Hydra-Total 5 Ultra-Even Ritual

I was super excited when I received my free Hydra-Total 5 Ultra-Even Voxbox to trial and review. The packaging on the Voxbox was very eye-catching and feminine, making me all the more eager to test out all the products in the line.

Included in the  Hydra-Total 5 Ultra-Even Voxbox were the following products:

• Ultra-Even Scrub
• Ultra-Even Toner
• Ultra-Even Lotion with SPF 20
• Ultra-Even Moisturizer

According to the directions, you follow 3 simple enough steps for perfectly even looking skin:

STEP 1 -  Message the Ultra-Even Scrub onto your dampened face every morning and night.

Consistency of Ultra-Even Scrub with tiny micro particles.

STEP 2 - Use a cotton ball to gently dab Ultra-Even Toner onto dry face.

STEP 3 - Apply the Ultra-Even Lotion (AM) and the Ultra-Even Moisturizer (AM/PM) to a cleansed face and neck.

After using the products for the past two weeks, I have to say that I liked some of the products in the Hydra-Total 5 Ultra-Even line more than others.  The ultimate shining star of the product line was definitely the Ultra-Even Scrub since it was very slightly scented with a fresh, mild floral fragrance.  The micro particles in the scrub did a great job of removing dead skin cells to reveal more even skin.   With regards to the lotion and the moisturizer, these products were decent products. However, for someone with drier skin during our harsh Canadian winter, the latter two items simply didn't provide enough moisture for me and I found the scent a bit to overwhelming for my sensitive nose.  Finally, the dud of the group would definitely have to be the Ultra-Even toner since it had a very strong alcohol based fragrance and really dried my skin out more so than normal.  I ended having to stop using the toner after a few days.

Overall, I did notice that my skin was a bit more even and brighter.  I would mostly attribute my skin's improvement to the Ultra-Even Scrub.  So there you have it, I recommend purchasing the Ultra-Even Scrub while definitely skipping the Ultra-Even Toner. 

#5Works #BeyondHydration

Beachy Jewellery

This is a much-delayed post since the summer is over and we’re now into the fall season, but back at the beginning of the summer I really wanted to spend a day at the beach to feel the sand between my toes.  Instead, the closest I got to the beach was staring at a bowl full beautiful sea glass and seashells that I’ve collected over the years.  Since a trio to the beach was nowhere in my near future, I decided to bring a little bit of the beach to me with 2 DIY jewellery projects: stackable stretch bracelets and a long multi-pendant necklace.  I apologize that this post doesn’t provide you with much of a guide about how I made these items, but hopefully it may provide you with my design inspiration for your own projects. 

The stackable stretch bracelet was made using a variety of sea green and turquoise beads (glass & plastic), two sizes of light pink glass beads, three different size pearls, silver coated filler beads, blue crystal spacer beads, 1.0mm stretch jewellery cord, and a dab of E-6000 glue to seal the knotted ends of the cords. 

The long multi-pendant necklace is made from a piece of sea glass and a seashell in my beach collection and cute crystal jewels I had on hand from previous projects.  In order to turn the sea glass and seashell into pendants, I used 1.0mm artistic wire to wrap around the two items. I attached everything together using gold jump rings and my needle nose pliers.

Personalizing Tees

Recently I've been seeing tons of DIY tutorials for t-shirt printing on Pinterest.  A pretty popular DIY printing technique is the freezer paper method and I wanted to give it a try for myself.  I wanted to really see how easy it was to do at home because there are tons of designs I've always wanted to have printed on a t-shirt, but it would be far too costly to get a single t-shirt custom printed at a store.

For example, I saw this French Bulldog Print and knew instantly that I wanted something similar to it on a shirt.  I ended up redesigning the print in photoshop for this DIY project.

And after testing out the freezer paper method for myself, I have to say that this DIY project is super easy, requires very few items, doesn't take long to do, and is very affordable!  Overall, this DIY project took a little over an hour to complete from start to finish and costs me $15-20 CAD max.  In the future when I make personalized tees for myself and friends/family, it'll cost me even less since I now have all the supplies needed on hand!

If you'd like to personalize your own tees, here's how I did it myself.

Items You'll Need:

• A plain cotton t-shirt
• Reynolds Freezer Paper (in Canada you can purchase it at Wholefoods or Metro)
• Soft Fabric Paint (I purchased mine at Michael's using their weekly 40% off coupon)
• Paint brush
• Scissors or a x-acto knife
• Printer (not shown in picture)
• Iron (not shown in picture)  

Getting Started:

Step 1 - Measure & cut the freezer paper into 8.5 x 11 inch sheet (regular paper size) so it will fit into your printer

Step 2 - Print your custom t-shirt design on the freezer paper sheet. Be sure not to print on the plastic-coated side of the freezer paper since the ink will smudge.  

Step 3 - Grab your scissor or x-acto knife and cut out your design.  In my case, I just cut out all the black portions as shown in the picture.  This may take some patience here depending on how intricate your design is.

Step 4 - Place the cut-out freezer paper where you want it on your tee.  Be sure to place the plastic-coated side down against your t-shirt (the plastic coat is what will adhere to the fabric when it's heated).

Step 5 - Set your iron on medium to high heat and carefully iron the freezer paper onto your tee.  Be sure not to have any bends or creases in the freezer paper when you iron it on your tee as this may cause paint to smudge in unwanted places and wreck your design.  

Step 6 - With your paint and paint brush carefully start painting the cut-out portions in even strokes.  Be sure to let the first paint coat dry before your apply your second coat for a nice deep colour.

Here's what it looks like when you're done painting.

Step 7 - Once the paint has dried, slowly peel away the freezer paper to reveal your custom print on the tee.  And that's all folks, you're all done now!!

And presto, you've now got your own personalized tee to pair with your favourite items to make a great outfit!

If you like my graphic french bulldog print, just comment below and I'll send you the download link.  Thanks and I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Upcycling Jewels

So I had this gorgeous necklace that I bought from Aldo awhile back when it was on clearance for less than $10.  The necklace does a great job of dressing up simple outfits, but I found the necklace just a bit heavy because it had so many strands. 

I decided to lighten the necklace up by taking off one of the strands and then turning it into a bracelet.  I think my upcycling project turned out very well.

A Hint of Sparkle

Ever have a t-shirt that you want to spruce up?  Well it's unbelievably easy to do so with only a couple of simple items.  Even better, it's extremely affordable to do so too!

Just recently I bought a simple XS guy's t-shirt in heather grey at RW & Co.  It was a clearance item selling at $4.95 plus an extra 30% off.  It ended up costing me a total $3.91 (after the discount and with the 13% taxes that we have in Canada included)!  That's not a bad price considering the original retail price was $29.95 and taxes aren't even included yet.  At a price that low for a great t-shirt with a pocket detail and a unique fabric, I just had to buy more than one.

Of course with an extra t-shirt on hand now, I wanted to lux up my spare shirt with a hint of sparkle.  Since my t-shirt had little flecks of black throughout the fabric, I thought I'd accent the shirt with some black rhinestones. 

Here's What You'll Need:

• T-shirt with a pocket detail
• E-6000 Glue
• Tooth pick
• Pack of black rhinestones with 3 different sizes (purchased at Dollarama)

Getting Started:

Step 1 - To create a gradient effect with the rhinestones, begin by gluing the largest rhinestones in a solid line across the top of the pocket.  Use the toothpick to transfer a dollop of glue onto the rhinestones before positioning them where you wanted them.

Step 2 - Once you glue about 2 rows with the largest rhinestones, begin scattering some of them randomly on the pocket. 

Step 3 - Finally, glue the medium and the tiniest rhinestones in the empty spaces around the large ones to create the gradient effect.  

The end result turned out really well especially considering how cheap the project was and how little time and effort it took.

  

This Loonies to Lux project cost me $6.17 for the shirt and the rhinestones and only took me about 30 minutes to complete.  I have a feeling that if I wanted to buy a similar shirt, it would cost me over $30 since the original retail price of the t-shirt already cost that much.