Heart Of Gold - 5K GIVEAWAY WINNER

It is time to announce the winner of The Heart Of Gold - 5K GiveAway!!

Heart Of Gold - Upcy 5K Giveaway!

Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time to enter; I seriously can't thank you all enough for all of the continued support!

The Winner Of The $20.00 Upcy-Shop Gift Certificate 

\& Heart Of Gold Pallet By Arbonne  is.... 

NATASHA PELLETIER!!(please send an e-mail to jennie.matthie.ca to arrange the details)!!

I don't want anyone to leave this Giveaway empty handed...

 So every person who took the time to enter will automatically receive 20% off ANY purchase at the Upcy-Shop that will Re-Open for the Fall Launch Sept 1!!

To qualify simply print screen an image of your entry and forward it to the Shop (similar to a Promo-code) at the time of purchase!

I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend & Remember to Always...

 Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

DIY Beach Blanket Bag

Beach Blanket Bag By: Upcy

I made this entirely Upcycled Beach Blanket Bag & I absolutely LOVE it! 

It is perfect to leave packed up with all of your Summer/Beach essentials by the door, or in the car - It makes those spontaneous beach trips much easier!!  

I made it using - 2 old towels, a pillow, pillow case, a few buttons & my sewing kit!

This isn't going to be a typical tutorial - because to be honest, I sort of just made do of what I had laying around the house - & would encourage you to do the same.  For that reason when you make your own, I am sure your item's will vary slightly; But I will share some tips & the steps I took to create mine!

I started by sewing together tow (very old mis-matched) towels end - to end.

I then folded one end over & sewed down the sides - creating a pouch for my pillow 
(I would recommend measuring your towel/pillow or if you feel confident enough, just eyeball it to see how deep you will want your pocket)

After inserting the pillow, I attached several buttons to make it removable and washable! 

I also attached a few buttons at the very end - to secure it (closed) once wrapped up into bag form.

The strap & front pocket's were made of the fabric from one Pillow Case! 

I just cut off the bottom of the pillow case to create the pocket(s) shape & sewed it, to divide it into three smaller pockets. lastly & the strap was created using what was left!! 

It was a little bit tedious (but also great practice) hand sewing the whole thing & certainly could be made much simpler and faster using a sewing machine!

Beach Blanket Bag By: Upcy 

Beach Blanket Bag By: Upcy 

Thank you for browsing &  I hope that you got a chance to get out and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine this weekend. & remember to always 

Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

DIY Tassel Garland

I am absolutely in LOVE with Tassel Garlands ❤ They are just so Whimsical & Pretty;

& are very much on trend right now! They are being / can be used for pretty much anything and everything from Party Decor to Room Decor (specifically in nurseries) & are a beautiful way to add a touch or colour and celebration!

They are quite simple and cost efficient to make yourself (depending on what you already have on hand/ how many different tissue colours you use / where you buy your supplies it can cost you under $10.00 to create - though I will warn you it is quite tedious & time consuming!

I have decided to share this tutorial for anyone who likes to DIY!! 

But if that is not your thing, they will still be available to purchase or place custom ordered through the UpcyShop!

Mermaid inspired Tassel Garland By: Upcy

What You'll Need:

• tissue paper (in a mix of colours)
• scissors
• rope

Directions:

Step #1. Beginning with a standard 20"x20" inch sheet of tissue paper
- fold in half once - then twice more in the opposite direction (as shown in the images below)

Step #2. Begin cutting strips up the tissue leaving about an inch of space from the top

Step #3. Unfold sheet of tissue and cut in half (to make two tassels) 

Step #4. Open the sheet of tissue completely & roll up tightly

Step #5. Fold in half and twist to create loop top as shown

Step #6. Continue creating tassels to fill garland & Then DisPLAY !!

Thank you for browsing & Never forget to...

Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

Heart Of Gold - 5K GIVEAWAY

I am so thrilled to announce that the we have hit our first Mile Stone of  5Thousand Viewers & I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you!! So In honor of this & to say ThankYou - I will be hosting the VERY FIRST Upcy Blog GIVEAWAY!! I have been thinking A lot as I watched us get closer and closer to the goal of what it is I wanted to Include - I knew that I wanted to include something from both the Upcy (upcycled) & Beauty Tutorial sides of the blog, I reached out to a few lovely ladies for feedback & I am so excited to finally be able share it with you guys!! 

The Limited Edition Heart Of Gold Baked Eyeshadow Pallet. By: Arbonne

This is one of my favourite pallets of all time & it breaks my heart only slightly that it was Limited Edition (& no longer sold)..!

 For me it's name "Heart Of Gold" is suitable for a few reasons, Obviously it is comprising of four different gold inspired shades Peace - , Love -,  Warmth -,  & Kindness - (which can be worn wet or dry and go on velvety smooth, without creasing or smudging). But in our house it truly is valued like gold & at this point is only brought out on those days when I need a little extra special, sparkly pick me up & for special occasions

... what I am getting at is you better understand how much it means that I am willing to share my very last one with you!! Just Joking.. but not really

& A $20.00 Upcy Gift Certificate to spend at the Upcy Shop for our Fall Re-Launch on Sept. 1.

Just Follow the Instructions Below & Best Of Luck To Everyone Who Enters!!

- The Winner Will be announced Next Weekend!!

& Remember No Matter how crazy or 'Far'Out'  your passion or goals may be to other people ALWAYS

 Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kylie Jenner Inspired 90's Makeup

I know I am not the only person who has been swooning over Kylie Jenner's makeup lately! I love the 90's look - with nude & brown tones on the eyes, the flawless matte skin & of course her signature dark matte lip!! & though I am certainly not the first, I decided to do my best to re-create this look using (of course) Arbonne's vegan cosmetic line! 

Wearing this look today left me feeling nostalgic, & reminiscent of my childhood❤

Though this look is actually super simple (the eye look is created using only two shades of shadow) it is very flattering on most people, and can be worn in the day or night, in any season which I LOVE!! 

I am going to appologize in advance for the terrible photo quality - it was rainy & cloudy here to today of and on so despite trying my very hardest it was very difficult to get a picture using the same lighting!! For this reason, it was pretty much impossible to get quality pictures as I did my base & contouring - though you can find one I have shared in a previous tutorial HERE.
I also just wanted to note: that Kylie tends to leave the center of her face quite bright & keeps applies bronzer heaviest in the C-shape & outer portion of her cheek as you can see in the photo above. 

 The Eyes 

Step #1. After I applied my base - using a larger shadow brush, I applied primer to my eye - this will help with blending & also keep the shadow in place much longer! & then covered my entire lid with vanilla. 

please do not judge my eyebrows - they are currently under construction

Step(s) #2 & #3. I then swept chocolate across the outer 2/3 of my eye lid (sweeping from the inside out) right up to my brow bone & built up the darkness on the outside by layering it create a smokey/shadowed look. Using an angle brush i dragged the chocolate along the outer 2/3 portion of my bottom lash line and smudged it slightly. 

Step(s) #4 & #5. Apply a thin line of black liquid eyeliner along the top lash-line. You can extend this out a little past your natural lash-line to create longer/fuller looking lashes! Followed with two or three coats of It's a Long Story Mascara to both your top and bottom lashes. to avoid clumpy lashes - wait a few seconds  to allow your mascara to dry between coats. 

The Lippy 

My absolute favourite part of this look!

Step #1. Line your entire lip - I actually used what was intended as an eye pencil in shade plum, because I didn't have a dark enough lip liner on hand. Remember that makeup is about expression so feel free to play with different colours and textures!! 

Step #2. I applied Earth lipstick.

Step #3. using my finger I then dabbed on a touch of translucent powder to get that smooth matte look!!

If there is another makeup look you would like to see me to do, feel free to send an image my way, I always love hearing from you guys and getting your feedback!! 

Thank you so much for browsing I hope your week is off to a brilliant start!

&remember to always...

 Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

My Never Ending Journey To Self Love. Part 2

A perfect Heart shaped leaf Cody spotted laying in the grass yesterday while we were out on a walk! 

I was blessed beyond measure in finding a man at a very young age who sees beauty and love in everything and everyone. 
I often get told that I'm a positive person, & truthfully this is a conscious decision I've made. Its something that I aim to choose for myself every second of the day, though if I'm being completely honest is definitely not something that comes easily to me! I struggle to overcome my depression & anxiety daily. Though I always strive to set happiness as my default mood.

I have learned over MANY years that I don't need to internalize everything that happens to me - though I cant always choose what happens in a day, I ALWAYS have the ability to choose how it effects me. 'The only difference between a good and bad day is your attitude' We all deal with both good and bad life experiences, but how we learn and grow from them will determine how many more good days you have than bad. 

Cody has inspired me in SO many ways over the past 7 and a half years I' ve been lucky enough to know and have him in my life; but the one that has made the largest impact & certainly means the world to me (pun intended) is the way he changed the way I view the world - to stop & smell, or even pick the flowers - that being spontaneous can be so freeing - that taking naps isn't un-productive when you're exhausted (& certainly helps my mood) - To wake up every morning with a feeling of gratitude & smile on your face - to follow your passion & dreams wherever they lead you - & to take every opportunity to spread love and happiness.

Even at my worst moments - though I am doing it for myself - I am never doing it by myself!  & That even though sometimes people may try to take advantage of your good nature, the MOST important thing is our intentions, regardless of how they were received.

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” - Iain Thomas 

Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright

"Playing with Makeup shouldn't be like playing with matches"

I was recently doing the makeup of one of my dearest friends Alicia, her daughter was with her at the time (who is a little over 2 years old) & was very interested in watching my and her Mom's every move during the process, & it wasn't long before she started to reach for the bright coloured pallets of makeup. (after clearing it with Alicia first of course) I opened up a few of my older pallets, and various other makeup products. After we got over the initial ADORABLE factor - ( because she truly took creating her look seriously, and had an obvious process in mind - we watched as she was drawn to and chose the BRIGHT & BOLD colours, and despite subtle suggesting on my part of a more natural tone, she quickly returned to her original choice of blush - Black. ) We got to talking about some of the cosmetic knowledge we had picked up along the way. As many of you who know me personally, or take the time to follow my blog will know I use exclusively Arbonne cosmetics & products. But WHY?! 

Now I am not going to get into naming/bashing other companies or products, & I will spare you the list of all the disgusting Animal Testing practices/ or animal products that are found in almost ALL cosmetics & personal care products of ANY kind in North America, versus what it means what it means to be Vegan certified (thought I will be talking more on this topic in the near future). I simply wanted to share some of my thoughts on the subject of chemicals in cosmetics, and the potential risks they pose on our health. As advanced a society we are, it came as a HUGE shock to me that we have one of the lowest standards of what is aloud to be sold on shelves & even have practices in place that protect the use of the harmful chemicals, carcinogen and additives that are KNOWN to cause cancer & have been removed from products in other countries around the world. There have been many companies who are actively being sued due to harmful ingredients, some of which have been removed from the same exact products sold in other countries due to their risk but are still in the bottles you will find on any North American shelf.. buy how is this even possible? Well, I had this fantasy mind set that a products had to be safe, in order for them to sell it to us, but i have some shocking truth to share. The reality is, it's the exact OPPOSITE that is true. Before an ingredient becomes banned and has to be removed from products sold on the shelves here, it has to first be PROVEN not that it is beneficial for you - but that it in fact can cause disease, cancer, or some other direct linking cause of illness or death. & if that alone doesn't sound bad enough, all of the trials, and tests (almost always practiced on animals) and studies on these ingredients are conducted 'biasly' by the same exact people who stand to gain or lose biased on the results found. You may also find it interesting to know that there is a mandatory "shelf life" on ANY personal care product sold in stores, forcing the use of harmful preservatives in our products.

Our skin is the largest and the most vulnerable of our organs, anything placed onto the skin is absorbed into our blood stream in just 26SECONDS - it is exposed to so much environmental stresses daily, why would we ever want to start loading something harmful onto it?! I have gone ahead and attached a few credible sources I recommend to start off your research. "The David Suzuki dirty Dozen chemicals in Cosmetics" Here, "Harmful Chemicals in Beauty Products and Their Safer Alternatives" Here, & "You have the right to know" Here. 

I am very proud to use exclusively Arbonne cosmetics and personal care products because I know that not only are the products causing no harm to any innocent animals or to our planet in the process of production, but that they will actually be beneficial and nourish me! 

I don't want to drag this post on to long, because truthfully it was done in hopes that each of you will go out and do your own research on the subject, flip over the backs of your bottles, and be able to make your own educated decision on what products you use personally or on your family! 
An old quote that has always stuck with me, and came to mind when writing this, & I think it is the perfect way to wrap-up this post.

"When we know better - We do better" 

 Dream Big     Sparkle More      Shine Bright