought I had gone and gotten myself infected, but none of the normal symptoms of an infection were present–it was so bizarre. Then I thought about it a little and similar to diabetics who can’t heal, I couldn’t heal either. THAT is where I had seen something like this before!

Anyway I just bandaged it with polysporin for a couple of nights and it was ok, but I was just stunned by how much my ability to heal had been reduced. I definitely won’t take it for granted any more!

So there’s my interesting little story. All my cuts, bug bites, blisters, etc. are taking forever to heal, but I’ve only got 1 month more of low-dose treatment and then hopefully everything will go back to normal.

My derm says there is an excellent chance that the Accutane “cured” my acne… however I also have rosacea which creates zits and cysts similar to acne. If it is the rosacea that was causing me such grief it may come back again. She said in order to combat this I should keep up with my rosacea creams and she will give me a vitamin A cream (in place of Accutane) to help me maintain my good skin. There is no cure for rosacea.

All in all I think I’ve had a better run of this drug than most people. All my bloodwork came back fine, my symptoms weren’t nearly as bad as some, and my skin responded incredibly well to the treatment, with no redness! My doc was pretty impressed that things went so well.

As for my mental state… Wow. Accutane has helped me in more than just one way. Similar to when I got laser eye surgery and lost my glasses, I feel SO much more confident. I don’t worry so much about how I look, and dare I say it, I may even feel a bit happier on the regular.

My skin is finally back to it’s natural and beauteous peaches & cream state and I feel so much better! I can go without makeup if I want to… I can just wash & go… my “face” doesn’t melt off quite so often and I don’t feel so self-conscious!

I feel it has made a big difference in my life. I didn’t realize how much my bad skin really bothered me, and how much time and attention I paid to it. Of course I will still take care of my skin, but now I’m not obsessing over it.

I also love that when I put makeup on now I can start with a truly blank canvas and focus my skills on more of the fun stuff like eyes and lips versus covering up zits.

I was really worried when I started Accutane. It is a monster of a drug with some terrible side-effects, but I’d say I had a pretty positive experience.

I think that if you’re considering Accutane for your acne it pays big time to do some research, talk to people who have been on it, etc. It helps you get mentally prepared and to manage your expectations.

If you have any questions/comments about my run with Accutane or my battle with acne, feel free to leave a comment! If you’re shy you can just email me too. That’s what most of ya did, anyway

Now, please excuse me while I recreate the story of Narcissus in my mirror… *LOL*

This is the next installment in what I hope will be an ongoing series of decluttering, paring down and organizing my life and belongings.

Earlier this week I decluttered my purse (which was very much needed!) and took a load off my shoulders.

This time around I went to work on my makeup drawer *shudder*

I didn’t remember to take a before photo… but it was getting pretty bad. At one point I tried to organize it a little by placing baskets in the drawer in an effort to wrangle in all my products… but at the time I didn’t really make much effort in going through everything or thinking out the most effective way to organize.

Not so, this time! My drawer went from mountains of makeup products and tools haphazardly strewn about to neat, clean and organized. I went through my collection of stuff and organized it into the three classic piles: Keep, Toss and Donate.

Obviously all the old opened stuff hit the circular file, but anything that was only gently used (still safe to use) or unopened is going to go to the Need Table at one of my monthly Pagan pub moots (it’s a table where you can place donations of anything and folks have the opportunity to take what they need for themselves or others) and also to one of my friends who is going through a tough financial time right now but loves makeup.

Knowing that all my lovely products may be going to someone who would appreciate them really helped me get through it all. I am loathe to throw things out, but with this goal in my mind I was able to be ruthless.

I still have quite a bit of stuff, but now I have it organized into 6 baskets: stuff I use everyday, lip products, eyeliners, loose eyeshadows and other miscellaneous pots and finally a basket in the back for random stuff that needs a home. I use MAC eyeshadows almost exclusively so I keep the majority of them in a professional palette which sits on the side of the drawer. As for all my brushes and other tools, I have a pro roll-up case for them I keep elsewhere. The brushes I use regularly are in a cup on top of my desk for easy access.

It’s been a week since I organized this and so far its working really well for me. Before the basket for everyday stuff was too small, so things overflowed. Now that I’ve upgraded it to a large basket everything stays in its proper place.

Now I just need to stop collecting makeup!

Bonus makeup tip: Did you know that you are allowed to request up to 2 samples of any product at MAC to take home with you? It’s a great way to try out their pigment collection–I’ve got about half of the colours now! LOL

I’ve been meaning to write about for this for a while, but I’ve been having quite a busy week!

I wanted to talk about something just wonderful that happened to me about 2 weeks ago.

I was on the subway, heading to the train station so I could go home to my parents’ for a doc appt and pick up the car for my drive to the festival I was attending that week. I had just gotten out of a big long meeting at a partner company’s so I had a dress and my cute flowery wedge sandals on. I don’t think this really has anything to do with what comes next… but enh.

Anyway, I got on the subway car and found a seat and was just minding my own business; I was a bit tired from the long meeting. At the next stop a bunch of people got in the car, one of them (I guess) was this sort of nerdy, sweet-looking guy (Think Elijah Wood as Frodo in LOTR). He was hanging onto the pole in front of my seat as the subway pulled out of the station.

As the subway was slowing down before the next stop, he looked at me and engaged me thus:

Him: Excuse me, but I just wanted to say that I think you’re incredibly beautiful.
Me: *blink blink* Uhhh… thank you? (I was kind of stunned by this of course)
Him: Have a nice day (as he exited the subway car)

The thing that struck me the most was that I believe he was completely sincere in his comments. Genuine, not a lick of scumbag-behaviour.

Wow. How often does something like that happen? It was totally out of the blue, and while it caught me off guard it didn’t creep me out or anything, because it was the real deal.

And let me tell you that it really meant something to me. To have this confident-yet-not-a-jerk guy give me, a complete stranger such a wonderful, well timed and much-needed compliment was a huge pick me up. I’ve written before about my lack of lovelife and dates, and some of my self-image issues, so this unsolicited comment really made like, my whole week! I think it was a gift from the Gods as this was not the first time messages come to me in this way.

I’m sort of keeping it my mind like a tiny little jewel that I can bring back out to look at when I’m feeling sad. Writing this entry will help me remember it even more.

So thank you, random sweet guy on the subway. You really did a good thing for me and I appreciate it.

To my readers: has anything like this ever happened to you before? I would love to hear your heartwarming story in the comments.