The Quest for Argan Oil of Morocco

the ever-famous moroccanoil,
3.4 oz, $31.99, Amazon

Sounds almost as mysterious & romantic as an Indiana Jones movie, huh!?  Well, I assure you I didn't have to climb out of any snake pits or dodge masked men wielding swords in this quest.  I'm sure you've heard oodles about an amazing hair product called Moroccan Argan Oil.  The brand I'm sure most everyone has heard about is by Moroccanoil.  This product line has shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioning treatment, styling products, as well as the famed Moroccan oil itself. 

the not-so-great
one 'n only argan oil, 3.4 oz, $9.49,
Sally Beauty Supply

Being a woman who is #1: Cheap and #2 Oily, I wasn't willing to shell out the close to $40 for less than 4 ounces for just the oil.  I read reviews and decided to try a product sold at Sally's Beauty Supply called One 'n Only Argan Oil, which at the time I purchased it, was buy 2 products and get 1 free.  I decided to try the oil treatment, shampoo & conditioner.  I had high hopes for this product, but that quickly faded.  The shampoo didn't feel very cleansing (I use sulfate-free shampoos and this is way different).  The conditioner was not very conditioning, and the argan oil treatment was not quite what I expected.  I tried numerous ways of applying the oil to my hair (taking care not to apply too closely to the scalp), but somehow my hair just ended up feeling dry, straw-like and had some major static cling!  (Another major downfall is the smell of these products!  To me, they smell like incense, so some may enjoy the smell, but it just didn't do it for me.) :)

organix renewing moroccan argan oil products (I purchased mine at CVS on a BOGO 1/2 off sale)
regular price $7.99 each product, CVS

Three weeks ago I saw that CVS had a sale on all Organix hair products, and I thought I would give their products a try.  This time, I must say I was pleasantly surprised!  After the first use my hair felt silky smooth and it had shine again.  This is something my damaged hair has been lacking in for months.  I lighten my hair and a few months ago I decided to try my hand at doing at-home highlights using products from Sally's Beauty Supply (long story, won't bore you with it here!) and somehow I ended up drying the living daylights out of my precious locks!  I crawled back to my hairdresser, begged for forgiveness, and had her fix me up again - which of course entailed more lightening to fix my boo-boos and to even out the brassiness I had inflicted.  I had since been trying numerous conditioning products (Redken Butter Treat, and several other drugstore deep conditioners) attempting to get back that smooth feel to my hair again, but just couldn't quite get there.  After using the organix products for several weeks, I must say they are my favorites now!  I wash my hair every other day, and then periodically I use a slightly more "clarifying" shampoo to remove buildup of products at the root area (which I think is a good idea to do occasionally with any product line).  I have been using this on a consistent basis and so far I am in love!

how i use these products

• shampoo - I use this when I shampoo my hair every other day.  It is sulfate-free and so is very similar to other sulfate-free shampoos.  It has a very pleasant smell!
• conditioner & renewing treatment - I will alternate between using the regular conditioner and the renewing treatment depending on how my hair feels.  At first I wasn't certain if I should purchase both since they are very similar in that they are conditioning products, but the regular conditioner is much lighter than the treatment.  If you were only going to purchase one, I would purchase the renewing treatment and apply it mostly to the ends of the hair and just lightly on the rest and that works great too.  Again, yummy smell!
• penetrating oil - the product instructions says to apply to damp hair, and the product description highlights the fact that it protects from UV damage & is a heat protectant.  This is a very light oil (lighter than the one from Sally's) and has a very light scent that is along the lines of how the other products smell, but is almost hardly there.  I have not noticed any extra oiliness when I use this product, but since have only used it on the ends of my hair (ponytail section & down, and also on the front pieces framing my face which are more damaged).  I do not notice any extra conditioning properties in this product so I do comb through another leave-in conditioner product before I apply the oil.

a Moroccanoil dupe?
I suppose some day I might have the balls to shell out $65-$70 on the Moroccan shampoo, conditioner & oil so I could do a proper test and I'm sure like others I would LOVE them to pieces, but for now I'm attempting to bamboozle my mane into believing it is being nourished by the argan oil of Morocco (made in the USA) so sssshhhh! It's satisfied for now! ;)

Coconut Heaven!

Lately I've been on the hunt for some really good coconut-scented products that I am convinced will transport me to somewhere tropical, an escape from the cold, rainy weather we've been having here.  I placed an order to Bath and Body Works for some scents I'm going to try out, but in the meantime I ran across these items in Target today that are heavenly!

The lip balm's packaging is so adorable!




Body Butter $9.99, and shea lip balm $2.99 http://www.target.com/

  The large tin of coconut body butter is amazingly smooth...and of course just like butta'.  I own one body butter from BBW that I can compare this to, and to me the "One" feels slightly more rich, and sinks into the skin extremely well.  The scent is a very sweet coconut, but doesn't have any other sweetness to it, unlike many other "coconut" scents I run across.  This one seems to be straight up coconut!  The same company makes these adorable little tins of Shea butter lip balm.  I of course had to try the coco-coconut one so I could be quite literally covered toe-to-lips in this amazing scent!  I also picked up the Shea My Lips version.  I have tried the coco-coconut one and i.love.it. !  In the past I have tried Shea butter lip balms before, but I haven't enjoyed the feeling they gave my lips.  Maybe it is just my lips, but others have felt waxy or seem to leave a film on my lips which ends up making me subconsciously rub them together in an effort to get that feeling off.  This one glides smoothly and sinks into my lips, but makes them feel moisturized!  These are only $2.99 at Target!

A bonus is that these are packaged using recyclable materials, so you can re-use or recycle the tins, and all of the outer packaging is also recycle-able.  Score one for Mother Earth! :)  This product line has several items available like bath fizzies, soaps, lotions & something that I've just recently heard about, a solid shampoo bar and solid conditioning bar!?  Not sure if I'm brave enough yet to take a bar of soap and lather it into my hair, but maybe someday...  I noticed they have a lot more products available online, so if you do a search for One Body products or One Lip products it will come up on the Target website.


Oh!  While we're on the subject of coconuts... here is another thing I've been <3-ing lately which is most definitely certain to transport you to a tropical place - if only for a couple hours, and if only in your own mind, but hey...I'm not complaining!

Coconut Rum + Coke Zero = Tropical Paradise in the comfort of your own home (please sip responsibly!)

Subtle Green and Coral

 Sometimes I am in the mood for a subtle bright..if that makes any sense at all!  I want a little color, more than a hint, but less than In-Your-Face color (not that I am opposed to that either!)  Today I wanted to bring a little spring to this dreary "spring" day with yellow-green and coral.  I had originally planned on doing a bright pink lipstain with this look (I used the Just Bitten by Revlon in Passion) but I felt it was just too bright, so I tried to remove it.  That product is simply aaa-ma-zing as far as staying power!  I scrubbed with a makup remover wipe and my lips were still left with a bright pink stain!  So, on days when I want to wear that color I'm sure it will stay put forever!  For this look, however, after trying to remove as much of the stain as I could, I topped it off with a neutral lipstick and added a peachy-beige gloss over top.  The end result of my lip concoction was this coral color, which I ended up leaving as is. :)  I do like the combo of green and coral, so I decided to go with it!


Products used:

Face

Loreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base (primer)
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Nude Beige
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW20
Garnier Nutritioniste eye roller

Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in light/medium
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium
pixi Duo Cheek Creme No. 2 Natural Peach 

24.7 Minerals minerals highlighting palette Bronze (used white strip as a highlighter)
Eyes

Wet n Wild eyeshadow pencil in Envy

Elf Everyday Brights palette (see picture to see which shades used & placement)
Prestige Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner (green)
Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in white used on waterline
Maybelline the Falsies mascara

Lips
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Passion (tried to rub off :) )
Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 620 Spotlight Beige
Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss 022 Sunset Peach

Click on Pic to see colors used & placement

Cool Pinks & Sparkly Chocolate

Today I wanted to go for a cool pink lip and used a very affordable eyeshadow trio from Wet n Wild called Silent Treatment.  I really like this line of shadows because they are so pigmented, (which is a very common theme if you follow reviews of these eyeshadows on YouTube.)  If you don't quite know why it is important for an eyeshadow to be "pigmented", or what that terminology means, simply put, it refers to how much color is deposited when applying the product.  In my shadow collections I have some which are highly pigmented, and others that are very hard to work with and do not provide very much color when applied.  I will have to admit that now I feel the more pigmented the eyeshadow, the easier it can be to work with, however being someone who has just recently (in the past few years) become aware of the enjoyment that makeup application brings, I do have some insights on this subject.  When first starting out in makeup, and especially when learning how to blend out multiple shadows, it can be easier to work with shadows that are less pigmented.  When working with dark colored highly pigmented shadows, such as dark brown or black, it can be frustrating when learning how much your brush will pick up, often ending up applying too much.  Then when you try to blend it out, it ends up blending everywhere and it can be easy to look like you got punched in the eye.  As you get the blending techniques down, and as you learn how to pick up a small amount at a time and build upon it, it does become easier to work with.  Some good shadows that I think are good to start with would be from Maybelline (the 4-pan shadows), and Loreal also has some 4-pan shadows that are of medium pigmentation.  I have tried the Loreal Hip eyeshadow duos and I have not been very pleased with the quality.  Most of them look like they are highly pigmented but do not have good color payoff, and the quality varies depending on which one you get.  Some can be chalky and others are chunky.  Wet n Wild seem to be the most pigmented of the available drug store eye shadows and are excellent to build up your bright eye shadow collections.  They tend to have more color options, and seem to be of consistent quality in all of their shadows, although I have run across some which can be chalky, I am pleased with most of them.  Plus, the shadows usually run at about $3.00 (3-pan) - $5.00 (6-pan)  at Walgreens, so it is a good deal!

Products Used:

Face
Loreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base (primer)
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse in Nude Beige
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW20
Neutrogena Healthy Skin brightening eye perfector (under eye)
Mac Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in light/medium
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium
NYX Blush in Natural (light pink)
24.7 Minerals minerals highlighting palette Bronze (used white strip as a highlighter)

Eyes

Too Faced Shadow Insurance (to prime the lids)

Wet n Wild eyeshadow trio in Silent Treatment

• Grey/Taupe color on lid, blended up to the crease
• Shimmery Pink on inner 1/3 of lid and brow highlight
• Dark shimmery brown in outer corner, blended slightly inward in crease, and at the outer lower lashline

Maybelline the Falsies mascara

Lips

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick 006 Pink Blush (cool pink, dupe for Mac's Lady Gaga lipstick)

Sally Hansen Diamond 12 hour lip treatment in Engaging (cool pink lipgloss with lots of shimmer)

Springtime Brights (Eyes AND Lips!)

Well I suppose if you are going to do it bright, then I figure go all out!  I was inspired today by a springtime trend for this season to use a wash of a bright color on the eyes!  I used a combination of bright blues and added gold as an accent on the inner corners & waterline, bright cheeks (brushed on outer edge of cheeks) and of course hot pink lips!  You could easily tone this look down by using a bronzer alone on the cheeks and a neutral lip color.  I am really loving this bright pop of color and can't wait to use it with other bright colors! 

Products Used:

Face

• Neutrogena Healthy Skin makeup in Nude
• Neutrogena Brightening eye perfector pen (used under eyes)
• Maybelline Dream Smooth Mouse concealer (used on blemishes & under eyes)
• Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium shade (used to bronze cheeks, temples)



Look inspired by http://www.makeupgeek.com/

• 24/7 Minerals shimmer bronzer pallete (used white shimmery shade a highlighter - any shimmery highlighter or eye shadow will do!)
• e.l.f. Blush in Pink Passion (only $3.00 at Target)

Eyes

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance to prime the eyelids
• e.l.f. Everyday Brights Palette (see pic below for shades used)  I mixed several blue/teal shades on my brush and applied.  After applying the all-over lid color and blending it out, I then applied a combo of blue shades in a slightly darker tone to the lower lashline, about 1/3 of the way and also added this color along the upper lashline (not precise or defining).
• If you have a gold eyeliner pencil or gel liner, use that.  I did not, so I improvised! (Something I find fun to do!)  I used a Bronze eyeliner pencil on the waterline (mine was from a limited-edition holiday palette from WetnWild (forgot which one).  I then used a very small angled brush to pat Half-Baked (bright gold) from the UD Naked Palette on top of that (the eyeliner just helped the shadow stick to the waterline & stay longer).  If your eyes are sensitive, try to stick closer to the lashes and try not to get the gold right up against the eye.)  Or, just purchase a gold liner to make it easier!  I've heard that Loreal HIP has one that is cheap & good (I haven't tried it).
• Maybelline The Falsies Mascara in Black 

Lips

• Revlon Colorburst Lipstick 008 Candy Pink
• Sally Hanson Diamond Finish Lipgloss in Solitaire 6698-37 (or just a hot pink gloss will do!)

 

Click on image to see shades used & placement

 

Hot Pink Lips + Winged Liner = LOVE!

Hot Pink Lips!

Today with the winged liner, I added a pop of hot pink on the lips wich is so hot this season!  I have found my favorite hot pink lipstick!  Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Candy Pink (I got mine at Walgreens, but didn't see it at Target yet).  These lipsticks are so moisturizing which I love because then I don't have to worry about re-applying lipgloss over the top to keep my lips from flaking and getting that cracked look.  Plus they are cheap!  A great tip in making a bold lipstick last longer is to apply the lipstick with your finger, gently pressing it all over your lips, then dab off lightly with a tissue and reapply it directly from the tube.  This really presses the color into your lips and when the top layer starts to fade, your lips still have that "pinky flush" until you reapply more.

If you want to read about how I apply winged eyliner, then continue reading below!
Winged Eyeliner

I will be the first to admit that I am not a winged eyeliner pro.  I find myself not wanting to attempt it for fear I will have to remove the whole thing and start over.  Ironically, I know that practice makes perfect, so I should just make myself do it more often, but what can I say?!  I attempted the winged liner look today, and when I do this, I like to pair it with a very neutral lid color to make it stand out.  Here are some tips I have found helpful when doing this look.

the liner.  I have experimented with liquid eyeliner, gel liner, and pencil liners.  My favorite when I am going for a winged look is gel liner.  My two faves are from WetnWild and pixi.  I find them both creamy and they have not yet dried up on me (which is the problem I had with the Loreal HIP gel liners).  You can also use liquid eyeliner, and my favorite one to use is Loreal Lineur Intense.  The felt-tip applicator is very precise and you can get a very thin line with it.

the tools.  My favorite brush to use with gel liner is the Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush.  I find the fine tip of it very handy when needing to get into the precise areas and to create the wing.  I have also used the Sigma eyeliner brush and angled brushes as well, which work fine, but I do like the feel of the SK one the best.

the tips.  I have watched numerous videos on YouTube on how to do winged eyeliner.  There are many great tips, and I would suggest watching several videos so you pick up the tips that make the most sense to you.  Here are just a couple tips that have stuck with me:

• This may go without saying, but apply some sort of eye shadow or eye primer first.  I recommend something to at least even out the appearance of the eyelid (especially to hide veins if you have those).
• If you are using gel liner, load your brush generously, and then wipe off excess on the edge of the container.  That way once you get going you don't have to stop and go over the same area again if your brush didn't have enough product on it.  Don't worry about "wasting" any liner.  Most pots of gel liner don't last ages and ages, so my theory is to use it up!
• Use a mirror that you can look down into, or at least is more mobile than the mirror at your bathroom sink.  It is easier to tip your head back to get rid of all of the "wrinkles" on the eyelid that the liner brush won't be able to smooth over.
• If you want your liner to look even more dramatic then line your upper lashline (either just the outer edges or the whole thing).  This will give a seamless look and not show a line of skin where the lashes grow.  (or you could just think this looks better - like me, regardless if you are feeling dramatic or not!)



neutral tones on the lid so the liner pOps!

• Take a deep breath and give yourself a break!  I have gotten frustrated so many times when I have my whole face of makeup done except my liner, and then I go and botch it up! Let's just be clear here...no one is perfect, and no one gets it perfect the very first (or 10th!) time.  If you do mess up, trust me, it is fixable!  The best tip I ever came across was to dip a Qtip into facial moisturizer or eye cream, rub off the excess onto the back of your hand, and then use the Qtip to "erase" the wing or any other part of the liner that was messed up.  It literally works like magic!  Even if you accidentally take off a smidgen of eyeshadow in the process, you can quickly dab some more on top, and then attempt the wing-ing again! :)  I like this method better than using eye makeup remover, because that can tend to leave an oily residue behind, which makes it impossible for the liner to stick to that spot until it is completely removed.

the method(s).  Well there are a couple methods that I have tried which I will attempt to explain below.  Everyone is different, and everyone has various shaped lids, so this may not apply to everyone.  Here are 3 methods that I have come across that stick in my mind when I am in the process of "winging it"!

Navy Blue Winged Liner and Red Lips!



• #1 With a fully loaded liner brush, start from the inner corner of the eyelid and drag it toward the outside, in one fluid motion, as close to the lashline as possible, makeing the line slightly thicker as you proceed to the outer edge.  To make the wing, position the liner brush at the edge of the outer eyelid and flick it out at an angle that goes straight out to the edge of your eyebrow (imagine a line drawn from the edge of your eye up towards your eyebrows).  Stop the flick at the "crease" in your eyelid.  To connect the two, look down in a mirror and position the liner brush at the middle of the wing you just made and drag it across (downward slightly) to meet the line that is on your upper lashline.  Fill in the gap with liner.
• #2 With a fully loaded liner brush, (this works best with a bent angle eyeliner brush), start from the inner corner of the eyelid and lay the side of the liner brush all along the lashline (this helps if your hand is unsteady because you only have to "aim" the brush and push it onto the eyelid instead of "free-handing" it).  After it has been laid in place, you can reload the brush and go back over the liner with the fine tip and smooth anything out.  You can also lay the brush on its side to get the winged look (again going up toward your crease using the edge of your eyebrow as a guide), but you may need to do some additional smoothing





I used a navy-blue toned grey in the crease

• #3  Fully load your liner brush with the gel liner and start at the middle of your eye, getting thicker as it reaches the outside corner.  Go back and make a thin line from the inner eye to the middle of the eye to connect the two along the lashline.  For the wing, make a small dot toward your crease at the angle you wish to make the wing so you can use this as a guide.  You can use a brush handle or small card to assist you with the angle before you make the dot.  Then do this on the other eye and compare both "dots" to make sure they are even.  After you determine they are ok, then make the line from the dot downward to the lashline.  As described above, from the middle of the wing you just made, connect it toward the line along the lashline and fill it in.

So those are some of the tips that stuck with me when doing winged eyeliner.  I really enjoy this look.  It makes me feel all at once glamorous, sophisticated and sexy!  And those feelings are so worth the time and effort it takes to master this technique.  (I'll let you know when i've become the "master" - I've got a long way to go!) ;)