REVIEW: L'Oreal - Total Repair 5 - Dry Oil - Hair Treatment

I must say, I was hesitant in trying out this product because it does have some oil in it and my hair can get oily extremely quickly, but I wanted something that’ll just add a little more health to my hair. I ended up purchasing this product on a whim because it said it helps with damage, and trust me my hair can look extremely damaged easily.

Let me just say I give this product a 4/5. I could definitely see a difference in my hair when I used it and when I don’t use it. Before I use it I shake up the bottle, since the oil does separate, and then I spray it in my hair while it’s still damp. I use two sprays per side and then I brush it through. I think one of the biggest things that makes a huge difference is the spray nozzle. It does a really good job of distributing the product without the stream being too narrow or too wide.

Once I blow dry my hair and straighten it, my hair looks shiny and sleek. The one main concern I had was that my hair would get oily extremely quickly, but I was surprised that my hair looked fine towards the ending of the day. The one thing that I did notice was that my hair looked pretty flat. I also wasn’t able to have second day hair because it would look way too greasy (even though it didn’t feel greasy).

The one gripe I had with this product was that the two sprays that I would use, took up a lot of the product. This spray didn’t last as long as I hope it would, and if I remember correctly, it lasted me about 1-1 1/2 months.

I also liked the price point on this product, if I remember correctly I think it was about $5-7 depending where you buy it from, I bought mine from Wal-Mart and I have been waiting forever for them to restock it. I also enjoyed the scent to it, it was extremely light and definitely not too overbearing which I also appreciated.

At the end of the day, I would definitely re-purchase this product and I would’ve repurchased it, but unfortunately I still haven’t been able to find it at Wal-Mart.

FIRST IMPRESSION - TOO FACED: SWEETHEART BLUSHES

So Ulta had an awesome deal for their 21 days of beauty and it was for the Too Faced Sweetheart blushes. They usually retail for $30 each and Ulta had it for $15, so basically it's buy 1 for 50% off or buy two for the price of one (depending how you look at it), but regardless it's an awesome deal; I saved $30!! I had to go to my local Ulta early to get my hands on these babies and even though I got there 30 minutes after it opened and they were out of their main stock! 

Peach Beach:

This color is a nice natural color that would definitely show up on the lighter chicas, but not so much on the medium-darker chicas. If you're lighter, it'll be a great peachy golden sheen to your cheeks. You could also concentrate your brush on the bottom darker two shades to give you that peach flush and concentrate the golden top color as a highlight. For the medium-darker chicas, you can definitely mix all three to provide you with a great highlight or if you're looking to add just a little glow to your cheeks with minimal color you could also use this color. 

Something About Berry:

Talk about a beautiful berry magenta color. The thing I liked about this color when I swatched it was that when you blend it out, it becomes a great flush of color. It gives that, I just worked out and I could use some water OR I just came in from the cold, type of look. You can also concentrate your brush in the bottom two colors and provide yourself with a darker/richer color and the top color is great as a highlight. I wasn't planning to pick up this color originally because it seemed a bit too intimidating and too shimmery, but I'm extremely happy that I picked it up because it would be perfect for spring. 

I'm extremely excited to have gotten these two. I didn't pick up the lightest pink one (the original) because it was way too light and cool-toned for me; even when I swatched it, it just looked extremely chalky. 

They're so cute and I'm so happy that I was able to get my hands on these two babies, a part of me really doesn't want to use it because they look so perfect, but I can't wait to try it out and let you know what I think!

TREND: LIP BALM STAINS

L-R:

1. Wet n' Wild - Megaslicks Balm Stain - Lady and The Vamp (124)

2. Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - Honey (001)

3. Jordana - Twist & Shine - Rock n Rogue (07)

4. NYC - City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Color - Brooklyn Brown Stone (011)

5. Jordana - Twist & Shine - Honey Love (05)

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What I Like About This Trend: I love this trend because as a F/T college student I need the products I use to be low maintenance and long lasting. I also like how a lot of the drug store brands have their own version and they're easy to obtain. I always wanted to try out Clinique's Chubby Sticks and Tarte's Lip Surgence, but I could never justify paying those prices. Since this trend became really popular a lot of the lower end drug store brands (NYC and Wet n Wild) came out with their own versions.

The great thing about these balm stains is that it allows people to experiment with color. Some of the colors don't apply as opaque as they do swatched on one's hand, but I personally like it because I know I can add more once I get comfortable using colors.

The drug store alternatives are great because they're a fraction of the cost and most of them do really work. The color variety isn't as large at Clinique's or Tarte's. In fact, it took Revlon a while to come out with more colors (and when I say color, they actually came out with different finishes), and the other brands featured here only have about 6-8 colors in their line.

I'm interested to see if Jordana, Wet n Wild, and NYC will add in more colors and what those colors will be.

I will be doing a separate post reviewing each brand individually, once I've had a chance to pick up a couple more colors from Wet n Wild and NYC. 

What are your favorite brands and colors for the lip balm stains?

WISH LIST WEDNESDAY

We all have those products that we lust for and if we had the mullah we would definitely invest in them. I thought it'd be fun to post some of the things that I've been eyeing for a while and things that I will eventually (hopefully) invest in! 

1. Lacome Teint Visionnaire Skin Correcting Makeup Duo ($60)

What attracted me to this was the fact that it claimed to basically give the impression of flawless skin, which of course caught my interest and I'm really interested in Lancome's Visionnaire line. 

2. Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow - Rosy Tan 754 ($60)

I've heard pretty good things about the Dior shadows and I like to think they'll feel "luxurious" on my eyes 

3. Marc Jacobs Beauty Lovemarc Lip Gel - #110 Role Play ($30)

At $30 a pop I would hope this thing feel like magic on the lips without drying them out. 

4. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick - Nectar ($42)

I think this may have been one of the first Bobbi Brown products I heard about. I was intrigued and I really fell for the beautiful, but not too crazy, shimmer in it. 

5. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder - Radiant Light Golden Beige ($45)

Do I really have to say more?! This thing looks amazing and magical! I've been lusting over this every since I saw Tiffany D rave about them. It looks so natural but adds just the right amount of perfectness to the skin. 

So as of right now, these are some of the products that I've been eyeing out for a while. I doubt I'll really invest in any of them, but it's nice to always have something to save up for! Do you have products that you've been eyeing? What are they? 

**Pictures taken from Sephora.com; if you click on the pictures it should take you directly to the website**

MUST SEE MONDAY: Too Faced Natural Eye Palette

A great beginner's palette is never hard to find these days. It seems that companies are constantly coming out with palettes based on neutral/easy to wear shadows; and some have built a line off of those palettes (*cough* naked *cough*). With all those palettes coming out, I feel that there's been a forgotten palette which is the Too Faced Natural Eye palette. This was my first high-end palette that I received as a birthday gift (about three years ago). 

I fell in love with this palette because of the neutral, but versatile shades in it. The top row, which is all matte, offers basic shades that I look for in a palette to be matte. The second row has shimmery colors, but nothing too extreme where you couldn't wear it to the office or a professional setting. The last row has my favorite color, Honey Pot, and I like this row for an easy bronze look. **I'll post a full on review later**

Although this palette may not have as many shades as the other palettes, I feel like less is more with this one. You can create a variety of looks without thinking about what colors to use. 

I recently checked out Too Faced's website and saw that they changed a couple of the shades in the newer version of this palette and made it a lot less bulkier. 

Cashmere Bunny has replaced Velvet Revolver

Nude has replaced Nude Beach

Chocolate Martini has replaced Cocoa Puff

I'm not too sure why they decided to change out some of the colors, but I do like the fact they changed Nude Beach to Nude (there was no where appropriate to use Nude Beach). 

With the changes I still feel like this palette is at least worth looking at. You can still get a variety of looks and you have great matte colors that can help you blend your e/s. 

**The only picture that is linked for now will be the picture that came off of Too Faced's website, full review to come later**