The Mini Makeover: Hair

As some of you may know, the beginning of 2010 was a rough road. If you weren't aware, here's a little link so we are all up to speed. As we enter the later half of the year, I'm starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. With that said, as I emerge from the dark tunnel of 2010, I don't want to look like I've been buried in the depths of the earth this whole time.

Another reason for wanting to keep up ones appearance is due to the fact that my big wedding anniversary is coming up. It's the big 7!!! The husband and I are going out for our special dinner. Dinner that includes great food and wine. How can one celebrate without wine? Red wine, so it's heart healthy. =)

My task to give myself a mini makeover was lock, set, and implemented. First things first, hair! I've managed to let my hair go for almost 5 months. No cut, no color, no touch-up. Sooner or later, Disney people were going to come knocking at my door to see if I wanted to play a poor, tortured Mufasa for the next Lion King movie. Things were getting out of hand.

Uh, yeah! Not cute, I know. I go out in public like this.

Like a good man, a good hairdresser is hard to find. Can I get an amen?

A few years ago, I thought I finally found my perfect hairdresser. Let's call him "Abe". Abe was my man. I looked forward to seeing him. He was owner of a great salon. It was urban and hip. Abe wasn't too chatty. He would allow me to sit in that chair and catch-up on all the latest gossip and beauty magazine. His salon served wine!!!! Ding, ding, ding, ding! His staff gave the best head massages ever on the face of God's green earth. Every time I left Abe's salon, I felt like I belonged on a hair commercial. *hair blowing in the cool breeze*

Well, like the rest of us, Abe had some rough times. Divorce, money, a new girlfriend. You know all the things a good reality show is made of. His salon, his golden touch all went to hell. I tried going back to him a few times, hoping and praying he would get his groove back. After a few attempts, I had to finally say good bye to my dear Abe. My hair and I were left to fend for ourselves.

After numerous Yelp and Google searches, I finally settled on a place. The girl they recommended was a cute, young, blond gal. She reminded me of Julianne Hough from Dancing with the Stars. I started seeing "Julianne" in March 2010 (actually it was the first and only time I saw her). I told her the kind of look I was going for: low maintenance, keep it on the longer side so I can pull it up, thin it out a bit, and give me bangs but not Brenda Walsh 90210 bangs.

I was very pleased with Julianne's work, so I decided to see her again for the mini makeover. She's a bit more chatty than I'd like, but she's not annoying. The head massages are okay. I guess comparing who gives better head massages is like comparing old boyfriends. Sometimes if you can have a better relationship on a deeper level, head massages can be somewhat overlooked. 3 long hours later, I left the salon a tiny bit disappointed.

Cute cut. No cut is complete without the ponytail test.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the cut. I just feel she made the color a little too light for my low maintenance, I can only come every 4-5 months lifestyle. To be honest, it's a pain in the butt to find time to go back to the salon to get it fixed. I've decided to keep the lighter, blonder me for a wee bit. Let's see how many months I can go without a touch-up. It reminds me of the hair color I had when we got married. I figured the Mr can enjoy a new me for our wedding anniversary....a semi-new and improved Mufasa....Roar!

I Heart: Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin

Time to meet Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin. I already Heart the original formula. It's perfect for preventing the nasty look of oily eyelids and eyeliner/shadow meltdown. AKA: the you do NOT look cute look of summer!

I purchased Sin a few weeks ago and have been using it non-stop. Not only does it prevent the "not so cute" look of summer meltdown, but it offers a tiny bit of "champagne" shimmer to the lids. Who doesn't like a little bubbly in their life?

While using the original formula which is described as an ultra sheer, totally nude color, I would sometimes apply a little MAC eyeshadow in Wishful and/or Vanilla to give my eyes a little pop of color. None of that is needed while using Sin. The champagne shimmer is just the right amount of color to highlight the eyes. It does not look disco-like or overdone for a day time look.

Because I like it so much, guess what? I'm giving one away! Details to follow.

Review: Neutrogena Cleansing Wipes

There are days, or shall I say nights, when taking care of yourself is the very last thing on your to-do list. I'm not even talking about trying to pamper myself. I'm talking about every day, normal daily cleaning of oneself. On a busy day, I may not even start getting myself ready for bed until 11:00pm. Of course, I'd rather just plop myself in bed and snooze.

One thing I get lazy about is removing my make-up and washing my face properly. I read about these Neutrogena Cleansing Wipes that claim they remove make-up and water-proof mascara. I thought I'd purchase a pack from my local Target and give these wipes a try.

Upon purchasing the wipes, I noticed you can purchase the little refill pack (picture I posted above) or the actual plastic container to hold your wipes (picture below).

I chose to pass on purchasing the plastic container, which I may add, costs a little more. I didn't need another piece of equipment occupying my bathroom drawer or counter.

I'm quite pleased with the wipes. I'm accustomed to washing my face with water and a cleanser. After that I have to apply moisturizer. Not so with these wipes. All you have to do is swipe the wipe all around your face. At first, I wanted to rinse after wiping my face. No need to use water according to the instructions. I was so lazy that evening, I even skipped moisturizer. The wipes left a slight film on my face that went away. The next morning I thought my face felt soft even without using moisturizer.

As far as their claim on removing water-proof mascara, I thought it was alright. It did take multiple, gentle swipes to fully remove my mascara. It's something I can overlook. I have yet to discover a product that is practically effortless.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this product and I will definitely purchase again. It also helps during those times when the kids are sleeping on my bed and I'm trying to be quiet while I'm getting ready.

The refill pack remained moist for the last month. I just resealed it.

I Heart: Urban Decay Primer Potion

Meet Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion! It'll be your best friend if you wear any type of eye make up during the summer.

It's hot, you're sweating. Your eyelids are sweating! You're eyeliner isn't where you originally placed it. You're eye shadow has pooled in the creases of your eyes and to be honest, you're a hot mess! You can either leave those big, Jackie O. sunglasses on or get yourself this product. It's worth the $18.

There are actually different shades of this product. I use the original which is a sheer nude. It not only helps to keep eye make-up in place, but it can intensify the color of your eyeshadows. This version of the magic potion also comes in Eden (matte nude) and Sin (shimmering champagne).

The picture below is an example of how using a eyeshadow primer (not necessarily Urban Decay) can intensify the color of your shadow. The top shadow was placed without a primer. The bottom picture was a shadow placed with a primer. You can see the difference in color intensity.

I also use it all year long to prevent my eyeliner from migrating to my eyebrows. Yeah, it's a nice look, isn't it? Some days I don't even wear eyeshadow. Since it's nude, you doesn't change the color of my eyelids.

Summertime make-up (stuff I heart)

It's summer! At least in my world. Officially, according to Answers.com, the first real day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere is in June. Blah, blah, blah. Regardless, it's getting warmer and warmer!

I'd like to do a favorite list for summer foundation-ish. If you keep reading, you'll see why it's called "ish". Mind you, I'm not a make-up guru. I've never received my MAC diploma or attended a single class on how to appy make-up. I think my only real credential is that I am a Sephora V.I.B. (very important beauty insider). Meaning, I've spent some hard earn $$$ at that store. It's the Toys R Us/Nordstroms of make-up....love it. Plus, you can order on-line and get samples.

Now that you know my credentials, let's move on.

Drum roll please!!!!

1.) Nars: Sheer Glow Foundation

It claims it can improve skin brightness, radiance, and texture leaving skin with a luminous, sensual glow.

Seriously, who out there couldn't use a little luminous, sensual glow? Especially when you're getting a few hours sleep and running around chasing the kids, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. You get what I'm saying.

This is my favorite! I seem to reach for it more often than not. The consistency is pretty light. It's very easy to blend. You don't even have to use a loose powder to set it. The coverage is nice. It looks like skin...not too matte and not really glowy (even though it says it gives a glow).

Seriously, who's skin really glows? Healthy, maybe.

Although, it is recommended for those that have normal to dry skin, I still use it. I have combination skin. T-zone can look like an oily mess if I'm not careful. I don't even touch up after a 10-12+ hour day.

Sadly, it doesn't have a SPF. You'll still need to use a primer or moisturizer to protect against the sun. Say no to wrinkles and skin damage!

Speaking of damage, it'll run you $42 at Sephora.

2.) Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil-free

This product claims to be a lightweight foundation that can be reapplied as necessary

Who really wants to reapply foundation during the day? Actually, who has time to reapply?

It's definitely more of a foundation than a tinted moisturizer. It just seems thicker. I still like the coverage. Skin looks more matte rather than the sheer look you would expect from a moisturizer. I prefer the oil-free formulation to help with that oily T-zone.

It does have a SPF 20. I had a harder time finding my ideal shade. Overall, a good product that's easy to use.

Again, $42 at Sephora.

3.) Bare Minerals Original

States it is a mineral-based foundation that gives flawless coverage

It does offer good coverage and it's buildable. It's easy to use: swir, tap, buff (I think that's what they tell you to do). Skin looks natural but better after using it. It has a SPF 15. It offers a pretty good range as far as colors.

My pet peeve is that the powder gets everywhere. The guy at the store told me to punch a few holes on the sticker of a new container to eliminate overload. Tried it and it didn't work. Maybe I'm just messy.

It'll run you $25.

The products range from a foundation, tinted "moisturizer", and powder. I find for the hot summer months, these tend to hold up. I use all three. It depends on my mood, what I'm doing that day, how the stars are aligned and what my horoscope says.

Side note: All products were purchased using my money. Reviews were done by my own experience using these products and claims were those of the manufacturer.

Summer is around the corner!

It's almost summer! Warm days, longer hours of sunlight, beautiful blue clouds, hanging outside with the kids, eating ice cream cones/fro yo.

Screeeeech!!!!!!!!

That's the sound of me stepping on the imagination brakes as I realize it's also "swimsuit" season.

I ran across a letter that someone wrote to her formerly flat stomach. It's practically everything I would write. It made me smile and laugh. Please read and enjoy!

http://blondemomblog.com/2010/05/22/a-letter-to-my-formerly-flat-stomach

Maintaining highlights

A few years ago, I stopped getting highlights for my hair. I opted for a plain, low-maintenance one color hair...aka dark, dark brown/black. After the birth of my second child, there was very little time and money to spend on my hair. A typical day at the hairstylist for highlights and cut can be 3+ hours and $200+.

After months of contemplating and saving, I decided to treat myself at the hair salon. I decided it still had to be low-maintenance, but I wanted something to liven up my hair color. The lovely gal at the salon opted to give me rich caramel highlights on top of my semi-vampire hair color. The result was lovely.

Almost 3 months later, I'm still happy with the color. Granted my roots have come in, but the highlight to root ratio is acceptable. The main problem I usually had with highlights was that they became brassy in color...orangey. I explained this problem to my hairstylist. She recommended that I go to a beauty shop and purchase a color pigmented shampoo or conditioner. I took into account her suggestion, since she wasn't shoving products down my throat.

I drove to my local beauty salon shop and purchased Color Glow IQ by Goldwell in Cool Brown. I was shocked at how much I paid for it, but I wasn't going to let $200 worth of hair color/styling go down the drain in a few weeks.

It's managed to keep my caramel highlights from becoming orange. The 200 mL bottle cost me $20. I use it sparingly...2-3x a week. I concentrate the color on my roots since this is where I tend to get orange. I'm not entirely impressed on the conditioning part of this conditioner, but I purchased it for color staying power. To help compensate for the lack of conditioning, I apply my regular conditioner to just the tips.

I'm hoping I can get away from visiting the hair salon for another month or two. Let's see.