NYX Product Haul

NYX Fall 2011 Campaign 

Recently, I made my first purchase NYX purchase at my local beauty supply store! Exciting, right?!!  I've heard a lot hype about their products on YouTube and other blogs so I decided to finally make the big move. Many vloggers as well as bloggers have compared there round lipsticks to MAC Cosmetics so I couldnt resist the urge to try them out. I purchased two round lipsticks--vitamin and iris. And I absolutely adore these two colors!!

Here are the product claims from nyxcosmetics.com :
NYX Round Lipstick is our classic lipstick for all-year round. The mineral-based emollient formula offers a beautiful velvet texture, saturated color and it resists wear and smudging. It’s your go-to lipstick. From Pure Nude to Pink Lyric to Chic Red, Round Lipstick is available in a jaw-dropping 144 shades.

My thoughts: 
Up until the time I started this hair journey I RARELY veered from my normal routine--in anything that I did. As I have mentioned in several posts, I was a MAC fanatic. The only makeup that would ever touch my face was MAC. But once I started watching product reviews of different makeup lines I began to venture out from my normal routine and I am glad I did! First of all its no secret that MAC is pretty expensive and with me being a graduate student and taking care of my own...new MAC makeup isnt really fitting into my budget. So I really had no choice but to start finding other products. Since several people compared NYX to MAC I wanted to give it a try and I will say that everyday I apply my makeup I rarely go for my MAC lipsticks anymore.

NYX round lipsticks go on very smooth--its a simple treat for your lips. The formula is very opaque and effortless. I personally believe that it hydrates my lips. I tried to search on the website to see if this is just my mind playing tricks on me or if its actually formulated that way--it seems that my mind is playing tricks on me lol. But honestly I always have to apply chapstick or something to my lipsticks before I apply anything on them or they feel really dry and chapped. But they on the first day I tried one of the lipsticks, I needed to go purchase a new chapstick but I just decided to throw it on and run to the store really quick. I was surprised to realize that my lips felt hydrated so I decided to just leave it on without the chapstick to see how it does and I experienced no dryness at all.  So, initially that's what sold me on these lipsticks!

Overall, I love this stuff. I've been using it for a little over a week and they've become my go-to lipsticks. There super cheap which im LOVING--I bought them for $1.99 each. On the NYX website they retail for $4.00 each which still is not a bad price being that I consider these lipsticks to be a more high-end cheap lipstick. However, if you dont want to pay $4.00 for them, they retail for $1.99 on cherryculture.com as well.

If you havent already, give NYX a try! I'm really impressed with their products! They're definitely worth dishing out the $2 or $4. Not to mention, they have A LOT of fab colors!

Toodles


Source: nyxcosmetics.com

Quimica Alemana Nail Hardener

Hey ladies!

I have been using this stuff for a few years and I absolutely love it.  It's basically a Colombian nail fortifier so it helps with strengthening the nails. As your nails become stronger, it also helps your nails to grow! When I first started using this product I just took off my acrylic nails that I use to love so dearly (lol). After the very first application, I could tell the difference in the strength of my nails. It was almost like I never even wore acrylic nails. I was amazed at how fast and how well this product really worked. My nails also grew faster using this product then it did when I had on my acrylic nails.

Here are the product claims: 

 

The Hottest Nail Hardener in the beauty industry!

Quimica Alemana Nail Hardener is an excellent treatment that forms a protective barrier around your nails.

- prevents and repairs breaks

- helps strengthen thinning nails

- prevents excessive nail peeling

 

The cons: 

The only down side about this product is that it  can leave your nail beds feeling sore. Here is the best reason that I found based on my research. Warning--I found this information in a Customer review so I am not completely sure of its credibility but it seems like a pretty sound argument. Here it is:

"Quimica Alemana is a Colombian-made formaldehyde or formalin based nail hardener, while other products are reported to possess protein or nylon bases. The formaldehyde/formalin mixture means that the active chemical substances are really strong and efficient and consequently should be applied with extreme care and perseverance"

Here's the solution:

As mentioned above, this product should be used with extreme care. So, I would advise to first start out using a thin layer of the polish for the first 2 or 3 weeks. The polish is pretty thick, so you'll know a thin layer verse a thick layer once you apply it to your nails. You wanna make sure that your re-applying a fresh new, thin layer every week. DO NOT add more of this product on every week. Piling on layer on top of layer is a sure way to cause soreness with your nails. Honestly, after my first couple of times having to deal with sore nails, I learned this trick quickly. After the first 2 or 3 weeks you can apply thicker coats if you like. By this time your nail should have gotten use to the formula of the product. However, I just stick to the thin layers lol. I find that it works pretty good for me (and I can take the soreness lol).

Overall, a lot of people recommend this product! The only con I've heard or found online is the one I mentioned. I haven't heard any horror stories about the soreness, which is a good thing. Everyone is pretty much on the same page--they experienced soreness, revamped the way they used it and then raved about how strong and long their nails became after using this product for only a few weeks! Hey, I LOVE it, a little pain didn't deter me from it!! 

Are you willing to bare the slight soreness? Pain is beauty, right?! I'm just kidding! If you use the product like I advise you shouldn't have any problems. I wish someone give me these tips when I first started using it! So take heed!!!! LOL

Toodles

Biotin Challenge Update!

Hey Ladies!

I realized that I haven't been keeping you guys up-to-date with my biotin challenge. Yes! I'm still doing the biotin challenge and it seems to be working really well! For one, my nails are as long as they EVER been and my hair definitely grew a lot faster than it did when I wasn't taking the biotin. Overall, I would say that it's doing its job. Not only are my hair and nails reaping the benefits of an extra dose of biotin everyday. My skin and body are too! Yes I said my body lol. Biotin metabolizes carbs, protein and fats so that your body can use them to boost energy. Makes since, right?! The more energy your body has to use up, the better your body will respond in growing long hair and nails and all that jazz. Also, with the extra dose of love it gives you energy that you need to boost your daily activity level. This is wonderful for me! I workout everyday, so that extra boost really helps me. My goal is to run 5 miles daily by the end of the year (pray for me lol). The Biotin has really picked up my energy level a lot...I run 2 to 3 miles everyday now!!! So, I would advise everyone to take biotin on their challenge. I've heard so people say that it broke their face out but I haven't experienced any break-outs. My skin is better than its been in years!

Are you taking biotin? How is it working for you?

Toodles

Check Out My Skin Regimen Page

Click the above tab titled "Skin Regimen" to watch my first video!!!! :)

Essie Haul!!! How can you resist?!

Hey ladies!

I've been splurging a lot lately, haven't I?! Lol. No worries, I can justify all my purchases! But today I think I did a pretty good job with saving a few bucks. If you're in the Fort Lauderdale, Fl or Pompano Beach, Fl area the RedPlum coupon papers that you recieve in the mail, advertised ESSIE nail polishes at one of our local beauty supply stores called Elegant Beauty. Now, if you're not in this area try to locate your local coupon source that either comes with the newspaper and/or the mail to see if your local beauty supply has a sale on ESSIE. It never hurts to try. A friend even recommended trying to get in contact with ESSIE to see if they would send coupons. Asking never hurts either!

Now down to business, if you dare purchase these products in Walmart/Target or a drug store, there priced around $7.49. Ridiculous, right?! But I've compared there prices to the prices at our beauty supply store and the beauty supply store always carry them a few bucks cheaper. The thing is though, you probably won't be able to purchase the new line of products. Don't take my word for it however, I could be wrong! Anywho, Elegant Beauty advertised them for $3.99 as long as you bring in the ad (it doesnt mention bringing in the ad but apparently you have to). There original price was $4.99, which is still a pretty good price compared to $7.49.

ESSIE always has such pretty colors. They are pretty opaque and last a pretty good while. Many celebrities love this nail polish. I even heard Kate wore this nail polish in the Royal Wedding, I'm still trying to find out exactly what color she wore :). I use to be head over hills for OPI. It was so bad that I only went to nail salons that had a huge collection of it. Eventually, I got tired of OPI; not really sure why but I randomly started drifting off into ESSIE land and just never found my way back. And I'm not really looking to either. :)

But here are the colors I purchased:

From left to right: Aruba Blue, Raise Awareness, Bordeaux, Geranium, School of Hard Rocks, Brooch the Subject and California Coral.

There names are soo cute and super fun! This is my little glimpse of Heaven on Earth :)

Toodles

Target Haul

Hey ladies!

I was so excited about my purchases today at target that I decided to blog out it. This maybe corny to some but it makes my heart smile. So one of my addictions is MAC Cosmetics. I use to have this MAC travel case for my makeup that retails at $60.00.

"Carry All M A C" Travel Case

Over the years of adding to my collection, this bag got to the point that it wouldnt zip properly. So what did I do? I purchased a train case from target from Caboodles. The case was $31.49. Half the price of my MAC case and two times bigger!! Ridiculous right?! I definitely budgeted spending at least another $40 or $50 because I planned on buying another MAC one from Ebay. But I somehow, magically, I always find myself in the cosmetics section of Target. Here are pictures of my new case:

Also, I bought two more lipsticks from Covergirl's Queen Collection. I absolutely love these colors! They're no less than FABULOUS! Super sexy and potent. And they last pretty long. The wear is not comparable to MAC's Pro Longwear Lipglass but it lasts a good while! Check it out, see how you like it. It retails between $3-$4 at Target. You can also buy them at your local drugstores.

P.S. I'm going to start posting more of these random posts, only because I think its super fun lol

Toodles

Moisturizing and Sealing

Hey ladies!

At the very beginning of my process I would moisturize and seal my hair. Up until about two weeks ago, I crossed this out of my reggie. For those that are new to this blog, I advocated about moisturizing and sealing. But for no particular reason, this was something that just eventually got cut off my list. Within the last two weeks, I questioned whether or not I was retaining length. So, I compared the regimen that have to the one that I started off with and the one thing that I really thought helped my hair became nonexistent. Soooo....I decided to incorporate moisturizing and sealing back into my reggie!!! And I'm happy I did!

What's moisturizing and sealing?

Its a simple process. All you need to do is apply your staple moisturizer to your hair and seal it with an oil. For maximum results its best that you do this daily.

How does this help?

Applying a moisturizer to your hair daily improves the overall health of the hair. As we all know moisture and protein are the two vital things that you need to make sure your hair gets the right dose of. Moisturizing the hair helps to protect the hair and improves the hair's elasticity while keeping the hair hydrated. Restoring the hair's natural moisture is definitely key to retaining length...this can't be stressed enough! Also another added bonus is that it adds a natural sheen! With all these great perks, all you need to do once the moisturizer is applied is seal it with your favorite oil.

What products do I use?

I moisturize with Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion and I seal with a mix that I made of unrefined shea butter (the yellow kind), coconut oil and jojoba oil. Your sealer does not have to be that fancy lol. I made this mix awhile ago and loved how moisturized it made my hair. But using a simple, weightless oil like jojoba or coconut oil will work just as fine.

My experience with moisturizing and sealing my hair again has helped to reduce the amount of breakage. As you guys know, I'm dealing with two textures and as I posted in a previous post, breakage unfortunately is something that you really cant avoid while transitioning. Of course you can do something to minimized breakage so that your hair is retaining length as your transitioning. Best of both worlds, right? lol 


If this isnt a part of your regimen, add this and see how it works for you! Dont worry about your hair being "weighted down," trust me you'll be surprised that it doesnt weight your hair down as much as you might think. My trick is that I do this as my night time routine, so that way by the time I wake up in the morning and style my hair my hair has soaked up the products! :)

Toodles

Carol's Daughter Olive Oil Infusion

Hey Ladies!

So, even though I didnt have the best experience with Carol's Daughter Monoi Collection I couldnt pass up the opportunity to try the Olive Oil Infusion. At first, I will admit, I did NOT want to spend another $25 on Carol's Daughter. But there was something in me that would not let me pass up trying this product out. Going with my gut feeling had to be the VERY BEST  decision I could of made. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PRODUCT. My hair is super soft and manageable, I cant stop touching it lol. Honestly, my new growth was getting unbearable. It hurt to detangle my hair and it took hours. Not to mention the fact that my new growth felt dry and eeky. I was completely over it.....even considered a perm (of course I talked myself out of it very quickly though lol). Olive Oil Infusion did EVERYTHING I needed it to do! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!! It tamed my hair and I can officially say this is my STAPLE product so far!

Application is simple! Here's how to use it:

1. Part dry hair into 4 sections and secure with clips.
2. One section at a time, apply Khoret Amen Hair Oil directly to the scalp using the included easy-application nozzle. Massage into roots and hair with your fingers and pull through to the ends.
3. Then apply Khoret Amen Hair Smoothie to each section from roots to ends. Ensure an even coverage as you detangle with your fingers, not a comb.
4. Place the plastic treatment cap over your hair and let sit for 30 minutes. Use a warm hooded dryer for maximum benefits.
5. Rinse with warm water until the water runs clear and wash with a sulfate-free shampoo. Follow with a conditioner if necessary.

You can purchase this product on the Carol's Daughter website or at Sephora (online or in store) for $25 ....

I encourage all my transitioners to try this product out!

Here are quick YouTube reviews of the product:

Toodles