Twisted Sista by Urban Therapy

Twisted Sista is a blow drying crème that claims to:

“Relax, unwind, smooth and moisturize”

It retails for around $5-$6 at Walgreens.

Although this product is targeted towards women of color that tend to have ultra curly hair that is thick, rough, and kinky. (That’s right. I said it), I can see this being acceptable for use on most hairtypes. The idea being- If this’ll work on a “sista’s hair,” it’ll work on any hair.

 I have such curly and thick and hair, but prefer to wear it straight, and I welcome anything that’ll cut down my 3- hour straightening routine.

The back of the tube says:

“Our stylists at Urban Therapy love it, our clients call it magic. If you want straight hair this is all you need. The blow drying crème gives your hair new structure and shape, controlling and straightening as it calms and relaxes your hair.”

If you don’t know what a relaxer is it is a chemical treatment that helps to straighten out curly hair (the opposite of a perm) and is used in conjunction with blow drying and straightening. And this product claims to take the relaxer and the straightening processes out of the equation entirely. And even though it sounds much too good to be true a “sista” is inclined to try it anyway because the traditional process can be time consuming and expensive.

That being said I was very skeptical. But all feelings of skepticism aside, I really wanted this to work out so I continued to use this for a good two months.

Unfortunately I couldn’t even get it to make the blow drying process easier, much less ‘straighten, calm and relax’ my hair.

And the directions are fairly straight forward:

“Squeeze a small amount into the palm of your hands, rub together and run fingers through hair from root to tip and blow dry as normal.”

Easy enough.

I suspect the main reason for the lack of success is water.

If you have naturally curly hair that you have spent hours making straight (or if your have straight hair that you’ve spent hours curling) that LAST thing you want is water. However the second ingredient, after propylene glycol, is just that: Water.

What kind of sense does that make?

Adding water to any kind of straightening process involving curly hair is counter productive, and on top of that the water content being so highly concentrated just adds to the nonsensical nature of this product.

I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone who has legitimately curly hair. Save your money and buy a candy bar or something.

I promise you’ll be much happier with it.


Also: The suspicious exercise trails.



Don't just wear makeup...
Rock it. 

Three Looks with Urban Decay Feminine palette

As I mentioned in a previous post I am giving the Urban Decay Feminine palette to a friend of mine for her birthday. and with it I'm including note cards with instructions on creating three looks with this palette. The looks range from every day casual to night time and even party-time looks. (It's new years eve after all, and we will be tearing up the streets of Seattle).

Look one: Ultra Natural

Prime Lids

Apply Bordello all over the lid from lashline to browbone.

Highlight the inner corner and browbone with Skimp.

Take a smudger brush and apply Lost lightly across the upper and lower lashline.

Apply your favorite liner and/or volumizing mascara.

Optional Steps

To brighten up the eye, use an off white or a peachy flesh-toned pencil liner for the waterline. 

For a quick night time transition take a small smudger brush and apply Lost to the crease and create a "V" in the outer corner. 

Use Gunmetal to define the outer "V" or concentrate it on the upper and lower lashlines as liner. 

Look Two: Bronzy with a Twist

Prime Lids

Take Lost all over the lid form lashline to crease and create a “V” shape in the outer corner. Use tape for a clean line if necessary.

Use a pencil brush or a smudge brush to line the lower lashline with Hijack.

Use a mixture of Bordello and Skimp to highlight the inner corner and the browbone.

optional steps:

Line the lashline, waterline and tightline with your favorite liner.

Apply your favorite liner to the upper lashline.

If using a creamy pencil or gel formula,  smudge for a smokey effect. Set with powder shadow if needed.

Finish off the look with your favorite volumizing mascara.

False lashes optional. 

Look Three: Violet Smokes

Prime  lid

Start by taking Bordello all over the lid from lashline to browbone

Take AC/DC with a shader brush and apply from lashline to just above the crease.

Add Gunmetal to the outer corner and the outer half of the crease. 

optional steps:

 

Line the lashline, waterline and tightline with your favorite liner.

Apply your favorite volumizing mascara.

If you’re going to use false lashes, now’s the time.

•  

The Urban Decay Feminine Palette

Just because Christmas is over does not mean the gift-giving has ceased!

I have a friend whose birthday is on New Year's Eve and I'm planning on giving her the Urban Decay Feminine palette. 

This palette is simple, compact and comes with six colorful neutrals that would do well to compliment most makeup collections which is why I chose this palette as opposed to the Dangerous palette or the Fun palette.

The eyeshadows lift out and the zipped packaging doubles as a clutch. Who would do that and leave their precious eye shadows un protected? Je ne sais pas, but this would be a useful feature if and when you run out of shadow.

The six shadows are:

Bordello (a warm mauvy pink)
Skimp (lightest pink)
AC/DC (cool, grey-toned purple)
Gunmetal (Greyish asphalt color)
Hijack (Muted Emerald)
Lost (Brownish Bronze)

This palette also comes with a mini lip junkie gloss in the color Wallflower, which is a pinky nude with a simple cream finish.

Urban Decay Naked Nail Polish Kit

This limited edition set is an homage to our favorite ‘Naked’ shadows, representing the lacquer form of certain infamous shades from the original Naked palette.

The shades from left to right are:

Naked

Toasted

Smog

Sidecar

Hustle

Creep

According its description on Sephora.com:

“This irresistible nail polish kit features six of this season’s most sought-after shades in Urban Decay’s signature NAKED style. Featuring an inspired range of glitters, metallics, creams, and shimmers, each gorgeous hue proves that once again, neutral is anything but boring.”

Even though this product is advertised as being sold online only at Sephora.com it has been spotted, at least in my local Sephora store as well as on Urban Decay’s site.

Although this would have made a nice stocking stuffer for the holiday season, I’m not entirely sure it was released early enough for the maximum number of consumers to get a hold of it.

I personally, would have appreciated something like this more if there was a full-sized option, otherwise this kind of thing just becomes a novelty.

Reviews suggest that, although a cute concept, the formula itself is reminiscent of a  ‘drugstore polish’, which implies a lack of quality that is associated with cheapness. That being said drugstore polishes, like drugstore makeup, have come a very long way in the past 10 years and have more durable formulas than they used to. That being said, there might be many similar drugstore shades out there with better formulas than you would find in this kit.

Additionally the kit retails for around $26.00, which I consider to be steep for a novelty item, especially considering that the shades aren’t so different that you would need to have all of them. Smog and Toasted, for example, though quite different in the original Naked palette, are virtually indistinguishable in this kit.

This coupled with the fact that you might only get a few uses out of each mini bottle make it hardly worth purchasing. At least that’s the way I see it. 

Don't just wear makeup, 

Rock it.

Lavanila and Sephora by O.P.I.

In a previous post I mentioned picking up some stocking stuffers at Sephora but I didn't mention what they were.

The First was a roller ball fragrance from LAVANILA called 'Pure Vanilla.' Just as the name suggests it smells like the most perfect and the most natural form of vanilla, and even though scents are one of those preferences that can be very objective, who can say no to vanilla?  The roller ball retails for $19, the next size up retails for around $45, and the largest size retails for around $58. And in addition the Pure Vanilla, they also make other delicious fragrances:

Vanilla Coconut

Vanilla Grapefriut

Vanilla Passionfruit

Vanilla Blackberry and

Vanilla Lavender

Yumm...

The second Stocking Stuffer was a (limited edition I believe) Sephora by O.P.I. Color called 'It's Real.' This is an 18k gold infused top coat.

This is very similar to a polish released by O.P.I. for the Skyfall collection by the name of Man with the Golden Gun. The difference between these two visuallybis that Golden Gun has thicker flex of gold and holds more product. The difference financially is over $20! 'Its Real' is in the clearance section for $15 while Golden Gun retails fir $38! Holy Geeze Louise! Golden Gun is definitely a collector's item and is not sold (as far as I can tell) anywhere the other Skyfall colors are sold- meaning you probably can't walk into any 'ol drugstore and pick it up.

However I'm sure if you got some gold flex from a craft store and mixed it in with your favorite top coat it would have the same kind of effect. I should try that some time.

For the purpose of this being a gift I thought it would be nice to pair 'It's Real' with a base color for which I chose 'Jamaica Me Crazy' by Essie. This is such a gorgeous hot pink. 

Don't just wear makeup;

Rock It.

Happy Holidays!

New Products From Maybelline

There are exciting looking displays for brand-new Maybelline products that I've been seeing in Walmart and Target.

Walmart

In the walmart displays there is a new mascara called 'the Rocket' (or something). It's a volumizing mascara that has a wand very similar to that of Covergirl's Lashblast (shorter bristles on a rubber wand). The difference is that this mascara retails at around $5.85-ish whereas the cheapest price I've seen on a  lashblast is $6.94 at Target (usually retailing for between $8-$9). My guess is that maybelline is trying to win over  lashblast users by offering a similar product at a cheaper price. Will it work? We will see. Oh yes, we will see. 

They have also release 5 new color tattoos for the winter. The shades are: 

Inked in Pink- a light, flesh-toned pink

Silver Strike- a classic silver

Gold Rush- a very bright yellow gold 

Barely Branded- a light nude color

and Electric Blue- a gorgeous navy

 All colors contain a shimmery component.

 Barely Branded bares an uncanny resemblance to Barely Beige, which is a limited edition color released in the fall. Maybelline would do better to make it a permanent shade than to release a similar color every season. Just sayin'.

Gold Rush is almost an obnoxiously bright yellow. Bold gold, which is part of the permanent line, might be a more practical pick, but it really does just take the right look and the right occasion to pull it off. 

Target

Time, at least for me, has been moving so fast that I just can't believe that Christmas is in less than two days! However when I saw this display I knew that the season for celebration is indeed upon us. 

The display at Target featured, not just the Pocket  Rocket (the new name I've just branded mascara) but a line of new color sensational lipsticks that are called color whispers. 

THEY LOOK GORGEOUS!!!

 I these are maybelline's answer to the Revlon lip butters, which are so popular because they provide color and moisture in  one. However I think these new lipsticks give off just as much color  but are even more moisturizing! Side note: This is what I love about capitalism - When brands compete, we win. Idk who said that, but I'm glad it's true.  

Featured was a brand new mascara and pressed powder called "The Lifter," which is a foundation infused with a primer in one of those spirally deals. This is supposed to be a two-in-one product that also contains anti aging ingredients. I personally, am very intrigued. The pressed powder is also infused with what is supposed to be a primer but is just a white swirl among the pigment. 

There are more instant age rewind dark spot concealers. Though the packaging has changed slightly (the tube is white, which makes it harder to tell when you're running out) I'm not entirely sure what is supposed to be different about these as opposed to the regular age rewind concealers. 

If you have a makeup lover on your gift list you might consider throwing in some of the new Color Whispers and/or a couple of the color tattoos as stocking stuffers. 

Don't just wear makeup, Rock It.

Loverdose by Diesel

Just stopped by Sephora to pick up some stocking stuffers and recieved a 100 point perk when I got up to the register which I used to get a Loverdose sample. I immediately wanted to give it away but thought twice since scents are one of those objective things that someone will either love or hate. So I went over to the Loverdose tester, sprayed the paper wand, took a wiff and

...

The scent is sweet, sugary with a hint of spice, and simple which is what I really like, and so do men btw
(they don't want to get a headache or feel like they've been thrusted into a field of genetically modified flowers from president Snow's garden every time they stand near you)
but this fragrance is just enough to get someone's attention in a good way.

Long story short I immediately fell in LOVE! This fragrance is true to its name. Don't be surprised if this lil gem finds its way back into my stocking. ;-)

Additionally there is a similar scent from bath and body works called Twilight in the woods. While the fragrances are generally similar, Twilight in the Woods is not as sweet and isn't as strong, at least the body spray isn't, the perfume might be. I wouldn't say they're dupes for one another, they're just similar.

If you're at all interested the in the stocking stuffers they will appear in another post.

Don't just wear makeup, Rock It.

Elf Endless Eyes Pro Mini Eye Shadow Palette: Hit or Miss?

I stopped into Target (pronounced Tar-Zhay) yesterday to pick up some “practical” things, as we all do, and I could not resist the Elf palettes that have overtaken the all too familiar cosmetic end cap. I picked up the 32 bright Palette to accompany the 32 warm palette that I already have.  

Even though I’m not a fan of the warm version, I decided to try it anyway because emilynoel83 on youtube gave it a good review. And it was only $5, so not a huge deal.

Upon first glance of the palette your eye is drawn to the really bright colors in the palette. However the brights are restricted the the middle two rows as the top row is devoted to earth toned neutrals and the bottom is devoted to smokey, grayscale neutrals which I think makes the palette very versatile.

Both pictures are of the same swatches, (which took a lot of effort to build up btw).

As you can see I started off by swatching the brightest colors to assess pigmentation.

Because if you’re interested in buying the ‘Bright’ palette, than you’re probably interested in bright colors. And if the bright colors in the bright palette aren’t pigmented, than you might as well save your money.

At least that’s how I see it.

The pigmentation across the board is very comme ci, comme ca (french for so-so). There are a handful that have good color pay off, and there are others that don’t. Generally the shimmery shades will be highly pigmented, and the matte, satin and glitter shades will be duds.And that is definitely the case with this palette.

This is a swatch from the bottom row of smokey colors, that I think just looks really dirty on my hand. 

Oh year, and don't mind Lady G. on my door over there. 

This is a swatch of the top row neutrals, which are having a hard time showing up on my hand. 

It will take a lot of work to get some of the colors to show up on your skin, and when they do only 25% of them will appear the same way on your face as it does in the pan. The colors aren’t very buildable either, and you’ll definitely need a primer if you want them to last for more than 2 hours on your eyes.  

Verdict:

I would say this is definitely a MISS.

The bright colors aren’t as bright as you would expect them to be and that’s kind of the whole point of the palette.

I would recommend this for a younger girl just starting out with makeup who wants to do some experimenting. (I don’t know what age is acceptable for that now, but for me it was around 8 or 9). Why? Because it can be a nice, cheap stocking stuffer that says “Sweet heart, you’re becoming a woman and I accept that.” But at the same time the colors aren’t nearly pigmented enough to change your little girl too drastically, so you won’t have to worry about her looking like a clown. Or even worse... a hooch. If you insist on doing this I suggest you pair it with some nice makeup remover pads and teach her that cleansing her face properly is more important than what she puts on it.

P.S. Bear with me and my photography, it needs some work. However I find these swatches to be an accurate representation of what the colors actually look like on the skin. They might turn out better if you have lighter skin than I, but if you're darker I think you'll have a harder time with this palette.

Don’t just wear makeup... Rock it.

Nail Rehab

I've come to the conclusion that nail polish only looks good when they have a healthy foundation (nails) to sit on. This is the routine I stick to when my nails are on a health kick. 

Step One: Hydrate Cuticles

Step Two:  Apply treatment strengthener 

Step Three: Apply Nail Hardener

Step Four: Rock That Polish

Cuticle Hydration

Tea Tree Oil can be used as an effective and low cost alternative to soften cuticles. 

Mine tend to become very dry and tend to crack and bleed often. Because mine are in especially bad shape I used it 2-3 times daily as needed. But for most people I would just recommend applying it before bed. (You can use any cuticle softener you like, I just happen to have tea tree oil lying around). 

Strengthener

Choose a nail strengthener that is right for your nail situation. This should not simply be a 'hardener' as this does nothing but make your nails, well... hard. The point of a strengthener, at least in this case, is to treat the nails with vitamins and nutrients enabling them to stop brittleness, yellowness, creaking, breaking, splitting, peeling, etc. Most times when you're using a strengthener of this nature you should not paint them for 1-2 weeks while applying the treatment. This'll be hard at first, but it's necessary. 

 Some of the better products come from a the Nail Tek line including the Citra formaldehyde free formulas, as well as the hydration Therapy formulas from the same brand. Both Sallys Beauty Supply and Ulta carry these products, however the prices will fluctuate from $12 to $15. It is quite the investment, but they really do the job. If you're looking for  low cost alternatives Sally Hansen is a good affordable line. I would steer you in the direction of the Continuous Treatment Strength Time Release formula if you're feeling unsure. Anything that says 'treatment' should be fine, and present your nails with some kind of improvement. 

Also, consider taking a multivitamin, or dietary supplement so your nail will receive internal help as well as topical help. You can't go wrong with Hair,Skin and Nail supplements as well as supplements with Biotin. (As always consult your doctor before altering your diet and medication regimen).

*Remember to maintain your nails throughout by filing and pushing back cuticles.

Hardener

After you have successfully completed the strengthening routine, it is time to use a hardener to seal in your results. the beauty of a hardener is that it can be used as a base and top coat for your nail lacquer, and allows you to protect your hard earned results while still being able to indulge in color.  

Again, choose any hardener you want, this is not as important as choosing the right strengthening treatment for your nail type. However Diamond strength and Triple Strong from Sally Hansen are good bets. 

Rock that Polish 

The time has finally come. This is probs the nail equivalent to bikini season. Choose the polish you have been waiting weeks to wear and apply it over the nail hardening base coat and your favorite top coat. And rock the sh*t out of that polish!

Cannot wait to try this collection! 

Randomness:

The suspicious exercise trails.  

Ugh ya'lls. This is why I do not go to the gym. 

U