MMMMMakeup

So I went to Nars at Lord and Taylor to try out the new fall colors. I got the closest color match ever for foundation - Jamaica. Meh loves it! I tried this brightening moisturizer, which is pearly (crushed pearls) and has a pinkish tint... I think this is it. This is when I wondered why on earth I didn't stock up on crushed pearl creams in China. I saw everyone else buying it, but I was mesmerized by the jewelry. Ahhhh - this must be why there was a crowd at the cosmetics counter.

I also got a blush - Sin (don't like the name) and a RED lipstick. Yup. RED. And I like the way it looks. I haven't worn red lipstick since I was six playing with mommy's 80's makeup. I almost never like the way it looks on me. As a matter of fact, I'm not really that into lipstick; I'm more of a gloss gal. But, in the interest of looking older than 13, I gotta drop this gloss habit. And, my hair won't stick to my lips. Fall in NYC means gusty winds so that at virtually every street corner I have to wick hair away from my sticky lips and by the time I get where I'm going my hair is a greasy, stringy mess.

So this new lipstick, Viridiana brings my collection to a grand total of 2. I've bought more than 2, but I usually throw them away, barely used, cuz they smell stinky. And that's another thing - I love Nars, but all their lip products smell wierd after a few months. Which for me would be only the second time I used it. I've used Gypsy (love it) and Flair (dunno why I even bought that).


So here's the thing - after I bought these 4 products, the lady who did my makeup gave me a FULL SIZE multiple in Palm Beach and a travel-size Body Glow. WHOO HOO! I feel like going back just to see if I get more.

The Multiple is awesome. I use --- to highlight in the summer and as blush in the winter. You can use it anywhere on your face, shoulders, etc.

Or, if you're 8, you can smear it all over your face :D

Remember "the itchy and scratchy show"?

The cartoon Bart Simpson watches. I loved that cartoon.
So I tried the Jason Scalp Normalizing Tea Tree Shampoo (to replace my non-natural Head and Shoulders). Tea tree oil isn't for everyone. It has an um, interesting fragrance. I didn't like it when I was shampooing, but I concentrated on the wonderful things it was supposed to do for my scalp. Afterwards, I used this "natural" but so not natural conditioner by Abba. I liked the way they worked together. The Abba conditioner was supposed to give me outrageous shine (still waiting) and the tea tree oil was supposed to stop itching and flaking - not that I have that problem ;)
I think there should be a penalty for naming your product "pure shine" when it really doesn't help shine at all (not for me, anyway). Some kinda beauty product police, like the fashion police. Anyway, I'm not supposed to use the Abba conditioner anyway. It has at least 3 parabens. I can console myself with that thought. Hmph!

Anyway, two days later, I had to go for the hair oil because my hairline looks dry and flaky (shhhh), but my hair still feels and looks soft and smooth. Maybe the shampoo needs more time, but skip the conditioner - I already got a replacement that's truly "natural", Avalon Organics' Thickening Biotin B-complex Conditioner. This combined with my daily 5000mg Biotin capsules and the Biotin in my hair vitamins.... Oh boy (warning - Biotin overload!)

What? It makes your hair grow? Really?

Check out the drugstore.com sale. It's serious. Really.
So went there to stock up on sale items (haha). It takes me FOREVER to decide what to buy. I literally looked and looked for 3 days. Yup. I closed my laptop, and luckily, everything was still in my shopping cart the next day. It didn't even log me out.

It takes me that long because I HAVE to read all the reviews. I don't just want a tea-tree oil shampoo. I want the one that WORKS, and produces a small miracle. Naturally, This took days, especially since I only shop the natural section. I found it, and I'll write about it when I actually use it.

So after racking up savings, I looked for stuff that was NOT on sale (just a peek). A peek turned into an extra day of shopping. I looked up Phyto (love love love Phyto) to read the reviews, since hair guru raves about the brand. He's not the only one. (I got the Phytospecific Cap' Energy vitamins from Ricky's, and I'm hoping for a miracle). After a bad relaxer and too many blowouts, my hair is seriously chopped up. I want it to grow out FAST. Check out the reviews for Phytospecific on beauty.com (same thing as drugstore.com). To get the vitamins, though, you can go to Ricky's or here.

But see, I'm the kind of girl that always has a plan B. So since I was kinda already at drugstore.com, and since the reviews were kinds good.... I got a 5000mg Biotin supplement, too. And yup, I'm gonna take them BOTH. I might turn into Wolfgirl, but that's what Gigi wax is for ;)

Supernatural efforts to get (truly) natural products

So there's buzz about this-paraben and benzo-that being scary bad for you. The parabens, for one, are bad. Whether or not they are carcinogenic isn't yet scientifically proven, but one thing's for sure... LOTS of people are allergic to parabens. That lotion that gives you a rash or that deodorant or face cream that makes you break out? Might be the parabens. I, for one, am allergic to something in lotions. I'm not sure it's parabens, but almost everything makes me itch, burn, turn red, or all of the above. (If your skin is flaky and irritated... but you don't have horribly dry skin, it might be contact dermatitis - and parabens are definitely proven to cause this reaction).

So, I decided that I'm going to go all-natural by 2009! Except for relaxer. What can I say? I've been bitten by the all-natural tree-hugger bug. I'm a total sucker for organic products.

To get started, I said adios to many of my favorite products, and had a great excuse to go shopping. Alot. (yay!) One of my favorite stops is Ricky's in Kips Bay or thereabouts where I endlessly torture the manager (who I secretly call my hair guru) with my endless circuitous questions about his stock. I'm a sucker for whatever he recommends, too. But he's been dead-on so far.

Let me tell ya... some of these "natural" and "100% vegan" brands are pretty sneaky. Unless it has this logo on the package


... it's not all organic. It's legal to put "natural ingredients" and still add funky chemicals. They didn't say ALL natural, now did they? I researched on drugstore.com for hours, went to Ricky's to stare at labels, went to Flatbush Food Co-op to stare at more labels.... you can see that this went on for weeks till I was completely out of shampoo, conditioner and facewash. I don't just want organic, I want organic and miracle-producing! Ha! If you find it, let me know.

So I gave up looking for certified organic products and just read the labels to make sure it didn't contain anything I didn't like, then sniffed it to make sure it wasn't too stinky, and looked like it might be miracle-producing. Ha! I gave up. I did, however, get to prove that chemistry class IS useful in everyday life. Necessary, even.

So the first thing I tried was a facewash - Avalon Organics' Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel.

There must be a whole lot of women out there who looooove the scent of lavender, evidenced by the abundance of lavender everything on the shelves, but..

I. Hate. Lavender.

No other scent annoys me more than lavender. I think it stinks. There's nothing soothing about it to me. It's plain annoying.

Anywho, I totally bought the facewash because it was the only one I could find that didn't have parabens and didn't look like it was made in someone's garage.

And I love it!!! Except for the stinky lavender.

I really notice a difference. I can wash my face and NOT have a big red flare-up on my neck. Whoo-hoo! And, it also has ingredients like licorice root (calms irritation, evens tone) and flax oil (Omega-3 fatty acids). I notice my skin looks better. Maybe it's because I'm not torturing it every day.

I'm so not switching - this is going to be a new addiction. But I'm getting the moisturizing formula (the Cleansing Milk) next. Summer's over. Time to load on the moisture.

If only it didn't stink....

Gigi Microwaveable Brazilian Bikini Hard Wax

Suffice it to say that I am painfully aware of the horrors of at-home waxing.

I've been at this for a few years. I've had $70 professional waxes at the spa, $35 waxes at the nail / wax / massage salon, and yes, d.i.y.

I can tell ya, shell out the $70 and save yourself the trauma.

But if you wanna go the cheap route, or if you're too modest to put your knees to your chest and have some woman you just met wax your bum (while thinking... "she has a really shitty job"... ha ha) then, my friend, go for the GiGi hard wax.

My first at-home kit was the famous poetic waxing kit. It was so freaking annoying, because you can't microwave it. It comes in a metal jar, and you have to do a double-boiler thing like you're making freaking sabillon. The oil and cleanser it comes with is cool, though.

The cold formulas and cream formulas (hot or cold) are the worst. Seriously. I still have a glob of pink hot cream wax (from GiGi) on my blue sink from months ago, and several washings later, my bath mats are still sticky.

I also used a microwavable stripless hard wax kit from Nad's (the Naughty Nad's product). What a nightmare. That stuff sticks to your skin... but not your hair. And if you've ever used a wax that didn't grip your hair properly... you know I wanted to kill somebody. It yanks your hair.... but doesn't pull it out. And since it sticks to your skin... ouch!
I dunno what the neighbors were thinking after that.

The Gigi hard wax, though, was a dream to work with. It sets fast, grips the hair really, really well, and DOES NOT STICK TO SKIN!!!!

Well, In case you decide to try it, here are some tips:

• Go with a strip-free formula. These have just worked better for me.
• Start applying the wax on a section of hairless skin, and apply inward towards hairy skin. Haha. This makes it easier to grab the wax when you're going to peel it off.
• Work from the outer hairline in (duh).
  
• Remove hair in small, long strips where hair is thickest (if you catch my drift).
• I know it says pull in opposite direction to hair growth, but you'll find that even the pros pull the wax downward if you're removing "everything". How should I say this.... for the regular bikini line, go opposite to hair growth. To go full-on brazillian, start from the top and pull downwards, removing hair in long, thin strips. If you pull in the opposite direction to hair growth here, you will end up in the ER. Trust me.
• Firmly hold skin still while removing wax. Flexibily and dexterity would help here.
  
• Spring for the after-wax lotion or oil from the same brand. You'll need it. Apply liberally.
  
• As I'm sure it says on the label, wait 2 hours before showering. (This is when that after-wax lotion or oil comes in handy).
  
• If you forgot it, use a body oil. (I like Carol's daughter Rose and Jojoba body rub).
• Go to a pro first and just observe their methods before trying it at home.
  

Whether you choose to go pro or solo, get your softest, best-fitting seamless boyshorts out. You'll see.

Ojon Restorative Hair treatment

When this product came out, I have to admit, I thought... Hmmmm... does palm oil really have to be this expensive? Plus, I didn't see any people with my kinda hair endorsing it, so I left it on the shelf.

That's until my "hair guru" at Ricky's told me he swore by it. And that he's dead sure it will do wonders for my kinda hair. The story of me finding my now trusted hair guru is hilarious, so i'll tell it later.

So I shelled out for the smaller size (which I just noticed is more expensive at Ricky's) and took it home. After using it for several weeks, I can safely say that it's the shit.
Really.

Here's how it works for me:

The longer I leave it in, the better. Usually I put it in on friday night and wash my hair saturday afternoon. I noticed that when my hair's straight, I use less. Alot less. My pouf just drinks that stuff up and the next day it's not oily anymore. I can go out with it in my hair (just whip it back) - and it makes my hair look outrageously healthy. If only I could let it down without lookin like I didn't bathe in 3 weeks.

Anyway, then I wash it with my usual 2-in-1 and hit it with some Humectress for 5. I comb it out, blot dry, put in a quarter-size glop of Phytodefrissant serum, and put it up in a towel for a few minutes. Then I let it air dry (Yuuuuuuup. No blow). Later, I run my flat iron thru it, and Hell-ooooo sleek.

I love, love, love this routine because
1) I don't have to wait in a line of fussy bitches with pmdd at the salon
2) I use better shampoo, conditioner and leave in than those cheap chicas
3) I DO NOT have some one bustin up my hair or burning me with hot air

So Ojon is my new best friend. I love the way it smells, and my hair still smells good after I shampoo it. I also use a little bit around my hairline and in my part. It's safe to put a tiny bit in your hair if it gets a little dry at the ends during the week.

And bonus - people are asking me - what did you do to your hair.
And it makes me feel soooooo good to say "Started just doin' it myself"
;)