At-Home Beauty!

I have a fun story to tell.

So my lovely co-worker (the same one who was nice enough to let me borrow her Clinique mascara!), sent me a text message a few weeks back about how she was going to try doing a Mayonnaise mask on her hair to help with some dead ends, and she thought I might want to do a post on it. Heck yes! I love it!!

So I get to her apartment and she has a jar of Kraft Mayonnaise and some towels ready. (And Pretty Little Liars playing on the tv-- I'm so hooked on that show..)



















The idea is that Mayo has a lot of hydrating/oily ingredients that will help out thirsty hair.
Let's check this out:

Ingredients
Soybean Oil, Water, Eggs, Vinegar, Contains less than 2% of Egg Yolks, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Salt, Sugar, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic, Paprika, Natural Flavor, Calcium Disodium Edta As A Preservative.

Well, no doubt Soybean Oil is good, as are water and eggs-- but the vinegar and salt/sugar etc. aren't the best.

Here is a picture of my with the super hair mask!

























She put the towels in the dryer while we were applying so then we could wrap up our hair and let the heat help the mayo really penetrate the hair. After 10 minutes we rinsed our hair--- which smelled gross =\ -- and it was a little softer... but I think I'd call it greasy instead of "soft," haha! And once you used shampoo it was all gone.

If I were you, I'd steer away from Mayo as a hair mask, lol. A good at-home concoction is simply using Olive Oil, in the same way we did this (with the warm towel). I honestly have not tried Olive Oil, but in theory it is better than this because you have only 1 ingredient, and it's a non-greasy oil.

If you have tried either of these, (or have heard stories), please let me know! =)

Until Next Time~
Beauty Maven

Guest Post: Curly Hair!

Hello all!

Well I have my Lasix TOMORROW, ahhh!! So I thought I'd put up a post or two since 1. I can't use a computer for a few days (I think?) and 2. Well, I haven't posted in a while, and I have a lot of my list!

Today I want to share some nifty curly-hair tips that I received from my beautiful friend. I am always anxious to hear about other types of hair since well, I don't have it, haha!

(G- feel free to correct anything I put on here!)

Her problem is activating the curl, and creating volume without frizz.
Here is her step-by-step plan of action:
- Straight out of the shower, she brushes it with a flat paddle brush, parts it, and clips it up in a bun.
- Once the roots are dry, with the clipped-up ends still being damp, she puts in the following products:
- Aussie Catch the Wave Mousse & Leave-in Conditioner
- Aussie Catch the Wave Scrunch Hairspray
- Big Hair Texturizing Salt Spray
(All of which can be found at Walgreen's, but not on Walgreens.com... grr.)

And then blow dry the rest of the way with a diffuser.

The kicker is: by smoothing out the roots first, they dry while being pulled so that eliminates frizz at the roots.

Here is a pic of the finished product! She is on the left* just in case you need to know. =)
(and an homage to my long hair... siiigh.)





















And here she is kissin' on her boy, but her hair looks FAB so I had to share =)




















Beautiful! =)

Anybody else have any tips to offer?

I've been reading that for curly/wavy hair, another key is to add as much moisture yourself-- conditioner, leave-in cream, serums, etc. -- because curly/wavy hair is more porous than straight hair, and it frizzes out because it absorbs the moisture in the air... so if it's very moisturized when you walk out the door, then less frizz occurs. Interesting!

Until Next Time~
Beauty Maven

Review: Clinique High Lengths Mascara

Hello there!!

Well I was lucky a while back when a co-worker (whose lashes ALWAYS look amazing!) said, "Hey! Have you seen this mascara?? I have a trial size if you want to review it for your blog!" Heck YES- how nice, right??

So here it is-- Clinique's High Lengths Mascara, $14 at Clinique (also available at Sephora)

What it claims:

Stretch limp, lifeless lashes to lengths beyond your wildest expectations. And wow - eyes look noticeably wider, fully energized. Our curved, fine-toothed comb finds the tiniest lashes and brings them out of hiding. Ophthalmologist tested and appropriate for sensitive eyes.

Here is the wand:











Let's take a look at some pics!

Without mascara:






















With:




























It really gives fantastic separation and length! Good job, Clinique!!

It wears well throughout the day-- no smudging or flaking. I will warn you though, this mascara DOES NOT layer well-- so be sure to apply all you want to BEFORE it dries. Remember that, and you're golden!

Also, it took a minute to get used to the wand. I had a difficult time figuring out just how to position it because the curve of the wand doesn't match the curve of my lashline, so I had to kinda twist and turn to find a good angle in which to apply it, haha! I eventually got the hang of it- partly because I was determined to get alllll the way to the base- but just be aware that it might take you a bit of maneuvering. ;)

I probably won't be purchasing this because I prefer to have more volume, but I really was impressed with how much length it gave-- and for a lengthening mascara it does have good volume!

What do you think? Think you'll try this? Do you like Clinique mascaras? Prefer drugstore brands? Let me know!

Until next time-
~Beauty Maven

New hair- New products!

Hello lovelies!

Well, I recently chopped off ALL of my hair. Whoo! Talk about a thrill, haha! But with a new cut comes.... different products!! =)

I recently purchased Pantene's new Fine Hair collection-- it works fantastically with short hair. More about that later. ;)

Here was my inspiration picture:




















At the salon I purchased Bumble and Bumble's Grooming Creme, 2 oz. tube $12.00





















I asked my stylist about which would be better for my fine/straight hair-- the creme or thickening spray, and she recommended the creme because 1. It's summer and everyone's hair needs more moisture and 2. The creme would have better staying power with my hair. Interesting!

She just used this on my ends to make it piecey:






















However, today I tried it from about mid-way to the ends, and look!!





































































PS LOOK I can still do a ponytail, woot!





















So great!! I am diggin' it =) And you want to know the best part? This is just air dried! (I know, I'm jealous I don't have waves, but hey, this is the next best thing, eh?)

I also have been using my trusty Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly mousse to make it curly:






















Love it! I adore experimenting and having new things to play with, haha!

So tell me-- do you change products with a new cut? Do you change cuts often? With the seasons? Haha! Leave me some input!

Until Next Time-
~Beauty Maven

Turquoise- a new level.

Hello!

So, I have a confession to make.

I have taken my turquoise fascination to a new level.

I have tried blue nail polish. =) A la Lauren Conrad and Jessica Simpson:
















































At first I thought this color looked terrible, but then I saw a girl out last weekend and it looked rather chic! Maybe the more I see pictures of it, the more it grows on me, and the more okay with it I am, haha! (Similar to my blue eyeshadow post a couple of weeks ago.)

Here are the colors I found at Walgreen's:


















Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Going Green and Blue Me Away! and then Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Mint Sprint.

The Hard as Nails are 2 for $4 and the Inst-Dri is $4.99.


I tried the Insta-Dri color today:























I think it would look significantly better if my nails were a smidge longer, haha, but this polish is impressive! That is ONE coat of polish!! I can't believe it =) And it did dry pretty fast, though I must admit I did not time it. Oops! =)

I'm a little self conscious about it, but the color makes me happy when I look down at it so I think I'll keep it on for a few more days, see what people think. ;)

What do you think? What colors do you like to wear on your nails? Which do you think are hideous?

Here's a fun article from InStyle about the summer's must-have colors. Enjoy!

Until Next Time--
~ Beauty Maven