Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

Thursday, July 15, 2010

What makes good (if not entirely natural) hair?

I've spent part of my summer working quite vigorously at rehabilitating my hair. My stylist taught me that healthy hair needs three things: protein, moisture, and oil. I have employed all of these components in my trial of a magnitude of products. I went on a spending spree and decided to simply try any and every product with which I came into contact. Here is my (unsolicited) review of each of those products.





Here are the products in the first picture:
I used the Aveda Hang Straight before I started bleaching my hair and I loved it. It smoothed out my fly-aways, made my hair look super sleek with a straightener, and smelled like only Aveda products can (they use marshmallow root in this product. However, this product made my already dry hair feel kind of gooey. So, in short, great for natural or color treated hair, but not so much for bleach.
The other product on the left of the Aveda is a HAIRepair Polisher with Aloe Vera made by Organic Root Stimulator. I purchased this product at Target. This product was not my favorite. It left my hair feeling oily at the ends (where I need the most repair).
The product on the left of Aveda is Kenra Silkening Gloss. This stuff smells amazing, but I had the same problem with it as I did with the HAIRepair. It's synthetic, so the sheen and oiliness was a bit much.
The products in the second photo are some of my favorites. The Redken product on the far left is an Extreme Cat Protein Reconstructing treatment for distressed hair. I spray into my hair in the shower and leave it in for no more than fifteen minutes and wash it out completely. Then, I use the Redken Extreme Rescue Force as a deep conditioner, put a shower cap on, and walk around looking like an old lady for 45 minutes, if I have that much time. I do that twice a week. On the days that I'm not using the Redken, I use the Olive & Avocado Deep Conditioning Masque by EarthScience. Again, I put it on and comb through my hair with a wide-tooth comb, then put a shower cap on and let it "stew" for as long as I can stand it. The last product on the far right is Giovanni Leave-in Hair Treatment. Essentially, it's a leave-in conditioner that I spray in my hair after towel drying, but before it is completely dry. I substituted it once for a regular conditioner when I forgot it at home, and that's the only time I didn't like this product. It makes my hair feel very smooth and moisturized.
The fourth photo are products from the same brand. Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise instructs the user to use in hair that has been shampooed. I did not like it for that. My hair felt really goopy and I was not fond of it at all. However, I am going to try it before showering my hair.
The other product is the Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil. I had the same problem with the instructions for this product. It says to use it after you've dried your hair and massage it through the roots and ends. It was pasty and I felt a strong desire to wash my hair the entire time I had it in my hair. Also, it has a pretty strong Olive oil odor that was not tremendously pleasing. I do, however, use it to saturate my hair before going swimming and then shampoo it out. This makes my hair really silky, so I found a positive use for the product after all.
The final picture is my rave review for this post. Moroccan Oil is evidentally world-renowned, and a well-known secret of the rich and famous. It is an exceptional product, and it should be, considering that it costs a pretty penny. The Moroccan Oil smells warm, like amber, and since it's natural, any excess oil that your hair doesn't need evaporates if you put it in your hair while it's damp. If you don't, it doesn't work the same. I hear that this is called Moroccan oil because it's an tried and try practice to use this oil in dry, desert ravaged hair in Africa. I don't know if it's true, but it's a great story. Anyway, I tried the regular Moroccan Oil first (the one on the left). The only problem I ran into is that it's natural amber color actually tinted my platinum hair and made it a more yellowy blonde. I had to wait a few months for the Moroccan Oil Light to come out, but this was their answer to all those platinum blondes who loved the product but didn't like how it tinted their white tresses. The product is only slightly different from the Traditional Moroccan Oil. It's a little thinner, more water-like, and the color is lighter. It is essential that you use the Moroccan Oil Light on damp hair, because it does not evaporate as well as the traditional Moroccan Oil.
This entire review comes down to just a few products:
Both of the Redken products are phenomenal at rebuilding hair, the EarthScience deep conditioning masque makes my hair feel moist and refreshed, the Giovani Leave-in Hair Treatment along with the Moroccan Oil round out my magnum opus of hair care everyday.
Honestly, the regiment isn't that long. It just sounds long.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

2 inches closer to the sky


I finally got the Jessica Simpson shoes that I've been vying for for months. I wore them on Sunday but never got to taking photos of the outfit. Also, I just bought three different colors of liquid eyeliner (teal, emerald green, and wine). The last photo is what I did with the teal. However, it wasn't nearly as dramatic and sexy as I wanted. Any advice on interesting ways to apply colored eyeliner?



Top: The Limited
Skirt: Go International Target
Bracelet: Express
Sunglasses: Forever 21
Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Monday, December 15, 2008

Adele

Adele-Chasing Pavements
For someone who claims to be plus sized, I don't acknowledge my size much on this blog. And, actually, had I not been curious about what the sublime musician Adele looked like, I probably would never have found out that she is a plus-sized artist in a world of increasingly shrinking musical waifs. I've drawn a lot of beauty inspiration from these photos. Her hair and make-up are remarkable and I fully anticipate that I will doing a bit of a copy cat act.




Sunday, November 30, 2008

Birthday Bangs


I cut my bangs today for a little fringe action. I'm still working out the length and eveness a little (I am certainly no professional, after all), but I'm really happy with my efforts so far. Next, I plan to go for some Betty Paige bangs like the bad boys in these photos. She is so divine!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Discovering Liquid Eyeliner

I have recently discovered the versatility of liquid eye liner. The dynamic shapes that one can create are so freaking cool! For a time, while I experiment, I will post the different shapes I create and how it impacts the effect of my outfits. This shape was from Thursday with my love 'n chains outfit and I plan to use it again this evening for a birthday party.

Monday, November 10, 2008

New Hair

Ok, so I've never been particularly worried about my hair. I mean, I want it too look nice but I'm willing to take big risks to have it look nice and I usually don't care about the consequences. Add to that the fact that I am an extremely restless person and we get some drastic and gutsy hair cuts. When I lived in Denmark, I never wanted to shell out the exhorbitant amounts of cash for a hair cut so I had friends cut my hair the entire year I was there. I figured that if it turned out badly, I'd just let it grow out or cut it.
Lately, I've been bored with my mundane do so I took some scissors and made some bangs. The side sweep is huge and I love it. That's the thing about hair. If you don't give a crap about how it turns out, it almost always turns out well.