Oh so Pretty

I’m no stranger to messing around with my hair- its been bleached, toned, and dyed almost every pastel colour you can dream up over the past 6 years, and I’m not planning on putting a stop to the strain anytime soon.

When Dove contacted me to get wild and try a weekend #HairDare I honestly didn’t know what I could do to my hair that I hadn’t already done. I’m really lucky to have strong hair that puts up with just about anything pretty well, but after all this time subjecting it to intense chemicals, the breakage is undeniable, so I try to avoid hot tools and teasing as much as I possibly can.

Luckily, Dove sent me their new Regenerative Nourishment collection so that I could take part in the Hair Dare! Loaded with Red Algae and Keratin NutriComplex, this 3-piece collection is the perfect way to nourish and repair damaged hair, and with the products added to my beauty lineup I felt confident to try something I would never usually put my delicate mane through: I took my hair to new heights!

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I’ve always loved the teased 1950’s beauty queen look, so it was pretty exciting to finally have a reason to put my inspiration into action. I headed to Her Majesty’s Pleasure’s decadent blowout bar, and after a seemingly endless session of washes, blowdries, curling irons, brushing and some VERY heavy all-over teasing, I finally had the vintage-inspired locks of my dreams.

Of course my hair was NOT in a good state by the time I got into the shower the next morning. Matted bits were sandwiched between layers of hairspray, and the humidity from the rain the evening before had caused a whole new level of frizz.

With the help of my new Dove lineup, I had my hair back to normal with one wash, a deep condition, and a light layer of their new serum-in-oil treatment. Shiny, smooth, and good as new, my hair was ready for a whole new hair dare before Monday had even rolled around. Thanks to Dove’s Regenerative Nourishment range, I’m no longer terrified of taking hair risks!

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This post was sponsored by Dove Canada, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

When we were visiting LA a few months back, one of our favourite meals was an all vegan Mexican feast at Gracias Madre in West Hollywood. The atmosphere was perfection and the food was incredible, but it was the snow cone/popsicle cocktails that really took the cake. When our friends at teapigs asked us to dream up a tea-infused cocktail creation, we decided popsicles were a non negotiable. After all, sunny Spring afternoons are just around the corner… right?

The key to this Mojito-inspired recipe is the peppermint tea simple syrup we made, and I promise, it really is oh so simple. We opted to use store bought popsicles this time around, but we welcome you to make your own with fresh fruit, juice, tea, or even a hint of your favourite liqueur to add an extra kick to the cocktail!

Scroll down for the full recipe + details on how to enter the BEST giveaway EVER!

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Ingredients:

teapigs Peppermint Herbal Tea
Sugar
White Rum
Lime sparkling water
Popsicle of your choice, homemade or store bought (we used both Lime Fruttare bars and locally made Augies Ice Pops)
Fresh mint

1. Make a tea-infused simple syrup by placing two teapigs Peppermint teabags in a jar. Steep in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 10 mins with lid on, stir in 1/2 of sugar until dissolved. Cool- You can leave the teabags in the syrup overnight for extra minty flavour!

2. Add 1oz cooled simple syrup and 1oz of rum to your glass.

3. Tear up some mint leaves and add a bundle to each glass.

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4. Add sparkling water until the cup is about half full. We used lime Pellegrino to give our cocktails a bit more flavour!

5. Here’s the fun part- add the popsicles! I used each popsicle to “muddle” the mint a bit, and topped up each drink with more sparkling water if the glasses weren’t quite full with the extra volume added.

5. Garnish with lime slices, stir and serve! Simple, colourful, and oh so delicious, these “Poptails” are sure to be a hit at every Spring party!

*Tea tip- you can also add the syrup to your favourite iced tea or iced latte for an extra minty kick!

Want to win some teapigs for yourself? You can score this amazing prize pack this week on Twitter (scroll down for details!)

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The Prize Pack //

4 x marble coasters
2 x confetti glasses
1 x marble wine cooler
1 x gold cocktail shaker
4 x packs of teapigs tea!

The Rules //

1. Follow me on twitter
2. Retweet or tweet one of my pictures from this post with the tag #teapigspartea
3. Follow teapigs on Twitter!

For bonus points you can also like both our pages on Facebook (RAOP + teapigs)

Contest will run till the evening of Friday April 8th!

Good Luck!

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com