Powered by Blogger.
RSS

My Skincare Routine


Confession time: I don’t wear makeup on a regular basis. In fact I mostly wear it on special occasions or when I realize I haven’t played with my collection in a while. With that being said, I hardly ever wear makeup when doing reviews so the face you see, is au naturel. I might wear a bit of mascara and/or tinted lip gloss, but I neglect the full face routine.

Time is one of the major reasons I avoid daily makeup. It takes me about 45 minutes to go from bare to completely done. I’d rather sleep! I am an extreme blender, so I hate lines in my eyeshadow. The extra blending takes a lot more time. I also use a minimum of four colors on the lids because the basic two color thing just doesn’t look complete to me.  Well anyway I say all this to say, that since I pass up on daily makeup, I make sure my skin stays smooth and well cared for. I have oily to normal skin and tend to use products designed for sensitive skin just to avoid any harsh chemicals. So here’s my skincare routine:

In the morning I usually use a warm towel to wipe my face and remove any moisturizer from the night before. I then apply my “day” moisturizer. I use my Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer in the morning to protect against any harmful rays I may encounter throughout the day. I like this moisturizer because it isn’t thick or overly oily.  It has an SPF of 15 and is formulated for sensitive skin. After a few minutes, I don’t even notice that it’s on my face. And yes that’s the point! =).  I love that the moisturizer and SPF are together and combine two steps into a single process.


At night, my routine is a little more intense. I start off cleansing with Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel. Here’s an overview from Bosicaskincare.com: Preservative-free. Dermatologist tested. Alcohol-free, pH balanced, 100% artificial fragrance and color free. No animal testing and no animal ingredients.


 I absolutely love this stuff. I’ve been using it for over two years and must say I see such a difference in my skin. It is a very concentrated cleanser and I use about half a pump (seriously a full pump is too much) and it removes all my makeup, grim, and dirt all in one step. I sometimes use an eye makeup remover, if I used dark colors that day. Since it is so concentrated, I only buy this product once a year. I love that this product has NO anti-acne medication so I can use it with a variety of other products. When I want to exfoliate (always at night), I add a little sugar (or salt) to the cleanser and swirl in my hand and then over my face. Now that I have the Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing system, I generally just use that to exfoliate.

Next I apply prescription acne treatments if needed. I do not use these everyday rather I use them as spot treatments for blemishes.

Finally I finish up with a moisturizer. Here’s where my method differs from experts and other bloggers. At night I use a lighter moisturizer, Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. Although I can’t figure out what’s “dramatically different” about this moisturizer, I do like the fact that it is extremely light and formulated for oily skin. I notice this moisturizer removes any tight feelings I may have (if I use water that’s too warm) and leaves my skin without any dry patches. This product does not have any SPF so if you choose to wear it during the day, it would require another SPF product on top.


Olay Complete is available at Target and other drugstores for $8.99 for 4 floz.
Boscia can be found at their website, and in-store and online at Sephora and Ulta for $26.00 for 5 floz
Clinique is available at major department stores and here for $13.00 for 1.7 floz.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Curls Coconut Curlada Conditioner




I’ve been using the Curl’s Coconut Curlada all week as an in shower conditioner. This product is made with organic ingredients and doubles as a detangler. It has a very strong coconut and pineapple scent but refreshing nonetheless while in a warm shower.

Let’s get right to it, I was not impressed. This conditioner reminds me of a sample you would find at a hotel—great for a day or two but not anything you’d constantly use. Once it hit my hair, it felt like it disappeared. Almost like cheap lotion. Giving this conditioner the benefit of the doubt, I thought maybe after the shower my hair would feel moisturized and super soft. Umm….yeah, I’m still unimpressed. I even used it as a “mid-week rinse” as suggested on the bottle. It STILL did nothing for me. Save your money, this one’s a dud. I’m thinking of just using it as a shaving cream.

Curls Coconut Curlada can be found at www.curls.bit and select Targets and Rite-Aid at $9.99 for 8 floz

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Its Back-- Nail of the Week

I am finally back to my nail of the week post. It’s been a while, yes I know, but here’s a little update on what’s been on my hands. So I took a week to just be natural with only nail hardener and top coat. Then I tried the “do-it-yourself” gel manicure and let me say, that stuff is more than a notion. After two failed attempts with two different colors (that’s another post in itself), I’ve decided to take a break and go back to regular nail polish.

This week, I searched through my rather small collection and found Revlon’s Stary Pink. It was a limited edition fall color that has now been re-released under the name Popular (which I now believe is permanent). This color is a pale pink with small and hexagonal silver glitters. As with most medium to large size glitters it is very difficult to get the exact same amount of glitter on each finger. However, the small glitters keep the look uniform. I have noticed to get the same color pay off as the what's in the bottle, I need three coats of polish. In my opinion, that’s a lot of polish and creates thicker layers that chip a lot easier. To combat this minor issue, I decided to use a basic white polish as a base and then apply one layer of Stary Pink. I got the same look as if I would have used three coats.
I didn't worry about the streaks since I knew it was only a base

Wedding White by Confetti


Stary Pink (or Popular) by Revlon

I love this polish. It’s so unique. Revlon Popular is available at Target and most major drugstores for ~5.99. (I paid a little less than $4 during a sale promotion).

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

EcoStyler Moroccan Argan Oil (Picture Heavy)

I was really unhappy with only posting one review this weekend. I had to study for a physics quiz so blogging took a back seat = (. However, don’t fret my dears, I promised myself I would make time for at least one mid-week (or so) post 

I did it! I did it! I finally used the EcoStyler Gel. If you are unfamiliar with this gel it comes infused with different oils and varying degrees of hold. I bought the Moroccan Argan Oil Styling Gel which has maximum hold (number 10). I noticed most people use the Olive Oil EcoStyler, but the smell of olive oil makes me gag and I didn’t want hair that made me gag. Not a good look. Well anyway, it is a thick gel with a very light fragrance. The product claims to be made with 100% Argan oil and has UV protections (although the SPF amount is missing, slightly questionable). When looking at the ingredients, however, Argan oil is one of the last on the list (which means there isn’t much in the product). I do enjoy the fact that “LOVE AND PRIDE” are also on the ingredients list; it’s such a cute touch.


Since this is a gel with little to no moisturizing properties, I decided to prep my hair with my Motion’s Leave-In and a small amount of coconut oil to prevent over drying. I then added the gel in the same manner that I use for every other product. I focused on my roots and dragged the product through my hair with my fingers. At first, I felt like my curls were being straightened but they bounced back with no issues. As I was applying the gel, I could tell the ends would have lots of volume. Well you all know how I feel about volume, but I continued anyway. Here’s my hair about ten minutes after applying the gel:
Check out my shirt, I <3 My Hair! [most days] 


Yes I am wearing a tank shirt, because it was actually 80 degrees in So Cal today. Gotta love Cali winters =). Back to the hair, after a few hours my hair had LOTS of volume. However, my curls were really defined. I could see each curl in perfect little ringlets even the roots were impressively smoothed. I am really impressed by the definition; I can’t stop bragging about it! I also had no crunchy sections and no frizzies. There was a bit of shrinkage though.

Definite Shrinkage 

Close up of the definition


 Since I feel like massive hair overpowers my face, I used my trusty clip to create a half up-do.

Looks better but not perfect




****Please note that my ends of my hair are a little ratchet because I need my twice a year trim. But no worries my spit ends will be handled soon, yayy. 

I have decided that if I continue to use this product (which I’m sure I will), I would apply the product and let my hair dry. I would then style in a half up-do or a messy ponytail/bun. I definitely had a lot of confidence in my hair after styling; I didn’t worry about shrinkage or out of place strands. I even slept on the curls and still had great hair. Best of all this product is very inexpensive. I found an 8 fl. oz. container for $1.39 at my local beauty supply, compared to $17 for the same size of Kinky Curly. I have seen this product for $3.29 at Walgreens. Yes it is double the price I paid for it, but I also found mine in a small non-franchised supply house. However the availability at major chains ensures that even people in the suburbs can have defined curls =).  If you like big, full curls I highly recommend you try this product.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Johnson's Natural Baby Shampoo


Meet my new favorite shampoo… Johnson’s Natural Baby Shampoo.


I absolutely loved this hair product when I first started using it, but I wanted to continually use it before I gave it a thumbs up. I went to the doctor and was told my scalp was flaking due to an allergy  most likely to an ingredient in my shampoo, so I decided to go the natural route and look for a gentle shampoo without all the harsh chemicals. I figured a natural “baby” shampoo was the best way to go since most baby products are created for super soft and sensitive skin. At first, I was worried that a shampoo made for the mild scalps of babies wouldn’t efficiently clean away my “adult” dirt. Well, all my worries were put to shame after the first use with this product. I was thoroughly impressed with the cleanliness of my scalp and the softness of my hair.
 
Now here’s the skinny, this shampoo has a consistency that’s only slightly thicker than water. It feels like it might run out of your hand if you pour too much, so I prefer to add the shampoo directly to my hair to decrease the amount of product going down the drain. It also takes a minute to get a good lather going, so if you’re an immediate lather person this product would leave you unsatisfied. The fact that the shampoo is 98% natural with only one sulfate (Sodium CoCo Sulfate), seems to account for the small amount of lather. The Natural Baby Shampoo has a very light, clean fragrance. The Johnson Company has trademarked it as their “ALLERFREE” fragrance.  One small gripe I have with this product is its “No More Tears” claim. I found that this product stung when it came in contact with my eyes. Although it was less pain than normal shampoo, I believe it is too much for a baby and definitely does not live up to the “No More Tears” claim.

Here's my scalp after shampooing (I used my usual three rinse and repeat cycles). My hair only has a light mist of Motions Leave In to prepare for air drying. 


Notice the softness of my hair 

I have used Johnson’s Natural Baby Shampoo both with and without the coconut oil pre- treatment and it has performed well in both occasions My hair was not oily at all after using the coconut oil first. Super plus! Again I absolutely love this shampoo. It’s AMAZING =)

You can find Johnson's Natural Baby Shampoo at most drugstores. I found this product at Target for $4.79 for 10 fl. oz.  

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Shea Moisture Purification Masque


I have now officially started my last winter quarter of my undergraduate career. Yay! Yay! and more Yay! With that being said I am taking five extremely intense classes and have decided to limit my post to the weekend. This way I can actually have something to look forward too when my week starts to feel a little overwhelming. Think of it as you keeping me going =).

Special Ingredients 

Now let’s get back to this review stuff. As a mentioned in my previous post, I purchased the Shea Moisture Purification Masque from my local Target. This product is marketed as a hair and scalp detoxifier while also exfoliating. It’s supposed to “alleviate itching and irritation”.  It comes in the same size jar as the Curling SoufflĂ©, 12oz.  It smells like bananas and something that I can’t quite put my finger on. The scent isn’t overpowering, so I’m sure if you wanted to leave this product on for a while it wouldn’t interfere with your perfumes. It’s definitely a far cry from the Coconut and Hibiscus line’s tropical smell. The texture is kinda grainy, but again you could wear it out in public without looking a mess.

Here’s the deal, I truly DISLIKE this product! I have no idea why so many people liked this on youtube. The directions are simple: apply to damp hair, wait up to 30 minutes, and then rinse out. Maybe this is just me, but if it’s a purification masque it should be applied before shampooing. What’s the point of purifying after I’ve shampoo’ed isn’t that the purpose of a shampoo? Ok so anyway, I wet my hair and towel dried and applied it to my scalp and roots. I think that using a hair color brush would have gotten more product on my scalp than the basic finger method I used. I left the Masque on for about 30 minutes and washed my hair. I did my wash and rinse cycle three times like usual. Well when I finished I still didn’t have a clean scalp. I could still see dirt and other impurities. Usually even if you miss a section during one wash cycle you definitely should get it in the next two washes. After another rinse and wash cycle, everything appeared to be back to normal. Again, what was the purpose of this product if it didn’t make washing easier? And, I still had to condition because my hair wasn’t super smooth so I didn’t save time with that either.

The dislike doesn’t stop there. So not only did I spend an extra 30 minutes before shampooing on an unnecessary product that didn’t shorten my actual shampoo time or leave my hair soft and smooth, I also ended up with the most flaky scalp I’ve had in a LONG time. Instead of exfoliating while on the scalp it seems like this product did more work afterwards. NOT OK! It is just not ok to walk around with flaky hair, especially from a product that claimed to reduce them.

I was so excited to try this product, especially since I loved the Coconut and Hibiscus line but this for me was an EPIC fail. In fact, if I wouldn’t have bought this product at Target I would have taken it back. (At Target you can only return unopened and unused beauty products). I’m going back to my pure coconut oil and I suggest the same for you if you’re looking for a purification product. .

If you STILL want to try this product its available at Walgreens and Target for $9.99 (12oz)

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!! 


I am back! Ugghh finally. My week just seemed to be a series of unfortunate events. First, I realized that I've misplaced the charger to my camera and the battery is two clicks away from dead. *palm to face* Great! Then the internet in the house goes on a fritz. All this combined with crazy work hours and my desperate need for rest have created one crazy week. However on a lighter note, since I have been staying in Los Angeles I have been able to find some hair care products that I couldn't find near school. I have purchased a deep treatment purification mask from Shea Moisture, a curl definer and conditioner from Curls, and I finally found the EcoStyle gel that wasn't severely over priced. I've also purchased my own gel manicure kit, which I am excited to use and share pointers on.

As you can tell I have a nice list of reviews to write and I am excited to start posting regularly, but first I have to find camera charger. So enough blabbing and more searching.

Til then, lots n lots of love. 

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS