Spa Review: Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie Paris

Last week I was invited to Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie Paris at the Shangri-La in Toronto. Let me tell you, spending Monday afternoon at a spa is a GREAT way to start the week or really finish off a weekend. There’s nothing like escaping your life and slipping away into a world of relaxation. Especially on a cold winter day! The PR team invited me to experience one of their treatments and I chose to go for a Hammam & Gommage. This steam and body exfoliation is part of the authentic traditions of the Middle East.   When I arrived I was taken into the change room, given a private locker, and a robe. I put my winter layers in the closet and hopped into the soft robe and went to the lounge area where I started to relax instantly. I had my own little booth with dim lighting. I sipped fruit infused water, tea, and snacked on dried fruit & nuts (see above). After a few minutes I was taken to the Hammam steam room where I relaxed on a Jerusalem gold marble for about 20 minutes. It felt SO good to just lay there and let my mind wander as I soaked up the steam. The Hammam cleanses your body while stimulating your senses and imagination. Next, I was treated to an invigorating full body Gommage (exfoliation) using eucalyptus infused black Moroccan soap. This experience is considered to be the ultimate detoxification treatment and I can agree 100%. I felt so good after the Hamman & Gommage, I didn’t want to leave! I went back to my private booth in the waiting area and laid back down. I wasn’t ready to face the world. Within a few minutes I was delivered some tea, fruit and baklava. See, you wouldn’t want to leave either! I absolutely love visiting the…

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Lifestyle | Dermalogica’s Little Grey Pass: Visit to Ritual Spa

Earlier this year I became a Brand Ambassador for Dermalogica Canada and was invited to experience some of Toronto’s best spas as part of their Little Grey Pass program. In my most recent spa experience I visited Ritual Spa on King Street for a facial. I was left in the room to get all cozy on the massage table after having a consultation about my skin. Since my first Dermalogica facial at Hammam Spa in March I have seen a big improvement in my skin. I wasn’t taking the best care of it or using  a good moisturizer.  Since bringing Dermalogica into my life my skin is more radiant. Yahooo! A few of my fav products include the Pre-Cleanse wipes, Sheer Tint mousturizer,   Ultrasmoothing Eye Serum, and Skinperfect Primer. The eye serum is my most recent addition, I’m in my 30’s now and I want to make sure I preserve my youth the best I can. To learn more about Dermalogica’s Little Grey pass visit greypass.dermalogica.ca (open to Toronto + Vancouver).  I’ve written about my previous Dermalogica Spa facials here, here, and here. Look at this radiant face! <3 CASIE

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How I Keep My Summer Tan!☀️

I love summer, vacation, being outside, boating, the cottage, and heaps of sunshine.  I do not however like the idea of getting old leathery skin from sitting outside under UV and you could not pay me to use a tanning bed. (I did that heaps when I was a teenager, wtf was I thinking?) I wear sunblock on my face all year, my favs are Clinique and Laura Mercier but also love having a nice tan.  A couple years ago I went to Hammam Spa and got a body scrub + spray tan and I loved it but was pretty expensive and not something I can do all the time. A bit after that I went to a TIFF event where they had St. Tropez and I got a personalized tan sprayed on by their expert and totally kick-ass babe, Sophie Evans. She is super rad & has tanned heaps of celebs including Lady Gaga, Britney, and Kim K. At the start of summer 2018, I had the opportunity to be tanned my Sophie again!  I love the way St. Tropez looks, not orangey, streaky, or sticky, and you can do it at home by yourself. I’ve been using it religiously the last couple years before trips, after trips, winter, spring, all damn year. It’s THE BEST self-tan I’ve ever used.  St. Tropez Tan – My Picks The original foam is my favourite but the new Ultra Dark is great if you already have tanned skin. The Bronzing Water face spray is nice to use daily to maintain and give yourself a light glow. The Everyday Tinted Moisturizer + Primer is great for events if you want to give your face/legs/arms/body/decolletage a nice glow. Some great tips in this video from Sophie & St. Tropez about applying on yourself at home. …

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Sometimes you just have to take a day for yourself.

Yesterday I had such a lovely afternoon. Earlier in the week I was looking my schedule and feeling overwhelmed. This entire month has been so busy. I’ve got a sore foot (long story) and decided to cancel attending an event I had planned for Friday. Then wen online and booked a couple treatments at Hammam Spa instead! I love it there because of the steam room. I can lay in that place for hours. According to Hammam it has been over a year since I treated myself to a visit. I arrived about 15 min early to leisurely get changed and have a few minutes to steam my stress out before my massage. It was so nice. After, I went back to the office to meet Sean and we took Emily to an art show. The artist, an old friend of his, Jonathan Craig was showing ‘Abell on Noble‘ photos of 48 Abell before demolition back in 2011, curated by Bridget Light. That building was a legendary space for so many people, a hub of artists, creatives, and other interesting characters. It’s condos now.  We picked up two from the collection. One photo I really wanted was sold but it said ‘NANCY IS A CUNT‘ on a wall in marker. Apparently, Nancy was the landlord and everyone hated her. When Jonathan went through the building with his camera and another landlord (man) they found the ‘message’. That landlord man from 48 Abell was also the one from Noble Street Studios, so when we walked into Jonathan’s show, he said ‘THAT ONE’S MINE’. Last night, when we got home, I watched Will & Grace on my iPad in bed, while scrolling my phone, eating snacks. Then I caught up o Young & The Restless and fell asleep on the couch.   Sometimes…

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Summer Loving for Your Skin from Dermalogica

This beautiful little package arrived the other day from Dermalogica full of goodies to pamper and treat my skin for the summer. I’ve been using Dermalogica for about a year now and blogged about some of my fav products here (Cover Tint w/ SPF 20) and here (Precleanse). Over the past 2 months, I’ve had the opportunity to be an ambassador for their Little Grey Pass program and visit some of Toronto’s great spas for Dermalogica facials. It’s been great! So far the treatment I had at Hammam Spa is my fav. I’ve been to Hammam for other services but now the facial tops my fav, most relaxing things to do there. (You also get to use the sauna room when you book a Dermalogica facial! A++) We’re hooking you up with this package of great products to pamper your skin for summer. The SPF products make year-round UV protection easy keep your skin hydrated, calm, and safe. I’ve ben wearing a their moisturizers for the last year that all contain SPF 20-30.  There are 3 prizes to be won: 1 grand prize of $200, that contains four items, SPF products, after sun repair and a toner 2 other prizes each containing two products Contest is open to anyone in Canada and all you have to do is enter below. Winners will be picked random via Rafflecopter. Good luck! Here’s some more info on the SPF products and you can get your own Little Grey Pass here. Scroll down to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Stop to Smell the Roses, Treat Yourself

I started this weekend off right with a trip to Hammam Spa early Saturday morning. I spent about 30 min in the steam room before my St. Tropez treatment. It’s a sunless tan type application and to be honest, I think it wore off already and I won’t do it again. The experience itself was great and I booked with Cynthia who is awesome. Smashed up some bananas in the blender to throw into this mix when it came out of the juicer. It was a great way to start Sunday morning. I made Sean and I nice breakfast and we watched Romancing the Stone, an old romance-find-the-treasure movie from the 80’s. These shoes arrived Friday from the NastyGal Shoe Cult. I made a mistake in the postal code when I purchased them and I totally thought they were on their way back to NG HQ. Had lunch at Free Times Cafe for Ariel & Chris’ engagement party. It was fun and the food was amazing. I really like Yiddish music. I wish I understood! The piano player was from the National Ballet of Canada too. Stopped by the Parkdale Flea Market on the way home. It was such a nice day out I just wanted to do things outside! I picked up a shirt for Sean with an illustrated bear that is running. It’s super cute. Made a delicious juice this morning with spinach, kale, grapefruit, apple, pear, and a dash of cinnamon. It’s so freaking good! If you missed our latest Cooking with Cuisinart episode with the juicer, watch it here. I feel good if I keep posting the juices I make because it serves as a good reminder for me to keep making them. I’d determined to drop a few LBs this month! When I arrived at the office…

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Dermalogica’s Little Grey Pass, Cooking, & Tattoos

OMG yay It’s Friday. This week felt so long. I’m sure the everlasting winter and a sick day in the middle did NOT help. You know what did? The AMAZING facial I had at Hammam Spa. God I love that place. It was my first facial there and WHAT an experience. It in included a much needed cleanse and scrub on my dry winter face, massage on arms, neck, head, legs, warm towel on the feet, and recommendations on how to stay hydrated. After lounging in the steam room I picked up a new Dermalogica medium-weight moisturizer and headed to dinner. I’ve learned that taking time and spending some of your hard earned money to TREAT YO SELF really makes a difference. My face feels fresh and soft like a little baby bum. Tomorrow I’m heading to the BURBS to shoot our last episodes w/ Garret and Sash. I used this photo of Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevingne in my storyboard haha. The single shots of me talking were represented by the Stewart cooking queen herself, Ms. Martha! My fav tattoo artist Angelique Houtkamp is now on GelaSkins and I have my gadgets a makeover. Ok, how sexy are these!? Helloooooo! Now the match my tattoos. Ok, that’s all for now. It’s THE WEEKEND!

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Your Face is Your Fortune | Dermalogica’s Little Grey Pass

This winter is lasting forever and it’s been rough on my skin. My face feels dry and I’m just dying to get some sun. I’m in my 30’s now and I like to treat myself but one thing I’ve been neglecting is MY FACE. I’ve never really been one to go for facials but I am starting. I want to stay looking young baby! I’ve been using Dermalogica products for just over a year now and I really love how they make my skin look and feel (read here and here).  Thanks to the magic of Google I just discovered my first interaction with Dermalogica was way back in 2009! Dermalogica has just launched the ‘Little Grey Pass’ in Toronto and Vancouver. It allows you to collect stamps by booking services at Dermalogica skin centres and receive gifts along the way. I was gifted a pass from my friends at Faulhaber Communications and I have my first treatment at Hammam Spa on Wednesday. I already love that place so I can’y wait to have my first pampering for my FACE. I had a coffee scrub there about 2 weeks  ago and it was AMAZING. The Little Grey Pass program expires February 2nd, 2015 and you can get yours at greypass.dermalogica.ca. The title on this post was inspired by ‘My face is my fortune’ that Bette Midler sings (here) in Beaches, god I love that movie. In other news, I really hope spring comes soon! <3 CASIE

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WMCFW: Here’s How I Prepped for A Busy Week!

I had a lovely and relaxing weekend. Went to Screemers on Friday night for a good scare and spent Saturday afternoon at Hammam Spa. I’ve gone there a few times lately as a way to treat myself to some relaxation. this time I went a little early to relax in the steam room before my full body mud wrap. My skin felt like silk after! Thank you Hammam Spa for this little gift bag! I had tweeted them the day before about the 20% Stylicity discount (available now!) and they left me some goodies. Oh how I love the Internet! This little pink makeup bag is from Ted Baker London and I keep it in my purse to freshen up my look since I often head to events right after work. In it are always a few of my fav things: Essence Nailpolish – dries fast! Essence mascara – not expensive but great volume Rescue Remedy – if you have anxiety, this stuff is for you! Elizabeth Grant blue stick for redness – this stuff is great! Burts Bees – staple! Elizabeth Grant dark circle concealer Dermologica Age Smart primer & tinted moisturizer – both with SPF Moroccanoil Moisturizer stays at home but it’s great and smells wonderful I recieved a few things in the mail this week to get me ready for Fashion Week. A new toothbrush from Phillips and a whitening pen. I take really good care of my teeth so these were a treat! In other news, I was in an electric toothbrush commercial when I was 16. It aired in the USA, the kind you’ll see many a Dentist in Manchester and other dentists and surgeries within the US of A fully endorse and say they can be the best for your oral hygiene. These D.…

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