Upcoming Book Review: Alpine Weight Loss Secrets + Book Giveaway

Through Business2Blogger I was selected to do a book review. In fact, it's on a weight loss book 

The book, Alpine Weight Loss Secrets by Stefan Aschan was released today, January 10th

I have yet to read the book as my copy will be in the mail, but I'm really curious to learn about his secrets on living a healthy lifestyle - one that he developed from living in an Alpine region. 

In the book he'll address 

• how the program works
• how his nutrition program is different from other popular diets (important because it's overwhelmed with the number of diet programs and pills on the market!) 
• sample ideas on what to eat 
• exercise programs to follow (which have been promised to be fun, not painful and not requiring a gym) 
• the success rate
• how to maintain your results once you've achieved your goals
• and many others...

His program is a lifestyle change  - it is not a diet that you go through and resume unhealthy ways

I think we all know that being at your best health requires a healthy lifestyle - not only will you look better and be stronger, but most importantly, you'll feel better and more energetic even into your more advanced years. And that really is key. I have seen many seniors and it becomes very obvious who has made an effort to take care of their health both mentally and physically, and those that have not taken care of their health over time. 

Stefan's credentials are extremely well rounded as well - among them he has more than 17 years in the weight loss industry, has culinary arts training, a Master's degree in Holistic Nutrition and 9 fitness certificates. 

I'm really looking forward to reading Stefan's new book, learning what the Alpine lifestyle is about, and to find some inspiration and knowledge to change my lifestyle and make it into a much healthier one.

I will definitely share some of his ideas with you if I find them novel, unique and practical.

All the best in the launch and success of the Alpine Weight Loss Secrets, Stefan :)

******

If you live in Canada or the USA and would like to win a free copy of this book from the author himself, please do the following on Twitter and Facebook:

(1) On Twitter, tweet: Hey @iStayTrim, I want a free copy of the book AlpineWeightLossSecrets.com by @stefanaschan! Please RT!

(2) On Facebook, become a friend www.facebook.com/StefanAschanFitness and write on the Fan Page’s Wall your experiences on losing weight, becoming younger and changing your outlook! – some tips and advices which have something to do with your success, your struggles, your obstacles or why it might be difficult for you

***Stefan will chose a winner for the giveaway and will send a free copy of the book directly to you :)

What comes to mind when you think of Alpine Weight Loss Secrets? 

Have you followed any diet programs?

What do you do to live a healthy lifestyle? 

Prize from sssdawna's giveaway

I was one of the winners for sssdawna's 12 Days of Christmas giveaway

Yayyy! I think this is the first blog giveaway I won :) Thanks so much Hun!!

And a few things I love about sssdawna's blog is: she writes well and is straight to the point, I love her honest reviews and if I ever need hair product advice I'd ask her for sure, her StyleWatch series is cool and she always follows up her blogger comments 

She sent me such a sweet card and wrote such sentimental words - it really made my week :)
I'm pretty sentimental myself - I keep all the cards I get

From top to bottom: Avon Glazewear Intense in Brown Sugar (G522)
Avon Glazewear Shine in Iced Pink (G200)
Avon Glazewear Intense in Crimson (G104)

The respective swatches are below:

And I can see why the lipglosses above are rated America's #1 Lip Gloss

They glide on very smoothly, they are not sticky and the pigmentation is even & super pretty 

Plus I love how small they are - perfect for my small purses when I head out :)

I'm wearing the Avon Intense Shine in Iced Pink 

I can never have enough cream :P
The texture of this one is very nice and concentrated - reminds me of Neutrogena's Norwegian Formula hand cream

Gorgeoussss Stila palette with four eyeshadows and a duo lipgloss/blush
I already had my makeup done when I picked up the parcel - but I'll be doing FOTDs with this palette soon!

I use cream liner everyday so this brush is perfect - and I love how it's bent/angled

Lush Products!!! 

I love how they're all handmade and so far, I've had very good experiences with Lush products despite my sensitive Skin. They smell soooo nice and I can't wait to pamper myself with the Lush Hokkaido bath bomb

Thank you so much for the lovely prizes and the beautiful card Hun :) 

It definitely made my week!

Have you tried any of the products in this post? 

Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion Contest Winner

I hope you're having a wonderful Holidays :) 

In the meantime, I wanted to announce the winner of the Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion giveaway:

Congratulations Pop Champagne!

Please email me and your bottle of lotion will be on your way

karen.in.toronto@gmail.com

CSN $35 gift voucher winner

I'm back from London England :)
It was a fantastic trip full of wonderful memories
.... and I'm left wondering how I got so lucky to have such a generous friend in my life to look after me on this trip. Dale you're the best!!!


.......


Back to reality - thank you to everyone for entering the CSN $35 giveaway
I did this draw the old paper, pen & plastic bag method

Aaaand, the winner is: 

Congratulations Miss Tapia!

Please email me and I'll pass on the online gift voucher to you

karen.in.toronto@gmail.com

CSN $35 online gift voucher giveaway

Probably the only thing I don't like about the holidays are the crowded malls 

So, online shopping is a great alternative! 

CSN Stores is an online shopping website with lots to offer including TV stands for flat screens, toys for kids, shoes (shoes!!), school stuff and a lot others. 

If you want a $35 gift voucher to shop online at CSN:

(1) Leave a comment on this post saying "enter me"

(2) Be a follower of my blog

You'll get two extra entries if: 

You mention this giveaway on a blog post (just leave the link with your comment below)

Please note the contest is restricted to Canadian and USA shipping addresses

I'll be picking a winner Tuesday December 14th when I get back from London

Good luck :) 

CSN promo & Review: L'oreal Professionel Absolut Repair Leave in Conditioner

CSN Online Shopping

CSN is an online shopping website that offers various products including things for your kitchen like cookware by "Le Creuset". I'll be browsing through their home office supplies for a calculator since I'll be requiring one for a real estate test in the next bit. Only shopping is so convenient, don't you think?

Review: L'oreal Professionel Absolut Repair Leave in Conditioner

This is either my 2nd or 3rd bottle.

I love this L'oreal Professionel Absolut Repair leave-in conditioner.

I first purchased this at a hair salon. But now, certain Shoppers Drug Marts carries select L'oreal Profesionnel hair care products including this.

You can lock/unlock the pump - very handy when travelling.

My hair is quite long (past my shoulder blades) and I only need 3-4 pumps of product each time

I finger comb it through my towel dried hair. Not only does it detangle my hair but it makes my hair smooth, manageable and healthy without weighing it down or feeling like there is product in my hair.

The consistency is like a lotion rather than an oil like serum.

The smell is pleasant.

I will definitely be purchasing this product again.

I've tried 3 or 4 different L'oreal Professionel products and I've been impressed with them all - especially the conditioners.

In the meantime, CHI Silk Infusion will be replacing my finished L'oreal leave-in conditioner.

What leave in conditioner are you using now? Do you recommend it?

Brighten up my day :)

In the past month or so, I have been looking for a table lamp for my bedside table.

So I was happy that Ashley at CSN Stores offered to send me a this simple yet lovely lamp I chose out. CSN stores is great for one stop online shopping; they offer so many items including sofas to cookware, and of course lamps ;)

So this will quite literally brighten up my day! :)

And last week when Dale was in town, he gave me a flower arrangement. I think this is the most beautiful flower arrangement I have ever received. I absolutely love the coral colour - even more so than the typical red roses.

How has someone brightened up your day recently? ;)

Contest Winner of CSN Sponsored Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered into my first giveaway :)

And I also want to give a big thank you to Ashley on the Promotions Team at Cookware.com for sponsoring this giveaway.

I thought it would be fun to show you the actual giveaway draw so I decided to video tape it. I'll save you from watching it if you wish LOL.

The winner is........sssdawna at Beauty and a Budget :) Check your email gurl!

I hope you're having a lovely day :)

Reminder: one more day left in my first giveaway (Canadian & USA residents only)

It's April!!! Time flies by quickly doesn't it?

A quick reminder that my first sponsored giveaway closes tomorrow, Friday April 2nd. The contest is open to Canadian and USA residents only.

You can win of of these six prizes:




Please enter my giveaway here.

I'm leaving for Pennsylvania tomorrow so I will be announcing the winner after the long weekend when I am back :)

Karen

MAC Dame's Desire, Give me Liberty of London + Prim & Proper

I picked up a couple of products from MAC's Liberty of London collection a couple of weeks ago.

Here is an FOTD using a couple of the products:

On my eyes I used only two eye shadows: MAC's Dame's Desires eye shadow all over the lid going slightly above the crease. Then on the outer edges of MAC's Dame's Desires, I used MAC's Give Me Liberty of London eye shadow. I am also wearing MAC #4 lashes

On my cheeks I am using MAC's Prim & Proper blush

On my lips I am using MAC's Hue lipstick (from the permanent MAC line)

Here are the product picures and swatches.

First up, MAC's Dame's Desires eye shadow

Next is MAC's Give Me Liberty of London eye shadow

Here are swatches. The top swatch is MAC Birds & Berries eye shadow from the collection however I did not use it in this FOTD. The middle swatch is Dame's Desires and the bottom swatch which is difficult to see is the warm peachy colour of Give me Liberty of London

Here is the MAC Prim & Proper blush that I used in my FOTD

Here is the swatch of the blush

Have you checked out MAC's latest collection called Trip?

And my friend Dale was so sweet to send me a flower arrangement on Monday before his flight out of Toronto.

Oooo and it came with a $50 gift certificate to the movies :) That's the first time I think I got something in a flower arrangement. I know what I'm going to spend it on already - I want to use it to see Toy Story 3 in 3D when it comes out this summer!!!

The bouquet is so Spring and pretty:

Aren't these flowers so pretty?! They even stuck a fake butterly on a stick in it

It's the first time Dale has sent me a bouquet that was not roses. In the past month we had a couple of serious discussions about our friendship. I think at one point he really wanted it to be more than just friends but I stood firm on wanting just a platonic relationship. I'm happy that it's worked out and I think this type of flower arrangement reflects that :)

Angelique is a lovely blogger with great hauls (lots of gorgeous lippie hauls lately) and she's having a giveaway to thank her first 50 followers. Look at the prize - OMG that HK bag is soooo cute, she's also giving away those Red Cherry lashes I keep hearing about but can't buy in Toronto and then the Beauty Diary masks as well as others:

Check out her blog. Her giveaway is here.

Aaaand, don't forget to check out my sponsored giveaway here if you live in the USA or Canada. You can win of the six prizes! My giveaway ends in two days and I will announce the winner on my blog after the long weekend :)

How is your week coming along so far? Do you have plans for the weekend yet?

Karen

My First Giveaway (Canadian & USA residents only)

Yay! I'm sponsoring a giveaway by a company that sells a great selection of bar stools, cookware, dining furniture, toys/games and much more :)

The online company sponsoring the giveaway is CSN Stores. They are a Boston based retailer with over 200 affiliated online stores. CSN Stores is also one of the top three online US retailers for home and office goods!

There is one winner for this contest. The contest is only open to Canadian or US residents.

Winner chooses one of six cool prizes:

(1) A set of two beautiful iitala white wine glasses

(2) A cute Alessi Dozi Paper Clip Holder

(3) A unique Alessi Girotondo Key Ring

(4) A Cusinart Brushed Stainless Waffle Maker (of course, you must promise to make me breakfast now!)

(5) A set of three Cotton Tale Lizzie pillows

(6) A cute Alessi Pisellino Cotton Swab Holder

To enter the contest

(1) Please follow my blog.

My current 111 followers will have two additional entries for already following me all along ;)

(2) Leave a comment on this post telling me:

-which prize you would chose if you were the winner

-tell me one thing that caught your eye at CSN Stores or one of their affiliated online stores

-leave your email address

Contest closes noon time on Friday April 2nd

Good luck!

=) Karen