Beauty, Daily

Back To Basics feat. AVEDA

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Not by any stretch am I calling Aveda basic. But it was the first salon-grade shampoo I purchased, and kept purchasing for years on end until I moved out of Newfoundland. I guess when you’re paying rent for the first time, priorities change. Like buying food, instead of fancy hair products. [Products shown: Aveda Brilliant Shampoo + Condtioner]. If I’m being completely honest I do love the shampoo, but would prefer a deep conditioning and hydrating conditioner. I probably wouldn’t purchase the conditioner again, and I would go back to my ol’ faves (which I’ll talk about below).

Now that I’ve decluttered and eliminated a lot of the goodies in my bathroom cabinet (many shampoos, and hair products that didn’t really do it for me anymore), I’m going back to basics.

Back in the day my hair was healthy and shiny, and lately changing up my shampoos with different brands every few months didn’t help the situation. My hair needs to go back to wonderful Aveda products. And 2017 is the time. Doesn’t that sound dramatic! Ha!

But honestly, trying new beauty products, hair care, or skincare is great and all, especially being a blogger who receives PR samples. But I think I need to start getting back to basics with regards to skincare, and especially hair care. For the past 6+ months I’ve been using a shampoo/conditioner combo (not a two-in-one, nevah!) that has been just okay. But ever since I got back from Canada, my scalp has not been the same. A little painful, with a bit of dandruff that never seemed to go away, and my hair was so incredibly greasy come day two. January I started going back to Aveda. And boom, it changed.

Aveda was a brand I had used for years before I knew what PR samples even were. I’m talking old school years ago, back in 2002 or 2003 is when I was introduced to the brand. My hair loved that stuff, ate it up! Plus, not to mention the scent of everything Aveda makes brings back so many awesome memories.

This pomade (Aveda Brilliant anti-humectant pomade) brings back a bit of a sad time in my life but I’ve decided to turn it into a positive. My Dad liked the scent of it and commented on it. Which for the past year made me sad when I smelled it, and as most of you all know he’s no longer here with us. But I’ve decided to turn it around — wear it, think of the good times. Those memories only make me sad, because of the great relationship I’ve had with him. Right? He was the best. The bottle I’m showing you is ancient, but it’s still good to use and smells just like the new one. I’m not telling you how old that jar I have is, though ;)

Aveda sent a few items over, and items that I recognized but never tried out. For instance I’ve been using the Brilliant line of pomade for 10+ years, but never used that line of shampoo/conditioner as I always reached for the ol’ faves like Rosemary Mint shampoo, Colour Conserve, or the Shampure line. I don’t love putting tons of product in my hair every time I wash it, but when I want fuller hair I grab the Thickening Tonic (first time using it, but I’ve used their Volumizing Tonic which used to come in a stubby glass bottle). When I dry my hair I separate it into three layers, and each layer before blow drying gets 2-3 spritzes of Thickening Tonic in it…my hair feels touchably thicker which is fantastic when you have such fine hair it you have to do 4 loops in your hair elastic to make my pony tail feel secure!

Clearly I can talk for days about Aveda, but I’m going to leave it here with a request for them.

I do want to ask Aveda to bring back their old school hair brushes. This is the oldest brush, and I use it every time I blow-dry my hair to get volume. I think the reason I love it so much is it has a freakin’ pick at the bottom of the brush (you can pop it out, and place the pointy-pick inside the handle so it doesn’t always stick out). I still have yet to find another brush that has that, and Aveda stopped making/carrying it as far as I understand. Bring it back! I desperately want a new one, the bristles are sunken right in! Lol

Disclaimer: This post although high praises, is not sponsored by Aveda, or anyone. Aveda sent me product, but as I stated above I’ve been a huge lover of Aveda for years, and regardless of working with them, I will continue to purchase their awesome products. Yay them!

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Beauty, Hair, Photos, Reviews

Hair Care: What You Need To Know

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What works for my type of hair are lightweight products that gives my hair body and substance. Otherwise if I just shampoo and blow dry, my roots get very limp. Here are my go-to products when I style my hair.

Big-Sexy-Hair-volumizing-gelBig Sexy Hair Volumizing  GelThis is a light weight gel that is to be used on wet hair yet it  doesn’t weigh down my hair. In fact it makes it have some sort of sustenance. It’s kinda crazy. I first got this in my October ipsy box. I’ve been using it all month long and I’m not even half way through the sample. A little goes along way for my hair type (fine and thin).

its-a-10-miracle-leave-inIt’s a 10 miracle leave-in conditioner
Not only does this nourish your hair, but it creates a smooth frizz-free finish and acts as a heat protectant before you heat style your hair.

Aveda ShampureAveda shampoo/conditioner
I always stand by anything by Aveda. I’ve been using their products for over 10 years and while I don’t buy their products all the time, I always end up going back to them. They nourish my hair like no other and is most definitely my holy grail of shampoos and conditioners.

Kerastase-ElixirKérastase Elixir Ultime
I use this in either damp or dry hair. It boosts shine and adds an amazing scent too. I reviewed the Kérastase Elixir Ultime last year and I’m still on the same bottle. A little truly goes a long way with this product. This product creates shine while hydrating your hair. It also tames those annoying flyaways. This elixir is silicone free so it feels weightless on the hair, which is one of the top contenders in a product that I look for, as I do have pretty fine limp hair. I can say for certain that the Kérastase Elixir feels much better on my hair than the Macadamia Nut serum, which weighed my hair down.

Batiste-dry-shampooBatiste Dry shampoo
I’ve been trying out this Batiste Dry Shampoo spray that was sent to me from Farley Co. Batiste has been hyped up about and is a huge seller amongst dry shampoos. It’s a nice product if you get the one specifically for your hair colour. I received the original spray which comes out white. Not exactly the best for brunettes – it took forever to blend the white/grey cast into my hair to look somewhat normal. There are different variations and colours out now suitable for a darker hair shades too. I would recommend this product because a little went a long way and it immediately soaked up any oily residue I had on my hair with one or two sprays. However until I can get my hands on the spray for brunettes I’ll stick to my Principessa powder dry shampoo.

Do you use a styling products on your hair?

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Daily, Reviews

Hairspray annoyances

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I paid for the hair sprays myself. L’Oreal nor Aveda have nothing to do with my review.

I’ve been taking a break from my expensive Aveda Air Control hair spray for the past number of years. I’ve been a huge fan of Aveda products since 2002 when I first went to a salon and they used it on me. I could’ve been an Aveda spokesperson because I knew that much about the product and loved it so much. Now? It’s becoming pretty mainstream and almost every salon has it in stock.

I stopped using the Aveda’s Air Control mainly because of the expense, and when I don’t use the product for a while the nozzle gets clogged. The first time it happened immediately after I purchased it from a salon, and since it was salon-priced I brought back my receipt and got a new one. I thought it was defective at first but since going through a number of bottles throughout the years, it’s just something that Aveda really needs to consider fixing. There is a trick to get it unclogged though, sometimes it was running it under hot water, and other times you could take the nozzle off and fiddle with it somehow that way.

When my Aveda hair spray ran out I decided to not purchase it the next time. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and a number of girls use the L’Oreal Elnett hair spray. Last winter I bought it and only ran out of it recently. That’s how often I used to hair spray my hair.

I cannot stand the scent of the L’Oreal Ellnett. When I first sprayed it I remember quoting that it smelled like old man cologne. It’s not a female-friendly scent at all, and I hardly ever wanted to use it. The hold on this hair spray was stiffer than Aveda’s, but it just smelled like I hugged a man who bathed in aftershave or cologune. I knew for sure that I was not going to go purchase a full-sized after my small one was done with.

Now that I’m trying to not wash my hair daily I’ve gone out and purchased a full sized L’Oreal Paris hair spray which was on for over half off. I got it at Rexall for under four bucks. L’Oreal really needs to mix the hold of Elnet and the scent of this one. Because the hold on this new one is incredibly cheap and no wonder if was on sale.

I like to hair spray the back of my hair, then tease the root to give it volume on days that I don’t wash my hair. The L’Oreal Paris hair spray doesn’t even hold until lunch time. I’m not sure if it’s because my hair is prone to be flat and hates volume, or if it’s the hair spray itself because I’m sort of a newbie-user at it. I’m thinking of getting a salon-quality hair spray again when I use up this bottle. Because lord knows I’m going to use it up and not waste my money, even if it isn’t the greatest.

What kind of hair spray to you use?

I’ll need to get a new hairspray soon since the one I use in my hair care routine is quickly getting used up (ahem….by spraying it everywhere but my hair to try and get rid of it since it sucks.) but I need to keep my flyaways in place because they get drenched in sweat at CrossFit or when I’m even using something as low impact as theraband exercises.

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