Haha, nevermind?

Well, it would seem that the cure for crappy pincurls is to complain about them here and then just keep trying. Because after that post, I did pincurls twice and they both turned out better than before. I think maybe I was just making the pincurls too big and it wasn't enough to make them really curly.

The other issues still remain. My hair is frizzy on the ends because of split ends (that will be removed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The appointment has been made--yay!) Still, split ends weren't this noticeable when I was using softened water. Also, the part of my hair that has been highlighted feels absolutely awful. My hair never seemed this bad until hard water. Hard water just amplifies your problems. Okay, I'm done ranting.

I hope you have a beautiful day and that hard water doesn't get you down!

~Stacie

Weirdness of hard water

This isn't a review or anything. It's more of an actual blog post. Shock of shocks! Je sais, je sais (haha, I'm probably combing French words with English grammar--or lack thereof. Sorry).  Although it's a blog, it's still beauty related.

I've noticed that ever since I came to college, my hair has taken a downward turn in the way it feels. It feels even drier and frizzier. I'm used to softened water and I know that they pump hard water to our bathrooms. I figure that it must be the hard water that's making my hair so miserable. I've also noticed that my shampoos don't lather up as well in this water, either.

As this is turning out to be a post about how much I hate hard water, I'll get to the point. I've tried several times to do pin curls lately and they fall out every time. Not that my hair falls out, but the curls go flat. It sucks. I never had this problem back home. Also, the hair is frizzier than before. Aughigjsdohgisd! It is terrible! Does anybody know a way to deal with this?

Okay, complaining is over.

~Stacie

PR: Revlon Colorburst Lipstick

Apparently I'm just in a review mode, because here comes another one!  This isn't going to be a review on a particular color so much as just the lipsticks in general, although I haven't tried them all. So I guess this is a review on two lipsticks.

The lipstick colors I've tried are Pink Sugar and Icy Nude (which aren't pictured above, oddly enough). I chose this picture because it shows many of the lipsticks together. Icy Nude was discontinued a while ago, I think. It doesn't have a place on my drugstore's shelf. I didn't care for the color on me because it was pretty brown and I was just a little too fair for it. Pink Sugar on the other hand is a very lovely color. It's light without making you look dead. It's a creamy look rather than shimmery. The pigmentation is decent--you can make it medium to pretty heavy. It's a pretty moist lipstick, so it doesn't last too awful long on the lips.

A strange thing about the two lipsticks I had (maybe all, but I don't know from experience) is that there were chunks of glitter in the lipstick. You could feel it as you applied the color. Although the glitter was visible in the stick of lip color, it didn't show up on your lips. It's very strange. And the gritty feeling as you apply isn't exactly desirable. All in all, I'd say it's an ok product. I don't think I'd repurchase.

I guess it doesn't matter if I'd repurchase, because looking on the Revlon website, I'd say that this line is being discontinued altogether. You can't find it anywhere on their site. I guess other people felt the same about the quality. I really want to try the lip butters.

Go ahead and leave a comment if you've tried other colors and let me know what you think! Also let me know your thoughts if you've tried the lip butters. Are they all they're cracked up to be?

I hope you have an absolutely fantastic weekend! Salut!

~Stacie

Pic credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CrYoFa6xPfoT-0nv9bP-y_KZF0Kdhuxz0PqD-nxn-7a6X2e1d7mJ2cVQZGZABGoYQT90q_zV40U6VruZ-2jpEDzKRs3frNSLaRE4BC1Bd9KVYVH7ZRr0Pe2MtoCg-HNO27xaDrjvuLlP/s1600/revloncolorburst_all.jpg

PR: As I Am Coconut CoWash

Hey everyone! It's time for another review (finally). I know it's been so long, but I already have a post about all that, so I won't go into it here (click here if you want to read about it. It's pretty short). On to the review!

Bought on a whim, this turned out to be a very good product. I'm starting to think that Sally's doesn't carry products that aren't good. Go ahead and leave a comment if you've had a bad experience with Sally's.

I have naturally curly hair, and it can get very dry. I've read so many things about how the majority of shampoos use harsh chemicals that strip your hair of essential oils. That's already bad on its own, but when you're dealing with curly, dry hair, it's even worse! One solution commonly provided is not to wash your hair as often. That doesn't work for my hair because although the length of my hair is dry, my roots get oily quickly and I really do need to wash it everyday. Such a predicament!

This cowash (I've never heard that term before) is perfect because it has just the right amount of cleansing for daily use and it's also very conditioning. It's like a 2-in1 shampoo, but better for me. 2-in-1 shampoos are too cleansing and not conditioning enough for my hair, but this is more conditioning rather than cleansing so it's perfect. So if your hair is dry, this is for you (maybe even if it's not curly), but if your hair is quite oily you might want to go for a 2-in-1 shampoo.

As a bonus, it's very nice for a college student (like me) or a very busy person because it puts two steps in one. I just realized that quite a bit of time is spent just on sudsing up and rinsing my hair because my hair is quite thick and it's starting to get kind of long.  This is so quick. You just apply it, comb it through and either rinse out immediately or leave it in while you shave your legs. I'm in the habit of leaving my conditioner in my hair while I shave, so I leave this in until the end of my shower.

All in all, it's very nice. It leaves you hair clean and soft, and it smells pretty good, too. I think this sort of thing is starting to become a trend because I've seen L'Oreal's version in stores as well. If anyone has tried that, please let me know what you think because I'm one use away from being done with this and I'm always up for trying something new :)

Just remember that makeup can only do so much, and true beauty comes from within.

~Stacie

Pic credit: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-zRQjD7aL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Stacie Sidenote:

If you clicked on the link for "whim" you'll be wanting to listen to this. I couldn't help it. Ever since seeing that picture, I think of that song whenever I hear/think/say the word "whim."

Sorry I haven't posted in a while

This seems to be turning into a trend! I'll post a little and then you won't hear from me in a long time. Well, I probably won't be posting that much for a while because I am away at college and I don't really have all that much free time. Boo hoo. Plus, I'm an Art major, so that means I have less free time than most other college students. I'm living the dream, haha. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up. I'll try and post when I do find a minute, but I don't know when that will be. It certainly won't be on a regular basis.

~Stacie

Some Urban Decay Dupes!

My first dupes. How very exciting! I really never thought that I'd have something like this to share, but after seeing some swatches of one of my newly acquired palettes, I just had to say something. All three dupes come from Wet'n'Wild palettes.

Dupe 1: Smog

Top: Wet'n'Wild
Bottom: Urban Decay

I guess the lighting is kind of making it hard to see just how similar they are. Of course, Urban Decay's is more pigmented, but that's why it's the high end brand.  Although it is more pigmented, you could definitely build up the color of the Wet'n'Wild shadow to be just as rich.  If there's any difference, it's just that Smog has a hint more of a golden sheen and it's a touch more on the metallic side.

The Wet'n'Wild shadow comes from the Comfort Zone palette.  It's the third shade down on the left side.  It's interesting because, just like Smog, it comes off on your skin darker than you might first expect.

Dupe 2: Chopper

Right: Wet'n'Wild
Left: Urban Decay

The Wet'n'Wild shadow also comes from the Comfort Zone palette.  It's the second one down on the left side.  Chopper has more of a golden tone that's achieved by glitter.  This is why I find myself liking W'n'W better.  Often when I use UD I end up with all kinds of fallout and glitter on my face.  That's nice for when you're going for the fairy effect, but not so much for the day-to-day look.  So if a coppery look is your goal, either shade will get you there in almost exactly the same way.

Dupe 3: Sin

Top: Wet'n'Wild
Bottom: Urban Decay

Top: W'n'W
Bottom: UD

At first I wasn't going to call these dupes because the Wet'n'Wild shadow is significantly more pink.  Not like hot pink or anything, but side-by-side you can tell there's a difference.  But then I took the pictures and they seemed so similar.  The shades are good for a shimmery nude lid look if you have fair to medium skin.  I'm right in the middle of the spectrum and they fit my skintone so perfectly.  I love both shades and they fulfill the same purpose.

Some differences are that Sin is more shimmery.  While the W'n'W shadow is shimmery it almost leans to more of a satin finish.  Also, Sin has hints of brown and taupe with a very desaturated, almost white sheen.  The Wet'n'Wild shade is warmer with hints of pink (it doesn't look very pink once it's on your skin) and a very soft, almost golden sheen.  By the way, the Wet'n'Wild shadow comes from the Walking on Eggshells trio.

All in all, I feel like these shades would work if you couldn't afford the UD or if you just hadn't gotten it yet and were in a pinch for something similar.  Once they were put into a look, you would have a hard time telling the difference.

I hope this helped you out some!  Have a wonderful day :D

~Stacie

Little Collective Haul

Hey there! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted something here. I honestly thought that I had posted something, and I think computer troubles may have kept that from happening. Anyway, I decided I would talk about a little makeup shopping I've done lately.

First of all I got two shimmer strips bronzers from Physician's Formula.  The specific names are Vegas Strip and Waikiki Strip.  I really love both of them from the start, but seeing as I just got them there needs to be a little more time to be sure for an actual review.  Vegas Strip is very golden and has been considered a dupe for MAC's Soft and Gentle.  It has also been compared to a Dior bronzer.  I don't personally know because I've never used Soft and Gentle or Dior.  Waikiki Strip is called a Peachy Glow Bronzer on the packaging, and I agree.  I like that the bronzer end is darker than most of the bronzers I have.

I couldn't find my camera until already being halfway through this post, and the lighting isn't good since it's almost night, so I've found some pictures that I feel are the best representatives of the products I've purchased.  When I actually review them, I'll probably include some pictures of my own.

Vegas Strip

Waikiki Strip

Since my drugstore had a 50% off sale on Wet'n'Wild makeup, I decided to go ahead and buy some palettes that I've been wanting to get.  The first is the Petal Pusher palette, the second is the Comfort Zone palette.  I also grabbed the single in Kitten because I thought it was a pretty purple.

Now, I haven't tested the colors against anything yet, but just by looking at the swatches on the back of my hand (sorry I can't take a pic now, but as I said before, the lighting is shot), I think I'm seeing a couple shades that are similar to Urban Decay's Chopper and Smog.  I really like the top color on the green side of the Comfort Zone palette because it's a beautiful taupey, golden green.  It's very interesting.  It's also very soft.  Some of the shades are more on the powdery side, but I'll talk more about that in a review I'm sure.  Unfortunately, I've only swatched "Comfort Zone", but this is only a haul after all.  I hate to go throwing words around that I'm not entirely sure I have the correct meaning of, but I want to call "Kitten" a duo-chrome shade.  It looks purple straight on but it has a blue undertone and a gold sheen. I can't wait to try it on.

I also have a couple blushes ordered from CherryCulture.com, so I'm looking forward to getting those.  After they arrive, though, I'm afraid that my makeup splurging will be over.  I need to gain some self control, but it's not that bad because I really haven't bought any makeup in a while.

P.S. Have you noticed that there's not a lot of talk about brushes in the reviewing world? It's really irritating. The only guru/reviewer/blogger that I've ever seen talk about a brush or set of brushes is emilynoel83. She's becoming my favorite YouTuber.

Pic Credit:
Vegas Strip: http://www.discountbeautycenter.com/prodimages/155413-DEFAULT-L.jpg
Waikiki Strip: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrlJJn8UNRYaGWQOBrCmGid_Q6n8mBAqiytfzVAWVdZVHWLIW8EFpA5LYZaFpCF7N-wvPFg-i0e1h1sl-UreOcH-7uhYtfJVU7_nY00-zJ0qNNcmXA843UG-HwM1YWXioYpuTL-sYDm4e/s1600/WAIKIKI+STRIP+2.jpg
Petal Pusher: http://themakeuptrain.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/petal-pusher.jpg
Comfort Zone: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/leanneamy/blog/Feb2012/ComfortZone1.jpg
Kitten: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDn8wqngY3hRDXUMpjYbUtcio-BJZHK9YrnrWR9eLycsv7kXmjdSVH33N9AQWWXdyKQ3b_zDKGjV0zys_5wDjIsLFXJX-30f0eRX6-gHJMB_RUao7lP57rjPjhvmSuj0xQI2aVKgXxgA4/s1600/WnWEyeshadowSingle_Kitten.jpg