My Meals Monday | With A View

Happy Monday to you all!! Hopefully you are all having a pleasant start to your week. I had a great start yesterday, Sunday for me was super relaxing, and I went out for a nice lunch.

Breakfast:

Since we were having such a easy day we thought we would have a proper breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, and scalloped potatoes. I also had a big thing of water, a coffee, and orange juice to take my Vida Glow in. I also had liquid multi vitamin. 

Am Snack:

This shockingly is half an apple lol. I had it with another coffee and a bit of peanut butter.

Lunch:

For lunch we went to the Shack, a local sports bar, I had a very heavy handed mojito, a caesar wrap and dukes (deef fried zucchini). This is one of my favorite places to go, as it has an amazing view, and it has a very relaxed vibe to it.

Dinner:

For dinner we wanted something really easy, so I made a vegetable stew that I saw on Hannah Maggs Channel, it was so good I cannot recommend it enough, and it was supper easy!

Dessert:

For dessert i indulged in a Dove Magnum Dark Chocolate ice cream. I normally don't care for ice cream but anything with dark chocolate, I'm game for!

That is everything I had to eat today, what did you eat?

                  
                  

Tria First Impression

For Christmas last year Don got me the Tria 4X Laser Hair Removal system, I wanted to do a first impression, and somehow it kept getting put off, until now. 

Before trying to use the Trial you should know that this only work on lighter skin tones with darker hair, if you have blonde hair where you are trying to use this, the laser will not kill the follicle as the hair is too light. If you have a dark skin tone, the laser is unable to "tell" when it has successfully treated the hair follicle which can lead to burns on the skin.

After you have determined you are a candidate for the Tria then you need to activate your device on their website, I didn't see this part at first, which lead to some pretty irritating moments in this video.

Once it's activated and turned on I would suggest starting on your arm or leg to determine your level of tolerance. 

I would like to point out that so many people said it doesn't hurt more than waxing, which lead me to believe there would be a bit of pain involved. 

Arm Level one

I honestly felt nothing! However it does make a beeping sound every time you place it on the skin, to let you know its time to lift off, I was not prepared for that and it did startle me.

Arm Level Two

It felt a bit warm, not anything painful though.

Arm Level Three

This was a bit warmer like a slight burning sensation, nothing that wasn't tolerable.

Face Level Three

It was quite warm, as the skin on your face is more sensitive, and at one point I felt a bit of a zap, similar to a shock.

Legs Level Five

I went all the way up to level five on my legs and honestly didn't feel anything other than the warmth, it didn't hurt or burn.

I am going to use this every two weeks for the next three months and then after that I will get back to you and let you know what I think.

Have you tried laser hair removal?

                                           

                   

Kashmere Kollection Review*

Recently I was sent four items from the Kashmere Kollection, and after about a month of use I thought I would do a review for you guys!
In my box I received the Toning Oil, Sunless Tanning Lotion, Silken Body Polish, and the Purifying Mask.

Silken Body Polish: 

I started out by using the body polish, this is a sugar scrub that can be used after shaving, no burning here lol. It does exactly what you would expect a scrub to do, it exfoliates the skin, but the botanical oils in this scrub also moisturizers the skin at the same time. This scrub is free of parabens, harsh chemicals, and mineral oil.

Here is the full ingredient list:

Sucrose (sugar), Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Silica, Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrogenated Soy Polyglycerides, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, BHT, Polysorbate 20, C 15-23 Alkane, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Coumarin, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, * Incidental: Sodium Chloride

Toning Oil:

The toning oil is probably my favorite out of this whole collection. Not only is it super hydrating, unlike a lot of dry oils i've used in the past, but it's great for stretch marks, rough skin, and irritated skin as well. Also major plus, no oil marks on your clothes!!! This oil absorbs so quickly you don't have to stand around for an hour waiting to get dressed! This is free of Parabens, harsh chemicals, and mineral oil!

Heres the full ingredient list:

Dimethicone, Propylheptyl Caprylate, Dimethiconol, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Tocopherol, Fragrance (Parfum)

Purifying Mask:

This mask is amazing, you can use it everyday for the first week to get your skin to the optimal glow, then use 1-2 times per week to maintain. it's a very light mask so you don't get that dry. stripped feeling that you get from heavy clay masks. It's super easy to apply, use your fingers not a brush, and let dry. Then use a warm wash cloth to remove, which it comes off super easy as well. This is also Paraben, Harsh Chemical, and Mineral Oil Free!

Here's the full ingredient list: 

Water (Aqua), Kaolin, Bentonite, Glycerin, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Glycolic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Salicylic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Algae Extract, Biosaccharide Gum - 1, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycolipids, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sorbitan Stearate, Sclerotium Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).

Sunless Tanning Lotion:

This is a gradual tanner, it comes out white and within a few hours you have a light tan. I prefer a gradual tanner because you don't get the "fake tan" orange look, and you can control how dark you go. i use this on Monday night and Thursday night, for a nice sun-kissed look. Again this is Paraben, Harsh Chemical, and Mineral Oil Free!

Here's the full ingredient list:

Purified Water, Aloe Vera Gel, Isopropyl Palmitate, Dihydroxyacetone, Safflower Oil, Cyclomethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG 100 Stearate, Behenyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, OrdenoneTM Sweet Almond Oil, Karite Butter, Cocoa Butter, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5), Lecithin, Caffeine, Butcherbroom (Ruscus Aculeatus) Root Extract, Maltodextrin, Tea-Hydroiodide, Ivy (Hedera Helix) Extract, Carnitine, Escin, Tripeptide-1, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenans (Chondrus Crispus), Avocado Butter, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerine, Inositol, Niacinamide, (Vitamin B3), Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance.

At the end of the day, I love these products, and will be purchasing them for regular use. 

*This is a sponsored post for Kashmere Kollection

Why I Give Negative Reviews

I never envisioned I would ever become a blogger, it just kinda happened. It all started a few years back when I came across this little site called youtube, where a British girl named Tanya Burr did a makeup tutorial on Serena van der Woodsen (my ultimate girl crush). After watching that tutorial I then went on to watch all of Tanya's videos (she didn't have many up at the time), and from there became obsessed with youtube and blogs.

During one of Tanya's many tutorials she had said she was using a product that she had just received and as soon as she went to use it said something like "I'm not sure if I like this", and shortly after "maybe this is ok", I instantly took to the comments asking her to please do a review and let us know after using it if she did in fact like it. 

Months went by and I kept checking the comment section of that video to see if she had commented her thoughts, she never did, however plenty of other people had asked for a review as well, I mean it was like $40 for the product, and none of us wanted to waste our money. So I went out one day, bought the product, and that my friends was my very first video!

You may well be asking "Katie, why are you telling us all this?", I recently have come across a handful of my favorite bloggers, that have said they won't do negative reviews anymore. They say if they don't like a product they don't do a video or post about it, they simply move on. One of these bloggers had said it was because the company had worked hard on X product and just because she didn't like it, it shouldn't not be successful.

I thought for a long time about that, and I totally get what she's talking about, but I would counter argue that the time you, the readers, spend earning your money to pay for that product is just as important as the time spent creating the product. That is why I give negative reviews, to save you all money and time that could be otherwise spent with your family, rather than the returns line.

I'm not writing this post to "shame" other bloggers, or call them out in any way, I just feel that I started this whole blogging journey with reviews, and I have never given a review that I felt ashamed of, because I have always been 100% honest on my reasons for liking or not liking a product.

In short the beauty industry (makeup, skincare, haircare, etc) is a MULTI-BILLION dollar industry where they offer thousands of sunscreens, or face lotions, or lipsticks, and sorting out the good from the bad can be expensive, time consuming, and frankly tiring for the skin lol. 

I strongly believe that honest opinions on blogs, youtube, and other social media, has a place within this industry, and while some bloggers may find leaving negative reviews career restrictive, or just unworthy of their time, I will continue to do them when needed, because I know what it's like to choose between your face cleanser or toilet paper, and how frustrating it is when a blogger you have come to trust isn't being honest about products that waste, your hard earned money.

My Week In Pictures

I would like to apologize for my lack of posts these past few weeks, Ive been so crazy busy and after intentionally clearing my schedule to focus on this blog in the month of March, I spent the last two days in the hospital with my friend who broke her leg. I am going to try and get 2-3 posts a week up, but my friend is having surgery tomorrow and after that she will need additional care so please don't feel disappointed if I'm unable to keep that promise at this time.

SUNDAY

I started off this week taking the boys (my dogs), for a massive walk. They have been loving these long 3-5 mile walks and I have too. 3-5 miles may seem like overkill, but as they are only 3 & 4 they loving going out and exploring, so it usually takes us about

 2-2 1/2 hours as we must sniff where every dog in the world has ever walked lol.

MONDAY

My niece Sophia had her first school fundraiser over Christmas and I stocked up in this Pops Kettle Korn, little did I know it would be amazing, and I ate the last bit today :( On the upside I did place an order for more so I will be happy again soon.

TUESDAY

Today was Pancake/Fat Tuesday so we went to Koa Pancake house and I got the Strawberry Crepes, they were so good! I'm also just now noticing I posted two food pictures in a row, and feeling slightly embarrassed lol.

THURSDAY

This was a ThrowBack to my first real ocean experience, when I moved to Hawaii in 2004. This is my favorite little spot called Lanikai, it has now been taken over by tourists and it takes at least 30 minutes to find parking but it hasn't lost an ounce of its magic.

FRIDAY

Today I posted the the 7K giveaway!!! In it we have:

1 Morphe Copper Brush Set

1 Huda Beauty Lip Liner in BombShell

1 Huda Beauty Matte Lipstick in Bombshell

1 Tarte Tartiest Pro Palette

1 Tarte Tartiest Pro Glow Palette

That is everything I got up to this week. I am off to bed as I have a very early morning tomorrow, off to the hospital again, so until next time, thank you all for your love and support, Big Digital hug from me!