Category: hair

Kristin Ess Air Dry Creme Review

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Like many of you (specifically moms at home) I have count on one hand how many times I have blow-dried my hair since Covid-19 started. Since most people were not going into work, it just didn’t seem worth it to go through the hoopla of blow-drying and curling/straightening it, even for one of many Zoom calls. I started just throwing my hair up in ponytails or messy buns out of the shower and calling it a day. Then on one of many trips to Target to get out of the house (anybody else do this?), I stumbled upon Kristin Ess’s Air Dry Creme and discovered gold by pure accident. She writes on the back of the product listing, “If you use only one product, use this” and she’s 100% correct. You literally wash your hair, wait until its about mid air-dried and scrunch in this creme and Voila! You get this beautifully undone-done, “how did she get that look?” texture look that Kristin Ess is so famous for giving celebrity clients like Lauren Conrad and Lucy Hale. Now that I’m home with our three year old son everyday solo, I have even less time to put into a grooming routine so this is perfect for me, especially going into the warm weather. I plan on using this all summer as my go to product to give my light waves a boost of coolness with a soft (non-crunchy) feel. Buy this and let me know what you think!

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Olaplex Review July 2019

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Over six months ago Olaplex came on my radar – both by way of blogs and reviews from coworkers. Everyone said how amazing the Hair Perfector was and that it changed the way their hair looked and felt, especially if you colored your hair. About that time the brand also launched their shampoo and conditioner to accompany the Perfector (a treatment you put in for a minimum of ten minutes before you shampoo up to 2-3 times per week). I was extremely curious and if you know anything about me, once I get something into my head, I have to do it/have it/buy it IMMEDIATELY. I should have known I would have been disappointed when I felt this way because most things don’t meet with my expectations and then I’m underwhelmed, mostly due to my need for instant gratification and hope for the impossible – perfection.

I found the Shampoo, Conditioner and Perfector to be just “meh”, which was disappointing especially due to the price tag. Each of the three products retail for $28, which is pricey, considering their small size. Maybe it’s me and the fact that I have fine hair but I consistently found this dried my hair out instead of putting back moisture in it, something that is needed for colored hair. I didn’t see any difference with the Perfector either, no matter how long I left it on for. I got more out of Brigeo’s Repair Don’t Despair mask, which makes my hair feels so much better after using it. I have been trying to use through the remainder of the product, again due to the price tag but at this point I’m  just going to chuck it because its more harmful than helpful at this point. This just goes to show you – not everything everyone is loving is right for everyone! Hopefully reading this saves you $28 (more more)!

Olaplex

Have you tried any of Olaplex’s products? What did you think?

Maureen

Holiday Beauty Loot

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Merry day after Christmas! I was very lucky this year and received a lot of fabulous beauty products from my mother- all of which were a surprise. Check out my links below as to what I got!

Bobbi Brown Beach Collection

As I’ve written before in my favorite scents blog post, I have four scents that I wear regularly and Bobbi Brown Beach is one of them. Last year my mom also got me a collection gift like this one but it didn’t have the shower gel or body scrub that this one does. I can’t wait to use it! (Not pictured a bag of mini Bobbi treats from mascara, face oil and eye cream shadow).

Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Tenderheart

I’m going to be honest – I was surprised to see this as I haven’t worn Clinique in a while (although I think they are a great brand). I was recently eyeing their 100 point gift of a mini gloss in Black Honey at Sephora and was bummed that I didn’t have enough points to use it. My mother nailed it with the color choice for me – this pretty, natural but polished color looks like my lips just a little more pretty. Great job, Kathy!

Lollia hand cream in Wish

Best stocking gift ever. Like Beach perfume, this is one of my four regular scents and I have both a tube of this hand cream and the mini perfume at my desk. Every time I use it, two things happen. My coworker immediately asks if she can use it and I start hearing “Something smells like the beach” from several people. I love everything about this product, from the scent to the packaging, which is dainty and demure. It reminds me of the little boutique on the Cape where my mother bought it for me, which sells french-decor, jewelry and all the Lollia products. Whenever I’m out of my perfume or hand cream, I try and stop in there to buy it there. There is something about buying this type of product in a boutique rather than online that just makes it a special experience.

by Nature Coconut & Ocean Minerals Body Butter

I’ve actually never heard of this product or brand, but I’m a sucker for anything involving Coconut. I use pure coconut oil as my face moisturizer of choice and love to slather it on my hands before bed. This body butter smells like vacation and really sinks in to the skin nicely. I will be doing research on this brand once I start using it a bit more!

Moroccan Oil Light Oil Therapy

This is such a great product for smoothing hair as well as treating it. I have to use the Light version as I have fine hair and I’m so happy my mom remembered! I used to use this all the time as I love the way it smells and makes my hair feel – I’m glad to see this favorite back again! Once my Drybar products are out I may be shifting back to this…FullSizeRender

Cosmetic and beauty products are hard items to buy for someone but my mother did a fantastic job this year. She picked some really great items based on knowing what brands and scents I like along with my lip shade. She even got my husband some luxurious Sea Salt soap!

What beauty products did you get for the holidays?

Maureen

Product Review Time – Drybar!

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October 4th, 2015

During the summer I was looking for a good shampoo and conditioner as my hair felt very damaged (I was growing it out for my wedding). I had never been to Drybar but knew the background of the company and how it got started so I was interested in reading more. Now that the line is sold at Sephora, I read up on my trust app about what customers had to say about it. Overall, it got great reviews so I decided to give it a try with their dry hair sample pack (no longer available). It included shampoo and conditioner, hair oil, cream and mask. I LOVED everything. First off, the scent is AMAZING and all the products in the entire line smell the same, which I love. Secondly, the packaging and design of all products is spot on – all items are named after alcoholic drinks since the salon is supposed to be a “bar”. Products I purchased were named Sake Bomb, Hot Toddy, 100% Proof, and Mudslide and everything is color coordinated back to the line and salon’s signature yellow and grey color scheme.

I immediately ran through the Sake Bomb shampoo and conditioner and had to purchase the full size at Sephora (I was there anyway 🙂 The Hot Toddy heat protection cream and the 100% Proof hair oil are small but last a long time because you only need a small amount. The Mudslide is a deep conditioning mask in a travel size but I still haven’t used all of mine yet. I was so impressed with the line I went to the Drybar salon near me and bought more products. I was thrilled to see how adorable and on brand the salon was designed – stylists were set up like bartenders behind a bar, there was a menu of choices at the receptionist table and all combs, clips, brushes and appliances were in the brands bright yellow color. How adorable! I purchased travel sizes of the Money Maker hair spray and the Southern Belle volumizing mousse as well as the yellow hairbrush named “Buttercup”. Later, I visited the brand’s website and watched the owner’s video tutorials on how to create the looks offered in the salon, such as the “Southern Belle” and the “Mai Tai”. The owner Alli actually starts with wet hair, the videos are short and she shows you how to get the look you want from start to finish using her products. I found this very clever and super relateable. I would definitely recommend this line if you are looking for a new (crazy amazing smelling) hair line and don’t mind spending a bit more on it. Seriously, I wish she made a perfume of this smell, it is that good.

You can purchase all products at Sephora, but if you have some time and want to check out her website, you won’t be disappointed. It is cleverly worded and designed and provides a lot of great information on her brand and products. In today’s post I’m going to provide links to the overall brand sites and not the direct products because honestly I loved them all!

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Sephora Drybar products

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Happy Styling!

Maureen

Ombre Nation

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January 30, 2015

As many of you know, I ombred my own hair last summer (did I just make a up a verb? I think I did) when my stylist didn’t do it as heavily as I wanted. I did it in two sessions – a week apart to make sure I got the right amount of blonde until I was happy with it. It was wonderful for the summer – it definitely provided that “I live at the beach” sun-kissed look and people were shocked when I said I did it myself. But at my last haircut several inches were cut off, cutting off some of the lightest blonde shade and now I’m just kind of “eh” about my hair and color. It could be that its winter and everything is boring. It could be that I’m growing out my bangs for my wedding and need something to me excited about my hair while it does (as I can’t cut it off). At any rate, after some time well spent scouring the many pages of Pinterest, I’m kind of falling in love with a sombre (subtle ombre) brown-reddish look going on. See below.

Long red waves

Yes, I know my hair isn’t this long. How beautiful is this color though?

Long brown waves

This has some blonde in here (which I’m not opposed to).

red and gold

So pretty.

For this color change, I’m going to seek the experience of a hair professional although I am really proud of myself for doing my own for less than $15 the first time around. For those of you are interested in trying your hand at blonde at-home ombre, below is the product I used (it comes in three different color options) and a picture of the technique I used.

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Blonde DIY

Here’s how it turned out (note, it does not come with a handsome bald man 😉

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Are you going to ombre?

XOXO

Maureen

My Favorite Brands….Garnier

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November 12, 2014

In keeping with the blog series about my favorite brands here is yet another brand I love and noticeably cheaper than the last. I have given a lot of different Garnier products a try and I have yet to be disappointed. Some items I tried out on my own out of need and some I had read great reviews on. Unlike my last post about Bobbi Brown, I don’t have an emotional tie to this brand and have no colorful story for you – I just plain like the products! So lets get down to business and I’ll tell you what I use on the regular from this great drugstore brand.

Face:

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Moisture Rescue Gel/Cream – this stuff is amazing! It is so refreshing and hydrating and best of all it oil free. I started using this two years ago when it first came out in the summer and discovered how great it was. In the cooler air I just switched to the dry formula for a little extra moisture and like it as well. It has the same feel as the original and the same refreshing feel when you put it on.

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Ultra-Lift Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream – this is a great eye cream and is refreshing as well. Its very inexpensive and just a dab on the under eyes and outside of eyes (where crows feet live) does the job! I put on twice a day, morning and night.

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Oil Control BB Cream – this is great if you don’t have time for a face full of foundation and want more coverage than a tinted moisturizer. Now the brand has not one, but three different shades of each BB formula (there are currently three – Miracleblur, Oil Control and Anti-Aging) for even more skin matching goodness.

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BB Dark Circle Correcting Eye Cream – I also use the BB Eye Cream when I use the BB Cream shown above. It has a silver rolling ball that has a really cool, refreshing feel when it is applied to the skin.

Hair:

Garnier Nutrisse Hair Color

Recently I tried using Garnier’s hair color and loved it! Its the first at-home hair color that comes with grape seed oil to put right in the formula. This means more moisture and softer and shinier hair.

Shampoos and Conditioners – I have used the Color Shield and Damage Eraser hair collections and recommend both of them. They give my strands a soft, silky feel. Below are the ones I have used but click the images to explore what products are right for your hair.

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Which Garnier products do you love?

Maureen