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Yesterday my best bud and fellow Neon Bible writer Roni got married!  To keep things running smoothly from hair appointment to hora, the other bridesmaids and I made her a Wedding Day Survival Kit, or as we called it a Just in Case Case

Included was:

• Q-tips
• eye makeup remover pads
• aloe vera wetnaps
• body lotion
• mini deodorant - make sure it’s clear!
• bobby pins

• moleskin - very important.  we all put this on our feet before the ceremony.
• clear nail polish - to repair cracks and hang nails
• hair spray

• Pepto Bismol
• Gravol
• Advil

• Lint roller with pet hair protector
• Tide to go - very useful, especially after the bride fell down during her “running” photos
• compact mirror
• scissors

If you’re going to make a Just in Case Case for your bride, brainstorm with your bridesmaids and make a list, then figure out who’s going to get what.  Don’t forget a cute basket or tote.

Here’s some stuff I’ve been obsessed with as of late:

Yes To Carrots C Through the Night Moisturizing Cream

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner
I gave my MAC Fluidline a rest and tried liquid liner again. The brush tip is firm and easy to control, and the liner is smooth and intensely black. Perfect cat eyes. Over UDPP it does indeed last all day without flaking or smudging (which is wonderful, since I get mild raccoon eyes with Fluidline even with primer). $10-ish at any drugstore.

MAC Brave New Bronze + Gold Rebel
Pinky-peachy nude lipstick + apricot-gold gloss = simple, sexy warm nude lip. Both of these are from the latest Style Warrior collection, so snap them up before it’s too late!
Lipstick and Lipglass are $16.50 each at MAC Cosmetics.

FitDay.com
2009 has taught me that breakups and office desk jobs are no good for a girl’s waistline. But thanks to ideas from Specktra forums and Georgia’s WW adventures, I’ve been inspired to take better care of myself and manage some sort of diet & exercise plan. This website makes it super easy to keep track of the food you’ve eaten vs. calories burned, and tells you if you’ve met your calorie goals for the day. And as a visual learner, I love how it presents your stats/progress in graph format. Pie charts? Yes! I find it more informative than just writing things down in a food journal. It’s free to sign up for a basic account here.

Miscellaneous Loves: sunny-but-not-sweltering days in Vancouver, birthdays, NARS Sin blush (oldie but goodie), Poshe’ Cuticle Care cream (review coming soon)

What have you been loving lately?

– Jacks

Long ago I gave up on drugstore nail polishes. On the most part they’re goopy, streaky, and take forever to dry. But let’s face it, there aren’t a lot of other cheap options for Vancouver girls. OPI (my personal favourite) is readily available but being poor, sometimes I have to choose spending $20 on lunch downtown instead of 2 bottles of polish. Essie is easier to find these days but it’s more expensive and selection is usually limited. And by limited I mean some stores only have 3 shades. Sad.

One drugstore nail brand I don’t totally hate is Sally Hansen. Their products can be hit or miss but I swear by their Nailgrowth treatment (wonderful as a base coat) and Insta-Dri Top Coat. I decided to pick up their new Insta-Dri Nail Polish. I got the shades Rose-A-Go-Go, a light baby pink with slight silver shimmer and Sonic Bloom, a bright raspberry coral. The bottle shape is kind of fug and the brush is also weird-looking, super flat with a curved brush head. It’s wider than OPI’S Pro-Wide brush. Anyway, according to the display you can paint your nail with this in one stroke. I tried that but it failed. Continuing to paint my nails like normal — 3-4 swipes for even coverage — I found that it was harder to make the polish near the cuticle look good due to the brush’s jagged bristles. And although it says you only need one coat for solid colour, it was a tad streaky for my taste so I did two. It did dry fast, not sure if it was exactly 60 seconds as promised but hey, good enough.

From my experience with drugstore polishes in the past I’d say I like this nail polish enough that I would buy more colours. The colour range is large with a few fun bright shades. I’m eyeing the yellow one (Lightening) for the summer. Points for applying smoothly and drying quickly, but that brush is damn irritating. The strength was excellent for a fast-drying polish; lasted 5 days without obvious chipping.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Nail Polish can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart for about $5.99 CAD.

– Jacks

I’m obsessed with Superstore. They have DVDs, President’s Choice (Galen Westen is a little bit sexy, no?), a kick ass garden centre and now Joe Fresh’s new makeup line. Yesterday while doing my BBQ shopping I picked up two of their creme blushes. My thoughts…

Who it’s for: Those who want a lot for less

What I like about it: I picked up Nude and Peach. So far I’ve only tried out nude. I put it over top of my Benefit Coralista blush and it gave it a really nice dewy glow. Oh and did I mention they only cost $4.00 CAD?

What I don’t like: The formula is a little sticky. It’s better to put it on a brush and apply it as apposed to applying it directly.

You can pick up Joe Fresh makeup at Real Canadian Superstores and Loblaws across Canada. Check out the entire line here.

Lately I’ve really been into natural bath and body products. They tend to smell better and my skin and hair don’t dry out. I’ve tried two natural shaving creams in the past two months and here are my thoughts.

Aveda Rosemary Mint Shaving Cream:

I got this shaving cream as a Christmas present. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up myself because it’s a little out of my price range. But I gotta say, this stuff rules. It smells great and leaves my skin really smooth. I can use it anywhere and it doesn’t leave me with any razor burn. I swear, none. Another benefit is that you only have to use a little bit, which is great, because this stuff is kind of expensive at around $16.00CAD

Alba Vanilla Mango Cream Shave:

This cream was a lot cheaper than the Aveda, coming out to about $6.00CAD. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly as awesome as it’s more expensive counterpart. It smelled great, but the formula was way too slimy, and my razor kept slipping off my leg. As a result, a lot of hairs were left behind.

What shave gels or creams do you use?

Okay so pretty much we’re all scarred by the “natural moisture barrier” Spectro commercials from last year, but that doesn’t mean that you should totally discount the brand. The other day while grocery shopping with my parents I picked up Spectro’s AcneCare Cleansing Pads. Er okay I threw it in the basket and made my parents pay for it. ANYWAYS… here are my thoughts.

Who is it for: The lazy and blemish prone.

What is it for: Spectro Cleansing Pads for Sensitive Skin work to cleanse acne prone skin [and] instantly purify skin by removing dirt, oil and bacteria to leave your skin feeling clean and energized. Even if you’re acne free like me, they’re great for just getting your face clean fast.

What I like about it: I hate washing my face with water and soap, so cleansing pads are perfect for me. I’ve tried tons, and so far these are my favourite. They’re soft, smooth and because they’re designed for sensitive skin, they’re not too alcoholy, which usually leads to red, watery eyes and an all unpleasantness. These guys are really easy on the eyes.

What I don’t like: They smell like rum and coke. And when you’re washing your face at 6:30am, do you really want to be reminded of the basement of the frat house or that week you pretended to be an Australian exchange student studying architecture? Actually… maybe this should go under things I do like.

Spectro AcneCare Cleansing Pads are available at most drug stores for about $10.00CAD and comes with 55 pads.