Category Archives: Hair

Aveeno Pure Renewal Shampoo + Conditioner & Purifying Body Wash

September 10, 2016Hair, Reviews, SkincareAveenoChelle

Aveeno Pure Renewal Shampoo + Conditioner and Purifying Body Wash in Sea Kelp + Nourishing Oatmeal

I’ve been a fan of Aveeno skincare for so long that I’m honestly starting to wonder if I’m ever going to find a dud product by them. (And nope, this isn’t a post where I find a bad apple either!) As we dive into the cooler months, I’m all for trying out new products, so I was more than happy to test out some new-to-me Aveeno products!

The Aveeno Pure Renewal Shampoo and Conditioner are sulfate-free (and yet the shampoo still lathers up which I really appreciate) and are infused with seaweed extract. The seaweed extract is there to help cleanse your hair without over-drying it. And as far as shampoos and conditioners go, I was happy with this which is really all I’m looking for in my shampoo and conditioner. My number one complaint with any hair product is that if it weighs it down, I’m not going to like it, and this definitely did not do that. My hair was smooth and soft after use and it didn’t feel weighed down. I also enjoy the clean, fresh, slightly green scent of both products.

AND… I love the shape of the bottle. I can turn them upsidedown without having to worry about them toppling over in the shower. I know it’s a small detail, but that makes me a really, really happy camper when I’m in shower!

Thumbs up for both of these!

Aveeno Purifying Body Wash with Sea Kelp + Nourishing Oatmeal

The Aveeno Purifying Body Wash with sea kelp and nourishing oatmeal is yet another body wash to add to my list of favourites that Aveeno creates (their Skin Relief is my number one favourite body wash EVER). The intent with this particular body wash is that it combines ingredients from the land and sea to flush away impurities. Like the Pure Renewal shampoo and conditioner, this body wash has a faintly green aquatic scent that is definitely unisex. The scent is refreshing in the morning when I’m trying to wake myself up from the previous night’s slumber!

So there we have it… Aveeno has once again failed to produce a less than stellar product! Seriously guys… I’ve been in love with this brand for so long that I really don’t think I’ll ever find a bad product by them! 😉

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

Haircare: HASK Mint Almond Oil Shampoo & Conditioner

August 6, 2016HairHASKChelle

HASK Mint Almond Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

Shampoo and conditioner aren’t the most exciting products in the world to talk about, but sometimes it’s nice to find a product that works, and works well for you, you know? I often run into shampoos and conditioners that weigh my hair down, some that even go so far as to make my locks greasy, which is just an all around no-no as far as I’m concerned!

Thankfully, the HASK Mint Almond Oil thickening shampoo and conditioner are products that work for me, not against me! The Mint Almond Oil line is intended to help create voluminous hair as the “omega fatty acids, vitamin E and magnesium, help increase body and volume while adding nourishing shine to hair.” These are also free of sulfates and parabens. Also, although it contains no alcohol, this smells vaguely like a mojito to me!

I’ve been using both the ‘poo and conditioner for the last month and while I can’t say I’ve noticed an increase in volume in my hair (because honestly, I’ve been wearing my hair up a lot because the heat has just been EXCESSIVE in Toronto), I also can’t complain when it has been helping my hair look like THIS:

Granted, that’s in conjunction with a salt spray, but this is air dried hair so you can see that this product is definitely not weighing me down!

HASK Mint Almond Oil - comes with your usual tab top — HASK Mint Almond Oil – comes with your usual tab top

The bottles are slim and thankfully fit well into the curved nook on the edge of my tub (a problem for large sized bottles). And, to make things even better, this isn’t a brand that is going to break your wallet. I found them to be in the $6-8 CAD price range depending on where you buy it (so far I’ve been it available at Jean Coutu, Walmart and well.ca).

This was my first time trying HASK products out, so let me know if you’ve tried them and have any favourites!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

An Introduction to Drybar (Sake Bomb + Detox)

June 18, 2016HairDrybarChelle

I know there’s a lot of people out there familiar with Drybar, but I definitely wasn’t one of them until recently! Here’s a roundup of some of the items I’ve tried recently:

The first items are the Sake Bomb Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner. It’s funny, cuz I’m going into this review having used both bottles up completely, but I had no idea they were even labelled nourishing. I just threw them in my shower and started using them over a month ago.

So here are my thoughts:

The smell is STRONG. It’s the first thing you’re going to notice when you pop that lid. I did NOT like it when I first used it, but as the month wore on, I started to love to love it.
I’m a daily hair washer, but these two products combined often left me with hair that hadn’t turned greasy by the next morning (so I could easily go out without washing my hair again if I hadn’t worked out the day prior). This was surprising since I can’t recall another shampoo/conditioner combo doing this to me in recent memory. Pretty impressive!
The shampoo lathers well and the conditioner hydrates. I wasn’t left with a rat’s nest that required leave in conditioner either! My hair has even felt extra bouncy!
The bottle looks like you’d have to twist the whole dang thing off in order to get the product. WRONG! It comes with a normal flip top lid as I’ve handily pictured below:

The price point is… different. Both the shampoo and conditioner retail for $30 CAD ($24 USD). I’ll leave it to you to decide if that’s expensive or not. I’m personally slightly aghast at the price tag… but then I remember how well this works in my hair and the temptation to buy it is REAL.

Now, what does Drybar say about their Sake Bomb range? This is “a nourishing shampoo that’s ideal for dry and/or medium-to-coarse hair and creates healthy-looking strands”. I believe I was sent this particular product because I’m blonde and most people assume my hair colour is fake (it’s not). That being said, I found that this did work incredibly well on my hair, even going so far as to keep the grease at bay on day two! Is the price tag worth it? I’m not going to make that judgement call for you because we all come from different lifestyles. Me personally? I think I’ll be picking this up again! (But will likely wait for the Sephora sale to do so!)

Drybar Detox Dry Conditioner and Dry Shampoo

Next up is the Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo and Dry Conditioner. These smell identical to the Sake Bomb products above, but wayyy more intense.

The Dry Shampoo does its job (and what more do you really want from a dry shampoo?). When I need a dry shampoo -which isn’t too often, to be honest – I need it to blast the grease in my hair and murder it quickly so I can last the next few hours before I make it to my shower (namely when I’m going for a quick coffee or running errands, etc.). I’ve also used it to create volume for backcombing, and it also does that as well. Heads up though… let it soak in before you rub it in with your fingers. I get a bit of a whitecast even on my blonde hair so you REALLY need to comb it through to make sure you get all of the powder doing its soaky-uppy job. My husband has used it too and it worked wonders on his super greasy second day hair!

The Dry Conditioner... I hate to end this post on a bad note… but I don’t get this product at all. Supposedly this is “a dry conditioner that extends the life of a blowout by providing the benefits of a conditioner without the need to wet hair and blow dry afterwards.” You’re encouraged to use this from the middle of the hair shaft downwards… and yet… that’s not where I need the oomph in my hair when it’s fighting the second day hair grease battle. It also doesn’t detangle my hair when it’s knotty so I can’t figure out what the heck to use this for. If you have suggestions, PLEASE tell me – I would love to know how to use this product correctly!

So there’s my roundup! Loved the shampoo and conditioner, as well as the dry shampoo. I can do without the dry conditioner, but hey… three out of four is pretty darn good! Let me know what you’ve tried by Drybar – what works, what doesn’t. I’d love to hear both. 🙂

The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.

Haircare: Sun Bum Beach Formula (Sea Spray & 3 in 1 Leave In)

May 28, 2016HairSun BumChelle

Sun Bum Beach Formula Haircare

Summer is already hitting Toronto in full force (seriously guys… it’s 28C right now with a humidex of “feels like” 36C – it’s pretty freaking hot out there) and it’s time to dive into more summer fun loving products!

The Sun Bum Beach Formula 3 in 1 Leave In “protects, detangles and conditions your hair while enhancing and restoring its natural body”. It is “enriched with Coconut Oil, Banana Pulp and Peel, Banana Leaf, Quinoa Protein and Sunflower Seed Oil”.

I use the 3 in 1 Leave In primarily as a detangler and “hair softener”. I say hair softener because I recently fried a large section of my hair in Iceland (thank you defective flat iron…) and it’s been crispy as all get out. I spray the Sun Bum 3 in 1 Leave In on my wet hair after I’ve towel dried it and it helps to soften up that chunk of dead, dried out hair as well as help ease any of the tangles I have. Although my hair is much shorter right now than it usually is, I still notice a difference when I run my brush through it. The formula is lightweight, smells amazing (like coconut and tanning lotion, but not overpowering!) and does the job – what more could you want?

Sun Bum Beach Formula Sea Spray ($17.99 CAD)

But the real winner out of these two products is Sun Bum‘s Sea Spray. Sea Spray “protects your hair from the elements while giving it extra body, waves and texture for that beachy windswept look”.

The Sea Spray comes enriched with Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt, Sea Kelp and Seaweed (thankfully doesn’t smell like any of those!). The smell is just like the leave in conditioner – coconut, tanning oil goodness.

Sun Bum Beach Formula Sea Spray - with locking mechanism — Sun Bum Beach Formula Sea Spray – with locking mechanism

The spray nozzle dispenses just the RIGHT amount of product per section of hair in one squirt and covers the area evenly. (Worth mentioning because if you’ve ever had a bad spray nozzle, you know how hellish they can be.) It also has a very handy locking mechanism that’s essentially a tab that you push in and out of the lock position. It’s quite sturdy, so I wouldn’t worry about having it break in your beach bag and leaking everywhere!

So I told you I loved this product, and here’s why:

Air dryed hair (while twisting occasionally) using the Sea Spray

BAM! Look at that HAIR! That is air dried hair! I gave my hair a good dousing of the Sea Spray (about 10-15 squirts, I’d say) and then randomly twisted sections of my hair while it was air drying.

Generally, my hair dries pretty straight and slightly poofy. The Sea Spray helped to hold the poofy sections in place and gave them a nice curl or wave, depending on the section. It’s so gorgeously beachy, summery and just flat out gorgeous. My own hair is making me swoon!

I am so ridiculously impressed with the Sea Spray – it’s my newest number one hair care product. And it’s not like this is even a hard hairstyle to do! Literally air dry and twist your hair every now and then while it’s drying. It REALLY doesn’t get any more simple than that! Love, love, LOVE!

In Canada, Sun Bum Beach Formula Hair Care can be purchased at select specialty stores across Canada as of March 2016 and is sold at Shoppers Drug Mart this summer (2016).

For those in the USA, the Sun Bum Sea Spray can be purchased for $14.99 USD on ulta.com and the 3 in 1 Leave In Treatment can be purchased for $14.99 (also on ulta.com).

The products featured in this post were sent to me for review.

Halloween 2015: The Joker

November 6, 2015Events, Hair, Makeup, TutorialsHalloweenChelle

2015halloween_thejoker4

Continuing the Halloween theme, today’s post is on the makeup I did on my husband David to transform him into The Joker!

Halloween 2015 Squad: Batman & Robin + Villains

A little bit about his costume: he picked up the outfit on Ebay from a relatively well known brand (Rubies) in a medium. It came with a fairly horrible mask that we didn’t end up using and the full suit. The suit was constructed of a rather thin material and the yellow-gold vest it came with was really bad. David went to a second hand store and bought a women’s yellow jacket and transformed it into a vest-type thing that he then attached the jacket to. I was impressed with how much he changed that yellow jacket to look just like the Joker’s vest! The cane was bought individually from the same company, but the stick of it was spray painted black by him (the whole thing was originally gold). He also created the spats on the shoes out of white vinyl.

The Joker

Halloween 2015: The Joker

Honestly, the makeup wasn’t all that different from my own as Harley Quinn. This was my first time doing full face makeup on a male and I didn’t really know what to expect. He usually has facial hair, but shaved it all off for this (which was hilarious because I’d never seen him without facial hair and he hadn’t either since his teens!).

I prepped his skin with Make Up For Ever‘s Step 1 Smoother Primer because… man pores. Then I mixed a bit of Revlon‘s Colorstay foundation in Buff with a lot of Inglot‘s white concealer and sponged it onto his face using a Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I actually had to do three layers, which kind of surprised me. It felt like his skin was very, very resistant to makeup… like it just kept absorbing it! So bizarre. I set the layers of makeup with Hourglass‘ Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal Light and did a little bit of contouring with MAC‘s Print and Handwritten eyeshadows. In hindsight, Print wasn’t the right colour to use, and David asked for more brown to be added in.

The eyes were intentionally sloppy and messy – I layered a bunch of Laura Mercier purple shadows (Plum Smoke and Violet Ink) to make them look sunken. I tried to line his eyes with Maybelline‘s black pencil gel liner, but he was so twitchy that I had to give up and just smudged the terrible lines out with a pencil brush. I filled in his brows with Sleek‘s Dragonfly eyeshadow – that went really easily. His eyebrows are bushy enough that they just held the colour like nobody’s business!

The lips were my main concern but they came out okay. We hadn’t done any kind of trial run of the makeup so it was basically do or die. I lined them with Kat Von D‘s Tattoo Liner in Trooper, curling out the edges to give him an elongated smile. I filled them in a bit with the liner and then applied NARS Matte lip pencil in Cruella on his lips and tried to make them blend into the black liner. In the end, I think the red lipstick either wore off his lips too quickly or I didn’t apply enough because I don’t think you can really see the red as much in the photos.

While I was busy getting ready, Alison styled (seriously, awesome job woman, you killed that hair style!) and sprayed his hair with Graftobian‘s green hair colour.

That’s it for this round! Click through to see some of the other costumes: | Harley Quinn | Poison Ivy | Two Face |