Organix Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask

To say my hair is dry is an understatement.  I didn't realize exactly how dry it was until I tried Organix Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask for the first time.  I have been avoiding blow drying, which is a rarity for me anyway (zero time) and have been washing every 2 days.  I've been looking for something more moisturizing, but also need to finish up that stockpile of shampoos!  (I still haven't ordered the Shu Uermura yet...  Which I plan on.)

I have used Organix products a couple of years ago, specifically the Shea Butter and the Coconut Milk.  Pretty good results but as a beauty blogger, I tend to try out a lot of products...

So I just happened to see this and remembered that Angie from Beauty Fashion Fitness on YouTube reviewed this entire line of products.  Actually I couldn't remember if it was the Argan Oil or Macademia Oil at first but I instinctively reach for this one.  The consistency is a thick cream, minus the greasiness.  There is no oily feeling/residue.  It has a very light scent, I can smell it faintly in my hair, but for the most part, it is unremarkable, but in a good way.

Well it's been sitting in my "to try" pile for a week now.  I got home from my run last night and immediately grabbed it.  I put a decent amount in my hand and smoothed it into lower half my hair.  Gone.  It absorbed into my strands immediately.  I thought to myself, "Well this is cool."  Seriously, that's what I thought, it was kind of shocking.  Usually products will sit on your hair and you can still feel them there.  Like a false sense of comfort that that thick oily product is doing something.  Well this product, you immediately know it's working because it is completely absorbed.

I grab another healthy amount, probably 3 tablespoons, so this is 6 total now and smooth it into the my hair, concentrating again on the lower half, but work it all the way through until about 2 inches from my scalp.    It had mostly absorbed, but I could still feel a little bit of the product.  The directions say to leave on 3-5 minutes.  It also says that you can cover and leave on for 20 minutes.

Typically, I wash my hair first when getting in the shower so I can leave conditioner on my hair the entire time.  So I believe I had it in my hair 10-15 minutes.  When I went to rinse, barely anything rinsed out.  The second helping absorbed as well.  So I thought that this could go either way, my hair was going to be fantastic, or it was going to be a weighed down mess.

Well my hair feels fantastic.  Amazingly soft and smooth.  My hair hasn't felt this way in a long time.  I have forgotten what moisturized hair feels like.  I am really grateful for this product!

It is made with some good stuff... Lanolin, Macadamia seed oil, Bamboo extract, Cocoa seed butter, Coconut oil, Avocado oil, and Aloe.  It does have some "bad" stuff in it dimethicone (silicone) some dyes and perfume.  It also has Panthenol (Not bad, pro-vitamins) so I'm not sure if with frequent use this will build up in your hair.  But as a treatment mask, once a week, I think it will work wonders for your hair.

Organix is frequently BOGO at the drugstores and runs $7.99-$9.99.  In the line there is a shampoo, conditioner, this mask, a dry styling oil.  You can check out the product info and other Organiz flavors here. Link!

My only issue is the name of the product.  Organix kind of implies it is organic, no?  But there is nothing on the packaging, ingredient list or website that says or suggests that they use organic products.  So that might be a little misleading.  They are cruelty free.  Oh and one more thing.  In the container that I bought, there was no safety seal or plastic film under the lid.  This kind of weirded me out because anyone could have dipped their fingers into the product before I bought it.  It didn't look like it was tampered with and I do hate all that plastic floating around in the environment but also like to be sanitary...

But overall, I find that Organix Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask is good stuff!  You should pick this up because your dry hair is begging for it!

MAC Hey, Sailor!

My second ever order from MAC!  :)  I always look at the collections but I definitely do not have MAC fever by any means.  I like my Urban Decay.  But this collection stood out to me.  I like the packaging and some of the colors.

I grabbed my first ever lipglass in Send me Sailing and the highlight powder in Crew.

How cute are the blue and white stripes?

This is the highlight powder in Crew which I will be using as a lighter blush right now but as the summer rolls along, it might work as a highlighter.  Temptalia compared it to Benefit Hervana which I was a click away from ordering the day before it hit the stores.  Hervana is lighter and more coral so that made me want it Crew even more.  :)

This the lipglass in Send me Sailing which a crazy pigmented red.  Like I have said previously, lipsticks and I do not get a long, but lip glosses work much better.  I love the way it looks.  When I wear a lipstick, it just looks like I am trying to hard or too made up for some reason.  I'm sure it is because I am not used to wearing them.  I'm more of a Revlon Lip Butter girl.

There is something more forgiving about a lipgloss.  I can wear much brighter colors too!  I like the lipglass formula too.  Sticky, yet not too sticky but the color lasts a long time.  I only have one other red in my collection from Lorac.

I also wanted to pick the Prolong wear bronzing powder in Nude on Board,  Fleet Flash blush and eyeshadow in Jaunty but there was no way I could haul them at once.  If they are still in stock down the road, I might pick them up later on.

The only other collection that I have from MAC is Surf Baby from last summer.  But I'm really looking forward to the Marilyn Monroe collection which will be released sometime in the fall.  I think it's safe to say that I will be ordering from my 3rd collection then!

Did you pick up anything from Hey, Sailor?

ZOYA Blogger Collection by Birchbox

A few weeks ago Birchbox announced the ZOYA Blogger collection.  It is comprised of 3 spring/summer colors voted on through facebook.  Did you vote?  I did!  I picked up the collection and a bottle of ZOYA Remove + for a mere 80 cents with my Birchbox points.  Score!

So the 3 shades pictured from left to right are Coraline by Eleventh Gorgeous (tangerine orange jelly), Belle by Capital Hill Style (coral pink shimmer) Kate by The Small Things (pink grapefruit jelly).  They are all gorgeous and on trend for the summer!

Of course the formula is perfect on all 3, no worries there.  ZOYA really knows how to make a polish.  They are so shiny, no top coat needed!  And in fact, I did not have a top coat in any of the photos.  My Seche is getting a bit goopy...  Time for me to purchase the ZOYA Color Lock System.  Long over do.

But on to the colors!

First one I had on for a couple of days is Coraline.  A ripe and juicy tangerine!  This is 3 coats, no top coat.   It's a jelly but more like the OPI "sorbet" finish.  I love this finish.

Belle!  I used Belle as a top coat as it is too sheer for my tastes to wear alone.  Which I believe is the intention of this polish.

Belle over Coraline...

Kate!  Pink grapefruit is the perfect description of Katie.  Bright, bold and juicy!  Same jelly/sorbet finish as Coraline.  This is 3 coats.

Here is Kate with a Belle topcoat...

I also did a comparison of WnW Waves of Enchantment and ZOYA Belle.  Belle looked familiar for some reason and I thought they would be more similar then they were.

Clearly, they are not even close.  lol  WnW Waves of Enchantment has tons of gold/orange shimmer and ZOYA Belle, none, just the pink micro-shimmer.

The ZOYA Blogger Collection is still available on the Birchbox website for $22.  Go get it!

Cleansing Oil Shampoo

Intriguing yes?

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil

In this month's Birchbox I received a sample of Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil shampoo.  I expected a runny emulsifying oil, you know, like the ones you wash your face with.  But that's not what came out of the sample packet.  What did come out was a clear looking, well shampoo.  So it's not an oil, it's just formulated with oils like jasmine, musk rose, and camellia, but also included is black cumin, onsen and depsea water.  Depsea water is interesting, it is water that is obtained "200 meters below the seas of Japan."  Hmm...

It has a very light scent, that you do catch a whiff of throughout the day, which I was surprised since the scent was so light.  Anything with rose, I am game.  It lathers nicely, pretty thickly actually, I kept adding a splash of water to continue the lather down to the ends of my hair.  I concentrate on my scalp as it tends to be a bit oily.  So if you like bubbles, Shu Uemura has you covered.  It is also paraben and silicone free- I like that.

The Cleansing Oil Shampoo feels luxurious.  Now I have normal thickness hair, but I have a lot of it.  It's also quite heavy as I have grown out most of my layers.  It is dyed and I did have highlights as recently as last November, Black Friday to be exact.  My hair bleaches significantly in the strong North Carolina sun.  What I am getting at, is that it can be quite dry if I use the wrong products, which I am using right now.  I know I am using the wrong products for my hair, but I'm trying to use them up.  Makes sense right?   No!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I am using isn't completely bad but it's not working right now.  I have been loving L'OREAL's Cleansing Conditioner for 2 bottles now, talk about commitment right?  But I noticed with the last bottle, 2-3 weeks in, it starts to build up in my hair.  No worries, just use a clarifying shampoo 1-2 times a week and that should remedy the problem.  And it did, sort of.  So this month with a new bottle I haven't been using it every day.  I switched on and off with Pantene Beautiful Lengths and John Frieda Highlight Activating Shampoo.  Well my hair just kept dryer and dryer.  And I've only been washing it maybe 3 times a week but at the same time my scalp is oily so I can't go too long in between washes.  Hello dry shampoo but 2 days of that and I can't run a brush through my hair.

So enter Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil into my life.  One wash, I'm hooked.  I'm really impressed.  It left my hair soft and moisturized.  I just need a little serum on my ends, but that was more out of habit than a possible need.  Second day hair, just as nice as the first.  No oily scalp, ends still feel moisturized, unlike my usual second day hair, oily scalp, super dry ends.  Do you ever do the dry end test, squish your ends in between your fingers and you hear some dry crispy crackles?  Well I did it after using Shu Uemura and no dry crispy crackles.  Hey, it's a real test.  Try it!

The downside, it's $55 for 400 mL.  Ideally I would like to try a shampoo of this price a couple of times before I purchase but on the upside, I have some Birchbox points banked up and I can get free shipping.  Fact is, this one shampoo will still cost more than the amount of money I spent on shampoo all of last year, thanks to coupons and savvy drugstore shopping.

However the needs of my hair have changed and I am really enjoying the results of this cleansing oil shampoo.

Do you try out She Uemura yet from your Birchbox?  How did you hair like it?

Sales Sales Sales!!!

Since the rain is pounding against my window at the moment, I had some time to check my email!  My inbox is literally flooded with deals, sales, coupons, etc...  I need to share!

Beauty.com 20% off Friends and Family sale combine that with 13% cash back from ebates.com and the 5% cash back you get from Beauty.com/drugstore.com purchases and you got yourself a nice little deal there...  I'm eyeing the Erno Laszlo The Hollywood Collection 5 Piece Cream Gift Set ($250 Value) for $125, but with F&F sale it's $100 plus, $5 cash back from Beauty.com and $13 from ebates.com.  That's a combined savings of $43.


Beauty.com has OCC, NARS, Stila, Mally Beauty, BareMinerals, you name it, they've got em!  


Ebates is celebrating 13 years of service with 13% cash back on many on-line stores including Nordstrom, Banana Republic, Elizabeth Arden, GAP, Kohl's, Macy's and many others!  You really need to sign up!  All you do is log into ebates.com, click the link to the store you want to shop at and ebates will deposit your cash back into your account.  You can have it sent to you in a check or to a paypal account quarterly.  It is really that easy and simple.  No brainer.  Get paid to shop.  Link!

Too Faced is having their Friends and Family sale site wide at http://www.toofaced.com/  FFSPRING12 I have oily lids and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance is the best I've found to hold my shadow in place all day.

New York and Company are having an extended one day 40% off sale site wide right now with code 2016.  Check out the sale items as well! 2.5% cash back through ebates.com


Banana Republic is having a summer sale $25 off $100 purchase plus free shipping BRSUMMER12 combine with 13% cash back from ebates.com.


Coupon codes for White House Black Market which is my fave!  They have some great dress on sale!
10% off 12671 expires today!  
$20 off $80 18416
$50 off $200 10344 and $25 off $125 14092



Yankee Candle $10 off $25 JUN25


Bath & Body Works 20% off sale TWENTY50  You can also get free shipping on purchases $50 or more.


Kiehl's has free shipping all week long.  They just have amazing products.  I am currently using their Eye Alert in the morning, Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado at night and Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleanser in the shower.  I love them all and their shampoos. 4% cash back through ebates.com.


If you need anything from eyes lips face now's the time to grab your goods. With a $30 purchase, you can get the entire 11 piece brush kit from the Studio Line for $3 with code BRUSHSET.  The brushes are very good.  The super dense "Powder Brush" is the best at applying foundation.


 If you need some suggestions...

High Definition Powder

Makeup Mist & Set

Mineral Infused Face Primer

Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder

Blushes in Gotta Glow, Mellow Mauve, Tinkled Pink, Candid Coral

Bronzer in Golden

Clinique Bonus time!  With a $23.50 purchase you can get 


Cute cosmetic bag, All About Eyes Serum De-puffing Eye Massage, Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV damage Corrector, NEW Mositure Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator, Lash Doubling Mascara in Black, Clinique Eyeshadow Duo (choice of color) and Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm (choice of color).


I love the Lash Doubling Mascara.  I'm still working on a sample size from December.  I might get in on this order.  I want to try the NEW Stay Matte Foundation as I need to replace my expired foundations and winter ones.  I melt in this NC heat.  But it's $23.  I need another 50 cents!  lol




Don't spend all your money though, Memorial Day Sales will be starting up soon...  Let me know what you pick up!


Alright the sun is shining again!  Time to go outside and play!

NOTD

Actually these are my nails from the past couple of days.  I painted them Sunday night.  I finally just took pictures this morning.  Still going strong!

I did a layer of Revlon Top Speed Modern Grace, one of my all time favorites and Sally Hansen HD DVD.  DVD takes a few minutes to dry but it's worth it!  I also topped everything off with a layer of Seche Vite.

This is one of those combination where I can't stop looking at my nails.  :)

I have the ZOYA blogger collection to show you but since my nails still look good and no chipping, I guess I will change it up tomorrow!

Hope you are having a great day!

Gossip Girl Birchbox!

Another exciting collaboration series with Birchbox!

I always disappoint myself when I "sneak" a peak at what others received before me and I was looking forward to the Dr. Jart BB cream and the Beauty Blend cleaner.  I didn't get either.  :)

But I did get...

 The Goods.

 Miracle Skin Transformer body SPF 20 in Glow

  Dior Extase mascara 

Look at that wand! 

Shu Uemura cleansing oil shampoo

Oh and the sample of Miss Dior Eau de Parfum which I failed to take an individual photo of.  It smells nice.  Sweet but not overly sickening teeny bopper sweet.  I can see myself purchasing this someday.

I'm looking forward to trying out the mascara as I have never tried anything Dior before.  And the Shu Uemura cleansing oil shampoo is intriguing.  I have had straight up oily skin since moving to NC (used to be combo) and I cleanse frequently with oil.  I also have an oily scalp so I'm sure the same principle applies.  My ends are a bit dry but are in recovery at the moment but this oil might be what they need.  

So what did you get this month?

Glossybox USA is here!

For serious.

"Welcome to the world of GLOSSYBOX!"

I've been waiting for this day, well yesterday for a long time.  All those blogposts and videos from across the pond and to my very North...  All those lovely lucky ducks opened up this amazing pink box filled with huge travel size as well as full size products, while we toyed with our boxes and bags of tiny sample packets...

Rumors were going around for a little while that Glossybox was indeed heading over the the States.   Then a website emerged where you could submit your email address for a chance to receive a free Glossybox.  And the email informing me, yes me, was a Glossybox winner on March 31st!  What?!  You never can tell with these things so I just sat back and sure enough, a tracking code was emailed 2 months later.  Can you say patience is a virtue?!

I literally feel like a 5 year old on Christmas day!  :)

So on to the goodies!

C.O. Bigelow Shampoo lavender-peppermint formula:  How did they now lavender is my all time favorite scent?  It's a lovely shampoo.  I love the simple packaging.  Simple packaging to me means, all the money is spent on the product ingredients.  My hair has been on the fritz lately.  Not sure what is going on, crispy dry ends, oily roots, feels like it is heavy, maybe some build up.

It's almost back to normal after using this shampoo for a week, 3 washes to be exact.  I would love to try the conditioner with it to see if the combo would be all the faster.  It does have sodium laureth sulfate which might be a deal breaker for some, but I've been using my sulfate-free conditioning cream and it seems to leave some buildup without the occasional deep clean.  So something to consider.

Cargo EyeBronzer:  Bronze is just the perfect color summer color!  At first I thought this was going to be a liquid because of the shaker balls in it.  I shook it up, opened the top and bam, a powder!  Interesting...  This product is a pigment, which is very buttery like UD shadows that I love!  Blends out beautifully and you can pack it on with a black winged liner for some drama or sheer it out for a nice effortless put together summer look.  It's gorgeous.

 

Here is the EyeBronzer sandwiched between Urban Decay Half Baked on the left and Smog on the right.

And here they are sheered out in the hot North Carolina sun!  Smooth...

basq Cucumber Tea Soothing Eye Gel:  You need an eye gel in your life, yes you do, and preferably stored in the fridge.  I reserved cooling eye gels for those itchy allergy mornings (rarity), mornings after a late night, and those mornings when you over did it on the salt during the previous day.  If you don't know what I mean, wait a couple of years.  You'll see!

I used Mary Kay's eye gel for years until we moved, yet again and I think it's in my mother's fridge at the moment.  Every time I'm in MA, I forget all about it and frankly by now, it has to be expired.  I welcome this new one and it's already chilling in the fridge!

Kryolan High Gloss Lipshine in Toffee.  It's the perfect, opaque, glossy nude lippie.  I'm horrible at applying lipsticks.  I loathe them.  I love lip gloss.  I loathe the constant need to reapply.  This one from Kryolan gives you the color, the shine and the opacity.  It's that perfect stickiness that you know will last.  Sure I need to reapply after eating, it's not a stain, but it's long wearing for me.  

Nude lipsticks and I don't get along most of the time.  This one has a nice pinky/peach that complements my skin tone.  It even smells like toffee and has a hint of sweetness.  I like it!

Erno Laszio The Hollywood Collection Sample pack:  Glossybox has really hit a homerun with me with this. I've been lemming after some Erno Laszio products for some time.  I really wish the sizes were bigger so I could try them for weeks on end...  ;)  The collection is sold for $125 which I will have someday...  This boxed set has creams inspired by some of Hollywoods most iconic beauties, Ava, Katherine, Marilyn, Grace and Greta.  I can't wait to try these!  

OPI Kiss me on my Tulips:  This is from OPI's Spring 2012 Holland Collection.  One that I loved every single color from but really couldn't justify purchasing as my collection has tipped the scales at over 200.  I am not comfortable with that number.  lol  I have recently given my niece a few bottles.  I should have myself a re-count. :)

I have already worn this and I can't find the photos!  Gasp!  It's a gorgeously girly hot pink cream.  The formula is perfect.  2 thin coats and 20 minutes is all you need to have a perfect summer mani/pedi.  With a layer of Seche Vite of course!

So there you have it.  Pretty nice assortment of products.  Brands that I have not yet tried.  FULL SIZE products...

Now you are probably wondering what this is going to set you back a month.  I was curious too.  I thought for sure $35 or $40 for some reason and was happy that I got this box but knew I would never get another one.

As of last night you can sign up for this service and curiously I went to the website and discovered that yes it is over $10.  Which is a no brainer for the amount of product you are getting.  Well folks, it's only $21!  A bargain!  lol  And yes I signed up...  :)

Get over to https://www.glossybox.com/ before it's too late!