More on the beauty routine of the world's most beautiful 1 year old

Here is Olga again, to inspire us all with the ridiculous levels of cuteness she embodies.

More...
A big fan of oral hygiene, even if she likes to brush with necklaces.
She loves to dip her hand in everything.
And she is big on the 100 brush strokes.
Like and cosmetics carnivore she adores samples.

She says bye bye for now, see you all later.

More Linda Tribute

Sigh, who else could have brought such a level of sophistication to the 80's?

Image is originally from "Hits Nach 6" a German Magazine, found on levangelista.net

More...

Bitchin' Ingredient: Mandelic Acid

So you've probably heard of Glycolic and Lactic Acids, they are wildly popular AHA's in use in cosmetics these days. Mandelic acid is far less well known, partially because up until recently it wasn't studied much for effectiveness. In 1999 The Gateway Aesthetic Institute and Laser center published their conclusion. It wasn't a double blind controlled study (the gold standard) but it was conducted over the course of 3 years with a myriad of patients.

The reason they decided to study Mandelic Acid in the first place was not just because of it's AHA action, but also because it's been shown to be very aggressive toward gram negative bacteria (which includes p.acnes, the bane of my personal existence). So I can definitely see how they went into it expecting the best, because other AHA's have been shown to be excellent exfoliating, collagen creating and moisturizing agents. When combined with an natibacterial property, well you have an ingredient that rivals Retinol in it's treatment of a broad scope of conditions.

What they found was the following:


More...
-It improved fine lines in the face much like Glycolic acid does, but with less irritation and peeling
-Used as an in office Chemical Peel it again produced similar results to Glycolic acid with less irritation, crusting and peeling. The onset of it's effectiveness was more gradual (read, slower) and therefore more predictable
-It improved abnormal pigmentation as much as 50% (as a 10% solution in a simple algae gel) and hastened the resluts of traditional bleaching agents like Kojic Acid and Hydroquinone with less irritation
-The biggest deal was that they had found remarkable results with patients of darker skin tones, for whom other bleaching agents had failed or caused adverse effects. Mandelic acid proved helpful in alleviating their pigmentation issues without causing additional issues.
-Acne was markedly relieved as long as it was inflammatory pustular, comedonal and papular acne (which includes the regular pizza face zits, little underbumps that feel like ingrowns and for that matter ingrowns and inflamed whiteheads, does not include cystic acne, small whiteheads or blackheads).
-Patients who were resistant to topical and oral antibiotics showed a good response to Mandelic acid and many patients responded extremely well to using Mandelic Acid products alone (so they got great results without Salicylic or Benzoyl).
-It also helped prevent infections in post Laser Resurfacing patients and aided in gentle cleansing procedures.

So what is this wonderful stuff? It's an extract of Bitter Almonds that has also been shown to interfere with melanin transfer, oil production and buildup of dead skin cells. So who is the lucky ideal candidate for this stuff. Well it would make the biggest difference in a mildly sensitive, darker skin toned woman who suffers from mild acne and signs of aging. If this is you find yourself some Mandelic Acid and report back with the results.

The only products I've found with Mandelic are the following, and only available on the web:
Nucelle available from Dermstore.ca
Vivant 15% serum available from Diannayvonne.com
MaMa (malic and mandelic) available from Skincarerx.com



Image courtesy of vivantskincare.com

Bosoms, breasts, buzongas and boobies

I'm currently watching a movie on television with my mother. It's about the men who invented implants. I am off course, as a vain female, riveted.

Not that I am considering implants. Lord help me it's the only area I don't need help with (lifting, another matter). I got it from my momma, who got it from hers, who got it from hers. So as a family of women with far above average size, we are morbidly fascinated with WHAT kind of person would pay to do this to themselves.


More...
For some odd reason boobs have been on my mind quite a bit lately. Besides the fact that it's breast cancer month, I read an article about a woman whose family history of cancer was so significant and such a huge risk, that she had a voluntary mastectomy and a set of implants before ever discovering a lump to get this....save herself from the insanity of always worrying.

Things don't often strike my cold blase heart, but after reading that article I cried. I am a lucky creature, no one close to be has ever had breast cancer (amongst Eastern Europeans all cancers are much rarer than in the west anyhow, but it's not like it doesn't happen). Being large, cancer is definitely something I fear because let's face it, the more tissue there is, the more space there is for cancer to spread. Luckily it's not an immediate worry because I have no family history, so the gene is not in me. But every mutation starts from someone. I started to wonder to myself if I would ever do it, maybe down the road.

What do you all think, does anyone have direct ancestors who have had Breast Cancer. Would they ever consider a voluntary mastectomy and then augmentation in order to prevent the cancer happening at all? I would love to know your opinions.

Image courtesy of spikybras.com

MAC halloween looks

MAC totally posted a bunch of great halloween face charts, but I was struck by one in particular:

She is called a space diva and amazingly, it's neither pretty, predictable or easy, in my mind entirely what halloween makeup should be.

Oh it almost makes me want to dress up but REALLY, do I have the funds to go get myself a whole bunch of new products when I fully need to pay for makeup school in a few months and really I make about...nothing.

So I will simply fantasize and hope next year to go this fabulous.


More...

Product Review: WEN by Chaz Dean cleansing conditioners

This is to review all the different scents/formulations of the cleansing conditioners.
The ones I've tried are fig, tea tree and lavender.
I must say there's really no difference between the three except the scents -none of which I liked by the way, I find them too cloying and artificial smelling-.
The only other thing I didn't like about these was how they weighed down my curls, but since I rarely let my hair go natural, that's a small price to pay.
Everything else well let me start:

More...

-Cleaned very well, it takes a while to rinse but if you do it properly hair will be squeaky clean, so don't be afraid of the no-foam
-Definitely keeps and preserves color
-When air-dried I found myself suffering very little frizz (and I didn't leave any in as a hair cream just as a test)
-My hair turned out INCREDIBLY soft and shiny compared to the level of crunchiness and strawlike-ness I otherwise suffer if I stray from Kerastase
-I really feel like it ACTUALLY moisturizes hair rather than coating it or overproteining it.
And here goes the ingredient analysis for the tea tree version:
water - obvious
aloe vera - moisture, film former on hair
glycerin - humectant, slip-creator, moisture
cetyl alcohol - emulsifier, emollient, thickener
rosemary extract - cleansing, astringent, stimulating, oil-reducing
wild cherry fruit extract - no cosmetic benefit, filler for making the ingredient label look better
chamomile extract -useless on hair except to lighten naturally blonde hair
calendula flower extract -also useless on hair, again good for the label
behentrimonium methosulfate -best and highest quality conditioning ingredient on the market, very detangling, no buildup, very very mild for sensitive people
cetearyl alcohol - same properties as cetyl alcohol
panthenol - very well known conditioning ingredient, smooths and helps remoisturize hair shaft
primethylsilylamodimethicone - conditioning additive that helps detangle wet or dry, adds softness, helps minimize damage
stearmidopropyl dimethylamine - emulsifier, hair softener
polysorbate 60 - emulsify essential oils with water products
menthol - cooling effect, and even though it's this far down the list, you still really feel it cool the scalp
essential oils - I wish it was illegal not to specify which ones, consider how many people may be allergic to a certain extract and it's not required to be specified on the ingredient label
peg60 almond glycerides - helps create mildness, conditioning, emulsifier
hydrolized wheat protein - when used with heat, helps temporarily repair some split ends (the less horrible ones) however at this concentration it would be a very small difference
methylchlorisothiazolinone - preservative
methylisothiazolinone - preservative
citric acid - preservative

The grooming routine of the world's most beautiful 1 year old

My baby cousin Olga. Girl loves her creams and hairbrushes. It's incredible that she's not my child.

More...


Olga understands the importance of keeping hair out of face when engaging in beauty routine.


What better advertisement for an anti-aging cream.

She can get a tad overwhelmed at all the choices in front of her too.

But like any budding beauty addict understands the appeal of a cornucopia.

She loves to accessorize too and is a pretty inventive stylist.


And she, like you, may feel a little bit blue when it's all done

I hope that was a good little dose of sunshine for everyone.

Tribute to Linda Evangelista Vol.1

Linda is my absolute favorite super of all time. Not only because she was the first, but because she was the best. And so begins my tribute to her and all her fabulousness with a Vogue promo shot from '84. Before her legendary haircut, before the George Michael video, before all those glamorous Versace walks, before the 10,000 quote, before everything.

The woman was BORN fabulous.

Image fromVogue UK, courtesy of levangelista.net

Product Review: Clairol Perfect 10

Can't say that I'm mega impressed.
Off course the speed is a wonderful thing, you have to appreciate that, but I wound up splashing my entire bathroom trying to cover everything evenly and quickly. -believe me I'll pay for it big time in bathroom renos-.
As for gloss can't say it leaves me any glossier than any other type of color.
I did wind up with the shade I wanted allthough it was a tiny difference from what I started with (my natural ashy dark brown w/ some old highlights showing through a semi-perm color). I did wind up with a reddy/chocolatey dark brown where there is really very little highlight definition.


More...The conditioner included may actually be the worst part -I can't believe I'm saying this about an at home haircolor kit- I found it incredibly resistant to rinsing...it's like sticky oil. And even though I spent 5 minutes on the rinse I still have some waxiness and greasiness around my roots.
I actually found the comb very tough to handle because my hair gets so tangly that it was impossible to do it all the way.
Check out the results:
The color I used was 6G light golden brown.
It definitely turned out a few shades darker than that, more like their 6-light brown shade, which is less golden and more chocolatey.


First image courtesy of Clairol.com, second image courtesy of me

Upcoming posts

Here are the posts I am currently working on and you can look forward to:

Product reviews of Clairol perfect 10 color, wen by Chaz Dean cleansing conditioner-tea tree oil, Liz Earle cleanse and polish cleanser, Liz Earle brightening treatment mask, OCM cleansing method, baking soda as an at home scrub.

I plan on purchasing the following products to review: TRIA at home laser hair removal system, The solution antiaging treatment

-My philosophy of tanning, melanin, sunblock and all related issues
-Things you could do to cause zits that you never thought of
-Things you could do to worsen cellulite that you never thought of
-Body perfecting progress reports
-Tribute to Linda Evangelista
-Hair growth tips
-Makeovers and my makeup work on others
-Dr. Obagi's new no moisturizer rule and my thoughts

I got a job at Sephora!

Oh I thought it would never happen!
I applied for a seasonal cashier position at Sephora a few weeks ago, after all where else would I use an employee disocunt more. Nevermind that it's a good first step into my future makeup artistry career.

Now my devotion to Sephora has been a years long commitment. When I was 12 I had my first pimple. To a girl who had spent her childhood being the most adorable/queen bee of the playground a FLAW was the worst thing that could ever happen [sigh, the myriad flaws I have had since...]. Once I realized that the drugstore did not hold much promise for my face [my face, my hair, my body, everything DEFINITELY has a taste for the expensive, and yes i know it's just psychological, but the placebo effect works for me].

More...
Around this time I discovered Makeupalley.com a looong time addiction. The women constantly spoke of a store called Sephora [this was Canada in 2000, it's like speaking a foreign language]. So my curious mind went internet searchin'. And Sephora with it's ridiculous amount of sheer CHOICE -nevermind the fact that there's so many brands you would have a tough time finding elsewhere- was pretty much like the end of the world to a gal like me. At the time sephora.com didn't even deliver to Canada so I suffered in silence. When I turned 15 is when they started giving us the option. I would beg my mom to use her credit card, but for a woman as inherently low maintenance as her the limit was not high. Within a year I got my first job so I could GIVE her cash to help feed my obsession. The moment I turned 18,, the first thing I did was get my own credit card. And guess what my very first purchase was, an massive order on sephora.com
The very first sephora store in Calgary opened when I was about to turn 19. I applied to work there as soon as I heard, but as the day came near and I got a call back, they were gonna have all the training and the open date while I was in Europe. Once I came back I had it set in my mind that I was going to be practical.
And it took this long to come back around...but boy am I glad.

Product Review: Sephora Immediate Wrinkle Filler

NEW PRIMER HG!
This stuff is amazing. I have found it makes my makeup last longer than anything else, any primer, any powder and combination of the two. Literally like 10 hours, eye makeup too, with no powder.
It also performed all the other functions I expect from a primer, improving skin texture, mattifying, making my makeup look more natural, porelessness, definitely fills in the few fine lines I've started getting and old pitted acne scars, check check check.

The texture is almost like a silicone wax hybrid and like all primers feels amazingly silky. The little pot really doesn't contain a lot but off course, you need very little.

And just for fun, an ingredient analysis:
-Cyclopentasiloxane - emollient, nongreasy, evaporates from skin,
-Isododecane - film former, help other ingredients last,
-Dimethicone Crosspolymer - stabilizer, thickener
-Silica - absorbent, anti-cake,
-Dimethiconol - improves appearance of scars
-Talc - absorbent, shine controller
-Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer - film former, skin conditioner, skin protectant
-Cellulose - film former, emulsion stabilizer
-Titanium Dioxide - opacifying agent, sunscreen
-Iron oxides - impart color

So some superfantaclysmic news

I GOT INTO MAKEUP SCHOOL!
Now let me give you a quick backstory of my constant struggle with my career choices. In the last 5 years of my life I was entirely set on getting married, having a baby and becoming a housewife before the age of 20. In my mind there is nothing on earth more fullfilling or wonderful for someone for me to do. I've always been happiest when with kids and I cannot even tell you how much I love baking (my thighs will tell you how much of my baking I eat). Once I realized at 19.5 years old, after my last breakup, that my housewife dream was kaput, I embarked on a "practical" career.

More...

I took a job as an assistant at a staffing agency planning on working my way up the corporate ladder. Although I loved the fast pace, client relations and the fact that I was helping people each and every day at work, I realized after a while I couldn't handle such a position for the rest of my life. The stress is incredible, you can never really relax and worst of all, your schedule and avaction time is completely at the mercy of others (a deal breaker for someone whose entire existence is situated across the planet-literally unless I go back to Serbia for at least a month every year the stress and torture of living here starts to show up in my attitude and definitely on my face).

So I took on a temporary position at the place where I am working now, to have a low stress position with a steady income while I save money for a car and re-evaluate what to do with myself. The answer came to me while on a weekend trip to Ontario during August long weekend. The people we stayed with had a 14 year old daughter who basically took one look at my makeup process and begged me to do her. I was also the very first to pluck her eyebrows, to me a great honor. Then she told everyone, her mom, her friends -even tried to convince her brother- that I am gifted at makeup and should start doing everyone else. On the airplane back to Calgary I realized, WHY aren't I a makeup artist. It is one of the few skills that comes naturally to me, I LOVE doing it, while freelancing I would be the one in control of my own schedule and when I take time off and let's face it the income potential is pretty astronomical if I fin myself amongst a very specific group of in-demand artists.

I then started doing research on various schooling options in Calgary. There are only two schools here. Marvel college is an established hairstyling school that also has a makeup program. Like their cosmetology program, their makeup class is focused on outdated techniques and style (I saw a few students' portfolios online and no joke, half the photos had blue eyeshadow and or 80's blush contouring.....if I was going to be taught that was the way to go, I refused.) The other choicewas Artist's Within. It's a private school established by Tara Anand, one of Western Canada's most successful freelance artists. Looking at their student's portfolios, I saw a marked difference. The photos looked like the ones I see all the time in my beloved fashion magazines, interesting, innovative and modern. So I figured of the two choices, mine was clear.

So a few days ago I went in, filled out some forms, handed over a deposit check and as of March 11th of 2009 I will be a makeup student. My course will last 8 weeks and after that I will have a piece of paper telling me what I've known all along, I have the skills to become a proffesional makeup artist. Obviously I look forward to learning even more techniques while studying and help form some important relationships.

Yayyyyyyyy!

The current state of my bathroom

Let me introduce you to aall the crap clogging up my bathroom:

1. Lancome Maquiriche Quad - coquille, petite fauve, gardenia, taupe vert
2. L'Oreal wear infinite quad in green envy
3. Oriflame petroleum balm
4. Makeupforever white shimmer

More...

5. Aveda gloss in celestial quartz
6. BE clear radiance
7. Sephora Immediate Wrinkle Filler
8. Arbonne Mineral Powder foundation
9. Loreal telescopic mascara in black/brown
10. Maybelline mineral powder foundation
11. Inglot corrective illuminator
12. Duwop Payoff


13. Nars Powder shadow in Bellissima
14. Nars laguna/orgasm duo
15. Annabelle kohl in Charcoal
16. Lancome Rouge sensation in champagne
17. 7 cheap gift lip glosses
18. Marcelle vit-a-lip gloss in nude
19. Arbonne Brow wax in Blonde
20. BE warmth


21. Arbonne Virtual illusion makeup primer
22. Tarte flush
23. Maybelline Eyeshadow quad in time for wine
24. MAC studio concealer
25. Arbonne shadows in heavenly, sugarbeet and cream shadow in sheer genius
26. MAC paint in graphito
27. Sephora eye makeup palette in sheer underwater tones
28. Arbonne virtual illusion eye definer in eclipse
29. Dessert beauty deliciously kissable body gloss in chocolate
30. Nair Cire Divine
31. Cheap gift nail polish
32. Opti-free eye drops
33. Venus embrace razors
34. Physician's formula organic wear powder
35. Sephora anti-bacterial daily brush cleanser
36. burt's bees raspberry scented lip balm
37. biotherm drain choc spray
38. Oriflame cellulite roll on
39. Biotherm cellulichoc
40. QOD brazilian keratin
41. Cheap gift soap
42. S-factor dream drops
43. Cheap gift body lotion
44. Nelum Sandalwood talc
45. Kerastase Ciment Theramique
46. Designer skin hemphatic lotion
47. KMS flatout spray
48. Cheap gift bath salts
49. Sample Australian gold all day moisturizer
50. Bandaid tough strips
51. Proactiv refining mask
52. Bonnebell bubbleyum lip balm
53. 2 tube sof Talika Lipocils
54. Prescription Clindamycin
55. Garnier pure-a moisturizer
56. Nature's essence acne blend
57. Prescription Stieva A tretinoin cream
58. Baking soda
59. Castor oil
60. Sweet almond oil
61. Arbonne intelligence daily eye cream
62. Johnson's floss
63. Garnier fructis sleek and shine serum
64. Aveda brilliant damage control spray
65. Pureology super straight relaxing serum
66. Biotherm Abdo choc
67. Olay touch of sun overnight
68. Crest vivid white toothpaste
69. St. ives microdermabrasion
70. Dessert beauty deliciously kissable body shake
71. 4 different cheap gift perfumes/body sprays
72. Skin Biology breasts nipples and decolletage cream
73. Kerastase voil nuit for thick hair
74. Life brand bronze up cream
75. Pantene time renewal replenishing mask
76. Cheap gift scrub
77. Cheap gift body wash
78. Arbonne intelligence self adjusting conditioner
79. Aveda Smooth infusion shampoo
80. Chaz Dean cleansing condiitoners in fig, tea tree and lavender

And let me subject you now.....

Here comes the long list of things I dislike, starting from the top:
1. My hair: It's naturally curly, coarse, ridiculously thick and there's lot's of it. I do need to give it props that it grows quickly, usually an inch a month, but this month it grew 2 because I've been making so much effort on it's growth. However, it is truly beyond damaged. Let me give you a quick overview. I have about 18 inches of growth. The last 2 inches have been through the following: Being bleached to a level 1 at home and then tinted. Being darkened and then highlighted, Being bleached and tinted back down to a level 3. Having bleach taken through every 3 weeks. Being double process darkened back to my natural dark blah brown color. Being dyed black. Being home dyed black a thousand times. Being bleached from black back down to a level 3. Being darkened with Natural Instincts again. The worst was definitely the bleach down from black and that is really 14 inches of the length so I really only have 4 inches of decent hair and 2 inches of virgin. In addition until recently I was never a big fan of heat protectants despite blowdrying and straightening almost every time I wash (very rarely do I let it air dry and go natural). It is truly depressing and an endless battle with unmanageability.
More...
2. My face: I have really puffy eyes, with horrible circles. My eyes themselves are completely blank and non-descript until I cake on tons of makeup. My nose is huge and misshapen and just looks bad. My lips are just plain boring, somewhat thin, just non-descript. I have this fugly mole on the bottom underside that looks like a raging case of herpes when my lips get pale for some reason. My teeth are yellowy and stained, jagged here and there and still have ridges on the bottom like babies do. And let's not even begin with my skin. I have had horrible acne since I was 12. I have so many scars, so many blackheads, so much unevenness. My pores are crater like and truly distressing especially on my cheeks and forehead. I have tons of red veins and no joke, at the age of 20 I have started getting my first fine lines on my forehead (there's no doubt that's due to my tanning addiction but nevertheless). My skin is my constant fight.
3. I have Keratosis Pilaris on my arms and a few small stretch marks from weight gain. My elbows are crocodile-ish and the hairs are blonde but really long.
4. My bosoms are basically just about to hit the floor. In addition I am breakout prone there too, and again, horrible stretch marks. Every once in a while I get these small white millia like bumps in y cleavage that pop at first touch and release water. God only knows what those are.
5. Then there is the belly pooch. It has plagued my existence for years. There it is, sticking out like a chunky slug from what should be a nice flat feminine tummy. Instead it looks like i'm in my second trimester of pregnancy and my baby is extra heavy. The sad thing is the skin there is easily the best patch on my entire body, in fact completely perfect and holds a tan extremely well but it hasn't been on display since I was 13 and the pooch manifested it's evil self.
6. My back basically looks like a minefield. So many old backne scars and I get really really bad cystic ones during the time of the month that are literally horribly painful. Again, a nice bout of the stretch marks on my love handles and these are the most obvious of all the ones on my body.
7. My butt is a cellulitey, offensive mess. It basically looks like not even a butt, just a mound of cellulite. Cellulite cellulite cellulite.
8. Before I had laser hair removal done on my bikini line I used to get HORRIBLE ingrowns from waxing (which is what led me to laser in the first place). The scars from the ingrowns are still there...yepp.
9. My thighs are easily my most hated body part. After all there's enough square footage to cover every single skin flaw there ever could be (literally, they take over my lower area entirely, my butt and calves are like little specks compared to my thighs). I have the world's largest population of stretch marsk, cellulite covers every last centimeter, I get ingrown hairs that look like pimples, the skintone is uneven, I'm starting to get my first varicose veins, the hair is incredibly stubborn and stubbles within 2 hours of shaving (and I couldn't laser it because it isn't dark enough, however it is still dark enough to be noticeable). To put it mildly, if I could have anything in the world, my first choice would be to have Linda Evangelista's thighs.
10. My lower legs also suffer from cellulite, stretch marks, varicose veins and tough red ingrowns. My knees have old old scars and are rougher than chicken skin. However the worst feature may be the body hair. In this area it is so offensively dark that even when I get a perfect even shave and I am as tan as can be, the roots literally show through my skin. Funnily enough, if I choose not to shave it for more than a week, it all looks lighter and blonder (no one believes me on this, but it really really does). However it also feels like I am part porcupine because it's SO coarse. I think part of the reason I have such a hard time getting a perfect shave is also because my pores are GINORMOUS and actually look like concave lenses. There is a little dryness and flaky white skin around each one and through the middle comes a hair, framed like a work of the Devil's art.
11. My feet as cute as they are, are prone to corns and calluses, in addition to the dry skin that happens on bottom.

Looking like this, you too would be bitter and on a constant quest for cosmetic solutions.

A formal introduction

I think it's about time I introduced myself in all my cosmetically flawed glory. However, I have a face mask on and just got out of a long bath so I am in far too positive a mood to start thinking about ALL my flaws.

Therefore I will start off with the good news - so here goes all the things I like about my physical appearance:

More...
1. My hands- They are very small, delicate, my fingers are long, the skin is almost perfect, my nails are ridiculously strong and healthy and I very rarely wear nail polish.
2. My feet- Like my hands they are tiny and delicate. They're between a 35 and 37 size usually and they're very slim. My toes are kind of wonky, but really pretty cute. Because I've always liked my feet, I have neglected the soles and any moisturizing, which really should change soon.
3. My eyebrows- The only facial feature I like. My eyebrows have good natural arches, a decent amount of thickness except toward the end and really very little unrulyness to pluck. I can honestly say it's one of the few things I'm low maintenance about. I always shape them myself, pluck out little strays when they grow out and apply brow color when making them up. That's all.

Ok, it's not a lot, but it's something.

Beauty Innovation That Excites Me

The No Frizz Line by Living Proof:

Everybody's been buzzing about this line violently! Up till now silicones have been the only cosmetic way to fight the frizzies and they are far from an ideal solution. It takes a lot of finesse to avoid overdoing it with silicones, never mind that constant use overtime actually dries out the hair. This stuff is a brand new technology pioneered by Dr. Robert Langer and a team of scientists. Cosmetic industry vets were at a minimum.

The premise is that this stuff leaves a light, waterproof coat on the hair, which actually REPELS water and even more miraculously oil (which is what dirt holds onto, with the need for washing obviously related). They have a straightening and a curling product for fine, medium and thick hair. And apparently the effect is cumulative, overtime hair's own frizz prevention system is strengthened!!! The molecule they have created is called PolyfluoroEster and I can tell you I haven't heard of it before (which is proof it's actually brand new instead of the beauty industry just trumpeting it as new).

More...
Each curly/straight duo can be bought online at QVC.com for the introductory price of 38.52 which is erring on the high side but considering that you have to use it rarely, the effect is cumulative and again you get two products.

This is akin to promising the hair lottery to folks like myself with naturally curly, overprocessed, ridiculously thick and frizz prone locks. Positive indicators: It's not actually silicone. They actually posted the ingredients up on the website. The majority of the team that formulated the products is not involved in the cosmetic industry itself. I mean, all positive indicators right? My personal quest for good hair is one that has never met a credit card limit it wasn't willing to go past. And soon enough, given positive reviews on MakeupAlley, I will most likely be trying this stuff and reviewing.

And off course, since I'm me and I care, An analysis of the ingredients in the curly formulation for medium hair:

1. Water - Obvious
2. VP/VA Copolymer - Helps hair hold it's style by repeling moisture and forming a thin layer over hair (and nails too actually). This is one of the older fashioned polymers.
3. Polyfluoro Ester - The new more advanced polymer that really does the job.
4. VP/Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate Copolymer - binder, emulsion stabilizer, film former, hair fixative
5. Glycerin - humectant, slip former, moisturizer
6. Myristyl Alcohol - fatty alcohol, emulsifier, moisturizer
7. Polyacrylate-13 - Similar properties to the other polymers

Halfway point: Past here are all the ingredients that act as fillers and preservatives, they really have very little effect on the overall efficacy of the product itself becasue the concentrations are 1% or less.

1. PEG-8 Stearate - Help water mix with oil and dirt to help wash hair and skin ???? That one I am baffled by, these are styling products.
2. PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate - non oily emollient
3. Polyisobutene - lubricant that thickens oily products, dries to for a thin coat, helps hold together other ingredients
4. Phenoxyethanol - broad spectrum preservative
5. Caprylyl Glycol - humectant and preservative
6. Fragrance - Obvious
7. Polysorbate 20 - emulsifier
8. Sorbic Acid - preservative

Image courtesy of youarelivingproof.com

Product review - Pantene Time Renewal Mask

Pantene - Pro-V Restoratives Time Renewal Replenishing Mask

What it is: Treatment mask, super thick cold cream type, with a lovely florally citrusy scent. What it promises: "Dramatically quenches parched hair, leaving hair supple and restored while shielding it from damage." What I was hoping for: LOTS of moisture, frizz fighting. What I got: Frizz fighting was very good, but after having my hair drenched in Masquintense for the past month, in terms of softening the straw bush it just didn't compare. I will keep looking for a good drugstore mask. I was really hoping for tons of moisture though...
Ingredients: Water, bis-aminopropyl dimethicone, stearyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, cetyl alcohol, panthenol, panthenyl ethyl ether, fragrance, disodium EDTA, benzyl alcohol, sodium hydroxide, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone.

Image courtesy of: meijergroceryexpress.com

Product review - Duwop Payoff

DuWop - Payoff Eyeshadow Intensifier

VERY IMPRESSED! Ok What I expected: Something to intensify the pigments of all my unused eyeshadows and turn powder into liquid or cream. In addition, length of wear was very important to me. Met my expectations and beyond. It doesn't even ruin a shadow like water does, I can decant it over an entire pot and by day 2 it's just regular powder shadow. The great little dropper lets me control how much I put in, either having a cream or a liquid as a result. It REALLY intensifies even very very poorly pigmented shadows like Maybelline ones. And makes it last all the day long. I am a faithful.
Water, Propylene Glycol, Isododecane, Polysorbate 80, CyclopentaSiloxane, Methylparaben, Cyclohexasiloxane, Propylparaben, Cellulose Gum

Image courtesy of Sephora.com