Gift Guide for Your Best Guy


The Classic Duffle Bag

Seriously though I don’t want to make assumptions but most men I’ve  met have had one duffle bag for their entire lives. They took it with them in high school and now they take it with them on work trips and it’s nasty. (Sorry if you’re above this, dudes). It’s time to get them something that’s classic, well made, and, importantly, doesn’t smell like feet.

Fancy Pants Accessories

I know this seems cliche – everyone who doesn’t know what to give the male in their life falls back on getting him a tie or socks or cuff links but I’m here to argue that these are the staple gifts because they’re GREAT, not because you don’t know what else to give. A fun pair of socks is perfect for that guy who likes a little bit of flair with his office wardrobe. A new tie can refresh a whole wardrobe!

A Subtle Candle

Do I really have to say more? These smell AMAZING and this way he doesn’t have to go through the trouble of picking out his own candle. Plus, the understated and elegant packaging looks perfect paired with a classy bottle of whiskey.

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Discover Lifestyle FV Subscription Box

Subscription boxes are everywhere these days – there’s one for every niche interest you could imagine, including plenty of subscription boxes touting locally made goodies. Discover Lifestyle FV  is one such subscription box which sources only the best health and wellness goods from, you guessed it, the Fraser Valley! I was so excited to get my hands on the fall sampler box to review for you guys!

 

 

What Is It?

 

The Discover Lifestyle FV Subscription Box is, at its core, a box to connect you with locally and ethically made goods, that not only support local artisans, but are also truly beautiful and unique. The creator, Christina, started making the Discover Lifestyle FV box because she wanted to share these stunning finds with like-minded people who might not be lucky enough to have such great products easily available to them. When a brand is truly passionate about their mission – to share beautiful, ethical, natural goods with everyone – it really shows. This subscription box is carefully curated so that each product goes beautifully together.

With these niche boxes, it’s less hit or miss when you receive a box where you don’t get a say in what’s inside – you know that you’ll love everything because they’re all great, locally sourced lifestyle goods. The boxes are valued at $140 CAD each with the seasonal subscription price ringing in at $89.95 or an annual subscription price of $319.80 for four boxes sent out seasonally. Locally made goods at a discount, who doesn’t love that?

 

What’s Inside?

 

Let’s take a closer look at what’s inside! If I was to describe the vibe of this box I would call it “quintessentially cosy” which is perfect with fall rolling in. As soon as it’s September, all I want to do is bundle up and drink hot tea. This box features the perfect essentials for enjoying a cosy autumn.

My personal favorite items are the Harvest Blend Herbal Tea made with 100% organic herbs from New Moon Tea Co. and the super cute knit toque from Strings & Things, made locally in Abbotsford BC. Toques are one of my autumn and winter staple pieces – you’ll rarely find me with a bare head between October and March – and I just love the chunky knit and fluffy pom pom on this one! Plus there’s the cutest knit bookmark made by Knot Your Granny’s Stitches to coordinate with the toque(if you check out their Instagram page you might just find the cutest crochet pumpkins too). Perfection!

The box also includes a candle from The 6th Scent Candle which is absolutely divine. These soy candles are like little tins full of yummy-smelling joy – no over powering chemical-y and perfume-y candles here! Plus, burning soy candles (or other alternative wax candles) are so much better for you. The size of this candle is just perfect for burning in your bathroom while you’re getting your pamper on!

There are two pieces of jewelry included in this tester box – a pair of earrings created in Maple Ridge by Sweet Caroline Creative and a lovely bracelet by North Pacific Co. and inspired by the Chief in Squamish BC. I’m not really one for jewelry myself, but I find myself falling for the lovely, dainty floral pattern of these earrings. They’re also nickel free which is really important as my ears are extremely sensitive. The bracelet is a classic beaded bracelet that is honestly perfect for the Lower Mainland’s laid back and outdoorsy vibes. It’s beautiful without trying to hard, with lots of lovely greens and earth tones.

Lastly, we have a couple of bath and body goods for an extra relaxation factor. The lip balm from Dual Peaks Soap Co. is the perfect size to slip into even the tiniest of purses or clutch bags – trust me, you’re gonna be reaching for it all winter long! Also from Dual Peaks is a great little bath bomb (you know I love a good fizzy bath) which smells just divine – seriously, when I opened up this box I couldn’t wait to figure out where the gorgeous berry scent was coming from. And from True Products comes the most gorgeous and ALL NATURAL perfume in a sweet, sunny scent. For me, an all natural perfume means NO SNEEZING and NO ITCHY FACE from whatever chemicals are in traditional perfume. Who knew I was so sensitive?!

Now, I would LOVE to keep all these goodies for myself and shoot endless cute and cosy photos for the coming fall and winter season, but I wanted to give back to all my Canadian followers! So check out my instagram to win this fall sampler box! Good Luck!

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Cohorted Beauty Subscription Box Review

Beauty Box subscription boxes – we know them, we love them, and there always seem to be new ones popping up. I’ve always wanted to try a beauty subscription service but with all the choice out there, I didn’t know which one I wanted to test out.

That’s why I was so excited when Cohorted reached out to me to try their luxury beauty box subscription service! And now I want to share that excitement and my thoughts with all of you!

 

What Is It?

Cohorted Beauty Boxes specialises creating a luxury, hand-crafted experience for you every month. Each step of packing the box is done by hand, right down to the perfectly tied bow. Their packaging is elegant and is made of really luxe materials. The products in each box are carefully selected and curated so you can be sure that they’re going to be beautiful, high quality products. The only drawback is that the boxes are not specifically curated to your particular tastes so you don’t have any say in what you receive. If you love surprises, however, it’s great!

Each box costs £35 or about $60 Canadian and they offer worldwide shipping. I received six products in the June box so each product was about $10 Canadian which is so reasonable for the quality of the products!

The June Box

The June box was a collaboration with the brand Doucce Cosmetics – a French brand that I had never heard anything about until this box showed up at my door. The packaging of the products is really sturdy, well made, and sleek. I received six products total: an eyeshadow palette, a mascara, an eyeliner, an eyebrow pencil, a lipstick, and a lip liner.

The lipstick is really buttery and pigmented – they supplied a pretty neutral shade that would look good on pretty much anyone. I prefer my lipsticks bold but there’s always room for a good nude lipstick.

The lipliner is pretty basic and unfortunately didn’t match the lipstick well – unfortunately, it really missed the mark for me.

Now, I don’t wear eyeshadow a lot so I’m certainly not the expert on reviewing it but I can say I really like the palette provided in the June box. Firstly, it’s such high quality – all the individual pans are stuck to the palette with super strong magnets and they come covered with little individual plastic tops to protect them. I’m kinda obsessed with the highlight shade provided – it’s just the right amount of shimmer to make your cheekbones glow.


The mascara and eyeliner are your basic black, and the brush for the mascara is super fluffy and coats every lash. The formula of both is really nice and the eyeliner applies smoothly.

Last, I was a little let down by the brow pencil – it’s a good shade for me, but definitely not for everyone! It’s also really stiff and that makes it hard to apply precisely. The spoolie is great but on a whole, the brow pencil was a miss from me.

Overall, though, the box was really great value for all the products you receive and the quality of the products. If you’re looking for a little bit of a different beauty box experience than the really popular ones on the market, Cohorted is a great choice, especially if you love surprises! If you like a more curated box that’s made just for you, you may want to look elsewhere.

 

Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite subscription boxes are or which ones you want to try the most!

 

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Holiday Gift Guide 2017

For that Person who’s always on time (or that person who’s always late and wants to be on time)

Berg + Betts

Berg + Betts is a Canadian based company dedicated to creating ethical and sustainable timepieces for the modern woman. Their watch straps are made using leather scraps which would otherwise go unused which reduces the amount of textile waste produced. Berg + Betts also sources their watch parts ethically from Dongguan.

They offer both a rectangular and circular watch face with a variety of strap colours. Berg + Betts also offers a double wrap style strap for their rectangular watches as well as a 2-year warranty and free shipping!

My top picks:  the round silver and black for a classic touch or the rectangular black on black watch for an elegant minimalist look.

Medium Watches

Medium is another Canadian company, this one inspired by the Rocky Mountains. I’m absolutely infatuated with almost every single watch produced by Medium – they offer so many different styles, colours, and sizes that there’s really something to suit everyone’s taste. As a bonus, Medium also offers engraving to really personalise your piece for yourself or for a loved one.

My top picks: The Summit watch ($55 off right now!) in white and black is my top pick from Medium’s men’s watches where for women I would go with The Debut in black, rose gold and greige leather. If you’re looking for something classic or a statement piece – Medium is definitely a great choice!

For the Bath Aficionado

Bare Skin Bar

I could not be more jazzed to have found out about Bare Skin Bar and it’s founder, Cynthia, this year. Bare Skin Bar was created by women who want to produce skin care that’s both pretty and beneficial. Not only are the Bare Skin Bars amazing (seriously – they leave my skin softer than it’s ever been in my entire life) but they’re also handcrafted using ingredients sourced within Canada and are free of any animal testing. I could honestly go on and on about all great things that Bare Skin Bar is a part of, because seriously, there are so many!

My top picks: the Calming Bar and the Softening Bar. You can order online or find the Bare Skin Bars at any of these stockists (I definitely recommend checking out Gatley on Commercial Drive – so cute!).

For the Person Who Always Has a Candle Lit (so, anyone like me)

You + Me Candles

If you didn’t already know – I used to work in the mass produced home goods sector and, as someone who LOVES a good discount, was always buying mass produced candles using my employee discount. It wasn’t until recently that I started thinking about what was actually in those candles and whether it was healthy to be burning them at home.

When You + Me Candles approached me to collaborate, I was so happy to try out toxin free clean burning candles made with apricot and coconut wax. Mass produced candles pale in comparison to these hand made ones – the scent throw on these bad boys is actually incredible. They also have a line of room sprays which are DIVINE (seriously they keep my whole house smelling like I just cleaned vigorously).

My top picks: Vanilla Bourbon Glass Candle (perfectly deep and a little bit sweet) or Gun Smoke Tin Candle  

For that Person with or Aspiring to have Perfect Skin

Midnight Paloma

This is another local Vancouver brand that creates skincare and body care products using charcoal to help naturally detoxify the skin. Midnight Paloma is natural, gluten free, and cruelty free. I originally waffled about whether or not to put Midnight Paloma under the bath category or under the skin care category, but I think that the real star of the line is the Charcoal and Rose Detox Mask, so skincare it is! You can mix it with your choice of water, honey, or yogurt depending on your skin’s needs (I like to just use water) for a detoxifying and hydrating experience.

Make sure to check out the gift sets for the holiday season!

My top picks: Charcoal + Rose Detox Mask (duh) and the Charcoal + Grapefruit Fizzy Bath Soak

WHYLD Skincare

Based out of California, WHYLD Skincare is one of the first companies I had the pleasure of partnering with. WHYLD’s core values are to create natural products of the highest quality that will actually work for your skin! WHYLD’s products are unisex, formulated to be effective on all skin types and the value for money is incredible – especially these days when a serum can go for $100CAD+. I received my bottle of Youth Activating Elixir back in June and I still have so much left! WHYLD is vegan and cruelty free and in my experience, their customer service is amazing!

My top picks: Youth Activating Elixir (the one that lasts forever) + Active Botanical Cleanse

 

Ativo Skincare

Ativo is such a brilliant female-led business run in the lower mainland. All of their products are made with natural and organic ingredients. I love the story behind the brand – at eleven years old the founder, Jayda, suffered from cystic acne due to health issues. Being WAY smarter and cooler than I was in my tweens and teens, Jayda actually did something about it and formulated a detox soap for her skin. I can’t even believe how awesome that is! I’m putting Ativo in the skincare category because that’s where their line started, but they have such a wide variety of products that you could probably buy all of your self care products exclusively from them and never be lacking!

My top picks: Makeup brush cleaner (because we all need to wash our makeup brushes more often) and the serenity stress spray (I need this more than anyone knows).

For the Blingy Person in your Life

Foe & Dear

You know me, I love minimalist jewellery more than anything. That’s why I chose to share a brand I only found out about last week – Foe & Dear. Each piece you buy is handcrafted in Vancouver and utilises materials from sterling silver to 14 karat gold to precious stones. What I love most about Foe & Dear is that there are so many beautiful pieces in every price range – you may think that buying a diamond is out of your price range, but think again!

My top picks: Classic Hammered Stacker (for broke me) and the Baby Diamond Stacker Ring or Cuff Bracelet (for bougie me)

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