Review! Bath & Body Works NEW Fine Fragrance Mists

I love perfume, there are days I can spritz one scent on in the morning, and by late afternoon I find myself sniffing around an entirely different scent. I love to layer scents, spray a little in my hair and switch it up from day to evening. These things all make it tricky when you're using expensive and highly concentrated perfumes. So naturally I had to try the new Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mists.

They are available in 22 different scents, some old favourites and a few lovely new additions. They contain 8oz, the same amount as the regular body sprays we're used to. They also unfortunately carry a higher price tag, at $14 they are $2 pricier than their predecessors. From the little research I've done, they apparantly contain less alcohol therefore delivering a lighter and more pure fragrance.

Bath & Body Works was having one of their typical Buy 3, Get 3 Free sales, so I picked up 6 of these lovelies:

• Coconut Lime Breeze
• Pink Chiffon (New!)
• Warm Vanilla Sugar
• Be Enchanted
• Sea Island Cotton
• Dark Kiss

..and my personal favourite..

I was already a HUGE fan of the old sprays, Secret Wonderland and Warm Vanilla Sugar being my absolute favourites. After purchasing and rotating through all 6 for the last 2 weeks, the newest scent, Pink Chiffon, is by faaaar the most loved! It's a lovely, girly scent. The perfect mix of tart red fruits and sugary-sweet candy. Not too tart, but not too cloyingly sweet either. I would wear it out to the grocery store, or for a night out on the town. I love it!

As for the packaging, I really can't say anything bad about it. The bottles are beautiful and while they are entirely plastic, more resemble an expensive perfume than a cheap body spray. The fragrances themselves are tinted to match the scent, and the gorgeous graphics can be seen through the bottle no matter which angle you look from, in sort of a 3D fashion. They are sturdy and very elegant, I am happy to display them with the rest of my perfume collection.

The sprayer nozzle is a huge improvement as well. I hate when you spray a fragrance from a foot away and you're still left with a wet spot on your clothes or a sickening amount on one area of skin. Suited to their name, they have a very fine mist and definitely do release a more pure fragrance, true to it's dry down straight from the bottle. No waiting for the alcohol stench to disappear with these darlings! On the other hand, they are finer so the scent throw is not quite as strong (all the more reason for that special someone to get a little closer!)  and they don't last quite as long. Not a huuuuge difference though. They wear amazingly on their own, but are also just soft enough to layer under something else.

So if you couldn't tell, I LOVE THESE! I'm certain I will be back for more and will no longer buy the old body sprays. Everything about these is just plain better. Check them out by clicking here!

Drop me a comment and let me know, what's your go-to B&BW fragrance?

xo Sarah

FTC: All products shown were purchased by me, with my own money and as always, all opinions are my own. :)

Words To Live By..

No bath or body loveliness today, just wanted to share some kind words I came across. I bought this picture a few days ago from Walmart for $9, but the message is priceless. It now hangs above my bed and reminds me everyday of the kind of person I wish to be. I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! <3

Share this with someone who needs it :)

xo Sarah

Easy DIY Exfoliating Face Mask/Body Scrub For ALL Skin Types!

I love face masks, they're definitely a permanent part of my skincare routine and I'm certain my skin wouldn't be as clear and smooth as it is without them. The problem is they can run quite expensive, be chock full of nasty things we can't even pronounce (yuck!) and I could never really find something that quite works for my skin. It's oily in the t-zone, dry everywhere else, sensitive, acne and redness prone and aaaalways changing with the seasons.

This is my all-time favourite DIY face mask! It's unbelievably simple, literally works on any skin type and I'm sure you already have the ingredients in your cupboard. Not to mention it tastes good and works amazingly as a lip and all over body scrub as well. Enjoy!

You will need:

  

Yep, that's it. Brown sugar, milk and something to mix in! If your skin is SUPER dry, you can add a drop or 2 of olive oil as well, but I find it calms my dry spots and I never need it. Oh, and maybe a little plastic jar with a lid, in case you make extra and want to store the rest in the fridge. It can be stored for about a week or so!

1. Scoop 2 or 3 tablespoons of brown sugar into a bowl. (Use 1/3 cup if you would like to do the full body experience.)
2. Add 1 teaspoon of milk at a time, and mix until the consistency is grainy and thick, but none of the sugar is dry. It doesn't take much milk at all, and if it's too runny, it'll just melt off your face onto your clothes!
3. Rinse face with warm water (no cleanser) and while still slightly damp, apply the mask in very gentle circular motions.
4. Leave on for 10-15 minutes and rinse off with warm water, massaging the skin as you rinse.
5. Pat dry and apply your favourite moisturizer!
6. Admire glowing, smooth and gorgeous skin :)

The brown sugar is gritty enough to polish dry, flaky skin but not harsh at all to sensitive or problematic skin. Milk contains lactic acid, which cleanses and naturally exfoliates while soothing, calming and moisturizing all at the same time. So simple and effective, I promise you'll love it!

If you try, drop me a comment and let me know how amazing your skin felt afterwards :)

xo Sarah

Review! Garnier Skin Renew | Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream

B.B. Creams have been a pretty hot beauty product in Asia for quite some time now, so when I found out Garnier was releasing their own readily available drugstore version, I was really excited to give it a try.

B.B. Creams (Also known as Blemish Balm or Beauty Balm) claim to combine many of the regular steps in your beauty routine, into one convenient product as well as being beneficial to the quality of your skin. Some of these steps can include moisturization, even skin tone, brighten, conceal, calm, soothe and protect against environmental damage.

The Garnier Skin Renew - Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream comes in a 75ml squeeze tube, retails here for $15.99 CAD at Walmart and is available in 2 shades: Light/Medium and Medium/Dark. For that price, I thought to myself, this stuff better work wonders! Most of my favourite foundations are from the drugstore and aren't even that costly. My skin is light/medium and freckled (Mac NW20 in winter, NW25 in summer) so naturally I chose the lighter of the 2 shades.

This contains Vitamin E and Mineral Pigments and claims to renew, brighten, even, hydrate 24 hours and protect against damage. I searched the whole package and found no mention of SPF but the Garnier Facebook page advertisement says it has an SPF of 15, which isn't too bad.

I squeezed a pea-sized amount onto the back of my hand, smeared it and was pretty shocked at how deeply pigmented it looks. It seemed pretty dark and orangey considering it's the lightest shade available. I was pretty sure half the female population wouldn't even be able to use this product, because I'm not really pale and it looked dark even on me.

This is after blending..

The breakdown..

• Scent - Many reviewers have said this has a strong, slightly obnoxious floral scent, and I disagree. To me, this smells just like sunscreen and didn't seem overpowering at all.
• Texture - Thick and creamy. Thicker than liquid foundation and tinted moisturizer but not heavy whatsoever. It seems to be very moisturizing without being greasy and I probably wouldn't use any moisturizer underneath.
• Blendability - It blended out very smoothly and effortlessly, no streaks or heaviness. Feels very similar to a tinted moisturizer.
• Colour - This is what initially scared me, but it's not nearly as pigmented as it first looks. While it did give a hint of colour, it was more just a healthy glow and not a mask of orangey-ness. Anyone with very fair skin may have a hard time pulling this off, but I think even someone a little lighter than me would be alright.
• Coverage - This definitely doesn't cover blemishes, scars, freckles or redness. It leaves a dewy (but not oily) satin finish that I think blurs imperfections slightly, but has less coverage than most tinted moisturizers I've tried. I think if this was set with a powder, it would be comparable to a sheer tinted moisturizer.
• Lasting power - On it's own, about 4-6 hours before it started to seem like there wasn't really much there.

In conclusion, I think this would be a decent, light alternative to a tinted moisturizer in the summer, if you already have pretty good skin and just want a little bit of dewiness, moisture and smoothing. If you're oily, it may be a bit too slick and if you're pale, a bit too dark. I have tried it under foundation, replacing moisturizer and primer and it does provide a really smooth, brightened canvas for the foundation I used (Revlon ColorStay in Fresh Beige). That's probably how I would recommend it be used. It's just not enough for my skin, and would probably feel greasy combined with sunscreen if you wanted a higher SPF.

This stuff gets a 4/5 from me, I do like it and will continue to use it, but it just doesn't stand out and is pretty pricey for the results. I'm hoping the benefits will be more apparant with continued use! Hope that helps some of you! Let me know in the comments if you've tried this or any other B.B. Creams, and if so, what kind of results did you get?

xo Sarah

FTC: This was purchased with my own money and as always, all opinions are my own. :)

Fortune Cookie Soap: Valentine's Day Products & Spring Sneak Peek!

Hey guys! First off, I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's/Singles Awareness Day. Whether it's love for another or love for yourself, it's all about spreading the love right? :)

So on that note, I know I'm late with this post and most (if not all) of the Fortune Cookie Soap Valentine's Day products will have disappeared by the time you read this, I still wanted to show them some love! I also was fortunate enough to win a contest to sample some of the possible spring products being released on March 16th, so of course I have to share those too! Enjoy!

 Here's everything I received in my package!

First up for the Valentine's products I purchased was the 'Luv U Long Time' Massage Oil. Made with chocolate flavouring, this is supposedly 'lickable', and although I didn't put any in my mouth or use it on another person, it does smell good enough to eat. Sweet and subtle chocolate fragrance, not at all overpowering and made my legs softer than I've ever felt them after shaving.

The Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Moose Whipped Cream also had that lovely true chocolate scent with just a splash of candied strawberry scent underneath. Amazingly moisturizing, as all the Whipped Creams are and lasted a long time on my skin.

Lastly from this photo: Hand Job OCD Hand Sanitizer. All I have to say is LOL!! Leave it to these guys and gals to come out with something cheeky and a tad naughty for the most lovey dovey day of the year. Love it! Smells just like the Whipped Cream and is brown with tiny red beads that feel nice when you rub your hands together. Surprisingly moisturizing, I haven't used any other hand sanitizers since trying their OCD line.

The Sexual Chocolate Lip Balm is heeeavenly. Smells delicious, feels delicious, makes your lips look delicious and I'm pretty sure I even taste a little bit of sweet deliciousness.
I also picked up the Love is in the (Hair) Shampoo Bar. While this hasn't made it into my shower yet (still working on my FCS Hawaiian Ice Shampoo Bar!), it smells great and is very detailed and interesting to see. Scented with rose and sandalwood, I'm not a big rose fan so I was hoping for more sandalwood but the rose definitely won this over and makes a unique and very feminine combination. Can't wait to see how the dried rose petals turn out being rubbed into my hair!

The Boom Boom Bubble Bar is BY FAR my favourite of all the Valentine's products they came out with this year. Described as rose, sandalwood and vanilla, this smells warm, sweet, smooth and sensual. Strange description, I know, but it's hard to put into words how amazing this is. The vanilla stands out most to me, followed by faint sandalwood and not really much of a rose scent. This is my first Bubble Bar and it was actually bigger than I expected! I used 1/3 of the bar and my tub was FILLED with bubbles. And can we just stop for a moment to notice how adorable the little embedded red heart is? This needs to be a permanent product!

The Lick Me All Over Bar Soap was my Moms choosing, so unfortunetly I don't get to use it, but it's a pretty lemony-yellow shade filled with rainbow glitter and smells fresh, citrusy and floral. This would be a great pick-me-up in the morning or when you need a bit of zest in your shower.



The full size Whipped Creams themselves are not new, but they have just come out with Whipped Cream Sampler Packs! For less than the price of 1 full size, you can choose 4 different scents to try in adorable 1oz, travel friendly containers. We actually bought 2 sets (8 containers total) but the photo only shows 1 set because the scents are mostly the same. Such an amazing value and since a little goes a long way, you get to try a whole bunch without committing but still have a ton of product to last you quite a while.

Just want to say a HUGE thank you to Shannon for these amazing surprises! If you've ever been here before or chatted with me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll have heard a bazillion times that Sweet Tart Martini is my must have, holy grail scent. Until now I have been savouring and rationing 2 little fortune cookies in this scent and when this popped out, I jumped out of my skin! It's that unbelievable! Same sweet, refreshingly clean scent but in a super moisturizing, super long lasting body butter. This is supposed to be coming out with the Spring product launch on March 16th (and possibly other products in this scent?) and let me tell you, I'm certain these will go FAST. I cannot wait to stock up for spring and summer!
The Fall'n Leaves was originally in Bar Soap form only and was discontinued to make room for newer products, but being my Moms favourite, I passed along the message that I was being bombarded with questions as to when it would ever come back. My Mom just recently had surgery and has had a tough recovery so to receive something so thoughtful is such a testament to how truly amazing and down to earth this company really is, and she was absolutely overjoyed. Where else can you find customer service like that?

Mystery Fragrance Whipped Creams! The first one (on the left) is sweet, fruity and girly but a little birdie told me it will probably be getting the axe because it bears a striking resemblance to a fragrance currently sold by a large, well known bath and body company. Although saddening because I really enjoy it, kudos to FCS for sticking to their uniqueness and continuing to strive for scents and products that will set them apart.
The second mystery fragrance (on the right) is a pretty pale green colour which I find fitting because the scent is very fresh, airy and filled with light florals. It's really feminine and refreshing, sort of like strolling through a botanical garden under spring sunshine.

As always, each order comes with a free sample and this time I received a Hubba Hubba Bath Melt! I've tried the melts and they are super hydrating without being oily, you can even feel the moisture just rolling this between your fingers.. and this smells like bubblegum straight out of the wrapper, I'm thinking I need a whole bag of these little wonders. :)

Last, but definitely not least.. SPRING SAMPLER PRODUCTS!!

• First thing in the bag was a Personal Space Air Freshener labelled 'Personal Space Fragrance #5'. At first I wasn't sure I liked this, it didn't catch me as a flowery-spring scent I was expecting. However, it has since grown on me significantly. It's a woodsy, outdoors scent with notes of greenery and pine. Sounds more autumn appropriate when you hear that, but close your eyes and think of melting snow, cool air just starting to warm and flowers & trees just starting to turn green and sprout buds. It's a very unique scent that I think will pleasantly surprise many people.
• Second in the package was a hefty little baggie filled with pretty purplish-pink bath salts labelled 'Bath Crystals Fragrance #4'. This is exactly the scent I crave for when the weather starts to warm. It's very girly; a fresh bouquet of spring flowers sprinkled with sugary-sweet candy. The scent is quite strong and I know it'll be one to last on the skin long after the bath. I'm especially curious as to what this one would be named!
• Lastly was an OCD Hand Sanitizer labelled 'Sanitizer Fragrance #3'. This was a dead giveaway the first time I tried it! Sweet, zesty, tart-but-not-too-tart freshly-squeezed lemon! Very bright and quite literally the perfect lemon scent to please those who like it sweet and also those who like it a bit sour.

So although once again I apoogize for being so late with this and that the Valentine's items aren't up on the site anymore, I'm super excited for the launch of the spring products on March 16th and hopefully this got a few of you guys excited too! Check out the Fortune Cookie Soap Facebook and Twitter for their new weekly deals and promos (some of the best deals they've had yet!), then head on over to the Website to get your fix and wait impatiently with me for some amazing new things to come! Cheers! :)

xo Sarah

FTC: All products (except the bath melt sample, contest prize and 2 special whipped creams) were purchased with my own money and as always, all opinions are completely my own!

Review! Krafty Candles - Handmade Candles & Tart Melts

Truthfully, I was never really in love with candles throughout my life. They were usually just something my Mom collected, had set out on the tables, and burned throughout the day. I passed by them in stores, saw them on YouTube and never really caught onto the craze.. until recently. Something just clicked and I found myself sniffing every scent on the shelves, looking for excuses to buy them as gifts and lighting one every night once my toddler was tucked into bed. Handmade candles add a calming, beautiful and very personal touch to any space, and I wish I had appreciated them sooner.

This week we received an order placed with Krafty Candles, a lovely small business run by Stacey Anderson. Scent is a very personal thing, so in my opinion choosing candle and tart scents online can be tricky, but she was very friendly and helpful with descriptions and recommendations. We were not disappointed! We chose 5 different candle scents - U Can Shoot Me, Downy Fresh, Fresh Linen, Pear Spice & Birthday Cake.. as well as 5 tart melt scents - Love Spell, Baby Powder, Asian Sandalwood, Downy Fresh & Jamaica Me Crazy. We were even surprised to see that she upgraded 2 of our candles to larger sizes at no extra charge!

The candles all come in sturdy and simple mason jars, with very charming rustic-style labels. They would suit any decor!

From left..

• Fresh Linen - Very soft and airy scent, think sheets hanging out to dry on the line in summer, rustled by a warm floral breeze.
• Downy Fresh - Appropriately named, this smells just like fabric softener. Clean, pure and familiar.
• U Can Shoot Me - I love this one! It smells like a jar of juicy, sun ripened pineapple. Fruity and full of life!

• Pear Spice - I'm not a huge fan of pear scents, but this is nice. Bright and fruity, not so much spice. Almost a bit of a candy scent to me.
• Birthday Cake - Rather than a vanilla buttercream scent, which I was expecting, this is a surprisingly delicious cross between the cream cheese frosting that comes on carrot cake, and a hidden fragrance of fresh popcorn. Sounds odd, but you really would be taken back by how yummy and inviting this is!

Our tart melts were seperated in individual bags by scent, and came inside this adorable polka-dotted box!

The tart melts are very soft to the touch, and VERY highly scented. We've been using the same Baby Powder melt continuously for 4 days now and it continues to fill not only the lower level, but also the second floor of our house with unbelievable fragrance. They melt very quickly and cleanly in the warmer and even left out unmelted are enough to scent the room!

• Asian Sandalwood - Strong sandalwood and fresh florals, a more mature and earthy scent.
• Baby Powder - Smells exactly like soft baby powder, fresh and clean.
• Downy Fresh - Same scent as candle above.
• Jamaica Me Crazy - Smells like a fruity tropical drink! Pineapple, mango and papaya stand out to me.
• Love Spell - Dark berries, musky florals and sensual perfume. Sexy and feminine.

The quality and consistency of these candles and melts are truly amazing, they definitely put my store-bought candles to shame. There's something about a candle made with love and only the finest ingredients, that you can really sense in your home as it burns.

Check out the Krafty Candles website or Krafty Candles on Facebook! Stacey is always floating around with fun games, trivia and a friendly greeting. Highly recommend!

xo Sarah

FTC: Everything you see was purchased with my own money (and my Moms ;) and all opinions are my own!

Review! Sampler Village Charmingly Samplicious Sampler Box [Hugs & Kisses Edition!]

The world of handmade can be a little daunting at first if you're used to doing all your shopping in a mall or department store. Which kind of soap is truly best for my skin? What's a tart melt? Will they personalize that for me? WHERE DO I START?!

Enter Sampler Village. A monthly sampler box program run by an unbelievably friendly and very hardworking woman named Traci. Small businesses from Etsy and the like, specializing in handmade goods of all shapes, sorts and sizes are known as "Villagers", and each month Traci lovingly puts together beautiful boxes of coupons and sample (and sometimes full sized) products sent in by the Villagers. Think of it as the gateway between Etsy lovers who don't know where to start, and small businesses with amazing goodies working hard to get into the hands and hearts of the world. Sample, discover, buy, share, repeat.

The boxes are available for purchase on the 21st of each month and each having a different theme and different samples from the last. Available in 2 sizes, as well as a third which features all edible samples, they range in price with the regular size sampler containing 15-20 samples and costing $25 including shipping to the US, and $35 to Canada. This is the size I purchased and there's well over that much worth of product packed in here!

This months theme was "Hugs & Kisses" to celebrate Valentine's Day, and we actually ordered 2 boxes but I'll just be showing one of them to save this post from being miiiiiiles long. I could go on for days at how beautiful, well packaged, generous, fun and amazing this experience was! I received an amazing assortment of jewelry, tart melts, soaps, bath treats, handmade art, ornaments and more! Highly recommend! So here is a selection of photos to give you a taste and links will be below to get your hands on a box of your own! Enjoy :)

Soooo much stuff!

Pretty wonderful huh? Even better than that, Sampler Village has a 'Fan of the Week' program on their Facebook page which I was also lucky enough to score the day after purchasing my boxes! So I was also sent an extra little package of goodies (shown below) which was so sweet of Traci and put a huge smile on my face for sure!

So now that you've had a peek at the treasures that await you, come on over and join the Sampler Village community on Facebook, Twitter and check out the Website to see what's to come and how to get your own!

xo Sarah

FTC: All products (aside from the Fan of the Week goodie bag) were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own. :)

Review! Whipped Up Wonderful Handmade Bath Bombs

There was a knock on my door this morning, and to my delight, it was the mailman holding a sweet-smelling package with my name on it. My Whipped Up Wonderful bath bombs have arrived! Let me just start by saying, although they've only been in my hands for about 6 hours, I'm already able to write and post this review because I quite literally just hopped out of the bathtub. I'm definitely not a daytime bather, but I just couldn't wait!

I found Whipped Up Wonderful through an amazing recommendation by my friend Pammy. They are a small Texas-based business run by the very sweet, very personable Alexis. I chose 5 different bath bombs to try! Upon opening the box, I was greeted with a business card, an adorably colourful fridge magnet and a whole ton of squiggly, shredded paper. It was like digging for treasure!

They survived the trek from Texas all the way up here to Canada completely intact and were all sealed in their own individual bags and cutely labeled with the names:

Beach Babe - Pure white with a touch of golden sugar on top and infused with very fine glitter throughout. The name suits it perfect, it smells just like you slathered on the tanning lotion to lay out on a sun-drenched beach in a tropical paradise. Very calming scent and I can see myself stepping in the bath and having the same "ahhhhhhhhhh...." moment that comes over me when I sprawl out on the beach towel to relax.

Pumpkin Spice - This was on clearance as it's a fall scent and may not be available soon? The bath bomb itself looks quite different than the photo on the website. It's much lighter and speckled, whereas the site shows quite a vibrant orange topped with cinnamon. It is, however, the most fragrant of all the bath bombs I ordered. It's a lovely spicy scent, heavy with cinnamon, nutmeg and maybe even clove. Call me crazy but this almost smells more to me like carrot cake than pumpkin. Deeeeelicious!

Hearts Desire - A beautiful baby pink (and quite shimmery) bath bomb topped with sugar hearts. Simply a joy to look at (I almost don't have the "heart" to use it! haha) and smells very floral, sexy and girly. I smell heavy rose, jasmine and musk. This will be the one I use on one of those 'need to feel sexy' nights, maybe even share with someone else? ;)

Twilight in the Woods - Maybe intentional, maybe not, but I own a few products in the 'Twilight Woods' fragrance by Bath & Body Works, and this bath bomb hit that fragrance dead on! It's pure white with flecks of bright gold, charcoal black and blood red scattered throughout. To me the smell is more subtle, very musky, earthy and sensual. I LOVE that I can soak in this and have a matching body lotion already on my counter to put on afterwards!

Birthday Cake - As you can see, this is the bath bomb I just couldn't wait to try! Vanilla-y, birthday cake scents are my favourite and I'm a sucker for anything sugary-sweet so in the tub this went! It was a vibrant pink colour topped with real sprinkles and once dropped in the tub, fizzed out to a pretty pale pink colour. My bathwater and bathroom smelled like warm, sweet vanilla cake frosting. It was not unbearably sugary and the sprinkles dissolved immediately. My skin feels amazing and best of all, NO PINK RING LEFT IN THE TUB! Love this!

I don't have the words to tell you just how much I enjoy these bath bombs and although she had to remove the Canadian shipping option from her Etsy shop due to crazy shipping rates with the new USPS pricing, she still welcomes Canadian orders. All you have to do is contact her through email, facebook or her shop to figure out custom pricing.

Go check out the Whipped Up Wonderful Etsy store and also head over to follow her Twitter or to her Facebook page and give her a like! She is always interacting, asking for opinions and posting sales and coupons.

I wasn't disappointed, and I guarantee you won't be either. :)

xo Sarah

FTC: Everything you see was purchased with my own money and as always, all opinions are my own. :)