Product Review: Orofluido Beauty Elixir Hair Oil

How many of these hair oil products will I review? Until I try them all I guess. So let's compare this one to Moroccan Oil, which is the best known product of this variety. The texture is a bit thicker and heavier than MO, which for those of us who need maximum conditioning is a good thing. This is due to the higher molecular weight of the silicones used in the product. The smell is a warm sandalwood-vanilla type thing, which is right up my alley personally, so I love using it. The packaging is a glass bottle which doesn't have a pump like MO (annoying), but it is approx. 5-10 dollars less than MO depending where you buy, on top of including three sample/travel size vials in the package (which is infinitely helpful to carry in the purse). So my vote is with Orofluido, but those that can't handle anything heavier than MO probably shouldn't bother. 

As most girls with curly, damaged, fried, thick or dry hair know, our hair absolutely loves moisture. Those who don't fall for the "natural beauty" hype also realize that there are very few things which can trap moisture in the hair shaft and prevent the entrance of atmospheric moisture (ie humidity/frizz) like silicones. Although I would love to spend an hour writing a long entry debunking all the silicone myths out there, that's a task for another day and another time. I will say though, that nothing prevent split ends, heat damage and mechanical/friction damage like a good coating of silicones. There's a reason they revolutionized the haircare industry when they first started being used.

Product Review: J Beverly Hills Mousse up Volumizing Mousse

For all those who require volume, light hold and lots of conditioning in a mousse, this one is absolutely worth a try. J Beverly Hills is a fairly new brand, created by a stylist from LA (aren't they all......) and talks up a lot of the paraben-free, ultra natural marketing angle (don't they all....) but they do have some uniquely formulated products. This particular mousse has a dense, creamy foam, which spreads easily. The smell is a lovely, light citrus scent and it the texture is conditioning and flakeless. It's absolutely NOT a thick, hard 80's style strong hold mousse- this is the type of mousse that creates a soft, bouncy and touchable style. I found it defined and defrizzed my curls beautifully and I had tons of volume and bounce. For people looking to achieve the hot roller, bouncy Victoria's secret hair, this would also be fabulous for that.

I do have a slight caveat, the product does go a long way but it is incredibly hard to get out of the package. You have to use all the force of your thumbs to pump the dispenser, turn the product upside down, shake incredibly vigorously.....they couldn't have used a standard dispenser? The price is fairly reasonable when you do consider the small amount of product you need, so I don't feel bad paying for it, but when you consider the fact that packaging is usually the biggest contributor to the cost of a product, it really is frustrating to buy high end products with substandard packaging.

Product Review: Redken Smooth Down Detangling Cream

This is my personal favorite leave in conditioner....and Redken is in the process of discontinuing it. Trust when I say I was crushed when I found out. Off course I've been buying tubes wherever I could find it in local stores, but the shelves are drying up. My hair is so thick and curly that it soaks up and adores almost anything heavily conditioning and moisturizing. And this stuff is absolutely heavy, by anyone's standards. Girls who are constantly combatting limpness should stay far away; some who are concerned but also have dry damaged hair can get away with using it by concentrating it toward ends or cocktailing with lighter products. I find nothing leaves my curls as touchable, frizz free and shiny when I airdry than this product.

Most women have about a medium thickness, some wave and some color in their hair. This would definitely help alleviate heat and color abused ends if used on heat days off. There is a high concentration of amodimethicone which would provide some heat protection, but I wouldn't reccomend it as a heat styling product above the multitude of products available which used higher concentrations of silicone. Its best use is as a leave in on low maintenance days when hair needs some extra rehabilitation. Those with thick frizzy hair that are constantly battling size would likely find themselves just as in love as I am, so I reccomend trying it (while you can). Those who have fine hair in plentiful amounts and still battle flyaways more than truly coarse frizz, would likely find this too heavy on its own. The texture is a thick, almost balm like cream and the smell is typical Redken: light, slightly chemical and generally dissipates quickly. The tube packaging is fantastic (no digging hands into unsanitary pots, you can squeeze out the last drops...which is particularly poignant now that its making its exit)  and there's a lot of product in the tube: 8.5oz, which is particularly fantastic when considering how very little product is necessary to achieve the smooth results it can provide. Farewell dear friend....

Product Review: Victoria's Secret Beach Sexy Custom Tan Adjustable Self Tan Lotion

This self tanner is customizeable in the fact that it has dual chamber packaging, one chamber is the dark formula and the other is the light. The dark formula has a huge concentration of DHA and the light has barely any. The ratio that's dispensed through the pump is determined by which setting you turn it to and there are around 10 settings, so you really are presented with a lot of choice. The formulas on the two sides are 99% identical except for the amount of DHA, so much so that I felt the redundancy while breaking down the ingredients (I usually find this incredibly thrilling, being the nerd that I am). Both of the formulas are fabulous for hydrating dry skin (glycerin, fatty alcohols and mineral oil all in high concentrations result in long lasting deep moisture for dry skin) and both of the formulas are highly fragranced and are likely to cause irritation to sensitive skin. All of these things are evident from perusing the ingredient list, but what wasn't evident was the ultra orange color.

Goes to show you never can know. Most of the time, with most types of products, an in depth knowledge of ingredients and formulations helps me know what's worth buying and what's not. But self tanners are always partially a shot in the dark, because the quality of the DHA cannot be determined from the list, yet it has a huge impact on the performance of the product. The orange color that old fashioned self tanners had (and that some like this one, still do) was the result of a sloppy refining process. Eventually, more effective refining processes were introduced and beauty companies started releasing self tanners that created increasingly realistic tans. Some self tanners (most L'oreal ones I've tried, the one from PurMinerals, almost all St. Tropez, almost all Mystic Tan) look so similar to a real tan, that no one can tell it's not real unless you screw up the  application. I'm sad to report this particular product gives one of the most orange colors I've ever tried, which is only somewhat noticeable when applied on the lighter or medium settings, but is incredibly evident the second you turn the setting to high. It's what makes this self tanner a no-go, despite the fabulous moisture blend.

Product Review: MAC Viva Glam Gaga II Amplified creme lipstick

It seems like every single girl has a signature lipstick/gloss shade, that she's always trying to find the right version of. Amiright? There are many that love pinks, many that love muted brown tones, many that love plums, many that love reds. There are those that are ballsy enough to constantly sport really shocking fuchsia and orange shades (bless you all, I love seeing you on my morning commute). I am firmly in the nude lipstick camp, having always been a fan of dramatic eyes and that campy porn star lip look. Because my skin color varies so wildly, depending on which self tanner and how often I use them, I've amassed an incredible collection of nude lipsticks. 

Today I welcome into my rotation, the fabulous Gaga II color. Although Myth is my slightly peachy standby for whenever I'm sporting some paleness, I love Gaga II whenever I get my tan on. Though the shade can look slightly gray on me if I experiment with a self tanner that goes at all orange (so word to the wise, girls with a lot of yellow warmth in your skin, may not look that great) I tend to top everything with slightly pigmented lip glosses so as long as I inject a little bit of pinkness in that way, it looks great. Those with olive or very cool medium, cafe au lait skin tones, would look fantastic with just this. The finish is off course a creamy semi-matte, it feels great on the lips, but those are well known and well understood facts about many lipsticks anyway.