Hi Rosy Friends! 🌸

I hope you’ve checked out my latest YouTube video.  If not, you’re in for a lot of spoilers here.  Just in case, I’ll add the video so you can have a look and find out what this post is all about before moving on to the rest!

Thanks for watching! I hope you liked it!

My First YouTube Collab

I have wanted to do a collab for a while.  I’ve also known that when I did my first collaborative YouTube video, it would likely be with Petite Stéphy.  I have watched every video she has ever added to her channel.  There’s just something about her that I find very relatable, friendly, and genuine.

When I finally got up the nerve to contact her, I immediately knew I wasn’t making a mistake.  What a lovely person! What a fantastic blogger!  You know when you get a feeling as though you’ve met someone in a former life?  That happened between us!  I think, despite my social anxiety (panic) disorder, if we met in real life, I’d be okay.  That’s saying a lot.

After a couple of fantastic IMs (she was even willing to accommodate the fact that phone calls are triggering for me and didn’t make me feel bad about it at all), we were all set with our video ideas and everything we needed to make it happen.

Sharing Our Local Treasures

I proposed the idea to send each other a box full of some of our favourite products. Petite Stéphy took that a step further with the inspired idea to exchange a box full of products made in our home provinces. Since she’s from Québec, and I’m from Ontario, it was a great way to share local treasures with each other that we may never otherwise have stumbled upon!

I had SO much fun putting together the box I sent Petite Stéphy!  I tried to shop in-person with as many of the brands as possible. I hunted down some of my top products from Toronto and throughout “Cottage Country,” from Innisfil to Collingwood, and from Barrie to Bracebridge, among other places.

In case you’re curious, check out her video here!

What I Got, and What I Thought

Of course, opening up the box Petite Stéphy sent me was just as much fun as creating the one I sent her!  Ontario and Québec sure have some beautiful products.  Amazing companies and brands out there! Of course, I’m sure that can be said about all the provinces, but I’m just speaking for this particular experience.

Here’s what I thought of all the beautiful products Petite Stéphy sent in my surprise box:

• La Sublime (from Camellia Sinensis Tea House) –  This is a loose-leaf tea that is mild and soothing.  Perfect for bedtime.  It’s exactly what I was hoping it would be when I read the package.  It contains: chamomile, lemon grass, and wild rose.I’m not typically the biggest fan of chamomile, but the lemon grass and rose flavours were a perfect combination. It wasn’t anything like the bags I used to get at the grocery store.  This was a whole other level of yum! Ultra-soothing, this is the perfect tea for someone like me, since I struggle with sleep on a regular basis.  I thoroughly enjoyed this tea and all the fantastic info/instructions provided on the package.
• Sweet and Salty Zen (from Fourmi Bionique Granola Company) – This was the perfect selection for me. I absolutely love granola in the morning.  I haven’t found one I like a lot that I can find locally, so I typically eat a plain muesli then add pumpkin seeds almonds, shredded coconut, and some fruit (berries, half a banana or something like that).  The Sweet and Salty Zen contains: pumpkin seeds, coconut slices, dark sesame seeds and Matcha tea in its granola!  YUM! It had about ten times the flavour of my normal breakfast! So delicious!  It felt as though I was really getting a treat in the morning.  I still have one serving left, and I’m saving it for Monday morning.  I want to start the week on a happy note.  Definitely something I’ll want to have again. I’m thrilled that I know this exists!
• Hand Cream (from Kariderm) – If you’ve been following this blog or watching my YouTube videos, you know I have extremely dry skin.  That makes this hand cream the ideal skin care gift for me.  I was very surprised at how quickly it absorbed into the skin, even with such highly moisturizing ingredients. I have it sitting on my desk right now because it’s a great option to hydrate my hands without having to worry about leaving a slime layer on my keyboard. The smell is also delightfully fresh!
• Mascara (from Zorah biocosmétiques) – This black mascara is a super-find!  My eyes are easily irritated by mascara.  Previously, I’d found only one brand that doesn’t mess with my ocular rosacea-prone eyes for one to two days following wear.  This Zorah mascara has now been added to my list of non-irritating mascaras!  It glides on smoothly without clumps or flakes.  It gives a beautiful black coating to each lash, and the design of the brush makes it easy to reach each one, top and bottom.  It lasted comfortably all day and was simple to remove with a microfiber “eraser” cloth, followed by my usual face cleanser.  The next day, my eyes felt completely fine! I’m astounded and very grateful to know about this mascara. I plan to do a make-up video using this one very soon.
• Classic Summer Honey (from Miels D’Anicet) – This was such a curious product for me.  I love honey, and I am a regular shopper at a nearby apiary. I laughed when I received this because I’d sent honey to Petite Stéphy, too!  What impressed me about this one – aside from the taste, of course – was all the great info provided on the package, right down to the types of pollen used to make the honey, and the beekeeper behind the little bees who worked so hard to make the honey in the jar. I’ve always thought that the differences between one honey and the next are pretty subtle. I do have certain honeys that I prefer to others, but I never thought a taste difference would be drastic.  So I took the opportunity to test my theory. I sampled the honey I usually buy and then this honey…Holy wow!  What a difference.  They were both delicious, but I really could taste a significant difference. I’m not sure if I would have noticed if I hadn’t eaten one right after the other, but having tried it that way, I can see that they are nothing alike.  Amazing!

Big thanks to Petite Stéphy for agreeing to collab with me and for selecting such fantastic Québec products for me to try.  I hope this won’t be the last time we work together on such fun and fascinating experiences 🙂