A Vanity Somewhere Up There

I'm just a product junkie looking for conditioners to love

2014-01-31T00:18:00.000-06:00

Recently I have been doing some research on conditioners. I've read that a lot of people don't need them but instead just need a detangler. Not I. I like to experiment and try new products, possibly more than the average gal, but I would always come back to Biolage Ultra hydrating balm. As I was going over reviews on makeupalley for the next conditioner, I saw my beloved buhb was rated somewhat high and I decided to take a peek at what others were saying. Recent ones complained of a formula change making it useless and ineffective to some! The horror! I was picking out products not much after and the stylist convinced me to give it a try. Sure enough, the rumors were true. It was crap! I came across curly nickis page and saw she wrote about all products she has tried, good or bad. Today a ding went off when I realized I'm a product junkie.

I'm caucasian with natural 6a hair that is curently bleached. On the hair type charts I'm not sure if I'm a 1c or 2c. My hair is not as straifht as it used to be, maybe due to damage? My hair is somewhat fine and I have a lot of it. Very long with frequent frizz issues. Tangles are the biggest issue but since I have an oily scalp I only condition from about the ears down. Hot mess? Oh yes!

Dove nourishing oil care daily treatment conditioner: very good. Hair is soft and moisturized and it detangles well; strong scent that was pleasant but too strong.

Suave moroccan infusion deep conditioning shine mask: very good. I don't know about the shine, but it detangled and made my hair manageable. Once again, a very strong scent, this time not so pleasant. For such a low price, its workable. I added some to another mask and it took the edge off.

Osmo intensive repair mask: good. Now I have mixed feelings about this one because my hair wasn't super soft and detangled, but this appears to possibly be a protein treatment. I will update this later.

Biolage fortetherapie: very good. This has been discontinued but was a great product if you can get your hands on some old stock. I do think it was working to strengthen my hair but was also moisturizing at the same time.

Biolage hydrating balm: fair. This has also been reformulated and is not as great of a product anymore. Not much for detangling or softness.

Joico Moisture recovery conditioner: good. This wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. When paying extra for salon products I hold them to a higher standard as far as if I'll keep using it or return it. This I returned. Not bad, but I need something that is really good for my finicky hair.

Redken real control conditioner: good. Now this product is rated according to my needs which basically are.detangling and softness. The stylist at Ulta told me this is also part protein treatment too so I'm going to give this one some more time.

Aussie 3 minute miracle: good. I remembered this to be better than this last bottle. It made my hair soft but detangling could've been better, hence the rating.

Aussie dual personality conditioner: fair. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because it has been a while but it didn't do much for me.

Organix argan oil of morocco mask (turquoise jar): fair. This one didn't do much for me, especially for a mask. Maybe a little softening. I don't recommend.

Organix pomegranate conditioner: bad. My hair was more snarly afterwards and it was super staticky.

Ojon damage damage reversal conditioner: fair. I got these when they first came out as a promo from Sephora. A set of the full size containers. So in this case I actually did use it with the matching conditioner and I still wasn't satisfied. Especially considering how much retail price is! Some softness, minimal detangling. These I assume are protein treatments too so maybe that's why? But it never said to follow wish another conditioner, etc.

Mayo mask from Sally:

Samy deep conditioning treatment: poor. I think my hair was more tangled after and there was no softness as the product claims. Total fail.

Tigi bedhead moisture maniac: poor. I don't know if they.make this anymore, but they shouldn't. It was bad, not moisturizing, left my hair in knots, and no softness.

Lanza healing moisture kukui nut conditioner: good. Nothing groundbreaking here. It made my hair soft and helped with the tangles a bit, but I liked its shampoo counterpart much more.

Lanza healing moisture moi moi hair masque: fair. I really don't think this was much better than the conditioner and with a mask I guess I expect more than a light.conditioner.

Biolage colortherapie delicate care mask: poor. This one was a dud. I'm not sure if it was because it was their first foray into more natural products or what. Returned.

Finesse clean & simple hypoallergenic conditioner: poor. I think it made my hair worse. More tangles, dry, with really no benefits.

L'oréal evercreme mask: good. Once again, a decent product that stinks. Ok its an ok vanilla scent but is incredibly strong. Smell before you buy and only if bathing in it suits you.

John frieda rejuvenating mask: fair. A disappointment as a mask, ok as a conditioner. Mild detangling and softness.

Liquid liner lemmings

2013-03-21T23:52:00.001-05:00

Pardon my snobbery, but you can not be a beauty connoisseur/guru/pro/authority if you do not know your liquid liner. Maybe not everyone had the pleasure of slapping it on without a care at 13, but I sure did. That being said, a decade and a half later I am still testing. When it comes to liquid liners, a formula can be fantastic but if the applicator fails, it's out. I have tried all sorts applicators, but my favorites are still felt and foam tips. They are just so much easier to manipulate than brushes. All liners have their place but with cream/gel you need that extra brush and you have to clean it (me=lazy), with regular pencils there is the need to sharpen and lack of precision, and with mechanical pencils it seems they come with so little product and I also find a lack of precision at times. If you want pencils (mechanical and regular) to be precise you have to sharpen often and waste product too. I find even if I give myself adequate time to get ready, I always seem to be in a rush when it comes down to the end with liner and mascara. That leads me to liquid liner, with its low maintenance properties. This isn't to say I don't have an arsenal of other liners, because I do, but this post is about liquid. There are many fabulous felt tipped liner pens out there, but this does not include them. I have problems with them running out or drying out fast.

Felt or foam tip liquid eye liners:

Lancome Artliner .04 oz. $30
Estee Lauder Pure Color/Double Wear Zero-Smudge Liquid Eyeliner .10 oz. $23
Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Aqua Liner .058 oz. $23
Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner .05 oz. $22
MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner .06 oz $19.50
Sephora Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner $12
Prestige Total Intensity Against All Odds Liquid Ink Eyeliner .095 oz. $9.49 (Ulta)
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner .05 oz. $7.94 (Wal-Mart)
Milani Ultrafine Liquid Eye Liner .058 oz. $7.79 (CVS)
Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner $5.97 (Wal-Mart)
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner .08 oz. $4.97 (Wal-Mart)

Honorable mention
Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner (formula & packaging is similar to MUFE/MAC but it has a brush tip applicator)

Top to bottom: Sephora, Lancôme artliner, L'Oreal, MAC, Estée Lauder, Stila, Prestige Total Intensity, Milani ultrafine liner, Mufe, UD 24/7 liquid, real techniques fine liner brush, MAC 211, 210

These are the liners I would recommend. If you have a suggestion for me to try please comment. I have pictures of all EXCEPT Maybelline Line Stiletto (eye infection, threw away) and L'Oreal Lineur Intense (lost somewhere between Milwaukee and New Orleans). Lately I have only been able to find Prestige at Ulta. I purchase Milani from CVS, milani.com, and cherryculture.com. CVS runs sales from time to time, milani.com usually has great Black Friday sales, and cherry culture often runs 20% sales but you usually need to purchase $50+ to get free shipping. If you don't have a local CVS you can check the website because they do run shipping promotions too.

House-for sale pics

2012-06-04T23:17:00.002-05:00

Living Room -other side of brown wall is kitchen

Living Room

2012-04-03T20:47:00.001-05:00

I recently got some Barielle polishes. So far so good! First one up is Beaches & Dreams:

Mission: Pink Pigeon Dupe

2012-01-16T23:48:00.000-06:00

I find myself buying similar colors of bright lipstick but never really did a dupe comparison. Here goes my first attempt at blogging and swatching. I figured since I did all this work I might as well put it out there.

Row 2, 4th one in is the coveted Pink Pigeon

I did decide to throw in some pigmented glosses but stayed away from cream color bases (madly magenta) and cream blushes (Florida) but will maybe swatch those in the future. Right now I'd say my skin is around NW20, maybe even NW15 on my hand. Here is the breakdown:

(L-R)

Row 1: Milani In Vogue (gloss) , NYX Louisiana, CG Temptress, unknown, Revlon Pink About It, Revlon lilac champagne, WnW 905d, Revlon Fuchsia

Row 2: Full Fuchsia, Gulabi, Party Parrot, Pink Pigeon, EA Pink Vibrations (candy yum-yum dupe?), Something New, Impassioned, Pink Friday, MUFE #37

Row 3: Revlon Stormy Pink, Big Bow, Show Orchid, MUFE #37, True Babe lipglass, Pink Nouveau, Wonderstruck lustreglass, Naughty You, Chatterbox

Row 4: Revlon Strawberry (gloss), NYX Beauty Queen, Speed Dial, V.S. Hot Spot, CG Fairytale, V.S. Be Mine, Speak Louder

Row 5: OCC Trollop, NYX Dolly Pink, Milani Flashy (gloss), Milani Flashy (pencil), Illamasqua Frenzy (gloss)

Then I had an after thought so I did a few more swatches. I added on to row 5 and added a row 6.

Row 5: OCC Trollop, NYX Dolly Pink, Milani Flashy (gloss), Milani Flashy (pencil), Illamasqua Frenzy (gloss), Rare Exotic (mattene), Rimmel Rose Passion

Row 6: Rimmel Nostalgia, Revlon Love That Pink, SH Pink Blossom, Fafi Gloss, Revlon Lollipop Lip Butter

Row 7: Revlon Sweet Tart Lip Butter

I'm trying to figure out what color I'm missing in the first row :(