Special Edition Thursday: To Steam or not to Steam?

Posted in Uncategorized by

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Getting this one in under the wire! Every Thursday I will be covering a non-beauty product related topic and today the topic is steamers! I promise, they’re exciting. Before I purchased this, the amount of clothing that used to pile up in a bag for the dry cleaner was astounding because I never felt like dragging out the ironing board. Not to mention-a lot of my shirts are made with thinner, gauzy polyester material that you cannot iron. Steaming is a great option because its quick, gets out pesky wrinkles and requires little to no set up. This steamer is the Conair Extreme Steam Fabric Steamer and is only $27. I have had mine for 2 years and it still works great. It also comes with attachments for adding creases to pants (I have not personally used these but have heard and read they work well).

I highly recommend everyone purchase one of these-especially if you work in the corporate world and have an endless amount of Loft blouses in your weekly rotation. It is also ideal for apartment living because let’s be real, who has room for an ironing board?

J’Adore Dior

Posted in Lips by

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I have never been a big lipstick/lip gloss fan. I have always found them to be too sticky, smeary, and the color never lasts. For this reason I have always just stuck with a clear lip balm, also because my lips tend to dry out very easily. Last year my friend Nell turned me onto this product and I was pleasantly surprised! I am now onto my second one and plan to keep buying it in the future.

Dior Addict Lip Glow simply enhances your natural lip color while moisturizing. It is formulated with color reviver technology and reacts with the chemistry of your lips to create your own unique shade. I have been asked by many people what color I have on, and they are always surprised to learn that it goes on essentially clear. It is also a very light weight formula so it never feels cakey on your lips. It is a bit pricey, $33, but it lasts a long time. I used mine almost every day and it lasted me about 6 months. Go out and give it a try the next time you’re in the market for some lip color!

Round Brushes Galore

Posted in Hair by

brushes

I figured it would be fitting to do a post on round brushes to go along with my hair dryer suggestions from yesterday.

The above photo shows the three ceramic types that I currently use, and they are labeled 1-3, 1 being my favorite option (I realize they are ordered by size as well, which is just a weird coincidence–no bearing on the quality of the brush).

I’ll begin with #3, the DryBar Full Pint round brush. This was another DryBar impulse purchase that happened not too long after the hair dryer purchase. I figured if I loved the hair dryer, I would love the other products as well. Not the case. This brush is adequate, but is definitely not my favorite. It does not pull through my hair smoothly which causes kinks and its a little too light which causes a lack of sturdiness. Blow drying your own hair is pain as it is, so you want to make sure the tools you are using don’t add to your frustration. This brush is also $40 which I think is overpriced for the quality.

#2-The Cricket Friction Free Thermal 2″ round brush is a great option! This was recommended to me by my hair stylist a few years ago and he was right. It is a great blow dry/shaping brush. You can also find it on Amazon for under $20. This was my #1 go to for a while, but over the years the glue has loosened and the top piece of the brush tends to pop off at random. It’s still useable and I like the size, but I’m not too impressed with its longevity. It does pull through the hair smoothly and adds some shine.

#1-Olivia Garden Nanothermic Brush 2 3/4” is my absolute favorite! The size is perfect for longer hair. Sizing aside, the quality is excellent. I have had this brush for over 2 years and it still feels brand new. The weight and grip of the brush is ideal for that constant brush spinning you do when you’re trying to perfect a section of hair. The brush also includes a retractable sectioning pick in the handle. I am going to be honest with you right now-I had no idea it had that until I just looked it up to get the exact name of the brush. This blog is helping me learn too! It’s also pretty affordable (under $25). I highly recommend this brand for any hair length in order to get that perfect blow out/wispy volume look.

DryBar Buttercup vs. the Conair InfiniPro

Posted in Hair by

drybar

Happy Monday everyone! I’m going to attempt to live up to the name of this blog by posting something daily. We’ll see how it goes.

Recently I was asked what type of hair dryer to purchase, and is it worth it to spend the money on a more expensive one or is there a cheaper alternative that works just as well?

I think it depends entirely on how you style your hair. I have several friends who use a hair dryer to simply dry their hair before styling it with a flat iron or other heating tool. For this purpose, buy the cheap stuff! A great and affordable option is the ConAir Infiniti Pro Dryer. Ringing in at just $30, this dryer is powerful and lasts a long time. I have had mine for about 4 years (i now keep it as a back up dryer) and I know others who have had theirs just as long and still use it every day.

If you tend to steer clear of flat irons (as I try to do), I would suggest paying up for your dryer. I had the unfortunate experience of using a rusty hotel dryer with a round brush and broke off a lot of hair, which is why I tend to avoid using a flat iron unless it’s absolutely necessary (there are still broken pieces around my face that stand out straight like devil horns when directly straightened with an iron).

My dryer splurge was on the DryBar Buttercup Blow Dryer. It was $195 which was really rude but I have to say, its one of my most successful investments. This thing is light, turbo charged and hot hot hot. I have thick/longer hair and I can completely dry it in under a minute. Aside from cutting down your drying time, it is a dream to use with your round brush. It leaves your hair light and bouncy with just enough shine.

no sun? no problem

Posted in Skin Care, Tanning by

Going with a second post to quickly follow my first one for a couple of reasons. First-I just downloaded the WordPress app on my phone so I wanted to see how it worked, and second, I just put some of this stuff on so I felt the need to discuss.

As many of my friends know, I love a good tan, sometimes too much. Not only is it slimming, it gives everyone a nice healthy glow. I have a mixed genetic background consisting of Irish, Lebanese and Italian blood so I usually burn first which then later turns into a tan. But like most people, no matter how gorgeous it is outside, the majority of my time is spent in a Vitamin D shielding office. For this reason, I turn to a fake bake.

St. Tropez bronzing mousse saves the day! This is the only instant self tanner I have used that gives you that golden brown, non-orangy finish. But make sure you use the mousse! I have tried several of their other tanning products (the gradual build lotion and face tanning lotion) and they do not yield the same results. For gradual “build a tan” lotion you are better off using Jergens and saving your money. But the mousse is excellent. Recommendation: purchase the tanning mitt! It is $6 and you do not want to deal with rinsing this stuff off your hands. Plus, it provides much more even application.

The mousse is $42 for an 8oz bottle which will last you the entire summer (way cheaper than going to a salon for a spray tan!)

I have used this product for several weddings, and other events where I need a hint of color at the last minute. I recommend you put it on an hour before bed, then rinse it off in the morning.

WARNING: no matter what the bottle says, I suggest placing a towel in between yourself and your bed sheets. This stuff will leave a residue even though technically it’s not supposed to.

lets begin with a basic

Posted in Eyes by

I knoBenefit_They_re_Real__Beyond_Mascara_8_5g1314188642w this may be extremely old news for some of you, but I wanted to start this blog off with a basic necessity. EYELASHES. If you have them, and you want people to see them, purchase this mascara immediately! I have been using mascara for past 12 years of my life and have yet to find a better option than Benefit’s “They’re Real!” mascara. You don’t even have to use a curler with this one (although I do because I secretly aspire to look like Minnie Mouse every time I go out). It is $24, and lasts me almost 6 months. This product lives up to its expectations, has 4/5 stars from over 10,000 reviews on sephora.com and beats many other high end mascaras on the market (including Lancome which was the very first “pricier” mascara I used–often praised for its excellent eye makeup line).