Happy ChinaDoll: Guest Post

If you may recall, I did a guest post back in May for the infamous Bewildered Bug.
On a whim, I have asked Ms. Bewildered Bug what favourite products she is currently using.
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When Happy Chinadoll first asked me to describe all the products I have been using in my daily routine, I was a bit intimidated. She has tried so many products and blogs constantly about beauty and makeup that I was a bit intimidated. Then I remembered what I wrote on my blog recently - all these products and cosmetics are more about improving your self esteem and emphasizing who you are; they are not there to hide or to disguise or to recreate you into someone or something that magazines and social media says you should be.

I took a long hard look at the products I use, and although they aren't the perfect products for me at the moment, they are excellent products and they help me create a quick daily routine that gets me out the door on time looking fabulous. I am gluten and dairy free and am therefore going to be switching a lot of these products in the near future, but for those of you without my health problems, they have been fantastic and are fantastic products to keep an eye out for. I have not been compensated for this post in any way by any of these brands, I just truly believe that they will definitely help you to celebrate the diva that is you.

Some of the products

For cleansing products, I currently use the Bioderma Hydrabio & Sebium Collections (yes I'm massacring the french accents). Bioderma is a French company, and in my limited experience, the French are the top in gently cleansing products. Every single cleansing line that I have found successful and gentle enough for my intolerant and sensitive skin tend to be from France - most from Paris. Maybe I should just go live there. Anyways, I digress - currently I use the Bioderma Sebium H2O for cleansing, and then the Hydrabio Legere cream as a moisturizer. The Sebium H20 is very gentle and is also a makeup remover and toner in one - so it definitely speeds things up on rushed mornings and late evenings for me. The cream is a light moisturizer that absorbs quickly into the skin, prepping it appropriately for any makeup application I may need to do in a hurry. If it is the middle of winter, I use the Hydrabio Masque at night. Even though it says "masque" it is actually just a heavier cream that gives my skin just that little bit of extra moisturizing oomph that is so often needed during the dry winter months. If I break out (we all do) I spot on the Sebium Al or Akn for pimples and blackheads. Bioderma is inexpensive and readily available at any Shoppers' Drug Mart as well as online.

Some of my makeup (are u crazy? I am a girl, of course I have more than this!)

For makeup, I prefer not to stick with one brand, but rather to go with colours and applications that I am drawn to and can use easily. I love to try new brands and new makeup but do have my favourites. Currently, for my everyday face, I do use a full made up face, just because of my allergies leaving some very ugly, dark marks and blisters on my skin. Yes, I do hide behind my makeup for this reason - that's why I'm changing, because I'm tired of hiding and would prefer to shine. The everyday person could easily find the following products and use them successfully since they are all "idiot-proof" products. For my foundation and my powder I turn to Vasanti cosmetics. Their liquid foundation comes in a little tube with a brush and matches my skin-tone exactly. It covers just enough for me to feel confident enough to leave the house and accepts the light powder (that is available in the exact colour palettes as the foundation) graciously to create a smooth, flawless and natural look. Neither of these products feel as if you have caked on makeup and recently I've even had people think I was not wearing makeup when I was.

After the Vasanti base on my face, I usually apply my eye makeup. I am a pretty simple person - depending on my mood I may just go with liner and mascara or with a dab of shadow, liner and mascara. I absolutely love love LOVE the Annabelle liquid liners - they come in so many colours, last forever and have a short wand. This allows easy and mistake-proof application, even for newbies. I even converted my sister to these! I use darker colours jbut you can get some pretty neon and fun colours to do a party look easily. Currently I'm on a quest for ultra-long lashes but am terrified of falsies, so I have been trying out several mascaras. The one that I found has worked best for length so far, is the Envyderm mascara that I reviewed on my blog a few months ago. I have to say I didn't expect it to end up being my favourite and I'm not an online shopper so that annoys me. I did have the opportunity to meet with a promotional team from Benefit recently and their mascara wand looks very similar...so when I do run out of the gazillions of mascara I have in my makeup bag, I will be trying the Benefit mascara. When I feel for a little bit of pizzazz in my everyday, I dot my tear duct with either a cool light blue/white or a warm matte gold eyeshadow. I don't use a specific brand for this, I just pick up a colour I love. For nights out, I prefer to do either a smokey eye which I create with various MAC eyeshadows, or with a fabulous shimmering yet natural look which I create with the Urban Decay NAKED palette.

Again, I have not reacted to any or my eye makeups so they may be the last thing I convert to gluten-free-ism - but that's my personal choice.

For blush I do not use a particular brand, but I do like MAC as well for their choice of colours and their cute packaging. The same for bronzer - although my MAC bronzer is glittery and more for going out (and sometimes doubles as eye shadow), so I reccently purchased a Smashbox bronzer that has only a little shimmer in it and not glitter. I use it when I want to dress up a little more but stay natural, and use it just below where I put the blush to emphasize my cheekbones and give it a little bit of that glow that is so popular in today's makeup trends. I am not a lipstick lover/gloss love, so I cannot really recommend any to you. I have found a lipstick that I love from a small Canadian brand named Momo that sells out of a specific spa - but the reason is sorta silly. The lipstick smells like chocolate....and I love the smell. Otherwise, I may go with a lined lip with just plain Vaseline or just plain Vaseline....and when it's been eaten/drunk off or kissed or off or whatever I go au naturelle!

Funnily enough, I just realized that most of the brands I have chosen to use are Canadian - MAC (best known) is from Toronto, Annabelle/Marcelle is under Le Groupe Marcelle from Montreal and Vasanti is a Toronto based cosmetic company that focuses on South Asian skin. How interesting.....I'm going to be in trouble when I move out of Canada :S

My favourite hair products (of course I have others - but these are the ones I actually use!)
Goldwell shampoo & conditioner,Kerastase Chroma Thermique,Moroccan Oil

Other than just face products, I've always had an affinity for trying new hair products. My hair has been my one feature that I've always loved and therefore I've always spent a lot of money on it. Currently I've found a routine that really works for it. I use the Goldwell shampoos (for coloured/damaged hair) that you can buy in bulk from your salon or a beauty supplies outlet, follow it with the Kerastase Chroma Thermique Leave In Hair Conditioner and then follow my blowdry/straightening with Moroccan Oil at the ends. I've recently bought curl cream to try - it's a gluten free product called Desert Essences - just cause it's summer, I'm blowdrying my hair less and I'd like to emphasize the natural curl a little bit more. The only way to do that is to infuse as much moisture as possible and finger twirl sections - and curl creams are perfect for this.

I hope I've given you a bit of insight into my daily routine and that it has been some help for you. If you are choosing products, in the end, use what you love and love what you use. You have to remember that this is not an effort to cover yourself up, but to make you and your personality shine, so my advice is to find colours and products that enhance the real you without making you feel uncomfortable. Good luck and I look forward to seeing photos of you lovelies!

What products do you find the most useful in your daily routine?

Serena is a 30-something, PR-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, “smug-married”, self-proclaimed people-watching allergy-queen just trying to navigate this obstacle course called life. Her blog, Bewildered Bug, is her attempt to relay her everyday experiences. Feel free to contact her there, on Facebook or on Twitter.
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Thank you Ms. Bewildered Bug for this wonderful post. She has given me more than I have expected. It was a pleasure working with her.