Cleopatra & Colette by Tocca

I am INCREDIBLY picky when it comes to fragrance.

Since I'm so impossibly hard to please, I am forever searching ...

There came a day when I finally found THE ONE - literally. It was Dolce & Gabbana's The One.

I loved it. I had found everything I was looking for in a fragrance. My search was over ... until I found out that the real version of "The One", my husband, couldn't stand the smell!

Noooooo!

So my quest began once more and only this year have I found my new, true fragrance loves!

Or perhaps I should call them my fragrance BFF's ... introducing:

Cleopatra & Colette!

These little babies are from Tocca and were in the line display at Sephora, which I sometimes enjoy even more than the rest of the store, if I'm being honest.

I thought 'hey, the packaging is nice, why not give them a sniff and see'.

I fell in love!

I smelled Cleopatra first. It was perfect: sophisticated, feminine, light and fresh. It made me think of a Parisian spa.

I left it there, finished up with my purchase and went home... as the night went on I couldn't help but wonder 'What was I thinking'? I had finally found my dream fragrance! I had to go back for it.

So I did.

I bought the duo it was sold in, Cleopatra & Colette. I figured I'd just ditch Colette and hold on to my little gem, Cleopatra.

Turns out I hit the jackpot.

Colette is a beautiful fragrance as well! I love it almost as much as Cleopatra.

It's a slightly softer, more romantic and floral scent.

Anyways, I am SO HAPPY with my little perfumes!!

As soon as these little gift sizes run out ~ I will 100% be purchasing the full sizes. Now that I've found my new BFF's ~ I can't live without them!

DIY: Exfoliating Moisturizer

Exfoliators & moisturizers are my favourite things to buy!
I used to work at The Body Shop and owned just about every lotion, cream, body butter and scrub they carried - plus a million drug store brands!

One day it dawned on me that at the heart of these moisturizers were natural oils ~ almond oil, olive oil, sunflower seed oil ~ and at the core of the exfoliants were ... natural exfoliants ~ nut shells, salts, sugars.

"Eureka"!! I thought (well, maybe I wasn't quite so dramatic). But I was suddenly very eager to make my very own exfoliator with edible products that I knew were safe and natural.

I've experimented with all kinds of natural beauty products ever since ~ facial masks, hair treatments, moisturizers, but my classic go to that I never get tired of is a Sea Salt Moisturizing Exfoliator.

Below is the "How To Make It" and the "Why I Love It".

How To Make It:

Step 1: Pour about 10-15 tablespoons of sea salt into your desired container

Step 2: Add about half a cup of oil to the salt, or as much as gives you a consistency you like. *I use grapeseed oil lately, but you can use any oil that suits your skin ~ almond oil, coconut oil, olive oil ... the list is endless

Step 3: Bam! You're done.

  

You can now use this mixture in the shower to exfoliate dead skin cells away, as well as moisturize your skin! So simple, so effective!

Why I Love It:

1. It works! My skin feels super soft and moisturized directly after, and until my next shower.

2. It does the job of 2 products (exfoliator & moisturizer) in 1 step!

3. Mechanical exfoliation (the process of physically scrubbing the skin) promotes circulation

4. Sea salt is known to have great benefits for the skin

5. It's all natural

**One word of warning: the oil can really do quite the job on your tub, making it extremely slippery ~ so be mindful of that while you're in there. I try to give it a rinse with soap when I'm done so my hubby doesn't wipe out on a slip & slide the next time he's in!

So, this is my go-to scrub in it's most basic form.

I will sometimes add essential oils for their scent and health benefits.

It adds a little 'kick' to throw some peppermint or lemongrass oil in every once in a while ~ or whatever you like!

Give it a try and see what you think ~ and make sure to let me know how it goes!

Happy Exfolurizing!!!

~ Kelly

Keratin Treatment

In my most recent (and first) blog post, I said I was going for a keratin hair treatment.

Well, I went...

I know I was curious about the process, so I thought I'd give a little description for anyone else who might be wondering too.

First off, I went to a salon called Salon Miah and Spa http://www.salonmiah.com/ .

My stylist, Kelli, started by washing my hair with a clarifying shampoo to make way for the product. Then was the fun part ;-) She brushed through my freshly washed, conditioner free hair ... ugh. I don't know if you've ever tried to do this, but with long, somewhat bleached hair - it's not a pleasant experience. There were actually two stylists working on me for this part, one on either side of my head, brushing away. Thankfully, they made it bearable and I survived! Woo!

Now it was time for the application.

The procuct itself was a light, mint green, thin gel/cream pictured below.

  
             

It went on like hair colour, painted on with a little colouring brush.


The setup

The smell was not as bad as hair colour ... but not my favourite smell in the world either. I had my friend sniff it and she described it as 'burnt hair smell'. To me it was more like .... fermenting fruit??? I'm not sure. Anyways, not the best smell, but beauty is ... stinky ... sometimes ... ?

Once my hair was covered from root to tip, she sat me under the dryer with a plastic cap to help it soak in.

Next came the blowdry and then a very thorough flat ironing. The heat from the flat iron is what sets and seals the product into your hair.

From start to finish the appointment was about 3 hours - a little longer than we had expected... mainly because I have more hair than she realised!

Just when I thought we were finished, there was one last step: "The Rules".

For the next 4 days:
- No washing
- No product of any kind (including dry shampoo)
- No hair elastics
- No clips/bobby pins

Essentially my stylist told me if you can think of something you'd like to do to your hair - the answer is 'NO - Don't touch it'!

This has been very hard - as telling someone they can't wash their hair and then forbidding dry shampoo is just plain cruel. ;)

I've taken some before and after pics to see if there is a visible difference straight away.

What do you think?



                             
                            
                                                                The Before's



                           

 

                          
                                                                 The After's


That's it for this post!

I'd love to know if any of you have had a keratin treatment, and what your thoughts were.

Or is anyone considering having one done in the future? Straightening or Conditioning?

Talk to you soon,

~ Kelly

Hello and Welcome to K-Sullo!

This is a really exciting day for me, as I’ve never before in my life made a blog post!

I’ve decided to create a little space where I can have an outlet for my love of writing and all things feminine... where I can post about different things I’m learning ~ about beauty and about life in general.

I wasn’t entirely sure where to start, so I’ve decided to share the next big thing on my beauty calendar.

I am going for my first ever keratin hair treatment!

There are two kinds that the salon I’m going to offers: one that straightens your hair and one that just conditions.

I like to hold on to the tiny bit of natural wave I have, so I’m going for pure conditioning.

I’ve bounced back and forth between blonde and brunette hair over the years and the last time I went blonde I vowed “NEVER AGAIN”! The bleach ruined my hair so badly and it took me forever to get it healthy again.

Of course “never” came sooner than I thought and I’m back on my way to blonde... typical!

                

Me bouncing over the years from brown ...

                                                       

                      



                                                                                   ... to blonde!



Anyways, this time I’ve decided to take EXTREMELY good care of my hair, so that I can have nice, healthy blonde hair instead of fried, straw-like blonde hair.

Here’s hoping!

I’ll definitely be posting about the keratin experience.

Wish me luck!

~ Kelly