Style Icon Saturdays By Cate: David Beckham

So a few weeks ago, Meg did an awesome male Style Icon post on Ryan Gosling (which you can find here) and I thought it was a fun twist on us always featuring the ladies. 

Today I am featuring a man who I think always has impeccable style and that is David Beckham. 

David always looks dapper on the Red Carpet and cool and collected when he is on the streets. Here are some of my favourite swoon worthy looks that David has donned. 

He Looks Great In A Suit 

Image Courtesy of www.newgirlatthewalk.com

Image Courtesy of www.newgirlatthewalk.com

Image Courtesy of www.newgirlatthewalk.com

Like Meg mentioned in her Ryan Gosling post, a girl can't resist a guy in a well tailored suit and David definitely rocks a well cut suit. His ties also always compliment really nicely. 

LUSH Seanik Bar Shampoo & Jungle Bar Conditioner Review

Seanik Shampoo - $11.95

This lovely little bar shampoo claims to do a lot: Irish moss seaweed and Japanese nori seaweed are supposed to make your hair soft and silky, the sea salt is supposed to leave your hair volumized and voluptuous, and the lemon oil is supposed to make it shine like the sun.

But does it live up to those high expectations?

For the most part, yes!

After using Seanik for a few months, I am still loving it! The mimosa and jasmine oils it contains give it a lovely fresh, yet musky scent that I adore (my only complaint is that it fades too fast, as most shampoo smells do!). My hair is left feeling very clean and shiny, though I do think for the best results you should follow this shampoo with a good conditioner, especially if your hair is prone to tangling. As for the volumizing claim, I do feel that right after I wash it and for the next 24 hours or so, my hair is less limp and has more body; however, if you are expecting drastic results, you won't necessarily find them here.

Kit Anti-Aging Facemask with Green Tea Review

This week I decided to try the Kit Anti-Aging Facemask with Green Tea for a few different reasons... One, I turned 25 on Sunday (!!!) so this is the perfect time to make sure I'm taking care of my skin. Two, I absolutely love green tea and think it's a marvelous to put on your skin (and drink!). Three, I was having a bad skin week as I was sick and getting up with a million little red dots under my eyes from broken blood vessels. Unfortunately, they take a few days to go away and I feel like this facemask has helped, though I still feel like I have the remnants of a black eye! So that's my explanation for no pictures with this post.

It's quite widely known that green tea has a lot of benefits, both when we drink it and when we apply it to our skin.

Green tea...

• contains antioxidants which reduce wrinkles and signs of aging, including sun damage!
• contains anti-inflammatory properties which soothes sensitive skin and reduces redness!
• has anti-bacterial properties which help to reduce acne in a number of ways, including killing bacteria!

In The Kitchen With Cate: Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders (Original Recipe by Damn Delicious)

So I know a cooking post has been a long time coming but there is good reason as to why I have not posted one.

Recently my home has been going through some renovations and the kitchen has been a major one. We got some new countertops and fresh new paint on the cabinets.

I have been yearning to start cooking again and this past week I finally had the chance. I was on one of my favourite cooking blogs Damn Delicious and found this great recipe for Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders and decided to give it a try.

*This is not my recipe and is owned by Chung-Ah of www.damndelicious.net and I am just recreating it. To find the original recipe and ingredients list you may click here.

The first thing you want to do is take all your ingredients for your glaze: honey, soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, lemon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, ground black pepper, and garlic powder and bring it to a boil. 

Once the glaze is boiling, you can reduce the heat and let it cook for around 10 minutes until it gets a bit thicker. 

For your chicken stripes, you want to first dip them into flour and then buttermilk and one more time in the flour so that they are all evenly coated. 

Style Icon Saturdays By Meg Featuring Rose Bryne

I have adored Rose Bryne since I first saw her in I Capture the Castle (a movie adaptation of one of my favourite books).  Her gorgeous hair and lovely acting first drew my attention, but after seeing her at movie premieres and such, I have noticed her style as well.

Rose always looks put together and classy, while at the same time she knowing how to have fun with fashion. 

Even a simple fitted shift dress looks playful on Rose with the ribbon details on the front. Not to mention the dress is perfectly paired with her blunt bangs and bob.

I love that Rose isn't afraid to step outside what is typically done. This dress is not only sequined, it is sheer in an unusual way!

Even shorts at an event look put together on her!

Perhaps it is the fact that she doesn't take fashion too seriously that gives her the ability to look like she isn't trying too hard- something I would like to achieve with my style: a balance between put together and effortless.

Lucky: Book Review

Image Courtesy of www.amazon.co.uk

Lucky is an extremely intimate memoir by Alice Sebold, acclaimed author of The Lovely Bones. The memoir details her own violent rape and the trial of her rapist, in which the author had a leading role. As a young eighteen year old Syracuse University student, Alice's life is transformed. The reader comes to know Alice as she struggles with her new identity as "the girl who was raped."  Mostly when we think about rape we think that going through the traumatizing ordeal is the hard part, but everything after is so difficult as well. This is shown so acutely in Lucky: things like not being able to control people's reactions to what happened to you, feeling different and isolated without people around to support you, and being afraid all the time become momentous challenges from which Alice cannot escape. The reader sees Alice struggle through these issues and more as she tries to regain her sense of self.

This is a story that hits you right in the gut. It makes you uncomfortable. It's supposed to. Rape is a hard subject to talk about, especially when you getting down to the nitty gritty of it all, but at the same time, it is also necessary to talk about these sort of things. Rape, sexual harassment, and violence are prominent issues in many women's (and men's) lives... it's important to be able to talk about them and to help each other through these difficult moments.

Kit Detoxifying Facemask with Tea Tree Oil Review

For the second instalment of my weekly spring face mask review, I decide to try out Kit's Detoxifying Facemask with Tea Tree Oil.

The instructions for this mask are the same as the Exfoliating Facemask with Shea Butter I tried last week (you can find the review here): evenly spread on a freshly cleansed face, massage for one minute, leave on for five minutes, remove. Apparently I missed the part about massaging for one minute last time, but I bet that would have helped with exfoliation! 

Vichy Aqualia Thermal Night Spa Review

So I have pretty normal skin but in the colder months (which are quite long here in Vancouver) my skin goes a little crazy on the dry side and I am often left with some dry patches that are really hard to remove.

This past December I had that problem on my cheeks (the driest part of my face) and nothing was working. So I popped into my local Shoppers Drug Mart and lo and behold, a representative from Vichy happened to be there and help me to pick out the Aqualia Thermal Mineral Balm which I review more in depth here. This was a miracle for me; it completely got rid of my dry patches and I still use it today because it is not too thick of a formula for me.

That was my first experience trying something for Vichy and I was excited to try more. A couple weeks later I saw a post by Ashley from the blog www.chictoronto.com do a post (you can find here) on the Night Spa by Vichy which was a part of the same Aqualia Themral line and I knew I had to try it.

Vichy contacted me and offered to send me a bottle of it and I was so exited to try it out and now that I have been using it for quite some time. I thought I would tell you a bit more about it.

Style Icon Saturdays by Cate Featuring: Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson is always an actress that I have had an admiration for. She is funny, talented, and beautiful but most importantly she is someone who lives life to the beat of her own drum and that speaks clearly in her sense of style.

Kate is never afraid to dress comfortably and casually (something I love) while being chic at the same time.

Here are some of my personal favourite looks from Kate (there were a lot to choose from) that I think showcase her easy-going, bohemian style.

She's a Blue Jeans Girl at Heart

Image Courtesy of www.fabsugar.com

Image Courtesy of www.coolspotters.com

Image Courtesy of www.denimblog.com

Image Courtesy of www.mydaily.co.uk

Kate is almost always seen on the streets of New York or Los Angeles rocking the ultra casual look (if you haven't guessed by now is my fav) and doing it so well. She also pairs her jeans with slightly looser fitting tops. Kate also loves to wear her jeans with a variety of different shoes, sneakers, heels, sandals, you name it, Kate rocks it. 

90's Kid Tag featuring Cate & Meg

So this tag video has been going around YouTube for quite a bit now and since Meg and I are both 90's gals and proud of it, we thought we would answer these questions in a fun post.

1. Favourite Disney film?

Image Courtesy of www.disney.wikia.com

Cate: Oh there are so many to choose from. This is such a tough question. I think the one I watched over and over again and sang along to as a young one was definitely The Lion King but I also really love Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. 

Meg: It's also really hard for me to choose this one. Ultimately, I would have to say Beauty and the Beast because growing up I felt I was the reincarnation of Belle, but Aladdin is a close second.

2. NSYNC or Backstreet Boys?

Image Courtesy of www.hypable.com

Cate: Definitely NSYNC. I did not really hear about Backstreet Boys too much, but NSYNC was all the rage in my school.

Meg: NSYNC for sure. Though my first love was the Spice Girls.

Kit Exfoiliating Face Mask Review

I love facemasks, but I hardly ever get a chance to do them, unless I'm having a girly day at Cate's. It is my goal this spring and summer season to work on taking better care of my skin and I think a weekly facemask is one way I can start doing that. It's affordable too! The facemasks from Kit at Rexall are only $1.99. I'm pretty sure it's worth it at that price to pamper myself and my skin!

Today I'm using Kit's Exfoiliating Mask. This mask contains shea butter and has a really nice creamy texture. There's also no parabens either, which is always reassuring. Bonus: there's enough for two people to use or for you to seal and save to use again, which is always nice. Really cuts the cost in half if you can use it twice!

Teen Skincare Series: Cleansers

I know a lot of younger gals (and boys) read our blog and I thought it would be a fun idea to do a series talking about skincare in your teens.

Skincare evolves so much during our lives and varies greatly whether you're in your teens, twenties, and beyond. We all have to modify our skincare based on our ages and our personal skin needs.

Your teens is usually when you start off your skincare journey and because you're filled with hormones and your body is constantly changing, you could be experiencing different skin issues that we all have had to deal with.

Today I am going to start with the most basic step and that is Cleansing.

It is so important to cleanse your face twice a day (morning and night) to keep it clean and healthy. Many people make the mistake of cleansing only at night and not in the morning because they figure they just washed their face a few hours ago and they haven't gone anywhere but that is a big mistake. Oils still produce at night time and you need to get that residue off your face and start off with a clean slate.

As a teen, you don't want or need to get in the habit of using pricey skincare items. There are plenty of great cleansers at the drugstore for less than $10.00 but which one should you buy?

Here are some things to consider and a few options...

What is Your Skin Type?

This is the number one question your need to answer before going on the hunt for a cleanser. You need to know what to look for.

*A good way to test your skin type is to take a blotting paper in the morning (before you wash your face) and swipe it across your face. If the paper is very oily all over that means your have oily skin. If the paper only reveals a ton of oil when you swipe it down your t-zone, that means you have combination skin. If the paper is only slightly oily, you have normal skin (like me); and if the paper doesn't look much different from before you swiped, well you have dry skin.

Style Icon Saturdays By Meg Featuring Ryan Gosling

Why should girls have all the fashion fun? This week's Style Icon is drool-worthy Ryan Gosling. For some unnameable reason, Ryan Gosling has become the internet's more irresistable man and there's no sign of the lusting slowing down anytime soon.

I could name a lot of reasons I think Ryan has become so popular, and it's not solely because of his smoking hot bod, his swoon-worthy stare, or his feminist ideals (though it is all of those things and more!)

One of the reasons I think Ryan Gosling is so attractive to pretty much every girl ever is because he has something that appeals to everyone, he is so multifaceted.

Whether he's dressed....

...in a suit. 

(And tell me, what girl can resist a well-tailored suit?)

Image Courtesy of www.gq-magazine.co.uk

Image Courtesy of www.gq-magazine.co.uk

Image Courtesy of www.gq-magazine.co.uk

(He can even pull off a green velvet suit... I'm not sure how it's even possible.)

Cate & Meg Take Over Ikea!

On Wednesday, Cate and I decided to go to IKEA as we were both craving new things for our homes. We are both IKEA fanatics: we love the little rooms they have set up, all their neat (and cheap!) products, and their Swedish meatballs!

Here are some of the things we loved:

What Meg Loved:

This couch was so comfy! I love casual, yet put together style  of so many of the rooms in IKEA.

And the pops of colour!

The Shock of the Fall - Book Review

Photo Courtesy of Amazon

I have noticed I've been quite interested in novels with narrators who are quite young recently and The Shock of the Fall is no exception! I've also recently review Room by Emma Donohue which has a very adorable and sheltered five year old as a narrator and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which has a quirky sixteen year old narrator. I think having the younger perspective offers a fresh take on a story- I hope to continue on with this trend by reading The Bear by Claire Cameron in the near future.

But alas, I have digressed, on to the novel...

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer is the story of a young person's descent into mental illness after an almost unspeakable tragedy. Matthew is just an average, rambunctious little boy when a terrible accident changes his and his family's lives forever. The Shock of the Fall explores the connections between memory, grief, loss, and mental illness in a way that is striking: by letting Matthew tell his own story, his own way.

Mental illness is one of those things that is hard for people to talk about, which is why there are campaigns out there like Bell's Let's Talk. This novel does a good job at starting the conversation and really getting into the psyche of someone who struggling with their mental health. Not that Filer's goal was to do so, but the novel offers a plausible headspace for those wondering what it's like for someone with schizophrenia and the journey might have taken them there.

My Experience with Glycolic Acid and Exfoliating Toners + GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

Before I go on with the post I wanted to announce our Spring Beauty Giveaway Winner. Meg and I want to say a huge Thank You to all those who entered and subscribed to our blog recently. We appreciate the support and look forward to writing more posts for your enjoyment!

Now, without further adieu... The GIVEAWAY winner is JUDY THOMAS.

Congratulations, I will be contacting you to get your mailing address so we can send your package out as soon as possible.

*Please note that if there is no response by the giveaway winner within 3 days, we will have to choose another winner. 

So I have talked about Glycolic Acid and its benefits in a recent post which you can check out here.

Glycolic Acid is a chemical exfoliant which is all the rage these days. Chemical exfoliants are supposed to get rid of your first layer of dead skin without harsh beady exfoliants that may cause irritation on your skin.

The most common way to use Glycolic Acid on the skin is by using a toner that contains it but there are also masks and serums that contain Glycolic Acid as well (like the mask by Andalou Naturals that I reviewed in depth here).

Today I am going to be talking about 2 different Glycolic Acid toners and how the results have been on my skin.

Perricone MD Firming Facial Toner

This toner by Perricone MD I believe contains a little bit less than my second toner but I can't confirm this (I emailed Perricone but they said that information is "proprietary" and could not disclose it huh?...) and was my first experience with Glycolic Acid. 

Style Icon Saturdays by Cate Featuring Ashley Olsen

I am a true child of the 90's and Full House was my favourite show as a child and I have been a fan of the Olsen twins ever since.

Although many girls my age related to Mary-Kate and her tomboy edge, I was always a fan of Ashley and her girly style. Now that the twins are older and their style has evolved, I still find myself relating to Ashley and her sense of style.

Her style is quite unique and often times very casual, which if you know me that is exactly what I go for.

All Black is Always Chic 

 Image Courtesy of www.allthingspopculture.com

Image Courtesy of www.zimbio.com

Ashley is a big fan of the All Black look and she always keeps it looking less goth and more street chic either with a great pair of heels or even Birkenstocks.

A Button Down is a Good Idea

What Meg Wore: Affordable Spring Outfit + Makeup

Hello all,

Yesterday Meg and I had a girls day (we all need one of those once in a while right?) and we decided to shoot an outfit of the day post as well as a face of the day.

Meg was wearing a beautiful dress perfect for spring and we had fun playing with her makeup. Meg loves affordable style that is still chic and easy to wear.