Clothes But Not Quite

This faux paw should be a no brainer, but I am shocked that people still do this and think it looks good. I even saw this in a magazine recently as being okay to do, but I still must disagree. I’m speaking of wearing a darker lip liner with lighter lipstick. Who actually thinks this look good? It actually looks as if you don’t know how to put on make up or you have food around your lips. Not a good look at all. The rule of finding a lip liner is to make sure it either matches the colour inside your lip or the lipstick you are wearing. If you are not sure what colour matches or want to save money, why not buy a clear lip liner? It will go with every lipstick you own and you won’t get a noticeable line when it wears off like a coloured lip liner. Please heed my words otherwise I give you this rating:

This is a sponsored post however all opinions are my own.

When I was approached by Alitta from OrganicTan Edmonton to try a SunnaTan spray tan I was super skeptical. As a red head I am used to staying out of the sun and have grown to like my very fair skin. I really was scared to try a spray tan at first because I thought I’d look unnatural or at the worst like a carrot. Besides, I’ve never had a spray tan before, so I was certain I would pass on this opportunity.

But then I saw on Instagram Stories Alitta’s lovely personality and the spray tans she had done on other Edmonton gals. They looked fabulous! Every person she airbrushed with her magical formula looked even more beautiful, healthier, with the perfect color every single time. So I got my courage up and booked an appointment with her.

I’m so glad I did! From the moment we chatted on the phone, I started feeling at ease with Alitta. She is one of those women that is so much fun, you feel comfortable with instantly. And that’s always a great thing if you actually decide to “bare it all” as I did during a spray tan session. But we’ll get to that later. ;-D

A couple weeks ago I visited Alitta at OrganicTan Edmonton located at Lipstick Empire, a local laser spa that also offers other services including micro-needling, eyelash lift and tint, facials, microblading – the list goes on! And I must mention it’s also a beautiful place to hang out. I mean look at the decor:

So onto my experience. At first Alitta told me why OrganicTan came to be. Established in 2011 in Calgary, Canada SunnaTan was born from a desire to provide a safe alternative to harmful UV tanning, and to prevent the permanent and irreversible damage it has on skin. Because it’s based here in Alberta, the tanning colours are lighter and meant for us naturally pasty winter women who have no sun for eight months of the year unlike our Californian counterparts who are blessed with year round sunshine. An OrganicTan is also hypoallergenic, paraben-free and alcohol- free, has no chemical ingredients, and is packed full of organic skin nourishing ingredients including sunflower oil, bark extract, gotu kola, echinacea and green tea.

Then Alitta assessed my skin and decided to go with medium-light so we could start subtle and work towards darker later on down the road if need be. She also mentioned the tan should last for 7-10 days, I leave it on my skin for 24 hours, then I rinse off in my shower and I’m my new “golden self”. Then I asked her the most important question – “Do I get nekkid for this?” She said it’s entirely up to me, but she explained I might want to leave my underwear bottoms on to so there will be a tan line to show the difference in colour. I thought that was a great idea! So in the end I went topless and was so glad I did as it was nice to not have bra strap tan lines when I wore an off-shoulder sweater to an event later on.

Now for the tanning part. Alitta does the spraying via airbrush so the tan is applied evenly – no automation here! Now I am super scent sensitve with an ultra powerful nose so I could slightly smell the tan as it was being applied. I wanted to eat it because to me it smelled a bit like coconuts – soooooooooo goooooooood! And it felt invigorating.

So here’s my before and after:

Unfortunately the lighting in the tanning room made it difficult to really show how perfect my tan is. After the 24 hours was up and I washed the excess bronzer off it looked lighter and so perfect! And the great news is my tan looked awesome for the whole 10 days! This is one happy gal right here. 

So do yourself a favour and check out Alitta at OrganicTan Edmonton. You can also follow her on Facebook, and Instagram.

This is a sponsored post however all opinions are my own.

James here. My Mom is still under the weather so please send prayers, good vibes, and well-wishes! Luckily she had some posts ready for you this week, but I’ll start first with today’s meme. After that maybe I’ll take my toys out of her room. I said maybe.

Are you on Pinterest? What a coincidence – so am I! I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favourite recent pins I’ve pinned and a write up on each. If you want to pin the original pin to your collections, then just click on the pic and it will take you to it on Pinterest. So, without further adieu…

One of the things that both Tim and I share is our love of the autumn season. The colours are beyond fantastic and are inspiring! Unfortunately the fall season is too short here in Edmonton but I always seem to find wonderful pictures of places that I hope one day to visit in September or October when the colours seem to be at their peak.

My first PinPic therefore is this wonderful lakeside scene. I can just imagine chilling out with a blueberry tea, warm sweater and loads of relaxation time. Just looking at this picture calms me down and puts me in a cheery mood. Ahhhh….serenity now!

I also know that the fall season also gets me more in touch with my spirituality. Seeing all the glorious colours reminds me of God’s splendour. For those of you who follow me on a regular basis, you`ll know that I`m a big fan of essential oils. Here is an oil blend that will help you tune in to your spiritual side….perfect for getting you into the mood for “all that is fall”.

Now here is a dog that is simply in the moment. Taking in the sun, enjoying the pool and happy to be alive. We can all learn something from dogs! While this isn’t Zeke, I love this photo because I’ve seen Zeke be this Zen like. Huuuuummmm.

Pinterest is great for finding recipes and I was looking for a great bunch of munchies for my upcoming birthday party. This should fit the bill nicely!

Last year I saw these cute ornaments at a craft sale and thought, I should make my own! This tutorial should have me making these cute reindeer ornaments in no time!

I have always loved peacocks so I made a special board on my Pinterest for all things peacock. Isn’t this photo beautiful?

This shirt totally makes me laugh. Maybe If I wear it, it would cheer me up so much that I could actually become a morning person. Naaaaaaah.

I am currently in the process of decluttering, and organizing our home. I have created a great organizing board on Pinterest to help me on my daunting quest for house organization. Not as difficult as world domination but close.

Scarves intimidate me. I guess it’s because I only had two ways of tying them. Twelve different ways might make me feel just a bit more scarf savvy. 

Another diffuser blend? Why yes, because I want my house to eventually go from smelling like fall to smelling like Christmas. And this looks like a good one!

So, these are a few of my favourite pins! What have you pinned lately that you’ve found Pinteresting? Let me know in the comments below!

But Mom and Dad always take me with them. Don’t they? 

May both my Canadian and American friends take a moment tomorrow to remember those who have selflessly paid the ultimate price so that we may live in freedom.

Today’s faux paw is very important to me. It is wonderful to wear a poppy to honour fallen veterans and those who have passed on since the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean Conflict, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But it is completely disrespectful not to wear it properly. The correct way to wear a poppy is on the left hand side of the body over the heart – not on your hat, back jeans pocket etc. I searched the internet to find someone wearing their poppy incorrectly to post it here. Thankfully I couldn’t find one. So please wear a poppy and wear it in the right place! If you don’t, then you’re…