March 2014 favorites!

So this year, although it only just started, has been a year of trying new products and finding new products to love. My favorites will not only include hair products, but also makeup, beauty, fashion, music, etc. All of these things I bought or tried on my own. Nothing in this favorites was sent to me to try or a sponsor of my blog. So let's get to it shall we? 

Hair

So if you read my blog then you know that my absolute favorite hair product for my curly hair is TIGI Catwalk Curl Amplifier. Rather then beat a dead horse (I never realized how morbid that saying is until I wrote it) I figured I would do a new favorite of the month. So this March's lucky winner is...Marc Anthony Curl Envy Cream. This curl cream smells AMAZING, defines curls nicely, and moisturizes my hair. 

Bath and Body

This winter was much more harsh on my skin then any winter ever has been. I had several dry patches throughout my body, and my lips were constantly flaking and cracking regardless of how much lip balm I used. These products have been heaven sent for my skin!

So after watching and reading people talk so highly of Lush products I decided to give it a try for myself. Let's just say I am very thankful that the closest Lish store is 45 minutes away because I may be broke if there was one closer. A bought a few things, but I have only really tried one so far and I LOVE IT! Lush's Mint Julips lip scrub is the best! All you need is a tiny bit to rub on your lips with your finger, then rub your lips together. The scrub really works the dead, flakey skin off, then you just lick your lips to take the scrub off and you have a minty little treat.

Going along with the scrub theme, this next product has been crucial in getting rid of my dry patches. I went to Sephora in search of several different types of products, and while I was there I asked the lovely lady if she had any suggestions  for getting rid of dry patches. She suggested two products, the first being body scrub. So I made my way over the the Soap & Glory section and picked up a couple things. One of the first things I saw was the Pulp Friction Body Scrub. Of course I had to smell it before purchasing and oh my did it smell good. This body scrub is now part of my daily shower routine. I take a little but at a time and work it all over, concentrating especially on the areas where my dry patches have taken up shop. The scrub is gritty enough to exfoliate the dead skin, but not so much that it hurts. Love it! 

The next product that I was suggested by the lady at Sephora was a body butter. Before this I was only using lotion, Aveeno..which I still love, but it did not do enough to truly give my skin the moisture it needed. Body butter is much thicker then lotion, so if you suffer from dry skin then I definitely suggest giving this a try! While I was at the Soap & Glory counter I smell tested all of their body butter and I landed on the Butter Yourself body butter. This stuff smells so flipping good! I would seriously buy a body spray with this smell if it existed. So so so good! This butter has really gave my skin the deep moisture that it needed so badly this winter. Go buy it! 

So the next two products are for the face. I suffer from very oily, acne prone skin. About two years ago my skin was in a very bad place. My skin broke out so bad and I really didn't think it would ever go away. It was then that I found Cassandra Bankson on YouTube and she gave me so much valuable information which has truly helped me so much. I did go to dermatologists, but none of them could really help me. Funny how I learned more from YouTube then a doctor. Anywho..one of the products that Cassandra talked about as a favorite face wash was the Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub. So of course I had to give it a try. This stuff is amazing. It is absolutely part of my holy grail products now, and I couldn't be happier. I use this face wash at night, since it is a scrub, and I can truly say that my skin has benefited so much from it. I have even tried changing face washes and so far nothing works as good as it does. If you too suffer from oily, acne prone skin I would suggest giving it a try and also check out Cassandra's YouTube (diamondsandheels14). 

 

My next face product I decided to try on my own. I wanted to find a night time moisturizer that is replenishing, but does not make me break out. I used to think that because my skin is oily that I don't need moisturizer..wrong! I love Aveeno products so I decided to give Aveeno smart essentials nighttime moisture infusion a try. It smells great, really moisturizes, and does not make me break out. 

Makeup

I have just recently began really getting into makeup. I grew up in a family where makeup really isn't a focus in women's lives, so I never learned how to use it. Of course that was until I discovered YouTube. Yes I am very late. Anyways, here are some of the makeup products that I am really loving right now.

I have heard a lot of good things about NYX products so when I saw that section in Target I wanted to see what they were about. I picked out one of their blushes in Pinched and I really love it. It gives my face a natural looking but of color. It also isn't so pigmented that when you put it on you look like a clown..which is very important for me as a makeup newbie. NYX blushes are beautiful and inexpensive.

What do I like to apply this blush, and other face products with? Well I am very glad you asked! As I already said I am a makeup newbie, so when I say I just discovered Real Techniques brushes don't attack me. This brushes are AMAZING! You can see in the picture below which one I use for blush, and the one to the very right I use for blending right now. I am so in love with these brushes, and when I am less broke then I am now I will be sure to own the whole line. Great quality at such a great price!! 

This next product I wasn't really sure I would like, but I gave it a try anyway. I bought this double-sided Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes mascara. Although I was very skeptical about this mascara, mostly because of the size of the ends, I really did like it! I loved how it had one side for upper lashes, and a smaller brush on the other side for lower lashes. This mascara really lengthened and volumized my lashes in the very best way. I love it and would certainly purchase again. The only complaint I do have is that the upper lash section finished much quicker then the lower lash section because the upper lashes uses so much more. I would suggest to Maybelline to consider making the lower lash tube smaller since it needs less and give that extra room to the upper lash section. I am trying out a new mascara for my upper lashes, but I am still using the lower lash section while it lasts. 

The primer that I have been trying out, and loving, seems to be a favorite among YouTube beauty gurus so of course I had to try it for myself. The infamous Benefit Porefessional is amazing. It is sooo light weight and fresh smelling. It really makes my foundation and/or BB cream really last and look great all day. Love it!

 

My last makeup favorite is a foundation. This too is a favorite among YouTube beauty gurus, and it's great for me because it is a drug store buy. Covergirl 3-in-1 Foundation is to die for. It gives me great medium to full coverage while still looking natural. I also have a couple of higher end foundations, but this one is my favorite. It took me a couple of purchases to find my right color, but I am in 842.

Fashion

So I only have one true fashion favorite this month. I typically only really wear boots or flats, but I realized that on days that I wanted to be more casual that I had no black sneakers that could go with almost anything. I decided that I wanted a pair of all black, flat sneakers and after a couple of months of waiting I finally got them. My Vans original sneakers are my absolute favorites. I can wear them with almost anything, and they are super comfy. My only suggestion is not to wear them if you are walking a lot. I have learned this very hard lesson in my converses.

YouTube 

I have many, and I mean MANY, favorite Youtubers, but my absolute must watch is the SacconeJolys. I absolutely LOVE them! They are Irish daily vloggers and they are the absolute cutest!!! Anna, is due any day now with her second baby. Jofee is hilarious and such a great husband, and Emilia is the cutest little toddler in the entire world! They give me such great hope for a family in the future. I also love watching Anna Saccone's beauty videos and reading her blog as well. Go check then out now if you haven't already!!

Music

So I may be a little late here too, but I just recently heard Sam Smith and I am in love! His voice is absolutely AMAZING!!! Go check out his music on iTunes and YouTube..you can thank me later. And yes I will be buys his entire album when it comes out. My favorite songs so far are "Lay me down" and "Stay with me" 😍 so good! 

Ok so I am done now. All of the products will be listed on my luvocracy page if you want to purchase them there. Also check out the Youtubers and musicians I talked about as well and send them some love. Hope you guys are loving the beginning of spring..this warm(er) NY weather is amazing right now! 

Marc Anthony Perfect Curl Cream

Happy Sunday!

Today I decided to try out another new product. I bought in the travel size so that I am not wasting my money if I end up not liking it. Either way though, the full size product is quite inexpensive as well. Marc Anthony Perfect Curl Cream runs for $7.99 at Ulta. So lets get to it shall we?

So of course I used this as I do all of the time. The first thing I noticed about this product is that it smells like lemon flavored candies (like lemon heads). YUM! Then as I was working it through my hair I realized that this product felt like nothing I have ever tried before. This curl cream really felt silky smooth as I applied it. This product definitely started off on my good side.

As far as my point of view on the product, I don't love it, but I definitely don't hate it. It made my hair soft and silky feeling, and it smells SOOOO good! It also is a much softer hold then I personally prefer. Overall I would definitely recommend this to my curl haired (internet) family.

Price:  $
Frizz Control: ***
Hold: **
Curl Definition: ****
Overall:***
(So I am trying something new here...for the price I will use $'s to indicate how pricey the product is, up to 4 $'s as most expensive. For frizz control, hold, curl definition, and overall it will be a rating out of five stars-5 being the best.)

Also, I wanted to let you all know that I will put all of the products that I review on my luvocracy page.

So I just wanted to do a little follow up. I washed my hair about 2-3 days after I used this product and I am very impressed! When I washed my hair, the curl cream gave my hair the same conditioned feeling as catwalk does. So I would definitely recommend this product to ladies who want a softer curl, but don't want a product that is drying. Love it!

 

Paul Mitchell Round Trip

Well its another beautiful Sunday!

As you can tell from the title, I have tried out another Paul Mitchell product. If you read my post about the Paul Mitchell Ultimate Wave you will know that I pretty much hated it, so I exchanged it at Ulta for Paul Mitchell's Round Trip.

The Paul Mitchell website states:

Basics: Adds weightless bounce and detail to curls and waves.

Benefits:

Conditions and protects textured tresses.

Bonus:

Reduces drying time to get you on your
way faster.

Details:

• Styling agents derived from corn starch add weightless detail.
• Panthenol and magnesium sulfate condition
  and protect.

I was pleasantly surprised when I used this product. When I first pumped it into my hand I was very surprised to see a liquid rather then a cream or gel.

I used this product as I do with all of my other products. I just scrunched it through my clean, damp hair. I could tell right away that this product definitely was not like the Ultimate Wave, which is definitely a good thing. I did not get that dried out feeling whatsoever. I immediately knew that this was much more light weight then any of the other products I have tried. My hair was curly, without frizz, voluptuous, and had a little bit of that "crunch" that I like. Round Trip didn't give that conditioned feel like Curl Amplifier does, but it definitely gets the job done nicely! So all-in-all I do recommend this product to me fellow curly haired people. Below are some pictures of how my haired turned out:

 



If you have any other product or treatment suggestions that you think I should try please leave a comment below!

Virgin, Unrefined Coconut Oil Hair Treatment

Another beautiful week has begun, and that means it's time to do some hair repair.

I am sure that you all have, at the very least, heard of using coconut oil as a hair treatment. Well I am here to attest to that. This hair treatment is inexpensive, easy, and works so well!! You can get coconut oil in almost any grocery store...just make sure its "Virgin & Unrefined." I do this treatment about 1-2 times per week, and I don't think that I will ever stop doing it because it is THAT good!

Here is how I use coconut oil for a hair treatment:

 

The coconut oil starts out pretty solid, so I just scoop it out with a spoon and into my hand. Then rub-a-dub-dub, and it turns to a liquid.

I just work this all throughout my hair, before washing, until my whole head is pretty much saturated. Thennnnn I put my hair up in a bun.

From here, I just let it do its thing for about an hour or two while I clean, do homework, watch TV, browse the internet, and whatever else I need to do.

Then just shower and wash it all out. Easy cake.

Oh and if you have a doggie friend, don't forget to share the love. My dog LOVES coconut oil!

Paul Mitchell Ultimate Wave

I went to Ulta this past week to pick up some new hair products to try out. They were having a buy two get one free sale on Paul Mitchell products...how could I resist?

The first product I decided to try out was the Paul Mitchell Ultimate Wave, which is in the Curl Collection.

So before I discuss my personal opinion on the product, I will show you how it worked out for me.
After washing my hair, I scrunched the cream-gel into my hair as I do with any other product.

  

I changed my mind about the product a few times throughout the process. At first, I didn't like it. Unlike other hair products, this cream-gel was kind of hard to work through my hair. I can't really explain how it felt, but it was kind of like trying to put gel into dry hair...but my hair wasn't dry. Nevertheless, I kept working it into my hair as best as I can.

After about 20 minutes to half hour, my hair was pretty dry. I did like that my hair was curly, minus most of the frizz. My hair was a bit bigger then I usually like, but the cream-gel did give my hair that crunchy feel that I really like. So from here I kind of liked it.

Fast forward to the next day. I was very curious to see how my hair would be the day after. This is where I finally decided that I really dislike this product! My hair felt so dried out and gross!! I definitely plan on exchanging this product for something else.

This product would probably be best for girls with light wavy hair, that want that fresh off the beach look like this..

Personally, I think that this product being listed under Paul Mitchell's "Curl" category is quite deceiving. I did some deeper research and found other products that are created for actual curly hair, but they are not in the "curl" category. It's really confusing. Either way, I will be exchanging this product tomorrow for one of the other products that I really hope will work better then this.

Please let me know if there are any other products that you think I should try out. Have a great week!

Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Treatment

Hello internet world!

Sorry for the mini hiatus...last two weeks of a college semester are so stressful!

Anyway on to much more important things...

As us curly haired ladies (and gentlemen) know, curly hair tends to be very dried out. I have never done any professional treatments thus far, but I have been looking for a good quality hair treatment on a low budget.

The ever amazing Ulta was having a sale on almost all of the 30+ ounce hair products for $15.99. Of course I was all up in there! I looked up and down, and considered many different products, but I decided to get the Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Treatment.

I started out using it by following the directions on the bottle. "Apply a small amount. Massage. Rinse." To be completely honest, I was kind of disappointed. I really didn't see any difference in my hair.

Rather then not using the rest of the huge bottle, and letting money go to waste I decided to try it a different way. I decided to try to use it as my regular conditioner. After shampooing my hair, I took a decent amount of the daily hair treatment and worked it through my hair, bottom to top. I left the treatment in my hair for about 3-5 minutes while I did the rest of my shower business.

I saw a difference after the first time doing it this way. My hair felt so soft. After I styled my hair and let it dry, it looked much shinier then normal. It made my hair look super shiny when I straightened it as well.

I have been doing this for about a month now, and although I do plan on trying some new things, this will definitely be my go-to conditioner from now on.

If you want to buy it for yourself the Amazon link is right here. Ulta only sells Paul Mitchell products in store, so you can buy it there, as well as many other stores that sell hair products.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week! And if you are in the North East like me, lets hope we don't get any more snow!!!

DevaCurl Styling Cream

Welcome to another wonderful Sunday. This Sunday is EXTRA special because it's Superbowl Sunday!!!
 
A few months ago I got a few different curly hair product samples from Sephora, so today I decided to try out the sample of DevaCurl Styling Cream.
 

 

DevaCurl Styling Cream states that this product is "botanically infused cream conditions, enhances and defines curls.  Provides natural hold, humidity resistance and leaves curls moisturized and frizz free." DevaCurl retails for about $25 at Sephora and about $14 on Amazon (links at the end).
 
So I looked up the suggested use on the DevaCurl website and it said to simply scrunch in damp hair.
 
Lets have at it, shall we?
 
This is what the DevaCurl Cream looks like:
 
 

 
Here is my freshly brushed, damp hair after the shower.
 

 
Scrunchy, Scrunchy!
 

 

Ok so now I am done, and this is how my hair looks...for now.
 
 

 

 
One hour later..(voice from SpongeBob LOL)
 

 

 

Two hours later (showing images to children under age 5 may result in traumatization hahaha just kidding)
 
 

 

 

 

 

Review

Overall I think that this is a pretty good product. It took me a while to figure out what it smelled like. Then it hit me....SKITTLES. Yes, I said Skittles....like the candy. Its kind of weird, but it smells pretty good.
 
Its consistency is similar to the Catwalk Curl Amplifier, but DevaCurl is a bit thinner and more watery. It applied easily, and didn't require anything special.
 
What I liked: I liked that the styling cream was easy to use. I don't usually have much time in the morning to get ready after I shower, so having a product that requires little work is vital for me. I also liked how my curls were nicely defined, and not frizzy. My hair is EXTREMELY frizzy without hair products, so having the soft curls minus the frizz is definitely a plus. Also, I got a lot of compliments about my hair looking gorgeous so that's always nice.
 
What I didn't like: Many people love having softer, fuller curls. I am not one of those people at this point in time. I'm still more comfortable with the harder, crunchy hair. That is really the only bad thing I have to say, and it is something completely personal.
 
*If you like soft, full, defined curls...I would absolutely recommend this product to you!

Links

DevaCurl: http://www.mydevacurl.com/products/style/styling_cream
Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/styling-cream-P378330?skuId=1509652
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=devacurl%20styling%20cream#/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Adeva+curl+styling+cream&keywords=deva+curl+styling+cream&ie=UTF8&qid=1391380274