Why I Love Beautycounter (and a Safe Beauty Sale!)

I recently announced on my Instagram that I am now a Beautycounter consultant and am on a mission to share #betterbeauty with all of you!

Beautycounter is cleaning up Black Friday early with Clean Friday. Starting today Beautycounter is offering 15% off site-wide* and FREE shipping over $65 from now until December 1.

Beautycounter’s mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. This means they not only rigourously test their own products using only clean and safe ingredients, but they also are leading a charge to lobby government to implement stricter legislation around what can be used in skincare and beauty products. Interested in reading more about Beautycounter and its founder, Gregg Renfrew? Visit their story on the Beautycounter website here.

Never shopped Beautycounter before and don’t know where to start? Let me break down a few favourites for you.

For You

Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion: This is kind of the holy grail of the entire Beautycounter line. It provides 24 hours of hydration adapts to your needs througout the day. Countermatch mimics skin using plant molecules and gives you only what you need and nothing that you don’t. An excellent daily moisturizer that gets the job done.

The Charcoal Mask: This mask is AMAZING. With activated charcoal, it absorbs excess oil and draws out impurities. Trust me, you need this mask in your life. It literally draws the dirt and oils out from under your skin’s surface and the tingling sensation feels SO satisfying.

Overnight Resurfacing Peel: Use the resurfacing peel on a clean face under your moisturizer at bedtime and wake up to a brighter complexion. That tingling sensation? It’s clearing away dull surface cells and feels so damn good.

Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm: This balm cleanses, removes makeup and impurities with nourishing ingredients and won’t strip away your skin’s natural moitsure. It doubles as an overnight mask for a hydrating facial effect. Did I mention it smells like a dream and leaves your face feeing oh-so-soft?

Holiday Gifts

The Better Balm Duo (shown above): Are there any men reading this still? Yes? Okay, good. This makes an amazing stocking stuffer for your wife or girlfriend. Includes one tinted and one untinted lip balm formulated conditioning muru muru butter and a plant-based alternative for retinoids to give her even more kissable lips. Trust me, she wants these balms!

The Jellies: Okay, these are SO FUN! A pack of five fun lip glosses sweetened with Stevia. Perfect for your sis or best friend – or break them up and add them into teacher, daughters, nieces, cousins and hostess gifts. Or just keep them for yourself!

The Body Butter Trio: Giving winter skin LIFE, the Body Butter Trio is formulated with shea butter and sunflower oil and leaves your skin feeling so hydrated. Again, this is a perfect gift to break up and split amongst recipients or gift all three to one lucky lady.

For Him

Counterman Cooling Aftershave Tonic: Not all men are into “products,” right? Mine isn’t anyway, but he does shave every day. So this Christmas, I am going to ease him into skincare with the cooling aftershave tonic. He loves the Saje wellness peppermint halo roll-on, so I know he’ll love this cooling, protective tonic after his morning shave.

Counterman Charcoal Body Bar: Everyone needs to get clean in the shower, right? There’s no reason that this charcoal body bar for “him” can’t actually be for you, too!

Those are just a few of my recommendations but please feel free to reach out here in the comments or DM me on Instagram if you have any Beautycounter questions. Let’s make sure what we are putting on our skin is SAFE, friends. Thanks for popping in!

*exclusions apply.

How We Stay Happy and Active in Winter

Winter has arrived in Winnipeg! With a crazy snow storm landing in early October, it feels like winter came and left and then came back again. After a little bit of seasonal confusion, I feel that I can safely say winter is here to stay, so let’s embrace it, friends!

This weekend, a few families from our street bundled up and walked over a couple of blocks to Omand’s Creek for some outdoor fun. We spent two hours removing ice from the footbridge, sliding down hills, checking out natural ice rinks, and drinking hot chocolate. All in all, an amazing day.

I’m the first to want to hibernate and hide from frigid temperatures, but I know that actually just makes it harder. I definitely feel the affects of winter on my mental wellness if I’m not being pro-active and embracing it. Here’s what I find helps:

Exercise. This can be indoors or outdoors but incorporating some aerobic activity where I get my heartrate pumping a few times a week definitely keeps me feeling optimistic about life. My favourites ways to stay active throughout the winter are The Fitual, winter running, and Wheelhouse Cycle Club.
Spending time outdoors. Even if it’s reeeeeeaaallly cold, which will happen, it’s still so important to spend time outdoors and breathe in that crisp, cold air. I’m prone to come up with all kinds of reasons to stay in when it’s bitterly cold, so if you see me do that this winter please just refer me back to this post.
Dress warm! Layers, layers, layers. I love wrapping myself up in my MPG Sport Blizzard Down coat, it literally feels like a warm hug. Miles stays cozy in his bright red MEC Toaster Suit and Juliette is in year two with her Gapkids parka. She was very specific that she wanted a black coat with a fur hood just like mom’s.
Make plans with friends. Last winter, we started a monthly pizza night with a couple of other families. It was such a great way to stay connected and enjoy a night out as a family. Making it a pizza night is extra helpful because then no one feels pressure to cook!
Stock up on games and puzzles. Long hours spent indoors can wind up meaning long hours spent on screens if we’re not careful. Having a stack of puzzles and kid-friendly games will get us off our devices and enjoying time together. Some of our favourites are Telestrations, Headbanz and, the classic of classics, Monopoly (or Monopoly Jr.).

There you have it! A few fairly easy solutions to beat winter dulldrums and embrace what can be an unpopular time of year.

Thanks for popping in, friends!

Ethical Gift Guide for the Holidays: Patagonia Presents for Him and Her

It’s almost that time of year again… Ho! Ho! Ho! I love the holidays, and I absolutely love gift giving…. and receiving. This year, I want to think ethically about the purchases I’m making and items on my wish list, so I’m being mindful of the companies I choose to support.

Patagonia is leading the way when it comes to sustainable practices in the garment industry. A couple of months ago, I shared an inspiring short film on my Instagram they made about how they are taking recycling to the next level and encouraging other companies in the industry to do the same. If you find yourself with an extra fifteen minutes, I highly recommend watching the short film. It really had me reflecting on my own habits and take an honest look at my consumption.

Last weekend, Miles and I went to Mountain Equipment Co-op to get him a new snowsuit. We chose to get the MEC toaster suit, and he chose red! Love that kid. While there, I perused the men’s and women’s sections and started compiling a mental list of gifts to give… and to get! So here’s my round-up of Patagonia for him and her. I also picked up the pair of the undies shown in the above collage, and I must say, I give them an A+ rating. So comfy. They don’t ride up and no pantylines with leggings. The trifecta for perfect undies!

Here’s the breakdown of my Patagonia picks…

The women’s Quilted Crew and men’s Quilted Snap-t Pullover. I have been eyeing this style for quite a while now. It’s made from organic cotton, which is amazing, although not as sustainable as their other recycled garments as the cotton fields require a great deal of water and land mass.

Plaid for the fellas. In my family, plaid is always a safe bet for my husband, dad and brother. This Lightweight Flannel Shirt is made from organic cotton, will never go out of style and will remain a staple in their closet year after year.

The women’s and men’s Better Sweater. I have wanted one of these Better Sweaters since before Juliette was born! I’m also just now realizing that it’s been on my wish list for nine years!!! That right there means this classic staple is one that will never lose it’s place in your wardrobe and will remain a classic comfy, cozy layering piece for decades. Best part about the better sweater? It’s made from 100% recycled polyester. I bought one for my dad for his birthday in September, and he loves it. So there you go, dad approved.

The women’s Patagonia Los Gatos 1/4 zip. This one just looks so cozy, and I think I would reach for it everyday from October through March. It’s made of 100% polyester, 30% of which is recycled. This would be a great gift for your mom or sister, too. Put it on your wish list and maybe you’ll surprise each other by gifting one another the exact same thing!

Patagonia toque, or as our American friends like to call it, beanie. If you live in Winnipeg, I don’t need to justify a toque purchase. It’s a necessity and always a safe gift for a brother, sister, cousin, husband, wife, colleague, ex-roomate, girlfriend, nephew, and on and on and on. You get the point, everyone needs a toque.

Skivvies! I already mentioned I love the undies shown above. I have yet to try the bra but if it’s anything like the matching bottoms, I’m guessing it’s a good one. Although probably better for us gals who aren’t all that busty.

I had a lot of fun pulling this post together! I think I’ll plan a few more gift guides to roll out in the coming weeks, if you have any requests shoot them my way! Also, now I can just forward this link to my family who may be looking for gift ideas. 🙂 Who am I kidding? I always tell people exactly what I want. (I think maybe gift giving is my love language?)

Enjoy your weekend, friends!