Sunday Photo Diary #2: Mimosas and Henna

I had an amazing day on Sunday with some family and friends; it was the perfect one-day "break" I needed from everything.

We started our day at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House for brunch where I may have indulged in an Atlantic Lobster Eggs Benny supplemented by more than one mimosa.  Our charismatically awkward waiter saw me taking pictures of the food and brought me a second Mimosa for being "one of those foodie bloggers".  I just went with it and needless to say I was happy go-lucky by the time we left.  

 Due to cloudy weather (or as I call it, perfect weather), I finally got to wear my new Project Social T LA crew-neck sweatshirt from Topshop; arguably, the softest sweatshirt I'll ever wear.

After this we took a trip to the Lower Mainland's "Little India" to have some henna done.  We were all first-timers and overall, pretty impressed!

This was my finished henna before I flaked it off.  Body heat helps deepen the color and unfortunately, I was freezing all afternoon so some parts weren't as dark as I'd have liked but the girl who did it for us was nice enough to give me some henna cones to take home so I'll be experimenting with those!

I loved the way having something on that part of my arms looked, which gets me thinking to some more permanent additions... ;)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend xo

DIY: Coffee Body Scrub

Coffee scrubs have been making appearances on several beauty blogs, particularly the "Frank" brand coffee scrubs that come in the adorable, minimalist brown packaging.  I was intrigued after watching Karissa Pukas' Skincare Routine Video, where she uses the Frank coffee scrub as pre-tan exfoliator.  After visiting the website, I realized how friggen' pricey it was for a bag of compost-worthy coffee grounds.  

Funny thing was, after reading the ingredients list I thought to myself: "I have most of these things in my cupboard for peet's sake".  Although I improvised a little with the measurements, I was surprisingly impressed with the results.

I used about 4 tablespoons worth of coffee grounds (the amount needed to make a 2-cup cup of coffee), 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

You can also get creative and add some cocoa and lavender oil, but I decided to keep it simple.  

As far as directions go, it's a body scrub...you scrub your body with it.  However, I do have several tips.  Before you even head to the shower, grab a cloth and some grease-fighting dish soap.  Because of the oils, the floor of your shower or bathtub will get very slippery and the coffee grounds are going to make a huge mess.  After I've scrubbed my body, I like to give the shower a quick wipe down so that the next person who gets in doesn't slip and break their neck.  So unless you've got a personal vendetta against your roommate, clean up after yourself.  I apply this scrub to dry skin but I do so standing in the shower/bath tub.  As I said, this stuff gets messy.

I scrub my whole body but I omit my face, making sure to take my time especially in dry areas such as my elbows and my knees, allowing the oils to sink in and work their moisturizing magic.  I wash my body with a nice soap and a lufa afterward to remove most of the oily residue and I finish up by slathering on a nice, thick moisturizer or body butter.

I would suggest doing this before you shave or apply self-tanner.  I've used this several times now and it leaves my skin incredibly soft; I actually prefer it over the other scrubs in my bathroom.

Let me know if you give this a try and what you think!  

Stay smooth, ladies.

xo, J.

The Nude Pastel Nail

New jobs: great for income, bad for blogging.  My latest bout of blogging absence has been due to my new job, which so far, has also resulted in a lot of late nights and mediocre outfit choices.  Recently, my health has also had it's ups and downs with one malady leading to another.  Long story short, the only beauty aspect I've managed to maintain for more than a few hours has been my nails.  

I recently made a quick stop at Sephora and was desperate to try their Formula X nail polishes I've heard so much raving about.  As I didn't own any, I decided to start with a beautiful basic color that could carry me through the entire year.  I chose the Sephora Formula X Polish in Thrilling, a lovely cashmere shade that is part of their new range of Nude Pastels.

This. Color. Is. Lovely.  Not to mention, my hands take quite a beating at work and these nails survived well over a week with no more than one chip on each hand.  The application was smooth, opaque and I didn't struggle with streakiness whatsoever.  To boost the staying power and add shine, I used my holy grail Essie Good to Go topcoat.

Thrilling is perfect for giving your nails a break from louder, summer shades.  Not to mention the nude color makes your fingers appear longer.  This is the perfect sophisticated polish and I'll be wearing this through Summer, Fall and next Winter.  Perhaps I'll even add a hint of silver glitter...

What do you think?

xo J.

Spring Night Out // Going to Market

Last night I went to a restaurant called Market at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver; I'd been before and this time was just as amazing.  

My outfit was quite simple; because we were at dinner I opted for a comfier option and wore my H&M Black Lace Romper with my white Nordstrom Blazer.  I paired those with my Leopard Print Clutch which was actually from the bookstore Chapters if you'll believe it.  It's an excellent alternative to the J Crew one and they look identical.  Unfortunately, I don't think Chapters carries it any more but perhaps they'll bring it back in the fall.  My shoes were an older pair of Nine West Heels that have black ruffles on them.  Sadly, my feet were wrecked by the time I got to the restaurant, thank goodness you eat sitting down.

For accessories I kept it simple: my silver rings and my watch.  For makeup, I went with a brown smokey eye and a nude lip.

A deliciously bubbly French 75 to drink with the most amazing beef tenderloin I've ever had.

My mother ordered the Steelhead Trout with Truffle Mashed Potatoes, *drool*.

Of course, I ordered a side of fries with my steak and like everything else, they were perfect.

We then took a nice stroll down Robson street.  At nighttime, all the trees are lit up with fairy lights, pretty, no?

I hope you're all having a nice weekend!  Stay tuned for some beauty posts this week.

Jessie xx.