Technique Thursday-- What's up with those clampless curling wands?!

Well, I hate to start this post off with letting you down, but I sadly do NOT have a clampless curling iron, (aka "curling wand"), yet.














(Look how glam she is curling her hair!)

I do, however, have a thumb that hurts from holding my curling iron open to create a similar effect!

Let's discuss:

Luckily my friend has gorgeous long Barbie hair which she lets me style(!)-- and for New Year's I decided to try NOT using the clamp on the curling iron, just wrapping the hair around, to see the effect and also to not get the perfect Annie-esque ringlets.

Results:
SO FREAKIN' GORGEOUS. And I believe they stayed pretty well throughout the night!!
(Correct me as needed, girl!)






















So here's the idea:

This method really works better if you hold the clamp open, or invest in a curling wand. I have read articles about winding the hair around the outside of the curling iron-- which still works, but if you think of the physics behind it, there is still another piece of metal (the clamp) for the heat to transfer through-- so no clamp works better because the hair is curled at a uniform temperature.

Technique:
When winding the hair, don't worry about trying to meticulously make it lay flat to the iron and winding ever-so-carefully--- the beauty of this look comes from each curl being not exactly alike. Also, be careful with the ends in that 1. You don't curl them too long, since this is a loose curl look and 2. Don't burn your fingers!! (In fact, most of the wands come with a glove for your curling hand!)

I curled her hair again the other day, and took some pictures to show the process:

Grab as much hair as you would for normal curling- about an inch square, varying by thickness~ here are the curls fresh from the iron. Leave them alone to cool-- it will help to hold the curl.





















Here is her whole head completed~ she then flipped her head over and shook her hair from the roots to provide a little separation.





















You can finger-comb to whatever degree you prefer, or even gently brush through to get nice Old Hollywood waves!

Gorgeous, huh?

In case you were wondering-- this is what the same process did with my short hair:
It provided some nice movement to my straight hair, but by no means a "curl."





















You can pick up one of these curling wands at Walgreens or Ulta for around $30-$40 (look for coupons!).

What do you think? Ever try this before? Leave me some thoughts!

Until next time--
~Beauty Maven

Tried it Tuesday-- "Gucci" Hair Products, get excited!!

Hey there!

Well, the other day, I got a lovely text message from my best friend about how she received some "Gucci" (aka, super fancy!) hair products and she wanted me to try them. As much as I wanted to joke and say something to the effect of, "UM NO I hate trying stuff, duh." I just could NOT hold in my excitement!!!!!!!!!!

Ojon and Kerastase?! Yes PLEASE.

Picture of the glorious gorgeousness:
(Click to enlarge.)















Closer up:






































Background on these brands:
Ojon--
From the remote tropical rainforests of Central America, an ancient native secret to naturally beautiful hair has been discovered. In their native language, they are called Tawira, or "the people of beautiful hair.™"
The secret to their beautiful hair and skin is Ojon®, a rich oil extracted from the tropical Ojon® tree. This unique tree is native to the Mosquitia region of Central America.
Ojon® is proud to work closely with MOPAWI – a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting sustainable development in the native Miskito and Garifuna populations in the Mosquita region of north–eastern Honduras. La Mosquitia is home to the indigenous tribes that harvest the ingredients used in Ojon® products.

Kerastase
Since 1964, Kérastase has been creating new haircare services developed with the most advanced formulas. Dedicated to enhancing the natural beauty of the hair, Kérastase is based on 4 essential values: Performance, Expertise, Personalization, and Beauty.

Ok, so here's the breakdown of all of the products pictured above, with prices, in case you are entranced as well!

Products by Kerastase:
Bain Oleo-Relax Smoothing Shampoo for Dry and Rebellious hair, 8.5 fl oz. $34
Oleo-Relax Ultimate Controlling Elixer for Very Rebellious, Dry hair, 1.7 fl oz. $36
Mousse Nutri-Sculpt Bodifying Hair Foundation for Dry, Sensitized hair, 5.1 fl oz. $30
Serum Nutri-Sculpt Lustrous Repair for Damaged and Sensitized ends, 1.0 fl oz. $25
Oleo-Relax Anti-Frizz Mask, 6.8 fl oz. $58
Products by Ojon:
Shine and Protect Glossing Mist, 2 fl oz. $28
Revitalizing Mist, 4.8 fl oz. $26
Leave-in Glossing Cream, 4.25 fl oz. $30
Restorative Hair Treatment, 1.5 fl oz. $21

See? Gucci! =D

Since there were so many to try, I paired them by what hair type they seemed to go with.

Round 1: Kerastase's Smoothing Shampoo, Conditioner mask, bodifying hair foundation, and Controlling Elixer.

Results?: OMG AMAZING.

Keep in mind, I have naturally straight, fine, medium-thick hair. Not what you would call "rebellious" by any means, and only slightly dry from heat styling.

This day I used just a round brush to blow-dry my hair *note NO straightener!* to test out the anti-frizziness:










































So impressed!





















I can't believe how GREAT my hair feels! I really hate how much I love this, haha!!

I also adore the bodifying foundation mousse. My hair doesn't feel like it has any product in it at all, and I feel like it gave me some good volume and staying power, (since my hair is at that awkward length where it wants to flip), while truly feeling the silkiest it has in a long time. Oh, and no static!!!! That's my big concern in the winter, and today I had NONE! =D

Round 2: Ojon Mask, Leave-in Glossing Cream, and Shine mist.

Results?: Does what it says, but nothing too impressive.

The mask was interesting in that it's almost a solid, and you scoop some out and rub it in your palms to warm it up and make it oily. You then apply it to dry hair and leave on for 20 or so minutes, then shampoo as usual. It definitely left my hair soft, but not as soft as the Kerastase.

After blow-drying with a round brush, before glossing cream:





















With glossing cream:





















The cream didn't seem to do too much in the "glossing" department, but it did help tame flyaways. Also, the shine spray didn't do a whole lot but make my hair smell kind of weird.. I can't quite place it, but it's almost herbally? But in a bad way, haha... and very strong!

In a flash~
Kerastase: If you can afford it, it's AMAZING. Really truly impressive.
Ojon: Didn't work much better than drugstore brands, and was too fragrant.

If you have any questions on specifics, leave 'em in the comments or email me at beautymaven8@gmail.com and I'll try as best as I can to answer! I didn't want to load up this post with too many pictures~

What do you think? What's the "Gucci-est" product you've owned/tried?

Until next time--
~Beauty Maven

Moroccan Oil, now for less!

Hello!!

I saw this at Ulta recently, and wanted to share my excitement!

Organix Moroccan Oil line~ includes Shampoo, Conditioner, Penetrating Oil, and Renewing Treatment-- all for $7.99 a piece! Whaa??? Amazing!














































If you haven't tried any hair oils, here's the scoop:
"A precious blend of Moroccan argan oil which instantly penetrates the hair shaft restoring shine and softness with Vitamin E while strengthening. Derived from the southwest region of Morocco, argan oil protects from styling heat and UV damage while creating soft, seductive, silky perfection."

Another neat thing about using the oil is that it almost makes it easier to dry your hair because it disperses the water! Can't argue with that..

I am truly excited to try these products. Update when I do, and please let me know if you do!

Until next time--
~Beauty Maven

New Year's Dress-Up

Hi there!

Lately I've had hair on the mind. More specifically, hair-do's for New Year's. Why, you ask? Because I have mid-length hair and I'm wearing a dress that I believe asks for an up-do. Which isn't the most fun thing with short-ish hair.

I played last night-- wanted to share in case anyone else is having my same woes!

I started out by using a 1" curling iron to make curls all over to create texture:
(*I curled my bangs backward because I wanted to try putting them up.)






















Then tease with a brush that has plastic bristles and boar bristles, like this one from Sally Beauty Supply (about $6):










Tease away! Make it bigger than you'd like, since you'll be brushing it down to smooth:





















I took the top half of the hair, smoothed it, and then twisted it and pushed it up for more volume before pinning along the twist. I then took chunks from the back and twisted and pinned, trying to make it pseudo-French Twisty.










































These were taken in the mirror, but I think you can see:











































I really love the back! Not quite what I was wanting from the front though~ I might play again and leave my bangs down so I'll have something framing my face. Hmmmm decisions!

How do you normally wear your hair for formal occasions? Depend on the crowd, or the dress?

Until next time--
~Beauty Maven

Experience: Highlighting! Revlon Frost and Glow

Okay!

So this weekend, I had a NEW experience~ I got to highlight my friend's hair, eee!! I have dyed before, but never HIGHLIGHTED. It was so exciting!

Here is the kit we used:

Revlon Frost and Glow


















It's like most dyes where you mix together the dye, but this one you put in the little box it comes with~

















But first! You use the cap and crochet-like needle to pull the hair to highlight through the cap, ah! Once I got the hang of it, it actually was pretty quick. And you know, I can't even really explain HOW to do it, but I could show if anyone ever needs help, lol!






















Instructions for how to use the cap for what effect you want. Hehe doesn't she look so happy?

I think you can gather from the illustration what the cap looks like.
So here is a picture once her hair was pulled through the cap~























She pulled the rest of her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. You then apply the dye with a little spatula like tool (included) and then pile the hair on top and put this other loose cap on, to make sure you don't lean on anything with the dye, I suppose lol.

Ok so I'm a bad reviewer and forgot to take a BEFORE picture, so here is the most recent one I could creep on Facebook with her hair straight =):






















After!:






















ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?!
I was really super impressed with this kit! There weren't any chunks and the color is even and beautiful-- nice job, Revlon!

Makes me want to dye my hair!!!!

Have you ever used at-home dye or highlighting kits before? Tell me stories!!

Until next time~
--Beauty Maven

Red Hair "Experience"...

Ok!

So this has been a while... but I think it's time I told you my "red hair story."

At the beginning of March, I was feeling a little bit rebellious and wanted to dye my hair either a darker brown or a "Shopaholic" red:

































So I called up my buddy and we decided RED!


























I've NEVER had problems with drugstore hair color before, but I apparently chose VERY unwisely with this one and wasn't prepared for the results =\

This is the morning after. I had wanted it reddish, but this vibrant of a shade (and uneven!) kind of freaked me out. So I called around to find a salon with an opening to help me fix my mistake. Ugh.























After salon trip 1-- She helped to get some of the red out and dyed it darker to help mask it.























After salon trip 2-- I had to do this in increments because I worked 12-8pm and had to do it in the mornings. STRESSFUL. Anyhow-- she had used bleach to life some highlights, but didn't have enough time to use a toner. So I ended up with ORANGE streaks.

Oh. And my CEO came in that day -- Luckily, he really liked it, haha!
(I probably should have left it like this awhile.. it was kind of pretty!!)























After salon trip 3-- Yes, I was very upset. I didn't want it this dark, and when she "toned" the highlights, they weren't blond at all. Yay. Such a waste of money.























Eventually the color calmed down and was quite pretty! (And I even began to kind of smile again, hahaha!)






















But I'm not EVEN going to tell you how much this $7 box ended up costing me. Ugggh.


Later on I went to my normal stylist and had blonde highlights put in to brighten my color for the summer. Yay-- back to happy! =)
























Moral of the story:
-- Do not change your hair color on a whim. Think about it!
-- Play with fun sites like InStyle's Hollywood Makeover to see the hair cut/color on you.

The first salon I visited let me know that:
-- To get rid of the color, use rubbing alcohol to open the strands to help release the color, or you can also soak your hair with olive oil to help get rid of it. You just apply, scrunch, rinse: repeat.
-- As far as the molecules in hair color, the different tones are as follows: Cool is green, neutral is purple, and red is orangey gold. Red is the largest molecule so it's the easiest to get rid of (if you act quickly).
-- PS! At home colors do do damage, otherwise the color wouldn't stay! The cuticle has to open to absorb the new color, and oh wait! To open the cuticle? Damage.


I sure hope none of you all have had such a pricey experience as this, haha!

And you know what's funny? I STILL think about how it would be fun to be a redhead-- you think I would have learned my lesson!!

Needless to say, I won't be using box-dyes for a long, long time. ;)

Stories? Thoughts? Post 'em!

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

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

Bun!

Hello there! Happy Monday~

I had an interesting experience today that I would like to share~

Last night, before heading to bed, (and after a long day at the pool!!), I put my hair in crazy bun on top of my head. When I awoke, I didn't really feel like getting ready.. just one of those days.

So I washed my face, put in some dry shampoo, and started making myself presentable. Well, since I'd slept with my hair basically on TOP of my head, I had this awkward crease and couldn't really wear it any other way without having to wash/dry it. Eh. So I went with it! This is what I created:


(pics from my iPhone.. I didn't expect this to become a post, haha!)

Front- pretty basic... some volume *yay dry shampoo!*





























Side:



























Side, blurry-- but you can see the size/shape of the bun:




























I literally got 4 compliments on it today! How funny... something I did that was a "let's make due" move was so appealing! I'll have to keep this in mind... I kind of felt like Whitney Port all day. ;)





































Until Next Time~
Beauty Maven