What I Plan on Buying This Summer. :)

There are so many things I've been wanting to get for the longest time now, and since summer is around the corner, it's time to start finally buying and trying these products! Well, not only things I want to buy, but also things I plan on doing as well.

BUY:
Long Feather Earrings: I think they're sooo cute! I've been wanting these since I saw Kandee Johnson wearing them on her channel and blog. Maybe not as long as hers, but I definitely want some long feather earrings!


Solia or Sedu Flat Iron:  The only place I know where to buy these flat irons is on Folica.com. This I've been wanting since around August 2010. Both of them have great reviews on the website, but the Solia is much cheaper and comes in a bundle with a lot of the time. I don't care which one I get, but I know for a fact this summer I'm getting at least one of them.

Flexi Rods: OMGGG! Flexi rods make the cutest hair styles! The down side to them are they are kind of expensive. I mean, five dollars isn't much, but five dollars a pack is kind of much, especially  considering I might have to get about six packs and I would want to have different sizes. These I would defiantly have to buy a few packs at a time to grow my flexi rod 'collection'.


BH Cosmetics Palette 1st Edition: I've been wanting this since summer 2009. When I first started watching YouTube videos, I saw a lot of people using this palette and RAVING about it. $30 for 120 colors isn't a bad price, and I figured when I take my senior pics this summer, it'll be great to have to make a great natural look, but it'll also be great for bolder looks when I want to wear those.
Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo: Shilinda1on YouTube has been raving about this shampoo for so long I really want to try it. I like the KeraCare shampoo,but I really want to try it. Also, it's natural and cheaper. It is important for me to continue to and stick to the products for my hair regimen, but I want to try other products! ..and I will.

ELF Lipstick/Collection: I want to grow my cheap/drugstore makeup collection before I move to more expensive makeup. I want ELF stuff because it's really cheap, and what I've collected so far is decent quality. Specifically I want to try the lipsticks. I've never tried lipstick before, but  I think wearing a lipstick with a cute glossy lip gloss on top will be cute and age appropriate. Right now I've got my eye on 'seductive' from the ELF essentials line. It's a cute pink color that's not too bright for an everyday look. But I will also get other stuff offline that my local Target doesn't offer.

Dresses/ Rompers (especially floral!)/Wedges/Sandals and shorts: I'm collecting dressers, rompers, and wedges this summer. My wardrobe is full of pants and other winter clothes, but since it's going to be hot, I am getting a whole bunch of cute summer clothes! (Watch my last haul of clothes and other stuff!)

GET:

License: I NEED MY LICENSE!!!!! I'm seventeen. With out a license. I'm gettin it this summer!!!

Fit: I'm focusing on getting fit this summer. I can't wait to work out this summer and get healthier. I don't feel like I need to 'lose weight', more like 'tone up'.

First Impression: Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

Master Cuts salon is having a buy one get one half off of Paul Mitchell styling products right now. When I bought the PM tea tree special shampoo, I also got a small bottle of the Super Skinny Serum to try out. I really like it. I use it right after I get out of the shower and put one pump through out my hair. When my hair air dries, it feels super soft compared to when I didn't use it.

Claims:
Basics: Smoothes, conditions and seals strands.

Benefits: Leaves hair smooth, shiny and frizz-free in any weather.
Bonus: Speeds up drying so you get silky smooth results in less time.

My hair is super soft after using it, but it still frizzes so that part, for my hair, isn't true.
I did notice that my hair didn't take the usual 2 hours to air dry though.

Ingredients:
Cyclomethicone, Dimethiconol, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, C11 15 Pareth 7, C12 16 Pareth 9, Trideceth 12, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Cetrimonium Chloride, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Isobutylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Fragrance (Parfum), Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexylcinnamal, Linalool, Limonene

Pretty much it's full of silicones, parabens and preservatives which are all bad for your hair. Because of the amount of silicones, I'm not surprised it made my hair feel so soft.

I'll figure out if I want to repurchase when I'm done with the bottle.

Black Shatter Nail Polish!

Got my black shatter. :) I love trade secret!

*picture from Trade Secret's Facebook Page*
*Click here to find a Trade Secret near you*

Couldn't Pass it Up-KeraCare

Yesterday before work I was walking through the mall still clueless of what shampoo and conditioner I would want to try next. To continue my search, I went to the JC Penny Salon just to look around. I looked at a few brands then spotted Keracare. Keracare is a popular brand that I've been wanting to try for a while. Before, I didn't see why I should that much for shampoo and conditioner since Keracare is a more expensive brand. But it only has a few parabens, no silicones (I think), no sulfate, no mineral oil, and no petroleum. Most cheaper brands aren't like that.

Anyways, the keracare bottles were sitting there and I kept moving, I mean, I was only doing a price check. Then I saw a 50-70% off rack and there was a gold box that caught my eye. I picked it up and it had Keracare's sulfate free hydrating shampoo, conditioner and a wrap lotion. On the front it said '24.99' so I wasn't too impressed. I flipped to the back just to see if the ingredients were listed there and I saw a pink sticker saying it was only $9.99. WHATTT?? If you know anything about Keracare then you'll know its not cheap. According to sleekhair.com, all of this would have cost me $39.99 when not on sale!

I set it back on the counter because I wanted to go home and do more research. It took me less than 15 seconds to realize that it was the last one on the shelf and this was such a great deal that I would be absolutely stupid to pass it up. So of course I bought it. I think I'm going to use Herbal essences one more time then keep it in my cabinet for back up. Even if it does go to waste, it was only about six dollars.

So, in the month of March, I got a $30 conditioner (kenra) for $15, and a $40 shampoo/conditioner/wrap lotion set for $10. I'm doin good!

I would upload pics, but the computer is messing up right now! It came in a kit with shampoo, conditioner, wrap lotion and a free sample size of the 1st lather shampoo.

Written 3/13/2011, Uploaded 3/19/2011

Frustrated Ramble...

Sigh...
I've been having a hard time trying to find a new shampoo/conditioner. I've been feeling super picky lately about what ingredients can be in there. (I don't want parabens or silicone's). The more I educate myself about hair and the ingredients found in hair products, its hard for me to act like I don't know. Like, it's hard for me not to care that Herbal essences is full of parabens and silicone's. It makes since why my hair hasn't been growing at the rate I expected it too.

So far I've looked at KeraCare, but some of their products have mineral oil in them. If they don't have mineral oil in them then it's hard for me to research the products. I don't know, maybe their just not as popular as the products with mineral oil?

I also looked at Paul Mitchell, but their products 'tingle'. I don't like 'tingly' products because they never feel good in my opinion.

I was thinking about using Aphogee's deep moisture shampoo, but it doesn't have a lot of reviews. Also, it has keratin and a few parabens.

I've looked at matrix, elasta qp, organic root stimulator,cream of nature, Burt's bees, nexxus humectress, cat walk, bed head, biolage, kenra, mizani, joico, redken...all of them have something wrong with them. Either it's the reviews, ingredients, price or availability. Ugh, this is so frustrating.

I'm beginning to become a believer of 'you get what you paid for'. The cheaper products seem to have tons of parabens in them, but the more expensive and exclusive ones don't. I have about half a bottle of Herbal essences left, so that's a while to find a new shampoo/conditioner combo. But GOSH!! Why does it have to be soo d i f f i c u l t???????

Shhhh...It's a Secret!

Ever since the Secret Rewards at Victoria's Secret has been in stores, I've been wanting to get my hands on one a few of those cards! So far I've collected two and I plan on getting plenty more. Since I work in the mall, I decided that every time I go to work I'll spend at least $10 at VS to get one of their secret rewards card. So far I've collected 1 perfume, 4 hand sanitizers and 1 lotion. I'm pretty sure I'm done collecting fragrant things for a while. Now I'm going to have to keep looking for something around $10. Last time they had this promotion, I won $50. Now they're saying that there are THOUSANDS worth over $100. If last time I won $50, then I know this time I'll get something worth more. I'm hoping at least.

What's a Secret Reward?

From now until the end of March 2011, VS is giving away gift cards to their store that are worth at least $10 each time you spend $10 at their store. Nobody knows how much each card is worth until you check it at the register form April 1-30 and they'll tell you how much your card is worth. After April 30th, the card expires.

ME=EXCITED

lotion I bought- Originally $12,
I got it half off for $6

I have four of these lil sanitizers! yay!



Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner First Impression

On Sunday for the first time I used the Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner as a DC. It was fine. Made my hair soft. What I wanted. Not AMAZING. I'm not jumping out of my seat or anything. But it was fine. Its a lot better than the other random mixtures that I concocted before. I guess because it's more expensive than the products I was using before, I expected it to work extremely different compared to a cheaper brand. It's now Tuesday and my hair still feels soft, but it always feels super soft after I wash it with herbal essences. I do have a huge liter bottle of it so I'll keep using it and have an official review of it later.

I mixed it with sweet almond oil, eucalyptus oil and rosemary oil.

Color: the packaging is grey and the conditioner is yellow

Smell: Smells like ordinary conditioner. It doesn't smell like coconuts like a few other people said, not in my opinion at least.

Cost: 10.1 ounce- $9-$14, Liter- $30

Consistency: Not really thick, not runny. Average

Where to buy: Only available in salons. Not sold in drug stores or online (according to the website. However I did see it on folica.com)

Bottom Line: It's pretty good. Defiantly not the 'Holy Grail' Product I was looking for, but with time I think I'll progress to like it. Not sure if I'll be repurchasing again.

New *Crackle* Nail Polish

Example of Black Shatter

Since the beginning of this year, my sister and I have been interested in doing our own nails. We normally went to the salon, then our pay checks started to decline so we got the idea of doing them ourselves. Around the same time, OPI came out with a nail polish called 'black shatter'. Basically, you apply a base coat of your choice, no matter what color you want it to be. Then you put shatter on top of it. It gives a, well, shatter effect on top. We have been looking for this polish for a long time and never found it because every where we go it's sold out. :(

Recently, China Glaze came out with a line of polishes with a similar concept, except it's called 'Crackle'. Today my sister told me she wanted to do her nails when we got home from school, I told her about this line and that it's similar to shatter except it has different colors available. Long story short, we went to Sally's after school and bought two colors: cracked concrete and fault line.I'm SO upset that we didn't get the black one (black mesh), but I do like the ones we did got. I would order them online, but their only available in stores.

Purple: Fault Line
Gray: Cracked Concrete

Random: OMG I really hope I get a $500 VS gift card! I at least hope I get a few $50 or $100 ones! I'm so excited and anxious to know how much money I'll get. With whatever money I get, I'm getting so many sweat pants, yoga pants, shirts, perfumes, lotions, make up, AHHH! I'm so excited! (read last blog for more details!)

Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner- Can't wait to try it!

Additional Uses: (copied and pasted form kenra.com)

• Add maximum moisture by applying Moisturizing Conditioner, covering hair with plastic cap and placing client under warm dryer for 10-15 minutes.
• Revitalize old perms by working Moisturizing Conditioner and Styling Gel into relaxed curls and diffusing with a blow dryer.
• Work small amount of Moisturizing Conditioner into dry hair ends to control frizz.

Key Ingredients: (Copied and pasted from kenra.com)

• Stearalkonium Chloride A humectant moisturizer for added manageability and softness.
• Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein A protein that adds moisture to hair.
• Benzophenone-4 Sunscreen for UV protection from drying and color fade.

Yesterday, like I said, I bought the Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner. My plan was to get the 10.1 ounce bottle, but instead I got the 33.8 ounce (1 liter) bottle. My original plan was to walk around the mall and search for the best price since there are three salons that carry Kenra products. So I walked into Trade Secret and noticed that they were having a 50% of liter sale. I still wanted to check to see if I was going to get the best price, so I left the store. I must of walked less than 30 feet away from the store and turned around because I couldn't pass up such a great deal. So, instead of paying $30 for it (the regular price), I only paid $16.10. I thought this was a great deal because the 10.1 ounces are sold at prices ranging from $9-$14. So pretty much I got over three times more for (at most) an extra seven dollars. I didn't even look at the other salons.



Example of a liter-sized conditioner
with a pump

 What I don't like about the packaging is that most of the time when you buy shampoo/conditioner a liter, it comes with a pump instead of having to pour it into your hand. The pump would have made it easier to measure how much conditioner I'm putting into my mixing bowl.
 
(random) When I was reading the reviews on this product, a lot of people said it had a strong coconut smell, it didn't really smell like coconuts to me.
 
What if I don't like it? I already committed to the liter size and it's going to take me forever to get rid of it. I'm not buying any more products for a while unless I run out of something, so I really hope it works well.

S-Curl No Drip Acitiviator and Moisturizer

Today I bought what many people call their staple product. It's called 'S-Curl No Drip Activator and Moisturizer'. I think it was originally made to be used to 'activate' a jheri curl, but a lot of women now use it to moisturize and seal their hair. I bought it because I wanted to try a wash-n-go with it. BUT THEN I came home and watched a video you youtube and the lady said she didn't like to use it on wet hair because it made her hair feel funny and weird. I know that everyone's hair is different so I'll continue  to consider using it to activate my curls. Until then I'll keep using my Garnier and Africa's Best for moisturizing.



Michael Jackson's Jheri Curl
RIP

 But just as a very first impression: I like that I can pump it right on to my new growth. I've been noticing that I don't really moisturize my new growth very well and this is a spray that I can use directly on it. When I came home I sprayed my hair with it and I automatically felt it on my scalp so I was excited about that.

Clinique 3 Step System

Ever since 4th grade I have suffered with acne. It wasn't until 8th or 9th grade that I started to use drugstore cleansers on a daily basis every morning. It wasn't until 10th grade year that I started washing my face twice a day while still using drugstore products. They did help with getting rid of some pimples but my skin was never really clear. About two weeks ago I bought Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Cleansing Scrub and hated it. I now figure drugstore products aren't working for my skin and its time to step my skin-care-game up. The first thing that popped into my head was 'Clinique'.
So on Friday I went to Dillard's and walked straight to the Clinique counter. The lady took a quick glance at me and told me I had oily skin. I never knew I had oily skin. I actually thought I had normal skin, then I thought I had dry-combination skin but apparently I have oily skin. Any who..I left the Clinique counter because I didn't want to pay $41.50 for some facial soap. After that I continued to walk into the mall and stopped at Wet Seal and spent about $30 on clothes. It wasn't until I woke up the next day and realized that I spent almost the same amount of money on clothes as I should have spent on the Clinique. I sat at the computer and Youtube'd 'Clinique 3 Step Review'. Juicystar07's video about her experience with Clinique was the first and last I watched before I made my decision. Not because she used it and liked it, but because she said something that made me think. She said: "My skin is something I'm willing to invest in". Ever since I've gotten my job at Target, I've spent a lot of money on clothes. If I can spend $12 on a shirt, couldn't I spend the same amount to better my skin?
That same day I bought the Clinique system. I got the bar soap (you can choose bar or liquid- the bar costs less but you get more), clarifying lotion #3 and the dramatically different moisturizing gel. I haven't used it for that long now but I can form some opinions on it.
1. I don't like the clarifying 'exfoliating' lotion. I always thought exfoliation had to be a scrub, but this is more like a toner. It smells terrible (like witch hazel) and stings even worse.
2. The moisturizing gel doesn't moisturize enough. I always have to use another moisturizer afterwards so my skin won't feel so tight.
3. Using a bar soap doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Especially since it comes with a soap dish.
As far as how well it works and a review on it, that'll be coming later but so far it's okay I guess. Even if I hate the toner, I'm still happy I bought the system. I feel the same way as when I bought the Silk Elements. I mean, even though Silk Elements didn't work out for me very well, I felt like I was taking the first step in bettering my hair care and was on the road to a new journey and chapter in my life. The same way I feel about my skin care. :)

Clinique Facts:
1. they say your skin will get worse before it gets better because it's pushing all the 'gunk' out of your face, so whiteheads might appear. Yuck!
2. It's sold at department stores. (Macy's, Sephora, Dillards, ect.) Also sold at kiosks in the mall.
3. It's allergy tested. (They test 600 people 12 times before the product goes on the market. If one time one of those people have an allergic reaction, they reformulate their product--that's 7200 applications!)
4. No Fragrance is added to it.
5. There are 4 different 3-step lines which you can choose to match your skin. (Type 1= very dry skin, Type 2=dry combination, Type 3= Oily combination, Type 4= Very Oily)
6. They also make makeup, sunscreen, fragrance and a lot of other stuff.

For more information visit Clinique.com

Bantu Knots and Pink Grapefruit Review :)

Last night I detangled my hair and did 8 bantu knots in my hair. I haven't done these in a while so I wanted to revisit them. Thank goodness I did, because I actually like my hair today and got a lot of compliments on my curls. I used to do 3 bantu knots- one on top and two in the back, but last night I did eight and that could have made a difference in why I like these better. I've still been using the GF leave-in conditioning cream to moisturize and seal and my hair has been SUPER soft!

I said a few months ago that I would go on a 'skin journey'. I stuck to a regimen for a while, but not much has changed. So last week I bought a new product: Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash with Grapefruit. I decided to get the scrub since I know how important exfoliating is for clearing acne. First off- the smell is delicious. It smells exactly like a grapefruit, which is good, but honestly I don't really care what my face smells like. I've used it for almost a week now and this crap made my skin SO dry. I'm not sure how well it works for acne, because I haven't used it for that long and don't plan on it! I'll continue to use it as a weekly exfoliator, but as for washing my face twice a day, it won't do. I will NOT be repurchasing.

 

Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner

I just washed my hair with the HE Reconditioning shampoo and conditioner. I really loooovvvveeee it! I thought the conditioner was just okay last week, but with the shampoo, it was amazing! Actually, I think the shampoo was more conditioning than the conditioner. Weird, huh? When I very first put the shampoo into my hair I loved it. It just felt sooo moisturized. A feeling I never got with Silk Elements and obviously not with Aphogee. It was not stripping all. The conditioner complimented the shampoo well and I'm already considering these to be staples. This was really surprising to me because normally I don't like products the first few times I use them.

So now I'm deep conditioning my hair with Silk Elements Olive Oil Moisturizing Treatment. It's okay, but I got my  eye on Shea Moistures conditioner. Honestly it doesn't matter which one because they all seem like they would work well. As long as its high moisture and low protein or none at all, I'll buy it.

I want to find a curl definer. Since I'm going to do so many braid outs, I need something to make my curly hair curlier and not frizzy. I'll look at the Herbal Essences Tousle me Softly line.

Lastly, as for as the pre poo, I used the Suave Shea Butter and Almond. It was pretty good, nothing amazing.  How much can you really expect when you pay less than two dollars for it though?

Lustrasilk?

I'm not sure if Lustrasilk is good enough for a deep condition. I like the product, I'm just not sure its moisturizing enough for me. I think I should invest in a new DC. I still have 1 1/2 tubs left of it, so I might use it as a pre-poo and/or co-wash until I run out of it. I'm not sure if I'll repurchase after that. So now I'm on a hunt for a new DC. Tomorrow will be my wash day and I might use that, also when I co-wash this week, but after that I really hope to have a new product in my stash! :)

MINOR Regimen Change

Yesterday I said I'll co-wash with Suave and I'll find me a new pre-poo, but actually I found a co-wash (VO5 moisture milks conditioner) and I'll pre-poo with Suave almond and Shea butter conditioner. 

VO5 is a popular co-wash on hair forums so that's why I decided to switch. (it smells great and is only $1.15!)

Hair Resolutions Check Up

A month ago I made some resolutions, and for the first time, I've actually kept up with them. My resolutions were:
learn heat less styles
learn to braid my hair
use less heat
and retain length

So far I can cross three off of my list, I'll see how I'm doing with retaining length later. I guess I'll have to stretch my curls to see how long my hair has gotten.  Or I could start taking length check pictures only when my hair is wet.

Today I bought all the things from my list yesterday. I still need a pre-poo. (I might use the suave almond and Shea butter as a pre-poo though)

new regimen

WEEKLY:
-shampoo wash 1x
-co-wash 1x
-DC 2x


DAILY:
-oil w/ Castor oil
-M&S

PROTECTIVE/LOW MANIPULATION STYLES:
-braid outs
-bantu knot outs
-rollerset saran wrap


Shampoo- HE Hydraliscious Reconditioning Shampoo, Aphogee shampoo for damaged hair (only used when using heat)
Conditioner- HE Hydraliscious Reconditioning Conditioner, Aphogee 2 minute reconstructer (only used with heat or before relaxer), HE long term relationship
Deep Conditioners- Lustrasilk shea butter and mango, silk elements olive oil moisturizing treatment, oils, ORS replenishing pak
Leave ins- Aphogee green tea and keratin (only when using heat), fantasia frizz buster, Garnier Fructis leave i conditioning cream, HE Long Term Relationship, GF anti frizz serum, GF smoothing milk
Moisturizers- Garnier Fructis leave-in conditioning cream, HE long term relationship
Heat Protectant- Tresseme thermal creations
Pre-poo- ? (i'll figure it out)
Oils- Sweet almond oil, castor, olive, one n' only argan oil, eucalyptus, rosemary, Africa's best herbal oil, coconut oil
Co-wash- suave almond and shea butter


AS NEEDED:
Protein Treatment-egg, Aphogee wash (instead of herbal essences)


Relaxer Every 10 weeks (at least)


Misc: apple cider vinegar rinse


Notes:
-no more Pantene products (might have caused dandruff)
-AVOID MINERAL OIL (threw away some products because of mineral oil)


Wish List:
HE reconditioning shampoo
GF anti frizz serum
GF smoothing milk
Suave almond and shea butter

Wash Day

Yesterday I washed my hair with Silk Elements. (it's almost gone!) I pre-pooed with HE Hydraliscious Reconditioning Conditioner. It did make my hair kind of soft, which surprised me because the first time I try something usually, I really hate it and it later starts to work for me.


What worries me a little bit was I left it in my hair for about 45 minutes and it was only kind of soft. It wasn't great or wonderful, just okay. In my opinion, if you leave something in your hair for that long, it should feel like butter. *SOFT* But I do have to take into consideration that it was my first time using it.


Even though it was okay, I'm kind of leaning towards Garnier. I really love the leave in conditioner as a moisturizer. I didn't go to work on Tuesday like I was scheduled (had to call in because of the snow..did I mention this crazy blizzard?), so I couldn't pick up the travel size shampoo and conditioner I wanted to try. Also, If I do decide to use Herbal Essences, there are certain products from Garnier that I'll use to fight frizz for my braid outs. (anti-humidity smoothing milk, anti-humidity styling cream, anti-frizz serum)


Bottom Line: I'll use the travel size, if I like those, then I'll use Garnier. If I don't like those, I'll use Herbal Essences Reconditioning shampoo and conditioner and find another pre-poo.

1 month since I've gotten my relaxer

It's one month since i've gotten my relaxer and i really don't feel like i need another one. I used to think I needed to get it every six weeks but my roots are still manageable. I might stretch for 10 weeks or longer because I don't think I need it all he time like i used to get them. I remeber last year I got a relaxer and some girl told me 'You shouldn't have got it, you didn't need it.' and I said 'Yes I did, it's been six weeks.' lol. Just shows how much I didn't know at that time.

And I was thinking that when I run out of my Silk Elements I'll use a Aphogee regimen. I want to switch b/c SE is only availble at Sally's and Sally's is no where near my house. And I'm not going to continue to pay $5 shipping and waiting 5-11 business days for my products to get in the mail. Aphogee is sold in a store right across the street from my school so i can get that anytime i want.

With aphogee, I heard that you have to watch out for your hair drying out because its a lot of protein in it.
I moisturize and seal every night so i shouldn't have a problem with that and i DC every time i wash. But if i do have problems with dryness I could always use a moisture based shampoo every now and then and I'll be fine. But its only a thought and I'm not sure if i want to actually use it.