Blog Review Roundup: Fitness World, Ceilis, Stella, Afterglow, and Kilian

As a blogger, and someone who writes about Vancouver, events, music and pretty much everything else under the sun, I often get approached to review products and services. On the other hand, sometimes I am the one requesting a review product in exchange for a write up on my site (ie. Fitness World). I wouldn’t exactly call this “selling out”, this is moreso using my public platform to pass on information that may be useful to others (as usual). I feel that as long as I fully disclose my intentions (and all transactions) that my readers can still benefit from this type of content. As such, I have a few reviews I need to catch up on, so here they are in lovely roundup form.

Fitness World Due to travels, conferences and illness I got back to the gym after a week off the other day. I really enjoy the downtown locations and find the facility I frequent the most to be a comfortable atmosphere even though I can’t figure out how to work the machines in the ladies only area. That’s mostly my own fault for not asking anyone, but once I actually do so, I’m sure I’ll enjoy that section of the gym as much as the rest. Watch for more Fitness Friday posts soon.

Ceilis Irish Pub Sadly, due to budget constraints, I was away in Vegas without John the weekend before his birthday. Since actual week of his 30th was also rather jam packed with events and conferences I organized a quick meetup for a few close friends. I contacted Ceilis about my situation and they were able to be quite accommodating, offering each guest a drink on the house and serving up an appie platter (which was great and featured calamari mmm).

Despite the fact that it was unseasonably warm out and the heaters were on full blast, it was an enjoyable evening with friends. A few of us stayed for quite a while, after the dinner rush, and had a nice relaxing time. We enjoyed the food, the drinks, and our server was really nice – we even got to share rugby stories. Yes, I used to play rugby. I would definitely head to Ceilis again although now I have experienced their many rooms and floors, I will plan things better next time. The rooftop patio is great for small, quiet dinners while the inside is more of a festive atmosphere in the later hours of the night – or for a hockey game.

Photo credit: Keira on Flickr

Stella McCartney, CARE I smell like tea right now, it’s true. I have just used the Purifying Foaming Cleanser followed by the Nourishing Night and Day Moisturizing Cream and I can still smell my face – which isn’t a bad thing at all really. I admit, I’m not too much of a girlie girl (although I do exfoliate and moisturize daily, albeit usually just with St. Ives products) so these lovely natural scents are a new thing for me however, this is probably the smoothest (and most glow-y) my face has been in ages – and this is only day one.

“Ethical Charter: All active ingredients certified organic, all products certified organic and ecological, no GM ingredients, no endangered plant species, products not tested on animals, no animal derived ingredients, no petrochemicals, no chemical preservatives, respect the environment.”

Stella’s line is beautifully crafted and thanks to Matchstick, I was sent a wide array of the high-end organic CARE collection. I’m more than willing to try out the Toning Floral Water, Radiance and Youth Elixir, the 5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream, 5 Benefits Moisturizing Fluid, Calming and Soothing Elixir, and Nourishing Elixir. I have been known to have sensitive skin so we’ll see how these organics fair.

Afterglow Mineral Cosmetics It’s been a few months since I was sent two lipsticks, a tube of mascara and some bronzer from Afterglow so I’ve had ample time to try them out.

“Afterglow Cosmetics brings you a truly natural blend of pure mineral make-up with the fabulous, organic infused, highly pigmented color palette you crave. Our unique natural formulation and focus on certified organic ingredients of the highest quality including certified organic grape seed extract and certified organic pomegranate extract.”

The bronzer is great, although it’s not something I use every day and even though the big thing now is lip gloss I’m a fan of the lipstick, my shade being “embrace”. When it comes to the Pure Soul Mascara, I wasn’t a big fan at first but this mineral masterpiece won me over with no clumps, no mess, and very smooth. Even though it’s not waterproof it is “alcohol free, paraben free, synthetic dye free, perfume free, mercury free, phthalate free, mineral oil free, tar free, petrochemical free, gluten free.”

Writing for the Web I have been given a review copy of Writing for the Web 3.0 from Crawford Kilian‘s publisher. I saw him speak at the Internet Marketing Conference and was instantly impressed by his knowledge, humour, and ability to engage the audience. I look forward to starting, and finishing, this book very soon.