Victoria's Secret, Makeup and Hair products haul.

I kinda went a little crazy this week and bought a bunch of shower gels and body sprays from VS. I only got 2 lotions because while their lotions smell amazing, they aren't all that moisturizing. I find that a $5 lotion by Nivia is a much better moisturizer. Somehow I forgot Such a Flirt body spray in the bag so it's not pictured below, but it's actually my favorite scent out of all of them. Anyway, here's what I got.

The next day I went to my local dollar store and bam! I found all these Got 2 Be hair products! I couldn't believe it. I bought one of everything, but now that I'm thinking of it I wish I would have picked up an extra can or 2 of hairspray. I've already used the Afterhours spray when I wore my hair curly and the curls held up perfectly and my hair looked extra shinny and healthy. 

I also picked up an eyeliner and and elf crease brush. I currently use the MAC 219 for my crease, but at a dollar it doesn't hurt to have an extra one and this one seemed really good and the perfect size. 

What has been your best $1 store find?

No Fuss Hair - Waterfall Braid

I learned how to do a waterfall braid a few weeks ago and I've been loving the look lately. It looks like a somewhat complicated style, but it's super easy. These pictures are from my first attempt at the braid.

 You basically start with 2 sections of hair, twist it back, grab another piece and put it over the one of the original 2 strands and then twist again to lock it in. That piece just hangs down and you repeat the process...Ok, my instructions sound really confusing lol. I'll include the video I watched so you can get a better idea.

I watched the video again after I did my hair and mine didn't look as good as hers. I noticed that she twisted her's down whereas I twisted mine up. 

Video Instructions skip to 6:20 for the hair tut. 

What's your go to no fuss hairstyle?

Thanksgiving Eve Outing

For Thanksgiving Eve Jason and a Friend of mine thought we would check out a new place, Carousel Piano Bar and Lounge. It isn't exactly new, but the last time I've been there was about 8 years ago and they recently renovated it so we thought it would be the perfect time to check it out. It's located right in the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans which is said to be the most haunted hotel in the city.

Canal St. all done up for the Holidays

This bar used to be a carousel which they converted to it's present state.. It actually spins too, hence the name. It moves very slowly so you don't really feel it. In fact you don't even realized it turned until you notice that your facing in a different direction lol.

 Did you notice my new phone? I really wanted a white one so Jason got me the Galaxy SII

 I've been wearing my hair like this a lot lately. I just pull back the front pieces, grab the middle to poof it and bit and pin it. It only takes like 30 seconds and looks like you actually spent time on it.

Shirt and leggings- F21, Jacket- Hollister (thrifted), Bag-eBay

Did you guys do anything for Thanksgiving Eve? I hope everyone had a happy Holiday :)

Carrie Bradshaw - Sex in the City bun

The weather down here has been hovering in the mid 90's for the last couple of months so a bun has been my go to hair style lately. 

Inspiration 

I should have probably took a better front picture (fail), but I was rushing to get to work.

Some tips to get the best results are:

Use a sock that is long and thick

Pick a sock that is as close to your hair color as possible (I used a black sock)

Hairspray for flyaways (optional)

Hair pins to keep layers in place or to pin it down a little for extra security (optional)

 To do this bun I watched this video

I also found another video on an easier way to do the bun here, but the results are a little different. The first video looks more like the Carrie Bradshaw Sex in the City bun.

What's your go to hair style for the summer?

$350 worth of styling products? Sign me up!

I recently found out that Misikko is having a give away in which you can choose up to $350 worth of anything on their site! This is an amazing giveaway due to the fact that you won't be getting some random stuff that you may or may not even want or need since you will be choosing it yourself if you win. There will be 3 winners for this so just follow the rules below to enter. Contest ends July 4th.

You guys may remeber my blog post on the Hana hair dryer they sent me and I was blown away by the results so I would especially love to try their Hana flat iron...among other things ;)

          

                   

Grand Total: $338.97

1. HANA Elite Flat Iron 1" 100% Ceramic

 I flat iron my hair about every 3 days on average so having a good quality flat iron is key to healthy hair. Having an adjustable heat seating is a must and this one heats up to 450 degrees. Perfect for thick and coarse hair like mine. 

2. Moroccan Oil Restorative Gift Set

I NEED this in my life. Especially now that it's summer and I'm in the sun more and I'll be spending a few weekends at the beach...all that leads to dry hair. These products would help put the life back into it.

3. Quick Tan Tanning Mist by Body Drench

All I would need is the perfect tan to go with the perfect hair and I'm all set :)

What's in your dream package?

Purchases of the Week

I'm still in the process of getting some more tidbits for my room and a bracelet holder was definitely something I needed. A while back I saw someone used a paper towel holder as a bracelet holder so I got this silver one from Walmart for no more than $2 and it works perfectly. 

This mask is supposed to brighten up your complexion, I thought I would give it a try.

Is it just me or does it seem that Secret deodorant sucks now? I don't know if they reformulated their product, but for the last 2 years every Secret deodorant I've tried just doesn't work well for me. My mom, who has used Secret since I was born, said that it doesn't work the same for her either. Anyway, I wanted to try this new one by Degree. Also, a lot of you may have noticed on blogs that Philosophy had makeup products at Big lots, I checked out 2 in my area and unfortunately the only thing they had was 1 color of cream blush, lip gloss and this one blush/bronzer that I managed to find after some digging. I also picked up an e.l.f eye shadow brush for $1. If you don't have this brush, get it! It's my favorite brush to apply shadow to my lid with now. 

I also wanted to try some more F21 products since I've had a lot of luck with their polishes. I picked up these makeup remover wipes since they seem to be really moist and they were only $2.90 for 30 of them. I also picked up an eye shadow for $1.

When I was checking out, the girl at the counter said that the company that makes MAC shadows also makes the shadows that F21 sells. I don't know if that's true or not, but I was impressed with the quality of this shadow. I used a paint pot as a base and this shadow was pretty pigmented considering that it's a light color, it didn't crease on me and it lasted throughout my 8 hour work day. I definitely plan to pick up more colors. 

Philosophy blush/bronzer duo. It's not as pigmented as I hoped it would be, but it's buildable so I can make it work.

I plan on coloring my hair this week with Revlon's soft black hair color. I always go with a soft black color b/c after a few washes it fades into the perfect chocolate brown. 

This is my favorite thing I picked up from Big lots. 

 It's perfect for travel and the colors are extreamly pigmented. 

Were any of you able to get some Philosophy stuff at Big lots? I hear Ellen Tracy stuff will be there too if it's not already. (Fyi, her Peony Rose perfume smells sooo good!)

Brown to Red/Burgundy Ombre Hair

The time has come again where I am completely bored w/ my hair and I'm looking for something new. Last time I went through this I ended cutting all my hair off into a asymmetrical bob (which I totally loved, till I had to endure the growing out phase). This time I'm thinking about ombre hair. I kind of feel that ombre is on it's way out though. Maybe because I've been hearing so much about it. My hair is currently dark brown so I was thinking about dying the bottom part a burgundy or reddish color. Usually when you see ombre hair it's brown/blond so I want something different (and b/c blond hair looks horrible on me lol) I'm a little hesitant though because my husband hates reddish hair. 

I've actually had ombre hair before it was even the cool thing to do, back in 2007.

Clip in extensions obviously :) I loved how bold it was but that shade of red is hard to commit to because it fades so fast. This time I'm thinking about actually dying my hair and here is a pic I've found on google that is pretty close to what I had in mind. 

The same fade as the one above, but w/ this color.  

Have any of you tried the ombre trend? What do you guys think of the color I picked out?

I wip my hair back and forth!

Ok not really, but I did get a new do. I had about 4 inches taken off, got some bangs and colored it. I actually colored it about 2 weeks ago and in regular lighting you can't see much of a difference, but under this bright light you can see that it sort of had a red tint to it before. 

This is the color before and I dyed it natural black since I figured it would fade into a dark brown after a few washes anyway, which it did. This was my first time using the L'oreal 10 minute hair color and I really liked it. It also offers 100% gray coverage. I actually have about 5 or 6 gray hairs that I've noticed sprout up within the past 3 or 4 months and this hair dye covered it up w/in 10 minutes. Usually for gray coverage you have to leave color on for an additional 10 minutes or so, but that wasn't the case w/ this one so I'm impressed abd definitely plan to repurchase it.

Anyway, here's my new hair cut, I took this pic at work. As you can see I was being super productive ha.

I really feel like I needed the bangs, I have what I like to call a 5 finger forehead. It's huge and I think I need a little something in front. So far everyone seems to like me better w/ bangs.

What do you guys think?

HANAair Blow Dryer from Misikko ~ Review

Hi loves, I've recently been given the opportunity to try out a hair dryer that has been voted as the best blow dryer 2 years in a row for 2010 and 2011. It's the Italian made Hana Air dryer. This dryer uses a ceramic heater which produces iconic heat and it's ion, tourmaline and titanium oxide technology is supposed to condition hair and reduce static electricity.

Review: 

My first impression of the dryer is how sleek it is. It definitely looks high end. It also has a strong motor in it which is surprisingly quite. The dryer is also pretty lightweight which is a must for those like myself who have long and thick hair. I also think drying time is faster w/ this dryer as opposed to my Conair hair dryer. I usually have to dry my hair in 2 parts because my arm will get tired half way through, but I was able to dry my whole head with this without having to stop due to arm fatigue. Jason always complains that my hair smells like burnt hair whenever I blowdry it, but he even commented that my hair didn't smell burned after I used this. I usually set my dryer to high heat with a low output because the noise bothers me, but I was able to keep both settings on high with no problem. The main thing I noticed w/ this dryer is that my hair was shinier, softer and less frizzy after using it. Overall I'm very impressed with this dryer and would totally recommend it.

This is what my hair looks like when it's about half way dry, You can see how thick and frizzy it is. 

Pros: 

1. Lightweight.

2. Shinier and less frizzy hair.

3. Faster drying time than your average hair dryer.

4. Fairly quite even on the highest setting.

5. Strong motor and the dryer comes w/ a 2 year warranty.

Cons:

1. None really other than being a bit pricey at $200, but then again you get what you pay for.

What hair dryer do you guys use?

Review ~ Tresemme Freshstart Dry Shampoo

I have pretty thick hair that is mostly on the dry side so I usually only wash my hair every 3 to 4 days.  So when I'm in between washes I like to use a dry shampoo. I've tried the one by Big Sexy Hair and it really is amazing. If hairspray and dry shampoo has a baby together it would be the BSH dry shampoo! It gives your hair a ton of volume and smells great. So, being that the BSH was the only one I've tried, I had high hopes for Tresemme's dry shampoo and in short, I was not that impressed. It does smell great, but as far as getting rid of oily-ness  it does not work well. I get better results and more volume from just using a light dusting of baby powder. Tresemme actually works for immediate results, but within a few hours your hair will look oily again as if you didn't use anything at all. 

Here is my hair unwashed for about 3-4 days

You have to give the can a good shake and spray the roots. Let it set for about 1-2 minutes till it turns white like this. 

Then brush the product through. Sometimes I like to just use my fingers and rub it into my scalp. As you can see it does kind of dull the hair, which in turn makes it look cleaner. One thing to be aware of is if you use too much it will show up a little in flash photography. It won't look white, but your hair will look a little dull. 

Here's the finished look after I fluffed it a bit with my fingers. It's not a bad product if you really just can't wash your hair and you need a quick fix. It definitely makes your hair smell good too. I really like to use this after a night at the club to get rid of that nasty cigarette smell. 

So would I repurchase? Maybe. If I had a coupon or something I think I would;  if for nothing the long last fresh smell.

Have any of you tried this dry shampoo? Which brand would you recommend?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!! It's free lol, as soon I get 20 entries a winner will be selected at random.