Hair

March 13, 2014

Birchbox unboxing March 2014

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

I’ll come back soon and do cosmetics database reports on all of the products anyway. Some items with cones may still be healthy. Cones just cause terrible breakouts for me.

Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion – cones rule this one out for me.

theBalm® cosmetics How ‘Bout Them Apples?™ – cones rule this one out for me

Curly Hair Solutions™ Curl Keeper – no cones. But it does use synthetic fragrance AND I received this from Birchbox once already back in August. The scent was so strong and it gave me a headache so I had to throw it out. UPDATE: Birchbox apparently noticed my mention of a duplicate and gave me 100 birchbox points (value $10) so I believe if you don’t have a blog but received a duplicate, you may want to contact their customer support.

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Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream – no cones, fragrances are from essential oils, this one I’m excited to try BUT this is like the amount for one use (or least the packaging makes that likely) and I’m a bit disappointed since this is so thin and small.

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream – another that I’m excited to try. Good ingredients, no cones. This one is a more reasonable sample size.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango – chocolate … nom. Fine as an extra.

Sooo a little disappointing on this one this month since one of the samples I can try is super small, the chocolate extra was three bites, and then I have some night cream.

I’m a little concerned that since I’m turning 35 this year I’m going to have to go back and lie about my age to continue to get better boxes. I do not care how old I am but I’ve heard rumors that if you’re over 35, Birchbox seems to think all you need is wrinkle cream. I hope I’m wrong.

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

February 18, 2014

Birchbox February 2014 unboxing

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

First lets start with what you can see in these photos – this is the first time I’ve had something leak in one of my Birchboxes. When I posted this on instagram I was told to contact in**@bi******.com which I did and since I told them I hadn’t wanted to try the hair oil and nothing else was ruined they gave me some birchbox points for the trouble.

I didn’t take any additional product photos after opening this month’s box and I threw out the hair oil bottle and the packaging so let’s move on to what was inside. 🙂

COOLA Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face – cones rule it out for me (allergy / breakouts.) I think I swatched this on my hand with a sample I received in the past though and wasn’t thrilled. I’m never thrilled with tinted moisturizers though. Love the Coola sunscreen though and I can highly recommend that!! This tinted matte moisturizing sunscreen rates a 3 with the cosmetic database. (reminder: lower is better with 0 being best and 10 being worst with regards to being healthy.)

Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish in Kitten Heels – is this 3 free? I need to do a bit more research (tiny print.) Love the brightness of the shade indoors. We’ll see how this wears.

Smashbox Cosmetics Full Exposure Mascara – have to call. Not waterproof so not worth it for me. Not going to do the cosmetics database report on this one either.

Beauty Protector Protect & Oil – cones rule it out for me. Rates a 6 with the cosmetics database so even without the cones it’s a bit too high.

Smashbox Cosmetics Full Exposure Palette – Most of these don’t have cones but there are one or two shades that have cones in them. Also I’m half and half on this “card” style sample. There’s enough to try but not enough to play with. I can maybe do swatches on my arm ONCE and ONCE on my eyes and that’s it. Yes, retail it would be $49 for the full palette so I get why they couldn’t give us the full palette but this paper card seems a bit of a cop out – like something you might see for free in a magazine. Colors are good but I don’t think I’m impressed enough to buy the full set. The ingredients are long and listed out on the back of the card (and nowhere online) so I’ll have to come back to running a cosmetics database report on these.

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

December 28, 2013

Winter Warrior – ClothingCult giveaway

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Subscription boxes

Winter Warrior - ClothingCult giveaway

if you’re on mobile or an RSS reader, click through for the Rafflecopter giveaway form

Remember how I mentioned that I give away the items that I get that I know I can’t use? There are things I’m allergic or react to so I can’t try them even so I simply leave them sealed and give them away. I’ve filled another Birchbox box full of goodies so it’s that time again. Since a lot of the items had to do with winter skin care or a healthy glow, I decided to call this one winter warrior.

In this giveaway:

Pop Beauty Eyeshadow in Naturally Bare
Bliss That’s Incredi-Peel sample
Klorane Extra-Gentle dry shampoo with oat milk sample
Pixi Beauty Bronzer Subtly Suntouched
Turo Lip Balm Treatment SPF15
Tresemme Extra Firm Control Hair Spray sample
Carmex Healing Cream & Lip Balm

Using the form above you can enter two ways:

Tweet about the contest (2 entries)
Like ClothingCult on Facebook (1 entry)

One person will be randomly drawn on January 5th 2014!

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November 16, 2013

@Birchbox unboxing and reviews November 2013 #moregood

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Subscription boxes

Mox Botanicals Bath Milk in Vanilla and Coconut – “All Mox Botanicals products contain no parabens, sulfates, chemical preservatives, synthetic fragrances or dyes.” YES!!! So excited. I’ll list out the ingredients for the Bath Milk for those who have strange allergies, since I couldn’t find that info online but the company’s philosophy rocks! Ok … not on the product packaging either so I’ll have to email the company… More than likely these would rate a 1 … but that’s just guessing! 🙂

Ahmad Teas Assorted Teas – ok it’s tea, I’m good, not wowed but I suspect the quality will be good on these (though coffee would win though if you pit in a fight to the death against each other.) English Tea No. 1, Raspberry Indulgence, and Jasmine Romance. Probably not going to review these here late. 🙂

Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace – I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I got this in one of my ipsy bags back in June and I’m actually running low on this and needed to reorder. It’s a great multitasker. It’s a concealer, it’s a light highlighter, it blends well AND it’s super healthy!!! When I saw this was a possible product in this month’s box I got super excited … not only at the possibility of getting one in my box but I was hoping that at the very least I could snap a few more up with the free shipping that typically accompanies products included in a specific month. It has lasted about 4 months which is not bad for a multitasking product I use a LOT. I’ll be ordering more of these!! See my Chella Highlighter Pencil Ivory Lace swatch and review here as well as the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. cosmetics database review (it’s a 2!)

Miss Jessie’s® Original Leave-In Condish – the only major negative with this is the fragrance… pretty good on the ingredient list otherwise. It still ends up a 4 with the cosmetic database … synthetic frangrance really takes it’s toll folks! (And I’m not just going on what I’m told, reducing the number of synthetic fragrances in my life has been one of MANY factors in reducing my allergies.) I may give this a try still as long as it doesn’t make my nose immediately rebel (there are some that are more intolerable than others… heck I don’t even do well personally with some natural florals.)

Nope nope – Miss Jessie, the scent killed this one for me. Tim gaged and coughed when I walked into the room and said I smelled like an old lady and I thought it smelled like VERY strong laundry. I started to feel like I wanted to get away from the scent after about 15 minutes but I couldn’t because it was ON my head so there was no getting away. I ended up drying my hair just to see if heat would help remove some of the scent and it didn’t. It felt like if I had let it air dry I would have had amazing curls though. But the overpowering scent led to me washing my hair three times and still smelled like it but at least it was more tolerable. If they got rid of the scent I would try it again.

Allergies and synthetic fragrance toxicity aside, if I wanted to wear a perfume of my choosing, this product would obliterate that as well. Why do companies feel the need to so much scent in everything? I know that scent is tied to emotion and can make some products more desirable but there’s really a limit how far you should take that.

And please please please … if you’re going to tout natural, paraben free etc. maybe think about the scent being natural as well please! SO close on this product!

Color Club® Harlem Lights Collection in Baldwin Blues – I don’t think I’ve met any Color Club nail polish that I didn’t like. This collection has a few standout colors. The Baldwin Blues is one that was my top pick and Sugar Rays is an interesting subtle holographic shade that looks like it will change based on the angle you look at it (I might go back and buy this one.) The Baldwin Blues looks a little bit more blue online but in person it’s a little more teal. Like a perfect deep deep creamy teal perfect for fall and winter. I’m already in love with this one! Swatch video coming soon.

So my top pics from the November 2013 Birchbox are …

the Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace and the Color Club nail polish in Baldwin Blues. I think I may like the bath milk as well but I’m not big on taking a lot of baths.

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

Did you get one of the Color Club nail polishes?
Do you like the color? Have a photo to share?

Still not signed up for Birchbox? 😀
http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

November 15, 2013

Ipsy glambag unboxing and reviews November 2013

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Subscription boxes

em michelle phan – pillow plush cushiony lip balm in vanilla – the color is almost non-existent. No cones or parabens – yay! fragrance, boooo. If they had left out the frangrance this would likely have rated a lot better than a 4 with the EWG cosmetics database.

Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon in “hot damn” – this is a cherry red shade. No cones or fragrances, yay! Parabens though, booo. This ranks a 5 with the cosmetics database.

Nailtini Straight Up Color Nail Lacquer in Champagne – this is a coppery color in the bottle but does actually look more like “champagne” when applied. And as I’ve established before – Nailtini is three free so all good here!

Pixi Beauty Bronzer – cones … I can’t use this personally (cones break me out without fail) but otherwise this is super healthy. It’s a 2 with the cosmetics database. Yay for healthy! Bad that I can’t use it. :/

Starlooks Gem Eye Pencil in Topaz – this is a silver eyeliner. No cones or fragrance … but parabens. It is another 5 with the cosmetics database. Remember, lower is better! The report actually calls out carbon black as the worst ingredient. Petrolatum and aluminum powder were also concerns but ranked 4s as ingredients.

TRESemmé® TRES Two Extra Hold Hairspray Travel Size – no cones or parabens but fragrance. :/ This ranks a whopping 7 though!! HORRIBLE health-wise. There were also two other reports for this so they apparently have changed the ingredients several times – none are healthy. Report 1 & report 2.

Swatches:

So this month’s Ipsy glambag is a bit of a bust for me…

The best items for me in the November 2013 ipsy glambag are the nailtini nailpolish and … well that’s about it. I’ll try the two lip products because they don’t have cones but they are a little less healthy than I would like. I also wish I could try the pixi bronzer because it IS healthy BUT it has cones in it. Oh and I do like the bag!

wish I had received …
Cailyn Built-In Sponge Tip Mineral Eye Shadow in Champagne! No cones and it’s super healthy. It ranks a meer 1 with the cosmetics database!

Sign up for Ipsy:

http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051sec1kqq5g8p
{affiliate link – I get 250 points which points equal products but it’s still a little unclear how many points to the dollar}

October 24, 2013

Hair donut bun { Great Tools }
(or “I keep calling it a sock bun but it’s better”)

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Hair

I have recently been noticing hair donuts here and there lately for some reason.

I’ve know about sock buns for awhile now which you do with a rolled up sock. But that always seemed too loose for me. Maybe it’s because my hair is just a little longer than shoulder length not mid-back and it’s not as thick as it used to be.

A hair donut is different. It doesn’t really seem to matter what brand it is as most look and feel pretty much the same. There might be some difference in size or lasting ability but for the most part what you are buying is a plastic mesh scrunchie thing.

Why this seems to work better: One reason in my opinion, it grabs/grips the hairs better because of the mesh than a sock does. Because it’s grabbing the hairs better, you end up with a tighter but still full looking bun. It’s easier to get a perfect bun. A ballerina style bun as many people have called it.

So usually hair donuts run around $5 at the drugstore. It’s not much but since I hadn’t had good success with the sock donut I didn’t give in and buy one. Then I saw a hair donut at the dollar store and I was like “just buy it, get it over, stop thinking about it and try it.” So I bought one. I tried it. I loved it. Should have bought one awhile ago at the drugstore.

It might take a few tries the first time you attempt this just to get used to it but after that, it’s really easy and fast to put your hair up. And it looks perfect almost every time. I remember being in dance class as a kid and we didn’t know about these or use these and I remember that buns tended to take awhile and TONS of bobby pins to do.

With this, I haven’t had to use a single bobby pin. I guess I could use a bobby pin if I miss a strand of hair and want to tuck it in but so far I’ve just started over and not missed a second time.

A hair donut bun is great for:

a quick and easy
polished looking and looks like you put in more effort than you did
super secure bun – I’ve worn this three times now and it was still going strong at the end of the day
great for disguising a bad hair day
great for disguising second day hair when you didn’t have time to wash your hair
great for disguising slightly damp hair when you don’t have time to dry it completely
an updo that doesn’t give you a headache! If you’re using something like a twistband or other, this really can be a great updo that doesn’t pull too much

There are plenty of videos out on the internet of girls showing how to use these to put their hair up so I’m not going to be a klutz at the moment and try to show you. Just check youtube if you’re looking for a tutorial!

Will it work for your hair? I’m no expert but you probably need approximately shoulder length hair or longer. If you have layers, you may be doing a bit more tucking in of strands here and there. If you have trouble getting your hair in a pony tail, pass on this.

I’ve only seen hair donuts in dark brown, black, blond / beige. I’ve never seen any for redheads for some reason which would be the only drawback. You ARE covering the hair donut with your own hair but the main reason you want to pick something close-ish to your hair color is so it won’t be noticeable if a tiny amount shows through.

The hair donut is a really GREAT tool to add to your collection.

If you have shorter hair but enough to still make a bun or you want to do something a little different but still bun-like, I also recommend the Goody Spin Pins. I’ll probably do a post on those at some point. I really like those for creating secure buns as well but they take a little more time and you need at least 3 or 4 of the pins and they sell the longer ones in sets of 2. They last a lot longer than regular bobby pins you don’t have that issue of trying to pry them open to shove them into your bun. The Goody Spin Pins will also be a little more versatile than the hair donut and you can create more styles with them. 🙂