On day three of our Twelve Days of Christmas Gift Guides we hone in on gifts that tickle our senses and make us mindful of the joys of a life well lived.
What’s better than having 2 pairs of shoes? Having 8. Tanya Heath Paris has come up with an ingenious design after years in France, where you can pop off the heel on a shoe and swap it out for another.
The problem with being photogenic is that as you age, every angle is no longer your best angle. People can now tell that I’ve had little sleep or have neglected to eat cruciferous vegetables recently.
Kiss and Makeup isn’t your typical beauty store. An apothecary with a focus on local products and natural beauty regimes, this is one of the hottest beauty experiences around. I’ve heard that celebrities make special jaunts to the new Londsale location while filming in Vancouver, and with the new venue opening in Olympic Village in July, it’s now skytrain accessible. But don’t fret if you can’t come to YVR in person. That’s what the web shop is for.
Our favourite finds?
- Scarves and perfect-for-Coachella ponchos by Jackson Rowe
- Bags by Lloyd and Wolf
- Happy Spritz
- Everything Rahua
- Verso and Rouge Bunny Rouge (exclusive to Kiss and Makeup)
- Sjal Beauty (The Canadian version of Creme de la Mer)
- Blind barber from NYC
- Ilya beauty, CV Skinlabs and rms beauty – (local brands and have exploded into the celebrity market)
I bought some Creme Ancienne by Fresh that was hand-mixed by Monks in France – (I couldn’t make that up). After using it a month the compliments just keep rolling in. But more are always better so feel free to keep them coming. Or you can tell me in person when we bump into each other at Kiss and Makeup.
I don’t like new year’s resolutions because they usually amount to more pressure and disappointment. I try to look at life as progress – are every few years getting better than the last? Are we happy? Over the past two months I’ve been focusing on living simply, eliminating stress and organizing life. Along with drinking lemon water, buying a juicer, there are 10 things the family has undertaken to ensure we are living simply with as little stress as possible.
1. Unsubscribe from as many email lists as possible. Keep the ones that you covet, but recognize that your time – even that 5 second glance to your phone when it dings – is worth gold.
2. Do a closet overhaul. (It doesn’t have to be a What Not to Wear episode where you feel guilty and depressed.) Put anything that doesn’t quite fit in a suitcase labelled with the size and date. Check for stained items, holes, pills and shoes beyond repair. Invest in new, thin felt hangers (Homesense is a great place for these) and take metal hangers back to the drycleaner.
3. Place all of your jewelry on the bed. Separate any broken pieces that need repair, and start a collection of unwanted or broken costume pieces for a little girl in your life. When I was a little girl, a friend’s grandmother did this for me and I was thrilled by my treasures. Polish the silver and clean gold, pearls and gems with a soft cloth. I hung chunky necklaces on scarf hangars and places bangles in shoeboxes.
4. Pull out your makeup and toss anything that is too old. Wash brushes with Dawn and water and dry flat on a cloth. 97.9 % of us, according to a study on the use of cosmetics, are guilty of using make-up after the expiration date, with mascara being the most frequently mentioned product. Products with a higher water content have a shorter lifespan after opening due to the ability for bacteria and microbes to breed in moisture.
Expiration Dates for Makeup:
Mascara (regular or waterproof), liquid, pencil or gel eyeliners: 4 to 6 months
Cream, Liquid or Stick Foundations or Concealers: 6 months to 1 year
Powder-based products (including mineral makeup): 2-3 years
Lipsticks, Lip Gloss, & Lip Pencils: 2-3 years
Skincare:
Cleansers: 1 year
Toners: 6 months to 1 year
BHA or AHA Exfoliants: 1 year
Facial or Body Moisturizers and Serums: 6 months to 1 year
Lip Balms: 1 year
5. Eliminate undue travel stress. Note passport expiry dates in your calendar and apply for a Nexus/Global Entry pass to skip long airport security lines. Keep travel chargers and ziplocks sorted with different currencies from past trips in your go-to suitcase, and have a few key seasonal clothing items at the ready in case you take a trip to a different climate. Check balances on hotel points cards and ensure you are using them to your advantage.
6. Be ready for sick days. Check first aid kits for expiration dates on medicines. Have homemade chicken soup in the freezer. We use the homemade chicken stock recipe from Kitchen Stewardship, which provides incredible healing benefits, including boosting the immune system, aiding digestion, increasing efficiency of protein use and providing easily digestible minerals, including calcium. You also get none of the ‘fake’ foods and preservatives when you make it yourself. Get rid of the dust. Give your kids an extendible duster once a week and give them a quarter if they can cover it with dust from the tops of frames and chandeliers.
7. Grab all of your gift cards and see if some can be amalgamated. If you have a stack of cards you will never use, use Cardswap.ca to exchange them for cards you will use.
8. Are your computer and mobile phone systems working well? I hadn’t backed up files, and my phone and computer contacts were duplicated or not being saved properly. Not being able to find a number for a mom during a playdate or losing precious photos to power surges can be devastating or just stressful. Calling Geek Squad or heading to the nearest Apple or Microsoft store could sort out all of your tech woes. Oh, and write your printer toner numbers in your wallet along with your license plate number. (Or am I the only one who always forgets these?) You can also photograph it all, along with membership cards and parking passes and store the photos in a special account in the cloud.
9. Evaluate the entertainment options. Our family is a bit over the top. We have a huge cable package, a Netflix subscription, Next Issue, and regularly make purchases on iTunes and Google Play. I sat down with the family and we discussed our needs. There isn’t enough time in the week to watch, play and read everything. We decided what is most important (English football and Netflix) and eliminated a few unnecessary distractions from there. It can be worth a call to your providers to check the options. Amazon Prime can cut down on entertainment costs. For film buffs in the US, Fandango is your best friend.
10. Do you and your kids do a weekly activity? We were always searching for shin guards, cleats and ski helmets, so we now have a system. Monogrammed bags for each activity (ours are from Land’s End) are packed and in the mudroom. We take them to the activity and then right to the laundry room afterwards. When the clothes are clean and dry they go right back into the bag and to their permanent home. Ditto for library book bags.
We’d love to hear your tips and tricks for living simply! Write them below and we will choose our favourite at random for a special gift card!
Besides getting my car detailed and wearing noise-cancelling headphones, there is little more I require for Mother’s Day. But since the kids asked… we scoured our favourite Etsy shops for some great gift ideas. Check out ten of our favourite Mother’s Day Picks from Etsy!
1. Vintage Milk Glass Colony Harvest Goblets. Because you can fit lots of wine inside.
2. Letterpress Recipe Cards and Recipe Box. Because letterpress.
3.Custom Recycled Sail Diaper Bag. Recycling as well as a stylish, waterproof and unique bag.
4. Organic Linen Cloth Napkins with a Chickadee Screen Print
5. Minimalist Brass Case for iPhone.
6. Floral Hair Clip.
7. White Peignoir.
8. Ornate circle – one-page-per-day agenda inserts
9. Purple Wise Owl Hand-Stamped Wrapping Paper
10. 
Whenever I see Oil of Olay I think of my grandmother. Her skin was perfect and smooth and I always wanted to smell like her. During a tour of the Procter and Gamble archives I was thrown back in time as I saw the exact bottles that graced her dresser. And the Pampers that I would have worn as a baby. The Tide my mom used as I lay in a laundry basket as a toddler while she folded and watched ‘Soaps’. The company began in 1837 by William Procter, a candlemaker, and James Gamble, a soapmaker.
Cool Facts:
In 1911, P&G began producing Crisco, a shortening made of vegetable oils rather than animal fats. During the 1920s, radio was gaining popularity and the company sponsored advertisements on radio programs. This is why these shows, and later their TV counterparts became known as “soap operas.”
There were four P&G products on the space shuttle Columbia. Can you guess? Oral-B toothpaste, Charmin toilet paper, Old Spice Deodorant and Gillette razors.
In 1926 Camay was introduced to meet the demand for perfumed beauty soaps.
The first detergent-based shampoo was called Drene in 1934.
Tide was introduced in 1946 and was so superior to anything on the market (and so reasonably priced) that it became known as a ‘washing miracle’ and was the leading US brand by 1950.
1961 was the year that changed all years for Moms…. Pampers were introduced.
The history of such a huge, successful company can’t be taken lightly, and the archives were a testament to positive corporate culture and pride. I could have spent hours touching the bottles, seeing the progress and losing myself in history.
I have a friend who is famous for foot rubs. Excited to be invited for dinner, I asked his wife permission to ask for a quick foot massage, and she was very graceful in sharing her husband. But when the guru saw my feet he refused to touch them. Come on! I haven’t had time to get a pedicure recently! Dejected and sad I left with sore feet. But I now have no more reason to be embarrassed. This tool might be my new favourite beauty product. The Emjoi Micro Pedi requires 2 AA batteries and eliminates the need for sharp metal callus removers. It enabled me to skip pricy, time-consuming pedicures at the salon. (Some find the spa experience relaxing but it stresses me out.) Seriously. As if I needed another reason to be a hermit at home!
We get a ton of products shipped to the office for testing and we try as many as we can. So we owe it to our readers to share our favs. Some are a tad racy, so watch out… Presenting Our 20 Favourite Beauty Products for the Summer! Enjoy and be sure to add your own in the comments section.
My Dentist (He deserved to have it capitalized) is amazing. Patient, not condescending even if I haven’t flossed in a bit, and the kids adore him. I thought he was perfect. And then he whitened my teeth and now I know I would marry the guy if I were not married already.
The first appointment in the teeth whitening process was wonky. That’s a technical term. Reverse moulds are done by placing trays around the teeth and squirting purple playdough-like stuff into the moulds. I should have been a scientist. It’s purple, and then it hardens white! How cool is that?
A few weeks later, the rubber trays are ready and you are all set to begin whitening your teeth at home. You get the plaster moulds too which is awesome, since after I whitened my teeth to a stunning shade of pearl, I left the trays in Argentina. So now I can get new ones made with these exact replicas of my mouth. You are given syringes filled with 2 types of whitener that also work to strengthen enamel. The dual-compartment syringes make you feel pretty advanced, and ensure you squirt every crevice of the trays accurately. You just have to be careful when your nanny/cleaning lady finds the empties in the garbage and suspects that you’re on drugs.
I remember the old-style whitener, where you slept with your trays in. The trays didn’t cover the whole tooth, you certainly never got lucky overnight, and the next morning you couldn’t enjoy coffee due to tooth sensitivity. With the Nite White – 10 minutes, baby! And you notice a difference right away. You can whiten to the degree you prefer. (Remember the Friend’s episode with Ross’ fluorescent teeth? Stop before that point.) Incidentally, you can also leave them in overnight without the morning sensitivity. You still might not get lucky though.
I wish someone would invent something this easy for flossing.
Dr. Chris Kan own the Arbutus Point Dental Centre in Kitsilano, Vancouver. He is also possibly a demi-God.
Disclosure: UrbanMommies was given a teeth whitening experience and as always, our opinions are our own.